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 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO., Boston,
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 { 
 
 T ^ 
 
 (p. ^
 
 AGNES. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF "IDA MAY." 
 
 " Lightly thou say'st that woman's love is false i 
 The thought is falser far ; 
 For some of them are true as martyrs' legends, - 
 As full of suffering faith, of burning love, 
 Of high devotion, worthier heaven than earth I 
 O, I do know a tale 1 " 
 
 *H~. ' /C. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & COMPANY, 
 
 13 WINTEB, STBEET. 
 
 1858.
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by 
 
 PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO., 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 
 
 Bcrotyjd fry 
 HOBARI ft BOBBINS, 
 
 BOSTOB.
 
 PS 
 
 AGNES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE VALLEY FARM. 
 
 THE summer tempest had been severe, but short ; and the 
 thunder having ceased and the wind lulled, the rain fell stead 
 ily in large, heavy drops, brightened now and then by sun 
 shine, which, darting from behind the edges of retiring clouds, 
 threw a sudden glory over the landscape. The bird-song and 
 the insect-hum were hushed, for the myriads of happy creatures 
 that fill the forest had crept for shelter beneath broad leaves 
 or thick-spreading branches, and not the faintest breeze stirred 
 the tree-tops ; but all the air was full of a low, musical mur 
 mur, a perfect accord of harmony, given out by the vibra 
 tion of differently shaped leaves, as the rain-drops struck 
 them. 
 
 In the heart of the forest, where vines, weaving together 
 the boughs of a bosky dell, had kept the ground dry notwith 
 standing the previous shower, a young man stood listening to 
 this music of nature, so rarely heard because lost in other 
 sounds, so faint, and yet so exquisite that, once known, it 
 must be ever remembered with a thrill of delight. He leaned
 
 6 AGNES. 
 
 upon his gun, and at his feet a net filled with birds and a 
 dozen brook-trout strung on an alder-twig told what had 
 brought him so far away from the abode of man. As the 
 symphony to which he listened ceased, to be succeeded by the 
 noisier music of the birds, and the babbling of a rill leaping 
 down the hillside over the bed it had long left dry, he raised 
 his spoils from the ground, and took his way homeward. He 
 walked rapidly, with a firm and springing step, and a free 
 play of the muscles denoting activity, and the strength of one 
 accustomed to fatigue. His coarse, homespun dress, the 
 hunting-shirt tied loosely at the throat with a bit of black 
 ribbon, and girded around the waist with a strip of plain blue 
 woollen fabric, rather heightened than concealed the fine pro 
 portions of his figure, and the charm of a face which, though 
 not handsome, was attractive. The dark eyes beamed with 
 intellect, and the lines about the mouth had a certain quiet 
 power, denoting at once firmness and gentleness of character. 
 Though there was apparently no path to guide him, he went 
 on with a readiness indicating his familiarity with the locali 
 ties over which he passed ; and four miles of this swift walk 
 ing brought him to a clearing through which ran a road, 
 rough, indeed, yet bearing the marks of recent travel. As 
 he emerged into the circular space, overgrown with bushes, 
 and spotted with charred stumps, he paused to rest ; and at 
 that moment an arrow came whizzing through the air, and 
 quivered as it stuck deep in the tree just above his head. 
 He started, and, raising his gun, pointed it in the direction 
 from whence this hostile messenger came; but his purpose
 
 THE VALLEY FARM. 7 
 
 was checked by a low laugh whose tones he recognized, and 
 at a little distance the bushes, parting, disclosed the face of a 
 young Indian girl. 
 
 She stood, half leaning forward, one arm extended to keep 
 back the boughs that had concealed her, the other hand grasp 
 ing her bow lightly, her dark face flushed and dimpling all 
 over with smiles, her dress of bright calico contrasting vividly 
 with the dense foliage surrounding her. It was a gorgeous pic 
 ture, set in a frame of carved and glittering enamel ; and the 
 young man's features relaxed into a smile of admiration as he 
 slowly lowered his gun. But still, as she came bounding 
 towards him, he said, seriously, and with a reproving air, 
 
 " You should not do so, Lawontica. Suppose I had shot 
 you in return for the trick ? " 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! sartin Indian girl frighten him bad ! " was all 
 the reply the wild creature returned to this address ; and she 
 laughed and laughed, till the woods rang with a merry echo, 
 and her companion was compelled to join her mirth. 
 
 " But, indeed, you should not do so," he repeated, when 
 she became more quiet. " You expose yourself to danger. 
 How could I know but an enemy was hidden in the bush ? " 
 
 " Sartin enemy no shoot tree ; enemy shoot there" she 
 answered, touching her finger lightly to his breast. 
 
 " True, Lawontica ; but he might have mistaken his aim." 
 
 " Indian no mistake ! " she said, frowning with a jealous 
 air. "White man make mistake, Indian no shoot but once, 
 
 and then ." With the tips of her dusky fingers she 
 
 seized a lock of hair on the top of her head, and describing a
 
 8 AGNES. 
 
 circle around it to imitate the operation of scalping, looked 
 archly in his face, and again burst into a gleeful laugh. 
 
 " And you admire that sort of chivalry, you young bar 
 barian ! " said Percy Grey, half aloud, charmed to forget the 
 savage idea in the airy grace and lightness of every move 
 ment by which she expressed it. Then, recollecting himself, 
 he added, 
 
 "Are you going home now? Come along with me, and 
 eat supper at the Farm. Fortunately I shall be able to sup 
 ply the table with something eatable, and I must not linger 
 any longer. I would have given a good sum last night 
 for the game I have here." As he spoke he held up the birds 
 to her view, and his countenance became sad and stern, as if 
 unpleasant recollections had been excited. 
 
 His companion noticed it, and replied, eagerly, with a cor 
 responding change of manner, " Sanoso, all day he hunt, he 
 fish, no catch 'em anything. Dark come, Sanoso, one mile, 
 two mile, three mile away. No reach 'em wigwam till many 
 stars come out. No eat 'em supper, no drink 'em anything, 
 'cause she no hab 'em anything give white man. S'pose In 
 dian women no hab 'em hand full, Indian women no come see 
 Sagamow any more." 
 
 " You are very kind, Lawontica. I did not suppose you 
 knew of our misfortune. But we shall not need that you 
 and poor old Sanoso should tire yourselves hunting for our 
 benefit." 
 
 " Indian girl see all, hear all. White brave bad bad,''
 
 TUB VALLEY FAB SI. 9 
 
 she repeated, stamping her foot with a gesture of intense 
 indignation. 
 
 " No doubt about that," replied Percy Grey, arranging his 
 gun and fishing-rod upon his shoulder ; " but we have some 
 thing to eat to-night, and if you will come you shall be 
 welcome." 
 
 " No, no ! Lawontica's mouth makes one. S'pose me go? 
 no. Me work 'um hard all day peelum little Moskevee * 
 bark, mend canoe, so me go fishing tomollor.t Now me go 
 shoot 'um bird, make old Sanoso say, ve'y good." 
 
 " Good-by, then," replied Percy ; and after an arch ges 
 ture, menacing him again with her arrow, Lawontica turned 
 from him, and he went on his way up the hill. From its 
 brow he saw, in the valley beneath, the small, low farm-house 
 which he called his home. 
 
 Its unpainted shingles wore the dark-brown hue of age, 
 and except two noble elms standing on either side, and droop 
 ing their arms protectingly over the humble roof, there was 
 little about it of beauty or grace. Behind it lay the farm, 
 stretching away from the road along the rich soil of the valley 
 and up the hillside ; but, instead of the harvest that should 
 now have been waving and ripening in the golden sunset light, 
 the fields presented only a broken surface, with their cereal 
 treasures trampled into dust, while a blackened ruin a few 
 rods from the house alone indicated where a barn had stood. 
 
 The clear glow of exercise gave place to a darker flush on 
 
 * Birch. 
 
 t The Indians could not sound the letter r before the vowels o and f
 
 10 AGNES. 
 
 Percy Grey's cheek as he marked this devastation. But the 
 execration arising to his lips was arrested when he looked 
 towards the house, and saw several horses tied to the fence 
 near, while a carriage stood in the road before it. Hurrying 
 on, he saw that an accident had occurred which a servant was 
 engaged in repairing. His father, a tall, white-haired old 
 man, came out of the house as he approached, and upon 
 meeting him said, 
 
 " Got back in good season, Percy. Been lucky, an't ye ? 
 "VVe 've been havin' a master shower; why did n't you get wet? " 
 
 "I thought I wouldn't," replied the son, smiling; "but 
 who are these men ? " 
 
 " Some travellers come in out o' the way o' the rain. They 
 got upsot comin' down the hill. Ye see the hosses is skeery, 
 and it makes it bad master. The young woman is afraid 
 to start again, for fear the storm an't over." 
 
 " There is a lady in the case, then," said Percy. " Where 
 is she?" 
 
 " In the house, in the foredoom. Mother 's been trying to 
 get 'em to wait a while and have tea, and they could go on 
 arter the moon rises." 
 
 " Your hospitality would be rather meagre, thanks to the 
 last guests who entertained themselves at your expense." 
 
 " Don't speak on 't ! " replied the old man, with a groan. 
 
 " "Well, we '11 have supper to-night, if we starve to-mor 
 row," said Percy, and was passing on to the house, when, 
 with a start of surprise, he added, " But who have we here? 
 Jem, my fine fellow, how are you ? "
 
 THE VALLEY FARM. 11 
 
 The person thus addressed was just rising from his stooping 
 posture, revealing the sunburnt face and awkward proportions 
 of an overgrown country boy of eighteen. The coarse features 
 were now irradiated by a smile of pleasure at being remem 
 bered, and, with a familiar bow, he said, 
 
 " I know'd yer the minute I see'd yer. How come yer 
 here?" 
 
 But Percy held out his hand to receive a hearty shake from 
 the rustic, and asked, in his turn, 
 
 " How came you here ? How are all the family at Chester 
 Close?" 
 
 "They an't to Chester Close at all, now. "We're all a 
 raovin' down to York ; for we hear tell the Injuns was a 
 comin', and they 're wus 'n the Yankee sogers to have for vis 
 itors," replied Jem, with a sly grin. Then, with a knowing 
 wink, he added, " The Squire 's in the house now, and she 's 
 with him." 
 
 Percy started, colored, and, turning abruptly away, entered 
 the house with an eager step. As he deposited his game in 
 the kitchen cupboard, where the empty shelves gave it ample 
 space, he looked through the open doors into the " fore-room." 
 
 The strangers stood together by one of the windows, watch 
 ing the clouds which still lowered along the horizon, threaten 
 ing to return as soon as the sun was set. Two gentlemen 
 were with the lady of whom the lad had spoken. The elder 
 seemed about sixty years of age. His figure was tall and 
 stooping ; the expression of his features disclosed more of 
 oenevolence and kindly feeling than of force or steadiness of
 
 12 AGNES. 
 
 character, while the thoughtful glance of his calm blue eyes, 
 and his unassuming air, told that his life had been little min 
 gled with the momentous and exciting events of his time. 
 
 His companion was a man in the prime of life, whose 
 handsome face and commanding mien at once attracted the 
 attention which his haughty lip and cold glance as quickly 
 repelled. Yet that glance warmed and softened as it rested 
 on the face now half turned from him, as the lady addressed 
 her father. 
 
 " Had we not better wait till we are sure the storm will 
 not return ? These good people seem quite willing to give us 
 shelter ; and if our horses were BO terrified in the daytime, 
 they would be still more unmanageable in the darkness. The 
 roads are very bad, too. I confess I would rather avoid the 
 peril, though you know I am not easily frightened." 
 
 " The moon rises about nine o'clock, and then I think the 
 sky will clear, even if the clouds do not disperse before that,' 1 
 replied Mr. Chester. " Still, if you are afraid, Evelyn, we 
 can wait, although, in the present unsettled state of the coun 
 try, it seems to me far better to improve every hour in 
 hastening our journey." 
 
 " There has been no trouble thus far," said Evelyn, hesi 
 tating between her fears and her desire to yield to her father's 
 wishes. "Do you know, madam, if there have been any 
 troops along this road within a few days ? " she added, ad 
 dressing an old lady who sat knitting at the chimney-corner, 
 her invariable place, whether the space beside her was
 
 T II E V A L I, E Y F A K M . v 13 
 
 heaped with blazing logs in winter, or dressed with hemlock 
 boughs for summer. 
 
 The placid face beneath the snowy muslin cap changed with 
 an expression of strong feeling, and her voice- trembled a 
 little, as she answered, " Some of the British king's soldiers 
 passed here last week; and if thee looks out the window, thee 
 will see their work." 
 
 " These barren fields ! I wondered to see them. How could 
 any one be so cruel ! " Evelyn exclaimed, glancing around 
 the humble apartment with its inoffensive occupant, and 
 then at her companions for an expression of the sympathy 
 she felt so strongly. But her father only murmured some 
 thing in an under tone, and the younger man said, carelessly, 
 in a low voice, 
 
 " These are the chances of war. I presume these good 
 folks are rebels ; and if so " 
 
 " Surely, you cannot justify such wanton destruction ! " 
 interrupted Evelyn, warmly. " What had these two old 
 people to do with the war ? " 
 
 " They may have a dozen sons in it, for aught we know," 
 
 "he replied ; " and if not, it is impossible to help these things ; 
 
 so pray unbend your beautiful brows, Miss Evelyn, and don't 
 
 take this case so much to heart. These are necessary evils." 
 
 The compliment was ill-timed, and could not efface the im 
 pression his words had made. Evelyn turned from him with 
 out replying; but the old lady, who overheard the last remark, 
 said, "Thee is right, though thee doesn't mean it. It is 
 necessary. Thy king's soldiers might succeed better in the war 
 2
 
 14 AGNES. 
 
 if our sons had not seen their fields destroyed, and their barns 
 burnt, before they left home. Flesh and blood will burn to 
 revenge such wrongs, though the Lord has said, ' Vengeance 
 is mine.' " 
 
 " Perhaps so," said Col. Stanley, for such was the rank of 
 her interlocutor; "but by your speech you should be a 
 Quaker, and how is it you are advocating war ? " 
 
 " Perhaps thee knows, by thy own experience, that our 
 carnal natures are weak," answered she, a tinge of sarcasm 
 mingling with her quiet tone. 
 
 Amused at this retort, he was about to reply, when his 
 attention was arrested by seeing Evelyn suddenly color vio 
 lently, and, with a slight exclamation, lean forward a little to 
 look earnestly through the doorway. In an instant she 
 recovered herself; but Col. Stanley's eyes followed the direc 
 tion of hers, and, perceiving he was noticed, Percy Grey came 
 forward. A mingled expression flitted over Mr. Chester's 
 face as he saw him. 
 
 " Major Grey ! " he exclaimed, in a tone which intimated 
 that his surprise was not altogether unpleasant ; and then he 
 drew back, just touching the proffered hand, and added, with* 
 cold courtesy, " I am quite surprised to meet you here, sir. 
 I supposed you otherwise occupied than your hunting dress 
 would indicate." 
 
 Major Grey replied in an embarrassed tone, and his natural 
 ease of manner seemed to have deserted him. " I little 
 thought to find you here, Mr. Chester, and Miss Evelyn, 
 too," he said, taking the small hand that fluttered in his for
 
 THE VALLEY FARM. 15 
 
 an instant. " I hope," he added, hastily, " that nothing 
 unpleasant has driven you from your quiet retreat in the 
 country." 
 
 " No ; we have lived there unmolested until now ; but it 
 seemed advisable to secure a fortified retreat for the winter, 
 as there are reports that the Indians may make some trouble, 
 even if we have no more civilized foes. Then, too, my 
 daughter may fancy the gayety of New York as an agreeable 
 contrast to our country solitude ; and if this glimpse of the 
 world gives her a curiosity to see more, we shall probably go 
 to England in the spring." 
 
 Major Grey did not answer for a moment. He knew the 
 motive for this free disclosure of their plans, and his eyes 
 sought Evetyn's with a timid eagerness unlike their usual 
 clear and piercing light. She, after their constrained greet 
 ing, had withdrawn herself a little, and turned away her 
 beautiful face with an air of reserve. This might entirely 
 have prevented any further intercourse between them, had 
 not Col. Stanley remarked, in a sneering whisper, addressed to 
 her, 
 
 "Major Grey! Pray, who is this major in homespun?" 
 
 The words reached the ear they were intended to wound, 
 and, as Evelyn remarked it, indignant at the rudeness, she 
 replied, 
 
 " He is a brave and honorable man. We had the pleasure 
 of forming an acquaintance with him last summer. Shall I 
 introduce you ? " 
 
 " If Miss Chester calls him brave and honorable, I cannot
 
 16 A G N E 9 . 
 
 object." replied he, bowing gallantly, and speaking in the 
 same under tone, as if unconscious that he was overheard ; 
 " but would not such a man find himself somewhat out of his 
 sphere in the Yankee army ? " 
 
 " ' A man 's a man for a' that,' " she replied, lightly, 
 blushing to see the gleam which shone from Percy's dark 
 eyes as he heard her vindication ; and, anxious to prevent 
 any further conversation of this kind, she hastened to intro 
 duce Major Grey to Col. Stanley. The latter bowed haughtily, 
 and did not join in the general conversation that ensued, 
 and which she, with woman's tact, contrived to make easy, 
 notwithstanding the secret embarrassment of each person. 
 
 A short time after, Jem came into the room to say that the 
 broken axle was mended, and to request Mr. Chester's inspec 
 tion of his work ; and the latter, with a forgetfulness at that 
 time unaccountable to his daughter, asked Col. Stanley to 
 accompany him. They went out together, and, as old Mrs. 
 Grey had previously left the room, Percy was alone with the 
 being he loved more than his life. He knew it was but for 
 a moment, and seized it eagerly. Drawing nearer to the 
 open window where she stood, he laid his hand on hers, which 
 trembled, but was not withdrawn from its resting-place on the 
 window-sill, and, in a tone he vainly struggled to make firm, 
 "Miss Chester Evelyn," he said, "we meet once more! 
 Say, must there still be silence between us ? May I not write 
 to you? may I not hope at length to prevail to break 
 down the barriers which divide us? You tremble you 
 turn away your head. 0, Evelyn, is there no hope? "
 
 THE VALLEY FARM. . 1? 
 
 "Alas, I fear not," she said, faintly. "I have even 
 regretted that I ever acknowledged my feelings towards 
 you." 
 
 " Nay, would you take away my life ? " he interrupted, 
 passionately. 
 
 "But you would not then have fed yourself with vain 
 hopes," she answered, sadly ; " you would have learned, per 
 haps, to forget me, and to be content." 
 
 Evelyn ! " 
 
 Tears gathered slowly, welling over from the dark, lustrous 
 eyes, and the curved lips quivered and grew white with 
 emotion. 
 
 " Forgive me if I have wounded you ! However it may 
 be, whatever other feeling we may each cherish till life shall 
 end, I feel persuaded it is vain folly to persist in hope. My 
 father's prejudices seem more obstinate than ever, and the 
 very bravery that is beginning to make your name distin 
 guished even among brave men, is a growing obstacle to our 
 union, since you are in the ranks they presume to call 
 < rebel.' " 
 
 " You cannot discourage me," Percy answered, pressing her 
 hand ; " my heart is like Pandora's box hope will remain 
 in the bottom of it ; and all the train of evil doubts and fears ' 
 which accompanied hope have flown out, and are dispersed in 
 air, now I have seen you once more, and read in your eyes, in 
 your voice, in your whole manner, that your heart is un 
 changed. I will conquer yet, Evelyn. You shall be mine ! " 
 
 Engrossed with each other, they had for a moment forgotten
 
 that doors and windows were open, and their tete-a-tete liable 
 to be interrupted, and each started in violent confusion when 
 a hand was laid on Percy's shoulder. Mr. Chester, with a 
 frown upon his brow, looked at him steadily for a moment, 
 and then said, in a voice whose strangely-mingled tones would 
 have impressed his hearers with a feeling of curiosity had 
 they been less painfully excited, 
 
 " Cannot I leave you a moment alone, Evelyn ? Is it thus 
 you abuse my trust, young man? Look at yourself look at 
 the state to which your home is reduced in consequence of 
 your foolish adherence to a failing cause, and then look at 
 the lady by your side, and tell me if you can think you have 
 any right to say what you have said to her." 
 
 Percy Grey's face grew dark with the crimson flood that 
 surged upward from his throbbing heart ; his eyes fell ; and 
 as he remembered his poverty, his humble home, the darkness 
 enveloping his future prospects and the cause with which he 
 had identified himself, a quick revulsion of feeling made him 
 wonder at his own boldness, and he was ready to give up the 
 hope he had so confidently vaunted a moment before. 
 
 But he looked up, he met Evelyn's gaze, and, raising 
 himself proudly, answered, with sudden courage, " Yes, sir, I 
 have that right. I love her, and I will yet make a name of 
 which she shall be proud ! " 
 
 Mr. Chester smiled, it might be with disdain, it might be 
 with pleasure, for the smile was blindly expressive. " Valiant 
 youth," he said, " it is a pity you have espoused the wrong 
 side of this contest. With so much courage, you might sue-
 
 THE VALLEY FARM. 19 
 
 ceed under other circumstances. Can nothing change your 
 purposes ? Such changes are daily made, and I have interest 
 which would procure you rapid promotion in the British 
 army." 
 
 Astonished at the audacious words so coolly uttered, for a 
 moment Major Grey remained dumb ; and then, unwilling to 
 quarrel with Evelyn's father, he only said, " I think I must 
 misunderstand you, sir." 
 
 " Can nothing tempt you to go where rank and riches 
 might be yours nothing not even hope ? " continued Mr. 
 Chester, with emphasis on the last word, and a glance full of 
 meaning towards Evelyn. 
 
 " Mr. Chester, you insult me, and you heap double dishonor 
 upon me by insulting your daughter also ! Can you really 
 suppose what your words seem to imply ? " exclaimed Percy, 
 white with anger. 
 
 Mr. Chester did not seem to heed his wrath. Either he 
 was in haste to depart, or he did not think it worth while to 
 protract the conversation ; for, after another of the strange 
 scrutinizing glances he had repeatedly cast upon the young 
 faces before him during this brief interview, he turned away 
 and walked towards the door. To Evelyn, who stood by, 
 mute and distressed beyond measure, he said, " Come, child, 
 the carriage waits only for you." 
 
 Bewildered with excitement and mortification, she obeyed 
 mechanically ; but her name uttered in a tone of passion and 
 despair recalled her senses, and, turning back, she took
 
 20 AGNES. 
 
 Percy's outstretched hand. He pressed hers to his lips, 
 His face was full of anguish. 
 
 " Forgive him ! " said Evelyn, hastily ; " I don't know what 
 made him speak so ; I never saw him appear as he has to 
 day. I know he does respect you, though he dared speak to 
 you of dishonor. Forgive him, Percy, for my sake ! " 
 
 But the proud spirit struggled still. " For your sake ! 
 yes, anything else," he exclaimed, " but this ! He has in 
 sulted us both ; surely we are no longer bound to regard his 
 wishes. Evelyn, I must see you I must write to you 
 this parting is not final." 
 
 ' " Come, Evelyn, come," called her father from the door, in 
 an authoritative tone. 
 
 " I must go, Percy, and I do not think we shall ever meet 
 again surely not for a long time ; but there is something 
 stronger, nobler, than hope it is duty. Mine is to my 
 father, who, in spite of this strange sternness, would die if I 
 should desert him. Yours is to your country, and you will 
 not prove recreant." 
 
 " Evelyn, are you coming?" called Mr. Chester again, and 
 Col. Stanley's voice was heard saying, " What keeps Miss 
 Evelyn ? " At the sound she drew her hands away from 
 Percy, and, forcing herself into calmness, murmured a fare 
 well. 
 
 In another moment Col. Stanley entered the room, and 
 offered his arm to escort her to the carriage. She could not 
 decline the accustomed courtesy without attracting attention 
 to her ill-concealed agitation : and, dropping her veil, she was
 
 THE VALLEY FARM, kj 
 
 led away, leaving Percy petrified by emotions divided between 
 indignation and despair. 
 
 It was characteristic of these two noble hearts that, though 
 they had not met for months, though they parted never, per 
 haps, to meet again, neither felt it necessary to utter those 
 protestations for the past, those vows for the future, which 
 are demanded to satisfy a love less strong and true. Blindly 
 as they were walking along the dark path of destiny, each 
 had confidence in the other, and the troubles that environed 
 them were not increased by needless jealousy and distrust. 
 
 Yet, as Percy Grey lingered at the window where Evelyn 
 had stood, and laid his burning brow against the spot where 
 her small hand had rested, he thought bitterly of this ill-timed 
 visit to a home which the ruthless hand of war had stripped 
 of every appearance of comfort ; where poverty, hard and 
 pitiless, stared him in the face ; and of his own rough gar 
 ments and toil-worn appearance, contrasted with the elegan 
 cies surrounding Evelyn in her own home, and the rich dress 
 and easy air of the man who was evidently his rival. This 
 contrast must influence Mr. Chester's feelings, if they were 
 not already decided. And would it be reasonable to suppose 
 that one reared amid the luxuries of wealth, utterly unused 
 to toil, beautiful, and continually wooed to a sphere where her 
 beauty could receive the admiration it deserved, could con 
 template without repugnance the homely surroundings and 
 the obscure lot which awaited the woman whose destiny was 
 united to his ? Then he thought of the low opinion of him 
 manifested in Mr. Chester's attempt to bribe him to desert
 
 22 AGNES. 
 
 his country's cause, and of Col. Stanley's careless scorn ; and, 
 wounded in his honor and in his love, he ground his teeth 
 together in a mood from which death would have been a 
 pleasant relief. His mother's voice aroused him from his 
 revery. 
 
 " My son, thee seems troubled in spirit. Has thee cause ? " 
 
 Half ashamed at having manifested his emotions, he 
 answered, moodily, " I am a foolish boy, mother. I aimed at 
 the moon, and my arrow has fallen back and wounded me." 
 
 " Thee never was a boy to cry for a little smart," she said, 
 gazing into his face with a searching yet sympathizing 
 expression ; " and thee always manifested a gift to persevere 
 till thee gained thy will." 
 
 " And so I can now," he interrupted, his brown eyes flash 
 ing, and his lip curving, as he raised himself with a sudden 
 strength and courage, his buoyant spirit rebounding from its 
 intense depression. " So will I now persevere and conquer. 
 Bless you, mother ! you always have the right word to say. 
 You have given me new life." 
 
 Her face, still lovely, though it had borne the cares and 
 sorrows of life far into the vale of years, grew flushed a little 
 with pleasure at this burst of feeling; but she only said, 
 quietly, with her own calm smile, " I know thee well, my son. 
 But where did thee meet these friends ? I never heard thee 
 speak of them." 
 
 " You can guess why, mother. When we were stationed 
 
 at , last summer, the officers were quartered on its tory 
 
 inhabitants, as they usually are, by way of taking toll for
 
 THE VALLEY FARM. 23 
 
 their principles, I suppose ; though I, for one, find it a very 
 disagreeable method' of retaliating my country's wrongs. 
 However, in this instance I could not quarrel with my allot 
 ment, for Chester Close, my temporary home, was a little 
 paradise, and its Eve well, you have seen her ! There is 
 not another woman like her in the world, and never will be. 
 But enough of this ! Did you see how my day's hunting has 
 prospered ? I should enjoy eating some of those fish almost 
 as well as I did catching them ; for, mother, in spite of my 
 hopes and my despair, I am hungry." 
 
 Mrs. Grey forbore to press him with any further questions, 
 though her curiosity was much aroused ; but, taking the hint, 
 she went into the kitchen, whence a savory odor soon gave 
 token that supper was in progress. Percy remained where she 
 left him, and his gayety, which had been partly assumed, gave 
 place to an expression of deep and troubled thought. Yet 
 the gloom was not so intense as before his mother's words had 
 roused him, and his mortification and anger was nearly for 
 gotten as he dwelt upon those looks and words of Evelyn, that, 
 far more than any vow of endearment, told of her unchanged 
 regard. As he thus mused, a shout was heard at,a little dis- 
 tance,'a clear ringing halloo that echoed above the rattling of 
 a wagon driven furiously down hill. " The noisy boy has 
 come, at last ! " ejaculated Percy, and went out to meet his 
 brother. 
 
 They were the only surviving children of the aged pair, 
 who had passed their two-score years of married life upon 
 this farm, redeemed by hard toil from the wilderness. Mr.
 
 24 AGNES. 
 
 Grey, a man of strong native sense and unconquerable 
 energy, had been in early life deprived of the benefits of 
 education; and though for many years before the war his 
 lands had afforded him a comfortable support, he had always 
 " earned his bread in the sweat of his brow," and had little 
 leisure or inclination for mental cultivation. His wife, whom 
 he had persuaded to brave the terrors of being " read out of 
 meeting," came of a Quaker family, whose ancestors had been 
 among the wealthy and influential in England, and in her girl 
 hood she had mingled in the highest circles of Philadelphia 
 society, and enjoyed all the advantages its schools could give. 
 Afterwards her father become involved in unfortunate com 
 mercial speculations, his riches vanished, sickness and death 
 followed to complete the wreck, and his daughter was sup 
 porting herself by teaching a country school when the blithe 
 young farmer wooed and won her as his bride. 
 
 Of eight children who had been born to them, only these 
 two, the youngest ones, now remained. Of these, Percy was 
 two years the elder, and from his childhood he manifested a 
 keen thirst for knowledge, which, joined with great activity 
 of body and mind, a buoyancy of disposition and unflagging 
 courage, justified the hopes his parents had formed that he 
 would overcome the obstacles circumstances had thrown in 
 his way, acquire a collegiate education, and make himself 
 distinguished as a lawyer. To this end he was pursuing his 
 studies in Harvard College, when the breaking out of the war 
 and the siege of Boston made study impossible to the gallant 
 youths who burned to deliver their country from the tyrant's
 
 TIIE VALLEY FARM. 25 
 
 yoke. Percy immediately joined the army, and soon acquired 
 such repute as a soldier that he had been promoted from one 
 rank to another, until at the time our story opens he was 
 " Major Grey," having been promoted from the captaincy 
 since the summer during which he was stationed at Chester 
 Close. 
 
 His brother, Franklin, a noisy, rattling, vivacious fellow, 
 steady in nothing but his changeless good-humor and the firm 
 principles of right in which he had been reared, appeared 
 formed by nature for the soldier's life. Into it he had 
 plunged with as little thought and as keen a zest as he would 
 have carried into a " husking frolic," or a " raising bee." He 
 was rather below the medium size, with a profusion of light 
 curly hair, which was never in his life known to be smooth 
 for two minutes together. He had blue eyes, like his father's, 
 but gleaming over with fun ; his features were good, and his 
 face expressed such careless satisfaction with the world in 
 general, and himself in particular, that all the annoyances 
 and vexations of life seemed to "flee at his approach, as 
 shadows before the sun. 
 
 It might have been this contagious gayety that banished 
 the shade of care from Percy's brow, as his brother . drove 
 up and sprang out of the wagon, exclaiming, 
 
 " Here, bear a hand, Major, and get the meal bag-out, or I 
 shall swallow it whole ! Hurry up your corn-cake, mother ! 
 I could eat four bears and a moose, and not choke at the 
 horns either. Tell you what, Percy, there's nothing like 
 starvation to give a fellow an appetite. Was n't it lucky we 
 3
 
 26 A a N E s . 
 
 came home last night and found father and mother sitting by 
 the fireplace, with not a thing in the house to cook for a 
 supper, the well filled up with feathers, and nobody but 
 1 moolly ' to furnish liquor for the whole party ! Tell you 
 what, we never should have known how good milk tastes, if it 
 had n't been for that. Upon the whole, foraging parties are 
 a blessing." 
 
 " And burnt barns, and spoiled harvests ! " suggested 
 Percy, who while he was talking had assisted him to carry 
 several bags of meal into the house. 
 
 " Well, upon the whole, if they must ride over the fields, 
 they had better burn the barn. An empty barn all winter 
 would be rather tantalizing, beside being cold for the cow." 
 
 " No barn at all, is colder." 
 
 " 0, we '11 build a shed to put the hay in. What a lucky 
 thing it was the hay was n't hauled up from the meadow ! But 
 I recommend to mother to let the cow sleep in the best bed 
 room this winter. She deserves it for having sense enough to 
 be lost that day, so these rascals could n't drive her off. 
 Where 's father, I wonder ! " 
 
 " He went to look for that same cow, and here he comes. 
 Percy, if thee '11 see to the corn-cake, and fry the fish, I '11 
 go milk," said his mother, as they approached the fire. 
 
 ' 0, don't set him at it ! " exclaimed Frank. " He 'd get 
 into a brown study, and put all the fat in the fire, literally and 
 metaphorically. I can cook as well as if I 'd been through a 
 dozen colleges, and studied all the ologies, including the dox- 
 ology. Grive me the fork. In fact, any fool can go through
 
 THE VALLEY FARM. 27 
 
 college, but it takes a genius to cook. Now, see me turn this 
 fellow ! An't he handsome ? " Then, in a rich voice, he 
 carolled 
 
 " 0, the jolly brook trout, 
 Bless his spotted side ! 
 He 's a pretty cretur swimming, 
 But he 's prettier bein' fried. 
 
 I declare, if I hadn't been born a Quaker, I should have 
 been a poet ; don't you think so, Percy ? " 
 
 Thus he rattled on, singing snatches of verse and uttering 
 his nonsense, with a mirthful twinkle in his eyes, and a hearty 
 abandon to his own odd conceits, that made his gayety irre 
 sistibly contagious.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE WAIF. 
 
 " BOYS," said old Mr. Grey, as he seated himself at the 
 table after having reverently asked a blessing on the food, 
 " boys, I would n't 'a believed, last night this time, when 
 mother and I set wondering what on airth we should do, with 
 the house all ransacked that way, and the grain spiled, and 
 the cow lost, and nobody to help us do nothin', that in twenty- 
 four hours we 'd 'a had so much to be thankful for ! " 
 
 His voice trembled a little as he spoke, and for a moment 
 no one replied. Frank was the first to recover himself. 
 
 " Yes," said he, " item one, the cow came home. Consid 
 erate cretur, she knew when to come. Item two, then we 
 came, and, not having eaten anything indigestible for supper 
 item three we all slept sound as roaches. What a list 
 of blessings ! And then to-night we have the extraordinary 
 privilege of eating oil the best china ! How much I used to 
 think of that when I was a juvenile youngster ! We don't 
 often get so well treated when we come home, Percy. 'T was 
 a good thing that blue delf was smashed We shall eat off 
 of china all the time now ! "
 
 THEWAIF. 29 
 
 His father smiled sadly. " You may laugh now, Frank, 
 perhaps you 'd as good laugh 's cry ; but things looked master 
 serious to us two old folks, I tell you. Ask mother if they 
 did n't." 
 
 " It was indeed a bitter cup," said his wife, in a low tone, 
 " but I told thee the Lord could sweeten it ! " 
 
 " I think, if we had a little sugar or molasses to put in it, 
 it would taste better now," muttered Frank, with a sly glance, 
 as he stirred his cup of sassafras-tea with rueful grimaces at 
 its unpalatable contents. A smile went around the table, and 
 he added aloud, springing to his feet with sudden vivacity, 
 " I '11 bet ! maybe that molasses-jug an't broken. The 
 rascals emptied the feather-beds down the well before they 
 smashed the crockery ; did n't you say so, mother ? " 
 
 " Yes, after they had been through the chambers, pre 
 tending to think we had fire-arms hidden there, they came into 
 the kitchen and wanted something to eat. When I went to 
 get it for them, they began wilder than ever singing and 
 swearing, and ended by destroying everything they could lay 
 their hands on." 
 
 " Where is the great hook that used to hang in the porch ? 
 I 've faith to believe there 's sweetening for my cup down the 
 well ! " and, with a saucy glance at his mother, Frank went out. 
 
 Finding the hook in its old place, he fastened it to a long 
 pole, and in a few minutes they heard his voice announc 
 ing, in its usual noisy manner, that his search had been 
 successful. Then followed a sudden silence. Percy went to 
 the door, and beheld Frank standing with a crest-fallen air 
 3*
 
 30 A G N K 3 . 
 
 contemplating the inverted jug. The well was not deep, and, 
 being choked with feathers, had preserved it unbroken ; but, 
 alas ! its contents had been poured out before it was thrown 
 there. At his brother's laugh he turned, exclaiming, with a 
 countenance drawn into a ludicrous semblance of grief, 
 
 " Now, you would n't 'a thought Providence would 'a 
 treated a fellow so, after all my faith, and my works too ! I 
 would never believe it, for I an't used to being treated so; 
 only, alas ! ' seeing is believing.' There 's nothing more to 
 hope for in this world ; my luck has turned topsy-turvy, like 
 this jug ! " 
 
 He pushed it carelessly with his hook as he ended this 
 rhapsody, and it rolled against a stone and broke into two 
 pieces. But at this accident his face changed from gravity 
 to gayety, and he shouted, " Hurra ! there never was such a 
 fellow as I am for doing things at the right time ! Now, none 
 of the rest of you would ever have thought of breaking that 
 miserable jug for the sake of the sugar; and mother won't 
 scold me, neither, for she '11 think 't was cracked before ! " 
 
 " She '11 certainly have every reason to think so ! " said 
 Percy, and they returned to the kitchen, Frank bearing in 
 triumph the bottom of the jug, containing more than a pint 
 of the moist sugar the syrup had deposited. 
 
 Having thus " sweetened his cup," Frank seated himself to 
 finish his supper ; but it was doomed to another interruption, 
 for, after a few moments of silence, the door opened, and an 
 old Indian woman entered, followed by the young girl Percy 
 had met in the forest.
 
 T II E W A I F . 31 
 
 " Qua, sister, how d' ye do ? " said one and another, as the 
 squaw took a low seat in the corner of the fireplace, and 
 Lawontica stood beside her. 
 
 She responded to the greeting by a few words in her native 
 tongue which bore the same meaning, " Pocwenoc sewan 
 queisis." The young girl raised her brilliant eyes with a quick 
 glance for each one, and showed her pearly teeth with a half- 
 smile ; but she said nothing, and her manner was so reserved 
 that Percy was struck with its contrast to her frank, frolic 
 some air a few hours before. 
 
 " What for you come, sister ? " said Mr. Grey, at length, 
 as she seemed indisposed to speak. 
 
 She fumbled with a bundle she carried in her arms, but 
 remained silent, and Frank added, laughing, 
 
 " Perhaps the young sister can enlighten us, since the old 
 one is dumb. Lawontica, my princess of the woods, what 
 does the venerable Sanoso want to say ? " 
 
 Another rapid, flashing glance shot from beneath the jetty 
 eyelashes ; but Lawontica was too well bred to speak before 
 her elders had finished, and, having satisfied the requirements 
 of Indian etiquette by her protracted silence, Sanoso soon 
 replied, addressing Mr. Grey as if he had just spoken. 
 
 "Plenty times Indian woman come, s'pose she want 'um 
 anything; but now me rich white man poor." 
 
 " You tell the truth, Sanoso ; we are poor master. 
 Everything clean smashed up." 
 
 " Sartin Sagamow ve'y good to poor Indian woman ve'y 
 good," said Sanoso, with untaught delicacy of feeling, giving
 
 82 A Q N E S . 
 
 him the title used for a chief, in order to express her respect 
 for his misfortunes. " Plenty times s'pose me want 'um little 
 sugar, little tea, little glease,* smoke 'um little tamahway,t 
 maybe, always me get 'um, always white man say, take 'um, 
 sister. So now me say, take 'um, sister ! " and she threw off 
 the cloth wrapped round her bundle, and displayed a plump 
 hedgehog, and a brace of partridges, which Lawontica took 
 from her hand and laid upon the table. Frank seized and 
 held them up for general inspection. 
 
 " You are a reg'lar old copper-colored saint, Sanoso, if ever 
 there was one," said he ; " but I reckon it was Lawontica'a 
 bright eyes took aim at these birds." 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Grey accepted the gift as freely as it had 
 been offered, knowing that the slightest hesitation would 
 wound the old Avoman most keenly ; but Percy was inclined 
 to demur. 
 
 "You will have nothing left for yourself," objected he, 
 " and Lawontica told me that last night you had nothing to 
 eat or drink in the wigwam. Here are two stout boys ; never 
 fear but they can take care of the old folks, Sanoso." 
 
 " Plenty, plenty ! Indian woman hab plenty. No want 
 'um eat when white man hungry," answered Sanoso, hastily ; 
 and, with a quick sign to the girl, she glided through the door 
 way, and trotted off as fast as her old limbs would carry her, 
 fearful lest after all her offering should be rejected. Lawon 
 tica followed more slowly, and did not quicken her footsteps 
 upon hearing Frank's behind her. He had been sent to urge 
 * Grease. t Tobacco.
 
 T II E W A I F . 33 
 
 them to return and share the food they had provided ; but San- 
 oso was already out of sight, and the two paused for a little 
 chat as they reached the belt of thick woods which skirted 
 the clearing. They had been familiar companions from child 
 hood. The tribe to which these Indians belonged had, some 
 years since, become merged with other and more powerful 
 ones, inhabiting regions remote from the white settlements ; 
 but Sanoso, whose local attachments were exceedingly strong, 
 could never be induced to migrate from the spot where her 
 happiest days were passed the woods, the waters, the glades, 
 known to her early days. She was a widow, and, though her 
 husband had been a man of note among their people, after 
 his death she was thrown very much upon her own resources 
 for support. A little experience had convinced her it was 
 easier for one thus situated to live comfortably in the vicinity 
 of the kind-hearted farmers around her, than when depending 
 solely upon the chances of a successful hunt, or the scanty 
 gleanings of the forest. 
 
 Therefore, after having several times left her wigwam soli 
 tary for months together, she had returned more than ever 
 determined never to leave it again ; and though she was not 
 forgotten by her relatives, .as chance visits and presents of 
 game testified, she had little society except when the young 
 girl, her grandchild, came to visit her. 
 
 Lawontica was a princess in her forest-realm, and she was 
 not unmindful of the pride of birth, which demanded from 
 ter, amid the toils and cares common to the lot of an Indian 
 woman, a haughtier step, and an air of reserve befitting her
 
 34 AGNES. 
 
 rank as the daughter of a powerful chief. But she enforced 
 this deference when living with her own tribe, making little 
 boast of it during her frequent sojourns with Sanoso, as she 
 associated with her white neighbors. She was impulsive to the 
 last degree, and had little of the art usual to the Indian, of 
 hiding or dissembling her feelings. Indeed, she was so cour 
 ageous and so proud that she would have scorned dissimula 
 tion, and her free, wild life had hitherto afforded little oppor 
 tunity for self-discipline ; but she was affectionate and kind- 
 hearted, and, if there were darker passions in her soul, they 
 had not yet been roused. 
 
 Sanoso's wigwam was nearer to Mr. Grey's farm than to 
 any other, and she had been many times dependent upon his 
 bounty. In return, her skill in woodcraft had helped to train 
 his boys in the mysteries of snaring game, and of hooking 
 trout and other denizens of the neighboring waters ; for the 
 old woman was an angler worthy to have been a disciple of 
 Izaak Walton. No white man ever could regard an Indian 
 as his equal, but upon the customary terms of superiority and 
 inferiority these two families had associated for many years ; 
 and now Frank, whose absence from home had been pro 
 tracted, had much to hear of Lawontica's simple life during 
 -the interval, and much to tell which he thought would interest 
 her. 
 
 Therefore he was not a little vexed when, a few moments 
 after he joined her, the twilight suddenly darkened round 
 them, and a loud peal of thunder crashed over their heads, 
 followed by a vivid flash and some heavy rain-drops.
 
 T II E \V A I F . 35 
 
 " We shall have another shower," said Frank. " Come, 
 now, turn back and stay at our house all night." 
 
 " No, no ; Sanoso he old woman much tired ebery 
 night. S'pose he get wet, s'pose he all alone, much he say, 
 ' Where Lawontica ? ' " She glanced rapidly over the heavens, 
 and added, " Sartin ve'y much rain he come. Go quick 
 maybe you get home 'fore you get 'um wet." 
 
 " Pooh ! what do I care for the wet ? I '11 walk home with 
 you, if you won't come with me." 
 
 But she insisted that he should not do so, and, to end the 
 argument, abruptly left him, and disappeared in the mazes of 
 the trees. It was useless to follow her, had he been inclined, 
 and he ran towards the house as rapidly as possible. His 
 father stood at the door. 
 
 "Wouldn't they come back?" he asked. "Well, now, 
 some folks says Injins is ungrateful, and I won't say I have n't 
 talked agin 'em myself; but I '11 never say arter this but what 
 they 're every bit as good as white folks, if you only treat 
 'em well yes, and a master sight better 'n some on 'em. 
 But what a storm we 're going to have ! " he added, as another 
 peal rattled over their heads. " It'll be bad for them folks, 
 with them scared hosses master." 
 
 " What folks ? " asked Frank. 
 
 His father related the accident which befell the carriage 
 whose occupants had found shelter beneath his roof, and 
 described each person, particularly enlarging upon the beauty 
 of the young lady. Percy and his mother were generally the 
 quiet ones in the family group, but now they seemed unusually
 
 36 AGNES. 
 
 silent and anxious. The darkness grew more intense every 
 moment, the thunder pealed and crashed as if striving to rend 
 the vault of heaven, and the low-hanging clouds were irradi 
 ated awfully with the incessant glare of lightning. Then 
 came the rain, scantily at first, striking like hailstones upon 
 the windows as the wind rose, and soon rushing down in 
 sheets, in floods, as if disputing with the electrical forces for 
 the destruction of the world. But the contest was not long. 
 The thunder, growling and muttering, grew faint and fainter 
 in the distance, and the rain subsided into a gentle shower, 
 which pattered pleasantly on the roof of the lonely farm 
 house, and filled the air with a delicious fragrance of moist 
 ened earth and growing leaves and flowers. 
 
 Percy Grey opened the door, when the rain had nearly 
 ceased, and stood looking around him, as if listening for some 
 sound from the darkness without. His father joined him 
 there. 
 
 " I wish I knew them two women was safe in their wig 
 wam," he said, half aloud ; " this an't a night for women 
 folks to be out, any way, though I s'pose them two '11 get 
 along where anybody will, they 're so used to the woods." 
 
 " Sanoso can find a hiding-place almost anywhere in the 
 forest, and Lawontica is young and vigorous ; I don't think 
 they are in much danger, though such a wetting is rather 
 uncomfortable," replied Percy. 
 
 " Well, now, this has been a master storm ! I never saw 
 anything like it in this world, J tell you ! " said Mr. Grey. 
 He had a queer way of using this expression, as if he was
 
 T n E w A i F . 37 
 
 familiarly acquainted with half a dozen other worlds, and was 
 giving the result of his knowledge as a piece of private infor 
 mation, by no means to be again imparted. But Percy was 
 too anxious to continue the conversation. He walked restlessly 
 across the room, to and fro, pausing occasionally to look and 
 listen, until his brother said, wonderingly, 
 
 " What ails the Major? He is as uneasy as a toad under 
 a harrow. What occasion has he to fret? Suppose the 
 storm has been a rouser, it 's over now." 
 
 " He 's worried, I suppose, about them friends of his'n," 
 answered Mr. Grey. " So be I too master ! I wish 
 they'd stayed here, as mother asked 'em to. I never 
 know'd anybody to prosper that went agin mother's advice. 
 Mind that, boys ! Them folks have been sorry since, I tell 
 you." 
 
 " So they have, or I miss my guess," said Frank. "But, 
 then, they could take out the horses when they saw the first 
 flash, and the folks in the carriage would be safe enough. 
 The others could ride into the woods and be protected. A 
 little rain won't hurt any of 'em." 
 
 "But Evelyn Miss Chester I mean seemed very appre 
 hensive, and I know she is not easily frightened. The horses 
 must have behaved badly ; we know the roads are in a shock 
 ing state for a few miles, and they must have gone very slowly 
 with that broken axle." 
 
 So said Percy, thoughtfully; but Frank's cheery voice 
 broke in, "To be sure, anybody might as well be killed as 
 4
 
 38 AGNES. 
 
 frightened to death ; but after you get by the broken bridge, 
 three miles from here, it is easy enough to get along." 
 
 " That broken bridge," exclaimed Percy, "I had entirely 
 forgotten it ! " 
 
 He walked to the door again, and looked forth. The rain 
 had ceased, and the clouds breaking away here and there 
 showed glimpses of the rising moon, touching their ragged 
 edges with silver. From the forest came a low, rushing 
 sound of many waters, mingled with the fitful sobbing of the 
 breeze, as it sank away to rest in the bosom of night. 
 
 " It is no use," he said, at length ; " I cannot sleep till I 
 know they have safely passed that bridge and the rocky hill 
 beyond. You will laugh, Frank, but I am going to saddle 
 my horse and ride down there ! " 
 
 This was received by his brother with the expected shout 
 of derision, and by his father with a " Pooh, pooh ! you 're 
 foolish, boy." He looked only at his mother, and she replied, 
 
 " I think thee 's over anxious, Percy ; for, if any accident 
 had happened within three miles, they would have sent one of 
 the horsemen back before this time.." 
 
 " So they would ! " said Mr. Grey.. " Mother always 
 thinks of the right thing, Percy. I never saw her beat for it 
 in this world ! " 
 
 The supposition indeed seemed reasonable, and his brother 
 reminded him of the fact that he had already walked twelve 
 miles that day ; but they could not change his resolution. He 
 seemed impelled to satisfy himself by ocular demonstration. 
 Thinking of it afterwards in connection with the important
 
 T H B W A I F . 39 
 
 bearing which the result of this night-ride had upon his 
 destiny, he could not help believing himself actuated, not so 
 much by his own volition, as by one of those influences which 
 we call supernatural, because a higher power seems to seize 
 our will, and, in spite of our calmer judgment, move us 
 whither it pleases. 
 
 " If you are determined to go, I will go with you ! " said 
 Frank, as he saw Percy preparing for his ride ; and they 
 went out together to the low shed joining the house, which had 
 heretofore been used as a sort of outer kitchen, but now was 
 compelled to perform duty as a stable. Here they found 
 their horses, and, saddling them, were soon heard galloping 
 down the road. 
 
 The three miles were quickly traversed. The stream was 
 foaming high between its steep banks under the broken bridge, 
 but there was no token of any accident, and they rode up the 
 hill beyond, on one side of which a considerable precipice 
 made the way dangerous in the night. As they reached the 
 top, suddenly the moon shone out in full splendor, scattering 
 the clouds, and revealing the road straight before them for 
 some distance. 
 
 " There is no sign of any carriage ; they must have driven 
 rapidly before the storm came on. Perhaps they accomplished 
 the distance between our house and our next neighbor's, and 
 found shelter there. I hope now you are satisfied, Percy ! " 
 said his brother, as they paused to take breath before turning 
 homeward. 
 
 But Percy was looking earnestly down the hill, and he
 
 40 AGNES. 
 
 directed Frank's attention to some object imperfectly seen in 
 the shadow of the trees. 
 
 "Whatever -it maybe, it is not the carriage, so it is no 
 concern of ours." Then, looking more earnestly, Frank 
 added, " It is the top of a tree which has been struck with 
 lightning, probably, and fallen just on the edge of the road." 
 
 " Yes," said Percy, " but I see something lying on the 
 ground beside it. There, now the moonlight shows it more 
 clearly ; don't you see it ? " 
 
 " I see something, certainly ; let us go and find out what 
 it is." 
 
 They rode forward. It was a human form, lying motion 
 less on the ground. They spoke, but received no answer. 
 Dismounting, Percy lifted it in his arms and carried it to an 
 open place, where the clear light showed him a slight figure 
 dressed in a suit of gray summer clothing, which alone had 
 enabled them to see him. The cap had fallen off, and short 
 silky curls, of that beautiful tinge between flaxen and golden, 
 heavy with rain, were matted around a low, broad brow, 
 white as marble ; while the delicate features, the closed eyes, 
 with long, dark lashes drooping on the cheek, and the relaxed 
 limbs, made the boy look like an exquisite piece of sculpture. 
 
 " It is a mere child. How came he here alone ? " said 
 Percy. 
 
 " How beautiful he is ! Do you suppose he can be dead ? " 
 
 " He seems so," answered Percy ; " he is quite cold, and I 
 don't feel any pulse. Probably, when the tree fell it struck 
 him, or the lightning killed him. How pitiful it is ! "
 
 T II E W A I F . 41 
 
 " He may not be really dead ! " persisted Frank; " they do 
 sometimes revive. Open his vest, and put your hand on his 
 heart. If there is any warmth there, we will pour some 
 brandy between his lips; I have a flask in my saddle-bag." 
 
 Percy followed this suggestion, kneeling on one knee and 
 supporting the death-like head upon his arm. In the brilliant 
 sheen that now fell over them, Frank saw his brother's face 
 flush crimson, while he withdrew his hand suddenly, and said, 
 in a low voice, 
 
 " The heart beats feebly ; but, Frank, here i& strange folly, 
 or distress, or guilt. This is a woman ! " 
 
 " There cannot be guilt in that face," answered Frank, 
 almost indignantly. " At any rate, we must save her life, if 
 we can." 
 
 They poured the brandy between the parted lips, and 
 chafed the pallid hands, taking off their coats to wrap about 
 the chilled form that lay so lifeless in their arms. Their 
 cares were not in vain, though, had they been a little later, no 
 human aid could have availed. After a few minutes, Frank 
 detected a feeble pulse in the hand he held, and she opened 
 her eyes with a struggling, gasping breath, and a faint moan 
 of pain. But it was nearly an hour before she was suffi 
 ciently revived to be removed with safety. Even then she 
 seemed unconscious, and Percy held her like an infant in his 
 arras as they walked their horses slowly homeward. Her 
 light weight was nothing to the strong man against whose 
 breast her head with its golden curls fell helplessly ; and, as 
 they noticed her delicate beauty, the brothers perplexed them- 
 4*
 
 42 AGNES 
 
 selves with conjectures as to who she could be, and what 
 chance could have left her thus alone in the forest. Upon 
 reaching home, they found themselves expected rather anx 
 iously, after their prolonged absence. 
 
 " What kept you so, boys?" said Mr. Grey; " and what on 
 airth, Percy why, what have you got there?" 
 
 " A poor unfortunate, that we found half dead in the road 
 just over the bridge," he replied. " Here, take her carefully ; 
 she is hardly alive now." 
 
 " And wet through, too, I s'pose, arter that shower poor 
 cretur ! Now, this is bad, an't it master ! " said the old man, 
 holding up his arms. But Frank had already dismounted, and, 
 rather unceremoniously pushing his father aside, took her 
 from Percy, and, carrying her into the house, laid her down 
 before the kitchen hearth, where a few embers were yet 
 burning. 
 
 " Here, mother, bring some blankets ! Percy, kindle up the 
 fire ! She must be chilled through ; and, I believe my soul, 
 she 's dead now ! " he exclaimed, in alarm. 
 
 But she had only fainted with exhaustion ; and the warmth 
 of the fire, which was speedily kindled, together with the stim 
 ulants they gave her, as soon as she could swallow, at length 
 restored both life and intelligence. She gazed about wildly, 
 making a vain effort to rise ; but, when the others withdrew, 
 and she saw only Mrs. Grey's pleasant face looking at her 
 with sympathy and pity, she became calmer. She yielded to 
 the firm, soft hand, which pressed her down again upon the
 
 TH E w A I $ . 4# 
 
 blankets, and lay quietly, her eyes half closed, without once 
 asking where she was, or who was beside her. 
 
 Mrs. Grey could hardly refrain from tears as she gazed on 
 that emaciated figure, and that childish face, so wan, so 
 wasted, and with such a helpless, hopeless expression cc the 
 drooping eyelids, and the white lips, that quivered now and 
 then, as if a spasm of pain swept over her. Going to the 
 opposite side of the room, where the others sat silently in 
 darkness, for they had but one candle in the house, and 
 were saving that for some emergency, she said, in a low 
 tone, 
 
 " The poor young thing must have had great sorrow ; we 
 cannot ask her about it to-night ; and, father, thee had better 
 go to bed, and you too, boys." 
 
 " Go to bedstead, you mean," interrupted Frank, " for we 
 have no beds ! " 
 
 " That is nothing," said Percy, " as far as we are concerned ; 
 but I wish we had one for her. You mean to watch with her 
 to-night, I suppose, mother ? " 
 
 " Yes, she will need care. Thee can bring me in some 
 wood to keep the fire, and she has a pretty good bed there on 
 the blankets. When thee is gone I will change her wet 
 clothes for dry ones, and make her more comfortable. Then, 
 I think, she will sleep." 
 
 Percy obeyed this request, and the three men retired 
 to rest. Mrs. Grey went to her own room, and brought 
 thence some towels and a suit of female apparel, with a large, 
 loose flannel double-gown, which did service for all the family
 
 44 AGNES. 
 
 in case of sickness. Approaching the stranger, whose large 
 blue eyes dilated with a look of terror, as she saw these 
 preparations, she said, soothingly, 
 
 " Come now, dear, let me help thee undress. If I rub 
 thee well, this wetting won't make thee sick." 
 
 But she drew the blanket around her with trembling fin 
 gers, and, shrinking away, said, hurriedly, 
 
 " No, no ! I am not wet ; these clothes do well enough." 
 
 " Child," said Mrs. Grey, " thee don't mean to say what is 
 untrue. Thee don't mean thee is n't wet ! " 
 
 " Well, go away, and I will change them myself; I am 
 strong enough. If you will bring me some of your son's 
 clothes, I don't want these things ! " she uttered, inco 
 herently, retreating from her benefactor, and shivering with 
 agitation. 
 
 " Child," said Mrs. Grey again, in a tone of gentle rebuke, 
 " thee must do as I say. Poor thing, thee need n't fear me, 
 I am thy friend ; " and then, with a faint blush at her own 
 wounded sense of propriety, she added, " Thy sex is known to 
 me. These clothes are better suited to thee than those thee 
 has on now." 
 
 As she heard this, the poor child sank down at her feet as 
 if she had no strength to struggle longer, aad, clasping her 
 hands, murmured, feebly, 
 
 " Be kind to me, O, be kind to me ! I have no friends ! " 
 
 The slight air of constraint which Mrs. Grey had worn, 
 notwithstanding her pity, melted at this appeal. She sat 
 down on the blankets, drawing the prostrate form to her
 
 THEWAIF. 45 
 
 bosom, and her caress seemed to unlock all the pent-up storm 
 of grief in that young heart. Nestling closer in those kind 
 arms, she wept and sobbed unrestrainedly, until her passion 
 expended itself, and the blue eyes, half drowned in tears, 
 once more looked up timidly to the face above her. 
 
 " I am very, very unhappy ! " she said ; " and I have been 
 so long alone ! I did not mean to trouble you ." 
 
 "Thee didn't trouble me, dear; but I grieve to see thee 
 suffer. "What ails thee, and why is thee dressed in this 
 improper garb ? What is thy name ? " 
 
 " My name ! alas, I have none ! " she answered, wildly. 
 " No name, no home, no friends, in all the wide, wide world ! 
 0, why did they not let me die? " 
 
 " Hush, dear ! thee speaks unadvisedly. Thee shall have 
 a home here, and friends are soon made, if thee knows how to 
 be friendly. I am sure thee can't have been driven by guilt 
 to this strange disguise," she added, with a little of that 
 searching look which had at first abashed her visitor. 
 
 " 0, no ! " she replied, while a hectic fire sprang suddenly to 
 the pale cheeks, " 0, no ! think me unfortunate, deceived, 
 but indeed I was not wicked ! " 
 
 " And thy name what shall I call thee ? " asked Mrs. 
 Grey. 
 
 " Call me Agnes," she answered, turning away her head. 
 
 From her manner, Mrs. Grey thought this must be an 
 assumed name ; but she felt the necessity of ministering to the 
 wants of her strange guest, and, seeing that she had become 
 calm, and seemed drooping again from the excitement she
 
 46 AGNES. 
 
 had undergone, hastened to remove the wet clothing, rubbed 
 her limbs with coarse towels till they glowed with a natural 
 heat, and robed her in her own garments. She then rear 
 ranged the couch, and, covering her over with blankets, 
 busied herself in preparing some gruel. Agnes lay watching 
 her, without speaking ; indeed, she was too weak to talk, or 
 even think. As she yielded more and more to the pleasant 
 feelings of warmth and security, the past, with all its pain and 
 terror, faded from her mind ; and when she had been roused 
 to take the needed refreshment, she sank into a profound and 
 dreamless sleep. 
 
 Mrs. Grey drew to the fire a homely but comfortable arm 
 chair, and seated herself, alternately watching the slumberer, 
 whose face looked so youthful and innocent in its perfect 
 repose that it was hard to realize she could ever have been 
 overwhelmed by the sorrows of life, and recalling the 
 crowded events of the last two days, and the new knowl 
 edge she had obtained of Percy's heart history. Thus she 
 thought, until wearied nature asserted its claim, and she too 
 fell asleep. 
 
 Thus Mr. Grey found them when, in the early twilight, he 
 came into the kitchen. Awaking her, he assisted her to 
 carry Agnes into their own bedroom. Still wrapt in the 
 death-like slumber of utter exhaustion, she was unconscious 
 of her removal, and the sun was high in the heavens before 
 that trance was broken. Then she was burning with fever 
 and racked with pain, and her kind hostess listened in per-
 
 THEWAIF. 47 
 
 plexity and fear to the incoherent words which fell from her 
 lips. 
 
 But Mrs. Grey's brave heart did not falter, though this addi 
 tional care came at a period when she could ill afford the time 
 and strength which it demanded. No physician could be ob 
 tained, and her neighbors, having suffered equally with herself 
 from the ravages of the soldiery, were too much engaged with 
 their own affairs to afford her much assistance. Still, she had 
 considerable skill in medicine, and was unequalled as a nurse ; 
 and, being inured to watching and toil, she was able to attend 
 to the wants of the sufferer without neglecting the household 
 cares which devolved upon her. 
 
 " The boys," as they were called at home, made themselves 
 busy in restoring, as far as possible, the comforts of which 
 their parents had been deprived. The well was first cleared 
 out, and the feathers, carefully gathered, washed, and dried, 
 served to fill some of the beds and pillows from which they 
 had been taken. Then the broken chairs were supplied with 
 arms and legs, not always of the most elegant construction, but 
 rendering them fit for service. Then a rude shed was built, to 
 take the place of the barn which had been burned ; and part 
 of the meadow hay was hauled, because it was uncertain 
 when they might be at home again, and the old farmer's 
 horses had been taken away. These active young heroes 
 could work as heartily as they could fight, and their willing 
 hands and intelligent labor changed the aspect of things with 
 marvellous celerity. The little money they had was reserved 
 to purchase those necessaries of life their lands would have
 
 48 AGNES. 
 
 yielded, had they not been wantonly trampled over. There 
 was a field of potatoes to be dug when the season arrived, 
 and some squash and pumpkin vines that were ascertained 
 to have escaped the horses' hoofs, so the family would not 
 want for vegetables during the coming winter ; and the last 
 few days of their limited sojourn were spent in a short journey 
 to the borders of a lake a few miles distant, where they 
 entfamped, and commenced a vigorous attack upon the pick 
 erel with which it abounded, an attack so successful that 
 when they returned they brought a barrel of fish packed and 
 salted for future use. 
 
 It was now the first of September, and the next day they 
 must set out to rejoin the army. A heavy frost, unusual at 
 that season, had made the air so chilly that a fire was com 
 fortable, and the family sat around the kitchen hearth, whence 
 a cheerful glow spread over all the room. This was square and 
 low, with heavy beams across the ceiling, garnished with an 
 abundance of nails, from which in winter were hung festoons 
 of dried apples, peaches, and pumpkins. Opposite the huge 
 fireplace a tall " dresser," with its drawers and shelves, dis 
 played now, in scanty gentility, only the "best china," 
 instead of the goodly array of delf ware, or pewter and tin, 
 bright as silver, which had been the pride of the housewife. 
 Between the windows a "settle," painted light blue, was 
 leaning its ungainly proportions against the wall ; and two or 
 three straight-backed chairs, somewhat crippled in their nether 
 limbs, seemed regarding it in dignified silence from the oppo 
 site side of the room, where a door opened into the shed. In
 
 THEWAIF. 49 
 
 the centre of the floor stood a table bearing the marks of an 
 axe, and upon it a brass candlestick, sorely battered, wherein 
 burned a bit of tallow candle. The walls were stained a dull 
 red, the beams and wood-work had become dark with age ; 
 but all was scrupulously clean, and the sanded floor and short 
 white curtains at the windows helped to give the apartment 
 an air of prim neatness. 
 
 In a rude arm-chair, of home manufacture, Mr. Grey sat 
 on one side of the fireplace, conversing in a low tone with his 
 sons. Presently his wife came softly from the other room 
 and joined them. 
 
 " How is Agnes ? " asked Frank, looking up from the 
 pistol he was cleaning. 
 
 " She still sleeps," was the reply. " I think yesterday was 
 the crisis of the fever. She has been rational all day, though 
 so very weak ; and when she wakes from this sound slumber 
 she will be better. The danger is past now." 
 
 " I hoped to see her once more before we go," said Percy, 
 " but now that can't be. You will keep her here, I suppose. 
 She would be good company for you this winter, and perhaps 
 some help." 
 
 " If she is really homeless, and she declared herself to 
 be, we must keep her." 
 
 " She '11 be glad to stay, I guess," said Frank ; " and 
 you '11 be glad to have her, if she 's half as good as she is 
 pretty. It would be worth something to have her to look 
 at." 
 
 "Thee owns the attraction of her face, then," said his 
 5
 
 OU AGNES. 
 
 mother, smiling. " In truth. I felt strangely moved towards 
 her from the first, as if a white dove had flown to me for 
 shelter from a hawk ; and now after my care of her, I should 
 be grieved in spirit to let her go forth. Her face is like an 
 innocent baby's, and in all her raving she has uttered noth 
 ing unseemly for a pure and virtuous maiden." 
 
 "Has she betrayed anything of her past history? " asked 
 Percy. 
 
 " Nothing definite. She has talked of her mother, and 
 then moaned as if her mother were dead. It would pain thee 
 to hear her. She spoke often of flowers, and trees, and run 
 ning brooks, as if, poor young thing, she had a gift to notice 
 in a proper manner what the Lord has made ; but through 
 all there ran a sort of distress which she could not tell; and 
 when I besought her to speak it, she would cry or moan, and 
 say there was only one who knew her secret, and when she 
 saw him she could prove everything." 
 
 " Well, now, that 's strange master ! Anybody 'd a 
 thought she 'd told right out all about it when she was crazy," 
 said Mr. Grey, whose curiosity was greatly excited. 
 
 "How great the pressure on her mind must have been," 
 said Frank, " that she should keep the secret so closely 
 through all her sickness ! " 
 
 " Never saw anything like it in this world ! " ejaculated 
 his father. " It 's strange master strange onaccount- 
 able ! " 
 
 For a few moments no one spoke. The boys were busy 
 with their fire-arms, and the parents looked on oppressed by
 
 THE WAIF. 51 
 
 the thought of all that might happen before they saw their 
 children again. 
 
 " I think you will be able to live pretty comfortably, even 
 if we have no chance to come home again till next spring ; 
 and if the army should move south, you may not see us until 
 then, for it don't do to ask leave of absence too often. I was 
 fortunate in getting that salt, it was the last they had at 
 the store ; and now you have enough to keep some birds," 
 said Percy, " I advise you to lay in a good supply, if they are 
 plenty, next month, both partridges and pigeons " 
 
 " Partridges and pigeons, and pickled pickerel, with pota 
 toes, might be palatable, particularly if provisions an't 
 plenty," interposed Frank, with a comical look. 
 
 "And dried peas," suggested his mother, answering his 
 smile. 
 
 " You '11 live like princes," he added, laughing. 
 
 " Seems as if we 'd kind o' hanker arter something fresh, 
 though," said old Mr. Grey, with a sigh. " At this rate, we 
 shall be as salt as Lot's wife afore spring. Howsomever, 
 it 's the best we can do. 'T was a master hard thing, losing 
 all that flock o' sheep, last year ; and, now we 've been robbed 
 o' the beef critters, the Lord only knows where we 're ever 
 going to get any fresh meat again." 
 
 " If it was n't for thy rheumatiz every winter, thee might 
 get a deer now and then," said his wife; "but we won't 
 complain. We shall be very comfortable, as thee says, 
 Percy, for our house is warm, and we have plenty of cloth-
 
 52 AGNES. 
 
 ing. I wish you two poor boys were going to be as well 
 off." 
 
 " Things look dark enough, and I dread to think of the 
 winter," said Percy, gloomily. " Congress either can't or 
 won't pay any of us, officers or soldiers ; and a great many 
 are discontented, and talk of resigning. I don't know as any 
 one can blame them, for it is hard for them to see their fami 
 lies destitute, and a cold winter coming on. Then, too, if 
 something an't done speedily, there will be great suffering 
 among the soldiers this winter. I am very sure many of 
 them haven't a change of clothing, or an extra blanket for 
 winter nights." 
 
 " Where 's the Gineral ? Why don't he see to 'em ? " asked 
 Mr. Grey. 
 
 " He does all he can ; but there is apparently a cabal 
 formed against him, and his suggestions are not attended to. 
 It 's hard for such a man to see his opinions neglected, and 
 his advice overruled, and the country going to destruction in 
 consequence. I wonder at his patience. Why, father, at this 
 moment there an't guns enough to supply all the army, and 
 Congress won't provide them. It 's a fact that the soldiers 
 have marched to battle with sticks on their shoulders, carved 
 out to look like guns, and watched their chance of getting a 
 real weapon from some one who had been shot." 
 
 " You don't tell me ! I want to know ! " Exclaimed the 
 old man, with kindling eyes. " Do, for gracious sake, take 
 both our guns with you when you go. They '11 help along a 
 little."
 
 THEWAIF. 53 
 
 " 0, no," said Percy, " I can't consent to leave you de 
 fenceless. What would you do, in case you were attacked ? " 
 
 " Boys," said Mr. Grey, with simple pathos, " I could n't 
 fight for my country anything to speak of, but I can die for 
 her ! " 
 
 The sons looked at him and then at each other, with dim 
 eyes and a swelling of the heart that prevented words ; but, 
 by a simultaneous impulse, each grasped the other's hand with 
 a mental resolve which was never broken. America owes 
 her freedom to scenes like this. 
 
 In the stillness succeeding these last words, Mrs. Grey's 
 quick ear detected a faint sound proceeding from her bed 
 room, which opened out of the " keeping-room," as they 
 called the kitchen, where the family usually remained. Tak 
 ing the candle, she went in, and found her patient awake. 
 
 "How does thee feel now, dear?" she said, raising the 
 feeble head that she might arrange the pillows more com 
 fortably. 
 
 " I don't know," replied Agnes, in a voice far stronger and 
 more natural than she had previously used. " How came I 
 here ? Have I been long ill ? " 
 
 " My sons found thee in the woods, nearly three weeks ago, 
 and brought thee here, and thee has been very sick ever 
 since. Poor child, thee has suffered much," answered Mrs. 
 Grey, pityingly. 
 
 " Have I ? How much trouble I must have been to you ! " 
 said the sick girl, looking wistfully around, as if striving to 
 recall the past. 
 
 5*
 
 54 AGNES. 
 
 "Don't think of that, dear; thce 's much better now, and 
 soon thee '11 be well." 
 
 She made no reply, but her face grew troubled as recollec 
 tion awakened, and, with a wild terror in her eyes, she 
 exclaimed, at last, 
 
 " Have I been ill so long ? three weeks ! How shall I 
 ever, ever find him now ? And the paper ! have I lost 
 it ? Where are my clothes ? 0, kind lady, where are 
 they?" 
 
 She grasped Mrs. Grey's dress with a pleading gesture 
 that was irresistible, and the matron answered, soothingly, 
 
 "They are here all here. Thee shall have them, when 
 thee 's well enough." 
 
 This assurance calmed her, but in a moment she said, 
 plaintively, 
 
 " Jf I might only see them, so as to be sure ! Could I see 
 them ? " 
 
 "Yes, dear, if thee '11 keep quiet. They are in the press." 
 And Mrs. Grey brought them to the bedside, adding, play 
 fully, 
 
 " Thee was dressed in a strange fashion." 
 
 But Agnes did not seem to hear her. With trembling 
 fingers she drew the clothes nearer, and began to search in 
 the pockets, and around the breast, for something she could 
 not find. Then, suddenly remembering, she cried out, 
 
 " It is not here. I put it in my cap. Where is the cap? " 
 
 " Thee had n't a cap on, dear, when thee was found. 
 Thee must have lost it in the woods."
 
 T II E W A I F . 55 
 
 With a faint moan she sank back on the pillows, her eyes 
 closed, and a ghastly paleness came over her face, as if she 
 were dying. 
 
 " Lost ! lost ! " she murmured, feebly. " Then all is lost ! "
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 GEN. LEE AND GEN. WASHINGTON. 
 
 EARLY the next morning the brothers left home. The 
 parting was sober and quiet, but not sad. They went forth 
 to danger, perhaps to death ; they left behind those whose 
 existence was bound up in theirs ; yet there was no word or 
 thought of regret on either side for the hazard of lives which 
 had been vowed to the saored cause of freedom. Striving 
 for a result so vast, they accepted the chances with a steadfast 
 courage ; and, if deep in the mother's heart a thrill and a 
 pang gave token of what her suffering might be should those 
 brave boys return no more, her face wore its usual expression 
 of benignant calmness, and her voice scarcely trembled as she 
 said farewell. Only, when they had left the door, as Percy 
 looked back with a last wistful glance, he saw her press her 
 hands over her eyes, and then raise them clasped towards 
 heaven, and he knew she prayed for him as she wept. Such 
 were the mothers of heroic sons. 
 
 Mr. Grey's farm lay among that range of hills in Essex 
 county which border the level lands stretching away to the 
 Jersey shore. Clothed in their native forests, except where
 
 GEN. LEE AND GEN. WASHINGTON. 57 
 
 occasionally human enterprise had reclaimed the fertile soil, 
 they rose one beyond another in undulating waves, heaving 
 their leafy breasts to the sky, that appeared to lean down 
 lovingly and clasp them with the glowing zone of the horizon. 
 
 Along the hillside and valley the brothers rode slowly in 
 that early morning, over the broken bridge, and past the spot 
 where they had found Agnes ; and here Frank recovered his 
 loquacity. Recalling, in his odd, rattling way, the events of 
 that night, he dismounted and examined the shattered tree 
 still lying there. The top had been twisted off by lightning, 
 the larger branches scattered in every direction, and some of 
 these falling upon smaller trees had broken them down. As 
 he looked on, Frank wondered how Agnes escaped death 
 amid such a scene of ruin. 
 
 He was about to follow Percy, who had ridden forward as 
 he loitered, when his quick eye detected the lithe form of the 
 Indian girl stealing away among the trees. He called to her, 
 and, after a few moments of reluctance, she came to his side. 
 
 " You here, Lawontica ! " he said. " How came you here 
 so early in the morning ? " 
 
 She made some indistinct reply. She did not tell him, 
 poor thing, that her unsleeping eyes had watched his house 
 ever since the moon had set, and her swift steps had kept 
 pace with his horse's hoofs behind the bushes by the roadside, 
 that she might thus keep him a little longer in view. He 
 imagined the meeting was accidental, and wondered at her 
 hesitation and embarrassment. 
 
 " What is the matter ? " he asked, kindly. " You look as if
 
 58 
 
 AGNES. 
 
 you had been crying. Tell me you and I were always 
 good friends tell me what troubles you ! " 
 
 She looked in his face earnestly, and shook her head. 
 Something in her expression made him add, " Are you sorry 
 I am going away again ? " 
 
 " Many times white brave he go fight ; one time, two 
 time, three time, he come back. Last time, s'pose he go, he 
 no come back any more ! " 
 
 Her voice was low and plaintive, and again her eyes 
 filled with tears, which she struggled to suppress. Frank 
 replied, gayly, 
 
 " But this is not the last time I 'm going, you know ; no, not 
 by a long chalk. There 's considerable good fight left in me 
 yet, before I 'm made a target of. You '11 see me back safe 
 and sound before long, you little beauty ; so don't spoil your 
 pretty eyes crying for me." 
 
 The dark face was bent down, and as he sat on horseback he 
 could not see the blush of pleasure that stole over it, or the 
 brilliant light gleaming in the eyes he had complimented ; but 
 she took his hand, and pressed it lightly and timidly between 
 her own. The unusual action touched his generous heart. 
 
 " You 're a good girl, Lawontica ; you won't forget a fellow 
 when he's out of sight!" he said, with a tone of deeper 
 feeling than he was accustomed to use in addressing her. 
 
 " No, no ! " she answered, eagerly. " You mother, he say 
 white man's God he no like 'um fight, he no like 'um scalp ; 
 like 'um all good, and love everybody; so every day, every
 
 GEN. LEE AND GEN. WASHINGTON. 59 
 
 night, me pray Saysoos * way up there, s'pose you go fight 
 some time, he no let bad man kill you." 
 
 She raised her head, pointing upward as she spoke, and 
 was so beautiful in her unconscious grace, that Frank, moved 
 by a sudden impulse, bent down and kissed her forehead. It 
 was the first time a man's lips had ever touched her face. 
 She started violently, with a bound like a young fawn, and 
 stood a few paces distant, her heart beating with such wild, 
 uncontrollable emotion, that for an instant her whole figure 
 trembled and swayed as if she would have fallen. But, 
 before Frank could speak, she controlled herself, and sought 
 to hide the delight which thrilled every nerve beneath an 
 affectation of anger. 
 
 " Whoosh ! away with you ! " she exclaimed, pouting ; 
 "you come too near. Indian brave no do so no dare do 
 so ! " she added, with a glance so full of arch gayety that 
 Frank laughed aloud. 
 
 " If you don't like it, come and give it back to me. You 
 won't? Well, then, keep it till I return, and I will take 
 it of you with interest. Pooh, Lawontica ! you are not really 
 offended ? What is the harm of a kiss ? " he added, as she 
 frowned again and stamped her foot, with an annoyance no 
 longer feigned, for his light tone had wounded her. 
 
 But she did not heed his proffered hand, and slowly, with 
 a backward motion, withdrew to the shadow of the trees near 
 the road, where she stood regarding him with a wistful, sor 
 rowing glance. He was vexed with himself for having teased 
 
 * Jesus.
 
 60 AGNES. 
 
 her, though unintentionally ; and, too kind-hearted to be able 
 to leave her thus, he threw himself from his horse, and, 
 approaching her retreat, took her hand, saying, earnestly, 
 
 " Don't be cross with me, for you know I like you ever so 
 much, Lawontica ! and I can't go away and leave you angry. 
 Let me hear you laugh before I go, for your laugh is musical 
 and cheery as the sound of sleigh-bells. That 's right ! 
 Good-by, how, and remember you're to think of me often 
 while I am gone." 
 
 He shook hands heartily with her, sprang into the saddle, 
 and galloped away. She had laughed nervously as he spoke, 
 but now tears poured over her cheeks like rain, and she 
 stretched out her arms with a passionate gesture towards his 
 receding form. 
 
 " Migwe ! day lumool I yapchoo yapchoo ! * " she said, 
 in the liquid syllables of her native tongue, and sank down 
 upon the mossy bank at her feet to indulge a revery of mingled 
 pain and pleasure. Frank could not hear the fervent vow ; 
 he had no suspicion of the absorbing emotion he had excited ; 
 but, as he looked back and saw her drooping figure still in 
 the place where he had left her, a warmer feeling arose in his 
 heart than he had ever known previously for this companion 
 of his childhood. 
 
 He overtook Percy in a little while, and they proceeded 
 rapidly on their journey ; but, being compelled to make long 
 detours to avoid parties of British soldiers, who at that time 
 overran Jersey, they were two days in reaching the army, 
 
 * I will remember you ! forever forever !
 
 GEN. LEE AND (JEN. WASHINGTON. 61 
 
 then stationed at White Plains. Here Frank joined his 
 division, while his brother went to Kingsbridge, where Gen. 
 Lee had been placed to guard the rear. 
 
 This position was fully exposed to the enemy, and the 
 commander, beside the ceaseless vigilance required to main 
 tain it, exerted his restless and fiery nature in harassing the 
 outposts of the British army. For several days Major Grey 
 found little time for thought or sentiment, amid the fatiguing 
 duties that occupied him. 
 
 The movements of the American army, slowly retreating 
 from Haerlem Heights after the evacuation of New York, 
 were much embarrassed by the deficiency of wagons and 
 horses for transporting the baggage and artillery, which were 
 continually liable to attack from columns of the enemy, who 
 were often in sight. To protect these required constant 
 skirmishing ; but the troops fought courageously, the enter 
 prise had been skilfully planned, and Gen. Lee at length 
 brought his division in safety to join the main army at White 
 Plains. 
 
 Here a general action was for some days expected, as Sir 
 William Howe had a large number of troops posted within a 
 few miles ; but, with Bunker Hill fresh in his recollection, 
 he concluded not to risk a battle where the Americans had a 
 fair prospect of success, and quietly withdrew southward. 
 
 Gen. Washington now anticipated and determined to frus 
 trate the design of the British commander, which was to 
 march through Jersey to Philadelphia, and obtain possession 
 of that city. Sending Gen. Heath, with a large detachment, 
 6
 
 62 AGNES. 
 
 to defend the passes of the Highlands, he crossed the Hudson 
 with the majority of the troops, leaving Gen. Lee with about 
 seven thousand men to defend the ground then occupied. 
 
 Several weeks had thus been employed, and to Percy Grey 
 the constant excitement, nay, even the danger and discourage 
 ment of their circumstances, had been a relief from the sad 
 memory of his private griefs, and from the rankling thought 
 of Mr. Chester's last words. His gallant conduct, his reck 
 less brav.ery, had won him distinguished approbation, which 
 could not fail to awaken pride ; and, since hope can never 
 wholly die out of young hearts, there had been moments when, 
 through the weary march, or by the lonely night-fire, his 
 dreamy and enthusiastic temperament had abstracted him 
 from the gloomy scenes around, to a bright realm in the 
 future, of which Evelyn, with her wonderful beauty, her 
 gentle dignity, and her entire sympathy with him, was at once 
 the enchantress and the queen. 
 
 It was a harder task to be forced to comparative idleness 
 for some weeks longer ; to see the army melting away by 
 the departure of those whose term of enlistment had expired, 
 and who could not be induced to a new engagement ; to mark 
 how the first zeal of patriotism was yielding to the pressure 
 of poverty, hardship, and defeat, and to hear that even the 
 personal efforts of the beloved and honored commander-iu- 
 chief had no power over the discouraged troops, who were 
 deserting him by hundreds in the very face of the enemy. 
 
 Knowing that Gen. Lee had received orders to hasten to 
 Washington's relief, it was a matter of surprise and annoy-
 
 GEN. LEE AND GEN. WASHINGTON. 63 
 
 ance to his officers that they were thus delayed uselessly, 
 when a day or an hour might be of infinite importance. It 
 was therefore with impatient curiosity that Major Grey one 
 morning received a request to wait upon his general, and 
 proceeded at once to his abode. 
 
 He found Gen. Lee alone, amid his rude camp surround 
 ings, seated by a pine table, on which were some papers, a 
 map, a few stumps of well-worn quills, and a broken cup con 
 taining ink. He looked up when his young aid-de-camp 
 entered, and motioned him to sit down while he continued 
 writing. As Percy warmed his hands over a pan of coals, 
 the only means of heat the apartment afforded, this chilly day, 
 he had time to reflect on the strange position and circum 
 stances of this brilliant soldier, whose meteoric career had 
 already run through almost every vicissitude of life and 
 fortune. 
 
 He was rather above medium height, and well proportioned, 
 with a forehead betokening fine intellectual endowments, and 
 eyes full of fire; but his nose was hooked like a parrot's beak, 
 and his full lips had a cynical curve, while his coarse com 
 plexion, and the heavy formation of his chin and throat, gave 
 him a sensual and unpleasant expression. He wore the dress 
 usual to his rank, decorated with one or two military badges 
 gained in Poland and Russia; but such were his slovenly 
 habits, that every article of his apparel was more or less 
 soiled and defaced. A large stag-hound sat near, resting his 
 nose on the knee which had been surrendered to him, looking 
 wistfully into his master's face, and bearing patiently the
 
 64 AGNES. 
 
 hard pinches which his ears occasionally received. Other 
 dogs, of lower degree, lay under the table and about the floor ; 
 for Gen. Lee had a passion for these animals, and he now 
 alternately caressed his favorite and ran his hand through 
 his own thickly-clustering locks, with such nervous violence that 
 they stood out from his head in all directions. His whole 
 aspect manifested such ill-humor and impatience, that Percy 
 was not surprised when, having finished writing, he turned 
 abruptly, and, with an oath, exclaimed, 
 
 " See there, Grey ! Read this letter from Gen. Washing 
 ton ! Is that the way to write to a man like me ? Am I to be 
 ordered about like a whipt school-boy ? and, after all I- have 
 sacrificed to aid this war, are my opinions respecting it to be 
 thus set aside as of no value ? I ordered Heath to transport 
 two thousand men across the river, and apprise the general of 
 his approach ; but that great man, as I might have expected, 
 intrenched himself behind the letter of his instructions, and 
 refused to part with a single file, though I undertook to replace 
 them with a part of my own. I sent him word I was com 
 mander on this side the water, and I must and would be 
 obeyed ; and he treated the message with silent contempt. 
 And now Gen. Washington approves his disobedience, and 
 orders me to proceed with the army. It is too vexatious ! 
 By heaven, I will take my own time for the march ! Under 
 these circumstances the order is an insult. Read it, my dear 
 fellow, and see if you don't think so." 
 
 The letter was as follows :
 
 GEN. LEE AND GEN. WASHINGTON. 65 
 
 " DEAR SIR : I was just favored with your letter of tho 
 30th ult. Having written to you fully, both yesterday and 
 to-day, concerning my situation, it is unnecessary for me to 
 add much at this time. You will readily agree that I have 
 sufficient cause for anxiety, and for wishing your arrival as 
 soon as possible. The sooner you can join me with your 
 division, the sooner the service will be benefited. As to 
 bringing any of the troops under General Heath, I cannot 
 consent to it. The posts they are at and the passes through 
 the Highlands being of the utmost importance, they must bo 
 guarded by good men. I would have you give me frequent 
 advices of your approach. Upon proper information in this 
 instance much may depend. 
 
 " I am, &c. &c., 
 
 " GEORGE WASHINGTON." 
 
 Having read it, Percy remained a moment uncertain what 
 to say. Its temperate tone, so free from the impatience the 
 writer might justly have expressed at a delay so hazardous, 
 impressed him deeply; and he was surprised that its effect 
 had been so different upon the irritable man beside him. At 
 length, seeing the general waited for some expression of 
 opinion, he said, respectfully, 
 
 " You will find us all ready to move whenever you give 
 the word. General Washington must feel the most intense 
 anxiety, and no doubt he is in great difficulty at present." 
 
 " No more so than I am," replied Gen. Lee, sharply 
 " Indeed, my condition is only better than his in that I hav 
 6*
 
 66 A U N E S . 
 
 a choice of difficulties. If I stay in this province, I risk my 
 self and army ; if I do not stay, the province is lost forever. 
 I have neither guides, cavalry, medicines, money, shoes, or 
 stockings. Tories are in my front, my rear, and on my flanks. 
 The mass of the people are strangely contaminated, and, unless 
 something unexpected turns up, we are lost. Into this situa 
 tion he has thrown me, and now I am not to be allowed to 
 use my own judgment in regard to the time and manner of 
 extricating myself ! By heavens, North and Mansfield, if 
 they had succeeded, could not have established a more odious 
 despotism ! " 
 
 Percy hardly knew how to frame his answer so as to 
 express his sentiments without uttering something disrespect 
 ful to his general, and therefore only replied, 
 
 " Would it not be well to send word to the commander-in- 
 chief respecting your opinions ? He has often shown how 
 highly he values your military skill, and I think could not 
 fail to listen to any feasible scheme which would be for the 
 benefit of both. At such a time as this, uncertainty on that 
 point must be very trying." 
 
 " That is quite true," said his hearer, in a calmer tone, 
 " but he might trust both my fidelity and my skill. I have 
 not usually failed when thrown upon my own resources. I 
 should have marched to-morrow, but have received intelli 
 gence that Rogers' corps, part of the light horse, and another 
 brigade, lie in so exposed a situation as to present us the 
 fairest opportunity of carrying them off. If we succeed, it
 
 GEN. LEE AND GEN. WASHINGTON. 67 
 
 will have a great effect, and amply compensate for two or 
 three days' delay." 
 
 " But these are not the general's orders," Percy ventured 
 to say. 
 
 " And you think an old soldier like me should know enough 
 to obey orders hey, young man?" 
 
 " Yes, sir, since you force me to say it," replied Percy, 
 firmly. 
 
 "Very well the theory is good; but I am now on a 
 separate command, and must use my own judgment. I have 
 a plan which, if I can carry it out, will relieve Gen. Wash 
 ington more effectually than my presence in his camp would 
 do. If I receive certain information from New York, we 
 may yet take up our winter quarters in that city. However, 
 more of that by and by. The scheme is not ripe enough to 
 communicate ; and, meantime, I shall cross the river with 
 as large a force as possible, and fall on the rear or flank of 
 the enemy, as occasion offers. I have written several letters 
 to the general which I think he cannot have received, since 
 his last is so peremptory ; and I wish you to take the one I 
 have just completed, and give it into his hands. Then I 
 shall be sure it reaches him. You will also take one to Gen. 
 Heath, as you will be compelled to ascend the river as far as 
 the Highlands before you can cross with safety. You will 
 then take whatever course secures to you the safest and speed 
 iest journey, but I am told that after you leave Haverstraw 
 the western road by Kakiat is most advisable. Further than
 
 68 AGNES . 
 
 this I have no instructions to give, and therefore I wish you 
 Ion voyage" 
 
 While he had been speaking he sealed and directed the 
 letters, and now, having received them, Major Grey rose to 
 depart. The hound, who had taken a fancy to him, which he 
 expressed in a dignified, patronizing manner, followed him to 
 the door, but Gen. Lee recalled him with a tone so jealous 
 that Percy looked back and smiled. The former noticed the 
 smile, and said, half in sport, half earnestly, 
 
 " Don't force me to quarrel with you, Major Grey. 
 Whether it is from a cynical disposition or a laudable misan 
 thropy, I know not, but it is certain I have had a real affec 
 tion for very few men, and you are among the very few. But 
 if you are going to steal Poniatow's affections from me, mine 
 for you will vanish." 
 
 " I am surprised at what you say of yourself," replied 
 Percy, laughing. "A man who has given up so much as you 
 have for the sake of a principle, and for the good of mankind, 
 cannot surely be cold-hearted or a misanthrope. You wrong 
 yourself, General Lee." 
 
 " No," said he, patting his four-footed favorite. " I have 
 told you but the truth ; and, paradoxical as it appears, if 
 you will examine history, you will find all or almost all the 
 enthusiasts for general liberty had the reputation of being 
 cynically disposed. So hope nothing from whatever you 
 may have supposed of me in that regard ; and, I repeat it, 
 be careful how you court Poniatow. I allow no rivals. 
 ' Who steals my purse ' (just now, in the depreciated state of
 
 GEN. LEE AND GEN. WASHINGTON. 69 
 
 Congressional currency, and the probable confiscation of my 
 English estates) ' steals trash ; ' but who steals my dog, let 
 him beware ! " 
 
 " I will be careful. But, surely, if I prove too irresistible 
 to Poniatow, you will not punish my involuntary trans 
 gression so severely as to withdraw your friendship, especially 
 as you have so many dogs left ? " answered Percy, glancing 
 at the half-dozen who had now collected around their master. 
 
 " Fine-looking fellows too, they are," Lee rejoined, survey 
 ing them with pride. " I am called whimsical and a lover of 
 dogs, and I plead guilty to the charge. Until the common 
 routine of mankind is changed, I shall wish to remain eccen 
 tric ; and when my honest quadruped friends are equalled by 
 bipeds in fidelity, gratitude, and good sense, I will promise to 
 become as warm a philanthropist as Mr. Addison himself 
 affected to be. But I am keeping you from your journey. 
 Au revoir" 
 
 Percy bowed and withdrew to make ready for his mission, 
 and then set out for Peekskill, where, having delivered his 
 letter to Gren. Heath, he crossed the river and proceeded 
 towards Jersey. The British had possession of all the towns 
 and roads near the river, and the necessity of taking a circu 
 itous route, together with the bad state of the ground, which 
 made rapid travelling impossible, so hindered his progress 
 that it was some days before he could reach his destination 
 But he was pleased to find that the spirit of submission so 
 generally manifested by the inhabitants of those provinces 
 during the autumn had been effectually checked by the
 
 70 AGNES . 
 
 license and outrages of the enemy ; and, though the militia 
 were so slow in answering Gen. Washington's earnest appeal 
 for aid, their tardiness proceeded from timidity, and not from 
 indifference. In many of the small farm-houses, where he 
 stopped at night, he found hearts boiling with indignation, or 
 mourning in hopelessness, as they spoke of the American 
 army ; and on some occasions, where he deemed it safe to 
 reveal his connection with it, the women of the family sat 
 up till morning to make their flannel sheets into garments for 
 the destitute soldiers. 
 
 Gen. Washington had just completed his slow and painful 
 retreat from New York to the Delaware, with the remnant of 
 his army, now dwindled to less than three thousand men. 
 Destitute of food or clothing, travelling with tattered gar 
 ments and naked or stockingless feet over frozen ground and 
 through deep snows, pierced by the chilling winter wind, lying 
 down to their comfortless rest at night in many cases without 
 blankets or tents, pressed by a victorious army, in the face of 
 repeated disaster and defeat, without enthusiasm, and almost 
 without hope, that heroic band toiled on, upheld by the magic 
 of a thought, and by the strong will which conquers fate.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE UNKULY MEMBER. 
 
 WHEN Major Grey reached the American camp, at that 
 time posted on the western bank of the Delaware, he found 
 it in great confusion and distress. The soldiers were ema 
 ciated by the hardships they had endured, and in their tat 
 tered clothing looked more like a collection of scarecrows than 
 like an army on whom rested the success of the most glorious 
 struggle the world ever saw. The British lay in great force 
 at Trenton, on the opposite side of the river, and the Amer 
 ican officers were busy in establishing lines of defence at 
 various angles on the banks, so as to hinder any attempt upon 
 Philadelphia. The soldiers worked steadily, and, for the 
 most part, without murmuring, though the dull despair of 
 their faces was far different from the enthusiasm such a scene 
 of hurry and bustle generally produced. Arriving at head 
 quarters, Percy was ushered into the presence of the com 
 mander. He was at that moment in close conference with 
 Lord Stirling and Gen. Mercer, but rose from his seat hastily, 
 when a messenger from Gen. Lee was announced, and, seizing 
 Major Grey's hand, exclaimed, in a tone of anxiety,
 
 72 AGNES. 
 
 " You are welcome, sir ! I hope you come to say that Gen. 
 Lee is not far distant. His presence, and that of his army, 
 "are now of the utmost importance." 
 
 " I regret to be obliged to inform your excellency that 
 when I left White Plains Gen. Lee was yet posted there; 
 but he has undoubtedly left before this time, and I am the 
 bearer of a letter which will explain his delay." 
 
 An expression almost like a convulsion of pain passed 
 over Washington's face as he heard this reply, and for a 
 moment he held the letter clenched in both hands, as if he 
 would crush it; but the impatience passed away without 
 further manifestation, leaving his noble countenance calm and 
 dignified as before, llequesting Percy to be seated, he 
 walked to the window and read the missive. It ran thus, 
 
 "DEAR GENERAL: I have received your pressing letter; 
 since which, intelligence was sent me that you had quitted 
 Brunswick, so that it is impossible to know where I can join 
 you. But, although I should not be able to join you at all, 
 the service which I can render you will, I hope, be full as effi 
 cacious. The northern army has already advanced nearer to 
 Morristown than I am. We shall, on the whole, compose an 
 army of five thousand good troops, in spirits. I should imag 
 ine, dear General, that it may be of service to communicate 
 this to the troops immediately under your command. It 
 may encourage them, and startle the enemy. In fact, their 
 confidence must be risen to a prodigious height, if they pursue
 
 THJBUNKULYMEMBEP. . 73 
 
 you with so formidable a body hanging on their flank and 
 rear. 
 
 " I shall clothe my people at the expense of the Tories, 
 which has a doubly good effect. It puts them in spirits and 
 comfort, and is a correction of the iniquities of the foes of 
 liberty. It is paltry to think of our personal affairs when the 
 whole is at stake ; but I entreat you to order some of your 
 suite to take out of the way of danger my favorite mare, 
 which is at Wilson's, three miles beyond Princeton. 
 " I am, dear General, yours, 
 
 " CHARLES LEE." 
 
 " Good God ! " exclaimed Washington, " and he can think 
 of that at a moment when our men are dying of cold and 
 hunger, and the salvation of our country trembles in the 
 balance ! " 
 
 His vehement manner, and the distress visible in his com 
 pressed lips and contracted brows, startled his auditors ; for, 
 such was the serene height with which his soul possessed 
 itself in patience, that few ever saw him so deeply moved. 
 Recovering his usual aspect in a short time, he continued, 
 more calmly, 
 
 " Do you know the contents of this letter, Major Grey, and 
 am I to suppose that Gen. Lee's officers consider his course 
 advisable, notwithstanding the urgency of my repeated re 
 quests ? " 
 
 " I assure your excellency," said Percy, " that we are all 
 very anxious to move to your assistance, and we cannot account 
 7
 
 74 A G N Ji is . 
 
 for the present inaction. I had supposed, from some remark 
 of Gen. Lee, that his letter would explain it to your satisfac 
 tion." 
 
 " He explains nothing ! " replied Washington. " Would to 
 God, he did ! for it is painful to be compelled to doubt a com 
 rade and a soldier, on whom such confidence has been placed. 
 What do you suppose his motive can be, in thus delaying his 
 march?" 
 
 " He thought it imprudent to risk the loss of the province 
 by withdrawing so many of the troops." 
 
 " It is an ill-timed prudence ! " rejoined the general, 
 sternly. 
 
 " He spoke, also, of some plan not yet to be developed, by 
 which he hoped to render you more effectual assistance than 
 his presence would afford. I am glad to be able to add that 
 I found, Lieut.-Col. Vose, at Peekskill, with three regiments, 
 amounting to between five and six hundred men, who had 
 come down from Albany, and are moving this way. They 
 had been waiting a day or two for Gen. Lee." 
 
 " Yes, he speaks of them," said Washington, " but seems 
 to imagine they have crossed the river. Gen. Lee's conduct 
 is unaccountable, gentlemen, unaccountable." 
 
 " I am sure he cannot be aware how greatly you need 
 him," said Percy, " and he would sincerely regret displeasing 
 your excellency." 
 
 " Unfortunately, regrets, even if sincere, cannot atone for 
 past delinquencies," said Washington. " The absence of his 
 division of the army, just at this crisis, may be fatal to us.
 
 THE UN 11ULV MEMBER. ft 
 
 The inhabitants of this state, on whose aid I counted, are 
 either disaffected or intimidated, and the militia have cruelly 
 disappointed me. The Maryland and Jersey militia deserted 
 us the very hour their time of service had expired, although 
 the enemy was then in sight ; and the Pennsylvania troops 
 have not yet arrived, except part of a German battalion, and 
 a company of light infantry. In such a cause as this it is 
 impossible to despair ; but I cannot conceal from myself or 
 you that our fortunes never looked so dark." 
 
 He turned away as he spoke, and, going into an inner apart 
 ment, closed the door behind him. Some further conversation 
 ensued among the officers thus left together ; and, although 
 Percy, as in duty bound, endeavored to defend Gen. Lee from 
 their extreme displeasure, he was forced to acknowledge his 
 conduct mysterious and ill-judged. 
 
 Upon crossing the Delaware, General Washington had 
 established his head-quarters at a country-house belonging 
 to a Mr. Berkely. A servant of the family now entered 
 with refreshments, of which they were all glad to partake. 
 More than an hour had elapsed before the commander again 
 joined them. Giving Major Grey a despatch for his superior 
 officer, he said, 
 
 " May I hope that you will use all possible haste in 
 delivering this ? I shall be glad if you can this very hour set 
 out on your return. Gen. Lee must be on the way before this 
 time, and, therefore, your journey may not be as long in going 
 back as in coming. I beg you to impress upon him the abso 
 lute necessity of hastening, if he would be of any service, and
 
 76 AGNES. 
 
 represent to him our situation as you find it. I have ordered 
 a large number of boats procured, which will be still retained 
 at Tinicum under a strong guard, to facilitate your passage 
 across the Delaware, whenever the troops shall arrive there. 
 Meantime," he added, taking Percy's hand in a cordial grasp, 
 " do not allow anything I have said to discourage you, or 
 any over whom you have influence. Notwithstanding our 
 present peril, I have hope for the future. My trust is in the 
 God of battles ! " 
 
 As he uttered these words his eyes beamed with a radiance 
 that lit all his grave, firm features with cheerfulness and 
 courage ; and, standing there with one hand half raised, and 
 his majestic figure erect, he seemed to those who listened like 
 one inspired. From that hour Percy Grey never despaired 
 of the cause which had such a champion. 
 
 The day after he sent away his aid-de-camp, Gen. Lee 
 broke up the encampment at White Plains, and began his 
 march to join the main army. Many companies in his own 
 division were suffering greatly for want of shoes, and other 
 clothing suitable for the inclement season. The roads were 
 in a wretched state, and they were obliged to take a circuitous 
 route to avoid a premature engagement with the enemy. Yet 
 all these things could hardly account for the length of time 
 consumed, and both officers and men were becoming impatient, 
 and beginning to suspect ulterior designs on the part of their 
 commander. These suspicions were still further strengthened 
 when, after they entered Jersey, early one afternoon, he gave
 
 THE UNRULY MEMBER. 77 
 
 orders to halt in the vicinity of Baskenridge, although they 
 knew the British were but twenty miles distant. 
 
 For several days those most familiar had noticed a ner 
 vousness and abstraction unusual to him ; and he started at 
 every sudden salutation, and scrutinized every passing trav 
 eller, as if expecting to meet some one who came not. On 
 this afternoon, as an officer remonstrated against the early 
 encampment, he answered, with some asperity, that from this 
 point they would move on fast enough, for he should no longer 
 be undecided where to go; and, as evening drew near, he 
 ordered his horse, and, taking a small guard, rode away over 
 the fields, now buried beneath drifts of snow. . 
 
 The country at this point was wild and broken, with steep 
 hills and ridges, along whose narrow valleys ran streams 
 swollen into rivers by the winter rains, and now hardened into 
 broad sheets of ice. The path was narrow, and winding 
 through deep passes where the laden trees sent down an 
 avalanche of snow upon the traveller, and up bleak hill-sides, 
 where their horses could with difficulty obtain footing ; but 
 Gen. Lee appeared to find his way by instinct, and at 
 length came out on a road bearing marks of more frequent 
 travel. Having passed a few-farm houses, he drew his rein at 
 the door of one, before which a rude sign-board creaked dis 
 mally in the wind. 
 
 " This is Baskenridge, according to description ; and this 
 is White's tavern, I suppose, by the music of this gallows- 
 post ! " he said, to one of his companions. " We will dis- 
 7*
 
 78 A G N E S . 
 
 mount here, and may have to remain all night, if the person 
 I expect to meet has not already arrived." 
 
 They entered, and found a small fire burning on the hearth 
 of a spacious but comfortless-looking room, evidently used 
 for the reception of visitors, and while they warmed their 
 half-frozen fingers the hostess came in. Her appearance cor 
 responded with that of her house, for she was old and untidy ; 
 but, at their request, she produced from a closet in one 
 corner some very tolerable brandy, and promised to cook 
 supper for them. Having replenished the fire, she left the 
 room to attend to culinary affairs, and Gen. Lee soon 
 followed her to the kitchen, whence the fumes of fried pork 
 came with appetizing odor. She had not heard him addressed, 
 and his rough face, ill-looking garments, and blunt manner, 
 did little towards revealing his rank. Therefore, when he 
 had ensconced himself in the chimney-corner, saying there 
 were so many around the other fire he could not get warm, 
 she entered with perfect unreserve into the familiar conversa 
 tion that followed, and, in answer to his questions, -told him 
 the history of herself and family. 
 
 She had two sons, but they were gone to the war ; her three 
 daughters had married and left the neighborhood, and thus 
 she remained alone in her vigorous old age to sustain the 
 honors of the establishment. 
 
 " But where is your husband?" asked Gen. Lee, when she 
 reached this point in her narrative. 
 
 " Well, he 's bad as any on 'em gone the hull time, and 
 me a lone woman here. I 'd about as good not have a bus-
 
 THE UNRULY MEMBER. 79 
 
 band. But, there! he was to South Car'lina with Gin'ral 
 Lee, and sence then he 's wus 'n he ever was. He kalkerlates 
 that are Gin'ral Lee 's about the biggest man in this Varsal 
 world 'ud go through fire and water for him. I tell him 
 he 's a fool. I would n't risk my neck for nobody I 
 would n't. Here, mister, just take this ere fork, and turn 
 them are slices o' meat, so they won't burn, while my hands 
 is in the dough." 
 
 Gen. Lee took the proffered trident, and humbly turned the 
 slices, and sat watching them while his hostess mixed some 
 biscuit. 
 
 "Does Gen. Lee think as much of him, in return?" 
 asked he. 
 
 " Lord knows ! likely not, I reckon ! " she replied ; " but 
 afore Tie went away last time he was a braggin' about somethin' 
 he wajj'goin' ter deu, 'twould put things straight. He thinks 
 Gin'ral Washington an't the man folks tell for. Thinks he 
 ought to be turned out, and Gin'ral Lee put in." 
 
 " Put into what? " asked her auditor. 
 
 " Into the head o' the army," said she. " That 's what 
 my old man 's alwus sayin'. Deu you know him ? " 
 
 " Know who ? " 
 
 " Gin'ral Lee. Ever see him ? " 
 
 " Yes ! I see him sometimes ! " he answered, in a hesi 
 tating tone. 
 
 " Well, now, deu tell ! Deu you think he 's sich an orful 
 great man ? "
 
 80 AGNES. 
 
 " He 's just about five feet, six, and large in proportion ! " 
 replied her hearer, with a quizzical glance. 
 
 She stared at him a moment, uncertain how to understand 
 the answer, but her thoughts were soon diverted. 
 
 " There, now," she exclaimed, " don't you smell that are fat 
 burnin' ? Take it off ! it '11 blaze ! quick ! Thank you, 
 mister. Now, I wonder if you 'd mind goin'. out to the well 
 and drawin' me a pail o' water. Then, I '11 bile the kittle 
 while the bread 's a bakin', and you can have your supper 
 you men-folks." 
 
 Secretly amused, and caring little for this infringement of 
 military dignity, Gen. Lee took the pail, but, before he went 
 out, asked, with apparent carelessness, 
 
 " Has your husband been about home within the last 
 month ? " 
 
 " No, not for two months. He went "away to York ped 
 dling." 
 
 " And you have heard nothing from him since? Where do 
 you suppose he is ? " 
 
 " Lord knows ! He '11 turn up soon enough, I reckon. 
 I 'm waitin' for that are pail o' water, stranger." 
 
 Taking this hint, he proceeded to the well, and, having 
 filled the pail, returned, opening the outside door into the 
 kitchen just as Percy Grey opened the inner one, and stood 
 petrified with astonishment at the strange figure the general 
 made as he bent over his burden. 
 
 But, nowise disconcerted, Gen. Lee set down the pail at
 
 THE UNRULY MEMBER. 81 
 
 the woman's feet, and, wiping his brow, said, coolly, with a 
 mischievous twinkle in his eyes, 
 
 " So, Major Grey, you 've returned ! " 
 
 " Yes, your excellency. I heard the army was in this 
 vicinity, but did not expect to see you here. I have been 
 riding all day, and seeing, by the sign-post, this was a tavern, 
 thought I would stop to supper." 
 
 " Have you been in the other room ? " 
 
 "No, sir. I have this moment arrived, and the smell of 
 the food attracted me this way. I have something of import 
 ance from head-quarters for you, Gen. Lee ! " 
 
 " I 've nearly finished cooking supper, and will attend to it 
 immediately," replied he, giving way to the laughter pro 
 voked by Percy's bewildered face, and the consternation 
 visible in that of his hostess. She had listened in blank* sur 
 prise to the brief conversation, and now, comprehending her 
 visitor's rank, fell on her knees before him, exclaiming, 
 
 " Lord knows, I had n't the leastest idee 't was you, Gin'ral ! 
 An' I made you cook the meat and bring the water ! If he 
 know'd it, he 'd break every bone in my body ! " 
 
 " He shan't know it, then, so you need fear no such catas 
 trophe," said Gen. Lee, restraining his mirth; and then, 
 turning to Percy, he added, " You see, young man, the neces 
 sity of being careful to wear a fine coat. The most distin 
 guished talents have no chance of being recognized beneath a 
 shabby dress." 
 
 He led the way to the apartment where his men were 
 waiting quite impatiently for their promised refreshment, and
 
 82 A G N E S . 
 
 Percy joined the circle at the fire, having first delivered 
 the despatch of which he was bearer. When Gen. Lee 
 read it, his mirthful mood instantly vanished, and, though he 
 made no comment, he walked the floor with a hurried step 
 and excited manner, until called to sit down to the table. 
 Even then he was taciturn and gloomy, frequently laying 
 down his knife, as if he had forgotten to eat, and exhibiting 
 other signs of secret vexation and disquiet, which fixed 
 Percy's attention, and filled with terror the simple-minded 
 woman, who thought she had offended him. 
 
 After their meal was finished, he ordered a fire built in a 
 chamber, and declared his intention of passing the night 
 there. When the hostess pronounced his apartment comfort 
 able, he commanded the guard to be ready for an early ride 
 nexfr morning, as they must reach the camp before daybreak, 
 and desired Percy to accompany him up stairs. 
 
 As soon as they were alone together, he said, in an angry 
 tone, 
 
 " So, it seems, the soldiers are naked and half-starved, with 
 a victorious army ready to attack them ; and yet it is to be 
 laid to my charge if they are destroyed ! " 
 
 " Does Gen. Washington say so ? " asked Percy, gravely. 
 
 " He implies as much. He speaks of my ' unaccountable 
 delay, as if I could esteem myself tied up to the letter ol 
 instructions, without any discretionary power ! An old sol 
 dier like me ! If they had listened to my advice in the 
 matter of evacuating those forts, they would not have been 
 thus destitute and perishing. The world will know some day
 
 THE UNRULY MEMBER. 83 
 
 the respective merits of the servants of America. The tem 
 porary power of office, and the tinsel dignity attending it, 
 will not be always able to offuscate the bright rays of truth. 
 Gen. Washington has no right to distrust me, or poison the 
 minds of people against me. I think I may at least ven 
 ture to hope that you, Major Grey, said nothing to induce 
 the -strangely cold letter he has seen fit to write in reply to 
 the friendly missive, wherein I thought I had explained every 
 thing to his satisfaction ? " 
 
 " I am hurt that you should ask the question," said 
 Percy, warmly. " Gen. Washington seemed intensely disap 
 pointed, and more excited than I ever saw him before, and I 
 assure you I regretted it was not in my power to explain 
 more satisfactorily the cause of your delay. Fortunately, 
 our conversation, the morning I left you, supplied me with 
 some information on the subject ; and I told him you ex 
 pected to be able to divert the enemy from him, and, more 
 over, that you did not think it prudent to leave the province 
 of New York undefended." 
 
 " What did he say to that ? " asked Gen. Lee. 
 
 " He thought it an ill-timed prudence " 
 
 " By heaven ! " interrupted his hearer, " I know of no man 
 who has more of that rascally virtue than his excellency, and 
 he might therefore be able to excuse it in another. I could 
 not fully explain my motive, or my plan ; but I thought the 
 one was above suspicion, and I knew the other would vindicate 
 Uself. It is shameful it is abominable ! " he added, with an 
 oath ; " and the country, for which I have given up so much,
 
 84 AGNES. 
 
 owes me something better than this. I have always honored 
 Gen. Washington, but, if he chooses to claim the homage due 
 to an infallible divinity, I shall surely prove a heretic ; and, 
 if he wounds everything I hold dear, he must thank himself 
 if his deityship gets scratched in the scuffle ! " 
 
 " I think you magnify the difficulty," said Percy. " The 
 army is very feeble, and, of course, your assistance is in 
 tensely desired ; and that should account for any slight 
 impatience on the part of those who are expecting you. 
 But I am certain they cannot doubt or suspect you, as your 
 words seem to indicate. If there is any mystery, you will 
 be able to satisfy every one it was unavoidable." 
 
 Gen. Lee's fiery nature was easily roused, but his anger 
 was seldom lasting, and his voice took a milder tone, as he 
 answered, 
 
 " I can do so ; nay, I will now partly explain to you what 
 has seemed so strange. When I came up from the south I 
 chanced to stop one night at a house, not far from here, where 
 I met a man by the name of White, the owner of this place, 
 in fact, who had been in the southern army, and, with how 
 much justice I will not pretend to say, had formed a most 
 exalted idea of its commander. He was willing to undertake 
 the risk of bearing a letter from me to a gentleman, then in 
 New York, whom I knew long ago in England, and with 
 whom I have had some communication since I arrived in this 
 country. I had, even then, a plan half formed, which only 
 required certain information I was sure he could obtain, in 
 order to enable me triumphantly to forward our cause. I
 
 THE UNRULY MEMBEK. 85 
 
 sent this White to York, fitted out as a pedler, and he was to 
 join me at White Plains, or, if that was impossible, I could 
 find him here at this time. Therefore I lingered in my 
 encampment, and have delayed the march that he might be 
 able to overtake us, if he reached there after we left. But 
 he did not come ; he has not been here ; and now I am 
 doubly disappointed, because the course of events during the 
 last two months has made the brilliant stroke I contemplated 
 more than ever necessary to the success of the war. But I 
 was born under an unlucky star, and nothing I touch pros 
 pers ! Sometimes I think the best thing I could do for this 
 country would be to put a few bits of lead through my 
 brains." 
 
 Percy endeavored to cheer the despondency which had 
 thus followed extreme vexation, and was so far successful 
 that, when at a late hour he left him for the repose his toil 
 some journey had rendered necessary, Gen. Lee spoke hope 
 fully of making a forced march, during the next twenty-four 
 hours, to the spot where boats had been stationed to convey 
 his army across the Delaware. 
 
 Calling the hostess, who approached with a frightened 
 manner, as if expecting to be " court-martialed " on the spot, 
 Percy asked for a light, and followed her to a closet under 
 the eaves of the low roof, where a bed had been made on the 
 floor for his accommodation. He threw himself upon it with 
 out undressing, and in a moment was fast asleep. 
 
 Several hours had passed, when his dreamless rest waa 
 disturbed by the sudden noise of shouts and the clash of arms 
 8
 
 86 AGNES. 
 
 outside the house. He sprang up, and, groping across the 
 entry to a window, saw that the first gleams of early sunshine 
 were struggling through the sky, but from his position he 
 could not ascertain whence the noise proceeded. Feeling 
 his way as rapidly as possible along the obscure passage, 
 he entered Gen. Lee's room, the door of which was partly 
 open. Its inmate stood in the middle of the floor, half 
 dressed, with his cloak wrapped about him. He had evi 
 dently just risen from his bed, and was now listening intently 
 for a repetition of the sounds that had aroused him. 
 
 " What is this, General ? " said Percy. " Are we be 
 trayed?" 
 
 " I don't know the noise is receding. The windows are 
 so frosty I can see nothing. Where is the guard ? " he asked, 
 hurriedly, yet with entire self-possession. 
 
 Percy raised the curtain from the upper part of the win 
 dow, and found a small place clear from the thick coating 
 which covered the other panes. He enlarged the opening 
 with his breath, and saw the guard scampering ingloriously 
 in various directions, chased by a party of British dragoons. 
 
 " It is the enemy ! We are betrayed ! " he exclaimed. 
 " General, you must escape, if possible, for it is useless to 
 think of resistance ; the guard have fled ! " 
 
 " Curse the cowards ! " muttered Gen. Lee. " If that is 
 the case, probably escape is not possible. We have no choice 
 but to stay here, and be caught like rats in a hole." 
 
 At this moment there was the sound of fighting in the 
 entry below stairs. Pistols were fired and sabres clashed, and
 
 THE UNRULY MEMBER. 87 
 
 one or two officers who had been left, with those of the guard 
 who disdained to fly, were slowly pressed by overwhelm ing num 
 bers up the stairs. There they had stationed themselves, in the 
 faint hope that while they fought their general might escape 
 from the house by some other way. This idea occurred to 
 Percy, but before he could utter it Gen. Lee had rendered it 
 of no avail, by springing to the head of the stairs, and cheer 
 ing on his defenders as he rushed into the affray. At sight 
 of him, his pursuers charged with new zeal, and, in another 
 moment, he was brought back to the chamber a prisoner, with 
 all his companions. 
 
 Col. Harcourt, who commanded the dragoens, was a fine- 
 looking, noble-hearted soldier, and he restrained the taunts 
 and vauntings in which some of the captors were disposed to 
 indulge; but, fearful that those who had fled might bring their 
 army to the rescue, he hastily gathered up the papers lying 
 on the table, and ordered an instant departure, scarcely 
 allowing Gen. Lee time to put on his clothes. And thus, in 
 most unmilitary style, the hero of Villa Velha and Niester, 
 the gallant supporter of American liberty, was borne away to 
 the camp of his countrymen. 
 
 As they were leaving the door, horses having been found 
 for the few prisoners, the slatternly old woman again appeared. 
 Rushing from behind a door, where she had hidden during 
 the contest, she threw herself on the snow, and caught hold of 
 the general's foot as it rested in the stirrup. 
 
 " 0, 't wan't me ! 't wan't ! Lord knows 't wan't ! "
 
 88 AGNES. 
 
 she cried. " I never thought he 'd tell ! an' I was so 
 skeered to find how I 'd been a talkin' to you ! " 
 
 " Who was it, then?" interrupted Gen. Lee, sternly look 
 ing down upon her. 
 
 " Why, Tom ! He came in jest arter you went in t' other 
 room, an' I's so skeered I tell'd him all about it, an' he 
 must a gone an' tell'd, for he went right out. 0, Gin'ral, 
 Lord knows I did n't mean no harm ! What '11 he say, when 
 he comes home ! " 
 
 This last exclamation, extorted more by fear for herselt 
 than for the victim of her indiscretion, was cut short by the 
 necessity of springing aside to avoid the trampling feet of the 
 horsemen, who now set off in full gallop. 
 
 Gen. Lee wrapped himself closer in the cloak which had 
 been thrown over him, and, dropping his head upon his 
 breast, he groaned bitterly from behind his clenched teeth, 
 
 " Fool ! fool ! Why must my careless tongue always be 
 my ruin?"
 
 CHAPTEK V. 
 
 LOVE VERSUS WEALTH. 
 
 THE short twilight was fading, the twilight of a freezing 
 day in December of 76, and the streets of New York were 
 filled with the multitudes who at that hour were seeking their 
 homes for the evening meal. The possession of the city by 
 the British troops had caused it to be a general rendezvous 
 for those whose principles or whose interest induced them to 
 continue their allegiance to the king, instead of joining their 
 countrymen in the struggle for liberty then in progress, as 
 well as for those who desired to shelter themselves and their 
 families from the ravages of war in the open country. 
 
 Evelyn Chester stood near the window of her pleasant par- 
 lor, looking out on what was then <the fashionable part of 
 Broadway, and beside her stood Col. Stanley, in the rich dress 
 of a British officer. They had been for some time conversing, 
 and he had now risen to take his departure ; but the conver- 
 sation had evidently been of an unpleasant nature, for her 
 cheek was crimson with the deep flush of embarrassment, and, 
 though her eyes were downcast, her manner was reserved and 
 8*
 
 90 AGNES . 
 
 haughty. The face of her companion expressed anger and 
 mortification. 
 
 " I shall not consider this decision final, Miss Evelyn," he 
 said, as she stood evidently waiting for him to leave. " To 
 say nothing of my own feelings, to which you do suA cruel 
 injustice, I must still hope that the wishes of Lord Evans- 
 dale, and the elevated rank which will be yours if you accede 
 to them, will induce you to reconsider the subject." 
 
 "It is in vain, Mr. Stanley," replied the lady, "and I do 
 not wish this matter again urged. Lord Evansdale has 
 never cared to acknowledge me until now, and I cannot have 
 much affection for a grandfather whom I have never seen, 
 and who was so harsh and stern to my poor mother. In a 
 matter like this, which affects the happiness of my whole life, 
 I shall not be guided by him." 
 
 Col. Stanley bit his lips, and an angry glance shot from his 
 eyes as he heard these words. Evelyn saw it, and, in a more 
 gentle tone, she added, 
 
 " Forgive me for speaking so plainly, but I wished to spare 
 you the pain of further conversation on this point. My 
 decision is irrevocable."" 
 
 She curtseyed as if to bid him farewell. He saw that he 
 could not with propriety remain longer, but, being determined 
 his suit should not end thus, he concealed his chagrin as much 
 as possible, and said, gayly, with a total change of man 
 ner, 
 
 " Permit me, then, to say adieu, and let me, as your grand 
 father's protege, be to you the friend I might have been if
 
 LOV.E VJSKS0S WEALTH. 91 
 
 these unfortunate hopes had not made me too bold. Thus I 
 kiss this fair hand in token of peace." 
 
 As he spoke, he seized her hand, and, before she could 
 prevent him, touched it to his lips ; and with a low, courtly 
 bow, he left her. 
 
 When he had gone she sank into a chair by the window, 
 vexed and yet half amused at the coolness and pertinacity 
 of her suitor. As she sat musing there, watching the passing 
 throng, her thoughts turned away from the present, and tha 
 lover she could not accept, to a sunset in summer, when 
 beneath the green trees surrounding her father's country- 
 house she had listened to such words from another, words 
 the very memory of which thrilled her heart, and brought a 
 glad light into the darkness of her lustrous eyes. Where was 
 he now that lover, in comparison with whose warm, gen 
 erous impulses, and lofty principles, the selfish views and 
 cold, cynical wisdom of the man who had just left her seemed 
 doubly repulsive ? 
 
 Alas ! since that interview beneath his father's roof, she 
 had neither seen or heard from him, nor could she soon 
 expect to do so ; and, bravely as she had then spoken of their 
 prolonged separation, her spirit sank within her as she now 
 thought of it, and imagined him with those who at th.-e 
 inclement season were retiring, broken and harassed by 
 repeated disasters, before the army the mother-country had 
 sent over to subdue their dauntless spirits. She was impa 
 tient of her own position of ease and luxury, while he was 
 Buffering fatigue, and cold, and hunger. The gayeties in
 
 92 AGNES. 
 
 which she was forced to mingle seemed hollow mockeries of 
 the anxiety and trouble he endured ; and to that true heart 
 it appeared an outrage to his love for her to be considered, 
 as she knew she was, the affianced bride of Col. Stanley. 
 
 Since their arrival in New York, he had been so assiduous 
 in his attentions as to keep all others aloof; and, as her father 
 wished her to mingle in society, where her beauty and re 
 puted wealth made her soon the " bright particular star " of 
 the season, she could not well avoid the inference her ac 
 quaintances drew from his assiduities. This impression he 
 had taken good care to verify on all suitable occasions, but 
 never until now had he given her an opportunity formally to 
 reject him. He did not dream of any prior affection, for he 
 thought her life had been too secluded to admit such a possi 
 bility, but still was unwilling to risk a refusal, being uncertain 
 how far her father would in that case extend his authority, 
 and without it he had little hope of ultimate success. 
 
 In those times which " tried men's souls," there was enough 
 of the strange and exciting in every-day life to interest the 
 mind ; and men, in this country at least, had not commenced 
 the study of those puzzling questions which weary the brains 
 of people in this later age. The only " magnetism " they 
 knew was believed by the truly orthodox to be veritable 
 witchcraft. The odylic fluid was not so much as dreamed of; 
 and one who had talked to them of " attraction or repulsion 
 of spheres " would have been looked upon as crazy, if not 
 worse. But human nature was the same then as now, and 
 men and women experienced the same likings and dislikings
 
 LOVE VERSUS WEALTH. 93 
 
 for each other which have since received such scientific ex 
 planations ; and had Evelyn Chester been " fancy free " when 
 she met Col. Stanley, she would have felt a repugnance for 
 him not to be overcome by his fine person, his pleasing 
 address, or the varied stores of information he had gathered 
 from travelling in foreign countries. His courtly manner 
 seemed to her too cold, too polished ; his wit too sarcastic and 
 cruel, and launched too often, in unguarded moments, at 
 those principles most dear and sacred to her ; and, beneath 
 all his endeavors to please, she recognized, instinctively, the 
 entire selfishness of his nature. 
 
 Rising, at length, from her troubled revery, she crossed the 
 room, and, opening a door communicating with her father's 
 library, went in and stood behind his chair. Twilight had deep 
 ened into darkness, but the firelight revealed every nook of the 
 cosey little place ; the tall case of books, the sweeping folds 
 of the thick curtains before the windows, a picture or two on 
 the walls, a few chairs around the table which occupied the 
 centre of the room, covered with books and holding a portable 
 desk heavily bound with brass, and Mr. Chester sitting 
 thoughtfully in his high-backed leathern chair, his person 
 enveloped in an ample robe of dark-green velvet lined with 
 purple silk. So silently had she entered that her step had 
 been unheard but her father knew the touch of her light 
 fingers as they toyed with his hair, and, taking her hand, 
 would have drawn her to her accustomed seat on his knee, 
 but she resisted.
 
 94 AGNES. 
 
 " Let me stay here, father," she said. " I have something 
 to tell you." 
 
 " Ah, what is it ? " he asked, his smile betraying a little 
 anxiety. 
 
 " Col. Stanley was here this afternoon." 
 
 " Is that so unusual ? " he said, as Evelyn paused. 
 
 " But he spoke of his wishes, of his hopes," she added, in 
 an embarrassed whisper. 
 
 " And you Evelyn, what did you say to his addresses ? " 
 
 She changed her position suddenly, and, half kneeling at 
 his feet, threw her arms around him, and looked eagerly in 
 his face. 
 
 " Father," she exclaimed, " to marry that man would be to 
 perjure myself in the sight of heaven ! Will you compel me 
 to do so?" 
 
 " God forbid ! " he ejaculated, fervently. 
 
 Overcome by this unexpected relief, Evelyn burst into 
 tears, and, lifting her from the floor, he pillowed her head 
 upon his breast, and soothed her fondly. Between these two 
 there had ever existed the most tender and confiding affection, 
 and the most unreserved interchange of thought. Never had 
 his daughter dreamed of disobeying his wishes, and the 
 thought of opposing them in this instance had pained her 
 deeply. 
 
 " Did you so very much wish it ? " she asked, at length. 
 
 " There were reasons why it seemed best to me to favor his 
 suit," replied her father, "and, perhaps, as the crisis has 
 come, I had better speak of them more fully than I have
 
 LOVE VERSUS WEALTH. 95 
 
 done. But first let ine thank you, my child, for your submis 
 sion to my will, even when I must have seemed cruel in what 
 I required. I intended nothing which would eventually 
 trouble you, but in order to effect my purposes I was obliged 
 to seem harsh and unfeeling." 
 
 " 0, no, father," she hastened to say, " I never thought so. 
 I did not wonder much that you opposed me. With your 
 views about the war, that was but natural. I never thought 
 you unkind but once, and that was " She hesitated, and he 
 added, with a slight smile, 
 
 " That was when I offered Percy Grey a commission in the 
 British army. He took it as an insult." 
 
 " It was. How could you do it, father? " 
 
 " I wanted to try the young man's mettle. I have had so 
 little opportunity to know his real character, that I considered 
 it excusable." 
 
 Something in Mr. Chester's tone made his daughter's heart 
 throb with surprise and sudden hope, and a new light broke 
 upon the conduct which had so long puzzled her. He noticed 
 the tremor and the flash of mute inquiry in her eyes, and 
 added, gravely, 
 
 "Listen to me, my child, and do not decide rashly. 
 You know your mother fled from her father's house to join 
 her fate with mine, and that she was never allowed to return 
 there. My family was as ancient and honorable as hers, but 
 its fortunes had decayed, and I had no wealth to offer the 
 heiress of Evansdale. For this stolen match she was never 
 forgiven, and, though she had only consented to it when they
 
 96 A G N E S . 
 
 would have forced her into the arms of another, her father's 
 curse rang in her ears continually, and poisoned every after 
 joy, it weighed upon her spirits, and wore out her life. 
 They said she died of consumption, soon after you were born ; 
 perhaps she did, but she was sensitive and timid, and I sol 
 emnly believe it was that awful curse which killed her." 
 
 He paused, deeply affected, and the eyes of his earnest 
 listener were cast down and filled with tears. When he 
 spoke again, it was in a low, sad tone, as if painful memories 
 were busy at his heart. 
 
 " After that there was a weary time. Sick at heart, and 
 loathing life, I wandered hither and thither, leaving you in 
 the care of the nurse who had followed us from England. 
 When you were four -years old I saw you for the first time 
 after your mother died, and in a little while found myself 
 abundantly repaid for assuming the duties of a parent; for 
 your childish affection soothed my profound melancholy, and, 
 by filling my heart with new cares and joys, brought me back 
 to the world. Since then, Evelyn, I have lived for you. 
 Together we sought these western shores, and together we 
 have lived in our country solitude, until the war compelled us 
 to take refuge here. 
 
 " Lord Evansdale is now alone in the world. His only 
 son died unmarried, and the old man has no heir. He has 
 no liking for me, but you are his descendant, and he would 
 rather the estate should go to you than to a distant branch of 
 the family, whom he has never known. Perhaps, also, he 
 repents his cruelty to your mother. He has written, as you
 
 LOVE VERSUS WEALTH. 97 
 
 know, to iufbrm me that he will make you his heiress if you 
 will marry Col. Stanley, who was once his ward. Otherwise, 
 the unentailed property will be given to the next of kin. 
 Your grandfather is a stern and arbitrary man, and it is much 
 for him to have made the first offer towards reconciliation, 
 even though trammelled with this condition. If you refuse 
 it, he will not probably notice you again. You shall be free to 
 make what choice you will, but I must own that I have some 
 ambition to see you occupy the place you would grace so-well. 
 I would restore the child to the -rank the mother sacrificed 
 when she came to be the sunshine of my life in a lower 
 sphere. Here is the letter ; I did not show it to you when 
 it came." 
 
 As he spoke he opened his desk, and took from thence a 
 paper, which she read, sitting on the footstool at his feet. 
 After a short silence, she answered, 
 
 " Father, this inheritance belongs to me of right, as my 
 mother's representative, and if my grandfather had any kindly 
 feeling for me he would not ofier it accompanied by such odious 
 conditions. He only desires an heiress to his estates who is of 
 his own blood. And shall I be doomed to wed a man I can 
 not love, in order to gratify this pride, which brings with it 
 no gleam of affection? There is something in the tone of his 
 letter and in its stipulations, that rouses all the pride of my 
 nature, and makes it seem impossible for me to accept them. 
 I feel chilled and terrified at the grand life he offers me, a 
 life unblessed by love. I turn from the thought, and a 
 picture of our past life rises before me. 0, my father, let us 
 9
 
 98 A ONES. 
 
 give up the vain dreams of ambition, and remain here, where 
 we have been so happy ! " 
 
 Her father made no immediate reply, and his thoughts 
 seemed troubled as his eyes rested on the face upturned to his, 
 eloquent with emotion. As he mused a servant entered with 
 lights, and, clearing the table of its burden, placed thereon a tray 
 containing a tea-urn, with a service of Dresden china, a plate 
 with a few slices of toast, and another with delicate cakes man 
 ufactured by Evelyn's own hands. This was their customary 
 evening meal when alone together, and a prettier picture of 
 comfort could not well be imagined. Usually, at this hour, 
 Evelyn amused him with the news and gossip of the day, or 
 he told her of his reading, and taught her the facts he had 
 thus gained. But now she presided at the table in a thought 
 ful silence, that was hardly broken until the cups were re 
 moved, and she had resumed her position at his feet. Then 
 he said, abruptly, 
 
 " My daughter, you referred to my opinions respecting the 
 war. You have mistaken, those opinions. You are mistaken 
 if you think I have no sympathy with the colonies in this 
 struggle against oppression. You look surprised," he added, 
 as he met her wondering gaze, " and I have purposely left 
 you to suppose me a Tory ; for, though I have secretly done 
 much to aid the patriots, though my wishes and hopes are 
 with them, my ill-health makes a quiet life necessary ; and 
 that, together with my fear of injuring you with your grand 
 father by openly espousing their cause, has hitherto kept me 
 a concealed friend."
 
 LOVE VERSUS WEALTH. 99 
 
 Evelyn sprang up joyfully, and threw her arms around his 
 neck. 
 
 " 0, is it so ? " she said. " Let the inheritance go ! Let 
 us avow our feelings ! Let us share the glorious conflict ! 
 Believe me, father, each man's influence is much, where the 
 odds are so fearfully against the right ; and I cannot consent 
 that our principles should be sacrificed to any hope of worldly 
 gain. You have hesitated for my sake, but now you can no 
 longer doubt." 
 
 " You know all now," he answered, " except that my prop 
 erty has already suffered much in the war, and if it continues 
 we shall be reduced to comparative poverty. I have longed 
 to place you in a position where these annoyances cannot 
 reach you. Consider well before deciding; for you sacrifice 
 great worldly advantages in refusing this union, and you are 
 ill-fitted to endure want." 
 
 " Do you think so ? 0, my father, you little know what 
 I could bear, what I could do, if my soul was strengthened 
 by a great motive. Often have I longed for such opportu 
 nities ; often have I asked myself if this indolent life was all 
 for which I was created ; and now O, you can hardly 
 dream how happy you have made me ! " 
 
 He smiled sadly at her enthusiasm. 
 
 " All this may be," he said, " and yet you speak lightly 
 of trials before which the strong and brave have fallen to rise 
 no more. But we will talk no longer of this. If Col. Stan 
 ley persists in his suit, I will take measures to free you from 
 his importunities. Your happiness and welfare are the sole
 
 100 AGNES. 
 
 objects of my life, and no force shall be put upon your incli 
 nations. That you might not be mistaken with regard to 
 them, I have subjected you to this trial; and its result leaves 
 me but one course to pursue. Evelyn, look here ! " 
 
 He took a letter from a pocket in his robe, and laid it in 
 her hand. She started, with a vivid flush, a quick glance of 
 wondering delight, and clasped it to her bosom. 
 
 " Where did you get it? " she asked, breathlessly. 
 
 " If I should tell you, you might think me fit for ' treason, 
 stratagems, and spoils.' No, Evelyn, that is my secret ; but 
 go you to your room and read your letter, and answer it 
 if you will, for the messenger who brought it will call this 
 evening to see me, and I can trust him with your reply."
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE TRAP BAITED. 
 
 IT would be doing Col. Stanley injustice to suppose he did 
 not love Evelyn as well as a man of his cold and selfish 
 nature could love another than himself; and, in addition, he 
 felt a strong desire to replenish his exhausted purse, and 
 to repurchase the estate he had lost at the gaming-table, by 
 means of the broad lands of Evansdale. He knew their 
 present proprietor would never alienate them from his own 
 family, and it was only through this marriage he could hope 
 to enjoy them. 
 
 Therefore, amid all the scenes of misery which the country 
 presented during that memorable winter, it would have been 
 difficult to find a more disappointed or miserable man than he 
 who passed with such a careless smile from the presence of 
 his mistress, on this eventful evening. He spent its remaining 
 hours in company with his brother officers, vainly endeavoring 
 to forget his chagrin in the mirth which accompanies cards 
 and wine. But, when late at night he found himself again 
 on the way to his lodgings, he was drawn by an irresistible 
 impulse to the house where Evelyn lived. After pacing the 
 9*
 
 102 AGNES. 
 
 sidewalk before the door until the keen night-wind had some 
 what cooled the fever of his brain, he was about to pursue his 
 way homeward, when he was arrested by seeing a man's head 
 appear cautiously above the close and high board-fence sur 
 rounding the garden attached to Mr. Chester's dwelling. The 
 moon was shining dimly, but there was light enough to make 
 visible a face not very prepossessing in appearance, and a 
 shock of red hair, surmounted by a close Scotch cap. 
 
 After a moment given to reconnoitring, the owner of the 
 face seemed to consider himself safe from observation, and, 
 climbing the top of the fence, sprang lightly down, ran across 
 the street, and disappeared at the next corner. Stanley was 
 hidden from view by the shadow of the house, but he noticed 
 the stranger wore a gray cloth dress, usual to the pedlers, 
 who at that time, when intercourse, save of a warlike nature, 
 was almost wholly suspended between the city and country, 
 showed their Yankee shrewdness and ' turned an honest 
 penny' by carrying their wares to and fro. 
 
 Wondering a little at the occurrence, he walked slowly 
 along, and had nearly reached his quarters when the noise of 
 a drunken brawl at a little distance attracted his attention. 
 Angry at this breach of discipline, he turned quickly down 
 the narrow and crooked lane from whence the sound pro 
 ceeded, and in a few minutes came in sight of a low tavern, 
 before the door of which three or four soldiers were fighting. 
 As he drew near he saw in their midst, vainly endeavoring to 
 ward off the blows aimed at him from every side, a man whom 
 he instantly recognized, by the gray clothes and the red cap, to
 
 THE TKAP BAITED. 103 
 
 be the pedler, whose mysterious exit from Mr. Chester's 
 garden had so puzzled him. At the sound of Col. Stanley's 
 voice the soldiers fled, but not before one of them had with a 
 billet of wood given the pedler a blow on the head that 
 stretched him senseless on the ground. 
 
 Calling for aid from the tavern, Col. Stanley had the man 
 carried within doors, where it was found that his head was 
 much injured by the blow, and he had also received a wound 
 in the side, which was bleeding profusely. Bidding the land 
 lord send for a doctor, and leaving money to provide for the 
 wounded man's necessities, he left him, and once more pur 
 sued his way homeward. 
 
 The next morning, as he was passing along the street by the 
 tavern, too much absorbed in his own plans to remember at 
 that moment the events of the preceding evening, he was 
 stopped by the small, square figure of Billy Flannigan, the 
 host, who, hat in hand, had placed himself directly in his path, 
 and, with an obeisance he meant to be very respectful, claimed 
 his attention. 
 
 " Och, sure, yer honor, and is n't it me that 's been watchin' 
 for yees ? The man 's very bad, and kind o' delarious like ; 
 an' I 'm thinkin' he 's dyin' sure ! " 
 
 " Ah ! " said Stanley, carelessly. " You sent for a doctor, 
 did n't you?" 
 
 " Well, yer honor," replied the man, scratching his head, 
 " it 's one thing tp sind for a doctor, and it 's another thing to 
 git 'un ; an' the likes o' us poor folks oftener gits the one 
 nor the other."
 
 104 AGNES. 
 
 " Do you mean to say the doctor would n't come ? " 
 
 ' Faix ! an' it 's jist that, yer honor ! " replied Billy. " I 
 goes to Dr. Eobinson him as lives foment the hospital 
 an' I knocks an' knocks. Faix ! but he 's the sound slaper, 
 says I, for I couldn't wake him at all, by reason that he 
 was n't there at all, at all ; an' a woman puts her head at 
 last out the windy in the next house, and tells me he 's moved 
 into the barracks. An' so I goes roun' an' roun', an' if yer 
 honor '11 b'lave it, it was mornin' afore I gits home, and then , 
 the man was dyin', sure ! " 
 
 " You don't pretend you was out all night hunting for a 
 doctor, do you ? " asked Stanley. 
 
 " Yis, yer honor, it 's that I 'm tellin' ye. Maybe the 
 dhrap crathur I took jist to warm me got into me head 
 I don' know I don't jist remember about the whole night 
 rightly, but 'twas mornin' afore I gits home, and thin sure 
 the man was dyin', and nobody to help him." 
 
 " You was drunk, you rascal, and I suppose you 've let him 
 bleed to death ! " said Stanley, indignantly. 
 
 " Faix ! an' that was what th' ould woman said ! " replied 
 he ; " an' she jist sint me out for yer honor, an' if ye 'd only 
 step in a minute, and see that it 's reg'lar like, an' no foul 
 play done an' maybe yer honor would give a nate bit of a 
 wake for him ! " 
 
 By this time they had reached the tavern, and Stanley fol 
 lowed his conductor to the bedside of thfc sufferer. His 
 reason had returned a little, but the death-rattle in his throat,
 
 THE TRAP BAITED. 105 
 
 and the livid paleness of his face, showed that life was fast 
 departing. 
 
 " Why have n't you taken off his coat? " was Stanley's first 
 question, when he saw the man lying completely dressed as 
 when they laid him on the bed. 
 
 " Faix ! an' did n't we thry to, an' did n't he hould on so 
 we could n't ? " replied Billy. " An' I 'm thinkin' there 's 
 gould somewhere about that coat, by the grip he made at it 
 when we thryed to take it off." 
 
 " Remove it now," said Stanley ; " it will ease his breathing, 
 and he won't know about it. Cut it, and take it off! " 
 
 But the dying man heard him, and when they attempted to 
 obey the command made a feeble resistance, drawing the 
 coat about him, as if to keep it near was the sole anxiety of 
 those last moments of life. Soon his fingers wandered along 
 the buttons until they rested on a particular spot, when he 
 smiled vacantly, and lay quite still, as if satisfied. It was the 
 last effort of the mind, and in a few moments he had ceased 
 to breathe. 
 
 Stanley's eyes had followed this last motion, and his 
 curiosity was excited to know the cause. Placing his band 
 on the same spot, he felt a small, hard substance, and on 
 ripping open the place with his knife found a flat tin box, a 
 few inches long, sewed in the lining beneath the button. 
 Upon being opened, this proved to be full of papers com 
 pactly folded together. As there was no money anywhere to 
 be found, Stanley was convinced that the man's solicitude for 
 these papers indicated their importance, and, leaving means
 
 106 AGNES. 
 
 to have the body decently interred, he took them with him to 
 his lodgings. 
 
 The first paper he opened contained only some lines drawn 
 in red and black ink, which seemed totally void of meaning. 
 The second was a small piece a few inches square, on which 
 were traced some characters in cipher. He did not stop to 
 study them, for beneath it he saw a letter, the address of 
 which, written in a feminine hand, arrested his attention. He 
 opened it, and the firm yet delicate inscriptions so charac 
 teristic of the writer hardly needed her signature to convince 
 him that he knew her. 
 
 He started and grew pale, while the letter dropped from his 
 hands. He did not soliloquize, people in real life seldom 
 do, but many thoughts went rushing through his brain. 
 Dare he go on ? Dare he invade the sanctuary of her 
 familiar correspondence? Dare he possess himself of the 
 power which might tempt him too fatally to compel her to his 
 will ? And again, what right had she to have communication 
 with the rebel army? He appreciated too well her frank 
 and noble nature, to believe she would do so clandestinely ; 
 and, if her father knew it, and consented, what then was he ? 
 What was the meaning of these mysterious papers,, and did 
 Mr. Chester write them ? To whom were they addressed, and 
 what instructions did they convey? 
 
 O, Evelyn ! when with love-lit eyes, and fingers tremulous 
 with the heart's quick throbbings, you traced your name 
 there, how little did you think to what a fearful mystery it
 
 THE TRAP BAITED. 107 
 
 would prove the key, beneath the gaze of those bold eyes, and 
 the workings of that busy brain ! 
 
 His indecision did not last long. He arose and locked the 
 door to secure himself from interruption, and then, picking 
 up the letter, seated himself to read it. -As he read, a hard 
 and bitter smile curled his lips. He understood all now ! 
 Percy Grey was his rival, and in her joy Evelyn had spoken 
 unreservedly of her father's consent to their -union, and sym 
 pathy with his struggles for the freedom of their country. 
 Since the day they had met so accidentally, Stanley had not 
 given a thought to this " major in homespun." Had any one 
 suggested that he was in any way connected with Mr. Ches 
 ter's silence, and his daughter's agitation, as they left the 
 house, his aristocratic pride would have pronounced it simply 
 impossible that a lady whom he meant to honor with his 
 name could stoop so low. Now his eyes flashed, and a wild 
 design formed itself in his mind to crush this rival, who had 
 presumed to interfere with his purposes. Again and again 
 he read the letter, and all his love for Evelyn, all his pique 
 at her rejection of that love, became merged in a fixed deter 
 mination to obtain her hand, by any means, at any price. 
 
 The sun mounted high in the heavens, and the tide of busy 
 life poured through the streets and murmured in his ears. 
 He heeded not. His servant brought in his dinner, but he 
 swallowed it almost unconsciously, and returned again to the 
 study that absorbed him. He was finding out the cipher. 
 To him it was no fruitless task. " Any puzzle which human 
 ingenuity has constructed, human ingenuity can solve ; '' and,
 
 108 AGNES. 
 
 from some peculiar bias of his mind, studies of this kind had 
 been a favorite amusement of his boyhood. Slowly, but 
 surely, it unfolded before him, and then he understood that 
 the unmeaning lines which first had met his eye formed a 
 map of the surrounding country, and marked the course of 
 armies. The sun was sinking in the west when he had 
 finished his labor. His face was haggard, and his whole 
 frame weary with the intensity of thought and passion. But 
 he had triumphed, and the secret was his own. He held in 
 his power Evelyn's happiness and her father's life. 
 
 At the same hour, the maiden on whom Stanley's thoughts 
 were fixed with such baneful designs was sitting with her 
 father in the library. With quick impulses and keen sensi 
 bilities, Evelyn Chester was yet possessed of a firm mind and 
 a strong heart. Her cheek might flush and pale, or her eye 
 dim and brighten, with every passing emotion, but the high 
 soul within would not be moved from its right purposes. In 
 obedience to the command she considered it the first duty of 
 her life to obey, she had resolutely striven to conquer the 
 love which had gained such power over her, and with generous 
 self-sacrifice had hidden from her father the pain the struggle 
 cost her. But, as a bird, when some kind hand opens the 
 door of its cage, escapes, carolling, into the free air, its wings 
 glittering in the sunshine, so, at Mr. Chester's words on the 
 preceding evening, had that long-silenced affection risen exult- 
 ingly from its prison in her heart, and, with a power before 
 undreamed of, claimed the homage of her whole being. How 
 gay were her thick-coming fancies, how bright her hopes, as
 
 THE TRAP BAITED. 109 
 
 phe sat by the window, with the golden western light falling 
 over her like a glory ! She held a book in one hand, while 
 the other supported her queenly head, with its wealth of hair 
 parted simply above her beautiful brow, and rippling back to 
 the classic braids that bound it, in glossy waves of purpjish 
 black. Her eyes were half hidden by their long lashes, and 
 a faint smile curved the exquisite outline of her rosy lips. 
 
 A noise from the street interrupted the quiet of her thought, 
 and, looking up, she met her father's eyes fixed on her with 
 fond pride. He was almost as glad as his daughter that his 
 self-imposed barrier to her happiness was removed. 
 
 " I hear a noise," she said, " music and shouting. What 
 is it ? " 
 
 " I heard, to-day," replied Mr. Chester, " that Gen. Lee 
 and his staff were surprised and taken prisoners in a country- 
 house somewhere in Jersey, and, probably, they have just 
 been brought into town. They seem to be coming this way." 
 
 " Where can they be placed ? " said Evelyn. " I hear the 
 prisons are full, and most of them so crowded that the pris 
 oners have not room to turn over on the floor where they lie 
 at night." 
 
 " It is dreadful to think how they must suffer ! " answered 
 Mr. Chester, with a sigh. " Many of them die of fever, and 
 some in a more terrible way alone, and in darkness, by the 
 hangman's hands. But I will not pain you by speaking of 
 this," he added, as Evelyn uttered an exclamation of horror. 
 
 He came to the window, and they watched the advancing 
 crowd. A band of musicians preceded a company of soldiers, 
 10
 
 110 AGNES. 
 
 who marched in a hollow square, surrounding a small party 
 of prisoners. Gen. Lee walked a little in advance of his 
 officers, his face buried in his cloak, as if to hide his mor 
 tification; but one, who followed near, seemed to have lost 
 all consciousness of his painful position, and gazed eagerly 
 around, as if seeking some one in the street as they passed 
 along. As he went by the window where Evelyn and her 
 father stood, a glad smile and a look of recognition passed 
 over his face, and he half stopped and raised his hand, as if 
 to bow to them. 
 
 " Evelyn, child," said Mr. Chester, quickly, " look ! Who 
 is that ? " 
 
 " It is Percy Grey ! " 
 
 The sudden shock was too much for her at that moment 
 when her hopes were brightest, and, with a low, gasping moan, 
 she sank unconscious at her father's feet. 
 
 But Percy went on with the air of a conqueror. What 
 were defeat and imprisonment to him? He had seen her,' and, 
 though he could not have denned the reason of the change, a 
 weight was lifted from his heart, and all the future grew 
 bright. He hardly heard the shouts of the rabble, or thought 
 of what awaited him, until a command was given to halt, 
 and, as the ranks opened, the prisoners were marched into 
 the open space enclosed in front of the City Hall, since called 
 the Park. 
 
 The old City Hall was a large, square, brick building, 
 erected by the worthy burghers of Manhattan for more peace 
 ful purposes, but now converted into a prison ; and, with its
 
 THE TRAP BAITED. Ill 
 
 heavily-grated windows and double guard of soldiers, it seemed 
 to frown gloomily, in the waning light, upon the hapless men 
 whom adverse fate now led within its shadow. Inside the hall 
 every precaution had been taken for the safety of the prison 
 ers. A grated iron barricade, with a door heavily barred and 
 chained, had been placed across the hall at the foot of the 
 staircase, on each side of which, and in the hall above, 
 walked two Hessian soldiers ; and on the right hand of the 
 entrance was the office of Cunningham, the cruel' deputy of 
 Gen. Howe. 
 
 Into this room the prisoners were led, where, after a rigid 
 personal examination, a record was made of the dress, age, 
 and appearance, of Gen. Lee ; and then the guard conducted 
 him up stairs into a closet adjoining the rooms where the most 
 noted prisoners taken by the British were kept ; and, it having 
 been determined to treat him as a deserter from that army, 
 rather than as a prisoner of war, he was confined in irons. 
 
 After some further consultation, accompanied by taunts and 
 insults that made the blood boil in their veins, the other offi 
 cers were ordered to the Sugar-House. This was a small, 
 circular, stone building, in Liberty-street, five stories high ; 
 each story being divided into two apartments, and most of 
 them crowded with human beings in every stage of destitution 
 and misery. As Percy Grey and his companions entered 
 within the high wall surrounding this gloomy prison, their 
 hearts sunk. From the narrow windows above them wasted 
 and pallid faces were looking out, and the rude manner and 
 rough voice of the jailer who received them from the soldiers
 
 112 AGNES. 
 
 did not tend to raise their expectations of the treatment they 
 might receive at his hands. 
 
 Calling his assistants, the jailer marched them up one flight 
 of the narrow stairs, and, opening a door, ushered them into a 
 low, dark room, where a few forlorn objects, cowering in the 
 straw, shrank away as they entered. Counting them one by 
 one as they went in, and giving the last a kick that threw 
 him prostrate on the floor, their brutal conductor locked them 
 in, saying", with an oath,, to the young man beside him, 
 " There, now, let 'em git out o' that cage, if they can, before 
 the hangman comes to wring their necks ! " 
 
 His companion did not reply, and something like an execra 
 tion escaped through his clenched teeth as he slowly descended 
 the stairs behind him. When they reached the outer door, 
 the jailer added, 
 
 " Now, off with you, Jem, and be sure you 're back in 
 season, for it takes younger blood than mine to keep warm 
 long in this infernal hole." 
 
 " What do you think o' them poor critturs up there, then ? " 
 said Jem, jerking his head towards the stairs. 
 
 " Them ! blast 'em, who cares if they are cold ? Freezin' 
 's good for the Yankees ! " answered he, with another oath ; 
 and thus dismissed Jem hastened away.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE PRISONER. 
 
 IN a low, one-story house in Nassau-street, Jem's mother, 
 Mrs., or, as she was generally called, " widow " Henderson, 
 was engaged, as the darkness of a winter evening came on, in 
 bringing inside her shop the various articles that during the 
 day had been displayed about the door as signs of the abun 
 dance and variety of the goods to be found within. The death 
 of her husband, some years previous, having left her destitute, 
 she had found occupation as housekeeper in Mr. Chester's 
 family, while her son made himself useful in various ways 
 about the house and farm. There they had since resided, 
 until the rumors of Indian invasion had alarmed her patron, 
 and, together with other motives, induced him to remove to 
 New York. Thither she followed him with her son ; and, as 
 some loss of property had induced Mr. Chester to dismiss a 
 part of his servants, she concluded to use the capital accumu 
 lated from her wages, year by year, to stock a small grocery- 
 shop, which she opened in the front room of a house belonging 
 to her former employer. She was a woman of shrewd business 
 capacities, and her little shop soon became profitable ; and, 
 10*
 
 114 AGNES. 
 
 having obtained a situation for her son as under-keeper in 
 the Sugar-House jail, she forced him to accept it, though the 
 good-natured boy shrank from a work so revolting to his 
 feelings. 
 
 Having carefully closed and secured the shutters, and 
 arranged everything in readiness for to-morrow's business, 
 Mrs. Henderson counted the gains of the day now past, and 
 retired with them into an interior apartment. This room, 
 though compelled to serve for kitchen, parlor, and bed-room, 
 was kept in nice order. A bright fire showed the well-sanded 
 floor, and was reflected back from the pewter cups and plates 
 which, scoured bright as silver, stood on the open dresser. 
 Going to the fireplace, the widow withdrew one of the tiles 
 from a corner near the wall, revealing in the chimney a small 
 cavity already well filled with money. 
 
 She dropped the pieces she held slowly into the hole, and 
 smiled as if the jingle of silver was a pleasant music to her 
 ears. 
 
 " It 's an ill wind that blows nobody any luck," she said to 
 herself; "an' if the blessed war will only last a while longer, 
 Jem an' I will see old England yet with a pretty penny in 
 our pockets." 
 
 She replaced the stone, and, after stirring the fire, drew out 
 a small square table, and busied herself in arranging it for 
 supper. Then taking from the crane the kettle, under the 
 cover and through the nose of which the water was leaping 
 and sputtering convulsively in its efforts to escape the torment 
 of its fiery prison, she proceeded to make a " drawing of tea,"
 
 THE PRISONER. 115 
 
 carefully measuring the precious article in a small silver 
 spoon kept for the purpose, and almost counting the leaves as 
 she poured them into a black teapot. 
 
 As she was thus occupied, the door opened and her son 
 entered. 
 
 " Grlad to see you, Jem," said his mother. " You 're all 
 in the nick o' time. The kettle \s biled, and while you 're 
 gettin' warm, and the tea 's drawin', I '11 fry the eggs in a 
 jiffy." 
 
 Jem did not reply to this cordial salutation, but, throwing 
 himself into an arm-chair standing in the chimney corner, he 
 pulled his hat over his brows, and sat looking moodily into 
 the fire. His mother cast many an anxious glance at him as 
 she bustled about the room, but did not attempt to disturb 
 him until, having finished her preparations, she took a seat at 
 the table, saying, cheerfully, 
 
 "Come on, Jem! Ye an't asleep, are ye? Come! the 
 eggs is done to a turn, and the tea 's drawed ! " 
 
 " I don't want no tea! I'm mad!" said Jem, sulkily, 
 giving his head a toss that threw his hat on the floor behind 
 him. " 'T an't no use talkin', marm, I won't have nothin' 
 more to do with that yer jail ! " 
 
 "Why, Jem! what ails ye, boy? Got promoted into 
 the sarvice o' your lawful king, and you frettin' ! Don't 
 tell me!" 
 
 " Sarvice o' the king ! " replied Jem, scornfully, unawed 
 by his mother's well-feigned astonishment. " You know well 
 enough, marm, I hate it like pison ! "
 
 116 AGNES. 
 
 " Well, 'tis bad, I know," she answered, soothingly; "but 
 you gets good wages, and if 'twan't you 'twould be some 
 body else as would have to lock 'em up ; so they would n't be 
 no better off, and you would n't be so well. So you might as 
 well eat your supper." 
 
 She enforced her philosophical reflection by pushing tow 
 ards him a plate heaped with eggs and meat ; but he went on, 
 without regarding her. 
 
 " I don't see what the Yankees let themselves be took for ! 
 I would n't I 'd fight to the last ! And, if they are took, 
 why can't they be carried somewhere else ? I say it ! s a 
 burnin' shame, and if the king knows how they 're treated, 
 he 's " 
 
 " Why, Jem ! your lawful king ! " interrupted widow 
 Henderson, holding up both hands, in dismay. 
 
 " Well, marm, I won't say nothin' about that, but it 's too 
 bad ! They 're packed like sheep in the Provost and the 
 City Hall, and the hospitals is full, and the Sugar-House ; 
 and down to the Wallabout they 're dyin' by hundreds. And 
 now here 's another lot ! I '11 desert ! " 
 
 " Why, Jem ! what 's come over ye ? " said his mother. 
 " You an't no business scoldin' over that ! Don't you know 
 that jest so many as is took prisoners, jest so many less is 
 left to fight?" 
 
 " You think so, do ye? " he replied, sneeringly. " See if 
 you '11 be glad when I tell ye who 's been and got took now ! 
 Major Grey that same one Miss Evelyn liked so well, and 
 took on so about "
 
 THE PKISONEK. 117 
 
 " Miss Evelyn did n't take on about him ! She an't the 
 gal to take on after any young man, much less one o' the 
 rebels that 's a fightin' agin his lawful king ! " interrupted 
 Mrs. Henderson, her womanly pride taking alarm for her 
 young lady. 
 
 " 0," said Jem, striking his hand on the table with a force 
 that made the dishes rattle, " I tell you she did like him, 
 though ! I was out in the garden that day 'fore he went off, 
 and I heard 'em talkin' behind the shrubbery, and I 
 won't tell what I heard, nuther," he added, breaking off 
 suddenly. 
 
 " Well, no matter what you heard, if Miss Evelyn said it. 
 Risk her ! she won't come down to no young feller ! But 
 do eat your supper, Jem ! The eggs is gettin' cold, and cold 
 eggs is horrid, any way, more 'specially fried. Fall to, and 
 we can talk it over arterwards." 
 
 Thus urged, and having somewhat relieved his feelings by 
 expressing them, Jem " fell to " with such zeal that the eat 
 ables soon disappeared. 
 
 " There, now," he said, at length, as he drew his hand 
 across his mouth by way of napkin, and leaned back in hia 
 chair, " now I 've eaten to please you, marm, and you may 
 hear what I 've got to say ; for I know, bad as you hate the 
 rebels, you'd hate worse to have our Miss Evelyn's little 
 finger ache, let alone her having her heart all smashed into 
 flinders, as 't will be if anything happens to that young man." 
 
 " Well, talk away," said his mother. " If you 've got any 
 thing to say, say it. He was a purty young man, and pleasant-
 
 118 AGNES. 
 
 spoken too, if he was fightin' agin his lawful king. Did he 
 know you ? " 
 
 " No," replied Jem. " 'T was a'most dark, and I s'pose 
 he did n't think, o' me bein' in that dirty business, nuther. 
 But I know'd him, the minute I sot eyes on him." 
 
 "Poor soul! 'tis hard, but I don't see what we can do 
 about it," said the widow, thoughtfully. " You gets good 
 wages there " 
 
 "Well, now, for my part I an't so clear about that. Maybe 
 we might get him out o' that cussed hole " 
 
 " We ! how?" interrupted his mother. " Now, Jem, don't 
 you go and get into scrapes! It won't do no good, not a bit; 
 and you 're all I 've got in this hull world, and if anything 
 happens to you " 
 
 " Don't be an old fool, marm! " said her son, as she paused, 
 and began wiping her eyes. It was rather a rough expres 
 sion, but it was intended as a term of endearment, and she so 
 understood it. Jem never called her an " old fool " when he 
 seriously meant to act contrary to her wishes ; and she grew 
 composed, and put down her apron. 
 
 " Promise me, now, you won't do nothin'," she cried. " I 
 never will consent to it never ! " 
 
 " Well, well, don't cry ! Who 'd a thought you 'd been 
 BO easy frightened?" answered he, perceiving this was no time 
 to reveal his half-formed plans. " I won't run my head into 
 a noose without tellin' you first ; so wipe your old eyes, an' 
 go draw me a mug o' cider, for it 's time I was off. It '11 be 
 cold as Jericho walking them stone floors to-night."
 
 THE PRISONER. 119 
 
 Whatever might have been Jem's ideas of the climate of 
 Jericho, his mother appeared to consider it frigid enough to 
 justify a little of " somethin' warmin'," in the cider, as well as 
 numberless wrappers and overcoats. These she adjusted about 
 him with great care ; for this six-foot specimen of humanity 
 had never to her eyes outgrown the care or control he needed 
 when a baby. 
 
 Having arrived at the prison, Jem reported himself to the 
 jailer, and, receiving from him the keys, proceeded to distrib 
 ute food to the prisoners. Poor food it was, and the 
 allowance to each man so small that they suffered constantly 
 from hunger ; and when he saw the crowd of eager faces that 
 greeted him as each door was opened, his compassionate 
 heart smote him as he thought of the plentiful supper he had 
 himself enjoyed. He had often found means of performing 
 little kindnesses for the unhappy beings under his charge, but 
 all he could do unobserved was as nothing compared to the 
 accumulation of suffering which he had no power to prevent. 
 
 When he entered the room where Percy Grey and his com 
 panions were confined, a scene of misery met his eyes. Some 
 of them were wounded, and all were exhausted by the fatigue 
 of their march and long exposure. The cold, dark cell, where 
 they were crowded, had utterly subdued the excitement that 
 hitherto sustained them, and despair had taken its place. 
 They had sunk into various attitudes of weariness and 
 dejection upon the straw with which the floor was covered, 
 for the tender mercies of the British allowed them neither 
 chairs or bedstead,
 
 120 AGNES. 
 
 Percy, who was engaged in binding up the wounded arm 
 of one of his comrades, started when he heard the voice that 
 called upon some of the stronger and more selfish among 
 those who had long been confined there, to relinquish to the 
 new comers a portion of the food they were eagerly devouring. 
 After a moment of confused recollection, he recalled to mind 
 the merry tones he had so often heard in the fields of Chester 
 Close ; and Jem, seeing the earnest gaze fixed upon him, took 
 advantage of a moment when his assistant was engaged in 
 distributing food, and went to the spot where Percy stood, 
 raising his finger to his lips in token of silence. 
 
 " Is it you, Jem ? " said Percy, in a low tone. " How can 
 you be in this place ? " 
 
 " Yes, it 's me more 's the pity ! " was the whispered 
 reply. " But don't say nothing afore folks. Write what you 
 want to know." And, favored by the obscurity of the cell, he 
 thrust paper and pencil into Percy's hand. 
 
 " But, Miss Evelyn how is she? " persisted he. 
 
 " Hush ! " said Jem; " all right there, I reckon. Write to 
 her, if you want to, and give me the note to-morrow." 
 
 So saying, he turned away abruptly, and Percy, taking the 
 hint, did not follow him with any more questions. A moment 
 after, a rough voice exclaimed, " Here, you Yankee rebels, 
 come and eat while you can, for this is all any of you '11 get 
 till to-morrow night ! " 
 
 And this was literally true, for during all the time they 
 were inmates of that horrible prison, their food, coarse and 
 unpalatable as it was, was served to them but once in twenty-
 
 THE PRISONER. 121 
 
 four hours. The head jailer, who kept the keys, delivered 
 them to his young associates each evening for an hour, when 
 they were expected to feed the prisoners, and to see that none 
 had escaped or died ; and then, having given the keys into 
 his hands, they took turns in standing as sentinels in the 
 passages of the prison. But in no case, even of sickness or 
 death, would he allow the doors to be opened at any other 
 time. 
 
 These cruelties, which were afterwards disowned and 
 severely commented on by Gen. Howe, were inflicted by the 
 callous and profligate men to whom the care of these wretched 
 captives had been committed by the deputy Cunningham. 
 Yet the fact that such needless sufferings were not intended 
 by the mother-country did not prevent the bitter and vindic 
 tive feelings that for a long time rankled deeply, and were 
 easily aroused to activity at the mention of the Sugar-House 
 and the Wallabout. 
 
 The short meal ended, the attendants withdrew, leaving 
 Percy and his companions in darkness, save for the moonlight 
 streaming in through windows cut in the thick wall. But, 
 alas ! those unglazed windows admitted also the keen night- 
 wind, which chilled them to the heart. The straw on the 
 floor was filthy in the extreme, and filled with vermin ; but 
 before morning the cold was so intense they were glad to bury 
 themselves in it, and lie close together, that the concentration 
 of animal heat might keep them from freezing. 
 
 Many of these were men fondly cared for, and some of 
 them young and delicately nurtured all their lives, till now. 
 11
 
 122 AGNES. 
 
 For their sakes what true hearts were even then breaking 
 with the wearing sickness of hope deferred ; what gentle eyes 
 were dim with tears of vain weeping; what soul-wrung 
 prayers were ascending to heaven ! 
 
 ! at this distance of time, at this height of prosperity, 
 how impossible it is for us to fathom the deep seas of suffering 
 in which the foundations of our liberty were laid !
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A SUCCESSFUL PLOT. 
 
 A WEEK had passed since the occurrence of the scenes 
 described in the last chapter. To Percy Grey and his com 
 panions it had been a week of privation and misery, alleviated, 
 indeed, to the former by the hopes he entertained of ultimate 
 escape, and of seeing again, if only for a moment, the bright 
 object of so many dreams and imaginings. To Evelyn and her 
 father it had been a time of anxious consultation with Jem 
 Henderson, whose budding purpose to effect the escape of his 
 prisoner ripened into full decision when he saw the pale face 
 of his young mistress. For her he cherished a chivalrous 
 devotion, that would have led him to brave even greater 
 danger than attended this enterprise. 
 
 Secure of Jem's faithfulness, Evelyn had sent many mes 
 sages to her lover ; and Mr. Chester, whose doting affection 
 for his child made it impossible for him to resist her entrea 
 ties, now that he had opened his heart to her, had been eager 
 to furnish means for Percy's liberation. 
 
 Saturday night closed in, dark and stormy. The wind 
 howled, and the snow fell fast. Few who could remain in
 
 doors were exposed to the inclement weather; and as Mr. 
 Chester faced the blast, on his way to the widow Henderson's, 
 he drew his fur-lined cloak about him, and shuddered as he 
 thought of those who, without fire or sufficient clothing, were 
 feeling that keen, snow-laden wind sweep through the open 
 windows of their prison. 
 
 He found a bright fire in the widow's dwelling, and Mrs. 
 Henderson herself at that hour engaged in washing up " the 
 tea-things." But she did not give him her usual noisy wel 
 come. She could hardly forgive him for the plan, which she 
 believed would only bring trouble to herself, and danger to 
 her son. Moreover, in her intense loyalty, she had some 
 scruples of conscience about the propriety of a scheme " to 
 help them away as would go right off and fight agin their 
 lawful king." It required all her gratitude and affection for 
 Mr. Chester and Evelyn to overcome these feelings ; but, after 
 many arguments and entreaties, she had reluctantly promised 
 to aid him, since her aid was necessary. They understood how 
 disagreeable the matter was to her, and, without noticing her 
 taciturnity, Mr. Chester now turned to Jem, who, comfortably 
 seated before the burning embers, was engaged in a scientific 
 department of the culinary art, which he called " toasting his 
 shins." 
 
 " Well, Jem," said he, seating himself beside him, " this 
 will be a bitter cold night for our friends in the jail. I 
 hope one of them, at least, won't have to endure many more 
 such." 
 
 " I hope not, nuther ! " said Jem, " and I was jest a tellin'
 
 A SUCCESSFUL PLOT. 125 
 
 marm I think we might as well try Monday night as any 
 that is, if you can get the pass you spoke about." 
 
 " I think there will be no difficulty in doing so," replied 
 Mr. Chester. " I have sent a servant into the country once 
 already since we left the Close, and it can't excite suspicion 
 if I request a similar passport for Major Grey. I will hire a 
 boatman to take him across to the Jersey shore, and when 
 once he has passed the line of guards he will be safe, and can 
 go where he pleases. This will be my care. Is your part 
 arranged ? Could you get the false key made ? " 
 
 " Easy as could be, and no questions asked," said Jem, 
 laughing. " I blacked my face, and put on a wig, and talked 
 nigger ; and I reckon the scamp that made it is used to that 
 sort o' business, for he didn't ask no questions when I showed 
 him the gold piece." 
 
 " That is all safe, then," said Mr. Chester. " Now, when 
 will you use it ? " 
 
 " 0, deary me ! an' to think how- 1 've been thanking my 
 stars, through this whole blessed war, that Jem was n't a 
 rebel ! " soliloquized Mrs. Henderson, with a groan. " And 
 him getting such good wages, too ! " 
 
 " Monday night there won't be any moon, and that '11 be 
 the best time," said Jem, without heeding her. *' If this 
 storm clears off so as to give Mr. Grey a chance to get away 
 the next day, we '11 try it then. I Ve been dreadful in hopes 
 the river would freeze over solid enough for him to cross on 
 the ice, and not have to trust no boatman besides bein' 
 dangerous as 'tis now, all full o' floatin' ice." 
 11*
 
 126 AGNES. 
 
 " Why could n't he wait a while, then ? The ice must soon 
 become firm," said Mr. Chester. 
 
 " Because it 's a choice between hangin' and drownin' with 
 him, and I reckon he 'd like drownin' best o' the two. When 
 the jails get too full, and they don't die off fast enough, they 
 take out a few, now and then, and hang 'em out behind the 
 Provost there, in dark nights. They don't make much noise 
 about it ; but they do it, and Mr. Grey 's as likely to be took 
 out as anybody." 
 
 Jem shuddered as he said this, and for a little while neither 
 of his hearers felt like answering his remark. 
 
 " You think, then, it will be safest for him to leave our 
 house immediately after his release ? " said Mr. Chester, at 
 length. 
 
 " Yes, indeed, I do," replied Jem, emphatically. " They '11 
 be sure not to find out he 's gone till feeding-time comes next 
 evening, for that 's the only time the cells are opened. Thea 
 it '11 be too dark to do much in the way o' looking for him, 
 even if they feel like taking the trouble ; so he '11 be sure of 
 twenty-four hours, and that ought to put him out o' harm's 
 way. I 've fixed it up fust rate," continued he, laughing. 
 " All this week, when I 've been out among folks in the street, 
 I've had a most awful toothache, and had my face all 
 wrapped up, and worn my old cloak all wrapped round me. 
 Now, you see, if Mr. Grey happens to have to speak to any 
 of the guard, and his voice don't sound jest like mine, they '11 
 think it 's the toothache, and his face '11 be all wrapped up, so 
 they won't see so quick 't an't me ; and the cloak '11 help hide
 
 A SUCCESSFUL PLOT. 12" 
 
 the difference too. I 've smuggled in a suit of my clothes for 
 him to put on over his 'n, for I 'm stouter 'n he is, he 's 
 growin' dreadful thin, Mr. Chester, and he 's jest about as 
 tall as I be. I don't want him to leave his own clothes, 
 'cause you know somebody might ask who he changed with." 
 
 " Well done, Jem ! " said his guest, smiling. " You have 
 really quite a talent for this business." 
 
 " Let Jem alone for that ! " interrupted Mrs. Henderson, 
 gratified by this compliment to her son's ingenuity. " He 's 
 the beatermost hand to make plans and think of everything 
 aforehand only I hopes no harm won't come of it ! " she 
 added, sighing. 
 
 " 0, never you fear, marm ! I don't believe my neck '11 
 stretch for this, anyhow. I 've got it all fixed with Mr. 
 Grey. It 's my .watch the first half o' the night, an' when 
 Bill Grimes comes in and takes my place, I goes out with the 
 guard, and the gates is shut agin till morning. Well, I 'm 
 goin' to have him take my place in the entry, all fixed out in 
 my clothes, you know, and when the guard changes he goes 
 out with them, same as I allers do. And marm, here, is to 
 be on hand to show him the way to your house." 
 
 " What will you do, meantime? " 
 
 " 0, I 've found a place under the stairs, among some 
 barrels stowed away up in the third story. I can hide there, 
 and some time the next day, when there an't too many round, 
 I come out and lounge down stairs, same as if I 'd been up 
 on an arrand. Nobody '11 mind me; I'm allers about 
 there."
 
 128 AGNES. 
 
 " Then you will bring Major Grey to my house ? " said Mr. 
 Chester, turning to the widow, who, having completed her 
 household arrangements, had seated herself with her knitting. 
 
 " Why, yes," she replied, gloomily. " Jem 's got me into 
 the scrape, and I suppose I must do my share. An' the 
 sooner the better, I say, for I 'm wearin' away to a thread- 
 paper worryin' over it. I hope we shan't all smart for it ; 
 but, if anything happens to Jem, I '11 never forgive you to my 
 dyin' day, sir that I won't ! " 
 
 " We must trust to Providence for safety," said he. 
 
 " Providence ! I calls it a clear runnin' in the face and 
 eyes of Providence ! Gettin' us into sich a scrape, and we 
 all settled so comfortable, and the blessed war a bein' sich 
 a good thing for us ! " interrupted Mrs. Henderson, indig 
 nantly. 
 
 " But I don't see as anything can be proved against your 
 son, even should suspicion fall on him after the escape is dis 
 covered. And if so, I have sufficient interest to protect him. 
 So don't be afraid." 
 
 " To be sure, Mr. Grey was a purty young man," said the 
 widow, thoughtfully, " and well-behaved when he was .to our 
 house to the Close ; and he gave me the beautifullest bright- 
 figured calimanco when he went away an' if Miss Evelyn 
 
 likes him well, Mr. Chester, I '11 do my best, and I hopes 
 
 Providence will take care of us, as you say, though he is 
 fightin' agin his lawful king." 
 
 " You must n't let your loyalty overcome your humanity," 
 eaid Mr. Chester. " Don't you remember the Scripture bids
 
 A SUCCESSFUL PLOT. 129 
 
 us ' open the prison doors, and let the oppressed go free'? So 
 you see it is all right." 
 
 " Well, now, I never looked at it in jest that light afore," 
 replied the widow. " But who 'd a thought o' hearing you a 
 quotin' Scripter agin your lawful king ? " 
 
 " Not quoting it against his majesty, but in favor of Major 
 Grey's escape," said Mr. Chester, smiling. 
 
 " Any way, now we 're in for it, I 'm kind of glad there is 
 Scripter for it," replied Mrs. Henderson. "I s'pose we must 
 keep on, for I do believe my Jem would fret his life out if he 
 should think he had n't done all he could to please Miss Eve 
 lyn. He -thinks a dreadful sight of her, and always has, ever 
 since she took sich care of him and me when we had the fever, 
 and nobody else would come near us." 
 
 Jem blushed up to the roots of his yellow hair as his 
 mother uttered these last words, and, rising hastily, signifie. 
 his intention of going out to his watch in the jail. Mr. Ches 
 ter also took leave, after arranging with the widow to inform 
 him if anything occurred to prevent the accomplishment of 
 their designs. 
 
 Monday morning dawned gloriously ; for the storm had 
 ended in a warm rain, which obliterated every trace of winter, 
 and left the air just cool enough to be invigorating. No 
 weather could be more favorable to his purposes for the ensu 
 ing night, and Mr. Chester went early to the City Hall to 
 obtain from Cunningham a passport by favor of which Percy 
 Grey might escape through the British lines. 
 
 When he reached the Park, he found Sergeant O'Keefe
 
 130 AGNES. 
 
 and several of the English officers, among whom was Stanley, 
 gathered in a group about the door, and chatting gayly to 
 gether as they looked on while Cunningham was drilling 
 the American prisoners under his charge, for the double pur 
 pose of giving them exercise and affording amusement to his 
 companions. Almost all those who endured this indignity 
 were men who had held offices of rank and distinction in the 
 service of their country ; and the feelings with which they 
 endured these and similar insults which were often heaped 
 upon them may be better imagined than described. Upon 
 Mr. Chester's approach, Cunningham turned to him, and, 
 after the usual salutation, said, pointing with his sword to the 
 group of prisoners, 
 
 " You see I 'm giving my illustrious friends an opportunity 
 to display their skill in military evolutions." 
 
 Mr. Chester bowed gravely, but, making no reply to this 
 sneer, signified his desire to transact the business which 
 brought him thither. Cunningham, who knew his connection 
 with Lord Evansdale, and therefore esteemed him a person of 
 importance, immediately ushered him into his office, and pre 
 pared to write the passport he requested. In doing this it 
 became necessary to mention the personal appearance of the 
 servant who was to carry it, and Stanley, who had lingered 
 near the door, heard the description thus given. 
 
 It was satisfactory in one respect, for it was such that Mr. 
 Chester could not himself use it with any safety, if he wished 
 to leave the city ; but Stanley was seized with a violent desire 
 to know if the proposed messenger portended any further com-
 
 A SUCCESSFUL PLOT. 131 
 
 munication with the rebel camp. Thinking of this, he walked 
 slowly away from the spot, and, turning into Nassau-street, 
 was proceeding to his lodgings, when, at the corner of Liberty- 
 street, his progress was hindered by a crowd which had col 
 lected on the sidewalk before the door of a large building that 
 stood there. This had been the " Middle Dutch Church," but 
 when the city passed into the enemy's hands it was converted 
 into a hospital. Of late, however, it had been appropriated 
 to another use, less in keeping with its sacred character. The 
 windows had been taken out, and the space within the walls 
 strewed thickly with tan. A pole had been placed across 
 the centre for the convenience of equestrian exercise, and now 
 a party of dragoons were in full practice, leaping and riding 
 around the area. The crowd were occupied in watching these 
 movements, and, though a few looked on with frowning 
 brows, and angry words uttered in an under tone, the majority 
 seemed to enjoy the sport, regardless of the wanton desecra 
 tion. 
 
 Stanley stopped a moment to watch the proceedings. 
 
 " Hi ! " said a voice at his side, as a tall dragoon cleared 
 the pole with a leap that carried him several feet higher than 
 the others, " Hi ! dat yer feller wid the long tail, he smart 
 one for jump ! " 
 
 Stanley recognized the voice as that of a negro boy whom 
 he had often met at Mr. Chester's. A sudden thought oc 
 curred to him, and, beckoning the boy away from the group, 
 he continued his walk. Juniper followed, a little surprised, 
 and curious to know for what he was wanted.
 
 132 A Q N E S . 
 
 " Good-morning, Juniper ! " said Stanley, turning to him, 
 with unwonted suavity, as they entered a quiet street. 
 
 " Mornin', massa ! " replied he, with a grin. 
 
 " How are the folks at your house, this morning? Is Miss 
 Evelyn well ? " proceeded his questioner. 
 
 " Thankee, massa," replied the negro, consequentially. 
 " Sally and me, we 's peart, and ole massa 's so 's to be totin' ; 
 but Miss Evelyn an't so bery well dis week past. 'Pears like 
 she hab de doldrums." 
 
 "The what?" asked Stanley. 
 
 " 'Pears like she 'd been cryin' ebery mornin'. Don'o what 
 for, I sure, massa." 
 
 This unexpected reply threw Stanley into so serious a revery 
 that for some time he was silent ; and Juniper, supposing the 
 conversation ended, was beginning to lag behind, with a view 
 of returning to the riding-school, when Stanley, stopping in 
 his walk, said to him, suddenly, 
 
 " How many servants does your master keep ? " 
 
 " Why, massa," said Jumper, in an apologetic tone, " yer 
 see, what wid sellin' the farm-stuff for nuffin, and movin' up 
 here, and all, ole massa done got rid o' some o' de property, 
 I s'pect, and so we don't live like we did at all, we don't. 
 Dere used to be a power o' servants, and now dere an't but 
 me, and Sally, she my sister, ye know, massa, and Sam, 
 de coachee dat all. Mighty poor show dat ! " 
 
 " And does any one ever come to your house, any servant 
 or countryman, I mean, a tall man, with brown hair and
 
 A SUCCESSFUL PLOT. 133 
 
 light complexion ? Think, now ! I '11 give you something 
 to remember." 
 
 The negro scratched his woolly head, undecided whether to 
 tell the truth and lose the promised reward, or to make up a 
 lie to suit the occasion. But, being entirely ignorant of what 
 might be the issue of this strange questioning, he concluded 
 it was best to be truthful, and replied, 
 
 " No, massa, neber see no sich hereabouts." 
 
 Stanley knew him to be a sly, bright fellow, and, fixing his 
 eyes on him significantly, said, 
 
 " Juniper, can I trust you to do something for me, if I 
 pay you well for it ? " 
 
 " Yes, massa, on'y ole massa might find it out," was the 
 reply, in a dubious tone. 
 
 "He need know nothing about it, if you are careful," 
 said the tempter. " Now listen to me. You like money, of 
 course ? " 
 
 44 Hit me dere ! " replied the boy, snapping his fingers and 
 showing a row of gleaming ivory. " Dis nigger an't no 
 fool!" 
 
 " Now, be careful, and do as I tell you," said Stanley, 
 smiling. " Such a man as I have described will come to your 
 master's house soon, to-day or to-morrow, probably, and 
 I want you to watch and find out what he comes for, and how 
 long he stays, and where he is going. When you know all, 
 come and tell me. I will give you a guinea ; and if you find 
 out without letting any one know, I will give you two. Do 
 you understand ? " 
 
 12
 
 134 AGNES. 
 
 " Yes, massa. Dis chile knows how to keep dark with 
 both eyes open." 
 
 " Decidedly dark, I should think ! " said Stanley, glancing 
 at his ebony visage ; and, slipping a piece of silver into Juni 
 per's hand to insure his fidelity, he added, " I shall expect to 
 hear from you before long. You know where I live ? " 
 
 " Yes, massa ! " replied the negro, and they parted, the 
 one to plan and scheme, the other, full of his new charge, to 
 proceed rapidly homeward. The first person he saw was his 
 young mistress, who was wandering listlessly from room to 
 room, too anxious and excited to be able to remain quiet, and 
 with the shadow of fear or trouble dimming the light of her 
 eyes. 
 
 How wearily the day passed to her ! How its hours 
 dragged themselves along in the monotonous gloom of the 
 prison where Percy counted their flight by the beatings of his 
 own heart, throbbing high and strong with the hope of free 
 dom ! 
 
 In spite of the hardships he had endured from cold and 
 hunger, and the discomforts of his close confinement, the past 
 week had been the happiest he had experienced for months. 
 He had received daily communications from Evelyn. The fear 
 of her father's displeasure was removed, and, in her pity for 
 the sufferings of his imprisonment, she had betrayed her feel 
 ings and her hopes in these little perfumed billets much more 
 freely than maidenly reserve would have allowed, had their 
 circumstances been different, but with a naivete so perfectly 
 delightful to Percy, that he sometimes half dreaded the
 
 A SUCCESSFUL PLOT. 135 
 
 termination of a captivity which was thus alleviated. This 
 evening was to decide his fate. Happiness, freedom, home, 
 and an honorable career in the service of his country, would 
 be his, if the attempt succeeded. If it failed, there would 
 remain to him only a speedy and ignominious death. 
 
 The alternative presented itself again and again, as he 
 paced the narrow bounds of his cell in the gloom of twilight ; 
 but he thrust it from him with the energy of a brave spirit. 
 He would succeed. No 'anxiety should embitter the moment 
 which was to restore him to Evelyn. No dark foreboding 
 should dim the brightness of the few hours he hoped to enjoy 
 in her presence. 
 
 By means of writing materials furnished by Jem, they had 
 arranged the details of their plan of escape without seeming 
 to communicate with each other; and now, when the evening 
 meal was brought in, he found means to ascertain, by a word 
 and a sign, that all was ready for the adventure. He did not 
 dare lie down, lest the cold and darkness should overcome his 
 senses with sleep ; he could not walk the floor without tread 
 ing on his companions ; and therefore he waited until nearly 
 midnight, leaning against the stone wall, on which the moisture 
 from the breath of the sleepers around him congealed in thick 
 frost, listening to the measured tread of the sentinel, and, not 
 withstanding his solicitude, scarcely able to keep his enfeebled 
 system from yielding to the drowsiness induced by the chill 
 night-air, and his constrained position. At length the key 
 turned in the lock, and a thrill ran through his whole frame, 
 restoring him at once to life and energy, as he saw the door
 
 A O N ? E 8 . 
 
 slowly open, and felt on his arm tho friendly grasp of his 
 liberator. 
 
 The moment the door was closed behind them, Jem led him 
 to a dark corner under the stairs leading to the upper stories 
 of the building, and assisted him to dress in clothes he had pro 
 vided, similar to those he was himself accustomed to wear. 
 This done, his face was bandaged in a thick woollen cloth, a 
 large hat pulled over his eyes, and Jem's plaid cloak trans 
 ferred to his shoulders. 
 
 " There," said Jem, in a whisper, when all was completed, 
 " now I think you '11 do. Take my gun and walk up and 
 down afore the dooj^liere, till the guard is changed that 
 won't be long. When you hear Tom Shave coming up, you 
 better start to go down, so as to have your back to the light 
 when he meets you. Just stop to give him the gun, and, if 
 he speaks to you, make a sign as if your tooth ached awful 
 bad, and hurry on. When you get to the door, old Hunks, 
 there, '11 be waitin' to let you out ; but he 's half drunk this 
 time o' night, and he won't trouble ye. The only danger is 
 from the sentinel at the gate. He allers holds the lantern 
 right in a feller's face when we go out, but you 're so wrapped 
 up I don't think he '11 notice you particular. Fact, I should 
 most think 't was me myself, if I did n't know. So, good-by. 
 I '11 go stow myself away before the guard changes. Mind 
 what I told you, and march right out after the guard, and 
 the countersign between you and marm is ' Sir William.' 
 Don't mind marm, if she seems a little cross. She 's a good- 
 natured old cretur, but she 's an awful baby about me."
 
 A SUCCESSFUL PLOT. 137 
 
 " Good-by ! " said Percy. " I will not say how much I 
 thank you, for words would poorly express my feelings ; but 
 
 I hope " 
 
 ' " Pshaw ! " interrupted Jem, " don't talk to me in that 
 way ! Only mind your eye, for all depends on you, now." 
 
 So saying, he wrung his companion's hand with a parting 
 grasp, and, turning away, rapidly ascended the stairs to his 
 hiding-place. There he remained concealed effectually until 
 morning, when, hearing no one in the upper halls of the 
 prison, he emerged from his nook and sauntered slowly down 
 stairs. Near the door he found the jailer gossipping over 
 the fire in his little room with some of his cronies, and, join 
 ing their conversation, sat with them till they went out, when 
 he accompanied them. Thus gaining the street unsuspected 
 and unquestioned, he speedily rejoined his mother, who, 
 clasping him convulsively in her arms, wept over him as if 
 she had not expected to see him again. 
 12*
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE SPY. 
 
 MEANTIME, Percy Grey, thoroughly disguised in his new 
 dress, had hardly commenced his duties as sentinel, when the 
 sound of voices and the rattling of arms outside, followed by 
 a loud rapping at the door, announced that the moment of 
 liberation was at hand. After some difficulty and delay, the 
 heaw jailer was sufficiently aroused from his drunken sleep to 
 open the door, and in another moment a step was heard on 
 the stairs. 
 
 Percy descended a few steps to meet Tom Shave, who took 
 the gun, with a muttered curse on the weather, and left him 
 at liberty to descend. He went on rapidly, and found himself 
 in the yard of the prison. Here the guard was just ready 
 to march, and, taking his place behind them, he muffled his 
 face in the cloak, and followed them out. His heart beat 
 rapidly as he saw the sentinel raise his lantern and flash the 
 light into the faces of each one who passed him ; but it was 
 done mechanically, and the man did not notice it was a thin, 
 pale face, and not the healthy countenance of Jem Henderson, 
 which was wrapped in these bandages.
 
 THE SPY. 139 
 
 The gate shut behind him, and the guard marched down 
 street, while Percy, as he had been directed, went in the other 
 direction, and turned down the first cross street. Here a 
 woman came suddenly from the projecting angle of a building, 
 and, laying her hand on his cloak, accosted him with the words 
 agreed on. 
 
 " Is this Sir William ? " 
 
 "It is ; let us proceed ! " was the reply, and his guide led 
 the way rapidly through side streets and lanes, where in the 
 darkness they were unobserved, until they arrived at Mr. 
 Chester's house. No light was visible, but Mrs. Henderson, 
 taking a stick from the ground, struck three times against one 
 of the front windows, and immediately the door was opened 
 cautiously. He turned to thank his conductor, who had pre 
 served an obstinate silence during their walk ; but she had 
 already disappeared, and he entered the house. The door 
 closed behind him instantly. All around was dark, but a 
 voice cautioned him to silence, and a grasp on his hand led 
 him through the hall into a back room, where a fire was 
 blazing. Percy tore from his face the bandage, and, drop 
 ping his cloak, cast a quick glance around. A young girl 
 stood by the table, with one hand half extended, as if in 
 welcome, while the other was pressed to her heart. He 
 sprang forward, and in another moment Evelyn's voice was in 
 his ear, and her agitated face was hiding its blushes on his 
 breast. 
 
 But after the first moments of rapture, wherein both the 
 past and the future were forgotten in the blissful present, this
 
 140 AGNES. 
 
 interview was one of hurried, tremulous preparation, of sighs 
 that came instead of smiles, of smiles which died quivering 
 on pale lips that strove to utter words of cheer. For danger 
 was around them danger which each might have faced fear 
 lessly alone, but shrank from meeting when it involved the 
 other. 
 
 Refreshed by food, and a plentiful ablution, which his week 
 of prison life had made imperative, Percy stood, at length, in 
 the hall, ready to depart. He wore the suit of coarse cloth 
 provided by Mr. Chester, whose servant he was to represent 
 until he was out of the power of his enemies ; and that gen 
 tleman was reiterating his instructions respecting what should 
 be said and done, provided any one recognized or suspected 
 him. But Percy was thinking of something dearer to him 
 than his own safety, and still he lingered in the shadow where 
 Evelyn stood, nerving her soul for the farewell she would not 
 make more painful by the tears she longed to shed. 
 
 " Come, it will be dawn by the time we reach the river 
 side, where I hope we shall find the boatman waiting. Are 
 you ready now ? " said Mr. Chester. 
 
 " There is something I must say before I go, and yet I 
 hardly know how to say it," replied Percy. " Before I left 
 the prison, I thought my first words to you, Mr. Chester, would 
 be those of gratitude for this great kindness to me. I do not 
 speak now of my life, which you have probably preserved ; for 
 my life was as nothing to me when I thought you meant to 
 withhold all I craved to make existence precious. You have 
 now permitted me to entertain hopes so bright, that I am half
 
 THE SPY. 141 
 
 afraid to go away without hearing them repeated from your 
 own lips, lest a happiness so great should in some way be lost 
 to me. When we shall meet again, God only knows ; but, if 
 that time ever comes, may Evelyn be mine my wife ? " 
 
 " You ask much from me, young man," said Mr. Chester, 
 with strong emotion, " and I cannot answer you now. That 
 my opposition to your wishes was not owing to want of 
 interest in you, you may well believe, after the proof thid 
 night has given ; but, as you say, God only knows whep. 
 we shall meet again, and these are times of great uncertainty 
 and peril. Be assured, however, that I have no power to do 
 anything to make Evelyn unhappy. With the promise this 
 implies you must rest content. Let us hasten now, for you 
 have lingered too long already. We must be away before the 
 neighbors spy our proceedings, and my little girl here must 
 remove the traces of our night's entertainment before the 
 servants arise." 
 
 As he spoke he opened the door, and, after one more fare 
 well, they went forth together, and Evelyn was left alone. 
 ! at that moment, how she longed to go with him to con 
 tend with difficulty, to brave danger, to struggle, to suffer, if 
 need be Anything, rather than the inaction to which her 
 sex doomed her. To sit still and wait, to watch and fear in 
 lonely silence, to hush the throbs of her anxious heart and 
 dress her face in smiles, to hide her true life, and fill up her 
 time with the idle nothings which custom demanded of women 
 in her station, seemed a martyrdom, compared to which the 
 toil, the conflict, the excitement, to which he was going, was a
 
 142 AGNES. 
 
 pastime. The occupation of restoring order to the house 
 hold arrangements was over long before her father's return 
 informed her that Percy had set out on his perilous voyage 
 across the river, perilous, because of the floating ice which 
 obstructed navigation ; and till then, and afterwards, she could 
 only retire to the solitude of her chamber and calm herself 
 to wait that most impotent and helpless employment, in 
 which woman so often consumes her days. 
 
 It was late on the evening after Percy's departure before 
 Juniper could obtain an opportunity to go to Stanley's lodg 
 ings, in order to report to him the result of his surveillance. 
 When he arrived there he discovered, much to his chagrin, 
 that his employer was absent, and, after waiting some time, 
 was obliged to defer seeing him till the next day. 
 
 Stanley, who breakfasted at a late hour for those primitive 
 times, was lounging next morning over his coflee and toast, 
 when a bustle was heard in the entry, and, in answer to some 
 remonstrance from the servant, Juniper's voice exclaimed, 
 
 "Don't tell me nothin' 'bout no breakfas' ! Dis chile don't 
 want no go-betweens ! My bus'ness bery private must see 
 massa Stanley hesef ! " 
 
 Fearful the talkative negro might reveal more than he 
 intended should be made public, Stanley rang tlie hand-bell 
 which was used to summon his valet, and ordered him to 
 show the person in waiting up stairs. This being done, and 
 the servant having retired, he beckoned the negro to follow 
 him into an inner room, and carefully locked the door befora 
 a word was spoken.
 
 THE SPY. 143 
 
 " Now, Juniper, what is it? " he asked. 
 
 " Well, massa, dat it / say. It am bery lucky for massa 
 he nominate dis chile for dat yer bus'ness. Now, some nig 
 gers, 'pears like dey got sense too, but dey neber disflects 'pon 
 dere abocations ; and dese ondisflectin' niggers, massa, don't 
 neber seem to pergress, somehow. But, den, it's edication 
 all edioation, massa. Folks what lives in de fus' fam'lies, dey 
 hab great many 'vantages, massa, you notice. Now, ef dia 
 chile had n't had no circumspection 'bout dis yer bus'ness ! 
 
 " For heaven's sake, come to the point ! Tell your story. 
 I '11 listen another time to your opinion of yourself ! " inter 
 rupted Stanley. 
 
 "Why, massa, I's jes' sayin', ef I hadn't had circum 
 spection " 
 
 " Come to the point, you fool ! " repeated his hearer. 
 
 " Why, massa, I is coming' I jes' sayin' 'cause I hab 
 so much circumspection " 
 
 " You seem to have not a little circumlocution, too ! " said 
 Stanley, who could not help laughing, in spite of his vexation. 
 
 " P'raps <0 ! " answered Juniper, grinning and scraping 
 his feet with an air that showed he felt himself highly com 
 plimented to be the subject of a word five syllables long, 
 " p'raps so ; massa knows. I been 'spectin' dis long time 
 I had 'siderable circum what dat massa say ? " he added, 
 delighted with this addition to his vocabulary. 
 
 " I said you understood blowing your own trumpet ! " 
 replied Stanley, impatiently. " Come, I Ve had enough of 
 this. Tell me, in few words what did you see ? "
 
 144 AGNES. 
 
 " I did n't see nothin' ! " said Juniper, sulkily. 
 
 " What did you come here for, then, you blunderhead ! " 
 thundered Stanley. "Get out of my sight ! " 
 
 " 0, massa, don't be so 'furiated ! " said Juniper, alarmed 
 lest he might lose his reward. " I 's comin' to de p'int bery 
 soon ; but massa can't hab no comprehension 'bout it 'thout I 
 circulates it to him." 
 
 " Go on, then," said Stanley, in a resigned tone, perceiving 
 the stream of words would flow, and waiting to see them 
 bring the facts he wished to obtain. 
 
 " Dat it, massa, I is goin' on. De true fac' is, de whole 
 time I 's watchin' I did n't see nothin' ; so when night come I 
 'marks to myself, ' Nip,' dey calls me Nip for shortness ; 
 ' you better go sleep, so he be sure to keep both eyes open 
 to-morrow ; ' 'cause, ye see, massa, looking 'bout 'round de 
 corner all day am pertic'lar circumspectious work. So I goes 
 up stair, and I see ole massa comin' down, and says he, 
 ' What ! do you go to bed so early, boy ? You has a talent 
 for sleeping ! ' ' Yes, massa,' said I, ' yes, massa, dis chile 
 hab talent for mos' eberyting, on'y massa don't^know 'bout 
 it allers.' I say dis 'cause I neber did t'ink ole massa 'pre- 
 ciated me." 
 
 " Proceed ! " said Stanley, as the negro paused. 
 
 "Yes, massa dat's it I is percedin'. So I say, 
 1 Massa don't know about it allers,' and he laugh and go 
 down, and I goes up. Den I disflects what for old massa up 
 here in de attic where de niggers sleeps. I neber know 'bout 
 him bein' dere 'fore. But, as I 'a sayin', I has great deal
 
 THE SPY. 145 
 
 circumspection, and I disflects 'pon it till I gets sleepy. 
 Somehow, massa, I 's allers noticed 'bout dat, dat 'flectin' 
 has de effect ob gettin' dis chile to sleep. Well, I done slept 
 a good while, but 't last I woke up. De room was mighty 
 dark, so I knows it was n't mornin', but I hears a little noise. 
 A.t fus', massa, I 's little obfusticated for fear it 's ghosts ; but 
 I gets up and makes up de bad face, so ef de ghost see me 
 dey t'ink I 's one of dem, and I creeps down de garret stair, 
 to find out a discivery where de noise was. So 't last I feels 
 de door, and I finds it shet, and when I try de latch I finds it 
 locked. ' 0, ho ! ' says I, ' ole massa, dat it, is it ? Dat what 
 you up here for ? put lock on de door ! ' Den you see, 
 massa, dis chile smell de rat." 
 
 " Yes, yes ! " said Stanley, impatiently, " go on." 
 
 " Yes, massa, dat it I is goin' on. I find de door lock, 
 and I say, ' Nip, my boy, 't an't no use stayin' here, for ef 
 de ghosts don't catch you, de rheumatiz will ; ' and so I creeps 
 back to bed, and I sleeps dere pertic'lar quiet till mornin'." 
 
 " Is that all ? " said Stanley, in a tone of disappointment, 
 as the negro paused. 
 
 " No, massa, dat it dat an't all. When de risin' bell 
 ring we gets up, and de fus' ting, when Sally go into de hall, 
 she observes de big clock, and she 'sclaim out, ' Bress my 
 star ! what ole massa 'bout let nigger sleep so for ! ' And 
 sure 'naff we was an hour later 'n common. So we cir- 
 culateg 'round Sally and me to make de fire and get 
 breakfas' pertic'larly, Sally an by-'m-by I hears her 
 'sclaim out, ' Nip, what for you did n't fill de wood-box las' 
 13
 
 146 AGNES. 
 
 night ? ' 'I did ! ' says I. ' You did u't,' says she, ' fur 
 dere an't one solirtary stick here.' An', sure 'nuff, dere 
 wan't. Sally was 'bout right, massa, but I fill de wood- 
 box, for all dat. Well, we make de fire, an' she go get 
 breakfas', and I hears her 'sclaim out agin, ' Nip, you brack 
 fool, what fur you steal all dat meat I sot away fur break- 
 fus' ? ' 'Cause, yer see, massa Stanley, I neber could 'suade 
 Sally she ought to speak 'spectful to me when she 's mad. 
 Somehow, massa, I 's noticed folks most commonly is apt to 
 speak on'spectful when dey 's mad." 
 
 " Gro on with your story," said his auditor ; " don't stop to 
 moralize ! " 
 
 " Yes, massa, dat it I an't stoppin'. She say dat, an' I 
 say, ' How could I, Sally, when I see you lock de door and 
 shet up de closet wid your own idencatle hands, last night, jest 
 'fore I went up star' ? ' ' So I did,' says she, ' an' dere is sure 
 'nuff witches in dis house.' So jes' den old massa he come 
 down, and she tell him, and he laugh and say maybe de rats 
 get it ; an' den I say, 'fore I t'ink, ' Yes, massa Chester, I smell 
 de rat las' night.' Den he stop, and look at me bery 'quisitive 
 a minute, and say, ' What you mean ? ' An' I say I don't 
 mean nothin', an' he laugh an' go on. Dat all about it, 
 massa, on'y ole massa 'pears like he 'spected me all day, an' 
 kep' me workin' 'bout in a way bery tryin' to dis chile's feel- 
 in's, so I neber find no chance to get here " 
 
 " And your master how did he look ? how did he seem 
 to-day? " said Stanley, eagerly. " Did he appear as usual ? " 
 
 " He 'peared more 'n usual ! " replied Juniper. " Kep'
 
 THE SPY. 147 
 
 comin' to see ef I was workin', and kind o' maundered 'round 
 the house, like he felt worried." 
 
 " Strange ! " ejaculated Stanley, thoughtfully. 
 
 "Yes, massa, dat it it strange. I 's been disflectin' 
 on it all day. Ef dis chile had n't had so much circum 
 spection, dere would n't hab been any 'scoveries made 'bout 
 it!" 
 
 "I don't see as you have discovered much," said Stanley; 
 " but, since you seem to have done your best, I will pay you, 
 as I promised. You are sure, then, that the man I spoke of 
 did not come to your house? " 
 
 " Dono 'bout dat, massa. Dis chile neber see nobody ; but, 
 den, who eat up de meat and who burnt up all de wood las' 
 night, massa ? Dat it ! " 
 
 " True," replied Stanley. " There can be little doubt that 
 some one was there last night ; but if so, the person must 
 now be out of my reach. You can watch, however, and if 
 you see anything suspicious, come and tell me. I will pay 
 you well ; only be cautious." 
 
 " Well, massa, dat it. I 's been 'flectin' about dat. 'Pears 
 like massa ought to tell dis chile sump'en 'bout what for he 
 want know 'bout dis yer." 
 
 " It 's none of your business, boy," said Stanley, with a 
 frown, " and, upon second thought, I don't care to employ you 
 further. It 's very little consequence to me who this person 
 is, so you need n't trouble yourself about it any more. Here 
 is your pay," he added, giving him a guinea, " and hark, 
 now ! if I ever hear of your lisping a word of this conversa-
 
 148 AGNES. 
 
 tion to any one, I '11 have the soldiers catch you and flog you 
 within an inch of your life ! " 
 
 So saying, he held open a door opposite the one by which 
 they had entered the room, and Juniper, shrinking from this 
 threat as if he already felt the lash, darted down a private 
 stairway to the street. 
 
 Stanley had hardly regained his seat at the breakfast- 
 table before the door opened to admit one of his friends, Col. 
 Harcourt, who, gayly bidding him good-morning, declared it 
 was the luckiest thing in the world to find him breakfasting, 
 for a long walk had given him a ravenous appetite ; and, 
 ordering fresh toast and coffee, Stanley made room for him at 
 the little round table. They chatted together for some time, 
 giving each other the current news respecting business and 
 pleasure, until a pause occurred in the conversation, and 
 Stanley said, 
 
 " You have not yet told me why you are abroad so early 
 this morning, and where you have been walking so far." 
 
 " I was aroused early," replied Col. Harcourt, " by a cock- 
 and-bull story my servant brought me from the street, to the 
 effect that the prisoners had broken en masse from the Sugar- 
 House jail, killed the jailers, and massacred the guards. So 
 I jumped out of bed to find out the truth ! " 
 
 " What was the truth ? " said his friend. " It is strange 
 I had n't sooner heard this wonderful story." 
 
 " Strange, indeed," replied Harcourt, " especially as another 
 version of the affair had a tinge of the supernatural. Some 
 affirm that an angel appeared at night, wrapped in a sheet
 
 THE SPY. 149 
 
 of fire, and carried the prisoner off through the roof of 
 the building. The majority incline to the latter opinion, as 
 demanding the greatest stretch of credulity, and being sus 
 tained by want of evidence in any other direction." 
 
 "What is the foundation of all this? "asked Stanley, 
 laughing. " Has there been an escape ? " 
 
 " Yes, one man has managed to elude the vigilance of the 
 guard, though how it was done remains a mystery," said his 
 friend, carelessly. 
 
 " The walls are high, and must now be slippery with frost ; 
 and it would be hard work to scale them, even if he had help 
 in getting outside the jail-doors," said Stanley. " It is 
 hardly possible the guard could have been bribed, if the jailers 
 could be." 
 
 " Cunningham takes care there is n't much chance of tempt 
 ation left in that direction," replied Harcourt ; " and it 
 appears, upon examination, that the jailer and his attendants 
 are a party entirely separate from the guard ; so there could 
 hardly have been collusion between them, even supposing our 
 grim Hessians susceptible of ' the quality of mercy.' " 
 
 " It would have to beat upon their heads like hailstones, 
 instead of dropping ' like the gentle dew from heaven,' as 
 Shakspeare declares it was wont to do in old times," said 
 Stanley. " Then there was an examination into the affair? " 
 
 " Yes. Cunningham went into it very fiercely last night 
 
 when it was discovered, but nothing could be proved. The 
 
 head jailer is a man of his own choosing, and none would 
 
 suspect him of undue compassion after one" glance at his face. 
 
 13*
 
 150 AGNES. 
 
 He declares that he opened the door at the usual hour, to let 
 out one attendant and let the other in ; and these two boys 
 confirm the testimony. As the policy now is to conciliate the 
 citizens, it was n't thought best to stir ill-blood by making an 
 example of either of the three. One of them told, however, 
 that, upon opening the cell where Major Grey had been con 
 fined, some of his companions made a great ado about having 
 seen the door open in the night, and some one take the man 
 out. But the others denied it, and so the mystery remains 
 unsolved." 
 
 " What did you say was the name of the man who 
 escaped?" asked Stanley, starting, and coloring violently. 
 
 "Grey Major Grey. One of the staff of Gen. Lee, 
 whom our gallant dragoons brought off so adroitly, the other 
 day, under the direction of your humble servant." 
 
 Stanley did not notice the bow and the smile accompanying 
 this remark. Anger and surprise kept him silent, and it 
 required all his self-possession to conceal his emotion from his 
 friend. At length he said, 
 
 "Why don't you pursue him? Cunningham won't, surely, 
 let him slip through his fingers in this way ! " In spite of his 
 care, his tones evinced his interest in the question, and Col. 
 Harcourt looked up in surprise. 
 
 " Pooh ! " said he, " let the poor devil run ! There are 
 plenty left, and what signifies one more or less? Pursuit 
 would be hopeless now, even if it were worth while to attempt 
 it, for he had twenty-four hours' start before the escape was 
 discovered."
 
 THE SPY. 151 
 
 " He must have friends in the city, of course," said Stanley. 
 " Is it suspected who they are ? " 
 
 " They 've taken good care to keep out of the way," an 
 swered Harcourt. " But Mr. Chester testified to the good 
 character of one of the jailers, a boy who used to be in his 
 service ; so suspicion falls mainly upon the other assistant, 
 a low fellow, who they learn was once in the rebel army. 
 But it is a matter of no consequence, and, for the sake of 
 impartiality, both have been turned out of office." 
 
 " Mr. Chester testified, did he? " exclaimed Stanley, with a 
 sardonic laugh. " By the Lord, his testimony was worth 
 considerable ! " 
 
 "I suppose so; it seemed satisfactory. But why do you 
 take such an interest in this trifling affair ? You look fairly 
 bloodthirsty. What is it to you ? " 
 
 The question recalled Stanley's self-possession, and, assum 
 ing an air of indifference, he answered, 
 
 " You know I am interested in the Chesters. They are 
 my very particular friends." 
 
 " True enough," said Harcourt; "and that reminds me to 
 inquire how matters are progressing between yourself and 
 your belle fiancee ; for I have heard a rumor that she ignores 
 your engagement, and I fancied the queenly Evelyn treated 
 you coolly when I last saw you together at Madam Kushton's 
 soiree." 
 
 " Ah, I remember that evening," replied Stanley, coloring 
 a little. " The fair Evelyn was a little out of spirits that 
 4ay. But you know the old adage respecting lovers' quarrels."
 
 152 AGNES. 
 
 "They are said to lead to an increase of the tender pas 
 sion, though I never could exactly see how," rejoined Har- 
 court, gayly. " But success to your suit ! and I think you 
 are the luckiest fellow in the king's dominions, to gain a 
 beauty and a fortune simply by crossing the sea for it. You 
 must have been born with a gold spoon in your mouth." 
 
 " Faith," said Stanley, " it is no light penalty to pay, danc 
 ing attendance on a wilful young lady through a winter in 
 this barbarous country." 
 
 " Why not be married at once, then? " asked Harcourt as 
 he rose to go. "' Veni, vidi, vici!' that's the motto for a 
 hero of your stamp. Besides, the war is about over, for we 
 are driving that fellow Washington into a corner ; and I 
 hear he can hardly keep his ragamuffins together long enough 
 to make a decent retreat, fighting is out of the question. 
 So, it would really be a charity to get up some wedding fes 
 tivities for the benefit of the poor fellows who are dying of 
 ennui all around you." 
 
 "Nous verrons!" replied Stanley, smiling, as Col. Har 
 court left the room. But the moment the door was shut, his 
 face became dark and stern with the passions he had sup 
 pressed so long. He could have torn his hair and gnashed 
 his teeth with the fury that possessed him. 
 
 To have it bandied from mouth to mouth among his gay 
 companions that he was a rejected suitor, refused by the 
 simple American girl he had avowedly crossed the ocean 
 to claim as his bride ! To be unable, with all the magnifi 
 cence his alliance would procure her, to win her from his
 
 THE SPY. 153 
 
 secret rival ! The thought was intolerable. And, to reflect 
 that while he had been hesitating to use his power, while he 
 had listened to those kindlier feelings that made him reluc 
 tant to force himself upon the woman whose love he had 
 sought, she had been successfully planning the escape of his 
 hated competitor ! If he had known of Percy Grey's capture, 
 how strict should have been the vigilance, how hopeless the 
 attempt to escape ; nay, how speedily could he have rid him 
 self forever of this obstacle in his path ! His brows contracted 
 with a deeper frown as he remembered the gallows standing 
 behind the Provost jail, and the midnight executions, in which 
 so many victims of war from the crowded prisons had per 
 ished without any previous trial perished unquestioned and 
 unknown. 
 
 Then his thoughts reverted to Evelyn. She had seen her 
 lover, and who could tell what vows had been exchanged, 
 what plans formed, which might entirely defeat his own 
 wishes, and leave him, baffled and scorned, without even the 
 power of revenge ? 
 
 He sprang to his feet as the idea suggested itself; for, with 
 Mr. Chester's reputation for loyalty, he could at any time 
 obtain permission to leave the city with his daughter; and, if 
 they felt themselves in danger, would they not speedily use 
 this privilege to place themselves beyond reach of British 
 power ? No man is wholly vile, and Stanley had endured 
 many a struggle between his good and evil natures before he 
 could entirely silence the voice of honor and conscience, and 
 bring himself to use the knowledge which circumstances had
 
 154 AGNES. 
 
 placed in his hands. But from this moment his resolution 
 was taken, and the mercenary motives which had most power 
 fully inclined him to this act when first thought of were now 
 almost wholly forgotten in the violent passions that convulsed 
 his soul.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE STRUGGLE. 
 
 ALTHOUGH fully determined to carry forward his own pur 
 poses, without regarding what it might cost others, Stanley 
 preferred to wait until evening before communicating them to 
 Mr. Chester. 
 
 That evening Evelyn shone as a " bright particular star " 
 at one of the weekly soirees given by the elite of the city. 
 Her feelings were little in consonance with such scenes, but it 
 was necessary, in order to avoid remark, that she should not 
 withdraw from the society in which her high connections, her 
 beauty and accomplishments, made her a general favorite. 
 It was late when she returned home, and, as was her custom, 
 she went directly to her father's library, to bid him good 
 night before retiring to rest ; but, to her great surprise, she 
 found the door locked, and from within came a low murmur 
 of voices in earnest conversation. 
 
 Curious and somewhat alarmed at this unusual occurrence, 
 she returned to the parlor, where Juniper was dozing before 
 the fire he had kept burning till her arrival ; and, dismissing 
 him to his bed, she reclined on one of the cushioned settees,
 
 156 AGNES. 
 
 located in the deep recesses by the chimney, and abandoned 
 herself to thought, as she waited the departure of this late 
 visitor. A little while her mind lingered on the present, and 
 then slowly her eyelids drooped, and the memories hidden in 
 her heart rose up before her. An expression of calm and 
 intense happiness settled on her features, and, though she 
 seemed to sleep, her soul had wandered into a region more 
 distinct and beautiful than the shadowy land of dreams. 
 
 At length the door leading into the library opened, and the 
 slow, half-hesitating step of Stanley made no noise on the thick 
 carpet covering the floor. He approached her, and paused a 
 moment, half in regret and half in triumph, as he gazed on 
 her exceeding beauty. A robe of dark satin brocade con 
 trasted well with her delicate complexion, scarcely less purely 
 white than the pearls which rose and fell with the heaving of 
 her bosom, and encircled the arms clasped above it. Her 
 hair was always arranged in a simple and classic mode, un 
 touched by powder or pomatum, to suit her father's taste; 
 and now her head, usually so stately in its gracefulness, was 
 thrown back in the abandon of repose, revealing the perfect 
 contour of her features, and her broad, noble brow. 
 
 Before he found words to address her, she became conscious 
 of his presence, and, rising hastily, regarded him with wonder 
 and a slight confusion. For a short time neither spoke ; but 
 Evelyn was first to recover herself, and then asked, coldly, to 
 what she owed the honor of this late visit. 
 
 "I fear it is an undesired honor," said Stanley, stung by 
 the frigid politeness of her tones ; " but pray be seated, Miss
 
 THE STRUGGLE. 157 
 
 Chester, for I have something of importance to say .to you, 
 and, late as is the hour, it must be said to-night." 
 
 His voice was low, almost solemn, and she saw it was 
 only by a great effort he appeared calm. There was some 
 thing in his manner that struck her with a sudden terror. 
 The rich blood which had mantled her cheek receded, and she 
 sank trembling into a chair beside her. When Stanley spoke 
 again, his words came rapidly, like those of a man who is 
 forcing himself to perform a disagreeable or dreaded act. 
 
 " I have been talking with your father, and, I regret to say, 
 he has become implicated in a late occurrence, the conse 
 quences of which will be unpleasant, if my duty to Gen. 
 Howe compels me to reveal the facts I have discovered." 
 
 He paused, but Evelyn could ask no questions. Her hands 
 were clasped unconsciously, and her eyes fixed on him with a 
 look of frozen and helpless terror. She understood that 
 Percy's escape was known, and expected to hear he had been 
 recaptured. Stanley continued, 
 
 " You know, I perceive, to what I refer. You heard of 
 the escape of an American prisoner named Grey " 
 
 " Where is he ? " Evelyn gasped. 
 
 " He ? He made good his escape. It is not of him I 
 came to speak," answered her companion. 
 
 " Thank God ! " burst from Evelyn's lips, and, hiding her 
 face in her hands, she wept violently. 
 
 Her tears relieved the feelings so suddenly excited, and, 
 blushing that she should have thought only of Percy when 
 her father M as in danger, she strove to regain her composure. 
 14
 
 AGNES. 
 
 Now that the anxiety which had paralyzed her faculties was 
 past, she knew instinctively what Col. Stanley wished to ask 
 as the price of his silence as to the knowledge he had in some 
 unaccountable manner acquired. As she sat with her face 
 still hidden, thinking how she should answer him, he advanced 
 a step nearer, and said, sternly, 
 
 " Have you, then, no care for your father ? Do you not 
 know the danger in which this escape involves him ? " 
 
 " What proof is there that my father knew aught of it? 
 A man in his position is not to be accused upon .suspicion, 
 merely," she answered, with sudden defiance. 
 
 " There is proof ample proof," said he. " Nay, your 
 father has acknowledged the act." 
 
 " If that be," she replied, in surprise, " he must have 
 known there was nothing in the act which any honorable 
 mind will condemn. Major Grey was " 
 
 " A Yankee rebel ! " sneered Stanley, as she hesitated. 
 
 " Be it so ! " she continued, in a calm, firm voice, and her 
 eyes did not quail beneath the gaze they encountered. " Be 
 it so ; he was, nevertheless, my father's friend, and the 
 affianced husband of my father's child." 
 
 Stanley replied, in an excited tone : " You strangely mis 
 judge the men who will conduct this trial, and are entirely 
 ignorant of the rules' of war, if you imagine that for either 
 of these reasons Mr. Chester will go unharmed. Depend 
 upon it, if I communicate the facts, which I alone know, he 
 must suffer condign punishment." 
 
 " And will you do so?" she asked, pleadingly.
 
 THE STRUGGLE. 159 
 
 " That remains with, you," replied he. " If you were my 
 wife " 
 
 " Is it possible," said Evelyn, starting from her seat in 
 indignation, " is it possible that you, who are a soldier,' and 
 should therefore be honorable, can wish to claim an unwilling 
 bride to purchase the hand you could not win? Can it 
 be from you I am about to receive a proposition so degrading 
 to us both ? " 
 
 Stanley's eyes drooped beneath the scornful gaze fixed upou 
 him. " Hear me," he said, gently, " and be not too severe if 
 I seem unkind. I have offered you name, rank, and fortune, 
 a station in life the proudest might not disdain to hold, and 
 you have refused them all. I offer them again, simply 
 adding that by being my wife you will make it my first duty 
 to shield your name and honor ; and, therefore, the duty now 
 devolving upon me as a soldier to deliver up the enemies of 
 my king will be lost in the higher claim which Mr. Chester 
 will have upon me, as your father. You rejected my love, 
 but will not your filial affection lead you to consider the sub 
 ject anew in this aspect ? " 
 
 " Why should you regard my father as an enemy of the 
 crown because he helped save the life of a fellow-creature ? " 
 answered she, after a momentary silence. " Surely there 
 have been victims enough in this dreadful war ! Do not 
 blind your better reason by such sophistry. At least, allow 
 me to think of this at leisure." 
 
 " It cannot be," replied Stanley, in a low tone. " It were 
 only cruelty to yourself and me to protract this struggle.
 
 160 AGNES. 
 
 I shall not leave the house until I have your promise to 
 become my wife." 
 
 Evelyn's spirit rose against such coercion. " Remain here, 
 then, alone," she said, proudly. " I do not fear your threat. 
 For your own sake, you dare not be so dishonorable. If this 
 thing were known, it would brand you with such infamy you 
 would shrink from the eyes of your fellow-men. That you 
 could plan a scheme so vile, is enough ! I would sooner lie 
 down in my grave than marry you ! " 
 
 She was turning away with a disdainful gesture, when he 
 seized her hand and forcibly detained her. 
 
 " Stay, proud girl, and hear me ! " he cried, " Your 
 father's life and honor are in my hands. I can at any 
 moment ruin and dishonor him forever not for this alone 
 this is a trifle in comparison. Your father is a traitor 
 and a spy ! " 
 
 His whole frame shook with passion, and his eyes seemed 
 to flash fire, while he grasped her wrists with a force really 
 painful ; but she quailed not at his violence. 
 
 "This is simply impossible," she replied, with a calm 
 smile of incredulity. " Either you are mistaken, or you are 
 deceiving me. He may have risked his own safety to save 
 the life of a friend ; though, since he has acknowledged the 
 deed to you, I believe he cannot anticipate much danger from 
 having it known. But he could never betray confidence. He 
 could never be a spy ! " 
 
 " I have told you the truth," Stanley repeated. " Acci 
 dent put me in possession of some papers, taken from the
 
 THE STRUGGLE. 161 
 
 person of a pedler who was killed in a drunken brawl. They 
 revealed to me this secret. Your own letter to Mr. Grey 
 was among them." 
 
 " And you read it ! " she exclaimed, her beautiful lip curl 
 ing with contempt. 
 
 " I did," he replied, boldly. " It was my duty to use all 
 means to discover the enemies of my king. A similar train 
 of circumstances placed in my hands the proof that Mr. 
 Chester had assisted Grey to escape. Were these facts 
 known, nothing could save him from the hangman's hands. 
 Pardon me," he added, as she uttered a cry of horror, " but 
 you force me to speak plainly. You have scorned my love 
 and doubted my word now the power is in my hands. 
 Consider well how you decide, for I declare to you that upon 
 your decision depends not only your father's life, but the hon 
 orable name he values still more. I have talked with him, 
 and he has sent me to you. I have told you his crime, but I 
 have not painted as I might the ignominy and terror of the 
 death which is its punishment." 
 
 Evelyn released her hands from his grasp, and, clasping 
 them together, sank at his feet. 
 
 " 0, then," she cried, " be generous be merciful ! This 
 fatal secret is known to you alone let it be buried in your 
 breast ; save my father from this awful doom, and my prayers 
 shall call down blessings upon every moment of your after life 
 my gratitude shall kindle for you a warm and pure affection 
 in my soul ! Will you not be richly rewarded in the con 
 sciousness of doing good, so dear to every noble heart ? Will 
 14*
 
 162 AGNES. 
 
 you not be happier than if wedded to a cold, unloving wife ? 
 Pity me, I implore you ! Take back those cruel words ! 
 Tell me you will save us from this misery, and no language 
 can express what I shall feel for you my benefactor my 
 preserver ! " 
 
 Stern and unmoved, Stanley heard this passionate appeal. 
 There was even an expression of malignant triumph in his 
 face as he looked down on the pallid, quivering features 
 raised to him in supplication. He replied, 
 
 " Evelyn Chester, I have known these things ever since the 
 evening, a fortnight since,. when in this very room you rejected 
 my hand with pride, almost with insult. I have thought of 
 this subject in all its bearings. I have anticipated all the 
 opposition I should meet with, all the entreaties I should hear, 
 and I have decided to claim you as my wife. Do you think 
 now I shall falter, and turn from my purpose ? That would 
 be indeed a weakness and a double disgrace. No words of 
 yours can move me. My pride, my self-respect, all my aims 
 and ambitions for the future, alike forbid it. I await your 
 decision." 
 
 Evelyn did not cry out or faint, though the very springs of 
 life seemed failing her as she heard these words, and, unable 
 to support her trembling frame, she sank upon the carpet, and 
 buried her face in the cushions of the seat beside her. She 
 did not weep she could hardly think. She only knew she 
 must become the wife of that bold, bad man, or give her 
 father to His vengeance ; and every fibre of her body seemed to 
 shudder and shrink from eithei alternative. For a long time
 
 THE STRUGGLE. 163 
 
 there was silence, and Stanley stood uneasily watching that 
 intense mental struggle, half fearing what its issue might be. 
 
 When she raised her face again, it was frightful to see its 
 look of fixed despair, the rigid contraction of its muscles, as 
 if in deadly pain. She pressed her hands to her brow, and 
 tottered as she arose to her feet ; but when her companion 
 attempted to assist her, she cried, huskily, as she recoiled 
 from him, 
 
 " Don't touch me ! Stay here I will return, but I must 
 speak first with my father ! " 
 
 She paused once or twice, and her limbs seemed failing her, 
 as she proceeded to the library ; but when she reached the 
 door the sight which met her eyes recalled to her the myste 
 rious calmness and strength wherewith the heart of woman is 
 girded by the necessity of acting as comforter and supporter 
 to one beloved. 
 
 Mr. Chester was sitting by the table as Stanley had left 
 him, his face bowed down to his knees and covered by his 
 hands, while tears fell slowly between the thin fingers. He 
 looked up as the door opened, but dropped his face again 
 instantly, with a groan, followed by a burst of convulsive 
 sobs that seemed to rend his heart. It is terrible to see an 
 old man weep. 
 
 " Father," said the low, sweet voice of his child, " dear 
 father, will you not speak to me ? " 
 
 He made no answer, but, without changing his position, 
 threw one arm around her neck and drew her towards him. 
 bhe knelt down and laid her cheek against his tear-wet face.
 
 164 AGNES. 
 
 " Father," she whispered, " is there no other way? " 
 
 " None, none ! " he groaned, bitterly. 
 
 " Then it shall be done ! " was the reply, and her voice 
 trembled not, though she knew those words spoke her doom. 
 
 " It is not for life ! " murmured the old man, at length, 
 as if talking to himself. " I should not fear death '. But 
 for our name, our honorable name, to be branded with that 
 shameful word ! For the last of our ancient race to die by 
 the hangman's hands ! 0, horrible ! I would not care for 
 life, but they will take away my honor ! " 
 
 " Dear father, be comforted ! " again spoke that voice be 
 side him. But, unheeding, he went on : 
 
 " And for you, Evelyn ! who will care for you ? Child 
 of a dishonored parent, what will become of you? Will the 
 grave close over you, too ? Will you die broken-hearted ? 
 0, my child, my child ! " 
 
 "Father, hear me ! " said Evelyn. " We will live together! 
 You shall not die ! " 
 
 He shook his head mournfully. " There is no escape ! " 
 he said. " It was with no premeditated design of treachery 
 I entered into communication with Gen. Lee. I admired the 
 brave and gallant man who had given up so much for his 
 adopted country, and now struggles against such fearful diffi 
 culties. He gave me his confidence, imparted to me a 
 design by which he might, in one brilliant stroke, turn the 
 fortunes of the war. He waited to hear from me informa 
 tion that my position enabled me readily to send him. I sent 
 it. There was no wrong in the act ; but there is danger, fatal
 
 THE STRUGGLE. 165 
 
 danger and disgrace, in the discovery ; and now all is known 
 to Stanley, and from him there is no escape. " 
 
 " There is escape, there is safety for you. I will be his 
 wife," said Evelyn, firmly. " 0, my father, be comforted ! " 
 
 Mr. Chester clasped her to his breast in a long, close em 
 brace, and again scalding drops fell like rain upon the eyes 
 which, through all this terrible scene, had not shed a tear. 
 
 " I will save you ! " she whispered, softly. 
 
 " And be yourself the sacrifice ! " said her father, after a 
 short silence, and with dreary calmness. " No, that shall 
 never be ! What is my worthless life ? Let them take it, 
 since God and my own conscience know I believed myself 
 right in what I did. Evelyn, blessed child, you have given 
 me courage and strength. Could you dream I would make 
 you the victim ? " 
 
 " 0," said she, earnestly, " can you think it will be a sacri 
 fice to me, to save your life ? Shall I ever know happiness 
 again, if I cannot avert your doom? 0, I beseech you, as 
 you value my peace of mind, oppose me not in this thing ! " 
 
 " It must not be ! " replied Mr. Chester, resolutely. " My 
 whole soul blesses you, but I will not accept life on such 
 terms ; your heart broken, your happiness gone forever ! " 
 
 " My happiness ! " exclaimed Evelyn. " Will it not be the 
 purest joy to see you beside me to make your old age 
 peaceful ? Think how beautiful our life has been ! how 
 pleasant is our home ! Will you destroy it all ? Will you 
 leave me alone in the world ? " 
 
 Mr. Chester wavered. Visions of past enjoyment came
 
 166 A ONE 8. 
 
 over him, and the love of life, strongest in old age, returned in 
 full force. He looked troubled, and spoke doubtingly. 
 
 " If you would not be wretched if we could live together 
 as we have done ! But that bad man ! You cannot love 
 him ! nay, you love another ! " 
 
 " Hush ! " said she, interrupting him. " We must not 
 speak of that, now. I will be Col. Stanley's wife. He will 
 not expect love, and I can obey .' " 
 
 " But he may be unkind to you, my darling ! If you 
 marry him, you will be so entirely in his power ! " 
 
 " I am a woman no gentleman will ill-treat a woman," 
 she answered, gently. 
 
 He sat a little while in deep thought, and then, starting 
 suddenly from his chair, he threw up his arms with a frantic 
 gesture. 
 
 " 0, God ! " he cried, " that I should be loitering here, 
 seeing you, hearing you, knowing you are giving yourself to a 
 living death ! and I, fool, coward that I am, hesitate 
 whether to compel you to this sacrifice, or to give up my few 
 remaining days ! Coward ! " and he turned to the door. 
 
 But, anticipating his design, Evelyn sprang before him, 
 and, falling at his feet, clung to his knees in desperation. 
 
 " Will you kill me ? " she exclaimed, in agony. " Is there 
 one sorrow so great as to see you die ? " and, overwrought by 
 this long excitement, she grew deathly pale and faint, her 
 hold relaxed, and she eank helplessly on the floor beside him. 
 
 Mr. Chester raised her in his arms, and bathed her face 
 and hands until she revived. Lying on his breast, listening
 
 THE STRUGGLE. 167 
 
 to his caressing words, full of remorseful tenderness, she grew 
 self-collected and calm. 
 
 " Let me go ! " she said. " The man is resolute, and we 
 must not offend him. He is waiting for me. When he is 
 gone, the trial will be past." 
 
 But he held her closer to his heart. " Tempt me not, dear 
 est," he murmured ; " for you are very precious to me, and 
 the love of life is strong." 
 
 " Let me go ! " repeated Evelyn, in a tone so firm it 
 sounded like a command ; and, freeing herself from his arms, 
 she pressed a kiss on his lips, and turned away. 
 
 Stanley had been hurriedly pacing the floor during the 
 time of her absence, and, as she entered the room, he paused 
 and remained standing until she came near. 
 
 " Have you decided ? " he asked, in a quick, agitated tone. 
 
 " I have." 
 
 " You yield at last, then ? " 
 
 " To save my father from shame and death, I yield." 
 
 " You will be my bride ? " 
 
 " I will," she answered, quietly. 
 
 " That is well," said he ; and then, after a short pause, he 
 added, in a tone to which a sense of their relative situations 
 gave a tinge of irony, 
 
 " Permit me to beg you to name an early day." 
 
 A deep flush burned on her cheek, and then left it white as 
 marble. 
 
 "I am at your mercy," she replied, in a low tone. "It is 
 for you to dictate to me."
 
 168 AGNES. 
 
 Stanley bit his lip, and said, with a confused manner, 
 " Since you waive the lady's privilege, allow me to say that 
 in a week a vessel leaves for England, bearing Lord Corn- 
 wallis with despatches ; and, as the war seems drawing to a 
 close, I have no doubt I can make arrangements to accompany 
 him. This may be the best opportunity we shall have for 
 some months, since you can be unusually well accommo 
 dated, and I shall be very glad if we can be married before 
 the vessel leaves. Your father will of course go with us, 
 and we will endeavor to forget, in merry England, the unfor 
 tunate incidents that have disturbed us here." 
 
 Evelyn heard him in silence. The first stroke of a keen 
 sorrow, if it does not prostrate the frame, nerves it to greater 
 endurance ; and she was able to reply, with forced composure, 
 
 " Let it be so, then. When does the ship sail? " 
 
 " A week from to-day is the time fixed." 
 
 "Next week, then, on Wednesday morning, I await you 
 here," she said. " Meantime I have some slight conditions to 
 impose." 
 
 " Name them, and your wishes shall be my law," answered 
 Stanley, and his voice was kind and respectful. He felt really 
 grateful that she spared him a repetition of the scenes which, 
 although they could not arouse his pity, had annoyed him 
 excessively. 
 
 " Thank you ! " said Evelyn, in the same frigid tone she 
 had maintained throughout this strange conversation. " I 
 desire to receive from you oh that day, before the ceremony
 
 THE STRUGGLE. 169 
 
 takes place, all the papers which can in any way implicate 
 my father." 
 
 " Certainly, you shall have them," he replied, as she 
 paused. 
 
 " My other wish is, that from now until that time you 
 will make no effort to see either me or my poor father. You 
 have my promise, and surely you may trust it. If any com 
 munications are necessary, they can be made in writing." 
 
 " This also shall be as you desire," said Stanley. " Would 
 I could convince you how much I shall hereafter strive in all 
 things to please you ! " 
 
 As he spoke, he took her hand. She drew it away, and 
 stepped back haughtily, while a faint smile curled her lip at 
 the mockery of such language. He perceived the repulse, 
 and, bowing low, as he bade her good-night, abruptly with 
 drew. 
 
 " The girl is a trump ! " he said to himself, as he gained 
 the street. " Although we may not be a very loving couple, 
 I shall be proud of her. She will not annoy me with the 
 usual weaknesses of her sex." 
 
 At that moment, his victim, in the solitude of her chamber, 
 overcome by the reaction of that long-imposed restraint, lay 
 writhing like a crushed worm, and moaning helplessly in her 
 despair. 
 
 15
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE VICTORY. 
 
 COL. STANLEY was a cold-hearted and selfish man, and to 
 tally unscrupulous as to the means used to gain a desired end; 
 but there was something in his nature which made him admire 
 calmness and strength in others, and he had never felt such 
 genuine regard or love for Evelyn as during the week inter 
 vening between his engagement and the time set for his mar 
 riage. Had she shrieked or fainted beneath the trial to which 
 he had subjected her, had she wearied him with entreaties and 
 tears, she would have excited contempt, instead of pity. But 
 the silence with which she struggled with her feelings at first, 
 and her calmness and self-control afterwards, aroused a 
 deeper emotion than he thought himself capable of expe 
 riencing for any woman. 
 
 He knew that in her eyes he must appear cruel and un 
 principled, and he had a wild desire to retrieve his character, 
 and win her heart. He kept his promise not to intrude upon 
 her personally, but found some excuse, every day, for sending 
 messages with regard to their preparations for departure ; and 
 he could have shed tears of vexation, " albeit unused to the
 
 THE VICTOEY. 171 
 
 melting mood," when, instead of any reply from Evelyn, he 
 received in return only a verbal answer, or a few lines from 
 her father. From the moment when he decided to compel 
 her to become his wife, he had resolutely shut his eyes to 
 all sense of wrong in the act ; but he would have given up 
 everything, except herself, to have been able to banish from 
 her mind the recollection of the means by which her consent 
 had been won. 
 
 While he was in this uneasy state, news came from the 
 seat of war which entirely changed public opinion with regard 
 to its continuance. Instead of returning to England to 
 announce the defeat of the rebels and the dispersion of their 
 army, Lord Cornwallis found himself obliged to proceed to 
 Jersey, and Col. Stanley received orders to join his regiment, 
 which was already in the field. 
 
 Of this news Evelyn and her father had heard nothing ; for 
 they neither went abroad nor received company. It had been 
 well for the former that during these miserable days she had 
 not been able to brood listlessly over her own sufferings. 
 Besides the necessity of making some preparation for the 
 voyage to England, then something more than a ten days' 
 excursion, she found herself obliged to sustain and console 
 her father, who was almost distracted at the position in 
 \vhich he was placed. 
 
 His isolated life, and the absence of all near ties of rela 
 tionship, had served to centre all his love upon his child, 
 between whom and himself there existed the most doting and 
 enthusiastic affection. The one object of his existence had
 
 172 AGNES. 
 
 been to make life bright to her, and he had fondly dreamed 
 he could shelter her from every shade of grief. But what 
 human love was ever sufficiently powerful and far-seeing to 
 ward off from the beloved one the evils to which humanity is 
 heir ? Sooner or later, the clouds will gather, and the storms 
 assail. In this dark hour, Mr. Chester saw his idol exposed 
 to the keenest blasts of sorrow, and found himself powerless 
 to aid. If he made any movement of defiance against the 
 force which crushed him, he knew he should entail upon her a 
 life-long misery; and if he accepted the sacrifice she offered 
 to avert his doom, what bitter memories must ever haunt her 
 of lost hopes and ruined happiness ! 
 
 He sank in the struggle. In those few days he grew 
 emaciated and bent, like one in extreme old age,' and at 
 times his eyes had a wild glare that startled Evelyn. She 
 forced herself to calmness and cheerfulness, shutting out the 
 memory of the past, the thought of the future, and looking 
 hourly, momently, to that Almighty source whence only 
 strength can come for these utmost exigencies of mortal need. 
 
 Yet the sacrifice was great, and the disappointment heavy. 
 She had written Percy Grey a full account of the circum 
 stances which placed her in the power of another ; and found 
 means to send the letter by Jem Henderson, who had taken 
 the first opportunity to leave the city, lest he should be again 
 arrested for his share in the prisoner's escape. She knew her 
 lover would not blame her ; that no personal regret would 
 prevent the generous instinct of his nature from recognizing 
 and appreciating her self-abnegation ; but she shrank from the
 
 THE VICTORY. 173 
 
 thought of his keen and lasting grief, and feared that, in the 
 recklessness of despair, he might throw away in battle the life 
 which would seem to him henceforth only a weary burden. 
 
 Overpowered with these reflections whenever she was alone, 
 Evelyn sat one afternoon in her own chamber. But one day 
 more of freedom remained to her. She shrank, in shuddering 
 disgust, from the fatal marriage that would so soon shut out 
 hope forever, and make the only love her soul could know a 
 crime. The frozen earth, ice-bound in its winter chains, the 
 lowering sky, from whence a cold rain was slowly falling, 
 seemed not more dreary than the life stretching out before 
 her. And she was so young ! And it is so long before a bro 
 ken heart can kill ! 
 
 A knock at her chamber-door aroused her, and Juniper's 
 glossy face looked in to announce Col. Stanley's presence in 
 the parlor below. 
 
 " I cannot see him ! Where is my father? I will not see 
 him ! " she exclaimed, nervously. 
 
 " He say not tell ole massa ! on'y tell you, and gib you 
 dis ! " and Juniper held forth a card on which were pencilled 
 these words : 
 
 " Excuse my intrusion ; it was unavoidable. I have some 
 thing very important to say, and I must see you. Do not 
 deny me." 
 
 She paused a few moments, to remove from her face the 
 
 traces of tears, and restore her neglected dress to its usual 
 
 decorum. Not as a suppliant and a trembler would she 
 
 appear before her persecutor. If she must yield, she would 
 
 15*
 
 174 AGNES. 
 
 yield coldly, proudly, and he should respect the victim who 
 had scorned his love. 
 
 Col. Stanley sat by the fire when she entered the room, and 
 for a moment he did not move or speak, so much was he 
 astonished at the change in her appearance. The last time 
 he had seen her by daylight, she was radiant in beauty, her 
 flexible mouth wreathed in smiles, and no shade of trouble 
 lurked in the brightness of her lustrous eyes. Now the deli 
 cate bloom of her cheek had faded, the muscles about her 
 mouth were set in a cold and rigid expression, and over her 
 whole face was spread a pallid and deathly hue, like that of 
 one who struggles with a mortal disease. 
 
 She advanced slowly, and stood leaning against the high 
 back of an arm-chair while she addressed him ; for she 
 wished thus to intimate that their interview must be brief. 
 Her haughty, measured tone recalled his self-possession. He 
 courteously entreated her to be seated, since he had much to 
 say, and the aspect of the future seemed changed. Evelyn 
 complied, for, indeed, her worn frame could ill sustain this 
 renewed agitation ; and he told her briefly of the tidings from 
 Trenton, and that in consequence Lord Cornwallis had given 
 up the idea of leaving the country at present. Honor com 
 pelled him, he added, after so long an idleness, to proceed at 
 once to the field of war; and as the ship would sail with 
 despatches, he should be obliged to spend the winter in 
 America. 
 
 He watched Evelyn keenly during this recital, longing to 
 know the feelings with which she listened ; but the day was
 
 THE VICTOKY. 176 
 
 dark, her chair was placed so that her face was in shadow, 
 and, as she sat with her eyes cast down, he could detect 
 nothing, save from the convulsive clasping of her hands, of 
 the agony of hope, fear, and anxiety, wherewith she listened 
 to him. If she must be wedded, there were so many reasons 
 why she wished to leave the country; but, perhaps, these 
 abhorred nuptials might now be deferred ; and, hopeless as she 
 was of ultimate escape, she drew a long breath at the thought 
 of reprieve, as if a load had been lifted from her breast. 
 But Stanley's next words crushed the rising expectation. 
 
 " You do not reply to me," said he, a little quickly, as if 
 vexed at her silence, " and I am compelled to add, that since 
 I must leave this evening, perhaps our marriage might take 
 place this afternoon, and you and your father can, if you 
 choose, go to England in the ship, as we intended. I can join 
 you in the spring." 
 
 Evelyn uttered a faint exclamation of dismay at these 
 words, so unforeseen and dreadful, but she recovered herself 
 instantly. 
 
 " If you wish it," she said, gently. " Let it be as you 
 will." 
 
 The little hands, which had been clenched so tightly 
 together, loosened themselves and fell down by her side, and 
 she sank back helplessly in the chair. She had resigned her 
 self to her fate. 
 
 Stanley gazed upon her with feelings which no pen could 
 describe. 
 
 'And what then ? " said he. " Will you go to England ? "
 
 176 AGNES. 
 
 " Perhaps it will be better so," she answered, in the same 
 cold, quiet tone. 
 
 He sprang to his feet, and then, half kneeling, seized her 
 hands with an impatient gesture. 
 
 " And // " said he, almost fiercely, " do you think I can 
 live six months without you ? Without you in this savage 
 country, which your presence alone could make tolerable ! 
 0, Evelyn," he added, with a sudden change of manner, 
 " why do I love you so well, when I am only hateful in your 
 eyes ? " 
 
 He turned away, and paced the room with rapid footsteps. 
 Anger, reproaches, entreaties, he might have borne, but her 
 dignified submission disarmed him. Of the self-sacrifice that 
 prompted her actions he understood little ; but the firmness 
 with which she forced herself to meet what seemed inevitable 
 he could appreciate and admire, for it was akin to his own 
 strong will, and the inflexibility of his purposes. It would 
 have been hard to tell which of the two were at that moment 
 most wretched. Stanley could not bring himself to give up 
 the power he had acquired, and yet was filled with a blind 
 and desperate rage that its exercise obliged him to appear 
 cruel. 
 
 A thought which occurred to him, not, indeed, for the first 
 time, calmed his perturbation. He resolved to appear to 
 yield to throw himself upon her honor. This would be a 
 band of adamant between them, and yet relieve him of some 
 part of the odium now attached to his conduct. He paused 
 suddenly before her, saying, gently and sorrowfully,
 
 THE VICTORY. 177 
 
 " Evelyn, during all this time you have not once raised 
 your eyes to my face. Look at me speak to me say 
 shall this marriage be deferred ? " 
 
 She looked up with an eager expression of joy and grati 
 tude, which gleamed over her pale face like a sudden burst 
 of sunshine over a wintry sky. 
 
 " I see," he continued, in a tone that moved her by its 
 sadness, " I see ! It needs no words to tell how gladly you 
 would escape. 0, Evelyn, can I do nothing nothing, to 
 make you regard me kindly? " 
 
 There seemed to be almost mockery in this appeal, but 
 Evelyn did not scorn it, for she saw the struggle he was 
 enduring ; and, after gazing at her' a few moments longer, 
 Stanley drew from his pocket a small parcel of papers, and 
 laid them in her lap. She grasped them with an exclamation 
 of unutterable thankfulness. 
 
 " See," he said, " you have thought me unkind and reck 
 less; now you shall know the power you have over me, and 
 how completely I trust your word. These papers contain all 
 the evidence against your father all which could implicate 
 or injure him. Were they destroyed, he would be safe." 
 
 " And I may destroy them ! " she cried, her face suffused 
 'with a beautiful color, and her eyes sparkling as he had never 
 seen them before. 
 
 " On one condition they are yours, and that not a hard 
 one," he added, as her glance grew clouded. " I will not 
 compel you against your will at present I will be patient 
 BO long as patience promises the faintest hope. Evelyn, I
 
 178 AGNES. 
 
 would give you the heart out of my bosom, but I cannot I 
 cannot resign you to the arms of another. Promise me, 
 swear to me, that at some future day you will be my wife, and 
 that you will never wed another." 
 
 As he spoke he seized her hand and placed it upon the 
 Bible lying on the table near. She fixed her eyes sternly 
 upon his face. 
 
 " Upon these conditions I may destroy these papers? " she 
 said. 
 
 " Upon these alone ! " was the reply. 
 
 " I swear ! " said Evelyn, solemnly. The color faded from 
 her cheek, and the light from her eye, but her expression was 
 not so hard, not so despairing, as before. It was much to 
 have gained time. 
 
 He still held her hand. It was cold as ice, and passive in 
 his throbbing, feverish grasp ; but her eyes fell not beneath his 
 gaze, and their regnant glance controlled him. 
 
 At length, she said, more kindly than she had hitherto 
 spoken, " For so much favor, I thank you. It will be a great 
 satisfaction to my father to have this parcel once more in his 
 possession. As to the rest, you know you may trust me ; I 
 think I may trust you, that the vow I have taken shall not 
 be urged upon me with indecent haste. You will never ask 
 me for love I will try not to hate you ! " 
 
 " And is this all ? Will you drive me mad with your dis 
 dain ? Evelyn Chester, if I fall in the battle to which I go, 
 may I not at least hope to be remembered with a certain 
 pity, as of one ' who loved not wisely, but too well ' ? "
 
 THE VICTOEY. 179 
 
 The pathos of his tone might have moved her, if she could 
 have forgotten the intense selfishness of the affection he thus 
 urged ; but now she wearied of him, and made no reply. His 
 piercing eyes scanned her downcast face for many moments 
 of silence, though in its cold, quiet lineaments he saw nothing 
 of the emotion he wished to excite. 
 
 " Farewell ! " he said, at length. " If I stay longer, you 
 may exasperate me too far with your pride and your coldness. 
 I will go while we can part in peace. We understand each 
 other now." 
 
 She looked up quickly, with a fierce contempt and passion 
 in the curve of her white lip and her dilated nostrils. 
 
 " Yes," she said, " I understand you, perfectly ! " 
 
 Stung by her scorn, maddened by the wild love that filled 
 him, these last words were too much for his self-command. 
 He flung from him angrily the hand he had held, but the next 
 moment caught her in his arms, and pressed his lips upon 
 hers. 
 
 " Thus, then, I claim you, my promised bride ! " he cried, 
 in a tone of exulting triumph, as the kiss burned through his 
 veins like fire. 
 
 Another moment, and he was gone. She wrung her hands 
 and clenched them in vain anger. She could have torn off 
 the lips his touch had polluted. But none the less did she 
 feel his power over her. His iron will, his stony heart, h'ad 
 won the victory. The fatal vow made her his forever, and 
 she could not escape her doom. 
 
 A slow, feeble step, passing by the door, awakened other
 
 180 AGNES. 
 
 thoughts. One treasure had been saved from this wreck of 
 her young life. Her father was no longer in danger. She 
 picked up the precious papers, which had fallen upon the floor, 
 and, after examining them, followed him into the library. 
 
 He was sitting in his accustomed seat by the table, but his 
 books were closed and put away, as if for many days he had 
 not touched them ; the fire smouldered beneath white ashes, 
 and the shadows of the heavy curtains fell like a pall over the 
 forlorn old man. He did not move from his attitude of utter 
 dejection, or look at her as she knelt beside him ; but when 
 she unclasped his nerveless fingers and laid the parcel in his 
 hand, he started as from an electric touch, for an inward 
 prescience told him what they were, even before he opened 
 them with tremulous eagerness. 
 
 "Where did you get them? Evelyn, child, speak! Are 
 they yours ? Are you saved ? " 
 
 " You are saved, my father ! " she said, and a thrill of joy 
 ran through her pain, as she saw the sudden lighting of his 
 face. 
 
 "They are all here; how did you obtain them? Dear 
 child, is there hope, is there comfort, for us yet? Has the 
 man relented ? Are you free ? " 
 
 " All is as it was before, except that we may put off the 
 evil day." 
 
 " And what changes may not time bring ? " he exclaimed, 
 fervently. 
 
 " Nay, I am vowed to him for life ; but he can no longer 
 do you harm. You may destroy the papers, and now no
 
 THE TICTORY. 181 
 
 anger, or whim, or change of feeling, in him, can produce 
 evidence against you. Be glad for me, my father the sac 
 rifice you mourned has not been in vain ! " 
 
 She gathered the pieces, and laid them on the fire. They 
 shot into a bright blaze, and vanished up the chimney. Mr. 
 Chester gave a sigh, a long, long sigh of relief, and his tall 
 figure drew itself up erect once more, as if the burden which 
 had pressed him down was gone. Evelyn noticed the act, and 
 her face grew calm and holy with the peace which must follow 
 entire self-abnegation. He drew her fondly to his breast, and 
 caressed her with low-spoken words of endearment ; and, as 
 she listened, her sick heart seemed to forget its woe, and 
 gather new life from the life she had given him. 
 
 " Now, my love," he said, at length, " surely I can free 
 you from any danger you have incurred. There is nothing 
 to prove me a dangerous person, and we can leave the city 
 without fear of being hindered by the suspicions of any one. 
 Once in our old home, I can protect you from the designs of 
 this bad man." 
 
 " But my vow ! 0, father, I could not gain your safety 
 without, I feared to trust it to his unfeeling heart, his 
 capricious will, and I vowed to marry him when he shall 
 demand my hand." 
 
 " He has no honor, no truth in him ; he keeps no faith 
 with others let him expect none ! " replied Mr. Chester, 
 sternly. 
 
 His daughter looked at him with an anxious expression, 
 and for a few moments hid her face in her hands. 
 16
 
 182 AGNES. 
 
 " What is it, darling ? speak ! " he said. 
 
 " 0, father," she answered, slowly, " do not tempt me 
 with such words ! If I was rash in making the vow, it 
 must none the less be kept. Will wrong in another make 
 my wrong right? Hope, happiness, is gone from me. I 
 have but my truth left, and my trust in God. Shall I sacri 
 fice these ? Say, father, would it be right ? " 
 
 But Mr. Chester made no reply. He drew her head down 
 to its resting-place on his breast, and a long silence suc 
 ceeded. He could not bear to utter the maxims of worldly 
 wisdom in the ears that had been opened to heavenly 
 teachings,
 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 UNEXPECTED MEETINGS. 
 
 IT was a still, gray day, the air heavy with falling snow, 
 the earth stretched out stark and motionless beneath its 
 wintry pall. There was no hurrying of the wind, to toy 
 and dally with the silvery flakes, heaping them into curves 
 and mimic flower-wreaths; no clattering crash of ice-laden 
 branches, no whispering or whistling of the blast around the 
 angles and windows of the old farm-house, which, with only 
 a faint curl of smoke from its chimney to give sign of life, 
 stood lonely and cheerless amid the frigid landscape. 
 
 The pressure of the unelastic atmosphere was felt within 
 doors, where the family sat around the kitchen-fire. Mr. 
 Grey nodded in his chair. His wife was silently engaged in 
 repairing an old garment ; and at her feet a slight, youthful 
 figure bent over some sewing-work, upon which her fingers 
 moved with a languid, abstracted air. 
 
 She was wasted and pale from recent illness, but neither 
 this nor the quaint Quaker dress she wore, evidently fashioned 
 from the elder lady's wardrobe, could hide the grace of her 
 form, or mar the beauty of a face whose delicate features
 
 184 AGNES. 
 
 were like those of a Grecian model. Her hair was only 
 beginning to grow, after being cut so close, and the short 
 golden curls, clustering over her brow, gave her a childish 
 aspect ; but her quiet attitude was full of thought, and 
 there was a maturity of sorrowful experience in the listless 
 drooping of her head, and the wistful gaze of the blue eyes, 
 that ever seemed to be looking back into the past, or waiting 
 and watching in a sort of anxious terror of what the future 
 might bring. 
 
 Sitting at a little distance, with his right hand in a sling, 
 Frank watched her now, as she pursued her monotonous 
 employment, and wondered at the strange inner life thus 
 only revealed; for of her wanderings and secret pain she 
 had never spoken, and these kind protectors respected her 
 silence. With the simple gratitude of a child she had 
 accepted their offer of shelter, and nestled close beside the 
 matron whose tranquil dignity covered so warm a heart ; 
 while her pleasant manner, her low voice, sweet and trem 
 ulous, and the mute appeal of her beseeching eyes, had won 
 their affection and disarmed suspicion, until they shrank 
 almost as much as she did from any manifestation of the curi 
 osity that so terrified and pained her. 
 
 Yawning over his own dulness, Frank at length said, 
 moodily, " This is stupid enough ! If my tongue don't run 
 like a mill-clapper, the silence is perfectly appalling. Speak, 
 some of you, or I shall wish I was a bear, so I could get into 
 a hollow tree and sleep away the winter sucking my paws. 
 If I was n't always the luckiest fellow in the world, I should
 
 UNEXPECTED MEETINGS. 185 
 
 say this lame hand was a confounded piece of ill-fortune 
 just now. Father, mother, Agnes, say something, or I shall 
 have the blues before I know it ! " 
 
 " Has thee never heard, ' silence is golden ' ? " said Mrs. 
 Grey, smiling. 
 
 " Yes ; but ' speech is silver,' and that 's the handiest for 
 common currency." 
 
 " You might make a little fortin', now, by hiring yourself 
 out to do the talkin' for somebody. A slow-mouthed man 
 would pay you somethin' handsome to do his'n," said Mr. 
 Grey. 
 
 " That speculation might pay," replied Frank, " if the 
 horses had n't been stolen and the barn burnt down. But 
 you see, the silver now-a-days is all paper-money, at about 
 five shillings a ton ; and I should make so much, I should 
 have nowhere to put it, and nothing to haul it there with." 
 
 " You can laugh, if you 're a mind to," rejoined his father, 
 " but it 's kind o' awful to think what the country is a comin' 
 to. I never see sich times afore in this world, I tell you. 
 It seems mostly as if it 't wan't no use keepin' up the war 
 no longer." 
 
 " If you think that, you ought to have seen our soldiers 
 in the retreat over the Passaic, the day I got wounded. A 
 good many of 'em with fingers so frozen they couldn't handle 
 a musket, and the blood from their bare feet tracking the 
 ground as they marched; and yet zounds! (that an't 
 swearing, mother) do you suppose one of us would have 
 turned our back on the enemy, if retreating had n't just then 
 16*
 
 186 AGNES. 
 
 been the only way to conquer. We '11 give it to 'em yet 
 the rascal red-coats ! " 
 
 He rose from the lounge, in his excitement, and his hand 
 some face kindled and flushed with eagerness. 
 
 "Yet you told us some on 'em wanted to desart," said his 
 father. 
 
 " None but the short-term militia. All of us that consider 
 ourselves in for the war are above such trifles as being 
 frozen and starved to death. Gunpowder and lead may 
 finish us, but nothing else will ! " replied Frank, with a 
 laugh of defiance. 
 
 " There 's nothin' like spunk npthin' in this world; but, 
 arter all, it takes somethin' better 'n spunk to keep a man 
 straight, through sich trials as you tell of," said Mr. Grey, 
 thoughtfully ; and then, as he glanced out of the window, he 
 added, with sudden animation, " Look there, who 's that 
 comin' down the hill? Bless my soul, it's Percy! What 
 on airth brings him home now ? " 
 
 The family crowded around the door, in some anxiety, as 
 the new comer entered. 
 
 "Thee's well? Thee is n't wounded, Percy?" asked his 
 mother, as his manly face was bent down to hers. 
 
 " Well and happy," he answered, as a quick glance of 
 'sympathy and confidence passed between them. 
 
 "But how came you here, then?" interposed Frank. 
 " Was the General anxious for my health, and sent you to 
 inquire ? Thank you, I 'm convalescent. Or, was you afraid 
 of getting the gout with the high living at head-quarters, and
 
 UNEXPECTED MEETINGS. 187 
 
 so came to try our fine salt P's for a few days? Or, lastly, 
 did you desert ? " 
 
 " Yes ; from New York." 
 
 " From New York ! " they exclaimed simultaneously, and 
 then followed a multitude of questions, in reply to which he 
 gave a detailed account of his captivity and escape, together 
 with his previous journey to Washington's camp on the Del 
 aware. 
 
 " I inquired for you there," he said to his brother, " and 
 heard you had been wounded. How did it happen ? " 
 
 " It was in a skirmish the day we crossed the Passaic. 
 The wound is nothing, if it were not in my right hand ; but, as 
 I was useless afterwards, I thought I 'd come home, for a 
 one-handed Jack might be of some service in a lonesome 
 place like this." 
 
 There was a touch of impatience and depression in his 
 tone, showing how his proud young soirit chafed at the inac 
 tion to which he was condemned ; but the expression of these 
 feelings passed from his face as his glance wandered involun 
 tarily to the low seat where Agnes, a little apart, and half 
 forgotten, had listened silently to their protracted conversa 
 tion. Her work had fallen to the floor, and her head leaned 
 heavily on her hand. So deep was her revery that she 
 hardly seemed to breathe. 
 
 "Agnes, you haven't spoken a word since Percy came. 
 What are you thinking about?" he asked, abruptly. 
 
 She started, with a frightened air, and half turned from
 
 188 AGNES. 
 
 him, pressing her hand upon her heart, as if she feared his 
 eyes might see its hidden workings. 
 
 Mr. Grey noticed the action, and, moving his chair nearer, 
 laid his hand upon her head. " Poor cretur ! how narvous 
 you be ! " he said, tenderly. 
 
 " 0, no ! I was tired I had forgotten where I was," she 
 answered quickly, and seized her work with a confused 
 manner. 
 
 Mrs. Grey drew it from her hands, and, folding it up, laid 
 it in the capacious work-basket by her side. 
 
 "Thee's done enough sewing for to-day, my child," she 
 said, quietly ; and her husband added, " There, darter 
 there, lay your head on my knee. I know you must be 
 tired." 
 
 As he spoke, his large hand, brown and hardened by years 
 of toil, with a touch gentle as a mother's drew her head to 
 the proffered resting-place. She yielded, with a delicious 
 sense of comfort, to the protecting caress ; for a moment the 
 darkness of past years rolled away, and the light of that 
 sacred hearth-fire gleamed warm over her soul. 
 
 " You '11 get stronger by the time spring comes, least-ways 
 I hope so," continued Mr. Grey. " It 's bad to be so sick and 
 weak like, an't it, now ? " 
 
 She looked up shyly, while a smile brightened her 
 eyes, and curved her pale lips, as she said, ' ' 0, no, it is 
 not hard to be sick it is so pleasant to be taken care 
 of!" 
 
 "You think BO, darter ? S'pose you can have the care with-
 
 UNEXPECTED MEETINGS. 189 
 
 out the sickness, won't that do just as well ? I tell you, this 
 is a horrid hard world, any way, and when a body comes to 
 be sick, it does make it bad master ! " 
 
 A sort of shudder thrilled over Agnes' whole frame, and, 
 unconsciously, in a low tone, she repeated, 
 
 " A hard world ! 0, yes, a dreadful, dreadful world ! " 
 
 The group around the fire looked at each other a moment 
 in silence, for the pathos of her voice was irresistible. Then, 
 bending towards her, Frank said, impulsively, 
 
 " Cannot we help you ? Agnes, you have never told us 
 one word about your troubles, or sufferings. You have been 
 here four months. Cannot you trust us yet ? " 
 
 The girl sprang to her feet with a faint cry, half of defi 
 ance and half of fear. She saw the kind eyes fixed upon her 
 with far more of pity than of curiosity, she remembered all 
 she owed to the family who had sheltered her, and her bosom 
 heaved with a mighty gush of gratitude and love. 
 
 " Some time I will tell you all, but not here not thus 
 not now. Indeed, I cannot now ! " she said, humbly, in a 
 stifled voice, and glided like a shadow from the room. 
 
 " Is this true ? Have you learned nothing of her history ? " 
 asked Percy, in astonishment, when the door had closed. 
 
 " Nothing not a word," said his father. " Somehow I 
 could n't ever make up my mind to ask sich a little delicate 
 cretur anything she did n't want to tell ; and if I ever tried to, 
 she looked at me so out o' them great eyes o' her'n, that I 
 shut up in a minute, mum as a beetle. Marm an t done no 
 better, though I thought, maybe, bein' a woman, she might."
 
 190 AQNES. 
 
 " I never felt moved to ask her," said Mrs. Grey, in an 
 swer to her son's inquiring look. 
 
 " And yet the world is agreed that woman is a synonyme 
 for curiosity," said Percy, half laughing. " Who would have 
 believed this ? Mother, I always knew you were more per- 
 fest than ordinary mortals, and now you have proved you are 
 no descendant of Eve." 
 
 " It was a great mistake not putting her in the garden of 
 Eden, instead of that heedless young lady who liked apples so 
 well," added Frank. " What trouble it would have saved 
 the world ! When the serpent came hopping up to her on the 
 tip of his tail, and made a most persuasive curve to offer to 
 eScort her to the tree, she would have put on her most dig 
 nified manner, and said, ' No, I thank thee. There 's no 
 occasion.' I can see just how she 'd do it." 
 
 "Hush, Frank!" said his mother, smiling, with a faint 
 blush. " I am free to own that I am curious in this matter ; 
 but, as father says, her eyes have great power, and, gentle as 
 she is, and soft in tone and manner, she maintains her reserve 
 as well as those who seem better able to do so. I could not 
 ask what I knew she did not wish to tell." 
 
 " Her apparent helplessness and her childish air is a strong 
 appeal to your forbearance, and perhaps she is aware of it," 
 said Percy, thoughtfully. 
 
 " Do you mean to say it is assumed for a purpose?" retorted 
 Frank, in an angry tone. " She is as guileless as an infant, 
 and you ought to be ashamed of yourself for doubting her J "
 
 UNEXPECTED MEETINGS. 191 
 
 " My dear boy, did I say I doubted her?" replied Percy, 
 in surprise. 
 
 " Four words implied it." 
 
 "And what if they did? May I not say what 1 think? 
 Why are you HO offended ? " 
 
 " She is a stranger, and has no friends, and it is unmanly 
 and cruel to suspect her," answered Frank, and then suddenly 
 left the room, as if ashamed of the irritation he had betrayed. 
 The old farmer opened his eyes wide, and, with an emphatic 
 whistle, looked at his wife, saying, 
 
 " Why, mother, is that the way the land lays ? " 
 
 " I never dreamed of it before," she answered, " and even 
 now arn inclined to think it was only the pain of his wound 
 which made him speak so. It is a bad wound, Percy, and 
 will take a long time to heal, though he won't allow me to tell 
 him so." 
 
 " Poor Frank ! But this, mother, will be worse than any 
 gun-shot wound, if we don't have a care of it. I don't want 
 to judge Agnes harshly, but I must say it is strange, if she 
 has been only unfortunate, that she is not willing to confide in 
 you, after all your kindness to her. It would be a pity for 
 Frank to become entangled thus. We ought to know some 
 thing of her history." 
 
 Percy spoke slowly, thinking less, at that moment, of hia 
 brother and Agnes, than of the fact that Frank's wife must 
 }>". a companion and friend to the pure and peerless Evelyn 
 Chester. Happiness oftener, perhaps, than misery, inclines 
 man to selfishness. There was a slight pause, and then Mrs.
 
 192 AGNES. 
 
 Grey's quiet tones aroused him from the slight revery into 
 which he had fallen. 
 
 " ' Charity thinketh no evil,' " she said. 
 
 " I do not deserve that reproof," he answered, quickly, " for 
 my advice was but the suggestion of common prudence. But 
 you are so secluded here, that things do not seem to you as 
 to one who has mingled with the world." 
 
 " Thee says truly, my son," she replied, " but there is an 
 inward light which shines brightest outside the circle thee 
 calls the world. Those who follow it seldom find themselves 
 bewildered." 
 
 " If intuitions may ever be trusted, surely you can rely 
 upon yours," said Percy, looking fondly at his mother. 
 
 " In this case I think I may, without fear. I can imagine 
 many reasons for Agnes' silence besides the one at which 
 thee hinted. She has doubtless met with so much harshness 
 and coldness before she came here, that she fears to tell a 
 story which she has no means of substantiating. Be that as 
 it may, I shall not seek to compel confidence, if I am unable 
 to win it, and surely thee can trust thy brother's honor and 
 discretion. Frank will do no wrong to his family." 
 
 " Well, now, I tell you," said Mr. Grey, " the gal is a good 
 gal, you may depend upon it, Percy. Sich a face as her'n 
 don't cover a bad heart. Bless her soul ! she 's innocent as a 
 baby, and I love her most like she was one o' my own that 's 
 layin' cold and dead this many a year under the apple-trees." 
 
 Mrs. Grey arose, and, putting away her work, began to 
 make preparations for tea ; and Agnes, hearing these culinary
 
 UNEXPECTED MEETINGS. 
 
 sounds, returned to the kitchen. Her eyes bore traces of 
 tears, and her movements were nervous and tremulous ; but, 
 as he watched her graceful form passing to and fro through 
 the room in eager helpfulness, and the quick play of her feat 
 ures as varying emotions swept over them, Percy ceased to 
 wonder at the charm which had wrought so powerfully on the 
 other members of the household. 
 
 For Agnes was not always abstracted and sad. Sometimes 
 from a desire to divert the attention and pity she had attracted 
 by moments of gloom, sometimes from the irrepressible up- 
 bounding of a youthful nature originally joyous as a bird's, she 
 had hours of cheerfulness and gentle gayety. This evening, lest 
 she should damp the pleasure of the family circle, she exerted 
 herself to talk and to listen with interest. Smiles hovered 
 around her lips, and her low, silvery laugh joined the mirth 
 occasioned by Frank's witticisms. But when, at the prayer 
 with which this Christian farmer always closed the day, Mr. 
 Grey besought, with more than usual fervor, for a blessing 
 upon "the stranger within their gate," he who had joined 
 most heartily in the petition heard with yearning sympathy 
 the low sigh breaking from her lips, and the faintly-breathed 
 exclamation, " 0, bless me pity me let me die ! " 
 
 When all the others had retired, Percy and his mother 
 remained a long time sitting in quiet converse before the 
 embers. The flickering light shone over them, and revealed 
 their faces fitfully to each other. Candles were luxuries 
 too expensive to be allowed when they could be dispensed 
 with, but Percy was rather glad than sorry for this poverty 
 17
 
 194 AGNES. 
 
 now. The snow-storm had changed to rain, which fell in 
 heavy showers, filling up the pauses of talk with its dull mon 
 otone ; and, with such an accompaniment, and the favoring 
 gloom of the shadows filling the room, he could unfold all his 
 past fears and his present hopes to the true maternal heart 
 that throbbed with a love so pure and deep. 
 
 With the first beams of morning Percy awoke. He was 
 impatient to pursue his way to the camp, and when he de 
 scended the stairs was glad to find breakfast nearly ready. 
 Having eaten it in some haste, and put on the warm gar 
 ments which were rendered necessary by a freezing change in 
 the weather, he bade a cheerful good-by to home, and, with 
 his brother, who signified his intention of accompanying him a 
 short distance, set out on the journey. They had walked 
 only two or three miles, when, upon reaching the brow of a 
 hill overlooking an extent of level country, they heard a faint 
 reverberation, which caused them simultaneously to stop and 
 listen. In a few moments it came again, louder than before. 
 
 " It is it is cannon firing!" exclaimed Percy. "They 
 are surely fighting ! 0, if I were only there ! What would n't 
 I give at this moment for wings ? " 
 
 " Wings ! you could n't fly, if you had them. Why don't 
 you wish for something more reasonable ? A horse, now, 
 would be worth a dozen pair of wings." 
 
 " ' My kingdom for a horse ! ' " replied Percy, laughing. 
 " But I don't see as I am much more likely to get this wish 
 than the other." 
 
 " Perhaps you won't," said Frank; "but, if I wanted it,
 
 UNEXPECTED MEETINGS. 195 
 
 there 'd be fifty chances to beg, borrow, or steal one, before I 
 was an hour older. It 's my luck. I always get what I 
 want." 
 
 " You 'd better set yourself resolutely to wish for one on 
 my account, then. 0, if I were but there ! To think that I 
 should have consumed a week in escaping from New York, 
 and now I shalL lose this battle ! " 
 
 It was not often that Percy manifested his emotions or 
 desires by words, and Frank heard with surprise these expres 
 sions of impatience. 
 
 " Upon my word," he exclaimed, " if you want a horse so 
 much, you shall have one. Trust my luck ! we '11 find one 
 before long." 
 
 Even while he was speaking, as if to verify his confidence 
 in fortune, from a cross-road they were approaching came the 
 rumbling of wheels, and the sound of boyish voices singing a 
 ballad just then in fashion among the Tories of Jersey. The 
 verse which the brothers heard, as they came nearer, was as 
 follows : 
 
 "When Congress sent great Washington, 
 All clothed with power and breeches, 
 To meet old Britain's warlike sons, 
 And make some rebel speeches, 
 
 " Full many a child went into camp 
 All dressed in homespun kersey, 
 To see the greatest rebel scamp 
 That ever crossed o'er Jersey." 
 
 < Hallo, there, you young rascals ! stop that ! " shouted
 
 196 AGNES. 
 
 Frank, as the team came from behind the trees. The singer 
 obeyed in some trepidation, as he saw the two men placing 
 themselves so as to hinder his further progress. 
 
 He was a lad of about twelve years, accompanied by one 
 still younger, who nestled in a load of hay, drawn by two 
 stout horses. The elder boy held the reins, and, though con 
 siderably alarmed at the unceremonious strangers, continued 
 to urge the animals forward with voice and whip. Percy 
 had seized one of them by the head, and was holding him 
 firmly, thinking what bargain he should make to obtain him, 
 when Frank exclaimed, 
 
 " My luck against the world ! This is our very old John, 
 that fell into the snare of the wicked, and was taken by the 
 Britishers the day our house was ransacked ! Take him out 
 of the traces, Percy, and away with you ! " 
 
 It was even as he said, and the horse gave unmistakable 
 signs of joy at recognizing his young masters. In another 
 moment his harness was off, a piece of the reins taken for a 
 bridle, a strip of woollen cloth they found under his collar 
 was strapped around for a saddle, and Percy, delighted beyond 
 measure, sprang upon his back. 
 
 - " There, now ! an't I as good as a fairy godmother ? Is 
 there anything else you 'd like ? You Ve only to speak, you 
 know. I would n't have you think my capacity is only of one 
 horse power ! " said Frank, gleefully. 
 
 Percy laughed, and shook his head. " Moderation is a 
 virtue at all times and so, good-by. If I get more than 
 my share of glory, I '11 give you half! "
 
 UNEXPECTED MEETINGS. 197 
 
 All this had passed in a few moments, and the boys were 
 too much bewildered to interfere. But, now comprehending 
 their loss, they began to whimper. 
 
 " Pa '11 gin it to you ! Pa and uncle is just behind, and 
 they '11 gin it to you two fellers, if you run off with our 
 hoss!" 
 
 It happens to be our own," said Frank, as Percy galloped 
 away, " and I 'm going to have you two ' fellers ' hung for 
 horse-stealing ! " 
 
 " 'T an't your'n, nuther ! " retorted the boy, looking fright 
 ened. " Pa bought it of a sojer, more 'n two months ago, 
 down to Brunswick ; and you jest wait and see what he '11 do 
 to you when he gets here pa and uncle ! Won't they pitch 
 into you ? You won't know nothin' where you be ! You 
 just wait ! " 
 
 " Thank you, my young friend," replied Frank, taking off 
 his hat, with mock gravity. " No doubt patience is commend 
 able, and so are prudence, and perseverance, and patriotism, 
 and perfection, and several other things that begin with the 
 same letter ; but I think, if you tell the truth about your 
 respected ' pa,' pedestrianism would become me better than 
 patience, and I shall wait no longer. Present my compli 
 ments, if you please, and say the horse could n't have been 
 sent home at a better time, and we '11 send in our bill for the 
 use of him two months." 
 
 "Pa '11 gin it to you you mister!" said the boy, from 
 khe top of the hay-cart, a little awed by such an unusual 
 address. " I hear him a comin' now, and he '11 gin it to you, 
 17*
 
 198 AGNES. 
 
 a takin' away our hoss ! Pa, hurry ! here 's a feller a stealin* 
 our hoss ! " 
 
 Frank sprang lightly up the hill, and when he was out of 
 sight turned into a by-path leading through the woods to a 
 spring much used by the teamsters familiar with that locality. 
 
 From thence, stepping on bare logs and patches of frozen 
 ground, that his footsteps might not be traced by the vindic 
 tive " pa," who he doubted not was in hot pursuit, he gained 
 the thick forest, and, directing his course by the sun, came at 
 length into a narrow valley, about a mile from his father's 
 house. 
 
 Following this to its termination, he found himself in a hol 
 low or depression among the hills, nearly circular, and con 
 taining a small pool. This was now covered with thin blue 
 ice, except in one spot where the living springs that fed it 
 poured out their surplus of water in a stream that ran a little 
 way, and was soon lost beneath the snow. Over this opening 
 a willow threw its pendulous branches, and a few evergreens 
 reared their dark spires beside it; but the remainder of the 
 basin was destitute of trees, although the growth on the sur 
 rounding elevation was thicker than usual. In a line from 
 the copse, a path might be traced to a low hut half-way up 
 the hill opposite to where Frank stood ; and as he hesitated 
 whether to pursue his way homeward, or to stop for a few 
 moments' chat with its inmates, the curtain which served for 
 a door was withdrawn, and Lawontica came out, bearing in 
 her hand an earthen pitcher she wished to fill at the spring. 
 
 In arranging her dress, she had modified the national
 
 UNEXPECTED MEETINGS. 199 
 
 costume with some ideas derived from her white neighbors, 
 and the effect was highly picturesque. She wore a jacket, 
 shaped much like the modern basque, made of red cloth, with 
 close sleeves, trimmed around with the soft fur of the silver- 
 gray fox, and ornamented on the breast by a large, oval silver 
 plate, that served as a fastening. From beneath this a skirt 
 of dark cloth came down nearly to her ankles, leaving visible 
 leggins also trimmed with fur, and well-shaped feet covered 
 with embroidered moccasins. Around her bare throat were 
 strings of bright-colored beads, and on her head was placed 
 jauntily a conical cap of wolf-skin, adorned by a knot of gay 
 plumes. Her abundant hair, black and glossy as jet, fell 
 loosely around her ears, partly shading the cheeks, and was 
 gathered behind in a braid, or queue, tied with broad, scarlet 
 trimming. 
 
 She came forward, not with her usual swift, springing step, 
 but thoughtfully, and at a lagging pace, as if her thoughts 
 were little in accordance with the brilliant sunshine, and the 
 clear, bracing air. She had not been at the farm-house for 
 some days, and Frank, fearing she might have been ill, was 
 about to join her and make inquiries, when he perceived some 
 one moving from behind the willow as she entered the copse. 
 Curious to know who it was, he stood still to see a short pan 
 tomime that interested him greatly. 
 
 Lawontica, apparently unconscious of observation, had 
 reached the willow, when a tall Indian, completely tricked 
 out in savage finery, came forward, and, half kneeling, laid at 
 her feet a bundle of choice furs tied between the branching
 
 200 AGNES. 
 
 antlers of a deer. The girl, who was doubtless not wholly 
 taken by surprise, without the slightest start or exclamation, 
 pushed them scornfully aside with the point of her moccasin, 
 and stepped by them with regal hauteur, without deigning a 
 glance at the suppliant. But he stretched out one arm to 
 detain her, and, raising the other in a beseeching gesture, 
 spoke a few words in their native tongue. She did not 
 change her attitude, a little in advance and half turned from 
 him, but Frank saw her lips move in reply. 
 
 Again there was a supplicating motion, and the skins were 
 placed before her. She paused a moment, and then set one 
 foot lightly on them. Her companion was evidently gratified 
 even at this disdainful reception of his offering. Clasping 
 his hands and spreading them out again, pointing now to 
 Sanoso's hut, and now to the forest before them, he seemed 
 entreating her to grant some boon, which she for a long time 
 refused, with slight gestures of vexation. Yet still she lis 
 tened, with her head a little bent, her eyes cast down, one 
 hand raised, and the fore-finger pressed against her lips, while 
 the other, holding the pitcher carelessly, hung straight by her 
 side, and her foot rested more firmly on the bundle of skins. 
 The grace and the intense expression of her figure would have 
 charmed a sculptor. 
 
 After a time, the Indian seemed to weary of his useless 
 prayer and, rising to his feet, leaned against the tree with 
 folded arms, and an air both sorrowful and angry. Then, for 
 the first time, she turned towards him. Frank could no 
 longer see her face, but she seemed to talk, and he to listen
 
 UNEXPECTED MEETINGS. 201 
 
 and reply with an expression of surprise or perplexity, not 
 unmingled with eager hope and joy. The dialogue was short. 
 Lawontica pointed to the forest and waved her hand, as if to 
 bid him leave her ; and, after a few more words, he obeyed. 
 
 She watched him, as he moved away with a firm and rapid 
 footstep, and when he had disappeared turned again to the 
 spring, and, having filled her pitcher, set it down on the mossy 
 roots of the tree. Frank was approaching, when something 
 in her attitude arrested him. He was now near enough to 
 see the expression of her features; but, excited and self- 
 absorbed, she had neither seen nor heard him. 
 
 Supposing herself alone, she stood for a moment, her face 
 contracted as if in a spasm of pain, and her hands clenched 
 and buried in the hair which hung over her temples. Then, 
 suddenly giving her lover's present a kick more vigorous 
 than graceful, she threw herself down upon a bank of turf 
 which the snow had left bare under the willow, with a violence 
 that must have caused serious injury to one less hardy, and 
 lay motionless, except that her frame heaved and quivered, as 
 if she were weeping convulsively. 
 
 Divided between curiosity and sympathy, Frank was debat 
 ing whether to withdraw unobserved, or to make her aware 
 of his presence and offer his aid in her trouble, when she 
 arose to a sitting posture, and, with her elbows on her knees, 
 and one hand supporting her chin, remained quiet s looking 
 moodily into the water at her feet. Her cap had fallen off, 
 her dress was soiled and disarranged, and her features were
 
 202 A G N E 3 . 
 
 go full of gloom and despair, that her friend could no longer 
 forbear an attempt to ascertain its cause. 
 
 She heard his step, and looked up ; but, perceiving him, 
 resumed her former attitude, shading her face with both 
 hands, and shaking the heavy locks of hair over her brow, so 
 that her expression was hidden from view. 
 
 " What can be the matter with you, Lawontica ? " he said. 
 " How you look ! You really frighten me. What has hap 
 pened to you ? " 
 
 She made no answer, and he came nearer, laying his hand 
 on her shoulder, and bending down so that he could hear the 
 few words she muttered to herself. 
 
 " What is the matter ? " he repeated. " I have n't seen you 
 for more than a week. Where have you been ? Tell me 
 what this great trouble is. Perhaps I can help you. Poor 
 girl ! how you have been crying ! " 
 
 She moved impatiently at his touch, and he heard a sup 
 pressed sob tremble and die away in her throat ; but when he 
 reiterated his inquiry in a tone even more anxious than 
 before, she jerked her shoulder petulantly from beneath his 
 hand, and, looking up, uttered some Indian words in an angry 
 tone. Then rising to her feet, she put back her dishevelled 
 tresses, and, replacing her cap, seized the pitcher, as if about 
 to return to the hut. He thought she was offended at him 
 for intruding upon her at an unguarded moment, and said, in 
 a tone of apology, 
 
 " Perhaps I should not have spoken to you just now, but
 
 UNEXPECTED MEETINGS. 203 
 
 you seemed to be in so much trouble I could n't help it. Let 
 me carry the water for you ! " 
 
 He offered to take it, but she dashed it to the ground 
 between them; her cheeks glowed, her limbs quivered, her 
 eyes seemed really to flash with rage. 
 
 " Jigullahsy ! jigidlahsy noogoo ! " * she screamed, stamp 
 ing her foot. " You come here too much too much ! Very 
 much you make Indian girl fool ! " 
 
 In utter amazement, Frank ejaculated, " What do you 
 mean, Lawontica ? What have I done ? " 
 
 But she replied again in her native dialect, as if sensible 
 her imperfect English could but poorly express the emotions 
 that convulsed her. Frank could not follow her rapid utter 
 ance, and, desirous to soothe her, refilled the pitcher, and said, 
 cheerfully, 
 
 " Come, let 's go see Sanoso ! I am sorry I offended you, 
 but you know I did n't mean to do it. Let us be friends 
 again ! " 
 
 " No, no, never ! " she said, fiercely. " White mans and 
 Indian no be friends never ! Never white mans mean any 
 good to Indian girl ! " 
 
 " Why, Lawontica, this is beyond all reason ! You know 
 better ! What has made you so angry ? You always used 
 to like me." 
 
 " No like you any more hate you hate you ! " she 
 exclaimed, with a gesture of defiance, and walked swiftly 
 away. He was about to follow, when old Sanoso entered tho 
 
 * Away with you ! away with you, this moment !
 
 204 AGNES. 
 
 copse. She regarded him with a curious, peering gaze, and 
 then, with a sigh, looked after her grandchild. He could not 
 tell whether she had been witness of their interview, but saw 
 that she was anxious and troubled. She would have taken 
 from him the burden Lawontica had forgotten, but he said, 
 
 " Let me take it to the wigwam for you, and here is a 
 bundle of skins I will take with it. An Indian brought them 
 to Lawontica, and she has been having a terrible time here 
 since. She is angry with me about something. What is it ? " 
 
 " Ahkie ! O, me ! " said the old woman, with a low groan. 
 " Always same thing when folks young man, young woman. 
 White man, Indian all same thing! Sanoso no want 'um 
 you carry these. Me take um 'lone to wigwam. Maybe, 
 pappoose* no want 'um you come there any more." 
 
 " You certainly won't banish me me, that you have 
 known ever since I was a boy ! You won't tell me I must not 
 come here again ! " said Frank, more and more surprised and 
 perplexed. 
 
 Sanoso seemed confused, but persisted in refusing to allow 
 him to help her, and, in reply to his questions, kept repeating, 
 
 " Some time, maybe, me tell 'um you. Now you go. You 
 mother, ve'y much het wonder you an't gone quick ! " 
 
 He had no choice but to obey her, and reluctantly pursued 
 his way homeward, cogitating with much solicitude over the 
 events of the morning. 
 
 * The child. f The Indian seldom used the feminine pronoun.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 " MANY A SLIP 'TWIXT CUP AND LIP." 
 
 THE sound of cannon, an echo of which had reached Percy 
 Grey upon the hill-top, proceeded from the battle of Trenton, 
 at that hour in progress. Every one remembers the brilliant 
 counter-stroke, by which, when all seemed lost, and Corn- 
 wallis vaunted over his wine of having " bagged the fox," 
 Washington extricated his army from impending destruction, 
 and forced the enemy to retire. 
 
 Stimulated by joy at his unexpected prize, and eager to 
 reach the scene of action, Percy urged the horse forward at 
 his fastest pace. The rain of the previous night had washed 
 away the snow, and a succeeding change of temperature had 
 frozen the roads solid as iron, so they were in fine order for 
 travel ; and, guided by inquiries, and by a soldier's instinct, 
 he pursued the most direct route, and came to Stony Brook 
 just as the army had crossed it, and were proceeding to break 
 down the bridge. A few words of explanation from his 
 brother-officers assured him they were retiring from a victory, 
 and not from a defeat; and, with new confidence and hope, 
 18
 
 206 AGNES. 
 
 they pushed on toward Pluckemin, where it had been deter 
 mined to halt for the night. 
 
 The men had fought like heroes, but never were mortals 
 more footsore and exhausted than they who that evening 
 thronged the houses of this small village. Many of them, too 
 weary to wait for food, asked only a place to rest, and regain 
 the sleep they had lost through three toilsome nights. Others, 
 rejoiced at the unaccustomed luxuries of shelter, warmth, and 
 a plentiful supper, lingered around the firesides where they 
 had been made welcome, alternately talking and sleeping. 
 
 Gen. Washington was himself nearly worn out with the 
 long tension of anxiety and excitement through which he had 
 passed, but did not rest until he had personally inspected the 
 condition of the wounded, and been assured that his well-tried 
 troops were made comfortable. Then he rejoined his staff at 
 a house where they had found lodging. It was near a 
 tavern, where other officers, and many of the soldiers, were 
 crowded in small but decent apartments. 
 
 Percy joined this party, and, after a homely and jovial 
 supper, in which the hostess of the inn expended all her skill, 
 they retired early to their closely-packed dormitory. Percy 
 had not endured the fatigue that made his comrades sleep so 
 soundly, and he was awakened long before daylight by visions 
 of one far away. He listened a while to the nasal chorus 
 around him, and then arose to seek the fresh air outside the 
 house. 
 
 He groped his way down stairs to the kitchen, and pushed 
 open the door. The soldiers lay in various positions all over
 
 "MANY A SLIP 'TWIXT CUP AND LIP." 207 
 
 the floor, and around the fireplace opposite a group were 
 sitting half asleep over the dying embers. An awkward- 
 looking youth, with cheeks distended, and mouth close to the 
 ashes, was trying to puff into greater activity a little flame 
 that flickered up the chimney, but scarcely lighted its cavern 
 ous depths. Bottles and mugs that stood on a table near 
 showed how they had been consoling themselves for former 
 privations. 
 
 " Yes, I did; I fired the six-pounder, and brought 'em all 
 to a halt I did! " said the youth, intermitting his efforts, 
 and looking up, as if in reply to something which had been 
 said by a man who sat in the corner near. 
 
 " You did ? Likely story that is ! " said the person 
 addressed, in an incredulous tone. 
 
 " Yes, I did ! " replied his companion. " I was comin' 
 'long, skulkin' behind the trees, so as to keep out o' the shot, 
 an' I see 'em comin', an', thinks I, them Britishers ''11 catch 
 'em, arter all. Then I sees the gun you left there, an' I hap 
 pens to think what a fust-rate chance 't would be to pepper 
 'em unexpected-like, when they was n't lookin', an' so I 
 touched her off. My eyes ! did n't she speak ? How I 
 laughed when I see 'em halt an' send a man to look an' see 
 who was there ! Reckon they thought now Gin'ral Wash 
 ington and all the Yankees was firing off that 'ere cannon. I 
 jest laid and laughed to think 't wan't nobody but me. The 
 feller did n't come near enough to see me, an' I don't believe 
 he '11 know to his dyin' day who fired off that 'ere cannon." 
 
 He resumed his blowing, and his listener took a long drink
 
 208 AGNES. 
 
 at a leather bottle he had been holding beneath his nose, as 
 if to regale one sense with the smell, before he tickled the 
 Other with the taste. Then, smacking his lips heartily, he 
 ejaculated, 
 
 " Well, you 're a pretty green one, to put a whole regiment 
 to flight the first shot you fire; but, if your story's true, 
 you ought to be promoted ; for, if they 'd come up with us, I 
 don't know how we could have fought 'em. We 'd used our 
 selves up, and there was n't any fight left in us. Come, boy, 
 let 's have a song. If you 're going to be a soldier, you must 
 learn to sing ; " and, with a clear, musical voice, he trolled 
 forth, 
 
 " We came, we fought, but could not beat, 
 And so we sounded a retreat ; 
 On Roxbury Hill again we saw em, 
 An' did like old Nick clapper-claw 'em. 
 Tirra, lirra, la ! 
 
 " But warlike casuists can't agree, 
 If we beat them, or they beat we. 
 We swear we beat, they swear we lie, 
 We '11 tell you more on 't by and by. 
 
 Tirra, lirra, la ! " 
 
 " Hold your noise, can't you ? " growled one of the sleepy 
 ones, with an oath, as the singer was about repeating the strain. 
 
 " Why, man, you 've no ear for music, and this is music 
 and philosophy combined. There is a moral to it. It is the 
 two sides of the shield. It shows the difference it makes 
 how you look at a thing ; it shows " 
 
 ' It '11 show you how to swallow your teeth when they 're
 
 "MANY A SLIP 'TWIXT CUP AND LIP." 209 
 
 knocked down your throat, if you don't shut your mouth ! " 
 interrupted his antagonist, half rising. 
 
 " 0, now, don't! " said the singer, with unruffled good tem 
 per. " Did n't you never learn, when you was a little 'un, 
 that ' you should never let your angry passions rise ' ? Well, 
 there, now, don't be mad! Suppose you are sleepy; and may 
 be I shall be too, to-morrow, if I don't turn in. Make room 
 for me, there, and I '11 lay down ; and, boy, you' wake me when 
 I get thirsty." 
 
 " How shall I know when you 're thirsty ? " asked the boy. 
 
 " 0, I shall be thirsty whenever you wake me," was the 
 reply ; and, still hugging his bottle, the merry-hearted and 
 bibacious soldier composed himself to quiet. 
 
 Major Grey had been an amused witness of this little epi 
 sode as he stood by the door ; but when he approached the 
 fire, stepping carefully over the sleepers, he started with sur 
 prise as the boy turned to him, and said, 
 
 " Here 's a warm corner, stranger, if you 're cold. They 
 let the fire all go out, and I 'm nigh-about froze, for them ere 
 pine planks an't so warm as one o' marm's feather-beds. G ood 
 enough for me, too, marm would say, goin' off fightin' agin 
 my lawful king." 
 
 " Jem Henderson ! Surely, I am not mistaken? You are 
 right welcome here," said Percy, grasping his hand. 
 
 " La, now ! I declare if 't an't the major, safe and sound ! " 
 was the reply. " Do tell, now, how you got on arter you 
 left me." 
 
 " It 's rather a long story, but you shall have it some time. 
 18*
 
 210 AGNES. 
 
 Tell me first if you suffered any for your share in my escape, 
 and if Mr. Chester's part in it was suspected." 
 
 " Not a mite ! An' the joke was, that when they took me 
 up and set out to haul me over the coals, the old 'squire came 
 for'ard and give me a character. My eyes ! did n't I laugh 
 in my sleeves? They never suspected nothin', and all they 
 did to me was jest to turn me out o' that infernal jail, and 
 they could n't hurt my feelin's that way." 
 
 " I am quite relieved to hear it. And they are quite well, 
 are they Mr. Chester and his daughter ? Did they know 
 you were coming here ? " 
 
 At this question there was a change in Jem's appearance, 
 perceptible even in the dim firelight which alone relieved the 
 darkness of the room. The broatl grin of delight gave place 
 to an expression of gloom, and he wrung his hand away from 
 his questioner's friendly grasp so quickly, that, in alarm, he 
 added, 
 
 " What is it ? What has happened to them ? Are they 
 in any trouble ? Have you any message for me ? " 
 
 " My eyes ! " said Jem, gruffly, " you ask a feller fifty 
 questions, and then get scared 'cause he don't answer 'em all 
 to onc't. I left 'em well enough, last time I see 'em. Marm 
 got so scared about me, that I could n't stand it, nohow ; and 
 so I stole off, a day or two arter I was released, and left New 
 York behind me. I was down to Millstone Creek, yesterday, 
 and see the fightin', pretty fightin' 'twas, too. I fired a 
 cannon, too, right at the Britishers. I could n't help thinkin' 
 what marm would say, if she knew it. Poor marm ! how she
 
 "MANY A SLIP 'TWIXT CUP AND LIP." 211 
 
 must a took on when she knew I was gone ! Was n't I glad, 
 though, when I saw somebody put a shot through one cocked 
 hat?" 
 
 " Whose was it ? " asked Major Grey, secretly uneasy at 
 this evident avoidance of the subject in which his companion 
 knew he was most interested. 
 
 " Somebody that 's lived too long already for the good of 
 his soul. 'T would be what I call a piece o' Christian char 
 ity to put him down there where they don't have cold weather 
 no time o' year." 
 
 " Come, let us take a walk," said Percy, abruptly, seeing 
 their conversation was attracting attention. " It will soon be 
 morning, and there is light enough now to show us our way. 
 We cannot talk freely here, and I must have the news from 
 New York." 
 
 " You go to walk, if you need exercise ; I Ve stretched my 
 legs enough, these last two days," retorted Jem. " I '11 stay 
 here, and keep the fire warm. Don't you be in a hurry about 
 the news. Folks don't always know what they 're doin' when 
 they ask for news." 
 
 " If you have any letter, or any message, give it to me 
 at once," said Percy, speaking authoritatively, in a low, 
 anxious tone. The boy, after fumbling in his pockets, drew 
 forth a package carefully enveloped in paper, and, opening it, 
 gave him Evelyn's letter. 
 
 Percy took it and went out, without any more questions. 
 Impatient as he had been a moment before, he was now half 
 glad that in the uncertain twilight of morning he could not
 
 212 AGNES. 
 
 trace its delicate lines. He wished for time to face this 
 change, to meet this apprehended sorrow ; and, if the hope he 
 had cherished must be wrenched from his heart, he would pause 
 yet once more to realize its blessedness, to recall every tone, 
 and look, and gesture, of their last brief interview ; to remem 
 ber that, whatever unknown trouble the folded sheet contained, 
 it was a message from the lady of his love. Her hands had 
 touched it ; her soul had been breathed into it ; her tears, per 
 chance, had fallen over it. Beneath the very stroke of doom 
 he lingered to seize the deliciousness of this thought. It came 
 of his perfect trust in her, of his noble reliance upon her truth. 
 Whatever he was doomed to bear arose from the pressure of 
 external circumstances. And was it in the power of fate now 
 to force them asunder? Could not those two strong young 
 spirits control the course of destiny, and shape their own 
 path through life? 
 
 Thinking such thoughts as these, he became cheerful and 
 courageous. As he walked rapidly along, braced by the keen 
 morning air, he clenched his hands nervously, and laughed 
 aloud in his exuberant self-reliance. Nearly a mile from the 
 village a high hill overlooked the valley, and thither his steps 
 had been unconsciously directed. Upon its summit a grove 
 of fir-trees threw the gloom of their black shadows over the 
 snow, now flushed and ruddy from the reflection of the bright 
 ening east. Just without their circle he rested, and, turning 
 wilfully from them, gazed upon the surrounding landscape, 
 and forced himself to observe its beauty. The letter, which 
 he hud thrust unopened into his vest, still lay next his heart,
 
 "MANY A SLIP 'IWIXT CUP AND LIP." 213 
 
 and there was a magnetism about it that diffused a subtle 
 warmth over his whole frame. 
 
 An icy mist the previous evening had turned into a scene 
 of enchantment all the homely hill-sides, with their stunted 
 groves, and the bushes in the clearings, and the low farm 
 houses, and the long reaches of unbroken forest sweeping on 
 to the horizon. In the amber light of that early hour, each 
 near twig and bough glistened and scintillated from the thou 
 sand tiny points of its crystallized sheathing, while the fir- 
 trees hung out their fleecy banners to catch the radiance 
 streaming towards them from between bars of crimson cloud, 
 and when the breeze touched them showered down their treas 
 ures in light wreaths, which the golden rays permeated and 
 colored, until it seemed as if those stalwart children of earth 
 were casting jewels upon her snow-covered grave. 
 
 While Percy Grey surveyed the scene with fascinated eyes, 
 the sun burst through the portals of the morning, changing 
 the roseate clouds into a transparent glory of purple and 
 amber, and darting beams of fire far down the valley. A 
 small stream, half hidden by its crest of ice, wound sluggishly 
 through the hamlet, from whence a thin vapor had been 
 rising, twirling in the fitful wind, waving and oscillating as it 
 mounted upward, until it caught the sunshine ; and then, with 
 a thrill through all its depths, it flushed into opaline hues, 
 and, rolling itself together in fleecy foldg, soared away to the 
 sky. 
 
 Standing amid that primal splendor, breathing that vivify-
 
 214 AGNES. 
 
 ing air, who could succumb to evil ? who could believe in 
 gloom or care? 
 
 He opened the letter, and read. 
 
 Instinctively he had retreated within the fir-grove, and sat 
 down beneath its shadow. The paper dropped from his hands, 
 and, bowing his head forward until his face was hidden, he 
 remained mute, motionless, and cold. His courage, his hope, 
 his strength, what were they against this fearful wrong? 
 
 Lost, lost to him forever, vanished from the sphere of his 
 life, these anguished breathings of her soul the last recogni 
 tion of the tie that bound her to him! Yet it was not chiefly of 
 himself or his own loss he thought. If she had been happy, 
 he might have learned to be content. But what a life was 
 before her ! He could almost pray that the Atlantic, upon 
 whose billows he supposed her at that moment to be tossing, 
 might bury within its quiet depths the care-worn heart that 
 could never again know peace. 
 
 Over the gleaming sky a film of cloud had spread, thicken 
 ing and lowering ominously ; and now a low, shivering wail 
 came from the fir-trees as the rising gusts of wind struck 
 through them, and on his bent form the snow-flakes came 
 down like ashes, white and dead. 
 
 He lifted up his face at the chilling touch, and g;ive one 
 glance arottnd him. Where was the brightness he had seen? 
 Where was the hope that had lit his life ? Had they not 
 perished together in a moment? Would they ever return ? 
 
 Holding his cloak about him, he descended the hill. His 
 face was colorless, but his step was firm. His love had been
 
 "MANY A SLIP 'TWIX.T CUP AND LIP." 215 
 
 unspoken and unknown to his companions ; his suffering must 
 be equally silent and unshared. 
 
 Within the village the drum and fife sent forth their stir 
 ring summons, and the companies were forming. As he 
 descended the hill Percy was an involuntary witness of one 
 of those painful scenes inseparable from a conflict partaking 
 so much the nature of a civil war. From a small cottage by 
 the roadside came the sound of voices raised in entreaty and 
 expostulation ; and as he passed, the door was flung violently 
 open, and a young man stood in the doorway struggling to 
 retain his position, as if some one had forced him out. An 
 aged woman was wringing her hands and weeping, while her 
 husband, whose white hairs shamed his unnatural rage, shook 
 his fist at his son, with taunts and reproaches. 
 
 As Percy paused an instant, he heard him say, sternly, 
 
 " Go, and never show your face here again ! Rebel ! 
 traitor to your country and your king ! begone, begone ! " 
 
 At this moment the mother sprang forward, and, throwing 
 her arms around her son's neck, sobbed, wildly, 
 
 " 0, my boy, my poor boy ! don't go to throw your life away 
 in a bad cause! Stay with your old father and me " 
 
 But her husband drew her away. " Let him go ! " he said, 
 with bitterness. " What does he care for us? He 's a rebel 
 against his king, and he can't be expected to obey his parents. 
 Let him go, and take my curse with him ! " 
 
 A cry of horror burst from the young man's lips, but before 
 he could speak his father shut the door and locked it. He 
 turned, and, finding himself not alone, rushed rapidly away.
 
 216 AGNES. 
 
 Percy had recognized him as a volunteer whose bravery was 
 well known in the company to which he belonged. Thus was 
 explained the violence which would not wait for apology, or 
 hope for repentance; and the scene he had witnessed was 
 probably not the first of the kind that had tried the heart of 
 this faithful soldier of liberty. There were many such divided 
 families during the war, especially in Jersey, where the 
 majority of the inhabitants were zealous royalists. 
 
 As Major Grey approached the tavern where he had passed 
 the night, he met many of his brother-officers, and on the 
 doorstep stood Jem Henderson, who eagerly accosted him. 
 
 " See here," he said. " These fellers are getting ready to 
 march, they tell me, and I don't seem to have anything pertic- 
 'lar to do. Now, I jest wish you 'd get me out a commission 
 to be your valley an't that what they call 'em ? I '11 take 
 care o' your hoss, and do sich-like things, you know." 
 
 " I '11 do better than that for you, Jem. You shall have 
 an ensign's commission in a few days. You 're a brave 
 fellow, and deserve it well ; and you must allow me to do what 
 
 I can to show my gratitude " 
 
 " Gratitude be hanged ! " interrupted Jem, roughly, blushing 
 like any girl at these praises. " Don't you s'pose I know 
 what I 'm arter ? If I 'd a wanted to carry the color, I 'd 
 said so right out ; but I don't, you see. I an't quite ready to 
 go into this ere blessed war, as marm calls it. I 'm kind o' 
 feared 'twould hurt me to be shot; and, though I didn't 
 mind runnin' some risk to please Miss Evelyn and get you 
 out o' that cussed hole, it 's a mighty sight different keepin' in
 
 "MANY A SLIP 'TWIXT CUP AND LIP." 217 
 
 a risk all the time, and I an't no notion o' doin' it. But I was 
 tired o' bein' mewed up there in York, and so when the place 
 got too hot for me I was glad to clear out, and now I want 
 you to hire me. I 'm a fust-rater for taking care o' hosses." 
 
 " I 'm sure I should be glad to accept your offer," said 
 Percy ; " but you must understand that I am poor, and a ser 
 vant is a luxury beyond my means." 
 
 " I won't be no burden to you," persisted Jem. " I can 
 forage for myself and you too. I like you, somehow, and I 
 want to stay with you a spell. When I can better myself I 
 will." 
 
 " Since you insist upon it, you shall have your own way," 
 replied Major Grey. " I 'm afraid the result will be that we 
 shall starve together ; but what I have I will share with you." 
 
 " You may do your own starvin'," said Jem, laughing. " I 
 an't no genius that way. Now tell me where your hoss is, 
 and arter this I '11 take care of him." 
 
 " I '11 go with you and find him," was the reply, and they 
 went towards the stables. Jem cast many an anxious glance 
 at his companion's face, but, with rare delicacy of feeling, 
 refrained from any reference to the trouble he suspected, and 
 fancied he read in the thoughtful brow and compressed lips. 
 
 Most of the prisoners taken in battle had been already sent 
 to Philadelphia, where they could be kept in greater security ; 
 but those most severely wounded had been left for the present 
 in farm-houses near the scene of action, or were to be taken 
 to Morristown, only twenty miles distant, where they could 
 receive the care they needed. The carriage on which they 
 19
 
 218 AGNES. 
 
 were conveyed, though a rude sledge, was the only available 
 means of transportation ; and being furnished by the village 
 people with straw for beds, and woollen quilts, they were in 
 some degree protected from the cold. 
 
 Gen. Washington had given orders that none of the severi 
 ties endured by his own soldiers when taken prisoners should 
 be retaliated upon those who fell into his hands ; and one of 
 his aids now stood by to see that all was arranged to make 
 the journey as comfortable as circumstances would allow. 
 
 They had been laid upon the hay in the stable, as the 
 softest bed the place afforded, in its crowded state. As Major 
 Grey and his companion entered the door, two soldiers came 
 forth, carrying between them a wounded officer. Turning 
 back, when he noticed the uniform, he said to the aid, 
 
 "This must be a person of rank. Could the general have 
 known he was so poorly accommodated? " 
 
 " He was brought in late last night, and this was the best 
 we could do for him," was the reply. 
 
 The wounded man overheard them, and began to swear at 
 his lodgings, at the pain of his injuries, and finally at the 
 clumsiness of his bearers. As they endeavored to lay him 
 on the sledge, he made some unexpected movement, which 
 caused one of the men to lose his hold, and let him fall to the 
 ground. The distance was not great, but the jar caused such 
 keen suffering that he fainted. 
 
 Percy assisted to lay him on his bed, and administer cor 
 dials, brought by the surgeon to restore consciousness. While 
 doing so, he was impressed with a vague memory of having
 
 MANY A SLIP 'TWIXT CUP AND LIP. 219 
 
 elsewhere seen those bold, handsome features, with their pecu 
 liar hauteur and magnetic repulsiveness ; yet, his cares being 
 ended, he might have thought no more of it, had not Jem, as 
 he led up the horse, asked abruptly, in a half-angry tone, 
 
 " Do you know, Major, what pesky sarpent you 've been a 
 nussin' there ? Did you ever see Col. Stanley ? " 
 
 " Never, but once what do you mean ? " he exclaimed, 
 starting, as if from a dagger-thrust. 
 
 "He's the cretur you've been tendin' there so careful! 
 Blast him ! who cares whether he lays easy or not ? " 
 
 Jem's honest indignation at the wrongs he knew, and those 
 he suspected, found great relief in this outburst ; but his 
 hearer, who had one foot in the stirrup, reeled giddily, and 
 caught at the bridle to keep himself from falling. When 
 the momentary blindness had passed, he said, in a low, stern 
 voice, like one who is insulted by the thoughtless proffer of a 
 vain hope, 
 
 " You are mistaken you must be ! She said there could 
 be no change effected ; before this time they must have left 
 this country." 
 
 "That was Col. Stanley, though. Think I don't know 
 him? If 't would hurt his feelings any, I 'd swear at him 
 the rascal ! " insisted Jem, not a little alarmed at his com 
 panion's appearance. 
 
 "Can you be right? But no. She said, positively I 
 see it all ! It is worse than death to be so tortured ! " 
 
 He seized the bridle again, and vaulted into the saddle. 
 Motion, rapid, incessant, life-exhausting motion, could alona
 
 220 AGNES. 
 
 relieve the restless misery of his soul, and he struck spurs into 
 his horse and galloped away. 
 
 As a violent blow produces numbness, and only with 
 returning life comes suffering; as, in the torture of "the 
 hoop," the victim, after the first moments of his constrained 
 position, ceases to feel pain, but, when the irons open, the 
 rush of blood through the chilled and stiffened frame fills it 
 with extremest agony ; so Percy through the day endured 
 more from reviving hope than he had from despair. The 
 blow that fell upon his heart seemed certain and final, and a 
 torpor, like death, had followed the first keen sense of grief. 
 But now, the doubt, the suspense, the burning desire to know 
 how far the change in public affairs had affected Col. Stanley's 
 designs upon Evelyn, and a vindictive joy, which he could not 
 suppress, at the danger and death threatening his helpless 
 foe, caused such distraction of mind, that he could hardly 
 attend to the duties of the present time, and every hour of 
 their march to Morristown seemed like a year of mental 
 torment. 
 
 Even after they arrived there, he had long to wait before 
 his anxiety could be in the least relieved ; for the van with 
 the wounded travelled slowly, and it was late in the evening 
 before Jem, with most diligent search, could obtain the infor 
 mation which enabled him to find Col. Stanley. 
 
 A large barn had been converted into a hospital, and here 
 the surgeons were busy in ministering to the wants of the suf 
 ferers; but the officer, in deference to his rank, had been
 
 MANY A SLIP 'TWIXT CUP AND LIP. 221 
 
 l 
 
 carried into the adjoining house, where he now lay on a com 
 fortable bed, in a small but neat apartment. 
 
 He seemed to be asleep as Major Grey entered, but moved 
 restlessly, moaning and muttering, his lips parched, and his 
 brain burning with fever ; but no one was near to minister 
 those attentions his case so imperatively demanded. Amid 
 his incoherent words, Evelyn's name often occurred, coupled 
 sometimes witeh terms of endearment, and sometimes with 
 fierce threatenings of evil. Once or twice he called her his 
 wife, and bade her wait upon him as a good wife should ; but, 
 even when his sleep was broken, and his wild, blood-shot eyes 
 glared round the room, he seemed unconscious of his situa 
 tion, and began giving directions for the contemplated voyage 
 to England. 
 
 As Percy lingered there, the surgeon entered, accompanied 
 by the mistress of the house. He seemed greatly annoyed 
 at the state in which he found his patient. 
 
 " It 's a sudden change," he said ; " the man's system must 
 have been out of order. There was nothing in his appear 
 ance this morning to warrant me in thinking he could n't be 
 brought on in safety. But now " he shook his head 
 professionally, and, with a scowling brow, proceeded to 
 examine the bandages over the wounded limb, and to measure 
 out medicines for the night. 
 
 But when he commenced giving the woman directions 
 respecting their administration, she exclaimed, 
 
 " You needn't trust to me! If this gentleman is any kin 
 to the sick man, he'd better stay and take care of him; for 
 19*
 
 222 AGNES. 
 
 my own husband is sick abed with a fever, and I an't goin 1 
 to leave him to take care of a stranger ! " 
 
 " But the man will die, if he don't have the very best of 
 care," remonstrated the doctor. 
 
 " I can't help it, if he does ! I '11 give him house-room, and 
 do what I can for him ; but I an't goin' to neglect my man 
 for nobody. So you may get him a nuss yourself, for I can't 
 promise to take care of him. I 've got nothin' but my two 
 hands to help me do every chore about this house, and see to 
 the children and all, and I an't made of iron, neither ! " 
 
 No contradiction could reasonably be made to this state 
 ment, though, from the woman's voice and manner, she might 
 have been called " smart as a steel-trap ; " and the surgeon 
 turned to Major Grey, with an appealing look. 
 
 " I don't know you, sir," he said, " but you seem to be 
 watching by this man. Can you stay and take care of 
 him ? " 
 
 " Can't a nurse be procured elsewhere? " was the hesitating 
 reply. 
 
 " I 'm sure I don't know where one can be got for to 
 night, and he must not be left alone. It '11 be death to him, 
 if he is. He '11 be wild with delirium before morning. 
 Won't some of the neighbors come in ? " he inquired of the 
 woman. 
 
 " Perhaps they will, if you ask 'em ; but I reckon they 've 
 all got their hands full, now their houses are crammed with 
 soldiers. At any rate, / han't no time to go runnin' round 
 after watchers there 's the baby waked up, now ! You
 
 MANY A SLIP 'TWIXT CUP AND LIP. 223 
 
 must do the best you can without me ! " And, in obedience 
 to a faint cry that reached her ears, she left the room. 
 
 " Well, you see how it is will you stay, to-night ? " 
 said the doctor, with some impatience, for he was in haste to 
 depart. 
 
 A struggle had been going on in Percy's mind from the 
 moment he entered the room. Here was Evelyn's persecutor, 
 his own enemy, wounded, dying. Should he leave him to his 
 fate? Is it strange that he hesitated? Scorn him not, ye 
 who are strong in virtue ! Bitter had been the wrong he had 
 endured ; and it might be lasting as life itself, if this man 
 survived. Even when he threw off his cloak, and signified 
 his intention to remain, he was moved less by Christian 
 charity, than by a 'stubborn self-respect, that held him back 
 with iron baud from staining his soul with crime. 
 
 Thankful to be relieved, the surgeon gave his directions 
 and went away ; but the medicines he ordered seemed to have 
 little effect as the night wore on, and Percy, who remembered 
 his mother's skill in nursing, resorted to her favorite remedy. 
 He brought cold water from the well, and bathed his patient's 
 face and hands, applying it freely to the head, until the 
 racking pain was soothed and the fever abated. Gradually 
 quiet took the place of incessant motion, and Col. Stanley 
 sank into the first sound sleep he had known since his injury. 
 
 Silently the hours passed, but Percy Grey had no inc.ina- 
 tion for repose. His mental trouble, the turmoil of his 
 thoughts, made him almost envy the death-like insensibility 
 of the sick man.
 
 224 AGNES. 
 
 Towards morning, Col. Stanley waked and called for water, 
 of which he drank again and again, until the supply was 
 exhausted, and Percy went to obtain more. When he 
 returned he found his patient sitting up in bed, his eyes 
 rolling in sudden frenzy, as he tore off the bandages about 
 his head, and pulled at his clothes, exclaiming, 
 
 " See, see ! Take them away burn them up they are 
 wet faugh ! they are wet with her blood ! " 
 
 " This is only water you are dreaming ! " said Major 
 Grey, trying to replace them. But he clutched at them 
 wildly, shouting, 
 
 " Horrible ! what are they here for ? take them away ! I 
 tell you it is blood her blood ! She said her heart was 
 broken, and don't broken hearts bleed? 'This is her blood, 
 I say. They are soaked with it ! " 
 
 He threw them to the furthest corner of the room, and 
 shuddered violently. An irrepressible question burst from 
 his hearer's lips, 
 
 " Whose blood is it ? Is it Evelyn Chester's? " 
 
 The sick man, arrested, even in his ravings, by the passion 
 of that tone, paused, with a momentary change of expression, 
 and leered at him cunningly. 
 
 " Evelyn's ? Miss Chester's ? Who calls my wife by that 
 name ? You should say Mrs. Stanley, when you inquire for 
 her. But, pray, who are you ? " 
 
 " No matter who I am. Are you married tell me ! " 
 
 " Married certainly was n't it all arranged ? I meant 
 to be honest then, I assure you I never meant to deceive
 
 "MANY A SLIP 'TWIXT CUP AND LIP." 225 
 
 her" was the reply, followed by a hoarse, horrid laugh ; and 
 then, with incoherent muttering, " But that other one did 
 you see her? She came here while you was gone. She 
 stood by the bed I saw her. She covered me all over with 
 her blood. Faugh ! it made me sick ! There she is again ' 
 take her away ! " he shrieked. 
 
 " There is no one here but myself," said Percy, sternly, 
 forcing him to lie down. He struggled a moment, and then, 
 with a change of mood, said, earnestly, 
 
 " I assure you she has no business here. Why did she 
 come ? She has no claim on me, not the slightest. It was 
 all a joke ! ha, ha ! poor little fool ! " 
 
 Indignant at the foul wickedness thus dimly shadowed forth, 
 Percy was about to speak ; but now oaths and curses began to 
 issue from the purple, quivering lips, and anger was lost in 
 pity at the crowd of frightful images that thronged the bewil 
 dered brain. With difficulty he persuaded him to remain in 
 bed, and to take the anodyne which had been ordered if this 
 phase of delirium should ensue. But Col. Stanley did not 
 sleep again that night, and when the surgeon came, early in 
 the morning, he looked extremely troubled. 
 
 " He '11 die, for certain," said he, drawing Percy aside. "I 
 have tried everywhere, and can't get a woman to nurse him 
 who looks as if she was capable to do anything ; and I find he 
 is a high officer. We don't take a great many of them, and 
 they count up in exchanging prisoners. The genera* will be 
 sorry to have me lose him, on that account ; but I don't see 
 any help for it."
 
 226 AGNES. 
 
 " Is the case desperate ? " asked Percy, trembling to feel 
 the irrepressible thrill of joy that passed over him. 
 
 " It is desperate because he can't have good nursing. As 
 the woman here says, everybody in town has their house full 
 and their hands full. If he could be well taken care of for 
 only a few days, the symptoms might change favorably, and 
 the inflammation be subdued. The wound was n't so bad in 
 the first place, I think that fall must have hurt him." 
 
 " And if a capable nurse can be procured, you think he 
 may recover ? " 
 
 " Very likely. He looks like a pretty good constitution. 
 But you I see you are an officer, and I suppose you can't 
 be with him constantly. Is he a friend of yours is Col. 
 Stanley?" 
 
 A peculiar expression upon Percy's face, as he replied in 
 the negative, attracted the surgeon's attention, and he said, 
 
 "You're sick yourself! Was you in the engagement? 
 was you wounded ? " 
 
 " Not at all. I have but just escaped from New York. I 
 was taken prisoner with Gen. Lee, and only joined the army 
 after they had crossed Stony Brook. I am Major Grey " 
 
 " 0, yes ! Major Grey. I heard the circumstance men 
 tioned. Allow me to congratulate you, sir. But I must be 
 off. "Will you remain here ? " 
 
 " Not at present ; indeed, I have little skill at nursing. 
 But, if some one will stay with Col. Stanley this morning, I 
 think I can procure a competent person to take care of him 
 for a few days. I can return this afternoon."
 
 "MANY A SLIP 'TWIXT CUP AND LIP." 227 
 
 " If you can, you '11 take considerable anxiety off my shoul 
 ders ; for, as I explained to you, I should like to save this 
 case, if I can. I '11 send one of the soldiers in to relieve you. 
 sir, in a few moments ; " and the worthy surgeon hurried 
 away to the barn-hospital. In a short time the man he had 
 promised to send made his appearance, and, as Col. Stanley, 
 though suffering greatly, was less violent than he had been, 
 Major Grey left him, and went to his lodgings to breakfast. 
 
 Through twenty-four hours of incessant excitement, he had 
 not tasted food. 

 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE GOLDEN RULE. 
 
 A SHORT distance from the house, he met Jem Henderson, 
 who had just discovered that he was not in his room, and was 
 coming to find him. 
 
 " You '11 jest kill yourself, and that 's all the good this 
 blessed war, as marm calls it, '11 do you ! " Jem said, reproach 
 fully, as he surveyed his friend with a scrutinizing glance. 
 
 " It would be a blessed war, indeed, if it would do that for 
 me ! " returned Percy, bitterly. 
 
 " Now, Major, I would n't give it up so ! more 'specially 
 jest now, when you 've nabbed the very devil himself! If I 
 was you, I 'd take pretty good care he did n't get back again, 
 to trouble nobody. Law ! won't them black eyes o' Miss 
 Evelyn's shine when she hears the colonel is a prisoner? I 
 wish we had a Sugar-House to shet him up in ! Fust they 
 trap you, and now you trap him. That 's what I call fair 
 play all round." 
 
 " Jem," said Major Grey, speaking in a very low tone, 
 " she is Miss Evelyn no longer. She is married to Col. 
 Stanley."
 
 THE GOLDEN RULE. 229 
 
 Jem gave a prolonged " whew ! " and snapped every one of 
 his finger-joints before he answered. 
 
 " I don't believe it ! " he said, stoutly. 
 
 " It is true." 
 
 " How do you know ? " 
 
 " I watched with Col. Stanley last night. He is very sick 
 delirious but when I asked him that question he seemed 
 rational for a moment, and he told me so." 
 
 " He lied, then ! He 'd be more likely to lie about it, if he 
 had his senses," replied Jem, defiantly. 
 
 "I fear it is too true. It only confirms Miss Evelyn's 
 letter." 
 
 " Well, now, look here," said Jem, pausing abruptly, and 
 placing himself directly before his companion, " if I 'd known 
 you was going to be sich a fool as to set up all night with 
 that pesky sarpent, and then make yourself miserable about 
 what he said when he was crazy, I 'd gone and took care on 
 him myself. What's the good, Major? Things is bad 
 enough for you and Miss Evelyn, that 's certain, though I 
 don't exactly understand how. But she looked like death 
 when she give me that letter, and that ere long-worded darkey 
 o' their'n told me they was all going to England ; so I know 
 something is to pay, and this ere Col. Stanley is to the bottom 
 of it. But now what 's the good o' giving up ? Who knows 
 he'll ever go back to plague anybody? Let him alone, and I 
 reckon he '11 go where he belongs." 
 
 " Would it be right ? " said Percy, half aloud. 
 
 " Who cares if 't an't ? " 
 20
 
 230 AGNES. 
 
 " I do," was the thoughtful reply. 
 
 It seemed to open a new train of reflections in Jem's rnind. 
 He resumed his walk, and, after a while, said, in a less vehe 
 ment tone, 
 
 " Any way, Major, I would n't give up. It 's all nonsense 
 to give up and all that! An't it always darkest jest before 
 day ? An't folks always disappointed jest when they feel 
 sure ? The devil helps 'em into a scrape, but he don't help 
 'em out. You^can see how 'tis by this very last shine o' the 
 general's, down there to Trenton cuttin' up the way he did. 
 The folks in York thought he 'd know, for once, when he was 
 beat, and be willing to stay beat ; and they was all ready to 
 go home and tell how the war was over. That was the talk 
 the day I came from there. But, by jingoes ! he gets licked, 
 every turn, but he 's up to time, for all that, and this ere 
 blessed war an't goin' to be finished in a hurry. So don't 
 give up, Major. I don't believe one word about Miss Evelyn 
 bein' married." 
 
 Though he was cheered, in spite of himself, by Jem's cour 
 ageous incredulity, Percy could not forbear reflecting, with a 
 sigh, that the disappointment which comes when we are surest 
 affects the things we hope for, as well as those we fear. By 
 this time they had reached the tavern, and, learning that Jem 
 had already breakfasted, Major Grey requested him to pro 
 cure for him a sleigh or sled, and harness his horse into it. as 
 he intended driving out to his father's farm, which was about 
 ten miles distant. This was readily accomplished, and, as a 
 light snow had fallen the previous night, and made the trav-
 
 THE GOLDEN KULE. 231 
 
 elling passable, it was not many hours before the sound of his 
 sleigh-bells brought the family once more to the door to 
 welcome him. 
 
 They were not surprised at this speedy return, having been 
 informed of the battle of Princeton, and that the army were 
 moving to Morristown ; and so eager were they to hear all 
 the particulars of the event, that some time elapsed before 
 he found an opportunity to unfold the chief purpose of his 
 visit. 
 
 But, when dinner-time came, he followed his mother into 
 the pantry adjoining the kitchen, where she had gone to mix 
 the corn-cake that was to be the chief dish on the table. He 
 watched her a moment in silence, as she stirred the yellow 
 meal ; and, looking up to ask some trivial question, she was 
 startled at the expression of his face. 
 
 " Let me speak with } r ou," he said, in a low tone. " The 
 others may know what I have to say by and by, but I must 
 tell you first." 
 
 He paused, strongly agitated, and his mother's heart beat 
 violently as she saw his efforts at self-control ; for she knew 
 it was no slight thing which moved him thus. Frank, who had 
 followed him, not divining his desire to be alone with his 
 mother, caught a glimpse of their faces, and stood unseen in 
 the doorway, hesitating and amazed. Percy went on, rapidly 
 
 " There is a man who has injured me beyond all remedy or 
 redress, a man whose life is a deadly bane to the happiness 
 of one I prize most dearly. You look surprised, mother 
 all is changed since I was here "
 
 232 AGNES. 
 
 "Poor boy! I saw it in thy face. Goon. What of this 
 man ? " 
 
 " He is now in Morristown, a prisoner, wounded, ready to 
 die if he cannot have the most assiduous care. The town is 
 full of soldiers and the sick. There is no one to attend par 
 ticularly to his case. Mother, what am I to do ? " 
 
 Mrs. Grey did not reply immediately. Her mild eyes filled 
 with tears, her lips trembled, and an expression came over 
 her face as if maternal love struggled with an emotion scarcely 
 more strong or pure. Then she said, 
 
 "'If thine enemy hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, give him 
 drink.' Percy, is not that the reading? " 
 
 " I knew you would say so ! " he exclaimed, and, as he 
 turned aside to hide the emotion he could no longer control, 
 he saw his brother. 
 
 " Don't be angry, Percy," Frank said, striving to choke 
 down his own feelings. " I ought not to have listened, but I 
 could n't help it. You are a noble fellow but, mother, 
 that 's an awful bitter dose, that text, unless you put on the 
 rest of the sentence. I always thought that remark about 
 heaping coals of fire was put in as a sort of consolation to us 
 poor sinners when we try to do our duty. Put 'em on to 
 that fellow's head by the shovelful I would ! Who is he, 
 Percy?" 
 
 " His name is Stanley. He lies very ill." 
 
 " What is all this about? " interrupted Mr. Grey, attracted 
 to the.spot by Frank's remark. 
 
 " I spoke of a sick man a British officer who needs
 
 THE GOLDEN RULE. 283 
 
 better care than it is possible just now to procure at Morris- 
 town. I came ove'r to see if mother would go back with me 
 and nurse him for a day or two, until the immediate danger 
 is passed, or some one else can be procured." 
 
 " Now, mother, you 'd better go. Agnes and me can do 
 the chores round, and keep house as well as not," said the old 
 man, cheerfully. " Can't we, Agnes? " 
 
 She looked up with a smile of acquiescence, as she flitted 
 by with the salt fish she was about to broil for dinner, and 
 Mrs. Grey replied, 
 
 " I think I '11 go. Frank's hand is better, and he will not 
 need me now. I am moved to undertake this duty, though, 
 as Frank says, it is hard." 
 
 " Hard ! Why, mother, I never thought but what you liked 
 nussin' ! " exclaimed her husband. 
 
 " Thee knows I do, dear," she answered, quietly. " It was 
 the spirit, and not the flesh, that shrank from this. But I 
 will go." 
 
 " And a friend o' Percy's, too ! " pursued Mr. Grey, with a 
 perplexed manner. 
 
 "He is no friend of mine," said his son, quickly. 
 
 " Who is he, then ? What 's his name ? " 
 
 " Do you remember the two gentlemen, with a lady, who 
 staid here a short time, one afternoon, while their carriage was 
 being mended ? He was one of them, a tall, haughty- 
 looking man. He is a colonel in the British army. His 
 name is Stanley." 
 
 A faint sound, between a sigh and an exclamation, reached 
 20*
 
 AO NES . 
 
 Frank's ear with these words, and he looked at Agnes. She 
 stood a little apart, her hands pressed upon her heart, as was 
 her habit when suddenly moved, her head bent forward in an 
 attitude of eager interest, and her eyes fixed upon the 
 speaker's face with an expression so thrilling, so intense, that 
 a fierce pang of jealousy shot through his soul. 
 
 " It is Percy she loves, not me ! " he thought ; and, for the 
 first time in his life, he envied his brother the superiority in 
 which he had before gloried, as if it were his own. 
 
 The conversation proceeded. Old Mr. Grey shook his 
 head with a knowing air, exclaiming, 
 
 " Well, now ! I like that, extraordinary well ! He seemed 
 too proud to look at us that day, and now he 's come to be 
 beholden to you for to make him comfortable ! That 's the 
 way the wheel goes round ! 'T an't safe to despise nobody, 
 for we don't none on us know what we 're coming to. I 
 remember him well enough and that lady, too. She was a 
 pretty cretur, and not a bit stuck-up, neither, for all she had 
 such a proud look in her eyes. What did you say her name 
 was ? " 
 
 " It was Miss Chester. The other gentleman was her 
 father." 
 
 " And was n't the colonel a beau o' her'n ? Somehow, he 
 kind o' handed her round as if he thought she belonged to 
 him." 
 
 Percy's face was colorless, and something in his voice 
 betrayed the pain at his heart, as he replied, briefly, 
 
 " Probably she is now his wife."
 
 THE GOLDEN RULE. 235 
 
 Mr. Grey scrutinized his son's face a moment, and a new 
 light seemed to dawn upon his mind. He asked no more 
 questions, and, abruptly seating himself, called them to the 
 table. Agnes had stolen softly away. 
 
 The dinner-hour passed almost in silence ; and, if they ate 
 sparingly, it was less on account of the lenten fare, than the 
 dead weight which rested upon their spirits. The father 
 glanced often at his wife and children, not a little hurt at 
 believing himself shut out from their confidence ; and each cf 
 those three had at heart a deep disquiet, and saw in the 
 future a struggle and a sacrifice, that must be borne alone. 
 After the meal was finished, Mrs. Grey went to prepare her 
 self for the drive. As she left the kitchen, she met Agnes at 
 the door. 
 
 " I was coming to seek you," she said. "0, Mrs. Grey, 
 let me go in your place. I am a good nurse indeed, 1 
 am ! I will not leave him a moment. 0, I must go ! I 
 cannot fill your place here at home you are needed here. 
 But nobody needs me. Do let me go ! " 
 
 She was so excited and earnest, that, in spite of her better 
 judgment, for a moment Mrs. Grey hesitated. But Percy, 
 who had overheard the request, interfered immediately. 
 
 " You wouldn't think of such a thing, mother! " said he. 
 " The bedside of that man, in his delirium, is no place for a 
 delicate girl. Agnes has neither the bodily or the mental 
 (strength necessary for such a task." 
 
 " I am stronger than I look I have quite regained my
 
 236 A ONES. 
 
 health. 0, you don't know how much I can bear ! " said 
 Agnes, nervously. 
 
 " It will never do. It is kind of thee to wish it, but it 
 will never do," replied Mrs. Grey. "Thee -might be 
 employed in light duties about the sick, but thec has over 
 rated thy strength in wishing to undertake this task. I shall 
 be gone a few days, and thee can be very useful here at 
 home." 
 
 She passed on in her gentle, firm manner, which no one 
 ever thought of disputing, and the girl remained standing in 
 the entry. The kitchen door had closed of itself. No one 
 saw the large tears which gathered slowly and ran over her 
 cheeks, or the frantic gesture of impatient disappointment 
 with which she wrung her hands, and pressed them once more 
 over the wildly-throbbing heart. 
 
 Frank, who had been standing listlessly by the fire, went 
 to the door, where Percy had brought the sleigh, and was 
 waiting his mother's appearance. 
 
 " You have never made a confidant of me," he said, in his 
 impulsive way, " but I have guessed something about this 
 matter, and it seems to me you are just flying in the face of 
 Providence. Seems to me, if I was you, I 'd stand one side, 
 and let the Lord manage things his own way." 
 
 " I should be glad if I had not known about Col. Stanley," 
 answered Percy. " But I sought him out for my own satis 
 faction, and found him as you have heard. You remember 
 the words which came first from mother's lips when I told her 
 of it?"
 
 THE GOLDEN RULAi, 237 
 
 " Yes. But, Percy, what are you g'iing to do, if thia 
 man lives? What do you expect? Are you relying upon 
 his generosity, or magnanimity, or any other five-syllabled 
 virtue you may think he possesses ? Because, if you are, I '11 
 bet a shad you 're mistaken ! " 
 
 " I expect nothing I hope for nothing ! " answered his 
 brother, gloomily. " I am in that pas;* sphere a man must 
 walk straight in the path made for him, or he stumbles and 
 fulls utterly." 
 
 " Are you sure Miss Chester will thank you for your 
 pains ? ; ' asked Frank, after a shoi t pause. 
 
 " At least, she will understand me ! " was the reply. 
 
 " Well, you must do as you please," said his brother, with 
 some impatience. " You are altogether on too high a scale 
 for me, and I thought I 'd try and bring you to a little 
 common sense. I should feel a good deal more like shooting 
 the man than nursing him." 
 
 "My son, what's thee saying?" exclaimed his mother's 
 voice, behind him. " Thee speaks unadvisedly in giving thy 
 brother such counsel. He has a better rule than that." 
 
 " No doubt you 'd say so," replied Frank ; " but the rule 
 you refer to, if it is the one you quoted, was made so long 
 ago, it could n't have been intended for the present state of 
 society. However, go your own way you and Percy 
 and we '11 see what comes of it. One good thing about my 
 plan is, that it can be used after yours has failed. It 
 would in any case be the last resort." 
 
 He handed his mother into the sleigh, and watched them
 
 238 AGNES. 
 
 drive off. When he went in-doors again, Agnes was busy 
 about her household duties, and even his eyes could detect 
 nothing different from her usual manner. But the idea he 
 had received would not leave him, and, with the perversity 
 usual to a man in love, he hugged it to his heart, and made' 
 himself miserable over it. 
 
 Day after day passed, and still Mrs. Grey continued absent. 
 The look of wistful sorrow in Agnes' eyes grew more intense, 
 and oftener her lips turned white, and her hands were pressed 
 above her heart, as if in a spasm of pain. But she had ever 
 a smile and a pleasant word for those who addressed her, and 
 attended to the housekeeping quietly and mechanically ; or, 
 when those cares were ended, took refuge behind a long seam 
 of sewing, which Frank insisted she must set up nights to 
 pick out, as it was never finished. She answered, in her slow, 
 gentle tones, to Mr. Grey's occasional observations, and 
 exerted herself to cheer him ; for he had not during years 
 before been separated from his wife, and he missed her sadly. 
 But neither of them noticed that Frank's careless nonsense 
 had ceased, that his words were full of moody bitterness, and 
 his customary vivacity had vanished. 
 
 One evening, when nearly a week had elapsed, just as the 
 twilight shadows were creeping over the low walls of the 
 kitchen, the old farmer roused from a dreamy revery, and, 
 turning to his son, said, with unwonted animation, 
 
 " Mother 's staid as long now as she said she would, at the 
 very furthest ; and, I tell you, I shall be extraordinary glad 
 to see her home again."
 
 THE GOLDEN RULE. 239 
 
 ' Do you suppose she will come to-morrow? " 
 
 " I know she will ! 'T would be a master strange thing if 
 she didn't come when she said she would. I mean to make 
 Percy jest take me over to Morristown to see the gin'ral. 
 'T would do me a master sight o' good to shake hands with 
 him. If ever there was a man raised up for a special pur 
 pose, it 's that man. Providence takes care on him, and he 
 never '11 be beat in this world, I tell you ! " 
 
 " No doubt he 'd be glad to know you 're sure of it ! " said 
 Frank. " I reckon he has some doubts about it himself, just 
 now. I don't know how he can help being discouraged at the 
 way things go." 
 
 " He an't no need to be discouraged he 's under the 
 special care o' Providence, as I said afore. What else saved 
 him down there to Kamapo Creek ? You hearn Percy tell 
 on 't. Jest a little stream between 'em our folks all worn 
 out half-starved scarce any powder or shot for their 
 guns, and none too many o' them, and Gen. Howe with all his 
 army in good condition. What kep' him from corning across 
 that ere little stream? 'Twan't nothin' but Providence! 
 There was n't no reason why them prowlin' soldiers were so 
 'mazin' indifferent, all of a sudden, when they see the prey 
 right in their power ! " 
 
 " Perhaps it is so," said Frank, absently. " He is a brave 
 man, and deserves success." 
 
 " 'T an't his bravery 't an't his desarts, neither ! " per 
 sisted Mr. Grey. " Perhaps you don't understand me, 
 Frauk ; you an't watched the ways o' this world as long as I
 
 240 A Q N E 8 . 
 
 have. There is a Power above us all, and them that looks 
 can see how it takes care on us." 
 
 " Do you really think so ? Does God care for each one 
 of us ? Does he notice us ? " said Agnes, at his side. She 
 had drawn her low seat nearer to him, and, resting one hand 
 on his knee, looked up earnestly, as if her whole soul hung 
 upon his words. 
 
 " I an't no manner o' doubt on't, dear," he answered, laying 
 the delicate little hand in his, and caressing it softly. 
 
 " Why, then, does he not hear us when we pray to him ? 
 Why is he so deaf to our cries? Why is there so much 
 wrong, such terrible evil, such deep suffering, in the world ? 
 O, surely, surely we are too feeble, too weak, to attract his 
 notice, and he does not know what we endure, or he would 
 pity us ! " 
 
 She wrung her hand away from his, and stretched it out 
 towards heaven, with a passionate gesture of entreaty and 
 reproach. 
 
 " Poor little gal, you 're on the dark side o' this question 
 now, an't ye ? but maybe you '11 come out into the light by'm 
 by. There 's a good deal o' puzzle about it, I know, but 
 there 's full as much to make us believe. Look at all them 
 Bible stories about the ravens feeding the prophet, and all 
 that. You b'lieve 'em, don't you ? " 
 
 She looked doubtful, and shook her head, as if such far-off 
 consolation did not reach her case ; and Prank said, half 
 jestingly, half bitterly, 
 
 " But the only ravens we have nowadays are crows, and
 
 THE GOLDEN RULE. 241 
 
 the prophets we call witches. I believe the Bible, and so 
 does Agnes, I suppose ; but it don't seem as if the Lord gov 
 erns this world as he used to, or heaven was as near to earth 
 as it once was." 
 
 His father mused a while, with a quiet smile of certainty 
 stealing over his face. Then he said, 
 
 " It 's natural for you young things to doubt. When you 
 get impatient and restless, you don't have no past providences 
 to fall back upon, as old folks do. Listen to me, now. I '11 
 tell you a story about my mother ; and it 's a true one, too, 
 though it 's e'enamost as wonderful as Elijah and the ravens. 
 
 ' You know, Frank, I lived on Mass'chusetts Bay when I 
 was a youngster. Well, my mother was left a widow when I 
 was a little feller ; but this happened afore she knowed she 
 was never a goin' to see my father agin. They lived in a 
 lonesome place ; a good many miles from any neighbors, and 
 sometimes did n't see a soul but themselves for days together. 
 'T was a tol'able good place for a farm, and so my father took 
 it up, and they managed to get along with what they grew, 
 and a little fishin' now and then. Wai, the summer arter I 
 was born, my mother had a fever and rheumatiz so bad that 
 arter she got better she was lame so she could n't walk a step. 
 The gal that nussed her when she was sick had to go home, 
 and she was alone, with me and my brother to take care on ; 
 but she thought she could get along for a day, and so my 
 father took the boat, one morning, and went off to fish. He 
 had n't been gone long afore there came up an awful thunder- 
 squall, and she never see my father arter that. He was 
 21
 
 242 AGNES. 
 
 drownded, childern, drownded ! and she left a young widow, 
 with two babies to work for." 
 
 His voice grew husky for a moment, but he went on, with 
 out pausing for the exclamation of pity which his listeners 
 
 
 
 uttered. 
 
 " Night came, and she was all alone ; but still she hoped 
 he 'd been driven out by the storm, and would work into some 
 harbor. But day after day went on, and nobody came near 
 her. There was n't much in the house to eat, for the provi 
 sions was most out when my father went away, and he was 
 goino- to the next town to sell the fish and get more. She 
 
 O O O 
 
 had a nussin baby, and another two year old, and what to do 
 she did n't know. She managed to shuffle round the house, 
 but she could n't walk and carry the young ones, not even to 
 save their lives when they was starvin' ; and she began to 
 think they would starve afore anybody came near 'em. 
 
 " Wai, there was a cat, a great gray cat, that had been in 
 and out round the house, for a few months ; but they never 
 had made much on her, for they was n't very fond o' cats. 
 One mornin' the oldest child was cryin' for bread, and she 
 was dyin' o' weakness herself, and she said to herself, ' Dear, 
 dear, what should they do ? ' 
 
 " Wai, the cat had been layin' on the doorstep, and when 
 she hearn marm kind o' cry out like that, she jumped up and 
 looked right straight in her face, and made tracks for the 
 woods that was all round the house. She was gone nigh an 
 hour, and when she came back she had a great fat robin in 
 her mouth ; and she brought it and laid it down at my marm's
 
 THE GOLDEN RULE. 243 
 
 feet, and looked up in her face and mewed again, and never 
 offered to touch it, though marm was so astonished and fright- 
 ened-like, that she did n't pick it up for some time. 
 
 " Wai, she made a broth of it and fed my brother, and eat 
 the rest herself; and she said nothin' in her life, afore or 
 arterwards, ever tasted so good as that ere broth." 
 
 " That story is a regular cat-tail, father ! How do you 
 account for it ? " said Frank, incredulously. 
 
 " I don't account for it. I know it 's true. And that 
 warn't all there was to it. The next morning the cat went 
 again, and that time she brought home a full-grown partridge; 
 and for four days she did the same thing reg'lar. She always 
 went about the same time, and always brought home some 
 thing. Now, was n't that a clear case of Providence? Did n't 
 the Lord care partic'lar for that poor woman and her 
 babies?"* 
 
 " Are you sure that is true ? " asked Frank, in an excited 
 tone. 
 
 " True as I 'm a livin' cretur," replied his father. " I 'd 
 take my oath on 't afore anybody." 
 
 "Then it is the most wonderful thing I ever heard of! 
 What became of the cat ? " 
 
 " Wai, arter four days some o' the neighbors come along, 
 and they took marm and the childern into the village, where 
 they could see to 'em, for they was pretty sure father must 
 be dead ; and nobody ever saw the cat arterwards. Marm 
 would a given e'enamost anything to a found her ; but she 
 * A true story.
 
 244 AGNES. 
 
 never could hear as anybody had seen her. 'Twas most 
 extraordinary." 
 
 " But all are not so cared for," persisted Agnes, after a 
 pause, in a sharp, bitter tone. " Is the Almighty partial ? 
 Why does he fill some lives with gladness, and leave others to 
 want, and struggle, and ceaseless, wearing pain ? " 
 
 " And why," added Frank, moodily, " are some so uniformly 
 successful, gaining even more than they desire, what others, 
 who are left all their days to disappointment and defeat, 
 would give the world to possess ? " 
 
 " These things seem hard to you, childern, I know," replied 
 his father. " Time has been when I have thought, myself, 
 now sich and sich things is the very worst that cottld happen ; 
 but I 've been brought through 'em, and so '11 you. And 
 when you get through, and come to look back and see it all, 
 you '11 say you 've been dealt with pretty middlin' well." 
 
 The old man smiled quietly as he spoke. Sitting there, in 
 the dreamy firelight, his life-voyage so nearly done, the cries 
 of these young hearts, striving to pierce the mystery of exist 
 ence, sounded like the voice of tempest-tossed waves to the 
 mariner safe on shore. 
 
 " But it is so long before we are old ! It is SQ hard to 
 wait ! " sighed Agnes. 
 
 " Yes, it takes patience, childern patience and faith. We 
 must believe ; and what we don't know now, we '11 know here 
 after. Etarnity, etarnity's the place, childern, where the 
 snarls '11 be taken out o' this tangle ! " 
 
 The tranquil assurance of his tones soothed, if it did not
 
 THE GOLDEN RULE. 245 
 
 convince, and there was no reply. The glow of the fire fell 
 over Agnes' face, and Frank, looking out from the shadow 
 where he sat, watched her unobserved. After a short time 
 she arose and went out. He followed, and found her standing 
 at the open door. The full moon made a second day, softer 
 and purer than sunshine, and by its radiance he saw the same 
 expression of weary impatience, of doubt, and of grief. 
 
 He stood beside her for a few moments without speaking, 
 and then brought a shawl and wrapped it about her, saying 
 the air was keen, and she might take cold. 
 
 " Shall we go in ? " she asked. 
 
 " 0, no ! Stay a while. I always make it a point of duty, 
 to stay out a little while, such nights as these, so as to pat 
 ronize the moon, and let her know her efforts are appreciated. 
 She does the best she can at shining, poor thing ! " 
 
 Agnes looked at him with a faint smile. " You are always 
 light-hearted ! " she said. 
 
 " I am ? Agnes, at this moment I am ready to go mad 
 with disappointment and envy. Your own heart, with all the 
 burden of grief you will not let us share, is not heavier than 
 mine." 
 
 His voice was full of bitterness and reproach ; but she 
 answered, meekly, 
 
 " Forgive me ! I know they who jest are not always gay. 
 But you have seemed happy. What has happened to change 
 you so ? " 
 
 He seized her hand, and bent down to look into her face, as 
 he answered, 
 
 21*
 
 246 AGNES. 
 
 "Shall I tell you? 0, Agnes, why will you waste on 
 another the love I would give my life to win ? " 
 
 Her startled look of terror, as she shrank back into the 
 shadow, arrested the words which crowded to his lips. 
 
 He stood still, quivering with excited feeling, and she 
 replied, hesitatingly, 
 
 " What do you mean ? How did you know? Frank, what 
 is it you are saying ? " 
 
 " I say, I love you ! " he exclaimed, impetuously. " Don't 
 be frightened, Agnes ! I know very well it 's no use. But 
 why must Percy win everything ? Honor, fame, accident 
 may give me these, as they have been given to him ; but how 
 shall I gain the love he has stolen from me ? " 
 
 The rigid tension of her hand relaxed, and she no longer 
 strove to free it from his grasp. She came again into the 
 light, and said, calmly, 
 
 " You mistake. I like you far better than I do him. You 
 have always been kind to me, but he treats me coldly. It is 
 so easy to suspect the unfortunate ! " 
 
 " He shall not suspect you. Give me the right to protect 
 you, be my wife, Agnes, and you shall be loved, honored, 
 sheltered, in a heart that can never grow cold or change." 
 
 She turned away her eyes from that pleading gaze, and 
 said, mournfully, 
 
 " You should not speak so. I have no right to hear sudi 
 words. Consider what it is you ask. You know nothing of 
 my past life nothing of me, except what you have seen 
 during our brief acquaintance. No, Frank, it cannot be ! "
 
 THE GOLDEN RULE. 247 
 
 " What do I care for the past ? " he said. " Do you sup 
 pose I have stopped to weigh chances, and make cool calcula 
 tions ? Good heavens ! how little you know of love ! I see 
 that you have suffered ; and, if you are not willing to tell me 
 how, I believe you have good reason for silence. I think I 
 love you better because I have pitied you so much. Agnes, 
 the future shall bring you peace. I will give you home and 
 friends, and you shall be happy, whether you want to or not. 
 Speak ! are you listening to me ? " 
 
 With a quick motion she sank down on the doorstep, and, 
 bending forward, laid her head upon his feet, and burst into a 
 violent paroxysm of weeping. Frightened and perplexed, he 
 sat down and endeavored to soothe her. She did not seem to 
 heed him, but in a short time hushed her grief as suddenly 
 as she had yielded to it, and, with a self-control wonderful to 
 see, withdrew herself from his protecting arm, and answered 
 him calmly and with firmness, though the pathos of her voice 
 deepened as she proceeded. 
 
 " How shall I ever thank you for such love, such confi 
 dence? 0, Frank, I never heard words like these ! I never 
 knew of an affection so noble, so generous ! I would rather 
 perish here this moment than give you pain ; but, believe me, 
 I can never, never be your wife. I shall go away from here 
 soon, I can find employment in nursing the sick at Morris- 
 town, and after I am gone I will write to your mother all 
 she has wished to know about me. I see now it would have 
 Seen better to have told my whole story at once ; but I dreaded 
 to do it. I have been unfortunate, and people have so doubted
 
 248 A G N E a . 
 
 me, so insulted me, because of my misfortunes ! Good and 
 honorable men and women are sometimes very hard upon 
 those they think have done wrong. I feared I feared you 
 all ; though, indeed, I am innocent of evil. And, if I love 
 another, in spite of the bitter past, God knows I have little 
 hope. I am very, very unhappy. Pity me, but do not love 
 me, for I can never be your wife ! " 
 
 She glided away into the darkness of the entry and up the 
 narrow stairs, leaving him agitated by a mighty conflict of 
 compassion and dread.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE ESTRAY. 
 
 FOR some time, after his conversation with Agnes on that 
 eventful evening, Frank paced restlessly along the lonely, 
 moonlit road. His heart and brain seethed painfully with 
 bitter and perplexing thoughts of life and fate; and he 
 almost doubted the benignant Power above, which controls the 
 results of human action. Agnes' words had hinted darkly at 
 something he had never allowed himself to fear concerning 
 her. A barrier, more insurmountable than her affection for 
 another, seemed rising between them ; and, bravely as he 
 struggled against it, he could not resist the sick feeling, that, 
 though he might shield her from further misfortune, his love 
 could be but a mockery, and her decision was just. 
 
 Suddenly, when he had reached the point where the road 
 passed from the clearing into the surrounding forest, a figure 
 stood in the path before him. So unconscious was he of its 
 approach, so erect and still it stood, that he looked twice 
 before he assured himself it was Lawontica. Even when she 
 dropped from her shoulders the blanket which had half hidden 
 her face, he hardly knew how to address her, for they had not
 
 250 AGNES. 
 
 met since their angry parting by the spring ; but, as he hesi 
 tated, she came forward and laid her hand familiarly on his 
 shoulder. The moonlight shone full in her face, and, though 
 she smiled and gave him the usual greeting " poc-we, noc~ 
 sewun-minat ! "* there was a gleam in her eyes that startled 
 him. 
 
 " Have you forgiven me ? " he said. 
 
 She laughed, and nodded her head assentingly. 
 
 " I shall begin to be afraid of you, if you are going to be 
 such a stormy character ! " he added. " Don't you feel 
 ashamed of yourself, to think how you treated me, the other 
 day ? " 
 
 Again she laughed and nodded, but there was a strange, 
 metallic ring in the sound, and something shot across her 
 face, as if a cloud had passed over the moon, and its shadow 
 had fallen upon her. 
 
 Frank was in an excited mood, and her looks and gestures 
 made him nervous. 
 
 " Why don't you speak? " he said, sharply. " You might, 
 at least, say you won't do so again ; you owe me as much 
 of an apology as that ! " 
 
 Her hand dropped from his shoulder, and she drew back a 
 little, with a shrinking motion, as if his words had hurt her. 
 He noticed it, and said, in a more good-natured tone, 
 
 " I shall be owing you an apology, if I 'm cross much 
 longer, you think, don't you? But, indeed, Lawontica, I 'm 
 out of sorts to-night, and I 'm scolding myself more than you! ' 
 
 * How do you do, brother ?
 
 * THEESTRAY. 251 
 
 " S'pose 'urn Indian girl go 'way white man no see 'urn 
 any more no speak 'um bad or good ! To-mollow me go 
 sartin me go to-mollow." 
 
 She watched him nervously as she spoke.; but, though at 
 another time he would have expressed surprise and real 
 sorrow at such news, he was then too much absorbed in 
 his late disappointment to give heed to anything else, and 
 only replied carelessly, with a slight lifting of the eye-brows, 
 
 " Ah ! what 's that for? Where are you going ? " 
 
 She drew herself up, with a superb haughtiness, that well 
 became her queenly form, and the tone of her reply. 
 
 " Lawontica is the great chiefs daughter. Me very high 
 in my own peoples. Tamaque is one very great brave. Me 
 go 'way with him to the lodge. He be my husband ! " 
 
 " So you are going to be married ! " said Frank, aroused to 
 interest by the information. " Well, we shall be sorry to 
 lose you ; but pretty girls will get married ! Come and see 
 us once in a while, won't you, and bring along your sanop.* 
 We '11 make you a wedding cake, if we are ever lucky enough 
 to have any more plums ! By the way," he added, mis 
 chievously, " don't scold your husband, will you?" 
 
 " Gome and see ! " she replied, pouting a little, as she was 
 wont to do when he teased her. 
 
 " It 's too long a tramp through the woods, and I believe 
 you have no carriage-road to your palace ! " he answered, gayly. 
 
 She echoed the laugh, though not very heartily, and asked, 
 pointing to the farm-house, 
 
 * Husband.
 
 252 AGNES. 
 
 " You mother he up there ? " 
 
 "No, she is in Morristown. But father is there, and 
 Agnes. Go on ; they '11 be glad to see you. I '11 be there 
 soon." 
 
 She left him and entered the dwelling. The old farmer, 
 with whom she was a favorite, welcomed her cheerfully, and 
 Agnes urged her to partake of their frugal meal, which had 
 just been placed on the table. She declined eating, but took 
 her accustomed nook by the fire. She talked more than 
 usual during the evening, manifesting no embarrassment 
 when rallied respecting her approaching marriage, and 
 appearing in good temper and fine spirits. To Frank and 
 Agnes her presence was an unexpected relief from their own 
 thoughts, and they were very glad when she consented to 
 remain until morning. They were a merry group around the 
 hearth that evening. The old farmer wondered at the sup 
 pressed excitement he detected in each glancing eye and 
 burning cheek, but he little suspected the cause. 
 
 When the hour arrived for retiring to rest, Lawontica 
 persisted in wrapping herself in the blanket and lying down 
 before the kitchen fire, upon a skin spread for her accom 
 modation. Here, with mutual good-night wishes, the family 
 left her. 
 
 In the morning, Frank arose early to make the fire. He 
 was not surprised to find the humble pallet empty, for she 
 had told them she should leave before daylight ; but Agnes 
 did not appear at the usual time, and after Mr. Grey had 
 arisen, and they had waited until surprise changed into anxiety,
 
 THEESTRAY. 2t>3 
 
 the farmer went to her door and knocked repeatedly, without 
 receiving any reply. He could not think her asleep at that 
 hour, and, in great alarm, opened the door. The room was 
 empty. The bed had been occupied, and the coverings 
 thrown off, as if she had risen hastily, but nothing was dis 
 turbed or out of place. 
 
 Mr. Groy's exclamation of dismay brought Frank to his 
 side. "She has gone 0, heavens! where has she gone? 
 Am I to blame for this?" he cried, in self-reproach so 
 violent, that his father asked what he could mean by such 
 words. With rapid and confused syllables he confessed his 
 love for Agnes, and their conversation the previous evening. 
 When he had finished, his father stood a few moments in 
 deep thought, and then replied, 
 
 " 'T an't that, I tell you ! Sich a good little cretur as she 
 was wouldn't go off any sich way, to scare us most out o' 
 our senses. Besides, she said she was going to Morristown, 
 and the natural way would be to go over this mornin' with 
 Percy when he goes back ; and you see she an't took her 
 clothes they're all in the closet there." 
 
 Frank glanced at the open closet, and then, with blank face, 
 at his father. 
 
 "What can it be?" and then, with sudden lighting up of 
 hope, " Perhaps, after all, she is only gone out for a walk 
 with Lawontica," he said. 
 
 " Nonsense ! What would she go to walk for, afore sunrise, 
 this cold mornin', and a snow-storm comin' on ? " 
 
 "What then? We must do something we must look 
 22
 
 254 AGNES. 
 
 somewhere ! " exclaimed Frank, impatiently. " It 'a been 
 snowing all night, too, and we may not be able to track her." 
 
 " Never see nothin' like it in this world ! " ejaculated the 
 old man, thoughtfully. " If she was carried off, Lawontica 
 is to the bottom of it ! " 
 
 " Impossible ! She would n't do such a thing ! " 
 
 Mr. Grey shook his head, in a slow, deliberative manner. 
 
 " Them Injins is plaguy onsartin, deceitful creturs ! I 
 would n't trust 'em not one on 'em ! " 
 
 " But, Lawontica the young girl we have known so 
 long ! how could she be concerned in such a scheme, and 
 what motive could she have for harming Agnes ? But don't 
 waste anymore time in conjectures let's see if there is 
 any trace of footsteps about the doors." 
 
 A light snow had fallen during the night, obliterating all 
 traces made previously ; but, from the back door, upon this 
 new snow, were the marks of Lawontica's moccasins. These 
 were followed down the valley, through the woods, and even 
 to the path up the hillside, and the door of the wigwam 
 those two regular footsteps, and no others near. Evidently, 
 if Lawontica had had any hand in Agnes' abduction, she had 
 not accompanied the kidnappers, and Frank was therefore 
 not surprised to find her seated before her grandmother's fire. 
 Her few articles of clothing were in a heap on the couch of 
 skins beside her, and the curtain which had separated it 
 from the rest of the apartment was taken down. She was 
 packing up her possessions for a final removal. 
 
 She looked up, with an air of indifference, when he entered,
 
 THE ESTRAY. 255 
 
 and to his impetuous questions answered, curtly, that she had 
 left the house about midnight, as she had slept long enough, 
 and found there were indications of a storm ; but it com 
 menced snowing before she reached the woods, and, finding the 
 moon had set, she concluded to return and wait till morning. 
 When she went out she shut the door, but when she returned 
 she found it open. She had heard nothing, and, supposing the 
 wind blew it open, laid down upon the warm hearth and slept 
 until morning. The snow had ceased falling when she came 
 home in the early dawn. She saw no traces of footsteps, and 
 heard no sounds of violence during the night. 
 
 So much she told readily, manifesting neither curiosity nor 
 sorrow at Agnes' disappearance; nothing more could be 
 elicited by the most skilful cross-questioning, either from her 
 self or from Sanoso, who corroborated her statements as far 
 as she was able, and sustained a similar indifference to the 
 object of his inquiries. He could not decide if it were Indian 
 stolidity, or offended innocence, which caused this want of 
 sympathy in his trouble, or if it was part of a deep-laid 
 Bcheme of treachery. Utterly foiled in his purpose, he was 
 obliged to return home as ignorant as he left ; but it was 
 some relief, when he arrived there, to find his mother and 
 Percy waiting for him, with faces as anxious as his own. 
 
 Some moments were spent in a hurried discussion of the 
 case. It seemed impossible that Agnes could have been 
 carried from the house by force, without arousing any of the 
 family ; and it was equally impossible that she could wilfully 
 have stolen away, without leaving one word to assure them of
 
 256 AGNES. 
 
 her safety, without taking any change of clothing, or even 
 such garments as were necessary, in order to brave with 
 impunity the winter night. Treachery must have been at 
 work ; and to whom could suspicion point, except to the young 
 girl to whom they had shown such continual kindness ? What 
 her motive might be, what cause she had of enmity towards 
 Agnes, their imaginations failed to conjecture ; but it was 
 resolved to pursue the search in that direction. Agnes could 
 not have gone to Morristown, or the returning party would 
 have met her ; and Frank took the sleigh to drive down the 
 road leading to the coast, and make inquiries, while Percy 
 and his mother went to Sanoso's wigwam. An hour or two 
 had elapsed since Frank's visit there, and, as they came near, 
 they saw six or eight Indian warriors in a group around the 
 door, and Sanoso taking leave of her grandchild in a shrill, 
 wailing chant, that reached them with a boding sound, even 
 before they could see the hut. They hastened on, but, the 
 moment they were visible, some one seemed to warn the 
 others ; the chant ended abruptly, Sanoso withdrew into her 
 dwelling, and the party started off through the woods at a 
 pace which made it useless to think of detaining them. 
 
 " Lawontica is determined to avoid us that looks suspi 
 cious," said Percy. "We must see what we can do with 
 Sanoso." 
 
 " I have less hope of gaining the truth from her than from 
 the girl," replied his mother. " She used to deceive me fre 
 quently ; but Lawontica'e face, if not her lips, would always
 
 THE ESTRAY, 257 
 
 tell me truly. Thee knows how she seemed to scorn herself 
 for a lie." 
 
 " Yes, her faults were those of a bold and impetuous, and 
 not of a sly, artful character ; and, even now, I can hardly 
 believe she was concerned in Agnes' disappearance. May it 
 not be possible the girl has quietly withdrawn, to prevent the 
 trouble she feared to make by a longer stay in our family ? " 
 
 Mrs. Grey shook her head negatively, and they walked on 
 in silence until they reached the door of the wigwam. The 
 curtain was closed and fastened, but it yielded to Percy's 
 impatient pull, and they saw Sanoso standing in the centre of 
 the room, in an attitude of defiance at their intrusion. 
 
 " What for you here for ? Me no want 'um see anybody ! " 
 she exclaimed. 
 
 " Sanoso, thee has just lost a daughter thee should 
 know how to pity me. Do tell me if thee knows anything 
 about Agnes the poor, young thing, who has been like a 
 daughter in our house this winter ? " 
 
 "Me lose 'um daughter what for?" replied Sanoso, 
 angrily. "Once my peoples all one live all together; 
 s'pose my daughter married, her lodge little way off me see 
 'um every week very much me glad. Now my peoples all 
 gone ! " 
 
 She took a handful of corn from the mortar near, and scat 
 tered it around the cabin. " Just so all gone," she 
 repeated, sorrowfully ; and then again, fiercely, " All gone ! 
 who threw 'um 'way so ? who steal the land ? who cut 
 22*
 
 258 AGNES. 
 
 down the trees ? White mans ! Always white mans very 
 bad to poor Indian." 
 
 " Thee speaks the truth only in a measure, Sanoso," said 
 Mrs. Grey, motioning to her son to be silent. " I know, verily, 
 that the land about here was bought and paid for, and thy 
 tribe was very willing to move away and make room for the 
 settlers. Others might have done wrong, but thee should n't 
 blame us for what we condemn as much as thee does." 
 
 " Paid for ! " said Sanoso, scornfully. " Very much you 
 know what pay! S'pose white man say he buy 'um little 
 land, he take large piece give Indian fire-water lum * 
 steal away his think then he cheat him easy. When he 
 want 'um anything, he say, ' brother, brother ' then he 
 kick 'um like dog, and say, ' get out ! ' " 
 
 The wrinkled old face really glowed with the fire of youth, 
 as she recounted the wrongs of her nation, and her auditors 
 looked at each other in surprise at the truthful picture she 
 presented. But they could not afford to waste time thus, 
 when every moment was precious ; and Mrs. Grey replied, in 
 a soothing tone, which, probably, had more effect because the 
 short-lived anger had expended itself in words. 
 
 
 
 " Sister, when thee was sick I took thee to my house and 
 took care of thee. It was a long winter and a cold winter, 
 but none of thy people came to look after thee, to see thee 
 did not starve and freeze. My boys brought thee wood and 
 food to eat. Who was kindest to thee then ? Thee is an 
 old woman ; thee has lived here many years ; did any man 
 
 * Rum.
 
 THE ESTRAY. 259 
 
 ever do thee wrong? Is not the land wide enough for us 
 all ? Why should thee quarrel with thy friends ? " 
 
 Sanoso made no reply, but sat down in the chimney-corner, 
 and, leaning her head upon her hands, recommenced her wail 
 ing chant, " nosa, ahkie, nosa ! " * 
 
 Mrs. Grey sat down beside her, and, imitating her attitude, 
 joined, with her low, gentle voice, in the monody. The old 
 woman could not help betraying her surprise at this unex 
 pected proceeding, but persisted in the song for a few 
 moments, until, yielding gradually to the spell of those plain 
 tive tones, her voice grew fainter, and, ceasing abruptly, she 
 turned, and said, 
 
 " Qua,t sister ? What for you come here for, ask me 'bout 
 your daughter ? " 
 
 " Thee can tell me, Sanoso, if Lawontica has been con 
 cerned in taking her away ; thee must know it. Understand, 
 we do not say she has been carried off by force, or that thy 
 people mean to do her any harm ; but we think, even if she 
 wished to go with thy child, we ought to go after her and 
 bring her home. She is not fit to live in the woods, and we 
 must find her. Will not thee tell us what thee knows ? " 
 
 " Sanoso no know 'um nothin ! " she replied, earnestly. 
 
 " Is it possible? 0, don't say so ! Tell me the truth about 
 it. We won't blame you. There are some things that make 
 us think Agnes may have wished to go with your people. 
 Do tell me the truth ? " 
 
 " Sister," repeated the old woman, solemnly, " long time 
 
 * My child alas ! my child ! t Well.
 
 260 A G N E 8 . 
 
 ago me bad woman, me no care nothin' 'bout nothin', 'cept 
 what me eat an' drink, an' keep me warm in winter ; me 
 lie, me steal me ve'y bad woman. But me no know me 
 bad me no tink 'bout it. One day you sanop,* he say, 
 ' Sanoso, you lie so, sartin devil he catch you ! ' Then me 
 frightened, me 'fraid stay alone, me tink all time ' devil, he 
 catch me.' Well, one day me go to your house me feel 
 ve'y bad me no eat, no drink look ve'y sober. You say, 
 what the matter ? I tell you. You tell me, don't be fright 
 ened devil no catch you, 'cause you solly. Then you read 
 me out the Bible 'bout Saysoos,t how he love us. That just 
 what me want. Then me ve'y happy. Now me ve'y good 
 me no lie sister, me no lie 'bout this. Sartin me 
 hope go Wahsoke $ when me die, me know nothin' 'bout 
 this ! " 
 
 The impressiveness of her manner compelled belief, but left 
 her hearers more than ever perplexed in regard to the mys 
 tery which shrouded Agnes. 
 
 " If such is the case, we must not delay here longer, except 
 to find out which way Lawontica has taken," said Percy, 
 speaking for the first time. 
 
 " The trail is open ! " replied Sanoso, sententiously. 
 
 " That is true, and so broad a trail must be easily followed. 
 We will collect the neighbors, and make preparations to start. 
 Come, mother ! " 
 
 After a few words of sympathy, which their own trouble 
 did not make her forget to speak to Sanoso, Mrs. Grey and 
 * Your husband. f Jesus. $ Heaven.
 
 THE ESTRAY. 261 
 
 Percy left the wigwam. Soon after they arrived at home, 
 Frank returned, with a dejected face, telling his ill-success. 
 But his inquiries had aroused their neighbors to interest, and 
 in a few hours a band of eight men, headed by Frank and his 
 brother, set out for the rescue. 
 
 They were not experts in this business, for their relations 
 with the Indians had been so peaceful as to afford them little 
 experience in the wiles of savage warfare. So much time 
 also had been lost in preparation, that they had not gone half 
 a dozen miles before darkness closing in compelled them to 
 pause in their search. The next morning, they started with 
 the earliest light, but so much snow had fallen that the trail 
 became more and more obscure. Frank's impatient heart was 
 like to break with the frequent mistakes and pauses of the 
 party ; and, but for his overpowering earnestness, they might 
 have turned back in discouragement. At length, they found 
 the smouldering fire of the last night's encampment, and, 
 perceiving they were right thus far, went on more hopefully ; 
 but again the twilight of the short winter day induced a ces 
 sation of their labors, and the object of their journey was not 
 accomplished. Burning with anxiety, Frank left the party 
 cooking supper over the fire they had made in a secluded 
 hollow, and climbed to the top of a craggy hill near, in a 
 faint hope of seeing or hearing some indication of the 
 Indians. The country around was wild and broken, but a 
 stream of some width had worn for itself a way through the 
 hills, and, looking down the opening thus made, he fancied 
 something like the reflection of a light was visible through
 
 262 AGNES. 
 
 the murky air. Pausing a moment, to satisfy himself it was 
 not the rising moon, he retraced his steps, and imparted to his 
 companions his suspicions. Percy and two others followed 
 him in the direction indicated. They walked down the frozen 
 bed of the stream for a quarter of a mile, when, at a sudden 
 bend, the brightness increa'sed, and a few more rods brought 
 them in full view of a large camp-fire glancing from behind 
 low bushes which bordered the brow of a precipice over 
 looking the river. 
 
 " This is not favorable to our hopes," said Percy, arresting 
 his brother's eager steps. 
 
 " Why not ? There is the light let 's make for it, and 
 see if she is there." 
 
 " She is not there, I am sure. A party who had a captive 
 to guard would never make a fire in that spot, the most con 
 spicuous in all the country round." 
 
 Percy's comrades felt the truth of this remark, and, for a 
 few moments, none replied. In the darkness they heard 
 Frank grinding his teeth with the suppressed breathing of 
 excitement and distress. 
 
 " What shall we do, then? " said one. 
 
 " I will creep forward till I can get a view of them, and 
 then, if she is not there, we will go back for the rest of our 
 party, make a dash, take them prisoners, and force them to 
 tell us where she is." 
 
 This was Frank's whispered plan, and he was starting off 
 to perform it, when Percy again detained him. 
 
 " It is folly to think of such a thing. We are too few to
 
 THE ESTRAY. 263 
 
 hope for success if we attack them, and we ought not to com 
 plicate matters with the Indians by killing any of them just 
 now, when no troops can possibly be spared to guard the 
 frontiers. Beside, they must know we would follow them, 
 and are doubtless on the watch. Let us go forward boldly, 
 like friends, and see what will come of it." 
 
 " And, if we fail ? " asked Frank, gloomily. 
 ." Remember we han't no reason, except there an't nowhere 
 else to look, for thinking the girl is here," interrupted one 
 of the party. " More, also, how do we know but she come 
 of her own accord, if she be here? I confess, the more I 
 think on 't, it seems to me most likely ; for you say she come 
 to your house in a kind of a wanderin', vagrant way. Who 
 knows but she likes that sort of life ? " 
 
 " Mind what you say of her ! " hissed Frank, between his 
 clenched teeth. Then turning to his brother, he added, " Let 
 us understand each other. Suppose Agnes is n't there, what 
 do you propose to do ? " 
 
 " The only thing we can do is to go back, and try if we 
 can raise a force sufficient to go to the Indian village and 
 negotiate, if possible " 
 
 "Yes, you will stop to negotiate, and negotiate and, 
 meantime, what will become of Agnes? I am sure these 
 Indians know where she is, and I '11 follow 'em to the death; 
 but I '11 find out the secret ! Heaven forgive me, that I ever 
 thought well of one of them ! " 
 
 He broke from Percy's cautioning grasp, and rapidly 
 ascended the hill. The others followed silently.
 
 264 AGNES. 
 
 The Indians had eaten their supper, and were lounging 
 about the fire, apparently half asleep, but in reality alert and 
 watchful; for one of them, in creeping through the valley a 
 short time before, had discovered the little party in search 
 of them. As the cautious footsteps approached, each one 
 furtively grasped his weapon, and braced his muscles for a 
 spring; and when the first man stepped within the circle of 
 bushes that formed a screen behind their fire, they sprang up 
 as by a simultaneous movement, and stood ready to meet what 
 ever was to come. Behind them Lawontica leaned against a 
 tree, where the drooping boughs half shaded her face from 
 the firelight. Frank advanced straight towards her. His 
 excited, impetuous manner admitted of no opposition, and the 
 grim band opened to let him pass. The girl raised herself to 
 receive him, and stood erect, graceful, nonchalant. Not the 
 quiver of a nerve betrayed any emotion, as his keen eyes 
 seized upon hers with a concentrated power which seemed as 
 if it would wring the secret from her heart. 
 
 " Where is she where is Agnes ? " was the abrupt ques 
 tion. 
 
 " Who knows? " was the reply. 
 
 "You know Lawontica, you cannot cheat me! You 
 know where she is ! " 
 
 The light in her eyes grew prouder and more defiant, but 
 she made no answer. He waited a moment, and then added, 
 with more of supplication in his tone, 
 
 "You you that she liked so well you that I would 
 have trusted without a doubt you have stolen her away
 
 THE ESTKAY. 265 
 
 from me! Do you know what she is to me? I say it 
 proudly before all these she is dearer to me than life ! " 
 
 Still no answer, but the haughty lip curled and writhed in 
 a strange contortion, that might have been of triumph or of 
 pain. 
 
 " Speak to me, Lawontica ! Tell me, at least, why you 
 have taken her, and what price we must pay to free her. I 
 will coin my blood into gold, but I will pay the price. O, 
 Lawontica, have you forgotten what friends we have been? 
 Have you no pity for either her or me ? " 
 
 She drew a knife from her belt, and, clutching it firmly, 
 held the point towards him. 
 
 " So much! " she said, with a fierce laugh. 
 
 He started involuntarily from the sudden gesture, while the 
 cordon of Indians uttered in chorus their emphatic grunt of 
 approval, and echoed the taunting laugh. 
 
 Percy and his companions, who had been concealed behind 
 the bushes, now stepped into the light, and, taking this for a 
 signal of attack, the Indians rushed at them, brandishing their 
 tomahawks. They hastily put themselves in a posture of 
 defence, but there were reasons why neither party wished for 
 bloodshed, and a momentary pause ensued, during which 
 Lawontica threw herself between the belligerents. To her 
 Percy addressed himself with an attempt at pacification, but 
 she interrupted him 
 
 " Let me talk now. Why you think me know 'bout 
 Agnes ? Why you plague me so ? Look ! she no here ! 
 S'pose me steal her, what me do with her ? what me wan* 
 23
 
 266 AGNES. 
 
 'um steal her for ? Ugh ! Listen ! No more my peoples 
 call white man brother. They dig up the hatchet it is 
 red great many white mans, his blood wet it. Now you 
 go home, you safe me no want 'um hurt you. S'pose you 
 come after me, maybe you get killed. Now me done 
 speaking." 
 
 She turned back to her seat under the tree, and neither 
 entreaty or expostulation could obtain another word from her ; 
 and as the Indian warriors gave no indication of understanding 
 English, and returned only an inexpressive grunt and threat 
 ening gestures to the most skilful offer of treaty, no recourse 
 remained but to withdraw and consult together what should 
 next be done.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 ADVENTURES IN THE FOEEST. 
 
 HARDLY a word was spoken by any of the party, as they 
 retraced their steps to their own camp. All were disap 
 pointed at this result of their search, and most of them ready 
 to decide that the Indians knew nothing of the matter. Yet, 
 to Percy and Frank, Lawontica's manner confirmed instead of 
 lessening suspicion. A long discussion followed before they 
 lay down around the fire to sleep. Finding their neighbors 
 bent upon returning home, the brothers yielded their own 
 wishes, which were for a steady and stealthy pursuit, to the 
 prudent suggestions reminding them of the scanty prepara 
 tion they had made for a long and dangerous journey. 
 
 When they arrived at home, and had described their inter 
 view with the Indians, they found Mr. and Mrs. Grey as 
 anxious as themselves for further search ; and Percy proceeded 
 at once to Morristown, while Frank went in another direction. 
 His object *was to obtain the services of a man who had had 
 considerable experience as a hunter and trader with the In 
 dians. Upon his skill he relied to trace the savages to their
 
 268 AGNES. 
 
 village, and to recover Agnes by stratagem, if force or treaty 
 proved unavailing. 
 
 It was on the evening of the fourth day after Agnes' dis 
 appearance that Percy, after eating supper with the officers 
 of his mess, at their lodgings in Morristown, walked to the 
 " Freemason's tavern," on the north side of the village^ green, 
 where Gen. Washington had established his head-quarters. 
 As he passed under the poplars that stood like giant sentinels 
 before the house, he met Major Hoops, who was one of the aids 
 much in the general's confidence, and the frequent bearer of 
 dispatches. In a moment's conversation he imparted the object 
 of this visit, but received little encouragement that it would 
 meet with success ; and, with an anxious heart, he was ushered 
 into the apartment where Gen. Washington was then sitting. 
 
 The general was in full dress, for he had that "day enter 
 tained the officers at dinner, and wore the blue and buff which 
 pictures and the patent office have since made so familiar to 
 all Americans. He was busily engaged in writing, as was 
 also a slight, fair young man, who sat at a table on the opposite 
 side of the fire ; and, with a brief apology for so doing, Gen. 
 Washington continued his employment until he had finished 
 and sealed the dispatches upon which he was engaged. 
 
 Then he turned to his guest, and listened attentively while 
 Percy related concisely what he knew of Agnes and the cir 
 cumstances attending her loss, requesting permission, to march 
 with a sufficient force into the Indian territory, and rescue 
 the missing girl, or satisfy himself she was not there. 
 
 When he had finished, the general mused for some time in
 
 ADVENTURES IN THE FOREST. 269 
 
 silence, his thoughtful, care-laden brow indicating the earnest 
 ness with which his mind was working. At length, he said, 
 
 " Of one thing I think you may be sure. The party you 
 pursued had not the captive in charge. You were upon the 
 wrong trail." 
 
 " Is that possible ? And we wasted so much time ! " ex 
 claimed Percy. 
 
 " If you had been a little better acquainted with Indian 
 tactics, you would have known that, had they wished to avoid 
 pursuit, they would have covered their trail. My early ex 
 perience west of the mountains taught me so much," he added, 
 with a smile. 
 
 " But, your excellency, this party was so large that conceal 
 ment would have been difficult, and they might have trusted 
 to the snow which was falling to hide the track." 
 
 " No". Savages do not trust so lightly. And a much 
 larger party would have been able to go on their way without 
 leaving marks which an inexperienced eye could detect. If 
 this young lady was abducted by the Indians, her captors 
 have taken a different direction." 
 
 " Yet, sir, I think I must be correct in accusing Lawontica. 
 No one else could have had any motive in attempting such an 
 outrage ; and we are morally certain Agnes did not leave my 
 father's house willingly." 
 
 " And what motive could this Indian princess have for 
 causing so strange an accompaniment to her wedding jour 
 ney ? " 
 
 Percy hesitated, and then, with a smile, replied, " There is 
 23*
 
 270 AGNES. 
 
 but one imaginable motive, and this so ridiculous I am half 
 ashamed to name it. I think it has never occurred to my 
 brother, and did not to myself until during our last meeting 
 with Lawontica. If she had been a white woman, I should 
 have said she was jealous of Agnes." 
 
 " Ah, that makes the thing more probable, 1 said the gen 
 eral, returning Percy's smile. " And did your brother's con 
 duct warrant such jealousy ? " 
 
 " Not particularly. But this Indian girl has been in the 
 habit of coming to our house familiarly during some years, 
 and she may have misinterpreted my brother's friendship as 
 the sign of a warmer feeling. We all liked Lawontica. It 
 is hard for us to believe she has been so treacherous." 
 
 " What you have said supplies a motive for the deed, as 
 revenge is a virtue with the savage. But the party you fol 
 lowed must have acted only as a decoy, while the real' object 
 of pursuit got off safely ; and that supposes a degree of cun 
 ning beyond the ordinary range of Indian intellect. Their 
 stratagems are usually of the simplest kind, and all laid upon 
 one plan. Once you have mastered one set, the others are 
 but repetitions. Was this Indian girl of quick wit ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir ; more than usually ready to catch at an idea, or 
 follow out a suggestion. She was of a bold, imperious dispo 
 sition, though not what one would call ill-tempered, except on 
 a few occasions, lately. I cannot think she will be cruel to 
 Agnes, or allow others to be so ; and yet, of course, we shall 
 feel great solicitude until we at least know what has happened 
 to her."
 
 ADVENTURES IN THE FOKEST. 271 
 
 " Of course," replied the general ; and his noble face grew 
 shaded and perplexed again, as he sank into a fit of musing, 
 taking up his pen, now and then, to make a few figures, as if 
 he was going through with calculations. Then, looking up 
 with an expression that showed he felt the disappointment he 
 was compelled to inflict, he said, 
 
 " You ask for soldiers to go into the Indian territory, and 
 I wish most sincerely it was in my power to detail a company 
 for that service. But, Major Grey, in this, as in so many 
 other enterprises, the ruinous system of short enlistments, 
 which has been persisted in, in spite of my urgent remon 
 strances, ties my hands. The few troops left me here are 
 being decimated by the small-pox, and, though I have san 
 guine hopes that the worst is past, and recruits will come in 
 to fill up the army for the spring campaign, at present I have 
 hardly enough to defend this position, if we should be at 
 tacked. This is not to be spoken of everywhere, of course. 
 At present we live by making a show of strength. But I 
 think Mr. Hamilton, here, will agree with me that to spare 
 you a force sufficient for your purpose just now would be to 
 risk sacrificing the army and the country to the welfare of an 
 individual." 
 
 At being thus addressed, Alexander Hamilton for he was 
 the delicate-looking youth busy at the other table glanced 
 up from his writing, and said, quickly, 
 
 " Perhaps I should suggest, what your excellency may have 
 forgotten, that the Tory, Robert Rogers, the captain of the 
 band calling themselves the Queen's Rangers, which Gen.
 
 272 AGNES. 
 
 Lee routed last November, you remember, was detected 
 about the outposts of Gen. Heath's camp, on the Hudson, a 
 few weeks since, disguised as an Indian. He escaped, but is 
 supposed to have his head-quarters somewhere near the Penn 
 sylvania border. Could not something be effected towards 
 his capture by those whose ostensible object should be the 
 recovery of this English girl, and thus the country and the 
 individual both be served ? " 
 
 " Don't tempt me, my son," said Gen. Washington, smiling, 
 with an expression at once sad and pleased. " Your sugges 
 tion is valuable, but, if I listen to it, who shall hinder the 
 spies that may report our utter weakness here, and bring 
 upon us the King's Rangers from their camp at Brunswick ? 
 My inclinations join with yours in wishing to serve a family 
 that has supplied us with two gallant soldiers ; but, as I said, 
 my hands are tied." 
 
 " You are right, sir," replied Hamilton, " and Major Grey's 
 known patriotism can be relied upon to console him under 
 this personal disappointment." 
 
 " If I could but raise a company of volunteers, now, and at 
 once rescue Agnes and take that Rogers prisoner, what a 
 brilliant dash it would be ! " said Percy, with kindling eyes. 
 
 " And what a brilliant episode in the tedious dulness of 
 this winter ! " added Hamilton. " My dear sir, take me as a 
 volunteer ! " 
 
 " Nay, not so. We cannot spare you, and Major Grey will 
 not want a rival to dispute the honors of his achievement. 
 But, should you succeed in raising a company, if arms and
 
 ADVENTURES IN THE FOREST. 278 
 
 ammunition are wanted, I may help you to them ; though 
 they are nearly as hard to obtain and as scarce as men." 
 
 The smile faded from the general's lips, as he uttered these 
 last words, more to himself than to his auditors ; and Percy 
 took his leaye soon after, almost satisfied to be denied, since 
 the denial was accompanied with such assurances of sympathy 
 and regard. 
 
 But the raising of a company of volunteers was a thing more 
 easily projected than performed. The actual demands of the 
 war formed a burden so heavy that it was difficult to supply 
 motive sufficient for any extra effort, and a week elapsed 
 before a band of twenty could be collected. Then, a succes 
 sion of storms, rendering travelling through the forest imprac 
 ticable, delayed them some days longer. Frank became taci 
 turn and gloomy. His sanguine and genial temper seemed to 
 have deserted him during this trial, and he was heard, more 
 than once, to declare, with a sort of wonder, that, after all, he 
 was not the luckiest fellow in the world. In his first expedi 
 tion to the woods, he had accidentally hurt the hand which 
 had but just healed, and the fever of mind and body affected 
 the wound. It became inflamed and painful, and when at 
 last the party started, he accompanied them with one hand in 
 a sling. 
 
 So much time had now been lost that they relinquished their 
 first plan of following the savages to their village. They 
 obtained from Sanoso sufficient knowledge of its locality tc 
 enable them to find it, and Lawson, the hunter, who had been 
 in the towns near it, advised that they should take the county
 
 274 AGNES. 
 
 road across to Easton. From thence a bridle-path, easily 
 traced, led through the forest to Wyoming, and along the 
 river to the falls of Wyalusing. Here was a small settlement 
 of whites and friendly Indians, who had chosen to remain when 
 the Moravian mission at Gnadenhutten was broken up, the 
 preceding year. This route, though circuitous, was much 
 easier than to pursue the direct path through a wild, unbroken 
 wilderness. At Wyalusing they left their horses, and, taking 
 advantage of the smooth, frozen bed of the creek, followed it 
 to its source, and then, striking into the woods, proceeded 
 cautiously in an eastern direction. After travelling with 
 much difficulty, for twenty miles, over the hills and through 
 valleys filled with tangled thickets, they reached a stream 
 running to the north. Here they camped for the night, keep 
 ing only a very small fire, lest the smoke should betray them 
 to some passing Indian. 
 
 The next morning they went on along the bank of the 
 stream. The way was toilsome and precipitous, but they 
 dared not leave the shelter of the trees, for fear of discovery, 
 and after about ten miles it entered a gorge between two 
 mountains. The bed was now one solid sheet of ice, but its 
 curled and uneven surface told how the waters must foam 
 and rush when freed from the stern grasp of winter. 
 
 The party were here compelled to climb the mountain, as 
 Lawson was sure they were near the Iroquois villages for 
 which they sought. After some hard work, they came out 
 upon the precipice above the stream. Percy Grey was the 
 foremost man, and a few more steps showed him a pretty
 
 ADVENTURES IN THE FOREST. 276 
 
 little picture of savage life. The brook here made a sudden 
 turn to the west, and the rocky mountain raised itself like a 
 perpendicular wall on one side, for a hundred feet or more. 
 The upper surface of this ledge rounded^out from the belt of 
 forest, a broad, flat rock, more than a rod in width. Below, 
 the stream, which here was narrow and deep, washed the base 
 of the precipice, while on its opposite side lay a strip of inter 
 vale land, where a small village had been located. There 
 were about a dozen huts scattered along the bank, and in the 
 cleared space between them and the opposite mountain stood 
 one larger than the others, which was used for a council- 
 house. The Indians were passing in and .out among the 
 huts, and a few children were playing together here and 
 there. The scene was quiet and cheerful, with the morning 
 sunshine glistening upon the snow that floored the valley as 
 with purest marble, and crested every crag and stone, and the 
 broad cones of the fir-trees, with capitals of silver frost-work. 
 But Percy took one glimpse at the view, and then drew 
 back hastily into the shelter of the forest. A hurried consult 
 ation followed. Frank had no doubt this was the place 
 Lawontica had so frequently described to him, but Lawsou 
 was quite sure that Tamaque* and Puschiis.t her father, 
 lived at a larger village, on the other side of the mountain. 
 As there was no appearance of any body of warriors here, it 
 was deemed advisable to go to the latter village first, and at 
 least reconnoitre the ground before deciding what should be 
 done. 
 
 * The Beaver. f The Ckt.
 
 276 , AGNES. 
 
 They knew the great body of the Iroquois had taken up the 
 war-hatchet against the American army ; and, although these 
 frontier villages, being inhabited partly by Delawares, had 
 hitherto maintained ^a neutral position, their pretensions of 
 friendliness were not to be trusted while a man like Rogers 
 was in their midst. Lawson therefore advised the party, of 
 which he was now elected captain, pro tern, to secrete them 
 selves in some safe nook, while he went into the village, as if 
 on an ordinary expedition for collecting peltry. 
 
 So long as they remained high up the mountain-side they 
 were comparatively safe; for the hunters seek their game 
 along the sheltered levels and in the valleys, where instinct 
 teaches them to resort, leaving the cold, bleak heights solitary 
 at this season. 
 
 Having proceeded further around the mountain, they found 
 a nook where they were screened from the wind; and, not 
 daring to make a fire, they broke down branches and built a 
 sort of hut against the rocks, into which they all huddled, 
 striving to keep warm. 
 
 It was nearly noon when Lawson had left them, and, with 
 a hunter's pack upon his back, descended towards the village 
 of Umquabog. This consisted of thirty or forty houses, 
 placed in two rows, parallel to each other, in the broad and 
 pleasant valley which here skirted the mountain. The Iro 
 quois huts were either square or oblong buildings, constructed 
 of bark nailed to a rude frame, made by sticking poles into 
 the ground, and securing them in place by cross-beams lashed 
 along the sides and across the tops. The roof was made by
 
 ADVEN TUBES IN T II E FOREST. 277 
 
 poles bent in the form of an arch, and fastened on each side 
 to the frame. Over these bark was laid, shaved smooth, and 
 lapped over like large tiles. In the centre of the roof a hole 
 was left as an outlet for the smoke. These dwellings were 
 not often more than eight feet in the highest point, and the 
 walls were but five feet. Where the possessor had some idea 
 of beauty and comfort, they were hung inside with mats or 
 skins, neatly sewed together, making a warm and elegant 
 tapestry ; but many of them were destitute of this. 
 
 The earthen floor was left to be pounded hard and smooth 
 by the feet of its occupants ; beds of boughs, covered with 
 skins, occupied the corners, and in the centre a fire was kept 
 burning. Small openings were often cut in the walls, over 
 which a sliding panel of wood was arranged to admit or 
 exclude the light. The doors were usually one large piece of 
 bark placed outside the wall against a corresponding opening, 
 but sometimes a curtain upon the inside was added. 
 
 On one side of the houses, which generally were placed in 
 a row, was the field where the Indian women worked together, 
 cultivating the corn and vegetables used by their families. 
 This spot was enclosed by a fence to keep out the animals ; 
 and when the land in any place became too poor to support 
 the inhabitants, the town was removed, sans ceremonie, to a 
 richer locality. 
 
 Umquabog was one of the few places which had retained 
 
 its identity through several generations, as the surrounding 
 
 valleys were very fertile. Between its two rows of huts was 
 
 a street several rods in width ; and when Lawson appeared at 
 
 24
 
 278 AGNES. 
 
 one end of it, a horde of warriors, half-grown boys, squaws, 
 and vagabond whites who were their guests, poured out of the 
 low doors to see the new arrival. At first they were inclined 
 to treat him civilly, and were curious to know what was in 
 his pack. But the chief, Puschiis, with some of the leading 
 warriors, had been talking in their hut with Rogers and his 
 associate, and when these mingled with the crowd hostile 
 looks and words became more frequent. 
 
 Lawson was a brave man, and, stepping boldly up to the 
 chief, whom he had formerly known, he told him he had come 
 to buy skins, and, as a token of his good faith, held out a 
 string of wampum. But Puschiis, after regarding him 
 steadily for a moment, threw the wampum at his feet, and, 
 turning his back upon him, went into the house, followed by 
 his warriors. 
 
 According to Indian customs, a greater insult than this 
 could not have been offered, and Lawson knew it would be 
 useless to attempt further conversation. The crowd around 
 set up a shout of derision, mingled with yells and cries, that 
 made the place seem like a pandemonium. The hunter 
 turned about, and, facing them with undaunted looks, passed 
 through their midst unmolested, and slowly withdrew in a 
 direction opposite to that by which he entered the village. 
 By so doing he gained an opportunity to look into the huts as 
 he passed, and to satisfy himself that Agnes was not there. 
 He wished also to mislead any who might dog his steps, and 
 it was after sunset before he rejoined his companions in their 
 hiding-place.
 
 ADVENTURES IN THE FOREST. 279 
 
 They had spent a comfortless day, and the report he 
 brought was not encouraging. It seemed to be folly to think 
 of attacking or surprising Rogers while surrounded by fifty 
 stalwart warriors. They had hoped by some fortunate chance 
 to capture him and make a rapid retreat ; but this was plainly 
 impossible, and their own escape from the hostile and drunken 
 horde became a hazardous matter. But Frank urged that 
 they should at least make an attempt at the village on the 
 other side the mountain. Lawson had seen neither Tamaque 
 or Lawontica among the crowd at Umquabog, and he hoped 
 that Agnes was with them in their bridal home. Every 
 moment so large a party remained in the vicinity was indeed 
 perilous ; but to return, without one effort to regain the lost, 
 was to make the expedition wholly fruitless, and they readily 
 yielded to his wishes. 
 
 The next morning, as soon as there was light enough to 
 move with safety, they left the hut. At first they could 
 hardly move their cramped and chilled limbs ; but the exercise 
 of walking gradually restored warmth and energy, and they 
 went on more cheerfully. Yet their motions were cajitious 
 and silent, and at times Lawson, whose quick ear detected the 
 faintest sound, made them sink down, as he had taught them, 
 behind rocks and bushes, for concealment ; but the chance foot 
 steps were not attracted that way, and they arrived in safety 
 upon the broad, overhanging shelf of rock from whence Percy 
 had first seen the little hamlet of lodges in the vale below. 
 
 Two huge boulders rested on the extreme edge of this rock, 
 and, catching the soil at their base, were half covered with
 
 280 AGNES. 
 
 creeping vines, that in summer must have festooned around 
 them with picturesque effect. A large bush had grown up 
 between them, forming a screen, through which the strangers 
 could with safety look down into the very heart of the village. 
 
 Between these boulders and the forest that clothed the 
 mountain the rains had washed bare the upper surface of the 
 rock for a space a rod wide and several rods in length. Upon 
 this the tracks they had made the previous day were visible, 
 and beside them were seen the fresh prints of a moccasin. 
 Lawson pointed them out to his companions, saying, " Heaven 
 send these were made in the dark ; for if an Indian passed 
 over here yesterday, we are lost ! " 
 
 " Perhaps all the Indians are not so unfriendly as those at 
 Umquabog," suggested Percy. 
 
 " I would n't give much to choose, after what you said 
 about that Injin gal when you saw her. She told you they 'd 
 dug up the hatchet, and I reckon she told the truth." 
 
 " Is there no place about here where you can be more com 
 fortable than we were yesterday? The air pierces like a 
 knife, up here on the mountain, if one is not exercising. If 
 you know of such a place, it would be best for Frank and I 
 to go directly to this village, and see what we can do by 
 negotiation. Of course, we must abandon the idea of an 
 attack. We had better keep our lives till it would do some 
 good to throw them away." 
 
 The hunter thought a moment, and then said, in reply to 
 Percy, 
 
 " There is a cave somewhere on this mountain, and, if I
 
 ADVENTURES IN THE FOKEST. 281 
 
 an't mistaken, 't an't far from hereabouts. I think, maybe, I 
 can find it, anyways, if you will wait here a while. But, 
 Major Grey, I an't sure but you'll throw away your lives 
 just as much if you go down there, as if you stood up to be 
 shot at. Something has riled these Injins that 's evident 
 and 't an't safe to risk 'em." 
 
 " You did not mind the risk, and why should we ? " said 
 Percy. 
 
 " Ah ! but the risk is more for you two. I went in trading, 
 and they all knew me. Besides, you two why, you 're all 
 there is left of your family, an't you ? " said Lawson, whose 
 rough but generous nature had been touched by the gallant 
 bearing of the brothers. 
 
 His words caused a shade to pass over their faces, as they 
 remembered those waiting their return at home, and Frank 
 said, impetuously, 
 
 " I will go alone ! I shall be ashamed to show myself at 
 home, if I don't succeed in this matter ; but you, Percy, must 
 not risk yourself." 
 
 " Pooh! what is life to me now?" said Percy, half aloud. 
 The bitter words had escaped unconsciously. 
 
 Frank started, and looked at him anxiously. He had been 
 so calm, so thoughtful, so considerate of others, so interested 
 in this affair, that, amid his own anxiety, Frank hid forgotten 
 the well-spring of grief whose hidden waters now for a 
 moment overflowed. It was only for a moment. Frank 
 pressed his brother's hand softly, and whispered, 
 
 " For the sake of the old folks at home, Percy ! " 
 24
 
 282 AGNES. 
 
 " Yes," replied Percy, aloud, in a cheerful tone. " I do 
 not forget them ; but there is really little for us to fear. Our 
 friend, here, exaggerates the danger. It may be that Lawon- 
 tica has not the influence with her tribe we imagine she has ; 
 but. if we are not mistaken there, we are 'safe, though it 
 might not be safe for others to venture into the village. So, 
 if you can find your cave, Mr. Lawson, the sooner you do so 
 the better, for see the sun is rising." 
 
 " Keep still here, then, till I come back," said Lawson, 
 and disappeared behind the trees. 
 
 His companions concealed themselves as well as they could 
 among the rocks and bushes. The wild spot afforded many a 
 hiding-place, and Frank was fortunate enough to secure one 
 where, by lying flat on the ground, he was screened from obser 
 vation, and yet could project his head far enough over the 
 cliff to obtain a view into the village. 
 
 As the sun rose higher, and darted his beams down into 
 the deep and narrow valley, the doors of the lodges were one 
 after another thrown back, and the inmates came forth to 
 breathe the fresh air. The men soon disappeared again, but 
 the women passed in and out, with arms full of brushwood, and 
 soon a curling smoke from the top of each wigwam told that 
 they were cooking breakfast before the fires where their lords 
 were lounging in lazy dignity. At the furthest point of the 
 village, where the stream that watered the base of the moun 
 tain made a sudden turn around a high bank and crossed to 
 the other side of the valley, stood a lodge far superior to the 
 test in size and in beauty of structure. Frank's attention
 
 ADVENTURES IN THE FOREST. 283 
 
 had been instinctively fixed upon this, as more likely than 
 any to be Lawontica's home, and he was right in his conjec 
 ture. As he watched it, the curtain was lifted, a tall form 
 bowed itself in the low doorway and came out, holding the 
 curtain with one hand, and standing a few moments, as if talk 
 ing to some one within. Then the lithe, graceful figure of the 
 Indian princess came and stood beside him. Even at that dis 
 tance, Frank was sure he could not be mistaken ; and, as he 
 saw Lawontica, a short time after, engaged in the household 
 duties of the lodge, bringing wood and water, while her hus 
 band smoked his pipe at the door, he smiled to contrast her 
 present humility with the arrogance he had once seen her 
 display. 
 
 In about an hour Lawson returned. He had found the 
 cave, but informed them that, though the snow around was not 
 tracked, wampum and other articles were hung upon the inside 
 near the entrance, indicating it was sometimes occupied. How 
 ever, they could not remain in their present position, exposed 
 to discovery by every chance straggler from the village, and it 
 was thought best to resort to the cave, which Lawson reported 
 to be dry and warm. In going there they took the greatest 
 precautions to hide their footsteps, by walking in Indian file 
 each one being careful to step exactly where his predecessor 
 had done ; and, as they all wore moccasins, and turned their 
 toes in, as the natives do, a casual observer would have said 
 only one of the tribe had passed that way. Lawson had 
 earned this trick in his past sojournings among the Indians. 
 They reached the cave unseen. It was about half-way
 
 284 AGNES. 
 
 between the base of the mountain and the place where they 
 had waited, and so far around on its southern slope as to be 
 quite out of the way of people passing between the two vil 
 lages. The mountain was less precipitous here than on its 
 eastern side, but for a few rods around the mouth of the cave 
 the path lay along a ledge so narrow that they could only 
 maintain a foothold by clinging to the bushes growing in the 
 steep bank above. Fortunately, this ledge was free of snow, 
 as was also the mouth of the cave, which was low, and over 
 hung with vines. 
 
 After passing the entrance, they found the cave expanded 
 into a room nearly twenty feet square, and high enough to 
 allow them to stand upright. Its floor was strewed with dead 
 leaves so thickly as to make it probable human hands had 
 brought them there ; and the vines, hanging like a curtain over 
 the opening, were matted and woven together, as if human art 
 had assisted nature. From this they concluded that the place 
 was probably inhabited in summer, but in the winter left 
 unoccupied ; and thus, though its existence was known, they 
 imagined themselves safe there for a little while. 
 
 Leaving their comrades hidden, Frank and Percy descended 
 to the village. It was their intention to keep within the 
 woods until they reached a point opposite Lawontica's lodge, 
 and then cross the stream on the ice, and present themselves 
 at her door before they were seen elsewhere. But, in their 
 ignorance of the path, losing the right direction, they came 
 out opposite the heart of the village, and before retreat among 
 the trees was possible they happened to be seen by some
 
 ADVENTURES IN THE FOREST. 285 
 
 young men playing foot-ball on the ice. An instant yell told 
 that a dozen Indians were swarming up the mountain aftei 
 them. 
 
 To descend and meet these was the safest way, and the 
 brothers ran swiftly down the precipitous bank, now bare of 
 trees, clinging to the bushes, sliding and jumping with an 
 agility that eluded their pursuers, and brought them safe upon 
 the ice before the young Indians had climbed half-way to the 
 spot where they were first seen. But the older warriors had 
 taken the alarm, and, uncertain what the yells resounding 
 through the air might mean, they grasped gun and tomahawk, 
 and ran to the place whence the noise proceeded. Six of 
 them stood ready to surround and seize the two young men 
 the moment their feet landed on the level floor of the stream. 
 The youths, who had gone but little way, returned, and in 
 another moment Percy and Frank found themselves in the 
 centre of a group of whooping savages, whose exulting and 
 furious gestures menaced instant death. 
 
 At this moment all presence of mind deserted them, and 
 they made one vain, frantic effort to escape. They were 
 knocked down, their arms bound, and before they could 
 recover their senses fully their captors had borne them in 
 triumph to the village. 
 
 A fire had just been built in the council-house, around 
 which the chiefs had met to consider certain belts of wampum 
 sent them the preceding day from Onondaga, the principal 
 town among the Six Nations. To this they now repaired, 
 leaving the prisoners for the present at the mercy of the
 
 286 AGNES. 
 
 younger part of the community. Among these was a tall, 
 powerful warrior, named Shamokin, the war-captain of his 
 tribe, and a deadly foe of the white race. 
 
 The captives had been placed in a hut on the margin of the 
 stream, and Shamokin, standing at its entrance, harangued 
 the assembled crowd with great fluency. Percy and Frank 
 could not understand his dialect, but the gestures and scalp- 
 yells that replied to him at every pause told his speech boded 
 no good to them. They looked in vain for Lawontiea, who 
 seemed to be the only one of all the village absent from the 
 spot, and their inquiries elicited no satisfactory answer. 
 
 At length, after much noise and confusion, Shamokin and 
 two others entered the hut and seized them, as if to drag them 
 out among the crowd. Frank's wound disabled him, but 
 Percy was strong of limb, and had managed to free his arms 
 from their bonds. Without much difficulty he shook off his 
 antagonist, and exclaimed, in the broken English the natives 
 recognized more readily than a purer vernacular, 
 
 " Stop ! What for you pull me and my brother ? We 
 men of peace. We come smoke with you. What for you 
 treat us so ? " 
 
 He raised himself to his full height as he spoke, and his 
 cool, determined bearing had the effect he intended upon those 
 present. Several were looking in at the door, and responded 
 with a grunt of admiration. He had calculated that if they 
 did not understand the words, his manner would command 
 some degree of respect ; but Shamokin responded, in tolerable 
 English,
 
 ADVENTURES IN THE FOREST. 287 
 
 " Good ! "White man brave. No cry like a woman. No 
 run away. Come, then. Walk." 
 
 He stood aside and motioned Percy to go out, and the In 
 dian who had seized Frank allowed him the same grace. But 
 Percy said, 
 
 " Walk where ? We come to see Lawontica. She married 
 to very great chief. We bring her present. We want to see 
 her." 
 
 " Indian white man no brother now no take presents. 
 The chiefs daughter she tell you we dig up the hatchet. You 
 come after us, sartin you die. Come, then. You brave man, 
 she say so. You no 'fraid." 
 
 The Indian said thiswith,a pleased and complimentary air, 
 as if congratulating both himself and Percy on their mutual 
 appreciation of each other. 
 
 " I am not afraid," said Percy. " But before you kill me 
 you must let me see Lawontica. We very much her friend, 
 and we have something to tell her from Sanoso." 
 
 "You no see her she no see you," replied Shamokin, 
 whom Percy supposed to have been with Lawontica when she 
 uttered the words he had quoted, and to possess her confi 
 dence. 
 
 " Why will she not see us ? " he asked, with greater sink 
 ing of the heart than he had known before. 
 
 " She know you here. Why she no come ? She no want 
 to see you." 
 
 An impatient yell from the group without interrupted the 
 conversation, and the Indian added, with a significant gesture,
 
 288 AGNES. 
 
 " Go now. You brave man. Walk ! " 
 
 They were brave men, but it could be pardoned if at that 
 moment their hearts fluttered a little, as they went out from 
 the close cabin under the bright sky, that might be witness 
 not of death alone, but of insult and torture. Whatever they 
 might have felt, neither betrayed by faltering step or unsteady 
 gaze the secret agitation, the rapid glancing back of memory 
 over each object that had claimed interest or sympathy 
 through their lives, the shuddering glance forward at the 
 appalling danger menacing them. The savages looked with 
 delight at their calm faces. To kill such enemies, was to 
 rejoice the spirits of their ancestors in the happy hunting- 
 grounds. 
 
 When they had walked a few paces in silence, Frank said, 
 in a low tone, to his brother, whose arm was linked in his, 
 
 " If they really mean to kill us, would it not be better to 
 snatch their tomahawks and defend ourselves to the last ? " 
 
 " If it can be done, we '11 do it. Do you suppose Lawon- 
 tica really does not mean to interfere in our behalf? " 
 
 " I can't tell ; she 's incomprehensible to me," replied 
 Frank, impatiently. 
 
 " Then we must watch our chance, and depend upon our 
 selves. They won't probably finish us this morning, at any 
 rate." 
 
 Here the Indians became suspicious, and forced them apart. 
 The crowd proceeded onward until they reached a tree 
 standing alone, not many rods distant from the council-house. 
 Its branches had been chopped off for twenty feet from the
 
 ADVENTURES IN THE FOREST. 289 
 
 ground, and various marks upon its trunk showed that it had 
 often been used for the purpose to which it was now devoted. 
 
 Percy was fastened to this tree, while Frank, guarded by 
 two young men, with his arms securely bound, was made to 
 sit near and look at the sport. The Indians divided into 
 two equal parties, and commenced playing a match-game at 
 throwing the tomahawk. The bright missiles whizzed through 
 the air, first on one side, and then on the other ; and as the 
 person who hit nearest without cutting the prisoner claimed 
 the victory for his party, strong nerves were required to 
 endure the ordeal unmoved. 
 
 The players were skilled in the art, and there was little 
 danger of a serious wound, until excitement and rivalry began 
 to make them reckless. The steel quivered in the tree nearer 
 and nearer, cutting the hair and clothing, and at last grazed 
 Percy's cheek, and clipped a bit from his ear. 
 
 As they saw the blood trickle down, there was a shout, and 
 then a pause in the play. They reckoned up the cuts on the 
 tree, and then unbound Percy, and, placing Frank in the same 
 position, were dividing to begin a new game, when Lawontica 
 suddenly appeared among them. 
 
 She placed herself between Frank and his tormentors, and 
 commenced a rapid and energetic remonstrance in their native 
 tongue. She was received with scowls and looks of impa 
 tience ; for the opinion of a young woman, albeit she was a 
 princess, was held in low estimation with these lordly deni 
 zens of the forest. Her place was in the lodge, her proper 
 conduct silence and humility, her " sphere " the accomplish- 
 25
 
 AGNES. 
 
 ment of all the labor she was able to perform. Her admirer 
 or her husband might be swayed by her wishes, but such 
 weakness of human nature was never suffered to be known in 
 public. 
 
 Lawontica had an ambition to change all this, and to ac 
 quire the influence and respect she had seen white women 
 possess. When they motioned her aside, and bade her no 
 longer interrupt their game, she cast upon them a glance of 
 scorn, and, turning quickly, snatched a tomahawk and cut the 
 withes that bound Frank to the tree. It was to him an unim 
 aginable relief, for they had kept his hand in torture. As 
 she released him, she said, rapidly, 
 
 " No you run. Sartin 'they catch you now. Wait till 
 night." 
 
 He took the hint, and made no effort to escape. Indeed, 
 the attempt would have been fatal, for, in an instant, the 
 crowd uttered the scalp-yell, and closed around the tree. 
 
 Lawontica kept firm hold of Frank, and, calling them to 
 follow, drew him slowly towards the house where Tamaque 
 and six other chiefs sat around the council-fire. They had 
 not been moved from their deliberations by all the noise with 
 out. They were divided in opinion with regard to the pro 
 priety of the war in which they were invited to join ; and 
 some of them, of whom Tamaque was leader, had produced 
 the belt of peace, the sign of former treaties of amity, while 
 others held up the war-belt of black wampum, in which the 
 figure of a hatchet had been worked in red. These belts, and 
 Borne of less importance, lay on the ground, and Tamaque had
 
 ADVENTURES IN THE FOREST. 291 
 
 just concluded his speech, when the crowd of youths gathered 
 around the door, and Lawontica entered with her captive. 
 Shamokin, being a war-captain, did not join the delibera 
 tions of the chiefs ; but their council was open to the audience 
 of any, and he now took a seat behind one of those most in 
 favor of fighting. 
 
 After a few moments of silence, in accordance with Indian 
 etiquette, Lawontica drew nearer, and began her address in a 
 quiet tone, which grew more earnest as she proceeded. Her 
 eyes flashed and her cheeks glowed with the excitement of 
 her unwonted situation, but her manner was calm and grave, 
 as became the dignity she had assumed. Translated into 
 English, her speech was this : 
 
 " My grandfather*, why do you let the young men do a 
 foolish thing ? Listen to your granddaughter. She has wis 
 dom, though there is no snow in her hair. She does not 
 laugh and talk with the silly women. The little birds do not 
 fill her ears with songs. She sits by the fire all day and 
 hears the great chief talk, and her heart is full of wisdom at 
 his words. But the young men are foolish. Your grand 
 daughter knows these two men. They are great chiefs among 
 the white men. They are friends to the Indian. You have 
 treated them like enemies, but they are friends, and, in token 
 of this, I give you this string of wampum." 
 
 She held out the string of wampum as she spoke, pretending 
 to take it from Frank and present it to the chiefs ; but no 
 hand was held out to receive it. The peace-party was in the 
 
 * The Indians always used the singular numl) ar in their speeches.
 
 292 AGNES. 
 
 minority, and Tamaque, its leader, being her husband, would 
 not seem to be so much under her influence as to yield to her 
 words. His very heart glowed with delight at her beauty. 
 She seemed to illumine the dim hut with the radiance of her 
 eyes, lustrous beneath calm brows, and the shining masses of 
 her jet-black hair, sweeping down from the erect, queenly 
 head. Yet his face assumed a stern expression, and he 
 answered, after an interval of silence, 
 
 " The men are spies. One of them was at Umquabog, 
 yesterday. They are counting the number of our warriors. 
 They have smooth faces, but their heart is the heart of a 
 wolf." 
 
 " Then the young men are like snakes. They would 
 swallow their prey whole. Let them chew it, and see how 
 sweet it is ! " said Lawontica, changing her plan of entreaty, 
 after a ^moment of thought. "If the two white chiefs are 
 spies, let them die, but let them not suffer the shame of dying 
 meanly by the blunder of the most unskilful thrower. Will 
 not the white man laugh at my grandfather ? Will they not 
 say he does not know how to treat a brave foe ? Why should 
 my grandfather fear to keep his enemy alive until he can find 
 out the truth ? Perhaps a bird has been singing a foolish 
 song in his ear. Will he call a friend an enemy that he may 
 kill him ? Let the white chiefs be unbound, and let the 
 women bring them food, that their hearts may be strong. 
 Let the great chief, let Puschiis be sent for, and then let my 
 grandfather sit around the council-fire, and whatever he 
 says, it is good."
 
 ADVENTURES IN THE FOREST. 29S 
 
 Again she held out the string of wampum, with which the 
 Indian always concludes any important address ; and the 
 power of her eloquence was seen, as an old chief, the head 
 man of the village, took it from her hand and answered, 
 
 T&e IH of my daughter are good. Let the white 
 chiefs have food to eat." 
 
 This in effect was an unler remanding the prisoners to their 
 hut for the present. The authority of an Indian chief was 
 in reality merely nominal, except where circumstances gave 
 him a personal influence over his followers. The most entire 
 liberty of action and speech was guarded by each individual 
 with a jealousy that admitted of no attempt at coercion. 
 But there were certain customs which long usage had sanc 
 tioned, and as this tribe had not actually taken up the war- 
 hatchet, it was considered that the captain had gone a little 
 beyond his prerogative in allowing the prisoners' lives to be 
 hazarded without first consulting the chiefs. Therefore no 
 opposition was made when Lawontica led forth the captives 
 into the open air, but they were accompanied by few of the 
 crowd except those who went to guard them. Most of the 
 young men stayed to hear the deliberations that followed, in 
 the council-house. 
 
 Now that the immediate danger was past, Lawontica left 
 them abruptly, as soon as they were outside the door. They 
 supposed she would soon return, and watched for her all the 
 afternoon in vain. She sent them food, but gave no heed to 
 the messages and requests they sent her. They had been con 
 ducted to a small hut, so low they could scarcely stand in it, 
 25*
 
 294 A O N E 8 . 
 
 and an old squaw brought them parched corn and venison. 
 They were then bound tightly, to prevent escape, and left 
 without guard, except the women and young boys whose curi 
 osity kept them about the door. 
 
 During the afternoon several persons arrived from the 
 other village, among whom were Puschiis and his friend 
 Rogers. They were received with gravity and decorum by 
 the chiefs ; but the rum, which was a favorite beverage at 
 these councils, was beginning to take effect. A cruel, ran 
 corous spirit ruled the assembly. Tamaque, who seldom 
 drank, because, as he said, " he did not want to drown his 
 think," was blinded and led astray by a spirit even more 
 dangerous. Knowing his influence with the others, and hia 
 pacific disposition, Shamokin, who was his near relative, 
 managed to utter a whisper that set his heart on fire. 
 
 " Tamaque is a great chief," he said, " but a woman's hand 
 is over his eyes. He cannot see his wife's lover when he 
 comes to find his lodge." 
 
 There was no reply, but the cunning savage with that word 
 had given the clue to a whole maze of mysteries which had 
 perplexed his unsuspicious relative, and roused a jealousy 
 boundless as his former trust in Lawontica. He remained 
 silent for nearly an hour, that he might not betray his motive 
 even to the one who suggested it ; and then, as if convinced 
 by the speeches of the others, suddenly seized the war-belt 
 
 
 
 and placed it in Shamokin's hand, saying, briefly, 
 " I give you the two men, to make soup of." 
 The fearful words, indicating torture and death to the cap-
 
 ADVENTURES IN THE FOKEST. 296 
 
 tives, and war against their nation, were received with two 
 terrific yells, which were echoed by those in the street. The 
 sound startled Percy from an uneasy slumber, into which he 
 had fallen from sheer fatigue. It was now nearly dark out- 
 .doors, and quite so in their low hut, destitute of a fire or light. 
 
 " How like fiends the creatures scream ! " said he. " What 
 do you suppose that means ? " 
 
 " I don't care much what it means. I wish they 'd toma 
 hawk me on the spot, for this cord round my hand puts me 
 in perfect misery ! " replied Frank, with an irrepressible 
 groan. 
 
 " I can imagine it, for my own hands are not in the most 
 comfortable plight. I say, Frank, Agnes must be here, or 
 Lawontica would not avoid us so." 
 
 " She means to manage our escape, somehow," replied 
 Frank, more cheerfully, " and that may be one reason she 
 don't want to be seen here in the daytime. She said, ' wait 
 till to-night ! ' " 
 
 At that moment a figure darkened the doorway, with one 
 bound stood at Percy's side, thrust into his hand a knife, 
 and as suddenly withdrew. His fettered and benumbed 
 fingers let the knife fall ; but it was well he did, for the next 
 instant a torch-light flashed into the hut, and he had barely 
 time to turn over, so as to hide it beneath him, when Shamokin 
 entered, followed by several others. The council had been 
 dissolved in drunken disorder. 
 
 Two or three hours of tumult and confusion ensued ; but, 
 except sundry blows and kicks, and numberless taunts and
 
 296 AGNES. 
 
 pantomime scalpings, the prisoners were unmolested in the hut. 
 The bitter doom reserved for them on the morrow saved them 
 through the perils of that hour. But as there were always 
 two or three present, and the torches lighted the narrow 
 space, Percy had no opportunity to tell Frank of the means 
 of escape placed in his power. 
 
 As night advanced the noises gradually ceased, and the 
 crowd, wearied with excitement, dispersed to sleep off the 
 effect of their potations. The prisoners had calculated upon 
 that strange oversight of Indian war-tactics which made 
 them neglect to keep a watch, and thus rendered surprises 
 and escapes comparatively easy. Thus, notwithstanding their 
 peril from the drunken mob, they had never lost hope ; for, if 
 their own efforts failed, it was most probable some one of their 
 party had managed to ascertain their situation, and would 
 relieve them during the night. They knew also the effect 
 which a cool and determined bearing has upon the savage, 
 and, seeing their hostility, had refrained from any complaint 
 or appeal to compassion. 
 
 At length they were left alone with Shamokin, who seemed 
 to appoint himself their jailer. He examined the cords 
 which bound their limbs, and smiled grimly to see that their 
 uneasy movements had not loosened the knots. He had 
 great respect for their silence and fortitude, but would have 
 scorned himself for one emotion of pity ; and, leaving them 
 in their comfortless position, he closed the door with a piece 
 of bark, and lay down against it. 
 
 Perfect quiet succeeded. Shamokin considered his pris-
 
 ADVENTURES IN THE FOREST. 297 
 
 oners safe, and composed himself to sleep. When his deep, 
 sonorous breathing filled the hut, Frank whispered to his 
 brother, 
 
 " Now, if we only had a knife, we might manage to get 
 free. They emptied my pockets " 
 
 " Hush ! There is a knife here if I can get hold of it." 
 
 " Did Lawontica bring it ? " 
 
 " I suppose so I could n't see her face. She came and 
 went like a flash." 
 
 " Can you find the knife ? " 
 
 " I have it. Hush ! the Indian stirs ! " 
 
 They listened breathlessly, but he only muttered a few 
 words in his sleep. After many trials, Percy managed, with 
 his hands tied behind him, to place the knife in such a posi 
 tion as to cut the cord around his wrists. He cared little at 
 that moment for the deep gash he gave himself in so doing. 
 Having freed his own limbs, he could easily free his brother. 
 
 " Now for escape! " said Frank ; " but, 0, Percy, must we 
 go, after all this, without knowing what has become of 
 Agnes?" 
 
 " It looks so now. Have you noticed that, all day, no one 
 has seemed to know what we meant when we inquired for 
 her ? Can it be she is n't here ? " 
 
 " I 've a good will to wait, at all hazards, and see if I can't 
 see Lawontica, to-morrow." 
 
 " Nonsense ! Be thankful if you can save yourself. You 
 can do her no good by staying." 
 
 '' Go it, then ! Let 's make a dash, and get out of this."
 
 298 AGNES. 
 
 " Wait," said Percy, in a low whisper. " We must make 
 surer work than that, or the whole horde of drunken wretches 
 will be after us in five minutes. I 'm sorry for Shamokin, but 
 he must die." 
 
 He moved slowly away. The space was not more than ten 
 feet wide, but to his excited, shuddering nerves it seemed an 
 endless distance. The extreme caution he was obliged to 
 take gave him time to realize his situation ; in utter dark 
 ness, creeping with but one small weapon to find an enemy 
 whose tomahawk would cleave his brain the next instant, if 
 an unwary movement waked him too soon, or if the first blow 
 was not fatal. 
 
 Drawing near with slow and painful care, pausing if the 
 Indian stirred or checked his breathing, and guided only by 
 that sound, at length his hand touched Shamokin's head. It 
 sent a thrill through him like an electric shock, and he hushed 
 his very breath to listen ; but the sleeper did not move. 
 Avoiding contact, he moved a little, and bent down his head 
 until his ear was over the mouth ; then lower and lower, until 
 he thought he detected the full, strong heart-beat. His 
 arm trembled. He had been in the wildest strife of battle 
 unmoved ; but this, though no less necessary to self-defence, 
 seemed like deliberate murder. His resolution wavered, his 
 hand grew unsteady, and the point of the knife touched the 
 Indian's breast. 
 
 At the touch he moved he waked. Frank heard a half- 
 cry, and then a dull sound like a struggle on the earth. Then 
 all was still.
 
 ADVENTURES IN THE FOREST. 29V 
 
 la a moment Percy's voice, low and hoarse, called 
 " Come," and he groped around the wall to the open door. 
 
 It was a cloudy night, and moonless, but the snow seemed 
 to gleam with a dull, phosphorescent light, and they could 
 distinguisu the outline of the valley, with its overhanging 
 mountains. The lodges were all shut and silent, and no 
 person was visible. Without exchanging a word, they passed 
 cautiously and swiftly through the village towards the 
 stream. 
 
 Just as they stood under the shadow of its bank, they saw 
 dark forms emerge from the forest, and creep down the bare, 
 steep path opposite. 
 
 " It is Lawson and the others," said Frank. " I wonder 
 they did n't come sooner. You had a hazardous time there in 
 the dark, Percy." 
 
 " Don't speak of it ! Ugh ! I feel as if 1 had been having 
 the nightmare." 
 
 They ran across the ice. Those coming down the moun 
 tain saw them, and stopped on the edge of the stream. A 
 brief consultation followed. 
 
 Lawson, becoming alarmed at their long absence, had left 
 the cave and crept through the woods to a point from whence 
 he could look into the village, and thus gained a pretty accu 
 rate idea of their situation. . 
 
 " I saw the crowd peeking in the door, there, as if you 
 was two wild beasts in a menagerie," he said to Percy, "and I 
 went back and told the boys we must get you out o' that in 
 no time. How did you get clear ? "
 
 300 AGNES. 
 
 Percy briefly related the particulars of their capture and 
 escape. 
 
 " That Shame-kin 's dead, is he ? He 's a varmint ! Lucky 
 yeu killed him, for now we 're sure o' some hours' start of 
 'em. Our lives depends on our legs. No use to hide the 
 trail now. There '11 be forty of 'em arter us in the morning, 
 and we better take straight up stream on the ice. We can 
 do it in no time. The snow an't deep. Let 's keep together 
 all we can ; but, if we get parted, 't an't no use looking for 
 each other in the woods. Every man must look out for him 
 self and God help us all ! " 
 
 He uttered this last sentence reverently, and a low " amen " 
 responded from more than one of his hearers. The peril sur 
 rounding them gave earnestness to the petition. No time 
 could be lost, and, without further parley, they set off at a 
 brisk pace, which, before daylight, brought them to the head 
 of the stream. Pausing long enough to swallow their last 
 remnants of food, and then divesting themselves of all super 
 fluous clothing and whatever might impede their flight, they 
 plunged into the forest. 
 
 Having traversed this route so recently, they were able to 
 find their way readily, and the paths they had made in com 
 ing aided their return. But many times through the day the 
 wind bore to them the sound of voices yelling and shouting, 
 and, near nightfall, the foremost of their pursuers came within 
 sight, as they were crossing a small pond, and fired at them. 
 One man was slightly wounded ; but his injury was avenged,
 
 ADVENTURES IN THE FOKEST. 301 
 
 for Lawson turned and took deliberate aim, and his shots 
 never failed. 
 
 The Indians who came after paused at seeing the dead 
 body of their companion, and thus time was again gained for 
 the fugitives, who succeeded in reaching the banks of Wy- 
 alusing Greek soon after dark. They dared not make a fire, 
 lest it should betray them ; but took turns in watching each 
 other through brief intervals of sleep, and in walking about to 
 keep from freezing, for the night was very cold. 
 
 Thus partially rested, they resumed their flight with the 
 earliest gray of dawn. Once again the Indians overtook 
 them, and shots were exchanged. No one of their party was 
 wounded, but they fancied their own rifles had more effect, 
 for the savages withdrew, bearing off one of their number, and 
 they reached Wyalusing that afternoon in safety. 
 
 Here they remained a day, to take the rest they so much 
 needed after their hard and useless journey. Their chagrin 
 and disappointment were bitter, but they put the best face 
 possible upon the adventure, and found some consolation in 
 recounting the dangers they had escaped. 
 
 But the, momentous question of Agnes' disappearance 
 remained involved in a mystery as dark as ever. Frank 
 wished to remain at Wyalusing and wait for an opportunity 
 to return to the vicinity, and in some way obtain an inter 
 view with Lawontica. But his hand, through the hardship 
 and neglect of so long a time, had become dangerously in 
 flamed, and Percy insisted he should accompany the party 
 home and obtain the care he needed. They were two days 
 26
 
 AGNES. 
 
 accomplishing the remainder of the journey, and when they 
 reached Morristown the inflammation had assumed a malig 
 nant type. The immediate amputation of two fingers was 
 necessary, and weeks of fever and pain elapsed before the 
 wound was safely healed, and his usual health restored. 
 Meantime what had become of the wanderer ?
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 AN INDIAN MONODY. 
 
 THE evening before Agnes left the farm-house, Sanoso and 
 her grandchild sat within their wigwam, brooding over the 
 fire. Its uncertain glimmer, rising and sinking, revealed 
 fitfully their faces, and the simple garniture of their dwelling. 
 Aided by her white neighbors, Sanoso had constructed a rude 
 chimney of stones, which kept the cabin free from smoke ; 
 and all her arrangements showed the same unusual degree of 
 neatness and comfort. On either side of the chimney was a 
 narrow bed of boughs, covered by deer-skins finely dressed, 
 and the one occupied by Lawontica was screened from obser 
 vation by a curtain. Over the fireplace hung a few cooking 
 utensils, and the wooden bowls and plates, skilfully carved 
 and smoothed, from which they ate their food. 
 
 The low walls were covered partly with skins, and partly 
 with a patch-work of woollen and cotton cloth, tastefully 
 arranged in figures. The earthen floor was carpeted, except 
 in a half-circle before the fire, by an elastic matting of dried 
 pine-leaves, thickly strewn, and woven together by constant 
 use. The only furniture was a bench, that served by turns
 
 AGNES. 
 
 for seat or table, and a few stools of rude manufacture. 
 There was no window, the hut being lighted only by the door, 
 over which now a heavy curtain was dropped, and fastened 
 by a bag of sand laid across the threshold. 
 
 Lawontica leaned forward, with her elbow on her knees, 
 her hands supporting her chin, and the ends of her fingers 
 pressed hard against the white teeth gleaming through her 
 half-parted lips. Her expression was moody and sullen, but 
 without excitement ; and she had retained this attitude a long 
 time without motion of limb or feature. 
 
 Sitting in the opposite corner, Sanoso silently smoked her 
 pipe, and cast furtive glances towards her child. At length, 
 assuming the same position, and gazing into the coals, she 
 muttered, as if talking to herself, 
 
 " Is Sanoso deaf? She is an old woman, and her ears 
 grow dull. No one speaks to her. Once she was wise. Now 
 she knows nothing. Sanoso may go sleep. Lawontica does 
 not need her." 
 
 No one would have supposed from the girl's unmoved face 
 that these low-breathed syllables of her native tongue had 
 reached her ear. Neither did Sanoso look towards her, or 
 seem to expect any reply, but continued to smoke in silence. 
 
 After some time, she spoke again. 
 
 "Once the heart of my child lay close to the ear of Sanoso. 
 When it cried, she heard it ; when it was hurt, she medicined 
 it. Now Sanoso listens, but it says nothing. Lawontica 
 hides it from Sanoso, hides it from the poor old woman." 
 
 " Sanoso is foolish," was the reply, in a hard tone, through
 
 AN INDIAN MONODY. 305 
 
 the clenched teeth. " Lawontica is a woman now. She has 
 no heart." 
 
 Sanoso took the pipe from her mouth, and said, sharply, 
 
 "She is no woman! she is maddoes!* She throws 
 sharp quills at the hand that strokes her ! " 
 
 The girl lifted herself up, resentful at this comparison. 
 Her eyes kindled, and her dark cheek flushed. 
 
 " Lawontica is a chief's daughter," she said, proudly. 
 " She will go back to her tribe. She will throw ashes behind 
 her when she leaves the lodge,! and Sanoso will see her no 
 more. Sanoso has smoked too long with the white man. 
 She has forgotten her people." 
 
 The fire blazed up at this moment, showing each face to 
 the other, and a pang shot through both hearts at the emo 
 tion thus revealed. 
 
 " Listen ! " said Sanoso. " Many winters ago, Sanoso was 
 a handsome young woman. The red cranberry was not so 
 red as her lips, the brown oak-leaf when the frost had touched 
 it was not so smooth and glossy as her skin, the shining black 
 pebbles in the brook were not so bright as her eyes. Then 
 many braves brought presents to her wigwam, and the sum 
 mer days were long the Sewan the summer days, when 
 her heart was merry. 
 
 " It was here she lived, on this hillside, beneath these 
 trees, and the homes of the Unami,$ her people, were all 
 
 * A hedgehog. 
 
 t To throw ashes at departing, was to take a vow never to return. 
 ^ The principal tribe among the Delaware Indians. 
 26*
 
 AGNES. 
 
 around. Then Kobeetsha, the beaver-heart, the wise man, 
 the great warrior, was her husband, and the girls of her tribe 
 envied her. They called her Comuchnole, the happy. Ah, 
 the summer days were long the Sewan the summer days, 
 when the pappoose played round her feet, and made the wig 
 wam glad. 
 
 " Then the white man come nearer, nearer, little nearer, 
 and cut down the trees, and spoil the hunting-ground. Then 
 my people dig up the hatchet, and paint it red. But Kobeet 
 sha say, No. "White man too big. Why should the Lennile- 
 nape * fight too much, and be killed ? Much better they sell 
 their land, and go join their brothers, the Monseys, among the 
 mountains, and their uncles, the Iroquois. It is good. All 
 my people they go off, they leave the pleasant valleys, and 
 the hillsides where the summer days were long. 
 
 " Ahkie ! t it was the moon of storms, and the fever seized 
 Ojaneri.J Very sick she lay in the lodge, and Kobeetsha 
 went over the great river to get the famous medicine-man ; 
 but he came back no more. In the dark night of storms did 
 the great river swallow his canoe, or did the bad white man 
 shoot him, or the treacherous Indian kill him ? Who knows ? 
 He came back no more ! 
 
 " But the child lived. She grew. When she was young 
 girl ahkie ! too young to be married the great chief Pus- 
 chiis saw her, and she went with him to his lodge. Then 
 Sanoso come away. There was no room for her in the wig- 
 
 *Lemrilenape the native name for the inhabitants of this country, 
 called Indians by the whites. 
 
 tAlas. JOjaneri the beautiful.
 
 AN INDIAN MONODY. 307 
 
 warn where the great chief's mother sat by the fire. Sanoso 
 come away to the pleasant valley, and the hillside where the 
 summer days were long the Sewan the summer days, 
 when she was happy. 
 
 " Then the white man very good to her. Help build the 
 wigwam, give her plenty to eat. Sanoso very glad she come. 
 But one day she made baskets by the door, and, quick ! she 
 heard a sound. Was it the west wind in the branches, talk 
 ing to the leaves ? Was it the loon crying to the rain-cloud ? 
 Who can tell ? There was no one near ! ' Rise up ! hasten ! ' 
 it said, ' for the great chief has a daughter, but no wife ! ' 
 
 " The voice spoke true. Ahkie, ahkie ! the bitter day, the 
 bitter winter day ! The voice spoke true. She was gone ! 
 Three days she had been on the journey to the spirit-land. 
 She was gone, my only one, my Sewealloca, my morn 
 ing star ! 
 
 " But the great chief had a daughter. Who lifted the 
 crying little one, and carried it till it could walk alone ? Who 
 staid many moons for its sake among a strange people, where 
 all the people of her tribe were scattered ; among the black 
 mountains, away from the pleasant valleys, and the hillside 
 where the summer days were long ? Maybe Sanoso did it ! 
 the old woman, the foolish woman ! Lawontica will throw 
 ashes at her when she leaves the lodge ! " 
 
 She ceased abruptly, and resumed her pipe, without casting 
 another glance at her grandchild. It was no new story she 
 told, but Lawontica could not hear it unmoved. She rose 
 slowly from her seat, and said, in a tone of apology,
 
 308 A G X K ? . 
 
 "You called me weisis, maddoes."* 
 
 Sauoso deigned no reply. Lawontica's straight figure 
 swayed a moment with the irresolution and hesitation she felt, 
 and then, throwing herself upon the floor, she laid her head 
 upon the old woman's knee, and, looking up into her face, 
 said, penitently, " Muscain melin ! " t 
 
 The grandmother stroked her silken hair caressingly, and 
 she knew she was forgiven. Nothing more was said, and 
 after she had remained a little while in this position she 
 arose, and, wrapping herself in a blanket, went to the door 
 and pulled aside the curtain. Again turning abruptly to her 
 companion, she said, in a rapid manner, as if forcing herself 
 to speak, 
 
 " Listen, Onurha.t Lawontica is the great chief's daugh 
 ter. She is a woman. She must be married. Tamaque is a 
 brave warrior, he is a wise chief. He asks her to go to his 
 lodge. Puschiis, the great chief, says it is good. She will 
 
 go-" 
 
 Sanoso started slightly as she heard this ; but the expres 
 sion of her face indicated pleasure rather than pain, and she 
 answered, without any appearance of surprise, 
 
 " When will my daughter go 1 " 
 
 Lawontica's breath came short and hard. " When the sun 
 rises Tamaque comes to the lodge. Lawontica goes back 
 with him." 
 
 Sanoso did not pause in her smoking, or lift her eyes from 
 the ground, but her voice trembled slightly as she asked, 
 
 * Beast, hedgehog. 1 1 am sorry forgive me. \ My mother.
 
 AN INDIAN MONODY. 309 
 
 ' And for this is my daughter sad ? For this does she say 
 she has no heart ? " 
 
 " Did I say so ? It was Grosquagin, a foolish word. It 
 is gone. Lawontica will be very happy. Sanoso shall sit by 
 her fire when she is old, and the children shall bring her 
 meat." 
 
 " Ahkie, no ! " answered the old squaw, shaking her head, 
 sadly. " My child shall go with Tamaque, for the great 
 chief says so, and it is good. But the heart of Sanoso stays 
 in the wigwam on the hillside. The trees in the pleasant 
 valley know her better than the people of her tribe. The 
 white man give her more than her own brother. She will 
 stay here. One day while she sits by the fire in the wigwam, 
 Angloagan * will come in at the door." 
 
 As she was speaking, Lawontica became abstracted and 
 uneasy. She stood as if listening intently for some sound out 
 of doors, and, without replying to Sanoso, suddenly left the 
 hut. In a few moments she returned, and said, abruptly, 
 
 " The moon is bright I will walk. When the stars set 
 I will come again." 
 
 Sanoso nodded, and she went out again, dropping the cur 
 tain behind her. Her grandmother followed her to the door, 
 and, looking out stealthily, saw her descend the hill. When 
 she reached the copse near the spring, a tall warrior, with 
 nodding plumes upon his head, came forward to meet her. 
 A short conversation ensued, and then they walked away 
 together in the path leading to Mr. Grey's farm. 
 
 * Death.
 
 310 AGNES. 
 
 Sanoso chuckled low to herself, and, muttering and laughing 
 with a strange excitement, went back to her pipe and her 
 seat by the fire. Here she remained a long time, a weird, 
 lonely figure, crouching over the dying embers, talking and 
 shaking her old head, as the feeble, broken words fell from 
 her lips unconsciously. Then, lying down upon her couch of 
 skins, she wrapped herself in a blanket, throwing one corner 
 over her face, and was soon asleep. 

 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE PKOUD BEAUTY A BRIDE. 
 
 AGNES' bed-room at the farm opened from the parlor, or 
 " fore-room," seldom used by the family during winter. A 
 similar bed-room, adjoining the " keeping-room," served Mr. 
 and Mrs. Grey for a dormitory, and " the boys " slept up 
 stairs in a chamber over them. Agnes was thus in some 
 degree isolated ; but she liked the seclusion of her apartment, 
 and had not a thought of fear with regard to its lonely 
 position. 
 
 On the evening after her conversation with Frank, she sat 
 a long time by the window, when the household had separated 
 for the night, looking out dreamily upon the wastes of snow, 
 lit by the dazzling moonbeams. Around them the forest 
 seemed to stand like a wall, black and lofty, shutting in the 
 solitary dwelling and its occupants from all communion with 
 the world. Thus dark, mysterious, impenetrable, seemed the 
 wall which circumstances had built around her. She felt too 
 weak to struggle through it, too timid to brave its terrors; and 
 yet she could no longer remain in this one bright spot, this 
 pleasant home where she had rested. The very love which
 
 312 AGNES. 
 
 had met her there warned her thence, lest she should unwit 
 tingly give trouble in return for kindness ; and that was a 
 possibility her generous spirit could not endure. Wearied, 
 perplexed, and chilled, at length she sought her bed, and fell 
 into a light slumber. 
 
 She was aroused by a hand laid softly on her arm. The 
 curtain had been put back from the window, and, though 
 clouds were gathering over the sky, she could dimly distin 
 guish the figure beside her. 
 
 It was Lawontica, who placed her finger on her lips, and 
 uttered a low " hist," as Agnes was about to speak. 
 
 " What is it? Is any one ill ? Does any one want me? " 
 she asked, in a whisper. 
 
 "Me hear 'urn strange noise. Get up, quick. Maybe 
 somebody come," said Lawontica. 
 
 " What can it be ? why don't you call Frank, or Mr. 
 Grey?" exclaimed Agnes, in a tone of. alarm. "It may be 
 the Tories, and they will break into the house." 
 
 " Why you no get up, then, quick? S'pose bad mans come, 
 very much you want 'um be dressed." 
 
 "That's true; but do go call Mr. Grey. I'm fright 
 ened ! " said Agnes' jumping up and hurrying on her 
 clothes. The Indian girl assisted her, but seemed anxious to 
 make no noise, and to Agnes' continued urging replied, eva 
 sively, 
 
 " G uess we no wake 'um yet. May be, only what you 
 call 'um rat ! Then he laugh at me."
 
 THE PROUD BEAUTY A BRIDE. 313 
 
 "0, nonsense ! If some one is coming, he must be waked. 
 I '11 call him, myself." 
 
 As she sprang to the door for this purpose, the Indian girl 
 seized her by the arm, almost rudely, and, with her hand over 
 the half-open lips, said, 
 
 " No, no ! No speak 'urn loud. Somebody hear. Fix 
 your clothes, quick. Maybe you call him then." 
 
 Her manner was so strangely violent, that Agnes made no 
 further opposition, although she wondered greatly what it 
 could mean. Her dress was arranged as rapidly as her 
 trembling fingers would allow, and then, as she turned to go 
 into the kitchen, Lawontica snatched a large shawl- from a 
 chair near the bed, and threw it over her shoulders. 
 
 " What 's that for ? " asked Agnes. 
 
 " Maybe you cold out there," was the reply. 
 
 " Is the fire all out, in the kitchen ? " 
 
 " Hush ! " interrupted her companion. " You no hear 'urn 
 noise ? " 
 
 They stood still and listened, but not a whisper broke the 
 silence, and Lawontica, grasping Agnes' arm, in an eager, 
 excited manner, walked close beside her as they crossed the 
 parlor; but when they reached the door opening into the 
 front entry, she pushed her back a little, and whispered, 
 
 " You stay here, minute. Me go first and see. Maybe 
 somebody there. When me call, then you come." 
 
 Agnes, timid and unsuspicious, was glad to comply, and 
 remained there until she heard the click of the door-latch, 
 and Lawontica's voice speaking her name in a loud whisper. 
 27
 
 314 
 
 AGNES. 
 
 She took one or two steps forward into the dark passage. 
 Something seized her shoulders with a grasp like a vice, and 
 her involuntary scream of terror was stifled by a hand pressed 
 tightly upon her mouth. A large cloth was thrown over her 
 head and arms, she was lifted from the floor, and borne 
 rapidly away. The front door had been opened and shut 
 noiselessly, and through it her captors fled. After a few 
 struggles she lay still, and so lifeless that upon reaching the 
 wood they paused behind the barricade of fallen trees, and 
 removed the cloth from her head. Snow was beginning to 
 fall, and the moon was hidden, but there was light enough 
 left to show that she had fainted. 
 
 The Indian who carried her gave a grunt of satisfaction, 
 and, arranging the covering so as to expose her face, trans 
 ferred her to the arms of his companion, and they hastened 
 on. The cold air soon revived her, but returning conscious 
 ness brought with it such paralyzing fright, that they had 
 gone some distance before she thought of screaming for aid. 
 Then she sent forth shriek after shriek ; but it was too late, 
 and the cries were soon stopped by a choking grasp upon her 
 throat. They were now in the thick, dark forest. Instinct 
 must have guided her captors, for there was no path and no 
 light to direct them ; yet they went on without much delay, 
 alternately carrying her in their arms. Her slight form, 
 wasted by anxiety and illness, was not a heavy burden for 
 these hardy men while she lay passive in their arms ; and 
 when she struggled they found means to quiet her. 
 
 At length a faint gleam, spreading and brightening through
 
 THE PROUD BEAUTY A BRIDE. 315 
 
 the murky air, announced the end of that long, dreadful 
 night. When the dawn had so far advanced as to enable 
 Agnes to distinguish objects about her, the Indians halted, 
 selected with some care a dry place in a copse of low, 
 spreading firs, and motioned for her to sit down. 
 
 She obeyed, wrapping herself in the woollen cloth they had 
 thrown over her, for she was shivering with cold. They then 
 kindled a fire, and, while resting themselves on the ground 
 before it, one of them took a few cakes, made of pounded 
 corn, from a greasy pouch hanging at his side. He gave 
 some to his companion, who ate them with a relish, and laid 
 the remainder upon Agnes' lap, saying, emphatically, " Eat." 
 
 She could not swallow the unpalatable food, and the Indian 
 frowned as if he was displeased, as he watched her frightened 
 efforts to do so. Turning from her, he said a few words to 
 his companion, who appeared to respect his authority; and 
 then, rising, stood before his captive, with an aspect so stern 
 that her terror increased. She clasped her hands with an 
 involuntary appeal for mercy. He smiled grimly to see the 
 impression he had made, and said, in broken English, 
 
 " Me go way now. You no move 'um out this tree, then 
 he no hurt you. You move 'um, make 'um noise " He 
 finished the sentence by snatching the tomahawk from his 
 belt, and, giving it a whirl, made a pass at her, as if he would 
 have buried it in her forehead. 
 
 Agnes shrank back witli a stifled cry, and cowered at his 
 feet, mute and trembling. He saw she understood his 
 meaning, and, muttering some indistinct, scornful words, he
 
 AGNES. 
 
 strode off through the forest, and was speedily out of sight. 
 Exhausted and despairing, she made no attempt to excite 
 compassion in the savage who remained to guard her, but, with 
 her head bowed on her knees, crouched before the fire, and 
 yielded herself, in utter helplessness, to the thought of what 
 her fate might be. 
 
 After two or three hours, the plumed and painted warrior 
 who had first seized her appeared at the opening of the copse, 
 where his comrade stood watching, and an earnest conversa 
 tion followed ; after which he went away again, and his com 
 panion, approaching Agnes, signed to her to arise and resume 
 her journey. 
 
 She dared not refuse, for death was the alternative ; and 
 bitterly as she had wearied of life, her timid nature could not 
 brave a fate so dreadful. Yet her steps were feeble, and 
 their progress necessarily so slow, that her guide became very 
 impatient, and several times caught her in his arms and 
 carried her for some distance, in the rapid trotting pace 
 peculiar to the Indian. When he placed her again upon her 
 feet he threatened her with his tomahawk, and, with menacing 
 looks and gestures, urged her forward. 
 
 As the day passed, Agnes looked eagerly around, and 
 endeavored to note some objects by which she could retrace 
 the route they were taking. The country was wild and 
 broken. Everywhere spread the primitive forest, with its 
 monotony of hill and vale; its frozen water-courses, which 
 afforded the readiest path through its mazes ; its huge trees 
 stretching their bare arms, locked in intricate embraces,
 
 THE PROUD BEAUTY A BRIDE.. 817 
 
 between her and the sky. Though the snow was not deep, its 
 uniform covering prevented any distinctness in the different 
 parts of the landscape, as they journeyed on. The day con 
 tinued cloudy, with occasional falls of snow, and she could 
 gain little idea of the direction in which she was travelling. 
 
 The air in these sheltered places was still and mild, every 
 footfall was muffled, the winter had banished birds and insects, 
 and, as they pursued their way amid the intense and brooding 
 silence, there were times when Agnes' very breath grew hushed, 
 and her pulses ceased to play. She moved mechanically, but 
 she fancied she stood still, while the trees moved in a stately, 
 solemn dance around her, and sounds and echoes struck her 
 ear like voices from the far-off past. With an effort she 
 would recover herself to the reality of cold and fatigue, and 
 a cramping pain at her heart, that came in spasms, and left 
 her faint and breathless. 
 
 They paused occasionally for a few moments of rest, and 
 then she was driven or carried forward until twilight was 
 darkening through the trees, and, utterly exhausted, she was 
 ready to lie down and die. She had been hoping and watch 
 ing all day for some sound that might indicate that her friends 
 were in pursuit, and suddenly thought she heard footsteps, 
 and a human voice. 
 
 " This way ! this way ! I am here ! " she cried, wildly, 
 with a shriek that echoed through the woods. 
 
 The Indian sprang upon her, and, grasping her throat, 
 pressed her, choking, down to the ground, while his eyes glared 
 27*
 
 318 AGNES. 
 
 with rage as he twirled his tomahawk around his head to 
 strike the fatal blow. 
 
 She thought her last moment bad come, and doubtless her 
 troubled life might then have ended, had not the savage 
 recognized the voice which now called in reply, and, relaxing 
 his stifling grasp, paused with his weapon nearly touching her 
 forehead. A long interval of silence succeeded, and then 
 Agnes saw Lawontica standing over her. 
 
 Although the Indian girl had so falsely betrayed her into 
 captivity, there was an instinctive sense of relief at the sight 
 of a familiar face, especially one of her own sex, and Agnes' 
 first feeling was of thankfulness and joy. She caught at the 
 hem of Lawontica's furred" robe, exclaiming, 
 
 " You are come ! You will save me ? " 
 
 But the face looking down upon her was hard and stern. 
 The brows were knit until they met in one dark, heavy line 
 above the gleaming eyes, and through the distended nostrils 
 came short, angry pufis of breath, while the chest heaved as 
 if a tempest were raging within it. 
 
 The Indian saw her mood, and, pressing on Agnes' shoulder, 
 to keep her down, raised his tomahawk again, and, looking 
 up at the wrathful woman beside him, said, in their native 
 tongue, 
 
 " She is a poor thing. She cannot walk. She will hinder 
 us. She will scream and let the white man know she is here. 
 They will come after and hear her. I will kill her. Then 
 we can go on. When the white man comes she will not be 
 with us. Who will know where she is ? "
 
 THE PROUD BEAUTY A BRIDE. 319 
 
 Lawontica hesitated. The black blood of revenge surged 
 and boiled in her heart. In a delirium of jealousy and disap 
 pointed love, she had concocted the scheme, thus far carried 
 out successfully. Now, what should be done with her captive? 
 
 Agnes had gathered from his gestures and expression the 
 purport of the Indian's request, and saw the fluctuating ex 
 pression of Lawontica's features as she listened. But she 
 could not believe herself in danger ; and her eyes those 
 tender, beseeching eyes were fixed on that dark face more 
 in wonder than alarm. 
 
 " Shall I do it ? " asked the Indian again, and twirled the 
 knife around his victim's head. The eyelids scarcely quivered 
 over the blue eyes. She had suffered so much, she was losing 
 even the sense of fear. 
 
 Lawontica looked at her in surprise, " Why you no cry? 
 You no frightened ? " she said, involuntarily, and motioned 
 to the Indian to let go his hold. 
 
 " No, I am not frightened now," Agnes replied, as she 
 arose, and, nestling close beside her betrayer, attempted to 
 take her hand. 
 
 The hand was snatched away, and Lawontica asked, 
 abruptly, 
 
 " Why you no frightened ? S'pose he kill you ? " 
 
 " You will not let him ! " exclaimed Agnes, in her low, 
 childlike voice. 
 
 " How you know that? " replied Lawontica, fiercely. 
 
 "0, because you could not. You, a young girl ! 0, you 
 could not let me be murdered before your eyes."
 
 320 AGNES. 
 
 The Indian girl blushed and turned away her head, but she 
 still felt the charm of the sweet face looking into hers without 
 a shade of anxiety or fear. 
 
 " Maybe me go way, then he kill you," she persisted, but 
 her tone was less angry than before. 
 
 " 0, no, Lawontica," said Agnes, drawing nearer, and 
 again taking her hand. " You will not let me be hurt, I 
 know. You like me, and you will send me back to the farm. 
 0, Lawontica, think how anxious they will be about me 
 there ! " 
 
 " You one very great fool ! " exclaimed the Indian girl, 
 passionately. " Me like you ? No, no ! me hate you ! Ve'y 
 much me hate you ! Me hate 'um all white skin ! " 
 
 " Why do you hate me? 0, why are you so angry ? and 
 why have you brought me away from home ? " said Agnes, 
 pitifully. 
 
 The words aroused all the elements of discord. Lawon 
 tica snatched away her hand, frowning and stamping with her 
 foot on the ground. 
 
 " You no tell me that question any more ! Me great big 
 angry ! Me hate you ! ve'y much me hate you ! " 
 
 Agnes gazed at her in wonder and fear, but answered 
 slowly, as if her mind could not comprehend such passion in 
 a woman, 
 
 " I don't believe you hate me so. I never did anything to 
 make you angry. I always liked you. Besides, why did 
 you tave me, then, when he was going to kill me ? " 
 
 Lawontica laughed bitterly.
 
 THE PIIOUD BEAUTY A BRIDE. 321 
 
 " Why me no let him kill you ? 'Cause you one little 
 baby. Me hate you, but me pity you like you was small 
 pappoose." 
 
 With an expression of contempt she turned away, and sat 
 down upon a fallen tree not far distant. Agnes did not 
 follow. She knew intuitively that the crisis of rage was past, 
 and Lawontica might be most safely left to the womanly 
 nature which had recognized the claims of the helpless. She 
 went through with no process of reasoning, but her fine per 
 ceptions were seldom at fault, and they did not deceive her 
 now. 
 
 Too weary to stand, she wrapped the shawl around her, and 
 sat down upon the ground. The shadows of evening fell 
 rapidly, and, as they waited in silence and darkness, a light 
 began to flicker behind the trees, as if a fire had been kindled 
 not many rods distant. Upon seeing this, Lawontica arose 
 quickly, and went towards the place where the other party 
 had encamped. She returned with her arms full of skins and 
 blankets, which she threw upon the ground beside Agnes, and 
 then, assisted by the Indian, searched for a spot where she 
 might sleep through the night. They brushed the snow from 
 under a low-spreading tree surrounded by bushes, and piled a 
 heap of hemlock boughs for a bed. Over these a wolf-skin was 
 spread, and other skins, arranged over long sticks, supported 
 against the tree, formed a small but snug shelter against the 
 cold. 
 
 Chilled and weary, Agnes was glad to throw herself upon 
 the elastic couch, and resign herself to the care of her capri-
 
 322 AGNES. 
 
 cious protector. Lawontica wrapped her in a blanket, re 
 moved her wet shoes and stockings, substituting woollen leg- 
 gins and moccasins lined with fur, and, pinning down the 
 corners of her tent with some acacia thorns she found near by, 
 left her to get warmed and rested. Peeping out behind the 
 edge of the skin, Agnes saw the Indian, also screened from 
 the wind and from observation beneath some bushes near, 
 evidently on the alert to prevent any attempt at escape. 
 
 But she had no idea of escaping. The dark, tangled for 
 est, with its mysterious noises, its awful loneliness, its prowl 
 ing beasts, was of itself a terror to her ; and now that La 
 wontica was near her apprehensions of death were changed to 
 a certainty that nothing worse than captivity was intended 
 for her. From this she trusted the friends she had left 
 would find means to set her free. Impossible as it was to 
 divine why she had been made captive, or what could have 
 caused Lawontica's treachery, she confided in the authority 
 she supposed a chief's daughter to possess over her tribe, and 
 the returning friendship which would shield her from wrong. 
 Amid all her terror and grief, she had felt no anger against 
 her betrayer, but only wonder and regret at the misapprehen 
 sion that must have caused such conduct, and confidence that 
 the nobler nature of the Indian girl would soon resume its 
 sway. This assurance of her childlike, innocent nature had 
 been her salvation. 
 
 The deadliest purposes of vengeance had burned in Lawon 
 tica's heart. Trained, as she was, to note slight indications, 
 and to watch the expression of faces, she had detected Frank's
 
 THE PROUD BEAUTY A BRIDE. 325 
 
 interest in Agnes even before he was himself aware of its 
 extent. But jealousy had warped her later judgment, and 
 she fancied his affection was returned. It was a stormy 
 awakening from a brief dream of delight. By her intense 
 disappointment she first realized all she had half uncon 
 sciously hoped for. Utterly misconceiving the good-natured 
 attentions and the assurances of friendship she had received, 
 she believed herself to have been falsely deserted, and longed 
 to punish her fickle lover and the fair object who had absorbed 
 his thoughts. 
 
 While she was in all the sullen fury of this mood, Tamaque 
 came to her with presents, after the Indian fashion of court 
 ship, beseeching her to accept him for a husband. He had 
 been rejected several times before, in spite of her father's 
 command. The wilful girl was determined to have her own 
 way in matrimonial affairs, and so long as she chose to remain 
 with Sanoso her other relatives could have little influence 
 over her. The pride of race, the prejudice and hatred against 
 the white man, which the " great chief " had endeavored to 
 cultivate, had been counteracted by her grandmother's teach 
 ings, and the kindness received from the neighboring farmers 
 during her visits there. 
 
 To escape the pertinacity of her Indian lover, she had now 
 remained many months with Sanoso. Her intercourse with 
 the family at the farm-house had imparted a liking for civil 
 ized society, an admiration for the conveniences and comforts 
 of the white man's home, and a longing for the courtesy with 
 which white women were treated. All these she put away
 
 324 AGNES. 
 
 from her now, with angry contempt that she should have for 
 gotten what was due to herself as the princess of a despoiled 
 people; and the seeds of bitterness, long ago implanted, germ 
 inated with frightful rapidity. She thought it was because 
 she was an Indian girl she had been so easily deserted, in the 
 vigor of her young life, in the pride of her beauty deserted 
 for a little pale girl, upon whom she looked with scorn, as 
 immeasurably her inferior 
 
 For a time the revulsion of feeling swept away all that had 
 been gentle and attractive in her nature. She had been 
 despised ; she meant to show herself powerful. She had been 
 ready to kneel to Frank as to a superior being, and obey every 
 indication of his will. Now he should sue to her, as alone 
 potent to grant what was dearer than life, only to find himself 
 repulsed and baffled. The girl who had been preferred before 
 her should be crushed to the earth ; made a servant, whose 
 days would be bitter with hard bondage ; should bear harsh 
 words and blows, till her puny life was worn out in misery. The 
 savage cruelty that delighted in slow and prolonged tortures for 
 the captive taken in war worked in these untutored impulses, 
 mingled with a shade of refinement arising from her superior 
 intellect and the society she had enjoyed. On the morning 
 when Frank had been an unseen witness of their meeting by 
 the spring, she had detailed to Tamaque all she chose to 
 reveal of her feelings and purposes. The Indians were at that 
 time in a state of discontent, watching for an opportunity to 
 make attacks upon the white settlers, their natural animosity 
 having been stimulated and directed by the renegade Tories
 
 THE PROUD BEAUTY A BRIDE. 325 
 
 who had joined them. To aid in the scheme Lawontica pro 
 posed, was an easy price to pay for obtaining his own wishes ; 
 but, since she seemed to expect some opposition, he craftily 
 refused to do so, unless she would become his bride. 
 
 She could hesitate at nothing then, and the compact was 
 scaled. Afterward, in calmer moments, came doubt, regret, 
 repentance ; but she had gone too far to recede without 
 shame. The unforgiving temper of her race made them 
 scorn any leanings to mercy which interfered with the retalia 
 tion due to an injury received ; and she had represented, in 
 general terms, that, because she was an Indian, she had been 
 wronged and insulted. The happiness she had ceased to 
 expect from love she determined to find in power ; and, when 
 Tamaque returned to fulfil his part of the contract, she would 
 not weaken her influence over him by any irresolution. 
 
 She had passed the intervening days in alternate dread and 
 desire for his coming, changeful fits of repentance and resent 
 ment, producing such gloom, and so many tears, that old 
 Ssinoso was filled with anxiety. But, when the deed was 
 done, Frank's distress and suspicion awakened defiance, and 
 hardened her heart. She took pleasure in his pain. She 
 exulted in her power to afflict him. The vengeance she had 
 planned seemed too slow for her avaricious desire to wound 
 and harrow his feelings, and she half determined her victim 
 should be murdered, and left where he could find her cold in 
 death. 
 
 But the fiery passion, raging all the more fiercely because 
 all expression was suppressed, burnt itself out, even before 
 28
 
 326 AGNES. 
 
 she saw Agnes; and her confiding appeal for protection 
 aroused the magnanimous nature that would make its voice 
 heard. That compassionate tone, once listened to, changed 
 her rage into a remorseful pity, which manifested itself in 
 the care she took for Agnes' welfare. She could not yet 
 relent towards the principal offender; but, with an abrupt 
 transition of feeling, she began to excuse Agnes, and deter 
 mined to adopt her into the tribe, and thus secure for her all 
 the lenity consistent with a captive state. 
 
 After leaving her upon the rude couch, Lawontica pro 
 ceeded to the camping-place of her own party. She was 
 careful, by stepping on logs and low bushes, to leave no trace 
 of her footsteps. 
 
 Six Indians were collected around a fire. They had built 
 it in a spot where some large trees, overthrown by a whirl 
 wind, made a dense and high barricade of upturned earth, 
 roots, trunks, and branches, on three sides of them. They 
 had gathered a large quantity of brushwood, part of which 
 crackled and flamed among the green sticks hissing upon the 
 fire, and part were spread upon the ground in one corner, 
 with a blanket thrown over them. This was intended for 
 Lawontica's bed. The shelving roots and overlying branches 
 formed a sort of roof above it, and sheltered it from the 
 weather. 
 
 Some venison steaks, fixed upon forked sticks, were broiling 
 slowly in favorable positions before the fire ; and around it the 
 warriors, gayly dressed, though not in full costume, lay in 
 careless and picturesque attitudes. They had accompanied
 
 THE PROUD BEAUTY A BKIDE. 327 
 
 Tamaque, pot as a bridal escort, for that would have been 
 considered a very superfluous honor, even for the daughter of 
 the "great chief," but to assist in protecting the captive, 
 should she be pursued and discovered by her friends'. 
 
 They did not trouble themselves with any burdensome 
 civilities when Lawontica joined them. Her lover alone 
 changed his lazy attitude, and motioned for her to take thei 
 warm place in the corner ; but gallantry did not compel him 
 to interfere, as she gravely declined the offer, and busied her 
 self in watching the meat, and bringing fagots to replenish 
 the fire. Her brief period of caprice and tyranny was pas! 
 when she set out with him on the journey to his lodge, and 
 she had the good sense to assume gracefully the duties so sooo 
 to be imposed upon her. 
 
 When the steaks were cooked, Lawontica laid them upoa 
 flat pieces of the bark of a tree ; some parched corn, pounded 
 fine and mixed with maple sugar, was produced ircm one of 
 the packs, and they began to eat with the greediness of 
 hungry men. She then withdrew two of the stones, on svhich. 
 the fire was first built ; and, when they were sufficiently cool, 
 wrapped them in a woollen cloth, and returned to Agn^s. 
 She also carried upon a flat piece of bark a slice of the b.vt 
 steak, reserved for this purpose. 
 
 It was so dark that she could not see her captive's face, ns 
 she unfastened the curtain and looked into the little tent. 
 
 " You here ? S'pose you ve'y hungry now ? " she said, as 
 Agnes stirred, roused from a half-sleep by the change of air,
 
 328 AGNES. 
 
 " No, not hungry. Is it you, Lawontica ? I am tired to 
 death ! " was the drowsy reply. 
 
 " Maybe you eat this, then ; it rest you. Me bring you 
 some hot stone, too. Ve'y much you cold, ve'y much these 
 warm you." 
 
 As she spoke, she placed the piece of bark in Agnes' hands, 
 and the savory smell of the meat quickened her appetite. 
 Then laying the stones, one at her feet and one beside her, 
 tucking the skins around so as to keep in the warmth, she 
 replaced the curtain, and hastened away as carefully as 
 before. 
 
 Agnes ate the food with a hearty relish, although she had 
 been so exhausted as to be unconscious of hunger ; and after 
 wards, hugging the hot stone in her arms, she nestled under 
 the skins, and fell into a deep, refreshing slumber. 
 
 The abrupt tearing down of her frail tent first aroused her 
 in the early morning, and, after a breakfast like her supper, 
 brought her by the Indian, she was ordered to rise and 
 pursue her way. In vain she pleaded for permission to join 
 the other party. The scowling face of her guide indicated 
 no knowledge of English, and he would not understand her 
 signs. When she persisted in the request, he became impa 
 tient and struck her, pushing her forward so rudely that she 
 stumbled and fell. She dared no longer disobey, and, with a 
 heavy heart, walked along by his side. 
 
 It was a soft, lowering day, and the fleecy snow, falling at 
 intervals, melted as it came down ; but Agnes would have 
 risked freezing, if she could have secured such clear, cold
 
 THE PROUD BEAUTY A BRIDE. 329 
 
 weather as would have kept the track of her footsteps for her 
 friends to follow, and enabled her to note more definitely the 
 landscape around. From occasional sounds that reached her, 
 she half fancied Lawontica and her party kept near them, 
 though out of sight ; and the conjecture was verified when, at 
 evening, with the same precautions and the same care for her 
 comfort, she was warmed, and fed, and snugly lodged. But 
 Lawontica did not appear. Her guide was assisted by one of 
 his own sex, who was waiting when they came to the precon 
 certed halting-place. It was a deep gorge between two hills, 
 and the other party and their fire were out of sight, near 
 the brow of the precipice that frowned above her. 
 
 Could she have kept her weary eyelids open, and her 
 senses unlocked from slumber, on that night, she might have 
 heard the friends who sought her, as they passed close beside 
 her hidden resting-place. But she had lost courage and 
 hope. Whichever way her thoughts turned, they met only 
 phantoms of distress and fear. She felt as if forsaken by 
 God and man. From that time forth a nightmare spell was 
 upon her, and she walked and ate and slept as one goes 
 through the events of a dreadful dream. 
 
 As they proceeded further and further from the settle 
 ments, the country through which they passed became moun 
 tainous, and difficult of access. They were going to a 
 village occupied by a remnant of the Delaware tribe, and a 
 few Iroquois, situated on one of the small streams that empty 
 into the Great Bend of the Susquehanna ; and, although they 
 kept in the valleys as much as possible, they were obliged to 
 28*
 
 330 AGNES. 
 
 climb several steep hills, and the path was everywhere diffi 
 cult. The cold also increased, and Agnes, wholly unused to 
 exposure, suffered severely. After the first three nights she 
 was allowed a fire when they halted, and the guns of the 
 hunters supplied them with nourishing food ; but every night 
 she was more and more exhausted, as she threw herself upon 
 the heap of boughs, and every morning she arose so weary 
 that it seemed impossible she could live through another day. 
 Yet she endured wonderfully, and it was not until they were 
 within a few miles of their destination that her strength 
 utterly failed, and she fell fainting to the ground. 
 
 Lawontica and the remainder of the party were but a little 
 way in advance, and the Indian's call brought them back to 
 assist him. He had lost all patience, and refused to have 
 anything more to do with his irksome charge. In his opinion, 
 the most sensible way would be to take her scalp and leave 
 her there, where she would be no more trouble. What would 
 she be good for ? She would never be able to work. 
 
 But Lawontica had other views, and, by a little female 
 diplomacy, she persuaded her lover, who influenced the others, 
 and a rude litter was constructed, on which Agnes was laid, 
 helpless and moaning with pain. 
 
 Nothing could induce them to enter the village bearing 
 such an ignoble burden ; but they turned aside a mile or two, 
 and left the sufferer in the lodge of an old squaw, who lived 
 alone on the mountain.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE WOLF-MANITTO. 
 
 Two or three days of stupor and exhaustion followed, from 
 which Agnes was aroused one morning by a hideous din, that 
 might almost have waked the dead. The door of the lodge 
 was tightly closed, and the small windows shut. A large fire 
 burned upon the floor, over which hung a pot. Into this the 
 old woman, Akzie, dipped a gourd, and poured the boiling 
 liquid upon a row of heated stones beside the sufferer's couch, 
 almost suffocating her with a hot, medicated vapor. Mean 
 time, she was singing, with a monotonous tone much resem 
 bling that of a screech-owl, and rattling in one hand a 
 calabash containing pebbles. 
 
 Her object was in the highest degree benevolent. She 
 wished to drive away the evil spirit who kept her patient 
 insensible, and was delighted with the success of her effort, 
 as she saw Agues start up suddenly, with a look that told she 
 was conscious of what was going on. Having thrown the 
 calabash into the fire, as an offering to the departing spirit, and 
 
 attentively watched, for a few moments, the blue smoke that 
 I 
 
 " Curled and crowded up the smoke-flue,"
 
 332 AGNES. 
 
 she approached the bed and felt of Agnes' pulse, looked into 
 her mouth and eyes, and ejaculated, 
 
 " Wullit ! amimens pommauchfin ! "* 
 
 Agnes was too feeble to reply, even if she had understood 
 the language, and her nurse turned to the fire, and, taking 
 part of the liquid from the pot, in which herbs were boiling, 
 mixed it with something she poured from a bottle-shaped 
 gourd, and held the draught to Agnes' lips. She sipped a 
 little, and, finding it palatable, drank the whole. Again the 
 old woman ejaculated " Wullit," and, carefully tucking the 
 skins around her, left her to repose. 
 
 Almost immediately she was sensible of a profuse perspira 
 tion, and a cessation of the pain which had racked her 
 stiffened limbs, and before long she sank into a light and 
 refreshing slumber. 
 
 When she again awoke she asked for food. Akzie had 
 prepared a broth made of rattlesnake's flesh dried and 
 pounded, which was considered by Indian doctors the most 
 nourishing diet for an invalid. But, as Agnes could not eat 
 it, she substituted some cakes of Indian corn, broken into 
 small pieces, and dipped into maple-syrup. 
 
 Akzie had some repute as a doctress, and exerted all her 
 skill to restore the patient confided to her care. She could 
 prepare various powerful medicines from roots and barks 
 collected in the forest; and for the fever and rheumatic pain, 
 induced by such severe fatigue, she applied the bark of the 
 
 * Good ! my child you will live !
 
 THE WOLF-MANITTO. 333 
 
 white walnut, and the fossil oil, or petroleum, collected from 
 natural springs in the vicinity. 
 
 But here her skill ended. She had no " medicine for the 
 mind diseased." She could not cure the quiet melancholy, 
 the pining, listless apathy, that kept the pulse weak and the 
 limbs weary. Her most renowned specifics failed for this, and 
 she concluded that a spirit more obstinate or powerful than 
 any she had hitherto coped with had taken possession of the 
 girl. 
 
 One afternoon, three weeks after she had been brought 
 there, Agnes for the first time crossed the threshold, and sat 
 down on a stone outside the door. The hut was built in a 
 warm, sheltered nook, facing the west, and not very far up 
 the mountain side. Behind it rose a steep wall of rock, with 
 ledges, in which vines and various shrubs had taken root, 
 growing thin and stunted in the insufficient soil. Its top 
 was crowned with a more vigorous growth, of evergreens, 
 mingled with other trees, that in summer bedecked the moun 
 tain greenly, but now stood black and desolate. Beneath the 
 foot of this cliff trickled a small stream, whose warm spring 
 did not yield to the frost ; and, as it now ran past the end of 
 the wigwam, its low gurgling over its worn channel was the 
 only sound that broke the silence. 
 
 Prom the open space before her she looked down upon the 
 tops of trees in the valley below ; and directly opposite, so 
 near it seemed as if she might touch it, another steep moun 
 tain reared itself darkly till its crest reached the horizon, and 
 there all its leafless trees, and the black cones of firs, stood
 
 334 AGNES. 
 
 quivering between long flashes of crimson light, as if they 
 palpitated with the glory of sunset. 
 
 There was nothing else. Those two mountains, and the 
 lonely hut, with its bent and wrinkled inmate, were all that 
 met her view. The forest shut her up to these. 
 
 She looked upward. Ay, there the view was boundless. 
 Up, up, miles into the crystal blue, far past those tongues of 
 flame-like cloudj her glance might pass unimpeded. But the 
 shining ether dazzled her, the infinitude oppressed her weak 
 heart. If help might come from thence, she had no strength 
 to reach out her hands for it ; and, helpless and despairing, 
 she bowed her head and wept. 
 
 Old Akzie watched her with a pitying expression, now and 
 then muttering some Indian words to herself. She had some 
 time before ceased to attempt talking with her guest, for they 
 could not understand each other. At length, she arose from 
 her seat by the fire, and, going to the door, took Agnes' hand 
 and drew her within the hut, saying, by a significant shiver 
 and cough, that there was danger she would take cold. Then 
 she placed beside the couch, where the girl had thrown herself, 
 a wooden plate, containing cakes made of flour and flavored 
 with dried berries, a dish of hominy, and a gourd containing 
 maple-sugar. 
 
 Agnes smiled languidly at these formidable preparations 
 to satisfy an appetite so slight as hers ; but Akzie made her 
 understand, by signs, that she was going away, and this food 
 was to last until her return. 
 
 When Lawontica left her captive to Akzie 's care, she begged
 
 THE WOLF-MANITTO. 335' 
 
 her to use every effort for her recovery ; and the kincU 
 hearted old woman, now that her own skill had failed, pro 
 posed to apply to a mighty conjuror, who lived on one of the 
 mountains near. But little preparation was required for the 
 visit. Her usual dress consisted of a flannel shirt she had 
 bought from a trader. It was fastened over the bosom with 
 large silver buckles. A cloth petticoat, scarcely a yard in 
 width, reached below her knees, and her leggins were made 
 of the same material. Her feet were covered with moc 
 casins of deer-skin. Her long gray hair was tied in a 
 queue. 
 
 She put on a man's hat, considerably worn and battered, 
 threw a blanket over her shoulders, took from her secret store 
 of treasures a string of wampum as an offering to the 
 mighty man, and when she went out set up the piece of 
 bark that formed the outside door of her hut, placing a stake 
 against it as a fastening. 
 
 Agnes was left alone, and for a short time her nurse's 
 absence was a positive relief. Half reclining on her couch, 
 she watched the flames of the fire flickering, sinking, rising 
 again in long flashes, that shot upward, on clouds of smoke, 
 into the blue air above. With a sad, calm wonder, as one 
 listens to an unfortunate friend one cannot aid, she thought 
 over her whole life, with its strange vicissitudes. Her calm 
 childhood, sunny as the May morning on which her eyes first 
 opened ; the peaceful village where her young life grew to 
 maidenhood ; the love that came like a destiny, and changed 
 all sudden love, that flashed through her innocent existence,
 
 336 AGNES. 
 
 as the lightning through white summer clouds, and, alas 
 
 scathed like the lightning. Then she remembered the fierce, 
 
 
 burning delirium of anger and despair, and the hope which 
 
 rose, phoenix-like, from the ashes of that spent fire, and led 
 her on, struggling through difficulty and peril, to end how? 
 
 Was it ended ? was this the end ? She held up her thin 
 hands to the light, and passed them over her wan face. Ah, 
 surely she had little strength remaining in that emaciated 
 frame, little power or life to struggle more. But the one 
 thought, the love which had possessed her, blind and unrea 
 soning as an instinct, yet mighty as an inspiration, changing 
 her timid and passive nature, and urging her to effort, now 
 revived from its temporary quiescence. 
 
 She would not die there. She would force herself to eat, 
 to sleep, to gain strength. She would be patient and hopeful ; 
 she would watch and wait. When spring came, she would 
 find her way back to the world, to that one spot which was 
 her world then would be time enough to die ! 
 
 A slight noise arrested her attention; a quick footstep 
 approached, the door was thrown down, the curtain pulled 
 aside, and dropped again behind one entering. Agnes sprang 
 to her feet, in alarm ; but in the dim hut Lawontica stood, 
 with the firelight gleaming over her, as she leaned forward, 
 shading her eyes that she might see more clearly. 
 . The white face opposite, with its golden curls, seemed to 
 look at her from out a cloud, and the close air stifled her. 
 She flung back the curtain violently, and turned again to the 
 door. The chill winter twilight streamed down upon her
 
 THE W L F - 51 A N I T T . 337 
 
 between the hills, and the crescent moon, jewelled with a 
 large, lambent star, hung trembling in the dark above. 
 
 Agnes followed her to the door and stood near, yet not 
 touching her. They had not met before, though Lawontica had 
 been to the hut ; for her visits had been at times when the 
 invalid was asleep. They stood there, those two, so different 
 and yet so strangely united, and for a few moments neither 
 spoke. Agnes had thought of many reproaches, but she 
 could not utter them now. The awful majesty of night, and 
 solitude, and silence, hushed her spirit to a perfect calm. 
 They two alone there amid the infinity of nature, that told 
 God was so near ! How could earthly passions dare to speak 
 where there was no other voice or sound, and the dark shad 
 ows seemed to wrap them close, away from the world of man? 
 
 A prayer arose out of her heart, and God heard it in the 
 darkness. She drew nearer, and laid her cold head upon the 
 Warm, throbbing palms Lawontica had pressed tight together. 
 
 " How awful and yet how glorious is the night! " she said. 
 " Why do you tremble so, Lawontica ? " 
 
 " It is cold. I shiver. Come in ! " replied the Indian 
 girl, shrinking away from her touch, and gliding through the 
 low doorway. 
 
 Agnes obeyed, wondering at her companion's excitement ; 
 and when she had seated herself on the ground by the fire 
 again, asked, 
 
 " What is the matter ? You tremble still ! " 
 
 " You been sick," replied Lawontica, evasively. 
 29
 
 A G N E'S . 
 
 " Yes, I 've been sick. Did n't you think I would be ? " 
 Agnes said, in a reproachful tone. 
 
 Lawontica looked up, with a strange expression. Her face, 
 her hands, her whole frame, were quivering. The words she 
 meant to say died on her lips. It was the night after Frank's 
 escape from the village. That morning, Shamokin, the war- 
 captain, the favorite brave of the tribe, had been found dead 
 in the lodge from which his prisoners had fled. The most 
 terrible excitement had followed. Shamokin's wife was La- 
 wontica's half-sister, and, having an inkling of the position of 
 affairs, had overwhelmed her with loud reproaches for having 
 brought this trouble upon them, both by stealing away the cap 
 tive, and by afterwards interfering to procure the release of the 
 two white men who had come in search of Agnes. Added to 
 this, Shamokin's words had made Tamaque furiously jealous ; 
 and, on his return to their lodge, after the council broke up, he 
 had scolded and beaten her for the fart she had acted. Her 
 womanly dignity thus insulted, and her fiercest passions 
 roused, she had still too much pride to betray to her compan 
 ions the tempest raging in her heart. The warriors and 
 chiefs had all joined in chasing the white men, determined to 
 have vengeance for the loss they had sustained, and the women 
 had passed the day in bewailing the dead. 
 
 Lawontica had borne through all a cold, impassive face, 
 and a mien that indicated nothing of her feelings. But self- 
 control could not last forever, and, in her rapid walk to the 
 hut, she had relieved her " pent bosom " by sobs and passion 
 ate cries. Then, Agnes' pallid, wasted features, and mournful
 
 THE WOLF-MANITTO. 339 
 
 eyes, met her like the face of an accusing spirit, rousing a 
 train of emotion new and equally painful. Untutored as 
 she was, she saw how, by yielding to her wild impulses, she 
 had involved herself and all dear to her in peril and sorrow. 
 She no longer wept, but, as a string suddenly snapt after 
 strong pressure vibrates long, her quivering nerves and mus 
 cles revealed the rage, remorse, and grief, which had by turns 
 convulsed her. 
 
 When Agnes' words of reproach met her ear, she turned 
 upon her suddenly, with burning, fiery eyes, and a sharp tone, 
 full of scorn and passion. 
 
 " You think nobody sick but you ! Look, now ! Me feel 
 so bad maybe me take poison ! maybe me kill myself to- 
 moller ! " 
 
 "What is the matter?" 
 
 She paused a moment, and then, gazing steadily at Agnes, 
 replied, 
 
 " He come here ! Flank he come ! He come for 
 you ! " 
 
 " What do you say ? " cried Agnes, in great agitation. 
 " Has Frank been here ? Where is he ? 0, do let me go 
 home with him ! " 
 
 She clasped her hands, and, crouching on the floor, looked 
 up with the most beseeching expression. But the face she 
 gazed at grew very pale and stern. 
 
 " He gone no matter. Never you go back with him 
 never, never ! Me no let you." 
 
 " Lawontica ! what have I done ?"
 
 340 AGNES. 
 
 " You ? You love him ! You marry him ! " exclaimed 
 Lawontica, springing up ; and her tone was as if the words 
 had been jerked from her lips by the act. 
 
 " I ? 0, no, no, never ! " replied Agnes, shaking her 
 head slowly, with a pitiful half-sigh. 
 
 Her manner more than her words arrested her hearer, and 
 compelled belief. 
 
 "What! not love him? not love Flank?" she cried, 
 incredulously. 
 
 "No. What made you think I did?" said Agnes, in a 
 more decided tone. 
 
 " Ve'y much he love you." 
 
 " And was that what you brought me here for ? " 
 
 Lawontica turned away her head, but her silence was 
 expressive. 
 
 "0, Lawontica," Agnes broke forth, in a tumult of feeling, 
 " I did not love him. He would have forgotten me soon. 
 I was going away the next day. I should never have seen 
 him any more. He would have loved some one else, and been 
 happy. 0, foolish girl ! you have perilled his life, you have 
 ruined yourself and me. No, no, I $id not love him not 
 as you mean. I could not ! " 
 
 " Could not ? What for ? " The anxiety, the despair of 
 her tone, was terrible. 
 
 Agnes paused a moment. Was it the reflection of the fire 
 light, or did a faint blush steal up, reddening the marble 
 whiteness of her face, and suffusing the dark, troubled eyes ?
 
 THE WOLF-MANITTO. 341 
 
 Lawontica seized her arm with a grasp that left its mark 
 after. 
 
 " Tell 'urn me, what for ? " she repeated. 
 
 Agnes threw her other arm around the girl's neck. The 
 muscles were like steel, but the proud head yielded to that 
 gentle touch till she could whisper something she appeared 
 afraid to speak aloud. 
 
 When she withdrew her lips, Lawontica turned upon her as 
 if half insane. 
 
 " Is that true ? You sure you speak me true ? " she 
 asked. 
 
 " Yes, 0, yes ! Believe me, it is true ! " 
 
 Lawontica threw her from her with a reckless force, and 
 rushed out of the hut. Agnes fell upon the heap of skins, and 
 was unhurt. She sprang to the door in a moment, and called 
 loudly, but she was too late. The darkness swallowed up 
 her voice, and gave back no echo. She listened. There was 
 the faint shiver and murmur of the pine-trees to the rising 
 wind, or now and then the crackling fall of icicles, as the 
 branches shook off their crystal burden, but nothing more. 
 
 The stillness seemed appalling, the solitude oppressive, after 
 that brief, fervid scene through which she had passed. All 
 she had ever heard or read of the terrors and perils of the 
 wilderness, of savage beasts and savage men, crowded into her 
 mind. She drew up the outer door as well as she could, and, 
 fastening the curtain tightly within, replenished the fire, and 
 threw herself once more upon her couch, to pass long, sleep, 
 less hours. 
 
 29*
 
 342 AGNES. 
 
 Nature, exhausted, at length gave way, and her slumber 
 was prolonged and deep. The opening of the door, the 
 streaming in of the cool morning air and the light, awoke her 
 in time to see old Akzie enter the hut, followed by a figure so 
 grotesque and hideous that she could not repress a scream of 
 terror. 
 
 Akzie said, " Hoosh, hoosh ! Manitto, Manitto ! " making, 
 as she spoke, a reverential gesture towards the creature lin 
 gering in the doorway, and, while she patted Agnes' shoulder 
 assuringly with one hand, beckoning with the other for him 
 to enter. 
 
 He appeared to be an immense wolf, with glassy eyes, and 
 teeth grinning horribly. Occasionally he raised himself 
 upon his hind legs, and turned his head from side to side, 
 but would not advance till Akzie produced string after string 
 of wampum, and laid it before him. Sufficient time had 
 elapsed for Agnes to recover from the first shock of his ap 
 pearance, and this avaricious desire for money seemed so 
 much like a human rather than a wolfish disposition, that she 
 began to suspect who her strange visitor might be. 
 
 % 
 
 Perceiving that Akzie had emptied her treasure-chest, if 
 a hole in the floor where she kept her wampum may be dignified 
 by that name, the creature gathered the strings together with 
 his paw, and, lifting them to his mouth, seemed to swallow 
 them. Then, with a spring like a wild beast, and a prolonged 
 howl, he came to Agnes' side. 
 
 By a great effort she retained some degree of composure, 
 but hardly knew whether to shudder or laugh at the unprece-
 
 THE WOLF-MANITTO. 343 
 
 dented situation in which she found herself. The wolf smelled 
 around her, one moment howling and cutting such strange 
 antics that she began to consider herself a veritable " little Red 
 Hiding-Hood," about to be eaten up, and the nest moment 
 sitting quietly on his haunches, and feeling her pulse and 
 clasping her arm with a touch that restored her confidence, 
 since she detected beneath the wolf's claws the fingers of a 
 man's hand. 
 
 After some time consumed in this way, he drew from his 
 open jaws various small packages, some of which he threw 
 upon the fire, filling the air with a sickening odor, and the 
 rest he mixed, and, after various incantations, filled the gourd 
 containing them with water, and held it to Agnes' lips. 
 
 But she was determined not to drink, and, though she felt 
 ill and faint, persisted in her refusal. This displeased the 
 creature, who redoubled his howls ; and, to obtain a moment 
 of quiet, she took the gourd in her own hands, pretending she 
 was about to comply with his wishes. As he waited, she 
 turned to Akzie with a look of inquiry. The old woman's 
 face expressed the utmost anxiety and awe, and she tried to 
 make Agnes understand that if she drank she would vomit 
 forth the evil spirit, and be cured of her illness. 
 
 But the patient did not fancy the mode of cure, and, with 
 a quick motion, overturned the whole upon the ground. The 
 sorcerer sprang upon her with a yell, as if he would have torn 
 her limb from limb, seized her with his paws, shook her with 
 a very human rage, and then ran out of the hut, imitating the 
 gait of the animal whose form he had assumed.
 
 344 AGNES. 
 
 Akzie was paralyzed with terror. The offended sorcerer 
 might, she thought, visit her with any infirmity, any torment 
 ing disease, any misfortune he chose to inflict, as a punishment 
 for treating his most precious medicines with such audacious 
 contempt. She believed he could, by a subtle charm, even 
 cause her death within a few hours, without coming near her 
 again. She was very miserable through the day, and many 
 times threw tobacco on the fire, and prostrated herself before 
 it, crying, " Here, take that and smoke, and don't hurt me." 
 
 Agnes pitied her superstition, and became interested in 
 endeavoring to remove it. She assumed a calm, cheerful 
 manner, and often pointed upwards and repeated the name of 
 God, as if invoking his protection. But Akzie's fears could 
 not be pacified. She was not worshipping the devil, as Agnes 
 supposed, for most of the Indians considered the devil to 
 exist only for the use of white people, but the man whose 
 aid she had been at some pains to procure had made himself 
 feared by all in the surrounding villages. He lived alone, in 
 various places among the mountains, removing his residence 
 as suited his fancy. As he seldom allowed himself to be seen 
 in his own form, many believed him to be a " wolf-manitto," 
 a divinity subordinate to the Great Spirit, yet endued with 
 much power ; and that he could, at pleasure, take either the 
 human form or any other he chose. Long habit had enabled 
 him to copy the habits of the bear and wolf so closely that 
 he was enabled to keep up this delusion. 
 
 The Indians believed there were many of these inferior 
 deities, and that the Great Spirit preferred to be worshipped
 
 THE WOLF-MA'NITTO. 345 
 
 through sacrifices offered to them. They looked upon the 
 elements, almost all animals, and even some plants, as inhab 
 ited by spirits more or less dignified and powerful, and had 
 full faith that sometimes these " manittoes " revealed them 
 selves to men, lived with them, and were capable of doing 
 them great good or harm. 
 
 The " wolf-manitto " was an expert juggler, who had ac 
 quired almost unlimited power over the superstitious in that 
 vicinity. The mystery he maintained about his place of 
 abode, appearing now here, now there, at unexpected moments, 
 the skill he had acquired in medicine, and in observing the 
 weather and foretelling its changes, made him a wonder, and 
 an object of dread. They brought abundant offerings of corn, 
 tobacco, and vegetables, to the places where he was known 
 sometimes to dwell, expecting him to be aware of it, and to 
 give them a favorable journey or a successful hunt. And 
 when they happened to find him present, they were ready to 
 pay him any amount of wampum to cure their sick, and to 
 buy from him the charms or " besoms " he sold, powerful to 
 ward off" danger, or procure some coveted good. 
 
 It is not strange, therefore, if Akzie was overcome with 
 alarm at the angry snarl by which he had testified his dis 
 pleasure. At first she simply waited, trembling, for the 
 swift destruction she anticipated. But, as it did not come, 
 she began to hope that by getting rid of her guest she might 
 avert the danger. A day and a night had passed, and as she 
 did not yet feel the pains of dissolution, she took courage, and
 
 346 A a N E s . 
 
 set out to go to the village and tell Lawontiba she must come 
 and take the captive to her own lodge. 
 
 Agnes was very unwilling to be left again alone. The ex 
 citement of the last few days had been of benefit, and her 
 eyes were brighter, and her step less languid. Hope had en 
 tered her heart, bringing its dreams of the future to cheer the 
 barrenness and alleviate the annoyances of her present life ; 
 and, to divert the thought which had been fixed too much upon 
 herself, she had conjectures in regard to Lawontica, and fears 
 for the safety of those friends who had sought her in the 
 wilderness. 
 
 She longed inexpressibly to see Lawontica again, and 
 know all that had transpired. When Akzie put on her 
 blanket to go out, she begged for permission to accompany 
 her, but it was denied. The old woman pushed her back 
 roughly into the hut, fastened the door upon her, and walked 
 away, shaking her head and crooning Indian syllables as she 
 struck her staff into the snow. She looked like a witch mut 
 tering spells, and trying the strength of her broomstick 
 before mounting for a flight.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 LIFE IN THE LODGES. 
 
 THE path from the hut wound around the mountain, and 
 down into the narrow valley where Lawontica lived. Akzie 
 had started late in the afternoon, and it was dark when she 
 arrived at the village. As she passed up the valley, just 
 beyond the sudden turn of the stream towards Umquabog, 
 she came upon a collection of posts set in the earth. It was 
 a burial-place, and these were the monuments. Each was 
 ornamented with some significant device. A chiefs was 
 neatly carved with emblematical figures, telling his services 
 or his character. The captain's was painted red, and bore a 
 rude portrait of him who slept below. A physician's was 
 hung with the small tortoise-shells and calabash he had used 
 in his practice. The graves of humble individuals were 
 marked simply with the " totem " of their tribe or family. 
 
 Beside these some old women were digging another grave. 
 This work, too repulsive for the young, was devolved upon 
 them ; and, as the frozen earth yielded slowly to their rude 
 implements, they accompanied their labor with a rise and fall 
 of the voice, doleful and monotonous in the extreme. She
 
 o4 AGNES. 
 
 asked for whom they were at work, and they told her of 
 Shamokin's death, extolling him as a brave warrior, devoted 
 to his nation, and interrupting themselves with shrieks and 
 lamentations. 
 
 The Indians who went in pursuit of Lawson and his party 
 had returned during that day, bringing back the dead body of 
 one of their number, and two others wounded. The escite- 
 ment in the village was intense. Rage and grief struggled for 
 mastery on every face. Not to have taken one prisoner to 
 wreak their vengeance upon was a disappointment too great 
 to be borne, and mingled with regrets for the dead were 
 fierce threats against the living. Immediately after finding 
 him dead, they had dressed Shamokin's corpse in a new suit, 
 with the face and shirt painted red, and laid him on a mat in 
 the centre of the hut. All his implements of war, his gun, 
 his tomahawk, his hatchet, his heavy club studded with iron 
 nails, were brought and laid in a pile on one side, and on the 
 other were placed his clothes, hunting apparatus, and domes 
 tic goods. In the evening, far into the night, and at early 
 morning before daylight, the female relations and friends had 
 assembled to weep and howl over the deceased. 
 
 His interment was to take place that evening, and when 
 Akzie reached the hut where he lay she found it filled with 
 the mournful group. Lawontica was among them. The 
 cries she uttered, longest, shrillest of any, were burdened with 
 the weight of misery in her own soul. She knew not where 
 to turn for relief from the corroding self-reproach she en 
 dured. That Frank and his brother had escaped their pur-
 
 LIFE IN THE LODGES. 349 
 
 suers was small relief, for she knew their fate was but post 
 poned. Tamaque was bound by every tie of honor to avenge 
 the death of his relative; and an Indian never forgets such a 
 claim, though years may elapse before it is accomplished. 
 She had never loved her husband. Now these thoughts were 
 added to the memory of his harsh words and the blows he had 
 given her ; and though in this she had but suffered the usual 
 lot of an Indian woman, her proud spirit rebelled against it 
 none the less bitterly. She realized that by a little patience, 
 a little forgiveness, she might have avoided all this ; and the 
 " law written in her heart," the voice of conscience, told her 
 that her punishment was just. 
 
 Her marriage with Tamaque might indeed be dissolved, 
 for the Iroquois held that tie lightly, and husbands and wives 
 could part and form other unions upon the most trifling pre 
 text, without losing character among their companions. But 
 she could never regain the position she had lost, as a favorite 
 in the family who had been so kind to her, or hope for even a 
 smile of friendship from the man she had loved with such con 
 suming strength of affection. These reflections maddened her, 
 and she broke forth into such wailing cries, that Tamaque, who 
 listened, thought he must have wronged her by his suspicions, 
 and repented of having entertained them. Surely, if she thus 
 mourned for Shamokin, her heart must be true to her nation 
 and to him. 
 
 Later in the evening, the nearest relatives of the dead 
 entered the hut, and took up the mat on which the body lay. 
 Others seized the articles heaped beside him, and thus the 
 30
 
 350 AGNES. 
 
 irregular procession went forth to the grave. The young boys 
 ran along with torches, so that all might see how bravely the 
 corpse was dressed, and the number of his possessions. The 
 women followed at some distance behind. Even his wife was 
 not allowed any particular marks of attention or respect ; for 
 the Delawares, holding, with some modern progressives, that 
 the marriage tie is only binding so long as the parties are 
 pleased with each other, declared " a man's wife was no rela 
 tion to him," and did not allow her any share in the honors 
 of the funeral, or the distribution of the property. 
 
 The shallow grave was lined with pieces of bark, and upon 
 this they lowered the body, with its head towards the east, 
 covering it with one large piece, which had been stripped 
 from a tree and flattened for the purpose. Then the frozen 
 earth was heaped above, and a post set up, painted red, to 
 signify the rank of the deceased. The scene was weird and 
 solemn. Far above their heads, the crests of the hills were 
 relieved in black outlines against the clear darkness of a 
 night-sky, lit by the young moon and her attendant stars. 
 But in the depths of the valley where they stood the 
 shadows seemed to gather more heavily, in contrast with the 
 ghostly, gleaming white of the snow, and the red torch-light. 
 The rites at the grave were conducted in silence, and with 
 much deliberation. But ever and anon, from out the gloom, 
 at a little distance, came the wild wailing of the women, who 
 had paused there, watching the ceremonies in which they had 
 no share. 
 
 When the earth and snow had been packed and smoothed
 
 LIFE IN THE LODGES. 351 
 
 over the opening, and the memorial-post set up, Shamokin's 
 property was divided among his friends, and the strangers 
 present who had assisted at the burial.* From this moment 
 it was proper to forget the dead, and the men went back to 
 the village, and passed the night in drinking and boasting to 
 each other of their achievements in war. 
 
 The women retired more slowly ; and Akzie, after looking 
 among them in vain for Lawontica, returned to the grave, 
 and found her standing beside it. 
 
 She turned at the sound of footsteps near, and, recognizing 
 her visitor, said, sharply, in her native tongue, 
 
 "What! can one never be alone? Always peeking, 
 prying you old woman ! " 
 
 " Maybe so ! " returned Akzie, highly offended. " But the 
 white woman the wolf-manitto, he eat her up." 
 
 Lawontica's tone changed to one of alarm. 
 
 " What you been doing ? " she cried, catching her arm to 
 detain her. Akzie was going away in anger, but a few kind 
 words mollified her temper. She really loved Lawontica, and 
 was- anxious to please her. 
 
 But when she had told of the events of the preceding 
 day, her hearer was much disturbed. She dreaded, not only 
 the magic power of the " wolf-manitto," which she scarcely 
 dared to doubt, but at once realized the danger to which 
 Agnes was exposed, left alone there on the mountain, defence 
 less, against the vengeance of an angry man. She paused 
 not a moment for reproaches, but started away from Akzie, 
 and ran swiftly along the path to the hut.
 
 352 AGNES. 
 
 She found Agnes safe, and sleeping quietly. Fortunately, 
 the sorcerer believed in his own arts, and had deemed it 
 would be more for his honor to employ them, instead of 
 taking other means to punish the stranger. He was prudent 
 too, and waited to know who Agnes might be, and whether it 
 would be safe for him to kill her. That he had been 
 employed to cure her, argued that her life was of some conse 
 quence, and he did not wish to provoke enmity by meddling 
 with the powerful men of his tribe. 
 
 Yet scarcely had Lawontica, actuated by her fears, 
 wrapped Agnes in blankets, and led her a few rods down the 
 path to the village, when the creature, walking like a wolf, 
 approached from an opposite direction, 'and, throwing down 
 the door, looked into the hut. If he had found the girl there 
 alone, there is little doubt what her fate would have been. 
 But she never knew the peril she escaped. When Akzie 
 reached her dwelling it was deserted, cold, and desolate. 
 
 It was midnight before the two women arrived at Lawon- 
 tica's lodge. As they passed the council-house, a bright light 
 shone through the open door, and they caught a glimpse pf 
 two warriors dancing, with fantastic gestures, in the midst of 
 a circle of their comrades. The house was crowded, many 
 of the men were intoxicated, and the confusion indescribable. 
 
 "Drunken dogs! when they go home -they beat their 
 squaw," Lawontica ejaculated in disgust. 
 
 Agnes hurried her on. She felt in as much peril then as 
 when alone upon the mountain. As they came on, she had 
 been told of the capture and escape of her two friends ; and,
 
 LIFE IN THE LODGES. 353 
 
 though Lawontica had assured her she would be in no danger, 
 since she would publicly adopt her into the tribe, the thought 
 of living among men sworn to be revenged on the white race 
 filled her with alarm. 
 
 When they reached the lodge, they saw the firelight from 
 within gleaming along the edge of the curtain before the 
 door. Lawontica pulled it aside hastily, and beheld her hus 
 band sitting by the fire. She half expected he was at the 
 council-house, and it was a relief to find him here. Advanc 
 ing to his side, she held Agnes tightly by the hand ; and when, 
 after an interval of silence, he deemed it consistent with dig 
 nity to look up, she said, briefly, 
 
 " See. Here is the woman the white men came for. 
 Henceforth she is my sister." 
 
 This was all that was necessary. The Indian prided 
 himself almost as much as the Arab does upon observing the 
 rites of hospitality. The stranger, thus adopted into a 
 family, was treated by every member of it, and by all the 
 tribe, as if born of their own people, and his safety was 
 secured so long as no attempt was made to escape. Such an 
 attempt exposed him to instant death, if it proved unsuc 
 cessful, or he was afterwards retaken. 
 
 Late as was the hour, Lawontica then prepared supper, and 
 exerted herself to do honor to her housekeeping. She boiled 
 chestnuts, hominy, and potatoes, and broiled some venison 
 steaks, sprinkling them with salt to improve the flavor. 
 She had a small table of rude manufacture, which she set 
 before Agnes, but Tamaque took his portion upon the bench 
 30*
 
 354 AQNES. 
 
 where he was sitting. For dessert, she had hickory and 
 beech nuts, and delicate cakes of maple-sugar. The repast 
 might have satisfied the most fastidious, for all her utensils 
 were clean and new, and her skill in cooking unimpeachable. 
 
 To please her friend, Agnes ate heartily, though somewhat 
 awed by Tamaque's gloomy silence, and the freezing hauteur 
 with which his wife moved about the cabin. Only when she 
 looked at or addressed Agnes did her brow unbend, or her 
 voice soften. But Tamaque did not seem to notice either of 
 them. When his supper was finished, he smoked his pipe 
 a while, and then retired behind the curtain separating his 
 bed from the rest of the apartment. 
 
 Lawontica prepared in another corner a couch of mats 
 covered by a skin, on which Agnes was glad to lie down. 
 The blankets she 'had worn wrapped her warmly, and, with a 
 sense of comfort and security she had not known since she 
 left the farm-house, she yielded to the pleasing half-slumber 
 that stole over her. But when, rousing now and then, during 
 the night, she lifted up her head to look around, she saw 
 Lawontica sitting on the floor beside the glimmering fire, her 
 head leaned forward on her knees, silent and motionless as a 
 statue. 
 
 After this, some weeks passed without any event of import 
 ance. Agnes' mind was at ease, for Lawontica had promised 
 that in the spring she should be restored to her friends ; yet 
 the time passed wearily. No one in the village insulted or 
 molested her, but she dared not venture out of its precincts, 
 lest she should meet the " wolf-manitto," whose image haunted
 
 LIFE IN THE LODGES. 355 
 
 her. When the snow was not too deep, the men formed hunt 
 ing-parties, which were generally successful, and supplied the 
 lodges with meat. At other times they sauntered along the 
 street, or lounged in their houses, smoking, and telling what 
 they meant to do in company with their brothers, the English, 
 as soon as the opening spring would allow them to go out to 
 war. 
 
 The women brought fagots from the hillside, and water 
 from the brook, and did all the work of housekeeping ; but 
 this, in their simple modes of living, occupied but little time. 
 To Agnes their existence seemed barren and monotonous, and 
 their range of ideas limited in the extreme. As she learned 
 more of their language and employments, this opinion was 
 confirmed. She saw much drunkenness and wrangling, and 
 but little manifestation of affection in most of the families 
 around. The children, indeed, were treated with unlimited 
 indulgence by both parents ; but, except in rare instances, the 
 husbands were tyrants, and the women were slaves. Yet even 
 here force of character asserted its power, and a rude sort of 
 etiquette restrained the natural selfishness of the race. 
 
 Sometimes they had dances, which they seemed to enjoy, 
 although conducted with a gravity inconsistent with amuse 
 ment. Both sexes assembled in the council-house, and first 
 the males, and then the females, performed for the edification 
 of beholders ; moving lightly, with a graceful, even step, 
 forward and backward, until they had completed the circle. 
 But to speak with each other was hardly allowed, and tc 
 laugh or joke was highly disreputable.
 
 856 AGNES. 
 
 
 
 Sometimes Indian preachers entered the village and 
 harangued the multitude, teaching a most absurd melange of 
 doctrines regarding their conduct in the present and their 
 condition in the future state. Those who were troubled about 
 sins already committed they advised to rid themselves of 
 propensities to evil by taking violent emetics, or by whipping 
 themselves severely, to beat the bad spirit out.* 
 
 Lawontica used to carry Agnes to these meetings and 
 dances, and interpret to her whatever she wished to under 
 stand. But she took no part in either, and her face expressed 
 only scorn, indifference, or weariness. She attended to her 
 household duties faithfully ; her lodge was the neatest in the 
 village ; her dress and Tamaque's always in order, and taste 
 fully ornamented, and she never complained of any labor or 
 hardships. But neither reproaches nor caresses from her 
 husband could change her cold, abstracted manner, and even 
 Agnes was at times half afraid of the stern woman, who was 
 so unlike her former self. 
 
 As spring advanced, messages to the chiefs from their 
 comrades in other towns became more frequent, and they 
 began to get their arms ready, and prepare for war. The 
 
 * It is interesting to observe how superstition repeats itself. Some of 
 these Indian preachers advocated polygamy, and declared " it was a 
 charitable and meritorious thing in them, as men living in intimacy with 
 God, to take these poor, ignorant women and lead them in the way to 
 God, and the enjoyment of eternal felicity." See Loskeil's " History of 
 the Mission of the United Brethren," published in 1794. 
 
 Mormonism may, perhaps, claim an earlier date than has been allowed 
 it hitherto.
 
 LIFE IN THE 'LODGES. 357 
 
 Indians seldom went out on hostile expeditions during winter, 
 as their enemies could easily trace them by the tracks in the 
 snow, and retaliate the injuries committed. Lawontica had 
 feared the first expedition would be to the settlement in 
 Jersey where her friends lived ; but those with whom they 
 were allied proposed going in another direction, and they 
 were persuaded to postpone the gratification of private 
 revenge until another season.
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE FOREST PEOPLE. 
 
 IT was one of those bright, warm days of early spring, that 
 are in themselves so fair we forget to thank them for the 
 promise they bring of halycon summer hours. Patches of 
 snow still lay along the uplands and in shady hollows where 
 great drifts had piled, but they were speedily dissolving into 
 streams that hurried singing around the mossy roots of trees, 
 and between verdurous banks, to lose themselves in dells and 
 dingles, soon to be gay with blossoming shrubs and flowers. 
 The sweet face of nature, thus washed after the torpor and 
 defilement of her burial, looked smilingly up to the warm 
 sky, which smiled back upon her through masses of vaporous 
 rose-tinted cloud, and sent messages of hope and congratula 
 tion in fragrant winds, low-breathed and soft, from out the 
 amber west. Amid this wonderful change, this miracle of 
 awakening life, Frank Grey paused upon the* spot where three 
 months before he had crept painfully across the frozen stream 
 to gain the opposite hill. Now the jubilant waters rushed 
 swift and strong down their rocky channel, and he saw it 
 would be vain to attempt a passage at this point. He was
 
 THE FOREST PEOPLE. 359 
 
 foot-sore and weary, and hardly knew in which direction to 
 turn in order to effect his object, and gain the shelter of the 
 cave where Lawson and his party had been hidden. 
 
 He had come from home alone. Accustomed since child 
 hood to track the mazes of the forest, he had no fear of losing 
 his way, or of being unable to sustain life. His only fear was 
 in being discovered by the Indians, arid one person could be 
 concealed better than a number. He knew the Iroquois 
 warriors would probably join the English at the opening of 
 the campaign, and hoped for an opportunity to see Lawontica, 
 and at least learn Agnes' fate. During the tedious hours 
 of illness he had thought over and over again all the particu 
 lars of her disappearance, and the strange demeanor of the 
 Indian girl ; and, however others might waver, he was firm in 
 the belief that, in some unaccountable way, the two were 
 connected. A dim suspicion of Lawontica's motives and 
 feelings at times flashed across his mind, but he laughed at it 
 and put it away, preferring to remain in ignorance rather than 
 accept such a solution of the mystery. 
 
 His brave and chivalrous disposition would have inclined 
 him to persevere until he found Agnes, even had he not loved 
 her; but now his whole life was set on that one purpose with an 
 intensity which banished every other project, and made every 
 opposing motive feeble. 
 
 Percy was now engaged in his military duties at Morris- 
 town, and the aged parents were once more left alone in the 
 farm-house. Yet they did not trouble him with any prophe 
 cies of evil for himself or them ; and his mother the good
 
 360 AGNES. 
 
 mother, who always said the right word at the right mo 
 ment assured him that she had an inward token his journey 
 would be successful. Thus far he had met with no trouble. 
 Insect, bird, and wild creature, the hum and bustle of young, 
 joyous life, flitting, creeping through the underbrush and 
 beneath interwoven boughs, had beguiled his lonely way. He 
 had crossed the rivers and larger streams upon rafts, which 
 were easily constructed, and when he rested had not been 
 afraid to surround himself with all the comforts of a hunter's 
 life. 
 
 But now he was so near the settlements that great care 
 was required to prevent discovery; and, concealing himself in 
 the midst of a thick clump of alders, he tried to recall more 
 distinctly the features of the country in that vicinity, as they 
 had been described to him again and again by Sanoso. The 
 old woman persisted that they wronged her child by their 
 suspicions, and was very anxious to go with Frank to the 
 village, although too infirm for so long a journey. She missed 
 Lawontica sadly, and seemed to have grown suddenly aged 
 since her departure. 
 
 While Frank remained in his covert, there was a rustling 
 of the branches near, and a deer broke through the thicket of 
 bushes and advanced to the edge of the stream. A moment 
 he stood, tossing his antlered head in wanton strength, and 
 pawing with one hoof at the wet pebbles. Then he stooped 
 to drink a little, standing mid-leg deep in the stream ; then 
 turned his head, his delicate ears moving with a quick motion 
 towards the faint sound that reached them, and, with a great
 
 THE FOREST PEOPLE. 
 
 leap, dashed into the foaming waters. He breasted them 
 gallantly, swimming where he lost footing, until he gained the 
 opposite bank, when he laid his horns back upon his neck, and, 
 sniffing the air, with nose erect, plunged into the woods. 
 
 In another moment the thicket was stirred again, with a 
 slower motion, and the cause of the deer's alarm was manifest. 
 A large wolf, moving somewhat awkwardly, Frank thought, 
 came to the margin and seated himself on his haunches. His 
 teeth seemed to be set in a fixed snarl, but he made no noise 
 except a slight panting, as if he was weary. Frank watched 
 his unexpected visitor, apprehensive that if he was discovered 
 the consequences might be rather unpleasant ; but the creature 
 seemed unconscious of his presence. After resting a while, he 
 put up his fore-paws, squirrel-like, and rubbed his jaws. 
 Instantly his mouth opened, the lower jaw falling, and he 
 scooped the water in his paws and threw it into his mouth. 
 
 Frank's eyes opened wide in wonder. He thought he had 
 discovered something new in the natural history of wolves. He 
 was not surprised, after this, to see the animal lift itself on its 
 hind legs, look earnestly up stream, and then, dropping into a 
 natural position, move off in that direction. Frank ventured 
 out far enough to view his course, and was again puzzled to 
 see him, at a certain point, assume an erect posture and ford 
 the stream. 
 
 Pondering upon this strange event, Frank waited some time 
 
 longer, and, hearing nothing more, took advantage of the 
 
 knowledge thus gained, and crossed the brook in the same 
 
 shallow place. He went on slowly, stopping every few mo- 
 
 31
 
 362 AGNES. 
 
 ments to listen ; but no sound of human life broke the wood 
 land silence. When he reached the flat rock above the vil 
 lage, he ventured one peep into the valley. The men were 
 lounging in the sunshine. About the doors of the lodges 
 some women were pursuing their household avocations, and 
 some were washing clothes in the brook. As his eyes were 
 fixed upon Lawontica's lodge, a slight figure came out and sat 
 down under a tree upon the bank of the stream, as if to 
 watch the women at their work. The short Indian dress she 
 wore gave her a childish appearance, but there was no mis 
 taking the bare head with its golden curls. 
 
 It was Agnes, his beloved, his lost one ! Frank came near 
 shouting aloud, in the ecstasy of his joy. But that very joy 
 sobered him the next moment into prudence and caution. He 
 drew back, and hid himself among the trees. 
 
 Some days might elapse before he could speak with her, 
 and, meantime, he must have a safe hiding-place. 
 
 He had little difficulty in finding the cave, for, following 
 an undefined path, he was led directly to the ledge overhang 
 ing its mouth. The vines hanging over the opening were now 
 green with young leaves, and formed a curtain almost imper 
 vious to the light. 
 
 Descending the narrow foothold, he parted the living screen 
 and entered. Everything remained as when he last saw it 
 the dried leaves upon the floor, the belts and strings of wam 
 pum festooned about the low roof. But upon the rock just 
 within the curtain lay ears of corn, a gourd containing hom 
 iny, and a heap of nuts. He did not notice them at first.
 
 THE FOREST PEOPLE. 363 
 
 The sudden change from the light outside made the darkness 
 intense until his eyes became accustomed to the gloom. 
 
 While he hesitated whether he should remain in a spot 
 evidently frequented, if not inhabited, he heard a shuffling 
 footstep approach, and drew back to the extreme corner. 
 What was his surprise to see, instead of any human creature, 
 the same gigantic wolf whose motions had so excited his curi 
 osity ! The animal paused at the entrance, raised itself up, 
 and, holding the vines in its paws, appeared to examine them. 
 Then it handled the food upon the floor, which had been disar 
 ranged by Frank's foot, and, again lifting the vines, held them 
 back so as to let the daylight into the cave, and looked into 
 its recesses. 
 
 Frank had watched the wolf with a mixture of wonder and 
 anxiety that nearly stopped his pulses. In the narrow space 
 a close encounter would scarce fail to be deadly, and Agnes 1 
 deliverance depended upon his life. 
 
 An hour seemed to pass in that brief interval of suspense, 
 and then a sudden growl convinced him he was seen. He 
 had been unwilling to shoot, lest the sound should betray him 
 to the Indians, but now there was no alternative. He sprang 
 up from his crouching posture, fired, and then clubbed his gun 
 to defend himself against the dying struggles of the powerful 
 beast. 
 
 But through the din of the explosion, echoing from the 
 rocky walls, came the cry of a mortal agony ; and when the 
 smoke eddied out from the low opening he saw the wolf's
 
 364 AGNES. 
 
 skin shot away, and a human form, torn and bloody, lay 
 quivering, but dead, upon the floor. 
 
 It was the sorcerer, a more dangerous foe than any savage 
 animal. Frank was utterly bewildered at the revelation, but, 
 thankful for his own escape, drew the body into the darkest 
 corner of the cavern, and determined to remain at least until 
 night before seeking another shelter. He lay down near the 
 entrance, that he might be aware of the approach of any 
 intruder, and satisfied his hunger with the food he found 
 there. 
 
 Several hours passed, during which several Indians came 
 along a path at no great distance, laden with the spoils of a 
 hunting expedition; but none turned towards the cavern. 
 The sun had nearly set, and Frank began to think himself 
 safe for that day, when a few stones rattled down from above, 
 as if some one walked in the path which had brought him 
 thither ; and soon the soft, light fall of a moccasined foot was 
 heard on the narrow ledge, and a woman's form paused before 
 the screen of vines. 
 
 She could not see into the darkness of the cave, though she 
 looked furtively between the leaves; but Frank saw and 
 recognized her at once, and waited to know what she would 
 do. 
 
 She carried in one hand a pouch containing some tobacco, 
 and a pipe of red stone, handsomely carved and ornamented. 
 Over her arm hung strings of purple wampum. After 
 pausing a short time, she said, softly, in the Delaware lan 
 guage,
 
 THE FOREST PEOPLE. . 365 
 
 " Wetcehemend pentamn ! " * 
 
 There was no reply, and she stooped down, raised the end 
 of the trailing vines, and, seeing some one indistinctly, re 
 peated her words, and placed her offering of tobacco on the 
 floor. Without a sound Frank clasped her hands as she with 
 drew it, and held her in that position. 
 
 He could not see the startled expression, first of fear, then 
 of surprise and uncertainty ; but he felt the thrill that ran 
 along her veins, her face was close to his, with only the vines 
 between. She did not attempt to pull her hand away, as he 
 had expected, but, after remaining quiet a moment, turned it 
 slowly in his so as to bring her fingers against his palm. 
 Then she felt along to the wrist. He wore an Indian dress, 
 and she was still in some uncertainty ; but she said, in 
 English, 
 
 "The wolf manitto no here who this be?" 
 
 Frank lifted the screen so as to reveal himself, and, 
 drawing her within the cavern, said, at the same time, 
 
 "It is me, Lawontica. What wonderful chance sent you 
 here just now ? You are the very person I wanted to see." 
 
 She uttered a faint cry, and sat down on the floor, as if 
 seized with a sudden weakness. Then, starting up again, she 
 said, with an eager, frightened air, 
 
 " What you come for ? you no safe anywhere. My 
 people he ve'y mad, 'cause you kill Shamokin. He burn you, 
 cut you, kill you horribly, if he catch you. Go, hide ! 
 Sartin you no safe, they catch you ! " 
 
 * My father, hear ! 
 31*
 
 366 AGNES. 
 
 " I 'm hid safe enough here you won't betray me," said 
 Frank, coolly. 
 
 " But, the wolf-manitto he live here. Tamaque, he see 
 him this morning on the mountain. Maybe he be here soon, 
 then he go tell. Very much he hate white mans." 
 
 " And did you bring him presents ? " 
 
 11 Yes. Me pay him, so he no hurt somebody." 
 
 " He '11 hurt nobody, after this. He 's dead." 
 
 She stared at him, with a frightened face. 
 
 " Yes he 's dead I killed him," repeated Frank. 
 
 " And you 'live, now ! " she exclaimed, in astonishment. 
 
 " Yes why not? He came in here, and I thought it was 
 a wolf when I fired at him. Was he a sorcerer, or a spy ? 
 He deserved to be shot for making such a beast of himself." 
 
 Lawontica groaned, and turned pale with terror. She 
 could not believe that this man's awful and mysterious 
 power had ceased with death, and dreaded the vengeance his 
 spirit would take when it assumed some other form. It was 
 some time before Frank could reassure her, or persuade her 
 that the magic she feared was a cunning delusion. Not even 
 his influence could have kept her there, had she known the 
 dead body was so near. 
 
 When the first fright had abated, other emotions resumed 
 their sway. Frank asked her of Agnes, and learned how she 
 had been situated since her captivity. It had become too 
 dark for him to distinguish her features, but he noticed how 
 cold and hard her voice grew as she talked, and with what 
 angry abruptness she interrupted the thanks he gave her for
 
 THE FOREST PEOPLE. 367 
 
 the kindness she had manifested. He had judged rightly 
 that thanks were, in this instance, more politic than reproaches. 
 
 " No matter," she said, sharply, shrinking away from him, 
 as he tried to take her hand ; "no matter 'bout you lying so. 
 I know you no thank me. You think me steal her 'way from 
 you ! Well, maybe so. Now you come for her, maybe me 
 help you take her back." 
 
 " I shall thank you for that, at any rate, and you can't help 
 yourself," replied Frank, in his own saucy way. What a 
 host of recollections the tone brought to madden her ! 
 
 She could control herself better now than formerly, and, 
 pressing back the tide of thought, answered, calmly, 
 
 " You must do as I say. All 'round here many Indians, 
 he find you. Never he come in here. Ve'y much he 'fraid 
 the wolf-manitto. Only he bring presents, bring wampum, 
 maybe, and pay for ' beson.' You know ' beson ' ? " 
 
 "No. What is it ? " said Frank. 
 
 " Like this," she answered, placing in his hand something 
 she disengaged from her own necklace of silver coins. 
 
 " You take it. Maybe you find something here, you make 
 one like. When they come never he lift the vines he push 
 'em out so you safe." 
 
 " Ah ! " said Frank, " I take it you will have me personate 
 this famous manitto. Good ! I '11 do it. Won't I growl at 
 'em ? That 's a bright thought of yours, Lawontica." 
 
 " You have 'urn skin ? " she asked. 
 
 " I '11 look out for that," he said, carelessly; " but tell me, 
 how long am I to stay in this hole ? "
 
 368 AGNES. 
 
 " One two, maybe seven nights. My people he take up 
 the hatchet his brother say, go fight. Then he go." 
 
 " They 're waiting for orders, are they ? " 
 
 " Yes. When the great chief go, then all go. Then we 
 go to your house. Walk ve'y slow. Agnes, he weak, pale, 
 breathe quick when he walk much. Indian woman, he doctor 
 her. Maybe he get better by-'m-by." 
 
 " It was that cruel journey ! It must have nearly killed 
 her. 0, Lawontica, how could you?" said Frank, bitterly; 
 but she interrupted him. 
 
 " Whoosh ! never you say that any more never ! " and 
 then, in a low, tender tone, added, sighing, " Gasinquinasbox ! '* 
 You speak sharp arrows ! They strike here." 
 
 She seized his hand and laid it against her heart. Frank 
 felt the strong throbbings, and snatched his hand away in 
 some confusion. An awkward silence ensued. It was the 
 first, the last time, in all their intercourse, that love betrayed 
 the proud woman to an acknowledgment of the pangs she 
 suffered. 
 
 Before she had time to recover herself, a shout rang through 
 the woods, as if voices were coming that way. Lawontica 
 rose hastily from her seat on the rock, and let fall the cur 
 tain between herself and Frank. 
 
 The voices came nearer, and two Indians passed, dragging 
 a large deer after them. Lawontica remained motionless as a 
 etatue until they were out of sight. Then, without raising 
 the curtain again, she told Frank that these hunters had 
 
 * 0, the swift arrows !
 
 THE FOREST PEOPLE. 369 
 
 bought a " beson " of the wolf-manitto, to make them suc 
 cessful in the chase, and now they would make a feast in the 
 village, and, perhaps, would bring him some portion of the 
 game ; but that, if he chose to keep within the cave, none 
 would dare intrude, and, if he could imitate the snarl or 
 howling of a wolf, he might avoid speaking to them, and thus 
 his ignorance of their language would not be discovered. He 
 would not be likely to suffer for want of food, since it was 
 so nearly time for the departure of the war-party that an 
 unusual number would visit the cave, to make inquiries about 
 the weather, or obtain other information, which his prophetic 
 powers were supposed to enable him to give. But, she added, 
 
 " Sometime, maybe, me come, too, tell you 'bout when we 
 going." 
 
 " And you '11 bring Agnes with you? " said Frank. 
 
 ' No," she answered, firmly, " she no come. You no see 
 her till we go." 
 
 With these words she left him abruptly; and, since he 
 must perforce submit to her dictation, he resigned himself to 
 make the best of his situation. He scarcely knew the 
 emotion of fear, and the thought of personal danger troubled 
 him very little; but, to his impetuous disposition, being 
 obliged to remain some days, or perhaps weeks, in inaction, 
 was extremely irksome. 
 
 His first care was to dispose of the sorcerer. He had no 
 light, and was therefore obliged to defer the business until 
 morning. H then took the wolf-skin from the body, and, 
 oy way of precaution, dressed himself in it, although the
 
 370 AGNES. 
 
 touch and smell were far from being agreeable. With some 
 difficulty he dragged the corpse to a neighboring thicket, and 
 left it until he found a hollow in the valley, to which he con 
 veyed it, and covered it, as well as he was able, with brush 
 and stones. He had started very early, but the labor was so 
 great, and his motions so slow in his uncouth dress, that the 
 sun was high before he returned, and he met several hunters 
 going out for game. When he saw them, he dropped upon 
 " all fours," and moved his body as he had seen the creature 
 he imitated do the preceding day. If the deception was not 
 perfect, he passed without much scrutiny, and regained the 
 cavern, where he was glad to throw aside the robe, and rest 
 himself for the remainder of the day. 
 
 As had been foretold, he had one or two visitors each day, 
 and carried on quite a trade in charms, of which he found a 
 number hanging around the cave, corresponding to the one 
 Lawontica had left with him. His ingenuity was, at times, 
 severely taxed to understand what they wanted, or to avoid 
 speaking to them in reply to their questions. Fortunately, 
 their reverence for the supposed magician was so great that 
 whatever he did, or failed to do, was submitted to without 
 question. Finding this to be the case, he grew bold, and 
 even imprudent, uttering all sorts of gibbering sounds at 
 times, and, where his limited knowledge of their language 
 made it impossible for him to comprehend them, frightening 
 away his visitors by 'howls, which they interpreted to be of 
 direful import. The matter was so much like a boy's play, 
 that his natural inclination for mischief had full scope, and
 
 THE FOREST PEOPLE. 371 
 
 he rather courted than avoided occasions to perform the part 
 he had assumed. 
 
 Lawontica came occasionally, but her visits were brief. 
 All the sprightliness and fire of her girlhood seemed to have 
 gone out, and over the spent ashes her heart cowered, shiv 
 ering in a freezing atmosphere of troubled care. 
 
 Three weeks passed in this way. Numbers of warriors and 
 chiefs, from other villages, collected ai this rendezvous, 
 together with vagabond whites, who found an Indian life more 
 to their taste than the restraints of civilized society. Agnes 
 was alarmed at their coarse actions and brutal language, and 
 kept close beside Lawontica, accompanying her when she 
 went to collect firewood, or grass and rushes for bedding for 
 the numerous guests. The women of the village had enough 
 to do to provide these. Constant feasting went on in the 
 council-house, for which the young men and boys provided 
 game. Some of the chiefs, indeed, fasted through several 
 days, and watched their dreams, meantime, with great inter 
 est ; but, when they had one which foretold success, they 
 gorged themselves to make up for past abstinence. The 
 valley resounded with the continual discharge of fire-arms, as 
 the men practised shooting at a mark. Even the women 
 shared the excitement, and wrangling and drunkenness 
 abounded on every side. Nothing could be more unlike 
 the grave, simple life Agnes had imagined as characteristic 
 of the forest tribes. 
 
 One afternoon, the two women came down the hillside, 
 Lawontica bearing upon her back a large bundle of fagots,
 
 372 AGNES. 
 
 tied together, and sustained in their place by a leather strap 
 passing across her forehead. Agnes had a smaller bundle, 
 which she carried in her arms. They paused when they 
 reached the edge of the grove, and threw down their burdens, 
 to rest. Agnes sat down beneath a tree, but her companion 
 stood, leaning back her head against the straight stem of a 
 young elm, and, with an expression half sad, half scornful, 
 surveyed the sceneJ>efore her. 
 
 A brisk breeze was blowing. The beams of the declining 
 sun came up the valley in long, slanting rays of yellow radi 
 ance, wherein the few trees scattered here and there upon the 
 level swayed, and quivered, and bent, like a bush fixed in the 
 bed of a sudden torrent, overborne by that flood of glory, and 
 dripping light from all their leaves, to blot out their own 
 shadows. Beating against this golden sheen, arose dark 
 clouds of smoke from a fire which had been kindled in the 
 open space behind the lodges. Near the fire, upon a rude 
 framework, hung the head of a deer, the antlers fixed 
 upright, and the skin stretched out, with the legs appended, 
 dangling in the breeze. It was a " manitto," to which the 
 Indians had offered sacrifices during their feasts, pretending 
 to worship the Great Spirit through this image. Before it 
 some young men were dancing, displaying their agility and 
 strength of muscle by the high leaps and bounds they made. 
 A boy sat on the ground, beating time upon a drum formed 
 of a skin stretched over an old brass kettle. The noise 
 mingled with the shouts of the dancers, and the laughter of a 
 party who stood around two men gambling with dice of
 
 THE FOKEST PEOPLE. 373 
 
 painted stones. Children were running about the street, and 
 women were bringing wood for the evening fire. 
 
 The Indian girl saw it all, but Agnes had fallen into a 
 revery, with her eyes fixed on the ground. She was startled 
 by Lawontica's voice, speaking in a tone of impatience and 
 regret. 
 
 " White man he know more than Indian. Ve'y much he 
 better, 'cause he know more more he know, more he better. 
 But, Indian seems if more he know, more he devil ! 
 Agnes, me sick ! Me live no more with my own peoples. 
 Once me live so long with white mans, me forget 'bout 
 Indians. Me t'ink all ve'y good. Now me know better. 
 Indian, poor fool ! Me no stay here any more." 
 
 " But, your husband Tamaque what will he do ? I 
 know you don't love him, but will he let you go ? " 
 
 Lawontica laughed, bitterly. "He no help himself! He 
 no my friend. What he care? Plenty more squaw 'bout 
 here." 
 
 Agnes was silent. Tamaque, tired of his wife's coldness* 
 had, indeed, seemed lately to care as little for her as she did 
 for him. Returning to the thought always uppermost in her 
 own breast, Agnes asked, 
 
 " When shall we go, Lawontica ? You promised after the 
 planting month you would take me ; and now, see, the green 
 blade is springing up in the corn-field, and yet you say 
 ' wait.' I cannot wait much longer. You don't know how 
 important a few days or weeks may be, and I am strong 
 32
 
 374 AGNES. 
 
 enough now. I have brought all this wood without being 
 tired. Tell me now when may I go ? " 
 
 "How will she find her way? There are bears in the 
 woods," said Lawontica, with a mocking laugh. 
 
 " You will go with me you said you would." 
 
 It was impossible to resist that confiding tone, .and those 
 earnest, beseeching eyes. The dark face grew calm, and even 
 loving in its expression. She drew nearer, and, as she twined 
 Agnes' curls around her fingers, said, softly, 
 
 " Ahkie ! Snow-bird ! No you feel somebody near you, 
 lately ? " 
 
 "Near me? no," answered Agnes, looking around, in a 
 little fear. Lawontica laughed at her mistake. 
 
 " Ah, then you no love him," she said, and proceeded to 
 tell Agnes that Frank was in the vicinity, waiting for the 
 war-feast to be over, and the warriors gone, and then they 
 would set out together on their journey towards home. This 
 arrangement was necessary, since, otherwise, they might be 
 prevented from going, or pursued if they should steal away, 
 and Agnes had only strength to go, slowly and quietly, a few 
 miles each day. 
 
 " And you will go with me? " Agnes asked, when all was 
 explained. 
 
 " Do you want me ? " asked Lawontica, in return, giving 
 her a searching look. 
 
 " 0, yes, indeed Lawontica, you know what I told you 
 you must come with me," said Agnes, and a sudden blush 
 lit her pallid face with new beauty.
 
 THE FOREST PEOPLE. 375 
 
 " Me go too, then," replied her companion, in a grave but 
 decided tone, and, resuming her burden, she went on to the 
 village. Agnes followed close behind her. One or two 
 white men in the crowd were bent upon teasing her ; but she 
 escaped from their profane jests, and gained the shelter of 
 Tamaque's lodge, where they did not find it politic to intrude 
 uninvited. 
 
 The war-feast was to be held that evening, and the ensuing 
 morning the parties set off to join their comrades at Onon- 
 dagua. The near prospect of deliverance from her tedious 
 captivity, and gratitude for the friend who had sought her at 
 such repeated peril of his life, caused her heart to throb with 
 strong emotion. He was so noble, so brave! O, if she 
 could but have loved him ! 
 
 She remained a long time in the quiet of the lodge, the 
 door closed, the noise outside reaching her ear without dis 
 turbing the current of thought flowing through her mind ; 
 flowing idly, unheeded, as a stream that bears flowers or 
 thorn-branches past the gaze of a traveller sitting on its 
 banks, and longing to be across it on the opposite shore. 
 Thus images of the past floated through her revery, but her 
 thoughts took cognizance only of the anxiety of the present, 
 and the uncertainty of the future. Suddenly the door opened, 
 and Tamaque entered. He was half intoxicated, and reeled 
 about the cabin, not seeming to notice her. 
 
 He wore an old pair of trousers, over which was pinned, 
 around the waist, a blanket reaching below his knees, pro 
 fusely ornamented with wampum, feathers, and fox-tails.
 
 376 AGNES. 
 
 His moccasins and leggins were worked to correspond with 
 the blanket. The upper part of his body and his head were 
 entirely naked, and painted one half black and the other red. 
 It was almost impossible to recognize him under this gro 
 tesque mask, and Agnes stole away, half terrified, leaving 
 him to readjust his savage finery. 
 
 He soon appeared again, having adorned his head with a 
 new tuft of eagle-feathers, and drawn a circle of white paint 
 around each eye. He saw Agnes crouching beside Lawontica 
 in the shadow of the hut, and approached her, brandishing 
 his hatchet, as if he intended at least to frighten her. But 
 Lawontica arose and stood between them, waving him off 
 with an imperious gesture, and saying, scornfully, 
 
 " Go away go dance - go eat your brothers ! * Tamaque 
 is a great brave he likes to take a woman's scalp." 
 
 She had spoken in their native tongue, and so rapidly that 
 the sneering words were but half comprehended, or the 
 hatchet might have descended on her own head. He 
 answered, in broken English, for Agnes' benefit, 
 
 " Me no want 'um. Maybe me bring back twenty just 
 like um. You see ! " 
 
 Then, sounding the war-whoop, he sprang away to join the 
 .revellers. 
 
 The saturnalia had now reached its height. A hog and 
 several dogs had been killed, and the raw flesh devoured, the 
 warriors holding up the dripping pieces, and shouting to each 
 
 * An allusion to the hogs and dogs, usually sacrificed at a war-feast. 
 Dog-flesh was supposed to inspire them with valor.
 
 THE JOBEST PEOPLE. 377 
 
 other, "Thus will I chew and eat my enemies." Others 
 seized the heads and bones, swung them in the air, with loud 
 yells, and thrust them into the faces of the circle of specta 
 tors surrounding the group, vaunting the feats of valor they 
 intended to perform. 
 
 Near the frame on which the deer's head was fixed they 
 had erected a pole, painted a brilliant red, and hung with 
 scalps. Around it a space was left a few yards in diameter. 
 Into this the head chief stepped, and commenced reciting 
 hia own warlike deeds, and those of his ancestors. His 
 tones were shrill and monotonous, and at each falling 
 cadence, as he closed his long sentences, he brandished his 
 tomahawk, and cut a deep gash in the pole. One after 
 another followed him, while the drinking, shouting, and 
 whooping, was going on in the crowd outside the circle. 
 After several hours consumed in this way, the warriors all 
 joined in dancing around the pole, yelling, gesticulating 
 furiously, as if possessed by the extremity of rage, threat 
 ening to cut and stab each other, bending their bodies in the 
 most uncouth postures, and appearing, as the lurid firelight 
 shone over their paint and feathers, and the hideous din of 
 fife and drum mingled with their discordant voices, like a 
 band of demons just let loose from the nether world. 
 
 Agnes crouched by the side of her friend, not daring to 
 remain in the hut alone, and unable to turn her eyes from the 
 horrible fascination of the scene before her. Lawontica said 
 but little, and when she did speak her words were full of 
 bitterness. Her coldness for Tamaque had changed into a 
 32*
 
 378 AGNES. 
 
 hate so deep, that she was glad to see him thus brutalize him 
 self, and justify her anger and her scorn. So the long night 
 wore away. 
 
 As morning approached, Puschiis suddenly broke from the 
 throng, and commenced marching towards the other end 
 of the valley, where a path led off into the woods towards 
 the north. His chiefs followed in single file, and when 
 the village was left behind they paused, fired their guns 
 into the air, and began the war-song, marching again as 
 they sung. This was the signal of their final departure. 
 They had dressed and armed themselves completely for the 
 expedition the preceding evening, and now set out, without 
 taking any rest, after the excessive exercise of the war-dance. 
 
 The women of the village ran on in disorderly groups, 
 carrying the bags of " citamon," a mixture of pounded Indian 
 corn and maple-sugar, which was the only food they took in 
 :their war-parties, the forest supplying them with meat. The 
 young men only waited to gather the bones left from the feast 
 and throw them into the fire, that the dogs might not get 
 them. 
 
 As Agnes saw this abrupt termination of the revels, she 
 asked, with surprise, 
 
 " Do the women go to war, too? " 
 
 " They go a little way. Then, after one night, they come 
 back. I must go, too," said Lawontica, rising and taking up 
 the citamon she had prepared for her husband. 
 
 " You ? 0, Lawontica ! and leave me alone ? " exclaimed 
 Agnes, seizing her hand.
 
 THE FOREST PEOPLE. 379 
 
 " You no be frightened, snow-bird ! " said the Indian 
 woman, in a softer tone, as she gazed upon that uplifted 
 face. " Nobody be left here to hurt you only some old 
 squaw and some sick. Rest all gone. Me go. Me see 
 Tamaque once more. When he come back he no find me 
 here. Maybe he angly then. Think white mans cally me 
 off go kill somebody, maybe. Now me see him. Me tell 
 him 'bout it." 
 
 " What will you tell him ? " 
 
 " Me say, When me young girl, you say, me be your 
 squaw never you dlink lum, 'cause it steal away your think ; 
 never you beat me, never you speak bad word ; always you 
 ve'y kind, 'cause you love me so much. Now you dlink, one, 
 two, five time ; now you speak me bad, you no care for me. 
 I no live with you. You get 'nother squaw. I go 'way, and 
 you no find me." 
 
 " Where are you going? " asked Agnes. " He can surely 
 find you, if you live with us." 
 
 Lawontica heaved a deep breath, and looked up to the 
 stars, now slowly fading in the gray of dawn. 
 
 " The Great Spirit is good," she said. " He will take care 
 of his child. When she lives again he will make her a bird, 
 maybe, that she t may have a glad heart, and sing all day." 
 
 Agnes but half understood the meaning of these words. 
 
 " God will take care of us both, I hope," she said, doubt 
 fully, adding, "but now, just now, Lawontica, what do you 
 mean to do ? Will he not guess where you are going, and 
 follow us ? "
 
 380 AGNES. 
 
 " Tamaque is a great brave. Will he leave the war-trail 
 to look after two women? No, Agnes. Me tell him how 
 me go 'way not with white man. White man, Indian, all 
 one bad to Lawontica ! " 
 
 She sighed as she spoke, and, bidding Agnes have no fear 
 of harm, advised her to go into the lodge and sleep all day, 
 that she might be ready for the journey they were to com 
 mence on the morrow. Then, taking her bag of food, she 
 went after the crowd, who were now out of sight, although 
 the notes of the war-song could still be heard.
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE SNOW-BIKD FLIES HOME. 
 
 IN his cave upon the mountain Frank Grey heard the 
 mingled noises of the war-dance, and, though the feasting of 
 the preceding week, described to him by Lawontica in her 
 visits, had given him some idea of what Indian ceremonies 
 might be, he could hardly tell the meaning of the increased 
 din, or of the unusual silence that followed when the war- 
 party had withdrawn. 
 
 Lawontica had given him a strict charge not to venture out 
 of the cave in the daytime. His disguise might suffice in the 
 dim light in which he was seen by those who sought him 
 there ; but his imitations of the real wolf-manitto must neces 
 sarily be imperfect, and, the change once suspected, his life 
 was not safe a moment. In spite of this, he could not at day 
 break leave the overhanging shelf of rock from whence he 
 had looked down upon the village through the last hours of 
 night. By the firelight he could see the savage dancers, and 
 all others who came and went within the circle of its radiance, 
 but into the deep shadows around his glance could not pene 
 trate. When the warriors marched away he felt a moment-
 
 382 A Q N E 8 . 
 
 ary relief; but his surprise at seeing the women follow after 
 was mingled with a slight fear that Lawontica might again 
 be false, and place Agnes out of his reach. Ensconced behind 
 the large rocks upon the verge of the precipice, he waited 
 until daylight showed him the village deserted of its inhabit 
 ants. The few who remained, and Agnes among the rest, 
 had retired to obtain the repose which the noise of the war- 
 feast had rendered impossible during the night. No smoke 
 ascended from the lodges, and no one was seen in the streets 
 for several hours. 
 
 In his impatience he would at once have descended to the 
 lodges; but the stream, as it skirted the base of the mountain, 
 was too deep for fording, and he knew it would be impossible 
 to swim in the uncomfortable constraint of his wolf-skin robe. 
 There was a ford, lower down, where the valley widened ; but 
 of this he was ignorant, and anxiety had nearly overcome the 
 last reserves of prudence, and determined him to throw off his 
 disguise, swim the stream, and ascertain if Agnes were really 
 there, when, as he reached the bank, he spied a canoe snugly 
 moored among some rushes. To enter it and paddle to the 
 other side was the work of but a few moments. Then, assum 
 ing the most wolfish gait he could remember, he passed slowly 
 along towards the lodge. 
 
 A few children playing in the sand, and some women lying 
 in the doors of their wigwams, saw the dreaded creature 
 immediately, and looked with a trembling curiosity to know 
 what the unwonted visit might portend. Thus unmolested 
 he reached Lawontica's lodge. Agnes had just risen from her
 
 THE SNOW-BIBD FLIES HOME. 383 
 
 couch after a prolonged slumber, and when the well-remem 
 bered wolf's head looked in the open doorway, she could not 
 repress a scream of terror. She knew it was not the thing 
 she feared, but the old recollection was too powerful to be 
 overcome at once by a later knowledge. The women, who had 
 cautiously followed, at a little distance, heard her scream, and 
 shrank back in alarm. 
 
 " Don't be afraid, little Red Riding-Hood, I won't eat you 
 up ; for I an't your grandmother, though I am a wolf," said 
 Frank, in his own cheery voice. 
 
 It sounded strangely through those savage jaws. Agnes 
 laughed, involuntarily, but at the same time she exclaimed, 
 
 " For heaven's sake, don't talk English ! They will recog 
 nize it, though they don't understand it, and suspect who you 
 are. Why did you come ? You are in danger here." 
 
 " Not if you will keep on wringing your hands, and looking 
 so much as if you were scared out of your senses. See how 
 frightened those women look, merely to see you." 
 
 As he spoke, he turned his head slowly, gnashing his wolf- 
 jaws at the squaws behind him. Then, rising on his feet, he 
 pawed the air a few moments, and then curled himself down 
 inside the door. 
 
 " That was well done," he continued, quite enjoying the fun 
 of his novel situation. " It served a double purpose, to let 
 my brains run down into my heels once more, and keep those 
 beauties from coming near enough to hear us talk. You seem 
 to be quite comfortable here, Agnea. Upon my word, this is 
 a very decent house."
 
 384 AGNES. 
 
 " How can you run on so ? Suppose they should hear you, 
 they would know you wasn't an Indian," said Agnes, 
 anxiously. 
 
 " Why so ? Don't wolves talk English ? If you '11 tell me 
 the wolf for < I 'm thankful to see you once more, and to find 
 you safe and well,' I '11 say it over and over again to you, 
 Agnes. If you don't, you must let me say it in my native 
 tongue Here, you ! " 
 
 He interrupted himself to make a little sortie at the women 
 and children gathering nearer, and when his howls and ges 
 tures had driven them back, exclaimed, 
 
 "There, that was well done! Don't you think I must 
 have been a wolf in some former state of existence ? " 
 
 "I'm sorry not to be complimentary, but you don't howl in 
 the least like a wolf," replied Agnes, laughing nervously. 
 " I Ve listened to them many a time this winter, in stormy 
 nights. 0, it is awful to hear them ! " 
 
 " Well, if I an't perfect, it is the best I can do, and ' angels 
 can no more,' as Percy says, I doubt if they could hardly 
 so much ! Where has Lawontica gone ? I thought she had 
 carried you off again, and that was the reason I ventured 
 here. Not much of a venture, after all, with only these few 
 old women to see me." 
 
 " But the young men may return at any time, and they 
 would not be so easily deceived. Indeed, Frank, you are 
 not safe," said Agnes, earnestly. 
 
 " I don't care if I an't. I 'm happy, and that 'a better. 
 Sit here, where that old squaw peeking in the window oan't
 
 THE SNOW-BIKD FLIES HOME. 385 
 
 gee you so plainly, and wring your hands once in a while, and 
 look frightened. Then we 're safe enough. Now tell me 
 about yourself. Have you been here all winter ? Somehow, 
 I could never make Lawontica talk about you." 
 
 " Here she comes, now, sooner than she said," cried Agnes, 
 and in another moment Lawontica came to the lodge with a 
 slow and weary step. 
 
 She had overtaken the groups who followed the war 
 riors, and gone with them until, after a few miles, they 
 halted to rest. This was their custom when setting out on a 
 long journey. After their fatigue was abated, the feasting 
 and dancing of the preceding night were renewed, and con 
 tinued to a late hour. Then those who accompanied them 
 returned home, and the next morning the war-party went 
 forward to their place of destination. Lawontica had taken 
 advantage of this interval of quiet to have the interview she 
 wished with Tamaque. The moment was ill-chosen, if she had 
 any lingering wish to touch his heart. Weary and half 
 intoxicated, he listened in sulky indifference, and turned his 
 back upon her when she had done. She waited for no further 
 repulse, but left him, and retraced her steps to the village. 
 As she approached the lodge, her quick eye caught a glimpse 
 of the wolf-skin, and at once divined the truth. 
 
 She paused at the door with well-feigned reverence, and, 
 taking from her neck a string of wampum, laid it on the 
 ground. Frank clawed it up, as he supposed he was expected 
 to do. The old women looking on began to make remarks 
 that showed their suspicions were not yet aroused, and Lawon-
 
 386 AGNES. 
 
 tica, with ready wit, devised a plan to profit by their igno 
 rance and superstition. 
 
 Approaching nearer, and speaking low, she said, 
 
 " S'pose 'urn you wolf-manitto, you one great man ve'y 
 strong. S'pose you look at me, I no look away. S'pose you 
 say me go with you, then me go. Me have no power not to 
 nobody able to hold me, 'cause your eye so strong. Now 
 this the best time to go. To-night the boys come home, and 
 the young men. Maybe they say me no go. S'pose 'um you 
 go out and we go after now." 
 
 Frank caught eagerly at the idea. A few more words 
 perfected the plan. She busied herself in preparing food, 
 part of which she laid before her guest, who ate it in the 
 presence of spectators with all the gravity becoming a wolf- 
 manitto, and as much of comfort as was consistent with that 
 character. The two women then ate their supper, and before 
 they had finished the wolf-manitto suddenly arose, pawed the 
 air, and howled direfully. Lawontica acted her part well, 
 and Agnes went beside her, too really frightened, lest they 
 should be stopped or suspected, to need to put on the show of 
 fear. Frank walked before, turning occasionally, raising 
 himself up, howling and gesticulating towards them ; and they 
 followed with slow, reluctant steps, as if drawn on by some 
 power superior to their own will. Thus they gained the 
 canoe, and were paddled across the stream. A few steps on 
 the opposite bank carried them within the shelter of the 
 trees. 
 
 The frightened women who looked on thought them under
 
 THE SNOW-BIKD FLIES HOME. 387 
 
 the spell of the sorcerer, and dared not interfere. Their 
 abrupt departure, without the slightest apparent preparation, 
 forbade the idea of a voluntary act ; and, as they were never 
 seen again, their fate passed into a tradition. To the latest 
 generations of Delawares, stories were told of the powerful 
 sorcerer who lived among the hills, who could assume any 
 form he chose, and had power to compel any one to follow 
 him by merely casting upon them a glance of his terrible 
 eyes. And many a moralizing old Indian, crooning out his 
 tales by the lodge-fire on a winter night, has related the 
 history of the haughty maiden, who, because she was too 
 proud to fulfil the lowly duties of her sex, was thus charmed 
 away and miserably destroyed. 
 
 Lawontica might have treated her captive with any degree 
 of indulgence, so long as she retained her among the tribe ; 
 but, knowing she would meet with opposition, if now, in time 
 of war, she attempted to restore Agnes to her friends, she had 
 intended to leave the village simply as if going out for a brief 
 absence. Thus she had previously conveyed to the cave some 
 bags of citamon, and a few articles indispensable for the com 
 fort of their journey. 
 
 When they reached the cavern, these were hastily made 
 into two bundles, Frank taking one, and Lawoutica the other. 
 The wolf-skin robe he had gladly thrown off on reaching the 
 shelter of the woods, and, having secreted it in a crevice of 
 the rocks, he shouldered his gun and led the way along the 
 path by which he had come from the white settlements. 
 
 They walked fast until it was too dark to see their way,
 
 388 AQNES. 
 
 and arose early the next morning ; but, as the day advanced, 
 the fear of pursuit gradually left them, and they went on more 
 slowly, and encamped early to rest. After this the journey 
 was more like a pleasure excursion than like the flight of 
 prisoners. The war had taken all the hunters and warriors 
 in another direction, and the primeval forest through which 
 their path lay was as free from danger as if no turbulent 
 human life had ever disturbed the quiet of its glades. 
 
 The weather was delightful. It was the last week in May, 
 and the queen of months had been profuse in adorning her fair 
 domain, the earth. Blossoming shrubs leaned out from the 
 thickets towards the open sunlit spots, and the dark banks of 
 moss and the leaf-strewn ground were starred with flowers. 
 Delicate vines and pale-green lichens covered the broken 
 stumps and fallen trees, and through the full-leaved branches 
 above came down a clear, soft light, that was neither sunshine 
 nor shadow, but seemed woven of both. 
 
 The woods were full of fragrance and sound. Morning and 
 evening the birds led forth their young upon the branches, 
 singing and twittering in an ecstasy of parental joy. Squir 
 rels and hares started up from the turf, or ran across the 
 path, with broods of tiny blind creatures following, to be 
 pushed or pulled over stump and rock, and hidden safely 
 from the intruding footsteps. Sometimes a deer broke out of 
 the covert, and stood staring at them an instant with his large 
 brown eyes, before he dashed away. Now and then a fox 
 came in sight ; or a rustling of the bushes, and some strange 
 odor, startled them with the fear of more savage animals ;
 
 THE SNOW-BIRD FLIES HOME. 389 
 
 but no accident occurred to mar their pleasure. The springs 
 gushing everywhere supplied them with water, the citamon- 
 bags furnished bread, and Frank's gun provided more sub 
 stantial food. When they were weary they stopped to rest, 
 and at evening a fire was kindled, branches were cut down 
 for beds, and a rude hut constructed, in which the women 
 slept, while Frank, wrapped in. his blanket, lay beside the fire 
 and kept it burning until morning. 
 
 Frank's elastic spirits, rebounding from the depression they 
 had endured, found occasion for merriment in all the various 
 incidents of their journey ; and, as Agnes had much to ask, 
 and he to tell, of what had transpired during her absence, 
 there was no lack of conversation. Yet the silent one of the 
 party, Lawontica, who watched them both with eyes sharp 
 ened by love and sorrow, read many a thought which was 
 unspoken, many a deep feeling that found utterance only in 
 trifling words. 
 
 One evening they built their fire upon the shore of a pond, 
 about twenty miles from Morristown. The next day would 
 bring them to the close of their journey, and the knowledge, 
 bringing with it thoughts and purposes which had been for a 
 while laid aside, casting upon them again the burden of social 
 life, and ending these careless, pleasant hours, made them 
 unusually quiet. 
 
 Their encampment was upon a little mound, two or three 
 
 rods from the shore of the pond. Behind them a tangled 
 
 heap of fallen trees, through which young trees, in their turn, 
 
 were growing, formed a barricade against the forest, while 
 
 33*
 
 390 AGNES. 
 
 around large elms and maples stood in a circle. Several light 
 showers had fallen during the afternoon, and the night was 
 misty and intensely dark. A fire kindled in the centre of 
 the little opening had no power to pierce or illumine the 
 shadows that seemed to stand solid and palpable, like a wall, 
 around. From it the trunks of the trees came out in alto 
 relievo, and the arching branches and white under-surfaces of 
 the leaves, revealed as one looked upward, were like rafters 
 and corbels richly carved to support a roof of ebony. 
 
 Frank, who came up from the shore, which he had been 
 pacing in a restless mood, paused before he entered the lighted 
 circle, that he might gaze unreproved upon the face he loved. 
 Agnes, leaning upon her elbow, lay half within and half with 
 out the little hut of saplings where their bed had been made. 
 The ruddy gleam, shining over her, tinged her pale cheek, and 
 turned her golden hair to brown. Never before or after did 
 she look to him so beautiful ; never did his impetuous heart so 
 yearn for the fulfilment of hopes it had dared to cherish. 
 
 While he looked, Lawontica, who sat beside the fire, sud 
 denly lifted her head, and, after a scrutinizing glance around, 
 as if to assure herself they were alone, said, 
 
 " Snow-bird, you know what you tell me, that night I take 
 you from old Akzie ? " 
 
 Agnes started, and half arose from her reclining posture. 
 
 " Hush ! What of it ? " she asked, breathlessly. 
 
 " You tell it me one time after ; was it true ? " 
 
 Agnes nodded assent. 
 
 "Did you tell Flank?"
 
 THE SNOW-BIRD FLIES HOME. 391 
 
 "Tell him? No I Why?" 
 
 " Maybe you tell him, he no look at you so much, he no 
 ache so bad here." She beat her hands against her bosom, 
 as she spoke, and the gesture gave power to her words. 
 
 Agnes colored violently, and then gre# pale as death. 
 
 " There was a reason," she said, hesitatingly. " My whole 
 happiness, my whole hope, might depend upon being able to 
 say I had kept this secret till the time came when another 
 might reveal it ; or, if that could never be, the life or death 
 of another might depend upon this secret dying with me 
 Lawontica, do you think I ought to. tell him ? " 
 
 The Indian woman regarded her scornfully. 
 
 " Then you no care, s'pose 'um he feel bad ? " 
 
 Agnes was silent a moment, and her white face quivered 
 with the rush of painful feeling. 
 
 " 0," she exclaimed, " what a price we pay for loving ! 
 What slaves we are we women to the will of the one 
 beloved ! We are ready to check our best impulses, to call 
 evil good and good evil, rather than risk the happiness which 
 is our life ! " 
 
 Then, as she met Lawontica's look of surprise, she added, 
 more calmly, 
 
 " He will know all soon too soon. To-morrow, perhaps. 
 or the next day, will decide my fate. Frank is noble-hearted 
 and good. When he knows I am " 
 
 " Stop ! " he interrupted, leaning forward from the shadow 
 where he had stood, as if spell-bound, listening, half uncon- 
 eciously, craving, not to know the fatal secret, but to learn if
 
 392 A G N E 8 . 
 
 in any case, under any circumstances, there was love in her 
 heart for him. 
 
 " Stop, Agnes ! What you have said has revealed nothing, 
 and I am glad of it. Do not trouble yourself for me. The 
 pain I have borne I flan still bear, and God forbid that for 
 my sake you should add one moment of sorrow to your own 
 life ! " 
 
 He drew back into the shadow, and was about to turn 
 away, when Lawontica recalled him. She had risen slowly 
 while he was speaking, and now stood erect, with her arms 
 folded over her breast, her head thrown back, looking not at 
 him nor at Agnes, but into the darkness beyond, whence came 
 the wail of the night- wind, and the ceaseless dash of the 
 waves upon the pebbled shore. Her voice was cold and her 
 face calm, but her keen black eyes burned like fire, and some 
 thing of repressed excitement in her manner supplied the 
 emotion she forbade her lips to utter. 
 
 " I see the end of the trail," she said. " The way is not 
 long. One sun can finish it. Good. You no want Lawon 
 tica any more. To-moller she go, and you no see her no 
 more." 
 
 "Why, what is this?" replied Frank, as she paused. 
 " You must come to the farm with us. My mother will be 
 glad to see you, and old Sanoso was there when I left home. 
 They will all thank you for helping Agnes back again." 
 
 She smiled incredulously, shook her head, and said, 
 
 " Who set a trap to catch the snow-bird ? " 
 
 " We don't know," replied Frank, adopting her figurative
 
 THE SNOW-BIRD FLIES HOME. 393 
 
 language. " We only know who made the cage warm, and 
 the bird safe, and, when summer came, opened the doors that 
 she might fly." 
 
 Lawontica looked pleased, but she simply repeated, 
 
 " There is no more need of the Indian woman. She will 
 go away." 
 
 " You know we want you," said Agnes, reproachfully ; 
 " and Sanoso expects you too the poor old woman ! Why 
 will you disappoint us all ? Where can you go, if you leave 
 us ? You say you will never return to your husband." 
 
 " The Great Spirit is good. He will do what is best with 
 Lawontica. She is not afraid to go to him. It is better than 
 to stay here." 
 
 Her low, quiet voice was awful to hear, as she said these 
 words. Frank had been told that the Monsey Indians, a 
 tribe of the Delawares, were in the frequent habit of using 
 poison, both to rid themselves of their enemies, and to put an 
 end to their own existence in moments of disappointment or 
 grief. But he hardly knew to what an extent the practice 
 had been adopted by the other tribes, and, though the idea 
 crossed his mind, he could scarcely believe this to be her 
 meaning. Yet he replied, gravely, 
 
 " The Great Spirit is angry with those who take life, 
 except in self-defence. Surely you do not mean to chew 
 that poisonous root which I have heard your people sometimes 
 use ? " 
 
 " The Great Spirit made it. He show 'um his red chil 
 dren where it grow. He know sometimes they want ve'y
 
 394 AGNES. 
 
 * 
 
 much come to him when he busy and not hear 'um cry, so 
 he show 'um how the door open. S'pose 'um I open the 
 door, I go into the happy land. No white man there. 
 White man's heaven great way off. Never he trouble Indian 
 there." 
 
 " Do you really think you will go to the happy land, if 
 you kill yourself?" asked Agnes, in a tone strangely made 
 up of fear and longing. 
 
 "Yes, me go there. Maybe me stay, maybe me come 
 back. Take some other form, live a new life. Never trouble 
 any more 'bout this old life me throw away." 
 
 " You are wild, Lawontica. You must not talk so," said 
 Frank, earnestly. " If you are weary of life, it is because 
 you do not understand the true sources of enjoyment. Come 
 and live with Sanoso in the pleasant valley, and let my 
 mother teach you to read, and to live like a Christian 
 woman. You have no right to end your days, if you are 
 tired of them. But I take this matter too seriously. You 
 cannot mean what you have said." 
 
 A bitter, scornful smile passed over her face, and for an 
 instant the smothered flame broke out. 
 
 " Lawontica will not be a Christian never ! Never 
 oil and water mix. Always white man hold his head high, 
 and trample on poor Indian. Many my people, they take 
 the white man's God, they learn books, they live like the 
 Great Spirit had not made them Indian. What good? 
 White man burn their town, drive them way off to the 
 Bunset. Lawontica will not have the white man's God!
 
 TUB SNOW-BIRD FLIES HOME. 395 
 
 
 
 The Great Spirit made her Indian. He know what is good 
 for Indian. Lawontica is not afraid to go to him." 
 
 She sat down again by the fire, turning herself a little 
 from them, to signify the discussion was ended. In vain 
 they employed argument and entreaty to obtain from her 
 a promise to forego her purpose. She said little more, but 
 after a time went into the tent of boughs and lay down, as 
 if to sleep. Agnes followed and lay down beside her, clasp 
 ing her arms closely around her neck, that she might be 
 sure to' wake if Lawontica stirred. Many thoughts excited 
 her, and drove away sleep. She listened long to the wind, 
 rising and falling in mournful cadences, as it swept over the 
 lake into the forest ; to the clanging cry of the loon, and the 
 lapping of the waters against the beach with a sound like the 
 whisperings and the muffled tread of an approaching multi 
 tude. By her side the Indian woman breathed calm and 
 softly, as if in deep repose. 
 
 Before daylight Agnes aroused from what seemed but a 
 moment of forgetfulness, to find herself alone. She lifted her 
 head from the rude pillow, and her cry of dismay awoke 
 Frank from his slumber by the fire. Lawontica was nowhere 
 to be seen. They called her, and only the echoes from the 
 woods replied. " As she had chosen to leave them thus, each 
 felt it would be in vain to seek her ; and slowly and reluct 
 antly, often pausing to listen and look back, with many a 
 comment suggested alike by hope and fear concerning her, 
 they pursued their journey to Morristown.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE KEY IN THE LOCK. 
 
 IN the complication of human affairs there is nothing more 
 singular than the way in which persons apparently discon 
 nected are, by a long series of events, that seem to have no 
 bearing upon their ultimate destiny, brought together at cer 
 tain times and places, where each is, in the highest sense, 
 indispensable to the other. Chance never produced combina 
 tions so evidently the result of an intelligent design ; and 
 one who looks thoughtfully at the course of life recognizes 
 a superior power controlling actions meant to be independent, 
 and regulating according to His own will the motions of 
 beings who fancy themselves free to will and to do as they 
 please. 
 
 At the same hour Frank and Agnes approached Morris- 
 town, travellers from another direction drove up to the 
 tavern there. It was a day to tempt one out of doors, and 
 the " stoop," along the shady side of the house, was filled with 
 loungers, who used the loungers' self-elected privilege to stare 
 at the new comers. The vehicle was nothing more ostenta 
 tious than a farmer's heavy, yellow-painted wagon, and the
 
 THE KEY IN THE LOCK. 397 
 
 jaded and dusty horses told by their reeking sides of the 
 heavy and sandy roads over which they had passed ; but the 
 driver, a jaunty-looking colored boy, made a futile attempt to 
 excite them into a gallop, that he might make a sensation 
 along the village street, and draw up in style before the 
 tavern door. In truth, Juniper for it was no other felt 
 himself very much aggrieved at being compelled to drive an 
 equipage so little in accordance with what he conceived to be 
 the dignity of the Chester family. But the coach-horses 
 were too valuable to risk in the frail ferry-boat which trans 
 ported travellers across the river, or to leave in a city subject 
 to martial law, and exposed to the chances of war. There 
 fore they had reluctantly been sold, together with the house 
 on Broadway and its furniture, and Mr. Chester left New 
 York with a determination never again to reside within its 
 limits. From the Indian depredations they had feared in 
 their country home he might protect himself; but who could 
 save him or his daughter from the cunning of the bad man 
 who had held over them such fearful power, if he found them 
 in the city on his return ? 
 
 Except when tidings came of Col. Stanley's wound, and the 
 dangerous and prolonged illness that followed, Evelyn and 
 her father had held little conversation respecting him. Mr. 
 Chester well knew how her delicate sense of honor made her 
 shrink from violating her promise, but his more worldly ideas 
 joined with his deep affection in persuading him that a vow 
 so extorted possessed no moral power. In any event, it was 
 safer that, meeting under such circumstances, they should 
 34
 
 398 AGNES. 
 
 meet, if possible, upon equal ground ; and, hearing that Col. 
 Stanley, being now convalescent, was about to be exchanged 
 for an American officer, he hastened his preparations for 
 removal, that the ultima ratio might no longer remain in his 
 enemy's hands. 
 
 With quiet gladness Evelyn had yielded to his wishes. 
 In the depths of her own sad heart she knew that only one 
 thing could release her from the obligation she had assumed, 
 and of that she had no expectation ; yet she was pleased to 
 return to her old home, if but for a short time, and to be 
 sure that her father was safe from harm ; and a certain pride 
 and dignity in her nature made her prefer, since she must be 
 immolated, to approach the altar as a victim self-constrained 
 to the sacrifice, rather than to be forced there by the iron will 
 of another. 
 
 A character like hers, so strong, so equipoised upon loftiest 
 principles, so moved by purest emotions, secures its possessor 
 from being made wholly miserable by the darkest fate ; and 
 in the months that followed the great struggle and crisis of 
 her life there was little to indicate the storm she had endured. 
 The secret lay heavy in her soul, but could not cloud her 
 brow. Perhaps she was more quiet, and when she spoke her 
 voice took a lower tone; but she was not less cheerful, less 
 thoughtful of others, less devoted to the minute cares that 
 make up the sum of daily comfort, than in her happiest 
 days. Yet her father grew almost impatient at this reticence, 
 against which he could not argue ; and, nervous beneath the 
 weight of his own vacillating purposes, half resented the
 
 THE KEY IN THE LOCK. 899 
 
 firmness, by which in some unaccountable manner she seemed 
 to have passed from under his control. Even in her stature 
 she appeared to have grown taller and more womanly than 
 before. He could no longer feel that she was his "little 
 girl ; " and there had never been so few confidential hours, so 
 scanty an amount of home comfort between them, as in the 
 winter succeeding the event which should have united them 
 more closely than ever. 
 
 Fortunately, Evelyn was hardly conscious of this. The 
 strong patience wherewith she had clothed herself shielded 
 her from the touch of minor discomforts. It was as if her 
 soul her proper existence had gone forward to a certain 
 point, whereto she was borne slowly and steadily on by each 
 revolving day the moment when she should meet Col. 
 Stanley, and receive her destiny from his lips. 
 
 Thus it was with an excitement suppressed, yet scarcely 
 controllable, that these two rode through the street of the 
 little town. Evelyn muffled her shawl about her, and con 
 cealed her face behind a thick veil, that she might not meet a 
 casual glance; while Mr. Chester looked eagerly around, in 
 "hope to recognize the man upon whose efficient aid he relied 
 in bringing his daughter " to her senses." 
 
 "Beside these, there was a fourth person in the wagon, whose 
 buxom face peered from the depths of an immense bonnet of 
 Dunstable straw, set in a formidable array of muslin cap- 
 border, plaited and crimped. She grasped the side of the 
 jolting carriage, and leaned over, at the imminent risk of 
 falling, to gain an earlier view of some one standing in the
 
 400 A N E S . 
 
 open doorway, as they passed with a flourish executed in 
 Jumper's grandest manner ; and, when the horses were 
 stopped, after a break-neck curve, and backing of the wheels, 
 to admit of an easier descent, she scrambled down, utterly 
 regardless of etiquette, and, running up the steps, precipitated 
 herself upon the neck of the astonished youth, exclaiming, 
 
 " 0, Jem, Jem ! to think, arter all, you been and fit agin' 
 yer lawful king ! " 
 
 " Why, marm ! is this you ? I han't, now ! " urged Jem, 
 struggling to free himself from her affectionate embrace, after 
 having returned it somewhat awkwardly, in the consciousness 
 of twenty eyes attracted that way. 
 
 "0, Jem, don't lie now, that's a good boy! An' this 
 here blessed war, that they 've been a prayin' for in all the 
 churches to think you 've gone an' took the wrong side on 't 
 and sich good wage as you was a gettin', too ! " 
 
 "Why, marm, I han't, I tell you. I jes' been stayin' 
 round, waitin'. I 'm a valley, now, for the Major you 
 know Major Grey I 'm his valley ! " 
 
 " His valley ! I think he better valley you. Your work 
 is worth consid'able. What wage does you get ? " 
 
 " Well, we an't pertic'lar 'bout that, cause you see how 
 the Major is out o' pocket, jest now." 
 
 " An't pertic'lar 'bout the wage ! " exclaimed Mrs. Hender 
 son, releasing his neck, that she might hold up both hands in 
 horror. " What pays your board, then ? how do you live ? " 
 
 " I forages for him, and that does for board an' lodgin'. 
 We eats ourselves when we don't get rations, but most o'
 
 THE KEY IN THE LOCK. 401 
 
 times the rations eats us, and I camps down on a blanket 
 before the fire in his room." 
 
 " My soul ! " exclaimed the widow, " six good feather- 
 beds at home, an' you sleepin' on the floor! O, Jem, Jem! 
 that 's all 'long o' fightin' "agin yer lawful king ! " and again 
 she precipitated herself on his neck, in a paroxysm of emotion. 
 
 " Don't, marm ! you choke me," gasped Jem, quite red in 
 the face. 
 
 "0, come home, Jem come home with me! This here 
 blessed war it '11 be the makin' o' us, if you '11 only come 
 home, an' get a good place like that you had to the jail ! I 
 left the shop in good hands you han't asked for it yet, Jem ! 
 
 till I gets back if you '11 only come with me ! I 
 reckon they '11 take you into the Sugar-House agin, now." 
 
 " No doubt about that, marm the trouble might be 'bout 
 gettin' out again." 
 
 " Come home then, Jem ! 0, do ! " 
 
 " Don't be a fool, marm ! " said Jem, affectionately, striving 
 again to unclasp her arms. 
 
 " He calls me a fool ! " cried she, in joyful tones, that 
 greatly amused the bystanders. " Now I know he '11 go with 
 me ! Come, Jem I come all the way from York to find ye." 
 
 "I wouldn't start to-night, inarm there's bears in the 
 woods, and they might catch us, and I 'd rather eat a bear 
 than have him eat me. Come in and get some tea that is 
 
 sich as we has instead o' tea." 
 
 His endeavors might have been unsuccessful, so absorbed 
 was she in the one idea which had prompted her jouroey hui 
 34*
 
 402 AGNES. 
 
 at this moment Mr. Chester came up, with Evelyn leaning on 
 his arm. Mrs. Henderson released her son's neck, and moved 
 aside that they might pass. Jem, who had been burning 
 with impatience, darted through a side door, and, running up 
 stairs at a bound, flung open the door of a small bedroom, 
 where Percy Grey was sitting. 
 
 " Somebody wants you, sir, down stairs." 
 
 Percy looked up from his writing, in surprise ; but Jem had 
 subsided from his brief excitement into an every-day expres 
 sion that revealed nothing, and quietly added, 
 
 " It 's a gentleman, in the parlor." 
 
 " You came up so quick, I thought there might be news of 
 Agnes. Who is the gentleman ? " 
 
 " He didn't give his name. Shall I ask him up? " 
 
 " No I '11 go down ! " and he went out, leaving Jem 
 chuckling over the success of his scheme for an agreeable 
 surprise. He heard his mother's voice calling him in the 
 entry, but had no fears she would be recognized by " the 
 Major." In this, however, he was mistaken. Something in 
 the woman's face struck him as familiar, and, as he paused, 
 she again called Jem, with all the force of a pair of sound 
 English lungs. 
 
 "If it is Jem Henderson you wish to see, I will send him 
 to you in a moment," said Major Grey, pausing, as he passed 
 her. 
 
 "Yes it's him, and nobody else the runaway boy 
 that 's breakin' his mother's heart a fightin' agin his lawful 
 king ! He says he 's Major Grey's valley ; but I guess he
 
 THE KEY IN THE LOCK. 403 
 
 don't valley him much, for not a wage does he give him 
 an' he a sleepin' on bare boards, poor lad, an' me havin' six 
 good feather-beds to home an' he a eating rations, an' me 
 a livin' on the fat o' the land an' real tea, besides, if 't is 
 war-time ! " 
 
 In vain the impatient listener attempted to stay the flood 
 of her loud words with the questions he longed to ask ; and 
 at that moment Jem appearing on the stairs, she darted away 
 to pounce upon him, and overwhelm him again with entreaties 
 and caresses. 
 
 Percy passed on to the parlor. The conjectures which 
 crowded upon him almost took away his breath, but they pre 
 pared him to recognize the form, still closely veiled, standing 
 beside the window. 
 
 Evelyn turned at the sound of the opening door, thinking 
 her father had entered. He could not see her face, but she 
 trembled violently, and the hand she extended towards him 
 was cold as ice. He grasped and retained it. She made no 
 effort to withdraw it. For a few moments neither spoke. 
 Then, glancing at the other hand, Percy saw it was without 
 a wedding-ring. He breathed more freely, and found voice 
 to say, 
 
 " You are not married ! Why, then, have you not 
 answered any of my letters? " 
 
 " Have you written any ? " 
 
 " Can you ask it ? Have you never received them ? " 
 
 "Never. I feared 0, Percy, it was hardest of all to 
 fear that, perhaps, after all, you, too, thought me wrong "
 
 404 AGNES. 
 
 " Wrong ! noblest, dearest, could you have such a thought?" 
 
 " Forgive me ! I have suffered so much, my feelings have 
 grown morbid. Perhaps it was treachery it may have 
 been the fortunes of war- but I have not had a line from 
 you since " Her voice failed, and beneath her veil he saw 
 that she was weeping. He led her to a chair, and sat down 
 beside her. When he could command his voice, he asked, 
 
 " What did you think of me? " 
 
 " I could not blame you, since my father also refuses to 
 allow that my ideas are right ; but. " 
 
 " You was disappointed ? " 
 
 She nodded her head in assent, for tears choked her words.* 
 
 It was mere accident that their tete-a-tete had not sooner 
 been interrupted; and now strangers coming in prevented 
 further conversation, and Evelyn had time to attain some 
 degree of self-possession before her father entered. 
 
 He greeted Percy very cordially, evidently gratified to find 
 him so soon at his daughter's side; and, with a significant 
 glance, informed him that, finding he could obtain good rooms 
 at the hotel, he should remain some days. 
 
 Some further desultory conversation followed between the 
 gentlemen, until Juniper appeared, with his most obsequious 
 bow, and a grand air, intended to impress the spectators. 
 
 " De room is preparationed, Miss Ebelyn, in de bery best 
 extent, and de landlady say, my Miss' please come up." 
 
 Evelyn arose to go, but at that moment there was a bustle 
 of exclamations and congratulations at the door, and several 
 persons crowded into the little parlor. Among them, talking
 
 THE KEY IN THE LOCK. 
 
 eagerly, and replying to a dozen questions at once, was a 
 young man in huntsman's dress, upon whose arm leaned a 
 slight girlish figure, whose delicate complexion and golden 
 curls, contrasting strongly with the Indian dress she wore, 
 together with her timid air, shrinking from the observation 
 she attracted, made her an object of picturesque and peculiar 
 interest. 
 
 " Frank ! Agnes ! " exclaimed Percy Grey, and sprang 
 forward to meet them, his fine face animated and glowing with 
 pleasure. 
 
 "It is you, Percy ! Now, this is great luck ! I feared 
 you might be gone, when I heard the general had left." 
 
 " A small detachment of us are left behind to attend to the 
 exchange of some prisoners. But you we began to be" 
 seriously alarmed about you." 
 
 " 0, no fear of me. I 'm bound to come out right side up, 
 you know ; it *s my luck. But let me find a chair for Agnes. 
 She must be tired almost to death, for we 've had a tramp to 
 day that might tire an Indian." 
 
 He looked at her, as he spoke, with an evident admiration 
 that called a blush to her cheek ; and, as a dozen chairs had 
 now been offered to her, she glided from his side, and sat 
 down near to where Evelyn was standing. 
 
 An instinctive sympathy made the latter throw back her 
 veil as she turned to speak to her; and Percy, who had fol 
 lowed to introduce them to each other, could not but observe 
 the contrast between Agnes' wan, faded loveliness and Miss 
 Chester's serene and majestic beauty. Passing over the
 
 406 AGNES. 
 
 indefinite point Agnes' name as lightly as might be, ho 
 said, 
 
 " Agnes, this is Miss Chester, who I am sure will be inter 
 ested to know that you have been for some time under my 
 mother's protection." Then, turning to Evelyn, he added, 
 " Two months ago she was stolen from our house by a party 
 of Indians, and my brother has but just returned successful in 
 his attempt to release her. This will account for the peculiar 
 dress she wears." 
 
 " It is very becoming, certainly," said Evelyn, with a smile, 
 " but I think hardly so comfortable for the house as for the 
 forest. If you will come with me to my chamber, perhaps I 
 can furnish you with a more commonplace garb." 
 
 " She '11 be very thankful for it to-morrow morning, I 've 
 no doubt," said Frank, as Agnes was about to speak ; " but 
 now my advice is that she should lie down and keep quiet 
 to-night, for she '11 be ill if she don't." 
 
 "At least," said Agnes, in a low voice, " I may thank you 
 now for the shelter of your room until my own is ready. I 
 
 don't know any of these people, and " she hesitated, 
 
 and Evelyn added, 
 
 " You don't fancy being made ( une lionne malgre lui.' I 
 sympathize in the annoyance ; so let us leave these gentlemen, 
 if you please." And, with a graceful bend, she drew Agnes' 
 arm within her own, and passed through the circle, following 
 Juniper, who marshalled the way to a chamber, the largest 
 and most commodious in the house. 
 
 Their absence gave a liberty for the gratification of a
 
 THE KEY IN THE LOCK. 407 
 
 curiosity which had been restrained while Frank was busy 
 with his fair charge, and Mr. Chester and Percy were inter 
 ested to hear the details of the capture and escape. At 
 length the story was finished, and the group of idlers scattered 
 to enjoy the luxury of imparting the news they had acquired. 
 
 " And now," said Frank Grey, " I must see what sort of 
 accommodations the landlady has furnished Agnes ; and then, 
 ho ! for a horse, and a gallop over to the farm." 
 
 " I am glad to hear you say so," rejoined his brother. 
 "They have been not a little anxious about you, and will 
 be rejoiced to know of Agnes' safety." 
 
 " Yes, no doubt mother '11 be so glad to see me, "she '11 bake 
 me as large a loaf of gingerbread as she does you when 
 you come home. Dear soul, she thought 't would n't be too 
 good for you if 't was all 'lasses. Nothing like making your 
 friends trouble, if you want to know how much they think of 
 you. Won't you come, too, Percy ? " 
 
 " I can't well leave my command here. The exchange of 
 prisoners takes place day after to-morrow, and then we march 
 immediately." 
 
 " Ah ! then I must go with you. And I think I '11 stay at 
 home to-night, and pack up my traps, so as not to be obliged 
 to go over again. You look after Agnes' comfort while I 'm 
 gone. I '11 get father to come over and carry her back with 
 him. But first let me go and see how she 's situated." 
 
 At that moment the landlady, who had been waiting for an 
 opportunity to speak, peeped into the room, and, seeing it 
 nearly vacant, entered to say that she had no room for the
 
 AGNES. 
 
 last young lady except one which opened out of the bed-room 
 Mr. Chester had engaged, and so the first young lady was 
 going to take that, and let her father have the big chamber 
 which was engaged for her; and so everybody would be 
 suited, for the big chamber had a fireplace in it, and would 
 do to be used instead of the private parlor Mr. Chester 
 wanted and could n't have. She was sure the gentleman 
 would like it ; and as the evenings were cold, would he like & 
 fire built up there now, and perhaps he would like tea 
 there? 
 
 She was so^ extremely smiling and affable that a more ob 
 jectionable* arrangement could hardly have been opposed, 
 when offered with so much suavity ; and Mr. Chester signified 
 his acquiescence in all her propositions, at the same time 
 inviting Frank and Percy to take tea with him. The latter 
 accepted the invitation, and withdrew immediately to attend 
 to some military duties ; but Frank said, 
 
 " Thank you, no, sir. I 'm in a good dress for a fancy ball, 
 but will hardly answer for the tea-table, being more pictur 
 esque than cleanly. Besides, I 'm in a hurry ; so, if the land 
 lady will give me a bite of something, I '11 be off. But first I 
 must see Agnes a minute." 
 
 Mr. Chester, who had an instant liking for the young man's 
 ingenuous face and frank bearing, offered to conduct him up 
 stairs, adding, as they went, 
 
 " I did not understand the name by which your young 
 lady was introduced to my daughter." 
 
 " Miss Strange Agnes Strange," said Frank, quickly.
 
 THE KEY IN THE LOCK. 409 
 
 " She has been with your mother some time, your brother 
 said. Is she a relative ? " 
 
 " No, sir, unless friendship makes relationship. My mother 
 loves her as if she was a daughter." 
 
 " Perhaps she will yet bear that title ? " said Mr. Chester, 
 courteously. 
 
 Frank bit his lip, but made no answer. His companion 
 thought he was annoyed at the remark, and hastened to apol 
 ogize for the liberty he had taken. 
 
 " No ofience, sir. I wish it could be so," said Frank, but 
 the sunshine of his face was gone. 
 
 They rapped at the chamber-door, and it was opened by 
 Mrs. Henderson, who, being for the nonce lady's maid, was 
 bustling about with an air of general helpfulness. The land 
 lady was on her knees before the chimney, transforming her 
 bright face into bellows for the benefit of a small blaze which 
 was beginning to leap up around the dry sticks placed above 
 it upon andirons bright as gold. Curtains of white dimity, 
 fringed and tasselled by the housewife's skilful fingers, were 
 closely drawn around a bed in the corner, but they were looped 
 back from the windows to admit the lingering daylight. The 
 wooden chairs were set primly in their places, with a touch- 
 me-not aspect ; but a square table in the centre of the room, 
 covered with a white cloth, gave token of the supper which 
 was to be provided. 
 
 Miss Chester and her friend had retired to their own rooms, 
 one of which opened out of this. 
 35
 
 410 AGNES. 
 
 " "Will you tell Miss Strange Mr. Grey wishes to see her ? " 
 said Mr. Chester to Mrs. Henderson. 
 
 "Strange! that's her name, is it? I axed her what 
 't was, and she kind o' mumbled somethin', nobody could tell 
 what. Strange by name and strange by natur, I say stole 
 away by them Injins, my Jem says, and kep' all winter " 
 
 Thus talking, she disappeared, and in a few moments 
 Agnes entered. She had doffed her Indian costume for one 
 of Evelyn's travelling dresses, which, though much too large, 
 had been partially fitted to her by the dextrous use of pins 
 and needle. .She laughed with them at the oddity of her 
 appearance as she advanced, holding up the long skirt like a 
 riding-habit. 
 
 " I had n't time quite to complete my toilet ; but they said 
 you were going away, and I would not keep you waiting. 
 You are going home ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " I thought so. Tell them how I have longed to see them." 
 
 "Father will come over to-morrow, and take you home. 
 You will be comfortable here to-night, won't you ? " 
 
 She sighed and smiled at once as she answered, " Yes 
 but you remember what I told you." Then, in a lower voice, 
 " I shall not rest a moment now until I know my fate." 
 
 Frank glanced around uneasily, and to his great relief saw 
 that Mr. Chester had left the room. Drawing Agnes to the 
 window furthest from the chimney, where their hostess was 
 still puffing at the flame, he said, 
 
 " I became so gradually used to the mystery which envel-
 
 THE KEY IN THE LOCK. 411 
 
 ops you that I hardly realized how strange it was to give you 
 but one name. At our house, where there was nobody to be 
 curious about it, it did not signify, but here it won't do. Mr. 
 Chester asked, and I told him you were ' Agnes Strange.' " 
 
 " 0, Frank ! " 
 
 " What could I do ? There was no time for explanation, 
 and I could not allow you to be compromised with him. For 
 my sake, if not for your own, bear this name at present. It 
 belongs to you; for your life is strange, if you are not. Al 
 most any one else would have taken a name in the first place." 
 
 " I did not like to. I did not realize at first how it would 
 be, and after that it seemed like a lie to tell your mother any 
 name but the one I ought to bear." 
 
 " And why not tell that ? " 
 
 " I could not. You will know why to-morrow. All will 
 be known then." 
 
 She turned very pale, and pressed her hands over her heart 
 with a faint cry, as if of pain. Then she added, 
 
 " These people my fate must have brought them here 
 just now. This lady is the one your brother spoke of that 
 day. She is engaged to Col. Stanley." 
 
 A blinding light flashed over Frank's brain. 
 
 " I know it. What of it? " he asked, almost sternly. 
 
 " No matter, now. My fate is mixed with hers." 
 
 He seized her hands with a sudden gesture of dismay and 
 anguish. Then, with a groan, as if his heart had broken, 
 " I can guess the secret. 0, Agnes, how I have loved you!" 
 
 The low, hoarse whisper scarcely reached her ear before
 
 412 AGNES. 
 
 he left her. She leaned against the window, with her eyes 
 closed, pale, cold, still. Then came the gasping, tearing pain 
 at her heart. The floor seemed to slide from beneath her 
 feet. 
 
 " My stars ! " cried the landlady, " she 's dead faint ' "
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE LOVERS. 
 
 THE cry of their hostess brought Mrs. Henderson and 
 Evelyn to her aid. Agnes was laid on a bed in the inner 
 room, and some simple remedies speedily restored life and 
 breath. But she seemed very weary and worn, and her 
 nurses decided she must not attempt to sit up that evening. 
 She was accordingly undressed, and after taking tea sank 
 into a sound and refreshing slumber. 
 
 Evelyn left her to repose, and joined her father and Percy 
 at the supper- table. During their meal Mr. Chester exerted 
 himself to entertain the others, who seemed little inclined to 
 talk; and, possessing much conversational ability, he was able 
 in some degree to interest and amuse his abstracted listeners. 
 But, when the table was cleared, and Juniper had retired, 
 after heaping fresh wood upon the fire, he drew the table to 
 the cheerful hearth, and, begging them to excuse him, as he 
 had important writing to perform, considerately turned his 
 back upon the young couple, and left them to their own 
 resources. 
 
 35*
 
 414 AGNES. 
 
 They sat beside the window, from which the curtain was 
 still withdrawn. At first, they looked out into the night, 
 gloriously beautiful, with its millions of stars shining behind 
 the veil of darkness through which their eyes sought the 
 infinite heavens. Even thus luminous, far off, and inaccess 
 ible, seemed the hopes they had once called their own> 
 awaking only the same quiet hopelessness, the longing, the 
 heart-aching, which the weird influences of nocturnal hours 
 arouse in the soul of the unhappy. 
 
 Afterwards they conversed in low tones, that scarcely broke 
 the brooding stillness. Of what they had felt they dared 
 not speak. If the floodgates should be lifted ever so little, 
 each was conscious that the pressing, swelling torrent behind 
 would bear away all barriers in its resistless force. Into the 
 future they would not trust themselves to look. Yet there 
 was much to tell of individual action and external circum 
 stances which had influenced their destiny. 
 
 Evelyn detailed more at length than she had been able to do 
 in a letter the particulars of her entanglement with Col. Stan 
 ley, and had the satisfaction of learning by a few whispered 
 syllables, of reading in his expressive face, of feeling by the 
 magnetic pressure of his hand, how entirely he appreciated 
 her conduct, and approved the nobleness of her decision. He 
 hung upon her words. His soul drank in the delicious poison, 
 bitter-sweet, that flowed from those beautiful, tremulous lips, 
 to kill his happiness and her own. He basked in the light of 
 those calm, proud eyes, even while a shivering thrill along
 
 THE LOVERS. 415 
 
 his veins told him how dreary was the rayless future, because 
 she was too pure, too noble, to do wrong. 
 
 In his turn, he related the chance meeting with Col. 
 Stanley ; the care he had taken of him afterwards, because he 
 was his enemy ; the struggle of feeling he had undergone ; his 
 mother's advice, drawn from the infallible rule of life and 
 duty ; and the disappointment of his half-formed expectations, 
 when Col. Stanley, upon recovering, had manifested anger, 
 instead of gratitude, at learning to whom he was indebted for 
 his life. Since Mrs. Grey had left the bedside of the sick 
 man, relieved of her care by a favorable change of symptoms, 
 that took place the same day his own servant arrived to 
 assume the post of nurse, Percy had abstained from calling 
 there. He was glad to be free from an irksome charge, and 
 had too much delicacy to do anything that might be consid 
 ered an intrusion ; for the relations they held to each other 
 forbade the thought that his presence could be welcome. 
 
 Yet he was not prepared for the sneering contempt and 
 hatred he received when, anxious to know the truth, and per 
 plexed at receiving no tidings from New York, he ventured to 
 ask if the marriage with Evelyn had really taken place. The 
 reply to his inquiry was such as effectually stopped all fur 
 ther intercourse between them. Percy's conflict of mind had 
 been greater than Evelyn's. Perhaps his love for her was 
 stronger. Certainly it was more absorbing, for her heart was 
 nearly divided between the two objects of her affection ; and 
 her devotion to her father, and the joy of serving him, even 
 at so great sacrifice, had, in some measure, sustained her
 
 416 AGNES. 
 
 through her trouble. Her lover had no such aid, and the 
 clear introspection that assured her of this difference made 
 Evelyn look up with admiration, and that proud love a 
 woman delights to feel, to the height where he stood, lonely, 
 sustained by his honor and sense of right, to meet unvan- 
 quished whatever might befall. 
 
 A long silence followed this interchange of experience. 
 They were looking blankly at the Medusa face of the future 
 thrust between them, and felt their hearts grow cold beneath 
 the petrifying influence. 
 
 " After what you tell me," said Evelyn, at length, " there 
 is little hope that my father is correct in thinking shame or 
 a sense of compassion can induce this man to forego his 
 cla'ims. What can words avail, where kind deeds are inef 
 fectual?" 
 
 "And, if so?" 
 
 " There is no alternative. My word is pledged. I have 
 gained the precious boon for "which I gave it my father's 
 life and honor. Percy, I should shrink even from your eyes, 
 if my own honor were stained with a lie." 
 
 " It is like you to say so but it kills me to hear it." 
 
 " You would not have me act otherwise? " she interrupted, 
 in a quick, anxious tone. 
 
 " No and yet how can we live apart ? " 
 
 "We can live we shall live!" she said, passionately. 
 " When this keen pain has come to be a chronic, customary 
 thing, hidden and unsuspected of all, we may even find hap 
 piness in life. God will give us rest after our trouble, if he
 
 THE LOVERS. 417 
 
 wills us to live. I could not bear it, if I thought you would 
 always be unhappy." 
 
 " Yes," said Percy, with a calm sadness, " I believe what 
 you say is true ; and yet who but you would have courage to 
 say it now ? Duty, religion, a conscience at peace, the power 
 of doing good to others these may comfort us both ; and 
 to you, perhaps, your father's doting love, and sweet child- 
 faces bearing the image of your own, to whom you may 
 sometimes whisper softly the name of a lonely man, who can 
 never be wholly miserable, because he can never cease to love 
 
 you." w 
 
 " Hush ! " she said, faintly, " you try me too far. We 
 must not talk so to each other. I have need of all my 
 courage, and it dies at your words." 
 
 There was another pause. Then Evelyn whispered, 
 
 "Go now it is late. And, Percy, I must see Col. 
 Stanley to-morrow, and we must not meet again until after 
 ward perhaps not even then." 
 
 "Nay, Evelyn now you try me too far. While I stay 
 here let me see you as often as possible. That man has no 
 right which can interfere with this claim of mine to be near 
 you, to enjoy to the full these last hours. They may be, 
 indeed, the last. I am going to the battle-field, and who 
 knows what I may meet there ? " 
 
 At these words, Evelyn broke down utterly. The contin 
 gency for which she had braced herself she could endure ; but 
 this, presented to her thoughts in that quiet tone, as if it were
 
 418 AGNES. 
 
 a thing most probable, unstrung her nerves, and she burst 
 into tears. 
 
 Mr. Chester turned towards them at the sound of weeping. 
 
 "What, little girl, crying?" he said. "I thought the 
 time for that was over. We are going to have nothing but 
 smiles now. When we get settled at the Close, you will 
 regain all your roses, and Mr. Grey shall come and see us 
 there this summer, and find you blooming as a bride. Won't 
 it be so, Mr. Grey?" 
 
 " I should be but too happy, if I could hope to enjoy such 
 a pleasure," answered Percy, in a confused manner ; and. then, 
 more firmly, " I shall shape my actions according to your 
 daughter's wishes. She has such power over me that I 
 cannot dispute her will." 
 
 Mr. Chester frowned. " And you, too, impracticable ? " 
 
 Percy bowed slightly, without replying. Evelyn was still 
 weeping. 
 
 Mr. Chester looked at them a moment with a lowering 
 brow, and then, with an exclamation of impatience, pushed 
 the table from 'him, and started to his feet. 
 
 " Hark you ! I '11 have nothing more to do with your 
 affairs. Your ideas are entirely too Utopian for my compre 
 hension. Do you hear me, Evelyn? You may do as you 
 will. You 're a good child, but you 're obstinate. I wash 
 my hands of you both. As for you, sir, if you are so little a 
 lover that you can resign my daughter to another, I can only 
 congratulate you upon taking matters so easily. It was not 
 eo I wooed her mother ! "
 
 THE LOVERS. 419 
 
 Having said this in a tone half angry and half perplexed, 
 he left the room without waiting for a reply. 
 
 " It is not so you know it is not so ! " exclaimed Percy, 
 almost beside himself at this charge. 
 
 " He does not himself believe it ! " she answered through 
 her tears. " Do not blame my poor father, Percy ! He is 
 not himself, now he has not been like himself since that 
 fatal time. He is so troubled, so desperate, about me, that 
 he cannot see things clearly he cannot believe that I may 
 not do innocently what would be wrong in another. But we 
 we see we will not shut our eyes to the light, though it 
 blinds us ! 0, Percy, we will help each other bear what 
 neither might be able to bear alone." 
 
 " Bless you, dearest ! I can almost find a pleasure in this 
 trial, that so plainly shows the nobleness and purity of your 
 character. Such love as we have given each other cannot be 
 lost. It will make us better and happier, even if our lives 
 are never in this world united." 
 
 " And love is not all of life. We used to say so when we 
 had still a little hope left, and we can bear to think so now. 
 We do not need to cheat ourselves with vain protestations ; 
 our trouble is too real to make us reject what comfort we 
 may gain from the experience of the past. 0, Percy, we 
 have lived through dark hours, and the long, long agony of 
 life will find an end at last." 
 
 They were calmer now, and looked into each others' faces 
 with a half-smile, as they stood there, their hands clasped 
 for parting, although both knew they were cheating the
 
 420 AGNES. 
 
 hunger of their souls with bread that was like a stone. In a 
 little while Percy went away, and Evelyn sought her own 
 room, thankful for the solitude where she might commune 
 with her own heart and be still
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 THE KEY TURNS. 
 
 COL. STANLEY still occupied rooms in the house to which 
 he had first been carried insensible. Since his convales 
 cence he .had been admitted to parole, and treated with the 
 greatest courtesy by Gen. Washington and the officers of his 
 staff. But illness had not improved the sick man's temper ; 
 he wearied sadly of his captivity, and fretted at the many 
 delays attending the proposed exchange of prisoners, which 
 would restore him to the scenes wherein his hopes and plans 
 were to be carried out. He looked with contempt on those 
 of whom he might have made friends, and secluded himself 
 morosely from companionship. 
 
 Thus he had passed several weeks, his nervousness and irri 
 tability seeming to increase rather than diminish as his health 
 improved, and few had cared to intrude upon the loneliness 
 he so evidently preferred both within doors and during his 
 daily walks. It was therefore with real joy, in the hope of 
 being able to afford his master some relief from ennui, that 
 Col. Stanley's servant entered the chamber on the morning 
 36
 
 422 AGNES. 
 
 after Mr. Chester's arrival in Morristown, and communicated 
 the news he had just learned. 
 
 To his surprise, he was answered with an angry exclama 
 tion, and Col. Stanley, jumping out of bed, hurried on his 
 clothes, swallowed his coffee so hot that it burnt his throat 
 in revenge for which he dashed the cup to pieces on the floor, 
 scrambled through the process of the toilet he deemed neces 
 sary before presenting himself to Miss Chester, and, having 
 by this time nearly exhausted his vocabulary of oaths, re 
 gained some degree of self-command as he threw on his 
 cloak and hat, and turned his steps towards the tavern. 
 
 The walk of half a mile tended still further to establish the 
 ease and coolness of the polished man of the world, who 
 prided himself upon being equal to any emergency. But he 
 was very angry, and keenly anxious that even by this unex 
 pected manoeuvre his prey should not escape his hands, and 
 had arrived at the hotel and followed the servant into Mr. 
 Chester's apartment before he had fully determined what 
 course it was best for him to take. 
 
 Evelyn had awaked that morning from a troubled sleep 
 with a consciousness thrilling through all her nerves that this 
 was the day for which she had so long been waiting. Her 
 father held her by both hands as she gave him the morning 
 greeting, and gazed into her face with an anxious, inquiring 
 expression ; but she made no effort to turn from his scrutiny, 
 and he relaxed his hold without putting into words the ques 
 tion his eyes had asked. Their breakfast-hour passed almost 
 in silence, Evelyn mentally revolving the probable details of. 
 her anticipated meeting with Col. Stanley.
 
 THE KEY TURNS. 423 
 
 They had arisen from the table, and Juniper was remov 
 ing the food they had scarcely tasted, when they were 
 startled by their unexpected visitor. Masking his real feel 
 ings, Col. Stanley advanced as calmly and pleasantly as if 
 nothing disagreeable had ever marred their intercourse, and 
 took Evelyn's hand with an attempt to press it to his lips. 
 She withdrew it hastily ; and then, grasping Mr. Chester's, 
 he bade him be assured of the pleasant surprise he had in 
 thus meeting them. 
 
 Mr. Chester could not avoid smiling. The acting was a 
 little overdone. Evelyn's manner was lofty and frigid as 
 the most inaccessible iceberg. Col. Stanley noticed it all, 
 but took the chair placed for him, and, drawing it nearer 
 to Evelyn, said, blandly, " he hoped he might venture to 
 express his fear that they had set out prematurely from New 
 York, the season being as yet rather early for a pleasure- 
 trip." 
 
 " This is not a pleasure-trip. We considered it best to 
 leave the city," replied she, with emphasis. 
 
 " And may I ask where you are going? " 
 
 " To Chester Close." 
 
 " My dear friends, it is very unsafe for you to go there," 
 said the colonel, with well-feigned alarm. " Have you not 
 heard of the Indian incursions in that vicinity? Surely 
 your lives will be in danger. Miss Chester, it cannot be 
 you are willing to go and you, sir, surely you will not 
 expose your daughter to such peril ? " 
 
 Mr. Chester replied in slow words, that dropped from his
 
 424 AGNES. 
 
 lips heavy with sarcasm, while his eyes held those of his foe, 
 " My daughter does not consider that she exposes herself 
 to as disagreeable or dangerous a fate as might have awaited 
 her had she remained in New York." 
 
 The taunt was bitter, and it stung deeply, destroying in an 
 instant all Col. Stanley's imposed constraint. He started to 
 his feet. 
 
 "Is this the way you keep faith with me?. Is this the 
 way you repay my confidence leaving the city at the very 
 moment I am about to return ? 0, honorable man ! I am 
 rightly paid for my insane trust ! Fool, doubly-dyed fool that 
 I am ! who ever kept faith with me against his interests, 
 that I should trust man or woman ? And yet I believed the 
 world might not be all alike ! You, you, Miss Chester ! I 
 thought I might rely upon your truth." 
 
 Evelyn was about to speak, but her father interrupted. 
 His manner was provokingly cool. 
 
 " If you will sit down, sir, you will find there is no need of 
 all this waste of rhetoric and so much eloquent declamation. 
 Our schemes are very simple, and our purposes easily under 
 stood. We are not afraid of the Indians, and we propose to 
 go to our country home and enjoy ourselves this summer. I 
 presume you do not consider that your claims upon this lady 
 entitle you to be consulted upon every change of residence 
 while she remains under my care; and I know of no other 
 cause of complaint." 
 
 Col. Stanley sat down, looking rather crest-fallen, and not 
 a little puzzled. That Evelyn should deliberately keep her
 
 THE KEY TURNS. 425 
 
 word pledged to him was a stretch of virtue beyond his 
 comprehension, for her manner forbade any hope that her 
 feelings towards him had changed. And yet, if Mr. Chester 
 was not cheating him, what else did his words imply ? Re 
 covering himself, however, he begged pardon for his violence, 
 attributing it to the intense disappointment and anxiety he 
 had experienced in not being able to hope that any affection 
 for him would prompt Evelyn willingly to accede to his 
 wishes. 
 
 She replied, quickly, that her father might utter nothing 
 further to offend him, 
 
 "I am glad to hear you say this, for it shows me you 
 understand fully the terms on which I am bound to you " 
 
 " You allow the claim, then ? " he cried, joyfully. 
 
 " Hear me, if you please," she answered, in a to.ne that 
 checked his enthusiasm. A few moments of silence followed, 
 for it was only by a strong effort that Evelyn maintained any 
 self possession. Beneath that cold and haughty exterior her 
 nerves were quivering so violently as almost to impede articu 
 lation, when, at length, she said, 
 
 " I know too well that my word is pledged to you, and if 
 you insist upon the fulfilment of our hard bargain, I must sub 
 mit. My father would have me appeal to your pity, to your 
 honor as a gentleman, not to force me into unwilling bonds. 
 I did so once in vain, and I am too proud, Col. Stanley, to 
 repeat the experiment. I am not given to tears and supplica 
 tions, as most women are ; but none the less do I mean what 
 I say when I tell you that the only way in which you can 
 36*
 
 426 AGNES. 
 
 awaken one sentiment of kindness toward yourself is by 
 releasing me from this claim. Will you do so ? " 
 
 His eyes had been fixed on the floor while she spoke, the 
 muscles of his face working, and his white teeth gleaming as 
 he gnawed his under lip. When she paused, he looked up, 
 with every feature set in indomitable resolution. 
 
 " You ask what I cannot grant." 
 
 She bowed coldly, and turned herself away from him a 
 little, as if she had nothing more to say. 
 
 Col. Stanley looked from Evelyn to Mr. Chester, who was 
 walking the room nervously, with his head drooped on his 
 breast. His feelings at that moment were indescribable. 
 Admiration and pity for his child, and hatred for her perse 
 cutor, tempting him to an angry burst of execrations and 
 reproaches, were checked by the knowledge that an open 
 rupture between them would still further embitter Evelyn's 
 fate ; and an innate dignity forbade him to open a quarrel 
 resulting inevitably in his own defeat. 
 
 Col. Stanley's cheek flushed as he gazed from one to the 
 other. He felt keenly the embarrassing situation of affairs, 
 and considered himself very much abused. Why should he be 
 compelled to all this turmoil, when he would so much prefer 
 taking peaceable possession of Miss Chester and her estate? 
 He really loved her better than he would have believed he 
 could love a woman poor, weak things that they usually 
 are ! He intended she should lead a very pleasant life ; he 
 had quite a feeling of gratitude toward her for the benefit her 
 property would be to him. Certainly they must misconceive
 
 THE KEY TURNS. 427 
 
 him very much to turn from him with such aversion. All 
 arts were pardonable in love, as in war ; and, as for giving up 
 the advantage he had acquired it was an illustration of 
 the man's intense selfishness that he considered the demand 
 entirely unreasonable. 
 
 " I grieve very much that your dislike to me is still 
 unabated," he said, in an excited manner. " If I did not 
 hope that the unchanging devotion of a lifetime would cause 
 you at last to relent, my feelings would be intolerable. You 
 persist in denying me any heart ; but no man ever had more. 
 By all the oaths man ever swore, I vow I cannot and will 
 not give you up. Yes, beautiful vixen that you are, curl 
 your lips in scorn, if you will ! Do you know I admire you 
 all the more for the determined wilfulness with which you 
 resist me? You shall be mine, and I will show the world 
 how proud I am of you." 
 
 He had risen while speaking, face and voice attesting his 
 passion; and now Evelyn also started to her feet, and turned 
 to him with an expression that was almost frightful. 
 
 "Beware!" she said; "this wilfulness you admire may 
 become dangerous. I am but human, and I feel this moment 
 there is that in me which, under some influences, might nerve 
 to desperate deeds. In taking me, you will take a viper to 
 your bosom. I will sting you, if I can ! " 
 
 " Ha ! do you threaten ? " he said, and his lips trembled a 
 little, in their firmness, over the white, gleaming teeth. Then, 
 in a moment, more calmly, " We must not have such worda 
 
 V 
 
 between us to remember afterwards. You are excited now,
 
 428 AGNES. 
 
 and I wili leave you. I never feared man, and think I shal. 
 not shrink from a woman, though her temper be a little 
 shrewish. Perhaps it would be as well, however, in consid 
 eration of our future amity, that we should be somewhat 
 forbearing with each other now. I see you don't understand 
 my affection for you, but you will appreciate it by and by. 
 For the present, adieu." 
 
 He folded his cloak around him, and, mindful of courtesy 
 even then, made his exit as gracefully as if it had been less 
 abrupt. Evelyn and her father stood looking at each other. 
 Mr. Chester held out his arms as he approached her, and 
 almost with a sob he said, 
 
 " My child my poor, poor child ! And all this is for 
 me ! Can I do nothing, nothing, to help you ? " 
 
 But she put away his embrace, as if she did not compre 
 hend his words. Her brows were set in a hard frown, and a 
 wild look glared from her eyes. She pressed her hands over 
 her forehead, and muttered, 
 
 " He tempts me ! the man tempts me like a fiend. Shall 
 I grow wicked if I live with him, and murder him some day 
 in my hate? 0, father, pray for me! 0, God, save me!" 
 
 She broke from him, and fled to her own room, longing to 
 lose in prayer the baneful thoughts that terrified her ; but the 
 object which met her eyes, upon opening the door, arrested 
 her purpose, and turned the current of emotion. 
 
 Agnes was leaning on the window-sill, gazing after Col. 
 Stanley as he walked rapidly down the street. A long, white 
 night-robe fell in folds about her form, and her dishevelled
 
 THE KEY TURNS. 429 
 
 hair, wavy and golden, clustered about her shoulders, half 
 hiding her eager face. She was laughing and crying hysteri 
 cally, in a guarded, half-suppressed manner, which long 
 habit had made second nature ; but, when Evelyn came 
 quickly behind her, saying, " What are you doing kere ? " the 
 girl looked up, with uncontrollable emotion, and said, sobbing, 
 and incoherently, 
 
 "I could not help it I heard his voice his voice ! 0, 
 I should have known it in my grave ! I heard his voice and 
 step I heard him going I must see him ! 0, it is so 
 long since I saw him ! such weary, weary years ! 0, Miss 
 Chester, he talked to you I listened, but I could not hear ! 
 What did he say? How does he look? Does he love you, 
 and do you love him so very, very much ? " 
 
 Evelyn listened with dilated eyes. It seemed to her that 
 she must be dreaming, or had gone crazy with the struggle 
 she had endured. But, when Agnes turned from the window 
 whence Col. Stanley was no longer visible, and repeated her 
 question, with the most agonized earnestness, " Do you love 
 him? does he love you?" Evelyn found both words and 
 breath. 
 
 " Who are you? What are you? What have you to do 
 with him ? " 
 
 Agnes blushed, and hesitated. "Tell me first what you 
 have to do with him ? " she said, in a low voice, trembling 
 very much. 
 
 "Me! I hate him he has been the bane of my exist 
 ence ! " exclaimed Evelyn.
 
 430 AGNES. 
 
 Her companion shrank and frowned, as if the words 
 offended her. "Does he love you?" she asked, in an anx 
 ious, jealous tone. 
 
 " He says he does, but his hate could not do me so much 
 harm." ' 
 
 "But do you think he loves you so very much?" said 
 Agnes, in a pitiful, pleading voice. " Would he feel so very 
 bad if he could not marry you? Could it hurt or injure him 
 in any way, if he did not ? " 
 
 ""Why do you ask me this? why do you look at me 
 so ? what have you to do with that man ? " 
 
 " No matter, now. Tell me about it first." 
 
 "Tell you! Yes, all, if you can in any way aid me. 
 Listen, Agnes. Last autumn we went to New York my 
 father and I. Col. Stanley had been sent over here to marry 
 me; and, if I would consent, my grandfather, the Earl of 
 Evandale, would make me his heiress. It was that which 
 sent Col. Stanley after me. What can such a man as he know 
 of love ? It is for that he persists in compelling me to marry 
 him." 
 
 " How can he compel you? " 
 
 " I can't explain it all. An unfortunate affair made me 
 promise to be his wife, in order to save my father's life and 
 honor. He would have betrayed both, but for this promise ; 
 and, now it is given, I must keep it, though I would rather 
 die," 
 
 " And he insists upon it ? " 
 
 Yes."
 
 THE KEY TUENS. 431 
 
 " Then he loves you ! " 0, the heart-break in that moaning 
 cry. 
 
 " In his own selfish way, I believe he does ; but, Agnes, 
 why will you not tell me your story? I have answered all 
 your questions why can't you answer mine ? " 
 
 Agnes seemed not to hear. She had thrown herself upon 
 the bed, and her face was buried in the pillow ; but, as Evelyn 
 bent over her, she caught the words, " Poor me ! forsaken 
 forgotten ! How shall I dare to meet him ? " 
 
 Miss Chester controlled her own excitement, that she might 
 calm that of her companion ; and, from her superior force of 
 character, Agnes was like a child in her hands. She raised 
 her wistful face, and said, humbly, 
 
 " I will bo quiet ; I know I must do what is right. I 
 must go to him but, 0, I dread it ! Suppose he should be 
 angry he is terrible when he is angry ! And I have borne 
 it so long, it seems to me I would rather bear it to my grave 
 in silence than brave his wrath." 
 
 " But have you the right to ? Whatever this secret is, I 
 can't help thinking it must, in some way, involve the fate of 
 others. Why did you not tell Mrs. Grey, or Percy ? You 
 must have heard them speak of Col. Stanley." 
 
 " I could n't," said Agnes, bending her head, bashfully. 
 
 " There 's no such word as can't ! " exclaimed Evelyn, 
 impatiently. " Whatever it is right to do can be done." 
 
 "For such as you, perhaps," said Agnes, meekly ; "but I 
 am not strong, like you. And yet, I longed to tell, and 
 Would, only I feared it might make trouble for others, and be
 
 432 AGNES. 
 
 too late to do me any good. You know, if he wag married, it 
 would only make trouble for everybody to have me here ; and 
 I did not know he was not married, until they called you 
 Miss Chester" 
 
 A cold chill ran along Evelyn's veins, and for an instant 
 she dropped the hands she had been holding. The next 
 moment she blushed for her suspicion, as the clear blue eyes 
 were raised to her face. She asked, with a sudden hope that 
 took her breath away, 
 
 " Are you, then, his wife ? " 
 
 Agnes started at the question, blushed, trembled, hesitated, 
 and then cried out, 
 
 " I cannot tell what I am I must see him first ! I have 
 waited all this time to see him, and now I am frightened, and 
 shrinking, as if I asked mercy, and not justice. Help me to 
 dress myself I must go to him. It would not be right to 
 let him go on, not knowing I am here. It would be an awful 
 sin ! I must save him, even if he will not save me. But, 
 0, Miss Chester, he will be angry perhaps, he will deny 
 everything, and turn me away. What shall I do then ? " 
 
 She sank to the floor as she attempted to stand, and clung 
 to Evelyn's dress, with a pallid, quiverin'g face, like a fright 
 ened child. 
 
 Her feebleness could excite no emotion but pity, though 
 Evelyn was filled with doubt and apprehension by her 
 extreme distress. She could easily see how nerves naturally 
 weak had been shattered by long trial, but her imagination 
 ould hardly picture circumstances that would bring this
 
 THE KEY T U K N S . 433 
 
 young, helpless creature, alone, in a strange country, to claim 
 rights which she thought could be legally established with so 
 much ease. 
 
 After a little thought, she brought Agnes some wine, and 
 helped her to dress, soothing and encouraging her calmly, but 
 with a grave, sad face. Yet her manner made great impres 
 sion upon the keen susceptibilities of her companion ; indeed, 
 the touch of her cool hands was* almost magnetic, as she 
 arranged Agnes' clustering curls, and smoothed the folds of 
 her dress. 
 
 " If you could but go with me, I should not be so fright 
 ened," she said, when ready for her walk. Her voice was 
 low and even in its tone, and she had regained her usual 
 quiet air. 
 
 " I will go, if you wish," was the ready reply. " Even if 
 you are to be blamed, I shall pity you more than I can 
 express ; and I shall hardly have a worse opinion of him than 
 I now entertain." 
 
 " 0, do not speak of him so bitterly he was so good 
 once ! There may have been some mistake, or, at worst, we 
 do not know what temptations men have, and how they are 
 sometimes forced into evil. 0, Miss Chester, he was good 
 once ! " 
 
 This utter self-forgetfulness brought tears to Evelyn's eyes. 
 
 " Wait," she said. " Let me call my father, and we will 
 go with you." 
 
 " 0, no, I had rather not," said Agnes, hurriedly. " I 
 must do it my own way, or I cannot do it at all. I am not 
 37
 
 434 AGNES. 
 
 afraid now. He loved me once. When he sees me, perhaps 
 his love will come back again." 
 
 Evelyn kissed her, and led her to the door, and wrung her 
 hand at parting with something the same feeling with which 
 she would have dismissed her into a den of lions. Her pure 
 child-face was innocent of evil, but there was little probability 
 that she had not been deceived and forsaken. 
 
 Half an hour later, as she sat with her father talking over 
 this strange event, Percy and Frank entered the room to 
 gether. Almost the first words each spoke were of Agnes. 
 From Mr. Chester the question was, " Who is she ? " From 
 Frank, the impetuous, anxious inquiry, "Where is she? 
 What has she told you ? " 
 
 " Nay, we come to you for information. We know noth 
 ing," said Evelyn. " She seemed excited and full of trouble, 
 but preferred going to Col. Stanley before she told us any 
 thing." 
 
 " And you let her go ! " cried Frank. 
 
 " I could not help it " 
 
 " You let her go alone ! Her life is not safe in the hands 
 of such a man as you know he is ; and what chance has she 
 for justice ? " 
 
 As he spoke, he burst out of the room, and ran down stairs. 
 
 " He is going there, and I will follow him. As he says, 
 Agnes has no chance with that hard man. Mr. Chester, will 
 you come with me ? " said Percy. 
 
 " If you please, father, I beg you will let me go, instead,"
 
 THE KEY TURNS. 435 
 
 exclaimed Evelyn, alarmed at the thought of probable blood 
 shed. 
 
 "You, child?" 
 
 "And why not me? Agnes, poor young thing, will need 
 the presence of one of her own sex ; and I can do far more 
 than you in preventing the quarrel I fear must ensue. Percy, 
 join with me, say I had better go! " 
 
 Her earnestness prevented opposition, as there was no time 
 to be lost ; and in a few moments more they were on their 
 way to the house where Col. Stanley resided.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THE DOOR OPENS. 
 
 UPON leaving the hotel, Agnes took the direction in which 
 she had seen Col. Stanley walk, but, in the tumult of her 
 thoughts, forgot her ignorance of his residence until she had 
 gone some distance. Forcing courage then to inquire of a 
 child playing by the wayside, she found she must retrace her 
 steps a few rods. 
 
 But the idea of being so near him took away all her 
 strength, and quenched the resolution that had been growing 
 fainter and fainter as she proceeded. Every one knows the 
 mysterious reaction of mind which occurs when an object long 
 sought becomes attainable, a purpose long pursued about to 
 be accomplished. Over mountains and seas, through track 
 less forests, and lonely, perilous ways, Agnes had sought this 
 man ; prompted not so much by the resentment and bitterness 
 of slighted love and insulted honor, as by a blind tenacity of 
 affection, that no outrage could shake off, a yearning, infat 
 uated devotion, that no neglect could kill. 
 
 This kind of love is not common, but that it exists the 
 experience of mankind has testified, and it is found almost
 
 THE DOOE OPENS. 467 
 
 wholly among women. In happy circumstances such beings 
 lead a sweet, flower-like existence, of which the violet or the 
 lily of the valley is a meet emblem. Delicate, unobtrusive, 
 protected, " the daily beauty of their lives " yet reveals itself 
 in charms that cannot fail to attract admiration and love. 
 Their meekness and quiet do not seem a want of dignity, 
 or their unruffled calm a want of feeling, and one forgets to 
 ask for intellect amid so much grace and beauty. In other 
 situations, they have little energy to struggle, but they will 
 bear loads of suffering that would grind to pieces a more 
 resistant nature, or crush into insanity a more appreciative 
 mind. They pass unstained through evil, because their 
 purity cannot comprehend its enormity ; and their goodness is 
 so instinctive that at times it loses the force of a virtue, and 
 at times exalts them to a likeness with the angels. 
 
 Agnes was formed to be one of these. Poor flower, torn 
 from its sheltering leaves, flung like a weed upon life's rough 
 ocean, by what strange chance had it battled with the waves 
 that swept it onward, or striven to force its way to the spot 
 where alone it could take root again? 
 
 The child who had told her where the tall English officer 
 lived paused in its play to look after her, with an indefinite 
 feeling of pity and wonder for the trouble and terror in her 
 eyes, as she glanced at the house, and then walked feebly 
 still further away. 
 
 A little brook crossed the road, and she leaned over the 
 railing of the bridge to think. She smiled at her own foolish 
 ness. The crisis must be met. It was for this she had lived 
 ' 37*
 
 438 AGNES. 
 
 so long. There was no avoiding it now, and the only hope of 
 evading the anger she feared was by giving Col. Stanley an 
 opportunity of seeming to do willingly what every considera 
 tion of right should induce him to do. She knew him so 
 well his determined will, his defiant resistance of the gen 
 tlest attempt at coercion ! She did not think of these as faults, 
 but as something to be considered and expected in arranging 
 events with which he was connected. She knew, abstractly, 
 that he had been false and pitiless ; but all that seemed like 
 an intangible dream, and the reality to which her mind clung 
 was the memory of those bright days when she had learned to 
 love him. 0, did she not love him still? Spite of all her 
 fears, even then she could more easily have died than lost the 
 opportunity to look into his face and hear his voice. Might 
 there not have been some misunderstanding, some mistake ? 
 Would not his heart turn to her, when he saw her at his 
 feet? 
 
 It was with the impulse these thoughts gave she turned 
 and ran quickly towards the house to which the child had 
 pointed. A woman was leaning over the gate of a little 
 yard before the door. Her breathless inquiry was hardly 
 intelligible, and the woman looked sharply at her. 
 
 "Col. Stanley? yes, he is here. What do the like o' 
 you want with him ? " 
 
 " I must see him," was the faint reply ; and, after a mo 
 ment's pause, the gate was opened, and the woman said, 
 
 " It 's none o' my business, any way, I s'posc. He 's right 
 in the fore-room. Go in."
 
 THE DOOR OPENS. 439 
 
 Agnes passed on, and opened the door so silently that she 
 was unheard. Col. Stanley sat alone by the table, writing. 
 His back was towards her, and, perceiving herself unnoticed, 
 she could not for some moments summon courage to advance. 
 When at length with a slow step she drew near, he heard the 
 rustling of her dress, and looked up. With an oath he sprang 
 to his feet. 
 
 " Agnes ! " 
 
 " Clarence ! " 
 
 His eyes glared upon her with a terrible expression of rage 
 and dismay, and for a moment they stood face to face without 
 speaking. Then, unable longer to control her fear and grief, 
 she fell at his feet, and, as he recoiled from her touch, she 
 sobbed, 
 
 " 0, pity me ! pity me a little ! I have been so very 
 wretched ! " 
 
 He raised his foot as if he would have crushed her beneath 
 his heel, and his voice was hoarse with passion, as he said, 
 
 "What fiend sent you here to torment me? I thought 
 you were dead, long ago." 
 
 She caught at these last words, harsh as they were, for 
 they gave her some little hope. 
 
 " Did you think me dead? 0, I knew it must be so ! I 
 knew you could never have deserted me so cruelly, if you 
 had thought me alive to suffer from it ! " 
 
 " Fool ! " he muttered, " will nothing teach you how I was 
 wearied of you ? The truth was easily discovered, if I had 
 cared to know."
 
 440 AGNES. 
 
 " And yet you loved me once ! Nay, have patience I 
 know it is all over now. That beautiful lady has quite won 
 your heart." She wrung her hands passionately, and added, 
 " Would to God you could marry her ! Would she loved 
 you, and I was dead, so she could make you happy 1 " 
 
 " You have some sense left, if you can pray that prayer ! 
 If you choose, it may be granted," he interrupted, scornfully. 
 
 " What do you mean ? 0, I have prayed to die, but it 
 might not be ; and, since I am alive, since I am here, could I 
 let you do her this great wrong, and plunge your soul into 
 such deadly sin ? Much as I feared your anger, much as I 
 shrank from meeting you after I knew you loved her, still as 
 I was your wife " 
 
 He interrupted her with a sharp, sneering laugh, much like 
 the snarl of an enraged cur. 
 
 " Have you told any one this story ? " 
 
 " I have not. I would not do you such injustice. I knew 
 you would like best that your own lips should first acknowl 
 edge me." 
 
 " You mouth it well ! Girl, how dare you call yourself 
 my wife ? How dare you take a name of honor ? You know 
 what you are." 
 
 She had borne much, but at this insult she sprang to her 
 feet, standing erect before him, and, hardy man that he was, 
 he quailed before the look her face assumed. Those blue 
 eyes seemed to pierce the guilty secrets of his soul. 
 
 " Do you deny it ? " she said, and her voice was clear and 
 firm. "Dare you deny it? By the God above us, by my
 
 TUB DOOR OPENS. 441 
 
 mother's grave, by the hopes of my whole life crushed in 
 your hands, I charge you, say if I am not your wife ! " 
 " You do not know it yourself you cannot prove it," he 
 
 replied, doggedly. 
 
 
 A change passed over her face, and she cast down her eyes. 
 
 He noticed it, and his hopes rose. From the firmness of her 
 manner, he had feared denial was no longer possible to him. 
 For a moment neither spoke. Through Col. Stanley's brain 
 a scheme was flashing, involving direful wickedness, and bold 
 defiance alike of the laws of God and man; while Agnes, 
 sinking from the height of courage to which she had been 
 roused, heart-broken at his cruelty, and pining for his love, 
 knowing she could not prove her claims, and shrinking from 
 the shame he stood ready to heap upon her, with a sudden 
 agony threw herself again at his feet, exclaiming, 
 
 " You know I speak the truth ! Kill me at once, if you 
 will ; but, 0, Clarence, do not yourself and me the wrong 
 you are planning ! " 
 
 " I could kill you ! I would, if I dared ! " he said, spurn 
 ing her violently with his foot. " But blood reveals itself, 
 and I can get rid of you more easily." 
 
 He raised her from the floor, and placed her in a chair. 
 She was passive as an infant in his hands, and sat looking up 
 at him with dim, tearless eyes, like one in a dream. 
 
 " Listen to me," he said, standing before her. " Here you 
 come with a story you cannot prove, and threaten to interfere 
 with my proposed marriage. Do you know to what the loss 
 of that lady reduces me? Even if she were not by
 
 442 AGNES. 
 
 heaven ! the only woman living I would ever acknowledge 
 as my wife, I must marry her, or I am ruined. I am over 
 whelmed with debt ; my credit is exhausted. I could not 
 return to England, for I should be seized and left to rot in 
 jail. Nay, I could not even return to New York, for my 
 creditors there would keep me prisoner in my poor lodgings, 
 and I should be compelled to sell my commission. Now, do 
 you understand the trouble you have brought me ? Do you 
 see how impossible it is for me to acknowledge you ? Poor 
 thing ! of course it is hard for you ; when I think of the past 
 I am really sorry for you but what can I do ? Don't you 
 see you are ruining me by your presence here ? Agnes, you 
 used to be a reasonable, good little thing ; promise me now 
 you will do as I wish ? " 
 
 " What is it ? " she asked, humbly. The picture he had 
 drawn, and his altered tone, which now was almost kind, filled 
 her with the keenest sympathy in his perplexities, and distress 
 that she should have caused them. She had forgotten herself. 
 Looking into her eyes, holding them fixed by the magnetism 
 of his own, Col. Stanley answered, slowly, not without a 
 secret sense of shame at the proposal, 
 
 " Go quietly away, and never again approach me. Then I 
 shall be free to take care of my own fortunes and yours. 
 You shall live in luxury I will secure you from want " 
 
 " And, you ? " she said, in a sort of amaze ; " what can you 
 do how will that help you? I should be still your wife." 
 
 That word seemed to exasperate him to fury. 
 
 " You cannot prove it ! " he exclaimed. " If you persist
 
 THE DOOR OPENS. 
 
 in the claim, you may indeed ruin me, but you won't help 
 yourself; for I swear I never will own you ! Who will 
 believe you, here, alone, among strangers ? Men are not 
 accustomed to exercise such easy faith in a woman whose 
 fame is stained, and with a word I can blacken you with 
 infamy. You can prove nothing, and that is, of itself, suspi 
 cious. No man can take up your cause without provoking 
 the tongue of slander, and no woman will dare do it. How 
 will you help yourself? Who will protect you ? " 
 
 " I will ! " cried a voice full of indignant surprise, and 
 Frank Grey, who had caught these last words as he burst into 
 the room, came to Agnes' side. 
 
 With a quick sob, she caught the outstretched hand, and 
 clung to the arm of her friend, with incoherent words of 
 thanks and blessing. 
 
 Col. Stanley bit his lip, with a strong effort at self-control. 
 He had need of all his coolness, for through the doorway he 
 saw Percy and Evelyn approaching. He had reached the 
 most hazardous point of the desperate game he was playing; 
 but, if he lost it, all he valued was forfeited, and he nerved 
 himself for the peril. 
 
 Therefore, when Frank, after a rapid glance from one face 
 to the other, passed his arm around Agnes' half-fainting 
 form, and repeated, in an excited tone, " I will protect her ! " 
 Col. Stanley half turned on his heel, and answered, care 
 lessly, 
 
 " You are welcome to ! Doubtless you are not the first 
 gentleman who has protected distressed damsels."
 
 444 AGNES. 
 
 " Your tone is insulting," cried Frank, " and you shall not 
 insult this lady ! She has been all winter beneath my father's 
 roof, and is by no means without friends. You shall neither 
 insult nor distress her with impunity ! " 
 
 Col. Stanley replied with such entire calmness as almost 
 carried a conviction of his truth to Percy's mind, and stag 
 gered even Frank's steadfast faith. 
 
 " I have no wish to trouble her. For her own good, I 
 have just advised her to leave the place quietly, and offered, 
 in consideration of our former acquaintance, to place her 
 beyond the reach of want or temptation. But she is not 
 contented with this. She claims to be my my wife, for 
 sooth ! and nothing less will satisfy her. As I chance to 
 bear a name hitherto honorable, and to hold some small rank 
 in society, it will scarce be expected I should be able to grat 
 ify her so far, even if she had ever awakened the. deep and 
 strong feelings with which I await the pleasure of the lady 
 who holds my fate in her hands." 
 
 He emphasized the word " lady," and bowed low to Evelyn, 
 who stood by the door, uncertain whether she should go or 
 stay. Her sympathy for Agnes decided the question, and she 
 was advancing to her side, when Col. Stanley, with officious 
 courtesy, intercepted her, and, placing a chair, begged her to 
 be seated, adding, 
 
 " Pray don't waste your pity on the unworthy." 
 
 But Evelyn declined his attention, and Percy, drawing her 
 hand through his arm, said, in a calm though anxious tone, 
 
 " Whatever Agnes may be, she needs pity. What she has
 
 T II E DOOR OPE N S . 445 
 
 been we have come here to learn, but not from you. Speak, 
 Agnes, and tell us. You shall be protected now and after 
 wards ; but this is the moment when all must be known. 
 Who and what are you ? " 
 
 She clasped her hands together, and gazed piteously, 
 beseechingly, at the bold, bad man, whose eyes held hers with 
 magnetic influence. Swayed by fear, and love, and the 
 strange attraction of that basilisk glance, her feebler nature 
 might even then have yielded to his power, had not Percy 
 placed himself between them, and broken the spell. His 
 quiet, grave air, and the compassion in Evelyn's face, gave 
 her strength to speak, 
 
 " I am Col. Stanley's wife. Before heaven I declare it ! 
 I am his wife." 
 
 " Why, then, does he dare deny it ? " asked Percy, in the 
 same kindj authoritative manner ; but she only repeated the 
 same words, " I am I am his wife." 
 
 " Can you bring proof of this ? " said Evelyn, breathless 
 with anxiety. 
 
 " Alas, no ! " 
 
 There was a pause. She saw their faces take a new 
 expression of doubt, and went on with rapid, eager words, 
 speaking in a strained voice, like one whose whole strength 
 scarcely suffices for utterance. 
 
 " I was a mere child when he found me weeping in the 
 
 grave-yard where my mother was buried. 0, surely, not then, 
 
 not there, could he have dreamed of wrong ! A simple girl ! 
 
 and he a gentleman so proud, so handsome! I should 
 
 38
 
 446 AGNES. 
 
 never have dreamed of being anything to him, if he had not 
 followed me, sought me, talked to me of love, comforted mo 
 in my trouble. Then, of course, I loved him. How could I 
 help it ? He was so kind to me I know, I know he loved 
 me truly then! No wonder he has changed since no 
 wonder he wearied of me. I knew so little I was so 
 different from the ladies in his world no wonder he did not 
 want them to see me. 0, he is desperate now with the dread 
 of poverty he is beside himself he does not know the 
 dreadful wrong he is doing ! " 
 
 " Good heavens ! has the man a heart, that he can stand 
 there so unmoved ? " interrupted Frank Grey, moved past 
 all control by such entire self-forgetfulness. A thousand 
 proofs, legally attested, could not have been more convincing 
 than the pathos of her manner ; and Percy and Evelyn, with 
 an irrepressible upspringing of heart, yielded themselves to 
 the blessed certainty. 
 
 "Saved! saved!" they said, in low tones, and clasped 
 each others' hands. 
 
 " But tell us of yourself," cried Evelyn. " Where have 
 you been since then, and how is it you cannot prove your 
 marriage ? " 
 
 " I went away from home with him. He said he had good 
 reasons for wishing to be married elsewhere, and it was not 
 kind in me to doubt. I did not doubt him. I knew nothing 
 of the evil that is in the world of the dreadful things men 
 do, and call it sport. I had perfect faith in him. We went 
 away in the morning, and at noon we were married in the
 
 THE DOOR OPENS. 447 
 
 next town. I had never been there before, but all my life I 
 had seen the old stone turrets of the church far away down 
 the plain, and it pleased me to go there for the wedding. I 
 did not know how wrong it would seem to others. There 
 was no one at home I cared for very much. Well, we were 
 married. I did not think about asking a certificate I 
 never dreamed it could be necessary. We went to foreign 
 lands we travelled a long distance. 0, how happy we 
 were ! He loved me then " 
 
 She paused, and her glance wavered. Stanley had 
 approached, and, looking over Major Grey's shoulder, arrested 
 her words by that piercing gaze, in which the whole force of 
 his will was concentrated. He knew its power over her, and 
 trusted to it far more than to any contradiction of her state 
 ments. Seeing her blush, and grow confused, Percy turned 
 to Col. Stanley, and, with an air as stately as his own, asked, 
 
 " Now, sir, what have you to say ? " 
 
 "It is hardly worth while to refute such an improbable 
 story. You see she does not dare look me in the face and go 
 on with it." 
 
 " What is your own account of the matter ? What do you 
 say of her ? Who is she ? " 
 
 " What she is now I will not pretend to say, some years 
 having elapsed since we parted" 
 
 He had gone too far. Agnes sprang forward, quivering, 
 but erect, fearless, defiant. 
 
 " Stop ! " she cried, frantically. " Add nothing further to 
 your sin ! You left me there, in that remote Spanish town
 
 448 AGNES. 
 
 shut in by mountains left me with smiles and soft words, 
 and murder in your heart left me to wait and watch for 
 your return, and die of slow heart-sickness ! They told me 
 so, at last the folks with whom we had been staying and 
 I found they thought me vile a sinner. They said your 
 servant told them so told them so of me your own wife, 
 whom you had vowed to love and protect ! I went crazy then 
 
 there is a long time I remember nothing of they said I 
 was so ill, they thought at one time I was dead; but I recov 
 ered, at last, and then they gave me money to get away over 
 the mountains, and the ocean, to my own home." 
 
 With a muttered curse, Stanley gnawed his lips till they 
 bled, and, turning on his heel, walked from them to the 
 window. Even his hardihood shrank from that circle of 
 angry and reproachful eyes. Agnes went on. 
 
 " Even there a shameful rumor had preceded me, and all 
 looked at me coldly. My father had a new wife, and she 
 turned me from the house. They said the story came from 
 you from you ! I could not believe that you could not 
 have been so wicked. When they slandered you so, 1 almost 
 forgave you for the wrong you had done. I knew you did 
 not realize what it was 0, no, you did not mean it from 
 the first ! Once you were true and kind. P]vil thoughts were 
 put into your brain afterwards, and circumstances grew too 
 Strong for you. But you did not know how I should suffer 
 
 how could you know ? Men do not love as we do, who 
 only live in loving ! " 
 
 She paused, and looked after him anxiously, wistfully, as if
 
 THE DOOR OPENS. 449 
 
 even then, with all the proof of his villany fresh before her, 
 she could not so wrong her love as to accuse without at the 
 same time excusing him. 
 
 "But you went to the church where you were married? 
 You found the record? He could not efface that, you know," 
 said Evelyn, earnestly. 
 
 " Yes, I found it all. I obtained a copy of the record, 
 it had been but three years, and the old clerk remembered 
 me when I recalled the circumstances. Then they grew kind 
 to me at home they pitied me. My father wanted to go 
 to law about it, but I could not bear to have him. I thought 
 Clarence would hate me more than ever, if I forced him to 
 do anything ; and perhaps, if I did not trouble him, the old 
 love would come back some day, and he would do me justice 
 of his own accord. Besides, my father died soon after, 
 and there was nobody to do anything about it. So I took 
 what little money he left me, and came over here to find my 
 husband." 
 
 "And you surely brought the evidences of your mar 
 riage ? " 
 
 " 0, yes, I brought them safe." 
 
 " Where are they, then ? " and Evelyn's excited face bent 
 over her. 
 
 " I lost them, afterwards." 
 
 " 0, how could you ? " exclaimed her friends, in one 
 breath. 
 
 " When I got to New York, I had found the place where 
 he lived ; his servant told me he had gone into the country to 
 38*
 
 450 AGNES. 
 
 be married to a rich lady who had great property in England. 
 I grew almost crazy then. I thought there must be some 
 thing I did not know, some mistake; he must think I was 
 dead, or he would never dare do such a thing. But others 
 knew I was alive, my friends in England, and what 
 trouble and punishment he would bring upon himself, what a 
 sin he would commit, if I did not let him know that I was 
 living before it was too late. I thought, too, that perhaps he 
 still loved me a little, and when he saw what I had endured 
 because he left me, he would pity and take me to his heart 
 again. I thought he might have left me in a moment of 
 weariness, and been unable afterwards to atone for the wrong. 
 So I started off on foot I had spent all my money I 
 started off to find him. I lost my way in the forest. I lost 
 the precious papers. I was sick a long time afterwards, and 
 then I knew it must be too late. 0, Clarence, I never meant 
 to trouble you more. I meant to lock my secret in my own 
 breast, and die. If you had been married, as I thought, no 
 one should have heard a word of it from me. Never until 
 now have my lips breathed it never, save in prayer, have 
 I uttered your name." 
 
 Her agitation, her distress, through these rapid sentences, 
 were pitiable to behold, and all eyes were wet save the lurid 
 orbs that burnt beneath Col. Stanley's knotted brows. Grad 
 ually he had turned towards the group, as she spoke ; and now 
 he came near, his features distorted with passion, and his 
 white lips working spasmodically a moment, before he could 
 command voice to speak.
 
 THE DOOR OPENS. 451 
 
 " Have you done ? Is the farce played out ? You were 
 always good at acting, and I see you have not failed to move 
 your audience now. If the romance is finished, let us come 
 to facts. Where did you lose those precious papers ? That 
 much you must know, if you ever had them in possession. 
 The truth is, Miss Chester, she is probably insane." 
 
 Agnes wrung her hands, and moaned, " I lost them in the 
 forest. I placed them in the lining of my cap. I know I 
 had it on when I hid under the tree after that dreadful thun 
 der-storm came on. The tree was all shattered, and they say 
 I did not have it on when they found me. It must have been 
 torn to pieces then." 
 
 At these words Frank made an exclamation of extreme 
 surprise, and rushed from the room. 
 
 His brother turned to Col. Stanley with inexpressible con 
 tempt upon his face. For a moment they stood regarding 
 each other defiantly. Then, 
 
 " If this is true," said Percy, " and, by my soul, I believe 
 it is, you, sir, are stained with a crime at which Satan 
 himself might blush ! " 
 
 Before any reply could be made, Frank returned. In his 
 hand he held a small velvet cap, and a stained bit of paper. 
 With a cry of joy, Agnes sprang forward to seize it, but he 
 put her away. 
 
 " You shall not have it until some one besides myself has 
 seen it. Read the paper, Percy, and witness that she speaks 
 the truth." 
 
 In wondering delight Percy read aloud. It was a copy,
 
 452 AGNES. 
 
 witnessed and attested, of the marriage of Clarence Stanley 
 with Agnes Jayne, from the register in the church where the 
 ceremony took place. 
 
 " Thank God ! " exclaimed Percy. " Nothing further is 
 needed for proof. But by what miracle came you possessed 
 of this?" 
 
 Frank blushed slightly, but looked around with a firm, 
 unabashed manner, as he replied, 
 
 " I don't know why I should conceal what perhaps you 
 all see the strong interest I feel in this unfortunate lady. 
 From the moment we found her half dead by the roadside, 
 she has hardly been out of my thoughts. Do you remember, 
 Percy, the morning we left home for White Plains, when we 
 passed that spot I lagged behind, and dismounted to examine 
 the spot more closely. Then I found the cap on the ground. 
 The thick branches had protected it so it was not much wet, 
 and I put it in my breast. Somehow it Made my heart 
 warm, and I Ve worn it most of the time since. I don't know 
 why I did not speak to you of it at first ; afterwards I kept 
 quiet because I did n't want to give it up, and I knew she 
 would compel me. I never had any hope she loved me, and 
 did not imagine I was doing any harm, as she did not know I 
 had it. She never spoke of it, and I did not dream of its 
 importance." 
 
 " Why did you never mention this loss ? " asked Evelyn, 
 turning to Agnes. 
 
 "Because, after I got well, I went to the place and 
 searched, but found nothing, and supposed it was gone forever.
 
 THE DOOR OPENS. 453 
 
 So long a time had elapsed, I supposed Col. Stanley must 
 have been married to that lady, I did not know her name, 
 and since L could only bring distress and trouble by telling 
 my secret, I determined not to utter it. I thought I should 
 not live long, and it would not matter much ; so I cared less 
 for the loss." 
 
 Frank turned impetuously to Col. Stanley. 
 
 "As for you, sir, you are beneath the scorn of honest men; 
 but, if you have anything to say for yourself, say it, and we '11 
 try and give the devil his due when we tell this lady's real 
 name and history. She has been nameless long enough. 
 She shall find her home henceforth among friends who will 
 take care she shall not suffer except from the memories you 
 have made so bitter for her innocent youth." 
 
 The baffled villain had endured tortures of shame and impo 
 tent rage during the last few minutes, but, powerless to wound 
 elsewhere, he seized Frank's honest avowal as a means of 
 revenge. For a short time he walked the room without 
 replying, deeply revolving some plan for the future. Again 
 approaching the group, he held out his hand to Agnes. 
 Scarcely believing the evidence of her senses, she laid her 
 own within it, and as the cold fingers closed over hers with a 
 grasp like iron, she shuddered and gasped as if a snake had 
 clasped her within its death-folds. Much like the magnetism 
 whereby a serpent draws a bird into its jaws had been the 
 weird power by which this delicate nature had been so fatally 
 linked to one so dark and cold. 
 
 " No further words are needed. This woman is my wife.
 
 454 AGNES. 
 
 Doubtless you would be slow to believe me, should I say I 
 had for some time thought her dead, having been so informed 
 by letters from Spain. Since this is not the case, I must 
 accept, with what grace I may, the results of a youthful folly, 
 of which I repented long ago. Miss Chester," he added, more 
 earnestly, "I beg you will at least do me the justice to 
 believe that I never intended to wound your honor by a false 
 marriage. I should have made sure of the event I had cause 
 to believe had taken place, before coming to claim your hand. 
 At the time that claim was established, I had not a hint of 
 this girl's presence in America, or of her existence elsewhere. 
 You have wronged me from first to last, and I see now in 
 your proud face you wrong me in this matter ; but I speak 
 the truth." 
 
 His voice choked with bitter passion, and he turned to 
 Percy and Frank, exclaiming, 
 
 " For you two, with your threats and your contempt, I 
 fling them in your teeth, and stand ready to meet either or 
 both of you where we can resort to other weapons than our 
 tongues. Agnes, you will remain with me. I will relieve 
 this gallant cavalier of all further charge of you." 
 
 He drew her towards him, and she obeyed mechanically ; 
 but Frank grasped her other hand, with a cry of dismay. 
 
 " Agnes, you will not stay with him ? Rascal ! villain ! 
 let go of her ! Agnes, your life is not safe in his hands. 
 Percy, Evelyn, persuade her. She must not be left with him, 
 after the insults of this day." 
 
 But Agnes disengaged her hand from his hold, and, greatly
 
 THE DOOR OPENS. 455 
 
 to their surprise, acquiesced in this decision. Poor thing ! 
 Frank had no thought of himself or his own vain love, as he 
 urged her so vehemently ; but that very urgency, after his 
 honest avowal of interest in her, made Stanley's home, tardily 
 and unwillingly as it had been offered, the only honorable 
 shelter her circumstances allowed. He said not a word, amid 
 all their beseeching, but he held her hand fast, and she was 
 thankful for even so much of right as that afforded to remain 
 at his side. In defending her position there, in resisting the 
 entreaties of her friends, resisting tearfully and tenderly, 
 yet with firmness, she began to lose the keen sense of 
 misery and wrong, to make excuses for the past, and indulge 
 hope for the future. 
 
 They left her at last with reluctance, when convinced that 
 they had no power to make her see her own infatuation. The 
 dream from which she had been so rudely aroused as almost 
 to perceive realities was closing again around her. Again 
 came the hope, on which she had lived so long, that her 
 patient, untiring devotion might win back the love she still 
 believed was hers during the bright days following her ill- 
 starred marriage Notwithstanding all he had done, all she 
 had suffered, she seemed incapable of suspecting that he had 
 from the first intended to deceive and desert her. Perhaps 
 he had not. God only knows. 
 
 Finding all expostulation useless, Frank left her with a 
 hurried good-by, and Percy led Evelyn away. Their parting 
 look at Col. Stanley was met by a smile of triumph. They 
 saw he was gratified at their disappointment, and hoped it
 
 456 AGNES. 
 
 might induce him to treat Agnes more kindly than his 
 attempt to cast her off would indicate. But their hearts 
 were ill at ease, and could hardly enjoy the blessed assurance, 
 now returning in its full force, that they were freed forever 
 from the baneful influences which had nearly destroyed the 
 hope and happiness of life. 
 
 When the door closed after them, Col. Stanley dropped 
 her hand, and, as if the act deprived her of all strength, she 
 sank down upon the floor. He did not appear to notice her, 
 but turned the key in the lock, and walked the room rapidly, 
 with uneven step and knotted brows, while suppressed excla 
 mations, and now and then a groan, issued from his lips. He 
 was a ruined man, and for a short time his mind was pros 
 trated beneath the shock, as he realized that all his plans 
 were indeed overthrown, and the desperate game was lost. 
 As his physical strength, not yet established after his long ill 
 ness, began to yield to excitement and distress, he sat down 
 by the table, and leaned his face forward on his folded arms. 
 Then, for the first time, Agnes ventured to move. She had 
 been regarding him with a mingling of fear and pity and 
 faintly-struggling hope. Now she approached with hesita 
 tion, but her yearning heart, full of keenest sympathy and 
 compassion, drew on her tardy steps. She even ventured at 
 last to touch his brow, and put back the matted hair. 
 
 He started at the touch, as if he had forgotten her pres 
 ence. 
 
 " Ha ! are you here ? What are you here for ? You have 
 ruined me, is n't that enough? "
 
 THE DOOR OPENS. 457 
 
 He spoke gloomily, but his tone was not harsh, as before. 
 It was impossible he should not have been slightly moved by 
 the feeling she had manifested. 
 
 " 0, Clarence, forgive me ! " she said, humbly. " You know 
 I could not help it." 
 
 " Perhaps not, since you were alive," he muttered, so low 
 that she scarcely caught the words ; and then, louder, " Go, 
 now ; I want no one here." 
 
 She obeyed quietly. Evelyn's forethought had prepared 
 for her a kind reception by the shrill-voiced hostess, but she 
 scarce knew what it meant to be called Mrs. Stanley. She 
 had been without a name so long! Col. Stanley locked the 
 door after her, and then, feeling the need of some stimulus to 
 support his exhausted frame, went into his bed-room and 
 poured out a glass of brandy. As he did so a case of pistols 
 on the table caught his eye. They were loaded, and he knew 
 it, and a grim smile flashed across his face as he took one up, 
 played with it an instant, and put it up to his ear. His finger 
 was on the trigger. He hesitated, lowered the weapon, raised 
 it, and then threw it from him. 
 
 " Bah ! a fool's end ! A coward's resort to escape the 
 battle of life ! I am neither a fool nor a coward. I will fight 
 to the end. Then is time enough for death. Courage, Clar 
 ence Stanley ! Knots that cannot be untied must be cut ! 
 I Ve failed here, but, with a stout heart and a cool head, I '11 
 win elsewhere ! " His words sank into low whispers, and 
 died on the firm-set lips, and his face regained its usual cold 
 39
 
 458 AQNES. 
 
 and thoughtful expression, as he abstracted himself more and 
 more from the past in schemes and plans for the future. 
 
 The unknown future ! Agnes, at that moment, alone in 
 her chamber, kneeling in prayer, was asking strength to meet 
 it.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE. 
 
 UPON reaching the hotel, Major Grey was surprised to find 
 that the morning had sped, and the hour arrived when military 
 duty called him elsewhere. Excusing himself to Evelyn, who 
 hastened to inform her father of what they had witnessed, 
 he went to the stable for his horse. 
 
 In his haste, he was half vexed that Jem, instead of having 
 the horse ready, should be wasting his time in quarrelling 
 with Nip, whose sharp tones were heard, exclaiming, 
 
 "You's a bery permiscuous ole fool, philantering roun' 
 here, where nobody an't wantin' yer ! Who 'd 'spect, now, de 
 way you spoke to me den, I 's your s'perior ? " 
 
 " No more ye an't ! Get out o' my way, now, and the next 
 time you turn the Major's hoss out o' his stall for these old 
 trotters, I '11 knock you into a cocked-hat ! " 
 
 The hostile demonstration accompanying these words made 
 Nip retreat a little, and abate his high airs. 
 
 " Do'no what makes yer so rampatious. To be sure, dese 
 an't de coach-hosses dese aminals but dey's passable 
 good fer haulin'. Crack 'em up s'fficient wid de whip, and
 
 460 AGNES. 
 
 dey goes. 'Sides, 't wan't me put 'em in your mas'r's stall. 
 'T was dat ere hostler 't was roun' here, tell me turn out dat 
 aminal and put mine in. Dat 's how dey come dere." 
 
 " Yes," said Jem, mocking him, " dat 's how dey come 
 dere, and dat 's how the Major's hoss happened not to have 
 no place to be, and so strayed away into the field, and 
 took me all this tramp to catch him ! What did you do it 
 for, if you was told ? " 
 
 " 'Cause he 'peared to be de gentl'um what managed de 
 business o' dis 'stablishment," said Nip, nourishing his curry 
 comb. 
 
 " Him ? Land ! Could n't you see he was drunk ? " re 
 joined Jem. 
 
 " Laws, no ! He 'peared bery 'spectable," said Nip. 
 
 " 'Spectable ! he never was respectable, and never will be ; 
 and you know well enough you 're lyin'. You, that 's lived 
 with folks that is respectable, to call him sich ! " 
 
 " 0," said Juniper, sententiously, " der 's diff'rent kinds o' 
 'spectable, yer know. I did n't mean 'spectable for de kind 
 o' his s'periors, but for for " 
 
 " For a drunken hostler," said Jem. " He never was any 
 thing but drunk. Never was sober in all his life, except one 
 time about three weeks. A man here that know'd him, man 
 and boy, forty year, told me so." 
 
 "When was that?" asked Major Grey, who had joined 
 them. 
 
 " That was before he was a year old, one time when his 
 nuss was out o' brandy."
 
 FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE. 461 
 
 " And he is the cause of my horse being in this plight? " 
 said Percy, laughing. 
 
 " Yes, sir ; but I '11 have him ready in two snaps of a 
 
 jiffy." 
 
 The promise was sufficiently indefinite as to time, but Jem's 
 quickness gave token that he would not be detained long, and 
 Major Grey waited with what patience he could. 
 
 When the horse was ready, and he had gone, Jem turned 
 to Juniper, with a fierce air, 
 
 " Now, you woolly-head, now I got time to square accounts 
 with ye ! I want to know what you meant by callin' yourself 
 my superior ? " 
 
 " Well, as in ref 'rence to dat yer, dere 's diff'rent mean 
 ings to words, ye know, and mebbe my meanin' an't like 
 yourn." 
 
 " What 's your meanin', then, you black dictionary ? " 
 
 " My meanin' is, dat s'perior signifies som'p'un 't an't so 
 high 's som'p'un else. When I say I 's your s'perior, I means 
 you 's more elewated up in de worle dan I be." 
 
 "Well, if that's it," said Jem, "I guess I won't give ye 
 that thrashin' to-day you Ve been achin' for so long." 
 
 Nip bowed with most profound gravity. " Thankee. If it 
 all de same to you, I prefers achin' 'fore to achin' arter it." 
 
 The two boys burst into a hearty laugh at the end of tho 
 little farce they had been playing for their own amusement. 
 Before their merriment had subsided, the widow Henderson 
 came bustling from the house, calling Jem in a tone that 
 showed her excitement. 
 39*
 
 462 AGNES. 
 
 " No need o' bellerin' so, marm ! I an't a bull-calf," said 
 her son, in a good-natured tone, as he showed himself at the 
 stable-door. 
 
 "Where be ye, then? What you guess has happened? 
 I know'd somethin' was goin' to happen, for my right eye 
 itched fust thing when I waked up this morning. What do 
 ye think 'tis?" 
 
 " Good, or bad? " asked Jem. 
 
 " Good. Ye might a knowed it by my face." 
 
 " Sure 'nough. You 're grinnin' like a chessy-cat. Marm, 
 you 're a han'sum woman when you 're good-nater'd." 
 
 " So yer pa allers said," replied the widow, taking the 
 compliment as heartily as it was given. " Come, why don't 
 you guess ? " 
 
 " Well, now, good news is news," said Jem, with provok 
 ing coolness. " Somebody's eyes must itch every mornin', 
 for things is all the time happenin' nowadays ; but most o' 
 times they 's bad. When I asks ' What 's new for news to 
 day ? ' I most allers gets somethin' wus 'n I heard the day 
 afore. Beats all for that, these times ! " 
 
 " 0, you plague ! Why don't you guess ? " exclaimed his 
 mother. 
 
 "An't I?" 
 
 " No. And what 's more, you shan't now, for I '11 tell. 
 Miss Evelyn an't goin' to be married upon Col. Stanley. 
 That young woman what was carried off by the Ingines is 
 Col. Stanley's wife, that he run away from and thought she 
 was dead ; but she wan't, and now he 's had to give up Miss
 
 FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE. 463 
 
 Evelyn, and she '11 be married upon Major Grey before long 
 the old 'squire says so." 
 
 " My eyes ! you have told somethin' new for news this 
 time ! You sure that 's true ? " cried Jem, cutting a somer 
 set, and throwing up his cap. 
 
 " True 's the book. But don't spile your cap, Jem ! it 
 cost me two-and-six, good money." 
 
 " Spile it ? It 's past spilin'," said Jem, surveying its bat 
 tered exterior with great scorn. " I declare, marm, I 'm 
 ashamed of ye, thinkin' of two-and-sixpence now, when the 
 Major 's got over all his troubles ! I thought I see daylight 
 in his face when he was here, a minute ago." And again the 
 cap went up, with a jubilant hurra. 
 
 " You 're the obstinatest boy ! " said Mrs. Henderson. 
 " But I forgive ye this time, seein' I 'm tickled too. Miss 
 Evelyn and the old 'squire does seem so happy ! 'T would do 
 you good to see 'em. Now I reckon I can find out what 's 
 been the matter all this time, and made my young lady pine 
 away so to skin and bones. Jem, do you know ? " 
 
 "If I do, lan't going to tell," said Jem. "Juniper, you 
 ink-bottle, le's see you grin ! What are you looking so glum 
 about ? " 
 
 " 'Pears like dat young woman better staid 'mong dem 
 aborginees. Col. Stanley good deal more 'spectable gentle 
 man for Miss Ebelyn dan dis yer Major good deal richer." 
 
 Juniper's indignant face showed how much his family pride 
 was wounded. Beside his own private reasons, based on cer 
 tain pieces of gold, which had been the liberal payment of
 
 464 AGNES. 
 
 some slight services, that Miss Chester, who was the pride of 
 his heart, should give up the aristocratic-looking colonel, in 
 his gold-laced uniform, for the plain major, in his plainer 
 clothes, was a descent not to be tolerated without remon 
 strance, even in the face of Jem's threatening fists. 
 
 " Don't fight him, Jemmy, don't ! " said Mrs. Henderson, 
 as she saw her son's belligerent attitude. " The nigger an't 
 so far wrong about the colonel being a more suitabler match, 
 'specially as Major Grey has been and fit agin his lawful 
 king. But, then, he '11 go over to t' other side now, of course ; 
 'cause Miss Evelyn '11 come into her property after the Earl 
 of Evansdale he dies, and then they '11 have to go to Eng- 
 
 " My eyes and Betty Martin ! " exclaimed Jem, " are you 
 a fixin' that up that way ? When you see Major Grey a 
 turncoat, you may call me green. His clothes an't made o' 
 that kind o' cloth." 
 
 " You don't suppose Miss Evelyn '11 be married upon a 
 rebel, do you? " said his mother, sharply. 
 
 " Why not ? Bless you, marm, where your eyes been ? 
 55he 's a rebel herself, and so is the old 'squire. They 'd give 
 any money to see Gen. Howe handsomely whipped and sent 
 hon*e ; and so would I, too, for that matter." 
 
 But this was too much for the widow. She held up her 
 hands in horror, and then put her apron to her eyes. 
 
 " You, too ? " she sobbed. " 0, Jem, Jem ! to think this 
 ere blessed war should a gone and brought me so much 
 trouble ! Now I s'pose yott '11 be sayin' next ye won't go
 
 FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE. 465 
 
 home with me, and then, the fust thing I know, you'll be a 
 fightin' agin your lawful king; and, arter all the trouble I 
 been to in bringin' of you up, you '11 jest go and get shot some 
 day, and that '11 be the end o' you ! " 
 
 " Tell ye what, marm," said Jem, " if I do, I '11 pick out a 
 clean place to fall in, so as not to get my clothes spiled." 
 
 Mrs. Henderson had given but a meagre description of the 
 joy with which Mr. Chester learned that his daughter was so 
 unexpectedly freed from her entangling bonds. As, when 
 clouds which have lowered over the sky are suddenly with 
 drawn, the landscape appears invested with a more vivid 
 brightness than during long days of sunshine, so life acquired 
 a value he had never before appreciated, and 
 
 " His bosom's lord sat lightly on its throne. 1 ' 
 
 Nothing hindered their enjoyment but apprehension with 
 regard to Agnes, whose future lot could scarce fail to be one 
 of misery. To Col. Stanley her yielding temper and her timid 
 ity would seem like weakness, her heavenly meekness and self- 
 abnegation like folly, and her clinging faith the cause of the 
 fatal overthrow he had experienced. Their fears increased 
 as they recalled the hardness and selfishness he had exhibited 
 in the various circumstances of their acquaintance, and they 
 determined to make one more effort to detain Agnes, trusting 
 that a few hours of quiet reflection had convinced her of the 
 imprudence of her first decision. 
 
 Late in the afternoon, Percy and Evelyn set out for the 
 scene of their morning excitement. On the way they met
 
 466 AGNES. 
 
 Frank, who was just returning, haggard and exhausted, from 
 the forest, where he had passed the intervening time in 
 struggle and self-communion. At first he avoided them, but 
 a second thought brought him to their side. His violent 
 emotion had spent itself in exercise as violent, and moody 
 pauses of breathless thought. He was calmer now, and had 
 something of his old manner, as he said, 
 
 " ' It 's an ill wind that blows nowhere,' and I 'm right glad 
 of the good fortune this day has brought you two. People 
 say 'misery loves company,' it's well she does, for she 
 always has plenty ; but I prefer to have my friends have 
 short faces when I have a long one. Variety is the spice of 
 life, you know ; so just let me look as sober as I please, and 
 don't think it necessary to condole with me. I can bear any 
 thing in the world but condolences and advice." 
 
 " You leave your friends very little space for conversation 
 with you, then ; for conversation in this world is made up 
 largely of those two articles. Since you don't place an em 
 bargo on curiosity, pray what are you going to do so desperate 
 that you feel it necessary to prohibit all advice ? " 
 
 Percy smiled as he said this, but his tone betrayed secret 
 solicitude. His brother walked beside them a few steps 
 before replying. Then .he said, moodily, 
 
 " I know what you are afraid of. But at present I don't 
 know as I can do anything. You see how Agnes loves that 
 man. She shall never suffer one moment's uneasiness even 
 from the apprehension of anything I might do. Tell her so, 
 you are going there, if she remembers and worries over
 
 FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE. 467 
 
 the defiance he threw in our teeth this morning. But, tell 
 her, also no don't tell her she might not like it but, 
 the fact is, if any harm comes to her through him, he shall 
 pay for it with his blood." 
 
 " There will be time enough for vengeance, if you do not 
 come into a different mind," said Percy, soothingly. "At 
 present we are only thinking how we may rescue her from 
 being subject to Col. Stanley's caprices. Miss Chester hopes 
 to persuade her to accompany them to their home." 
 
 "She will not do it I know her too well. She will not 
 think it right, and, if it was, she could not bring herself to do 
 it. Poor Agnes ! Tell her no, no, tell her nothing ! " 
 
 He strode away abruptly, and turned down a side street. 
 They looked after him, with a sigh, and pursued their way. 
 At the gate of the cottage Percy left Evelyn, for his duties 
 called him elsewhere, and she entered the door alone. 
 
 In the kitchen the " head of the house " was nursing her 
 baby, with three little, tow-headed urchins grouped at her 
 feet. Evelyn inquired for Mrs. Stanley. 
 
 " Wai, now, 't deu sound queer to hear you say in' Miss 
 Stanley, don't it ? Who 'd ever a supposed the Colonel wan't 
 an old bach' ? Here he 's been the whole winter, an' never 
 let on a word 'bout his wife, no more 'n nothin'. You 'xcuse 
 my gettin' up, the baby 's dreadful troublesome. Take a 
 chair, won't ye, Miss ? " 
 
 She pushed one towards her visitor as she spoke, and was 
 evidently disposed for a chat; but Miss Chester declined these 
 overtures, and, adroitly turning the topic of conversation,
 
 4G8 AGNES. 
 
 asked a few questions about the baby, and the names of the 
 three little tow-heads and then requested to be shown the 
 way to the chamber where she learned Agnes had remained 
 since morning. 
 
 Depriving the infant of its lacteal rights, a wrong it 
 resented with squalls of anger, the woman accompanied 
 Evelyn up stairs, talking all the way. 
 
 " Arter what you told me this mornin', I did n't wonder 
 she did n't want to stay with him ; but it deu seem queer that 
 when he an't seen her all this while, and she come all this 
 way to see him, he should n't a sent for her, or inquired for 
 her, or somethin', 'fore this time. She 's sich a pretty-spoken 
 little thing, too ! " 
 
 " I fear he has been but a harsh and cruel husband to her," 
 said Miss Chester, in a low voice. 
 
 "Well, some men is. Now, my man he's a good- 
 natured creter enough, too, as men go but sometimes he 's 
 so contrary, I tell him there 's no living with him, and, if 
 he don't shet up, I '11 clear out and I 'd do it, too, in a 
 minute." 
 
 "What does he say to such a threat?" 
 
 "0, he hauls in his horns, then, when he sees I 'm in 
 earnest. He knows I would n't take the children, and the 
 law could n't make me ; and what on earth could he do with 
 'em without me? He thinks a sight o' the children, too. 
 That 's the main use, I think, children is, in a family. They 's 
 great helps to a woman about managin' her man."
 
 FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE. 469 
 
 " But you would n't really go, and leave your children ? " 
 asked Miss Chester, much amused by this revelation of the 
 secrets of family government. 
 
 " Indeed, I would, in a minute, if he plagued me to it ! 
 They 're his young ones as much as they 're mine every 
 soul on 'em ; and I don't see why I should have all the 
 trouble of 'em, and he off all day, and don't know nothin' 
 about it. ' Turn about is fair play,' so I say. If I mind 
 the children, let me have my own way about house matters, to 
 pay me for it." 
 
 By this time they had reached the chamber, and Evelyn 
 entered, while her loquacious guide returned to the crying 
 baby. 
 
 Agnes was sitting by the open window, her head leaned 
 wearily on her hand, and her dreamy eyes fixed on the far 
 distance. She was calm, but very pale, and Evelyn was 
 struck with the haggard, exhausted look in that young face. 
 Although they had never met, had hardly heard of each other, 
 before the preceding evening, the rapid course of events since 
 then had so woven their hearts together that they seemed like 
 old friends, and Agnes sprang, with a cry of joy, to the arms 
 opened to receive her. 
 
 " I thought you would come," she said. " Did n't they say, 
 last night, the prisoners were to be exchanged to-morrow ? I 
 thought you would want to see nie once more, and I had so 
 many messages to send to them all they have been so kind 
 to me ! " 
 
 40
 
 470 AGNES. 
 
 " Do you still persist in your determination to go with Col. 
 Stanley ? " asked her friend. 
 
 " What else can I do ? " she answered, with a troubled 
 expression. 
 
 " Stay with me. 0, dear Agnes, I love you. I will be a 
 sister to you, and my father is ready to welcome you to our 
 home." 
 
 " You are very kind," said Agnes, returning the warm 
 embrace which gave force to these words. 
 
 " And you will come with me ? " 
 
 " I must not leave my husband." 
 
 The words were in a whisper, but there was a certain pride 
 in them which did not escape Evelyn's notice. 
 
 " Do you think it is best so ? " she said. " Of course, by 
 so doing, you separate wholly from us ; and dare you trust 
 him after what has passed ? Don't look at me so reproach 
 fully ! If I seem harsh, it is because I am so truly your 
 friend. At any rate, don't go with him to-morrow. There 
 are abundant reasons why you should not. You are not pre 
 pared for the journey, and you are not well enough to under 
 take it. Excuse yourself in this way to him, and take a few 
 days for reflection. You cannot tell now what is best for 
 you. I do not think he will object, if he finds you desire to 
 be left behind." 
 
 There was a slight tinge of sarcasm in these last words, and 
 Agnes replied, quickly, 
 
 " You think he will be glad to leave me that he does not 
 want me with him. Perhaps you are right, though, now that
 
 EKIENDSHIP AND LOVE. 471 
 
 other hopes have failed him, it may be he will turn to me. 
 The mouse helped the lion once, you know." 
 
 " That was in the way of gratitude, and you have small 
 cause to be grateful to him, you poor little mouse ! " said 
 Evelyn, pitifully. 
 
 " I owe to him some of the happiest hours of my existence. 
 0, Miss Chester, we were so happy once ! " 
 
 " But think of the hours, the months and years, that have 
 passed since ! " . 
 
 " That might not have been all his fault. He was so much 
 my superior ! Could he help it, if he wearied of me ? I am 
 not intellectual, and I did not know much. Besides," she has 
 tened to say, as Evelyn was about to interrupt her, " I have 
 been thinking of another thing that had something to do with 
 it. While we were in Spain he heard of the birth of an heir 
 to his uncle's estate. He had expected it would descend to 
 him, and used to tell me we would go there and live, and I 
 should be a great lady. After that he always seemed dif 
 ferent, and grew cross and fretful, and said he was poor. I 
 did not care ; I was used to poverty. People can be very 
 happy, if they are poor. But he did not think so, and soon 
 after that he left me. If he hadn't been so disappointed 
 about that, I think he would have acknowledged me as his 
 wife. 0, Miss Chester, he was not evil from the first. He 
 was tempted, and went astray." 
 
 " But what tempted him ? His own bad passions, his 
 selfishness, his coward fear of the world, or rather of the 
 dissipated men and women who made up his world.
 
 472 AGNES. 
 
 Agnes, poor child, your compassionate excuses would almost 
 make me relent towards this man, if my own experience did 
 not prove that, whatever he may have been once, he is now 
 thoroughly selfish and cold-hearted. Forgive me I must 
 say it. My father says there is in some women a perfect 
 mania for self-sacrifice, and I begin to believe it. But you 
 shall not thus become a victim, if I can help it. What have 
 you to hope for, if you remain with him ? " 
 
 " Still, my place is by his side, and while he bids me hold 
 that place I may not leave it. And, dark as you think my 
 prospects, I have hopes, brighter, perhaps, for the dark 
 ness. He says he is very poor a ruined man." She 
 paused, and then added, with a passionate burst of feeling, 
 " And I have caused it J who loved him so ! " 
 
 " And you love him still in spite of all, you really love 
 him now ! " exclaimed Evelyn, with wonder. 
 
 " Yes ! " she said. Then smiling, and kindling with enthu 
 siasm, " I will work for him ! He says he shall be forsaken of 
 his companions thrown into prison. O, then, I will be near 
 him I will work like a slave to gain him money I will 
 make myself so necessary to his comfort that he cannot but be 
 glad to have me there. If he were proud and prosperous as 
 he once was, he might think me a burden ; but I shall be no 
 burden then, and when the world has cast us both out shall 
 we not become all in all to each other once more ? " 
 
 Evelyn's proud heart revolted at such humility of affection. 
 It seemed to make a bond-slave, crushed and trampled, of 
 that divine sentiment which should be throned as queen.
 
 FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE. 473 
 
 " Poor, silly girl," she said, " you are dreaming. A 
 servant, laboring unloved and unthanked is this the happi 
 ness you aspire to ? Believe me, the man for whom you toil 
 will never thank you for all your sacrifice." 
 
 "You speak of my husband, Miss Chester. I have sworn 
 to love and honor him till death parts us." 
 
 The simple dignity of these words silenced Evelyn. She 
 turned to the window, without replying. Agnes saw the 
 expression of her face, and, following, seized her hand and 
 pressed it to her lips. 
 
 " You will not urge me any more, now you know I am 
 decided ; but I thank you all the same for the interest that 
 made you forget. But, tell me," she added, after a pause, 
 " can you not find in your own bosom an excuse for what 
 you deem my infatuation ? "Would indifference, would neglect, 
 would even wrong and sin, quench your love for Percy 
 Grey?" 
 
 A faint blush passed over Evelyn's face, and, after a few 
 moments of thought, she answered, a little proudly, 
 
 " I could not love unworthily." 
 
 " But, suppose you had been so unfortunate, so deceived, 
 would all the love you had felt die when you discovered that 
 your idol was unworthy of its shrine ? Could you not forgive 
 and pity ? Could you not love on, through all, in spite of 
 all?" 
 
 Evelyn's eyes fell, and her stately head was half turned 
 aside, as she replied, 
 
 " I cannot now conceive the feelings you express. From 
 40*
 
 474 AGNES. 
 
 the man I love I could not forgive such wrongs as you have 
 Buffered. If I endured them, my heart would turn to stone." 
 
 " 0, then," cried Agnes, " you have never known the 
 highest love ! Start not, dear Evelyn, and do not think me 
 mistaken. Is it not the highest love a love, if I may dare 
 say so, most like His who died for man that fails not in its 
 strength because of ingratitude and neglect ; that falters not 
 when its path leads through dark, polluted ways ; that clings 
 to the sinner as he falls further and further from the bright 
 ness of truth and virtue crying, and clinging, and sobbing, 
 ' I will not give thee up ' ? " 
 
 Her voice failed, and she bowed her head on the hand she 
 held, weeping violently. Evelyn's eyes were opened to a 
 new light, and, with her proud nature chastened and subdued, 
 she knelt beside her friend, clasping her arms around her, 
 and mingling her tears with hers. 
 
 " I have something else to tell you," said Agnes, at length. 
 Now that the seal of silence was broken, it was a relief to 
 pour out her whole soul. 
 
 " I had a dream once, a prophetic dream. It has haunted 
 me ever since when I felt ready to die it urged me on. 
 If I leave him, he will become wholly evil only my love 
 can save him." 
 
 " Do you believe thus in dreams ? " said Evelyn, thought 
 fully, as she paused. 
 
 " I believe in some dreams," Agnes replied, " and this has 
 been so far fulfilled that I must believe the rest. Listen to 
 me, before you smile at my superstition.
 
 FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE. 475 
 
 "We were walking in a meadow Clarence and I. It 
 was bright with sunshine from a cloudless sky ; it was gay 
 with flowers, and the air was full of bird-music ; the most 
 exquisite landscape was around us ; we were happy 0, so 
 happy ! It was like real life, it was so beautiful ! 
 
 " On we went talking, absorbed in each other feeling 
 in our souls the sunshine and the music, but seeing only 
 the dear face near at least, I saw only him. At last 
 something made me look back, and I saw the way closing up 
 behind us, narrowing and narrowing as we walked on. But 
 I was not frightened ; I did not care to return ; I had him 
 still with me, and there were still flowers and grass around 
 us, and blue skies overhead. The mystic shutting of the 
 path behind us, like the sides of a vista closing, did not 
 trouble me. 
 
 " Gradually, before I was aware, all was changed. The 
 way grew barren and flinty, and rocks, ever growing higher 
 and higher, arose on every hand. Then the light of heaven 
 grew less brilliant; the rocks changed to precipices; they hung 
 over on either side, they leaned more and more, they met 
 the sky was shut out. 
 
 " Then we would have paused and gone back, but we could 
 not. A power, like destiny, bore us on. We were happy no 
 longer ; we talked no more ; Clarence withdrew his arm from 
 me, and I walked passively beside him ; we dared not look at 
 each other; we dared not look forward. O, how dark and 
 doleful was the road, how real was the misery ! I have 
 known since what it meant.
 
 476 AGNES. 
 
 "At last we stood by a river, broad and deep, but the 
 further shore looked like the meadow from which we started, 
 bright with sunshine and flowers. It looked like, and yet I 
 knew it was not the same, though I longed 0, how intensely 
 I longed to go there ! and a boat was waiting, as if to take 
 us over. For some time I had lost the consciousness of my 
 husband's presence; but now again he seemed near, and I 
 looked at him, about to speak, when something struck me 
 dumb with terror. He was not the same man with whom I 
 had started that sunny morning along the flowery path. 0, 
 how fearfully he was changed ! and yet I could see, as it 
 were, a dim shadow of his former self, through all the 
 change. I threw myself upon his breast. He shook me off 
 roughly, and stepped into the boat. In my despair I was 
 sinking down helplessly, when some one said to me, ' Go 
 after him do not let him leave you do not let him go. 
 None cross this river but they who have lost their souls.' 
 
 " 0, the agony of that moment ! I gasped, I shrieked, I 
 ran into the black, death-cold waters to seize the departing 
 boat. He struck my hands off; the rushing waves bore him 
 away. In the struggle I awoke." 
 
 "And did you tell him your dream?" asked Evelyn, 
 impressed by the earnestness of the narration. 
 
 " I did it was soon after we were married." 
 
 "What did he say?" 
 
 " He laughed at me for my superstition at being frightened 
 by a dream, and then he soothed me with kind words till I
 
 FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE. 477 
 
 forgot it. But I did not long forget. It haunted my days 
 of gladness, and later I learned to know its meaning." 
 
 She sat quiet, and mused deeply. Evelyn's eyes were fixed 
 with wondering interest upon the slight figure, the wan face 
 beneath the drooping, golden curls, the large eyes so full of 
 patience, the helpless, infantile mouth, the delicate physique 
 of this strange creature, so feeble in all things else, so strong 
 in her love. As she was studying this problem, Agnes spoke, 
 suddenly, with kindling eyes, and cheeks flushing into a faint 
 bloom at the thought. 
 
 " Have we not passed the dark passage have we not 
 reached the river ? Did he not try to shake me off, and have 
 I not saved him? 0, is there not somewhere for us, now, 
 a sunny shore on which we may rest? Tell me, Evelyn, do 
 you not believe my dream ? " 
 
 " You are worthy of the happiness you desire, and I am 
 sure I hope it may be yours," said Miss Chester, evading the 
 question. " But, if you are really going away to-morrow, 
 we must be thinking of something beside dreams. I can 
 furnish you with the necessary equipment for travelling ; for, 
 fortunately, I have all my wardrobe with me. Don't object ; 
 it will be a mercy to relieve my father of the superfluous 
 band-boxes. When you reach New York, and are supplied 
 from another source, you can give these to some poor person 
 for my sake." 
 
 " How thoughtful and kind of you ! I had forgotten all 
 about my clothes." 
 
 " So I supposed ; but, fortunately, you dreamers have the
 
 478 AGNES. 
 
 faculty to interest some more practical person to take care of 
 you, and so, like the lilies of the field, you are clothed." 
 
 " From heaven ! " added Agnes, softly, with an upward 
 glance. 
 
 " You good little thing, how you make me love you ! " said 
 Evelyn, kissing her. " I wish there was any hope we might 
 see each other again. It seems impossible that only last 
 night you and I were strangers. How little I knew, then, 
 you were the angel who was to unlock my prison doors ! 
 Agnes, it must be a pleasure to your kind heart to know the 
 lasting happiness you have brought me. Your very existence 
 has proved such a blessing to me, and to others because of 
 me, that, if you never do any other good, you may be sure you 
 have not lived in vain." 
 
 Agnes sailed gently. " I am glad you are happy and 
 Percy. I wish I could see them all once more they were 
 so very patient and gentle with me, when my spirit was so 
 bruised and broken that a rough touch would have been 
 torture. 0, if people only knew the kindness it is, some 
 times, not to ask questions ! Dear Mr. and Mrs. Grey ! Do 
 you think I can see them again before we leave ? " 
 
 " Not if you go to-morrow, for Percy tells me the detach 
 ment is to be sent off before daylight." 
 
 " Then I shall not see you again ! 0, Evelyn ! " 
 
 She threw herself into her friend's arms, in a sudden tremor, 
 and whispered, " How I dread the morrow ! " 
 
 " Stay with us, then at least, until you are stronger." 
 
 " No, no," she said, shaking her head, sadly. " I must arm 
 myself with courage, and brave my fate alone."
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 THE SCHEMER AND HIS VICTIM. 
 
 WHEN Percy came to escort Evelyn back to the hotel, the 
 friends parted not without tears and protestations of affection, 
 and earnest messages of love from Agnes to those she might 
 never see again. Then the short summer night passed all too 
 quickly for the tired wanderer, whose exhausted frame had 
 yielded to a sleep so deep and heavy that it scarcely. refreshed 
 her, and who woke with a numbness like death on every limb, 
 in the gray dawn of morning, to see the landlady standing 
 beside the bed, lamp in hand, and hear her say, 
 
 " Come, I reckon you '11 have to hurry, if you 're goin'. 
 That ere man o' yourn an't none o' the patientest." 
 
 " Is it time ? Are they ready ? " cried Agnes, starting up. 
 
 " Nigh about. You 're sleepy, an't ye ? So be I. I an't 
 slep' a wink, hardly, all night, the baby was so dreffle trouble 
 some. I declare, if I ever have another, I '11 dry-nuss him ! 
 That 's the way the queen does, they say, and I don't see why 
 I an't as good as the queen. You been in England, ever 
 you see the queen? " 
 
 " I never did," said Agnes, with little thought to what she
 
 480 AGNES. 
 
 was replying ; for she was all in a tremble with excitement 
 at the prospect of again meeting her husband. The woman 
 went on talking. 
 
 " Well, now, you better be dressin'. Let me help ye. 
 There is some clothes that young man brought, arter you was 
 abed, down stairs in a trunk. He said as how they was 
 yourn. Do you want any on 'em ? No ? Well, them ere 
 is good enough for travelling any day, and save time, too, not 
 to get the others. You better hurry all you can, for I see the 
 wagon a standin' up street afore I come up stairs. I'd a 
 come before, only seems 's if I never should get dressed, the 
 baby was so troublesome. And, I tell you, you better not 
 let that man o' yourn have to wait breakfast for you. If you 
 do, he '11 flare up." 
 
 " I can dress twice as soon, if you only won't hurry me," 
 said Agnes, in desperation. 
 
 " I an't hurryin' on ye, as I knows on, only there an't but 
 precious little time to lose, and ye better be ready. I 'm 
 goin' to give you one more piece of advice, too, for you don't 
 look as if 't would do ye any harm. Don't you be too scared 
 o' that man o' yourn. These husbands is easy enough man 
 aged, if you only let 'em know they can't have no peace in 
 the house if they don't let you have your own way I know'd 
 a woman that always had fits jest the most nateral kind o' 
 fits in the world whenever anything happened she did n't 
 like. You couldn't help pityin' of her, to see her in 'em. 
 It answered first rate. She never had to say nothin'. The 
 fits always did it."
 
 THE SCHEMER AND HIS VICTIM. 481 
 
 "I shouldn't think many husbands would endure such 
 discipline quietly," said Agnes, amused in spite of her 
 anxiety. 
 
 " Laws ! Bless your little silly heart ! The men bluster 
 and make a great talk, but they afl't got half the spunk the 
 women has. Jest let 'em see you've took 'em in hand, and 
 they '11 give up for the sake o' peace. They 're sich la/y, 
 selfish creturs, they '11 do most anything for the sake o' bein' 
 made comfortable. So now you jest stand up to that man o' 
 yourn, and don't let him run away and leave you agin. He 
 looked mighty like he 'd like to, when I axed him should I 
 call you to breakfast." 
 
 The words were not spoken unkindly, but they made 
 Agnes shudder. 
 
 " What did he say ? " she asked, in a low tone. 
 
 "Say? If his words was money, he wouldn't be any 
 more afraid o' throwin 'em away on me. No matter, there 
 an't no love lost between us. He jest scowled and nodded 
 his head, same 's to say yes. Not but what he 's civil-spoken 
 enough, too, when he does say anything." 
 
 At this moment the distant sound of wheels startled them 
 both. The woman hurried down stairs, and Agnes, when 
 relieved of her presence, could speedily finish her preparations 
 for departure. 
 
 With a palpitating heart she descended the stairs to the 
 kitchen, where the " troublesome baby " was testifying its in 
 herited disposition, by a vigorous scratching and pulling at the 
 hair and face of a sunburnt, quiet-looking man in the chimney- 
 41
 
 482 A G N E 3 . 
 
 corner, while the mother was busy carrying breakfast into 
 Col. Stanley's room. He usually took his meals alone. On 
 this occasion the table had been set for two persons ; for his 
 hostess was very much incensed at the neglect that his quiet 
 little wife had endured, and determined, as she afterwards 
 said, " he should treat her decent, for once." 
 
 A position more painful and embarrassing than that in 
 which Agnes now found herself could not be imagined, and 
 she was heartily glad of the bustle and confusion in the 
 kitchen, and the resolute manner and shrill voice of the 
 woman, from whom otherwise she would have drawn back in 
 terror. But no time was allowed for hesitation. 
 
 " Mr. Stanley, your wife 's here. Come to breakfast, Miss 
 Stanley," said the unrelenting voice; and the determined 
 hands seized her by both shoulders, and pushed her into the 
 room as readily as if Agnes had been one of the white-headed 
 urchins who owned her authority. 
 
 Col. Stanley detested " a scene," especially before specta 
 tors, and he would almost have received his wife to his arms, 
 rather than unfold any of his feelings or wishes to the curi 
 osity of that woman, whose presence he could with difficulty 
 tolerate, so intense was his dislike to her. His only desire 
 now was to sustain Agnes, whose agitation he read at a 
 glance, that she might not in any way betray either herself or 
 him. 
 
 He rose from the table, where he had already taken a seat, 
 and, offering her a chair, inquired for her health in a calm, 
 easy manner, calculated to reassure without exciting her.
 
 THE SCHEMER AND HIS VICTIM. 483 
 
 During their breakfast, as his servant and the hostess were 
 passing in and out the rooms, he talked cheerfully, without 
 seeming aware that Agnes was only pretending to eat, and 
 was incapable of answering him ; and when the hasty meal 
 was finished, asked her to put on her bonnet, as the carriage 
 was waiting. 
 
 Poor Agnes ! Poor, silly heart ! how it misinterpreted 
 the forced courtesy ; how it beat with delight at being re 
 ceived with as much politeness as he would have given to a 
 chance acquaintance ! There was a flush of joy on her cheek, 
 and a light in her eyes like the light of hope, as she reappeared 
 in the doorway, where the gleam of the brightening eastern 
 sky shone full upon her. 
 
 One who watched her from behind a screen of lilac-bushes, 
 on the opposite side of the road, went away with his forebod 
 ings quieted as the carriage drove from the spot; for he 
 thought goodness had prevailed over evil, and in her own 
 way she might be happy yet. She observed him at the last 
 moment, and waved her hand at him with a pitying thought, 
 and a shy, foolish glance at the muffled form beside her, to see 
 if the act were noticed. 
 
 But it was not noticed. If Agnes was present to Col. 
 Stanley's mind at that moment, or afterwards during the long 
 miles they traversed that weary day, it was merely as all his 
 troubles were present, to be thought over and adjusted as his 
 calculating brain could best devise. By detaining her at his 
 side he had kept his retreat from the scene of conflict from 
 having the appearance of an utter rout, and thus in some
 
 484 AGNES. 
 
 measure saved his own dignity, and annoyed those whom he 
 considered as enemies. Having served his ends, she became 
 again what, alas ! she had long been, simply an encumbrance. 
 
 His nature had changed and hardened much since the days 
 when youthful fancy led him to plan the secret marriage of 
 which he so soon repented ; but the provident selfishness that 
 caused him to withhold all legal proofs of that marriage from 
 the world and from his bride was a type of that now working, 
 as, without one reference to what Agnes might experience, he 
 put down the faint whispers of conscience, and, hour by hour, 
 devised his future course. The coolness, the steadiness, with 
 which he did so, showed how rapidly his feet had run down 
 the steep declivities of vice. He could pause upon the brink 
 of this precipice, and his brain did not grow dizzy as he looked 
 into the gulf below. 
 
 The wound in Col. Stanley's limb had so weakened it that 
 he was not yet able to ride on horseback, and the wagon had 
 been provided for his accommodation. Some others had 
 availed themselves of the escort which accompanied him as a 
 safeguard to the British lines, and Mr. Chester had thought 
 best to send back Mrs. Henderson, that she might thus be 
 sure of returning unmolested to the city. All her persuasions 
 had failed to induce Jem to go back to the shop, and, with a 
 heart wofully divided between her money-box and her refrac 
 tory son, she had bidden him a tearful adieu, beguiling the 
 way afterwards by wondering what the profits of her grocery- 
 ehop had been during the four days of her absence. 
 
 At Newark they were to meet a detachment coming up
 
 THE SCHEMER AND HIS VICTIM. 485 
 
 from Philadelphia, escorting a party of officers and subalterns, 
 who were at this place to be exchanged for a number equal 
 in value of Americans taken prisoners by the British army. 
 Efforts had been made to have Gen. Lee included in this 
 number, but, much to his own vexation and the disappoint 
 ment of his friends, he was still detained in New York. 
 Gen. Washington's firmness and judicious management had 
 prevented the British from persisting in their intention to 
 treat him as a deserter from their ranks, and he was now 
 enjoying the rights of a prisoner of distinction ; and the value 
 set upon his services was one reason of his prolonged cap 
 tivity. 
 
 As Col. Stanley and his escort entered the town, he aroused 
 from his revery at the sight of familiar faces, and forgot his 
 gloom when they reached the hotel, and he recognized his 
 friend Harcourt among those who had brought the American 
 soldiers from New York. 
 
 In a moment Col. Harcourt was beside the wagon, shaking 
 hands with a hearty pleasure. 
 
 " Eight glad to see you back again, my fine fellow!" said 
 he. " You look as if they had n't starved you, up there in 
 the Yankee camp." 
 
 " I can't complain on that score; for provisions were easier 
 to be had than appetite, in my case." 
 
 " That 's more than we can say in our quarters. What 
 little there was eatable in this barren land the Yankees seem 
 to have gobbled up." 
 
 " Why, then, did n't you come and break into their pan- 
 41*
 
 486 AGNES. 
 
 try ? " said Col. Stanley, who had by this time descended from 
 the wagon, and stood by his friend. " I have been looking 
 for you all winter. They had but a handful of lanky scoun 
 drels there, that would n't have stood one charge, probably. 
 What in thunder has Gen. Howe been about, that he has left 
 them there to recruit at their leisure ? " 
 
 " Is it possible that was the case ? They 've made us 
 believe they were strongly posted ; and it would n't be safe 
 to run the risk of losing this province altogether by another 
 defeat, you know." 
 
 " Bah ! nothing venture, nothing have," exclaimed Col. 
 Stanley, with an oath. " You could have routed the whole 
 rebel army, any time this winter, if you had tried." 
 
 " Perhaps so. But more likely, if we 'd driven them from 
 that place, they 'd gone to another. They have the whole 
 back country at command, and they are good at hiding." 
 
 " And better still at running away," added Stanley, 
 
 " We '11 try their mettle soon," said Col. Harcourt. 
 
 " Do you return to New York ? " asked his friend. 
 
 "No, I go on to Brunswick." Then, glancing at the 
 wagon, he added, in a lower tone, " Who have you there?" 
 
 " A young lady whom I have undertaken to protect as far 
 as New York." 
 
 " She looks delicate. Who is she ? " 
 
 " Her friends live near Morristown," was the evasive reply. 
 " I must find her a quiet place in the house while we stay 
 here. The crowd about the door grows thinner, and I think 
 she can get in now." Then, bidding his servant drive up to
 
 THE SCHEMER AND HIS VICTIM. 487 
 
 the door, he followed and assisted Agnes to alight, and, offer 
 ing his arm, led her into the hotel, delivering her to the care 
 of the landlady, who came at her husband'^ call. 
 
 When he returned, Harcourt, who had caught a glimpse 
 of Agnes' face beneath her veil, said, laughing, 
 
 " That young lady is pretty enough to be a rival to Miss 
 Chester. If she was only a little more healthy, she 'd be a 
 beauty." 
 
 " Bah ! a milk-and-water face. Give me an eye that has 
 some fire in it ! I despise a blonde ! " answered Col. Stanley, 
 with rather more vehemence than the occasion seemed to 
 demand. 
 
 " Pardon ! You lovers are so violent ! " said Harcourt. 
 "Then you are still ready to swear by Miss Chester's eye 
 brows ? Did you know they have left the city broken up 
 and sold out ? What 's the meaning of that ? " 
 
 " That 's not much of a riddle. Can't you read it ? " 
 
 " Not I. I 'm no ^Edipus." 
 
 " Neither is Miss Chester a Sphinx ; so you need n't be 
 afraid of guessing." 
 
 " I leave that to the Yankees," replied Harcourt, with a 
 shrug. 
 
 " Then, if you won't guess, I must tell you," replied Col. 
 Stanley, whose invention had meantime been busy. " My 
 wounded limb which, by the way, is the occasion of this 
 unmilitary style of travelling will prevent me from going 
 into active service again at present, and I must have a fur 
 lough, and go home to recruit. Mr. Chester will arrange hia
 
 488 AGNES. 
 
 affairs at the Close so as to accompany me, if possible; but 
 if not, he will go in the very next ship." 
 
 " Why don't you wait for them ? " 
 
 " To tell you the truth, I have important private business 
 that makes it necessary I should be in London at the earliest 
 date possible, and my shattered limb affords a good excuse. 
 When they arrive we shall be married. The Earl of Evans- 
 dale has taken a fancy to give away the heiress himself, 
 and it is for that reason we have had so much unexpected 
 delay." 
 
 " Heigho ! you 're a lucky fellow, Stanley. I wish that 
 heaven had made me such a man ! " replied Harcourt, 
 laughing. " I suppose, then, you saw the Chesters at Morris- 
 town?" 
 
 "0, yes. They hastened their departure when they heard 
 I was to return to the city, so as to meet me, and made 
 arrangements that if possible we might go home at the same 
 time." 
 
 " Miss Chester has not been into society much this winter. 
 Her father's health has been poor. He ages fast for a man 
 of his years, I think." 
 
 " I did not notice. Do you go to Brunswick immediately ? " 
 asked Stanley, who, for reasons of his own, was willing to 
 change the topic of conversation. 
 
 " Yes. I%n off as soon as we have finished this business. 
 What can that blundering ' rebel sojer ' be doing, that he 
 don't expedite matters ? " 
 
 " No wonder he don't hurry. They send us back hearty
 
 THE SCHEMER AND HIS VICTIM. 489 
 
 looking soldiers, ready for a fight, and get in return a parcel 
 of men who '11 scatter home to look after their families, 
 because their term of service has expired. It is n't strange 
 he 's rather slow to make the exchange. However, there he 
 is, coming, and so one word more before we part. I shall 
 send my servant from here to Brunswick to fetch me a valua 
 ble horse I left there, as we went on to Trenton, last fall. I 
 wish you 'd look after the fellow a little. He 's a jewel in 
 his way, but he has two little failings. He will lie, and he 
 will get drunk. The first is more annoying to me than to 
 the horse, but the latter might be of consequence." 
 
 Col. Harcourt promised to attend to the matter, and they 
 parted with mutual assurances of good will. As his friend 
 walked away, Col. Stanley's smile of friendship changed to 
 one of self-gratulation, and he muttered to himself, 
 
 " I fancy I did that well ! At any rate, I 'm lucky not to 
 have any spies about me, the rest of the way to York. Cour 
 age ! Fortune favors the brave ! It might have been awk 
 ward if Harcourt was going back just now." 
 
 The formalities attending an exchange of prisoners were 
 soon despatched. The party proceeding to New York were 
 to be ferried across the river from a point near Bergen. 
 Here the Americans had disembarked, and the boats remained 
 in waiting. The file of soldiers soon marched towards the 
 spot, which was but a few miles distant ; but Col. Stanley 
 found some difficulty in procuring conveyance for himself and 
 Agnes. As they were now within the British lines, he was 
 thrown upon his own resources, and all the horses in town had
 
 490 A Q N E S . 
 
 been seized, a few days before, for the transportation of mili 
 tary stores. The wagon that brought Mrs. Henderson and 
 others who accompanied the cortege had returned to Morris- 
 town, leaving its passengers to walk the remainder of the way 
 to the river. 
 
 At first Col. Stanley was disposed to think this also a for 
 tunate circumstance, affording him a pretext for leaving 
 Agnes behind ; but, upon reflection, he decided it would not 
 be best to leave her, with her fears and suspicions roused by 
 past events, in a place where she might so easily, by relating 
 her story, make that expose of his affairs which he was now 
 more than ever desirous to avoid. While he was in this per 
 plexity, a farmer who lived near the river drove into the inn- 
 yard. He had been a short distance west of Newark, and 
 was about returning home. His vehicle was nothing but a 
 common farm-cart covered with white cloth, but it sufficed 
 for the occasion, and Col. Stanley gladly engaged the man to 
 carry Agnes and himself to. the ferry. 
 
 Having made this arrangement, he stepped into the bar 
 room, and, taking the landlord aside, asked the character of 
 the person with whom he was about to ride. 
 
 " He ish von bery goot fellar," replied the little Dutchman, 
 with an emphatic whiff of his short pipe. " He can trink 
 more peer as any other man in dish country, an' pay de 
 schore when he ish done." 
 
 "Then he is not a poor man," said Stanley, with a dis 
 appointed tone. 
 
 " He ish never so poor dat he ish not thirsty."
 
 THE SCHEMER AND HIS VICTIM. 491 
 
 " Then he knows the taste of all the property he has, I 
 suppose ? " was the careless rejoinder. 
 
 "Why, no. He ish trank up de house, but he ish not 
 trank up de farm yet." 
 
 The entrance of the farmer at this moment interrupted 
 further inquiry; but, after watching him a few moments, as 
 he took the usual dram before starting on the drive, Col. 
 Stanley followed him to the yard, and, as he gave some last 
 fastenings to the nondescript harness of leather and rope that 
 secured horse and cart together, asked him, cautiously, after 
 some preliminary remarks, 
 
 " Could you take a young lady to board at your house, for 
 a few weeks, if you were well paid for it? " 
 
 " Dat depends upon what mine old woman say," was the 
 reply. 
 
 " The truth is, my friend," said Stanley, with well-affected 
 frankness, " I have no time to go to your house and see your 
 wife about it, for the boats will have to wait for us if we go 
 straight to the ferry, and you say you live off the road a 
 little." 
 
 " Fetter as half a mile," said the farmer, with a suspicious 
 twinkle in his small eyes. 
 
 " So I thought. You see I have no time to go there ; and 
 yet I shall consider it a great favor if you will take the 
 young lady there, and I will pay you well for it." 
 
 " Dat ish a consideration," said the farmer, slowly. " Put 
 who ish she? Mine old woman an' de girls ish respectable." 
 
 " I have no doubt of it," said Stanley, as if shocked at this
 
 492 AGNES. 
 
 implication. " I have been inquiring about your family, and 
 the landlord, in there, gives them the highest character. It 
 is for that very reason I wish to place the lady with you 
 until I can provide some other shelter for her. A quiet 
 home, such as she would have in your house, is much better 
 for her than to be left here, in a public tavern." 
 
 " Put who is she, and how come she here ? " 
 
 " She is, to tell the truth, a little insane. Not violently 
 so, but she requires to be watched and taken care of; and 
 that is one reason why I don't want to leave her here. You 
 are not afraid of insane persons, are you ? " 
 
 " Not if dey ish not wild." 
 
 " 0, she is never wild. In fact, she is only insane upon 
 one point, and that has reference to myself. She is very 
 well connected in England, and was married to a friend of 
 mine, a very intimate friend, in fact, we were always to 
 gether; and that, perhaps, was the reason why, when her 
 husband was shot in a duel, and she went crazy about it, she 
 should fancy I was her husband. However that may be, the 
 insanity took that turn. I carried her to her friends, it 
 was in Spain her husband died, and left her, when we were 
 ordered here. She was so calm and gentle that they never con 
 fined her, and she managed to slip away from them and follow 
 me over here. I was not in New York when the ship arrived, 
 and she followed me into the country, and there she got lost, 
 as it was natural she should. Some good-natured farmers 
 took her in and took care of her. I found her up there in 
 the woods, and now I must get her back to her friends in Eng-
 
 THE SCHEMER AND HIS VICTIM. 493 
 
 land ; but you see it will be very embarrassing and trouble 
 some to take her to New York. If you will keep her a few 
 weeks, until a ship is ready to return home, I will pay you 
 any board you may think proper, and give you this to clinch, 
 the bargain." 
 
 The farmer's phlegmatic face never changed a muscle, 
 whatever he might think, and he only replied, 
 
 " Dat ish a great story, put de money ish goot. How 
 shall I know you vill come pack to fotch her, and pay de 
 poard?" 
 
 " You may come over to the city every week, if you 
 choose, and I will pay you. Indeed, I wish you would. I 
 will pay you extra for your trouble in coming, as I shall wish 
 to hear from her ; but it is better I should not see her often, 
 as she gets excited when she sees me." 
 
 " Dat ish very goot. I vill take her, and mine old woman 
 vill keep her safe," said the farmer, pocketing the gold. 
 
 "Very well. You needn't be surprised if she makes 
 some resistance, at first, when she finds she is not going with 
 me. It will not last long." 
 
 " If she pe wild crazy, I can tie her, and mine old woman 
 vill peat her," said the farmer, with stolid composure. 
 
 Alas ! no milder treatment for maniacs had been thought 
 of at that time. Stanley knew he was in earnest, and, really 
 shocked at the suggestion, he half repented of his scheme. 
 
 " Don't on any account do such a thing ! If you do, I 
 won't pay you a cent," he exclaimed, earnestly. " She will 
 not be wild. She will only moan and cry. Let her do just 
 42
 
 494 AGNES. 
 
 as she pleases, and treat her like a lady, for she is one ; only 
 don't let her go away from the farm. And if she insists 
 upon doing so, you can keep her shut up in a room until you 
 can come and tell me. It may not be more than a week or 
 two before I can send her to England." 
 
 " Dat ish goot. I vill not peat her, put mine old woman 
 vill keep her safe," was the quiet reply. 
 
 " Then bring your cart round to the door, and I will go 
 get her," said Col. Stanley, and went into the house to find 
 Agnes.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 DELIVEBANCE FBOlf EVIL. 
 
 IT was near sunset when they left the flourishing village of 
 Newark, and drove, as rapidly as a stout horse could carry 
 them, along the sandy road leading to the river. The bright 
 promise of the morning had been lost in clouds, that gathered 
 thicker and thicker, and lowered gloomily, as the day waned. 
 Now a strong east wind was rising, bringing the salt, cool 
 smell of the ocean over the low shores, and wailing, with a 
 sound like human voices, through the groves of stunted pine. 
 
 Col. Stanley and the farmer sat on a board placed across 
 the front of the cart, and Agnes reclined on some clean straw 
 spread for her behind them. The road was intolerably rough, 
 and, as they went through the swamp, they had several 
 narrow escapes from being capsized ; but the farmer urged his 
 horse as if he thought all human frames had the immobility 
 of his own temperament, and Col. Stanley was too anxious to 
 check him. Agnes made no complaint, although, at times, it 
 appeared to her that she should faint from weariness, at the 
 incessant jolting of the springless boards on which she lay. 
 
 When they reached the ford of the Hackensack River, her
 
 496 AGNES. 
 
 companions noticed her extreme paleness, and, apprehensive 
 that a fainting-fit might delay him still further, Col. Stan 
 ley turned himself around in the cart, raised her, and sup 
 ported her in his arms. 
 
 " Are you ill? " he asked, with a tone of anxiety, in which 
 Agnes fancied she detected something of tenderness. 
 
 " 0, no not ill only very tired but I shall be better 
 now," she answered, with a gush of delicious joy overflowing 
 her heart; and she closed her eyes, and laid her head back on 
 his breast, thanking God that, at last, she had gained the 
 resting-place she had sought so painfully. 
 
 Poor Agnes ! poor tender heart ! she should have died then. 
 That moment would have repaid her for the griefs of years. 
 
 On the opposite side of the ford they passed Mrs. Hen 
 derson and her fellow-pedestrians, and, after an hour's hard 
 jolting, arrived at the river. Just where a turn in the road 
 brought them to the top of the high bank sloping down to 
 the water, a farm-house was prettily located. It had an 
 extensive orchard, now in full blossom, along one side of 
 which a lane led down to the ferry. In consequence of the 
 rising storm, all the boats had left when the soldiers arrived, 
 except the one which waited for its laggard passengers ; and 
 the dark, tossing waves of the river, with the ominous scowl 
 of the heavens, admonished them that there was no time to 
 be lost, if they would accomplish the ferriage in safety. 
 
 The farmer drove part way down the lane, and there 
 stopped. 
 
 " De pank ish so steep I vill not go town any more," he
 
 DELIVERANCE 1'KOM EVIL. 497 
 
 Bald; and, as Col. Stanley descended from the cart, he 
 added, "Do dish jung voman know she may go with me?" 
 
 Agnes half heard the words, and, with one spring, she was 
 standing upon the ground beside her husband, and looking at 
 him, with white face, and eager eyes, and pallid, quivering 
 lips, that had no power to ask what the direful question 
 meant. 
 
 Col. Stanley looked at her a moment with a sort of pity, 
 as one regards an insect one has crushed. Then he said, very 
 calmly, 
 
 " Yes, Agnes, you are to board a few weeks with this man. 
 He has a wife and children, and you will be very comfortable 
 there. When I have made arrangements to leave this coun 
 try for home, I will come and take you away." 
 
 Her ears scarcely heard his words, for there was a surging, 
 ringing noise within her brain, like the tolling of a death- 
 bell ; but she read their meaning in his face, and shrieked out, 
 
 " You cannot be so cruel ! What, leave me with this 
 man ! Leave me here alone ! If you were going to desert 
 me, why, then, did you take me from my friends ? " 
 
 " Hush ! " he said, in a low voice, full of authority. " You 
 only injure yourself by this noise. You will attract the 
 people in the house yonder." 
 
 " What if I do ? Have you no pity ? And I thought you 
 had forgiven me I thought you would love me again ! 0, 
 Clarence ! 0, my husband ! for mercy sake do not desert me 
 now ! " 
 
 He seized her, with a grasp like iron, and drew her a little 
 42*
 
 498 AGNES. 
 
 aside from the place where the farmer was busy backing and 
 turning his cart. Then, placing her so that his eyes, with 
 their powerful magnetism, held hers, and compelled her to 
 listen quietly, he said, in a stern, bitter tone, 
 
 " Will you hear me ? If you will go with this farmer and 
 make no fuss, I will return in a few weeks and take you with 
 me somewhere I cannot promise where, for you have 
 ruined me, and my next lodging may be a jail. But, if you 
 resist me now, I will leave you here, in spite of all your 
 struggles, and I swear you shall never see my face again." 
 
 He paused. She made no reply. Her head drooped a 
 little, and he felt her frame relax, and grow heavy in his rigid 
 grasp. He lifted her from the ground, laid her into the cart, 
 and walked swiftly down the lane. 
 
 The farmer proceeded up the bank, but halted when he 
 reached the top, and, after a moment's deliberation, and a 
 dubious glance at the motionless figure upon the straw, went 
 into the farm-house, in front of which a swinging sign-post 
 indicated the bar-room within, for the refreshment of trav 
 ellers. 
 
 When he had gone Agnes lifted up her head, and, with a 
 bewildered air, like one awakening from a dream, she looked 
 around. No human being was in sight, except the few 
 figures seated in the boat, that tossed at its mooring at the 
 foot of the lane. On one side was the house ; on the other, 
 the black, half-burned stumps of the clearing, and a copse of 
 pines that skirted the orchard. Twilight was glooming over 
 the landscape. From the tangled northern forest, where the
 
 DELIVERANCE FROM EVIL. 499 
 
 Indian war-whoop rang, came down the dark river, the 
 mighty river, heaving its crested and turbulent waves, and 
 murmuring hoarsely, with the many voices of its tides and 
 currents, hurrying on to meet the storm-wind from the ocean, 
 and join in the mad revel of the elements. Far off through 
 the gathering mist the opposite shore was visible, and as 
 Agnes looked across she thought of her prophetic dream. 
 " It is the river," she whispered. " It is the deep river 
 the mystic river ! It is the river of death." 
 
 With the thought came a sudden impulse. She slipped out 
 at the back of the cart, and, with outspread arms, and light 
 steps that hardly touched the ground, she fled down the hill. 
 
 Col. Stanley saw her coming. When he reached the boat 
 he had bidden the ferryman push off; but he, expecting other 
 passengers in a few moments, objected to doing so imme 
 diately. Now Col. Stanley peremptorily repeated the com 
 mand. 
 
 " If you please, sir, the others will be here in a minute," 
 said the man, hesitating. 
 
 " Do as I bid you the storm is rising. It is not safe to 
 stay longer." 
 
 " 0, the boat is stanch and strong." 
 
 " Do as I bid you ! don't you know my rank ? I '11 
 have her seized, if you disobey ! " exclaimed Col. Stanley, 
 casting off the rope that moored her to the little wharf, and 
 seizing the tiller to put her about. She had gone twice her 
 length from the shore, when Agnes' feet touched the brink 
 of the salt, chilling waves.
 
 500 AGNES. 
 
 " Take me with you ! " she cried, wildly, clasping her hands 
 " Come back, and take me with you ! There are bad angels in 
 the boat. If you cross the river alone, you are lost forever. 
 Clarence, my love, my husband ! Come back to me ! " 
 
 A scornful, mocking laugh was the only reply, and the 
 boat darted away before the wind. 
 
 A short time longer she stood there, uttering incoherent 
 words, the cries of a fevered brain, her dishevelled hair 
 streaming out on the blast, her fluttering garments and 
 frantic gestures making her seem like some angry spirit of 
 the tempest, casting a spell upon the waters. Then the life- 
 tide surging to her heart convulsed her with a spasm of agony 
 so keen, that she became sensible of it even amid that delirium 
 of mental anguish, and threw herself upon the grassy bank, 
 gasping and writhing. 
 
 This passed away soon, and faintness succeeded. She lay 
 quite still, like one dead, and the peach-blossoms, shaken off 
 the swaying branches, fluttered down like snow-flakes to bury 
 her. They whitened all her robe, they touched the icy hands, 
 and the faded cheek, over which now the long lashes rested 
 quietly. She felt not the touch. She heard not the com 
 plaining sweep of the river, or the shriek of the coming 
 storm. Her soul had flown far away. She heard low love- 
 toned voices ; she saw faces from which the light of beauty 
 and life had faded years ago ; she was clasped to a warm, 
 maternal bosom, over which for many summers the grass had 
 grown long and died. 
 
 Scene after scene of her early life passed before her. The
 
 DELIVEUANCE FROM EVIL. 501 
 
 calm Derwentwater spread itself in her vision, with the silver 
 mists coming and going over its peaked and splintered moun 
 tains, and the graceful outline of its shores, now swelling into 
 tree-crowned knolls, and anon sinking to green pastoral mar 
 gins, where the wild deer came to drink, half-startled at the 
 antlered image that met him out of the translucent depths. 
 
 Then towns and cities passed along. She trod quaint old 
 streets, where men of many nations walked to and fro ; she 
 wandered through palaces rich with gems of art; she heard 
 the jargon of languages foreign to English ears. These 
 vanished, and she was one of a cavalcade riding fast at close 
 of day through a lonely valley, and up steep mountain defiles, 
 to a hamlet, perched like an eagle's nest upon a cliff. Again 
 she lived the simple life of a peasant, but it was not the care 
 less life her childhood knew by the shores of Derwentwater. 
 A vague unrest troubled her. She sought in vain among the 
 rocky crags for the form that until then had been ever by 
 her side, the face which had made strange spots familiar, and 
 invested dull places with the radiance of home and love. 
 Could she bear to lose it ? Could she let it go ? 
 
 She strove to call after it to cry, to shriek aloud ; but 
 her stiffened lips only murmured faintly the beloved name. 
 Again and again, with desperate struggles, she strove to speak ; 
 and now a strange voice replied. Rough but kindly hands 
 raised her from the ground, and, with busy care, forced back 
 the fleeting life. 
 
 It was Mrs. Henderson, who had found her there, and now 
 held her, chafing her hands, and pressing her close to her own
 
 502 AGNES. 
 
 broad bosom, hoping to impart some of its vital warmth, 
 while others of the party went back to get the cart, that 
 Agnes might be laid in it and conveyed to the house. The 
 farmer had found the liquor so good he was loth to leave 
 it, and his potations would probably have ended in drunken 
 ness, had he not been aroused by seeing some one turning his 
 horse's head, and leading him down the lane. 
 
 He followed, and, as they reached the spot where Agnes 
 lay, overtook the man who had the nobler brute in charge. 
 
 " What pe you doin' vith my cart, an' where ish de Jung 
 girl ? I ish to take care of her, put I ish not to tie her, an' 
 my old voman ish not to peat her, and he ish to pay me." 
 
 " You get out ! " said Mrs. Henderson, with honest indig 
 nation. "Who you talkin' 'bout? Is that ere the bargin 
 he made with you leavin' this delicate little woman for you 
 to abuse, and she been all winter lost among the Injines, and 
 he a pretendin' to be a fightin' the king's battles the scoun 
 drel ! That 's what 's killed her ! It 's clean murder, and 
 I '11 tell the old Squire, and he '11 have the law of him, if 
 there 's law in the land." 
 
 Agnes had regained full consciousness, and these words 
 recalled the memory of the last bitter hour ; but memory was 
 no longer woe. 
 
 There is a wonderful mercy in the fact that the anguish, 
 the burden of human affection, so seldom disturb the dying. 
 The dulled nerves lose their power to thrill, the numbing 
 heart feels no throb of pain. The earthly dies out, while the
 
 DELIVERANCE FROM EVIL. 503 
 
 heavenly puts on its immortal strength, and love becomes for 
 a brief space what it would have been had there been no sin. 
 
 In a blissful, painless trance she had lain, hearing their 
 words unmoved. Would aught ever move her more? Ah, 
 she had ceased to suffer, but the heart's feeble pulses still 
 beat true to the one emotion which had ruled her life ; and, 
 as the strong expressions uttered around her suggested the 
 idea of danger to her beloved, she roused herself by a mighty 
 effort for one last word, faintly spoken, but earnest, and full 
 of pathetic power. 
 
 " Do not blame him do not harm him ! He thought it 
 was best I should stay. He knew I wished to die. Indeed, 
 it is better so. I am very glad. I shall never trouble him 
 again ! " 
 
 A smile like an angel's stole up from the pale lips, and 
 brightened all her face; an instant the eyelids quivered over 
 the glazing eyes, quivered and fell slowly, till they touched 
 the wan and wasted cheek. They never rose again. 
 
 Still the black river hurried on, with the hoarse roar of its 
 conflicting tides, and its overhanging trees glooming defiance 
 to the white wrath of the storm ; still the blast moaned and 
 shrieked, dying to a low wail around the copse of spruce- 
 trees, and rising to a scream as it swept on to the distant 
 forest. But they who covered the face of the dead uttered 
 not a word.
 
 CHAPTEK XXX. 
 
 RECOMPENSE AND RETRIBUTION. 
 
 AGNES was dead ! and it is fitting that with the close of he? 
 sad life our tale should end. 
 
 Of the happiness enjoyed by Percy Grey and Evelyn it 
 would be vain to tell. Those calm, strong hearts, that could 
 meet the shock of fate undaunted, appreciated in its fullest 
 intensity the serene domestic life succeeding, and the 
 
 " Sober certainty of waking bliss." 
 
 Years after the scenes we have described, when, by long 
 union, their hearts had grown together, as they looked back 
 upon their time of trial they smiled at their own ignorance in 
 imagining then that they could endure to live apart. Taught 
 by joy to know more truly what suffering would have been, 
 they shrank from the thought of what they had escaped more 
 violently than they did from the expectation of enduring it. 
 Yet the firmness of principle, the strength of motive, which 
 sustained them then, they bore always through the journey 
 of life. 
 
 Mr. Chester, whose tenderness for his daughter had grown
 
 RECOMPENSE AND RETKIBUTION. 505 
 
 into idolatry, died before the close of the war ; and this was 
 the only keen sorrow Evelyn endured for many years. After 
 his death, Mr. and Mrs. Grey were persuaded to leave the 
 Valley Farm, and take up their abode at Chester Close. The 
 dear mother, with her gentle helpfulness, her pure, placid 
 face, and her low-toned " thee " and " thine," seemed like the 
 guardian angel of the household. The old farmer, rejoicing 
 in the broad lands he superintended without toil, dandled his 
 grandchildren on his knees, and told long stories of genera 
 tions passed away. One girl, with drooping, golden curls, 
 and eyes whose darkness was soft as heaven's own blue, came 
 oftenest to his side, and lingered longest there. Grandpapa's 
 pet bore the name henceforth sacred in that family, as the 
 names of the dead are sacred ; and he was frequently heard 
 to declare, 
 
 " Arter all, 't was extraord'nary how much there was in a 
 name. It beat all he ever see in this world, how much that 
 child looked like Agnes." 
 
 Sanoso sat by her cabin fire, in the pleasant valley, until 
 " Angloagan " came in at the door. Tamaque was killed in 
 battle. 
 
 No one of those most interested in Lawontica ever heard 
 of her again. Upon one occasion Percy heard a mis 
 sionary, who had labored at Schonburn, tell of an Indian 
 woman, haughty, silent, and reserved, who lived in that 
 village, and received his instructions with an eagerness and 
 intelligence beyond the usual capacity of the tribe. But she 
 bore another name, and he never knew if it was the girl he 
 43
 
 506 AGNES. 
 
 had known so well, or whether, weary and hopeless, she had 
 indeed flung away the life she considered so worthless, as 
 an ill-fitting garment, to be replaced by another she should 
 receive from the hands of the Great Spirit. 
 
 The retribution that follows evil deeds, the sword that 
 delays to smite until the most vulnerable part is exposed, 
 when did it overtake Col. Stanley ? 
 
 Ah ! somewhere in the course of this mysterious existence, 
 which embraces two worlds, will God justify his dealings with 
 men ; and we shall know that in each case, where the riddle 
 seemed too dark to read, the wicked did not go unpunished. 
 Yet no human vision saw the first stroke of vengeance, in this 
 case, fall upon the guilty. 
 
 He heard of Agnes' death from Mrs. Henderson, mitigated 
 her indignation by plausible pretexts, and sealed her lips with 
 broad pieces of gold. Not without a pang of remorse did he 
 look upon that dead face, and help to lay the wasted form in 
 its quiet bed beneath the orchard-trees at Bergen. But this 
 soon passed, and was succeeded by an abiding sense of relief 
 at being rid of his greatest perplexity. 
 
 His designs upon Evelyn were of course given up, but he 
 was determined to continue with his regiment, living upon 
 the reputation of being about to marry an heiress, and the 
 profits of the gaming-table. None could read in his careless 
 exterior the secret cares pressing upon him more and more 
 heavily every day, as his creditors grew clamorous. His 
 health and strength being reestablished after a few weeks, he 
 was about to rejoin the army, when one evening he entered his
 
 RECOMPENSE AND RETRIBUTION. 507 
 
 room and sat down to examine letters his servant had brought 
 in during his absence. 
 
 A ship had arrived with despatches from England, and he 
 was opening the parcel, when an envelope lying near arrested 
 his attention, and he paused to read its contents. It con 
 tained these words : 
 
 " You said you would meet me where we could use other 
 weapons than our tongues. For her sake I forbore then ; 
 but now she is dead, and you killed her. If you are not a 
 coward, I call upon you to redeem your pledge. When and 
 where will you meet FRANK GREY." 
 
 Col. Stanley tossed the note aside, with a careless laugh. 
 
 " Any time will do to settle that business," he said to 
 himself, and proceeded to read his letters. 
 
 One was in a strange handwriting, and he opened that first. 
 It enclosed another, addressed to his wife. 
 
 " Agnes, again ! " he muttered ; and a frown gathered on 
 his brow, while his lips grew pale. 
 
 It was from her father's brother, who had gone out as a 
 clerk in the service of the East India Company. By a 
 change of fortune, not uncommon with such adventurers, he 
 had now returned, after long absence, possessed of immense 
 wealth, and a liver disease that made it expedient he should 
 find his relatives, and make his will as soon as possible. He 
 proposed to give Agnes forty thousand pounds, but he must 
 receive ocular proof that she was alive before the will was 
 made, and desired she would immediately sail for England.
 
 508 AGNE3. 
 
 Col. Stanley crushed the paper in his hands, and ground 
 his teeth together, while a cold sweat stood in drops upon his 
 brow. 
 
 " Fool ! fool ! " he thought. " Why could I not have 
 knawu this before? Ten kind words from me would have 
 kept her alive, and the money would be mine." 
 
 The second stroke was more visible to mortal ken. 
 
 It was after the battle of Brandywine. The American 
 troops had retired from the hard-fought field, and a thick, 
 dark vapor, mingled with smoke and dust, settled over it, as 
 if to hide the scene of carnage. 
 
 In one of the tents where the wounded had been carried 
 Percy Grey watched anxiously by the pallet on which his 
 brother lay. The night was sultry, and, as he fanned the 
 sufferer, and bathed his face and hands, Frank roused from a 
 half-sleep, and asked, 
 
 41 Is it you, Percy ? " 
 
 " Yes. Thank God, you know me ! " 
 
 " Am I dangerously wounded ? " 
 
 " The wound is not so bad, but you had nearly bled to 
 death before we found you. The doctor said, if you could 
 once rally, as you have now, and then be carefully nursed, 
 you would do well enough. I hope the worst is over." 
 
 " That was an awful charge ! " said Frank, after a moment's 
 rest. " I heard Sullivan shout, and we went like a thunder 
 bolt right on to their fixed bayonets. Heavens ! we cut a 
 swath right through them ! My blood was on fire "
 
 RECOMPENSE AND RETRIBUTION. 509 
 
 " Hush, Frank ! You must not talk. You must not get 
 excited. Be quiet now." 
 
 He was silent for a short time, and then, with sudden ani 
 mation, turned his white face to his brother. 
 
 " Percy, I saw him break out of a cloud of smoke and 
 dust. He was forming the column again. I say I saw him 
 Col. Stanley ! " 
 
 " Hush, Frank ! your life depends upon being still." 
 
 " No matter tell me, Percy, did you see any of those 
 lying near me ? We all went down together, and the charge 
 swept over us. He knew me. I saw his face change when I 
 shouted her name, he struck at me as he fell." 
 
 " Do you know what turned aside the blow, so that it did 
 not prove fatal ? " 
 
 "No." 
 
 " It was the visor of Agnes' little cap, you wore on your 
 breast." 
 
 Frank closed his eyes, and his lips worked convulsively. 
 His brother saw it, and added, 
 
 " Now do be quiet, and try to sleep. Really, your life is 
 in danger if you talk. The wound may bleed again." 
 
 11 One word more, and I will. Did you look at the men 
 lying near me ? Did you see him there ? " 
 
 " I did, and he was dead ! "
 
 NOTE. 
 
 A STORY drawn chiefly from the imagination should not, I think, be 
 introduced by a preface, the usual mode of communication between 
 Writer and reader, in books of greater importance. Rather should 
 the story introduce its author at the moment when its illusions are 
 passing away, and the mind turns to ask how much of reality has 
 been mingled with the work of fancy. 
 
 In the present instance, wherever the tale touches upon the history 
 .of the times to which it refers, there is little demanding explanation, 
 except those portions describing Indian customs and manners. In 
 regard to these I have followed the best authorities attainable. For 
 tunately for my purpose, the " History of the Moravian Missions" 
 presents the Delawares in the graphic portraiture of eye-witnesses, 
 too sincerely interested to depreciate, and too conscientious to exalt 
 unduly, the character and habits of those among whom they labored. 
 If my conception of the denizens of the forest is less heroic than that 
 of other writers, it is partly because I have followed history rather 
 than imagination, and partly because an acquaintance with the actual 
 tame and prosaic life of our modern tribes has somewhat disenchanted 
 me from the fascination that, to a cultivated mind, is inherent in the 
 idea of a free and primitive existence. 
 
 The fragments of Indian language introduced may be relied upon 
 as genuine. Where the vocabulary of the Moravian fathers failed 
 me, I have ventured, tempted by the similarity of dialect, to supply 
 the deficiency from living lips, in the tribe with whose musical jargon 
 I have been familiar from childhood. 
 
 It is, perhaps, due to myself to state that a certain episode in this 
 Btory was made the plot of a tale I wrote some years since, for one of 
 the Philadelphia newspapers. M. L.
 
 PHILLIPS, SAMPSON, & OO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 65 
 
 WILL BE PUBLISHED IN NOVEMBER. 
 
 THE ILLUSTRATED GIFT BOOK FOR BOYS AND GIRLS, 
 
 Containing Choice Stories, Numerous Original Dialogues for 
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 Studies in Natural History, etc., Gymnastics and Calisthenics, 
 Moral Examples, etc., etc. Beautifully illustrated with choice 
 Wood-cuts. Edited by Epes Sargent, author of "The Standard 
 Speaker," "The Standard Series of Readers," etc. 
 
 This volume forms an elegant octavo of 384 pages of the size of Harper's Maga 
 zine. It contains all the popular original pieces, illustrations, &c., that appeared 
 in Sargent's School Monthly, and is handsomely bound, forming one of the most 
 attractive works ever published for school and family libraries. 
 
 The great variety of original dialogues, new pieces for declamation, debates, 
 etc., which are here presented, render the work one of lasting interest to schools. 
 The articles on gymnastics and calisthenics will also be found very useful ; while 
 the new exercises for reading aloud will be very serviceable at school exhibitions 
 in lending variety and interest to the performances. 
 
 No more delightful and attractive work for Christmas and New Year's presents 
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 son remitting $1.50, the work will be sent by mail, postage free. 
 
 READY IN NOVEMBER. 
 THE GREAT GIFT BOOK OF THE SEASON, 
 
 "HYMNS OF THE AGES," 
 
 Being Selections from the Lyras Catholica, Germanica, Apos- 
 tolica, and other sources, never before rendered into English ; 
 with an Introduction by Professor Huntington, of Harvard Uni 
 versity. Printed on extra cream-laid, twilled paper ; elegant 
 steel engravings, bevelled boards, gilt sides and edges. 300 pp. 
 
 In their preface the compilers say, " It has been our purpose to bring together, 
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 * * * If it be true that all along the ages, and amid all varying phases of 
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 6*
 
 32 PHILLIPS, SAMPSON, & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS 
 
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 SUNNY MEMORIES OF FOREIGN LANDS, 
 
 By Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of " Uncle Tom's Cab 
 
 in," " The Mayflower," &c. In two volumes, 12mo. Illus 
 
 trated with 66 Engravings, from original designs by Billings. 
 
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 It is not necessary to eulogize the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. The whol 
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 and has placed the author in the front rank of living writers. 
 
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 RIES " exhibit pictures of English Life and Scenery which can be found in no 
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 THE MAYFLOWER, 
 
 And Miscellaneous "Writings, by Mrs. H. Beecher Stowe. In 
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 By Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," 
 "The May Flower," etc. Two volumes, 12mo. Price, $1.75. 
 
 A work of extraordinary power and interest, containing some of the most 
 original characters, full of charming pictures of scenery, and, above all, clear and
 
 PHILLIPS, SAMPSON, & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 33 
 
 cogent in its reasoning. It has met with the greatest success in the Old as well 
 as in the New World. 
 
 This work, the publication of which was anticipated with deep interest on 
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 capable of producing a work of art of the highest order; and as a work of art, 
 "Dred," in our humble opinion, will occupy a very distinguished place; but it is 
 the moral bearings of the great question of our country, American Slavery, which 
 have chiefly influenced her in the selection of the subject of this book. This 
 work will be read by millions in this country and by millions in Europe. We 
 believe that its influence will be wholesome, morally and religiously. Kdigiaus 
 
 IDA MAY, A STORY OF THINGS ACTUAL AND POSSIBLE, 
 
 By Mary Langdon. 
 
 " For we speak that we do know, and testify of that we have seen." 
 Fifty-second thousand. In one volume, 12mo. Price, $1.25. 
 
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 No person can read it without being struck with the wonderful vividness of the 
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 that no person yet has approached. 
 
 By the author of "Ida May." One volume, 12mo. Price, 
 
 $1.25..;-; 
 
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 The many readers of Miss Langtlon's charming story, which met with such a 
 flattering reception some years since, will hail with pleasure the appearance of 
 another book from her pen. . __ 
 
 " Agnes " is in many respects superior to the former work, and is in every way 
 worthy the reputation she achieved in her first effort. 

 
 34 PHILLIPS, SAMPSON, & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
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 The idea of this work was suggested to the author by the inimitable " Celestial 
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 PHILLIPS, SAMPSON, & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 35 
 
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