THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 WHEN THE BUGLE CALLED
 
 WHEN THE BUGLE 
 CALLED 
 
 BY 
 EDITH TATUM 
 
 \r 
 
 NEW YORK AND WASHINGTON 
 THE NEALE PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 1908
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1908, BY 
 EDITH TATUM
 
 wit 
 
 To my father, 
 EDWARD CRENSHAW, 
 
 and to 
 
 MAY HARRIS, 
 
 to whose encouragement this little 
 
 volume owes so much, it is 
 
 affectionately dedicated.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 
 
 Jjj CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 ^ I A Crucifix and a Red Ribbon ... 9 
 
 II Three Years Later .... . 24 
 
 III The Preparation 37 
 
 IV The Yankees 47 
 
 V News of Keith 58 
 
 VI The Return of the Crucifix ... 66 
 
 1 VII Dahlia 79 
 
 VIII The Shadow in the Darkness . . . - 91 
 
 S IX The Uprising 101 
 
 X The Return in 
 
 XI A Knot of Red Ribbon .... 123 
 
 u
 
 WHEN THE BUGLE CALLED 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 A CRUCIFIX AND A RED RIBBON 
 
 " I LEAVE everything in your hands, my 
 dear, with perfect confidence that all will be 
 well.'" Captain Dupre paced the library 
 floor, his sword clanking at every step 
 while Marie, his eldest daughter, stood by 
 the table, receiving his final instructions. 
 
 " Consult with old Jerry about plantation 
 affairs he is to be trusted implicitly. A 
 girl of nineteen is rather young to be left in 
 charge of a family and a big plantation, eh? " 
 And he looked at her with a questioning 
 smile. White to the lips, but with brave 
 eyes, she smiled back at him. 
 
 ' You have always helped me so much 
 about the place that I know you are thor 
 oughly competent to manage it; and Dahlia 
 is old enough to help you with household 
 affairs and the children."
 
 IO 
 
 She shook her head doubtfully. 
 
 " Dahlia is such a child, in spite of her six 
 teen years such a wild thing; she needs 
 looking after herself," she said. " But 
 Mammy Cindy will take much off my mind. 
 You needn't worry one bit about anything, 
 father; we will get on beautifully. If 
 
 only " Her voice broke and she stood 
 
 silent. 
 
 He paused, waiting for her to complete 
 her sentence. 
 
 "Well? If only ?" 
 
 " It is the danger to you, father. Oh, this 
 horrible war! " And she covered her face 
 with her hands, sobbing quietly. 
 
 "Hush, my dear; you must be brave, for 
 the children's sake; they look to you, you 
 know. I would not leave you if I could help 
 it. Would you have an army go to defend 
 the firesides of the South without a Dupre in 
 it? When the bugle calls, must I stop my 
 ears?" 
 
 "No, no!" she cried, throwing up her 
 head, her gray eyes flashing. " I would not
 
 A Crucifix and a Red Ribbon 1 1 
 
 have you stay! Oh, I wish I were a man 
 and could go in your stead! Thank God 
 dear mother is not here to have the sorrow 
 of it all! " she added in a low voice. 
 
 A shadow crossed the Captain's face, and 
 he turned away to the window. 
 
 " There comes Tom with the horses," he 
 said at last; " I must be going." 
 
 With a little inarticulate cry she ran to 
 him and clasped her arms around his neck. 
 
 " Oh, father, come back to us soon ! " she 
 whispered. 
 
 They stood silently in a long embrace, then 
 she stepped back and regarded him with eyes 
 shining through tears. 
 
 "How fine and brave you look!" she 
 said, smiling at him tenderly. " How I 
 would love to ride by your side and fight, 
 too ! " 
 
 " You can fight for our dear Southland 
 here at home with your prayers, little daugh 
 ter, and you can help me by keeping a brave 
 heart. There is one thing more," he added, 
 his hand on the door; " if you should need
 
 12 When the Bugle Called 
 
 advice about anything, go to Father De 
 Berne he has promised to have all of you 
 under his special care." 
 
 With perfect composure she followed him 
 into the hall, where were gathered the chil 
 dren and some of the house servants to sav 
 good-by. 
 
 " Oh, father, if you would only let me 
 go ! " cried Philip, a manly-looking boy of 
 fourteen, as he returned his father's warm 
 embrace. 
 
 " And leave your sisters without a pro 
 tector? No, my boy, your place is here; I 
 hope the motherland will not need such 
 youths as you to fight for her. Dahlia, Dah 
 lia, little girl, you must not cry so! Remem 
 ber, you are almost a woman. You will bear 
 your part bravely, will you not? " But Dah 
 lia was past speaking, and she rushed from 
 her father's arms up the stairs, to cry it out 
 in her own room. 
 
 Five-year-old Elsie was wailing, too, 
 though scarcely realizing why; but baby Rich 
 ard, with cocked hat of paper and wooden
 
 A Crucifix and a Red Ribbon 13 
 
 sword, paraded the hall, wild with excite 
 ment. 
 
 " I want to go wif ou, farver, and kill a 
 Yankee; I could just chop off his head! " 
 
 His father kissed him with wet eyes. 
 
 " Take care that you are a good laddie, 
 and don't let sister Marie cry while I am 
 away. God keep you all, my darlings. 
 Mammy Cindy, look after them for me." 
 
 " Dat I will, Mars Phil. Cindy sho' will 
 tek good keer er her babies. An' I hope de 
 good Lawd will fetch you home ergin soon, 
 Mars Phil," sobbed the old negress. 
 
 So Captain Philip Dupre rode away to 
 Fairview, the county seat, to join his company 
 in the spring of 1861, and Marie stood on 
 the stone steps and watched him until the big 
 gates clanged behind him. With a deep 
 sigh she turned back to the children standing 
 sorrowfully on the portico. 
 
 " No lessons to-day, dears," she said. 
 " How would you like a walk to the river? 
 We could take a basket and gather some wild 
 flowers."
 
 14 When the Bugle Called 
 
 The three faces brightened instantly, and 
 Elsie and little Dick ran to get hats and a 
 basket, calling loudly as they ran for Snow 
 drop and Mose. 
 
 Just then the sound of the gates slamming 
 and the pounding of iron-shod hoofs on the 
 gravel made Marie look around. Three 
 gray-clad figures on beautiful, spirited horses 
 were coming full tilt up the driveway. 
 
 " It is Sydney Elmore, and Keith, and 
 Michael ! " cried Philip excitedly. " They 
 must be going this morning, too. Oh, I 
 say! " he continued, as they dismounted and, 
 throwing the reins to convenient little darkies, 
 came up the steps, " it's a shame I can't go, 
 too." 
 
 " You ! " said Michael, pinching his ear. 
 " There isn't a nursery department in the 
 army, you know." 
 
 " But Syd's going, and he's only eighteen," 
 the boy protested. 
 
 " There is a vast difference in fourteen and 
 eighteen, my son," laughed Sydney Elmore, 
 patting Philip's head patronizingly.
 
 A Crucifix and a Red Ribbon 15 
 
 Sydney Elmore was a fair, slender youth, 
 the son of a wealthy planter, who owned a 
 beautiful place, " Huntingdon," further up 
 the river. The families had been lifelong 
 friends, and he had grown up with the Du- 
 pre children, Dahlia being the special object 
 of his boyish devotion. 
 
 The other two young soldiers lived at 
 " Idlewild," the plantation adjoining " Oak- 
 dale." They were splendid specimens of 
 Southern manhood handsome, tall, and 
 strong, with faces good to look upon. 
 Though only cousins, they might have passed 
 for brothers, so strikingly alike they were, 
 there being only a slight difference in color 
 ing and expression. 
 
 " Idlewild " had been left to Keith Cava- 
 nagh the elder of the two and his sister 
 Aileen by the old uncle who had reared the 
 three orphan children. Michael, to whom 
 his uncle had bequeathed money, had adopted 
 the profession of law, but still made " Idle- 
 wild " his home. 
 
 " We have come to say good-by, Marie,"
 
 16 When the Bugle Called 
 
 said Keith. " We decided that it would be 
 better just to go right on to Fairview this 
 morning. Captain Dupre has gone already, 
 has he not? " 
 
 ' Yes," answered Marie, " he had some 
 business there to attend to." 
 
 She spoke with difficulty, and leaned 
 against one of the fluted columns of the por 
 tico for support. There was something pa 
 thetic and appealing in the dejected attitude 
 and drooping head she seemed so slight and 
 young. 
 
 The brown eyes of Keith and the blue eyes 
 of Michael were full of love and yearning 
 tenderness as they looked at her. Her own 
 were so filled with tears that she would not 
 raise them. 
 
 Both men turned, and their glances met 
 challengingly. But Marie was getting her 
 self in hand, and at last she smiled at them 
 through her tears. 
 
 "I will not say good-by," she faltered; 
 " it sounds too sad. I'll say God bless you, 
 instead."
 
 A Crucifix and a Red Ribbon 17 
 
 " Mars Keith," said a voice from the cor 
 ner of the portico, " h'yers de lef hine foots 
 er two graveyard rabbits I kotch fer you an' 
 Mars Michael. Dey'll keep dem Yankees 
 f'um hittin' you, an' mek you an' Mars Mike 
 shoot ez straight ez er beeline," and an old 
 negro man, hat in hand, came up the steps 
 to present his gifts. 
 
 " Why, thank you, Uncle Jerry. That was 
 certainly thoughtful of you." 
 
 " An', Mars Keith, don't you let dem Yan 
 kees come down h'yer an' pester we-all." 
 
 Both young men laughed. 
 
 " Why, we'll have them all running back 
 home in a month, Uncle Jerry ! " cried Mi 
 chael. 
 
 " Das all right, Mars Michael. Jes' be 
 sho' you does, so ez you kin come back home. 
 Lil' Miss don't look so mighty peart. Ole 
 Marster he done gone dis mawnin', an' now 
 h'yer goes you an' Mars Keith. An' whut 
 Miss Dahlia gwine do ef you goes, Mars 
 Syd? " he continued, turning to where young 
 Elmore stood leaning against the door.
 
 1 8 When the Bugle Called 
 
 " Oh, we'll be back in a few weeks, Uncle 
 Jerry," laughed Sydney. " They will be glad 
 to be rid of us for a while." 
 
 " I dunno' so much erbout dat. An' I's 
 pow'ful feared you-all is bit off more'n you 
 kin chaw. I spec lil' Miss an' Miss Dahlia 
 gwine git mighty lonesome 'fore you-all gits 
 back." 
 
 He walked away, shaking his head sadly. 
 
 u Aileen says tell you she will be over this 
 afternoon," said Keith, turning to Marie. 
 " I feel so much happier about leaving her, 
 knowing that she will be over here with you. 
 I could not leave her there at ' Idlewild ' 
 alone." 
 
 " And I I have nothing to leave," said 
 Michael, with unusual bitterness; "no one 
 to weep for me if I should fall." 
 
 "Oh, Michael!" cried Marie in a hurt 
 voice, and she held out her hands to him 
 impulsively. 
 
 Michael raised first one and then the other 
 to his lips. 
 
 " Where is Dahlia ? " asked Keith, in a
 
 A Crucifix and a Red Ribbon 19 
 
 cool, changed tone. " We must be going, and 
 I would like to say good-by to her." 
 
 "Yes," added Sydney eagerly; "we can't 
 go without seeing Dahlia." 
 
 So Dahlia was summoned, and came down 
 with her face red and swollen from crying. 
 
 "How grand you look! " she cried, with 
 forced gayety. " Oh, those beautiful uni 
 forms ! Don't I wish I were a man and 
 could go fight, too ! And good luck to you ! 
 What is it I must say to come back with 
 your shields, or on them?" She laughed 
 a little hysterically. " Anyway, don't dare to 
 come home until you have whipped every 
 Yankee on the continent, individually and col 
 lectively. Good-by, Keith oh, excuse me ! I 
 mean Lieutenant Cavanagh. Good-by, Mi 
 chael." 
 
 They turned from her to Marie, who stood 
 by, white and silent. 
 
 " Take care of Aileen for me," Keith said 
 to her; " don't let her grieve for us too much. 
 Good-by." He held her hand lingeringly, 
 and hesitated as though there was something
 
 2O When the Bugle Called 
 
 more he wanted to say; but finally, looking 
 very grave, he went down the steps without 
 another word. 
 
 Michael, his blue eyes misty with unshed 
 tears, whispered : " God bless you. Pray 
 for us, dear." 
 
 Young Elmore had drawn Dahlia to one 
 side, and, with his boyish face full of emo 
 tion, whispered his farewells. 
 
 " Dahlia," he said, clasping her small 
 brown hand in his, " I am going away to 
 fight for the South, and you. I may never 
 come back. Give me something of yours 
 some little token to carry away with me." 
 
 "What shall it be? " asked the girl, with 
 a nervous laugh, broken by a sob. " A rose? " 
 
 "A rose fades so soon, Dahlia," he ob 
 jected. " Give me something better." He 
 drew her closer to him. " Couldn't you give 
 me a kiss, sweetheart, just this once?" 
 
 Dahlia drew back hastily. " No, no, Syd 
 ney, not that ! " she cried. " Here, you shall 
 have this." And with eager fingers she un 
 fastened the broad red ribbon that held her
 
 A Crucifix and a Red Ribbon 21 
 
 thick, dark curls in place, and tied it around 
 the boy's arm. 
 
 ' There, Sir Knight," she said, " you shall 
 wear my colors." 
 
 " And I will protect them with my life," 
 he said fervently. " I will be your knight for 
 ever and ever, fair lady. Think of me often, 
 Dahlia, won't you ? " 
 
 " Come on, Sydney; we are waiting for 
 you," broke in Keith's voice. He and Mi 
 chael had mounted their horses and were hav 
 ing difficulty in curbing the restless, fretting 
 animals. 
 
 "Good-by! good-by!" cried Sydney, and 
 tearing himself away from Da'hlia, he ran 
 hastily down the steps. 
 
 Then the three young patriots rode away 
 together into the sweet spring sunshine to 
 defend the land they loved so well. 
 
 That night Dahlia, dreaming of love and 
 war, and a gray-clad soldier crowned with 
 glory, who laid his trophies at her feet, mur 
 mured his name continually in her restless 
 sleep.
 
 22 When the Bugle Called 
 
 To Marie it was the bitterest night of her 
 whole life. She knelt long by her open win 
 dow in an agony of prayer for those dear to 
 her, and asking for strength to walk unfal 
 teringly in whatever path the good God 
 might choose for her. 
 
 " Oh, if I can only be brave, and do my 
 duty as I should ! " she cried, putting her 
 hand to her aching throat. Then she started 
 to her feet with a little alarmed cry. Her 
 crucifix was gone ! It was one she had worn 
 on a little chain around her neck since in 
 fancy, and she prized it more than anything 
 she possessed. It had belonged to her grand 
 mother, and had been blessed by a Pope. 
 Marie had once told Keith and Michael Cav- 
 anagh that the man she should love must 
 wear it to preserve him from all evil, and 
 Keith, being a Presbyterian, had laughed. 
 She lit her candle with shaking hands and 
 went to the nursery and aroused Mammy 
 Cindy. 
 
 " Mammy, I have lost my crucifix," she 
 said; "come help me find it."
 
 A Crucifix and a Red Ribbon 23 
 
 The search proved fruitless, as the crucifix 
 could not be found, whereupon the old ne- 
 gress shook her head, sighing dismally: 
 " Honey chile, yo' mammy sho' do hate dat. 
 Some'n gwine er happen ter bring yer mis'ry. 
 Dat crucifix wuz lost twict befo' you wuz 
 bawn'd, an' it allers brung trouble."
 
 CHAPTER II 
 THREE YEARS LATER 
 
 STRETCHED on the dry grass behind the 
 office were five small people in earnest con 
 versation. The office that convenient loung 
 ing and smoking den for the men of all old 
 Southern plantation families was on the left 
 of the house at " Oakdale." Behind it the 
 grass grew thick, while shrubs and evergreen 
 trees screened it from the outside world. 
 Here for generations Dupre children, with 
 their little black satellites, had gathered for 
 secret conferences. 
 
 " I heard Marie tell Miss Aileen this 
 morning that since our side had lost that last 
 battle there was nothing to keep the Yankees 
 from coming right on down through 
 here," Elsie, the oldest of the group, was 
 saying. 
 
 " De Lawd he'p ! Den what is we-all 
 24
 
 Three Years Later 25 
 
 gwine ter do ! " cried Snowdrop, in a voice 
 of great alarm. Snowdrop was Elsie's own 
 individual property, and was as black as any 
 thing human could be. " What is we gwine 
 do, Miss Elsie?" she reiterated. 
 
 "I don't know, Snow; nothing, I reckon. 
 Father De Berne told Marie not to worry, 
 that of course they wouldn't do anything to 
 harm women and children that they aren't 
 making war on us." 
 
 "Did you ever see a Yankee, Elsie?" 
 asked Dick, in an awed tone. 
 
 " Mammy Cindy say she seed one onct," 
 essayed Mose, Snowdrop's younger brother 
 and the constant companion of Dick. " She 
 say dey don't look lak we-all's white folks, 
 an' dey don't talk lak 'em, nuther." 
 
 " Ranee he say dey hev horns an' hufs an' 
 gret long tails, wid fire shootin' outen dey 
 eyes," put in the youngest of the group, in a 
 whisper of delicious horror. 
 
 " Aw, go 'long, Jink ! Ranee wuz er talk- 
 in' erbout de debbil ! " said Snowdrop, with 
 an air of great superiority.
 
 26 When the Bugle Called 
 
 "Well, ain't Yankees all devils?" in 
 quired Dick. 
 
 " For shame, Dick! Of course not! " ex 
 claimed Elsie. " They are people just like 
 we are. Father De Berne said so at Sunday- 
 school last Sunday." 
 
 " Well, dey ain't lak we-all's folks," ob 
 jected Snowdrop, " 'cause dey's all po' white 
 trash." 
 
 " Marie says she's afraid the Yankees will 
 keep Santa Claus from coming," said Dick 
 sorrowfully. 
 
 " Oh, well, it's three weeks until Christ 
 mas. Maybe our folks can get another army 
 and whip 'em before then," answered Elsie 
 cheerfully. " I hope so, anyway, 'cause I do 
 want a new dress so badly. It has been such 
 a long time since I had one." 
 
 " And I want a wagon and a gun," an 
 swered Dick. 
 
 " Is Mars Phil comin' home dis Crismus? " 
 inquired Snowdrop. 
 
 " No, nobody's coming. I heard Miss 
 Aileen and Marie talking about it to-day.
 
 Three Years Later 27 
 
 They haven't heard from Mr. Keith 5n a 
 long time they're 'fraid he is killed." 
 
 " Mammy Cindy say he sho' is kilt, 'caze 
 Miss Marie ain't nuver foun' her crucifix, an' 
 de udder night Mammy she see er ha'nt in 
 de ' Idlewild ' grove, an' she say hit's er sign 
 he sho' is dade." 
 
 "Nonsense, Snowdrop; there aren't any 
 such things as ha'nts ! " But Elsie looked be 
 hind her apprehensively nevertheless. 
 
 " No sich things ez ha'nts ! You jes' ax ole 
 Unc' Eph'um he kin tell you better'n dat." 
 
 While these important matters were under 
 discussion behind the office, Marie and Aileen 
 were seated at a little table in Marie's room 
 sewing. Both girls wore plain homespun 
 cotton dresses, and the faces of both were 
 pale and sad. 
 
 u When was your last letter from Michael 
 dated, Marie? " asked Aileen, lifting her 
 eyes from her work to her friend's downcast 
 face. 
 
 " Five weeks ago yesterday." 
 
 " And he said no word of Keith? "
 
 28 When the Bugle Called 
 
 " Not one." 
 
 " He must have had no trace of him." 
 Aileen's eyes filled with tears. " I wonder 
 where Michael is now? " she continued sadly. 
 
 Just then there was a knock at the door, 
 and Mammy Cindy entered the room, a note 
 in her hand. 
 
 " Honey chile, h'yers er note Ranee gimme 
 at de do' he say young Marster sent it to 
 you." 
 
 With a feeling of apprehension, Marie 
 took the note and opened it hastily. She read 
 it with Aileen looking over her shoulder. 
 
 ' This is to say good-by " (the note ran). 
 " Ranee and I are off to join the army. The 
 South needs me. I am doing no one any 
 good at home, and I cannot rest any longer 
 without striking one blow to repel this wicked 
 invasion. Don't be angry with me, dear 
 Marie, for you know I can't help it it is in 
 the blood. Good-by to all and please for 
 give me. " Your brother, 
 
 " PHILIP DUPRE, JR."
 
 Three Years Later 29 
 
 For an instant Marie's head drooped like 
 a wilting flower. 
 
 " And he just seventeen ! " she whispered. 
 Then she sprang to her feet, her gray eyes 
 flashing. " Oh, the South must win, with 
 such souls as that in its boys ! God bless him, 
 and nerve his arm to fight for his native 
 land!" 
 
 Again there was a knock at the door, and 
 Mammy, opening it, admitted old Jerry, the 
 overseer. 
 
 " Good-morning, Uncle Jerry! " exclaimed 
 the girls pleasantly. 
 
 " Mornin', HP Miss; mornin', Miss 
 Aileen." . 
 
 Then the old man stood silently looking 
 from one sweet face to the other. 
 
 "What's the matter, Uncle Jerry?" 
 laughed Aileen. " What makes you look at 
 us like that? " 
 
 " Hit's dem homespun dresses," he burst 
 out sorrowfully; " hit's dem homespun 
 dresses. Jerry nuver did 'spec ter see de 
 quality dressed lak dat, an' it hurts his feel-
 
 30 When the Bugle Called 
 
 in's. Lil' Miss," he continued, turning to 
 Marie, " I h'yer whisperin's eroun' an' 
 erbout dat dem Yankees ain't so pow'ful 
 fur off, an' dey mout come dis way, an' I 
 jes' wants ter insult wid yer 'bout whut we 
 gwine ter do." 
 
 ' There isn't anything we can do, Uncle 
 Jerry, except trust in the Lord." 
 
 " Da's all ve'y well, honey, but de Lawd 
 spec's ev'ybody ter do some'n ter he'p dey- 
 selves fus'. Bar's de silver, an' de jew'lry, 
 an' de hosses, an' de mules " 
 
 "Uncle Jerry!" cried Marie, with horri 
 fied face; " the silver and the jewelry! What 
 on earth are you talking about? You don't 
 suppose for an instant that they want such 
 things, or would take them if they did? Can't 
 soldiers be gentlemen?" 
 
 " Yassum, honey, dey kin; but you see hit's 
 dis-er-way: Soldiers is mos' in giner'lly sol 
 diers, an' Yankees ain't lak we-all. You sho' 
 better listen ter ole Jerry, an' hide ev'ything 
 you wants befo' dey gits h'yer, when you 
 h'yers dey is comin'. An' be mighty keerful,
 
 Three Years Later 31 
 
 lil' Miss, 'caze dar is some niggers on dis 
 place dat you sho' cyarn' trus'." 
 
 " An' dat's de Lawd's trufe ! " cried 
 Mammy. " Bar's dat old slue-foot nigger, 
 Ben he is plum crazy 'bout dem Yankees. 
 Say dey gwine mek all de black folks free!. 
 But dar's one thing sartin an' sho', hit'll tek 
 more dan er Yankee army ter free Mammy 
 f 'um her chullen ! " 
 
 " Lil' Miss," Jerry continued, " I jes' want 
 er say ef you needs me kinder secret lak, you 
 jes' send me word ter come an' men' de side 
 po'ch steps, an' I'll onderstan'. Den you kin 
 set on de steps an' see behine my back, an' I 
 kin see onder de house an' behine you, so we 
 kin insult tergedder an' none er dem sneakin' 
 niggers kin h'yer whut we say." 
 
 " That's a good plan, Uncle Jerry, but I 
 hope we won't have to resort to it." 
 
 " Wall, da's all fur de present. Mawnin', 
 lil' Miss; mawnin', Miss Aileen." And 
 Jerry bowed himself out. 
 
 In silence the girls went back to their sew 
 ing. They had ripped up an old silk dress of
 
 32 When the Bugle Called 
 
 Aileen's all Marie's had been used up long 
 ago and were remaking it into a dress for 
 Elsie's Christmas gift. Uncle Jerry, who 
 had great skill with his knife, was cutting 
 Dick a gun of soft white pine, and would 
 make him a wagon, and that would be the 
 extent of his " Santa Claus." But Marie 
 consoled herself by planning a delicious 
 Christmas dinner. There should be good 
 things in abundance, and all the negroes in 
 the quarters should feast, too. 
 
 " What a sad Christmas it will be," sighed 
 Aileen. 
 
 " Yes, but we mustn't be sad. At that 
 season all children should be happy, so we 
 must be cheerful for their sakes. They are 
 looking forward to it so ! Do you remember 
 the lovely things father brought them the 
 year before last? How full of hope the 
 South was then ! " 
 
 " There is no chance of Colonel Dupre 
 getting here this year, is there? " 
 
 "Oh, no; not the least! He is with Lee 
 in Virginia."
 
 Three Years Later 33 
 
 Here Mammy Cindy put her head in the 
 door. 
 
 " Honey," she said, " you say you want er 
 see Unc' Eph'um f'um ' Huntin'don ' nex' 
 time he come over. Well, h'yer he is at de 
 po'ch; say he want er pass de time er day 
 wid you an' Miss Aileen." 
 
 " Tell him we are coming right now," ex 
 claimed Marie eagerly. " I want to know 
 if they have had a letter from Sydney re 
 cently; he might have mentioned Keith and 
 Michael." 
 
 She and Aileen put down their sewing 
 hastily and went out on the porch. 
 
 " Good-morning, Uncle Eph," said both 
 girls cordially. 
 
 "Howdy, Mistiss; howdy, Miss Aileen," 
 responded the old negro, bowing low, hat in 
 hand. 
 
 " How are things serving you these days? " 
 Aileen inquired, with one of her brightest 
 smiles. 
 
 " Things sarve old Eph'um sorter good an' 
 sorter bad, Miss Aileen; but da's de bes' we
 
 34 When the Bugle Called 
 
 kin 'spec' in dis worl', honey. Jordan am 
 er hard road ter trabel sometimes." 
 
 " Uncle Eph, has Mr. Elmore had an 
 other letter from Sydney lately? " asked 
 Marie anxiously. 
 
 " Naw, honey, he ain't. Hit's been er 
 long time sence ole Marster h'yered a word; 
 an' dar he sets, er honin' an' er griebin' till 
 hit jes' looks lak he cyarn' las' much longer. 
 I dunno how come Mars Syd wuz so sot on 
 gwine ter dis war! " he broke out after a 
 few minutes' silence. " An' him all de chile 
 his paw's got, too. I tole ole Marster dat 
 Mars Syd wuzn't nothin' but er chile, an' 
 dat he oughter kep' him home, an' ole Mar 
 ster up an' cussed me out, an' say he'd er 
 disowned Mars Syd ef he hadn't er went." 
 
 Marie had so hoped to hear news through 
 the Elmores that she stood by, silent and 
 downcast at the disappointment. 
 
 "And how is Aunt Judy these days?" 
 asked Aileen, anxious to divert Marie's mind 
 to something more cheerful. " It has been a 
 long time since I have seen her."
 
 Three Years Later 35 
 
 Ephraim looked up at the girl from under 
 his shaggy gray brows, a very lugubrious ex 
 pression settling on his face. 
 
 " Ain't you h'yerd 'bout mah b'reavement, 
 Missy? Judy wuz tuk erbout two mont ergo. 
 Yas, honey, de Lawd tuk 'er an' lef de ole 
 man by hisse'f ergin." He brushed his sleeve 
 across his eyes, and a sob choked him. " I's 
 nigh onter eighty ye'rs ole, an' Judy am de 
 fo'th wife what's left me." 
 
 " Oh, Uncle Eph, I'm so sorry ! " cried 
 both girls in a breath, deep sympathy showing 
 in their faces. 
 
 " Yassum, hit wuz mighty bad." Here the 
 ole fellow's face wrinkled up into smiles 
 again, and he tried to straighten his bent back. 
 
 " But de good Lawd in his mussy hev seen 
 fit ter smile ernother blessin' on me. I's got 
 Big Nancy fer er wife now. You knows ole 
 Aun' Big Nancy she kin fry de bes' bacon 
 an' mek de goodes' hoe-cake! Hit's jes' so 
 good tell hit mos' melt in yo' mouf." 
 
 The laugh with which Marie and Aileen 
 greeted this was interrupted by the sound of
 
 36 When the Bugle Called 
 
 galloping hoofs coming up the driveway. 
 The rider was Dahlia, on her bay mare, Lady 
 Jane, and she was riding like a wild thing, 
 her hair streaming and her skirts flying. She 
 waved her cap at them, her face flushed with 
 excitement. 
 
 " The Yankees! " she cried. " The Yan 
 kees rode into Fairview this morning ! "
 
 CHAPTER III 
 THE PREPARATION 
 
 AT Dahlia's news the hearts of both girls 
 seemed to stand still. What they had so 
 dreaded was at last at hand the foot of the 
 invader was upon the hearthstone of the 
 South. While they never contemplated the 
 thought of violence of any kind from the 
 troops, still the idea of coming into direct 
 personal contact with Northern soldiers was 
 intensely repugnant to them. 
 
 If some of the men were only at home ! 
 When they had ridden away, so full of hope, 
 with such bright promise for the future, there 
 had been no fear that a foreign foot would 
 ever tread in enmity on Southern soil; they 
 had left their women and children and slaves 
 behind in perfect confidence that all would be 
 well with them. And now the invading army 
 had spread, with fire and sword, over the 
 
 37
 
 38 When the Bugle Called 
 
 length and breadth of the shuddering land, 
 leaving in its trail a disease new to the South 
 the Black Plague. 
 
 " What shall we do oh, what shall we 
 do ! " cried Aileen, white to the lips, while 
 Marie seemed deprived of the power of 
 speech. 
 
 " I passed Father De Berne on the road," 
 said Dahlia, as she came up the steps. " He 
 will soon be here; maybe he can help us." 
 
 " How good of him to remember us ! " 
 Aileen exclaimed, her face brightening. 
 
 A few minutes later they saw the reverend 
 father approaching, walking hurriedly, his 
 white head bare, for in his haste he had for 
 gotten his hat. Marie felt intense relief at 
 sight of him, for here at last was a friend 
 whose advice she could trust implicitly one 
 who was indeed a shepherd to his flock, to 
 whom none appealed in vain for counsel and 
 sympathy. For forty years Father De Berne 
 had lived and labored in the village of El- 
 lersly and the surrounding country. The lit 
 tle church of St. Cecelia so dear to the
 
 The Preparation 39 
 
 hearts of all had been built under his super 
 vision a memorial to his faithful service, as 
 his people loved to say. But a more lasting 
 memorial would be the remembrance of the 
 beautiful, selfless life he lived among his peo 
 ple. 
 
 An hour later Dahlia drove him home. 
 He left Marie and Aileen in a measure com 
 forted, but at the same time he made them 
 understand something of the conduct to be 
 expected from an invading army. He had 
 heard many reports and rumors from other 
 districts, and he felt it his duty to prepare 
 these helpless girls for what lay before them. 
 As yet none of the horror of war had reached 
 them only its sorrow. 
 
 Quietly, with as much secrecy as possible, 
 they began collecting and packing the silver 
 at " Oakdale " and " Idlewild." There was 
 also a little money in gold and the family 
 jewels to be hidden. In the afternoon old 
 Jerry received a message that the side-porch 
 steps needed mending. Answering the sum 
 mons immediately, he found Marie seated in
 
 40 When the Bugle Called' 
 
 the warm sunshine, a piece of sewing in her 
 hands. Between hammerings and sawings 
 and remarks upon the weather and the crops 
 of the past season, they decided where things 
 should be hidden. The chest of silver was 
 to be placed on the office floor, covered with 
 field peas, and the door left innocently open; 
 the money to be put in a stone jar and buried 
 in the hen-house under a sitting hen, and 
 ashes sifted over the ground to hide the foot 
 prints. 
 
 Each girl should hide her own spe 
 cially valued jewelry as best she could. At 
 Jerry's earnest request, Marie allowed him 
 to remove some of the ceiling in the attic and 
 place some sides of bacon in there; so, if the 
 worst of the reports were true, they would at 
 least have something to eat. 
 
 Jerry reported the negroes at the quarters 
 in a state of great excitement. They had 
 all quit work, and some of them had left 
 and gone to join the Federal troops at Fair- 
 view. 
 
 The prevailing excitement, mingled with
 
 The Preparation 41 
 
 a much greater degree of fear, had reached 
 Elsie and her dusky following, and there were 
 several conferences held on the grass behind 
 the office. At the last of these a regular 
 council of war, held just before sundown 
 Jink was excluded as being too young and in 
 experienced to trust. He, however, crept 
 into the office and, vowing vengeance in his 
 heart, concealed himself underneath a win 
 dow and overheard everything that took 
 place. And still in his place of hiding, as 
 the early December twilight settled over the 
 scene, he saw a silent procession stealing into 
 the secluded grass plot from the direction of 
 the " big house." 
 
 Snowdrop and Elsie were carrying a big 
 wooden box, and Mose and Dick had spades, 
 with which they began to dig in feverish 
 haste. Not a word was spoken until the box 
 was safely covered up in the ground and the 
 earth trampled down on it. 
 
 " Dar now ! " remarked Snowdrop in a 
 sepulchral whisper; " now we done got erhaid 
 er dem ole Yankees! "
 
 42 When the Bugle Called 
 
 " Humph ! " grunted Jink to himself in 
 his hiding place, " I dunno so much erbout 
 dat." 
 
 " S'pose the Yankees don't come, after 
 all," said Elsie, a trifle regretfully. 
 
 " Oh, dey's gwine er come, sho'," Snow 
 drop answered decidedly; " 'caze Mose he 
 h'yerd Sluefoot Ben an' ole Bal'haid Jim er 
 talkin' behind de smoke-house didn't you, 
 Mose?" 
 
 " I sho' did; an' I h'yerd Sluefoot say he 
 gwine tell dem Yankees 'bout dis place, an' 
 dat we-all's folks hed guns an' powder an' 
 shot hid out h'yer, an' dat would sho' fetch 
 'em; an' den ole Bal'haid he up an' say he 
 gwine tell 'em whut rich folks we wuz." 
 
 " I can't see what makes them so mean," 
 cried Elsie indignantly; " father always was 
 just as good to them as he could be." 
 
 " Oh, dey's jes' nachully mean niggers. 
 Mammy Cindy she say dar's some niggers 
 got nigger souls an' some niggers got white 
 souls," explained Snowdrop. 
 
 " Den dat ole Sluefoot an' Bal'haid is got
 
 The Preparation 43 
 
 souls ez black ez de pot," put in Mose vin 
 dictively. 
 
 " We had better be going, Snow," Elsie 
 suggested; " it isn't wise to hang around here 
 too much. Somebody might suspect some 
 thing." 
 
 So the four filed home as stealthily as In 
 dians, leaving behind them a small African 
 wondering uneasily whether his soul was 
 white or black. 
 
 " Well, dey didn't hev no business ter 
 treat me lak dat, no way," he argued with 
 himself; "dey sho' done me er mean trick. 
 Dar wuz some'n I could er put in dat box ef 
 I had jes' been dar wid 'em. I don't keer ef 
 mah soul is black! " 
 
 That night no one slept at " Oakdale " 
 " big house " but the children, and their 
 dreams were filled with Yankees seven feet 
 high, who stalked around with drawn swords 
 dripping with blood. 
 
 Just as the early dawn streaked the east 
 with its first faint gray, Marie and Aileen lay 
 down to try to rest, while Mammy Cindy
 
 44 When the Bugle Called 
 
 dozed before the nursery fire. Down in the 
 orchard a strange trio was making its way 
 across the creek and on toward the dense 
 swamp that lay beyond the cottonfields. 
 
 It was Dahlia, wrapped in a long black 
 cloak, leading by the bridle her favorite mare, 
 Lady Jane. A negro boy of about fifteen sat 
 on the horse's back, a tin bucket swung on 
 his arm. He was a queer, deformed creature, 
 with an enormous head and great, wide- 
 standing ears. His body seemed shrunken, 
 but his legs were unusually long and his feet 
 huge and flat. He was generally considered 
 to be half-witted, but Dahlia, to whom he 
 belonged, often declared that he had more 
 sense than most people. She was always kind 
 to him, and defended him from ridicule, and 
 he worshiped her with the faithfulness of 
 a dog. 
 
 " Now, Caesar," Dahlia was saying, " keep 
 Lady Jane there in the swamp all day; keep 
 her as quiet as you can, and to-night I will 
 bring you more food. If we can just keep 
 the Yankees from finding her! "
 
 The Preparation 45 
 
 " Caesar ain' gwine let nobody tech Lady 
 Jane, Missy. Caesar fight fus'. Don' you 
 worry 'bout yo' hoss, 111' Miss Honey, 'caze 
 Caesar gwine tek good keer er 'er." 
 
 " I know you will, Caesar; I knew I could 
 trust you." 
 
 She left them safely hidden in the densest 
 part of the swamp, and hurried back home 
 just as the sun was rising. On the portico 
 she stood and looked around her at the sweet, 
 peaceful scene; the lawn, the rose garden, 
 the whole world, seemed fresh and dew-cov 
 ered, and in the orange trees near the steps a 
 mocking-bird was pouring its soul into a glori 
 ous morning song of praise to God. 
 
 "Could anywhere be more beautiful?" 
 thought the girl, her face raised to the crisp 
 winds. She stretched her arms wide, with a 
 pretty, impulsive gesture. " How I love it 
 love it! " she cried, her eyes shining. 
 
 True daughter of the South she looked, 
 with her great dark eyes and clear olive skin, 
 her black curls blowing about her face like a 
 veil. For a long time she stood steeping her
 
 46 When the Bugle Called 
 
 soul in the beauty of the scene, her thoughts 
 very far away. 
 
 A sharp noise out in front brought her 
 mind suddenly from dreams to reality. Rid 
 ing up toward her was a small squad of blue- 
 coated horsemen, and slinking in their rear 
 she recognized Sluefoot Ben. She drew her 
 small childish figure up to its full height and 
 waited for them at the head of the steps.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 THE YANKEES 
 
 " GOOD-MORNING, sissy ! " said the leader 
 of the squad of soldiers, lifting his cap with 
 mock civility. He was accoutered in a cor 
 poral's uniform, and his face was of a coarse, 
 disagreeable cast. 
 
 " Is your maw at home, sissy? Run, tell 
 her she has company to breakfast, and be 
 sure to tell her to have an extra good one, 
 for we are gentlemen what can appreciate it." 
 
 A hearty laugh from his companions 
 greeted this sally, but Dahlia made no re 
 sponse whatever. 
 
 " Humph ! the little gal must be deaf," re 
 marked the corporal. He gave a few orders 
 to his men, who dispersed and surrounded 
 the house, while he, with one other soldier, 
 started up the steps. 
 
 " Wait! " exclaimed Dahlia, suddenly find- 
 47
 
 48 When the Bugle Called 
 
 ing her voice. " What are you coming in 
 for?" 
 
 " Why, for breakfast, of course." 
 
 ;< Then wait outside, please, for breakfast 
 isn't ready yet, and no one in the house is 
 awake. I'll bring you chairs." 
 
 She ran in the hall and dragged out two 
 chairs for them. 
 
 " Have seats, won't you ? " she said cour 
 teously; " and I will go speak to the cook 
 about breakfast." 
 
 Winking at each other significantly, they 
 sat down, while Dahlia dashed up the stairs, 
 two steps at a time, to Marie's room. No 
 ^ooner was her back turned than they both 
 got up and slipped into the hall, just as two 
 of those who had gone around the house 
 came in through the back door They took 
 the lower floor room by room, searching 
 every corner, every closet, and every drawer. 
 As they went up the stairs to the room above 
 they were joined by two more soldiers, and 
 the six of them stalked boldly up into an 
 empty hall. A door on their right opened
 
 The Yankees 49 
 
 suddenly, and Dahlia stepped before them, 
 her face pale, but her eyes very bright. 
 
 ' You gentlemen have made a mistake," 
 she said, in a voice that trembled slightly. 
 ' The dining-room is downstairs, and break 
 fast isn't ready yet." 
 
 Without replying, they pushed by her 
 rudely and flung open the door of the room 
 she had just quitted. In it Marie stood, 
 fastening hastily the dress she had just slipped 
 into. 
 
 " May I ask why you are intruding in this 
 manner into a lady's bedroom?" she de 
 manded in a high, clear tone. 
 
 " We have orders to search this house, 
 madam," answered the corporal, suiting the 
 action to the word. 
 
 " But why why is it necessary? " Marie 
 began. 
 
 " We have been informed that you have 
 arms and ammunition hidden here, and it is 
 our duty to find them. And the least trouble 
 you give us, the better." 
 
 " Marie ! oh, Marie ! " cried Aileen, run-
 
 50 When the Bugle Called 
 
 ning into the room with white, scared face, 
 " the yard is full of Yankees ! " 
 
 With a muttered curse the corporal went 
 to the window. It was true; the whole place 
 was swarming with bluecoats. In frenzied 
 haste he returned to his search, but found 
 nothing, and a few minutes later he and his 
 men left the room in a very ugly mood. 
 
 " Oh, Marie, how can we live through 
 this? " cried Aileen, with tears in her eyes. 
 
 "Hush!" whispered Marie warningly; 
 " here come the children. Why, Elsie, what 
 are you afraid of? The soldiers aren't going 
 to hurt us." 
 
 " Dat dey ain't!" cried Mammy Cindy 
 belligerently. " Dey'd sho' hev ter kill Cindy 
 fus'. Now I'd jes' lak ter know whut you- 
 all wants in h'yer?" she exclaimed, as the 
 door opened and a crowd of soldiers pushed 
 into the room. 
 
 " We must search this room, madam," 
 said one of them, who seemed to be the 
 leader. 
 
 " It has been searched already, as you
 
 The Yankees 51 
 
 may see for yourselves," said Marie indig 
 nantly. 
 
 But in spite of protests they went through 
 trunk, wardrobe, bureau, closet everything 
 in the room -but they found only Marie's 
 dainty, threadbare underclothes and patched 
 homespun dresses. These they tore from 
 neck to hem and threw aside. The girls fol 
 lowed them from room to room and watched 
 them destroying like vandals everything that 
 could be of no use to them. 
 
 In Colonel Dupre's room they lingered 
 longest. They ransacked it thoroughly, as 
 they supposed, and were leaving it, when a 
 spur on the heel of one of the soldiers caught 
 in the fringe of a faded tapestry hanging on 
 the wall and dragged it to the floor, leaving 
 exposed to view a door hitherto unseen. With 
 a sharp cry, Marie threw herself in front of 
 it with arms outstretched. 
 
 " No, no ! " she cried piteously, " not in 
 here ! Leave this one room alone. There is 
 nothing in here that you would have noth- 
 ing!"
 
 52 When the Bugle Called 
 
 For an instant the soldiers stood irresolute; 
 then one of them stepped forward. 
 
 " Madam, we must obey orders. Please 
 stand aside; don't compel me to use force." 
 
 " There is nothing here of value to you 
 no arms nor ammunition, I swear it," she 
 said, her gray eyes appealing to him. " It is 
 my mother's boudoir, just as she left it, and 
 and she is dead." 
 
 But it was all in vain, for presently they 
 forced her aside and broke open the door, 
 but on the threshold they hesitated. It was 
 a sunny little room, with writing-desk and 
 book-shelves; in the center stood a wicker 
 work-table, and on it a baby's unfinished long 
 dress, the needle sticking in it as it had been 
 put down by dear, dead hands. Hanging 
 over the fireplace was a beautiful painting of 
 the Sistine Madonna, whose tender eyes 
 seemed to look down reproachfully upon the 
 scene below. A big Irishman with sergeant's 
 stripes on his sleeves elbowed his way to the 
 front, and turning toward the hesitating sol 
 diers, drew his revolver.
 
 The Yankees 53 
 
 ' The fir-r-st man who comes in here," he 
 declared in his rich brogue, " will hear some- 
 thin' from Dinnis Malone. Stand back, me 
 friends, and clear out. You an' me knows 
 about thim orders. Ye wouldn't desecrate 
 the mim'ry av the gur-r-ls' dead mother, wid 
 the Blessed Mother herself lookin' on, now, 
 would ye, men?" he continued persuasively. 
 And seeing there could be very little of real 
 value within, they allowed themselves to be 
 persuaded, and turned away. 
 
 Dahlia, on going downstairs from Marie's 
 room, found the yard full of soldiers and 
 negroes. Everywhere was confusion, loud 
 talking, often cursing, and constant passing 
 back and forth. Suddenly a thought struck 
 her, and she ran back to the kitchen and out 
 into the yard as if she had wings to her feet. 
 She had remembered a storehouse where 
 were kept wines and homemade cordials. So 
 far it had been overlooked by the soldiers, 
 but she shuddered to think what intoxication 
 would add to such a scene. In haste she un 
 locked the door, and with trembling hands
 
 54 When the Bugle Called 
 
 overturned every demijohn and broke every 
 bottle. Soon the air was filled with pungent 
 odors, and Dahlia's cotton gown and thin 
 shoes were saturated with the liquid. She 
 tried to slip away unseen, as she had come, 
 but the spicy smell had attracted some of the 
 stragglers, and she stepped out into their 
 midst. 
 
 " Now what deviltry have you been up 
 to? " cried one, seeing her wet garments. 
 
 " Oh, I say, ain't that a damned shame, 
 boys ! " exclaimed another, peering in at the 
 open door at the overturned demijohns. The 
 others crowded around him, bemoaning the 
 lost liquor, and Dahlia, taking advantage of 
 their backs, slipped away to change her 
 clothes. But alas! not one whole garment 
 was to be found, so she was doomed to carry 
 about with her the evidences of her fore 
 thought. 
 
 Coming upon Elsie and Dick huddled in 
 a corner crying with fright and hunger, she 
 took them in charge, and the three went 
 back downstairs in search of some breakfast.
 
 The Yankees 55 
 
 They found fat Lucy alternately sobbing and 
 praying, but cooking as fast as it could pos 
 sibly be done, for a big soldier lolled com 
 fortably in the window, a revolver held negli 
 gently across his knee, and he continually 
 urged Lucy to renewed efforts. A squad of 
 bluecoats removed the breakfast as fast as 
 it was cooked and distributed it among those 
 waiting outside. 
 
 " Dar's mah blessed HI' lambs now, comin' 
 to see whar is dey bre'kfus'," and old Lucy 
 began sobbing afresh. " I jes' knows you is 
 mos' starved. Ca'line, you yaller hussy, dat 
 ve'y nex' plate er waffles is fer dese po' starv- 
 in' chullen ! I ain't er-gwine ter cook fer po' 
 white trash an' de quality standin' by hon- 
 
 A flourish of the convenient weapon re 
 duced yellow Caroline to immediate submis 
 sion, but Lucy was past control. 
 
 " Oh, you kin shoot an' shoot all you's er 
 mine ter, but I ain't gwine er cook ernother 
 lick till dese chullen gits dey bre'kfus', an' 
 you h'yer dat ! You kin kill me ef you wants
 
 56 When the Bugle Called 
 
 ter, but whar you gwine ter git ernuther cook 
 lak ole Lucy ? " 
 
 This was a convincing argument, so Dah 
 lia, Elsie, and Dick got enough breakfast to 
 keep them from going hungry. Passing 
 through the pantry on their way back to the 
 house, they saw a red-faced German in the 
 act of turning a big pan of cream up to his 
 mouth. 
 
 "Poison!" cried Dahlia mischievously. 
 The pan dropped with a crash, splashing the 
 beloved blue uniform from top to toe. A 
 coarse laugh greeted the mishap, and one of 
 the men turned to look at Dahlia with an 
 admiring glance. Catching sight of her 
 stained garments, he sprang forward with an 
 oath. 
 
 " Here, boys," he cried brutally; " it's the 
 little damned rebel that overturned the demi 
 johns!" In an instant he had his pistol 
 pressed against her forehead. " Now," he 
 continued, with a string of oaths, " I guess 
 we'll teach you better next time." 
 
 Quick as a flash Dahlia reached down in
 
 The Yankees 57 
 
 the pocket of her homespun gown and pulled 
 out a small silver-mounted revolver; but the 
 red-faced German knocked her arm up, and 
 it discharged in the air. 
 
 "Here! what does this mean?" cried a 
 commanding voice at the door, and a young 
 man in the uniform of a lieutenant hurried 
 into the room. "What is this, Fritz: bully 
 ing a lady? I'm surprised at you! Smith, 
 put up that pistol instantly ! Corporal, place 
 both these men under arrest."
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 NEWS OF KEITH 
 
 " PLEASE, sir, marster, is yer foun' any- 
 thin' yit?" 
 
 Sergeant Dennis Malone looked down at 
 the speaker, a diminutive darky, as black as 
 ink, with a start of surprise. 
 
 "Phat's that ye'r sayin'?" 
 
 "Is yer foun' anythin' yer wants?" the 
 little negro repeated. " 'Caze ef yer ain't, 
 I kin tell yer whar dar's er whole box full 
 of things, 'caze I seed 'em when dey buried 
 it." 
 
 At this information several bystanders 
 crowded around in intense interest, for as yet 
 they had run across nothing of any real value. 
 
 "Hear! hear! Malone, tell the little nig 
 to lead the way," cried several voices. 
 
 "Where is the box, me b'y? Come along 
 and show us." 
 
 The small son of Africa hesitated. 
 58
 
 News of Keith 59 
 
 " What you gwine er gimme ef I shows 
 yer? " 
 
 " Ah ! So you're not betrayin' yer frinds 
 fer love av yer inemies," laughed Malone. 
 " Well, here is twinty-five cints fer ye." 
 
 So Jink led the way to the grassplot be 
 hind the office and showed the soldiers where 
 the earth had been turned up and trampled 
 down again. In growing excitement Dennis 
 called for a spade and began to dig, his com 
 rades making many bets and jests as to what 
 he would find. When the wooden box was 
 disclosed there were a few cheers, which the 
 big Irishman quickly silenced. 
 
 " Do ye want to divide with the whole 
 army that ye are shoutin' for 'em all to 
 come? " he cried angrily. " And git out of 
 the way," impatiently shoving away with his 
 elbows the men who pressed eagerly around. 
 " How can I do anything without room to 
 move me arms ! " he exclaimed, in exaspera 
 tion. 
 
 " Well, hurry up, Denny lad, you're too 
 mortal slow ! "
 
 60 When the Bugle Called 
 
 With a jerk Malone pulled off the lid, and 
 with bated breath the soldiers leaned over 
 and peered within. For an instant there was 
 perfect silence, then began a string of curses 
 loud and deep. 
 
 " Where is that doggoned little black 
 ape?" cried one wrathfully; and snatching 
 the unfortunate betrayer by the back of his 
 neck, he shook him until his teeth chattered, 
 and with cuffs and kicks they sent him howl 
 ing in the direction of the quarters. As for 
 Dennis Malone, he sat on the grass silently 
 staring at the treasures in the box. There 
 were the remains of what had once been a 
 beautiful doll, arrayed in faded finery; a big 
 rag baby, a stuffed rabbit, and two worn story 
 books. Two battered tin soldiers kept guard 
 on top with a little woolly dog. 
 
 Malone drew his blue coat sleeve across 
 his eyes, and carefully replaced the lid. 
 
 " Here, boys, come help me put this back 
 where we found it," he said, " and the man 
 that troubles one thing in it will have to fight 
 Dennis Malone."
 
 News of Keith 61 
 
 Late in the afternoon of the same day 
 Marie and Aileen sat in the desolated library, 
 worn out in body and mind. Most of the 
 book shelves were empty, for the soldiers in 
 a spirit of vandalism had taken the books 
 the prized collection of many generations of 
 Dupres and piling them in the yard had 
 poured soft soap over them. A soldier pass 
 ing through the room, his arms full of 
 volumes, bowed low to the two girls. 
 
 " You see, lady, that I am of a literary 
 turn," he said grandly. 
 
 " I see that you are of a roguish turn ! " 
 exclaimed Aileen indignantly, her blue eyes 
 sparkling with anger. 
 
 " Oh, Marie," she continued, as the man 
 strode on with his booty, " did you see the 
 fate of your flock of turkeys? Two soldiers 
 drove them through a gate while a third be 
 headed them with a sword as they came 
 through." 
 
 "My poor, poor Christmas dinner!" la 
 mented Marie. " I don't see where we are 
 to get even the bare necessities."
 
 62 When the Bugle Called 
 
 At that moment the door opened and the 
 young lieutenant who had rescued Dahlia, 
 entered the room, a small silver box under 
 his arm. 
 
 " Is this Miss Cavanagh? " he asked in a 
 pleasant, well-bred voice, addressing Aileen. 
 
 He was very handsome, and his manner 
 prepossessing, but Aileen held her head 
 haughtily and regarded him with a cold stare. 
 
 " I am Lieutenant Anderson," he con 
 tinued. " I had the good fortune to save 
 your jewel box just now it has your name 
 on it. I was sure I could not be mistaken, 
 you are so very much like your brother, in 
 spite of the difference in coloring." 
 
 "My brother!" cried Aileen, springing 
 to her feet. " Oh, do you know him? Have 
 you seen him? Can you tell me if he is 
 alive?" 
 
 " Very much alive," laughed the lieuten 
 ant, " though still in the hospital. He was 
 desperately wounded, you know, and taken 
 prisoner some months ago. He is my -sister 
 Katharine's special charge. We have at last
 
 News of Keith 63 
 
 succeeded in arranging an exchange for him, 
 as soon as he is strong enough to travel. But 
 I am surprised that this is news to you. 
 Katharine has written you several letters, I 
 know, keeping you advised as to Keith's 
 condition." 
 
 " I have received none of them, and have 
 been so anxious about him. But is he not 
 dreadfully homesick, Lieutenant Anderson? " 
 
 " He seemed very well satisfied when I saw 
 him last. You know he has the finest nurse 
 in the United States, ' if I do say it as hadn't 
 ought to.' " 
 
 " And Michael Lieutenant Cavanagh, do 
 you know anything of him? " 
 
 " Rather too much, thank you. He is 
 one of the greatest daredevils in the Rebel 
 army." 
 
 "Thank you, oh! thank you so much for 
 this news! " said Aileen earnestly. " I have 
 been almost heartbroken over Keith. When 
 Marie had letters from Colonel Dupre and 
 Philip, and they could tell us nothing of 
 him or of Michael, I almost gave up hope.
 
 64 When the Bugle Called 
 
 Thank you for my jewel box, too. I am glad 
 to know there is one honest man among the 
 Northern soldiers." 
 
 " I regret exceedingly that you should have 
 been subjected to so many indignities," he 
 said, his boyish face reddening, " but it is 
 the fortune of war." 
 
 " I am not going to quarrel with you I 
 am far too grateful to you." And Aileen 
 smiled at him bewitchingly. " Will you tell 
 your sister how I love her for her care of 
 Keith? It is such joy to hear that he has 
 found friends." 
 
 During this conversation Marie had sat 
 by strangely silent, her eyes looking wide and 
 strained, and for some time, after they were 
 left alone, she did not move. 
 
 When the young lieutenant rode away that 
 evening he carried a vision of golden hair 
 and blue eyes, and after several hours' deep 
 thought upon the subject he decided that 
 Aileen was the most beautiful name he had 
 ever heard, and a blonde the most preferable 
 type of loveliness.
 
 News of Keith 65 
 
 Next morning Marie, with old Jerry, 
 went over the place, and the result filled the 
 girl with despair. They found that the 
 Northern soldiers had taken or killed every 
 live creature on the plantation save Dahlia's 
 horse that Caesar had hidden, and Joe, an 
 ancient steer. The chest of silver was gone; 
 and all the provisions had been confiscated or 
 destroyed, so there was left for them to live 
 on only some field peas and the bacon ceiled 
 up in the attic. 
 
 " Nemmine, HI' Miss," consoled the old 
 man, seeing the girl's sorrowful face, " de 
 good Lawd will pervide. We gwine manage 
 somehow. We can plow wid Lady Jane an' 
 ole Joe " 
 
 " Plow! but what are we going to plant? 
 Where can we get anything! " And Marie 
 leaned her head on the top rail of the fence 
 and burst into tears. 
 
 " Now, honey, don't do dat don't werry 
 dat HI' haid. Ole Jerry an' de good Lawd 
 tergedder sho' gwine ter tek keer er Mars 
 Phil's chullen!"
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE RETURN OF THE CRUCIFIX 
 
 : ' THIS has been the longest day I ever 
 spent," said Dahlia, settling herself more 
 comfortably on the rug, " and it hasn't 
 seemed one bit like Christmas." 
 
 " It has certainly been a very sad one." 
 And Aileen sighed dismally. 
 
 Marie said nothing, but sat gazing into 
 the fire, lost in sorrowful musings. 
 
 It was Christmas night. The children 
 had gone to bed long ago, and the three 
 girls, wearied with their efforts to be gay and 
 happy, still lingered in the library. The 
 blazing logs on the hearth diffused a warm 
 flickering light over the room, that in a 
 measure softened its bareness and gave it an 
 almost cheerful look. " And to think but 
 for Lieutenant Anderson and Sergeant Ma- 
 lone we would go to bed hungry ! " Dahlia 
 continued, with a little sobbing laugh. 
 
 66
 
 The Return of the Crucifix 67 
 
 " Lieutenant Anderson has been so very 
 kind," said Aileen, her face flushing slightly. 
 " And I can never thank his sister enough for 
 what she has done for Keith." 
 
 Marie looked up suddenly. 
 
 " It is well that there are some few among 
 them with a little Christian charity." Her 
 usually sweet voice sounded harsh and bitter. 
 " We have certainly found it very rare." 
 
 " Oh, but Sergeant Malone is a dear!" 
 cried Dahlia. " I almost forget he is a 
 Yankee." 
 
 " It is such a pity the troops stopped so 
 near us; I feel very sorry for those poor 
 people around Ellersly." 
 
 " Yes, it is very unfortunate," Aileen re 
 joined; " it is simply ruining the negroes. 
 Uncle Tony tells me they have all left ' Idle- 
 wild.' Poor Keith! he will find the place a 
 wilderness." 
 
 " Marie," remarked Dahlia after a little 
 silence, " wouldn't it be funny to go North 
 some time, years after this, and see our silver 
 on some Yankee's table ! "
 
 68 When the Bugle Called 
 
 "How absurd you are, Dahlia; we would 
 never be at table with such people ! " 
 
 ; ' Well, good children," said Aileen, yawn 
 ing, " you may sit up and gossip as long as 
 you like, but I am almost asleep." 
 
 " I am, too." And Dahlia stretched 
 lazily. " Aren't you ready to come up 
 stairs, Marie? " 
 
 " I'm simply too tired to move," Marie 
 replied wearily. " Don't wait for me. I'll 
 come presently. Good-night ! " And she 
 held up her mouth to be kissed. 
 
 Left alone, her face relaxed into lines of 
 inexpressible sadness, and she leaned her head 
 on her hand in an attitude of utter dejection. 
 For a long time she sat without moving, the 
 fire light shining on her pale face and soft 
 brown hair. The clock struck eleven, each 
 deep solemn tone reverberating through the 
 big empty room, but she did not seem to 
 hear it. 
 
 Then just as the last stroke died away 
 there came a little sound that made her sit 
 up suddenly with blanched face and wide
 
 The Return of the Crucifix 69 
 
 frightened eyes. There it was again ! Some 
 one was tapping softly but insistently at the 
 window that opened on the porch. For an 
 instant she hesitated, then resolutely walked 
 to the window. " Who is there? " she asked 
 in low, clear tones, without drawing aside the 
 heavy curtains. There was no answer, but 
 the tapping was repeated a little louder, and 
 as it seemed to Marie, impatiently. " Who 
 is it? " she asked again, " and what do you 
 want so late at night?" 
 
 " 'Tis only a poor pedlar," answered a 
 voice in a rich Irish brogue. " Won't you 
 give me shelter, lady, and a bite to eat, in 
 the name of the Blessed Virgin? Ye could 
 not have the heart to turn away any one on 
 Christmas night." 
 
 Now thoroughly alarmed, Marie hastily 
 considered the situation. That it was one, 
 or possibly more, of the detachment of sol 
 diers at Ellersly, she did not doubt. If she 
 refused admittance it could easily be forced 
 perhaps a brave front would be best. While 
 still hesitating, she heard the man outside
 
 yo When the Bugle Called 
 
 fumbling with the window. He was slipping 
 something through one of the broken panes 
 of glass, and the article fell to the floor with 
 a little clinking sound. Marie stooped 
 quickly and felt under the curtain; then 
 she stood up with a cry of amazement 
 she held in her hand her lost crucifix ! With 
 out considering another instant she opened 
 the window, and there stepped into the room 
 a stranger a tall red-bearded man, muffled 
 in a long black cloak, with a slouch hat pulled 
 over his eyes. She turned cold with fear as 
 he silently fastened the window and drew the 
 curtains close across it. 
 
 And then " Michael! " she cried, as he 
 flung down the red beard and slouch hat, and 
 caught her in his arms. 
 
 " Hush ! " he commanded in a low tone. 
 " You can be heard. Some one followed me 
 a negro, I think. It will be the end of 
 me if the Yankees discover that I am here. 
 Ah ! Marie, my dear," he continued fervently, 
 " it is like heaven to be here again to be 
 near you ! " And he would have kissed her,
 
 The Return of the Crucifix 71 
 
 but she pushed him away, her face paling and 
 flushing by turns. 
 
 ' You must not kiss me, Michael," she 
 faltered, " it is not right you have no 
 right " 
 
 " That is just it, Marie," he interrupted, 
 still holding her hands against his breast. " I 
 want you to give me the right, here, now. 
 Will you be my wife, dear? " 
 
 She tried to draw her hands away from 
 him, and did not answer. 
 
 " I have loved you all my life," he went 
 on earnestly. " I would have told you so 
 ages ago, but I thought Keith loved you, 
 too." 
 
 She stood quite still now, and her wide 
 gray eyes searched his face. 
 
 " Yes? " she whispered, her lips quivering. 
 
 " I thought Keith loved you, and I did 
 not want to be unfair to him, so I waited. 
 But now " 
 
 "Yes? go on but now?" she questioned 
 breathlessly, her hands on his breast fluttering 
 like captive birds.
 
 72 When the Bugle Called 
 
 " But now it seems that he is in love with 
 a Northern girl, a Miss Anderson is en 
 gaged to her, I hear. He has not written to 
 me in months. You know he was wounded 
 and captured and she nursed him; it was then 
 he fell in love with her. You remember Tom 
 Grant? He was captured at the same time; 
 
 he told me Why, Marie, dear, what 
 
 is' it?" 
 
 She had fainted in his arms. 
 
 " I am all right now, Michael," she said 
 presently, smiling at him from the couch 
 where he had laid her. " It was just such a 
 hard day, and I am so tired, body and 
 soul." 
 
 " It is my opinion that you are half 
 starved," he said grimly, as he noted her 
 wan face, and the blue shadows under her 
 eyes. 
 
 " And Michael, dear friend, we will never 
 speak of this again, please. I am sorry " 
 
 " Never mind," he answered tenderly, " I 
 understand, I understand. It shall be just 
 as you wish."
 
 The Return of the Crucifix 73 
 
 He kissed her cold hand almost reverently 
 and turned away to the fire that he might not 
 see her face. For the first time in his life 
 he felt bitter anger against Keith. To think 
 that the love he had dreamed of possessing 
 should be given to a man who did not want 
 it! That such was the case he no longer 
 doubted, and his heart ached for Marie as 
 well as for himself. 
 
 A slight noise at the door caused him to 
 turn sharply in ever-ready alertness for trou 
 ble. The sight which met his eyes was one 
 to disarm fear, but he gave an involuntary 
 exclamation of surprise. It was a slender 
 girl, wrapped in an old white dressing-gown, 
 her hair floating around her in a dusky wav 
 ing mass, and her great dark eyes shining 
 unnaturally bright from out of a face 
 flushed like a rose. She held out her arms 
 to him with a little unconscious gesture of 
 tenderness. 
 
 " Michael, oh, Michael ! " she cried. 
 
 Then suddenly the light left her face and 
 her arms dropped heavily to her side.
 
 74 When the Bugle Called 
 
 " I am very glad to see you, Michael," 
 she said, in a level monotonous voice like a 
 child repeating a lesson. " When did you 
 come? I hope you are well. It isn't very 
 safe for you here, is it? " 
 
 She did not seem to see his outstretched 
 hand, but went over to Marie's side. 
 
 " Marie, what is it? " she asked solicit 
 ously. " You look so queer and faint. Let 
 me get you some water or do something for 
 you." 
 
 " No, no. I'm all right now. I felt faint 
 for a while, but it soon passed." 
 
 She drew Dahlia down to a seat on the 
 couch, and kept hold of her hand. 
 
 " You were so long downstairs," Dahlia 
 said in that lifeless voice that sounded so 
 unlike her usual soft, musical tones. " I was 
 frightened about you, and when I came and 
 saw Michael, I was so very surprised so 
 startled " 
 
 She stopped abruptly and did not finish 
 her sentence. 
 
 Michael paced the room restlessly.
 
 The Return of the Crucifix 75 
 
 " Where Is Aileen? " he asked. " I should 
 like to see her, and I must soon be leaving 
 here, to pass the lines before day." 
 
 Dahlia went upstairs to tell Aileen, and 
 the two came back together in a few minutes. 
 There was so much to be said so many ex 
 periences to relate, that an hour was soon 
 gone. Dahlia brought in the remnants of 
 their Christmas dinner, and Michael, though 
 ravenously hungry, protested against taking 
 any of their meager store. 
 
 " Oh, you must, Michael," Marie insisted; 
 " it would break my heart to have a guest 
 leave ' Oakdale ' hungry. Dahlia, look in 
 the dining-room again. There is a bottle 
 of wine there the one Mammy hid. Bring 
 it here, and a glass." 
 
 " I know where it is," exclaimed Aileen. 
 "I'll get it." But she returned almost in 
 stantly, empty handed. " Oh, Michael," she 
 gasped excitedly, " the Yankees are riding 
 up the back way! " 
 
 " Then there is no time to lose ! " he cried, 
 springing to his feet. " If I am taken in
 
 76 When the Bugle Called 
 
 these civilian clothes there will be a hanging. 
 They will be only too glad of an excuse." 
 
 "Here!" cried Marie guardedly, "come 
 over to the side porch and slip down the 
 cedar walk it will be so dark they cannot 
 see you." 
 
 With whispered good-bys, they let him out 
 just as someone pounded on the front door. 
 
 " We have come to search the house," 
 said an officer to Marie, who opened the door 
 and stood quietly barring the way. " We 
 know there is a dangerous Rebel hidden 
 here." 
 
 It was nearly daylight when the soldiers 
 rode away, empty handed, and the three girls 
 could go back to their rooms to snatch a little 
 rest. 
 
 Marie, worn out with the excitement and 
 emotions of the day, was just slipping into 
 the sleep of utter exhaustion when a light 
 touch on her arm aroused her again. She 
 started, and sat up in bed. Dahlia, still in 
 her dressing-gown, her black hair streaming 
 wild about her, knelt by her bed.
 
 The Return of the Crucifix 77 
 
 " Marie, I can't sleep until I talk to you," 
 she whispered. " Tell me, did did Michael 
 ask you did he ask you ? " 
 
 She hesitated, and Marie quietly finished 
 the sentence for her. "To be his wife? 
 Yes, Dahlia, he did." 
 
 " Oh, Marie, what did you say surely, 
 surely you did not refuse him? " 
 
 Marie's head went down on the girl's 
 shoulder. 
 
 " I had to I do not love him like that," 
 she murmured. 
 
 " But, Marie, you will spoil his life you 
 will break his heart," pleaded the girl; "he 
 loves you, and 'you would be so happy with 
 him." 
 
 Marie did not answer. 
 
 " Couldn't you learn to care for him, 
 Marie? There is no one else, is there? " 
 
 " No, there is no one else," whispered 
 Marie brokenly; " there is no one else 
 now." 
 
 " Then when he asks you again, won't you 
 say yes? "
 
 78 When the Bugle Called 
 
 Dahlia's voice sounded as though she were 
 pleading for her own happiness. 
 
 Marie was silent for a long time, a tumult 
 of thoughts and emotions crushing through 
 her mind and heart. At last she spoke, very 
 low, but clearly, calmly: 
 
 " If if he asks me again, I will say yes." 
 
 Dahlia gave her a little impulsive squeeze. 
 
 " Thank you, Marie. Oh, I am so glad! "
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 DAHLIA 
 
 IT was just after breakfast next day, and 
 Marie, Aileen, and Dahlia stood on the front 
 portico discussing anxiously the events of the 
 preceding night. 
 
 " Surely, surely, he made his escape," 
 Aileen was saying. 
 
 " Missy, I'm pow'ful feared he didn't." 
 
 The three girls turned in surprise. Old 
 Jerry stood at the foot of the steps, a troubled 
 expression on his. wrinkled black face. 
 
 " Dem Yankees kotch Mars Michael las' 
 night," he continued dolefully, " an' dat ain't 
 de wust dey say he is er spy." 
 
 In horrified silence they listened, for they 
 knew that such an accusation meant death 
 an ignominious death. 
 
 " Somehow dey got on ter Mars Mike's 
 trail, an' he slipped inter de Rect'ry an' 
 Father De Bun hid 'im in de chu'ch, an' 
 
 79
 
 80 When the Bugle Called 
 
 dey foun' 'im, an' dey burned down de 
 chu'ch " 
 
 " No, no ! surely they did not, Uncle Jerry, 
 they could not ! " 
 
 " Yassum, dey did. I done jes' come f'um 
 dar. Dey burn hit down, an' de Rect'ry hit 
 kotch er fire an' burn, too. Den Father De 
 Bun he tuck an' argify dat Mars Mike warn't 
 no spy, but dey wouldn't listen to 'im." 
 
 " Why, where was Lieutenant Anderson, 
 that such outrages were committed?" cried 
 Aileen indignantly. 
 
 " But Michael ! " Dahlia interrupted. 
 
 " Miss Dahlia, dey gwine hang 'im at sun 
 rise in de mawnin'." 
 
 Aileen sank down on the steps and hid her 
 face in her hands. Dahlia seemed turned 
 into stone. 
 
 " But can nothing nothing be done? " 
 
 " Dey say dey sho' gwine hang 'im, Miss 
 Marie." 
 
 " We must go to them at once and tell 
 them he is no spy. Perhaps we can save 
 him."
 
 Dahlia 8 1 
 
 Aileen sprang to her feet, her eyes spark 
 ling with hope through her tears. " Come, 
 Dahlia," she cried, " let us all three go ! " 
 
 Dahlia looked like a person in a dream. 
 
 " No," she said, shaking her head sadly, 
 " it would be no use; they would not listen 
 to us." 
 
 But Marie and Aileen went over to El- 
 lersly on their mission of love, and soon after 
 noon returned in deep despair. Their plead 
 ing had been in vain. 
 
 "Did you see him?" asked Dahlia 
 anxiously. 
 
 " No, they would not even let us speak to 
 him. Oh, Mirhael, poor Michael ! " And 
 Marie burst into tears. 
 
 Dahlia turned away without a word, and 
 not long after, Aileen, looking from an up 
 stairs window, saw her walking slowly toward 
 the quarters. 
 
 Just as the sun was sinking behind the 
 western pines there strolled into the Union 
 camp beyond Ellersly two boys with a banjo.
 
 82 When the Bugle Called 
 
 One was small and sallow-faced, with closely 
 cropped black hair, and ragged, ill-fitting 
 clothes, and evidently belonged to the class 
 commonly known as country Crackers. But 
 there was something strangely appealing in 
 his melancholy dark eyes, and a contradic 
 tory drollness about his mouth. His com 
 panion, who carried the banjo, was a queer, 
 misshapen, ape-like negro, with wide-standing 
 ears and a pleased childish grin stretching his 
 thick lips. The strange couple were objects 
 of great interest to the idle soldiers and the 
 targets for many jests. Some of these the 
 white boy replied to in his soft dialect, with 
 such native humor as sent the crowding sol 
 diers into convulsive merriment. 
 
 " Here," cried one, " give us some music, 
 why don't you ? " 
 
 " Waal now," drawled the boy, " be per- 
 lite, an' take us to a fire, an' give us some of 
 you-uns' supper. We-uns ain't hed enough to 
 eat since you durn Yankees come down this- 
 er-way." 
 
 He looked up at the big blue-clad soldiers
 
 Dahlia 83 
 
 with a smile so whimsical and friendly that 
 it quite won their hearts. They led them to 
 the nearest fire and set before them a tempt 
 ing supper. The negro ate ravenously, but 
 the other boy spent much time chaffing with 
 the soldiers and looking about him. There 
 were several prisoners on the other side of 
 the fire, among them Michael Cavanagh, his 
 ankles bound together and his hands tied be 
 hind his back. He took little notice of what 
 went on around him, but sat staring gloomily 
 at the glowing coals. Quite a crowd of sol 
 diers had gathered around, eager for any 
 diversion from the monotony of camp life. 
 
 " Thar now, Pete," said the white boy 
 presently to his black companion, " we hev 
 eat about as much as we kin hold, so chune 
 up." 
 
 Pete tuned up, struck a few chords on the 
 banjo and the little Cracker began to sing. 
 And such singing! The soldiers listened in 
 breathless delight. He sang the negro plan 
 tation melodies as only one reared among the 
 negroes can sing them. The crowd drew
 
 84 When the Bugle Called 
 
 closer and closer, calling for one song after 
 another. 
 
 " Waal, now, I'm kinder sung out," said 
 the boy after a while, " but I tell you what 
 I'll bet thar ain't nobody in this here crowd 
 that kin beat me pickin' a banjo." He smiled 
 at them invitingly, his even white teeth gleam 
 ing against the sallow brown of his face. 
 " I'll bet er chaw er terbaccer," he repeated. 
 
 " I'll bet two-bits I can beat you and not 
 half try," said a voice from behind the 
 crowd. The soldiers turned, craning their 
 necks to see who had spoken. 
 
 " It's that damned rebel spy," said one. 
 
 " Lemme look at the man kin beat me 
 playin' a banjo ! " cried the boy derisively, 
 walking over to where Michael sat. " Think 
 you kin play, do you?" he queried, looking 
 up at Michael from under his ragged hat 
 brim. 
 
 " I can beat you any day, and not half 
 try," Michael repeated. 
 
 " Aw, listen to him ! Come here, some 
 body, an' awntie this here smarty's hands an'
 
 Dahlia 85 
 
 let's hear him play." For an instant there 
 was silence, then Dennis M alone came for 
 ward and untied Michael's hands. 
 
 " He ain't got long to live," he remarked; 
 " let's have some fun and hear 'em play. 
 
 The boy put the banjo into Michael's 
 hands; stiff from his long inaction, he clumsily 
 dropped it. 
 
 " Humph ! " remarked the small country 
 man; "talk about pickin' a banjo he can't 
 even hold one ! " 
 
 Nevertheless the prisoner did play it won 
 derfully well, and there was much patting of 
 feet in time to the infectious music. But at 
 last the boy could stand it no longer, and 
 snatching the instrument from Michael, he 
 bent over it and made such music as few in 
 that crowd had ever heard before. Hands 
 began to clap, and the negro, who had been 
 sitting by silently, began to dance. The sol 
 diers cleared a space for him and formed a 
 ring around, shouting, clapping, stamping, 
 and urging him on. It was a strange sight. 
 Twilight had settled over the camp, and the
 
 86 When the Bugle Called 
 
 fire cast long, queer shadows over the group 
 and the surrounding pines. The negro, with 
 his enormous head and flopping ears, his 
 long, thin legs and great flat feet, danced 
 in a perfect frenzy, faster and faster. He 
 seemed like one possessed, and the soldiers, 
 wild with delight, stamped and cheered. At 
 last the music ceased suddenly, and the dancer 
 dropped to the ground in utter exhaustion. 
 
 " Here, Malone, where's your flask? Give 
 the poor brute a drink. Didn't he dance like 
 hell?" 
 
 " Like a very imp of Satan ! " 
 
 " God-ermighty, men ! " cried a voice be 
 hind them, " the Rebel spy has escaped ! " 
 
 A dismayed silence followed this announce 
 ment. The little Cracker was the first to 
 speak. 
 
 " Now, ain't that a durn shame ! " he re 
 marked regretfully. " But you won't hev no 
 trouble ketchin' him," he added consolingly; 
 " he's been tied up so long, he's 'bleeged ter 
 be stiff." 
 
 Suddenly he raised a grimy forefinger and
 
 Dahlia 87 
 
 pointed toward the pines in the direction of 
 " Oakdale." 
 
 " Thar he is ! Thar he is ! " he cried, 
 dancing up and down excitedly; " don't you 
 see him dodgin' behind them trees? I 
 knowed he couldn't er got fur ! " And he 
 started forward on a swift run. Instantly 
 the dazed soldiers awoke to action and, like 
 a pack of deer hounds in full cry, began the 
 chase. 
 
 About this time at " Oakdale " Marie 
 and Aileen stared through the library win 
 dows into the gathering dusk, in anxious 
 misery. 
 
 " It isn't like Dahlia to do this way," 
 Marie was saying, " and it isn't safe for her 
 to be out so late." 
 
 "What was it Mammy Cindy said?" 
 
 " That she saw Dahlia at the quarters and 
 she said tell me not to be worried about her 
 that she would be late getting home. But 
 Mammy did not say where she was going." 
 
 " It is something about Michael." Aileen 
 spoke positively. " She has some wild scheme
 
 88 When the Bugle Called 
 
 in her head to save him. Oh, Marie, isn't it 
 dreadful to think of it Michael to die in 
 such a way! " 
 
 The door behind them softly opened and 
 closed. Turning quickly, they saw Dahlia 
 standing by the library table, looking at them 
 with strange unseeing eyes. 
 
 " Merciful Heaven! " cried Marie; " what 
 is the matter what has happened?" 
 
 " Dahlia Dupre ! " Aileen exclaimed, 
 " what have you done to your hair? " 
 
 With an odd, confused look, Dahlia raised 
 her hands to her head. "My hair?" she 
 repeated wonderingly. 
 
 " Yes, your hair it is all cut off, and your 
 face looks stained brown ! " 
 
 Marie crossed the room and took the girl 
 by the shoulders, turning her toward the 
 light. 
 
 " Dahlia," she said sternly, " what does all 
 this mean? " 
 
 For answer Dahlia began laughing hys 
 terically. 
 
 Marie gave her an impatient little shake.
 
 Dahlia 89 
 
 "Are you crazy?" she cried in exaspera 
 tion. " Why don't you answer me what is 
 the matter? " 
 
 Just then the door flew open and Mammy 
 Cindy rushed into the room. Taking in the 
 situation at a glance, she pushed Marie and 
 Aileen away. 
 
 " Go 'long, bofe of you ain't yer 'shamed 
 ter pester de chile lak dat ! Come rat h'yer 
 ter yo' mammy, mammy's po' HI' lamb ! " 
 And the old negress took Dahlia in her arms, 
 crooned over her and petted her until the 
 wild sobs ceased. " Now, lil' Miss, git me 
 some er dat wine ter gib 'er, an' den come 
 he'p me put 'er ter baid. Naw, honey, neber 
 mine," soothingly to Dahlia, " don't try ter 
 talk now; yo' mammy knows all erbout it, 
 an' she'll tell 'em d'reckly. You jes' come on 
 an' go ter sleep." 
 
 An hour later Dahlia was sleeping quietly, 
 her hand clasped in Mammy Cindy's, and 
 Marie stole downstairs to tell Aileen and the 
 children the wonderful story of how Dahlia 
 and Caesar had saved Michael's life.
 
 9O When the Bugle Called 
 
 " Oh, I don't see how she had the cour 
 age! " cried Aileen, when Marie had finished. 
 " It is the very bravest thing I ever heard of. 
 Suppose something had gone wrong and they 
 had suspected her how dreadful it would 
 have been ! " 
 
 " Yes, you see Michael recognized Caesar 
 at once, of course, and must have been on 
 the lookout for something. How lucky that 
 the Yankees had never seen Caesar you 
 know he was hiding Lady Jane in the swamp 
 when they were on the place." 
 
 " Michael must have guessed that the 
 little Cracker was Dahlia. I always said she 
 should have been an actress," laughed Aileen. 
 " She certainly must have looked and acted 
 the part to perfection." 
 
 "Is Dahlia a heroine, Marie?" inquired 
 Elsie reflectively. 
 
 " Yes, dear, a real heroine," Marie an 
 swered, with shining eyes. 
 
 " But she couldn't have done any of it 
 without Caesar," remarked Dick, " so Caesar 
 is a real hero."
 
 THE first breath of spring had passed over 
 the Southland, and nature stirred from her 
 short winter nap. Everywhere were tender 
 greens, blossoming fruit trees a perfect 
 wealth of delicate colors and in the hedge 
 of Cherokee roses were nesting twittering 
 birds. High up in a pecan tree a red bird 
 was whistling and calling ecstatically to the 
 awakening garden that summer was coming. 
 
 The sun shone warm and the breeze that 
 lifted the brown curls on Marie's forehead 
 was soft and balmy. It was the season for 
 day dreams, for awakening hopes, and ten 
 der remembrances; but on the girl's still face 
 was the look of one who had bidden an eter 
 nal farewell to hope and joy. The despair 
 of a few weeks ago had given place to a 
 brooding sadness pitiable to see in one so 
 91
 
 92 When the Bugle Called 
 
 young. She sat by the library window look 
 ing out upon the sweet green earth, thinking 
 how little nature's mood accorded with the 
 hearts of the South. 
 
 Vague, disturbing rumors came to them of 
 Lee's surrender, but they could hear nothing 
 definite. It had been weeks since they had 
 received news from those far-away dear ones 
 with Lee's ragged army, and Marie's heart 
 grew heavier when she thought of their fate. 
 Home matters, too, troubled her greatly. 
 The outlook for the coming year was dark 
 indeed. The negroes were becoming more 
 and more unmanageable, and in Marie's soul 
 was growing a horrible fear, new to her and 
 hard to combat, because it was illusive, in 
 tangible. She had never spoken of it to any 
 one never even put it into words to herself, 
 so it haunted her, a great, black, hideous 
 shape looming up in the darkness around her. 
 
 The steps needed mending very often those 
 days, and she and old Jerry had many long 
 talks, but the result of these conferences gen 
 erally left her more anxious than before.
 
 The Shadow in the Darkness 93 
 
 At the library table Dahlia was writing 
 letters. A few weeks after his escape, a letter 
 had reached her from Michael, full of his 
 intense gratitude for what she had done for 
 him, wondering how she had stood the try 
 ing ordeal, and begging her to write to him 
 at once, and often, on the bare chance that he 
 might receive her letters. He could hardly 
 find words in which to express his apprecia 
 tion of her bravery and resourcefulness, and 
 Dahlia so treasured this missive that she wore 
 it to fragments reading it. 
 
 And but yesterday had come to her a letter 
 from Sydney Elmore, written on the eve of a 
 great battle, and sent by his body-servant, 
 Ned. 
 
 Ned had left before the fighting had begun 
 and had passed through innumerable hard 
 ships and dangers to place his master's letter 
 in Dahlia's hands. Dahlia read it through 
 blinding tears, and then laughed, her eyes still 
 tear-wet. For it was such a letter ! Sydney's 
 boyish love had deepened and strengthened 
 in the last four years, and though still touched
 
 94 When the Bugle Called 
 
 with a half-mystic, chivalrous romance, it 
 was a man's love now. His letter was full of 
 it; and filled, too, with boyish reminiscences 
 that brought the smiles to Dahlia's emotional 
 features. 
 
 Aileen, sitting near with her sewing, looked 
 up at her from time to time, enjoying the 
 girl's rare beauty. The cropped hair was 
 growing out rapidly, forming soft black ring 
 lets all over her head, and she looked more 
 winsome than ever. 
 
 " Just listen to this ! " cried Dahlia, glanc 
 ing up at Aileen and Marie from over the 
 top of the letter in her hand. " Dear old 
 Sydney the idea of his remembering it." 
 And with a voice that trembled slightly, she 
 read aloud to them : 
 
 " ' So many pictures of you are passing 
 through my mind to-night. I see you as a 
 tiny, wilful child, and then a little later, when 
 you first began going to Ellersley with us to 
 say lessons to Father De Berne. There is one 
 time it stands out so clearly against the
 
 The Shadow in the Darkness 95 
 
 multitude of other memories that it makes 
 me laugh now in spite of my heavy heart. It 
 was late in the afternoon, and we were com 
 ing home from school. Uncle Jerry was driv 
 ing Thunder and Lightning to the spring 
 wagon, and you sat on the front seat with 
 him, because you were the youngest. You 
 were only six or seven, and your dress was 
 torn and your curls wild, as usual. Behind in 
 the wagon were Michael, Marie, Aileen, Phil, 
 and myself. Presently we passed the or 
 chard, and we stopped the wagon and all 
 piled out to get peaches. We made Uncle 
 Jerry come, too, and left you in the wagon to 
 hold the horses. I know not what demon of 
 mischief possessed you, but you laid the whip 
 on old Thunder and Lightning and left us. I 
 can see it now the two big black horses gal 
 loping on over the hill toward " Oakdale," 
 and you, a midget, bobbing up and down on 
 the seat clinging to the reins with your tiny 
 brown hands, and we, like hounds after a rab 
 bit, chasing on behind you, Uncle Jerry in the 
 lead, shouting "Whoa, Thunder! whoa,
 
 96 When the Bugle Called 
 
 Lightning! Lawd-er-Mighty, dat baby's sho' 
 ter git kilt ! " What a long, hot walk we had, 
 and how angry we were with you when we 
 arrived and found that the old blacks had 
 brought you safely home ! What times those 
 were ! Will we ever be together again, I 
 wonder? ' " 
 
 Here Dahlia's voice broke, and her head 
 went down on the table. The tears fell on 
 Aileen's sewing, and Marie sat motionless, 
 her hands clasped tightly in her lap. 
 
 It was nearly five o'clock in the afternoon, 
 and the house was very still, as the children 
 had gone with Mammy Cindy on some er 
 rand to the quarters. The singing and twit 
 tering of the birds outside, and the soft swish 
 of a rose vine swayed by the south breeze, 
 were the only sounds to be heard. Not a 
 word had been spoken for fully fifteen min 
 utes, when suddenly Marie sprang to her 
 feet with dilated eyes and quick-drawn 
 breath, and stood rigid in the attitude of one 
 listening to a faint, far-off sound. Aileen and
 
 The Shadow in the Darkness 97 
 
 Dahlia looked up at her in surprise, but in 
 an instant they heard it, too, and their eyes 
 met in questioning wonder. It was only foot 
 steps, quick and light, coming up the front 
 steps and across the portico. Then the front 
 door opened and closed, and the light tread 
 came on toward the library. 
 
 " Keith ! " Marie's white lips could 
 scarcely utter the name. 
 
 " It is Keith ! " cried Aileen joyously. She 
 threw down her sewing and ran to the door. 
 Eagerly she opened it then on the thresh 
 old stood transfixed. 
 
 The hall was empty! 
 
 For a moment they looked and listened; 
 the silence was profound. 
 
 " But I heard him ! " cried Aileen, looking 
 from one to the other in bewilderment. 
 
 "So did I," said Dahlia; "but it must 
 have been our imaginations we were think 
 ing of him so, I suppose." 
 
 Marie stood holding to the back of her 
 chair, trembling like a leaf. 
 
 " I heard him when he came in the iron
 
 98 When the Bugle Called 
 
 gates," she half whispered. " They clanged 
 behind him, and he walked fast up the drive." 
 
 The deadly fear at her heart she left un 
 spoken, but Mammy Cindy, coming in just 
 then, and hearing about it, was not so con 
 siderate. 
 
 " Dat's all I wants ter know," she said, 
 dolefully shaking her turbaned head. " Mars 
 Keith sho' am dead. Dat wuz his ha'nt come 
 back ter see we-all." 
 
 "Hush, Mammy!" cried Dahlia sharply, 
 seeing Aileen's troubled face. " That is per 
 fect nonsense. We imagined it, that is all." 
 
 " Call it 'magin' ef you wants ter, but I 
 calls it er ha'nt," grumbled the old woman, as 
 she left the room. 
 
 Two weeks later Aileen received a letter 
 from Katharine Anderson telling them that 
 Keith had been very ill, but was then out of 
 danger and on the high road to a speedy re 
 covery. 
 
 " Last week," she wrote, " we gave up all 
 hope. On Friday it was, at five o'clock in 
 the afternoon, we thought he was gone his
 
 The Shadow in the Darkness 99 
 
 spirit seemed to have left his body; but now 
 the doctors say he will soon be well. He 
 sends his love to you." 
 
 This letter brought great relief to them all, 
 and they were so filled with rejoicing over 
 Keith's recovery that one thing was lost sight 
 of by all save Marie. Miss Anderson had 
 said that the week before this letter was writ 
 ten on Friday, at five o'clock, they thought 
 him dead. It was that same day and hour 
 she heard him come in the big gates and up 
 the drive into the hall. She did not mention 
 this to anyone, and indeed had little time to 
 think of it herself, so troubled was she over 
 plantation affairs. The negroes on the place 
 not only refused to work, but some of them 
 were insolent and turbulent, and many wild 
 tales were brought from the quarters by Elsie 
 and Dick. One by one the house servants, 
 hitherto faithful, left them, until none re 
 mained save fat Lucy, the cook, and Mammy 
 Cindy. In the fields old Jerry, with Caesar's 
 help, did all the work. At last the situation 
 grew so serious that the children were for-
 
 ioo When the Bugle Called 
 
 bidden to leave the immediate vicinity of the 
 house. No one dared to go to the quarters 
 but Marie, and she went with inward mis 
 givings. The two negroes known as Slue- 
 foot Ben and Baldhead Jim, who had left 
 with the Federal troops, had returned, and 
 now reigned supreme over the negroes of 
 11 Oakdale " and " Idlewild." The horrible 
 fear, the great, black, overshadowing shape, 
 crept closer through the darkness; and Marie, 
 lying awake hours and hours when the others 
 slumbered peacefully, felt its approach, and 
 quaked to the very soul.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 THE UPRISING 
 
 ONE night, about the first of May, the 
 three girls, with Elsie and Dick, sat on the 
 front portico talking. It was early twilight; 
 one star had risen over the pecan tree, and in 
 the western sky the afterglow still lingered 
 in rich, warm tints. In little pauses in their 
 talk they could hear the twittering and com 
 plaining of the nestlings in the thick branches 
 of the rose vines that clambered up the col 
 umns of the portico. A hush seemed to have 
 fallen over the outside world, and gradually 
 it stole over them, until their desultory con 
 versation trailed off into silence. 
 
 But presently Dick grew restless. 
 
 " Say, Marie," he said, " isn't it past sup 
 per time? I am awfully hungry." 
 
 " Yes, dear. Aunt Lucy is unusually late 
 to-night. I think I will go see about it."
 
 IO2 When the Bugle Called 
 
 But before she could take a step, Lucy ap 
 peared around the corner of the house in a 
 state of great excitement. 
 
 "Oh, Lord-er-'Mighty, lil 1 Miss!" she 
 cried in a high, wailing voice. " I's seed de 
 sign, an' I's got ter go ! I's got ter go ! " 
 
 " What on earth is the matter, Aunt 
 Lucy? " asked Marie anxiously, going to the 
 end of the portico. " Why don't you have 
 supper? " 
 
 " De supper am cooked an' sot on de table, 
 but I's 'bleeged ter go, 'caze I's seed de sign." 
 
 Breaking into a weird chant, she started off 
 in the direction of the quarters. 
 
 Marie called to her in vain. The only re 
 sponse she could get was: 
 
 "I's seed design!" 
 
 " Dat ole Lucy must sho'ly hab gone plum' 
 crazy," exclaimed Mammy Cindy, coming 
 out of the house and joining Marie. " I ain' 
 neber seed sich carryin's on. I's jes' gwine 
 march myse'f down dar an' see what ail dat 
 'oman. Dar's some'n ain' right 'bout dis bus 
 iness. I ain' lak de way dem niggers been
 
 The Uprising 103 
 
 doin' sence ole Sluefoot and Bal'haid come 
 back." 
 
 " Well, you go see about it, Mammy; and 
 tell Uncle Jerry to come up and see me right 
 away." 
 
 Supper was soon over, and the weather 
 being quite warm, they returned and sat on 
 the front steps, waiting for Mammy and 
 Jerry. The night was dark, but in the sky 
 were myriads of stars. Dick soon put him 
 self to sleep counting them. 
 
 " It certainly is strange that Mammy 
 doesn't come back," said Dahlia, after a 
 while. 
 
 " I'm surprised at Jerry," added Marie. 
 " He is usually so prompt." 
 
 Presently Dahlia went into the library to 
 look at the clock. 
 
 " Marie, it is half-past ten," she said when 
 she came back. " I can't understand Mammy 
 doing this way." 
 
 Then, descending the steps of the portico, 
 she walked down into the yard, where she 
 could look in the direction of the quarters.
 
 104 When the Bugle Called 
 
 For the space of ten or fifteen minutes she 
 stood watching and listening intently, then 
 called to Marie in a low tone: 
 
 " Come here just a minute," she said. 
 " Listen ! " she whispered, " and look at those 
 moving, flickering lights they are torches, 
 and there is a bonfire. What does it mean? " 
 
 Borne on the soft night breeze there came 
 to their ears a sound, now swelling, now dy 
 ing away, and seemed to them like the buz 
 zing of innumerable bees, the sighing of the 
 west wind through a forest of pines, or the 
 beating of surf on a rocky shore; but they 
 knew it to be the ceaseless murmuring of 
 many voices. 
 
 With a long shudder, Marie threw her arm 
 around Dahlia. 
 
 " I am afraid," she whispered. However, 
 the next moment she drew herself up to her 
 full height. 
 
 " I am going down there and see for my 
 self what it means, and find Mammy and 
 Uncle Jerry." 
 
 She started down the path leading to
 
 The Uprising 1 05 
 
 the rear of the house, but Dahlia caught her 
 arm. 
 
 "Marie, are you crazy? You shall not 
 go!" 
 
 " But something must be done ! We can't 
 sit here and wait for God knows what! 
 Surely they would not hurt me ! " 
 
 " Hush ! listen ! " whispered Dahlia, still 
 holding her firmly. From the thicket behind 
 the office sounded the clear, mournful call of 
 a whip-poor-will ; three times it came, then all 
 was still. Faintly, tremblingly, Dahlia an 
 swered it, and three times it came again. The 
 tall grass around the office rustled and parted, 
 and a shape, black against the surrounding 
 darkness, moved slowly toward them. Marie 
 with difficulty stifled a scream, but Dahlia 
 stepped forward. 
 
 " Caesar! " she called softly. 
 
 " Hit's me, Missy, an' Fs got Lady Jane 
 back h'yer," answered a voice in the same 
 guarded tone. " Dey shot me up, but I got 
 out and slipped Lady Jane out'n de stable. 
 Missy, you mus' ride ride jes' ez fas' ez you
 
 106 When the Bugle Called 
 
 kin ter Ellersly an' bring somebody; bring er 
 white man de pries', er anybody, 'caze de 
 ' Idlewild ' niggers an' de ' Oakdale ' niggers 
 gwine er rise ter-night, an' don't nobody but 
 de debbil know what dey gwine do. Ride, 
 Missy, ride ! " 
 
 " Oh, Dahlia, you can't in the dark and 
 alone ! Caesar, you go ! " 
 
 " I c'yarnt, IIP Miss. I's done hurt mah 
 foots, an' mah han's er gittin 'loose an' I'd 
 never git dar. You better go, Missy. Don't 
 was'e no time er talkin'. Sluefoot an' BaP- 
 haid done tied up Unc' Jerry an' Aun' Cindy. 
 Aun' Cindy she knocked ole Joe f'um ' Idle- 
 wild ' in de haid wid er stick er wood, so dey 
 tied 'er up." 
 
 " There is nothing else to do, Marie. I 
 must go. I'm not one bit afraid. But, oh, 
 Blessed Mother, I hate to think of leaving 
 now!" 
 
 " H'yer de hoss, Missy. Don't spare 'er 
 none, 'caze dey's gwine er rise 'bout mid 
 night." 
 
 So Dahlia rode off into the darkness of the
 
 The Uprising 107 
 
 country road alone, an agony of fear in her 
 heart. She knew every foot of the way to 
 Ellersly; the road was level and sandy. So, 
 in perfect confidence in her sure-footed horse, 
 she urged her on in a swift gallop. The 
 little creatures of the wood scuttled about in 
 the long grass on either side, disturbed by the 
 furious rush of the rider. She heard them, 
 and sometimes a twig cracking more loudly 
 than usual sent her heart into her throat. It 
 was a wild ride, and Dahlia, praying with 
 every breath that she might find assistance 
 in time, peered into the darkness around, and 
 strained her ears to catch every sound. 
 
 Suppose she should ride into a crowd of 
 negroes from u Huntingdon," or elsewhere, 
 going to join those already gathered at the 
 " Oakdale " quarters, and they should stop 
 her? The blood throbbed fiercely in throat 
 and temple at the thought, and she wished for 
 the pistol the soldiers had taken from her. 
 
 Suddenly from somewhere in the pine for 
 est on her right came a weird, blood-curdling 
 shriek ringing out into the night with a pe-
 
 io8 When the Bugle Called 
 
 culiar melancholy that made the girl's heart 
 stand still and cold with horror. Her mare 
 gave a snort of fear and half reared up, quiv 
 ering in every limb. 
 
 " It was only a screech-owl, Lady Jane," 
 said the girl, with a hysterical laugh, as she 
 patted the animal's neck. " Hurry, Lady 
 Jane! Oh, hurry, if you love me! " 
 
 And as if she understood the sobbing en 
 treaty, Lady Jane stretched closer to the 
 ground and galloped on and on, faster and 
 faster. 
 
 Like a flash she passed the Haunted Hol 
 low, where the children always walked a-tip- 
 toe and spoke in whispers when they came 
 that way. Almost unconsciously Dahlia 
 glanced fearfully over her shoulder at the 
 dark spot and urged her horse on with a 
 pressure of her heel. The pines sped by 
 faster and faster, black shapes against the 
 blackness of the night, and the girl, in ever- 
 increasing fear, cried out: 
 
 "Oh, hurry, Lady Jane!" 
 
 In the little cottage where Father De Berne
 
 The Uprising 1 09 
 
 had lived since the Federal army had burned 
 the rectory, there sat with him three trav 
 elers. They were still around the little table 
 whereon the good priest had placed all the 
 food he had for their refreshment. They 
 had eaten it all to the last crumb, but the 
 worn, hungry look had not left thei'r faces. 
 Their gray uniforms were ragged and soiled, 
 and the youngest of the three a mere boy 
 carried his arm in a sling. They were too 
 tired to talk, for they had ridden hard all 
 day. Father De Berne, throwing them oc 
 casional anxious glances, bustled around, mix 
 ing something in a pitcher. Taking three 
 glasses from a cupboard, he placed them on 
 the table and was about to fill them, when 
 a distant sound arrested him. It was the 
 galloping of a horse. Nearer and nearer it 
 came, up to the very steps of the cottage, and 
 stopped. The three men sprang to their feet, 
 and the priest, lamp in hand, flung open the 
 outside door. 
 
 "Oh, Father De Berne!" cried a girl's 
 voice from the darkness, " get somebody, and
 
 no When the Bugle Called 
 
 horses, and go quick to ' Oakdale ' ! The 
 negroes are rising! Oh, be quick! quick! " 
 
 The lamplight pierced the intense dark 
 ness without and shone on a slight, childish 
 figure, with bared curly head, seated on a 
 panting, foam-covered horse. 
 
 Her entreating glance passed the priest and 
 reached the men grouped behind her. With 
 a sobbing, joyous cry she held out her arms 
 to them. 
 
 "Oh, Michael, Michael! Father! Thank 
 God!"
 
 CHAPTER X 
 THE RETURN 
 
 MARIE watched Dahlia ride away into the 
 night, then turned back to the house, and as 
 she went up the steps past Aileen she stooped 
 and whispered in her ear. Aileen gave a 
 little half-strangled cry and sprang to her 
 feet. 
 
 " Merciful Heaven! " she gasped; "what 
 are we to do? " 
 
 " Wait and trust, that is all," answered 
 Marie simply; " and be brave." 
 
 " What is it, sister? " asked Elsie anx 
 iously, pulling at Marie's skirts. 
 
 " Nothing, dear, but that the negroes are 
 very rowdy to-night, and we had best not go 
 to bed yet." 
 
 Elsie began to cry. 
 
 " Now, there is no need to do that, Elsie ; 
 there is nothing to fear. Dahlia has ridden
 
 112 When the Bugle Called 
 
 for Father De Berne to come and talk to 
 them." 
 
 Nevertheless the girl's white face and trem 
 bling hands belied her brave words. Elsie, 
 somewhat comforted, sank down by Dick, 
 who, curled up like a kitten, slept the sleep 
 of innocence. 
 
 " Marie, what shall we do if they come? " 
 whispered Aileen. 
 
 " Nothing but sit here on the steps. It 
 would be of no use to go inside, since the 
 Yankees took the hall doors. It will be better 
 to show a brave front they are really cow 
 ards at heart, you know." 
 
 For an hour and a half they sat on the steps 
 waiting, listening to the confusion of sounds 
 that came from the direction of the quarters. 
 Once there was a gunshot, and the murmur 
 ing rose louder, though still as alarmingly 
 undefinable, as the sounds floated through 
 the night air. With their hearts in their 
 throats the two girls listened and waited for 
 what seemed an eternity. 
 
 The old clock in the hall struck twelve ; and
 
 The Return 113 
 
 mingled with its " ten ! eleven ! twelve ! " 
 there sounded, faint and far away, the beat 
 ing of a drum. 
 
 Aileen clutched Marie's arm until she 
 winced with pain, but neither spoke. The 
 deep, heavy boom of the drum swelled louder 
 and louder, and the ceaseless murmuring rose 
 fiercer and higher. 
 
 They could now distinctly hear the chant 
 ing of some wild, weird melody, pierced now 
 and again with a shrill shouting. Nearer 
 and nearer came the voices of the rabble, until 
 Marie and Aileen could see the red glare of 
 their torches. Elsie began to cry again, and 
 Marie took her in her arms, whispering to 
 her until the child grew quieter. 
 
 Around the corner of the house the motley 
 crew approached, the great drum in the lead. 
 There were several hundred negroes in all, 
 collected from " Idlewild " and the adjoining 
 country, and down at the " Oakdale " quar 
 ters they had been stirred up to a state of 
 wild excitement by such creatures as Ben and 
 Jim and Idlewild Joe. Across the yard they
 
 114 When the Bugle Called 
 
 marched, screeching their weird chant; around 
 the house in seeming oblivion of the girls on 
 the portico watching them and back again 
 to the front. Every few minutes their lead 
 ers broke out in chanting, punctuated with 
 shrill exhortations. Around and around the 
 house they went, in time to the booming of 
 the drum, and with every complete revolution 
 the circle drew in closer to the frightened 
 spectators. 
 
 " We's done seed de sign! " cried a voice 
 high above the din. " We's done seed a sign 
 dat de black man's time hab come! We's 
 gwine rise ergin de oppressor, an' ain' gwine 
 er wuk no mo' ! " 
 
 " Praise de Lawd ! De time hab come ! " 
 chimed in an assenting chorus. 
 
 " We's gwine hab dis Ian' fer our'n," con 
 tinued the penetrating voice; " we's gwine er 
 see de white man plow an' hoe ! " 
 
 "Praise de Lawd!" 
 
 " We's done seed de sign ! " chanted the 
 chorus. 
 
 The column finally came to a halt close to
 
 The Return 115 
 
 the portico steps, and Marie rose to her feet, 
 all fear forgotten. 
 
 " What is the meaning of this? " she cried 
 in clear, commanding tones. u You have cele 
 brated enough now it is time you were go 
 ing home. Do you understand? Disperse, 
 and go home instantly every one of you ! " 
 
 " Yas, Lawd, we's gwine home." 
 
 Sluefoot Ben, a big negro with a brutal, 
 cunning face, stepped from the front ranks, 
 close to Marie, and grinned horribly in her 
 face. 
 
 ' Yas, honey, we's gwine home; but we got 
 er gre't min' ter bu'n down dis ole shack fus'. 
 Yas, honey, dis ole " 
 
 " I'll teach you 'bout ' honeyin' ' my young 
 mistiss, you low-lived debbil ! " screeched a 
 ferocious voice. " Tek dat, an' dat! an' go 
 ter de onliest home dat'll hab you, you chile 
 er Satan ! " And Mammy Cindy, with a pal 
 ing for a weapon, soon beat the would-be 
 leader into insensibility. 
 
 " What you fool niggers mean er-comin' 
 h'yer pesterin' dese po' lambs what nebber
 
 Ii6 When the Bugle Called 
 
 done you no harm in yer lives? Ain't yer 
 'shame' ! What yer reckon Mars Phil gwine 
 er say ter yer when he h'yers 'bout sich cyar'- 
 in's on?" 
 
 " Ketch 'er an' tie 'er ergin," yelled sev 
 eral voices. " She ain't nothin' but er white 
 folks' nigger ! " 
 
 Baldhead Jim sprang forward and tried 
 to grasp the irate old woman, but she flour 
 ished her paling around her head. " Don't 
 you tech me, you ole bal'haid ape ! I's er 
 dangerous 'oman, I is ! " 
 
 A withered old crone leaning on a stick 
 stepped forward from the shadow of a tree 
 and shook her fist at the belligerent figure on 
 the steps. 
 
 " You done kilt my Joe ! " she screamed 
 shrilly, " an' I's gwine er conjer you. I's 
 gwine er hoodoo you ra't now. Dat arm 
 gwine swivel up an' drap off. Hit's begun 
 ter dry up now hit's begun, 'caze de time 
 hab come ! " 
 
 "Hit's dryin' up, is it?" jeered Cindy, 
 with derisive laughter, shaking her weapon
 
 The Return 117 
 
 combatively ; " you jes' come er little closer, 
 you ole witch, an' I'll show you 'bout it ! " 
 
 "Oh, Marie, look!" cried Aileen wildly. 
 " They have set the barns on fire ! " 
 
 A frenzied shout arose from the crowds 
 of negroes in the yard, and they excitedly 
 pressed closer about the portico. Suddenly 
 the air was rent by a child's piercing shriek, 
 and Marie looked behind her just in time to 
 see Elsie struggling in the arms of a big 
 burly negro. 
 
 She tried to run down the steps to Elsie, 
 but consciousness forsook her, and she fell in 
 a little lifeless heap at the foot of the steps. 
 Unhappily she did not know that Elsie had 
 merely fallen from the portico and had been 
 picked up and handed back to Mammy Cindy 
 by one of the Elmore negroes from "Hunt 
 ingdon " ; nor did she hear the thundering of 
 horses' hoofs coming up the drive. 
 
 The next instant into the crowd dashed two 
 men, both in the uniforms of captains, one in 
 blue and the other in gray. 
 
 "What does this mean?" cried a stern
 
 n8 When the Bugle Called 
 
 voice. " You devils ! Put out those fires in 
 stantly do you hear? I've got a great mind 
 to cowhide the last one of you! " 
 
 " Lawd-er-'Mighty, Mars Keith! We 
 didn't mean no harm; we wuz jes' celebratin' 
 'caze we wuz free ! " 
 
 " Well, I'll find out all about that to-mor 
 row. Put out those fires, and be quick about 
 it!" 
 
 They rushed pellmell to obey him, cring 
 ing and whining like whipped hounds. 
 
 " Where is Caesar? " called Keith. " Here, 
 Caesar, take care of the horses. Come, An 
 derson," turning to his companion, " let us 
 see where the girls are. We were just in 
 time." 
 
 At the bottom of the steps his foot struck 
 against some soft object. He stooped, and 
 found Marie lying in a little heap where she 
 had fallen. With a deep oath he picked 
 her up. 
 
 " If she is dead, or injured in any way," 
 he cried bitterly, " they shall pay for it with 
 their lives ! "
 
 The Return 119 
 
 He carried her into the house and laid her 
 tenderly down on a couch. 
 
 It was about this time that Colonel Dupre, 
 with Philip, Michael, and Dahlia, rode into 
 the yard. Their jaded horses were a lather 
 of foam, and Dahlia was so stiff and weary 
 that she fell almost fainting from Lady Jane, 
 and with difficulty dragged herself into the 
 house. 
 
 Fatigued as he was from having been in 
 the saddle all day, the Colonel, with Philip, 
 rode immediately to the quarters, while Mi 
 chael went to the assistance of Captain Ander 
 son, who was overseeing the extinguishing of 
 the flames, giving commands and bringing 
 order out of chaos. His blue uniform, repre 
 senting as it did the power of the Federal 
 Government, was the finishing stroke, and in 
 a very short time everything was quiet and 
 the negroes dispersed. 
 
 When Marie opened her eyes it was 
 Keith's face, tender and anxious, that she 
 saw bending over her. Too weak and shaken 
 to try to understand what it all meant, she
 
 I2O When the Bugle Called 
 
 simply looked up at him and smiled, giving 
 the hand that held hers a little squeeze. 
 
 Then into her eyes crept a frightened ex 
 pression, and she tried to sit up. 
 
 " Elsie ! Where is she? " she asked breath 
 lessly. 
 
 " Upstairs. Mammy is putting her to 
 sleep she is all right. Lie still, dear; every 
 thing is quiet now, and we are here to take 
 care of you." 
 
 Secure in the comfort of Keith's presence, 
 she closed her eyes and lay quite still for a 
 while. He knelt by her side, holding her 
 hand and studying the thin, pale face noting 
 the deep shadows underneath her eyes and 
 the wistful droop of her mouth. To Marie 
 it seemed like a dream, from which she must 
 shortly awaken. 
 
 It was Keith's voice, speaking very softly, 
 that broke into her half-conscious state. 
 
 " Marie, what are you doing with this? " 
 With his free hand he touched lightly the 
 tiny gold crucifix that hung on a chain around 
 her neck. Seeing her puzzled expression, he
 
 The Return 121 
 
 continued: "You know, once after a battle, 
 I saw Michael with it, and I remembered that 
 you had said it was for the man you loved 
 that you would give it to the man you were 
 going to marry. Why have you taken it 
 back again? " 
 
 " I did not give it to him. He found it, 
 and has returned it, that is all." 
 
 He bent over her closer. 
 
 "Then you do not love him?" he whis 
 pered eagerly. 
 
 " No, I do not," and she turned away her 
 face. 
 
 " Then, Marie, is there any hope for me? " 
 
 She flashed him a surprised look. 
 
 "For you? But, Keith, I do not under 
 stand. I thought I heard Miss Anderson 
 that you ; " 
 
 "That I loved her? No, Marie, I have 
 never loved any one but you. Katharine is 
 engaged to John Fairfax, who is a surgeon in 
 the Confederate army, and a dear friend of 
 mine." 
 
 Then ensued a little silence, a wonderful,
 
 122 When the Bugle Called 
 
 delicious silence, such as only falls between 
 lovers. 
 
 " Sweetheart, have you not known all this 
 time that I loved you with my whole soul? " 
 
 She did not answer, but tried to hide the 
 gladness in her eyes by covering them with 
 her hands. 
 
 " Tell me, Marie," he insisted, drawing 
 her hands down and holding them in his: 
 " Do you love me? " 
 
 "Yes, Keith," she whispered; "so dearly 
 so very dearly."
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 A KNOT OF RED RIBBON 
 
 AFTER things had quieted down, Michael 
 went in search of Dahlia. His thin, dark 
 face wore a troubled look, and he held a 
 piece of crumpled red ribbon in his hand. He 
 found her alone in the dining-room. The 
 spirit that had upheld her through her wild 
 ride to Ellersly seemed to have fled, and she 
 lay back exhausted in her father's armchair 
 at the foot of the table, her eyes closed, and 
 her hands inert and lifeless in her lap. 
 
 Michael stood on the threshold regarding 
 her. How delicate, and childish, and tired 
 she looked! Should he add to the weight 
 already upon her heart? Perhaps he had 
 best not tell her now. Torn between pity for 
 her and an impelling force from within that 
 urged him to speak and have done with it, he 
 hesitated at the door. Dahlia must have felt 
 123
 
 124 When the Bugle Called 
 
 his presence, for her lids quivered and opened, 
 and she met his gaze with eyes that lighted 
 up at sight of him. 
 
 " Come in," she said, with a wan little 
 smile; " come, sit down; I know you are dead 
 tired. Is everything quiet?" Then catch 
 ing sight of the ribbon in his hand, she sat 
 up very straight, life and color coming slowly 
 back to her face. 
 
 "Where did you get that?" she cried, 
 holding out her hand. " It is the ribbon I 
 gave Sydney! Where did you get it?" 
 
 He came to her side and put it gently in 
 her hand. 
 
 " I took it out of his hand after the battle 
 of Appomattox," he said, speaking very 
 gravely. " You know he always wore it on 
 his arm. Even the Union soldiers came to 
 notice it. There was heavy fighting around a 
 gun well, we got the worst of it, and were 
 being driven back, when suddenly Sydney 
 caught sight of a young Yankee boy in the 
 enemy's front ranks with this ribbon stuck on 
 the point of his bayonet and was shouting and
 
 A Knot of Red Ribbon 125 
 
 jeering. Sydney turned his horse about, and, 
 drawing his sword, called to the men to fol 
 low. He rode like a whirlwind straight for 
 that Yankee boy. Our men gave the Rebel 
 yell and rushed after him. The enemy re 
 treated at that point we won back the gun. 
 When I found them, the young Northerner 
 and Sydney were both dead, but Sydney had 
 this ribbon clasped tightly in his hand." 
 
 Dahlia listened to him breathlessly, the 
 slow tears gathering in her wide brown eyes 
 and falling unheeded on the ribbon in her 
 lap. Michael watched her pityingly, wish 
 ing she might have been spared this pain. 
 When he had finished the recital of Sydney's 
 chivalrous end she caught the crumpled, 
 stained thing to her lips and kissed it rever 
 ently. 
 
 "Such a glorious death! " she murmured, 
 her voice choked with sobs. " And how 
 dearly he loved me ! " Then, hiding her 
 face in her hands, she leaned forward, with 
 bowed head, and was very still. 
 
 While Dahlia was engrossed in her silent
 
 126 When the Bugle Called 
 
 grief Michael bent over and touched her 
 dark curls very lightly with his lips. 
 
 " God bless you, dear," he whispered, 
 " and help you bear this." 
 
 He would have left her then, but just as 
 he reached the door she called him back. 
 
 "Michael, come here; there is something 
 I want to say to you." 
 
 He came, and stood leaning against the 
 high back of a chair near her. 
 
 " It is something rather hard to say," she 
 went on hesitatingly, her hands toying nerv 
 ously with the ribbon in her lap. She paused, 
 and he, wondering greatly, waited for her to 
 continue. 
 
 "Well? "he said at length. 
 
 " You remember that night before you 
 were captured " she spoke hurriedly now, 
 and the color flamed in her cheeks " and 
 what you asked Marie? " 
 
 " Yes," he answered, his brown face grow 
 ing sympathetically red; "I asked her to 
 marry me, and she refused." 
 
 " Yes, I know she did; but, Michael, if
 
 A Knot of Red Ribbon 127 
 
 you will ask her again, I think I believe I 
 know she will say yes, and she will be much 
 happier with you than she is now. I am sure 
 of it. You will ask her again, will you not, 
 Michael?" She was looking up at him be 
 seechingly, and speaking somewhat incoher 
 ently in her excitement. 
 
 Michael's face had grown very grave, and 
 his clasp on the chair-back was tense and 
 strained. 
 
 " I am sorry you have told me this," he 
 said, " for it is impossible. I cannot in honor 
 ask Marie to marry me again because I love 
 someone else." 
 
 Dahlia lifted her eyes to his, her vivid face 
 a-quiver with a conflict of emotions. 
 
 " Love someone else? " she murmured in 
 credulously. 
 
 " To my sorrow, yes. I had not intended 
 speaking of it for a long time yet, but the 
 fates seem to have decreed otherwise. Let 
 me begin with my love for Marie. You 
 know I loved her all through my childhood 
 and youth and early manhood. It is good for
 
 128 When the Bugle Called 
 
 a boy to have a love like that it purifies him, 
 ennobles all his thoughts of life. Well, you 
 know they say love is blind. My love for 
 Marie was blind. I did not understand its 
 quality, and I was blind to the fact. I loved 
 Marie as the heathens loved their goddesses 
 as the good Catholic loves the Blessed 
 Virgin." 
 
 His voice trembled a little, and he paused 
 to steady it. 
 
 " Do you remember the story of Orion? " 
 he went on presently. " You know, after he 
 became blind he had them lead him to the 
 top of a hill where the first sunbeam could 
 touch his eyes, and his sight came back. Well, 
 that morning after my escape from death in 
 the Northern camp I was on a hilltop when 
 the sun rose, and it touched the eyes of my 
 soul, and I knew then that the worship I had 
 given Marie was not the love of a man for 
 a woman. Since the other love has come to 
 me I know the difference it has a warmth, a 
 fire a divine fire that the other could never 
 have had. It is like comparing the pale cold
 
 A Knot of Red Ribbon 129 
 
 light of the moon to the glorious, unclouded 
 sunshine." 
 
 He ceased speaking, and Dahlia sat with 
 downcast eyes, waiting for him to continue. 
 At last the silence grew painful to her. 
 
 " Is she a Northern girl, like Keith's be 
 trothed? " she asked, speaking very low. 
 
 He hesitated before he answered. 
 
 " No, the girl I love is not of the North," 
 he said slowly. " On the hill that morning 
 after my escape, I planted in my heart, there 
 to live and grow forever, a Southern flower 
 a Dahlia." 
 
 Dahlia turned in her chair until her face 
 was hidden against its cushioned back, so 
 Michael could only see one small, pink ear 
 and part of a soft brown cheek flushed like 
 a peach bloom. 
 
 He went to her and knelt beside her, clasp 
 ing the nervous little hand that held the rib 
 bon in both his own. 
 
 " Dahlia," he said, speaking very low, 
 "had you given your heart to Sydney? If 
 you had, if you love him, speak just one word
 
 130 When the Bugle Called 
 
 and I will go away at once and wait. I am 
 willing to wait for years." 
 
 Slowly she turned to him her love-flushed 
 face and glad eyes. With her free hand she 
 pushed the black waves of hair from his fore 
 head and looked deep into his steadfast blue 
 eyes. 
 
 " Michael," she said, " I have never loved 
 anyone but you for one instant in my whole 
 life." 
 
 There was a long silence between them 
 after that. Then Michael laughed and 
 broke the spell. 
 
 " Dahlia, tell me why, loving me yourself, 
 you wanted to marry me to Marie? " 
 
 " Because I never dreamed of your loving 
 me," she answered, raising her head from 
 where it had rested on his shoulder and meet 
 ing his smiling glance. " And I thought you 
 loved her, and I wanted you to be happy." 
 
 " But Marie did not love me, dear." 
 
 " No, I knew that; but she could not have 
 helped growing to love you afterward. I 
 did not want her to spoil your life and hers
 
 A Knot of Red Ribbon 131 
 
 over Keith, so I got her to promise if you 
 ever asked her again to say yes." 
 
 " I think Keith loves her, after all there 
 was some mistake." 
 
 " Let's go find them," cried Dahlia, spring 
 ing to her feet. " We have been selfish in our 
 happiness. They must be wondering where 
 we are." 
 
 Hand in hand, like two children, they went 
 out of the old dining-room and down the hall 
 in search of Marie. They found her in the 
 library with Keith. Dahlia ran to her with 
 a little joyous cry and clasped her in her 
 arms. 
 
 " You are happy, Marie ! I can see it in 
 your face. And I I am so happy, and so 
 thankful!" 
 
 And looking like a sweet wild rose, she 
 held out one hand to Michael. 
 
 " Marie, will you give her to me? " asked 
 Michael, in a voice full of emotion. " I want 
 her more than I ever wanted anything be 
 fore in my life." 
 
 " De Lawd he'p ! " cried Mammy Cindy,
 
 132 When the Bugle Called 
 
 standing in the door with arms akimbo re 
 garding the group. u Sich c'yarin's on I 
 ain't neber seed. Dar's Cap'n Anderson er- 
 kissin' Miss Aileen out on de po'ch, an' 
 h'yer's my two lambs er-kissin' in de house. 
 Whut you reckon Mars Phil gwine say? But 
 he better not say nothin' but ' Bless you, mah 
 chullen,' er he'll sho' h'yer f'um Cindy! "
 
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