Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-03-08
VIRGINIA HEROrNE.
BY FLOYD COOK.

By FLOYD COOK.
A scene on the Rapidan. The ri
yer ran with merry ripple betwee
the banks, the birds sang in branch
es of the giant oaks that shaded
large white farm house on the bank
of the river. To look upon the qui
: ct scene one would not imagine tina
the dark shadow of civil warfar,
rested upon the land yet there
scarcely a mile below, hidden by {
bend in the river, lay Mcclellan.
army like glittering serpent coileC
for a spring, while upon the othel
side CLEANED the white tents of the
J. devoted little band it sought to make
its prey.
The inmates of the farm house
were gathered around the breakfast
table. They were four in ALL The
oldest of the group, stately old Ia
dy, handsome still, in spite of the
traces.time left upon her, but evil
IDENTIFY suffering still from recent i'll
ness. On either side of her were
two fair girls, with enough of
her placid beauty to show them to
be her daughters. But the young
1 y I
Tall and beautifully formed, with a
fine, heroic cast of cOuntenauce,
dark eyes and dark hair in rings
upon her broad forehead but there
was firm will and resolution no less
than grace in the curves of mouth
and chin.
Such was the group revealed to
the eyes of the young man who
| threw open the door, and with a
cry of "Oh, mother, thank God, /
see you rgain ~ while she, with
the fond murmur, Charlie, my
son ~ sank back almost fainting in
| her chair. In moment the Young
man clasped, first his sisters, and
then the trembling, blushing Alice
Ruthven in his arms.
my son, my precious son % sob
bed the mother, and when he turn
ed to her again elbow came you
here? We thought you were with |
Lee.0
$50 1 was, dear mother, until |
heard of your illness. The thought |
of you ill, without me beside yeu,
almost set me wild. / obtained a
leave of absence, for though God |
knows every man is needed, our
grand commander said he would
never keep son from what might
be the death bed of a mother.
got through safely, and-and here [
am"
"But, Charlie, do you not know
that the federal army is very near,
and the house liable atany moment
to be searched. Oh, my son! to
think you should expose yourself to
such peril for me-"
"But dear Mrs. Norton" inter-
posed Alice, "they cannot suspect
us of having any one hidden, and
even if they should, why, you for
get the secret chamber. They could
never discover that"
"True, dear child we will forget
all cause for anxiety and give our
selves up to the enjoyment of Char
lies society,""
Alice Ruthven and Charlie Nor
ton had been betrOthed from child
hood. When war rolled it's dark
tide over the South, she herself had
fastened on his sword, and watched
him go to the scene of strife with
her father and sixteen year old bro
ther, bravely keeping down the re-
ttt llCl 1ACdIba anu
becoming her mothers sole stays and |
And much was she need
ed, for in the very first battle her
father and brother fell, their beauti- [
full home was burned before their s
eyes, and at last the heart broken I
mother, unable to resist the contin- 8
ued shocks, was laid beside her huS- !
band. Then Mrs. Morton took the /
lonely girl to her home, where she q
was still cherished inmate. t
The party were in deep conversa- r
ton, the young soldier between his a
mother and Alice, when an old ne d
gro burst into the room exclaiming: v
"Run, run, Mas Charlie! l been n
spvin' roun' de camp, and dat VII s
lain Will dun tole um you was here q
an all about the little closet and {
1ey'l be here in no time" O
"Quick, quick, uncle Beni take 9
him to the swamp. / will keep the s.
yankees back" exclaimed Alice, b
before any one else could speak. f
"You, Alice! My poor girl, what |:
,ould YOU do ?' said Charlie. v
"No matter, no matter only go, 2
20 p 5
"First promise me that you will a
10 nothing rash, or / will not STIR" c
,aid young Morton firmly. t,
81 will do nothing unbecoming a "
Southern woman and your PROM O
sed wife," said the girl proudly. n
Nov. Charlie, go at once" e
There was a hurried embrace, a a
farewell, and then-he n
vas gone. v
Scarcely was he gone ere Alice, fl
,alIing the girls and Mrs. Morton, h
md hurriedly explaining her plan a
o them, hastened to her own room. Il
J knew that long before her lover g
.ould reach n place of safety the II
lOuse would be searched and his en- e.
,mies on his track. All that could t.
,e done was to keep them by STRAIT h
Lgem-;.nd this she now proceeded b
o do, Hastily disrObing, she drew n
rom a trunk complete suit of con- D
ederate gray, with the sword and k
pistols also. But now it was no "
ime for memories. Hastily dom $,
ling the suit, which fitted her per- h
ectlv, she belted the sword around ia
Ter, and fiji aging long cloak over Ii
Ii, hastened to the secret chamber, ii
concealed closet in disused bed d
DOM, where she sat down to await
he coming of the search-party,
Scarcely had Mrs. Morton and her
daughters returned to the drawing
Dom when the tramp of horses
eet was heard and party of men g.
n federal uniform gallOped up to b,
he door, dismounted and were led CT
nto the house. The federal officer as
vas a gentleman, and bowed court ii
ously as he advanced and said to sc
Irs. Morton: d.
MADAM, deeply regret that the
discharge of a very unpleasant duty fo
hould Inconvenience you or your m
but we have Information W
hat rebel spy Is concealed in this ri
louse, and we have orders to cap fe
ure him, dead or alive"
"Of course, sir, you must do your &C
uty. We will certainly offer no W
said Mrs. Morton, as 81
almly as though her heart was not pi
Orn by thousand conflicting emo 50
ions In