Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1894-02-17

| NNNNN>M M anus q III ii o
WMMMW when so many
~ Il - the front are
suffering" said
Lucy Dean, little regretfully, as she
surveyed the arrangements for the great
party in the rambling yet luxurious old
homestead.
Il don't know" replied her friend
Anna Tracy, as she stepped into chair
to straighten an engraving of Wash.
ington and His Family" household
treasure that was gayly decorated for
| the occasion. 1--WE can do nothing
more to help them, and 1t would GER
tainly add nothing to their comfort to
sit here and nope"
"Then it Is kind OF patriotic dis
play, too" put in Lucy, Frightening.
celebrating Washington's birthday
by party will help make the guests
love our country more"
Anna laughed little at the logic OF
her friend, but was too anxious over the
arrangements for the evening to dis
cuss the matter further
The Dean farm was near the fateful
"border," and yet the two years of civil
war had brought no inconvenience to Its
inmates. Lucy, the only daughter, rode
at her will over the surrounding coun-
try, and the colonel, her father, whose
warning days were past, fastened to
the conflict only in fancy.
But in these midwinter days of 1858
there were more than the usual dan
gers to the quiet household. They had
taken no active part in the carrying
on of the struggle, though their SYM
pathies were with the union army,
where Paul. the beloved son and broth
err, was winning his spurs. The armies
were camped nearer now than ever be-
fore, and no one relished an encounter
or even halt of armed forces on the
well-kept lawns and fields of the farm.
Lucy had invited the young people
of the neighborhood to spend the even
ing Of February 90 with her, and had
arranged to make the occasion conso-
nant throughout with the anniver-
sary it concentrated. Flags decorated
the rooms, and portraits of the Father
of His Country" were seen in the most
conspicuous places.
Late in the afternoon Lucy donned
her riding habit and mounted her pony
for brisk canter over the snow-laden
roads. She spared not her horse and
hurried through the drifts at speed
that meant some danger.
Suddenly she stopped. A gray coat
was half hidden by tree trunk. and
in a moment the figure Of a young man
in gray uniform stood before her. He
was thin and pale, but every motion
and every word spoke of the training
and instincts of gentleman.
$40 not be frightened" he began, 81
won't hurt YOU"
~ don't think you will" the girl sar-
castically replied; you look half
starved"
81 ann
what are you doing in this country?
l know by your clothes that you belong
somewhere else
I've escaped they were taking me
north to prison. was captured. For
two days have not dared to ask for
food. l saw you coming and determined
to try and see IL you would not at least
give me piece of bread"
He limped as he came nearer and the
girl saw blood stains on the gray trou-
sers that told of wounded knee.
Kindness and partisanship struggled
for the mastery in her heart.
''We are union" she began, then
with glance at the deep sunken dark
eyes her own moistened and she gave
her decision promptly; 81 will; maybe
some southern girl will do something
for Tom-but you must be very care
full"
Eagerly the stranger promised and
the two stood for several minutes in the
early twilight counseling over the mode
of assistance, the comradery Of youth
alone making bond OF sympathy be-
tween them.
When the hostess Of the evening re-
turned 1t was with heightened color.
The ride had apparently done her good
and II an unusual nervousness char
acterized her manners no one noticed II
Team after team unloaded It's fair
burden at the gate, and the lads and
maidens for ten miles around made the
low ceilings ring with their laughter
and badinage
"The blue coats ure over in Green
Ridge spoke one of tho young men.
What a pity we could not have
some OF the soldiers here in uniform to-
night replied Anna with coquettish
smile.
you might have got EN-" put In the
postmaster's son, "a squad Of them
were riding down the Chapman creek
road this afternoon"
Lucy was listening and her bright
cheeks suddenly lost their color.
"What-what were they doing?" she
inquired slowly, trying with all her
might to keep her voice steady.
~ don't know. You needn't get
scared. Maybe they were looking for
deserter or something"
Father says there's likely to be
battle over on the creek some day, the
bluffs arc so high" remarked Anna
ITS the best place around here to
hide.
Lucy knew in flash why the man in
gray had been In the woods adjoining
the creek, though she wondered little
why she had not seen any signs OF the
union soldiers the youth spoke Of Per.
haps she had not gone far enough down
the valley. Had the guests not been
too intent on themselves they would
have missed their hostess few minutes
later. Had the noise been little less
In volume the visitors might have heard
an upstairs window open and detected |
a scratching sound on the wall Of the |
house But had they done SO they
would have thought nothing OF Il, nor
did they notice anything aniss when
Lucy came downstairs flushed but
smiling, aud ncrvously anxious to for.