Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1894-02-22

ENNNNNNN III "a " uhtlo III v a. -
'NN#MMY n when so many
~ suffering" said
Lucy Dean, little regretfully, as she
surveyed the arrangements for the great
party in the rambling yet luxurious old
homestead
81 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. ave 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
Suoo VIC uidbICC lul luCT.
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 1868
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
or, was winning his spurs, The armies
were camped nearer now than ever be-
fore, and no one relished an encoun ter
well-kept lawns and fields of the farm.
Lucy had invited the young people
of the neighborhood to spend the even
ing of February % with her, and had
arranged to make the occasion conso.
nant throughout with the anniver-
sary it commemorated. 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-ladeu
roads. She spared not her horse and
hurried through the drifts at a 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. lie
was thin and pale, but every motion
and every word spoke of the training
and instincts of a gentleman.
do not be frightened" he began, %
won't hurt you"
81 don't think you WILL" the girl sar
castically replied; you look half
starved"
81 am" '----
"What are you doing in this country;
know by your clothes that you belong
somewhere else"
"Tve escaped they were taking me
north to prison. was captured. Fol-
two days have not dared to ask foi
food. saw you coming and determined
to try and see II You would not at least
] give me piece Of bread"
I He limped rs he came nearer, and the
girl saw blood stains on the gray trou
sers that told of wounded knee.
Kindness and par tisanship struggled
for the mastery in her heart.
"We are union" she began, tber
with glance at the deep sunken darl
eyes her own moistened and she gave
her decision promptly: II will; mayb,
some southern girl will do something
for Tom-but you must be very care
full"
Eagerly the stranger promised ant
the two stood for several minutes in thu
early twilight counseling over the mod,
of assistance, the comradery Of you'll
alone making bond of sympathy be,
tween them.
When the hostess of the evening re
turned it was with heightened color
The ride had apparently done her gooC
and If an unusual nervousness char
acterized her manners no one noticed it
Team after team unloaded its fai
burden at the gate, and the lads ant
maidens for ten miles around made tn
low ceilings ring with their laughte
and badinage.
THE blue coats are over in Greer
Ridge" spoke one of the young men.
what pity we could not hav
some of the soldiers here in uniform To
night" replied Anna with a coquettisl
smile.
"You might have got EN-" put in tn
postmaster's son, "a squad of then
were riding down the Chapman creel
road this afternoon"
Lucy was listening and her brigh
checks suddenly lost their color.
"What-what were they doing?" sh
inquired slowly, trying with all he
might to keep her voice steady.
~ don't know. You needn't &c
scared. Maybe they were looking 70
dese-tcI or something" Ur lr
"Fatl,er says there's likely to be
battle over on the creek some day, tn
bluffs are SO high" remarked Anna
"Its the best place around here t
hide"
Lucy knew in flash why the man i
gray had been in the woods adjoinin
the creek, though she wondered littl
why she had not seen any signs of tn
union soldiers the youth spoke of. Pei
aaPs she hsA moi gong for enough dow