Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1901-04-20

I Otl r " 4dSIGu ctfaiEBt lNF the u0DLs
as If he knew what was wanted Of him.
which NJ fact he did and stopped FIVE
feet in front Of 10 so abruptly that the
| girl would have shot over his bead had
not held her
She sprang to the ground | slipped
the bride off Old Puts mead. gave him
a slap and cried:
/ .GoY'
He galloped around the house and
4 disappeared, his hoof beats dying away
\ in the darkness Then / showed the door
open and rushed in, dragging the girl
after me-, | slammed back the door and
| looked for the bar that is commonly
used as a fastening in such frontier
houses There it was, and | showed it
into its place. Nothing but a battering
/ ram could break in that door now
''Safe for the timei'' / cried. 81 defy
| them to take us in this forti"
Then looked around me. The girl,
half fainting, had staggered against the
| wall and was leaning there. 1t was a
house of but single room. On wide
brick hearth fire was still burning, or
rather smoldering, yet it threw out
enough light to disclose the contents of
the room. No human being was there.
Everything of value except the heavy
! furniture, which was of the rudest de-
scription and worth not much more
than raw lumber, had been removed,
and the whole appearance of the place
indicated that its occupants had taken
hasty departure 1t was easy enough
| to guess the cause. Some poor family,
! frightened by the converging of the
armies upon this region and with good
reason, too, for no other state was har-
| ried in this war as was ours of South
Carolina had gathered up their portable
goods and fled to safer quarters and per-
haps not an hour before our arrival, as
the fire still burning proved.
"They might have made things lit
tie more comfortable for us, said
cheerfully, for my spirits had gone up
with leap, "but it's good as it is, and
we haven t any right to complain. Mr..
| South Carolina farmer, whoever you are
and wherever you are, we thank you.
The girl smiled family and walked
mechanically to the fire, where she sat
down on rude stool and spread out her
uuSeTS DelUfe tuo CodIS do ~ bii0 WcIO
in her home.
Take a little of this, said, for
saw that she was half dazed There was
yet little whisky left in my flask. and
l handed it to her. She obeyed me like,
| child and drank it.
Then / turned my attention to the
single window, which was closed with
heavy but i'll fitting shutter, some
wandering moonbeams finding way
through the cracks. Peeping out I
could see the guerrillas dismounted be-
yond pistol shot and holding confer
ence.
"They are talking but let 'em talk,
my dear, . | said to the girl. They
can t get us in this cabin. What neat,
stout little place it ISL
really began to have a friendly feel
ing toward her We had been through
SO many dangers together, and besides
she was my prisoner. 1t is much easier
| for the conqueror to be generous to the
conquered than for the conquered to be-
| generous to the conqueror.
She did not reply either to my words
or my manner Her cheeks, which had
/
| flushed with pink, but could not tell
| whether it was the fire or not. She
seemed to me to be in state of collapse,
natural to girl even the strongest and
bravest, after so much.
"Now set the table for MS, !" I said.
"We must eat little after our long,
| hard ride, for we will need our strength.
See if you can't find candle in that
cupboard. And, here, take my bundle
and get out the food. "
/ handed her the wallet of bread and
meat which l had snatched from Old
Puts back almost with the same mo-
ton with which / had swept off his
bride. She took it, drew the rough pine
table to the center of the room and
spread the food upon it. Then, sure
enough, she found in the cupboard
piece of old tallow candle, which she
lighted and stuck in the middle Of the
table These simple household duties
seemed to revive her. Her eyes bright
ened, her color came back, and her first
thought was half TO defend, half to
apologize, for her previous collapse.
81 was tired merely, she said. Il
did not lose courage. Don't think that
I'm an English girl.
Il never said you lost courage. re-
piled II think that you have borne
yourself bravely, almost as well as an
American girl would have done in the
same situation.
"Show me the one who would have
done better" she said, with snap of
the eye.
But that was manifestly impossible
at the time and | made no such at
tempt
THE table is ready, and we wait only
for the army to take seat and enjoy
itself " she said in light tone
Come and take look at our enc
mics first, l said, noticing how her
strength and courage had come back and
how well they became her.