The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1912-01-25
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flame devoured me. Now, however, as
we actually drew e to where l sup
posed she might be, l felt my earlier
courage fast deserving me. Nor al
l furnished with even the slightest
excuse for pressing on; my orders did
not positively compel me to proceed,
and nothing appeared along the way
to lead me to suppose that harm of
any kind threatened that peaceful val
ley. Everything meeting my eyes evil
denced that here. at least, was with
its attendant horrors had not come.
Totally without the beaten track OF
those great armies which had battled
SO iercely for the Shenandoah. it had
been traversed only by a few scouting
and foragfng parties. and SO short had
been their stay that eve the rail
fences remained undisturbed to guard
the fields, and nowhere did l note out
ward signs Of devastation. 1t was vir-
ginia as l recalled it in those old days
of peace and plenty. before civil strife
had sown the land with dead.
What possible excuse. then, had |
for going there? In my W heart |
knew | had none, or one so poor and
selfish | scarcely burst whisper 1t even
to myself; yet l rode steadily on. I'm
PEELED by my own weakness, or drawn
irresistibly by ACKNOWLEDGMENT the
real u l know not would at
least look upon those walls that had
once sheltered her, would learn If pos
sible If she was yet there. Then
we'll, in the bondage of my passion |
hoped for what might happen. a.
every lover does.
1t must have been two o'clock; we
had baited our horses, l remember, an
hour previous; and the Sergeant had
enjoyed his MONDAY siesta beneath
the shade Of a great bush bearing pur-
pie blossoms. The, road we had been
travelling since early morning wound
In and out among great trees. and
crossed and recrossed the little stream
called the Cowskin until l almost
thought w had lost our way. We met
with no one in all the long days rid
Ing. mo- even a stray negro. and in
deed it was some hours since we had
passed a house of any kind. Leaving
the brook behind us we toiled slowly
up a long hill, and at the top Bu1gay,
riding beside me, pointed to the west
ward.
Cap" he said. thar is Their Minor
place."
The very sight of it in the distance
was a thrill-a great white house
placed we'll back from the road and
almost hidden from sight by fine,
large trees an old-fashioned. big.
roomed house it looked to be, built
after the colonial type, a wide veranda
upon three sides, with fluted columns
to support the overhanging roof.
"Hain't no signs es fer es l kin see
of any trouble havin' Cured thar"
Jed said slowly, his shrewd gray eyes
roaming over the peaceful scene.
Somebody ter hum tew. fer Their
chimley is a smokin'."
OF course, now l was there, the only
sensible thing for me to do would
have been to ride openly to the front
door. and thus learn all l desired. But
what man who loves. who is continual
ly swayed by hopes and fears, by
strength and weakness, ever does the
sensible thing? had certainly in
tended doing so at the start, but now
my nerve failed me. She was the
wife of another. 1 could not confess
| had ventured to come to her in love,
nor could ! look into those clear. hon
est, questioning eyes and lie.
Halt" l ordered. Sergeant"
Il am here, Captain"
Take your men down into that hol-
low yonder, and remain there until |
return. Better post a sentry on the
hill here"
1T will be done. Captain"
Il shall not, probably, be absent
more than an hour. so don't permit the
men tn stray"
dot is it. Captain. l will be nit
dem all over"
rode down alone into the thick
woods at the foot of the hill, and dis
mounting. tied my horse to a sapling.
Then on foot l struck across the
fields, my intention being to come in
by the way of the negro quarters at
the ear. in. hope of meeting some n
from whom l might inquire relative
to the great house and its inmates.
1t was a slight upward trend OF
land | had to traverse. and although
the house was a most slightly object
and stood upon the very summit of the
elevation. yet so surrounded was 1t
with trees, both fruit and ornamental.
l was enabled to make but little of its
situation until l approached the out
buildings. | met with no one. nor
could | perceive any negroes about
the slave quarters. Yet the place did
not bear the appearance of desertion.
There were horses in the stable. a cat
was curled up on n of the cabin
door steps, and smoke continued to
pour in a dull yellow cloud from the
kitchen chimney. Altogether there
was much In the situation to puzzle
ever. and l no longer regretted that
had exercised some caution in my ap-
prOach..