"Is yer cryin", lill" missy?" exclaimed s...o...b..ll, as the warm drops fell upon her hands. "Done yer do it. It done mattah "bout a pore n.i.g.g.a laik me. Heah you is tiahed mos" ter def, I reckon. Can"t yer sleep?"
"I"ll try, s...o...b..ll," and Jeanne crept beside the girl on her straw. "I am tired. I almost wish I could die."
"Done yer be downhahted, missy. Dey"ll take me outen heah soon. Jes" as soon as ma back gits well, kase dey can"t "ford ter lose a val"able n.i.g.g.a laik me, and ef dey doesn"t take you outen dis "fore den I"ll run away ter de Gin"ral. Heaps of de cullah folks go ter him."
"Will you, s...o...b..ll?" A gleam of hope stole into Jeanne"s heart. She snuggled down into the straw and soon fell into a deep sleep.
When she awakened she was alone in the room. During her slumber s...o...b..ll had been taken away, and Jeanne missed her companionship sorely. A pitcher of water and some bread had been placed by her side, and the girl ate ravenously for she had taken no food since the day before.
Then once more she wandered about the room trying to find some means of escape. Realizing that her efforts were useless she sank back on the straw and gave herself up to thoughts of home and her dear parents.
How little any of them thought that her journey would turn out as it had.
She pictured her father"s indignation when she should tell him of the treatment she had received and her mother"s anxiety concerning her. Well, even if s...o...b..ll did not get to see General Butler he would seek her just as soon as he heard from her father. Perhaps when he found that he did not hear from her he would come to see what the matter was. And so the hours pa.s.sed drearily by.
No one came to the room and no sound reached her from below. By the deepening of the gloom she knew that it was drawing near night, and she looked forward with some dread to spending the long hours of darkness in that cheerless place. But summoning all her fort.i.tude she composed herself for slumber.
"I have the flag," she said to herself and took it from her bosom. "I am so glad that the General gave it back to me. How is our side doing, I wonder? Why didn"t I think to ask him? It has been so long since I heard.
So long!"
With the flag clasped to her breast she fell asleep once more. As before, while she slept food and drink were placed beside her, and it began to look as if she was to be condemned to solitude. In this manner two days pa.s.sed. On the morning of the third day she was rudely awakened by some one shaking her.
"Get up," cried Madame, who stood by her side. "Get up! We are going."
"Going? Going where?" cried Jeanne, dazedly.
"We are going to your home," answered Madame Vance. "Get up and come with me if you care to go too."
"Home!" repeated Jeanne thinking that she still slept. "Home!"
"Yes; don"t sit there like a silly, but come at once. That Yankee beast has ordered that all of the registered enemies of the United States shall leave the city. And we must go."
"Are you really going to take me home?" asked the girl now thoroughly awake. "Oh, if you will, I will forgive everything!"
"Then get ready quickly," said Madame, a cruel light in her eyes which the girl unfortunately did not see. "We must go at once. The "Beast" will only permit us to take what we can carry with us. The rest of the property must go to enrich him and his brother. Oh, they are a nice pair, but ma foi! what can one expect of Yankees?"
Jeanne made no reply, but followed her to her own room where s...o...b..ll was waiting to dress her.
"Mus" you go, lill" missy?" whispered the girl as Madame left them for the moment alone. "I"se "feerd foh yer ter go."
"Are you going too, s...o...b..ll?"
"Missus say I is, an", ob couhse, I long ter huh I"se got ter ef she say so. But I done want ter."
An hour later Mr. and Madame Vance, Jeanne, Feliciane, s...o...b..ll and Jeff left the city in company with a number of others. General Butler, wearied with the intrigues of these avowed enemies of the government, had ordered that they should leave his lines for the Confederacy, and imposed the condition that they should not return.
In all the throng that waited to see the Confederates depart Jeanne saw no sign of the General. There were plenty of aids and members of his staff who looked closely after the articles carried away by the departing people, but of the General himself she saw nothing. And so the girl was allowed to depart with the refugees without a word from the Unionists.
Blinded by her desire to get home, she left freedom and the protection of the flag and went without question into the heart of Secessia.
CHAPTER XVII
AGAIN DECEIVED
The party of Secessionists of which Mr. and Madame Vance were members embarked on board the boat, Ceres, which steamed up the narrow winding river, Tangipaho, to Manchac bridge, the terminus of a railroad that led to Ponchatoula ten miles distant from which was the headquarters of General Thompson; the main body of Confederates being nine miles further on.
The sh.o.r.es of the river presented to view nothing but desolation. Many of the houses were deserted and every garden and field lay waste. Gaunt, yellow, silent figures stood looking at the disembarking refugees, images of despair. The people there had been small farmers, market gardeners, fishermen and sh.e.l.l diggers; all of them absolutely dependent upon the market of New Orleans from which they had been cut off for more than five months. Roving bands of Guerillas and the march of the regiments had robbed them of the last pig, the last chicken, the last egg and even of their half grown vegetables. In all that region there was nothing to eat but corn on the cob, and of that only a few pecks in each house.
A locomotive with a train of platform cars stood on the track and the party soon were gliding swiftly to the village.
Jeanne"s eyes brightened when she saw that the place contained a post and telegraph office.
"Uncle Ben," she said timidly for none of the party were in good spirits.
The men were sullen and the women bewailing their fate at being obliged to leave their belongings behind them.
"Uncle Ben," said Jeanne again as her uncle did not answer her.
"Well, what is it?" he asked ungraciously.
"Could I not telegraph to my father that we are coming? There is a telegraph office here."
"What made you think that we were going to d.i.c.k"s?" he asked after a broad stare of amazement.
"Cherie told me," answered Jeanne her heart sinking at his expression.
"Aren"t we going, dear uncle?"
"Well, I rather guess not," said Mr. Vance emphatically. "I think we"ve had enough of the Yankees without going where they are. Enough to last us a lifetime."
"Why did you tell me such a thing?" burst from Jeanne turning upon her aunt with indignation.
"Because, my dear little Yankee, I wanted the pleasure of your company, of course," replied Madame mockingly.
"That is not true," said Jeanne boldly. "You do not like me, Aunt Clarisse," dropping the Cherie which she seldom afterward used.
"No? you want the truth then?" said the woman suddenly. "Because I hate you for being a Yankee."
"But you did like me at first and I was a Yankee then," and the girl shrank from the light in the other"s eyes.
"Yes; for a time, but I soon tired of you. You were too independent, and had views that were tiresome to me. I might have loved you had you yielded your will to mine. But you would not. You, a mere girl, set your judgment up against mine, although I granted your lightest wish. Then you told that Yankee General that your uncle had given you all the property and he seized it in your name. Think you that I would let you stay to enjoy our property when we were driven from the city? Oh, I saw through your artfulness! But you shall not have the property if that Beast does!"
"I did not want your property," replied Jeanne, her face becoming very pale as she heard her aunt"s words. "Why should I care for it? I want only to go to my home. Please let me go back, Aunt Clarisse. I will beg General Butler to let you have your property again and to send me home.
Truly, I do not want anything of yours. Let me go back."
"Never," cried the other angrily. "Who would think that a puny faced thing like you could be so sly!"
Jeanne made no reply but sank into bitter thought. The rebel general, Jefferson Thompson, received the refugees courteously and promised to help them to reach friends and relatives in other parts of the South.
Meantime he gave them such refreshment as was at his disposal, resigning to the Vances his own headquarters. For a few days they stayed here, being joined by others from the city. Then they broke up into small parties and scattered, each bent upon reaching his own objective point.