While this was in progress, old Mr. Dinsmore and the whole family from the Oaks arrived; Rose and her daughter preferring to be there rather than left at home without their natural protectors.
Elsie welcomed them joyfully and at once engaged their a.s.sistance in loading for the gentlemen.
The little ones were already in bed and sleeping sweetly, secure in the love and protecting care of their earthly and their heavenly Father.
Little Elsie, now ten years old, was no longer required to retire quite so early, but when her regular hour came she went without a murmur.
She was quite ready for bed, had just risen from her knees, when her mother came softly in and clasped her in a tender embrace.
"Mamma, dear, dear mamma, how I love you! and papa too!" whispered the child, twining her arms about her mother"s neck. "Don"t let us be afraid of those wicked men, mamma. I am sure G.o.d will not let them get papa, because we have all prayed so much for his help; all of us together in worship this morning and this evening, and we children up here; and Jesus said, "If two of you shall agree on earth, as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.""
"Yes, darling, and he will fulfill his word; he will not suffer anything to befall but what shall be for his glory and our good. Now, dear daughter, lie down and take that promise for a pillow to sleep upon; and if waked by sounds of conflict, lift up your heart to G.o.d for your dear father, and mine, and all of us."
"I will, mamma, I will."
Leaving a loving kiss on the sweet young lips, and another on the brow of her sleeping Violet, the mother glided noiselessly from the room.
"What is it, mammy?" she asked on finding her faithful old nurse waiting to speak with her in the outer room.
"Miss Elsie, honey, is you willin" to let us scald dem Kluxes wid boilin" soap an" lye?"
"Scald them, mammy?" she exclaimed with a slight shudder. "I can hardly bear the thought of treating a dog so cruelly!"
"But dey"s worse dan dogs. Miss Elsie; dogs neber come and detack folks dat"s sleepin" quietly in dere beds; does dey now?"
"No; and these men would take my husband"s life. You may all fight them with any weapon you can lay hands on."
Aunt Chloe returned her thanks and proceeded to give an account of the plan concocted by Aunt Dicey and Uncle Joe.
Elsie, returning to the dining-room, repeated it there.
"Excellent!" exclaimed her brother. "Come, Art, let"s hang a bell in the kitchen and attach a string to it, taking the other end up to the observatory."
The suggestion was immediately carried out. It had been previously arranged that the two young men should repair to the observatory, and there watch for the coming of the foe, and on their first appearance, probably a mile or more distant, give the alarm to those below, by pulling a wire attached to that from which the front door bell was suspended; thus setting it to ringing loudly. Now they were prepared to sound the tocsin in the kitchen, also, thus giving time for the removal of the boiling lye from the fire there to the second story of the mansion, where it was to be used according to Uncle Joe"s plan.
The detective had reported the a.s.sailing party as numbering from thirty-five to forty; but the Ion force, though much inferior in point of numbers, even with the addition of eight or ten negro men belonging to the Oaks and Ion, who were tolerably proficient in the use of firearms, certainly had the advantage of position, and of being on the side of right and justice.
The gentlemen seemed full of a cheerful courage, the ladies calm and hopeful. Yet they refused to retire, though strongly urged to do so, insisting that to sleep would be simply impossible.
It was but ten o"clock when all was ready, yet the young men deemed it most prudent to betake themselves at once to their outlook, since there might possibly have been some change in the plans of the enemy.
The others gathered in one of the lower rooms to while away the tedious time of waiting as best they could. Conversation flagged; they tried music, but it had lost its charms for the time being; they turned away from the piano and harp and sank into silence; the house seemed strangely silent, and the pattering of Bruno"s feet as he pa.s.sed slowly down the whole length of the corridor without, came to their ears with almost startling distinctness.
Then he appeared in the doorway, where he stood turning his eyes from one to another with a wistful, questioning gaze: then words seemed to come from his lips in tones of wonder and inquiry.
"What are you all doing here at this time o" night, when honest folk should be a-bed?"
"Just what I"ve been asking myself for the last hour," gravely remarked a statue in a niche in the opposite wall.
The effect was startling even to those who understood the thing; more so to the others, Rosie screamed and ran to her father for protection.
"Why, why, why!" cried old Mr. Dinsmore, in momentary perplexity and astonishment.
"Don"t be afraid Miss Rosie; I"m a faithful friend, and the woman over there couldn"t hurt you if she would," said Bruno, going up to the young girl, wagging his tail and touching his cold nose to her hand.
She drew it away with another scream.
"Dear child," said her sister, "it is only a trick of ventriloquism."
"Meant to amuse, not alarm," added Mr. Lilburn.
Rosie, nestling in her father"s arms, drew a long breath of relief, and half laughing, half crying, looked up saucily into Mr. Lilburn"s face.
"And it was you, sir? oh, how you scared me!"
"I beg your pardon, my bonnie la.s.sie," he said, "I thought to relieve, somewhat, the tediousness of the hour."
"For which accept our thanks," said Mr. Dinsmore. "But I perceive it is not the first time that Travilla and Elsie have been witnesses of your skill."
"No," said Elsie, laughing. "My dear, you are good at a story, tell them what happened at breakfast this morning."
Mr. Travilla complied with the request. He was an excellent story-teller and made his narrative very entertaining.
But in the midst of their mirth a sudden awe-struck silence fell upon them. There was a sound as of the rattling of stiffly starched robes; then a gruff voice from the hall exclaimed, "There he is, the old scalawag! Dinsmore too. Now take good aim, Bill, and let"s make sure work."
Rosie was near screaming again, but catching sight of Mr. Lilburn"s face, laughed instead; a little hysterical nervous laugh.
"Oh t"s you again, sir!" she cried. "Please don"t frighten me any more."
"Ah, no, I will not," he said, and at that moment a toy man and woman on the table began a vastly amusing conversation about their own private affairs.
In the kitchen and the domiciles of the house-servants, there was the same waiting and watching; old and young, all up and wide awake, gathered in groups and talked in undertones, of the doings of the Ku Klux, and of the reception they hoped to give them that night. Aunt Dicey glorying in the prospect of doing good service in the defense of "her family" as she proudly termed her master, mistress and the children, kept her kettles of soap and lye at boiling heat, and two stalwart fellows close at hand to obey her orders.
Aunt Chloe and Dinah were not with the others, but in the nursery watching over the slumbers of "de chillens." Uncle Joe was with Mr.
Leland, who was not yet able to use the wounded limb and was to be a.s.sisted to his hiding place upon the first note of alarm.
In the observatory the two young men kept a vigilant eye upon every avenue of approach to the plantation. There was no moon that night, but the clear bright starlight made it possible to discern moving white objects at a considerable distance. Horace was full of excitement and almost eager for the affray, Arthur calm and quiet.
"This waiting is intolerable!" exclaimed the former when they had been nearly an hour at their post. "How do you stand it, Art?"
"I find it tedious, and there is in all probability, at least an hour of it yet before us. But my impatience is quelled by the thought that it may be to me the last hour of life."
"True; and to me also. A solemn thought, Art, and yet might not the same be said of any day or hour of our lives?"
From that they fell into a very serious conversation in which each learned more of the other"s inner life than he had ever known before: both were trusting in Christ and seeking to know and do his will, and from that hour their hearts were knit together as the hearts of David and Jonathan.
Gradually their talk ceased till but a word or two was dropped now and then, while the vigilance of their watch was redoubled; for the hour of midnight had struck--the silver chimes of a clock in the hall below coming distinctly to their ears--and any moment might bring the raiders into view.
Below stairs too a solemn hush had fallen upon each with the first stroke of the clock, and hearts were going up in silent prayer to G.o.d.