The major answered, and I noticed now he had Le Gaire gripped by the arm.
"This is the Hardy house, and I am Major Hardy, but Johnston is not here. Who are you?"
"Couriers from Chambers" column, sir. He is advancing up this pike.
Where will we find Johnston?"
"Take the first road to your right, and inquire. When will Chambers be up?"
"Within four or five hours. What"s going on here? A little affair?"
Hardy nodded. The sergeant sat still an instant, his eyes on me as though puzzled; then evidently concluded it was none of his business.
"Come on, boys!" he said, and with a dip of the spurs was off, the two others clattering behind. Hardy swung Le Gaire sharply around, his eyes blazing.
"You d.a.m.ned, sneaking coward!" he roared, forgetting everything in sudden outburst. "By Gad, Bell, this fellow is a disgrace to the uniform--you know what he did?"
"I know he fired before I got the word out," indignantly.
"The blamed curb--yes; and when those fellows rode up he tried to blurt out the whole situation. Good G.o.d, Le Gaire, aren"t you even a soldier?"
shaking the fellow savagely. "Haven"t you ever learned what parole means? d.a.m.n you, are you totally devoid of all sense of personal honor?"
"I never gave my parole."
"You lie, you did; you are here on exactly the same terms as Bell and I--released on honor. d.a.m.ned if I believe there"s another man in Confederate uniform who would be guilty of so scurvy a trick. Were you hurt, Galesworth?"
"No, the ball struck my revolver case, and made me sick for a moment."
"No fault of Le Gaire"s--the noise of the horses shattered his aim.
Lord! how I despise such a cowardly whelp!"
He flung the man from him so violently he fell to his knees on the ground. The look of amazement on Le Gaire"s face, his utter inability to comprehend the meaning of it all, or why he had thus aroused the enmity of his brother officers, gave me a sudden feeling of compa.s.sion. I stepped toward him. Perhaps he mistook my purpose, for he staggered partially erect.
"d.a.m.n you!" he yelled. "I"m fighting yet!" and flung the unloaded derringer with all the force of his arm at my face.
CHAPTER XXVI
MISS WILLIFRED SURPRISES US
The b.u.t.t struck me fairly, and I went down as though felled by an ax. If I lost consciousness it could have been for scarcely more than a moment, but blood streamed into my eyes, and my head reeled giddily. Yet I knew something of what occurred, heard voices, caught dimly the movement of figures. Le Gaire ran, rounding the end of the stable, and Hardy, swearing like a trooper, clutching at his empty belt for a weapon, made an effort to follow. Bell sprang to me, lifting my head, and his face looked as white as a woman"s. He appeared so frightened I endeavored to smile at him, and it must have been a ghastly effort. My voice, however, proved more rea.s.suring.
"I"m all right," I insisted thickly. "Just tapped a little. I--I wasn"t looking for anything like that."
"I should say not. Here, can you sit up? By Heavens! I hope Hardy catches him."
"He hardly will," I answered, struggling into sitting posture, a vision of the chase recurring to mind. "He was too mad to run."
Bell laughed nervously.
"I never supposed Le Gaire was that kind of a cur," he said regretfully.
"I never liked the fellow, or had much to do with him. Blamed if I could understand why Miss Hardy--"
"Oh, he played nice enough with her up until the last week at least," I broke in, aroused by the name. "Le Gaire is good looking, and pleasant also when things are going his way. It"s when luck is against him that he gets ugly. Besides, he had the major on his side."
"I happen to know something about that," returned Bell dryly. "It was talked over at headquarters. Le Gaire is rich, and Hardy hasn"t much left, I reckon, and the captain filled him up with fairy tales. Some of them drifted about among the boys. There were others told also not quite so pleasant, which Hardy did not hear. You see, none of us cared to repeat them, after we realized Miss Willifred was interested in the man."
"You mean duelling?"
"No, that was rather mild; fellows in his regiment mostly cut him dead, and say he is yellow; generally in the hospital when there"s a battle on. But Forsd.y.k.e tells the worst story--he heard it in New Orleans. It seems Le Gaire owned a young girl--a quadroon--whom he took for a mistress; then he tired of the woman, they quarrelled, and the cowardly brute turned her back into the fields, and had her whipped by his overseer. She died in three months."
"I guess it"s all true, Bell," I said, and I told him of the boy. "He was our guide here last night, and it is just as well for Le Gaire the lad did not know he was present. Help me up, will you?"
I leaned on his arm heavily, but, except for the throbbing of my head, appeared to be in good enough condition. With slight a.s.sistance I walked without difficulty, and together we started for the house. At the edge of the garden Hardy appeared, still breathing heavily from his run. He stared at me, evidently relieved to find me on my feet.
"Broke the skin, my lad--a little water will make that all right. Glad it was no worse. The fellow out-ran me."
"He got away?"
"Well, the fact is, Galesworth, I do not really know where he went. The last glimpse I had he was dodging into that clump of bushes, but when I got there he was gone."
"Ran along the fence," broke in Bell, pointing. "You couldn"t see him for the vines. See, here"s his tracks--sprinting some, too."
We traced them easily as long as we found soft ground, but the turf beyond left no sign. Yet he could not have turned to the left, or Bell and I would have seen him. The fellow evidently knew this, yet if he ran to the right it would take him to the house. It hardly seemed possible he would go there, but he had been a guest there for some time, and probably knew the place well; perhaps realized he would be safer within--where no one would expect him to be--than on the road. This was the conception which gradually came to me, but the others believed he had gone straight ahead, seeking the nearest Confederate outpost. Able to walk alone by this time, I went in through the back door, and bathed my face at the sink, leaving Hardy and Bell to search for further signs of the fugitive.
As I washed I thought rapidly over the situation. Le Gaire knew that Chambers" force would be along the pike within a few hours--probably long before the appearance of any Federal advance in the neighborhood, as he was unaware that I had sent back a courier. The house was the very last place in which we would seek for him, and the easiest place to attain. Once inside, stowed away in some unused room, he could wait the approach of Chambers" troops, escape easily, and become a hero. The whole trick fitted in with the man"s type of mind. And he could have come in the same way I had, sneaking through the unguarded kitchen--why, in the name of Heaven, had Miles neglected to place a guard there?--and then up the servants" stairs. I dried my face on a towel, rejoicing that the derringer blow had left little damage, and opened the door leading to the upper story. It was a narrow stairway, rather dark, but the first thing to catch my eye was a small clod of yellow dirt on the second step, and this was still damp--the foot from which it had fallen must have pa.s.sed within a very short time. I had the fellow--had him like a rat in a trap. Oh, well, there was time enough, and I closed the door and locked it.
I talked with the sergeant, and had him send Foster to watch the kitchen door, and detail a couple of men for cooks, with orders to hurry up breakfast. Miles had seen nothing of Le Gaire, and when Hardy and Bell returned, they acknowledged having discovered no trace of the fugitive.
I let them talk, saying little myself, endeavoring to think out the peculiar situation, and determine what I had better do. Already there was heavy cannonading off to the right, but at considerable distance.
The battle was on, and might sweep this way before many hours, yet I could no longer doubt the complete withdrawal of Confederate troops from the neighborhood. Not a gray-jacket or flash of steel was visible, and everything about was a scene of peace. Yet when Chambers came this house would hardly escape without an overhauling. Of course he might not come this way, for Johnston could easily despatch a courier to advise another road, yet probably the line of march would not be changed. Should I wait, or withdraw my little force, at least as far as the shelter of the ravine? I cared nothing about retaining the prisoners, indeed was anxious to release both Hardy and Bell. Nor was I any longer worried about Le Gaire--especially his relations with Miss Willifred. I could trust the major to relate the story of the past hour to his daughter, and the captain would scarcely venture to face her again. It seemed to me we ought to go, as it would be no service to our cause to retain the house. However there was no hurry; we had ample time in which to breakfast, and--and, well I wanted to see Billie again, to leave behind me a better impression. I gave the major the key to her room, and asked him to call her for the morning meal, already nearly ready. She came down a few moments later, freshly dressed, and looking as though she had enjoyed some sleep. Her father must have given her some inkling of the situation, for she greeted me pleasantly, although with a certain constraint in manner which left me ill at ease.
Our breakfast pa.s.sed off very nicely, the food abundant and well cooked, although we were compelled to wait upon ourselves. I asked Miles to join us, but he preferred messing with the men, and so the four of us sat at table alone. As though by mutual consent we avoided all reference to the war, or our present situation, conversation drifting into a discussion of art and literature. I realized later that Miss Willifred had adroitly steered it that way, but if it was done to test me, she could scarcely have chosen a better topic. I had come from the senior cla.s.s of a great college into the army, and was only too delighted to take part again in cultured conversation. Bell had taken an art course, and Miss Hardy had apparently read widely, and the discussion became animated, with frequent clashes of opinion. I was happy to know that I surprised the lady by the extent of my information, and her flushed cheeks and brightening eyes were ample reward. The major said little, yet when he occasionally spoke it was to reveal that he was a man of unusual learning.
I shall recall the details of that meal as long as I live--the peculiar conditions, and the faces of those present. It was all so little like war, the only suggestion of conflict the uniforms we wore, and the dull reverberation of that distant cannonading. For the time, at least, we forgot we were upon the very verge of a battle, and that we were politically enemies. Prisoners were in the bas.e.m.e.nt beneath, guards were patrolling the hall without, yet we laughed and joked, with never a reference to the great conflict in which all present bore part. Of course much of this was but veneer, and back of repartee and well-told story, we were intent upon our own problems. With me, now that I had decided upon my plans, everything centred upon Miss Willifred. I would search the house for Le Gaire, endeavor to have one word with her alone, and then retire to a place of greater safety with my men. The quicker I might complete these arrangements the better, and I could trust those present with some knowledge of my intention.
"Gentlemen," I said, as the party was preparing to rise, "just a moment.
I am going to ask you to respect your parole for only a very short time longer. Of course this does not include Miss Hardy as she has refused all pledges to me. So soon as my men complete their breakfast, and a few details are looked after, we shall withdraw in the direction of our own lines. Naturally I have no desire to be captured by Chambers. I am merely going to request that you remain within doors until we depart.
After that you may release the prisoners, and rejoin your commands."
The eyes of the two men met, and the major replied:
"Certainly, Lieutenant, we have no reason to complain."
"And Miss Hardy?"
"Oh, I will answer for her."
"That is hardly necessary, papa, as I will answer for myself," and her eyes met mine across the table. "I was angry last night, Lieutenant Galesworth, and unreasonable. If you will accept my parole now I give it gladly."