that he saw Agatha by his side, her pistol in hand and empty of its charges, her hair loosened and falling in tangled ma.s.ses over her shoulders, her face aglow, and her lithe form as erect as that of any trooper among them all.
"But my dear Miss Ronald," Stuart e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed, "what are you doing here?"
"Riding under gallant escort, General, that is all."
[Ill.u.s.tration: ""_Riding under gallant escort_""]
"But I ordered you to take refuge in the timber."
"Yes, I know," she answered, with a laughing challenge in her eyes, "but as I have never been mustered in, I"m not subject to your orders. You can"t court-martial me, can you, General?"
Stuart looked at her before answering--his eyes full of an admiration that was dimmed by glad tears. At last he leaned over, kissed her again upon the forehead, and said, impressively:
"What a wife you"ll make for a soldier some day!"
XIII
_A SOUVENIR SERVICE_
During the rest of the journey Agatha was excited and full of enthusiasm. She had partic.i.p.ated in a fight under the lead of the gallantest of cavaliers, and she had borne herself under fire in a way that had won his admiration. That admiration found expression in a hundred ways, and chiefly in pressing offers of service. Before their parting he said to her:
"Now, my dear Miss Agatha, you really must let me do you some favour. I want to cherish the memory of this day"s glorious ride, and I want to render you some service, the memory of which may serve as a souvenir.
What shall it be?"
At that moment there came to Agatha"s mind one of those inspirations that come to all of us at times, quite without consciousness of whence they come or why. She answered:
"You are already doing everything for me, General. You have sanctioned an enterprise on which I have set my heart, and you have done all you could to make it successful. You gave me for dinner to-day the very best ear of green corn that I ever tasted. You have personally and very gallantly escorted me back here to Fairfax Court-house, and on the way you have got up for me the most dramatic bit of action that I ever saw.
I am convinced that you did it only for my entertainment, and I am truly grateful." Then with a sudden access of intense seriousness, she added, "And you have opened a way to me to render that service to my country which I had planned. Never, so long as you live,--and I hope that may be long for Virginia"s sake,--will you know or imagine how great a service you have rendered me in this. But you insist upon doing more. You insist that I shall crave a boon at your hands. Very well; I will do so."
With that readiness of response which characterised everything that Stuart did, he seized the opportunity offered, and broke into Agatha"s sentence with the answer:
"Of course I insist. What is it that I may do?"
"I want you to secure a captain"s commission, then, for Sergeant-Major Baillie Pegram. You know all about his family. He volunteered as a private. He was promoted to be sergeant-major by Stonewall Jackson"s own request, in recognition of his good conduct. He was terribly wounded at Mana.s.sas, mentioned in general orders, and strongly recommended for promotion for gallantry on the field. My aunts write to me--" here Agatha fibbed a little, as a woman is permitted to do under circ.u.mstances that might otherwise compromise her dignity, for it was not her aunts, but a highly intelligent negro maid in their service who kept the young lady informed as to Baillie Pegram"s condition--"my aunts tell me he is getting well again, and will soon be ready for duty."
"What is his arm?" asked Stuart, eagerly.
"Light artillery," Agatha answered.
"Has he influence?"
"How do you mean?"
"Could he get men to enlist?"
"Why, of course. He"s the master of Warlock, you know."
Then with a little touch of embarra.s.sment, she added, "I mean he is the head of one of the great families, and they always have influence."
"O, yes, of course," Stuart answered. "I see the situation clearly. Will you say to Mr. Pegram--Sergeant-Major Pegram, I mean--that I have authority from the War Department to raise three companies of flying artillery, with the men all mounted, to serve with the cavalry, and that if he can form such a company,--of fifty or seventy-five men, or better still a hundred men--I will secure him a captain"s commission with authority to do so?"
"But, General," said the girl, quickly, and in manifest fright, "I do not correspond with Mr. Pegram. In fact we are _very nearly strangers_."
"O, I see," answered the cavalier, with a twinkle in his eyes. "How long has it been since you and this gallant young gentleman arranged to be "very nearly strangers?""
"O, you entirely mistake, General," the girl quickly answered. "Really and truly I never knew Mr. Pegram very well; but he wore a red feather of mine at the battle of Mana.s.sas, and afterward he sent it back to me and--well, anyhow he proved his gallantry and he really ought to be something more than a sergeant-major, don"t you think?"
For answer Stuart made a sweeping bow, removing his hat and saying: "Concerning Sergeant-Major Baillie Pegram, I think whatever you think.
Anyhow, as he had the good taste to wear your red feather, and as he has fought well enough to secure a wound and a mention in general orders and your personal approval, he shall be a captain if he wants to be. Give me his address, and you need not have any correspondence with him."
"I"ll write it," she answered, "if you"ll excuse me for a moment," and with that she retired within doors--for they had been standing in the porch--in a rage of vexation with herself. She hastily sponged off her inflamed face with cold water, dried it, and loosely twisted up her errant hair, which had run riot over her neck and shoulders ever since the little encounter with the enemy. Then she scribbled Baillie Pegram"s Warlock address on a sc.r.a.p of paper and returned to Stuart"s presence, with the mien and bearing of a queen.
The cavalier"s face was rippling all over with smiles as he bade her adieu, wished her G.o.dspeed in her enterprise, and turned away. At the steps he faced about, and advancing said to her:
"When do you wish to return to Fauquier?"
"I shall go home to-morrow morning," she answered.
"You travel in your own carriage, of course?"
"Yes, and my maid is with me."
"Very well," he answered. "At sunrise a platoon under command of a trusty officer will report here and serve as your escort."
"But, General, surely that is not necessary."
"Not necessary, perhaps," was the answer, "but it pleases me to have it so, and you"ll indulge my fancy, I am sure. I hope to have you as my prisoner before many moons have pa.s.sed."
She understood, and with a rippling smile she replied:
"Thank you, and good-bye. I shall certainly enjoy my next ear of green corn if I am permitted to take it in your company, under some tree that you have honoured by making it your headquarters."
"O, my ravenous cavalrymen will have eaten up all the green corn long before that time; but I"ll give you a dinner if I have to raid a Federal picket-post to get it."
With that he sprang into his saddle, waved a farewell, and rode away singing:
"If you want to have a good time, Jine the cavalry, Jine the cavalry, Jine the cavalry, If you want to have a good time, Jine the cavalry, Jine the cav-al-ry."
It was Stuart"s boast at that time that he knew the face and name of every man in his old first regiment, and he afterward extended this boast to include all the men in the first brigade of Virginia Cavalry.
He used to say: "I ought to remember those fellows; they made me a major-general."
But however well Stuart knew his men, with whom he fraternised in a way very unusual to most officers bred in the regular army, as he had been, n.o.body ever pretended to know him well enough to guess with any accuracy what he would do next under any given circ.u.mstances. On this occasion he had not brought his staff with him, but that made small difference with an officer of his temper, whose habit of mind it was to disregard forms and ceremonies, and to go straight to his purpose, whatever it might happen to be. When he left Agatha, he rode at once to the camp of a detached company and asked for its captain. To him he said:
"Send couriers to all the cavalry camps, and say that General Stuart orders the entire force to report in front at once."