MADELINE. You don't really mean that, Gertrude--with me?
ELLINGHAM. I'm in love with your sister Madeline.

KERCHIVAL. The devil you are!

ELLINGHAM. I never suspected such a thing until last night.

GERTRUDE. Robert was in love with you six weeks ago.

[MADELINE _kisses her._

KERCHIVAL. _I've_ made a discovery, too, Bob.

MADELINE. _I've_ got something to say to _you_, Gertrude.

KERCHIVAL. I'm in love with _your_ sister.

ELLINGHAM. [_Astonished._] You are?

MADELINE. Kerchival has been in love with you for the last three
months. [GERTRUDE _offers her lips--they kiss._

KERCHIVAL. I fell in love with her the day before yesterday. [_The two
gentlemen grasp each other's hand warmly._

ELLINGHAM. We understand each other, Kerchival. [_He turns up centre,
and stops at door._] Miss Madeline, you said just now that you wished
to watch the forts. Would you like to walk down to the shore?

MADELINE. Yes! [_Rising and going up to him. He takes one of her hands
in his own and looks at her earnestly._

ELLINGHAM. This will be the last day that we shall be together for the
present. But we shall meet again--sometime--if we both live.

MADELINE. If we both live! You mean--if _you_ live: You must go into
this dreadful war, if it comes.

ELLINGHAM. Yes, Madeline, I must. Come, let us watch for our fate.

[_Exeunt on veranda._

KERCHIVAL. [_Aside._] I must leave Charleston to-day. [_Sighs._] Does
she love me?

GERTRUDE. I am ready to start, Mr. West, when you are.

KERCHIVAL. Oh! Of course, I forgot. [_Rising._] I shall be delighted
to ride at your side.

GERTRUDE. At my side! [_Rising._] There isn't a horse in America that
can keep by the side of my Jack, when I give him his head, and I'm
sure to do it. You may follow us. But you can hardly ride in that
costume; while you are changing it, I'll give Jack his bonbons.
[_Turning to window._] There he is, bless him! Pawing the ground, and
impatient for me to be on his back. Let him come, Pete. [_Holding up
bonbons at window_]. I love you.

KERCHIVAL. Eh? [_Turning suddenly._

GERTRUDE. [_Looking at him._] What?

KERCHIVAL. You were saying--

GERTRUDE. Jack! [_looking out. The head of a large black horse appears
through the window._] You dear old fellow! [_Feeds with bonbons._]
Jack has been my boy ever since he was a little colt. I brought you
up, didn't I, Jack? He's the truest, and kindest, and best of friends;
I wouldn't be parted from him for the world, and I'm the only woman
he'll allow to be near him.

KERCHIVAL. [_Earnestly._] You are the only woman, Miss Gertrude, that
I--

GERTRUDE. Dear Jack!

KERCHIVAL. [_Aside._] Jack embarrasses me. He's a third party.

GERTRUDE. There! That will do for the present, Jack. Now go along with
Pete! If you are a very good boy, and don't let Lieutenant Kerchival
West come within a quarter of a mile of me, after the first three
minutes, you shall have some more sugar-plums when we get to Mrs.
Pinckney's. [_An old negro leads the horse away._ GERTRUDE _looks
around at_ KERCHIVAL.] You haven't gone to dress yet; we shall
be late. Mrs. Pinckney asked a party of friends to witness the
bombardment this morning, and breakfast together on the piazza while
they are looking at it. We can remain and join them, if you like.

KERCHIVAL. I hope they won't wait for breakfast until the bombardment
begins.

GERTRUDE. I'll bet you an embroidered cigar-case, Lieutenant, against
a box of gloves, that it will begin in less than an hour.

KERCHIVAL. Done! You will lose the bet. But you shall have the gloves;
and one of the hands that go inside them shall be--[_Taking one of her
hands; she withdraws it._

GERTRUDE. My own--until some one wins it. You don't believe that
General Beauregard will open fire on Fort Sumter this morning?

KERCHIVAL. No; I don't.

GERTRUDE. Everything is ready.

KERCHIVAL. It's so much easier to get everything ready to do a thing
than it is to do it. I have been ready a dozen times, this very night,
to say to you, Miss Gertrude, that I--that I--[_Pauses._

GERTRUDE. [_Looking down and tapping skirt with her whip._] Well?

KERCHIVAL. But I didn't.

GERTRUDE. [_Glancing up at him suddenly._] I dare say, General
Beauregard has more nerve than you have.

KERCHIVAL. It is easy enough to set the batteries around Charleston
Harbour, but the man who fires the first shot at a woman--

GERTRUDE. Woman!

KERCHIVAL. At the American flag--must have nerves of steel.

GERTRUDE. You Northern men are so slow to--

KERCHIVAL. I have been slow; but I assure you, Miss Gertrude, that my
heart--

GERTRUDE. What subject are we on now?

KERCHIVAL. You were complaining because I was too slow.

GERTRUDE. I was doing nothing of the kind, sir!--let me finish,
please. You Northern men are so slow to believe that our Southern
heroes--Northern _men_ and Southern _heroes_--you recognize the
distinction I make--you won't believe that they will keep their
promises. They have sworn to attack Fort Sumter this morning,
and--they--will do it. This "American Flag" you talk of is no longer
our flag: it is foreign to us!--It is the flag of an enemy!

KERCHIVAL. [_Tenderly and earnestly._] Am I your enemy?

GERTRUDE. You have told me that you will return to the North, and take
the field.

KERCHIVAL. Yes, I will. [_Decisively._

GERTRUDE. You will be fighting against my friends, against my own
brother, against me. We _shall_ be enemies.

KERCHIVAL. [_Firmly_.] Even that, Gertrude--[_She looks around at him;
he looks squarely into her eyes as he proceeds._]--if you will have it
so. If my country needs my services, I shall not refuse them, though
it makes us enemies! [_She wavers a moment, under strong emotion, and
turns away; sinks upon the seat, her elbow on the back of it, and her
tightly-clenched fist against her cheek, looking away from him._

GERTRUDE. I will have it so! I am a Southern woman!

KERCHIVAL. We have more at stake between us, this morning, than a
cigar-case and a box of gloves. [_Turning up stage._

_Enter_ MRS. HAVERILL _from apartment_.

MRS. HAVERILL. Mr. West! I've been looking for you. I have a favour to
ask.

KERCHIVAL. Of me?--with pleasure.

MRS. HAVERILL. But I am sorry to have interrupted you and Gertrude.
[_Apart._] There are tears in your eyes, Gertrude, dear!

GERTRUDE. [_Apart._] They have no right there.

MRS. HAVERILL. [_Apart._] I'm afraid I know what has happened. A
quarrel! and you are to part with each other so soon. Do not let
a girl's coquetry trifle with her heart until it is too late. You
remember the confession you made to me last night?

GERTRUDE. [_Apart._] Constance! [_Starting._] That is my secret; more
a secret now than ever.

MRS. HAVERILL. [_Apart._] Yes, dear; but you do love him. [GERTRUDE
_moves away._

GERTRUDE. You need not ride over with me, Mr. West.

KERCHIVAL. I can be ready in one moment.

GERTRUDE. I choose to go alone! Old Pete will be with me; and Jack,
himself, is a charming companion.

KERCHIVAL. If you prefer Jack's company to mine--

GERTRUDE. I do. [_Exit on veranda and down right._

KERCHIVAL. Damn Jack! But you will let me assist you to mount. [_Exit
after her._

MRS. HAVERILL. We leave for the North before noon, but every hour
seems a month. If my husband should learn what happened in my room
to-night, he would kill that man. What encouragement could I have
given him? Innocence is never on its guard--but, [_Drawing up._] the
last I remember before I fell unconscious, he was crouching before me
like a whipped cur! [_Starts as she looks out of the window._] There
is Mr. Thornton now--Ah! [_Angrily._] No,--I must control my own
indignation. I must keep him and Colonel Haverill from meeting before
we leave Charleston. Edward Thornton would shoot my husband down
without remorse. But poor Frank! I must not forget him, in my own
trouble. I have but little time left to care for his welfare.

_Re-enter_ KERCHIVAL.

KERCHIVAL. You said I could do you a favour, Mrs. Haverill?

MRS. HAVERILL. Yes, I wanted to speak with you about General
Haverill's son, Frank. I should like you to carry a message to
Charleston for me, as soon as it is light. It is a sad errand. You
know too well the great misfortune that has fallen upon my husband in
New York.

KERCHIVAL. His only son has brought disgrace upon his family name,
and tarnished the reputation of a proud soldier. Colonel Haverill's
fellow-officers sympathize with him most deeply.

MRS. HAVERILL. And poor young Frank! I could hardly have loved the boy
more if he had been my own son. If he had not himself confessed the
crime against the bank, I could not have believed him guilty. He has
escaped from arrest. He is in the city of Charleston. I am the only
one in all the world he could turn to. He was only a lad of fourteen
when his father and I were married, six years ago; and the boy has
loved me from the first. His father is stern and bitter now in his
humiliation. This note from Frank was handed to me while the company
were here last evening. I want you to find him and arrange for me to
meet him, if you can do it with safety. I shall give you a letter for
him.

KERCHIVAL. I'll get ready at once; and I will do all I can for the
boy. [_Turning._

MRS. HAVERILL. And--Mr. West! Gertrude and Madeline have told me
that--that--I was under obligations to you last evening.

KERCHIVAL. Don't mention it. I merely ran for them, and I--I'm very
glad you didn't choke--before they reached you. I trust you are quite
well now?

MRS. HAVERILL. I am entirely recovered, thank you. And I will ask
another favour of you, for we are old friends. I desire very much that
General Haverill should not know that--that any accident occurred to
me to-night--or that my health has not been perfect.

KERCHIVAL. Certainly, madam!

MRS. HAVERILL. It would render him anxious without cause.

KERCHIVAL [_Aside_.] It looks as if Robert was right; she doesn't want
the two men to meet.

_Enter_ HAVERILL. _A white silk handkerchief is in his hand_.

HAVERILL. Constance, my dear, I've been all over the place looking for
you. I thought you were in your room. But--by the way, Kerchival, this
is your handkerchief; your initials are on it. [KERCHIVAL _turns and
stares at him a second_. MRS. HAVERILL _starts slightly and turns
front_. HAVERILL _glances quickly from one to the other, then extends
his hands toward_ KERCHIVAL, _with the handkerchief_. KERCHIVAL _takes
it_. MRS. HAVERILL _drops into chair_.

KERCHIVAL. Thank you. [_He exits with a quick glance back._ HAVERILL
_looks at_ MRS. HAVERILL, _who sits nervously looking away. He then
glances after_ KERCHIVAL. _A cloud comes over his face, and he stands
a second in thought. Then, with a movement as if brushing away a
passing suspicion, he smiles pleasantly and approaches_ MRS. HAVERILL;
_leans over her_.

HAVERILL. My fair Desdemona! [_Smiling_.] I found Cassio's
handkerchief in your room. Have you a kiss for me? [_She looks up; he
raises her chin with a finger and kisses her_.] That's the way I shall
smother you.

MRS. HAVERILL. [_Rising and dropping her head upon his breast_.]
Husband!

HAVERILL. But what is this they have been telling me?

MRS. HAVERILL. What have they said to you?

HAVERILL. There was something wrong with you in the early part of the
evening; you are trembling and excited, my girl!

MRS. HAVERILL. It was nothing, John; I--I--was ill, for a few moments,
but I am well now.

HAVERILL. You said nothing about it to me.

MRS. HAVERILL. Do not give it another thought.

HAVERILL. Was there anything besides your health involved in the
affair? There was. [_Aside_.] How came this handkerchief in her room?

MRS. HAVERILL. My husband! I do not want to say anything more--at--at
present--about what happened to-night. There has never been a shadow
between us--will you not trust me?

HAVERILL. Shadow! You stand in a bright light of your own, my wife;
it shines upon my whole life--there can be no shadow there. Tell me
as much or as little as you like, and in your own time. I am sure you
will conceal nothing from me that I ought to know. I trust my honour
and my happiness to you, absolutely.

MRS. HAVERILL. They will both be safe, John, in my keeping. But there
is something else that I wish to speak with you about; something very
near to your heart--your son!

HAVERILL. My son!

MRS. HAVERILL. He is in Charleston.

HAVERILL. And not--in prison? To me he is nowhere. I am childless.

MRS. HAVERILL. I hope to see him to-day; may I not take him some kind
word from you?

HAVERILL. My lawyers in New York had instructions to provide him with
whatever he needed.

MRS. HAVERILL. They have done so, and he wants for nothing; he asks
for nothing, except that I will seek out the poor young wife--only a
girl herself--whom he is obliged to desert, in New York.

HAVERILL. His marriage was a piece of reckless folly, but I forgave
him that.

MRS. HAVERILL. I am sure that it was only after another was dependent
on him that the debts of a mere spendthrift were changed to fraud--and
crime.

HAVERILL. You may tell him that I will provide for her.

MRS. HAVERILL. And may I take him no warmer message from his father?

HAVERILL. I am an officer of the United States Army. The name which
my son bears came to me from men who had borne it with honour, and I
transmitted it to him without a blot. He has disgraced it, by his own
confession.

MRS. HAVERILL. _I_ cannot forget the poor mother who died when he was
born; her whose place I have tried to fill, to both Frank and to you.
I never saw her, and she is sleeping in the old graveyard at home. But
I am doing what she would do to-day, if she were living. No pride--no
disgrace--could have turned her face from him. The care and the love
of her son has been to me the most sacred duty which one woman can
assume for another.

HAVERILL. You have fulfilled that duty, Constance. Go to my son! I
would go with you, but he is a man now; he could not look into my
eyes, and I could not trust myself. But I will send him something
which a man will understand. Frank loves you as if you were his own
mother; and I--I would like him to--to think tenderly of me, also. He
will do it when he looks at this picture. [_Taking a miniature from
his pocket._

MRS. HAVERILL. Of me!

HAVERILL. I have never been without it one hour, before, since we were
married. He will recognize it as the one that I have carried through
every campaign, in every scene of danger on the Plains; the one that
has always been with me. He is a fugitive from justice. At times, when
despair might overcome him, this may give him nerve to meet his
future life manfully. It has often nerved me, when I might have failed
without it. Give it to him, and tell him that I send it. [_Giving
her the miniature._] I could not send a kinder message, and he will
understand it. [_Turning, stands a moment in thought._ THORNTON
_appears at window, looking at them quietly over his shoulder, a cigar
in his hand._ MRS. HAVERILL _sees him and starts with a suppressed
breath, then looks at_ HAVERILL, _who moves left. Aside._] My son! My
son! We shall never meet again! [_Exit in thought._

MRS. HAVERILL _looks after him earnestly, then turns and looks at
THORNTON, drawing up to her full height._ THORNTON _moves up stage,
beyond window._

MRS. HAVERILL. Will he dare to speak to me again? [_Enter_ THORNTON;
_he comes down quietly. He has thrown away cigar._

THORNTON. Mrs. Haverill! I wish to offer you an apology.

MRS. HAVERILL. I have not asked for one, sir!

THORNTON. Do you mean by that, that you will not accept one?

MRS. THORNTON. [_Aside_] What can I say? [_Aloud._] Oh, Mr.
Thornton!--for my husband's sake, I--

THORNTON. Ah! You are afraid that your husband may become involved in
an unpleasant affair. Your solicitude for his safety, madame, makes
me feel that my offense to-night was indeed unpardonable. No gentleman
can excuse himself for making such a mistake as I have made. I had
supposed that it was Lieutenant Kerchival West, who--

MRS. HAVERILL. What do you mean, sir?

THORNTON. But if it is your husband that stands between us--

MRS. HAVERILL. Let me say this, sir: whatever I may fear for my
husband, he fears nothing for himself.

THORNTON. He knows? [_Looking at her, keenly._] [_Enter_ KERCHIVAL
WEST, _now in riding suit._] [_He stops, looking at them._] You are
silent. Your husband does know what occurred to-night; that relieves
my conscience. [_Lightly._] Colonel Haverill and I can now settle it
between us.

MRS. HAVERILL. No, Mr. Thornton! My husband knows nothing, and, I beg
of you, do not let this horrible affair go further. [_Sees_ KERCHIVAL.

KERCHIVAL. Pardon me. [_Stepping forward._] I hope I am not
interrupting you. [_Aside._] It _was_ Thornton. [_Aloud._] You said
you would have a letter for me to carry, Mrs. Haverill.

MRS. HAVERILL. Yes, I--I will go up and write it at once. [_Crosses;
stops and looks back. Aside._] I wonder how much he overheard.

KERCHIVAL. [_Quietly._] I suppose eight o'clock will be time enough
for me to go?

MRS. HAVERILL. Oh, yes! [_Glancing at him a moment._]--quite.

[_Exit, through apartment._

KERCHIVAL. [_Quietly._] Mr. Thornton! you are a scoundrel! Do I make
myself plain?

THORNTON. You make the fact that you desire to pick a quarrel with me
quite plain, sir; but I choose my own quarrels and my own enemies.

KERCHIVAL. Colonel Haverill is my commander, and he is beloved by
every officer in the regiment.

THORNTON. On what authority, may I ask, do you--

KERCHIVAL. The honour of Colonel Haverill's wife is under our
protection.

THORNTON. Under your protection? You have a better claim than that,
perhaps, to act as her champion. Lieutenant Kerchival West is Mrs.
Haverill's favourite officer in the regiment.

KERCHIVAL. [_Approaching him._] You dare to suggest that I--

THORNTON. If I accept your challenge, I shall do so not because you
are her protector, but my rival.

KERCHIVAL. Bah! [_Striking him sharply on the cheek with glove. The
two men stand facing each other a moment._] Is it my quarrel now?

THORNTON. I think you are entitled to my attention, sir.

KERCHIVAL. My time here is limited.

THORNTON. We need not delay. The Bayou La Forge is convenient to this
place.

KERCHIVAL. I'll meet you there, with a friend, at once.

THORNTON. It will be light enough to see the sights of our weapons in
about one hour. [_They bow to each other, and_ THORNTON _goes out._

KERCHIVAL. I've got ahead of Bob.

GERTRUDE. [_Without._] Whoa! Jack! Old boy! Steady, now--that's a good
fellow.

KERCHIVAL. She has returned. I _must_ know whether Gertrude Ellingham
loves me--before Thornton and I meet. He is a good shot.

GERTRUDE. [_Without, calling._] O-h! Pete! You may take Jack to the
stable. Ha--ha--ha! [_Appears at window. To_ KERCHIVAL.] Old Pete, on
the bay horse, has been doing his best to keep up with us; but Jack
and I have led him such a race! Ha--ha--ha--ha! [_Disappearing beyond
the window._

KERCHIVAL. Does she love me?

GERTRUDE. [_Entering and coming down._] I have the very latest news
from the headquarters of the Confederate Army in South Carolina. At
twenty minutes after three this morning General Beauregard sent this
message to Major Anderson in Fort Sumter: "I shall open fire in one
hour!" The time is up!--and he will keep his word! [_Turning and
looking out of the window._ KERCHIVAL _moves across to her._

KERCHIVAL. Gertrude! I must speak to you; we may never meet again; but
I must know the truth. I love you. [_Seizing her hand._] Do you love
me? [_She looks around at him as if about to speak; hesitates._]
Answer me! [_She looks down with a coquettish smile, tapping her skirt
with her riding whip._] Well? [_A distant report of a cannon, and low
rumbling reverberations over the harbour._ GERTRUDE _turns suddenly,
looking out._ KERCHIVAL _draws up, also looking off._

GERTRUDE. A low--bright--line of fire--in the sky! It is a shell. [_A
second's pause; she starts slightly_.] It has burst upon the fort.
[_Looks over her shoulder at_ KERCHIVAL, _drawing up to her full
height_.] Now!--do you believe that we Southerners are in deadly
earnest?

KERCHIVAL. We Northerners are in deadly earnest, too. I have received
my answer. We are--enemies! [_They look at each other for a moment_.
[_Exit_ KERCHIVAL.

GERTRUDE. Kerchival! [_Moving quickly half across stage, looking
after him eagerly; stops._] Enemies! [_She drops into chair, sobbing
bitterly. Another distant report, and low, long reverberations as the
curtain descends_.

CURTAIN.




ACT II.


SCENE. _The Ellingham Homestead in the Shenandoah Valley. Exterior.
Three Top Mountain in the distance. A corner of the house, with
projecting end of veranda. Low wall extending up from veranda. A wide
opening in the wall, with a low, heavy stone post, with flat top, on
each side. Beyond the wall and opening, a road runs across stage.
At the back of this road, elevation of rock and turf. This slopes up
behind wood wing. It is level on the top about twelve feet; slopes
down to road, and also out behind wood wings. The level part in the
centre rises to about four feet above the stage. Beyond this elevation
the distance is a broad valley, with Three Top Mountain rising on the
right. Foliage appropriate to northern Virginia--walnut, cottonwood,
&c. Rustic seats and table. Seat near veranda. A low rock near the
stone post. Sunset when curtain rises. As the act proceeds this fades
into twilight and then bright moonlight. The number references for the
trumpet signals, in this and the next act, are to the official book,
entitled "Cavalry Tactics, United States Army," published by D.
Appleton & Co., N.Y., 1887. The number references for the Torch
Signals, in this act, are to the General Service Code. This code may
be found, with illustrations and instructions, in a book entitled
"Signal Tactics," by Lieutenant Hugh T. Reed, U.S. Army, published by
John Riley & Sons, N.Y., 1880. At rise of curtain, Trumpet Signal
No. 34 or No. 35 is heard very distant._ GERTRUDE _and_ MADELINE
_discovered on elevation up center._ GERTRUDE _is shading her eyes
with her hand and looking off._ MADELINE _stands a little below her,
on the incline, resting her arm about_ GERTRUDE'S _waist, also looking
off._

GERTRUDE. It is a regiment of Union Cavalry. The Federal troops now
have their lines three miles beyond us, and only a month ago the
Confederate Army was north of Winchester. One army or the other has
been marching up and down the Shenandoah Valley for three years. I
wonder what the next change will be. We in Virginia have had more than
our share of the war. [_Looking off._

MADELINE. You have, indeed, Gertrude. [_Walking down to seat._] And we
at home in Washington have pitied you so much. But everybody says that
there will be peace in the Valley after this. [_Dropping into seat._

GERTRUDE. Peace! [_Coming down._] That word means something very
different to us poor Southerners from what it means to you.

MADELINE. I know, dear; and we in the North know how you have
suffered, too. We were very glad when General Buckthorn was appointed
to the command of the Nineteenth Army Corps, so that Jenny could get
permission for herself and me to come and visit you.

GERTRUDE. The old General will do anything for Jenny, I suppose.

MADELINE. Yes. [_Laughing._] We say in Washington that Jenny is in
command of the Nineteenth Army Corps herself.

GERTRUDE. I was never more astonished or delighted in my life than
when you and Jenny Buckthorn rode up, this morning, with a guard from
Winchester; and Madeline, dear, I--I only wish that my brother Robert
could be here, too. Do you remember in Charleston, darling--that
morning--when I told you that--that Robert loved you?

MADELINE. He--[_Looking down._]--he told me so himself only a little
while afterwards, and while we were standing there, on the shore of
the bay--the--the shot was fired which compelled him to enter this
awful war--and me to return to my home in the North.

GERTRUDE. I was watching for that shot, too. [_Turning._

MADELINE. Yes--[_Rising_.]--you and brother Kerchival--

GERTRUDE. We won't talk about that, my dear. We were speaking of
Robert. As I told you this morning, I have not heard from him since
the battle of Winchester, a month ago. Oh, Madeline! the many, many
long weeks, like these, we have suffered, after some terrible battle
in which he has been engaged. I do not know, now, whether he is living
or dead.

MADELINE. The whole war has been one long suspense to me. [_Dropping
her face into her hands_.

GERTRUDE. My dear sister! [_Placing her arm about her waist and moving
left_.] You are a Northern girl, and I am a Rebel--but we are sisters.
[_They go up veranda and out_. An OLD COUNTRYMAN _comes in on a cane.
He stops and glances back, raises a broken portion of the capstone
of post, and places a letter under it_. GERTRUDE _has stepped back on
veranda and is watching him. He raises his head sharply, looking at
her and bringing his finger to his lips. He drops his head again, as
with age, and goes out._

GERTRUDE _moves down to stage and up to road, looks right and left,
raises the broken stone, glancing back as she does so; takes letter
and moves down_.] Robert is alive! It is his handwriting! [_Tears open
the wrapper_.] Only a line from him! and this--a despatch--and also a
letter to me! Why, it is from Mrs. Haverill--from Washington--with a
United States postmark. [_Reads from a scrap of paper_.]

"The enclosed despatch must be in the hands of Captain Edward Thornton
before eight o'clock to-night. We have signaled to him from Three Top
Mountain, and he is waiting for it at the bend in Oak Run. Our trusty
scout at the Old Forge will carry it if you will put it in his hands."

The scout is not there, now; I will carry it to Captain Thornton
myself. I--I haven't my own dear horse to depend on now; Jack knew
every foot of the way through the woods about here; he could have
carried a despatch himself. I can't bear to think of Jack; it's
two years since he was captured by the enemy--and if he is still
living--I--I suppose he is carrying one of their officers. No! Jack