My Lady of the North

e rendered me more thoughtful than I might have proven under ordinary conditions, yet it is to be frankly co

, the end of the rope held by one of my captors, while his fellow leaned lazily upon his gun and watc

ealized they could aid me little, if any, in the one thing I most desired to know, and even if they could, a sense of delicacy would have caused me to hesitate in asking those personal questions that burned upon my lips. My deep and abiding respect for this woman whom I had so strangely met, and with whom I had attained some deg

edients, ever ready to take advantage of each opportunity, I had taken stock of all my surroundings, yet discovered nowhere the slightest opening for escape. The vigilance of the guard, as w

remained with me that she intended to make some explanation of her words, when the coming of Bungay interrupted us. How they might be explained I could not imagine; I merely struggled against accepting what I longed to believe untrue. And this man? this Federal major, bearing the same name, whom she called Frank, who was he? What manner of relationship existed between them? In their meeting and short intercourse I had noted several things which tol

ad kept me isolated from all cultured and refined womanhood. This may, indeed, have caused me to be peculiarly susceptible to the beauty and purity of this one. I know not; I am content to give facts, and leave philosophy to others. My life has ever been one of action, of intense feeling; and there in the road that day, standing bareheaded in the sun, I was clearly conscious of but one changeless fact, that I loved Edith Brennan with every throb of my heart, and that there was enmi

ediately her eyes sought for me, and how she lifted her hand to shade them from the glare of the sun, so that she might see more clea

ellow on guard, "where are Sergeant

in a manner that convinced me

the sun in that clump of

d in the direc

tell the Sergeant to press on at once toward the lower roa

I lifted my head proudly, determined that neither should perceive how deeply I felt the humiliation of my position. As I thus

s positively sham

rance. I believed he wished me to overhear the words. "Oh, it will onl

nstantly and face him, her eyes afl

ing with intense feeling, she stepped

him without so much as a word, and bearing in he

ious manner, "I desire to place thi

gly unconscious officer, not knowing whether it were better

es frankly meeting mine, "you will pardon such liberty, I am sure, but it

t in position, as

t feel co

rmly, bowing as best I might, "will make the marc

kened with s

re such that I am utterly helpless now to aid you. Major Brennan is a man not to be light

but at this moment Brenna

has surely gone far enough. Peters, what are you waiting

g the rocky pathway, and when once I attempted to glance back to discover if the others fol

conversation floating about me as we struggled onward, that these precautions were not taken out of any fear of meeting with Confederate troops, whose nearest commands were supposed to be considerably to the westward of where we were, but be

h upon a well-defined pike, the name of which I never knew. All the party were travelling close together, when the scout, who througho

uestioned, spurring forward to

e Briar," was the soldier's panting reply. "And I could get a glimpse through the trees down the val

. "Why, man, we've got the only R

ly, "they're coming from the west,

ntly convinced. Brennan glanced quickly about. However he may have snee

"Hustle your prisoner along lively, men, and one of you stand over him

than a troop of them all told, yet their short gray jackets and wide-brimmed light hats instantly told the story of their service. Their rear rank was yet in sight when we heard the heavy tread of the approaching column, together with the dull tinkle of steel which always accompanies ma

s. They were covered with dust, their faces fairly caked with it, their uniforms almost indistinguishable; their drums silent, their colors cased, their wide-brimmed hats pulled low over their eyes, their guns held in any position most convenient for carrying, and with ster

choking, disfiguring cloud. But they were Confederates! I marked them well; here and there along the toiling ranks I even noted a familiar face, and there could be no mistaking the gaunt North Carolina mountaineer, the sallow Georgian, or the jaunty Louisiana Creole. They were Confederates-Packer's Division of Hill's corps, I could have almost sworn-east-bo

rning toward me as the last limping straggler disappe

sudden outburst of passion, "what does al

, I should judge," I answered cool

y enough that they have covered all of fifteen miles since daybreak. It is a ge