XX
_TWO HOME-COMINGS_
News of Agatha's safe return to Virginia had been sent to Colonel Archerby a courier, on the morning of her arrival at Stuart's headquarters,and the octogenarian promenaded up and down the porch all the next day,during her homeward journey.
He had greatly grieved to have his "ladybird" undertake her lateperilous enterprise at all. But with him at least Agatha was accustomedto have her way, and moreover the spirit of the old soldier was strongwithin him still, so that he was intensely in sympathy with Agatha'scourageous purpose to render such service as a woman might to the causethat both had at heart.
But Agatha had a harder task before her now. Remembering theheart-broken tone in which he had bidden her good-bye on the formeroccasion, and easily imagining the suffering he must have enduredduring her absence, both from loneliness and from apprehension for hersafety, she thought with something like terror of her new necessity ofleaving him again, almost in the very hour of his joy at her return. Forit was her resolute purpose to set out again within a very few days,--assoon, indeed, as she could feel confidence that her preliminary letterswould reach their destination before her own arrival there.
There were other matters that troubled her, too. She must tell herChummie the reason for her second journey, and that would be adistressing thing for her to do. She must tell him frankly--for shewould never in the least trifle with truth, especially in dealing withhim--that she had learned to love Baillie Pegram, and that she had ineffect put it out of possibility that Baillie Pegram should ever ask forknowledge of that fact.
To a woman of her sensitively proud nature, such a confession, even toher grandfather, seemed almost shameful. She shrank from the verythought of it, and flushed crimson every time it came to her mind duringthat long day's ride. Yet not for one moment did she falter in herdetermination to undergo the ordeal. Not for one moment did sheentertain a thought of evading the painful confession, or in any waydisguising the truth. So much was due to her grandfather, and never inher life had she cheated him of his dues as Chummie. It was due toherself also. To shrink from a duty because of its painfulness would becowardice, and there was no touch or trace of that most detestableweakness in her soul.
"Anyhow," she resolved, "I'll let him have one whole day of joy before Igrieve him with the news that I must go away again. And in telling himof my first journey I'll say as little as I can about the dangersencountered and the hardships endured; I'll make as much of a frolic ofit as I can in the telling. Surely there will be no untruthfulness inthat."
That day's journey was a long one, but the start was early, and BailliePegram's horse was a willing one, as that energetic young man's horseswere apt to be, while as for the troopers of the escort, they and theirhorses were accustomed to follow at any pace their leader might set. Itwas barely three o'clock in the afternoon, therefore, when the cavalcadearrived at Willoughby, and Agatha threw herself into the old gentleman'sarms.
"Oh, Agatha!"
"Oh, Chummie!"
That at first was all that the two could say. When Colonel Archer foundvoice he greeted the troopers and bade them leave their horses to thecare of his servants. For the men were of that class, socially, to whichColonel Archer belonged, and there was no thought at that time inVirginia of treating a gentleman otherwise than as a gentleman, merelybecause he happened to be a private soldier.
"You will be my guests for the night," the host said, quite as if thatsettled the matter. But the sergeant had orders which he mustobey,--orders which Stuart, with his unfailing foresight, had probablygiven, to make sure that the presence of his men at Willoughby overnightmight not spoil an occasion of tender affection.
"Thank you very cordially, Colonel Archer," answered the sergeant; "butwe are under orders to move on toward Loudoun County to-night. We arepermitted to rest the horses for three hours only. After that we mustmarch about a dozen miles before sleeping, so that we may complete alittle scouting expedition into Loudoun to-morrow. Our orders on thatpoint are peremptory."
"Well, Ladybird, we'll have the gentlemen to dinner at any rate. As soonas I heard of your coming I went out with my gun, and brought back twobig wild turkeys, as fat as butter. I thought you might come underescort, so I've had them put both the birds on the spit. I'll wager yougentlemen haven't seen a wild turkey this fall."
So he ran on with his hospitable greetings, managing in his joyousnervousness to upset two of the glasses which he had ordered a servantto bring with the decanters, for the troopers' refreshment. Agathamanaged presently to get a word with him aside.
"It is three o'clock, Chummie--an hour before dinner. I'll have timeenough to boil myself a little. Think of it, Chummie, I haven't had ahot bath for a whole week!" Then turning to her escort she excusedherself until the dinner-hour.
This was an unhappy circumstance, as Agatha learned when she came down,fresh-faced, to the dinner. For, left alone with the troopers, the oldgentleman naturally asked them concerning the details of her coming intoStuart's lines, and as the story of her dash through the canister firewas echoing throughout the army, the young fellows grew enthusiastic intheir minute descriptions of her peril and her heroism. When Agathareappeared, therefore, the old gentleman was all a-tremble. He met herat the foot of the stairway, and a little scene followed, which told thegirl not only that he knew all that had been most harrowing in herexperiences, but that the knowledge of it would make her coming absencecruelly hard for him to bear.
At dinner he found himself too tremulous to carve, and, for the firsttime in his life, he relinquished that most hospitable of all a host'soffices to the younger men.
"Never mind, Ladybird," he said, cheerily, as he saw how greatlytroubled she was, "it will pass presently, and you shall find me quitemyself again in the morning. We're going after the birds, you know, youand I. I haven't allowed a partridge to be killed on the plantation thisfall, so that you might be sure of a good day's sport with Chummie."
Thus it came about that as the old man and the young woman sat in thefirelight that evening, after the troopers were gone, Agatha changed herpurpose and told him of Baillie Pegram. Delicately, but with perfectcandour, she told the whole of the truth.
"I learned to like him very much while I was in Richmond last Christmas,and I was not to blame for that, was I, Chummie? He was so kind to me,so good in a thousand little ways, so gentle in all his strength that hereminded me of you, more than anybody else ever did. I used often tothink that he was very much the sort of man you must have been when youwere in your twenties. There was no reason, that I knew of, why I shouldnot like him. He was a gentleman, the representative of one of the bestfamilies in the State, a man of the highest character, well-educated,travelled, intellectual, and of charming manners. He did more thananybody else--or everybody else for that matter--to make the time passpleasantly for me. You see how it was, don't you, Chummie?"
The old gentleman nodded his head with a smile, and answered:
"I see how it was, Ladybird. Go on. Tell me all about it."
"Then one day there came a letter from The Oaks. It wasn't just ascolding letter. It was something much worse than that. For if my auntshad scolded me, I shouldn't have stood it."
"What would you have done, Ladybird?" asked the grandfather, with a lookof pleased and loving pride upon his countenance.
"I should have come back to Willoughby and you."
"And right welcome you would have been. But go on. What did the oldcats--psha! I didn't mean that; I thought I heard a cat yowling as Ispoke--what did the good ladies of The Oaks say to you?"
"O, they wrote very kindly and sorrowfully. They were shocked to knowthat I had permitted something like intimacy to grow up between myselfand a young man without consulting them as to the proprieties of thesituation. But how could I have done that, Chummie? You see I didn't sitdown and say, 'I'm going to be intimate with this young man if my auntsapprove.' The frie