Love under Fire

  CHAPTER XXXIV

  HER STORY

  She remained exactly as I had left her, leaning against the wall in theslight recess left by the stairs, and she recognized the sergeant withan inclination of the head, although her eyes were upon me.

  "Your friends outside seem inclined to allow us a few moments in whichto investigate this matter," I said. "But we shall need to hurry. Thisis Miles, and I want you to tell the entire story from the beginning."

  My tone was incisive, and she responded as though to an order.

  "I will be brief," she began. "My father and I were at the head of thestairs when your reinforcements came. We were merely waiting there tomake sure you had left the house. Yet we could not fail to overhear whatwas said, and to at once realize the importance of the information. Ispoke of it to Major Hardy, but he felt himself still under parole,bound by his word of honor. I was under no such obligation, however,and, for the moment it seemed as though my whole duty demanded that Ishould escape immediately, and bear this news to the nearest Confederatecommander. Nothing else, no other obligation appeared as important asthis. It was not that I wished to harm you, or to betray you to possibledeath or imprisonment, but it seemed to me all that was personal shouldbe forgotten in duty to the cause of the South. It--it did hurt me,Lieutenant Galesworth," her voice suddenly changing into a plea, "but Ibelieved it to be right, to be what I should do."

  "I understand fully; we both respect your convictions."

  Miles nodded gravely, but said nothing, and the girl hurried on, yetwith evident relief.

  "I started back to my room with that intention--your men were all at thefront of the house; it would be easy to slip down the back stairs, leaveby the kitchen door, and run for the stable. I knew father would opposemy plan, and so I said nothing to him about it. Indeed it all came to mein a flash, and, almost before I knew it I was back in my own room readyto act. I passed out the side door into the next room, which would bringme nearer the back stairs, believing I would thus be less exposed toMajor Hardy's observation. I glanced out first, and saw him beside thefront window at the opposite end of the hall. He was intent upon thebattle, the noise of which was deafening. The firing was so continuousand so near at hand--the very house shaking--that I almost lost mynerve. Then I turned my head and looked the other way, and there, backin the shadows of the ell hallway, in almost exactly the same spot whereI had seen him before, stood one of your soldiers. He had his revolverout in his hand, and was crouching forward in such a way that his hatbrim almost totally concealed his face, but I knew instinctively that hewas the same man I saw last night. And--and he was watching father."

  Her voice broke, and she pressed her hands to her eyes, as though toblot out the memory, yet her hesitancy was but for an instant.

  "I didn't know what to do. If I cried out, or made any alarm, I wasafraid he would fire. My father was standing unconsciously, his backtoward him, unarmed. I cannot tell you how frightened I was, for,somehow, the man did not seem real; I--I felt as I have sometimes indreams. But I had to do something, something desperate. There was an oldgun standing back of the door--just a relic, and unloaded. Yet itoccurred to me it might answer, might serve to frighten the fellow. Islipped back, grasped it, and returned, but--when I looked out again hewas gone."

  She took a deep breath, and I heard Miles clinch and unclinch his hands.

  "Maybe it was just a ghost, Miss, or a shadow," he interrupted hoarsely,"for I swear to God there wasn't none of our men up there--you knowthat, Lieutenant."

  "We called the roll in the front hall not ten minutes before, anyhow," Ireplied, still looking at Billie, "and I hardly see how any of them gotaway after that."

  "I--I almost believed the same thing," she confessed, speaking swiftly."As I said, it did not seem exactly real from the first, yet I had totrust my own eyes, and I saw him almost as plainly as I see you two now.Then he was gone; gone so quickly I could not conceive the possibilityof it. The whole affair appeared imaginary, a matter of nerves. It wasan hallucination; out of my own brain, it seemed, I had conjured up thatcrouching figure. I had overheard your roll-call, and realized notrooper could have been there. I even convinced myself that it was all afantasy. I was so certain of it that I stole out into the hall, andpeered down the back stairs. I was frightened, so frightened I shookfrom head to foot, but it was because my nerves were all unstrung. Iwas sure by this time there had been no one there, and forced myself toinvestigate. I saw nothing, heard nothing, and step by step advancedclear to the back window, and looked out. Then, without the slightestwarning, something was thrown over my head, and I was utterly helplessin the vice-like clutch of an arm. I cannot explain how startled, howhelpless I was. It occurred so suddenly I could not even cry out, couldscarcely struggle. I was instantly stifled, and left weak as a child. Iknow I did make an effort to break away, but the cloth was clutchedcloser about my face, and the assailant's grip hurled me to the floor.The horror was more intense because he never uttered a sound; because Iwas in the dark, my mind still dazed by conjecture, and--and I fainted."

  The dramatic intensity with which she told this held us speechless. Herhands were to her face, and I took them away, holding them tightly.

  "Go on, Billie," I urged gently. "It was a man then, after all."

  "Yes, it was certainly a man, yet I did not really know it until he hadcarried me, unconscious, down the back stairs into the kitchen. I cameto myself then, but remained dazed, and only partially comprehended whatoccurred. I could see nothing, as he had knotted the cloth about myhead so tightly I could hardly breathe. But I could judge something fromsounds, and I knew he was a man, because he swore once. I think heintended to leave me lying there, and himself escape through the backdoor. I know he lifted the bar and looked out. It was then he shut thedoor again quickly, and became profane. Something he saw outsidecompelled a change of plan, for he came back quickly, dragged the tableto one side, and opened the trap leading down into the cellar. Whoeverhe was he evidently knew all about the house. Then, he caught me upagain, took me down the steps in his arms, and dropped me at the foot,while he ran back and shut the trap. I was nearly smothered by thistime, scarcely half conscious, and the man must have realized mycondition, for, when he came back, he loosened the wrap about my face.This enabled me to breathe again freely, but I was so weak I could notget up, and he was obliged to drag me across the cellar floor. Istruggled still to escape, and succeeded in getting the cloth lifted soI could see out a little with one eye, but the light was poor, and theman kept hidden behind where I couldn't get even a glimpse of his face."

  One of the men passed us going back into the kitchen, and she paused amoment until he had gone by, Miles and I waiting impatiently.

  "He didn't seem to know what to do with me. I don't think he intendedany injury, and only seemed anxious to escape himself. I tried to talk,but he would not answer a word. After the first attempt I was not somuch afraid of him, although he was rough enough when I tried to getaway. You know how the cellar is divided off into compartments. Well, hediscovered the one with the door, where you put your prisoners, anddragged me in there. I knew he meant to close the door and leave me, buthe thought me so weak and helpless that, after we were once inside, hewalked across to test the iron bars at the windows. I don't know how Idid it; I couldn't have stood alone a moment before, but, all at once,it seemed as if I must, and I made the effort. I think I crawled out,for I can scarcely remember now even how it was done, but I slammed thedoor shut, and dropped the bar across. I heard him pounding and swearinginside, but was certain he couldn't get out. I didn't faint, but I laydown there quite a while, so completely exhausted I could scarcely liftmy hand. I could hear him digging at the wood of the door with a knife,and the awful firing outside and up stairs. I knew the house was beingattacked, and then when it became quiet again, I was equally sure youhad driven the Confederates back. By that time I was able to get to myfeet once more, and felt my way forward to the front stairs, for I knewI could never lift the tra
p. In the hall I met the soldier, and he mademe hide here behind the stairs because the fight had begun again."

  "And you never saw the man's face, Miss?" questioned the sergeant.

  "No; he seemed to try and keep out of sight, and, in the cellar, it wastoo dark for me to distinguish features a few feet away. He acted asthough afraid I might possibly recognize and identify him."

  "You can give no description? He reminded you of no one you had everseen?"

  She was trying to think, to recall every detail to memory, but onlyshook her head.

  "He was not a large man, rather slenderly built, but strong; young, Ithink--the same one I saw before and told you about, LieutenantGalesworth, and he wore the same uniform."

  My eyes turning from her face encountered Miles; and he burst out,

  "I'm jiggered if this don't beat me, sir. Of course the lady is tellingthe truth, but where did that buck ever get one o' our uniforms? Wedidn't bring no change o' costume along, an' I could tell you now,within ten feet, where every one o' the lads is posted. They ain't anyof 'em been long 'nough out o' my sight to pull off this kind of astunt, an' every mother's son of 'em has got his own clothes on. An'somehow her description don't just exactly fit any of our boys. Who doyou reckon the sucker is?"

  "I have given up guessing, Sergeant," I answered brusquely, "and amgoing to find out. If he is down below in the cellar we will be at thebottom of all this mystery in about three minutes. Come on with me. No,the two of us are enough. Miss Billie, you had better remain here."

  "But," catching me by the sleeve, "he is armed; he has a revolver and aknife."

  "Don't worry about that," and I caught the restraining hand in my own."One of us will open the door, and the other have the fellow coveredbefore he knows what to do. Come on, Miles."

  It seemed dark below, descending as we did suddenly from out the glareof the upper hall, and we had to grope our way forward from the foot ofthe stairs. I saw Billie follow us a few steps, and then stop, leaningover to witness all she could. I was a step or so in advance of Miles,and had drawn my revolver. The cellar was as quiet as a grave. I feltmy way along the wall toward where I remembered this special door to be,endeavoring to make no noise. My eyes could discern outlines better bythis time, and, as we approached, I became convinced the door we soughtstood ajar. I stopped, startled at the unexpected discovery, and beganfeeling about for the bar; it was not in the socket. What could thismean? Had Billie told us a false story, or had her prisoner, by somemagical means, escaped? She had said he was hacking at the wood with aknife; could he have cut a hole through sufficiently large to permit ofhis lifting the bar? This seemed scarcely possible, yet no other theorysuggested itself, and I stepped rather recklessly forward toinvestigate. My foot struck against a body on the floor, and, but forMiles, I should have fallen. A moment we stood there breathless, andthen he struck a match. A man lay at our feet, face downward, clad inFederal cavalry uniform, about him a shallow pool of blood.