CHAPTER XLII.
The day had just begun to dawn as our party, under the guidance ofMarion's soldier, were ferried across the Pedee, on the opposite bank ofwhich river lay the estate and mansion of Mrs. Markham. The alarms andexcitements of the past night had ceased to stimulate the frame ofMildred, and she now found herself sinking under the most painfulweariness. Henry had actually fallen asleep as he sat upon the gunwaleof the ferry-boat, and rested his head against the sergeant's shoulder:the whole party were overcome with the lassitude that is so distressing,at this hour of dawning, to all persons who have spent the night inwatching; and even the sergeant himself, to the influences of fatigueand privation the most inaccessible of mortals, and, by fate or fortune,the most unmalleable--occasionally nodded his head, as if answering thecalls of man's most welcome visitor. It was, therefore, with more thanordinary contentment that our travellers, when again mounted, wereenabled to descry, in the first light of the morning, a group ofbuildings seated upon an eminence about a mile distant, on the furtherside of the cultivated lowland that stretched along the southern marginof the river. The guide announced that this was the point of theirdestination, and the intelligence encouraged the party to accelerate thespeed with which they journeyed over the plain. When they arrived at thefoot of the hill, the character of the spot they were approaching wasmore distinctly developed to their view. The mansion, encompassed by atuft of trees that flung their broad and ancient limbs above its roof,was of the best class of private dwellings, old and stately in itsaspect, and exhibiting all the appendages that characterized the seat ofa wealthy proprietor. It was constructed entirely of wood, in accordancewith a notion that prevailed at that period, no less than at thepresent, that a frame structure was best adapted to the character of theclimate. It occupied the crest of a hill which commanded a view of theriver with its extensive plains; whilst, in turn, it was overlooked bythe adjacent tract of country bearing the name of the Cheraw Highlands.
As the party ascended this eminence, Henry, in the eager and thoughtlesssatisfaction of the moment, put his bugle to his mouth and continued toblow with all his might, deaf to the remonstrances of his sister, whowas endeavoring to explain that there was some want of courtesy in soabrupt a challenge of the hospitality of the family. The blast wasinterrupted by Horse Shoe's laying his hand upon the instrument, as hegave the indiscreet bugler a short military lecture:
"You might fetch trouble upon us, Mister Henry: this here screeching ofhorns or trumpets is sometimes a sort of bullying of a garrison; and ifan enemy should happen to be on post here--as, God knows, is likelyenough in such scampering wars as these, why you have set the thing pastcure: for it is cutting off all chance of escape, just as much as if thepeople had been ordered 'to horse.' It leaves nothing for us but tobrazen it out."
An old negro was first startled by the summons, and appeared for amoment at the door of one of the out-buildings, evincing, as he lookeddown the road upon the approaching cavalcade, manifest signs ofconsternation. After a brief glance, he was seen to retreat across theyard to the door of the mansion-house, where he fell to beating at itwith as much earnestness as if giving an alarm of fire, shouting at thesame time, "Lord bless us, mistress! here is a whole rigiment of sodgerscoming to turn everything topsy-turvy. Get up, get up--open the door!"
"Stop your bawling, you stunted black-jack!" said Robinson, who hadgalloped up to the spot, "and none of your lies. Is the lady of thehouse at home?"
A window was thrown up, at the same moment, in an upper story, and afemale head, decorated with a nightcap, was thrust out, whilst a voice,tremulous with affright, inquired what was the cause of thisdisturbance; but before an answer could be given the head was withdrawn,and the door opening discovered a youth scarcely in appearance oversixteen, with a loose robe thrown around his person and a pistol in hishand.
"Who comes here, and with what purpose?" was the question firmly put bythe young man.
"Friends," said Horse Shoe--"sent to the good lady by General Marion.Sorry, sir, to be the occasion of such a rumpus. But this here younglady has travelled all night and is 'most dead with hardships."
Mildred, who with the rest of the company had now arrived near the door,was about to speak, when the questioner retired, calling the negro afterhim into the house. In a moment the servant returned with Mrs. Markham'scompliments to the party, and a request that they would alight.
"Then all's well," said Horse Shoe, dismounting, and immediatelyafterwards lifting Mildred from her saddle, "a friend in need, madam, isthe greatest of God's blessings. I make no doubt you will find this assnug a nest as you ever flew into in your life."
"And, good sergeant, most specially welcome," replied Mildred, smilingin the midst of all her pain, "for in truth I never was so weary."
The guide, having now performed his duty, announced that he must returnto his corps; and, after a few cheering words of kind remembrance fromMildred, coupled with a message of thanks to Marion, he wheeled aboutand galloped back towards the river. Mildred and Henry entered thehouse: and the sergeant, taking command of Isaac, followed the horsestowards the stable.
The brother and sister were ushered into an ample parlor, comfortablyfurnished according to the fashion of the wealthier classes of that day;and, Mildred as she threw herself upon a capacious sofa, could not failto recognise in the formal portraits that were suspended to thepannelled walls, that she was in the dwelling of a family of some prideof name and lineage.
After a short interval, the proprietress of the mansion entered theparlor. She was a lady of a kind and gentle aspect, apparently advancedbeyond the middle period of life; and her features, somewhat emaciated,gave a sign of feeble health. She was attired in dishabille, hastilythrown on; and there was some expression of alarm in the unreserved andfamiliar manner with which she approached Mildred, and inquired into thenature of this early journey.
"I hope no unhappy accident, my dear, has driven you at this unusualhour to my poor house? You are heartily welcome. I fear to ask what hasbrought you."
"My brother and myself, madam," said Mildred, "have had a mostadventurous night. This letter will explain. General Marion was so kindas to commit us to your hospitality."
The lady took the letter and read it.
"Miss Lindsay, my child, I am truly happy to serve you. You have had anawful night, but these times make us acquainted with strangeafflictions. This young gentleman, your brother, is he your onlyattendant?"
Mildred began to communicate the details of her journey, when she wasinterrupted by her hostess.
"I will not trouble you with questions, now, my dear. You must havesleep; I dread lest your health may suffer by this harsh exposure. Afteryou have had rest, we will talk more, and become better acquainted.Judith," continued the matron, addressing a servant maid, who had justentered the room, "attend this lady to a chamber. Mr. Henry Lindsay, Ibelieve--so General Marion calls you--my son Alfred shall take you incharge."
With these words the good lady left the room, and in an instant afterreturned with the youth who had first appeared at the door. Upon beingintroduced by his mother to the guests, he lost no time in obeying herorders in regard to Henry, whom he had conducted out of the room at thesame moment that Mildred followed the servant towards a chamber.
The entire day was spent by our party in recruiting their strength,towards which needful care the hospitable hostess contributed by thetenderest attentions. On the following morning Mildred, althoughrefreshed by the slumbers of the long interval, still exhibited thetraces of her recent fatigue; and upon the earnest recommendation ofMrs. Markham, seconded by the almost oracular authority of HorseShoe,--for the sergeant had greatly won upon the respect of hiscompanions by his prudence and discretion--she determined to remainanother day in her present resting-place.
Mrs. Markham was the widow of a Carolina gentleman, who had borne therank of a colonel in the Whig militia, and had been actively employed,in the earlier stages of the war, in the southern provinces. He hadfalle
n in an unfortunate skirmish with some of Prevost's light troops,on the Savannah river, some sixteen months before; and his widow, withthree daughters and no other male protector than an only son, was now,in this season of extreme peril, residing upon a large estate, which theevil fortune of the times had made the theatre of an eventful and activedesultory war. She had been exposed to the most cruel exactions from theTories, to whom her possessions were generally yielded up with a passiveand helpless submission; and the firmness with which, in all herdifficulties, she had adhered to the cause for which her husband fell,had gained for her the generous sympathy of the whig leaders, and morethan once stimulated them to enterprises, in her behalf, that werefollowed by severe chastisement upon her enemies. These circumstanceshad given extensive notoriety to her name, and drawn largely upon herthe observation of both friend and foe. To Marion, who hovered upon thisborder more like a goblin than a champion whose footsteps might betracked, her protection had become a subject of peculiar interest; andthe indefatigable soldier frequently started up in her neighborhood whendanger was at hand, with a mysterious form of opposition that equallydefied the calculations of Whigs and Tories.
The lady was still in her weeds, and grief and care had thrown a pallorupon her cheek; but the watchfulness imposed upon her by the emergenciesof the day, her familiarity with alarms, and the necessity for constantforesight and decisive action, had infused a certain hardihood into hercharacter, that is seldom believed to be,--but yet in the hour of trialunerringly exhibits itself--an attribute of the female bosom. Hermanners were considerate, kind, and fraught with dignity. She was thepersonation of a class of matrons that--for the honor of our country andof the human race--was not small in its numbers, nor upon trial unworthyof its fame, in the sad history of the sufferings of Carolina.
The evening of the day on which Mildred arrived at the mansion broughtrumors of a brilliant exploit achieved by Marion; and morecircumstantial accounts on the following morning confirmed the goodtidings. The alert partisan had fallen upon the track of the freebooterswho had been marauding on the confines of North Carolina, and whoseincursion had expelled our travellers from Wingate's cabin. Marion hadovertaken them before sunrise, on the bank of the Pedee, where they hadbeen detained by reason of Peyton's successful removal of the boats. Ashort but most decisive combat was the consequence, and victory, as shewas wont, had seated herself upon Marion's banner. The chieftain and hisfollowers had, as usual, disappeared, and the whole country was in astate of agitation and dread; the one side fearing a repetition of theblow in some unlooked-for quarter, the other alarmed by the expectationof quick and bloody reprisal.
These events still more contributed to fortify Mildred's resolution toremain another day under the shelter of Mrs. Markham's friendly roof,before she would venture forth in the further prosecution of herjourney.
Here, for the present, we must leave her.
Horse-Shoe Robinson: A Tale of the Tory Ascendency Page 44