"
She shuddered, but she did not seek again to delay him in his duty.
"I am proud," she said, "that you have won the confidence of your
general, and that you ride upon such an important errand. I should have
been glad if you had stayed at home, Dick, but since you have chosen to
be a soldier, I am rejoiced that you have risen in the esteem of your
officers. Write to me as often as you can. Maybe none of your letters
will reach me, but at least start them. I shall start mine, too."
"Of course, mother," said Dick, "and now it's time for me to ride hard."
"Why, you have been here only a half hour!"
"Nearer an hour, mother, and on this journey of mine time means a lot.
I must say good-bye now to you and Juliana."
The two women followed him down the lawn to the point where his horse
was hitched between the two big pines. Mrs. Mason patted the horse's
great head and murmured to him to carry her son well.
"Did you ever see a finer horse, mother?" said Dick proudly. "He's the
very pick of the army."
He threw his arms around her neck, kissed her more than once, sprang
into the saddle and rode away in the darkness.
The two women, the black and the white, sisters in grief, and yet happy
that he had come, went slowly back into the house to wait, while the boy,
a man's soul in him, strode on to war.
Dick was far from Pendleton when the dawn broke, and now he had full
need of caution. His horse was bearing him fast into debatable ground,
where every man suspected his neighbor, and it remained for force alone
to tell to which side the region belonged.
Pages:
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170