CHAPTER XI
In a city where thousands and thousands of women were noworganising relief work for the troops already in the field, AilsaPaige had been among the earliest to respond to the call for ameeting at the Church of the Puritans. Here she had left her namefor enrolment with Mrs. Gerard Stuyvesant.
Later, with Mrs. Marquand, Mrs. Aspinwall, Mrs. Astor, and Mrs.Hamilton Fish, and a hundred others, she had signed the call forthe great mass-meeting; had acted on one of the subcommitteeschosen from among the three thousand ladies gathered at theInstitute; had served with Mrs. Schuyler on the board of theCentral Relief Association; had been present at the inception ofthe Sanitary Commission and its adjunct, the Allotment Commission;had contributed to the Christian Commission, six thousand of whosedelegates were destined to double the efficiency of the armies ofthe Union.
Then Sainte Ursula's Sisterhood, organised for field as well ashospital service, demanded all her energies. It was to be anemergency corps; she had hesitated to answer the call, hesitated toenroll for this rougher service, and, troubled, had sought counselfrom Mr. Dodge and Mr. Bronson of the Allotment Commission, andfrom Dr. Agnew of the Sanitary Commission.
Dr. Agnew wrote to Dr. Benton:
"Mrs. Paige is a very charming and very sweet little lady,excellently equipped by experience to take the field with SainteUrsula's Sisterhood, but self-distrustful and afraid of her ownbehaviour on a battle-field where the emergency corps might beunder fire. In _this_ sort of woman I have every confidence."
The next day Ailsa enrolled; arranged her household affairs so thatshe could answer any summons at a few hours' notice; and went tobed dead tired, and slept badly, dreaming of dead men. The morningsun found her pale and depressed. She had decided to destroyBerkley's letters. She burned all, except one; then went to herclass work.
Dr. Benton's class was very busy that morning, experimenting on thedoctor's young assistant with bandages, ligatures, lint, andsplints. Letty, wearing only her underclothes, lay on theoperating table, her cheek resting on her bared arm, watching Ailsasetting a supposed compound fracture of the leg, and, at intervals,quietly suggesting the proper methods.
Autumn sunshine poured through the windows gilding the soft graygarb of Sainte Ursula's nursing sisterhood which all now wore onduty.
The girl on the table lay very still, now and then directing orgently criticising the well-intended operations on limb and body.And after the allotted half hour had struck, she sat up, smiling atAilsa, and, slipping to the floor, dressed rapidly, talking all thewhile in her pretty, gentle way about bandages and bones andfractures and dislocations.
A few minutes after she had completed dressing and was standingbefore the glass, smoothing the dark, silky masses of her hair, Dr.Benton arrived, absent-eyed, preoccupied at first, then in afidgety humour which indicated something was about to happen. Ithappened.
"Could any lady get ready in time to take the noon train forWashington?" he asked abruptly.
There was a startled silence; the call had come at last.
Mrs. Rutherford said quietly: "I will go. But I must see myhusband and children first. I could be ready by to-morrow, if thatwill do."
Another--a young girl--said: "I could not leave my mother at anhour's notice. She is ill. Would tomorrow do, Dr. Benton?"
"I--think I can go to-day," said Ailsa in a low voice.
"Our quota is to be two nurses," said the doctor. But no otherlady could possibly leave before the morrow; and it was, after all,scarcely fair to expect it of women with families to be providedfor and home responsibilities to be arranged.
"I could go to-day--if I may be permitted," said the doctor's youngassistant, timidly.
He swung around and scowled at her, lips compressed, eyes gleamingthrough his spectacles:
"You are not asked to go, Miss Lynden."
"I--thought----"
"Do you want to go?"
"If Mrs. Paige is going--alone----"
Ailsa looked at her, gratefully surprised, but smiled her thanks.
"If Miss Lynden may come, Dr. Benton, I would be very glad. Mayshe?"
"Miss Lynden is not a member of Sainte Ursula's congregation," hesaid drily. "She's my--rather valuable--assistant."
"She has been to church with me several times," said Ailsa. "Ihave spoken to her about becoming a communicant of Sainte Ursula's,and she desired to begin her instruction in October----"
"But, confound it!--I want her with me!" interrupted the doctorimpatiently. "My house and office require the services of MissLynden!" He turned and paced the room rapidly, hands claspedbehind his bent back; then, halting:
"Do you _want_ to go?" he repeated.
The girl coloured. "You are very kind to wish me to remain. . . .But I feel as though Mrs. Paige should not go alone."
"Oh, all right," said the doctor gruffly. "And you'd better startat once; that train leaves at mid-day." And, turning to his class:"Now, ladies, if you will kindly put away those rags and give meyour strict and undivided attention!"--his voice rumbled off into agrowl.
Ailsa was already putting on her hat. Presently Letty Lynden cameout of the inner office, carrying a light scarf over her arm. Sheand Ailsa bade a hasty and excited good-bye to the ladies of theclass; thanked Dr. Benton; listened solemnly to instructions;promised to obey; and gave him tremulous hands in leave taking.
"If those ungrateful dogs of soldiers don't appreciate you twoyoung ladies, come home on the next train, where you'll beappreciated," grumbled the doctor. "Anyway, God bless you both.And don't drink dirty water! And keep your patients clean! Keep'em clean! clean! clean! I've a notion that cleanness isnine-tenths of surgery; and it's all there is to nursing--but fewagree with me. Good-bye! Tell Agnew I say that you know yourbusiness!"
Ailsa turned to Letty Lynden.
"It is so sweet of you to want to come. Will you send your trunkto my house? I will have luncheon ready, and another gray uniformfor you. You'll be a communicant soon, so there is no possibleharm in wearing it."
"I would like to wear Sainte Ursula's garb," said the girlwistfully. "Do you really think I may, Mrs. Paige?"
"You shall indeed! Will you be ready by eleven?"
"I have very little to take with me--only a small trunk. I will beat your house at eleven."
Ailsa, nervous and excited, nodded; the suddenness of departure wasbeginning to stimulate her. She walked rapidly home, summoned theservants, interviewed the house-keeper, sat down and drew necessarychecks to cover a month's absence; sent hurried notes to Celia, toCamilla, to Colonel Arran, to Captain Hallam; dispatched a servantto find a hack, another to pack for her, another to serve hersomething to eat.
The household below stairs was inclined to tears; old Jonassniffled and shuffled about, shrunken hands hanging helpless, mildeyes following his young mistress as she moved decisively from roomto room, gathering up or indicating to servants what she requiredfor her journey.
Shawls, handbags, umbrellas, cloaks, and trunk were packed andstrapped and carried off below. Letty arrived with her trunk, wastaken to Ailsa's room where luncheon for two was ready on a bigsilver tray.
Later Jonas arrived, still sniffling, to announce the hack; and thetwo gray-garbed women hurried away amid the hysterical snivel ofservants and the friendly mewing of Missy, who trotted after themto the front door, tail erect, followed by her latest progeny ondiminutive and wavering legs.
All the way to the ferry Ailsa sat silent in her corner of thehack, worried, reflecting, trying to recollect what it was that shehad left undone.
_Something_ important she certainly had forgotten; she knew it,searching her mind, while Letty furtively watched her in silence,gloved hands clasped in her lap.
And suddenly Ailsa knew, and a flood of colour dyed her face; forthe vague sense of leaving something undone was the instinct to letBerkley know she was going--the blind, unreasoning need for somecommunication with him.
Had it been possible that all this tim
e she had not utterlyuprooted this man from her insulted heart! Had hope, all thistime, unconsciously lived latent in her; was it possible thatsomehow, somewhere, there remained a chance for him yet--a chancefor her--a cure--the only cure for all he had done to her--himself!
She reddened painfully again as memory, insolent, imperious,flashed in her brain, illuminating the unquiet past, sparing hernothing--no, not one breathless heart beat, not one atom of theshame and the sweetness of it, not one dishonourable thrill she hadendured for love of him, not one soundless cry at night where shelay tortured, dumb, hands clenched but arms wide flung as her heartbeat out his name, calling, calling to the man who had endedhimself for ever.
And Letty, silent in her comer, watched her without a word.
At the station, scarcely knowing what she did, Ailsa stopped at thetelegraph office and wrote a despatch to him, addressing it to hisold lodgings:
"I don't know whether this will ever reach you, but I can't gowithout trying to let you know that I am leaving for Washington asvolunteer nurse. They have my address at the house.
"AILSA PAIGE."
Then the two gray-garbed women hurried to the train, but found noseats together until a lank, sad-eyed lieutenant of artillery gaveup his place and doubled in with a sweating, red-necked contractorfrom St. Louis, who sat in his shirt sleeves, fanning himself withhis straw hat.
The day was hot; the car dusty, ill-smelling, uncomfortable.
At Philadelphia their train was stalled for hours. Two longtrains, loaded with ammunition and a section of field-artillery,had right of way; and then another train filled with jeering,blue-clad infantry blocked them.
The soldiers, bare headed and in their undershirts, lolled andyelled and hung from the car windows, chewing tobacco, smoking, orgazing, jaws a-gape, at the crowds in the station.
Another train rolled by, trailing a suffocating stench of cattleand hogs from its slatted stock-cars; and Ailsa was almost stifledbefore her train at last moved heavily southward, saluted bygood-natured witticisms from the soldiers at the windows of thestalled troop train.
Evening came, finding them somewhere in Delaware; the yellow starsappeared, the air freshened a little. Letty had fallen asleep; herdark lashes rested quietly on her cheeks, but the car jolted herhead cruelly, and Ailsa gently drew it to her own shoulder and putone arm around her.
A major of heavy artillery turned toward her from his seat and said:
"Are you a volunteer nurse, ma'am?"
"Yes," motioned Ailsa with her lips, glancing cautiously at Letty.
"Can I do anything for you at Wilmington?"
She thanked him, smiling. He was disposed to be very friendly.
"You ladies arc the right stuff," he said. "I've seen you aboardthose abominable transports, behaving like angels to the poorsea-sick devils. I saw you after Big Bethel, scraping the bloodand filth off of the wounded zouaves; I saw you in Washington afterBull Run, doing acts of mercy that, by God, madam! would haveturned my stomach. . . . _Won't_ you let me do something for you.You don't need any whisky for your sick boys, do you?"
Ailsa smiled and shook her head, saying they had not yet beenassigned to duty.
"I haven't anything else to offer you except tobacco," said theMajor ruefully, and subsided.
At Wilmington, however, he got out, and presently reappeared withhard-boiled eggs and sandwiches, a big bottle of cold, sweet milk,and a basket of fruit. Letty awoke; realised that Ailsa had beenholding her in her arms; looked at her in confusion, thenimpulsively bent and laid her lips against Ailsa's hands.
"Why--child--I didn't mind," faltered Ailsa, flushing in responseto Letty's swift emotion. "See what this very kind officer hasbrought us for dinner, dear! Isn't it delicious?"
They were as hungry as two school children and ate everything; andby and by the Major of heavy artillery came back and reversed theseat he had been occupying, and arranged it so he could sit facingthem. He was fat, red-faced, with a pair of terrific moustaches,and a closely clipped head showing two scars.
"I've daughters older than you, ma'am," he said, in partexplanation of his friendliness. "One's got a new baby. He's adevil!"
"W-what?" asked Ailsa.
"The right kind of devil, ma'am. I've been to see him! He wantedmy sword; he tried to chew off my shoulder straps; he almostimpaled himself on my spurs. By heaven, ma'am, _that's_ a boy foryou!"
Ailsa smiled. She knew about babies; implanted in her had alwaysbeen a perfect madness to possess one.
She and the red-faced Major talked babies. Letty, knowing nothingabout babies and not deeply interested, lay back in her seat,watching Ailsa in the dim light of the ceiling lamps. She seemednever to have enough of Ailsa. It had been so from the first.
In Baltimore dawn was breaking when Ailsa awoke at the summons ofthe major; and he remained devoted to the two nurses of SainteUrsula, attending to their baggage and transfer across the city,finding seats in the waiting-room already invaded by the officersof several regiments in transit, and finally saw them safely aboardthe cars again.
"Good-bye, little ladies," he said cheerily. "If I'm hit, God sendone of you to wash my face for me. My card, ladies--if I may bepermitted the honour. I'm to be at Fortress Monroe as soon as mycommand leaves Baltimore."
After he had gone away, Ailsa looked at his card:
A. J. DENISLOW MAJOR, ART., U. S. A.
"I thought he was a regular," she said, smiling at Letty. "He's aperfect old dear. Shall we open the parcel and see what he hasleft us for breakfast?"
There was more milk, more peaches and pears, more bread and butter,and a cold roast chicken; and they made very merry over it, doingthe best they could without knife and fork.
They were nearing Washington now. Every little while they passedbodies of troops marching or encamped along the roads; and oncethey saw a line of army waggons, drab coloured, with yellow canvastops, moving slowly in clouds of dust.
In the limpid morning light buzzards were already soaring over thegreen fields; the fresh odour of wild flowers came blowing in atthe open car window; butterflies fluttered, wind-driven, helpless.
And now they were passing mounds of freshly turned red earth--longstretches of hillocks banked high and squared at the ends.Hundreds of negroes were at work sodding them; here and there aflag fluttered and a bayonet gleamed.
"I believe all these little hills and ditches have something to dowith forts," said Ailsa. "Certainly that great mound must be partof a fort. Do you see the cannon?"
Letty nodded, wide-eyed. And now they were passing soldiers onevery road, at every bridge, along every creek bank.
Squads of them, muskets shining, marched briskly along beside therailroad track; sentinels stood at every culvert, every flag house,every water tank and local station past which they rolled withoutstopping. Acres of white tents flashed into view; houses and negrocabins became thicker; brick houses, too, appeared at intervals,then half-finished blocks fronting the dusty roads, then rows andlines of dwellings, and street after street swarming with negroesand whites. And before they realised it they had arrived.
They descended from the car amid a pandemonium of porters, hackmen,soldiers, newsboys, distracted fellow-passengers, locomotivesnoisily blowing off steam, baggagemen trundling and slamming trunksabout; and stood irresolute and confused.
"Could you direct us to the offices of the Sanitary Commission?"asked Ailsa of a passing soldier wearing the insignia of thehospital service on his sleeve.
"You bet I can, ladies! Are you nurses?"
"Yes," said Ailsa, smiling.
"Bully for you," said the boy; "step right this way, Sanitary. Onemoment----"
He planted himself before a bawling negro hack driver and began toapply injurious observations to him, followed by terrible threatsif he didn't take these "Sanitary Ladies" to the headquarters ofthe Commission.
"I'm going up that way, too," he ended, "and I'm going to sit onthe box with you, and I'll punch
your nose off if you charge mySanitary Ladies more than fifty cents!"
And escorted in this amazing manner, cinder-smeared, hot, rumpled,and very tired, Ailsa Paige and Letty Lynden entered theunspeakably dirty streets of the Capital of their country andturned into the magnificent squalor of Pennsylvania Avenue whichlay, flanked by ignoble architecture, straight and wide and hazyunder its drifting golden dust from the great unfinished dome ofthe Capitol to the Corinthian colonnade of the Treasury. Theirnegro drove slowly; their self-constituted escort, legs crossed,cap over one impish eye, lolled on the box, enjoying the drive.
Past them sped a company of cavalry in blue and yellow, bouncingconsiderably in their saddles, red faces very dusty under theirtightly strapped caps, sabres and canteens jangling like anunexpected avalanche of tin-ware in a demoralised pantry.
"Go it, young 'uns!" cried their soldier escort from the box,waving his hand patronisingly. He also saluted an officer inspectacles as "Bully boy with a glass eye," and later informedanother officer in a broad yellow sash that he was "the cheese."All of which painfully mortified the two young nurses of SainteUrsula, especially when passing the fashionably-dressed thronggathered in front of the Willard and promenading Lafayette Square.
"Oh, dear," said Ailsa, "I suppose he's only a boy, but I didn'tknow soldiers were permitted to be so impudent. What on earth doall these people think of us?"
Letty, who had been mischievously amused and inclined to enjoy it,looked very grave as the boy, after a particularly outrageous jibeat a highly respectable old gentleman, turned and deliberatelywinked at his "Sanitary Ladies."
"That's old hoss Cameron," he said. "I made such a mug at the oldterrapin that he'll never be able to recognise my face."
"The--the Secretary of War!" gasped Ailsa.
"You very wicked little boy, don't you dare to make another face atanybody!--or I'll--I'll report your conduct to--to the SanitaryCommission!"
"Oh, come!" he said blankly, "don't do that, lady! They'll raisehell with me, if you do. I want to get hunky with the Sanitaryboss."
"Then behave yourself!" said Ailsa, furious; "and don't you dare toswear again. Do you hear?"
"Yes, ma'am--I will--I won't, I mean. And if I see that oldmudsill, Simon Cameron, I'll take off my cap to him, b'gosh!"
It was an anxious and subdued soldier who showed them the door ofthe Commission's office, and stood at attention, saluting carefullyas the ladies passed him.
"You won't peach, will you?" he whispered loudly, as Ailsa stoppedto pay the driver.
"No, I won't--this time," she said, smiling, "if you promise to bea very good soldier hereafter."
He promised fervidly. He happened to be on duty at headquarters,and the fear of the Commission had been driven into him deep. Soshe and Letty entered the door with a stream of people whoevidently had business with the officials of the American SanitaryCommission; and a very amiable young man received them in theirturn, took their papers, examined their credentials, noddedsmilingly, and directed them to a small boarding-house on F Street,where, he explained, they had better remain until further orders.
There had been some desultory fighting in Virginia, he said, alsothere were a great many sick soldiers in the army.
Perhaps, added the young man, they would be sent to one of the cityhospitals, but the chances were that they would be ordered directlyto a field hospital. In that case their transportation would be byarmy waggon or ambulance, or the Commission might send one of itsown mule-drawn conveyances. At any rate, they had better rest andnot worry, because as long as the Commission had sent for them, theCommission certainly needed them, and would see that they arrivedsafely at their destination.
Which turned out to be a perfectly true prophecy; for after arefreshing bath in their boarding-house quarters, and a gratefulchange of linen, and an early supper, a big, bony cavalryman cameclanking to their door, saying that a supply train was leaving forthe South, and that an ambulance of the Sanitary Commission waswaiting for them in front of the house.
The night was fearfully hot; scarcely a breath of dir stirred astheir ambulance creaked put toward the river.
The Long Bridge, flanked by its gate houses, loomed up in the dusk;and:
"Halt! Who goes there?"
"Friends with the countersign."
"Dismount one and advance with the countersign!"
And the Sergeant of cavalry dismounted and moved forward; there wasa low murmur; then: "Pass on, Sanitary!"
A few large and very yellow stars looked down from the blacknessabove; under the wheels the rotten planking and worn girders of theLong Bridge groaned and complained and sagged.
Ailsa, looking out from under the skeleton hood, behind her, sawother waggons following, loaded heavily with hospital supplies andbaggage, escorted by the cavalrymen, who rode as though exhausted,yellow trimmed shell jackets unbuttoned exposing sweat-soakedundershirts, caps pushed back on their perspiring heads.
Letty, lying on a mattress, had fallen asleep. Ailsa, scarcelyable to breathe in the heavy heat, leaned panting against theframework, watching the darkness.
It seemed to be a little cooler on the Virginia side after they hadpassed the General Hospital, and had gone forward through thedeserted city of Alexandria. About a mile beyond a slightfreshness, scarcely a breeze, stirred Ailsa's hair. The driversaid to her, pointing at a shadowy bulk with his whip-stock:
"That's the Marshall House, where Colonel Ellsworth was killed.God help their 'Tigers' if the Fire Zouaves ever git at 'em."
She looked at the unlighted building in silence. Farther on thewhite tents of a Pennsylvania regiment loomed gray under the stars;beyond them the sentinels were zouaves of an Indiana regiment,wearing scarlet fezzes.
Along the road, which for a while paralleled the Orange andAlexandria Railroad, cavalry vedettes sat their horses, carbine onthigh. No trains passed the embankment; once she saw, on aweed-grown siding, half a dozen locomotives apparently intact; butno fire burned in their furnaces, no smoke curled from their hugedrumhead stacks; and on the bell frame of one an owl was sitting.
And now, between a double line of ditches, where a battalion ofengineers lay asleep in their blankets, the road entered the pinewoods.
Ailsa slept fitfully, but the far challenge and the halting of thewaggon usually awoke her in darkness feebly lit by the rays of acandle-set lantern, swung up inquiringly by the corporal of someguard. And, "Pass forward, Sanitary!" was the invariable formula;and the ambulance rolled on again between a double abattis offallen trees, flanked on either horizon by tall, quiet pines.
Once she heard singing; a small company of cavalry-men straggledby, and, seeing their long lances and their Belgian forage caps,she leaned out and asked what regiment it might be. Somebodyanswered: "Escort Squad of Rankin's Lancers, 1st United States.Our regiment is in Detroit, Miss, and thank God we're going backthere."
And they rode on toward Washington, singing their monotonous "DoThey Miss Me at Home" song, till she lost them against the darknessof the distant woods, and dropped back to her bed of shawls andblankets once more.
After midnight she slept, and it was only the noise the driver madepulling the canvas cover of the frame above her that awakened her,and she sat up, half frozen, in a fine fog that became a drizzlesoon after the cover was up.
"The sunny South," observed the driver in disgust. "Yesterday thethermometer stood at 105 in Washington, and now look at this hereweather, lady."
Day broke, bitter cold; it was raining heavily; but soon aftersunrise the rain slackened, the fog grew thinner, and the airwarmer. Slowly the sun appeared, at first only a dazzling blotthrough the smother, then brassy, glittering, flooding the chilledearth with radiance.
Through steaming fields, over thickets, above woods, the vapourswere rising, disclosing a shining and wet world, sweet and fresh inits early autumn beauty.
The road to Fairfax Court House was deep in red mud, set withrunnels and pools of gold reflecting corners of blue s
ky. Throughit slopped mules and horses and wheels, sending splashes of sprayand red mud over the roadside bushes. A few birds sang; overheadsailed and circled hundreds of buzzards, the sun gilding theirupcurled wing tips as they sheered the tree-tops.
And now, everywhere over the landscape soldiers were visible,squads clothed only in trousers and shirts, marching among the oaksand magnolias with pick and shovel; squads carrying saws and axesand chains. A little farther on a wet, laurel-bordered road intothe woods was being corduroyed; here they were bridging the lazyand discoloured waters of a creek, there erecting log huts. Hammerstrokes rang from half-cleared hillsides, where some regiment,newly encamped, was busily flooring its tents; the blows of axessounded from the oak woods; and Ailsa could see great treesbending, slowly slanting, then falling with a rippling crash ofsmashed branches.
The noises in the forest awoke Letty. Whimpering sleepily, butwarm under the shawls which Ailsa had piled around her, she sat uprubbing her dark eyes; then, with a little quick-drawn breath ofcontent, took Ailsa's hand.
The driver said: "It's them gallus lumbermen from some o' the Maineregiments clearing the ground. They're some with the axe.Yonder's the new fort the Forty Thieves is building."
"The--what?" asked Ailsa, perplexed.
"Fortieth New York Infantry, ma'am. The army calls 'em the FortyThieves, they're that bright at foraging, flag or no flag!Chickens, pigs, sheep--God knows they're a light-fingered lot; buttheir colonel is one of the best officers in the land. Whyshouldn't they be a good fat regiment, with their haversacks fullo' the best, when half the army feeds on tack and sow-belly, andthe other half can't git that!"
The driver, evidently nearing his destination, becameconfidentially loquacious.
"Yonder's Fort Elsworth, ladies! It's hid by the forest, but it'sthere, you bet! If you ladies could climb up one o' them bigpines, you'd see the line of forts and trenches in a half-moon fromthe Chain Bridge at Georgetown to Alexandria, and you'd see theseminary in its pretty park, and, belike, Gineral McClellan in thechapel cupola, a-spying through his spy-glass what deviltry themrebel batteries is hatching on the hill over yonder."
"Are the rebels _there_?"
"Yes'm. Little Mac, he lets 'em stay there till he's good 'n'ready to gobble 'em."
Ailsa and Letty stared at the bluish hill, the top of which justshowed above the forest.
A young soldier of engineers, carrying a bundle of axes, came alongthe road, singing in a delightful tenor voice the hymn, "Arise, MySoul, Arise!" He glanced admiringly at Ailsa, then at Letty, asthe ambulance drove by, but his song did not falter; and far awaythey heard him singing gloriously through the autumn woods.
Presently a brigade medical officer rode up, signalling the driverto stop, with his gloved hand.
"Where do you come from, ladies--the General Hospital atAlexandria?"
Ailsa explained.
"That's good," he said emphatically; "the brigade hospitals areshort handed. We need experienced nurses badly." And he pointedacross the fields toward a hillside where a group of farm-housesand barns stood. A red flag napped darkly against the sky from thecupola of a barn.
"Is that the hospital?" asked Ailsa, noticing some ambulancesparked near by.
"Yes, madam. You will report to Dr. West." He looked at them for asecond, shook his head thoughtfully, then saluted and wheeled hishorse.
"Pass on, Sanitary!" he added to the driver.
There was a deeply rutted farm road across the fields, guarded bygates which now hung wide open. Through these the supply waggonsand the Commission ambulance rolled, followed slowly by therain-soaked troopers of the escort.
In front of one of the outhouses a tall, bald-headed, jolly-facedcivilian stood in his checked shirt sleeves, washing bloody handsin a tin basin. To Ailsa's question he answered:
"I'm Dr. Hammond of the Sanitary Commission. Dr. West is in thewards. Very glad you came, Mrs. Paige; very glad, indeed, MissLynden. Here's an orderly who'll show you your quarters--can'tgive you more than one room and one bed. You'll get breakfast inthat house over there, as soon as it's ready. After that come backhere to me. There's plenty to do," he added grimly; "we're justsending fifty patients to Alexandria, and twenty-five toWashington. Oh, yes, there's plenty to do--plenty to do in thisGod-forsaken land. And, it isn't battles that are keeping us busy."
No, it was not battles that kept the doctors, nurses, and detailsfor the ambulance corps busy at the front that first autumn andwinter in Virginia. Few patients required the surgeon, few woundedwere received, victims of skirmish or sharpshooting or of their owncomrades' carelessness. But unwounded patients were arrivingfaster and faster from the corduroy road squads, from the outpostsin the marshy forests, from the pickets' hovels on the red-mudbanks of the river, from chilly rifle pits and windy hill camps,from the trenches along Richmond Turnpike, from the stockades atFairfax. And there seemed no end of them. Hundreds of regimentalhospital tents, big affairs, sixty feet long by forty wide, werealways full. The hospitals at Alexandria, Kalorama, the Columbia,and the Stone Mansion, took the overflow, or directed it toWashington, Philadelphia, and the North.
In one regiment alone, the Saratoga Regiment, the majority of themen were unfit for duty. In one company only twelve men could bemustered for evening parade. Typhoid, pneumonia, diphtheria,spotted fever were doing their work in the raw, unacclimatedregiments. Regimental medical officers were exhausted.
Two steady streams of human beings, flowing in opposite directions,had set in with the autumn; the sick, going North, the newregiments arriving from the North to this vast rendezvous, where agreat organizer of men was welding together militia and volunteers,hammering out of the raw mass something, that was slowly beginningto resemble an army.
Through the wards of their hospital Ailsa and Letty saw theunbroken column of the sick pass northward or deathward; from theirshuttered window they beheld endless columns arriving--cavalry,infantry, artillery, engineers, all seeking their allotted fieldsor hillsides, which presently blossomed white with tents and grewblue and hazy with the smoke of camp fires.
All day long, rain or sun, the landscape swarmed with men andhorses; all day long bugle answered bugle from hill to hill; drumsrattled at dawn and evening; the music from regimental and brigadebands was almost constant, saluting the nag at sunset, or, withmuffled drums, sounding for the dead, or crashing out smartly atguard-mount, or, on dress parade, playing the favorite, "EveningBells."
Leaning on her window ledge when off duty, deadly tired, Ailsawould listen dully to the near or distant strains, wondering at thestrangeness of her life; wondering what it all was coming to.
But if life was strange, it was also becoming very real and veryfull as autumn quickened into winter, and the fever waxed fiercerin every regiment.
Life gave her now scant time for brooding--scarce time for thoughtat all. There were no other women at the Farm Hospital except thelaundresses. Every regiment in the newly formed division encampedin the vicinity furnished one man from each company for hospitalwork; and from this contingent came their only relief.
But work was what Ailsa needed, and what Letty needed, too. Itleft them no chance to think of themselves, no leisure forself-pity, no inclination for it in the dreadful daily presence ofpestilence and death.
So many, many died; young men, mostly. So many were sent away,hopelessly broken, and very, very young. And there was so much todo--so much!--instruments and sponges and lint to hold forsurgeons; bandages, iced compresses, medicines to hand tophysicians; and there were ghastly faces to be washed, and filthybodies to be cleansed, and limp hands to be held, and pillows to beturned, and heads to be lifted. And there were letters to bewritten for sick boys and dying boys and dead boys; there was teaand lemonade and whisky and wine to be measured out and given;there was broth to be ordered and tasted and watched, delicacies tobe prepared; clothing to be boiled; inventories to be made ofdwindling medical supplies and of fresh stores to be ordered orunpacked fr
om the pyramids of muddy boxes and barrels in the courts.
There was also the daily need of food and a breath of fresh air;and there were, sometimes, letters to read, None came to Ailsa fromBerkley. No letters came to Letty at all, except from Dr. Benton,who wrote, without any preliminary explanation of why he wrote atall, once every fortnight with absolute regularity.
What he had to say in his letters Ailsa never knew, for Letty, whohad been touched and surprised by the first one and had read italoud to Ailsa, read no more of the letters which came to her fromDr. Benton. And Ailsa asked her nothing.
Part of Colonel Arran's regiment of lancers was now inWashington--or near it, encamped to the east of Meridian Hill, in afield beyond Seventh Street--at least these were the carefuldirections for posting letters given her by Captain Hallam, whowrote her cheerfully and incessantly; and in every letter hedeclared himself with a patient and cordial persistence thatperhaps merited something more enthusiastic than Ailsa's shy andbrief replies.
Colonel Arran had been to see her twice at her hospital thatwinter; he seemed grayer, bigger than ever in his tight blue andyellow cavalry uniform; and on both occasions he had spoken ofBerkley, and had absently questioned her; and after both visits shehad lain awake, her eyes wide in the darkness, the old painstirring dully in her breast. But in the duties of the morning sheforgot sorrow, forgot hope, and found strength and peace in a dutythat led her ever amid the shadows of pain and death.
Once Hallam obtained leave, and made the journey to the FarmHospital; but it had been a hard day for her, and she couldscarcely keep awake to talk to him. He was very handsome, verybronzed, very eager and determined as a wooer; and she did notunderstand just how it happened, but suddenly the world's miseryand her own loneliness overwhelmed her, and she broke down for thefirst time. And when Captain Hallam went lightly away about hisbusiness, and she lay on her mattress beside Letty, she could feel,furtively, a new jewel on the third finger of her left hand, andfell asleep, wondering what she had done, and why--too tired toreally care.
The sick continued to drift North; new regiments continued toarrive; the steady, tireless welding of the army was going on allaround her, night and day; and the clamour of it filled the sky.
Celia Craig wrote her and sent her boxes for herself; but thecontents of the parcels went to her sick men. Camilla wrote herand requested information concerning Stephen, who was, it appeared,very lax in correspondence; but Ailsa had not heard from ColonelCraig since the 3rd Zouaves left Fortress Monroe, and she had noinformation for either Celia or Camilla.
Christmas boxes for the hospital began to arrive early; presentscame to Ailsa from Colonel Arran, from Hallam, from Celia andCamilla,
Letty had only one gift, a beautiful watch and chain from Dr.Benton; and Ailsa, going up to undress for a short sleep beforesupper, found the girl sitting with the little timepiece in herhand, crying silently all to herself.
"Why, dear!" she exclaimed, "what in the world is the trouble?" andput both arms around her. But Letty only laid her head againstAilsa's breast, and sobbed anew, uncomforted.
"Won't you tell me what is wrong?" urged Ailsa, mystified.
"Yes . . . _I_ am . . . Don't pay attention to what I say, Mrs.Paige. You--you like me, don't you?"
"I love you, dear,"
"Please--do. I am--very unhappy."
"You are only tired out. Listen; don't the wards look pretty withall the laurel and evergreens and ribbons! Our poor boys will havesomething to remind them of Christmas. . . . I--do you know thatyoung Langley is dead?"
"Yes--I helped him--die. Yesterday Dr. West seemed to think hewould get well. But Hammond couldn't stop the gangrene, and he cuthim almost to pieces. Oh--I'm very, very miserable--my boys die sofast--so fast----"
"You mustn't be miserable on Christmas Eve! I won't let you besilly!"
"I'm gay enough in the wards," said Letty listlessly; "I've got tobe. Can't I cry a little in my own room?"
"No, we haven't time to cry," said Ailsa decisively. "Lie downbeside me and go to sleep. Flannery has promised to wake us intime for supper."
"I can't get Langley's terrible face out of my mind," whimperedLetty, cuddling close to Ailsa, as they lay in bed in the wintrydarkness. "It was all drawn up on one side."
"But coma had set in," said Ailsa gently. "You know, he wasn'tsuffering when he died. . . . You'll write to his mother, won'tyou, dear? Or shall I?"
"I will. . . . She wanted to come, you remember, but she'sbedridden. . . . Her only son. . . . Yes, I'll write . . . Ithink Peterson is going to die, next----"
"But Levy is getting well," interrupted Ailsa.
"Stop it, Letty dear! I won't let you become morbid. Think ofyour beautiful watch! Think of dear Dr. Benton." "I--I am," gaspedLetty, and fell to crying again until she sobbed herself to sleepin Ailsa's tired arms.
Supper was spread in Dr. West's private office; Hallam had obtainedleave, and Ailsa expected him; Colonel Arran was in Washington andcould not come, but the company was to be a small one atbest--Ailsa, Letty Lynden, Dr. West, Dr. Hammond, and Hallam wereall who had been expected for Christmas Eve supper.
They waited for Hallam until Dr. West decided to wait no longer,saying that he was either stuck in the mud somewhere or had beendetailed for duty unexpectedly.
So Ailsa lighted the Christmas candles, and the two young women intheir fresh gray garbs, and the two civilian doctors in cleanclothes, sat down before a rather thin roasted turkey. But thebird proved tender and juicy, and it was beautifully cooked; and aglass of wine sent the colour into Letty's pale cheeks, andstraightened Ailsa's drooping neck.
Candles, laurel branches, evergreens, bits of red ribbon, and flagsmade the office very gay and attractive. Dr. West rose anddelivered an unexpected speech, complimenting the ladies andpraising their skill and devotion; then dinner began, and Dr.Hammond told about an intensely interesting operation, which madethe negro waiter turn almost white.
"Christmas comes but once a year!" cried jolly Dr. Hammond, warmingup. "Let's be merry!" And he told about another operation evenmore wonderful than the first; and Letty, catching a glimpse of thenegro's wildly rolling eyes, threw back her head and laughed. Itwas the first genuine laughter of the evening, and rested everybody.
A few moments later there came a jingle of metal from outside, andHallam walked in, his wonderfully handsome face aglow, and plentyof red mud frozen on his boots.
"I've a green orderly outside. Where can I stow him?" he asked,shaking hands and exchanging preliminary Christmas greetings allaround.
"I'll attend to him," said Ailsa, flushed and a little shy as shefelt the significant pressure of Hallam's hand and saw him glanceat her ring.
"No," he insisted, "I'll see to him myself, if you'll tell me wherehe can put the horses and find some supper."
"Poor fellow," said Ailsa. "Tell him to stable the horses in thenew barn, and go to the kitchen. Wait a moment, Captain Hallam,I'd rather do it myself!" And she turned lightly and ran out tothe dark porch.
The trooper holding Hallam's horse: sat his own saddle, wrapped tothe eyes in his heavy overcoat, long lance with its drooping pennonslanting stiffly athwart the wintry wilderness of stars.
"Soldier!" she called gently from the porch. "Stable, blanket, andfeed; then come back to the kitchen, and there will be a good hotdinner waiting."
The cavalryman slowly turned his head at the sound of her voice.And, as he made no movement to obey:
"There is the stable over there," she said, pointing across thefrozen field. "Follow that gate path. There's a lantern in thebarn."
An orderly, passing, added:
"Come on, lancer. I'm going to the barn myself;" and very slowlythe trooper turned both tired horses and walked them away into thedarkness.
When she returned to the table there was considerable laughter overa story chat Hallam had been telling. He jumped up, seated Ailsa,hovered over her for a second with just a suspicion of proprietaryair w
hich made her blush uncomfortably. Talking had becomegeneral, but everybody noted it, and Letty's eyes grew wide andvelvety, and the blood was making her cheeks and lips very pink.
Dr. West said: "The new regiment on Pine Knob was recruited fromthe Bowery. I happened to be with Kemp, their surgeon, when sickcall sounded, and I never saw such a line of impudent, ruffianlymalingerers as filed before Kemp. One, I am convinced, haddeliberately shot off his trigger finger; but it couldn't beproven, and he'll get his discharge. Another, a big, hulkingbrute, all jaw and no forehead, came up and looked insolently atKemp.
"Kemp said: 'Well, what's the matter with you?' "'Aw,' said thesoldier, with a leer, 'I've got de lapsy-palls, and I wanter go tode horspittle, I do.'
"I never saw such a mad man as Kemp was.
"'So you've got the lapsy-palls, have you?'
"'Bet yer boots, I have.'
"'_And_ you want to go to the hospital?'
"Aw--w'ats der matter wit youse, Doc.?'
"And Kemp gave him a bang on the eye with his fist, and another onthe nose, and then began to hit him so quickly that the fellowreeled, about, yelling for mercy.
"'Sure cure for the lapsy-palls,' said Kemp; and, turning his glareon the rest of the shivering line: 'Anybody else got 'em?' he askedbriskly.
"At that a dozen big brutes sneaked out of the line and hurriedlydecamped; and I don't think that disease is going to be popular inthat regiment."
A shout of laughter greeted the story. All present had seen toomany instances of malingering not to appreciate Surgeon Kemp's curefor a disease which never existed.
A plum pudding was brought on and set afire. Ailsa poured theburning sauce over and over it. Dr. Hammond got up and threw somemore pine logs on the fire. Huge shadows rose up and danced in theruddy light, as the candles burned lower. Then Dr. West begananother story, but was checked by the appearance of a hospitalsteward:
"Davis, Ward A, No. 3, is very bad, sir."
"Going?"
"Yes, sir."
The doctor bent above the table, took a hasty spoonful of pudding,nodded to the company, and went out.
"Speaking of malingerers," began Hammond, "I saw the Colonel of theforty Thieves put down in a most amusing manner the day before BullRun. Shall I tell it? It involves some swearing."
Ailsa laughed. "Proceed, Dr. Hammond. Do you think Miss Lyndenand I have been deaf since we arrived at the front?"
"Does anybody in this hospital use bad language?" demanded thedoctor sharply.
"Not to us," said Ailsa, smiling. "But there's an army justoutside the windows. Go on with your story, please."
"Well, then," said the jolly surgeon, "I was talking with ColonelRiley, when up walks the most honest-looking soldier I think I eversaw; and he gazed straight into the Colonel's eyes as he saluted.He wanted a furlough, it appeared, to go to New York and see hisdying wife.
"Riley said: 'Is she very sick?'
"'Yes, Colonel.'
"'You have a letter: saying she is very sick?'
"'Yes, Colonel.'
"'Well, _I_ also have a letter from your wife. I wanted to makecertain about all the applications for furlough you have beenmaking, so I wrote her.'
"'Yes, Colonel.'
"'And she says that she is perfectly well, and does not want you tocome home!'
"The soldier smiled.
"'Did you write a letter to my wife, Colonel?'
"'I did."
"'Did my wife write to you?'
"'She did. And what do you mean by coming here to me with a lieabout your sick wife! Have you anything to say to that?'
"'Yes, Colonel.'
"'Then say it!'
"'Well, Colonel, all I have to say is that there are two of thedamnedest, biggest liars that ever lived, right here in thisregiment!'
"'What!'
"The soldier grinned.
"'I'm not married at all,' he said, 'and I'm the biggest liar--andyou can ask the boys who the damnedest liar is.'"
When the merriment and laughter had subsided, Hallam told anotherstory rather successfully; then Hammond told another. Then Dr.West returned; the tiny Christmas tree, cut in the forest, andloaded with beribboned cakes and sticks of chocolate and a fewpresents tied in tissue-paper, was merrily despoiled.
Ailsa and Letty had worked slippers for the two doctors, greatlyappreciated by them, apparently; Hallam had some embroideredhandkerchiefs from Ailsa, and she received a chain and locket fromhim--and refrained from opening the locket, although everybodyalready had surmised that their engagement was a fact.
Letty sent an orderly for her guitar, and sang very sweetly anold-fashioned song:
"When the moonlight Shines bright Silvery bright on the sea."
Ailsa sang "Aileen Aroon," and "Oft in the Stilly Night," andeverybody, later, sang "The Poor Old Soldier."
The fire glowed red in the chimney; gigantic shadows wavered onwall and ceiling; and, through the Christmas candles dimly burning,the branches of the little evergreen spread, laden with cake andcandy.
"They're to have a tree in every ward to-morrow," said Ailsa,turning toward Hallam. Her eyes smiled, but her voice wasspiritless. A tinge of sadness had somehow settled over thefestivity; Hammond was staring at the fire, chin in hand; Westsipped his wine reflectively; Letty's idle fingers touched herguitar at intervals, as her dark eyes rested on Ailsa and Hallam.
Hallam had found in camp a copy of a Southern newspaper; and,thinking it might amuse the company to read it, produced it.Ailsa, looking over his shoulder, noticed a poem called"Christmas," printed on the first page.
"Read it aloud," he said, laughing. "Let's hear what sort ofChristmas poetry the Johnnies produce."
So, after smilingly scanning the first lines, she began, aloud; buther face had grown very grave, and her low voice thrilled them asshe became conscious of the deeper sadness of the verse.
"How grace this Hallowed Day? Shall happy bells from yonder ancient spire Send their glad greetings to each Christmas fire Round which our children play?
"How shall we grace the Day? With feast and song and dance and homely sport, And shout of happy children in the court, And tales of ghost and fay?
"Is there indeed a door Where the old pastimes with their joyful noise And all the merry round of Christmas joys Can enter as of yore?
"Would not some pallid face Look in upon the banquet, calling up Dread shapes of battle in the Christmas cup, And trouble all the place?
"How can we hear the mirth While some loved reveller of a year ago Keeps his mute Christmas now beneath the snow, In cold Virginia earth--"
Her voice suddenly broke; she laughed, slightly hysterical, thetears glittering in her eyes.
"I--c-can't--read it, somehow. . . . Forgive me, everybody, Ithink I'm--tired----"
"Nerves," said West cheerily. "It'll all come right in a moment,Mrs. Paige. Go up and sit by Davis for a while. He's going fast."
Curious advice, yet good for her. And Ailsa rose and fled; but amoment later, seated at the side of the dying man, all thought ofself vanished in the silent tragedy taking place before her.
"Davis?" she whispered.
The man opened his sunken eyes as the sleepy steward rose, gave hisbedside chair to Ailsa, and replaced the ominous screen.
"I am here, Private Davis," she said cheerily, winking away thelast tear drop.
Then the man sighed deeply, rested his thin cheek against her hand,and lay very, very still.
At midnight he died as he lay. She scarcely realised it at first.And when at length she did, she disengaged her chilled hand, closedhis eyes, drew the covering over his face, and, stepping frombehind the screen, motioned to the steward on duty.
Descending the stairs, her pale, pensive glance rested on thelocket flashing on its chain over the scarlet heart sewn on herbreast. Somehow, at thought of Hallam waiting for her below, shehalted on the stairway, one finger twisted in the gold chain. Andpresentl
y the thought of Hallam reminded her of the trooper and thehot dinner she had promised the poor fellow. Had the cook beenkind to him?
She hastened downstairs, passed the closed door of the improviseddining-room, traversed the hall to the porch, and, lifting theskirts of her gray garb, sped across the frozen yards to thekitchen.
The cook had gone; fire smouldered in the range; and a singlecandle guttered in its tin cup on the table.
Beside it, seated on a stool, elbows planted on both knees, faceburied in his spread fingers, sat the lancer, apparently asleep.
She cast a rapid glance at the table. The remains of the foodsatisfied her that he had had his hot dinner. Once more sheglanced at him, and then started to withdraw on tiptoe.
And he raised his head; and she gazed into the face of Berkley.
Neither stirred, although in the shock of discovery she felt thatshe would drop where she stood. Then, instinctively, she reachedfor the table's edge, rested against it, hand clutching it,fascinated eyes never leaving his face.
He got up leisurely, walked toward her, made an abrupt turn andfaced her again from the window recess, leaning back against theclosed wooden shutters.
Her heart was beating too rapidly for her to speak; she tried tostraighten her shoulders, lift her head. Both sank, and she lookeddown blindly through the throbbing silence.
Berkley spoke first; but she could not answer him. Then he said,again, lightly:
"A woman's contempt is a bitter thing; but they say we thrive beston bitter medicine. Do you wish me to go, Ailsa? If so, where?I'll obey with alacrity."
She raised her dazed eyes.
"W-was that _you_, with Captain Hallam's horse--there in thestarlight--when I spoke?"
"Yes. Didn't you know me?"
"No. Did you know _me_?"
"Of course. I nearly fell out of my saddle."
She strove hard to collect herself.
"How did you know it was I?"
"How?" He laughed a short, mirthless laugh. "I knew your voice.Why shouldn't I know it?"
"Did--had anybody told you I was here?"
"No. Who is there to tell me anything?"
"Nobody wrote you?--or telegraphed?"
He laughed again. "Nobody has my address."
"And you never--received--receive--letters?"
"Who would write to me? No, I never receive letters. Why do youask?"
She was silent.
He waited a moment, then said coolly: "If you actually have anyinterest in what I'm doing--" and broke off with a shrug. At whichshe raised her eyes, waiting for him to go on.
"I went into an unattached company--The Westchester Horse--and somefool promised us incorporation with the 1st Cavalry and quickservice. But the 1st filled up without us and went off. And aweek ago we were sent off from White Plains Camp as K Companyto"--he bit his lip and stared at her--"to--your friend ColonelArran's regiment of lancers. We took the oath. Our captain,Hallam, selected me for his escort to-night. That is the simplesolution of my being here. I didn't sneak down here to annoy you.I didn't know you were here."
After a moment she raised her pallid face.
"Have you seen Colonel Arran?"
"No," he said shortly.
"I--it would give me--pleasure--to recommend you to his--attention.May I write----"
"Thank you, no."
There was another painful interval of silence. Then:
"May I speak to Captain Hallam about you?"
"No, thank you!" he said contemptuously, "I am currying no favours."
Hurt, she shrank away, and the blood mounted to her temples.
"You see," he said, "I'm just a plain brute, and there's no usebeing kind to me." He added in a lower voice, but deliberately:"You once found out that."
She quivered and straightened up.
"Yes," she said, "I found that out. I have paid very dearly formy--my--" But she could not continue.
Watching her, cap hanging in his gauntleted hand, he saw the colourdeepen and deepen in neck and cheek, saw her eyes falter, and turnfrom him.
"Is there any forgiveness for me?" he said. "I didn't ask itbefore--because I've still some sense of the ludicrous left inme--or did have. It's probably gone now, since I've asked if it isin you to pardon--" He shrugged again, deeming it useless; and shemade no sign of comprehension.
For a while he stood, looking down at his cap, turning it over andover, thoughtfully.
"Well, then, Ailsa, you are very kind to offer what you did offer.But--I don't like Colonel Arran," he added with a sneer, "and Ihaven't any overwhelming admiration for Captain Hallam. And thereyou are, with your kindness and gentleness and--everything--utterlywasted on a dull, sordid brute who had already insulted youonce. . . . Shall I leave your kitchen?"
"No," she said faintly. "I am going."
He offered to open the door for her, but she opened it herself,stood motionless, turned, considered him, head high and eyes steady;
"You have killed in me, this night--this Christmas night--somethingthat can never again l-live in me. Remember that in the years tocome."
"I'm sorry," he said. "That's the second murder I've attempted.The other was your soul."
Her eyes flashed.
"Even murderers show some remorse--some regret----"
"I do regret," he said deliberately, "that I didn't kill it. . . .You would have loved me then."
She turned white as death, then, walking slowly up in front of him:
"You lie!" she said in even tones.
Confronted, never stirring, their eyes met; and in the cold,concentrated fury which possessed her she set her small teeth andstared at him, rigid, menacing, terrible in her outraged pride.
After a while he stirred; a quiver twitched his set features.
"Nevertheless--" he said, partly to himself. Then, drawing a longbreath, he turned, unhooked his sabre from a nail where it hung,buckled his belt, picked up the lance which stood slanting across achair, shook out the scarlet, swallow-tailed pennon, and walkedslowly toward the door--and met Letty coming in.
"Mrs. Paige," she said, "we couldn't imagine what had become ofyou--" and glancing inquiringly at Berkley, started, and uttered acurious little cry:
"You!"
"Yes," he said, smiling through his own astonishment.
"Oh!" she cried with a happy catch in her voice, and held out bothhands to him; and he laid aside his lance and took them, laughingdown into the velvet eyes. And he saw the gray garb of SainteUrsula that she wore, saw the scarlet heart on her breast, andlaughed again--a kindly, generous, warm-hearted laugh; but therewas a little harmless malice glimmering in his eyes.
"Wonderful--wonderful, Miss Lynden"--he had never before called herMiss Lynden--"I am humbly overcome in the presence of Holy SainteUrsula embodied in you. How on earth did old Benton ever permityou to escape? He wrote me most enthusiastically about you beforeI--ahem--left town."
"Why didn't you let me know where you were going?" asked Letty witha reproachful simplicity that concentrated Ailsa's amazed attentionon her, for she had been looking scornfully at Berkley.
"Why--you are very kind, Miss Lynden, but I, myself, didn't knowwhere I was going."
"I--I wanted to write you," began Letty; and suddenly rememberedAilsa's presence and turned, shyly:
"Mrs. Paige," she said, "this private soldier is Mr. Berkley--agentleman. May I be permitted to present him to you?"
And there, while the tragic and comic masks grinned side by side,and the sky and earth seemed unsteadily grinning above and underher feet, Ailsa Paige suffered the mockery of the presentation;felt the terrible irony of it piercing her; felt body and sensesswaying there in the candle-light; heard Letty's happy voice andBerkley's undisturbed replies; found courage to speak, to take herleave; made her way back through a dreadful thickening darkness toher room, to her bed, and lay there silent, because she could notweep.
Ailsa Paige: A Novel Page 11
