CHAPTER XXII
A MYSTERY
Before him stood the sister of Sairy Ann, whom he had heard the latteraddress as 'Liza Jane. That her sympathies were not with the side forwhich he was fighting Noel well knew, but his great fear as he saw thewoman was that her husband might not be far away.
Noel recalled the contempt with which Sairy Ann had referred to hersister as one of the "secesh," and, in spite of his alarm at thediscovery of her presence, he smiled as he recalled the sharpdeclaration of Sairy Ann that in her will she had left her shoestringsto her "beloved sister, 'Liza Jane."
Before he spoke Noel quickly decided that he would try to find outwhether or not the woman recognized him. He did not believe that she hadseen him when he had been in her sister's house, and yet it wasimpossible for him to determine whether his confidence was well foundedor not.
To all appearances no man was near. What he had taken for the "bighouse" of a plantation when he had seen the place in the distance, henow saw was only a bare habitation, and the "plantation" had decreasedto a few uncultivated and unfruitful acres. The appearance of the womanherself was not unlike that of her surroundings.
"Well," demanded Eliza Jane, "who be yo'? Whar do yo' all come from?What be yo' all doin' here?"
"Is your husband at home?" inquired Noel.
"No; he ain't to home. What do yo' want toe see him fo'?"
"Oh, I don't want to see him; I just wanted to know whether he was hereor not. In fact I don't want to see anybody just now," continued Noel,smiling in such a way that the suspicions of the questioner wereapparently relieved in part.
"Has Levi been here lately?" asked Noel abruptly.
"Maybe he has and maybe he hasn't," said the woman. "I can't keep trackof Sam Tolliver's doin's. He has all kinds of men here. Who is Levi?"
"Why, he is a little sutler that used to be in the Yankee army and nowis doing what he can for--"
"I reckon he's been here," spoke up the woman promptly. "What might yo'all want o' him?"
"I don't want anything of him just now," said Noel, his face againlighting up with the smile which won him friends on every side. "What Iwant now is something to eat. I'm as hungry as a bear and almost asthirsty as I am hungry. Can you help me? I shan't be able to pay you--"
"Who said anything about payin'?" broke in the woman. "I ain't got muchfo' toe eat, but I reckon pa't of what I has is fo' yo' all. Come in andset ye down at the kitchen table and I'll see what I can do fo' yo'."
Too hungry and thirsty to delay, Noel promptly accepted the invitation,and after he had washed his face and hands, he eagerly took his place atthe table as the woman directed.
The young soldier was well aware that he was in the midst of perils. Ifthe husband of his hostess should return or Levi should come, hisposition was not one to be envied. Not that he was afraid of either ofthe men in a personal encounter; but he was unarmed, while the man whomEliza Jane had called Sam Tolliver was doubtless thoroughly armed anddesperate. Besides, if he was playing the part which Noel suspected, andwas obtaining information concerning the plans and movements of theFederal troops and reporting the knowledge to the leaders of theConfederates, he was well aware that the man was one to be feared.
Noel's meditations were interrupted by the approach of his hostess whoplaced some corn-bread and a small jug of molasses upon the table beforehim.
"'Tis about the best pore folks can have these days," she said. "I don'tknow how I happened to save that ther' molasses, but Sam never likes hisco'n-bread unless he can po' molasses over it, and we had a barrel putin the cellar before the Yanks started all this trouble."
"I don't want to rob you," said Noel.
"Who said anything about yo' robbin' me? I reckon I haven't got muchthat would pay any robber toe take. If yo' all don't like that molasses,why, jest say so."
"I do like it," said Noel, "and I am grateful to you for giving it tome."
Without further delay the young soldier at once began his breakfast, allthe time aware that the woman was watching him with an expression whichgave evidence that her feeling was more than mere hospitality.
Finally, unable to resist her curiosity longer, she broke in: "What pa'tof the No'th do yo' all come from?"
"How do you know I am from the North? What makes you think that?"
"Jest as soon as I heard yo' all talk," said the woman, "I knew yo' wasa Yank. Strange how queer th' Yanks talk."
Noel laughed and did not give expression to his own feeling that thedialect that he had heard in the South had impressed him much the sameway as his hostess had been impressed by the voices and words of theNorthern soldiers.
"I reckon," she continued, "that yo' all are one of McClellan's men,though what yo' all are doin' over yere is more than I can understand.Yo' all are not looking fo' my man, Sam, are yo'?"
"I assure you that I am not," said Noel promptly. And the young soldierspoke honestly, for of all men Sam Tolliver was the one he least desiredto see at the time.
"Run away from the army?" inquired the woman.
"No."
"Well, then, what are yo' all doin' out yere? I see yo' ain't got nocoat, but in spite of the dirt I can see that yo' pants is the same asall th' Yankee soldiers wear."
"How far is the Northern army from here?" inquired Noel, withoutanswering her question.
"That's more than I can say. Sometimes they say it's in one place andthen again they say it's in 'nother. If Sam was here he could tell yo'.Sam knows more than any man I ever see."
Noel did not explain his suspicions that Sam's knowledge included somethings which he knew and some things which he did not know.
"I don't suppose you see very much of him now," he said aloud.
"Not as much as I used toe," said the woman, "though befo' the war Samused to go out with houn' dogs and be gone days at a time huntin'rabbits. He was a pow'ful good shot."
"He must have kept you pretty well supplied with rabbits," suggestedNoel.
"Sometimes he did and sometimes he didn't," replied Eliza Jane."Sometimes the pesky little varmints would get away befo' Sam had achance toe fire. They seemed toe know that he was a dead-sure shot."
Noel's suspicions as to the prowess of the wonderful Sam once more werenot voiced. He was content if only the woman would feed him and permithim to depart without further trouble.
"Sam says," continued the woman, whose readiness to talk was manifest,"that there isn't goin' toe be much left o' the Yanks pretty quick. Hethinks there is goin' toe be some fightin' befo' long and the Yanks willget whipped worse 'n they were at Manassas. I would jes' like toe see mysister, Sairy Ann. I wonder what she'll think of the secesh then. Shecan keep her old shoestrings if she wants 'em! You know she's my ownsister and she's worth a lot of money. Befo' the war she had nigh on toetwo hundred dollars. Think of Sairy Ann leaving me in her will nothin'but her shoestrings! I believe she joined the Yanks jest a purpose soshe could turn ag'in her own relations. Shoestrings!" snapped the woman,whose recollection of her sister's generosity renewed her feeling ofanger.
By this time Noel's hunger had been appeased in a measure and he waseager to be gone. Before he arose from his seat at the table he turnedagain to his hostess and said simply, "Do you know where the Northernarmy is?
"I done tole yo'," she replied tartly, "that sometimes 'tis said toe bein one place and sometimes in another."
"Where is it reported to be now?"
"I can't say. Now, if Sam was home--"
Without waiting for further enlightenment as to the knowledge andability of the missing Sam, Noel said, "Well, if you cannot tell mewhere the army is, you can tell me the road to take."
"No, I can't. Yo' all might take mos' any road an' the first thing yo'know yo' would run right into McClellan's troops, an' then ag'in yo'might run intoe General Lee's."
"At all events," said Noel, "I'm grateful to you for your kindness tome. You have taken me in, and though I was a stranger--"
"But I ain't been entertainin' no angel una
wares," snapped the woman."You don't look to me very much like a angel, with that mud on yo'pants. I am thinkin', too," she added, as she glanced out of the window,"that it might be well fo' yo' toe start right soon, that is if yo' 'regoin' toe go."
"What's the trouble?" demanded Noel, leaping to his feet and running tothe side of the woman, where he looked anxiously out of the window.
The statement of Eliza Jane was correct, for a small body of men wasmoving in an orderly manner up the road. Noel watched them with keeninterest, and at first was unable to determine to which side in theconflict they belonged.
His interest changed to alarm when he saw the men abruptly halt, andthen, at the command of their leader, turn into the yard leadingdirectly to the house.
The woman by his side had not spoken, but when she exclaimed, "Them'sYanks," Noel also made the discovery at the same moment. The approachingmen belonged to his own army, and in the thought of being once moreamong his friends and comrades the heart of the young soldier suddenlywas lightened. Rushing to the door he ran across the yard to meet theboys in blue.
To his consternation as he drew near, he discovered that Dennis wasamong the number, and also that he was a prisoner. Just what this meant,Noel was unable to conjecture, but his interest in his comrade wasspeedily banished when to his amazement he saw Levi, the little sutler,also in the company, talking eagerly to the captain and pointingexcitedly toward Noel as he spoke.
The Young Sharpshooter at Antietam Page 23
