With Lee in Virginia: A Story of the American Civil War by G. A. Henty (feel good fiction books TXT) 📖

those of one of those partisan bands whose exploits are always performed at a distance from the army. However, if Hood has retreated across the Tennessee, there is an end of that plan, and we must take some other route. Which do you advise?"

"The Yankees will be strong all around the great bend of the river to the west of Florence and along the line to the east, which would, of course, be your direct way. The passage, however, is your real difficulty, and I should say that, instead of going in that direction, you had better bear nearly due south. There is a road from Mount Pleasant that strikes into the main road from Columbia up to Camden. You can cross the river at that point without any question or suspicion, as you would be merely traveling to the west of the State. Once across you could work directly south, crossing into the State of Mississippi, and from there take the cars through Alabama to Georgia.

"It seems a roundabout way, but I think you would find it far the safest, for there ar[Pg 216]e no armies operating upon that line. The population, at any rate as you get south, are for us, and there are, so far as I have heard, very few of these bushwhacking bands about, either on one side or the other. The difficult part of the journey is that up to Camden, but as you will be going away from the seat of war instead of toward it, there will be little risk of being questioned."

"I had thought of buying a horse and cart," Vincent said. "Jogging along a road like that, we should attract no attention. I gave up the idea because our funds were not sufficient, but, thanks to your kindness, we might manage now to pick up something of the sort."

The doctor was silent for a minute.

"If you will send Dan over to me to-morrow afternoon, I will see what can be done," he said. "It would certainly be the safest plan by far; but I must think it over. You will not leave before that, will you?"

"Certainly not, doctor. In any case we should have stayed another day to get a few more things for our journey."

The next afternoon Dan went over to Mount Pleasant. He was away two hours longer than they had expected, and they began to feel quite uneasy about him, when the sound of wheels was heard, and Dan appeared, driving a cart. Vincent gave a shout of satisfaction in which Lucy and Chloe joined.

"Here am de cart. Me had to go five miles from de town to get him. Dat what took me so long. Here am a letter, sah, from the doctor. First-rate man dat. Good man all ober."

The letter was as follows:

"My Dear Mr. Wingfield:

"I did not see how you would be able to buy a cart, and I was sure that you could not obtain one with the funds in your possession. As, from what you have said, I knew that you would not in the least mind the expense, I have taken the matter upon myself, and have bought from your landlady a ca[Pg 217]rt and horse, which will, I think, suit you well. I have paid for them a hundred and fifty dollars, which you can remit me, with the hundred I handed you yesterday. Sincerely trusting that you may succeed in carrying out your plans in safety, and with kind regards to yourself and Miss Kingston,

"I remain, yours truly,

"James Spencer."

"That is a noble fellow," Vincent said, "and I trust, for his sake as well as our own, that we shall get safely through. Now, Lucy, I think you had better go into town the first thing, and buy some clothes of good homely fashion. Dan can go with you and buy a suit for me—those fitted for a young farmer. Then we shall look like a young farmer and his sister jogging comfortably along to market; we can stop and buy a stock of goods at some farm on the way."

"That will be capital," the girl said.

Lucy started early the next morning for the town, and the shopping was satisfactorily accomplished. They returned by eleven o'clock. The new purchases were at once donned, and half an hour later they set off in the cart: Vincent sitting on the side driving; Lucy in the corner facing him, on a basket turned upside down; Dan and Chloe on a thick bag of rushes in the bottom of the cart.

CHAPTER XIV. ACROSS THE BORDER.

Dan, on his return with the cart, had brought back a message from its late owner to say that if she could in any way be of use to them, she should be glad to aid them. Her farm lay on the road they were now following, and they determined therefore to stop there. As the cart drew up at the door the woman came out.

"Glad to[Pg 218] see you," she said; "come right in. It's strange now you should have been lodging in my house for more than six weeks and I should never have set eyes on you before. The doctor talked to me a heap about you, but I didn't look to see quite such a young couple."

Lucy colored hotly, and was about to explain that they did not stand in the supposed relationship to each other, but Vincent slightly shook his head. It was not worth while to undeceive the woman, and although they had agreed to pass as brother and sister, Vincent was determined not to tell an untruth about it unless deceit was absolutely necessary for their safety.

"And you want to get out of the way without questions being asked, I understand?" the woman went on. "There are many such about at present. I don't want to ask no questions; the war has brought trouble enough on me. Now is there anything I can do? If so, say it right out."

"Yes, there is something you can do for us. We want to fill up our cart with the sort of stuff you take to market—apples and pumpkins, and things of that sort. If we had gone to buy them anywhere else, there might have been questions asked. From what the doctor said you can let us have some."

"I can do that. The storeroom's chuck-full; and it was only a few days ago I said to David it was time we set about getting them off. I will fill your cart, sir, and not overcharge you neither. It will save us the trouble of taking it over to Columbia or Camden, for there's plenty of garden truck round Mount Pleasant, and one cannot get enough to pay for the trouble of taking them there."

The cart was soon filled with apples, pumpkins, and other vegetables, and the price put upon them was very moderate.

"What ought we to ask for these?" Vincent soon inquired. "One does not want to be extra cheap or dear."

[Pg 219]

The woman informed them of the prices they might expect to get for the produce; and they at once started, amid many warm good wishes from her.

Before leaving the farm the woman had given them a letter to her sister, who lived a mile from Camden.

"It's always awkward stopping at a strange place," she said, "and farmers don't often put up at hotels when they drive in with garden truck to a town, though they may do sometimes; besides it's always nice being with friends. I will just write a line to Jane and tell her you have been my tenants at Woodford, and where you are going, and ask her to take you in for the night and give you a note in the morning to anyone she or her husband may know, a good bit along that road."

When they reached the house it was dark, but, directly Vincent showed the note, the farmer and his wife heartily bade them come in.

"Your boy can put up the horse at the stable, and you are heartily welcome. But the house is pretty full, and we can't make you as comfortable as we should wish at night; but still we will do our best."

Vincent and Lucy were soon seated by the fire. Their hostess bustled about preparing supper for them, and the children, of whom the house seemed full, stared shyly at the newcomers. As soon as the meal was over Chloe's wants were attended to, and a lunch of bread and bacon taken out by the farmer to Dan in the stables. The children were then packed off to bed, and the farmer and his wife joined Vincent and Lucy by the fire.

"As to sleeping," the woman said, "John and I have been talking it over, and the best way we can see is that you should sleep with me, ma'am, and we will make up a bed on the floor here for my husband and yours."

"Thank you, that will do very nicely; though I don't like interfering with your arrangements."

"Not at all, ma'am—not at all; it makes a nice change having someone come in, especially of late, when there is no more pleasure in going about in this country, and people don't go out a[Pg 220]fter dark more than they can help. Ah, it's a bad time! My sister says you are going west, but I see you have got your cart full of garden truck. How you have raised it so soon, I don't know; for Liza wrote to me two months since as she hadn't been able to sell her place, and it was just a wilderness. Are you going to get rid of it at Camden to-morrow?"

Vincent had already been assured as to the politics of his present host and hostess, and he therefore did not hesitate to say:

"The fact is, madam, we are anxious to get along without being questioned by any Yankee troops we may fall in with; and we have bought the things you see in the cart from your sister, as, going along with a cart full, anyone we met would take us for farmers living close by, on their road to the next market town."

"Oh, oh! that's it!" the farmer said significantly. "Want to get through the lines, eh?"

Vincent nodded.

"Didn't I think so!" the farmer said, rubbing his hands. "I thought directly my eyes hit upon you that you did not look the cut of a granger. Been fighting—eh? and they are after you?"

"I don't think they are after me here," Vincent said. "But I have seen a good deal of fighting with Jackson and Stuart; and I am just getting over a collar bone, which was smashed by a Yankee bullet."

"You don't say!" the farmer exclaimed. "Well, I should have gone out myself, if it hadn't been for Jane and the children. But there are such a lot of them that I could not bring myself to run the chances of leaving them all on her hands. Still, I am with our army, heart and soul."

"Your wife's sister told me that you were on the right side," Vincent said, "and that I could trust you altogether."

"Now, if you tell me which road you want to go, I don't mind if I get on my horse to-morrow and ride with you a stage, and see you put up for the night. I know lots of people, and I am sur[Pg 221]e to be acquainted with someone, whichever road we may go. We are pretty near all the right side about here, though, as you get further on, there are lots of Northern men. Now, what are your ideas as to the roads?"

Vincent told him the route he intended to take.

"You ought to get through there right enough," the farmer said. "There are some Yankee troops moving about to the west of the river, but not many of them; and even if you fell in with them, with your cargo of stuff they would not suspect you. Anyhow, I expect we can get you passed down so as to be among friends. So you fought under Jackson and Stuart, did you? Ah, they have done well in Virginia! I only wish we had such men here. What made you take those two darkies along with you? I should have thought you would have got along better by yourself."

"We couldn't very well leave them," Vincent said; "the boy has been with me all through the wars, and is as true as steel. Old Chloe was Lucy's nurse, and would have broken