Page:Maud Howe - Atlanta in the South.djvu/105

 the government that I tried, but tried in vain, to upset. May it endure forever!"

"Amen."

It was a solemn toast these two grave elder men were drinking,—a pledge that opened a friendship which was of value to both through the remainder of their lives. A few minutes later, when Margaret, accompanied by Rondelet, came in search of her father, she found him in the company of a very shabby gentleman with a kind face and cheery voice. The two veterans had a map between them, and seemed scarcely pleased at the interruption.

"Is it not time for us to go home, papa?" suggested Margaret.

"My child, I have waited four mortal hours for you. Cannot you wait as many minutes for me?" replied her father.

"The earthworks were two miles below this point, you say," he continued.

"Do you know the Colonel? He is an old friend of mine," said Rondelet. "Let us sit here while they fight their old battles over again."

At this moment Mrs. Darius Harden entered the ward-room. She was a pretty woman, with a pair of bright blue eyes and a mouth that always laughed. It had been said of her that she never went to funerals, because, try as she would,