Page:Randall Parrish--My Lady of the South.djvu/252



Y own exhaustion, complete as it was temporarily, was not lasting. I held the lantern before Donald's face, bending down to make certain he still breathed, and then began searching for the door of the cabin. There was a variety of articles piled within, but a comparatively clear lane had been left between them leading to the single entrance, which was secured by a simple latch. The night remained exceedingly dark without, but I hid the lantern within a box, and endeavored to make something of the immediate surroundings. We were directly to the rear of the house, another small cabin standing between us and the kitchen ell. Some ten or fifteen feet away I made out the black outlines of a well-curb, with a sweep above it, and beyond that rose the trunk of a large tree. This comprised about all I could distinguish with any certainty, while the intense quietness of the night seemed more like a dream than a reality. Could it be possible those silent shadows hid fighting men within their sombre depths, men with guns in their hands, and the desire to kill in their hearts? I called to O'Brien in a whisper, and the lad came to me instantly.

"See if you can fill your canteen there at the well [ 238 ]