Page:Randall Parrish--My Lady of the South.djvu/256

MY LADY OF THE SOUTH behind the tree trunk, and I heard him scratching a match. It blazed into a tiny flame, and he attempted to light a cigar, the slight glow illumining his face. A window of the house spit flame to the sharp crack of a carbine, the ball tearing along the bark of the tree. My rascals within were evidently awake, and the startled Lieutenant dropped the blazing match as though it had burnt his fingers. Another carbine spoke from a window further to the left, the missile whistling through the air between us. Then everything became silent and black again.

So Dunn intended to resort to the secret passage, as soon as he had gathered men enough to safely risk the attempt; and he was the only one in the party who was aware of its existence. Then my work was cut out for me—I must take care of Dunn. Yet how was this to be accomplished? I felt no personal fear of the fellow, merely of the alarm he might raise, thus cutting off my retreat, and overturning all my plans. Besides, there was brief time in which to arrange the play, with both daylight and Theilen already so close at hand. Theilen! Why, of course a report of his approach would throw Dunn off his guard, and I might inveigle the fellow far enough back from the lines to make an open attack possible. Here, at least, was the only course which seemed to promise success. I tore off my jacket, turning it inside out to hide the gleam of buttons; ripped off the insignia from the front of my slouch hat, and pulled the wide brim low over my eyes. There would be nothing natty about Theilen's irregulars, and the color of my clothes could not be [ 242 ]