Page:Randall Parrish--My Lady of the South.djvu/48

MY LADY OF THE SOUTH I took ample time to consider my answer, buttoning the tight-fitting jacket to the throat; then said coldly,—

"I hardly suppose it will do any harm for you to know, as I propose tying you up safely, and leaving you here out of sight and sound. You will be discovered all right by morning; by that time I shall be well beyond your reach. The truth may give you something to think over, but first answer me a question or two: Have your pickets been withdrawn from the road leading east?"

He remained silent, until I pressed the lips of the derringer against his cheek.

"Yes, damn you; I wouldn't tell, but I believe you know it already. What I want to know is who you are!"

"A question easily answered. I am a Yankee artillery-man, who was left for dead on the field yonder. I have been hiding on the Denslow plantation, waiting for night to afford me opportunity for escape beyond your lines. While secreted there I overheard enough of a conversation to learn your name as well as your purpose. But I was not in hiding here expecting to intercept you, for Colonel Denslow believed that, owing to the sudden movement of the army, you would be unable to escape from your staff duties long enough to keep your engagement. He expected, however, the arrival of an orderly at any moment ordering his immediate return to his regiment. I came here hoping to capture that orderly, and appropriate his horse and clothes, so as to facilitate my escape. I sincerely regret that you, instead, were the victim."

The man was uplifted upon one elbow, endeavoring vainly to distinguish my features in the darkness. [ 40 ]