Show a w Is W at 5 CHAPTER XIV cruel mollie thus as the day drew near its end colonel john with one ana arm in a sling and the thanks of sherman ringing in Us his ears galloped along the suburban road that would take him to lynd hurst burst the country was still excited once a bullet ripped past the head of the federal rider some concealed marks man on the hillside had taken a flying shot at him in the hope of assisting the cause colonel john glanced ui no in time to see a ring of white smoke curl over ane bushes drawing a heavy colt colts s which would chiow lead almost as well as a musket he sent a round ot of shots into the copse that must have made the unseen marksman uneasy even it if no danged resulted As he approached the granger es tate be he drew in his horse to get a second look at the figure of a man seen in the gloaming near the ruins but the party vanished from view be hind a clump of magnolias somehow john seemed impressed with mith the idea that it was his cousin crockett the figure resembled him and his walk was the same a wound received during the fierce fight at pittsburg landing making him limp arrived at the plantation he made the round and found everything in apple pie order near the house john met the sergeant who handed his horse over to an orderly she s been here kurnel announce ed shanks in a solemn way colonel john frowned then I 1 see trouble ahead for the woman Is utterly unscrupulous and hates me bitterly I 1 ve seen her before sir and d dye ye know I 1 ive ve got abood a good notion she shea s a spy i for my part shanks I 1 ve believed that before and I 1 feel it my duty to send word to headquarters she Is a dangerous woman and should be either shut up or sent outside the lines tell me did she see my that Is miss Granger 7 9 they were together an hour sir and when that she devil beggin your pardon galloped away she had a smile on her handsome face I 1 reckon she accomplished what she came tor for colonel john looked deeply troubled but he was not the man to avoid threatening evil such a spirit could never have won the victories that had crowned his career he met his subordinate officers and gave them the stirring news of the dav then squire granger joined them his demeanor was grave but the planter was a gentleman above even his hatred for any one wearing the blue at the table mollie appeared to per form her duty her man er was cold john was unusually grave during the meal when he caught mollie s eyes she turned her bead head away and t f owned this told him something had happened to disturb her and singularly enough he even felt pleased to know he had so tar far entered into her life that she could be disturbed by malicious tales affecting his honor colonel john was watching his chance he did not join the gentlemen in their post smoke upon the porch but kept an eye upon the draw ing ng room and when a white robed fig ure glided into its inferior th the e soldier lost no time in following so mollie turning from the table whither she had gone to get a book found herse herself if face to face with the i man she would avoid I 1 beg bour pardon miss mollie but will you grant me a afew few minutes on he said she lowered her eyes I 1 see no reason why I 1 should sir was her reply but although john was not blocking the way she made no attempt to pass him I 1 believe you would not knowingly be e unjust to any one miss mollte mollie do you consider it right to condemn me unheard 7 9 I 1 condemn youa she said in some acorn scorn indeed I 1 am not bothering ay my poor head about you one way or he the other colonel ridgeway this m was as really a cruel cut and he winced under it but recovered as he saw how she was quivering with sup pressed excitement nevertheless I 1 have reason to be lieve an enemy of mine lids seen ou today to day and I 1 fear knowing her past history that she may have traduced me in her mad desire to do an injury her name Is belle stevens I 1 believe she follows the perilous occupation 0 of a female spy it Is to her credit she loves the south S 0 u th said squire grangers daugh I 1 ter er firmly I 1 idon don t gainsay a word of it il while I 1 stand ready to shoulder any sins of which I 1 may have been guilty in the past I 1 dont don t mean to let an ad ventur ess of this stamp play with my deputa tion as it if it were a bubble she has said something about toe me that has decreased our ct I 1 value that more than I 1 can say cherek therefore re I 1 in upon your giving me a chance to defend myself his eloquence caused mollie to change her mind besides sides there was vas a secret hope far down in her heart conceal it as she would that colonel john might prove himself innocent sir you are right the courts allow even the most wretched prison er a chance to defend himself and I 1 shall ask you one question which I 1 promise to answer as truly as though it came from my an gel mother you admit that you have met this girl before when you cal called led her belle stevens were you aware of the tact fact that she has a right to another name he flushed then smiled I 1 was aware of the fact he replied and that this name was ridgeway she continued my dear miss mollie even that was known to me then I 1 can repeat what I 1 said before a hypocrite Is the greatest C I 1 4 0 agn mr p Z abomination on earth and I 1 detest you colonel john ridgeway CHAPTER XV A message she was gone before the soldier coad catch his breath and make a reply gone with flashing eyes sus moist and with a breast that heaved under more than ordinary emotion As for colonel john when he found a vacancy where the charming geor gia gla girl had just stood he recovered his wits and sprang to the door but it was too late tor for mollie coull coul I 1 no longer be seen so the doughty warrior ell fell to pac ing up and down the room gnawing his mustached lip in a manner s ig cestive of at least annoyance even it if it could be called by no stronger tetel term here s a pretty kettle of fish sure enough what can I 1 do to convince the dear girl that I 1 am not the base villain she believes me mea of course I 1 can comprehend the mothe of this stevens woman revenge lies at the bottom of it revenge for the trouble I 1 caused her up in chattanooga and she plas plans upon the fact that she has some claim upon the family name thanks to my cousin crockett then he pondered over the matter and presently extracted a few grains 0 of comfort from what nhat had erstwhile seemed wholly forbidding her coolness had flown she even showed signs of anger ani morti fica tion come john my dear boy have courage if she t insensibly grown to care for you she would not have given way to such emotion de tests me ah don dont t aou ou believe it fortune gave me her hand and by the gods I 1 shall yet win her heart having arrived at this happy con elusion the soldier philosopher joined his comrades upon the veranda and was nas soon enjoying a pipe of tobacco for in these war times the pipe was a source of solace to officers as well as men it wa was problematical how long sher irmy mans man s army would stay in atlanta his avowed purpose of marching through the heart of georgia was al ready I 1 but there were few among the confederate leaders will ln ing to believe him daring enough to cut loose from his base of supplies aia and enter upon such a long journey through the heart of an intensely hos tile country upon which his legions must necessarily depend for subsist once this only proved that they did not 1 now sherman She colonel john could sot not tel what day or hour his corn com mand might be detached tor for action others were in plenty who would guard the shrewd planters property as well as the cavalry colonel and he waa was in demand just at present although compelled to evacuate at lanta the soldiers of the confederacy hovered near ready to seize upon any advantage that might present itself knowing these facts coonel colonel john concluded it would be good policy to make hay while the sun shone he began laying his wires at once the others no doubt thought their unusually brilliant comrade rather dull but beyond a little ch chaffing offing which he took in good part made no attempt to disturb his thoughts squire granger joined them he ile had found that the society ot of federal officers u as less of a bore than be he had anticipated and at times it was even a pleasure to talk with cul tinted northern men upon subjects that had no reference to the war commercial com mercia projects plans tor for mak ing a great country out of the south in case the war ended and found her deprived of slave labor designs for improving the old time methods of cotton picking and kindred topics t 0 pies of intense interest to a georgia planter whose good sense did not allow him to ignore the handwriting on the wall which w aich eyes blinded by sectional poeju alee alce would not see thus another night settled down over the city little did colonel ridgeway dream what that night was destined to hold for him of the strange adventure that must fall to bis his lot ere glowing phoebus again swung his ruddy orb above the east ern hills while he sat upon the vera veranda ilda smoking and listening in a dreamy way to the conversation of his big officers the form of sergeant shanks loomed up in the gloaming colonel thelreg there s a messenger here with a note for you I 1 chanced to run across him while he was having some difficulty nith ith the pickets and thought it best to bring him direct to you said the sergeant to be continued |