The Young Sharpshooter at Antietam Part 27

The young soldier halted a moment to make certain that no enemies were near the plantation. Satisfied that his fears for the time were without foundation, and still holding firmly to the carpet-bag which he had taken from the little sutler, Noel boldly approached the kitchen door.

His purpose now was merely to obtain food, and then to push forward on his way to rejoin the army from which he had been separated so long.

Advancing boldly, he rapped loudly upon the door, which sagged like everything else about the place. All these things were forgotten, however, when he looked into the face of the person who answered his summons.

CHAPTER XXII

A MYSTERY

Before him stood the sister of Sairy Ann, whom he had heard the latter address as 'Liza Jane. That her sympathies were not with the side for which he was fighting Noel well knew, but his great fear as he saw the woman was that her husband might not be far away.

Noel recalled the contempt with which Sairy Ann had referred to her sister as one of the "secesh," and, in spite of his alarm at the discovery of her presence, he smiled as he recalled the sharp declaration of Sairy Ann that in her will she had left her shoestrings to her "beloved sister, 'Liza Jane."

Before he spoke Noel quickly decided that he would try to find out whether or not the woman recognized him. He did not believe that she had seen him when he had been in her sister's house, and yet it was impossible for him to determine whether his confidence was well founded or not.

To all appearances no man was near. What he had taken for the "big house" of a plantation when he had seen the place in the distance, he now saw was only a bare habitation, and the "plantation" had decreased to a few uncultivated and unfruitful acres. The appearance of the woman herself was not unlike that of her surroundings.

"Well," demanded Eliza Jane, "who be yo'? Whar do yo' all come from?

What be yo' all doin' here?"

"Is your husband at home?" inquired Noel.

"No; he ain't to home. What do yo' want toe see him fo'?"

"Oh, I don't want to see him; I just wanted to know whether he was here or not. In fact I don't want to see anybody just now," continued Noel, smiling in such a way that the suspicions of the questioner were apparently relieved in part.

"Has Levi been here lately?" asked Noel abruptly.

"Maybe he has and maybe he hasn't," said the woman. "I can't keep track of Sam Tolliver's doin's. He has all kinds of men here. Who is Levi?"

"Why, he is a little sutler that used to be in the Yankee army and now is doing what he can for--"

"I reckon he's been here," spoke up the woman promptly. "What might yo'

all want o' him?"

"I don't want anything of him just now," said Noel, his face again lighting up with the smile which won him friends on every side. "What I want now is something to eat. I'm as hungry as a bear and almost as thirsty as I am hungry. Can you help me? I shan't be able to pay you--"

"Who said anything about payin'?" broke in the woman. "I ain't got much fo' toe eat, but I reckon pa't of what I has is fo' yo' all. Come in and set ye down at the kitchen table and I'll see what I can do fo' yo'."

Too hungry and thirsty to delay, Noel promptly accepted the invitation, and after he had washed his face and hands, he eagerly took his place at the table as the woman directed.

The young soldier was well aware that he was in the midst of perils. If the husband of his hostess should return or Levi should come, his position was not one to be envied. Not that he was afraid of either of the men in a personal encounter; but he was unarmed, while the man whom Eliza Jane had called Sam Tolliver was doubtless thoroughly armed and desperate. Besides, if he was playing the part which Noel suspected, and was obtaining information concerning the plans and movements of the Federal troops and reporting the knowledge to the leaders of the Confederates, he was well aware that the man was one to be feared.

Noel's meditations were interrupted by the approach of his hostess who placed some corn-bread and a small jug of mola.s.ses upon the table before him.

"'Tis about the best pore folks can have these days," she said. "I don't know how I happened to save that ther' mola.s.ses, but Sam never likes his co'n-bread unless he can po' mola.s.ses over it, and we had a barrel put in the cellar before the Yanks started all this trouble."

"I don't want to rob you," said Noel.

"Who said anything about yo' robbin' me? I reckon I haven't got much that would pay any robber toe take. If yo' all don't like that mola.s.ses, why, jest say so."

"I do like it," said Noel, "and I am grateful to you for giving it to me."

Without further delay the young soldier at once began his breakfast, all the time aware that the woman was watching him with an expression which gave evidence that her feeling was more than mere hospitality.

Finally, unable to resist her curiosity longer, she broke in: "What pa't of the No'th do yo' all come from?"

"How do you know I am from the North? What makes you think that?"

"Jest as soon as I heard yo' all talk," said the woman, "I knew yo' was a Yank. Strange how queer th' Yanks talk."

Noel laughed and did not give expression to his own feeling that the dialect that he had heard in the South had impressed him much the same way as his hostess had been impressed by the voices and words of the Northern soldiers.

"I reckon," she continued, "that yo' all are one of McClellan's men, though what yo' all are doin' over yere is more than I can understand.

Yo' all are not looking fo' my man, Sam, are yo'?"

"I a.s.sure you that I am not," said Noel promptly. And the young soldier spoke honestly, for of all men Sam Tolliver was the one he least desired to see at the time.

"Run away from the army?" inquired the woman.

"No."

"Well, then, what are yo' all doin' out yere? I see yo' ain't got no coat, but in spite of the dirt I can see that yo' pants is the same as all th' Yankee soldiers wear."

"How far is the Northern army from here?" inquired Noel, without answering her question.

"That's more than I can say. Sometimes they say it's in one place and then again they say it's in 'nother. If Sam was here he could tell yo'.

Sam knows more than any man I ever see."

Noel did not explain his suspicions that Sam's knowledge included some things which he knew and some things which he did not know.

"I don't suppose you see very much of him now," he said aloud.

"Not as much as I used toe," said the woman, "though befo' the war Sam used to go out with houn' dogs and be gone days at a time huntin'

rabbits. He was a pow'ful good shot."

"He must have kept you pretty well supplied with rabbits," suggested Noel.

"Sometimes he did and sometimes he didn't," replied Eliza Jane.

"Sometimes the pesky little varmints would get away befo' Sam had a chance toe fire. They seemed toe know that he was a dead-sure shot."

Noel's suspicions as to the prowess of the wonderful Sam once more were not voiced. He was content if only the woman would feed him and permit him to depart without further trouble.

"Sam says," continued the woman, whose readiness to talk was manifest, "that there isn't goin' toe be much left o' the Yanks pretty quick. He thinks there is goin' toe be some fightin' befo' long and the Yanks will get whipped worse 'n they were at Mana.s.sas. I would jes' like toe see my sister, Sairy Ann. I wonder what she'll think of the secesh then. She can keep her old shoestrings if she wants 'em! You know she's my own sister and she's worth a lot of money. Befo' the war she had nigh on toe two hundred dollars. Think of Sairy Ann leaving me in her will nothin'

but her shoestrings! I believe she joined the Yanks jest a purpose so she could turn ag'in her own relations. Shoestrings!" snapped the woman, whose recollection of her sister's generosity renewed her feeling of anger.