The Blue Birds' Winter Nest Part 18

"Rebecca led me by the hand along a tunnel, and, after we had gone about twenty feet, it opened into a high-vaulted cavern. Soon Rebecca found the lantern and lighted it. I looked about in surprise; the place was quite comfortably furnished with a chair, a rough table and a mattress with bedding upon it.

"'I made Tim carry these things over here from the store-room and made him swear never to tell father. Tim is almost seventy years old and he believes in an oath as firmly as he does in Heaven. As far as I know, Tim and Daddy are the only ones beside myself who know of this cave. The reason I am bringing you here--a Yankee, too--is because I feel in my bones that you will have to help me in some danger or need. Here is where Imp is going to be hidden and I shall have to see if I can get him to make friends with you, for you may have to claim him some day and take him North with you.'

"'Oh, Becky, don't talk like this! You frighten me! I wish you were all at Happy Hills with me where you would be safe.'

"'Do you think that one of us would seek another safer home while we are needed here?' asked Rebecca, sternly.

"I made no reply and Rebecca carried the lantern ahead, bidding me follow her out. We reached the extreme end of the cave, when Rebecca handed me the lantern to hold down close to some lichen. I did so and found that the ma.s.s of roots and moss that hung there swayed slowly back and forth in a current of air. This, then, was the cause of the cave being so well ventilated. Becky stooped, pushed aside the mossy curtain and crawled into a small tunnel, taking the lantern from me after she had entered.

"I followed close behind, upon hands and knees, through an opening the size of a bushel basket. Finally, we reached a wider opening where we could stand upon our feet again. We crept through this queer tunnel for a long time and then I felt that we were ascending gradually and that the air was growing purer. In a few moments more, we emerged from another narrow crevice hidden under the gnarled roots of a live-oak.

Moss, lichen and fern covered this opening so completely that no one would have dreamed there was an entrance there to a secret cave.

"We were in a gra.s.sy dell hemmed in by a thin ribbon of woods which ended in a grove of tall pines upon a knoll.

"Rebecca extinguished the light and led me toward this grove. She selected an old veteran pine and climbed up into its wide branches until a comfortable notch was reached. I did likewise. As we sat there admiring the wonderful view of distant mountains, Rebecca clutched my arm, and pointed with one hand toward the low range of mountains about fifty miles away.

"I looked and saw a heavy cloud of smoke hanging low over the crests. At intervals we heard the echo of a 'boom.'

"'Oh, Selina, there's no time to lose, now! The fighting is so near that we can hear the cannon over the mountain!'

"'What shall we do?' I cried helplessly.

"'Do!' almost screamed Rebecca, as she tore her clothes on the pine boughs in her rapid descent. 'Why, I'll run Imp down to the cave, while you race to the house and tell Timothy the news. Order him to bring oats, bedding, blankets, and whatever Imp might need for a long siege.

Tell him you know the secret and will help me take care of Imp. Then, on to the house, warning the negroes as you go, and tell the folks at the house. If they ask how we know, answer that we were on the ridge and saw it. Don't tell them that we were in the pine tree!'

"Calling these hurried directions as she went, Becky ran back through the glade until we reached the woods near the lane. She pointed toward the house, which could be seen in the distant haze, then ran for the shed where Imp was kept.

"I did as I was ordered, wondering all the way why I was placed in such an undesirable position--a Northerner plotting, as it were, against my own people. I cared little about the war at that time, for I knew nothing of war or its toll.

"However, I reached the outer buildings where the slaves lived and my news acted like an electric current upon the inmates. Immediately they ran in different directions, seemingly bent upon doing a part of a work that had been carefully planned and arranged. I found out later, that such was the case. The older slaves, who were trusted implicitly, set to work burying (as I supposed) whatever fruit, vegetables, smoked meats, and other edibles they could find--in fact, everything stored in cellars or store-rooms.

"I was curious to see how they could prevent the articles from coming in contact with the soil, and found that a chain of bricked cellars had been built a short time before, and the bushes and weeds carefully replaced on the dirt that covered the roofs. A door, opening into the first of the chain of cellars, was made in a steep bank of earth. It was merely a large hole in the ground covered with a flat stone that turned upon a pivot. About this spot the soil and gra.s.s had been very cleverly arranged to conceal any sign of what lay beneath.

"By afternoon not a piece of extra linen, bedding, or silver could be found about the house. The jewelry, valuable bits of art and pictures, heirlooms and a valuable library, had disappeared as if by magic. I knew it had all been placed in some safe place and felt relieved at the knowledge.

"I wandered about feeling lonesome for Rebecca and wis.h.i.+ng I might a.s.sist Tim who seemed busy in some undertaking. I watched him tie down a canvas covering over a loaded cart and caught his glance, which seemed to beckon me. I walked over to the mule's side and patted its head while Tim spoke.

"'Miss Becky, she say you'se come wif me. I'se got'ter take dis load down to der paddock!' Tim looked about as he spoke and winked at me knowingly.

"I walked beside him as he drove the mule along the lane. The cart seemed laden and the mule walked slowly, but we reached the wall that divided the gardens from the farm, and then Tim made the beast go as fast as possible, all the while looking covertly about for a run-away negro or a Yankee scout.

"I suspected where we were going, and, sure enough! As we reached the woods by the lane, Rebecca called softly, 'No further, Tim!' and came out with several huge market baskets.

"Tim tied the mule to a tree by the roadside and removed the canvas covering. There was everything one would need for light housekeeping for several weeks. Besides the food and clothing, there were bandages, medicine, bedding, lanterns, an oil-stove, dishes, and numerous other necessities. These were piled in the baskets and carried to the cave where they were placed in crannies for some future emergency.

"'Imp, I want you to be introduced to my best friend,' said Rebecca, after we had brought in our first basket.

"I heard a whinny and looked about in the gloom.

"Rebecca went over to a corner near the spot whence fresh air entered the cavern, and held the lantern up for me to see her pet.

"I stood making friendly advances to the beauty and, to Becky's amazement, he never moved an inch, but wrinkled his nose for sugar.

"'Witch! that is what you are!' laughed Becky, as Imp poked his nose under my arm. 'I have never known him to do such a thing.'

"Imp stood listening to his mistress as if he thoroughly understood the situation.

"I turned to tell Rebecca what a beauty he was, and he deliberately poked his nose out against my face.

"After all the supplies were stacked away, Rebecca slipped the halter over Imp's head and led him to a ring cemented in the solid rock.

"'Now, Imp, you will have to be good and not whinny or make a sound. I know what is good for you, and you must do just as I tell you, or a bad Yankee soldier will catch you and then you will see!' warned Rebecca, shaking her finger at him.

"The horse stood looking at her as if striving to understand what that strange word 'Yankee' meant; then he threw up his head and shook it defiantly.

"We said good-by to Imp and returned to the cart where Tim waited. We sent Tim to the barns with the mule and we went back to the house.

"That was such a busy day that everyone felt weary and glad when the sun showed its slanting rays over the trees. It must have been about four o'clock when sounds of approaching cavalry reached the house. It was the company Newell and his brother had formed a few months before. They had been driven over the mountainside and decided to spend the night in hiding at home.

"The sewing room was filled with neighbors whose boys were members of the company, so you can imagine the joy of seeing them again.

"The boys were covered with mire halfway to the waist, and their horses looked as if they must drop where they stood. Many of the soldiers were hatless, powder smirched, and, oh, so tired!

"Rebecca took me to her room and locked the door.

"'Selina, did you see that tall dark officer--the one that kept smiling at us? Well, he is my best friend, and I want you to fall in love with him. He knows all about you and I showed him your picture a long time ago, so he knows you quite well, you see.'

"I laughed merrily at Becky's match-making.

"'Oh,' she sighed, as her thought rushed to something else. 'Wasn't it just like Providence that we got Imp and all of those supplies hidden away in time?'

"'Yes, but it is not necessary with the rebels in command of the place,'

I said, using the term 'rebel' quite unconsciously, for the first time.

"Rebecca noticed it, too, but said nothing at the time.

"'Well, I showed you just how to get in and out of that cave in case you are the only one who can take care of Imp. One never knows what may happen, but you, being my guest, are safe with our friends, and, being a Yankee, will be taken care of in case the enemy take the place. But, remember, if Imp is to be taken from me, I would rather you had him than anyone on earth--and you must a.s.sert your owners.h.i.+p if necessary to take him home with you.'

"That was a great reunion, that dinner! Besides all of the young soldiers, their families were there, listening to their account of the struggle.

"The happy families had finished dinner and were about to have coffee when a colored boy raced up the steps of the piazza. His face was gray with fear as he gasped, 'De Yanks am comin'--oh, dey am comin' pell mell foh dis house! oh, Lud, Lud!'

"'Tell all the folks, Jeremiah, quick!' shouted Becky, as she sprang forward to warn her friends.

"'The horses--quick, Tim! The horses--rush them to the house!' yelled Newell, as he grabbed his gun and threw on his cap.

"'Mother, good-by,' cried Ed, as he caught a kiss from her lips, and Newell hurriedly did the same.