enough in the presence of open danger; it was only
the spiritual he feared.
They had scarcely gone ten paces farther toward
the path, when, at the foot of it, they stumbled over
another body.
" Here is another one. What does it mean ? See
who it is, Dick.*'
The groom, mastering his instinctive aversion,
bent down obediently, and lifting the face peered
into it. It was lighter here, and he recognized it at
once.
" Hit 's Mars' Blodgett, de kunnel's old sojuh man.
Him got a bullet -hole in de fohaid, suh ; him a dead
man sholy, an' heah is his gun by his han'," he
said ir an awestruck whisper.
" Blodgett ! Good God, it can't be."
"Yes, suh, it's him, and dare's anoder one ober
dah. See, suh!" He laid his hand upon another
body, in the same uniform as the first one. This
man groaned slightly.
"Dis one's not daid yit," said Dick, excitedly;
"he been hit ober de. haid, his face all bloody.
Oh, Mars' Hil'ry, dem raidahs you done tell me
'bout been heah. Mars' Blodgett done shot dat one
by de riber on de waf, an' den hit dis one wid his
musket, an' den dey done shoot Mars' Blodgett.
Oh, Mars' Hil'ry, le' 's get out ob heah."
Talbot saw it all now, ā the slow and stealthy
approach of the boat from the little sloop out in the
river (it had disappeared round the bend, he noticed),
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Blodgett's quiet watch at the foot of the path, the
approach of the men, Blodgett's challenge, the first
one shot dead as he came up, the pistol-shot which
missed him, the rush of the men at the indomitable
old soldier, the nearest one struck down from the
blow of the clubbed musket of the sturdy old man,
the second pistol-shot, which hit him in the fore-
head, his fall across the path. Faithful unto death
at the post of duty. The little drama was perfectly
plain to him. But who were these raiders.^ Who
could they be ? And Katharine ?
*Oh, my God," he exclaimed, stung into quick
action at the thought of a possible peril to his
love. "Come, Dick, to the house; she may be in
danger. "
"But dis libe one, Mars' Hilary ? "
" Quick, quick ! leave him ; we will see about him
later."
With no further attempt at caution, they sprang
recklessly up the steep path, and, gaining the brow
of the hill, ran at full speed toward the house.
He noticed that there were no lights in the negro
quarters, no sounds of the merry-making usually
going on there in the early evening. Through the
open windows on the side of the house, he had a
hasty glimpse of the disordered dining-room. The
great doors of the hall were open. They were on the
porch now, ā now at the door of the hall. It was
empty. He paused a second. " Katharine, Kath-
arine ! " he called aloud, a note of fear in his voice,
"where are you ? Colonel Wilton ! " In the silence
which his voice had broken he heard a weak and
feeble moan, which struck terror into his heart.
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AN UNTOLD STORY
He ran hastily down the hall, and stopped at the
dining-room door aghast. The smoking candles in
the sconces were throwing a somewhat uncertain light
over a scene of devastation and ruin ; the furniture
of the table and the accessories of the meal lay in a
broken heap at the foot of it, the chairs were over-
turned, the curtains torn, the great sideboard had
been swept bare of its usual load of glittering
silver.
At his feet lay the body of a man, in the now
familiar red uniform, blood from a ghastly sword-
thrust clotted about his throat, the floor about his
head being covered with ominous stains. A little
farther away on the floor, near the table, there was
the body of another man, in another uniform, a
naked sword lying by his side; he had a frightful-
looking wound on his forehead, and the blood was
slowly oozing out of his coat-sleeve, staining the
lace at his left wrist. Even as he looked, the man
turned a little on the floor, and the same low moan
broke from his lips. Talbot stepped over the first
\K)dy to the side of the other.
"My God, it's Seymour," he said. He knelt
beside him, as Katharine had done. "Seymour,"
he called, "Seymour!" The man opened his eyes
slowly, and looked vacantly at him.
"Katharine," he murmured.
"What of her? is she safe? " asked Talbot, in an
agony of fear.
" Raiders ā prisoner," continued Seymour, brok-
enly, in a whisper, and then feebly murmured,
ā¢ā¢ Water, water ! "
" Here, Dick, get some water quickly ! First hand
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me that decanter of wine/' pointing to one which had
fortunately escaped the eyes of the marauders. He
lifted Seymour's head gently, and with a napkin which
he had picked up from the floor, wiped the bloody
face, washing it with the water the groom quickly
brought from the well outside.
Then he poured a little of the wine down the
wounded man's throat, next slit the sleeve of his coat,
and saw that the scarcely healed wound in the arm
had broken out again. He bandaged it up with no
small skill with some of the other neglected table
linen, and the effect upon Seymour of the stimulant
and of these ministrations was at once apparent.
With a stronger voice he said slowly, ā
" Dunmore's men ā Captain Johnson ā colonel a
prisoner ā Katharine also ā God grant ā no harm
intended."
** Hush, hush ! I understand. But where are the
slaves?"
" Terrified, I suppose ā in hiding."
" Dick, see if you can find any of them. Hurry up !
We must take Mr. Seymour back to Fairview to-
night, and report this outrage to the military com-
mander at Alexandria. Oh that I had a boat and a
few men ! " he murmured. Katharine was gone. He
would not tell his story to-night ; she was in the hands
of a gang of ruffians. He knew the reputation of John-
son, and the motives which might actuate him. There
had been a struggle, it was evident ; perhaps she had
been wounded, killed. Agony ! He knew now how
he loved her, and it was too late.
Presently the groom returned, followed by a mob of
frightened, terror-stricken negroes who had fled at the
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first advent of the party. Talbot issued his orders
rapidly. "Some of you get the carriage ready; we
must take Lieutenant Seymour to Fairview Hall.
Some of you go down to the landing and bring up the
bodies of the three men there. You go with that
party, Dick. Phoebus, you get this room cleared
up. Hurry, stir yourselves ! You are all right now;
the raiders have gone and are not likely to return."
" Why, where is Master Philip, I wonder? Was he
also taken ? " he said suddenly. " Have any of you
seen him ? " he asked of the servants.
" He done gone away fishin* wid Mars' Bentley,"
replied the old butler, pausing ; " and dey ain't got
back yit, tank de Lawd ; but I spec 'cm ev'y minute,
suh."
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CHAPTER IX
Bentleys Prayer
AS he spoke, a fresh youthful voice was heard in
the hall. "Father, Kate, where are you?
Come see our string of ā Why, what's all this? " said
a young man, standing astonished in the door of the
room. It was Philip Wilton, holding a long string of
fish, the result of their day's sport; behind him stood
the tall stalwart figure of the old sailor. " Talbot ā
you? Where are father and Kate? What are these
men doing in the dining-room? Oh, what is that ?"
he said, shrinking back in horror from the corpse of
the soldier.
"Dunmore's raiders have been here/*
"And Katharine?"
" A prisoner, with your father, Philip, but I trust
both are uninjured."
*' Mr. Seymour, sir, where is he ? " said the deep
voice of the boatswain, as he advanced farther into
the room. The light fell full upon him. He was a
splendid specimen of athletic manhood ; tall, power-
ful, long-armed, slightly bent in the shoulders ; deci-
sion and courage were seen in his bearing, and were
written on his face, burned a dull mahogany color by
years of exposure to the weather. He was clothed in
the open shirt and loose trousers of a seafaring man,
and he stood with his feet slightly apart, as if balanc-
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BENTLEY'S PRAYER
ing himself to the uneasy roll of a ship. Honesty and
fidelity and intelligence spoke out from his eyes, and
affection and anxiety were heard in his voice.
" Lieutenant Seymour," he repeated, " where is he,
sir?"
" There/* said Talbot, stepping aside and pointing
to the floor.
"Notdead, sir, ishe?"
"Not yet, Bentley," Seymour, with regaining
strength, replied ; " I am not done for this time."
" Oh, Mr. John, Mr. John," said the old man, ten-
derly, bending over him, " I thank God to see you
alive again. But, as I live, they shall pay dear for
this ā whoever has done it, ā the bloody, maraud-
ing, ruffians!"
ā¢' Yes, Bentley, I join you in that vow," said Talbot
" And I too," added Philip, bravely.
" And I," whispered the wounded man.
" It's one more score that has got to be paid off
by King George's men, one more outrage on this
countiy, one more debt we owe the English,"
Bentley continued fiercely.
" No ; these were Americans, Virginians, ā more *s
the shame, ā led by that blackguard Johnson. He
has long hated the colonel," replied Talbot.
" Curses on the renegades ! " said the old man.
" Who is it that loves freedom and sees not that the
blow must be struck to-day? How can any man born
in this land hesitate to ā " He stopped suddenly,
as his eyes fell upon Talbot, whose previous irresolu-
tion and refusal had been no secret to him.
" Don't stop for me, Bentley," said that young man,
gently; " I am with you now. I came over this even-
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FOR LOVE OF COUNTRY
ing to tell our friends here that I start north to*
morrow as a volunteer to offer my services to General
Washington."
" Oh, Hilary," exclaimed Philip, joyfully, " I am so
glad. Would that Katharine and father could heat
you now!"
Seymour lifted his unwounded arm, and beckoned to
Talbot. " God bless you, Talbot," he said ; " to hear
you say that is worth a dozen cracks like this, and I
feel stronger every minute. If it were not for the old
wound, I would n't mind this thing a bit. But there is
something you must do. There is an armed cutter
stationed up the river at Alexandria ; send some one
to notify the commander of the Virginia naval militia
there. They will pursue and perhaps recapture the
party. But the word must be carried quickly ; I fear
it will be too late as it is." /"
" I will go, Hilary, if you think best."
" Very well, Philip ; take your best horse and do
not delay a moment. Katharine's liberty, your
father's life perhaps, depend upon your promptness.
Better see Mr. West as you go through the town, ā
your father's agent, you know, ā and ask him to call
upon me to-morrow. Stop at the Hall as you come
back."
" All right, Hilary, I will be in Alexandria in four
hours," said Philip, running out.
**Bentley, lam going to take Lieutenant Seymour
over to my plantation. Will you stay here and look
after the house until I can notify Colonel Wilton's
agent at Alexandria to come and take charge, or until
we hear from the colonel what is to be done? You
can come over in the morning, you know, and hear
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BENTLEY'S PRAYER
about our prot^g^. I am afraid the slaves would
never stay here alone ; they are so disorganized and
terrorized now over these unfortunate occurrences as
to be almost useless."
" Ay, ay, sir; if Lieutenant Seymour can spare me,
I will stay."
"Yes, Bentley, do; I shall be in good hands at
Fairview Hall."
'* This is arranged, then," said Talbot. " It is nine
o'clock. I think we would better start at once. I
will go out and see that the arrangements about the
carriage are made properly, myself," he said, stepping
through the door.
Seymour's hand had closed tightly over something
which had happened to fall near where it lay. " Bent-
ley," he called, "what is this in my hand?"
" It is a handkerchief, Mr. John, ā a woman's hand-
kerchief too, sir, and covered with blood."
"Has it any marks on it?" said Seymour, eagerly.
" Yes, sir ; here are the letters K. W. embroidered
in this corner."
" I thought so," he smiled triumphantly. " Will
you put it inside my waistcoat, there, over my heart?
Yes," he added, as if in answer to the old man's
anxious look, " it is true ; I love her, and she has con-
fessed that she loves me. Oh, who will protect her
now?"
" God, sir," said Bentley, solemnly, but with a strange
pang of almost womanly jealousy in his faithful old
heart
" Ay, old friend. He will watch over her. He knows
best. Now help me up."
" No, sir. Beg pardon for disobeying orders, but
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POR LOVE OF COUNTRY
you are to lie still. We will carry you to the carriage.
Nay, sir, you must. You are too weak from loss of
blood with two wounds on you to stand it. A few
days will bring you about all right, though, I hope,
sir."
" All ready, Bentley ? " said Talbot, coming into the
room. " The negro boys have rigged up a stretcher
out of a shutter, and with a mattress and blankets in
the carriage, I think we can manage, driving care-
fully, to take him over without any great discomfort.
I have sent Dick on ahead to ride over to Dr.
Craik's and bid him come to the Hall at once ; so
Mr. Seymour will be well looked after. By the way,
Blodgett is dead. I had almost forgotten him. He
evidently met and fought those fellows at the landing.
We found him at the foot of the steps by the boat-
landing with two bodies. That reminds me, one of
them was alive when we came by. I told the men to
bring all three of the bodies up. Here they are now.
Are any of them alive yet, Caesar ? "
" No, suh, dey 'se all ob 'em daid.*'
" Take the two redcoats into the dining-room with
the other one. Lay Blodgett here in the hall. He
must have been killed instantly. Well ; good-by, I
shall be over in the morning,'* he exclaimed, extend-
ing his hand.
** Good-by, sir," said the seaman, taking it in
his own huge palm. "Take care of Lieutenant
Seymour."
" Oh, never fear ; we will"
** And may God give the men who did this into ouf
hands ! " added Bentley, raising his arms solemnly.
" Amen," said Talbot, with equal gravity,
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BENTLEVS PRAYER
Seymour was tenderly lifted into the carriage, and
attended by Talbot, who sat by his side. Followed by
two servants who had orders to get the horses, which
they found tied where they had been left, the carriage
drove off to the Hall. With what different thoughts
was the mind of the young man busy ! Scarcely an
hour had elapsed since he galloped over the road, a
light-hearted boy, flushed with hope, filled with con-
fidence, delighted in his decision, anticipating a re-
ception, meditating words of love. In that one hour
the boy had changed from youth to man. The love
which he had hardly dreamed was in his heart had
risen like a wave and overwhelmed him ; the capture
and abduction of his sweetheart, the whole brutal and
outrageous proceeding, had filled him with burning
wrath. He could not wait to strike a blow for liberty
against such tyranny now, and his soul was full of
resentment to the mother he had loved and honored,
because she had held him back ; all of the devoted
past was forgotten in one impetuous desire of the
present To-morrow should see him on the way to
the army, he swore. He wrung his hands in impotent
passion.
" Katharine, Katharine, where are you? " he mur-
mured. Seymour stirred. "Are you in pain, my
friend?"
" No," said the sailor quietly, his heart beating
against the blood-stained handkerchief, as he echoed
in his soul the words he had heard : ** Katharine,
Katharine, where are you? where are you?"
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CHAPTER X
A Soldier's Epitaph
LEFT to himself in the deserted hall, the old sailor
walked over to the body of the old soldier.
Many a quaint dispute these two old men had held in
their brief acquaintance, and upon no one thing had
they been able to agree, except in hatred of the Eng-
lish and love of their common country. Still their
disputes had been friendly, and, if they had not loved,
they had at least respected each other.
** I wish I had not been so hard on the man. I
really liked him," soliloquized the sailor. " Poor
Blodgett, almost forgotten, as Mr. Talbot says. He
died the right way, though, doing his duty, fighting
for his country and for those he loved. Well, he
was a brave man ā for a soldier," he murmured
thoughtfully.
Out on the river the little sloop was speeding rap-
idly along. Ride as thou wilt, Philip, she cannot be
overtaken. Most of the exhausted men lay about the
decks in drunken slumber. Johnson stood moodily
by the man at the helm ; his triumph had been tem-
pered by Desborough's interference. Two or three
of the more decent of his followers were discussing
the events of the night
" Poor Joe 1 " said one.
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A SOLDIER'S EPITAPH
ā¢* Yes, and Evans and Whitely too," was the reply,
**Ay, three dead, and nobody hurt for it," an-
swered the other.
" You forget the old fellow at the landing, though."
"Yes, he fought like the devil, and came near
balking the whole game. That was a lucky shot you
got in, Davis, after Evans missed and was hit That
fellow was a brave manā for a rebel," said the raider.
In the cabin of the sloop Colonel Wilton was sit-
ting on one of the lockers, his arm around Katharine^
who was leaning against him, weeping, her hands be-
fore her face. Desborough was standing respectfully
in front of them.
"And you say he made a good fight?" asked the
colonel, sadly.
** Splendid, sir. We stole up to the boat-house with
muffled oars, wishing to give no warning, and before
he knew it half of us were on the wharf. He chal-
lenged, we made a rush ; he shot the first man in the
breast and brained the next with his clubbed musketĀ»
shouting words of warning the while. The men fell
back and handled their pistols. I heard two or three
shots, and then he fell, never making another sound.
But for Johnson's forethought in sending a second
boat load to the upper landing to get to the back of
the house, you might have escaped with the warning
and the delay he caused. He was a brave man, and
died like a soldier," continued the young man, softly.
" He saved my life at Cartagena, and when I caught
the fever there, he nursed me at the risk of his own.
He was faithfulness itself. He died as he would have
liked to die, with his face to the enemy. I loved him
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in a way you can hardly understand. Yes^ he was a
brave man, ā my poor old friend."
On the rustic bench beside the driveway over-
looking the river sat a little woman, older by ten
years in the two hours which had elapsed since she
looked after the disappearing figure of her son.
She heard the sound of wheels upon the gravel
road, and recognized Colonel Wilton's carriage and
horses coming up the hill ; there were her own two
horses following after, but neither of the riders was her
son. What could have happened ? She rose in alarm.
The carriage stopped near her.
"What, mother, are you still here?" said Hilary,
opening the door and stepping out, his voice cold
and stern.
" Yes, my son ; what has happened ? "
"Dunmore's men have raided the Wilton place.
Katharine and her father have been carried away
by that brute Johnson, who commanded the party.
Seymour has been wounded in defending Katharine.
I have brought him here. This is the way," he went
on fiercely, " his majesty the king wages war on
his beloved subjects of Virginia."
" * They that take the sword, shall perish with the
sword,' " she quoted with equal resolution.
" And Blodgett is killed too," he added.
"What else have those who rebel against their
rightful monarch a right to expect?" she replied.
" Is Mr. Seymour seriously wounded?"
" No, madam," answered that young man, from the
carriage ; " but I fear me my cause makes me an
unwelcome visitor."
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A SOLDIER'S EPITAPH
"Nay, not so, sir. No wounded helpless man
craving assistance can ever be unwelcome at my ā
at the home of the Talbots, whatever his creed. How
died Blodgett, did you say, Hilary?"
" Fighting for his master, at the foot of the path,
shot by those ruffians."
" So may it be to all enemies of the king," she
replied ; M but after all he was a brave man. T is a
pity he fell in so poor a cause."
And that was thy epitaph, old soldier; that thy
requiem, honest Blodgett, ā from friend and foe
alike, ā " He was a brave man."
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KNIGHTS ERRANT OF THE SEA
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CHAPTER XI
Captain John Paul Jones
" 'VT'OU would better spread a little more canvas, Mr.
X Seymour. I think we shall do better under
the topgallantsails. We have no time to lose."
" Ay, ay, sir," replied the young executive officer ;
and then lifting the trumpet to his lips, he called
out with a powerful voice, "Lay aloft and loose
the topgallantsails! Man the topgallant sheets and
halliards!"
The crew, both watches being on deck, were
busy with the various duties rendered necessary by
the departure of a ship upon a long cruise, and
were occupied here and there with the different
details of work to be done when a ship gets under
way. Some of them, their tasks accomplished for
the moment, were standing on the forecastle, or
peering through the gun ports, gazing at the city,
with the tall spire of Christ Church and the more
substantial elevation of the building even then be-
ginning to be known as Independence Hall, rising in
the background beyond the shipping and over the
other buildings which they were so rapidly leaving.
In an instant the quiet deck became a scene of
quick activity, as the men left their tasks and
sprang to their appointed stations. The long coils of
rope were thrown upon the deck and seized by the
groups of seamen detailed for the purpose; while
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the rigging shook under the quick steps of the alert
topmen springing up the ratlines, swarming over the
tops, and laying out on the yards, without a thought
of the giddy elevation, in their intense rivalry each
to be first.
"The main royal also, Mr. Seymour," continued
the captain. "I think she will bear it; 'tis a new
and good stick."
"Ay, ay, sir. Main topgallant yard there."
"Sir?"
"Aloft, one of you, and loose the royal as well."
"Ay, ay, sir."
After a few moments of quick work, the officers
of the various masts indicated their readiness for
the next order by saying, in rapid succession, ā
"All ready the fore, sir."
"All ready the main, sir."
" All ready the mizzen, sir. "
"Handsomely now, and all together. I want
those Frenchmen there to see how smartly we can
do this," said the captain, in reply, addressing Sey-
mour in a tone perfectly audible over the ship.
"Let fall! Lay in! Sheet home! Hoist away!
Tend the braces there!" shouted the first lieu-
tenant.
Amid the creaking of blocks, the straining of
cordage, and the lusty heaving of the men, with
the shrill pipes of the boatswain and his mates for
an accompaniment, the sheets were hauled home on
the yards, the yards rose on their respective masts,
and the light sails, the braces being hauled taut,
bellied out in the strong breeze, adding materially
to the speed of the ship.
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CAPTAIN JOHN PAUL JONES
** Lay down from aloft," cried the lieutenant, when
all was over.
"Ay, that will do," remarked the captain. "We
go better already. I am most anxious to get clear
of the Capes before nightfall. Call the men aft,
and request the officers to come up on the quarter-
deck. I wish to speak to them."
"Ay, ay, sir. ā Mr. Wilton," said the young
officer, turning to a young midshipman, standing on
the lee-side of the deck, "step below and ask the
officers there, and those forward, to come on deck.
Bentley," he called to the boatswain, "call all hands
aft."
"Ay, ay, sir."
Again the shrill whistling of the pipes was heard,
followed by the deep tones of Bentley, which rolled
and tumbled along the decks of the ship in the usual
long-drawn monotonous cry, which could be heard,
above the roar of the wind or the rush of the water
or the straining of the timbers, from the truck to the
keelson : "All hands lay aft, to the quarter-deck."