A Daughter of the Union Part 21

"But there, child! I must attend to business. I will write to your father myself and just as soon as I hear from him you shall know it."

"Will you?" cried Jeanne. "And oh, do tell him to send for me soon."

"Yes, you poor child! Or if I see an opportunity to send you safely home you shall go. I think that I can send you by one of the steamers. If I had known of this you should have returned with Mrs. Butler."

"I wish I could have done so," said the girl wistfully.

"Well, you shall go soon, I promise you. Keep a brave heart, and remember that it will not be long before you shall go. Good-bye."

He shook hands with her warmly, and then stopped her as she was leaving the room.

"Your flag, my little girl. We had forgotten your flag."

"I am not worthy," whispered the girl looking longingly at it.

"My dear, so long as your heart is as loyal as it is there is no one more worthy. Take it and keep it unsullied as you have done."

Jeanne took it joyfully and then departed. Full of misgiving she reluctantly wended her way toward her uncle's house.

CHAPTER XVI

THE VELVET GLOVE CONCEALS THE IRON HAND

There was an unusual stir in the villa when Jeanne arrived. Madame Vance greeted her with some eagerness.

"What has become of the letters?" she cried. "Surely you did not permit the Yankees to take them?"

"I could not help it, Cherie," answered Jeanne noting with her newly acquired insight into the lady's character that her own well-being was of no importance. "I did not know that the soldiers were near until Feliciane gave the alarm and thrust the papers into my hand. She should have kept them. Did she escape?"

"She did. Of course she thought that you would make an effort to do the same. What did the 'Beast' say when he found that a Yankee girl was working against him? It is very droll." And she laughed maliciously. "I am surprised that you got away from him at all."

"I would not have done so had he not believed that I was but a tool in your hands," answered the girl bluntly. "I will never forgive you, Cherie, for the way you deceived me. You told me that your brother was wounded, and that it was only to take him some medicine and food, and you have no brother at all. Was the information that you sent concealed in my basket?"

"Certainly it was," returned Madame lightly. "Was it not for that purpose that you showed me the hiding-place yesterday? Thanks to your cleverness General Thompson is aware of an attack by which Butler meant to surprise him. That basket of yours is a jewel for hiding contraband articles. It will be used again."

"It shall never again be so used if I can help it," cried Jeanne goaded beyond endurance by the knowledge of how she had been tricked. "I would not have believed that you would have been guilty of telling an untruth.

You ought to be ashamed of yourself."

"Everything is fair in love and war," said the other mockingly. "It is not wrong to falsify to Yankees."

"I will never forgive you. Never!" cried the girl pa.s.sionately. "I told General Butler just how you deceived me, and I never can trust you again.

To think that such a woman is the wife of my uncle!"

"Be careful of your words, my little Yankee," and the black eyes of the lady glittered balefully. "I have treated you well heretofore, but I may repent of my soft usage. If gentle means will not convince you of the error of your ways we will try other means."

"What do you mean? You dare not use me otherwise than well. I would not submit to anything else, and Uncle Ben would not allow you to ill treat me."

"Your uncle will permit anything that I choose to do," retorted Madame angrily, and the girl knew that she spoke truly. Mr. Vance yielded to his wife in everything. "And listen, girl! I dare anything that I choose to do. I am sick of your puritanical ways, and I have resolved to change them. Why did you return if you were not of our way of thinking? Why did you not stay with 'Beast' Butler since you agree so well? Speak, girl! why did you come back?"

"I--I--because----" Jeanne was unable to proceed. The question was so unexpected that she was not prepared to answer it.

"Aha!" and Madame regarded her keenly. "I see. You came back to spy upon us. Deny it if you can."

Then as the girl made no reply she called:

"Feliciane, Feliciane!" The woman entered the room. "Take this girl to the strong room," she commanded.

"Don't dare to touch me," cried Jeanne springing away from the woman. "I will tell General Butler of this."

"So?" and Madame's face became purple with rage. "You admit it. I thought as much. You have returned as a spy. Oh, he boasts of having his creatures in every household, but he has a de la Chaise to deal with in me. Away with her, Feliciane!"

In vain Jeanne struggled and cried out against the indignity. She was helpless in the hands of the muscular negress, and was soon carried struggling and screaming to the top floor of the house, and pushed unceremoniously into a room, the door closed and locked upon her.

"Foh de land sake, lill' missy, what you doin' heah?" came in a hoa.r.s.e whisper and Jeanne turned to see the face of s...o...b..ll peering at her.

"s...o...b..ll, are you here?" she cried stifling her sobs and trying to penetrate the gloom of the darkened chamber.

"Yes, missy, I is. Dey allers puts us in heah aftah we's whipped. But how k.u.m you heah? You wuzn't whipped, wuz yer?"

"No;" and Jeanne seated herself by the prostrate form of the girl and took her hand. "I would rather have been than to do what I did yesterday." She told the darky how Madame had beguiled her into taking the trip to the Confederates, and of her subsequent arrest and discharge.

"I hopes dis Butler will help yer ef de missus got a grudge agin yer,"

muttered s...o...b..ll. "An' she sut'n'ly hab got one elsen she wouldn't put yer in dis place whar we n.i.g.g.as is put. Why, missy, dis ain't no place foh yer."

"But you have to stay here, s...o...b..ll. I ought to stand it if you do. I wish there was some way to get word to General Butler. He would take me from here I know."

"Dere won't be no way, missy," said s...o...b..ll with melancholy conviction as Jeanne sprang to her feet and began a hurried inspection of the room.

"Missus wouldn't leab a mouse hole ef she thought it could be used."

And Jeanne found her words true. It was a small low room without furniture of any kind. A pile of straw upon which the darky lay was the only thing in it. There were iron shutters at the windows so strong that it would require the strength of a man to open them. The door was bolted and Jeanne resumed her seat by the girl in a hopeless manner.

"What can we do, s...o...b..ll?"

"Nuffin. Can't do a bressed thing tell de missus ready ter let us out.

'Tain't so bad when yer gits usen ter de dahk."

"Does your back hurt much?"

"Not now, honey. It did huht awful when dey pouhed de brine on tho'."

"The brine! Not salt water, s...o...b..ll?"

"Yes'm. It did huht sh.o.r.e nuff when dey pouhed dat on. Dey does it kase dey think de whip won't make no scahs when dey heal. But it do huht awful."

This new horror held Jeanne silent, and her tears fell fast. A fierce indignation foreign to her usually gentle nature shook her from head to foot. "And father used to say that abolitionists were extremists," she thought. "Oh, if ever I get home again I'll cry out on the streets against slavery."