n asked, when Meriwether Clopton and
Miss Fanny Tomlin had taken their departure. She was still sitting close
to Nan, caressing her hand.

"I thought you would be lonely with Gabriel gone, and I just made up my
mind to come. I was afraid until I reached the door, and then I wasn't
afraid any more. If you don't want me, I'll soon find it out."

"I can't tell you how glad I am, Nan, to have you here; and I can guess
your feelings. No doubt you were shocked to hear that Francis Bethune
had been taken with the rest." The dear old lady had the knack of
clinging to her ideas.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean, Grandmother Lumsden. I care no
more for Mr. Bethune than I do for the others--perhaps not so much."

"I don't know why it is," said Mrs. Lumsden, "but I have always looked
forward to the day when you and Francis would be married."

"I've heard you talk that way before, and I've often wondered why you
did it."

"Oh, well! perhaps it is one of my foolish dreams," said Mrs. Lumsden
with a sigh.

"Your father's plantation and that of Francis's grandfather are side by
side, and I have thought it would be romantic for the heirs to join
hands and make the two places one."

"I can't see anything romantic in that, Grandmother Lumsden. It's like a
sum in arithmetic."

"Well, you must allow old people to indulge in their dreams, my dear.
When you are as old as I am, and have seen as much of life, you will
have different ideas about romance."

"I hope, ma'am, that your next dream will be truer," said Nan, almost
playfully.

That night, Nan lay awake for a long time. At last she slipped out of
bed, felt her way around it, and leaned over and kissed Gabriel's
grandmother. In an instant she felt the motherly arms of the old
gentlewoman around her.

"Is that the way you do, when Gabriel comes and kisses you in the
night?" whispered Nan wistfully.

"Yes, yes, my dear--many times."

"Oh, I am so glad!" the words exhaled from the girl's lips in a
long-drawn, trembling sigh. Then she went back to her place in bed, and
soon both the comforter and the comforted were sound asleep.

As has been hinted, the moment Mr. Sanders discovered there was some
slight chance of getting a message to Gabriel, he became one of the
busiest men in Shady Dale, though his industry was not immediately
apparent to his friends and neighbours. Among those whom he took
occasion to see was Mr. Tidwell, whose son Jesse was among the
prisoners.