r of '93, Colonel Culpepper was sitting in his
office reading a letter from Vermont demanding a long-deferred
interest payment on a mortgage. There were three hundred dollars due,
and the colonel had but half that amount, and was going to send what
he had. Jake Dolan came into the office and saw the colonel sitting
with the letter crumpled in his hands, and with worry in the dull old
eyes.

"Come in, Jake, come in," cried the colonel, a little huskily. "What's
the trouble, comrade--what's wrong?"

But let Dolan tell it to Hendricks three days later, as the two are
sitting at night on the stone bridge across the Sycamore built by John
Barclay to commemorate the battle of Sycamore Ridge. "'Well, Mart,'
says I, 'I'm in vicarious trouble,' says I. 'It's along of my orphan
asylum,' says I. 'What orphan asylum?' says he. 'Well, it's this way,
Mart,' says I. 'You know they found Trixie Lee guilty this afternoon
in the justice court, don't you?' Mart sighs and says, 'Poor Trixie, I
supposed they would sooner or later, poor girl--poor girl. An' old
Cap Lee of the Red Legs was her father; did you know that, Jake?' he
asks. 'Yes, Mart,' says I, 'and Lady Lee before her. She comes by it
honestly.' Mart sat drumming with his fingers on the table, looking
back into the years. 'Poor Jim,' he says, 'Jim was a brave soldier--a
brave, big-hearted, generous soldier--he nursed me all that first
night at Wilson's Creek when I was wounded. Poor Jim.' 'Yes,' says I,
'and Trixie has named her boy for him--Jim Lord Lee Young; that was
her husband's name--Young,' says I. 'And it's along of the boy that
I'm here for. The nicest bright-eyed little chap you ever saw; and he
seems to know that something is wrong, and just clings to his mother
and cries--seven years old, or maybe eight--and begs me not to put
his mother in jail. And,' says I to Mart, 'Mart, I just can't do it.
The sheriff he's run, and so has the deputy; they can't stand the boy
crying, and damn it to hell, Mart, I can't, either; so I just left 'em
in the office and locked the door and come around to see you. I'd 'a'
gone to see Bob, only he's out of town this week,' I says. 'I can
throw up the job, Mart--though I'd have to go on the county; but
Mart, they ain't a soul for the boy to go to; and it ain't right to
put him in jail with the scum that's in there.'"

"Tough--wasn't it?" said Hendricks. "What did you do? Why didn't you
go to Carnine or Barclay?"

"That's just what I'm