den, suh, 'tain't no mo'n
a half-'n-'our ago, Nelse come to me an' say dat he see de boss come
roun' de stable, keepin' close in by de shrubbery, an' crope in de
ball-room win-der, w'ich is close to de groun', suh. Nelse 'uz a
cleanin' de harness in de back yo'd an' he let on not to see him, like.
Miss Betty, she walkin' in her gyahden an' Miz Tanberry fan' on de
po'ch. Nelse, he slip de house whuh de lights ain' lit, an' stan' an'
listen long time in de liberry at de foot er dem sta'hs; an' he hyuh
dat man move, suh! Den Nelse know dat he done crope up to de cupoly room
an'--an' dat he settin' dah, waitin'! Soze he come an' tole me, an' I
beg Miz Tanberry come in de kitchen, an' I shet de do' an' I tole her.
An' she sended me hyuh to you, suh. An' if you 'uz a-goin', de good God
'lmighty mus' er kep' you ontel I got hyuh!"

"No; I wasn't going." Tom smiled upon her sadly. "I dare say there's a
simpler explanation. Don't you suppose that if Nelson was right and Mr.
Carewe really did come back, it was because he did not wish his daughter
and Mrs. Tanberry to know that--that he expected a party of friends,
possibly, to join him there later?"

"What he doin' wid dat gun, suh? Nobody goin' play cyahds ner frow dice
wid a gun, is dey?" asked Mamie, as she rose and walked toward the door.

"Oh, that was probably by chance."

"No, suh!" she cried, vehemently. "An' dem gelmun wouldn' play t'-night,
no way; mos' on 'em goin' wid you to-morrer an' dey sayin' goodby to
de'r folks dis evenin', not gamblin'! Miz Tanberry'll be in a state er
mine ontel she hyuh f'um me, an' I goin' hurry back. You won' come
dah, suh? I kin tell her dat you say you sutney ain' comin' nigh our
neighborhood dis night?"

"I had not dreamed of coming, tell her, please. Probably I shall not go
out at all this evening. But it was kind of you to come. Good-night."

He stood with a candle to light her down the stairs, but after she had
gone he did not return to the office. Instead, he went slowly up to his
own room, glancing first into Crailey's--the doors of neither were often
locked--to behold a chaos of disorder and unfinished packing. In his own
chamber it only remained for him to close the lids of a few big boxes,
and to pack a small trunk which he meant to take with him to the camp of
the State troops, and he would be ready for departure. He set about this
task, and, concluding that there was no necessity to wear his uniform
on the steamboat, dec