ere we'll go to the quarters; and if they burn us out of there,
we'll go into the woods and throw up a shanty. As long as they leave me
or a single darky on the place the weather will never trouble you,
mother."

"But I am afraid they will not leave you with me," replied Mrs. Gray.
"You know that General Wise has asked the Richmond authorities to
re-enforce him at Roanoke Island, and they have told him to re-enforce
himself. You know what that means?"

"Yes; it means a general drumming up of recruits among the lukewarm
rebels hereabouts. But it doesn't scare me. When I see such fellows as
Allison, Goodwin, Shelby, and Dillon, and a dozen others I could
mention, shoulder a musket and go to the defence of the Island, then I
shall begin to worry about myself, and not before. Mother, Captain
Beardsley and his friends will not permit me to be forced into the army,
and neither will they let harm come to you, if they have influence
enough to prevent it."

"Marcy, I am afraid you are placing too much reliance upon Aleck Webster
and his friends," said his mother. "They have not brought Beardsley home
yet. Suppose he has the courage to defy them?"

"But he hasn't," said the boy earnestly. "He hasn't had time to answer
that letter yet, but he will do it, and he will answer it in person. I
know he would have the courage to brave an open enemy, especially if he
was driven into a corner and couldn't run, but it worries him, as it
does everyone else, to have people work against him in secret. He will
come home before he will allow his property to be destroyed, and Aleck
assured me that if anything happens to us, Beardsley will have to stand
punishment for it. But I do wish he had not caught Jack and me at
Crooked Inlet. He will tell all about it the minute he gets home--he
would die if he had to keep it to himself--and I am afraid the folks
about here will do something to us in spite of all Beardsley and his
friends can do to prevent it. I wonder where those two horsemen are
going in such haste. Why, mother, they are rebel officers, and they are
turning toward the gate. Yes, sir; they are coming in. Now what do you
suppose they want here?"

This was a startling piece of news, and a question that Mrs. Gray could
not answer. Although there were two garrisons within a few miles of the
plantation, one being located at Plymouth and the other at Roanoke
Island, Marcy and his mother seldom saw any soldiers, unless they
happened to be n