d
almost forgotten that Jeanne was in the room. "_Non_! _Non_!"
reiterated that young person. "Eet was no neegaire child, _pas de
tout, jamais de la vie_! I know those neegaire voice. It was a
voice white, Madame, Monsieur! Apparently it wept. Perhaps it had
hunger."

A sort of grim uncovering of his teeth was Dunwody's smile. He
made no comment. His face was whiter than before.

"Whose child was it?" demanded Josephine, motioning to the garments
he still held in his hands. "Hers?" He shook his head slowly.

"No."

"Yours?"

"No."

"Oh, well, I suppose it was some servant's--though the overseer,
Jeanne says, lives across the fields, there. And there would not
be any negroes living here in the house, in any case?"

"No."

"Was it--was it--yours?"

"I have no child. There will never be any for me in the
world--except--under--" But now the flush came back into his face.
Confused, he turned, and gently laid down the faded silks across a
chair back, pulling it even with the one where lay Josephine's
richer and more modern robes. He looked at the two grimly, sadly,
shook his head and walked out of the room.

"Madame!" exclaimed Jeanne, "it was divine! But, _quelle mystere_!"

CHAPTER XIII

THE INVASION

Dunwody joined Jamieson below, and the latter now called for his
horse, the two walking together toward the door. They hardly had
reached the gallery when there became audible the sound of
hoof-beats rapidly approaching up the road across the lawn. A
party of four horsemen appeared, all riding hard.

[Illustration: A party of four horsemen appeared.]

"Who're they?" inquired the doctor. "Didn't see any of them on the
road as I came in."

"They look familiar," commented Dunwody. "That's Jones, and that's
Judge Clayton, down below--why, I just left both of them on the
boat the other day! It's Desha and Yates with them, from the other
side of the county. There must be something up."

He advanced to meet the visitors. "Good morning, gentlemen. Light
down, and come in."

All four got down, shook hands with Dunwody, gave their reins to
servants, and joined him on his invitation to enter. Jamieson was
known to all of them.

"Well, Colonel Dunwody," began the Honorable William Jones, "you
didn't expect to see us so soon, did you? Reckon you'd ought to be
all the gladder.

"You live here, my dear Colonel," he continued, looking about him,
"in much the same state and seclusio