ing; at the top she
leaned over and added, "no matter who you employ your eloquence for,
Judge;" and with that parting shot she disappeared into the hall,
leaving him in puzzled doubt as to her meaning. But the question did
not require much consideration. The remembrance of the smile helped
clear it up wonderfully. He clasped his hands under his coat tails,
threw back his shoulders, walked the length of the veranda and back
with head very erect. He was a very fine figure of a man.

"The Irishman's case is quashed," he said, nodding emphatically and
confidentially to the oleander bush; "the fact that a woman, and that
woman a widow, remembers the color of the plaintiff's hair for twenty
years, should convince the said plaintiff if he is a man possessed of
a legal mind, that his case is still on the calendar. I'll go and ask
for the next dance."

He had scarcely reached the steps when Judithe saw a flutter of white
where the shadows were heaviest under the dense green shrubbery.
She glanced about her; no one was in hearing. The veranda, for
the instant, was deserted, and past the windows the dancers were
moving. The music of stringed instruments and of laughter floated out
to her. She saw Masterson in the hallway; he was watching Monroe. She
saw Kenneth McVeigh speaking to his mother and glancing around
inquiringly; was he looking for her? She realized that her moments
alone now would be brief, and she moved swiftly under the trees to
where the signal had been made. A man had been lying there flat to the
ground. He arose as she approached, and she saw he was dressed in
Confederate uniform, and that he wore no beard--it was Pierson.

"Why did you leave the place without seeing me again?" she demanded.
"This suspense seems to me entirely unnecessary."

"It was the best I could do, Madame," he answered, hurriedly.
"Masterson, unknown to the McVeighs, had spies within hearing of every
word between us, and to write was too great a risk. His man followed
me beyond the second fortification."

"And you eluded him?"

"No; I left him," answered Pierson, grimly. "I wore his uniform
back--he did not need it."

Judithe drew a deep, shuddering breath, but made no comment. "Give me
the contents of the destroyed despatch," was all she said.

"McVeigh received official notification of promotion today. Important
instructions were included as to the movements of his brigade. These
instructions must be received by us tonight in ord