e families. It's been goin' on over
fifty years, sah. De granfader, fader, and brudder of de Higbees was
killed by de granfader, fader, and brudder of de Doomonts. De Reeds
chipped in when all de Higbees was played out, fo' dey was relations,
but dey was chawed up by some of de Dowses, first cousins to de
Doomonts."

"What? Are the Dows in this vendetta?"

"No, sah. No mo'. Dey's bin no man in de family since Miss Sally's fader
died--dat's let de Dows out fo' ever. De las' shootin' was done by
Marse Jack Doomont, who crippled Marse Tom Higbee's brudder Jo, and
den skipped to Europe. Dey say he's come back, and is lying low over at
Atlanty. Dar'll be lively times of he comes here to see Miss Sally."

"But he may have changed his ideas while living abroad, where this sort
of thing is simple murder."

The negro shook his head grimly. "Den he wouldn't come, sah. No, sah. He
knows dat Tom Higbee's bound to go fo' him or leave de place, and Marse
Jack wouldn't mind settlin' HIM too as well as his brudder, for de
scores is agin' de Doomonts yet. And Marse Jack ain't no slouch wid a
scatter gun."

At any other time the imminence of this survival of a lawless barbarism
of which he had heard so much would have impressed Courtland; now he was
only interested in it on account of the inconceivable position in which
it left Miss Sally. Had she anything to do with this baleful cousin's
return, or was she only to be a helpless victim of it?

A white, dazzling, and bewildering flash of lightning suddenly lit
up the room, the porch, the dripping ailantus, and the flooded street
beyond. It was followed presently by a crash of thunder, with what
seemed to be a second fainter flash of lightning, or rather as if the
first flash had suddenly ignited some inflammable substance. With the
long reverberation of the thunder still shaking the house, Courtland
slipped quickly out of the window and passed down to the gate.

"Did it strike anything, sah?" said the startled negro, as Courtland
returned.

"Not that I can see," said his employer shortly. "Go inside, and call
Zoe and her daughter from the cabin and bring them in the hall. Stay
till I come. Go!--I'll shut the windows myself."

"It must have struck somewhere, sah, shuah! Deh's a pow'ful smell of
sulphur right here," said the negro as he left the room.

Courtland thought so too, but it was a kind of sulphur that he had
smelled before--on the battlefield! For when the door was clo