, Talbot glanced about in perplexity, and
his eyes fell upon a small sloop rapidly disappearing down the river,
under full sail in the fresh breeze which had sprung up. She was too
far away now to make out any details in the moonlight, but the sight
was somewhat unusual and alarming, he scarcely knew why.

"I got dem tied safe, Mars' Hil'ry," called out the voice of the boy
from the road.

"All right, Dick! We will leave this one here, and try to find out
what's wrong; you follow me, and keep the pistols ready."

"Yes, Mars', I got dem." The man was brave enough in the presence of
open danger; it was only the spiritual he feared.

They had scarcely gone ten paces farther toward the path, when, at the
foot of it, they stumbled over another body.

"Here is another one. What does it mean? See who it is, Dick."

The groom, mastering his instinctive aversion, bent down obediently,
and lifting the face peered into it. It was lighter here, and he
recognized it at once.

"Hit's Mars' Blodgett, de kunnel's old sojuh man. Him got a
bullet-hole in de fohaid, suh; him a dead man sholy, an' heah is his
gun by his han'," he said in an awestruck whisper.

"Blodgett! Good God, it can't be."

"Yes, suh, it's him, and dere's anoder one ober dah. See, suh!" He
laid his hand upon another body, in the same uniform as the first one.
This man groaned slightly.

"Dis one's not daid yit," said Dick, excitedly; "he been hit ober de
haid, his face all bloody. Oh, Mars' Hil'ry, dem raidahs you done tell
me 'bout been heah. Mars' Blodgett done shot dat one by de riber on de
waf, an' den hit dis one wid his musket, an' den dey done shoot Mars'
Blodgett. Oh, Mars' Hil'ry, le' 's get out ob heah."

Talbot saw it all now,--the slow and stealthy approach of the boat from
the little sloop out in the river (it had disappeared round the bend,
he noticed), Blodgett's quiet watch at the foot of the path, the
approach of the men, Blodgett's challenge, the first one shot dead as
he came up, the pistol-shot which missed him, the rush of the men at
the indomitable old soldier, the nearest one struck down from the blow
of the clubbed musket of the sturdy old man, the second pistol-shot,
which hit him in the forehead, his fall across the path. Faithful unto
death at the post of duty. The little drama was perfectly plain to
him. But who were these raiders? Who could they be? And Katharine?

"Oh, my God," he exclaimed, stung into quic