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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Young Captain Jack, by Horatio Alger and
+Arthur M. Winfield
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Young Captain Jack
+       The Son of a Soldier
+
+
+Author: Horatio Alger and Arthur M. Winfield
+
+
+
+Release Date: January 23, 2007  [eBook #20432]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK YOUNG CAPTAIN JACK***
+
+
+E-text prepared by David Edwards and the Project Gutenberg Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net) from page images and
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+
+
+
+
+
+YOUNG CAPTAIN JACK
+
+Or
+
+The Son of a Soldier
+
+by
+
+HORATIO ALGER, JR.
+
+Author of "Out for Business," "Falling in with Fortune," "Adrift in New
+York," "Tattered Tom," "Ragged Dick," Etc.
+
+Completed by
+
+ARTHUR M. WINFIELD
+
+Author of "The Rover Boys Series," Etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  [Illustration: "OUT OF MY WAY, BOY!" AND NOW THE GUERRILLA RAISED
+  HIS OWN SWORD.--_Frontispiece._]
+
+
+
+New York
+The Mershon Company
+Publishers
+Copyright, 1901,
+by
+The Mershon Company.
+All rights reserved.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+"YOUNG CAPTAIN JACK" relates the adventures of a boy waif, who is cast
+upon the Atlantic shore of one of our Southern States and taken into one
+of the leading families of the locality. The youth grows up as a member
+of the family, knowing little or nothing of his past. This is at the
+time of the Civil War, when the locality is in constant agitation,
+fearing that a battle will be fought in the immediate vicinity. During
+this time there appears upon the scene a Confederate surgeon who, for
+reasons of his own, claims Jack as his son. The youth has had trouble
+with this man and despises him. He cannot make himself believe that the
+surgeon is his parent and he refuses to leave his foster mother, who
+thinks the world of him. Many complications arise, but in the end the
+truth concerning the youth's identity is uncovered, and all ends happily
+for the young son of a soldier.
+
+In its original shape Mr. Alger intended this tale of a soldier's son
+for a juvenile drama, and it is, therefore, full of dramatic situations.
+But it was not used as a play, and when the gifted author of so many
+boys' books had laid aside his pen forever the manuscript was placed in
+the hands of the present writer, to be made over into such a book as
+would evidently have met with the noted author's approval. The success
+of other books by Mr. Alger, and finished by the present writer, has
+been such that my one wish is that this story may meet with equal
+commendation.
+
+Arthur M. Winfield.
+
+_February 16, 1901._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAPTER                                                        PAGE
+
+     I. THE ENCOUNTER ON THE BRIDGE,                              1
+
+    II. DARCY GILBERT'S STORY,                                    9
+
+   III. A MYSTERY OF THE PAST,                                   16
+
+    IV. ON BOARD THE WRECK,                                      23
+
+     V. OLD BEN HAS A VISITOR,                                   30
+
+    VI. MRS. RUTHVEN'S STORY,                                    38
+
+   VII. A SETBACK FOR ST. JOHN,                                  47
+
+  VIII. THE HOME GUARDS OF OLDVILLE,                             54
+
+    IX. DR. MACKEY INVESTIGATES,                                 63
+
+     X. THE PAPERS ON THE WRECK,                                 71
+
+    XI. MRS. RUTHVEN SPEAKS HER MIND,                            78
+
+   XII. THE BOAT RACE ON THE BAY,                                86
+
+  XIII. DR. MACKEY TELLS HIS STORY,                              95
+
+   XIV. JACK SPEAKS HIS MIND,                                   105
+
+    XV. CAPTAIN JACK AT THE FRONT,                              114
+
+   XVI. COLONEL STANTON'S VISIT,                                125
+
+  XVII. A SCENE IN THE SUMMERHOUSE,                             134
+
+ XVIII. MEETING OF THE COUSINS,                                 143
+
+   XIX. A SUMMONS FROM THE FRONT,                               154
+
+    XX. THE STORM OF BATTLE AGAIN,                              163
+
+   XXI. A LIVELY FIRE,                                          172
+
+  XXII. AFTER THE BATTLE,                                       180
+
+ XXIII. DR. MACKEY'S BOLD MOVE,                                 188
+
+  XXIV. THE HUNT FOR JACK,                                      197
+
+   XXV. A REMARKABLE REVELATION,                                204
+
+  XXVI. DR. MACKEY SHOWS HIS HAND,                              212
+
+ XXVII. COLONEL STANTON'S TALE,                                 220
+
+XXVIII. IN THE HANDS OF THE GUERRILLAS,                         228
+
+  XXIX. THE ESCAPE FROM THE CAVE,                               235
+
+   XXX. BROUGHT TO BAY,                                         243
+
+  XXXI. FATHER AND SON--CONCLUSION,                             252
+
+
+
+
+YOUNG CAPTAIN JACK.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE ENCOUNTER ON THE BRIDGE.
+
+
+"Get out of the way, boy, or I'll ride over you!"
+
+"Wait a second, please, until I haul in this fish. He's such a beauty I
+don't wish to lose him."
+
+"Do you suppose I'm going to bother with your fish? Get out of the way,
+I say!" And the man, who sat astride of a coal-black horse, shook his
+hand threateningly. He was dressed in the uniform of a surgeon in the
+Confederate Army, and his face was dark and crafty.
+
+The boy, who was but fourteen and rather slenderly built, looked up in
+surprise. He was seated on the side of a narrow bridge spanning a
+mountain stream flowing into the ocean, and near him rested a basket
+half-filled with fish. He had been on the point of hauling in another
+fish--of extra size--but now his prize gave a sudden flip and
+disappeared from view.
+
+"Gone! and you made me miss him!" he cried, much vexed.
+
+"Shut up about your fish and get out of the way!" stormed the man on the
+horse. "Am I to be held up here all day by a mere boy?"
+
+"Excuse me, but I have as much right on this bridge as you," answered
+the boy, looking the man straight in the eyes.
+
+"Have you indeed?"
+
+"I have."
+
+"Perhaps you think yourself of just as much importance as a surgeon in
+the army, on an important mission."
+
+"I didn't say that. I said I had just as much right on this bridge as
+you. It's a public bridge."
+
+"Bah! get out of the way and let me pass. I've wasted time enough on
+you." The man tugged nervously at his heavy mustache. "Which is the way
+to Tanner's Mill?"
+
+To this the youth made no reply. Gathering up his fishing rod and his
+basket, he stepped to the river bank and prepared to make another cast
+into the water.
+
+"I say, tell me the way to Tanner's Mill," repeated the man.
+
+"I reckon you had better go elsewhere for your information," returned
+the boy quietly, but with a faint smile playing over his handsome,
+sunburned face.
+
+"What, you young rascal, you won't tell me?" stormed the man.
+
+"No, I won't. And I beg to let you know I am no rascal."
+
+"You are a rascal," was the snappy reply. "Answer my question, or it
+will be the worse for you," and now the man leaped to the ground and
+advanced with clenched fists. Possibly he thought the youth would
+retreat; if so, he was mistaken.
+
+"Don't you dare to touch me, sir. I am not your slave."
+
+"You'll answer my question."
+
+"I will not."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because you haven't treated me decently; that's why."
+
+"You hold a mighty big opinion of yourself."
+
+"If I do, that's my own business."
+
+"Perhaps you are a Northern mudsill."
+
+"No, I am just as loyal to the South as you or anybody."
+
+"I wouldn't care to take your word on that point, youngster. I am on an
+important mission, and if you sympathize with our South in this great
+war you'll direct me to the short way to Tanner's Mill."
+
+"Do they expect a fight at Tanner's Mill?"
+
+"Don't bother me with questions. Show me the road, and I'll be off."
+
+"Keep to the right and you'll be right," answered the youth, after a
+pause, and then he resumed his fishing.
+
+The man scowled darkly as he leaped again into the saddle. "How I would
+love to warm you--if I had time," he muttered, then put spurs to his
+steed and galloped off.
+
+"So he is going to Tanner's Mill," mused the boy, when left alone. "If
+they have a fight there it will be getting pretty close to home. I don't
+believe mother will like that."
+
+As will be surmised from the scene just described, Jack Ruthven was a
+manly, self-reliant boy, not easily intimidated by those who would
+browbeat him.
+
+He lived in a large mansion, set back some distance from the river, upon
+what was considered at that time one of the richest plantations in South
+Carolina.
+
+Mrs. Ruthven was a widow, having lost her husband, Colonel Martin
+Ruthven, at the bloody battle of Gettysburg. She had one daughter,
+Marion, a beautiful young lady of seventeen. Marion and Jack thought the
+world of each other and were all but inseparable.
+
+The sudden taking-off of the colonel had proved a great shock both to
+the children and to Mrs. Ruthven, and for a long time the lady of the
+house had lain on a bed of sickness, in consequence.
+
+She was now around, but still weak and pale. Her one consolation was the
+children, and she clung to them closer than ever.
+
+On several occasions Jack had spoken of enlisting as a drummer boy, but
+Mrs. Ruthven would not listen to it.
+
+"No, no, Jack! I cannot spare you!" had been her words. "One gone out of
+the family is enough."
+
+And Marion, too, had clung to him, so that going away became almost an
+impossibility, although he longed for the glories of a soldier's life,
+with never a thought of all the hardships and sufferings such a life
+entails.
+
+The meeting with the Confederate surgeon had filled Jack's head once
+more with visions of army life, and as he continued to fish he forgot
+all about the unpleasant encounter, although he remembered that
+repulsive face well. He was destined to meet the surgeon again, and
+under most disagreeable circumstances.
+
+"I wish mother would let me join the army," he thought, after hauling in
+another fish. "I am sure our regiments need all the men they can get.
+Somehow, we seem to be getting the worst of the fighting lately. I
+wonder what would happen if the South should be beaten in this
+struggle?"
+
+Ten minutes passed, when a merry whistle was heard on the road and
+another boy appeared, of about Jack's age.
+
+"Hullo, Darcy!" cried Jack. "Come to help me fish?"
+
+"I didn't know you were fishing," answered Darcy Gilbert, a youth who
+lived on the plantation next to Jack. "Are you having good luck?"
+
+"First-rate. I was getting ready to go home, but now you have come I'll
+stay a while longer."
+
+"Do, Jack; I hate to fish alone. But I say, Jack----" And then Darcy
+broke off short.
+
+"What were you going to say?"
+
+"Oh, nothing!"
+
+There was a minute of silence, during which Darcy baited his hook and
+threw it in.
+
+"You look as if you had something on your mind. Darcy," went on Jack,
+after his friend had brought in a fine haul apparently without
+appreciating the sport. "Did you meet a Confederate surgeon on the
+road?"
+
+"No, I came across the plantation. What of him?"
+
+"He came this way, and we got into a regular row because I wouldn't
+clear right out and give him the whole of the bridge."
+
+"He didn't hit you, did he?"
+
+"Not much! If he had I would have pitched into him, I can tell you, big
+as he was!" And Jack's eyes flashed in a way that proved he meant what
+he said.
+
+"No, I didn't meet him, but I met St. John Ruthven, your cousin. Jack,
+do you know that that young man is a regular bully, even if he is a
+dandy?"
+
+"Yes, I know it, Darcy."
+
+"And he is down on you."
+
+"I know that too. But why he dislikes me I don't know, excepting that I
+don't like to see him paying his addresses to my sister Marion. Marion
+is too good for such a man."
+
+"Is he paying his addresses to her?"
+
+"Well, he is with her every chance he can get."
+
+"Does Marion like him?"
+
+"Oh! I reckon she does in a way. He is always so nice to her--much nicer
+than he has ever been to me."
+
+"Has he ever spoken to you about yourself?" went on Darcy Gilbert, with
+a peculiar look at Jack.
+
+"Oh, yes! often."
+
+"I mean about--well, about your past?" went on Darcy, with some
+confusion.
+
+"My past, Darcy? What is wrong about my past?"
+
+"Nothing, I hope. But I didn't like what St. John Ruthven said about
+you."
+
+"But what did he say?"
+
+"I don't know as I ought to tell you. I didn't believe him."
+
+"But I want to know what he did say?" demanded Jack, throwing down his
+fishing pole and coming up close to his friend.
+
+"Well, if you must know, Jack, he said you were a nobody, that you
+didn't belong to the Ruthven family at all, and that you would have to
+go away some day," was the answer, which filled Jack with consternation.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+DARCY GILBERT'S STORY.
+
+
+"He said I didn't belong to the Ruthven family?" said Jack slowly, when
+he felt able to speak.
+
+"He did, and I told him I didn't believe him."
+
+"But--but--I don't understand you, Darcy. Am I not Jack Ruthven, the son
+of the late Colonel Martin Ruthven?"
+
+"He says not."
+
+"What! Does he mean to say that my mother isn't my mother at all?"
+ejaculated Jack, with wide-open eyes.
+
+"That's it exactly, and he added that Marion wasn't your sister."
+
+"I'll--I'll punch his head for that!" was the quick return.
+
+"I felt like doing that, too, Jack, even though he is so much older than
+either of us. I told him he was a mean fellow and that I wouldn't
+believe him under oath."
+
+"But how did it all come about?"
+
+"Oh, it started at the boathouse back of Old Ben's place. He wanted to
+bully me, and I told him I wouldn't let him lord it over me any more
+than you let him bully you. That got him started, for it seems he was
+sore over the fact that you took Marion out for a boatride one afternoon
+when he wanted her to go along with him on horseback. One word brought
+on another, and at last he said he reckoned you would have to clear out
+some day--that you were only a low upstart anyway, with no real claim on
+the Ruthvens."
+
+"He said that, did he?" Jack drew a long breath and set his teeth hard.
+"Did he try to prove his words?"
+
+"I didn't give him a chance. I was so upset I merely told him I didn't
+believe him, and came away."
+
+"And where did he go?"
+
+"He started off toward town."
+
+"When he comes back I'm going to find out the truth of this matter."
+
+"I don't believe his story, Jack, and I wouldn't worry myself about it."
+
+"But supposing it were true, Darcy--that I was a--a--nobody, as he
+says?"
+
+"I should think just as much of you," answered the other lad quickly.
+
+"Thank you for that."
+
+"St. John always talks too much--don't mind him."
+
+"But I shall. If he tells the truth I want to know it--and, if not, I
+shall take steps to make him take back the stories he is circulating."
+
+"It's a wonder he hasn't gone to the war. Why doesn't he enlist, like
+the rest of the young men in this neighborhood?"
+
+"He says he must stay with his mother. But the real reason is, I think,
+that he is a coward."
+
+"Perhaps you are right. I remember once, when there was a cry of mad dog
+in the town, he hid in a warehouse and was almost scared to death."
+
+"Yes, I remember that, and I remember, too, when Big Bill, the slave,
+ran away and threatened to kill the first white man he met, St. John hid
+in the mansion and didn't come outside the door for a week."
+
+"Such a coward wouldn't be above circulating falsehoods."
+
+"I wish I knew just where to find him. I would have it out with him in
+short order," concluded Jack.
+
+The youth was in no humor for further fishing and soon wound up his line
+and started for home.
+
+As he passed along over the plantation road his thoughts were busy.
+Could there be any truth in what St. John Ruthven had said? Was he
+really a nobody, with no claim upon the lady he called mother and the
+girl he looked upon as his sister? A chill passed down his backbone,
+and, as he came in sight of the stately old mansion that he called home,
+he paused to wipe the cold perspiration from his forehead.
+
+"I will go to mother and ask her the truth," he told himself. "I can't
+wait to find out in any other way." Yet the thought of facing that
+kind-hearted lady was not a pleasant one. How should he begin to tell
+her of what was in his mind?
+
+"Is my mother in?" he asked of the maid whom he met in the hallway.
+
+"No, Massah Jack, she dun went to town," was the answer of the colored
+girl.
+
+"Did she say when she would be back?"
+
+"No, sah."
+
+"Do you know if my sister is around?"
+
+"She dun gone off not five minutes ago, Massah Jack."
+
+"Where to?"
+
+"I heard her say she was gwine down to Ole Ben's boathouse. I 'spect she
+dun t'ought yo' was dar."
+
+Jack said no more, but giving the colored girl the fish, to take around
+to the cook, he ran upstairs, washed and brushed up, and sallied forth
+to find Marion.
+
+The boathouse which had been mentioned was an old affair, standing upon
+the shore of a wide bay overlooking the Atlantic ocean. It belonged to a
+colored man called "Old Ben," a fellow who had once been a slave on the
+Ruthven plantation.
+
+As Jack approached it he saw Marion sitting on a bench in the shade,
+with a book in her lap. Instead of reading, however, the girl was gazing
+out to sea in a meditative way.
+
+"Marion, I was looking for you."
+
+"Oh, Jack! is that you? I thought you had gone fishing for the day."
+
+"I just got home, after catching a pretty good mess. Want to go rowing
+with me?"
+
+"Yes, I'd like that very much. I was wishing you or Old Ben would come."
+
+"Or, perhaps, St. John?" said Jack inquiringly.
+
+"No; I didn't wish for him, you tease."
+
+"I am glad of it, Marion. I don't want you to give me up for St. John."
+
+"I do not intend to, Jack. But why are you looking so serious. Have you
+anything on your mind? I never saw you look so thoughtful before."
+
+"Yes, I have a lot on my mind, Marion. Come, I'll tell you when we are
+out on the bay."
+
+A rowboat was handy and oars were in the rack in the boathouse, and soon
+the pair were out on the water. Although but a boy, Jack took to the
+water naturally and handled the oars as skillfully as the average
+sailor.
+
+When they were about halfway across the bay he ceased rowing and looked
+earnestly at the girl before him.
+
+"Marion, I want to find out--that is, I've got some questions to ask,"
+he blurted out. "I don't know how to go at it."
+
+"Why, what in the world is the matter, Jack? You were red a moment ago.
+Now you are as pale as a sheet."
+
+"I want to know about something awfully important."
+
+"I'm sure I cannot imagine what it is."
+
+"Marion, aren't we real sister and brother?"
+
+The question was out at last, and as he asked it his eyes dropped, for
+he had not the courage to look into her face. He felt her start and give
+a shiver.
+
+"Oh, Jack! what put that in your head," she said slowly.
+
+"Never mind that. Tell me, are we real sister and brother or not?"
+
+"Jack, we are not."
+
+"Oh, Marion!" The words almost choked him, and for the moment he could
+say no more.
+
+"We are not real sister and brother, Jack, but to me you will always be
+as a real brother," and Marion caught his hand and held it tightly.
+
+"And--and mother isn't my--my real mother?" he faltered.
+
+"No, Jack; she is only your foster mother. But she thinks just as much
+of you as if you were her real son. She has told me that over and over
+again."
+
+"You are sure of this?"
+
+"Yes, Jack."
+
+"Sure I am a--a nobody." His voice sunk to a mere whisper.
+
+"Yon are not a nobody, Jack. When you were a mere boy of three or four
+my father and mother adopted you, and you are now John Ruthven, my own
+brother," and she gave his brown hand another tight squeeze.
+
+He was too confused and bewildered to answer at once. The dreadful news
+was true, he was not really a Ruthven. He was a nobody--no, he must be
+_somebody_. But who was he?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+A MYSTERY OF THE PAST.
+
+
+"I do not know that I have done just right by telling you this," went on
+Marion. "Mother may not approve of it."
+
+"I am glad you told me. I was bound to find out about it, sooner or
+later."
+
+"That is true, Jack. But both mother and I dreaded that time. We were
+afraid you might turn from us. And we both love you so much!"
+
+"It is kind of you to say that, Marion." Jack's face flushed. "You
+couldn't be nicer if you were my real sister."
+
+"And mother loves you so much."
+
+"I know that, too--otherwise she wouldn't have taken me in as she did."
+
+"What put it in your head to ask me this to-day?"
+
+"Something St. John Ruthven said to Darcy Gilbert. St. John said I was
+an upstart, a nobody."
+
+"St. John had better mind his own business! It was not cousinly for him
+to interfere!" And Marion's face flushed.
+
+"I suppose he doesn't look at me in the light of a cousin. He considers
+me an intruder."
+
+"Well, if he won't count you a cousin he need not count me one
+either--so there!"
+
+"But you must not hurt yourself by standing up for me," cried Jack
+hastily.
+
+"I will not hurt myself--in the eyes of those whose respect is worth
+considering. In the eyes of the law you are my real brother, for my
+parents adopted you. St. John must not forget that."
+
+"But tell me of the past, Marion. Where did I come from, and how did I
+get here?"
+
+"It's a long story, Jack. Do you see yonder wreck, on Hemlock Bluff
+rocks?"
+
+"To be sure I do."
+
+"Well, when that wreck came ashore, between ten and eleven years ago,
+you had been one of the passengers on the boat."
+
+"Me!"
+
+"Yes. I have heard mother tell of it several times. It was a fearful
+night and Old Ben, he was our slave then, was out on the bluff watching.
+Presently there was the booming of a signal gun--showing the ship was in
+distress--and soon the ship came in sight, rocking to and fro, with the
+wild waves running over her deck. Not a soul was left on board, captain
+and crew having all gone down in the ocean beyond."
+
+"But where did they find me?"
+
+"On the beach. Old Ben heard a cry of pain and ran in the direction of
+the sound. Soon he made out the form of a woman, your mother. She had
+been hurt by being hit with some wreckage. You were in her arms, and as
+Old Ben came up you cried out: 'Jack is hungry. Give Jack some bread and
+butter, please.'"
+
+"Yes, yes! I remember something of a storm and of the awful waves. But
+it's all dreamy-like."
+
+"You were only three or four years old, and the exposure nearly cost you
+your life. Old Ben took you and your mother to the boathouse and then
+ran up to the plantation for help. Father went back with him, along with
+half a dozen men, and they brought you and your mother to the house. I
+remember that time well, for I was nearly seven years old."
+
+"But my mother, what of her?" asked Jack impatiently.
+
+"Poor dear! she died two days later. The physicians did all they could
+for her, but the shock had been too great, and she passed away without
+recovering consciousness."
+
+"Then she told nothing about me--who I was?"
+
+"No. All she did say while she lived was 'Save my husband! Save my
+darling little Jack.'"
+
+"Then my father must have been on the boat with her?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And they did not find his body?"
+
+"No, the only bodies recovered were those of sailors."
+
+"Didn't they try to find out who I was?"
+
+"To be sure, but, although father did his best, he could learn nothing.
+Your father and mother had taken passage on the ship at the last moment
+and their names did not appear on the list at the shipping offices, and
+none of the books belonging to the ship itself were ever recovered."
+
+"Perhaps they are on the wreck!" cried Jack, struck by a sudden idea.
+
+"No, the wreck was searched from end to end, and all of value taken
+away."
+
+"I'd like to row over and look around."
+
+"You may do so, Jack. I presume the wreck will have more of an interest
+than ever for you now."
+
+The distance to Hemlock Bluff rocks was a good mile, but Jack soon
+covered it and, bringing the boat to a safe corner, he assisted Marion
+out and then leaped out himself.
+
+"This news is enough to make a fellow's head whirl," he observed, as
+they walked in the direction of the wreck, which lay high up on the
+beach.
+
+"I suppose that is true, Jack. But do not let it worry you. You are as
+dear to mother and me as if you were one of the family."
+
+"But I would like to know who I really am."
+
+"Perhaps time will solve the mystery."
+
+Soon the pair were at the wreck, which lay with its bow well up on the
+rocks and its stern projecting over the sea.
+
+It was no mean task to reach the deck of the wreck, but Jack was a good
+climber and soon he was aboard. Then he gave Marion a hand up.
+
+The deck of the wreck was much decayed, and they had to be careful how
+they moved around.
+
+"I am going below," said the youth, after a general look around.
+
+"Be careful. Jack, or you may break a limb," cautioned Marion.
+
+"I don't suppose you care to go down with me?"
+
+"I think not--at least, I will wait until you have been down."
+
+Soon Jack was crawling down the rotted companion way. At the bottom all
+was dirty and dark. He pushed open the door, which hung upon one rusty
+hinge, and peered into the cabin.
+
+"I wish I had brought a lantern along," he murmured, as he stepped into
+the compartment.
+
+As Marion had said, the wreck had been cleared of everything of value.
+All the furniture was gone and the pantries and staterooms were bare.
+From the cabin he passed into several of the staterooms.
+
+"What have you found?" called Marion.
+
+"Nothing much."
+
+"Any mice down there, or spiders?"
+
+"None, so far as I can see."
+
+"Then I'll come down."
+
+Soon Marion was beside Jack, and the pair made a tour of the wreck from
+bow to stern. Their investigations proved to be highly interesting, and
+they spent more time below than they had anticipated doing.
+
+"We must get back, Jack," said the girl at last.
+
+"Oh, there is no hurry! Mother is not at home," answered Jack. It seemed
+a bit odd to call Mrs. Ruthven mother now that he knew she was not his
+relative.
+
+So fully another hour was spent below, moving from one part of the big
+wreck to another. Presently Jack came to a sudden stop and listened.
+
+"What a queer noise, Marion!"
+
+"It is the wind rising. We had better be getting back, before the bay
+grows too rough for rowing."
+
+"You are right."
+
+Jack ran up the companion way and Marion after him. To their surprise
+the sky was overcast, and the wind was whipping the surface of the bay
+into numerous whitecaps.
+
+"We must lose no time in getting back!" cried Jack. "As it is, the wind
+will be dead against us!"
+
+As quickly as possible he assisted Marion over the side, and then both
+set off on a run for the little cove where the rowboat had been left
+tied up.
+
+As they gained the boat Jack gave an exclamation of dismay.
+
+"The oars--they are gone!"
+
+He was right. Marion had shifted their position before leaving the
+craft, and bumping against the rocks had sent them adrift.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+ON BOARD THE WRECK.
+
+
+"Jack, what shall we do now?" asked Marion, as with a blanched face she
+gazed into the empty boat.
+
+"Wait--the oars may be close at hand," he replied. "I will make a
+search."
+
+"And so will I. Oh, we must find them!"
+
+They ran up and down the rocky shore, looking far and near for the oars,
+but without success. Presently they came to a halt, out of breath with
+running.
+
+"Gone, sure enough!" groaned the boy. "What a pickle we are in now!"
+
+"We can't stay here, Jack."
+
+"We'll have to stay here, Marion, unless I can find the oars or make
+substitutes."
+
+"How are you going to make substitutes?"
+
+"I might take some planks from the wreck."
+
+"But you have no tools."
+
+"I have a stout jack-knife."
+
+"It will take a long time, and see, it is already beginning to rain."
+
+Marion was right, the rain had started, and as it grew heavier they
+withdrew to the shelter of the wreck.
+
+"I wouldn't mind staying here until the shower was over, only I wouldn't
+want mother to worry about us," went on Marion, when they were safe
+under cover.
+
+"That's just it. But we do not know if she is home yet."
+
+The rain soon increased, while the thunder rolled in the distance. But
+they felt fairly safe in the cabin of the wreck, and sat down on a bench
+running along one of the walls.
+
+"This looks as if it was going to keep up all night," observed Jack, an
+hour later, after another look at the sky from the top of the companion
+way.
+
+"Oh, you don't mean we'll have to remain here all night!" exclaimed
+Marion.
+
+"Perhaps, Marion."
+
+"But I do not wish to remain in such a place all night."
+
+"Are you afraid of ghosts?" and Jack gave a short laugh.
+
+"No, Jack; but you'll admit it isn't a very nice place."
+
+"I know that. But that isn't the worst of it."
+
+"Not the worst of it?"
+
+"No. You must remember that we have nothing to eat or to drink here."
+
+"That is true, but I do not feel much like eating or drinking just now."
+
+"Yes, but you'll be hungry and thirsty before morning, Marion."
+
+"Perhaps. We can drink rain water, if we wish."
+
+Another hour passed and the storm grew more violent. The lightning
+flashed across the sky and lit up the wreck from end to end. Then a
+blackness as of night followed.
+
+"We could not row ashore now, even if we had oars," observed Marion, as
+she listened to the howling of the wind.
+
+"You are right, Marion. My, how it does blow!"
+
+Suddenly, the sounds of footsteps on the deck of the wreck reached their
+ears.
+
+"Somebody is coming!" said Jack, and looked up the companion way. "Why,
+it's Old Ben!"
+
+He was right; it was Ben the fisherman who had put in an appearance,
+market basket in hand.
+
+"Marion! Jack! Am dat yo'?" came in an anxious voice.
+
+"Yes, Ben!" cried both.
+
+"What brought you?" continued the boy.
+
+"I dun thought yo' was a-wantin' ob Ole Ben," grinned the colored man.
+"I seed yo' rowin' off an' I didn't see yo' cum back, so I says to
+myself, 'Da is stuck fast on de wreck.' An' den I says, 'Da aint got
+nuffin to eat.' So ober I comes, an' wid a basketful of good t'ings from
+de plantation." And he held up the market basket. He was soaked from the
+rain, and the water ran from his clothing in a stream.
+
+"Ben, you are a jewel!" burst out Marion and patted his wet coat-sleeve
+affectionately.
+
+At this the old negro grinned broadly. He had always been a privileged
+character on the Ruthven plantation, and being set free had not ended
+his affection for his former mistress and her children.
+
+"It was very kind to come over," said Jack. "Does mother know we are
+here?"
+
+"I dun left word dat I was comin' ober an' dat I thought yo' was yeah,
+sah," answered Ben.
+
+He had brought all the good things necessary, along with plates, cups,
+knives and forks, and soon had the spread ready for them. Then he went
+off to another part of the wreck to wring out his wet garments.
+
+"It was very nice of Old Ben to come to us," said Marion, while eating.
+"It must have been no easy matter to row from the shore to the rocks."
+
+"Ben is as good a boatman as there is in these parts, Marion. It was
+kind, and he ought to be rewarded for it."
+
+"Mamma will reward him, beyond a doubt."
+
+The storm kept increasing in violence, and before the strange meal was
+disposed of the thunder and lightning were almost incessant. Ben had
+brought a candle along--knowing the darkness inside of the wreck--and
+this was all the light they possessed, outside of what Nature afforded.
+
+Ben was just putting the dishes back into the basket when there came an
+extra heavy flash of lightning, followed immediately by a rending clap
+of thunder which almost paralyzed Marion and Jack. There was a strange
+smell in the air, and both found their blood tingling in a manner that
+was new to them.
+
+"The wreck--it's been struck by lightning!" gasped Jack, when he could
+speak.
+
+"Dat's a fac'!" came from Old Ben. "It was jess like de crack ob doom,
+wasn't it?"
+
+He ran on deck, and Jack followed him, with Marion on the bottom of the
+companion way, not knowing whether to go up or remain below.
+
+The bolt had struck the wreck near the stern, ripping off a large part
+of the woodwork, and had passed along to one side. Just below the deck
+line a lively fire was starting up.
+
+"De wrack am gwine to be burnt up at las'!" ejaculated Old Ben. "We has
+got to git out, Massah Jack!"
+
+"Come, Marion!" called back the boy. "It's too bad we've got to go out
+in the rain, but I reckon we can be thankful that our lives have been
+spared."
+
+"Yes, we can be thankful," answered the girl. "Oh, what a dreadful crack
+that was! I do not believe I shall ever forget it."
+
+She came on deck all in a tremble, and with the others hurried to the
+bow of the wreck. It was much easier to climb down than to climb up, and
+soon all three stood upon the rocks below, where the driving rain pelted
+them mercilessly.
+
+"I t'ink I can find yo' a bettah place dan dis to stay," said Old Ben.
+"Come down to de shoah," and he led the way to where he had left his
+boat. With Jack's assistance the craft was hauled out of the water and
+turned upside down between two large rocks, and then the three crawled
+under the temporary shelter.
+
+Thus the night passed, and by morning the storm cleared away. Looking
+toward the wreck they saw that only a small portion of the upper deck
+had been burned away, the rain having put the fire out before it gained
+great headway.
+
+It did not take Old Ben and Jack long to launch the former's craft
+again, and this done, they all entered and the fisherman started to row
+them to the mainland. Jack's boat was taken in tow.
+
+"That was certainly quite an adventure," observed Jack, as they landed.
+"Marion, I reckon you don't want another such."
+
+"No, indeed!" replied the girl, with a shiver. "I don't believe I'll
+ever go over to the old wreck again."
+
+"It's a wondah dat wreck aint busted up long ago," put in Old Ben.
+
+"It's a wonder the poor people around here haven't carried off the
+wreckage for firewood, Ben," said Jack.
+
+"Da is afraid to do dat, Massah Jack--afraid some ob de sailors wot was
+drowned might haunt 'em."
+
+"I see. Well, I don't think the wreck will last much longer," and with
+these words Jack turned away to follow Marion to the plantation mansion,
+to interview his foster mother concerning the particulars of the past.
+Little did the lad dream of what an important part that old wreck was to
+play in his future life.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+OLD BEN HAS A VISITOR.
+
+
+St. John Ruthven was a young man of twenty-five, tall, thin, and with a
+face that was a mixture of craftiness and cowardice. He was the son of a
+half-brother to the late Colonel Ruthven and could boast of but few of
+the good traits of Marion's family. He lived on a plantation half a mile
+from the bay and spent most of his time in attention to his personal
+appearance and in horseback riding, of which, like many other
+Southerners, he was passionately fond.
+
+It was commonly supposed that St. John Ruthven was rich, but this was
+not true. His father had left him a good plantation and some money in
+the bank, but the young planter was a spendthrift and his mother, who
+doted on her son, was little better, and soon nearly every dollar which
+had been left by the husband and father had slipped through their
+fingers. More than this, St. John took but little interest in the
+plantation, which gradually ran down until it became almost worthless.
+
+"St. John, my dear, we must do something," the mother would say, in her
+helpless way. "We cannot live like this forever."
+
+"What shall I do?" would be the son's reply. "The plantation isn't worth
+working and I have no money with which to buy another place. The niggers
+are getting so they are not worth their keep."
+
+"But you told me yesterday that we had less than a thousand dollars left
+in the bank."
+
+"It's true, too."
+
+"What do you propose doing when that is gone?"
+
+"Oh! our credit is still good," was the lofty answer.
+
+"But that won't last forever, St. John."
+
+"Something may turn up."
+
+"Everything seems to prosper at Alice's place," went on Mrs. Mary
+Ruthven, referring to the home of Marion and Jack.
+
+"I know that."
+
+"And we are continually running behind. St. John, you ought to get after
+the niggers and other help."
+
+"I wasn't cut out for work, mother," was the sour answer.
+
+"But we really must do something," was the half-desperate response.
+
+"I've got an idea in my head, mother. If it works, we'll be all right."
+
+"What is the idea?"
+
+"I think a good deal of Marion. Why shouldn't we marry and join the two
+plantations? That would give us both a good living."
+
+"I have thought of such a plan myself, St. John. But there may be an
+objection."
+
+"Do you think Marion would refuse me?"
+
+"She might. In some respects Alice's daughter is rather peculiar."
+
+"But I don't see why she should refuse me. Am I not her equal in social
+position?"
+
+"What a question! Of course you are. Still she may have her eyes set
+upon somebody else."
+
+"I know of nobody. Marion is still young."
+
+"Have you sounded her on the subject?"
+
+"Not yet, but I will soon. She has Jack around so much I never get half
+a chance to talk to her."
+
+"Always that boy! When I visited Alice last I declare she talked of that
+nobody the whole time,--what a wonderful man she hoped he would
+make,--and all that. Just as if he was her own flesh and blood!" and
+Mrs. Mary Ruthven tossed her head disdainfully.
+
+"She was foolish to allow that nobody to think himself a Ruthven. But I
+have put a spoke into his wheel, I reckon."
+
+"What do you mean? Did you tell Jack the truth?"
+
+"Not exactly. But I gave a pretty broad hint to his intimate friend
+Darcy Gilbert, and Darcy, of course, will carry the news straight to
+Jack."
+
+"Oh, St. John! that may cause trouble. Your aunt wished to keep the
+truth from the boy as long as possible. She told me she did not wish to
+hurt his feelings."
+
+"He had to learn the truth sooner or later. Besides, I didn't want him
+to think himself a Ruthven and the equal of Marion and myself," went on
+St. John loftily.
+
+There was a moment of silence and Mrs. Mary Ruthven gave a long sigh.
+
+"Well, I would not delay speaking to Marion too long," she observed.
+"Something must be done, that's sure, and if you wait, Marion and her
+mother may find out how hard up we really are, and then Marion may
+refuse you on that account."
+
+"I shall see her before long," answered the son.
+
+He had his mind bent on a horseback ride, and was soon in the saddle and
+off on a road leading along the shore of the bay. He hoped to find
+Marion in the vicinity of the old boathouse, but when he arrived there
+nobody was in sight but Old Ben, who was mending one of his fishing
+nets.
+
+"Ha, Ben! are you alone?" he said, as he dismounted and came into the
+boathouse.
+
+"Yes, Massah St. John, I'm alone unless there's some ghostes hidin'
+around yeah!" and the old negro smiled broadly. He understood St. John's
+character pretty thoroughly and despised him accordingly.
+
+"I thought Marion might be around here."
+
+"She aint been yeah to-day, sah. She an' Jack was out on de bay in dat
+awful storm yesterday and I reckon it was most too much fo' dem."
+
+"Out in that awful storm! It's a wonder the boat didn't upset."
+
+"Da was ober to de wrack when de big blow came."
+
+"Did they stay there?"
+
+"I went ober after 'em an' da come in dis mornin', Massah St. John."
+
+"Humph! I am surprised that my aunt should trust Marion with that boy."
+
+"Why not, Massah St. John? Jack can manage a boat as well as I can."
+
+St. John tossed his head and flung himself down upon a seat. "I think my
+aunt makes a fool of herself about that boy. Who is he, anyway? He's
+only an ocean waif; of low birth, very probably."
+
+"Dat he isn't!" said Old Ben indignantly. "He's a young gen'man, Jack
+is, an' so was his father."
+
+"Bah! what do you know about his father?"
+
+"He couldn't be Jack's father without bein' a gen'man--dat's wot I
+know," went on Ben stoutly. "Why, look at de deah chile! How noble
+an'--an'--handsome he is!"
+
+"Oh, pshaw, Ben! you had better stick to your nets. What do you know
+about a gentleman?"
+
+"I knows one when I sees one, Massah St. John," was the somewhat
+suggestive response.
+
+"Oh, do you? And I know an impudent nigger when I see one!" cried St.
+John angrily.
+
+"No offense, Massah St. John."
+
+"Then be a little more careful of what you say." St. John tugged at the
+ends of his stubby mustache. "I wish I had that boy under my care," he
+went on.
+
+"S'posin' you had, sah?"
+
+"I'd teach him his place. Why should he be reared as a gentleman--he, a
+poor waif of the sea? Probably he is the son of some low mechanic,
+perhaps of a Northern mudsill, and my aunt--think of it, my aunt--must
+bring him up as a Southern gentleman!" The young man leaped up and began
+to pace the boathouse floor nervously. "I suppose she'll leave him a
+large legacy in her will."
+
+"I 'spect you is right, Massah St. John; dat boy will be pervided for,
+suah as my name's Ben."
+
+"You talk as if you already knew something of this?" said St. John
+quickly.
+
+"I does know somet'ing, sah."
+
+"Has my aunt ever spoken to you on the subject, Ben?"
+
+"I don't know as I ought to answer dat dar question, Massah St. John."
+
+"Then she has spoken. What did she say?"
+
+The colored man hesitated.
+
+"As I said befo', sah, I don't rackon I ought to answer dat dar
+question."
+
+"But you must answer me, Ben--to keep silent is foolish. Rest assured I
+have the best interests of my aunt and Marion at heart. Now what did she
+say?"
+
+"Well, sah, if yo' must know, she said as how she was gwine to leave
+Massah Jack half de prop'ty."
+
+St. John leaped back in amazement.
+
+"You don't mean that, Ben!" he gasped.
+
+"Yes, sah, I does mean it."
+
+"Half the property?"
+
+"Yes, sah."
+
+"He doesn't deserve it!"
+
+At this the old negro shrugged his huge shoulders.
+
+"Rackon de missus knows what she wants to do."
+
+"But it is not right--to give the boy half the estate. I suppose the
+other half will go to Marion."
+
+"Yes, sah."
+
+The young man's face grew pale, and he began to pace the floor again.
+
+"She never mentioned me in connection with this, did she?"
+
+"No, sah."
+
+"And yet I am her nephew."
+
+"Rackon she dun thought yo' was rich enough, Massah St. John."
+
+"Perhaps I am, Ben. But it is strange that my own flesh and blood should
+forget me, to take up with a nobody. Did my aunt ever speak of the
+particulars of what she intended to do?"
+
+"No, sah."
+
+"Humph! It's strange. I must look into this." And a few minutes later
+St. John Ruthven was off on horseback, in a frame of mind far from
+pleasant.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+MRS. RUTHVEN'S STORY.
+
+
+"I am so glad to see you both back, safe and sound!"
+
+It was Mrs. Alice Ruthven who spoke, as she embraced first her daughter
+and then Jack.
+
+"And we are glad enough to get back, mother," answered Marion.
+
+"I was so frightened, even after Old Ben went after you. We watched the
+lightning, and when it struck the wreck----" Mrs. Ruthven stopped
+speaking and gave a shiver.
+
+"We weren't in such very great danger," answered Jack. Then he looked at
+the lady curiously.
+
+"What is it, Jack? You have something on your mind," she said quickly.
+
+The youth looked at Marian, who turned red.
+
+"I--I--that is, mother, Jack knows the truth," faltered the girl.
+
+"The truth?" repeated Mrs. Ruthven slowly.
+
+"Yes, Marion has told me the truth," said Jack, in as steady a voice as
+he could command. "And so I--I--am not your son." He could scarcely
+speak the words.
+
+"Oh, Jack!" The lady caught him in her arms. "So you know the truth at
+last?" She kissed him. "But you are my son, just as if you were my own
+flesh and blood. You are not angry at me for keeping this a secret so
+long? I did it because I did not wish to hurt your feelings."
+
+"No, I am not angry at you, Mrs. Ruth----"
+
+"Call me mother, Jack."
+
+"I am not angry, mother. You have been very kind to me. But it is so
+strange! I can't understand it all," and he heaved a deep sigh.
+
+"You have been a son to me in the past, Jack; I wish you to continue to
+be one."
+
+"But I have no real claim upon you."
+
+"Yes, you have, for my late husband and myself adopted you."
+
+"Marion told me that you never heard one word regarding my past."
+
+"She told the truth. We tried our best, but every effort ended in
+failure. Your mother called you Jack ere she died, and that was all."
+
+"What of our clothing? Was none of it marked, or had she nothing in her
+pocket?"
+
+"No, the clothing was not marked, and she had nothing in her pocket but
+a lace handkerchief, also unmarked. That handkerchief I have kept, with
+the clothing. And I have also kept a ring she wore upon one of her
+fingers."
+
+"Was that marked?"
+
+"It had been, but it was so worn that we could not make out the marking,
+nor could the two jewelers by whom we had the ring inspected."
+
+"I would like to see the ring."
+
+"I will get it," returned Mrs. Ruthven, and left the room. Soon she came
+back with a small jewel casket, from which she took a ring and a very
+dainty lace handkerchief.
+
+"Here is the ring," she said, as she passed it over to Jack.
+
+"It looks like a wedding ring," said the youth, as he gazed at the
+circlet of gold.
+
+"I believe it is a wedding ring."
+
+Jack looked inside and saw some markings, but all were so faint that it
+was impossible to make out more than the figures 1 and 8.
+
+"Those figures stand for eighteen hundred and something, I imagine,"
+said Mrs. Ruthven. "They must give the year when your mother was
+married."
+
+"I suppose you are right."
+
+"The ring belongs to you, Jack. I would advise you to be careful of it."
+
+"If you please, I would like to have you keep it for the present."
+
+"I will do that willingly."
+
+The handkerchief was next examined. But it seemed to be without markings
+of any kind, and was soon returned to the jewel case along with the
+ring.
+
+"Now tell me how Marion came to tell you of the past," said Mrs.
+Ruthven, after putting the jewel case away.
+
+"I made her tell me the truth," said Jack.
+
+"But how did you suspect this at first?"
+
+"Because of something St. John said to Darcy Gilbert."
+
+"What did he say?"
+
+"Oh, it doesn't matter much--now, mother. He told Darcy I wasn't your
+son."
+
+"What else did he say?"
+
+"Oh, I think I had better not say."
+
+"But you must tell me, Jack; I insist upon knowing."
+
+"He told Darcy that I was a nobody, and that I would have to go away
+some day."
+
+At these words Mrs. Ruthven's face flushed angrily.
+
+"St. John is taking too much upon his shoulders," she cried. "This is no
+business of his."
+
+"I may be a nobody, but, but"--Jack stammered--"if he says anything to
+me, I am afraid there will be a row."
+
+"He shall not say anything to you. I will speak to him about this. Leave
+it all to me."
+
+"But he shall not insult me," said Jack sturdily.
+
+Marion had left the apartment, to change her clothing, so she did not
+hear what was said about St. John. A few words more on the subject
+passed between the lady of the plantation and the youth, and then the
+talk shifted back to Jack's past.
+
+"Some day I am going to find out who I am." said the boy. "There must be
+some way to do this."
+
+"Are you then so anxious to leave me, Jack?" asked Mrs. Ruthven, and the
+tears sprang into her eyes.
+
+"No, no, mother; I will not leave you so long as you wish me to stay!"
+he exclaimed. "It isn't that. But this mystery of the past must be
+solved."
+
+"Well, I will help you all I can. But do not hope for too much, my boy,
+or you may be disappointed," and then she embraced him again.
+
+Running up to his bedroom, Jack quickly changed the suit which had been
+soaked the night before for a better one, and then came below again. He
+hardly knew what to do with himself. The news had set his head in a
+whirl. At last he decided to go out riding on a pony Mrs. Ruthven had
+given him a few weeks before.
+
+The pony was soon saddled by one of the stable hands, and Jack set off
+on a level road running between the two Ruthven plantations. At first he
+thought to ask Marion to accompany him, but then decided that he was in
+no humor to have anybody along.
+
+"I must think this out by myself," was the way he reasoned, and set off
+at a brisk pace under the wide-spreading trees.
+
+He was less than quarter of a mile away from home when he came face to
+face with St. John, who was returning from his visit to Old Ben's
+boathouse.
+
+As the two riders approached each other, the young man glared darkly at
+our hero.
+
+"Hullo, where are you bound?" he demanded sharply.
+
+"I don't think that is any of your business, St. John," replied Jack,
+who was just then in no humor to be polite.
+
+"Humph! you needn't get on your high horse about it!"
+
+"I am not on a high horse, only on a small pony."
+
+"Don't joke me, Jack--I don't like it."
+
+"As you please, St. John."
+
+"What's got into you this morning?" demanded the young man curiously.
+
+"Well, if you want to know, I don't like the way you have been talking
+about me."
+
+"Oho! so that is how the wind blows."
+
+"You have taken the pains to call me a nobody," went on Jack hotly.
+
+"I told the truth, didn't I?"
+
+"I consider myself just as good as you, St. John Ruthven."
+
+"Do you indeed!" sneered the spendthrift.
+
+"I do indeed, and in the future I will thank you to be more careful of
+what you say about me."
+
+"I have a right to tell the truth to anybody I please."
+
+"I don't deny that. But I consider my blood just as good as yours."
+
+"Do you? I don't."
+
+"Your opinion isn't worth anything to me."
+
+"Humph! still riding a high horse, I see. Let me tell you, you are not
+half as good as a Ruthven, and never will be. How my aunt could take you
+in is a mystery to me."
+
+"She is not as hard-hearted as you are."
+
+"She is very foolish."
+
+"She is my foster mother, and I'll thank you to speak respectfully of
+her," cried Jack, his eyes flashing.
+
+"Of course you'll stick by her--as long as she'll let you. You have a
+nice ax to grind."
+
+"I don't understand your last words."
+
+"She owns considerable property, and you will try to get a big share of
+it for yourself, when she dies."
+
+"I have never given her property a thought. I want only what is
+rightfully coming to me."
+
+"There is nothing coming to you by right. The property ought to go to
+Marion and the other Ruthvens."
+
+"By other Ruthvens I suppose you mean yourself."
+
+"I am one of them."
+
+"Are you so anxious to get hold of my aunt's plantation?"
+
+"I don't want to see my aunt waste it on such a low upstart as you!"
+
+Jack's eyes flashed fire, and riding close to St. John he held up his
+little riding whip.
+
+"You shan't call me an upstart!" he ejaculated. "Take it back, or I'll
+hit you with this!"
+
+"You won't dare to touch me!" howled St. John in a rage. "You are an
+upstart, and worse, to my way of thinking."
+
+Scarcely had the words left his lips when Jack brought down the riding
+whip across the young man's shoulders and neck, leaving a livid red mark
+behind.
+
+"Oh!" howled the spendthrift, and gave a jerk backward on the reins,
+which brought his horse up on his hind legs. "How dare you! I'll--I'll
+kill you for that!"
+
+"Do you take it back or not?" went on Jack, raising the whip again.
+
+Instead of replying St. John reached over to hit the youth with his own
+whip. But Jack dodged, and then struck out a second time. The blow
+landed upon St. John's hand, and he jerked back quickly. The movement
+scared the horse, and the animal plunged so violently that the rider was
+thrown from the saddle into some nearby bushes. Then the horse galloped
+away, leaving St. John to his fate.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+A SETBACK FOR ST. JOHN.
+
+
+"Now see what you have done!" roared St. John, as soon as he could
+scramble from the bushes.
+
+His face was scratched in several places and his coat was torn at one
+elbow.
+
+"It was your fault as much as mine," retorted Jack.
+
+"No such thing. You had no right to pitch into me."
+
+"And you had no right to call me names."
+
+"My horse has run away," stormed the young man.
+
+"So I see."
+
+"If he is lost or hurt you'll be responsible."
+
+"He is running toward home. I reckon he'll be all right."
+
+"What am I to do?"
+
+"That's your lookout."
+
+"Get down and let me ride your pony home."
+
+"I will do no such thing!" cried Jack. The little steed was very dear to
+him.
+
+"Do you expect me to walk?"
+
+"You can suit yourself about that, St. John. Certainly I shan't carry
+you," and Jack began to move off.
+
+"Stop! don't leave me like this."
+
+"You are not much hurt. Do you want to continue the fight?"
+
+"I don't calculate to fight a mere boy like you. Some day I'll give you
+a good dressing down for your impudence."
+
+"All right; when that time comes, I'll be ready for you," returned Jack
+coolly, and without further words he rode away.
+
+Standing in the middle of the road, St. John Ruthven shook his fist
+after the youth.
+
+"I hate you!" he muttered fiercely. "And I'll not allow you to come
+between me and my aunt's property, remember that!" But the words did not
+reach Jack, nor were they intended for his ears.
+
+There was a spring of water not far away, and going to this St. John
+washed his face and his hands. Then he combed his hair with a
+pocket-comb he carried, and brushed his clothing as best he could. He
+was more hurt mentally than physically, and inwardly boiled to get even
+with our hero.
+
+Left to himself, he hardly knew what to do. He was satisfied that his
+horse would go home as Jack had said, but he was in no humor to follow
+the animal.
+
+"I've a good mind to call on Aunt Alice and tell her what a viper he
+is," he said to himself. "Perhaps I can get her to think less of him
+than she does--and that will be something gained."
+
+He walked slowly toward the plantation. When he came within sight of the
+garden he saw Marion in a summerhouse, arranging a bouquet of flowers
+which she had just cut.
+
+The sight of his cousin put his heart in a flutter and made him think of
+the talk he had had with his mother. Why should he not propose to her at
+once? The sooner the better, to his way of thinking. That Marion might
+refuse him hardly entered his head. Was he not the best "catch" in that
+neighborhood?
+
+"How do you do, Marion?" he said, as he strode up to the summerhouse.
+
+"Why, St. John, is that you?" returned the girl. "I did not see you
+riding up."
+
+"I came on foot," he went on, as he came in and threw himself on a
+bench. "It's warm, too."
+
+"It is warm. Shall I send for some refreshments?"
+
+"No, don't bother just now, Marion. I came over to see you alone."
+
+"Alone?" she said in some surprise.
+
+"Yes, alone, Marion. I have something very important to say to you."
+
+She did not answer, but turned away to fix the bouquet.
+
+"Can you guess what I wish to say?" he went on awkwardly.
+
+"I haven't the remotest idea, Cousin St. John."
+
+"I want to tell you how much I love you, Cousin Marion."
+
+"Oh!"
+
+"Don't think that I speak from sudden impulse. I have loved you for
+years, but I wished to wait until you were old enough to listen to me."
+
+"And you think I am old enough now?" she said, with a faint smile.
+"Mamma thinks me quite a girl still."
+
+"You are old enough to marry, if you wish, Marion."
+
+"Marry?" She laughed outright. "Oh, St. John, don't say that. Why, I
+don't intend to marry in a long, long time--if at all."
+
+His face fell, and he bit his lip. Certainly this was not the answer he
+had expected.
+
+"But I want you!" he burst out, still more awkwardly. "I want to--to
+protect you from--er--from Jack."
+
+"Protect me from Jack?"
+
+"Yes, Marion. You know what he is, a mere nobody."
+
+"Jack is my brother."
+
+"He is not, and you know it."
+
+"He is the same as if he were my brother, St. John."
+
+"Again I say he is not. He is a mere upstart, and he will prove a snake
+in the grass unless you watch him. Your mother made a big mistake when
+she adopted him."
+
+"There may be two opinions upon that point."
+
+"He knows your mother is rich. Mark my word, he will do all he can,
+sooner or later, to get her property away from her."
+
+"I will not believe evil of Jack."
+
+"You evidently think more of him than you do of me!" sneered the
+spendthrift, seeing that he was making no headway in his suit.
+
+"I do not deny that I think the world and all of Jack. He is my brother
+in heart, if not in blood--and I will thank you to remember that after
+this," went on Marion in a decided tone.
+
+"You will learn of your mistake some time--perhaps when it is too late."
+
+"Jack is true to the core, and as brave as he is true. Why, he would go
+to the war if mamma would give her consent."
+
+At this St. John Ruthven winced.
+
+"Well--er--I would go myself if my mother did not need me at home," he
+stammered. "She must have somebody to look after the plantation. We
+can't trust the niggers."
+
+"Many men have gone to the front and allowed their plantations to take
+care of themselves. They place the honor of their glorious country over
+everything else."
+
+"Well, my mother will not allow me to go--she has positively forbidden
+it," insisted St. John, anxious to clear his character.
+
+This statement was untrue; he had never spoken to his mother on the
+subject, thinking she might urge him to go to the front. His plea that
+he must look after the plantation was entirely of his own making.
+
+"Supposing we should lose in this struggle--what will become of your
+plantation then?"
+
+At this St. John grew pale.
+
+"I--I hardly think we will lose," he stammered. "We have plenty of
+soldiers."
+
+"But not as many as the North has. General Lee could use fifty thousand
+more men, if he could get them."
+
+"Well, I shall go to the front when I am actually needed, Marion; you
+can take my word on that. But won't you listen to what I have told you
+about my feeling for you?"
+
+"No, St. John; I am too young to fall in love with anybody. I shall at
+least wait until this cruel war is over."
+
+"But I can hope?"
+
+She shook her head. Then she picked up her bouquet.
+
+"Will you come up to the house with me?"
+
+"Not now, Marion. Give my respects to my aunt and tell her I will call
+in a day or two again. And, by the way, Marion, don't let her think hard
+of me because of Jack. I desire only to see to it that the boy does not
+do you mischief."
+
+"As I said before, I will listen to nothing against dear Jack, so
+there!" cried Marion, and stamping her foot, she hurried toward the
+house.
+
+St. John Ruthven watched her out of sight, then turned and stalked off
+toward the roadway leading to his home.
+
+"She evidently does not love me as I thought," he muttered to himself.
+"And I made a mess of it by speaking ill of Jack. Confound the luck!
+What had I best do now? I wish I could get that boy out of the way
+altogether, I really do."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE HOME GUARDS OF OLDVILLE.
+
+
+The week to follow the events recorded in the last chapter was a trying
+one for the inhabitants of Oldville, as the district around the
+Ruthvens' plantation was called.
+
+The army of the North had pressed the army of the South back steadily
+day after day, until the Confederates were encamped less than four miles
+away from Jack's home. For two days the cannon-firing could be
+distinctly heard, and the women folks were filled with dread, thinking
+the invaders from the North were about to swoop down upon their homes
+and pillage them.
+
+"Oh, Jack! do you think they will come here?" was the question Marion
+asked at least a dozen times.
+
+"They had better not," was the sturdy reply. "If they do, they will find
+that even a boy can fight."
+
+"But you could do nothing against an army, Jack."
+
+"Perhaps not. But I'll do what I can to protect you and mother."
+
+"Old Ben told me that you and Darcy Gilbert were organizing a Home
+Guard."
+
+"Yes; we have organized a company of boys. We have twenty-three members,
+and I am the captain," answered Jack, with just a bit of pride in his
+tones.
+
+"Then you are Captain Jack!" exclaimed Marion. "Let me congratulate you,
+captain. But have you any weapons?"
+
+"Yes. I have an old sword and also a pistol, and all of the others have
+pistols or guns. I think, if we were put to it, we might do our enemy
+some damage."
+
+"No doubt, since I know you and Darcy can shoot pretty straight. You
+ought to ask St. John to join the command."
+
+"Not much, Marion! Don't you know that St. John is a coward at heart,
+even if he is a man?"
+
+"Yes, I know it. One of the colored help on his plantation told Old Ben
+that the cannon-firing so close at hand made him so uneasy he couldn't
+eat or sleep."
+
+"Is it possible! Now the cannon-firing simply makes me crazy to be at
+the front, to see what is going on, and to take part."
+
+"Then you must be a born soldier, Jack." Marion heaved a sigh. "Oh, I
+wish this war was over! Why must the men of the South and the North kill
+each other?"
+
+"The world has always had wars and always will, I reckon. Do you want to
+come to town and see us drill?"
+
+"Will it be safe?"
+
+"I think so, Marion. I don't believe the enemy are coming here very
+soon."
+
+Soon after this Jack and Marion were on their way to Oldville, a sleepy
+town containing two general stores, a tavern, and a blacksmith shop.
+
+In front of the tavern was a large green, and here a number of boys were
+playing various games.
+
+"Hurrah, here comes Captain Jack!" was the cry, when our hero appeared.
+
+"Are we to drill to-day?" questioned Darcy Gilbert, as he ran up and
+nodded to Marion.
+
+"If you will," said Jack. His new honors had not made him in the least
+dictatorial.
+
+"All right," returned Darcy.
+
+He was first lieutenant of the company, which had styled itself the
+Oldville Home Guard, and he quickly summoned the young soldiers
+together.
+
+All had uniforms, made of regular home suits with stripes of white sewed
+down the trouser-legs and around the coat-sleeves. The boys with pistols
+were placed in the front rank, those with guns in the second rank. One
+lad had a drum and another a fife.
+
+"Company, attention!" ordered Jack, coming to the front with drawn
+sword, and the boys drew up in straight rows across the green. The drum
+rattled, and presently quite a crowd of old men, women, and children
+collected to see the drill.
+
+"Carry--arms!" went on Jack, and the guns came to a carry, and likewise
+the pistols. "Present--arms! Shoulder--arms! Forward--march!"
+
+"Dum! dum! dum, dum, dum!" went the drummer, and off marched the company
+to the end of the green.
+
+"Right--wheel!" came the next command, and the boys wheeled with the
+order of a veteran body, for each was enthusiastic to do his best.
+"Forward!" and they marched on again, and so the marching kept up until
+the square had been covered several times.
+
+"Halt!" Thus the commanding went on. "Load! Take aim! Fire!"
+
+And twenty-odd gun and pistol hammers came down with a sharp clicking,
+for none of the weapons were loaded, the boys saving their powder and
+ball until such time as they might actually be needed. A short parade
+around the main streets followed, and then Jack dismissed the company.
+
+"It was splendid!" cried Marion enthusiastically. "I declare, Jack, how
+did you ever get them drilled so nicely?"
+
+"Oh! the fellows take to it naturally. Besides, Darcy did as much as I
+did."
+
+"No, Jack is our chief drillmaster," put in Darcy. "He takes to
+soldiering as a duck takes to a pond."
+
+"It's wonderful. Still, I hope you never have to go to war," concluded
+Marion.
+
+"If we do, we'll try to give a good account of ourselves," said Darcy,
+as Marion walked away.
+
+"Indeed we will!" cried our hero.
+
+Now she was in town Marion concluded to do some shopping, and
+accordingly made her way to one of the general stores, a place kept by
+Lemuel Blackwood, one of the oldest merchants in that part of the State.
+
+Blackwood's store was usually crowded with goods of every description,
+but the war had all but wrecked his trade, and his stock was scanty and
+shop-worn.
+
+"How do you do, Marion?" said he, when the girl entered. He had known
+her from childhood.
+
+"How do you do, Mr. Blackwood?" she returned.
+
+"Pretty fairly, for an old man, Marion. That is, so far as my health
+goes. Business is very poor, though."
+
+"The war has taken the people's money."
+
+"Yes, yes! It is awful! Sometimes I think it will never end."
+
+"Do you think we will win, Mr. Blackwood?"
+
+At this the old man shook his head slowly.
+
+"I used to hope so, Marion. But now--the most of our best soldiers have
+been shot down. The North can get new recruits, but we don't seem to
+have many more men to go to the front."
+
+"Have you any more calico like that which I got a few weeks ago?"
+
+"No, I can't get a single piece, no matter how hard I try."
+
+"What have you in plain dress goods?"
+
+"Nothing but what I showed you before. I tried to get something new last
+week, but the wholesale houses had nothing, and couldn't say when
+anything new would come in. Their business has been wrecked, just as
+mine has been. Two of the best houses I used to do business with are
+bankrupt."
+
+"Then show me what you have again, please. Mamma and I must have
+something, even if it is out of date. We'll wear it for the honor of the
+South."
+
+At this old Mr. Blackwood smiled. "You are a loyal girl, Marion. I like
+to see it in a person, especially in one who is young. It shows the
+right training."
+
+"But supposing I was a Northerner," said Marion, with a sly twinkle in
+her eye.
+
+"It would make no difference in my opinion."
+
+"You believe people should be true to their convictions?"
+
+"Yes, no matter what side they stand upon. We think we are right, and
+are willing to fight for our opinions. They think they are right, and
+they are willing to fight, too."
+
+"But who is right?"
+
+Mr. Blackwood shrugged his shoulders. "Let us trust that God will bring
+this difficulty to a satisfactory conclusion. If we lose in this war, my
+one hope is that the South will not lose everything--that the North will
+be generous."
+
+"But they say Grant is a stubborn general. That he will demand
+everything of General Lee."
+
+"I cannot believe it. I have a cousin who knew Grant, and he said Grant
+was not so hard-hearted as painted."
+
+"Some say the South, if defeated, will be held in virtual slavery by the
+North."
+
+"Yes, some hot-heads say everything. I had such a fellow in here
+yesterday; a surgeon in our army, who gave his name as Dr. Mackey. He
+was ranting around, declaring that, if we lost, the Northern soldiers
+would march clear through to New Orleans and loot and burn every
+village, town, and city, and that neither life nor property would be
+safe. His talk was enough to scare a timid person most to death."
+
+"A surgeon in our army," said Marion. She had been told by Jack of the
+meeting on the bridge. "What kind of a looking man was he?"
+
+As well as he could Mr. Blackwood described the individual.
+
+"Did he seem to have a finger on one hand doubled up and stiff?"
+
+"Yes. Do you know him, Marion?"
+
+"I know of him. He met Jack on a bridge some days ago and ordered him
+off as if Jack were a slave."
+
+"He appeared to be as headstrong as he was unreasonable. I have seen him
+around here several times, but I cannot make out what he is doing here.
+He asked me about the wreck on Hemlock Bluff rocks."
+
+"What!" and Marion showed her surprise.
+
+"Yes. He said he had heard of the wreck and was curious to visit it."
+
+"That was strange."
+
+"I asked him why he wished to visit the wreck, but he did not answer the
+question."
+
+At this point some other customers came in and the conversation was
+changed. Marion bought what she wanted and went out, and presently
+joined Jack on the way home.
+
+"It was odd that surgeon should want to visit the wreck," was our hero's
+comment, after he had heard what the girl had to say. "I wonder if he
+knows anything of the ship and her passengers? If he does, I would like
+to interview him, uncivil as he is."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+DR. MACKEY INVESTIGATES.
+
+
+A few days later Old Ben was just preparing to go out in his boat when a
+visitor appeared at the boathouse. The man was clad in the faded uniform
+of a Confederate surgeon, and proved to be Dr. Mackey.
+
+"Good-mornin', sah," said Old Ben politely, as the doctor leaped from
+the saddle and came forward.
+
+"Good-morning," returned the surgeon shortly. "Can you supply me with a
+glass of good drinking water? I left my flask at camp, and I am dry."
+
+"We has de best ob watah heah, sah," returned Old Ben, and proceeded to
+obtain a goblet. "Does yo' belong to de army?"
+
+"Yes, I am a surgeon attached to the Fifth Virginia regiment." The
+visitor gazed around him curiously. "Is this your boathouse?"
+
+"Kind o', sah. It belongs to de Ruthven plantation. But when my ole
+massa--Heaben bless his spirit--sot me free, he gib me de right to use
+de boathouse so long as I pleased. I lives in yonder cabin on de bluff."
+
+"Ah! then you were one of Mr. Ruthven's slaves?"
+
+"Colonel Ruthven, sah," said the colored man, with emphasis on the
+military title.
+
+"He is dead?"
+
+"Yes, sah; killed at de bloody battle ob Gettysburg. He was leadin' a
+charge when a bullet struck him in de head."
+
+"Too bad, truly. Did he leave much of a family?"
+
+"A widow, sah, an' two chillen, a boy an' a girl."
+
+"I see." The doctor drank the water thoughtfully. "Did--er--I mean, I
+think I have seen the two young people. They don't seem to resemble each
+other very much."
+
+"Well, you see, da aint persackly brother an' sister."
+
+"No?" and the surgeon raised his heavy eyebrows as if in surprise.
+
+"No, sah. Massah Jack is only de 'dopted son ob de late colonel."
+
+"Ah, is that really so? A--er--nephew, perhaps?"
+
+"No, he aint no kin to de Ruthvens. He was washed ashoah from a wrack
+ten or 'leben years ago. I wouldn't tell dis, only it has become public
+property durin' de las' two weeks."
+
+Dr. Mackey started back. "Ha! I have found the boy at last!" he muttered
+to himself, as he began to walk the floor.
+
+"What did you say, sah?"
+
+"It's quite like a romance, my man. I should like to hear more of the
+boy's story."
+
+"Dere aint much to tell, massah. It blowed great guns durin' dat storm.
+De passengers an' crew was washed ashoah from de wrack, but de only ones
+wot came to de beach alive was Massah Jack an' his poor dear mother."
+
+"And the mother----" The doctor paused.
+
+"She only libed fo' two days. She died up to de house, leabin' de boy to
+Mrs. Ruthven. De missus promised to look after de boy as her own--an'
+she has gone dun it, too, sah."
+
+"Then Mrs. Ruthven doesn't know whose son he really is?"
+
+"No, sah. De boy's mammy couldn't tell nuffin, she was so much hurt."
+
+"But what of the boy's father?"
+
+"He was drowned wid de rest ob de passengers."
+
+"Hard luck--for the boy." The surgeon continued to pace the floor.
+
+"By the way, what is your name?" he asked presently.
+
+"Ben, sah."
+
+"There is a dollar for you."
+
+"T'ank yo', massah; you is a real gen'man," and Ben's face relaxed into
+a broad smile.
+
+"You were going out in your boat, I believe."
+
+"Yes, massah. But if I kin do anyt'ing fo' yo'----"
+
+"What of this wreck? Is it the same that one can see from the bluff?"
+
+"Yes, massah, de werry same."
+
+"It's remarkable that it should survive so long."
+
+"Well, yo' see, sah, de rocks am werry high, so de most ob de storms
+don't git no chance at de wrack. Dat storm wot put de boat up dar was de
+mos' powerful dat I eber seen in all my born days."
+
+"Is it possible to board the wreck now?"
+
+"Oh, yes, sah! I was ober dar only a few days ago. De ship was struck by
+lightning in dat las' storm, but de rain put out de fiah."
+
+"I would like to visit the wreck. I have some time to spare to-day, and
+I am curious to see how such a big vessel looks when cast up high and
+dry on the rocks."
+
+"I can take yo' ober, sah."
+
+"Very well; do so, and I'll give you another dollar."
+
+"I'll be ready in a minute, as soon as I gits my fishing tackle an' bait
+out of de boat, sah."
+
+Ben hurried to his craft. As he was lifting his things out he saw a man
+strolling near. The individual proved to be St. John Ruthven, who had
+come in that direction in hope of seeing Marion alone.
+
+"Hullo, Ben!" cried St. John. "See anything of Marion to-day?"
+
+"She dun went out in a boat, sah."
+
+"With Jack?"
+
+"Yes, sah."
+
+"What, after that experience in the storm?"
+
+"Yes, sah."
+
+"I should think they would be afraid."
+
+"Da aint so afraid as some folks is, Massah St. John."
+
+"Do you mean that as an insult to me, you good-for-nothing nigger?"
+
+"No, sah. I mean Miss Marion an' Massah Jack are wery stout-hearted."
+
+"My aunt is foolish to let Marion go out with that boy. Some day Marion
+will be drowned."
+
+"Jack knows wot he is doin', I rackon, sah."
+
+"You don't know him. He is thoroughly reckless. I presume as a nobody
+his life isn't worth much, but----"
+
+"I rackon his life is as sweet to him as yours is to yo', Massah St.
+John."
+
+"Can you take me out in a boat after them?"
+
+"Sorry, sah, but I'se gwine to take dis gen'man out, sah."
+
+St. John turned and saw Dr. Mackey standing near, the surgeon having
+come from the boathouse to listen in silence to the conversation which
+was taking place.
+
+He had met the doctor at the Oldville tavern the evening before, and
+bowed stiffly.
+
+"I am sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Ruthven," said the doctor; "but I am
+curious to visit the old wreck on Hemlock Bluff rocks. Perhaps this man
+has another boat----"
+
+"Oh, it doesn't matter, Dr. Mackey," answered St. John.
+
+"You are evidently a cousin to Miss Marion Ruthven."
+
+"I am."
+
+"And a cousin to the lad named Jack."
+
+"He is no cousin of mine--even though my aunt has foolishly treated him
+as her son."
+
+"Why foolishly?"
+
+"He is a waif of the sea--cast up from that wreck; yet my aunt presents
+him to the world as a Ruthven--when he may be of very low birth."
+
+"Evidently you are proud of your name."
+
+"I am proud, sir, for there is no family in South Carolina which bears a
+better name. We are descended from St. George Ruthven, one of the
+knights of Queen Elizabeth's reign."
+
+"I congratulate you, sir, and I now understand how this matter grates
+upon you. But permit me to state, the boy may prove to be of as high
+birth as yourself."
+
+"What, Jack? Never!"
+
+"Do not say that. Strange things have happened in this world."
+
+"But he looks as if he came of low birth," responded St. John haughtily.
+
+"There I must disagree with you, Mr. Ruthven."
+
+"Dat's de talk!" muttered Old Ben, as he eyed St. John darkly. "Massah
+Jack's as good as dat coward any day!"
+
+"As you please, doctor; but I shall hold to my opinion."
+
+Dr. Mackey shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"You have that right. Come, Ben, we will be on the way. Mr. Ruthven,
+allow me to bid you good-day," and the doctor bowed stiffly.
+
+"Good-day," was the curt response.
+
+Soon the surgeon and Old Ben were in the boat, and the negro was rowing
+swiftly in the direction of the wreck. St. John walked up the shore, but
+presently turned to view the doctor from a distance.
+
+"He talks as if he knew a thing or two," muttered the spendthrift to
+himself. "Can it be possible that he knows something of the past, and is
+going out to the wreck for a purpose?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+THE PAPERS ON THE WRECK.
+
+
+As the waters of the bay were quiet, it did not take Ben long to row Dr.
+Mackey over to the wreck on the rocks.
+
+"Be careful how you steps out, sah," said the colored man. "De rocks am
+slippery, an' you kin twist an ankle widout half tryin', sah."
+
+"I will be careful, Ben. So this is the wreck?"
+
+"Yes, sah."
+
+"I presume all that was movable in the ship has been carried off?"
+
+"Long ago, sah."
+
+"But the inside of the ship itself was not torn out?"
+
+"No, sah. De folks around yeah is too afraid ob ghosteses fo' dat."
+
+"Ah, yes! so I heard--at least, I would suppose so," replied the doctor,
+in some confusion. "By the way, you need not remain here. I will visit
+the wreck alone. You can come back in an hour or so."
+
+"Wery well, massah."
+
+"But don't forget to come back. I don't want to be left here all night."
+
+"Don't worry, sah; I'll be back fo' dat dollah, sah," and Ben grinned.
+
+"Oh, yes! I forgot about the dollar. Well, you shall have it when you
+take me back to shore."
+
+The doctor walked slowly toward the wreck, glancing back several times
+to see if Old Ben was following him.
+
+The colored man rowed away in a thoughtful mood.
+
+"Somet'ing is on dat man's mind, suah!" he muttered to himself. "He's
+gwine ter do somet'ing."
+
+With difficulty the surgeon climbed up to the deck of the wreck. A
+desolate spectacle presented itself. Everything was charred by the fire.
+
+"Truly a nice place to come to," said the man to himself. "Now,
+supposing this thing turns out a wild-goose chase, after all? Let me
+see, the stateroom was No. 15. I wonder if I can still locate it?"
+
+With caution he descended the companion way and entered the main cabin
+of the stranded vessel. Here he drew from his pocket a candle and lit
+it.
+
+He walked slowly toward the side of the cabin until he reached a
+stateroom bearing the number 7 upon the door.
+
+"Seven," he murmured. "And the second from this is eleven. That shows
+the numbers on this side are all odd. The next must be thirteen, and the
+next fifteen."
+
+He held the candle to the door, but the number plate was gone. Without
+hesitation he pushed upon the door, which was already partly open. It
+fell back, exposing the interior of the stateroom, now bare of all
+things movable, and covered with dust and cobwebs.
+
+"A dirty job this," he murmured, and set the candle down upon a beam
+running along the side of a wall. He gazed around the stateroom
+curiously, as if hardly knowing what to do next.
+
+"The little closet was set in the wall at the foot of the bed. Now which
+was the foot of the bed? I'll try both ends." He did so, tapping on the
+woodwork with his knuckles. Presently he found a hole where there had
+once been a small knob.
+
+"The closet, sure enough!" he cried, and his face took on a new
+interest. "Now where is that door-knob?"
+
+He hunted on the floor, but no knob came to view. But a bent nail was
+handy, and this he inserted into the hole sideways, and pulled with all
+his force. There was a slight creak, and a small door came open,
+revealing a dark closet about a foot square and equally deep.
+
+If the room was dirty the closet was more so, for a crack at the top had
+let in both dirt and water, and at first he could see nothing but a
+solid cake of dirt before him. Digging into this, he presently uncovered
+a heavy tin box, painted black.
+
+"Eureka! the box at last!" he cried, in a tone full of pleasure. "I am
+the lucky one, after all!"
+
+He brought the tin box forth and brushed it off. There was a little
+padlock in front, and this was locked. Bringing a bunch of keys from his
+pocket, he began to try them, one after another. At last he found one to
+fit, and opened the box.
+
+"The papers at last!" he murmured, and his eyes gleamed with
+expectation. "Let me see what there is." He turned them over. "The
+marriage certificate for one, and letters from his father about that
+property. And other letters from her folks--all here, and just what I
+wanted." He shoved the documents back into the box. "The fortune is
+mine!"
+
+Returning to the closet he cleaned it out thoroughly, to learn if it
+contained anything more of value. But there was nothing more there, and
+presently he blew out the candle, hid the tin box under his coat, and
+returned to the deck.
+
+Ben was rowing not far away and saw the doctor wave his hand.
+
+"Is yo' ready, massah?" he called out.
+
+"Yes, Ben."
+
+The colored man said no more, but rowed inshore, and in the meantime the
+doctor hurried down to meet him.
+
+"Did you find any gold, massah?" asked the colored man, his white teeth
+gleaming.
+
+"Gold! Why, you foolish nigger, what chance is there of finding gold on
+a wreck over ten years old? The best thing you can do is to break the
+boat to pieces and take the wood ashore for fuel."
+
+"But de ghosteses, massah! Besides, Mrs. Ruthven wouldn't let us touch
+dat wrack nohow."
+
+"On account of the boy, I suppose."
+
+"Yes, massah."
+
+"To tell the truth, my man, I have now as much interest in that ship as
+has that boy or Mrs. Ruthven. It brings back an exciting passage in my
+life. My visit to the wreck was made to satisfy me concerning several
+important questions. I was one of the passengers on that ill-fated
+ship!"
+
+"Golly, massah, yo' don't really mean dat?" And Old Ben's eyes opened
+widely.
+
+"Yes, I do. I suspected it before; now I am dead certain of it."
+
+At this declaration Old Ben grew quite excited.
+
+"And did yo' know Massah Jack's fadder, sah?"
+
+"Yes, my man, I knew him very well," and there was a significant smile
+on the doctor's face as he spoke.
+
+"And was he a gen'man, sah? St. John Ruthven t'inks he was common white
+trash."
+
+"He was a gentleman of high family--the son of an English nobleman,
+although born in this country."
+
+"An' Jack's mudder, sah?"
+
+"Was an American lady--a lady belonging to one of the first families of
+Massachusetts."
+
+"Golly, a Northerner!" and Ben's face became a study.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Yo' must visit de house, sah, and tell Mrs. Ruthven 'bout dis. She will
+want to heah de partic'lars wery much, sah."
+
+"Yes, I will visit the Ruthven home," replied the doctor.
+
+"Yo' know de way, sah?"
+
+"I believe I do."
+
+"I can show yo' de way, an' will do it willingly. So you knew Jack's
+fadder an' mudder! Golly, but aint dat strange--after all dese yeahs,
+too! Jack will want to see yo', ob course."
+
+"And I shall want to see Jack," replied the medical man.
+
+"Jack's a fine lad, sah."
+
+"I am glad to hear it." But, as he spoke, the face of Dr. Mackey became
+a study.
+
+"Yes, sah; aint no bettah boy in all dese parts, sah."
+
+While talking Ben was rowing steadily, and it was not long before the
+pair reached shore.
+
+Then the boat was made fast, the oars put away, and the doctor and the
+colored man started for the Ruthven mansion.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+MRS. RUTHVEN SPEAKS HER MIND.
+
+
+Leaving the shore of the bay, St. John Ruthven walked slowly toward the
+home of his aunt.
+
+It irritated him greatly to think that his cousin preferred the society
+of Jack to his own.
+
+"I must speak to Aunt Alice about this," he said to himself. "It is
+getting worse and worse."
+
+He found his aunt sitting in the garden reading. She looked up in
+surprise at his approach.
+
+"Aunt Alice, can you spare me a few minutes?" he said, after the usual
+greeting.
+
+"Surely, St. John. What is it that you wish?"
+
+"I wish to speak to you about Marion."
+
+"About Marion?" Mrs. Ruthven looked somewhat surprised.
+
+"Yes. I saw her out again in a boat with that boy."
+
+"That boy? Do you mean Jack?"
+
+"Yes. I wonder you trust her to his care--after what happened at the
+wreck."
+
+"Why should I not? Jack understands how to manage a boat. Marion is safe
+with her brother."
+
+"But he is not her brother," cried St. John.
+
+"Not in blood, perhaps, but in affection. They have been brought up
+together as children of one family."
+
+"My dear Aunt Alice, do you think you have done wisely in encouraging
+this intimacy?" he said earnestly.
+
+"What can you mean?" she demanded. "Jack is fourteen years old and
+Marion is eighteen."
+
+"Of course. But you know nothing of the boy's parentage. He is an
+unknown waif, cast upon the shore in his infancy, very possibly of a low
+family."
+
+"No, you are wrong there. Remember, I saw his mother. Everything
+indicated her to be a lady. The child's clothing was of fine texture.
+But even if it were otherwise, he has endeared himself to me by his
+noble qualities. I regard him as a son."
+
+St. John shrugged his shoulders. "You look upon him with the eyes of
+affection. To me he seems----"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"A commonplace boy,--a mechanic's child, very possibly,--who is quite
+out of place among the Ruthvens."
+
+At this Mrs. Ruthven grew indignant.
+
+"You are prejudiced!" she cried. "I will not discuss the matter farther
+with you. I wish no one to speak to me against Jack. He is as dear to me
+as Marion herself."
+
+The young man drew a deep breath. "I am silenced, Aunt Alice. But I wish
+to speak to you about Marion. She is no longer a child, but a young
+lady."
+
+"Yes, she is now eighteen," answered Mrs. Ruthven slowly. "But to me she
+seems a child still."
+
+"Well--er--at what age did you marry, aunt?"
+
+"At eighteen."
+
+"Then, Aunt Alice, you cannot be surprised if I have thought of Marion
+as my future wife. I love her warmly and sincerely."
+
+At this abrupt declaration Mrs. Ruthven was considerably surprised.
+
+"Why, St. John, do you wish to marry that child?" she exclaimed.
+
+"Why not? She is eighteen."
+
+"Yes, but I had never thought of her as old enough to be married. Have
+you spoken to her?"
+
+"Yes," he returned slowly, and with a cloud on his face.
+
+"And what did she say?"
+
+"Nothing--that is, she was taken by surprise and did not wish to discuss
+the matter at present."
+
+Mrs. Ruthven drew a breath of relief. "She was sensible. Have you any
+reason to think that she loves you?"
+
+"I think she will soon. I am not conceited, Aunt Alice, but I think I
+have a good appearance and--I am a Ruthven."
+
+"You are much older than she, St. John."
+
+"I am, but a man of my age is still a young man."
+
+"I should not object if she loved you, but I have never seen any
+indications of it."
+
+"Will you let her know that you favor my suit?"
+
+At this Mrs. Ruthven shrugged her shoulders.
+
+"But I am not sure that I do," she returned slowly.
+
+"Have you heard anything to my discredit?" he demanded stiffly.
+
+"No, no, St. John; but don't be precipitate. Let the matter rest for the
+present."
+
+"Well, if you insist upon it, Aunt Alice," he said, his face falling.
+
+"It seems to me best."
+
+"But still, Aunt Alice, if Marion allows her affections to drift in
+another direction----"
+
+"I do not think she will, for the present. She is more interested in the
+war than in anything else. Why, if I would allow it, she would go off
+and offer her services as a nurse."
+
+"Don't let her go, aunt--I beg of you."
+
+Mrs. Ruthven looked at her nephew curiously.
+
+"What makes you so afraid of this war, St. John?"
+
+"Afraid? I am not afraid exactly," he stammered. "I was thinking of dear
+Marion. It would be horrible for her to put up with the hardships, and
+such sights!"
+
+"But somebody must bear such sights and sounds. War is war, and our
+beloved country must be sustained, even in her darkest hour."
+
+He trembled and turned pale, but quickly recovered.
+
+"What you say is true, Aunt Alice. I have wanted to go to the front, but
+my mother positively refuses her permission. She is in mortal terror
+that the Yankees will come to our plantation and loot the place in my
+absence."
+
+"Do you think you can keep them from coming?"
+
+"No, but I can--er--I can perhaps protect my mother."
+
+"If you went off, she could come over here and remain with me."
+
+"She wishes to remain at home. The old place is very dear to her. It
+would break her heart to have the enemy destroy it."
+
+"I should not wish our place destroyed. Yet the only way to keep the
+enemy back is to go to the front and fight them."
+
+"Well--I presume you are right, and I shall go some time--when I can win
+my mother over," said St. John lamely.
+
+He wanted to speak of Marion again, but, on looking across the garden,
+saw his cousin and Jack approaching. Soon the pair came up and Marion
+greeted St. John with a slight bow.
+
+"We have been out rowing, mother," said Jack, as he came up and kissed
+Mrs. Ruthven. "It was lovely on the bay."
+
+"Did you go far?"
+
+"We went over to Hoskin's beach. Marion rowed part of the way."
+
+"I hope you had a nice time," said St. John stiffly, turning to Marion.
+
+"We had a lovely time," answered the girl. "Jack is the best rower
+around here."
+
+"Humph! Why, he's only a boy!" sneered the spendthrift.
+
+"Yes, I am only a boy, St. John, but I reckon I can row as good as you,"
+replied our hero warmly. He had not forgotten the encounter on the road.
+
+"Do you, indeed?"
+
+"Yes, I do. Some day we can try a race. I'll give you choice of boats
+and beat you."
+
+At this Marion set up a merry laugh.
+
+"I believe Jack can beat you at rowing, St. John," she said.
+
+"I never race with boys," answered the spendthrift, more stiffly than
+ever.
+
+"I'll race you to-day," went on Jack. "And I've rowed three or four
+miles already."
+
+"Oh, Jack! you are too tired and the sun is too strong," remonstrated
+Mrs. Ruthven, although inwardly pleased to see the lad stand up for
+himself.
+
+"I said I never raced with boys," said St. John.
+
+"I would like to see a race," came from Marion. "I dare you to row Jack,
+St. John."
+
+"Let us make it to the rocks and back," said Jack. "And you can have any
+of the boats you please. I dare you to do it," and he looked at St. John
+defiantly.
+
+"St. John may be tired. Perhaps he has been working," suggested Mrs.
+Ruthven, although she knew better.
+
+"No, he has been walking and resting along shore," said Marion. "We saw
+him from our boat."
+
+"I'll give you another advantage, besides choice of boats," said Jack,
+bound that St. John should not back out. "I'll carry Marion as extra
+weight."
+
+"Oh, that wouldn't be fair!" cried the girl. "Let St. John carry mamma."
+
+"No, I must decline to go," said Mrs. Ruthven.
+
+"I'll take Marion, and St. John need carry only himself," said our hero.
+"I am certain I can beat him. I dare him to take me up."
+
+There seemed no help for it, so St. John gave in, and soon the three
+were on the way to Old Ben's boathouse.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+THE BOAT RACE ON THE BAY.
+
+
+"I think this is a very foolish proceeding," observed St. John as they
+walked along.
+
+"I think it's going to be lots of fun," replied Marion. "The one who
+wins shall receive a lovely bunch of roses from me."
+
+"Then I'll win," said the spendthrift, and bestowed a meaning smile upon
+her, which instantly made her turn her head.
+
+They used a short cut to the beach, consequently they did not meet Old
+Ben and Dr. Mackey.
+
+When the boathouse was gained they went to inspect the four boats lying
+there.
+
+St. John knew the boats well, for he was by no means an unskilled rower.
+
+He picked out the lightest of the craft, one which was long and narrow,
+and also took the best pair of oars.
+
+Marion was going to remonstrate, but Jack silenced her.
+
+"But, Jack, if you have a poor boat, and carry me, too----" she began,
+in a whisper.
+
+"I'll beat him, anyway," replied our hero. "I know I can do it."
+
+Soon they had the boats out.
+
+Marion half expected St. John to invite her to enter his craft, but in
+this she was mistaken. The spendthrift was afraid that the extra weight
+would prove fatal to his success. Yet it angered him to have his cousin
+go off with Jack.
+
+"Marion, you ought to remain on shore," he said. "The race ought to be
+rowed with both boats empty."
+
+"Well, if you think best----" she began.
+
+"No, Marion, you are to go with me," put in Jack hastily. "I said I
+would row with you in my boat, and I will."
+
+"But I am quite a weight----"
+
+"Never mind; jump in."
+
+As there seemed no help for it, Marion entered Jack's boat and our hero
+pulled a rod away from the shore.
+
+"Now where is the race to be?" asked St. John, as he followed Jack's
+example and pulled off his coat.
+
+"Let Marion decide that," said the youth promptly.
+
+"Then make it to the Sister Rocks," said Marion. "Each boat must go
+directly around the rocks."
+
+"That suits me," said Jack.
+
+"It's a good mile and a half," grumbled St. John. He had no desire to
+exert himself in that warm sun.
+
+"It's no farther for you than for Jack," answered the girl. "Come, are
+you ready?"
+
+There was a pause, and then St. John said that he was.
+
+"And you, Jack?"
+
+"All ready, Marion."
+
+"Then go!" cried the girl.
+
+The four oars dropped into the water and off went the two boats, side by
+side.
+
+St. John, eager to win for the sake of finding favor in Marion's eyes,
+exerted himself to the utmost, and soon forged ahead.
+
+"Oh, Jack! he is going to beat," cried the girl, in disappointment. "I
+am too much of a load for you."
+
+"The race has but started," he replied. "Wait until we turn the rocks
+and then see who is ahead."
+
+On and on went the two boats, St. John pulling strongly, but somewhat
+wildly--a pace he could not keep up. Jack rowed strongly, too, but kept
+himself somewhat in reserve.
+
+When half the distance to the Sister Rocks was covered St. John was four
+boat-lengths ahead.
+
+"Ha! what did I tell you!" he cried. "I will beat you, and beat you
+badly, too!"
+
+"'He laughs best who laughs last,'" quoted Jack. "Marion, sit a little
+more to the left, please. There, that's it--now we'll go along
+straighter."
+
+"I wish I could help row," she said. "But that wouldn't be fair. But,
+oh, Jack! you must beat him!"
+
+Slowly, but surely, they approached the Sister Rocks. Being ahead, St.
+John turned in, to take the shortest cut around the turning-stake, if
+such the rocks may be called.
+
+"Too bad, Jack, you will have to go outside," cried Marion.
+
+"Never mind, I'll beat him, anyway," answered our hero, and now let
+himself out.
+
+The added strength to his stroke soon told, and before long he began to
+crawl close to St. John's craft. Then he overlapped his opponent and
+forged ahead.
+
+"Hurrah! you are ahead!" cried Marion excitedly, but in a voice her
+cousin might not hear. "Keep up, Jack; you are doing wonderfully well."
+
+Our hero did keep up, and when he reached the first of the Sister Rocks
+he was more than two boat-lengths ahead.
+
+He knew the rocks well, and glided around them skillfully, with just
+enough water between the rocks and the boat to make the turning a safe
+one.
+
+"Now for the home stretch!" he murmured, and began to pull as never
+before. He felt certain he could defeat St. John, but he wished to make
+the defeat as large as possible. "He'll find even a nobody can row," he
+told himself, with grim satisfaction.
+
+To have Jack go ahead of him drove St. John frantic, and as he drew
+closer to the rocks he became wildly excited.
+
+"He must not win this race--he a mere nobody," he muttered. "What will
+Marion think if he wins?"
+
+The thought was maddening, and he pulled desperately, first on one oar
+and then on the other. Around the rocks the waters ran swiftly, and
+before he knew it there came a crash and his craft was stove in and
+upset. He clutched at the gunwale of the boat, but missed it, and
+plunged headlong into the bay.
+
+When the mishap occurred Jack was paying sole attention to the work cut
+out for him, consequently he did not notice what was taking place. Nor
+did Marion see the disaster until several seconds later.
+
+"St. John will----" began the girl, and then turned deadly pale. "Oh,
+Jack!" she screamed.
+
+"What's the matter?" he cried, and stopped rowing instantly.
+
+"Look! look! St. John's boat has gone on the rocks and he is overboard!"
+she gasped.
+
+"How foolish for him to row so close," was Jack's comment. And then he
+added, in something like disgust, "I reckon the race is off now."
+
+"We must go back for him," went on Marion. "See, he has disappeared."
+
+The girl was right, the weight of St. John's clothing had carried him
+beneath the surface. The swiftly running water had likewise caught him,
+and when he came up it was at a point fifty feet away from the nearest
+rock.
+
+"He will be drowned, Jack!"
+
+"Help! help!" came in a faint cry from the spendthrift. "Help me, Jack!
+Don't leave me to perish!"
+
+"Keep up, I'm coming!" answered Jack readily, and as quickly as he could
+he turned his boat and pulled in the direction where St. John had again
+sunk from sight.
+
+The spendthrift was but an indifferent swimmer, and the weight of his
+clothing was much against him. Moreover, he was scared to death, and
+threw his arms around wildly instead of doing his best to save himself.
+
+He had gone down once, and now, as Jack's boat came closer, he went down
+a second time.
+
+"Oh, Jack! he will surely be drowned!" gasped Marion, and she placed her
+hands over her eyes to keep out the awful sight.
+
+"Look to the boat, I am going after him!" cried our hero suddenly, and
+leaping to the bow, he dove into the bay after the sinking young man.
+
+  [Illustration: LEAPING TO THE BOW, HE DOVE INTO THE BAY AFTER THE
+  SINKING YOUNG MAN.--_Page 92._]
+
+He had been afraid of bringing the craft closer and hitting St. John.
+Now he struck out boldly, and then made a second dive, coming up close
+to the spendthrift's side.
+
+St. John wished to cry out, but the words would not come. Espying Jack,
+he grabbed for the lad and clutched him around the throat.
+
+"Don't hold on so tight!" cried Jack in alarm. "I will save you. Take
+hold of my shoulder."
+
+But St. John was too excited to be reasoned with, and instead of letting
+up, he clung closer than ever, so that soon both were in peril of going
+down.
+
+"Let up, I say!" repeated Jack, and then, drawing up one knee, he
+literally forced the young man from him. Then, as St. John turned partly
+around, he caught him under the arms and began to tread water.
+
+By this time Marion was at the oars, her temporary fear vanishing with
+the thought that not only St. John, but also Jack, was in peril. With
+caution she brought the rowboat closer.
+
+"Catch hold there," said Jack, and seeing the boat, St. John made a wild
+clutch for the gunwale, nearly upsetting the craft.
+
+"Don't--you'll have me in the water next!" screamed Marion. Then Jack
+steadied the boat, and St. John scrambled in over the stern, to fall on
+the bottom all but exhausted, and so frightened that he could not utter
+a word. Jack followed on board.
+
+"Oh, St. John, what a narrow escape!" gasped Marion, after Jack was
+safe. "I thought you would surely be drowned!"
+
+For the moment St. John did not speak. He sat up, panting heavily.
+
+"The race is off," said Jack. "Shall I go after your boat, St. John?"
+
+"I don't care," growled the spendthrift, at last. "Where is she?"
+
+"Caught between the rocks."
+
+"Let Old Ben get the boat," put in Marion. "Both of you had better get
+home with your wet clothing."
+
+"I'm all right," answered the spendthrift coolly.
+
+"St. John, Jack saved your life."
+
+"Oh, I would have been all right--although, to be sure, my boat was
+wrecked."
+
+"Why, what would you have done?" asked Marion, in astonishment.
+
+"I would have swam to shore, or else crawled on the rocks and signaled
+Old Ben to come out after me," answered St. John.
+
+He never thought to thank Jack, and this made Marion very indignant.
+
+"Jack did a great deal for you, St. John," she exclaimed. "And he won
+the race, too," she added, and would say no more.
+
+Without loss of time Jack rowed the boat back to the landing and St.
+John leaped out. He wished to assist his cousin, but she gave her hand
+to Jack. Then the three walked toward the plantation in almost utter
+silence.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+DR. MACKEY TELLS HIS STORY.
+
+
+Left to herself, Mrs. Ruthven grew restless and began to walk around the
+garden, examining the flower beds and the shrubbery.
+
+She did not like what St. John had had to say concerning Marion. While
+she did not exactly fear the young man, yet she had heard several
+reports which were not to his credit.
+
+"They say he gambles on horse races," she thought. "And I have heard
+that the plantation is heavily mortgaged. Perhaps he wishes to marry
+Marion only for the money she may bring him. And then it is not right
+for him to remain around here when other men are at the front, serving
+their country's flag."
+
+She remained in the garden for some time, and was on the point of moving
+for the house when she saw Old Ben approaching with Dr. Mackey.
+
+"A stranger--and dressed in the uniform of a Confederate," she said,
+half aloud. "What can he wish here?"
+
+"Good-afternoon, missus," said Old Ben, removing his hat. "Here am a
+gen'man as wishes to see yo'," and he bowed low.
+
+"To see me?" said Mrs. Ruthven.
+
+"Yes, madam," replied the doctor. "Permit me to introduce myself. I am
+Dr. Mackey, a surgeon attached to the Fifth Virginia regiment," and he
+bowed gravely.
+
+"I am happy to make the acquaintance of an officer in our army, sir,"
+replied Mrs. Ruthven, and held out her hand.
+
+"I understand the late Colonel Ruthven was also of our army, and died at
+a gallant charge on the field of Gettysburg," continued the doctor, as
+he shook hands.
+
+"You have been correctly informed, doctor."
+
+"De doctor brings most important information, missus," put in old Ben,
+who was almost exploding to tell what he knew.
+
+"Is that so?" cried Mrs. Ruthven. "What is it?"
+
+"I came to speak to you about yonder wreck on Hemlock Bluff rocks," said
+the surgeon. "The sight of that wreck has taken me back to the affairs
+of about eleven years ago."
+
+"So you were--you knew of it at that time, sir?"
+
+"Yes, I was one of the passengers on the ship, madam."
+
+"A passenger! I thought all of the passengers were drowned,--I mean all
+but those who came ashore here."
+
+"I was not drowned. I was swept overboard before our ship came into the
+bay, and clung to a spar for hours, until the storm abated. Then a ship
+bound for Cuba came along and took me on board and carried me to Havana.
+The shock and the exposure were too much for me, and when I recovered
+physically the authorities at the hospital adjudged me insane, and I was
+placed in an asylum for years. Slowly my reason returned to me, and at
+last I left the island of Cuba and came to the Southern States. This was
+shortly after the war had broken out, and, knowing nothing else to do, I
+offered my services to General Lee, and was accepted and placed in the
+hospital corps."
+
+"But why did you not come here before?"
+
+"I could not tell exactly where the ship had stranded, and did not hear
+of the wreck on Hemlock Bluff rocks until about three weeks ago. Then I
+determined to make an investigation. I have now visited the wreck and
+have learned positively that it is that of the ship upon which myself,
+my wife, and our little son took passage."
+
+"Yourself, your wife, and your little son," repeated Mrs. Ruthven, and
+then of a sudden her breast began to heave. "Your wife and son were with
+you?"
+
+"Yes, madam."
+
+"Wha--what was your little son's name?" she faltered, hardly able to go
+on.
+
+"Jack."
+
+"By golly, he must be our Jack's fadder!" burst out Old Ben. "Now don't
+dat beat de nation!"
+
+"Jack! No! no! You--you cannot be our Jack's father!" cried Mrs.
+Ruthven.
+
+"I understand you are very much attached to the boy," went on Dr. Mackey
+smoothly. "It is a pity. Yes, he is truly my son."
+
+The tears came into Mrs. Ruthven's eyes, but she hastily brushed them
+away. "Jack does not look much like you," she declared.
+
+"That is true, but he bears a strong resemblance to my dead brother
+Walter, and that is what made me certain he is my son. I saw him in town
+a day or two ago, although he did not see me."
+
+"This is very strange." The lady hardly knew how to go on. The thought
+that she might have to give up Jack was a bitter one. "Have you spoken
+to Jack yet?"
+
+"No. Isn't he here?"
+
+"No, he went for a boat race, against his cousin, St. John Ruthven--I
+mean my nephew," she stammered.
+
+"Do you expect him back soon?"
+
+"I do not believe he will be gone more than an hour or so."
+
+"Then I will wait."
+
+"Of course, Dr. Mackey. Will you come into the house?"
+
+The surgeon was willing, and the lady led the way. But presently she
+turned back to beckon to Old Ben.
+
+"Go after Jack at once," she said. "Tell him it is important, but do not
+say anything more to anybody." Ben nodded, and without further delay
+strode off.
+
+"I have heard something of how the wreck struck here and how my poor
+wife was cast ashore with Jack in her arms," said the doctor, as he
+threw himself into an easy-chair. "I should be very much gratified to
+receive the particulars from your lips. Did my wife have anything to
+say?"
+
+"Nothing much, sir. She was delirious up to the moment of her death."
+
+"Poor, dear Julia!" murmured the surgeon, and bringing out his
+handkerchief, he wiped his eyes with much affectation.
+
+"Was her name Julia?" asked Mrs. Ruthven curiously.
+
+"Yes, madam." The doctor looked up suddenly. "What makes you ask?"
+
+"It ran in my mind that before your wife died she murmured something
+about her name being Laura."
+
+"Poor dear! she was truly out of her mind," replied the surgeon. "But it
+is not to be wondered at--considering what happened to me." And he
+proceeded to make use of his handkerchief again.
+
+Mrs. Ruthven sank into a chair and gave herself up to bitter reflection.
+What if this man should take Jack from her? The plantation would seem
+very lonely without him.
+
+Voices were now heard in the garden, and looking out of the window the
+lady of the house saw Jack approaching, accompanied by Marion and Old
+Ben. St. John had taken himself off, in order to get home and exchange
+his wet clothing for dry garments.
+
+"Oh, Jack! what does this mean?" cried Mrs. Ruthven when she saw that
+our hero was dripping wet.
+
+"He saved St. John's life, mamma," exclaimed Marion.
+
+"Saved St. John's life?"
+
+"Yes. St. John's boat struck on the rocks, and he went overboard. The
+current was strong, and he would have been swept away only Jack leaped
+overboard and went to his assistance."
+
+"You noble boy!" murmured Mrs. Ruthven, and as he came in, by way of one
+of the long veranda windows, she caught him by both hands.
+
+"Old Ben said you wished to see me," replied Jack, and then he caught
+sight of Dr. Mackey and his face fell. "The man I had the row with," he
+thought.
+
+"Jack, this is Dr. Mackey," said Mrs. Ruthven, in strained tones.
+"He--he came here to see you." She could get no further.
+
+"To see me? What for?"
+
+"My boy, I am pleased to meet you," said the doctor, rising and
+extending his hand. And he then added in a lower voice, "How like
+Walter! How very like Walter!"
+
+"I--I don't understand you," stammered Jack. "What do you want of me?"
+
+"My boy, you are thinking of that encounter we had on the bridge. Let us
+both forget it. I came here on a most important mission. Jack, I am your
+father!"
+
+"My father?" And our hero leaped back in astonishment.
+
+"Yes, my son, I am your father." Dr. Mackey caught our hero by the hand.
+"No doubt the news seems strange to you. Nevertheless, it is true."
+
+Jack hardly heard the latter words, for his head was in a swim. This
+crafty-looking, overbearing individual his parent? The shock was an
+awful one. He turned to his foster mother.
+
+"Mother, is this true--is this man my real father?" he cried
+beseechingly.
+
+"So he claims," returned Mrs. Ruthven.
+
+"My dear, dear son, I trust you do not disbelieve me," said the doctor,
+in an apparently hurt tone of voice.
+
+"I--I don't know what to say," faltered Jack. "This is so strange--so
+unexpected. Why didn't you come here before?"
+
+"I have just been telling Mrs. Ruthven my story," and the surgeon
+repeated what he had said, with several added details. As the man went
+on our hero's face grew very pale, and he moved slowly towards Mrs.
+Ruthven and clutched her by the shoulder.
+
+"Mother, I don't want to leave you!" he whispered hoarsely. "I don't
+like this man, even if he is my father!"
+
+"I do not want you to leave me, Jack," she answered, embracing him in
+spite of the fact that he was dripping wet. "But if this man is really
+your father----"
+
+"Make him prove it!"
+
+"You will not take his word?"
+
+"No! no! I do not like his looks. He is the man who met me on the bridge
+and treated me like a slave."
+
+Marion had listened to the conversation with a look of horror slowly
+rising on her face. Now she rushed toward Jack.
+
+"Jack, can this be true, and must I give you up?" she sobbed.
+
+"No, I'm not going to give you up, Marion. We have always been brother
+and sister, and so we shall remain--if you are willing."
+
+"Yes, dear Jack; stay by all means."
+
+By this time Dr. Mackey had arisen to his feet, and now he came up to
+Jack with a darkening face.
+
+"Did I understand you to say that you wished me to prove I was your
+father?" he demanded harshly.
+
+"Yes, I do wish you to prove it," answered Jack, with a boldness born of
+desperation. "And until you prove it I shall remain here--if Mrs.
+Ruthven will let me."
+
+"By golly, dat's de talk!" came from Old Ben, who was hanging around on
+the veranda.
+
+"Shut up, you worthless nigger!" cried the doctor, at which Ben
+disappeared like magic.
+
+"This is a very--ahem--a very strange way to treat a newly found father,
+Jack."
+
+"I don't acknowledge you as my father."
+
+"Ha! you won't believe me?"
+
+"I will not, sir, and until you prove your claim in court I shall remain
+with the lady who has been a real mother to me," answered our hero
+pointedly and firmly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+JACK SPEAKS HIS MIND.
+
+
+A dead silence followed our hero's declaration to remain with Mrs.
+Ruthven until Dr. Mackey had proved his claim to Jack in a court of law.
+
+"This is a fine way to talk!" ejaculated the surgeon at last. "A fine
+way, truly!"
+
+"I mean what I say!" declared Jack. "Mother, am I right or wrong?" And
+he turned pleadingly to Mrs. Ruthven.
+
+"Dr. Mackey will certainly have to establish his claim to you before I
+give you up, Jack," replied the lady of the plantation quickly. "You
+see, I have adopted him legally, and he has been as dear to me as though
+he were my own flesh and blood."
+
+"Well--er--of course, in one way, your decision does you credit, madam,"
+answered the surgeon lamely. "You have done a great deal for the lad,
+and for that I must be as thankful as he is. When I have proved my claim
+I will pay you back all the money you have spent upon him."
+
+"I shall not wish a cent, sir."
+
+"Yet I shall insist, madam."
+
+"Are you wealthy?" asked Marion curiously.
+
+"Yes, Miss Ruthven--or I will be as soon as I have proven my identity.
+As yet I have been able to do but little. Let me add, Mackey is not my
+real name."
+
+"What is your real name?" questioned Mrs. Ruthven.
+
+"I will reveal that later, when I have taken the proper steps in law to
+obtain the vast property which is rightfully coming to me. You see, when
+I disappeared, so to speak, nearly eleven years ago, my property went
+into the hands of distant relatives, and they hate to give it up, and
+are just as anxious to prove me an impostor as you seem to be."
+
+"I am not anxious to prove you an impostor, Dr. Mackey; my heart is
+wrapped up in Jack, that is all. If he is your son, I will rejoice that
+he will be well off."
+
+"I don't want to be rich; I would rather stay with you," put in our hero
+quickly, and he meant what he said.
+
+"Your affection for your foster mother does you credit, Jack," said the
+doctor smoothly.
+
+"She has been the best of mothers to me; so why shouldn't I love her?"
+
+"True, my son, true. But it is strange that you have no warm feeling for
+me--such as I have for you."
+
+"You are a stranger to me."
+
+"I trust your feeling towards me changes, for I want my only son to love
+me."
+
+At this Jack was silent, and instead of looking at the man he looked at
+Mrs. Ruthven and at Marion. Then, unable to control his feelings, he
+rushed from the room, mounted the stairs, and burst into his own
+apartment, where he threw himself on the bed, wet as he was, to give
+himself up to his misery.
+
+"I don't want that man for a father!" he cried, over and over again,
+half tearfully and with set teeth. "I don't want him! He isn't a bit
+like anybody I could love! Oh, how I wish I had never set eyes on him!"
+
+"It is a great shock to Jack, and to all of us," was Mrs. Ruthven's
+comment, after the lad was gone.
+
+"My reception here has been a great shock to me," said the doctor
+bluntly. "My own son runs away from me."
+
+"He had some trouble with you a couple of weeks ago."
+
+"Pooh, that was nothing! I had almost forgotten it."
+
+"Jack does not forget such things easily. Moreover, he is slow to make
+friends with anybody."
+
+"He doesn't know the chances he is throwing away. Were it not that he is
+my son, and my heart goes out toward him, I would never bother him."
+
+"What chances has he?" asked Marion.
+
+"I shall be very rich; and, not only that, our family has a famous name
+in England, with a title attached. Jack may some day be a nobleman."
+
+"I reckon he'd rather be an American," answered Marion.
+
+"Well, there is no accounting for tastes," said the surgeon dryly. "And
+you evidently have him well drilled in."
+
+"What actual proofs have you that Jack is your son?" asked Mrs. Ruthven,
+after a painful pause.
+
+"I have a number of private papers; also the marriage certificate which
+proves that I married Jack's mother. More than that, I expect soon to
+meet an old college chum who knows much of the past, and who can testify
+in my behalf."
+
+"Well, on my own account and on Jack's, I feel that I must make you
+prove your claim, Dr. Mackey. It will be hard enough to give up the boy
+when I am assured that he is really your own."
+
+"I will not discuss the situation further," cried the doctor, moving
+stiffly toward the door. "But unless you wish me to take immediate steps
+to take Jack from you, you must make me one promise."
+
+"And what is that, sir?"
+
+"That you will not spirit the boy away from this plantation, so that he
+cannot be brought into court when wanted."
+
+"I will promise that. I do not wish to do anything contrary to law."
+
+"Then that is all for the present, Mrs. Ruthven, and I will bid you
+good-day."
+
+"When do you expect to come back again?"
+
+"As soon as my duties will permit. The Yankees are pressing us hard, and
+I cannot neglect my duties as a surgeon in our army."
+
+In a moment more the doctor was gone. Mrs. Ruthven watched him out of
+sight, then sank in a chair, all but overcome. Old Ben saw her and came
+up, hat in hand, his honest face full of genuine grief.
+
+"Missus, dis am de worst wot I eber did heah," he said. "De idea, dat
+dat man wants to take our Jack away! It am dreadful!"
+
+"Yes, Ben; I do not know how I can endure it."
+
+"He don't look like Jack one bit; not one bit, missus!"
+
+"I know it, Ben. He says Jack resembles his brother Walter."
+
+"Maybe he dun nebber had a brudder Walter."
+
+"Evidently you do not believe him?"
+
+"No, I don't."
+
+"Where did you meet him?"
+
+"He cum to de boathouse, and got me to row him ober to de wrack."
+
+"You took him there. What did he want at the wreck?"
+
+"I dunno dat, missus. He tole me to go away fer an hour or so. He went
+below in de wrack, out ob sight."
+
+"Perhaps he was after something belonging to the past. Did he bring
+anything away with him?"
+
+"I aint suah about dat, missus. When I rowed him ashore he had a tin box
+hidden away under his coat, but he might have had dat when I took him
+ober."
+
+"How large a box?"
+
+"About dis size," and Ben held out his hands.
+
+"He wouldn't be likely to take such a box to the wreck with him. He must
+have found it on the ship," went on Mrs. Ruthven, with interest.
+
+"Where could he find it, missus? De folks around yeah has tuk everyt'ing
+off dat wrack long ago."
+
+"Perhaps not. To tell the truth, Ben, I do not like that man's manner at
+all."
+
+"No more do I, missus. He's got a bad eye, he has," responded the
+colored man warmly.
+
+"If you see him again, Ben, I wish you would watch him closely."
+
+"I will do it, missus. Yo' can trust Ole Ben."
+
+"You may be able to learn something important."
+
+"If I do, I'll bring de news to yo' directly, missus."
+
+"Perhaps you had better follow him now," went on Mrs. Ruthven suddenly.
+"If he goes to the battlefield, you can come back."
+
+"I will, missus," and in a moment more Ben was off.
+
+Meanwhile Marion had gone up to Jack's room and knocked on the door. At
+first there was no answer, and the girl knocked again.
+
+"Who is it?" came in a half-choked voice.
+
+"It is I, Marion. Can't I come in?"
+
+"Yes," answered Jack, and Marion entered the room and sat down beside
+our hero on the bed.
+
+"Oh, Jack, I'm so sorry for you!" was all she could say.
+
+"Marion, do you honestly think that man is my father?" he questioned
+anxiously.
+
+"I don't know what to say, Jack. It's all so strange."
+
+"If he was my father it seems to me I ought to feel differently toward
+him."
+
+"Perhaps it's the shock, Jack."
+
+"No, it isn't. I could never love that man as a son ought to love his
+father," went on our hero impetuously.
+
+"Hush! you mustn't talk so!"
+
+"I can't help it. I hated that man when we met on the bridge--and--and I
+hate him still!"
+
+"Oh, Jack!"
+
+"It's true, Marion. I don't see why he wanted to come here. I was happy
+enough, with you and mother."
+
+"He hasn't taken you away yet, Jack. Mother will make him prove his
+claim first, never fear. She feels as badly almost as do you."
+
+"To me the whole story sounds unreasonable, Marion. If there is a big
+fortune in the background, that man may only be scheming to get it."
+
+"But, if that is true, why doesn't he ignore you and keep the money for
+himself?"
+
+"I don't know--excepting it may be that he wants me in order to make his
+claim stronger, or something like that. I don't know much about law."
+
+"Neither do I. But if it comes to the worst, mother will get a lawyer
+and make that man prove everything he says."
+
+The two talked the matter over for a while, and gradually Jack grew
+calmer. But look at it from every possible light, he could not make
+himself believe that Dr. Mackey was his father.
+
+Presently Mrs. Ruthven entered the chamber and also sat down to comfort
+our hero.
+
+"He is certainly a strange man," said she, referring to the surgeon. "He
+went to the wreck and was aboard alone for some time, so Old Ben tells
+me."
+
+"What did he do?"
+
+"Ben doesn't know."
+
+"I shall visit the wreck again before long and make a search," said
+Jack.
+
+The three talked the matter over for several hours, but reached no
+further conclusions. Jack expected the doctor back the next day, but he
+did not appear, nor did he show himself for some time to come. In the
+meantime things of great importance happened.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+CAPTAIN JACK AT THE FRONT.
+
+
+Two days after the conversation recorded in the last chapter the folks
+living at the Ruthven plantation were disturbed at daybreak by the
+distant firing of cannon, which continued for over two hours, gradually
+drawing closer and closer.
+
+"What can this mean?" asked Mrs. Ruthven, in alarm, as she moved to the
+window. "Can the Yankees be pressing our army back again?"
+
+"I will take the spyglass and go to the roof," said Jack. "Perhaps I'll
+be able to see something."
+
+Armed with the glass he made his way to the garret of the plantation
+home, and then up a ladder leading to a scuttle of the roof. Marion, as
+anxious as anybody, came after him.
+
+Standing on the roof, Jack adjusted the spyglass and gave a long look in
+the direction from whence the sounds were proceeding.
+
+"What do you see, Jack?"
+
+"I can see nothing but smoke," he answered. "Some is over at Bannock's
+woods and the other near Townley church."
+
+"Don't you see any of our soldiers?"
+
+"No. The trees are in the way, and all I can see is a stretch of the bay
+road. Hark! the cannon are at it again!"
+
+"But the sounds are closer," persisted Marion.
+
+"That is true. They must be--hullo! there come our men, along the bottom
+of the woods--they are retreating!"
+
+"Do you mean to say they are coming this way, Jack?"
+
+"Yes, Marion. See for yourself!" And he handed the girl the spyglass.
+
+Marion took a long look, and gave a sigh. "You are right, our brave
+soldiers are suffering another defeat. Perhaps they will come to our
+plantation!"
+
+"If they do, we ought to do all we can for the wounded," answered Jack
+quickly.
+
+"To be sure. Oh, see! they are running this way as fast as they
+can--fully two regiments of them!"
+
+Again Jack took the glass. "Yes, and now I can see the Yankees. My, what
+a lot of them! At least twice as many men as there are on our side. I
+really believe they are going to push on to here, Marion!"
+
+At this the girl turned pale. "And if they do?"
+
+"We must defend ourselves as best we can," answered Jack. "Do you know
+what I am going to do? Call out the Home Guard!"
+
+"But, Jack, you may be shot down?"
+
+"If I am, it will be only at my post of duty, Marion."
+
+So speaking, Jack leaped down the ladder into the garret and ran
+downstairs. He met Old Ben just coming into the house, accompanied by
+Darcy Gilbert.
+
+"Darcy! just the fellow I want to see! And Old Ben, too!"
+
+"The Yankees are coming!" answered Darcy.
+
+"I know it, Darcy. I was going to call out the Home Guard."
+
+"Exactly my idea."
+
+"Old Ben can help you get the boys together."
+
+"'Deed I will, Massah Jack, if yo' wants me to," responded the colored
+man.
+
+Darcy and Ben were soon off and Jack re-entered the house, to be
+confronted by Mrs. Ruthven.
+
+"What are you up to, Jack?"
+
+"I have called out our Home Guard, mother. The Yankees shall not destroy
+this plantation or molest you and Marion."
+
+"You must do nothing rash, Jack."
+
+"I will be careful. But this is private property, and you and Marion are
+ladies, and our enemy must remember this," responded Jack, and ran off
+to don his uniform and his sword.
+
+Inside of half an hour the members of Jack's company began to appear,
+until there were nineteen boys assembled. Each had his gun or his pistol
+fully loaded, and the appearance made by the lads, when drawn up in a
+line, was quite an imposing one.
+
+"Ise got a pistol," said Old Ben, showing a long, old-fashioned "hoss"
+pistol on the sly. "If anybody tries to shoot Massah Jack, he will heah
+from dis darky, suah."
+
+"Thank you, Ben," answered our hero. "You always were true to me. If
+ever I grow up to be a man and get rich, I shan't forget you," and this
+made Old Ben grin from ear to ear.
+
+Presently there was a clatter on the road beyond the plantation, and a
+Confederate battery, drawn by horses covered with foam, swept past.
+
+"The Yanks are coming!" was the cry. "Get indoors and hide your jewelry
+and silverware!"
+
+"They are coming!" muttered our hero. He called the boys together. "Home
+Guard, attention!" he cried out. "Line up here. Carry arms! Boys, are
+you willing to stand by me and help me to keep my mother's house from
+being ransacked?"
+
+"Yes! yes!" was the ready reply.
+
+"Hurrah for Captain Jack!" put in several of the more enthusiastic ones.
+
+"Thank you, boys. We won't fight unless we have to. But if it comes to
+that, let everybody give a good account of himself."
+
+"We will! We will!"
+
+Soon another battery swept by the house, the horses almost ready to drop
+from exhaustion. Marion saw this and whispered to her mother.
+
+"Let me do it, mother," she pleaded.
+
+"If you so much wish it," answered Mrs. Ruthven.
+
+With all speed the girl ran to the barn and brought out her own horse, a
+beautiful black, and ran him to the road.
+
+"Take my horse and hitch him to yonder cannon!" she cried. "He is
+fresh--he will help you save the piece!"
+
+"Good fer you, young lady!" shouted one of the cannoneers. "We've got
+friends yet, it seems!" The horse was taken, and the cannon moved on at
+a swifter pace than ever.
+
+"That was grand of you, Marion!" cried Jack. He knew just how much she
+thought of the steed she had sacrificed, her pet saddle horse.
+
+And now came several of the hospital corps, carrying the wounded on
+stretchers, and also several ambulances. In the meantime the shooting
+came closer and closer, and several shells sped over the plantation, to
+burst with a crash in the woods beyond.
+
+"The battle is at hand! God defend us!" murmured Mrs. Ruthven.
+
+Several Confederates with stretchers were crossing the lawn. On the
+stretchers lay three soldiers, all badly wounded.
+
+"We can't carry them any further, madam," said one of the party. "Will
+you be kind enough to take them in?"
+
+"Yes, yes!" cried Mrs. Ruthven. "Bring them in at once. We will do our
+best for them!" And she summoned the servants to prepare cots on the
+lower floor, since it would have been awkward to take the wounded
+upstairs.
+
+The stretcher-carriers were followed by others, until six wounded
+Confederates lay on cots in the sitting room. A young surgeon was at
+hand, and he went to work without delay, and Mrs. Ruthven and Marion
+assisted.
+
+And now the army was passing by the plantation, some on foot, some on
+horseback, and all exhausted, ragged, covered with dust and dirt, and
+many badly wounded. The shooting of small-arms had ceased, but the
+distant cannon still kept booming, and occasionally a shell burst in the
+vicinity. As the last of the Confederates swept by Jack ran down to the
+roadway.
+
+"The enemy are coming!" he said, after a long look ahead. "They will be
+here in less than ten minutes."
+
+Soon the trampling of horses' hoofs was heard, and then came the
+occasional blast of a trumpet. At last a troop of cavalry swept by,
+paying no attention to the Ruthven homestead.
+
+The cavalry was followed at a distance by a company of rascally looking
+guerrillas--followers of every army--who fight simply for the sake of
+looting afterward.
+
+"To the house!" cried the captain of the guerrillas, a man named Sandy
+Barnes.
+
+"Company, attention!" cried out Jack, and drew up his command across the
+lawn in front of the homestead.
+
+"Halt!" shouted Captain Barnes. And then he added; "What are you boys
+doing here?"
+
+"We are the guard of this house," answered Jack, quietly but firmly.
+
+"Guard nothin'! Out of our way!" growled the guerrilla.
+
+"We will not get out of your way, and you will advance at your peril."
+
+"What, will you boys show fight?" queried the guerrilla curiously.
+
+"We will!" came from the boys. "Keep back!"
+
+"This is private property and must be respected," went on Jack.
+"Besides, the house is now a hospital, for there are six wounded
+Confederates inside, in charge of a surgeon."
+
+The guerrilla muttered something under his breath.
+
+"Come on, anyhow!" shouted somebody in a rear rank. "It looks like a
+house worth visitin'!"
+
+"Try to enter the house and we will shoot!" went on Jack, his face
+growing white.
+
+"Why, youngster, you don't know who you are talking to," growled Barnes.
+
+He stepped forward as if to enter the house by a side door, when Jack
+ran in front of him and raised his sword.
+
+"Not another step, if you value your life!"
+
+"Out of my way, boy!" And now the guerrilla raised his own sword, while
+some of his men raised their guns.
+
+It was truly a trying moment, and Marion, at the window, looked on with
+bated breath. "Oh, if Jack should be killed!" she thought.
+
+But now there came a shout from the road, and there appeared a regiment
+of regular Federal troops. The guerrillas saw them coming, and gazed
+anxiously at their leader.
+
+"It's Colonel Stanton's regiment!" muttered a guerrilla lieutenant. "He
+won't stand no nonsense, cap."
+
+"I know it," growled Barnes. "Right face, forward march!" he shouted,
+and, as quickly as they had come, the guerrillas left the plantation and
+took to a side road leading to the distant hills.
+
+But the Federal regiment had seen them, and as the guerrillas ran they
+received a volley which lay several of them low. They were virtually
+outlaws, and knew it, and lost no time in getting out of sight.
+
+"Halt!" shouted the Federal colonel as he rode up across the lawn, and
+one after another the companies behind him stopped in their march. Then
+the Northerner came closer to Jack and the others of the Home Guard.
+
+"What's the matter here? What does this mean?"
+
+Jack gazed up into the face of the Federal colonel and saw that it was
+an unusually kindly one. "We are defending this home, sir; that's all. I
+reckon those fellows who just ran off wanted to ransack it."
+
+"The scoundrels! I've been after them twice before. Was anybody hurt?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"You are a young Confederate, I presume?"
+
+"I am the captain of these boys. We call ourselves the Home Guard. We
+wish to protect our homes, that's all."
+
+At this the face of the colonel broke out into a warm smile.
+
+"You do yourself credit, my lad. You could not do better than protect
+your homes and your mothers and sisters. Whose place is this?"
+
+"Mrs. Alice Ruthven's."
+
+"Did the Confederate battery just retreat past here?"
+
+"I cannot answer that question, sir."
+
+"Well, it doesn't matter much. We have got them on the run, and that was
+all we wanted for the present."
+
+"I hope you don't intend to do anything to this place," went on Jack
+anxiously. "It is private property, and, besides, we have six wounded
+men here, in charge of a surgeon."
+
+"An officer who is a gentleman always respects private property," was
+the grave answer. "As long as you do nothing treacherous, you have
+nothing to fear from me or my men." And so speaking, the colonel rode
+back to the road.
+
+"A fine-looking man, and a gentleman, if ever there was one," thought
+Jack. "What a difference between him and that fellow who threatened me
+with his sword!"
+
+"Will they come back, Jack?" asked Mrs. Ruthven, as she came outside.
+
+"I don't know, mother. But the officer said we had nothing to fear."
+
+"He looked like an honest gentleman."
+
+"So I thought. How are those wounded men making out?"
+
+"One is already dead, poor fellow. But the surgeon has hopes of the
+others."
+
+"Is Marion helping the doctor?"
+
+"Yes. I want her to come away from the awful sights, but she will not.
+Jack, she is almost as brave as you are!"
+
+"Pooh! I'm not so brave, mother."
+
+"Yes, you are. Why, that rascal was going to run you through with his
+sword!"
+
+"Dat he was," put in Old Ben. "But let me tell yo' sumt'ing, missus. I
+had dat feller covered wid dis hoss-pistol ob mine. If he had tried to
+slew Jack dat would hab been de end of the rascal, suah pop!"
+
+"Good for you, Ben! Continue to look out for Jack, and I will reward you
+handsomely," concluded Mrs. Ruthven, and returned to the house.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+COLONEL STANTON'S VISIT.
+
+
+The Federal regiment went into camp up the road, but a short distance
+from the Ruthven home. The coming of the soldiers filled the whole
+neighborhood with alarm, but it was soon evident that Colonel Stanton
+was a strict disciplinarian and did not countenance any pilfering, and
+then the inhabitants became more quiet. In the meanwhile the Confederate
+troops had departed for parts unknown. But another battle was not far
+off.
+
+Attached to Colonel Stanton's regiment was a young man named Harry
+Powell, a surgeon, who was a nephew to Mrs. Ruthven, although the two
+had not seen each other for years. Powell was a fine fellow, and well
+liked by all who knew him, the single exception to the case being St.
+John Ruthven, who was too much of a sneak to admire anybody so
+free-hearted and manly.
+
+Harry Powell had drifted to the North several years before, and
+established a practice in Philadelphia. He was thoroughly opposed to
+slavery, and when the war broke out lost no time in joining the Federal
+troops, much to the horror of his two aunts and his cousin Marion. As
+for St. John, that spendthrift said it was "just like Harry, who had no
+head on his shoulders, anyway."
+
+On the day following the arrival of the Federal troops Old Ben was
+making his way to his cabin for some things, when he ran across Colonel
+Stanton on his way to the Ruthven mansion. The colonel was accompanied
+by Harry Powell, but the young surgeon now wore a heavy mustache, and
+for the moment the old colored man did not recognize him.
+
+"See here, my man. I want to talk to you," began Colonel Stanton, as he
+held up his hand for Ben to halt.
+
+"Yes, sah," and Old Ben touched his hat respectfully.
+
+"Did I understand that this is the plantation of Mrs. Alice Ruthven?"
+
+"Yes, sah."
+
+"Why, it's Old Ben!" cried Harry Powell, striding forward. "Don't you
+remember me, you old rascal?" and he slapped the colored man on the
+back.
+
+Old Ben stared in astonishment for a moment, and then his ebony face
+broke out into a broad smile.
+
+"Bless my soul, if it aint Massah Harry Powell!"
+
+"Of course it is, Ben."
+
+"Yo' is so changed I didn't know yo', sah."
+
+"I suppose I am changed, Ben. Is my aunt at home?"
+
+"Yes, sah."
+
+"Good. I want very much to see her."
+
+Old Ben shook his head dubiously.
+
+"Massah Harry, yo' aint gwine an' joined de Yanks, hab yo'?" he
+questioned.
+
+"Yes, Ben; I am fighting for the old flag."
+
+"Yo' aunt an' Miss Marion will be wery sorry to heah dat, sah."
+
+"I presume so. But that cannot be helped. I did as my heart dictated,
+Ben. I want to see all colored folks free, as you are."
+
+"Dat would be wery nice certainly, sah, but--but----"
+
+"It was too bad we had to fight, you mean." Harry Powell looked up. "Who
+is that coming?"
+
+"Dat am Massah Jack, sah?"
+
+"Oh! Why, when I was here before he was nothing but a little shaver."
+The young surgeon raised his voice. "Hullo, Jack! come here."
+
+Wondering who it was who was calling him so familiarly, Jack came
+forward. He started back upon seeing Harry Powell, and in a Federal
+uniform.
+
+"You!" he cried.
+
+"Yes, Jack. Come, won't you shake hands with me?" and the young surgeon
+smiled good-naturedly.
+
+"Well--that is--I don't like to shake hands with a--a Yankee," stammered
+Jack.
+
+"Oh, so you object to my uniform?"
+
+"I do, Harry. Why did you join the Yankees?"
+
+"Because I thought it best. If you won't shake hands with me as a
+Yankee, won't you shake hands as a cousin?"
+
+At this our hero's face relaxed, for he had always liked Harry Powell
+immensely.
+
+"Yes, I'll do that," he said, and they shook hands warmly.
+
+"And how is your mother these days, Jack?"
+
+"Quite well, but a good deal alarmed."
+
+"She need not be alarmed because of us, Jack. Is that not so, Colonel
+Stanton?"
+
+The colonel bowed. His manner was so pleasant that Jack felt more drawn
+to him than ever.
+
+"You are kind," he said. "I thought all Yankees were brutes."
+
+"They are far from that, Jack. But I was going to ask, can I see my
+aunt?"
+
+"I suppose so. But she'll be hurt to see you in that uniform."
+
+"Never mind, I'll risk that," rejoined Harry Powell.
+
+Old Ben continued on his way, and Jack and the others walked toward the
+Ruthven plantation. Then our hero ran ahead, to tell Mrs. Ruthven of the
+visitors.
+
+"A fine, manly young fellow, Powell," remarked Colonel Stanton, when he
+and the young surgeon were left alone.
+
+"Yes, he has turned out a first-rate lad, colonel."
+
+"I presume, were he older, he would be at the head of a regular
+Confederate command, instead of being at the head of this boyish Home
+Guard."
+
+"Undoubtedly, sir. But I am glad he is not in the regular ranks."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"I should hate to fight against him, sir."
+
+"I see. Well, this war has brought brother against brother, and worse.
+To tell the truth, I heartily wish it was over, myself."
+
+In a few minutes more Mrs. Ruthven appeared, her face full of sorrow. As
+she approached Harry Powell, the tears stood in her eyes.
+
+"My dear aunt, how glad I am to see you, after this long separation!"
+cried the young man impulsively.
+
+"Oh, Harry! Harry! How can you come here in that uniform?" she returned.
+
+"Let us speak of that later, Aunt Alice. Allow me to introduce you to my
+superior, Colonel Stanton."
+
+Mrs. Ruthven looked at the colonel steadily, and he bowed gravely. Each
+saw that the other was of good blood and breeding. The lady of the
+plantation dropped her eyes.
+
+"Colonel Stanton, courtesy bids me say you are welcome, but--I beg you
+to consider that I am a Southern woman," she faltered.
+
+"I hope, Mrs. Ruthven, you will not look upon me as an enemy."
+
+"Are you not in arms against my country?"
+
+"Against your section, yes, but not against your country, madam. I fight
+under the flag which belongs alike to the South and the North."
+
+At this Mrs. Ruthven shook her head sadly.
+
+"I cannot agree with you, sir. But let that drop. May I ask the news?
+Have our troops been hopelessly defeated?"
+
+"I cannot answer you, Mrs. Ruthven. Our side has won a battle and the
+Confederate troops have taken to the mountain side. They may engage us
+again before long."
+
+"Your troops are encamped but a short distance from here, I believe?"
+
+"It is true."
+
+"Are we to consider ourselves as prisoners of war?"
+
+"By no means, Mrs. Ruthven. I am informed that your house is something
+of a hospital. Let it remain so."
+
+"Thank you."
+
+"You certainly did not expect ill treatment, did you?" went on the
+colonel curiously.
+
+"You seem to be a gentleman, I must admit, but I have heard such stories
+of violence and rapine that I have some reasons to be apprehensive."
+
+"The stories are in most cases baseless and without truth. I hope you
+are not prejudiced enough to think that Federal officers are destitute
+of honor and humanity. Every true soldier, no matter under what banner
+he draws his sword, respects a lady, and would be the last to injure or
+annoy her."
+
+"I can believe that of you, sir, but you are an exception."
+
+"I cannot accept the compliment. I know many of my brother officers, and
+I am glad to say that what is true of me is true also of them."
+
+"But your President, Mr. Lincoln, I am told is a cruel monster, intent
+upon the destruction of the South."
+
+"You are sadly misinformed, Mrs. Ruthven. There never beat a warmer,
+kinder heart than that of Abraham Lincoln, I know, for I have seen him
+and spoken with him, and I know that no one sorrows more over the
+stricken homes and bloodshed of this unhappy strife. He is misjudged
+now, but posterity will do him justice."
+
+"I cannot believe it. If he deplores the evils of war, why does he not
+end it at once, and order his hordes of Yankee invaders to throw down
+their arms?"
+
+"Because the life of the nation is at stake. I do not wish to speak
+severely of your leaders. They are actuated by a mistaken sense of
+right. Amid the clash of arms, Reason is silent. We are fighting, not
+against the South, but for its best good."
+
+"You plead well, Colonel Stanton, but I am not convinced," answered the
+lady of the house.
+
+At that moment Jack came up again, bringing Marion.
+
+"Marion!" cried Harry Powell, and ran up to her.
+
+"Harry!" she returned, and put out her hand to him.
+
+"Will you shake hands with a Yankee?" he asked. "Jack was rather
+backward about doing it."
+
+"I am always ready to shake hands with my cousin," she returned, and
+blushed.
+
+Colonel Stanton was then introduced, and a minute later Harry Powell
+asked about St. John Ruthven.
+
+"Is he in the ranks, aunt?" he questioned.
+
+"He is not," answered Mrs. Ruthven, and drew down her mouth.
+
+"He cannot leave his mother," put in Marion contemptuously.
+
+"Evidently you think he ought to go?"
+
+"He is a strong, able-bodied man. I would go, were I in his place."
+
+"So would I," put in Jack.
+
+"Then he isn't very patriotic."
+
+"Oh, yes he is--in words," returned Marion. "But in deeds----" She
+shrugged her pretty shoulders, and that meant a good deal.
+
+Colonel Stanton and Mrs. Ruthven entered the house, followed by Jack,
+and presently Marion and the young surgeon found themselves alone in the
+garden.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+A SCENE IN THE SUMMERHOUSE.
+
+
+In years gone by Marion and Harry Powell, as little girl and boy, had
+thought a good deal of each other.
+
+Now, as the pair faced once more, much of the old feelings came back,
+and pretty Marion found herself blushing deeply, she could not tell
+exactly why.
+
+She despised Harry's uniform, yet she felt that he looked remarkably
+handsome in it, and not such an awful bear of a Yankee, after all. The
+manliness of the young surgeon's superior had likewise made a deep
+impression upon her.
+
+Before going into the house Mrs. Ruthven had invited the young man to
+remain to dinner, and he had readily accepted the invitation. But he was
+by no means anxious to go into the house with the others.
+
+"It is so nice and cool in the garden, Marion," he said. "Let us remain
+out here for a while, if you have no objections."
+
+"As you will, Harry. But we need not stand. Let us go down to the old
+summerhouse. Of course you remember that place."
+
+"To be sure, Marion--I remember it only too well. How you used to bring
+in the flowers and make bouquets and wreaths, and open a flower store
+and bid me buy----"
+
+"And you wouldn't buy, more than half the time," she laughed. "You
+always were somewhat contrary, Harry. Is that what made you turn
+Yankee?"
+
+"I hardly think so. I want to see all the slaves set free."
+
+"Is that all?"
+
+"Isn't that enough?"
+
+"Most Yankees want to see the South broken up and ruined."
+
+"No! no! That is a mistake."
+
+The summerhouse was soon gained, and she sat down, and without ceremony
+he took a seat on the bench at her side.
+
+"This takes me back ten or fifteen years," he declared, as he looked
+around at the familiar surroundings. "There are the same old magnolias,
+with the swing, and the same old rose bush, or new ones just like the
+old. Marion, you ought to be happy here."
+
+"I was--until the war broke out, and poor papa was killed."
+
+"Yes, that was a shock, and I felt it too, when the news reached me. He
+was a noble man, Marion."
+
+"So they all say, Harry, but that does not give him back to us. And now
+another danger threatens us."
+
+"Another danger? You mean the presence of our troops here? Marion, no
+harm shall come to you, if I can prevent it."
+
+"But I do not mean that. It is concerning Jack."
+
+"What of your brother?"
+
+"Oh, Harry, he is just like a brother to me, and mamma thinks of him as
+her son! Now a stranger has appeared on the scene, and he wants to take
+Jack away from us."
+
+"A stranger. Who?"
+
+"A Confederate surgeon named Dr. Mackey. He claims that he is Jack's
+father."
+
+"But is he?"
+
+"We do not believe that he is. But he says he can prove it."
+
+"This is news certainly, Marion. Will you give me the particulars?"
+
+"I will," and she did so, to which Harry Powell listened with keen
+interest.
+
+"Humph! And Jack does not like the man?"
+
+"No, he despises him."
+
+"That will make it awkward, if this doctor's story is true."
+
+"He will have to bring strong proofs to make me believe the story, I can
+tell you that."
+
+"I do not blame you, Marion." The young surgeon mused for a moment. "It
+runs in my mind that I have heard of this Dr. Mackey before."
+
+"Where?"
+
+"I cannot remember now. But I believe it was while I was practicing in
+Philadelphia."
+
+"Was he a doctor there?"
+
+"It runs in my mind that he was connected with some bogus medical
+institute which defrauded people through the mails. But I am not
+certain."
+
+"If there is truth in this, I wish you would look the matter up, Harry.
+Mamma will want to know all she can of Dr. Mackey before she gives up
+Jack to him."
+
+"I will do my best for you, Marion. I love Jack, too--although he was
+very young when I went away, if you will remember."
+
+"You have been away a long time, Harry," she replied, and drew a long
+breath.
+
+"That is true, and I realize it now, although I did not before." He
+gazed steadily into her face and suddenly caught her hand. "Dear cousin,
+cannot you forgive me for going over to the enemy?" he pleaded.
+
+She flushed up. "I ought not to, Harry, but--but----"
+
+"You will, nevertheless?"
+
+"I--I will think of it," she faltered.
+
+"We were very intimate when I went away. I would not wish that intimacy
+broken off."
+
+"Were we intimate?" she murmured shyly.
+
+"Yes, indeed. Don't you remember it? You used to sit in my lap."
+
+"How shocking!" she cried. "Are you sure?"
+
+"As if I could forget it."
+
+"You seem to have an awfully good memory for some things," she said
+slowly.
+
+"I remember something more, Marion. We were like brother and sister in
+those days, and you used to put your arms around my neck and kiss me."
+
+"I don't believe I ever did anything so dreadful, Harry!"
+
+"I remember it perfectly well."
+
+"Don't you think we had better go into the house now?"
+
+"Don't get angry, Marion. But--but--I always did think a lot of you, and
+always shall--even if I have turned Yankee."
+
+"Yankee or not, Harry, you will always be very dear to me as my cousin,"
+she returned hastily.
+
+"Speaking of cousins, does St. John come here often?"
+
+"Yes, quite often."
+
+"I suppose he comes to see you?"
+
+"He comes to see mamma and me. He and Jack are not very good friends."
+
+"What, doesn't Jack like him?"
+
+"He considers St. John overbearing, and St. John thinks Jack an
+intruder, and possibly of low parentage."
+
+"Is St. John married yet?"
+
+"No."
+
+"And he comes here quite often, you say?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Perhaps he is going--that is, he would like to marry you, Marion,"
+blurted out Harry Powell.
+
+At this the girl flushed crimson.
+
+"Well--he has spoken something of it," she replied, in a low voice.
+
+"The dickens he has!"
+
+"Cousin Harry!"
+
+"I beg your pardon, Marion, but--but--this is not pleasant news."
+
+"You mustn't get rough, Harry. St. John says there are no true gentlemen
+among the Yankees. But I think differently--now I have met Colonel
+Stanton."
+
+"Oh, confound St. John! There are truer gentlemen among my fellow
+officers than he will ever be." Harry Powell took a turn around the
+summerhouse. "But I forgot. I ought not to have spoken so of your future
+husband."
+
+"Who said he was my intended husband?"
+
+"Why, you intimated as much."
+
+"I am sure I did not."
+
+"It is the same thing. You said he had spoken of marriage to you."
+
+"That is a very different matter."
+
+Harry Powell took another turn around the summerhouse. "I suppose you
+love him, though I don't understand how any girl could love such an
+insufferable bore."
+
+"Harry, aren't you prejudiced against St. John?"
+
+"Perhaps I am. But seriously, Marion, what can you find to admire in St.
+John?"
+
+"He is a Ruthven."
+
+"That is true."
+
+"If I married him I would still remain a Ruthven."
+
+"Then why not remain an old maid and likewise a Ruthven? It would be far
+better, take my word on it."
+
+"Then you don't advise me to marry?"
+
+"I don't advise you to marry St. John."
+
+"Oh!"
+
+"Are you engaged to him?" he asked, coming closer.
+
+"I am not."
+
+"I am glad to hear it."
+
+"Are you married, Cousin Harry?" she asked suddenly.
+
+"Me? No, Marion--not yet."
+
+"I suppose you'll marry some Yankee girl one of these days."
+
+"I don't think so, unless----"
+
+"Unless what?"
+
+"Unless the girl I always did love goes back on me, Marion. Do you think
+she will go back on me?" and he caught both of her hands in his own.
+
+"Harry, you are a--a--Yankee."
+
+"But that doesn't affect my feelings for you."
+
+"A true Yankee ought not to care for a Southern girl."
+
+"And why not?"
+
+"Well, I don't know exactly. But it doesn't seem right."
+
+"Do you mean to say that a Southern girl ought not to care for the man
+who is fighting as his conscience dictates?" he demanded, turning a
+trifle pale.
+
+"No, no, Harry! I honor you for sticking to your principles. But we had
+better say no more at present on this subject." She glanced down the
+garden path. "See, St. John is coming. Let go my hands."
+
+He dropped her hands and took a seat on the other side of the
+summerhouse, and a moment later St. John Ruthven presented himself at
+the doorway.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+MEETING OF THE COUSINS.
+
+
+St. John had come up the garden path quickly, and had failed to notice
+Harry Powell, although he had caught sight of a well-known dress which
+Marion wore.
+
+Now, when he saw the young surgeon, his face fell, for he had calculated
+upon seeing Marion alone.
+
+"Excuse me, Marion," he said, "I did not know you had company."
+
+"Come in, St. John," replied the girl. "Do you not recognize my visitor?
+It is Dr. Harry Powell."
+
+"Oh!" St. John was much surprised, and showed it. "How do you do?" he
+continued stiffly.
+
+"Shake hands. You are cousins," went on Marion, not liking the dark look
+which had come to St. John's face.
+
+"Excuse me, but I cannot shake hands with one who wears that uniform,"
+returned the spendthrift, drawing back. "I am surprised, Marion, to see
+you upon such intimate terms with your country's foe."
+
+Marion's face flushed, and she bit her lip. Harry Powell set his teeth
+and then smiled coldly.
+
+"I perceive you wear no uniform at all, St. John," he remarked
+pointedly.
+
+"No. My duty to my mother keeps me at home," stammered St. John.
+
+"If all who have mothers were to remain at home we would have few
+soldiers."
+
+"It is a very great trial to me to have to remain at home," went on the
+hypocrite smoothly. "Yet, to my notion, a man is far better off at home
+than to be wearing a Yankee uniform."
+
+"That is for each man to decide for himself."
+
+St. John turned to Marion.
+
+"Does your mother know that Dr. Powell is here?"
+
+"Yes; she has invited him to dine with us."
+
+"To dine with you!" exclaimed the spendthrift.
+
+"Yes, what is wrong about that?" questioned Harry Powell.
+
+"I thought she was a true and loyal Southern woman."
+
+"I do not follow you," answered Harry Powell hotly. "The ties of blood
+count for something, even in war times."
+
+"They do not count for as much as that--to me," said St. John sourly.
+
+"Then I presume you will not care to stop and dine with us, St. John,"
+put in Marion.
+
+"Thank you, no. I will remain another time--when it is more agreeable,
+Marion."
+
+So speaking, St. John bowed low to the girl, nodded slightly to the
+young surgeon, and hurried from the place.
+
+Marion looked at Harry Powell with a face that was crimson.
+
+"Forget the insult, Harry!" she cried.
+
+"It is not your fault, Marion. But what a cad St. John is! I never liked
+him much. I can easily understand how Jack cannot get along with him."
+
+"I wish he would join the army. It might make a man of him."
+
+"I believe he is too cowardly to don a uniform. But come, let us go into
+the house, or your mother will wonder what is keeping us."
+
+When they entered the homestead they found Colonel Stanton taking his
+leave. The colonel was perfectly willing to allow the young surgeon to
+remain.
+
+"Have a good time, Powell," he said. "And try to convince your worthy
+relatives that all Yankees are not the monsters they are painted."
+
+"He's a downright good fellow!" cried Jack, when the Federal officer had
+departed. "I don't wonder that you like him, Harry."
+
+"He is a very nice man," said Marion, and to this Mrs. Ruthven nodded
+affirmatively.
+
+Dinner was almost ready to be served, and while they were waiting Marion
+noticed that the young surgeon was studying Jack's face closely.
+
+"What makes you look at Jack so?" she questioned, in a low voice, so
+that our hero might not hear.
+
+"I was studying his face," was the slow reply.
+
+"Studying his face?"
+
+"Yes. Marion, did you notice how Colonel Stanton looks?"
+
+"I did, although not very closely."
+
+"It seems to me that Jack bears a wonderful resemblance to the colonel."
+
+"Now you speak of it, I must say you are right," answered Marion
+thoughtfully. And then, after another pause, she continued: "Is the
+colonel a married man?"
+
+"I hardly think so. I have never heard him speak of a wife or children."
+
+"Then it is likely that he is a bachelor." And there, for the time
+being, the subject was dropped.
+
+Despite the fact that the house was surrounded by Federal troops and
+that a portion of the homestead was being used as a hospital, the dinner
+passed off in a far from unpleasant manner. Mrs. Ruthven was glad to
+meet her nephew once more, and made him tell the story of his service in
+detail. Not only the lady of the house, but also Marion and Jack, hung
+upon the young surgeon's words, and Jack's eyes glistened when he heard
+about the hard fighting which had been witnessed.
+
+"Oh, how I wish I had been there! I would have helped to beat the Yankee
+troops back!" he cried.
+
+"You're a born soldier, Jack!" answered Harry Powell. "And I must say I
+like you the better for it. I can't stand such stay-at-homes as St.
+John."
+
+"Oh, St. John is a regular--a regular----"
+
+"Hush, Jack!" interrupted Mrs. Ruthven reprovingly. "He says his mother
+needs him at home."
+
+"And our country needs him at the front," said Marion.
+
+"We don't need cowards," finished Jack. "Harry, you don't have cowards
+in your ranks, do you?"
+
+"I am afraid all armies have more or less cowards in the ranks," laughed
+the young surgeon. "Some fellows would never make soldiers if they
+remained in the service a hundred years. Human nature is human nature
+the world over, you know."
+
+"I wonder if Dr. Mackey is a brave man," muttered Jack, but nobody paid
+attention to this question.
+
+The repast over, Harry Powell took his leave, but promised to come
+again, if possible, before leaving the vicinity. Marion saw him go with
+genuine regret, and blushed painfully when, on watching him hurry down
+the road, he suddenly turned and waved his hand toward her.
+
+"Dear, good cousin Harry," she murmured. "How different from St. John!"
+
+Two days passed and nothing of importance occurred to disturb the
+Ruthven homestead. On the second day St. John called to see Marion, but
+she excused herself by saying she had a headache, which was true,
+although the ache was not as severe as it might have been.
+
+As he was leaving the place St. John ran up against Jack, who had been
+down to the outskirts of the Federal encampment, watching the soldiers
+drill.
+
+"Hullo, where have you been?" said the spendthrift carelessly.
+
+"Been down watching the Yankees drill," answered Jack.
+
+"It seems to me you take an awful interest in those dirty Yankees,"
+retorted St. John, with a sneer.
+
+"I take an interest in all soldiers."
+
+"Then why don't you join them, and evince your interest in some
+practical way?"
+
+"I'd join our troops quick enough, if I was older. I'd be ashamed to
+stay at home and suck my thumb."
+
+Jack looked at St. John steadily as he spoke, and this threw the
+spendthrift into a rage.
+
+"Do you mean to insult me by that?" he roared.
+
+"If the shoe fits you can wear it."
+
+"I'll knock you down for the insult."
+
+"I don't think you will."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Perhaps you are not able, that's why."
+
+"Pooh! Do you think you can stand up against me?"
+
+"Perhaps I can. Don't forget our encounter on the road."
+
+"You took a mean advantage of me. I've a good mind to thrash you right
+here."
+
+"You may try it on if you wish, St. John," and so speaking Jack began to
+throw off his coat.
+
+"Will you take back what you said?"
+
+"What did I say?"
+
+"Said I was a coward for not becoming a soldier--or about the same
+thing."
+
+"I won't take back what I think is true."
+
+"So you dare to say I am a coward?" howled the spendthrift.
+
+"If you want it in plain words, I do dare to say it, and furthermore, it
+is true, and you know it. Your plea that you must remain at home is all
+a sham. When the Yankees came this way you were all ready to run for
+your life at the first sign of real danger. You never thought of your
+mother at all."
+
+"Ha! who told you that?"
+
+"Never mind; I found it out, and that's enough."
+
+"I--I was suffering from an extremely severe toothache, and hardly knew
+what I was doing that day."
+
+"I don't believe it."
+
+"You young rascal! you are growing more impudent every day."
+
+"I am not a rascal."
+
+"You are, and an upstart in the bargain. I heard at the village that
+some Confederate surgeon claims you as his son. Is that true?"
+
+"If it is, it is his business and mine."
+
+"Well, if you are his son, why don't you get out of here?"
+
+"I shall not go as long as Mrs. Ruthven wishes me to remain."
+
+"Does she want you to stay?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And Marion wants you to?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"It is strange. But if I were you I wouldn't stay where I had no right
+to stay," went on St. John insinuatingly.
+
+"But I have a right here."
+
+"Indeed!"
+
+"Yes. The late Colonel Ruthven adopted me, and I am his son by law."
+
+"Bah! That will count for nothing if this Confederate surgeon can prove
+you belong to him."
+
+"Well, he'll have to prove it first."
+
+"Of course you won't get out of this nest until you are pushed out,"
+blustered St. John. "It's too much of a soft thing for you. You ought to
+be made to earn your own living."
+
+This remark made Jack's face grow crimson, and, striding up to St. John,
+he clenched his fists, at which the young man promptly retreated.
+
+"I am perfectly willing to work whenever called upon to do so," said our
+hero. "But it is not for you to say what I shall do, remember that. I
+know why you wish to get me out of here."
+
+"Do you, indeed!"
+
+"I do, indeed, St. John Ruthven. You want to get hold of some of Mrs.
+Ruthven's property. If I was out of the way, you think she might leave
+it all to Marion and to you."
+
+"Well, I have more of a right to it than you, if it comes to that."
+
+"But Marion has the best right, and I hope every dollar of it goes to
+her."
+
+"Well, that aint here or there. Are you going with your father or not?"
+
+"He must prove that he is my father first."
+
+"You won't take his word?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because I do not like the man," and our hero's face filled with sudden
+bitterness. What if Dr. Mackey should prove to be his parent, after all?
+How St. John would rejoice in his discomfiture!
+
+"I suppose this Dr. Mackey is a very common sort of man," continued the
+spendthrift, in an endeavor to add to our hero's misery.
+
+"What do you know about him?"
+
+"Nothing but what I heard at the village."
+
+"Is he down there now?"
+
+"Of course not. He went with our troops."
+
+Jack drew a sigh of relief. It was likely that the doctor would not show
+himself in the neighborhood for some time to come, probably not until
+the Federal troops had departed.
+
+"I am going to talk to my aunt of this," said St. John suddenly, and,
+without another word to Jack, turned his steps toward the plantation
+home.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+A SUMMONS FROM THE FRONT.
+
+
+St. John found his aunt too busy to spend much time talking about Jack's
+past and Dr. Mackey's claim, and it was not long before he took his
+departure, feeling that he had gained nothing by this new attack upon
+our hero's welfare.
+
+"I wish I could get him out of the way," he muttered, as he walked
+homeward, by a side road, so as to steer clear of the Federal troops.
+"If only he would join the army, and get shot down."
+
+He entered his home filled with thoughts of Jack and Marion, but all
+these thoughts were driven to the winds after he had read a
+communication which had been left for him during his absence.
+
+The communication was one from a well-known Southern leader of the
+neighborhood, and ran, in part, as follows:
+
+    "Many of us think it time to call upon you to take up arms as we
+    have done. With our noble country suffering from the invasion of the
+    enemy, every loyal Southerner is needed at the front. Join our ranks
+    ere it be too late. The muster roll can be signed at Wingate's
+    Hotel, any time to-day or to-night. Do not delay."
+
+As St. John read this communication his face grew ashen. "Called upon to
+join at last!" he muttered. "What shall I do now? What excuse can I
+offer for hanging back?"
+
+"What is in your letter, St. John?" asked his mother.
+
+"They want me to join the army--they say every man is needed," he
+answered, with half a groan.
+
+"To join? When?"
+
+"At once."
+
+"What shall you do?"
+
+"I--I don't know." His legs began to tremble, and he sank heavily on a
+chair. "I--I am too sick to join the army, mother," he went on, half
+pleadingly.
+
+Now Mrs. Ruthven did not care to have him leave her, yet she was but
+human, and it filled her with disgust to have her only offspring such a
+coward.
+
+"You weren't very sick this morning."
+
+"I know that. But the sun has affected my head. I feel very faint."
+
+"If you don't join the ranks, all of our neighbors will put you down as
+a coward, St. John."
+
+"They can't want a sick man along," he whined.
+
+"They will say you are shamming."
+
+"But I am not shamming. I feel bad enough to take to my bed this
+minute."
+
+"Then you had better do it," answered Mrs. Ruthven, with, however, but
+little sympathy in her voice.
+
+"I will go to bed at once."
+
+"You must not forget that your cousin, Harry Powell, is in the army."
+
+"Yes, on the Yankee side."
+
+"Still he is brave enough to go. Marion may think a good deal of him on
+that account."
+
+"Well, I would go, for Marion's sake, if I felt at all well," groaned
+St. John. "But I am in for a regular spell of sickness, I feel certain
+of it."
+
+"Then go to bed."
+
+"Write Colonel Raymond a note stating that I am in bed, and tell him I
+would join the ranks if I possibly could," groaned St. John, and then
+dragged himself upstairs and retired. Here he called for a negro servant
+and had a man go for a doctor.
+
+Much disgusted, Mrs. Mary Ruthven penned the note, and sent it to town,
+shielding her son's true character as much as possible.
+
+For the remainder of the day St. John stayed in bed, and whenever a
+servant came into his room he would groan dismally.
+
+When the doctor arrived he was alarmed, until he made an examination.
+
+"He is shamming," thought the family physician. But as the Ruthvens were
+among his best customers, he said nothing on this point. He left St.
+John some soothing medicine and a tonic, and said he would call again
+the next day.
+
+Instead of using the medicine, the young spendthrift threw it out of the
+window.
+
+"Don't catch me swallowing that stuff," he chuckled to himself. "I am
+not altogether such a fool."
+
+Several days passed, and nothing of importance happened to disturb those
+at either of the Ruthven plantations.
+
+But a surprise was in store for Jack and those with whom he lived.
+
+One of the wounded soldiers stopping at Mrs. Alice Ruthven's home was
+named George Walden. The poor fellow had been shot in the shoulder, a
+painful as well as a dangerous wound.
+
+For several days he lay speechless, and during that time the Confederate
+surgeon and Mrs. Ruthven, as well as Marion, did all they could to ease
+his suffering.
+
+One day George Walden began to speak to Marion.
+
+"You are very good to me," he said. "You are in reality an angel of
+mercy."
+
+"I am glad to be able to help you, and thus help the Southern cause,"
+replied Marion. "But you must not speak too much. It may retard your
+recovery."
+
+"I will not talk much. But you are so kind I must thank you. What is
+your name?"
+
+"Marion Ruthven."
+
+Then he told her his own, and said he had a sister at home, in Savannah,
+Ga., and asked Marion to write a letter for him, which she did
+willingly.
+
+After that Marion and George Walden became quite intimate, and the
+soldier told much about himself and the battles through which he had
+passed.
+
+"Some of them are nothing but nightmares," he said. "I never wish to see
+the like of them again."
+
+"And yet you saw only the fighting, I presume," said Marion. "Think of
+what those in the hospital corps must behold."
+
+"I was attached to the hospital corps," returned George Walden. "I have
+helped to carry in hundreds who were wounded."
+
+"If you were in the hospital service, did you ever meet a doctor named
+Mackey?" questioned Marion, with increased interest.
+
+At this question the brow of the wounded soldier darkened, and he
+shifted uneasily upon his couch.
+
+"Yes, I know Dr. Mackey well," he said, at last.
+
+"You do!" cried the girl. "And what do you know of him? I would like to
+know very much."
+
+"Is he your friend?" asked George Walden cautiously.
+
+"No, I cannot say that he is."
+
+"Because, if he is your friend, I would rather not say anything further,
+Miss Ruthven. I do not wish to hurt your feelings."
+
+"Which means that what you have to say would be of no credit to Dr.
+Mackey?"
+
+"Exactly."
+
+"I would like to know all about him. I will tell you why. You have
+noticed Jack, my brother?"
+
+"The lad who helped move me yesterday?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Of course--a fine young fellow."
+
+"He is not my real brother. My parents adopted him about ten years ago."
+
+"Indeed."
+
+"Some time ago Dr. Mackey turned up here and claimed Jack as his son."
+
+"Impossible! Why, Dr. Mackey is a bachelor!"
+
+"You are sure of this? He says he was married to Jack's mother, who was
+shipwrecked on our shore, and who died at this house a few days later."
+
+"I have heard Dr. Mackey declare several times that he was heart-free,
+that he had never cared for any woman, and consequently had never
+married."
+
+At this declaration Marion's face lit up.
+
+"I knew it! I knew it!" she cried. "I must tell mamma and Jack at once!"
+
+"Dr. Mackey is a fraud," went on the wounded soldier. "To the best of my
+knowledge, he comes from Philadelphia, where he used to run a mail-order
+medical bureau of some sort--something which the Post-office Department
+stopped as a swindle."
+
+"My cousin thought he came from Philadelphia," said Marion. "But wait
+until I call my mother and Jack."
+
+Marion ran off without delay, but failed to find either Mrs. Ruthven or
+our hero, both having gone to town to purchase something at Mr.
+Blackwood's store.
+
+"Da will be back afore supper time, Miss Marion," said one of the
+servants, and with this she had to be content.
+
+"My folks have gone away," she said to George Walden. "As soon as they
+come back I will bring them to you. I hope you can prove your words."
+
+"I am sure I can prove them," answered the wounded soldier.
+
+"Jack does not like this Dr. Mackey in the least, and the idea of being
+compelled to recognize the man as his father is very repulsive to him."
+
+"I don't blame the boy. For myself, I hate the doctor--he is so rough to
+the wounded placed in his care. He treated one of my chums worse than a
+dog, and I came pretty close to having it out with him in consequence."
+
+"He doesn't look like a very tender-hearted man."
+
+"He doesn't know what tenderness is, Miss Ruthven. I would pity your
+brother if he had to place himself under Dr. Mackey's care."
+
+"We won't give Jack up unless the courts make us. My mother is firm on
+that point."
+
+"But why does he want the boy?"
+
+"That is the mystery--if Jack is not really his son."
+
+"Perhaps there is a fortune coming to your brother, and the doctor wants
+to secure it. A man like Dr. Mackey wouldn't do a thing of this sort
+without an object. I can tell you one thing--the fellow worships money."
+
+"What makes you think that?"
+
+"Because I know that a wounded soldier once told him to be careful and
+he would give him all the money he had--twelve dollars. The doctor was
+careful, and took every dollar that was offered."
+
+"But had he a right to take the soldier's money?" asked Marion
+indignantly.
+
+"Not exactly, but in war times many queer things happen that are never
+told of at headquarters," answered George Walden.
+
+Here the conversation ceased, for the soldier was quite exhausted. Soon
+Marion gave him a quieting draught, and then George Walden slept.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+THE STORM OF BATTLE AGAIN.
+
+
+As related in the last chapter, Mrs. Ruthven and Jack had gone to
+Oldville to do some necessary trading.
+
+Arriving at the town, they found all in high excitement. The stores were
+closed, and only the tavern was open, and here were congregated a number
+of men who had but lately joined the Confederate ranks.
+
+"What is the matter?" asked Mrs. Ruthven of one of the men.
+
+"Another battle is on," was the answer. "We are going to drive the Yanks
+out of this neighborhood."
+
+"Another battle!" cried Jack. "Where?"
+
+"They are fighting over near Larson's Corners. Can't you hear the
+shooting?"
+
+"I can hear it now--I didn't hear it before."
+
+"Do you think they will come this way?" questioned Mrs. Ruthven
+anxiously.
+
+"Aint no telling how matters will turn," answered the man addressed, and
+then hurried off to join the other newly enlisted soldiers. Soon the
+soldiers were leaving the town on the double-quick.
+
+Jack watched the departure of the men with interest, and then espied
+Darcy Gilbert running toward him.
+
+"Hi, Darcy!" he called out. "Where bound?"
+
+"Jack! Just the one I wanted to meet. There's a fight on."
+
+"So I hear. I reckon we had better call out the Home Guard again."
+
+"By all means. The stores want protection, and so do the homesteads,"
+went on Darcy. "Shall I go down the shore road and call up the boys?"
+
+"Yes, and I'll take the Batsford road. If you see Doc Nivers tell him to
+call up the boys on the mountain road, will you?"
+
+"Yes. What of those at Brackett's plantation?"
+
+"I'll send Hackett or Purroy after them," answered Jack.
+
+The two lads separated, and Jack turned to his foster mother.
+
+"Mother, you heard what was said," he began. "You don't object, do you?"
+
+"No, Jack; do your duty, as a brave boy should. But be careful--I cannot
+afford to lose you!" and she wiped away the tears which gathered in her
+eyes.
+
+"You will return home?"
+
+"At once."
+
+"If I were you I'd place Old Ben on guard at the plantation. I don't
+believe anybody will harm the place, now it is flying a hospital flag.
+Certainly the troops under Colonel Stanton won't trouble us."
+
+"No; he is a gentleman, and I know I can trust him. Dear Harry! I wish
+he was not with the Yankee army."
+
+"Well, he is fighting according to the dictates of his conscience, so
+there is no use in finding fault."
+
+Mrs. Ruthven kissed Jack tenderly and hurried off, and then with all
+speed our hero set to work to summon together the lads composing the
+Home Guard.
+
+The task was not difficult, for the firing in the distance--which was
+gradually coming closer--had aroused everybody. In less than an hour the
+Home Guard was out in force on the town green, with Jack in command.
+
+"Boys, we may have some hot work to do," said the young captain. "I
+expect everybody to do his best. I trust there is no coward among us."
+
+"Not a bit of it!" came back in a shout.
+
+"We aint no St. John Ruthvens," whispered one of the young soldiers, but
+loud enough for a dozen or more to hear.
+
+"That's so," answered another. And then he continued, "What a difference
+between our Jack and his cowardly cousin!"
+
+"We are here to defend property more than to take part in any battle,"
+said Jack. "Do not let the guerrillas steal, no matter what side they
+pretend to be on. A thief is a thief, whether he says he is a
+Confederate or a Yankee."
+
+"That's right!" shouted the old storekeeper, who stood by.
+
+A little while later the firing came closer, and presently up the road a
+cloud of dust was seen.
+
+"The Yanks are coming!" was the cry, as a horseman dashed up.
+
+"Coming?" repeated several.
+
+"Yes, they are in retreat!"
+
+A wild shout went up--cut short by the sudden belching forth of cannon
+on the mountain side above the town. A little later some Federal troops
+swept into view.
+
+"They are coming! Get out of the way!"
+
+Soon the soldiers filled the road and the whole of the green. They had
+been fighting hard and were almost exhausted. Others followed until the
+streets of the old town were crowded. Then began a systematic retreat
+northward.
+
+"We've got the Yanks on the run!" was the cry. "Give it to 'em, boys!"
+
+The rattle of musketry was incessant, and ever and anon came the dull
+booming of cannon. Soon more Federal troops appeared, and those who had
+come first moved toward the mountain road.
+
+It was a thrilling scene, and Jack longed to take part. But he realized
+that just now there was nothing for the Home Guard to do. Had they
+opened fire, the Federal troops would have annihilated them. Nobody
+molested the stores or town buildings, although the church was hit by
+several cannon balls. Gradually the fighting shifted to the mountain
+side, and then in the direction of the Ruthven plantations.
+
+"They are moving toward St. John's place," remarked Jack, some time
+later, to Darcy. "We ought to go over to see that no damage is done
+there."
+
+"St. John ought to take care of the place himself," grumbled Darcy. "He
+won't join the army or the Home Guard. What does he expect?"
+
+Several sided with Darcy, but Jack shook his head. "I am going over. I
+would like eight or ten to go with me. The others had better remain
+around town." And so it was arranged.
+
+The coming of the Federalists to the plantation owned by Mrs. Mary
+Ruthven filled St. John with supreme terror. Hearing the firing, the
+young man got up and dressed himself. He was just finishing when his
+mother appeared.
+
+"St. John, Pompey says the Yankees are coming!" said the mother. "You
+must arm yourself and try to defend our home."
+
+"The Yan--Yankees!" he said, with chattering teeth. "How--how near are
+they?"
+
+"They have passed through the town and are all over the mountain side.
+Come, do not delay. I have given Pompey a gun and old Louis a pistol.
+Arm yourself and take charge of them. If we do not protect ourselves, we
+may all be killed."
+
+Shaking so that he could scarcely walk, St. John went below and into the
+library, where hung a rifle over the chimney piece and also a brace of
+swords. He got down the rifle and loaded it. Then he strapped the larger
+of the swords around his waist.
+
+"Now you look quite like a soldier," said his mother encouragingly. "I
+hope you can shoot straight."
+
+"I--I don't want to kill--kill anybody," he answered. "If I do, the
+Yankees will be very--very vindictive."
+
+"But you must protect our home!" insisted Mrs. Mary Ruthven. "Come,
+brace up!"
+
+Still trembling, and with a face as white as chalk, St. John walked to
+the veranda of the homestead. He gazed down the road and saw a body of
+soldiers approaching, in a cloud of dust and smoke. Then a cannon boomed
+out, and a ball hit the corner of the house, sending a shower of
+splinters in all directions.
+
+"They have struck the house!" shrieked Mrs. Ruthven. "We shall all be
+murdered!"
+
+"Spare us! spare us!" gasped St. John, as a company of soldiers came up
+to the mansion on the double-quick. "We have harmed nobody! Spare us!"
+
+"You big calf!" cried one of the soldiers. "We aint going to hurt you.
+Git up from yer knees!" For St. John had indeed fallen upon his knees in
+his abject terror.
+
+"Who--who are you?"
+
+"We are Confederates--if you'll only open yer eyes to see. Git up!" And
+in disgust the Southern soldier pricked St. John's shoulder with his
+bayonet. The spendthrift let out a yell of fear, rolled over, and dashed
+into the house, leaving his gun behind him.
+
+"St. John, where are you going?" cried his mother, coming after him.
+
+"Oh, mother, we are lost!" he wailed.
+
+"No, we are not. Go out again, and pick up your gun."
+
+"I--I cannot! They will--will shoot me!" he shivered.
+
+"But they are our own men, St. John. You are perfectly safe with them."
+
+But he would not go, and she left him in the hallway, where he had sunk
+down on a bench. In one way he was to be pitied, for his fear was beyond
+his control.
+
+Soon the Confederates left the plantation and the Federalists burst into
+view. The cannon continued to boom forth, and presently came a cry from
+the rear of the mansion:
+
+"Fire! fire! The house is on fire!"
+
+The report was true, and as the soldiers left the place up went a large
+cloud of smoke, followed by the bursting out of flames in several
+directions. Such was the state of affairs when Jack and his followers
+reached the roadway in front of the plantation.
+
+"The house is on fire!" ejaculated the young captain. "Come, we must put
+out the flames."
+
+"But the enemy----" began one of the other boys.
+
+"The Yankees are making for the mountain road and our troops are to the
+westward. I don't believe either will come this way again. Hurry up, or
+it will be too late!"
+
+Jack ran up to the house with all speed, to meet Mrs. Mary Ruthven on
+the veranda.
+
+"The house--it is doomed!" wailed the lady of the plantation.
+
+"Get us all the pails and buckets you have," answered Jack. "And have
+you a ladder handy?"
+
+"There is a ladder in the stable, Jack. Oh, will you help put it out?"
+
+"We'll do our best. Is St. John at home?"
+
+"Yes," and so speaking, Mrs. Mary Ruthven ran off to arouse her son.
+
+"You must help," she said. "Quick, or we will be homeless."
+
+"But the--the Yankees?" he asked.
+
+"Are gone." She clasped her hands entreatingly. "Oh, St. John, do be a
+man for once!"
+
+"A man? What do you mean, mother?" he cried, leaping up as soon as he
+heard that the enemy was gone. "I am not afraid. I--I had a sudden
+attack of pain around my--my heart, that's all."
+
+"Then, if it is over, save the house," she answered coldly, and ran off
+to tell the servants about the pails and buckets.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+A LIVELY FIRE.
+
+
+In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their
+way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one
+which was both long and heavy.
+
+"The short one can be placed on the veranda roof," said the young
+captain. "The other we can place against the corner, where the fire is
+burning the strongest."
+
+"Somebody must have gone into the garret to set that fire," said another
+of the boys. "Where are the water buckets?"
+
+"Here da am, sah," replied one of the negro servants, and handed them
+over.
+
+"Somebody must keep at the well," said Jack. "Pompey, you know how to
+use the buckets best. You draw for us."
+
+"Yes, Massah Jack."
+
+"We'll form a line to the cistern, too," went on our hero. "Now then,
+work lively!"
+
+The boys ran to the places assigned to them, and aided by the colored
+servants placed the ladders as desired. Soon water was being passed up
+and dashed upon the burning roof with all possible speed. But the fire
+was a lively one, and the breeze which was blowing helped it to spread.
+
+"What can I do?" asked St. John, as he stood by, rubbing his hands
+nervously.
+
+"Go down to the stable and the barns and put out the sparks blowing that
+way," said Jack.
+
+"Don't you want me here?"
+
+"Yes, if you'll go up to the top of the ladder," answered our hero,
+knowing full well St. John would do nothing of the sort.
+
+"I--I never could climb a ladder," faltered the young man, and turned
+toward the stable, where he spent his time in putting out the flying
+sparks, as Jack had suggested.
+
+It was hot work on the long ladder, and soon Jack was all but exhausted.
+But he stuck to his post, knowing full well that, if he let up, the fire
+would soon get the best of them. All of the boys worked like Trojans,
+and the negro servants helped them as much as possible. Mrs. Ruthven
+remained in the house, packing up her valuables, so as to be able to
+leave, should it become necessary to do so.
+
+  [Illustration: IT WAS HOT WORK ON THE LONG LADDER AND SOON JACK WAS
+  ALL BUT EXHAUSTED.--_Page 173._]
+
+"More water!" cried Jack. "The fire is eating to the center of the roof!
+More water!"
+
+"We are bringing it as fast as we can!" panted the boy below him.
+
+"Make the servants form a line to the cistern."
+
+"I will," answered the boy, and soon the water was coming up as rapidly
+as Jack and the other lad on the roof could handle it.
+
+At last the fire seemed to lose its force, and was extinguished at one
+corner of the roof. Then all hands turned their attention to the spot
+over the veranda. Here the flames had eaten under the gutter.
+
+"We must have an ax!" exclaimed Jack, and one was quickly procured from
+the woodpile.
+
+"Hi! what are you going to do with that?" yelled St. John, as he caught
+sight of the article.
+
+"Going to chop a hole in the roof," answered our hero.
+
+"How foolish! You'll make the fire worse."
+
+"No, I won't--I know what I am doing, St. John."
+
+"You shan't chop a hole in the roof," insisted the unreasonable young
+man.
+
+A cry of derision went up from half a dozen of the boys.
+
+"Take a back seat, St. John," advised one. "You are too scared to know
+what you are saying."
+
+At this the spendthrift's face grew as red as a beet.
+
+"Shut your tongue, Larry Wilson," he retorted. "I say you shan't chop a
+hole in the roof. It will let the wind get to the flames."
+
+"We want to get the water on the flames," replied Larry.
+
+"And I say you shan't touch the roof with the ax!" screamed St. John. "I
+command you to stop."
+
+"All right then, we'll stop," said Larry, and Jack said the same. In a
+moment more they were both on the ground, the other lads with them.
+
+"Fo' de land sake, de house will burn up suah now!" groaned one of the
+negroes.
+
+"If it does, it will be St. John's fault," answered our hero. He was
+thoroughly disgusted over the way St. John had acted.
+
+"I'se gwine to tell de missus ob dis!" cried a second negro, and darted
+away in search of Mrs. Mary Ruthven.
+
+Soon the lady of the house came running out, with a bundle in one hand
+and a box of jewelry in the other.
+
+"What is this I hear, St. John?" she demanded.
+
+"They want to chop in the roof, mother," he answered.
+
+"We must make a hole, so that we can pour the water on the fire,"
+explained Jack.
+
+"Then go and make the hole," returned Mrs. Ruthven readily. "And please
+be quick!"
+
+"But, mother----" began St. John.
+
+"St. John, they know more about putting out the fire than you do," was
+the tart reply of the young man's parent. "Let them do as they wish."
+
+"All right then," growled the unreasonable son. "But if the house burns
+to the ground it will be their fault."
+
+"It won't burn to the ground," answered Jack, and leaped up the ladder
+again.
+
+Soon our hero was chopping away at a lively rate. In the meantime the
+others brought all the water possible to the scene.
+
+When a hole was made in the roof the flames shot skyward for six or
+eight feet. At this St. John uttered a loud cry, almost of exultation:
+
+"There, what did I tell you? Now the house will be burnt to the ground
+sure!"
+
+"Lively with that water!" shouted Jack, ignoring him completely. And as
+the pails and buckets came up in a stream, he dashed the contents where
+they would do the most good.
+
+It was perilous work, for the smoke rolled all around him, and more than
+once he was in danger of suffocation. But the water now did much good,
+and soon the flames began to go down.
+
+"Hurrah! we have the fire under control!" shouted Larry.
+
+It was true, and inside of quarter of an hour the last spark was put
+out. Then Jack crawled to the ground, almost too weak to stand.
+
+"Is it out?" asked Mrs. Ruthven anxiously.
+
+"Yes," answered our hero.
+
+"Oh, I am so glad!" and she caught Jack warmly by the hand. At heart she
+was a true woman, and could appreciate what our hero had done for her.
+
+St. John stood by in silence, hardly knowing what to say. At last he
+shuffled into the house.
+
+"The water has made an awful mess," he declared, later, to his mother.
+"They needn't have drowned out the whole house like this."
+
+"Don't say another word, St. John," answered his mother severely. "I am
+thankful the fire is out, even if you are not." And then she turned away
+to direct the servants in clearing away the muss that had been made.
+
+The tide of battle had swept off in the direction of Jack's home, and
+anxious to know how Marion and his foster mother were faring, our hero
+soon after left Mrs. Mary Ruthven's plantation, and with him went Larry
+Wilson and three others of the Guard.
+
+From a distance came the constant cracking of rifles and the booming of
+cannon.
+
+"Let us take the short cut," suggested Jack, as he pushed across the
+fields. "There can be no time to spare."
+
+"It is hard to tell who is winning to-day," returned Larry. "At first I
+thought the Yankees were in retreat."
+
+"So did I, Larry. Well, we'll know how matters stand by night."
+
+As they came in sight of our hero's home a Federal battery dashed into
+sight, drawn by horses covered with foam. The battery was followed by a
+regiment of infantry.
+
+"Colonel Stanton's regiment!" cried Jack.
+
+"They are in retreat!" answered Larry. "Look! our soldiers are coming
+down the hill after them like mad!"
+
+"There is Colonel Stanton on horseback," went on Jack, straining his
+eyes. "What a fine figure he cuts!"
+
+"Ba, Jack! how can you say that of a Yankee? I have half a mind to shoot
+him."
+
+As Larry spoke he raised his gun, but Jack pulled it down.
+
+"Don't, Larry!"
+
+"Why not? We are at war, and he is our enemy."
+
+"I know, but----"
+
+"But what? Are you too tender-hearted to be a real soldier?"
+
+"It isn't that, Larry. Colonel Stanton is such a fine man----"
+
+"Those Yankees killed Colonel Ruthven, don't forget that," went on Larry
+earnestly. "We ought to bring down every one of them--if we can."
+
+"Perhaps, but I would like to see Colonel Stanton spared--I cannot tell
+why."
+
+On swept the soldiers, and for the moment the Federals were hidden by
+the smoke of gun fire. Then, as they reappeared, Jack set up a cry, half
+of alarm.
+
+"What is it?" queried Larry.
+
+"Colonel Stanton is shot!"
+
+"Shot? You are sure?"
+
+"Yes. See, he has fallen over the neck of his horse and several soldiers
+are running toward him. How sad! I wonder if he is dead?"
+
+"If he is, it but serves him right, Jack."
+
+"Perhaps; but I hope he isn't dead," answered Jack, with a peculiar look
+in his anxious face. As the Federal colonel disappeared from view he
+gave something of a groan, he could not tell why.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+AFTER THE BATTLE.
+
+
+The Federal battery had gained a hill behind the Ruthven plantation, and
+from this point began to fire rapidly at the advancing Confederates.
+
+Shot and shell sped over the homestead, and the inmates were,
+consequently, much alarmed.
+
+"We will do well if we escape this murderous fire," said Mrs. Alice
+Ruthven to Marion.
+
+"I wish Jack was here," answered the girl. "Where can he be keeping
+himself?"
+
+"He remained behind to protect the property in town."
+
+The tide of battle grew fiercer, and presently, just as Marion had gone
+to the kitchen to get something for the invalid soldiers, a heavy shot
+passed through the sitting room of the house, tearing down the plaster
+of two walls and damaging much of the furniture.
+
+Of course all in the mansion were much alarmed. The negroes, especially,
+were panic-stricken, and ran forth in all directions.
+
+"We is gwine ter be murdered," shrieked one. "Da is gwine ter shoot us
+all ter pieces!"
+
+"Marion, are you hurt?" came from Mrs. Ruthven, who was in the front
+hallway at the time.
+
+"No, mother. Were you hit?"
+
+"No, Marion."
+
+"Where did the shot strike?"
+
+"Through the sitting room, I believe."
+
+Both ran to investigate, and in the sitting room a sight met their gaze
+calculated to stun the stoutest heart.
+
+Plaster and splinters lay in all directions, and the wounded soldiers
+were crying for aid and for mercy, thinking the enemy close at hand.
+
+Under a mass of wreckage on the floor lay George Walden, senseless, and
+with the blood flowing from a wound in his temple.
+
+"Oh, Mr. Walden is hurt, mamma!" shrieked Marion, and ran to raise him
+up.
+
+They carried the wounded soldier to another part of the house and laid
+him on a fresh cot. Then, while Marion cared for him, Mrs. Ruthven went
+back to aid the others. In the meantime Old Ben was instructed to hoist
+the hospital flag to a higher point on the mansion.
+
+The shot appeared to be about the last fired in that vicinity, and soon
+the shooting came from a distance, as Federals and Confederates withdrew
+in the direction of the mountains.
+
+"Mother! Marion! are you safe?" It was the cry from Jack as he came up,
+almost out of breath from running.
+
+"Yes, thank Heaven, we are safe so far," answered Mrs. Ruthven. "Where
+have you been--at the town?"
+
+"No, I was over to St. John's place," answered our hero, and in a few
+words told about the fire.
+
+"We, too, have suffered," said Mrs. Ruthven. "A solid shot passed
+through the sitting room."
+
+"Did it hurt anybody?"
+
+"One of the wounded soldiers was knocked senseless. The others were more
+frightened than hurt."
+
+"It has been a hot fight all around. And, oh, mother! what do you think?
+I saw Colonel Stanton shot down!"
+
+"Is that true, Jack?"
+
+"Yes, I saw the whole thing as plain as day. It's too bad. He was such a
+nice gentleman, even if he was a Yankee."
+
+"You are right. Jack; he was indeed a gentleman. I felt perfectly safe
+while he was in the vicinity."
+
+It was not long before Jack went upstairs to see how Marion was faring.
+He found his sister working over George Walden, trying to restore the
+hurt soldier to his senses.
+
+"He is pretty badly off," said Marion. "I wish we had a doctor."
+
+"Where is that surgeon who was here?"
+
+"Gone to the battlefield."
+
+"I don't know of any doctor to get just now, Marion."
+
+"Then we must do the best we can ourselves. And by the way, Jack, this
+soldier knows Dr. Mackey."
+
+"What?"
+
+"Yes, and he said that Dr. Mackey is more or less of a fraud, and never
+was married."
+
+"Oh, Marion! if he could only prove that."
+
+"He thinks he can. He told me that the doctor came from Philadelphia,
+and Cousin Harry told me the same thing."
+
+"We must follow up this man's record. I am now certain he is not my
+father."
+
+"The soldier thought that perhaps there was property coming to you, and
+that Dr. Mackey wanted to get hold of it."
+
+"I don't think he'd be above such a scheme, Marion. I never liked his
+looks from the first time I met him, at the bridge."
+
+"I know that, Jack."
+
+There was no time to say more, for there was too much to do. Marion
+continued her work around the sick rooms, and Jack went out to see how
+matters were faring at the stable and the barns.
+
+He had hardly gained the vicinity of the stable when he heard a
+commotion going on within. Old Ben and two of the Home Guard boys were
+having a fight with three guerrillas, who were bent upon stealing
+several horses.
+
+"Let go dem hosses!" Jack heard Old Ben cry. "Dem is private prop'ty;
+don't yo' know dat?"
+
+"Git out o' the way, nigger!" cried the leader of the guerrillas. "We
+want these hosses, an' we are bound to have 'em!"
+
+"If you touch the horses I'll fire at you!" came from one of the Home
+Guard boys, but scarcely had he spoken when one of the guerrillas raised
+his pistol and fired on the lad, wounding him in the shoulder.
+
+This cowardly action made Jack's blood boil, and not stopping to think
+twice, he raised the gun he carried and blazed away. His aim took the
+guerrilla in the breast, and he sank down seriously, though not
+mortally, wounded.
+
+A yell went up from the other guerrillas, and they fired at random, but
+did no damage to anybody but Old Ben, who was shot through the left
+shoulder. Then the other boys fired, and the guerrillas who could do so
+took to their heels.
+
+"Ben, are you badly hurt?" asked Jack, when the encounter was over.
+
+"Not wery, Massah Jack," answered the faithful old colored man, and went
+to the house to bind up his wound.
+
+In the meantime the guerrilla who had been shot lay on the floor, raving
+and cursing in a frightful manner.
+
+"Stop your swearing, or we'll do nothing for you," said Jack sharply,
+and then the fellow became more reasonable. He begged to have a doctor
+care for his wounds.
+
+"We have no doctor here, but we'll care for you as best we can," said
+our hero, and this was done, although the guerrilla was kept at the
+stable, on a bed of straw.
+
+At nightfall the fighting came to an end, and all became quiet around
+the plantation. It had been more or less of a drawn battle, and it was
+expected that the contest would be renewed at daybreak.
+
+"Are you going to bed, Jack?" asked Mrs. Ruthven, a little after ten
+o'clock.
+
+"No, mother; I think it best that I remain on guard," he answered. "Some
+of those guerrillas may come back, you know."
+
+"But you must be tired out."
+
+"I am; but I reckon I can stay up during the night without falling
+asleep at my post," he said, smiling faintly.
+
+"Do as you think best, Jack; you and Marion must be my mainstays now,"
+and she kissed him affectionately.
+
+Hour after hour of the night wore along and nothing of moment happened.
+Jack spent the most of the time around the house, but toward daybreak
+made the rounds of the stable and barns.
+
+He found the guerrilla groaning dismally.
+
+"Give me sum terbacker, will yer?" asked the man presently.
+
+Not wishing to appear too unkind, Jack procured a twist of tobacco for
+him, which he began to chew savagely.
+
+"I'm in a putty bad fix, I reckon," said the guerrilla, after chewing in
+silence for several minutes.
+
+"If you are, you have only yourself to thank for it," returned Jack
+coldly.
+
+"Oh, I aint complainin', sonny. It's the fortunes o' war--as them poets
+call it, I reckon."
+
+"You might be in better business than stealing horses."
+
+"So I might, sonny--an' then agin' I might do wuss--yes, a heap wuss. I
+was gwine ter turn them hosses over to the Confed'rate government--they
+need hoss-flesh."
+
+"You were going to do nothing of the kind. You are not a soldier, you
+are a common thief."
+
+"Now, don't be hard on me, sonny. I fit on the right side, I did,"
+drawled the guerrilla anxiously.
+
+"You fought only for your own good."
+
+"Taint so, sonny; I fit fer the glorious Stars an' Bars. Wot are ye
+calkerlatin' ter do with me, sonny?"
+
+"I don't know yet. I reckon you'll stay where you are for the present."
+
+"That's so too--I can't move nohow. Hullo, who's thet?"
+
+At this question Jack turned suddenly--to find himself confronted by Dr.
+Mackey and two soldiers in Confederate uniform!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+DR. MACKEY'S BOLD MOVE.
+
+
+It must be confessed that Jack was startled, for he had not heard the
+approach of the surgeon and his companions, who had come up noiselessly
+and on foot.
+
+"Hullo, you here?" asked Dr. Mackey, as he gazed at Jack in some
+astonishment.
+
+"What brings you here, Dr. Mackey?" demanded our hero.
+
+"I am looking for the dead or wounded in this neighborhood," was the
+answer. "Whom have you here?"
+
+"A guerrilla we shot down."
+
+"Ha! who shot him?"
+
+"I did. He was trying to steal our horses."
+
+"Dr. Mackey, don't you know me?" came from the guerrilla.
+
+"Pete Gendron!" muttered the surgeon. "I never expected to see you
+here."
+
+"Nor did I calkerlate to see you, doc. But I'm mighty glad yer come. Ye
+kin git me out o' this fix."
+
+As he spoke, the guerrilla eyed Dr. Mackey sharply. On more than one
+occasion he had been the doctor's tool, and now he thought it no more
+than fair that the medical man should stand by him.
+
+"Evidently you know this guerrilla," said Jack slowly.
+
+"I do," answered the doctor slowly. He hardly knew how to proceed.
+
+"I aint no guerrilla, an' Dr. Mackey kin prove it," cried Pete Gendron.
+The coming of the medical man had raised his spirits wonderfully.
+
+"You are a guerrilla."
+
+"I aint. Dr. Mackey will prove my words. He's a friend o' mine. Aint ye,
+doc?"
+
+There was a peculiar emphasis to the guerrilla's words which made the
+surgeon shift uneasily from one foot to the other.
+
+"If I don't humor Gendron, he may expose me," thought the surgeon
+dismally. "He knows too much to be made an enemy of."
+
+"Is he your friend?" asked Jack.
+
+"Not exactly my friend, Jack, but I know him pretty well," answered Dr.
+Mackey slowly, as if trying to feel his way.
+
+"I aint a guerrilla, am I?" put in Pete Gendron eagerly.
+
+"N--no, he is not a--a guerrilla," stammered the surgeon. "There must be
+some mistake."
+
+"I want to be taken to the Confed'rate hospital," went on Pete Gendron.
+
+"But he and his comrades were trying to steal our horses," said Jack
+firmly.
+
+"As I said before, my dear Jack, there must be some mistake," returned
+the surgeon smoothly. Suddenly his face brightened. "Gendron, you made a
+mistake by leaving the hospital so soon. Your fighting in to-day's
+battle must have made you light-headed. You probably came here by
+mistake."
+
+The guerrilla was crafty enough to seize upon the cue thus given.
+
+"Thet must be the size on it," he murmured. "My head has felt queer ever
+since I got out in the sun. Reckon I aint accountable fer all my
+actions, doc."
+
+"He is a perfectly honest man," said Dr. Mackey to Jack. "I have seen
+him fight most bravely in half a dozen battles."
+
+Jack felt that the surgeon was falsifying, but how could he prove it?
+Then he felt that there would be no use in keeping the guerrilla at the
+plantation.
+
+"Well, take him away, if you want to," he answered. "But I shall still
+hold my opinion of the rascal."
+
+"You are as insulting as ever, Jack," sneered the medical man. "I came
+here, hoping to find you of a different turn of mind."
+
+"I shall never change my mind regarding you, Dr. Mackey," was our hero's
+ready reply.
+
+"Come outside, I would like to talk to you in private."
+
+The surgeon spoke in a whisper, and feeling there would be no harm in
+listening to what he might have to say, Jack followed him into the open.
+
+"I want to know what you intend to do about coming with me, Jack," said
+the medical man, when they were out of hearing distance of the others.
+
+"I don't intend to go with you, Dr. Mackey."
+
+"You are hard on your father."
+
+"Once and for the last time, let me say that I do not acknowledge you as
+my father."
+
+"Nevertheless, I am your parent, and will soon be in a position to prove
+my claim."
+
+"And when that time comes I may be in a position to prove you an
+impostor, Dr. Mackey."
+
+"What! This to me!" ejaculated the medical man, in a rage.
+
+"Yes, that to you."
+
+"Boy, you are--are mad--you do not know what you are saying."
+
+"I know perfectly well what I am saying."
+
+"Prove me an impostor?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"But how can you, when I am exactly what I claim to be."
+
+"Dr. Mackey, where were you located before the war broke out?"
+
+"You heard my story, Jack. There is no use to repeat it."
+
+"You came from Philadelphia."
+
+"Ha! who told you that?"
+
+"You were connected with a medical company there which was put out of
+business by the post office authorities because of using the mails
+fraudulently."
+
+At this assertion Dr. Mackey fell back as if shot.
+
+"Jack, I demand to know who has told you this?"
+
+"You are a bachelor, and were never married to my mother or to any other
+lady."
+
+"I demand to know who told you this--this--string of falsehoods!" cried
+the doctor, catching our hero by the arm.
+
+"A part of the story came from Mrs. Ruthven's nephew."
+
+"What, St. John Ruthven? I hardly know the fellow."
+
+"No, another nephew, Dr. Harry Powell, who is now attached to the Yankee
+army. He hails from Philadelphia."
+
+"That viper!" ejaculated the medical man, then tried to check himself.
+"I--er--that is, I know Powell distantly. But he is much mistaken."
+
+"I don't think so--and neither does Mrs. Ruthven nor Marion."
+
+"So you have been harboring a Yankee in this place, eh? A pretty
+business to be in surely," sneered the surgeon.
+
+"We could not help ourselves. But I have another witness against you."
+
+"Another?"
+
+"Yes, a Confederate soldier who knows you well. He can testify that you
+never had either sweetheart or wife."
+
+"Who is the man?"
+
+"For the present I must decline to disclose his identity."
+
+"You are trying to fool me!" stormed Dr. Mackey.
+
+"No, I am telling you only the truth. Now I wish you to answer me a few
+questions. Why are you so anxious to claim me as your son?"
+
+"Because you are my son. Good or bad, I cannot go back upon my own flesh
+and blood, as you are trying to do."
+
+"I will never believe I am your son!" cried Jack impetuously. "Do you
+know what I think? I think you are trying to get hold of me so that you
+can obtain some money belonging to me."
+
+"You--you little rascal!" cried Dr. Mackey. "How dare you talk to me in
+this fashion?"
+
+"Because I believe you are a fraud, that's why," answered our hero
+defiantly.
+
+A commingled look of rage and disappointment came into the medical man's
+face, which suddenly gave place to a look of cunning.
+
+"I will make you smart for this," he stormed, and caught Jack firmly by
+both arms. "Garder! Mason! Come here!" he called loudly.
+
+"What is wanted?" asked one of the Confederate soldiers, as both came
+rushing from the stable.
+
+"Conduct this young man to our camp, and see that he does not escape
+from you."
+
+"You shan't take me from home!" ejaculated Jack. "Let me go!"
+
+He struggled to release himself, but the two soldiers were powerful
+fellows, and soon made him their prisoner.
+
+"You are making a mistake," puffed Jack. "Dr. Mackey is a first-class
+fraud."
+
+"Dr. Mackey is all right," put in Gendron, the guerrilla.
+
+"He must be held," said the surgeon. "I will be responsible for this
+arrest."
+
+"At least let me see Mrs. Ruthven before I go."
+
+"No, take him away at once," cried the surgeon quickly. "Then you can
+return for Gendron."
+
+"Where shall we take him, doctor?" asked one of the privates.
+
+"To the old red house up the river. You know the place?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+No more was said, and a minute later Jack found himself being conducted
+across the plantation by a back way. He wanted to cry out, but one of
+the soldiers leveled his gun and commanded him to keep silent.
+
+As soon as the party of three was gone Dr. Mackey entered into earnest
+conversation with Gendron, at the same time giving attention to the
+guerrilla's wound.
+
+"Very well, Pete," he said, at the conclusion. "Stick by me and I'll
+stick by you."
+
+"It's a whack," replied the wounded man.
+
+"If anybody from the house comes here, tell them that Jack went off to
+get some Confederate ambulance corps to take you away."
+
+"I will."
+
+A few words in addition passed between the pair, and then Dr. Mackey
+left the stable.
+
+He was anxious to have another talk with Mrs. Ruthven, but concluded
+that he must postpone the interview until later.
+
+"I reckon I have done enough for one night," he said to himself grimly.
+"With that boy in my power, perhaps she and the others will sing a
+different tune. Anyway, I'll not let the lad out of my grasp until he
+promises to do exactly as I desire."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+THE HUNT FOR JACK.
+
+
+"Marion, where is Jack?" asked Mrs. Ruthven, in the morning.
+
+"I do not know, mamma."
+
+"When did you see him last?"
+
+"Just before he started for the stable last night."
+
+Mrs. Ruthven was very much worried, and with good cause, as my readers
+know. She sought out Old Ben, who had his shoulder bandaged.
+
+"Ben, have you seen Jack?"
+
+"No, missus, I aint."
+
+"Is he around the stable or the barns?"
+
+"Perhaps he is, missus. Ole Ben will go an' look, if yo' want it."
+
+"Yes, Ben; I cannot imagine what has become of him."
+
+Old Ben hurried off, and Mrs. Ruthven went upstairs to wait upon George
+Walden, who had now developed a raging fever.
+
+"It is very odd what has become of Jack," said the lady of the
+plantation. "He never went off like this before."
+
+It was fully half an hour before Old Ben came back. The colored man
+looked much worried.
+
+"Can't find him nowhar, missus," he said. "An' dat dar guerrilla is
+gone, too."
+
+"The man who was shot while trying to steal the horses?"
+
+"Yes, missus."
+
+"Then something must be wrong. Didn't you find any trace at all of
+Jack?"
+
+"Not de slightest, missus. Old Ben looked eberywhar, too--'deed I did,
+missus."
+
+"I do not doubt you, Ben. But this is terrible. Jack must be somewhere."
+
+"Dat's so, too, missus."
+
+"Were there any signs of violence about?" asked Marion. "Any--any blood,
+for example?"
+
+"Some blood at de stable. Miss Marion. But I rackon dat was from de
+shootin' ob dat dar guerrilla."
+
+Marion heaved a deep sigh, and Mrs. Ruthven shook her head slowly. Here
+was fresh trouble, more painful than any that had gone before.
+
+"The guerrilla couldn't go off alone, could he?" asked Marion.
+
+"Jack said he was quite seriously wounded, Marion. Still, the rascal may
+have been playing possum with Jack, and stolen off on the sly."
+
+"If he was strong enough to do that, perhaps he took Jack with him to
+keep the boy from sounding an alarm."
+
+"You may be right. We must find the boy if we can."
+
+Slowly the day wore away, and no tidings came to the plantation. Toward
+evening St. John put in an appearance.
+
+"The soldiers have cleared out," he said. "There isn't a regiment of any
+sort within a dozen miles."
+
+"I am glad of it," answered Mrs. Ruthven, and then continued quickly,
+"Have you seen anything of Jack?"
+
+"Do you mean to-day?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"No, I haven't seen him since he made such a mess of it up at our house,
+putting out the fire," growled the spendthrift.
+
+"It's a wonder you didn't put out the fire yourself," put in Marion
+sharply. She did not like talk against her brother.
+
+"I--I was sick, sicker than anybody supposed," stammered St. John. "Had
+I been at all well, things would have gone on very differently, I can
+assure you."
+
+"Then you haven't seen or heard of Jack," said Mrs. Ruthven. "He has
+been missing since last night."
+
+"No, I haven't seen him--and I don't want to see him. He insulted me and
+made trouble between me and my mother."
+
+"On account of the fire?"
+
+"Yes. He thinks he is a regular lord of creation, he does," went on St.
+John hotly. "He wants dressing down, Aunt Alice."
+
+"I cannot believe Jack has done anything very wrong."
+
+"He is a nobody, and puts on altogether too many airs."
+
+Mrs. Ruthven would not listen to this talk, and changed the subject by
+asking him what had brought him over from his home.
+
+"I was asked to come over and see if you had any of the Yankee wounded
+here."
+
+"Who sent you?"
+
+"Colonel Bromley of our army."
+
+"No, we have only Confederates here."
+
+"How many?"
+
+"Five. Four of them are doing very well, you can tell the colonel, but
+the fifth was hurt when our house was struck by a cannon ball, and he is
+now in a high fever."
+
+"All right, I'll tell him."
+
+"Have you joined the army at last?" questioned Marion curiously.
+
+"Not exactly, but I told the colonel I would help him in any manner that
+I could," answered St. John, and hurried away for fear of being
+questioned further.
+
+The truth of the matter was that the fire had brought on a bitter
+quarrel between St. John and his mother, and the parent had insisted
+that the son overcome his cowardice and do something for his country.
+St. John had demurred in vain, and had at last gone to the Confederate
+headquarters and offered his services; but as a civilian, not as a
+soldier.
+
+When the young man was gone Mrs. Ruthven and Marion had Old Ben and the
+others make another search for Jack, and this hunt lasted far into the
+night.
+
+But it was of no avail; our hero had disappeared as utterly as if the
+earth had opened and swallowed him.
+
+"Mamma, do you think it possible that the Yankees captured him?" was the
+question Marion put.
+
+"Not unless Jack left home during the night, Marion. And what would
+cause him to leave without telling us that he was going?"
+
+"That is true. Jack wouldn't do anything to cause us anxiety."
+
+"It is a great mystery," sighed Mrs. Ruthven.
+
+Later a negro, living on the mountain side, came down to the plantation
+and asked to see the lady of the house.
+
+"I was t'inkin' yo' would be wantin' ter know wot became o' Master
+Jack," said the colored man, who rejoiced in the name of Columbus
+Washington.
+
+"What do you know of him?" asked Mrs. Ruthven quickly.
+
+"I seed him early dis mornin', missus--away up in the mountains."
+
+"The mountains? Alone?"
+
+"No, missus--he was a prisoner."
+
+"Of the Yankees?"
+
+"De men wot had him was dressed as Confed'rates, missus."
+
+"You did not know them?"
+
+"No, missus."
+
+"And you are certain that Jack was held a prisoner?"
+
+"Oh. yes, missus, fo' one ob de men said he would shoot if de boy tried
+to git away from him."
+
+Mrs. Ruthven clasped her hands in despair.
+
+"A prisoner! Did you speak to him?"
+
+"No, no! I was afraid to show myself. De men was armed an' I wasn't--an'
+I didn't want to git in no trouble."
+
+"Where were they taking Jack?"
+
+"I can't say as to dat. I met dem on the ole mill trail near de blasted
+tree."
+
+"You saw nobody else around?"
+
+"No, missus."
+
+"It is very strange why Jack should be carried off in this fashion. I
+wish you had followed them and seen what became of my boy."
+
+"Perhaps I kin follow dem by de trail, missus. Ise putty good at dat."
+
+"Then do so by all means, and I will reward you for your work."
+
+"T'ank yo,' missus; yo' was always de lady to remember poor niggers."
+
+"If you wish, you can take Old Ben with you. He is good at trailing,
+too."
+
+So it was arranged, and half an hour later Old Ben and Columbus
+Washington were on their way. Both knew the mountains thoroughly, and
+lost no time in getting to the spot where Jack had last been seen.
+
+Then began a hunt for the trail, and this discovered, both went on once
+more, little dreaming of the surprise in store for them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+A REMARKABLE REVELATION.
+
+
+Alarming news reached the Ruthven plantation that night. A large force
+of Federal soldiers had loomed up in the vicinity, and the Confederate
+army had been compelled to fall back to the mountains and to the valley
+beyond.
+
+"Our victory is swallowed up in defeat," said Marion, but even as she
+spoke a soft look came into her eyes. Perhaps, if the Yankees were
+coming again, she would see Harry Powell once more. Even though she did
+not wish to acknowledge it to herself, Marion thought much of her
+dashing cousin.
+
+"What a man he is, compared with cowardly St. John!" she said to
+herself. And then she prayed to Heaven that Harry might come out of the
+war unharmed.
+
+Marion's wish was gratified so far as seeing Harry Powell was concerned,
+for the young surgeon dashed up on horseback early in the morning.
+
+"I could not keep away," he said, after shaking hands with Mrs. Ruthven
+and his cousin. "I heard that the fight was fierce in this neighborhood,
+and I wanted to learn if you had suffered."
+
+"We had a cannon ball go through the sitting room," answered Mrs.
+Ruthven.
+
+"And was anybody hurt?"
+
+"One of the wounded soldiers was hit. He has now a high fever in
+consequence."
+
+"Thank God the cannon ball did not hit you or Marion!" ejaculated Harry
+Powell, and gave Marion a look that made the girl blush deeply.
+"Somebody said the Ruthven place had been on fire."
+
+"That was at St. John's place," answered Marion. "But the fire was put
+out before great damage was done."
+
+"I am happy to see that you were not hurt, Harry," said Mrs. Ruthven.
+"You must have been in peril many times."
+
+"I was in peril, aunt, and I did not escape wholly. I was wounded in the
+shoulder, although the hurt is of small consequence."
+
+"I am glad that you escaped," cried Marion. And she gave him a look that
+meant a good deal.
+
+"Poor Colonel Stanton was not so fortunate," went on the young surgeon.
+"He was shot through the breast, and now lies between life and death."
+
+"Jack saw him shot, from a distance," said Mrs. Ruthven.
+
+"Did he? And where is Jack now?"
+
+"He has disappeared," and the lady of the plantation gave her nephew
+some of the particulars.
+
+Harry was invited into the house, and he remained to lunch, in the
+meantime telling of the general progress of the war.
+
+"Frankly, I wish it was at an end," he said. "I hate to see one section
+of our glorious country fighting the other. It is not right."
+
+During the talk it developed that Colonel Stanton was lying at a house
+about half a mile distant, up the bay road.
+
+"He acts very queerly," said Harry Powell, "just as if his wound had
+affected his mind."
+
+"Can we do anything for him?" asked Mrs. Ruthven.
+
+"I do not know of anything now. But perhaps I'll think of something
+later, aunt. I do not wish the colonel to suffer any more than is
+necessary. He is a thorough gentleman."
+
+"I feel you are right, Harry. He has given me an entirely different idea
+of Yankees from what I had before," returned Mrs. Ruthven warmly.
+
+The lady of the plantation became deeply interested in the wounded
+colonel's case, and when the young surgeon went away she had one of the
+negroes of the place hitch up a horse to the carriage and drive her over
+to where the wounded officer lay.
+
+The colonel was in something of a fever, and hardly recognized her. For
+a long time he kept muttering to himself, but she could not catch his
+words.
+
+"The ship is doomed!" he cried suddenly. "We are going to pieces on the
+rocks!" And then he began to speak of the army and of the terrible
+battle through which he had gone.
+
+"What can he mean by saying the ship is doomed?" was the question which
+Mrs. Ruthven asked herself. "Can it be that he was once in a shipwreck?"
+
+For a long while after this the colonel lay silent. Then he opened his
+eyes and stared around wildly.
+
+"All drowned, you say?" he exclaimed. "No! no! Laura must be saved! Save
+my wife--never mind me! How high the waves are running! Where is the
+child? Captain, why don't you put out to sea? Don't you see the rebels?
+They are luring us to the coast! See, that rebel is stealing my child,
+my darling Jack! Ha! we have struck, and I am drifting. Laura, where are
+you? Save Jack! Look, look, they are retreating! The battle is won! Oh,
+what a storm--can nothing be saved?" And then the poor man sank back,
+completely exhausted.
+
+Mrs. Ruthven drank in the spoken words like one in a dream. What was
+this the wounded officer was saying? Something about a storm, about a
+wife Laura, and a child named Jack!
+
+"Can it be possible that he is speaking of our boy Jack?" she asked
+herself, and then looked at the colonel's face more closely than ever.
+The resemblance was more than striking, it was perfect. Give Jack that
+heavy mustache and those wrinkles, and the faces would be exactly alike.
+
+"He must be Jack's father!" she went on. "How wonderful! But what does
+this mean? Why did he not claim Jack long ago?"
+
+For over an hour she sat by the colonel's side, but he made no further
+efforts to speak. In the meantime a surgeon came in to attend to the
+officer's wound.
+
+"If you can have him taken to my house, I will see to it that he has the
+best of care," said Mrs. Ruthven.
+
+"Why, are you not a Southern woman, madam?" questioned the surgeon, in
+pardonable surprise.
+
+"I am, but I know Colonel Stanton, and do not wish to see him suffer any
+more than is necessary."
+
+"He is a friend?"
+
+"Something of a friend, yes."
+
+"And who are you, if I may ask?"
+
+"I am Mrs. Alice Ruthven, owner of the plantation half a mile from here.
+Dr. Harry Powell, whom you may know, is my nephew."
+
+"I know Dr. Powell well, and if he says it is all right, I'll have
+Colonel Stanton removed to your home without delay."
+
+"When will you see Dr. Powell?"
+
+"To-day. This is not a nice place, and I would like to see the colonel
+have better quarters."
+
+A little later Mrs. Ruthven left and drove home with all speed.
+
+"Marion, I have wonderful news!" she exclaimed, on entering the room
+where the girl sat making bandages for the wounded soldiers.
+
+"What is it, mamma; is Jack found?"
+
+"No, but I am almost sure that I have found Jack's father?"
+
+"Oh, mamma! Of course you don't mean that horrid Dr. Mackey?"
+
+"No, I mean Colonel Stanton."
+
+"Mamma!" And Marion leaped up, scattering the bandages in all
+directions.
+
+"Did you ever notice how much Jack and the colonel resembled each
+other?"
+
+"I did."
+
+"The colonel is in a fever, and while I was there he cried out about a
+shipwreck, and asked that his wife Laura and his son Jack be saved."
+
+"Didn't you always think Jack's mother was named Laura?"
+
+"I did--although I wasn't sure."
+
+"But why didn't he come to claim Jack?"
+
+"That's the mystery. I have asked that the colonel be brought here, and
+as soon as he is well enough to stand being questioned I am going to
+learn the truth of the matter."
+
+"I hope he is Jack's father," murmured Marion. "But if so, what of Dr.
+Mackey?"
+
+"That's another mystery."
+
+"He must know something of the colonel's past."
+
+"Undoubtedly."
+
+"I wonder if the two ever met in this vicinity?"
+
+"There is no telling. I am impatient to question the colonel. But of
+course nothing can be done until he is better and in his right mind."
+
+That evening there was the rattle of wagon-wheels on the gravel road
+leading up to the Ruthven mansion, and, looking out, Marion and her
+mother saw an ambulance approaching. The colonel was inside, and they
+hastened to prepare a bedroom for his accommodation.
+
+"Is he better?" asked Mrs. Ruthven of the surgeon in charge.
+
+"A trifle," was the answer. "What he needs is rest and quiet. He has a
+strong constitution, and that is in his favor."
+
+It did not take long to transfer Colonel Stanton to the bedchamber
+prepared for his reception, and once he was in the house Mrs. Ruthven
+did all in her power to make him comfortable. The ride had somewhat
+exhausted the officer, and he slept heavily until far into the next
+morning.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+DR. MACKEY SHOWS HIS HAND.
+
+
+"Well, what do these fellows intend to do with me, anyway?"
+
+It was Jack who asked himself the question, as he sat up, after quite a
+long sleep.
+
+He was a close prisoner in a little cabin far up the mountain side. His
+hands were bound tightly behind him and were made fast to a heavy wooden
+stake driven into the hard mud flooring.
+
+Night had come and gone, and all of the Confederates had left him. Now
+it was almost night again.
+
+"If they would only give me something to eat and to drink," he went on.
+He was very dry, and his stomach was empty.
+
+Half an hour later a footstep sounded outside, and Dr. Mackey appeared,
+carrying a knapsack filled with provisions, and a canteen of water.
+
+"Sorry I had to keep you waiting. Jack," he said, as he set the articles
+down and proceeded to liberate our hero. "But I had the whole affair to
+smooth over, and I had also to get Gendron out of the muss," and he
+smiled grimly.
+
+"Dr. Mackey, why do you treat me in this fashion?" demanded Jack.
+
+"Because I want you to come to your senses and understand that I am your
+father."
+
+"Do you think you are treating me as a father should?"
+
+"A son who will not obey must be made to obey. Here, I have brought you
+something to eat and to drink. Fall to and make the most of it."
+
+It would have been foolish to refuse the invitation, and our hero began
+to eat without delay. The surgeon watched him curiously.
+
+"Jack, don't you think you are acting the part of a fool?" said the man
+presently.
+
+"No, I do not."
+
+"I offer you a name, a good home, and your share of a large fortune, and
+yet you turn your back on me and my offers."
+
+"Have you a large fortune coming to me?"
+
+"There is a large fortune coming to both of us. You shall have your full
+share of it--providing you will do as I wish."
+
+"And what do you wish?"
+
+"Well, in the first place, I wish you to let the world know that you are
+fully satisfied that I am your father."
+
+"And after that?"
+
+"After that I will resign my commission as a surgeon in the Confederate
+army and take the necessary steps to claim the fortune which awaits us."
+
+"Why haven't you claimed the fortune before?"
+
+"Because I had to prove that my wife had been drowned, and had also to
+prove that you were either alive or dead. Had you been dead, I could
+have taken the fortune for my own. But you are not dead, and so I am
+willing you shall have your share."
+
+"Where is this fortune?"
+
+"Never mind about that now. I will give you my word that, if all goes
+well, you shall have your full share."
+
+"And how much will that be?"
+
+"Not less than fifty or sixty thousand dollars. The whole fortune is
+worth over a hundred thousand dollars."
+
+It must be confessed that our hero was staggered for a moment. The sum
+was certainly a large one--a good deal more than the Ruthven plantation
+was worth.
+
+"It's a lot of money," he said, at last.
+
+"Indeed it is, my boy. We can be happy on that amount for the rest of
+our lives."
+
+"But you haven't proved to me that you are my father," went on Jack
+abruptly.
+
+The crafty face of the surgeon fell, and he bit his lip.
+
+"What more proof do you require?" he said coldly. "Do you suppose I
+would wish to divide that fortune with a stranger?"
+
+"I presume not, nor would I wish to divide any fortune that was coming
+to me with a stranger."
+
+"Ha! what do you mean?" gasped the medical man.
+
+"I mean just this: That fortune may be coming to me, and you may be
+trying to gain possession of it by palming yourself off as my father."
+
+The shot told, and Dr. Mackey staggered back and turned pale.
+
+"Jack, you think you are smart, but you don't know what you are saying,"
+he stormed.
+
+"Perhaps I do, Dr. Mackey. One thing I do know--you are not to be
+trusted."
+
+"What? This to my face?"
+
+"You took the part of Gendron, when you knew he was nothing but a
+guerrilla and a horse-thief."
+
+"I know nothing of the kind. Gendron has a good record behind him. He
+was shot, and that may have hurt his brain."
+
+"I don't believe that fairy tale. To my mind, you sided with him because
+you were afraid he would expose you."
+
+"Boy, you are growing more bold. Don't you realize that you are in my
+power?"
+
+"Am I?"
+
+"Yes, you are--absolutely in my power. And you have got to do as I wish,
+or you'll take the consequences."
+
+As Dr. Mackey spoke, he began to walk up and down the cabin nervously.
+
+"What do you mean by my taking the consequences?"
+
+"You'll find that out later."
+
+"Would you kill me?"
+
+"I would make you mind me--as a son should."
+
+"I would rather do without the fortune than have you for a father, Dr.
+Mackey."
+
+"Well, there is no love lost between us, when it comes to that, boy."
+
+"Then you are willing to admit that you care more for the fortune than
+you do for me?"
+
+"Why shouldn't I--after the way you have acted toward me? No father
+wishes a son who hates him."
+
+"I will agree with you there," answered Jack slowly.
+
+"If you don't wish to live with me, well and good--after we have our
+money. You can take your share and I'll take mine--and that will be the
+end of it."
+
+"And you will let me return to the Ruthven plantation, if I wish?"
+
+"Yes. But not until everything is settled."
+
+"And what must I do to help settle it?"
+
+"You must sign a paper acknowledging me as your father, and must bear
+witness to the fact of your being wrecked on this shore, and that your
+mother is dead. We will have to get Old Ben for another witness."
+
+"And after that?"
+
+"After that I will take the next step."
+
+"You will not tell me more now?"
+
+"No. I don't know whether I can trust you or not."
+
+"But why this secrecy, if everything is aboveboard?"
+
+"As I explained to Mrs. Ruthven, some distant relatives hold the fortune
+now, and if they learn of what I am doing they will at once take steps
+to head my claim off. I wish to spring a surprise on them."
+
+"But if the claim is a just one, and half the property is coming to me,
+you do not suppose I am going to tell them in advance of what you intend
+to do."
+
+"Boy, you do not understand such matters--you are not old enough,"
+growled the surgeon. "Once more, and for the last time, will you do as I
+wish you to?"
+
+"I will not promise yet."
+
+"Then you shall remain here, a prisoner."
+
+"For how long?"
+
+"Until you come to your senses and agree to do as I wish."
+
+A few words more passed, and then Dr. Mackey made our hero a prisoner
+again, and took up the canteen and the knapsack.
+
+"You may have to remain alone for a long time," he said, on departing.
+"But if you get lonely and hungry, remember it is your own fault."
+
+"I think you are a brute!" cried Jack after him. Then he listened and
+heard the surgeon's footsteps receding rapidly. Soon all became quiet.
+
+Hour after hour went by, and nobody came near our hero. It was indeed
+lonely, and as the time passed his heart sank within him.
+
+Then Jack heard the faint patter of footsteps over the dry leaves
+surrounding the cabin. The sounds came closer.
+
+"Perhaps it's a dog," he thought. "I hope it is one from our plantation,
+on the hunt for me."
+
+At last a shadow fell across the open cabin doorway and the figure of a
+strange creature came slowly into view. At the sight Jack could not
+suppress a scream. The visitor was a mountain wild cat!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+COLONEL STANTON'S TALE.
+
+
+Two days after being brought to the plantation Colonel Stanton's fever
+went down, and the surgeon who came to attend him pronounced the officer
+much better.
+
+"But he must remain where he is for some time," said the medical man.
+
+"He can remain as long as he pleases," declared Mrs. Ruthven. "I have no
+wish to hurry his departure."
+
+She was anxious to learn the truth concerning the colonel's past, yet
+realized that she must move with caution, otherwise he might be thrown
+into another fever.
+
+"Colonel Stanton," she said, seating herself at his side, "were you ever
+in the neighborhood before--I mean some ten or eleven years ago?"
+
+At this question Colonel Stanton became immediately interested, and his
+wide-open eyes showed it.
+
+"I do not know if I was in this neighborhood," he answered slowly.
+
+"You do not know? Surely you must remember where you were at the time I
+mention."
+
+"The time you speak about was a very bitter one to me, madam," was his
+slow answer.
+
+"And you do not wish to speak about it?" she said softly, seeing the
+pain in his face.
+
+"I have spoken to nobody about it for years, madam. Yet I would not mind
+speaking to you--you are so kind to me. During the time you mention I
+took an ocean voyage which was very disastrous to me and mine. The ship
+went down with all on board, including my wife and child."
+
+"Did the ship go down on this coast?"
+
+"She struck somewhere along the coast; where, I am not exactly sure."
+
+"May I ask the name of the vessel?"
+
+"She was the _Nautilus_."
+
+Mrs. Ruthven's breast began to heave. "It must be true!" she murmured.
+
+"What must be true, madam?"
+
+"The _Nautilus_ was wrecked on our coast here, not over half a mile
+from this plantation."
+
+"You are sure of this?"
+
+"I am. The wreck is still on the rocks in the bay."
+
+"And were you living here at the time?"
+
+"I was, and I know all about the wreck, and so does Old Ben, the negro
+who has the boathouse on the shore."
+
+The wounded officer's interest increased.
+
+"I would like to visit that wreck some time, if it is still intact," he
+said. "I left some valuable papers in a secret closet. It is possible
+they are still on board."
+
+"Do you know who was saved from the wreck?"
+
+"Saved? No one was saved."
+
+"You are mistaken--a lady and her child were saved. The lady died two
+days later, but the child still lives."
+
+"What was the name of that lady? Tell me, quick?" gasped the officer,
+and tried to sit up, but fell back through weakness.
+
+"Do not excite yourself, Colonel Stanton, I beg of you!" pleaded Mrs.
+Ruthven, in alarm, fearful of the patient's agitation.
+
+"But tell me the name of that lady--and was the child a boy?"
+
+"I do not know the name of the lady, for she was badly hurt and could
+not give it. The boy's name was Jack."
+
+"Jack! My child's name was Jack. And you say he still lives?"
+
+"He does. The child is our Jack, for my husband and I adopted him."
+
+"Your Jack? That fine, manly fellow? Oh, Mrs. Ruthven, send him to me at
+once!"
+
+"I cannot do that just now, Colonel Stanton."
+
+"If only we can prove he is my son! Have you nothing belonging to the
+lady?"
+
+"Yes, I have her clothing, also the little boy's, and some jewelry."
+
+"Bring them to me," and now the colonel sank back, too weak to say more.
+
+As much agitated as her patient, Mrs. Ruthven hurried from the room, and
+presently returned with the clothing, the lace handkerchief, and the
+wedding ring.
+
+"They were my darling Laura's!" murmured Colonel Stanton, as he gazed at
+the things. "And this was little Jack's dress. Mrs. Ruthven, beyond a
+doubt Jack is my son!"
+
+"I suspected as much two days ago, Colonel Stanton. When you had a fever
+you spoke of a shipwreck and of the loss of your wife and son Jack. Yes,
+Jack must be your son. But how were you saved?"
+
+"It is a strange tale, madam. As you know, my wife and my son were
+washed ashore. I thought them drowned. Hours after I found myself, I
+scarcely know how, clinging to a spar, tossing up and down on the dreary
+waste of waters, far out to sea."
+
+"And you were picked up?"
+
+"Not for twenty-four hours or more. Then those on a passing ship espied
+me, and sent out a small boat to my rescue. I can remember how they
+hauled me in, and how I shrieked with joy, and then fell to the deck
+unconscious."
+
+"The exposure was too much for you."
+
+"Yes, and it not only affected my body, but likewise my mind, for it is
+only in a dim, uncertain way that I remember being taken on a voyage of
+several weeks' duration, and then finding myself in a strange-looking
+hospital. There I remained for two months, and was then transferred to
+an insane asylum."
+
+"An insane asylum! Colonel Stanton, how you must have suffered!" cried
+Mrs. Ruthven sympathetically.
+
+"That was not the worst of it, madam. At the asylum I was treated most
+brutally by a good-for-nothing physician, who did his best to pry into
+my family affairs."
+
+"And who was that physician, Colonel Stanton? Excuse my curiosity, but I
+have a strong motive for wanting to know."
+
+"He was a tall, wicked-looking fellow, who went by the name of
+Mackenzie, although I have since learned that his real name is Mackwell
+or Mackey."
+
+"Dr. Mackey! He has been here."
+
+"Here?"
+
+"Exactly, and he claims Jack as his son!"
+
+"The vile impostor!" cried the wounded officer wrathfully. "He is a
+villain to his very finger tips. It is to him that I owe my long term in
+the insane asylum. Where is he now?"
+
+"That I cannot tell you. I refused to give Jack up, for I did not like
+the looks of the man, and moreover Jack did not wish to go with him. I
+told him he would have to prove his claim at court."
+
+"That was right. If I can get my hands on him, I will either shoot him
+or place him behind the bars."
+
+"He certainly deserves arrest for plotting to take Jack."
+
+"I presume he is scheming to obtain the property which is rightfully
+mine. During my lucid intervals at the asylum he got me to tell him my
+story. There was property in England coming to me, and also an estate in
+Virginia coming to my wife. The trip on the ocean was taken to obtain
+the property coming to Laura. He drew from me all the details he could,
+and then drugged me, so that for a long time I knew scarcely anything of
+what happened. When I regained my own mind, I learned that he had left
+the asylum several weeks before, and departed for parts unknown."
+
+"And were you kept at the asylum?"
+
+"I was, for years, for this rascal had put me on the books as being
+incurable, and subject to attacks of great violence."
+
+"Of course he did this to obtain possession of the property."
+
+"Undoubtedly."
+
+"It is strange he did not put in an appearance before."
+
+"You must remember he knew no more than I about the exact fate of the
+_Nautilus_. How he found out the vessel was wrecked here I do not
+know."
+
+"He has paid the wreck a visit--Old Ben rowed him over to it!" cried
+Mrs. Ruthven, struck with a sudden idea.
+
+"Did he bring anything away with him?"
+
+"Old Ben thought he brought with him a tin box."
+
+"It must have been my box--the one I placed in the secret closet! I must
+get it away from him. But tell me of Jack. When will he be back?"
+
+"I--I cannot say, Colonel Stanton."
+
+"Did you send him away on an errand?"
+
+"I--I did not."
+
+"But he is not here. Tell me, is he--is he missing--shot?"
+
+"He is missing, yes. I do not believe he has been shot."
+
+"It must be more of Dr. Mackey's work," muttered the wounded officer,
+and then sank down. The conversation had exhausted him utterly, and it
+was a long while before he spoke again.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+IN THE HANDS OF THE GUERRILLAS.
+
+
+Our hero knew only too well how dangerous a wild cat can be, and as he
+gazed at the beast looking in through the open doorway of the lonely
+cabin his heart was filled with dread.
+
+"A wild cat!" he muttered. "Scat! go away!" he yelled.
+
+The sudden cry caused the beast to retreat a few steps, and for the
+instant Jack breathed easier. But then the beast approached once more.
+
+"Go away! scat!" he repeated, but now the wild cat stood its ground, its
+eyes gleaming fiercely and its mouth half open, showing its sharp teeth.
+It was tremendously hungry, and this had caused it to find its way to
+the habitation.
+
+"Go away, I say," repeated Jack, and then, as the wild cat took a
+noiseless step forward, he let out a scream: "Help! Help!"
+
+The wild cat now prepared to leap upon him. It crouched low, shaking its
+short tail from side to side. The leap was about to be taken when, of a
+sudden, bang! went a gun, and the beast rolled over on its side.
+
+"A good shot, Ben!" came in the voice of Columbus Washington. "I rackon
+ye killed him."
+
+"Ben!" cried Jack, in great joy, as the face of the faithful old negro
+showed itself at the doorway. "You came in the nick of time!"
+
+"Dat's so," answered Old Ben, as he came forward and poked the wild cat
+with his gun barrel. "Dead, are ye? Well, Old Ben will make suah," and
+he hit the wild cat's skull a blow that crushed it completely.
+
+"Ben, you saved my life," went on Jack joyfully. "I was certain I was
+going to be chewed up."
+
+"Wot fo' is yo' a prisoner yeah?" asked Columbus Washington, as he gazed
+at Jack's bonds curiously.
+
+"Dr. Mackey made me a prisoner."
+
+"What, dat man!" ejaculated Old Ben.
+
+"Yes, Ben; he had me taken from the stable, where I had gone to watch
+that guerrilla."
+
+"And where am de guerrilla?"
+
+"Dr. Mackey helped him to escape."
+
+The faithful old colored man shook his head doubtfully.
+
+"Massah Jack, do yo' dun t'ink dat doctor am your fadder?" he asked.
+
+"No, Ben; I think nothing of the kind."
+
+"Neider do I. He is a-plottin' against yo'."
+
+"That is what I think, Ben. If I could manage it, I would have him
+arrested. Then we could get at the bottom of this affair."
+
+Jack was speedily released, and the party of three left the lonely
+mountain cabin and started across the country for the Ruthven
+plantation.
+
+"Yo' mudder will be tickled to see yo'," remarked Old Ben, as they
+trudged along. "She was worried to death ober yo' absence."
+
+"After this I will see to it that they don't get me again," replied our
+hero.
+
+Half a mile was covered when, on turning a point in the trail, they came
+unexpectedly upon a company of Confederate guerrillas who were taking it
+easy, lying in the grass.
+
+"Hullo! who are you?" demanded one of the guerrillas as he leaped up and
+drew up his gun.
+
+"Friends!" answered Jack.
+
+Just then he caught sight of the men who had marched him away from the
+stable, and also of Pete Gendron, who was lying on some blankets in the
+shade.
+
+"Friends, are you!" cried one of the men who had marched him off. "Up
+with your hands, sonny!"
+
+There was no help for it, and Jack put up his hands, and his negro
+companions did likewise.
+
+"I reckon as how we cotched ye nicely," went on the man with the gun.
+"Whar did ye come from--thet cabin up the mountain?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Whar is Dr. Mackey?"
+
+"I do not know."
+
+"Did he let ye go?"
+
+"Of course he didn't let the boy go," growled Pete Gendron. "The niggers
+must have released him."
+
+"Is that true, sonny?"
+
+"That is none of your business," answered Jack, not knowing what else to
+say.
+
+"Aint it, though? All right, ride yer high hoss, if yer want to. But
+throw down them arms fust."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"I mean all of yer are prisoners, thet's wot I mean," drawled the
+guerrilla.
+
+"You have no right to hold me up in this fashion."
+
+"Ye forgit, sonny, thet might makes right in most cases. Come, hand over
+them firearms."
+
+Jack had been provided with a pistol by Old Ben, and this he was
+compelled to surrender, and his companions were also disarmed. The
+guerrillas numbered fully a score, so resistance would have been
+foolhardy.
+
+"What do you intend to do with me?" asked our hero, after he had been
+made a prisoner by having his hands bound behind him.
+
+"We'll hold ye till Dr. Mackey comes back."
+
+"When will that be?"
+
+"Can't say."
+
+This ended the talk, and presently the guerrillas moved up the mountain
+side to where there was a fair-sized cave.
+
+They marched our hero into this cave, and tied him and his companions
+fast to some jagged rocks in the rear.
+
+A fire was started up and the outlaws--for the guerrillas were nothing
+less--proceeded to make themselves comfortable by lying around,
+drinking, smoking, and playing cards.
+
+Gendron was not badly wounded, and sat up to look on at the
+card-playing.
+
+So the hours wore away. Toward night a scout went out to learn what the
+armies were doing, and he did not come back until the next day.
+
+Two days were spent by Jack and his companions in the cave. During that
+time the guerrillas treated them brutally, and gave them hardly
+sufficient food to keep them from starving.
+
+Gendron was particularly bitter against Jack, and insulted our hero upon
+every possible occasion.
+
+"If I was the doctor I'd blow your head off, and get that money for
+myself," he said once.
+
+"What do you know about that money?" demanded Jack.
+
+At this the guerrilla closed one eye suggestively.
+
+"I know a whole lot, sonny."
+
+"Then you know what a rascal Dr. Mackey is?
+
+"I didn't allow as how he is a rascal, sonny."
+
+"Well, he is, and you know it. I can't see how he puts up with a fellow
+like you, though."
+
+This was said to draw Gendron on, and it had the desired effect.
+
+"He can't help himself," chuckled the guerrilla. "I know too much."
+
+"What do you know."
+
+"I know all about the doctor's private papers--the ones he carries in
+the tin box."
+
+"The papers about the property?"
+
+"O' course."
+
+"Those papers won't help him any," went on Jack, wondering what the
+guerrilla would say next.
+
+"Won't they? They'll prove that he is----. But never mind--you shan't
+git nothin' out o' me," and then Gendron relapsed into sudden silence,
+as though he realized that he had been talking too much.
+
+On the afternoon of the next day Dr. Mackey appeared, accompanied by
+another man, evidently an officer of the guerrillas. His face grew dark
+as he gazed first at Jack and then at Old Ben and Columbus Washington.
+
+"So you were going to help Jack to escape," he said harshly to the
+negroes.
+
+"Jack is my young mastah," replied Old Ben. "Why shouldn't I try to sabe
+him?"
+
+"You are the fellow who saved Jack years ago, when the shipwreck
+occurred, I believe."
+
+"I am, sah."
+
+"Then I am glad I have you in my power," answered Dr. Mackey. "You may
+prove useful to me."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+THE ESCAPE FROM THE CAVE.
+
+
+Dr. Mackey turned away to consult with the guerrillas, and Jack and his
+companions were left to themselves for the best part of half an hour.
+
+The surgeon was evidently much disturbed over something, and Jack caught
+the words, "must leave the country," and "I will send the money," spoken
+to the guerrilla captain.
+
+"Can it be possible that he intends to leave the States?" mused our
+hero. "Well, we can easily get along without him. But I would like to
+know more of that fortune."
+
+At length Dr. Mackey came to him and sat down by his side.
+
+"So you thought to escape me, did you?" he began.
+
+"Do you blame me?" questioned our hero, as coolly as he could.
+
+"Not exactly. But I want to warn you that it won't pay to try to escape
+again. I have given the soldiers orders to shoot you down, if you
+attempt it."
+
+"In that case they must be outlaws, not soldiers, Dr. Mackey."
+
+"They know how to obey orders."
+
+"Again I demand to know what you are going to do with me."
+
+"If you wish to know so much, I will tell you. I am going to take you
+out of the country."
+
+"To where?"
+
+"That you will learn after we are on shipboard."
+
+"Then you intend to take me away from America?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Are you going to take me to Europe?"
+
+"As I said before, you'll learn your destination when you are on
+shipboard."
+
+"Supposing I won't go with you?"
+
+"If you won't go peaceably, I'll have to use force, that's all."
+
+"You mean you'll drug me, or something like that?"
+
+"Never mind the details. You'll go with me, and that ends it. Moreover,
+you'll do just as I want you to."
+
+"When do you intend to take me away?"
+
+"That will depend upon circumstances. Probably to-morrow night, or the
+next day."
+
+"What of my companions?"
+
+"Old Ben shall go with us."
+
+"And Columbus?"
+
+"Is that the nigger's name?"
+
+"Yes. Columbus Washington."
+
+"The guerrillas will take care of him."
+
+"Do you mean to say they will shoot him?"
+
+"What if they do? Niggers don't count in this world."
+
+"I think you are a monster, Dr. Mackey!" exclaimed our hero, in horror.
+"To kill a negro is as much murder as to kill anyone else."
+
+"I won't discuss the subject. The question is, will you go along
+peacefully with me?"
+
+"I will not. You have no right to abduct me in this fashion."
+
+"I have a right to do as I please with my own son."
+
+"Again I say I am not your son. Do you know what I think? I think you
+are nothing but a swindler--a rascal who wishes to use me as a tool, in
+order to get hold of some fortune coming to me or to somebody else."
+
+Dr. Mackey glared at Jack for a moment, then leaped forward and struck
+our hero a cruel blow in the face.
+
+"That for your impudence!" he cried wrathfully. "After this, keep a
+civil tongue in your head."
+
+The blow made Jack's blood boil, but he was helpless to resent it. "You
+are a coward, to hit me when I am tied like this," he said. "But some
+day, Dr. Mackey, I may be able to square accounts, and then you had
+better beware."
+
+One of the guerrillas now came forward to consult with the surgeon, and
+Jack was left with the other prisoners, to meditate over what had been
+said and done.
+
+"He's de wust rascal wot I eber seen," whispered Old Ben
+sympathetically. "Wot a pity he wasn't shot down in de fust battle wot
+he eber got into!"
+
+"He wants to take us both out of the country, Ben."
+
+"Wot, away from ole South Carolina?"
+
+"Yes--on a trip on the ocean."
+
+"I don't want to go, Massah Jack."
+
+"No more do I; but how can we help ourselves?"
+
+"I wish dis niggah could git free, Massah Jack."
+
+"We must try our best to escape to-night. If we don't do it to-night, I
+reckon our last chance will be gone."
+
+"Ise willin' ter do all I kin," answered Old Ben, and the other negro
+said the same.
+
+With the setting of the sun over the mountains a strong breeze sprang
+up, and presently the sky was obscured by heavy clouds. Dr. Mackey had
+gone off half an hour before.
+
+"We're in fer a heavy storm," Jack heard one of the guerrillas say.
+"It's a good thing we can crawl into the cave when it comes."
+
+"If they come in here our chances of escape will be slim," thought our
+hero.
+
+The approaching storm made it very dark in the cave, and during this
+time he worked with energy at his bonds.
+
+At last he was free, and without making any noise he rolled over and
+released Old Ben and Columbus Washington.
+
+Suddenly there was a shout from outside.
+
+A guerrilla on guard had discovered a man on the trail, with two horses
+loaded with store goods.
+
+"Here's a chance fer a haul!" was the cry.
+
+The guerrillas ran outside, and soon the majority of them were making
+after the traveler.
+
+Only two were left on guard, and one of these was more than half
+overcome by the liquor he had imbibed.
+
+"Now is our chance!" whispered Jack, as he tiptoed his way to the cave
+entrance. "Ben, you and I will pounce upon that man with the gun.
+Columbus, you silence the fellow sitting on the rock. We must not let
+them cry for aid."
+
+The negroes understood the plan, and in a moment more the party of three
+were upon the guerrillas. While Jack seized the gun of the one, Old Ben
+caught him from behind and placed a large hand over his mouth.
+
+"Silence, on your life!" said Jack, and leveled the gun at the rascal's
+head. The man understood and, when allowed to breathe, said not a word.
+
+To capture the half tipsy sentinel was likewise easy, and after both
+were disarmed they were ordered to enter the cave.
+
+"If you make the least outcry we'll come back and shoot you," said Jack.
+
+Then he motioned to the two negroes, and all three set off on a run down
+the mountain side. They heard a rifle shot to the right, and
+consequently moved to the left.
+
+The storm now burst over the mountains in all of its fury, with vivid
+flashes of lightning and sharp cracks of thunder. As they proceeded they
+heard the distant falling of one tree or another, as the giants of the
+forest were laid low by the elements.
+
+"I dun rackon da won't follow us in dis yeah storm," remarked Old Ben,
+as they stopped after a while, to catch their breath. "Da will be fo'
+gittin' back to de cabe an' stayin' dar."
+
+"I hope that traveler escaped them," answered Jack. "But those gun-shots
+sounded dubious."
+
+"De gorillas ought all to be hung!" came from Columbus Washington. "Da
+aint no sodgers, no matter if da do w'ar a uniform."
+
+"They are outlaws, pure and simple," answered Jack. "But come, we must
+go on. Ben, how far are we from home, do you calculate?"
+
+"Six or seben miles, Massah Jack."
+
+"Then we have a good, stiff walk before us."
+
+"Do yo' t'ink yo' can walk dat far, Massah Jack, in dis awful storm?"
+
+"I can, unless the rain sets in harder. I am anxious to get back, you
+know."
+
+"I don't blame yo' fo' dat, Massah Jack. De folks will be mighty glad to
+see yo', too," answered Old Ben.
+
+On they went through the darkness, Old Ben following the trail with the
+keenness of a sleuth-hound. But it was far from a pleasant journey, as
+Jack soon discovered, as he stumbled along over dirt and rocks and
+through the dripping bushes. He was soaked to the skin, and the rawness
+of the air caused him to shiver.
+
+The downpour was now extra heavy, and they had to come to a halt under
+some trees, in order to get their breath again. The wind was blowing
+strongly and it was directly in their faces.
+
+"How many miles have we made, Ben?" asked Jack.
+
+"Not more dan t'ree, Massah Jack?"
+
+"Then we have nearly four still to cover."
+
+"Yes, Massah Jack, an' wery hard roads, too, ober Hallack's hill."
+
+"If there was a cabin handy, I would go in for a rest of an hour or two.
+The storm may let up."
+
+"Da is a cabin down de trail, on de bend."
+
+"Then let us stop there."
+
+So it was arranged, and soon they gained the cabin, which was deserted,
+the owner having joined the soldiers a year before, and his wife and
+children being with some relatives in the town.
+
+It was easy to get into the cabin, and once inside they started to make
+themselves as comfortable as possible.
+
+But they had not been in the place over half an hour when voices outside
+filled them with fresh alarm.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+BROUGHT TO BAY.
+
+
+"Somebody is coming!" whispered Jack excitedly. "I wonder if it is the
+guerrillas?"
+
+"If da come, de jig am up!" groaned Old Ben.
+
+"Let us hide upstairs," returned our hero. "Quick!"
+
+There was no time to say more, and all three ran for the ladder leading
+to the loft of the cabin, which was but a story and a half high. Jack
+was the first up, and the negroes quickly followed, and then all lay low
+on the flooring, hardly daring to breathe.
+
+In a moment more two men entered the cabin, shaking the water from their
+rubber cloaks as they did so. The two men were Dr. Mackey and St. John
+Ruthven.
+
+"What a beastly night!" exclaimed St. John with a shiver. "When I left
+home to meet you I never expected such a storm as this. If I had, I
+shouldn't have come."
+
+"I didn't look for such a rain myself," returned Dr. Mackey, throwing
+off his cloak. "Anybody around?"
+
+"Don't seem to be, although there are muddy footprints on the floor."
+
+The two gazed around, but Jack and his companions were wise enough to
+keep out of sight, and apparently satisfied that the cabin was deserted,
+Dr. Mackey flung himself on a bench and St. John did likewise.
+
+"You said you wished to see me on important business," observed the
+spendthrift.
+
+"I do," was the reply. "I wish to help both you and myself."
+
+"In what way."
+
+"In several ways, Mr. Ruthven. In the first place, you are aware that I
+claim Jack as my son."
+
+"I know that."
+
+"I am very anxious to establish my claim to the boy."
+
+"I don't see how I can help you, Dr. Mackey, although I am glad enough
+to have you claim Jack."
+
+"You ought to help me, for it will be helping yourself as well. Your
+aunt thinks a great deal of Jack. If he is allowed to remain at the
+plantation she may take it into her head to leave him half of her
+property."
+
+"I know that, too."
+
+"The property ought to go to that girl and to you. With Jack out of the
+way you will be pretty certain of your share."
+
+"But I don't understand your game, Dr. Mackey. Why do you want Jack, if
+he doesn't care for you?"
+
+"I love the boy, in spite of his actions. Besides, he must come with me
+in order that I may establish our joint right to a fortune which awaits
+us."
+
+"Well, what do you want me to do?" questioned St. John, after a pause,
+during which Jack waited with bated breath for what might follow.
+
+"Jack was picked up from a shipwreck nearly eleven years ago. He and his
+mother were taken to your aunt's home, and it was from this home that
+Jack's mother, my wife, was buried."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"I am quite certain that your aunt is keeping all of the things which
+were taken from my wife's person at the time of her death, and also the
+clothing Jack wore when he was rescued. I wish to obtain possession of
+those things, or, failing that, I want to get a minute description of
+them."
+
+"Do you want me to get the things for you?"
+
+"If you can."
+
+"But my aunt may object to giving them up."
+
+At this the face of Dr. Mackey fell.
+
+"I'm afraid you don't quite understand me, Mr. Ruthven. I don't want
+your aunt to know anything about it."
+
+"Oh!" St. John's face became a study. "You--er--you wish me to get the
+things on the sly?"
+
+"Yes. You must remember they belong to me. But if you tell Mrs. Ruthven
+she will be sure to raise a big fuss, and that is what I wish to avoid."
+
+"I don't see how I can get the things?"
+
+"Can't you get your aunt or your cousin to show them to you? Then you
+can watch where they are put, and the rest ought to be easy."
+
+"I'm afraid my aunt is very careful of the things. I have heard her say
+as much, to my cousin Marion."
+
+"Well, you ought to take a little risk. Remember, it is to your interest
+to help me in establishing my claim to Jack."
+
+"I'll do what I can," replied St. John, after a moment's consideration.
+
+"I would like to get the things as soon as possible."
+
+"I'll go over to my aunt's plantation the first thing in the morning.
+But she may not want to listen to me just now. She is extra busy, you
+know."
+
+"With those wounded Confederate soldiers?"
+
+"Not only with those, but she also has a Federal officer there--brought
+in a few days ago."
+
+"A Federal officer? Does she sympathize with the North?"
+
+"She does to some extent."
+
+"Who is the fellow?"
+
+"A Colonel Stanton."
+
+At the mention of that name Dr. Mackey leaped up in alarm.
+
+"What! that man--in her house!" he gasped.
+
+"Do you know Colonel Stanton?"
+
+"I--that is--I know of him. Is he badly wounded?"
+
+"I think he is."
+
+"I hope he dies then. He is--a--a--very bad customer to meet."
+
+"I can't understand why my aunt makes so much of him."
+
+"Tell me, has this Colonel Stanton met Jack?"
+
+"Yes, they met some time ago, when the Yankees first came to this
+neighborhood."
+
+"Ah!" Dr. Mackey drew a long breath. "I wonder what Jack thought of the
+colonel?"
+
+"He likes the Yankee very much."
+
+"Humph! Well, there is no accounting for tastes." Dr. Mackey pulled
+himself together with an effort. "If you see this Colonel Stanton don't
+tell him about me, or repeat anything I have said, will you?"
+
+"I don't want to see the Yankee. I haven't any use for any of them."
+
+"Colonel Stanton ought to be arrested as a spy. I know for a fact that
+he once entered our lines and reported our movements to his superiors.
+It would be a feather in your cap if you could have him arrested by the
+Confederate authorities."
+
+"By Jove! do you really think that?" asked St. John, with renewed
+interest.
+
+"I do."
+
+"Then I'll report the case without delay. I thought he was something of
+a sneak the first time I saw him."
+
+"If the South would hang him as a spy it would be a good job done."
+
+"Would you be willing to appear against him?" asked St. John anxiously.
+
+"Well--er--no, but I can bring two other men to appear."
+
+"Then I'll surely have him arrested."
+
+"And what about those things?"
+
+"I will get them, if I possibly can."
+
+A loud clap of thunder interrupted the conversation at this point, and
+when it was renewed the topic was not of special interest to Jack.
+
+But our hero had heard enough to make him very thoughtful. Why had Dr.
+Mackey been so startled to learn that Colonel Stanton was at the Ruthven
+plantation, and why had he been so anxious to know if he and the colonel
+had met?
+
+"Here's a fresh mystery," he told himself. "I must unravel it if I can."
+
+"I am going to return home now," said St. John presently, when the storm
+seemed to be clearing away. "If I don't get back, my mother will be
+wondering what has become of me."
+
+"All right," answered the doctor. "But let me hear from you by to-morrow
+night, sure."
+
+"I will."
+
+"And don't mention my name to Colonel Stanton."
+
+"But if I have him arrested you will furnish those witnesses to the fact
+that he is a spy?"
+
+"I will, rest assured on the point."
+
+A little later St. John hurried off in the darkness. Dr. Mackey watched
+him go, and then began to pace the floor nervously.
+
+Jack touched Old Ben on the shoulder.
+
+"Wot am it, Massah Jack?" whispered the faithful old negro.
+
+"Ben, we must make the surgeon a prisoner."
+
+"All right, Ise ready to do my share."
+
+"I am going to jump down on his back. You follow me with the gun."
+
+"I will, Massah Jack."
+
+The surgeon continued to pace the floor of the cabin, and, watching his
+chance, Jack crawled to the edge of the loft opening.
+
+Just as Dr. Mackey swung around on his heel our hero gave a nimble leap
+and landed squarely on his shoulders, sending the surgeon to his knees.
+
+"Hi, what's this?" spluttered the rascal, and tried to throw Jack off.
+But our hero clung as fast as grim death.
+
+"It means that you are now my prisoner, Dr. Mackey."
+
+"You!" ejaculated the astonished man. "Let me go, I say!" And he began
+to struggle more violently than ever.
+
+But by this time Old Ben was on the floor, and the negro lost no time in
+poking the muzzle of the gun under the surgeon's nose. This brought Dr.
+Mackey to a standstill, and he glared at his opponents in amazement.
+
+"Don't--don't shoot!" he gasped.
+
+"Then keep quiet."
+
+"How did you escape from the cave?"
+
+"That is our business, Dr. Mackey. Will you submit, or not?"
+
+"I suppose I'll have to submit. You are three to one." Columbus
+Washington was now beside Ben.
+
+"Columbus, see if you can find a rope or a strap. We'll bind his hands
+behind him," went on Jack.
+
+"What are you going to do with me?" questioned the surgeon anxiously.
+
+"Put you where you deserve to be--behind the bars," was our hero's
+quiet, but firm, answer.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+FATHER AND SON--CONCLUSION.
+
+
+"Jack, do you mean to say you would put your own father in prison?"
+asked Dr. Mackey reproachfully, after Old Ben had tied his hands behind
+him.
+
+"I would--were he such a fraud and villain as you, Dr. Mackey," was our
+hero's calm reply. "You will never make me believe that any of your
+blood flows in my veins."
+
+"Then you believe I am an impostor?"
+
+"I do."
+
+The doctor fell back and sank on a bench. Jack's firm manner appeared to
+take his nerve from him.
+
+"What shall you do next?" he asked finally.
+
+"Take you straight to our plantation."
+
+"No! no! Colonel----" Dr. Mackey stopped short. "Do not take me there,
+I beg of you!"
+
+"But I shall take you there, and what is more, I am going to find out
+what Colonel Stanton has to say concerning you."
+
+At this the surgeon grew as pale as death.
+
+"You--have no right to take me to the plantation. Remember, I am a
+Confederate officer. If you keep me a prisoner, you will be liable to
+heavy punishment."
+
+"We'll risk it." Jack turned to Columbus Washington. "See if the rain is
+letting up."
+
+The colored man went out and presently reported that the worst of the
+storm seemed over.
+
+"Then we will start," said Jack. "Now, Dr. Mackey, if you try to escape,
+I will order Old Ben to fire at you."
+
+"You are very hard on your father."
+
+"If you call me your son again, I will knock you down where you stand."
+
+At this curt threat the surgeon relapsed into silence, his brow showing
+plainly that he was in deep thought. The cabin was soon left behind, and
+Columbus Washington showed the most direct route to the Ruthven
+plantation. Jack came behind the colored man, with Dr. Mackey beside
+him, and Old Ben brought up the rear, his gun ready to shoot at the
+first sign of opposition upon the prisoner's part.
+
+The first streaks of dawn were beginning to show themselves when the
+party of four came in sight of the mansion. As they came closer Dr.
+Mackey showed increased alarm over the situation.
+
+"Jack, let us come to terms," he said presently.
+
+"What terms?"
+
+"For reasons of my own I do not wish to visit Mrs. Ruthven's house while
+Colonel Stanton is under her roof."
+
+"Surely you are not afraid of a sick man, even if he is a Yankee spy."
+
+At this the surgeon winced.
+
+"It is not that. I--I----"
+
+"I will not listen to you. March!"
+
+"But, Jack----"
+
+"March, I say, or Old Ben shall fire on you."
+
+With something resembling a groan the surgeon went on, and in a few
+minutes more the party gained the piazza, and Jack was using the big
+knocker on the door lustily.
+
+"Who is there?" came from an upper window, and then Mrs. Ruthven uttered
+a cry of joy. "Jack!"
+
+"Yes, mother; I am back again; safe and sound," he answered.
+
+Mrs. Ruthven was soon down and let him in. She was naturally startled to
+behold Dr. Mackey, especially as a prisoner.
+
+"What can this mean?" she began, and then looked at Jack curiously.
+"Jack, do you know the truth?"
+
+"What truth, mother?"
+
+"That this man is an impostor."
+
+"I have thought so all along. But what do you know of this?"
+
+"Colonel Stanton is here, Jack. He knows Dr. Mackey only too well."
+
+"So I supposed from what this fellow said."
+
+"To you?"
+
+"No, to St. John."
+
+"My dear Mrs. Ruthven, this is all a dreadful mistake," burst in the
+surgeon. "I do not know Colonel Stanton at all. I spoke of a Colonel
+Stanwood--quite a different person, I can assure you."
+
+"I do not believe you, Dr. Mackey," answered Mrs. Ruthven emphatically.
+
+"You are very hard upon me, madam."
+
+"I think I have a right to be hard upon you, sir. You have tried your
+best to rob me of my son."
+
+"But he shan't do it, mother," put in Jack warmly.
+
+"No, Jack, he'll never be able to do that--now," answered Mrs. Ruthven
+significantly. And then she added, "See to it, Ben, that he does not get
+away. I wish to speak to Jack in private."
+
+"He shan't git away from Old Ben, nohow," answered the faithful negro.
+
+Mrs. Ruthven led Jack into the parlor and closed the door carefully.
+
+"My boy, I have a great surprise for you," she began. "Do you think you
+can bear it?"
+
+"What surprise, mother?" he asked quickly.
+
+"Colonel Stanton is here, wounded. He has told me something of his past,
+and it concerns you."
+
+"Me?"
+
+"Yes, Jack. You are not Dr. Mackey's son at all, but the son of the
+colonel."
+
+"I am Colonel Stanton's son!" gasped our hero, hardly able to frame the
+words.
+
+"I knew you would be amazed. But it is true, as he has proved beyond the
+shadow of a doubt."
+
+"But--but----" Jack tried to go on, but words failed him. He the son of
+the colonel--the son of a Yankee officer? It was something of which he
+had never dreamed. Yet, even on the instant, he remembered how much the
+colonel had impressed him, and what a gentleman he had thought the
+officer.
+
+"I will tell you the story," went on Mrs. Ruthven, and did so. Jack was
+all attention, and when he learned the true depth of Dr. Mackey's
+villainy his eyes flashed fire.
+
+"Now I understand why he didn't wish to meet Colonel Stanton face to
+face," he said. "No wonder he is afraid."
+
+"Your father is sleeping now," continued Mrs. Ruthven. "He is improved,
+but still somewhat weak. You can go to him when he awakens. I think it
+will be best, for the present, to keep the fact of Dr. Mackey's capture
+a secret."
+
+"You are right, mother."
+
+The matter was talked over, and Dr. Mackey was later on taken to a
+garret room and tied fast to an old four-poster bedstead, a piece of
+furniture weighing considerably over a hundred pounds. Then Old Ben was
+placed at the door to watch him.
+
+Just before the colonel awoke Jack went in to see him. As our hero
+looked at that handsome face his heart beat rapidly. He bent over and
+kissed the colonel's forehead, and this awoke the wounded man.
+
+"Jack, my son!" murmured the colonel, as his eyes rested on the face of
+the youth. "My son, at last!"
+
+"Father!" was the only word Jack could utter, but, oh, how much it
+meant! Then he caught his parent by both hands, and for a moment there
+was utter silence.
+
+"I was so afraid something had happened to you," went on the colonel.
+"Oh, Jack! you do not know how glad I am that we have found one
+another!"
+
+"And I am glad, too," replied our hero. "Do you know I was drawn to you
+from the first time I saw you?" he added.
+
+"And I was drawn to you--even though you were a little Confederate," and
+the colonel smiled.
+
+"And you are a Yankee!" cried Jack. "But I don't care what you are,
+father," he continued hastily. "Blood is thicker than water; isn't it?"
+
+"Yes, Jack; and what is more, I trust this cruel war will soon be over,
+and we will have no North and no South, but just one country."
+
+Jack remained with his parent for over an hour, then went off to see
+what could be done with Dr. Mackey.
+
+It was the middle of the forenoon when Marion discovered St. John
+coming, accompanied by several Confederate soldiers.
+
+"He has come to arrest my father," said Jack. "But he shan't do it."
+
+"He will be surprised when we show him Dr. Mackey as a prisoner,"
+returned Marion.
+
+She went to let her cousin in, and St. John began at once to speak of
+Colonel Stanton.
+
+"He is a spy," said the spendthrift. "You should be ashamed to harbor
+him in your house. These men will place him under arrest."
+
+"I don't think they will," put in Jack, as he came forward. "So you are
+here to do Dr. Mackey's dirty work, are you," he added.
+
+"Eh? What--er--do you mean?" stammered St. John.
+
+"You are found out, St. John," said Mrs. Ruthven, coming on the scene.
+"And let me tell you that hereafter it will be best for you to remain
+away from this place. You schemed to steal some of my things, but you
+shall not do it."
+
+"Why, Aunt Alice----" he began.
+
+"It is true. Do you know that Dr. Mackey is a prisoner?"
+
+At these words St. John fell back and grew very pale.
+
+"A prisoner, did you say?" he faltered.
+
+"Yes. He has plotted against not only Jack and myself, but also against
+the Federal officer who is under my roof, badly wounded."
+
+"You mean Colonel Stanton?"
+
+"I do."
+
+"He is a spy, aunt."
+
+"He is nothing of the sort. He is a brave officer, and as such deserves
+the best of treatment. St. John, the less you mix up in this affair the
+better it will be for you."
+
+A stormy scene followed, and St. John came out of it considerably
+frightened, especially when he was told that the colonel was Jack's
+father and that Dr. Mackey was proved to be a thorough villain.
+
+"I--I won't ask for this arrest just now," he said, to the men he had
+brought along. "We will let the matter drop for the present. The man is
+too sick to be moved, anyway." And soon after he hurried away, and his
+companions with him. He never showed himself at his aunt's door again.
+
+"And we are well rid of him," said Marion. "He is as cowardly as he is
+unprincipled."
+
+On the day following Jack's return home there was a long-drawn battle in
+the mountains between the Federal troops and the guerrillas, which
+resulted in the killing off of a number of the outlaws, including those
+who had held our hero a prisoner. In this contest Gendron was also
+killed, and he died without revealing what he knew of Dr. Mackey's past.
+
+The outlaws' camp was thoroughly searched, and here were found the goods
+stolen from the trader who had been attacked in the storm, and also a
+number of other things of value, including the tin box taken from the
+wreck of the _Nautilus_. Later on this box, with its contents, was
+turned over to Colonel Stanton.
+
+"My precious papers!" said the officer to Jack, as he looked them over.
+"My son, nothing now stands between us and our fortune."
+
+A few words more and we will bring this tale to a close.
+
+Colonel Stanton's recovery was slow, and by the time he got around again
+the great Civil War was a thing of the past. For this the colonel was
+truly thankful, and so were Jack, Mrs. Ruthven, and Marion.
+
+As soon as it was possible to do so, the colonel resigned from the army.
+This done, he set to work to prosecute Dr. Mackey and recover the
+fortune due himself and Jack. As a result of these movements Dr. Mackey
+received a term of ten years in prison, and inside of a year the
+Stantons, father and son, came into possession of a fortune worth a
+hundred and fifteen thousand dollars.
+
+Colonel Stanton had thought at first to go back to the North and settle
+down, but Mrs. Ruthven hated to part with Jack, and it was decided that
+all should remain at the plantation. A year later the colonel married
+the widow, so that Mrs. Ruthven, now Mrs. Stanton, became once more
+Jack's mother.
+
+"And that is just what I wanted," said Jack, after the wedding.
+
+The ceremony at the plantation was a double one, for at the time Mrs.
+Ruthven married the colonel Marion gave her heart into the keeping of
+Dr. Harry Powell, who had now set up a lucrative practice for himself in
+Philadelphia. The double wedding was a grand affair, and was the talk of
+the neighborhood for a long time afterward. The Ruthvens from the other
+plantation were invited, but while Mrs. Mary Ruthven came, St. John was
+conspicuous by his absence.
+
+St. John was now a worse spendthrift than ever, and it was not long
+before the plantation went under the hammer, and Mrs. Mary Ruthven was
+compelled to live upon her sister-in-law's charity. St. John drifted to
+New Orleans and finally to the West, and that was the last heard of him.
+Let us trust that he saw the error of his ways and turned over a new
+leaf.
+
+As for Jack, he proved to be indeed the son of a soldier, for some years
+later he entered West Point Military Academy, and graduated with high
+honors. From the Academy he, too, went West, but as an officer at one of
+the well-known forts. His career here was full of daring and honor, and
+he speedily rose to the position of colonel, which he filled with all of
+his old-time bravery and loyalty.
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK YOUNG CAPTAIN JACK***
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