Collection of American literature IJcqucntlicli to ®t)e ILibrarp o i^ortl "He gave back receivi Cairns r "Bob the Conf It is pi on the oc ters of th THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA LIBRARY THE WILMER COLLECTION OF CIVIL WAR NOVELS PRESENTED BY RICHARD H. WILMER, JR. hers as a is written ustrations every part jghters of d Daugh- r 8, 1899. TlftS^OOK ftia?,|^rat out TWO WEE^3lt>i^Y, and^'W^ject to a fine of FIVE CENTS a day thereafter, ft wao -. taken out on the dav iin.licated below: f\ug'iO d& "BOBBIE" Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill http://www.archive.org/details/bobbieOObosh He leaned against tlie tree througli utter ireaknex ^See page 128) BY KATE CAIRNS Presses of B. F. Johnson Publishing Co , Richmond, Virginia : iSgg. Copyright 1899 HY Kate Cairns. Illustrated by M. M. Dashiell. IN MEMOR Y OF THE DA YS THA T ARE NO MORE. «,?* t,^ (^* You see Ms ? " she said. (See page 15) **B^BB/£^^ '^^-' CHAPTER I. tC\E always said he never knew which was worse, his name or his nose ; but, as he could get rid of neither, he accepted both in his own bright, happy way, and that ended the matter with him. Peter Black had given him the name of Mars' Bobbie to distinguish him from Mars' Robert, his father, and it seemed to fit so exactly and suit so well his cheery, lovable little self as a baby, and later as a boy, and even on to young manhood, that no one thought of calling him anything else, or loved any other name half so well for him. He was such a lonor time in cominof, he used to say laughingly, that when he did get here his " Bobbie." parents and friends and relatives, together with all the negroes on the plantation, thought he was going to be something extra ; and then to be called ''Bobbie J' and to have a broken nose, was so hurtful to his vanity that, after thinking the matter over, he settled it by deciding that never again would he allow the subject to enter his mind, with the result that he became more lov- able and loving than ever, and the secret of the charm all lay in the decision about his nose and name — he never thought of himself, but always of every one else first ; and that is why he was so loved — he was so brave and true and honest and glad always. "White Point," where he was born, was the centre of the Rockland district ; and while the neighborhood in that section of the country was tolerably well settled, still the "quality folks" were not very numerous, and in a radius of some twenty miles there were scarcely half a dozen families that kept up any kind of an establishment. Consequently, with the exception of "Grey " Bobbie." Cliffs" — Dr. Trevillian's place — "White Point" stood alone for a synonym of all that was grand and elegant, and as a gathering place for all the " bus heads " of the neiehborino- counties, as well as many cities. Over two hundred slaves were owned by the master, and the stables were reckoned the finest in the State, for the stock included many animals of well-known and enviable records. There was a private race-track at one end of the plantation, and when at the spring and fall meets the neighbors from his own and adjoining counties met at Mars' Robert Tayloe's, there were times to be remembered, and good old times they were ! The gentlemen brought their own horses and dogs, and in the morning after breakfast it was no unusual sight to see fifty or more blooded animals brought out by the stable boys and walked up and down for the inspection and discussion of the gen- tlemen who had come down to see their favorites ; and it was owing to one of these occasions that Bobbie made his nose immortal. " Bobbie." Though his eighth birthday had not yet been reached, he knew every detail of stable matters to what his mother thought an alarming degree, and the ambition of his life was to oret astride a race horse. Never had he been allowed that privilege, though he had ridden bareback everything else on the place ; and when he heard his father discuss- ino-, the nitrht before the hiQ- race, the relative merits of his special pride — Dare Devil — as com- pared with Major Dalyrimple's Lady Virginia, he could stand it no longer, and he crept out to look for Peter Black. Had Bobbie known what an a//er co-o was, he would have said that Peter Black was it ; for one was the substance, the other the shadow ; and when Bobbie was wanted Peter Black was een- erally called. By right of birth he really belonged to Sallie Tom, Bobbie's mammy ; but for all other intents and purposes he was owned body and soul by little Mars' Bobbie, to whom Mars' Robert had given him on the morning of the great day when the 12 "Bobbie." little master " done come." The bie master had made him creep softly in the missus' beautiful room, and had shown him the new wonder, and told him that he was to belong to him hereafter, and that he must always be very careful, and never let any harm come to him ; and Peter Black had promised solemnly, and walked out of the room as one one would come out of a holy place, and no king on his coronation day was ever half so proud as he. Sallie Tom, his mother, was present at this installation into office, and she tried hard to con- ceal the pride she felt at the selection of the little marsa's body servant. She said no word at the time, but when she got down to her cabin she put Peter Black on a chair and had a conversation with him. Peter was her one and only offspring, and though she loved him very much in her own peculiar way, it was something very different from the absolute idolatry she had for her master and mistress, and now for the little stranger that for ten 13 " Bobbie." long years she had hoped and prayed would come to fill the sore need of a child up in the big house. There was a strain of Indian blood somewhere in Sallie Tom, it was thought, and the rest of the negroes were far more afraid than fond of her. They declared she " cungered " them, and some would have nothinor to do with her ; and for that reason, though the best worker on the place, she had been put in the house by her mistress. At the birth of the baby she had been installed as nurse-in-chief, and from that hour she ruled as despot of the nursery kingdom. In more ways than one did she assert her Indian peculiarities. No one knew for certain that she possessed a drop of such blood ; but her hate once aroused was implacable, and her devotion once eiven was as intense as it was endurinor and genuine. After the birth of the baby Sallie Tom moved up into the house altogether, but she was still allowed to retain her cabin, and there Peter Black 14 " Bobbie " slept at night, and there in her hours of recreation or investigation she went to look after her private matters and to see that all things continued in their usual spotless condition. On the afternoon of the day that made Peter Black henceforth the property of the few-hours-old heir, Sallie Tom interviewed her offspring as to the responsibilities and obligations now resting upon him as a body servant ; and if at the end of the interview Peter Black failed to understand what he was to be and to do, it was because he was only six years old. and not yet equal to taking life altogether seriously. One thing, however, he fully appreciated, and that was the old horsehair whip that hung near the chimney corner. Sallie Tom took it down and shook it out in the air. "You see dis?" she said, as she arose from her seat to go back to the house. " You see dis heah, Peter Black? Mars' Robert told you to-day dat you b'long to de little marsa, now, and so you does. Yo' foots is to run for him, yo' ban's is to 15 " Bobbie." work for him, yo' tongue is to talk up for him, yo' eyes is to look out for him ; but you b'long to me, too, Peter Black, and when yo' foots don't run, and yo' hands don't work, and yo' eyes don't see, and you gets to any foolin', den me and dis heah frien' of yourn will hav suppin' to say to you, Peter Black, and now go long wid you," and Sallie Tom turned and threw her arms around him and hugged him passionately, and then sent him out to play. From the day of his induction into office Peter Black never gave cause for any regret as to his selection. His idolatry of his little master was almost pathetically absurd. It was he who called him Mars' Bobbie, the day he crowed so lustily in his face, and the name seemed to fit so well the rollicking, laughing, happy little soul that it just stayed, and no one wanted it changed. When he first began to crawl, it was over Peter Black's back, and Peter's was the only hand he would touch when he tried to make his first steps, and almost before he could call his mother he would i6 "Bobbie." cry for " B' Bac," and " B' Bac " was always there. On up through the days of infancy the com- radeship continued to grow, and though Bobbie's was the imperious one of babyhood, he loved Peter Black better than anything on earth, and shared faithfully every piece of cake or candy that was eiven him, and it was clue to this abso- lute and complete submission to his will that Peter Black let his young master have his way about the horses, an induleence which resulted in Bobbie's broken nose. When the latter crept out of his room the night before the big race he made Peter Black promise to wake him up the next morning at 4 o'clock. " Pm not going to tell you what for," said Bobbie, " but you wake me up;" and Peter Black did as he was bidden. Together they crept through the house and down to the stables, and then Bobbie told his plans, " Major Dalyrimple said last night he know'd Lady Virginia was a-going to beat the whole place, and I know there ain't a horse in the 17 " Bobbie." world that can beat my father's Dare Devil, and I just want to tell him so, and I'm going to try and see. You must get on Lady Virginia and I will ride Dare Devil ; and don't let's have any saddles, 'cause my feet don't touch." They almost ran as they talked, and it was in vain that Peter Black protested and begged his little master not to do so dreadful a thing ; but Bobbie's blood was up, and words had no effect. They opened the stable and led out their favorites to the track, and slipped up on their backs. " Now, when I count three you let her go, and you make her oo, 'cause I don't want to win easy. If I come back here first, / beat ; if you first, then I'll tell father it's no use. Now, listen. One, two " — Bobbie's voice trembled with excitement — " three ! " — and they were off. CHAPTER II. HEY said afterward that the big race wasn't half so exciting as this one, witnessed by an unexpected audi- ence. They had hardly mounted their horses and gotten under way before several of the stable boys and the visiting grooms were rushing wildly to the track. The horses had been missed at once, and already up to the house the message had been sent that Mars' Bobbie and Peter Black were racing. Hardly waiting to slip on their clothes, down came Mr. Tayloe and Dr. Trevillian, followed by some three or four of the gentlemen guests and numerous servants, all making madly for the race track. Both children could be distinctly seen, though now half way round the bend, and breathlessly the men stood and watched. Mr. Tayloe' s face ig "Bobbie." was deathly white, and his hands shook as he grasped the gate-post at the entrance to the track. The rest, however, had forgotten who were on the horses. It was a race that they were watch- ing, and so intense was the interest that they almost held their breath as a^ain the children appeared in sight, for neck and neck they were going now. Both horses were being ridden at break-neck speed. All sense of servant and master was forgotten in Peter Black's and Bob- bie's minds; it was a race to win, and all else save winning was driven out. Nearer and nearer they came, and up through the stillness of the early morninof could be heard the rinmno- of the horses' hoofs upon the hard-packed track ; and now they could see that each was stretched almost flat upon the back of his horse, holding on in some myste- rious way known only to himself Neck and neck they still held, and though Major Dalyrimple felt afraid of an accident, he mentally determined if Tayloe wanted to get rid of Peter Black after this escapade, he would " Bobbie." buy him and have him trained for a jockey. He had the making of one in him, and Lady Virginia was doine well, even as it was. On they came, and instinctively the men and stable hands breathed hard. For the life of them not one could say which he thought would come in ahead. Louder and louder sounded the hoof- beats on the hard earth ; and though his heart was beatino- almost out of his bosom, even Mr. Tayloe could scarce repress a smile when he saw the eaofer excitement on his little son's face as he neared the stretch that would decide the race. Peter Black was losing his head, but Bobbie leaned still lower and touched Dare Devil on the forehead, as he was accustomed to do in the sta- bles, and then he saw the crowd at the gate and his father's white face amono- them. " Dare Devil, ^^miLstr he cried, almost frantically. "Don't you see father? We must T and he bent his feet aofainst his flanks, and Dare Devil eave a o-reat leap — and Peter Black was behind ! The men set up a shout, and Dare Devil, "Bobbie." almost maddened, kept up her wonderful speed, and in a moment it was over — the goal was reached, and Bobbie had loosened his hold and was shouting wildly to his father, when Dare Devil gave another spurt — and Bobbie lay on the ground, flung against the fence. Every man rushed quickly to the spot ; but already his father had him in his arms, and Dr. Trevillian was bend- ing over him. Peter Black was there, too, and they said afterward that he was as white as Bob- bie, It was quite five minutes before they brought him to, and his first words caused a great cheer to break the awful stillness that had followed his fall. "We beat him, father! tell him so ; tell him that Dare Devil can beat them all !" he cried ; and then he lifted his hand to his face and saw the blood with which it was stained. " What is it ?" he asked, trying to rise, and look- ing at it again wonderingly. "Oh, father," he pleaded, " don't tell mother 'bout the blood — take me down to Sallie Tom's cabin — don't let mother see it — you can do anything you want with me, 22 " Bobbie." father," he continued, and he tried hard to look up bravely in the latter's face, " only don't let mother know I'm hurt, and don't punish Peter Black. I made him do it — he didn't want to, and he's mine, you know, father, and you haven't the right." He watched his father's face eagerly. "Promise me," he cried, "promise me." And though his father had an intense desire to see Peter Black soundly thrashed, he knew he had no right to do it, for he had simply obeyed his little master, as he himself had ordered him to do. Up at the house there was great excitement when it was known that Bobbie's nose was bro- ken, and more than ever was his sway over the household absolute and entire, as he lay for a few days a prisoner in his little bed, waiting for the great surgeon from the North to come down and make it all straight and well aeain. That night his mother knelt by his bed and held him passionately to her heart and thanked God that he was still her own, and then she asked him what he most wanted to play with while he 23 " Bobbie." was waiting to get well, and his answer brought the first tiny twinge of jealousy of which she had ever been conscious. " I want Dorothy, mother," he said, putting his arms around her neck in his old sweet, baby way. "I want Dorothy most of all. I'm sorry she ain't a boy as big as me — but maybe I'll be glad she is a girl when she gets big- ger — for I'll have to have a sweetheart, won't I, mother?" But before she could answer he was fast asleep in her arms. The seed, however, had fallen on fruitful trround, and with a siorh of which she was half ashamed, his mother beean to think it would not be so very long before her realm in her boy's heart would be invaded, and she no longer reign supreme. The same night she told her husband of Bob- bie's wish, and also what he had said, and tog-ether they laughed at the way he regarded the inevita- bility of a sweetheart, and though neither said anything more, it seemed too absurd to discuss children scarce seven and three years old — still the idea took root, and the hope was born that 24 " Bobbie." some day Bobbie and Dorothy would keep up the Kfe in the big house when they were growing old, or when, perchance, they had passed away. Dorothy came the next day, Dr. Trevillian bringing her over himself in answer to the urgent note sent him by Bobbie's father, and for a week the two were blissfully happy. At the end of that time Dorothy was taken back, the promise that she should come again being the only way of stopping her sobs at parting, Bobbie was standing in the doorway with his hands clutched closely together, trying hard to keep back the tears ; but when the carriage was lost sight of by a turn in the road, he ran to his mother and buried his head in her lap. " He can take her from me now, 'cause I'm little and can't help it," he blurted out, gulpingly, "but when we get bigger I won't let any man, not even her father, take her from me ; for, mo- ther," and he slipped up into her lap and locked his arms around her neck, " if I tell you some- thing, will you promise not to tell — not even father?" and he whispered something solemnly in 3 25 " Bobbie." her ear, and his mother laughed and kissed him, and held him a little closer to her heart. When Dr. Trevillian put his little daughter into the carriage and started oft for home, he won- dered why he had been fool enough to let her stay away from him and her own home for seven long days, and then when he saw the beautiful baby eyes, with their wondrously beautiful lashes all filled with tears, and heard the Httle catch in her voice because she was leaving her playfellow, he felt him- self a selfish brute, and his heart smote him at the thought of the loneliness of his motherless child. The Tayloes and Trevillians had been friends loyal and true for generations back, but only of late had the Doctor beorun aofain to visit "White Point." After the terrible shock of his wife's death he had refused to oo amongf his former friends or take up his old life as before, and not until Dorothy was nearly three years old did he realize the error of his way, or the injustice to his child that such a life entailed. He began gradually to resume his practice and to visit a 26 " Bobbie." little, and when he yielded to Mr. Tayloe's re- quest that Dorothy should come and pay them a visit, it was only after a severe struggle and the urgent pleading of his maiden sister that the child should have this pleasure, that he finally gave in, and the pain it cost him to let her go was known only to himself. And that was the way it went on. Year in and year out they grew up, seeing each other so con- stantly that no thought of either was ever kept from the other ; and while over everybody else in the house and neighborhood Bobbie reio-ned su- preme, to Dorothy alone did he succumb, and mer- cilessly she tyrannized over him with all the inconsistency of the woman nature that was in her. CHAPTER III. lOBBIE was sixteen when his father finally made up his mind to send him to college. It nearly broke his mother's heart, to say nothing of the terrible blow it was to Peter Black and Sallie Tom, who still kept up their passionate love for the boy ; yet it was admitted by all that the going was a necessity. Bobbie simply would not study at home. By dawn of the day he was off on his horse, and every inch of ground for miles around was as familiar as the lawn in front of the house. Every bend of the river with all its fish, every bird that flew, every insect that hummed, and every kind of game in the woods, were as near and dear to Bobbie and Peter Black as old and tried friends ; and though his progress with his tutors was not always as great as it might have been, his tall, straight body, his supple limbs, and his 30 " Bobbie." clear eyes and bright, clever face more than re- paid for the neglect of his books. His father had a serious talk with him before he left, and Bobbie's face took on a new expres- sion while he listened. "All right, father," he said, when he left him, "I know it's time for me to study now, and you shan't be ashamed of me when I come back," and his father was satis- fied, for Bobbie's word, once given, he knew would never fail. Such a time there was the day he left ! Had the sun been in an eclipse, and all the world in total darkness, there could not have been greater gloom than that which pervaded the entire house- hold, with all the cabin contingent, on the morn- ing he was to leave. Bobbie's heart was out of its accustomed place, and stuck so persistently in his throat that he found talking difficult. The remembrance of his mother's face he felt would go with him through life, and the intense doleful- ness of Peter Black was oppressive. Sallie Tom was a kind of night-mare. So heartily did she 31 "Bobbie." disapprove of this move of the master that she had kept away as long as possible, but now that her idol, her pride, was leaving, she could hold out no longer. Like a cyclone she rushed through the line of darkies, all drawn up by the big gate waiting to see the young master off, and in a min- ute she had him in her arms and almost ofT his feet. " Gord A'mighty tek care of my chile !" she sobbed, rocking him backwards and forwards in a way highly uncomfortable to poor Bobbie, who yet had not the heart to rebuff her. " Gord A'mighty tek care of my po' chile, gwine out alone, all by hissef and bring him back to his old mammy !" and she strained him passionately to her heart, and with a cry of real anguish she let him go and rushed wildly down to her cabin, and for two days nobody saw Sallie Tom. At last all the partings were over and Bobbie and his father had waved as long as they could see them, to the waiting crowd, and then a silence long and oppressive fell upon both. Bobbie dared not trust himself to speak, and his father was 32 " Bobbie." watching solicitously one of the back wheels of the carriage, and only the hoarse, choky "Git up dar, Jonah, git up, you Whale, you," of Uncle Lias as he jerked the horses, trying to make out there was nothing unusual in the trip they were takine, broke the stillness of the air. A turn in the road, however, made Bobbie start, and caused his heart to give an extra leap. There, waiting under the big willow down by the river road, were Dr. Trevillian and Dorothy, and the former called cheerily that they were waiting to ride part of the way as escort, and to his dying day Bobbie never forgot this gracious act of letting him see Dorothy once more before leaving. He had left her the night before just at twilight, but a new feeling pos- sessed him as he saw her now sitting so quietly, yet so firmly on the little pony he had broken and trained for her until safe for her to ride. Ever since the day his nose was broken, and she had come over to play with him, she had pos- sessed him absolutely and entirely, and no tree was ever too high to climb for birds' eggs for 33 " Bobbie." Dorothy ; no briars ever too sharp to hunt for the berries and flowers and nuts she Hked the best, and no trouble ever too great to take, if only she were pleased, but it was simply as comrades, as boy and girl, that they had played and quarreled and made up again, but to-day it was different. Bobbie felt it, but did not understand — he only had a fierce desire to take that gawk of a fel- low, John Coxe, away with him — he would be finding all the fiowers that Dorothy loved, and would get all the chinquapins and chestnuts from Pebble Hollow now, and he would be far. far away. They had both been shy and unlike them- selves last night. Bobbie had slipped over early to tell her good-bye, and they had stayed down at the spring until almost dark and talked over all the foolish little nothings that neither was inter- ested in, and Bobbie had almost kicked out the toe of his boot against the pebbles trying to ap- pear natural. "I'm awfully sorry you're going," said Dorothy, at last, making a desperate effort, however, to look as if she did not mind much. 34 " Bobbie." "There won't be anything to do now except to think about Christmas, and after Christmas the summer, and that seems Hke a hundred years off," and as tlie blankness all came over her, she threw herself down in the grass and forgot to make believe anything except that she was lonely and miserable, and didn't want Bobbie to go, and in a minute he was down there beside her, and both were fighting desperately hard to keep back the tears, and Bobbie tried to say something to her and he couldn't — he could only choke and then get angry with himself, and then he told her he must go, and he put his arms around her and kissed her. And now when he saw her sitting so easily on her horse, waitincr for him, his heart eave a ereat leap. They merely nodded to each other, and Dr. Trevillian became actually merry and jolly in his efforts to keep up the spirits of the party. He would miss the lad sorely. He knew how his old friend's heart ached at the thought of sending his boy out into the world, and he felt keenly for 35 " Bobbie." him. but it would never do to show it now. Doro- thy and Bobbie talked but little, and soon they reached the point where they must separate. Bobbie took off his hat and shook hands with Dr. Trevillian. "I have a favor to ask of you, Doc- tor," he said in his frank, fearless way, "Will you let Dorothy write to me sometimes, and will you object to my telling her about the college, and the boys, etc.? I wouldn't expect her to do it often," he went on, trying to repress the eagerness in his voice, "but I would thank you very much." Dr. Trevillian looked a little taken back at this modest request, and he hesitated a moment, and then he saw Bobbie's eager face and Dorothy's flushed one, and he thought it would be no harm. " V^ery well," he said, " I will make it a reward of merit, if you make a certain average with your studies, of which your father will tell me, and Dorothy makes the same with hers, once a month you shall each send a letter — is that satisfactory?" and the Doctor wrung the boy's hand until it almost hurt. " Perfectlv," answered Bobbie, returninor the 36 " Bobbie." pressure gratefully, "and I thank you very much. I promise you my letters will always come — will you promise also, Dorothy?" And Dorothy nodded, and without waiting to say good-bye, touched her horse with her whip, and was far down the road before her father had finished shaking hands with Mr. Tayloe. 37 m CHAPTER IV. T was five years before the coming home, and the going away of Bob- ^^^ bie ceased to be the principal event of the year, both at "White Point" and "Grey Cliffs," and in fact to the whole neigh- borhood, and from the date of one arrival until the next all events and happenings were reckoned, for a truly royal time was made of these home- comings ; and merry-makings such as never will be the same aeain, were indulo-ed in to an unlim- ited depfree. From morn till nioht was one con- tinual round of pleasure, and nothing was ever too much trouble if it contributed to the young people's enjoyment. " He works so hard all during the session," said Bobbie's mother, when his father was mildly re- monstrating on the unceasing frolicking. "You know how splendidly he has done at school, how 38 " Bobbie." he never fails at anything, and now we must let him have all the relaxation he needs, poor dear, and there can possibly be no harm, for Dorothy is always along." Her husband smiled a little as he stooped to fasten his stirrup straps. " Yes, fortunately there is Dorothy, and if it were not for her I wouldn't be quite so sure of all those good reports we've been getting. He knows there would be no letter without them, and no letter would be Bobbie's worse punishment." They looked at each other and laughed softly, and then he stooped over and kissed her. It was his fourth Christmas holiday that Bobbie noticed a great change in Dorothy. He was greatly changed himself — stronger, taller, and straighter than ever, yet with more grace and ease, and the polish that comes with constant contact with gentlemen of his own class, and through it all ran the old, sweet charm that made all who came near him love him. The strono- will of which he was possessed was evidenced more 39 " Bobbie." than ever in the firm hnes about his mouth, but Bobbie himself did not reaHze this, he saw only the change in Dorothy. It was Chrismas-eve, and the nieht of the annual big- party given in his and his friends' honor. He had not seen her since he had eotten home. He had ridden over early in the morning and later, in the afternoon, and each time he had been told she was too sick to see him, but was trying to get well enough to come over at night, and now, as he stood watching the different peo- ple enter, he was full of miserable uncertainty as to her coming ; and if she didn't, why, what was the use of all this to do ? He had brought home six of his college chums for the holidays, and a finer looking set of young men w^ould be hard to find, thought Mr. Tayloe, as he watched them grouped together near the huge fire-places in the big parlors now a blaze of light, and filled, in every niche and corner, with Christmas greens. Over the doors and on the walls, and banked about the mantels were great festoons of holly, 40 " Bobbie." while a mass of foliage out in the beautiful old hall hid completely from sight the musicians sta- tioned behind it. Through the opened doors could be seen the people going up the wide stairs to leave their wraps, and now they were coming in, and Bobbie and the boys had to take their positions by Mrs. Tayloe for awhile, and very soon the rooms were crowded with all the country folks and many strangers besides, and still no sign of Dorothy. Bobbie was beginning to cret restless. He had a cordial, merry greetino- for all, but his eyes were constantly watching the staircase. What if, after all, she did not come ! Presently his heart gave a great bound — nobody but Dorothy held her head like that, though all he could see was a mass of soft, white, fluffy stuff that enveloped from head to foot the figure trying hard to get up the stairs, but who at every step was stopped and spoken to by others coming or going. Presently she was in the room, and Bobbie wanted to push everybody aside and go to her 4 41 " Bobbie." and take her away — away from all this noise and music and crowd, and have her to himself ; but, instead, he never moved an inch, only his face grew white, and he was ashamed of the furious beating of his heart. She was trying to come with her father, whose arm she held, to speak to his mother and the rest ; but immediately she was surrounded and almost hopelessly entangled as she laughingly tried to make her way through the crowd. Bobbie leaned carelessly against the mantel and awaited her coming with apparent quiet. She was a revelation to him to-night. Surely it must be another Dorothy ! The one he had left in the early fall was a girl — this one was a woman. Bobbie did not know where the charm lay ; he saw it all in a flash — the long dress, the different arrangement of the hair, and the manner that comes with the wearing, filled him with en- tirely new sensations. Was she going to be changed too ? On she came, with her father and numerous followers, and soon she stood near enough for Bobbie to see her in her quaint, short- 42 " Bobbie." waisted gown of sheerest, daintiest white, over its satin sHp, cut low in the neck, and with great puffs for sleeves. Surely no head was ever poised like Dorothy's, and no hair was ever so soft, or curled so bewitchingly around a forehead and neck as did that which escaped from the loose coil at the back of her head. She wore no jewels or ornaments of any kind, but in her hands she car- ried the huge bouquet of violets he had ordered from the city and sent to her during the day. How exactly they matched her eyes, he thought, as he watched her — those wondrously beautiful eyes, with their wondrously beautiful lashes ! She had spoken to his mother, and now she turned to Bob- bie : " I've had to fight my way up here," she said laughingly, holding out her hand to him in the sweet, frank way of old, "but I suppose no penalty is too great to pay for the privilege of speaking to so many college men ;" and Bobbie, bending low over the hand he held in his own, had scarce time for a word before she was speaking to his chum next to him, and in a minute all the boys 43 " Bobbie." were crowdino- around and holdinor out their hands to grasp hers. A moment more and she would be gone. Bobbie slipped out of the line and touched her arm. " Dorothy," he whispered, "give me your card ; these fellows will get every dance before I have a chance." His tone was the old imperious one he used as a child when determined to have his way. Doro- thy looked in his face for a moment, hesitated, smiled, and then handed her card to him, and recklessly he scribbled here and there, until she protested, and made him give it back. Now she was gone, and he could see her dancing down the long room, while dozens of eyes watched her eagerly, for Dorothy was fair to look upon to- night. She afterwards called it her " coming-out party," and in truth it could in reason be so called. She was a woman now — a very young one, it is true, but full of all a woman's witchery and grace, and Bobbie was by no means the only one who loved her. 44 " Bobbie." The last year and a half at college was a rest- less time for Bobbie, for his ambition admitted of nothing less than first honors, that she might be proud of him, and through it all he was possessed by a nameless dread. Suppose she should not give him now the old love she bore him in their childhood days ! Their letters were always friendly and kind in tone, but after awhile there was a formality in them which both tried to overlook, yet neither succeeded in banishing, and they wrote of everything else but the one thing dearest to their hearts. The night Bobbie took his degree was a very proud and happy one, for he was given the bliss- ful surprise of knowing Dorothy was there with his father and mother. "At the last moment father allowed me to come," she had managed to whisper, and then she had to leave him ; and before the evening was done, he almost angrily wished she had not come. Scarce a word could he have with her before she was literally taken away from him by a score of men, who were wait- 45 " Bobbie." ing to claim a dance in the ball that followed the closing exercises of the year. It was late, very late, before he got her away from them all. She was standing in a corner of the room, as usual, surrounded by a gay group, when he walked up and placed her hand upon his arm, and led her away from the crowd. "I'm sorry to break you up," he said, nodding to the others, standing stock still with amazement at his nerve, "but I believe this dance is mine," and he walked off with Dorothy, quite as if she already belonged entirely to him. "We are spoiling you to-night, Bobbie," she said, laughing indulgently ; " even I am letting you do as you choose, but I just wonder if you expect to keep it up — if you think that we are always going simply to follow your lead ? " "No," he answered, "no; after to-night you will lead, and I suppose I will do the following ; but to-night — we do not want to dance — I want to get you away from all this crowd." He led her through the door, and down 46 " Bobbie." the length of the veranda, until they came to a quiet corner, far removed from the ball-room and the gay company within. There was a seat way back in the shadow, and he pushed her gently in it, while he stood leaning against the railing, tearing the blossoms off the vine that made so beautiful a drapery from the floor quite to the top above. The moon was gloriously bright, but only in faint glints could it be seen through the mass of leaves, and as Dorothy leaned back its glimmer shone upon her hair, and for a moment rested lovingly there, and then danced wickedly and distractingly up and down, until it was all Bobbie could do to keep from kissing it, to make it still. He had loved Dorothy all his life, and now that he wanted to tell her so, as man to woman, his courage failed him. Faint strains of the rhythmic waltz reached them, and Dorothy leaned back, with her hands loosely clasped in her lap, and turned her face so that he could not see it well. "What is it — are you tired?" he asked, 47 " Bobbie." uneasily, sitting beside her. "Ah, Dorothy, you know it so well already ! — know that always I have loved you — and yet you make it so hard for me to tell you. You have held me off and made me afraid to speak, but to-night " — " but to-night you must tell me, Dorothy. Will you let the others go, and will you marry me, now I am through col- lege ? Answer me, Dorothy, don't make me wait." He had his arms around her, and he drew her face again to his, while his breath came fast and hard, and he could distinctly hear the beating of his heart. Dorothy looked at him for just a moment, and then she tried to free herself from his arms. " Not until you answer me," he said, holding her tighter. " What is it ?'' "I wonder why men are so stupid," she said, laughing a little unsteadily, "you take so long to find out what women know so soon. I like the others, but — ah, Bobbie, you know" — and she looked up in his face and touched it shyly with her hand. " Bobbie." And Bobbie knew, knew that of all men on earth lie was the most supremely blessed, and he could not speak for the wonderful happiness that filled him. He could only hold her in his arms and kiss the quivering, trembling lips, and the beautiful violet eyes and the moon glints in her hair. 49 CHAPTER V. IIaLLIE TOM and Peter Black had a conversation a nieht or two after the return of the "white folks from the college," and the announcement of Dorothy's and Bobbie's engagement was of course its topic-in-chief. " Dey do say," said Sallie Tom, taking her pipe surreptitiously from the depth of her bottomless pocket, and lighting it with a coal from the hearth, " dey do say dat de Doctor done walk de flo' all night long when Mars' Bobbie come over and axed fur Miss Dorothy, jis as if he didn't kno' dat it had to come ; every nigger on de place know'd it was gwine to end dat way, and tain't no use fur de Doctor to say he didn't spec it so suddin' ; 'taint nothin' suddin' bout it. Dey been a lovin' one another ever sence dey bin born, ever sence his nose got broke. Miss Dorothy is 50 site was a woman no2P — a very young one, it is true. (See page 44) "Bobbie." mighty nice, but she ought to thank her Gord A'mighty every day dat our Mars' Bobbie hiv her," and SalHe Tom kicked the ashes together on the hearth and gave a httle grunt, puffing vigorously at her pipe meanwhile. " He sutny do luv her," said Peter Black, lean- ing back in his chair and clasping his knees between his hands, "ain't no mistake 'bout dat, and dere ain't eoin' to be no foolin' 'bout eittin' married if he kin hep it, but de Doctor say he cay n't let Miss Dorothy go way from home yit. She ain't quite turn eighteen, and Mars' Bobbie he ain't been long cum twenty-one, and de Doctor say dere's plenty time yit. It don't mek much difference to me," he went on after a pause, "jis so dey stay home and don't go flyin' all roun' de worl' eny mo'. I'm glad dey is gwine to git mar- ried, but I do want de marsa to be home a little bit by hissef fust. 'Pears like I aint seen him good yit. " You're right," grunted Sallie Tom, between the puffs, " ain't hardly cotch a good look at him 53 " Bobbie." mysef, do' he did come heah de night he got home an ax me fur his buttermilk and hoecake, same ez what he use' to do, and sat over dere in de corner, like what he alius bin a doin' sence he wuz a baby ; de Lord a-bless him ! " And Sallie Tom wrapped her head up in her big apron and rocked back and forth, quite overcome by the flood of recollections called up by his presence at home ao-ain. It had been the sorest trial in the lives of Sallie Tom and Peter Black, this going away of Bobbie, and now that he was back, unspeakable joy reigned supreme in the breasts of each. During the years at college, Peter Black had acted as dining-room boy, helping the butler, who was getting rather old, but he had been immediately reinstalled in his old position on Bobbie's return, and his love and allegiance to his young master was greater than ever before. It was in the summer of sixty ('60) that Bobbie got his degree at college and the promise of Dorothy to be his wife, and while much gayety and pleasure filled up the measure of many days, 54 " Bobbie." other and more weighty subjects began to fill the air, and caused many long and serious discussions amono- the men of the neighborhood, old and young alike, and by the fall the one absorbing topic among all classes was the terrible possibility of war. It was a clear, cool October night that Dorothy and Bobbie had their first serious talk about it. His horse was hitched to the post waiting for him, and Dorothy had come out on the porch to say good-bye. The moon shone clear and bright, softening the shadows cast by the great trees on the lawn, and all the air was full of the sweet, fall fragrance which belongs to that season of the year. Bobbie was holding his hat in his hand, idly twirling it as he talked, to hide the excitement he could scarce repress. " Father says," and they began to walk up and down the veranda, " father says if the State secedes, he will organize a troop of cavalry at once, and I will of course join him. Your father will be our surgeon, and you — has your father said anything about it to you, 55 " Bobbie." Dorothy?" he asked, abruptly, taking her hand and drawino- it throuorh his arm and holding- it there tightly. " Has he mentioned any of his pos- sible plans to you ? " "Yes," she answered, slowly, "yes, he has talked with me of every possibility. I am to go to your mother in case there is any necessity. Auntie will go to the city, so as to be near the hospitals, and you — and father — and everybody I love will be in that horrible, cruel thine ! Ah, Bobbie, why must it happen — why cannot it be stopped ? " and she shivered in dread apprehension of the days that were awaiting her. Bobbie answered her seriously and solemnly, " I would to Heaven it could, but if not, you would not have me stay? " "No," she said, raising her head quickly. "I would not have you stay even if it broke my heart to have you go. I did not know how much I loved my South until now, when I must give up all I love most for it. I pray God to help me — to make me brave — but sometimes I'm afraid I'm 56 " Bobbie." a coward ; but of course you must go, and who knows but I may yet have a major, or a colonel, or a brio-adier-eeneral for a husband?" and she tried to laugh bravely at the thought, "You shall have one who is every inch a Southern soldier," he said, taking the upturned face in his hands. "And I can have nothing greater than that," she added proudly, and the moon rested lovingly for a moment on their bent heads, and only the winds heard the vows they made to be true to their cause — come what may, come what might. 57 CHAPTER VI. ^^ ^^^ '^^ '/« /(C^y^ j'tUCH a short, hurried time, it seemed afterwards, before everything was decided, all preparations made, and all the oreat chancres, which at first they thought would only prove temporary, settled down to a permanent thing. The neighborhood, once so gay and bright and full of all that makes life worth the living, was turned into a kind of camping ground or recruiting station, and "White Point" was the nucleus around which every^thing centered. Mr. Tayloe was the leading spirit of the place, and no better-drilled body of cavalry entered the service than the "Rockland Home Guards" under his command, with Bobbie as his first lieu- tenant and Dr. Trevillian as surgeon. " Grey Clifts " was to be closed, with only the servants in their quarters, to take charge of the place as 58 " Bobbie." long as they proved faithful and Dorothy was established with Bobbie's mother. Her aunt had left for the city, where, she said sadly, she knew there would be plenty to do after awhile, and soon the beautiful old home had a dreary, deserted look, for the shadow of coming- sorrow was hover- ing over it. Bobbie had begged hard to be married before he should start for what might perhaps be an interminable absence, but Dr. Trevillian was firm in his refusal for a year longer at least. " I am giving you the light of my life, Bobbie," he said, putting his hand on the young man's shoulder, as he stood pleading his cause, just two days before they received orders to join H.'s regi- ment at C — , "and you must wait, my man, until she is a little older — she is so young yet ! Per- haps " — he cleared his throat and went on after a minute — " perhaps after I leave here, I may never come back ; but remember always, that my daughter's happiness is in your power, and that I put into your hands the most sacred trust one 59 " Bobbie." man can give another. I charge you to guard it well." Bobbie bared his head as a knight of old. " So help me God," he said reverently, "I shall be worthy of it." They shook hands in silence and separated. It was the night before they were to start. Mr. Tayloe and his wife were shut in their room. The Doctor was in the library writing some final direc- tions to be sent over to "Grey Cliffs," and Bobbie and Dorothy were out on the lawn, under the old wishing-tree down by the gate. Every preparation for departure had been made, and the start was to occur at five the next morning. Peter Black was in an ecstasy of delight because he was to accompany his young master as his body- servant, and Sallie Tom was in the depths of stern and silent indignation and despair at the turn affairs had taken. She now had her son down in the cabin for final admonitions as to the duties and obligations resting upon him, and for renewed charges that no 60 " Bobbie." matter where they might be, in case anything hap- pened to the young master, he was to bring him home, if possible ; if not, he was to come himself, and tell her that she might go to him. Bobbie and Dorothy were silent for a long time, down under the old wishinQ--tree, for neither could trust themselves to speak of the things nearest their hearts, but after awhile Bobbie began to talk of the orders received the day before. ''If it were not for leaving you and mother," he said, "if it weren't for that continual nightmare hano-inor over me, I think I should enjoy going more than any- thine on earth. We have talked, and argued, and discussed all this so long that I am glad the time has come to fight it out ; it is the only way to settle it, and the sooner begun the sooner ended." Dorothy answered slowly, and after a long pause : " Yes, I know it is the only way to settle it, but it is a horrible price that must be paid for the final decision. Ah, I understand how you feel, but you are going into it, into the danger, into work, into action — and — I know — into death, too, 6i "Bobbie." perhaps," and her voice shook a httle, " but it is so much harder for us — we who have to stay here — wlio must sit day after day — waiting to hear. Of course, I can knit socks, and tear strips, and make bandages to send to the city ; but what can I do to make myself forget for one single moment that you maybe needing me — or father?" — and she broke down in a genuine sob, and then in a min- ute she slipped away from him. "You will think me a coward — and I know I am not that — see, I have brought you something — you must keep it, and read it, and be the man it can make you," and she put in his hands a tiny pocket Testament, on the inside of which she had pasted a small picture of herself. "That will be my talisman," he said, kissing it reverently, and putting it in his inner pocket, " and will keep me from harm, please God." They talked until the night grew late and chill, and then he put his arms around her for a last good-bye. The winds shivered in the tops of the trees, and the whip-poor-wills 'way down by the 62 "Bobbie." brook were calling plaintively to each other, and the moon slipped under a cloud, and only the stars looked down and saw the sorrow that filled their brave young hearts. They were gone, and Dorothy and Bobbie's mother turned from the porch, from which they had watched as long as possible, and went inside, not daring to speak, lest all the long-controlled feeling they had been struggling to conceal should reveal itself at last. They took up their new Hfe courageously, and the influence of each was great, both in the home and in the neiehborhood ; but it was not long before trouble began to appear among the ser- vants, and, as time went on, greater and greater discontent became evident. It was not until news of the first battle reached them that the horror of it all made itself felt in full force to Dorothy. She had heard that a battle must take place soon ; and when Bobbie's letter came, telling her he hoped and prayed his regi- ment would have the honor of being allowed to 63 " Bobbie." go into the first fight, her heart sank in miserable misgivings. She wrote him, however, that if he were sent into this battle she knew the honor of old Rock- land would be safe, and not by a single word did she tell him how torturing was the anxiety, or how, all nio-ht lonof she had knelt at her window and prayed God to protect and keep him safe. Not for ten days did she hear again, and then came such a battered and soiled old envelope that the address was almost unreadable. It was very short, and written in pencil on a scrap of paper torn from a note-book, and ran as follows : " Dear Dorothy — We are drawn up in line of battle, facing the enemy, and waiting the signal to charge. I am using my cap to write on. I don't know how it is going to be. I only know we are going to fight like our women expect us ; and now, before it begins, I am trying to send you a word to tell you that the thought of you makes me dare all things. I am going to put this in my pocket. Peter Black knows what I want done in case I don't send it myself. Tell mother she shall 64 " Bobbie." not be ashamed of her son. My love to her, and for you, Httle sweetheart, God bless you, and make me worthy of you ! " Bobbie." Peter Black found it in his pocket, where he had been directed to look ; and though Bobbie declared it was only a scratch, it kept him close for a week, and Peter Black's powers as a nurse were tested pretty well in that time. It was shortly after this that Bobbie was ap pointed General H.'s special scout. His well- known absence of fear, his reckless daring, together with his wonderful ability to ferret his way through any section of country, and his mar- velous endurance, had already attracted the atten- tion of his regiment, and soon it became a common matter to send for him when the situation de- manded unusual haste and caution. 65 CHAPTER VII. HE first year of the war passed with comparatively little change at "White (^^^i^^t^^^ Point" but towards the middle of the second year the trouble which had been brewing among the negroes for some time gave way to open rebellion ; and had it not been for Sallie Tom's wonderful and con- juring influence over them, they would have left long before they did. Under Mrs. Tayloe's and Dorothy's oversight, much of the farming had been kept up ; but towards the second harvesting it became evident that trouble was ahead. A negro agitator and so-called preacher had ap- peared in the village near by, and so great was the effect of his haranguing that the entire neigh- borhood was demoralized, and nightly meetings were held down at the cross-roads. Sallie Tom was constable-in-chief of the "White Point" con- 66 "Bobbie." tingent, and every night she stationed herself in the road usually taken by the servants and hands on their way to the meetings, a gun in one hand and a pistol in the other, ready to shoot the first one who passed. Every negro on the place believed in her cunjuring power, and they would no sooner have thought of passing than of trying to ride the moon. Things were beginning to look desperate. Even the loyal and good servants showed signs of dissatisfaction under the influ- ence of the agitators, until finally only Dorothy's old mammy Rachel, Jessie, the dining-room ser- vant. Uncle Lias, the carriage driver, and Sallie Tom remained deaf to the promises of good for- tune and prosperity advanced by the younger element. It was on a clear, bright October morning, that the result of all their meetings and plannings were realized. Mrs. Tayloe and Dorothy came down as usual, and found Sallie Tom and the three other servants drawn up in line outside the dinine-room door. Sallie Tom was almost 67 " Bobbie." wild with excitement and anger, " They're gone !" she cried, waving her hand violently in the direc- tion of the quarters, her voice trembling and her whole body quivering. "They're gone," every one of them — gone like thieves in the night. They have took all their things, and six of the horses, mos' all the corn, and Gord A'mighty knows what else. Oh, Lordy !" she went on, "to think of all the trouble what's come to us 'count of dat monstrous inturfurence bizness of them Yankees ! To think I uver should er lived to see my missus done treated so by niggers ! Oh, Lord A'mighty, what we gwine to do anyhow?" And Sallie Tom for the moment lost her courage in the face of the dread possibilities of the future. Mrs. Tayloe turned white to the lips, and Do- rothy caught her hands and held them in her own strone, tender ones. " I suppose it had to come," she said presently, nervously pressing Dorothy's hands in her own. " I am thankful it is no worse. We must do the best we can, and not let the gentlemen know. 68 " Bobbie." Ah, no, we must not let the gentlemen know !" Her voice broke, and she hurried back to her room, and they left her there, for they knew it was best that she should be alone for awhile. It was Dorothy's turn to advise and lead now. With all the courage and hope of youth she began to take charge of the place. With the help of the others she managed to keep up part of the farm, and from one end to the other she rode daily on her horse, sometimes with saddle, sometimes bareback. A new fear was beginning to grow in her heart. Every dollar on earth pos- sessed by both her father and Mr. Tayloe had been invested in Confederate bonds, and she knew that very soon their purchasing value would be of little account. That they should ever suffer she did not allow herself to think ; but it was necessary to husband every resource, and every energy must be bent toward keeping from Bobbie's mother as long as possible the seriousness of the situation. Life was by no means now a thing of ease or pleasure 69 " Bobbie." to Dorothy. The days became weeks, and the weeks months, and the months were becoming years, and the clouds which at first they thought would be but temporary, were continually grow- ing- blacker and heavier, with never a sien of lift- ing. It was not until the Christmas of '63 that any real alarm, however, was actually felt as to the outlook. By a long-planned and well-timed scheme Mr. Tayloe, who now through successive ranks had been promoted to that of colonel, and Dr. Trevillian, now a surgeon-in-chief, had man- aged to get leave for a two days' visit home, the first they had been able to make together since they entered the service. Bobbie's movements were uncertain. He would be there, he wrote, were it a matter of possibility, but he might be kept for some special duty. He had managed to run in for a day or so at intervals of every few months, and consequently was better prepared for the present condition of things than were the others. All through the three long years there never had been a time when it was possible for him and 70 "Bobbie." Dorothy to be married. W^hen he was at home, her father and his were away, and he could never induce her to marry him unless all were there. Every effort was made to make this Christmas a memorable one. Mrs. Tayloe's happiness at having- her husband home once more g-ave her a fresh measure of strength, and the very best that had been carefully saved and hoarded for many months past was now made into the good things of former Christmas times ; and though Dorothy knew they would have to stint for months to come, yet she never let any one but Sallie Tom realize how reckless it all was. Sallie Tom's joy at having once more a pretence of Christmas festivities made itself known by her own peculiar way of snorting as she prepared the various dishes that were best liked by the master and the Doctor, to say nothing of those she sur- reptitiously made for Bobbie, in case he should come. That he would come, she never doubted, and all day long on Christmas-eve she had her ears, as well as her eyes, open to catch the first 71 " Bobbie." sound of his horse's hoofs on the frozen around outside. Colonel Tayloe and his wife had stayed much in their room, talking over matters of minutest detail as to the new life of each, while Dorothy and her father had a long talk after the latter' s re- turn from "Grey Cliffs," where he had spent most of the day. He had brought back her mother's portrait, and told her he wanted it put in her room. "There is no teUing what may happen," he said, trying, however, to speak cheerfully. "There may be trouble around here yet. The negroes seem to be going crazy. Only two are over there now — old Israel and his wife. I have buried all the silver and a few other things," and he told her where he had hidden them. " I want you to understand about everything, Dorothy. You know it will all be yours some day, and there is no telling" — he stopped abruptly at the sight of the sad, pained face. " Don't look that way, Dorothy, daughter," he went on, softly stroking the hand he held in both of his. " When the end 72 " Bobbie." comes to me don't eneve, but be g-lad, Mad for me ; for I've wanted to go for a long time, except for leaving you, and I know that is all right now. Bobbie has proven himself to be a soldier worthy of the cause for which he fiohts, and I have been proud of him — very proud. I have made you both wait much longer than I intended, but I did it to be satisfied, and I am satisfied at last. I have lived for so many years with only the mem- ory of a past and the hope of a future that I am longing for the now of her presence." He paused for a moment, and Dorothy dared not trust her- self to speak ; she could only cling to him in mute understanding of the loneliness of his life. He stroked her hair softly, and after awhile con- tinued : " You have been the comfort of my life, my daughter — my dear little daughter — but you will understand some day, and I only want you not to grieve should the fate of some of those poor lads come to me. You know I am on the field sometimes — you will remember, child — and go now and see that everything is ready for Bobbie's 6 73 " Bobbie." comincr, for I am sure he will be here, and when he comes I want to have a talk with him." She kissed her father in silence again and again, and then she left the room ; but the awful possi- bilities which his words suggested filled her with unutterable sorrow and loneliness, and, like a child that longs for warmth and cheer and com- forting, she sank down on the rug in front of the big blazing fire, and her lips quivered in her great longing for Bobbie. She clasped her knees loosely with her hands, and the fiames danced merrily up and down before her blurred eyes. The corners of the room were lost in shadows, and the fiicker of the firelight played upon the walls. It would be such a relief to give way and have a good cry. She bit her lip to keep it back ; and then she heard a little noise, and somebody had his arms about her and was down on his knees beside her, and outside she could hear Sallie Tom snorting, and Bobbie was telling her, almost out of breath, that he had ridden like the wind all day and all night just to spend a few hours with her, and 74 " Bobbie." why didn't she speak to him and tell him she was glad to see him ? And all she could do at first was to cling to him, and let all the pent- up feeling and anxiety of the months past come out between the laughter and tears ; and Bobbie understood it all, and soothed and quieted her as only he could do, and in a little while she was her own brave self, and was makine him answer a dozen questions at once. She might have kept it up indefinitely had he not told her he was starving, and that sent her flying for SalUe Tom. It promised to be such a happy Christmas, after all. The knowledge that this brief return of other days could last but a short while made every mo- ment precious, and such old-time doings as Bobbie insisted upon keeping up made them forget, for a few hours, at least, the serious outlook for the future. It was just before dinner on Christmas- Day that Bobbie came to Dorothy with a face full of intensely repressed feeling. She was standing by the big window in the library watching the 7? " Bobbie." snow, now fast falling and thickly covering the ground, and he went up to her and took both of her hands in his. "Dorothy," he said quietly, "has your father said anything to you to-day about our marriage ?" " Not a word," she answered, turning quickly and searching his face for the meaning of the new light there. " We must not worry him about it, Bobbie ; he has had so much sorrow in his life that I dare not ask him to give me entirely to you. We can afford to wait." "But if he says he wishes it now, to-day, would you be willing ? " He drew her down on the sofa by him. " I have just had a long talk with your father," he continued, "and he told me that he would like us to be married at once, while he is at home and we are all together." He almost crushed her hands in his as he waited her answer, controlling by a great effort, his old boyish and imperious impatience. " Dear father," she said, and her eyes were full of tears, " I must see him first, and then I will 76 Annie tnnrhed Dori'thy mt tlu urnt and puintid to