Chapter 8

With fire and sword the country round
Was wasted far and wide;
And many a childing mother then,
And new-born infant, died;
But things like these, you know, must be
At every famous victory.
--SOUTHEY.

The last sounds of the combat died on the ears of the anxious listeners
in the cottage, and were succeeded by the stillness of suspense. Frances
had continued by herself, striving to exclude the uproar, and vainly
endeavoring to summon resolution to meet the dreaded result. The ground
where the charge on the foot had taken place was but a short mile from
the Locusts, and, in the intervals of the musketry, the cries of the
soldiers had even reached the ears of its inhabitants. After witnessing
the escape of his son, Mr. Wharton had joined his sister and eldest
daughter in their retreat, and the three continued fearfully waiting for
news from the field. Unable longer to remain under the painful
uncertainty of her situation, Frances soon added herself to the uneasy
group, and Caesar was directed to examine into the state of things
without, and report on whose banners victory had alighted. The father
now briefly related to his astonished children the circumstance and
manner of their brother's escape. They were yet in the freshness of
their surprise, when the door opened, and Captain Wharton, attended by a
couple of the guides, and followed by the black, stood before them.

"Henry--my son, my son," cried the agitated parent, stretching out his
arms, yet unable to rise from his seat; "what is it I see; are you again
a captive, and in danger of your life?"

"The better fortune of these rebels has prevailed," said the youth,
endeavoring to force a cheerful smile, and taking a hand of each of his
distressed sisters. "I strove nobly for my liberty; but the perverse
spirit of rebellion has even lighted on their horses. The steed I
mounted carried me, greatly against my will, I acknowledge, into the
very center of Dunwoodie's men."

"And you were again captured," continued the father, casting a fearful
glance on the armed attendants who had entered the room.

"That, sir, you may safely say; this Mr. Lawton, who sees so far, had me
in custody again immediately."

"Why you no hold 'em in, Massa Henry?" cried Caesar, pettishly.

"That," said Wharton, smiling, "was a thing easier said than done, Mr.
Caesar, especially as these gentlemen" (glancing his eyes at the guides)
"had seen proper to deprive me of the use of my better arm."

"Wounded!" exclaimed both sisters in a breath.

"A mere scratch, but disabling me at a most critical moment," continued
the