Glancing out of the window, she saw April and Val Tracy strolling over the lawn in deep conversation. Obviously their talk was of serious interest to them both; but what Dorothea was most concerned with was the fact that their presence there cut her off from going away without being observed. She wished to slip off without the necessity of explanation as to where she was going, and should either of them see her start it would be entirely natural that they should enquire her errand. Nor was it at all improbable that Val Tracy might feel called on to accompany her if she told them she was off for a walk to Coulter Woods. She dared not run any risks, and had no wish to excite suspicion by evasive answers. So she decided to avoid questions. “I must wait till they go away,” she said to herself, and sat down to watch the two. But it was perhaps a half hour before Val and April separated, Val going off toward the stable and April coming into the house. Dorothea heard her cousin enter her room, closing the door with almost a bang. She waited a moment and then went quietly down the stairs and so out upon her mission, satisfied in her own mind that her going had been unobserved. She had failed to note that April’s door, although slammed shut, had been opened again just the slightest crack and that some one standing inside with an eye to the opening would have a complete view of all that went on in the hall. In the few minutes that April stood watching through the crack of the door for Dorothea to leave her room, she thought over what she was about to do. For the first time since this war had begun, an opportunity had been offered her to do something for the cause. To make bandages, or scrape lint; to patch worn clothes, to make shift with this or that; all these things were nothing to one whose whole heart was set on the winning of the Southern cause. She was sorry for the soldiers who had to face the dangers of battle. She mourned their sufferings and grieved for the blood that must be shed. But she would have gone to the battle-front with a glad heart. She longed for an active part, and here, at last, was an opportunity. To be sure the danger was slight; but capturing this Northern spy would be no mean achievement, and would be something that she could remember with pride to the end of her days. So, when Dorothea was well on her way, April found Tracy and together they followed, just out of sight. “You’re sure you know where she’s going?” Val asked. He was not quite himself. It wasn’t the sort of game he was in the habit of playing and he was a little fearful of the outcome. Certainly if he seized Dorothea’s lover he might expect little further consideration from her. “There is no doubt where they will meet,” April answered with assurance. “Have your pistol handy.”