Love stories; Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877) -- Fiction; Southern States -- History -- 1865-1877 -- Fiction
"Don't worry about it, Pauline. Mr. Brandon and I are going to drive
over to the cavalry camp this morning, and this afternoon I'll have a
talk with Ned. How soon can you get through your talk with father?" he
suddenly asked, turning to me.
"Twenty minutes at most will be long enough," I answered; so he sent off
to the stable to order the carriage.
The judge and I strolled slowly around the house, planning the course to
be pursued in the prosecution of the men who had been arrested under the
"enforcement act." As we sauntered along the garden-walk on the eastern
side, I naturally glanced up at my window and Peyton's. A coarse brown
envelope was lying right at the door of the little tool-house, the very
place where he had clambered to the roof the night before. "We lawyers
are curious," and, without interrupting the judge's conversation, I
"obliqued" over to the left; picked up the envelope; dropped it
carelessly into my pocket; and went on talking without having attracted
the judge's attention to the movement.
After the judge had returned to his study, and before Harrod was ready,
I had an opportunity of investigating this precious document. It only
needed a glance to assure me that it was just such another envelope as
the one which inclosed the Ku-Klux letter to the judge that Harrod had
shown me, and that fact was sufficient to remove any scruples I might
have had as to reading its contents. The envelope bore no mark or
address. The inclosure was as follows:
"CAPTAIN PEYTON:
"DEAR SIR,--The Yankee major, with forty of his men, went off in a
hurry late last night, leaving the lieutenant and about ten men in
camp. They're after Hank and the crowd, but we got notice in time,
broke up the ranch, and scattered. Hank's wound is pretty rough; he
played a d--d fool trick in trying to get that express money, and
the boys all think he'd been drinking again. Three of us took him
over the Big Bear in Scantwell's boat, and on up to Chickasaw. He
sent me back from there to see you and tell you to watch out for
every chance to get word to him. He'll be at Eustice's, across the
Tennessee, until his arm is well; and then he's coming back to get
square with the Yank who shot him. The lieutenant has got an
infernal bad cut on the left hand, and can't do nothing for the
next week. Look out for signal any night about two o'clock. Burn
this.
"Yours respectfully,
"BLACKEY."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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