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Show 204 ROEDUOIC. tain Fitzhugh, " 'ith his ·whole c01npany, hnd rctnrnod to the county, that they ha<l that night attnckcd a large pnrty or n.rnlca negroes :Lild acfcatcd thCln, and wcrdben nppro:1cl1ing the Yillag-c to arrest C:1mpbell. That g 'ntlcman, drC'a lfally alann <1, anti ·ipatcd l\like's snggcstion of 1light, and thankfully acceptec.l the noo- ro':-; offer to go \vith hill1. "' ' HaL I h:we no horse," ai<l Campbell, in an agttatcd tone. ' Da's a good hoss in de stable of dis tavern," said ~fike. "But he is not mine." "Den steal hin1." This sharp solution of the difliculty 'vas perforce accepted, though :1\fike's unccr01nonious designation of the process of appropriation "·as n1ore consonant with the negro's n1orality than with t.hc \\rhitc In:tn's pride. Pride and honor, 'vith lnnnan and dirino laws, yield to 1nilitary ucccs. ity. In the grey of tho 1norning, Cmnpbell ancl his ~able eoitnadc, 1nounted on stolen horses} caught a la t gli1npsc of the distant village. \Vhcn Colonel li,airfax, afte1· ioil.i11g J.\tlikc's last atten11>t upon lHr. Palmer's life, roturuotl to ]{oebuck, he wa. astonished at n10eting \vith his wife in the avenue. She \vas \\ralking th 'rc, in deep <Iistress. Ilis first thonght '":1.'3 that hi,' a b. ·en ·c fron1 hon10 ha<l exeite<..l .'ueh fcartJ for his safeLy th:tt she had started out in search of hiu1. Then he thought-but before he could shape out nnother conjecture, l\lrs. Fairf:tx hacl cried-" Jnlin-htwe you con our own dear Julia~ We have lo t her." \Vringiug her han<ls, she gave way to grief ancl apprehension. Iler husband, alarmed by her cries and tears, could not imme- ROE DUCK. 205 diately ol>t.ain frorn hrr nn int ellig-ible explanation. At length he learned that Julia had not reLnnw<l hon1e, an l that during the night search l1a<l bern nw<lc for her jn CYery dir ction and by every pen.;on on the plantation, 'vithout finding her or discovering :my clnc to 1.1)c 1ny tory of her di.'appcarnncc. Tho bsL that could be heard of her was that, after visiUng tl1o sick 11oighbor, she hacl stmtcd to go h01nc alone nbout dark. The servants '\rcrc still searching the fiel(l"', the " roods and · the roads. Doctor Dick, though riding 'va. yet painful to hin1, "'US scouring the ·ountry in pursuit of his favorite niece. Several \VOnnclcll Confcucrato soldiers who 'vcrc entertained at J{ocbuck, as in a ho,·pita1, had left their bccls and, on cnttches, 'vcrc looking about in impos ·ible places for tho n1issing 1natron of their infinnary. Everybody lovoc1 Julia. \Vhen her f:lther hacl rcflcctccl a IHOincnt on what was toll hi1n, he inqnirc<l whether any one had gono to ~Inrlin's cabin. lie 'va.· tol(lt.hat some of tho scrVaHts had boon seut on the ro:t<l \\'hich lccl in that direction, but it ,vas not known that auy one had thono.s- ht of bo ·oino5- tho wl10lc distance to 1\Jarlin's . \Vithout any di.tinct rca. on ior supposing that she might be hear 1 of there, her f.tLhcr could not di 'cover that anything had been left unaono which wa less Hnprotni ·iug than inquiry at that place. Impatient to do son1cthing that n1ight enable hi1n to trace his d~ughtcr, anJ agitated by fears 'vhich even her n1~thm·. d1d not entertain because she knew less than he chcl of the disturbances in the ncjo·hborl1ood, he set out iowurds 1\Iarlin·s. - Ilis \vifc,b ,vho1n he soothed \vith hopes which he could not feel, consented to return to the house and await the result of his inquiries. |