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their secret, and he was about to retire as silently as he had advanced, when
his companion, pushing himself through the passage, abruptly entered the
apartment. Advancing instantly to the chair of Wellmere, the surgeon
instinctively laid hold of his arm and exclaimed--
Bless me--a quick and irregular pulse-- flushed cheek and fiery eye--strong
febrile symptoms, and such as must be attended to. While speaking, the
doctor, who was much addicted to practising in a summary way, had already
produced his lancet, and made certain other indications of his intentions to
proceed at once to business. But Col. Wellmere, recovering from the confusion
of the surprise, arose from his seat, rather haughtily, and said--
Sir, it is the warmth of the room, that lends me the colour, and I am
already too much indebted to your skill to give you any farther trouble--Miss
Wharton knows that I am quite well, and I do assure you that I never felt
better or happier in my life.
There was a peculiar emphasis in the latter part of this speech, that,
however it might gratify the feelings of Sarah, brought the colour to her
cheeks with a redoubled brilliancy, and Sitgreaves, as his eye followed the
direction of those of his patient, did not fail to observe it.
Your arm, if you please, madam, said the surgeon promptly, advancing with a
bow; anxiety and watching have done their work on your delicate frame, and
there are symptoms about you that must not be neglected.
Excuse me, sir, said Sarah, recovering herself with womanly pride, the
heat is oppressive, and I will retire and acquaint Miss Peyton with your
presence.
There was but little difficulty in practising on the abstracted simplicity of
the surgeon; but it was necessary for Sarah to raise her eyes to return the
salutation of Lawton, as he bowed his head to nearly a level with the hand
that held open the door for her passage. One look was sufficient; she was able
to control her steps sufficiently to retire with dignity, but no sooner was
she relieved from the presence of all observers, than she fell into a chair
and abandoned herself to a mingled feeling of shame and pleasure.
A little nettled at the contumacious deportment of the British colonel,
Sitgreaves, after once more tendering services that were again rejected,
withdrew to the chamber of young Singleton whither Lawton had already preceded
him.
CHAPTER V.
Oh! Henry, when thou delgn st to sue,
Can I thy sult withstand?
When thou, lov d youth, bast won my heart,
Can I refuse my hand?
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Thegraduate of Edinburgh found his patient rapidly improving in health, and
entirely free from fever. His sister, with a cheek that was, if possible,
paler than on her arrival, watched around his couch with vigilant care, and
the ladies of the cottage had not, in the midst of their sorrows and varied
emotions, forgotten to discharge the duties of hospitality. Frances felt
herself impelled towards their disconsolate guest, with an interest for which
she could not account, and with a force that she could not control. The maid
had unconsciously connected the fates of Dunwoodie and Isabella in her
imagination, and felt, with all the romantic ardour of a generous mind, that
she was serving her former lover most, by exhibiting kindness to her he loved
best. Isabella received her attentions with a kind of vacant gratitude, but
neither of them indulged in any allusion to the latent source of their
uneasiness. The observation of Miss Peyton seldom penetrated beyond things
that were visible, and to her the situation of Henry Wharton seemed to furnish
an awful excuse for the fading cheeks and tearful eyes of her niece. If Sarah
manifested less of care than her sister, still the unpractised spinster was
not at a loss to comprehend the reason. Love is a species of holy feeling with
the virtuous of the female sex, and seems to hallow all that comes within its
influence. Although Miss Peyton mourned with sincerity over the danger which
threatened her nephew, still she indulged her eldest niece, with motherly
kindness, in the enjoyment that chance had given her early attachment. War she
well knew was a dreadful enemy to love, and the moments that were thus granted
to his votaries were not to be thrown away.
Several days now passed without any interruption to the usual vocations of
the inhabitants of the cottage, or the party at the four corners. The former
were supporting their fortitude with the certainty of Henry s innocence, and a
strong reliance on Dunwoodie s exertions in his behalf, and the latter waiting
with coolness the intelligence that was hourly expected of a conflict, and
their orders to depart. Captain Lawton, however, waited for both these events
in vain. Letters from his major announced that the enemy, finding the party
which was to co-operate with them, had been defeated and was withdrawn, had
retired also behind the works of Fort Washington, where they continued
inactive, but threatening momentarily to strike a blow in revenge for their
disgrace. The trooper was enjoined to vigilance, and the letter concluded with
a compliment to his honour, zeal, and undoubted bravery.
Extremely flattering, Major Dunwoodie, muttered the dragoon as he threw
down this epistle, and stalked across the floor of his room to quiet his
impatience. A proper guard have you selected for this service--let me see--I
have to watch over the interests of a crazy, irresolute old man, who does not
know whether he belongs to us or to the enemy. Four women; three of whom are
well enough in themselves, but who are not immensely flattered by my society,
and the fourth who, good as she is, is on the wrong side of forty-- some two
or three blacks--a talkative house-keeper that does nothing but chatter about
gold and despisables, and signs and omens--and poor George Singleton--Ah! well
a comrade in suffering has a claim on a man, next to his honour in the field,
and an engagement with his mistress--so I ll make the best of it.
As he concluded this soliloquy, the trooper took a seat and began to whistle
to convince himself how little he cared about the matter, when, by throwing
his booted leg carelessly round, he upset the canteen that held his present
stock of brandy. The accident was soon repaired, but in replacing the wooden
vessel, he observed a billet lying on the bench, on which the liquor had been
placed. It was soon opened and he read-- the moon will not rise till after
midnight--a fit time for deeds of darkness. There was no mistaking the hand;
it was clearly the same that had given him the timely warning against
assassination, and the trooper continued, for a long time, musing on the
nature of these two notices, and the motives that could induce the mysterious
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pedlar to favour an implacable enemy in the manner that he latterly had done.
That he was a spy of the enemy Lawton knew, for the fact of his conveying
intelligence to the English commander-in-chief of a party of Americans that
were exposed to the enemy, was proved most clearly against him on the trial
for his life. The consequences of his treason had been avoided, it is true, by
a lucky order from Washington, which withdrew the regiment a short time before
the British appeared to cut it off, but still the crime was the same; perhaps,
thought the partisan, he wishes to make a friend of me, against the event of
another capture; but, at all events, he spared my life on one occasion, and
saved it on another. I will endeavour to be as generous as himself, and pray
that my duty may never interfere with my feelings. Whether the danger,
intimated in the present note, threatened the cottage or his own party, the
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