Jennie Barton sat alone on the roof of her aunt's house at two o'clock on the morning of April 13. The others had gone to bed, certain that the rumors were false. She had somehow felt the certainty of the crash.
Seated beside the brick coping of the roof she leaned the strong little chin in her hands, waited and watched. Lights were flickering2 around the shore batteries like fireflies winking3 in the shadows of deep woods. Her three brothers were there. She might look on their dead faces to-morrow. Her father had rushed to Charleston from Washington at the first news of the sailing of the fleet. He had begged and pleaded with General Beauregard to reduce the Fort immediately, with or without orders from Davis.
"For God's sake, use your discretion5 as Commanding General and open fire. If that fleet reaches Sumter the cause of the Confederacy is lost. Old Davis is too slow. He's still crying peace, peace, when there is no peace. The war has begun!"
The General calmly shook his head and asked for instructions.
Besides losing her brothers, she might be an orphan6 to-morrow. Her father was quite capable of an attack on Sumter without orders. And if the bombardment should begin he would probably be roaming over the harbor from fort to fort, superintending the job under the guns of both sides.
"If Anderson does not accept the terms of surrender offered he will be fired on at four o'clock." Jennie repeated the headlines of the extra with a shiver.
The chimes of St. Michael's struck three. The minutes slowly dragged. The half hour was sung through the soft balmy air of the Southern spring.
Dick Welford, too, was behind one of those black guns on the shore. How handsome he had looked in his bright new uniform! He was a soldier from the crown of his blond head to the soles of his heavy feet. He had laughed at danger. She had liked him for that. He hadn't posed. He hadn't asked for sympathy or admiration7. He just marched to his duty with the quick, firm step of the man who means business.
She was sorry now she hadn't told him how much she liked and admired him. She might not have another chance—
"Nonsense, of course I will!" she murmured with a toss of her brown head.
A dog barked across the street, and a wagon8 rattled9 hurriedly over the cobblestones below. A rooster crowed for day.
She looked across the way, and a dark group of whispering women were huddled11 in a corner on the roof, their gaze fixed12 on Sumter.
Another wagon rumbled13 heavily over the cobbles, and another, and another. A blue light flamed from Fort Sumter, blinking at intervals14. Anderson was signaling someone. To the fleet that lay on the eastern horizon beyond the bar, perhaps.
The chimes of St. Michael struck the fatal hour of four. Their sweet notes rang clear and soft and musical over the dim housetops just as they had sung to the sleeping world through years of joyous15 peace.
Jennie sprang to her feet and strained her eyes toward the black lump that was Sumter out in the harbor. She waited with quick beating heart for the first flash of red from the shore batteries. It did not come. Five minutes passed that seemed an hour, and still no sound of war.
Only those wagons16 were rumbling17 now at closer intervals—one after the other in quick succession. They were ammunition18 trains! The crack of the drivers' whips could be heard distinctly, and the cries of the men urging their horses on. The noise became at last a dull, continuous roar.
The chimes from the old church tower again sang the half hour and then it came—a sudden sword leap of red flame on the horizon! A shell rose in the sky, glowing in pale phosphorescent trail, and burst in a flash of blinding flame over the dark lump in the harbor. The flash had illumined the waters and revealed the clear outlines of the casemates with their black mouths of steel gaping19 through the portholes. A roar of deep, dull thunder shook the world.
Jennie fell on her knees with clasped hands and upturned face. Her lips were not moving, and no sound came from the little dry throat, but from the depths of her heart rose the old, old cry of love.
"Lord have mercy on my darling brothers, and keep them safe—let no harm come to them—and Dick, too—brave and strong!"
The house below was stirring with the rush of hurrying feet in the corridors and the clatter20 on the narrow stairs that led to the roof. They crowded to the edge and gazed seaward. The hum of voices came now from every house. Women were crying. Some were praying. Men were talking in low, excited tones.
Jennie paid no attention to the people about her.
Her eyes were fixed on those tongues of flame that circled Sumter.
Anderson was firing now, his big guns flashing their defiant21 answer to Beauregard's batteries. Jennie watched the lurid22 track of his shells with sickening dread23.
A man standing24 beside her in the gray dawn spoke25.
"A waste of ammunition!"
The cannon26 boomed now with the regular throb27 of a great human pulse. The sobs28 and excited cries and prayers of women had become a part of the weird29 scene.
A young mother stood beside Jennie with a baby boy in her arms. He was delighted with the splendid display and the roar of the guns.
He pointed30 his fingers to the circling shells and cried:
"'Ook, mamma, 'ook!"
The mother made no answer. Only with her hungry eyes did she follow their track to the shore. Her mate was there.
The baby clapped his hands and caught the rhythm of the throb and roar of the cannon in his little voice:
"Boom!—Boom!"
The sun rose from the sea, a ball of dull red fire glowing ominously31 through the haze32 of smoke that hung in the sky.
Hour after hour the guns pealed33, the windows rattled and the earth trembled.
Couriers were dashing into the city with reports from the batteries. Soldiers were marching through the streets. It was reported that the men from the fleet would attempt a landing.
The women rushed to the little iron balcony and watched the troops marching to repel34 them.
In the first line Jennie saw the tall figure of Dick Welford. He glanced upward, lifted his cap and held it steadily35 in his hand for four blocks until they turned and swept out of sight.
Jennie was leaning on the rail with tear-dimmed eyes.
"I wonder why that soldier took his hat off?" her aunt asked.
"Yes—I wonder!" was the soft answer.
By three o'clock it was known that not a man had been killed at either of the shore batteries and women began to smile and breathe once more.
The newsboys were screaming an extra.
Jennie hurried into the street and bought one.
In big black headlines she read:
RICHMOND AND WASHINGTON ABLAZE36 WITH EXCITEMENT!
THE NORTH WILD WITH RAGE
VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA ARMING TO COME TO OUR RESCUE!
She walked rapidly to the water's edge to get the latest news from the front. A tiny rowboat was deliberately37 pulling through the harbor squarely under the guns of Sumter. She watched it with amazement38, looking each moment to see it disappear beneath the waves. It was probably her foolish father.
With steady, even stroke the boatman pulled for the shore as unconcerned as if he were listening to the rattle10 of firecrackers on the fourth of July.
To her surprise it proved to be a negro. He tied his boat and deliberately unloaded his supply of vegetables. His stolid39, sphinx-like face showed neither fear nor interest.
"Weren't you afraid of Anderson's cannon, uncle?" Jennie asked.
"Nobum—nobum—"
"You might have been blown to pieces—"
"Nobum—Marse Anderson daresn't hit me!"
"Why not?"
"He knows my marster don't 'low nuttin like dat—I'se too val'eble er nigger. Nobum, dey ain't none ob 'em gwine ter pester40 me, an' I ain't gwine ter meddle41 wid dem—dey kin4 des fight hit out twixt 'em—"
Through the long night the steady boom of cannon, and the scream of shells from the shore.
At one o'clock next day the flagstaff was cut down by a solid shot, and Sumter was silent.
At three o'clock a mob surged up the street following Senator Barton, who had just come from the harbor. He was on his way to Beauregard's headquarters.
Anderson had surrendered.
A strange quiet held the city. There was no jubilation42, no bonfires, no illuminations to celebrate the victory. A sigh of relief for deliverance from a great danger that had threatened their life—that was all.
The Southern flag was flying now from the battered43 walls, and the people were content. They were glad that Beauregard had given old Bob Anderson the privilege of saluting44 his flag and marching out with the honors of war. All they asked was to be let alone.
And they were doubly grateful for the strange Providence45 that had saved every soldier's life while the walls of the Fort had been hammered into a shapeless mass. No blood had yet been spilled on either side. The President of the Confederacy caught the wonderful news from the wires with a cry of joy.
"Peace may yet be possible!" he exclaimed excitedly. "No blood has been spilled in actual conflict—"
His joy was short lived. A rude awakening46 was in store.
Dick Welford strolled along the brilliantly lighted "Battery" that night with Jennie's little hand resting on his arm.
"I tell you, Jennie, I was scared!" he was saying with boyish earnestness. "You see a fellow never knows how he's going to come out of a close place like that till he tries it. I had a fine uniform and I'd learned the drill and all that—but I had not smelled brimstone at short range. I didn't know how I'd do under fire. Now I know I'm a worthy47 descendant of my old Scotch-Irish ancestor who held a British officer before him for a shield and gracefully48 backed out of danger."
They stopped and gazed over the lazy, shimmering49 waters of the harbor.
Jennie looked up into his manly50 face with a glow of pride.
"You're splendid, Dick,—I'm proud of you!"
"Are you?" he asked eagerly.
"Yes. You're just like my brothers."
"Look here now, Jennie," he protested, "don't you go telling me that you'll be a sister to me. I've got a lot of sisters at home and I don't need any more—"
"I didn't mean it that way, Dick," she responded tenderly. "My brothers are just the finest, bravest men that God ever made in this world—that's what I meant."
"Don't you like me a little?"
"I almost love you to-night—maybe it's our victory—maybe it's the fear that made me pray for you and the boys on that house top the other night—I don't know—"
"Did you pray for me?" he asked softly.
"Yes—"
"I ought to be satisfied with that, but I'm not—I want you! Won't you be mine?"
She smiled into his eager face in a gentle, whimsical way. A half promise to him was just trembling on her lips when Socola's slender, erect51 figure suddenly crossed the street. He lifted his hat with a genial52 bow.
Dick ground his teeth in a smothered53 oath, and Jennie spoke abruptly54:
"Come—it's late—we must go in."
Through the long night the girl lay awake with the calm, persistent55, smiling face of the foreigner looking into the depths of her brown eyes.
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1
rumors
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| n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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winking
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| n.瞬眼，目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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11
huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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13
rumbled
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| 发出隆隆声，发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 轰鸣着缓慢行进； 发现…的真相； 看穿（阴谋） | |
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14
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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wagons
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| n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车 | |
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17
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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18
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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19
gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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20
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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lurid
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| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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24
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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25
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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26
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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throb
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| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
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28
sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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29
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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ominously
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| adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地 | |
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haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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33
pealed
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| v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34
repel
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| v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥 | |
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35
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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36
ablaze
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| adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的 | |
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37
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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38
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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39
stolid
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| adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的 | |
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40
pester
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| v.纠缠，强求 | |
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41
meddle
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| v.干预，干涉，插手 | |
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42
jubilation
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| n.欢庆，喜悦 | |
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43
battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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44
saluting
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的现在分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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45
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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46
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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47
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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48
gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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49
shimmering
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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50
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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51
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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52
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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53
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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54
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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55
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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