But here Kale broke down.  She had spoken with a passionate, resentful vehemence, her mind all the time seething with the fear and shame of her father’s responsibility for this hideous attack upon the absent.  She stretched out her hand exhaustedly for support.  A young officer near her pushed up a chair and helped her into it.  Boone had turned in speechless amazement as the first words of the voice sounded in his ears.  His back was toward the door, and he had not seen Kate.  He turned as she broke into this fervid apostrophe.  Whether from surprise, prudence, or anger he sat silent, uninterrupting till she tottered into the seat placed for her by a stranger.  Then he arose and went to her side, in nowise angry or discomposed so far as his outward demeanor betrayed him.  The presiding officer of the court-martial had attempted to silence Kate by a gesture, but with eyes fixed steadily upon him she had disregarded his command.  Now, however, he spoke: 

“Madame, you must know this is highly disorderly and indecorous.  The court can take no cognizance of this sort of testimony.  Do you desire to be heard by counsel?  If you do, the judge-advocate will give you all lawful assistance.”

“If the court please, this lady is my daughter.  She is somewhat excited.  I will take the necessary measures in the matter,” Boone began.

Kate pushed her father from before her and again addressed the president.

“I refuse my father’s aid in this case.  I don’t know what is necessary, but I ask this court, if it has anything to do with John Sprague, to give his friends an opportunity to present his story truthfully and without prejudice.”

“The judge-advocate will give you all necessary information.  Meanwhile, the case will be adjourned until to-morrow.”

Elisha Boone stood beside his daughter, a figure of perplexity and chagrin.  He dared not remonstrate openly.  He was forced to hear the judge-advocate question this extraordinary witness, and instruct her on the steps necessary to be taken; worse than all, hear him inform Kate that the citations to John Sprague had been regularly issued, and that the evidence of his desertion rested wholly on the fact that he had put in no answer to the charges promulgated against him by his commanding officer; that the trial was proceeding on the ground that Sprague had deserted to the enemy, and refused to answer within the time allowed by law.

“But he has never heard of the charges,” Kate cried, indignantly.  “He has not been heard of since he escaped from Richmond.”

“As we understand it, he reached the Union lines merely to ambuscade our outposts, and then returned to Richmond.”

“His sister left Richmond ten days after his flight, and he had then passed into our lines, as she had the surest means of knowing.”

“There is some extraordinary error in all this.  If Sprague can be produced before the term fixed by the regulations, he can vindicate himself by establishing the facts you have told me.  If not, we have no alternative but to condemn him to death as a spy and deserter.  The testimony on these specifications is uncontradicted.  The murder we may not be able to establish, though we have witnesses of the shooting.”