“Big Mose kept mumbling and crying for a long time, and I shaking more and more, when all at once, hebens, golly!  I see’d somefin’ bright-like shine trough de winder, and I looked out and de barn was all afire.  Den dar come a yell dat nearly blowed de roof off de house.  Big Mose gib a screech and run, and bang-bang went a lot ob guns all around us.  De Injines was dar, burnin’, tomahawkin’, screechin’, shoutin’, and killin’ de poor niggers as fast as dey showed demselves.  I see’d Miss Mary——­”

“Did they harm her?”

“No!  She didn’t ’pear skeart a bit.  She tried to keep de Injines from killing de poor niggers, not t’inking anyt’ing about herself.”

“How was it that you escaped?”

“I stayed where I was till I was nearly burnt up, when I sneaked out and none of ’em didn’t ’pear to notice me.  I hid in de woods and stayed dar till mornin’.”

“Did you see anything more of Miss Mary?”

“Yes, I see’d de Injines go away purty soon, and take her along.  Dey didn’t take any ob de niggers, ’cause dey had killed ’em all but me, and I was already dead, but I comed to agin.”

“None of Captain Prescott’s family were in the house besides Mary, were they?” asked the Lieutenant, asking a question of which he well knew the answer.

“Nobody else wan’t dar—­bress de Lord!  Missis Prescott and Helen went off on a visit to de settlement, t’ree, four days ago.”

“How was it Miss Mary remained behind?”

“Ki-yi! you doesn’t know, eh?” said Cato, grinning vastly, in total forgetfulness, for the moment, of his dreadful surroundings.

“How should I know?  Of course, I do not.”

“Wal, den, Oonymoo, dat red Injine, told her as how maybe you’d be ’long dese parts ’bout dis time, and she ’cluded she’d be’t home when you called. Dat’s how she was heah!”

A thrill went through the gallant Lieutenant at this evidence of the affection of the fair maiden he had journeyed so far to see.  Despite the heart-sickness which had come over him at sight of the revolting scenes around, he experienced a sort of pleasure from the words of the negro, and felt anxious for him to say more.

“How do you know, Cato, that this was the reason she remained behind?”

“Hebens, golly! didn’t I hear her tell Missis so?”

“Her mother?  And what did she say?”

“Oh! she and Missis Helen kinder laughed, and showed all dar white teef, and dey didn’t try to persuade her to go, ’cause dey knowed dar wan’t no use ob tryin’ to do nuffin’ like dat.  She lubs the Leftenant altogeder too much.  Yah! yah!” and Cato kicked up his heels, hugely delighted.

“Have you told me when you built this house of yours?”

“T’ought I hahd.  Done dat ar workmanship dis mornin’, arter all de Injines had gone.  T’ought dar’d be somebody ’long dis way afore long.”