been pleasing to her kith and kin, and she saw no good reason why her niece should not, under any circumstances, form a similar union.  That the girl should revolt now, in the face of such urgent necessity, was mere perverseness.  Sharing in her husband’s anxieties and fears, she found solace and diversion of mind in her beloved housekeeping.  Neither of the old people had the imagination or experience which could enable them to understand the terror and distress of their niece, whom with good intentions they were driving toward a hated union.

Dinner was served two hours later than usual—­a fact in itself very disturbing to Mr. Baron; while Aun’ Suke, compelled to cook again for the Confederate troopers, was in a state of suppressed irritation, leading her satellites to fear that she might explode.  Small, pale and bloodless as “ole miss” appeared, none of her domestics dared to rebel openly; but if any little darky came within the reach of Aun’ Suke’s wooden spoon, she relieved her feelings promptly.  In dining-room and kitchen, therefore, was seething and repressed excitement.  The very air was electric and charged with rumors.

Perkins, the overseer, was at his wits’ end, also, about the field-hands.  They were impassive or sullen before his face, and abounding in whispers and significant glances behind his back.  What they knew, how much they knew, he could not discover by any ingenuity of questioning or threatening, and he was made to feel that excessive harshness might lead to serious trouble.  Disturbing elements were on all sides, in the air, everywhere, yet he could not lay his finger on any particular culprit.

Of all the slaves on the plantation, Chunk appeared the most docile and ready to oblige every one.  He waited on the Confederate troopers with alacrity, and grinned at their chaffing with unflagging good-nature.  In all the little community, which included an anxious Union scout, Chunk was about the most serene and even-pulsed individual.  Nature had endowed him with more muscle than nerves, more shrewdness than intellect, and had quite left out the elements of fear and imagination.  He lived intensely in the present; excitement and bustle were congenial conditions, and his soul exulted in the prospect of freedom.  Moreover, the fact that he had proved himself to Zany to be no longer a mere object for ridicule added not a little to his elation.  Shrewd as himself, she was true to her word of keeping an eye on him, and she was compelled to see that he was acting his part well.

Miss Lou positively refused to come down to dinner.  She had buried her face in her pillow, and was almost crying her eyes out; for in the confusion of her mind, resulting from her training and inexperience, she feared that if all her kin insisted on her marriage, and gave such reasons as had been urged upon her, she must be married.  She was sorely perplexed.  Could the Yankees be such ravening wolves as her uncle and cousin represented them to be?  Certainly one was not, but then he might be different from the others because he had been to college and was educated.