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his movements as he continued--
Ah! poor George--it is a narrow chance-- but --he was interrupted by a
messenger requiring the presence of the commanding officer in the field.
Dunwoodie pressed the hand of his friend, and beckoned the doctor to follow
him, as he withdrew.
What think you? he whispered on reaching the passage, will he live?
He will; said the surgeon laconically, turning on his heel.
Thank God! cried the youth, hastening below.
Dunwoodie for a moment joined the family, who were now collected in the
ordinary parlour. His face was no longer wanting in smiles, and his
salutations, though hasty, were cordial. He took no notice of the escape and
recapture of Henry Wharton, but seemed to think the young man had continued
where he had left him before the encounter. On the ground they had not met.
The English officer withdrew in haughty silence to a window, leaving the major
uninterruptedly to make his communications.
The excitement produced by the events of the day in the youthful feelings of
the sisters, had been succeeded by a languor that kept them both silent, and
it was with Miss Peyton that Dunwoodie held his discourse.
Is there any hope, my cousin, that your friend can survive his wound? said
the lady, advancing towards her kinsman with a smile of benevolent regard.
Every thing--my dear madam--every thing, answered the soldier cheerfully.
Sitgreaves says he will live, and he has never yet deceived me.
Your pleasure is not much greater than my own at this intelligence. One so
dear to Major Dunwoodie cannot fail to excite an interest in the bosom of his
friends.
Say one so deservedly dear, madam, returned the major with warmth; he is
the beneficent spirit of the corps--equally beloved by us all--so mild, so
equal, so just, so generous, with the meekness of a lamb and the fondness of a
dove-- it is only in the hour of battle that Singleton is a lion.
You speak of him as if he were your mistress, Major Dunwoodie, observed the
smiling spinster, glancing her eye at her niece, who sat pale and listening,
in a corner of the room.
I love him as one, cried the excited youth; but he requires care and
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nursing--all now depends on the attention he receives.
Trust me, sir, said Miss Peyton with dignity, he will want for nothing
under this roof.
Pardon me, dear madam, cried the youth hastily; you are all that is
benevolent, but Singleton requires a care which many men would feel to be
irksome. It is at moments like these, and in sufferings like his, that the
soldier most finds the want of female tenderness. As he spoke, he turned his
eyes on Frances with an expression that again thrilled to the heart of the
maiden-- she rose from her seat with burning cheeks, and said--
All the attention that can with propriety be given to a stranger will be
cheerfully bestowed on your friend.
Ah! cried the major, shaking his head, that cold word propriety will kill
him; he must be fostered, cherished, soothed.
These are offices for a sister or a wife, said the maid, with still
increasing colour.
A sister! repeated the soldier, the blood rushing to his own face
tumultuously; a sister! he has a sister--and one that might be here with
to-morrow s sun. He paused, mused in silence, glanced his eye uneasily at
Frances, and muttered in an under tone-- Singleton requires it, and it must be
done.
The ladies had watched his varying countenance in some surprise, and Miss
Peyton now observed, that--
If there were a sister of Captain Singleton near them, her presence would be
gladly requested both by herself and nieces.
It must be, madam; it cannot well be otherwise, replied Dunwoodie with a
hesitation that but ill agreed with his former declarations; she shall be
sent for express this very night. And then, as if willing to change the
subject, he approached Captain Wharton, and continued mildly--
Henry Wharton, to me honour is dearer than life--but in your hands I know it
can safely be confided--remain here unwatched, until we leave the county,
which will not be for some days to come.
The distance in the manner of the English officer vanished, and taking the
offered hand of the other, he replied with warmth-- your generous confidence,
Peyton, will not be abused, even though the gibbet on which your Washington
hung André be ready for my own execution.
Henry--Henry Wharton, said Dunwoodie reproachfully, you little know the
man who leads our armies, or you would have spared him that reproach; but duty
calls me without. I leave you where I could wish to stay myself, and where you
cannot be wholly unhappy.
In passing Frances, the maid received another of those smiling looks of
affection she so much prized, and for a season she forgot the impression made
by his appearance after the battle.
Among the veterans that had been impelled by the times to abandon the quiet
of age for the service of their country was Colonel Singleton. He was a native
of Georgia, and had been for the earlier years of his life a soldier by
profession. When the struggle for liberty commenced, he offered his services
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