He was silent for some time, as they walked slowly along, and during this period of silence, Meriwether Clopton came up behind them. He would have passed on, with a polite inclination of his head, but Mr. Sanders drew his attention.
"Mr. Clopton," he said, "here's a gentleman I reckon you'd like to know—Captain Falconer. He's a son of John Barbour Falconer."
"Is that so?" exclaimed Meriwether Clopton, a wonderful change passing over his face. "Well, I am glad to see a son of my dear old friend, anywhere and at any time." He shook hands very cordially with the Captain. "Let me see—let me see: if I am not mistaken, your first name is Garnett; you were named after your maternal grandfather."
"That is true, sir," replied the Captain, with a boyish laugh that was pleasing to the ear—he was not more than thirty. "But I am surprised that you should remember these things so well."
"Why, my dear sir, it is not surprising at all. I have dandled you on my knee many and many a time; I know the very house, yes, the very room, in which you were born. Some of the happiest hours of my manhood were spent with your father and mother in Washington. Your father is dead, I believe. Well, he was a good man; among the best I ever knew. What of your mother?"
"She has broken greatly," responded the Captain. "The war was a great burden to her. She was a Virginian, you know."
"Yes—yes!" said Meriwether Clopton. "The war has been a dreadful nightmare to the people on both sides; and it seems to be still going on disguised as politics. Only last night, as you perhaps know, a posse of soldiers arrested and carried off four of our worthiest young men."
"Yes, sir, I know of it and regret it," responded Captain Falconer. "And I have no doubt that a majority of the people here are incensed at the soldiers, forgetting that they are the mere instruments of their superiors, and that their superiors themselves take their orders from other superiors who are engaged in the game of politics. It is the duty of a soldier to blindly obey orders. To pause to ask a question would be charged to a spirit of insubordination. The army is at the beck and call of what is called the Government, and to-day the Government happens to be the radical contingent of the Republican Party. A soldier may detest the service he is called on to perform, but he is bound to obey orders. I can answer for the officer who was sent to arrest these young men. He was boiling over with rage because he had been sent here on such an errand."
"I am glad to hear that," declared Meriwether Clopton, with great heartiness.
"His feelings were perfectly natural, sir," said Captain Falconer. "Take the army as it stands to-day, and it would be hard, if not impossible, to find a man in it who does not shrink from doing the dirty work of the politicians. Can you imagine that my mission here is pleasant to me? I can assure you, sir, it is the most disagreeable duty that ever fell to my lot. I am glad you spoke of these arrests. At your convenience, I should like to have a little conversation with you and Mr. Sanders on this subject."