"Only my daughter Sarah is here. She knew your father well, and has a very lively remembrance of him. She was fifteen when you were three, and many a day she was your volunteer nurse."
So it was arranged that the Captain should remain to dinner, and it may be said that he spent a very pleasant time, after his long period of social isolation. "I shall call you Garnett, to begin with," said Sarah Clopton, as she shook his hand, "but you must not expect me to be very cordial to-day. It was only last night, you must remember, that some of the people you associate with arrested and carried off a young man who is very dear to me."
"You may be very sure, Miss Clopton, that the officer who did that piece of work had no relish for it. He simply obeyed orders. He had no discretion in the matter whatever."
"Well, I shall be very glad to think that, Garnett, for your sake. But that fact doesn't restore our young men," she said with a sigh. "Oh, I wonder when we'll all be at peace and happy again?"
"In God's own time, and not before," declared Meriwether Clopton solemnly.
"Well, we'll try an' help that time to come," said Mr. Sanders, entering the room at that moment. He was followed by Cephas, who was one of Gabriel's favourites among the small boys. Cephas was bashful enough, but he always felt at ease at the Clopton Place, where everything moved along the lines of simplicity and perfect openness. The small boy had a sort of chilly feeling when he saw the officer, but he soon got over that.
"I went an' got my hoss," said Mr. Sanders, "an' he paid me back for my forgitfulness by purty nigh bitin' a piece out'n my arm; an' whilst I was a-rubbin' the place, up comes Cephas for to find out somethin' about the boys. When I got through makin' a few remarks sech as you don't hear at church, a kinder blind idee popped in my head, an' so I tuck Cephas up behind me, an' fetched him here."
"Sit on the sofa, Cephas. Have a chair, William, and tell us about your blind idea."
"Ef you'll promise not to laugh," Mr. Sanders stipulated. "You know Mrs. Ab's sayin' that ef the old sow knowed she was swallerin' a tree ev'ry time she crunched an acorn, she'd grunt a heap louder'n she does: well, I know what I'm fixin' for to swaller, and you won't hear much loud gruntin' from me."
"Well, we are ready to hear from you," said Meriwether Clopton. Whereupon, Mr. Sanders threw his head back and laughed.