“Just a little girl,” answered Jeanne, coming forward into the moonlight. “I’m lost, and I don’t know where to go.”
“A girl! It’s true I do declare!” burst from the sentinel’s lips as he lowered his gun. “How do you come to be here in the woods at this time of night?”
“I am trying to get back to New Orleans, and I must have taken the wrong road.” Jeanne was trembling but she tried to control herself. “Oh, could you tell me where I could get something to eat and a place to sleep? I–I am afraid.”
Her voice broke and despite her efforts at self-command she burst into tears.
“There! Never mind! I’ll take you to Miss Bob,” said the soldier with rough kindness. “The woods ain’t no place fur a girl at night. Just come with me.”
Jeanne followed him gladly. A brisk walk of fifteen minutes brought them to a camp. The tents gleamed white among the trees and it seemed to the girl as though she had never seen so many in all her life before. Some men lounged lazily about one of the many fires that dotted the place, talking in subdued tones. They stared at the girl as the sentinel came in with her but made no remark. The soldier paused before a small tent and called softly:
“Miss Bob! Miss Bob! are you asleep?”
“What is it, Johnson?” came the reply in the soft sleepy tones of a girl.
“Here is a girl out here who is lost. She is hungry and wants a place to sleep. Will you see to her? I am on duty.”
“Certainly. Go back to your post, Johnson. I will be out in a minute.”