“No, you’re not, child. You are tired and nervous. Be brave. Meet your uncle as if nothing had happened. I dare say that you will find him kind and good.”
“But he is a rebel,” sobbed Jeanne in such heartrending tones that both men smiled involuntarily.
“Well, some of them are very good men,” said Farragut. “They are mistaken in their views and need teaching a great many things, but otherwise they are a warm-hearted people. I am from the South myself, you know.”
“Are you?” asked the girl surprised, yet she had wondered at his soft Southern voice.
“Yes; a Tennesseean. You seem to think that I am all right.”
“You are,” replied Jeanne so heartily that Farragut laughed outright. “But Uncle Ben didn’t take New Orleans.”
“Perhaps you can get his services for us yet, and he may do something better than to take New Orleans. That may be your work here.”
“I doubt it,” spoke General Butler emphatically. “There is no rebel so unregenerate as a renegade Yankee. There may be some excuse for those born in this section of the country, but for a Yankee who embraces the pernicious doctrine of secession there is none. The Orderly waits, my child.”
Farewells were again exchanged, and Jeanne followed reluctantly after her guide.