For a second her eyes flashed into his.
"If he is in danger I want to face it with him! Will you go with me? Or shall I go alone?"
CHAPTER VIII
ORANGE BLOSSOMS AND PRISON BARS
The fiddles were hushed. The sounds of gaiety and laughter died on the lips of the merry throng. The guests rushed for their wraps; word was sent to awaken the slaves and harness the horses for the hasty departure; everywhere were the subdued murmurs and confusion of the dismayed gathering.
Through it all Judge Houston and Natalia went calmly to the carriage, the startled crowd falling back with averted faces, letting them pass in silence.
Natalia sank into the carriage, exhausted and trembling. The strain of the last hour, with its culmination, had brought to her a relinquishing of all restraint. She found herself clinging to Judge Houston's arm as if in some way the mere contact with another would bring back her usual strength and composure. They had passed into the highway before either of them spoke.
"Are you sure that he is safe—that I am not too late?" The words trembled through her lips.
"I am positive of it," Judge Houston answered, forcing his words to speak encouragement. "The jail was the best place possible to take him. Indeed, it was the only safe place. You know the reputation of the lower element of this town, and Lemuel always had a strong following among them. He has often admitted they were his political backing. And this trouble between him and Morgan was what made me fear some sort of an outbreak. You see—at the bottom of it all, was some argument about slavery." The old man drew down his brows thoughtfully. "It seems to be developing into a curse upon our heads. God knows where it will lead us! And Morgan was unwise—he spoke out his views too literally—his statements aroused ill-feeling in others, so that his attitude now is telling against him." He stopped abruptly and pressed Natalia's hand. "I tell you all this," he continued more calmly, "to show you why I thought the jail a safe place. If there should be an unusual excitement, the restlessness of the mob would be quelled by the State's protection. I would not leave him, even to come to you, until I knew he was perfectly safe."
A light wind had risen with the night, and from the south there came a sea of racing, mackerel clouds. The night was intensely dark. Except for the flicker of the carriage lanterns and the few stars that shone through the breaks in the clouds, their surroundings were indistinguishable.