“Wid all de ’sturbance, it seemed like dey done furget dat I ort to be at home wid my white folks at sech a’ awful time, an’ dey kep’ me till long atter dinner. Den who shall come right in de camp ’cep’ young Miss? I never in all my days seed sech a look as was in her face. Seemed like she was in ’er sleep, ur out’n ’er mind, ur suppin another. It looked like all de officers in de camp wanted to hide out, but de captain was man enough to face ’er an’ went right up to whar she was.
“‘I come to see de spot whar de young Confederate died dis mawnin’, if you please,’ she said, as cool as I ever seed young Miss in my life, dough ’er eyes was flashin’ like diamonds in de sun.
“‘Young lady,’ de captain say, mighty white in de face, ‘dis is a po’ time to ’spress regrets, but Gawd knows dis is a gre’t mistake. I’d ruther be daid myse’f. I pray Gawd to furgive us. We acted too quick. De evidence showed dat yo’ brother was a spy, an’ we never knowed no better till it was all over.’
“‘I did not come to discuss his death,’ young Miss said mighty haughty. ‘I des want to see de spot whar he fell. We-all is grateful fer his remains—sometimes it ain’t done, I believe.’
“‘Young Miss,’ I said to ’er, ‘come, le’s go back home; dey will let me go wid you.’
“Den she looked at me fur de fus time. ‘Was you heer, Ham?’ she say; ‘den you’ll do; you kin show me ’dout troublin’ dese gentlemen. Show me whar my brurr fell, an’ den I’ll go back to mother. I was des afraid de army would march off an’ I never would know de exact spot whar de outrage happened.’
“When she passed ’im she tuck out a copper piece an’ drap it in his hat.”
“Den I led ’er to’des de sweetgum an’ p’int it out. She des took one look at it, an’ den she put ’er han’ over ’er face an’ said in a awful low voice: ‘Le’s go quick, Ham,’ an’ I knowed she was afeerd she’d break down ’fo’ dem low-lived soldiers, an’ dat she’d druther be daid ’an to do it. All de way home she ain’t open ’er lips.
“Well, to close my tale, when old Marster come home after de war was over ol’ Miss was daid. It seems a long time ago. Young Miss an’ ’er pa went to Richmond to live, whar he had a lill property dat ’scaped de Yankee’s hands. She turned out to be a gre’t lady an’ had big men—governors an’ congressmen runnin’ atter her to git ’er to marry um. De funniest thing of all was de way dat Yankee captain did after de war was over; I heer some o’ my white folks say he writ two dozen letters to young Miss. He told ’er in um dat she was the onliest woman he ever laid eyes on dat completely tuck his heart and he say ’twas all kase she had so much pride and fine sperit. He begged ’er to let by-gones be by-gones an’ let ’im come down to Richmond an’ ’splain, but she didn’t so much as answer de letters an’ got so she sent um back to ’im dout openin’ um. Dey say he managed to meet ’er at a big dinner somebody give up in Richmond an’ was introduced to ’er. Of co’se, young Miss was too much of a lady to ’suit ’im when dey bofe visitin’ de same house, so she bowed to ’im an’ ’changed a few words, but she left de house an’ called her carriage. Dat’s what my white folks done tole me; I dunno, but it cert’ney was like young Miss. Dey say dat treatment didn’t faze dat captain, he was so dead bent on gittin’ ’er fur his wife; so one day, some time atter dat, he follered ’er to a big chu’ch in Richmond, whar she went to worship. Dey say it had high steps to it, an’ when she come out’n de do’ she seed ’im at de foot o’ de steps waitin’ fur ’er, wid his hat helt out in his hand. Well, suh, what you reckon young Miss did? She had her purse in ’er hand wid some small change in it, an’ when she passed ’im she tuck out a copper piece an’ drap it in his hat widout so much as lookin’ at ’im, des as ef he was a begger. Dey say dat settled ’im. He went off an’ never bothered ’er again.