But they had fought, and now they had followed Jackson from the Tennessee to the Horse Shoe Bend—they had swept a goodly land of a savage foe, opened it for the white race, destroyed their hated enemy’s most formidable ally, and had an open and unmolested road to the sea.
This they had done and asked nothing from their country. This they had done on acorns and parched corn, in pestilence and swamp, in deadly savage-brooding woods—fighting famine and foe alike.
And now a greater fight was on. Their country, she who had counted them as naught until now, who had paid no heed to their wants and their sufferings, was now in a death struggle with her ancient and bitterest foe. And that foe had walked through the land above them with rifle, torch and tomahawk until it seemed that nothing could stand up before them. They had whipped the American army and scattered her few weak, little ships and now scoffed and derided her army to the nations of the earth.
And though their country had forgotten them, in the hearing of it all their hearts burned but for vengeance, and they forgot all their injustice when they remembered it was their country and that they, too, were Americans.
And then had come Jackson, and his call to arms and his fierce fighting spirit and the fiercer fighting love they bore him.
“B’ar or British, Indian or devil, lead us ag’in’ ’em, General!” they kept shouting, again and again.
Juliette felt someone touch her arm. It was Mrs. Jackson:
“Come, Juliette, all you girls—we are going to hand them out the cakes. I heard a hint of this—in fact, I was warned, and Aunt Hannah, I think, has baked them cakes enough.”
There was another shout from the lines when great waiters of sliced cake were brought out, and with the buckets not yet empty and the tin dippers in demand, there was a roar of jollity and laughter and jokes.
As Juliette passed in among them with a hamper of cake, a respectful silence fell. Never had they seen such a beautiful being as she. They were backwoodsmen, and she from another land. At first they stood back. Their roughness and coarseness was only skin deep—in their hearts was chivalry. At last one reached out his hand to help himself under the tactful smile and reassuring nod of invitation and the tie was broken by a loud banter at his elbow: