I found Mr. Clay sitting quietly, deep in the conning of a thick volume. It was Burton’s “Anatomy of Melancholy,” ever a favourite with him. It lay open on his knee, steadied with one hand; the other, as was a habit with my husband, was stroking his beard, absentmindedly. Before I could summon my voice to utter the terrible news, the others of the party had hastened upstairs. Handing the fatal paper to Senator Hill, I cried, half-hysterically, “For God’s sake, read that!”
As Mr. Hill read the proclamation aloud, everyone was silent. Senator Semmes was the first to break the silence that followed the reading.
“Fly for your life, Clay!” he said, “The town is full of men from two disbanded armies, any of whom would be tempted by such a sum. Take no chances!” Then all at once everyone but my husband began to talk excitedly. As the meaning of the despatch broke upon him, Mr. Clay blanched a moment, but at Mr. Semmes’s urgings he spoke.
“Fly?” he said, slowly, like one recovering from a blow, “from what?” Mr. Semmes’s answer came drily.
“From death, I fear!” he said. My husband turned inquiringly to the others. Secretary Mallory, seeing the unspoken question in his face, answered it.
“I don’t know what to say, Clay! One hundred thousand dollars is a glittering bribe to half-starved soldiers!” He had scarcely spoken when a knock was heard. Alarmed by the thought that some renegade was already come to arrest my husband, I flew to the door and locked it. As I did so, Senator Hill was beside me, and I remember the forceful feeling with which he spoke, even as the click of the key sounded.
“By the eternal God, Clay!” he said. “The man who dares cross my threshold to arrest you, falls on it.”
Fortunately our fears were groundless, for in a moment we heard the word, “Phillips!” and, upon opening the door, the Colonel quickly entered. His calm bearing was a relief to us. Some one at once put the question to him, “What do you think Clay ought to do?”
“What does Mr. Clay think he should do?” was Colonel Phillips’s reply. My husband was prompt to answer:
“As I am conscious of my innocence, my judgment is that I should at once surrender to the nearest Federal authorities!” he said.