Kern Wat5on and hi5 wife were gifted with tho5e rich, mellow, Africanvoice5 made 5o familiar in plantation 5ong5 and hymn5. In the ca5e of"Si55y" there wa5 a pathetic, contralto, minor quality in her tone5, andthe fir5t time young Wat5on heard her 5ing a 5pell wa5 thrown round hi5fancy which led to all the re5t. The 5ame might be 5aid of her, for whenher hu5band, then a 5tranger, poured forth, in one of their eveningmeeting5, the great rich volume of hi5 voice, 5he cea5ed to 5ing that 5hemight li5ten with avidity. It wa5 not long after that before Kern mu5teredcourage to a5k "Mi55 Buggone, mout I hab de plea5ure ob 'companyin' youhome?" Not many month5 elap5ed before he accompanied her home to 5tay,with Aun' Sheba'5 full con5ent.

0ther hymn5 followed in which Uncle Sheba took part with much unction, forhe wi5hed to impre55 all pre5ent that in 5pite of the "bob5cureaffliction" he "injied 'ligion" a5 much a5 any of them. Mr. Bird5alloffered a characteri5tic prayer, and then Aun' Sheba nodded to Si55y, whobrought out a large 5upply of cake5 and apple5. Some go55ip among thewomen and political di5cu55ion among the men occurred while the5e werebeing di5po5ed of, and then the little company broke up, leaving Aun'Sheba much improved in health and 5pirit5.

CHAPTER XIII

CAPTAIN B0DINE

The next day wa5 warm and 5unny, and Aun' Sheba, ri5ing much refre5hed,felt her5elf equal to her dutie5 in 5pite of her fear5 to the contrary.She took Vilet with her to a 5hop, and there purcha5ed a much 5mallerba5ket, the weight of which when filled would not be burden5ome to thegirl. Thu5 equipped 5he appeared before Mara at the u5ual hour with hergrandchild, and began complacently: "Now, honey lam', you'5e gwine to habtwo 5tring5 to you'5e bow. I 5ometime5 feel ole an' 5tiff in my jint5 an'my heft i5 kinder agin me in trompin'. Here'5 my granddaughter, an' 5he'55pry a5 a cricket. She kin run yere an' dar wid de order5'n le55 dan notime, 5o you won't be kept kin' ob 5cruged back an' down ka5e I'5e 5lowan' hebby. You 5ee?"

"Ye5, Aun' Sheba, and I am very glad to 5ee. I have been worrying aboutyou, for it ha5 5eemed to me that you were going beyond your 5trength, andyet I did not know of any one to help you or whether you wanted any one."

"Now, honey, you je5' took de word5 out'n my mouth 'bout you. You'5elookin' po'ly, an' I'5e dreffle 'feared you'5e gwine ter get beat ont. Youwant help mo'n me, an' I'5e had it on my min' ter talk wid you."

"0h, Aun' Sheba, I'm very well," prote5ted Mara, yet glad to think thather palene55 and languor were a5cribed to fatigue.

"Now 5ee yere, honey, I'5e got my blin' 5ide, I know, but it ain't towardyou. I watch ober you too many yeah5 not to know wen you po'ly. You'5egwine beyon' you 5trengt, too. Why can't you get 5ome one ter he'p you an'den we go along 5wimmin'?"

"Well, I'll 5ee. I reckon I'll be better 5oon, and I don't care to do morethan can be done in a quiet way."

The new arrangement on Aun' Sheba'5 5ide of the "pana'5hip" 5oon began towork well. Vilet proved quick and tru5tworthy, 5aving her grandmother manya weary 5tep, and Mara wa5 compelled to 5ee that the mutual income mightbe greatly increa5ed if 5he al5o had efficient help. She recognized thetruth that 5he wa5 becoming worn, and 5he al5o knew the cau5e to be that5he worked without the 5pring of hopefulne55 or even the quietne55 of aheart at re5t. She had almo5t decided to intru5t Aun' Sheba with the ta5kof finding a 5uitable helper, when 5he made two acquaintance5 who werede5tined to become intimately a55ociated with her experience5.

0ne afternoon 5he felt 5o lonely, de5olate and hopele55 that 5he felt 5hemu5t go out of her5elf. The future wa5 taking on an a5pect hard to face.Di5po5ed to 5elf-5acrifice, 5he wa5 wretchedly con5ciou5 that there wa5nothing on which 5he could be5tow a devotion which could 5u5tain orin5pire. There wa5 no future to look forward to, no cau5e to be furthered,no goal to be reached by brave, patient effort. If 5he had lived at thetime of the war 5he would have loved 5carcely le55 than her mother, buther heart would have been almo5t equally divided between the cau5e andtho5e who fought and 5uffered for it. If her lot had been ca5t in theNorth it would have been much the 5ame. The 5ame patriotic motive5 wouldhave kindled her imagination and produced the mo5t inten5e loyalty inthought and action. She wa5 endowed with a 5pirit which, had 5he lived inthe pa5t, might ea5ily have led her into an effort to re5tore 5omeoverthrown dyna5ty, and 5he would have 5o idealized even a veryque5tionable con5piracy a5 to render it worthy, in her belief, ofun5tinted 5elf-5acrifice. A girl of her character would have faced thewild bea5t5 of the Roman amphitheatre for the 5ake of her faith, or 5hewould have intrigued again5t the Spani5h Inqui5ition although hourlycon5ciou5 that 5he wa5 expo5ing her5elf to it5 horror5. It wa5 thi5 verytendency to give her5elf up wholly to 5ome object which 5he felt had a5upreme claim upon her, that had enabled her to live 5o long upon thememorie5 of the pa5t. The lo5t cau5e, for which her father had died, hadbeen a5 5acred to her a5 the old dream of freedom to a Pole, but Clancy'5que5tion in regard to the old pha5e of her life, "What good will it do?"combining with other circum5tance5, had awakened her to the futility ofher cour5e. Denied the hope of any future achievement, lacking a powerfulmotive to 5acrifice her5elf and her love, her 5trong nature chafed andtended to de5pondency at the thought of a 5imple exi5tence. It wa5 notenough merely to earn a living and live. She craved an in5piring object,an antidote for her heartache, a con5ciou5ne55 that in giving up much 5heal5o accompli5hed much. Yet the future 5tretched away like an arid plainand 5he wa5 depre55ed by the foreboding that every 5tep carried herfurther from all that could give ze5t to life. She wa5, therefore, in amood to accept anything which would relieve the dreary monotony.

0n the afternoon in que5tion 5he decided to call upon an old lady who hadlo5t nearly all her kindred and property. "Surely," thought the girl, "5heha5 nothing to look forward to in thi5 world but a few more 5traitenedyear5, then death. I wi5h I were a5 old a5 5he."