war, as surely as the rising of the sun in the
morning. Many think that it does not; that the new republic will be
formed in peace, but I know better. A great and terrible war is coming.
Many of our colored people in Charleston and along the Carolina coast
came by the way of the West Indies. They have strange superstitions.
They believe that some of their number have the gift of second sight.
In my childhood I knew two old women who claimed the power, and they
gave apparent proofs that were extraordinary. I feel just now as if I
had the gift myself, and I tell you, Harry, although you can see only a
dark horizon from the window, I see one that is blood red all the way
to the zenith. Alas, our poor country!"

Harry stared at him in amazement. The colonel, although he had called
his name, seemed to have forgotten his presence. A vivid and powerful
imagination had carried him not only from the room, but far into the
future. He recovered himself with an abrupt little shrug of the
shoulders.

"I am too old a man to be talking such foolishness to a boy," he said,
briskly. "To bed, Harry! To bed! Your sleep on the train was brief
and you need more! So do I!"

Harry undressed quickly, and put himself under the covers, and the
colonel also retired, although somewhat more leisurely. The boy could
not sleep for some time. One vision was present in his mind, that of
Charleston, the famous city to which they were going. The effect of
Colonel Talbot's ominous words had worn off. He would soon see the city
which had been so long a leader in Southern thought and action, and he
would see, too, the men who had so boldly taken matters in their own
hands. He admired their courage and daring.

It was late when Harry awoke, and the colonel was already up and
dressed. But the man waited quietly until the boy was dressed also,
and they went down to breakfast together. Despite the lateness of
the hour the dining-room was still crowded, and the room buzzed with
animated talk. Harry knew very well that Charleston was the absorbing
topic, just as it had been the one great thought in his own mind.
The people about him seemed to be wholly of Southern sympathies, and
he knew very well that Tennessee, although she might take her own time
about it, would follow South Carolina out of the Union.

They found two vacant seats at a table, where three men already sat.
One was a member of the Legislature, who talked somewhat loudly;