d!" Then uncovering her face, and dropping on her knees beside her
chair, she whispered a prayer for the success of those who had lately
marched forth against the enemy.

When she arose from this posture, she went to the window, and there
stood gazing out upon the quiet and unfrequented street, running over in
her mind the perils to which her brother as well as Butler might be
exposed, and summoning to her imagination the thousand subjects of
solicitude, which her present state of painful expectation might be
supposed to create or recall.

"We will set forth early to-morrow," she said, addressing herself to her
companion, "so tell your father, Mary. We will follow the brave friends
who have left us: I cannot be content to linger behind them. I will
sleep in the lowliest hovel, or in the common shelter of the woods, and
share all the dangers of the march, rather than linger here in this
dreadful state of doubt and silence. Tell your father to make his
preparations for our departure to-morrow: tell him I cannot abide
another day in this place."

"I should think we might creep near them, ma'am," replied Mary, "near
enough to see and hear what was going on--which is always a great
satisfaction, and not get ourselves into trouble neither. I am sure my
father would be very careful of us, and keep us out of harm's way, come
what would. And it is distressing to be so far off, when you don't know
what's going to turn up. I will seek my father--who I believe is over
yonder with the troopers at the shop, talking to the blacksmith--I will
go there and try to coax him to do your bidding. I know the troopers
want it more than we do, and they'll say a word to help it along."

"Say I desire to have it so, Mary. I can take no refusal. Here I will
not stay longer."

Mary left the apartment, and as she descended the steps, she fell into a
rumination which arrested her progress full five minutes, during which
she remained mute upon the stair-case. "No wonder the poor dear lady
wishes to go!" was the ejaculation which came at last sorrowfully from
her heart, with a long sigh, and at the same time tears began to flow:
"no wonder she wants to be near Major Butler, who loves her past the
telling of it. If John Ramsay was there," she added, sobbing, "I would
have followed him--followed him--yes, if I died for it."

CHAPTER LVI.

AFFAIRS BEGIN TO DRAW TO A HEAD. PREPARATIONS FOR BATTLE. A PICTURE OF
THE TWO ARMIES.

After leavi