"Drew--" Major Forbes waved aside that tentative interruption from
Cousin Merry.

"I don't know. But I can't stay here." That much he was sure of, Oak
Hill, Red Springs, all of this was no longer necessary to him any more
than the outgrown toys of childhood could hold the interest of a man.
Once, hurt and seeking for freedom, he had thought of the army as home.
Now he knew he had yet to find what he wanted or needed. But there was
no reason why he could not go looking, even if he could not give a name
to the object of such a search. "I might go west. It's all new out
there, a good place to start on my own."

There was a catch of breath from Aunt Marianna. The look she gave Cousin
Merry held something of accusation. "You told him!"

"Told me what, ma'am?"

"That your father is alive...." She saw his surprise.

"Is that true, suh?" Drew appealed to the major.

Forbes scowled, tugging at the belt supporting his saber. "Yes. We found
some letters among your grandfather's papers after his death. Your
father wasn't killed; he was in a Mexican prison during the war. When he
escaped and returned to Texas, your grandfather had already been there
and taken your mother away. Hunt Rennie was too ill to follow
immediately. Before he had recovered enough to travel, he was informed
his wife was dead, and he was allowed to believe that you died with
her--at birth."

"But why?" Alexander Mattock had disliked, even hated his grandson. So
why should he have lied to keep Drew with him at Red Springs?

"Because of Murray," Cousin Merry said slowly, sadly. "It was a cruel
thing to do, so cruel. Alexander Mattock was a hard man. He couldn't
bear opposition; it made him go close to the edge of sanity, I truly
believe. I know we are not supposed to speak ill of the dead, but I
can't forgive him for what he did to those two. Melanie and Hunt were so
young, young and in love. And your Uncle Murray deliberately pushed that
quarrel on Hunt. Jefferson was there; he tried to stop it. The duel was
_not_ Hunt's fault----"

"Uncle Murray and my father fought a duel?" Drew demanded.

"Yes. Murray was badly wounded, and for a time his life was despaired
of. Your grandfather swore out a warrant against Hunt for attempted
murder! So he and Melanie ran away. They were so pitifully young!
Melanie was just sixteen and Hunt two years older, though he seemed a
man, having lived such a hard life on the frontier. They went back to
Texas, and she wa