house. With a touch of indignation at her treatment, she briefly told
her story. But the general listened coldly and gravely with his eyes
fixed upon her face.

"You say you recognized in the leader of the party a man you had seen
before. Under what circumstances?"

Mrs. Bunker hesitated with burning cheeks. "He came to take Colonel
Marion from our place."

"When you were hiding him,--yes, we've heard the story. Now, Mrs.
Bunker, may I ask you what you, as a Southern sympathizer, expect to
gain by telling me this story?"

But here Mrs. Bunker burst out. "I am not a Southern sympathizer! Never!
Never! Never! I'm a Union woman,--wife of a Northern man. I helped that
man before I knew who he was. Any Christian, Northerner or Southerner,
would have done the same!"

Her sincerity and passion were equally unmistakable. The general rose,
opened the door of the adjoining room, said a few words to an orderly on
duty, and returned. "What you are asking of me, Mrs. Bunker, is almost
as extravagant and unprecedented as your story. You must understand, as
well as your husband, that if I land a force on your property it will be
to TAKE POSSESSION of it in the name of the Government, for Government
purposes."

"Yes, yes," said Mrs. Bunker eagerly; "I know that. I am willing; Zephas
will be willing."