vital a part of you as your head itself is."
Then she brought the other memento and fastened it into its place. It
was a faded red feather.
"I have carried that on my person," she said, "ever since that day at
Fairfax Court-house when you first told me that you loved me."
* * * * *
A few months later Marshall Pollard came. He hobbled upon a cork leg
which he had not yet learned to use with ease, but the old smile was on
his face, the old cheer in his voice.
"Agatha," he said, "I should like to occupy my old quarters here during
my stay, if I may. You see, Baillie, it is as I told you long years
ago--I must ask leave of my lady now. But I don't mind, as my lady
happens to be Agatha instead of some other."
"And your other prediction is fulfilled, too," answered the master of
Warlock, "the prediction that you made out there by the plantation gate.
The old life of Virginia is completely gone, the old conditions have
been utterly swept away. We can never re-create them. We can never bring
the old life back, and perhaps it is better so. We Virginians had for
generations lived in the past. Our manner of life and all our
conceptions of living were those of a century ago. We had not kept step
with progress. We have been rudely shaken out of the lethargic ease that
was so delightful and perhaps so bad for us. We are free now to create a
new life in tune with that of the modern world.
"And we shall do that right manfully. We shall develop the resources of
our region, and the South will grow more prosperous than it ever was
before. Better still, our children will be educated in the gospel of
work, and learn the lesson that was never taught to you and me till war
came to teach us, that it is in strenuous endeavour, and not in
paralysing ease, that a man finds the greatest happiness in life."
"Tell me of your plans, Baillie."
"They are not mine. They are Agatha's. We have arranged to convert this
plantation, and The Oaks, and all the land round about--for the company
we have formed has bought every acre that could be had--into a nest of
coal mines. The deposit is a rich one, you know, and I have had no
difficulty in getting practical men with abundant capital to join me in
the enterprise. We are already building a branch railroad to carry our
product. But there is to be no shaft sunk within half a mile of Warlock
House, so that I shall be 'master of Warlock' still. Tell us now of your
own affairs, Marshall."
"There is not much to tell. Thanks to Agatha's wonderful economy in
spending, I still have investments at the North which yield me a
sufficient income for my small needs. I have divided my plantation into
little farms, and have let them to the best of the negroes and to some
white farmers. I am to get my rentals in the shape of a share of the
crops. This sets me free to do the work that best pleases me. You know I
have been writing in a small way with some success ever since I grew up.
I shall write some books now. I think I have some messages to deliver
that some at least of my fellow men may be the better or the happier for
hearing."
"But you will want to marry some day."
"No. My 'some day' died years ago."
THE END.
* * * * *
The Master of Warlock
By GEORGE CARY EGGLESTON, Author of "Dorothy South," "A Carolina
Cavalier." Six Illustrations by C. D. Williams.
"THE MASTER OF WARLOCK" has an interesting plot, and is full of purity
of sentiment, charm of atmosphere, and stirring doings. One of the
typical family feuds of Virginia separates the lovers at first; but,
when the hero goes to the war, the heroine undergoes many hardships and
adventures to serve him, and they are happily united in the end.
* * * * *
Dorothy South
A STORY OF VIRGINIA JUST BEFORE THE WAR
Baltimore Sun says:
"No writer in the score and more of novelists now exploiting the
Southern field can, for a moment, compare in truth and interest to
Mr. Eggleston. In the novel before us we have a peculiarly
interesting picture of the Virginian in the late fifties. We are
taken into the life of the people. We are shown the hearts of men
and women. Characters are clearly drawn, and incidents are
skilfully presented."
* * * * *
A Carolina Cavalier
A STIRRING TALE OF WAR AND ADVENTURE
Philadelphia Home Advocate says:
"As a love story, 'A Carolina Cavalier' is sweet and true; but as a
patriotic novel, it is grand and inspiring. We have seldom found a
stronger and simpler appeal to our manhood and love of country."
* * * * *
The Captain
By CHURCHILL WILLIAMS, author of "J. Devlin--Boss." Illustrated by A. I.
Keller.
Who is the Captain? thousands of readers of this fine book will be
asking. It is a story of love and war, of scenes and characters before
and during the great civil conflict. It has lots of color and movement,
and the splendid figure naming the book dominates the whole.
* * * * *
J. Devlin--Boss
A ROMANCE OF AMERICAN POLITICS.
Mary E. Wilkins says:
"I am delighted with your book. Of all the first novels, I believe
yours is the very best. The novel is American to the core. The
spirit of the times is in it. It is inimitably clever. It is an
amazing first novel, and no one except a real novelist could have
written it."
End of Project Gutenberg's The Master of Warlock, by George Cary Eggleston