Part 18 (1/2)
FRANK. Ah! He is coming. [_Then suddenly._] Write! Write! [GERTRUDE _writes in the note-book as he dictates._] ”To--my wife--Edith:--Tell our little son, when he is old enough to know--how his father died; not how he lived. And tell her who filled my own mother's place so lovingly--she is your mother, too--that my father's portrait of her, which she gave to me in Charleston, helped me to be a better man!”
And--oh! I must not forget this--”It was taken away from me while I was a prisoner in Richmond, and it is in the possession of Captain Henry Thornton, of the Confederate Secret Service. But her face is still beside your own in my heart. My best--warmest, last--love--to you, darling.” I will sign it. [GERTRUDE _holds the book, and he signs it, then sinks back very quietly, supported by the_ SURGEON. GERTRUDE _rises and walks right._
MADELINE. General Haverill is here. [_The_ SURGEON _lays the fold of the blanket over_ FRANK'S _face and rises._
GERTRUDE. Doctor!
MAJOR. He is dead. [MADELINE, _on veranda, turns and looks left. The_ LIEUTENANT _orders the guard,_ ”Present Arms”. _Enter_ HAVERILL, _on veranda. He salutes the guard as he pa.s.ses. The_ LIEUTENANT _orders,_ ”Carry Arms.” HAVERILL _comes down._
HAVERILL. I am too late?
MAJOR. I'm sorry, General. His one eager thought as we came was to reach here in time to see you. [HAVERILL _moves to the bier, looks down at it, then folds back the blanket from the face. He starts slightly as he first sees it._
HAVERILL. Brave boy! I hoped once to have a son like you. I shall be in your father's place, to-day, at your grave. [_He replaces the blanket and steps back._] We will carry him to his comrades in the front. He shall have a soldier's burial, in sight of the mountain-top beneath which he sacrificed his young life; that shall be his monument.
MAJOR. Pardon me, General. We Virginians are your enemies, but you cannot honour this young soldier more than we do. Will you allow my men the privilege of carrying him to his grave? [HAVERILL _inclines his head. The_ SURGEON _motions to the Confederate soldiers, who step to the bier and raise it gently._
HAVERILL. Lieutenant! [_The_ LIEUTENANT _orders the guard,_ ”Left Face.” _The Confederate bearers move through the gate, preceded by_ LIEUTENANT HARDWICK. HAVERILL _draws his sword, reverses it, and moves up behind the bier with bowed head. The_ LIEUTENANT _orders_ ”Forward March,” _and the cortege disappears. While the girls are still watching it, the heavy sound of distant artillery is heard, with booming reverberations among the hills and in the Valley._
MADELINE. What is that sound, Gertrude?
GERTRUDE. Listen! [_Another and more prolonged distant sound, with long reverberations._
MADELINE. Again! Gertrude! [GERTRUDE _raises her hand to command silence; listens. Distant cannon again._
GERTRUDE. It is the opening of a battle.
MADELINE. Ah! [_Running down stage. The sounds again. Prolonged rumble._
GERTRUDE. How often have I heard that sound. [_Coming down._] This is war, Madeline! You are face to face with it now.
MADELINE. And Robert is there! He may be in the thickest of the danger--at this very moment.
GERTRUDE. Yes. Let our prayers go up for him; mine do, with all a sister's heart. [KERCHIVAL _enters on veranda, without coat or vest, his sash about his waist, looking back as he comes in._] Kerchival!
KERCHIVAL. Go on! Go on! Keep the battle to yourselves. I'm out of it.
[_The distant cannon and reverberations rising in volume. Prolonged and distant rumble._
MADELINE. I pray for Robert Ellingham--and for the _cause_ in which he risks his life! [KERCHIVAL _looks at her, suddenly; also_ GERTRUDE.]
Heaven forgive me if I am wrong, but I am praying for the enemies of my country. His people are my people, his enemies are my enemies.
Heaven defend him and his, in this awful hour.
KERCHIVAL. Madeline! My sister!
MADELINE. Oh, Kerchival! [_Turning and dropping her face on his breast._] I cannot help it--I cannot help it!
KERCHIVAL. My poor girl! Every woman's heart, the world over, belongs not to any country or any flag, but to her husband--and her lover.
Pray for the man you love, sister--it would be treason not to.
[_Pa.s.ses her before him to left. Looks across to_ GERTRUDE.] Am I right? [GERTRUDE _drops her head._ MADELINE _moves up veranda and out._] Is what I have said to Madeline true?
GERTRUDE. Yes! [_Looks up._] Kerchival!