Stand By The Union | Page 3

had been
awakened from his sleep by the opening of the door of his chamber.
Some member of the family might be sick, and he might be needed to
go for the doctor, or for some other service.
He leaped from his bed when no answer came to his second demand,
lighted his lamp, and put on his trousers. With the light in his hand, he

opened the door; but there was no one there, and not a sound of any
kind could be heard. He walked about the hall in his bare feet, and
listened attentively at the doors of several of the chambers, especially at
that of Mr. Pembroke, the invalid gentleman whom, with his daughter,
he had brought home as a passenger in the captured Vixen.
Christy heard nothing, and he silently descended the stairs to the lower
hall. All was as quiet there as upon the floor above, and he had begun
to think that the impression he had received had been given him in a
dream, though he could not remember that he had been dreaming. But
when he came to the front door, he found it was ajar. It was usually
secured by a spring lock, and those who were liable to be out in the
evening were provided with night-keys.
At the present time his father was in Washington, and he could not
have neglected to close the door. He had been to the railroad station to
meet the last train, thinking it possible that his father might return, and
he was confident that he had been the last to enter the house. He was
very sure that he had not left the door unfastened, and this assurance
made him confident that some person had entered the house. The noise
at the door of his chamber was not an illusion or a dream: though it had
been made by closing rather than by opening it, or he would have been
likely to find the intruder in his room when he lighted his lamp.
It seemed to him to be a matter of course that the midnight visitor had
come into the mansion for the purpose of plundering its occupants, or
of securing the valuables it contained. Putting his lamp on the table, he
went out upon the veranda, and looked all about him. The grounds were
very extensive, and a broad avenue led to the street. It was very dark;
but as he cast his eyes in the direction of the grand entrance to the
estate, he discovered some dark object in motion; but he lost sight of it
in a moment.
It was a living being, or it would not move, and he was certain that he
had made a discovery. Then two regrets flashed through his mind as he
stepped down from the veranda; the first, that he had not put on his
shoes before he left his chamber, and the second, that he had not taken
his pistols, for a bullet would travel a great deal faster than a barefooted

officer, even of the United States Navy. But he ran with all his speed to
the street, to the great detriment of his uncovered feet.
He reached the grand entrance in an exceedingly short space of time;
but he might as well have been in his chamber, for no ruffian, robber,
or Confederate spy could be seen. He had no means of knowing which
way the intruder at the mansion had turned, to the right or the left, or
whether, like the timid colored gentleman in a trying situation, he had
taken to the woods. Christy walked up the street, and then down the
street; but the underbrush had recently been cut in the grove, and he did
not venture to explore it without any protection for his feet.
He peered into the gloom of the night with all his eyes, and listened
with all his ears for over an hour; and then, watchful and careful officer
as he was, there were five hundred chances against him to one in his
favor, of finding the intruder, and he reluctantly returned to the
mansion.
Like the other male occupants of the house, the lieutenant was provided
with a night-key. For one who had only just developed a tolerably
thriving mustache, Christy was a prudent and methodical young
gentleman. As a part of his method, he had a great many small drawers
in his rooms, and a dozen or more keys; but he had never lost them, for
the reason that he carried them chained to his nether garment. But he
had two sets of keys, one for the house, and one for the ship. He had
taken the night-key from the former, and put it in his vest pocket; and
when he reached