The Guns of Bull Run | Page 6

the strange and subtle influence had increased.
The pulses in both temples were beating hard. He and Dick leaned
forward, their elbows upon the desk, their lips parted a little in
attention.
"You know," continued Dr. Russell in the full voice that trembled
slightly, "of the troubles that have arisen between the states, North and
South, troubles that the best Americans, with our own great Henry Clay
at the head, have striven to avert. You know of the election of Lincoln,
and how this beloved state of ours, seeking peace, voted for neither
Lincoln nor Breckinridge, both of whom are its sons."
The trembling of his voice increased and he paused again. It was
obvious that he was stirred by deep emotion and it communicated itself
to the boys. Harry was conscious that the thrill, longer and stronger
than before, ran again through the room.
"I have just received a letter from an old friend in Charleston,"
continued Dr. Russell in a shaking voice, "and he tells me that on the
twentieth, three days ago, the state of South Carolina seceded from the
Union. He also sends me copies of two of the Charleston newspapers of
the day following. In both of these papers all despatches from the other
states are put under the head, 'Foreign News.' With the Abolitionists of
New England pouring abuse upon all who do not agree with them, and
the hot heads of South Carolina rushing into violence, God alone
knows what will happen to this distracted country that all of us love so
well."

He turned anew to his correspondence. But Harry saw that he was
trembling all over. An excited murmur arose. The boys began to talk
about the news, and the principal, his thoughts far away, did not call
them to order.
"I suppose since South Carolina has gone out that other southern states
will do the same," said Harry to his cousin, "and that two republics will
stand where but one stood before."
"I don't know that the second result will follow the first," replied Dick
Mason.
Harry glanced at him. He was conscious of a certain cold tenacity in
Dick's voice. He felt that a veil of antagonism had suddenly been drawn
between these two who were the sons of sisters and who had been close
comrades all their lives. His heart swelled suddenly. As if by
inspiration, he saw ahead long and terrible years. He said no more, but
gazed again at the pages of his Tacitus, although the letters only swam
before his eyes.
The great buzz subsided at last, although there was not one among the
boys who was not still thinking of the secession of South Carolina.
They had shared in the excitement of the previous year. A few had
studied the causes, but most were swayed by propinquity and kinship,
which with youth are more potent factors than logic.
The afternoon passed slowly. Dr. Russell, who always heard the
recitations of the seniors in Latin, did not call the class. Harry was so
much absorbed in other thoughts that he did not notice the fact. Outside,
the clouds still gathered and the soft beat of the snow on the window
panes never ceased. The hour of dismissal came at last and the older
boys, putting on their overcoats, went silently out. Harry did not dream
that he had passed the doors of Pendleton Academy for the last time, as
a student.
While the seniors were quiet, there was no lack of noise from the
younger lads. Snowballs flew and the ends of red comforters, dancing
in the wind, touched the white world with glowing bits of color. Harry

looked at them with a sort of pity. The magnified emotions of youth
had suddenly made him feel very old and very responsible. When a
snowball struck him under the ear he paid no attention to it, a mark of
great abstraction in him.
He and his cousin walked gravely on, and left the shouting crowd
behind them. Three or four hundred yards further, they came upon the
main street of Pendleton, a town of fifteen hundred people, important in
its section as a market, and as a financial and political center. It had two
banks as solid as stone, and it was the proud boast of its inhabitants that,
excepting Louisville and Lexington, its bar was of unequalled talent in
the state. Other towns made the same claim, but no matter. Pendleton
knew that they were wrong. Lawyers stood very high, especially when
they were fluent speakers.
It was a singular fact that the two boys, usually full of talk, after the
manner of youth, did not speak until they came to the parting of their
ways. Then Harry, the more emotional of the two, and conscious that