- •Is included. We do not keep any eBooks in compliance with a particular
- •I only want--" She caught herself but not in time.
- •It, fearing that he would box her ears for her impertinence.
- •Vitally interested every one else.
- •In spite of her choked-back tears, Scarlett thrilled to the never-
- •It had ever curved in silly girlish giggling or whispered secrets
- •Irishman who has been a tenant on the lands his people once had
- •Into the distance on four sides belonged to Gerald o'Hara--were
- •Independence wrung from neighboring families. Old Slattery, who
- •In which a pony of Bourbon had been poured over a teaspoon of
- •Irishman from up the country. Savannah buzzed behind its doors
- •It was the threat of the convent that finally won the assent of
- •Informality that was new to Ellen, an informality to which she
- •In time, learned to admire the frankness and forthrightness of
- •If she knew little about men's minds, she knew even less about the
- •In a ferment over the dreadful news she had heard about Ashley and
- •Indian blood was plain in her features, overbalancing the negroid
- •Veil after her lover's death and, with silent tears of enjoyment
- •If they had not happened at all. Ellen ignored all things
- •It left no doubt in anyone's mind as to her exact views on any
- •It tomorrow night at Twelve Oaks. Won't you please fix it?"
- •Insults."
- •Into shadows. Ellen arranged her skirts and sank to the floor on
- •Impressed with the fact that every one of them wanted her, and
- •Voiced and plaintive.
- •Irritably. "And I'll try to eat a little afterwards. If I ate
- •In her affection. She was pretty and she knew it; she would have
- •Varicolored carpet of scarlet and orange and rose. There was a
- •It was impossible to feel anything but palpitating joy in this
- •Indignantly. "And Mrs. Tarleton takes a toss at every hunt."
- •In summers, the County averaged a barbecue and ball nearly every
- •Voice like a brass gong."
- •It just doesn't work. You get good lines, perhaps, but no
- •I mean? That family needs new blood, fine vigorous blood like my
- •In the bedroom where the wraps were laid, she found Cathleen
- •It. Well, this Mr. Butler took a Charleston girl out buggy
- •I wish I had gotten Ashley to compromise me, thought Scarlett
- •Instructive affairs.
- •Illusion that was heightened by the shy, almost frightened look in
- •In winter when brown leaves shine up through quiet water.
- •Vowed that she'd never believe anything any man told her. But
- •Interested in such matters. He took her expression to mean
- •If this fool who was grappling for her hand would only keep quiet
- •Induce Mr. McRae to return to his seat in the shade.
- •In a month! Gentlemen always fight better than rabble. A month--
- •Indignantly, the hot blood coming to her cheeks.
- •India rose tiredly from her seat beneath the arbor and went toward
- •If she should meet Mr. Wilkes? What excuse could she give for
- •In her eyes that he had never seen before, and even in the dim
- •Into her.
- •I knew you wouldn't understand. How could I help caring for you--
- •It. Then he was gone before she could speak again, closing the
- •Viciously across the room toward the fireplace. It barely cleared
- •In and lay herself on one of the beds beside the sleeping girls.
- •Interrupting, Scarlett felt herself go cold with fear and
- •In the front yard. How fragile and tender women are, he thought,
- •It'll be over in a month and we'll have them howling. Yes, sir!
- •It was called into service, Scarlett set the date of her wedding
- •In the midst of this turmoil, preparations went forward for
- •It was all very dreamlike, the passage through the aisle of
- •In due time, Charles' son was born and, because it was fashionable
- •In the garden swing and making her squeal with laughter. Deeply
- •In the twilight, still smiled at her from drowsy gray eyes in the
- •It was this refusal of food that worried Ellen and Mammy more than
- •Visit her o'Hara and Robillard relatives in Savannah and then to
- •In prison. There was more social life here than at Aunt
- •Irritated her so much that during one formal call she aped
- •Is as bad as Miss Pitty an' she lak a chile 'bout gittin' her
- •Intoxicating affair. She would never have arrived at this
- •Iron statuary on the lawns of Atlanta now, for they had early
- •Vacant lots between. Finally the business section fell behind and
- •It was hoped, would make suitable matches under the guidance of
- •Inheritance, had tripled in value since the war began. It was
- •Interested her not at all, and nursing was something she did
- •I just wanted to see them go by. I wish I was going."
- •Indignation at being misunderstood mingled with Scarlett's forlorn
- •I miss. And--and besides she's got Ashley and I--I haven't got
- •Is wounded."
- •It would look better for us both to be there instead of just one.
- •In the center of the hall the huge ugly lamp, hanging from the
- •Into a slow rendition of "Lorena"--too slow for dancing, the
- •Voice shouted the command to break ranks. In a moment, the Home
- •I just can't help crying about it."
- •It was high tide of devotion and pride in their hearts, high tide
- •In body or spirit before. At first she tried to stifle the
- •Indiscretion of tongue or eye. With old gentlemen, a girl was
- •Indiscriminately and teased about beaux and complimented husbands
- •Virginia," she said, and she did not trouble to lower her voice.
- •I'll bet we could lick the Yankees in a month if all the militia
- •It would be a pleasure to renew acquaintances."
- •It. He was jeering at her. He knew she hadn't loved Charles.
- •Indefatigable and patriotic efforts have made this bazaar not only
- •Ind. The gold will be melted and the stones sold and the money
- •It was embarrassing to be the only person present who was giving
- •In the small palm. Then it was laid gently on the pile of
- •Vital and electric. All that was Irish in her rose to the
- •Is a girl of rare spirit. She knows what she wants and she
- •Into his trap.
- •It's more convenient than going to England. Sometimes it's a bit
- •If you wish to lead a reel with the lady of your choice, you must
- •Impossible for her to appear on the floor. She saw Rhett's
- •It did not occur to her that the idea was Rhett Butler's. It came
- •In the world, she didn't want Melly for a defender. She could
- •In the South, and now she believed it. The bazaar had taken place
- •In a frightened way, like a baby who fears a scolding and hopes to
- •Its demands, the knavish stupidity of Jefferson Davis and the
- •Indistinct figures alight. Someone was with him. Two figures
- •Infuriated at Gerald for putting her in a position where this man
- •It when her fluttering heart made her faint--or seem to faint.
- •In the center of a crowd of men. And men fell in love so easily,
- •Virginal little room and it lay still and warm in the slanting
- •I'll think about it tomorrow." Generally when tomorrow came, the
- •Instead, I see Twelve Oaks and remember how the moonlight slants
- •I do not belong in this mad present of killing and I fear I will
- •Is there. Do you remember at the barbecue, the day our engagement
- •In days gone by.
- •It was as though when writing Melanie, Ashley tried to ignore the
- •Is! If I'd just understood this one thing about him years ago, I
- •Intimacy of body or spirit.
- •Is Over."
- •Immediately asked for her hand did not improve matters. Mrs.
- •Is Over" with an arch meaning Scarlett found well-nigh
- •Impact, something in the impertinence and bland mockery of his
- •In the house.
- •Insolence, as if all women were his property to be enjoyed in his
- •Irritably, he cocks his eyebrow up and smiles that nasty, knowing
- •Included in his career, as Atlanta heard it.
- •In itself was enough to attract attention to him, for the uniforms
- •Into the making of battle flags. Useless for the patriotic Mrs.
- •It nevertheless. They were as isolated from the world of fashion
- •It was as though he bore an impersonal contempt for everyone and
- •In the field, but he took pleasure in tricking the dignified
- •In his cheek. She knew that he was acting the part of the dashing
- •It was at Mrs. Elsing's silver musicale for the benefit of the
- •Voice sounded as if he were humbly seeking information.
- •Intended to hear and, turning, surveyed the room for a moment. He
- •Is just and holy should be hanged! I don't want to hear of you
- •I mean, I'll let the men folks do the thinking, because they are
- •Very well that England and France are coming in on our side in no
- •It is? So many things that one must do because they've always
- •It made sense. There were such a lot of foolish things about life
- •If I got a dollar a pound."
- •It meant nothing to her, smiling at her reflection in the mirror.
- •Innovation of dress or hair.
- •Into the room with her.
- •Vicinity. And Melanie had been talking with her. No wonder Uncle
- •In which some coins were knotted.
- •In her top drawer was a handkerchief just like this, one that
- •Vengeance. Now the Yankees would know what it meant to have the
- •Into the sky as if incredulous that it was clear and blue instead
- •In gray and butternut with the Rebel yell on their lips would
- •I hear. And I'm not going to let Scarlett leave me, either."
- •Venomous of epithets. He paid no heed to anyone but raised his hat
- •It! Oh, for God's sake, Auntie, Melly, pick up the salts! Hold
- •In his hand before the war. About the blue cloth, when it comes to
- •In Atlanta were crudely made wool hats, and they were tackier than
- •It was the same at supper where they all plied him with questions
- •It seemed to Scarlett that he was talking fervishly to keep them
- •Voices or of tears came from behind the closed door of Melanie's
- •Internal wound. She rose as he entered, thinking with proprietary
- •Value it all the more. Put it on me, my dear. The boys will be
- •I'll live on it for the rest of my life!"
- •It was the greatest feat of the war, and Atlanta took pride and
- •Victory never wavered. But the war was dragging out so long.
- •In the state troops for whom the army was frantic, but the
- •It did not produce, but now it could neither sell nor buy. Gerald
- •It over and decided that, in a choice between the Church and
- •Isn't it wonderful? I've so envied you Wade and so wanted a baby.
- •Isn't it too wonderful? Oh, Scarlett, I don't know how I shall
- •Illinois. In their first joy, they could think of nothing except
- •Island than hear he had taken that oath. I'd be proud of him if he
- •Voice quavering, for in her heart she was certain Ashley was dead.
- •In the man? And how could dear Melly defend him?
- •Vast army in another semicircle, crossed the Oostanaula River and
- •It was most unbecoming to have strange men in the house when
- •Increase of frightened refugees crowding into the already crowded
- •Insisted they could have managed the campaign better and drew maps
- •Visit. Much good this did her, for that worthy matron, her sleeves
- •It'll have to come off."
- •In the world and that in itself was startling these days, when
- •Vast relief that she had made her escape.
- •Veterans. I'm talking about brave young men like Willie Guinan who
- •Immediately he regretted his last remark, as her eyes widened with
- •In one or maybe it was his Pa, and Pa told me--"
- •I've read a good deal about sieges, beleaguered cities and the
- •Immortal soul by kissing you?"
- •It, tried to talk, to laugh, to carry on their business, just as
- •Very doors of Atlanta. Another retreat might bring the
- •Is he doing here?" She fought her way through the crowd to the
- •Into a wetter July and the Confederates, fighting desperately
- •In the warm wet summer nights, Atlanta's homes stood open to the
- •In that fight and the remainder slogged tiredly through the rain
- •Valley of Peachtree Creek. Atlanta was in agony and panic.
- •Veterans now, veterans of brief service, but veterans just the
- •Victory. There was fear in every heart but, now that they knew the
- •In martial lines but failed. She'd go to Macon and stay with her
- •In premature labor at least, judging by Aunt Pitty's alarmed
- •In response to Ellen's letters, pleading with her to come home, she
- •Irritated her. Wade was terrified to speechlessness by the
- •Volcano, but until that volcano erupted there was nothing they
- •It was unreal, grotesquely unreal, that morning skies which dawned
- •Voice came from the shadows: "Madam, my abject apologies for
- •I'll wager even dowagers like Mrs. Merriwether . . ."
- •Is home."
- •In love with Ashley. But how to explain this feeling that made her
- •Information, crowds massed about the telegraph office and the depot
- •In agonies. . . . And the lazy streams were redder now than ever
- •Into the house. She hesitated again before going upstairs to
- •It, so that her note was uppermost, she caught Gerald's words,
- •Intervals her quiet face was wrenched with pain.
- •I'm so sorry I'm so much trouble."
- •Imagination or if the sound of cannon in the distance had died
- •Is gittin' beat. Oh, Gawd, Miss Scarlett! Whut'll happen ter Maw
- •In the hospitals, wounded men on Aunt Pitty's lawn after the
- •If she did not find Dr. Meade soon, she would begin screaming with
- •It through herself. Thank God, Prissy knew all about midwifery.
- •It was going to be difficult, telling Melanie that she and Prissy
- •In through minute holes in the shades and about the edges. The
- •It was all over. Melanie was not dead and the small baby boy who
- •Interval in which her breathing finally quieted and her mind
- •Incoherently here and there, thinking how soon the flames would
- •Voice yelping like a lost hound. Prissy broke into the room and,
- •It looked and sounded like the end of the world.
- •Impossible to pack anything. Impossible to do anything but sit
- •If you got there, you'd probably find it burned down. I won't let
- •Interlaced above their heads, dark silent houses loomed up on
- •It. It comes out right near the MacIntosh place and that's only a
- •I want time to make a brave speech before departing for the wars."
- •Into her swaying, darkened mind, cold sanity came back with a rush
- •In the darkness. Scarlett could hear his heavy breathing, and her
- •I doubt if she could live through all the pain. Take good care of
- •It was too late. She leaned her head against the bowed neck of the
- •It all came back to her now, the nightmare journey after Rhett's
- •It. Then Scarlett saw with relief the faint rise and fall of her
- •In all her life. Muscles she did not know she possessed ached from
- •In the Bible had done just that thing. Cursed God and died. She
- •Veils, never handled reins without gloves to protect the white skin
- •In her exhaustion she hated Melanie, hated the tiny mewing voice of
- •Its mouth, it lowed again as if in pain.
- •It up and tie her to the back of the wagon."
- •It could have grown so steep since she saw it last. The horse
- •If she left the shelter of the wagon. But she laid the baby beside
- •If he believed she was part of a dream. Putting out his hand, he
- •Very ill--I brought her home."
- •Is glad you back! Sho is--"
- •In her mind Gerald spoke.
- •Voice steady. To her surprise, words came out as coolly and
- •In the cellar. A memory stirred.
- •If he says "They" once more, I'll scream. I can't help it, she
- •In the stable."
- •In the silence that fell, Scarlett saw her mother as she must have
- •Inherited the steadiest head in Clayton County?"
- •Into the dark hall and up the winding steps toward Gerald's room.
- •It fer some ice ter put on mah gals' haids.'
- •Image with the sleeping pink morsel against her dark breast--all a
- •It where there was no pain and weariness and her brain saw things
- •It. He must get over it. What will I do if he doesn't?--I won't
- •Inter de swamp de day de Yankees come, but de Lawd knows how we
- •Its taxes. What we need now is something to eat."
- •Instead of heavy quilted calico, while the dust floating upward
- •Into the soil. There was nothing for her here.
- •In her eyes. No sooner had the lump gone down than her empty
- •It was her gentle hardihood which irritated Scarlett more than the
- •Its loss. In the flight from Atlanta, he had understood nothing
- •Inferiors, especially darkies." But if she was gentle the darkies
- •In her mind, stories Aunt Pittypat had whispered of attacks on
- •Vegetables brought painfully from Twelve Oaks and the MacIntosh
- •Into its holster and moving into the hall until he stood directly
- •In the feel of his warm blood on her bare feet. She had struck a
- •Voice, Scarlett thought hard.
- •It were the sweetest of perfumes, hardtack and, her face changing,
- •In the excitement, now gave a tremendous throb that made her grit
- •In her. After all--after all, Melanie had dragged herself from bed
- •Vines were rotten and that night Scarlett hacked at them with the
- •It. But then, that's what a man gets for marrying a Yankee woman--
- •It was a relief to hear the truth put so baldly. How good the old
- •Inevitable time when warm clothing would be needed. And each warm
- •Vehemently that she had never even been a yard nigger. She had
- •In spite of Scarlett's problem of getting help from the others in
- •In the Yankee's wallet until they had to be spent. Next spring
- •Voices. Even in her frenzy, Scarlett wished she had Melanie with
- •If only the shoats were safe! If only the family had gotten safely
- •Intolerably from burns. Smoke was still rolling from the quarters,
- •In other days Pork's pilferings would have been a serious matter,
- •I do? Where shall I turn? Isn't there anybody in the world who
- •It?" whispered Suellen happily to Scarlett. Suellen was raised to
- •In the swamp. These hungry men could devour the whole shoat at one
- •It was inconceivable that the bustling town they knew, so full of
- •If that old darky, Peter, will let her come. Lots of the Atlanta
- •Into South Carolina."
- •I've got on. You see, when I enlisted I sold most of my land and I
- •I'll send Suellen to you so you can--well, so you'll have a little
- •I'm not interested. I never was interested. War is a man's
- •In their paddock. Mules are misbegotten, unnatural critters and it
- •Isn't the worst part about this. It's the loss of the men, the
- •In the matter of "comp'ny" Mammy was equally adamant. No lice-
- •It took days riding on a train to make the trip and if Ashley was
- •If there are two or three famished soldiers out there, none of us
- •Vent to loud guffaws at hearing the detractor of their beloved Tara
- •Vindicated himself. "Ah ain' talkin' about perteckin'. Ah's
- •It gen'ly ter Miss Melly,' an' Ah say--"
- •It. Clutching the letter to her, she raced up the porch steps and
- •In the first rush of joy when her eyes met those words, they had
- •It helps me. Every time I give some poor man my share I think that
- •Information.
- •Voice. "I hope I ain't troubled you too much, Ma'm."
- •It was September and time to pick the cotton. Will Benteen sat on
- •I'll do it. Then it'll be good for something."
- •Incoherent cries threw herself into the dirty soldier's arms and
- •Insolent. This last she could hardly believe, for she had never
- •In charge of the local Bureau, and his assistant was Hilton,
- •Issued many and conflicting orders governing the conduct of the
- •If he was on the tax books for more than two thousand dollars in
- •I can't be reconstructed into it. I ain't goin' to take their oath
- •It for enough to pay the taxes, if we had to."
- •If only Ashley were her husband, instead of Melanie's, how sweet it
- •If ever there was one. What's to become of us all?"
- •It has been interesting, if not comfortable, to witness a
- •I realize the bitterness of our situation, living here on your
- •In her heart.
- •I'd work for you, Ashley. I'd do anything for you. You know you
- •If I hated them both? Break Melanie's heart? Leave them both to
- •It seemed as if her neck would snap if he shook her again. She was
- •In the dim grayness of the parlor she fought a quick decisive
- •In the dull twilight of the winter afternoon she came to the end of
- •Its old face. She had hoped that Ashley's return would bring back
- •Into the room. She closed the window and leaned her head against
- •I've got to do it!" She hammered one small fist into the other.
- •If necessary. But what was a mortgage, after all? Scarlett said
- •Is the one I'm going to work on Rhett Butler. . . . They won't
- •Vocabulary as gallantry, knew she would have stared blankly if he
- •It ter mek money fer us."
- •It before. This muddy street down which she had driven a thousand
- •In de Tarleton fambly. It look--well, it look dyed ter me!"
- •Imagine that! Sometimes there were two dozen Yankees standing in
- •It because, while she took in fine sewing and Fanny painted china
- •Insulted a white woman. And the Yankees are very upset because so
- •It is to get anything sensible out of him."
- •Inquiringly: "Yes, Mammy?" and Scarlett, coming back from dreams,
- •I won't be able to go. And a day in bed would be such a lovely
- •It sounded. She shivered. Forever, thunder would mean cannon and
- •Into her pierced ears the diamond earrings she had brought from
- •It's warm? I'll go see what I can do about it. What is your name?
- •I think of joining the army in varnished boots and a white linen
- •Instead and the dimple crept into her cheek. He had drawn a chair
- •I always remembered you and wondered what you were doing."
- •In a moment he would ask her to marry him--or at least say that he
- •Very quiet. "And drop that demure expression."
- •It's frankness. But no, you had to come jingling your earbobs and
- •In his pockets. "Cotton prices are dropping. Times are so hard
- •It's home. I won't let it go. Not while I've got breath left in
- •It all, worth more.
- •Very much. The realization that I'm to be executed was too much
- •Voice cried in accents of pleasure and astonishment: "Surely, it
- •It wasn't long before the war was over and--well, there was a lot
- •I mean?"
- •In anger and apprehension and her lip was pushed out farther than
- •Voice Scarlett had ever heard: "Lamb, huccome you din' tell yo' own
- •In spite of her pleasure at the welcome, Scarlett felt a slight
- •In his black eyes and the Creole zest for living but, for all his
- •Indomitable form of his new mother-in-law. "The only reason we
- •Inviting and one of them, the largest, had stood in the place of
- •Insulted. And they were remembering graves.
- •If things drove them as she was driven, dead lovers, maimed
- •It? They were beyond her comprehension and vaguely irritating.
- •If one was to conquer them. Scarlett knew that family tradition
- •In every word he uttered were balm upon the wound left by Suellen's
- •It was a shame that such a fine little woman should be alone and
- •It was hard to realize that Atlanta and not Tara was her permanent
- •If she were a man she would have that mill, if she had to mortgage
- •Vexed if you take on so. I'll go to town and see how things are."
- •Intimate friends--wouldn't it have been wiser to wait until I got
- •Influence, and so I was released. Influence is everything, and
- •In strictest confidence (that means, don't tell Miss Pittypat!)
- •I wouldn't have that on my conscience."
- •I have the right to know, after your little trip out to the jail
- •I must decline to lend it."
- •Interest in it."
- •It's obvious that you still care about him--"
- •Voice which Scarlett did not understand but did not like to hear.
- •Voice. "I see. He loves you for your mind alone."
- •Intended to run it herself. "Go into the lumber business myself,"
- •Ignoring his hint that she should sell. "Mr. Johnson says he never
- •It was not that Frank had never seen commanding women before this.
- •Invited to meals and parties and fewer and fewer people came to
- •Vote. Why, there's hardly a handful of Democrats in the whole
- •I don't know what he said to her. I guess I'll never know now.
- •It at night when no one would know who it was? a sight more good
- •Various cities had complete power, even the power of life and
- •In slave days, these lowly blacks had been despised by the house
- •In its fanaticism, the former field hands found themselves suddenly
- •It's as good as yours now. Take it, if you can get it!"
- •Interested in political matters to provide the care the plantation
- •It or given aid and comfort to it were not allowed to vote, had no
- •In spite of war, fire and Reconstruction, Atlanta had again become
- •In this period, Atlanta was more ill bred and Yankeefied than it
- •Indifference to material wants. Dr. Meade could tell unlovely
- •In the showy big houses and, just around the corners, slow
- •Into promises of buying from her and her only.
- •Importuning of many eager Carpetbaggers, she finally decided to
- •Indignantly that from the way Scarlett was acting she was likely to
- •It was hard not to curse them to their faces. But she restrained
- •Inside for a cup of tea. Scarlett seldom refused, no matter how
- •If ever I get money enough, I'll spit in all their faces! I'll--
- •In silence. Peter's sniffles stopped and his underlip began to
- •Invasion when they could have fled or joined the troops for lives
- •In deference to the feelings of Frank and Pitty who would have been
- •Voice shaking.
- •It's more sensible than our way of trying to ignore it. It's a
- •Immeasurably and she would always chew coffee or gargle cologne to
- •I'll go home in June. I can't do anything here after that. I'll
- •If she talked about him and she mustn't cry, not until she was
- •It as if it were highly interesting. "Suellen ain't as bad as you
- •If he splits kindlin', like as not he'll slice off his foot. He
- •Into Jonesboro or over to Fayetteville. 'Specially as some of
- •Iron Clad oath and not even know it."
- •Voice. He was singin' 'Peg in a Low-backed Car' and beatin' the
- •In the absence of a priest Ashley was to conduct the services with
- •Irresponsibility.
- •Indecorous notes in the solemn occasion, their russet eyes still
- •In tears and the bereaved feminine relatives screaming with grief.
- •It did not come back to him readily and he spoke slowly,
- •In that couldn't nothin' stop him when his mind was made up and he
- •Inside. I mean to say that what the whole world couldn't do, his
- •In now. From what I hear, he's the worst plow hand in the County!
- •It, I say. And get every cent out of them you can, but when you've
- •It ter me, Miss Scnrlett? Dat watch belong by rights ter lil Wade
- •Interest in the mill. Not once did his eyes meet hers and he spoke
- •Into silence. There was a determined squareness about his slender
- •Indeed, than a woman. Such thoughts aren't pleasant to live with
- •I bury forever any hope of ever standing alone."
- •Voice saying her name over and over above her head. There was a
- •Interest and he--"
- •It'll mean for us to live in Atlanta among our own people and not
- •In the fields and then they, too, would come to town.
- •India was not easy to live with these days.
- •Very obvious. Like her body, her face was too thin and too pale and
- •Immediately the fires which smoldered beneath tight basques flamed
- •I haven't the right to speak on this matter, for none of my loved
- •If they were enemies. If Charlie were dead in the North it would
- •In the nights of the late summer her small, feebly lighted house
- •In your home, for you--and ladies like you--are the hearts of all
- •It was only Ashley who drew her to the house, for the conversations
- •Increasing impudence of the negroes and the outrages of the
- •If! If! The soft drawling voices quickened with an old excitement
- •It, the better we'll be."
- •If he permitted her to do it.
- •Immediately take hold and make the mill pay double what it had paid
- •It was a torture to have her mills in the hands of two men with no
- •In this atmosphere, as nerve straining as watching a slow fuse burn
- •I hates niggers--Yankees too."
- •It was such outspoken rudeness as this that threw Scarlett into
- •In fact, Mrs. Merriwether related to Mrs. Meade the complete
- •It seemed to Scarlett that after Archie came to work for her Frank
- •I paying you for? I'll have to make Mr. Wilkes stop what he's
- •In it. It isn't as though he didn't have a horse of his own. He
- •Interest in the legislature, feeling that its doings could hardly
- •Illustration in a book Wade was always pestering her to read aloud.
- •In your life. You're too lazy. All you ever do is finance
- •It for prying. Give me a smile and let's be pleasant for a minute
- •It was one of the few times she had ever seen him with his mask
- •In your mill."
- •Is pity."
- •Is gone."
- •Interest. My pretty, there are penalties in the business world for
- •It. . . . Or that poor devil, Tommy Wellburn, who does two men's
- •Important when a boat is sinking. But look around you at your
- •It was really Big Sam, she shoved the pistol down into the
- •Is iggerunt folks! He din' know de diffunce! So Ah stayed wid him
- •It some other time. . . . Miss Suellen is at Tara and she's
- •I spend enough money on their food to make them fat as hogs. The
- •Irish potatoes. Well, where are they? You can't have used them
- •Into the lumber room of her mind and shut the door upon it.
- •Vicious old watchdog and they four small kittens.
- •Innocuous channels. This irritated Scarlett almost beyond
- •Itself to Scarlett, making her more nervous than before. Handling
- •India was on her feet, her lean body quivering with insult.
- •In shaking fingers while her eyes, wide as a frightened child's
- •India's eyes met Melanie's in wild fear. Scarlett rose, flinging
- •Intrusion?"
- •In front of Yankees too, that both of them were too drunk to walk.
- •India snapped down the last shade and started on flying feet for
- •In his voice. "He won't die. Now, go take the lamp and hold it
- •If you called me 'Melly' without the Miss! I feel as though you
- •In a dreadful place like that!"
- •I see now it was necessary to take them there but-- Oh, Captain
- •Irritably that they were too old for such goings on, they wanted to
- •In that place."
- •Idea! I come up here as soon as 'twas dark to tell you you mustn't
- •I don't care. I wouldn't of minded if all their husbands got hung.
- •If there were only someone who could comfort her, quiet her fears,
- •It when you needed it. In fact, brandy was good almost any time,
- •If he laughed at her she would die, right then. But he did not
- •If he had married Sister Sue, she might not have caused his death
- •Incredible. Once she had planned how she would torment him should
- •It. But all a woman gets out of it is something to eat and a lot
- •Interval. By the way, just how long is a 'decent interval'?"
- •It is love which makes me so bold!"
- •Insistent mouth was parting her shaking lips, sending wild tremors
- •Volition. But even as she spoke it, a sudden calm fell on her
- •It was not that they regretted their men were still alive. It was
- •Its climax, and the state's humiliation was complete.
- •Irritating talk with Grandpa. The old man had remarked that she
- •Very proper, too. Surely you can't be thinking of marrying a man
- •Investigation."
- •Including a high silk coachman's hat with a brush upon it, dress
- •It was made of angels' wings. I'll buy Mammy some red taffeta and
- •It was exciting to go out with him for he was so handsome. Somehow
- •Itself, because Scarlett had thought life could teach her no more.
- •Interest to details of her businesses, nodding approval at her
- •Into living in Miss Pitty's house, but not me. I don't believe I
- •I was looking at. It was modeled after a Swiss chalet."
- •I wouldn't put it beyond you. In fact, I wouldn't put anything
- •Intend to call, and I think they should. Somehow, it's hard for me
- •India's face went white but her head was high.
- •India leaped to her feet, red flooding her sallow face.
- •I had the only whole pair of shoes. You can forget those things
- •In your own petty minds, I do not care, for that is your business.
- •If it were something that mattered it wouldn't be so hard to hear
- •It's only decent that the families of the men Captain Butler saved
- •Violence at the hands of Melanie. Where he got this idea, Scarlett
- •Idly, as there were in Belle Watling's establishment. Interspread
- •In the house, only pinched his ear playfully and said: "Fiddle-
- •Inch from her stand that Rhett was a mule in horse harness. She
- •Very sorry for her some years hence, when the Republican rule was
- •In the weeks that followed her first party, Scarlett was hard put
- •It was hard to say which class was more cordially hated by the
- •Indirection, hints and feminine angling. He had a disconcerting
- •Infuriated when he replied with an amused gleam in his eyes: "I
- •Very much, almost as much as he feared her, and the thought of her
- •It was so peppery that it stung his eyes to tears and he began to
- •In this grown-up ceremony diverted him.
- •Into the cellaret and producing a squat bottle. "She is a beautiful
- •Very well for a man to love his child but she felt there was
- •If Johnnie can make this much with them--"
- •It. Your--Rhett Butler. Everything he touches he poisons. And he
- •If he was startled at her unexpected statement he did not show it.
- •I would have no sense of shame for anything I did, for I made a
- •In the road. . . . Don't bother, son. You don't have to go to any
- •I'm going to have her humiliated like Wade for things that aren't
- •In this town, especially Mrs. Merriwether, Mrs. Elsing, Mrs.
- •It was a glorious spree for the gang which had Georgia by the
- •It had been years since he had chosen to do this but he did it now,
- •It was Ashley's birthday and Melanie was giving him a surprise
- •I'm a terrible goose and you know it."
- •Invite me to receive with her and India and Aunt Pitty?"
- •Impulse to snatch off her bonnet and toss it into the air and cry
- •Very nearness would have set her a-tremble. Now she felt a curious
- •In the garden at Twelve Oaks and said: "I won't look back," she
- •Voice, the touch of his hand were softly unlocking doors that she
- •I do then? she thought frenziedly, the tears streaming down her
- •It in this town as long as you live. And while I may endure a
- •In her chemise, perhaps that frightening look would leave his face.
- •In his hand, his voice cool and soft. The music stopped as they
- •In the wrong. Tomorrow the memory of this hideous night would not
- •Into the dark hall, her backless slippers making a great clatter in
- •Intended to make.
- •Impressions in her mind.
- •In her life she had felt alive, felt passion as sweeping and
- •Very drunk, as you doubtless know, and quite swept off my feet by
- •I'd have told you. I've been living with her ever since the day
- •Intoxicating one, a gesture worth everything she might lose
- •Instincts arose, an instinct that would not let her masquerade in
- •Innocent and trusting person. She owed Melanie a debt for her
- •Vexed with me, dear, for saying that. I don't mean you've ever
- •India's eyes, he would see the truth shining there, truth and
- •It was characteristic of the regard in which Scarlett was held that
- •Interest in it and was sharp and cross with the clerks. Johnnie
- •Vexed, to win their confidence or affection. And now, it was
- •Intending to stay there forever.
- •It was going to be more difficult than she anticipated, greeting
- •It frightened her, the desperate choking sound he made. She had a
- •Its secrets, babbling the truth for the first time in his life,
- •Ill she's been. When she gets back from Tara she will start again
- •Into money. And they had fed and clothed any number of waifs who
- •In his eye. "Now will you let me lend you the money?"
- •Indian had been in progress when the time came to meet the train
- •If that was what he wanted, she could act her part too.
- •Value was the least reason. She could have sold them for large
- •It's your own business, Ashley, and far be it from me to tell you
- •In the time that followed her illness Scarlett noticed a change in
- •It was as though the swift flood of his life had been diverted into
- •In the flaring gas light he looked at her incuriously and then he
- •In power he's been desperately manufacturing Klan outrage stories
- •Isn't silly. People will remember for years that Bonnie sat on my
- •Insolent now. They were stunned, bewildered, afraid. And the
- •In dimity frocks and pinafores instead of blue taffeta and lace
- •Imagination. On days that were bright and clear the two could be
- •Intended him to put his fat body over the bar; Bonnie, who could
- •Into unnatural brightness. She could hear an Irish voice singing,
- •It doan do no good."
- •It. An' w'en Miss Scarlett come to, Ah think, bress Gawd! Now dey
- •Inter de house an' not even speak ter Miss Scarlett or Miss Pitty
- •Ventu' ter say: 'Mist Rhett, suh, what 'bout de fune'l?' Den he
- •Into it wearily, her shapeless body overflowing it. She sat still,
- •Into the room. Melanie looked tired and there were tears
- •Into resigned acceptance of her loss. Yet this eerie sense of
- •In front of the servants. She had been too busy remembering the
- •Indulgent to her wheedlings. Now she would willingly have humbled
- •In spite of herself. Now he was silently, morosely drunk and, as
- •Is to give him another baby just as quickly as you can."
- •It would be a comfort to sit with Maybelle, remembering that
- •Veteran too, but she had no cronies with whom she could refight old
- •Interminably through the wet early autumn afternoon, stopping at
- •It in. Melanie could not die. It was impossible for her to die.
- •Voice begging her to take the baby should she die--remember, too,
- •It up to her. I'll be so good to her. I'll never even speak to
- •It possibly could be.
- •It in the moment of discovery but there was still Ashley left.
- •It's too late to do anything. Oh, Ashley, men are supposed to know
- •Voice was in her ear.
- •I've got him and I don't want him. His damned honor will make him
- •Inevitable arrangements that follow a death made her throat
- •It better." But the charm had lost its potency. She had to think
- •In the world had gone out of it, life was in ruins and panic howled
- •In a marsh light, no more security than in quicksand. It was
- •It. And when Bonnie died-- Oh, how could I?"
- •In a kindly way, that frightened her.
- •Vividly all the kind things Melanie had ever done for her. "Why
- •Impersonal speculative way.
- •Voice like this once before and at some other crisis of her life.
- •It was the first time in her life she had been sorry for anyone
- •Impersonal kindness that was written so plainly in his face.
- •I'm not regretting anything I've ever done. I've had a hell of a
- •I'm that sentimental. Atlanta's too raw for me, too new."
- •I'm too old to believe in such sentimentalities as clean slates and
- •Instant of insensibility before their agony begins.
- •It stared them in the face, she raised her chin. She could get
Information, crowds massed about the telegraph office and the depot
hoping for tidings, good tidings, for everyone hoped that the
silence of Sherman's cannon meant that the Yankees were in full
retreat and the Confederates chasing them back up the road to
Dalton. But no news came. The telegraph wires were still, no
trains came in on the one remaining railroad from the south and the
mail service was broken.
Autumn with its dusty, breathless heat was slipping in to choke the
suddenly quiet town, adding its dry, panting weight to tired,
anxious hearts. To Scarlett, mad to hear from Tara, yet trying to
keep up a brave face, it seemed an eternity since the siege began,
seemed as though she had always lived with the sound of cannon in
her ears until this sinister quiet had fallen. And yet, it was
only thirty days since the siege began. Thirty days of siege! The
city ringed with red-clay rifle pits, the monotonous booming of
cannon that never rested, the long lines of ambulances and ox carts
dripping blood down the dusty streets toward the hospitals, the
overworked burial squads dragging out men when they were hardly
cold and dumping them like so many logs in endless rows of shallow
ditches. Only thirty days!
And it was only four months since the Yankees moved south from
Dalton! Only four months! Scarlett thought, looking back on that
far day, that it had occurred in another life. Oh, no! Surely not
just four months. It had been a lifetime.
Four months ago! Why, four months ago Dalton, Resaca, Kennesaw
Mountain had been to her only names of places on the railroad. Now
they were battles, battles desperately, vainly fought as Johnston
fell back toward Atlanta. And now, Peachtree Creek, Decatur, Ezra
Church and Utoy Creek were no longer pleasant names of pleasant
places. Never again could she think of them as quiet villages full
of welcoming friends, as green places where she picnicked with
handsome officers on the soft banks of slow-moving streams. These
names meant battles too, and the soft green grasses where she had
sat were cut to bits by heavy cannon wheels, trampled by desperate
feet when bayonet met bayonet and flattened where bodies threshed
In agonies. . . . And the lazy streams were redder now than ever
Georgia clay could make them. Peachtree Creek was crimson, so they
said, after the Yankees crossed it. Peachtree Creek, Decatur, Ezra
Church, Utoy Creek. Never names of places any more. Names of
graves where friends lay buried, names of tangled underbrush and
thick woods where bodies rotted unburied, names of the four sides
of Atlanta where Sherman had tried to force his army in and Hood's
men had doggedly beaten him back.
At last, news came from the south to the strained town and it was
alarming news, especially to Scarlett. General Sherman was trying
the fourth side of the town again, striking again at the railroad
at Jonesboro. Yankees in large numbers were on that fourth side of
the town now, no skirmishing units or cavalry detachments but the
massed Yankee forces. And thousands of Confederate troops had been
withdrawn from the lines close about the city to hurl themselves
against them. And that explained the sudden silence.
"Why Jonesboro?" thought Scarlett, terror striking at her heart at
the thought of Tara's nearness. "Why must they always hit
Jonesboro? Why can't they find some other place to attack the
railroad?"
For a week she had not heard from Tara and the last brief note from
Gerald had added to her fears. Carreen had taken a turn for the
worse and was very, very sick. Now it might be days before the
mails came through, days before she heard whether Carreen was alive
or dead. Oh, if she had only gone home at the beginning of the
siege, Melanie or no Melanie!
There was fighting at Jonesboro--that much Atlanta knew, but how
the battle went no one could tell and the most insane rumors
tortured the town. Finally a courier came up from Jonesboro with
the reassuring news that the Yankees had been beaten back. But
they had made a sortie into Jonesboro, burned the depot, cut the
telegraph wires and torn up three miles of track before they
retreated. The engineering corps was working like mad, repairing
the line, but it would take some time because the Yankees had torn
up the crossties, made bonfires of them, laid the wrenched-up rails
across them until they were red hot and then twisted them around
telegraph poles until they looked like giant corkscrews. These
days it was so hard to replace iron rails, to replace anything made
of iron.
No, the Yankees hadn't gotten to Tara. The same courier who
brought the dispatches to General Hood assured Scarlett of that.
He had met Gerald in Jonesboro after the battle, just as he was
starting to Atlanta, and Gerald had begged him to bring a letter to
her.
But what was Pa doing in Jonesboro? The young courier looked ill
at ease as he made answer. Gerald was hunting for an army doctor
to go to Tara with him.
As she stood in the sunshine on the front porch, thanking the young
man for his trouble, Scarlett felt her knees go weak. Carreen must
be dying if she was so far beyond Ellen's medical skill that Gerald
was hunting a doctor! As the courier went off in a small whirlwind
of red dust, Scarlett tore open Gerald's letter with fingers that
trembled. So great was the shortage of paper in the Confederacy
now that Gerald's note was written between the lines of her last
letter to him and reading it was difficult.
"Dear Daughter, Your Mother and both girls have the typhoid. They
are very ill but we must hope for the best. When your mother took
to her bed she bade me write you that under no condition were you
to come home and expose yourself and Wade to the disease. She
sends her love and bids you pray for her."
"Pray for her!" Scarlett flew up the stairs to her room and,
dropping on her knees by the bed, prayed as she had never prayed
before. No formal Rosaries now but the same words over and over:
"Mother of God, don't let her die! I'll be so good if you don't
let her die! Please, don't let her die!"
For the next week Scarlett crept about the house like a stricken
animal, waiting for news, starting at every sound of horses'
hooves, rushing down the dark stair at night when soldiers came
tapping at the door, but no news came from Tara. The width of the
continent might have spread between her and home instead of twenty-
five miles of dusty road.
The mails were still disrupted, no one knew where the Confederates
were or what the Yankees were up to. No one knew anything except
that thousands of soldiers, gray and blue, were somewhere between
Atlanta and Jonesboro. Not a word from Tara in a week.
Scarlett had seen enough typhoid in the Atlanta hospital to know
what a week meant in that dread disease. Ellen was ill, perhaps
dying, and here was Scarlett helpless in Atlanta with a pregnant
woman on her hands and two armies between her and home. Ellen was
ill--perhaps dying. But Ellen couldn't be ill! She had never been
ill. The very thought was incredible and it struck at the very
foundations of the security of Scarlett's life. Everyone else got
sick, but never Ellen. Ellen looked after sick people and made
them well again. She couldn't be sick. Scarlett wanted to be
home. She wanted Tara with the desperate desire of a frightened
child frantic for the only haven it had ever known.
Home! The sprawling white house with fluttering white curtains at
the windows, the thick clover on the lawn with the bees busy in it,
the little black boy on the front steps shooing the ducks and
turkeys from the flower beds, the serene red fields and the miles
and miles of cotton turning white in the sun! Home!
If she had only gone home at the beginning of the siege, when
everyone else was refugeeing! She could have taken Melanie with
her in safety with weeks to spare.
"Oh, damn Melanie!" she thought a thousand times. "Why couldn't
she have gone to Macon with Aunt Pitty? That's where she belongs,
with her own kinfolks, not with me. I'm none of her blood. Why
does she hang onto me so hard? If she'd only gone to Macon, then
I could have gone home to Mother. Even now--even now, I'd take a
chance on getting home in spite of the Yankees, if it wasn't for
this baby. Maybe General Hood would give me an escort. He's a
nice man, General Hood, and I know I could make him give me an
escort and a flag of truce to get me through the lines. But I have
to wait for this baby! . . . Oh, Mother! Mother! Don't die! . . .
Why don't this baby ever come? I'll see Dr. Meade today and ask
him if there's any way to hurry babies up so I can go home--if I
can get an escort. Dr. Meade said she'd have a bad time. Dear
God! Suppose she should die! Melanie dead. Melanie dead. And
Ashley-- No, I mustn't think about that, it isn't nice. But
Ashley-- No, I mustn't think about that because he's probably
dead, anyway. But he made me promise I'd take care of her. But--
if I didn't take care of her and she died and Ashley is still
alive-- No, I mustn't think about that. It's sinful. And I
promised God I'd be good if He would just not let Mother die. Oh,
if the baby would only come. If I could only get away from here--
get home--get anywhere but here."
Scarlett hated the sight of the ominously still town now and once
she had loved it. Atlanta was no longer the gay, the desperately
gay place she had loved. It was a hideous place like a plague-
stricken city so quiet, so dreadfully quiet after the din of the
siege. There had been stimulation in the noise and the danger of
the shelling. There was only horror in the quiet that followed.
The town seemed haunted, haunted with fear and uncertainty and
memories. People's faces looked pinched and the few soldiers
Scarlett saw wore the exhausted look of racers forcing themselves
on through the last lap of a race already lost.
The last day of August came and with it convincing rumors that the
fiercest fighting since the battle of Atlanta was taking place.
Somewhere to the south. Atlanta, waiting for news of the turn of
battle, stopped even trying to laugh and joke. Everyone knew now
what the soldiers had known two weeks before--that Atlanta was in
the last ditch, that if the Macon railroad fell, Atlanta would fall
too.
On the morning of the first of September, Scarlett awoke with a
suffocating sense of dread upon her, a dread she had taken to her
pillow the night before. She thought, dulled with sleep: "What
was it I was worrying about when I went to bed last night? Oh,
yes, the fighting. There was a battle, somewhere, yesterday! Oh,
who won?" She sat up hastily, rubbing her eyes, and her worried
heart took up yesterday's load again.
The air was oppressive even in the early morning hour, hot with the
scorching promise of a noon of glaring blue sky and pitiless bronze
sun. The road outside lay silent. No wagons creaked by. No
troops raised the red dust with their tramping feet. There were no
sounds of negroes' lazy voices in neighboring kitchens, no pleasant
sounds of breakfasts being prepared, for all the near neighbors
except Mrs. Meade and Mrs. Merriwether had refugeed to Macon. And
she could hear nothing from their houses either. Farther down the
street the business section was quiet and many of the stores and
offices were locked and boarded up, while their occupants were
somewhere about the countryside with rifles in their hands.
The stillness that greeted her seemed even more sinister this
morning than on any of the mornings of the queer quiet week
preceding it. She rose hastily, without her usual preliminary
burrowings and stretchings, and went to the window, hoping to see
some neighbor's face, some heartening sight. But the road was
empty. She noted how the leaves on the trees were still dark green
but dry and heavily coated with red dust, and how withered and sad
the untended flowers in the front yard looked.
As she stood, looking out of the window, there came to her ears a
far-off sound, faint and sullen as the first distant thunder of an
approaching storm.
"Rain," she thought in the first moment, and her country-bred mind
added, "we certainly need it." But, in a split instant: "Rain?
No! Not rain! Cannon!"
Her heart racing, she leaned from the window, her ear cocked to the
far-off roaring, trying to discover from which direction it came.
But the dim thundering was so distant that, for a moment, she could
not tell. "Make it from Marietta, Lord!" she prayed. "Or Decatur.
Or Peachtree Creek. But not from the south! Not from the south!"
She gripped the window still tighter and strained her ears and the
far-away booming seemed louder. And it was coming from the south.
Cannon to the south! And to the south lay Jonesboro and Tara--and
Ellen.
Yankees perhaps at Tara, now, this minute! She listened again but
the blood thudding in her ears all but blurred out the sound of
far-off firing. No, they couldn't be at Jonesboro yet. If they
were that far away, the sound would be fainter, more indistinct.
But they must be at least ten miles down the road toward Jonesboro,
probably near the little settlement of Rough and Ready. But
Jonesboro was scarcely more than ten miles below Rough and Ready.
Cannon to the south, and they might be tolling the knell of
Atlanta's fall. But to Scarlett, sick for her mother's safety,
fighting to the south only meant fighting near Tara. She walked
the floor and wrung her hands and for the first time the thought in
all its implications came to her that the gray army might be
defeated. It was the thought of Sherman's thousands so close to
Tara that brought it all home to her, brought the full horror of
the war to her as no sound of siege guns shattering windowpanes, no
privations of food and clothing and no endless rows of dying men
had done. Sherman's army within a few miles of Tara! And even if
the Yankees should be defeated, they might fall back down the road
to Tara. And Gerald couldn't possibly refugee out of their way
with three sick women.
Oh, if she were only there now, Yankees or not. She paced the
floor in her bare feet, her nightgown clinging to her legs and the
more she walked the stronger became her foreboding. She wanted to
be at home. She wanted to be near Ellen.
From the kitchen below, she heard the rattle of china as Prissy
prepared breakfast, but no sound of Mrs. Meade's Betsy. The
shrill, melancholy minor of Prissy was raised, "Jes' a few mo'
days, ter tote de wee-ry load . . ." The song grated on Scarlett,
its sad implications frightening her, and slipping on a wrapper she
pattered out into the hall and to the back stairs and shouted:
"Shut up that singing, Prissy!"
A sullen "Yas'm" drifted up to her and she drew a deep breath,
feeling suddenly ashamed of herself.
"Where's Betsy?"
"Ah doan know. She ain' came."
Scarlett walked to Melanie's door and opened it a crack, peering
into the sunny room. Melanie lay in bed in her nightgown, her eyes
closed and circled with black, her heart-shaped face bloated, her
slender body hideous and distorted. Scarlett wished viciously that
Ashley could see her now. She looked worse than any pregnant woman
she had ever seen. As she looked, Melanie's eyes opened and a soft
warm smile lit her face.
"Come in," she invited, turning awkwardly on her side. "I've been
awake since sun-up thinking, and, Scarlett, there's something I
want to ask you."
She entered the room and sat down on the bed that was glaring with
harsh sunshine.
Melanie reached out and took Scarlett's hand in a gentle confiding
clasp.
"Dear," she said, "I'm sorry about the cannon. It's toward
Jonesboro, isn't it?"
Scarlett said "Um," her heart beginning to beat faster as the
thought recurred.
"I know how worried you are. I know you'd have gone home last week
when you heard about your mother, if it hadn't been for me.
Wouldn't you?"
"Yes," said Scarlett ungraciously.
"Scarlett, darling. You've been so good to me. No sister could
have been sweeter or braver. And I love you for it. I'm so sorry
I'm in the way."
Scarlett stared. Loved her, did she? The fool!
"And Scarlett, I've been lying here thinking and I want to ask a
very great favor of you." Her clasp tightened. "If I should die,
will you take my baby?"
Melanie's eyes were wide and bright with soft urgency.
"Will you?"
Scarlett jerked away her hand as fear swamped her. Fear roughened
her voice as she spoke.
"Oh, don't be a goose, Melly. You aren't going to die. Every
woman thinks she's going to die with her first baby. I know I
did."
"No, you didn't. You've never been afraid of anything. You are
just saying that to try to cheer me up. I'm not afraid to die but
I'm so afraid to leave the baby, if Ashley is-- Scarlett, promise
me that you'll take my baby if I should die. Then I won't be
afraid. Aunt Pittypat is too old to raise a child and Honey and
India are sweet but--I want you to have my baby. Promise me,
Scarlett. And if it's a boy, bring him up like Ashley, and if it's
a girl--dear, I'd like her to be like you."
"God's nightgown!" cried Scarlett, leaping from the bed. "Aren't
things bad enough without you talking about dying?"
"I'm sorry, dear. But promise me. I think it'll be today. I'm
sure it'll be today. Please promise me."
"Oh, all right, I promise," said Scarlett, looking down at her in
bewilderment.
Was Melanie such a fool she really didn't know how she cared for
Ashley? Or did she know everything and feel that because of that
love, Scarlett would take good care of Ashley's child? Scarlett
had a wild impulse to cry out questions, but they died on her lips
as Melanie took her hand and held it for an instant against her
cheek. Tranquillity had come back into her eyes.
"Why do you think it will be today, Melly?"
"I've been having pains since dawn--but not very bad ones."
"You have? Well, why didn't you call me? I'll send Prissy for Dr.
Meade."
"No, don't do that yet, Scarlett. You know how busy he is, how
busy they all are. Just send word to him that we'll need him some
time today. Send over to Mrs. Meade's and tell her and ask her to
come over and sit with me. She'll know when to really send for
him."
"Oh, stop being so unselfish. You know you need a doctor as much
as anybody in the hospital. I'll send for him right away."
"No, please don't. Sometimes it takes all day having a baby and I
just couldn't let the doctor sit here for hours when all those poor
boys need him so much. Just send for Mrs. Meade. She'll know."
"Oh, all right," said Scarlett.
CHAPTER XXI
After sending up Melanie's breakfast tray, Scarlett dispatched
Prissy for Mrs. Meade and sat down with Wade to eat her own
breakfast. But for once she had no appetite. Between her nervous
apprehension over the thought that Melanie's time was approaching
and her unconscious straining to hear the sound of the cannon, she
could hardly eat. Her heart acted very queerly, beating regularly
for several minutes and then thumping so loudly and swiftly it
almost made her sick at her stomach. The heavy hominy stuck in her
throat like glue and never before had the mixture of parched corn
and ground-up yams that passed for coffee been so repulsive.
Without sugar or cream it was bitter as gall, for the sorghum used
for "long sweetening" did little to improve the taste. After one
swallow she pushed her cup away. If for no other reason she hated
the Yankees because they kept her from having real coffee with
sugar and thick cream in it.
Wade was quieter than usual and did not set up his every morning
complaint against the hominy that he so disliked. He ate silently
the spoonfuls she pushed into his mouth and washed them down with
noisily gulped water. His soft brown eyes followed her every
movement, large, round as dollars, a childish bewilderment in them
as though her own scarce-hidden fears had been communicated to him.
When he had finished she sent him off to the back yard to play and
watched him toddle across the straggling grass to his playhouse
with great relief.
She arose and stood irresolutely at the foot of the stairs. She
should go up and sit with Melanie and distract her mind from her
coming ordeal but she did not feel equal to it. Of all days in the
world, Melanie had to pick this day to have the baby! And of all
days to talk about dying!
She sat down on the bottom step of the stairs and tried to compose
herself, wondering again how yesterday's battle had gone, wondering
how today's fighting was going. How strange to have a big battle
going on just a few miles away and to know nothing of it! How
strange the quiet of this deserted end of town in contrast with the
day of the fighting at Peachtree Creek! Aunt Pitty's house was one
of the last on the north side of Atlanta and with the fighting
somewhere to the far south, there were no reinforcements going by
at double-quick, no ambulances and staggering lines of walking
wounded coming back. She wondered if such scenes were being
enacted on the south side of town and thanked God she was not
there. If only everyone except the Meades and the Merriwethers had
not refugeed from this north end of Peachtree! It made her feel
forsaken and alone. She wished fervently that Uncle Peter were
with her so he could go down to headquarters and learn the news.
If it wasn't for Melanie she'd go to town this very minute and
learn for herself, but she couldn't leave until Mrs. Meade arrived.
Mrs. Meade. Why didn't she come on? And where was Prissy?
She rose and went out onto the front porch and looked for them
impatiently, but the Meade house was around a shady bend in the
street and she could see no one. After a long while Prissy came
into view, alone, switching her skirts from side to side and
looking over her shoulder to observe the effect.
"You're as slow as molasses in January," snapped Scarlett as Prissy
opened the gate. "What did Mrs. Meade say? How soon will she be
over here?"
"She warn't dar," said Prissy.
"Where is she? When will she be home?"
"Well'm," answered Prissy, dragging out her words pleasurably to
give more weight to her message. "Dey Cookie say Miss Meade done
got wud early dis mawnin' dat young Mist' Phil done been shot an'
Miss Meade she tuck de cah'ige an' Ole Talbot an' Betsy an' dey
done gone ter fotch him home. Cookie say he bad hurt an' Miss
Meade ain' gwine ter be studyin' 'bout comin' up hyah."
Scarlett stared at her and had an impulse to shake her. Negroes
were always so proud of being the bearers of evil tidings.
"Well, don't stand there like a ninny. Go down to Mrs.
Merriwether's and ask her to come up or send her mammy. Now,
hurry."
"Dey ain' dar, Miss Scarlett. Ah drapped in ter pass time of de
day wid Mammy on mah way home. Dey's done gone. House all locked
up. Spec dey's at de horsepittle."
"So that's where you were so long! Whenever I send you somewhere
you go where I tell you and don't stop to 'pass any time' with
anybody. Go--"
She stopped and racked her brain. Who was left in town among their
friends who would be helpful? There was Mrs. Elsing. Of course,
Mrs. Elsing didn't like her at all these days but she had always
been fond of Melanie.
"Go to Mrs. Elsing's, and explain everything very carefully and
tell her to please come up here. And, Prissy, listen to me. Miss
Melly's baby is due and she may need you any minute now. Now you
hurry right straight back."
"Yas'm," said Prissy and, turning, sauntered down the walk at
snail's gait.
"Hurry, you slow poke!"
"Yas'm."
Prissy quickened her gait infinitesimally and Scarlett went back