“Well, it is five o’clock and I don’t hear the mill going. I did not see Albert at all last night; perhaps he stayed in town. However, I’ll go down to the mill and see what is up.”

“Let[’s] see,” he added, “this is the second day of April.” Our friends may imagine who the “He” was. It was Mr. Joshua Sowers, owner of the Brookland Mills. He was so used to hearing the mill running that he would quickly, in the midnight if the mill stopped, he would quickly perceive that it had. He went softly downstairs and on down to the mill. As he reached the door of the mill, he met his wagoner—in our first chapter, {w}e did not tell our Readers that Wilson Reed was employed as wagoner for Mr. Sowers, but such was the case—“Good morning, Wilson,” said Mr. Sowers. “Have you seen anything of Mr. King this morning?”

“No sir, I have not,” said Wilson doggedly. It seemed that Wilson Reed held a secret {po}wer over Mr. Sowers.

After Mr. Sowers had started the mill and got his breakfast, he started off to Winchester. While he is on his way to Winchester, we will avail ourselves of the opportunity of describing him and his family.

He was a man of very muscular physique. He was about sixty years of age. His hair was an iron gray. He was also dressed in his regular miller’s shirt. His wife was near the same age and was a fine robust woman for her age. He had a daughter, an only child, a girl who had long since passed Sweet Sixteen, yet she was very beautiful. She had blue eyes and her hair formed a striking contrast with her eyes, for her hair was a dark brown.

When Mr. Sowers reached town, he went to Albert King’s home and inquired of his mother if she had seen Albert anywhere or if he had stayed there all night and was indisposed. ÷

“No sir,” said Mrs. King, “he is not here, nor did he stay all night. He was here yesterday. About ten o’clock he put some clothes in his valise and said he would take them to the mill with him. I hope he has not met with any bad luck.”

Mr. Sowers returned home in a very bad humor. When he reached his gate, he called his faithful servant Jack to put his horse away. Jack came out of the barn looking very pale for a colored man.

“Jack, why don’t you hurry up? You’ve been drunk again, and I’ll not put up with it any longer. And,” he added, “as soon as you put that horse away, come to me and I will settle with you.”

Jack put the horse in the stable, and he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to go to his master. When he at last started for the house, he said, “Yes, I am determined to argefy dis case wid Old Marster Joshua. De only way to get out of dis scrape is to argefy de case wid him.” So he walked to where his master was standing cowhide in hand to whip him. Jack stopped a little out of reach of the cowhide and began to “argefy” the case, as he called it.

“Now, Master Joshua,” began Jack, “now look a heah, you ain’t gwine to whip poor old Jack, are you? I have been a good sarvint, only I does drink a little too much sometimes.”

Mr. Sowers began to grow restive, and he said, “Now Jack, I want none of your trying to beg off. You have done that too often. Now, I am not going to think it over or talk it over with you, but I am going to give you a genteel cowhiding, so come closer so I can hit you.” Mr. Sowers waited for Jack to come closer, but Jack wasn’t coming any closer—not fast.

“Now, Marse Joshua,” began Jack again, “jist let me and you argefy dis case jist for de sake of argificashun. You has knowed me a long while and I have knowed you a long while. You are Marster Joshua Sowers and I ain’t nothing but old Jack, but we must argefy dis case.” Here Jack stopped and looked in his master’s face to see if his words had any influence on his master. He had not long to wait, for his master was in a bad humor.

“Jack, I am tired of this foolishness,” said Mr. Sowers, “so come here and let me whip you, or shall I have you whipped at the whipping post in Winchester?”

Jack did not like to hear of the whipping post, so he was more determined than ever to argufy his case. So he stood still and said:

“Now, Marse Joshua, let me argefy jist dis one case. You come out here and be old Jack and let me stand in de gate as Marster Joshua Sowers, jist for a little while until I show you what I mean by argeficashun.” Sowers began to get more impatient. But in order to see what old Jack was up to, he accordingly changed places with old Jack, giving Jack the cowhide. So Jack took his place in the gate as Marster Sowers and began talking to his master in this style: ÷

“Now come in heah, you old nigger you! I ought to trash de very skin off you, but you have been a good sarvint—only de fault of drinking too much. You tink I gwine to whip you after you been wid me so long and been such a faithful sarvint, Eh? Umph? No, I see you dam[ned] fust—but you come in heah, you rottin mortal herrin’, an’ behave yourself in de futeer and I’ll not whip you, you yoller rascal. But you ain’t even yoller, you are black.”

Sowers was so completely amused at his old servant’s way of argufying the case that he had a long and hearty laugh and he never gave himself any more trouble about old Jack. Old Jack was incorrigible. ÷

While old Jack and his master were argufying, another scene was being enacted in the kitchen. Kate Barton was in the kitchen. She had been told to stay away from there a good many times but she did not heed the order. So, as it always was in Virginia, those who do not heed the law must be punished by the law, and Aunt Sally was argufying the case with Kate. She was saying:

“Now Kate, you have come heah agin an’ you know dat Marse an’ Missus don’t want you heah. We dem don’t any ov us want you heah. We dem are ’ristocractic Genemen and Ladies. We dem don’t want any poor trash a pryin’ roun’ heah nuther.” And Aunt Sally walked proudly across the floor to the stove to look at her roast of beef, pot of cabbage, &c., &c. About this time, young Miss Sowers came in and Kate ran to meet her and bid her good morning. But she met with a cold reception from Miss Mattie Sowers. Shortly after this, she returned home. As she slowly sauntered along, she said in a low voice scarcely above a whisper, “I will have my revenge.”

Whom could she have been contemplating a revenge on? We shall see. ÷

It was now dinner time, and Wilson Reed proceeded to the fine house of Mr. Sowers to get his dinner. Why he always boarded at Old Sowers’ house was more than anyone could find out. But it made no difference whether there was company or no company at the house; he always boarded there. As he came out from his dinner, his employer came out too, and they both went to the mill together. As the[y] neared the mill, Sowers began talking of some game he was playing:

“Wilse,” says Sowers, “I hope you have never breathed a word about—that—well you know what. I don’t like to speak it, for rocks have ears sometimes if you have!”

“If I have, what are you going to do about it?” fired up Wilse. “I want you to recollect, Josh Sowers, that if I was not to be heard of or was to be missing, it would not take long to bring you to Justice.”

After a short pause, he added, “I have got papers in the hands of certain persons that would bring you lower than your old dog! Josh Sowers, I am and have been playing a deep game for you, and don’t you threaten me or by Heavens! I shall tell all.”

Joshua Sowers, upon hearing this, turned as white as a ghost and trembled like a leaf.

“My goodness, Wilse,” said he, “don’t speak so loud. I didn’t threaten you, [n]or did I think of such a thing.” And he tried to smile, but it was a very faint smile.

“I was with you when you administered that dose—”

“Hush, Wilse, or I’ll shoot you in your tracks!” and Mr. Sowers was trying hard to conceal his rage. But Wilse Reed was very cool.

“Oh now, if my other unfinished sentence scared you so much, how will this one act?” said Wilse Reed unconcernedly. “I say how will this sentence act? I went with you to the graveyard and helped—”

At this juncture, Joshua Sowers nearly fainted. But by a power almost superhuman, he controlled himself and fell on his knees to Wilse and asked him to say no more.

“Oh Wilson, I beg you to hush. Please have mercy, don’t expose me to the world. Have mercy, have mercy!” Here he broke down with sobs, but Wilse Reed took it all coolly. After a while, he said to Sowers:

“Come get up, Joshua, I’ll say no more. I see you comprehend how fully I have got you in my power. I was only going to say I helped you to—” Before he could finish his sentence, Joshua Sowers fell as if dead. For glancing up through the bushes before him, he saw a female figure crouching down as if listening at him and Wilse Reed.

Wilse bathed his head in cold water and soon brought him “around.” They soon reached the mill after this. Joshua Sowers was ill at ease.

When Kate reached home, her mother had dinner ready. When they were seated at the table, her mother asked in her usual way:

“Kate, has Albert King returned yet, or has he been heard of?”

“No indeed, Mother, he ain’t come back yet, and Mr. Sowers is in a very bad humor about it. Him and Jack had a time of it, but he didn’t whip Jack,” answered Kate, but she didn’t tell her mother what a time she and Aunt Sally had had. She didn’t stay long at home before she was off again. A short distance above their house was a ledge of rocks. On this ledge was a lot of bushes, and below this ledge was the road leading to the mill as there was a path on this ledge beyond the bushes. Kate thought she would take this path, and as she proceeded along she heard voices. She recognized one as Wilse Reed’s. The other was so plaintive she didn’t know it, and, thinking ’twas no harm to eavesdrop as she had done many time[s] before, she crouched in the bushes and listened, but she could not catch a word as there was a breeze blowing. It wafted the voices onward. She finally got up and started on toward Mr. Sowers’ house, and as we have neglected Mrs. and Miss Sowers so long, we will turn our attention to them as Kate enters. When Kate entered Mrs. Sowers’ kitchen, she was received as coolly as ever, but she wouldn’t be thwarted in her plans, so she put on her blandest smile and commenced her prate:

“Why, good evening, Mrs. Sowers. How are you, and how did you enjoy yourself yesterday, and how was all the people at Spout Springs?” There is no telling how long she would have run on thus if she had not been interrupted by Joe running in and telling her that a young Lady from the vicinity of Greenwood wanted her to spend the evening with her at this lady’s home. So she went with the Lady.

After she had been gone about an hour, Aunt Sally began to relieve her brain of so much weight, so she told Mrs. Sowers of her treatment to Kate in the morning. Finally supper time came, and after supper they all went in the parlor to sit awhile.

About nine o’clock they all went to bed.

Miss Mattie went to her room and sat awhile to read. She didn’t have a chamber maid, so she undressed and went to bed. She soon fell asleep, little thinking that an intended assassin was lurking in her room. She had a strange dream. She dreamed someone was standing over her, a gleam of deadly hate in their eyes and a knife in hand, ready to plunge it deep in her heart. She could not move neither hand nor foot. She tried to speak, to beg for her life or scream and arouse the house. All was of no avail for some length of time. Finally, she succeeded in moving and opened her eyes, and for some time she was speechless with terror, to wake out of a dream, a horrible dream, only to have it verified; to wake only to realize the seeming horror in her dream, for there standing over her bed was a person masked and raising a knife to deal her a deadly blow! She raised up and gave one deafening scream and fell back unconscious on her bed!