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.
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