Part 4

SERGEANT. Then use it. The Northern soldier who came here a while ago was pretty badly wounded, wasn't he?

MARY. I--I--no one's been here.

SERGEANT. Come, come, woman, don't lie. [MARY shows a slight sign of anger.] He had a bad cut in his forehead, and you felt sorry for him, and gave him a bite to eat.

MARY [haltingly]. No one's been near the house to-day.

SERGEANT [trying a different tone]. We're not going to hurt him, woman. He's a friend of ours. We want to find him, and put him in a hospital, don't we, Dick? [Turning to his companion.]

DICK. He's sick and needs to go to bed for a while.

MARY. He ain't here.

SERGEANT. What do you want to lie for?

MARY [quickly]. I ain't lyin'. I ain't seed no soldier.

THADDEUS. No one could 'a' come without her seein' 'em.

SERGEANT. I suppose you know what'll happen to you if you are hidin' the man? [MARY stands rooted to the spot where she stopped when she came downstairs. Her eyes are fixed on the SERGEANT.]

THADDEUS. There ain't no one here. We both been here all day, an' there couldn't no one come without our knowin' it. What would they want round here anyway?

SERGEANT. We'll search the place.

MARY [quickly]. Ye ain't got no----

SERGEANT [sharply]. What's that, woman?

MARY. There ain't no one here, an' ye're keepin' us from our sleep.

SERGEANT. Your sleep? This is an affair of life and death. Get us a lantern.

SERGEANT [seeing the door to the cubby-hole]. Ha! Tryin' to hide the door are you, by puttin' a table in front of it. You can't fool me. [To THADDEUS.] Pull the table away and let's see what's behind the door.

THADDEUS. It's a cubby-hole an' ain't been opened in years.

SERGEANT [sternly and emphatically]. I said to open the door.

SERGEANT [returning his revolver to his belt]. We're goin' to tear this place to pieces till we find him. You might just as well hand him over now.

MARY. There ain't no one here.

SERGEANT. All right. Now we'll see. Dick, you stand guard at the door.

SERGEANT [to THADDEUS]. Come along, man. I'll have a look at the upstairs. [To MARY.] You sit down in that chair [points to the chair at right of table, and feeling for a sufficiently strong threat]. Don't you stir or I'll--I'll set fire to your house. [To THADDEUS.] Go on ahead.

DICK. Woman!

MARY [almost with a cry--thinking that DICK has seen the NORTHERNER]. Yes.

DICK. Have you got an apple handy? I'm starved. [MARY moves to the cupboard to get the apple for DICK. The SERGEANT and THADDEUS come downstairs. The SERGEANT, seeing that MARY is not where he left her, looks about quickly and discovers her at the cupboard.]

SERGEANT. Here, what'd I tell you I'd do if you moved from that chair?