Miss Lou positively refused to come down to dinner. She had buried
her face in her pillow, and was almost crying her eyes out; for in
the confusion of her mind, resulting from her training and
inexperience, she feared that if all her kin insisted on her
marriage, and gave such reasons as had been urged upon her, she must
be married. She was sorely perplexed. Could the Yankees be such
ravening wolves as her uncle and cousin represented them to be?
Certainly one was not, but then he might be different from the
others because he had been to college and was educated.

"He said he would be glad to do me any kindness," she sobbed. "Oh,
if he could only prevent this marriage! Yet what can he do? I could
not even speak to a stranger of my trouble, much less to a Northern
soldier. I wish I could see my old mammy. She's the only one who in
the least understands me and feels a little like a mother toward me.
Oh, what a dreadful thing to be a motherless girl at such a time!"

The powers below stairs concluded that it would be best to leave
Miss Lou to herself for a time, that she might think over and become
reconciled to the need and reasonableness of their action, but Mrs.
Baron considerately sent up her dinner by Zany. The unhappy girl
shook her head and motioned the tray away.

"Hi, now, Miss Lou, w'at you tookin on so fer?" asked the diplomatic
Zany.

"For more than you can understand."

"I un'erstan's a heap mo'n you tink," said Zany, throwing off all