"
They had left the railroad some distance back, and had come in by stage.
The day was warm and pleasant. Two odors, one of flowers and foliage,
and the other of the salt sea, reached Harry. He found both good.
He felt for the thousandth time of his pocket-book and papers to see that
they were safe, and he was glad that he had come, glad that he had been
chosen for such an important errand.
The colonel asked the driver to stop the stage at a cross road, and he
pointed out to Harry a low, white house with green blinds, standing on a
knoll among magnificent live oaks.
"That is my house, Harry," he said, "and this is Christmas Day. Come
and spend it with me there."
Harry felt to the full the kindness of Colonel Leonidas Talbot, for whom
he had formed a strong affection. The colonel seemed to him so simple,
so honest and, in a way, so unworldly, that he had won his heart almost
at once. But he felt that he should decline, as his message must be
delivered as soon as he arrived in Charleston.
"I suppose you are right," said the colonel, when the boy had explained
why he could not accept. "You take your letters to the gentlemen who
are going to make the war, and then you and I and others like us,
ranging from your age to mine, will have to fight it.
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