Yancey related an incident of the war, where he, only a drummer
boy at the time, assisted, at great risk, in carrying a wounded comrade
from the field. And Fitz was forced to admit that one of the largest
financial operations of the day would have been a failure had he not
stepped in at the critical moment and saved it.
Up to this point in the dinner not the slightest reference had been
made to the railroad or its interests except by the impetuous Yancey,
who asked Fitz what the bonds would probably be worth, and who was
promptly silenced by the colonel with the suggestive remark that none
were for sale, especially at this time.
When, however, by the direction of the colonel, the cloth was removed
and the old mahogany table that Chad rubbed down every morning with
a cork was left with only the glasses, a pair of coasters and their
decanters,--the Madeira within reach of the judge's hand,--the colonel
rose from his chair and spread out on the polished surface a stained
and ragged map, labeled in one corner in quaint letters, "Lands of
John Carter, Esquire, of Carter Hall.
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