Yankee Belles in Dixie by Gilbert L. Morris Page B

war’s over and he gets out of prison.”
    After Leah had given Esther her bath, powdered her, and put her into fresh clothing, she surrendered the baby to her mother, who gave her a bottle.
    Leah and Sarah prepared lunch, and when they all sat down to eat, Mr. Carter bowed his head and prayed, “Oh, God our Father, we thank Thee for this food and Thy every blessing. Give us health and strength. Protect our men in service. Bring this cruel war to an end. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
    At once Leah speared one of the fresh, fluffy biscuits that her mother had made and stuffed it into her mouth.
    â€œLeah! You eat like a starved wolf!” Mrs. Carter protested.
    â€œI don’t think she ever tastes anything.” Sarah smiled. “You have to taste with your tongue, and she’s so busy chewing and swallowing she doesn’t have time.”
    â€œI eat my vittles the way I like,” Leah sniffed. “These are good biscuits.”
    When they were almost through, Morena looked up suddenly. She had acute hearing, and a few minutes later Leah heard the sound of a horse approaching. She got up and went to a window.
    â€œIt’s Horace with the mail,” she said. “I’ll go get it.” She ran outside and was back in a moment with a letter. “It’s for you, Pa. From Richmond. I don’t know the handwriting.”
    Dan Carter took the envelope, deliberately took his glasses from his pocket, and balanced them on his nose. He stared at the handwriting and said, “I don’t recognize it either.”
    â€œWell, open it and you’ll find out!” Leah’s mother said sharply.
    â€œJust what I was going to do.” Opening the envelope, Daniel pulled a sheet of paper out, unfolded it, and stared again.
    He was silent for so long that his wife said in exasperation, “Well, what is it? Who’s it from?”
    Daniel removed his glasses and handed the letter over to her. “Comes as quite a surprise. It’s from Uncle Silas.”
    â€œUncle
Silas?”
She took the letter from him and scanned it quickly. “We haven’t heard from him for a long time,” she murmured.
    â€œWho’s Uncle Silas?” Leah asked curiously.
    Daniel Carter leaned his elbows on the table. “He’s my father’s older brother. When I was growing up we had a hard time. For a while it looked like we would almost starve to death. Those were hard days back then. I remember so well. We’d hit bottom and my father was sick and my mother had died a few years before that. We were all just about past hope, but one day a man came riding up. I didn’t know him, but my father said, ‘Why, that’s my brother Silas, from Richmond.’ “
    â€œYou’d never seen him?” Sarah asked.
    â€œNo, we’d heard about him, though, and he sure came like a present from heaven. He evidently had some money, because he paid our bills and got us out of debt and took care of us till Pa got well. Later on, he paid my way in school.” Daniel rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I sure think a lot of Uncle Silas.”
    â€œIt sounds like he’s pretty bad off,” Mrs. Carter said, looking up from the letter. “I can hardly read his handwriting, it’s so thin and scratchy.”
    â€œIs he sick?” Leah asked.
    â€œThat’s what the letter says—and he’s asked if I can come and help him till he gets well.”
    Silence ran around the table until Sarah said, “That would be hard to do—for you to go to Richmond, I mean. Wouldn’t it, Father?”
    â€œI don’t know. A man can do what he has to do.”
    â€œBut then you couldn’t do your sutler work if you did that, could you?” Leah asked.
    â€œNo, but I’ve got to do something to help Silas. He gave us hope back when there wasn’t any hope.”
    Mrs. Carter had been studying the letter. “Sounds like