Harry and Arthur stood two days later upon the sea wall of Charleston. Sumter rose up black and menacing in the clear wintry air. The muzzles of the cannon seemed to point into the very heart of the city, and over it, as ever, flew the defiant flag, the red and blue burning in vivid colors in the thin January sunshine. The heart of Charleston, that most intense of all Southern cities, had given forth a great throb. The Star of the West was coming from the North with provisions for the garrison of beleaguered Sumter. They would see her hull on the horizon in another hour.
Both Harry and Arthur were trembling with excitement. They were not on
duty themselves, but they knew that all the South Carolina earthworks
and batteries were manned. What would happen? It still seemed almost
incredible to Harry that the people of the Union--at least of the Union
that was--should fire upon one another, and his pulse beat hard and
strong, while he waited with his comrade.
As they stood there gazing out to sea, looking for the black speck
that should mark the first smoke of the Star of the West, Harry became
conscious that another man was standing almost at his elbow. He glanced
up and saw Shepard, who nodded to him.
"I did not know that I was standing by you until I had been here some
time," said Shepard, as if he sought to indicate that he had not been
seeking Harry and his comrade.
"I thought you had left Charleston," said Harry, who had not seen him
for a week.
"Not at such a time," said Shepard, quietly. "So much of overwhelming
interest is happening here that nobody who is alive can go away."
He put a pair of powerful glasses to his eyes and scanned the sea's rim. He looked a long time, and then his face showed excitement.
"It comes! It comes!" he exclaimed, more to himself than to Harry and
Arthur.
"Is it the steamer? Is it the Star of the West?" exclaimed Harry
forgetting all doubts of Shepard in the thrill of the moment.
"Yes, the Star of the West! It can be no other!" replied Shepard. "It can be no other! Take the glasses and see for yourself!"
When Harry looked he saw, where sea and sky joined, a black dot that
gradually lengthened out into a small plume. It was not possible to
recognize any ship at that distance, but he felt instinctively that it
was the Star of the West. He passed the glasses to Arthur, who also
took a look, and then drew a deep breath. Harry handed the glasses back
to Shepard, saying:
"I see the ship, and I've no doubt that it's the Star of the West. Do you know anything about this vessel, Mr. Shepard?"
"I've heard that she's only a small steamer, totally unfitted for
offense or defense."
"If the batteries fire upon her she's bound to go back."
"You put it right."
"Then, in effect, this is a test, and it rests with us whether or not to
fire the first shot."
"I think you're right again."
Others also saw the growing black plume of smoke rising from the
steamer's funnel, and a deep thrilling murmur ran through the crowd
gathered on the sea walls. To many the vessel, steaming toward the
harbor, was foreign, carrying a foreign flag, but to many others it
was not and could never be so.
Shepard passed the glasses to the boy again, and he looked a second time
at the ship, which was now taking shape and rising fast upon the water. Then he examined the walls of Sumter and saw men in blue moving there. They, too, were watching the coming steamer with the deepest anxiety.
Arthur took his second look also, and Shepard watched through the
glasses a little longer. Then he put them in the case which he hung
over his shoulder. Glasses were no longer needed. They could now see
with the naked eye what was about to happen--if anything happened at all.
"It will soon be decided," said Shepard, and Harry noticed that his
voice trembled. "If the Star of the West comes without interference up
to the walls of Sumter there will be no war. The minds of men on both
sides will cool. But if she is stopped, then--"
He broke off. Something seemed to choke in his throat. Harry and
Arthur remained silent.