41. Kisses the letter
repeatedly. Trumpet Signal No. 41, louder than at first. She starts,
listening._
JENNY BUCKTHORN _runs in on the veranda._
JENNY. Do you hear, Gertrude, they are going to pass this very house.
[_Military band. "John Brown" playing in the distance. Chorus of
Soldiers._] I've been watching them through my glass; it is Colonel
Kerchival West's regiment.
GERTRUDE. [_Eagerly, then coldly._] Colonel West's! It is perfectly
indifferent to me whose regiment it is.
JENNY. Oh! Of course. [_Coming down._] It is equally indifferent to
me; Captain Heartsease is in command of the first troop. [_Trumpet
Signal No. 52._] Column right! [_She runs up to road. Looks._] They
are coming up the hill.
GERTRUDE. At my very door! And Kerchival West in command! I will not
stand here and see them pass. The despatch for Captain Thornton! I
will carry it to him as soon as they are gone. [_Exit up veranda, the
band and chorus increasing in volume._
JENNY. Cavalry! That's the branch of the service I was born in; I was
in a fort at the time--on the Plains. Sergeant Barket always said that
my first baby squall was a command to the garrison; if any officer
or soldier, from my father down, failed to obey my orders, I
court-martialed him on the spot.
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