"And I came without my vengeance!" she mused, in that oppressive noon,
in that gray and lonely place, in that lofty tower-solitude, where there
was nothing between her and the hot, hard, cruel blue of the heavens,
vengeance looked the only thing that was left her; the only means
whereby that void in her heart could be filled, that shame in her life
be washed out. To love! and to love a man who had no love for her, whose
eyes only beheld another's face, whose ears only thirsted for
another's voice! Its degradation stamped her a traitress in her own
sight--traitress to her code, to her pride, to her country, to her flag!
And yet, at the core of her heart so tired a pang was aching! She who
had gloried in being the child of the whole people, the daughter of
the whole army, felt lonely and abandoned, as though she were some bird
which an hour ago had been flying in all its joy among its brethren
and now, maimed with one shot, had fallen, with broken pinion and torn
plumage, to lie alone upon the sand and die.
The touch of a bird's wing brushing her hair brought the dreamy
comparison to her wandering thoughts. She started and lifted her head;
it was a blue carrier-pigeon, one of the many she fed at that casement,
and the swiftest and surest of several she sent with messages for the
soldiers between the various stations and corps. She had forgotten she
had left the bird at the encampment.
She caressed it absently, while the tired creature sank down on her
bosom; then only she saw that there was a letter beneath one wing.
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