Occupied with
Sarah, neither Miss Singleton, nor the ladies of the house, had
discovered the entrance of the Skinners, though the flames were raging
around them with a fury that threatened the building with rapid
destruction. The shrieks of Katy and the terrified consort of Caesar,
together with the noise and uproar in the adjacent apartment, first
roused Miss Peyton and Isabella to a sense of their danger.
"Merciful Providence!" exclaimed the alarmed aunt; "there is a dreadful
confusion in the house, and there will be blood shed in consequence of
this affair."
"There are none to fight," returned Isabella, with a face paler than
that of the other. "Dr. Sitgreaves is very peaceable in his disposition,
and surely Captain Lawton would not forget himself so far."
"The Southern temper is quick and fiery," continued Miss Peyton; "and
your brother, feeble and weak as he is, has looked the whole afternoon
flushed and angry."
"Good heaven!" cried Isabella, with difficulty supporting herself on the
couch of Sarah; "he is gentle as the lamb by nature, though the lion is
not his equal when roused."
"We must interfere: our presence will quell the tumult, and possibly
save the life of a fellow creature."
Miss Peyton, excited to attempt what she conceived a duty worthy of her
sex and nature, advanced with the dignity of injured female feeling, to
the door, followed by Isabella.
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