Hush! Hush! Or I’ll spank you».
«Wade is hungry», he sobbed and put the hurt finger in his mouth.
«I don’t care. Go in the back yard».
Prissy came down the stairs.
«Will he come?»
«No. He can’t come».
«God, Miss Scarlett! Miss Melly is very bad!»
«The doctor can’t come. Nobody can come. You’ll bring the baby and I’ll help you».
Prissy’s mouth opened and her tongue wagged wordlessly. She looked at Scarlett.
«Don’t look so simple minded!» cried Scarlett. «What’s the matter?»
«Miss Scarlett… «Fright and shame were in her eyes.
«Well?»
«For God, Miss Scarlett! We need a doctor. Ah… Ah… Miss Scarlett, I don’t know anything about babies».
«You black liar… what do you mean? You said you knew everything about them! What is the truth? Tell me!»
«I was lying, Miss Scarlett! I don’t know why».
Scarlett glared at Prissy and she slapped the black cheek with all the force in her tired arm. Prissy screamed, and began to dance up and down. As she screamed, Melanie’s voice, weak and trembling, called:
«Scarlett? Is it you? Please come! Please!»
Scarlett tried to think of all the things Mammy and Ellen had done for her when Wade was born. She spoke to Prissy rapidly,
«Build a fire in the stove and keep hot water boiling in the kettle. And bring up all the towels you can find. And get me the scissors. Get them and get them quick. Now hurry».
Chapter XVII
It was all over. Melanie was not dead and the small baby boy who made noises like a young kitten was receiving his first bath at Prissy’s hands. Melanie was asleep. How could she sleep after that nightmare? Why wasn’t she dead? When it was over, Melanie whispered weakly: «Thank you». And then she went to sleep. How could she go to sleep?
Scarlett forgot everything. Her mind was a vacuum; the world was a vacuum. She heard her own breath. She heard sounds of feet upstairs and thought «May the Lord damn Prissy», before her eyes closed and something like sleep descended upon her.
«We did it, Miss Scarlett. Ma couldn’t do better».
From the shadows, Scarlett glared at her. And the Yankees wanted to free the negroes! Well, the Yankees were welcome to them.
She lay back against the pillar in silence. Scarlett heard the sound of faint voices from up the road. Soldiers! She sat up slowly and called to them.
«Oh, please!»
A shadow came to the gate.
«Are you going? Are you leaving us?»
«Yes, Ma’am. That’s what we’re doing».
«Are you… is the army really retreating?»
«Yes, Ma’am. You see, the Yankees are coming».
The Yankees are coming! She had forgotten that. Her throat suddenly contracted and she could say nothing more. The Yankees are coming! The Yankees are coming!
«The Yankees are coming!» bawled Prissy. «Oh, Miss Scarlett, they’ll kill us all! They’ll…»
«Oh, hush!»
What to do? How to escape? Suddenly she thought of Rhett Butler. She hated him, but he was strong and smart and he wasn’t afraid of the Yankees. And he was still in town. Of course, she was mad at him. But he had a horse and carriage, too. He can take them all away from this doomed place, away from the Yankees, somewhere, anywhere.
She turned to Prissy.
«You know where Captain Butler lives… at the Atlanta Hotel?»
«Yes ma’am, but…»
«Well, go there, now, as quick as you can run and tell him I want him. I want him to come quickly and bring his horse and carriage. Tell him about the baby. Tell him I want him to take us out of here. Go, now. Hurry!»
«God Almighty, Miss Scarlett! I’m scared to go in the dark! The Yankees can catch me. And if Captain Butler isn’t at the hotel?»
«Then ask where he is. Haven’t you any gumption? If he isn’t at the hotel, go to the barrooms on Decatur Street and ask for him. Go to Belle Watling’s house. You fool, don’t you see that if you don’t hurry and find him the Yankees will surely get us all?»
«Miss Scarlett!»
Scarlett pushed her.
«You can stand outside in the street and yell for him, can’t you? Or ask somebody if he’s inside. Go».
Scarlett gave her another push.
«You’ll go or I’ll sell you. You’ll never see your mother again or anybody you know. Hurry!»
«God Almighty, Miss Scarlett…»
«Run, you goose!» Scarlett cried.
She knew she should go upstairs and sit beside Melanie. Melanie is very weak. But this idea was repulsive to her. She never wanted to see that room again. She sat down on the steps in the circle of faint light.
Suddenly she saw a faint glow above the trees. It puzzled her. It grew brighter. The dark sky became pink and then dull red, and suddenly above the trees, she saw a huge tongue of flame. She jumped to her feet.
The Yankees have come! They are burning the town. The world became an inferno of noise and flame. Torrents of sparks shot to the sky and descended slowly, lazily. She had no time for Melanie now.
Prissy entered the room.
«The Yankees… «cried Scarlett.
«No ma’am, its our gentlemen!» yelled Prissy. «They are burning the depots and the factory, Miss Scarlett, Jesus, what to do?»
She began yelping again. The Yankees haven’t come yet! There is still time to get away!
Scarlett took Prissy by the shoulders and shook her.
«Shut up. The Yankees haven’t come, you fool! Did you see Captain Butler? What did he say? Is he coming?»
«Yes ma’am. But he doesn’t have a horse at the moment».
«Dear God in Heaven!»
«But he will come».
«What did he say?»
«He will find a horse somewhere and bring it here».
«He is coming? He’s going to bring a horse?»
«So
