Estralla was fast asleep, but her
little mistress lay awake thinking over the adventures of the day. She
was at Fort Sumter, the long dark fort which she had so often seen with
the Stars and Stripes waving above it from her home, from Miss Patten's
schoolroom, and in her sails about the harbor. Sylvia snuggled down in
her comfortable bed with a sense of safety and comfort. "I wish my
father and mother could know I am at Fort Sumter," was her last waking
thought.
CHAPTER XVII
A CHRISTMAS PRESENT
Every nook and corner of Fort Moultrie was searched for the missing
Sylvia, and when no trace of her could be discovered, her friends became
nearly certain that the little girl must have slipped from the landing-
place into the sea, and that it was useless to search for her. But it
was late in the evening before Mr. Fulton gave up the search, and with a
sad and anxious heart headed the Butterfly toward Charleston. He still
hoped that his little girl might be found. A party of soldiers, headed
by Captain Carleton, had started to search for her on Sullivan's Island,
but this had not been determined upon until late in the evening, at
about the time when Estralla and Sylvia were embarking upon their
adventurous voyage to Fort Sumter.
No one had given a thought to the little darky girl. She was supposed to
be somewhere about the fort.
Grace, warmly wrapped in a thick shawl, sat beside Mr. Fulton as the
Butterfly made its swift way across the dark harbor.
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