She wished that
she could tell Grace about the lockets, but decided it would be better
to surprise Grace with the locket itself.
As soon as Grace returned home Sylvia ran to find her mother.
"We will go down street and buy the lockets to-morrow morning, won't we,
Mother?" she asked, and Mrs. Fulton promised that they would start
early.
Sylvia resolved that, if the lockets and pictures did not take all her
money, she would buy a doll for Estralla. She knew that nothing else
would please the little colored girl as much as a "truly" doll.
But the morning of December twenty-sixth found the city of Charleston
angry and excited. Crowds collected in the streets, and Mr. Fulton
received a message from Mr. Robert Waite asking him to remain at home
until Mr. Waite arrived.
"What is the matter, Father?" Sylvia asked.
"He isn't coming to take back Estralla, is he?"
"No, of course not, child. It is trouble over the forts," responded her
father. And in a short time Mr. Waite arrived. But he was not smiling
this morning. He was very grave and serious.
"Major Anderson has evacuated Moultrie, and he and his men are at Fort
Sumter," said Mr. Waite. "I came to assure you that whatever action
Charleston takes that I will protect your household and property as far
as possible."
Then Sylvia heard him say that Governor Pickens had seized Castle
Pinckney, and that troops had been sent to Sullivan's Island to occupy
Fort Moultrie, and the United States Arsenal, situated in the midst of
the city of Charleston, was also in possession of the secessionists.
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