Burned to the Ground

  Once she was informed by an officer that Sherman's army was coming into Atlanta and that the Confederates were pulling out, she ordered Prissy to pack her things for Tara. As she ran up the stairs and into Melly's room, she was shocked and horrified by what she saw. Melanie was in labor.

  "I'm sorry to be such a bother, Scarlett- It began at daybreak," she explained.

  "But-but the-the Yankees are coming!" said Scarlett horrified.

  "Poor Scarlett. You'd be at Tara now with your mother, wouldn't you, if it weren't for me?" she asked with tears in her eyes.

  Although Scarlett didn't deny it Melanie could sense it in her attitude. "Oh, Scarlett darling, you've been so good to me. No sister could have been sweeter. I've been lying here thinking...If I should die, will you take my baby?"

  "Oh, fiddle-dee-dee, Melly. Aren't things bad enough without you talking about dying? I'll send for Dr. Meade right now."

  Scarlett quickly got to work, wasting no time in sending Prissy to get Dr. Meade.

"Hurry! Hurry!" shrieked Scarlett when Prissy stood in fright. "I'll sell you South, I will. I  swear I will!"

  "Where's that Prissy?" asked Scarlett as she fanned herself. "Oh don't worry, Melly. Mother always says it always seems like the doctor'll never come. If I don't take a strap to that Prissy."

  "You don't have to keep on talking for my sake, Scarlett. I know how worried you are," said Melanie.

  Suddenly Scarlett heard Prissy's voice from outside. Dismayed that she hadn't brought the doctor with her she said, "Oh, Melly, I-I'll just go and fetch you some cooler water."

  "You're as slow as molassess in January," said Scarlett as she reached Prissy. "Where's Dr. Meade?"

  "Ah ain' nebber seed him, Miss Scarlett," said Prissy in a bored voice.

  "What!" she exclaimed.

  "No'm, he ain' at de horsepittle. A man, he tole me dat de doctah down at de car shed wid the wounded sojers," she said.

  "Well, why didn't you go after him?"

  "Miss Scarlett-Ah wuz sceered ter go down ter de car shed-dey's folkses dyin' down dere an' Ah's sceered of daid folkses," whined Prissy.

  "Oh, you go sit by Miss Melly. And don't you be upsetting her or I'll whip the hide off you!" scolded Scarlett enraged.

   The amount of men lying in death on the ground was amazing. As the torn Confederate flag waved from the sky above and as the men groaned and moaned around her, Scarlett searched for Dr. Meade in vain among the millions of wounded. "Please, lady, water," they begged her and grabbed at the skirts of her dress. She finally caught sight of the doctor in the railway shed, tending to a wounded man.

  " Oh, thank heaven you're here. I need every pair of hands," said Dr. Meade when he saw here, misunderstanding the purpose of her visit.

  "But Melly's havin' her baby," cried Scarlett feebly. "You've got to come with me."

  "Are you crazy? I can't leave these men for a baby! They're dying-hundreds of them. Get some women to help you," he said.

  " But here isn't anybody. And, oh, Dr. Meade, she might die," pleaded Scarlett.

  "Die? Look at them, bleeding to death in front of my eyes! No chloroform-no bandages-nothing! Nothing to even ease their pain. Now run along and don't bother me," he exclaimed. Then when he saw the  look on her face he said, "Oh, don't worry child. There's nothing to bringing a baby."

  When Scarlett arrived to the house she was weary and impatient. Prissy greeted her at the front door with an impatient, "Is de doctah coming?"

  "No. He can't come. There's nobody to come. Prissy, you've got to manage without the doctor. I'll help you," explained Scarlett.

  Prissy's mouth feel open in disbelief. "Oh, lawsy, Miss Scarlett! Lawsy, we'se got ter have a doctah! Ah doan know nuthin' 'bout birthin' babies!"

  All the breath in Scarlett's body escaped her lungs in a gasp of horror. Her eyes wide and her heart pounding she said, "What do you mean?"

Prissy admits her lie

  "I don't know!"

  "You told me you knew everything about it!"

  "Ah don' know huccome Ah tell sech a lie! Maw ain't never let me roun' when folkses wuz havin' dem."

  With all the might of her tired arm, Scarlett slapped Prissy across her face. She grabbed her arm and pulled her up the stairs as Prissy wailed. "Stop it! Go light a fire in the stove and keep boiling water in the kettle. Get me a ball of twine-and all the clean towels you can find and-and the scissors. Don't come telling me you can't find them. Go get them and get them quick!"

  In Melanie's bedroom, Scarlett poured her heart and soul into her work. "Oh, Scarlett, you'd better go before the Yankees get here," suggested Melanie as she pushed.

  "I'm not afraid. You know I won't leave you," said Scarlett.

  "It's no use. I'm going to die."

  "Don't be a goose. Hold on to me! Hold on to me!" she commanded to a weak Melly.

  "Talk to me, Scarlett! Please! Talk to me! Keep on taking to me!" pleaded Melanie.

  "Don't try to be brave, Melly. Yell all you want to. There's nobody to hear," urged Scarlett.

  "Maw says effen you put a knife under de bed it cut de pain in two," said Prissy stupidly.

  At night when it was all over, Scarlett sent Prissy over to the Red Horse Saloon to get Rhett. When she reached him at Belle Watling's party she said, "Miss Scarlett, she done sent me for you! Miss Melly...she done hav eher baby today! A fine baby boy an' Miss Scarlett an' me we, brung it."

  "Do you mean to tell me that Scarlett-"

  "Well, it was mostly me, Capt'n Butler, only Miss Scarlett she helped me a little. An' Ah don' expec' no doctah could have done no better! Only Miss Melly, she feelin' kind o' po'rly now it's all over!"

  "Yes, I can believe that," said Rhett.

  "An' de Yankees is comin' an' Miss Scarlett, she said-"

  A cannon exploded and Prissy fell to her feet with a scream. "Oh, Capt'n Butler, de Yankees is hyah!...Please come an' bring yo' cah'rige fo' us right away!"

  "I'm sorry, Prissy-but the army took my horse and carriage. You better come upstairs and I'll see what I can do," said Rhett.

  "Oh, no, Capt'n Butler! Mah Maw'd wear me out wid a corn stalk effen Ah was to go into Mrs. Watlin's," she said.

  With a laugh Rhett turned into the room. "Any of you beauties know where I can steal a horse-for a good cause?"

    When Scarlet saw Rhett at the door a sense of relief filled her. "Oh, Rhett, I knew you'd come!" she said.

  "Good evening. Nice weather we're having. Prissy tells me you're planning on taking a trip."

  "If you make any jokes now, I"ll kill you," threatened Scarlett wholeheartedly.

  "Don't tell me you're frightened?"

  "I'm scared to death. If you had the sense of a goat, you'd be scared, too," she cried.

   When Scarlett told him that she planned to take them all to Tara, Rhett said, "Tara? Don't you know that they've been fighting all day around Tara? Do you think you can parade right htrough the Yankee army with a sick women, a baby, and a simple-minded darkie? Of do you intend leaving them behind? You little fool-don't you know it's dangerous jouncing Mrs. Wilkes over miles of open country? Tara's probably been burned to the ground. The woods are full of stragglers from both armies. The least they'll do is take the horse away from you. And even though it isn't much of an animal, I did have a lot of trouble stealing it."

  "I'm going home if I have to walk every step of the way," she started hysterically. "I'll kill you if you try to stop me! I will! I will!"

  Scarlett started sobbing hysterically in Rhett's arms. After trying to calm her he said, "I guess anybody who did what you've done today can take care of Sherman. Stop crying-Now blow your nose like a good little girl."

Scarlett begs Rhett to take her to Tara  

Scarlett and Rhett entered Melly's room where Scarlett told her that they were going to Tara. "Have you the strength to put your arms around my neck?" asked Rhett as she tried but her arms dangled limply. Rhett picked her up and Scarlett gathered Ashley's picture and Charle's sword in her arms as Prissy followed them, carrying the baby. As they loaded the entire group into the carriage Scarlett cried, "What-what's that?" pointing at a faint glow of fire.

  "Our gallant lads must have set fire to the warehouses near the depot. There's enough ammuntion is the boxcars down there to blow us to Tara," explained Rhett.

  As they all loaded onto the wagon Scarlett said, "Oh, wait! I forgot to lock the front door." When Rhett laughed at her she said, "Well, what are you laughing at?

  "At you, locking the Yankees out," he chuckled.

  The wagon was delayed at the business section of Peachtree street as the Confederate troops marched pathetically toward the intersecting throughfare. "Oh, dear! I wish they'd hurry!" complained Scarlett.

  "I wouldn't be in such a hurry to see them go if I were you, my dear. With them goes the last semblance of law and order," said Rhett grimly.

  As the last Confederate troop passed suddenly the scavengers appeared, breaking windows and stealing goods. They suddenly spoted the horse and shouted, "Git him!"

  As the men jumped on the back of the horse in an alley that Rhett had gone down, he punched and whipped them all, pulling them off of Scarlett as she sat there screaming. 

 When they were free of the scavengers they neared a building in flames. Prissy screamed, "Oh, Miss Scarlett! Oh!"

"They haven't left much for the Yankees to take, have they?" asked Rhett.

  "Rhett, how are we going to get through?

  "We'll have to make a dash for it before the fire reaches that ammunition," he explained.

  As the flames of the boxcar reached closer to the horse he refused to go. "Throw me a shawl," demanded Rhett. He wrappd the shawl around the horses eyes and led him forward, just as the building collapsed into a heap and the fire reached the ammunition.

  Rhett and Scarlett ended up slowing down on the road leading out of town, riding alongside the remains of the Confederate army. The burning buildings in the background gave the sky a hazy, blood color which outlined the dispirited soldiers dragging their rifles. As Scarlett stared in dismay Rhett said, "Take a good look, my dear. It's a historic moment. You can tell your grandchildren how you watched the Old South disappear on night. They were going to lick the Yankees in a month...the poor, gallant fools..."

  "They make me sick-all of them. Getting us into this with their swaggering and boasting," complained Scarlett bitterly.

  "That's the way I felt once-about their swaggering and boasting," he replied with a sad smile on his face.

  "Oh, Rhett, I'm so glad you aren't in the army!" Scarlett exclaimed. "You can be proud now-proud that you've been smarter than all of them..."

Rhett's new attitude toward patriotism

  "I'm not so proud," he muttered moodily, bringing the whip down on the horse's back.

  When they arrived at the turn to Tara, Rhett asked, "Scarlett, are you still determined to do this crazy thing?"

  "Oh, yes, yes! I'm know we can get through, Rhett. I'm sure we can," she responded eagerly.

  "Not we, my dear-you. I'm leaving you here," he said.

  "You're what?" she asked aghast. " Rhett! Where are you going?"

  "I'm going, my dear, to join the army."

  "Oh, you're joking! I could kill you for scaring me so!" she said relieved.

  "I'm very serious, Scarlett. Maybe it's because I've always had a weakness for loast causes...once they're really lost.. Or, maybe-maybe I'm ashamed of myself. Who knows?" he said.

  "You should die of shame to leave me here alone and helpless!" said Scarlett.

  "You, helpless! Heaven help the Yankees if they capture you..Now climb down here, I want to say good-bye," he said.

  "Oh, Rhett! Please, don't go! You can't leave me here! Please I'll never forgive you!"

"I'm not asking for you to forgive me. I'll never understand or forgive myself. And if a bullet gets me, so help me, I'll laugh at myself for being an idiot," he said, drawing her closer. "But there's one thing I do know. And that is that I love you, Scarlett. In spite of you and me and the whole silly world going to pieces around us-I love you. Because we're alike. Bad lots, both of us...selfish and shrewd, but able to look things in the eye and call them by their right names."

Rhett confesses his love for Scarlett.

 "Don't hold me like that," she protested feebly.

  "Scarlett, look at me! I love you more than I've loved any other women. And I've waited for you longer than I've ever waited for any women."

  "Let me alone!"

  "Here's a soldier of the South who loves you, Scarlett-wants to feel your arms around him-wants to carry the memory of your kisses into battle with him. Never mind about loving me. You're a women sending a soldier to his death-with a beautiful memory...Scarlett, kiss me...kiss me once."

Rhett and Scarlett kissing

As he pressed his lips against hers she jerked away and shouted, "You low-down, cowardly, nasty thing, you!" and slapped him hard across the face. "They were right!...Everybody was right!...You-you aren't a gentleman!..."

  With a smile he said, "A minor point-at such a moment.." With that he handed her his pistol. "If anyone lays a hand on this nag, shoot him-but don't make a mistake and shoot the nag."

  "Oh, go on! I want you to go! I hope a cannonball lands slap on you! I hope you're blown into a million piece! I-" she said with a sob.

  ""Never mind the rest. I follow your general idea. And when I'm dead on the alter of my country, I hope your conscience hurts you." With a lift of his hat he said, "Good-bye, Scarlett."

  She watched his figure retreat into the darkness and suddenly began sobbing with weariness. She wrapped her arms around the mare's neck and cried until she could hold her chin up straight and with determination. "Come on , you. We're going home..."

Onward...