Show him this. It is my dying wish. He is a man of honor.
I have left all my estate to my beloved child, Isabel Valois. It
is only right; the property came by my marriage with my wife, her
dead mother. In the case of the death of my child, search out the
heirs of Judge Valois and see the property fairly divided among
them. Hardin is the soul of honor, and will aid you in all. I desire
this to be a codicil to my will, and regarded as such. I could not
ask you to ride out again for me this wild night before my last
battle.
The will you witnessed, is the necessary act of the death of my
wife. If you live through the war, never forget
Your friend and comrade, MAXIME VALOIS.
P.S. If you go to California, look up Joe Woods. He is as true a
man as ever breathed, and would be kind to my little girl. Padre
Francisco Ribaut married me at Lagunitas to my Dolores. Good-bye
and good-night. M.V.
The men gaze at each other across the table, touched by this solemn
voice sweeping down the path of dead years. That lonely grave by
the lines of Atlanta seemed to have opened to a dead father's love.
Peyton saw the past in a new light. Valois' reckless gallantry that
day was an immolation. His wife's death had unsettled him.
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