Jane more than anyone else saw the change in him, but she was a child to whom adult ways, even Other-Papa’s, were not matters to be questioned. He no longer went to see her every day; but when he did go, she tried to amuse him in the old ways. She made even more of him and his visits than she had done before. Once, however, when he had come and gone, she had a fit of crying which had never happened before. Alarmed, Rachel took the child onto her lap and tried to soothe her, begging to know what ailed her.

Finally Jane shrieked, “Why is Other-Papa sad!”

“He isn’t, dear child—he is only a little worried about the way things are going.”

“Why?” Jane wailed.

“Well, because there may be war—and times are not good, you see.”

“Why?”

“Now, stop it. Stop crying. It isn’t good for you, and I won’t have it.” The child stopped crying but disengaged herself and slid from her mother’s lap and ran away. “Jane, come back!” Rachel called, but she did not go after her. She had her own fears and worries now, concerning James.

From being a bride who, if not reluctant, was certainly little more than resigned, Rachel had grown into a loving wife. Hers was such a warm and passionate nature she could not and did not hold herself back from James’s love. Whenever she thought of Adam now, it was as “that dear young boy,” but her woman’s love was for the man James. And James, in spite of his stubborn refusal to acknowledge the fact that war was coming, would, when it came, go. She knew he would, and when she thought of it, she thought that she would not be able to bear it. The thought of living without James sent silent screams through her mind, sickened her body with dread.

And then, what they had all talked of for so long, happened. The only major forts in the Confederate States still manned by Union forces were Sumter in Charleston Harbor and Pickens in Pensacola Bay. Lincoln decided not to abandon them. The Confederate Secretary of War in Montgomery ordered Brigadier General P. G. T. Beauregard in Charleston to demand the surrender of Sumter. Major Robert Anderson, who commanded the fort, replied that he would evacuate it of his troops unless supplies and new orders were received. Lincoln sent the supplies and made known his determination not to surrender the fort to the Southerners. At 4:30 on the morning of April 12 the forces of General Beauregard opened fire on Fort Sumter. The war had begun.