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diff --git a/13334-h/13334-h.htm b/13334-h/13334-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1d5552c --- /dev/null +++ b/13334-h/13334-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,6223 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta name="generator" + content="HTML Tidy for Linux/x86 (vers 1st November 2002), see www.w3.org" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> + <title>Collected Works Ambrose Bierce vol 2</title> + <style type="text/css"> + /*<![CDATA[*/ + + <!-- + body {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + p {text-align: justify;} + blockquote {text-align: justify;} + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {text-align: center;} + hr {text-align: center; width: 50%;} + html>body hr {margin-right: 25%; margin-left: 25%; width: 50%;} + + div.chapter {padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 4em;} + .figure, .figcenter, .figright + {padding: 1em; margin: 0; text-align: center; font-size: 0.8em;} + .figure img, .figcenter img, .figright img + {border: none;} + .figure p, .figcenter p, .figright p + {margin: 0; text-indent: 1em;} + .figcenter {margin: auto;} + --> + /*]]>*/ + </style> + </head> + <body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13334 ***</div> + + <div class="figcenter"> + <img src="images/001.png" width="700" height="943" + alt="Collected works of Ambrose Bierce, vol 2, Soldiers and Civilians" /> + </div> + <h3>Originally Published 1909</h3> + <h2>PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION</h2> + <p>Denied existence by the chief publishing houses of the country, this book owes + itself to Mr. E. L. G. Steele, merchant, of this city. In attesting Mr. Steele's + faith in his judgment and his friend, it will serve its author's main and best + ambition.</p> + <p>A. B.</p> + <p>SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 4, 1891.</p> + <h3>CONTENTS</h3> + <table width="75%" border="0" summary="Table of contents"> + <tr> + <td height="30">A HORSEMAN IN THE SKY</td> + <td height="30"><a href="#page15">15</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30">AN OCCURRENCE AT OWL CREEK BRIDGE</td> + <td height="30"><a href="#page27">27</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30">CHICKAMAUGA</td> + <td height="30"><a href="#page46">46</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30">A SON OF THE GODS</td> + <td height="30"><a href="#page58">58</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30">ONE OF THE MISSING</td> + <td height="30"><a href="#page71">71</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30">KILLED AT RESACA</td> + <td height="30"><a href="#page93">93</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30">THE AFFAIR AT COULTER'S NOTCH</td> + <td height="30"><a href="#page105">105</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30">THE COUP DE GRÂCE</td> + <td height="30"><a href="#page122">122</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30">PARKER ADDERSON, PHILOSOPHER</td> + <td height="30"><a href="#page133">133</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30">AN AFFAIR OF OUTPOSTS</td> + <td height="30"><a href="#page146">146</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30">THE STORY OF A CONSCIENCE</td> + <td height="30"><a href="#page165">165</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30">ONE KIND OF OFFICER</td> + <td height="30"><a href="#page178">178</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30">ONE OFFICER, ONE MAN</td> + <td height="30"><a href="#page197">197</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30">GEORGE THURSTON</td> + <td height="30"><a href="#page209">209</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30">THE MOCKING-BIRD</td> + <td height="30"><a href="#page218">218</a></td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> </p> + <h3>CIVILIANS</h3> + <table width="75%" border="0" summary=""> + <tr> + <td height="30" width="92%">THE MAN OUT OF THE NOSE</td> + <td height="30" width="8%"><a href="#page233">233</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30" width="92%">AN ADVENTURE AT BROWNVILLE</td> + <td height="30" width="8%"><a href="#page247">247</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30" width="92%">THE FAMOUS GILSON BEQUEST</td> + <td height="30" width="8%"><a href="#page266">266</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30" width="92%">THE APPLICANT</td> + <td height="30" width="8%"><a href="#page281">281</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30" width="92%">A WATCHER BY THE DEAD</td> + <td height="30" width="8%"><a href="#page290">290</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30" width="92%">THE MAN AND THE SNAKE</td> + <td height="30" width="8%"><a href="#page311">311</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30" width="92%">A HOLY TERROR</td> + <td height="30" width="8%"><a href="#page324">324</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30" width="92%">THE SUITABLE SURROUNDINGS</td> + <td height="30" width="8%"><a href="#page350">350</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30" width="92%">THE BOARDED WINDOW</td> + <td height="30" width="8%"><a href="#page364">364</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30" width="92%">A LADY FROM RED HORSE</td> + <td height="30" width="8%"><a href="#page373">373</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td height="30" width="92%">THE EYES OF THE PANTHER</td> + <td height="30" width="8%"><a href="#page385">385</a></td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> </p> + <p> </p> + <h3>SOLDIERS</h3> + <div class="chapter"> + <h4><a id="page15" name="page15"></a>A HORSEMAN IN THE SKY</h4> + <p>I</p> + <p>One sunny afternoon in the autumn of the year 1861 a soldier lay in a clump of + laurel by the side of a road in western Virginia. He lay at full length upon his + stomach, his feet resting upon the toes, his head upon the left forearm. His + extended right hand loosely grasped his rifle. But for the somewhat methodical + disposition of his limbs and a slight rhythmic movement of the cartridge-box at the + back of his belt he might have been thought to be dead. He was asleep at his post + of duty. But if detected he would be dead shortly afterward, death being the just + and legal penalty of his crime.</p> + <p>The clump of laurel in which the criminal lay was in the angle of a road which + after ascending southward a steep acclivity to that point turned sharply to the + west, running along the summit for perhaps one hundred yards. There it turned + southward again and went zigzagging downward through the forest. At the salient of + that second angle was a large flat rock, jutting out northward, overlooking the + deep valley from which the road ascended. The rock capped a high cliff; a stone + dropped from its outer edge would have fallen sheer downward one thousand feet to + the tops of the pines. The angle where the soldier lay was on another spur of the + same cliff. Had he been awake he would have commanded a view, not only of the short + arm of the road and the jutting rock, but of the entire profile of the cliff below + it. It might well have made him giddy to look.</p> + <p>The country was wooded everywhere except at the bottom of the valley to the + northward, where there was a small natural meadow, through which flowed a stream + scarcely visible from the valley's rim. This open ground looked hardly larger than + an ordinary door-yard, but was really several acres in extent. Its green was more + vivid than that of the inclosing forest. Away beyond it rose a line of giant cliffs + similar to those upon which we are supposed to stand in our survey of the savage + scene, and through which the road had somehow made its climb to the summit. The + configuration of the valley, indeed, was such that from this point of observation + it seemed entirely shut in, and one could but have wondered how the road which + found a way out of it had found a way into it, and whence came and whither went the + waters of the stream that parted the meadow more than a thousand feet below.</p> + <p>No country is so wild and difficult but men will make it a theatre of war; + concealed in the forest at the bottom of that military rat-trap, in which half a + hundred men in possession of the exits might have starved an army to submission, + lay five regiments of Federal infantry. They had marched all the previous day and + night and were resting. At nightfall they would take to the road again, climb to + the place where their unfaithful sentinel now slept, and descending the other slope + of the ridge fall upon a camp of the enemy at about midnight. Their hope was to + surprise it, for the road led to the rear of it. In case of failure, their position + would be perilous in the extreme; and fail they surely would should accident or + vigilance apprise the enemy of the movement.</p> + <p>II</p> + <p>The sleeping sentinel in the clump of laurel was a young Virginian named Carter + Druse. He was the son of wealthy parents, an only child, and had known such ease + and cultivation and high living as wealth and taste were able to command in the + mountain country of western Virginia. His home was but a few miles from where he + now lay. One morning he had risen from the breakfast-table and said, quietly but + gravely: "Father, a Union regiment has arrived at Grafton. I am going to join + it."</p> + <p>The father lifted his leonine head, looked at the son a moment in silence, and + replied: "Well, go, sir, and whatever may occur do what you conceive to be your + duty. Virginia, to which you are a traitor, must get on without you. Should we both + live to the end of the war, we will speak further of the matter. Your mother, as + the physician has informed you, is in a most critical condition; at the best she + cannot be with us longer than a few weeks, but that time is precious. It would be + better not to disturb her."</p> + <p>So Carter Druse, bowing reverently to his father, who returned the salute with a + stately courtesy that masked a breaking heart, left the home of his childhood to go + soldiering. By conscience and courage, by deeds of devotion and daring, he soon + commended himself to his fellows and his officers; and it was to these qualities + and to some knowledge of the country that he owed his selection for his + present perilous duty at the extreme outpost. Nevertheless, fatigue had been + stronger than resolution and he had fallen asleep. What good or bad angel came in a + dream to rouse him from his state of crime, who shall say? Without a movement, + without a sound, in the profound silence and the languor of the late afternoon, + some invisible messenger of fate touched with unsealing finger the eyes of his + consciousness—whispered into the ear of his spirit the mysterious awakening + word which no human lips ever have spoken, no human memory ever has recalled. He + quietly raised his forehead from his arm and looked between the masking stems of + the laurels, instinctively closing his right hand about the stock of his rifle.</p> + <p>His first feeling was a keen artistic delight. On a colossal pedestal, the + cliff,—motionless at the extreme edge of the capping rock and sharply + outlined against the sky,—was an equestrian statue of impressive dignity. The + figure of the man sat the figure of the horse, straight and soldierly, but with the + repose of a Grecian god carved in the marble which limits the suggestion of + activity. The gray costume harmonized with its aërial background; the metal of + accoutrement and caparison was softened and subdued by the shadow; the animal's + skin had no points of high light. A carbine strikingly foreshortened lay across the + pommel of the saddle, kept in place by the right hand grasping it at the "grip"; + the left hand, holding the bridle rein, was invisible. In silhouette against the + sky the profile of the horse was cut with the sharpness of a cameo; it looked + across the heights of air to the confronting cliffs beyond. The face of the rider, + turned slightly away, showed only an outline of temple and beard; he was looking + downward to the bottom of the valley. Magnified by its lift against the sky and by + the soldier's testifying sense of the formidableness of a near enemy the group + appeared of heroic, almost colossal, size.</p> + <p>For an instant Druse had a strange, half-defined feeling that he had slept to + the end of the war and was looking upon a noble work of art reared upon that + eminence to commemorate the deeds of an heroic past of which he had been an + inglorious part. The feeling was dispelled by a slight movement of the group: the + horse, without moving its feet, had drawn its body slightly backward from the + verge; the man remained immobile as before. Broad awake and keenly alive to the + significance of the situation, Druse now brought the butt of his rifle against his + cheek by cautiously pushing the barrel forward through the bushes, cocked the + piece, and glancing through the sights covered a vital spot of the horseman's + breast. A touch upon the trigger and all would have been well with Carter Druse. At + that instant the horseman turned his head and looked in the direction of his + concealed foeman—seemed to look into his very face, into his eyes, into his + brave, compassionate heart.</p> + <p>Is it then so terrible to kill an enemy in war—an enemy who has surprised + a secret vital to the safety of one's self and comrades—an enemy more + formidable for his knowledge than all his army for its numbers? Carter Druse grew + pale; he shook in every limb, turned faint, and saw the statuesque group before him + as black figures, rising, falling, moving unsteadily in arcs of circles in a fiery + sky. His hand fell away from his weapon, his head slowly dropped until his face + rested on the leaves in which he lay. This courageous gentleman and hardy soldier + was near swooning from intensity of emotion.</p> + <p>It was not for long; in another moment his face was raised from earth, his hands + resumed their places on the rifle, his forefinger sought the trigger; mind, heart, + and eyes were clear, conscience and reason sound. He could not hope to capture that + enemy; to alarm him would but send him dashing to his camp with his fatal news. The + duty of the soldier was plain: the man must be shot dead from ambush—without + warning, without a moment's spiritual preparation, with never so much as an + unspoken prayer, he must be sent to his account. But no—there is a hope; he + may have discovered nothing—perhaps he is but admiring the sublimity of the + landscape. If permitted, he may turn and ride carelessly away in the direction + whence he came. Surely it will be possible to judge at the instant of his + withdrawing whether he knows. It may well be that his fixity of + attention—Druse turned his head and looked through the deeps of air downward, + as from the surface to the bottom of a translucent sea. He saw creeping across the + green meadow a sinuous line of figures of men and horses—some foolish + commander was permitting the soldiers of his escort to water their beasts in the + open, in plain view from a dozen summits!</p> + <p>Druse withdrew his eyes from the valley and fixed them again upon the group of + man and horse in the sky, and again it was through the sights of his rifle. But + this time his aim was at the horse. In his memory, as if they were a divine + mandate, rang the words of his father at their parting: "Whatever may occur, do + what you conceive to be your duty." He was calm now. His teeth were firmly but not + rigidly closed; his nerves were as tranquil as a sleeping babe's—not a tremor + affected any muscle of his body; his breathing, until suspended in the act of + taking aim, was regular and slow. Duty had conquered; the spirit had said to the + body: "Peace, be still." He fired.</p> + <p>III</p> + <p>An officer of the Federal force, who in a spirit of adventure or in quest of + knowledge had left the hidden <i>bivouac</i> in the valley, and with aimless feet + had made his way to the lower edge of a small open space near the foot of the + cliff, was considering what he had to gain by pushing his exploration further. At a + distance of a quarter-mile before him, but apparently at a stone's throw, rose from + its fringe of pines the gigantic face of rock, towering to so great a height above + him that it made him giddy to look up to where its edge cut a sharp, rugged line + against the sky. It presented a clean, vertical profile against a background of + blue sky to a point half the way down, and of distant hills, hardly less blue, + thence to the tops of the trees at its base. Lifting his eyes to the dizzy altitude + of its summit the officer saw an astonishing sight—a man on horseback riding + down into the valley through the air!</p> + <p>Straight upright sat the rider, in military fashion, with a firm seat in the + saddle, a strong clutch upon the rein to hold his charger from too impetuous a + plunge. From his bare head his long hair streamed upward, waving like a plume. His + hands were concealed in the cloud of the horse's lifted mane. The animal's body was + as level as if every hoof-stroke encountered the resistant earth. Its motions were + those of a wild gallop, but even as the officer looked they ceased, with all the + legs thrown sharply forward as in the act of alighting from a leap. But this was a + flight!</p> + <p>Filled with amazement and terror by this apparition of a horseman in the + sky—half believing himself the chosen scribe of some new Apocalypse, the + officer was overcome by the intensity of his emotions; his legs failed him and he + fell. Almost at the same instant he heard a crashing sound in the trees—a + sound that died without an echo—and all was still.</p> + <p>The officer rose to his feet, trembling. The familiar sensation of an abraded + shin recalled his dazed faculties. Pulling himself together he ran rapidly + obliquely away from the cliff to a point distant from its foot; thereabout he + expected to find his man; and thereabout he naturally failed. In the fleeting + instant of his vision his imagination had been so wrought upon by the apparent + grace and ease and intention of the marvelous performance that it did not occur to + him that the line of march of aërial cavalry is directly downward, and that he + could find the objects of his search at the very foot of the cliff. A half-hour + later he returned to camp.</p> + <p>This officer was a wise man; he knew better than to tell an incredible truth. He + said nothing of what he had seen. But when the commander asked him if in his scout + he had learned anything of advantage to the expedition he answered:</p> + <p>"Yes, sir; there is no road leading down into this valley from the + southward."</p> + <p>The commander, knowing better, smiled.</p> + <p>IV</p> + <p>After firing his shot, Private Carter Druse reloaded his rifle and resumed his + watch. Ten minutes had hardly passed when a Federal sergeant crept cautiously to + him on hands and knees. Druse neither turned his head nor looked at him, but lay + without motion or sign of recognition.</p> + <p>"Did you fire?" the sergeant whispered.</p> + <p>"Yes."</p> + <p>"At what?"</p> + <p>"A horse. It was standing on yonder rock—pretty far out. You see it is no + longer there. It went over the cliff."</p> + <p>The man's face was white, but he showed no other sign of emotion. Having + answered, he turned away his eyes and said no more. The sergeant did not + understand.</p> + <p>"See here, Druse," he said, after a moment's silence, "it's no use making a + mystery. I order you to report. Was there anybody on the horse?"</p> + <p>"Yes."</p> + <p>"Well?"</p> + <p>"My father."</p> + <p>The sergeant rose to his feet and walked away. "Good God!" he said.</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + . + <h4><a id="page27" name="page27"></a>AN OCCURRENCE AT OWL CREEK BRIDGE</h4> + <p>I</p> + <p>A man stood upon a railroad bridge in northern Alabama, looking down into the + swift water twenty feet below. The man's hands were behind his back, the wrists + bound with a cord. A rope closely encircled his neck. It was attached to a stout + cross-timber above his head and the slack fell to the level of his knees. Some + loose boards laid upon the sleepers supporting the metals of the railway supplied a + footing for him and his executioners—two private soldiers of the Federal + army, directed by a sergeant who in civil life may have been a deputy sheriff. At a + short remove upon the same temporary platform was an officer in the uniform of his + rank, armed. He was a captain. A sentinel at each end of the bridge stood with his + rifle in the position known as "support," that is to say, vertical in front of the + left shoulder, the hammer resting on the forearm thrown straight across the + chest—a formal and unnatural position, enforcing an erect carriage of the + body. It did not appear to be the duty of these two men to know what was occurring + at the centre of the bridge; they merely blockaded the two ends of the foot + planking that traversed it.</p> + <p>Beyond one of the sentinels nobody was in sight; the railroad ran straight away + into a forest for a hundred yards, then, curving, was lost to view. Doubtless there + was an outpost farther along. The other bank of the stream was open ground—a + gentle acclivity topped with a stockade of vertical tree trunks, loop-holed for + rifles, with a single embrasure through which protruded the muzzle of a brass + cannon commanding the bridge. Mid-way of the slope between bridge and fort were the + spectators—a single company of infantry in line, at "parade rest," the butts + of the rifles on the ground, the barrels inclining slightly backward against the + right shoulder, the hands crossed upon the stock. A lieutenant stood at the right + of the line, the point of his sword upon the ground, his left hand resting upon his + right. Excepting the group of four at the centre of the bridge, not a man moved. + The company faced the bridge, staring stonily, motionless. The sentinels, facing + the banks of the stream, might have been statues to adorn the bridge. The captain + stood with folded arms, silent, observing the work of his subordinates, but making + no sign. Death is a dignitary who when he comes announced is to be received with + formal manifestations of respect, even by those most familiar with him. In the code + of military etiquette silence and fixity are forms of deference.</p> + <p>The man who was engaged in being hanged was apparently about thirty-five years + of age. He was a civilian, if one might judge from his habit, which was that of a + planter. His features were good—a straight nose, firm mouth, broad forehead, + from which his long, dark hair was combed straight back, falling behind his ears to + the collar of his well-fitting frock-coat. He wore a mustache and pointed beard, + but no whiskers; his eyes were large and dark gray, and had a kindly expression + which one would hardly have expected in one whose neck was in the hemp. Evidently + this was no vulgar assassin. The liberal military code makes provision for hanging + many kinds of persons, and gentlemen are not excluded.</p> + <p>The preparations being complete, the two private soldiers stepped aside and each + drew away the plank upon which he had been standing. The sergeant turned to the + captain, saluted and placed himself immediately behind that officer, who in turn + moved apart one pace. These movements left the condemned man and the sergeant + standing on the two ends of the same plank, which spanned three of the cross-ties + of the bridge. The end upon which the civilian stood almost, but not quite, reached + a fourth. This plank had been held in place by the weight of the captain; it was + now held by that of the sergeant. At a signal from the former the latter would step + aside, the plank would tilt and the condemned man go down between two ties. The + arrangement commended itself to his judgment as simple and effective. His face had + not been covered nor his eyes bandaged. He looked a moment at his "unsteadfast + footing," then let his gaze wander to the swirling water of the stream racing madly + beneath his feet. A piece of dancing driftwood caught his attention and his eyes + followed it down the current. How slowly it appeared to move! What a sluggish + stream!</p> + <p>He closed his eyes in order to fix his last thoughts upon his wife and children. + The water, touched to gold by the early sun, the brooding mists under the banks at + some distance down the stream, the fort, the soldiers, the piece of drift—all + had distracted him. And now he became conscious of a new disturbance. Striking + through the thought of his dear ones was a sound which he could neither ignore nor + understand, a sharp, distinct, metallic percussion like the stroke of a + blacksmith's hammer upon the anvil; it had the same ringing quality. He wondered + what it was, and whether immeasurably distant or near by—it seemed both. Its + recurrence was regular, but as slow as the tolling of a death knell. He awaited + each stroke with impatience and—he knew not why—apprehension. The + intervals of silence grew progressively longer; the delays became maddening. With + their greater infrequency the sounds increased in strength and sharpness. They hurt + his ear like the thrust of a knife; he feared he would shriek. What he heard was + the ticking of his watch.</p> + <p>He unclosed his eyes and saw again the water below him. "If I could free my + hands," he thought, "I might throw off the noose and spring into the stream. By + diving I could evade the bullets and, swimming vigorously, reach the bank, take to + the woods and get away home. My home, thank God, is as yet outside their lines; my + wife and little ones are still beyond the invader's farthest advance."</p> + <p>As these thoughts, which have here to be set down in words, were flashed into + the doomed man's brain rather than evolved from it the captain nodded to the + sergeant. The sergeant stepped aside.</p> + <p>II</p> + <p>Peyton Farquhar was a well-to-do planter, of an old and highly respected Alabama + family. Being a slave owner and like other slave owners a politician he was + naturally an original secessionist and ardently devoted to the Southern cause. + Circumstances of an imperious nature, which it is unnecessary to relate here, had + prevented him from taking service with the gallant army that had fought the + disastrous campaigns ending with the fall of Corinth, and he chafed under the + inglorious restraint, longing for the release of his energies, the larger life of + the soldier, the opportunity for distinction. That opportunity, he felt, would + come, as it comes to all in war time. Meanwhile he did what he could. No service + was too humble for him to perform in aid of the South, no adventure too perilous + for him to undertake if consistent with the character of a civilian who was at + heart a soldier, and who in good faith and without too much qualification assented + to at least a part of the frankly villainous dictum that all is fair in love and + war.</p> + <p>One evening while Farquhar and his wife were sitting on a rustic bench near the + entrance to his grounds, a gray-clad soldier rode up to the gate and asked for a + drink of water. Mrs. Farquhar was only too happy to serve him with her own white + hands. While she was fetching the water her husband approached the dusty horseman + and inquired eagerly for news from the front.</p> + <p>"The Yanks are repairing the railroads," said the man, "and are getting ready + for another advance. They have reached the Owl Creek bridge, put it in order and + built a stockade on the north bank. The commandant has issued an order, which is + posted everywhere, declaring that any civilian caught interfering with the + railroad, its bridges, tunnels or trains will be summarily hanged. I saw the + order."</p> + <p>"How far is it to the Owl Creek bridge?" Farquhar asked.</p> + <p>"About thirty miles."</p> + <p>"Is there no force on this side the creek?"</p> + <p>"Only a picket post half a mile out, on the railroad, and a single sentinel at + this end of the bridge."</p> + <p>"Suppose a man—a civilian and student of hanging—should elude the + picket post and perhaps get the better of the sentinel," said Farquhar, smiling, + "what could he accomplish?"</p> + <p>The soldier reflected. "I was there a month ago," he replied. "I observed that + the flood of last winter had lodged a great quantity of driftwood against the + wooden pier at this end of the bridge. It is now dry and would burn like tow."</p> + <p>The lady had now brought the water, which the soldier drank. He thanked her + ceremoniously, bowed to her husband and rode away. An hour later, after nightfall, + he repassed the plantation, going northward in the direction from which he had + come. He was a Federal scout.</p> + <p>III</p> + <p>As Peyton Farquhar fell straight downward through the bridge he lost + consciousness and was as one already dead. From this state he was + awakened—ages later, it seemed to him—by the pain of a sharp pressure + upon his throat, followed by a sense of suffocation. Keen, poignant agonies seemed + to shoot from his neck downward through every fibre of his body and limbs. These + pains appeared to flash along well-defined lines of ramification and to beat with + an inconceivably rapid periodicity. They seemed like streams of pulsating fire + heating him to an intolerable temperature. As to his head, he was conscious of + nothing but a feeling of fulness—of congestion. These sensations were + unaccompanied by thought. The intellectual part of his nature was already effaced; + he had power only to feel, and feeling was torment. He was conscious of motion. + Encompassed in a luminous cloud, of which he was now merely the fiery heart, + without material substance, he swung through unthinkable arcs of oscillation, like + a vast pendulum. Then all at once, with terrible suddenness, the light about him + shot upward with the noise of a loud plash; a frightful roaring was in his ears, + and all was cold and dark. The power of thought was restored; he knew that the rope + had broken and he had fallen into the stream. There was no additional + strangulation; the noose about his neck was already suffocating him and kept the + water from his lungs. To die of hanging at the bottom of a river!—the idea + seemed to him ludicrous. He opened his eyes in the darkness and saw above him a + gleam of light, but how distant, how inaccessible! He was still sinking, for the + light became fainter and fainter until it was a mere glimmer. Then it began to grow + and brighten, and he knew that he was rising toward the surface—knew it with + reluctance, for he was now very comfortable. "To be hanged and drowned," he + thought, "that is not so bad; but I do not wish to be shot. No; I will not be shot; + that is not fair."</p> + <p>He was not conscious of an effort, but a sharp pain in his wrist apprised him + that he was trying to free his hands. He gave the struggle his attention, as an + idler might observe the feat of a juggler, without interest in the outcome. What + splendid effort!—what magnificent, what superhuman strength! Ah, that was a + fine endeavor! Bravo! The cord fell away; his arms parted and floated upward, the + hands dimly seen on each side in the growing light. He watched them with a new + interest as first one and then the other pounced upon the noose at his neck. They + tore it away and thrust it fiercely aside, its undulations resembling those of a + water-snake. "Put it back, put it back!" He thought he shouted these words to his + hands, for the undoing of the noose had been succeeded by the direst pang that he + had yet experienced. His neck ached horribly; his brain was on fire; his heart, + which had been fluttering faintly, gave a great leap, trying to force itself out at + his mouth. His whole body was racked and wrenched with an insupportable anguish! + But his disobedient hands gave no heed to the command. They beat the water + vigorously with quick, downward strokes, forcing him to the surface. He felt his + head emerge; his eyes were blinded by the sunlight; his chest expanded + convulsively, and with a supreme and crowning agony his lungs engulfed a great + draught of air, which instantly he expelled in a shriek!</p> + <p>He was now in full possession of his physical senses. They were, indeed, + preternaturally keen and alert. Something in the awful disturbance of his organic + system had so exalted and refined them that they made record of things never before + perceived. He felt the ripples upon his face and heard their separate sounds as + they struck. He looked at the forest on the bank of the stream, saw the individual + trees, the leaves and the veining of each leaf—saw the very insects upon + them: the locusts, the brilliant-bodied flies, the gray spiders stretching their + webs from twig to twig. He noted the prismatic colors in all the dewdrops upon a + million blades of grass. The humming of the gnats that danced above the eddies of + the stream, the beating of the dragon-flies' wings, the strokes of the + water-spiders' legs, like oars which had lifted their boat—all these made + audible music. A fish slid along beneath his eyes and he heard the rush of its body + parting the water.</p> + <p>He had come to the surface facing down the stream; in a moment the visible world + seemed to wheel slowly round, himself the pivotal point, and he saw the bridge, the + fort, the soldiers upon the bridge, the captain, the sergeant, the two privates, + his executioners. They were in silhouette against the blue sky. They shouted and + gesticulated, pointing at him. The captain had drawn his pistol, but did not fire; + the others were unarmed. Their movements were grotesque and horrible, their forms + gigantic.</p> + <p>Suddenly he heard a sharp report and something struck the water smartly within a + few inches of his head, spattering his face with spray. He heard a second report, + and saw one of the sentinels with his rifle at his shoulder, a light cloud of blue + smoke rising from the muzzle. The man in the water saw the eye of the man on the + bridge gazing into his own through the sights of the rifle. He observed that it was + a gray eye and remembered having read that gray eyes were keenest, and that all + famous markmen had them. Nevertheless, this one had missed.</p> + <p>A counter-swirl had caught Farquhar and turned him half round; he was again + looking into the forest on the bank opposite the fort. The sound of a clear, high + voice in a monotonous singsong now rang out behind him and came across the water + with a distinctness that pierced and subdued all other sounds, even the beating of + the ripples in his ears. Although no soldier, he had frequented camps enough to + know the dread significance of that deliberate, drawling, aspirated chant; the + lieutenant on shore was taking a part in the morning's work. How coldly and + pitilessly—with what an even, calm intonation, presaging, and enforcing + tranquillity in the men—with what accurately measured intervals fell those + cruel words:</p> + <p>"Attention, company!... Shoulder arms!... Ready!... Aim!... Fire!"</p> + <p>Farquhar dived—dived as deeply as he could. The water roared in his ears + like the voice of Niagara, yet he heard the dulled thunder of the volley and, + rising again toward the surface, met shining bits of metal, singularly flattened, + oscillating slowly downward. Some of them touched him on the face and hands, then + fell away, continuing their descent. One lodged between his collar and neck; it was + uncomfortably warm and he snatched it out.</p> + <p>As he rose to the surface, gasping for breath, he saw that he had been a long + time under water; he was perceptibly farther down stream—nearer to safety. + The soldiers had almost finished reloading; the metal ramrods flashed all at once + in the sunshine as they were drawn from the barrels, turned in the air, and thrust + into their sockets. The two sentinels fired again, independently and + ineffectually.</p> + <p>The hunted man saw all this over his shoulder; he was now swimming vigorously + with the current. His brain was as energetic as his arms and legs; he thought with + the rapidity of lightning.</p> + <p>"The officer," he reasoned, "will not make that martinet's error a second time. + It is as easy to dodge a volley as a single shot. He has probably already given the + command to fire at will. God help me, I cannot dodge them all!"</p> + <p>An appalling plash within two yards of him was followed by a loud, rushing + sound, <i>diminuendo</i>, which seemed to travel back through the air to the fort + and died in an explosion which stirred the very river to its deeps! A rising sheet + of water curved over him, fell down upon him, blinded him, strangled him! The + cannon had taken a hand in the game. As he shook his head free from the commotion + of the smitten water he heard the deflected shot humming through the air ahead, and + in an instant it was cracking and smashing the branches in the forest beyond.</p> + <p>"They will not do that again," he thought; "the next time they will use a charge + of grape. I must keep my eye upon the gun; the smoke will apprise me—the + report arrives too late; it lags behind the missile. That is a good gun."</p> + <p>Suddenly he felt himself whirled round and round—spinning like a top. The + water, the banks, the forests, the now distant bridge, fort and men—all were + commingled and blurred. Objects were represented by their colors only; circular + horizontal streaks of color—that was all he saw. He had been caught in a + vortex and was being whirled on with a velocity of advance and gyration that made + him giddy and sick. In a few moments he was flung upon the gravel at the foot of + the left bank of the stream—the southern bank—and behind a projecting + point which concealed him from his enemies. The sudden arrest of his motion, the + abrasion of one of his hands on the gravel, restored him, and he wept with delight. + He dug his fingers into the sand, threw it over himself in handfuls and audibly + blessed it. It looked like diamonds, rubies, emeralds; he could think of nothing + beautiful which it did not resemble. The trees upon the bank were giant garden + plants; he noted a definite order in their arrangement, inhaled the fragrance of + their blooms. A strange, roseate light shone through the spaces among their trunks + and the wind made in their branches the music of æolian harps. He had no wish + to perfect his escape—was content to remain in that enchanting spot until + retaken.</p> + <p>A whiz and rattle of grapeshot among the branches high above his head roused him + from his dream. The baffled cannoneer had fired him a random farewell. He sprang to + his feet, rushed up the sloping bank, and plunged into the forest.</p> + <p>All that day he traveled, laying his course by the rounding sun. The forest + seemed interminable; nowhere did he discover a break in it, not even a woodman's + road. He had not known that he lived in so wild a region. There was something + uncanny in the revelation.</p> + <p>By nightfall he was fatigued, footsore, famishing. The thought of his wife and + children urged him on. At last he found a road which led him in what he knew to be + the right direction. It was as wide and straight as a city street, yet it seemed + untraveled. No fields bordered it, no dwelling anywhere. Not so much as the barking + of a dog suggested human habitation. The black bodies of the trees formed a + straight wall on both sides, terminating on the horizon in a point, like a diagram + in a lesson in perspective. Over-head, as he looked up through this rift in the + wood, shone great golden stars looking unfamiliar and grouped in strange + constellations. He was sure they were arranged in some order which had a secret and + malign significance. The wood on either side was full of singular noises, among + which—once, twice, and again—he distinctly heard whispers in an unknown + tongue.</p> + <p>His neck was in pain and lifting his hand to it he found it horribly swollen. He + knew that it had a circle of black where the rope had bruised it. His eyes felt + congested; he could no longer close them. His tongue was swollen with thirst; he + relieved its fever by thrusting it forward from between his teeth into the cold + air. How softly the turf had carpeted the untraveled avenue—he could no + longer feel the roadway beneath his feet!</p> + <p>Doubtless, despite his suffering, he had fallen asleep while walking, for now he + sees another scene—perhaps he has merely recovered from a delirium. He stands + at the gate of his own home. All is as he left it, and all bright and beautiful in + the morning sunshine. He must have traveled the entire night. As he pushes open the + gate and passes up the wide white walk, he sees a flutter of female garments; his + wife, looking fresh and cool and sweet, steps down from the veranda to meet him. At + the bottom of the steps she stands waiting, with a smile of ineffable joy, an + attitude of matchless grace and dignity. Ah, how beautiful she is! He springs + forward with extended arms. As he is about to clasp her he feels a stunning blow + upon the back of the neck; a blinding white light blazes all about him with a sound + like the shock of a cannon—then all is darkness and silence!</p> + <p>Peyton Farquhar was dead; his body, with a broken neck, swung gently from side + to side beneath the timbers of the Owl Creek bridge.</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h3><a id="page46" name="page46"></a>CHICKAMAUGA</h3> + <p>One sunny autumn afternoon a child strayed away from its rude home in a small + field and entered a forest unobserved. It was happy in a new sense of freedom from + control, happy in the opportunity of exploration and adventure; for this child's + spirit, in bodies of its ancestors, had for thousands of years been trained to + memorable feats of discovery and conquest—victories in battles whose critical + moments were centuries, whose victors' camps were cities of hewn stone. From the + cradle of its race it had conquered its way through two continents and passing a + great sea had penetrated a third, there to be born to war and dominion as a + heritage.</p> + <p>The child was a boy aged about six years, the son of a poor planter. In his + younger manhood the father had been a soldier, had fought against naked savages and + followed the flag of his country into the capital of a civilized race to the far + South. In the peaceful life of a planter the warrior-fire survived; once kindled, + it is never extinguished. The man loved military books and pictures and the boy had + understood enough to make himself a wooden sword, though even the eye of his father + would hardly have known it for what it was. This weapon he now bore bravely, as + became the son of an heroic race, and pausing now and again in the sunny space of + the forest assumed, with some exaggeration, the postures of aggression and defense + that he had been taught by the engraver's art. Made reckless by the ease with which + he overcame invisible foes attempting to stay his advance, he committed the common + enough military error of pushing the pursuit to a dangerous extreme, until he found + himself upon the margin of a wide but shallow brook, whose rapid waters barred his + direct advance against the flying foe that had crossed with illogical ease. But the + intrepid victor was not to be baffled; the spirit of the race which had passed the + great sea burned unconquerable in that small breast and would not be denied. + Finding a place where some bowlders in the bed of the stream lay but a step or a + leap apart, he made his way across and fell again upon the rear-guard of his + imaginary foe, putting all to the sword.</p> + <p>Now that the battle had been won, prudence required that he withdraw to his base + of operations. Alas; like many a mightier conqueror, and like one, the mightiest, + he could not</p> + <p class="i10">curb the lust for war, Nor learn that tempted Fate will leave the + loftiest star.</p> + <p>Advancing from the bank of the creek he suddenly found himself confronted with a + new and more formidable enemy: in the path that he was following, sat, bolt + upright, with ears erect and paws suspended before it, a rabbit! With a startled + cry the child turned and fled, he knew not in what direction, calling with + inarticulate cries for his mother, weeping, stumbling, his tender skin cruelly torn + by brambles, his little heart beating hard with terror—breathless, blind with + tears—lost in the forest! Then, for more than an hour, he wandered with + erring feet through the tangled undergrowth, till at last, overcome by fatigue, he + lay down in a narrow space between two rocks, within a few yards of the stream and + still grasping his toy sword, no longer a weapon but a companion, sobbed himself to + sleep. The wood birds sang merrily above his head; the squirrels, whisking their + bravery of tail, ran barking from tree to tree, unconscious of the pity of it, and + somewhere far away was a strange, muffled thunder, as if the partridges were + drumming in celebration of nature's victory over the son of her immemorial + enslavers. And back at the little plantation, where white men and black were + hastily searching the fields and hedges in alarm, a mother's heart was breaking for + her missing child.</p> + <p>Hours passed, and then the little sleeper rose to his feet. The chill of the + evening was in his limbs, the fear of the gloom in his heart. But he had rested, + and he no longer wept. With some blind instinct which impelled to action he + struggled through the undergrowth about him and came to a more open ground— + on his right the brook, to the left a gentle acclivity studded with infrequent + trees; over all, the gathering gloom of twilight. A thin, ghostly mist rose along + the water. It frightened and repelled him; instead of recrossing, in the direction + whence he had come, he turned his back upon it, and went forward toward the dark + inclosing wood. Suddenly he saw before him a strange moving object which he took to + be some large animal—a dog, a pig—he could not name it; perhaps it was + a bear. He had seen pictures of bears, but knew of nothing to their discredit and + had vaguely wished to meet one. But something in form or movement of this + object—something in the awkwardness of its approach—told him + that it was not a bear, and curiosity was stayed by fear. He stood still and as it + came slowly on gained courage every moment, for he saw that at least it had not the + long, menacing ears of the rabbit. Possibly his impressionable mind was half + conscious of something familiar in its shambling, awkward gait. Before it had + approached near enough to resolve his doubts he saw that it was followed by another + and another. To right and to left were many more; the whole open space about him + was alive with them—all moving toward the brook.</p> + <p>They were men. They crept upon their hands and knees. They used their hands + only, dragging their legs. They used their knees only, their arms hanging idle at + their sides. They strove to rise to their feet, but fell prone in the attempt. They + did nothing naturally, and nothing alike, save only to advance foot by foot in the + same direction. Singly, in pairs and in little groups, they came on through the + gloom, some halting now and again while others crept slowly past them, then + resuming their movement. They came by dozens and by hundreds; as far on either hand + as one could see in the deepening gloom they extended and the black wood behind + them appeared to be inexhaustible. The very ground seemed in motion toward the + creek. Occasionally one who had paused did not again go on, but lay motionless. He + was dead. Some, pausing, made strange gestures with their hands, erected their arms + and lowered them again, clasped their heads; spread their palms upward, as men are + sometimes seen to do in public prayer.</p> + <p>Not all of this did the child note; it is what would have been noted by an elder + observer; he saw little but that these were men, yet crept like babes. Being men, + they were not terrible, though unfamiliarly clad. He moved among them freely, going + from one to another and peering into their faces with childish curiosity. All their + faces were singularly white and many were streaked and gouted with red. Something + in this—something too, perhaps, in their grotesque attitudes and + movements—reminded him of the painted clown whom he had seen last summer in + the circus, and he laughed as he watched them. But on and ever on they crept, these + maimed and bleeding men, as heedless as he of the dramatic contrast between his + laughter and their own ghastly gravity. To him it was a merry spectacle. He had + seen his father's negroes creep upon their hands and knees for his + amusement—had ridden them so, "making believe" they were his horses. He now + approached one of these crawling figures from behind and with an agile movement + mounted it astride. The man sank upon his breast, recovered, flung the small boy + fiercely to the ground as an unbroken colt might have done, then turned upon him a + face that lacked a lower jaw—from the upper teeth to the throat was a great + red gap fringed with hanging shreds of flesh and splinters of bone. The unnatural + prominence of nose, the absence of chin, the fierce eyes, gave this man the + appearance of a great bird of prey crimsoned in throat and breast by the blood of + its quarry. The man rose to his knees, the child to his feet. The man shook his + fist at the child; the child, terrified at last, ran to a tree near by, got upon + the farther side of it and took a more serious view of the situation. And so the + clumsy multitude dragged itself slowly and painfully along in hideous + pantomime—moved forward down the slope like a swarm of great black beetles, + with never a sound of going—in silence profound, absolute.</p> + <p>Instead of darkening, the haunted landscape began to brighten. Through the belt + of trees beyond the brook shone a strange red light, the trunks and branches of the + trees making a black lacework against it. It struck the creeping figures and gave + them monstrous shadows, which caricatured their movements on the lit grass. It fell + upon their faces, touching their whiteness with a ruddy tinge, accentuating the + stains with which so many of them were freaked and maculated. It sparkled on + buttons and bits of metal in their clothing. Instinctively the child turned toward + the growing splendor and moved down the slope with his horrible companions; in a + few moments had passed the foremost of the throng—not much of a feat, + considering his advantages. He placed himself in the lead, his wooden sword still + in hand, and solemnly directed the march, conforming his pace to theirs and + occasionally turning as if to see that his forces did not straggle. Surely such a + leader never before had such a following.</p> + <p>Scattered about upon the ground now slowly narrowing by the encroachment of this + awful march to water, were certain articles to which, in the leader's mind, were + coupled no significant associations: an occasional blanket, tightly rolled + lengthwise, doubled and the ends bound together with a string; a heavy knapsack + here, and there a broken rifle—such things, in short, as are found in the + rear of retreating troops, the "spoor" of men flying from their hunters. Everywhere + near the creek, which here had a margin of lowland, the earth was trodden into mud + by the feet of men and horses. An observer of better experience in the use of his + eyes would have noticed that these footprints pointed in both directions; the + ground had been twice passed over—in advance and in retreat. A few hours + before, these desperate, stricken men, with their more fortunate and now distant + comrades, had penetrated the forest in thousands. Their successive battalions, + breaking into swarms and re-forming in lines, had passed the child on every + side—had almost trodden on him as he slept. The rustle and murmur of their + march had not awakened him. Almost within a stone's throw of where he lay they had + fought a battle; but all unheard by him were the roar of the musketry, the shock of + the cannon, "the thunder of the captains and the shouting." He had slept through it + all, grasping his little wooden sword with perhaps a tighter clutch in unconscious + sympathy with his martial environment, but as heedless of the grandeur of the + struggle as the dead who had died to make the glory.</p> + <p>The fire beyond the belt of woods on the farther side of the creek, reflected to + earth from the canopy of its own smoke, was now suffusing the whole landscape. It + transformed the sinuous line of mist to the vapor of gold. The water gleamed with + dashes of red, and red, too, were many of the stones protruding above the surface. + But that was blood; the less desperately wounded had stained them in crossing. On + them, too, the child now crossed with eager steps; he was going to the fire. As he + stood upon the farther bank he turned about to look at the companions of his march. + The advance was arriving at the creek. The stronger had already drawn themselves to + the brink and plunged their faces into the flood. Three or four who lay without + motion appeared to have no heads. At this the child's eyes expanded with wonder; + even his hospitable understanding could not accept a phenomenon implying such + vitality as that. After slaking their thirst these men had not had the strength to + back away from the water, nor to keep their heads above it. They were drowned. In + rear of these, the open spaces of the forest showed the leader as many formless + figures of his grim command as at first; but not nearly so many were in motion. He + waved his cap for their encouragement and smilingly pointed with his weapon in the + direction of the guiding light—a pillar of fire to this strange exodus.</p> + <p>Confident of the fidelity of his forces, he now entered the belt of woods, + passed through it easily in the red illumination, climbed a fence, ran across a + field, turning now and again to coquet with his responsive shadow, and so + approached the blazing ruin of a dwelling. Desolation everywhere! In all the wide + glare not a living thing was visible. He cared nothing for that; the spectacle + pleased, and he danced with glee in imitation of the wavering flames. He ran about, + collecting fuel, but every object that he found was too heavy for him to cast in + from the distance to which the heat limited his approach. In despair he flung in + his sword—a surrender to the superior forces of nature. His military career + was at an end.</p> + <p>Shifting his position, his eyes fell upon some outbuildings which had an oddly + familiar appearance, as if he had dreamed of them. He stood considering them with + wonder, when suddenly the entire plantation, with its inclosing forest, seemed to + turn as if upon a pivot. His little world swung half around; the points of the + compass were reversed. He recognized the blazing building as his own home!</p> + <p>For a moment he stood stupefied by the power of the revelation, then ran with + stumbling feet, making a half-circuit of the ruin. There, conspicuous in the light + of the conflagration, lay the dead body of a woman—the white face turned + upward, the hands thrown out and clutched full of grass, the clothing deranged, the + long dark hair in tangles and full of clotted blood. The greater part of the + forehead was torn away, and from the jagged hole the brain protruded, overflowing + the temple, a frothy mass of gray, crowned with clusters of crimson + bubbles—the work of a shell.</p> + <p>The child moved his little hands, making wild, uncertain gestures. He uttered a + series of inarticulate and indescribable cries—something between the + chattering of an ape and the gobbling of a turkey—a startling, soulless, + unholy sound, the language of a devil. The child was a deaf mute.</p> + <p>Then he stood motionless, with quivering lips, looking down upon the wreck.</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h4><a id="page58" name="page58"></a>A SON OF THE GODS</h4> + <p>A STUDY IN THE PRESENT TENSE</p> + <p>A breezy day and a sunny landscape. An open country to right and left and + forward; behind, a wood. In the edge of this wood, facing the open but not + venturing into it, long lines of troops, halted. The wood is alive with them, and + full of confused noises—the occasional rattle of wheels as a battery of + artillery goes into position to cover the advance; the hum and murmur of the + soldiers talking; a sound of innumerable feet in the dry leaves that strew the + interspaces among the trees; hoarse commands of officers. Detached groups of + horsemen are well in front—not altogether exposed—many of them intently + regarding the crest of a hill a mile away in the direction of the interrupted + advance. For this powerful army, moving in battle order through a forest, has met + with a formidable obstacle—the open country. The crest of that gentle hill a + mile away has a sinister look; it says, Beware! Along it runs a stone wall + extending to left and right a great distance. Behind the wall is a hedge; behind + the hedge are seen the tops of trees in rather straggling order. Among the + trees—what? It is necessary to know.</p> + <p>Yesterday, and for many days and nights previously, we were fighting somewhere; + always there was cannonading, with occasional keen rattlings of musketry, mingled + with cheers, our own or the enemy's, we seldom knew, attesting some temporary + advantage. This morning at daybreak the enemy was gone. We have moved forward + across his earthworks, across which we have so often vainly attempted to move + before, through the debris of his abandoned camps, among the graves of his fallen, + into the woods beyond.</p> + <p>How curiously we had regarded everything! how odd it all had seemed! Nothing had + appeared quite familiar; the most commonplace objects—an old saddle, a + splintered wheel, a forgotten canteen—everything had related something of the + mysterious personality of those strange men who had been killing us. The soldier + never becomes wholly familiar with the conception of his foes as men like himself; + he cannot divest himself of the feeling that they are another order of beings, + differently conditioned, in an environment not altogether of the earth. The + smallest vestiges of them rivet his attention and engage his interest. He thinks of + them as inaccessible; and, catching an unexpected glimpse of them, they appear + farther away, and therefore larger, than they really are—like objects in a + fog. He is somewhat in awe of them.</p> + <p>From the edge of the wood leading up the acclivity are the tracks of horses and + wheels—the wheels of cannon. The yellow grass is beaten down by the feet of + infantry. Clearly they have passed this way in thousands; they have not withdrawn + by the country roads. This is significant—it is the difference between + retiring and retreating.</p> + <p>That group of horsemen is our commander, his staff and escort. He is facing the + distant crest, holding his field-glass against his eyes with both hands, his elbows + needlessly elevated. It is a fashion; it seems to dignify the act; we are all + addicted to it. Suddenly he lowers the glass and says a few words to those about + him. Two or three aides detach themselves from the group and canter away into the + woods, along the lines in each direction. We did not hear his words, but we know + them: "Tell General X. to send forward the skirmish line." Those of us who have + been out of place resume our positions; the men resting at ease straighten + themselves and the ranks are re-formed without a command. Some of us staff officers + dismount and look at our saddle girths; those already on the ground remount.</p> + <p>Galloping rapidly along in the edge of the open ground comes a young officer on + a snow-white horse. His saddle blanket is scarlet. What a fool! No one who has ever + been in action but remembers how naturally every rifle turns toward the man on a + white horse; no one but has observed how a bit of red enrages the bull of battle. + That such colors are fashionable in military life must be accepted as the most + astonishing of all the phenomena of human vanity. They would seem to have been + devised to increase the death-rate.</p> + <p>This young officer is in full uniform, as if on parade. He is all agleam with + bullion—a blue-and-gold edition of the Poetry of War. A wave of derisive + laughter runs abreast of him all along the line. But how handsome he is!—with + what careless grace he sits his horse!</p> + <p>He reins up within a respectful distance of the corps commander and salutes. The + old soldier nods familiarly; he evidently knows him. A brief colloquy between them + is going on; the young man seems to be preferring some request which the elder one + is indisposed to grant. Let us ride a little nearer. Ah! too late—it is + ended. The young officer salutes again, wheels his horse, and rides straight toward + the crest of the hill!</p> + <p>A thin line of skirmishers, the men deployed at six paces or so apart, now + pushes from the wood into the open. The commander speaks to his bugler, who claps + his instrument to his lips. <i>Tra-la-la! Tra-la-la!</i> The skirmishers halt in + their tracks.</p> + <p>Meantime the young horseman has advanced a hundred yards. He is riding at a + walk, straight up the long slope, with never a turn of the head. How glorious! + Gods! what would we not give to be in his place—with his soul! He does not + draw his sabre; his right hand hangs easily at his side. The breeze catches the + plume in his hat and flutters it smartly. The sunshine rests upon his + shoulder-straps, lovingly, like a visible benediction. Straight on he rides. Ten + thousand pairs of eyes are fixed upon him with an intensity that he can hardly fail + to feel; ten thousand hearts keep quick time to the inaudible hoof-beats of his + snowy steed. He is not alone—he draws all souls after him. But we remember + that we laughed! On and on, straight for the hedge-lined wall, he rides. Not a look + backward. O, if he would but turn—if he could but see the love, the + adoration, the atonement!</p> + <p>Not a word is spoken; the populous depths of the forest still murmur with their + unseen and unseeing swarm, but all along the fringe is silence. The burly commander + is an equestrian statue of himself. The mounted staff officers, their field glasses + up, are motionless all. The line of battle in the edge of the wood stands at a new + kind of "attention," each man in the attitude in which he was caught by the + consciousness of what is going on. All these hardened and impenitent man-killers, + to whom death in its awfulest forms is a fact familiar to their every-day + observation; who sleep on hills trembling with the thunder of great guns, dine in + the midst of streaming missiles, and play at cards among the dead faces of their + dearest friends—all are watching with suspended breath and beating hearts the + outcome of an act involving the life of one man. Such is the magnetism of courage + and devotion.</p> + <p>If now you should turn your head you would see a simultaneous movement among the + spectators—a start, as if they had received an electric shock—and + looking forward again to the now distant horseman you would see that he has in that + instant altered his direction and is riding at an angle to his former course. The + spectators suppose the sudden deflection to be caused by a shot, perhaps a wound; + but take this field-glass and you will observe that he is riding toward a break in + the wall and hedge. He means, if not killed, to ride through and overlook the + country beyond.</p> + <p>You are not to forget the nature of this man's act; it is not permitted to you + to think of it as an instance of bravado, nor, on the other hand, a needless + sacrifice of self. If the enemy has not retreated he is in force on that ridge. The + investigator will encounter nothing less than a line-of-battle; there is no need of + pickets, videttes, skirmishers, to give warning of our approach; our attacking + lines will be visible, conspicuous, exposed to an artillery fire that will shave + the ground the moment they break from cover, and for half the distance to a sheet + of rifle bullets in which nothing can live. In short, if the enemy is there, it + would be madness to attack him in front; he must be manoeuvred out by the + immemorial plan of threatening his line of communication, as necessary to his + existence as to the diver at the bottom of the sea his air tube. But how ascertain + if the enemy is there? There is but one way,—somebody must go and see. The + natural and customary thing to do is to send forward a line of skirmishers. But in + this case they will answer in the affirmative with all their lives; the enemy, + crouching in double ranks behind the stone wall and in cover of the hedge, will + wait until it is possible to count each assailant's teeth. At the first volley a + half of the questioning line will fall, the other half before it can accomplish the + predestined retreat. What a price to pay for gratified curiosity! At what a dear + rate an army must sometimes purchase knowledge! "Let me pay all," says this gallant + man—this military Christ!</p> + <p>There is no hope except the hope against hope that the crest is clear. True, he + might prefer capture to death. So long as he advances, the line will not + fire—why should it? He can safely ride into the hostile ranks and become a + prisoner of war. But this would defeat his object. It would not answer our + question; it is necessary either that he return unharmed or be shot to death before + our eyes. Only so shall we know how to act. If captured—why, that might have + been done by a half-dozen stragglers.</p> + <p>Now begins an extraordinary contest of intellect between a man and an army. Our + horseman, now within a quarter of a mile of the crest, suddenly wheels to the left + and gallops in a direction parallel to it. He has caught sight of his antagonist; + he knows all. Some slight advantage of ground has enabled him to overlook a part of + the line. If he were here he could tell us in words. But that is now hopeless; he + must make the best use of the few minutes of life remaining to him, by compelling + the enemy himself to tell us as much and as plainly as possible—which, + naturally, that discreet power is reluctant to do. Not a rifleman in those + crouching ranks, not a cannoneer at those masked and shotted guns, but knows the + needs of the situation, the imperative duty of forbearance. Besides, there has been + time enough to forbid them all to fire. True, a single rifle-shot might drop him + and be no great disclosure. But firing is infectious—and see how rapidly he + moves, with never a pause except as he whirls his horse about to take a new + direction, never directly backward toward us, never directly forward toward his + executioners. All this is visible through the glass; it seems occurring within + pistol-shot; we see all but the enemy, whose presence, whose thoughts, whose + motives we infer. To the unaided eye there is nothing but a black figure on a white + horse, tracing slow zigzags against the slope of a distant hill—so slowly + they seem almost to creep.</p> + <p>Now—the glass again—he has tired of his failure, or sees his error, + or has gone mad; he is dashing directly forward at the wall, as if to take it at a + leap, hedge and all! One moment only and he wheels right about and is speeding like + the wind straight down the slope—toward his friends, toward his death! + Instantly the wall is topped with a fierce roll of smoke for a distance of hundreds + of yards to right and left. This is as instantly dissipated by the wind, and before + the rattle of the rifles reaches us he is down. No, he recovers his seat; he has + but pulled his horse upon its haunches. They are up and away! A tremendous cheer + bursts from our ranks, relieving the insupportable tension of our feelings. And the + horse and its rider? Yes, they are up and away. Away, indeed—they are making + directly to our left, parallel to the now steadily blazing and smoking wall. The + rattle of the musketry is continuous, and every bullet's target is that courageous + heart.</p> + <p>Suddenly a great bank of white smoke pushes upward from behind the wall. Another + and another—a dozen roll up before the thunder of the explosions and the + humming of the missiles reach our ears and the missiles themselves come bounding + through clouds of dust into our covert, knocking over here and there a man and + causing a temporary distraction, a passing thought of self.</p> + <p>The dust drifts away. Incredible!—that enchanted horse and rider have + passed a ravine and are climbing another slope to unveil another conspiracy of + silence, to thwart the will of another armed host. Another moment and that crest + too is in eruption. The horse rears and strikes the air with its forefeet. They are + down at last. But look again —the man has detached himself from the dead + animal. He stands erect, motionless, holding his sabre in his right hand straight + above his head. His face is toward us. Now he lowers his hand to a level with his + face and moves it outward, the blade of the sabre describing a downward curve. It + is a sign to us, to the world, to posterity. It is a hero's salute to death and + history.</p> + <p>Again the spell is broken; our men attempt to cheer; they are choking with + emotion; they utter hoarse, discordant cries; they clutch their weapons and press + tumultuously forward into the open. The skirmishers, without orders, against + orders, are going forward at a keen run, like hounds unleashed. Our cannon speak + and the enemy's now open in full chorus; to right and left as far as we can see, + the distant crest, seeming now so near, erects its towers of cloud and the great + shot pitch roaring down among our moving masses. Flag after flag of ours emerges + from the wood, line after line sweeps forth, catching the sunlight on its burnished + arms. The rear battalions alone are in obedience; they preserve their proper + distance from the insurgent front.</p> + <p>The commander has not moved. He now removes his field-glass from his eyes and + glances to the right and left. He sees the human current flowing on either side of + him and his huddled escort, like tide waves parted by a rock. Not a sign of feeling + in his face; he is thinking. Again he directs his eyes forward; they slowly + traverse that malign and awful crest. He addresses a calm word to his bugler. + <i>Tra-la-la! Tra-la-la!</i> The injunction has an imperiousness which enforces it. + It is repeated by all the bugles of all the sub-ordinate commanders; the sharp + metallic notes assert themselves above the hum of the advance and penetrate the + sound of the cannon. To halt is to withdraw. The colors move slowly back; the lines + face about and sullenly follow, bearing their wounded; the skirmishers return, + gathering up the dead.</p> + <p>Ah, those many, many needless dead! That great soul whose beautiful body is + lying over yonder, so conspicuous against the sere hillside—could it not have + been spared the bitter consciousness of a vain devotion? Would one exception have + marred too much the pitiless perfection of the divine, eternal plan?</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h4><a id="page71" name="page71"></a>ONE OF THE MISSING</h4> + <p>Jerome Searing, a private soldier of General Sherman's army, then confronting + the enemy at and about Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia, turned his back upon a small + group of officers with whom he had been talking in low tones, stepped across a + light line of earthworks, and disappeared in a forest. None of the men in line + behind the works had said a word to him, nor had he so much as nodded to them in + passing, but all who saw understood that this brave man had been intrusted with + some perilous duty. Jerome Searing, though a private, did not serve in the ranks; + he was detailed for service at division headquarters, being borne upon the rolls as + an orderly. "Orderly" is a word covering a multitude of duties. An orderly may be a + messenger, a clerk, an officer's servant—anything. He may perform services + for which no provision is made in orders and army regulations. Their nature may + depend upon his aptitude, upon favor, upon accident. Private Searing, an + incomparable marksman, young, hardy, intelligent and insensible to fear, was a + scout. The general commanding his division was not content to obey orders blindly + without knowing what was in his front, even when his command was not on detached + service, but formed a fraction of the line of the army; nor was he satisfied to + receive his knowledge of his <i>vis-à-vis</i> through the customary + channels; he wanted to know more than he was apprised of by the corps commander and + the collisions of pickets and skirmishers. Hence Jerome Searing, with his + extraordinary daring, his woodcraft, his sharp eyes, and truthful tongue. On this + occasion his instructions were simple: to get as near the enemy's lines as possible + and learn all that he could.</p> + <p>In a few moments he had arrived at the picket-line, the men on duty there lying + in groups of two and four behind little banks of earth scooped out of the slight + depression in which they lay, their rifles protruding from the green boughs with + which they had masked their small defenses. The forest extended without a break + toward the front, so solemn and silent that only by an effort of the imagination + could it be conceived as populous with armed men, alert and vigilant—a forest + formidable with possibilities of battle. Pausing a moment in one of these + rifle-pits to apprise the men of his intention Searing crept stealthily forward on + his hands and knees and was soon lost to view in a dense thicket of underbrush.</p> + <p>"That is the last of him," said one of the men; "I wish I had his rifle; those + fellows will hurt some of us with it."</p> + <p>Searing crept on, taking advantage of every accident of ground and growth to + give himself better cover. His eyes penetrated everywhere, his ears took note of + every sound. He stilled his breathing, and at the cracking of a twig beneath his + knee stopped his progress and hugged the earth. It was slow work, but not tedious; + the danger made it exciting, but by no physical signs was the excitement manifest. + His pulse was as regular, his nerves were as steady as if he were trying to trap a + sparrow.</p> + <p>"It seems a long time," he thought, "but I cannot have come very far; I am still + alive."</p> + <p>He smiled at his own method of estimating distance, and crept forward. A moment + later he suddenly flattened himself upon the earth and lay motionless, minute after + minute. Through a narrow opening in the bushes he had caught sight of a small mound + of yellow clay—one of the enemy's rifle-pits. After some little time he + cautiously raised his head, inch by inch, then his body upon his hands, spread out + on each side of him, all the while intently regarding the hillock of clay. In + another moment he was upon his feet, rifle in hand, striding rapidly forward with + little attempt at concealment. He had rightly interpreted the signs, whatever they + were; the enemy was gone.</p> + <p>To assure himself beyond a doubt before going back to report upon so important a + matter, Searing pushed forward across the line of abandoned pits, running from + cover to cover in the more open forest, his eyes vigilant to discover possible + stragglers. He came to the edge of a plantation—one of those forlorn, + deserted homesteads of the last years of the war, upgrown with brambles, ugly with + broken fences and desolate with vacant buildings having blank apertures in place of + doors and windows. After a keen reconnoissance from the safe seclusion of a clump + of young pines Searing ran lightly across a field and through an orchard to a small + structure which stood apart from the other farm buildings, on a slight elevation. + This he thought would enable him to overlook a large scope of country in the + direction that he supposed the enemy to have taken in withdrawing. This building, + which had originally consisted of a single room elevated upon four posts about ten + feet high, was now little more than a roof; the floor had fallen away, the joists + and planks loosely piled on the ground below or resting on end at various angles, + not wholly torn from their fastenings above. The supporting posts were themselves + no longer vertical. It looked as if the whole edifice would go down at the touch of + a finger.</p> + <p>Concealing himself in the debris of joists and flooring Searing looked across + the open ground between his point of view and a spur of Kennesaw Mountain, a + half-mile away. A road leading up and across this spur was crowded with + troops—the rear-guard of the retiring enemy, their gun-barrels gleaming in + the morning sunlight.</p> + <p>Searing had now learned all that he could hope to know. It was his duty to + return to his own command with all possible speed and report his discovery. But the + gray column of Confederates toiling up the mountain road was singularly tempting. + His rifle—an ordinary "Springfield," but fitted with a globe sight and + hair-trigger—would easily send its ounce and a quarter of lead hissing into + their midst. That would probably not affect the duration and result of the war, but + it is the business of a soldier to kill. It is also his habit if he is a good + soldier. Searing cocked his rifle and "set" the trigger.</p> + <p>But it was decreed from the beginning of time that Private Searing was not to + murder anybody that bright summer morning, nor was the Confederate retreat to be + announced by him. For countless ages events had been so matching themselves + together in that wondrous mosaic to some parts of which, dimly discernible, we give + the name of history, that the acts which he had in will would have marred the + harmony of the pattern. Some twenty-five years previously the Power charged with + the execution of the work according to the design had provided against that + mischance by causing the birth of a certain male child in a little village at the + foot of the Carpathian Mountains, had carefully reared it, supervised its + education, directed its desires into a military channel, and in due time made it an + officer of artillery. By the concurrence of an infinite number of favoring + influences and their preponderance over an infinite number of opposing ones, this + officer of artillery had been made to commit a breach of discipline and flee from + his native country to avoid punishment. He had been directed to New Orleans + (instead of New York), where a recruiting officer awaited him on the wharf. He was + enlisted and promoted, and things were so ordered that he now commanded a + Confederate battery some two miles along the line from where Jerome Searing, the + Federal scout, stood cocking his rifle. Nothing had been neglected—at every + step in the progress of both these men's lives, and in the lives of their + contemporaries and ancestors, and in the lives of the contemporaries of their + ancestors, the right thing had been done to bring about the desired result. Had + anything in all this vast concatenation been overlooked Private Searing might have + fired on the retreating Confederates that morning, and would perhaps have missed. + As it fell out, a Confederate captain of artillery, having nothing better to do + while awaiting his turn to pull out and be off, amused himself by sighting a + field-piece obliquely to his right at what he mistook for some Federal officers on + the crest of a hill, and discharged it. The shot flew high of its mark.</p> + <p>As Jerome Searing drew back the hammer of his rifle and with his eyes upon the + distant Confederates considered where he could plant his shot with the best hope of + making a widow or an orphan or a childless mother,—perhaps all three, for + Private Searing, although he had repeatedly refused promotion, was not without a + certain kind of ambition,—he heard a rushing sound in the air, like that made + by the wings of a great bird swooping down upon its prey. More quickly than he + could apprehend the gradation, it increased to a hoarse and horrible roar, as the + missile that made it sprang at him out of the sky, striking with a deafening impact + one of the posts supporting the confusion of timbers above him, smashing it into + matchwood, and bringing down the crazy edifice with a loud clatter, in clouds of + blinding dust!</p> + <p>When Jerome Searing recovered consciousness he did not at once understand what + had occurred. It was, indeed, some time before he opened his eyes. For a while he + believed that he had died and been buried, and he tried to recall some portions of + the burial service. He thought that his wife was kneeling upon his grave, adding + her weight to that of the earth upon his breast. The two of them, widow and earth, + had crushed his coffin. Unless the children should persuade her to go home he would + not much longer be able to breathe. He felt a sense of wrong. "I cannot speak to + her," he thought; "the dead have no voice; and if I open my eyes I shall get them + full of earth."</p> + <p>He opened his eyes. A great expanse of blue sky, rising from a fringe of the + tops of trees. In the foreground, shutting out some of the trees, a high, dun + mound, angular in outline and crossed by an intricate, patternless system of + straight lines; the whole an immeasurable distance away—a distance so + inconceivably great that it fatigued him, and he closed his eyes. The moment that + he did so he was conscious of an insufferable light. A sound was in his ears like + the low, rhythmic thunder of a distant sea breaking in successive waves upon the + beach, and out of this noise, seeming a part of it, or possibly coming from beyond + it, and intermingled with its ceaseless undertone, came the articulate words: + "Jerome Searing, you are caught like a rat in a trap—in a trap, trap, + trap."</p> + <p>Suddenly there fell a great silence, a black darkness, an infinite tranquillity, + and Jerome Searing, perfectly conscious of his rathood, and well assured of the + trap that he was in, remembering all and nowise alarmed, again opened his eyes to + reconnoitre, to note the strength of his enemy, to plan his defense.</p> + <p>He was caught in a reclining posture, his back firmly supported by a solid beam. + Another lay across his breast, but he had been able to shrink a little away from it + so that it no longer oppressed him, though it was immovable. A brace joining it at + an angle had wedged him against a pile of boards on his left, fastening the arm on + that side. His legs, slightly parted and straight along the ground, were covered + upward to the knees with a mass of debris which towered above his narrow horizon. + His head was as rigidly fixed as in a vise; he could move his eyes, his + chin—no more. Only his right arm was partly free. "You must help us out of + this," he said to it. But he could not get it from under the heavy timber athwart + his chest, nor move it outward more than six inches at the elbow.</p> + <p>Searing was not seriously injured, nor did he suffer pain. A smart rap on the + head from a flying fragment of the splintered post, incurred simultaneously with + the frightfully sudden shock to the nervous system, had momentarily dazed him. His + term of unconsciousness, including the period of recovery, during which he had had + the strange fancies, had probably not exceeded a few seconds, for the dust of the + wreck had not wholly cleared away as he began an intelligent survey of the + situation.</p> + <p>With his partly free right hand he now tried to get hold of the beam that lay + across, but not quite against, his breast. In no way could he do so. He was unable + to depress the shoulder so as to push the elbow beyond that edge of the timber + which was nearest his knees; failing in that, he could not raise the forearm and + hand to grasp the beam. The brace that made an angle with it downward and backward + prevented him from doing anything in that direction, and between it and his body + the space was not half so wide as the length of his forearm. Obviously he could not + get his hand under the beam nor over it; the hand could not, in fact, touch it at + all. Having demonstrated his inability, he desisted, and began to think whether he + could reach any of the débris piled upon his legs.</p> + <p>In surveying the mass with a view to determining that point, his attention was + arrested by what seemed to be a ring of shining metal immediately in front of his + eyes. It appeared to him at first to surround some perfectly black substance, and + it was somewhat more than a half-inch in diameter. It suddenly occurred to his mind + that the blackness was simply shadow and that the ring was in fact the muzzle of + his rifle protruding from the pile of débris. He was not long in satisfying + himself that this was so—if it was a satisfaction. By closing either eye he + could look a little way along the barrel—to the point where it was hidden by + the rubbish that held it. He could see the one side, with the corresponding eye, at + apparently the same angle as the other side with the other eye. Looking with the + right eye, the weapon seemed to be directed at a point to the left of his head, and + <i>vice-versa.</i> He was unable to see the upper surface of the barrel, but could + see the under surface of the stock at a slight angle. The piece was, in fact, aimed + at the exact centre of his forehead.</p> + <p>In the perception of this circumstance, in the recollection that just previously + to the mischance of which this uncomfortable situation was the result he had cocked + the rifle and set the trigger so that a touch would discharge it, Private Searing + was affected with a feeling of uneasiness. But that was as far as possible from + fear; he was a brave man, somewhat familiar with the aspect of rifles from that + point of view, and of cannon too. And now he recalled, with something like + amusement, an incident of his experience at the storming of Missionary Ridge, + where, walking up to one of the enemy's embrasures from which he had seen a heavy + gun throw charge after charge of grape among the assailants he had thought for a + moment that the piece had been withdrawn; he could see nothing in the opening but a + brazen circle. What that was he had understood just in time to step aside as it + pitched another peck of iron down that swarming slope. To face firearms is one of + the commonest incidents in a soldier's life—firearms, too, with malevolent + eyes blazing behind them. That is what a soldier is for. Still, Private Searing did + not altogether relish the situation, and turned away his eyes.</p> + <p>After groping, aimless, with his right hand for a time he made an ineffectual + attempt to release his left. Then he tried to disengage his head, the fixity of + which was the more annoying from his ignorance of what held it. Next he tried to + free his feet, but while exerting the powerful muscles of his legs for that purpose + it occurred to him that a disturbance of the rubbish which held them might + discharge the rifle; how it could have endured what had already befallen it he + could not understand, although memory assisted him with several instances in point. + One in particular he recalled, in which in a moment of mental abstraction he had + clubbed his rifle and beaten out another gentleman's brains, observing afterward + that the weapon which he had been diligently swinging by the muzzle was loaded, + capped, and at full cock—knowledge of which circumstance would doubtless have + cheered his antagonist to longer endurance. He had always smiled in recalling that + blunder of his "green and salad days" as a soldier, but now he did not smile. He + turned his eyes again to the muzzle of the rifle and for a moment fancied that it + had moved; it seemed somewhat nearer.</p> + <p>Again he looked away. The tops of the distant trees beyond the bounds of the + plantation interested him: he had not before observed how light and feathery they + were, nor how darkly blue the sky was, even among their branches, where they + somewhat paled it with their green; above him it appeared almost black. "It will be + uncomfortably hot here," he thought, "as the day advances. I wonder which way I am + looking."</p> + <p>Judging by such shadows as he could see, he decided that his face was due north; + he would at least not have the sun in his eyes, and north—well, that was + toward his wife and children.</p> + <p>"Bah!" he exclaimed aloud, "what have they to do with it?"</p> + <p>He closed his eyes. "As I can't get out I may as well go to sleep. The rebels + are gone and some of our fellows are sure to stray out here foraging. They'll find + me."</p> + <p>But he did not sleep. Gradually he became sensible of a pain in his + forehead—a dull ache, hardly perceptible at first, but growing more and more + uncomfortable. He opened his eyes and it was gone—closed them and it + returned. "The devil!" he said, irrelevantly, and stared again at the sky. He heard + the singing of birds, the strange metallic note of the meadow lark, suggesting the + clash of vibrant blades. He fell into pleasant memories of his childhood, played + again with his brother and sister, raced across the fields, shouting to alarm the + sedentary larks, entered the sombre forest beyond and with timid steps followed the + faint path to Ghost Rock, standing at last with audible heart-throbs before the + Dead Man's Cave and seeking to penetrate its awful mystery. For the first time he + observed that the opening of the haunted cavern was encircled by a ring of metal. + Then all else vanished and left him gazing into the barrel of his rifle as before. + But whereas before it had seemed nearer, it now seemed an inconceivable distance + away, and all the more sinister for that. He cried out and, startled by something + in his own voice—the note of fear—lied to himself in denial: "If I + don't sing out I may stay here till I die."</p> + <p>He now made no further attempt to evade the menacing stare of the gun barrel. If + he turned away his eyes an instant it was to look for assistance (although he could + not see the ground on either side the ruin), and he permitted them to return, + obedient to the imperative fascination. If he closed them it was from weariness, + and instantly the poignant pain in his forehead—the prophecy and menace of + the bullet—forced him to reopen them.</p> + <p>The tension of nerve and brain was too severe; nature came to his relief with + intervals of unconsciousness. Reviving from one of these he became sensible of a + sharp, smarting pain in his right hand, and when he worked his fingers together, or + rubbed his palm with them, he could feel that they were wet and slippery. He could + not see the hand, but he knew the sensation; it was running blood. In his delirium + he had beaten it against the jagged fragments of the wreck, had clutched it full of + splinters. He resolved that he would meet his fate more manly. He was a plain, + common soldier, had no religion and not much philosophy; he could not die like a + hero, with great and wise last words, even if there had been some one to hear them, + but he could die "game," and he would. But if he could only know when to expect the + shot!</p> + <p>Some rats which had probably inhabited the shed came sneaking and scampering + about. One of them mounted the pile of débris that held the rifle; another + followed and another. Searing regarded them at first with indifference, then with + friendly interest; then, as the thought flashed into his bewildered mind that they + might touch the trigger of his rifle, he cursed them and ordered them to go away. + "It is no business of yours," he cried.</p> + <p>The creatures went away; they would return later, attack his face, gnaw away his + nose, cut his throat—he knew that, but he hoped by that time to be dead.</p> + <p>Nothing could now unfix his gaze from the little ring of metal with its black + interior. The pain in his forehead was fierce and incessant. He felt it gradually + penetrating the brain more and more deeply, until at last its progress was arrested + by the wood at the back of his head. It grew momentarily more insufferable: he + began wantonly beating his lacerated hand against the splinters again to counteract + that horrible ache. It seemed to throb with a slow, regular recurrence, each + pulsation sharper than the preceding, and sometimes he cried out, thinking he felt + the fatal bullet. No thoughts of home, of wife and children, of country, of glory. + The whole record of memory was effaced. The world had passed away—not a + vestige remained. Here in this confusion of timbers and boards is the sole + universe. Here is immortality in time—each pain an everlasting life. The + throbs tick off eternities.</p> + <p>Jerome Searing, the man of courage, the formidable enemy, the strong, resolute + warrior, was as pale as a ghost. His jaw was fallen; his eyes protruded; he + trembled in every fibre; a cold sweat bathed his entire body; he screamed with + fear. He was not insane—he was terrified.</p> + <p>In groping about with his torn and bleeding hand he seized at last a strip of + board, and, pulling, felt it give way. It lay parallel with his body, and by + bending his elbow as much as the contracted space would permit, he could draw it a + few inches at a time. Finally it was altogether loosened from the wreckage covering + his legs; he could lift it clear of the ground its whole length. A great hope came + into his mind: perhaps he could work it upward, that is to say backward, far enough + to lift the end and push aside the rifle; or, if that were too tightly wedged, so + place the strip of board as to deflect the bullet. With this object he passed it + backward inch by inch, hardly daring to breathe lest that act somehow defeat his + intent, and more than ever unable to remove his eyes from the rifle, which might + perhaps now hasten to improve its waning opportunity. Something at least had been + gained: in the occupation of his mind in this attempt at self-defense he was less + sensible of the pain in his head and had ceased to wince. But he was still + dreadfully frightened and his teeth rattled like castanets.</p> + <p>The strip of board ceased to move to the suasion of his hand. He tugged at it + with all his strength, changed the direction of its length all he could, but it had + met some extended obstruction behind him and the end in front was still too far + away to clear the pile of débris and reach the muzzle of the gun. It + extended, indeed, nearly as far as the trigger guard, which, uncovered by the + rubbish, he could imperfectly see with his right eye. He tried to break the strip + with his hand, but had no leverage. In his defeat, all his terror returned, + augmented tenfold. The black aperture of the rifle appeared to threaten a sharper + and more imminent death in punishment of his rebellion. The track of the bullet + through his head ached with an intenser anguish. He began to tremble again.</p> + <p>Suddenly he became composed. His tremor subsided. He clenched his teeth and drew + down his eyebrows. He had not exhausted his means of defense; a new design had + shaped itself in his mind—another plan of battle. Raising the front end of + the strip of board, he carefully pushed it forward through the wreckage at the side + of the rifle until it pressed against the trigger guard. Then he moved the end + slowly outward until he could feel that it had cleared it, then, closing his eyes, + thrust it against the trigger with all his strength! There was no explosion; the + rifle had been discharged as it dropped from his hand when the building fell. But + it did its work. </p> + <p>Lieutenant Adrian Searing, in command of the picket-guard on that part of the + line through which his brother Jerome had passed on his mission, sat with attentive + ears in his breastwork behind the line. Not the faintest sound escaped him; the cry + of a bird, the barking of a squirrel, the noise of the wind among the + pines—all were anxiously noted by his overstrained sense. Suddenly, directly + in front of his line, he heard a faint, confused rumble, like the clatter of a + falling building translated by distance. The lieutenant mechanically looked at his + watch. Six o'clock and eighteen minutes. At the same moment an officer approached + him on foot from the rear and saluted.</p> + <p>"Lieutenant," said the officer, "the colonel directs you to move forward your + line and feel the enemy if you find him. If not, continue the advance until + directed to halt. There is reason to think that the enemy has retreated."</p> + <p>The lieutenant nodded and said nothing; the other officer retired. In a moment + the men, apprised of their duty by the non-commissioned officers in low tones, had + deployed from their rifle-pits and were moving forward in skirmishing order, with + set teeth and beating hearts.</p> + <p>This line of skirmishers sweeps across the plantation toward the mountain. They + pass on both sides of the wrecked building, observing nothing. At a short distance + in their rear their commander comes. He casts his eyes curiously upon the ruin and + sees a dead body half buried in boards and timbers. It is so covered with dust that + its clothing is Confederate gray. Its face is yellowish white; the cheeks are + fallen in, the temples sunken, too, with sharp ridges about them, making the + forehead forbiddingly narrow; the upper lip, slightly lifted, shows the white + teeth, rigidly clenched. The hair is heavy with moisture, the face as wet as the + dewy grass all about. From his point of view the officer does not observe the + rifle; the man was apparently killed by the fall of the building.</p> + <p>"Dead a week," said the officer curtly, moving on and absently pulling out his + watch as if to verify his estimate of time. Six o'clock and forty minutes.</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h3><a id="page93" name="page93"></a>KILLED AT RESACA</h3> + <p>The best soldier of our staff was Lieutenant Herman Brayle, one of the two + aides-de-camp. I don't remember where the general picked him up; from some Ohio + regiment, I think; none of us had previously known him, and it would have been + strange if we had, for no two of us came from the same State, nor even from + adjoining States. The general seemed to think that a position on his staff was a + distinction that should be so judiciously conferred as not to beget any sectional + jealousies and imperil the integrity of that part of the country which was still an + integer. He would not even choose officers from his own command, but by some + jugglery at department headquarters obtained them from other brigades. Under such + circumstances, a man's services had to be very distinguished indeed to be heard of + by his family and the friends of his youth; and "the speaking trump of fame" was a + trifle hoarse from loquacity, anyhow.</p> + <p>Lieutenant Brayle was more than six feet in height and of splendid proportions, + with the light hair and gray-blue eyes which men so gifted usually find associated + with a high order of courage. As he was commonly in full uniform, especially in + action, when most officers are content to be less flamboyantly attired, he was a + very striking and conspicuous figure. As to the rest, he had a gentleman's manners, + a scholar's head, and a lion's heart. His age was about thirty.</p> + <p>We all soon came to like Brayle as much as we admired him, and it was with + sincere concern that in the engagement at Stone's River—our first action + after he joined us—we observed that he had one most objectionable and + unsoldierly quality: he was vain of his courage. During all the vicissitudes and + mutations of that hideous encounter, whether our troops were fighting in the open + cotton fields, in the cedar thickets, or behind the railway embankment, he did not + once take cover, except when sternly commanded to do so by the general, who usually + had other things to think of than the lives of his staff officers—or those of + his men, for that matter.</p> + <p>In every later engagement while Brayle was with us it was the same way. He would + sit his horse like an equestrian statue, in a storm of bullets and grape, in the + most exposed places—wherever, in fact, duty, requiring him to go, permitted + him to remain—when, without trouble and with distinct advantage to his + reputation for common sense, he might have been in such security as is possible on + a battlefield in the brief intervals of personal inaction.</p> + <p>On foot, from necessity or in deference to his dismounted commander or + associates, his conduct was the same. He would stand like a rock in the open when + officers and men alike had taken to cover; while men older in service and years, + higher in rank and of unquestionable intrepidity, were loyally preserving behind + the crest of a hill lives infinitely precious to their country, this fellow would + stand, equally idle, on the ridge, facing in the direction of the sharpest + fire.</p> + <p>When battles are going on in open ground it frequently occurs that the opposing + lines, confronting each other within a stone's throw for hours, hug the earth as + closely as if they loved it. The line officers in their proper places flatten + themselves no less, and the field officers, their horses all killed or sent to the + rear, crouch beneath the infernal canopy of hissing lead and screaming iron without + a thought of personal dignity.</p> + <p>In such circumstances the life of a staff officer of a brigade is distinctly + "not a happy one," mainly because of its precarious tenure and the unnerving + alternations of emotion to which he is exposed. From a position of that comparative + security from which a civilian would ascribe his escape to a "miracle," he may be + despatched with an order to some commander of a prone regiment in the front line + —a person for the moment inconspicuous and not always easy to find without a + deal of search among men somewhat preoccupied, and in a din in which question and + answer alike must be imparted in the sign language. It is customary in such cases + to duck the head and scuttle away on a keen run, an object of lively interest to + some thousands of admiring marksmen. In returning—well, it is not customary + to return.</p> + <p>Brayle's practice was different. He would consign his horse to the care of an + orderly,—he loved his horse,—and walk quietly away on his perilous + errand with never a stoop of the back, his splendid figure, accentuated by his + uniform, holding the eye with a strange fascination. We watched him with suspended + breath, our hearts in our mouths. On one occasion of this kind, indeed, one of our + number, an impetuous stammerer, was so possessed by his emotion that he shouted at + me:</p> + <p>"I'll b-b-bet you t-two d-d-dollars they d-drop him b-b-before he g-gets to that + d-d-ditch!"</p> + <p>I did not accept the brutal wager; I thought they would.</p> + <p>Let me do justice to a brave man's memory; in all these needless exposures of + life there was no visible bravado nor subsequent narration. In the few instances + when some of us had ventured to remonstrate, Brayle had smiled pleasantly and made + some light reply, which, however, had not encouraged a further pursuit of the + subject. Once he said:</p> + <p>"Captain, if ever I come to grief by forgetting your advice, I hope my last + moments will be cheered by the sound of your beloved voice breathing into my ear + the blessed words, 'I told you so.'"</p> + <p>We laughed at the captain—just why we could probably not have + explained—and that afternoon when he was shot to rags from an ambuscade + Brayle remained by the body for some time, adjusting the limbs with needless + care—there in the middle of a road swept by gusts of grape and canister! It + is easy to condemn this kind of thing, and not very difficult to refrain from + imitation, but it is impossible not to respect, and Brayle was liked none the less + for the weakness which had so heroic an expression. We wished he were not a fool, + but he went on that way to the end, sometimes hard hit, but always returning to + duty about as good as new.</p> + <p>Of course, it came at last; he who ignores the law of probabilities challenges + an adversary that is seldom beaten. It was at Resaca, in Georgia, during the + movement that resulted in the taking of Atlanta. In front of our brigade the + enemy's line of earthworks ran through open fields along a slight crest. At each + end of this open ground we were close up to him in the woods, but the clear ground + we could not hope to occupy until night, when darkness would enable us to burrow + like moles and throw up earth. At this point our line was a quarter-mile away in + the edge of a wood. Roughly, we formed a semicircle, the enemy's fortified line + being the chord of the arc.</p> + <p>"Lieutenant, go tell Colonel Ward to work up as close as he can get cover, and + not to waste much ammunition in unnecessary firing. You may leave your horse."</p> + <p>When the general gave this direction we were in the fringe of the forest, near + the right extremity of the arc. Colonel Ward was at the left. The suggestion to + leave the horse obviously enough meant that Brayle was to take the longer line, + through the woods and among the men. Indeed, the suggestion was needless; to go by + the short route meant absolutely certain failure to deliver the message. Before + anybody could interpose, Brayle had cantered lightly into the field and the enemy's + works were in crackling conflagration.</p> + <p>"Stop that damned fool!" shouted the general.</p> + <p>A private of the escort, with more ambition than brains, spurred forward to + obey, and within ten yards left himself and his horse dead on the field of + honor.</p> + <p>Brayle was beyond recall, galloping easily along, parallel to the enemy and less + than two hundred yards distant. He was a picture to see! His hat had been blown or + shot from his head, and his long, blond hair rose and fell with the motion of his + horse. He sat erect in the saddle, holding the reins lightly in his left hand, his + right hanging carelessly at his side. An occasional glimpse of his handsome profile + as he turned his head one way or the other proved that the interest which he took + in what was going on was natural and without affectation.</p> + <p>The picture was intensely dramatic, but in no degree theatrical. Successive + scores of rifles spat at him viciously as he came within range, and our own line in + the edge of the timber broke out in visible and audible defense. No longer + regardful of themselves or their orders, our fellows sprang to their feet, and + swarming into the open sent broad sheets of bullets against the blazing crest of + the offending works, which poured an answering fire into their unprotected groups + with deadly effect. The artillery on both sides joined the battle, punctuating the + rattle and roar with deep, earth-shaking explosions and tearing the air with storms + of screaming grape, which from the enemy's side splintered the trees and spattered + them with blood, and from ours defiled the smoke of his arms with banks and clouds + of dust from his parapet.</p> + <p>My attention had been for a moment drawn to the general combat, but now, + glancing down the unobscured avenue between these two thunderclouds, I saw Brayle, + the cause of the carnage. Invisible now from either side, and equally doomed by + friend and foe, he stood in the shot-swept space, motionless, his face toward the + enemy. At some little distance lay his horse. I instantly saw what had stopped + him.</p> + <p>As topographical engineer I had, early in the day, made a hasty examination of + the ground, and now remembered that at that point was a deep and sinuous gully, + crossing half the field from the enemy's line, its general course at right angles + to it. From where we now were it was invisible, and Brayle had evidently not known + about it. Clearly, it was impassable. Its salient angles would have afforded him + absolute security if he had chosen to be satisfied with the miracle already wrought + in his favor and leapt into it. He could not go forward, he would not turn back; he + stood awaiting death. It did not keep him long waiting.</p> + <p>By some mysterious coincidence, almost instantaneously as he fell, the firing + ceased, a few desultory shots at long intervals serving rather to accentuate than + break the silence. It was as if both sides had suddenly repented of their + profitless crime. Four stretcher-bearers of ours, following a sergeant with a white + flag, soon afterward moved unmolested into the field, and made straight for + Brayle's body. Several Confederate officers and men came out to meet them, and with + uncovered heads assisted them to take up their sacred burden. As it was borne + toward us we heard beyond the hostile works fifes and a muffled drum—a dirge. + A generous enemy honored the fallen brave.</p> + <p>Amongst the dead man's effects was a soiled Russia-leather pocketbook. In the + distribution of mementoes of our friend, which the general, as administrator, + decreed, this fell to me.</p> + <p>A year after the close of the war, on my way to California, I opened and idly + inspected it. Out of an overlooked compartment fell a letter without envelope or + address. It was in a woman's handwriting, and began with words of endearment, but + no name.</p> + <p>It had the following date line: "San Francisco, Cal., July 9, 1862." The + signature was "Darling," in marks of quotation. Incidentally, in the body of the + text, the writer's full name was given—Marian Mendenhall.</p> + <p>The letter showed evidence of cultivation and good breeding, but it was an + ordinary love letter, if a love letter can be ordinary. There was not much in it, + but there was something. It was this:</p> + <p>"Mr. Winters, whom I shall always hate for it, has been telling that at some + battle in Virginia, where he got his hurt, you were seen crouching behind a tree. I + think he wants to injure you in my regard, which he knows the story would do if I + believed it. I could bear to hear of my soldier lover's death, but not of his + cowardice."</p> + <p>These were the words which on that sunny afternoon, in a distant region, had + slain a hundred men. Is woman weak?</p> + <p>One evening I called on Miss Mendenhall to return the letter to her. I intended, + also, to tell her what she had done—but not that she did it. I found her in a + handsome dwelling on Rincon Hill. She was beautiful, well bred—in a word, + charming.</p> + <p>"You knew Lieutenant Herman Brayle," I said, rather abruptly. "You know, + doubtless, that he fell in battle. Among his effects was found this letter from + you. My errand here is to place it in your hands."</p> + <p>She mechanically took the letter, glanced through it with deepening color, and + then, looking at me with a smile, said:</p> + <p>"It is very good of you, though I am sure it was hardly worth while." She + started suddenly and changed color. "This stain," she said, "is it—surely it + is not—"</p> + <p>"Madam," I said, "pardon me, but that is the blood of the truest and bravest + heart that ever beat."</p> + <p>She hastily flung the letter on the blazing coals. "Uh! I cannot bear the sight + of blood!" she said. "How did he die?"</p> + <p>I had involuntarily risen to rescue that scrap of paper, sacred even to me, and + now stood partly behind her. As she asked the question she turned her face about + and slightly upward. The light of the burning letter was reflected in her eyes and + touched her cheek with a tinge of crimson like the stain upon its page. I had never + seen anything so beautiful as this detestable creature.</p> + <p>"He was bitten by a snake," I replied.</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h4><a id="page105" name="page105"></a>THE AFFAIR AT COULTER'S NOTCH</h4> + <p>"Do you think, Colonel, that your brave Coulter would like to put one of his + guns in here?" the general asked.</p> + <p>He was apparently not altogether serious; it certainly did not seem a place + where any artillerist, however brave, would like to put a gun. The colonel thought + that possibly his division commander meant good-humoredly to intimate that in a + recent conversation between them Captain Coulter's courage had been too highly + extolled.</p> + <p>"General," he replied warmly, "Coulter would like to put a gun anywhere within + reach of those people," with a motion of his hand in the direction of the + enemy.</p> + <p>"It is the only place," said the general. He was serious, then.</p> + <p>The place was a depression, a "notch," in the sharp crest of a hill. It was a + pass, and through it ran a turnpike, which reaching this highest point in its + course by a sinuous ascent through a thin forest made a similar, though less steep, + descent toward the enemy. For a mile to the left and a mile to the right, the + ridge, though occupied by Federal infantry lying close behind the sharp crest and + appearing as if held in place by atmospheric pressure, was inaccessible to + artillery. There was no place but the bottom of the notch, and that was barely wide + enough for the roadbed. From the Confederate side this point was commanded by two + batteries posted on a slightly lower elevation beyond a creek, and a half-mile + away. All the guns but one were masked by the trees of an orchard; that + one—it seemed a bit of impudence—was on an open lawn directly in front + of a rather grandiose building, the planter's dwelling. The gun was safe enough in + its exposure—but only because the Federal infantry had been forbidden to + fire. Coulter's Notch—it came to be called so—was not, that pleasant + summer afternoon, a place where one would "like to put a gun."</p> + <p>Three or four dead horses lay there sprawling in the road, three or four dead + men in a trim row at one side of it, and a little back, down the hill. All but one + were cavalrymen belonging to the Federal advance. One was a quartermaster. The + general commanding the division and the colonel commanding the brigade, with their + staffs and escorts, had ridden into the notch to have a look at the enemy's + guns—which had straightway obscured themselves in towering clouds of smoke. + It was hardly profitable to be curious about guns which had the trick of the + cuttle-fish, and the season of observation had been brief. At its + conclusion—a short remove backward from where it began—occurred the + conversation already partly reported. "It is the only place," the general repeated + thoughtfully, "to get at them."</p> + <p>The colonel looked at him gravely. "There is room for only one gun, + General—one against twelve."</p> + <p>"That is true—for only one at a time," said the commander with something + like, yet not altogether like, a smile. "But then, your brave Coulter—a whole + battery in himself."</p> + <p>The tone of irony was now unmistakable. It angered the colonel, but he did not + know what to say. The spirit of military subordination is not favorable to retort, + nor even to deprecation.</p> + <p>At this moment a young officer of artillery came riding slowly up the road + attended by his bugler. It was Captain Coulter. He could not have been more than + twenty-three years of age. He was of medium height, but very slender and lithe, and + sat his horse with something of the air of a civilian. In face he was of a type + singularly unlike the men about him; thin, high-nosed, gray-eyed, with a slight + blond mustache, and long, rather straggling hair of the same color. There was an + apparent negligence in his attire. His cap was worn with the visor a trifle askew; + his coat was buttoned only at the sword-belt, showing a considerable expanse of + white shirt, tolerably clean for that stage of the campaign. But the negligence was + all in his dress and bearing; in his face was a look of intense interest in his + surroundings. His gray eyes, which seemed occasionally to strike right and left + across the landscape, like search-lights, were for the most part fixed upon the sky + beyond the Notch; until he should arrive at the summit of the road there was + nothing else in that direction to see. As he came opposite his division and brigade + commanders at the road-side he saluted mechanically and was about to pass on. The + colonel signed to him to halt.</p> + <p>"Captain Coulter," he said, "the enemy has twelve pieces over there on the next + ridge. If I rightly understand the general, he directs that you bring up a gun and + engage them."</p> + <p>There was a blank silence; the general looked stolidly at a distant regiment + swarming slowly up the hill through rough undergrowth, like a torn and draggled + cloud of blue smoke; the captain appeared not to have observed him. Presently the + captain spoke, slowly and with apparent effort:</p> + <p>"On the next ridge, did you say, sir? Are the guns near the house?"</p> + <p>"Ah, you have been over this road before. Directly at the house."</p> + <p>"And it is—necessary—to engage them? The order is imperative?"</p> + <p>His voice was husky and broken. He was visibly paler. The colonel was astonished + and mortified. He stole a glance at the commander. In that set, immobile face was + no sign; it was as hard as bronze. A moment later the general rode away, followed + by his staff and escort. The colonel, humiliated and indignant, was about to order + Captain Coulter in arrest, when the latter spoke a few words in a low tone to his + bugler, saluted, and rode straight forward into the Notch, where, presently, at the + summit of the road, his field-glass at his eyes, he showed against the sky, he and + his horse, sharply defined and statuesque. The bugler had dashed down the speed and + disappeared behind a wood. Presently his bugle was heard singing in the cedars, and + in an incredibly short time a single gun with its caisson, each drawn by six horses + and manned by its full complement of gunners, came bounding and banging up the + grade in a storm of dust, unlimbered under cover, and was run forward by hand to + the fatal crest among the dead horses. A gesture of the captain's arm, some + strangely agile movements of the men in loading, and almost before the troops along + the way had ceased to hear the rattle of the wheels, a great white cloud sprang + forward down the slope, and with a deafening report the affair at Coulter's Notch + had begun.</p> + <p>It is not intended to relate in detail the progress and incidents of that + ghastly contest—a contest without vicissitudes, its alternations only + different degrees of despair. Almost at the instant when Captain Coulter's gun blew + its challenging cloud twelve answering clouds rolled upward from among the trees + about the plantation house, a deep multiple report roared back like a broken echo, + and thenceforth to the end the Federal cannoneers fought their hopeless battle in + an atmosphere of living iron whose thoughts were lightnings and whose deeds were + death.</p> + <p>Unwilling to see the efforts which he could not aid and the slaughter which he + could not stay, the colonel ascended the ridge at a point a quarter of a mile to + the left, whence the Notch, itself invisible, but pushing up successive masses of + smoke, seemed the crater of a volcano in thundering eruption. With his glass he + watched the enemy's guns, noting as he could the effects of Coulter's fire—if + Coulter still lived to direct it. He saw that the Federal gunners, ignoring those + of the enemy's pieces whose positions could be determined by their smoke only, gave + their whole attention to the one that maintained its place in the open—the + lawn in front of the house. Over and about that hardy piece the shells exploded at + intervals of a few seconds. Some exploded in the house, as could be seen by thin + ascensions of smoke from the breached roof. Figures of prostrate men and horses + were plainly visible.</p> + <p>"If our fellows are doing so good work with a single gun," said the colonel to + an aide who happened to be nearest, "they must be suffering like the devil from + twelve. Go down and present the commander of that piece with my congratulations on + the accuracy of his fire."</p> + <p>Turning to his adjutant-general he said, "Did you observe Coulter's damned + reluctance to obey orders?"</p> + <p>"Yes, sir, I did."</p> + <p>"Well, say nothing about it, please. I don't think the general will care to make + any accusations. He will probably have enough to do in explaining his own + connection with this uncommon way of amusing the rear-guard of a retreating + enemy."</p> + <p>A young officer approached from below, climbing breathless up the acclivity. + Almost before he had saluted, he gasped out:</p> + <p>"Colonel, I am directed by Colonel Harmon to say that the enemy's guns are + within easy reach of our rifles, and most of them visible from several points along + the ridge."</p> + <p>The brigade commander looked at him without a trace of interest in his + expression. "I know it," he said quietly.</p> + <p>The young adjutant was visibly embarrassed. "Colonel Harmon would like to have + permission to silence those guns," he stammered.</p> + <p>"So should I," the colonel said in the same tone. "Present my compliments to + Colonel Harmon and say to him that the general's orders for the infantry not to + fire are still in force."</p> + <p>The adjutant saluted and retired. The colonel ground his heel into the earth and + turned to look again at the enemy's guns.</p> + <p>"Colonel," said the adjutant-general, "I don't know that I ought to say + anything, but there is something wrong in all this. Do you happen to know that + Captain Coulter is from the South?"</p> + <p>"No; <i>was</i> he, indeed?"</p> + <p>"I heard that last summer the division which the general then commanded was in + the vicinity of Coulter's home—camped there for weeks, and—"</p> + <p>"Listen!" said the colonel, interrupting with an upward gesture. "Do you hear + <i>that</i>?"</p> + <p>"That" was the silence of the Federal gun. The staff, the orderlies, the lines + of infantry behind the crest—all had "heard," and were looking curiously in + the direction of the crater, whence no smoke now ascended except desultory + cloudlets from the enemy's shells. Then came the blare of a bugle, a faint rattle + of wheels; a minute later the sharp reports recommenced with double activity. The + demolished gun had been replaced with a sound one.</p> + <p>"Yes," said the adjutant-general, resuming his narrative, "the general made the + acquaintance of Coulter's family. There was trouble—I don't know the exact + nature of it—something about Coulter's wife. She is a red-hot Secessionist, + as they all are, except Coulter himself, but she is a good wife and high-bred lady. + There was a complaint to army headquarters. The general was transferred to this + division. It is odd that Coulter's battery should afterward have been assigned to + it."</p> + <p>The colonel had risen from the rock upon which they had been sitting. His eyes + were blazing with a generous indignation.</p> + <p>"See here, Morrison," said he, looking his gossiping staff officer straight in + the face, "did you get that story from a gentleman or a liar?"</p> + <p>"I don't want to say how I got it, Colonel, unless it is necessary"—he was + blushing a trifle—"but I'll stake my life upon its truth in the main."</p> + <p>The colonel turned toward a small knot of officers some distance away. + "Lieutenant Williams!" he shouted.</p> + <p>One of the officers detached himself from the group and coming forward saluted, + saying: "Pardon me, Colonel, I thought you had been informed. Williams is dead down + there by the gun. What can I do, sir?"</p> + <p>Lieutenant Williams was the aide who had had the pleasure of conveying to the + officer in charge of the gun his brigade commander's congratulations.</p> + <p>"Go," said the colonel, "and direct the withdrawal of that gun instantly. + No—I'll go myself."</p> + <p>He strode down the declivity toward the rear of the Notch at a break-neck pace, + over rocks and through brambles, followed by his little retinue in tumultuous + disorder. At the foot of the declivity they mounted their waiting animals and took + to the road at a lively trot, round a bend and into the Notch. The spectacle which + they encountered there was appalling!</p> + <p>Within that defile, barely broad enough for a single gun, were piled the wrecks + of no fewer than four. They had noted the silencing of only the last one + disabled—there had been a lack of men to replace it quickly with another. The + débris lay on both sides of the road; the men had managed to keep an open + way between, through which the fifth piece was now firing. The men?—they + looked like demons of the pit! All were hatless, all stripped to the waist, their + reeking skins black with blotches of powder and spattered with gouts of blood. They + worked like madmen, with rammer and cartridge, lever and lanyard. They set their + swollen shoulders and bleeding hands against the wheels at each recoil and heaved + the heavy gun back to its place. There were no commands; in that awful environment + of whooping shot, exploding shells, shrieking fragments of iron, and flying + splinters of wood, none could have been heard. Officers, if officers there were, + were indistinguishable; all worked together—each while he + lasted—governed by the eye. When the gun was sponged, it was loaded; when + loaded, aimed and fired. The colonel observed something new to his military + experience—something horrible and unnatural: the gun was bleeding at the + mouth! In temporary default of water, the man sponging had dipped his sponge into a + pool of comrade's blood. In all this work there was no clashing; the duty of the + instant was obvious. When one fell, another, looking a trifle cleaner, seemed to + rise from the earth in the dead man's tracks, to fall in his turn.</p> + <p>With the ruined guns lay the ruined men—alongside the wreckage, under it + and atop of it; and back down the road—a ghastly procession!—crept on + hands and knees such of the wounded as were able to move. The colonel—he had + compassionately sent his cavalcade to the right about—had to ride over those + who were entirely dead in order not to crush those who were partly alive. Into that + hell he tranquilly held his way, rode up alongside the gun, and, in the obscurity + of the last discharge, tapped upon the cheek the man holding the rammer—who + straightway fell, thinking himself killed. A fiend seven times damned sprang out of + the smoke to take his place, but paused and gazed up at the mounted officer with an + unearthly regard, his teeth flashing between his black lips, his eyes, fierce and + expanded, burning like coals beneath his bloody brow. The colonel made an + authoritative gesture and pointed to the rear. The fiend bowed in token of + obedience. It was Captain Coulter.</p> + <p>Simultaneously with the colonel's arresting sign, silence fell upon the whole + field of action. The procession of missiles no longer streamed into that defile of + death, for the enemy also had ceased firing. His army had been gone for hours, and + the commander of his rear-guard, who had held his position perilously long in hope + to silence the Federal fire, at that strange moment had silenced his own. "I was + not aware of the breadth of my authority," said the colonel to anybody, riding + forward to the crest to see what had really happened.</p> + <p>An hour later his brigade was in bivouac on the enemy's ground, and its idlers + were examining, with something of awe, as the faithful inspect a saint's relics, a + score of straddling dead horses and three disabled guns, all spiked. The fallen men + had been carried away; their torn and broken bodies would have given too great + satisfaction.</p> + <p>Naturally, the colonel established himself and his military family in the + plantation house. It was somewhat shattered, but it was better than the open air. + The furniture was greatly deranged and broken. Walls and ceilings were knocked away + here and there, and a lingering odor of powder smoke was everywhere. The beds, the + closets of women's clothing, the cupboards were not greatly damaged. The new + tenants for a night made themselves comfortable, and the virtual effacement of + Coulter's battery supplied them with an interesting topic.</p> + <p>During supper an orderly of the escort showed himself into the dining-room and + asked permission to speak to the colonel.</p> + <p>"What is it, Barbour?" said that officer pleasantly, having overheard the + request.</p> + <p>"Colonel, there is something wrong in the cellar; I don't know + what—somebody there. I was down there rummaging about."</p> + <p>"I will go down and see," said a staff officer, rising.</p> + <p>"So will I," the colonel said; "let the others remain. Lead on, orderly."</p> + <p>They took a candle from the table and descended the cellar stairs, the orderly + in visible trepidation. The candle made but a feeble light, but presently, as they + advanced, its narrow circle of illumination revealed a human figure seated on the + ground against the black stone wall which they were skirting, its knees elevated, + its head bowed sharply forward. The face, which should have been seen in profile, + was invisible, for the man was bent so far forward that his long hair concealed it; + and, strange to relate, the beard, of a much darker hue, fell in a great tangled + mass and lay along the ground at his side. They involuntarily paused; then the + colonel, taking the candle from the orderly's shaking hand, approached the man and + attentively considered him. The long dark beard was the hair of a woman—dead. + The dead woman clasped in her arms a dead babe. Both were clasped in the arms of + the man, pressed against his breast, against his lips. There was blood in the hair + of the woman; there was blood in the hair of the man. A yard away, near an + irregular depression in the beaten earth which formed the cellar's + floor—fresh excavation with a convex bit of iron, having jagged edges, + visible in one of the sides—lay an infant's foot. The colonel held the light + as high as he could. The floor of the room above was broken through, the splinters + pointing at all angles downward. "This casemate is not bomb-proof," said the + colonel gravely. It did not occur to him that his summing up of the matter had any + levity in it.</p> + <p>They stood about the group awhile in silence; the staff officer was thinking of + his unfinished supper, the orderly of what might possibly be in one of the casks on + the other side of the cellar. Suddenly the man whom they had thought dead raised + his head and gazed tranquilly into their faces. His complexion was coal black; the + cheeks were apparently tattooed in irregular sinuous lines from the eyes downward. + The lips, too, were white, like those of a stage negro. There was blood upon his + forehead.</p> + <p>The staff officer drew back a pace, the orderly two paces.</p> + <p>"What are you doing here, my man?" said the colonel, unmoved.</p> + <p>"This house belongs to me, sir," was the reply, civilly delivered.</p> + <p>"To you? Ah, I see! And these?"</p> + <p>"My wife and child. I am Captain Coulter."</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h4><a id="page122" name="page122"></a>THE COUP DE GRÂCE</h4> + <p>The fighting had been hard and continuous; that was attested by all the senses. + The very taste of battle was in the air. All was now over; it remained only to + succor the wounded and bury the dead—to "tidy up a bit," as the humorist of a + burial squad put it. A good deal of "tidying up" was required. As far as one could + see through the forests, among the splintered trees, lay wrecks of men and horses. + Among them moved the stretcher-bearers, gathering and carrying away the few who + showed signs of life. Most of the wounded had died of neglect while the right to + minister to their wants was in dispute. It is an army regulation that the wounded + must wait; the best way to care for them is to win the battle. It must be confessed + that victory is a distinct advantage to a man requiring attention, but many do not + live to avail themselves of it.</p> + <p>The dead were collected in groups of a dozen or a score and laid side by side in + rows while the trenches were dug to receive them.</p> + <p>Some, found at too great a distance from these rallying points, were buried + where they lay. There was little attempt at identification, though in most cases, + the burial parties being detailed to glean the same ground which they had assisted + to reap, the names of the victorious dead were known and listed. The enemy's fallen + had to be content with counting. But of that they got enough: many of them were + counted several times, and the total, as given afterward in the official report of + the victorious commander, denoted rather a hope than a result.</p> + <p>At some little distance from the spot where one of the burial parties had + established its "bivouac of the dead," a man in the uniform of a Federal officer + stood leaning against a tree. From his feet upward to his neck his attitude was + that of weariness reposing; but he turned his head uneasily from side to side; his + mind was apparently not at rest. He was perhaps uncertain in which direction to go; + he was not likely to remain long where he was, for already the level rays of the + setting sun straggled redly through the open spaces of the wood and the weary + soldiers were quitting their task for the day. He would hardly make a night of it + alone there among the dead.</p> + <p>Nine men in ten whom you meet after a battle inquire the way to some fraction of + the army—as if any one could know. Doubtless this officer was lost. After + resting himself a moment he would presumably follow one of the retiring burial + squads.</p> + <p>When all were gone he walked straight away into the forest toward the red west, + its light staining his face like blood. The air of confidence with which he now + strode along showed that he was on familiar ground; he had recovered his bearings. + The dead on his right and on his left were unregarded as he passed. An occasional + low moan from some sorely-stricken wretch whom the relief-parties had not reached, + and who would have to pass a comfortless night beneath the stars with his thirst to + keep him company, was equally unheeded. What, indeed, could the officer have done, + being no surgeon and having no water?</p> + <p>At the head of a shallow ravine, a mere depression of the ground, lay a small + group of bodies. He saw, and swerving suddenly from his course walked rapidly + toward them. Scanning each one sharply as he passed, he stopped at last above one + which lay at a slight remove from the others, near a clump of small trees. He + looked at it narrowly. It seemed to stir. He stooped and laid his hand upon its + face. It screamed.</p> + <hr /> + <p>The officer was Captain Downing Madwell, of a Massachusetts regiment of + infantry, a daring and intelligent soldier, an honorable man.</p> + <p>In the regiment were two brothers named Halcrow—Caffal and Creede Halcrow. + Caffal Halcrow was a sergeant in Captain Madwell's company, and these two men, the + sergeant and the captain, were devoted friends. In so far as disparity of rank, + difference in duties and considerations of military discipline would permit they + were commonly together. They had, indeed, grown up together from childhood. A habit + of the heart is not easily broken off. Caffal Halcrow had nothing military in his + taste nor disposition, but the thought of separation from his friend was + disagreeable; he enlisted in the company in which Madwell was second-lieutenant. + Each had taken two steps upward in rank, but between the highest non-commissioned + and the lowest commissioned officer the gulf is deep and wide and the old relation + was maintained with difficulty and a difference.</p> + <p>Creede Halcrow, the brother of Caffal, was the major of the regiment—a + cynical, saturnine man, between whom and Captain Madwell there was a natural + antipathy which circumstances had nourished and strengthened to an active + animosity. But for the restraining influence of their mutual relation to Caffal + these two patriots would doubtless have endeavored to deprive their country of each + other's services.</p> + <p>At the opening of the battle that morning the regiment was performing outpost + duty a mile away from the main army. It was attacked and nearly surrounded in the + forest, but stubbornly held its ground. During a lull in the fighting, Major + Halcrow came to Captain Madwell. The two exchanged formal salutes, and the major + said: "Captain, the colonel directs that you push your company to the head of this + ravine and hold your place there until recalled. I need hardly apprise you of the + dangerous character of the movement, but if you wish, you can, I suppose, turn over + the command to your first-lieutenant. I was not, however, directed to authorize the + substitution; it is merely a suggestion of my own, unofficially made."</p> + <p>To this deadly insult Captain Madwell coolly replied:</p> + <p>"Sir, I invite you to accompany the movement. A mounted officer would be a + conspicuous mark, and I have long held the opinion that it would be better if you + were dead."</p> + <p>The art of repartee was cultivated in military circles as early as 1862.</p> + <p>A half-hour later Captain Madwell's company was driven from its position at the + head of the ravine, with a loss of one-third its number. Among the fallen was + Sergeant Halcrow. The regiment was soon afterward forced back to the main line, and + at the close of the battle was miles away. The captain was now standing at the side + of his subordinate and friend.</p> + <p>Sergeant Halcrow was mortally hurt. His clothing was deranged; it seemed to have + been violently torn apart, exposing the abdomen. Some of the buttons of his jacket + had been pulled off and lay on the ground beside him and fragments of his other + garments were strewn about. His leather belt was parted and had apparently been + dragged from beneath him as he lay. There had been no great effusion of blood. The + only visible wound was a wide, ragged opening in the abdomen.</p> + <p>It was defiled with earth and dead leaves. Protruding from it was a loop of + small intestine. In all his experience Captain Madwell had not seen a wound like + this. He could neither conjecture how it was made nor explain the attendant + circumstances—the strangely torn clothing, the parted belt, the besmirching + of the white skin. He knelt and made a closer examination. When he rose to his + feet, he turned his eyes in different directions as if looking for an enemy. Fifty + yards away, on the crest of a low, thinly wooded hill, he saw several dark objects + moving about among the fallen men—a herd of swine. One stood with its back to + him, its shoulders sharply elevated. Its forefeet were upon a human body, its head + was depressed and invisible. The bristly ridge of its chine showed black against + the red west. Captain Madwell drew away his eyes and fixed them again upon the + thing which had been his friend.</p> + <p>The man who had suffered these monstrous mutilations was alive. At intervals he + moved his limbs; he moaned at every breath. He stared blankly into the face of his + friend and if touched screamed. In his giant agony he had torn up the ground on + which he lay; his clenched hands were full of leaves and twigs and earth. + Articulate speech was beyond his power; it was impossible to know if he were + sensible to anything but pain. The expression of his face was an appeal; his eyes + were full of prayer. For what?</p> + <p>There was no misreading that look; the captain had too frequently seen it in + eyes of those whose lips had still the power to formulate it by an entreaty for + death. Consciously or unconsciously, this writhing fragment of humanity, this type + and example of acute sensation, this handiwork of man and beast, this humble, + unheroic Prometheus, was imploring everything, all, the whole non-ego, for the boon + of oblivion. To the earth and the sky alike, to the trees, to the man, to whatever + took form in sense or consciousness, this incarnate suffering addressed that silent + plea.</p> + <p>For what, indeed? For that which we accord to even the meanest creature without + sense to demand it, denying it only to the wretched of our own race: for the + blessed release, the rite of uttermost compassion, the <i>coup de + grâce</i>.</p> + <p>Captain Madwell spoke the name of his friend. He repeated it over and over + without effect until emotion choked his utterance.</p> + <p>His tears plashed upon the livid face beneath his own and blinded himself. He + saw nothing but a blurred and moving object, but the moans were more distinct than + ever, interrupted at briefer intervals by sharper shrieks. He turned away, struck + his hand upon his forehead, and strode from the spot. The swine, catching sight of + him, threw up their crimson muzzles, regarding him suspiciously a second, and then + with a gruff, concerted grunt, raced away out of sight. A horse, its foreleg + splintered by a cannon-shot, lifted its head sidewise from the ground and neighed + piteously. Madwell stepped forward, drew his revolver and shot the poor beast + between the eyes, narrowly observing its death-struggle, which, contrary to his + expectation, was violent and long; but at last it lay still. The tense muscles of + its lips, which had uncovered the teeth in a horrible grin, relaxed; the sharp, + clean-cut profile took on a look of profound peace and rest.</p> + <p>Along the distant, thinly wooded crest to westward the fringe of sunset fire had + now nearly burned itself out. The light upon the trunks of the trees had faded to a + tender gray; shadows were in their tops, like great dark birds aperch. Night was + coming and there were miles of haunted forest between Captain Madwell and camp. Yet + he stood there at the side of the dead animal, apparently lost to all sense of his + surroundings. His eyes were bent upon the earth at his feet; his left hand hung + loosely at his side, his right still held the pistol. Presently he lifted his face, + turned it toward his dying friend and walked rapidly back to his side. He knelt + upon one knee, cocked the weapon, placed the muzzle against the man's forehead, and + turning away his eyes pulled the trigger. There was no report. He had used his last + cartridge for the horse.</p> + <p>The sufferer moaned and his lips moved convulsively. The froth that ran from + them had a tinge of blood.</p> + <p>Captain Madwell rose to his feet and drew his sword from the scabbard. He passed + the fingers of his left hand along the edge from hilt to point. He held it out + straight before him, as if to test his nerves. There was no visible tremor of the + blade; the ray of bleak skylight that it reflected was steady and true. He stooped + and with his left hand tore away the dying man's shirt, rose and placed the point + of the sword just over the heart. This time he did not withdraw his eyes. Grasping + the hilt with both hands, he thrust downward with all his strength and weight. The + blade sank into the man's body—through his body into the earth; Captain + Madwell came near falling forward upon his work. The dying man drew up his knees + and at the same time threw his right arm across his breast and grasped the steel so + tightly that the knuckles of the hand visibly whitened. By a violent but vain + effort to withdraw the blade the wound was enlarged; a rill of blood escaped, + running sinuously down into the deranged clothing. At that moment three men stepped + silently forward from behind the clump of young trees which had concealed their + approach. Two were hospital attendants and carried a stretcher.</p> + <p>The third was Major Creede Halcrow.</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h4><a id="page133" name="page133"></a>PARKER ADDERSON, PHILOSOPHER</h4> + <p>"Prisoner, what is your name?"</p> + <p>"As I am to lose it at daylight to-morrow morning it is hardly worth while + concealing it. Parker Adderson."</p> + <p>"Your rank?"</p> + <p>"A somewhat humble one; commissioned officers are too precious to be risked in + the perilous business of a spy. I am a sergeant."</p> + <p>"Of what regiment?"</p> + <p>"You must excuse me; my answer might, for anything I know, give you an idea of + whose forces are in your front. Such knowledge as that is what I came into your + lines to obtain, not to impart."</p> + <p>"You are not without wit."</p> + <p>"If you have the patience to wait you will find me dull enough to-morrow."</p> + <p>"How do you know that you are to die to-morrow morning?"</p> + <p>"Among spies captured by night that is the custom. It is one of the nice + observances of the profession."</p> + <p>The general so far laid aside the dignity appropriate to a Confederate officer + of high rank and wide renown as to smile. But no one in his power and out of his + favor would have drawn any happy augury from that outward and visible sign of + approval. It was neither genial nor infectious; it did not communicate itself to + the other persons exposed to it—the caught spy who had provoked it and the + armed guard who had brought him into the tent and now stood a little apart, + watching his prisoner in the yellow candle-light. It was no part of that warrior's + duty to smile; he had been detailed for another purpose. The conversation was + resumed; it was in character a trial for a capital offense.</p> + <p>"You admit, then, that you are a spy—that you came into my camp, disguised + as you are in the uniform of a Confederate soldier, to obtain information secretly + regarding the numbers and disposition of my troops."</p> + <p>"Regarding, particularly, their numbers. Their disposition I already knew. It is + morose."</p> + <p>The general brightened again; the guard, with a severer sense of his + responsibility, accentuated the austerity of his expression and stood a trifle more + erect than before. Twirling his gray slouch hat round and round upon his + forefinger, the spy took a leisurely survey of his surroundings. They were simple + enough. The tent was a common "wall tent," about eight feet by ten in dimensions, + lighted by a single tallow candle stuck into the haft of a bayonet, which was + itself stuck into a pine table at which the general sat, now busily writing and + apparently forgetful of his unwilling guest. An old rag carpet covered the earthen + floor; an older leather trunk, a second chair and a roll of blankets were about all + else that the tent contained; in General Clavering's command Confederate simplicity + and penury of "pomp and circumstance" had attained their highest development. On a + large nail driven into the tent pole at the entrance was suspended a sword-belt + supporting a long sabre, a pistol in its holster and, absurdly enough, a + bowie-knife. Of that most unmilitary weapon it was the general's habit to explain + that it was a souvenir of the peaceful days when he was a civilian.</p> + <p>It was a stormy night. The rain cascaded upon the canvas in torrents, with the + dull, drum-like sound familiar to dwellers in tents. As the whooping blasts charged + upon it the frail structure shook and swayed and strained at its confining stakes + and ropes.</p> + <p>The general finished writing, folded the half-sheet of paper and spoke to the + soldier guarding Adderson: "Here, Tassman, take that to the adjutant-general; then + return."</p> + <p>"And the prisoner, General?" said the soldier, saluting, with an inquiring + glance in the direction of that unfortunate.</p> + <p>"Do as I said," replied the officer, curtly.</p> + <p>The soldier took the note and ducked himself out of the tent. General Clavering + turned his handsome face toward the Federal spy, looked him in the eyes, not + unkindly, and said: "It is a bad night, my man."</p> + <p>"For me, yes."</p> + <p>"Do you guess what I have written?"</p> + <p>"Something worth reading, I dare say. And—perhaps it is my vanity—I + venture to suppose that I am mentioned in it."</p> + <p>"Yes; it is a memorandum for an order to be read to the troops at + <i>reveille</i> concerning your execution. Also some notes for the guidance of the + provost-marshal in arranging the details of that event."</p> + <p>"I hope, General, the spectacle will be intelligently arranged, for I shall + attend it myself."</p> + <p>"Have you any arrangements of your own that you wish to make? Do you wish to see + a chaplain, for example?"</p> + <p>"I could hardly secure a longer rest for myself by depriving him of some of + his."</p> + <p>"Good God, man! do you mean to go to your death with nothing but jokes upon your + lips? Do you know that this is a serious matter?"</p> + <p>"How can I know that? I have never been dead in all my life. I have heard that + death is a serious matter, but never from any of those who have experienced + it."</p> + <p>The general was silent for a moment; the man interested, perhaps amused + him—a type not previously encountered.</p> + <p>"Death," he said, "is at least a loss—a loss of such happiness as we have, + and of opportunities for more."</p> + <p>"A loss of which we shall never be conscious can be borne with composure and + therefore expected without apprehension. You must have observed, General, that of + all the dead men with whom it is your soldierly pleasure to strew your path none + shows signs of regret."</p> + <p>"If the being dead is not a regrettable condition, yet the becoming so—the + act of dying—appears to be distinctly disagreeable to one who has not lost + the power to feel."</p> + <p>"Pain is disagreeable, no doubt. I never suffer it without more or less + discomfort. But he who lives longest is most exposed to it. What you call dying is + simply the last pain—there is really no such thing as dying. Suppose, for + illustration, that I attempt to escape. You lift the revolver that you are + courteously concealing in your lap, and—"</p> + <p>The general blushed like a girl, then laughed softly, disclosing his brilliant + teeth, made a slight inclination of his handsome head and said nothing. The spy + continued: "You fire, and I have in my stomach what I did not swallow. I fall, but + am not dead. After a half-hour of agony I am dead. But at any given instant of that + half-hour I was either alive or dead. There is no transition period.</p> + <p>"When I am hanged to-morrow morning it will be quite the same; while conscious I + shall be living; when dead, unconscious. Nature appears to have ordered the matter + quite in my interest—the way that I should have ordered it myself. It is so + simple," he added with a smile, "that it seems hardly worth while to be hanged at + all."</p> + <p>At the finish of his remarks there was a long silence. The general sat + impassive, looking into the man's face, but apparently not attentive to what had + been said. It was as if his eyes had mounted guard over the prisoner while his mind + concerned itself with other matters. Presently he drew a long, deep breath, + shuddered, as one awakened from a dreadful dream, and exclaimed almost inaudibly: + "Death is horrible!"—this man of death.</p> + <p>"It was horrible to our savage ancestors," said the spy, gravely, "because they + had not enough intelligence to dissociate the idea of consciousness from the idea + of the physical forms in which it is manifested—as an even lower order of + intelligence, that of the monkey, for example, may be unable to imagine a house + without inhabitants, and seeing a ruined hut fancies a suffering occupant. To us it + is horrible because we have inherited the tendency to think it so, accounting for + the notion by wild and fanciful theories of another world—as names of places + give rise to legends explaining them and reasonless conduct to philosophies in + justification. You can hang me, General, but there your power of evil ends; you + cannot condemn me to heaven."</p> + <p>The general appeared not to have heard; the spy's talk had merely turned his + thoughts into an unfamiliar channel, but there they pursued their will + independently to conclusions of their own. The storm had ceased, and something of + the solemn spirit of the night had imparted itself to his reflections, giving them + the sombre tinge of a supernatural dread. Perhaps there was an element of + prescience in it. "I should not like to die," he said—"not to-night."</p> + <p>He was interrupted—if, indeed, he had intended to speak further—by + the entrance of an officer of his staff, Captain Hasterlick, the provost-marshal. + This recalled him to himself; the absent look passed away from his face.</p> + <p>"Captain," he said, acknowledging the officer's salute, "this man is a Yankee + spy captured inside our lines with incriminating papers on him. He has confessed. + How is the weather?"</p> + <p>"The storm is over, sir, and the moon shining."</p> + <p>"Good; take a file of men, conduct him at once to the parade ground, and shoot + him."</p> + <p>A sharp cry broke from the spy's lips. He threw himself forward, thrust out his + neck, expanded his eyes, clenched his hands.</p> + <p>"Good God!" he cried hoarsely, almost inarticulately; "you do not mean that! You + forget—I am not to die until morning."</p> + <p>"I have said nothing of morning," replied the general, coldly; "that was an + assumption of your own. You die now."</p> + <p>"But, General, I beg—I implore you to remember; I am to hang! It will take + some time to erect the gallows—two hours—an hour. Spies are hanged; I + have rights under military law. For Heaven's sake, General, consider how + short—"</p> + <p>"Captain, observe my directions."</p> + <p>The officer drew his sword and fixing his eyes upon the prisoner pointed + silently to the opening of the tent. The prisoner hesitated; the officer grasped + him by the collar and pushed him gently forward. As he approached the tent pole the + frantic man sprang to it and with cat-like agility seized the handle of the + bowie-knife, plucked the weapon from the scabbard and thrusting the captain aside + leaped upon the general with the fury of a madman, hurling him to the ground and + falling headlong upon him as he lay. The table was overturned, the candle + extinguished and they fought blindly in the darkness. The provost-marshal sprang to + the assistance of his Superior officer and was himself prostrated upon the + struggling forms. Curses and inarticulate cries of rage and pain came from the + welter of limbs and bodies; the tent came down upon them and beneath its hampering + and enveloping folds the struggle went on. Private Tassman, returning from his + errand and dimly conjecturing the situation, threw down his rifle and laying hold + of the flouncing canvas at random vainly tried to drag it off the men under it; and + the sentinel who paced up and down in front, not daring to leave his beat though + the skies should fall, discharged his rifle. The report alarmed the camp; drums + beat the long roll and bugles sounded the assembly, bringing swarms of half-clad + men into the moonlight, dressing as they ran, and falling into line at the sharp + commands of their officers. This was well; being in line the men were under + control; they stood at arms while the general's staff and the men of his escort + brought order out of confusion by lifting off the fallen tent and pulling apart the + breathless and bleeding actors in that strange contention.</p> + <p>Breathless, indeed, was one: the captain was dead; the handle of the + bowie-knife, protruding from his throat, was pressed back beneath his chin until + the end had caught in the angle of the jaw and the hand that delivered the blow had + been unable to remove the weapon. In the dead man's hand was his sword, clenched + with a grip that defied the strength of the living. Its blade was streaked with red + to the hilt.</p> + <p>Lifted to his feet, the general sank back to the earth with a moan and fainted. + Besides his bruises he had two sword-thrusts—one through the thigh, the other + through the shoulder.</p> + <p>The spy had suffered the least damage. Apart from a broken right arm, his wounds + were such only as might have been incurred in an ordinary combat with nature's + weapons. But he was dazed and seemed hardly to know what had occurred. He shrank + away from those attending him, cowered upon the ground and uttered unintelligible + remonstrances. His face, swollen by blows and stained with gouts of blood, + nevertheless showed white beneath his disheveled hair—as white as that of a + corpse.</p> + <p>"The man is not insane," said the surgeon, preparing bandages and replying to a + question; "he is suffering from fright. Who and what is he?"</p> + <p>Private Tassman began to explain. It was the opportunity of his life; he omitted + nothing that could in any way accentuate the importance of his own relation to the + night's events. When he had finished his story and was ready to begin it again + nobody gave him any attention.</p> + <p>The general had now recovered consciousness. He raised himself upon his elbow, + looked about him, and, seeing the spy crouching by a camp-fire, guarded, said + simply:</p> + <p>"Take that man to the parade ground and shoot him."</p> + <p>"The general's mind wanders," said an officer standing near.</p> + <p>"His mind does <i>not</i> wander," the adjutant-general said. "I have a + memorandum from him about this business; he had given that same order to + Hasterlick"—with a motion of the hand toward the dead provost-marshal— + "and, by God! it shall be executed."</p> + <p>Ten minutes later Sergeant Parker Adderson, of the Federal army, philosopher and + wit, kneeling in the moonlight and begging incoherently for his life, was shot to + death by twenty men. As the volley rang out upon the keen air of the midnight, + General Clavering, lying white and still in the red glow of the camp-fire, opened + his big blue eyes, looked pleasantly upon those about him and said: "How silent it + all is!"</p> + <p>The surgeon looked at the adjutant-general, gravely and significantly. The + patient's eyes slowly closed, and thus he lay for a few moments; then, his face + suffused with a smile of ineffable sweetness, he said, faintly: "I suppose this + must be death," and so passed away.</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h4><a id="page146" name="page146"></a>AN AFFAIR OF OUTPOSTS</h4> + <p>I</p> + <p>CONCERNING THE WISH TO BE DEAD</p> + <p>Two men sat in conversation. One was the Governor of the State. The year was + 1861; the war was on and the Governor already famous for the intelligence and zeal + with which he directed all the powers and resources of his State to the service of + the Union.</p> + <p>"What! <i>you</i>?" the Governor was saying in evident surprise—"you too + want a military commission? Really, the fifing and drumming must have effected a + profound alteration in your convictions. In my character of recruiting sergeant I + suppose I ought not to be fastidious, but"—there was a touch of irony in his + manner—"well, have you forgotten that an oath of allegiance is required?"</p> + <p>"I have altered neither my convictions nor my sympathies," said the other, + tranquilly. "While my sympathies are with the South, as you do me the honor to + recollect, I have never doubted that the North was in the right. I am a Southerner + in fact and in feeling, but it is my habit in matters of importance to act as I + think, not as I feel."</p> + <p>The Governor was absently tapping his desk with a pencil; he did not immediately + reply. After a while he said: "I have heard that there are all kinds of men in the + world, so I suppose there are some like that, and doubtless you think yourself one. + I've known you a long time and—pardon me—I don't think so."</p> + <p>"Then I am to understand that my application is denied?"</p> + <p>"Unless you can remove my belief that your Southern sympathies are in some + degree a disqualification, yes. I do not doubt your good faith, and I know you to + be abundantly fitted by intelligence and special training for the duties of an + officer. Your convictions, you say, favor the Union cause, but I prefer a man with + his heart in it. The heart is what men fight with."</p> + <p>"Look here, Governor," said the younger man, with a smile that had more light + than warmth: "I have something up my sleeve—a qualification which I had hoped + it would not be necessary to mention. A great military authority has given a simple + recipe for being a good soldier: 'Try always to get yourself killed.' It is with + that purpose that I wish to enter the service. I am not, perhaps, much of a + patriot, but I wish to be dead."</p> + <p>The Governor looked at him rather sharply, then a little coldly. "There is a + simpler and franker way," he said.</p> + <p>"In my family, sir," was the reply, "we do not do that—no Armisted has + ever done that."</p> + <p>A long silence ensued and neither man looked at the other. Presently the + Governor lifted his eyes from the pencil, which had resumed its tapping, and + said:</p> + <p>"Who is she?"</p> + <p>"My wife."</p> + <p>The Governor tossed the pencil into the desk, rose and walked two or three times + across the room. Then he turned to Armisted, who also had risen, looked at him more + coldly than before and said: "But the man—would it not be better that + he—could not the country spare him better than it can spare you? Or are the + Armisteds opposed to 'the unwritten law'?"</p> + <p>The Armisteds, apparently, could feel an insult: the face of the younger man + flushed, then paled, but he subdued himself to the service of his purpose.</p> + <p>"The man's identity is unknown to me," he said, calmly enough.</p> + <p>"Pardon me," said the Governor, with even less of visible contrition than + commonly underlies those words. After a moment's reflection he added: "I shall send + you to-morrow a captain's commission in the Tenth Infantry, now at Nashville, + Tennessee. Good night."</p> + <p>"Good night, sir. I thank you."</p> + <p>Left alone, the Governor remained for a time motionless, leaning against his + desk. Presently he shrugged his shoulders as if throwing off a burden. "This is a + bad business," he said.</p> + <p>Seating himself at a reading-table before the fire, he took up the book nearest + his hand, absently opening it. His eyes fell upon this sentence:</p> + <p>"When God made it necessary for an unfaithful wife to lie about her husband in + justification of her own sins He had the tenderness to endow men with the folly to + believe her."</p> + <p>He looked at the title of the book; it was, <i>His Excellency the Fool</i>.</p> + <p>He flung the volume into the fire.</p> + <p>II</p> + <p>HOW TO SAY WHAT IS WORTH HEARING</p> + <p>The enemy, defeated in two days of battle at Pittsburg Landing, had sullenly + retired to Corinth, whence he had come. For manifest incompetence Grant, whose + beaten army had been saved from destruction and capture by Buell's soldierly + activity and skill, had been relieved of his command, which nevertheless had not + been given to Buell, but to Halleck, a man of unproved powers, a theorist, + sluggish, irresolute. Foot by foot his troops, always deployed in line-of-battle to + resist the enemy's bickering skirmishers, always entrenching against the columns + that never came, advanced across the thirty miles of forest and swamp toward an + antagonist prepared to vanish at contact, like a ghost at cock-crow. It was a + campaign of "excursions and alarums," of reconnoissances and counter-marches, of + cross-purposes and countermanded orders. For weeks the solemn farce held attention, + luring distinguished civilians from fields of political ambition to see what they + safely could of the horrors of war. Among these was our friend the Governor. At the + headquarters of the army and in the camps of the troops from his State he was a + familiar figure, attended by the several members of his personal staff, showily + horsed, faultlessly betailored and bravely silk-hatted. Things of charm they were, + rich in suggestions of peaceful lands beyond a sea of strife. The bedraggled + soldier looked up from his trench as they passed, leaned upon his spade and audibly + damned them to signify his sense of their ornamental irrelevance to the austerities + of his trade.</p> + <p>"I think, Governor," said General Masterson one day, going into informal session + atop of his horse and throwing one leg across the pommel of his saddle, his + favorite posture— "I think I would not ride any farther in that direction if + I were you. We've nothing out there but a line of skirmishers. That, I presume, is + why I was directed to put these siege guns here: if the skirmishers are driven in + the enemy will die of dejection at being unable to haul them away—they're a + trifle heavy."</p> + <p>There is reason to fear that the unstrained quality of this military humor + dropped not as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath the civilian's + silk hat. Anyhow he abated none of his dignity in recognition.</p> + <p>"I understand," he said, gravely, "that some of my men are out there—a + company of the Tenth, commanded by Captain Armisted. I should like to meet him if + you do not mind."</p> + <p>"He is worth meeting. But there's a bad bit of jungle out there, and I should + advise that you leave your horse and"—with a look at the Governor's + retinue—"your other impedimenta."</p> + <p>The Governor went forward alone and on foot. In a half-hour he had pushed + through a tangled undergrowth covering a boggy soil and entered upon firm and more + open ground. Here he found a half-company of infantry lounging behind a line of + stacked rifles. The men wore their accoutrements—their belts, + cartridge-boxes, haversacks and canteens. Some lying at full length on the dry + leaves were fast asleep: others in small groups gossiped idly of this and that; a + few played at cards; none was far from the line of stacked arms. To the civilian's + eye the scene was one of carelessness, confusion, indifference; a soldier would + have observed expectancy and readiness.</p> + <p>At a little distance apart an officer in fatigue uniform, armed, sat on a fallen + tree noting the approach of the visitor, to whom a sergeant, rising from one of the + groups, now came forward.</p> + <p>"I wish to see Captain Armisted," said the Governor.</p> + <p>The sergeant eyed him narrowly, saying nothing, pointed to the officer, and + taking a rifle from one of the stacks, accompanied him.</p> + <p>"This man wants to see you, sir," said the sergeant, saluting. The officer + rose.</p> + <p>It would have been a sharp eye that would have recognized him. His hair, which + but a few months before had been brown, was streaked with gray. His face, tanned by + exposure, was seamed as with age. A long livid scar across the forehead marked the + stroke of a sabre; one cheek was drawn and puckered by the work of a bullet. Only a + woman of the loyal North would have thought the man handsome.</p> + <p>"Armisted—Captain," said the Governor, extending his hand, "do you not + know me?"</p> + <p>"I know you, sir, and I salute you—as the Governor of my State."</p> + <p>Lifting his right hand to the level of his eyes he threw it outward and + downward. In the code of military etiquette there is no provision for shaking + hands. That of the civilian was withdrawn. If he felt either surprise or chagrin + his face did not betray it.</p> + <p>"It is the hand that signed your commission," he said.</p> + <p>"And it is the hand—"</p> + <p>The sentence remains unfinished. The sharp report of a rifle came from the + front, followed by another and another. A bullet hissed through the forest and + struck a tree near by. The men sprang from the ground and even before the captain's + high, clear voice was done intoning the command "At-ten-tion!" had fallen into line + in rear of the stacked arms. Again—and now through the din of a crackling + fusillade—sounded the strong, deliberate sing-song of authority: "Take ... + arms!" followed by the rattle of unlocking bayonets.</p> + <p>Bullets from the unseen enemy were now flying thick and fast, though mostly well + spent and emitting the humming sound which signified interference by twigs and + rotation in the plane of flight. Two or three of the men in the line were already + struck and down. A few wounded men came limping awkwardly out of the undergrowth + from the skirmish line in front; most of them did not pause, but held their way + with white faces and set teeth to the rear.</p> + <p>Suddenly there was a deep, jarring report in front, followed by the startling + rush of a shell, which passing overhead exploded in the edge of a thicket, setting + afire the fallen leaves. Penetrating the din—seeming to float above it like + the melody of a soaring bird—rang the slow, aspirated monotones of the + captain's several commands, without emphasis, without accent, musical and restful + as an evensong under the harvest moon. Familiar with this tranquilizing chant in + moments of imminent peril, these raw soldiers of less than a year's training + yielded themselves to the spell, executing its mandates with the composure and + precision of veterans. Even the distinguished civilian behind his tree, hesitating + between pride and terror, was accessible to its charm and suasion. He was conscious + of a fortified resolution and ran away only when the skirmishers, under orders to + rally on the reserve, came out of the woods like hunted hares and formed on the + left of the stiff little line, breathing hard and thankful for the boon of + breath.</p> + <p>III</p> + <p>THE FIGHTING OF ONE WHOSE HEART WAS NOT IN THE QUARREL</p> + <p>Guided in his retreat by that of the fugitive wounded, the Governor struggled + bravely to the rear through the "bad bit of jungle." He was well winded and a + trifle confused. Excepting a single rifle-shot now and again, there was no sound of + strife behind him; the enemy was pulling himself together for a new onset against + an antagonist of whose numbers and tactical disposition he was in doubt. The + fugitive felt that he would probably be spared to his country, and only commended + the arrangements of Providence to that end, but in leaping a small brook in more + open ground one of the arrangements incurred the mischance of a disabling sprain at + the ankle. He was unable to continue his flight, for he was too fat to hop, and + after several vain attempts, causing intolerable pain, seated himself on the earth + to nurse his ignoble disability and deprecate the military situation.</p> + <p>A brisk renewal of the firing broke out and stray bullets came flitting and + droning by. Then came the crash of two clean, definite volleys, followed by a + continuous rattle, through which he heard the yells and cheers of the combatants, + punctuated by thunderclaps of cannon. All this told him that Armisted's little + command was bitterly beset and fighting at close quarters. The wounded men whom he + had distanced began to straggle by on either hand, their numbers visibly augmented + by new levies from the line. Singly and by twos and threes, some supporting + comrades more desperately hurt than themselves, but all deaf to his appeals for + assistance, they sifted through the underbrush and disappeared. The firing was + increasingly louder and more distinct, and presently the ailing fugitives were + succeeded by men who strode with a firmer tread, occasionally facing about and + discharging their pieces, then doggedly resuming their retreat, reloading as they + walked. Two or three fell as he looked, and lay motionless. One had enough of life + left in him to make a pitiful attempt to drag himself to cover. A passing comrade + paused beside him long enough to fire, appraised the poor devil's disability with a + look and moved sullenly on, inserting a cartridge in his weapon.</p> + <p>In all this was none of the pomp of war —no hint of glory. Even in his + distress and peril the helpless civilian could not forbear to contrast it with the + gorgeous parades and reviews held in honor of himself—with the brilliant + uniforms, the music, the banners, and the marching. It was an ugly and sickening + business: to all that was artistic in his nature, revolting, brutal, in bad + taste.</p> + <p>"Ugh!" he grunted, shuddering—"this is beastly! Where is the charm of it + all? Where are the elevated sentiments, the devotion, the heroism, the—"</p> + <p>From a point somewhere near, in the direction of the pursuing enemy, rose the + clear, deliberate sing-song of Captain Armisted.</p> + <p>"Stead-y, men—stead-y. Halt! Com-mence fir-ing."</p> + <p>The rattle of fewer than a score of rifles could be distinguished through the + general uproar, and again that penetrating falsetto:</p> + <p>"Cease fir-ing. In re-treat.... maaarch!"</p> + <p>In a few moments this remnant had drifted slowly past the Governor, all to the + right of him as they faced in retiring, the men deployed at intervals of a + half-dozen paces. At the extreme left and a few yards behind came the captain. The + civilian called out his name, but he did not hear. A swarm of men in gray now broke + out of cover in pursuit, making directly for the spot where the Governor + lay—some accident of the ground had caused them to converge upon that point: + their line had become a crowd. In a last struggle for life and liberty the Governor + attempted to rise, and looking back the captain saw him. Promptly, but with the + same slow precision as before, he sang his commands:</p> + <p>"Skirm-ish-ers, halt!" The men stopped and according to rule turned to face the + enemy.</p> + <p>"Ral-ly on the right!"—and they came in at a run, fixing bayonets and + forming loosely on the man at that end of the line.</p> + <p>"Forward ... to save the Gov-ern-or of your State ... doub-le quick ... + maaarch!"</p> + <p>Only one man disobeyed this astonishing command! He was dead. With a cheer they + sprang forward over the twenty or thirty paces between them and their task. The + captain having a shorter distance to go arrived first—simultaneously with the + enemy. A half-dozen hasty shots were fired at him, and the foremost man—a + fellow of heroic stature, hatless and bare-breasted—made a vicious sweep at + his head with a clubbed rifle. The officer parried the blow at the cost of a broken + arm and drove his sword to the hilt into the giant's breast. As the body fell the + weapon was wrenched from his hand and before he could pluck his revolver from the + scabbard at his belt another man leaped upon him like a tiger, fastening both hands + upon his throat and bearing him backward upon the prostrate Governor, still + struggling to rise. This man was promptly spitted upon the bayonet of a Federal + sergeant and his death-gripe on the captain's throat loosened by a kick upon each + wrist. When the captain had risen he was at the rear of his men, who had all passed + over and around him and were thrusting fiercely at their more numerous but less + coherent antagonists. Nearly all the rifles on both sides were empty and in the + crush there was neither time nor room to reload. The Confederates were at a + disadvantage in that most of them lacked bayonets; they fought by + bludgeoning—and a clubbed rifle is a formidable arm. The sound of the + conflict was a clatter like that of the interlocking horns of battling + bulls—now and then the pash of a crushed skull, an oath, or a grunt caused by + the impact of a rifle's muzzle against the abdomen transfixed by its bayonet. + Through an opening made by the fall of one of his men Captain Armisted sprang, with + his dangling left arm; in his right hand a full-charged revolver, which he fired + with rapidity and terrible effect into the thick of the gray crowd: but across the + bodies of the slain the survivors in the front were pushed forward by their + comrades in the rear till again they breasted the tireless bayonets. There were + fewer bayonets now to breast—a beggarly half-dozen, all told. A few minutes + more of this rough work—a little fighting back to back—and all would be + over.</p> + <p>Suddenly a lively firing was heard on the right and the left: a fresh line of + Federal skirmishers came forward at a run, driving before them those parts of the + Confederate line that had been separated by staying the advance of the centre. And + behind these new and noisy combatants, at a distance of two or three hundred yards, + could be seen, indistinct among the trees a line-of-battle!</p> + <p>Instinctively before retiring, the crowd in gray made a tremendous rush upon its + handful of antagonists, overwhelming them by mere momentum and, unable to use + weapons in the crush, trampled them, stamped savagely on their limbs, their bodies, + their necks, their faces; then retiring with bloody feet across its own dead it + joined the general rout and the incident was at an end.</p> + <p>IV</p> + <p>THE GREAT HONOR THE GREAT</p> + <p>The Governor, who had been unconscious, opened his eyes and stared about him, + slowly recalling the day's events. A man in the uniform of a major was kneeling + beside him; he was a surgeon. Grouped about were the civilian members of the + Governor's staff, their faces expressing a natural solicitude regarding their + offices. A little apart stood General Masterson addressing another officer and + gesticulating with a cigar. He was saying: "It was the beautifulest fight ever + made—by God, sir, it was great!"</p> + <p>The beauty and greatness were attested by a row of dead, trimly disposed, and + another of wounded, less formally placed, restless, half-naked, but bravely + bebandaged.</p> + <p>"How do you feel, sir?" said the surgeon. "I find no wound."</p> + <p>"I think I am all right," the patient replied, sitting up. "It is that + ankle."</p> + <p>The surgeon transferred his attention to the ankle, cutting away the boot. All + eyes followed the knife.</p> + <p>In moving the leg a folded paper was uncovered. The patient picked it up and + carelessly opened it. It was a letter three months old, signed "Julia." Catching + sight of his name in it he read it. It was nothing very remarkable—merely a + weak woman's confession of unprofitable sin—the penitence of a faithless wife + deserted by her betrayer. The letter had fallen from the pocket of Captain + Armisted; the reader quietly transferred it to his own.</p> + <p>An aide-de-camp rode up and dismounted. Advancing to the Governor he + saluted.</p> + <p>"Sir," he said, "I am sorry to find you wounded—the Commanding General has + not been informed. He presents his compliments and I am directed to say that he has + ordered for to-morrow a grand review of the reserve corps in your honor. I venture + to add that the General's carriage is at your service if you are able to + attend."</p> + <p>"Be pleased to say to the Commanding General that I am deeply touched by his + kindness. If you have the patience to wait a few moments you shall convey a more + definite reply."</p> + <p>He smiled brightly and glancing at the surgeon and his assistants added: "At + present—if you will permit an allusion to the horrors of peace—I am 'in + the hands of my friends.'"</p> + <p>The humor of the great is infectious; all laughed who heard.</p> + <p>"Where is Captain Armisted?" the Governor asked, not altogether carelessly.</p> + <p>The surgeon looked up from his work, pointing silently to the nearest body in + the row of dead, the features discreetly covered with a handkerchief. It was so + near that the great man could have laid his hand upon it, but he did not. He may + have feared that it would bleed.</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h4><a id="page165" name="page165"></a>THE STORY OF A CONSCIENCE</h4> + <p>I</p> + <p>Captain Parrol Hartroy stood at the advanced post of his picket-guard, talking + in low tones with the sentinel. This post was on a turnpike which bisected the + captain's camp, a half-mile in rear, though the camp was not in sight from that + point. The officer was apparently giving the soldier certain instructions—was + perhaps merely inquiring if all were quiet in front. As the two stood talking a man + approached them from the direction of the camp, carelessly whistling, and was + promptly halted by the soldier. He was evidently a civilian—a tall person, + coarsely clad in the home-made stuff of yellow gray, called "butternut," which was + men's only wear in the latter days of the Confederacy. On his head was a slouch + felt hat, once white, from beneath which hung masses of uneven hair, seemingly + unacquainted with either scissors or comb. The man's face was rather striking; a + broad forehead, high nose, and thin cheeks, the mouth invisible in the full dark + beard, which seemed as neglected as the hair. The eyes were large and had that + steadiness and fixity of attention which so frequently mark a considering + intelligence and a will not easily turned from its purpose—so say those + physiognomists who have that kind of eyes. On the whole, this was a man whom one + would be likely to observe and be observed by. He carried a walking-stick freshly + cut from the forest and his ailing cowskin boots were white with dust.</p> + <p>"Show your pass," said the Federal soldier, a trifle more imperiously perhaps + than he would have thought necessary if he had not been under the eye of his + commander, who with folded arms looked on from the roadside.</p> + <p>"'Lowed you'd rec'lect me, Gineral," said the wayfarer tranquilly, while + producing the paper from the pocket of his coat. There was something in his + tone—perhaps a faint suggestion of irony—which made his elevation of + his obstructor to exalted rank less agreeable to that worthy warrior than promotion + is commonly found to be. "You-all have to be purty pertickler, I reckon," he added, + in a more conciliatory tone, as if in half-apology for being halted.</p> + <p>Having read the pass, with his rifle resting on the ground, the soldier handed + the document back without a word, shouldered his weapon, and returned to his + commander. The civilian passed on in the middle of the road, and when he had + penetrated the circumjacent Confederacy a few yards resumed his whistling and was + soon out of sight beyond an angle in the road, which at that point entered a thin + forest. Suddenly the officer undid his arms from his breast, drew a revolver from + his belt and sprang forward at a run in the same direction, leaving his sentinel in + gaping astonishment at his post. After making to the various visible forms of + nature a solemn promise to be damned, that gentleman resumed the air of stolidity + which is supposed to be appropriate to a state of alert military attention.</p> + <p>II</p> + <p>Captain Hartroy held an independent command. His force consisted of a company of + infantry, a squadron of cavalry, and a section of artillery, detached from the army + to which they belonged, to defend an important defile in the Cumberland Mountains + in Tennessee. It was a field officer's command held by a line officer promoted from + the ranks, where he had quietly served until "discovered." His post was one of + exceptional peril; its defense entailed a heavy responsibility and he had wisely + been given corresponding discretionary powers, all the more necessary because of + his distance from the main army, the precarious nature of his communications and + the lawless character of the enemy's irregular troops infesting that region. He had + strongly fortified his little camp, which embraced a village of a half-dozen + dwellings and a country store, and had collected a considerable quantity of + supplies. To a few resident civilians of known loyalty, with whom it was desirable + to trade, and of whose services in various ways he sometimes availed himself, he + had given written passes admitting them within his lines. It is easy to understand + that an abuse of this privilege in the interest of the enemy might entail serious + consequences. Captain Hartroy had made an order to the effect that any one so + abusing it would be summarily shot.</p> + <p>While the sentinel had been examining the civilian's pass the captain had eyed + the latter narrowly. He thought his appearance familiar and had at first no doubt + of having given him the pass which had satisfied the sentinel. It was not until the + man had got out of sight and hearing that his identity was disclosed by a revealing + light from memory. With soldierly promptness of decision the officer had acted on + the revelation.</p> + <p>III</p> + <p>To any but a singularly self-possessed man the apparition of an officer of the + military forces, formidably clad, bearing in one hand a sheathed sword and in the + other a cocked revolver, and rushing in furious pursuit, is no doubt disquieting to + a high degree; upon the man to whom the pursuit was in this instance directed it + appeared to have no other effect than somewhat to intensify his tranquillity. He + might easily enough have escaped into the forest to the right or the left, but + chose another course of action—turned and quietly faced the captain, saying + as he came up: "I reckon ye must have something to say to me, which ye + disremembered. What mout it be, neighbor?"</p> + <p>But the "neighbor" did not answer, being engaged in the unneighborly act of + covering him with a cocked pistol.</p> + <p>"Surrender," said the captain as calmly as a slight breathlessness from exertion + would permit, "or you die."</p> + <p>There was no menace in the manner of this demand; that was all in the matter and + in the means of enforcing it. There was, too, something not altogether reassuring + in the cold gray eyes that glanced along the barrel of the weapon. For a moment the + two men stood looking at each other in silence; then the civilian, with no + appearance of fear—with as great apparent unconcern as when complying with + the less austere demand of the sentinel—slowly pulled from his pocket the + paper which had satisfied that humble functionary and held it out, saying:</p> + <p>"I reckon this 'ere parss from Mister Hartroy is—"</p> + <p>"The pass is a forgery," the officer said, interrupting. "I am Captain + Hartroy—and you are Dramer Brune."</p> + <p>It would have required a sharp eye to observe the slight pallor of the + civilian's face at these words, and the only other manifestation attesting their + significance was a voluntary relaxation of the thumb and fingers holding the + dishonored paper, which, falling to the road, unheeded, was rolled by a gentle wind + and then lay still, with a coating of dust, as in humiliation for the lie that it + bore. A moment later the civilian, still looking unmoved into the barrel of the + pistol, said:</p> + <p>"Yes, I am Dramer Brune, a Confederate spy, and your prisoner. I have on my + person, as you will soon discover, a plan of your fort and its armament, a + statement of the distribution of your men and their number, a map of the + approaches, showing the positions of all your outposts. My life is fairly yours, + but if you wish it taken in a more formal way than by your own hand, and if you are + willing to spare me the indignity of marching into camp at the muzzle of your + pistol, I promise you that I will neither resist, escape, nor remonstrate, but will + submit to whatever penalty may be imposed."</p> + <p>The officer lowered his pistol, uncocked it, and thrust it into its place in his + belt. Brune advanced a step, extending his right hand.</p> + <p>"It is the hand of a traitor and a spy," said the officer coldly, and did not + take it. The other bowed.</p> + <p>"Come," said the captain, "let us go to camp; you shall not die until to-morrow + morning."</p> + <p>He turned his back upon his prisoner, and these two enigmatical men retraced + their steps and soon passed the sentinel, who expressed his general sense of things + by a needless and exaggerated salute to his commander.</p> + <p>IV</p> + <p>Early on the morning after these events the two men, captor and captive, sat in + the tent of the former. A table was between them on which lay, among a number of + letters, official and private, which the captain had written during the night, the + incriminating papers found upon the spy. That gentleman had slept through the night + in an adjoining tent, unguarded. Both, having breakfasted, were now smoking.</p> + <p>"Mr. Brune," said Captain Hartroy, "you probably do not understand why I + recognized you in your disguise, nor how I was aware of your name."</p> + <p>"I have not sought to learn, Captain," the prisoner said with quiet dignity.</p> + <p>"Nevertheless I should like you to know—if the story will not offend. You + will perceive that my knowledge of you goes back to the autumn of 1861. At that + time you were a private in an Ohio regiment—a brave and trusted soldier. To + the surprise and grief of your officers and comrades you deserted and went over to + the enemy. Soon afterward you were captured in a skirmish, recognized, tried by + court-martial and sentenced to be shot. Awaiting the execution of the sentence you + were confined, unfettered, in a freight car standing on a side track of a + railway."</p> + <p>"At Grafton, Virginia," said Brune, pushing the ashes from his cigar with the + little finger of the hand holding it, and without looking up.</p> + <p>"At Grafton, Virginia," the captain repeated. "One dark and stormy night a + soldier who had just returned from a long, fatiguing march was put on guard over + you. He sat on a cracker box inside the car, near the door, his rifle loaded and + the bayonet fixed. You sat in a corner and his orders were to kill you if you + attempted to rise."</p> + <p>"But if I <i>asked</i> to rise he might call the corporal of the guard."</p> + <p>"Yes. As the long silent hours wore away the soldier yielded to the demands of + nature: he himself incurred the death penalty by sleeping at his post of duty."</p> + <p>"You did."</p> + <p>"What! you recognize me? you have known me all along?"</p> + <p>The captain had risen and was walking the floor of his tent, visibly excited. + His face was flushed, the gray eyes had lost the cold, pitiless look which they had + shown when Brune had seen them over the pistol barrel; they had softened + wonderfully.</p> + <p>"I knew you," said the spy, with his customary tranquillity, "the moment you + faced me, demanding my surrender. In the circumstances it would have been hardly + becoming in me to recall these matters. I am perhaps a traitor, certainly a spy; + but I should not wish to seem a suppliant."</p> + <p>The captain had paused in his walk and was facing his prisoner. There was a + singular huskiness in his voice as he spoke again.</p> + <p>"Mr. Brune, whatever your conscience may permit you to be, you saved my life at + what you must have believed the cost of your own. Until I saw you yesterday when + halted by my sentinel I believed you dead—thought that you had suffered the + fate which through my own crime you might easily have escaped. You had only to step + from the car and leave me to take your place before the firing-squad. You had a + divine compassion. You pitied my fatigue. You let me sleep, watched over me, and as + the time drew near for the relief-guard to come and detect me in my crime, you + gently waked me. Ah, Brune, Brune, that was well done—that was + great—that—"</p> + <p>The captain's voice failed him; the tears were running down his face and + sparkled upon his beard and his breast. Resuming his seat at the table, he buried + his face in his arms and sobbed. All else was silence.</p> + <p>Suddenly the clear warble of a bugle was heard sounding the "assembly." The + captain started and raised his wet face from his arms; it had turned ghastly pale. + Outside, in the sunlight, were heard the stir of the men falling into line; the + voices of the sergeants calling the roll; the tapping of the drummers as they + braced their drums. The captain spoke again:</p> + <p>"I ought to have confessed my fault in order to relate the story of your + magnanimity; it might have procured you a pardon. A hundred times I resolved to do + so, but shame prevented. Besides, your sentence was just and righteous. Well, + Heaven forgive me! I said nothing, and my regiment was soon afterward ordered to + Tennessee and I never heard about you."</p> + <p>"It was all right, sir," said Brune, without visible emotion; "I escaped and + returned to my colors—the Confederate colors. I should like to add that + before deserting from the Federal service I had earnestly asked a discharge, on the + ground of altered convictions. I was answered by punishment."</p> + <p>"Ah, but if I had suffered the penalty of my crime—if you had not + generously given me the life that I accepted without gratitude you would not be + again in the shadow and imminence of death."</p> + <p>The prisoner started slightly and a look of anxiety came into his face. One + would have said, too, that he was surprised. At that moment a lieutenant, the + adjutant, appeared at the opening of the tent and saluted. "Captain," he said, "the + battalion is formed."</p> + <p>Captain Hartroy had recovered his composure. He turned to the officer and said: + "Lieutenant, go to Captain Graham and say that I direct him to assume command of + the battalion and parade it outside the parapet. This gentleman is a deserter and a + spy; he is to be shot to death in the presence of the troops. He will accompany + you, unbound and unguarded."</p> + <p>While the adjutant waited at the door the two men inside the tent rose and + exchanged ceremonious bows, Brune immediately retiring.</p> + <p>Half an hour later an old negro cook, the only person left in camp except the + commander, was so startled by the sound of a volley of musketry that he dropped the + kettle that he was lifting from a fire. But for his consternation and the hissing + which the contents of the kettle made among the embers, he might also have heard, + nearer at hand, the single pistol shot with which Captain Hartroy renounced the + life which in conscience he could no longer keep.</p> + <p>In compliance with the terms of a note that he left for the officer who + succeeded him in command, he was buried, like the deserter and spy, without + military honors; and in the solemn shadow of the mountain which knows no more of + war the two sleep well in long-forgotten graves.</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h4><a id="page178" name="page178"></a>ONE KIND OF OFFICER</h4> + <p>I</p> + <p>OF THE USES OF CIVILITY</p> + <p>"Captain Ransome, it is not permitted to you to know <i>anything</i>. It is + sufficient that you obey my order—which permit me to repeat. If you perceive + any movement of troops in your front you are to open fire, and if attacked hold + this position as long as you can. Do I make myself understood, sir?"</p> + <p>"Nothing could be plainer. Lieutenant Price,"—this to an officer of his + own battery, who had ridden up in time to hear the order—"the general's + meaning is clear, is it not?"</p> + <p>"Perfectly."</p> + <p>The lieutenant passed on to his post. For a moment General Cameron and the + commander of the battery sat in their saddles, looking at each other in silence. + There was no more to say; apparently too much had already been said. Then the + superior officer nodded coldly and turned his horse to ride away. The artillerist + saluted slowly, gravely, and with extreme formality. One acquainted with the + niceties of military etiquette would have said that by his manner he attested a + sense of the rebuke that he had incurred. It is one of the important uses of + civility to signify resentment.</p> + <p>When the general had joined his staff and escort, awaiting him at a little + distance, the whole cavalcade moved off toward the right of the guns and vanished + in the fog. Captain Ransome was alone, silent, motionless as an equestrian statue. + The gray fog, thickening every moment, closed in about him like a visible doom.</p> + <p>II</p> + <p>UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES MEN DO NOT WISH TO BE SHOT</p> + <p>The fighting of the day before had been desultory and indecisive. At the points + of collision the smoke of battle had hung in blue sheets among the branches of the + trees till beaten into nothing by the falling rain. In the softened earth the + wheels of cannon and ammunition wagons cut deep, ragged furrows, and movements of + infantry seemed impeded by the mud that clung to the soldiers' feet as, with soaken + garments and rifles imperfectly protected by capes of overcoats they went dragging + in sinuous lines hither and thither through dripping forest and flooded field. + Mounted officers, their heads protruding from rubber ponchos that glittered like + black armor, picked their way, singly and in loose groups, among the men, coming + and going with apparent aimlessness and commanding attention from nobody but one + another. Here and there a dead man, his clothing defiled with earth, his face + covered with a blanket or showing yellow and claylike in the rain, added his + dispiriting influence to that of the other dismal features of the scene and + augmented the general discomfort with a particular dejection. Very repulsive these + wrecks looked—not at all heroic, and nobody was accessible to the infection + of their patriotic example. Dead upon the field of honor, yes; but the field of + honor was so very wet! It makes a difference.</p> + <p>The general engagement that all expected did not occur, none of the small + advantages accruing, now to this side and now to that, in isolated and accidental + collisions being followed up. Half-hearted attacks provoked a sullen resistance + which was satisfied with mere repulse. Orders were obeyed with mechanical fidelity; + no one did any more than his duty.</p> + <p>"The army is cowardly to-day," said General Cameron, the commander of a Federal + brigade, to his adjutant-general.</p> + <p>"The army is cold," replied the officer addressed, "and—yes, it doesn't + wish to be like that."</p> + <p>He pointed to one of the dead bodies, lying in a thin pool of yellow water, its + face and clothing bespattered with mud from hoof and wheel.</p> + <p>The army's weapons seemed to share its military delinquency. The rattle of + rifles sounded flat and contemptible. It had no meaning and scarcely roused to + attention and expectancy the unengaged parts of the line-of-battle and the waiting + reserves. Heard at a little distance, the reports of cannon were feeble in volume + and <i>timbre</i>: they lacked sting and resonance. The guns seemed to be fired + with light charges, unshotted. And so the futile day wore on to its dreary close, + and then to a night of discomfort succeeded a day of apprehension.</p> + <p>An army has a personality. Beneath the individual thoughts and emotions of its + component parts it thinks and feels as a unit. And in this large, inclusive sense + of things lies a wiser wisdom than the mere sum of all that it knows. On that + dismal morning this great brute force, groping at the bottom of a white ocean of + fog among trees that seemed as sea weeds, had a dumb consciousness that all was not + well; that a day's manoeuvring had resulted in a faulty disposition of its parts, a + blind diffusion of its strength. The men felt insecure and talked among themselves + of such tactical errors as with their meager military vocabulary they were able to + name. Field and line officers gathered in groups and spoke more learnedly of what + they apprehended with no greater clearness. Commanders of brigades and divisions + looked anxiously to their connections on the right and on the left, sent staff + officers on errands of inquiry and pushed skirmish lines silently and cautiously + forward into the dubious region between the known and the unknown. At some points + on the line the troops, apparently of their own volition, constructed such defenses + as they could without the silent spade and the noisy ax.</p> + <p>One of these points was held by Captain Ransome's battery of six guns. Provided + always with intrenching tools, his men had labored with diligence during the night, + and now his guns thrust their black muzzles through the embrasures of a really + formidable earthwork. It crowned a slight acclivity devoid of undergrowth and + providing an unobstructed fire that would sweep the ground for an unknown distance + in front. The position could hardly have been better chosen. It had this + peculiarity, which Captain Ransome, who was greatly addicted to the use of the + compass, had not failed to observe: it faced northward, whereas he knew that the + general line of the army must face eastward. In fact, that part of the line was + "refused"—that is to say, bent backward, away from the enemy. This implied + that Captain Ransome's battery was somewhere near the left flank of the army; for + an army in line of battle retires its flanks if the nature of the ground will + permit, they being its vulnerable points. Actually, Captain Ransome appeared to + hold the extreme left of the line, no troops being visible in that direction beyond + his own. Immediately in rear of his guns occurred that conversation between him and + his brigade commander, the concluding and more picturesque part of which is + reported above.</p> + <p>III</p> + <p>HOW TO PLAY THE CANNON WITHOUT NOTES</p> + <p>Captain Ransome sat motionless and silent on horseback. A few yards away his men + were standing at their guns. Somewhere—everywhere within a few + miles—were a hundred thousand men, friends and enemies. Yet he was alone. The + mist had isolated him as completely as if he had been in the heart of a desert. His + world was a few square yards of wet and trampled earth about the feet of his horse. + His comrades in that ghostly domain were invisible and inaudible. These were + conditions favorable to thought, and he was thinking. Of the nature of his thoughts + his clear-cut handsome features yielded no attesting sign. His face was as + inscrutable as that of the sphinx. Why should it have made a record which there was + none to observe? At the sound of a footstep he merely turned his eyes in the + direction whence it came; one of his sergeants, looking a giant in stature in the + false perspective of the fog, approached, and when clearly defined and reduced to + his true dimensions by propinquity, saluted and stood at attention.</p> + <p>"Well, Morris," said the officer, returning his subordinate's salute.</p> + <p>"Lieutenant Price directed me to tell you, sir, that most of the infantry has + been withdrawn. We have not sufficient support."</p> + <p>"Yes, I know."</p> + <p>"I am to say that some of our men have been out over the works a hundred yards + and report that our front is not picketed."</p> + <p>"Yes."</p> + <p>"They were so far forward that they heard the enemy."</p> + <p>"Yes."</p> + <p>"They heard the rattle of the wheels of artillery and the commands of + officers."</p> + <p>"Yes."</p> + <p>"The enemy is moving toward our works."</p> + <p>Captain Ransome, who had been facing to the rear of his line—toward the + point where the brigade commander and his cavalcade had been swallowed up by the + fog—reined his horse about and faced the other way. Then he sat motionless as + before.</p> + <p>"Who are the men who made that statement?" he inquired, without looking at the + sergeant; his eyes were directed straight into the fog over the head of his + horse.</p> + <p>"Corporal Hassman and Gunner Manning."</p> + <p>Captain Ransome was a moment silent. A slight pallor came into his face, a + slight compression affected the lines of his lips, but it would have required a + closer observer than Sergeant Morris to note the change. There was none in the + voice.</p> + <p>"Sergeant, present my compliments to Lieutenant Price and direct him to open + fire with all the guns. Grape."</p> + <p>The sergeant saluted and vanished in the fog.</p> + <p>IV.</p> + <p>TO INTRODUCE GENERAL MASTERSON</p> + <p>Searching for his division commander, General Cameron and his escort had + followed the line of battle for nearly a mile to the right of Ransome's battery, + and there learned that the division commander had gone in search of the corps + commander. It seemed that everybody was looking for his immediate superior—an + ominous circumstance. It meant that nobody was quite at ease. So General Cameron + rode on for another half-mile, where by good luck he met General Masterson, the + division commander, returning.</p> + <p>"Ah, Cameron," said the higher officer, reining up, and throwing his right leg + across the pommel of his saddle in a most unmilitary way—"anything up? Found + a good position for your battery, I hope—if one place is better than another + in a fog."</p> + <p>"Yes, general," said the other, with the greater dignity appropriate to his less + exalted rank, "my battery is very well placed. I wish I could say that it is as + well commanded."</p> + <p>"Eh, what's that? Ransome? I think him a fine fellow. In the army we should be + proud of him."</p> + <p>It was customary for officers of the regular army to speak of it as "the army." + As the greatest cities are most provincial, so the self-complacency of + aristocracies is most frankly plebeian.</p> + <p>"He is too fond of his opinion. By the way, in order to occupy the hill that he + holds I had to extend my line dangerously. The hill is on my left—that is to + say the left flank of the army."</p> + <p>"Oh, no, Hart's brigade is beyond. It was ordered up from Drytown during the + night and directed to hook on to you. Better go and—"</p> + <p>The sentence was unfinished: a lively cannonade had broken out on the left, and + both officers, followed by their retinues of aides and orderlies making a great + jingle and clank, rode rapidly toward the spot. But they were soon impeded, for + they were compelled by the fog to keep within sight of the line-of-battle, behind + which were swarms of men, all in motion across their way. Everywhere the line was + assuming a sharper and harder definition, as the men sprang to arms and the + officers, with drawn swords, "dressed" the ranks. Color-bearers unfurled the flags, + buglers blew the "assembly," hospital attendants appeared with stretchers. Field + officers mounted and sent their impedimenta to the rear in care of negro servants. + Back in the ghostly spaces of the forest could be heard the rustle and murmur of + the reserves, pulling themselves together.</p> + <p>Nor was all this preparation vain, for scarcely five minutes had passed since + Captain Ransome's guns had broken the truce of doubt before the whole region was + aroar: the enemy had attacked nearly everywhere.</p> + <p>V</p> + <p>HOW SOUNDS CAN FIGHT SHADOWS</p> + <p>Captain Ransome walked up and down behind his guns, which were firing rapidly + but with steadiness. The gunners worked alertly, but without haste or apparent + excitement. There was really no reason for excitement; it is not much to point a + cannon into a fog and fire it. Anybody can do as much as that.</p> + <p>The men smiled at their noisy work, performing it with a lessening alacrity. + They cast curious regards upon their captain, who had now mounted the banquette of + the fortification and was looking across the parapet as if observing the effect of + his fire. But the only visible effect was the substitution of wide, low-lying + sheets of smoke for their bulk of fog. Suddenly out of the obscurity burst a great + sound of cheering, which filled the intervals between the reports of the guns with + startling distinctness! To the few with leisure and opportunity to observe, the + sound was inexpressibly strange—so loud, so near, so menacing, yet nothing + seen! The men who had smiled at their work smiled no more, but performed it with a + serious and feverish activity.</p> + <p>From his station at the parapet Captain Ransome now saw a great multitude of dim + gray figures taking shape in the mist below him and swarming up the slope. But the + work of the guns was now fast and furious. They swept the populous declivity with + gusts of grape and canister, the whirring of which could be heard through the + thunder of the explosions. In this awful tempest of iron the assailants struggled + forward foot by foot across their dead, firing into the embrasures, reloading, + firing again, and at last falling in their turn, a little in advance of those who + had fallen before. Soon the smoke was dense enough to cover all. It settled down + upon the attack and, drifting back, involved the defense. The gunners could hardly + see to serve their pieces, and when occasional figures of the enemy appeared upon + the parapet—having had the good luck to get near enough to it, between two + embrasures, to be protected from the guns—they looked so unsubstantial that + it seemed hardly worth while for the few infantrymen to go to work upon them with + the bayonet and tumble them back into the ditch.</p> + <p>As the commander of a battery in action can find something better to do than + cracking individual skulls, Captain Ransome had retired from the parapet to his + proper post in rear of his guns, where he stood with folded arms, his bugler beside + him. Here, during the hottest of the fight, he was approached by Lieutenant Price, + who had just sabred a daring assailant inside the work. A spirited colloquy ensued + between the two officers—spirited, at least, on the part of the lieutenant, + who gesticulated with energy and shouted again and again into his commander's ear + in the attempt to make himself heard above the infernal din of the guns. His + gestures, if coolly noted by an actor, would have been pronounced to be those of + protestation: one would have said that he was opposed to the proceedings. Did he + wish to surrender?</p> + <p>Captain Ransome listened without a change of countenance or attitude, and when + the other man had finished his harangue, looked him coldly in the eyes and during a + seasonable abatement of the uproar said:</p> + <p>"Lieutenant Price, it is not permitted to you to know <i>anything</i>. It is + sufficient that you obey my orders."</p> + <p>The lieutenant went to his post, and the parapet being now apparently clear + Captain Ransome returned to it to have a look over. As he mounted the banquette a + man sprang upon the crest, waving a great brilliant flag. The captain drew a pistol + from his belt and shot him dead. The body, pitching forward, hung over the inner + edge of the embankment, the arms straight downward, both hands still grasping the + flag. The man's few followers turned and fled down the slope. Looking over the + parapet, the captain saw no living thing. He observed also that no bullets were + coming into the work.</p> + <p>He made a sign to the bugler, who sounded the command to cease firing. At all + other points the action had already ended with a repulse of the Confederate attack; + with the cessation of this cannonade the silence was absolute.</p> + <p>VI</p> + <p>WHY, BEING AFFRONTED BY A, IT IS NOT BEST TO AFFRONT B</p> + <p>General Masterson rode into the redoubt. The men, gathered in groups, were + talking loudly and gesticulating. They pointed at the dead, running from one body + to another. They neglected their foul and heated guns and forgot to resume their + outer clothing. They ran to the parapet and looked over, some of them leaping down + into the ditch. A score were gathered about a flag rigidly held by a dead man.</p> + <p>"Well, my men," said the general cheerily, "you have had a pretty fight of + it."</p> + <p>They stared; nobody replied; the presence of the great man seemed to embarrass + and alarm.</p> + <p>Getting no response to his pleasant condescension, the easy-mannered officer + whistled a bar or two of a popular air, and riding forward to the parapet, looked + over at the dead. In an instant he had whirled his horse about and was spurring + along in rear of the guns, his eyes everywhere at once. An officer sat on the trail + of one of the guns, smoking a cigar. As the general dashed up he rose and + tranquilly saluted.</p> + <p>"Captain Ransome!"—the words fell sharp and harsh, like the clash of steel + blades—"you have been fighting our own men—our own men, sir; do you + hear? Hart's brigade!"</p> + <p>"General, I know that."</p> + <p>"You know it—you know that, and you sit here smoking? Oh, damn it, + Hamilton, I'm losing my temper,"—this to his provost-marshal. + "Sir—Captain Ransome, be good enough to say—to say why you fought our + own men."</p> + <p>"That I am unable to say. In my orders that information was withheld."</p> + <p>Apparently the general did not comprehend.</p> + <p>"Who was the aggressor in this affair, you or General Hart?" he asked.</p> + <p>"I was."</p> + <p>"And could you not have known—could you not see, sir, that you were + attacking our own men?"</p> + <p>The reply was astounding!</p> + <p>"I knew that, general. It appeared to be none of my business."</p> + <p>Then, breaking the dead silence that followed his answer, he said:</p> + <p>"I must refer you to General Cameron."</p> + <p>"General Cameron is dead, sir—as dead as he can be—as dead as any + man in this army. He lies back yonder under a tree. Do you mean to say that he had + anything to do with this horrible business?"</p> + <p>Captain Ransome did not reply. Observing the altercation his men had gathered + about to watch the outcome. They were greatly excited. The fog, which had been + partly dissipated by the firing, had again closed in so darkly about them that they + drew more closely together till the judge on horseback and the accused standing + calmly before him had but a narrow space free from intrusion. It was the most + informal of courts-martial, but all felt that the formal one to follow would but + affirm its judgment. It had no jurisdiction, but it had the significance of + prophecy.</p> + <p>"Captain Ransome," the general cried impetuously, but with something in his + voice that was almost entreaty, "if you can say anything to put a better light upon + your incomprehensible conduct I beg you will do so."</p> + <p>Having recovered his temper this generous soldier sought for something to + justify his naturally sympathetic attitude toward a brave man in the imminence of a + dishonorable death.</p> + <p>"Where is Lieutenant Price?" the captain said.</p> + <p>That officer stood forward, his dark saturnine face looking somewhat forbidding + under a bloody handkerchief bound about his brow. He understood the summons and + needed no invitation to speak. He did not look at the captain, but addressed the + general:</p> + <p>"During the engagement I discovered the state of affairs, and apprised the + commander of the battery. I ventured to urge that the firing cease. I was insulted + and ordered to my post."</p> + <p>"Do you know anything of the orders under which I was acting?" asked the + captain.</p> + <p>"Of any orders under which the commander of the battery was acting," the + lieutenant continued, still addressing the general, "I know nothing."</p> + <p>Captain Ransome felt his world sink away from his feet. In those cruel words he + heard the murmur of the centuries breaking upon the shore of eternity. He heard the + voice of doom; it said, in cold, mechanical, and measured tones: "Ready, aim, + fire!" and he felt the bullets tear his heart to shreds. He heard the sound of the + earth upon his coffin and (if the good God was so merciful) the song of a bird + above his forgotten grave. Quietly detaching his sabre from its supports, he handed + it up to the provost-marshal.</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h3><a id="page197" name="page197"></a>ONE OFFICER, ONE MAN</h3> + <p>Captain Graffenreid stood at the head of his company. The regiment was not + engaged. It formed a part of the front line-of-battle, which stretched away to the + right with a visible length of nearly two miles through the open ground. The left + flank was veiled by woods; to the right also the line was lost to sight, but it + extended many miles. A hundred yards in rear was a second line; behind this, the + reserve brigades and divisions in column. Batteries of artillery occupied the + spaces between and crowned the low hills. Groups of horsemen—generals with + their staffs and escorts, and field officers of regiments behind the + colors—broke the regularity of the lines and columns. Numbers of these + figures of interest had field-glasses at their eyes and sat motionless, stolidly + scanning the country in front; others came and went at a slow canter, bearing + orders. There were squads of stretcher-bearers, ambulances, wagon-trains with + ammunition, and officers' servants in rear of all—of all that was + visible—for still in rear of these, along the roads, extended for many miles + all that vast multitude of non-combatants who with their various <i>impedimenta</i> + are assigned to the inglorious but important duty of supplying the fighters' many + needs.</p> + <p>An army in line-of-battle awaiting attack, or prepared to deliver it, presents + strange contrasts. At the front are precision, formality, fixity, and silence. + Toward the rear these characteristics are less and less conspicuous, and finally, + in point of space, are lost altogether in confusion, motion and noise. The + homogeneous becomes heterogeneous. Definition is lacking; repose is replaced by an + apparently purposeless activity; harmony vanishes in hubbub, form in disorder. + Commotion everywhere and ceaseless unrest. The men who do not fight are never + ready.</p> + <p>From his position at the right of his company in the front rank, Captain + Graffenreid had an unobstructed outlook toward the enemy. A half-mile of open and + nearly level ground lay before him, and beyond it an irregular wood, covering a + slight acclivity; not a human being anywhere visible. He could imagine nothing more + peaceful than the appearance of that pleasant landscape with its long stretches of + brown fields over which the atmosphere was beginning to quiver in the heat of the + morning sun. Not a sound came from forest or field—not even the barking of a + dog or the crowing of a cock at the half-seen plantation house on the crest among + the trees. Yet every man in those miles of men knew that he and death were face to + face.</p> + <p>Captain Graffenreid had never in his life seen an armed enemy, and the war in + which his regiment was one of the first to take the field was two years old. He had + had the rare advantage of a military education, and when his comrades had marched + to the front he had been detached for administrative service at the capital of his + State, where it was thought that he could be most useful. Like a bad soldier he + protested, and like a good one obeyed. In close official and personal relations + with the governor of his State, and enjoying his confidence and favor, he had + firmly refused promotion and seen his juniors elevated above him. Death had been + busy in his distant regiment; vacancies among the field officers had occurred again + and again; but from a chivalrous feeling that war's rewards belonged of right to + those who bore the storm and stress of battle he had held his humble rank and + generously advanced the fortunes of others. His silent devotion to principle had + conquered at last: he had been relieved of his hateful duties and ordered to the + front, and now, untried by fire, stood in the van of battle in command of a company + of hardy veterans, to whom he had been only a name, and that name a by-word. By + none —not even by those of his brother officers in whose favor he had waived + his rights—was his devotion to duty understood. They were too busy to be + just; he was looked upon as one who had shirked his duty, until forced unwillingly + into the field. Too proud to explain, yet not too insensible to feel, he could only + endure and hope.</p> + <p>Of all the Federal Army on that summer morning none had accepted battle more + joyously than Anderton Graffenreid. His spirit was buoyant, his faculties were + riotous. He was in a state of mental exaltation and scarcely could endure the + enemy's tardiness in advancing to the attack. To him this was opportunity—for + the result he cared nothing. Victory or defeat, as God might will; in one or in the + other he should prove himself a soldier and a hero; he should vindicate his right + to the respect of his men and the companionship of his brother officers—to + the consideration of his superiors. How his heart leaped in his breast as the bugle + sounded the stirring notes of the "assembly"! With what a light tread, scarcely + conscious of the earth beneath his feet, he strode forward at the head of his + company, and how exultingly he noted the tactical dispositions which placed his + regiment in the front line! And if perchance some memory came to him of a pair of + dark eyes that might take on a tenderer light in reading the account of that day's + doings, who shall blame him for the unmartial thought or count it a debasement of + soldierly ardor?</p> + <p>Suddenly, from the forest a half-mile in front—apparently from among the + upper branches of the trees, but really from the ridge beyond—rose a tall + column of white smoke. A moment later came a deep, jarring explosion, + followed—almost attended—by a hideous rushing sound that seemed to leap + forward across the intervening space with inconceivable rapidity, rising from + whisper to roar with too quick a gradation for attention to note the successive + stages of its horrible progression! A visible tremor ran along the lines of men; + all were startled into motion. Captain Graffenreid dodged and threw up his hands to + one side of his head, palms outward.</p> + <p>As he did so he heard a keen, ringing report, and saw on a hillside behind the + line a fierce roll of smoke and dust—the shell's explosion. It had passed a + hundred feet to his left! He heard, or fancied he heard, a low, mocking laugh and + turning in the direction whence it came saw the eyes of his first lieutenant fixed + upon him with an unmistakable look of amusement. He looked along the line of faces + in the front ranks. The men were laughing. At him? The thought restored the color + to his bloodless face—restored too much of it. His cheeks burned with a fever + of shame.</p> + <p>The enemy's shot was not answered: the officer in command at that exposed part + of the line had evidently no desire to provoke a cannonade. For the forbearance + Captain Graffenreid was conscious of a sense of gratitude. He had not known that + the flight of a projectile was a phenomenon of so appalling character. His + conception of war had already undergone a profound change, and he was conscious + that his new feeling was manifesting itself in visible perturbation. His blood was + boiling in his veins; he had a choking sensation and felt that if he had a command + to give it would be inaudible, or at least unintelligible. The hand in which he + held his sword trembled; the other moved automatically, clutching at various parts + of his clothing. He found a difficulty in standing still and fancied that his men + observed it. Was it fear? He feared it was.</p> + <p>From somewhere away to the right came, as the wind served, a low, intermittent + murmur like that of ocean in a storm—like that of a distant railway + train—like that of wind among the pines—three sounds so nearly alike + that the ear, unaided by the judgment, cannot distinguish them one from another. + The eyes of the troops were drawn in that direction; the mounted officers turned + their field-glasses that way. Mingled with the sound was an irregular throbbing. He + thought it, at first, the beating of his fevered blood in his ears; next, the + distant tapping of a bass drum.</p> + <p>"The ball is opened on the right flank," said an officer.</p> + <p>Captain Graffenreid understood: the sounds were musketry and artillery. He + nodded and tried to smile. There was apparently nothing infectious in the + smile.</p> + <p>Presently a light line of blue smoke-puffs broke out along the edge of the wood + in front, succeeded by a crackle of rifles. There were keen, sharp hissings in the + air, terminating abruptly with a thump near by. The man at Captain Graffenreid's + side dropped his rifle; his knees gave way and he pitched awkwardly forward, + falling upon his face. Somebody shouted "Lie down!" and the dead man was hardly + distinguishable from the living. It looked as if those few rifle-shots had slain + ten thousand men. Only the field officers remained erect; their concession to the + emergency consisted in dismounting and sending their horses to the shelter of the + low hills immediately in rear.</p> + <p>Captain Graffenreid lay alongside the dead man, from beneath whose breast flowed + a little rill of blood. It had a faint, sweetish odor that sickened him. The face + was crushed into the earth and flattened. It looked yellow already, and was + repulsive. Nothing suggested the glory of a soldier's death nor mitigated the + loathsomeness of the incident. He could not turn his back upon the body without + facing away from his company.</p> + <p>He fixed his eyes upon the forest, where all again was silent. He tried to + imagine what was going on there—the lines of troops forming to attack, the + guns being pushed forward by hand to the edge of the open. He fancied he could see + their black muzzles protruding from the undergrowth, ready to deliver their storm + of missiles—such missiles as the one whose shriek had so unsettled his + nerves. The distension of his eyes became painful; a mist seemed to gather before + them; he could no longer see across the field, yet would not withdraw his gaze lest + he see the dead man at his side.</p> + <p>The fire of battle was not now burning very brightly in this warrior's soul. + From inaction had come introspection. He sought rather to analyze his feelings than + distinguish himself by courage and devotion. The result was profoundly + disappointing. He covered his face with his hands and groaned aloud.</p> + <p>The hoarse murmur of battle grew more and more distinct upon the right; the + murmur had, indeed, become a roar, the throbbing, a thunder. The sounds had worked + round obliquely to the front; evidently the enemy's left was being driven back, and + the propitious moment to move against the salient angle of his line would soon + arrive. The silence and mystery in front were ominous; all felt that they boded + evil to the assailants.</p> + <p>Behind the prostrate lines sounded the hoofbeats of galloping horses; the men + turned to look. A dozen staff officers were riding to the various brigade and + regimental commanders, who had remounted. A moment more and there was a chorus of + voices, all uttering out of time the same words—"Attention, battalion!" The + men sprang to their feet and were aligned by the company commanders. They awaited + the word "forward"—awaited, too, with beating hearts and set teeth the gusts + of lead and iron that were to smite them at their first movement in obedience to + that word. The word was not given; the tempest did not break out. The delay was + hideous, maddening! It unnerved like a respite at the guillotine.</p> + <p>Captain Graffenreid stood at the head of his company, the dead man at his feet. + He heard the battle on the right—rattle and crash of musketry, ceaseless + thunder of cannon, desultory cheers of invisible combatants. He marked ascending + clouds of smoke from distant forests. He noted the sinister silence of the forest + in front. These contrasting extremes affected the whole range of his sensibilities. + The strain upon his nervous organization was insupportable. He grew hot and cold by + turns. He panted like a dog, and then forgot to breathe until reminded by + vertigo.</p> + <p>Suddenly he grew calm. Glancing downward, his eyes had fallen upon his naked + sword, as he held it, point to earth. Foreshortened to his view, it resembled + somewhat, he thought, the short heavy blade of the ancient Roman. The fancy was + full of suggestion, malign, fateful, heroic!</p> + <p>The sergeant in the rear rank, immediately behind Captain Graffenreid, now + observed a strange sight. His attention drawn by an uncommon movement made by the + captain—a sudden reaching forward of the hands and their energetic + withdrawal, throwing the elbows out, as in pulling an oar—he saw spring from + between the officer's shoulders a bright point of metal which prolonged itself + outward, nearly a half-arm's length—a blade! It was faintly streaked with + crimson, and its point approached so near to the sergeant's breast, and with so + quick a movement, that he shrank backward in alarm. That moment Captain Graffenreid + pitched heavily forward upon the dead man and died.</p> + <p>A week later the major-general commanding the left corps of the Federal Army + submitted the following official report:</p> + <p>"SIR: I have the honor to report, with regard to the action of the 19th inst, + that owing to the enemy's withdrawal from my front to reinforce his beaten left, my + command was not seriously engaged. My loss was as follows: Killed, one officer, one + man."</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h3><a id="page209" name="page209"></a>GEORGE THURSTON</h3> + <p>THREE INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A MAN</p> + <p>George Thurston was a first lieutenant and aide-de-camp on the staff of Colonel + Brough, commanding a Federal brigade. Colonel Brough was only temporarily in + command, as senior colonel, the brigadier-general having been severely wounded and + granted a leave of absence to recover. Lieutenant Thurston was, I believe, of + Colonel Brough's regiment, to which, with his chief, he would naturally have been + relegated had he lived till our brigade commander's recovery. The aide whose place + Thurston took had been killed in battle; Thurston's advent among us was the only + change in the <i>personnel</i> of our staff consequent upon the change in + commanders. We did not like him; he was unsocial. This, however, was more observed + by others than by me. Whether in camp or on the march, in barracks, in tents, or + <i>en bivouac</i>, my duties as topographical engineer kept me working like a + beaver—all day in the saddle and half the night at my drawing-table, platting + my surveys. It was hazardous work; the nearer to the enemy's lines I could + penetrate, the more valuable were my field notes and the resulting maps. It was a + business in which the lives of men counted as nothing against the chance of + defining a road or sketching a bridge. Whole squadrons of cavalry escort had + sometimes to be sent thundering against a powerful infantry outpost in order that + the brief time between the charge and the inevitable retreat might be utilized in + sounding a ford or determining the point of intersection of two roads.</p> + <p>In some of the dark corners of England and Wales they have an immemorial custom + of "beating the bounds" of the parish. On a certain day of the year the whole + population turns out and travels in procession from one landmark to another on the + boundary line. At the most important points lads are soundly beaten with rods to + make them remember the place in after life. They become authorities. Our frequent + engagements with the Confederate outposts, patrols, and scouting parties had, + incidentally, the same educating value; they fixed in my memory a vivid and + apparently imperishable picture of the locality—a picture serving instead of + accurate field notes, which, indeed, it was not always convenient to take, with + carbines cracking, sabers clashing, and horses plunging all about. These spirited + encounters were observations entered in red.</p> + <p>One morning as I set out at the head of my escort on an expedition of more than + the usual hazard Lieutenant Thurston rode up alongside and asked if I had any + objection to his accompanying me, the colonel commanding having given him + permission.</p> + <p>"None whatever," I replied rather gruffly; "but in what capacity will you go? + You are not a topographical engineer, and Captain Burling commands my escort."</p> + <p>"I will go as a spectator," he said. Removing his sword-belt and taking the + pistols from his holsters he handed them to his servant, who took them back to + headquarters. I realized the brutality of my remark, but not clearly seeing my way + to an apology, said nothing.</p> + <p>That afternoon we encountered a whole regiment of the enemy's cavalry in line + and a field-piece that dominated a straight mile of the turnpike by which we had + approached. My escort fought deployed in the woods on both sides, but Thurston + remained in the center of the road, which at intervals of a few seconds was swept + by gusts of grape and canister that tore the air wide open as they passed. He had + dropped the rein on the neck of his horse and sat bolt upright in the saddle, with + folded arms. Soon he was down, his horse torn to pieces. From the side of the road, + my pencil and field book idle, my duty forgotten, I watched him slowly disengaging + himself from the wreck and rising. At that instant, the cannon having ceased + firing, a burly Confederate trooper on a spirited horse dashed like a thunderbolt + down the road with drawn saber. Thurston saw him coming, drew himself up to his + full height, and again folded his arms. He was too brave to retreat before the + word, and my uncivil words had disarmed him. He was a spectator. Another moment and + he would have been split like a mackerel, but a blessed bullet tumbled his + assailant into the dusty road so near that the impetus sent the body rolling to + Thurston's feet. That evening, while platting my hasty survey, I found time to + frame an apology, which I think took the rude, primitive form of a confession that + I had spoken like a malicious idiot.</p> + <p>A few weeks later a part of our army made an assault upon the enemy's left. The + attack, which was made upon an unknown position and across unfamiliar ground, was + led by our brigade. The ground was so broken and the underbrush so thick that all + mounted officers and men were compelled to fight on foot—the brigade + commander and his staff included. In the <i>mêlée</i> Thurston was + parted from the rest of us, and we found him, horribly wounded, only when we had + taken the enemy's last defense. He was some months in hospital at Nashville, + Tennessee, but finally rejoined us. He said little about his misadventure, except + that he had been bewildered and had strayed into the enemy's lines and been shot + down; but from one of his captors, whom we in turn had captured, we learned the + particulars. "He came walking right upon us as we lay in line," said this man. "A + whole company of us instantly sprang up and leveled our rifles at his breast, some + of them almost touching him. 'Throw down that sword and surrender, you damned + Yank!' shouted some one in authority. The fellow ran his eyes along the line of + rifle barrels, folded his arms across his breast, his right hand still clutching + his sword, and deliberately replied, 'I will not.' If we had all fired he would + have been torn to shreds. Some of us didn't. I didn't, for one; nothing could have + induced me."</p> + <p>When one is tranquilly looking death in the eye and refusing him any concession + one naturally has a good opinion of one's self. I don't know if it was this feeling + that in Thurston found expression in a stiffish attitude and folded arms; at the + mess table one day, in his absence, another explanation was suggested by our + quartermaster, an irreclaimable stammerer when the wine was in: "It's h—is + w—ay of m-m-mastering a c-c-consti-t-tu-tional t-tendency to r—un + aw—ay."</p> + <p>"What!" I flamed out, indignantly rising; "you intimate that Thurston is a + coward—and in his absence?"</p> + <p>"If he w—ere a cow—wow-ard h—e w—wouldn't t-try to + m-m-master it; and if he w—ere p-present I w—wouldn't d-d-dare to + d-d-discuss it," was the mollifying reply.</p> + <p>This intrepid man, George Thurston, died an ignoble death. The brigade was in + camp, with headquarters in a grove of immense trees. To an upper branch of one of + these a venturesome climber had attached the two ends of a long rope and made a + swing with a length of not less than one hundred feet. Plunging downward from a + height of fifty feet, along the arc of a circle with such a radius, soaring to an + equal altitude, pausing for one breathless instant, then sweeping dizzily + backward—no one who has not tried it can conceive the terrors of such sport + to the novice. Thurston came out of his tent one day and asked for instruction in + the mystery of propelling the swing—the art of rising and sitting, which + every boy has mastered. In a few moments he had acquired the trick and was swinging + higher than the most experienced of us had dared. We shuddered to look at his + fearful flights.</p> + <p>"St-t-top him," said the quartermaster, snailing lazily along from the + mess-tent, where he had been lunching; "h—e d-doesn't know that if h—e + g-g-goes c-clear over h—e'll w—ind up the sw—ing."</p> + <p>With such energy was that strong man cannonading himself through the air that at + each extremity of his increasing arc his body, standing in the swing, was almost + horizontal. Should he once pass above the level of the rope's attachment he would + be lost; the rope would slacken and he would fall vertically to a point as far + below as he had gone above, and then the sudden tension of the rope would wrest it + from his hands. All saw the peril—all cried out to him to desist, and + gesticulated at him as, indistinct and with a noise like the rush of a cannon shot + in flight, he swept past us through the lower reaches of his hideous oscillation. A + woman standing at a little distance away fainted and fell unobserved. Men from the + camp of a regiment near by ran in crowds to see, all shouting. Suddenly, as + Thurston was on his upward curve, the shouts all ceased.</p> + <p>Thurston and the swing had parted—that is all that can be known; both + hands at once had released the rope. The impetus of the light swing exhausted, it + was falling back; the man's momentum was carrying him, almost erect, upward and + forward, no longer in his arc, but with an outward curve. It could have been but an + instant, yet it seemed an age. I cried out, or thought I cried out: "My God! will + he never stop going up?" He passed close to the branch of a tree. I remember a + feeling of delight as I thought he would clutch it and save himself. I speculated + on the possibility of it sustaining his weight. He passed above it, and from my + point of view was sharply outlined against the blue. At this distance of many years + I can distinctly recall that image of a man in the sky, its head erect, its feet + close together, its hands—I do not see its hands. All at once, with + astonishing suddenness and rapidity, it turns clear over and pitches downward. + There is another cry from the crowd, which has rushed instinctively forward. The + man has become merely a whirling object, mostly legs. Then there is an + indescribable sound—the sound of an impact that shakes the earth, and these + men, familiar with death in its most awful aspects, turn sick. Many walk unsteadily + away from the spot; others support themselves against the trunks of trees or sit at + the roots. Death has taken an unfair advantage; he has struck with an unfamiliar + weapon; he has executed a new and disquieting stratagem. We did not know that he + had so ghastly resources, possibilities of terror so dismal.</p> + <p>Thurston's body lay on its back. One leg, bent beneath, was broken above the + knee and the bone driven into the earth. The abdomen had burst; the bowels + protruded. The neck was broken.</p> + <p>The arms were folded tightly across the breast.</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h3><a id="page218" name="page218"></a>THE MOCKING-BIRD</h3> + <p>The time, a pleasant Sunday afternoon in the early autumn of 1861. The place, a + forest's heart in the mountain region of southwestern Virginia. Private Grayrock of + the Federal Army is discovered seated comfortably at the root of a great pine tree, + against which he leans, his legs extended straight along the ground, his rifle + lying across his thighs, his hands (clasped in order that they may not fall away to + his sides) resting upon the barrel of the weapon. The contact of the back of his + head with the tree has pushed his cap downward over his eyes, almost concealing + them; one seeing him would say that he slept.</p> + <p>Private Grayrock did not sleep; to have done so would have imperiled the + interests of the United States, for he was a long way outside the lines and subject + to capture or death at the hands of the enemy. Moreover, he was in a frame of mind + unfavorable to repose. The cause of his perturbation of spirit was this: during the + previous night he had served on the picket-guard, and had been posted as a sentinel + in this very forest. The night was clear, though moonless, but in the gloom of the + wood the darkness was deep. Grayrock's post was at a considerable distance from + those to right and left, for the pickets had been thrown out a needless distance + from the camp, making the line too long for the force detailed to occupy it. The + war was young, and military camps entertained the error that while sleeping they + were better protected by thin lines a long way out toward the enemy than by thicker + ones close in. And surely they needed as long notice as possible of an enemy's + approach, for they were at that time addicted to the practice of + undressing—than which nothing could be more unsoldierly. On the morning of + the memorable 6th of April, at Shiloh, many of Grant's men when spitted on + Confederate bayonets were as naked as civilians; but it should be allowed that this + was not because of any defect in their picket line. Their error was of another + sort: they had no pickets. This is perhaps a vain digression. I should not care to + undertake to interest the reader in the fate of an army; what we have here to + consider is that of Private Grayrock.</p> + <p>For two hours after he had been left at his lonely post that Saturday night he + stood stock-still, leaning against the trunk of a large tree, staring into the + darkness in his front and trying to recognize known objects; for he had been posted + at the same spot during the day. But all was now different; he saw nothing in + detail, but only groups of things, whose shapes, not observed when there was + something more of them to observe, were now unfamiliar. They seemed not to have + been there before. A landscape that is all trees and undergrowth, moreover, lacks + definition, is confused and without accentuated points upon which attention can + gain a foothold. Add the gloom of a moonless night, and something more than great + natural intelligence and a city education is required to preserve one's knowledge + of direction. And that is how it occurred that Private Grayrock, after vigilantly + watching the spaces in his front and then imprudently executing a circumspection of + his whole dimly visible environment (silently walking around his tree to accomplish + it) lost his bearings and seriously impaired his usefulness as a sentinel. Lost at + his post—unable to say in which direction to look for an enemy's approach, + and in which lay the sleeping camp for whose security he was accountable with his + life—conscious, too, of many another awkward feature of the situation and of + considerations affecting his own safety, Private Grayrock was profoundly + disquieted. Nor was he given time to recover his tranquillity, for almost at the + moment that he realized his awkward predicament he heard a stir of leaves and a + snap of fallen twigs, and turning with a stilled heart in the direction whence it + came, saw in the gloom the indistinct outlines of a human figure.</p> + <p>"Halt!" shouted Private Grayrock, peremptorily as in duty bound, backing up the + command with the sharp metallic snap of his cocking rifle—"who goes + there?"</p> + <p>There was no answer; at least there was an instant's hesitation, and the answer, + if it came, was lost in the report of the sentinel's rifle. In the silence of the + night and the forest the sound was deafening, and hardly had it died away when it + was repeated by the pieces of the pickets to right and left, a sympathetic + fusillade. For two hours every unconverted civilian of them had been evolving + enemies from his imagination, and peopling the woods in his front with them, and + Grayrock's shot had started the whole encroaching host into visible existence. + Having fired, all retreated, breathless, to the reserves—all but Grayrock, + who did not know in what direction to retreat. When, no enemy appearing, the roused + camp two miles away had undressed and got itself into bed again, and the picket + line was cautiously re-established, he was discovered bravely holding his ground, + and was complimented by the officer of the guard as the one soldier of that devoted + band who could rightly be considered the moral equivalent of that uncommon unit of + value, "a whoop in hell."</p> + <p>In the mean time, however, Grayrock had made a close but unavailing search for + the mortal part of the intruder at whom he had fired, and whom he had a marksman's + intuitive sense of having hit; for he was one of those born experts who shoot + without aim by an instinctive sense of direction, and are nearly as dangerous by + night as by day. During a full half of his twenty-four years he had been a terror + to the targets of all the shooting-galleries in three cities. Unable now to produce + his dead game he had the discretion to hold his tongue, and was glad to observe in + his officer and comrades the natural assumption that not having run away he had + seen nothing hostile. His "honorable mention" had been earned by not running away + anyhow.</p> + <p>Nevertheless, Private Grayrock was far from satisfied with the night's + adventure, and when the next day he made some fair enough pretext to apply for a + pass to go outside the lines, and the general commanding promptly granted it in + recognition of his bravery the night before, he passed out at the point where that + had been displayed. Telling the sentinel then on duty there that he had lost + something,—which was true enough—he renewed the search for the person + whom he supposed himself to have shot, and whom if only wounded he hoped to trail + by the blood. He was no more successful by daylight than he had been in the + darkness, and after covering a wide area and boldly penetrating a long distance + into "the Confederacy" he gave up the search, somewhat fatigued, seated himself at + the root of the great pine tree, where we have seen him, and indulged his + disappointment.</p> + <p>It is not to be inferred that Grayrock's was the chagrin of a cruel nature + balked of its bloody deed. In the clear large eyes, finely wrought lips, and broad + forehead of that young man one could read quite another story, and in point of fact + his character was a singularly felicitous compound of boldness and sensibility, + courage and conscience.</p> + <p>"I find myself disappointed," he said to himself, sitting there at the bottom of + the golden haze submerging the forest like a subtler sea—"disappointed in + failing to discover a fellow-man dead by my hand! Do I then really wish that I had + taken life in the performance of a duty as well performed without? What more could + I wish? If any danger threatened, my shot averted it; that is what I was there to + do. No, I am glad indeed if no human life was needlessly extinguished by me. But I + am in a false position. I have suffered myself to be complimented by my officers + and envied by my comrades. The camp is ringing with praise of my courage. That is + not just; I know myself courageous, but this praise is for specific acts which I + did not perform, or performed—otherwise. It is believed that I remained at my + post bravely, without firing, whereas it was I who began the fusillade, and I did + not retreat in the general alarm because bewildered. What, then, shall I do? + Explain that I saw an enemy and fired? They have all said that of themselves, yet + none believes it. Shall I tell a truth which, discrediting my courage, will have + the effect of a lie? Ugh! it is an ugly business altogether. I wish to God I could + find my man!"</p> + <p>And so wishing, Private Grayrock, overcome at last by the languor of the + afternoon and lulled by the stilly sounds of insects droning and prosing in certain + fragrant shrubs, so far forgot the interests of the United States as to fall asleep + and expose himself to capture. And sleeping he dreamed.</p> + <p>He thought himself a boy, living in a far, fair land by the border of a great + river upon which the tall steamboats moved grandly up and down beneath their + towering evolutions of black smoke, which announced them long before they had + rounded the bends and marked their movements when miles out of sight. With him + always, at his side as he watched them, was one to whom he gave his heart and soul + in love—a twin brother. Together they strolled along the banks of the stream; + together explored the fields lying farther away from it, and gathered pungent mints + and sticks of fragrant sassafras in the hills overlooking all—beyond which + lay the Realm of Conjecture, and from which, looking southward across the great + river, they caught glimpses of the Enchanted Land. Hand in hand and heart in heart + they two, the only children of a widowed mother, walked in paths of light through + valleys of peace, seeing new things under a new sun. And through all the golden + days floated one unceasing sound—the rich, thrilling melody of a mocking-bird + in a cage by the cottage door. It pervaded and possessed all the spiritual + intervals of the dream, like a musical benediction. The joyous bird was always in + song; its infinitely various notes seemed to flow from its throat, effortless, in + bubbles and rills at each heart-beat, like the waters of a pulsing spring. That + fresh, clear melody seemed, indeed, the spirit of the scene, the meaning and + interpretation to sense of the mysteries of life and love.</p> + <p>But there came a time when the days of the dream grew dark with sorrow in a rain + of tears. The good mother was dead, the meadowside home by the great river was + broken up, and the brothers were parted between two of their kinsmen. William (the + dreamer) went to live in a populous city in the Realm of Conjecture, and John, + crossing the river into the Enchanted Land, was taken to a distant region whose + people in their lives and ways were said to be strange and wicked. To him, in the + distribution of the dead mother's estate, had fallen all that they deemed of + value—the mocking-bird. They could be divided, but it could not, so it was + carried away into the strange country, and the world of William knew it no more + forever. Yet still through the aftertime of his loneliness its song filled all the + dream, and seemed always sounding in his ear and in his heart.</p> + <p>The kinsmen who had adopted the boys were enemies, holding no communication. For + a time letters full of boyish bravado and boastful narratives of the new and larger + experience—grotesque descriptions of their widening lives and the new worlds + they had conquered—passed between them; but these gradually became less + frequent, and with William's removal to another and greater city ceased altogether. + But ever through it all ran the song of the mocking-bird, and when the dreamer + opened his eyes and stared through the vistas of the pine forest the cessation of + its music first apprised him that he was awake.</p> + <p>The sun was low and red in the west; the level rays projected from the trunk of + each giant pine a wall of shadow traversing the golden haze to eastward until light + and shade were blended in undistinguishable blue.</p> + <p>Private Grayrock rose to his feet, looked cautiously about him, shouldered his + rifle and set off toward camp. He had gone perhaps a half-mile, and was passing a + thicket of laurel, when a bird rose from the midst of it and perching on the branch + of a tree above, poured from its joyous breast so inexhaustible floods of song as + but one of all God's creatures can utter in His praise. There was little in + that—it was only to open the bill and breathe; yet the man stopped as if + struck—stopped and let fall his rifle, looked upward at the bird, covered his + eyes with his hands and wept like a child! For the moment he was, indeed, a child, + in spirit and in memory, dwelling again by the great river, over-against the + Enchanted Land! Then with an effort of the will he pulled himself together, picked + up his weapon and audibly damning himself for an idiot strode on. Passing an + opening that reached into the heart of the little thicket he looked in, and there, + supine upon the earth, its arms all abroad, its gray uniform stained with a single + spot of blood upon the breast, its white face turned sharply upward and backward, + lay the image of himself!—the body of John Grayrock, dead of a gunshot wound, + and still warm! He had found his man.</p> + <p>As the unfortunate soldier knelt beside that masterwork of civil war the + shrilling bird upon the bough overhead stilled her song and, flushed with sunset's + crimson glory, glided silently away through the solemn spaces of the wood. At + roll-call that evening in the Federal camp the name William Grayrock brought no + response, nor ever again there-after.</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h3>CIVILIANS</h3> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h4><a id="page233" name="page233"></a>THE MAN OUT OF THE NOSE</h4> + <p>At the intersection of two certain streets in that part of San Francisco known + by the rather loosely applied name of North Beach, is a vacant lot, which is rather + more nearly level than is usually the case with lots, vacant or otherwise, in that + region. Immediately at the back of it, to the south, however, the ground slopes + steeply upward, the acclivity broken by three terraces cut into the soft rock. It + is a place for goats and poor persons, several families of each class having + occupied it jointly and amicably "from the foundation of the city." One of the + humble habitations of the lowest terrace is noticeable for its rude resemblance to + the human face, or rather to such a simulacrum of it as a boy might cut out of a + hollowed pumpkin, meaning no offense to his race. The eyes are two circular + windows, the nose is a door, the mouth an aperture caused by removal of a board + below. There are no doorsteps. As a face, this house is too large; as a dwelling, + too small. The blank, unmeaning stare of its lidless and browless eyes is + uncanny.</p> + <p>Sometimes a man steps out of the nose, turns, passes the place where the right + ear should be and making his way through the throng of children and goats + obstructing the narrow walk between his neighbors' doors and the edge of the + terrace gains the street by descending a flight of rickety stairs. Here he pauses + to consult his watch and the stranger who happens to pass wonders why such a man as + that can care what is the hour. Longer observations would show that the time of day + is an important element in the man's movements, for it is at precisely two o'clock + in the afternoon that he comes forth 365 times in every year.</p> + <p>Having satisfied himself that he has made no mistake in the hour he replaces the + watch and walks rapidly southward up the street two squares, turns to the right and + as he approaches the next corner fixes his eyes on an upper window in a three-story + building across the way. This is a somewhat dingy structure, originally of red + brick and now gray. It shows the touch of age and dust. Built for a dwelling, it is + now a factory. I do not know what is made there; the things that are commonly made + in a factory, I suppose. I only know that at two o'clock in the afternoon of every + day but Sunday it is full of activity and clatter; pulsations of some great engine + shake it and there are recurrent screams of wood tormented by the saw. At the + window on which the man fixes an intensely expectant gaze nothing ever appears; the + glass, in truth, has such a coating of dust that it has long ceased to be + transparent. The man looks at it without stopping; he merely keeps turning his head + more and more backward as he leaves the building behind. Passing along to the next + corner, he turns to the left, goes round the block, and comes back till he reaches + the point diagonally across the street from the factory—point on his former + course, which he then retraces, looking frequently backward over his right shoulder + at the window while it is in sight. For many years he has not been known to vary + his route nor to introduce a single innovation into his action. In a quarter of an + hour he is again at the mouth of his dwelling, and a woman, who has for some time + been standing in the nose, assists him to enter. He is seen no more until two + o'clock the next day. The woman is his wife. She supports herself and him by + washing for the poor people among whom they live, at rates which destroy Chinese + and domestic competition.</p> + <p>This man is about fifty-seven years of age, though he looks greatly older. His + hair is dead white. He wears no beard, and is always newly shaven. His hands are + clean, his nails well kept. In the matter of dress he is distinctly superior to his + position, as indicated by his surroundings and the business of his wife. He is, + indeed, very neatly, if not quite fashionably, clad. His silk hat has a date no + earlier than the year before the last, and his boots, scrupulously polished, are + innocent of patches. I am told that the suit which he wears during his daily + excursions of fifteen minutes is not the one that he wears at home. Like everything + else that he has, this is provided and kept in repair by the wife, and is renewed + as frequently as her scanty means permit.</p> + <p>Thirty years ago John Hardshaw and his wife lived on Rincon Hill in one of the + finest residences of that once aristocratic quarter. He had once been a physician, + but having inherited a considerable estate from his father concerned himself no + more about the ailments of his fellow-creatures and found as much work as he cared + for in managing his own affairs. Both he and his wife were highly cultivated + persons, and their house was frequented by a small set of such men and women as + persons of their tastes would think worth knowing. So far as these knew, Mr. and + Mrs. Hardshaw lived happily together; certainly the wife was devoted to her + handsome and accomplished husband and exceedingly proud of him.</p> + <p>Among their acquaintances were the Barwells—man, wife and two young + children—of Sacramento. Mr. Barwell was a civil and mining engineer, whose + duties took him much from home and frequently to San Francisco. On these occasions + his wife commonly accompanied him and passed much of her time at the house of her + friend, Mrs. Hardshaw, always with her two children, of whom Mrs. Hardshaw, + childless herself, grew fond. Unluckily, her husband grew equally fond of their + mother—a good deal fonder. Still more unluckily, that attractive lady was + less wise than weak.</p> + <p>At about three o'clock one autumn morning Officer No. 13 of the Sacramento + police saw a man stealthily leaving the rear entrance of a gentleman's residence + and promptly arrested him. The man—who wore a slouch hat and shaggy + overcoat—offered the policeman one hundred, then five hundred, then one + thousand dollars to be released. As he had less than the first mentioned sum on his + person the officer treated his proposal with virtuous contempt. Before reaching the + station the prisoner agreed to give him a check for ten thousand dollars and remain + ironed in the willows along the river bank until it should be paid. As this only + provoked new derision he would say no more, merely giving an obviously fictitious + name. When he was searched at the station nothing of value was found on him but a + miniature portrait of Mrs. Barwell—the lady of the house at which he was + caught. The case was set with costly diamonds; and something in the quality of the + man's linen sent a pang of unavailing regret through the severely incorruptible + bosom of Officer No. 13. There was nothing about the prisoner's clothing nor person + to identify him and he was booked for burglary under the name that he had given, + the honorable name of John K. Smith. The K. was an inspiration upon which, + doubtless, he greatly prided himself.</p> + <p>In the mean time the mysterious disappearance of John Hardshaw was agitating the + gossips of Rincon Hill in San Francisco, and was even mentioned in one of the + newspapers. It did not occur to the lady whom that journal considerately described + as his "widow," to look for him in the city prison at Sacramento—a town which + he was not known ever to have visited. As John K. Smith he was arraigned and, + waiving examination, committed for trial.</p> + <p>About two weeks before the trial, Mrs. Hardshaw, accidentally learning that her + husband was held in Sacramento under an assumed name on a charge of burglary, + hastened to that city without daring to mention the matter to any one and presented + herself at the prison, asking for an interview with her husband, John K. Smith. + Haggard and ill with anxiety, wearing a plain traveling wrap which covered her from + neck to foot, and in which she had passed the night on the steamboat, too anxious + to sleep, she hardly showed for what she was, but her manner pleaded for her more + strongly than anything that she chose to say in evidence of her right to + admittance. She was permitted to see him alone.</p> + <p>What occurred during that distressing interview has never transpired; but later + events prove that Hardshaw had found means to subdue her will to his own. She left + the prison, a broken-hearted woman, refusing to answer a single question, and + returning to her desolate home renewed, in a half-hearted way, her inquiries for + her missing husband. A week later she was herself missing: she had "gone back to + the States"—nobody knew any more than that.</p> + <p>On his trial the prisoner pleaded guilty—"by advice of his counsel," so + his counsel said. Nevertheless, the judge, in whose mind several unusual + circumstances had created a doubt, insisted on the district attorney placing + Officer No. 13 on the stand, and the deposition of Mrs. Barwell, who was too ill to + attend, was read to the jury. It was very brief: she knew nothing of the matter + except that the likeness of herself was her property, and had, she thought, been + left on the parlor table when she had retired on the night of the arrest. She had + intended it as a present to her husband, then and still absent in Europe on + business for a mining company.</p> + <p>This witness's manner when making the deposition at her residence was afterward + described by the district attorney as most extraordinary. Twice she had refused to + testify, and once, when the deposition lacked nothing but her signature, she had + caught it from the clerk's hands and torn it in pieces. She had called her children + to the bedside and embraced them with streaming eyes, then suddenly sending them + from the room, she verified her statement by oath and signature, and + fainted—"slick away," said the district attorney. It was at that time that + her physician, arriving upon the scene, took in the situation at a glance and + grasping the representative of the law by the collar chucked him into the street + and kicked his assistant after him. The insulted majesty of the law was not + vindicated; the victim of the indignity did not even mention anything of all this + in court. He was ambitious to win his case, and the circumstances of the taking of + that deposition were not such as would give it weight if related; and after all, + the man on trial had committed an offense against the law's majesty only less + heinous than that of the irascible physician.</p> + <p>By suggestion of the judge the jury rendered a verdict of guilty; there was + nothing else to do, and the prisoner was sentenced to the penitentiary for three + years. His counsel, who had objected to nothing and had made no plea for + lenity—had, in fact, hardly said a word—wrung his client's hand and + left the room. It was obvious to the whole bar that he had been engaged only to + prevent the court from appointing counsel who might possibly insist on making a + defense.</p> + <p>John Hardshaw served out his term at San Quentin, and when discharged was met at + the prison gates by his wife, who had returned from "the States" to receive him. It + is thought they went straight to Europe; anyhow, a general power-of-attorney to a + lawyer still living among us—from whom I have many of the facts of this + simple history—was executed in Paris. This lawyer in a short time sold + everything that Hardshaw owned in California, and for years nothing was heard of + the unfortunate couple; though many to whose ears had come vague and inaccurate + intimations of their strange story, and who had known them, recalled their + personality with tenderness and their misfortunes with compassion.</p> + <p>Some years later they returned, both broken in fortune and spirits and he in + health. The purpose of their return I have not been able to ascertain. For some + time they lived, under the name of Johnson, in a respectable enough quarter south + of Market Street, pretty well put, and were never seen away from the vicinity of + their dwelling. They must have had a little money left, for it is not known that + the man had any occupation, the state of his health probably not permitting. The + woman's devotion to her invalid husband was matter of remark among their neighbors; + she seemed never absent from his side and always supporting and cheering him. They + would sit for hours on one of the benches in a little public park, she reading to + him, his hand in hers, her light touch occasionally visiting his pale brow, her + still beautiful eyes frequently lifted from the book to look into his as she made + some comment on the text, or closed the volume to beguile his mood with talk + of—what? Nobody ever overheard a conversation between these two. The reader + who has had the patience to follow their history to this point may possibly find a + pleasure in conjecture: there was probably something to be avoided. The bearing of + the man was one of profound dejection; indeed, the unsympathetic youth of the + neighborhood, with that keen sense for visible characteristics which ever + distinguishes the young male of our species, sometimes mentioned him among + themselves by the name of Spoony Glum.</p> + <p>It occurred one day that John Hardshaw was possessed by the spirit of unrest. + God knows what led him whither he went, but he crossed Market Street and held his + way northward over the hills, and downward into the region known as North Beach. + Turning aimlessly to the left he followed his toes along an unfamiliar street until + he was opposite what for that period was a rather grand dwelling, and for this is a + rather shabby factory. Casting his eyes casually upward he saw at an open window + what it had been better that he had not seen—the face and figure of Elvira + Barwell. Their eyes met. With a sharp exclamation, like the cry of a startled bird, + the lady sprang to her feet and thrust her body half out of the window, clutching + the casing on each side. Arrested by the cry, the people in the street below looked + up. Hardshaw stood motionless, speechless, his eyes two flames. "Take care!" + shouted some one in the crowd, as the woman strained further and further forward, + defying the silent, implacable law of gravitation, as once she had defied that + other law which God thundered from Sinai. The suddenness of her movements had + tumbled a torrent of dark hair down her shoulders, and now it was blown about her + cheeks, almost concealing her face. A moment so, and then—! A fearful cry + rang through the street, as, losing her balance, she pitched headlong from the + window, a confused and whirling mass of skirts, limbs, hair, and white face, and + struck the pavement with a horrible sound and a force of impact that was felt a + hundred feet away. For a moment all eyes refused their office and turned from the + sickening spectacle on the sidewalk. Drawn again to that horror, they saw it + strangely augmented. A man, hatless, seated flat upon the paving stones, held the + broken, bleeding body against his breast, kissing the mangled cheeks and streaming + mouth through tangles of wet hair, his own features indistinguishably crimson with + the blood that half-strangled him and ran in rills from his soaken beard.</p> + <p>The reporter's task is nearly finished. The Barwells had that very morning + returned from a two years' absence in Peru. A week later the widower, now doubly + desolate, since there could be no missing the significance of Hardshaw's horrible + demonstration, had sailed for I know not what distant port; he has never come back + to stay. Hardshaw—as Johnson no longer—passed a year in the Stockton + asylum for the insane, where also, through the influence of pitying friends, his + wife was admitted to care for him. When he was discharged, not cured but harmless, + they returned to the city; it would seem ever to have had some dreadful fascination + for them. For a time they lived near the Mission Dolores, in poverty only less + abject than that which is their present lot; but it was too far away from the + objective point of the man's daily pilgrimage. They could not afford car fare. So + that poor devil of an angel from Heaven—wife to this convict and + lunatic—obtained, at a fair enough rental, the blank-faced shanty on the + lower terrace of Goat Hill. Thence to the structure that was a dwelling and is a + factory the distance is not so great; it is, in fact, an agreeable walk, judging + from the man's eager and cheerful look as he takes it. The return journey appears + to be a trifle wearisome.</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h4><a id="page247" name="page247"></a>AN ADVENTURE AT BROWNVILLE<a + href="#footnote1"><sup>1</sup></a></h4> + <p><a id="footnote1" name="footnote1"></a><sup>1</sup> This story was written in + collaboration with Miss Ina Lillian Peterson, to whom is rightly due the credit for + whatever merit it may have.</p> + <p>I taught a little country school near Brownville, which, as every one knows who + has had the good luck to live there, is the capital of a considerable expanse of + the finest scenery in California. The town is somewhat frequented in summer by a + class of persons whom it is the habit of the local journal to call "pleasure + seekers," but who by a juster classification would be known as "the sick and those + in adversity." Brownville itself might rightly enough be described, indeed, as a + summer place of last resort. It is fairly well endowed with boarding-houses, at the + least pernicious of which I performed twice a day (lunching at the schoolhouse) the + humble rite of cementing the alliance between soul and body. From this "hostelry" + (as the local journal preferred to call it when it did not call it a + "caravanserai") to the schoolhouse the distance by the wagon road was about a mile + and a half; but there was a trail, very little used, which led over an intervening + range of low, heavily wooded hills, considerably shortening the distance. By this + trail I was returning one evening later than usual. It was the last day of the term + and I had been detained at the schoolhouse until almost dark, preparing an account + of my stewardship for the trustees—two of whom, I proudly reflected, would be + able to read it, and the third (an instance of the dominion of mind over matter) + would be overruled in his customary antagonism to the schoolmaster of his own + creation.</p> + <p>I had gone not more than a quarter of the way when, finding an interest in the + antics of a family of lizards which dwelt thereabout and seemed full of reptilian + joy for their immunity from the ills incident to life at the Brownville House, I + sat upon a fallen tree to observe them. As I leaned wearily against a branch of the + gnarled old trunk the twilight deepened in the somber woods and the faint new moon + began casting visible shadows and gilding the leaves of the trees with a tender but + ghostly light.</p> + <p>I heard the sound of voices—a woman's, angry, impetuous, rising against + deep masculine tones, rich and musical. I strained my eyes, peering through the + dusky shadows of the wood, hoping to get a view of the intruders on my solitude, + but could see no one. For some yards in each direction I had an uninterrupted view + of the trail, and knowing of no other within a half mile thought the persons heard + must be approaching from the wood at one side. There was no sound but that of the + voices, which were now so distinct that I could catch the words. That of the man + gave me an impression of anger, abundantly confirmed by the matter spoken.</p> + <p>"I will have no threats; you are powerless, as you very well know. Let things + remain as they are or, by God! you shall both suffer for it."</p> + <p>"What do you mean?"—this was the voice of the woman, a cultivated voice, + the voice of a lady. "You would not—murder us."</p> + <p>There was no reply, at least none that was audible to me. During the silence I + peered into the wood in hope to get a glimpse of the speakers, for I felt sure that + this was an affair of gravity in which ordinary scruples ought not to count. It + seemed to me that the woman was in peril; at any rate the man had not disavowed a + willingness to murder. When a man is enacting the rôle of potential assassin + he has not the right to choose his audience.</p> + <p>After some little time I saw them, indistinct in the moonlight among the trees. + The man, tall and slender, seemed clothed in black; the woman wore, as nearly as I + could make out, a gown of gray stuff. Evidently they were still unaware of my + presence in the shadow, though for some reason when they renewed their conversation + they spoke in lower tones and I could no longer understand. As I looked the woman + seemed to sink to the ground and raise her hands in supplication, as is frequently + done on the stage and never, so far as I knew, anywhere else, and I am now not + altogether sure that it was done in this instance. The man fixed his eyes upon her; + they seemed to glitter bleakly in the moonlight with an expression that made me + apprehensive that he would turn them upon me. I do not know by what impulse I was + moved, but I sprang to my feet out of the shadow. At that instant the figures + vanished. I peered in vain through the spaces among the trees and clumps of + undergrowth. The night wind rustled the leaves; the lizards had retired early, + reptiles of exemplary habits. The little moon was already slipping behind a black + hill in the west.</p> + <p>I went home, somewhat disturbed in mind, half doubting that I had heard or seen + any living thing excepting the lizards. It all seemed a trifle odd and uncanny. It + was as if among the several phenomena, objective and subjective, that made the sum + total of the incident there had been an uncertain element which had diffused its + dubious character over all—had leavened the whole mass with unreality. I did + not like it.</p> + <p>At the breakfast table the next morning there was a new face; opposite me sat a + young woman at whom I merely glanced as I took my seat. In speaking to the high and + mighty female personage who condescended to seem to wait upon us, this girl soon + invited my attention by the sound of her voice, which was like, yet not altogether + like, the one still murmuring in my memory of the previous evening's adventure. A + moment later another girl, a few years older, entered the room and sat at the left + of the other, speaking to her a gentle "good morning." By <i>her</i> voice I was + startled: it was without doubt the one of which the first girl's had reminded me. + Here was the lady of the sylvan incident sitting bodily before me, "in her habit as + she lived."</p> + <p>Evidently enough the two were sisters.</p> + <p>With a nebulous kind of apprehension that I might be recognized as the mute + inglorious hero of an adventure which had in my consciousness and conscience + something of the character of eavesdropping, I allowed myself only a hasty cup of + the lukewarm coffee thoughtfully provided by the prescient waitress for the + emergency, and left the table. As I passed out of the house into the grounds I + heard a rich, strong male voice singing an aria from "Rigoletto." I am bound to say + that it was exquisitely sung, too, but there was something in the performance that + displeased me, I could say neither what nor why, and I walked rapidly away.</p> + <p>Returning later in the day I saw the elder of the two young women standing on + the porch and near her a tall man in black clothing—the man whom I had + expected to see. All day the desire to know something of these persons had been + uppermost in my mind and I now resolved to learn what I could of them in any way + that was neither dishonorable nor low.</p> + <p>The man was talking easily and affably to his companion, but at the sound of my + footsteps on the gravel walk he ceased, and turning about looked me full in the + face. He was apparently of middle age, dark and uncommonly handsome. His attire was + faultless, his bearing easy and graceful, the look which he turned upon me open, + free, and devoid of any suggestion of rudeness. Nevertheless it affected me with a + distinct emotion which on subsequent analysis in memory appeared to be compounded + of hatred and dread—I am unwilling to call it fear. A second later the man + and woman had disappeared. They seemed to have a trick of disappearing. On entering + the house, however, I saw them through the open doorway of the parlor as I passed; + they had merely stepped through a window which opened down to the floor.</p> + <p>Cautiously "approached" on the subject of her new guests my landlady proved not + ungracious. Restated with, I hope, some small reverence for English grammar the + facts were these: the two girls were Pauline and Eva Maynard of San Francisco; the + elder was Pauline. The man was Richard Benning, their guardian, who had been the + most intimate friend of their father, now deceased. Mr. Benning had brought them to + Brownville in the hope that the mountain climate might benefit Eva, who was thought + to be in danger of consumption.</p> + <p>Upon these short and simple annals the landlady wrought an embroidery of + eulogium which abundantly attested her faith in Mr. Benning's will and ability to + pay for the best that her house afforded. That he had a good heart was evident to + her from his devotion to his two beautiful wards and his really touching solicitude + for their comfort. The evidence impressed me as insufficient and I silently found + the Scotch verdict, "Not proven."</p> + <p>Certainly Mr. Benning was most attentive to his wards. In my strolls about the + country I frequently encountered them—sometimes in company with other guests + of the hotel—exploring the gulches, fishing, rifle shooting, and otherwise + wiling away the monotony of country life; and although I watched them as closely as + good manners would permit I saw nothing that would in any way explain the strange + words that I had overheard in the wood. I had grown tolerably well acquainted with + the young ladies and could exchange looks and even greetings with their guardian + without actual repugnance.</p> + <p>A month went by and I had almost ceased to interest myself in their affairs when + one night our entire little community was thrown into excitement by an event which + vividly recalled my experience in the forest.</p> + <p>This was the death of the elder girl, Pauline.</p> + <p>The sisters had occupied the same bedroom on the third floor of the house. + Waking in the gray of the morning Eva had found Pauline dead beside her. Later, + when the poor girl was weeping beside the body amid a throng of sympathetic if not + very considerate persons, Mr. Benning entered the room and appeared to be about to + take her hand. She drew away from the side of the dead and moved slowly toward the + door.</p> + <p>"It is you," she said—"you who have done this. + You—you—you!"</p> + <p>"She is raving," he said in a low voice. He followed her, step by step, as she + retreated, his eyes fixed upon hers with a steady gaze in which there was nothing + of tenderness nor of compassion. She stopped; the hand that she had raised in + accusation fell to her side, her dilated eyes contracted visibly, the lids slowly + dropped over them, veiling their strange wild beauty, and she stood motionless and + almost as white as the dead girl lying near. The man took her hand and put his arm + gently about her shoulders, as if to support her. Suddenly she burst into a passion + of tears and clung to him as a child to its mother. He smiled with a smile that + affected me most disagreeably—perhaps any kind of smile would have done + so—and led her silently out of the room.</p> + <p>There was an inquest—and the customary verdict: the deceased, it appeared, + came to her death through "heart disease." It was before the invention of heart + <i>failure</i>, though the heart of poor Pauline had indubitably failed. The body + was embalmed and taken to San Francisco by some one summoned thence for the + purpose, neither Eva nor Benning accompanying it. Some of the hotel gossips + ventured to think that very strange, and a few hardy spirits went so far as to + think it very strange indeed; but the good landlady generously threw herself into + the breach, saying it was owing to the precarious nature of the girl's health. It + is not of record that either of the two persons most affected and apparently least + concerned made any explanation.</p> + <p>One evening about a week after the death I went out upon the veranda of the + hotel to get a book that I had left there. Under some vines shutting out the + moonlight from a part of the space I saw Richard Benning, for whose apparition I + was prepared by having previously heard the low, sweet voice of Eva Maynard, whom + also I now discerned, standing before him with one hand raised to his shoulder and + her eyes, as nearly as I could judge, gazing upward into his. He held her + disengaged hand and his head was bent with a singular dignity and grace. Their + attitude was that of lovers, and as I stood in deep shadow to observe I felt even + guiltier than on that memorable night in the wood. I was about to retire, when the + girl spoke, and the contrast between her words and her attitude was so surprising + that I remained, because I had merely forgotten to go away.</p> + <p>"You will take my life," she said, "as you did Pauline's. I know your intention + as well as I know your power, and I ask nothing, only that you finish your work + without needless delay and let me be at peace."</p> + <p>He made no reply—merely let go the hand that he was holding, removed the + other from his shoulder, and turning away descended the steps leading to the garden + and disappeared in the shrubbery. But a moment later I heard, seemingly from a + great distance, his fine clear voice in a barbaric chant, which as I listened + brought before some inner spiritual sense a consciousness of some far, strange land + peopled with beings having forbidden powers. The song held me in a kind of spell, + but when it had died away I recovered and instantly perceived what I thought an + opportunity. I walked out of my shadow to where the girl stood. She turned and + stared at me with something of the look, it seemed to me, of a hunted hare. + Possibly my intrusion had frightened her.</p> + <p>"Miss Maynard," I said, "I beg you to tell me who that man is and the nature of + his power over you. Perhaps this is rude in me, but it is not a matter for idle + civilities. When a woman is in danger any man has a right to act."</p> + <p>She listened without visible emotion—almost I thought without interest, + and when I had finished she closed her big blue eyes as if unspeakably weary.</p> + <p>"You can do nothing," she said.</p> + <p>I took hold of her arm, gently shaking her as one shakes a person falling into a + dangerous sleep.</p> + <p>"You must rouse yourself," I said; "something must be done and you must give me + leave to act. You have said that that man killed your sister, and I believe + it—that he will kill you, and I believe that."</p> + <p>She merely raised her eyes to mine.</p> + <p>"Will you not tell me all?" I added.</p> + <p>"There is nothing to be done, I tell you—nothing. And if I could do + anything I would not. It does not matter in the least. We shall be here only two + days more; we go away then, oh, so far! If you have observed anything, I beg you to + be silent."</p> + <p>"But this is madness, girl." I was trying by rough speech to break the deadly + repose of her manner. "You have accused him of murder. Unless you explain these + things to me I shall lay the matter before the authorities."</p> + <p>This roused her, but in a way that I did not like. She lifted her head proudly + and said: "Do not meddle, sir, in what does not concern you. This is my affair, Mr. + Moran, not yours."</p> + <p>"It concerns every person in the country—in the world," I answered, with + equal coldness. "If you had no love for your sister I, at least, am concerned for + you."</p> + <p>"Listen," she interrupted, leaning toward me. "I loved her, yes, God knows! But + more than that—beyond all, beyond expression, I love <i>him</i>. You have + overheard a secret, but you shall not make use of it to harm him. I shall deny all. + Your word against mine—it will be that. Do you think your 'authorities' will + believe you?"</p> + <p>She was now smiling like an angel and, God help me! I was heels over head in + love with her! Did she, by some of the many methods of divination known to her sex, + read my feelings? Her whole manner had altered.</p> + <p>"Come," she said, almost coaxingly, "promise that you will not be impolite + again." She took my arm in the most friendly way. "Come, I will walk with you. He + will not know—he will remain away all night."</p> + <p>Up and down the veranda we paced in the moonlight, she seemingly forgetting her + recent bereavement, cooing and murmuring girl- wise of every kind of nothing in all + Brownville; I silent, consciously awkward and with something of the feeling of + being concerned in an intrigue. It was a revelation—this most charming and + apparently blameless creature coolly and confessedly deceiving the man for whom a + moment before she had acknowledged and shown the supreme love which finds even + death an acceptable endearment.</p> + <p>"Truly," I thought in my inexperience, "here is something new under the + moon."</p> + <p>And the moon must have smiled.</p> + <p>Before we parted I had exacted a promise that she would walk with me the next + afternoon—before going away forever—to the Old Mill, one of + Brownville's revered antiquities, erected in 1860.</p> + <p>"If he is not about," she added gravely, as I let go the hand she had given me + at parting, and of which, may the good saints forgive me, I strove vainly to + repossess myself when she had said it—so charming, as the wise Frenchman has + pointed out, do we find woman's infidelity when we are its objects, not its + victims. In apportioning his benefactions that night the Angel of Sleep overlooked + me.</p> + <p>The Brownville House dined early, and after dinner the next day Miss Maynard, + who had not been at table, came to me on the veranda, attired in the demurest of + walking costumes, saying not a word. "He" was evidently "not about." We went slowly + up the road that led to the Old Mill. She was apparently not strong and at times + took my arm, relinquishing it and taking it again rather capriciously, I thought. + Her mood, or rather her succession of moods, was as mutable as skylight in a + rippling sea. She jested as if she had never heard of such a thing as death, and + laughed on the lightest incitement, and directly afterward would sing a few bars of + some grave melody with such tenderness of expression that I had to turn away my + eyes lest she should see the evidence of her success in art, if art it was, not + artlessness, as then I was compelled to think it. And she said the oddest things in + the most unconventional way, skirting sometimes unfathomable abysms of thought, + where I had hardly the courage to set foot. In short, she was fascinating in a + thousand and fifty different ways, and at every step I executed a new and + profounder emotional folly, a hardier spiritual indiscretion, incurring fresh + liability to arrest by the constabulary of conscience for infractions of my own + peace.</p> + <p>Arriving at the mill, she made no pretense of stopping, but turned into a trail + leading through a field of stubble toward a creek. Crossing by a rustic bridge we + continued on the trail, which now led uphill to one of the most picturesque spots + in the country. The Eagle's Nest, it was called—the summit of a cliff that + rose sheer into the air to a height of hundreds of feet above the forest at its + base. From this elevated point we had a noble view of another valley and of the + opposite hills flushed with the last rays of the setting sun.</p> + <p>As we watched the light escaping to higher and higher planes from the + encroaching flood of shadow filling the valley we heard footsteps, and in another + moment were joined by Richard Benning.</p> + <p>"I saw you from the road," he said carelessly; "so I came up."</p> + <p>Being a fool, I neglected to take him by the throat and pitch him into the + treetops below, but muttered some polite lie instead. On the girl the effect of his + coming was immediate and unmistakable. Her face was suffused with the glory of + love's transfiguration: the red light of the sunset had not been more obvious in + her eyes than was now the lovelight that replaced it.</p> + <p>"I am so glad you came!" she said, giving him both her hands; and, God help me! + it was manifestly true.</p> + <p>Seating himself upon the ground he began a lively dissertation upon the wild + flowers of the region, a number of which he had with him. In the middle of a + facetious sentence he suddenly ceased speaking and fixed his eyes upon Eva, who + leaned against the stump of a tree, absently plaiting grasses. She lifted her eyes + in a startled way to his, as if she had <i>felt</i> his look. She then rose, cast + away her grasses, and moved slowly away from him. He also rose, continuing to look + at her. He had still in his hand the bunch of flowers. The girl turned, as if to + speak, but said nothing. I recall clearly now something of which I was but + half-conscious then—the dreadful contrast between the smile upon her lips and + the terrified expression in her eyes as she met his steady and imperative gaze. I + know nothing of how it happened, nor how it was that I did not sooner understand; I + only know that with the smile of an angel upon her lips and that look of terror in + her beautiful eyes Eva Maynard sprang from the cliff and shot crashing into the + tops of the pines below!</p> + <p>How and how long afterward I reached the place I cannot say, but Richard Benning + was already there, kneeling beside the dreadful thing that had been a woman.</p> + <p>"She is dead—quite dead," he said coldly. "I will go to town for + assistance. Please do me the favor to remain."</p> + <p>He rose to his feet and moved away, but in a moment had stopped and turned + about.</p> + <p>"You have doubtless observed, my friend," he said, "that this was entirely her + own act. I did not rise in time to prevent it, and you, not knowing her mental + condition—you could not, of course, have suspected."</p> + <p>His manner maddened me.</p> + <p>"You are as much her assassin," I said, "as if your damnable hands had cut her + throat."</p> + <p>He shrugged his shoulders without reply and, turning, walked away. A moment + later I heard, through the deepening shadows of the wood into which he had + disappeared, a rich, strong, baritone voice singing "<i>La donna e mobile</i>," + from "Rigoletto."</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h4><a id="page266" name="page266"></a>THE FAMOUS GILSON BEQUEST</h4> + <p>It was rough on Gilson. Such was the terse, cold, but not altogether + unsympathetic judgment of the better public opinion at Mammon Hill—the dictum + of respectability. The verdict of the opposite, or rather the opposing, + element—the element that lurked red-eyed and restless about Moll Gurney's + "deadfall," while respectability took it with sugar at Mr. Jo. Bentley's gorgeous + "saloon"—was to pretty much the same general effect, though somewhat more + ornately expressed by the use of picturesque expletives, which it is needless to + quote. Virtually, Mammon Hill was a unit on the Gilson question. And it must be + confessed that in a merely temporal sense all was not well with Mr. Gilson. He had + that morning been led into town by Mr. Brentshaw and publicly charged with horse + stealing; the sheriff meantime busying himself about The Tree with a new manila + rope and Carpenter Pete being actively employed between drinks upon a pine box + about the length and breadth of Mr. Gilson. Society having rendered its verdict, + there remained between Gilson and eternity only the decent formality of a + trial.</p> + <p>These are the short and simple annals of the prisoner: He had recently been a + resident of New Jerusalem, on the north fork of the Little Stony, but had come to + the newly discovered placers of Mammon Hill immediately before the "rush" by which + the former place was depopulated. The discovery of the new diggings had occurred + opportunely for Mr. Gilson, for it had only just before been intimated to him by a + New Jerusalem vigilance committee that it would better his prospects in, and for, + life to go somewhere; and the list of places to which he could safely go did not + include any of the older camps; so he naturally established himself at Mammon Hill. + Being eventually followed thither by all his judges, he ordered his conduct with + considerable circumspection, but as he had never been known to do an honest day's + work at any industry sanctioned by the stern local code of morality except draw + poker he was still an object of suspicion. Indeed, it was conjectured that he was + the author of the many daring depredations that had recently been committed with + pan and brush on the sluice boxes.</p> + <p>Prominent among those in whom this suspicion had ripened into a steadfast + conviction was Mr. Brentshaw. At all seasonable and unseasonable times Mr. + Brentshaw avowed his belief in Mr. Gilson's connection with these unholy midnight + enterprises, and his own willingness to prepare a way for the solar beams through + the body of any one who might think it expedient to utter a different + opinion—which, in his presence, no one was more careful not to do than the + peace-loving person most concerned. Whatever may have been the truth of the matter, + it is certain that Gilson frequently lost more "clean dust" at Jo. Bentley's faro + table than it was recorded in local history that he had ever honestly earned at + draw poker in all the days of the camp's existence. But at last Mr. + Bentley—fearing, it may be, to lose the more profitable patronage of Mr. + Brentshaw—peremptorily refused to let Gilson copper the queen, intimating at + the same time, in his frank, forthright way, that the privilege of losing money at + "this bank" was a blessing appertaining to, proceeding logically from, and + coterminous with, a condition of notorious commercial righteousness and social good + repute.</p> + <p>The Hill thought it high time to look after a person whom its most honored + citizen had felt it his duty to rebuke at a considerable personal sacrifice. The + New Jerusalem contingent, particularly, began to abate something of the toleration + begotten of amusement at their own blunder in exiling an objectionable neighbor + from the place which they had left to the place whither they had come. Mammon Hill + was at last of one mind. Not much was said, but that Gilson must hang was "in the + air." But at this critical juncture in his affairs he showed signs of an altered + life if not a changed heart. Perhaps it was only that "the bank" being closed + against him he had no further use for gold dust. Anyhow the sluice boxes were + molested no more forever. But it was impossible to repress the abounding energies + of such a nature as his, and he continued, possibly from habit, the tortuous + courses which he had pursued for profit of Mr. Bentley. After a few tentative and + resultless undertakings in the way of highway robbery—if one may venture to + designate road-agency by so harsh a name—he made one or two modest essays in + horse-herding, and it was in the midst of a promising enterprise of this character, + and just as he had taken the tide in his affairs at its flood, that he made + shipwreck. For on a misty, moonlight night Mr. Brentshaw rode up alongside a person + who was evidently leaving that part of the country, laid a hand upon the halter + connecting Mr. Gilson's wrist with Mr. Harper's bay mare, tapped him familiarly on + the cheek with the barrel of a navy revolver and requested the pleasure of his + company in a direction opposite to that in which he was traveling.</p> + <p>It was indeed rough on Gilson.</p> + <p>On the morning after his arrest he was tried, convicted, and sentenced. It only + remains, so far as concerns his earthly career, to hang him, reserving for more + particular mention his last will and testament, which, with great labor, he + contrived in prison, and in which, probably from some confused and imperfect notion + of the rights of captors, he bequeathed everything he owned to his "lawfle + execketer," Mr. Brentshaw. The bequest, however, was made conditional on the + legatee taking the testator's body from The Tree and "planting it white."</p> + <p>So Mr. Gilson was—I was about to say "swung off," but I fear there has + been already something too much of slang in this straightforward statement of + facts; besides, the manner in which the law took its course is more accurately + described in the terms employed by the judge in passing sentence: Mr. Gilson was + "strung up."</p> + <p>In due season Mr. Brentshaw, somewhat touched, it may well be, by the empty + compliment of the bequest, repaired to The Tree to pluck the fruit thereof. When + taken down the body was found to have in its waistcoat pocket a duly attested + codicil to the will already noted. The nature of its provisions accounted for the + manner in which it had been withheld, for had Mr. Brentshaw previously been made + aware of the conditions under which he was to succeed to the Gilson estate he would + indubitably have declined the responsibility. Briefly stated, the purport of the + codicil was as follows:</p> + <p>Whereas, at divers times and in sundry places, certain persons had asserted that + during his life the testator had robbed their sluice boxes; therefore, if during + the five years next succeeding the date of this instrument any one should make + proof of such assertion before a court of law, such person was to receive as + reparation the entire personal and real estate of which the testator died seized + and possessed, minus the expenses of court and a stated compensation to the + executor, Henry Clay Brentshaw; provided, that if more than one person made such + proof the estate was to be equally divided between or among them. But in case none + should succeed in so establishing the testator's guilt, then the whole property, + minus court expenses, as aforesaid, should go to the said Henry Clay Brentshaw for + his own use, as stated in the will.</p> + <p>The syntax of this remarkable document was perhaps open to critical objection, + but that was clearly enough the meaning of it. The orthography conformed to no + recognized system, but being mainly phonetic it was not ambiguous. As the probate + judge remarked, it would take five aces to beat it. Mr. Brentshaw smiled + good-humoredly, and after performing the last sad rites with amusing ostentation, + had himself duly sworn as executor and conditional legatee under the provisions of + a law hastily passed (at the instance of the member from the Mammon Hill district) + by a facetious legislature; which law was afterward discovered to have created also + three or four lucrative offices and authorized the expenditure of a considerable + sum of public money for the construction of a certain railway bridge that with + greater advantage might perhaps have been erected on the line of some actual + railway.</p> + <p>Of course Mr. Brentshaw expected neither profit from the will nor litigation in + consequence of its unusual provisions; Gilson, although frequently "flush," had + been a man whom assessors and tax collectors were well satisfied to lose no money + by. But a careless and merely formal search among his papers revealed title deeds + to valuable estates in the East and certificates of deposit for incredible sums in + banks less severely scrupulous than that of Mr. Jo. Bentley.</p> + <p>The astounding news got abroad directly, throwing the Hill into a fever of + excitement. The Mammon Hill <i>Patriot</i>, whose editor had been a leading spirit + in the proceedings that resulted in Gilson's departure from New Jerusalem, + published a most complimentary obituary notice of the deceased, and was good enough + to call attention to the fact that his degraded contemporary, the Squaw Gulch + <i>Clarion</i>, was bringing virtue into contempt by beslavering with flattery the + memory of one who in life had spurned the vile sheet as a nuisance from his door. + Undeterred by the press, however, claimants under the will were not slow in + presenting themselves with their evidence; and great as was the Gilson estate it + appeared conspicuously paltry considering the vast number of sluice boxes from + which it was averred to have been obtained. The country rose as one man!</p> + <p>Mr. Brentshaw was equal to the emergency. With a shrewd application of humble + auxiliary devices, he at once erected above the bones of his benefactor a costly + monument, overtopping every rough headboard in the cemetery, and on this he + judiciously caused to be inscribed an epitaph of his own composing, eulogizing the + honesty, public spirit and cognate virtues of him who slept beneath, "a victim to + the unjust aspersions of Slander's viper brood."</p> + <p>Moreover, he employed the best legal talent in the Territory to defend the + memory of his departed friend, and for five long years the Territorial courts were + occupied with litigation growing out of the Gilson bequest. To fine forensic + abilities Mr. Brentshaw opposed abilities more finely forensic; in bidding for + purchasable favors he offered prices which utterly deranged the market; the judges + found at his hospitable board entertainment for man and beast, the like of which + had never been spread in the Territory; with mendacious witnesses he confronted + witnesses of superior mendacity.</p> + <p>Nor was the battle confined to the temple of the blind goddess—it invaded + the press, the pulpit, the drawing-room. It raged in the mart, the exchange, the + school; in the gulches, and on the street corners. And upon the last day of the + memorable period to which legal action under the Gilson will was limited, the sun + went down upon a region in which the moral sense was dead, the social conscience + callous, the intellectual capacity dwarfed, enfeebled, and confused! But Mr. + Brentshaw was victorious all along the line.</p> + <p>On that night it so happened that the cemetery in one corner of which lay the + now honored ashes of the late Milton Gilson, Esq., was partly under water. Swollen + by incessant rains, Cat Creek had spilled over its banks an angry flood which, + after scooping out unsightly hollows wherever the soil had been disturbed, had + partly subsided, as if ashamed of the sacrilege, leaving exposed much that had been + piously concealed. Even the famous Gilson monument, the pride and glory of Mammon + Hill, was no longer a standing rebuke to the "viper brood"; succumbing to the + sapping current it had toppled prone to earth. The ghoulish flood had exhumed the + poor, decayed pine coffin, which now lay half-exposed, in pitiful contrast to the + pompous monolith which, like a giant note of admiration, emphasized the + disclosure.</p> + <p>To this depressing spot, drawn by some subtle influence he had sought neither to + resist nor analyze, came Mr. Brentshaw. An altered man was Mr. Brentshaw. Five + years of toil, anxiety, and wakefulness had dashed his black locks with streaks and + patches of gray, bowed his fine figure, drawn sharp and angular his face, and + debased his walk to a doddering shuffle. Nor had this lustrum of fierce contention + wrought less upon his heart and intellect. The careless good humor that had + prompted him to accept the trust of the dead man had given place to a fixed habit + of melancholy. The firm, vigorous intellect had overripened into the mental + mellowness of second childhood. His broad understanding had narrowed to the + accommodation of a single idea; and in place of the quiet, cynical incredulity of + former days, there was in him a haunting faith in the supernatural, that flitted + and fluttered about his soul, shadowy, batlike, ominous of insanity. Unsettled in + all else, his understanding clung to one conviction with the tenacity of a wrecked + intellect. That was an unshaken belief in the entire blamelessness of the dead + Gilson. He had so often sworn to this in court and asserted it in private + conversation—had so frequently and so triumphantly established it by + testimony that had come expensive to him (for that very day he had paid the last + dollar of the Gilson estate to Mr. Jo. Bentley, the last witness to the Gilson good + character)—that it had become to him a sort of religious faith. It seemed to + him the one great central and basic truth of life—the sole serene verity in a + world of lies.</p> + <p>On that night, as he seated himself pensively upon the prostrate monument, + trying by the uncertain moonlight to spell out the epitaph which five years before + he had composed with a chuckle that memory had not recorded, tears of remorse came + into his eyes as he remembered that he had been mainly instrumental in compassing + by a false accusation this good man's death; for during some of the legal + proceedings, Mr. Harper, for a consideration (forgotten) had come forward and sworn + that in the little transaction with his bay mare the deceased had acted in strict + accordance with the Harperian wishes, confidentially communicated to the deceased + and by him faithfully concealed at the cost of his life. All that Mr. Brentshaw had + since done for the dead man's memory seemed pitifully inadequate—most mean, + paltry, and debased with selfishness!</p> + <p>As he sat there, torturing himself with futile regrets, a faint shadow fell + across his eyes. Looking toward the moon, hanging low in the west, he saw what + seemed a vague, watery cloud obscuring her; but as it moved so that her beams lit + up one side of it he perceived the clear, sharp outline of a human figure. The + apparition became momentarily more distinct, and grew, visibly; it was drawing + near. Dazed as were his senses, half locked up with terror and confounded with + dreadful imaginings, Mr. Brentshaw yet could but perceive, or think he perceived, + in this unearthly shape a strange similitude to the mortal part of the late Milton + Gilson, as that person had looked when taken from The Tree five years before. The + likeness was indeed complete, even to the full, stony eyes, and a certain shadowy + circle about the neck. It was without coat or hat, precisely as Gilson had been + when laid in his poor, cheap casket by the not ungentle hands of Carpenter + Pete—for whom some one had long since performed the same neighborly office. + The spectre, if such it was, seemed to bear something in its hands which Mr. + Brentshaw could not clearly make out. It drew nearer, and paused at last beside the + coffin containing the ashes of the late Mr. Gilson, the lid of which was awry, half + disclosing the uncertain interior. Bending over this, the phantom seemed to shake + into it from a basin some dark substance of dubious consistency, then glided + stealthily back to the lowest part of the cemetery. Here the retiring flood had + stranded a number of open coffins, about and among which it gurgled with low + sobbings and stilly whispers. Stooping over one of these, the apparition carefully + brushed its contents into the basin, then returning to its own casket, emptied the + vessel into that, as before. This mysterious operation was repeated at every + exposed coffin, the ghost sometimes dipping its laden basin into the running water, + and gently agitating it to free it of the baser clay, always hoarding the residuum + in its own private box. In short, the immortal part of the late Milton Gilson was + cleaning up the dust of its neighbors and providently adding the same to its + own.</p> + <p>Perhaps it was a phantasm of a disordered mind in a fevered body. Perhaps it was + a solemn farce enacted by pranking existences that throng the shadows lying along + the border of another world. God knows; to us is permitted only the knowledge that + when the sun of another day touched with a grace of gold the ruined cemetery of + Mammon Hill his kindliest beam fell upon the white, still face of Henry Brentshaw, + dead among the dead.</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h4><a id="page281" name="page281"></a>THE APPLICANT</h4> + <p>Pushing his adventurous shins through the deep snow that had fallen overnight, + and encouraged by the glee of his little sister, following in the open way that he + made, a sturdy small boy, the son of Grayville's most distinguished citizen, struck + his foot against something of which there was no visible sign on the surface of the + snow. It is the purpose of this narrative to explain how it came to be there.</p> + <p>No one who has had the advantage of passing through Grayville by day can have + failed to observe the large stone building crowning the low hill to the north of + the railway station—that is to say, to the right in going toward Great + Mowbray. It is a somewhat dull-looking edifice, of the Early Comatose order, and + appears to have been designed by an architect who shrank from publicity, and + although unable to conceal his work—even compelled, in this instance, to set + it on an eminence in the sight of men—did what he honestly could to insure it + against a second look. So far as concerns its outer and visible aspect, the + Abersush Home for Old Men is unquestionably inhospitable to human attention. But it + is a building of great magnitude, and cost its benevolent founder the profit of + many a cargo of the teas and silks and spices that his ships brought up from the + under-world when he was in trade in Boston; though the main expense was its + endowment. Altogether, this reckless person had robbed his heirs-at-law of no less + a sum than half a million dollars and flung it away in riotous giving. Possibly it + was with a view to get out of sight of the silent big witness to his extravagance + that he shortly afterward disposed of all his Grayville property that remained to + him, turned his back upon the scene of his prodigality and went off across the sea + in one of his own ships. But the gossips who got their inspiration most directly + from Heaven declared that he went in search of a wife—a theory not easily + reconciled with that of the village humorist, who solemnly averred that the + bachelor philanthropist had departed this life (left Grayville, to wit) because the + marriageable maidens had made it too hot to hold him. However this may have been, + he had not returned, and although at long intervals there had come to Grayville, in + a desultory way, vague rumors of his wanderings in strange lands, no one seemed + certainly to know about him, and to the new generation he was no more than a name. + But from above the portal of the Home for Old Men the name shouted in stone.</p> + <p>Despite its unpromising exterior, the Home is a fairly commodious place of + retreat from the ills that its inmates have incurred by being poor and old and men. + At the time embraced in this brief chronicle they were in number about a score, but + in acerbity, querulousness, and general ingratitude they could hardly be reckoned + at fewer than a hundred; at least that was the estimate of the superintendent, Mr. + Silas Tilbody. It was Mr. Tilbody's steadfast conviction that always, in admitting + new old men to replace those who had gone to another and a better Home, the + trustees had distinctly in will the infraction of his peace, and the trial of his + patience. In truth, the longer the institution was connected with him, the stronger + was his feeling that the founder's scheme of benevolence was sadly impaired by + providing any inmates at all. He had not much imagination, but with what he had he + was addicted to the reconstruction of the Home for Old Men into a kind of "castle + in Spain," with himself as castellan, hospitably entertaining about a score of + sleek and prosperous middle-aged gentlemen, consummately good-humored and civilly + willing to pay for their board and lodging. In this revised project of philanthropy + the trustees, to whom he was indebted for his office and responsible for his + conduct, had not the happiness to appear. As to them, it was held by the village + humorist aforementioned that in their management of the great charity Providence + had thoughtfully supplied an incentive to thrift. With the inference which he + expected to be drawn from that view we have nothing to do; it had neither support + nor denial from the inmates, who certainly were most concerned. They lived out + their little remnant of life, crept into graves neatly numbered, and were succeeded + by other old men as like them as could be desired by the Adversary of Peace. If the + Home was a place of punishment for the sin of unthrift the veteran offenders sought + justice with a persistence that attested the sincerity of their penitence. It is to + one of these that the reader's attention is now invited.</p> + <p>In the matter of attire this person was not altogether engaging. But for this + season, which was midwinter, a careless observer might have looked upon him as a + clever device of the husbandman indisposed to share the fruits of his toil with the + crows that toil not, neither spin—an error that might not have been dispelled + without longer and closer observation than he seemed to court; for his progress up + Abersush Street, toward the Home in the gloom of the winter evening, was not + visibly faster than what might have been expected of a scarecrow blessed with + youth, health, and discontent. The man was indisputably ill-clad, yet not without a + certain fitness and good taste, withal; for he was obviously an applicant for + admittance to the Home, where poverty was a qualification. In the army of indigence + the uniform is rags; they serve to distinguish the rank and file from the + recruiting officers.</p> + <p>As the old man, entering the gate of the grounds, shuffled up the broad walk, + already white with the fast-falling snow, which from time to time he feebly shook + from its various coigns of vantage on his person, he came under inspection of the + large globe lamp that burned always by night over the great door of the building. + As if unwilling to incur its revealing beams, he turned to the left and, passing a + considerable distance along the face of the building, rang at a smaller door + emitting a dimmer ray that came from within, through the fanlight, and expended + itself incuriously overhead. The door was opened by no less a personage than the + great Mr. Tilbody himself. Observing his visitor, who at once uncovered, and + somewhat shortened the radius of the permanent curvature of his back, the great man + gave visible token of neither surprise nor displeasure. Mr. Tilbody was, indeed, in + an uncommonly good humor, a phenomenon ascribable doubtless to the cheerful + influence of the season; for this was Christmas Eve, and the morrow would be that + blessed 365th part of the year that all Christian souls set apart for mighty feats + of goodness and joy. Mr. Tilbody was so full of the spirit of the season that his + fat face and pale blue eyes, whose ineffectual fire served to distinguish it from + an untimely summer squash, effused so genial a glow that it seemed a pity that he + could not have lain down in it, basking in the consciousness of his own identity. + He was hatted, booted, overcoated, and umbrellaed, as became a person who was about + to expose himself to the night and the storm on an errand of charity; for Mr. + Tilbody had just parted from his wife and children to go "down town" and purchase + the wherewithal to confirm the annual falsehood about the hunch-bellied saint who + frequents the chimneys to reward little boys and girls who are good, and especially + truthful. So he did not invite the old man in, but saluted him cheerily:</p> + <p>"Hello! just in time; a moment later and you would have missed me. Come, I have + no time to waste; we'll walk a little way together."</p> + <p>"Thank you," said the old man, upon whose thin and white but not ignoble face + the light from the open door showed an expression that was perhaps disappointment; + "but if the trustees—if my application—"</p> + <p>"The trustees," Mr. Tilbody said, closing more doors than one, and cutting off + two kinds of light, "have agreed that your application disagrees with them."</p> + <p>Certain sentiments are inappropriate to Christmastide, but Humor, like Death, + has all seasons for his own.</p> + <p>"Oh, my God!" cried the old man, in so thin and husky a tone that the invocation + was anything but impressive, and to at least one of his two auditors sounded, + indeed, somewhat ludicrous. To the Other—but that is a matter which laymen + are devoid of the light to expound.</p> + <p>"Yes," continued Mr. Tilbody, accommodating his gait to that of his companion, + who was mechanically, and not very successfully, retracing the track that he had + made through the snow; "they have decided that, under the circumstances—under + the very peculiar circumstances, you understand—it would be inexpedient to + admit you. As superintendent and <i>ex officio</i> secretary of the honorable + board"—as Mr. Tilbody "read his title clear" the magnitude of the big + building, seen through its veil of falling snow, appeared to suffer somewhat in + comparison— "it is my duty to inform you that, in the words of Deacon Byram, + the chairman, your presence in the Home would—under the + circumstances—be peculiarly embarrassing. I felt it my duty to submit to the + honorable board the statement that you made to me yesterday of your needs, your + physical condition, and the trials which it has pleased Providence to send upon you + in your very proper effort to present your claims in person; but, after careful, + and I may say prayerful, consideration of your case—with something too, I + trust, of the large charitableness appropriate to the season—it was decided + that we would not be justified in doing anything likely to impair the usefulness of + the institution intrusted (under Providence) to our care."</p> + <p>They had now passed out of the grounds; the street lamp opposite the gate was + dimly visible through the snow. Already the old man's former track was obliterated, + and he seemed uncertain as to which way he should go. Mr. Tilbody had drawn a + little away from him, but paused and turned half toward him, apparently reluctant + to forego the continuing opportunity.</p> + <p>"Under the circumstances," he resumed, "the decision—"</p> + <p>But the old man was inaccessible to the suasion of his verbosity; he had crossed + the street into a vacant lot and was going forward, rather deviously toward nowhere + in particular —which, he having nowhere in particular to go to, was not so + reasonless a proceeding as it looked.</p> + <p>And that is how it happened that the next morning, when the church bells of all + Grayville were ringing with an added unction appropriate to the day, the sturdy + little son of Deacon Byram, breaking a way through the snow to the place of + worship, struck his foot against the body of Amasa Abersush, philanthropist.</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h3><a id="page290" name="page290"></a>A WATCHER BY THE DEAD</h3> + <p>I</p> + <p>In an upper room of an unoccupied dwelling in the part of San Francisco known as + North Beach lay the body of a man, under a sheet. The hour was near nine in the + evening; the room was dimly lighted by a single candle. Although the weather was + warm, the two windows, contrary to the custom which gives the dead plenty of air, + were closed and the blinds drawn down. The furniture of the room consisted of but + three pieces—an arm-chair, a small reading-stand supporting the candle, and a + long kitchen table, supporting the body of the man. All these, as also the corpse, + seemed to have been recently brought in, for an observer, had there been one, would + have seen that all were free from dust, whereas everything else in the room was + pretty thickly coated with it, and there were cobwebs in the angles of the + walls.</p> + <p>Under the sheet the outlines of the body could be traced, even the features, + these having that unnaturally sharp definition which seems to belong to faces of + the dead, but is really characteristic of those only that have been wasted by + disease. From the silence of the room one would rightly have inferred that it was + not in the front of the house, facing a street. It really faced nothing but a high + breast of rock, the rear of the building being set into a hill.</p> + <p>As a neighboring church clock was striking nine with an indolence which seemed + to imply such an indifference to the flight of time that one could hardly help + wondering why it took the trouble to strike at all, the single door of the room was + opened and a man entered, advancing toward the body. As he did so the door closed, + apparently of its own volition; there was a grating, as of a key turned with + difficulty, and the snap of the lock bolt as it shot into its socket. A sound of + retiring footsteps in the passage outside ensued, and the man was to all appearance + a prisoner. Advancing to the table, he stood a moment looking down at the body; + then with a slight shrug of the shoulders walked over to one of the windows and + hoisted the blind. The darkness outside was absolute, the panes were covered with + dust, but by wiping this away he could see that the window was fortified with + strong iron bars crossing it within a few inches of the glass and imbedded in the + masonry on each side. He examined the other window. It was the same. He manifested + no great curiosity in the matter, did not even so much as raise the sash. If he was + a prisoner he was apparently a tractable one. Having completed his examination of + the room, he seated himself in the arm-chair, took a book from his pocket, drew the + stand with its candle alongside and began to read.</p> + <p>The man was young—not more than thirty—dark in complexion, + smooth-shaven, with brown hair. His face was thin and high-nosed, with a broad + forehead and a "firmness" of the chin and jaw which is said by those having it to + denote resolution. The eyes were gray and steadfast, not moving except with + definitive purpose. They were now for the greater part of the time fixed upon his + book, but he occasionally withdrew them and turned them to the body on the table, + not, apparently, from any dismal fascination which under such circumstances it + might be supposed to exercise upon even a courageous person, nor with a conscious + rebellion against the contrary influence which might dominate a timid one. He + looked at it as if in his reading he had come upon something recalling him to a + sense of his surroundings. Clearly this watcher by the dead was discharging his + trust with intelligence and composure, as became him.</p> + <p>After reading for perhaps a half-hour he seemed to come to the end of a chapter + and quietly laid away the book. He then rose and taking the reading-stand from the + floor carried it into a corner of the room near one of the windows, lifted the + candle from it and returned to the empty fireplace before which he had been + sitting.</p> + <p>A moment later he walked over to the body on the table, lifted the sheet and + turned it back from the head, exposing a mass of dark hair and a thin face-cloth, + beneath which the features showed with even sharper definition than before. Shading + his eyes by interposing his free hand between them and the candle, he stood looking + at his motionless companion with a serious and tranquil regard. Satisfied with his + inspection, he pulled the sheet over the face again and returning to the chair, + took some matches off the candlestick, put them in the side pocket of his sack-coat + and sat down. He then lifted the candle from its socket and looked at it + critically, as if calculating how long it would last. It was barely two inches + long; in another hour he would be in darkness. He replaced it in the candlestick + and blew it out.</p> + <p>II</p> + <p>In a physician's office in Kearny Street three men sat about a table, drinking + punch and smoking. It was late in the evening, almost midnight, indeed, and there + had been no lack of punch. The gravest of the three, Dr. Helberson, was the + host—it was in his rooms they sat. He was about thirty years of age; the + others were even younger; all were physicians.</p> + <p>"The superstitious awe with which the living regard the dead," said Dr. + Helberson, "is hereditary and incurable. One needs no more be ashamed of it than of + the fact that he inherits, for example, an incapacity for mathematics, or a + tendency to lie."</p> + <p>The others laughed. "Oughtn't a man to be ashamed to lie?" asked the youngest of + the three, who was in fact a medical student not yet graduated.</p> + <p>"My dear Harper, I said nothing about that. The tendency to lie is one thing; + lying is another."</p> + <p>"But do you think," said the third man, "that this superstitious feeling, this + fear of the dead, reasonless as we know it to be, is universal? I am myself not + conscious of it."</p> + <p>"Oh, but it is 'in your system' for all that," replied Helberson; "it needs only + the right conditions—what Shakespeare calls the 'confederate season'—to + manifest itself in some very disagreeable way that will open your eyes. Physicians + and soldiers are of course more nearly free from it than others."</p> + <p>"Physicians and soldiers!—why don't you add hangmen and headsmen? Let us + have in all the assassin classes."</p> + <p>"No, my dear Mancher; the juries will not let the public executioners acquire + sufficient familiarity with death to be altogether unmoved by it."</p> + <p>Young Harper, who had been helping himself to a fresh cigar at the sideboard, + resumed his seat. "What would you consider conditions under which any man of woman + born would become insupportably conscious of his share of our common weakness in + this regard?" he asked, rather verbosely.</p> + <p>"Well, I should say that if a man were locked up all night with a + corpse—alone—in a dark room—of a vacant house—with no bed + covers to pull over his head—and lived through it without going altogether + mad, he might justly boast himself not of woman born, nor yet, like Macduff, a + product of Cæsarean section."</p> + <p>"I thought you never would finish piling up conditions," said Harper, "but I + know a man who is neither a physician nor a soldier who will accept them all, for + any stake you like to name."</p> + <p>"Who is he?"</p> + <p>"His name is Jarette—a stranger here; comes from my town in New York. I + have no money to back him, but he will back himself with loads of it."</p> + <p>"How do you know that?"</p> + <p>"He would rather bet than eat. As for fear—I dare say he thinks it some + cutaneous disorder, or possibly a particular kind of religious heresy."</p> + <p>"What does he look like?" Helberson was evidently becoming interested.</p> + <p>"Like Mancher, here—might be his twin brother."</p> + <p>"I accept the challenge," said Helberson, promptly.</p> + <p>"Awfully obliged to you for the compliment, I'm sure," drawled Mancher, who was + growing sleepy. "Can't I get into this?"</p> + <p>"Not against me," Helberson said. "I don't want <i>your</i> money."</p> + <p>"All right," said Mancher; "I'll be the corpse."</p> + <p>The others laughed.</p> + <p>The outcome of this crazy conversation we have seen.</p> + <p>III</p> + <p>In extinguishing his meagre allowance of candle Mr. Jarette's object was to + preserve it against some unforeseen need. He may have thought, too, or half + thought, that the darkness would be no worse at one time than another, and if the + situation became insupportable it would be better to have a means of relief, or + even release. At any rate it was wise to have a little reserve of light, even if + only to enable him to look at his watch.</p> + <p>No sooner had he blown out the candle and set it on the floor at his side than + he settled himself comfortably in the arm-chair, leaned back and closed his eyes, + hoping and expecting to sleep. In this he was disappointed; he had never in his + life felt less sleepy, and in a few minutes he gave up the attempt. But what could + he do? He could not go groping about in absolute darkness at the risk of bruising + himself—at the risk, too, of blundering against the table and rudely + disturbing the dead. We all recognize their right to lie at rest, with immunity + from all that is harsh and violent. Jarette almost succeeded in making himself + believe that considerations of this kind restrained him from risking the collision + and fixed him to the chair.</p> + <p>While thinking of this matter he fancied that he heard a faint sound in the + direction of the table—what kind of sound he could hardly have explained. He + did not turn his head. Why should he—in the darkness? But he + listened—why should he not? And listening he grew giddy and grasped the arms + of the chair for support. There was a strange ringing in his ears; his head seemed + bursting; his chest was oppressed by the constriction of his clothing. He wondered + why it was so, and whether these were symptoms of fear. Then, with a long and + strong expiration, his chest appeared to collapse, and with the great gasp with + which he refilled his exhausted lungs the vertigo left him and he knew that so + intently had he listened that he had held his breath almost to suffocation. The + revelation was vexatious; he arose, pushed away the chair with his foot and strode + to the centre of the room. But one does not stride far in darkness; he began to + grope, and finding the wall followed it to an angle, turned, followed it past the + two windows and there in another corner came into violent contact with the + reading-stand, overturning it. It made a clatter that startled him. He was annoyed. + "How the devil could I have forgotten where it was?" he muttered, and groped his + way along the third wall to the fireplace. "I must put things to rights," said he, + feeling the floor for the candle.</p> + <p>Having recovered that, he lighted it and instantly turned his eyes to the table, + where, naturally, nothing had undergone any change. The reading-stand lay + unobserved upon the floor: he had forgotten to "put it to rights." He looked all + about the room, dispersing the deeper shadows by movements of the candle in his + hand, and crossing over to the door tested it by turning and pulling the knob with + all his strength. It did not yield and this seemed to afford him a certain + satisfaction; indeed, he secured it more firmly by a bolt which he had not before + observed. Returning to his chair, he looked at his watch; it was half-past nine. + With a start of surprise he held the watch at his ear. It had not stopped. The + candle was now visibly shorter. He again extinguished it, placing it on the floor + at his side as before.</p> + <p>Mr. Jarette was not at his ease; he was distinctly dissatisfied with his + surroundings, and with himself for being so. "What have I to fear?" he thought. + "This is ridiculous and disgraceful; I will not be so great a fool." But courage + does not come of saying, "I will be courageous," nor of recognizing its + appropriateness to the occasion. The more Jarette condemned himself, the more + reason he gave himself for condemnation; the greater the number of variations which + he played upon the simple theme of the harmlessness of the dead, the more + insupportable grew the discord of his emotions. "What!" he cried aloud in the + anguish of his spirit, "what! shall I, who have not a shade of superstition in my + nature—I, who have no belief in immortality—I, who know (and never more + clearly than now) that the after-life is the dream of a desire—shall I lose + at once my bet, my honor and my self-respect, perhaps my reason, because certain + savage ancestors dwelling in caves and burrows conceived the monstrous notion that + the dead walk by night?—that—" Distinctly, unmistakably, Mr. Jarette + heard behind him a light, soft sound of footfalls, deliberate, regular, + successively nearer!</p> + <p>IV</p> + <p>Just before daybreak the next morning Dr. Helberson and his young friend Harper + were driving slowly through the streets of North Beach in the doctor's + coupé.</p> + <p>"Have you still the confidence of youth in the courage or stolidity of your + friend?" said the elder man. "Do you believe that I have lost this wager?"</p> + <p>"I <i>know</i> you have," replied the other, with enfeebling emphasis.</p> + <p>"Well, upon my soul, I hope so."</p> + <p>It was spoken earnestly, almost solemnly. There was a silence for a few + moments.</p> + <p>"Harper," the doctor resumed, looking very serious in the shifting half-lights + that entered the carriage as they passed the street lamps, "I don't feel altogether + comfortable about this business. If your friend had not irritated me by the + contemptuous manner in which he treated my doubt of his endurance —a purely + physical quality—and by the cool incivility of his suggestion that the corpse + be that of a physician, I should not have gone on with it. If anything should + happen we are ruined, as I fear we deserve to be."</p> + <p>"What can happen? Even if the matter should be taking a serious turn, of which I + am not at all afraid, Mancher has only to 'resurrect' himself and explain matters. + With a genuine 'subject' from the dissecting-room, or one of your late patients, it + might be different."</p> + <p>Dr. Mancher, then, had been as good as his promise; he was the "corpse."</p> + <p>Dr. Helberson was silent for a long time, as the carriage, at a snail's pace, + crept along the same street it had traveled two or three times already. Presently + he spoke: "Well, let us hope that Mancher, if he has had to rise from the dead, has + been discreet about it. A mistake in that might make matters worse instead of + better."</p> + <p>"Yes," said Harper, "Jarette would kill him. But, Doctor"—looking at his + watch as the carriage passed a gas lamp—"it is nearly four o'clock at + last."</p> + <p>A moment later the two had quitted the vehicle and were walking briskly toward + the long-unoccupied house belonging to the doctor in which they had immured Mr. + Jarette in accordance with the terms of the mad wager. As they neared it they met a + man running. "Can you tell me," he cried, suddenly checking his speed, "where I can + find a doctor?"</p> + <p>"What's the matter?" Helberson asked, non-committal.</p> + <p>"Go and see for yourself," said the man, resuming his running.</p> + <p>They hastened on. Arrived at the house, they saw several persons entering in + haste and excitement. In some of the dwellings near by and across the way the + chamber windows were thrown up, showing a protrusion of heads. All heads were + asking questions, none heeding the questions of the others. A few of the windows + with closed blinds were illuminated; the inmates of those rooms were dressing to + come down. Exactly opposite the door of the house that they sought a street lamp + threw a yellow, insufficient light upon the scene, seeming to say that it could + disclose a good deal more if it wished. Harper paused at the door and laid a hand + upon his companion's arm. "It is all up with us, Doctor," he said in extreme + agitation, which contrasted strangely with his free-and-easy words; "the game has + gone against us all. Let's not go in there; I'm for lying low."</p> + <p>"I'm a physician," said Dr. Helberson, calmly; "there may be need of one."</p> + <p>They mounted the doorsteps and were about to enter. The door was open; the + street lamp opposite lighted the passage into which it opened. It was full of men. + Some had ascended the stairs at the farther end, and, denied admittance above, + waited for better fortune. All were talking, none listening. Suddenly, on the upper + landing there was a great commotion; a man had sprung out of a door and was + breaking away from those endeavoring to detain him. Down through the mass of + affrighted idlers he came, pushing them aside, flattening them against the wall on + one side, or compelling them to cling to the rail on the other, clutching them by + the throat, striking them savagely, thrusting them back down the stairs and walking + over the fallen. His clothing was in disorder, he was without a hat. His eyes, wild + and restless, had in them something more terrifying than his apparently superhuman + strength. His face, smooth-shaven, was bloodless, his hair frost-white.</p> + <p>As the crowd at the foot of the stairs, having more freedom, fell away to let + him pass Harper sprang forward. "Jarette! Jarette!" he cried.</p> + <p>Dr. Helberson seized Harper by the collar and dragged him back. The man looked + into their faces without seeming to see them and sprang through the door, down the + steps, into the street, and away. A stout policeman, who had had inferior success + in conquering his way down the stairway, followed a moment later and started in + pursuit, all the heads in the windows—those of women and children + now—screaming in guidance.</p> + <p>The stairway being now partly cleared, most of the crowd having rushed down to + the street to observe the flight and pursuit, Dr. Helberson mounted to the landing, + followed by Harper. At a door in the upper passage an officer denied them + admittance. "We are physicians," said the doctor, and they passed in. The room was + full of men, dimly seen, crowded about a table. The newcomers edged their way + forward and looked over the shoulders of those in the front rank. Upon the table, + the lower limbs covered with a sheet, lay the body of a man, brilliantly + illuminated by the beam of a bull's-eye lantern held by a policeman standing at the + feet. The others, excepting those near the head—the officer himself—all + were in darkness. The face of the body showed yellow, repulsive, horrible! The eyes + were partly open and upturned and the jaw fallen; traces of froth defiled the lips, + the chin, the cheeks. A tall man, evidently a doctor, bent over the body with his + hand thrust under the shirt front. He withdrew it and placed two fingers in the + open mouth. "This man has been about six hours dead," said he. "It is a case for + the coroner."</p> + <p>He drew a card from his pocket, handed it to the officer and made his way toward + the door.</p> + <p>"Clear the room—out, all!" said the officer, sharply, and the body + disappeared as if it had been snatched away, as shifting the lantern he flashed its + beam of light here and there against the faces of the crowd. The effect was + amazing! The men, blinded, confused, almost terrified, made a tumultuous rush for + the door, pushing, crowding, and tumbling over one another as they fled, like the + hosts of Night before the shafts of Apollo. Upon the struggling, trampling mass the + officer poured his light without pity and without cessation. Caught in the current, + Helberson and Harper were swept out of the room and cascaded down the stairs into + the street.</p> + <p>"Good God, Doctor! did I not tell you that Jarette would kill him?" said Harper, + as soon as they were clear of the crowd.</p> + <p>"I believe you did," replied the other, without apparent emotion.</p> + <p>They walked on in silence, block after block. Against the graying east the + dwellings of the hill tribes showed in silhouette. The familiar milk wagon was + already astir in the streets; the baker's man would soon come upon the scene; the + newspaper carrier was abroad in the land.</p> + <p>"It strikes me, youngster," said Helberson, "that you and I have been having too + much of the morning air lately. It is unwholesome; we need a change. What do you + say to a tour in Europe?"</p> + <p>"When?"</p> + <p>"I'm not particular. I should suppose that four o'clock this afternoon would be + early enough."</p> + <p>"I'll meet you at the boat," said Harper.</p> + <p>Seven years afterward these two men sat upon a bench in Madison Square, New + York, in familiar conversation. Another man, who had been observing them for some + time, himself unobserved, approached and, courteously lifting his hat from locks as + white as frost, said: "I beg your pardon, gentlemen, but when you have killed a man + by coming to life, it is best to change clothes with him, and at the first + opportunity make a break for liberty."</p> + <p>Helberson and Harper exchanged significant glances. They were obviously amused. + The former then looked the stranger kindly in the eye and replied:</p> + <p>"That has always been my plan. I entirely agree with you as to its + advant—"</p> + <p>He stopped suddenly, rose and went white. He stared at the man, open-mouthed; he + trembled visibly.</p> + <p>"Ah!" said the stranger, "I see that you are indisposed, Doctor. If you cannot + treat yourself Dr. Harper can do something for you, I am sure."</p> + <p>"Who the devil are you?" said Harper, bluntly.</p> + <p>The stranger came nearer and, bending toward them, said in a whisper: "I call + myself Jarette sometimes, but I don't mind telling you, for old friendship, that I + am Dr. William Mancher."</p> + <p>The revelation brought Harper to his feet. "Mancher!" he cried; and Helberson + added: "It is true, by God!"</p> + <p>"Yes," said the stranger, smiling vaguely, "it is true enough, no doubt."</p> + <p>He hesitated and seemed to be trying to recall something, then began humming a + popular air. He had apparently forgotten their presence.</p> + <p>"Look here, Mancher," said the elder of the two, "tell us just what occurred + that night—to Jarette, you know."</p> + <p>"Oh, yes, about Jarette," said the other. "It's odd I should have neglected to + tell you—I tell it so often. You see I knew, by over-hearing him talking to + himself, that he was pretty badly frightened. So I couldn't resist the temptation + to come to life and have a bit of fun out of him—I couldn't really. That was + all right, though certainly I did not think he would take it so seriously; I did + not, truly. And afterward—well, it was a tough job changing places with him, + and then—damn you! you didn't let me out!"</p> + <p>Nothing could exceed the ferocity with which these last words were delivered. + Both men stepped back in alarm.</p> + <p>"We?—why—why," Helberson stammered, losing his self-possession + utterly, "we had nothing to do with it."</p> + <p>"Didn't I say you were Drs. Hell-born and Sharper?" inquired the man, + laughing.</p> + <p>"My name is Helberson, yes; and this gentleman is Mr. Harper," replied the + former, reassured by the laugh. "But we are not physicians now; we are—well, + hang it, old man, we are gamblers."</p> + <p>And that was the truth.</p> + <p>"A very good profession—very good, indeed; and, by the way, I hope Sharper + here paid over Jarette's money like an honest stakeholder. A very good and + honorable profession," he repeated, thoughtfully, moving carelessly away; "but I + stick to the old one. I am High Supreme Medical Officer of the Bloomingdale Asylum; + it is my duty to cure the superintendent."</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h4><a id="page311" name="page311"></a>THE MAN AND THE SNAKE</h4> + <blockquote> + <i>It is of veritabyll report, and attested of so many that there be nowe of wyse + and learned none to gaynsaye it, that y'e serpente hys eye hath a magnetick + propertie that whosoe falleth into its svasion is drawn forwards in despyte of + his wille, and perisheth miserabyll by y'e creature hys byte.</i> + </blockquote> + <p>Stretched at ease upon a sofa, in gown and slippers, Harker Brayton smiled as he + read the foregoing sentence in old Morryster's <i>Marvells of Science.</i> "The + only marvel in the matter," he said to himself, "is that the wise and learned in + Morryster's day should have believed such nonsense as is rejected by most of even + the ignorant in ours."</p> + <p>A train of reflection followed—for Brayton was a man of thought—and + he unconsciously lowered his book without altering the direction of his eyes. As + soon as the volume had gone below the line of sight, something in an obscure corner + of the room recalled his attention to his surroundings. What he saw, in the shadow + under his bed, was two small points of light, apparently about an inch apart. They + might have been reflections of the gas jet above him, in metal nail heads; he gave + them but little thought and resumed his reading. A moment later + something—some impulse which it did not occur to him to + analyze—impelled him to lower the book again and seek for what he saw before. + The points of light were still there. They seemed to have become brighter than + before, shining with a greenish lustre that he had not at first observed. He + thought, too, that they might have moved a trifle—were somewhat nearer. They + were still too much in shadow, however, to reveal their nature and origin to an + indolent attention, and again he resumed his reading. Suddenly something in the + text suggested a thought that made him start and drop the book for the third time + to the side of the sofa, whence, escaping from his hand, it fell sprawling to the + floor, back upward. Brayton, half-risen, was staring intently into the obscurity + beneath the bed, where the points of light shone with, it seemed to him, an added + fire. His attention was now fully aroused, his gaze eager and imperative. It + disclosed, almost directly under the foot-rail of the bed, the coils of a large + serpent—the points of light were its eyes! Its horrible head, thrust flatly + forth from the innermost coil and resting upon the outermost, was directed straight + toward him, the definition of the wide, brutal jaw and the idiot-like forehead + serving to show the direction of its malevolent gaze. The eyes were no longer + merely luminous points; they looked into his own with a meaning, a malign + significance.</p> + <p>II</p> + <p>A snake in a bedroom of a modern city dwelling of the better sort is, happily, + not so common a phenomenon as to make explanation altogether needless. Harker + Brayton, a bachelor of thirty-five, a scholar, idler and something of an athlete, + rich, popular and of sound health, had returned to San Francisco from all manner of + remote and unfamiliar countries. His tastes, always a trifle luxurious, had taken + on an added exuberance from long privation; and the resources of even the Castle + Hotel being inadequate to their perfect gratification, he had gladly accepted the + hospitality of his friend, Dr. Druring, the distinguished scientist. Dr. Druring's + house, a large, old-fashioned one in what is now an obscure quarter of the city, + had an outer and visible aspect of proud reserve. It plainly would not associate + with the contiguous elements of its altered environment, and appeared to have + developed some of the eccentricities which come of isolation. One of these was a + "wing," conspicuously irrelevant in point of architecture, and no less rebellious + in matter of purpose; for it was a combination of laboratory, menagerie and museum. + It was here that the doctor indulged the scientific side of his nature in the study + of such forms of animal life as engaged his interest and comforted his + taste—which, it must be confessed, ran rather to the lower types. For one of + the higher nimbly and sweetly to recommend itself unto his gentle senses it had at + least to retain certain rudimentary characteristics allying it to such "dragons of + the prime" as toads and snakes. His scientific sympathies were distinctly + reptilian; he loved nature's vulgarians and described himself as the Zola of + zoölogy. His wife and daughters not having the advantage to share his + enlightened curiosity regarding the works and ways of our ill-starred + fellow-creatures, were with needless austerity excluded from what he called the + Snakery and doomed to companionship with their own kind, though to soften the + rigors of their lot he had permitted them out of his great wealth to outdo the + reptiles in the gorgeousness of their surroundings and to shine with a superior + splendor.</p> + <p>Architecturally and in point of "furnishing" the Snakery had a severe simplicity + befitting the humble circumstances of its occupants, many of whom, indeed, could + not safely have been intrusted with the liberty that is necessary to the full + enjoyment of luxury, for they had the troublesome peculiarity of being alive. In + their own apartments, however, they were under as little personal restraint as was + compatible with their protection from the baneful habit of swallowing one another; + and, as Brayton had thoughtfully been apprised, it was more than a tradition that + some of them had at divers times been found in parts of the premises where it would + have embarrassed them to explain their presence. Despite the Snakery and its + uncanny associations—to which, indeed, he gave little attention—Brayton + found life at the Druring mansion very much to his mind.</p> + <p>III</p> + <p>Beyond a smart shock of surprise and a shudder of mere loathing Mr. Brayton was + not greatly affected. His first thought was to ring the call bell and bring a + servant; but although the bell cord dangled within easy reach he made no movement + toward it; it had occurred to his mind that the act might subject him to the + suspicion of fear, which he certainly did not feel. He was more keenly conscious of + the incongruous nature of the situation than affected by its perils; it was + revolting, but absurd.</p> + <p>The reptile was of a species with which Brayton was unfamiliar. Its length he + could only conjecture; the body at the largest visible part seemed about as thick + as his forearm. In what way was it dangerous, if in any way? Was it venomous? Was + it a constrictor? His knowledge of nature's danger signals did not enable him to + say; he had never deciphered the code.</p> + <p>If not dangerous the creature was at least offensive. It was <i>de + trop</i>—"matter out of place"—an impertinence. The gem was unworthy of + the setting. Even the barbarous taste of our time and country, which had loaded the + walls of the room with pictures, the floor with furniture and the furniture with + bric-a-brac, had not quite fitted the place for this bit of the savage life of the + jungle. Besides—insupportable thought!—the exhalations of its breath + mingled with the atmosphere which he himself was breathing.</p> + <p>These thoughts shaped themselves with greater or less definition in Brayton's + mind and begot action. The process is what we call consideration and decision. It + is thus that we are wise and unwise. It is thus that the withered leaf in an autumn + breeze shows greater or less intelligence than its fellows, falling upon the land + or upon the lake. The secret of human action is an open one: something contracts + our muscles. Does it matter if we give to the preparatory molecular changes the + name of will?</p> + <p>Brayton rose to his feet and prepared to back softly away from the snake, + without disturbing it if possible, and through the door. Men retire so from the + presence of the great, for greatness is power and power is a menace. He knew that + he could walk backward without error. Should the monster follow, the taste which + had plastered the walls with paintings had consistently supplied a rack of + murderous Oriental weapons from which he could snatch one to suit the occasion. In + the mean time the snake's eyes burned with a more pitiless malevolence than + before.</p> + <p>Brayton lifted his right foot free of the floor to step backward. That moment he + felt a strong aversion to doing so.</p> + <p>"I am accounted brave," he thought; "is bravery, then, no more than pride? + Because there are none to witness the shame shall I retreat?"</p> + <p>He was steadying himself with his right hand upon the back of a chair, his foot + suspended.</p> + <p>"Nonsense!" he said aloud; "I am not so great a coward as to fear to seem to + myself afraid."</p> + <p>He lifted the foot a little higher by slightly bending the knee and thrust it + sharply to the floor—an inch in front of the other! He could not think how + that occurred. A trial with the left foot had the same result; it was again in + advance of the right. The hand upon the chair back was grasping it; the arm was + straight, reaching somewhat backward. One might have said that he was reluctant to + lose his hold. The snake's malignant head was still thrust forth from the inner + coil as before, the neck level. It had not moved, but its eyes were now electric + sparks, radiating an infinity of luminous needles.</p> + <p>The man had an ashy pallor. Again he took a step forward, and another, partly + dragging the chair, which when finally released fell upon the floor with a crash. + The man groaned; the snake made neither sound nor motion, but its eyes were two + dazzling suns. The reptile itself was wholly concealed by them. They gave off + enlarging rings of rich and vivid colors, which at their greatest expansion + successively vanished like soap-bubbles; they seemed to approach his very face, and + anon were an immeasurable distance away. He heard, somewhere, the continuous + throbbing of a great drum, with desultory bursts of far music, inconceivably sweet, + like the tones of an æolian harp. He knew it for the sunrise melody of + Memnon's statue, and thought he stood in the Nileside reeds hearing with exalted + sense that immortal anthem through the silence of the centuries.</p> + <p>The music ceased; rather, it became by insensible degrees the distant roll of a + retreating thunder-storm. A landscape, glittering with sun and rain, stretched + before him, arched with a vivid rainbow framing in its giant curve a hundred + visible cities. In the middle distance a vast serpent, wearing a crown, reared its + head out of its voluminous convolutions and looked at him with his dead mother's + eyes. Suddenly this enchanting landscape seemed to rise swiftly upward like the + drop scene at a theatre, and vanished in a blank. Something struck him a hard blow + upon the face and breast. He had fallen to the floor; the blood ran from his broken + nose and his bruised lips. For a time he was dazed and stunned, and lay with closed + eyes, his face against the floor. In a few moments he had recovered, and then knew + that this fall, by withdrawing his eyes, had broken the spell that held him. He + felt that now, by keeping his gaze averted, he would be able to retreat. But the + thought of the serpent within a few feet of his head, yet unseen—perhaps in + the very act of springing upon him and throwing its coils about his + throat—was too horrible! He lifted his head, stared again into those baleful + eyes and was again in bondage.</p> + <p>The snake had not moved and appeared somewhat to have lost its power upon the + imagination; the gorgeous illusions of a few moments before were not repeated. + Beneath that flat and brainless brow its black, beady eyes simply glittered as at + first with an expression unspeakably malignant. It was as if the creature, assured + of its triumph, had determined to practise no more alluring wiles.</p> + <p>Now ensued a fearful scene. The man, prone upon the floor, within a yard of his + enemy, raised the upper part of his body upon his elbows, his head thrown back, his + legs extended to their full length. His face was white between its stains of blood; + his eyes were strained open to their uttermost expansion. There was froth upon his + lips; it dropped off in flakes. Strong convulsions ran through his body, making + almost serpentile undulations. He bent himself at the waist, shifting his legs from + side to side. And every movement left him a little nearer to the snake. He thrust + his hands forward to brace himself back, yet constantly advanced upon his + elbows.</p> + <p>IV</p> + <p>Dr. Druring and his wife sat in the library. The scientist was in rare good + humor.</p> + <p>"I have just obtained by exchange with another collector," he said, "a splendid + specimen of the <i>ophiophagus</i>."</p> + <p>"And what may that be?" the lady inquired with a somewhat languid interest.</p> + <p>"Why, bless my soul, what profound ignorance! My dear, a man who ascertains + after marriage that his wife does not know Greek is entitled to a divorce. The + <i>ophiophagus</i> is a snake that eats other snakes."</p> + <p>"I hope it will eat all yours," she said, absently shifting the lamp. "But how + does it get the other snakes? By charming them, I suppose."</p> + <p>"That is just like you, dear," said the doctor, with an affectation of + petulance. "You know how irritating to me is any allusion to that vulgar + superstition about a snake's power of fascination."</p> + <p>The conversation was interrupted by a mighty cry, which rang through the silent + house like the voice of a demon shouting in a tomb! Again and yet again it sounded, + with terrible distinctness. They sprang to their feet, the man confused, the lady + pale and speechless with fright. Almost before the echoes of the last cry had died + away the doctor was out of the room, springing up the stairs two steps at a time. + In the corridor in front of Brayton's chamber he met some servants who had come + from the upper floor. Together they rushed at the door without knocking. It was + unfastened and gave way. Brayton lay upon his stomach on the floor, dead. His head + and arms were partly concealed under the foot rail of the bed. They pulled the body + away, turning it upon the back. The face was daubed with blood and froth, the eyes + were wide open, staring—a dreadful sight!</p> + <p>"Died in a fit," said the scientist, bending his knee and placing his hand upon + the heart. While in that position, he chanced to look under the bed. "Good God!" he + added, "how did this thing get in here?"</p> + <p>He reached under the bed, pulled out the snake and flung it, still coiled, to + the center of the room, whence with a harsh, shuffling sound it slid across the + polished floor till stopped by the wall, where it lay without motion. It was a + stuffed snake; its eyes were two shoe buttons.</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h4><a id="page324" name="page324"></a>A HOLY TERROR</h4> + <p>I</p> + <p>There was an entire lack of interest in the latest arrival at Hurdy-Gurdy. He + was not even christened with the picturesquely descriptive nick-name which is so + frequently a mining camp's word of welcome to the newcomer. In almost any other + camp thereabout this circumstance would of itself have secured him some such + appellation as "The White-headed Conundrum," or "No Sarvey"—an expression + naively supposed to suggest to quick intelligences the Spanish <i>quien sabe</i>. + He came without provoking a ripple of concern upon the social surface of + Hurdy-Gurdy—a place which to the general Californian contempt of men's + personal history superadded a local indifference of its own. The time was long past + when it was of any importance who came there, or if anybody came. No one was living + at Hurdy-Gurdy.</p> + <p>Two years before, the camp had boasted a stirring population of two or three + thousand males and not fewer than a dozen females. A majority of the former had + done a few weeks' earnest work in demonstrating, to the disgust of the latter, the + singularly mendacious character of the person whose ingenious tales of rich gold + deposits had lured them thither—work, by the way, in which there was as + little mental satisfaction as pecuniary profit; for a bullet from the pistol of a + public-spirited citizen had put that imaginative gentleman beyond the reach of + aspersion on the third day of the camp's existence. Still, his fiction had a + certain foundation in fact, and many had lingered a considerable time in and about + Hurdy-Gurdy, though now all had been long gone.</p> + <p>But they had left ample evidence of their sojourn. From the point where Injun + Creek falls into the Rio San Juan Smith, up along both banks of the former into the + cañon whence it emerges, extended a double row of forlorn shanties that + seemed about to fall upon one another's neck to bewail their desolation; while + about an equal number appeared to have straggled up the slope on either hand and + perched themselves upon commanding eminences, whence they craned forward to get a + good view of the affecting scene. Most of these habitations were emaciated as by + famine to the condition of mere skeletons, about which clung unlovely tatters of + what might have been skin, but was really canvas. The little valley itself, torn + and gashed by pick and shovel, was unhandsome with long, bending lines of decaying + flume resting here and there upon the summits of sharp ridges, and stilting + awkwardly across the intervals upon unhewn poles. The whole place presented that + raw and forbidding aspect of arrested development which is a new country's + substitute for the solemn grace of ruin wrought by time. Wherever there remained a + patch of the original soil a rank overgrowth of weeds and brambles had spread upon + the scene, and from its dank, unwholesome shades the visitor curious in such + matters might have obtained numberless souvenirs of the camp's former + glory—fellowless boots mantled with green mould and plethoric of rotting + leaves; an occasional old felt hat; desultory remnants of a flannel shirt; sardine + boxes inhumanly mutilated and a surprising profusion of black bottles distributed + with a truly catholic impartiality, everywhere.</p> + <p>II</p> + <p>The man who had now rediscovered Hurdy-Gurdy was evidently not curious as to its + archæology. Nor, as he looked about him upon the dismal evidences of wasted + work and broken hopes, their dispiriting significance accentuated by the ironical + pomp of a cheap gilding by the rising sun, did he supplement his sigh of weariness + by one of sensibility. He simply removed from the back of his tired burro a miner's + outfit a trifle larger than the animal itself, picketed that creature and selecting + a hatchet from his kit moved off at once across the dry bed of Injun Creek to the + top of a low, gravelly hill beyond.</p> + <p>Stepping across a prostrate fence of brush and boards he picked up one of the + latter, split it into five parts and sharpened them at one end. He then began a + kind of search, occasionally stooping to examine something with close attention. At + last his patient scrutiny appeared to be rewarded with success, for he suddenly + erected his figure to its full height, made a gesture of satisfaction, pronounced + the word "Scarry" and at once strode away with long, equal steps, which he counted. + Then he stopped and drove one of his stakes into the earth. He then looked + carefully about him, measured off a number of paces over a singularly uneven ground + and hammered in another. Pacing off twice the distance at a right angle to his + former course he drove down a third, and repeating the process sank home the + fourth, and then a fifth. This he split at the top and in the cleft inserted an old + letter envelope covered with an intricate system of pencil tracks. In short, he + staked off a hill claim in strict accordance with the local mining laws of + Hurdy-Gurdy and put up the customary notice.</p> + <p>It is necessary to explain that one of the adjuncts to Hurdy-Gurdy—one to + which that metropolis became afterward itself an adjunct—was a cemetery. In + the first week of the camp's existence this had been thoughtfully laid out by a + committee of citizens. The day after had been signalized by a debate between two + members of the committee, with reference to a more eligible site, and on the third + day the necropolis was inaugurated by a double funeral. As the camp had waned the + cemetery had waxed; and long before the ultimate inhabitant, victorious alike over + the insidious malaria and the forthright revolver, had turned the tail of his + pack-ass upon Injun Creek the outlying settlement had become a populous if not + popular suburb. And now, when the town was fallen into the sere and yellow leaf of + an unlovely senility, the graveyard—though somewhat marred by time and + circumstance, and not altogether exempt from innovations in grammar and experiments + in orthography, to say nothing of the devastating coyote—answered the humble + needs of its denizens with reasonable completeness. It comprised a generous two + acres of ground, which with commendable thrift but needless care had been selected + for its mineral unworth, contained two or three skeleton trees (one of which had a + stout lateral branch from which a weather-wasted rope still significantly dangled), + half a hundred gravelly mounds, a score of rude headboards displaying the literary + peculiarities above mentioned and a struggling colony of prickly pears. Altogether, + God's Location, as with characteristic reverence it had been called, could justly + boast of an indubitably superior quality of desolation. It was in the most thickly + settled part of this interesting demesne that Mr. Jefferson Doman staked off his + claim. If in the prosecution of his design he should deem it expedient to remove + any of the dead they would have the right to be suitably reinterred.</p> + <p>III</p> + <p>This Mr. Jefferson Doman was from Elizabethtown, New Jersey, where six years + before he had left his heart in the keeping of a golden-haired, demure-mannered + young woman named Mary Matthews, as collateral security for his return to claim her + hand.</p> + <p>"I just <i>know</i> you'll never get back alive—you never do succeed in + anything," was the remark which illustrated Miss Matthews's notion of what + constituted success and, inferentially, her view of the nature of encouragement. + She added: "If you don't I'll go to California too. I can put the coins in little + bags as you dig them out."</p> + <p>This characteristically feminine theory of auriferous deposits did not commend + itself to the masculine intelligence: it was Mr. Doman's belief that gold was found + in a liquid state. He deprecated her intent with considerable enthusiasm, + suppressed her sobs with a light hand upon her mouth, laughed in her eyes as he + kissed away her tears, and with a cheerful "Ta-ta" went to California to labor for + her through the long, loveless years, with a strong heart, an alert hope and a + steadfast fidelity that never for a moment forgot what it was about. In the mean + time, Miss Matthews had granted a monopoly of her humble talent for sacking up + coins to Mr. Jo. Seeman, of New York, gambler, by whom it was better appreciated + than her commanding genius for unsacking and bestowing them upon his local rivals. + Of this latter aptitude, indeed, he manifested his disapproval by an act which + secured him the position of clerk of the laundry in the State prison, and for her + the <i>sobriquet</i> of "Split-faced Moll." At about this time she wrote to Mr. + Doman a touching letter of renunciation, inclosing her photograph to prove that she + had no longer had a right to indulge the dream of becoming Mrs. Doman, and + recounting so graphically her fall from a horse that the staid "plug" upon which + Mr. Doman had ridden into Red Dog to get the letter made vicarious atonement under + the spur all the way back to camp. The letter failed in a signal way to accomplish + its object; the fidelity which had before been to Mr. Doman a matter of love and + duty was thenceforth a matter of honor also; and the photograph, showing the once + pretty face sadly disfigured as by the slash of a knife, was duly instated in his + affections and its more comely predecessor treated with contumelious neglect. On + being informed of this, Miss Matthews, it is only fair to say, appeared less + surprised than from the apparently low estimate of Mr. Doman's generosity which the + tone of her former letter attested one would naturally have expected her to be. + Soon after, however, her letters grew infrequent, and then ceased altogether.</p> + <p>But Mr. Doman had another correspondent, Mr. Barney Bree, of Hurdy-Gurdy, + formerly of Red Dog. This gentleman, although a notable figure among miners, was + not a miner. His knowledge of mining consisted mainly in a marvelous command of its + slang, to which he made copious contributions, enriching its vocabulary with a + wealth of uncommon phrases more remarkable for their aptness than their refinement, + and which impressed the unlearned "tenderfoot" with a lively sense of the + profundity of their inventor's acquirements. When not entertaining a circle of + admiring auditors from San Francisco or the East he could commonly be found + pursuing the comparatively obscure industry of sweeping out the various dance + houses and purifying the cuspidors.</p> + <p>Barney had apparently but two passions in life—love of Jefferson Doman, + who had once been of some service to him, and love of whisky, which certainly had + not. He had been among the first in the rush to Hurdy-Gurdy, but had not prospered, + and had sunk by degrees to the position of grave digger. This was not a vocation, + but Barney in a desultory way turned his trembling hand to it whenever some local + misunderstanding at the card table and his own partial recovery from a prolonged + debauch occurred coincidently in point of time. One day Mr. Doman received, at Red + Dog, a letter with the simple postmark, "Hurdy, Cal.," and being occupied with + another matter, carelessly thrust it into a chink of his cabin for future perusal. + Some two years later it was accidentally dislodged and he read it. It ran as + follows:—</p> + <p>HURDY, June 6.</p> + <p>FRIEND JEFF: I've hit her hard in the boneyard. She's blind and lousy. I'm on + the divvy—that's me, and mum's my lay till you toot. Yours,</p> + <p>BARNEY.</p> + <p>P.S.—I've clayed her with Scarry.</p> + <p>With some knowledge of the general mining camp <i>argot</i> and of Mr. Bree's + private system for the communication of ideas Mr. Doman had no difficulty in + understanding by this uncommon epistle that Barney while performing his duty as + grave digger had uncovered a quartz ledge with no outcroppings; that it was visibly + rich in free gold; that, moved by considerations of friendship, he was willing to + accept Mr. Doman as a partner and awaiting that gentleman's declaration of his will + in the matter would discreetly keep the discovery a secret. From the postscript it + was plainly inferable that in order to conceal the treasure he had buried above it + the mortal part of a person named Scarry.</p> + <p>From subsequent events, as related to Mr. Doman at Red Dog, it would appear that + before taking this precaution Mr. Bree must have had the thrift to remove a modest + competency of the gold; at any rate, it was at about that time that he entered upon + that memorable series of potations and treatings which is still one of the + cherished traditions of the San Juan Smith country, and is spoken of with respect + as far away as Ghost Rock and Lone Hand. At its conclusion some former citizens of + Hurdy-Gurdy, for whom he had performed the last kindly office at the cemetery, made + room for him among them, and he rested well.</p> + <p>IV</p> + <p>Having finished staking off his claim Mr. Doman walked back to the centre of it + and stood again at the spot where his search among the graves had expired in the + exclamation, "Scarry." He bent again over the headboard that bore that name and as + if to reinforce the senses of sight and hearing ran his forefinger along the rudely + carved letters. Re-erecting himself he appended orally to the simple inscription + the shockingly forthright epitaph, "She was a holy terror!"</p> + <p>Had Mr. Doman been required to make these words good with proof—as, + considering their somewhat censorious character, he doubtless should have + been—he would have found himself embarrassed by the absence of reputable + witnesses, and hearsay evidence would have been the best he could command. At the + time when Scarry had been prevalent in the mining camps thereabout—when, as + the editor of the <i>Hurdy Herald</i> would have phrased it, she was "in the + plenitude of her power"—Mr. Doman's fortunes had been at a low ebb, and he + had led the vagrantly laborious life of a prospector. His time had been mostly + spent in the mountains, now with one companion, now with another. It was from the + admiring recitals of these casual partners, fresh from the various camps, that his + judgment of Scarry had been made up; he himself had never had the doubtful + advantage of her acquaintance and the precarious distinction of her favor. And + when, finally, on the termination of her perverse career at Hurdy-Gurdy he had read + in a chance copy of the <i>Herald</i> her column-long obituary (written by the + local humorist of that lively sheet in the highest style of his art) Doman had paid + to her memory and to her historiographer's genius the tribute of a smile and + chivalrously forgotten her. Standing now at the grave-side of this mountain + Messalina he recalled the leading events of her turbulent career, as he had heard + them celebrated at his several campfires, and perhaps with an unconscious attempt + at self-justification repeated that she was a holy terror, and sank his pick into + her grave up to the handle. At that moment a raven, which had silently settled upon + a branch of the blasted tree above his head, solemnly snapped its beak and uttered + its mind about the matter with an approving croak.</p> + <p>Pursuing his discovery of free gold with great zeal, which he probably credited + to his conscience as a grave digger, Mr. Barney Bree had made an unusually deep + sepulcher, and it was near sunset before Mr. Doman, laboring with the leisurely + deliberation of one who has "a dead sure thing" and no fear of an adverse + claimant's enforcement of a prior right, reached the coffin and uncovered it. When + he had done so he was confronted by a difficulty for which he had made no + provision; the coffin—a mere flat shell of not very well-preserved redwood + boards, apparently—had no handles, and it filled the entire bottom of the + excavation. The best he could do without violating the decent sanctities of the + situation was to make the excavation sufficiently longer to enable him to stand at + the head of the casket and getting his powerful hands underneath erect it upon its + narrower end; and this he proceeded to do. The approach of night quickened his + efforts. He had no thought of abandoning his task at this stage to resume it on the + morrow under more advantageous conditions. The feverish stimulation of cupidity and + the fascination of terror held him to his dismal work with an iron authority. He no + longer idled, but wrought with a terrible zeal. His head uncovered, his outer + garments discarded, his shirt opened at the neck and thrown back from his breast, + down which ran sinuous rills of perspiration, this hardy and impenitent gold-getter + and grave-robber toiled with a giant energy that almost dignified the character of + his horrible purpose; and when the sun fringes had burned themselves out along the + crest line of the western hills, and the full moon had climbed out of the shadows + that lay along the purple plain, he had erected the coffin upon its foot, where it + stood propped against the end of the open grave. Then, standing up to his neck in + the earth at the opposite extreme of the excavation, as he looked at the coffin + upon which the moonlight now fell with a full illumination he was thrilled with a + sudden terror to observe upon it the startling apparition of a dark human + head—the shadow of his own. For a moment this simple and natural circumstance + unnerved him. The noise of his labored breathing frightened him, and he tried to + still it, but his bursting lungs would not be denied. Then, laughing half-audibly + and wholly without spirit, he began making movements of his head from side to side, + in order to compel the apparition to repeat them. He found a comforting reassurance + in asserting his command over his own shadow. He was temporizing, making, with + unconscious prudence, a dilatory opposition to an impending catastrophe. He felt + that invisible forces of evil were closing in upon him, and he parleyed for time + with the Inevitable.</p> + <p>He now observed in succession several unusual circumstances. The surface of the + coffin upon which his eyes were fastened was not flat; it presented two distinct + ridges, one longitudinal and the other transverse. Where these intersected at the + widest part there was a corroded metallic plate that reflected the moonlight with a + dismal lustre. Along the outer edges of the coffin, at long intervals, were + rust-eaten heads of nails. This frail product of the carpenter's art had been put + into the grave the wrong side up!</p> + <p>Perhaps it was one of the humors of the camp—a practical manifestation of + the facetious spirit that had found literary expression in the topsy-turvy obituary + notice from the pen of Hurdy-Gurdy's great humorist. Perhaps it had some occult + personal signification impenetrable to understandings uninstructed in local + traditions. A more charitable hypothesis is that it was owing to a misadventure on + the part of Mr. Barney Bree, who, making the interment unassisted (either by choice + for the conservation of his golden secret, or through public apathy), had committed + a blunder which he was afterward unable or unconcerned to rectify. However it had + come about, poor Scarry had indubitably been put into the earth face downward.</p> + <p>When terror and absurdity make alliance, the effect is frightful. This + strong-hearted and daring man, this hardy night worker among the dead, this defiant + antagonist of darkness and desolation, succumbed to a ridiculous surprise. He was + smitten with a thrilling chill—shivered, and shook his massive shoulders as + if to throw off an icy hand. He no longer breathed, and the blood in his veins, + unable to abate its impetus, surged hotly beneath his cold skin. Unleavened with + oxygen, it mounted to his head and congested his brain. His physical functions had + gone over to the enemy; his very heart was arrayed against him. He did not move; he + could not have cried out. He needed but a coffin to be dead—as dead as the + death that confronted him with only the length of an open grave and the thickness + of a rotting plank between.</p> + <p>Then, one by one, his senses returned; the tide of terror that had overwhelmed + his faculties began to recede. But with the return of his senses he became + singularly unconscious of the object of his fear. He saw the moonlight gilding the + coffin, but no longer the coffin that it gilded. Raising his eyes and turning his + head, he noted, curiously and with surprise, the black branches of the dead tree, + and tried to estimate the length of the weather-worn rope that dangled from its + ghostly hand. The monotonous barking of distant coyotes affected him as something + he had heard years ago in a dream. An owl flapped awkwardly above him on noiseless + wings, and he tried to forecast the direction of its flight when it should + encounter the cliff that reared its illuminated front a mile away. His hearing took + account of a gopher's stealthy tread in the shadow of the cactus. He was intensely + observant; his senses were all alert; but he saw not the coffin. As one can gaze at + the sun until it looks black and then vanishes, so his mind, having exhausted its + capacities of dread, was no longer conscious of the separate existence of anything + dreadful. The Assassin was cloaking the sword.</p> + <p>It was during this lull in the battle that he became sensible of a faint, + sickening odor. At first he thought it was that of a rattle-snake, and + involuntarily tried to look about his feet. They were nearly invisible in the gloom + of the grave. A hoarse, gurgling sound, like the death-rattle in a human throat, + seemed to come out of the sky, and a moment later a great, black, angular shadow, + like the same sound made visible, dropped curving from the topmost branch of the + spectral tree, fluttered for an instant before his face and sailed fiercely away + into the mist along the creek.</p> + <p>It was the raven. The incident recalled him to a sense of the situation, and + again his eyes sought the upright coffin, now illuminated by the moon for half its + length. He saw the gleam of the metallic plate and tried without moving to decipher + the inscription. Then he fell to speculating upon what was behind it. His creative + imagination presented him a vivid picture. The planks no longer seemed an obstacle + to his vision and he saw the livid corpse of the dead woman, standing in + grave-clothes, and staring vacantly at him, with lidless, shrunken eyes. The lower + jaw was fallen, the upper lip drawn away from the uncovered teeth. He could make + out a mottled pattern on the hollow cheeks—the maculations of decay. By some + mysterious process his mind reverted for the first time that day to the photograph + of Mary Matthews. He contrasted its blonde beauty with the forbidding aspect of + this dead face—the most beloved object that he knew with the most hideous + that he could conceive.</p> + <p>The Assassin now advanced and displaying the blade laid it against the victim's + throat. That is to say, the man became at first dimly, then definitely, aware of an + impressive coincidence—a relation—a parallel between the face on the + card and the name on the headboard. The one was disfigured, the other described a + disfiguration. The thought took hold of him and shook him. It transformed the face + that his imagination had created behind the coffin lid; the contrast became a + resemblance; the resemblance grew to identity. Remembering the many descriptions of + Scarry's personal appearance that he had heard from the gossips of his camp-fire he + tried with imperfect success to recall the exact nature of the disfiguration that + had given the woman her ugly name; and what was lacking in his memory fancy + supplied, stamping it with the validity of conviction. In the maddening attempt to + recall such scraps of the woman's history as he had heard, the muscles of his arms + and hands were strained to a painful tension, as by an effort to lift a great + weight. His body writhed and twisted with the exertion. The tendons of his neck + stood out as tense as whip-cords, and his breath came in short, sharp gasps. The + catastrophe could not be much longer delayed, or the agony of anticipation would + leave nothing to be done by the <i>coup de grâce</i> of verification. The + scarred face behind the lid would slay him through the wood.</p> + <p>A movement of the coffin diverted his thought. It came forward to within a foot + of his face, growing visibly larger as it approached. The rusted metallic plate, + with an inscription illegible in the moonlight, looked him steadily in the eye. + Determined not to shrink, he tried to brace his shoulders more firmly against the + end of the excavation, and nearly fell backward in the attempt. There was nothing + to support him; he had unconsciously moved upon his enemy, clutching the heavy + knife that he had drawn from his belt. The coffin had not advanced and he smiled to + think it could not retreat. Lifting his knife he struck the heavy hilt against the + metal plate with all his power. There was a sharp, ringing percussion, and with a + dull clatter the whole decayed coffin lid broke in pieces and came away, falling + about his feet. The quick and the dead were face to face—the frenzied, + shrieking man—the woman standing tranquil in her silences. She was a holy + terror!</p> + <p>V</p> + <p>Some months later a party of men and women belonging to the highest social + circles of San Francisco passed through Hurdy-Gurdy on their way to the Yosemite + Valley by a new trail. They halted for dinner and during its preparation explored + the desolate camp. One of the party had been at Hurdy-Gurdy in the days of its + glory. He had, indeed, been one of its prominent citizens; and it used to be said + that more money passed over his faro table in any one night than over those of all + his competitors in a week; but being now a millionaire engaged in greater + enterprises, he did not deem these early successes of sufficient importance to + merit the distinction of remark. His invalid wife, a lady famous in San Francisco + for the costly nature of her entertainments and her exacting rigor with regard to + the social position and "antecedents" of those who attended them, accompanied the + expedition. During a stroll among the shanties of the abandoned camp Mr. Porfer + directed the attention of his wife and friends to a dead tree on a low hill beyond + Injun Creek.</p> + <p>"As I told you," he said, "I passed through this camp in 1852, and was told that + no fewer than five men had been hanged here by vigilantes at different times, and + all on that tree. If I am not mistaken, a rope is dangling from it yet. Let us go + over and see the place."</p> + <p>Mr. Porfer did not add that the rope in question was perhaps the very one from + whose fatal embrace his own neck had once had an escape so narrow that an hour's + delay in taking himself out of that region would have spanned it.</p> + <p>Proceeding leisurely down the creek to a convenient crossing, the party came + upon the cleanly picked skeleton of an animal which Mr. Porfer after due + examination pronounced to be that of an ass. The distinguishing ears were gone, but + much of the inedible head had been spared by the beasts and birds, and the stout + bridle of horsehair was intact, as was the riata, of similar material, connecting + it with a picket pin still firmly sunken in the earth. The wooden and metallic + elements of a miner's kit lay near by. The customary remarks were made, cynical on + the part of the men, sentimental and refined by the lady. A little later they stood + by the tree in the cemetery and Mr. Porfer sufficiently unbent from his dignity to + place himself beneath the rotten rope and confidently lay a coil of it about his + neck, somewhat, it appeared, to his own satisfaction, but greatly to the horror of + his wife, to whose sensibilities the performance gave a smart shock.</p> + <p>An exclamation from one of the party gathered them all about an open grave, at + the bottom of which they saw a confused mass of human bones and the broken remnants + of a coffin. Coyotes and buzzards had performed the last sad rites for pretty much + all else. Two skulls were visible and in order to investigate this somewhat unusual + redundancy one of the younger men had the hardihood to spring into the grave and + hand them up to another before Mrs. Porfer could indicate her marked disapproval of + so shocking an act, which, nevertheless, she did with considerable feeling and in + very choice words. Pursuing his search among the dismal debris at the bottom of the + grave the young man next handed up a rusted coffin plate, with a rudely cut + inscription, which with difficulty Mr. Porfer deciphered and read aloud with an + earnest and not altogether unsuccessful attempt at the dramatic effect which he + deemed befitting to the occasion and his rhetorical abilities:</p> + <p class="i2">MANUELITA MURPHY. Born at the Mission San Pedro—Died in + Hurdy-Gurdy, Aged 47. Hell's full of such.</p> + <p>In deference to the piety of the reader and the nerves of Mrs. Porfer's + fastidious sisterhood of both sexes let us not touch upon the painful impression + produced by this uncommon inscription, further than to say that the elocutionary + powers of Mr. Porfer had never before met with so spontaneous and overwhelming + recognition.</p> + <p>The next morsel that rewarded the ghoul in the grave was a long tangle of black + hair defiled with clay: but this was such an anti-climax that it received little + attention. Suddenly, with a short exclamation and a gesture of excitement, the + young man unearthed a fragment of grayish rock, and after a hurried inspection + handed it up to Mr. Porfer. As the sunlight fell upon it it glittered with a yellow + luster—it was thickly studded with gleaming points. Mr. Porfer snatched it, + bent his head over it a moment and threw it lightly away with the simple + remark:</p> + <p>"Iron pyrites—fool's gold."</p> + <p>The young man in the discovery shaft was a trifle disconcerted, apparently.</p> + <p>Meanwhile, Mrs. Porfer, unable longer to endure the disagreeable business, had + walked back to the tree and seated herself at its root. While rearranging a tress + of golden hair which had slipped from its confinement she was attracted by what + appeared to be and really was the fragment of an old coat. Looking about to assure + herself that so unladylike an act was not observed, she thrust her jeweled hand + into the exposed breast pocket and drew out a mouldy pocket-book. Its contents were + as follows:</p> + <p>One bundle of letters, postmarked "Elizabethtown, New Jersey."</p> + <p>One circle of blonde hair tied with a ribbon.</p> + <p>One photograph of a beautiful girl.</p> + <p>One ditto of same, singularly disfigured.</p> + <p>One name on back of photograph—"Jefferson Doman."</p> + <p>A few moments later a group of anxious gentlemen surrounded Mrs. Porfer as she + sat motionless at the foot of the tree, her head dropped forward, her fingers + clutching a crushed photograph. Her husband raised her head, exposing a face + ghastly white, except the long, deforming cicatrice, familiar to all her friends, + which no art could ever hide, and which now traversed the pallor of her countenance + like a visible curse.</p> + <p>Mary Matthews Porfer had the bad luck to be dead.</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h4><a id="page350" name="page350"></a>THE SUITABLE SURROUNDINGS</h4> + <p>THE NIGHT</p> + <p>One midsummer night a farmer's boy living about ten miles from the city of + Cincinnati was following a bridle path through a dense and dark forest. He had lost + himself while searching for some missing cows, and near midnight was a long way + from home, in a part of the country with which he was unfamiliar. But he was a + stout-hearted lad, and knowing his general direction from his home, he plunged into + the forest without hesitation, guided by the stars. Coming into the bridle path, + and observing that it ran in the right direction, he followed it.</p> + <p>The night was clear, but in the woods it was exceedingly dark. It was more by + the sense of touch than by that of sight that the lad kept the path. He could not, + indeed, very easily go astray; the undergrowth on both sides was so thick as to be + almost impenetrable. He had gone into the forest a mile or more when he was + surprised to see a feeble gleam of light shining through the foliage skirting the + path on his left. The sight of it startled him and set his heart beating + audibly.</p> + <p>"The old Breede house is somewhere about here," he said to himself. "This must + be the other end of the path which we reach it by from our side. Ugh! what should a + light be doing there?"</p> + <p>Nevertheless, he pushed on. A moment later he had emerged from the forest into a + small, open space, mostly upgrown to brambles. There were remnants of a rotting + fence. A few yards from the trail, in the middle of the "clearing," was the house + from which the light came, through an unglazed window. The window had once + contained glass, but that and its supporting frame had long ago yielded to missiles + flung by hands of venturesome boys to attest alike their courage and their + hostility to the supernatural; for the Breede house bore the evil reputation of + being haunted. Possibly it was not, but even the hardiest sceptic could not deny + that it was deserted—which in rural regions is much the same thing.</p> + <p>Looking at the mysterious dim light shining from the ruined window the boy + remembered with apprehension that his own hand had assisted at the destruction. His + penitence was of course poignant in proportion to its tardiness and inefficacy. He + half expected to be set upon by all the unworldly and bodiless malevolences whom he + had outraged by assisting to break alike their windows and their peace. Yet this + stubborn lad, shaking in every limb, would not retreat. The blood in his veins was + strong and rich with the iron of the frontiersman. He was but two removes from the + generation that had subdued the Indian. He started to pass the house.</p> + <p>As he was going by he looked in at the blank window space and saw a strange and + terrifying sight,—the figure of a man seated in the centre of the room, at a + table upon which lay some loose sheets of paper. The elbows rested on the table, + the hands supporting the head, which was uncovered. On each side the fingers were + pushed into the hair. The face showed dead-yellow in the light of a single candle a + little to one side. The flame illuminated that side of the face, the other was in + deep shadow. The man's eyes were fixed upon the blank window space with a stare in + which an older and cooler observer might have discerned something of apprehension, + but which seemed to the lad altogether soulless. He believed the man to be + dead.</p> + <p>The situation was horrible, but not with out its fascination. The boy stopped to + note it all. He was weak, faint and trembling; he could feel the blood forsaking + his face. Nevertheless, he set his teeth and resolutely advanced to the house. He + had no conscious intention—it was the mere courage of terror. He thrust his + white face forward into the illuminated opening. At that instant a strange, harsh + cry, a shriek, broke upon the silence of the night—the note of a screech-owl. + The man sprang to his feet, overturning the table and extinguishing the candle. The + boy took to his heels.</p> + <p>THE DAY BEFORE</p> + <p>"Good-morning, Colston. I am in luck, it seems. You have often said that my + commendation of your literary work was mere civility, and here you find me + absorbed—actually merged—in your latest story in the <i>Messenger</i>. + Nothing less shocking than your touch upon my shoulder would have roused me to + consciousness."</p> + <p>"The proof is stronger than you seem to know," replied the man addressed: "so + keen is your eagerness to read my story that you are willing to renounce selfish + considerations and forego all the pleasure that you could get from it."</p> + <p>"I don't understand you," said the other, folding the newspaper that he held and + putting it into his pocket. "You writers are a queer lot, anyhow. Come, tell me + what I have done or omitted in this matter. In what way does the pleasure that I + get, or might get, from your work depend on me?"</p> + <p>"In many ways. Let me ask you how you would enjoy your breakfast if you took it + in this street car. Suppose the phonograph so perfected as to be able to give you + an entire opera,—singing, orchestration, and all; do you think you would get + much pleasure out of it if you turned it on at your office during business hours? + Do you really care for a serenade by Schubert when you hear it fiddled by an + untimely Italian on a morning ferryboat? Are you always cocked and primed for + enjoyment? Do you keep every mood on tap, ready to any demand? Let me remind you, + sir, that the story which you have done me the honor to begin as a means of + becoming oblivious to the discomfort of this car is a ghost story!"</p> + <p>"Well?"</p> + <p>"Well! Has the reader no duties corresponding to his privileges? You have paid + five cents for that newspaper. It is yours. You have the right to read it when and + where you will. Much of what is in it is neither helped nor harmed by time and + place and mood; some of it actually requires to be read at once—while it is + fizzing. But my story is not of that character. It is not 'the very latest advices' + from Ghostland. You are not expected to keep yourself <i>au courant</i> with what + is going on in the realm of spooks. The stuff will keep until you have leisure to + put yourself into the frame of mind appropriate to the sentiment of the + piece—which I respectfully submit that you cannot do in a street car, even if + you are the only passenger. The solitude is not of the right sort. An author has + rights which the reader is bound to respect."</p> + <p>"For specific example?"</p> + <p>"The right to the reader's undivided attention. To deny him this is immoral. To + make him share your attention with the rattle of a street car, the moving panorama + of the crowds on the sidewalks, and the buildings beyond—with any of the + thousands of distractions which make our customary environment—is to treat + him with gross injustice. By God, it is infamous!"</p> + <p>The speaker had risen to his feet and was steadying himself by one of the straps + hanging from the roof of the car. The other man looked up at him in sudden + astonishment, wondering how so trivial a grievance could seem to justify so strong + language. He saw that his friend's face was uncommonly pale and that his eyes + glowed like living coals.</p> + <p>"You know what I mean," continued the writer, impetuously crowding his + words—"you know what I mean, Marsh. My stuff in this morning's + <i>Messenger</i> is plainly sub-headed 'A Ghost Story.' That is ample notice to + all. Every honorable reader will understand it as prescribing by implication the + conditions under which the work is to be read."</p> + <p>The man addressed as Marsh winced a trifle, then asked with a smile: "What + conditions? You know that I am only a plain business man who cannot be supposed to + understand such things. How, when, where should I read your ghost story?"</p> + <p>"In solitude—at night—by the light of a candle. There are certain + emotions which a writer can easily enough excite—such as compassion or + merriment. I can move you to tears or laughter under almost any circumstances. But + for my ghost story to be effective you must be made to feel fear—at least a + strong sense of the supernatural—and that is a difficult matter. I have a + right to expect that if you read me at all you will give me a chance; that you will + make yourself accessible to the emotion that I try to inspire."</p> + <p>The car had now arrived at its terminus and stopped. The trip just completed was + its first for the day and the conversation of the two early passengers had not been + interrupted. The streets were yet silent and desolate; the house tops were just + touched by the rising sun. As they stepped from the car and walked away together + Marsh narrowly eyed his companion, who was reported, like most men of uncommon + literary ability, to be addicted to various destructive vices. That is the revenge + which dull minds take upon bright ones in resentment of their superiority. Mr. + Colston was known as a man of genius. There are honest souls who believe that + genius is a mode of excess. It was known that Colston did not drink liquor, but + many said that he ate opium. Something in his appearance that morning—a + certain wildness of the eyes, an unusual pallor, a thickness and rapidity of + speech—were taken by Mr. Marsh to confirm the report. Nevertheless, he had + not the self-denial to abandon a subject which he found interesting, however it + might excite his friend.</p> + <p>"Do you mean to say," he began, "that if I take the trouble to observe your + directions—place myself in the conditions that you demand: solitude, night + and a tallow candle—you can with your ghostly work give me an uncomfortable + sense of the supernatural, as you call it? Can you accelerate my pulse, make me + start at sudden noises, send a nervous chill along my spine and cause my hair to + rise?"</p> + <p>Colston turned suddenly and looked him squarely in the eyes as they walked. "You + would not dare—you have not the courage," he said. He emphasized the words + with a contemptuous gesture. "You are brave enough to read me in a street car, + but—in a deserted house—alone—in the forest—at night! Bah! + I have a manuscript in my pocket that would kill you."</p> + <p>Marsh was angry. He knew himself courageous, and the words stung him. "If you + know such a place," he said, "take me there to-night and leave me your story and a + candle. Call for me when I've had time enough to read it and I'll tell you the + entire plot and—kick you out of the place."</p> + <p>That is how it occurred that the farmer's boy, looking in at an unglazed window + of the Breede house, saw a man sitting in the light of a candle.</p> + <p>THE DAY AFTER</p> + <p>Late in the afternoon of the next day three men and a boy approached the Breede + house from that point of the compass toward which the boy had fled the preceding + night. The men were in high spirits; they talked very loudly and laughed. They made + facetious and good-humored ironical remarks to the boy about his adventure, which + evidently they did not believe in. The boy accepted their raillery with + seriousness, making no reply. He had a sense of the fitness of things and knew that + one who professes to have seen a dead man rise from his seat and blow out a candle + is not a credible witness.</p> + <p>Arriving at the house and finding the door unlocked, the party of investigators + entered without ceremony. Leading out of the passage into which this door opened + was another on the right and one on the left. They entered the room on the + left—the one which had the blank front window. Here was the dead body of a + man.</p> + <p>It lay partly on one side, with the forearm beneath it, the cheek on the floor. + The eyes were wide open; the stare was not an agreeable thing to encounter. The + lower jaw had fallen; a little pool of saliva had collected beneath the mouth. An + overthrown table, a partly burned candle, a chair and some paper with writing on it + were all else that the room contained. The men looked at the body, touching the + face in turn. The boy gravely stood at the head, assuming a look of ownership. It + was the proudest moment of his life. One of the men said to him, "You're a good + 'un"—a remark which was received by the two others with nods of acquiescence. + It was Scepticism apologizing to Truth. Then one of the men took from the floor the + sheet of manuscript and stepped to the window, for already the evening shadows were + glooming the forest. The song of the whip-poor-will was heard in the distance and a + monstrous beetle sped by the window on roaring wings and thundered away out of + hearing. The man read:</p> + <p>THE MANUSCRIPT</p> + <p>"Before committing the act which, rightly or wrongly, I have resolved on and + appearing before my Maker for judgment, I, James R. Colston, deem it my duty as a + journalist to make a statement to the public. My name is, I believe, tolerably well + known to the people as a writer of tragic tales, but the somberest imagination + never conceived anything so tragic as my own life and history. Not in incident: my + life has been destitute of adventure and action. But my mental career has been + lurid with experiences such as kill and damn. I shall not recount them + here—some of them are written and ready for publication elsewhere. The object + of these lines is to explain to whomsoever may be interested that my death is + voluntary—my own act. I shall die at twelve o'clock on the night of the 15th + of July—a significant anniversary to me, for it was on that day, and at that + hour, that my friend in time and eternity, Charles Breede, performed his vow to me + by the same act which his fidelity to our pledge now entails upon me. He took his + life in his little house in the Copeton woods. There was the customary verdict of + 'temporary insanity.' Had I testified at that inquest—had I told all I knew, + they would have called <i>me</i> mad!"</p> + <p>Here followed an evidently long passage which the man reading read to himself + only. The rest he read aloud.</p> + <p>"I have still a week of life in which to arrange my worldly affairs and prepare + for the great change. It is enough, for I have but few affairs and it is now four + years since death became an imperative obligation.</p> + <p>"I shall bear this writing on my body; the finder will please hand it to the + coroner.</p> + <p>"JAMES R. COLSTON.</p> + <p>"P.S.—Willard Marsh, on this the fatal fifteenth day of July I hand you + this manuscript, to be opened and read under the conditions agreed upon, and at the + place which I designated. I forego my intention to keep it on my body to explain + the manner of my death, which is not important. It will serve to explain the manner + of yours. I am to call for you during the night to receive assurance that you have + read the manuscript. You know me well enough to expect me. But, my friend, it + <i>will be after twelve o'clock.</i> May God have mercy on our souls!</p> + <p>"J.R.C."</p> + <p>Before the man who was reading this manuscript had finished, the candle had been + picked up and lighted. When the reader had done, he quietly thrust the paper + against the flame and despite the protestations of the others held it until it was + burnt to ashes. The man who did this, and who afterward placidly endured a severe + reprimand from the coroner, was a son-in-law of the late Charles Breede. At the + inquest nothing could elicit an intelligent account of what the paper had + contained.</p> + <p>FROM "THE TIMES"</p> + <blockquote> + "Yesterday the Commissioners of Lunacy committed to the asylum Mr. James R. + Colston, a writer of some local reputation, connected with the <i>Messenger</i>. + It will be remembered that on the evening of the 15th inst. Mr. Colston was given + into custody by one of his fellow-lodgers in the Baine House, who had observed + him acting very suspiciously, baring his throat and whetting a + razor—occasionally trying its edge by actually cutting through the skin of + his arm, etc. On being handed over to the police, the unfortunate man made a + desperate resistance, and has ever since been so violent that it has been + necessary to keep him in a strait-jacket. Most of our esteemed contemporary's + other writers are still at large." + </blockquote> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h4><a id="page364" name="page364"></a>THE BOARDED WINDOW</h4> + <p>In 1830, only a few miles away from what is now the great city of Cincinnati, + lay an immense and almost unbroken forest. The whole region was sparsely settled by + people of the frontier—restless souls who no sooner had hewn fairly habitable + homes out of the wilderness and attained to that degree of prosperity which to-day + we should call indigence than impelled by some mysterious impulse of their nature + they abandoned all and pushed farther westward, to encounter new perils and + privations in the effort to regain the meagre comforts which they had voluntarily + renounced. Many of them had already forsaken that region for the remoter + settlements, but among those remaining was one who had been of those first + arriving. He lived alone in a house of logs surrounded on all sides by the great + forest, of whose gloom and silence he seemed a part, for no one had ever known him + to smile nor speak a needless word. His simple wants were supplied by the sale or + barter of skins of wild animals in the river town, for not a thing did he grow upon + the land which, if needful, he might have claimed by right of undisturbed + possession. There were evidences of "improvement"—a few acres of ground + immediately about the house had once been cleared of its trees, the decayed stumps + of which were half concealed by the new growth that had been suffered to repair the + ravage wrought by the ax. Apparently the man's zeal for agriculture had burned with + a failing flame, expiring in penitential ashes.</p> + <p>The little log house, with its chimney of sticks, its roof of warping clapboards + weighted with traversing poles and its "chinking" of clay, had a single door and, + directly opposite, a window. The latter, however, was boarded up—nobody could + remember a time when it was not. And none knew why it was so closed; certainly not + because of the occupant's dislike of light and air, for on those rare occasions + when a hunter had passed that lonely spot the recluse had commonly been seen + sunning himself on his doorstep if heaven had provided sunshine for his need. I + fancy there are few persons living to-day who ever knew the secret of that window, + but I am one, as you shall see.</p> + <p>The man's name was said to be Murlock. He was apparently seventy years old, + actually about fifty. Something besides years had had a hand in his aging. His hair + and long, full beard were white, his gray, lustreless eyes sunken, his face + singularly seamed with wrinkles which appeared to belong to two intersecting + systems. In figure he was tall and spare, with a stoop of the shoulders—a + burden bearer. I never saw him; these particulars I learned from my grandfather, + from whom also I got the man's story when I was a lad. He had known him when living + near by in that early day.</p> + <p>One day Murlock was found in his cabin, dead. It was not a time and place for + coroners and newspapers, and I suppose it was agreed that he had died from natural + causes or I should have been told, and should remember. I know only that with what + was probably a sense of the fitness of things the body was buried near the cabin, + alongside the grave of his wife, who had preceded him by so many years that local + tradition had retained hardly a hint of her existence. That closes the final + chapter of this true story—excepting, indeed, the circumstance that many + years afterward, in company with an equally intrepid spirit, I penetrated to the + place and ventured near enough to the ruined cabin to throw a stone against it, and + ran away to avoid the ghost which every well-informed boy thereabout knew haunted + the spot. But there is an earlier chapter—that supplied by my + grandfather.</p> + <p>When Murlock built his cabin and began laying sturdily about with his ax to hew + out a farm—the rifle, meanwhile, his means of support—he was young, + strong and full of hope. In that eastern country whence he came he had married, as + was the fashion, a young woman in all ways worthy of his honest devotion, who + shared the dangers and privations of his lot with a willing spirit and light heart. + There is no known record of her name; of her charms of mind and person tradition is + silent and the doubter is at liberty to entertain his doubt; but God forbid that I + should share it! Of their affection and happiness there is abundant assurance in + every added day of the man's widowed life; for what but the magnetism of a blessed + memory could have chained that venturesome spirit to a lot like that?</p> + <p>One day Murlock returned from gunning in a distant part of the forest to find + his wife prostrate with fever, and delirious. There was no physician within miles, + no neighbor; nor was she in a condition to be left, to summon help. So he set about + the task of nursing her back to health, but at the end of the third day she fell + into unconsciousness and so passed away, apparently, with never a gleam of + returning reason.</p> + <p>From what we know of a nature like his we may venture to sketch in some of the + details of the outline picture drawn by my grandfather. When convinced that she was + dead, Murlock had sense enough to remember that the dead must be prepared for + burial. In performance of this sacred duty he blundered now and again, did certain + things incorrectly, and others which he did correctly were done over and over. His + occasional failures to accomplish some simple and ordinary act filled him with + astonishment, like that of a drunken man who wonders at the suspension of familiar + natural laws. He was surprised, too, that he did not weep—surprised and a + little ashamed; surely it is unkind not to weep for the dead. "To-morrow," he said + aloud, "I shall have to make the coffin and dig the grave; and then I shall miss + her, when she is no longer in sight; but now—she is dead, of course, but it + is all right—it <i>must</i> be all right, somehow. Things cannot be so bad as + they seem."</p> + <p>He stood over the body in the fading light, adjusting the hair and putting the + finishing touches to the simple toilet, doing all mechanically, with soulless care. + And still through his consciousness ran an undersense of conviction that all was + right—that he should have her again as before, and everything explained. He + had had no experience in grief; his capacity had not been enlarged by use. His + heart could not contain it all, nor his imagination rightly conceive it. He did not + know he was so hard struck; <i>that</i> knowledge would come later, and never go. + Grief is an artist of powers as various as the instruments upon which he plays his + dirges for the dead, evoking from some the sharpest, shrillest notes, from others + the low, grave chords that throb recurrent like the slow beating of a distant drum. + Some natures it startles; some it stupefies. To one it comes like the stroke of an + arrow, stinging all the sensibilities to a keener life; to another as the blow of a + bludgeon, which in crushing benumbs. We may conceive Murlock to have been that way + affected, for (and here we are upon surer ground than that of conjecture) no sooner + had he finished his pious work than, sinking into a chair by the side of the table + upon which the body lay, and noting how white the profile showed in the deepening + gloom, he laid his arms upon the table's edge, and dropped his face into them, + tearless yet and unutterably weary. At that moment came in through the open window + a long, wailing sound like the cry of a lost child in the far deeps of the + darkening wood! But the man did not move. Again, and nearer than before, sounded + that unearthly cry upon his failing sense. Perhaps it was a wild beast; perhaps it + was a dream. For Murlock was asleep.</p> + <p>Some hours later, as it afterward appeared, this unfaithful watcher awoke and + lifting his head from his arms intently listened—he knew not why. There in + the black darkness by the side of the dead, recalling all without a shock, he + strained his eyes to see—he knew not what. His senses were all alert, his + breath was suspended, his blood had stilled its tides as if to assist the silence. + Who—what had waked him, and where was it?</p> + <p>Suddenly the table shook beneath his arms, and at the same moment he heard, or + fancied that he heard, a light, soft step—another—sounds as of bare + feet upon the floor!</p> + <p>He was terrified beyond the power to cry out or move. Perforce he + waited—waited there in the darkness through seeming centuries of such dread + as one may know, yet live to tell. He tried vainly to speak the dead woman's name, + vainly to stretch forth his hand across the table to learn if she were there. His + throat was powerless, his arms and hands were like lead. Then occurred something + most frightful. Some heavy body seemed hurled against the table with an impetus + that pushed it against his breast so sharply as nearly to overthrow him, and at the + same instant he heard and felt the fall of something upon the floor with so violent + a thump that the whole house was shaken by the impact. A scuffling ensued, and a + confusion of sounds impossible to describe. Murlock had risen to his feet. Fear had + by excess forfeited control of his faculties. He flung his hands upon the table. + Nothing was there!</p> + <p>There is a point at which terror may turn to madness; and madness incites to + action. With no definite intent, from no motive but the wayward impulse of a + madman, Murlock sprang to the wall, with a little groping seized his loaded rifle, + and without aim discharged it. By the flash which lit up the room with a vivid + illumination, he saw an enormous panther dragging the dead woman toward the window, + its teeth fixed in her throat! Then there were darkness blacker than before, and + silence; and when he returned to consciousness the sun was high and the wood vocal + with songs of birds.</p> + <p>The body lay near the window, where the beast had left it when frightened away + by the flash and report of the rifle. The clothing was deranged, the long hair in + disorder, the limbs lay anyhow. From the throat, dreadfully lacerated, had issued a + pool of blood not yet entirely coagulated. The ribbon with which he had bound the + wrists was broken; the hands were tightly clenched. Between the teeth was a + fragment of the animal's ear.</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h4><a id="page373" name="page373"></a>A LADY FROM REDHORSE</h4> + <p>CORONADO, JUNE 20.</p> + <p>I find myself more and more interested in him. It is not, I am sure, + his—do you know any good noun corresponding to the adjective "handsome"? One + does not like to say "beauty" when speaking of a man. He is beautiful enough, + Heaven knows; I should not even care to trust you with him—faithfulest of all + possible wives that you are—when he looks his best, as he always does. Nor do + I think the fascination of his manner has much to do with it. You recollect that + the charm of art inheres in that which is undefinable, and to you and me, my dear + Irene, I fancy there is rather less of that in the branch of art under + consideration than to girls in their first season. I fancy I know how my fine + gentleman produces many of his effects and could perhaps give him a pointer on + heightening them. Nevertheless, his manner is something truly delightful. I suppose + what interests me chiefly is the man's brains. His conversation is the best I have + ever heard and altogether unlike any one else's. He seems to know everything, as + indeed he ought, for he has been everywhere, read everything, seen all there is to + see—sometimes I think rather more than is good for him—and had + acquaintance with the <i>queerest</i> people. And then his voice—Irene, when + I hear it I actually feel as if I ought to have paid at the door, though of course + it is my own door.</p> + <p>JULY 3.</p> + <p>I fear my remarks about Dr. Barritz must have been, being thoughtless, very + silly, or you would not have written of him with such levity, not to say + disrespect. Believe me, dearest, he has more dignity and seriousness (of the kind, + I mean, which is not inconsistent with a manner sometimes playful and always + charming) than any of the men that you and I ever met. And young Raynor—you + knew Raynor at Monterey—tells me that the men all like him and that he is + treated with something like deference everywhere. There is a mystery, + too—something about his connection with the Blavatsky people in Northern + India. Raynor either would not or could not tell me the particulars. I infer that + Dr. Barritz is thought—don't you dare to laugh!—a magician. Could + anything be finer than that?</p> + <p>An ordinary mystery is not, of course, so good as a scandal, but when it relates + to dark and dreadful practices—to the exercise of unearthly + powers—could anything be more piquant? It explains, too, the singular + influence the man has upon me. It is the undefinable in his art—black art. + Seriously, dear, I quite tremble when he looks me full in the eyes with those + unfathomable orbs of his, which I have already vainly attempted to describe to you. + How dreadful if he has the power to make one fall in love! Do you know if the + Blavatsky crowd have that power—outside of Sepoy?</p> + <p class="i10">JULY 16.</p> + <p>The strangest thing! Last evening while Auntie was attending one of the hotel + hops (I hate them) Dr. Barritz called. It was scandalously late—I actually + believe that he had talked with Auntie in the ballroom and learned from her that I + was alone. I had been all the evening contriving how to worm out of him the truth + about his connection with the Thugs in Sepoy, and all of that black business, but + the moment he fixed his eyes on me (for I admitted him, I'm ashamed to say) I was + helpless. I trembled, I blushed, I—O Irene, Irene, I love the man beyond + expression and you know how it is yourself.</p> + <p>Fancy! I, an ugly duckling from Redhorse—daughter (they say) of old + Calamity Jim—certainly his heiress, with no living relation but an absurd old + aunt who spoils me a thousand and fifty ways—absolutely destitute of + everything but a million dollars and a hope in Paris,—I daring to love a god + like him! My dear, if I had you here I could tear your hair out with + mortification.</p> + <p>I am convinced that he is aware of my feeling, for he stayed but a few moments, + said nothing but what another man might have said half as well, and pretending that + he had an engagement went away. I learned to-day (a little bird told me—the + bell-bird) that he went straight to bed. How does that strike you as evidence of + exemplary habits?</p> + <p>JULY 17.</p> + <p>That little wretch, Raynor, called yesterday and his babble set me almost wild. + He never runs down—that is to say, when he exterminates a score of + reputations, more or less, he does not pause between one reputation and the next. + (By the way, he inquired about you, and his manifestations of interest in you had, + I confess, a good deal of <i>vraisemblance.</i>.) Mr. Raynor observes no game laws; + like Death (which he would inflict if slander were fatal) he has all seasons for + his own. But I like him, for we knew each other at Redhorse when we were young. He + was known in those days as "Giggles," and I—O Irene, can you ever forgive + me?—I was called "Gunny." God knows why; perhaps in allusion to the material + of my pinafores; perhaps because the name is in alliteration with "Giggles," for + Gig and I were inseparable playmates, and the miners may have thought it a delicate + civility to recognize some kind of relationship between us.</p> + <p>Later, we took in a third—another of Adversity's brood, who, like Garrick + between Tragedy and Comedy, had a chronic inability to adjudicate the rival claims + of Frost and Famine. Between him and misery there was seldom anything more than a + single suspender and the hope of a meal which would at the same time support life + and make it insupportable. He literally picked up a precarious living for himself + and an aged mother by "chloriding the dumps," that is to say, the miners permitted + him to search the heaps of waste rock for such pieces of "pay ore" as had been + overlooked; and these he sacked up and sold at the Syndicate Mill. He became a + member of our firm—"Gunny, Giggles, and Dumps" thenceforth—through my + favor; for I could not then, nor can I now, be indifferent to his courage and + prowess in defending against Giggles the immemorial right of his sex to insult a + strange and unprotected female—myself. After old Jim struck it in the + Calamity and I began to wear shoes and go to school, and in emulation Giggles took + to washing his face and became Jack Raynor, of Wells, Fargo & Co., and old Mrs. + Barts was herself chlorided to her fathers, Dumps drifted over to San Juan Smith + and turned stage driver, and was killed by road agents, and so forth.</p> + <p>Why do I tell you all this, dear? Because it is heavy on my heart. Because I + walk the Valley of Humility. Because I am subduing myself to permanent + consciousness of my unworthiness to unloose the latchet of Dr. Barritz's shoe. + Because, oh dear, oh dear, there's a cousin of Dumps at this hotel! I haven't + spoken to him. I never had much acquaintance with him,—but do you suppose he + has recognized me? Do, please give me in your next your candid, sure-enough opinion + about it, and say you don't think so. Do you suppose He knows about me already, and + that that is why He left me last evening when He saw that I blushed and trembled + like a fool under His eyes? You know I can't bribe <i>all</i> the newspapers, and I + can't go back on anybody who was civil to Gunny at Redhorse—not if I'm + pitched out of society into the sea. So the skeleton sometimes rattles behind the + door. I never cared much before, as you know, but now—<i>now</i> it is not + the same. Jack Raynor I am sure of—he will not tell Him. He seems, indeed, to + hold Him in such respect as hardly to dare speak to Him at all, and I'm a good deal + that way myself. Dear, dear! I wish I had something besides a million dollars! If + Jack were three inches taller I'd marry him alive and go back to Redhorse and wear + sackcloth again to the end of my miserable days.</p> + <p>JULY 25.</p> + <p>We had a perfectly splendid sunset last evening and I must tell you all about + it. I ran away from Auntie and everybody and was walking alone on the beach. I + expect you to believe, you infidel! that I had not looked out of my window on the + seaward side of the hotel and seen Him walking alone on the beach. If you are not + lost to every feeling of womanly delicacy you will accept my statement without + question. I soon established myself under my sunshade and had for some time been + gazing out dreamily over the sea, when he approached, walking close to the edge of + the water—it was ebb tide. I assure you the wet sand actually brightened + about his feet! As he approached me he lifted his hat, saying, "Miss Dement, may I + sit with you?—or will you walk with me?"</p> + <p>The possibility that neither might be agreeable seems not to have occurred to + him. Did you ever know such assurance? Assurance? My dear, it was gall, downright + <i>gall!</i> Well, I didn't find it wormwood, and replied, with my untutored + Redhorse heart in my throat, "I—I shall be pleased to do <i>anything</i>." + Could words have been more stupid? There are depths of fatuity in me, friend o' my + soul, that are simply bottomless!</p> + <p>He extended his hand, smiling, and I delivered mine into it without a moment's + hesitation, and when his fingers closed about it to assist me to my feet the + consciousness that it trembled made me blush worse than the red west. I got up, + however, and after a while, observing that he had not let go my hand I pulled on it + a little, but unsuccessfully. He simply held on, saying nothing, but looking down + into my face with some kind of smile—I didn't know—how could + I?—whether it was affectionate, derisive, or what, for I did not look at him. + How beautiful he was!—with the red fires of the sunset burning in the depths + of his eyes. Do you know, dear, if the Thugs and Experts of the Blavatsky region + have any special kind of eyes? Ah, you should have seen his superb attitude, the + god-like inclination of his head as he stood over me after I had got upon my feet! + It was a noble picture, but I soon destroyed it, for I began at once to sink again + to the earth. There was only one thing for him to do, and he did it; he supported + me with an arm about my waist.</p> + <p>"Miss Dement, are you ill?" he said.</p> + <p>It was not an exclamation; there was neither alarm nor solicitude in it. If he + had added: "I suppose that is about what I am expected to say," he would hardly + have expressed his sense of the situation more clearly. His manner filled me with + shame and indignation, for I was suffering acutely. I wrenched my hand out of his, + grasped the arm supporting me and pushing myself free, fell plump into the sand and + sat helpless. My hat had fallen off in the struggle and my hair tumbled about my + face and shoulders in the most mortifying way.</p> + <p>"Go away from me," I cried, half choking. "O <i>please</i> go away, + you—you Thug! How dare you think <i>that</i> when my leg is asleep?"</p> + <p>I actually said those identical words! And then I broke down and sobbed. Irene, + I <i>blubbered</i>!</p> + <p>His manner altered in an instant—I could see that much through my fingers + and hair. He dropped on one knee beside me, parted the tangle of hair and said in + the tenderest way: "My poor girl, God knows I have not intended to pain you. How + should I?—I who love you—I who have loved you for—for years and + years!"</p> + <p>He had pulled my wet hands away from my face and was covering them with kisses. + My cheeks were like two coals, my whole face was flaming and, I think, steaming. + What could I do? I hid it on his shoulder—there was no other place. And, O my + dear friend, how my leg tingled and thrilled, and how I wanted to kick!</p> + <p>We sat so for a long time. He had released one of my hands to pass his arm about + me again and I possessed myself of my handkerchief and was drying my eyes and my + nose. I would not look up until that was done; he tried in vain to push me a little + away and gaze into my face. Presently, when all was right, and it had grown a bit + dark, I lifted my head, looked him straight in the eyes and smiled my best—my + level best, dear.</p> + <p>"What do you mean," I said, "by 'years and years'?"</p> + <p>"Dearest," he replied, very gravely, very earnestly, "in the absence of the + sunken cheeks, the hollow eyes, the lank hair, the slouching gait, the rags, dirt, + and youth, can you not—will you not understand? Gunny, I'm Dumps!"</p> + <p>In a moment I was upon my feet and he upon his. I seized him by the lapels of + his coat and peered into his handsome face in the deepening darkness. I was + breathless with excitement.</p> + <p>"And you are not dead?" I asked, hardly knowing what I said.</p> + <p>"Only dead in love, dear. I recovered from the road agent's bullet, but this, I + fear, is fatal."</p> + <p>"But about Jack—Mr. Raynor? Don't you know—"</p> + <p>"I am ashamed to say, darling, that it was through that unworthy person's + suggestion that I came here from Vienna."</p> + <p>Irene, they have roped in your affectionate friend,</p> + <p class="i10">MARY JANE DEMENT.</p> + <p>P.S.—The worst of it is that there is no mystery; that was the invention + of Jack Raynor, to arouse my curiosity. James is not a Thug. He solemnly assures me + that in all his wanderings he has never set foot in Sepoy.</p> + </div> + <div class="chapter"> + <h4><a id="page385" name="page385"></a>THE EYES OF THE PANTHER</h4> + <p>I</p> + <p>ONE DOES NOT ALWAYS MARRY WHEN INSANE</p> + <p>A man and a woman—nature had done the grouping—sat on a rustic seat, + in the late afternoon. The man was middle-aged, slender, swarthy, with the + expression of a poet and the complexion of a pirate—a man at whom one would + look again. The woman was young, blonde, graceful, with something in her figure and + movements suggesting the word "lithe." She was habited in a gray gown with odd + brown markings in the texture. She may have been beautiful; one could not readily + say, for her eyes denied attention to all else. They were gray-green, long and + narrow, with an expression defying analysis. One could only know that they were + disquieting. Cleopatra may have had such eyes.</p> + <p>The man and the woman talked.</p> + <p>"Yes," said the woman, "I love you, God knows! But marry you, no. I cannot, will + not."</p> + <p>"Irene, you have said that many times, yet always have denied me a reason. I've + a right to know, to understand, to feel and prove my fortitude if I have it. Give + me a reason."</p> + <p>"For loving you?"</p> + <p>The woman was smiling through her tears and her pallor. That did not stir any + sense of humor in the man.</p> + <p>"No; there is no reason for that. A reason for not marrying me. I've a right to + know. I must know. I will know!"</p> + <p>He had risen and was standing before her with clenched hands, on his face a + frown—it might have been called a scowl. He looked as if he might attempt to + learn by strangling her. She smiled no more—merely sat looking up into his + face with a fixed, set regard that was utterly without emotion or sentiment. Yet it + had something in it that tamed his resentment and made him shiver.</p> + <p>"You are determined to have my reason?" she asked in a tone that was entirely + mechanical—a tone that might have been her look made audible.</p> + <p>"If you please—if I'm not asking too much."</p> + <p>Apparently this lord of creation was yielding some part of his dominion over his + co-creature.</p> + <p>"Very well, you shall know: I am insane."</p> + <p>The man started, then looked incredulous and was conscious that he ought to be + amused. But, again, the sense of humor failed him in his need and despite his + disbelief he was profoundly disturbed by that which he did not believe. Between our + convictions and our feelings there is no good understanding.</p> + <p>"That is what the physicians would say," the woman continued—"if they + knew. I might myself prefer to call it a case of 'possession.' Sit down and hear + what I have to say."</p> + <p>The man silently resumed his seat beside her on the rustic bench by the wayside. + Over-against them on the eastern side of the valley the hills were already + sunset-flushed and the stillness all about was of that peculiar quality that + foretells the twilight. Something of its mysterious and significant solemnity had + imparted itself to the man's mood. In the spiritual, as in the material world, are + signs and presages of night. Rarely meeting her look, and whenever he did so + conscious of the indefinable dread with which, despite their feline beauty, her + eyes always affected him, Jenner Brading listened in silence to the story told by + Irene Marlowe. In deference to the reader's possible prejudice against the artless + method of an unpractised historian the author ventures to substitute his own + version for hers.</p> + <p>II</p> + <p>A ROOM MAY BE TOO NARROW FOR THREE, THOUGH ONE IS OUTSIDE</p> + <p>In a little log house containing a single room sparely and rudely furnished, + crouching on the floor against one of the walls, was a woman, clasping to her + breast a child. Outside, a dense unbroken forest extended for many miles in every + direction. This was at night and the room was black dark: no human eye could have + discerned the woman and the child. Yet they were observed, narrowly, vigilantly, + with never even a momentary slackening of attention; and that is the pivotal fact + upon which this narrative turns.</p> + <p>Charles Marlowe was of the class, now extinct in this country, of woodmen + pioneers—men who found their most acceptable surroundings in sylvan solitudes + that stretched along the eastern slope of the Mississippi Valley, from the Great + Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. For more than a hundred years these men pushed ever + westward, generation after generation, with rifle and ax, reclaiming from Nature + and her savage children here and there an isolated acreage for the plow, no sooner + reclaimed than surrendered to their less venturesome but more thrifty successors. + At last they burst through the edge of the forest into the open country and + vanished as if they had fallen over a cliff. The woodman pioneer is no more; the + pioneer of the plains—he whose easy task it was to subdue for occupancy + two-thirds of the country in a single generation—is another and inferior + creation. With Charles Marlowe in the wilderness, sharing the dangers, hardships + and privations of that strange, unprofitable life, were his wife and child, to + whom, in the manner of his class, in which the domestic virtues were a religion, he + was passionately attached. The woman was still young enough to be comely, new + enough to the awful isolation of her lot to be cheerful. By withholding the large + capacity for happiness which the simple satisfactions of the forest life could not + have filled, Heaven had dealt honorably with her. In her light household tasks, her + child, her husband and her few foolish books, she found abundant provision for her + needs.</p> + <p>One morning in midsummer Marlowe took down his rifle from the wooden hooks on + the wall and signified his intention of getting game.</p> + <p>"We've meat enough," said the wife; "please don't go out to-day. I dreamed last + night, O, such a dreadful thing! I cannot recollect it, but I'm almost sure that it + will come to pass if you go out."</p> + <p>It is painful to confess that Marlowe received this solemn statement with less + of gravity than was due to the mysterious nature of the calamity foreshadowed. In + truth, he laughed.</p> + <p>"Try to remember," he said. "Maybe you dreamed that Baby had lost the power of + speech."</p> + <p>The conjecture was obviously suggested by the fact that Baby, clinging to the + fringe of his hunting-coat with all her ten pudgy thumbs was at that moment + uttering her sense of the situation in a series of exultant goo-goos inspired by + sight of her father's raccoon-skin cap.</p> + <p>The woman yielded: lacking the gift of humor she could not hold out against his + kindly badinage. So, with a kiss for the mother and a kiss for the child, he left + the house and closed the door upon his happiness forever.</p> + <p>At nightfall he had not returned. The woman prepared supper and waited. Then she + put Baby to bed and sang softly to her until she slept. By this time the fire on + the hearth, at which she had cooked supper, had burned out and the room was lighted + by a single candle. This she afterward placed in the open window as a sign and + welcome to the hunter if he should approach from that side. She had thoughtfully + closed and barred the door against such wild animals as might prefer it to an open + window—of the habits of beasts of prey in entering a house uninvited she was + not advised, though with true female prevision she may have considered the + possibility of their entrance by way of the chimney. As the night wore on she + became not less anxious, but more drowsy, and at last rested her arms upon the bed + by the child and her head upon the arms. The candle in the window burned down to + the socket, sputtered and flared a moment and went out unobserved; for the woman + slept and dreamed.</p> + <p>In her dreams she sat beside the cradle of a second child. The first one was + dead. The father was dead. The home in the forest was lost and the dwelling in + which she lived was unfamiliar. There were heavy oaken doors, always closed, and + outside the windows, fastened into the thick stone walls, were iron bars, obviously + (so she thought) a provision against Indians. All this she noted with an infinite + self-pity, but without surprise—an emotion unknown in dreams. The child in + the cradle was invisible under its coverlet which something impelled her to remove. + She did so, disclosing the face of a wild animal! In the shock of this dreadful + revelation the dreamer awoke, trembling in the darkness of her cabin in the + wood.</p> + <p>As a sense of her actual surroundings came slowly back to her she felt for the + child that was not a dream, and assured herself by its breathing that all was well + with it; nor could she forbear to pass a hand lightly across its face. Then, moved + by some impulse for which she probably could not have accounted, she rose and took + the sleeping babe in her arms, holding it close against her breast. The head of the + child's cot was against the wall to which the woman now turned her back as she + stood. Lifting her eyes she saw two bright objects starring the darkness with a + reddish-green glow. She took them to be two coals on the hearth, but with her + returning sense of direction came the disquieting consciousness that they were not + in that quarter of the room, moreover were too high, being nearly at the level of + the eyes—of her own eyes. For these were the eyes of a panther.</p> + <p>The beast was at the open window directly opposite and not five paces away. + Nothing but those terrible eyes was visible, but in the dreadful tumult of her + feelings as the situation disclosed itself to her understanding she somehow knew + that the animal was standing on its hinder feet, supporting itself with its paws on + the window-ledge. That signified a malign interest—not the mere gratification + of an indolent curiosity. The consciousness of the attitude was an added horror, + accentuating the menace of those awful eyes, in whose steadfast fire her strength + and courage were alike consumed. Under their silent questioning she shuddered and + turned sick. Her knees failed her, and by degrees, instinctively striving to avoid + a sudden movement that might bring the beast upon her, she sank to the floor, + crouched against the wall and tried to shield the babe with her trembling body + without withdrawing her gaze from the luminous orbs that were killing her. No + thought of her husband came to her in her agony—no hope nor suggestion of + rescue or escape. Her capacity for thought and feeling had narrowed to the + dimensions of a single emotion—fear of the animal's spring, of the impact of + its body, the buffeting of its great arms, the feel of its teeth in her throat, the + mangling of her babe. Motionless now and in absolute silence, she awaited her doom, + the moments growing to hours, to years, to ages; and still those devilish eyes + maintained their watch.</p> + <p>Returning to his cabin late at night with a deer on his shoulders Charles + Marlowe tried the door. It did not yield. He knocked; there was no answer. He laid + down his deer and went round to the window. As he turned the angle of the building + he fancied he heard a sound as of stealthy footfalls and a rustling in the + undergrowth of the forest, but they were too slight for certainty, even to his + practised ear. Approaching the window, and to his surprise finding it open, he + threw his leg over the sill and entered. All was darkness and silence. He groped + his way to the fire-place, struck a match and lit a candle.</p> + <p>Then he looked about. Cowering on the floor against a wall was his wife, + clasping his child. As he sprang toward her she rose and broke into laughter, long, + loud, and mechanical, devoid of gladness and devoid of sense—the laughter + that is not out of keeping with the clanking of a chain. Hardly knowing what he did + he extended his arms. She laid the babe in them. It was dead—pressed to death + in its mother's embrace.</p> + <p>III</p> + <p>THE THEORY OF THE DEFENSE</p> + <p>That is what occurred during a night in a forest, but not all of it did Irene + Marlowe relate to Jenner Brading; not all of it was known to her. When she had + concluded the sun was below the horizon and the long summer twilight had begun to + deepen in the hollows of the land. For some moments Brading was silent, expecting + the narrative to be carried forward to some definite connection with the + conversation introducing it; but the narrator was as silent as he, her face + averted, her hands clasping and unclasping themselves as they lay in her lap, with + a singular suggestion of an activity independent of her will.</p> + <p>"It is a sad, a terrible story," said Brading at last, "but I do not understand. + You call Charles Marlowe father; that I know. That he is old before his time, + broken by some great sorrow, I have seen, or thought I saw. But, pardon me, you + said that you—that you—"</p> + <p>"That I am insane," said the girl, without a movement of head or body.</p> + <p>"But, Irene, you say—please, dear, do not look away from me—you say + that the child was dead, not demented."</p> + <p>"Yes, that one—I am the second. I was born three months after that night, + my mother being mercifully permitted to lay down her life in giving me mine."</p> + <p>Brading was again silent; he was a trifle dazed and could not at once think of + the right thing to say. Her face was still turned away. In his embarrassment he + reached impulsively toward the hands that lay closing and unclosing in her lap, but + something—he could not have said what—restrained him. He then + remembered, vaguely, that he had never altogether cared to take her hand.</p> + <p>"Is it likely," she resumed, "that a person born under such circumstances is + like others—is what you call sane?"</p> + <p>Brading did not reply; he was preoccupied with a new thought that was taking + shape in his mind—what a scientist would have called an hypothesis; a + detective, a theory. It might throw an added light, albeit a lurid one, upon such + doubt of her sanity as her own assertion had not dispelled.</p> + <p>The country was still new and, outside the villages, sparsely populated. The + professional hunter was still a familiar figure, and among his trophies were heads + and pelts of the larger kinds of game. Tales variously credible of nocturnal + meetings with savage animals in lonely roads were sometimes current, passed through + the customary stages of growth and decay, and were forgotten. A recent addition to + these popular apocrypha, originating, apparently, by spontaneous generation in + several households, was of a panther which had frightened some of their members by + looking in at windows by night. The yarn had caused its little ripple of + excitement—had even attained to the distinction of a place in the local + newspaper; but Brading had given it no attention. Its likeness to the story to + which he had just listened now impressed him as perhaps more than accidental. Was + it not possible that the one story had suggested the other—that finding + congenial conditions in a morbid mind and a fertile fancy, it had grown to the + tragic tale that he had heard?</p> + <p>Brading recalled certain circumstances of the girl's history and disposition, of + which, with love's incuriosity, he had hitherto been heedless—such as her + solitary life with her father, at whose house no one, apparently, was an acceptable + visitor and her strange fear of the night, by which those who knew her best + accounted for her never being seen after dark. Surely in such a mind imagination + once kindled might burn with a lawless flame, penetrating and enveloping the entire + structure. That she was mad, though the conviction gave him the acutest pain, he + could no longer doubt; she had only mistaken an effect of her mental disorder for + its cause, bringing into imaginary relation with her own personality the vagaries + of the local myth-makers. With some vague intention of testing his new "theory," + and no very definite notion of how to set about it he said, gravely, but with + hesitation:</p> + <p>"Irene, dear, tell me—I beg you will not take offence, but tell + me—"</p> + <p>"I have told you," she interrupted, speaking with a passionate earnestness that + he had not known her to show—"I have already told you that we cannot marry; + is anything else worth saying?"</p> + <p>Before he could stop her she had sprung from her seat and without another word + or look was gliding away among the trees toward her father's house. Brading had + risen to detain her; he stood watching her in silence until she had vanished in the + gloom. Suddenly he started as if he had been shot; his face took on an expression + of amazement and alarm: in one of the black shadows into which she had disappeared + he had caught a quick, brief glimpse of shining eyes! For an instant he was dazed + and irresolute; then he dashed into the wood after her, shouting: "Irene, Irene, + look out! The panther! The panther!"</p> + <p>In a moment he had passed through the fringe of forest into open ground and saw + the girl's gray skirt vanishing into her father's door. No panther was visible.</p> + <p>IV</p> + <p>AN APPEAL TO THE CONSCIENCE OF GOD</p> + <p>Jenner Brading, attorney-at-law, lived in a cottage at the edge of the town. + Directly behind the dwelling was the forest. Being a bachelor, and therefore, by + the Draconian moral code of the time and place denied the services of the only + species of domestic servant known thereabout, the "hired girl," he boarded at the + village hotel, where also was his office. The woodside cottage was merely a lodging + maintained—at no great cost, to be sure—as an evidence of prosperity + and respectability. It would hardly do for one to whom the local newspaper had + pointed with pride as "the foremost jurist of his time" to be "homeless," albeit he + may sometimes have suspected that the words "home" and "house" were not strictly + synonymous. Indeed, his consciousness of the disparity and his will to harmonize it + were matters of logical inference, for it was generally reported that soon after + the cottage was built its owner had made a futile venture in the direction of + marriage—had, in truth, gone so far as to be rejected by the beautiful but + eccentric daughter of Old Man Marlowe, the recluse. This was publicly believed + because he had told it himself and she had not—a reversal of the usual order + of things which could hardly fail to carry conviction.</p> + <p>Brading's bedroom was at the rear of the house, with a single window facing the + forest.</p> + <p>One night he was awakened by a noise at that window; he could hardly have said + what it was like. With a little thrill of the nerves he sat up in bed and laid hold + of the revolver which, with a forethought most commendable in one addicted to the + habit of sleeping on the ground floor with an open window, he had put under his + pillow. The room was in absolute darkness, but being unterrified he knew where to + direct his eyes, and there he held them, awaiting in silence what further might + occur. He could now dimly discern the aperture—a square of lighter black. + Presently there appeared at its lower edge two gleaming eyes that burned with a + malignant lustre inexpressibly terrible! Brading's heart gave a great jump, then + seemed to stand still. A chill passed along his spine and through his hair; he felt + the blood forsake his cheeks. He could not have cried out—not to save his + life; but being a man of courage he would not, to save his life, have done so if he + had been able. Some trepidation his coward body might feel, but his spirit was of + sterner stuff. Slowly the shining eyes rose with a steady motion that seemed an + approach, and slowly rose Brading's right hand, holding the pistol. He fired!</p> + <p>Blinded by the flash and stunned by the report, Brading nevertheless heard, or + fancied that he heard, the wild, high scream of the panther, so human in sound, so + devilish in suggestion. Leaping from the bed he hastily clothed himself and, pistol + in hand, sprang from the door, meeting two or three men who came running up from + the road. A brief explanation was followed by a cautious search of the house. The + grass was wet with dew; beneath the window it had been trodden and partly leveled + for a wide space, from which a devious trail, visible in the light of a lantern, + led away into the bushes. One of the men stumbled and fell upon his hands, which as + he rose and rubbed them together were slippery. On examination they were seen to be + red with blood.</p> + <p>An encounter, unarmed, with a wounded panther was not agreeable to their taste; + all but Brading turned back. He, with lantern and pistol, pushed courageously + forward into the wood. Passing through a difficult undergrowth he came into a small + opening, and there his courage had its reward, for there he found the body of his + victim. But it was no panther. What it was is told, even to this day, upon a + weather-worn headstone in the village churchyard, and for many years was attested + daily at the graveside by the bent figure and sorrow-seamed face of Old Man + Marlowe, to whose soul, and to the soul of his strange, unhappy child, peace. Peace + and reparation.</p> + </div> + + <div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13334 ***</div> +</body> +</html> |