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diff --git a/1701-h/1701-h.htm b/1701-h/1701-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e289cb9 --- /dev/null +++ b/1701-h/1701-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,9834 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" /> + <title> + The Story of Waitstill Baxter, by Kate Douglas Wiggin + </title> + <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + body { margin:5%; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center;} + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify;} + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + .figcenter { margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; } + .figcenter img { margin:auto 15%; width:70%; } + .figcenter p { text-indent:0; text-align:center; margin-left:15%; max-width:70%; } + + </style> + </head> + <body> +<pre style='margin-bottom:6em;'>The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Story of Waitstill Baxter, by Kate Douglas Wiggin + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at +www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you +will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before +using this ebook. + +Title: The Story of Waitstill Baxter + +Author: Kate Douglas Wiggin + +Release Date: November 20, 2008 [EBook #1701] + last updated: October 31, 2020 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +Produced by: An anonymous volunteer, David Widger and Roger Frank + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF WAITSTILL BAXTER *** +</pre> + <div class='figcenter'> + <img src="images/illus-001.jpg" /> + <p>“Tell me more; it is so long since we talked together”</p> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE STORY OF WAITSTILL BAXTER + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <div style='text-align:center; font-size:120%'> + By Kate Douglas Wiggin + <br /><br /> + With illustrations by H. M. Brett + </div> + + <p> + <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> + </p> + + <div style='text-align:center; font-size:90%'> +Copyright 1913, by Kate Douglas Riggs<br/> +All Rights Reserved<br/> +Published October 1913 + </div> + + <p> + <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> + </p> + + <div style='text-align:center; font-size:100%'> +TO MY HUSBAND + </div> + + <p> + <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> + </p> + + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <big><b>THE STORY OF WAITSTILL BAXTER</b></big> + </a><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> <b>SPRING</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> I. SACO WATER </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> II. THE SISTERS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> III. DEACON BAXTER'S WIVES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> IV. SOMETHING OF A HERO </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> V. PATIENCE AND IMPATIENCE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> VI. A KISS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> VII. “WHAT DREAMS MAY COME” </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> <b>SUMMER</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> VIII. THE JOINER'S SHOP </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> IX. CEPHAS SPEAKS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> X. ON TORY HILL </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> XI. A JUNE SUNDAY </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> XII. THE GREEN-EYED MONSTER </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0016"> XIII. HAYING-TIME </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0017"> XIV. UNCLE BART DISCOURSES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0018"> XV. IVORY'S MOTHER </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0019"> XVI. LOCKED OUT </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0020"> <b>AUTUMN</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0021"> XVII. A BRACE OF LOVERS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0022"> XVIII. A STATE O' MAINE PROPHET </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0023"> XIX. AT THE BRICK STORE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0024"> XX. THE ROD THAT BLOSSOMED </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0025"> XXI. LOIS BURIES HER DEAD </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0026"> XXII. HARVEST-TIME </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0027"> XXIII. AUNT ABBY'S WINDOW </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0028"> XXIV. PHOEBE TRIUMPHS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0029"> XXV. LOVE'S YOUNG DREAMS </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0030"> <b>WINTER</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0031"> XXVI. A WEDDING-RING </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0032"> XXVII. THE CONFESSIONAL </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0033"> XXVIII. PATTY IS SHOWN THE DOOR </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0034"> XXIX. WAITSTILL SPEAKS HER MIND </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0035"> XXX. A CLASH OF WILLS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0036"> XXXI. SENTRY DUTY </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0037"> XXXII. THE HOUSE OF AARON </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0038"> XXXIII. AARON'S ROD </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0039"> XXXIV. THE DEACON'S WATERLOO </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0040"> XXXV. TWO HEAVENS </a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style='text-align:center; font-size:120%'> + THE STORY OF WAITSTILL BAXTER + </div> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SPRING + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + I. SACO WATER + </h2> + <p> + FAR, far up, in the bosom of New Hampshire's granite hills, the Saco has + its birth. As the mountain rill gathers strength it takes + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Through Bartlett's vales its tuneful way, + Or hides in Conway's fragrant brakes, + Retreating from the glare of day.” + </pre> + <p> + Now it leaves the mountains and flows through “green Fryeburg's woods and + farms.” In the course of its frequent turns and twists and bends, it meets + with many another stream, and sends it, fuller and stronger, along its + rejoicing way. When it has journeyed more than a hundred miles and is + nearing the ocean, it greets the Great Ossipee River and accepts its + crystal tribute. Then, in its turn, the Little Ossipee joins forces, and + the river, now a splendid stream, flows onward to Bonny Eagle, to + Moderation and to Salmon Falls, where it dashes over the dam like a young + Niagara and hurtles, in a foamy torrent, through the ragged defile cut + between lofty banks of solid rock. + </p> + <p> + Widening out placidly for a moment's rest in the sunny reaches near + Pleasant Point, it gathers itself for a new plunge at Union Falls, after + which it speedily merges itself in the bay and is fresh water no more. + </p> + <p> + At one of the falls on the Saco, the two little hamlets of Edgewood and + Riverboro nestle together at the bridge and make one village. The stream + is a wonder of beauty just here; a mirror of placid loveliness above the + dam, a tawny, roaring wonder at the fall, and a mad, white-flecked torrent + as it dashes on its way to the ocean. + </p> + <p> + The river has seen strange sights in its time, though the history of these + two tiny villages is quite unknown to the great world outside. They have + been born, waxed strong, and fallen almost to decay while Saco Water has + tumbled over the rocks and spent itself in its impetuous journey to the + sea. + </p> + <p> + It remembers the yellow-moccasined Sokokis as they issued from the Indian + Cellar and carried their birchen canoes along the wooded shore. It was in + those years that the silver-skinned salmon leaped in its crystal depths; + the otter and the beaver crept with sleek wet skins upon its shore; and + the brown deer came down to quench his thirst at its brink while at + twilight the stealthy forms of bear and panther and wolf were mirrored in + its glassy surface. + </p> + <p> + Time sped; men chained the river's turbulent forces and ordered it to + grind at the mill. Then houses and barns appeared along its banks, bridges + were built, orchards planted, forests changed into farms, white-painted + meetinghouses gleamed through the trees and distant bells rang from their + steeples on quiet Sunday mornings. + </p> + <p> + All at once myriads of great hewn logs vexed its downward course, slender + logs linked together in long rafts, and huge logs drifting down singly or + in pairs. Men appeared, running hither and thither like ants, and going + through mysterious operations the reason for which the river could never + guess: but the mill-wheels turned, the great saws buzzed, the smoke from + tavern chimneys rose in the air, and the rattle and clatter of + stage-coaches resounded along the road. + </p> + <p> + Now children paddled with bare feet in the river's sandy coves and + shallows, and lovers sat on its alder-shaded banks and exchanged their + vows just where the shuffling bear was wont to come down and drink. + </p> + <p> + The Saco could remember the “cold year,” when there was a black frost + every month of the twelve, and though almost all the corn along its shores + shrivelled on the stalk, there were two farms where the vapor from the + river saved the crops, and all the seed for the next season came from the + favored spot, to be known as “Egypt” from that day henceforward. + </p> + <p> + Strange, complex things now began to happen, and the river played its own + part in some of these, for there were disastrous freshets, the sudden + breaking-up of great jams of logs, and the drowning of men who were + engulfed in the dark whirlpool below the rapids. + </p> + <p> + Caravans, with menageries of wild beasts, crossed the bridge now every + year. An infuriated elephant lifted the side of the old Edgewood Tavern + barn, and the wild laughter of the roistering rum-drinkers who were + tantalizing the animals floated down to the river's edge. The roar of a + lion, tearing and chewing the arm of one of the bystanders, and the cheers + of the throng when a plucky captain of the local militia thrust a stake + down the beast's throat,—these sounds displaced the former war-whoop + of the Indians and the ring of the axe in the virgin forests along the + shores. + </p> + <p> + There were days, and moonlight nights, too, when strange sights and sounds + of quite another nature could have been noted by the river as it flowed + under the bridge that united the two little villages. + </p> + <p> + Issuing from the door of the Riverboro Town House, and winding down the + hill, through the long row of teams and carriages that lined the roadside, + came a procession of singing men and singing women. Convinced of sin, but + entranced with promised pardon; spiritually intoxicated by the glowing + eloquence of the latter-day prophet they were worshipping, the band of + “Cochranites” marched down the dusty road and across the bridge, dancing, + swaying, waving handkerchiefs, and shouting hosannas. + </p> + <p> + God watched, and listened, knowing that there would be other prophets, + true and false, in the days to come, and other processions following them; + and the river watched and listened too, as it hurried on towards the sea + with its story of the present that was sometime to be the history of the + past. + </p> + <p> + When Jacob Cochrane was leading his overwrought, ecstatic band across the + river, Waitstill Baxter, then a child, was watching the strange, noisy + company from the window of a little brick dwelling on the top of the + Town-House Hill. + </p> + <p> + Her stepmother stood beside her with a young baby in her arms, but when + she saw what held the gaze of the child she drew her away, saying: “We + mustn't look, Waitstill; your father don't like it!” + </p> + <p> + “Who was the big man at the head, mother?” + </p> + <p> + “His name is Jacob Cochrane, but you mustn't think or talk about him; he + is very wicked.” + </p> + <p> + “He doesn't look any wickeder than the others,” said the child. “Who was + the man that fell down in the road, mother, and the woman that knelt and + prayed over him? Why did he fall, and why did she pray, mother?” + </p> + <p> + “That was Master Aaron Boynton, the schoolmaster, and his wife. He only + made believe to fall down, as the Cochranites do; the way they carry on is + a disgrace to the village, and that's the reason your father won't let us + look at them.” + </p> + <p> + “I played with a nice boy over to Boynton's,” mused the child. + </p> + <p> + “That was Ivory, their only child. He is a good little fellow, but his + mother and father will spoil him with their crazy ways.” + </p> + <p> + “I hope nothing will happen to him, for I love him,” said the child + gravely. “He showed me a humming-bird's nest, the first ever I saw, and + the littlest!” + </p> + <p> + “Don't talk about loving him,” chided the woman. “If your father should + hear you, he'd send you to bed without your porridge.” + </p> + <p> + “Father couldn't hear me, for I never speak when he's at home,” said grave + little Waitstill. “And I'm used to going to bed without my porridge.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + II. THE SISTERS + </h2> + <p> + THE river was still running under the bridge, but the current of time had + swept Jacob Cochrane out of sight, though not out of mind, for he had left + here and there a disciple to preach his strange and uncertain doctrine. + Waitstill, the child who never spoke in her father's presence, was a young + woman now, the mistress of the house; the stepmother was dead, and the + baby a girl of seventeen. + </p> + <p> + The brick cottage on the hilltop had grown only a little shabbier. Deacon + Foxwell Baxter still slammed its door behind him every morning at seven + o'clock and, without any such cheerful conventions as good-byes to his + girls, walked down to the bridge to open his store. + </p> + <p> + The day, properly speaking, had opened when Waitstill and Patience had + left their beds at dawn, built the fire, fed the hens and turkeys, and + prepared the breakfast, while the Deacon was graining the horse and + milking the cows. Such minor “chores” as carrying water from the well, + splitting kindling, chopping pine, or bringing wood into the kitchen, were + left to Waitstill, who had a strong back, or, if she had not, had never + been unwise enough to mention the fact in her father's presence. The + almanac day, however, which opened with sunrise, had nothing to do with + the real human day, which always began when Mr. Baxter slammed the door + behind him, and reached its high noon of delight when he disappeared from + view. + </p> + <p> + “He's opening the store shutters!” chanted Patience from the heights of a + kitchen chair by the window. “Now he's taken his cane and beaten off the + Boynton puppy that was sitting on the steps as usual,—I don't mean + Ivory's dog” (here the girl gave a quick glance at her sister), “but + Rodman's little yellow cur. Rodman must have come down to the bridge on + some errand for Ivory. Isn't it odd, when that dog has all the other store + steps to sit upon, he should choose father's, when every bone in his body + must tell him how father hates him and the whole Boynton family.” + </p> + <p> + “Father has no real cause that I ever heard of; but some dogs never know + when they've had enough beating, nor some people either.” said Waitstill, + speaking from the pantry. + </p> + <p> + “Don't be gloomy when it's my birthday, Sis!—Now he's opened the + door and kicked the cat! All is ready for business at the Baxter store.” + </p> + <p> + “I wish you weren't quite so free with your tongue, Patty.” + </p> + <p> + “Somebody must talk,” retorted the girl, jumping down from the chair and + shaking back her mop of red-gold curls. “I'll put this hateful, childish, + round comb in and out just once more, then it will disappear forever. This + very after-noon up goes my hair!” + </p> + <p> + “You know it will be of no use unless you braid it very plainly and + neatly. Father will take notice and make you smooth it down.” + </p> + <p> + “Father hasn't looked me square in the face for years; besides, my hair + won't braid, and nothing can make it quite plain and neat, thank goodness! + Let us be thankful for small mercies, as Jed Morrill said when the + lightning struck his mother-in-law and skipped his wife.” + </p> + <p> + “Patty, I will not permit you to repeat those tavern stories; they are not + seemly on the lips of a girl!” And Waitstill came out of the pantry with a + shadow of disapproval in her eyes and in her voice. + </p> + <p> + Patty flung her arms round her sister tempestuously, and pulled out the + waves of her hair so that it softened her face.—“I'll be good,” she + said, “and oh, Waity! let's invent some sort of cheap happiness for + to-day! I shall never be seventeen again and we have so many troubles! + Let's put one of the cows in the horse's stall and see what will happen! + Or let's spread up our beds with the head at the foot and put the chest of + drawers on the other side of the room, or let's make candy! Do you think + father would miss the molasses if we only use a cupful? Couldn't we strain + the milk, but leave the churning and the dishes for an hour or two, just + once? If you say 'yes' I can think of something wonderful to do!” + </p> + <p> + “What is it?” asked Waitstill, relenting at the sight of the girl's eager, + roguish face. + </p> + <p> + “PIERCE MY EARS!” cried Patty. “Say you will!” + </p> + <p> + “Oh! Patty, Patty, I am afraid you are given over to vanity! I daren't let + you wear eardrops without father's permission.” + </p> + <p> + “Why not? Lots of church members wear them, so it can't be a mortal sin. + Father is against all adornments, but that's because he doesn't want to + buy them. You've always said I should have your mother's coral pendants + when I was old enough. Here I am, seventeen today, and Dr. Perry says I am + already a well-favored young woman. I can pull my hair over my ears for a + few days and when the holes are all made and healed, even father cannot + make me fill them up again. Besides, I'll never wear the earrings at + home!” + </p> + <p> + “Oh! my dear, my dear!” sighed Waitstill, with a half-sob in her voice. + “If only I was wise enough to know how we could keep from these little + deceits, yet have any liberty or comfort in life!” + </p> + <p> + “We can't! The Lord couldn't expect us to bear all that we bear,” + exclaimed Patty, “without our trying once in a while to have a good time + in our own way. We never do a thing that we are ashamed of, or that other + girls don't do every day in the week; only our pleasures always have to be + taken behind father's back. It's only me that's ever wrong, anyway, for + you are always an angel. It's a burning shame and you only twenty-one + yourself. I'll pierce your ears if you say so, and let you wear your own + coral drops!” + </p> + <p> + “No, Patty; I've outgrown those longings years ago. When your mother died + and left father and you and the house to me, my girlhood died, too, though + I was only thirteen.” + </p> + <p> + “It was only your inside girlhood that died,” insisted Patty stoutly, “The + outside is as fresh as the paint on Uncle Barty's new ell. You've got the + loveliest eyes and hair in Riverboro, and you know it; besides, Ivory + Boynton would tell you so if you didn't. Come and bore my ears, there's a + darling!” + </p> + <p> + “Ivory Boynton never speaks a word of my looks, nor a word that father and + all the world mightn't hear.” And Waitstill flushed. + </p> + <p> + “Then it's because he's shy and silent and has so many troubles of his own + that he doesn't dare say anything. When my hair is once up and the coral + pendants are swinging in my ears, I shall expect to hear something about + MY looks, I can tell you. Waity, after all, though we never have what we + want to eat, and never a decent dress to our backs, nor a young man to + cross the threshold, I wouldn't change places with Ivory Boynton, would + you?” Here Patty swept the hearth vigorously with a turkey wing and added + a few corncobs to the fire. + </p> + <p> + Waitstill paused a moment in her task of bread-kneading. “Well,” she + answered critically, “at least we know where our father is.” + </p> + <p> + “We do, indeed! We also know that he is thoroughly alive!” + </p> + <p> + “And though people do talk about him, they can't say the things they say + of Master Aaron Boynton. I don't believe father would ever run away and + desert us.” + </p> + <p> + “I fear not,” said Patty. “I wish the angels would put the idea into his + head, though, of course, it wouldn't be the angels; they'd be above it. It + would have to be the 'Old Driver,' as Jed Morrill calls the Evil One; but + whoever did it, the result would be the same: we should be deserted, and + live happily ever after. Oh! to be deserted, and left with you alone on + this hilltop, what joy it would be!” + </p> + <p> + Waitstill frowned, but did not interfere further with Patty's intemperate + speech. She knew that she was simply serving as an escape-valve, and that + after the steam was “let off” she would be more rational. + </p> + <p> + “Of course, we are motherless,” continued Patty wistfully, “but poor Ivory + is worse than motherless.” + </p> + <p> + “No, not worse, Patty,” said Waitstill, taking the bread-board and moving + towards the closet. “Ivory loves his mother and she loves him, with all + the mind she has left! She has the best blood of New England flowing in + her veins, and I suppose it was a great come down for her to marry Aaron + Boynton, clever and gifted though he was. Now Ivory has to protect her, + poor, daft, innocent creature, and hide her away from the gossip of the + village. He is surely the best of sons, Ivory Boynton!” + </p> + <p> + “She is a terrible care for him, and like to spoil his life,” said Patty. + </p> + <p> + “There are cares that swell the heart and make it bigger and warmer, + Patty, just as there are cares that shrivel it and leave it tired and + cold. Love lightens Ivory's afflictions but that is something you and I + have to do without, so it seems.” + </p> + <p> + “I suppose little Rodman is some comfort to the Boyntons, even if he is + only ten.” Patty suggested. + </p> + <p> + “No doubt. He's a good little fellow, and though it's rather hard for + Ivory to be burdened for these last five years with the support of a child + who's no nearer kin than a cousin, still he's of use, minding Mrs. Boynton + and the house when Ivory's away. The school-teacher says he is wonderful + at his books and likely to be a great credit to the Boyntons some day or + other.” + </p> + <p> + “You've forgot to name our one great blessing, Waity, and I believe, + anyway, you're talking to keep my mind off the earrings!” + </p> + <p> + “You mean we've each other? No, Patty, I never forget that, day or night. + 'Tis that makes me willing to bear any burden father chooses to put upon + us.—Now the bread is set, but I don't believe I have the courage to + put a needle into your tender flesh, Patty; I really don't.” + </p> + <p> + “Nonsense! I've got the waxed silk all ready and chosen the right-sized + needle and I'll promise not to jump or screech more than I can help. We'll + make a tiny lead-pencil dot right in the middle of the lobe, then you + place the needle on it, shut your eyes, and JAB HARD! I expect to faint, + but when I 'come to,' we can decide which of us will pull the needle + through to the other side. Probably it will be you, I'm such a coward. If + it hurts dreadfully, I'll have only one pierced to-day and take the other + to-morrow; and if it hurts very dreadfully, perhaps I'll go through life + with one ear-ring. Aunt Abby Cole will say it's just odd enough to suit + me!” + </p> + <p> + “You'll never go through life with one tongue at the rate you use it now,” + chided Waitstill, “for it will never last you. Come, we'll take the + work-basket and go out in the barn where no one will see or hear us.” + </p> + <p> + “Goody, goody! Come along!” and Patty clapped her hands in triumph. “Have + you got the pencil and the needle and the waxed silk? Then bring the + camphor bottle to revive me, and the coral pendants, too, just to give me + courage. Hurry up! It's ten o'clock. I was born at sun-rise, so I'm 'going + on' eighteen and can't waste any time!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + III. DEACON BAXTER'S WIVES + </h2> + <p> + FOXWELL BAXTER was ordinarily called “Old Foxy” by the boys of the + district, and also, it is to be feared, by the men gathered for evening + conference at the various taverns, or at one of the rival village stores. + </p> + <p> + He had a small farm of fifteen or twenty acres, with a pasture, a wood + lot, and a hay-field, but the principal source of his income came from + trading. His sign bore the usual legend: “WEST INDIA GOODS AND GROCERIES,” + and probably the most profitable articles in his stock were rum, molasses, + sugar, and tobacco; but there were chests of rice, tea, coffee, and + spices, barrels of pork in brine, as well as piles of cotton and woolen + cloth on the shelves above the counters. His shop window, seldom dusted or + set in order, held a few clay pipes, some glass jars of peppermint or + sassafras lozenges, black licorice, stick-candy, and sugar gooseberries. + These dainties were seldom renewed, for it was only a very bold child, or + one with an ungovernable appetite for sweets, who would have spent his + penny at Foxy Baxter's store. + </p> + <p> + He was thought a sharp and shrewd trader, but his honesty was never + questioned; indeed, the only trait in his character that ever came up for + general discussion was his extraordinary, unbelievable, colossal meanness. + This so eclipsed every other passion in the man, and loomed so bulkily and + insistently in the foreground, that had he cherished a second vice no one + would have observed it, and if he really did possess a casual virtue, it + could scarcely have reared its head in such ugly company. + </p> + <p> + It might be said, to defend the fair name of the Church, that Mr. Baxter's + deaconhood did not include very active service in the courts of the Lord. + He had “experienced religion” at fifteen and made profession of his faith, + but all well-brought-up boys and girls did the same in those days; their + parents saw to that! If change of conviction or backsliding occurred later + on, that was not their business! At the ripe age of twenty-five he was + selected to fill a vacancy and became a deacon, thinking it might be good + for trade, as it was, for some years. He was very active at the time of + the “Cochrane craze,” since any defence of the creed that included lively + detective work and incessant spying on his neighbors was particularly in + his line; but for many years now, though he had been regular in attendance + at church, he had never officiated at communion, and his diaconal services + had gradually lapsed into the passing of the contribution-box, a task of + which he never wearied; it was such a keen pleasure to make other people + yield their pennies for a good cause, without adding any of his own! + </p> + <p> + Deacon Baxter had now been a widower for some years and the community had + almost relinquished the idea of his seeking a fourth wife. This was a + matter of some regret, for there was a general feeling that it would be a + good thing for the Baxter girls to have some one to help with the + housework and act as a buffer between them and their grim and irascible + parent. As for the women of the village, they were mortified that the + Deacon had been able to secure three wives, and refused to believe that + the universe held anywhere a creature benighted enough to become his + fourth. + </p> + <p> + The first, be it said, was a mere ignorant girl, and he a beardless youth + of twenty, who may not have shown his true qualities so early in life. She + bore him two sons, and it was a matter of comment at the time that she + called them, respectively, Job and Moses, hoping that the endurance and + meekness connected with these names might somehow help them in their + future relations with their father. Pneumonia, coupled with profound + discouragement, carried her off in a few years to make room for the second + wife, Waitstill's mother, who was of different fibre and greatly his + superior. She was a fine, handsome girl, the orphan daughter of up-country + gentle-folks, who had died when she was eighteen, leaving her alone in the + world and penniless. + </p> + <p> + Baxter, after a few days' acquaintance, drove into the dooryard of the + house where she was a visitor and, showing her his two curly-headed boys, + suddenly asked her to come and be their stepmother. She assented, partly + because she had nothing else to do with her existence, so far as she could + see, and also because she fell in love with the children at first sight + and forgot, as girls will, that it was their father whom she was marrying. + </p> + <p> + She was as plucky and clever and spirited as she was handsome, and she + made a brave fight of it with Foxy; long enough to bring a daughter into + the world, to name her Waitstill, and start her a little way on her life + journey,—then she, too, gave up the struggle and died. Typhoid fever + it was, combined with complete loss of illusions, and a kind of despairing + rage at having made so complete a failure of her existence. + </p> + <p> + The next year, Mr. Baxter, being unusually busy, offered a man a good + young heifer if he would jog about the country a little and pick him up a + housekeeper; a likely woman who would, if she proved energetic, + economical, and amiable, be eventually raised to the proud position of his + wife. If she was young, healthy, smart, tidy, capable, and a good manager, + able to milk the cows, harness the horse, and make good butter, he would + give a dollar and a half a week. The woman was found, and, incredible as + it may seem, she said “yes” when the Deacon (whose ardor was kindled at + having paid three months' wages) proposed a speedy marriage. The two boys + by this time had reached the age of discretion, and one of them evinced + the fact by promptly running away to parts unknown, never to be heard from + afterwards; while the other, a reckless and unhappy lad, was drowned while + running on the logs in the river. Old Foxy showed little outward sign of + his loss, though he had brought the boys into the world solely with the + view of having one of them work on the farm and the other in the store. + </p> + <p> + His third wife, the one originally secured for a housekeeper, bore him a + girl, very much to his disgust, a girl named Patience, and great was + Waitstill's delight at this addition to the dull household. The mother was + a timid, colorless, docile creature, but Patience nevertheless was a + sparkling, bright-eyed baby, who speedily became the very centre of the + universe to the older child. So the months and years wore on, drearily + enough, until, when Patience was nine, the third Mrs. Baxter succumbed + after the manner of her predecessors, and slipped away from a life that + had grown intolerable. The trouble was diagnosed as “liver complaint,” but + scarcity of proper food, no new frocks or kind words, hard work, and + continual bullying may possibly have been contributory causes. Dr. Perry + thought so, for he had witnessed three most contented deaths in the Baxter + house. The ladies were all members of the church and had presumably made + their peace with God, but the good doctor fancied that their pleasure in + joining the angels was mild compared with their relief at parting with the + Deacon. + </p> + <p> + “I know I hadn't ought to put the care on you, Waitstill, and you only + thirteen,” poor Mrs. Baxter sighed, as the young girl was watching with + her one night when the end seemed drawing near. “I've made out to live + till now when Patience is old enough to dress herself and help round, but + I'm all beat out and can't try any more.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you mean I'm to take your place, be a mother to Patience, and keep + house, and everything?” asked Waitstill quaveringly. + </p> + <p> + “I don't see but you'll have to, unless your father marries again. He'll + never hire help, you know that!” + </p> + <p> + “I won't have another mother in this house,” flashed the girl. “There's + been three here and that's enough! If he brings anybody home, I'll take + Patience and run away, as Job did; or if he leaves me alone, I'll wash and + iron and scrub and cook till Patience grows up, and then we'll go off + together and hide somewhere. I'm fourteen; oh, mother, how soon could I be + married and take Patience to live with me? Do you think anybody will ever + want me?” + </p> + <p> + “Don't marry for a home, Waitstill! Your own mother did that, and so did + I, and we were both punished for it! You've been a great help and I've had + a sight of comfort out of the baby, but I wouldn't go through it again, + not even for her! You're real smart and capable for your age and you've + done your full share of the work every day, even when you were at school. + You can get along all right.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't know how I'm going to do everything alone,” said the girl, + forcing back her tears. “You've always made the brown bread, and mine will + never suit father. I suppose I can wash, but don't know how to iron + starched clothes, nor make pickles, and oh! I can never kill a rooster, + mother, it's no use to ask me to! I'm not big enough to be the head of the + family.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Baxter turned her pale, tired face away from Waitstill's appealing + eyes. + </p> + <p> + “I know,” she said faintly. “I hate to leave you to bear the brunt alone, + but I must!... Take good care of Patience and don't let her get into + trouble.... You won't, will you?” + </p> + <p> + “I'll be careful,” promised Waitstill, sobbing quietly; “I'll do my best.” + </p> + <p> + “You've got more courage than ever I had; don't you s'pose you can stiffen + up and defend yourself a little mite?... Your father'd ought to be + opposed, for his own good... but I've never seen anybody that dared do + it.” Then, after a pause, she said with a flash of spirit,—“Anyhow, + Waitstill, he's your father after all. He's no blood relation of mine, and + I can't stand him another day; that's the reason I'm willing to die.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IV. SOMETHING OF A HERO + </h2> + <p> + IVORY BOYNTON lifted the bars that divided his land from the highroad and + walked slowly toward the house. It was April, but there were still patches + of snow here and there, fast melting under a drizzling rain. It was a gray + world, a bleak, black-and-brown world, above and below. The sky was + leaden; the road and the footpath were deep in a muddy ooze flecked with + white. The tree-trunks, black, with bare branches, were lined against the + gray sky; nevertheless, spring had been on the way for a week, and a few + sunny days would bring the yearly miracle for which all hearts were + longing. + </p> + <p> + Ivory was season-wise and his quick eye had caught many a sign as he + walked through the woods from his schoolhouse. A new and different color + haunted the tree-tops, and one had only to look closely at the elm buds to + see that they were beginning to swell. Some fat robins had been sunning + about in the school-yard at noon, and sparrows had been chirping and + twittering on the fence-rails. Yes, the winter was over, and Ivory was + glad, for it had meant no coasting and skating and sleighing for him, but + long walks in deep snow or slush; long evenings, good for study, but short + days, and greater loneliness for his mother. He could see her now as he + neared the house, standing in the open doorway, her hand shading her eyes, + watching, always watching, for some one who never came. + </p> + <p> + “Spring is on the way, mother, but it isn't here yet, so don't stand there + in the rain,” he called. “Look at the nosegay I gathered for you as I came + through the woods. Here are pussy willows and red maple blossoms and + Mayflowers, would you believe it?” + </p> + <p> + Lois Boynton took the handful of budding things and sniffed their + fragrance. + </p> + <p> + “You're late to-night, Ivory,” she said. “Rod wanted his supper early so + that he could go off to singing-school, but I kept something warm for you, + and I'll make you a fresh cup of tea.” + </p> + <p> + Ivory went into the little shed room off the kitchen, changed his muddy + boots for slippers, and made himself generally tidy; then he came back to + the living-room bringing a pine knot which he flung on the fire, waking it + to a brilliant flame. + </p> + <p> + “We can be as lavish as we like with the stumps now, mother, for spring is + coming,” he said, as he sat down to his meal. + </p> + <p> + “I've been looking out more than usual this afternoon,” she replied. + “There's hardly any snow left, and though the walking is so bad I've been + rather expecting your father before night. You remember he said, when he + went away in January, that he should be back before the Mayflowers + bloomed?” + </p> + <p> + It did not do any good to say: “Yes, mother, but the Mayflowers have + bloomed ten times since father went away.” He had tried that, gently and + persistently when first her mind began to be confused from long grief and + hurt love, stricken pride and sick suspense. + </p> + <p> + Instead of that, Ivory turned the subject cheerily, saying, “Well, we're + sure of a good season, I think. There's been a grand snow-fall, and that, + they say, is the poor man's manure. Rod and I will put in more corn and + potatoes this year. I shan't have to work single-handed very long, for he + is growing to be quite a farmer.” + </p> + <p> + “Your father was very fond of green corn, but he never cared for + potatoes,” Mrs. Boynton said, vaguely, taking up her knitting. “I always + had great pride in my cooking, but I could never get your father to relish + my potatoes.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, his son does, anyway,” Ivory replied, helping himself plentifully + from a dish that held one of his mother's best concoctions, potatoes + minced fine and put together into the spider with thin bits of pork and + all browned together. + </p> + <p> + “I saw the Baxter girls to-day, mother,” he continued, not because he + hoped she would give any heed to what he said, but from the sheer longing + for companionship. “The Deacon drove off with Lawyer Wilson, who wanted + him to give testimony in some case or other down in Milltown. The minute + Patty saw him going up Saco Hill, she harnessed the old starved Baxter + mare and the girls started over to the Lower Corner to see some friends. + It seems it's Patty's birthday and they were celebrating. I met them just + as they were coming back and helped them lift the rickety wagon out of the + mud; they were stuck in it up to the hubs of the wheels. I advised them to + walk up the Town-House Hill if they ever expected to get the horse home.” + </p> + <p> + “Town-House Hill!” said Ivory's mother, dropping her knitting. “That was + where we had such wonderful meetings! Truly the Lord was present in our + midst, and oh, Ivory! the visions we saw in that place when Jacob Cochrane + first unfolded his gospel to us. Was ever such a man!” + </p> + <p> + “Probably not, mother,” remarked Ivory dryly. + </p> + <p> + “You were speaking of the Baxters. I remember their home, and the little + girl who used to stand in the gateway and watch when we came out of + meeting. There was a baby, too; isn't there a Baxter baby, Ivory?” + </p> + <p> + “She didn't stay a baby; she is seventeen years old to-day, mother.” + </p> + <p> + “You surprise me, but children do grow very fast. She had a strange name, + but I cannot recall it.” + </p> + <p> + “Her name is Patience, but nobody but her father calls her anything but + Patty, which suits her much better.” + </p> + <p> + “No, the name wasn't Patience, not the one I mean.” + </p> + <p> + “The older sister is Waitstill, perhaps you mean her?”—and Ivory sat + down by the fire with his book and his pipe. + </p> + <p> + “Waitstill! Waitstill! that is it! Such a beautiful name!” + </p> + <p> + “She's a beautiful girl.” + </p> + <p> + “Waitstill! 'They also serve who only stand and wait.' 'Wait, I say, on + the Lord and He will give thee the desires of thy heart.'—Those were + wonderful days, when we were caught up out of the body and mingled freely + in the spirit world.” Mrs. Boynton was now fully started on the topic that + absorbed her mind and Ivory could do nothing but let her tell the story + that she had told him a hundred times. + </p> + <p> + “I remember when first we heard Jacob Cochrane speak.” (This was her usual + way of beginning.) “Your father was a preacher, as you know, Ivory, but + you will never know what a wonderful preacher he was. My grandfather, + being a fine gentleman, and a governor, would not give his consent to my + marriage, but I never regretted it, never! Your father saw Elder Cochrane + at a revival meeting of the Free Will Baptists in Scarboro', and was much + impressed with him. A few days later we went to the funeral of a child in + the same neighborhood. No one who was there could ever forget it. The + minister had made his long prayer when a man suddenly entered the room, + came towards the coffin, and placed his hand on the child's forehead. The + room, in an instant, was as still as the death that had called us + together. The stranger was tall and of commanding presence; his eyes + pierced our very hearts, and his marvellous voice penetrated to depths in + our souls that had never been reached before.” + </p> + <p> + “Was he a better speaker than my father?” asked Ivory, who dreaded his + mother's hours of complete silence even more than her periods of + reminiscence. + </p> + <p> + “He spoke as if the Lord of Hosts had given him inspiration; as if the + angels were pouring words into his mouth just for him to utter,” replied + Mrs. Boynton. “Your father was spell-bound, and I only less so. When he + ceased speaking, the child's mother crossed the room, and swaying to and + fro, fell at his feet, sobbing and wailing and imploring God to forgive + her sins. They carried her upstairs, and when we looked about after the + confusion and excitement the stranger had vanished. But we found him + again! As Elder Cochrane said: 'The prophet of the Lord can never be hid; + no darkness is thick enough to cover him!' There was a six weeks' revival + meeting in North Saco where three hundred souls were converted, and your + father and I were among them. We had fancied ourselves true believers for + years, but Jacob Cochrane unstopped our ears so that we could hear the + truths revealed to him by the Almighty!—It was all so simple and + easy at the beginning, but it grew hard and grievous afterward; hard to + keep the path, I mean. I never quite knew whether God was angry with me + for backsliding at the end, but I could not always accept the revelations + that Elder Cochrane and your father had!” + </p> + <p> + Lois Boynton's hands were now quietly folded over the knitting that lay + forgotten in her lap, but her low, thrilling voice had a note in it that + did not belong wholly to earth. + </p> + <p> + There was a long silence; one of many long silences at the Boynton + fireside, broken only by the ticking of the clock, the purring of the cat, + and the clicking of Mrs. Boynton's needles, as, her paroxysm of + reminiscence over, she knitted ceaselessly, with her eyes on the window or + the door. + </p> + <p> + “It's about time for Rod to be coming back, isn't it?” asked Ivory. + </p> + <p> + “He ought to be here soon, but perhaps he is gone for good; it may be that + he thinks he has made us a long enough visit. I don't know whether your + father will like the boy when he comes home. He never did fancy company in + the house.” + </p> + <p> + Ivory looked up in astonishment from his Greek grammar. This was an + entirely new turn of his mother's mind. Often when she was more than + usually confused he would try to clear the cobwebs from her brain by + gently questioning her until she brought herself back to a clearer + understanding of her own thought. Thus far her vagaries had never made her + unjust to any human creature; she was uniformly sweet and gentle in speech + and demeanor. + </p> + <p> + “Why do you talk of Rod's visiting us when he is one of the family?” Ivory + asked quietly. + </p> + <p> + “Is he one of the family? I didn't know it,” replied his mother absently. + </p> + <p> + “Look at me, mother, straight in the eye; that's right: now listen, dear, + to what I say.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Boynton's hair that had been in her youth like an aureole of + corn-silk was now a strange yellow-white, and her blue eyes looked out + from her pale face with a helpless appeal. + </p> + <p> + “You and I were living alone here after father went away,” Ivory began. “I + was a little boy, you know. You and father had saved something, there was + the farm, you worked like a slave, I helped, and we lived, somehow, do you + remember?” + </p> + <p> + “I do, indeed! It was cold and the neighbors were cruel. Jacob Cochrane + had gone away and his disciples were not always true to him. When the + magnetism of his presence was withdrawn, they could not follow all his + revelations, and they forgot how he had awakened their spiritual life at + the first of his preaching. Your father was always a stanch believer, but + when he started on his mission and went to Parsonsfield to help Elder + Cochrane in his meetings, the neighbors began to criticize him. They + doubted him. You were too young to realize it, but I did, and it almost + broke my heart.” + </p> + <p> + “I was nearly twelve years old; do you think I escaped all the gossip, + mother?” + </p> + <p> + “You never spoke of it to me, Ivory.” + </p> + <p> + “No, there is much that I never spoke of to you, mother, but sometime when + you grow stronger and your memory is better we will talk together.—Do + you remember the winter, long after father went away, that Parson Lane + sent me to Fairfield Academy to get enough Greek and Latin to make me a + schoolmaster?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” she answered uncertainly. + </p> + <p> + “Don't you remember I got a free ride down-river one Friday and came home + for Sunday, just to surprise you? And when I got here I found you ill in + bed, with Mrs. Mason and Dr. Perry taking care of you. You could not + speak, you were so ill, but they told me you had been up in New Hampshire + to see your sister, that she had died, and that you had brought back her + boy, who was only four years old. That was Rod. I took him into bed with + me that night, poor, homesick little fellow, and, as you know, mother, + he's never left us since.” + </p> + <p> + “I didn't remember I had a sister. Is she dead, Ivory?” asked Mrs. Boynton + vaguely. + </p> + <p> + “If she were not dead, do you suppose you would have kept Rodman with us + when we hadn't bread enough for our own two mouths, mother?” questioned + Ivory patiently. + </p> + <p> + “No, of course not. I can't think how I can be so forgetful. It's worse + sometimes than others. It 's worse to-day because I knew the Mayflowers + were blooming and that reminded me it was time for your father to come + home; you must forgive me, dear, and will you excuse me if I sit in the + kitchen awhile? The window by the side door looks out towards the road, + and if I put a candle on the sill it shines quite a distance. The lane is + such a long one, and your father was always a sad stumbler in the dark! I + shouldn't like him to think I wasn't looking for him when he's been gone + since January.” + </p> + <p> + Ivory's pipe went out, and his book slipped from his knee unnoticed. + </p> + <p> + His mother was more confused than usual, but she always was when spring + came to remind her of her husband's promise. Somehow, well used as he was + to her mental wanderings, they made him uneasy to-night. His father had + left home on a fancied mission, a duty he believed to be a revelation + given by God through Jacob Cochrane. The farm did not miss him much at + first, Ivory reflected bitterly, for since his fanatical espousal of + Cochranism his father's interest in such mundane matters as household + expenses had diminished month by month until they had no meaning for him + at all. Letters to wife and boy had come at first, but after six months—during + which he had written from many places, continually deferring the date of + his return-they had ceased altogether. The rest was silence. Rumors of his + presence here or there came from time to time, but though Parson Lane and + Dr. Perry did their best, none of them were ever substantiated. + </p> + <p> + Where had those years of wandering been passed, and had they all been + given even to an imaginary and fantastic service of God? Was his father + dead? If he were alive, what could keep him from writing? Nothing but a + very strong reason, or a very wrong one, so his son thought, at times. + </p> + <p> + Since Ivory had grown to man's estate, he understood that in the later + days of Cochrane's preaching, his “visions,” “inspirations,” and + “revelations” concerning the marriage bond were a trifle startling from + the old-fashioned, orthodox point of view. His most advanced disciples + were to hold themselves in readiness to renounce their former vows and + seek “spiritual consorts,” sometimes according to his advice, sometimes as + their inclinations prompted. + </p> + <p> + Had Aaron Boynton forsaken, willingly, the wife of his youth, the mother + of his boy? If so, he must have realized to what straits he was subjecting + them. Ivory had not forgotten those first few years of grinding poverty, + anxiety, and suspense. His mother's mind had stood the strain bravely, but + it gave way at last; not, however, until that fatal winter journey to New + Hampshire, when cold, exposure, and fatigue did their worst for her weak + body. Religious enthusiast, exalted and impressionable, a natural mystic, + she had probably always been, far more so in temperament, indeed, than her + husband; but although she left home on that journey a frail and heartsick + woman, she returned a different creature altogether, blurred and confused + in mind, with clouded memory and irrational fancies. + </p> + <p> + She must have given up hope, just then, Ivory thought, and her love was so + deep that when it was uprooted the soil came with it. Now hope had + returned because the cruel memory had faded altogether. She sat by the + kitchen window in gentle expectation, watching, always watching. + </p> + <p> + And this is the way many of Ivory Boynton's evenings were spent, while the + heart of him, the five-and-twenty-year-old heart of him, was longing to + feel the beat of another heart, a girl's heart only a mile or more away. + The ice in Saco Water had broken up and the white blocks sailed + majestically down towards the sea; sap was mounting and the elm trees were + budding; the trailing arbutus was blossoming in the woods; the robins had + come;-everything was announcing the spring, yet Ivory saw no changing + seasons in his future; nothing but winter, eternal winter there! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + V. PATIENCE AND IMPATIENCE + </h2> + <p> + PATTY had been searching for eggs in the barn chamber, and coming down the + ladder from the haymow spied her father washing the wagon by the well-side + near the shed door. Cephas Cole kept store for him at meal hours and + whenever trade was unusually brisk, and the Baxter yard was so happily + situated that Old Foxy could watch both house and store. + </p> + <p> + There never was a good time to ask Deacon Baxter a favor, therefore this + moment would serve as well as any other, so, approaching him near enough + to be heard through the rubbing and splashing, but no nearer than was + necessary Patty said:— + </p> + <p> + “Father, can I go up to Ellen Wilson's this afternoon and stay to tea? I + won't start till I've done a good day's work and I'll come home early.” + </p> + <p> + “What do you want to go gallivantin' to the neighbors for? I never saw + anything like the girls nowadays; highty-tighty, flauntin', traipsin', + triflin' trollops, ev'ry one of 'em, that's what they are, and Ellen + Wilson's one of the triflin'est. You're old enough now to stay to home + where you belong and make an effort to earn your board and clothes, which + you can't, even if you try.” + </p> + <p> + Spunk, real, Simon-pure spunk, started somewhere in Patty and coursed + through her blood like wine. + </p> + <p> + “If a girl's old enough to stay at home and work, I should think she was + old enough to go out and play once in a while.” Patty was still too timid + to make this remark more than a courteous suggestion, so far as its tone + was concerned. + </p> + <p> + “Don't answer me back; you're full of new tricks, and you've got to stop + 'em, right where you are, or there'll be trouble. You were whistlin' just + now up in the barn chamber; that's one of the things I won't have round my + premises,—a whistlin' girl.” + </p> + <p> + “'T was a Sabbath-School hymn that I was whistling!” This with a + creditable imitation of defiance. + </p> + <p> + “That don't make it any better. Sing your hymns if you must make a noise + while you're workin'.” + </p> + <p> + “It's the same mouth that makes the whistle and sings the song, so I don't + see why one's any wickeder than the other.” + </p> + <p> + “You don't have to see,” replied the Deacon grimly; “all you have to do is + to mind when you're spoken to. Now run 'long 'bout your work.” + </p> + <p> + “Can't I go up to Ellen's, then?” + </p> + <p> + “What's goin' on up there?” + </p> + <p> + “Just a frolic. There's always a good time at Ellen's, and I would so like + the sight of a big, rich house now and then!” + </p> + <p> + “'Just a frolic.' Land o' Goshen, hear the girl! 'Sight of a big, rich + house,' indeed!—Will there be any boys at the party?” + </p> + <p> + “I s'pose so, or 't wouldn't be a frolic,” said Patty with awful daring; + “but there won't be many; only a few of Mark's friends.” + </p> + <div class='figcenter'> + <img src="images/illus-002.jpg" /> + <p>“Well, there ain't going to be no more argyfyin’!”</p> + </div> + <p> + “Well, there ain't goin' to be no more argyfyin'! I won't have any girl o' + mine frolickin' with boys, so that's the end of it. You're kind o' crazy + lately, riggin' yourself out with a ribbon here and a flower there, and + pullin' your hair down over your ears. Why do you want to cover your ears + up? What are they for?” + </p> + <p> + “To hear you with, father,” Patty replied, with honey-sweet voice and eyes + that blazed. + </p> + <p> + “Well, I hope they'll never hear anything worse,” replied her father, + flinging a bucket of water over the last of the wagon wheels. + </p> + <p> + “THEY COULDN'T!” These words were never spoken aloud, but oh! how Patty + longed to shout them with a clarion voice as she walked away in perfect + silence, her majestic gait showing, she hoped, how she resented the + outcome of the interview. + </p> + <p> + “I've stood up to father!” she exclaimed triumphantly as she entered the + kitchen and set down her yellow bowl of eggs on the table. “I stood up to + him, and answered him back three times!” + </p> + <p> + Waitstill was busy with her Saturday morning cooking, but she turned in + alarm. + </p> + <p> + “Patty, what have you said and done? Tell me quickly!” + </p> + <p> + “I 'argyfied,' but it didn't do any good; he won't let me go to Ellen's + party.” + </p> + <p> + Waitstill wiped her floury hands and put them on her sister's shoulders. + </p> + <p> + “Hear what I say, Patty: you must not argue with father, whatever he says. + We don't love him and so there isn't the right respect in our hearts, but + at least there can be respect in our manners.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't believe I can go on for years, holding in, Waitstill!” Patty + whimpered. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, you can. I have!” + </p> + <p> + “You're different, Waitstill.” + </p> + <p> + “I wasn't so different at sixteen, but that's five years ago, and I've got + control of my tongue and my temper since then. Sometime, perhaps, when I + have a grievance too great to be rightly borne, sometime when you are away + from here in a home of your own, I shall speak out to father; just empty + my heart of all the disappointment and bitterness and rebellion. Somebody + ought to tell him the truth, and perhaps it will be me!” + </p> + <p> + “I wish it could be me,” exclaimed Patty vindictively, and with an equal + disregard of grammar. + </p> + <p> + “You would speak in temper, I'm afraid, Patty, and that would spoil all. + I'm sorry you can't go up to Ellen's,” she sighed, turning back to her + work; “you don't have pleasure enough for one of your age; still, don't + fret; something may happen to change things, and anyhow the weather is + growing warmer, and you and I have so many more outings in summer-time. + Smooth down your hair, child; there are straws in it, and it's all rough + with the wind. I don't like flying hair about a kitchen.” + </p> + <p> + “I wish my hair was flying somewhere a thousand miles from here; or at + least I should wish it if it did not mean leaving you; for oh. I'm so + miserable and disappointed and unhappy!” + </p> + <p> + Waitstill bent over the girl as she flung herself down beside the table + and smoothed her shoulder gently. + </p> + <p> + “There, there, dear; it isn't like my gay little sister to cry. What is + the matter with you to-day, Patty?” + </p> + <p> + “I suppose it's the spring,” she said, wiping her eyes with her apron and + smiling through her tears. “Perhaps I need a dose of sulphur and + molasses.” + </p> + <p> + “Don't you feel well as common?” + </p> + <p> + “Well? I feel too well! I feel as if I was a young colt shut up in an + attic. I want to kick up my heels, batter the door down, and get out into + the pasture. It's no use talking, Waity;—I can't go on living + without a bit of pleasure and I can't go on being patient even for your + sake. If it weren't for you, I'd run away as Job did; and I never believed + Moses slipped on the logs; I'm sure he threw himself into the river, and + so should I if I had the courage!” + </p> + <p> + “Stop, Patty, stop, dear! You shall have your bit of pasture, at least. + I'll do some of your indoor tasks for you, and you shall put on your + sunbonnet and go out and dig the dandelion greens for dinner. Take the + broken knife and a milkpan and don't bring in so much earth with them as + you did last time. Dry your eyes and look at the green things growing. + Remember how young you are and how many years are ahead of you! Go along, + dear!” + </p> + <p> + Waitstill went about her work with rather a heavy heart. Was life going to + be more rather than less difficult, now that Patty was growing up? Would + she he able to do her duty both by father and sister and keep peace in the + household, as she had vowed, in her secret heart, always to do? She paused + every now and then to look out of the window and wave an encouraging hand + to Patty. The girl's bonnet was off, and her uncovered head blazed like + red gold in the sunlight. The short young grass was dotted with dandelion + blooms, some of them already grown to huge disks of yellow, and Patty + moved hither and thither, selecting the younger weeds, deftly putting the + broken knife under their roots and popping them into the tin pan. + Presently, for Deacon Baxter had finished the wagon and gone down the hill + to relieve Cephas Cole at the counter, Patty's shrill young whistle + floated into the kitchen, but with a mischievous glance at the open window + she broke off suddenly and began to sing the words of the hymn with rather + more emphasis and gusto than strict piety warranted. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “There'll be SOMEthing in heav-en for chil-dren to do, + None are idle in that bless-ed land: + There'll be WORK for the heart. There'll be WORK for the mind, + And emPLOYment for EACH little hand. + “There'll be SOME-thing to do, + There'll be SOME-thing to do, + There'll be SOME-thing for CHIL-dren to do! + On that bright blessed shore where there's joy evermore, + There'll be SOME-thing for CHIL-DREN to do.” + </pre> + <p> + Patty's young existence being full to the brim of labor, this view of + heaven never in the least appealed to her and she rendered the hymn with + little sympathy. The main part of the verse was strongly accented by jabs + at the unoffending dandelion roots, but when the chorus came she brought + out the emphatic syllables by a beat of the broken knife on the milkpan. + </p> + <p> + This rendition of a Sabbath-School classic did not meet Waitstill's ideas + of perfect propriety, but she smiled and let it pass, planning some sort + of recreation for a stolen half-hour of the afternoon. It would have to be + a walk through the pasture into the woods to see what had grown since they + went there a fortnight ago. Patty loved people better than Nature, but + failing the one she could put up with the other, for she had a sense of + beauty and a pagan love of color. There would be pale-hued innocence and + blue and white violets in the moist places, thought Waitstill, and they + would have them in a china cup on the supper-table. No, that would never + do, for last time father had knocked them over when he was reaching for + the bread, and in a silent protest against such foolishness got up from + the table and emptied theirs into the kitchen sink. + </p> + <p> + “There's a place for everything,” he said when he came back, “and the + place for flowers is outdoors.” + </p> + <p> + Then in the pine woods there would be, she was sure, Star of Bethlehem, + Solomon's Seal, the white spray of groundnuts and bunchberries. Perhaps + they could make a bouquet and Patty would take it across the fields to + Mrs. Boynton's door. She need not go in, and thus they would not be + disobeying their father's command not to visit that “crazy Boynton woman.” + </p> + <p> + Here Patty came in with a pan full of greens and the sisters sat down in + the sunny window to get them ready for the pot. + </p> + <p> + “I'm calmer,” the little rebel allowed. “That's generally the way it turns + out with me. I get into a rage, but I can generally sing it off!” + </p> + <p> + “You certainly must have got rid of a good deal of temper this morning, by + the way your voice sounded.” + </p> + <p> + “Nobody can hear us in this out-of-the-way place. It's easy enough to see + that the women weren't asked to say anything when the men settled where + the houses should be built! The men weren't content to stick them on the + top of a high hill, or half a mile from the stores, but put them back to + the main road, taking due care to cut the sink-window where their wives + couldn't see anything even when they were washing dishes.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't know that I ever thought about it in that way”; and Waitstill + looked out of the window in a brown study while her hands worked with the + dandelion greens. “I've noticed it, but I never supposed the men did it + intentionally.” + </p> + <p> + “No, you wouldn't,” said Patty with the pessimism of a woman of ninety, as + she stole an admiring glance at her sister. Patty's own face, irregular, + piquant, tantalizing, had its peculiar charm, and her brilliant skin and + hair so dazzled the masculine beholder that he took note of no small + defects; but Waitstill was beautiful; beautiful even in her working dress + of purple calico. Her single braid of hair, the Foxwell hair, that in her + was bronze and in Patty pale auburn, was wound once around her fine head + and made to stand a little as it went across the front. It was a simple, + easy, unconscious fashion of her own, quite different from anything done + by other women in her time and place, and it just suited her dignity and + serenity. It looked like a coronet, but it was the way she carried her + head that gave you the fancy, there was such spirit and pride in the poise + of it on the long graceful neck. Her eyes were as clear as mountain pools + shaded by rushes, and the strength of the face was softened by the + sweetness of the mouth. + </p> + <p> + Patty never let the conversation die out for many seconds at a time and + now she began again. “My sudden rages don't match my name very well, but, + of course, mother didn't know how I was going to turn out when she called + me Patience, for I was nothing but a squirming little bald, red baby; but + my name really is too ridiculous when you think about it.” + </p> + <p> + Waitstill laughed as she said: “It didn't take you long to change it! + Perhaps Patience was a hard word for a baby to say, but the moment you + could talk you said, 'Patty wants this' and 'Patty wants that.”' + </p> + <p> + “Did Patty ever get it? She never has since, that's certain! And look at + your name: it's 'Waitstill,' yet you never stop a moment. When you're not + in the shed or barn, or chicken-house, or kitchen or attic, or + garden-patch, you are working in the Sunday School or the choir.” + </p> + <p> + It seemed as if Waitstill did not intend to answer this arraignment of her + activities. She rose and crossed the room to put the pan of greens in the + sink, preparing to wash them. + </p> + <p> + Taking the long-handled dipper from the nail, she paused a moment before + plunging it into the water pail; paused, and leaning her elbow on a corner + of the shelf over the sink, looked steadfastly out into the orchard. + </p> + <p> + Patty watched her curiously and was just going to offer a penny for her + thoughts when Waitstill suddenly broke the brief silence by saying: “Yes, + I am always busy; it's better so, but all the same, Patty, I'm waiting,—inside! + I don't know for what, but I always feel that I am waiting!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VI. A KISS + </h2> + <p> + “SHALL we have our walk in the woods on the Edgewood side of the river, + just for a change, Patty?” suggested her sister. “The water is so high + this year that the river will be splendid. We can gather our flowers in + the hill pasture and then you'll be quite near Mrs. Boynton's and can + carry the nosegay there while I come home ahead of you and get supper. + I'll take to-day's eggs to father's store on the way and ask him if he + minds our having a little walk. I've an errand at Aunt Abby's that would + take me down to the bridge anyway.” + </p> + <p> + “Very well,” said Patty, somewhat apathetically. “I always like a walk + with you, but I don't care what becomes of me this afternoon if I can't go + to Ellen's party.” + </p> + <p> + The excursion took place according to Waitstill's plan, and at four + o'clock she sped back to her night work and preparations for supper, + leaving Patty with a great bunch of early wildflowers for Ivory's mother. + Patty had left them at the Boyntons' door with Rodman, who was picking up + chips and volunteered to take the nosegay into the house at once. + </p> + <p> + “Won't you step inside?” the boy asked shyly, wishing to be polite, but + conscious that visitors, from the village very seldom crossed the + threshold. + </p> + <p> + “I'd like to, but I can't this afternoon, thank you. I must run all the + way down the hill now, or I shan't be in time to supper.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you eat meals together over to your house?” asked the boy. + </p> + <p> + “We're all three at the table if that means together.” + </p> + <p> + “We never are. Ivory goes off early and takes lunch in a pail. So do I + when I go to school. Aunt Boynton never sits down to eat; she just stands + at the window and takes a bite of something now 'and then. You haven't got + any mother, have you?” + </p> + <p> + “No, Rodman.” + </p> + <p> + “Neither have I, nor any father, nor any relations but Aunt Boynton and + Ivory. Ivory is very good to me, and when he's at home I'm never + lonesome.” + </p> + <p> + “I wish you could come over and eat with sister and me,” said Patty + gently. “Perhaps sometime, when my father is away buying goods and we are + left alone, you could join us in the woods, and we would have a picnic? We + would bring enough for you; all sorts of good things; hard-boiled eggs, + doughnuts, apple-turnovers, and bread spread with jelly.” + </p> + <p> + “I'd like it fine!” exclaimed Rodman, his big dark eyes sparkling with + anticipation. “I don't have many boys to play with, and I never went to a + picnic Aunt Boynton watches for uncle 'most all the time; she doesn't know + he has been away for years and years. When she doesn't watch, she prays. + Sometimes she wants me to pray with her, but praying don't come easy to + me.” + </p> + <p> + “Neither does it to me,” said Patty. + </p> + <p> + “I'm good at marbles and checkers and back-gammon and jack-straws, + though.” + </p> + <p> + “So am I,” said Patty, laughing, “so we should be good friends. I'll try + to get a chance to see you soon again, but perhaps I can't; I'm a good + deal tied at home.” + </p> + <p> + “Your father doesn't like you to go anywheres, I guess,” interposed + Rodman. “I've heard Ivory tell Aunt Boynton things, but I wouldn't repeat + them. Ivory's trained me years and years not to tell anything, so I + don't.” + </p> + <p> + “That's a good boy!” approved Patty. Then as she regarded him more + closely, she continued, “I'm sorry you're lonesome, Rodman, I'd like to + see you look brighter.” + </p> + <p> + “You think I've been crying,” the boy said shrewdly. “So I have, but not + because I've been punished. The reason my eyes are so swollen up is + because I killed our old toad by mistake this morning. I was trying to see + if I could swing the scythe so's to help Ivory in haying-time. I've only + 'raked after' and I want to begin on mowing soon's I can. Then somehow or + other the old toad came out from under the steps; I didn't see him, and + the scythe hit him square. I cried for an hour, that's what I did, and I + don't care who knows it except I wouldn't like the boys at school to + hector me. I've buried the toad out behind the barn, and I hope Ivory'll + let me keep the news from Aunt Boynton. She cries enough now without my + telling her there's been a death in the family. She set great store by the + old toad, and so did all of us.” + </p> + <p> + “It's too bad; I'm sorry, but after all you couldn't help it.” + </p> + <p> + “No, but we should always look round every-wheres when we're cutting; + that's what Ivory says. He says folks shouldn't use edged tools till + they're old enough not to fool with 'em.” + </p> + <p> + And Rodman looked so wise and old-fashioned for his years that Patty did + not know whether to kiss him or cry over him, as she said: “Ivory's always + right, and now good-bye; I must go this very minute. Don't forget the + picnic.” + </p> + <p> + “I won't!” cried the boy, gazing after her, wholly entranced with her + bright beauty and her kindness. “Say, I'll bring something, too,—white-oak + acorns, if you like 'em; I've got a big bagful up attic!” + </p> + <p> + Patty sped down the long lane, crept under the bars, and flew like a + lapwing over the high-road. + </p> + <p> + “If father was only like any one else, things might be so different!” she + sighed, her thoughts running along with her feet. “Nobody to make a home + for that poor lonesome little boy and that poor lonesome big Ivory.... I + am sure that he is in love with Waitstill. He doesn't know it; she doesn't + know it; nobody does but me, but I'm clever at guessing. I was the only + one that surmised Jed Morrill was going to marry again.... I should almost + like Ivory for myself, he is so tall and handsome, but of course he can + never marry anybody; he is too poor and has his mother to look after. I + wouldn't want to take him from Waity, though, and then perhaps I couldn't + get him, anyway.... If I couldn't, he'd be the only one! I've never tried + yet, but I feel in my bones, somehow, that I could have any boy in + Edgewood or Riverboro, by just crooking my forefinger and beckoning to + him.. .. I wish—I wish—they were different! They don't make me + want to beckon to them! My forefinger just stays straight and doesn't feel + like crooking!... There's Cephas Cole, but he's as stupid as an owl. I + don't want a husband that keeps his mouth wide open whenever I'm talking, + no matter whether it's sense or nonsense. There's Phil Perry, but he likes + Ellen, and besides he's too serious for me; and there's Mark Wilson; he's + the best dressed, and the only one that's been to college. He looks at me + all the time in meeting, and asked me if I wouldn't take a walk some + Sunday afternoon. I know he planned Ellen's party hoping I'd be there!—Goodness + gracious, I do believe that is his horse coming behind me! There's no + other in the village that goes at such a gait!” + </p> + <p> + It was, indeed, Mark Wilson, who always drove, according to Aunt Abby + Cole, “as if he was goin' for a doctor.” He caught up with Patty almost in + the twinkling of an eye, but she was ready for him. She had taken off her + sunbonnet just to twirl it by the string, she was so warm with walking, + and in a jiffy she had lifted the clustering curls from her ears, tucked + them back with a single expert movement, and disclosed two coral pendants + just the color of her ear-tips and her glowing cheeks. + </p> + <p> + “Hello, Patty!” the young man called, in brusque country fashion, as he + reined up beside her. “What are you doing over here? Why aren't you on + your way to the party? I've been over to Limington and am breaking my neck + to get home in time myself.” + </p> + <p> + “I am not going; there are no parties for me!” said Patty plaintively. + “Not going! Oh! I say, what's the matter? It won't be a bit of fun without + you! Ellen and I made it up expressly for you, thinking your father + couldn't object to a candy-pull!” + </p> + <p> + “I can't help it; I did the best I could. Wait-still always asks father + for me, but I wouldn't take any chances to-day, and I spoke to him myself; + indeed I almost coaxed him!” + </p> + <p> + “He's a regular old skinflint!” cried Mark, getting out of the wagon and + walking beside her. + </p> + <p> + “You mustn't call him names,” Patty interposed with some dignity. “I call + him a good many myself, but I'm his daughter.” + </p> + <p> + “You don't look it,” said Mark admiringly. “Come and have a little ride, + Won't you?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I couldn't possibly, thank you. Some one would be sure to see us, and + father's so strict.” + </p> + <p> + “There isn't a building for half a mile! Just jump in and have a spin till + we come to the first house; then I'll let you out and you can walk the + rest of the way home. Come, do, and make up to me a little for my + disappointment. I'll skip the candy-pull if you say the word.” + </p> + <p> + It was an incredibly brief drive, at Mark's rate of speed; and as exciting + and blissful as it was brief and dangerous, Patty thought. Did she imagine + it, or did Mark help her into the wagon differently from—old Dr. + Perry, for instance? + </p> + <p> + The fresh breeze lifted the gold thread of her curls and gave her cheeks a + brighter color, while her breath came fast through her parted lips and her + eyes sparkled at the unexpected, unaccustomed pleasure. She felt so grown + up, so conscious of a new power as she sat enthroned on the little wagon + seat (Mark Wilson always liked his buggies “courtin' size” so the + neighbors said), that she was almost courageous enough to agree to make a + royal progress through the village; almost, but not quite. + </p> + <p> + “Come on, let's shake the old tabbies up and start 'em talking, shall we?” + Mark suggested. “I'll give you the reins and let Nero have a flick of the + whip.” + </p> + <p> + “No, I'd rather not drive,” she said. “I'd be afraid of this horse, and, + anyway, I must get out this very minute; yes, I really must. If you hold + Nero I can just slip down between the wheels; you needn't help me.” + </p> + <p> + Mark alighted notwithstanding her objections, saying gallantly, “I don't + miss this pleasure, not by a jugful! Come along! Jump!” + </p> + <p> + Patty stretched out her hands to be helped, but Mark forestalled her by + putting his arms around her and lifting her down. A second of time only + was involved, but in that second he held; her close and kissed her warm + cheek, her cheek that had never felt the touch of any lips but those of + Waitstill. She pulled her sunbonnet over her flaming face, while Mark, + with a gay smile of farewell, sprang into the wagon and gave his horse a + free rein. + </p> + <p> + Patty never looked up from the road, but walked faster and faster, her + heart beating at breakneck speed. It was a changed world that spun past + her; fright, triumph, shame, delight, a gratified vanity swam over her in + turn. + </p> + <p> + A few minutes later she heard once more the rumble of wheels on the road. + It was Cephas Cole driving towards her over the brow of Saco Hill. “He'll + have seen Mark,” she thought, “but he can't know I've talked and driven + with him. Ugh! how stupid and common he looks!” “I heard your father + blowin' the supper-horn jest as I come over the bridge,” remarked Cephas, + drawing up in the road. “He stood in the door-yard blowin' like Bedlam. I + guess you 're late to supper.” + </p> + <p> + “I'll be home in a few minutes,” said Patty, “I got delayed and am a + little behindhand.” + </p> + <p> + “I'll turn right round if you'll git in and lemme take you back-along a + piece; it'll save you a good five minutes,” begged Cephas, abjectly. + </p> + <p> + “All right; much obliged; but it's against the rules and you must drop me + at the foot of our hill and let me walk up.” + </p> + <p> + “Certain; I know the Deacon 'n' I ain't huntin' for trouble any more'n you + be; though I 'd take it quick enough if you jest give me leave! I ain't no + coward an' I could tackle the Deacon to-morrow if so be I had anything to + ask him.” + </p> + <p> + This seemed to Patty a line of conversation distinctly to be discouraged + under all the circumstances, and she tried to keep Cephas on the subject + of his daily tasks and his mother's rheumatism until she could escape from + his over-appreciative society. + </p> + <p> + “How do you like my last job?” he inquired as they passed his father's + house. “Some think I've got the ell a little mite too yaller. Folks that + ain't never handled a brush allers think they can mix paint better 'n them + that knows their trade.” + </p> + <p> + “If your object was to have everybody see the ell a mile away, you've + succeeded,” said Patty cruelly. She never flung the poor boy a civil word + for fear of getting something warmer than civility in return. + </p> + <p> + “It'll tone down,” Cephas responded, rather crestfallen. “I wanted a good + bright lastin' shade. 'T won't look so yaller when father lets me paint + the house to match, but that won't be till next year. He makes fun of the + yaller color same as you; says a home's something you want to forget when + you're away from it. Mother says the two rooms of the ell are big enough + for somebody to set up housekeepin' in. What do you think?” + </p> + <p> + “I never think,” returned Patty with a tantalizing laugh. “Good-night, + Cephas; thank you for giving me a lift!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VII. “WHAT DREAMS MAY COME” + </h2> + <p> + SUPPER was over and the work done at last; the dishes washed, the beans + put in soak, the hens shut up for the night, the milk strained and carried + down cellar. Patty went up to her little room with the one window and the + slanting walls and Waitstill followed and said good-night. Her father put + out the lights, locked the doors, and came up the creaking stairs. There + was never any talk between the sisters before going to bed, save on nights + when their father was late at the store, usually on Saturdays only, for + the good talkers of the village, as well as the gossips and loafers, + preferred any other place to swap stories than the bleak atmosphere + provided by old Foxy at his place of business. + </p> + <p> + Patty could think in the dark; her healthy young body lying not + uncomfortably on the bed of corn husks, and the patchwork comforter drawn + up under her chin. She could think, but for the first time she could not + tell her thoughts to Waitstill. She had a secret; a dazzling secret, just + like Ellen Wilson and some of the other girls who were several years + older. Her afternoon's experience loomed as large in her innocent mind as + if it had been an elopement. + </p> + <p> + “I hope I'm not engaged to be married to him, EVEN IF HE DID—” The + sentence was too tremendous to be finished, even in thought. “I don't + think I can be; men must surely say something, and not take it for granted + you are in love with them and want to marry them. It is what they say when + they ask that I should like much better than being married, when I'm only + just past seventeen. I wish Mark was a little different; I don't like his + careless ways! He admires me, I can tell one; that by the way he looks, + but he admires himself just as much, and expects me to do the same; still, + I suppose none of them are perfect, and girls have to forgive lots of + little things when they are engaged. Mother must have forgiven a good many + things when she took father. Anyway, Mark is going away for a month on + business, so I shan't have to make up my mind just yet!” Here sleep + descended upon the slightly puzzled, but on the whole delightfully + complacent, little creature, bringing her most alluring and untrustworthy + dreams. + </p> + <p> + The dear innocent had, indeed, no need of haste! Young Mr. Marquis de + Lafayette Wilson, Mark for short, was not in the least a gay deceiver or + ruthless breaker of hearts, and, so far as known, no scalps of village + beauties were hung to his belt. He was a likable, light-weight young chap, + as indolent and pleasure-loving as the strict customs of the community + would permit; and a kiss, in his mind, most certainly never would lead to + the altar, else he had already been many times a bridegroom. Miss Patience + Baxter's maiden meditations and uncertainties and perplexities, therefore, + were decidedly premature. She was a natural-born, unconsciously artistic, + highly expert, and finished coquette. She was all this at seventeen, and + Mark at twenty-four was by no means a match for her in this field of + effort, yet!—but sometimes, in getting her victim into the net, the + coquette loses her balance and falls in herself. There wasn't a bit of + harm in Marquis de Lafayette, but he was extremely agile in keeping out of + nets! + </p> + <p> + Waitstill was restless, too, that night, although she could not have told + the reason. She opened her window at the back of the house and leaned out. + The evening was mild with a soft wind blowing. She could hear the full + brook dashing through the edge of the wood-lot, and even the “ker-chug” of + an occasional bull-frog. There were great misty stars in the sky, but no + moon. + </p> + <p> + There was no light in Aunt Abby Cole's kitchen, but a faint glimmer shone + through the windows of Uncle Bart's joiner's shop, showing that the old + man was either having an hour of peaceful contemplation with no companion + but his pipe, or that there might be a little group of privileged + visitors, headed by Jed Morrill, busily discussing the affairs of the + nation. + </p> + <p> + Waitstill felt troubled and anxious to-night; bruised by the little daily + torments that lessened her courage but never wholly destroyed it. Any one + who believed implicitly in heredity might have been puzzled, perhaps, to + account for her. He might fantastically picture her as making herself out + of her ancestors, using a free hand, picking and choosing what she liked + best, with due care for the effect of combinations; selecting here and + there and modifying, if advisable, a trait of Grandpa or Grandma Foxwell, + of Great-Uncle or Great-Aunt Baxter; borrowing qualities lavishly from her + own gently born and gently bred mother, and carefully avoiding her + respected father's Stock, except, perhaps, to take a dash of his pluck and + an ounce of his persistence. Jed Morrill remarked of Deacon Baxter once: + “When Old Foxy wants anything he'll wait till hell freezes over afore + he'll give up.” Waitstill had her father's firm chin, but there the + likeness ended. The proud curve of her nostrils, the clear well-opened eye + with its deep fringe of lashes, the earnest mouth, all these came from the + mother who was little more than a dim memory. + </p> + <p> + Waitstill disdained any vague, dreary, colorless theory of life and its + meaning. She had joined the church at fifteen, more or less because other + girls did and the parson had persuaded her; but out of her hard life she + had somehow framed a courageous philosophy that kept her erect and + uncrushed, no matter how great her difficulties. She had no idea of + bringing a poor, weak, draggled soul to her Maker at the last day, saying + “Here is all I have managed to save out of what you gave me!” That would + be something, she allowed, immeasurably something; but pitiful compared + with what she might do if she could keep a brave, vigorous spirit and + march to the last tribunal strengthened by battles, struggles, defeats, + victories; by the defense of weaker human creatures, above all, warmed and + vitalized by the pouring out and gathering in of love. + </p> + <p> + Patty slept sweetly on the other side of the partition, the contemplation + of her twopenny triumphs bringing a smile to her childish lips: but even + so a good heart was there (still perhaps in the process of making), a + quick wit, ready sympathy, natural charm; plenty, indeed, for the stronger + sister to cherish, protect, and hold precious, as she did, with all her + mind and soul. + </p> + <p> + There had always been a passionate loyalty in Waitstill's affection, + wherever it had been bestowed. Uncle Bart delighted in telling an instance + of it that occurred when she was a child of five. Maine had just separated + amicably from her mother, Massachusetts, and become an independent state. + It was in the middle of March, but there was no snow on the ground and the + village boys had built a bonfire on a plot of land near Uncle Bart's + joiner's shop. There was a large gathering in celebration of the historic + event and Waitstill crept down the hill with her homemade rag doll in her + arms. She stood on the outskirts of the crowd, a silent, absorbed little + figure clad in a shabby woollen coat, with a blue knit hood framing her + rosy face. Deborah, her beloved, her only doll, was tightly clasped in her + arms, for Debby, like her parent, had few pleasures and must not be denied + so great a one as this. Suddenly, one of the thoughtless young scamps in + the group, wishing to create a new sensation and add to the general + excitement, caught the doll from the child's arms, and running forward + with a loud war-whoop, flung it into the flames. Waitstill did not lose an + instant. She gave a scream Of anguish, and without giving any warning of + her intentions, probably without realizing them herself, she dashed + through the little crowd into the bonfire and snatched her cherished + offspring from the burning pile. The whole thing was over in the twinkling + of an eye, for Uncle Bart was as quick as the child and dragged her out of + the imminent danger with no worse harm done than a good scorching. + </p> + <p> + He led the little creature up the hill to explain matters and protect her + from a scolding. She still held the doll against her heaving breast, + saying, between her sobs: “I couldn't let my Debby burn up! I couldn't, + Uncle Bart; she's got nobody but me! Is my dress scorched so much I can't + wear it? You'll tell father how it was, Uncle Bart, won't you?” + </p> + <p> + Debby bore the marks of her adventure longer than her owner, for she had + been longer in the fire, but, stained and defaced as she was, she was + never replaced, and remained the only doll of Waitstill's childhood. At + this very moment she lay softly and safely in a bureau drawer ready to be + lifted out, sometime, Waitstill fancied, and shown tenderly to Patty's + children. Of her own possible children she never thought. There was but + one man in the world who could ever be the father of them and she was + separated from him by every obstacle that could divide two human beings. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SUMMER + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VIII. THE JOINER'S SHOP + </h2> + <p> + VILLAGE “Aunts” and “Uncles” were elected to that relationship by the + common consent of the community; their fitness being established by great + age, by decided individuality or eccentricity of character, by uncommon + lovableness, or by the possession of an abundant wit and humor. There was + no formality about the thing; certain women were always called “Aunt + Sukie,” or “Aunt Hitty,” or what not, while certain men were distinguished + as “Uncle Rish,” or “Uncle Pel,” without previous arrangement, or the + consent of the high contracting parties. + </p> + <p> + Such a couple were Cephas Cole's father and mother, Aunt Abby and Uncle + Bart. Bartholomew Cole's trade was that of a joiner; as for Aunt Abby's, + it can only be said that she made all trades her own by sovereign right of + investigation, and what she did not know about her neighbor's occupations + was unlikely to be discovered on this side of Jordan. One of the villagers + declared that Aunt Abby and her neighbor, Mrs. Abel Day, had argued for an + hour before they could make a bargain about the method of disseminating a + certain important piece of news, theirs by exclusive right of discovery + and prior possession. Mrs. Day offered to give Mrs. Cole the privilege of + Saco Hill and Aunt Betty-Jack's, she herself to take Guide-Board and + Town-House Hills. Aunt Abby quickly proved the injustice of this decision, + saying that there were twice as many families living in Mrs. Day's chosen + territory as there were in that allotted to her, so the river road to + Milliken's Mills was grudgingly awarded to Aunt Abby by way of compromise, + and the ladies started on what was a tour of mercy in those days, the + furnishing of a subject of discussion for long, quiet evenings. + </p> + <p> + Uncle Bart's joiner's shop was at the foot of Guide-Board Hill on the + Riverboro side of the bridge, and it was the pleasantest spot in the whole + village. The shop itself had a cheery look, with its weather-stained + shingles, its small square windows, and its hospitable door, half as big + as the front side of the building. The step was an old millstone too worn + for active service, and the piles of chips and shavings on each side of it + had been there for so many years that sweet-williams, clove pinks, and + purple phlox were growing in among them in the most irresponsible fashion; + while a morning-glory vine had crept up and curled around a long-handled + rake that had been standing against the front of the house since early + spring. There was an air of cosy and amiable disorder about the place that + would have invited friendly confabulation even had not Uncle Bart's white + head, honest, ruddy face, and smiling welcome coaxed you in before you + were aware. A fine Nodhead apple tree shaded the side windows, and + underneath it reposed all summer a bright blue sleigh, for Uncle Bart + always described himself as being “plagued for shed room” and kept things + as he liked at the shop, having a “p'ison neat” wife who did exactly the + opposite at his house. + </p> + <p> + The seat of the sleigh was all white now with scattered fruit blossoms, + and one of Waitstill's earliest remembrances was of going downhill with + Patty toddling at her side; of Uncle Bart's lifting them into the sleigh + and permitting them to sit there and eat the ripe red apples that had + fallen from the tree. Uncle Bart's son, Cephas (Patty's secret adorer), + was a painter by trade, and kept his pots and cans and brushes in a little + outhouse at the back, while Uncle Bart himself stood every day behind his + long joiner's bench almost knee-deep in shavings. How the children loved + to play with the white, satiny rings, making them into necklaces, hanging + them to their ears and weaving them into wreaths. + </p> + <p> + Wonderful houses could always be built in the corner of the shop, out of + the little odds and ends and “nubbins” of white pine, and Uncle Bart was + ever ready to cut or saw a special piece needed for some great purpose. + </p> + <p> + The sound of the plane was sweet music in the old joiner's ears. “I don't + hardly know how I'd a made out if I'd had to work in a mill,” he said + confidentially to Cephas. “The noise of a saw goin' all day, coupled with + your mother's tongue mornin's an' evenin's, would 'a' been too much for my + weak head. I'm a quiet man, Cephas, a man that needs a peaceful shop where + he can get away from the comforts of home now and then, without shirkin' + his duty nor causin' gossip. If you should ever marry, Cephas,—which + don't look to me likely without you pick out a dif'rent girl,—I 'd + advise you not to keep your stock o' paints in the barn or the shed, for + it's altogether too handy to the house and the women-folks. Take my advice + and have a place to yourself, even if it's a small one. A shop or a barn + has saved many a man's life and reason Cephas, for it's ag'in' a woman's + nature to have you underfoot in the house without hectorin' you. Choose a + girl same's you would a horse that you want to hitch up into a span; 't + ain't every two that'll stan' together without kickin'. When you get the + right girl, keep out of her way consid'able an' there'll be less wear an' + tear.” + </p> + <p> + It was June and the countryside was so beautiful it seemed as if no one + could be unhappy, however great the cause. That was what Waitstill Baxter + thought as she sat down on the millstone step for a word with the old + joiner, her best and most understanding friend in all the village. + </p> + <p> + “I've come to do my mending here with you,” she said brightly, as she took + out her well-filled basket and threaded her needle. “Isn't it a wonderful + morning? Nobody could look the world in the face and do a wrong thing on + such a day, could they, Uncle Bart?” + </p> + <p> + The meadows were a waving mass of golden buttercups; the shallow water at + the river's edge just below the shop was blue with spikes of arrow-weed; a + bunch of fragrant water-lilies, gathered from the mill-pond's upper + levels, lay beside Waitstill's mending-basket, and every foot of roadside + and field within sight was swaying with long-stemmed white and gold + daisies. The June grass, the friendly, humble, companionable grass, that + no one ever praises as they do the flowers, was a rich emerald green, a + velvet carpet fit for the feet of the angels themselves. And the elms and + maples! Was there ever such a year for richness of foliage? And the sky, + was it ever so blue or so clear, so far away, or so completely like + heaven, as you looked at its reflection in the glassy surface of the + river? + </p> + <p> + “Yes, it's a pretty good day,” allowed Uncle Bart judicially as he took a + squint at his T-square. “I don' know's I should want to start out an' try + to beat it! The Lord can make a good many kinds o' weather in the course + of a year, but when He puts his mind on to it, an' kind o' gives Himself a + free hand, He can turn out a June morning that must make the Devil sick to + his stomach with envy! All the same, Waity, my cow ain't behavin' herself + any better'n usual. She's been rampagin' since sun-up. I've seen mother + chasin' her out o' Mis' Day's garden-patch twice a'ready!—It seems + real good an' homey to see you settin' there sewin' while I'm workin' at + the bench. Cephas is down to the store, so I s'pose your father's off + somewheres?” + </p> + <p> + Perhaps the June grass was a little greener, the buttercups yellower, the + foliage more lacey, the sky bluer, because Deacon Baxter had taken his + luncheon in a pail under the wagon seat, and departed on an unwilling + journey to Moderation, his object being to press the collection of some + accounts too long overdue. There was something tragic in the fact, + Waitstill thought, that whenever her father left the village for a whole + day, life at once grew brighter, easier, more hopeful. One could breathe + freely, speak one's heart out, believe in the future, when father was + away. + </p> + <p> + The girls had harbored many delightful plans at early breakfast. As it was + Saturday, Patty could catch little Rod Boynton, if he came to the bridge + on errands as usual; and if Ivory could spare him for an hour at noon they + would take their luncheon and eat it together on the river-bank as Patty + had promised him. At the last moment, however, Deacon Baxter had turned + around in the wagon and said: “Patience, you go down to the store and have + a regular house-cleanin' in the stock-room. Git Cephas to lift what you + can't lift yourself, move everything in the place, sweep and dust it, + scrub the floor, wash the winder, and make room for the new stuff that + they'll bring up from Mill-town 'bout noon. If you have any time left + over, put new papers on the shelves out front, and clean up and fix the + show winder. Don't stand round gabbin' with Cephas, and see't he don't + waste time that's paid for by me. Tell him he might clean up the terbaccer + stains round the stove, black it, and cover it up for the summer if he + ain't too busy servin' cust'mers.” + </p> + <p> + “The whole day spoiled!” wailed Patty, flinging herself down in the + kitchen rocker. “Father's powers of invention beat anything I ever saw! + That stock-room could have been cleaned any time this month and it's too + heavy work for me anyway; it spoils my hands, grubbing around those nasty, + sticky, splintery boxes and barrels. Instead of being out of doors, I've + got to be shut up in that smelly, rummy, tobacco-y, salt-fishy, + pepperminty place with Cephas Cole! He won't have a pleasant morning, I + can tell you! I shall snap his head off every time he speaks to me.” + </p> + <p> + “So I would!” Waitstill answered composedly. “Everything is so clearly his + fault that I certainly would work off my temper on Cephas! Still, I can + think of a way to make matters come out right. I've got a great basket of + mending that must be done, and you remember there's a choir rehearsal for + the new anthem this afternoon, but anyway I can help a little on the + cleaning. Then you can make Rodman do a few of the odd jobs, it will be a + novelty to him; and Cephas will work his fingers to the bone for you, as + you well know, if you treat him like a human being.” + </p> + <p> + “All right!” cried Patty joyously, her mood changing in an instant. + “There's Rod coming over the bridge now! Toss me my gingham apron and the + scrubbing-brush, and the pail, and the tin of soft soap, and the cleaning + cloths; let's see, the broom's down there, so I've got everything. If I + wave a towel from the store, pack up luncheon for three. You come down and + bring your mending; then, when you see how I'm getting on, we can consult. + I'm going to take the ten cents I've saved and spend it in raisins. I can + get a good many if Cephas gives me wholesale price, with family discount + subtracted from that. Cephas would treat me to candy in a minute, but if I + let him we'd have to ask him to the picnic! Good-bye!” And the volatile + creature darted down the hill singing, “There'll be something in heaven + for children to do,” at the top of her healthy young lungs. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IX. CEPHAS SPEAKS + </h2> + <p> + THE waving signal, a little later on, showed that Rodman could go to the + picnic, the fact being that he was having a holiday from eleven o'clock + until two, and Ivory was going to drive to the bridge at noon, anyway, so + his permission could then be asked. + </p> + <p> + Patty's mind might have been thought entirely on her ugly task as she + swept and dusted and scrubbed that morning, but the reverse was true. Mark + Wilson had gone away without saying good-bye to her. This was not + surprising, perhaps, as she was about as much sequestered in her hilltop + prison as a Turkish beauty in a harem; neither was it astonishing that + Mark did not write to her. He never had written to her, and as her father + always brought home the very infrequent letters that came to the family, + Mark knew that any sentimental correspondence would be fraught with + danger. No, everything was probably just as it should be, and yet,—well, + Patty had expected during the last three weeks that something would happen + to break up the monotony of her former existence. She hardly knew what it + would be, but the kiss dropped so lightly on her cheek by Mark Wilson + still burned in remembrance, and made her sure that it would have a + sequel, or an explanation. + </p> + <p> + Mark's sister Ellen and Phil Perry were in the midst of some form of + lover's quarrel, and during its progress Phil was paying considerable + attention to Patty at Sabbath School and prayer-meeting, occasions, it + must be confessed, only provocative of very indirect and long-distance + advances. Cephas Cole, to the amazement of every one but his + (constitutionally) exasperated mother, was “toning down” the ell of the + family mansion, mitigating the lively yellow, and putting another fresh + coat of paint on it, for no conceivable reason save that of pleasing the + eye of a certain capricious, ungrateful young hussy, who would probably + say, when her verdict was asked, that she didn't see any particular + difference in it, one way or another. + </p> + <p> + Trade was not especially brisk at the Deacon's emporium this sunny June + Saturday morning. Cephas may have possibly lost a customer or two by + leaving the store vacant while he toiled and sweated for Miss Patience + Baxter in the stockroom at the back, overhanging the river, but no man + alive could see his employer's lovely daughter tugging at a keg of shingle + nails without trying to save her from a broken back, although Cephas could + have watched his mother move the house and barn without feeling the + slightest anxiety in her behalf. If he could ever get the “heft” of the + “doggoned” cleaning out of the way so that Patty's mind could be free to + entertain his proposition; could ever secure one precious moment of + silence when she was not slatting and banging, pushing and pulling things + about, her head and ears out of sight under a shelf, and an irritating air + of absorption about her whole demeanor; if that moment of silence could + ever, under Providence, be simultaneous with the absence of customers in + the front shop, Cephas intended to offer himself to Patience Baxter that + very morning. + </p> + <p> + Once, during a temporary lull in the rear, he started to meet his fate + when Rodman Boynton followed him into the back room, and the boy was at + once set to work by Patty, who was the most consummate slave-driver in the + State of Maine. After half an hour there was another Heavensent chance, + when Rodman went up to Uncle Bart's shop with a message for Waitstill, + but, just then, in came Bill Morrill, a boy of twelve, with a request for + a gallon of molasses; and would Cephas lend him a stone jug over Sunday, + for his mother had hers soakin' out in soap-suds 'cause 't wa'n't smellin' + jest right. Bill's message given, he hurried up the road on another + errand, promising to call for the molasses later. + </p> + <p> + Cephas put the gallon measure under the spigot of the molasses hogshead + and turned on the tap. The task was going to be a long one and he grew + impatient, for the stream was only a slender trickle, scarcely more than + the slow dripping of drops, so the molasses must be very never low, and + with his mind full of weightier affairs he must make a note to tell the + Deacon to broach a new hogshead. Cephas feared that he could never make + out a full gallon, in which case Mrs. Morrill would be vexed, for she kept + mill boarders and baked quantities of brown bread and gingerbread and + molasses cookies for over Sunday. He did wish trade would languish + altogether on this particular morning. The minutes dragged by and again + there was perfect quiet in the stock-room. As the door opened, Cephas, + taking his last chance, went forward to meet Patty, who was turning down + the skirt of her dress, taking the cloth off her head, smoothing her hair, + and tying on a clean white ruffed apron, in which she looked as pretty as + a pink. + </p> + <p> + “Patty!” stammered Cephas, seizing his golden opportunity, “Patty, keep + your mind on me for a minute. I've put a new coat o' paint on the ell just + to please you; won't you get married and settle down with me? I love you + so I can't eat nor drink nor 'tend store nor nothin'!” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I—I—couldn't, Cephas, thank you; I just couldn't,—don't + ask me,” cried Patty, as nervous as Cephas himself now that her first + offer had really come; “I'm only seventeen and I don't feel like settling + down, Cephas, and father wouldn't think of letting me get married.” + </p> + <p> + “Don't play tricks on me, Patty, and keep shovin' me off so, an' givin' + wrong reasons,” pleaded Cephas. “What's the trouble with me? I know + mother's temper's onsartain, but we never need go into the main house + daytimes and father'd allers stand up ag'in' her if she didn't treat you + right. I've got a good trade and father has a hundred dollars o' my + savin's that I can draw out to-morrer if you'll have me.” + </p> + <p> + “I can't, Cephas; don't move; stay where you are; no, don't come any + nearer; I'm not fond of you that way, and, besides,—and, besides—” + </p> + <p> + Her blush and her evident embarrassment gave Cephas a new fear. + </p> + <p> + “You ain't promised a'ready, be you?” he asked anxiously; “when there + ain't a feller anywheres around that's ever stepped foot over your + father's doorsill but jest me?” + </p> + <p> + “I haven't promised anything or anybody,” + </p> + <p> + Patty answered sedately, gaining her self-control by degrees, “but I won't + deny that I'm considering; that's true!” + </p> + <p> + “Considerin' who?” asked Cephas, turning pale. + </p> + <p> + “Oh,—SEVERAL, if you must know the truth”; and Patty's tone was + cruel in its jauntiness. + </p> + <p> + “SEVERAL!” The word did not sound like ordinary work-a-day Riverboro + English in Cephas's ears. He knew that “several” meant more than one, but + he was too stunned to define the term properly in its present strange + connection. + </p> + <p> + “Whoever 't is wouldn't do any better by you'n I would. I'd take a lickin' + for you any day,” Cephas exclaimed abjectly, after a long pause. + </p> + <p> + “That wouldn't make any difference, Cephas,” said Patty firmly, moving + towards the front door as if to end the interview. “If I don't love you + UNlicked, I couldn't love you any better licked, now, could I?—Goodness + gracious, what am I stepping in? Cephas, quick! Something has been running + all over the floor. My feet are sticking to it.” + </p> + <p> + “Good Gosh! It's Mis' Morrill's molasses!” cried Cephas, brought to his + senses suddenly. + </p> + <p> + It was too true! Whatever had been the small obstruction in the tap, it + had disappeared. The gallon measure had been filled to the brim ten + minutes before, and ever since, the treacly liquid had been overflowing + the top and spreading in a brown flood, unnoticed, over the floor. Patty's + feet were glued to it, her buff calico skirts lifted high to escape harm. + </p> + <p> + “I can't move,” she cried. “Oh! You stupid, stupid Cephas, how could you + leave the molasses spigot turned on? See what you've done! You've wasted + quarts and quarts! What will father say, and how will you ever clean up + such a mess? You never can get the floor to look so that he won't notice + it, and he is sure to miss the molasses. You've ruined my shoes, and I + simply can't bear the sight of you!” + </p> + <p> + At this Cephas all but blubbered in the agony of his soul. It was bad + enough to be told by Patty that she was “considering several,” but his + first romance had ended in such complete disaster that he saw in a vision + his life blasted; changed in one brief moment from that of a prosperous + young painter to that of a blighted and despised bungler, whose week's + wages were likely to be expended in molasses to make good the Deacon's + loss. + </p> + <p> + “Find those cleaning-cloths I left in the hack room,” ordered Patty with a + flashing eye. “Get some blocks, or bits of board, or stones, for me to + walk on, so that I can get out of your nasty mess. Fill Bill Morrill's + jug, quick, and set it out on the steps for him to pick up. I don't know + what you'd do without me to plan for you! Lock the front door and hang + father's sign that he's gone to dinner on the doorknob. Scoop up all the + molasses you can with one of those new trowels on the counter. Scoop, and + scrape, and scoop, and scrape; then put a cloth on your oldest broom, pour + lots of water on, pail after pail, and swab! When you've swabbed till it + won't do any more good, then scrub! After that, I shouldn't wonder if you + had to fan the floor with a newspaper or it'll never get dry before father + comes home. I'll sit on the flour barrel a little while and advise, but I + can't stay long because I'm going to a picnic. Hurry up and don't look as + if you were going to die any minute! It's no use crying over spilt + molasses. You don't suppose I'm going to tell any tales after you've made + me an offer of marriage, do you? I'm not so mean as all that, though I may + have my faults.” + </p> + <p> + It was nearly two o'clock before the card announcing Deacon Baxter's + absence at dinner was removed from the front doorknob, and when the store + was finally reopened for business it was a most dejected clerk who dealt + out groceries to the public. The worst feature of the affair was that + every one in the two villages suddenly and contemporaneously wanted + molasses, so that Cephas spent the afternoon reviewing his misery by + continually turning the tap and drawing off the fatal liquid. Then, too, + every inquisitive boy in the neighborhood came to the back of the store to + view the operation, exclaiming: “What makes the floor so wet? Hain't been + spillin' molasses, have yer? Bet yer have! Good joke on Old Foxy!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + X. ON TORY HILL + </h2> + <p> + It had been a heavenly picnic the little trio all agreed as to that; and + when Ivory saw the Baxter girls coming up the shady path that led along + the river from the Indian Cellar to the bridge, it was a merry group and a + transfigured Rodman that caught his eye. The boy, trailing on behind with + the baskets and laden with tin dippers and wildflowers, seemed another + creature from the big-eyed, quiet little lad he saw every day. He had + chattered like a magpie, eaten like a bear, is torn his jacket getting + wild columbines for Patty, been nicely darned by Waitstill, and was in a + state of hilarity that rendered him quite unrecognizable. + </p> + <p> + “We've had a lovely picnic!” called Patty; “I wish you had been with us!” + </p> + <p> + “You didn't ask me!” smiled Ivory, picking up Waitstill's mending-basket + from the nook in the trees where she had hidden it for safe-keeping. + </p> + <p> + “We've played games, Ivory,” cried the boy. “Patty made them up herself. + First we had the 'Landing of the Pilgrims,' and Waitstill made believe be + the figurehead of the Mayflower. She stood on a great boulder and sang:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'The breaking waves dashed high + On a stern and rock-bound coast'— +</pre> + <p> + and, oh! she was splendid! Then Patty was Pocahontas and I was Cap'n John + Smith, and look, we are all dressed up for the Indian wedding!” + </p> + <p> + Waitstill had on a crown of white birch bark and her braid of hair, twined + with running ever-green, fell to her waist. Patty was wreathed with + columbines and decked with some turkey feathers that she had put in her + basket as too pretty to throw away. Waitstill looked rather conscious in + her unusual finery, but Patty sported it with the reckless ease and + innocent vanity that characterized her. + </p> + <p> + “I shall have to run into father's store to put myself tidy,” Waitstill + said, “so good-bye, Rodman, we'll have another picnic some day. Patty, you + must do the chores this afternoon, you know, so that I can go to choir + rehearsal.” + </p> + <p> + Rodman and Patty started up the hill gayly with their burdens, and Ivory + walked by Waitstill's side as she pulled off her birch-bark crown and + twisted her braid around her head with a heightened color at being + watched. + </p> + <p> + “I'll say good-bye now, Ivory, but I'll see you at the meeting-house,” she + said, as she neared the store. “I'll go in here and brush the pine needles + off, wash my hands, and rest a little before rehearsal. That's a puzzling + anthem we have for to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + “I have my horse here; let me drive you up to the church.” + </p> + <p> + “I can't, Ivory, thank you. Father's orders are against my driving out + with any one, you know.” + </p> + <p> + “Very well, the road is free, at any rate. I'll hitch my horse down here + in the woods somewhere and when you start to walk I shall follow and catch + up with you. There's luckily only one way to reach the church from here, + and your father can't blame us if we both take it!” + </p> + <p> + And so it fell out that Ivory and Waitstill walked together in the cool of + the afternoon to the meeting-house on Tory Hill. Waitstill kept the beaten + path on one side and Ivory that on the other, so that the width of the + country road, deep in dust, was between them, yet their nearness seemed so + tangible a thing that each could feel the heart beating in the other's + side. Their talk was only that of tried friends, a talk interrupted by + long beautiful silences; silences that come only to a man and woman whose + understanding of each other is beyond question and answer. Not a sound + broke the stillness, yet the very air, it seemed to them, was shedding + meanings: the flowers were exhaling a love secret with their fragrances, + the birds were singing it boldly from the tree-tops, yet no word passed + the man's lips or the girl's. Patty would have hung out all sorts of + signals and lures to draw the truth from Ivory and break through the walls + of his self-control, but Waitstill, never; and Ivory Boynton was made of + stuff so strong that he would not speak a syllable of love to a woman + unless he could say all. He was only five-and-twenty, but he had been + reared in a rigorous school, and had learned in its poverty, loneliness, + and anxiety lessons of self-denial and self-control that bore daily fruit + now. He knew that Deacon Baxter would never allow any engagement to exist + between Waitstill and himself; he also knew that Waitstill would never + defy and disobey her father if it meant leaving her younger sister to + fight alone a dreary battle for which she was not fitted. If there was + little hope on her side there seemed even less on his. His mother's mental + illness made her peculiarly dependent upon him, and at the same time held + him in such strict bondage that it was almost impossible for him to get on + in the world or even to give her the comforts she needed. In villages like + Riverboro in those early days there was no putting away, even of men or + women so demented as to be something of a menace to the peace of the + household; but Lois Boynton was so gentle, so fragile, so exquisite a + spirit, that she seemed in her sad aloofness simply a thing to be + sheltered and shielded somehow in her difficult life journey. Ivory often + thought how sorely she needed a daughter in her affliction. If the baby + sister had only lived, the home might have been different; but alas! there + was only a son,—a son who tried to be tender and sympathetic, but + after all was nothing but a big, clumsy, uncomprehending man-creature, who + ought to be felling trees, ploughing, sowing, reaping, or at least + studying law, making his own fortune and that of some future wife. Old + Mrs. Mason, a garrulous, good-hearted grandame, was their only near + neighbor, and her visits always left his mother worse rather than better. + How such a girl as Waitstill would pour comfort and beauty and joy into a + lonely house like his, if only he were weak enough to call upon her + strength and put it to so cruel a test. God help him, he would never do + that, especially as he could not earn enough to keep a larger family, + bound down as he was by inexorable responsibilities. Waitstill, thus far + in life, had suffered many sorrows and enjoyed few pleasures; marriage + ought to bring her freedom and plenty, not carking care and poverty. He + stole long looks at the girl across the separating space that was so + helpless to separate,—feeding his starved heart upon her womanly + graces. Her quick, springing step was in harmony with the fire and courage + of her mien. There was a line or two in her face,—small wonder; but + an “unconquerable soul” shone in her eyes; shone, too, in no uncertain + way, but brightly and steadily, expressing an unshaken joy in living. + Valiant, splendid, indomitable Waitstill! He could never tell her, alas! + but how he gloried in her! + </p> + <p> + It is needless to say that no woman could be the possessor of such a love + as Ivory Boynton's and not know of its existence. Waitstill never heard a + breath of it from Ivory's lips; even his eyes were under control and + confessed nothing; nor did his hand ever clasp hers, to show by a + tell-tale touch the truth he dared not utter; nevertheless she felt that + she was beloved. She hid the knowledge deep in her heart and covered it + softly from every eye but her own; taking it out in the safe darkness + sometimes to wonder over and adore in secret. Did her love for Ivory rest + partly on a sense of vocation?—a profound, inarticulate divining of + his vast need of her? He was so strong, yet so weak because of the yoke he + bore, so bitterly alone in his desperate struggle with life, that her + heart melted like wax whenever she thought of him. When she contemplated + the hidden mutiny in her own heart, she was awestruck sometimes at the + almost divine patience of Ivory's conduct as a son. + </p> + <p> + “How is your mother this summer, Ivory?” she asked as they sat down on the + meeting-house steps waiting for Jed Morrill to open the door. “There is + little change in her from year to year, Waitstill.—By the way, why + don't we get out of this afternoon sun and sit in the old graveyard under + the trees? We are early and the choir won't get here for half an hour.—Dr. + Perry says that he does not understand mother's case in the least, and + that no one but some great Boston physician could give a proper opinion on + it; of course, that is impossible at present.” + </p> + <p> + They sat down on the grass underneath one of the elms and Waitstill took + off her hat and leaned back against the tree-trunk. + </p> + <p> + “Tell me more,” she said; “it is so long since we talked together quietly + and we have never really spoken of your mother.” + </p> + <p> + “Of course,” Ivory continued, “the people of the village all think and + speak of mother's illness as religious insanity, but to me it seems + nothing of the sort. I was only a child when father first fell ill with + Jacob Cochrane, but I was twelve when father went away from home on his + 'mission,' and if there was any one suffering from delusions in our family + it was he, not mother. She had altogether given up going to the Cochrane + meetings, and I well remember the scene when my father told her of the + revelation he had received about going through the state and into New + Hampshire in order to convert others and extend the movement. She had no + sympathy with his self-imposed mission, you may be sure, though now she + goes back in her memory to the earlier days of her married life, when she + tried hard, poor soul, to tread the same path that father was treading, so + as to be by his side at every turn of the road. + </p> + <p> + “I am sure” (here Ivory's tone was somewhat dry and satirical) “that + father's road had many turns, Waitstill! He was a schoolmaster in Saco, + you know, when I was born but he soon turned from teaching to preaching, + and here my mother followed with entire sympathy, for she was intensely, + devoutly religious. I said there was little change in her, but there is + one new symptom. She has ceased to refer to her conversion to Cochranism + as a blessed experience. Her memory of those first days seems to have + faded, As to her sister's death and all the circumstances of her bringing + Rodman home, her mind is a blank. Her expectation of father's return, on + the other hand, is much more intense than ever.” + </p> + <p> + “She must have loved your father dearly, Ivory, and to lose him in this + terrible way is much worse than death. Uncle Bart says he had a great gift + of language!” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, and it was that, in my mind, that led him astray. I fear that the + Spirit of God was never so strong in father as the desire to influence + people by his oratory. That was what drew him to preaching in the first + place, and when he found in Jacob Cochrane a man who could move an + audience to frenzy, lift them out of the body, and do with their spirits + as he willed, he acknowledged him as master. Whether his gospel was a pure + and undefiled religion I doubt, but he certainly was a master of mesmeric + control. My mother was beguiled, entranced, even bewitched at first, I + doubt not, for she translated all that Cochrane said into her own speech, + and regarded him as the prophet of a new era. But Cochrane's last + 'revelations' differed from the first, and were of the earth, earthy. My + mother's pure soul must have revolted, but she was not strong enough to + drag father from his allegiance. Mother was of better family than father, + but they were both well educated and had the best schooling to be had in + their day. So far as I can judge, mother always had more 'balance' than + father, and much better judgment,—yet look at her now!” + </p> + <p> + “Then you think it was your father's disappearance that really caused her + mind to waver?” asked Waitstill. + </p> + <p> + “I do, indeed. I don't know what happened between them in the way of + religious differences, nor how much unhappiness these may have caused. I + remember she had an illness when we first came here to live and I was a + little chap of three or four, but that was caused by the loss of a child, + a girl, who lived only a few weeks. She recovered perfectly, and her head + was as clear as mine for a year or two after father went away. As his + letters grew less frequent, as news of him gradually ceased to come, she + became more and more silent, and retired more completely into herself. She + never went anywhere, nor entertained visitors, because she did not wish to + hear the gossip and speculation that were going on in the village. Some of + it was very hard for a wife to bear, and she resented it indignantly; yet + never received a word from father with which to refute it. At this time, + as nearly as I can judge, she was a recluse, and subject to periods of + profound melancholy, but nothing worse. Then she took that winter journey + to her sister's deathbed, brought home the boy, and, hastened by exposure + and chill and grief, I suppose, her mind gave way,—that's all!” And + Ivory sighed drearily as he stretched himself on the greensward, and + looked off towards the snow-clad New Hampshire hills. “I've meant to write + the story of the 'Cochrane craze' sometime, or such part of it as has to + do with my family history, and you shall read it if you like. I should set + down my child-hood and my boyhood memories, together with such scraps of + village hearsay as seem reliable. You were not so much younger than I, but + I was in the thick of the excitement, and naturally I heard more than you, + having so bitter a reason for being interested. Jacob Cochrane has + altogether disappeared from public view, but there's many a family in + Maine and New Hampshire, yes, and in the far West, that will feel his + influence for years to come.” + </p> + <p> + “I should like very much to read your account. Aunt Abby's version, for + instance, is so different from Uncle Bart's that one can scarcely find the + truth between the two; and father's bears no relation to that of any of + the others.” + </p> + <p> + “Some of us see facts and others see visions,” replied Ivory, “and these + differences of opinion crop up in the village every day when anything + noteworthy is discussed. I came upon a quotation in my reading last + evening that described it: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'One said it thundered... another that an angel spake'” + </pre> + <p> + “Do you feel as if your father was dead, Ivory?” + </p> + <p> + “I can only hope so! That thought brings sadness with it, as one remembers + his disappointment and failure, but if he is alive he is a traitor.” + </p> + <p> + There was a long pause and they could see in the distance Humphrey Barker + with his clarionet and Pliny Waterhouse with his bass viol driving up to + the churchyard fence to hitch their horses. The sun was dipping low and + red behind the Town-House Hill on the other side of the river. + </p> + <p> + “What makes my father dislike the very mention of yours?” asked Waitstill. + “I know what they say: that it is because the two men had high words once + in a Cochrane meeting, when father tried to interfere with some of the + exercises and was put out of doors. It doesn't seem as if that grievance, + seventeen or eighteen years ago, would influence his opinion of your + mother, or of you.” + </p> + <p> + “It isn't likely that a man of your father's sort would forget or forgive + what he considered an injury; and in refusing to have anything to do with + the son of a disgraced man and a deranged woman, he is well within his + rights.” + </p> + <p> + Ivory's cheeks burned red under the tan, and his hand trembled a little as + he plucked bits of clover from the grass and pulled them to pieces + absent-mindedly. “How are you getting on at home these days, Waitstill?” + he asked, as if to turn his own mind and hers from a too painful subject. + </p> + <p> + “You have troubles enough of your own without hearing mine, Ivory, and + anyway they are not big afflictions, heavy sorrows, like those you have to + bear. Mine are just petty, nagging, sordid, cheap little miseries, like + gnat-bites;—so petty and so sordid that I can hardly talk to God + about them, much less to a human friend. Patty is my only outlet and I + need others, yet I find it almost impossible to escape from the narrowness + of my life and be of use to any one else.” The girl's voice quivered and a + single tear-drop on her cheek showed that she was speaking from a full + heart. “This afternoon's talk has determined me in one thing,” she went + on. “I am going to see your mother now and then. I shall have to do it + secretly, for your sake, for hers, and for my own, but if I am found out, + then I will go openly. There must be times when one can break the lower + law, and yet keep the higher. Father's law, in this case, is the lower, + and I propose to break it.” + </p> + <p> + “I can't have you getting into trouble, Waitstill,” Ivory objected. + “You're the one woman I can think of who might help my mother; all the + same, I would not make your life harder; not for worlds!” + </p> + <p> + “It will not be harder, and even if it was I should 'count it all joy' to + help a woman bear such sorrow as your mother endures patiently day after + day”; and Waitstill rose to her feet and tied on her hat as one who had + made up her mind. + </p> + <p> + It was almost impossible for Ivory to hold his peace then, so full of + gratitude was his soul and so great his longing to pour out the feeling + that flooded it. He pulled himself together and led the way out of the + churchyard. To look at Waitstill again would be to lose his head, but to + his troubled heart there came a flood of light, a glory from that lamp + that a woman may hold up for a man; a glory that none can take from him, + and none can darken; a light by which he may walk and live and die. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XI. A JUNE SUNDAY + </h2> + <p> + IT was a Sunday in June, and almost the whole population of Riverboro and + Edgewood was walking or driving in the direction of the meeting-house on + Tory Hill. + </p> + <p> + Church toilettes, you may well believe, were difficult of attainment by + Deacon Baxter's daughters, as they had been by his respective helpmates in + years gone by. When Waitstill's mother first asked her husband to buy her + a new dress, and that was two years after marriage, he simply said: “You + look well enough; what do you want to waste money on finery for, these + hard times? If other folks are extravagant, that ain't any reason you + should be. You ain't obliged to take your neighbors for an example:—take + 'em for a warnin'!” + </p> + <p> + “But, Foxwell, my Sunday dress is worn completely to threads,” urged the + second Mrs. Baxter. + </p> + <p> + “That's what women always say; they're all alike; no more idea o' savin' + anything than a skunk-blackbird! I can't spare any money for gew-gaws, and + you might as well understand it first as last. Go up attic and open the + hair trunk by the winder; you'll find plenty there to last you for years + to come.” + </p> + <p> + The second Mrs. Baxter visited the attic as commanded, and in turning over + the clothes in the old trunk, knew by instinct that they had belonged to + her predecessor in office. Some of the dresses were neat, though terribly + worn and faded, but all were fortunately far too short and small for a + person of her fine proportions. Besides, her very soul shrank from wearing + them, and her spirit revolted both from the insult to herself and to the + poor dead woman she had succeeded, so she came downstairs to darn and mend + and patch again her shabby wardrobe. Waitstill had gone through the same + as her mother before her, but in despair, when she was seventeen, she + began to cut over the old garments for herself and Patty. Mercifully there + were very few of them, and they had long since been discarded. At eighteen + she had learned to dye yarns with yellow oak or maple bark and to make + purples from elder and sumac berries; she could spin and knit as well as + any old “Aunt” of the village, and cut and shape a garment as deftly as + the Edgewood tailoress, but the task of making bricks without straw was a + hard one, indeed. + </p> + <p> + She wore a white cotton frock on this particular Sunday. It was starched + and ironed with a beautiful gloss, while a touch of distinction was given + to her costume by a little black sleeveless “roundabout” made out of the + covering of an old silk umbrella. Her flat hat had a single wreath of + coarse daisies around the crown, and her mitts were darned in many places, + nevertheless you could not entirely spoil her; God had used a liberal hand + in making her, and her father's parsimony was a sort of boomerang that + flew back chiefly upon himself. + </p> + <p> + As for Patty, her style of beauty, like Cephas Cole's ell had to be toned + down rather than up, to be effective, but circumstances had been cruelly + unrelenting in this process of late. Deacon Baxter had given the girls + three or four shopworn pieces of faded yellow calico that had been + repudiated by the village housewives as not “fast” enough in color to bear + the test of proper washing. This had made frocks, aprons, petticoats, and + even underclothes, for two full years, and Patty's weekly objurgations + when she removed her everlasting yellow dress from the nail where it hung + were not such as should have fallen from the lips of a deacon's daughter. + Waitstill had taken a piece of the same yellow material, starched and + ironed it, cut a curving, circular brim from it, sewed in a pleated crown, + and lo! a hat for Patty! What inspired Patty to put on a waist ribbon of + deepest wine color, with a little band of the same on the pale yellow hat, + no one could say. + </p> + <p> + “Do you think you shall like that dull red right close to the yellow, + Patty?” Waitstill asked anxiously. + </p> + <p> + “It looks all right on the columbines in the Indian Cellar,” replied + Patty, turning and twisting the hat on her head. “If we can't get a peek + at the Boston fashions, we must just find our styles where we can!” + </p> + <p> + The various roads to Tory Hill were alive with vehicles on this bright + Sunday morning. Uncle Bart and Abel Day, with their respective wives on + the back seat of the Cole's double wagon, were passed by Deacon Baxter and + his daughters, Waitstill being due at meeting earlier than others by + reason of her singing in the choir. The Deacon's one-horse, two-wheeled + “shay” could hold three persons, with comfort on its broad seat, and the + twenty-year-old mare, although she was always as hollow as a gourd, could + generally do the mile, uphill all the way, in half an hour, if urged + continually, and the Deacon, be it said, if not good at feeding, was + unsurpassed at urging. + </p> + <p> + Aunt Abby Cole could get only a passing glimpse of Patty in the depths of + the “shay,” but a glimpse was always enough for her, as her opinion of the + girl's charms was considerably affected by the forlorn condition of her + son Cephas, whom she suspected of being hopelessly in love with the young + person aforesaid, to whom she commonly alluded as “that red-headed + bag-gage.” + </p> + <p> + “Patience Baxter's got the kind of looks that might do well enough at a + tavern dance, or a husking, but they're entirely unsuited to the Sabbath + day or the meetin'-house,” so Aunt Abby remarked to Mrs. Day in the way of + backseat confidence. “It's unfortunate that a deacon's daughter should be + afflicted with that bold style of beauty! Her hair's all but red; in fact, + you might as well call it red, when the sun shines on it: but if she'd + ever smack it down with bear's grease she might darken it some; or anyhow + she'd make it lay slicker; but it's the kind of hair that just matches + that kind of a girl,—sort of up an' comin'! Then her skin's so white + and her cheeks so pink and her eyes so snappy that she'd attract attention + without half trying though I guess she ain't above makin' an effort.” + </p> + <p> + “She's innocent as a kitten,” observed Mrs. Day impartially. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes, she's innocent enough an' I hope she'll keep so! Waitstill's a + sight han'somer, if the truth was told; but she's the sort of girl that's + made for one man and the rest of em never look at her. The other one's cut + out for the crowd, the more the merrier. She's a kind of man-trap, that + girl is!—Do urge the horse a little mite, Bartholomew! It makes me + kind o' hot to be passed by Deacon Baxter. It's Missionary Sunday, too, + when he gen'ally has rheumatism too bad to come out.” + </p> + <p> + “I wonder if he ever puts anything into the plate,” said Mrs. Day. “No one + ever saw him, that I know of.” + </p> + <p> + “The Deacon keeps the Thou Shalt Not commandments pretty well,” was Aunt + Abby's terse response. “I guess he don't put nothin' into the plate, but I + s'pose we'd ought to be thankful he don't take nothin' out. The Baptists + are gettin' ahead faster than they'd ought to, up to the Mills. Our + minister ain't no kind of a proselyter, Seems as if he didn't care how + folks got to heaven so long as they got there! The other church is havin' + a service this afternoon side o' the river, an' I'd kind o' like to go, + except it would please 'em too much to have a crowd there to see the + immersion. They tell me, but I don't know how true, that that Tillman + widder woman that come here from somewheres in Vermont wanted to be + baptized to-day, but the other converts declared THEY wouldn't be, if she + was!” + </p> + <p> + “Jed Morrill said they'd have to hold her under water quite a spell to do + any good,” chuckled Uncle Bart from the front seat. + </p> + <p> + “Well, I wouldn't repeat it, Bartholomew, on the Sabbath day; not if he + did say it. Jed Morrill's responsible for more blasphemious jokes than any + man in Edgewood. I don't approve of makin' light of anybody's religious + observances if they're ever so foolish,” said Aunt Abby somewhat + enigmatically. “Our minister keeps remindin' us that the Baptists and + Methodists are our brethren, but I wish he'd be a little more anxious to + have our S'ceity keep ahead of the others.” + </p> + <p> + “Jed's 'bout right in sizin' up the Widder Tillman,” was Mr. Day's timid + contribution to the argument. “I ain't a readin' man, but from what folks + report I should think she was one o' them critters that set on rocks + bewilderin' an' bedevilin' men-folks out o' their senses—SYREENS, I + think they call 'em; a reg'lar SYREEN is what that woman is, I guess!” + </p> + <p> + “There, there, Abel, you wouldn't know a syreen if you found one in your + baked beans, so don't take away a woman's character on hearsay.” And Mrs. + Day, having shut up her husband as was her bounden duty as a wife and a + Christian, tied her bonnet strings a little tighter and looked distinctly + pleased with herself. + </p> + <p> + “Abel ain't startin' any new gossip,” was Aunt Abby's opinion, as she + sprung to his rescue. “One or two more holes in a colander don't make much + dif'rence.—Bartholomew, we're certainly goin' to be late this + mornin'; we're about the last team on the road”; and Aunt Abby glanced + nervously behind. “Elder Boone ain't begun the openin' prayer, though, or + we should know it. You can hear him pray a mile away, when the wind's + right. I do hate to be late to meetin'. The Elder allers takes notice; the + folks in the wing pews allers gapes an' stares, and the choir peeks + through the curtain, takin' notes of everything you've got on your back. I + hope to the land they'll chord and keep together a little mite better 'n + they've done lately, that's all I can say! If the Lord is right in our + midst as the Bible says, He can't think much of our singers this summer!” + </p> + <p> + “They're improvin', now that Pliny Waterhouse plays his fiddle,” Mrs. Day + remarked pacifically. “There was times in the anthem when they kept + together consid'able well last Sunday. They didn't always chord, but + there, they chorded some!—we're most there now, Abby, don't fret! + Cephas won't ring the last bell till he knows his own folks is crossin' + the Common!” + </p> + <p> + Those were days of conscientious church-going and every pew in the house + was crowded. The pulpit was built on pillars that raised it six feet + higher than the floor; the top was cushioned and covered with red velvet + surmounted by a huge gilt-edged Bible. There was a window in the tower + through which Cephas Cole could look into the church, and while tolling + the bell could keep watch for the minister. Always exactly on time, he + would come in, walk slowly up the right-hand aisle, mount the pulpit + stairs, enter and close the door after him. Then Cephas would give one + tremendous pull to warn loiterers on the steps; a pull that meant, + “Parson's in the pulpit!” and was acted upon accordingly. Opening the big + Bible, the minister raised his right hand impressively, and saying, “Let + us pray,” the whole congregation rose in their pews with a great rustling + and bowed their heads devoutly for the invocation. + </p> + <p> + Next came the hymn, generally at that day one of Isaac Watts's. The + singers, fifteen or twenty in number, sat in a raised gallery opposite the + pulpit, and there was a rod in front hung with red curtains to hide them + when sitting down. Any one was free to join, which perhaps accounted for + Aunt Abby's strictures as to time and tune. Jed Morrill, “blasphemious” as + he was considered by that acrimonious lady, was the leader, and a good + one, too. There would be a great whispering and buzzing when Deacon Sumner + with his big fiddle and Pliny Waterhouse with his smaller one would try to + get in accord with Humphrey Baker and his clarionet. All went well when + Humphrey was there to give the sure key-note, but in his absence Jed + Morrill would use his tuning-fork. When the key was finally secured by all + concerned, Jed would raise his stick, beat one measure to set the time, + and all joined in, or fell in, according to their several abilities. It + was not always a perfect thing in the way of a start, but they were well + together at the end of the first line, and when, as now, the choir + numbered a goodly number of voices, and there were three or four hundred + in the pews, nothing more inspiring in its peculiar way was ever heard, + than the congregational singing of such splendid hymns as “Old Hundred,” + “Duke Street,” or “Coronation.” + </p> + <p> + Waitstill led the trebles, and Ivory was at the far end of the choir in + the basses, but each was conscious of the other's presence. This morning + he could hear her noble voice rising a little above, or, perhaps from its + quality, separating itself somehow, ever so little, from the others. How + full of strength and hope it was, her voice! How steadfast to the pitch; + how golden its color; how moving in its crescendos! How the words flowed + from her lips; not as if they had been written years ago, but as if they + were the expression of her own faith. There were many in the congregation + who were stirred, they knew not why, when there chanced to be only a few + “carrying the air” and they could really hear Waitstill Baxter singing + some dear old hymn, full of sacred memories, like:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “While Thee I seek, protecting Power, + Be my vain wishes stilled! + And may this consecrated hour + With better hopes be filled.” + </pre> + <p> + “There may be them in Boston that can sing louder, and they may be able to + run up a little higher than Waitstill, but the question is, could any of + 'em make Aunt Abby Cole shed tears?” This was Jed Morrill's tribute to his + best soprano. + </p> + <p> + There were Sunday evening prayer-meetings, too, held at “early + candlelight,” when Waitstill and Lucy Morrill would make a duet of “By + cool Siloam's Shady Rill,” or the favorite “Naomi,” and the two fresh + young voices, rising and falling in the tender thirds of the old tunes, + melted all hearts to new willingness of sacrifice. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Father, whate'er of earthly bliss + Thy sov'reign will denies, + Accepted at Thy Throne of grace + Let this petition rise! + + “Give me a calm, a thankful heart, + From every murmur free! + The blessing of Thy grace impart + And let me live to Thee!” + </pre> + <p> + How Ivory loved to hear Waitstill sing these lines! How they eased his + burden as they were easing hers, falling on his impatient, longing heart + like evening dew on thirsty grass! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XII. THE GREEN-EYED MONSTER + </h2> + <p> + “WHILE Thee I seek, protecting Power,” was the first hymn on this + particular Sunday morning, and it usually held Patty's rather vagrant + attention to the end, though it failed to do so to-day. The Baxters + occupied one of the wing pews, a position always to be envied, as one + could see the singers without turning around, and also observe everybody + in the congregation,—their entrance, garments, behavior, and + especially their bonnets,—without being in the least indiscreet, or + seeming to have a roving eye. + </p> + <p> + Lawyer Wilson's pew was the second in front of the Baxters in the same + wing, and Patty, seated decorously but unwillingly beside her father, was + impatiently awaiting the entrance of the family, knowing that Mark would + be with them if he had returned from Boston. Timothy Grant, the parish + clerk, had the pew in between, and afforded a most edifying spectacle to + the community, as there were seven young Grants of a church-going age, and + the ladies of the congregation were always counting them, reckoning how + many more were in their cradles at home and trying to guess from Mrs. + Grant's lively or chastened countenance whether any new ones had been born + since the Sunday before. + </p> + <p> + Patty settled herself comfortably, and put her foot on the wooden + “cricket,” raising her buff calico a little on the congregation side, just + enough to show an inch or two of petticoat. The petticoat was as modestly + long as the frock itself, and disclosing a bit of it was nothing more + heinous than a casual exhibition of good needlework. Deacon Baxter + furnished only the unbleached muslin for his daughters' undergarments; but + twelve little tucks laboriously done by hand, elaborate inch-wide edging, + crocheted from white spool cotton, and days of bleaching on the grass in + the sun, will make a petticoat that can be shown in church with some + justifiable pride. + </p> + <p> + The Wilsons came up the aisle a moment later than was their usual habit, + just after the parson had ascended the pulpit. Mrs. Wilson always entered + the pew first and sat in the far end. Patty had looked at her admiringly, + and with a certain feeling of proprietorship, for several Sundays. There + was obviously no such desirable mother-in-law in the meeting-house. Her + changeable silk dress was the latest mode; her shawl of black llama lace + expressed wealth in every delicate mesh, and her bonnet had a distinction + that could only have emanated from Portland or Boston. Ellen Wilson + usually came in next, with as much of a smile to Patty in passing as she + dared venture in the Deacon's presence, and after her sidled in her + younger sister Selina, commonly called “Silly,” and with considerable + reason. + </p> + <p> + Mark had come home! Patty dared not look up, but she felt his approach + behind the others, although her eyes sought the floor, and her cheeks hung + out signals of abashed but certain welcome. She heard the family settle in + their seats somewhat hastily, the click of the pew door and the sound of + Lawyer Wilson's cane as he stood it in the corner; then the parson rose to + pray and Patty closed her eyes with the rest of the congregation. + </p> + <p> + Opening them when Elder Boone rose to announce the hymn, they fell—amazed, + resentful, uncomprehending—on the spectacle of Mark Wilson finding + the place in the book for a strange young woman who sat beside him. Mark + himself had on a new suit and wore a seal ring that Patty had never + observed before; while the dress, pelisse, and hat of the unknown were of + a nature that no girl in Patty's position, and particularly of Patty's + disposition, could have regarded without a desire to tear them from her + person and stamp them underfoot; or better still, flaunt them herself and + show the world how they should be worn! + </p> + <p> + Mark found the place in the hymn-book for the—creature, shared it + with her, and once, when the Grant twins wriggled and Patty secured a + better view, once, Mark shifted his hand on the page so that his thumb + touched that of his pretty neighbor, who did not remove hers as if she + found the proximity either unpleasant or improper. Patty compared her own + miserable attire with that of the hated rival in front, and also + contrasted Lawyer Wilson's appearance with that of her father; the former, + well dressed in the style of a gentleman of the time, in broadcloth, with + fine linen, and a tall silk hat carefully placed on the floor of the pew; + while Deacon Baxter wore homespun made of wool from his own sheep, spun + and woven, dyed and finished, at the fulling-mill in the village, and + carried a battered felt hat that had been a matter of ridicule these dozen + years. (The Deacon would be buried in two coats, Jed Morrill always said, + for he owned just that number, and would be too mean to leave either of + 'em behind him!) + </p> + <p> + The sermon was fifty minutes long, time enough for a deal of thinking. + Many a housewife, not wholly orthodox, cut and made over all her + children's clothes, in imagination; planned the putting up of her fruit, + the making of her preserves and pickles, and arranged her meals for the + next week, during the progress of those sermons. Patty watched the parson + turn leaf after leaf until the final one was reached. Then came the last + hymn, when the people stretched their aching limbs, and rising, turned + their backs on the minister and faced the choir. Patty looked at Waitstill + and wished that she could put her throbbing head on her sisterly shoulder + and cry,—mostly with rage. The benediction was said, and with the + final “Amen” the pews were opened and the worshippers crowded into the + narrow aisles and moved towards the doors. + </p> + <p> + Patty's plans were all made. She was out of her pew before the Wilsons + could possibly leave theirs, and in her progress down the aisle securely + annexed her great admirer, old Dr. Perry, as well as his son Philip. + Passing the singing-seats she picked up the humble Cephas and carried him + along in her wake, chatting and talking with her little party while her + father was at the horse-sheds, making ready to go home between services as + was his habit, a cold bite being always set out on the kitchen table + according to his orders. By means of these clever manoeuvres Patty made + herself the focus of attention when the Wilson party came out on the + steps, and vouchsafed Mark only a nonchalant nod, airily flinging a little + greeting with the nod,—just a “How d'ye do, Mark? Did you have a + good time in Boston?” + </p> + <p> + Patty and Waitstill, with some of the girls who had come long distances, + ate their luncheon in a shady place under the trees behind the + meeting-house, for there was an afternoon service to come, a service with + another long sermon. They separated after the modest meal to walk about + the Common or stray along the road to the Academy, where there was a fine + view. + </p> + <p> + Two or three times during the summer the sisters always went quietly and + alone to the Baxter burying-lot, where three grassgrown graves lay beside + one another, unmarked save by narrow wooden slabs so short that the + initials painted on them were almost hidden by the tufts of clover. The + girls had brought roots of pansies and sweet alyssum, and with a knife + made holes in the earth and planted them here and there to make the spot a + trifle less forbidding. They did not speak to each other during this + sacred little ceremony; their hearts were too full when they remembered + afresh the absence of headstones, the lack of care, in the place where the + three women lay who had ministered to their father, borne him children, + and patiently endured his arbitrary and loveless rule. Even Cleve + Flanders' grave,—the Edgewood shoemaker, who lay next,—even + his resting-place was marked and, with a touch of some one's imagination + marked by the old man's own lapstone twenty-five pounds in weight, a + monument of his work-a-day life. + </p> + <p> + Waitstill rose from her feet, brushing the earth from her hands, and Patty + did the same. The churchyard was quiet, and they were alone with the dead, + mourned and unmourned, loved and unloved. + </p> + <p> + “I planted one or two pansies on the first one's grave,” said Waitstill + soberly. “I don't know why we've never done it before. There are no + children to take notice of and remember her; it's the least we can do, + and, after all, she belongs to the family.” + </p> + <p> + “There is no family, and there never was!” suddenly cried Patty. “Oh! + Waity, Waity, we are so alone, you and I! We've only each other in all the + world, and I'm not the least bit of help to you, as you are to me! I'm a + silly, vain, conceited, ill-behaved thing, but I will be better, I will! + You won't ever give me up, will you, Waity, even if I'm not like you? I + haven't been good lately!” + </p> + <p> + “Hush, Patty, hush!” And Waitstill came nearer to her sister with a + motherly touch of her hand. “I'll not have you say such things; you that + are the helpfullest and the lovingest girl that ever was, and the + cleverest, too, and the liveliest, and the best company-keeper!” + </p> + <p> + “No one thinks so but you!” Patty responded dolefully, although she wiped + her eyes as if a bit consoled. + </p> + <p> + It is safe to say that Patty would never have given Mark Wilson a second + thought had he not taken her to drive on that afternoon in early May. The + drive, too, would have quickly fled from her somewhat fickle memory had it + not been for the kiss. The kiss was, indeed, a decisive factor in the + situation, and had shed a rosy, if somewhat fictitious light of romance + over the past three weeks. Perhaps even the kiss, had it never been + repeated, might have lapsed into its true perspective, in due course of + time, had it not been for the sudden appearance of the stranger in the + Wilson pew. The moment that Patty's gaze fell upon that fashionably + dressed, instantaneously disliked girl, Marquis Wilson's stock rose twenty + points in the market. She ceased, in a jiffy, to weigh and consider and + criticize the young man, but regarded him with wholly new eyes. His figure + was better than she had realized, his smile more interesting, his manners + more attractive, his eyelashes longer; in a word, he had suddenly grown + desirable. A month ago she could have observed, with idle and alien + curiosity, the spectacle of his thumb drawing nearer to another (feminine) + thumb, on the page of the Watts and Select Hymn book; now, at the morning + service, she had wished nothing so much as to put Mark's thumb back into + his pocket where it belonged, and slap the girl's thumb smartly and + soundly as it deserved. + </p> + <p> + The ignorant cause of Patty's distress was a certain Annabel Franklin, the + daughter of a cousin of Mrs. Wilson's. Mark had stayed at the Franklin + house during his three weeks' visit in Boston, where he had gone on + business for his father. The young people had naturally seen much of each + other and Mark's inflammable fancy had been so kindled by Annabel's + doll-like charms that he had persuaded her to accompany him to his home + and get a taste of country life in Maine. Such is man, such is human + nature, and such is life, that Mark had no sooner got the whilom object of + his affections under his own roof than she began to pall. + </p> + <p> + Annabel was twenty-three, and to tell the truth she had palled before, + more than once. She was so amiable, so well-finished,—with her + smooth flaxen hair, her neat nose, her buttonhole of a mouth, and her trim + shape,—that she appealed to the opposite sex quite generally and + irresistibly as a worthy helpmate. The only trouble was that she began to + bore her suitors somewhat too early in the game, and they never got far + enough to propose marriage. Flaws in her apparent perfection appeared from + day to day and chilled the growth of the various young loves that had + budded so auspiciously. She always agreed with everybody and everything in + sight, even to the point of changing her mind on the instant, if + circumstances seemed to make it advisable. Her instinctive point of view, + when she went so far as to hold one, was somewhat cut and dried; in a + word, priggish. She kept a young man strictly on his good behavior, that + much could be said in her favor; the only criticism that could be made on + this estimable trait was that no bold youth was ever tempted to overstep + the bounds of discretion when in her presence. No unruly words of love + ever rose to his lips; his hand never stole out involuntarily and + imprudently to meet her small chilly one; the sight of her waist never + even suggested an encircling arm; and as a fellow never desired to kiss + her, she was never obliged to warn or rebuke or strike him off her + visiting list. Her father had an ample fortune and some one would + inevitably turn up who would regard Annabel as an altogether worthy and + desirable spouse. That was what she had seemed to Mark Wilson for a full + week before he left the Franklin house in Boston, but there were moments + now when he regretted, fugitively, that he had ever removed her from her + proper sphere. She did not seem to fit in to the conditions of life in + Edgewood, and it may even be that her most glaring fault had been to + describe Patty Baxter's hair at this very Sunday dinner as “carroty,” her + dress altogether “dreadful,” and her style of beauty “unladylike.” Ellen + Wilson's feelings were somewhat injured by these criticisms of her + intimate friend, and in discussing the matter privately with her brother + he was inclined to agree with her. + </p> + <p> + And thus, so little do we know of the prankishness of the blind god, thus + was Annabel Franklin working for her rival's best interests; and instead + of reviling her in secret, and treating her with disdain in public, Patty + should have welcomed her cordially to all the delights of Riverboro + society. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0016" id="link2H_4_0016"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XIII. HAYING-TIME + </h2> + <p> + EVERYBODY in Riverboro, Edgewood, Milliken's Mills, Spruce Swamp, Duck + Pond, and Moderation was “haying.” There was a perfect frenzy of haying, + for it was the Monday after the “Fourth,” the precise date in July when + the Maine farmer said good-bye to repose, and “hayed” desperately and + unceasingly, until every spear of green in his section was mowed down and + safely under cover. If a man had grass of his own, he cut it, and if he + had none, he assisted in cutting that of some other man, for “to hay,” + although an unconventional verb, was, and still is, a very active one, and + in common circulation, although not used by the grammarians. + </p> + <p> + Whatever your trade, and whatever your profession, it counted as naught in + good weather. The fish-man stopped selling fish, the meat-man ceased to + bring meat; the cobbler, as well as the judge, forsook the bench; and even + the doctor made fewer visits than usual. The wage for work in the + hay-fields was a high one, and every man, boy, and horse in a village was + pressed into service. + </p> + <p> + When Ivory Boynton had finished with his own small crop, he commonly went + at once to Lawyer Wilson, who had the largest acreage of hay-land in the + township. Ivory was always in great demand, for he was a mighty worker in + the field, and a very giant at “pitching,” being able to pick up a + fair-sized hay-cock at one stroke of the fork and fling it on to the cart + as if it were a feather. Lawyer Wilson always took a hand himself if signs + of rain appeared, and Mark occasionally visited the scene of action when a + crowd in the field made a general jollification, or when there was an + impending thunderstorm. In such cases even women and girls joined the + workers and all hands bent together to the task of getting a load into the + barn and covering the rest. + </p> + <p> + Deacon Baxter was wont to call Mark Wilson a “worthless, whey-faced, + lily-handed whelp,” but the description, though picturesque, was decidedly + exaggerated. Mark disliked manual labor, but having imbibed enough + knowledge of law in his father's office to be an excellent clerk, he much + preferred travelling about, settling the details of small cases, + collecting rents and bad bills, to any form of work on a farm. This sort + of life, on stage-coaches and railway trains, or on long driving trips + with his own fast trotter, suited his adventurous disposition and gave him + a sense of importance that was very necessary to his peace of mind. He was + not especially intimate with Ivory Boynton, who studied law with his + father during all vacations and in every available hour of leisure during + term time, as did many another young New England schoolmaster. Mark's + father's praise of Ivory's legal ability was a little too warm to please + his son, as was the commendation of one of the County Court judges on + Ivory's preparation of a brief in a certain case in the Wilson office. + Ivory had drawn it up at Mr. Wilson's request, merely to show how far he + understood the books and cases he was studying, and he had no idea that it + differed in any way from the work of any other student; all the same, + Mark's own efforts in a like direction had never received any special + mention. When he was in the hay-field he also kept as far as possible from + Ivory, because there, too, he felt a superiority that made him, for the + moment, a trifle discontented. It was no particular pleasure for him to + see Ivory plunge his fork deep into the heart of a hay-cock, take a firm + grasp of the handle, thrust forward his foot to steady himself, and then + raise the great fragrant heap slowly, and swing it up to the waiting + haycart amid the applause of the crowd. Rodman would be there, too, + helping the man on top of the load and getting nearly buried each time, as + the mass descended upon him, but doing his slender best to distribute and + tread it down properly, while his young heart glowed with pride at Cousin + Ivory's prowess. + </p> + <p> + Independence Day had passed, with its usual gayeties for the young people, + in none of which the Baxter family had joined, and now, at eleven o'clock + on this burning July morning, Waitstill was driving the old mare past the + Wilson farm on her way to the river field. Her father was working there, + together with the two hired men whom he took on for a fortnight during the + height of the season. If mowing, raking, pitching, and carting of the + precious crop could only have been done at odd times during the year, or + at night, he would not have embittered the month of July by paying out + money for labor: but Nature was inexorable in the ripening of hay and Old + Foxy was obliged to succumb to the inevitable. Waitstill had a basket + packed with luncheon for three and a great demijohn of cool ginger tea + under the wagon seat. Other farmers sometimes served hard cider, or rum, + but her father's principles were dead against this riotous extravagance. + Temperance, in any and all directions, was cheap, and the Deacon was a + very temperate man, save in language. + </p> + <p> + The fields on both sides of the road were full of haymakers and everywhere + there was bustle and stir. There would be three or four men, one leading, + the others following, slowly swinging their way through a noble piece of + grass, and the smell of the mown fields in the sunshine was sweeter than + honey in the comb. There were patches of black-eyed Susans in the meadows + here and there, while pink and white hardhack grew by the road, with day + lilies and blossoming milkweed. The bobolinks were fluting from every + tree; there were thrushes in the alder bushes and orioles in the tops of + the elms, and Waitstill's heart overflowed with joy at being in such a + world of midsummer beauty, though life, during the great heat and + incessant work of haying-time, was a little more rigorous than usual. The + extra food needed for the hired men always kept her father in a state of + mind closely resembling insanity. Coming downstairs to cook breakfast she + would find the coffee or tea measured out for the pot. The increased + consumption of milk angered him beyond words, because it lessened the + supply of butter for sale. Everything that could be made with buttermilk + was ordered so to be done, and nothing but water could be used in mixing + the raised bread. The corncake must never have an egg; the piecrust must + be shortened only with lard, or with a mixture of beef-fat and dripping; + and so on, and so on, eternally. + </p> + <p> + When the girls were respectively seventeen and thirteen, Waitstill had + begged a small plot of ground for them to use as they liked, and beginning + at that time they had gradually made a little garden, with a couple of + fruit trees and a thicket of red, white, and black currants raspberry and + blackberry bushes. For several summers now they had sold enough of their + own fruit to buy a pair of shoes or gloves, a scarf or a hat, but even + this tiny income was beginning to be menaced. The Deacon positively + suffered as he looked at that odd corner of earth, not any bigger than his + barn floor, and saw what his girls had done with no tools but a spade and + a hoe and no help but their own hands. He had no leisure (so he growled) + to cultivate and fertilize ground for small fruits, and no money to pay a + man to do it, yet here was food grown under his very eye, and it did not + belong to him! The girls worked in their garden chiefly at sunrise in + spring and early summer, or after supper in the evening; all the same + Waitstill had been told by her father the day before that she was not only + using ground, but time, that belonged to him, and that he should expect + her to provide “pie-filling” out of her garden patch during haying, to + help satisfy the ravenous appetites of that couple of “great, gorming, + greedy lubbers” that he was hiring this year. He had stopped the peeling + of potatoes before boiling because he disapproved of the thickness of the + parings he found in the pig's pail, and he stood over Patty at her work in + the kitchen until Waitstill was in daily fear of a tempest of some sort. + </p> + <p> + Coming in from the shed one morning she met her father just issuing from + the kitchen where Patty was standing like a young Fury in front of the + sink. “Father's been spying at the eggshells I settled the coffee with, + and said I'd no business to leave so much good in the shell when I broke + an egg. I will not bear it; he makes me feel fairly murderous! You'd + better not leave me alone with him when I'm like this. Oh! I know that I'm + wicked, but isn't he wicked too, and who was wicked first?” + </p> + <p> + Patty's heart had been set on earning and saving enough pennies for a + white muslin dress and every day rendered the prospect more uncertain; + this was a sufficient grievance in itself to keep her temper at the + boiling point had there not been various other contributory causes. + Waitstill's patience was flagging a trifle, too, under the stress of the + hot days and the still hotter, breathless nights. The suspicion crossed + her mind now and then that her father's miserliness and fits of temper + might be caused by a mental malady over which he now had little or no + control, having never mastered himself in all his life. Her power of + endurance would be greater, she thought, if only she could be certain that + this theory was true, though her slavery would be just as galling. + </p> + <p> + It would be so easy for her to go away and earn a living; she who had + never had a day of illness in her life; she who could sew, knit, spin, + weave, and cook. She could make enough money in Biddeford or Portsmouth to + support herself, and Patty, too, until the proper work was found for both. + But there would be a truly terrible conflict of wills, and such fierce + arraignment of her unfilial conduct, such bitter and caustic argument from + her father, such disapproval from the parson and the neighbors, that her + very soul shrank from the prospect. If she could go alone, and have no + responsibility over Patty's future, that would be a little more possible, + but she must think wisely for two. + </p> + <p> + And how could she leave Ivory when there might perhaps come a crisis in + his life where she could be useful to him? How could she cut herself off + from those Sundays in the choir, those dear fugitive glimpses of him in + the road or at prayer-meeting? They were only sips of happiness, where her + thirsty heart yearned for long, deep draughts, but they were immeasurably + better than nothing. Freedom from her father's heavy yoke, freedom to + work, and read, and sing, and study, and grow,—oh! how she longed + for this, but at what a cost would she gain it if she had to harbor the + guilty conscience of an undutiful and rebellious daughter, and at the same + time cut herself off from the sight of the one being she loved best in all + the world. + </p> + <p> + She felt drawn towards Ivory's mother to-day. Three weeks had passed since + her talk with Ivory in the churchyard, but there had been no possibility + of an hour's escape from home. She was at liberty this afternoon—relatively + at liberty; for although her work, as usual, was laid out for her, it + could be made up somehow or other before nightfall. She could drive over + to the Boynton's place, hitch her horse in the woods near the house, make + her visit, yet be in plenty of time to go up to the river field and bring + her father home to supper. Patty was over at Mrs. Abel Day's, learning a + new crochet stitch and helping her to start a log-cabin quilt. Ivory and + Rodman, she new, were both away in the Wilson hay-field; no time would + ever be more favorable; so instead of driving up Town-House Hill when she + returned to the village she kept on over the bridge. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0017" id="link2H_4_0017"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XIV. UNCLE BART DISCOURSES + </h2> + <p> + UNCLE BART and Cephas were taking their nooning hour under the Nodhead + apple tree as Waitstill passed the joiner's shop and went over the bridge. + </p> + <p> + “Uncle Bart might somehow guess where I am going,” she thought, “but even + if he did he would never tell any one.” + </p> + <p> + “Where's Waitstill bound this afternoon, I wonder?” drawled Cephas, rising + to his feet and looking after the departing team. “That reminds me, I'd + better run up to Baxter's and see if any-thing's wanted before I open the + store.” + </p> + <p> + “If it makes any dif'rence,” said his father dryly, as he filled his pipe, + “Patty's over to Mis' Day's spendin' the afternoon. Don't s'pose you want + to call on the pig, do you? He's the only one to home.” + </p> + <p> + Cephas made no remark, but gave his trousers a hitch, picked up a chip, + opened his jack-knife, and sitting down on the greensward began idly + whittling the bit of wood into shape. + </p> + <p> + “I kind o' wish you'd let me make the new ell two-story, father; 't + wouldn't be much work, take it in slack time after hayin'.” + </p> + <p> + “Land o' Liberty! What do you want to do that for, Cephas? You 'bout + pestered the life out o' me gittin' me to build the ell in the first + place, when we didn't need it no more'n a toad does a pocketbook. Then + nothin' would do but you must paint it, though I shan't be able to have + the main house painted for another year, so the old wine an' the new + bottle side by side looks like the Old Driver, an' makes us a + laughin'-stock to the village;—and now you want to change the thing + into a two-story! Never heerd such a crazy idee in my life.” + </p> + <p> + “I want to settle down,” insisted Cephas doggedly. + </p> + <p> + “Well, settle; I'm willin'! I told you that, afore you painted the ell. + Ain't two rooms, fourteen by fourteen, enough for you to settle down in? + If they ain't, I guess your mother'd give you one o' the chambers in the + main part.” + </p> + <p> + “She would if I married Phoebe Day, but I don't want to marry Phoebe,” + argued Cephas. “And mother's gone and made a summer kitchen for herself + out in the ell, a'ready. I bet yer she'll never move out if I should want + to move in on a 'sudden.” + </p> + <p> + “I told you you was takin' that risk when you cut a door through from the + main part,” said his father genially. “If you hadn't done that, your + mother would 'a' had to gone round outside to git int' the ell and mebbe + she'd 'a' stayed to home when it stormed, anyhow. Now your wife'll have + her troopin' in an' out, in an' out, the whole 'durin' time.” + </p> + <p> + “I only cut the door through to please so't she'd favor my gittin' + married, but I guess 't won't do no good. You see, father, what I was + thinkin' of is, a girl would mebbe jump at a two-story, four-roomed ell + when she wouldn't look at a smaller place.” + </p> + <p> + “Pends upon whether the girl's the jumpin' kind or not! Hadn't you better + git everything fixed up with the one you've picked out, afore you take + your good savin's and go to buildin' a bigger place for her?” + </p> + <p> + “I've asked her once a'ready,” Cephas allowed, with a burning face. “I + don't s'pose you know the one I mean?” + </p> + <p> + “No kind of an idee,” responded his father, with a quizzical wink that was + lost on the young man, as his eyes were fixed upon his whittling. “Does + she belong to the village?” + </p> + <p> + “I ain't goin' to let folks know who I've picked out till I git a little + mite forrarder,” responded Cephas craftily. “Say, father, it's all right + to ask a girl twice, ain't it? + </p> + <p> + “Certain it is, my son. I never heerd there was any special limit to the + number o' times you could ask 'em, and their power o' sayin' 'No' is like + the mercy of the Lord; it endureth forever.—You wouldn't consider a + widder, Cephas? A widder'd be a good comp'ny-keeper for your mother.” + </p> + <p> + “I hain't put my good savin's into an ell jest to marry a comp'ny-keeper + for mother,” responded Cephas huffily. “I want to be number one with my + girl and start right in on trainin' her up to suit me.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, if trainin' 's your object you'd better take my advice an' keep it + dark before marriage, Cephas. It's astonishin' how the female sect + despises bein' trained; it don't hardly seem to be in their nature to make + any changes in 'emselves after they once gits started.” + </p> + <p> + “How are you goin' to live with 'em, then?” Cephas inquired, looking up + with interest coupled with some incredulity. + </p> + <p> + “Let them do the training,” responded his father, peacefully puffing out + the words with his pipe between his lips. “Some of 'em's mild and gentle + in discipline, like Parson Boone's wife or Mis' Timothy Grant, and others + is strict and firm like your mother and Mis' Abel Day. If you happen to + git the first kind, why, do as they tell you, and thank the Lord 't ain't + any worse. If you git the second kind, jest let 'em put the blinders on + you and trot as straight as you know how, without shying nor kickin' over + the traces, nor bolting 'cause they've got control o' the bit and 't ain't + no use fightin' ag'in' their superior strength.—So fur as you can + judge, in the early stages o' the game, my son,—which ain't very + fur,—which kind have you picked out?” + </p> + <p> + Cephas whittled on for some moments without a word, but finally, with a + sigh drawn from the very toes of his boots, he responded gloomily,— + </p> + <p> + “She's awful spunky, the girl is, anybody can see that; but she's a young + thing, and I thought bein' married would kind o' tame her down!” + </p> + <p> + “You can see how much marriage has tamed your mother down,” observed Uncle + Bart dispassionately; “howsomever, though your mother can't be called + tame, she's got her good p'ints, for she's always to be counted on. The + great thing in life, as I take it, Cephas, is to know exactly what to + expect. Your mother's gen'ally credited with an onsartin temper, but folks + does her great injustice in so thinking for in a long experience I've + seldom come across a temper less onsartin than your mother's. You know + exactly where to find her every mornin' at sun-up and every night at + sundown. There ain't nothin' you can do to put her out o' temper, cause + she's all out aforehand. You can jest go about your reg'lar business + 'thout any fear of disturbin' her any further than she's disturbed + a'ready, which is consid'rable. I don't mind it a mite nowadays, though, + after forty years of it. It would kind o' gall me to keep a stiddy watch + of a female's disposition day by day, wonderin' when she was goin' to have + a tantrum. A tantrum once a year's an awful upsettin' kind of a thing in a + family, my son, but a tantrum every twenty-four hours is jest part o' the + day's work.” There was a moment's silence during which Uncle Bart puffed + his pipe and Cephas whittled, after which the old man continued: “Then, if + you happen to marry a temper like your mother's, Cephas, look what a + pow'ful worker you gen'ally get! Look at the way they sweep an' dust an' + scrub an' clean! Watch 'em when they go at the dish-washin', an' how they + whack the rollin'-pin, an' maul the eggs, an' heave the wood int' the + stove, an' slat the flies out o' the house! The mild and gentle ones + enough, will be settin' in the kitchen rocker read-in' the almanac when + there ain't no wood in the kitchen box, no doughnuts in the crock, no pies + on the swing shelf in the cellar, an' the young ones goin' round without a + second shift to their backs!” + </p> + <p> + Cephas's mind was far away during this philosophical dissertation on the + ways of women. He could see only a sunny head fairly rioting with curls; a + pair of eyes that held his like magnets, although they never gave him a + glance of love; a smile that lighted the world far better than the sun; a + dimple into which his heart fell headlong whenever he looked at it! + </p> + <p> + “You're right, father; 'tain't no use kickin' ag'in 'em,” he said as he + rose to his feet preparatory to opening the Baxter store. “When I said + that 'bout trainin' up a girl to suit me, I kind o' forgot the one I've + picked out. I'm considerin' several, but the one I favor most-well, I + believe she'd fire up at the first sight o' training and that's the gospel + truth.” + </p> + <p> + “Considerin' several, be you, Cephas?” laughed Uncle Bart. “Well, all I + hope is, that the one you favor most—the girl you've asked once + a'ready—is considerin' you!” + </p> + <p> + Cephas went to the pump, and wetting a large handkerchief put it in the + crown of his straw hat and sauntered out into the burning heat of the open + road between his father's shop and Deacon Baxter's store. + </p> + <p> + “I shan't ask her the next time till this hot spell's over,” he thought, + “and I won't do it in that dodgasted old store ag'in, neither; I ain't so + tongue-tied outdoors an' I kind o' think I'd be more in the sperit of it + after sundown, some night after supper!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0018" id="link2H_4_0018"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XV. IVORY'S MOTHER + </h2> + <p> + WAITSTILL found a cool and shady place in which to hitch the old mare, + loosening her check-rein and putting a sprig of alder in her headstall to + assist her in brushing off the flies. + </p> + <p> + One could reach the Boynton house only by going up a long grass-grown lane + that led from the high-road. It was a lonely place, and Aaron Boynton had + bought it when he moved from Saco, simply because he secured it at a + remarkable bargain, the owner having lost his wife and gone to live in + Massachusetts. Ivory would have sold it long ago had circumstances been + different, for it was at too great a distance from the schoolhouse and + from Lawyer Wilson's office to be at all convenient, but he dreaded to + remove his mother from the environment to which she was accustomed, and + doubted very much whether she would be able to care for a house to which + she had not been wonted before her mind became affected. Here in this + safe, secluded corner, amid familiar and thoroughly known conditions, she + moved placidly about her daily tasks, performing them with the same care + and precision that she had used from the beginning of her married life. + All the heavy work was done for her by Ivory and Rodman; the boy in + particular being the fleetest-footed, the most willing, and the neatest of + helpers; washing dishes, sweeping and dusting, laying the table, as deftly + and quietly as a girl. Mrs. Boynton made her own simple dresses of gray + calico in summer, or dark linsey-woolsey in winter by the same pattern + that she had used when she first came to Edgewood: in fact there were + positively no external changes anywhere to be seen, tragic and terrible as + had been those that had wrought havoc in her mind. + </p> + <p> + Waitstill's heart beat faster as she neared the Boynton house. She had + never so much as seen Ivory's mother for years. How would she be met? Who + would begin the conversation, and what direction would it take? What if + Mrs. Boynton should refuse to talk to her at all? She walked slowly along + the lane until she saw a slender, gray-clad figure stooping over a + flower-bed in front of the cottage. The woman raised her head with a + fawn-like gesture that had something in it of timidity rather than fear, + picked some loose bits of green from the ground, and, quietly turning her + back upon the on coming stranger, disappeared through the open front door. + </p> + <p> + There could be no retreat on her own part now, thought Waitstill. She + wished for a moment that she had made this first visit under Ivory's + protection, but her idea had been to gain Mrs. Boynton's confidence and + have a quiet friendly talk, such a one as would be impossible in the + presence of a third person. Approaching the steps, she called through the + doorway in her clear voice: “Ivory asked me to come and see you one day, + Mrs. Boynton. I am Waitstill Baxter, the little girl on Town House Hill + that you used to know.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Boynton came from an inner room and stood on the threshold. The name + “Waitstill” had always had a charm for her ears, from the time she first + heard it years ago, until it fell from Ivory's lips this summer; and again + it caught her fancy. + </p> + <p> + “'WAITSTILL!”' she repeated softly; “'WAITSTILL!' Does Ivory know you?” + </p> + <p> + “We've known each other for ever so long; ever since we went to the brick + school together when we were girl and boy. And when I was a child my + stepmother brought me over here once on an errand and Ivory showed me a + humming-bird's nest in that lilac bush by the door.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Boynton smiled “Come and look!” she whispered. “There is always a + humming-bird's nest in our lilac. How did you remember?” + </p> + <p> + The two women approached the bush and Mrs. Boynton carefully parted the + leaves to show the dainty morsel of a home thatched with soft gray-green + and lined with down. “The birds have flown now,” she said. “They were like + little jewels when they darted off in the sunshine.” + </p> + <p> + Her voice was faint and sweet, as if it came from far away, and her eyes + looked, not as if they were seeing you, but seeing something through you. + Her pale hair was turned back from her paler face, where the veins showed + like blue rivers, and her smile was like the flitting of a moonbeam. She + was standing very close to Waitstill, closer than she had been to any + woman for many years, and she studied her a little, wistfully, yet + courteously, as if her attention was attracted by something fresh and + winning. She looked at the color, ebbing and flowing in the girl's cheeks; + at her brows and lashes; at her neck, as white as swan's-down; and finally + put out her hand with a sudden impulse and touched the knot of wavy bronze + hair under the brimmed hat. + </p> + <p> + “I had a daughter once,” she said. “My second baby was a girl, but she + lived only a few weeks. I need her very much, for I am a great care to + Ivory. He is son and daughter both, now that Mr. Boynton is away from + home.—You did not see any one in the road as you turned in from the + bars, I suppose?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” answered Waitstill, surprised and confused, “but I didn't really + notice; I was thinking of a cool place for my horse to stand.” + </p> + <p> + “I sit out here in these warm afternoons,” Mrs. Boynton continued, shading + her eyes and looking across the fields, “because I can see so far down the + lane. I have the supper-table set for my husband already, and there is a + surprise for him, a saucer of wild strawberries I picked for him this + morning. If he does not come, I always take away the plate and cup before + Ivory gets here; it seems to make him unhappy.” + </p> + <p> + “He doesn't like it when you are disappointed, I suppose,” Waitstill + ventured. “I have brought my knitting, Mrs. Boynton, so that I needn't + keep you idle if you wish to work. May I sit down a few minutes? And here + is a cottage cheese for Ivory and Rodman, and a jar of plums for you, + preserved from my own garden.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Boynton's eyes searched the face of this visitor from a world she had + almost forgotten and finding nothing but tenderness there, said with just + a trace of bewilderment: “Thank you yes, do sit down; my workbasket is + just inside the door. Take that rocking-chair; I don't have another one + out here because I have never been in the habit of seeing visitors.” + </p> + <p> + “I hope I am not intruding,” stammered Waitstill, seating herself and + beginning her knitting, to see if it would lessen the sense of strain + between them. + </p> + <p> + “Not at all. I always loved young and beautiful people, and so did my + husband. If he comes while you are here, do not go away, but sit with him + while I get his supper. If Elder Cochrane should be with him, you would + see two wonderful men. They went away together to do some missionary work + in Maine and New Hampshire and perhaps they will come back together. I do + not welcome callers because they always ask so many difficult questions, + but you are different and have asked me none at all.” + </p> + <p> + “I should not think of asking questions, Mrs. Boynton.” + </p> + <p> + “Not that I should mind answering them,” continued Ivory's mother, “except + that it tires my head very much to think. You must not imagine I am ill; + it is only that I have a very bad memory, and when people ask me to + remember something, or to give an answer quickly, it confuses me the more. + Even now I have forgotten why you came, and where you live; but I have not + forgotten your beautiful name.” + </p> + <p> + “Ivory thought you might be lonely, and I wanted so much to know you that + I could not keep away any longer, for I am lonely and unhappy too. I am + always watching and hoping for what has never come yet. I have no mother, + you have lost your daughter; I thought—I thought—perhaps we + could be a comfort to each other!” And Waitstill rose from her chair and + put out her hand to help Mrs. Boynton down the steps, she looked so frail, + so transparent, so prematurely aged. “I could not come very often—but + if I could only smooth your hair sometimes when your head aches, or do + some cooking for you, or read to you, or any little thing like that, as I + would fer my own mother—if I could, I should be so glad!” + </p> + <p> + Waitstill stood a head higher than Ivory's mother and the glowing health + of her, the steadiness of her voice, the warmth of her hand-clasp must + have made her seem like a strong refuge to this storm-tossed derelict. The + deep furrow between Lois Boynton's eyes relaxed a trifle, the blood in her + veins ran a little more swiftly under the touch of the young hand that + held hers so closely. Suddenly a light came into her face and her lip + quivered. + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps I have been remembering wrong all these years,” she said. “It is + my great trouble, remembering wrong. Perhaps my baby did not die as I + thought; perhaps she lived and grew up; perhaps” (her pale cheek burned + and her eyes shone like stars) “perhaps she has come back!” + </p> + <p> + Waitstill could not speak; she put her arm round the trembling figure, + holding her as she was wont to hold Patty, and with the same protective + instinct. The embrace was electric in its effect and set altogether new + currents of emotion in circulation. Something in Lois Boynton's perturbed + mind seemed to beat its wings against the barriers that had heretofore + opposed it, and, freeing itself, mounted into clearer air and went singing + to the sky. She rested her cheek on the girl's breast with a little sob. + “Oh! let me go on remembering wrong,” she sighed, from that safe shelter. + “Let me go on remembering wrong! It makes me so happy!” + </p> + <p> + Waitstill gently led her to the rocking-chair and sat down beside her on + the lowest step, stroking her thin hand. Mrs. Boynton's eyes were closed, + her breath came and went quickly, but presently she began to speak + hurriedly, as if she were relieving a surcharged heart. + </p> + <p> + “There is something troubling me,” she began, “and it would ease my mind + if I could tell it to some one who could help. Your hand is so warm and so + firm! Oh, hold mine closely and let me draw in strength as long as you can + spare it; it is flowing, flowing from your hand into mine, flowing like + wine.... My thoughts at night are not like my thoughts by day, these last + weeks.... I wake suddenly and feel that my husband has been away a long + time and will never come back.... Often, at night, too, I am in sore + trouble about something else, something I have never told Ivory, the first + thing I have ever hidden from my dear son, but I think I could tell you, + if only I could be sure about it.” + </p> + + <div class='figcenter'> + <img src="images/illus-003.jpg" /> + <p>“Tell me if it will help you; I will try to understand”</p> + </div> + <p> + “Tell me if it will help you; I will try to understand,” said Waitstill + brokenly. + </p> + <p> + “Ivory says Rodman is the child of my dead sister. Some one must have told + him so; could it have been I? It haunts me day and night, for unless I am + remembering wrong again, I never had a sister. I can call to mind neither + sister nor brother.” + </p> + <p> + “You went to New Hampshire one winter,” Waitstill reminded her gently, as + if she were talking to a child. “It was bitter cold for you to take such a + hard journey. Your sister died, and you brought her little boy, Rodman, + back, but you were so ill that a stranger had to take care of you on the + stage-coach and drive you to Edgewood next day in his own sleigh. It is no + wonder you have forgotten something of what happened, for Dr. Perry hardly + brought you through the brain fever that followed that journey.” + </p> + <p> + “I seem to think, now, that it is not so!” said Mrs. Boynton, opening her + eyes and looking at Waitstill despairingly. “I must grope and grope in the + dark until I find out what is true, and then tell Ivory. God will punish + false speaking! His heart is closed against lies and evil-doing!” + </p> + <p> + “He will never punish you if your tired mind remembers wrong,” said + Waitstill. “He knows, none better, how you have tried to find Him and hold + Him, through many a tangled path. I will come as often as I can and we + will try to frighten away these worrying thoughts.” + </p> + <p> + “If you will only come now and then and hold my hand,” said Ivory's + mother,—“hold my hand so that your strength will flow into my + weakness, perhaps I shall puzzle it all out, and God will help me to + remember right before I die.” + </p> + <p> + “Everything that I have power to give away shall be given to you,” + promised Waitstill. “Now that I know you, and you trust me, you shall + never be left so alone again,—not for long, at any rate. When I stay + away you will remember that I cannot help it, won't you?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I shall think of you till I see you again I shall watch the long + lane more than ever now. Ivory sometimes takes the path across the fields + but my dear husband will come by the old road, and now there will be you + to look for!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0019" id="link2H_4_0019"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XVI. LOCKED OUT + </h2> + <p> + AT the Baxters the late supper was over and the girls had not sat at the + table with their father, having eaten earlier, by themselves. The hired + men had gone home to sleep. Patty had retired to the solitude of her + bedroom almost at dusk, quite worn out with the heat, and Waitstill sat + under the peach tree in the corner of her own little garden, tatting, and + thinking of her interview with Ivory's mother. She sat there until nearly + eight o'clock, trying vainly to put together the puzzling details of Lois + Boynton's conversation, wondering whether the perplexities that vexed her + mind were real or fancied, but warmed to the heart by the affection that + the older woman seemed instinctively to feel for her. “She did not know + me, yet she cared for me at once,” thought Waitstill tenderly and proudly; + “and I for her, too, at the first glance.” + </p> + <p> + She heard her father lock the barn and shed and knew that he would be + going upstairs immediately, so she quickly went through the side yard and + lifted the latch of the kitchen door. It was fastened. She went to the + front door and that, too, was bolted, although it had been standing open + all the evening, so that if a breeze should spring up, it might blow + through the house. Her father supposed, of course, that she was in bed, + and she dreaded to bring him downstairs for fear of his anger; still there + was no help for it and she rapped smartly at the side door. There was no + answer and she rapped again, vexed with her own carelessness. Patty's face + appeared promptly behind her screen of mosquito netting in the second + story, but before she could exchange a word with her sister, Deacon Baxter + opened the blinds of his bedroom window and put his head out. + </p> + <p> + “You can try sleepin' outdoors, or in the barn to-night,” he called. “I + didn't say anything to you at supper-time because I wanted to see where + you was intendin' to prowl this evenin'.” + </p> + <p> + “I haven't been 'prowling' anywhere, father,” answered Waitstill; “I've + been out in the garden cooling off; it's only eight o'clock.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, you can cool off some more,” he shouted, his temper now fully + aroused; “or go back where you was this afternoon and see if they'll take + you in there! I know all about your deceitful tricks! I come home to grind + the scythes and found the house and barn empty Cephas said you'd driven up + Saco Hill and I took his horse and followed you and saw where you went + Long's you couldn't have a feller callin' on you here to home, you thought + you'd call on him, did yer, you bold-faced hussy?” + </p> + <p> + “I am nothing of the sort,” the girl answered him quietly; “Ivory Boynton + was not at his house, he was in the hay-field. You know it, and you know + that I knew it. I went to see a sick, unhappy woman who has no neighbors. + I ought to have gone long before. I am not ashamed of it, and I don't + regret it. If you ask unreasonable things of me, you must expect to be + disobeyed once in a while. + </p> + <p> + “Must expect to be disobeyed, must I?” the old man cried, his face + positively terrifying in its ugliness. “We'll see about that! If you + wa'n't callin' on a young man, you were callin' on a crazy woman, and I + won't have it, I tell you, do you hear? I won't have a daughter o' mine + consortin' with any o' that Boynton crew. Perhaps a night outdoors will + teach you who's master in this house, you imperdent, shameless girl! We'll + try it, anyway!” And with that he banged down the window and disappeared, + gibbering and jabbering impotent words that she could hear but not + understand. + </p> + <p> + Waitstill was almost stunned by the suddenness of this catastrophe. She + stood with her feet rooted to the earth for several minutes and then + walked slowly away out of sight of the house. There was a chair beside the + grindstone under the Porter apple tree and she sank into it, crossed her + arms on the back, and bowing her head on them, burst into a fit of weeping + as tempestuous and passionate as it was silent, for although her body + fairly shook with sobs no sound escaped. + </p> + <p> + The minutes passed, perhaps an hour; she did not take account of time. The + moon went behind clouds, the night grew misty and the stars faded one by + one. There would be rain to-morrow and there was a great deal of hay cut, + so she thought in a vagrant sort of way. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile Patty upstairs was in a state of suppressed excitement and + terror. It was a quarter of an hour before her father settled him-self in + bed; then an age, it seemed to her, before she heard his heavy breathing. + When she thought it quite safe, she slipped on a print wrapper, took her + shoes in her hand, and crept noiselessly downstairs, out through the + kitchen and into the shed. Lifting the heavy bar that held the big doors + in place she closed them softly behind her, stepped out, and looked about + her in the darkness. Her quick eye espied in the distance, near the barn, + the bowed figure in the chair, and she flew through the wet grass without + a thought of her bare feet till she reached her sister's side and held her + in a close embrace. + </p> + <p> + “My darling, my own, own, poor darling!” she cried softly, the tears + running down her cheeks. “How wicked, how unjust to serve my dearest + sister so! Don't cry, my blessing, don't cry; you frighten me! I'll take + care of you, dear! Next time I'll interfere; I'll scratch and bite; yes, + I'll strangle anybody that dares to shame you and lock you out of the + house! You, the dearest, the patientest, the best!” + </p> + <p> + Waitstill wiped her eyes. “Let us go farther away where we can talk,” she + whispered. + </p> + <p> + “Where had we better sleep?” Patty asked. “On the hay, I think, though we + shall stifle with the heat”; and Patty moved towards the barn. + </p> + <p> + “No, you must go back to the house at once, Patty dear; father might wake + and call you, and that would make matters worse. It's beginning to + drizzle, or I should stay out in the air. Oh! I wonder if father's mind is + going, and if this is the beginning of the end! If he is in his sober + senses, he could not be so strange, so suspicious, so unjust.” + </p> + <p> + “He could be anything, say anything, do anything,” exclaimed Patty. + “Perhaps he is not responsible and perhaps he is; it doesn't make much + difference to us. Come along, blessed darling! I'll tuck you in, and then + I'll creep back to the house, if you say I must. I'll go down and make the + kitchen fire in the morning; you stay out here and see what happens. A + good deal will happen, I'm thinking, if father speaks to me of you! I + shouldn't be surprised to see the fur flying in all directions; I'll seize + the first moment to bring you out a cup of coffee and we'll consult about + what to do. I may tell you now, I'm all for running away!” + </p> + <p> + Waitstill's first burst of wretchedness had subsided and she had recovered + her balance. “I'm afraid we must wait a little longer, Patty,” she + advised. “Don't mention my name to father, but see how he acts in the + morning. He was so wild, so unlike himself, that I almost hope he may + forget what he said and sleep it off. Yes, we must just wait.” + </p> + <p> + “No doubt he'll be far calmer in the morning if he remembers that, if he + turns you out, he faces the prospect of three meals a day cooked by me,” + said Patty. “That's what he thinks he would face, but as a matter of fact + I shall tell him that where you sleep I sleep, and where you eat I eat, + and when you stop cooking I stop! He won't part with two unpaid servants + in a hurry, not at the beginning of haying.” And Patty, giving Waitstill a + last hug and a dozen tearful kisses, stole reluctantly back to the house + by the same route through which he had left it. + </p> + <p> + Patty was right. She found the fire lighted when she went down into the + kitchen next morning, and without a word she hurried breakfast on to the + table as fast as she could cook and serve it. Waitstill was safe in the + barn chamber, she knew, and would be there quietly while her father was + feeding the horse and milking the cows; or perhaps she might go up in the + woods and wait until she saw him driving away. + </p> + <p> + The Deacon ate his breakfast in silence, looking and acting very much as + usual, for he was generally dumb at meals. When he left the house, + however, and climbed into the wagon, he turned around and said in his + ordinary gruff manner: “Bring the lunch up to the field yourself to-day, + Patience. Tell your sister I hope she's come to her senses in the course + of the night. You've got to learn, both of you, that my 'say-so' must be + law in this house. You can fuss and you can fume, if it amuses you any, + but 't won't do no good. Don't encourage Waitstill in any whinin' nor + blubberin'. Jest tell her to come in and go to work and I'll overlook what + she done this time. And don't you give me any more of your eye-snappin' + and lip-poutin' and head-in-the-air imperdence! You're under age, and if + you don't look out, you'll get something that's good for what ails you! + You two girls jest aid an' abet one another that's what you do, aid an' + abet one another, an if you carry it any further I'll find some way o' + separatin' you, do you hear?” + </p> + <p> + Patty spoke never a word, nor fluttered an eyelash. She had a proper + spirit, but now her heart was cold with a new fear, and she felt, with + Waitstill, that her father must be obeyed and his temper kept within + bounds, until God provided them a way of escape. + </p> + <p> + She ran out to the barn chamber and, not finding Waitstill, looked across + the field and saw her coming through the path from the woods. Patty waved + her hand, and ran to meet her sister, joy at the mere fact of her + existence, of being able to see her again, and of hearing her dear voice, + almost choking her in its intensity. When they reached the house she + helped her upstairs as if she were a child, brought her cool water to wash + away the dust of the haymow, laid out some clean clothes for her, and + finally put her on the lounge in the darkened sitting-room. + </p> + <p> + “I won't let anybody come near the house,” she said, “and you must have a + cup of tea and a good sleep before I tell you all that father said. Just + comfort yourself with the thought that he is going to 'overlook it' this + time! After I carry up his luncheon, I shall stop at the store and ask + Cephas to come out on the river bank for a few minutes. Then I shall + proceed to say what I think of him for telling father where you went + yesterday afternoon.” + </p> + <p> + “Don't blame Cephas!” Waitstill remonstrated. “Can't you see just how it + happened? He and Uncle Bart were sitting in front of the shop when I drove + by. When father came home and found the house empty and the horse not in + the stall, of course he asked where I was, and Cephas probably said he had + seen me drive up Saco Hill. He had no reason to think that there was any + harm in that.” + </p> + <p> + “If he had any sense he might know that he shouldn't tell anything to + father except what happens in the store,” Patty insisted. “Were you + frightened out in the barn alone last night, poor dear?” + </p> + <p> + “I was too unhappy to think of fear and I was chiefly nervous about you, + all alone in the house with father.” + </p> + <p> + “I didn't like it very much, myself! I buttoned my bedroom door and sat by + the window all night, shivering and bristling at the least sound. + Everybody calls me a coward, but I'm not! Courage isn't not being + frightened; it's not screeching when you are frightened. Now, what + happened at the Boyntons'?” + </p> + <p> + “Patty, Ivory's mother is the most pathetic creature I ever saw!” And + Waitstill sat up on the sofa, her long braids of hair hanging over her + shoulders, her pale face showing the traces of her heavy weeping. “I never + pitied any one so much in my whole life! To go up that long, long lane; to + come upon that dreary house hidden away in the trees; to feel the + loneliness and the silence; and then to know that she is living there like + a hermit-thrush in a forest, without a woman to care for her, it is + heart-breaking!” + </p> + <p> + “How does the house look,—dreadful?” + </p> + <p> + “No: everything is as neat as wax. She isn't 'crazy,' Patty, as we + understand the word. Her mind is beclouded somehow and it almost seems as + if the cloud might lift at any moment. She goes about like somebody in a + dream, sewing or knitting or cooking. It is only when she talks, and you + notice that her eyes really see nothing, but are looking beyond you, that + you know there is anything wrong.” + </p> + <p> + “If she appears so like other people, why don't the neighbors go to see + her once in a while?” + </p> + <p> + “Callers make her unhappy, she says, and Ivory told me that he dared not + encourage any company in the house for fear of exciting her, and making + her an object of gossip, besides. He knows her ways perfectly and that she + is safe and content with her fancies when she is alone, which is seldom, + after all.” + </p> + <p> + “What does she talk about?” asked Patty. + </p> + <p> + “Her husband mostly. She is expecting him to come back daily. We knew that + before, of course, but no one can realize it till they see her setting the + table for him and putting a saucer of wild strawberries by his plate; + going about the kitchen softly, like a gentle ghost.” + </p> + <p> + “It gives me the shudders!” said Patty. “I couldn't bear it! If she never + sees strangers, what in the world did she make of you? How did you begin?” + </p> + <p> + “I told her I had known Ivory ever since we were school children. She was + rather strange and indifferent at first, and then she seemed to take a + fancy to me.” + </p> + <p> + “That's queer!” said Patty, smiling fondly and giving Waitstill's hair the + hasty brush of a kiss. + </p> + <p> + “She told me she had had a girl baby, born two or three years after Ivory, + and that she had always thought it died when it was a few weeks old. Then + suddenly she came closer to me— + </p> + <p> + “Oh! Waity, weren't you terrified?” + </p> + <p> + “No, not in the least. Neither would you have been if you had been there. + She put her arms round me and all at once I understood that the poor thing + mistook me just for a moment for her own daughter come back to life. It + was a sudden fancy and I don't think it lasted, but I didn't know how to + deal with it, or contradict it, so I simply tried to soothe her and let + her ease her heart by talking to me. She said when I left her: 'Where is + your house? I hope it is near! Do come again and sit with me. Strength + flows into my weakness when you hold my hand!' I somehow feel, Patty, that + she needs a woman friend even more than a doctor. And now, what am I to + do? How can I forsake her; and yet here is this new difficulty with + father?” + </p> + <p> + “I shouldn't forsake her; go there when you can, but be more careful about + it. You told father that you didn't regret what you had done, and that + when he ordered you to do unreasonable things, you should disobey him. + After all, you are not a black slave. Father will never think of that + particular thing again, perhaps, any more than he ever alluded to my + driving to Saco with Mrs. Day after you had told him it was necessary for + one of us to go there occasionally. He knows that if he is too hard on us, + Dr. Perry or Uncle Bart would take him in hand. They would have done it + long ago if we had ever given any one even a hint of what we have to + endure. You will be all right, because you only want to do kind, + neighborly things. I am the one that will always have to suffer, because I + can't prove that it's a Christian duty to deceive father and steal off to + a dance or a frolic. Yet I might as well be a nun in a convent for all the + fun I get! I want a white book-muslin dress; I want a pair of thin shoes + with buckles; I want a white hat with a wreath of yellow roses; I want a + volume of Byron's poems; and oh! nobody knows—nobody but the Lord + could understand—how I want a string of gold beads.” + </p> + <p> + “Patty, Patty! To hear you chatter anybody would imagine you thought of + nothing but frivolities. I wish you wouldn't do yourself such injustice; + even when nobody hears you but me, it is wrong.” + </p> + <p> + “Sometimes when you think I'm talking nonsense it's really the gospel + truth,” said Patty. “I'm not a grand, splendid character, Waitstill, and + it's no use your deceiving yourself about me; if you do, you'll be + disappointed.” + </p> + <p> + “Go and parboil the beans and get them into the pot, Patty. Pick up some + of the windfalls and make a green-apple pie, and I'll be with you in the + kitchen myself before long. I never expect to be disappointed in you, + Patty, only continually surprised and pleased.” + </p> + <p> + “I thought I'd begin making some soft soap to-day,” said Patty + mischievously, as she left the room. “We have enough grease saved up. We + don't really need it yet, but it makes such a disgusting smell that I'd + rather like father to have it with his dinner. It's not much of a + punishment for our sleepless night.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0020" id="link2H_4_0020"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + AUTUMN + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0021" id="link2H_4_0021"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XVII. A BRACE OF LOVERS + </h2> + <p> + HAYING was over, and the close, sticky dog-days, too, and August was + slipping into September. There had been plenty of rain all the season and + the countryside was looking as fresh and green as an emerald. The + hillsides were already clothed with a verdant growth of new grass and + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The red pennons of the cardinal flowers + Hung motionless upon their upright staves.” + </pre> + <p> + How they gleamed in the meadow grasses and along the brooksides like + brilliant flecks of flame, giving a new beauty to the nosegays that + Waitstill carried or sent to Mrs. Boynton every week. + </p> + <p> + To the eye of the casual observer, life in the two little villages by the + river's brink went on as peacefully as ever, but there were subtle changes + taking place nevertheless. Cephas Cole had “asked” the second time and + again had been refused by Patty, so that even a very idiot for hopefulness + could not urge his father to put another story on the ell. + </p> + <p> + “If it turns out to be Phoebe Day,” thought Cephas dolefully, “two rooms + is plenty good enough, an' I shan't block up the door that leads from the + main part, neither, as I thought likely I should. If so be it's got to be + Phoebe, not Patty, I shan't care whether mother troops out 'n' in or not.” + And Cephas dealt out rice and tea and coffee with so languid an air, and + made such frequent mistakes in weighing the sugar, that he drew upon + himself many a sharp rebuke from the Deacon. + </p> + <p> + “Of course I'd club him over the head with a salt fish twice a day under + ord'nary circumstances,” Cephas confided to his father with a valiant air + that he never wore in Deacon Baxter's presence; “but I've got a reason, + known to nobody but myself, for wantin' to stan' well with the old man for + a spell longer. If ever I quit wantin' to stan' well with him, he'll get + his comeuppance, short an sudden!” + </p> + <p> + “Speakin' o' standin' well with folks, Phil Perry's kind o' makin' up to + Patience Baxter, ain't he, Cephas?” asked Uncle Bart guardedly. “Mebbe you + wouldn't notice it, hevin' no partic'lar int'rest, but your mother's kind + o got the idee into her head lately, an' she's turrible far-sighted.” + </p> + <p> + “I guess it's so!” Cephas responded gloomily. “It's nip an' tuck 'tween + him an' Mark Wilson. That girl draws 'em as molasses does flies! She does + it 'thout liftin' a finger, too, no more 'n the molasses does. She just + sets still an' IS! An' all the time she's nothin' but a flighty little + red-headed spitfire that don't know a good husband when she sees one. The + feller that gits her will live to regret it, that's my opinion!” And + Cephas thought to himself: “Good Lord, don't I wish I was regrettin' it + this very minute!” + </p> + <p> + “I s'pose a girl like Phoebe Day'd be consid'able less trouble to live + with?” ventured Uncle Bart. + </p> + <p> + “I never could take any fancy to that tow hair o' hern! I like the color + well enough when I'm peeling it off a corn cob, but I don't like it on a + girl's head,” objected Cephas hypercritically. “An' her eyes hain't got + enough blue in 'em to be blue: they're jest like skim-milk. An' she keeps + her mouth open a little mite all the time, jest as if there wa'n't no good + draught through, an' she was a-tryin' to git air. An' 't was me that begun + callin' her 'Feeble Phoebe in school, an' the scholars'll never forgit it; + they'd throw it up to me the whole 'durin' time if I should go to work an' + keep company with her!” + </p> + <p> + “Mebbe they've forgot by this time,” Uncle Bart responded hopefully; + “though 't is an awful resk when you think o' Companion Pike! Samuel he + was baptized and Samuel he continued to be, 'till he married the Widder + Bixby from Waterboro. Bein' as how there wa'n't nothin' partic'ly + attractive 'bout him,—though he was as nice a feller as ever lived,—somebody + asked her why she married him, an' she said her cat hed jest died an' she + wanted a companion. The boys never let go o' that story! Samuel Pike he + ceased to be thirty year ago, an' Companion Pike he's remained up to this + instant minute!” + </p> + <p> + “He ain't lived up to his name much,” remarked Cephas. “He's to home for + his meals, but I guess his wife never sees him between times.” + </p> + <p> + “If the cat hed lived mebbe she'd 'a' been better comp'ny on the whole,” + chuckled Uncle Bart. “Companion was allers kind o' dreamy an' + absent-minded from a boy. I remember askin' him what his wife's Christian + name was (she bein' a stranger to Riverboro) an' he said he didn't know! + Said he called her Mis' Bixby afore he married her an' Mis' Pike + afterwards!” + </p> + <p> + “Well, there 's something turrible queer 'bout this marryin' business,” + and Cephas drew a sigh from the heels of his boots. “It seems's if a man + hedn't no natcheral drawin' towards a girl with a good farm 'n' stock that + was willin' to have him! Seems jest as if it set him ag'in' her somehow! + And yet, if you've got to sing out o' the same book with a girl your whole + lifetime, it does seem's if you'd ought to have a kind of a fancy for her + at the start, anyhow!” + </p> + <p> + “You may feel dif'rent as time goes on, Cephas, an' come to see Feeble—I + would say Phoebe—as your mother does. 'The best fire don't flare up + the soonest,' you know.” But old Uncle Bart saw that his son's heart was + heavy and forbore to press the subject. + </p> + <p> + Annabel Franklin had returned to Boston after a month's visit and to her + surprise had returned as disengaged as she came. Mark Wilson, thoroughly + bored by her vacuities of mind, longed now for more intercourse with Patty + Baxter, Patty, so gay and unexpected; so lively to talk with, so piquing + to the fancy, so skittish and difficult to manage, so temptingly pretty, + with a beauty all her own, and never two days alike. + </p> + <p> + There were many lions in the way and these only added to the zest of + pursuit. With all the other girls of the village opportunities multiplied, + but he could scarcely get ten minutes alone with Patty. The Deacon's + orders were absolute in regard to young men. His daughters were never to + drive or walk alone with them, never go to dances or “routs” of any sort, + and never receive them at the house; this last mandate being quite + unnecessary, as no youth in his right mind would have gone a-courtin' + under the Deacon's forbidding gaze. And still there were sudden, delicious + chances to be seized now and then if one had his eyes open and his wits + about him. There was the walk to or from the singing-school, when a + sentimental couple could drop a few feet, at least, behind the rest and + exchange a word or two in comparative privacy; there were the church + “circles” and prayer-meetings, and the intervals between Sunday services + when Mark could detach Patty a moment from the group on the meeting-house + steps. More valuable than all these, a complete schedule of Patty's + various movements here and there, together with a profound study of Deacon + Baxter's habits, which were ordinarily as punctual as they were + disagreeable, permitted Mark many stolen interviews, as sweet as they were + brief. There was never a second kiss, however, in these casual meetings + and partings. The first, in springtime, had found Patty a child, + surprised, unprepared. She was a woman now; for it does not take years to + achieve that miracle; months will do it, or days, or even hours. Her + summer's experience with Cephas Cole had wonderfully broadened her powers, + giving her an assurance sadly lacking before, as well as a knowledge of + detail, a certain finished skill in the management of a lover, which she + could ably use on any one who happened to come along. And, at the moment, + any one who happened to come along served the purpose admirably, Philip + Perry as well as Marquis Wilson. + </p> + <p> + Young Perry's interest in Patty, as we have seen, began with his + alienation from Ellen Wilson, the first object of his affections, and it + was not at the outset at all of a sentimental nature. Philip was a pillar + of the church, and Ellen had proved so entirely lacking in the religious + sense, so self-satisfied as to her standing with the heavenly powers, that + Philip dared not expose himself longer to her society, lest he find + himself “unequally yoked together with an unbeliever,” thus defying the + scriptural admonition as to marriage. + </p> + <p> + Patty, though somewhat lacking in the qualities that go to the making of + trustworthy saints, was not, like Ellen, wholly given over to the + fleshpots and would prove a valuable convert, Philip thought; one who + would reflect great credit upon him if he succeeded in inducing her to + subscribe to the stern creed of the day. + </p> + <p> + Philip was a very strenuous and slightly gloomy believer, dwelling + considerably on the wrath of God and the doctrine of eternal punishment. + There was an old “pennyroyal” hymn much in use which describes the general + tenor of his meditation:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “My thoughts on awful subjects roll, + Damnation and the dead. + What horrors seize the guilty soul + Upon a dying bed.” + </pre> + <p> + (No wonder that Jacob Cochrane's lively songs, cheerful, hopeful, + militant, and bracing, fell with a pleasing sound upon the ear of the + believer of that epoch.) The love of God had, indeed, entered Philip's + soul, but in some mysterious way had been ossified after it got there. He + had intensely black hair, dark skin, and a liver that disposed him + constitutionally to an ardent belief in the necessity of hell for most of + his neighbors, and the hope of spending his own glorious immortality in a + small, properly restricted, and prudently managed heaven. He was eloquent + at prayer-meeting and Patty's only objection to him there was in his + disposition to allude to himself as a “rebel worm,” with frequent + references to his “vile body.” Otherwise, and when not engaged in + theological discussion, Patty liked Philip very much. His own father, + although an orthodox member of the fold in good and regular standing, had + “doctored” Phil conscientiously for his liver from his youth up, hoping in + time to incite in him a sunnier view of life, for the doctor was somewhat + skilled in adapting his remedies to spiritual maladies. Jed Morrill had + always said that when old Mrs. Buxton, the champion convert of Jacob + Cochrane, was at her worst,—keeping her whole family awake nights by + her hysterical fears for their future,—Dr. Perry had given her a + twelfth of a grain of tartar emetic, five times a day until she had entire + mental relief and her anxiety concerning the salvation of her husband and + children was set completely at rest. + </p> + <p> + The good doctor noted with secret pleasure his son's growing fondness for + the society of his prime favorite, Miss Patience Baxter. “He'll begin by + trying to save her soul,” he thought; “Phil always begins that way, but + when Patty gets him in hand he'll remember the existence of his heart, an + organ he has never taken into consideration. A love affair with a pretty + girl, good but not too pious, will help Phil considerable, however it + turns out.” + </p> + <p> + There is no doubt but that Phil was taking his chances and that under + Patty's tutelage he was growing mellower. As for Patty, she was only + amusing herself, and frisking, like a young lamb, in pastures where she + had never strayed before. Her fancy flew from Mark to Phil and from Phil + back to Mark again, for at the moment she was just a vessel of emotion, + ready to empty herself on she knew not what. Temperamentally, she would + take advantage of currents rather than steer at any time, and it would be + the strongest current that would finally bear her away. Her idea had + always been that she could play with fire without burning her own fingers, + and that the flames she kindled were so innocent and mild that no one + could be harmed by them. She had fancied, up to now, that she could + control, urge on, or cool down a man's feeling forever and a day, if she + chose, and remain mistress of the situation. Now, after some weeks of + weighing and balancing her two swains, she found herself confronting a + choice, once and for all. Each of them seemed to be approaching the state + of mind where he was likely to say, somewhat violently: “Take me or leave + me, one or the other!” But she did not wish to take them, and still less + did she wish to leave them, with no other lover in sight but Cephas Cole, + who was almost, though not quite, worse than none. + </p> + <p> + If matters, by lack of masculine patience and self-control, did come to a + crisis, what should she say definitely to either of her suitors? Her + father despised Mark Wilson a trifle more than any young man on the river, + and while he could have no objection to Phil Perry's character or position + in the world, his hatred of old Dr. Perry amounted to a disease. When the + doctor had closed the eyes of the third Mrs. Baxter, he had made some + plain and unwelcome statements that would rankle in the Deacon's breast as + long as he lived. Patty knew, therefore, that the chance of her father's + blessing falling upon her union with either of her present lovers was more + than uncertain, and of what use was an engagement, if there could not be a + marriage? + </p> + <p> + If Patty's mind inclined to a somewhat speedy departure from her father's + household, she can hardly be blamed, but she felt that she could not carry + any of her indecisions and fears to her sister for settlement. Who could + look in Waitstill's clear, steadfast eyes and say: “I can't make up my + mind which to marry”? Not Patty. She felt, instinctively, that Waitstill's + heart, if it moved at all, would rush out like a great river to lose + itself in the ocean, and losing itself forget the narrow banks through + which it had flowed before. Patty knew that her own love was at the moment + nothing more than the note of a child's penny flute, and that Waitstill + was perhaps vibrating secretly with a deeper, richer music than could ever + come to her. Still, music of some sort she meant to feel. “Even if they + make me decide one way or another before I am ready,” she said to herself, + “I'll never say 'yes' till I'm more in love than I am now!” + </p> + <p> + There were other reasons why she did not want to ask Waitstill's advice. + Not only did she shrink from the loving scrutiny of her sister's eyes, and + the gentle probing of her questions, which would fix her own motives on a + pin-point and hold them up unbecomingly to the light; but she had a + foolish, generous loyalty that urged her to keep Waitstill quite aloof + from her own little private perplexities. + </p> + <p> + “She will only worry herself sick,” thought Patty. “She won't let me marry + without asking father's permission, and she'd think she ought not to aid + me in deceiving him, and the tempest would be twice as dreadful if it fell + upon us both! Now, if anything happens, I can tell father that I did it + all myself and that Waitstill knew nothing about it whatever. Then, oh, + joy! if father is too terrible, I shall be a married woman and I can + always say: 'I will not permit such cruelty! Waitstill is dependent upon + you no longer, she shall come at once to my husband and me!'” + </p> + <p> + This latter phrase almost intoxicated Patty, so that there were moments + when she could have run up to Milliken's Mills and purchased herself a + husband at any cost, had her slender savings permitted the best in the + market; and the more impersonal the husband the more delightedly Patty + rolled the phrase under her tongue. + </p> + <p> + “I can never be 'published' in church,” she thought, “and perhaps nobody + will ever care enough about me to brave father's displeasure and insist on + running away with me. I do wish somebody would care 'frightfully' about + me, enough for that; enough to help me make up my mind; so that I could + just drive up to father's store some day and say: 'Good afternoon, father! + I knew you'd never let me marry—'” (there was always a dash here, in + Patty's imaginary discourses, a dash that could be filled in with any + Christian name according to her mood of the moment) 'so I just married him + anyway; and you needn't be angry with my sister, for she knew nothing + about it. My husband and I are sorry if you are displeased, but there's no + help for it; and my husband's home will always be open to Waitstill, + whatever happens.'” + </p> + <p> + Patty, with all her latent love of finery and ease, did not weigh the + worldly circumstances of the two men, though the reflection that she would + have more amusement with Mark than with Philip may have crossed her mind. + She trusted Philip, and respected his steady-going, serious view of life; + it pleased her vanity, too, to feel how her nonsense and fun lightened his + temperamental gravity, playing in and out and over it like a butterfly in + a smoke bush. She would be safe with Philip always, but safety had no + special charm for one of her age, who had never been in peril. Mark's + superior knowledge of the world, moreover, his careless, buoyant manner of + carrying himself, his gay, boyish audacity, all had a very distinct charm + for her;—and yet— + </p> + <p> + But there would be no “and yet” a little later. Patty's heart would blaze + quickly enough when sufficient heat was applied to it, and Mark was + falling more and more deeply in love every day. As Patty vacillated, his + purpose strengthened; the more she weighed, the more he ceased to weigh, + the difficulties of the situation; the more she unfolded herself to him, + the more he loved and the more he respected her. She began by delighting + his senses; she ended by winning all that there was in him, and creating + continually the qualities he lacked, after the manner of true women even + when they are very young and foolish. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0022" id="link2H_4_0022"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XVIII. A STATE O' MAINE PROPHET + </h2> + <p> + SUMMER was dying hard, for although it had passed, by the calendar, Mother + Nature was still keeping up her customary attitude. + </p> + <p> + There had been a soft rain in the night and every spear of grass was + brilliantly green and tipped with crystal. The smoke bushes in the garden + plot, and the asparagus bed beyond them, looked misty as the sun rose + higher, drying the soaked earth and dripping branches. Spiders' webs, + marvels of lace, dotted the short grass under the apple trees. Every + flower that had a fragrance was pouring it gratefully into the air; every + bird with a joyous note in its voice gave it more joyously from a bursting + throat; and the river laughed and rippled in the distance at the foot of + Town House Hill. Then dawn grew into full morning and streams of blue + smoke rose here and there from the Edgewood chimneys. The world was alive, + and so beautiful that Waitstill felt like going down on her knees in + gratitude for having been born into it and given a chance of serving it in + any humble way whatsoever. + </p> + <p> + Wherever there was a barn, in Riverboro or Edgewood, one could have heard + the three-legged stools being lifted from the pegs, and then would begin + the music of the milk-pails; first the resonant sound of the stream on the + bottom of the tin pail, then the soft delicious purring of the cascade + into the full bucket, while the cows serenely chewed their cuds and + whisked away the flies with swinging tails. Deacon Baxter was taking his + cows to a pasture far over the hill, the feed having grown too short in + his own fields. Patty was washing dishes in the kitchen and Waitstill was + in the dairy-house at the butter-making, one of her chief delights. She + worked with speed and with beautiful sureness, patting, squeezing, rolling + the golden mass, like the true artist she was, then turning the + sweet-scented waxen balls out of the mould on to the big stone-china + platter that stood waiting. She had been up early and for the last hour + she had toiled with devouring eagerness that she might have a little time + to herself. It was hers now, for Patty would be busy with the beds after + she finished the dishes, so she drew a folded paper from her pocket, the + first communication she had ever received in Ivory's handwriting, and sat + down to read it. + </p> + <p> + MY DEAR WAITSTILL:— + </p> + <p> + Rodman will take this packet and leave it with you when he finds + opportunity. It is not in any real sense a letter, so I am in no danger of + incurring your father's displeasure. You will probably have heard new + rumors concerning my father during the past few days, for Peter Morrill + has been to Enfield, New Hampshire, where he says letters have been + received stating that my father died in Cortland, Ohio, more than five + years ago. I shall do what I can to substantiate this fresh report as I + have always done with all the previous ones, but I have little hope of + securing reliable information at this distance, and after this length of + time. I do not know when I can ever start on a personal quest myself, for + even had I the money I could not leave home until Rodman is much older, + and fitted for greater responsibility. Oh! Waitstill, how you have helped + my poor, dear mother! Would that I were free to tell you how I value your + friendship! It is something more than mere friendship! What you are doing + is like throwing a life-line to a sinking human being. Two or three times, + of late, mother has forgotten to set out the supper things for my father. + Her ten years' incessant waiting for him seems to have subsided a little, + and in its place she watches for you. [Ivory had written “watches for her + daughter” but carefully erased the last two words.] You come but seldom, + but her heart feeds on the sight of you. What she needed, it seems, was + the magical touch of youth and health and strength and sympathy, the + qualities you possess in such great measure. + </p> + <p> + If I had proof of my father's death I think now, perhaps, that I might try + to break it gently to my mother, as if it were fresh news, and see if + possibly I might thus remove her principal hallucination. You see now, do + you not, how sane she is in many, indeed in most ways,—how sweet and + lovable, even how sensible? + </p> + <p> + To help you better to understand the influence that has robbed me of both + father and mother and made me and mine the subject of town and tavern + gossip for years past, I have written for you just a sketch of the + “Cochrane craze”; the romantic story of a man who swayed the wills of his + fellow-creatures in a truly marvellous manner. Some local historian of his + time will doubtless give him more space; my wish is to have you know + something more of the circumstances that have made me a prisoner in life + instead of a free man; but prisoner as I am at the moment, I am sustained + just now by a new courage. I read in my copy of Ovid last night: “The best + of weapons is the undaunted heart.” This will help you, too, in your hard + life, for yours is the most undaunted heart in all the world. + </p> + <p> + IVORY BOYNTON + </p> + <p> + The chronicle of Jacob Cochrane's career in the little villages near the + Saco River has no such interest for the general reader as it had for + Waitstill Baxter. She hung upon every word that Ivory had written and + realized more clearly than ever before the shadow that had followed him + since early boyhood; the same shadow that had fallen across his mother's + mind and left, continual twilight there. + </p> + <p> + No one really knew, it seemed, why or from whence Jacob Cochrane had come + to Edgewood. He simply appeared at the old tavern, a stranger, with + satchel in hand, to seek entertainment. Uncle Bart had often described + this scene to Waitstill, for he was one of those sitting about the great + open fire at the time. The man easily slipped into the group and soon took + the lead in conversation, delighting all with his agreeable personality, + his nimble tongue and graceful speech. At supper-time the hostess and the + rest of the family took their places at the long table, as was the custom, + and he astonished them by his knowledge not only of town history, but of + village matters they had supposed unknown to any one. + </p> + <p> + When the stranger had finished his supper and returned to the bar-room, he + had to pass through a long entry, and the landlady, whispering to her + daughter, said:— + </p> + <p> + “Betsy, you go up to the chamber closet and get the silver and bring it + down. This man is going to sleep there and I am afraid of him. He must be + a fortune-teller, and the Lord only knows what else!” + </p> + <p> + In going to the chamber the daughter had to pass through the bar-room. As + she was moving quietly through, hoping to escape the notice of the + newcomer, he turned in his chair, and looking her full in the face, + suddenly said:— + </p> + <p> + “Madam, you needn't touch your silver. I don't want it. I am a gentleman.” + </p> + <p> + Whereupon the bewildered Betsy scuttled back to her mother and told her + the strange guest was indeed a fortune-teller. + </p> + <p> + Of Cochrane's initial appearance as a preacher Ivory had told Waitstill in + their talk in the churchyard early in the summer. It was at a child's + funeral that the new prophet created his first sensation and there, too, + that Aaron and Lois Boynton first came under his spell. The whole + countryside had been just then wrought up to a state of religious + excitement by revival meetings and Cochrane gained the benefit of this + definite preparation for his work. He claimed that all his sayings were + from divine inspiration and that those who embraced his doctrine received + direct communication from the Almighty. He disdained formal creeds and all + manner of church organizations, declaring sectarian names to be marks of + the beast and all church members to be in Babylon. He introduced + re-baptism as a symbolic cleansing from sectarian stains, and after some + months advanced a proposition that his flock hold all things in common. He + put a sudden end to the solemn “deaconing-out” and droning of psalm tunes + and grafted on to his form of worship lively singing and marching + accompanied by clapping of hands and whirling in circles; during the + progress of which the most hysterical converts, or the most fully + “Cochranized,” would swoon upon the floor; or, in obeying their leader's + instructions to “become as little children,” would sometimes go through + the most extraordinary and unmeaning antics. + </p> + <p> + It was not until he had converted hundreds to the new faith that he added + more startling revelations to his gospel. He was in turn bold, mystical, + eloquent, audacious, persuasive, autocratic; and even when his self-styled + communications from the “Almighty” controverted all that his hearers had + formerly held to be right, he still magnetized or hypnotized them into an + unwilling assent to his beliefs. There was finally a proclamation to the + effect that marriage vows were to be annulled when advisable and that + complete spiritual liberty was to follow; a liberty in which a new + affinity might be sought, and a spiritual union begun upon earth, a union + as nearly approximate to God's standards as faulty human beings could + manage to attain. + </p> + <p> + Some of the faithful fell away at this time, being unable to accept the + full doctrine, but retained their faith in Cochrane's original power to + convert sinners and save them from the wrath of God. Storm-clouds began to + gather in the sky however, as the delusion spread, month by month and + local ministers everywhere sought to minimize the influence of the + dangerous orator, who rose superior to every attack and carried himself + like some magnificent martyr-at-will among the crowds that now criticized + him here or there in private and in public. + </p> + <p> + “What a picture of splendid audacity he must have been,” wrote Ivory, + “when he entered the orthodox meeting-house at a huge gathering where he + knew that the speakers were to denounce his teachings. Old Parson Buzzell + gave out his text from the high pulpit: Mark XIII, 37, 'AND WHAT I SAY + UNTO YOU I SAY UNTO ALL, WATCH!' Just here Cochrane stepped in at the open + door of the church and heard the warning, meant, he knew, for himself, and + seizing the moment of silence following the reading of the text, he cried + in his splendid sonorous voice, without so much as stirring from his place + within the door-frame: “'Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man + hear my voice I will come in to him and will sup with him,—I come to + preach the everlasting gospel to every one that heareth, and all that I + want here is my bigness on the floor.'” + </p> + <p> + “I cannot find,” continued Ivory on another page, “that my father or + mother ever engaged in any of the foolish and childish practices which + disgraced the meetings of some of Cochrane's most fanatical followers and + converts. By my mother's conversations (some of which I have repeated to + you, but which may be full of errors, because of her confusion of mind), I + believe she must have had a difference of opinion with my father on some + of these views, but I have no means of knowing this to a certainty; nor do + I know that the question of choosing spiritual consorts' ever came between + or divided them. This part of the delusion always fills me with such + unspeakable disgust that I have never liked to seek additional light from + any of the older men and women who might revel in giving it. That my + mother did not sympathize with my father's going out to preach Cochrane's + gospel through the country, this I know, and she was so truly religious, + so burning with zeal, that had she fully believed in my father's mission + she would have spurred him on, instead of endeavoring to detain him.” + </p> + <p> + “You know the retribution that overtook Cochrane at last,” wrote Ivory + again, when he had shown the man's early victories and his enormous + influence. “There began to be indignant protests against his doctrines by + lawyers and doctors, as well as by ministers; not from all sides however; + for remember, in extenuation of my father's and my mother's espousal of + this strange belief, that many of the strongest and wisest men, as well as + the purest and finest women in York county came under this man's spell for + a time and believed in him implicitly, some of them even unto the end. + </p> + <p> + “Finally there was Cochrane's arrest and examination, the order for him to + appear at the Supreme Court, his failure to do so, his recapture and + trial, and his sentence of four years imprisonment on several counts, in + all of which he was proved guilty. Cochrane had all along said that the + Anointed of the Lord would never be allowed to remain in jail, but he was + mistaken, for he stayed in the State's Prison at Charlestown, + Massachusetts, for the full duration of his sentence. Here (I am again + trying to plead the cause of my father and mother), here he received much + sympathy and some few visitors, one of whom walked all the way from + Edgewood to Boston, a hundred and fifteen miles, with a petition for + pardon, a petition which was delivered, and refused, at the Boston State + House. Cochrane issued from prison a broken and humiliated man, but if + report says true, is still living, far out of sight and knowledge, + somewhere in New Hampshire. He once sent my father an epitaph of his own + selection, asking him to have it carved upon his gravestone should he die + suddenly when away from his friends. My mother often repeats it, not + realizing how far from the point it sounds to us who never knew him in his + glory, but only in his downfall. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “'He spread his arms full wide abroad + His works are ever before his God, + His name on earth shall long remain, + Through envious sinners fret in vain.'” + </pre> + <p> + “We are certain,” concluded Ivory, “that my father preached with Cochrane + in Limington, Limerick, and Parsonsfield; he also wrote from Enfield and + Effingham in New Hampshire; after that, all is silence. Various reports + place him in Boston, in New York, even as far west as Ohio, whether as + Cochranite evangelist or what not, alas! we can never know. I despair of + ever tracing his steps. I only hope that he died before he wandered too + widely, either from his belief in God or his fidelity to my mother's + long-suffering love.” + </p> + <p> + Waitstill read the letter twice through and replaced it in her dress to + read again at night. It seemed the only tangible evidence of Ivory's love + that she had ever received and she warmed her heart with what she felt + that he had put between the lines. + </p> + <p> + “Would that I were free to tell you how I value your friendship!” “My + mother's heart feeds on the sight of you!” “I want you to know something + of the circumstances that have made me a prisoner in life, instead of a + free man.” “Yours is the most undaunted heart in all the world!” These + sentences Waitstill rehearsed again and again and they rang in her ears + like music, converting all the tasks of her long day into a deep and + silent joy. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0023" id="link2H_4_0023"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XIX. AT THE BRICK STORE + </h2> + <p> + THERE were two grand places for gossip in the community; the old tavern on + the Edgewood side of the bridge and the brick store in Riverboro. The + company at the Edgewood Tavern would be a trifle different in character, + more picturesque, imposing, and eclectic because of the transient guests + that gave it change and variety. Here might be found a judge or lawyer on + his way to court; a sheriff with a handcuffed prisoner; a farmer or two, + stopping on the road to market with a cartful of produce; and an + occasional teamster, peddler, and stage-driver. On winter nights champion + story-tellers like Jed Morrill and Rish Bixby would drop in there and hang + their woollen neck-comforters on the pegs along the wall-side, where there + were already hats, topcoats, and fur mufflers, as well as stacks of whips, + canes, and ox-goads standing in the corners. They would then enter the + room, rubbing their hands genially, and, nodding to Companion Pike, Cephas + Cole, Phil Perry and others, ensconce themselves snugly in the group by + the great open fireplace. The landlord was always glad to see them enter, + for their stories, though old to him, were new to many of the assembled + company and had a remarkable greet on the consumption of liquid + refreshment. + </p> + <p> + On summer evenings gossip was languid in the village, and if any occurred + at all it would be on the loafer's bench at one or the other side of the + bridge. When cooler weather came the group of local wits gathered in + Riverboro, either at Uncle Bart's joiner's shop or at the brick store, + according to fancy. The latter place was perhaps the favorite for + Riverboro talkers. It was a large, two-story, square, brick building with + a big-mouthed chimney and an open fire. When every house in the two + villages had six feet of snow around it, roads would always be broken to + the brick store, and a crowd of ten or fifteen men would be gathered there + talking, listening, betting, smoking, chewing, bragging, playing checkers, + singing, and “swapping stories.” + </p> + <p> + Some of the men had been through the War of 1812 and could display wounds + received on the field of valor; others were still prouder of scars won in + encounters with the Indians, and there was one old codger, a Revolutionary + veteran, Bill Dunham by name, who would add bloody tales of his encounters + with the “Husshons.” His courage had been so extraordinary and his + slaughter so colossal that his hearers marvelled that there was a Hessian + left to tell his side of the story, and Bill himself doubted if such were + the case. + </p> + <p> + “'T is an awful sin to have on your soul,” Bill would say from his place + in a dark corner, where he would sit with his hat pulled down over his + eyes till the psychological moment came for the “Husshons” to be trotted + out. “'T is an awful sin to have on your soul,—the extummination of + a race o' men; even if they wa'n't nothin' more 'n so many ignorant + cockroaches. Them was the great days for fightin'! The Husshons was the + biggest men I ever seen on the field, most of 'em standin' six feet eight + in their stockin's,—but Lord! how we walloped 'em! Once we had a + cannon mounted an' loaded for 'em that was so large we had to draw the + ball into it with a yoke of oxen!” + </p> + <p> + Bill paused from force of habit, just as he had paused for the last twenty + years. There had been times when roars of incredulous laughter had greeted + this boast, but most of this particular group had heard the yarn more than + once and let it pass with a smile and a wink, remembering the night that + Abel Day had asked old Bill how they got the oxen out of the cannon on + that most memorable occasion. + </p> + <p> + “Oh!” said Bill, “that was easy enough; we jest unyoked 'em an' turned 'em + out o' the primin'-hole!” + </p> + <p> + It was only early October, but there had been a killing frost, and Ezra + Simms, who kept the brick store, flung some shavings and small wood on the + hearth and lighted a blaze, just to induce a little trade and start + conversation on what threatened to be a dull evening. Peter Morrill, Jed's + eldest brother, had lately returned from a long trip through the state and + into New Hampshire, and his adventures by field and flood were always + worth listening to. He went about the country mending clocks, and many an + old time-piece still bears his name, with the date of repairing, written + in pencil on the inside of its door. + </p> + <p> + There was never any lack of subjects at the brick store, the + idiosyncrasies of the neighbors being the most prolific source of anecdote + and comment. Of scandal about women there was little, though there would + be occasional harmless pleasantries concerning village love affairs; + prophecies of what couple would be next “published” in the black-walnut + frame up at the meeting-house; a genial comment on the number and chances + of Patience Baxter's various beaux; and whenever all else failed, the + latest story of Deacon Baxter's parsimony, in which the village traced the + influence of heredity. + </p> + <p> + “He can't hardly help it, inheritin' it on both sides,” was Abel Day's + opinion. “The Baxters was allers snug, from time 'memorial, and Foxy's the + snuggest of 'em. When I look at his ugly mug an' hear his snarlin' voice, + I thinks to myself, he's goin' the same way his father did. When old Levi + Baxter was left a widder-man in that house o' his'n up river, he grew wuss + an' wuss, if you remember, till he wa'n't hardly human at the last; and I + don't believe Foxy even went up to his own father's funeral.” + </p> + <p> + “'T would 'a' served old Levi right if nobody else had gone,” said Rish + Bixby. “When his wife died he refused to come into the house till the last + minute. He stayed to work in the barn until all the folks had assembled, + and even the men were all settin' down on benches in the kitchen. The + parson sent me out for him, and I'm blest if the old skunk didn't come in + through the crowd with his sleeves rolled up,—went to the sink and + washed, and then set down in the room where the coffin was, as cool as a + cowcumber.” + </p> + <p> + “I remember that funeral well,” corroborated Abel Day. “An' Mis' Day heerd + Levi say to his daughter, as soon as they'd put poor old Mrs. Baxter int' + the grave: 'Come on, Marthy; there 's no use cryin' over spilt milk; we'd + better go home an' husk out the rest o' that corn.' Old Foxy could have + inherited plenty o' meanness from his father, that's certain, an' he's + added to his inheritance right along, like the thrifty man he is. I hate + to think o' them two fine girls wearin' their fingers to the bone for his + benefit.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, well! 't won't last forever,” said Rish Bixby. “They're the + handsomest couple o' girls on the river an' they'll get husbands afore + many years. Patience'll have one pretty soon, by the looks. She never + budges an inch but Mark Wilson or Phil Perry are follerin' behind, with + Cephas Cole watchin' his chance right along, too. Waitstill don't seem to + have no beaux; what with flyin' around to keep up with the Deacon, an' + bein' a mother to Patience, her hands is full, I guess.” + </p> + <p> + “If things was a little mite dif'rent all round, I could prognosticate who + Waitstill could keep house for,” was Peter Morrill's opinion. + </p> + <p> + “You mean Ivory Boynton? Well, if the Deacon was asked he'd never give his + consent, that's certain; an' Ivory ain't in no position to keep a wife + anyways. What was it you heerd 'bout Aaron Boynton up to New Hampshire, + Peter?” asked Abel Day. + </p> + <p> + “Consid'able, one way an' another; an' none of it would 'a' been any + comfort to Ivory. I guess Aaron 'n' Jake Cochrane was both of 'em more + interested in savin' the sisters' souls than the brothers'! Aaron was a + fine-appearin' man, and so was Jake for that matter, 'n' they both had the + gift o' gab. There's nothin' like a limber tongue if you want to please + the women-folks! If report says true, Aaron died of a fever out in Ohio + somewheres; Cortland's the place, I b'lieve. Seems's if he hid his trail + all the way from New Hampshire somehow, for as a usual thing, a man o' + book-larnin' like him would be remembered wherever he went. Wouldn't you + call Aaron Boynton a turrible larned man, Timothy?” + </p> + <p> + Timothy Grant, the parish clerk, had just entered the store on an errand, + but being directly addressed, and judging that the subject under + discussion was a discreet one, and that it was too early in the evening + for drinking to begin, he joined the group by the fireside. He had + preached in Vermont for several years as an itinerant Methodist minister + before settling down to farming in Edgewood, only giving up his profession + because his quiver was so full of little Grants that a wandering life was + difficult and undesirable. When Uncle Bart Cole had remarked that Mis' + Grant had a little of everything in the way of baby-stock now,—black, + red, an' yaller-haired, dark and light complected, fat an' lean, tall an' + short, twins an' singles,—Jed Morrill had observed dryly: “Yes, Mis' + Grant kind o' reminds me of charity.” + </p> + <p> + “How's that?” inquired Uncle Bart. + </p> + <p> + “She beareth all things,” chuckled Jed. + </p> + <p> + “Aaron Boynton was, indeed, a man of most adhesive larnin',” agreed + Timothy, who had the reputation of the largest and most unusual vocabulary + in Edgewood. “Next to Jacob Cochrane I should say Aaron had more + grandeloquence as an orator than any man we've ever had in these parts. It + don't seem's if Ivory was goin' to take after his father that way. The + little feller, now, is smart's a whip, an' could talk the tail off a brass + monkey.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, but Rodman ain't no kin to the Boyntons,” Abel reminded him. “He + inhails from the other side o' the house.” + </p> + <p> + “That's so; well, Ivory does, for certain, an' takes after his mother, + right enough, for she hain't spoken a dozen words in as many years, I + guess. Ivory's got a sight o' book-knowledge, though, an' they do say he + could talk Greek an' Latin both, if we had any of 'em in the community to + converse with. I've never paid no intention to the dead languages, bein' + so ocker-pied with other studies.” + </p> + <p> + “Why do they call 'em the dead languages, Tim?” asked Rish Bixby. + </p> + <p> + “Because all them that ever spoke 'em has perished off the face o' the + land,” Timothy answered oracularly. “Dead an' gone they be, lock, stock, + an' barrel; yet there was a time when Latins an' Crustaceans an' Hebrews + an' Prooshians an' Australians an' Simesians was chatterin' away in their + own tongues, an' so pow'ful that they was wallopin' the whole earth, you + might say.” + </p> + <p> + “I bet yer they never tried to wallop these here United States,” + interpolated Bill Dunham from the dark corner by the molasses hogs-head. + </p> + <p> + “Is Ivory in here?” The door opened and Rodman Boynton appeared on the + threshold. + </p> + <p> + “No, sonny, Ivory ain't been in this evening,” replied Ezra Simms. “I hope + there ain't nothin' the matter over to your house?” + </p> + <p> + “No, nothing particular,” the boy answered hesitatingly; “only Aunt + Boynton don't seem so well as common and I can't find Ivory anywhere.” + </p> + <p> + “Come along with me; I'll help you look for him an' then I'll go as fur as + the lane with yer if we don't find him.” And kindly Rish Bixby took the + boy's hand and left the store. + </p> + <p> + “Mis' Boynton had a spell, I guess!” suggested the storekeeper, peering + through the door into the darkness. “'T ain't like Ivory to be out nights + and leave her to Rod.” + </p> + <p> + “She don't have no spells,” said Abel Day. “Uncle Bart sees consid'able of + Ivory an' he says his mother is as quiet as a lamb.—Couldn't you git + no kind of a certif'cate of Aaron's death out o' that Enfield feller, + Peter? Seems's if that poor woman'd oughter be stopped watchin' for a dead + man; tuckerin' herself all out, an' keepin' Ivory an' the boy all nerved + up.” + </p> + <p> + “I've told Ivory everything I could gether up in the way of information, + and give him the names of the folks in Ohio that had writ back to New + Hampshire. I didn't dialate on Aaron's goin's-on in Effingham an' + Portsmouth, cause I dassay 't was nothin' but scandal. Them as hates the + Cochranites'll never allow there's any good in 'em, whereas I've met some + as is servin' the Lord good an' constant, an' indulgin' in no kind of + foolishness an' deviltry whatsoever.” + </p> + <p> + “Speakin' o' Husshons,” said Bill Dunham from his corner, “I remember—” + </p> + <p> + “We wa'n't alludin' to no Husshons,” retorted Timothy Grant. “We was + dealin' with the misfortunes of Aaron Boynton, who never fit valoriously + on the field o' battle, but perished out in Ohio of scarlit fever, if what + they say in Enfield is true.” + </p> + <p> + “Tis an easy death,” remarked Bill argumentatively. “Scarlit fever don't + seem like nothin' to me! Many's the time I've been close enough to fire at + the eyeball of a Husshon, an' run the resk o' bein' blown to smithereens!—calm + and cool I alters was, too! Scarlit fever is an easy death from a + warrior's p'int o' view!” + </p> + <p> + “Speakin' of easy death,” continued Timothy, “you know I'm a great one for + words, bein' something of a scholard in my small way. Mebbe you noticed + that Elder Boone used a strange word in his sermon last Sunday? Now an' + then, when there's too many yawnin' to once in the congregation, Parson'll + out with a reg'lar jaw-breaker to wake 'em up. The word as near as I could + ketch it was 'youthinasia.' I kep' holt of it till noontime an' then I run + home an' looked through all the y's in the dictionary without findin' it. + Mebbe it's Hebrew, I thinks, for Hebrew's like his mother's tongue to + Parson, so I went right up to him at afternoon meetin' an' says to him: + 'What's the exact meanin' of “youthinasia”? There ain't no sech word in + the Y's in my Webster,' says I. 'Look in the E's, Timothy; “euthanasia”' + says he, 'means easy death'; an' now, don't it beat all that Bill Dunham + should have brought that expression of 'easy death' into this evenin's + talk?” + </p> + <p> + “I know youth an' I know Ashy,” said Abel Day, “but blessed if I know why + they should mean easy death when they yoke 'em together.” “That's because + you ain't never paid no 'tention to entomology,” said Timothy. “Aaron + Boynton was master o' more 'ologies than you could shake a stick at, but + he used to say I beat him on entomology. Words air cur'ous things + sometimes, as I know, hevin' had consid'able leisure time to read when I + was joggin' 'bout the country an' bein' brought into contack with men o' + learnin'. The way I worked it out, not wishin' to ask Parson any more + questions, bein' something of a scholard myself, is this: The youth in + Ashy is a peculiar kind o' youth, 'n' their religion disposes 'em to lay + no kind o' stress on huming life. When anything goes wrong with 'em an' + they get a set-back in war, or business, or affairs with women-folks, they + want to die right off; so they take a sword an' stan' it straight up + wherever they happen to be, in the shed or the barn, or the henhouse, an' + they p'int the sharp end right to their waist-line, where the bowels an' + other vital organisms is lowcated; an' then they fall on to it. It runs + 'em right through to the back an' kills 'em like a shot, and that's the + way I cal'late the youth in Ashy dies, if my entomology is correct, as it + gen'ally is.” + </p> + <p> + “Don't seem an easy death to me,” argued Okra, “but I ain't no scholard. + What college did thou attend to, Tim?” + </p> + <p> + “I don't hold no diaploma,” responded Timothy, “though I attended to + Wareham Academy quite a spell, the same time as your sister was goin' to + Wareham Seminary where eddication is still bein' disseminated though of an + awful poor kind, compared to the old times.” + </p> + <p> + “It's live an' larn,” said the storekeeper respectfully. “I never thought + of a Seminary bein' a place of dissemination before, but you can see the + two words is near kin.” + </p> + <p> + “You can't alters tell by the sound,” said Timothy instructively. + “Sometimes two words'll start from the same root, an' branch out + diff'rent, like 'critter' an' 'hypocritter.' A 'hypocritter' must + natcherally start by bein' a 'critter,' but a critter ain't obliged to be + a 'hypocritter' 'thout he wants to.” + </p> + <p> + “I should hope not,” interpolated Abel Day, piously. “Entomology must be + an awful interest-in' study, though I never thought of observin' words + myself, kept to avoid vulgar language an' profanity.” + </p> + <p> + “Husshon's a cur'ous word for a man,” inter-jected Bill Dunham with a last + despairing effort. “I remember seein' a Husshon once that—” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps you ain't one to observe closely, Abel,” said Timothy, not taking + note of any interruption, simply using the time to direct a stream of + tobacco juice to an incredible distance, but landing it neatly in the + exact spot he had intended. “It's a trade by itself, you might say, + observin' is, an' there's another sing'lar corraption! The Whigs in + foreign parts, so they say, build stone towers to observe the evil + machinations of the Tories, an' so the word 'observatory' come into + general use! All entomology; nothin' but entomology.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't see where in thunder you picked up so much larnin', Timothy!” It + was Abel Day's exclamation, but every one agreed with him. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0024" id="link2H_4_0024"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XX. THE ROD THAT BLOSSOMED + </h2> + <p> + IVORY BOYNTON had taken the horse and gone to the village on an errand, a + rare thing for him to do after dark, so Rod was thinking, as he sat in the + living-room learning his Sunday-School lesson on the same evening that the + men were gossiping at the brick store. His aunt had required him, from the + time when he was proficient enough to do so, to read at least a part of a + chapter in the Bible every night. Beginning with Genesis he had reached + Leviticus and had made up his mind that the Bible was a much more + difficult book than “Scottish Chiefs,” not withstanding the fact that + Ivory helped him over most of the hard places. At the present juncture he + was vastly interested in the subject of “rods” as unfolded in the book of + Exodus, which was being studied by his Sunday-School class. What added to + the excitement was the fact that his uncle's Christian name, Aaron, kept + appearing in the chronicle, as frequently as that of the great lawgiver + Moses himself; and there were many verses about the wonder-working rods of + Moses and Aaron that had a strange effect upon the boy's ear, when he read + them aloud, as he loved to do whenever he was left alone for a time. When + his aunt was in the room his instinct kept him from doing this, for the + mere mention of the name of Aaron, he feared, might sadden his aunt and + provoke in her that dangerous vein of reminiscence that made Ivory so + anxious. + </p> + <p> + “It kind o' makes me nervous to be named 'Rod,' Aunt Boynton,” said the + boy, looking up from the Bible. “All the rods in these Exodus chapters do + such dreadful things! They become serpents, and one of them swallows up + all the others: and Moses smites the waters with a rod and they become + blood, and the people can't drink the water and the fish die! Then they + stretch a rod across the streams and ponds and bring a plague of frogs + over the land, with swarms of flies and horrible insects.” + </p> + <p> + “That was to show God's power to Pharaoh, and melt his hard heart to + obedience and reverence,” explained Mrs. Boynton, who had known the Bible + from cover to cover in her youth and could still give chapter and verse + for hundreds of her favorite passages. + </p> + <p> + “It took an awful lot of melting, Pharaoh's heart!” exclaimed the boy. + “Pharaoh must have been worse than Deacon Baxter! I wonder if they ever + tried to make him good by being kind to him! I've read and read, but I + can't find they used anything on him but plagues and famines and boils and + pestilences and thunder and hail and fire!—Have I got a middle name, + Aunt Boynton, for I don't like Rod very much?” + </p> + <p> + “I never heard that you had a middle name; you must ask Ivory,” said his + aunt abstractedly. + </p> + <p> + “Did my father name me Rod, or my mother?' + </p> + <p> + “I don't really know; perhaps it was your mother, but don't ask questions, + please.” + </p> + <p> + “I forgot, Aunt Boynton! Yes, I think perhaps my mother named me. Mothers + 'most always name their babies, don't they? My mother wasn't like you; she + looked just like the picture of Pocahontas in my History. She never knew + about these Bible rods, I guess.” + </p> + <p> + “When you go a little further you will find pleasanter things about rods,” + said his aunt, knitting, knitting, intensely, as was her habit, and + talking as if her mind were a thousand miles away. “You know they were + just little branches of trees, and it was only God's power that made them + wonderful in any way.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh! I thought they were like the singing-teacher's stick he keeps time + with.” + </p> + <p> + “No; if you look at your Concordance you'll finds it gives you a chapter + in Numbers where there's something beautiful about rods. I have forgotten + the place; it has been many years since I looked at it. Find it and read + it aloud to me.” The boy searched his Concordance and readily found the + reference in the seventeenth chapter of Numbers. + </p> + <p> + “Stand near me and read,” said Mrs. Boynton. “I like to hear the Bible + read aloud!” + </p> + <p> + Rodman took his Bible and read, slowly and haltingly, but with clearness + and understanding: + </p> + <p> + 1. AND THE LORD SPAKE UNTO MOSES, SAYING, + </p> + <p> + 2. SPEAK UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, AND TAKE OF EVERY ONE OF THEM A ROD + ACCORDING TO THE HOUSE OF THEIR FATHERS, OF ALL THEIR PRINCES ACCORDING TO + THE HOUSE OF THEIR FATHERS TWELVE RODS: WRITE THOU EVERY MAN'S NAME UPON + HIS ROD. + </p> + <p> + Through the boy's mind there darted the flash of a thought, a sad thought. + He himself was a Rod on whom no man's name seemed to be written, orphan + that he was, with no knowledge of his parents! + </p> + <p> + Suddenly he hesitated, for he had caught sight of the name of Aaron in the + verse that he was about to read, and did not wish to pronounce it in his + aunt's hearing. + </p> + <p> + “This chapter is most too hard for me to read out loud, Aunt Boynton,” he + stammered. “Can I study it by myself and read it to Ivory first?” “Go on, + go on, you read very sweetly; I can not remember what comes and I wish to + hear it.” + </p> + <p> + The boy continued, but without raising his eyes from the Bible. + </p> + <p> + 3. AND THOU SHALT WRITE AARON'S NAME UPON THE ROD OF LEVI: FOR ONE ROD + SHALL BE FOR THE HEAD OF THE HOUSE OF THEIR FATHERS. + </p> + <p> + 4. AND THOU SHALT LAY THEM UP IN THE TABERNACLE OF THE CONGREGATION BEFORE + THE TESTIMONY, WHERE I WILL MEET WITH YOU. + </p> + <p> + 5. AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS THAT THE MAN'S ROD, WHOM I SHALL CHOOSE, + SHALL BLOSSOM: AND I WILL MAKE TO CEASE FROM ME THE MURMURINGS OF THE + CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, WHEREBY THEY MURMUR AGAINST YOU. + </p> + <p> + Rodman had read on, absorbed in the story and the picture it presented to + his imagination. He liked the idea of all the princes having a rod + according to the house of their fathers; he liked to think of the little + branches being laid on the altar in the tabernacle, and above all he + thought of the longing of each of the princes to have his own rod chosen + for the blossoming. + </p> + <p> + 6. AND MOSES SPOKE UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, AND EVERY ONE OF THEIR + PRINCES GAVE HIM A ROD A PIECE, FOR EACH PRINCE ONE, ACCORDING TO THEIR + FATHER'S HOUSES, EVEN TWELVE RODS; AND THE ROD OF AARON WAS AMONG THEIR + RODS. + </p> + <p> + Oh! how the boy hoped that Aaron's branch would be the one chosen to + blossom! He felt that his aunt would be pleased, too; but he read on + steadily, with eyes that glowed and breath that came and went in a very + palpitation of interest. + </p> + <p> + 7. AND MOSES LAID UP THE RODS BEFORE THE LORD IN THE TABERNACLE OF + WITNESS. + </p> + <p> + 8. AND IT CAME TO PASS, THAT ON THE MORROW MOSES WENT INTO THE TABERNACLE + OF WITNESS; AND, BEHOLD, THE ROD OF AARON WAS BUDDED AND BROUGHT FORTH + BUDS, AND BLOOMED BLOSSOMS, AND YIELDED ALMONDS. + </p> + <p> + It was Aaron's rod, then, and was an almond branch! How beautiful, for the + blossoms would have been pink; and how the people must have marvelled to + see the lovely blooming thing on the dark altar; first budding, then + blossoming, then bearing nuts! And what was the rod chosen for? He hurried + on to the next verse. + </p> + <p> + 9. AND MOSES BROUGHT OUT ALL THE RODS FROM BEFORE THE LORD UNTO ALL THE + CHILDREN OF ISRAEL: AND THEY LOOKED, AND TOOK EVERY MAN HIS ROD. + </p> + <p> + 10. AND THE LORD SAID UNTO MOSES, BRING AARON'S ROD AGAIN BEFORE THE + TESTIMONY TO BE KEPT FOR A TOKEN AGAINST THE REBELS; AND THOU SHALT QUITE + TAKE AWAY THEIR MURMURINGS FROM ME, THAT THEY DIE NOT. + </p> + <p> + “Oh! Aunt Boynton!” cried the boy, “I love my name after I've heard about + the almond rod! Aren't you proud that it's Uncle's name that was written + on the one that blossomed?” + </p> + <p> + He turned swiftly to find that his aunt's knitting had slipped on the + floor; her nerveless hands drooped by her side as if there were no life in + them, and her head had fallen against the back of her chair. The boy was + paralyzed with fear at the sight of her closed eyes and the deathly pallor + of her face. He had never seen her like this before, and Ivory was away. + He flew for a bottle of spirit, always kept in the kitchen cupboard for + emergencies, and throwing wood on the fire in passing, he swung the crane + so that the tea-kettle was over the flame. He knew only the humble + remedies that he had seen used here or there in illness, and tried them + timidly, praying every moment that he might hear Ivory's step. He warmed a + soapstone in the embers, and taking off Mrs. Boynton's shoes, put it under + her cold feet. He chafed her hands and gently poured a spoonful of brandy + between her pale lips. Then sprinkling camphor on a handkerchief he held + it to her nostrils and to his joy she stirred in her chair; before many + minutes her lids fluttered, her lips moved, and she put her hand to her + heart. + </p> + <p> + “Are you better, Aunt dear?” Rod asked in a very wavering and tearful + voice. + </p> + <p> + She did not answer; she only opened her eyes and looked at him. At length + she whispered faintly, “I want Ivory; I want my son.” + </p> + <p> + “He's out, Aunt dear. Shall I help you to bed the way Ivory does? If + you'll let me, then I'll run to the bridge 'cross lots, like lightning, + and bring him back.” + </p> + <p> + She assented, and leaning heavily on his slender shoulder, walked feebly + into her bedroom off the living-room. Rod was as gentle as a mother and he + was familiar with all the little offices that could be of any comfort; the + soapstone warmed again for her feet, the bringing of her nightgown from + the closet, and when she was in bed, another spoonful of brandy in hot + milk; then the camphor by her side, an extra homespun blanket over her, + and the door left open so that she could see the open fire that he made + into a cheerful huddles contrived so that it would not snap and throw out + dangerous sparks in his absence. + </p> + <p> + All the while he was doing this Mrs. Boynton lay quietly in the bed + talking to herself fitfully, in the faint murmuring tone that was habitual + to her. He could distinguish scarcely anything, only enough to guess that + her mind was still on the Bible story that he was reading to her when she + fainted. “THE ROD OF AARON WAS AMONG THE OTHER RODS,” he heard her say; + and, a moment later, “BRING AARON'S ROD AGAIN BEFORE THE TESTIMONY.” + </p> + <p> + Was it his uncle's name that had so affected her, wondered the boy, almost + sick with remorse, although he had tried his best to evade her command to + read the chapter aloud? What would Ivory, his hero, his pattern and + example, say? It had always seen Rod's pride to carry his little share of + every burden that fell to Ivory, to be faithful and helpful in every task + given to him. He could walk through fire without flinching, he thought, if + Ivory told him to, and he only prayed that he might not be held + responsible for this new calamity. + </p> + <p> + “I want Ivory!” came in a feeble voice from the bedroom. + </p> + <p> + “Does your side ache worse?” Rod asked, tip-toeing to the door. + </p> + <p> + “No, I am quite free from pain.” + </p> + <p> + “Would you be afraid to stay alone just for a while if I lock both doors + and run to find Ivory and bring him back?” + </p> + <p> + “No, I will sleep,” she whispered, closing her eyes. “Bring him quickly + before I forget what I want to say to him.” + </p> + <p> + Rod sped down the lane and over the fields to the brick store where Ivory + usually bought his groceries. His cousin was not there, but one of the men + came out and offered to take his horse and drive over the bridge to see if + he were at one of the neighbors' on that side of the river. Not a word did + Rod breathe of his aunt's illness; he simply said that she was lonesome + for Ivory, and so he came to find him. In five minutes they saw the + Boynton horse hitched to a tree by the road-side, and in a trice Rod + called him and, thanking Mr. Bixby, got into Ivory's wagon to wait for + him. He tried his best to explain the situation as they drove along, but + finally concluded by saying: “Aunt really made me read the chapter to her, + Ivory. I tried not to when I saw Uncle's name in most every verse, but I + couldn't help it.” + </p> + <p> + “Of course you couldn't! Now you jump out and hitch the horse while I run + in and see that nothing has happened while she's been left alone. Perhaps + you'll have to go for Dr. Perry.” + </p> + <p> + Ivory went in with fear and trembling, for there was no sound save the + ticking of the tall clock. The fire burned low upon the hearth, and the + door was open into his mother's room. He lifted a candle that Rod had left + ready on the table and stole softly to her bedside. She was sleeping like + a child, but exhaustion showed itself in every line of her face. He felt + her hands and feet and found the soapstone in the bed; saw the brandy + bottle and the remains of a cup of milk on the light-stand; noted the + handkerchief, still strong of camphor on the counterpane, and the blanket + spread carefully over her knees, and then turned approvingly to meet Rod + stealing into the room on tiptoe, his eyes big with fear. + </p> + <p> + “We won't wake her, Rod. I'll watch a while, then sleep on the + sitting-room lounge.” + </p> + <p> + “Let me watch, Ivory! I'd feel better if you'd let me, honest I would!” + </p> + <p> + The boy's face was drawn with anxiety. Ivory's attention was attracted by + the wistful eyes and the beauty of the forehead under the dark hair. He + seemed something more than the child of yesterday—a care and + responsibility and expense, for all his loving obedience; he seemed all at + once different to-night; older, more dependable, more trustworthy; in + fact, a positive comfort and help in time of trouble. + </p> + <p> + “I did the best I knew how; was anything wrong?” asked the boy, as Ivory + stood regarding him with a friendly smile. + </p> + <p> + “Nothing wrong, Rod! Dr. Perry couldn't have done any better with what you + had on hand. I don't know how I should get along without you, boy!” Here + Ivory patted Rod's shoulder. “You're not a child any longer, Rod; you're a + man and a brother, that's what you are; and to prove it I'll take the + first watch and call you up at one o'clock to take the second, so that I + can be ready for my school work to-morrow! How does that suit you?” + </p> + <p> + “Tip-top!” said the boy, flushing with pride. “I'll lie down with my + clothes on; it's only nine o'clock and I'll get four hours' sleep; that's + a lot more than Napoleon used to have!” + </p> + <p> + He carried the Bible upstairs and just before he blew out his candle he + looked again at the chapter in Numbers, thinking he would show it to Ivory + privately next day. Again the story enchanted him, and again, like a + child, he put his own name and his living self among the rods in the + tabernacle. + </p> + <p> + “Ivory would be the prince of our house,” he thought. “Oh! how I'd like to + be Ivory's rod and have it be the one that was chosen to blossom and keep + the rebels from murmuring!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0025" id="link2H_4_0025"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXI. LOIS BURIES HER DEAD + </h2> + <p> + THE replies that Ivory had received from his letters of inquiry concerning + his father's movements since leaving Maine, and his possible death in the + West, left no reasonable room for doubt. Traces of Aaron Boynton in New + Hampshire, in Massachusetts, in New York, and finally in Ohio, all pointed + in one direction, and although there were gaps and discrepancies in the + account of his doings, the fact of his death seemed to be established by + two apparently reliable witnesses. + </p> + <p> + That he was not unaccompanied in his earliest migrations seemed clear, but + the woman mentioned as his wife disappeared suddenly from the reports, and + the story of his last days was the story of a broken-down, melancholy, + unfriended man, dependent for the last offices on strangers. He left no + messages and no papers, said Ivory's correspondent, and never made mention + of any family connections whatsoever. He had no property and no means of + defraying the expenses of his illness after he was stricken with the + fever. No letters were found among his poor effects and no article that + could prove his identity, unless it were a small gold locket, which bore + no initials or marks of any kind, but which contained two locks of fair + and brown hair, intertwined. The tiny trinket was enclosed in the letter, + as of no value, unless some one recognized it as a keepsake. Ivory read + the correspondence with a heavy heart, inasmuch as it corroborated all his + worst fears. He had sometimes secretly hoped that his father might return + and explain the reason of his silence; or in lieu of that, that there + might come to light the story of a pilgrimage, fanatical, perhaps, but + innocent of evil intention, one that could be related to his wife and his + former friends, and then buried forever with the death that had ended it. + </p> + <p> + Neither of these hopes could now ever be realized, nor his father's memory + made other than a cause for endless regret, sorrow, and shame. His father, + who had begun life so handsomely, with rare gifts of mind and personality, + a wife of unusual beauty and intelligence, and while still young in years, + a considerable success in his chosen profession. His poor father! What + could have been the reasons for so complete a downfall? + </p> + <p> + Ivory asked Dr. Perry's advice about showing one or two of the briefer + letters and the locket to his mother. After her fainting fit and the + exhaustion that followed it, Ivory begged her to see the old doctor, but + without avail. Finally, after days of pleading he took her hands in his + and said: “I do everything a mortal man can do to be a good son to you, + mother; won't you do this to please me, and trust that I know what is + best?” Whereupon she gave a trembling assent, as if she were agreeing to + something indescribably painful, and indeed this sight of a former friend + seemed to frighten her strangely. + </p> + <p> + After Dr. Perry had talked with her for a half-hour and examined her + sufficiently to make at least a reasonable guess as to her mental and + physical condition, he advised Ivory to break the news of her husband's + death to her. + </p> + <p> + “If you can get her to comprehend it,” he said, “it is bound to be a + relief from this terrible suspense.” + </p> + <p> + “Will there be any danger of making her worse? Mightn't the shock Cause + too violent emotion?” asked Ivory anxiously. + </p> + <p> + “I don't think she is any longer capable of violent emotion,” the doctor + answered. “Her mind is certainly clearer than it was three years ago, but + her body is nearly burned away by the mental conflict. There is scarcely + any part of her but is weary; weary unto death, poor soul. One cannot look + at her patient, lovely face without longing to lift some part of her + burden. Make a trial, Ivory; it's a justifiable experiment and I think it + will succeed. I must not come any oftener myself than is absolutely + necessary; she seemed afraid of me.” + </p> + <p> + The experiment did succeed. Lois Boynton listened breathlessly, with + parted lips, and with apparent comprehension, to the story Ivory told her. + Over and over again he told her gently the story of her husband's death, + trying to make it sink into her mind clearly, so that there should be no + consequent bewilderment She was calm and silent, though her face showed + that she was deeply moved. She broke down only when Ivory showed her the + locket. + </p> + <p> + “I gave it to my husband when you were born, my son!” she sobbed. “After + all, it seems no surprise to me that your father is dead. He said he would + come back when the Mayflowers bloomed, and when I saw the autumn leaves I + knew that six months must have gone and he would never stay away from us + for six months without writing. That is the reason I have seldom watched + for him these last weeks. I must have known that it was no use!” + </p> + <p> + She rose from her rocking-chair and moved feebly towards her bedroom. “Can + you spare me the rest of the day, Ivory?” she faltered, as she leaned on + her son and made her slow progress from the kitchen. “I must bury the body + of my grief and I want to be alone at first... If only I could see + Waitstill! We have both thought this was coming: she has a woman's + instinct... she is younger and stronger than I am, and she said it was + braver not to watch and pine and fret as I have done... but to have faith + in God that He would send me a sign when He was ready.... She said if I + could manage to be braver you would be happier too... .” Here she sank on + to her bed exhausted, but still kept up her murmuring faintly and feebly, + between long intervals of silence. + </p> + <p> + “Do you think Waitstill could come to-morrow?” she asked. “I am so much + braver when she is here with me.... After supper I will put away your + father's cup and plate once and for all, Ivory, and your eyes need never + fill with tears again, as they have, sometimes, when you have seen me + watching.... You needn't worry about me; I am remembering better these + days, and the bells that ring in my ears are not so loud. If only the pain + in my side were less and I were not so pressed for breath, I should be + quite strong and could see everything clearly at last. ... There is + something else that remains to be remembered. I have almost caught it once + and it must come to me again before long.... Put the locket under my + pillow, Ivory; close the door, please, and leave me to myself.... I can't + make it quite clear, my feeling about it, but it seems just as if I were + going to bury your father and I want to be alone.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0026" id="link2H_4_0026"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXII. HARVEST-TIME + </h2> + <p> + NEW ENGLAND'S annual pageant of autumn was being unfolded day by day in + all its accustomed splendor, and the feast and riot of color, the almost + unimaginable glory, was the common property of the whole countryside, rich + and poor, to be shared alike if perchance all eyes were equally alive to + the wonder and the beauty. + </p> + <p> + Scarlet days and days of gold followed fast one upon the other; Saco Water + flowing between quiet woodlands that were turning red and russet and + brown, and now plunging through rocky banks all blazing with crimson. + </p> + <p> + Waitstill Baxter went as often as she could to the Boynton farm, though + never when Ivory was at home, and the affection between the younger and + the older woman grew closer and closer, so that it almost broke + Waitstill's heart to leave the fragile creature, when her presence seemed + to bring such complete peace and joy. + </p> + <p> + “No one ever clung to me so before,” she often thought as she was hurrying + across the fields after one of her half-hour visits. “But the end must + come before long. Ivory does not realize it yet, nor Rodman, but it seems + as if she could never survive the long winter. Thanksgiving Day is drawing + nearer and nearer, and how little I am able to do for a single creature, + to prove to God that I am grateful for my existence! I could, if only I + were free, make such a merry day for Patty and Mark and their young + friends. Oh! what joy if father were a man who would let me set a + bountiful table in our great kitchen; would sit at the head and say grace, + and we could bow our heads over the cloth, a united family! Or, if I had + done my duty in my home and could go to that other where I am so needed—go + with my father's blessing! If only I could live in that sad little house + and brighten it! I would trim the rooms with evergreen and creeping-Jenny; + I would put scarlet alder berries and white ever-lastings and blue fringed + gentians in the vases! I would put the last bright autumn leaves near Mrs. + Boynton's bed and set out a tray with a damask napkin and the best of my + cooking; then I would go out to the back door where the woodbine hangs + like a red waterfall and blow the dinner-horn for my men down in the + harvest-field! All the woman in me is wasting, wasting! Oh! my dear, dear + man, how I long for him! Oh! my own dear man, my helpmate, shall I ever + live by his side? I love him, I want him, I need him! And my dear little + unmothered, unfathered boy, how happy I could make him! How I should love + to cook and sew for them all and wrap them in comfort! How I should love + to smooth my dear mother's last days,—for she is my mother, in + spirit, in affection, in desire, and in being Ivory's!” + </p> + <p> + Waitstill's longing, her discouragement, her helplessness, overcame her + wholly, and she flung herself down under a tree in the pasture in a very + passion of sobbing, a luxury in which she could seldom afford to indulge + herself. The luxury was short-lived, for in five minutes she heard + Rodman's voice, and heard him running to meet her as he often did when she + came to their house or went away from it, dogging her footsteps or Patty's + whenever or wherever he could waylay them. + </p> + <p> + “Why, my dear, dear Waity, did you tumble and hurt yourself?” the boy + cried. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, dreadfully, but I'm better now, so walk along with me and tell me + the news, Rod.” + </p> + <p> + “There isn't much news. Ivory told you I'd left school and am studying at + home? He helps me evenings and I'm 'way ahead of the class.” + </p> + <p> + “No, Ivory didn't tell me. I haven't seen him lately.” + </p> + <p> + “I said if the big brother kept school, the little brother ought to keep + house,” laughed the boy. + </p> + <p> + “He says I can hire out as a cook pretty soon! Aunt Boynton's 'most always + up to get dinner and supper, but I can make lots of things now,— + things that Aunt Boynton can eat, too.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I cannot bear to have you and Ivory cooking for yourselves!” + exclaimed Waitstill, the tears starting again from her eyes. “I must come + over the next time when you are at home, Rod, and I can help you make + something nice for supper. + </p> + <p> + “We get along pretty well,” said Rodman contentedly. “I love book-learning + like Ivory and I'm going to be a schoolmaster or a preacher when Ivory's a + lawyer. Do you think Patty'd like a schoolmaster or a preacher best, and + do you think I'd be too young to marry her by and by, if she would wait + for me?” + </p> + <p> + “I didn't think you had any idea of marrying Patty,” laughed Waitstill + through her tears. “Is this something new?” + </p> + <p> + “It's not exactly new,” said Rod, jumping along like a squirrel in the + path. “Nobody could look at Patty and not think about marrying her. I'd + love to marry you, too, but you re too big and grand for a boy. Of course, + I'm not going to ask Patty yet. Ivory said once you should never ask a + girl until you can keep her like a queen; then after a minute he said: + 'Well, maybe not quite like a queen, Rod, for that would mean longer than + a man could wait. Shall we say until he could keep her like the dearest + lady in the land?' That 's the way he said it.—You do cry dreadfully + easy to-day, Waity; I'm sure you barked your leg or skinned your knee when + you fell down.—Don't you think the 'dearest lady in the land' is a + nice-sounding sentence?” + </p> + <p> + “I do, indeed!” cried Waitstill to herself as she turned the words over + and over trying to feed her hungry heart with them. + </p> + <p> + “I love to hear Ivory talk; it's like the stories in the books. We have + our best times in the barn, for I'm helping with the milking, now. Our + yellow cow's name is Molly and the red cow used to be Dolly, but we + changed her to Golly, 'cause she's so troublesome. Molly's an easy cow to + milk and I can get almost all there is, though Ivory comes after me and + takes the strippings. Golly swishes her tail and kicks the minute she + hears us coming; then she stands stiff-legged and grits her teeth and + holds on to her milk HARD, and Ivory has to pat and smooth and coax her + every single time. Ivory says she's got a kind of an attachment inside of + her that she shuts down when he begins to milk.” + </p> + <p> + “We had a cross old cow like that, once,” said Waitstill absently, loving + to hear the boy's chatter and the eternal quotations from his beloved + hero. + </p> + <p> + “We have great fun cooking, too,” continued Rod. “When Aunt Boynton was + first sick she stayed in bed more, and Ivory and I hadn't got used to + things. One morning we bound up each other's burns. Ivory had three + fingers and I two, done up in buttery rags to take the fire out. Ivory + called us 'Soldiers dressing their Wounds after the Battle.' Sausages + spatter dreadfully, don't they? And when you turn a pancake it flops on + top of the stove. Can you flop one straight, Waity?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I can, straight as a die; that's what girls are made for. Now run + along home to your big brother, and do put on some warmer clothes under + your coat; the weather's getting colder.” + </p> + <p> + “Aunt Boynton hasn't patched our thick ones yet, but she will soon, and if + she doesn't, Ivory'll take this Saturday evening and do them himself; he + said so.” + </p> + <p> + “He shall not!” cried Waitstill passionately. “It is not seemly for Ivory + to sew and mend, and I will not allow it. You shall bring me those things + that need patching without telling any one, do you hear, and I will meet + you on the edge of the pasture Saturday afternoon and give them back to + you. You are not to speak of it to any one, you understand, or perhaps I + shall pound you to a jelly. You'd make a sweet rosy jelly to eat with + turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, you dear, comforting little boy!” + </p> + <p> + Rodman ran towards home and Waitstill hurried along, scarcely noticing the + beauties of the woods and fields and waysides, all glowing masses of + goldenrod and purple frost flowers. The stone walls were covered with + wild-grape and feathery clematis vines. Everywhere in sight the cornfields + lay yellow in the afternoon sun and ox carts heavily loaded with full + golden ears were going home to the barns to be ready for husking. + </p> + <p> + A sudden breeze among the orchard boughs as she neared the house was + followed by a shower of russets, and everywhere the red Baldwins gleamed + on the apple-tree boughs, while the wind-falls were being gathered and + taken to the cider mills. There was a grove of maples on the top of + Town-House Hill and the Baxters' dooryard was a blaze of brilliant color. + To see Patty standing under a little rock maple, her brown linsey-woolsey + in I one with the landscape, and the hood of her brown cape pulled over + her bright head, was a welcome for anybody. She looked flushed and excited + as she ran up to her sister and said, “Waity, darling, you've been crying! + Has father been scolding you?” + </p> + <p> + “No, dear, but my heart is aching to-day so that I can scarcely bear it. A + wave of discouragement came over me as I was walking through the woods, + and I gave up to it a bit. I remembered how soon it will be Thanksgiving + Day, and I'll so like to make it happier for you and a few others that I + love.” + </p> + <p> + Patty could have given a shrewd guess as to the chief cause of the + heartache, but she forebore to ask any questions. “Cheer up, Waity,” she + cried. “You never can tell; we may have a thankful Thanksgiving, after + all! Who knows what may happen? I'm 'strung up' this afternoon and in a + fighting mood. I've felt like a new piece of snappy white elastic all day; + it's the air, just like wine, so cool and stinging and full of courage! + Oh, yes, we won't give up hope yet awhile, Waity, not until we're snowed + in!” + </p> + <p> + “Put your arms round me and give me a good hug, Patty! Love me hard, HARD, + for, oh! I need it badly just now!” + </p> + <p> + And the two girls clung together for a moment and then went into the house + with hands close-locked and a kind of sad, desperate courage in their + young hearts. What would either of them have done, each of them thought, + had she been forced to endure alone the life that went on day after day in + Deacon Baxter's dreary house? + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0027" id="link2H_4_0027"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXIII. AUNT ABBY'S WINDOW + </h2> + <p> + MRS. ABEL DAY had come to spend the afternoon with Aunt Abby Cole and they + were seated at the two sitting-room windows, sweeping the landscape with + eagle eyes in the intervals of making patchwork. + </p> + <p> + “The foliage has been a little mite too rich this season,” remarked Aunt + Abby. “I b'lieve I'm glad to see it thinin' out some, so 't we can have + some kind of an idee of what's goin' on in the village.” + </p> + <p> + “There's plenty goin' on,” Mrs. Day answered unctuously; “some of it + aboveboard an' some underneath it.” + </p> + <p> + “An' that's jest where it's aggravatin' to have the leaves so thick and + the trees so high between you and other folks' houses. Trees are good for + shade, it's true, but there's a limit to all things. There was a time when + I could see 'bout every-thing that went on up to Baxters', and down to + Bart's shop, and, by goin' up attic, consid'able many things that happened + on the bridge. Bart vows he never planted that plum tree at the back door + of his shop; says the children must have hove out plum stones when they + was settin' on the steps and the tree come up of its own accord. He says + he didn't take any notice of it till it got quite a start and then 't was + such a healthy young bush he couldn't bear to root it out. I tell him it's + kind O' queer it should happen to come up jest where it spoils my view of + his premises. Men folks are so exasperatin' that sometimes I wish there + was somebody different for us to marry, but there ain't,—so there we + be!” + </p> + <p> + “They are an awful trial,” admitted Mrs. Day. “Abel never sympathizes with + my head-aches. I told him a-Sunday I didn't believe he'd mind if I died + the next day, an' all he said was: 'Why don't you try it an' see, Lyddy?' + He thinks that's humorous.” + </p> + <p> + “I know; that's the way Bartholomew talks; I guess they all do. You can + see the bridge better 'n I can, Lyddy; has Mark Wilson drove over sence + you've been settin' there? He's like one o' them ostriches that hides + their heads in the sand when the bird-catchers are comin' along, thinkin' + 'cause they can't see anything they'll never BE seen! He knows folks would + never tell tales to Deacon Baxter, whatever the girls done; they hate him + too bad. Lawyer Wilson lives so far away, he can't keep any watch o' Mark, + an' Mis' Wilson's so cityfied an' purse-proud nobody ever goes to her with + any news, bad or good; so them that's the most concerned is as blind as + bats. Mark's consid'able stiddier'n he used to be, but you needn't tell me + he has any notion of bringin' one o' that Baxter tribe into his family. + He's only amusin' himself.” + </p> + <p> + “Patty'll be Mrs. Wilson or nothin',” was Mrs. Day's response. “Both o' + them girls is silk purses an' you can't make sows' ears of 'em. We ain't + neither of us hardly fair to Patty, an' I s'pose it 's because she didn't + set any proper value on Cephas.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, she's good enough for Mark, I guess, though I ain't so sure of his + intentions as you be. She's nobody's fool, Patty ain't, I allow that, + though she did treat Cephas like the dirt in the road. I'm thankful he's + come to his senses an' found out the diff'rence between dross an' gold.” + </p> + <p> + “It's very good of you to put it that way, Abby,” Mrs. Day responded + gratefully, for it was Phoebe, her own offspring, who was alluded to as + the most precious of metals. “I suppose we'd better have the publishing + notice put up in the frame before Sunday? There'll be a great crowd out + that day and at Thanksgiving service the next Thursday too!” + </p> + <p> + “Cephas says he don't care how soon folks hears the news, now all's + settled,” said his mother. “I guess he's kind of anxious that the village + should know jest how little truth there is in the gossip 'bout him bein' + all upset over Patience Baxter. He said they took consid'able notice of + him an' Phoebe settin' together at the Harvest Festival last evenin'. He + thought the Baxter girls would be there for certain, but I s'pose Old Foxy + wouldn't let 'em go up to the Mills in the evenin', nor spend a quarter on + their tickets.” + </p> + <p> + “Mark could have invited Patty an' paid for her ticket, I should think; or + passed her in free, for that matter, when the Wilsons got up the + entertainment; but, of course, the Deacon never allows his girls to go + anywheres with men-folks.” + </p> + <p> + “Not in public; so they meet 'em side o' the river or round the corner of + Bart's shop, or anywhere they can, when the Deacon's back's turned. If you + tied a handkerchief over Waitstill's eyes she could find her way blindfold + to Ivory Boynton's house, but she's good as gold, Waitstill is; she'll + stay where her duty calls her, every time! If any misfortune or scandal + should come near them two girls, the Deacon will have no-body but himself + to thank for it, that's one sure thing!” + </p> + <p> + “Young folks can't be young but once,” sighed Mrs. Day. “I thought we had + as handsome a turn-out at the entertainment last evenin' as any village on + the Saco River could 'a' furnished: an' my Phoebe an' your Cephas, if I do + say so as shouldn't, was about the best-dressed an' best-appearin' couple + there was present. Also, I guess likely, they're startin' out with as good + prospects as any bride an' groom that's walked up the middle aisle o' the + meetin'-house for many a year.... How'd you like that Boston singer that + the Wilsons brought here, Abby?—Wait a minute, is Cephas, or the + Deacon, tendin' store this after-noon?” + </p> + <p> + “The Deacon; Cephas is paintin' up to the Mills.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, Mark Wilson's horse an' buggy is meanderin' slowly down Aunt + Betty-Jack's hill, an' Mark is studyin' the road as if he was lookin' for + a four-leafed clover.” + </p> + <p> + “He'll hitch at the tavern, or the Edgewood store, an' wait his chance to + get a word with Patience,” said Aunt Abby. “He knows when she takes milk + to the Morrills', or butter to the parsonage; also when she eats an' + drinks an' winks her eye an' ketches her breath an' lifts her foot. Now + he's disappeared an' we'll wait.. .. Why, as to that Boston singer,—an' + by the way, they say Ellen Wilson's goin' to take lessons of her this + winter,—she kind o' bewildered me, Lyddy! Of course, I ain't never + been to any cities, so I don't feel altogether free to criticise; but what + did you think of her, when she run up so high there, one time? I don't + know how high she went, but I guess there wa'n't no higher to go!” + </p> + <p> + “It made me kind o' nervous,” allowed Mrs. Day. + </p> + <p> + “Nervous! Bart' an' I broke out in a cold sweat! He said she couldn't hold + a candle to Waitstill Baxter. But it's that little fly-away Wilson girl + that'll get the lessons, an' Waitstill will have to use her voice callin' + the Deacon home to dinner. Things ain't divided any too well in this + world, Lyddy.” + </p> + <p> + “Waitstill's got the voice, but she lacks the trainin'. The Boston singer + knows her business, I'll say that for her,” said Mrs. Day. + </p> + <p> + “She's got good stayin' power,” agreed Aunt Abby. “Did you notice how she + held on to that high note when she'd clumb where she wanted to git? She's + got breath enough to run a gristmill, that girl has! And how'd she come + down, when she got good and ready to start? Why, she zig-zagged an' + saw-toothed the whole way! It kind o' made my flesh creep!” + </p> + <p> + “I guess part o' the trouble's with us country folks,” Mrs. Day responded, + “for folks said she sung runs and trills better'n any woman up to Boston.” + </p> + <p> + “Runs an' trills,” ejaculated Abby scornfully. “I was talkin' 'bout + singin' not runnin'. My niece Ella up to Parsonfield has taken three terms + on the pianner an' I've heerd her practise. Scales has got to be done, no + doubt, but they'd ought to be done to home, where they belong; a concert + ain't no place for 'em... . There, what did I tell yer? Patience Baxter's + crossin' the bridge with a pail in her hand. She's got that everlastin' + yeller-brown, linsey-woolsey on, an' a white 'cloud' wrapped around her + head with con'sid'able red hair showin' as usual. You can always see her + fur's you can a sunrise! And there goes Rod Boynton, chasin' behind as + usual. Those Baxter girls make a perfect fool o' that boy, but I don't + s'pose Lois Boynton's got wit enough to make much fuss over the poor + little creeter!” + </p> + <p> + Mark Wilson could certainly see Patty Baxter as far as he could a sunrise, + although he was not intimately acquainted with that natural phenomenon. He + took a circuitous route from his watch-tower, and, knowing well the point + from which there could be no espionage from Deacon Baxter's store windows, + joined Patty in the road, took the pail from her hand, and walked up the + hill beside her. Of course, the village could see them, but, as Aunt Abby + had intimated, there wasn't a man, woman, or child on either side of the + river who wouldn't have taken the part of the Baxter girls against their + father. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0028" id="link2H_4_0028"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXIV. PHOEBE TRIUMPHS + </h2> + <p> + MEANTIME Feeble Phoebe Day was driving her father's horse up to the Mills + to bring Cephas Cole home. It was a thrilling moment, a sort of outward + and visible sign of an inward and spiritual tie, for their banns were to + be published the next day, so what did it matter if the community, nay, if + the whole universe, speculated as to why she was drawing her beloved back + from his daily toil? It had been an eventful autumn for Cephas. After a + third request for the hand of Miss Patience Baxter, and a refusal of even + more than common decision and energy, Cephas turned about face and + employed the entire month of September in a determined assault upon the + affections of Miss Lucy Morrill, but with no better avail. His heart was + not ardently involved in this second wooing, but winter was approaching, + he had moved his mother out of her summer quarters back to the main house, + and he doggedly began papering the ell and furnishing the kitchen without + disclosing to his respected parents the identity of the lady for whose + comfort he was so hospitably preparing. + </p> + <p> + Cephas's belief in the holy state of matrimony as being the only one + proper for a man, really ought to have commended him to the opposite (and + ungrateful) sex more than it did, and Lucy Morrill held as respectful an + opinion of the institution and its manifold advantages as Cephas himself, + but she was in a very unsettled frame of mind and not at all susceptible + to wooing. She had a strong preference for Philip Perry, and held an + opinion, not altogether unfounded in human experience, that in course of + time, when quite deserted by Patty Baxter, his heart might possibly be + caught on the rebound. It was only a chance, but Lucy would almost have + preferred remaining unmarried, even to the withering age of twenty-five, + rather than not be at liberty to accept Philip Perry in case she should be + asked. + </p> + <p> + Cephas therefore, by the middle of October, could be picturesquely and + alliteratively described as being raw from repeated rejections. His + bruised heart and his despised ell literally cried out for the + appreciation so long and blindly withheld. Now all at once Phoebe + disclosed a second virtue; her first and only one, hitherto, in the eyes + of Cephas, having been an ability to get on with his mother, a feat in + which many had made an effort and few indeed had succeeded. Phoebe, it + seems, had always secretly admired, respected, and loved Cephas Cole! + Never since her pale and somewhat glassy blue eye had opened on life had + she beheld a being she could so adore if encouraged in the attitude. + </p> + <p> + The moment this unusual and unexpected poultice was really applied to + Cephas's wounds, they began to heal. In the course of a month the most + ordinary observer could have perceived a physical change in him. He + cringed no more, but held his head higher; his back straightened; his + voice developed a gruff, assertive note, like that of a stern Roman + father; he let his moustache grow, and sometimes, in his most reckless + moments, twiddled the end of it. Finally he swaggered; but that was only + after Phoebe had accepted him and told him that if a girl traversed the + entire length of the Saco River (which she presumed to be the longest in + the world, the Amazon not being familiar to her), she could not hope to + find his equal as a husband. + </p> + <p> + And then congratulations began to pour in! Was ever marriage so + fortuitous! The Coles' farm joined that of the Days and the union between + the two only children would cement the friendship between the families. + The fact that Uncle Bart was a joiner, Cephas a painter, and Abel Day a + mason and bricklayer made the alliance almost providential in its business + opportunities. Phoebe's Massachusetts aunt sent a complete outfit of + gilt-edged china, a clock, and a mahogany chamber set. Aunt Abby + relinquished to the young couple a bedroom and a spare chamber in the + “main part,” while the Days supplied live-geese feathers and table and + bed-linen with positive prodigality. Aunt Abby trod the air like one + inspired. “Balmy” is the only adjective that could describe her. + </p> + <p> + “If only I could 'a' looked ahead,” smiled Uncle Bart quizzically to + himself, “I'd 'a' had thirteen sons and daughters an' married off one of + 'em every year. That would 'a' made Abby's good temper kind o' permanent.” + </p> + <p> + Cephas was content, too. There was a good deal in being settled and having + “the whole doggoned business” off your hands. Phoebe looked a very + different creature to him in these latter days. Her eyes were just as + pale, of course, but they were brighter, and they radiated love for him, + an expression in the female eye that he had thus far been singularly + unfortunate in securing. She still held her mouth slightly open, but + Cephas thought that it might be permissible, perhaps after three months of + wedded bliss, to request her to be more careful in closing it. He + believed, too, that she would make an effort to do so just to please him; + whereas a man's life or property would not be safe for a single instant if + he asked Miss Patience Baxter to close her mouth, not if he had been + married to her for thirty times three months! + </p> + <p> + Cephas did not think of Patty any longer with bitterness, in these days, + being of the opinion that she was punished enough in observing his own + growing popularity and prosperity. + </p> + <p> + “If she should see that mahogany chamber set going into the ell I guess + she'd be glad enough to change her tune!” thought Cephas, exultingly; and + then there suddenly shot through his mind the passing fancy—“I + wonder if she would!” He promptly banished the infamous suggestion + however, reinforcing his virtue with the reflection that the chamber set + was Phoebe's, anyway, and the marriage day appointed, and the invitations + given out, and the wedding-cake being baked, a loaf at a time, by his + mother and Mrs. Day. + </p> + <p> + As a matter of fact Patty would have had no eyes for Phoebe's magnificent + mahogany, even had the cart that carried it passed her on the hill where + she and Mark Wilson were walking. Her promise to marry him was a few weeks + old now, and his arm encircled her slender waist under the brown homespun + cape. That in itself was a new sensation and gave her the delicious sense + of belonging to somebody who valued her highly, and assured her of his + sentiments clearly and frequently, both by word and deed. Life, dull gray + life, was going to change its hue for her presently, and not long after, + she hoped, for Waitstill, too! It needed only a brighter, a more dauntless + courage; a little faith that nettles, when firmly grasped, hurt the hand + less, and a fairer future would dawn for both of them. The Deacon was a + sharper nettle than she had ever meddled with before, but in these days, + when the actual contact had not yet occurred, she felt sure of herself and + longed for the moment when her pluck should be tested and proved. + </p> + <p> + The “publishing” of Cephas and his third choice, their dull walk up the + aisle of the meeting-house before an admiring throng, on the Sunday when + Phoebe would “appear bride,” all this seemed very tame as compared with + the dreams of this ardent and adventurous pair of lovers who had gone + about for days harboring secrets greater and more daring, they thought, + than had ever been breathed before within the hearing of Saco Water. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0029" id="link2H_4_0029"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXV. LOVE'S YOUNG DREAMS + </h2> + <p> + IT was not an afternoon for day-dreams, for there was a chill in the air + and a gray sky. Only a week before the hills along the river might have + been the walls of the New Jerusalem, shining like red gold; now the glory + had departed and it was a naked world, with empty nests hanging to boughs + that not long ago had been green with summer. The old elm by the tavern, + that had been wrapped in a bright trail of scarlet woodbine, was stripped + almost bare of its autumn beauty. Here and there a maple showed a remnant + of crimson, and a stalwart oak had some rags of russet still clinging to + its gaunt boughs. The hickory trees flung out a few yellow flags from the + ends of their twigs, but the forests wore a tattered and dishevelled look, + and the withered leaves that lay in dried heaps upon the frozen ground, + driven hither and thither by every gust of the north wind, gave the + unthinking heart a throb of foreboding. Yet the glad summer labor of those + same leaves was finished according to the law that governed them, and the + fruit was theirs and the seed for the coming year. No breeze had been + strong enough to shake them from the tree till they were ready to forsake + it. Now they had severed the bond that had held them so tightly and + fluttered down to give the earth all their season's earnings. On every + hillside, in every valley and glen, the leaves that had made the summer + landscape beautiful, lay contentedly: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Where the rain might rain upon them, + Where the sun might shine upon them, + Where the wind might sigh upon them, + And the snow might die upon them.” + </pre> + <p> + Brown, withered, dead, buried in snow they might be, yet they were + ministering to all the leaves of the next spring-time, bequeathing to them + in turn the beauty that had been theirs; the leafy canopies for countless + song birds, the grateful shade for man and beast. + </p> + <p> + Young love thought little of Nature's miracles, and hearts that beat high + and fast were warm enough to forget the bleak wind and gathering clouds. + If there were naked trees, were there not full barrels of apples in every + cellar? If there was nothing but stubble in the frozen fields, why, there + was plenty of wheat and corn at the mill all ready for grinding. The cold + air made one long for a cheery home and fireside, the crackle of a + hearth-log, the bubbling of a steaming kettle; and Patty and Mark clung + together as they walked along, making bright images of a life together, + snug, warm, and happy. + </p> + <p> + Patty was a capricious creature, but all her changes were sudden and + endearing ones, captivating those who loved her more than a monotonous and + unchanging virtue. Any little shower, with Patty, always ended with a + rainbow that made the landscape more enchanting than before. Of late her + little coquetries and petulances had disappeared as if by magic. She had + been melted somehow from irresponsible girlhood into womanhood, and that, + too, by the ardent affection of a very ordinary young man who had no great + gift save that of loving Patty greatly. The love had served its purpose, + in another way, too, for under its influence Mark's own manhood had + broadened and deepened. He longed to bind Patty to him for good and all, + to capture the bright bird whose fluttering wings and burnished plumage so + captured his senses and stirred his heart, but his longings had changed + with the quality of his love and he glowed at the thought of delivering + the girl from her dreary surroundings and giving her the tenderness, the + ease and comfort, the innocent gayety, that her nature craved. + </p> + <p> + “You won't fail me, Patty darling?” he was saying at this moment. “Now + that our plans are finally made, with never a weak point any where as far + as I can see, my heart is so set upon carrying them out that every hour of + waiting seems an age!” + </p> + <p> + “No, I won't fail, Mark; but I never know the day that father will go to + town until the night before. I can always hear him making his preparations + in the barn and the shed, and ordering Waitstill here and there. He is as + excited as if he was going to Boston instead of Milltown.” + </p> + <p> + “The night before will do. I will watch the house every evening till you + hang a white signal from your window.” + </p> + <p> + “It won't be white,” said Patty, who would be mischievous on her deathbed; + “my Sunday-go-to-meetin' petticoat is too grand, and everything else that + we have is yellow.” + </p> + <p> + “I shall see it, whatever color it is, you can be sure of that!” said Mark + gallantly. “Then it's decided that next morning I'll wait at the tavern + from sunrise, and whenever your father and Waitstill have driven up Saco + Hill, I'll come and pick you up and we 'll be off like a streak of + lightning across the hills to New Hampshire. How lucky that Riverboro is + only thirty miles from the state line!—It looks like snow, and how I + wish it would be something more than a flurry; a regular whizzing, + whirring storm that would pack the roads and let us slip over them with + our sleigh-bells ringing!” + </p> + <p> + “I should like that, for they would be our only wedding-bells. Oh! Mark! + What if Waitstill shouldn't go, after all: though I heard father tell her + that he needed her to buy things for the store, and that they wouldn't be + back till after nightfall. Just to think of being married without + Waitstill!” + </p> + <p> + “You can do without Waitstill on this one occasion, better than you can + without me,” laughed Mark, pinching Patty's cheek. “I've given the town + clerk due notice and I have a friend to meet me at his office. He is going + to lend me his horse for the drive home, and we shall change back the next + week. That will give us a fresh horse each way, and we'll fly like the + wind, snow or no snow, When we come down Guide Board Hill that night, + Patty, we shall be man and wife; isn't that wonderful?” + </p> + <p> + “We shall be man and wife in New Hampshire, but not in Maine, you say,” + Patty reminded him dolefully. “It does seem dreadful that we can't be + married in our own state, and have to go dangling about with this secret + on our minds, day and night; but it can't be helped! You'll try not to + even think of me as your wife till we go to Portsmouth to live, won't + you?” + </p> + <p> + “You're asking too much when you say I'm not to think of you as my wife, + for I shall think of nothing else, but I've given you my solemn promise,” + said Mark stoutly, “and I'll keep it as sure as I live. We'll be legally + married by the laws of New Hampshire, but we won't think of it as a + marriage till I tell your father and mine, and we drive away once more + together. That time it will be in the sight of everybody, with our heads + in the air. I've got the little house in Portsmouth all ready, Patty: it's + small, but it's in a nice part of the town. Portsmouth is a pretty place, + but it'll be a great deal prettier when it has Mrs. Mark Wilson living in + it. We can be married over again in Maine, afterwards, if your heart is + set upon it. I'm willing to marry you in every state of the Union, so far + as I am concerned.” + </p> + <p> + “I think you've been so kind and good and thoughtful, Mark dear,” said + Patty, more fondly and meltingly than she had ever spoken to him before, + “and so clever too! I do respect you for getting that good position in + Portsmouth and being able to set up for yourself at your age. I shouldn't + wonder a bit if you were a judge some day, and then what a proud girl I + shall be!” + </p> + <p> + Patty's praise was bestowed none too frequently, and it sounded very sweet + in the young man's ears. + </p> + <p> + “I do believe I can get on, with you to help me, Patty,” he said, pressing + her arm more closely to his side, and looking down ardently into her + radiant face. “You're a great deal cleverer than I am, but I have a + faculty for the business of the law, so my father says, and a faculty for + money-making, too. And even if we have to begin in a small way, my salary + will be a certainty, and we'll work up together. I can see you in a yellow + satin dress, stiff enough to stand alone!” + </p> + <p> + “It must be white satin, if you please, not yellow! After having used a + hundred and ten yards of shop-worn yellow calico on myself within two + years, I never want to wear that color again. If only I could come to you + better provided,” she sighed, with the suggestion of tears in her voice. + “If I'd been a common servant I could have saved something from my wages + to be married on; I haven't even got anything to be married IN!” + </p> + <p> + “I'll get you anything you want in Portland to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + “Certainly not; I'd rather be married in rags than have you spend your + money upon me beforehand!” + </p> + <p> + “Remember to have a box of your belongings packed and slipped under the + shed somewhere. You can't be certain what your father will say or do when + the time comes for telling him, and I want you to be ready to leave on a + moment's notice.” + </p> + <p> + “I will; I'll do everything you say, Mark, but are you sure that we have + thought of every other way? I do so hate being underhanded.” + </p> + <p> + “Every other way! I am more than willing to ask your father, but we know + he would treat me with contempt, for he can't bear the sight of me! He + would probably lock you up and feed you on bread and water. That being the + state of things, how can I tell our plans to my own father? He never would + look with favor on my running away with you; and mother is, by nature, set + upon doing things handsomely and in proper order. Father would say our + elopement would be putting us both wrong before the community, and he'd + advise me to wait. 'You are both young'—I can hear him announcing + his convictions now, as clearly as if he was standing here in the road—'You + are both young and you can well afford to wait until something turns up.' + As if we hadn't waited and waited from all eternity!” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, we have been engaged to be married for at least five weeks,” said + Patty, with an upward glance peculiar to her own sparkling face,—one + that always intoxicated Mark. “I am seventeen and a half; your father + couldn't expect a confirmed old maid like me to waste any more time. But I + never would do this—this—sudden, unrespectable thing, if there + was any other way. Everything depends on my keeping it secret from + Waitstill, but she doesn't suspect anything yet. She thinks of me as + nothing but a child still. Do you suppose Ellen would go with us, just to + give me a little comfort?” + </p> + <p> + “She might,” said Mark, after reflecting a moment. “She is very devoted to + you, and perhaps she could keep a secret; she never has, but there's + always a first time. You can't go on adding to the party, though, as if it + was a candy-pull! We cannot take Lucy Morrill and Phoebe Day and Cephas + Cole, because it would be too hard on the horse; and besides, I might get + embarrassed at the town clerk's office and marry the wrong girl; or you + might swop me off for Cephas! But I'll tell Ellen if you say so; she's got + plenty of grit.” + </p> + <p> + “Don't joke about it, Mark, don't. I shouldn't miss Waitstill so much if I + had Ellen, and how happy I shall be if she approves of me for a sister and + thinks your mother and father will like me in time.” + </p> + <p> + “There never was a creature born into the world that wouldn't love you, + Patty!” + </p> + <p> + “I don't know; look at Aunt Abby Cole!” said Patty pensively. “Well, it + does not seem as if a marriage that isn't good in Riverboro was really + decent! How tiresome of Maine to want all those days of public notice; + people must so often want to get married in a minute. If I think about + anything too long I always get out of the notion.” + </p> + <p> + “I know you do; that's what I'm afraid of!”—and Mark's voice showed + decided nervousness. “You won't get out of the notion of marrying me, will + you, Patty dear?” + </p> + <p> + “Marrying you is more than a 'notion,' Mark,” said Patty soberly. “I'm + only a little past seventeen, but I'm far older because of the + difficulties I've had. I don't wonder you speak of my 'notions.' I was as + light as a feather in all my dealings with you at first.” + </p> + <p> + “So was I with you! I hadn't grown up, Patty.” + </p> + <p> + “Then I came to know you better and see how you sympathized with + Waitstill's troubles and mine. I couldn't love anybody, I couldn't marry + anybody, who didn't feel that things at our house can't go on as they are! + Father has had a good long trial! Three wives and two daughters have done + their best to live with him, and failed. I am not willing to die for him, + as my mother did, nor have Waitstill killed if I can help it. Sometimes he + is like a man who has lost his senses and sometimes he is only grim and + quiet and cruel. If he takes our marriage without a terrible scene, Mark, + perhaps it will encourage Waitstill to break her chains as I have mine.” + </p> + <p> + “There's sure to be an awful row,” Mark said, as one who had forecasted + all the probabilities. “It wouldn't make any difference if you married the + Prince of Wales; nothing would suit your father but selecting the man and + making all the arrangements; and then he would never choose any one who + wouldn't tend the store and work on the farm for him without wages.” + </p> + <p> + “Waitstill will never run away; she isn't like me. She will sit and sit + there, slaving and suffering, till doomsday; for the one that loves her + isn't free like you!” + </p> + <p> + “You mean Ivory Boynton? I believe he worships the ground she walks on. I + like him better than I used, and I understand him better. Oh! but I'm a + lucky young dog to have a kind, liberal father and a bit of money put by + to do with as I choose. If I hadn't, I'd be eating my heart out like + Ivory!” + </p> + <p> + “No, you wouldn't eat your heart out; you'd always get what you wanted + somehow, and you wouldn't wait for it either; and I'm just the same. I'm + not built for giving up, and enduring, and sacrificing. I'm naturally just + a tuft of thistle-down, Mark; but living beside Waitstill all these years + I've grown ashamed to be so light, blowing about hither and thither. I + kept looking at her and borrowing some of her strength, just enough to + make me worthy to be her sister. Waitstill is like a bit of Plymouth Rock, + only it's a lovely bit on the land side, with earth in the crevices, and + flowers blooming all over it and hiding the granite. Oh! if only she will + forgive us, Mark, I won't mind what father says or does.” + </p> + <p> + “She will forgive us, Patty darling; don't fret, and cry, and make your + pretty eyes all red. I'll do nothing in all this to make either of you + girls ashamed of me, and I'll keep your father and mine ever before my + mind to prevent my being foolish or reckless; for, you know, Patty, I'm + heels over head in love with you, and it's only for your sake I'm taking + all these pains and agreeing to do without my own wedded wife for weeks to + come!” + </p> + <p> + “Does the town clerk, or does the justice of the peace give a + wedding-ring, just like the minister?” Patty asked. “I shouldn't feel + married without a ring.” + </p> + <p> + “The ring is all ready, and has 'M.W. to P.B.' engraved in it, with the + place for the date waiting; and here is the engagement ring if you'll wear + it when you're alone, Patty. My mother gave it to me when she thought + there would be something between Annabel Franklin and me. The moment I + looked at it—you see it's a topaz stone—and noticed the yellow + fire in it, I said to myself: 'It is like no one but Patty Baxter, and if + she won't wear it, no other girl shall!' It's the color of the tip ends of + your curls and it's just like the light in your eyes when you're making + fun!” + </p> + <p> + “It's heavenly!” cried Patty. “It looks as if it had been made of the + yellow autumn leaves, and oh! how I love the sparkle of it! But never will + I take your mother's ring or wear it, Mark, till I've proved myself her + loving, dutiful daughter. I'll do the one wrong thing of running away with + you and concealing our marriage, but not another if I can help it.” + </p> + <p> + “Very well,” sighed Mark, replacing the ring in his pocket with rather a + crestfallen air. “But the first thing you know you'll be too good for me, + Patty! You used to be a regular will-o'-the-wisp, all nonsense and fun, + forever laughing and teasing, so that a fellow could never be sure of you + for two minutes together.” + </p> + <p> + “It's all there underneath,” said Patty, putting her hand on his arm and + turning her wistful face up to his. “It will come again; the girl in me + isn't dead; she isn't even asleep; but she's all sobered down. She can't + laugh just now, she can only smile; and the tears are waiting underneath, + ready to spring out if any one says the wrong word. This Patty is + frightened and anxious and her heart beats too fast from morning till + night. She hasn't any mother, and she cannot say a word to her dear + sister, and she's going away to be married to you, that's almost a + stranger, and she isn't eighteen, and doesn't know what's coming to her, + nor what it means to be married. She dreads her father's anger, and she + cannot rest till she knows whether your family will love her and take her + in; and, oh! she's a miserable, worried girl, not a bit like the old + Patty.” + </p> + <p> + Mark held her close and smoothed the curls under the loose brown hood. + “Don't you fret, Patty darling! I'm not the boy I was last week. Every + word you say makes me more of a man. At first I would have run away just + for the joke; anything to get you away from the other fellows and prove I + was the best man, but now' I'm sobered down, too. I'll do nothing rash; + I'll be as staid as the judge you want me to be twenty years later. You've + made me over, Patty, and if my love for you wasn't the right sort at + first, it is now. I wish the road to New Hampshire was full of lions and I + could fight my way through them just to show you how strong I feel!” + </p> + <p> + “There'll be lions enough,” smiled Patty through her tears, “though they + won't have manes and tails; but I can imagine how father will roar, and + how my courage will ooze out of the heels of my boots!” + </p> + <p> + “Just let me catch the Deacon roaring at my wife!” exclaimed Mark with a + swelling chest. “Now, run along, Patty dear, for I don't want you scolded + on my account. There's sure to be only a day or two of waiting now, and I + shall soon see the signal waving from your window. I'll sound Ellen and + see if she's brave enough to be one of the eloping party. Good-night! + Good-night! Oh! How I hope our going away will be to-morrow, my dearest, + dearest Patty!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0030" id="link2H_4_0030"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + WINTER + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0031" id="link2H_4_0031"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXVI. A WEDDING-RING + </h2> + <p> + THE snow had come. It had begun to fall softly and steadily at the + beginning of the week, and now for days it had covered the ground deeper + and deeper, drifting about the little red brick house on the hilltop, + banking up against the barn, and shrouding the sheds and the smaller + buildings. There had been two cold, still nights; the windows were covered + with silvery landscapes whose delicate foliage made every pane of glass a + leafy bower, while a dazzling crust bediamonded the hillsides, so that no + eye could rest on them long without becoming snow-blinded. + </p> + <p> + Town-House Hill was not as well travelled as many others, and Deacon + Baxter had often to break his own road down to the store, without waiting + for the help of the village snow-plough to make things easier for him. + Many a path had Waitstill broken in her time, and it was by no means one + of her most distasteful tasks—that of shovelling into the drifts of + heaped-up whiteness, tossing them to one side or the other, and cutting a + narrow, clean-edged track that would pack down into the hardness of + marble. + </p> + <p> + There were many “chores” to be done these cold mornings before any + household could draw a breath of comfort. The Baxters kept but one cow in + winter, killed the pig,—not to eat, but to sell,—and reduced + the flock of hens and turkeys; but Waitstill was always as busy in the + barn as in her own proper domain. Her heart yearned for all the dumb + creatures about the place, intervening between them and her father's + scanty care; and when the thermometer descended far below zero she would + be found stuffing hay into the holes and cracks of the barn and hen-house, + giving the horse and cow fresh beddings of straw and a mouthful of extra + food between the slender meals provided by the Deacon. + </p> + <p> + It was three o'clock in the afternoon and a fire in the Baxters' kitchen + since six in the morning had produced a fairly temperate climate in that + one room, though the entries and chambers might have been used for + refrigerators, as the Deacon was as parsimonious in the use of fuel as in + all other things, and if his daughters had not been hardy young creatures, + trained from their very birth to discomforts and exposures of every sort, + they would have died long ago. + </p> + <p> + The Baxter kitchen and glittered in all its accustomed cleanliness and + order. Scrubbing and polishing were cheap amusements, and nobody grudged + them to Waitstill. No tables in Riverboro were whiter, no tins more + lustrous, no pewter brighter, no brick hearths ruddier than hers. The + beans and brown bread and Indian pudding were basking in the warmth of the + old brick oven, and what with the crackle and sparkle of the fire, the + gleam of the blue willow-ware on the cupboard shelves, and the scarlet + geraniums blooming on the sunny shelf above the sink, there were few + pleasanter place to be found in the village than that same Baxter kitchen. + Yet Waitstill was ill at ease this afternoon; she hardly knew why. Her + father had just put the horse into the pung and driven up to Milliken's + Mills for some grain, and Patty was down at the store instructing Bill + Morrill (Cephas Cole's successor) in his novel task of waiting on + customers and learning the whereabouts of things; no easy task in the + bewildering variety of stock in a country store; where pins, treacle, + gingham, Epsom salts, Indian meal, shoestrings, shovels, brooms, sulphur, + tobacco, suspenders, rum, and indigo may be demanded in rapid succession. + </p> + <p> + Patty was quiet and docile these days, though her color was more brilliant + than usual and her eyes had all their accustomed sparkle. She went about + her work steadily, neither ranting nor railing at fate, nor bewailing her + lot, but even in this Waitstill felt a sense of change and difference too + subtle to be put in words. She had noted Patty's summer flirtations, but + regarded them indulgently, very much as if they had been the irresponsible + friskings of a lamb in a meadow. Waitstill had more than the usual reserve + in these matters, for in New England at that time, though the soul was a + subject of daily conversation, the heart was felt to be rather an + indelicate topic, to be alluded to as seldom as possible. Waitstill + certainly would never have examined Patty closely as to the state of her + affections, intimate as she was with her sister's thoughts and opinions + about life; she simply bided her time until Patty should confide in her. + She had wished now and then that Patty's capricious fancy might settle on + Philip Perry, although, indeed, when she considered it seriously, it + seemed like an alliance between a butterfly and an owl. Cephas Cole she + regarded as quite beneath Patty's rightful ambitions, and as for Mark + Wilson, she had grown up in the belief, held in the village generally, + that he would marry money and position, and drift out of Riverboro into a + gayer, larger world. Her devotion to her sister was so ardent, and her + admiration so sincere, that she could not think it possible that Patty + would love anywhere in vain; nevertheless, she had an instinct that her + affections were crystallizing somewhere or other, and when that happened, + the uncertain and eccentric temper of her father would raise a thousand + obstacles. + </p> + <p> + While these thoughts coursed more or less vagrantly through Waitstill's + mind, she suddenly determined to get her cloak and hood and run over to + see Mrs. Boynton. Ivory had been away a good deal in the woods since early + November chopping trees and helping to make new roads. He could not go + long distances, like the other men, as he felt constrained to come home + every day or two to look after his mother and Rodman, but the work was too + lucrative to be altogether refused. With Waitstill's help, he had at last + overcome his mother's aversion to old Mrs. Mason, their nearest neighbor; + and she, being now a widow with very slender resources, went to the + Boyntons' several times each week to put the forlorn household a little on + its feet. + </p> + <p> + It was all uphill and down to Ivory's farm, Waitstill reflected, and she + could take her sled and slide half the way, going and coming, or she could + cut across the frozen fields on the crust. She caught up her shawl from a + hook on the kitchen door, and, throwing it over her head and shoulders to + shield herself from the chill blasts on the stairway, ran up to her + bedroom to make herself ready for the walk. + </p> + <p> + She slipped on a quilted petticoat and warmer dress, braided her hair + freshly, while her breath went out in a white cloud to meet the freezing + air; snatched her wraps from her closet, and was just going down the + stairs when she remembered that an hour before, having to bind up a cut + finger for her father, she had searched Patty's bureau drawer for an old + handkerchief, and had left things in disorder while she ran to answer the + Deacon's impatient call and stamp upon the kitchen floor. + </p> + <p> + “Hurry up and don't make me stan' here all winter!” he had shouted. “If + you ever kept things in proper order, you wouldn't have to hunt all over + the house for a piece of rag when you need it!” + </p> + <p> + Patty was very dainty about her few patched and darned belongings; also + very exact in the adjustment of her bits of ribbon, her collars of + crocheted thread, her adored coral pendants, and her pile of neat cotton + handkerchiefs, hem-stitched by her own hands. Waitstill, accordingly, with + an exclamation at her own unwonted carelessness, darted into her sister's + room to replace in perfect order the articles she had disarranged in her + haste. She knew them all, these poor little trinkets,—humble, + pathetic evidences of Patty's feminine vanity and desire to make her + bright beauty a trifle brighter. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly her hand and her eye fell at the same moment on something hidden + in a far corner under a white “fascinator,” one of those head-coverings of + filmy wool, dotted with beads, worn by the girls of the period. She drew + the glittering, unfamiliar object forward, and then lifted it wonderingly + in her hand. It was a string of burnished gold beads, the avowed desire of + Patty's heart; a string of beads with a brilliant little stone in the + fastening. And, as if that were not mystery enough, there was something + slipped over the clasped necklace and hanging from it, as Waitstill held + it up to the light—a circlet of plain gold, a wedding-ring! + </p> + <p> + Waitstill stood motionless in the cold with such a throng of bewildering + thoughts, misgivings, imaginings, rushing through her head that they were + like a flock of birds beating their wings against her ears. The imaginings + were not those of absolute dread or terror, for she knew her Patty. If she + had seen the necklace alone she would have been anxious, indeed, for it + would have meant that the girl, urged on by ungoverned desire for the + ornament, had accepted present from one who should not have given it to + her secretly; but the wedding-ring meant some-thing different for Patty,—something + more, something certain, something unescapable, for good or ill. A + wedding-ring could stand for nothing but marriage. Could Patty be married? + How, when, and where could so great a thing happen without her knowledge? + It seemed impossible. How had such a child surmounted the difficulties in + the path? Had she been led away by the attractions of some stranger? No, + there had been none in the village. There was only one man who had the + worldly wisdom or the means to carry Patty off under the very eye of her + watchful sister; only one with the reckless courage to defy her father; + and that was Mark Wilson. His name did not bring absolute confidence to + Waitstill's mind. He was gay and young and thoughtless; how had he managed + to do this wild thing?—and had he done all decently and wisely, with + consideration for the girl's good name? The thought of all the risks lying + in the train of Patty's youth and inexperience brought a wail of anguish + from Waitstill's lips, and, dropping the beads and closing the drawer, she + stumbled blindly down the stairway to the kitchen, intent upon one thought + only—to find her sister, to look in her eyes, feel the touch of her + hand, and assure herself of her safety. + </p> + <p> + She gave a dazed look at the tall clock, and was beginning to put on her + cloak when the door opened and Patty entered the kitchen by way of the + shed; the usual Patty, rosy, buoyant, alert, with a kind of childlike + innocence that could hardly be associated with the possession of + wedding-rings. + </p> + <p> + “Are you going out, Waity? Wrap up well, for it's freezing cold. Waity, + Waity, dear! What's the matter?” she cried, coming closer to her sister in + alarm. + </p> + <p> + Waitstill's face had lost its clear color, and her eyes had the look of + some dumb animal that has been struck and wounded. She sank into the + flag-bottomed rocker by the window, and leaning back her head, uttered no + word, but closed her eyes and gave one long, shivering sigh and a dry sob + that seemed drawn from the very bottom of her heart. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0032" id="link2H_4_0032"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXVII. THE CONFESSIONAL + </h2> + <p> + “WAITY, I know what it is; you have found out about me! Who has been + wicked enough to tell you before I could do so—tell me, who?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Patty, Patty!” cried Waitstill, who could no longer hold back her + tears. “How could you deceive me so? How could you shut me out of your + heart and keep a secret like this from me, who have tried to be mother and + sister in one to you ever since the day you were born? God has sent me + much to bear, but nothing so bitter as this—to have my sister take + the greatest step of her life without my knowledge or counsel!” + </p> + <p> + “Stop, dear, stop, and let me tell you!” + </p> + <p> + “All is told, and not by you as it should have been. We've never had + anything separate from each other in all our lives, and when I looked in + your bureau drawer for a bit of soft cotton—it was nothing more than + I have done a hundred times—you can guess now what I stumbled upon; + a wedding-ring for a hand I have held ever since it was a baby's. My + sister has a husband, and I am not even sure of his name! + </p> + <p> + “Waity, Waity, don't take it so to heart!” and Patty flung herself on her + knees beside Waitstill's chair. “Not till you hear everything! When I tell + you all, you will dry your eyes and smile and be happy about me, and you + will know that in the whole world there is no one else in my love or my + life but you and my—my husband.” + </p> + <p> + “Who is the husband?” asked Waitstill dryly, as she wiped her eyes and + leaned her elbow on the table. + </p> + <p> + “Who could it be but Mark? Has there ever been any one but Mark?” + </p> + <p> + “I should have said that there were several, in these past few months.” + </p> + <p> + Waitstill's tone showed clearly that she was still grieved and hurt beyond + her power to conceal. “I have never thought of marrying any one but Mark, + and not even of marrying him till a little while ago,” said Patty. “Now do + not draw away from me and look out of the window as if we were not + sisters, or you will break my heart. Turn your eyes to mine and believe in + me, Waity, while I tell you everything, as I have so longed to do all + these nights and days. Mark and I have loved each other for a long, long + time. It was only play at first, but we were young and foolish and did not + understand what was really happening between us.” + </p> + <p> + “You are both of you only a few months older than when you were 'young and + foolish,'” objected Waitstill. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, we are—years and years! Five weeks ago I promised Mark that I + would marry him; but how was I ever to keep my word publicly? You have + noticed how insultingly father treats him of late, passing him by without + a word when he meets him in the street? You remember, too, that he has + never gone to Lawyer Wilson for advice, or put any business in his hands + since spring?” + </p> + <p> + “The Wilsons are among father's aversions, that is all you can say; it is + no use to try and explain them or rebel against them,” Waitstill answered + wearily. + </p> + <p> + “That is all very well, and might be borne like many another cross; but I + wanted to marry this particular 'aversion,'” argued Patty. “Would you have + helped me to marry Mark secretly if I had confided in you?” + </p> + <p> + “Never in the world—never!” + </p> + <p> + “I knew it,” exclaimed Patty triumphantly. “We both said so! And what was + Mark to do? He was more than willing to come up here and ask for me like a + man, but he knew that he would be ordered off the premises as if he were a + thief. That would have angered Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, and made matters + worse. We talked and talked until we were hoarse; we thought and thought + until we nearly had brain fever from thinking, but there seemed to be no + way but to take the bull by the horns.” + </p> + <p> + “You are both so young, you could well have bided awhile.” + </p> + <p> + “We could have bided until we were gray, nothing would have changed + father; and just lately I couldn't make Mark bide,” confessed Patty + ingenuously. “He has been in a rage about father's treatment of you and + me. He knows we haven't the right food to eat, nothing fit to wear, and + not an hour of peace or freedom. He has even heard the men at the store + say that our very lives might be in danger if we crossed father's will, or + angered him beyond a certain point. You can't blame a man who loves a + girl, if he wants to take her away from such a wretched life. His love + would be good for nothing if he did not long to rescue her!” + </p> + <p> + “I would never have left you behind to bear your slavery alone, while I + slipped away to happiness and comfort—not for any man alive would I + I have done it!” This speech, so unlike Waitstill in its ungenerous + reproach, was repented of as soon as it left her tongue. “Oh, I did not + mean that, my darling!” she cried. “I would have welcomed any change for + you, and thanked God for it, if only it could have come honorably and + aboveboard.” + </p> + <p> + “But, don't you see, Waity, how my marriage helps everything? That is what + makes me happiest; that now I shall have a home and it can be yours. + Father has plenty of money and can get a housekeeper. He is only + sixty-five, and as hale and hearty as a man can be. You have served your + time, and surely you need not be his drudge for the rest of your life. + Mark and I thought you would spend half the year with us.” + </p> + <p> + Waitstill waived this point as too impossible for discussion. “When and + where were you married, Patty?” she asked. + </p> + <p> + “In Allentown, New Hampshire, last Monday, the day you and father went to + Saco. Ellen went with us. You needn't suppose it was much fun for me! + Girls that think running away to be married is nothing but a lark, do not + have to deceive a sister like you, nor have a father such as mine to + reckon with afterwards.” + </p> + <p> + “You thought of all that before, didn't you, child?” + </p> + <p> + “Nobody that hasn't already run away to be married once or twice could + tell how it was going to feel! Never did I pass so unhappy a day! If Mark + was not everything that is kind and gentle, he would have tipped me out of + the sleigh into a snowbank and left me by the roadside to freeze. I might + have been murdered instead of only married, by the way I behaved; but Mark + and Ellen understood. Then, the very next day, Mark's father sent him up + to Bridgton on business, and he had to go to Allentown first to return a + friend's horse, so he couldn't break the news to father at once, as he + intended.” + </p> + <p> + “Does a New Hampshire marriage hold good in Maine?” asked Waitstill, still + intent on the bare facts at the bottom of the romance. + </p> + <p> + “Well, of course,” stammered Patty, some-what confused, “Maine has her own + way of doing things, and wouldn't be likely to fancy New Hampshire's. But + nothing can make it wicked or anything but according to law. Besides, Mark + considered all the difficulties. He is wonderfully clever, and he has a + clerkship in a Portsmouth law office waiting for him; and that's where we + are going to live, in New Hampshire, where we were married, and my darling + sister will come soon and stay months and months with us.” + </p> + <p> + “When is Mark coming back to arrange all this?” + </p> + <p> + “Late to-night or early to-morrow morning. Where did you go after you were + married?” + </p> + <p> + “Where did I go?” echoed Patty, in a childish burst of tears. “Where could + I go? It took all day to be married—all day long, working and + driving hard from sunrise to seven o'clock in the evening. Then when we + reached the bridge, Mark dropped me, and I walked up home in the dark, and + went to bed without any supper, for fear that you and father would come + back and catch me at it and ask why I was so late.” + </p> + <p> + “My poor, foolish dear!” sighed Waitstill. + </p> + <p> + Patty's tears flowed faster at the first sound of sympathy in Waitstill's + voice, for self-pity is very enfeebling. She fairly sobbed as she + continued:— + </p> + <p> + “So my only wedding-journey was the freezing drive back from Allentown, + with Ellen crying all the way and wishing that she hadn't gone with us. + Mark and I both say we'll never be married again so long as we live!” + </p> + <p> + “Where have you seen your husband from that day to this?” + </p> + <p> + “I haven't laid eyes on him!” said Patty, with a fresh burst of woe. “I + have a certificate-thing, and a wedding-ring and a beautiful frock and hat + that Mark bought in Boston, but no real husband. I'm no more married than + ever I was! Don't you remember I said that Mark was sent away on Tuesday + morning? And this is Thursday. I've had three letters from him; but I + don't know, till we see how father takes it, when we can tell the Wilsons + and start for Portsmouth. We shan't really call ourselves married till we + get to Portsmouth; we promised each other that from the first. It isn't + much like being a bride, never to see your bridegroom; to have a father + who will fly into a passion when he hears that you are married; not to + know whether your new family will like or despise you; and to have your + only sister angered with you for the first time in her life!” + </p> + <p> + Waitstill's heart melted, and she lifted Patty's tear-stained face to hers + and kissed it. “Well, dear, I would not have had you do this for the + world, but it is done, and Mark seems to have been as wise as a man can be + when he does an unwise thing. You are married, and you love each other. + That's the comforting thing to me.” + </p> + <p> + “We do,” sobbed Patty. “No two people ever loved each other better than + we; but it's been all spoiled for fear of father.” + </p> + <p> + “I must say I dread to have him hear the news”; and Waitstill knitted her + brows anxiously. “I hope it may be soon, and I think I ought to be here + when he is told. Mark will never under-stand or bear with him, and there + may be trouble that I could avert.” + </p> + <p> + “I'll be here, too, and I'm not afraid!” And Patty raised her head + defiantly. “Father can unmarry us, that's why we acted in this miserable, + secret, underhanded way. Somehow, though I haven't seen Mark since we went + to Allentown, I am braver than I was last week, for now I've got somebody + to take my part. I've a good mind to go upstairs and put on my gold beads + and my wedding-ring, just to get used to them and to feel a little more + married.—No: I can't, after all, for there is father driving up the + hill now, and he may come into the house. What brings him home at this + hour?” + </p> + <p> + “I was expecting him every moment”; and Waitstill rose and stirred the + fire. “He took the pung and went to the Mills for grain.” + </p> + <p> + “He hasn't anything in the back of the pung—and, oh, Waity! he is + standing up now and whipping the horse with all his might. I never saw him + drive like that before: what can be the matter? He can't have seen my + wedding-ring, and only three people in all the world know about my being + married.” + </p> + <p> + Waitstill turned from the window, her heart beating a little faster. “What + three people know, three hundred are likely to know sooner or later. It + may be a false alarm, but father is in a fury about something. He must not + be told the news until he is in a better humor!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0033" id="link2H_4_0033"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXVIII. PATTY IS SHOWN THE DOOR + </h2> + <p> + DEACON BAXTER drove into the barn, and flinging a blanket over the + wheezing horse, closed the door behind him and hurried into the house + without even thinking to lay down his whip. + </p> + <p> + Opening the kitchen door and stopping outside long enough to kick the snow + from his heavy boots, he strode into the kitchen and confronted the two + girls. He looked at them sharply before he spoke, scanning their flushed + faces and tear-stained eyes; then he broke out savagely:— + </p> + <p> + “Oh! you're both here; that's lucky. Now stan' up and answer to me. What's + this I hear at the Mills about Patience,—common talk outside the + store?” + </p> + <p> + The time had come, then, and by some strange fatality, when Mark was too + far away to be of service. + </p> + <p> + “Tell me what you heard, father, and I can give you a better answer,” + Patty replied, hedging to gain time, and shaking inwardly. + </p> + <p> + “Bill Morrill says his brother that works in New Hampshire reports you as + ridin' through the streets of Allentown last Monday with a young man.” + </p> + <p> + There seemed but one reply to this, so Patty answered tremblingly: “He + says what's true; I was there.” + </p> + <p> + “WHAT!” And it was plain from the Deacon's voice that he had really + disbelieved the rumor. A whirlwind of rage swept through him and shook him + from head to foot. + </p> + <p> + “Do you mean to stan' there an' own up to me that you was thirty miles + away from home with a young man?” he shouted. + </p> + <p> + “If you ask me a plain question, I've got to tell you the truth, father: I + was.” + </p> + <p> + “How dare you carry on like that and drag my name into scandal, you + worthless trollop, you? Who went along with you? I'll skin the hide off + him, whoever 't was!” + </p> + <p> + Patty remained mute at this threat, but Waitstill caught her hand and + whispered: “Tell him all, dear; it's got to come out. Be brave, and I'll + stand by you.” + </p> + <p> + “Why are you interferin' and puttin' in your meddlesome oar?” the Deacon + said, turning to Waitstill. “The girl would never 'a' been there if you'd + attended to your business. She's nothin' but a fool of a young filly, an' + you're an old cart-horse. It was your job to look out for her as your + mother told you to. Anybody might 'a' guessed she needed watchin'!” + </p> + <p> + “You shall not call my sister an old cart-horse! I'll not permit it!” + cried Patty, plucking up courage in her sister's defence, and as usual + comporting herself a trifle more like a spitfire than a true heroine of + tragedy. + </p> + <p> + “Hush, Patty! Let him call me anything that he likes; it makes no + difference at such a time.” + </p> + <p> + “Waitstill knew nothing of my going away till this afternoon,” continued + Patty. “I kept it secret from her on purpose, because I was afraid she + would not approve. I went with Mark Wilson, and—and—I married + him in New Hampshire because we couldn't do it at home without + every-body's knowledge. Now you know all.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you mean to tell me you've gone an' married that reckless, wuthless, + horse-trottin', card-playin' sneak of a Wilson boy that's courted every + girl in town? Married the son of a man that has quarrelled with me and + insulted me in public? By the Lord Harry, I'll crack this whip over your + shoulders once before I'm done with you! If I'd used it years ago you + might have been an honest woman to-day, instead of a—” + </p> + <p> + Foxwell Baxter had wholly lost control of himself, and the temper, that + had never been governed or held in check, lashed itself into a fury that + made him for the moment unaccountable for his words or actions. + </p> + + <div class='figcenter'> + <img src="images/illus-004.jpg" /> + <p>“Put down that whip, Father, or I’ll take it from you.”</p> + </div> + + <p> + Waitstill took a step forward in front of Patty. “Put down that whip, + father, or I'll take it from you and break it across my knee!” Her eyes + blazed and she held her head high. “You've made me do the work of a man, + and, thank God, I've got the muscle of one. Don't lift a finger to Patty, + or I'll defend her, I promise you! The dinner-horn is in the side entry + and two blasts will bring Uncle Bart up the hill, but I'd rather not call + him unless you force me to.” + </p> + <p> + The Deacon's grasp on the whip relaxed, and he fell back a little in sheer + astonishment at the bravado of the girl, ordinarily so quiet and + self-contained. He was speechless for a second, and then recovered breath + enough to shout to the terrified Patty: “I won't use the whip till I hear + whether you've got any excuse for your scandalous behavior. Hear me tell + you one thing: this little pleasure-trip o' yourn won't do you no good, + for I'll break the marriage! I won't have a Wilson in my family if I have + to empty a shot-gun into him; but your lies and your low streets are so + beyond reason I can't believe my ears. What's your excuse, I say?” + </p> + <p> + “Stop a minute, Patty, before you answer, and let me say a few things that + ought to have been said before now,” interposed Waitstill. “If Patty has + done wrong, father, you've no one but yourself to thank for it, and it's + only by God's grace that nothing worse has happened to her. What could you + expect from a young thing like that, with her merry heart turned into a + lump in her breast every day by your cruelty? Did she deceive you? Well, + you've made her afraid of you ever since she was a baby in the cradle, + drawing the covers over her little head when she heard your step. Whatever + crop you sow is bound to come up, father; that's Nature's law, and God's, + as well.” + </p> + <p> + “You hold your tongue, you,—readin' the law to your elders an' + betters,” said the old man, choking with wrath. “My business is with this + wuthless sister o' yourn, not with you!—You've got your coat and + hood on, miss, so you jest clear out o' the house; an' if you're too slow + about it, I'll help you along. I've no kind of an idea you're rightly + married, for that young Wilson sneak couldn't pay so high for you as all + that; but if it amuses you to call him your husband, go an' find him an' + stay with him. This is an honest house, an' no place for such as you!” + </p> + <p> + Patty had a good share of the Baxter temper, not under such control as + Waitstill's, and the blood mounted into her face. + </p> + <p> + “You shall not speak to me so!” she said intrepidly, while keeping a + discreet eye on the whip. “I'm not a—a—caterpillar to be + stepped on, I'm a married woman, as right as a New Hampshire justice can + make me, with a wedding-ring and a certificate to show, if need be. And + you shall not call my husband names! Time will tell what he is going to + be, and that's a son-in-law any true father would be proud to own!” + </p> + <p> + “Why are you set against this match, father?” argued Waitstill, striving + to make him hear reason. “Patty has married into one of the best families + in the village. Mark is gay and thought-less, but never has he been seen + the worse for liquor, and never has he done a thing for which a wife need + hang her head. It is something for a young fellow of four-and-twenty to be + able to provide for a wife and keep her in comfort; and when all is said + and done, it is a true love-match.” + </p> + <p> + Patty seized this inopportune moment to forget her father's presence, and + the tragic nature of the occasion, and, in her usual impetuous fashion, + flung her arms around Waitstill's neck and gave her the hug of a young + bear. + </p> + <p> + “My own dear sister,” she said. “I don't mind anything, so long as you + stand up for us.” + </p> + <p> + “Don't make her go to-night, father,” pleaded Waitstill. “Don't send your + own child out into the cold. Remember her husband is away from home.” + </p> + <p> + “She can find another up at the Mills as good as he is, or better. Off + with you, I say, you trumpery little baggage, you!” + </p> + <p> + “Go, then, dear, it is better so; Uncle Bart will keep you overnight; run + up and get your things”; and Waitstill sank into a chair, realizing the + hopelessness of the situation. + </p> + <p> + “She'll not take anything from my house. It's her husband's business to + find her in clothes.” + </p> + <p> + “They'll be better ones than ever you found me,” was Patty's response. + </p> + <p> + No heroics for her; no fainting fits at being disowned; no hysterics at + being turned out of house and home; no prayers for mercy, but a quick + retort for every gibe from her father; and her defiant attitude enraged + the Deacon the more. + </p> + <p> + “I won't speak again,” he said, in a tone that could not be mistaken. + “Into the street you go, with the clothes you stand up in, or I'll do what + I said I'd do.” + </p> + <p> + “Go, Patty, it's the only thing to be done. Don't tremble, for nobody + shall touch a hair of your head. I can trust you to find shelter to-night, + and Mark will take care of you to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + Patty buttoned her shabby coat and tied on her hood as she walked from the + kitchen through the sitting-room towards the side door, her heart heaving + with shame and anger, and above all with a child's sense of helplessness + at being parted from her sister. + </p> + <p> + “Don't tell the neighbors any more lies than you can help,” called her + father after her retreating form; “an' if any of 'em dare to come up here + an' give me any of their imperdence, they'll be treated same as you. Come + back here, Waitstill, and don't go to slobberin' any good-byes over her. + She ain't likely to get out o' the village for some time if she's + expectin' Mark Wilson to take her away.” + </p> + <p> + “I shall certainly go to the door with my sister,” said Waitstill coldly, + suiting the action to the word, and following Patty out on the steps. + “Shall you tell Uncle Bart everything, dear, and ask him to let you sleep + at his house?” + </p> + <p> + Both girls were trembling with excitement; Waitstill pale as a ghost, + Patty flushed and tearful, with defiant eyes and lips that quivered + rebelliously. + </p> + <p> + “I s'pose so,” she answered dolefully; “though Aunt Abby hates me, on + account of Cephas. I'd rather go to Dr. Perry's, but I don't like to meet + Phil. There doesn't seem to be any good place for me, but it 's only for a + night. And you'll not let father prevent your seeing Mark and me + to-morrow, will you? Are you afraid to stay alone? I'll sit on the steps + all night if you say the word.” + </p> + <p> + “No, no, run along. Father has vented his rage upon you, and I shall not + have any more trouble. God bless and keep you, darling. Run along!” + </p> + <p> + “And you're not angry with me now, Waity? You still love me? And you'll + forgive Mark and come to stay with us soon, soon, soon?” + </p> + <p> + “We'll see, dear, when all this unhappy business is settled, and you are + safe and happy in your own home. I shall have much to tell you when we + meet to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0034" id="link2H_4_0034"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXIX. WAITSTILL SPEAKS HER MIND + </h2> + <p> + Patty had the most ardent love for her elder sister, and something that + resembled reverence for her unselfishness, her loyalty, and her strength + of character; but if the truth were told she had no great opinion of + Waitstill's ability to feel righteous wrath, nor of her power to avenge + herself in the face of rank injustice. It was the conviction of her own + superior finesse and audacity that had sustained patty all through her + late escapade. She felt herself a lucky girl, indeed, to achieve liberty + and happiness for herself, but doubly lucky if she had chanced to open a + way of escape for her more docile and dutiful sister. + </p> + <p> + She would have been a trifle astonished had she surmised the existence of + certain mysterious waves that had been sweeping along the coasts of + Waitstill's mind that afternoon, breaking down all sorts of defences and + carrying her will along with them by sheer force: but it is a truism that + two human beings can live beside each other for half a century and yet + continue strangers. + </p> + <p> + Patty's elopement with the youth of her choice, taking into account all + its attendant risks, was Indeed an exhibition of courage and initiative + not common to girls of seventeen; but Waitstill was meditating a mutiny + more daring yet—a mutiny, too, involving a course of conduct most + unusual in maidens of puritan descent. + </p> + <p> + She walked back into the kitchen to find her father sitting placidly in + the rocking-chair by the window. He had lighted his corn-cob pipe, in + which he always smoked a mixture of dried sweet-fern as being cheaper than + tobacco, and his face wore something resembling a smile—a foxy smile—as + he watched his youngest-born ploughing down the hill through the deep + snow, while the more obedient Waitstill moved about the room, setting + supper on the table. + </p> + <p> + Conversation was not the Deacon's forte, but it seemed proper for some one + to break the ice that seemed suddenly to be very thick in the immediate + vicinity. + </p> + <p> + “That little Jill-go-over-the-ground will give the neighbors a pleasant + evenin' tellin' 'em 'bout me,” he chuckled. “Aunt Abby Cole will run the + streets o' the three villages by sun-up to-morrer; but nobody pays any + 'tention to a woman whose tongue is hung in the middle and wags at both + ends. I wa'n't intending to use the whip on your sister, Waitstill,” + continued the Deacon, with a crafty look at his silent daughter, “though a + trouncin' would 'a' done her a sight o' good; but I was only tryin' to + frighten her a little mite an' pay her up for bringin' disgrace on us the + way she's done, makin' us the talk o' the town. Well, she's gone, an' good + riddance to bad rubbish, say I! One less mouth to feed, an' one less body + to clothe. You'll miss her jest at first, on account o' there bein' no + other women-folks on the hill, but 't won't last long. I'll have Bill + Morrill do some o' your outside chores, so 't you can take on your + sister's work, if she ever done any.” + </p> + <p> + This was a most astoundingly generous proposition on the Deacon's part, + and to tell the truth he did not himself fully understand his mental + processes when he made it; but it seemed to be drawn from him by a kind of + instinct that he was not standing well in his elder daughter's books. + Though the two girls had never made any demonstration of their affection + in his presence, he had a fair idea of their mutual dependence upon each + other. Not that he placed the slightest value on Waitstill's opinion of + him, or cared in the smallest degree what she, or any one else in the + universe, thought of his conduct; but she certainly did appear to + advantage when contrasted with the pert little hussy who had just left the + premises. Also, Waitstill loomed large in his household comforts and + economies, having a clear head, a sure hand, and being one of the + steady-going, reliable sort that can be counted on in emergencies, not, + like Patty, going off at half-cock at the smallest provocation. Yes, + Waitstill, as a product of his masterly training for the last seven years, + had settled down, not without some trouble and friction, into a tolerably + dependable pack-horse, and he intended in the future to use some care in + making permanent so valuable an aid and ally. She did not pursue nor + attract the opposite sex, as his younger daughter apparently did; so by + continuing his policy of keeping all young men rigidly at a distance he + could count confidently on having', Waitstill serve his purposes for the + next fifteen or twenty years, or as long as he, himself, should continue + to ornament and enrich the earth. He would go to Saco the very next day, + and cut Patty out of his will, arranging his property so that Waitstill + should be the chief legatee as long as she continued to live obediently + under his roof. He intended to make the last point clear if he had to + consult every lawyer in York County; for he wouldn't take risks on any + woman alive. + </p> + <p> + If he must leave his money anywhere—and it was with a bitter pang + that he faced the inexorable conviction that he could neither live + forever, nor take his savings with him to the realms of bliss prepared for + members of the Orthodox Church in good and regular standing—if he + must leave his money behind him, he would dig a hole in the ground and + bury it, rather than let it go to any one who had angered him in his + lifetime. + </p> + <p> + These were the thoughts that caused him to relax his iron grip and smile + as he sat by the window, smoking his corn-cob pipe and taking one of his + very rare periods of rest. + </p> + <p> + Presently he glanced at the clock. “It's only quarter-past four,” he said. + “I thought 't was later, but the snow makes it so light you can't jedge + the time. The moon fulls to-night, don't it? Yes; come to think of it, I + know it does. Ain't you settin' out supper a little mite early, + Waitstill?” This was a longer and more amiable speech than he had made in + years, but Waitstill never glanced at him as she said: “It is a little + early, but I want to get it ready before I leave.” + </p> + <p> + “Be you goin' out? Mind, I won't have you follerin' Patience round; you'll + only upset what I've done, an' anyhow I want you to keep away from the + neighbors for a few days, till all this blows over.” + </p> + <p> + He spoke firmly, though for him mildly, for he still had the uneasy + feeling that he stood on the brink of a volcano; and, as a matter of fact, + he tumbled into it the very next moment. + </p> + <p> + The meagre supper was spread; a plate of cold; soda biscuits, a + dried-apple pie, and the usual brown teapot were in evidence; and as her + father ceased speaking Waitstill opened the door of the brick oven where + the bean-pot reposed, set a chair by the table, and turning, took up her + coat (her mother's old riding-cloak, it was), and calmly put it on, + reaching then for her hood and her squirrel tippet. + </p> + <p> + “You are goin' out, then, spite o' what I said?” the Deacon inquired + sternly. + </p> + <p> + “Did you really think, father, that I would sleep under your roof after + you had turned my sister out into the snow to lodge with whoever might + take her in—my seventeen year-old-sister that your wife left to my + care; my little sister, the very light of my life?” + </p> + <p> + Waitstill's voice trembled a trifle, but other-wise she was quite calm and + free from heroics of any sort. + </p> + <p> + The Deacon looked up in surprise. “I guess you're kind o' hystericky,” he + said. “Set down—set down an' talk things over. I ain't got nothin' + ag'in' you, an' I mean to treat you right. Set down!” + </p> + <p> + The old man was decidedly nervous, and intended to keep his temper until + there was a safer chance to let it fly. + </p> + <p> + Waitstill sat down. “There's nothing to talk over,” she said. “I have done + all that I promised my stepmother the night she died, and now I am going. + If there's a duty owed between daughter and father, it ought to work both + ways. I consider that I have done my share, and now I intend to seek + happiness for myself. I have never had any, and I am starving for it.” + </p> + <p> + “An' you'd leave me to git on the best I can, after what I've done for + you?” burst out the Deacon, still trying to hold down his growing passion. + </p> + <p> + “You gave me my life, and I'm thankful to you for that, but you've given + me little since, father.” + </p> + <p> + “Hain't I fed an' clothed you?” + </p> + <p> + “No more than I have fed and clothed you. You've provided the raw food, + and I've cooked and served it. You've bought and I have made shirts and + overalls and coats for you, and knitted your socks and comforters and + mittens. Not only have I toiled and saved and scrimped away my girlhood as + you bade me, but I've earned for you. Who made the butter, and took care + of the hens, and dried the apples, and 'drew in' the rugs? Who raised and + ground the peppers for sale, and tended the geese that you might sell the + feathers? No, father, I don't consider that I'm in your debt!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0035" id="link2H_4_0035"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXX. A CLASH OF WILLS + </h2> + <p> + DEACON FOXWELL BAXTER was completely non-plussed for the first time in his + life. He had never allowed “argyfyin'” in his household, and there had + never been a clash of wills before this when he had not come off swiftly + and brutally triumphant. This situation was complicated by the fact that + he did not dare to apply the brakes as usual, since there were more issues + involved than ever before. He felt too stunned to deal properly with this + daughter, having emptied all the vials of his wrath upon the other one, + and being, in consequence, somewhat enfeebled. It was always easy enough + to cope with Patty, for her impertinence evoked such rage that the + argument took care of itself; but this grave young woman was a different + matter. There she sat composedly on the edge of her wooden chair, her head + lifted high, her color coming and going, her eyes shining steadily, like + fixed stars; there she sat, calmly announcing her intention of leaving her + father to shift for himself; yet the skies seemed to have no thought of + falling! He felt that he must make another effort to assert his authority. + </p> + <p> + “Now, you take off your coat,” he said, the pipe in his hand trembling as + he stirred nervously in his chair. “You take your coat right off an' set + down to the supper-table, same as usual, do you hear? Eat your victuals + an' then go to your bed an' git over this crazy fit that Patience has + started workin' in you. No more nonsense, now; do as I tell you!” + </p> + <p> + “I have made up my mind, father, and it's no use arguing. All who try to + live with you fail, sooner or later. You have had four children, father. + One boy ran away; the other did not mind being drowned, I fear, since life + was so hard at home. You have just turned the third child out for a sin of + deceit and disobedience she would never have committed—for her + nature is as clear as crystal—if you had ever loved her or + considered her happiness. So I have done with you, unless in your old age + God should bring you to such a pass that no one else will come to your + assistance; then I'd see somehow that you were cared for and nursed and + made comfortable. You are not an old man; you are strong and healthy, and + you have plenty of money to get a good house-keeper. I should decide + differently, perhaps, if all this were not true.” + </p> + <p> + “You lie! I haven't got plenty of money!” And the Deacon struck the table + a sudden blow that made the china in the cupboard rattle. “You've no + notion what this house costs me, an' the feed for the stock, an' you two + girls, an' labor at the store, an' the hay-field, an' the taxes an' + insurance! I've slaved from sunrise to sunset but I ain't hardly been able + to lay up a cent. I s'pose the neighbors have been fillin' you full o' + tales about my mis'able little savin's an' makin' 'em into a fortune. + Well, you won't git any of 'em, I promise you that!” + </p> + <p> + “You have plenty laid away; everybody knows, so what's the use of denying + it? Anyway, I don't want a penny of your money, father, so good-bye. + There's enough cooked to keep you for a couple of days”; and Waitstill + rose from her chair and drew on her mittens. + </p> + <p> + Father and daughter confronted each other, the secret fury of the man met + by the steady determination of the girl. The Deacon was baffled, almost + awed, by Waitstill's quiet self-control; but at the very moment that he + was half-uncomprehendingly glaring at her, it dawned upon him that he was + beaten, and that she was mistress of the situation. + </p> + <p> + Where would she go? What were her plans?—for definite plans she had, + or she could not meet his eye with so resolute a gaze. If she did leave + him, how could he contrive to get her back again, and so escape the scorn + of the village, the averted look, the lessened trade? + </p> + <p> + “Where are you goin' now?” he asked, and though he tried his best he could + not for the life of him keep back one final taunt. “I s'pose, like your + sister, you've got a man in your eye?” He chose this, to him, impossible + suggestion as being the most insulting one that he could invent at the + moment. + </p> + <p> + “I have,” replied Waitstill, “a man in my eye and in my heart. We should + have been husband and wife before this had we not been kept apart by + obstacles too stubborn for us to overcome. My way has chanced to open + first, though it was none of my contriving.” + </p> + <p> + Had the roof fallen in upon him, the Deacon could not have been more + dumbfounded. His tongue literally clove to the roof of his mouth; his face + fell, and his mean, piercing eyes blinked under his shaggy brows as if + seeking light. + </p> + <p> + Waitstill stirred the fire, closed the brick oven and put the teapot on + the back of the stove, hung up the long-handled dipper on its accustomed + nail over the sink, and went to the door. + </p> + <p> + Her father collected his scattered wits and pulled himself to his feet by + the arms of the high-backed rocker. “You shan't step outside this 306 room + till you tell me where you're goin',” he said when he found his voice. + </p> + <p> + “I have no wish to keep it secret: I am going to see if Mrs. Mason will + keep me to-night. To-morrow I shall walk down river and get work at the + mills, but on my way I shall stop at the Boyntons' to tell Ivory I am + ready to marry him as soon as he's ready to take me.” + </p> + <p> + This was enough to stir the blood of the Deacon into one last fury. + </p> + <p> + “I might have guessed it if I hadn't been blind as a bat an' deaf as an + adder!” And he gave the table another ringing blow before he leaned on it + to gather strength. “Of course, it would be one o' that crazy Boynton crew + you'd take up with,” he roared. “Nothin' would suit either o' you girls + but choosin' the biggest enemies I've got in the whole village!” + </p> + <p> + “You've never taken pains to make anything but enemies, so what could we + do?” + </p> + <p> + “You might as well go to live on the poor-farm! Aaron Boynton was a + disrep'table hound; Lois Boynton is as crazy as a loon; the boy is a + no-body's child, an' Ivory's no better than a common pauper.” + </p> + <p> + “Ivory's a brave, strong, honorable man, and a scholar, too. I can work + for him and help him earn and save, as I have you.” + </p> + <p> + “How long's this been goin' on?” The Deacon was choking, but he meant to + get to the bottom of things while he had the chance. + </p> + <p> + “It has not gone on at all. He has never said a word to me, and I have + always obeyed your will in these matters; but you can't hide love, any + more than you can hide hate. I know Ivory loves me, so I'm going to tell + him that my duty is done here and I am ready to help him.” + </p> + <p> + “Goin' to throw yourself at his head, be you?” sneered the Deacon. “By the + Lord, I don' know where you two girls got these loose ways o' think-in' + an' acting mebbe he won't take you, an' then where'll you be? You won't + git under my roof again when you've once left it, you can make up your + mind to that!” + </p> + <p> + “If you have any doubts about Ivory's being willing to take me, you'd + better drive along behind me and listen while I ask him.” + </p> + <p> + Waitstill's tone had an exultant thrill of certainty in it. She threw up + her head, glorying in what she was about to do. If she laid aside her + usual reserve and voiced her thoughts openly, it was not in the hope of + convincing her father, but for the bliss of putting them into words and + intoxicating herself by the sound of them. + </p> + <p> + “Come after me if you will, father, and watch the welcome I shall get. Oh! + I have no fear of being turned out by Ivory Boynton. I can hardly wait to + give him the joy I shall be bringing! It 's selfish to rob him of the + chance to speak first, but I'll do it!” And before Deacon Baxter could + cross the room, Waitstill was out of the kitchen door into the shed, and + flying down Town-House Hill like an arrow shot free from the bow. + </p> + <p> + The Deacon followed close behind, hardly knowing why, but he was no match + for the girl, and at last he stood helpless on the steps of the shed, + shaking his fist and hurling terrible words after her, words that it was + fortunate for her peace of mind she could not hear. + </p> + <p> + “A curse upon you both!” he cried savagely. “Not satisfied with disobeyin' + an' defyin' me, you've put me to shame, an' now you'll be settin' the + neighbors ag'in' me an' ruinin' my trade. If you was freezin' in the snow + I wouldn't heave a blanket to you! If you was starvin' I wouldn't fling + either of you a crust! Never shall you darken my doors again, an' never + shall you git a penny o' my money, not if I have to throw it into the + river to spite you!” + </p> + <p> + Here his breath failed, and he stumbled out into the barn whimpering + between his broken sentences like a whipped child. + </p> + <p> + “Here I am with nobody to milk, nor feed the hens; nobody to churn + to-morrow, nor do the chores; a poor, mis'able creeter, deserted by my + children, with nobody to do a hand's turn 'thout bein' paid for every step + they take! I'll give 'em what they deserve; I don' know what, but I'll be + even with 'em yet.” And the Deacon set his Baxter jaw in a way that meant + his determination to stop at nothing. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0036" id="link2H_4_0036"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXXI. SENTRY DUTY + </h2> + <p> + IVORY BOYNTON drove home from the woods that same afternoon by way of the + bridge, in order to buy some provisions at the brick store. When he was + still a long distance from the bars that divided the lane from the + highroad, he espied a dark-clad little speck he knew to be Rodman leaning + over the fence, waiting and longing as usual for his home-coming, and his + heart warmed at the thought of the boyish welcome that never failed. + </p> + <p> + The sleigh slipped quickly over the hard-packed, shining road, and the + bells rang merrily in the clear, cold air, giving out a joyous sound that + had no echo in Ivory's breast that day. He had just had a vision of + happiness through another man's eyes. Was he always to stand outside the + banqueting-table, he wondered, and see others feasting while he hungered. + </p> + <p> + Now the little speck bounded from the fence, flew down the road to meet + the sleigh, and jumped in by the driver's side. + </p> + <p> + “I knew you'd come to-night,” Rodman cried eagerly. “I told Aunt Boynton + you'd come.” + </p> + <p> + “How is she, well as common?” + </p> + <p> + “No, not a bit well since yesterday morning, but Mrs. Mason says it's + nothing worse than a cold. Mrs. Mason has just gone home, and we've had a + grand house-cleaning to-day. She's washed and ironed and baked, and we've + put Aunt Boynton in clean sheets and pillow-cases, and her room's nice and + warm, and I carried the eat in and put it on her bed to keep her company + while I came to watch for you. Aunt Boynton let Mrs. Mason braid her hair, + and seemed to like her brushing it. It's been dreadful lonesome, and oh! I + am glad you came back, Ivory. Did you find any more spruce gum where you + went this time?” + </p> + <p> + “Pounds and pounds, Rod; enough to bring me in nearly a hundred dollars. I + chanced on the greatest place I've found yet. I followed the wake of an + old whirlwind that had left long furrows in the forest,—I've told + you how the thing works,—and I tracked its course by the gum that + had formed wherever the trees were wounded. It's hard, lonely work, Rod, + but it pays well.” + </p> + <p> + “If I could have been there, maybe we could have got more. I'm good at + shinning up trees.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sometime we'll go gum-picking together. We'll climb the trees like a + couple of cats, and take our knives and serape off the precious lumps that + are worth so much money to the druggists. You've let down the bars, I + see.” + </p> + <p> + “'Cause I knew you'd come to-night,” said Rodman. “I felt it in my bones. + We're going to have a splendid supper.” + </p> + <p> + “Are we? That's good news.” Ivory tried to make his tone bright and + interested, though his heart was like a lump of lead in his breast. “It's + the least I can do for the poor little chap,” he thought, “when he stays + as caretaker in this lonely spot.—I wonder if I hadn't better drive + into the barn, Rod, and leave the harness on Nick till I go in and see + mother? Guess I will.” + </p> + <p> + “She's hot, Aunt Boynton is, hot and restless, but Mrs. Mason thinks + that's all.” + </p> + <p> + Ivory found his mother feverish, and her eyes were unnaturally bright; but + she was clear in her mind and cheerful, too, sitting up in bed to breathe + the better, while the Maltese cat snuggled under her arm and purred + peacefully. + </p> + <p> + “The cat is Rod's idea,” she said smilingly but in a very weak voice. “He + is a great nurse I should never have thought of the cat myself but she + gives me more comfort than all the medicine.” + </p> + <p> + Ivory and Rodman drew up to the supper table, already set in the kitchen, + but before Ivory took his seat he softly closed the door that led into the + living-room. They ate their beans and brown bread and the mince pie that + had been the “splendid” feature of the meal, as reported by the boy; and + when they had finished, and Rodman was clearing the table, Ivory walked to + the window, lighting his pipe the while, and stood soberly looking out on + the snowy landscape. One could scarcely tell it was twilight, with such + sweeps of whiteness to catch every gleam of the dying day. + </p> + <p> + “Drop work a minute and come here, Rod,” he said at length. “Can you keep + a secret?” + </p> + <p> + “'Course I can! I'm chock full of 'em now, and nobody could dig one of 'em + out o' me with a pickaxe!” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, well! If you're full you naturally couldn't hold another!” + </p> + <p> + “I could try to squeeze it in, if it's a nice one,” coaxed the boy. + </p> + <p> + “I don't know whether you'll think it's a nice one, Rod, for it breaks up + one of your plans. I'm not sure myself how nice it is, but it's a very + big, unexpected, startling one. What do you think? Your favorite Patty has + gone and got married.” + </p> + <p> + “Patty! Married!” cried Rod, then hastily putting his hand over his mouth + to hush his too-loud speaking. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, she and Mark Wilson ran away last Monday, drove over to Allentown, + New Hampshire, and were married without telling a soul. Deacon Baxter + discovered everything this afternoon, like the old fox that he is, and + turned Patty out of the house.” + </p> + <p> + “Mean old skinflint!” exclaimed Rod excitedly, all the incipient manhood + rising in his ten-year-old breast. “Is she gone to live with the Wilsons?” + </p> + <p> + “The Wilsons don't know yet that Mark is married to her, but I met him + driving like Jehu, just after I had left Patty, and told him everything + that had happened, and did my best to cool him down and keep him from + murdering his new father-in-law by showing him it would serve no real + purpose now.” + </p> + <p> + “Did he look married, and all different?” asked Rod curiously. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, he did, and more like a man than ever he looked before in his life. + We talked everything over together, and he went home at once to break the + news to his family, without even going to take a peep at Patty. I couldn't + bear to have them meet till he had something cheerful to say to the poor + little soul. When I met her by Uncle Bart's shop, she was trudging along + in the snow like a draggled butterfly, and crying like a baby.” + </p> + <p> + Sympathetic tears dimmed Rodman's eyes. “I can't bear to see girls cry, + Ivory. I just can't bear it, especially Patty.” + </p> + <p> + “Neither can I, Rod. I came pretty near wiping her eyes, but pulled up, + remembering she wasn't a child but a married lady. Well, now we come to + the point.” + </p> + <p> + “Isn't Patty's being married the point?” + </p> + <p> + “No, only part of it. Patty's being sent away from home leaves Waitstill + alone with the Deacon, do you see? And if Patty is your favorite, + Waitstill is mine—I might as well own up to that.” + </p> + <p> + “She's mine, too,” cried Rod. “They're both my favorites, but I always + thought Patty was the suitablest for me to marry if she'd wait for me. + Waitstill is too grand for a boy!” + </p> + <p> + “She's too grand for anybody, Rod. There isn't a man alive that's worthy + to strap on her skates.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, she's too grand for anybody except—” and here Rod's shy, + wistful voice trailed off into discreet silence. + </p> + <p> + “Now I had some talk with Patty, and she thinks Waitstill will have no + trouble with her father just at present. She says he lavished so much rage + upon her that there'll be none left for anybody else for a day or two. + And, moreover, that he will never dare to go too far with Waitstill, + because she's so useful to him. I'm not afraid of his beating or injuring + her so long as he keeps his sober senses, if he's ever rightly had any; + but I don't like to think of his upbraiding her and breaking her heart + with his cruel talk just after she's lost the sister that's been her only + companion.” And Ivory's hand trembled as he filled his pipe. He had no + confidant but this quaint, tender-hearted, old-fashioned little lad, to + whom he had grown to speak his mind as if he were a man of his own age; + and Rod, in the same way, had gradually learned to understand and + sympathize. + </p> + <p> + “It's dreadful lonesome on Town-House Hill,” said the boy in a hushed + tone. + </p> + <p> + “Dreadful lonesome,” echoed Ivory with a sigh; “and I don't dare leave + mother until her fever dies down a bit and she sleeps. Now do you remember + the night that she was taken ill, and we shared the watch?” + </p> + <p> + Rodman held his breath. “Do you mean you 're going to let me help just as + if I was big?” he asked, speaking through a great lump in his throat. + </p> + <p> + “There are only two of us, Rod. You're rather young for this piece of + work, but you're trusty—you 're trusty!” + </p> + <p> + “Am I to keep watch on the Deacon?” + </p> + <p> + “That's it, and this is my plan: Nick will have had his feed; you 're to + drive to the bridge when it gets a little darker and hitch in Uncle Bart's + horse-shed, covering Nick well. You're to go into the brick store, and + while you're getting some groceries wrapped up, listen to anything the men + say, to see if they know what's happened. When you've hung about as long + as you dare, leave your bundle and say you'll call in again for it. Then + see if Baxter's store is open. I don't believe it will be, and if it + Isn't, look for a light in his kitchen window, and prowl about till you + know that Waitstill and the Deacon have gone up to their bedrooms. Then go + to Uncle Bart's and find out if Patty is there.” + </p> + <p> + Rod's eyes grew bigger and bigger: “Shall I talk to her?” he asked; “and + what'll I say?” + </p> + <p> + “No, just ask if she's there. If she's gone, Mark has made it right with + his family and taken her home. If she hasn't, why, God knows how that + matter will be straightened out. Anyhow, she has a husband now, and he + seems to value her; and Waitstill is alone on the top of that wind-swept + hill!” + </p> + <p> + “I'll go. I'll remember everything,” cried Rodman, in the seventh heaven + of delight at the responsibilities Ivory was heaping upon him. + </p> + <p> + “Don't stay beyond eight o'clock; but come back and tell me everything + you've learned. Then, if mother grows no worse, I'll walk back to Uncle + Bart's shop and spend the night there, just—just to be near, that's + all.” + </p> + <p> + “You couldn't hear Waitstill, even if she called,” Rod said. + </p> + <p> + “Couldn't I? A man's ears are very sharp under certain circumstances. I + believe if Waitstill needed help I could hear her—breathe! Besides, + I shall be up and down the hill till I know all's well; and at sunrise + I'll go up and hide behind some of Baxter's buildings till I see him get + his breakfast and go to the store. Now wash your dishes”; and Ivory caught + up his cap from a hook behind the door. + </p> + <p> + “Are you going to the barn?” asked Rodman. + </p> + <p> + “No, only down to the gate for a minute. Mark said that if he had a good + chance he'd send a boy with a note, and get him to put it under the stone + gate-post. It's too soon to expect it, perhaps, but I can't seem to keep + still.” + </p> + <p> + Rodman tied a gingham apron round his waist, carried the tea-kettle to the + sink, and poured the dishpan full of boiling water; then dipped the cups + and plates in and out, wiped them and replaced them on the table' gave the + bean-platter a special polish, and set the half mince pie and the + butter-dish in the cellar-way. + </p> + <p> + “A boy has to do most everything in this family!” He sighed to himself. “I + don't mind washing dishes, except the nasty frying-pan and the sticky + bean-pot; but what I'm going to do to-night is different.” Here he glowed + and tingled with anticipation. “I know what they call it in the + story-books—it's sentry duty; and that's braver work for a boy than + dish-washing!” + </p> + <p> + Which, however, depends a good deal upon circumstances, and somewhat on + the point of view. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0037" id="link2H_4_0037"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXXII. THE HOUSE OF AARON + </h2> + <p> + A FEELING that the day was to bring great things had dawned upon Waitstill + when she woke that morning, and now it was coming true. + </p> + <p> + Climbing Saco Hill was like climbing the hill of her dreams; life and love + beckoned to her across the snowy slopes. + </p> + <p> + At rest about Patty's future, though troubled as to her sorry plight at + the moment, she was conscious chiefly of her new-born freedom. She + revelled in the keen air that tingled against her cheek, and drew in fresh + hope with every breath. As she trod the shining pathway she was full of + expectancy, her eyes dancing, her heart as buoyant as her step. Not a + vestige of confusion or uncertainty vexed her mind. She knew Ivory for her + true mate, and if the way to him took her through dark places it was + lighted by a steadfast beacon of love. + </p> + <p> + At the top of the hill she turned the corner breathlessly, and faced the + length of road that led to the Boynton farm. Mrs. Mason's house was + beyond, and oh, how she hoped that Ivory would be at home, and that she + need not wait another day to tell him all, and claim the gift she knew was + hers before she asked it. She might not have the same exaltation + to-morrow, for now there were no levels in her heart and soul. She had a + sense of mounting from height to height and lighting fires on every peak + of her being. She took no heed of the road she was travelling; she was + conscious only of a wonderful inward glow. + </p> + <p> + The house was now in sight, and a tall figure was issuing from the side + door, putting on a fur cap as it came out on the steps and down the lane. + Ivory was at home, then, and, best of all, he was unconsciously coming to + meet her—although their hearts had been coming to meet each other, + she thought, ever since they first began to beat. + </p> + <p> + As she neared the bars she called Ivory's name. His hands were in the + pockets of his great-coat, and his eyes were fixed on the ground. Sombre + he was, distinctly sombre, in mien and gait; could she make him smile and + flush and glow, as she was smiling and flushing and glowing? As he heard + her voice he raised his head quickly and uncomprehendingly. + </p> + <p> + “Don't come any nearer,” she said, “until I have told you something!” His + mind had been so full of her that the sight of her in the flesh, standing + twenty feet away, bewildered him. + </p> + <p> + She took a few steps nearer the gate, near enough now for him to see her + rosy face framed in a blue hood, and to catch the brightness of her eyes + under their lovely lashes. Ordinarily they were cool and limpid and grave, + Waitstill's eyes; now a sunbeam danced in each of them. And her lips, + almost always tightly closed, as if she were holding back her natural + speech,—her lips were red and parted, and the soul of her, free at + last, shone through her face, making it luminous with a new beauty. + </p> + <p> + “I have left home for good and all,” she said. “I'll tell you more of this + later on, but I have left my father's house with nothing to my name but + the clothes I stand in. I am going to look for work in the mills + to-morrow, but I stopped here to say that I'm ready to marry you whenever + you want me—if you do want me.” + </p> + <p> + Ivory was bewildered, indeed, but not so much so that he failed to + apprehend, and instantly, too, the real significance of this speech. + </p> + <p> + He took a couple of long strides, and before Waitstill had any idea of his + intentions he vaulted over the bars and gathered her in his arms. + </p> + <p> + “Never shall you go to the mills, never shall you leave my sight for a + single hour again, my one-woman-in-all-the-world! Come to me, to be loved + and treasured all your life long! I've worshipped you ever since I was a + boy; I've kept my heart swept and garnished for you and no other, hoping I + might win you at last.” + </p> + <p> + How glorious to hear all this delicious poetry of love, and to feel + Ivory's arms about her, making the dream seem surer! + </p> + <p> + “Oh, how like you to shorten the time of my waiting!” he went on, his + words fairly chasing one another in their eagerness to be spoken. “How + like you to count on me, to guess my hunger for your love, to realize the + chains that held me back, and break them yourself with your own dear, + womanly hands! How like you, oh, wonderful Waitstill!” + </p> + <p> + Ivory went on murmuring phrases that had been lying in his heart unsaid + for years, scarcely conscious of what he was saying, realizing only that + the miracle of miracles had happened. + </p> + <p> + Waitstill, for her part, was almost dumb with joy to be lying so close to + his heart that she could hear it beating; to feel the passionate + tenderness of his embrace and his kiss falling upon her hair. + </p> + <p> + “I did not know a girl could be so happy!” she whispered. “I've dreamed of + it, but it was nothing like this. I am all a-tremble with it.” + </p> + <p> + Ivory held her off at arm's length for a moment, reluctantly, grudgingly. + “You took me fairly off my feet, dearest,” he said, “and forgot everything + but the one supreme fact you were telling me. Had I been on guard I should + have told you that I am no worthy husband for you, Waitstill. I haven't + enough to offer such a girl as you.” + </p> + <p> + “You're too late, Ivory! You showed me your heart first, and now you are + searching your mind for bugbears to frighten me.” + </p> + <p> + “I am a poor man.” + </p> + <p> + “No girl could be poorer than I am.” + </p> + <p> + “After what you've endured, you ought to have rest and comfort.” + </p> + <p> + “I shall have both—in you!” This with eyes, all wet, lifted to + Ivory's. + </p> + <p> + “My mother is a great burden—a very dear and precious, but a + grievous one.” + </p> + <p> + “She needs a daughter. It is in such things that I shall be your + helpmate.” + </p> + <p> + “Will not the boy trouble you and add to your cares?” + </p> + <p> + “Rod? I love him; he shall be my little brother.” + </p> + <p> + “What if my father were not really dead?—I think of this sometimes + in the night!—What if he should wander back, broken in spirit, + feeble in body, empty in purse?” + </p> + <p> + “I do not come to you free of burdens. If my father is deserted by all, I + must see that he is made comfortable. He never treated me like a daughter, + but I acknowledge his claim.” + </p> + <p> + “Mine is such a gloomy house!” + </p> + <p> + “Will it be gloomy when I am in it?” and Waitstill, usually so grave, + laughed at last like a care-free child. + </p> + <p> + Ivory felt himself hidden in the beautiful shelter of the girl's love. It + was dark now, or as dark as the night ever is that has moonlight and snow. + He took Waitstill in his arms again reverently, and laid his cheek against + her hair. “I worship God as well as I know how,” he whispered; “worship + him as the maker of this big heaven and earth that surrounds us. But I + worship you as the maker of my little heaven and earth, and my heart is + saying its prayers to you at this very moment!” + </p> + <p> + “Hush, my dear! hush! and don't value me too much, or I shall lose my head—I + that have never known a sweet word in all my life save those that my + sister has given me.—I must tell you all about Patty now.” + </p> + <p> + “I happen to know more than you, dear. I met her at the bridge when I was + coming home from the woods, and I saw her safely to Uncle Bart's door.—I + don't know why we speak of it as Uncle Bart's when it is really Aunt + Abby's!—I next met Mark, who had fairly flown from Bridgton on the + wings of love, arriving hours ahead of time. I managed to keep him from + avenging the insults heaped upon his bride, and he has driven to the Mills + to confide in his father and mother. By this time Patty is probably the + centre of the family group, charming them all as is her custom.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I am so glad Mark is at home! Now I can be at rest about Patty. And I + must not linger another moment, for I am going to ask Mrs. Mason to keep + me overnight,” cried Waitstill, bethinking herself suddenly of time and + place. + </p> + <p> + “I will take you there myself and explain everything. And the moment I've + lighted a fire in Mrs. Mason's best bedroom and settled you there, what do + you think I am going to do? I shall drive to the town clerk's house, and + if he is in bed, rout him out and have the notice of our intended marriage + posted in a public place according to law. Perhaps I shall save a day out + of the fourteen I've got to wait for my wife. 'Mills,' indeed! I wonder at + you, Waitstill! As if Mrs. Mason's house was not far enough away, without + your speaking of 'mills.'” + </p> + <p> + “I only suggested mills in case you did not want to marry me,” said + Waitstill. + </p> + <p> + “Walk up to the door with me,” begged Ivory. + </p> + <p> + “The horse is all harnessed, and Rod will slip him into the sleigh in a + jiffy.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Ivory! do you realize what this means?”—and Waitstill clung to + his arm as they went up the lane together—“that whatever sorrow, + whatever hardship comes to us, neither of us will ever have to bear it + alone again?” + </p> + <p> + “I believe I do realize it as few men could, for never in my + five-and-twenty years have I had a human creature to whom I could pour + myself out, in whom I could really confide, with whom I could take + counsel. You can guess what it will be to have a comprehending woman at my + side. Shall we tell my mother? Do say 'yes'; I believe she will + understand.—Rod, Rod! come and see who's stepping in the door this + very minute!” + </p> + <p> + Rodman was up in his bedroom, attiring himself elaborately for sentry + duty. His delight at seeing Waitstill was perhaps slightly tempered by the + thought that flashed at once through his mind,—that if she was safe, + he would not be required to stand guard in the snow for hours as he had + hoped. But this grief passed when he fully realized what Waitstill's + presence at the farm at this unaccustomed hour really meant. After he had + been told, he hung about her like the child that he was,—though he + had a bit of the hero in him, at bottom, too,—embracing her waist + fondly, and bristling with wondering questions. + </p> + <p> + “Is she really going to stay with us for always, Ivory?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “Every day and all the days; every night and all the nights. 'Praise God + from whom all blessings flow!'” said Ivory, taking off his fur cap and + opening the door of the living-room. “But we've got to wait for her a + whole fortnight, Rod. Isn't that a ridiculous snail of a law?” + </p> + <p> + “Patty didn't wait a fortnight.” + </p> + <p> + “Patty never waited for anything,” Ivory responded with a smile; “but she + had a good reason, and, alas! we haven't, or they'll say that we haven't. + And I am very grateful to the same dear little Patty, for when she got + herself a husband she found me a wife!” + </p> + <p> + Rodman did not wholly understand this, but felt that there were many + mysteries attending the love affairs of grown-up people that were too + complicated for him to grasp; and it did not seem to be just the right + moment for questions. + </p> + <p> + Waitstill and Ivory went into Mrs. Boynton's room quietly, hand in hand, + and when she saw Waitstill she raised herself from her pillow and held out + her arms with a soft cry of delight. + </p> + <p> + “I haven't had you for so long, so long!” she said, touching the girl's + cheek with her frail hand. + </p> + <p> + “You are going to have me every day now, dear,” whispered Waitstill, with + a sob in her voice; for she saw a change in the face, a new transparency, + a still more ethereal look than had been there before. + </p> + <p> + “Every day?” she repeated, longingly. Waitstill took off her hood, and + knelt on the floor beside the bed, hiding her face in the counterpane to + conceal the tears. + </p> + <p> + “She is coming to live with us, dear.—Come in, Rod, and hear me tell + her.—Waitstill is coming to live with us: isn't that a beautiful + thing to happen to this dreary house?” asked Ivory, bending to take his + mother's hand. + </p> + <p> + “Don't you remember what you thought the first time I ever came here, + mother?” and Waitstill lifted her head, and looked at Mrs. Boynton with + swimming eyes and lips that trembled. “Ivory is making it all come true, + and I shall be your daughter!” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Boynton sank farther back into her pillows, and closing her eyes, + gave a long sigh of infinite content. Her voice was so faint that they had + to stoop to catch the words, and Ivory, feeling the strange benediction + that seemed to be passing from his mother's spirit to theirs, took Rod's + hand and knelt beside Waitstill. + </p> + <p> + The verse of a favorite psalm was running through Lois Boynton's mind, and + in a moment the words came clearly, as she opened her eyes, lifted her + hands, and touched the bowed heads. “Let the house of Aaron now say that + his mercy endureth forever!” she said, slowly and reverently; and Ivory, + with all his heart, responded, “Amen!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0038" id="link2H_4_0038"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXXIII. AARON'S ROD + </h2> + <h3> + “IVORY! IVORY!” + </h3> + <p> + Ivory stirred in a sleep that had been troubled by too great happiness. To + travel a dreary path alone, a path leading seemingly nowhere, and then + suddenly to have a companion by one's side, the very sight of whom + enchanted the eye, the very touch of whom delighted the senses—what + joy unspeakable! Who could sleep soundly when wakefulness brought a train + of such blissful thoughts? + </p> + <p> + “Ivory! Ivory!” + </p> + <p> + He was fully awake now, for he knew his mother's voice. In all the years, + ever thoughtful of his comfort and of the constant strain upon his + strength, Lois had never wakened her son at night. + </p> + <p> + “Coming, mother, coming!” he said, when he realized she was calling him; + and hastily drawing on some clothing, for the night was bitterly cold, he + came out of his room and saw his mother standing at the foot of the + stairway, with a lighted candle in her hand. + </p> + <p> + “Can you come down, Ivory? It is a strange hour to call you but I have + something to tell you; something I have been piecing together for weeks; + something I have just clearly remembered.” + </p> + <p> + “If it's something that won't keep till morning, mother, you creep back + into bed and we'll hear it comfortably,” he said, coming downstairs and + leading her to her room. “I'll smooth the covers, so; beat up the pillows,—there, + and throw another log on the sitting-room fire. Now, what's the matter? + Couldn't you sleep?” + </p> + <p> + “All summer long I have been trying to remember something; something + untrue that you have been believing, some falsehood for which I was + responsible. I have pursued and pursued it, but it has always escaped me. + Once it was clear as daylight, for Rodman read me from the Bible a plain + answer to all the questions that tortured me.” + </p> + <p> + “That must have been the night that she fainted,” thought Ivory. + </p> + <p> + “When I awoke next morning from my long sleep, the old puzzle had come + back, a thousand times worse than before, for then I knew that I had held + the clue in my own hand and had lost it. Now, praise God! I know the + truth, and you, the only one to whom I can tell it, are close at hand.” + </p> + <p> + Ivory looked at his mother and saw that the veil that had separated them + mentally seemed to five vanished in the night that had passed. Often and + often it had blown away, as it were, for the fraction of a moment and then + blown back again. Now her eyes met his with an altogether new clearness + that startled him, while her health came with ease and she seemed stronger + than for many days. + </p> + <p> + “You remember the winter I was here at the farm alone, when you were at + the Academy?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes; it was then that I came home and found you so terribly ill. Do you + think we need go back to that old time now, mother dear?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I must, I must! One morning I received a strange letter, bearing no + signature, in which the writer said that if I wished to see my husband I + had only to go to a certain address in Brentville, New Hampshire. The + letter went on to say that Mr. Aaron Boynton was ill and longed for + nothing so much as to speak with me; but there were reasons why he did not + wish to return to Edgewood,—would I come to him without delay.” + </p> + <p> + Ivory now sat straight in his chair and listened keenly, feeling that this + was to be no vague, uncertain, and misleading memory, but something true + and tangible. + </p> + <p> + “The letter excited me greatly after your father's long absence and + silence. I knew it could mean nothing but sorrow, but although I was half + ill at the time, my plain duty was to go, so I thought, and go without + making any explanation in the village.” + </p> + <p> + All this was new to Ivory and he hung upon his mother's words, dreading + yet hoping for the light that they might shed upon the past. + </p> + <p> + “I arrived at Brentville quite exhausted with the journey and weighed down + by anxiety and dread. I found the house mentioned in the letter at seven + o'clock in the evening, and knocked at the door. A common, hard-featured + woman answered the knock and, seeming to expect me, ushered me in. I do + not remember the room; I remember only a child leaning patiently against + the window-sill looking out into the dark, and that the place was bare and + cheerless. + </p> + <p> + “I came to call upon Mr. Aaron Boynton,' I said, with my heart sinking + lower and lower as I spoke. The woman opened a door into the next room and + when I walked in, instead of seeing your father, I confronted a haggard, + death-stricken young woman sitting up in bed, her great eyes bright with + pain, her lips as white as her hollow cheeks, and her long, black hair + streaming over the pillow. The very sight of her struck a knell to the + little hope I had of soothing your father's sick bed and forgiving him if + he had done me any wrong. + </p> + <p> + “'Well, you came, as I thought you would,' said the girl, looking me over + from head to foot in a way that somehow made me burn with shame. 'Now sit + down in that chair and hear what I've got to say while I've got the + strength to say it. I haven't the time nor the desire to put a gloss on + it. Aaron Boynton isn't here, as you plainly see, but that's not my fault, + for he belongs here as much as anywhere, though he wouldn't have much + interest in a dying woman. If you have suffered on account of him, so have + I and you haven't had this pain boring into you and eating your life away + for months, as I have.' + </p> + <p> + “I pitied her, she seemed so distraught, but I was in terror of her all + the same, and urged her to tell her story calmly and I would do my best to + hear it in the same way. + </p> + <p> + “'Calm,' she exclaimed, 'with this agony tearing me to pieces! Well, to + make beginning and end in one, Aaron Boynton was my husband for three + years.' + </p> + <p> + “I caught hold of the chair to keep myself from falling and cried: 'I do + not believe it!' 'Believe it or not, she answered scornfully, 'it makes no + difference to me, but I can give you twenty proofs in as many seconds. We + met at a Cochrane meeting and he chose me from all the others as his true + wife. For two years we travelled together, but long before they came to an + end there was no happiness for either of us. He had a conscience—not + much of a one, but just enough to keep him miserable. At last I felt he + was not believing the doctrines he preached and I caught him trying to get + news of you and your boy, just because you were out of reach, and + neglecting my boy and me, who had given up everything to wander with him + and live on whatever the brethren and sisters chose to give us.' + </p> + <p> + “'So there was a child, a boy,' I gasped. 'Did—did he live?' 'He's + in the next room,' she answered, 'and it's him I brought you here for. + Aaron Boynton has served us both the same. He left you for me and me for + Heaven knows who. If I could live I wouldn't ask any favors, of you least + of all, but I haven't a penny in the world, though I shan't need one very + long. My friend that's nursing me hasn't a roof to her head and she + wouldn't share it with the boy if she had—she's a bigoted Orthodox.' + </p> + <p> + “'But what do you expect me to do?' I asked angrily, for she was stabbing + me with every word. + </p> + <p> + “'The boy is your husband's child and he always represented you as a saint + upon earth. I expect you to take him home and provide for him. He doesn't + mean very much to me—just enough so that I don't relish his going to + the poorhouse, that's all.' + </p> + <p> + “'He'll go to something very like that if he comes to mine,' I said. + </p> + <p> + “'Don't worry me with talk, for I can't stand it,' she wailed, clutching + at her nightgown and flinging back her hair. 'Either you take the child or + I send somebody to Edgewood with him, somebody to tell the whole story. + Some of the Cochranites can support him if you won't; or, at the worst, + Aaron Boynton's town can take care of his son. The doctor has given me two + days to live. If it's a minute longer I've warned him and I warn you, that + I'll end it myself; and if you don't take the boy I'll do the same for + him. He's a good sight better off dead than knocking about the world + alone; he's innocent and there's no sense in his being punished for the + sins of other folks.'” + </p> + <p> + “I see it all! Why did I never think of it before; my poor, poor Rod!” + said Ivory, clenching his hands and burying his head in them. + </p> + <p> + “Don't grieve, Ivory; it has all turned out so much better than we could + have hoped; just listen to the end. She was frightful to hear and to look + at, the girl was, though all the time I could feel that she must have had + a gipsy beauty and vigor that answered to something in your father. + </p> + <p> + “'Go along out now,' she cried suddenly. 'I can't stand anybody near. The + doctor never gives me half enough medicine and for the hour before he + comes I fairly die for lack of it—though little he cares! Go + upstairs and have your sleep and to-morrow you can make up your mind.' + </p> + <p> + “'You don't leave me much freedom to do that,' I tried to answer; but she + interrupted me, rocking her body to and fro. 'Neither of us will ever see + Aaron Boynton again; you no more than I. He's in the West, and a man with + two families and no means of providing for them doesn't come back where + he's known.—Come and take her away, Eliza! Take her away, quick!' + she called. + </p> + <p> + “I stumbled out of the room and the woman waved me upstairs. 'You mustn't + mind Hetty,' she apologized; 'she never had a good disposition at the + best, but she's frantic with the pain now, and good reason, too. It's + about over and I'll be thankful when it is. You'd better swallow the shame + and take the child; I can't and won't have him and it'll be easy enough + for you to say he belongs to some of your own folks.' + </p> + <p> + “By this time I was mentally bewildered. When the iron first entered my + soul, when I first heard the truth about your father, at that moment my + mind gave way—I know it now.” + </p> + <p> + “Poor, poor mother! My poor, gentle little mother!” murmured Ivory + brokenly, as he asked her hand. + </p> + <p> + “Don't cry, my son; it is all past; the sorrow and the bitterness and the + struggle. I will just finish the story and then we'll close the book + forever. The woman gave me some bread and tea, and I flung myself on the + bed without undressing. I don't know how long afterward it was, but the + door opened and a little boy stole in; a sad, strange, dark-eyed little + boy who said: 'Can I sleep up here? Mother's screaming and I'm afraid.' He + climbed to the couch. I covered him with a blanket, and I soon heard his + deep breathing. But later in the night, when I must have fallen asleep + myself, I suddenly awoke and felt him lying beside me. He had dragged the + blanket along and crept up on the bed to get close to my side for the + warmth I could give, or the comfort of my nearness. The touch of him + almost broke my heart; I could not push the little creature away when he + was lying there so near and warm and confiding—he, all unconscious + of the agony his mere existence was to me. I must have slept again and + when the day broke I was alone. I thought the presence of the child in the + night was a dream and I could not remember where I was, nor why I was + there.” + </p> + <p> + “Mother, dear mother, don't tell me any more to-night. I fear for your + strength,” urged Ivory, his eyes full of tears at the remembrance of her + sufferings. + </p> + <p> + “There is only a little more and the weight will be off my heart and on + yours, my poor son. Would that I need not tell you! The house was still + and I thought at first that no one was awake, but when I opened the + sitting-room door the child ran towards me and took my hand as the woman + came in from the sick-room. 'Go into the kitchen, Rodman,' she said, 'and + lace up your boots; you're going right out with this lady. Hetty died in + the night,' she continued impassively. 'The doctor was here about ten + o'clock and I've never seen her so bad. He gave her a big dose of sleeping + powder and put another in the table drawer for me to mix for her towards + morning. She was helpless to move, we thought, but all the same she must + have got out of bed when my back was turned and taken the powder dry on + her tongue, for it was gone when I looked for it. It didn't hasten things + much and I don't blame her. If ever there was a wild, reckless creature it + was Hetty Rodman, but I, who am just the opposite, would have done the + same if I'd been her.' + </p> + <p> + “She hurriedly gave me a cup of coffee, and, putting a coat and a cap on + the boy, literally pushed me out of the house. 'I've got to report things + to the doctor,' she said, 'and you're better out of the way. Go down that + side street to the station and mind you say the boy belonged to your + sister who died and left him to you. You're a Cochranite, ain't you? So + was Hetty, and they're all sisters, so you'll be telling no lies. + Good-bye, Rodman, be a good boy and don't be any trouble to the lady.' + </p> + <p> + “How I found the station I do not know, nor how I made the journey, nor + where I took the stage-coach. The snow began to fall and by noon there was + a drifting storm. I could not remember where I was going, nor who the boy + was, for just as the snow was whirling outside, so it was whirling in my + brain.” + </p> + <p> + “Mother, I can hardly bear to hear any more; it is too terrible!” cried + Ivory, rising from his chair and pacing the floor. + </p> + <p> + “I can recall nothing of any account till I awoke in my own bed weeks + afterwards. The strange little boy was there, but Mrs. Day and Dr. Perry + told me what I must have told them—that he was the child of my dead + sister. Those were the last words uttered by the woman in Brentville; I + carried them straight through my illness and brought them out on the other + side more firmly intrenched than ever.” + </p> + <p> + “If only the truth had come back to you sooner!” sighed Ivory, coming back + to her bedside. “I could have helped you to bear it all these years. + Sorrow is so much lighter when you can share it with some one else. And + the girl who died was called Hetty Rodman, then, and she simply gave the + child her last name?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, poor suffering creature. I feel no anger against her now; it has + burned itself all away. Nor do I feel any bitterness against your father. + I forgot all this miserable story for so long, loving and watching for him + all the time, that it is as if it did not belong to my own life, but had + to do with some unhappy stranger. Can you forgive, too, Ivory?” + </p> + <p> + “I can try,” he answered. “God knows I ought to be able to if you can!” + </p> + <p> + “And will it turn you away from Rod?” + </p> + <p> + “No, it draws me nearer to him than ever. He shall never know the truth—why + should he? Just as he crept close to you that night, all unconscious of + the reason you had for shrinking from him, so he has crept close to me in + these years of trial, when your mind has been wandering.” + </p> + <p> + “Life is so strange. To think that this child, of all others, should have + been a comfort to you. The Lord's hand is in it!” whispered Mrs. Boynton + feebly. + </p> + <p> + “His boyish belief in me, his companionship, have kept the breath of hope + alive in me—that's all I can say.” + </p> + <p> + “The Bible story is happening over again in our lives, then. Don't you + remember that Aaron's rod budded and blossomed and bore fruit, and that + the miracle kept the rebels from murmuring?” + </p> + <p> + “This rebel never will murmur again, mother,” and Ivory rose to leave the + room. “Now that you have shed your burden you will grow stronger and life + will be all joy, for Waitstill will come to us soon and we can shake off + these miseries and be a happy family once more.” + </p> + <p> + “It is she who has helped me most to find the thread; pouring sympathy and + strength into me, nursing me, loving me, because she loved my wonderful + son. Oh! how blest among women I am to have lived long enough to see you + happy!” + </p> + <p> + And as Ivory kissed his mother and blew out the candle, she whispered to + herself: “Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0039" id="link2H_4_0039"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXXIV. THE DEACON'S WATERLOO + </h2> + <p> + MRS. MASON'S welcome to Waitstill was unexpectedly hearty—much + heartier than it would have been Six months before, when she regarded Mrs. + Boynton as little less than a harmless lunatic, of no use as a neighbor; + and when she knew nothing more of Ivory than she could gather by his + occasional drive or walk past her door with a civil greeting. Rodman had + been until lately the only member of the family for whom she had a + friendly feeling; but all that had changed in the last few weeks, when she + had been allowed to take a hand in the Boyntons' affairs. As to this + newest development in the life of their household, she had once been young + herself, and the veriest block of stone would have become human when the + two lovers drove up to the door and told their exciting story. + </p> + <p> + Ivory made himself quickly at home, and helped the old lady to get a room + ready for Waitstill before he drove back for a look at his mother and then + on to carry out his impetuous and romantic scheme of routing out the town + clerk and announcing his intended marriage. 345 + </p> + <p> + Waitstill slept like the shepherd boy in “The Pilgrim's Progress,” with + the “herb called Heart's Ease” in her bosom. She opened her eyes next + morning from the depths of Mrs. Mason's best feather bed, and looked + wonderingly about the room, with all its unaccustomed surroundings. She + heard the rattle of fire-irons and the flatter of dishes below; the first + time in all her woman's life that preparations for breakfast had ever + greeted her ears when she had not been an active participator in them. + </p> + <p> + She lay quite still for a quarter of an hour, tired in body and mind, but + incredibly happy in spirit, marvelling at the changes wrought in her + during the day preceding, the most eventful one in her history. Only + yesterday her love had been a bud, so closely folded that she scarcely + recognized its beauty or color or fragrance; only yesterday, and now she + held in her hand a perfect flower. When and how had it grown, and by what + magic process? + </p> + <p> + The image of Ivory had been all through the night in the foreground of her + dreams and in her moments of wakefulness, both made blissful by the heaven + of anticipation that dawned upon her. Was ever man so wise, so tender and + gentle, so strong, so comprehending? What mattered the absence of worldly + goods, the presence of care and anxiety, when n woman had a steady hand to + hold, a steadfast heart to trust, a man who would love her and stand by + her, whate'er befell? + </p> + <p> + Then the face of Ivory's mother would swim into the mental picture; the + pale face, as white as the pillow it lay upon; the face with its aureole + of ashen hair, and the wistful blue eyes that begged of God and her + children some peace before they closed on life. + </p> + <p> + The vision of her sister was a joyful one, and her heart was at peace + about her, the plucky little princess who had blazed the way out of the + ogre's castle. + </p> + <p> + She saw Patty clearly as a future fine lady, in velvets and satins and + furs, bewitching every-body by her gay spirits, her piquant vivacity, and + the loving heart that lay underneath all the nonsense and gave it warmth + and color. + </p> + <p> + The remembrance of her father alone on the hilltop did indeed trouble + Waitstill. Self-reproach, in the true sense of the word, she did not, + could not, feel. Never since the day she was born had she been fathered, + and daughterly love was absent; but she suffered when she thought of the + fierce, self-willed old man, cutting himself off from all possible + friendships, while his vigor was being sapped daily and hourly by his + terrible greed of money. + </p> + <p> + True housewife that Waitstill was, her mind reverted to every separate + crock and canister in her cupboards, every article of her baking or + cooking that reposed on the swing-sheh in the cellar, thinking how long + her father could be comfortable without her ministrations, and so, how + long he would delay before engaging the u inevitable housekeeper. She + revolved the number of possible persons to whom the position would be + offered, and wished that Mrs. Mason, who so needed help, might be the + chosen one: but the fact of her having been friendly to the Boyntons would + strike her at once from the list. + </p> + <p> + When she was thankfully eating her breakfast with Mrs. Mason a little + later, and waiting for Ivory to call for them both and take them to the + Boynton farm, she little knew what was going on at her old home in these + very hours, when to tell the truth she would have liked to slip in, had it + been possible, wash the morning dishes, skim the cream, do the week's + churning, make her father's bed, and slip out again into the dear shelter + of love that awaited her. + </p> + <p> + The Deacon had passed a good part of the night in scheming and contriving, + and when he drank his self-made cup of muddy coffee at seven o'clock next + morning he had formed several plans that were to be immediately + frustrated, had he known it, by the exasperating and suspicious nature of + the ladies involved in them. + </p> + <p> + At eight he had left the house, started Bill Morrill at the store, and was + on the road in search of vengeance and a housekeeper. Old Mrs. Atkins of + Deerwander sniffed at the wages offered. Miss Peters, of Union Falls, an + aged spinster with weak lungs, had the impertinence to tell him that she + feared she couldn't stand the cold in his house; she had heard he was very + particular about the amount of wood that was burned. A four-mile drive + brought him to the village poetically named the Brick Kiln, where he + offered to Mrs. Peter Upham an advance of twenty-five cents a week over + and above the salary with which he had sought to tempt Mrs. Atkins. Far + from being impressed, Mrs. Uphill, being of a high temper and candid turn + of mind, told him she'd prefer to starve at home. There was not another + free woman within eight miles, and the Deacon was chafing under t e + mortification of being continually obliged to state the reason for his + needing a housekeeper. The only hope, it seemed, lay in going to Saco and + hiring a stranger, a plan not at all to his liking, as it was sure to + involve him in extra expense. + </p> + <p> + Muttering threats against the universe in general, he drove home by way of + Milliken's Mills, thinking of the unfed hens, the unmilked cow, the + unwashed dishes, the unchurned cream and above all of his unchastened + daughters; his rage increasing with every step until it was nearly at the + white heat of the night before. + </p> + <p> + A long stretch of hill brought the tired old mare to a slow walk, and + enabled the Deacon to see the Widow Tillman clipping the geraniums that + stood in tin cans on the shelf of her kitchen window. + </p> + <p> + Now, Foxwell Baxter had never been a village Lothario at any age, nor + frequented the society of such. Of late years, indeed, he had frequented + no society of any kind, so that he had missed, for instance, Abel Day's + description of the Widow Tillman as a “reg'lar syreen,” though he vaguely + remembered that some of the Baptist sisters had questioned the + authenticity of her conversion by their young and attractive minister. She + made a pleasant picture at the window; she was a free woman (a little too + free, the neighbors would have said; but the Deacon didn't know that); she + was a comparative newcomer to the village, and her mind had not been + poisoned with feminine gossip—in a word, she was a distinctly + hopeful subject, and, acting on a blind and sudden impulse, he turned into + the yard, 'dung the reins over the mare's neck, and knocked at the back + door. + </p> + <p> + “Her character 's no worse than mine by now if Aunt Abby Cole's on the + road,” he thought grimly, “an' if the Wilsons see my sleigh inside of + widder's fence, so much the better; it'll give 'em a jog.—Good + morning Mis' Tillman,” he said to the smiling lady. “I'll come to the + p'int at once. My youngest daughter has married Mark Wilson against my + will, an' gone away from town, an' the older one's chosen a husband still + less to my likin'. Do you want to come and housekeep for me?” + </p> + <p> + “I surmised something was going on,” re-turned Mrs. Tillman. “I saw Patty + and Mark drive away early this morning, with Mr. and Mrs. Wilson wrapping + the girl up and putting a hot soapstone in the sleigh, and consid'able + kissing and hugging thrown in.” + </p> + <p> + This knowledge added fuel to the flame that was burning fiercely in the + Deacon's breast. “Well, how about the housekeeping he asked, trying not to + show his eagerness, and not recognizing himself at all in the enterprise + in which he found himself indulging. + </p> + <p> + “I 'm very comfortable here,” the lady responded artfully, “and I don't + know 's I care to make any change, thank you. I didn't like the village + much at first, after living in larger places, but now I'm acquainted, it + kind of gains on me.” + </p> + <p> + Her reply was carefully framed, for her mind worked with great rapidity, + and she was mistress of the situation almost as soon as she saw the Deacon + alighting from his sleigh. He was not the sort of man to be a casual + caller, and his manner bespoke an urgent errand. She had a pension of six + dollars a month, but over and above that sum her living was precarious. + She made coats, and she had never known want, for she was a master hand at + dealing with the opposite sex. Deacon Baxter, according to common report, + had ten or fifteen thousand dollars stowed away in the banks, so the + situation would be as simple as possible under ordinary circumstances; it + was as easy to turn out one man's pockets as all-other's when he was a + normal human being; but Deacon Baxter was a different proposition. + </p> + <p> + “I wonder how long he's likely to live,” she thought, glancing at him + covertly, out of the tail of her eye. “His evil temper must have driven + more than one nail in his coffin. I wonder, if I refuse to housekeep, + whether I 'll get—a better offer. I wonder if I could manage him if + I got him! I'd rather like to sit in the Baxter pew at the Orthodox + meeting-house after the way some of the Baptist sisters have snubbed me + since I come here.” + </p> + <p> + Not a vestige of these incendiary thoughts showed in her comely + countenance, and her soul might have been as white as the high-bibbed + apron that covered it, to judge by her genial smile. + </p> + <p> + “I'd make the wages fair,” urged the Deacon, looking round the clean + kitchen, with the break-fast-table sitting near the sunny window and the + odor of corned beef and cabbage issuing temptingly from a boiling pot on + the fire. “I hope she ain't a great meat-eater,” he thought, “but it's too + soon to cross that bridge yet a while.” + </p> + <p> + “I've no doubt of it,” said the widow, wondering if her voice rang true; + “but I've got a pension, and why should I leave this cosy little home? + Would I better myself any, that's the question? I'm kind of lonesome here, + that's the only reason I'd consider a move.” + </p> + <p> + “No need o' bein' lonesome down to the Falls,” said the Deacon. “And I'm + in an' out all day, between the barn an' the store.” + </p> + <p> + This, indeed, was not a pleasant prospect, but Jane Tillman had faced + worse ones in her time. + </p> + <p> + “I'm no hand at any work outside the house,” she observed, as if + reflecting. “I can truthfully say I'm a good cook, and have a great + faculty for making a little go a long ways.” (She considered this a + master-stroke, and in fact it was; for the Deacon's mouth absolutely + watered at this apparently unconscious comprehension of his disposition.) + “But I'm no hand at any chores in the barn or shed,” she continued. “My + first husband would never allow me to do that kind of work.” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps I could git a boy to help out; I've been kind o' thinkin' o' that + lately. What wages would you expect if I paid a boy for the rough work?” + asked the Deacon tremulously. “Well, to tell the truth, I don't quite + fancy the idea of taking wages. Judge Dickinson wants me to go to Alfred + and housekeep for him, and I'd named twelve dollars a month. It's good + pay, and I haven't said 'No'; but my rent is small here, I'm my own + mistress, and I don't feel like giving up my privileges.” + </p> + <p> + “Twelve dollars a month!” He had never thought of approaching that sum; + and he saw the heap of unwashed dishes growing day by day, and the cream + souring on the milk-pans. Suddenly an idea sprang full-born into the + Deacon's mind (Jed Morrill's “Old Driver” must have been close at hand!). + Would Jane Tillman marry him? No woman in the three villages would be more + obnoxious to his daughters; that in itself was a distinct gain. She was a + fine, robust figure of a woman in her early forties, and he thought, after + all, that the hollow-chested, spindle-shanked kind were more ex-pensive to + feed, on the whole, than their better-padded sisters. He had never had any + difficulty in managing wives, and thought himself quite equal to one more + bout, even at sixty-five, though he had just the faintest suspicion that + the high color on Mrs. Tillman's prominent cheek-bones, the vigor shown in + the coarse black hair and handsome eyebrows, might make this task a little + more difficult than his previous ones. But this fear vanished almost as + quickly as it appeared, for he kept saying to himself: “A judge of the + County Court wants her at twelve dollars a month; hadn't I better bid high + an' git settled? + </p> + <p> + “If you'd like to have a home o' your own 'thout payin' rent, you've only + got to say the word an' I'll make you Mis' Baxter,” said the Deacon. + “There'll be nobody to interfere with you, an' a handsome legacy if I die + first; for none o' my few savin's is goin' to my daughters, I can promise + you that!” + </p> + <p> + The Deacon threw out this tempting bait advisedly, for at this moment he + would have poured his hoard into the lap of any woman who would help him + to avenge his fancied wrongs. + </p> + <p> + This was information, indeed! The “few savings” alluded to amounted to + some thousands, Jane Tillman knew. Had she not better burn her ships + behind her, take the risks, and have faith in her own powers? She was + getting along in ears, and her charms of person were lessening with every + day that passed over her head. If the Deacon's queer ways grew too queer, + she thought an appeal to the doctor and the minister might provide a way + of escape and a neat little income to boot; so, on the whole, the + marriage, though much against her natural inclinations, seemed to be + providentially arranged. + </p> + <p> + The interview that succeeded, had it been reported verbatim, deserved to + be recorded in local history. Deacon Baxter had met in Jane Tillman a + foeman more than worthy of his steel. She was just as crafty as he, and in + generalship as much superior to him as Napoleon Bonaparte to Cephas Cole. + Her knowledge of and her experiences with men, all very humble, it is + true, but decidedly varied, enabled her to play on every weakness of this + particular one she had in hand, and at the same time skilfully to avoided + alarming him. + </p> + <p> + Heretofore, the women with whom the Deacon had come in contact had timidly + steered away from the rocks and reefs in his nature, and had been too + ignorant or too proud to look among them for certain softer places that + were likely to be there—since man is man, after all, even when he is + made on a very small pattern. + </p> + <p> + If Jane Tillman became Mrs. Baxter, she intended to get the whip hand and + keep it; but nothing was further from her intention than to make the + Deacon miserable if she could help it. That was not her disposition; and + so, when the deluded man left her house, he had made more concessions in a + single hour than in all the former years of his life. + </p> + <p> + His future spouse was to write out a little paper for his signature; just + a friendly little paper to be kept quite private and confidential between + themselves, stating that she was to do no work outside of the house; that + her pension was to be her own; that she was to have five dollars in cash + on the first of every month in lieu of wages; and that in ease of his + death occurring first she was to have a third of his estate, and the whole + of it if at the time of his decease he was still pleased with his bargain. + The only points in this contract that the Deacon really understood were + that he was paying only five dollars a month for a housekeeper to whom a + judge had offered twelve; that, as he had expected to pay at least eight, + he could get a boy for the remaining three, and so be none the worse in + pocket; also, that if he could keep his daughters from getting his money, + he didn't care a hang who had it, as he hated the whole human race with + entire impartiality. If Jane Tillman didn't behave herself, he had + pleasing visions of converting most of his fortune into cash and having it + dropped off the bridge some dark night, when the doctor had given him up + and proved to his satisfaction that death would occur in the near future. + </p> + <p> + All this being harmoniously settled, the Deacon drove away, and caused the + announcement of his immediate marriage to be posted directly below that of + Waitstill and Ivory Boynton. + </p> + <p> + “Might as well have all the fat in the fire to once,” he chuckled. “There + won't be any house-work done in this part of the county for a week to + come. If we should have more snow, nobody'll have to do any shovellin', + for the women-folks'll keep all the paths in the village trod down from + door to door, travellin' round with the news.” + </p> + <p> + A “spite match,” the community in general called the Deacon's marriage; + and many a man, and many a woman, too, regarding the amazing publishing + notice in the frame up at the meeting-house, felt that in Jane Tillman + Deacon Baxter had met his Waterloo. + </p> + <p> + “She's plenty good enough for him,” said Aunt Abby Cole, “though I know + that's a terrible poor compliment. If she thinks she'll ever break into + s'ciety here at the Falls, she'll find herself mistaken! It's a mystery to + me why the poor deluded man ever done it; but ain't it wonderful the + ingenuity the Lord shows in punishin' sinners? I couldn't 'a' thought out + such a good comeuppance myself for Deacon Baxter, as marryin' Jane + Tillman! The thing that troubles me most, is thinkin' how tickled the + Baptists'll be to git her out o' their meetin' an' into ourn!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0040" id="link2H_4_0040"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXXV. TWO HEAVENS + </h2> + <p> + AT the very moment that Deacon Baxter was I starting out on his quest for + a housekeeper, Patty and Mark drove into the Mason dooryard and the + sisters flew into each other's arms. The dress that Mark had bought for + Patty was the usual charting and unsuitable offering of a man's + spontaneous affection, being of dark violet cloth with a wadded cape lined + with satin. A little brimmed hat of violet velvet tied under her chin with + silk ribbons completed the costume, and before the youthful bride and + groom had left the ancestral door Mrs. Wilson had hung her own ermine + victorine (the envy of all Edgewood) around Patty's neck and put her + ermine willow muff into her new daughter's hands; thus she was as dazzling + a personage, and as improperly dressed for the journey, as she could well + be. + </p> + <p> + Waitstill, in her plain linsey-woolsey, was entranced with Patty's beauty + and elegance, and the two girls had a few minutes of sisterly talk, of + interchange of radiant hopes and confidences before Mark tore them apart, + their cheeks wet with happy tears. + </p> + <p> + As the Mason house faded from view, Patty having waved her muff until the + last moment, turned in her seat and said:— + </p> + <p> + “Mark, dear, do you think your father would care if I spent the + twenty-dollar gold-piece he gave me, for Waitstill? She will be married in + a fortnight, and if my father does not give her the few things she owns + she will go to her husband more ill-provided even than I was. I have so + much, dear Mark, and she so little.” + </p> + <p> + “It's your own wedding-present to use as you wish,” Mark answered, “and + it's exactly like you to give it away. Go ahead and spend it if you want + to; I can always earn enough to keep you, without anybody's help!” and + Mark, after cracking the whip vaingloriously, kissed his wife just over + the violet ribbons, and with sleigh-bells jingling they sped over the snow + towards what seemed Paradise to them, the New Hampshire village where they + had been married and where— + </p> + <p> + So a few days later, Waitstill received a great parcel which relieved her + of many feminine anxieties and she began to shape and cut and stitch + during all the hours she had to herself. They were not many, for every day + she trudged to the Boynton farm and began with youthful enthusiasm the + household tasks that were so soon to be hers by right. + </p> + <p> + “Don't waste too much time and strength here, my dearest,” said Ivory. “Do + you suppose for a moment I shall keep you long on this lonely farm? I am + ready for admission to the Bar or I am fitted to teach in the best school + in New England. Nothing has held me here but my mother, and in her present + condition of mind we can safely take her anywhere. We will never live + where there are so many memories and associations to sadden and hamper us, + but go where the best opportunity offers, and as soon as may be. My wife + will be a pearl of great price,” he added fondly, “and I intend to provide + a right setting for her!” + </p> + <p> + This was all said in a glow of love and joy, pride and ambition, as Ivory + paced up and down before the living-room fireplace while Waitstill was + hanging the freshly laundered curtains. + </p> + <p> + Ivory was right; Waitstill Baxter was, indeed, a jewel of a woman. She had + little knowledge, but much wisdom, and after all, knowledge stands for the + leaves on a tree and wisdom for the fruit. There was infinite richness in + the girl, a richness that had been growing and ripening through the years + that she thought so gray and wasted. The few books she owned and loved had + generally lain unopened, it is true, upon her bedroom table, and she held + herself as having far too little learning to be a worthy companion for + Ivory Boynton; but all the beauty and cheer a comfort that could ever be + pressed into the arid life of the Baxter household had come from + Waitstill's heart, and that heart had grown in warmth and plenty year by + year. + </p> + <p> + Those lonely tasks, too hard for a girl's hands, those unrewarded + drudgeries, those days of faithful labor in and out of doors, those + evenings of self-sacrifice over the mending-basket; the quiet avoidance of + all that might vex her father's crusty temper, her patience with his + miserly exactions; the hourly holding back of the hasty word,—all + these had played their part; all these had been somehow welded into a + strong, sunny, steady, life-wisdom, there is no better name for it; and so + she had unconsciously the best of all harvests to bring as dower to a + husband who was worthy of her. Ivory's strength called to hers and + answered it, just as his great need awoke such a power of helpfulness in + her as she did not know she possessed. She loved the man, but she loved + the task that beckoned her, too. The vision of it was like the breath of + wind from a hill-top, putting salt and savor into the new life that opened + before her. + </p> + <p> + These were quietly happy days at the farm, for Mrs. Boynton took a new, if + transient, hold upon life that deceived even the doctor. Rodman was nearly + as ardent a lover as Ivory, hovering about Waitstill and exclaiming, “You + never stay to supper and it's so lonesome evenings without you! Will it + never be time for you to come and live with us, Waity dear? The days crawl + so slowly!” At which Ivory would laugh, push him away and draw Waitstill + nearer to his own side, saying: “If you are in a hurry, you young + cormorant, what do you think of me?” And Waitstill would look from one to + the other and blush at the heaven of love that surrounded her on every + side. + </p> + <p> + “I believe you are longing to begin on my cooking, you two big greedy + boys!” she said teasingly. “What shall we have for New Year's dinner, Rod? + Do you like a turkey, roasted brown and crispy, with giblet gravy and + cranberry jelly? Do you fancy an apple dumpling afterwards,—an apple + dumpling with potato crust,—or will you have a suet pudding with + foamy sauce?” + </p> + <p> + “Stop, Waitstill!” cried Ivory. “Don't put hope into us until you are + ready to satisfy it; we can't bear it!” + </p> + <p> + “And I have a box of goodies from my own garden safely stowed away in + Uncle Bart's shop,” Waitstill went on mischievously. “They were to be sold + in Portland, but I think they'll have to be my wedding-present to my + husband, though a very strange one, indeed! There are peaches floating in + sweet syrup; there are tumblers of quince jelly; there are jars of tomato + and citron preserves, and for supper you shall eat them with biscuits as + light as feathers and white as snowdrifts.” + </p> + <p> + “We can never wait two more days, Rod; let us kidnap her! Let us take the + old bob-sled and run over to New Hampshire where one can be married the + minute one feels like it. We could do it between sunrise and moonrise and + be at home for a late supper. Would she be too tired to bake the biscuits + for us, do you think? What do you say, Rod, will you be best man?” And + there would be youthful, unaccustomed laughter floating out from the + kitchen or living-room, bringing a smile of content to Lois Boynton's face + as she lay propped up in bed with her open Bible beside her. “He binds up + the broken-hearted,” she whispered to herself. “He gives unto them a + garland for ashes; the oil of joy for mourning; the garment of praise for + the spirit of heaviness.” + </p> + <p> + The quiet wedding was over. There had been neither feasting, nor finery, + nor presents, nor bridal journey; only a home-coming that meant deep and + sacred a joy, as fervent gratitude as any four hearts ever contained in + all the world. But the laughter ceased, though the happiness flowed + silently underneath, almost forgotten in the sudden sorrow that overcame + them, for it fell out that Lois Boynton had only waited, as it were, for + the marriage, and could stay no longer. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “... There are two heavens... + Both made of love,—one, inconceivable + Ev'n by the other, so divine it is; + The other, far on this side of the stars, + By men called home.” + </pre> + <p> + And these two heavens met, over at Boyntons', during these cold, white, + glistening December days. + </p> + <p> + Lois Boynton found hers first. After a windy moonlit night a morning + dawned in which a hush seemed to be on the earth. The cattle huddled + together in the farmyards and the fowls shrank into their feathers. The + sky was gray, and suddenly the first white heralds came floating down like + scouts seeking for paths and camping-places. + </p> + <p> + Waitstill turned Mrs. Boynton's bed so that she could look out of the + window. Slope after slope, dazzling in white crust, rose one upon another + and vanished as they slipped away into the dark green of the pine forests. + Then, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “... there fell from out the skies + A feathery whiteness over all the land; + A strange, soft, spotless something, pure as light.” + </pre> + <p> + It could not be called a storm, for there had been no wind since sunrise, + no whirling fury, no drifting; only a still, steady, solemn fall of + crystal flakes, hour after hour, hour after hour. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Boynton's Book of books was open on the bed and her finger marked a + passage in her favorite Bible-poet. + </p> + <p> + “Here it is, daughter,” she whispered. “I have found it, in the same + chapter where the morning stars sing together and the sons of God shout + for joy. The Lord speaks to Job out of the whirlwind and says: 'HAST THOU + ENTERED INTO THE TREASURES OF THE SNOW? OR HAST THOU SEEN THE TREASURES OF + THE HAIL?' Sit near me, Waitstill, and look out on the hills. 'HAST THOU + ENTERED INTO THE TREASURES OF THE SNOW?' No, not yet, but please God, I + shall, and into many other treasures, soon”; and she closed her eyes. + </p> + <p> + All day long the air-ways were filled with the glittering army of the + snowflakes; all day long the snow grew deeper and deeper on the ground; + and on the breath of some white-winged wonder that passed Lois Boynton's + window her white soul forsook its “earth-lot” and took flight at last. + </p> + <p> + They watched beside her, but never knew the moment of her going; it was + just a silent flitting, a ceasing to be, without a tremor, or a flutter + that could be seen by mortal eye. Her face was so like an angel's in its + shining serenity that the few who loved her best could not look upon her + with anything but reverent joy. On earth she had known nothing but the + “broken arcs,” but in heaven she would find the “perfect round”; there at + last, on the other side of the stars, she could remember right, poor Lois + Boynton! + </p> + <p> + For weeks afterwards the village was shrouded in snow as it had never been + before within memory, but in every happy household the home-life deepened + day by day. The books came out in the long evenings; the grandsires told + old tales under the inspiration of the hearth-fire: the children gathered + on their wooden stools to roast apples and pop corn; and hearts came + closer together than when summer called the housemates to wander here and + there in fields and woods and beside the river. + </p> + <p> + Over at Boyntons', when the snow was whirling and the wind howling round + the chimneys of the high-gabled old farmhouse; when every window had its + frame of ermine and fringe of icicles, and the sleet rattled furiously + against the glass, then Ivory would throw a great back log on the bank of + coals between the fire-dogs, the kettle would begin to sing, and the eat + come from some snug corner to curl and purr on the braided hearth-rug. + </p> + <p> + School was in session, and Ivory and Rod had their textbooks of an + evening, but oh! what a new and strange joy to study when there was a + sweet woman sitting near with her workbasket; a woman wearing a shining + braid of hair as if it were a coronet; a woman of clear eyes and tender + lips, one who could feel as well as think, one who could be a man's + comrade as well as his dear love. + </p> + <p> + Truly the second heaven, the one on “this side of the stars, by men called + home,” was very present over at Boyntons'. + </p> + <p> + Sometimes the broad-seated old haircloth sofa would be drawn in front of + the fire, and Ivory, laying his pipe and his Greek grammar on the table, + would take some lighter book and open it on his knee. Waitstill would lift + her eyes from her sewing to meet her husband's glance that spoke longing + for her closer companionship, and gladly leaving her work, and slipping + into the place by his side, she would put her elbow on his shoulder and + read with him. + </p> + <p> + Once, Rod, from his place at a table on the other side of the room, looked + and looked at them with a kind of instinct beyond his years, and finally + crept up to Waitstill, and putting an arm through hers, nestled his curly + head on her shoulder with the quaint charm and grace that belonged to him. + </p> + <p> + It was a young and beautiful shoulder, Waitstill's, and there had always + been, and would always be, a gracious curve in it where a child's head + might lie in comfort. Presently with a shy pressure, Rod whispered: “Shall + I sit in the other room, Waitstill and Ivory?—Am I in the way?” + </p> + <p> + Ivory looked up from his book quietly shaking his head, while Waitstill + put her arm around the boy and drew him closer. + </p> + <p> + “Our little brother is never in the way,” she said, as she bent and kissed + him. + </p> + <p> + Men may come and men may go; Saco Water still tumbles tumultuously over + the dam and rushes under the Edgewood bridge on its way to the sea; and + still it listens to the story of to-day that will sometime be the history + of yesterday. + </p> + <p> + On midsummer evenings the windows of the old farmhouse over at Boyntons' + gleam with unaccustomed lights and voices break the stillness, lessening + the gloom of the long grass-grown lane of Lois Boynton's watching in days + gone by. On sunny mornings there is a merry babel of children's chatter, + mingled with gentle maternal warnings, for this is a new brood of young + things and the river is calling them as it has called all the others who + ever came within the circle of its magic. The fragile harebells hanging + their blue heads from the crevices of the rocks; the brilliant columbines + swaying to and fro on their tall stalks; the patches of gleaming sand in + shallow places beckoning little bare feet to come and tread them; the + glint of silver minnows darting hither and thither in some still pool; the + tempestuous journey of some weather-beaten log, fighting its way + downstream;—here is life in abundance, luring the child to share its + risks and its joys. + </p> + <p> + When Waitstill's boys and Patty's girls come back to the farm, they play + by Saco Water as their mothers and their fathers did before them. The + paths through the pine woods along the river's brink are trodden smooth by + their restless, wandering feet; their eager, curious eyes search the + waysides for adventure, but their babble and laughter are oftenest heard + from the ruins of an old house hidden by great trees. The stones of the + cellar, all overgrown with blackberry vines, are still there; and a + fragment of the brick chimney, where swallows build their nests from year + to year. A wilderness of weeds, tall and luxuriant, springs up to hide the + stone over which Jacob Cochrane stepped daily when he issued from his + door; and the polished stick with which three-year-old Patty beats a + tattoo may be a round from the very chair in which he sat, expounding the + Bible according to his own vision. The thickets of sweet clover and + red-tipped grasses, of waving ferns and young alder bushes hide all of + ugliness that belongs to the deserted spot and serve as a miniature forest + in whose shade the younglings foreshadow the future at their play of + home-building and housekeeping. In a far corner, altogether concealed from + the passer-by, there is a secret treasure, a wonderful rosebush, its green + leaves shining with health and vigor. When the July sun is turning the + hay-fields yellow, the children part the bushes in the leafy corner and + little Waitstill Boynton steps cautiously in, to gather one splendid rose, + “for father and mother.” + </p> + <p> + Jacob Cochrane's heart, with all its faults and frailties has long been at + peace. On a chill, dreary night in November, all that was mortal of him + was raised from its unhonored resting-place not far from the ruins of his + old abode, and borne by three of his disciples far away to another state. + The gravestones were replaced, face downward, deep, deep in the earth, and + the sod laid back upon them, so that no man thence forward could mark the + place of the prophet's transient burial amid the scenes of his first and + only triumphant ministry. + </p> + <p> + “It is a sad story, Jacob Cochrane's,” Waitstill said to her husband when + she first discovered that her children had chosen the deserted spot for + their play; “and yet, Ivory, the red rose blooms and blooms in the ruins + of the man's house, and perhaps, somewhere in the world, he has left a + message that matches the rose.” + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> +<pre style='margin-top:6em'> +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF WAITSTILL BAXTER *** + +This file should be named 1701-h.htm or 1701-h.zip + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/0//1701/ + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will +be renamed. + +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. 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