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diff --git a/old/23557-h.htm.2021-01-25 b/old/23557-h.htm.2021-01-25 new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c46066c --- /dev/null +++ b/old/23557-h.htm.2021-01-25 @@ -0,0 +1,1097 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!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> + <title> + The Crucial Moment, by Charles Egbert Craddock + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; 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;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Crucial Moment, by +Charles Egbert Craddock (AKA Mary Noailles Murfree) + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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 + + +Title: The Crucial Moment + 1911 + +Author: Charles Egbert Craddock (AKA Mary Noailles Murfree) + +Release Date: November 19, 2007 [EBook #23557] +Last Updated: March 8, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CRUCIAL MOMENT *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <div style="height: 8em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + THE CRUCIAL MOMENT + </h1> + <h2> + By Charles Egbert Craddock <br /> <br /> 1911 + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> <br /> + </p> + <p> + A mere moment seems an inconsiderable factor in life—only its + multiplication attaining importance and signifying time. It could never + have occurred to Walter Hoxer that all his years of labor, the aggregation + of the material values of industry, experience, skill, integrity, could be + nullified by this minimum unit of space—as sudden, as potent, as + destructive, as a stroke of lightning. But after the fact it did not + remind' him of any agency of the angry skies; to him it was like one of + the obstructions of the river engineers to divert the course of the great + Mississippi, a mattress-spur, a thing insignificant in itself, a mere + trifle of woven willow wands, set up at a crafty angle, against the + tumultuous current Yet he had seen the swirling waves, in their oncoming + like innumerable herds of wild horses, hesitate at the impact, turn aside, + and go racing by, scouring out a new channel, leaving the old bank bereft, + thrown inland, no longer the margin of the stream. + </p> + <p> + The river was much in his mind that afternoon as he trudged along the + county road at the base of the levee, on his way, all un-prescient, to + meet this signal, potential moment. Outside, he knew that the water was + standing higher than his head, rippling against the thick turf of Bermuda + grass with which the great earthwork was covered. For the river was + bank-full and still rising—indeed, it was feared that an overflow + impended. However, there was as yet no break; advices from up the river + and down the river told only of extra precautions and constant work to + keep the barriers intact against the increasing volume of the stream. The + favorable chances were reinforced by the fact of a singularly dry winter, + that had so far eliminated the danger from back-water, which, if + aggregated from rainfall in low-lying swamps, would move up slowly to + inundate the arable lands. These were already ploughed to bed up for + cotton, and an overflow now would mean the loss of many thousands of + dollars to the submerged communities. The February rains had begun in the + upper country, with a persistency and volume that bade fair to compensate + for the long-continued drought, and thus the river was already booming; + the bayous that drew off a vast surplusage of its waters were overcharged, + and gradually would spread out in murky shallows, heavily laden with river + detritus, over the low grounds bordering their course. + </p> + <p> + “This Jeffrey levee will hold,” Hoxer said to himself, as once he paused, + his hands in his pockets, his cap on the back of his red head, his + freckled, commonplace, square face lifted into a sort of dignity by the + light of expert capacity and intelligence in his bluff blue eyes. He had + been muttering to himself the details of its construction: so many feet + across the base in proportion to its height, the width of the summit, the + angle of the incline of its interior slope—the exterior being + invisible, having the Mississippi River standing against it. “A fairly + good levee, though an old one,” he muttered. “I'll bet, though, Major + Jeffrey feels mightily like Noah when he looks at all that water out there + tearing through the country.” + </p> + <p> + His face clouded at the mention of the name, and as he took the short pipe + from his month and stuck it into the pocket of his loose sack-coat his + tread lost a certain free elasticity that had characterized it hitherto, + and he trudged on doggedly. He had passed many acres of ploughed lands, + the road running between the fields and the levee. The scene was all + solitary; the sun had set, and night would presently be coming on. As he + turned in at the big white gate that opened on a long avenue of oaks + leading to the mansion house, he began to fear that his visit might be + ill-timed, and that a man of his station could not hope for an audience so + near the major's dinner-hour. + </p> + <p> + It was with definite relief that he heard the gentle impact of ivory balls + in the absolute quiet, and he remembered that a certain little octagonal + structure with a conical red roof, in the grounds, was a billiard-room, + for the sound betokened that he might find the owner of the place here. + </p> + <p> + He expected to see a group of the Major's “quality friends” in the + building but as he ascended the steps leading directly to the door, he + perceived that the man he sought was alone. Major Jeffrey was engaged in + idly knocking the balls about in some skilful fancy shots, his cigar in + his mouth, and a black velvet smoking-jacket setting off to special + advantage his dense, snowy hair, prematurely white, his long mustache, and + his pointed imperial. His heavy white eyebrows drew frowningly together + over arrogant dark eyes as he noted the man at the entrance. + </p> + <p> + Despite Hoxer's oft-reiterated sentiment that he was “as good as anybody + and would take nothing off nobody, and cared for no old duck just because + he was rich,” he could not speak for a moment as he felt Major Jeffrey's + inimical eyes upon him. He lost the advantage in losing the salutation. + </p> + <p> + “Did you get my check?” Major Jeffrey asked curtly. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” Hoxer admitted; “but——” + </p> + <p> + “The amount was according to contract.” + </p> + <p> + Hoxer felt indignant with himself that he should have allowed this + interpretation to be placed on his presence here; then he still more + resented the conjecture. + </p> + <p> + “I have not come for extra money,” he said. “That point of the transaction + is closed.” + </p> + <p> + “All the points of the transaction are closed,” said Major Jeffrey, + ungraciously. There was more than the flush of the waning western sky on + his face. He had already dined, and he was one of those wine-bibbers whom + drink does not render genial, “I want to hear no more about it.” + </p> + <p> + He turned to the table, and with a skilful cue sent one ball caroming + against two others. + </p> + <p> + “But you must hear what I have got to say, Major Jeffrey,” protested + Hoxer. “I built that cross-levee for you to join your main levee, and done + it well.” + </p> + <p> + “And have been well paid.” + </p> + <p> + “But you go and say at the store that I deviated from the line of survey + and saved one furlong, seven poles, and five feet of levee.” + </p> + <p> + “And so you did.” + </p> + <p> + “But you know, Major, that Burbeck Lake had shrunk in the drought at the + time of the survey, and if I'd followed the calls for the south of the + lake, I'd had to build in four feet of water, so I drew back a mite—you + bein' in Orleans, where I couldn't consult you, an' no time to be lost + nohow, the river bein' then on the rise, an'——” + </p> + <p> + “Look here, fellow,” exclaimed Major Jeffrey, bringing the cue down on the + table with a force that must have cut the cloth, “do you suppose that I + have nothing better to do than to stand here to listen to your fool + harangue?” + </p> + <p> + The anger and the drink and perhaps the consciousness of being in the + wrong were all ablaze in the Major's eyes. + </p> + <p> + The two were alone; only the darkling shadows stood at tiptoe at the open + windows, and still the flushed sky sent down a pervasive glow from above. + </p> + <p> + Hoxer swallowed hard, gulping down his own wrath and sense of injury. + “Major,” he said blandly, trying a new deal, “I don't think you quite + understand me.” + </p> + <p> + “Such a complicated proposition you are, to be sure!” + </p> + <p> + Hoxer disregarded the sarcasm, the contempt in the tone. + </p> + <p> + “I am not trying to rip up an old score, but you said at Winfield's store—at + the store—that I did not build the cross levee on the surveyor's + line; that I shortened it——” + </p> + <p> + “So you did.” + </p> + <p> + “But as if I had shortened the levee for my own profit, when, as you know, + it was paid for by the pole——” + </p> + <p> + “You tax me with making a false impression?” + </p> + <p> + An extreme revulsion of expectation harassed Hoxer. He had always known + that Jeffrey was an exception to the general rule of the few large + land-owners in the community, who were wont to conserve and, in fact, to + deserve the pose of kindly patron as well as wealthy magnate. But even + Jeffrey, he thought, would not grudge a word to set a matter straight that + could cost him nothing and would mean much to the levee-contractor. Though + of large experience in levee-building, Hoxer was new to the position of + contractor, having been graduated into it, so to speak, from the station + of foreman of a construction-gang of Irishmen. He had hoped for further + employ in this neighborhood, in building private levees that, in addition + to the main levees along the banks of the Mississippi, would aid riparian + protection by turning off overflow from surcharged bayous and encroaching + lakes in the interior. But, unluckily, the employer of the first + enterprise he had essayed on his own responsibility had declared that he + had deviated from the line of survey, usually essential to the validity of + the construction, thereby much shortening the work; and had made this + statement at Winfield's store—at the store! + </p> + <p> + Whatever was said at the store was as if proclaimed through the resounding + trump of fame. The store in a Mississippi neighborhood, frequented by the + surrounding planters, great and small, was the focus of civilization, the + dispenser of all the wares of the world, from a spool of thread to a + two-horse wagon, the post-office, in a manner the club. Here, sooner or + later, everybody came, and hence was the news of the Bend noised abroad. + Hoxer's business could scarcely recover from this disparagement, and he + had not doubted that Jeffrey would declare that he had said nothing to + justify this impression, and that he would forthwith take occasion to + clear it up. For were not Mr. Tompkins and Judge Claris, both with a + severe case of “high-water scare,” ready to contract for a joint cross + levee for mutual protection from an unruly bayou! + </p> + <p> + Therefore, with a sedulous effort, Hoxer maintained his composure when the + Major thundered again, “You tax me with making a false impression?” + </p> + <p> + “Not intentionally, Major, but——” + </p> + <p> + “And who are you to judge of my motives? Told a lie by accident, did I? + Begone, sir, or I'll break your head with this billiard cue!” + </p> + <p> + He had reached the limit as he brandished the cue. He was still agile, + vigorous, and it was scarcely possible that Hoxer could escape the blow. + He dreaded the indignity indeed more than the hurt. + </p> + <p> + “If you strike me,” he declared in a single breath, between his set teeth, + “before God, I'll shoot you with your own pistol!” + </p> + <p> + It seemed a fatality that a pair in their open case should have been lying + on the sill of the window, where their owner had just been cleaning and + oiling them. Hoxer, of course, had no certainty that they were loaded, but + the change in Jeffrey's expression proclaimed it. He was sober enough now—the + shock was all sufficient—as he sprang to the case. The younger man + was the quicker. He had one of the pistols in his hand before Jeffrey + could level the other that he had snatched. Quicker to fire, too, for the + weapon in Jeffrey's hand was discharged in his latest impulse of action + after he fell to the floor, the blood gushing from a wound that crimsoned + all the delicate whiteness of his shirt-front and bedabbled his snowy hair + and beard. + </p> + <p> + This was the moment, the signal, fatal, final moment, that the levee + contractor had come to meet, that placed the period to his own existence. + He lived no longer, Hoxer felt. He did not recognize as his own a single + action hereafter, a single mental impulse. It was something else, standing + here in the red gloaming—some foreign entity, cogently reasoning, + swiftly acting. Self-defense—was it? And who would believe that? Had + he found justice so alert to redress his wrongs, even in a little matter, + that he must needs risk his neck upon it? This Thing that was not himself—no, + never more!—had the theory of alibi in his mind as he stripped off + his low-cut shoes and socks, thrusting them into his pockets, leaping from + the door, and flying among the dusky shadows down the glooming grove, and + through the gate. + </p> + <p> + Dusk here, too, on the lonely county road, the vague open expanse of the + ploughed fields glimmering to the instarred sky of a still, chill night of + early February. He did not even wonder that there should be no hue and cry + on his tracks—the Thing was logical! Jeffrey had doubtless had his + pistols carried down from the mansion to him in his den in the + billiard-room, for the avowed purpose of putting the weapons in order. If + the shots were heard at all at the dwelling, the sound was reasonably + ascribed to the supposed testing of the weapons. Hoxer was conscious that + a sentiment of gratulation, of sly triumph, pervaded his mental processes + as he sped along barefoot, like some tramp or outcast, or other creature + of a low station. He had laid his plans well in this curious, involuntary + cerebration. Those big, bare footprints were ample disguise for a + well-clad, well-groomed, well-shod middle-class man of a skilful and + lucrative employ. The next moment his heart sank like lead. He was + followed! He heard the pursuit in the dark! Swift, unerring, leaping along + the dusty road, leaving its own footprints as a testimony against him. For + he had recognized its nature at last! It was his own dog—a little, + worthless cur, that had a hide like a doormat and a heart as big as the + United States—a waif, a stray, that had attached himself to the + contractor at the shanties of the construction gang, and slept by his bed, + and followed at his heel, and lived on the glance of his eye. + </p> + <p> + He was off again, the dog fairly winging his way to match his master's + speed. Hoxer could not kill him here, for the carcass would tell the + story. But was it not told already in those tracks in the dusty road? What + vengeance was there not written in the eccentric script of those queer + little padded imprints of the creature's paws. Fie, fool! Was this the + only cur-dog in the Bend? he asked himself, impatient of his fears. Was + not the whole neighborhood swarming with canine dependents? + </p> + <p> + Despite his reasoning, this endowment that was once himself had been + affrighted by the shock. The presence of the little cur-dog had destroyed + the complacence of his boasted ratiocination. He had only the instincts of + flight as he struck off through the woods when the great expanse of + cultivated lands had given way to lower ground and the wide liberties of + the “open swamp,” as it was called. This dense wilderness stretched out on + every side; the gigantic growth of gum trees was leafless at this season, + and without a suggestion of underbrush. + </p> + <p> + The ground was as level as a floor. Generally during the winter the open + swamp is covered with shallow water, but in this singularly droughty + season it had remained “with dry feet,” according to the phrase of that + country. The southern moon, rising far along its levels, began to cast + burnished golden shafts of light adown its unobstructed vistas. It might + seem some magnificent park, with its innumerable splendid trees, its great + expanse, and ever and anon in the distance the silver sheen of the waters + of a lake, shining responsive to the lunar lustre as with an inherent + lustre of its own. On and on he went, his noiseless tread falling as + regularly as machinery, leaving miles behind him, the distance only to be + conjectured by the lapse of time, and, after so long, his flagging + strength. He began to notice that the open swamp was giving way in the + vicinity of one of the lakes to the characteristics of the swamp proper, + although the ground was still dry and the going good. He had traversed now + and then a higher ridge on which switch-cane grew somewhat sparsely, but + near the lake on a bluff bank a dense brake of the heavier cane filled the + umbrageous shadows, so tall and rank and impenetrable a growth that once + the fugitive paused to contemplate it with the theory that a secret + intrusted to its sombre seclusions might be held intact forever. + </p> + <p> + As he stood thus motionless in the absolute stillness, a sudden thought + came to his mind—a sudden and terrible thought. He could not be sure + whether he had heard aught, or whether the sight of the water suggested + the idea. He knew that he could little longer sustain his flight, despite + his vigor and strength. Quivering in every fibre from his long exertions, + he set his course straight for that glimmering sheen of water. Encircling + it were heavy shadows. Tall trees pressed close to the verge, where lay + here a fallen branch, and there a rotten log, half sunken in mud and ooze, + and again a great tangle of vines that had grown smiling to the summer + sun, but now, with the slow expansion of the lake which was fed by a + surcharged bayou, quite submerged in a fretwork of miry strands. The + margin was fringed with saw-grass, thick and prickly, and his practised + eye could discern where the original banks lay by the spears thrust up + above the surface a score of feet away. Thus he was sure of his depth as + he waded out staunchly, despite the cruel pricks to his sensitive naked + feet. The little dog had scant philosophy; he squeaked and wheezed and + wailed with the pain until the man, who had no time to kill him now—for + had he heard aught or naught?—picked him up and carried him in his + arms, the creature licking Hoxer's hands in an ecstasy of gratitude, and + even standing on his hind-legs on his master's arm to snatch a lick upon + his cheek. + </p> + <p> + In the darksome shadows, further and further from the spot where he had + entered the lake, Hoxer toiled along the margin, sometimes pausing to + listen—for had he heard aught or naught?—as long as his + strength would suffice. Then amidst the miry débris of last summer's + growths beneath the recent inundation he sank down in the darkness, the + dog exhausted in his arms. + </p> + <p> + This was one of those frequent crescent-shaped lakes peculiar to the + region; sometimes, miles in extent, the lacustrine contour is not + discernible to the glance; here the broad expanse seemed as if the body of + water were circular and perhaps three miles in diameter. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly Hoxer heard the sound that had baffled him hitherto—heard + it again and—oh, horrible!—recognized it at last! The baying + of bloodhounds it was, the triumphant cry that showed that the brutes had + caught the trail and were keeping it. On and on came the iteration, ever + louder, ever nearer, waking the echoes till wood and brake and midnight + waters seemed to rock and sway with the sound, and the stars in the sky to + quake in unison with the vibrations. Never at fault, never a moment's + cessation, and presently the shouts of men and the tramp of horses blended + with that deep, tumultuous note of blood crying to heaven for vengeance. + Far, far, down the lake it was. Hoxer could see nothing of the frantic + rout when the hounds paused baffled at the water-side. He was quick to + note the changed tone of the brutes' pursuit, plaintive, anxious, + consciously thwarted. They ran hither and thither, patrolling the banks, + and with all their boasted instinct they could only protest that the + fugitive took to water at this spot. But how? They could not say, and the + men argued in vain. The lake was too broad to swim—there was no + island, no point of vantage. A boat might have taken him off, and, if so, + the craft would now be lying on the opposite bank. A party set off to + skirt the edge of the lake and explore the further shores by order of the + sheriff, for this officer, summoned by telephone, had come swiftly from + the county town in an automobile, to the verge of the swamp, there + accommodated with a horse by a neighboring planter. And then, Hoxer, lying + on the elastic submerged brush, with only a portion of his face above the + surface of the water, watched in a speechless ecstasy of terror the hue + and cry progress on the hither side, his dog, half dead from exhaustion, + unconscious in his arms. + </p> + <p> + The moon, unmoved as ever, looked calmly down on the turmoil in the midst + of the dense woods. The soft brilliance illumined the long, open vistas + and gave to the sylvan intricacies an effect as of silver arabesques, a + glittering tracery amidst the shadows. But the lunar light did not + suffice. Great torches of pine knots, with a red and yellow flare and + streaming pennants of smoke, darted hither and thither as the officer's + posse searched the bosky recesses without avail. + </p> + <p> + Presently a new sound!—a crashing iteration—assailed the air. + A frantic crowd was beating the bushes about the margin of the lake and + the verges of the almost impenetrable cane-brake. Here, however, there + could be no hope of discovery, and suddenly a cry arose, unanimously + iterated the next instant, “Fire the cane-brake! Fire the cane-brake!” + </p> + <p> + For so late had come the rise of the river, so persistent had been the + winter's drought, so delayed the usual inundation of the swamp, that the + vegetation, dry as tinder, caught the sparks instantly, and the fierce + expedient to force the fugitive to leave his supposed shelter in the + brake, a vast woodland conflagration, was added to the terror of the + scene. The flames flared frantically upward from the cane, itself twenty + feet in height, and along its dense columns issued forth jets like the + volleyings of musketry from serried ranks of troops, the illusion enhanced + by continuous sharp, rifle-like reports, the joints of the growth + exploding as the air within was liberated by the heat of the fire. All + around this blazing Gehenna were swiftly running figures of men applying + with demoniac suggestion torches here and there, that a new area might be + involved. Others were mounted, carrying flaming torches aloft, the restive + horses plunging in frantic terror of the fiery furnace in the depths of + the brake, the leaping sheets of flame, the tumultuous clouds of smoke. + Oh, a terrible fate, had the forlorn fugitive sought refuge here! Let us + hope that no poor denizen of the brake, bear or panther or fox, dazed by + the tumult and the terror, forgot which way to flee! + </p> + <p> + But human energies must needs fail as time wears on. Nerves of steel + collapse at last. The relinquishment of the quest came gradually; the + crowd thinned; now and again the sound of rapid hoof-beats told of + homeward-bound horsemen; languid groups stood and talked dully here and + there, dispersing to follow a new suggestion for a space, them ultimately + disappearing; even the fire began to die ont, and the site of the + cane-break had become a dense, charred mass, as far as eye could reach, + with here and there a vague blue flicker where some bed of coals could yet + send up a jet, when at length the pale day, slow and aghast, came peering + along the levels to view the relics of the strange events that had betided + in the watches of the night. + </p> + <p> + Hoxer had not waited for the light. Deriving a certain strength, a certain + triumph, from the obvious fact that the end was not yet, he contrived in + that darkest hour before the dawn to pull himself into a sitting posture, + then to creep out to the shore. The little dog had seemed to be dying, but + he too experienced a sort of resuscitation, and while he followed at first + but feebly, it was not long before he was at heel again, although Hoxer + was swift of foot, making all the speed he might toward his temporary + home, the shacks that had been occupied by the construction gang. As he + came within view of the poor little tenements, so recently vacated by the + Irish ditchers, all awry and askew, stretching in a wavering row along the + river-bank near the junction of the levee that he had built with the main + line, his eyes filled. Oh, why had he not gone with the rest of the camp! + he demanded of an untoward fate; why must he have stayed a day longer to + bespeak the correction of an injurious error from that proud, hard man, + who, however, had wrought his last injury on earth! Hoxer was sorry, but + chiefly for his own plight. He felt that his deed was in self-defense, and + but that he had no proof he would not fear to offer the plea at the bar of + justice. As it was, however, he was sanguine of escaping without this + jeopardy. No one had cause to suspect him. No one had seen him enter the + Jeffrey grounds that fatal evening. There had been noised abroad no + intimation of his grievance against the man. He had all the calm assurance + of invisibility as he came to his abode, for a fog lay thick on the + surface of the river and hung over all the land. He did not issue forth + again freshly dressed till the sun was out once more, dispelling the + vapors and conjuring the world back to sight and life. Nevertheless, he + made no secret of having been abroad when an acquaintance came up the road + and paused for an exchange of the news of the day. + </p> + <p> + “But what makes ye look so durned peaked?” he broke off, gazing at Hoxer + in surprise. + </p> + <p> + Hoxer was astonished at his own composure as he replied: “Out all night. I + was in the swamp with the posse.” + </p> + <p> + “See the fire! They tell me 't wuz more'n dangerous to fire the brake when + the woods is so uncommon dry. I dunno what we would do here in the bottom + with a forest fire.” + </p> + <p> + “Pretty big blaze now, sure's ye're born,” Hoxer replied casually, and so + the matter passed. + </p> + <p> + Later in the day another gossip, whose acquaintance he had made during his + levee-building venture, loitered up to talk over the absorbing sensation, + and, sitting down on the door-step of the shack, grew suddenly attentive + to the little dog. + </p> + <p> + “What makes him limp?” he demanded abruptly. + </p> + <p> + But Hoxer had not observed that he did limp. + </p> + <p> + The acquaintance had taken the little animal up on his knee and was + examining into his condition. “Gee! how did he get so footsore?” + </p> + <p> + “Following me around, I reckon,” Hoxer hazarded. But he saw, or thought he + saw, a change on the stolid face of the visitor, who was unpleasantly + impressed with the fact that the officers investigating the case had made + inquiries concerning a small dog that, to judge by the prints in the road, + had evidently followed the big, barefooted man who had fled from the + Jeffrey precincts after the shooting. A rumor, too, was going the rounds + that a detective, reputed preternaturally sharp, who had accompanied the + sheriff to the scene of action, had examined these tracks in the road, and + declared that the foot-print was neither that of a negro nor a tramp, but + of a white man used to wearing shoes something too tightly fitting. + </p> + <p> + The visitor glanced down at the substantial foot-gear of the contractor, + fitting somewhat snugly, and thereafter he became more out of countenance + than before and manifested some haste to get away. Hoxer said to himself + that his anxiety whetted his apprehension. He had given his visitor no + cause for suspicion, and doubtless the man had evolved none. Hoxer was + glad that he was due and overdue to be gone from the locality. He felt + that he could scarcely breathe freely again till he had joined the gang of + Irish ditchers now establishing themselves in a new camp in the adjoining + county, where the high stage of the river gave him employment in fighting + water. He made up his mind, however, that he would not take the train + thither. He dreaded to be among men, to encounter question and + speculation, till he had time to regain control of his nerves, his facial + expression, the tones of his voice. He resolved that he would quietly + drift down the river in a row-boat that had been at his disposal during + his employment here, and join his force already settled at their + destination, without running the gauntlet of inspection by the + neighborhood in a more formal departure. He had already bidden farewell to + those few denizens of the Bend with whom his associations had been most + genial. “And I'll clear out now, as I would have done if nothing had + happened.” + </p> + <p> + He said no more of his intention of departure, but when night had come he + fastened the door of the little shanty, in which were still some of the + rude belongings of his camping outfit, with the grim determination that it + should not soon be opened again. How long the padlock should beat the + summons of the wind on the resounding battens he did not dream! + </p> + <p> + It was close on midnight when he climbed the steep interior slope of the + levee and stood for a moment gazing cautiously about him. The rowboat lay + close by, for one might embark from the summit of the levee. It was a + cloudy night, without a star. A mist clung to the face of the waters on + the Arkansas side, but on the hither shore the atmosphere was clear, for + he could see at a considerable distance up the river the fire of a + “levee-watch,” the stage of the water being so menacing that a guard must + needs be on duty throughout the night. The leaping flames of the fire cast + long lines of red and yellow and a sort of luminous brown far into the + river, where the reflection seemed to palpitate in the pulsations of the + current. No other sign of life was in the night scene, save in the + opposite direction, amidst the white vapors, the gem-like gleam of a + steamer's chimney-lights, all ruby and emerald, as a packet was slowly + rounding the neighboring point. Hoxer could hear the impact of her paddles + on the water, the night being so still. He had seated himself in the + middle of the rowboat and laid hold on the oars when his foot struck + against something soft on the bottom of the craft, partly under the seat + in the stern. It was his bundle, he thought, containing the spoiled + clothing that he had worn in the swamp, and which he intended to sink in + mid-stream. His nerve was shaken, however; he could not restrain a sudden + exclamation—this must have seemed discovery rather than agitation. + It was as a signal for premature action. He was suddenly seized from + behind, his arms held down against his sides, his hands close together. + The bundle in the stern rose all at once to the stature of a man. + </p> + <p> + The touch of cold metal, a sharp, quick click,—and he was captured + and handcuffed within the space of ten seconds. + </p> + <p> + A terrible struggle ensued, which his great strength but sufficed to + prolong. His wild, hoarse cries of rage and desperation seemed to beat + against the sky; back and forth the dark riparian forests repeated them + with the effect of varying distance in the echoes, till all the sombre + woods seemed full of mad, frantic creatures, shrieking out their helpless + frenzy. More than once his superior muscle sufficed to throw off both the + officers for a moment, but to what avail? Thus manacled, he could not + escape. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly a wild, new clamor resounded from the shore. In the dusky + uncertainty, a group of men were running down the bank, shouting out to + the barely descried boatmen imperative warnings that they would break the + levee in their commotion, coupled with violent threats if they did not + desist. For the force with which the rowboat dashed against the summit of + the levee, rebounding again and again, laden with the weight of three + ponderous men, and endowed with all the impetus of their struggle, so + eroded the earth that the waves had gained an entrance, the initial step + to a crevasse that would flood the country with a disastrous overflow. As + there was no abatement of the blows of the boat against the embankment, no + reply nor explanation, a shot from the gun of one of the levee-watch came + skipping lightsomely over the water as Hoxer was borne exhausted to the + bottom of the skiff. Then, indeed, the sheriff of the county bethought + himself to shout out his name and official station to the astonished group + on shore, and thus, bullet-proof under the aegis of the law, the boat + pulled out toward the steamer, lying in mid-stream, silently awaiting the + coming of the officer and his prisoner, a great, towering, castellated + object, half seen in the night, her broadside of cabin lights, and their + reflection in the ripples, sparkling through the darkness like a chain of + golden stars. + </p> + <p> + They left no stress of curiosity behind them; naught in the delta can + compete in interest with the threatened collapse of a levee in times of + high water. Before the rowboat had reached the steamer's side, its + occupants could hear the great plantation-bell ringing like mad to summon + forth into the midnight all available hands to save the levee, and, + looking back presently, a hundred lanterns were seen flickering hither and + thither, far down in the dusk—no illusion this, for all deltaic + rivers are higher in the centre than their banks—where the busy + laborers, with thousands of gunny-sacks filled with sand, were fighting + the Mississippi, building a barricade to fence it from the rich spoils it + coveted. + </p> + <p> + The packet, which, as it happened, was already overdue, had been + telephoned by the officers at her last landing, and a number of men stood + on the guards expectant. Hoxer had ceased to struggle. He looked up at the + steamer, his pallid face and wide, distended eyes showing in the cabin + lights, as the rowboat pulled alongside. Then as the sheriff directed him + to rise, he stood up at his full height, stretched his manacled hands high + above his head, and suddenly dived into deep water, leaving the boat + rocking violently, and in danger of capsizing with the officers. + </p> + <p> + A desperate effort was made to recover the prisoner, alive or dead—all + in vain. A roustabout on the deck declared that in the glare of the + steamer's search-light, thrown over the murky waters, he was seen to come + to the surface once, but if he rose a second time it must have been + beneath the great bulk of the packet, to go down again to the death + awaiting him in the deeps. + </p> + <p> + On the bank a little dog sat through sunshine and shadow in front of the + door of the shack of the contractor of the levee-construction gang, and + awaited his return with the patient devotion of his kind. Sometimes, as + the padlock wavered in the wind, he would cock his head briskly askew, + forecasting from the sound a step within. Sometimes the grief of absence + and hope deferred would wring his humble heart, and he would whimper in an + access of misery and limp about a bit. But presently he would be seated + again, alertly upright, his eyes on the door, for the earliest glimpse of + the face that he loved. When the overflow came at last the shacks of the + construction gang were swept away, and the little dog was seen no more. + </p> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Crucial Moment, by +Charles Egbert Craddock (AKA Mary Noailles Murfree) + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CRUCIAL MOMENT *** + +***** This file should be named 23557-h.htm or 23557-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/3/5/5/23557/ + +Produced by David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions 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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