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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/2535-0.txt b/2535-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fe7a9cb --- /dev/null +++ b/2535-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6992 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Openings in the Old Trail, by Bret Harte + +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: Openings in the Old Trail + +Author: Bret Harte + +Release Date: May 18, 2006 [EBook #2535] +Last Updated: March 4, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OPENINGS IN THE OLD TRAIL *** + + + + +Produced by Donald Lainson + + + + + +OPENINGS IN THE OLD TRAIL + +by Bret Harte + + + + +CONTENTS + + + OPENINGS IN THE OLD TRAIL + + I. A MERCURY OF THE FOOT-HILLS + II. COLONEL STARBOTTLE FOR THE PLAINTIFF + III. THE LANDLORD OF THE BIG FLUME HOTEL + IV. A BUCKEYE HOLLOW INHERITANCE + V. THE REINCARNATION OF SMITH + VI. LANTY FOSTER'S MISTAKE + VII. AN ALI BABA OF THE SIERRAS + VIII. MISS PEGGY'S PROTEGES + IX. THE GODDESS OF EXCELSIOR + + + + + +OPENINGS IN THE OLD TRAIL + +by Bret Harte + + + + +A MERCURY OF THE FOOT-HILLS + + +It was high hot noon on the Casket Ridge. Its very scant shade was +restricted to a few dwarf Scotch firs, and was so perpendicularly cast +that Leonidas Boone, seeking shelter from the heat, was obliged to draw +himself up under one of them, as if it were an umbrella. Occasionally, +with a boy's perversity, he permitted one bared foot to protrude beyond +the sharply marked shadow until the burning sun forced him to draw it in +again with a thrill of satisfaction. There was no earthly reason why +he had not sought the larger shadows of the pine-trees which reared +themselves against the Ridge on the slope below him, except that he was +a boy, and perhaps even more superstitious and opinionated than most +boys. Having got under this tree with infinite care, he had made up his +mind that he would not move from it until its line of shade reached and +touched a certain stone on the trail near him! WHY he did this he did +not know, but he clung to his sublime purpose with the courage and +tenacity of a youthful Casabianca. He was cramped, tickled by dust and +fir sprays; he was supremely uncomfortable--but he stayed! A woodpecker +was monotonously tapping in an adjacent pine, with measured intervals of +silence, which he always firmly believed was a certain telegraphy of +the bird's own making; a green-and-gold lizard flashed by his foot +to stiffen itself suddenly with a rigidity equal to his own. Still HE +stirred not. The shadow gradually crept nearer the mystic stone--and +touched it. He sprang up, shook himself, and prepared to go about +his business. This was simply an errand to the post-office at the +cross-roads, scarcely a mile from his father's house. He was already +halfway there. He had taken only the better part of one hour for this +desultory journey! + +However, he now proceeded on his way, diverging only to follow a fresh +rabbit-track a few hundred yards, to note that the animal had doubled +twice against the wind, and then, naturally, he was obliged to look +closely for other tracks to determine its pursuers. He paused also, +but only for a moment, to rap thrice on the trunk of the pine where the +woodpecker was at work, which he knew would make it cease work for +a time--as it did. Having thus renewed his relations with nature, he +discovered that one of the letters he was taking to the post-office had +slipped in some mysterious way from the bosom of his shirt, where he +carried them, past his waist-band into his trouser-leg, and was about to +make a casual delivery of itself on the trail. This caused him to take +out his letters and count them, when he found one missing. He had been +given four letters to post--he had only three. There was a big one in +his father's handwriting, two indistinctive ones of his mother's, and a +smaller one of his sister's--THAT was gone! Not at all disconcerted, +he calmly retraced his steps, following his own tracks minutely, with +a grim face and a distinct delight in the process, while +looking--perfunctorily--for the letter. In the midst of this slow +progress a bright idea struck him. He walked back to the fir-tree where +he had rested, and found the lost missive. It had slipped out of his +shirt when he shook himself. He was not particularly pleased. He knew +that nobody would give him credit for his trouble in going back for +it, or his astuteness in guessing where it was. He heaved the sigh of +misunderstood genius, and again started for the post-office. This time +he carried the letters openly and ostentatiously in his hand. + +Presently he heard a voice say, “Hey!” It was a gentle, musical +voice,--a stranger's voice, for it evidently did not know how to call +him, and did not say, “Oh, Leonidas!” or “You--look here!” He was +abreast of a little clearing, guarded by a low stockade of bark palings, +and beyond it was a small white dwelling-house. Leonidas knew the place +perfectly well. It belonged to the superintendent of a mining tunnel, +who had lately rented it to some strangers from San Francisco. Thus much +he had heard from his family. He had a mountain boy's contempt for city +folks, and was not himself interested in them. Yet as he heard the +call, he was conscious of a slightly guilty feeling. He might have been +trespassing in following the rabbit's track; he might have been seen by +some one when he lost the letter and had to go back for it--all grown-up +people had a way of offering themselves as witnesses against him! He +scowled a little as he glanced around him. Then his eye fell on the +caller on the other side of the stockade. + +To his surprise it was a woman: a pretty, gentle, fragile creature, all +soft muslin and laces, with her fingers interlocked, and leaning both +elbows on the top of the stockade as she stood under the checkered +shadow of a buckeye. + +“Come here--please--won't you?” she said pleasantly. + +It would have been impossible to resist her voice if Leonidas had wanted +to, which he didn't. He walked confidently up to the fence. She really +was very pretty, with eyes like his setter's, and as caressing. And +there were little puckers and satiny creases around her delicate +nostrils and mouth when she spoke, which Leonidas knew were +“expression.” + +“I--I”--she began, with charming hesitation; then suddenly, “What's your +name?” + +“Leonidas.” + +“Leonidas! That's a pretty name!” He thought it DID sound pretty. “Well, +Leonidas, I want you to be a good boy and do a great favor for me,--a +very great favor.” + +Leonidas's face fell. This kind of prelude and formula was familiar to +him. It was usually followed by, “Promise me that you will never swear +again,” or, “that you will go straight home and wash your face,” or some +other irrelevant personality. But nobody with that sort of eyes had ever +said it. So he said, a little shyly but sincerely, “Yes, ma'am.” + +“You are going to the post-office?” + +This seemed a very foolish, womanish question, seeing that he was +holding letters in his hand; but he said, “Yes.” + +“I want you to put a letter of mine among yours and post them all +together,” she said, putting one little hand to her bosom and drawing +out a letter. He noticed that she purposely held the addressed side so +that he could not see it, but he also noticed that her hand was +small, thin, and white, even to a faint tint of blue in it, unlike +his sister's, the baby's, or any other hand he had ever seen. “Can you +read?” she said suddenly, withdrawing the letter. + +The boy flushed slightly at the question. “Of course I can,” he said +proudly. + +“Of course, certainly,” she repeated quickly; “but,” she added, with +a mischievous smile, “you mustn't NOW! Promise me! Promise me that you +won't read this address, but just post the letter, like one of your own, +in the letter-box with the others.” + +Leonidas promised readily; it seemed to him a great fuss about nothing; +perhaps it was some kind of game or a bet. He opened his sunburnt hand, +holding his own letters, and she slipped hers, face downward, between +them. Her soft fingers touched his in the operation, and seemed to leave +a pleasant warmth behind them. + +“Promise me another thing,” she added; “promise me you won't say a word +of this to any one.” + +“Of course!” said Leonidas. + +“That's a good boy, and I know you will keep your word.” She hesitated +a moment, smilingly and tentatively, and then held out a bright +half-dollar. Leonidas backed from the fence. “I'd rather not,” he said +shyly. + +“But as a present from ME?” + +Leonidas colored--he was really proud; and he was also bright enough to +understand that the possession of such unbounded wealth would provoke +dangerous inquiry at home. But he didn't like to say it, and only +replied, “I can't.” + +She looked at him curiously. “Then--thank you,” she said, offering her +white hand, which felt like a bird in his. “Now run on, and don't let +me keep you any longer.” She drew back from the fence as she spoke, and +waved him a pretty farewell. Leonidas, half sorry, half relieved, darted +away. + +He ran to the post-office, which he never had done before. Loyally he +never looked at her letter, nor, indeed, at his own again, swinging +the hand that held them far from his side. He entered the post-office +directly, going at once to the letter-box and depositing the precious +missive with the others. The post-office was also the “country store,” + and Leonidas was in the habit of still further protracting his errands +there by lingering in that stimulating atmosphere of sugar, cheese, and +coffee. But to-day his stay was brief, so transitory that the postmaster +himself inferred audibly that “old man Boone must have been tanning Lee +with a hickory switch.” But the simple reason was that Leonidas wished +to go back to the stockade fence and the fair stranger, if haply she +was still there. His heart sank as, breathless with unwonted haste, he +reached the clearing and the empty buckeye shade. He walked slowly and +with sad diffidence by the deserted stockade fence. But presently his +quick eye discerned a glint of white among the laurels near the house. +It was SHE, walking with apparent indifference away from him towards the +corner of the clearing and the road. But this he knew would bring her +to the end of the stockade fence, where he must pass--and it did. She +turned to him with a bright smile of affected surprise. “Why, you're as +swift-footed as Mercury!” + +Leonidas understood her perfectly. Mercury was the other name for +quicksilver--and that was lively, you bet! He had often spilt some on +the floor to see it move. She must be awfully cute to have noticed it +too--cuter than his sisters. He was quite breathless with pleasure. + +“I put your letter in the box all right,” he burst out at last. + +“Without any one seeing it?” she asked. + +“Sure pop! nary one! The postmaster stuck out his hand to grab it, but I +just let on that I didn't see him, and shoved it in myself.” + +“You're as sharp as you're good,” she said smilingly. “Now, there's just +ONE thing more I want you to do. Forget all about this--won't you?” + +Her voice was very caressing. Perhaps that was why he said boldly: “Yes, +ma'am, all except YOU.” + +“Dear me, what a compliment! How old are you?” + +“Goin' on fifteen,” said Leonidas confidently. + +“And going very fast,” said the lady mischievously. “Well, then, you +needn't forget ME. On the contrary,” she added, after looking at him +curiously, “I would rather you'd remember me. Good-by--or, rather, +good-afternoon--if I'm to be remembered, Leon.” + +“Good-afternoon, ma'am.” + +She moved away, and presently disappeared among the laurels. But her +last words were ringing in his ears. “Leon”--everybody else called him +“Lee” for brevity; “Leon”--it was pretty as she said it. + +He turned away. But it so chanced that their parting was not to pass +unnoticed, for, looking up the hill, Leonidas perceived his elder sister +and little brother coming down the road, and knew that they must have +seen him from the hilltop. It was like their “snoopin'”! + +They ran to him eagerly. + +“You were talking to the stranger,” said his sister breathlessly. + +“She spoke to me first,” said Leonidas, on the defensive. + +“What did she say?” + +“Wanted to know the eleckshun news,” said Leonidas with cool mendacity, +“and I told her.” + +This improbable fiction nevertheless satisfied them. “What was she like? +Oh, do tell us, Lee!” continued his sister. + +Nothing would have delighted him more than to expatiate upon her +loveliness, the soft white beauty of her hands, the “cunning” little +puckers around her lips, her bright tender eyes, the angelic texture +of her robes, and the musical tinkle of her voice. But Leonidas had no +confidant, and what healthy boy ever trusted his sister in such matter! +“YOU saw what she was like,” he said, with evasive bluntness. + +“But, Lee”-- + +But Lee was adamant. “Go and ask her,” he said. + +“Like as not you were sassy to her, and she shut you up,” said his +sister artfully. But even this cruel suggestion, which he could have so +easily flouted, did not draw him, and his ingenious relations flounced +disgustedly away. + +But Leonidas was not spared any further allusion to the fair stranger; +for the fact of her having spoken to him was duly reported at home, and +at dinner his reticence was again sorely attacked. “Just like her, in +spite of all her airs and graces, to hang out along the fence like any +ordinary hired girl, jabberin' with anybody that went along the road,” + said his mother incisively. He knew that she didn't like her new +neighbors, so this did not surprise nor greatly pain him. Neither did +the prosaic facts that were now first made plain to him. His divinity +was a Mrs. Burroughs, whose husband was conducting a series of mining +operations, and prospecting with a gang of men on the Casket Ridge. +As his duty required his continual presence there, Mrs. Burroughs was +forced to forego the civilized pleasures of San Francisco for a frontier +life, for which she was ill fitted, and in which she had no interest. +All this was a vague irrelevance to Leonidas, who knew her only as a +goddess in white who had been familiar to him, and kind, and to whom he +was tied by the delicious joy of having a secret in common, and having +done her a special favor. Healthy youth clings to its own impressions, +let reason, experience, and even facts argue ever to the contrary. + +So he kept her secret and his intact, and was rewarded a few days +afterwards by a distant view of her walking in the garden, with a man +whom he recognized as her husband. It is needless to say that, without +any extraneous thought, the man suffered in Leonidas's estimation by his +propinquity to the goddess, and that he deemed him vastly inferior. + +It was a still greater reward to his fidelity that she seized an +opportunity when her husband's head was turned to wave her hand to him. +Leonidas did not approach the fence, partly through shyness and partly +through a more subtle instinct that this man was not in the secret. He +was right, for only the next day, as he passed to the post-office, she +called him to the fence. + +“Did you see me wave my hand to you yesterday?” she asked pleasantly. + +“Yes, ma'am; but”--he hesitated--“I didn't come up, for I didn't think +you wanted me when any one else was there.” + +She laughed merrily, and lifting his straw hat from his head, ran the +fingers of the other hand through his damp curls. “You're the brightest, +dearest boy I ever knew, Leon,” she said, dropping her pretty face to +the level of his own, “and I ought to have remembered it. But I +don't mind telling you I was dreadfully frightened lest you might +misunderstand me and come and ask for another letter--before HIM.” As +she emphasized the personal pronoun, her whole face seemed to change: +the light of her blue eyes became mere glittering points, her nostrils +grew white and contracted, and her pretty little mouth seemed to narrow +into a straight cruel line, like a cat's. “Not a word ever to HIM, +of all men! Do you hear?” she said almost brusquely. Then, seeing the +concern in the boy's face, she laughed, and added explanatorily: “He's a +bad, bad man, Leon, remember that.” + +The fact that she was speaking of her husband did not shock the boy's +moral sense in the least. The sacredness of those relations, and even of +blood kinship, is, I fear, not always so clear to the youthful mind as +we fondly imagine. That Mr. Burroughs was a bad man to have excited +this change in this lovely woman was Leonidas's only conclusion. He +remembered how his sister's soft, pretty little kitten, purring on her +lap, used to get its back up and spit at the postmaster's yellow hound. + +“I never wished to come unless you called me first,” he said frankly. + +“What?” she said, in her half playful, half reproachful, but wholly +caressing way. “You mean to say you would never come to see me unless I +sent for you? Oh, Leon! and you'd abandon me in that way?” + +But Leonidas was set in his own boyish superstition. “I'd just delight +in being sent for by you any time, Mrs. Burroughs, and you kin always +find me,” he said shyly, but doggedly; “but”--He stopped. + +“What an opinionated young gentleman! Well, I see I must do all the +courting. So consider that I sent for you this morning. I've got another +letter for you to mail.” She put her hand to her breast, and out of the +pretty frillings of her frock produced, as before, with the same faint +perfume of violets, a letter like the first. But it was unsealed. “Now, +listen, Leon; we are going to be great friends--you and I.” Leonidas +felt his cheeks glowing. “You are going to do me another great favor, +and we are going to have a little fun and a great secret all by our own +selves. Now, first, have you any correspondent--you know--any one who +writes to you--any boy or girl--from San Francisco?” + +Leonidas's cheeks grew redder--alas! from a less happy consciousness. He +never received any letters; nobody ever wrote to him. He was obliged to +make this shameful admission. + +Mrs. Burroughs looked thoughtful. “But you have some friend in San +Francisco--some one who MIGHT write to you?” she suggested pleasantly. + +“I knew a boy once who went to San Francisco,” said Leonidas doubtfully. +“At least, he allowed he was goin' there.” + +“That will do,” said Mrs. Burroughs. “I suppose your parents know him or +of him?” + +“Why,” said Leonidas, “he used to live here.” + +“Better still. For, you see, it wouldn't be strange if he DID write. +What was the gentleman's name?” + +“Jim Belcher,” returned Leonidas hesitatingly, by no means sure that the +absent Belcher knew how to write. Mrs. Burroughs took a tiny pencil from +her belt, opened the letter she was holding in her hand, and apparently +wrote the name in it. Then she folded it and sealed it, smiling +charmingly at Leonidas's puzzled face. + +“Now, Leon, listen; for here is the favor I am asking. Mr. Jim +Belcher”--she pronounced the name with great gravity--“will write to you +in a few days. But inside of YOUR letter will be a little note to me, +which you will bring me. You can show your letter to your family, if +they want to know who it is from; but no one must see MINE. Can you +manage that?” + +“Yes,” said Leonidas. Then, as the whole idea flashed upon his quick +intelligence, he smiled until he showed his dimples. Mrs. Burroughs +leaned forward over the fence, lifted his torn straw hat, and dropped +a fluttering little kiss on his forehead. It seemed to the boy, flushed +and rosy as a maid, as if she had left a shining star there for every +one to see. + +“Don't smile like that, Leon, you're positively irresistible! It will be +a nice little game, won't it? Nobody in it but you and me--and Belcher! +We'll outwit them yet. And, you see, you'll be obliged to come to me, +after all, without my asking.” + +They both laughed; indeed, quite a dimpled, bright-eyed, rosy, innocent +pair, though I think Leonidas was the more maidenly. + +“And,” added Leonidas, with breathless eagerness, “I can sometimes write +to--to--Jim, and inclose your letter.” + +“Angel of wisdom! certainly. Well, now, let's see--have you got any +letters for the post to-day?” He colored again, for in anticipation of +meeting her he had hurried up the family post that morning. He held out +his letters: she thrust her own among them. “Now,” she said, laying her +cool, soft hand against his hot cheek, “run along, dear; you must not be +seen loitering here.” + +Leonidas ran off, buoyed up on ambient air. It seemed just like a +fairy-book. Here he was, the confidant of the most beautiful creature he +had seen, and there was a mysterious letter coming to him--Leonidas--and +no one to know why. And now he had a “call” to see her often; she would +not forget him--he needn't loiter by the fencepost to see if she wanted +him--and his boyish pride and shyness were appeased. There was no +question of moral ethics raised in Leonidas's mind; he knew that it +would not be the real Jim Belcher who would write to him, but that made +the prospect the more attractive. Nor did another circumstance trouble +his conscience. When he reached the post-office, he was surprised to see +the man whom he knew to be Mr. Burroughs talking with the postmaster. +Leonidas brushed by him and deposited his letters in the box in +discreet triumph. The postmaster was evidently officially resenting some +imputation on his carelessness, and, concluding his defense, “No, sir,” + he said, “you kin bet your boots that ef any letter hez gone astray for +you or your wife--Ye said your wife, didn't ye?” + +“Yes,” said Burroughs hastily, with a glance around the shop. + +“Well, for you or anybody at your house--it ain't here that's the fault. +You hear me! I know every letter that comes in and goes outer this +office, I reckon, and handle 'em all,”--Leonidas pricked up his +ears,--“and if anybody oughter know, it's me. Ye kin paste that in your +hat, Mr. Burroughs.” Burroughs, apparently disconcerted by the intrusion +of a third party--Leonidas--upon what was evidently a private inquiry, +murmured something surlily, and passed out. + +Leonidas was puzzled. That big man seemed to be “snoopin'” around for +something! He knew that he dared not touch the letter-bag,--Leonidas had +heard somewhere that it was a deadly crime to touch any letters after +the Government had got hold of them once, and he had no fears for the +safety of hers. But ought he not go back at once and tell her about +her husband's visit, and the alarming fact that the postmaster was +personally acquainted with all the letters? He instantly saw, too, the +wisdom of her inclosing her letter hereafter in another address. Yet he +finally resolved not to tell her to-day,--it would look like “hanging +round” again; and--another secret reason--he was afraid that any +allusion to her husband's interference would bring back that change +in her beautiful face which he did not like. The better to resist +temptation, he went back another way. + +It must not be supposed that, while Leonidas indulged in this secret +passion for the beautiful stranger, it was to the exclusion of his +boyish habits. It merely took the place of his intellectual visions and +his romantic reading. He no longer carried books in his pocket on his +lazy rambles. What were mediaeval legends of high-born ladies and their +pages to this real romance of himself and Mrs. Burroughs? What were the +exploits of boy captains and juvenile trappers and the Indian maidens +and Spanish senoritas to what was now possible to himself and his +divinity here--upon Casket Ridge! The very ground around her was now +consecrated to romance and adventure. Consequently, he visited a +few traps on his way back which he had set for “jackass-rabbits” and +wildcats,--the latter a vindictive reprisal for aggression upon an +orphan brood of mountain quail which he had taken under his protection. +For, while he nourished a keen love of sport, it was controlled by a +boy's larger understanding of nature: a pantheistic sympathy with +man and beast and plant, which made him keenly alive to the strange +cruelties of creation, revealed to him some queer animal feuds, and made +him a chivalrous partisan of the weaker. He had even gone out of his way +to defend, by ingenious contrivances of his own, the hoard of a golden +squirrel and the treasures of some wild bees from a predatory bear, +although it did not prevent him later from capturing the squirrel by an +equally ingenious contrivance, and from eventually eating some of the +honey. + +He was late home that evening. But this was “vacation,”--the district +school was closed, and but for the household “chores,” which occupied +his early mornings, each long summer day was a holiday. So two or three +passed; and then one morning, on his going to the post-office, the +postmaster threw down upon the counter a real and rather bulky letter, +duly stamped, and addressed to Mr. Leonidas Boone! Leonidas was too +discreet to open it before witnesses, but in the solitude of the +trail home broke the seal. It contained another letter with no +address--clearly the one SHE expected--and, more marvelous still, a +sheaf of trout-hooks, with delicate gut-snells such as Leonidas had +only dared to dream of. The letter to himself was written in a clear, +distinct hand, and ran as follows:-- + + +DEAR LEE,--How are you getting on on old Casket Ridge? It seems a coon's +age since you and me was together, and times I get to think I must just +run up and see you! We're having bully times in 'Frisco, you bet! though +there ain't anything wild worth shucks to go to see--'cept the sea +lions at the Cliff House. They're just stunning--big as a grizzly, and +bigger--climbing over a big rock or swimming in the sea like an otter or +muskrat. I'm sending you some snells and hooks, such as you can't get at +Casket. Use the fine ones for pot-holes and the bigger ones for running +water or falls. Let me know when you've got 'em. Write to Lock Box No. +1290. That's where dad's letters come. So no more at present. + +From yours truly, + +JIM BELCHER. + + +Not only did Leonidas know that this was not from the real Jim, but he +felt the vague contact of a new, charming, and original personality +that fascinated him. Of course, it was only natural that one of HER +friends--as he must be--should be equally delightful. There was no +jealousy in Leonidas's devotion; he knew only a joy in this fellowship +of admiration for her which he was satisfied that the other boy must +feel. And only the right kind of boy could know the importance of +his ravishing gift, and this Jim was evidently “no slouch”! Yet, in +Leonidas's new joy he did not forget HER! He ran back to the stockade +fence and lounged upon the road in view of the house, but she did not +appear. + +Leonidas lingered on the top of the hill, ostentatiously examining a +young hickory for a green switch, but to no effect. Then it suddenly +occurred to him that she might be staying in purposely, and, perhaps +a little piqued by her indifference, he ran off. There was a mountain +stream hard by, now dwindled in the summer drouth to a mere trickling +thread among the boulders, and there was a certain “pot-hole” that he +had long known. It was the lurking-place of a phenomenal trout,--an +almost historic fish in the district, which had long resisted the +attempt of such rude sportsmen as miners, or even experts like himself. +Few had seen it, except as a vague, shadowy bulk in the four feet of +depth and gloom in which it hid; only once had Leonidas's quick eye +feasted on its fair proportions. On that memorable occasion Leonidas, +having exhausted every kind of lure of painted fly and living bait, +was rising from his knees behind the bank, when a pink five-cent stamp +dislodged from his pocket fluttered in the air, and descended slowly +upon the still pool. Horrified at his loss, Leonidas leaned over to +recover it, when there was a flash like lightning in the black depths, a +dozen changes of light and shadow on the surface, a little whirling wave +splashing against the side of the rock, and the postage stamp was gone. +More than that--for one instant the trout remained visible, stationary +and expectant! Whether it was the instinct of sport, or whether the fish +had detected a new, subtle, and original flavor in the gum and paper, +Leonidas never knew. Alas! he had not another stamp; he was obliged to +leave the fish, but carried a brilliant idea away with him. Ever since +then he had cherished it--and another extra stamp in his pocket. And +now, with this strong but gossamer-like snell, this new hook, and this +freshly cut hickory rod, he would make the trial! + +But fate was against him! He had scarcely descended the narrow trail to +the pine-fringed margin of the stream before his quick ear detected an +unusual rustling through the adjacent underbrush, and then a voice that +startled him! It was HERS! In an instant all thought of sport had fled. +With a beating heart, half opened lips, and uplifted lashes, Leonidas +awaited the coming of his divinity like a timorous virgin at her first +tryst. + +But Mrs. Burroughs was clearly not in an equally responsive mood. With +her fair face reddened by the sun, the damp tendrils of her unwound hair +clinging to her forehead, and her smart little slippers red with dust, +there was also a querulous light in her eyes, and a still more querulous +pinch in her nostrils, as she stood panting before him. + +“You tiresome boy!” she gasped, holding one little hand to her side as +she gripped her brambled skirt around her ankles with the other. “Why +didn't you wait? Why did you make me run all this distance after you?” + +Leonidas timidly and poignantly protested. He had waited before the +house and on the hill; he thought she didn't want him. + +“Couldn't you see that THAT MAN kept me in?” she went on peevishly. +“Haven't you sense enough to know that he suspects something, and +follows me everywhere, dogging my footsteps every time the post comes +in, and even going to the post-office himself, to make sure that he sees +all my letters? Well,” she added impatiently, “have you anything for me? +Why don't you speak?” + +Crushed and remorseful, Leonidas produced her letter. She almost +snatched it from his hand, opened it, read a few lines, and her face +changed. A smile strayed from her eyes to her lips, and back again. +Leonidas's heart was lifted; she was so forgiving and so beautiful! + +“Is he a boy, Mrs. Burroughs?” asked Leonidas shyly. + +“Well--not exactly,” she said, her charming face all radiant again. +“He's older than you. What has he written to you?” + +Leonidas put his letter in her hand for reply. + +“I wish I could see him, you know,” he said shyly. “That letter's +bully--it's just rats! I like him pow'ful.” + +Mrs. Burroughs had skimmed through the letter, but not interestedly. + +“You mustn't like him more than you like me,” she said laughingly, +caressing him with her voice and eyes, and even her straying hand. + +“I couldn't do that! I never could like anybody as I like you,” said. +Leonidas gravely. There was such appalling truthfulness in the boy's +voice and frankly opened eyes that the woman could not evade it, and +was slightly disconcerted. But she presently started up with a vexatious +cry. “There's that wretch following me again, I do believe,” she said, +staring at the hilltop. “Yes! Look, Leon, he's turning to come down this +trail. What's to be done? He mustn't see me here!” + +Leonidas looked. It was indeed Mr. Burroughs; but he was evidently +only taking a short cut towards the Ridge, where his men were working. +Leonidas had seen him take it before. But it was the principal trail on +the steep hillside, and they must eventually meet. A man might evade +it by scrambling through the brush to a lower and rougher trail; but a +woman, never! But an idea had seized Leonidas. “I can stop him,” he said +confidently to her. “You just lie low here behind that rock till I come +back. He hasn't seen you yet.” + +She had barely time to draw back before Leonidas darted down the trail +towards her husband. Yet, in her intense curiosity, she leaned out +the next moment to watch him. He paused at last, not far from the +approaching figure, and seemed to kneel down on the trail. What was he +doing? Her husband was still slowly advancing. Suddenly he stopped. At +the same moment she heard their two voices in excited parley, and then, +to her amazement, she saw her husband scramble hurriedly down the trail +to the lower level, and with an occasional backward glance, hasten away +until he had passed beyond her view. + +She could scarcely realize her narrow escape when Leonidas stood by her +side. “How did you do it?” she said eagerly. + +“With a rattler!” said the boy gravely. + +“With a what?” + +“A rattlesnake--pizen snake, you know.” + +“A rattlesnake?” she said, staring at Leonidas with a quick snatching +away of her skirts. + +The boy, who seemed to have forgotten her in his other abstraction of +adventure, now turned quickly, with devoted eyes and a reassuring smile. + +“Yes; but I wouldn't let him hurt you,” he said gently. + +“But what did you DO?” + +He looked at her curiously. “You won't be frightened if I show you?” he +said doubtfully. “There's nothin' to be afeerd of s'long as you're with +me,” he added proudly. + +“Yes--that is”--she stammered, and then, her curiosity getting the +better of her fear, she added in a whisper: “Show me quick!” + +He led the way up the narrow trail until he stopped where he had knelt +before. It was a narrow, sunny ledge of rock, scarcely wide enough for +a single person to pass. He silently pointed to a cleft in the rock, and +kneeling down again, began to whistle in a soft, fluttering way. There +was a moment of suspense, and then she was conscious of an awful gliding +something,--a movement so measured yet so exquisitely graceful that she +stood enthralled. A narrow, flattened, expressionless head was followed +by a footlong strip of yellow-barred scales; then there was a pause, and +the head turned, in a beautifully symmetrical half-circle, towards the +whistler. The whistling ceased; the snake, with half its body out of the +cleft, remained poised in air as if stiffened to stone. + +“There,” said Leonidas quietly, “that's what Mr. Burroughs saw, and +that's WHY he scooted off the trail. I just called out William Henry,--I +call him William Henry, and he knows his name,--and then I sang out to +Mr. Burroughs what was up; and it was lucky I did, for the next moment +he'd have been on top of him and have been struck, for rattlers don't +give way to any one.” + +“Oh, why didn't you let”--She stopped herself quickly, but could not +stop the fierce glint in her eye nor the sharp curve in her nostril. +Luckily, Leonidas did not see this, being preoccupied with his other +graceful charmer, William Henry. + +“But how did you know it was here?” said Mrs. Burroughs, recovering +herself. + +“Fetched him here,” said Leonidas briefly. + +“What in your hands?” she said, drawing back. + +“No! made him follow! I HAVE handled him, but it was after I'd first +made him strike his pizen out upon a stick. Ye know, after he strikes +four times he ain't got any pizen left. Then ye kin do anythin' with +him, and he knows it. He knows me, you bet! I've bin three months +trainin' him. Look! Don't be frightened,” he said, as Mrs. Burroughs +drew hurriedly back; “see him mind me. Now scoot home, William Henry.” + +He accompanied the command with a slow, dominant movement of the hickory +rod he was carrying. The snake dropped its head, and slid noiselessly +out of the cleft across the trail and down the hill. + +“Thinks my rod is witch-hazel, which rattlers can't abide,” continued +Leonidas, dropping into a boy's breathless abbreviated speech. “Lives +down your way--just back of your farm. Show ye some day. Suns himself on +a flat stone every day--always cold--never can get warm. Eh?” + +She had not spoken, but was gazing into space with a breathless rigidity +of attitude and a fixed look in her eye, not unlike the motionless orbs +of the reptile that had glided away. + +“Does anybody else know you keep him?” she asked. + +“Nary one. I never showed him to anybody but you,” replied the boy. + +“Don't! You must show me where he hides to-morrow,” she said, in her old +laughing way. “And now, Leon, I must go back to the house.” + +“May I write to him--to Jim Belcher, Mrs. Burroughs?” said the boy +timidly. + +“Certainly. And come to me to-morrow with your letter--I will have mine +ready. Good-by.” She stopped and glanced at the trail. “And you say that +if that man had kept on, the snake would have bitten him?” + +“Sure pop!--if he'd trod on him--as he was sure to. The snake wouldn't +have known he didn't mean it. It's only natural,” continued Leonidas, +with glowing partisanship for the gentle and absent William Henry. “YOU +wouldn't like to be trodden upon, Mrs. Burroughs!” + +“No! I'd strike out!” she said quickly. She made a rapid motion forward +with her low forehead and level head, leaving it rigid the next moment, +so that it reminded him of the snake, and he laughed. At which she +laughed too, and tripped away. + +Leonidas went back and caught his trout. But even this triumph did not +remove a vague sense of disappointment which had come over him. He had +often pictured to himself a Heaven-sent meeting with her in the woods, +a walk with her, alone, where he could pick her the rarest flowers and +herbs and show her his woodland friends; and it had only ended in this, +and an exhibition of William Henry! He ought to have saved HER from +something, and not her husband. Yet he had no ill-feeling for Burroughs, +only a desire to circumvent him, on behalf of the unprotected, as he +would have baffled a hawk or a wildcat. He went home in dismal spirits, +but later that evening constructed a boyish letter of thanks to the +apocryphal Belcher and told him all about--the trout! + +He brought her his letter the next day, and received hers to inclose. +She was pleasant, her own charming self again, but she seemed more +interested in other things than himself, as, for instance, the docile +William Henry, whose hiding-place he showed, and whose few tricks she +made him exhibit to her, and which the gratified Leonidas accepted as a +delicate form of flattery to himself. But his yearning, innocent spirit +detected a something lacking, which he was too proud to admit even to +himself. It was his own fault; he ought to have waited for her, and not +gone for the trout! + +So a fortnight passed with an interchange of the vicarious letters, and +brief, hopeful, and disappointing meetings to Leonidas. To add to his +unhappiness, he was obliged to listen to sneering disparagement of his +goddess from his family, and criticisms which, happily, his innocence +did not comprehend. It was his own mother who accused her of shamefully +“making up” to the good-looking expressman at church last Sunday, and +declared that Burroughs ought to “look after that wife of his,”--two +statements which the simple Leonidas could not reconcile. He had seen +the incident, and only thought her more lovely than ever. Why should not +the expressman think so too? And yet the boy was not happy; something +intruded upon his sports, upon his books, making them dull and vapid, +and yet that something was she! He grew pale and preoccupied. If he had +only some one in whom to confide--some one who could explain his hopes +and fears. That one was nearer than he thought! + +It was quite three weeks since the rattlesnake incident, and he was +wandering moodily over Casket Ridge. He was near the Casket, that abrupt +upheaval of quartz and gneiss, shaped like a coffer, from which the +mountain took its name. It was a favorite haunt of Leonidas, one of +whose boyish superstitions was that it contained a treasure of gold, and +one of whose brightest dreams had been that he should yet discover it. +This he did not do to-day, but looking up from the rocks that he was +listlessly examining, he made the almost as thrilling discovery that +near him on the trail was a distinguished-looking stranger. + +He was bestriding a shapely mustang, which well became his handsome +face and slight, elegant figure, and he was looking at Leonidas with +an amused curiosity and a certain easy assurance that were difficult to +withstand. It was with the same fascinating self-confidence of smile, +voice, and manner that he rode up to the boy, and leaning lightly over +his saddle, said with exaggerated politeness: “I believe I have the +pleasure of addressing Mr. Leonidas Boone?” + +The rising color in Leonidas's face was apparently a sufficient +answer to the stranger, for he continued smilingly, “Then permit me to +introduce myself as Mr. James Belcher. As you perceive, I have grown +considerably since you last saw me. In fact, I've done nothing else. +It's surprising what a fellow can do when he sets his mind on one thing. +And then, you know, they're always telling you that San Francisco is a +'growing place.' That accounts for it!” + +Leonidas, dazed, dazzled, but delighted, showed all his white teeth in a +shy laugh. At which the enchanting stranger leaped from his horse like +a very boy, drew his arm through the rein, and going up to Leonidas, +lifted the boy's straw hat from his head and ran his fingers through his +curls. There was nothing original in that--everybody did that to him as +a preliminary to conversation. But when this ingenuous fine gentleman +put his own Panama hat on Leonidas's head, and clapped Leonidas's torn +straw on his own, and, passing his arm through the boy's, began to walk +on with him, Leonidas's simple heart went out to him at once. + +“And now, Leon,” said the delightful stranger, “let's you and me have +a talk. There's a nice cool spot under these laurels; I'll stake out +Pepita, and we'll just lie off there and gab, and not care if school +keeps or not.” + +“But you know you ain't really Jim Belcher,” said the boy shyly. + +“I'm as good a man as he is any day, whoever I am,” said the stranger, +with humorous defiance, “and can lick him out of his boots, whoever HE +is. That ought to satisfy you. But if you want my certificate, here's +your own letter, old man,” he said, producing Leonidas's last scrawl +from his pocket. + +“And HERS?” said the boy cautiously. + +The stranger's face changed a little. “And HERS,” he repeated gravely, +showing a little pink note which Leonidas recognized as one of Mrs. +Burroughs's inclosures. The boy was silent until they reached the +laurels, where the stranger tethered his horse and then threw himself +in an easy attitude beneath the tree, with the back of his head upon his +clasped hands. Leonidas could see his curved brown mustaches and silky +lashes that were almost as long, and thought him the handsomest man he +had ever beheld. + +“Well, Leon,” said the stranger, stretching himself out comfortably and +pulling the boy down beside him, “how are things going on the Casket? +All serene, eh?” + +The inquiry so dismally recalled Leonidas's late feelings that his face +clouded, and he involuntarily sighed. The stranger instantly shifted his +head and gazed curiously at him. Then he took the boy's sunburnt hand in +his own, and held it a moment. “Well, go on,” he said. + +“Well, Mr.--Mr.--I can't go on--I won't!” said Leonidas, with a sudden +fit of obstinacy. “I don't know what to call you.” + +“Call me 'Jack'--'Jack Hamlin' when you're not in a hurry. Ever heard of +me before?” he added, suddenly turning his head towards Leonidas. + +The boy shook his head. “No.” + +Mr. Jack Hamlin lifted his lashes in affected expostulation to the +skies. “And this is Fame!” he murmured audibly. + +But this Leonidas did not comprehend. Nor could he understand why the +stranger, who clearly must have come to see HER, should not ask about +her, should not rush to seek her, but should lie back there all the +while so contentedly on the grass. HE wouldn't. He half resented it, and +then it occurred to him that this fine gentleman was like himself--shy. +Who could help being so before such an angel? HE would help him on. + +And so, shyly at first, but bit by bit emboldened by a word or two from +Jack, he began to talk of her--of her beauty--of her kindness--of his +own unworthiness--of what she had said and done--until, finding in this +gracious stranger the vent his pent-up feelings so long had sought, he +sang then and there the little idyl of his boyish life. He told of his +decline in her affections after his unpardonable sin in keeping her +waiting while he went for the trout, and added the miserable mistake of +the rattlesnake episode. “For it was a mistake, Mr. Hamlin. I oughtn't +to have let a lady like that know anything about snakes--just because I +happen to know them.” + +“It WAS an awful slump, Lee,” said Hamlin gravely. “Get a woman and +a snake together--and where are you? Think of Adam and Eve and the +serpent, you know.” + +“But it wasn't that way,” said the boy earnestly. “And I want to tell +you something else that's just makin' me sick, Mr. Hamlin. You know I +told you William Henry lives down at the bottom of Burroughs's garden, +and how I showed Mrs. Burroughs his tricks! Well, only two days ago I +was down there looking for him, and couldn't find him anywhere. There's +a sort of narrow trail from the garden to the hill, a short cut up to +the Ridge, instead o' going by their gate. It's just the trail any one +would take in a hurry, or if they didn't want to be seen from the road. +Well! I was looking this way and that for William Henry, and whistlin' +for him, when I slipped on to the trail. There, in the middle of it, was +an old bucket turned upside down--just the thing a man would kick away +or a woman lift up. Well, Mr. Hamlin, I kicked it away, and”--the boy +stopped, with rounded eyes and bated breath, and added--“I just had time +to give one jump and save myself! For under that pail, cramped down so +he couldn't get out, and just bilin' over with rage, and chockful of +pizen, was William Henry! If it had been anybody else less spry, they'd +have got bitten,--and that's just what the sneak who put it there knew.” + +Mr. Hamlin uttered an exclamation under his breath, and rose to his +feet. + +“What did you say?” asked the boy quickly. + +“Nothing,” said Mr. Hamlin. + +But it had sounded to Leonidas like an oath. + +Mr. Hamlin walked a few steps, as if stretching his limbs, and then +said: “And you think Burroughs would have been bitten?” + +“Why, no!” said Leonidas in astonished indignation; “of course not--not +BURROUGHS. It would have been poor MRS. Burroughs. For, of course, HE +set that trap for her--don't you see? Who else would do it?” + +“Of course, of course! Certainly,” said Mr. Hamlin coolly. “Of course, +as you say, HE set the trap--yes--you just hang on to that idea.” + +But something in Mr. Hamlin's manner, and a peculiar look in his eye, +did not satisfy Leonidas. “Are you going to see her now?” he said +eagerly. “I can show you the house, and then run in and tell her you're +outside in the laurels.” + +“Not just yet,” said Mr. Hamlin, laying his hand on the boy's head +after having restored his own hat. “You see, I thought of giving her a +surprise. A big surprise!” he added slowly. After a pause, he went on: +“Did you tell her what you had seen?” + +“Of course I did,” said Leonidas reproachfully. “Did you think I was +going to let her get bit? It might have killed her.” + +“And it might not have been an unmixed pleasure for William Henry. I +mean,” said Mr. Hamlin gravely, correcting himself, “YOU would never +have forgiven him. But what did she say?” + +The boy's face clouded. “She thanked me and said it was very +thoughtful--and kind--though it might have been only an accident”--he +stammered--“and then she said perhaps I was hanging round and coming +there a little too much lately, and that as Burroughs was very watchful, +I'd better quit for two or three days.” The tears were rising to his +eyes, but by putting his two clenched fists into his pockets, he managed +to hold them down. Perhaps Mr. Hamlin's soft hand on his head assisted +him. Mr. Hamlin took from his pocket a notebook, and tearing out a leaf, +sat down again and began to write on his knee. After a pause, Leonidas +said,-- + +“Was you ever in love, Mr. Hamlin?” + +“Never,” said Mr. Hamlin, quietly continuing to write. “But, now you +speak of it, it's a long-felt want in my nature that I intend to supply +some day. But not until I've made my pile. And don't YOU either.” He +continued writing, for it was this gentleman's peculiarity to talk +without apparently the slightest concern whether anybody else spoke, +whether he was listened to, or whether his remarks were at all relevant +to the case. Yet he was always listened to for that reason. When he had +finished writing, he folded up the paper, put it in an envelope, and +addressed it. + +“Shall I take it to her?” said Leonidas eagerly. + +“It's not for HER; it's for him--Mr. Burroughs,” said Mr. Hamlin +quietly. + +The boy drew back. “To get him out of the way,” added Hamlin +explanatorily. “When he gets it, lightning wouldn't keep him here. Now, +how to send it,” he said thoughtfully. + +“You might leave it at the post-office,” said Leonidas timidly. “He +always goes there to watch his wife's letters.” + +For the first time in their interview Mr. Hamlin distinctly laughed. + +“Your head is level, Leo, and I'll do it. Now the best thing you can do +is to follow Mrs. Burroughs's advice. Quit going to the house for a day +or two.” He walked towards his horse. The boy's face sank, but he kept +up bravely. “And will I see you again?” he said wistfully. + +Mr. Hamlin lowered his face so near the boy's that Leonidas could see +himself in the brown depths of Mr. Hamlin's eyes. “I hope you will,” + he said gravely. He mounted, shook the boy's hand, and rode away in the +lengthening shadows. Then Leonidas walked sadly home. + +There was no need for him to keep his promise; for the next morning the +family were stirred by the announcement that Mr. and Mrs. Burroughs had +left Casket Ridge that night by the down stage for Sacramento, and that +the house was closed. There were various rumors concerning the reason of +this sudden departure, but only one was persistent, and borne out by +the postmaster. It was that Mr. Burroughs had received that afternoon an +anonymous note that his wife was about to elope with the notorious San +Francisco gambler, Jack Hamlin. + +But Leonidas Boone, albeit half understanding, kept his miserable secret +with a still hopeful and trustful heart. It grieved him a little that +William Henry was found a few days later dead, with his head crushed. +Yet it was not until years later, when he had made a successful +“prospect” on Casket Ridge, that he met Mr. Hamlin in San Francisco, +and knew how he had played the part of Mercury upon that “heaven-kissing +hill.” + + + + +COLONEL STARBOTTLE FOR THE PLAINTIFF + + +It had been a day of triumph for Colonel Starbottle. First, for his +personality, as it would have been difficult to separate the Colonel's +achievements from his individuality; second, for his oratorical +abilities as a sympathetic pleader; and third, for his functions as the +leading legal counsel for the Eureka Ditch Company versus the State of +California. On his strictly legal performances in this issue I prefer +not to speak; there were those who denied them, although the jury had +accepted them in the face of the ruling of the half amused, half cynical +Judge himself. For an hour they had laughed with the Colonel, wept with +him, been stirred to personal indignation or patriotic exaltation by +his passionate and lofty periods,--what else could they do than give him +their verdict? If it was alleged by some that the American eagle, Thomas +Jefferson, and the Resolutions of '98 had nothing whatever to do with +the contest of a ditch company over a doubtfully worded legislative +document; that wholesale abuse of the State Attorney and his political +motives had not the slightest connection with the legal question +raised--it was, nevertheless, generally accepted that the losing party +would have been only too glad to have the Colonel on their side. And +Colonel Starbottle knew this, as, perspiring, florid, and panting, he +rebuttoned the lower buttons of his blue frock-coat, which had become +loosed in an oratorical spasm, and readjusted his old-fashioned, +spotless shirt frill above it as he strutted from the court-room amidst +the handshakings and acclamations of his friends. + +And here an unprecedented thing occurred. The Colonel absolutely +declined spirituous refreshment at the neighboring Palmetto Saloon, +and declared his intention of proceeding directly to his office in the +adjoining square. Nevertheless, the Colonel quitted the building alone, +and apparently unarmed, except for his faithful gold-headed stick, +which hung as usual from his forearm. The crowd gazed after him with +undisguised admiration of this new evidence of his pluck. It was +remembered also that a mysterious note had been handed to him at +the conclusion of his speech,--evidently a challenge from the State +Attorney. It was quite plain that the Colonel--a practiced duelist--was +hastening home to answer it. + +But herein they were wrong. The note was in a female hand, and simply +requested the Colonel to accord an interview with the writer at the +Colonel's office as soon as he left the court. But it was an engagement +that the Colonel--as devoted to the fair sex as he was to the +“code”--was no less prompt in accepting. He flicked away the dust from +his spotless white trousers and varnished boots with his handkerchief, +and settled his black cravat under his Byron collar as he neared his +office. He was surprised, however, on opening the door of his private +office, to find his visitor already there; he was still more startled to +find her somewhat past middle age and plainly attired. But the Colonel +was brought up in a school of Southern politeness, already antique in +the republic, and his bow of courtesy belonged to the epoch of his +shirt frill and strapped trousers. No one could have detected his +disappointment in his manner, albeit his sentences were short +and incomplete. But the Colonel's colloquial speech was apt to be +fragmentary incoherencies of his larger oratorical utterances. + +“A thousand pardons--for--er--having kept a lady waiting--er! +But--er--congratulations of friends--and--er--courtesy due to +them--er--interfered with--though perhaps only heightened--by +procrastination--the pleasure of--ha!” And the Colonel completed his +sentence with a gallant wave of his fat but white and well-kept hand. + +“Yes! I came to see you along o' that speech of yours. I was in court. +When I heard you gettin' it off on that jury, I says to myself, 'That's +the kind o' lawyer I want. A man that's flowery and convincin'! Just the +man to take up our case.” + +“Ah! It's a matter of business, I see,” said the Colonel, inwardly +relieved, but externally careless. “And--er--may I ask the nature of the +case?” + +“Well! it's a breach-o'-promise suit,” said the visitor calmly. + +If the Colonel had been surprised before, he was now really startled, +and with an added horror that required all his politeness to conceal. +Breach-of-promise cases were his peculiar aversion. He had always held +them to be a kind of litigation which could have been obviated by the +prompt killing of the masculine offender--in which case he would have +gladly defended the killer. But a suit for damages,--DAMAGES!--with the +reading of love-letters before a hilarious jury and court, was against +all his instincts. His chivalry was outraged; his sense of humor was +small, and in the course of his career he had lost one or two important +cases through an unexpected development of this quality in a jury. + +The woman had evidently noticed his hesitation, but mistook its cause. +“It ain't me--but my darter.” + +The Colonel recovered his politeness. “Ah! I am relieved, my dear madam! +I could hardly conceive a man ignorant enough to--er--er--throw away +such evident good fortune--or base enough to deceive the trustfulness of +womanhood--matured and experienced only in the chivalry of our sex, ha!” + +The woman smiled grimly. “Yes!--it's my darter, Zaidee Hooker--so ye +might spare some of them pretty speeches for HER--before the jury.” + +The Colonel winced slightly before this doubtful prospect, but smiled. +“Ha! Yes!--certainly--the jury. But--er--my dear lady, need we go as +far as that? Can not this affair be settled--er--out of court? Could +not this--er--individual--be admonished--told that he must +give satisfaction--personal satisfaction--for his dastardly +conduct--to--er--near relative--or even valued personal friend? +The--er--arrangements necessary for that purpose I myself would +undertake.” + +He was quite sincere; indeed, his small black eyes shone with that fire +which a pretty woman or an “affair of honor” could alone kindle. The +visitor stared vacantly at him, and said slowly, “And what good is that +goin' to do US?” + +“Compel him to--er--perform his promise,” said the Colonel, leaning back +in his chair. + +“Ketch him doin' it!” she exclaimed scornfully. “No--that ain't wot +we're after. We must make him PAY! Damages--and nothin' short o' THAT.” + +The Colonel bit his lip. “I suppose,” he said gloomily, “you have +documentary evidence--written promises and protestations--er--er +love-letters, in fact?” + +“No--nary a letter! Ye see, that's jest it--and that's where YOU come +in. You've got to convince that jury yourself. You've got to show what +it is--tell the whole story your own way. Lord! to a man like you that's +nothin'.” + +Startling as this admission might have been to any other lawyer, +Starbottle was absolutely relieved by it. The absence of any +mirth-provoking correspondence, and the appeal solely to his own powers +of persuasion, actually struck his fancy. He lightly put aside the +compliment with a wave of his white hand. + +“Of course,” he said confidently, “there is strongly presumptive and +corroborative evidence? Perhaps you can give me--er--a brief outline of +the affair?” + +“Zaidee kin do that straight enough, I reckon,” said the woman; “what I +want to know first is, kin you take the case?” + +The Colonel did not hesitate; his curiosity was piqued. “I certainly +can. I have no doubt your daughter will put me in possession of +sufficient facts and details--to constitute what we call--er--a brief.” + +“She kin be brief enough--or long enough--for the matter of that,” said +the woman, rising. The Colonel accepted this implied witticism with a +smile. + +“And when may I have the pleasure of seeing her?” he asked politely. + +“Well, I reckon as soon as I can trot out and call her. She's just +outside, meanderin' in the road--kinder shy, ye know, at first.” + +She walked to the door. The astounded Colonel nevertheless gallantly +accompanied her as she stepped out into the street and called shrilly, +“You Zaidee!” + +A young girl here apparently detached herself from a tree and the +ostentatious perusal of an old election poster, and sauntered down +towards the office door. Like her mother, she was plainly dressed; +unlike her, she had a pale, rather refined face, with a demure mouth and +downcast eyes. This was all the Colonel saw as he bowed profoundly and +led the way into his office, for she accepted his salutations without +lifting her head. He helped her gallantly to a chair, on which she +seated herself sideways, somewhat ceremoniously, with her eyes following +the point of her parasol as she traced a pattern on the carpet. A second +chair offered to the mother that lady, however, declined. “I reckon to +leave you and Zaidee together to talk it out,” she said; turning to her +daughter, she added, “Jest you tell him all, Zaidee,” and before the +Colonel could rise again, disappeared from the room. In spite of his +professional experience, Starbottle was for a moment embarrassed. The +young girl, however, broke the silence without looking up. + +“Adoniram K. Hotchkiss,” she began, in a monotonous voice, as if it were +a recitation addressed to the public, “first began to take notice of me +a year ago. Arter that--off and on”-- + +“One moment,” interrupted the astounded Colonel; “do you mean Hotchkiss +the President of the Ditch Company?” He had recognized the name of +a prominent citizen--a rigid, ascetic, taciturn, middle-aged man--a +deacon--and more than that, the head of the company he had just +defended. It seemed inconceivable. + +“That's him,” she continued, with eyes still fixed on the parasol and +without changing her monotonous tone--“off and on ever since. Most +of the time at the Free-Will Baptist Church--at morning service, +prayer-meetings, and such. And at home--outside--er--in the road.” + +“Is it this gentleman--Mr. Adoniram K. Hotchkiss--who--er--promised +marriage?” stammered the Colonel. + +“Yes.” + +The Colonel shifted uneasily in his chair. “Most extraordinary! for--you +see--my dear young lady--this becomes--a--er--most delicate affair.” + +“That's what maw said,” returned the young woman simply, yet with the +faintest smile playing around her demure lips and downcast cheek. + +“I mean,” said the Colonel, with a pained yet courteous smile, “that +this--er--gentleman--is in fact--er--one of my clients.” + +“That's what maw said too, and of course your knowing him will make it +all the easier for you.” + +A slight flush crossed the Colonel's cheek as he returned quickly and a +little stiffly, “On the contrary--er--it may make it impossible for me +to--er--act in this matter.” + +The girl lifted her eyes. The Colonel held his breath as the long lashes +were raised to his level. Even to an ordinary observer that sudden +revelation of her eyes seemed to transform her face with subtle +witchery. They were large, brown, and soft, yet filled with an +extraordinary penetration and prescience. They were the eyes of an +experienced woman of thirty fixed in the face of a child. What else the +Colonel saw there Heaven only knows! He felt his inmost secrets +plucked from him--his whole soul laid bare--his vanity, belligerency, +gallantry--even his mediaeval chivalry, penetrated, and yet illuminated, +in that single glance. And when the eyelids fell again, he felt that a +greater part of himself had been swallowed up in them. + +“I beg your pardon,” he said hurriedly. “I mean--this matter may +be arranged--er--amicably. My interest with--and as you wisely +say--my--er--knowledge of my client--er--Mr. Hotchkiss--may effect--a +compromise.” + +“And DAMAGES,” said the young girl, readdressing her parasol, as if she +had never looked up. + +The Colonel winced. “And--er--undoubtedly COMPENSATION--if you do not +press a fulfillment of the promise. Unless,” he said, with an attempted +return to his former easy gallantry, which, however, the recollection of +her eyes made difficult, “it is a question of--er--the affections.” + +“Which?” asked his fair client softly. + +“If you still love him?” explained the Colonel, actually blushing. + +Zaidee again looked up; again taking the Colonel's breath away with eyes +that expressed not only the fullest perception of what he had SAID, but +of what he thought and had not said, and with an added subtle suggestion +of what he might have thought. “That's tellin',” she said, dropping her +long lashes again. + +The Colonel laughed vacantly. Then feeling himself growing imbecile, he +forced an equally weak gravity. “Pardon me--I understand there are no +letters; may I know the way in which he formulated his declaration and +promises?” + +“Hymn-books.” + +“I beg your pardon,” said the mystified lawyer. + +“Hymn-books--marked words in them with pencil--and passed 'em on to +me,” repeated Zaidee. “Like 'love,' 'dear,' 'precious,' 'sweet,' and +'blessed,'” she added, accenting each word with a push of her parasol on +the carpet. “Sometimes a whole line outer Tate and Brady--and Solomon's +Song, you know, and sich.” + +“I believe,” said the Colonel loftily, “that the--er--phrases of sacred +psalmody lend themselves to the language of the affections. But in +regard to the distinct promise of marriage--was there--er--no OTHER +expression?” + +“Marriage Service in the prayer-book--lines and words outer that--all +marked,” Zaidee replied. + +The Colonel nodded naturally and approvingly. “Very good. Were others +cognizant of this? Were there any witnesses?” + +“Of course not,” said the girl. “Only me and him. It was generally at +church-time--or prayer-meeting. Once, in passing the plate, he slipped +one o' them peppermint lozenges with the letters stamped on it 'I love +you' for me to take.” + +The Colonel coughed slightly. “And you have the lozenge?” + +“I ate it.” + +“Ah,” said the Colonel. After a pause he added delicately, “But were +these attentions--er--confined to--er--sacred precincts? Did he meet you +elsewhere?” + +“Useter pass our house on the road,” returned the girl, dropping into +her monotonous recital, “and useter signal.” + +“Ah, signal?” repeated the Colonel approvingly. + +“Yes! He'd say 'Keerow,' and I'd say 'Keeree.' Suthing like a bird, you +know.” + +Indeed, as she lifted her voice in imitation of the call, the Colonel +thought it certainly very sweet and birdlike. At least as SHE gave +it. With his remembrance of the grim deacon he had doubts as to the +melodiousness of HIS utterance. He gravely made her repeat it. + +“And after that signal?” he added suggestively. + +“He'd pass on.” + +The Colonel again coughed slightly, and tapped his desk with his +penholder. + +“Were there any endearments--er--caresses--er--such as taking your +hand--er--clasping your waist?” he suggested, with a gallant yet +respectful sweep of his white hand and bowing of his head; “er--slight +pressure of your fingers in the changes of a dance--I mean,” he +corrected himself, with an apologetic cough--“in the passing of the +plate?” + +“No; he was not what you'd call 'fond,'” returned the girl. + +“Ah! Adoniram K. Hotchkiss was not 'fond' in the ordinary acceptance of +the word,” noted the Colonel, with professional gravity. + +She lifted her disturbing eyes, and again absorbed his in her own. She +also said “Yes,” although her eyes in their mysterious prescience of all +he was thinking disclaimed the necessity of any answer at all. He smiled +vacantly. There was a long pause. On which she slowly disengaged her +parasol from the carpet pattern, and stood up. + +“I reckon that's about all,” she said. + +“Er--yes--but one moment,” began the Colonel vaguely. He would have +liked to keep her longer, but with her strange premonition of him he +felt powerless to detain her, or explain his reason for doing so. He +instinctively knew she had told him all; his professional judgment told +him that a more hopeless case had never come to his knowledge. Yet he +was not daunted, only embarrassed. “No matter,” he said. “Of course I +shall have to consult with you again.” + +Her eyes again answered that she expected he would, and she added +simply, “When?” + +“In the course of a day or two;” he replied quickly. “I will send you +word.” + +She turned to go. In his eagerness to open the door for her, he upset +his chair, and with some confusion, that was actually youthful, he +almost impeded her movements in the hall, and knocked his broad-brimmed +Panama hat from his bowing hand in a final gallant sweep. Yet as her +small, trim, youthful figure, with its simple Leghorn straw hat confined +by a blue bow under her round chin, passed away before him, she looked +more like a child than ever. + +The Colonel spent that afternoon in making diplomatic inquiries. He +found his youthful client was the daughter of a widow who had a small +ranch on the cross-roads, near the new Free-Will Baptist Church--the +evident theatre of this pastoral. They led a secluded life, the +girl being little known in the town, and her beauty and fascination +apparently not yet being a recognized fact. The Colonel felt a +pleasurable relief at this, and a general satisfaction he could not +account for. His few inquiries concerning Mr. Hotchkiss only confirmed +his own impressions of the alleged lover,--a serious-minded, practically +abstracted man, abstentive of youthful society, and the last man +apparently capable of levity of the affections or serious flirtation. +The Colonel was mystified, but determined of purpose, whatever that +purpose might have been. + +The next day he was at his office at the same hour. He was alone--as +usual--the Colonel's office being really his private lodgings, disposed +in connecting rooms, a single apartment reserved for consultation. +He had no clerk, his papers and briefs being taken by his faithful +body-servant and ex-slave “Jim” to another firm who did his office work +since the death of Major Stryker, the Colonel's only law partner, who +fell in a duel some years previous. With a fine constancy the Colonel +still retained his partner's name on his doorplate, and, it was alleged +by the superstitious, kept a certain invincibility also through the +'manes' of that lamented and somewhat feared man. + +The Colonel consulted his watch, whose heavy gold case still showed +the marks of a providential interference with a bullet destined for its +owner, and replaced it with some difficulty and shortness of breath in +his fob. At the same moment he heard a step in the passage, and the door +opened to Adoniram K. Hotchkiss. The Colonel was impressed; he had a +duelist's respect for punctuality. + +The man entered with a nod and the expectant inquiring look of a busy +man. As his feet crossed that sacred threshold the Colonel became all +courtesy; he placed a chair for his visitor, and took his hat from his +half reluctant hand. He then opened a cupboard and brought out a bottle +of whiskey and two glasses. + +“A--er--slight refreshment, Mr. Hotchkiss,” he suggested politely. + +“I never drink,” replied Hotchkiss, with the severe attitude of a total +abstainer. + +“Ah--er--not the finest Bourbon whiskey, selected by a Kentucky friend? +No? Pardon me! A cigar, then--the mildest Havana.” + +“I do not use tobacco nor alcohol in any form,” repeated Hotchkiss +ascetically. “I have no foolish weaknesses.” + +The Colonel's moist, beady eyes swept silently over his client's sallow +face. He leaned back comfortably in his chair, and half closing his +eyes as in dreamy reminiscence, said slowly: “Your reply, Mr. Hotchkiss, +reminds me of--er--sing'lar circumstance that--er--occurred, in point of +fact--at the St. Charles Hotel, New Orleans. Pinkey Hornblower--personal +friend--invited Senator Doolittle to join him in social glass. Received, +sing'larly enough, reply similar to yours. 'Don't drink nor smoke?' said +Pinkey. 'Gad, sir, you must be mighty sweet on the ladies.' Ha!” + The Colonel paused long enough to allow the faint flush to pass from +Hotchkiss's cheek, and went on, half closing his eyes: “'I allow no man, +sir, to discuss my personal habits,' declared Doolittle, over his shirt +collar. 'Then I reckon shootin' must be one of those habits,' said +Pinkey coolly. Both men drove out on the Shell Road back of cemetery +next morning. Pinkey put bullet at twelve paces through Doolittle's +temple. Poor Doo never spoke again. Left three wives and seven children, +they say--two of 'em black.” + +“I got a note from you this morning,” said Hotchkiss, with badly +concealed impatience. “I suppose in reference to our case. You have +taken judgment, I believe.” + +The Colonel, without replying, slowly filled a glass of whiskey and +water. For a moment he held it dreamily before him, as if still engaged +in gentle reminiscences called up by the act. Then tossing it off, +he wiped his lips with a large white handkerchief, and leaning back +comfortably in his chair, said, with a wave of his hand, “The interview +I requested, Mr. Hotchkiss, concerns a subject--which I may say +is--er--er--at present NOT of a public or business nature--although +LATER it might become--er--er--both. It is an affair of +some--er--delicacy.” + +The Colonel paused, and Mr. Hotchkiss regarded him with increased +impatience. The Colonel, however, continued, with unchanged +deliberation: “It concerns--er--er--a young lady--a beautiful, +high-souled creature, sir, who, apart from her personal +loveliness--er--er--I may say is of one of the first families of +Missouri, and--er--not remotely connected by marriage with one +of--er--er--my boyhood's dearest friends.” The latter, I grieve to say, +was a pure invention of the Colonel's--an oratorical addition to the +scanty information he had obtained the previous day. “The young lady,” + he continued blandly, “enjoys the further distinction of being +the object of such attention from you as would make this +interview--really--a confidential matter--er--er among friends +and--er--er--relations in present and future. I need not say that the +lady I refer to is Miss Zaidee Juno Hooker, only daughter of Almira +Ann Hooker, relict of Jefferson Brown Hooker, formerly of Boone County, +Kentucky, and latterly of--er--Pike County, Missouri.” + +The sallow, ascetic hue of Mr. Hotchkiss's face had passed through a +livid and then a greenish shade, and finally settled into a sullen red. +“What's all this about?” he demanded roughly. + +The least touch of belligerent fire came into Starbottle's eye, but his +bland courtesy did not change. “I believe,” he said politely, “I have +made myself clear as between--er--gentlemen, though perhaps not as clear +as I should to--er--er--jury.” + +Mr. Hotchkiss was apparently struck with some significance in the +lawyer's reply. “I don't know,” he said, in a lower and more cautious +voice, “what you mean by what you call 'my attentions' to--any one--or +how it concerns you. I have not exchanged half a dozen words with--the +person you name--have never written her a line--nor even called at her +house.” + +He rose with an assumption of ease, pulled down his waistcoat, buttoned +his coat, and took up his hat. The Colonel did not move. + +“I believe I have already indicated my meaning in what I have called +'your attentions,'” said the Colonel blandly, “and given you my +'concern' for speaking as--er--er--mutual friend. As to YOUR statement +of your relations with Miss Hooker, I may state that it is fully +corroborated by the statement of the young lady herself in this very +office yesterday.” + +“Then what does this impertinent nonsense mean? Why am I summoned here?” + demanded Hotchkiss furiously. + +“Because,” said the Colonel deliberately, “that statement is +infamously--yes, damnably to your discredit, sir!” + +Mr. Hotchkiss was here seized by one of those impotent and inconsistent +rages which occasionally betray the habitually cautious and timid man. +He caught up the Colonel's stick, which was lying on the table. At the +same moment the Colonel, without any apparent effort, grasped it by +the handle. To Mr. Hotchkiss's astonishment, the stick separated in two +pieces, leaving the handle and about two feet of narrow glittering steel +in the Colonel's hand. The man recoiled, dropping the useless fragment. +The Colonel picked it up, fitted the shining blade in it, clicked the +spring, and then rising with a face of courtesy yet of unmistakably +genuine pain, and with even a slight tremor in his voice, said +gravely,-- + +“Mr. Hotchkiss, I owe you a thousand apologies, sir, that--er--a weapon +should be drawn by me--even through your own inadvertence--under the +sacred protection of my roof, and upon an unarmed man. I beg your +pardon, sir, and I even withdraw the expressions which provoked +that inadvertence. Nor does this apology prevent you from holding me +responsible--personally responsible--ELSEWHERE for an indiscretion +committed in behalf of a lady--my--er--client.” + +“Your client? Do you mean you have taken her case? You, the counsel for +the Ditch Company?” asked Mr. Hotchkiss, in trembling indignation. + +“Having won YOUR case, sir,” replied the Colonel coolly, +“the--er--usages of advocacy do not prevent me from espousing the cause +of the weak and unprotected.” + +“We shall see, sir,” said Hotchkiss, grasping the handle of the door and +backing into the passage. “There are other lawyers who”-- + +“Permit me to see you out,” interrupted the Colonel, rising politely. + +--“will be ready to resist the attacks of blackmail,” continued +Hotchkiss, retreating along the passage. + +“And then you will be able to repeat your remarks to me IN THE STREET,” + continued the Colonel, bowing, as he persisted in following his visitor +to the door. + +But here Mr. Hotchkiss quickly slammed it behind him, and hurried away. +The Colonel returned to his office, and sitting down, took a sheet of +letter-paper bearing the inscription “Starbottle and Stryker, Attorneys +and Counselors,” and wrote the following lines:-- + + +HOOKER versus HOTCHKISS. + +DEAR MADAM,--Having had a visit from the defendant in above, we should +be pleased to have an interview with you at two P. M. to-morrow. + +Your obedient servants, + +STARBOTTLE AND STRYKER. + + +This he sealed and dispatched by his trusted servant Jim, and then +devoted a few moments to reflection. It was the custom of the Colonel to +act first, and justify the action by reason afterwards. + +He knew that Hotchkiss would at once lay the matter before rival +counsel. He knew that they would advise him that Miss Hooker had “no +case”--that she would be nonsuited on her own evidence, and he ought not +to compromise, but be ready to stand trial. He believed, however, that +Hotchkiss feared such exposure, and although his own instincts had been +at first against this remedy, he was now instinctively in favor of it. +He remembered his own power with a jury; his vanity and his chivalry +alike approved of this heroic method; he was bound by no prosaic +facts--he had his own theory of the case, which no mere evidence could +gainsay. In fact, Mrs. Hooker's admission that he was to “tell the story +in his own way” actually appeared to him an inspiration and a prophecy. + +Perhaps there was something else, due possibly to the lady's wonderful +eyes, of which he had thought much. Yet it was not her simplicity that +affected him solely; on the contrary, it was her apparent intelligent +reading of the character of her recreant lover--and of his own! Of all +the Colonel's previous “light” or “serious” loves, none had ever before +flattered him in that way. And it was this, combined with the respect +which he had held for their professional relations, that precluded +his having a more familiar knowledge of his client, through serious +questioning or playful gallantry. I am not sure it was not part of the +charm to have a rustic femme incomprise as a client. + +Nothing could exceed the respect with which he greeted her as she +entered his office the next day. He even affected not to notice that she +had put on her best clothes, and he made no doubt appeared as when +she had first attracted the mature yet faithless attentions of Deacon +Hotchkiss at church. A white virginal muslin was belted around her slim +figure by a blue ribbon, and her Leghorn hat was drawn around her oval +cheek by a bow of the same color. She had a Southern girl's narrow feet, +encased in white stockings and kid slippers, which were crossed primly +before her as she sat in a chair, supporting her arm by her faithful +parasol planted firmly on the floor. A faint odor of southernwood +exhaled from her, and, oddly enough, stirred the Colonel with a far-off +recollection of a pine-shaded Sunday-school on a Georgia hillside, and +of his first love, aged ten, in a short starched frock. Possibly it was +the same recollection that revived something of the awkwardness he had +felt then. + +He, however, smiled vaguely, and sitting down, coughed slightly, and +placed his finger-tips together. “I have had an--er--interview with +Mr. Hotchkiss, but--I--er--regret to say there seems to be no prospect +of--er--compromise.” + +He paused, and to his surprise her listless “company” face lit up with +an adorable smile. “Of course!--ketch him!” she said. “Was he mad when +you told him?” She put her knees comfortably together and leaned forward +for a reply. + +For all that, wild horses could not have torn from the Colonel a word +about Hotchkiss's anger. “He expressed his intention of employing +counsel--and defending a suit,” returned the Colonel, affably basking in +her smile. + +She dragged her chair nearer his desk. “Then you'll fight him tooth and +nail?” she asked eagerly; “you'll show him up? You'll tell the whole +story your own way? You'll give him fits?--and you'll make him pay? +Sure?” she went on breathlessly. + +“I--er--will,” said the Colonel, almost as breathlessly. + +She caught his fat white hand, which was lying on the table, between +her own and lifted it to her lips. He felt her soft young fingers even +through the lisle-thread gloves that encased them, and the warm moisture +of her lips upon his skin. He felt himself flushing--but was unable +to break the silence or change his position. The next moment she had +scuttled back with her chair to her old position. + +“I--er--certainly shall do my best,” stammered the Colonel, in an +attempt to recover his dignity and composure. + +“That's enough! You'll do it,” said she enthusiastically. “Lordy! Just +you talk for ME as ye did for HIS old Ditch Company, and you'll fetch +it--every time! Why, when you made that jury sit up the other day--when +you got that off about the Merrikan flag waving equally over the rights +of honest citizens banded together in peaceful commercial pursuits, as +well as over the fortress of official proflig--” + +“Oligarchy,” murmured the Colonel courteously. + +--“oligarchy,” repeated the girl quickly, “my breath was just took away. +I said to maw, 'Ain't he too sweet for anything!' I did, honest Injin! +And when you rolled it all off at the end--never missing a word (you +didn't need to mark 'em in a lesson-book, but had 'em all ready on your +tongue)--and walked out--Well! I didn't know you nor the Ditch Company +from Adam, but I could have just run over and kissed you there before +the whole court!” + +She laughed, with her face glowing, although her strange eyes were cast +down. Alack! the Colonel's face was equally flushed, and his own beady +eyes were on his desk. To any other woman he would have voiced the banal +gallantry that he should now, himself, look forward to that reward, but +the words never reached his lips. He laughed, coughed slightly, and when +he looked up again she had fallen into the same attitude as on her first +visit, with her parasol point on the floor. + +“I must ask you to--er--direct your memory to--er--another point: the +breaking off of the--er--er--er--engagement. Did he--er--give any reason +for it? Or show any cause?” + +“No; he never said anything,” returned the girl. + +“Not in his usual way?--er--no reproaches out of the hymn-book?--or the +sacred writings?” + +“No; he just QUIT.” + +“Er--ceased his attentions,” said the Colonel gravely. “And naturally +you--er--were not conscious of any cause for his doing so.” + +The girl raised her wonderful eyes so suddenly and so penetratingly +without replying in any other way that the Colonel could only hurriedly +say: “I see! None, of course!” + +At which she rose, the Colonel rising also. “We--shall begin proceedings +at once. I must, however, caution you to answer no questions, nor say +anything about this case to any one until you are in court.” + +She answered his request with another intelligent look and a nod. He +accompanied her to the door. As he took her proffered hand, he raised +the lisle-thread fingers to his lips with old-fashioned gallantry. As if +that act had condoned for his first omissions and awkwardness, he became +his old-fashioned self again, buttoned his coat, pulled out his shirt +frill, and strutted back to his desk. + +A day or two later it was known throughout the town that Zaidee Hooker +had sued Adoniram Hotchkiss for breach of promise, and that the damages +were laid at five thousand dollars. As in those bucolic days the Western +press was under the secure censorship of a revolver, a cautious tone of +criticism prevailed, and any gossip was confined to personal expression, +and even then at the risk of the gossiper. Nevertheless, the situation +provoked the intensest curiosity. The Colonel was approached--until +his statement that he should consider any attempt to overcome his +professional secrecy a personal reflection withheld further advances. +The community were left to the more ostentatious information of the +defendant's counsel, Messrs. Kitcham and Bilser, that the case was +“ridiculous” and “rotten,” that the plaintiff would be nonsuited, and +the fire-eating Starbottle would be taught a lesson that he could not +“bully” the law, and there were some dark hints of a conspiracy. It was +even hinted that the “case” was the revengeful and preposterous outcome +of the refusal of Hotchkiss to pay Starbottle an extravagant fee for his +late services to the Ditch Company. It is unnecessary to say that these +words were not reported to the Colonel. It was, however, an unfortunate +circumstance for the calmer, ethical consideration of the subject that +the Church sided with Hotchkiss, as this provoked an equal adherence +to the plaintiff and Starbottle on the part of the larger body of +non-churchgoers, who were delighted at a possible exposure of the +weakness of religious rectitude. “I've allus had my suspicions o' them +early candle-light meetings down at that gospel shop,” said one critic, +“and I reckon Deacon Hotchkiss didn't rope in the gals to attend jest +for psalm-singing.” “Then for him to get up and leave the board afore +the game's finished and try to sneak out of it,” said an other,--“I +suppose that's what they call RELIGIOUS.” + +It was therefore not remarkable that the court-house three weeks later +was crowded with an excited multitude of the curious and sympathizing. +The fair plaintiff, with her mother, was early in attendance, and under +the Colonel's advice appeared in the same modest garb in which she had +first visited his office. This and her downcast, modest demeanor were +perhaps at first disappointing to the crowd, who had evidently expected +a paragon of loveliness in this Circe of that grim, ascetic defendant, +who sat beside his counsel. But presently all eyes were fixed on the +Colonel, who certainly made up in his appearance any deficiency of his +fair client. His portly figure was clothed in a blue dress coat with +brass buttons, a buff waistcoat which permitted his frilled shirt-front +to become erectile above it, a black satin stock which confined a boyish +turned-down collar around his full neck, and immaculate drill trousers, +strapped over varnished boots. A murmur ran round the court. “Old +'Personally Responsible' has got his war-paint on;” “The Old War-Horse +is smelling powder,” were whispered comments. Yet for all that, the +most irreverent among them recognized vaguely, in this bizarre figure, +something of an honored past in their country's history, and possibly +felt the spell of old deeds and old names that had once thrilled their +boyish pulses. The new District Judge returned Colonel Starbottle's +profoundly punctilious bow. The Colonel was followed by his negro +servant, carrying a parcel of hymn-books and Bibles, who, with a +courtesy evidently imitated from his master, placed one before the +opposite counsel. This, after a first curious glance, the lawyer +somewhat superciliously tossed aside. But when Jim, proceeding to the +jury-box, placed with equal politeness the remaining copies before the +jury, the opposite counsel sprang to his feet. + +“I want to direct the attention of the Court to this unprecedented +tampering with the jury, by this gratuitous exhibition of matter +impertinent and irrelevant to the issue.” + +The Judge cast an inquiring look at Colonel Starbottle. + +“May it please the Court,” returned Colonel Starbottle with dignity, +ignoring the counsel, “the defendant's counsel will observe that he +is already furnished with the matter--which I regret to say he has +treated--in the presence of the Court--and of his client, a deacon of +the church--with--er--great superciliousness. When I state to your +Honor that the books in question are hymn-books and copies of the Holy +Scriptures, and that they are for the instruction of the jury, to whom +I shall have to refer them in the course of my opening, I believe I am +within my rights.” + +“The act is certainly unprecedented,” said the Judge dryly, “but unless +the counsel for the plaintiff expects the jury to SING from these +hymn-books, their introduction is not improper, and I cannot admit the +objection. As defendant's counsel are furnished with copies also, they +cannot plead 'surprise,' as in the introduction of new matter, and as +plaintiff's counsel relies evidently upon the jury's attention to his +opening, he would not be the first person to distract it.” After a pause +he added, addressing the Colonel, who remained standing, “The Court is +with you, sir; proceed.” + +But the Colonel remained motionless and statuesque, with folded arms. + +“I have overruled the objection,” repeated the Judge; “you may go on.” + +“I am waiting, your Honor, for the--er--withdrawal by the defendant's +counsel of the word 'tampering,' as refers to myself, and of +'impertinent,' as refers to the sacred volumes.” + +“The request is a proper one, and I have no doubt will be acceded to,” + returned the Judge quietly. The defendant's counsel rose and mumbled +a few words of apology, and the incident closed. There was, however, a +general feeling that the Colonel had in some way “scored,” and if his +object had been to excite the greatest curiosity about the books, he had +made his point. + +But impassive of his victory, he inflated his chest, with his right hand +in the breast of his buttoned coat, and began. His usual high color had +paled slightly, but the small pupils of his prominent eyes glittered +like steel. The young girl leaned forward in her chair with an attention +so breathless, a sympathy so quick, and an admiration so artless +and unconscious that in an instant she divided with the speaker the +attention of the whole assemblage. It was very hot; the court was +crowded to suffocation; even the open windows revealed a crowd of faces +outside the building, eagerly following the Colonel's words. + +He would remind the jury that only a few weeks ago he stood there as +the advocate of a powerful Company, then represented by the present +defendant. He spoke then as the champion of strict justice against +legal oppression; no less should he to-day champion the cause of the +unprotected and the comparatively defenseless--save for that paramount +power which surrounds beauty and innocence--even though the plaintiff +of yesterday was the defendant of to-day. As he approached the court a +moment ago he had raised his eyes and beheld the starry flag flying from +its dome, and he knew that glorious banner was a symbol of the perfect +equality, under the Constitution, of the rich and the poor, the strong +and the weak--an equality which made the simple citizen taken from the +plough in the field, the pick in the gulch, or from behind the counter +in the mining town, who served on that jury, the equal arbiters of +justice with that highest legal luminary whom they were proud to welcome +on the bench to-day. The Colonel paused, with a stately bow to the +impassive Judge. It was this, he continued, which lifted his heart as +he approached the building. And yet--he had entered it with an +uncertain--he might almost say--a timid step. And why? He knew, +gentlemen, he was about to confront a profound--aye! a sacred +responsibility! Those hymn-books and holy writings handed to the jury +were NOT, as his Honor had surmised, for the purpose of enabling the +jury to indulge in--er--preliminary choral exercise! He might, indeed, +say, “Alas, not!” They were the damning, incontrovertible proofs of the +perfidy of the defendant. And they would prove as terrible a warning to +him as the fatal characters upon Belshazzar's wall. There was a strong +sensation. Hotchkiss turned a sallow green. His lawyers assumed a +careless smile. + +It was his duty to tell them that this was not one of those ordinary +“breach-of-promise” cases which were too often the occasion of ruthless +mirth and indecent levity in the court-room. The jury would find +nothing of that here. There were no love-letters with the epithets of +endearment, nor those mystic crosses and ciphers which, he had been +credibly informed, chastely hid the exchange of those mutual caresses +known as “kisses.” There was no cruel tearing of the veil from those +sacred privacies of the human affection; there was no forensic shouting +out of those fond confidences meant only for ONE. But there was, he was +shocked to say, a new sacrilegious intrusion. The weak pipings of Cupid +were mingled with the chorus of the saints,--the sanctity of the temple +known as the “meeting--house” was desecrated by proceedings more in +keeping with the shrine of Venus; and the inspired writings themselves +were used as the medium of amatory and wanton flirtation by the +defendant in his sacred capacity as deacon. + +The Colonel artistically paused after this thunderous denunciation. The +jury turned eagerly to the leaves of the hymn-books, but the larger gaze +of the audience remained fixed upon the speaker and the girl, who sat in +rapt admiration of his periods. After the hush, the Colonel continued +in a lower and sadder voice: “There are, perhaps, few of us here, +gentlemen,--with the exception of the defendant,--who can arrogate to +themselves the title of regular church-goers, or to whom these humbler +functions of the prayer-meeting, the Sunday-school, and the Bible-class +are habitually familiar. Yet”--more solemnly--“down in our hearts is the +deep conviction of our shortcomings and failings, and a laudable desire +that others, at least, should profit by the teachings we neglect. +Perhaps,” he continued, closing his eyes dreamily, “there is not a +man here who does not recall the happy days of his boyhood, the rustic +village spire, the lessons shared with some artless village maiden, with +whom he later sauntered, hand in hand, through the woods, as the simple +rhyme rose upon their lips,-- + + 'Always make it a point to have it a rule, + Never to be late at the Sabbath-school.' + +“He would recall the strawberry feasts, the welcome annual picnic, +redolent with hunks of gingerbread and sarsaparilla. How would they feel +to know that these sacred recollections were now forever profaned in +their memory by the knowledge that the defendant was capable of using +such occasions to make love to the larger girls and teachers, whilst +his artless companions were innocently--the Court will pardon me for +introducing what I am credibly informed is the local expression--'doing +gooseberry'?” The tremulous flicker of a smile passed over the faces of +the listening crowd, and the Colonel slightly winced. But he recovered +himself instantly, and continued,-- + +“My client, the only daughter of a widowed mother--who has for years +stemmed the varying tides of adversity, in the western precincts of this +town--stands before you to-day invested only in her own innocence. She +wears no--er--rich gifts of her faithless admirer--is panoplied in no +jewels, rings, nor mementos of affection such as lovers delight to hang +upon the shrine of their affections; hers is not the glory with which +Solomon decorated the Queen of Sheba, though the defendant, as I shall +show later, clothed her in the less expensive flowers of the king's +poetry. No, gentlemen! The defendant exhibited in this affair a certain +frugality of--er--pecuniary investment, which I am willing to admit may +be commendable in his class. His only gift was characteristic alike +of his methods and his economy. There is, I understand, a certain +not unimportant feature of religious exercise known as 'taking a +collection.' The defendant, on this occasion, by the mute presentation +of a tin plate covered with baize, solicited the pecuniary contributions +of the faithful. On approaching the plaintiff, however, he himself +slipped a love-token upon the plate and pushed it towards her. That +love-token was a lozenge--a small disk, I have reason to believe, +concocted of peppermint and sugar, bearing upon its reverse surface the +simple words, 'I love you!' I have since ascertained that these disks +may be bought for five cents a dozen--or at considerably less than one +half cent for the single lozenge. Yes, gentlemen, the words 'I love +you!'--the oldest legend of all; the refrain 'when the morning +stars sang together'--were presented to the plaintiff by a medium so +insignificant that there is, happily, no coin in the republic low enough +to represent its value. + +“I shall prove to you, gentlemen of the jury,” said the Colonel +solemnly, drawing a Bible from his coat-tail pocket, “that the defendant +for the last twelve months conducted an amatory correspondence with +the plaintiff by means of underlined words of Sacred Writ and church +psalmody, such as 'beloved,' 'precious,' and 'dearest,' occasionally +appropriating whole passages which seemed apposite to his tender +passion. I shall call your attention to one of them. The defendant, +while professing to be a total abstainer,--a man who, in my own +knowledge, has refused spirituous refreshment as an inordinate weakness +of the flesh,--with shameless hypocrisy underscores with his pencil the +following passage, and presents it to the plaintiff. The gentlemen of +the jury will find it in the Song of Solomon, page 548, chapter ii. +verse 5.” After a pause, in which the rapid rustling of leaves was heard +in the jury-box, Colonel Starbottle declaimed in a pleading, stentorian +voice, “'Stay me with--er--FLAGONS, comfort me with--er--apples--for +I am--er--sick of love.' Yes, gentlemen!--yes, you may well turn +from those accusing pages and look at the double-faced defendant. He +desires--to--er--be--'stayed with flagons'! I am not aware at present +what kind of liquor is habitually dispensed at these meetings, and for +which the defendant so urgently clamored; but it will be my duty, before +this trial is over, to discover it, if I have to summon every barkeeper +in this district. For the moment I will simply call your attention to +the QUANTITY. It is not a single drink that the defendant asks for--not +a glass of light and generous wine, to be shared with his inamorata, +but a number of flagons or vessels, each possibly holding a pint +measure--FOR HIMSELF!” + +The smile of the audience had become a laugh. The Judge looked up +warningly, when his eye caught the fact that the Colonel had again +winced at this mirth. He regarded him seriously. Mr. Hotchkiss's counsel +had joined in the laugh affectedly, but Hotchkiss himself sat ashy pale. +There was also a commotion in the jury-box, a hurried turning over of +leaves, and an excited discussion. + +“The gentlemen of the jury,” said the Judge, with official gravity, +“will please keep order and attend only to the speeches of counsel. Any +discussion HERE is irregular and premature, and must be reserved for the +jury-room after they have retired.” + +The foreman of the jury struggled to his feet. He was a powerful man, +with a good-humored face, and, in spite of his unfelicitous nickname of +“The Bone-Breaker,” had a kindly, simple, but somewhat emotional nature. +Nevertheless, it appeared as if he were laboring under some powerful +indignation. + +“Can we ask a question, Judge?” he said respectfully, although his voice +had the unmistakable Western American ring in it, as of one who was +unconscious that he could be addressing any but his peers. + +“Yes,” said the Judge good-humoredly. + +“We're finding in this yere piece, out o' which the Kernel hes just bin +a-quotin', some language that me and my pardners allow hadn't orter be +read out afore a young lady in court, and we want to know of you--ez a +fa'r-minded and impartial man--ef this is the reg'lar kind o' book given +to gals and babies down at the meetin'-house.” + +“The jury will please follow the counsel's speech without comment,” said +the Judge briefly, fully aware that the defendant's counsel would spring +to his feet, as he did promptly. + +“The Court will allow us to explain to the gentlemen that the language +they seem to object to has been accepted by the best theologians for +the last thousand years as being purely mystic. As I will explain later, +those are merely symbols of the Church”-- + +“Of wot?” interrupted the foreman, in deep scorn. + +“Of the Church!” + +“We ain't askin' any questions o' YOU, and we ain't takin' any answers,” + said the foreman, sitting down abruptly. + +“I must insist,” said the Judge sternly, “that the plaintiff's counsel +be allowed to continue his opening without interruption. You” (to +defendant's counsel) “will have your opportunity to reply later.” + +The counsel sank down in his seat with the bitter conviction that the +jury was manifestly against him, and the case as good as lost. But his +face was scarcely as disturbed as his client's, who, in great agitation, +had begun to argue with him wildly, and was apparently pressing some +point against the lawyer's vehement opposal. The Colonel's murky eyes +brightened as he still stood erect, with his hand thrust in his breast. + +“It will be put to you, gentlemen, when the counsel on the other side +refrains from mere interruption and confines himself to reply, that my +unfortunate client has no action--no remedy at law--because there were +no spoken words of endearment. But, gentlemen, it will depend upon YOU +to say what are and what are not articulate expressions of love. We all +know that among the lower animals, with whom you may possibly be called +upon to classify the defendant, there are certain signals more or less +harmonious, as the case may be. The ass brays, the horse neighs, the +sheep bleats--the feathered denizens of the grove call to their mates +in more musical roundelays. These are recognized facts, gentlemen, which +you yourselves, as dwellers among nature in this beautiful land, are all +cognizant of. They are facts that no one would deny--and we should have +a poor opinion of the ass who, at--er--such a supreme moment, +would attempt to suggest that his call was unthinking and without +significance. But, gentlemen, I shall prove to you that such was the +foolish, self-convicting custom of the defendant. With the greatest +reluctance, and the--er--greatest pain, I succeeded in wresting from +the maidenly modesty of my fair client the innocent confession that +the defendant had induced her to correspond with him in these methods. +Picture to yourself, gentlemen, the lonely moonlight road beside the +widow's humble cottage. It is a beautiful night, sanctified to the +affections, and the innocent girl is leaning from her casement. +Presently there appears upon the road a slinking, stealthy figure, the +defendant on his way to church. True to the instruction she has received +from him, her lips part in the musical utterance” (the Colonel lowered +his voice in a faint falsetto, presumably in fond imitation of his +fair client), “'Keeree!' Instantly the night becomes resonant with the +impassioned reply” (the Colonel here lifted his voice in stentorian +tones), “'Kee-row.' Again, as he passes, rises the soft 'Keeree;' again, +as his form is lost in the distance, comes back the deep 'Keerow.'” + +A burst of laughter, long, loud, and irrepressible, struck the whole +court-room, and before the Judge could lift his half-composed face +and take his handkerchief from his mouth, a faint “Keeree” from some +unrecognized obscurity of the court-room was followed by a loud “Keerow” + from some opposite locality. “The Sheriff will clear the court,” said +the Judge sternly; but, alas! as the embarrassed and choking officials +rushed hither and thither, a soft “Keeree” from the spectators at +the window, OUTSIDE the court-house, was answered by a loud chorus of +“Keerows” from the opposite windows, filled with onlookers. Again +the laughter arose everywhere,--even the fair plaintiff herself sat +convulsed behind her handkerchief. + +The figure of Colonel Starbottle alone remained erect--white and rigid. +And then the Judge, looking up, saw--what no one else in the court had +seen--that the Colonel was sincere and in earnest; that what he had +conceived to be the pleader's most perfect acting and most elaborate +irony were the deep, serious, mirthless CONVICTIONS of a man without the +least sense of humor. There was the respect of this conviction in +the Judge's voice as he said to him gently, “You may proceed, Colonel +Starbottle.” + +“I thank your Honor,” said the Colonel slowly, “for recognizing and +doing all in your power to prevent an interruption that, during my +thirty years' experience at the bar, I have never been subjected +to without the privilege of holding the instigators thereof +responsible--PERSONALLY responsible. It is possibly my fault that I have +failed, oratorically, to convey to the gentlemen of the jury the full +force and significance of the defendant's signals. I am aware that my +voice is singularly deficient in producing either the dulcet tones of my +fair client or the impassioned vehemence of the defendant's response. +I will,” continued the Colonel, with a fatigued but blind fatuity that +ignored the hurriedly knit brows and warning eyes of the Judge, “try +again. The note uttered by my client” (lowering his voice to the +faintest of falsettos) “was 'Keeree;' the response was 'Keerow-ow.'” And +the Colonel's voice fairly shook the dome above him. + +Another uproar of laughter followed this apparently audacious +repetition, but was interrupted by an unlooked-for incident. The +defendant rose abruptly, and tearing himself away from the withholding +hand and pleading protestations of his counsel, absolutely fled from +the court-room, his appearance outside being recognized by a prolonged +“Keerow” from the bystanders, which again and again followed him in the +distance. + +In the momentary silence which followed, the Colonel's voice was heard +saying, “We rest here, your Honor,” and he sat down. No less white, but +more agitated, was the face of the defendant's counsel, who instantly +rose. + +“For some unexplained reason, your Honor, my client desires to suspend +further proceedings, with a view to effect a peaceable compromise with +the plaintiff. As he is a man of wealth and position, he is able and +willing to pay liberally for that privilege. While I, as his counsel, am +still convinced of his legal irresponsibility, as he has chosen publicly +to abandon his rights here, I can only ask your Honor's permission to +suspend further proceedings until I can confer with Colonel Starbottle.” + +“As far as I can follow the pleadings,” said the Judge gravely, “the +case seems to be hardly one for litigation, and I approve of the +defendant's course, while I strongly urge the plaintiff to accept it.” + +Colonel Starbottle bent over his fair client. Presently he rose, +unchanged in look or demeanor. “I yield, your Honor, to the wishes of my +client, and--er--lady. We accept.” + +Before the court adjourned that day it was known throughout the town +that Adoniram K. Hotchkiss had compromised the suit for four thousand +dollars and costs. + +Colonel Starbottle had so far recovered his equanimity as to strut +jauntily towards his office, where he was to meet his fair client. He +was surprised, however, to find her already there, and in company with a +somewhat sheepish-looking young man--a stranger. If the Colonel had +any disappointment in meeting a third party to the interview, his +old-fashioned courtesy did not permit him to show it. He bowed +graciously, and politely motioned them each to a seat. + +“I reckoned I'd bring Hiram round with me,” said the young lady, lifting +her searching eyes, after a pause, to the Colonel's, “though he WAS +awful shy, and allowed that you didn't know him from Adam, or even +suspect his existence. But I said, 'That's just where you slip up, +Hiram; a pow'ful man like the Colonel knows everything--and I've seen it +in his eye.' Lordy!” she continued, with a laugh, leaning forward over +her parasol, as her eyes again sought the Colonel's, “don't you remember +when you asked me if I loved that old Hotchkiss, and I told you, 'That's +tellin',' and you looked at me--Lordy! I knew THEN you suspected there +was a Hiram SOMEWHERE, as good as if I'd told you. Now you jest get up, +Hiram, and give the Colonel a good hand-shake. For if it wasn't for HIM +and HIS searchin' ways, and HIS awful power of language, I wouldn't hev +got that four thousand dollars out o' that flirty fool Hotchkiss--enough +to buy a farm, so as you and me could get married! That's what you owe +to HIM. Don't stand there like a stuck fool starin' at him. He won't eat +you--though he's killed many a better man. Come, have I got to do ALL +the kissin'?” + +It is of record that the Colonel bowed so courteously and so profoundly +that he managed not merely to evade the proffered hand of the shy Hiram, +but to only lightly touch the franker and more impulsive finger-tips of +the gentle Zaidee. “I--er--offer my sincerest congratulations--though +I think you--er--overestimate--my--er--powers of penetration. +Unfortunately, a pressing engagement, which may oblige me also to leave +town tonight, forbids my saying more. I have--er--left the--er--business +settlement of this--er--case in the hands of the lawyers who do my +office work, and who will show you every attention. And now let me wish +you a very good afternoon.” + +Nevertheless, the Colonel returned to his private room, and it was +nearly twilight when the faithful Jim entered, to find him sitting +meditatively before his desk. “'Fo' God! Kernel, I hope dey ain't nuffin +de matter, but you's lookin' mighty solemn! I ain't seen you look dat +way, Kernel, since de day pooh Massa Stryker was fetched home shot froo +de head.” + +“Hand me down the whiskey, Jim,” said the Colonel, rising slowly. + +The negro flew to the closet joyfully, and brought out the bottle. +The Colonel poured out a glass of the spirit and drank it with his old +deliberation. + +“You're quite right, Jim,” he said, putting down his glass, “but +I'm--er--getting old--and--somehow I am missing poor Stryker damnably!” + + + + +THE LANDLORD OF THE BIG FLUME HOTEL + + +The Big Flume stage-coach had just drawn up at the Big Flume Hotel +simultaneously with the ringing of a large dinner bell in the two hands +of a negro waiter, who, by certain gyrations of the bell was trying to +impart to his performance that picturesque elegance and harmony +which the instrument and its purpose lacked. For the refreshment thus +proclaimed was only the ordinary station dinner, protracted at Big +Flume for three quarters of an hour, to allow for the arrival of the +connecting mail from Sacramento, although the repast was of a nature +that seldom prevailed upon the traveler to linger the full period over +its details. The ordinary cravings of hunger were generally satisfied in +half an hour, and the remaining minutes were employed by the passengers +in drowning the memory of their meal in “drinks at the bar,” in smoking, +and even in a hurried game of “old sledge,” or dominoes. Yet to-day +the deserted table was still occupied by a belated traveler, and a +lady--separated by a wilderness of empty dishes--who had arrived after +the stage-coach. Observing which, the landlord, perhaps touched by +this unwonted appreciation of his fare, moved forward to give them his +personal attention. + +He was a man, however, who seemed to be singularly deficient in those +supreme qualities which in the West have exalted the ability to “keep a +hotel” into a proverbial synonym for superexcellence. He had little or +no innovating genius, no trade devices, no assumption, no faculty for +advertisement, no progressiveness, and no “racket.” He had the tolerant +good-humor of the Southwestern pioneer, to whom cyclones, famine, +drought, floods, pestilence, and savages were things to be accepted, +and whom disaster, if it did not stimulate, certainly did not appall. He +received the insults, complaints, and criticisms of hurried and hungry +passengers, the comments and threats of the Stage Company as he had +submitted to the aggressions of a stupid, unjust, but overruling +Nature--with unshaken calm. Perhaps herein lay his strength. People +were obliged to submit to him and his hotel as part of the unfinished +civilization, and they even saw something humorous in his impassiveness. +Those who preferred to remonstrate with him emerged from the discussion +with the general feeling of having been played with by a large-hearted +and paternally disposed bear. Tall and long-limbed, with much strength +in his lazy muscles, there was also a prevailing impression that this +feeling might be intensified if the discussion were ever carried to +physical contention. Of his personal history it was known only that he +had emigrated from Wisconsin in 1852, that he had calmly unyoked his ox +teams at Big Flume, then a trackless wilderness, and on the opening of a +wagon road to the new mines had built a wayside station which eventually +developed into the present hotel. He had been divorced in a Western +State by his wife “Rosalie,” locally known as “The Prairie Flower of +Elkham Creek,” for incompatibility of temper! Her temper was not stated. + +Such was Abner Langworthy, the proprietor, as he moved leisurely down +towards the lady guest, who was nearest, and who was sitting with her +back to the passage between the tables. Stopping, occasionally, to +professionally adjust the tablecloths and glasses, he at last reached +her side. + +“Ef there's anythin' more ye want that ye ain't seein', ma'am,” he +began--and stopped suddenly. For the lady had looked up at the sound of +his voice. It was his divorced wife, whom he had not seen since their +separation. The recognition was instantaneous, mutual, and characterized +by perfect equanimity on both sides. + +“Well! I wanter know!” said the lady, although the exclamation point was +purely conventional. “Abner Langworthy! though perhaps I've no call to +say 'Abner.'” + +“Same to you, Rosalie--though I say it too,” returned the landlord. “But +hol' on just a minit.” He moved forward to the other guest, put the same +perfunctory question regarding his needs, received a negative answer, +and then returned to the lady and dropped into a chair opposite to her. + +“You're looking peart and--fleshy,” he said resignedly, as if he were +tolerating his own conventional politeness with his other difficulties; +“unless,” he added cautiously, “you're takin' on some new disease.” + +“No! I'm fairly comf'ble,” responded the lady calmly, “and you're +gettin' on in the vale, ez is natural--though you still kind o' run to +bone, as you used.” + +There was not a trace of malevolence in either of their comments, only +a resigned recognition of certain unpleasant truths which seemed to have +been habitual to both of them. Mr. Langworthy paused to flick away some +flies from the butter with his professional napkin, and resumed,-- + +“It must be a matter o' five years sens I last saw ye, isn't it?--in +court arter you got the decree--you remember?” + +“Yes--the 28th o' July, '51. I paid Lawyer Hoskins's bill that very +day--that's how I remember,” returned the lady. “You've got a big +business here,” she continued, glancing round the room; “I reckon you're +makin' it pay. Don't seem to be in your line, though; but then, thar +wasn't many things that was.” + +“No--that's so,” responded Mr. Langworthy, nodding his head, as +assenting to an undeniable proposition, “and you--I suppose you're +gettin' on too. I reckon you're--er--married--eh?”--with a slight +suggestion of putting the question delicately. + +The lady nodded, ignoring the hesitation. “Yes, let me see, it's just +three years and three days. Constantine Byers--I don't reckon you know +him--from Milwaukee. Timber merchant. Standin' timber's his specialty.” + +“And I reckon he's--satisfactory?” + +“Yes! Mr. Byers is a good provider--and handy. And you? I should say +you'd want a wife in this business?” + +Mr. Langworthy's serious half-perfunctory manner here took on an +appearance of interest. “Yes--I've bin thinkin' that way. Thar's a young +woman helpin' in the kitchen ez might do, though I'm not certain, and +I ain't lettin' on anything as yet. You might take a look at her, +Rosalie,--I orter say Mrs. Byers ez is,--and kinder size her up, and +gimme the result. It's still wantin' seven minutes o' schedule time +afore the stage goes, and--if you ain't wantin' more food”--delicately, +as became a landlord--“and ain't got anythin' else to do, it might pass +the time.” + +Strange as it may seem, Mrs. Byers here displayed an equal animation in +her fresh face as she rose promptly to her feet and began to rearrange +her dust cloak around her buxom figure. “I don't mind, Abner,” she +said, “and I don't think that Mr. Byers would mind either;” then seeing +Langworthy hesitating at the latter unexpected suggestion, she added +confidently, “and I wouldn't mind even if he did, for I'm sure if I +don't know the kind o' woman you'd be likely to need, I don't know who +would. Only last week I was sayin' like that to Mr. Byers”-- + +“To Mr. Byers?” said Abner, with some surprise. + +“Yes--to him. I said, 'We've been married three years, Constantine, and +ef I don't know by this time what kind o' woman you need now--and might +need in future--why, thar ain't much use in matrimony.'” + +“You was always wise, Rosalie,” said Abner, with reminiscent +appreciation. + +“I was always there, Abner,” returned Mrs. Byers, with a complacent show +of dimples, which she, however, chastened into that resignation which +seemed characteristic of the pair. “Let's see your 'intended'--as might +be.” + +Thus supported, Mr. Langworthy led Mrs. Byers into the hall through a +crowd of loungers, into a smaller hall, and there opened the door of the +kitchen. It was a large room, whose windows were half darkened by the +encompassing pines which still pressed around the house on the scantily +cleared site. A number of men and women, among them a Chinaman and a +negro, were engaged in washing dishes and other culinary duties; and +beside the window stood a young blonde girl, who was wiping a tin pan +which she was also using to hide a burst of laughter evidently caused by +the abrupt entrance of her employer. A quantity of fluffy hair and part +of a white, bared arm were nevertheless visible outside the disk, +and Mrs. Byers gathered from the direction of Mr. Langworthy's eyes, +assisted by a slight nudge from his elbow, that this was the selected +fair one. His feeble explanatory introduction, addressed to the +occupants generally, “Just showing the house to Mrs.--er--Dusenberry,” + convinced her that the circumstances of his having been divorced he had +not yet confided to the young woman. As he turned almost immediately +away, Mrs. Byers in following him managed to get a better look at the +girl, as she was exchanging some facetious remark to a neighbor. Mr. +Langworthy did not speak until they had reached the deserted dining-room +again. + +“Well?” he said briefly, glancing at the clock, “what did ye think o' +Mary Ellen?” + +To any ordinary observer the girl in question would have seemed the +least fitted in age, sobriety of deportment, and administrative capacity +to fill the situation thus proposed for her, but Mrs. Byers was not an +ordinary observer, and her auditor was not an ordinary listener. + +“She's older than she gives herself out to be,” said Mrs. Byers +tentatively, “and them kitten ways don't amount to much.” + +Mr. Langworthy nodded. Had Mrs. Byers discovered a homicidal tendency in +Mary Ellen he would have been equally unmoved. + +“She don't handsome much,” continued Mrs. Byers musingly, “but”-- + +“I never was keen on good looks in a woman, Rosalie. You know that!” + Mrs. Byers received the equivocal remark unemotionally, and returned to +the subject. + +“Well!” she said contemplatively, “I should think you could make her +suit.” + +Mr. Langworthy nodded with resigned toleration of all that might have +influenced her judgment and his own. “I was wantin' a fa'r-minded +opinion, Rosalie, and you happened along jest in time. Kin I put up +anythin' in the way of food for ye?” he added, as a stir outside and the +words “All aboard!” proclaimed the departing of the stage-coach,--“an +orange or a hunk o' gingerbread, freshly baked?” + +“Thank ye kindly, Abner, but I sha'n't be usin' anythin' afore supper,” + responded Mrs. Byers, as they passed out into the veranda beside the +waiting coach. + +Mr. Langworthy helped her to her seat. “Ef you're passin' this way +ag'in”--he hesitated delicately. + +“I'll drop in, or I reckon Mr. Byers might, he havin' business along the +road,” returned Mrs. Byers with a cheerful nod, as the coach rolled away +and the landlord of the Big Flume Hotel reentered his house. + +For the next three weeks, however, it did not appear that Mr. Langworthy +was in any hurry to act upon the advice of his former wife. His +relations to Mary Ellen Budd were characterized by his usual tolerance +to his employees' failings,--which in Mary Ellen's case included many +“breakages,”--but were not marked by the invasion of any warmer feeling, +or a desire for confidences. The only perceptible divergence from his +regular habits was a disposition to be on the veranda at the arrival of +the stage-coach, and when his duties permitted this, a cautious survey +of his female guests at the beginning of dinner. This probably led to +his more or less ignoring any peculiarities in his masculine patrons or +their claims to his personal attention. Particularly so, in the case of +a red-bearded man, in a long linen duster, both heavily freighted with +the red dust of the stage road, which seemed to have invaded his very +eyes as he watched the landlord closely. Towards the close of the +dinner, when Abner, accompanied by a negro waiter after his usual +custom, passed down each side of the long table, collecting payment for +the meal, the stranger looked up. “You air the landlord of this hotel, I +reckon?” + +“I am,” said Abner tolerantly. + +“I'd like a word or two with ye.” + +But Abner had been obliged to have a formula for such occasions. “Ye'll +pay for yer dinner first,” he said submissively, but firmly, “and make +yer remarks agin the food arter.” + +The stranger flushed quickly, and his eye took an additional shade of +red, but meeting Abner's serious gray ones, he contented himself with +ostentatiously taking out a handful of gold and silver and paying his +bill. Abner passed on, but after dinner was over he found the stranger +in the hall. + +“Ye pulled me up rather short in thar,” said the man gloomily, “but it's +just as well, as the talk I was wantin' with ye was kinder betwixt and +between ourselves, and not hotel business. My name's Byers, and my wife +let on she met ye down here.” + +For the first time it struck Abner as incongruous that another man +should call Rosalie “his wife,” although the fact of her remarriage +had been made sufficiently plain to him. He accepted it as he would an +earthquake, or any other dislocation, with his usual tolerant smile, and +held out his hand. + +Mr. Byers took it, seemingly mollified, and yet inwardly +disturbed,--more even than was customary in Abner's guests after dinner. + +“Have a drink with me,” he suggested, although it had struck him that +Mr. Byers had been drinking before dinner. + +“I'm agreeable,” responded Byers promptly; “but,” with a glance at the +crowded bar-room, “couldn't we go somewhere, jest you and me, and have a +quiet confab?” + +“I reckon. But ye must wait till we get her off.” + +Mr. Byers started slightly, but it appeared that the impedimental sex in +this case was the coach, which, after a slight feminine hesitation, was +at last started. Whereupon Mr. Langworthy, followed by a negro with a +tray bearing a decanter and glasses, grasped Mr. Byers's arm, and walked +along a small side veranda the depth of the house, stepped off, and +apparently plunged with his guest into the primeval wilderness. + +It has already been indicated that the site of the Big Flume Hotel had +been scantily cleared; but Mr. Byers, backwoodsman though he was, was +quite unprepared for so abrupt a change. The hotel, with its noisy crowd +and garish newness, although scarcely a dozen yards away, seemed lost +completely to sight and sound. A slight fringe of old tin cans, broken +china, shavings, and even of the long-dried chips of the felled trees, +once crossed, the two men were alone! From the tray, deposited at the +foot of an enormous pine, they took the decanter, filled their glasses, +and then disposed of themselves comfortably against a spreading root. +The curling tail of a squirrel disappeared behind them; the far-off tap +of a woodpecker accented the loneliness. And then, almost magically as +it seemed, the thin veneering of civilization on the two men seemed to +be cast off like the bark of the trees around them, and they lounged +before each other in aboriginal freedom. Mr. Byers removed his +restraining duster and undercoat. Mr. Langworthy resigned his dirty +white jacket, his collar, and unloosed a suspender, with which he +played. + +“Would it be a fair question between two fa'r-minded men, ez hez lived +alone,” said Mr. Byers, with a gravity so supernatural that it could be +referred only to liquor, “to ask ye in what sort o' way did Mrs. Byers +show her temper?” + +“Show her temper?” echoed Abner vacantly. + +“Yes--in course, I mean when you and Mrs. Byers was--was--one? You know +the di-vorce was for in-com-pat-ibility of temper.” + +“But she got the divorce from me, so I reckon I had the temper,” said +Langworthy, with great simplicity. + +“Wha-at?” said Mr. Byers, putting down his glass and gazing with drunken +gravity at the sad-eyed yet good-humoredly tolerant man before him. +“You?--you had the temper?” + +“I reckon that's what the court allowed,” said Abner simply. + +Mr. Byers stared. Then after a moment's pause he nodded with a +significant yet relieved face. “Yes, I see, in course. Times when you'd +h'isted too much o' this corn juice,” lifting up his glass, “inside +ye--ye sorter bu'st out ravin'?” + +But Abner shook his head. “I wuz a total abstainer in them days,” he +said quietly. + +Mr. Byers got unsteadily on his legs and looked around him. “Wot might +hev bin the general gait o' your temper, pardner?” he said in a hoarse +whisper. + +“Don't know. I reckon that's jest whar the incompatibility kem in.” + +“And when she hove plates at your head, wot did you do?” + +“She didn't hove no plates,” said Abner gravely; “did she say she did?” + +“No, no!” returned Byers hastily, in crimson confusion. “I kinder got +it mixed with suthin' else.” He waved his hand in a lordly way, as if +dismissing the subject. “Howsumever, you and her is 'off' anyway,” he +added with badly concealed anxiety. + +“I reckon: there's the decree,” returned Abner, with his usual resigned +acceptance of the fact. + +“Mrs. Byers wuz allowin' ye wuz thinkin' of a second. How's that comin' +on?” + +“Jest whar it was,” returned Abner. “I ain't doin' anything yet. Ye see +I've got to tell the gal, naterally, that I'm di-vorced. And as that +isn't known hereabouts, I don't keer to do so till I'm pretty certain. +And then, in course, I've got to.” + +“Why hev ye 'got to'?” asked Byers abruptly. + +“Because it wouldn't be on the square with the girl,” said Abner. “How +would you like it if Mrs. Byers had never told you she'd been married to +me? And s'pose you'd happen to hev bin a di-vorced man and hadn't told +her, eh? Well,” he continued, sinking back resignedly against the tree, +“I ain't sayin' anythin' but she'd hev got another di-vorce, and FROM +you on the spot--you bet!” + +“Well! all I kin say is,” said Mr. Byers, lifting his voice excitedly, +“that”--but he stopped short, and was about to fill his glass again from +the decanter when the hand of Abner stopped him. + +“Ye've got ez much ez ye kin carry now, Byers,” he said slowly, “and +that's about ez much ez I allow a man to take in at the Big Flume Hotel. +Treatin' is treatin', hospitality is hospitality; ef you and me was +squattin' out on the prairie I'd let you fill your skin with that pizen +and wrap ye up in yer blankets afterwards. But here at Big Flume, the +Stage Kempenny and the wimen and children passengers hez their rights.” + He paused a moment, and added, “And so I reckon hez Mrs. Byers, and I +ain't goin' to send you home to her outer my house blind drunk. It's +mighty rough on you and me, I know, but there's a lot o' roughness in +this world ez hez to be got over, and life, ez far ez I kin see, ain't +all a clearin'.” + +Perhaps it was his good-humored yet firm determination, perhaps it was +his resigned philosophy, but something in the speaker's manner affected +Mr. Byers's alcoholic susceptibility, and hastened his descent from the +passionate heights of intoxication to the maudlin stage whither he +was drifting. The fire of his red eyes became filmed and dim, an equal +moisture gathered in his throat as he pressed Abner's hand with drunken +fervor. “Thash so! your thinking o' me an' Mish Byersh is like troo +fr'en',” he said thickly. “I wosh only goin' to shay that wotever Mish +Byersh wosh--even if she wosh wife o' yours--she wosh--noble woman! Such +a woman,” continued Mr. Byers, dreamily regarding space, “can't have too +many husbands.” + +“You jest sit back here a minit, and have a quiet smoke till I come +back,” said Abner, handing him his tobacco plug. “I've got to give the +butcher his order--but I won't be a minit.” He secured the decanter as +he spoke, and evading an apparent disposition of his companion to fall +upon his neck, made his way with long strides to the hotel, as Mr. +Byers, sinking back against the trees, began certain futile efforts to +light his unfilled pipe. + +Whether Abner's attendance on the butcher was merely an excuse to +withdraw with the decanter, I cannot say. He, however, dispatched his +business quickly, and returned to the tree. But to his surprise Mr. +Byers was no longer there. He explored the adjacent woodland with +non-success, and no reply to his shouting. Annoyed but not alarmed, as +it seemed probable that the missing man had fallen in a drunken sleep in +some hidden shadows, he returned to the house, when it occurred to him +that Byers might have sought the bar-room for some liquor. But he was +still more surprised when the barkeeper volunteered the information +that he had seen Mr. Byers hurriedly pass down the side veranda into the +highroad. An hour later this was corroborated by an arriving teamster, +who had passed a man answering to the description of Byers, “mor' 'n +half full,” staggeringly but hurriedly walking along the road “two +miles back.” There seemed to be no doubt that the missing man had +taken himself off in a fit of indignation or of extreme thirst. +Either hypothesis was disagreeable to Abner, in his queer sense +of responsibility to Mrs. Byers, but he accepted it with his usual +good-humored resignation. + +Yet it was difficult to conceive what connection this episode had in +his mind with his suspended attention to Mary Ellen, or why it should +determine his purpose. But he had a logic of his own, and it seemed to +have demonstrated to him that he must propose to the girl at once. +This was no easy matter, however; he had never shown her any previous +attention, and her particular functions in the hotel,--the charge of the +few bedrooms for transient guests--seldom brought him in contact with +her. His interview would have to appear to be a business one--which, +however, he wished to avoid from a delicate consciousness of its truth. +While making up his mind, for a few days he contented himself with +gravely regarding her in his usual resigned, tolerant way, whenever he +passed her. Unfortunately the first effect of this was an audible giggle +from Mary Ellen, later some confusion and anxiety in her manner, and +finally a demeanor of resentment and defiance. + +This was so different from what he had expected that he was obliged +to precipitate matters. The next day was Sunday,--a day on which his +employees, in turns, were allowed the recreation of being driven to Big +Flume City, eight miles distant, to church, or for the day's holiday. +In the morning Mary Ellen was astonished by Abner informing her that he +designed giving her a separate holiday with himself. It must be admitted +that the girl, who was already “prinked up” for the enthrallment of the +youth of Big Flume City, did not appear as delighted with the change of +plan as a more exacting lover would have liked. Howbeit, as soon as the +wagon had left with its occupants, Abner, in the unwonted disguise of +a full suit of black clothes, turned to the girl, and offering her his +arm, gravely proceeded along the side veranda across the mound of debris +already described, to the adjacent wilderness and the very trees under +which he and Byers had sat. + +“It's about ez good a place for a little talk, Miss Budd,” he said, +pointing to a tree root, “ez ef we went a spell further, and it's handy +to the house. And ef you'll jest say what you'd like outer the cupboard +or the bar--no matter which--I'll fetch it to you.” + +But Mary Ellen Budd seated herself sideways on the root, with her furled +white parasol in her lap, her skirts fastidiously tucked about her feet, +and glancing at the fatuous Abner from under her stack of fluffy hair +and light eyelashes, simply shook her head and said that “she reckoned +she wasn't hankering much for anything” that morning. + +“I've been calkilatin' to myself, Miss Budd,” said Abner resignedly, +“that when two folks--like ez you and me--meet together to kinder +discuss things that might go so far ez to keep them together, if they +hez had anything of that sort in their lives afore, they ought to speak +of it confidentially like together.” + +“Ef any one o' them sneakin', soulless critters in the kitchen hez bin +slingin' lies to ye about me--or carryin' tales,” broke in Mary Ellen +Budd, setting every one of her thirty-two strong, white teeth together +with a snap, “well--ye might hev told me so to oncet without spilin' my +Sunday! But ez fer yer keepin' me a minit longer, ye've only got to pay +me my salary to-day and”--but here she stopped, for the astonishment in +Abner's face was too plain to be misunderstood. + +“Nobody's been slinging any lies about ye, Miss Budd,” he said slowly, +recovering himself resignedly from this last back-handed stroke of fate; +“I warn't talkin' o' you, but myself. I was only allowin' to say that I +was a di-vorced man.” + +As a sudden flush came over Mary Ellen's brownish-white face while +she stared at him, Abner hastened to delicately explain. “It wasn't +no onfaithfulness, Miss Budd--no philanderin' o' mine, but only +'incompatibility o' temper.'” + +“Temper--your temper!” gasped Mary Ellen. + +“Yes,” said Abner. + +And here a sudden change came over Mary Ellen's face, and she burst into +a shriek of laughter. She laughed with her hands slapping the sides of +her skirt, she laughed with her hands clasping her narrow, hollow waist, +laughed with her head down on her knees and her fluffy hair tumbling +over it. Abner was relieved, and yet it seemed strange to him that this +revelation of his temper should provoke such manifest incredulity in +both Byers and Mary Ellen. But perhaps these things would be made plain +to him hereafter; at present they must be accepted “in the day's work” + and tolerated. + +“Your temper,” gurgled Mary Ellen. “Saints alive! What kind o' temper?” + +“Well, I reckon,” returned Abner submissively, and selecting a word +to give his meaning more comprehension,--“I reckon it was +kinder--aggeravokin'.” + +Mary Ellen sniffed the air for a moment in speechless incredulity, and +then, locking her hands around her knees and bending forward, said, +“Look here! Ef that old woman o' yours ever knew what temper was in a +man; ef she's ever bin tied to a brute that treated her like a nigger +till she daren't say her soul was her own; who struck her with his +eyes and tongue when he hadn't anythin' else handy; who made her life +miserable when he was sober, and a terror when he was drunk; who at +last drove her away, and then divorced her for desertion--then--then she +might talk. But 'incompatibility o' temper' with you! Oh, go away--it +makes me sick!” + +How far Abner was impressed with the truth of this, how far it prompted +his next question, nobody but Abner knew. For he said deliberately, “I +was only goin' to ask ye, if, knowin' I was a di-vorced man, ye would +mind marryin' me!” + +Mary Ellen's face changed; the evasive instincts of her sex rose up. +“Didn't I hear ye sayin' suthin' about refreshments,” she said archly. +“Mebbe you wouldn't mind gettin' me a bottle o' lemming sody outer the +bar!” + +Abner got up at once, perhaps not dismayed by this diversion, and +departed for the refreshment. As he passed along the side veranda the +recollection of Mr. Byers and his mysterious flight occurred to him. For +a wild moment he thought of imitating him. But it was too late now--he +had spoken. Besides, he had no wife to fly to, and the thirsty or +indignant Byers had--his wife! Fate was indeed hard. He returned with +the bottle of lemon soda on a tray and a resigned spirit equal to her +decrees. Mary Ellen, remarking that he had brought nothing for himself, +archly insisted upon his sharing with her the bottle of soda, and even +coquettishly touched his lips with her glass. Abner smiled patiently. + +But here, as if playfully exhilarated by the naughty foaming soda, she +regarded him with her head--and a good deal of her blonde hair--very +much on one side, as she said, “Do you know that all along o' you bein' +so free with me in tellin' your affairs I kinder feel like just telling +you mine?” + +“Don't,” said Abner promptly. + +“Don't?” echoed Miss Budd. + +“Don't,” repeated Abner. “It's nothing to me. What I said about myself +is different, for it might make some difference to you. But nothing you +could say of yourself would make any change in me. I stick to what I +said just now.” + +“But,” said Miss Budd,--in half real, half simulated threatening,--“what +if it had suthin' to do with my answer to what you said just now?” + +“It couldn't. So, if it's all the same to you, Miss Budd, I'd rather ye +wouldn't.” + +“That,” said the lady still more archly, lifting a playful finger, “is +your temper.” + +“Mebbe it is,” said Abner suddenly, with a wondering sense of relief. + +It was, however, settled that Miss Budd should go to Sacramento to visit +her friends, that Abner would join her later, when their engagement +would be announced, and that she should not return to the hotel until +they were married. The compact was sealed by the interchange of a +friendly kiss from Miss Budd with a patient, tolerating one from Abner, +and then it suddenly occurred to them both that they might as well +return to their duties in the hotel, which they did. Miss Budd's entire +outing that Sunday lasted only half an hour. + +A week elapsed. Miss Budd was in Sacramento, and the landlord of the Big +Flume Hotel was standing at his usual post in the doorway during dinner, +when a waiter handed him a note. It contained a single line scrawled in +pencil:-- + + +“Come out and see me behind the house as before. I dussent come in on +account of her. C. BYERS.” + + +“On account of 'her'!” Abner cast a hurried glance around the tables. +Certainly Mrs. Byers was not there! He walked in the hall and the +veranda--she was not there. He hastened to the rendezvous evidently +meant by the writer, the wilderness behind the house. Sure enough, +Byers, drunk and maudlin, supporting himself by the tree root, staggered +forward, clasped him in his arms, and murmured hoarsely,-- + +“She's gone!” + +“Gone?” echoed Abner, with a whitening face. “Mrs. Byers? Where?” + +“Run away! Never come back no more! Gone!” + +A vague idea that had been in Abner's mind since Byers's last visit now +took awful shape. Before the unfortunate Byers could collect his senses +he felt himself seized in a giant's grasp and forced against the tree. + +“You coward!” said all that was left of the tolerant Abner--his even +voice--“you hound! Did you dare to abuse her? to lay your vile hands on +her--to strike her? Answer me.” + +The shock--the grasp--perhaps Abner's words, momentarily silenced Byers. +“Did I strike her?” he said dazedly; “did I abuse her? Oh, yes!” with +deep irony. “Certainly! In course! Look yer, pardner!”--he suddenly +dragged up his sleeve from his red, hairy arm, exposing a blue cicatrix +in its centre--“that's a jab from her scissors about three months ago; +look yer!”--he bent his head and showed a scar along the scalp--“that's +her playfulness with a fire shovel! Look yer!”--he quickly opened his +collar, where his neck and cheek were striped and crossed with adhesive +plaster--“that's all that was left o' a glass jar o' preserves--the +preserves got away, but some of the glass got stuck! That's when she +heard I was a di-vorced man and hadn't told her.” + +“Were you a di-vorced man?” gasped Abner. + +“You know that; in course I was,” said Byers scornfully; “d'ye meanter +say she didn't tell ye?” + +“She?” echoed Abner vaguely. “Your wife--you said just now she didn't +know it before.” + +“My wife ez oncet was, I mean! Mary Ellen--your wife ez is to be,” said +Byers, with deep irony. “Oh, come now. Pretend ye don't know! Hi there! +Hands off! Don't strike a man when he's down, like I am.” + +But Abner's clutch of Byers's shoulder relaxed, and he sank down to a +sitting posture on the root. In the meantime Byers, overcome by a sense +of this new misery added to his manifold grievances, gave way to maudlin +silent tears. + +“Mary Ellen--your first wife?” repeated Abner vacantly. + +“Yesh!” said Byers thickly, “my first wife--shelected and picked out +fer your shecond wife--by your first--like d----d conundrum. How wash I +t'know?” he said, with a sudden shriek of public expostulation--“thash +what I wanter know. Here I come to talk with fr'en', like man to man, +unshuspecting, innoshent as chile, about my shecond wife! Fr'en' drops +out, carryin' off the whiskey. Then I hear all o' suddent voice o' +Mary Ellen talkin' in kitchen; then I come round softly and see Mary +Ellen--my wife as useter be--standin' at fr'en's kitchen winder. Then I +lights out quicker 'n lightnin' and scoots! And when I gets back home, +I ups and tells my wife. And whosh fault ish't! Who shaid a man oughter +tell hish wife? You! Who keepsh other mensh' first wivesh at kishen +winder to frighten 'em to tell? You!” + +But a change had already come over the face of Abner Langworthy. The +anger, anxiety, astonishment, and vacuity that was there had vanished, +and he looked up with his usual resigned acceptance of the inevitable +as he said, “I reckon that's so! And seein' it's so,” with good-natured +tolerance, he added, “I reckon I'll break rules for oncet and stand ye +another drink.” + +He stood another drink and yet another, and eventually put the doubly +widowed Byers to bed in his own room. These were but details of a larger +tribulation,--and yet he knew instinctively that his cup was not yet +full. The further drop of bitterness came a few days later in a line +from Mary Ellen: “I needn't tell you that all betwixt you and me is off, +and you kin tell your old woman that her selection for a second wife +for you wuz about as bad as your own first selection. Ye kin tell Mr. +Byers--yer great friend whom ye never let on ye knew--that when I want +another husband I shan't take the trouble to ask him to fish one out for +me. It would be kind--but confusin'.” + +He never heard from her again. Mr. Byers was duly notified that Mrs. +Byers had commenced action for divorce in another state in which +concealment of a previous divorce invalidated the marriage, but he did +not respond. The two men became great friends--and assured celibates. +Yet they always spoke reverently of their “wife,” with the touching +prefix of “our.” + +“She was a good woman, pardner,” said Byers. + +“And she understood us,” said Abner resignedly. + +Perhaps she had. + + + + +A BUCKEYE HOLLOW INHERITANCE + + +The four men on the “Zip Coon” Ledge had not got fairly settled to their +morning's work. There was the usual lingering hesitation which is apt to +attend the taking-up of any regular or monotonous performance, shown in +this instance in the prolonged scrutiny of a pick's point, the solemn +selection of a shovel, or the “hefting” or weighing of a tapping-iron or +drill. One member, becoming interested in a funny paragraph he found in +the scrap of newspaper wrapped around his noonday cheese, shamelessly +sat down to finish it, regardless of the prospecting pan thrown at him +by another. They had taken up their daily routine of mining life like +schoolboys at their tasks. + +“Hello!” said Ned Wyngate, joyously recognizing a possible further +interruption. “Blamed if the Express rider ain't comin' here!” + +He was shading his eyes with his hand as he gazed over the broad +sun-baked expanse of broken “flat” between them and the highroad. They +all looked up, and saw the figure of a mounted man, with a courier's +bag thrown over his shoulder, galloping towards them. It was really +an event, as their letters were usually left at the grocery at the +crossroads. + +“I knew something was goin' to happen,” said Wyngate. “I didn't feel a +bit like work this morning.” + +Here one of their number ran off to meet the advancing horseman. They +watched him until they saw the latter rein up, and hand a brown envelope +to their messenger, who ran breathlessly back with it to the Ledge as +the horseman galloped away again. + +“A telegraph for Jackson Wells,” he said, handing it to the young man +who had been reading the scrap of paper. + +There was a dead silence. Telegrams were expensive rarities in those +days, especially with the youthful Bohemian miners of the Zip Coon +Ledge. They were burning with curiosity, yet a singular thing happened. +Accustomed as they had been to a life of brotherly familiarity and +unceremoniousness, this portentous message from the outside world of +civilization recalled their old formal politeness. They looked steadily +away from the receiver of the telegram, and he on his part stammered an +apologetic “Excuse me, boys,” as he broke the envelope. + +There was another pause, which seemed to be interminable to the waiting +partners. Then the voice of Wells, in quite natural tones, said, “By +gum! that's funny! Read that, Dexter,--read it out loud.” + +Dexter Rice, the foreman, took the proffered telegram from Wells's hand, +and read as follows:-- + + +Your uncle, Quincy Wells, died yesterday, leaving you sole heir. Will +attend you to-morrow for instructions. + +BAKER AND TWIGGS, + +Attorneys, Sacramento. + + +The three miners' faces lightened and turned joyously to Wells; but HIS +face looked puzzled. + +“May we congratulate you, Mr. Wells?” said Wyngate, with affected +politeness; “or possibly your uncle may have been English, and a title +goes with the 'prop,' and you may be Lord Wells, or Very Wells--at +least.” + +But here Jackson Wells's youthful face lost its perplexity, and he began +to laugh long and silently to himself. This was protracted to such an +extent that Dexter asserted himself,--as foreman and senior partner. + +“Look here, Jack! don't sit there cackling like a chuckle-headed magpie, +if you ARE the heir.” + +“I--can't--help it,” gasped Jackson. “I am the heir--but you see, boys, +there AIN'T ANY PROPERTY.” + +“What do you mean? Is all that a sell?” demanded Rice. + +“Not much! Telegraph's too expensive for that sort o' feelin'. You see, +boys, I've got an Uncle Quincy, though I don't know him much, and he MAY +be dead. But his whole fixin's consisted of a claim the size of ours, +and played out long ago: a ramshackle lot o' sheds called a cottage, and +a kind of market garden of about three acres, where he reared and sold +vegetables. He was always poor, and as for calling it 'property,' and ME +the 'heir'--good Lord!” + +“A miser, as sure as you're born!” said Wyngate, with optimistic +decision. “That's always the way. You'll find every crack of that +blessed old shed stuck full of greenbacks and certificates of deposit, +and lots of gold dust and coin buried all over that cow patch! And of +course no one suspected it! And of course he lived alone, and never let +any one get into his house--and nearly starved himself! Lord love you! +There's hundreds of such cases. The world is full of 'em!” + +“That's so,” chimed in Pulaski Briggs, the fourth partner, “and I tell +you what, Jacksey, we'll come over with you the day you take possession, +and just 'prospect' the whole blamed shanty, pigsties, and potato patch, +for fun--and won't charge you anything.” + +For a moment Jackson's face had really brightened under the infection of +enthusiasm, but it presently settled into perplexity again. + +“No! You bet the boys around Buckeye Hollow would have spotted anything +like that long ago.” + +“Buckeye Hollow!” repeated Rice and his partners. + +“Yes! Buckeye Hollow, that's the place; not twenty miles from here, and +a God-forsaken hole, as you know.” + +A cloud had settled on Zip Coon Ledge. They knew of Buckeye Hollow, and +it was evident that no good had ever yet come out of that Nazareth. + +“There's no use of talking now,” said Rice conclusively. “You'll draw it +all from that lawyer shark who's coming here tomorrow, and you can bet +your life he wouldn't have taken this trouble if there wasn't suthin' in +it. Anyhow, we'll knock off work now and call it half a day, in honor +of our distinguished young friend's accession to his baronial estates +of Buckeye Hollow. We'll just toddle down to Tomlinson's at the +cross-roads, and have a nip and a quiet game of old sledge at Jacksey's +expense. I reckon the estate's good for THAT,” he added, with severe +gravity. “And, speaking as a fa'r-minded man and the president of +this yer Company, if Jackson would occasionally take out and air that +telegraphic dispatch of his while we're at Tomlinson's, it might do +something for that Company's credit--with Tomlinson! We're wantin' some +new blastin' plant bad!” + +Oddly enough the telegram--accidentally shown at Tomlinson's--produced a +gratifying effect, and the Zip Coon Ledge materially advanced in +public estimation. With this possible infusion of new capital into its +resources, the Company was beset by offers of machinery and goods; +and it was deemed expedient by the sapient Rice, that to prevent the +dissemination of any more accurate information regarding Jackson's +property the next day, the lawyer should be met at the stage office by +one of the members, and conveyed secretly past Tomlinson's to the Ledge. + +“I'd let you go,” he said to Jackson, “only it won't do for that d----d +skunk of a lawyer to think you're too anxious--sabe? We want to rub into +him that we are in the habit out yer of havin' things left to us, and +a fortin' more or less, falling into us now and then, ain't nothin' +alongside of the Zip Coon claim. It won't hurt ye to keep up a big bluff +on that hand of yours. Nobody would dare to 'call' you.” + +Indeed this idea was carried out with such elaboration the next day that +Mr. Twiggs, the attorney, was considerably impressed both by the conduct +of his guide, who (although burning with curiosity) expressed absolute +indifference regarding Jackson Wells's inheritance, and the calmness of +Jackson himself, who had to be ostentatiously called from his work on +the Ledge to meet him, and who even gave him an audience in the hearing +of his partners. Forced into an apologetic attitude, he expressed his +regret at being obliged to bother Mr. Wells with an affair of such +secondary importance, but he was obliged to carry out the formalities of +the law. + +“What do you suppose the estate is worth?” asked Wells carelessly. + +“I should not think that the house, the claim, and the land would bring +more than fifteen hundred dollars,” replied Twiggs submissively. + +To the impecunious owners of Zip Coon Ledge it seemed a large sum, but +they did not show it. + +“You see,” continued Mr. Twiggs, “it's really a case of 'willing away' +property from its obvious or direct inheritors, instead of a beneficial +grant. I take it that you and your uncle were not particularly +intimate,--at least, so I gathered when I made the will,--and his simple +object was to disinherit his only daughter, with whom he had had some +quarrel, and who had left him to live with his late wife's brother, Mr. +Morley Brown, who is quite wealthy and residing in the same township. +Perhaps you remember the young lady?” + +Jackson Wells had a dim recollection of this cousin, a hateful, +red-haired schoolgirl, and an equally unpleasant memory of this other +uncle, who was purse-proud and had never taken any notice of him. He +answered affirmatively. + +“There may be some attempt to contest the will,” continued Mr. Twiggs, +“as the disinheriting of an only child and a daughter offends the +sentiment of the people and of judges and jury, and the law makes such +a will invalid, unless a reason is given. Fortunately your uncle has +placed his reasons on record. I have a copy of the will here, and can +show you the clause.” He took it from his pocket, and read as follows: +“'I exclude my daughter, Jocelinda Wells, from any benefit or provision +of this my will and testament, for the reason that she has voluntarily +abandoned her father's roof for the house of her mother's brother, +Morley Brown; has preferred the fleshpots of Egypt to the virtuous +frugalities of her own home, and has discarded the humble friends of +her youth, and the associates of her father, for the meretricious +and slavish sympathy of wealth and position. In lieu thereof, and as +compensation therefor, I do hereby give and bequeath to her my full and +free permission to gratify her frequently expressed wish for another +guardian in place of myself, and to become the adopted daughter of the +said Morley Brown, with the privilege of assuming the name of Brown +as aforesaid.' You see,” he continued, “as the young lady's present +position is a better one than it would be if she were in her father's +house, and was evidently a compromise, the sentimental consideration of +her being left homeless and penniless falls to the ground. However, as +the inheritance is small, and might be of little account to you, if you +choose to waive it, I dare say we may make some arrangement.” + +This was an utterly unexpected idea to the Zip Coon Company, and +Jackson Wells was for a moment silent. But Dexter Rice was equal to the +emergency, and turned to the astonished lawyer with severe dignity. + +“You'll excuse me for interferin', but, as the senior partner of this +yer Ledge, and Jackson Wells yer bein' a most important member, what +affects his usefulness on this claim affects us. And we propose to carry +out this yer will, with all its dips and spurs and angles!” + +As the surprised Twiggs turned from one to the other, Rice continued, +“Ez far as we kin understand this little game, it's the just punishment +of a high-flying girl as breaks her pore old father's heart, and the +re-ward of a young feller ez has bin to our knowledge ez devoted a +nephew as they make 'em. Time and time again, sittin' around our camp +fire at night, we've heard Jacksey say,--kinder to himself, and kinder +to us, 'Now I wonder what's gone o' old uncle Quincy;' and he never +sat down to a square meal, or ever rose from a square game, but what +he allus said, 'If old uncle Quince was only here now, boys, I'd die +happy.' I leave it to you, gentlemen, if that wasn't Jackson Wells's +gait all the time?” + +There was a prolonged murmur of assent, and an affecting corroboration +from Ned Wyngate of “That was him; that was Jacksey all the time!” + +“Indeed, indeed,” said the lawyer nervously. “I had quite the idea that +there was very little fondness”-- + +“Not on your side--not on your side,” said Rice quickly. “Uncle Quincy +may not have anted up in this matter o' feelin', nor seen his nephew's +rise. You know how it is yourself in these things--being a lawyer and a +fa'r-minded man--it's all on one side, ginerally! There's always one who +loves and sacrifices, and all that, and there's always one who rakes in +the pot! That's the way o' the world; and that's why,” continued Rice, +abandoning his slightly philosophical attitude, and laying his hand +tenderly, and yet with a singularly significant grip, on Wells's arm, +“we say to him, 'Hang on to that will, and uncle Quincy's memory.' +And we hev to say it. For he's that tender-hearted and keerless of +money--having his own share in this Ledge--that ef that girl came +whimperin' to him he'd let her take the 'prop' and let the hull thing +slide! And then he'd remember that he had rewarded that gal that broke +the old man's heart, and that would upset him again in his work. And +there, you see, is just where WE come in! And we say, 'Hang on to that +will like grim death!'” + +The lawyer looked curiously at Rice and his companions, and then turned +to Wells: “Nevertheless, I must look to you for instructions,” he said +dryly. + +But by this time Jackson Wells, although really dubious about +supplanting the orphan, had gathered the sense of his partners, and said +with a frank show of decision, “I think I must stand by the will.” + +“Then I'll have it proved,” said Twiggs, rising. “In the meantime, if +there is any talk of contesting”-- + +“If there is, you might say,” suggested Wyngate, who felt he had not had +a fair show in the little comedy,--“ye might say to that old skeesicks +of a wife's brother, if he wants to nipple in, that there are four men +on the Ledge--and four revolvers! We are gin'rally fa'r-minded, peaceful +men, but when an old man's heart is broken, and his gray hairs brought +down in sorrow to the grave, so to speak, we're bound to attend the +funeral--sabe?” + +When Mr. Twiggs had departed again, accompanied by a partner to guide +him past the dangerous shoals of Tomlinson's grocery, Rice clapped his +hand on Wells's shoulder. “If it hadn't been for me, sonny, that shark +would have landed you into some compromise with that red-haired gal! I +saw you weakenin', and then I chipped in. I may have piled up the agony +a little on your love for old Quince, but if you aren't an ungrateful +cub, that's how you ought to hev been feein', anyhow!” + +Nevertheless, the youthful Wells, although touched by his elder +partner's loyalty, and convinced of his own disinterestedness, felt a +painful sense of lost chivalrous opportunity. + +***** + +On mature consideration it was finally settled that Jackson Wells should +make his preliminary examination of his inheritance alone, as it might +seem inconsistent with the previous indifferent attitude of his +partners if they accompanied him. But he was implored to yield to no +blandishments of the enemy, and to even make his visit a secret. + +He went. The familiar flower-spiked trees which had given their name +to Buckeye Hollow had never yielded entirely to improvements and the +incursions of mining enterprise, and many of them had even survived the +disused ditches, the scarred flats, the discarded levels, ruined flumes, +and roofless cabins of the earlier occupation, so that when Jackson +Wells entered the wide, straggling street of Buckeye, that summer +morning was filled with the radiance of its blossoms and fragrant with +their incense. His first visit there, ten years ago, had been a purely +perfunctory and hasty one, yet he remembered the ostentatious hotel, +built in the “flush time” of its prosperity, and already in a green +premature decay; he recalled the Express Office and Town Hall, also +passing away in a kind of similar green deliquescence; the little zinc +church, now overgrown with fern and brambles, and the two or three fine +substantial houses in the outskirts, which seemed to have sucked the +vitality of the little settlement. One of these--he had been told--was +the property of his rich and wicked maternal uncle, the hated +appropriator of his red-headed cousin's affections. He recalled his +brief visit to the departed testator's claim and market garden, and his +by no means favorable impression of the lonely, crabbed old man, as well +as his relief that his objectionable cousin, whom he had not seen since +he was a boy, was then absent at the rival uncle's. He made his way +across the road to a sunny slope where the market garden of three acres +seemed to roll like a river of green rapids to a little “run” or brook, +which, even in the dry season, showed a trickling rill. But here he was +struck by a singular circumstance. The garden rested in a rich, alluvial +soil, and under the quickening Californian sky had developed far beyond +the ability of its late cultivator to restrain or keep it in order. +Everything had grown luxuriantly, and in monstrous size and profusion. +The garden had even trespassed its bounds, and impinged upon the open +road, the deserted claims, and the ruins of the past. Stimulated by the +little cultivation Quincy Wells had found time to give it, it had +leaped its three acres and rioted through the Hollow. There were scarlet +runners crossing the abandoned sluices, peas climbing the court-house +wall, strawberries matting the trail, while the seeds and pollen of +its few homely Eastern flowers had been blown far and wide through the +woods. By a grim satire, Nature seemed to have been the only thing that +still prospered in that settlement of man. + +The cabin itself, built of unpainted boards, consisted of a +sitting-room, dining-room, kitchen, and two bedrooms, all plainly +furnished, although one of the bedrooms was better ordered, and +displayed certain signs of feminine decoration, which made Jackson +believe it had been his cousin's room. Luckily, the slight, temporary +structure bore no deep traces of its previous occupancy to disturb him +with its memories, and for the same reason it gained in cleanliness and +freshness. The dry, desiccating summer wind that blew through it had +carried away both the odors and the sense of domesticity; even the adobe +hearth had no fireside tales to tell,--its very ashes had been scattered +by the winds; and the gravestone of its dead owner on the hill was no +more flavorless of his personality than was this plain house in which he +had lived and died. The excessive vegetation produced by the stirred-up +soil had covered and hidden the empty tin cans, broken boxes, and +fragments of clothing which usually heaped and littered the tent-pegs +of the pioneer. Nature's own profusion had thrust them into obscurity. +Jackson Wells smiled as he recalled his sanguine partner's idea of a +treasure-trove concealed and stuffed in the crevices of this tenement, +already so palpably picked clean by those wholesome scavengers of +California, the dry air and burning sun. Yet he was not displeased at +this obliteration of a previous tenancy; there was the better chance for +him to originate something. He whistled hopefully as he lounged, with +his hands in his pockets, towards the only fence and gate that gave upon +the road. Something stuck up on the gate-post attracted his attention. +It was a sheet of paper bearing the inscription in a large hand: “Notice +to trespassers. Look out for the Orphan Robber!” A plain signboard in +faded black letters on the gate, which had borne the legend: “Quincy +Wells, Dealer in Fruit and Vegetables,” had been rudely altered in chalk +to read: “Jackson Wells, Double Dealer in Wills and Codicils,” and the +intimation “Bouquets sold here” had been changed to “Bequests stole +here.” For an instant the simple-minded Jackson failed to discover +any significance of this outrage, which seemed to him to be merely +the wanton mischief of a schoolboy. But a sudden recollection of +the lawyer's caution sent the blood to his cheeks and kindled +his indignation. He tore down the paper and rubbed out the chalk +interpolation--and then laughed at his own anger. Nevertheless, he would +not have liked his belligerent partners to see it. + +A little curious to know the extent of this feeling, he entered one of +the shops, and by one or two questions which judiciously betrayed his +ownership of the property, he elicited only a tradesman's interest in a +possible future customer, and the ordinary curiosity about a stranger. +The barkeeper of the hotel was civil, but brief and gloomy. He had heard +the property was “willed away on account of some family quarrel which +'warn't none of his'.” Mr. Wells would find Buckeye Hollow a mighty dull +place after the mines. It was played out, sucked dry by two or three big +mine owners who were trying to “freeze out” the other settlers, so as +they might get the place to themselves and “boom it.” Brown, who had the +big house over the hill, was the head devil of the gang! Wells felt his +indignation kindle anew. And this girl that he had ousted was Brown's +friend. Was it possible that she was a party to Brown's designs to get +this three acres with the other lands? If so, his long-suffering uncle +was only just in his revenge. + +He put all this diffidently before his partners on his return, and was a +little startled at their adopting it with sanguine ferocity. They hoped +that he would put an end to his thoughts of backing out of it. Such a +course now would be dishonorable to his uncle's memory. It was clearly +his duty to resist these blasted satraps of capitalists; he was +providentially selected for the purpose--a village Hampden to withstand +the tyrant. “And I reckon that shark of a lawyer knew all about it when +he was gettin' off that 'purp stuff' about people's sympathies with the +girl,” said Rice belligerently. “Contest the will, would he? Why, if we +caught that Brown with a finger in the pie we'd just whip up the boys on +this Ledge and lynch him. You hang on to that three acres and the garden +patch of your forefathers, sonny, and we'll see you through!” + +Nevertheless, it was with some misgivings that Wells consented that +his three partners should actually accompany him and see him put in +peaceable possession of his inheritance. His instinct told him that +there would be no contest of the will, and still less any opposition +on the part of the objectionable relative, Brown. When the wagon +which contained his personal effects and the few articles of furniture +necessary for his occupancy of the cabin arrived, the exaggerated +swagger which his companions had put on in their passage through the +settlement gave way to a pastoral indolence, equally half real, half +affected. Lying on their backs under a buckeye, they permitted Rice to +voice the general sentiment. “There's a suthin' soothin' and dreamy in +this kind o' life, Jacksey, and we'll make a point of comin' here for a +couple of days every two weeks to lend you a hand; it will be a mighty +good change from our nigger work on the claim.” + +In spite of this assurance, and the fact that they had voluntarily come +to help him put the place in order, they did very little beyond lending +a cheering expression of unqualified praise and unstinted advice. At the +end of four hours' weeding and trimming the boundaries of the garden, +they unanimously gave their opinion that it would be more systematic for +him to employ Chinese labor at once. + +“You see,” said Ned Wyngate, “the Chinese naturally take to this kind o' +business. Why, you can't take up a china plate or saucer but you see +'em pictured there working at jobs like this, and they kin live on green +things and rice that cost nothin', and chickens. You'll keep chickens, +of course.” + +Jackson thought that his hands would be full enough with the garden, but +he meekly assented. + +“I'll get a pair--you only want two to begin with,” continued Wyngate +cheerfully, “and in a month or two you've got all you want, and eggs +enough for market. On second thoughts, I don't know whether you hadn't +better begin with eggs first. That is, you borry some eggs from one +man and a hen from another. Then you set 'em, and when the chickens are +hatched out you just return the hen to the second man, and the eggs, +when your chickens begin to lay, to the first man, and you've got your +chickens for nothing--and there you are.” + +This ingenious proposition, which was delivered on the last slope of +the domain, where the partners were lying exhausted from their work, was +broken in upon by the appearance of a small boy, barefooted, sunburnt, +and tow-headed, who, after a moment's hurried scrutiny of the group, +threw a letter with unerring precision into the lap of Jackson Wells, +and then fled precipitately. Jackson instinctively suspected he was +connected with the outrage on his fence and gate-post, but as he had +avoided telling his partners of the incident, fearing to increase their +belligerent attitude, he felt now an awkward consciousness mingled with +his indignation as he broke the seal and read as follows:-- + + +SIR,--This is to inform you that although you have got hold of the +property by underhanded and sneaking ways, you ain't no right to touch +or lay your vile hands on the Cherokee Rose alongside the house, nor on +the Giant of Battles, nor on the Maiden's Pride by the gate--the same +being the property of Miss Jocelinda Wells, and planted by her, under +the penalty of the Law. And if you, or any of your gang of ruffians, +touches it or them, or any thereof, or don't deliver it up when called +for in good order, you will be persecuted by them. + +AVENGER. + + +It is to be feared that Jackson would have suppressed this also, but the +keen eyes of his partners, excited by the abruptness of the messenger, +were upon him. He smiled feebly, and laid the letter before them. But +he was unprepared for their exaggerated indignation, and with difficulty +restrained them from dashing off in the direction of the vanished +herald. “And what could you do?” he said. “The boy's only a messenger.” + +“I'll get at that d----d skunk Brown, who's back of him,” said Dexter +Rice. + +“And what then?” persisted Jackson, with a certain show of independence. +“If this stuff belongs to the girl, I'm not certain I shan't give them +up without any fuss. Lord! I want nothing but what the old man left +me--and certainly nothing of HERS.” + +Here Ned Wyngate was heard to murmur that Jackson was one of those +men who would lie down and let coyotes crawl over him if they first +presented a girl's visiting card, but he was stopped by Rice demanding +paper and pencil. The former being torn from a memorandum book, and a +stub of the latter produced from another pocket, he wrote as follows:-- + + +SIR,--In reply to the hogwash you have kindly exuded in your letter of +to-day, I have to inform you that you can have what you ask for Miss +Wells, and perhaps a trifle on your own account, by calling this +afternoon on--Yours truly-- + + +“Now, sign it,” continued Rice, handing him the pencil. + +“But this will look as if we were angry and wanted to keep the plants,” + protested Wells. + +“Never you mind, sonny, but sign! Leave the rest to your partners, +and when you lay your head on your pillow to-night return thanks to an +overruling Providence for providing you with the right gang of ruffians +to look after you!” + +Wells signed reluctantly, and Wyngate offered to find a Chinaman in the +gulch who would take the missive. “And being a Chinaman, Brown can do +any cussin' or buck talk THROUGH him!” he added. + +The afternoon wore on; the tall Douglas pines near the water pools +wheeled their long shadows round and halfway up the slope, and the sun +began to peer into the faces of the reclining men. Subtle odors of mint +and southern-wood, stragglers from the garden, bruised by their limbs, +replaced the fumes of their smoked-out pipes, and the hammers of the +woodpeckers were busy in the grove as they lay lazily nibbling the +fragrant leaves like peaceful ruminants. Then came the sound of +approaching wheels along the invisible highway beyond the buckeyes, +and then a halt and silence. Rice rose slowly, bright pin points in the +pupils of his gray eyes. + +“Bringin' a wagon with him to tote the hull shanty away,” suggested +Wyngate. + +“Or fetched his own ambulance,” said Briggs. + +Nevertheless, after a pause, the wheels presently rolled away again. + +“We'd better go and meet him at the gate,” said Rice, hitching his +revolver holster nearer his hip. “That wagon stopped long enough to put +down three or four men.” + +They walked leisurely but silently to the gate. It is probable that none +of them believed in a serious collision, but now the prospect had enough +possibility in it to quicken their pulses. They reached the gate. But it +was still closed; the road beyond it empty. + +“Mebbe they've sneaked round to the cabin,” said Briggs, “and are +holdin' it inside.” + +They were turning quickly in that direction, when Wyngate said, +“Hush!--some one's there in the brush under the buckeyes.” + +They listened; there was a faint rustling in the shadows. + +“Come out o' that, Brown--into the open. Don't be shy,” called out Rice +in cheerful irony. “We're waitin' for ye.” + +But Briggs, who was nearest the wood, here suddenly uttered an +exclamation,--“B'gosh!” and fell back, open-mouthed, upon his +companions. They too, in another moment, broke into a feeble laugh, and +lapsed against each other in sheepish silence. For a very pretty girl, +handsomely dressed, swept out of the wood and advanced towards them. + +Even at any time she would have been an enchanting vision to these men, +but in the glow of exercise and sparkle of anger she was bewildering. +Her wonderful hair, the color of freshly hewn redwood, had escaped from +her hat in her passage through the underbrush, and even as she swept +down upon them in her majesty she was jabbing a hairpin into it with a +dexterous feminine hand. + +The three partners turned quite the color of her hair; Jackson Wells +alone remained white and rigid. She came on, her very short upper lip +showing her white teeth with her panting breath. + +Rice was first to speak. “I beg--your pardon, Miss--I thought it was +Brown--you know,” he stammered. + +But she only turned a blighting brown eye on the culprit, curled her +short lip till it almost vanished in her scornful nostrils, drew her +skirt aside with a jerk, and continued her way straight to Jackson +Wells, where she halted. + +“We did not know you were--here alone,” he said apologetically. + +“Thought I was afraid to come alone, didn't you? Well, you see, I'm not. +There!” She made another dive at her hat and hair, and brought the hat +down wickedly over her eyebrows. “Gimme my plants.” + +Jackson had been astonished. He would have scarcely recognized in this +willful beauty the red-haired girl whom he had boyishly hated, and with +whom he had often quarreled. But there was a recollection--and with that +recollection came an instinct of habit. He looked her squarely in the +face, and, to the horror of his partners, said, “Say please!” + +They had expected to see him fall, smitten with the hairpin! But she +only stopped, and then in bitter irony said, “Please, Mr. Jackson +Wells.” + +“I haven't dug them up yet--and it would serve you just right if I +made you get them for yourself. But perhaps my friends here might help +you--if you were civil.” + +The three partners seized spades and hoes and rushed forward eagerly. +“Only show us what you want,” they said in one voice. The young girl +stared at them, and at Jackson. Then with swift determination she turned +her back scornfully upon him, and with a dazzling smile which reduced +the three men to absolute idiocy, said to the others, “I'll show YOU,” + and marched away to the cabin. + +“Ye mustn't mind Jacksey,” said Rice, sycophantically edging to her +side, “he's so cut up with losin' your father that he loved like a son, +he isn't himself, and don't seem to know whether to ante up or pass out. +And as for yourself, Miss--why--What was it he was sayin' only just as +the young lady came?” he added, turning abruptly to Wyngate. + +“Everything that cousin Josey planted with her own hands must be took up +carefully and sent back--even though it's killin' me to part with it,” + quoted Wyngate unblushingly, as he slouched along on the other side. + +Miss Wells's eyes glared at them, though her mouth still smiled +ravishingly. “I'm sure I'm troubling you.” + +In a few moments the plants were dug up and carefully laid together; +indeed, the servile Briggs had added a few that she had not indicated. + +“Would you mind bringing them as far as the buggy that's coming down +the hill?” she said, pointing to a buggy driven by a small boy which +was slowly approaching the gate. The men tenderly lifted the uprooted +plants, and proceeded solemnly, Miss Wells bringing up the rear, towards +the gate, where Jackson Wells was still surlily lounging. + +They passed out first. Miss Wells lingered for an instant, and then +advancing her beautiful but audacious face within an inch of Jackson's, +hissed out, “Make-believe! and hypocrite!” + +“Cross-patch and sauce-box!” returned Jackson readily, still under the +malign influence of his boyish past, as she flounced away. + +Presently he heard the buggy rattle away with his persecutor. But his +partners still lingered on the road in earnest conversation, and when +they did return it was with a singular awkwardness and embarrassment, +which he naturally put down to a guilty consciousness of their foolish +weakness in succumbing to the girl's demands. + +But he was a little surprised when Dexter Rice approached him gloomily. +“Of course,” he began, “it ain't no call of ours to interfere in family +affairs, and you've a right to keep 'em to yourself, but if you'd been +fair and square and above board in what you got off on us about this +per--” + +“What do you mean?” demanded the astonished Wells. + +“Well--callin' her a 'red-haired gal.'” + +“Well--she is a red-haired girl!” said Wells impatiently. + +“A man,” continued Rice pityingly, “that is so prejudiced as to apply +such language to a beautiful orphan--torn with grief at the loss of a +beloved but d----d misconstruing parent--merely because she begs a few +vegetables out of his potato patch, ain't to be reasoned with. But when +you come to look at this thing by and large, and as a fa'r-minded man, +sonny, you'll agree with us that the sooner you make terms with her the +better. Considerin' your interest, Jacksey,--let alone the claims of +humanity,--we've concluded to withdraw from here until this thing is +settled. She's sort o' mixed us up with your feelings agin her, and +naturally supposed we object to the color of her hair! and bein' a +penniless orphan, rejected by her relations”-- + +“What stuff are you talking?” burst in Jackson. “Why, YOU saw she +treated you better than she did me.” + +“Steady! There you go with that temper of yours that frightened the +girl! Of course she could see that WE were fa'r-minded men, accustomed +to the ways of society, and not upset by the visit of a lady, or the +givin' up of a few green sticks! But let that slide! We're goin' back +home to-night, sonny, and when you've thought this thing over and are +straightened up and get your right bearin's, we'll stand by you as +before. We'll put a man on to do your work on the Ledge, so ye needn't +worry about that.” + +They were quite firm in this decision,--however absurd or obscure their +conclusions,--and Jackson, after his first flash of indignation, felt +a certain relief in their departure. But strangely enough, while he had +hesitated about keeping the property when they were violently in favor +of it, he now felt he was right in retaining it against their advice to +compromise. The sentimental idea had vanished with his recognition of +his hateful cousin in the role of the injured orphan. And for the same +odd reason her prettiness only increased his resentment. He was not +deceived,--it was the same capricious, willful, red-haired girl. + +The next day he set himself to work with that dogged steadiness that +belonged to his simple nature, and which had endeared him to his +partners. He set half a dozen Chinamen to work, and followed, although +apparently directing, their methods. The great difficulty was to +restrain and control the excessive vegetation, and he matched the small +economies of the Chinese against the opulence of the Californian soil. +The “garden patch” prospered; the neighbors spoke well of it and of +him. But Jackson knew that this fierce harvest of early spring was to be +followed by the sterility of the dry season, and that irrigation could +alone make his work profitable in the end. He brought a pump to force +the water from the little stream at the foot of the slope to the top, +and allowed it to flow back through parallel trenches. Again Buckeye +applauded! Only the gloomy barkeeper shook his head. “The moment you get +that thing to pay, Mr. Wells, you'll find the hand of Brown, somewhere, +getting ready to squeeze it dry!” + +But Jackson Wells did not trouble himself about Brown, whom he scarcely +knew. Once indeed, while trenching the slope, he was conscious that he +was watched by two men from the opposite bank; but they were apparently +satisfied by their scrutiny, and turned away. Still less did he concern +himself with the movements of his cousin, who once or twice passed him +superciliously in her buggy on the road. Again, she met him as one of +a cavalcade of riders, mounted on a handsome but ill-tempered mustang, +which she was managing with an ill-temper and grace equal to the +brute's, to the alternate delight and terror of her cavalier. He could +see that she had been petted and spoiled by her new guardian and his +friends far beyond his conception. But why she should grudge him the +little garden and the pastoral life for which she was so unsuited, +puzzled him greatly. + +One afternoon he was working near the road, when he was startled by +an outcry from his Chinese laborers, their rapid dispersal from the +strawberry beds where they were working, the splintering crash of his +fence rails, and a commotion among the buckeyes. Furious at what seemed +to him one of the usual wanton attacks upon coolie labor, he seized +his pick and ran to their assistance. But he was surprised to find +Jocelinda's mustang caught by the saddle and struggling between two +trees, and its unfortunate mistress lying upon the strawberry bed. +Shocked but cool-headed, Jackson released the horse first, who was +lashing out and destroying everything within his reach, and then turned +to his cousin. But she had already lifted herself to her elbow, and +with a trickle of blood and mud on one fair cheek was surveying him +scornfully under her tumbled hair and hanging hat. + +“You don't suppose I was trespassing on your wretched patch again, do +you?” she said in a voice she was trying to keep from breaking. “It was +that brute--who bolted.” + +“I don't suppose you were bullying ME this time,” he said, “but you were +YOUR HORSE--or it wouldn't have happened. Are you hurt?” + +She tried to move; he offered her his hand, but she shied from it and +struggled to her feet. She took a step forward--but limped. + +“If you don't want my arm, let me call a Chinaman,” he suggested. + +She glared at him. “If you do I'll scream!” she said in a low voice, and +he knew she would. But at the same moment her face whitened, at which he +slipped his arm under hers in a dexterous, business-like way, so as to +support her weight. Then her hat got askew, and down came a long braid +over his shoulder. He remembered it of old, only it was darker than then +and two or three feet longer. + +“If you could manage to limp as far as the gate and sit down on the +bank, I'd get your horse for you,” he said. “I hitched it to a sapling.” + +“I saw you did--before you even offered to help me,” she said +scornfully. + +“The horse would have got away--YOU couldn't.” + +“If you only knew how I hated you,” she said, with a white face, but a +trembling lip. + +“I don't see how that would make things any better,” he said. “Better +wipe your face; it's scratched and muddy, and you've been rubbing your +nose in my strawberry bed.” + +She snatched his proffered handkerchief suddenly, applied it to her +face, and said: “I suppose it looks dreadful.” + +“Like a pig's,” he returned cheerfully. + +She walked a little more firmly after this, until they reached the gate. +He seated her on the bank, and went back for the mustang. That beautiful +brute, astounded and sore from its contact with the top rail and +brambles, was cowed and subdued as he led it back. + +She had finished wiping her face, and was hurriedly disentangling +two stinging tears from her long lashes, before she threw back his +handkerchief. Her sprained ankle obliged him to lift her into the saddle +and adjust her little shoe in the stirrup. He remembered when it +was still smaller. “You used to ride astride,” he said, a flood of +recollection coming over him, “and it's much safer with your temper and +that brute.” + +“And you,” she said in a lower voice, “used to be”--But the rest of her +sentence was lost in the switch of the whip and the jump of her horse, +but he thought the word was “kinder.” + +Perhaps this was why, after he watched her canter away, he went back to +the garden, and from the bruised and trampled strawberry bed gathered +a small basket of the finest fruit, covered them with leaves, added a +paper with the highly ingenious witticism, “Picked up with you,” and +sent them to her by one of the Chinamen. Her forcible entry moved +Li Sing, his foreman, also chief laundryman to the settlement, to +reminiscences: + +“Me heap knew Missy Wells and ole man, who go dead. Ole man allee +time make chin music to Missy. Allee time jaw jaw--allee time make +lows--allee time cuttee up Missy! Plenty time lockee up Missy topside +house; no can walkee--no can talkee--no hab got--how can get?--must +washee washee allee same Chinaman. Ole man go dead--Missy all lightee +now. Plenty fun. Plenty stay in Blown's big house, top-side hill; Blown +first-chop man.” + +Had he inquired he might have found this pagan testimony, for once, +corroborated by the Christian neighbors. + +But another incident drove all this from his mind. The little +stream--the life blood of his garden--ran dry! Inquiry showed that it +had been diverted two miles away into Brown's ditch! Wells's indignant +protest elicited a formal reply from Brown, stating that he owned the +adjacent mining claims, and reminding him that mining rights to water +took precedence of the agricultural claim, but offering, by way of +compensation, to purchase the land thus made useless and sterile. +Jackson suddenly recalled the prophecy of the gloomy barkeeper. The end, +had come! But what could the scheming capitalist want with the land, +equally useless--as his uncle had proved--for mining purposes? Could it +be sheer malignity, incited by his vengeful cousin? But here he paused, +rejecting the idea as quickly as it came. No! his partners were right! +He was a trespasser on his cousin's heritage--there was no luck in +it--he was wrong, and this was his punishment! Instead of yielding +gracefully as he might, he must back down now, and she would never know +his first real feelings. Even now he would make over the property to +her as a free gift. But his partners had advanced him money from their +scanty means to plant and work it. He believed that an appeal to their +feelings would persuade them to forego even that, but he shrank even +more from confessing his defeat to THEM than to her. + +He had little heart in his labors that day, and dismissed the Chinamen +early. He again examined his uncle's old mining claim on the top of +the slope, but was satisfied that it had been a hopeless enterprise +and wisely abandoned. It was sunset when he stood under the buckeyes, +gloomily looking at the glow fade out of the west, as it had out of his +boyish hopes. He had grown to like the place. It was the hour, too, when +the few flowers he had cultivated gave back their pleasant odors, as if +grateful for his care. And then he heard his name called. + +It was his cousin, standing a few yards from him in evident hesitation. +She was quite pale, and for a moment he thought she was still suffering +from her fall, until he saw in her nervous, half-embarrassed manner that +it had no physical cause. Her old audacity and anger seemed gone, yet +there was a queer determination in her pretty brows. + +“Good-evening,” he said. + +She did not return his greeting, but pulling uneasily at her glove, said +hesitatingly: “Uncle has asked you to sell him this land?” + +“Yes.” + +“Well--don't!” she burst out abruptly. + +He stared at her. + +“Oh, I'm not trying to keep you here,” she went on, flashing back into +her old temper; “so you needn't stare like that. I say, 'Don't,' because +it ain't right, it ain't fair.” + +“Why, he's left me no alternative,” he said. + +“That's just it--that's why it's mean and low. I don't care if he is our +uncle.” + +Jackson was bewildered and shocked. + +“I know it's horrid to say it,” she said, with a white face; “but it's +horrider to keep it in! Oh, Jack! when we were little, and used to fight +and quarrel, I never was mean--was I? I never was underhanded--was I? +I never lied--did I? And I can't lie now. Jack,” she looked hurriedly +around her, “HE wants to get hold of the land--HE thinks there's gold in +the slope and bank by the stream. He says dad was a fool to have located +his claim so high up. Jack! did you ever prospect the bank?” + +A dawning of intelligence came upon Jackson. “No,” he said; “but,” he +added bitterly, “what's the use? He owns the water now,--I couldn't work +it.” + +“But, Jack, IF you found the color, this would be a MINING claim! You +could claim the water right; and, as it's your land, your claim would be +first!” + +Jackson was startled. “Yes, IF I found the color.” + +“You WOULD find it.” + +“WOULD?” + +“Yes! I DID--on the sly! Yesterday morning on your slope by the stream, +when no one was up! I washed a panful and got that.” She took a piece of +tissue paper from her pocket, opened it, and shook into her little palm +three tiny pin points of gold. + +“And that was your own idea, Jossy?” + +“Yes!” + +“Your very own?” + +“Honest Injin!” + +“Wish you may die?” + +“True, O King!” + +He opened his arms, and they mutually embraced. Then they separated, +taking hold of each other's hands solemnly, and falling back until they +were at arm's length. Then they slowly extended their arms sideways at +full length, until this action naturally brought their faces and lips +together. They did this with the utmost gravity three times, and then +embraced again, rocking on pivoted feet like a metronome. Alas! it was +no momentary inspiration. The most casual and indifferent observer +could see that it was the result of long previous practice and shameless +experience. And as such--it was a revelation and an explanation. + + +***** + +“I always suspected that Jackson was playin' us about that red-haired +cousin,” said Rice two weeks later; “but I can't swallow that purp stuff +about her puttin' him up to that dodge about a new gold discovery on +a fresh claim, just to knock out Brown. No, sir. He found that gold in +openin' these irrigatin' trenches,--the usual nigger luck, findin' what +you're not lookin' arter.” + +“Well, we can't complain, for he's offered to work it on shares with +us,” said Briggs. + +“Yes--until he's ready to take in another partner.” + +“Not--Brown?” said his horrified companions. + +“No!--but Brown's adopted daughter--that red-haired cousin!” + + + + +THE REINCARNATION OF SMITH + + +The extravagant supper party by which Mr. James Farendell celebrated the +last day of his bachelorhood was protracted so far into the night, +that the last guest who parted from him at the door of the principal +Sacramento restaurant was for a moment impressed with the belief that +a certain ruddy glow in the sky was already the dawn. But Mr. Farendell +had kept his head clear enough to recognize it as the light of some +burning building in a remote business district, a not infrequent +occurrence in the dry season. When he had dismissed his guest he turned +away in that direction for further information. His own counting-house +was not in that immediate neighborhood, but Sacramento had been once +before visited by a rapid and far-sweeping conflagration, and it +behooved him to be on the alert even on this night of festivity. + +Perhaps also a certain anxiety arose out of the occasion. He was to be +married to-morrow to the widow of his late partner, and the +marriage, besides being an attractive one, would settle many business +difficulties. He had been a fortunate man, but, like many more fortunate +men, was not blind to the possibilities of a change of luck. The death +of his partner in a successful business had at first seemed to betoken +that change, but his successful, though hasty, courtship of the +inexperienced widow had restored his chances without greatly shocking +the decorum of a pioneer community. Nevertheless, he was not a contented +man, and hardly a determined--although an energetic one. + +A walk of a few moments brought him to the levee of the river,--a +favored district, where his counting-house, with many others, was +conveniently situated. In these early days only a few of these buildings +could be said to be permanent,--fire and flood perpetually threatened +them. They were merely temporary structures of wood, or in the case +of Mr. Farendell's office, a shell of corrugated iron, sheathing +a one-storied wooden frame, more or less elaborate in its interior +decorations. By the time he had reached it, the distant fire had +increased. On his way he had met and recognized many of his business +acquaintances hurrying thither,--some to save their own property, or +to assist the imperfectly equipped volunteer fire department in their +unselfish labors. It was probably Mr. Farendell's peculiar preoccupation +on that particular night which had prevented his joining in their +brotherly zeal. + +He unlocked the iron door, and lit the hanging lamp that was used in +all-night sittings on steamer days. It revealed a smartly furnished +office, with a high desk for his clerks, and a smaller one for himself +in one corner. In the centre of the wall stood a large safe. This he +also unlocked and took out a few important books, as well as a small +drawer containing gold coin and dust to the amount of about five hundred +dollars, the large balance having been deposited in bank on the previous +day. The act was only precautionary, as he did not exhibit any haste in +removing them to a place of safety, and remained meditatively absorbed +in looking over a packet of papers taken from the same drawer. The +closely shuttered building, almost hermetically sealed against light, +and perhaps sound, prevented his observing the steadily increasing light +of the conflagration, or hearing the nearer tumult of the firemen, and +the invasion of his quiet district by other equally solicitous tenants. +The papers seemed also to possess some importance, for, the stillness +being suddenly broken by the turning of the handle of the heavy door he +had just closed, and its opening with difficulty, his first act was +to hurriedly conceal them, without apparently paying a thought to the +exposed gold before him. And his expression and attitude in facing +round towards the door was quite as much of nervous secretiveness as of +indignation at the interruption. + +Yet the intruder appeared, though singular, by no means formidable. He +was a man slightly past the middle age, with a thin face, hollowed at +the cheeks and temples as if by illness or asceticism, and a grayish +beard that encircled his throat like a soiled worsted “comforter” below +his clean-shaven chin and mouth. His manner was slow and methodical, and +even when he shot the bolt of the door behind him, the act did not seem +aggressive. Nevertheless Mr. Farendell half rose with his hand on +his pistol-pocket, but the stranger merely lifted his own hand with +a gesture of indifferent warning, and, drawing a chair towards him, +dropped into it deliberately. + +Mr. Farendell's angry stare changed suddenly to one of surprised +recognition. “Josh Scranton,” he said hesitatingly. + +“I reckon,” responded the stranger slowly. “That's the name I allus +bore, and YOU called yourself Farendell. Well, we ain't seen each other +sens the spring o' '50, when ye left me lying nigh petered out with +chills and fever on the Stanislaus River, and sold the claim that me and +Duffy worked under our very feet, and skedaddled for 'Frisco!” + +“I only exercised my right as principal owner, and to secure my +advances,” began the late Mr. Farendell sharply. + +But again the thin hand was raised, this time with a slow, scornful +waiving of any explanations. “It ain't that in partickler that I've kem +to see ye for to-night,” said the stranger slowly, “nor it ain't about +your takin' the name o' 'Farendell,' that friend o' yours who died on +the passage here with ye, and whose papers ye borrowed! Nor it ain't +on account o' that wife of yours ye left behind in Missouri, and whose +letters you never answered. It's them things all together--and suthin' +else!” + +“What the d---l do you want, then?” said Farendell, with a desperate +directness that was, however, a tacit confession of the truth of these +accusations. + +“Yer allowin' that ye'll get married tomorrow?” said Scranton slowly. + +“Yes, and be d----d to you,” said Farendell fiercely. + +“Yer NOT,” returned Scranton. “Not if I knows it. Yer goin' to climb +down. Yer goin' to get up and get! Yer goin' to step down and out! Yer +goin' to shut up your desk and your books and this hull consarn inside +of an hour, and vamose the ranch. Arter an hour from now thar won't be +any Mr. Farendell, and no weddin' to-morrow.” + +“If that's your game--perhaps you'd like to murder me at once?” said +Farendell with a shifting eye, as his hand again moved towards his +revolver. + +But again the thin hand of the stranger was also lifted. “We ain't in +the business o' murderin' or bein' murdered, or we might hev kem here +together, me and Duffy. Now if anything happens to me Duffy will be +left, and HE'S got the proofs.” + +Farendell seemed to recognize the fact with the same directness. “That's +it, is it?” he said bluntly. “Well, how much do you want? Only, I warn +you that I haven't much to give.” + +“Wotever you've got, if it was millions, it ain't enough to buy us up, +and ye ought to know that by this time,” responded Scranton, with +a momentary flash in his eyes. But the next moment his previous +passionless deliberation returned, and leaning his arm on the desk of +the man before him he picked up a paperweight carelessly and turned it +over as he said slowly, “The fact is, Mr. Farendell, you've been making +us, me and Duffy, tired. We've bin watchin' you and your doin's, lyin' +low and sayin' nothin', till we concluded that it was about time you +handed in your checks and left the board. We ain't wanted nothin' of +ye, we ain't begrudged ye nothin', but we've allowed that this yer thing +must stop.” + +“And what if I refuse?” said Farendell. + +“Thar'll be some cussin' and a big row from YOU, I kalkilate--and maybe +some fightin' all round,” said Scranton dispassionately. “But it will be +all the same in the end. The hull thing will come out, and you'll hev +to slide just the same. T'otherwise, ef ye slide out NOW, it's without a +row.” + +“And do you suppose a business man like me can disappear without a fuss +over it?” said Farendell angrily. “Are you mad?” + +“I reckon the hole YOU'LL make kin be filled up,” said Scranton dryly. +“But ef ye go NOW, you won't be bothered by the fuss, while if you stay +you'll have to face the music, and go too!” + +Farendell was silent. Possibly the truth of this had long since been +borne upon him. No one but himself knew the incessant strain of these +years of evasion and concealment, and how he often had been near to +some such desperate culmination. The sacrifice offered to him was not, +therefore, so great as it might have seemed. The knowledge of this +might have given him a momentary superiority over his antagonist had +Scranton's motive been a purely selfish or malignant one, but as it was +not, and as he may have had some instinctive idea of Farendell's feeling +also, it made his ultimatum appear the more passionless and fateful. +And it was this quality which perhaps caused Farendell to burst out with +desperate abruptness,-- + +“What in h-ll ever put you up to this!” + +Scranton folded his arms upon Farendell's desk, and slowly wiping his +clean jaw with one hand, repeated deliberately, “Wall--I reckon I told +ye that before! You've been making us--me and Duffy--tired!” He paused +for a moment, and then, rising abruptly, with a careless gesture towards +the uncovered tray of gold, said, “Come! ye kin take enuff o' that to +get away with; the less ye take, though, the less likely you'll be to be +followed!” + +He went to the door, unlocked and opened it. A strange light, as of +a lurid storm interspersed by sheet-like lightning, filled the outer +darkness, and the silence was now broken by dull crashes and nearer +cries and shouting. A few figures were also dimly flitting around the +neighboring empty offices, some of which, like Farendell's, had been +entered by their now alarmed owners. + +“You've got a good chance now,” continued Scranton; “ye couldn't hev a +better. It's a big fire--a scorcher--and jest the time for a man to wipe +himself out and not be missed. Make tracks where the crowd is thickest +and whar ye're likely to be seen, ez ef ye were helpin'! Ther' 'll be +other men missed tomorrow beside you,” he added with grim significance; +“but nobody'll know that you was one who really got away.” + +Where the imperturbable logic of the strange man might have failed, +the noise, the tumult, the suggestion of swift-coming disaster, and +the necessity for some immediate action of any kind, was convincing. +Farendell hastily stuffed his pockets with gold and the papers he had +found, and moved to the door. Already he fancied he felt the hot +breath of the leaping conflagration beyond. “And you?” he said, turning +suspiciously to Scranton. + +“When you're shut of this and clean off, I'll fix things and leave +too--but not before. I reckon,” he added grimly, with a glance at the +sky, now streaming with sparks like a meteoric shower, “thar won't be +much left here in the morning.” + +A few dull embers pattered on the iron roof of the low building and +bounded off in ashes. Farendell cast a final glance around him, and then +darted from the building. The iron door clanged behind him--he was gone. + +Evidently not too soon, for the other buildings were already deserted by +their would-be salvors, who had filled the streets with piles of books +and valuables waiting to be carried away. Then occurred a terrible +phenomenon, which had once before in such disasters paralyzed the +efforts of the firemen. A large wooden warehouse in the centre of +the block of offices, many hundred feet from the scene of active +conflagration--which had hitherto remained intact--suddenly became +enveloped in clouds of smoke, and without warning burst as suddenly +from roof and upper story into vivid flame. There were eye-witnesses who +declared that a stream of living fire seemed to leap upon it from the +burning district, and connected the space between them with an arch of +luminous heat. In another instant the whole district was involved in +a whirlwind of smoke and flame, out of whose seething vortex the +corrugated iron buildings occasionally showed their shriveling or +glowing outlines. And then the fire swept on and away. + +When the sun again arose over the panic-stricken and devastated city, +all personal incident and disaster was forgotten in the larger +calamity. It was two or three days before the full particulars could be +gathered--even while the dominant and resistless energy of the people +was erecting new buildings upon the still-smoking ruins. It was only on +the third day afterwards that James Farendell, on the deck of a coasting +steamer, creeping out through the fogs of the Golden Gate, read the +latest news in a San Francisco paper brought by the pilot. As he +hurriedly comprehended the magnitude of the loss, which was far beyond +his previous conception, he experienced a certain satisfaction in +finding his position no worse materially than that of many of his fellow +workers. THEY were ruined like himself; THEY must begin their life +afresh--but then! Ah! there was still that terrible difference. He drew +his breath quickly, and read on. Suddenly he stopped, transfixed by +a later paragraph. For an instant he failed to grasp its full +significance. Then he read it again, the words imprinting themselves on +his senses with a slow deliberation that seemed to him as passionless as +Scranton's utterances on that fateful night. + +“The loss of life, it is now feared, is much greater than at first +imagined. To the list that has been already published we must add the +name of James Farendell, the energetic contractor so well known to +our citizens, who was missing the morning after the fire. His calcined +remains were found this afternoon in the warped and twisted iron shell +of his counting-house, the wooden frame having been reduced to charcoal +in the intense heat. The unfortunate man seems to have gone there to +remove his books and papers,--as was evidenced by the iron safe being +found open,--but to have been caught and imprisoned in the building +through the heat causing the metal sheathing to hermetically seal the +doors and windows. He was seen by some neighbors to enter the building +while the fire was still distant, and his remains were identified by his +keys, which were found beneath him. A poignant interest is added to his +untimely fate by the circumstance that he was to have been married on +the following day to the widow of his late partner, and that he had, +at the call of duty, that very evening left a dinner party given to +celebrate the last day of his bachelorhood--or, as it has indeed proved, +of his earthly existence. Two families are thus placed in mourning, and +it is a singular sequel that by this untoward calamity the well-known +firm of Farendell & Cutler may be said to have ceased to exist.” + +Mr. Farendell started to his feet. But a lurch of the schooner as she +rose on the long swell of the Pacific sent him staggering dizzily back +to his seat, and checked his first wild impulse to return. He saw it all +now,--the fire had avenged him by wiping out his persecutor, Scranton, +but in the eyes of his contemporaries it had only erased HIM! He might +return to refute the story in his own person, but the dead man's partner +still lived with his secret, and his own rehabilitation could only +revive his former peril. + + +***** + +Four years elapsed before the late Mr. Farendell again set foot in the +levee of Sacramento. The steamboat that brought him from San Francisco +was a marvel to him in size, elegance, and comfort; so different from +the little, crowded, tri-weekly packet he remembered; and it might, in a +manner, have prepared him for the greater change in the city. But he was +astounded to find nothing to remind him of the past,--no landmark, nor +even ruin, of the place he had known. Blocks of brick buildings, with +thoroughfares having strange titles, occupied the district where his +counting-house had stood, and even obliterated its site; equally strange +names were upon the shops and warehouses. In his four years' wanderings +he had scarcely found a place as unfamiliar. He had trusted to the +great change in his own appearance--the full beard that he wore and the +tanning of a tropical sun--to prevent recognition; but the precaution +was unnecessary, there were none to recognize him in the new faces which +were the only ones he saw in the transformed city. A cautious allusion +to the past which he had made on the boat to a fellow passenger had +brought only the surprised rejoinder, “Oh, that must have been before +the big fire,” as if it was an historic epoch. There was something of +pain even in this assured security of his loneliness. His obliteration +was complete. + +For the late Mr. Farendell had suffered some change of mind with his +other mutations. He had been singularly lucky. The schooner in which he +had escaped brought him to Acapulco, where, as a returning Californian, +and a presumably successful one, his services and experience were +eagerly sought by an English party engaged in developing certain disused +Mexican mines. As the post, however, was perilously near the route +of regular emigration, as soon as he had gained a sufficient sum he +embarked with some goods to Callao, where he presently established +himself in business, resuming his REAL name--the unambitious but +indistinctive one of “Smith.” It is highly probable that this prudential +act was also his first step towards rectitude. For whether the change +was a question of moral ethics, or merely a superstitious essay in luck, +he was thereafter strictly honest in business. He became prosperous. +He had been sustained in his flight by the intention that, if he +were successful elsewhere, he would endeavor to communicate with his +abandoned fiancee, and ask her to join him, and share not his name but +fortune in exile. But as he grew rich, the difficulties of carrying out +this intention became more apparent; he was by no means certain of her +loyalty surviving the deceit he had practiced and the revelation he +would have to make; he was doubtful of the success of any story which +at other times he would have glibly invented to take the place of truth. +Already several months had elapsed since his supposed death; could he +expect her to be less accessible to premature advances now than when +she had been a widow? Perhaps this made him think of the wife he had +deserted so long ago. He had been quite content to live without regret +or affection, forgetting and forgotten, but in his present prosperity +he felt there was some need of putting his domestic affairs into a more +secure and legitimate shape, to avert any catastrophe like the last. +HERE at least would be no difficulty; husbands had deserted their wives +before this in Californian emigration, and had been heard of only after +they had made their fortune. Any plausible story would be accepted by +HER in the joy of his reappearance; or if, indeed, as he reflected +with equal complacency, she was dead or divorced from him through his +desertion--a sufficient cause in her own State--and re-married, he +would at least be more secure. He began, without committing himself, +by inquiry and anonymous correspondence. His wife, he learnt, had left +Missouri for Sacramento only a month or two after his own disappearance +from that place, and her address was unknown! + +A complication so unlooked for disquieted him, and yet whetted his +curiosity. The only person she might meet in California who could +possibly identify him with the late Mr. Farendell was Duffy; he had +often wondered if that mysterious partner of Scranton's had been +deceived with the others, or had ever suspected that the body discovered +in the counting-house was Scranton's. If not, he must have accepted the +strange coincidence that Scranton had disappeared also the same night. +In the first six months of his exile he had searched the Californian +papers thoroughly, but had found no record of any doubt having been +thrown on the accepted belief. It was these circumstances, and perhaps +a vague fascination not unlike that which impels the malefactor to haunt +the scene of his crime, that, at the end of four years, had brought him, +a man of middle age and assured occupation and fortune, back to the city +he had fled from. + +A few days at one of the new hotels convinced him thoroughly that he was +in no danger of recognition, and gave him the assurance to take rooms +more in keeping with his circumstances and his own frankly +avowed position as the head of a South American house. A cautious +acquaintance--through the agency of his banker--with a few business men +gave him some occupation, and the fact of his South American letters +being addressed to Don Diego Smith gave a foreign flavor to his +individuality, which his tanned face and dark beard had materially +helped. A stronger test convinced him how complete was the obliteration +of his former identity. One day at the bank he was startled at being +introduced by the manager to a man whom he at once recognized as a +former business acquaintance. But the shock was his alone; the formal +approach and unfamiliar manner of the man showed that he had failed to +recognize even a resemblance. But would he equally escape detection by +his wife if he met her as accidentally,--an encounter not to be thought +of until he knew something more of her? He became more cautious in going +to public places, but luckily for him the proportion of women to men was +still small in California, and they were more observed than observing. + +A month elapsed; in that time he had thoroughly exhausted the local +Directories in his cautious researches among the “Smiths,” for in his +fear of precipitating a premature disclosure he had given up his former +anonymous advertising. And there was a certain occupation in this +personal quest that filled his business time. He was in no hurry. He had +a singular faith that he would eventually discover her whereabouts, be +able to make all necessary inquiries into her conduct and habits, and +perhaps even enjoy a brief season of unsuspected personal observation +before revealing himself. And this faith was as singularly rewarded. + +Having occasion to get his watch repaired one day he entered a large +jeweler's shop, and while waiting its examination his attention was +attracted by an ordinary old-fashioned daguerreotype case in the form of +a heart-shaped locket lying on the counter with other articles left for +repairs. Something in its appearance touched a chord in his memory; he +lifted the half-opened case and saw a much faded daguerreotype +portrait of himself taken in Missouri before he left in the Californian +emigration. He recognized it at once as one he had given to his wife; +the faded likeness was so little like his present self that he boldly +examined it and asked the jeweler one or two questions. The man was +communicative. Yes, it was an old-fashioned affair which had been left +for repairs a few days ago by a lady whose name and address, written by +herself, were on the card tied to it. + +Mr. James Smith had by this time fully controlled the emotion he felt as +he recognized his wife's name and handwriting, and knew that at last +the clue was found! He laid down the case carelessly, gave the final +directions for the repairs of his watch, and left the shop. The address, +of which he had taken a mental note, was, to his surprise, very near +his own lodgings; but he went straight home. Here a few inquiries of +his janitor elicited the information that the building indicated in the +address was a large one of furnished apartments and offices like his +own, and that the “Mrs. Smith” must be simply the housekeeper of the +landlord, whose name appeared in the Directory, but not her own. Yet +he waited until evening before he ventured to reconnoitre the premises; +with the possession of his clue came a slight cooling of his ardor and +extreme caution in his further proceedings. The house--a reconstructed +wooden building--offered no external indication of the rooms she +occupied in the uniformly curtained windows that front the street. +Yet he felt an odd and pleasurable excitement in passing once or twice +before those walls that hid the goal of his quest. As yet he had not +seen her, and there was naturally the added zest of expectation. He +noticed that there was a new building opposite, with vacant offices to +let. A project suddenly occurred to him, which by morning he had fully +matured. He hired a front room in the first floor of the new building, +had it hurriedly furnished as a private office, and on the second +morning of his discovery was installed behind his desk at the window +commanding a full view of the opposite house. There was nothing strange +in the South American capitalist selecting a private office in so +popular a locality. + +Two or three days elapsed without any result from his espionage. He came +to know by sight the various tenants, the two Chinese servants, and the +solitary Irish housemaid, but as yet had no glimpse of the housekeeper. +She evidently led a secluded life among her duties; it occurred to him +that perhaps she went out, possibly to market, earlier than he came, +or later, after he had left the office. In this belief he arrived one +morning after an early walk in a smart spring shower, the lingering +straggler of the winter rains. There were few people astir, yet he had +been preceded for two or three blocks by a tall woman whose umbrella +partly concealed her head and shoulders from view. He had noticed, +however, even in his abstraction, that she walked well, and managed the +lifting of her skirt over her trim ankles and well-booted feet with some +grace and cleverness. Yet it was only on her unexpectedly turning the +corner of his own street that he became interested. She continued on +until within a few doors of his office, when she stopped to give an +order to a tradesman, who was just taking down his shutters. He heard +her voice distinctly; in the quick emotion it gave him he brushed +hurriedly past her without lifting his eyes. Gaining his own doorway +he rushed upstairs to his office, hastily unlocked it, and ran to the +window. The lady was already crossing the street. He saw her pause +before the door of the opposite house, open it with a latchkey, and +caught a full view of her profile in the single moment that she turned +to furl her umbrella and enter. It was his wife's voice he had heard; it +was his wife's face that he had seen in profile. + +Yet she was changed from the lanky young schoolgirl he had wedded ten +years ago, or, at least, compared to what his recollection of her had +been. Had he ever seen her as she really was? Surely somewhere in that +timid, freckled, half-grown bride he had known in the first year of +their marriage the germ of this self-possessed, matured woman was +hidden. There was the tone of her voice; he had never recalled it before +as a lover might, yet now it touched him; her profile he certainly +remembered, but not with the feeling it now produced in him. Would he +have ever abandoned her had she been like that? Or had HE changed, and +was this no longer his old self?--perhaps even a self SHE would never +recognize again? James Smith had the superstitions of a gambler, and +that vague idea of fate that comes to weak men; a sudden fright seized +him, and he half withdrew from the window lest she should observe him, +recognize him, and by some act precipitate that fate. + +By lingering beyond the usual hour for his departure he saw her again, +and had even a full view of her face as she crossed the street. The +years had certainly improved her; he wondered with a certain nervousness +if she would think they had done the same for him. The complacency with +which he had at first contemplated her probable joy at recovering him +had become seriously shaken since he had seen her; a woman as well +preserved and good-looking as that, holding a certain responsible +and, no doubt, lucrative position, must have many admirers and be +independent. He longed to tell her now of his fortune, and yet shrank +from the test its exposure implied. He waited for her return until +darkness had gathered, and then went back to his lodgings a little +chagrined and ill at ease. It was rather late for her to be out alone! +After all, what did he know of her habits or associations? He recalled +the freedom of Californian life, and the old scandals relating to the +lapses of many women who had previously led blameless lives in the +Atlantic States. Clearly it behooved him to be cautious. Yet he +walked late that night before the house again, eager to see if she had +returned, and with WHOM? He was restricted in his eagerness by the +fear of detection, but he gathered very little knowledge of her habits; +singularly enough nobody seemed to care. A little piqued at this, he +began to wonder if he were not thinking too much of this woman to whom +he still hesitated to reveal himself. Nevertheless, he found himself +that night again wandering around the house, and even watching with some +anxiety the shadow which he believed to be hers on the window-blind +of the room where he had by discreet inquiry located her. Whether his +memory was stimulated by his quest he never knew, but presently he was +able to recall step by step and incident by incident his early courtship +of her and the brief days of their married life. He even remembered the +day she accepted him, and even dwelt upon it with a sentimental thrill +that he probably never felt at the time, and it was a distinct feature +of his extraordinary state of mind and its concentration upon this +particular subject that he presently began to look upon HIMSELF as the +abandoned and deserted conjugal partner, and to nurse a feeling of deep +injury at her hands! The fact that he was thinking of her, and she, +probably, contented with her lot, was undisturbed by any memory of him, +seemed to him a logical deduction of his superior affection. + +It was, therefore, quite as much in the attitude of a reproachful and +avenging husband as of a merely curious one that, one afternoon, seeing +her issue from her house at an early hour, he slipped down the stairs +and began to follow her at a secure distance. She turned into the +principal thoroughfare, and presently made one of the crowd who were +entering a popular place of amusement where there was an afternoon +performance. So complete was his selfish hallucination, that he smiled +bitterly at this proof of heartless indifference, and even so far +overcame his previous caution as to actually brush by her somewhat +rudely as he entered the building at the same moment. He was conscious +that she lifted her eyes a little impatiently to the face of the awkward +stranger; he was equally, but more bitterly, conscious that she had not +recognized him! He dropped into a seat behind her; she did not look at +him again with even a sense of disturbance; the momentary contact had +evidently left no impression upon her. She glanced casually at +her neighbors on either side, and presently became absorbed in the +performance. When it was over she rose, and on her way out recognized +and exchanged a few words with one or two acquaintances. Again he +heard her familiar voice, almost at his elbow, raised with no more +consciousness of her contiguity to him than if he were a mere ghost. +The thought struck him for the first time with a hideous and appalling +significance. What was he but a ghost to her--to every one! A man dead, +buried, and forgotten! His vanity and self-complacency vanished before +this crushing realization of the hopelessness of his existence. Dazed +and bewildered, he mingled blindly and blunderingly with the departing +crowd, tossed here and there as if he were an invisible presence, +stumbling over the impeding skirts of women with a vague apology they +heeded not, and which seemed in his frightened ears as hollow as a voice +from the grave. + +When he at last reached the street he did not look back, but wandered +abstractedly through by-streets in the falling rain, scarcely realizing +where he was, until he found himself drenched through, with his closed +umbrella in his tremulous hand, standing at the half-submerged levee +beside the overflowed river. Here again he realized how completely he +had been absorbed and concentrated in his search for his wife during the +last three weeks; he had never been on the levee since his arrival. He +had taken no note of the excitement of the citizens over the alarming +reports of terrible floods in the mountains, and the daily and hourly +fear that they experienced of disastrous inundation from the surcharged +river. He had never thought of it, yet he had read of it, and even +talked, and yet now for the first time in his selfish, blind absorption +was certain of it. He stood still for some time, watching doggedly the +enormous yellow stream laboring with its burden and drift from many +a mountain town and camp, moving steadily and fatefully towards the +distant bay, and still more distant and inevitable ocean. For a few +moments it vaguely fascinated and diverted him; then it as vaguely lent +itself to his one dominant, haunting thought. Yes, it was pointing him +the only way out,--the path to the distant ocean and utter forgetfulness +again! + +The chill of his saturated clothing brought him to himself once more, +he turned and hurried home. He went tiredly to his bedroom, and while +changing his garments there came a knock at the door. It was the +porter to say that a lady had called, and was waiting for him in the +sitting-room. She had not given her name. + +The closed door prevented the servant from seeing the extraordinary +effect produced by this simple announcement upon the tenant. For +one instant James Smith remained spellbound in his chair. It was +characteristic of his weak nature and singular prepossession that +he passed in an instant from the extreme of doubt to the extreme of +certainty and conviction. It was his wife! She had recognized him in +that moment of encounter at the entertainment; had found his address, +and had followed him here! He dressed himself with feverish haste, not, +however, without a certain care of his appearance and some selection of +apparel, and quickly forecast the forthcoming interview in his mind. +For the pendulum had swung back; Mr. James Smith was once more the +self-satisfied, self-complacent, and discreetly cautious husband that he +had been at the beginning of his quest, perhaps with a certain sense +of grievance superadded. He should require the fullest explanations and +guarantees before committing himself,--indeed, her present call might be +an advance that it would be necessary for him to check. He even pictured +her pleading at his feet; a very little stronger effort of his Alnaschar +imagination would have made him reject her like the fatuous Persian +glass peddler. + +He opened the door of the sitting-room deliberately, and walked in with +a certain formal precision. But the figure of a woman arose from the +sofa, and with a slight outcry, half playful, half hysterical, threw +herself upon his breast with the single exclamation, “Jim!” He started +back from the double shock. For the woman was NOT his wife! A woman +extravagantly dressed, still young, but bearing, even through her +artificially heightened color, a face worn with excitement, excess, and +premature age. Yet a face that as he disengaged himself from her arms +grew upon him with a terrible recognition, a face that he had once +thought pretty, inexperienced, and innocent,--the face of the widow of +his former partner, Cutler, the woman he was to have married on the day +he fled. The bitter revulsion of feeling and astonishment was evidently +visible in his face, for she, too, drew back for a moment as they +separated. But she had evidently been prepared, if not pathetically +inured to such experiences. She dropped into a chair again with a dry +laugh, and a hard metallic voice, as she said,-- + +“Well, it's YOU, anyway--and you can't get out of it.” + +As he still stared at her, in her inconsistent finery, draggled and +wet by the storm, at her limp ribbons and ostentatious jewelry, she +continued, in the same hard voice,-- + +“I thought I spotted you once or twice before; but you took no notice of +me, and I reckoned I was mistaken. But this afternoon at the Temple of +Music”-- + +“Where?” said James Smith harshly. + +“At the Temple--the San Francisco Troupe performance--where you brushed +by me, and I heard your voice saying, 'Beg pardon!' I says, 'That's Jim +Farendell.'” + +“Farendell!” burst out James Smith, half in simulated astonishment, half +in real alarm. + +“Well! Smith, then, if you like better,” said the woman impatiently; +“though it's about the sickest and most played-out dodge of a name you +could have pitched upon. James Smith, Don Diego Smith!” she repeated, +with a hysteric laugh. “Why, it beats the nigger minstrels all hollow! +Well, when I saw you there, I said, 'That's Jim Farendell, or his twin +brother;' I didn't say 'his ghost,' mind you; for, from the beginning, +even before I knew it all, I never took any stock in that fool yarn +about your burnt bones being found in your office.” + +“Knew all, knew what?” demanded the man, with a bravado which he +nevertheless felt was hopeless. + +She rose, crossed the room, and, standing before him, placed one hand +upon her hip as she looked at him with half-pitying effrontery. + +“Look here, Jim,” she began slowly, “do you know what you're doing? +Well, you're making me tired!” In spite of himself, a half-superstitious +thrill went through him as her words and attitude recalled the dead +Scranton. “Do you suppose that I don't know that you ran away the night +of the fire? Do you suppose that I don't know that you were next to +ruined that night, and that you took that opportunity of skedaddling +out of the country with all the money you had left, and leaving folks +to imagine you were burnt up with the books you had falsified and the +accounts you had doctored! It was a mean thing for you to do to me, Jim, +for I loved you then, and would have been fool enough to run off with +you if you'd told me all, and not left me to find out that you had lost +MY money--every cent Cutler had left me in the business--with the rest.” + +With the fatuousness of a weak man cornered, he clung to unimportant +details. “But the body was believed to be mine by every one,” he +stammered angrily. “My papers and books were burnt,--there was no +evidence.” + +“And why was there not?” she said witheringly, staring doggedly in his +face. “Because I stopped it! Because when I knew those bones and rags +shut up in that office weren't yours, and was beginning to make a row +about it, a strange man came to me and said they were the remains of a +friend of his who knew your bankruptcy and had come that night to warn +you,--a man whom you had half ruined once, a man who had probably lost +his life in helping you away. He said if I went on making a fuss he'd +come out with the whole truth--how you were a thief and a forger, +and”--she stopped. + +“And what else?” he asked desperately, dreading to hear his wife's name +next fall from her lips. + +“And that--as it could be proved that his friend knew your secrets,” + she went on in a frightened, embarrassed voice, “you might be accused of +making away with him.” + +For a moment James Smith was appalled; he had never thought of this. As +in all his past villainy he was too cowardly to contemplate murder, +he was frightened at the mere accusation of it. “But,” he stammered, +forgetful of all save this new terror, “he KNEW I wouldn't be such a +fool, for the man himself told me Duffy had the papers, and killing him +wouldn't have helped me.” + +Mrs. Cutler stared at him a moment searchingly, and then turned wearily +away. “Well,” she said, sinking into her chair again, “he said if I'd +shut my mouth he'd shut his--and--I did. And this,” she added, +throwing her hands from her lap, a gesture half of reproach and half of +contempt,--“this is what I get for it.” + +More frightened than touched by the woman's desperation, James Smith +stammered a vague apologetic disclaimer, even while he was loathing with +a revulsion new to him her draggled finery, her still more faded beauty, +and the half-distinct consciousness of guilt that linked her to him. But +she waved it away, a weary gesture that again reminded him of the dead +Scranton. + +“Of course I ain't what I was, but who's to blame for it? When you left +me alone without a cent, face to face with a lie, I had to do something. +I wasn't brought up to work; I like good clothes, and you know it +better than anybody. I ain't one of your stage heroines that go out as +dependants and governesses and die of consumption, but I thought,” she +went on with a shrill, hysterical laugh, more painful than the weariness +which inevitably followed it, “I thought I might train myself to do it, +ON THE STAGE! and I joined Barker's Company. They said I had a face +and figure for the stage; that face and figure wore out before I had +anything more to show, and I wasn't big enough to make better terms with +the manager. They kept me nearly a year doing chambermaids and fairy +queens the other side of the footlights, where I saw you today. Then I +kicked! I suppose I might have married some fool for his money, but I +was soft enough to think you might be sending for me when you were safe. +You seem to be mighty comfortable here,” she continued, with a bitter +glance around his handsomely furnished room, “as 'Don Diego Smith.' I +reckon skedaddling pays better than staying behind.” + +“I have only been here a few weeks,” he said hurriedly. “I never knew +what had become of you, or that you were still here”-- + +“Or you wouldn't have come,” she interrupted, with a bitter laugh. +“Speak out, Jim.” + +“If there--is anything--I can do--for you,” he stammered, “I'm sure”-- + +“Anything you can do?” she repeated, slowly and scornfully. “Anything +you can do NOW? Yes!” she screamed, suddenly rising, crossing the +room, and grasping his arms convulsively. “Yes! Take me away from +here--anywhere--at once! Look, Jim,” she went on feverishly, “let +bygones be bygones--I won't peach! I won't tell on you--though I had it +in my heart when you gave me the go-by just now! I'll do anything you +say--go to your farthest hiding-place--work for you--only take me out of +this cursed place.” + +Her passionate pleading stung even through his selfishness and loathing. +He thought of his wife's indifference! Yes, he might be driven to +this, and at least he must secure the only witness against his previous +misconduct. “We will see,” he said soothingly, gently loosening her +hands. “We must talk it over.” He stopped as his old suspiciousness +returned. “But you must have some friends,” he said searchingly, “some +one who has helped you.” + +“None! Only one--he helped me at first,” she hesitated--“Duffy.” + +“Duffy!” said James Smith, recoiling. + +“Yes, when he had to tell me all,” she said in half-frightened tones, +“he was sorry for me. Listen, Jim! He was a square man, for all he was +devoted to his partner--and you can't blame him for that. I think he +helped me because I was alone; for nothing else, Jim. I swear it! He +helped me from time to time. Maybe he might have wanted to marry me if +he had not been waiting for another woman that he loved, a married woman +that had been deserted years ago by her husband, just as you might have +deserted me if we'd been married that day. He helped her and paid for +her journey here to seek her husband, and set her up in business.” + +“What are you talking about--what woman?” stammered James Smith, with a +strange presentiment creeping over him. + +“A Mrs. Smith. Yes,” she said quickly, as he started, “not a sham name +like yours, but really and truly SMITH--that was her husband's name! +I'm not lying, Jim,” she went on, evidently mistaking the cause of the +sudden contraction of the man's face. “I didn't invent her nor her name; +there IS such a woman, and Duffy loves her--and HER only, and he never, +NEVER was anything more than a friend to me. I swear it!” + +The room seemed to swim around him. She was staring at him, but he could +see in her vacant eyes that she had no conception of his secret, nor +knew the extent of her revelation. Duffy had not dared to tell all! He +burst into a coarse laugh. “What matters Duffy or the silly woman he'd +try to steal away from other men.” + +“But he didn't try to steal her, and she's only silly because she wants +to be true to her husband while he lives. She told Duffy she'd never +marry him until she saw her husband's dead face. More fool she,” she +added bitterly. + +“Until she saw her husband's dead face,” was all that James Smith heard +of this speech. His wife's faithfulness through years of desertion, her +long waiting and truthfulness, even the bitter commentary of the equally +injured woman before him, were to him as nothing to what that single +sentence conjured up. He laughed again, but this time strangely and +vacantly. “Enough of this Duffy and his intrusion in my affairs until +I'm able to settle my account with him. Come,” he added brusquely, “if +we are going to cut out of this at once I've got much to do. Come here +again to-morrow, early. This Duffy--does he live here?” + +“No. In Marysville.” + +“Good! Come early to-morrow.” + +As she seemed to hesitate, he opened a drawer of his table and took out +a handful of gold, and handed it to her. She glanced at it for a moment +with a strange expression, put it mechanically in her pocket, and then +looking up at him said, with a forced laugh, “I suppose that means I am +to clear out?” + +“Until to-morrow,” he said shortly. + +“If the Sacramento don't sweep us away before then,” she interrupted, +with a reckless laugh; “the river's broken through the levee--a clear +sweep in two places. Where I live the water's up to the doorstep. They +say it's going to be the biggest flood yet. You're all right here; +you're on higher ground.” + +She seemed to utter these sentences abstractedly, disconnectedly, as if +to gain time. He made an impatient gesture. + +“All right, I'm going,” she said, compressing her lips slowly to keep +them from trembling. “You haven't forgotten anything?” As he turned half +angrily towards her she added, hurriedly and bitterly, “Anything--for +to-morrow?” + +“No!” + +She opened the door and passed out. He listened until the trail of +her wet skirt had descended the stairs, and the street door had closed +behind her. Then he went back to his table and began collecting his +papers and putting them away in his trunks, which he packed feverishly, +yet with a set and determined face. He wrote one or two letters, which +he sealed and left upon his table. He then went to his bedroom and +deliberately shaved off his disguising beard. Had he not been so +preoccupied in one thought, he might have been conscious of loud voices +in the street and a hurrying of feet on the wet sidewalk. But he was +possessed by only one idea. He must see his wife that evening! How, he +knew not yet, but the way would appear when he had reached his office +in the building opposite hers. Three hours had elapsed before he had +finished his preparations. On going downstairs he stopped to give some +directions to the porter, but his room was empty; passing into the +street he was surprised to find it quite deserted, and the shops closed; +even a drinking saloon at the corner was quite empty. He turned the +corner of the street, and began the slight descent towards his office. +To his amazement the lower end of the street, which was crossed by +the thoroughfare which was his destination, was blocked by a crowd of +people. As he hurried forward to join them he suddenly saw, moving +down that thoroughfare, what appeared to his startled eyes to be the +smokestacks of some small, flat-bottomed steamer. He rubbed his eyes; it +was no illusion, for the next moment he had reached the crowd, who were +standing half a block away from the thoroughfare, and on the edge of a +lagoon of yellow water, whose main current was the thoroughfare he was +seeking, and between whose houses, submerged to their first stories, a +steamboat was really paddling. Other boats and rafts were adrift on +its sluggish waters, and a boatman had just landed a passenger in the +backwater of the lower half of the street on which he stood with the +crowd. + +Possessed of his one idea, he fought his way desperately to the water +edge and the boat, and demanded a passage to his office. The boatman +hesitated, but James Smith promptly offered him double the value of his +craft. The act was not deemed singular in that extravagant epoch, and +the sympathizing crowd cheered his solitary departure, as he declined +even the services of the boatman. The next moment he was off in +mid-stream of the thoroughfare, paddling his boat with a desperate but +inexperienced hand until he reached his office, which he entered by the +window. The building, which was new and of brick, showed very little +damage from the flood, but in far different case was the one opposite, +on which his eyes were eagerly bent, and whose cheap and insecure +foundations he could see the flood was already undermining. There were +boats around the house, and men hurriedly removing trunks and valuables, +but the one figure he expected to see was not there. He tied his own +boat to the window; there was evidently no chance of an interview now, +but if she were leaving there would be still the chance of following +her and knowing her destination. As he gazed she suddenly appeared at +a window, and was helped by a boatman into a flat-bottomed barge +containing trunks and furniture. She was evidently the last to leave. +The other boats put off at once, and none too soon; for there was a +warning cry, a quick swerving of the barge, and the end of the dwelling +slowly dropped into the flood, seeming to sink on its knees like a +stricken ox. A great undulation of yellow water swept across the street, +inundating his office through the open window and half swamping his boat +beside it. At the same time he could see that the current had changed +and increased in volume and velocity, and, from the cries and warning +of the boatmen, he knew that the river had burst its banks at its upper +bend. He had barely time to leap into his boat and cast it off before +there was a foot of water on his floor. + +But the new current was carrying the boats away from the higher level, +which they had been eagerly seeking, and towards the channel of the +swollen river. The barge was first to feel its influence, and was +hurried towards the river against the strongest efforts of its boatmen. +One by one the other and smaller boats contrived to get into the slack +water of crossing streets, and one was swamped before his eyes. But +James Smith kept only the barge in view. His difficulty in following it +was increased by his inexperience in managing a boat, and the quantity +of drift which now charged the current. Trees torn by their roots from +some upland bank; sheds, logs, timber, and the bloated carcasses of +cattle choked the stream. All the ruin worked by the flood seemed to be +compressed in this disastrous current. Once or twice he narrowly escaped +collision with a heavy beam or the bed of some farmer's wagon. Once he +was swamped by a tree, and righted his frail boat while clinging to its +branches. + +And then those who watched him from the barge and shore said afterwards +that a great apathy seemed to fall upon him. He no longer attempted to +guide the boat or struggle with the drift, but sat in the stern with +intent forward gaze and motionless paddles. Once they strove to warn +him, called to him to make an effort to reach the barge, and did what +they could, in spite of their own peril, to alter their course and help +him. But he neither answered nor heeded them. And then suddenly a great +log that they had just escaped seemed to rise up under the keel of his +boat, and it was gone. After a moment his face and head appeared above +the current, and so close to the stern of the barge that there was a +slight cry from the woman in it, but the next moment, and before the +boatman could reach him, he was drawn under it and disappeared. They lay +on their oars eagerly watching, but the body of James Smith was sucked +under the barge, and, in the mid-channel of the great river, was carried +out towards the distant sea. + + +***** + +There was a strange meeting that night on the deck of a relief boat, +which had been sent out in search of the missing barge, between Mrs. +Smith and a grave and anxious passenger who had chartered it. When +he had comforted her, and pointed out, as, indeed, he had many times +before, the loneliness and insecurity of her unprotected life, she +yielded to his arguments. But it was not until many months after their +marriage that she confessed to him on that eventful night she thought +she had seen in a moment of great peril the vision of the dead face of +her husband uplifted to her through the water. + + + + +LANTY FOSTER'S MISTAKE + + +Lanty Foster was crouching on a low stool before the dying kitchen +fire, the better to get its fading radiance on the book she was reading. +Beyond, through the open window and door, the fire was also slowly +fading from the sky and the mountain ridge whence the sun had dropped +half an hour before. The view was uphill, and the sky-line of the +hill was marked by two or three gibbet-like poles from which, on a +now invisible line between them, depended certain objects--mere black +silhouettes against the sky--which bore weird likeness to human figures. +Absorbed as she was in her book, she nevertheless occasionally cast an +impatient glance in that direction, as the sunlight faded more quickly +than her fire. For the fluttering objects were the “week's wash” which +had to be brought in before night fell and the mountain wind arose. It +was strong at that altitude, and before this had ravished the clothes +from the line, and scattered them along the highroad leading over the +ridge, once even lashing the shy schoolmaster with a pair of Lanty's own +stockings, and blinding the parson with a really tempestuous petticoat. + +A whiff of wind down the big-throated chimney stirred the log embers on +the hearth, and the girl jumped to her feet, closing the book with an +impatient snap. She knew her mother's voice would follow. It was hard to +leave her heroine at the crucial moment of receiving an explanation from +a presumed faithless lover, just to climb a hill and take in a lot +of soulless washing, but such are the infelicities of stolen romance +reading. She threw the clothes-basket over her head like a hood, the +handle resting across her bosom and shoulders, and with both her hands +free started out of the cabin. But the darkness had come up from the +valley in one stride after its mountain fashion, had outstripped her, +and she was instantly plunged in it. Still the outline of the ridge +above her was visible, with the white, steadfast stars that were not +there a moment ago, and by that sign she knew she was late. She had to +battle against the rushing wind now, which sung through the inverted +basket over her head and held her back, but with bent shoulders she at +last reached the top of the ridge and the level. Yet here, owing to +the shifting of the lighter background above her, she now found herself +again encompassed with the darkness. The outlines of the poles had +disappeared, the white fluttering garments were distinct apparitions +waving in the wind, like dancing ghosts. But there certainly was a queer +misshapen bulk moving beyond, which she did not recognize, and as she at +last reached one of the poles, a shock was communicated to it, through +the clothes-line and the bulk beyond. Then she heard a voice say +impatiently,-- + +“What in h-ll am I running into now?” + +It was a man's voice, and, from its elevation, the voice of a man on +horseback. She answered without fear and with slow deliberation,-- + +“Inter our clothes-line, I reckon.” + +“Oh!” said the man in a half-apologetic tone. Then in brisker accents, +“The very thing I want! I say, can you give me a bit of it? The ring of +my saddle girth has fetched loose. I can fasten it with that.” + +“I reckon,” replied Lanty, with the same unconcern, moving nearer the +bulk, which now separated into two parts as the man dismounted. “How +much do you want?” + +“A foot or two will do.” + +They were now in front of each other, although their faces were not +distinguishable to either. Lanty, who had been following the lines with +her hand, here came upon the end knotted around the last pole. This she +began to untie. + +“What a place to hang clothes,” he said curiously. + +“Mighty dryin', tho',” returned Lanty laconically. + +“And your house? Is it near by?” he continued. + +“Just down the ridge--ye kin see from the edge. Got a knife?” She had +untied the knot. + +“No--yes--wait.” He had hesitated a moment and then produced something +from his breast pocket, which he however kept in his hand. As he did not +offer it to her she simply held out a section of the rope between +her hands, which he divided with a single cut. She saw only that the +instrument was long and keen. Then she lifted the flap of the saddle +for him as he attempted to fasten the loose ring with the rope, but +the darkness made it impossible. With an ejaculation, he fumbled in his +pockets. “My last match!” he said, striking it, as he crouched over +it to protect it from the wind. Lanty leaned over also, with her apron +raised between it and the blast. The flame for an instant lit up the +ring, the man's dark face, mustache, and white teeth set together as +he tugged at the girth, and Lanty's brown, velvet eyes and soft, round +cheek framed in the basket. Then it went out, but the ring was secured. + +“Thank you,” said the man, with a short laugh, “but I thought you were a +humpbacked witch in the dark there.” + +“And I couldn't make out whether you was a cow or a b'ar,” returned the +young girl simply. + +Here, however, he quickly mounted his horse, but in the action something +slipped from his clothes, struck a stone, and bounded away into the +darkness. + +“My knife,” he said hurriedly. “Please hand it to me.” But although the +girl dropped on her knees and searched the ground diligently, it could +not be found. The man with a restrained ejaculation again dismounted, +and joined in the search. + +“Haven't you got another match?” suggested Lanty. + +“No--it was my last!” he said impatiently. + +“Just you hol' on here,” she said suddenly, “and I'll run down to the +kitchen and fetch you a light. I won't be long.” + +“No! no!” said the man quickly; “don't! I couldn't wait. I've been here +too long now. Look here. You come in daylight and find it, and--just +keep it for me, will you?” He laughed. “I'll come for it. And now, if +you'll only help to set me on that road again, for it's so infernal +black I can't see the mare's ears ahead of me, I won't bother you any +more. Thank you.” + +Lanty had quietly moved to his horse's head and taken the bridle in her +hand, and at once seemed to be lost in the gloom. But in a few moments +he felt the muffled thud of his horse's hoof on the thick dust of the +highway, and its still hot, impalpable powder rising to his nostrils. + +“Thank you,” he said again, “I'm all right now,” and in the pause that +followed it seemed to Lanty that he had extended a parting hand to her +in the darkness. She put up her own to meet it, but missed his, which +had blundered onto her shoulder. Before she could grasp it, she felt him +stooping over her, the light brush of his soft mustache on her cheek, +and then the starting forward of his horse. But the retaliating box on +the ear she had promptly aimed at him spent itself in the black space +which seemed suddenly to have swallowed up the man, and even his light +laugh. + +For an instant she stood still, and then, swinging the basket +indignantly from her shoulder, took up her suspended task. It was no +light one in the increasing wind, and the unfastened clothes-line had +precipitated a part of its burden to the ground through the loosening +of the rope. But on picking up the trailing garments her hand struck an +unfamiliar object. The stranger's lost knife! She thrust it hastily into +the bottom of the basket and completed her work. As she began to descend +with her burden she saw that the light of the kitchen fire, seen +through the windows, was augmented by a candle. Her mother was evidently +awaiting her. + +“Pretty time to be fetchin' in the wash,” said Mrs. Foster querulously. +“But what can you expect when folks stand gossipin' and philanderin' on +the ridge instead o' tendin' to their work?” + +Now Lanty knew that she had NOT been “gossipin'” nor “philanderin',” yet +as the parting salute might have been open to that imputation, and as +she surmised that her mother might have overheard their voices, she +briefly said, to prevent further questioning, that she had shown a +stranger the road. But for her mother's unjust accusation she would have +been more communicative. As Mrs. Foster went back grumblingly into the +sitting-room Lanty resolved to keep the knife at present a secret from +her mother, and to that purpose removed it from the basket. But in the +light of the candle she saw it for the first time plainly--and started. + +For it was really a dagger! jeweled-handled and richly wrought--such as +Lanty had never looked upon before. The hilt was studded with gems, and +the blade, which had a cutting edge, was damascened in blue and +gold. Her soft eyes reflected the brilliant setting, her lips parted +breathlessly; then, as her mother's voice arose in the other room, she +thrust it back into its velvet sheath and clapped it into her pocket. +Its rare beauty had confirmed her resolution of absolute secrecy. To +have shown it now would have made “no end of talk.” And she was not sure +but that her parents would have demanded its custody! And it was given +to HER by HIM to keep. This settled the question of moral ethics. She +took the first opportunity to run up to her bedroom and hide it under +the mattress. + +Yet the thought of it filled the rest of her evening. When her household +duties were done she took up her novel again, partly from force of habit +and partly as an attitude in which she could think of IT undisturbed. +For what was fiction to her now? True, it possessed a certain +reminiscent value. A “dagger” had appeared in several romances she +had devoured, but she never had a clear idea of one before. “The Count +sprang back, and, drawing from his belt a richly jeweled dagger, hissed +between his teeth,” or, more to the purpose: “'Take this,' said Orlando, +handing her the ruby-hilted poignard which had gleamed upon his thigh, +'and should the caitiff attempt thy unguarded innocence--'” + +“Did ye hear what your father was sayin'?” Lanty started. It was her +mother's voice in the doorway, and she had been vaguely conscious of +another voice pitched in the same querulous key, which, indeed, was the +dominant expression of the small ranchers of that fertile neighborhood. +Possibly a too complaisant and unaggressive Nature had spoiled them. + +“Yes!--no!” said Lanty abstractedly, “what did he say?” + +“If you wasn't taken up with that fool book,” said Mrs. Foster, glancing +at her daughter's slightly conscious color, “ye'd know! He allowed +ye'd better not leave yer filly in the far pasture nights. That gang +o' Mexican horse-thieves is out again, and raided McKinnon's stock last +night.” + +This touched Lanty closely. The filly was her own property, and she +was breaking it for her own riding. But her distrust of her parents' +interference was greater than any fear of horse-stealers. “She's mighty +uneasy in the barn; and,” she added, with a proud consciousness of that +beautiful yet carnal weapon upstairs, “I reckon I ken protect her and +myself agin any Mexican horse-thieves.” + +“My! but we're gettin' high and mighty,” responded Mrs. Foster, with +deep irony. “Did you git all that outer your fool book?” + +“Mebbe,” said Lanty curtly. + +Nevertheless, her thoughts that night were not entirely based on written +romance. She wondered if the stranger knew that she had really tried to +box his ears in the darkness, also if he had been able to see her face. +HIS she remembered, at least the flash of his white teeth against his +dark face and darker mustache, which was quite as soft as her own hair. +But if he thought “for a minnit” that she was “goin' to allow an entire +stranger to kiss her--he was mighty mistaken.” She should let him know +it “pretty quick”! She should hand him back the dagger “quite careless +like,” and never let on that she'd thought anything of it. Perhaps that +was the reason why, before she went to bed, she took a good look at it, +and after taking off her straight, beltless, calico gown she even tried +the effect of it, thrust in the stiff waistband of her petticoat, with +the jeweled hilt displayed, and thought it looked charming--as indeed it +did. And then, having said her prayers like a good girl, and supplicated +that she should be less “tetchy” with her parents, she went to sleep and +dreamed that she had gone out to take in the wash again, but that the +clothes had all changed to the queerest lot of folks, who were all +fighting and struggling with each other until she, Lanty, drawing her +dagger, rushed up single-handed among them, crying, “Disperse, ye craven +curs,--disperse, I say.” And they dispersed. + +Yet even Lanty was obliged to admit the next morning that all this was +somewhat incongruous with the baking of “corn dodgers,” the frying of +fish, the making of beds, and her other household duties, and dismissed +the stranger from her mind until he should “happen along.” In her freer +and more acceptable outdoor duties she even tolerated the advances of +neighboring swains who made a point of passing by “Foster's Ranch,” and +who were quite aware that Atalanta Foster, alias “Lanty,” was one of the +prettiest girls in the country. But Lanty's toleration consisted in that +singular performance known to herself as “giving them as good as they +sent,” being a lazy traversing, qualified with scorn, of all that they +advanced. How long they would have put up with this from a plain girl I +do not know, but Lanty's short upper lip seemed framed for indolent +and fascinating scorn, and her dreamy eyes usually looked beyond the +questioner, or blunted his bolder glances in their velvety surfaces. The +libretto of these scenes was not exhaustive, e.g.:-- + +The Swain (with bold, bad gayety). “Saw that shy schoolmaster hangin' +round your ridge yesterday! Orter know by this time that shyness with a +gal don't pay.” + +Lanty (decisively). “Mebbe he allows it don't get left as often as +impudence.” + +The Swain (ignoring the reply and his previous attitude and becoming +more direct). “I was calkilatin' to say that with these yer hoss-thieves +about, yer filly ain't safe in the pasture. I took a turn round there +two or three times last evening to see if she was all right.” + +Lanty (with a flattering show of interest). “No! DID ye, now? I was jest +wonderin”'-- + +The Swain (eagerly). “I did--quite late, too! Why, that's nothin', Miss +Atalanty, to what I'd do for you.” + +Lanty (musing, with far off-eyes). “Then that's why she was so awful +skeerd and frightened! Just jumpin' outer her skin with horror. I +reckoned it was a b'ar or panther or a spook! You ought to have waited +till she got accustomed to your looks.” + +Nevertheless, despite this elegant raillery, Lanty was enough concerned +in the safety of her horse to visit it the next day with a view of +bringing it nearer home. She had just stepped into the alder fringe of +a dry “run” when she came suddenly upon the figure of a horseman in the +“run,” who had been hidden by the alders from the plain beyond and who +seemed to be engaged in examining the hoof marks in the dust of the +old ford. Something about his figure struck her recollection, and as +he looked up quickly she saw it was the owner of the dagger. But +he appeared to be lighter of hair and complexion, and was dressed +differently, and more like a vaquero. Yet there was the same flash of +his teeth as he recognized her, and she knew it was the same man. + +Alas for her preparation! Without the knife she could not make that +haughty return of it which she had contemplated. And more than that, she +was conscious she was blushing! Nevertheless she managed to level her +pretty brown eyebrows at him, and said sharply that if he followed her +to her home she would return his property at once. + +“But I'm in no hurry for it,” he said with a laugh,--the same light +laugh and pleasant voice she remembered,--“and I'd rather not come to +the house just now. The knife is in good hands, I know, and I'll call +for it when I want it! And until then--if it's all the same to you--keep +it to yourself,--keep it dark, as dark as the night I lost it!” + +“I don't go about blabbing my affairs,” said Lanty indignantly, “and if +it hadn't BEEN dark that night you'd have had your ears boxed--you know +why!” + +The stranger laughed again, waved his hand to Lanty, and galloped away. + +Lanty was a little disappointed. The daylight had taken away some of +her illusions. He was certainly very good-looking, but not quite as +picturesque, mysterious, and thrilling as in the dark! And it was very +queer--he certainly did look darker that night! Who was he? And why +was he lingering near her? He was different from her neighbors--her +admirers. He might be one of those locaters, from the big towns, who +prospect the lands, with a view of settling government warrants on +them,--they were always so secret until they had found what they wanted. +She did not dare to seek information of her friends, for the same reason +that she had concealed his existence from her mother,--it would provoke +awkward questions; and it was evident that he was trusting to her +secrecy, too. The thought thrilled her with a new pride, and was some +compensation for the loss of her more intangible romance. It would +be mighty fine, when he did call openly for his beautiful knife and +declared himself, to have them all know that SHE knew about it all +along. + +When she reached home, to guard against another such surprise she +determined to keep the weapon with her, and, distrusting her pocket, +confided it to the cheap little country-made corset which only for +the last year had confined her budding figure, and which now, perhaps, +heaved with an additional pride. She was quite abstracted during the +rest of the day, and paid but little attention to the gossip of the farm +lads, who were full of a daring raid, two nights before, by the Mexican +gang on the large stock farm of a neighbor. The Vigilant Committee had +been baffled; it was even alleged that some of the smaller ranchmen +and herders were in league with the gang. It was also believed to be a +widespread conspiracy; to have a political complexion in its combination +of an alien race with Southwestern filibusters. The legal authorities +had been reinforced by special detectives from San Francisco. Lanty +seldom troubled herself with these matters; she knew the exaggeration, +she suspected the ignorance of her rural neighbors. She roughly referred +it, in her own vocabulary, to “jaw,” a peculiarly masculine quality. But +later in the evening, when the domestic circle in the sitting-room had +been augmented by a neighbor, and Lanty had taken refuge behind her +novel as an excuse for silence, Zob Hopper, the enamored swain of the +previous evening, burst in with more astounding news. A posse of the +sheriff had just passed along the ridge; they had “corraled” part of the +gang, and rescued some of the stock. The leader of the gang had escaped, +but his capture was inevitable, as the roads were stopped. “All the +same, I'm glad to see ye took my advice, Miss Atalanty, and brought in +your filly,” he concluded, with an insinuating glance at the young girl. + +But “Miss Atalanty,” curling a quarter of an inch of scarlet lip above +the edge of her novel, here “allowed” that if his advice or the filly +had to be “took,” she didn't know which was worse. + +“I wonder ye kin talk to sech peartness, Mr. Hopper,” said Mrs. Foster +severely; “she ain't got eyes nor senses for anythin' but that book.” + +“Talkin' o' what's to be 'took,'” put in the diplomatic neighbor, “you +bet it ain't that Mexican leader! No, sir! he's been 'stopped' before +this--and then got clean away all the same! One o' them detectives got +him once and disarmed him--but he managed to give them the slip, after +all. Why, he's that full o' shifts and disguises thar ain't no spottin' +him. He walked right under the constable's nose oncet, and took a drink +with the sheriff that was arter him--and the blamed fool never knew it. +He kin change even the color of his hair quick as winkin'.” + +“Is he a real Mexican,--a regular Greaser?” asked the paternal Foster. +“Cos I never heard that they wuz smart.” + +“No! They say he comes o' old Spanish stock, a bad egg they threw outer +the nest, I reckon,” put in Hopper eagerly, seeing a strange animated +interest dilating Lanty's eyes, and hoping to share in it; “but he's +reg'lar high-toned, you bet! Why, I knew a man who seed him in his own +camp--prinked out in a velvet jacket and silk sash, with gold chains +and buttons down his wide pants and a dagger stuck in his sash, with a +handle just blazin' with jew'ls. Yes! Miss Atalanty, they say that one +stone at the top--a green stone, what they call an 'em'ral'--was worth +the price o' a 'Frisco house-lot. True ez you live! Eh--what's up now?” + +Lanty's book had fallen on the floor as she was rising to her feet +with a white face, still more strange and distorted in an affected yawn +behind her little hand. “Yer makin' me that sick and nervous with yer +fool yarns,” she said hysterically, “that I'm goin' to get a little +fresh air. It's just stifling here with lies and terbacker!” With +another high laugh, she brushed past him into the kitchen, opened the +door, and then paused, and, turning, ran rapidly up to her bedroom. Here +she locked herself in, tore open the bosom of her dress, plucked out +the dagger, threw it on the bed, where the green stone gleamed for an +instant in the candlelight, and then dropped on her knees beside the bed +with her whirling head buried in her cold red hands. + +It had all come to her in a flash, like a blaze of lightning,--the +black, haunting figure on the ridge, the broken saddle girth, the +abandonment of the dagger in the exigencies of flight and concealment; +the second meeting, the skulking in the dry, alder-hidden “run,” the +changed dress, the lighter-colored hair, but always the same voice and +laugh--the leader, the fugitive, the Mexican horse-thief! And she, the +Godforsaken fool, the chuckle-headed nigger baby, with not half the +sense of her own filly or that sop-headed Hopper--had never seen it! +She--SHE who would be the laughing-stock of them all--she had thought +him a “locater,” a “towny” from 'Frisco! And she had consented to keep +his knife until he would call for it,--yes, call for it, with fire and +flame perhaps, the trampling of hoofs, pistol shots--and--yet-- + +Yet!--he had TRUSTED her. Yes! trusted her when he knew a word from her +lips would have brought the whole district down on him! when the mere +exposure of that dagger would have identified and damned him! Trusted +her a second time, when she was within cry of her house! When he might +have taken her filly without her knowing it? And now she remembered +vaguely that the neighbors had said how strange it was that her father's +stock had not suffered as theirs had. HE had protected them--he who was +now a fugitive--and their men pursuing him! She rose suddenly with a +single stamp of her narrow foot, and as suddenly became cool and sane. +And then, quite her old self again, she lazily picked up the dagger and +restored it to its place in her bosom. That done, with her color back +and her eyes a little brighter, she deliberately went downstairs again, +stuck her little brown head into the sitting-room, said cheerfully, +“Still yawpin', you folks,” and quietly passed out into the darkness. + +She ran swiftly up to the ridge, impelled by the blind memory of having +met him there at night and the one vague thought to give him warning. +But it was dark and empty, with no sound but the rushing wind. And then +an idea seized her. If he were haunting the vicinity still, he might see +the fluttering of the clothes upon the line and believe she was there. +She stooped quickly, and in the merciful and exonerating darkness +stripped off her only white petticoat and pinned it on the line. It +flapped, fluttered, and streamed in the mountain wind. She lingered and +listened. But there came a sound she had not counted on,--the clattering +hoofs of not ONE, but many, horses on the lower road! She ran back to +the house to find its inmates already hastening towards the road for +news. She took that chance to slip in quietly, go to her room, whose +window commanded a view of the ridge, and crouching low behind it she +listened. She could hear the sound of voices, and the dull trampling of +heavy boots on the dusty path towards the barnyard on the other side of +the house--a pause, and then the return of the trampling boots, and the +final clattering of hoofs on the road again. Then there was a tap on her +door and her mother's querulous voice. + +“Oh! yer there, are ye? Well--it's the best place fer a girl--with all +these man's doin's goin' on! They've got that Mexican horse-thief and +have tied him up in your filly's stall in the barn--till the 'Frisco +deputy gets back from rounding up the others. So ye jest stay where ye +are till they've come and gone, and we're shut o' all that cattle. Are +ye mindin'?” + +“All right, maw; 'taint no call o' mine, anyhow,” returned Lanty, +through the half-open door. + +At another time her mother might have been startled at her passive +obedience. Still more would she have been startled had she seen her +daughter's face now, behind the closed door--with her little mouth set +over her clenched teeth. And yet it was her own child, and Lanty was her +mother's real daughter; the same pioneer blood filled their veins, the +blood that had never nourished cravens or degenerates, but had given +itself to sprinkle and fertilize desert solitudes where man might +follow. Small wonder, then, that this frontier-born Lanty, whose first +infant cry had been answered by the yelp of wolf and scream of panther; +whose father's rifle had been leveled across her cradle to cover the +stealthy Indian who prowled outside, small wonder that she should feel +herself equal to these “man's doin's,” and prompt to take a part. For +even in the first shock of the news of the capture she recalled the +fact that the barn was old and rotten, that only that day the filly +had kicked a board loose from behind her stall, which she, Lanty, +had lightly returned to avoid “making a fuss.” If his captors had not +noticed it, or trusted only to their guards, she might make the opening +wide enough to free him! + +Two hours later the guard nearest the now sleeping house, a farm hand +of the Fosters', saw his employer's daughter slip out and cautiously +approach him. A devoted slave of Lanty's, and familiar with her +impulses, he guessed her curiosity, and was not averse to satisfy it +and the sense of his own importance. To her whispers of affected, +half-terrified interest, he responded in whispers that the captive was +really in the filly's stall, securely bound by his wrists behind his +back, and his feet “hobbled” to a post. That Lanty couldn't see him, for +it was dark inside, and he was sitting with his back to the wall, as he +couldn't sleep comf'ble lyin' down. Lanty's eyes glowed, but her face +was turned aside. + +“And ye ain't reckonin' his friends will come and rescue him?” said +Lanty, gazing with affected fearfulness in the darkness. + +“Not much! There's two other guards down in the corral, and I'd fire my +gun and bring 'em up.” + +But Lanty was gazing open-mouthed towards the ridge. “What's that wavin' +on the ridge?” she said in awe-stricken tones. + +She was pointing to the petticoat,--a vague, distant, moving object +against the horizon. + +“Why, that's some o' the wash on the line, ain't it?” + +“Wash--TWO DAYS IN THE WEEK!” said Lanty sharply. “Wot's gone of you?” + +“Thet's so,” muttered the man, “and it wan't there at sundown, I'll +swear! P'r'aps I'd better call the guard,” and he raised his rifle. + +“Don't,” said Lanty, catching his arm. “Suppose it's nothin', they'll +laugh at ye. Creep up softly and see; ye ain't afraid, are ye? If ye +are, give me yer gun, and I'LL go.” + +This settled the question, as Lanty expected. The man cocked his piece, +and bending low began cautiously to mount the acclivity. Lanty waited +until his figure began to fade, and then ran like fire to the barn. + +She had arranged every detail of her plan beforehand. Crouching beside +the wall of the stall she hissed through a crack in thrilling whispers, +“Don't move. Don't speak for your life's sake. Wait till I hand you back +your knife, then do the best you can.” Then slipping aside the loosened +board she saw dimly the black outline of curling hair, back, shoulders, +and tied wrists of the captive. Drawing the knife from her pocket, with +two strokes of its keen cutting edge she severed the cords, threw the +knife into the opening, and darted away. Yet in that moment she knew +that the man was instinctively turning towards her. But it was one thing +to free a horse-thief, and another to stop and “philander” with him. + +She ran halfway up the ridge, and met the farm hand returning. It was +only a bit of washing after all, and he was glad he hadn't fired his +gun. On the other hand, Lanty confessed she had got “so skeert” being +alone, that she came to seek him. She had the shivers; wasn't her +hand cold? It was, but thrilling even in its coldness to the bashfully +admiring man. And she was that weak and dizzy, he must let her lean on +his arm going down; and they must go SLOW. She was sure he was cold, +too, and if he would wait at the back door she would give him a drink of +whiskey. Thus Lanty, with her brain afire, her eyes and ears straining +into the darkness, and the vague outline of the barn beyond. Another +moment was protracted over the drink of whiskey, and then Lanty, with a +faint archness, made him promise not to tell her mother of her escapade, +and she promised on her part not to say anything about his “stalking +a petticoat on the clothesline,” and then shyly closed the door and +regained her room. HE must have got away by this time, or have been +discovered; she believed they would not open the barn door until the +return of the posse. + +She was right. It was near daybreak when they returned, and, again +crouching low beside her window, she heard, with a fierce joy, the +sudden outcry, the oaths, the wrangling voices, the summoning of her +father to the front door, and then the tumultuous sweeping away again of +the whole posse, and a blessed silence falling over the rancho. And then +Lanty went quietly to bed, and slept like a three-year child! + +Perhaps that was the reason why she was able at breakfast to listen with +lazy and even rosy indifference to the startling events of the night; to +the sneers of the farm hands at the posse who had overlooked the knife +when they searched their prisoner, as well as the stupidity of the +corral guard who had never heard him make a hole “the size of a house” + in the barn side! Once she glanced demurely at Silas Briggs--the farm +hand and the poor fellow felt consoled in his shame at the remembrance +of their confidences. + +But Lanty's tranquillity was not destined to last long. There was again +the irruption of exciting news from the highroad; the Mexican leader had +been recaptured, and was now safely lodged in Brownsville jail! Those +who were previously loud in their praises of the successful horse-thief +who had baffled the vigilance of his pursuers were now equally keen +in their admiration of the new San Francisco deputy who, in turn, had +outwitted the whole gang. It was HE who was fertile in expedients; HE +who had studied the whole country, and even risked his life among the +gang, and HE who had again closed the meshes of the net around the +escaped outlaw. He was already returning by way of the rancho, and might +stop there a moment,--so that they could all see the hero. Such was the +power of success on the country-side! Outwardly indifferent, inwardly +bitter, Lanty turned away. She should not grace his triumph, if she kept +in her room all day! And when there was a clatter of hoofs on the road +again, Lanty slipped upstairs. + +But in a few moments she was summoned. Captain Lance Wetherby, Assistant +Chief of Police of San Francisco, Deputy Sheriff and ex-U. S. scout, +had requested to see Miss Foster a few moments alone. Lanty knew what +it meant,--her secret had been discovered; but she was not the girl to +shirk the responsibility! She lifted her little brown head proudly, and +with the same resolute step with which she had left the house the night +before, descended the stairs and entered the sitting-room. At first she +saw nothing. Then a remembered voice struck her ear; she started, looked +up, and gasping, fell back against the door. It was the stranger who +had given her the dagger, the stranger she had met in the run!--the +horse-thief himself! No! no! she saw it all now--she had cut loose the +wrong man! + +He looked at her with a smile of sadness--as he drew from his +breast-pocket that dreadful dagger, the very sight of which Lanty now +loathed! “This is the SECOND time, Miss Foster,” he said gently, “that +I have taken this knife from Murietta, the Mexican bandit: once when I +disarmed him three weeks ago, and he escaped, and last night, when he +had again escaped and I recaptured him. After I lost it that night I +understood from you that you had found it and were keeping it for me.” + He paused a moment and went on: “I don't ask you what happened last +night. I don't condemn you for it; I can believe what a girl of your +courage and sympathy might rightly do if her pity were excited; I only +ask--why did you give HIM back that knife I trusted you with?” + +“Why? Why did I?” burst out Lanty in a daring gush of truth, scorn, and +temper. “BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU WERE THAT HORSE-THIEF. There!” + +He drew back astonished, and then suddenly came that laugh that Lanty +remembered and now hailed with joy. “I believe you, by Jove!” he gasped. +“That first night I wore the disguise in which I have tracked him and +mingled with his gang. Yes! I see it all now--and more. I see that to +YOU I owe his recapture!” + +“To me!” echoed the bewildered girl; “how?” + +“Why, instead of making for his cave he lingered here in the confines of +the ranch! He thought you were in love with him, because you freed him +and gave him his knife, and stayed to see you!” + +But Lanty had her apron to her eyes, whose first tears were filling +their velvet depths. And her voice was broken as she said,-- + +“Then he--cared--a--good deal more for me--than some people!” + +But there is every reason to believe that Lanty was wrong! At least +later events that are part of the history of Foster's Rancho and the +Foster family pointed distinctly to the contrary. + + + + +AN ALI BABA OF THE SIERRAS + + +Johnny Starleigh found himself again late for school. It was always +happening. It seemed to be inevitable with the process of going to +school at all. And it was no fault “o' his.” Something was always +occurring,--some eccentricity of Nature or circumstance was invariably +starting up in his daily path to the schoolroom. He may not have been +“thinkin' of squirrels,” and yet the rarest and most evasive of that +species were always crossing his trail; he may not have been “huntin' +honey,” and yet a wild bees' nest in the hollow of an oak absolutely +obtruded itself before him; he wasn't “bird-catchin',” and yet there was +a yellow-hammer always within stone's throw. He had heard how grown men +hunters always saw the most wonderful animals when they “hadn't got +a gun with 'em,” and it seemed to be his lot to meet them in his +restricted possibilities on the way to school. If Nature was thus +capricious with his elders, why should folk think it strange if she was +as mischievous with a small boy? + +On this particular morning Johnny had been beguiled by the unmistakable +footprints--so like his own!--of a bear's cub. What chances he had of +ever coming up with them, or what he would have done if he had, he did +not know. He only knew that at the end of an hour and a half he found +himself two miles from the schoolhouse, and, from the position of the +sun, at least an hour too late for school. He knew that nobody would +believe him. The punishment for complete truancy was little worse than +for being late. He resolved to accept it, and by way of irrevocability +at once burnt his ships behind him--in devouring part of his dinner. + +Thus fortified in his outlawry, he began to look about him. He was on a +thickly wooded terrace with a blank wall of “outcrop” on one side nearly +as high as the pines which pressed close against it. He had never seen +it before; it was two or three miles from the highroad and seemed to be +a virgin wilderness. But on close examination he could see, with the +eye of a boy bred in a mining district, that the wall of outcrop had not +escaped the attention of the mining prospector. There were marks of his +pick in some attractive quartz seams of the wall, and farther on, a more +ambitious attempt, evidently by a party of miners, to begin a tunnel, +shown in an abandoned excavation and the heap of debris before it. It +had evidently been abandoned for some time, as ferns already forced +their green fronds through the stones and gravel, and the yerba buena +vine was beginning to mat the surface of the heap. But the boy's fancy +was quickly taken by the traces of a singular accident, and one which +had perhaps arrested the progress of the excavators. The roots of a +large pine-tree growing close to the wall had been evidently loosened by +the excavators, and the tree had fallen, with one of its largest roots +still in the opening the miners had made, and apparently blocking the +entrance. The large tree lay, as it fell--midway across another but much +smaller outcrop of rock which stood sharply about fifteen feet above +the level of the terrace--with its gaunt, dead limbs in the air at a low +angle. To Johnny's boyish fancy it seemed so easily balanced on the rock +that but for its imprisoned root it would have made a capital see-saw. +This he felt must be looked to hereafter. But here his attention was +arrested by something more alarming. His quick ear, attuned like an +animal's to all woodland sounds, detected the crackling of underwood +in the distance. His equally sharp eye saw the figures of two men +approaching. But as he recognized the features of one of them he drew +back with a beating heart, a hushed breath, and hurriedly hid himself in +the shadow. For he had seen that figure once before--flying before +the sheriff and an armed posse--and had never forgotten it! It was the +figure of Spanish Pete, a notorious desperado and sluice robber! + +Finding he had been unobserved, the boy took courage, and his +small faculties became actively alive. The two men came on together +cautiously, and at a little distance the second man, whom Johnny did not +know, parted from his companion and began to loiter up and down, looking +around as if acting as a sentinel for the desperado, who advanced +directly to the fallen tree. Suddenly the sentinel uttered an +exclamation, and Spanish Pete paused. The sentinel was examining the +ground near the heap of debris. + +“What's up?” growled the desperado. + +“Foot tracks! Weren't here before. And fresh ones, too.” + +Johnny's heart sank. It was where he had just passed. + +Spanish Pete hurriedly joined his companion. + +“Foot tracks be ----!” he said scornfully. “What fool would be crawlin' +round here barefooted? It's a young b'ar!” + +Johnny knew the footprints were his own. Yet he recognized the truth +of the resemblance; it was uncomplimentary, but he felt relieved. The +desperado came forward, and to the boy's surprise began to climb the +small ridge of outcrop until he reached the fallen tree. Johnny saw that +he was carrying a heavy stone. “What's the blamed fool goin' to do?” he +said to himself; the man's evident ignorance regarding footprints +had lessened the boy's awe of him. But the stranger's next essay took +Johnny's breath away. Standing on the fallen tree trunk at its axis on +the outcrop, he began to rock it gently. To Johnny's surprise it +began to move. The upper end descended slowly, lifting the root in the +excavation at the lower end, and with it a mass of rock, and revealing a +cavern behind large enough to admit a man. Johnny gasped. The desperado +coolly deposited the heavy stone on the tree beyond its axis on the +rock, so that it would keep the tree in position, leaped from the tree +to the rock, and quickly descended, at which he was joined by the +other man, who was carrying two heavy chamois-leather bags. They both +proceeded to the opening thus miraculously disclosed, and disappeared in +it. + +Johnny sat breathless, wondering, expectant, but not daring to move. The +men might come out at any moment; he had seen enough to know that their +enterprise as well as their cave was a secret, and that the desperado +would subject any witness to it, however innocent or unwilling, to +horrible penalties. The time crept slowly by,--he heard every rap of a +woodpecker in a distant tree; a blue jay dipped and lighted on a branch +within his reach, but he dared not extend his hand; his legs were +infested by ants; he even fancied he heard the dry, hollow rattle of a +rattlesnake not a yard from him. And then the entrance of the cave +was darkened, and the two men reappeared. Johnny stared. He would have +rubbed his eyes if he had dared. They were not the same men! Did the +cave contain others who had been all the while shut up in its dark +recesses? Was there a band? Would they all swarm out upon him? Should he +run for his life? + +But the illusion was only momentary. A longer look at them convinced +him that they were the same men in new clothes and disguised, and as one +remounted the outcrop Johnny's keen eyes recognized him as Spanish Pete. +He merely kicked away the stone; the root again descended gently over +the opening, and the tree recovered its former angle. The two hurried +away, but Johnny noticed that they were empty-handed. The bags had been +left behind. + +The boy waited patiently, listening with his ear to the ground, like an +Indian, for the last rustle of fern and crackle of underbrush, and +then emerged, stiff and cramped from his concealment. But he no longer +thought of flight; curiosity and ambition burned in his small veins. He +quickly climbed up the outcrop, picked up the fallen stone, and in spite +of its weight lifted it to the prostrate tree. Here he paused, and from +his coign of vantage looked and listened. The solitude was profound. +Then mounting the tree and standing over its axis he tried to rock it as +the others had. Alas! Johnny's heart was stout, his courage unlimited, +his perception all-embracing, his ambition boundless; but his actual +avoirdupois was only that of a boy of ten. The tree did not move. But +Johnny had played see-saw before, and quietly moved towards its highest +part. It slowly descended under the changed centre of gravity, and the +root arose, disclosing the opening as before. Yet here the little hero +paused. He waited with his eyes fixed on the opening, ready to fly on +the sallying out of any one who had remained concealed. He then placed +the stone where he had stood, leaped down, and ran to the opening. + +The change from the dazzling sunlight to the darkness confused him at +first, and he could see nothing. On entering he stumbled over something +which proved to be a bottle in which a candle was fitted, and a box of +matches evidently used by the two men. Lighting the candle he could now +discern that the cavern was only a few yards long, the beginning of a +tunnel which the accident to the tree had stopped. In one corner lay the +clothes that the men had left, and which for a moment seemed all that +the cavern contained, but on removing them Johnny saw that they were +thrown over a rifle, a revolver, and the two chamois-leather bags +that the men had brought there. They were so heavy that the boy +could scarcely lift them. His face flushed; his hands trembled with +excitement. To a boy whose truant wanderings had given him a fair +knowledge of mining, he knew that weight could have but one meaning! +Gold! He hurriedly untied the nearest bag. But it was not the gold of +the locality, of the tunnel, of the “bed rock”! It was “flake gold,” + the gold of the river! It had been taken from the miners' sluices in +the distant streams. The bags before him were the spoils of the sluice +robber,--spoils that could not be sold or even shown in the district +without danger, spoils kept until they could be taken to Marysville or +Sacramento for disposal. All this might have occurred to the mind of any +boy of the locality who had heard the common gossip of his elders, but +to Johnny's fancy an idea was kindled peculiarly his own! Here was a +cavern like that of the “Forty Thieves” in the story book, and he was +the “Ali Baba” who knew its secret! He was not obliged to say “Open +Sesame,” but he could say it if he liked, if he was showing it off to +anybody! + +Yet alas he also knew it was a secret he must keep to himself. He had +nobody to trust it to. His father was a charcoal-burner of small means; +a widower with two children, Johnny and his elder brother Sam. The +latter, a flagrant incorrigible of twenty-two, with a tendency to +dissipation and low company, had lately abandoned his father's roof, +only to reappear at intervals of hilarious or maudlin intoxication. +He had always been held up to Johnny as a warning, or with the gloomy +prognosis that he, Johnny, was already following in his tortuous +footsteps. Even if he were here he was not to be thought of as a +confidant. Still less could he trust his father, who would be sure to +bungle the secret with sheriffs and constables, and end by bringing down +the vengeance of the gang upon the family. As for himself, he could not +dispose of the gold if he were to take it. The exhibition of a single +flake of it to the adult public would arouse suspicion, and as it was +Johnny's hard fate to be always doubted, he might be connected with the +gang. As a truant he knew he had no moral standing, but he also had +the superstition--quite characteristic of childhood--that being in +possession of a secret he was a participant in its criminality--and +bound, as it were, by terrible oaths! And then a new idea seized him. +He carefully put back everything as he had found it, extinguished the +candle, left the cave, remounted the tree, and closed the opening again +as he had seen the others do it, with the addition of murmuring “Shut +Sesame” to himself, and then ran away as fast as his short legs could +carry him. + +Well clear of the dangerous vicinity, he proceeded more leisurely for +about a mile, until he came to a low whitewashed fence, inclosing a +small cultivated patch and a neat farmhouse beyond. Here he paused, +and, cowering behind the fence, with extraordinary facial contortions +produced a cry not unlike the scream of a blue jay. Repeating it at +intervals, he was presently relieved by observing the approach of a +nankeen sunbonnet within the inclosure above the line of fence. Stopping +before him, the sun-bonnet revealed a rosy little face, more than +usually plump on one side, and a neck enormously wrapped in a scarf. It +was “Meely” (Amelia) Stryker, a schoolmate, detained at home by “mumps,” + as Johnny was previously aware. For, with the famous indiscretion of +some other great heroes, he was about to intrust his secret and his +destiny to one of the weaker sex. And what were the minor possibilities +of contagion to this? + +“Playin' hookey ag'in?” said the young lady, with a cordial and even +expansive smile, exclusively confined to one side of her face. + +“Um! So'd you be ef you'd bin whar I hev,” he said with harrowing +mystery. + +“No!--say!” said Meely eagerly. + +At which Johnny, clutching at the top of the fence, with hurried breath +told his story. But not all. With the instinct of a true artist he +withheld the manner in which the opening of the cave was revealed, said +nothing about the tree, and, I grieve to say, added the words “Open +Sesame” as the important factor to the operation. Neither did he mention +the name of Spanish Pete. For all of which he was afterwards duly +grateful. + +“Meet me at the burnt pine down the crossroads at four o'clock,” he said +in conclusion, “and I'll show ye.” + +“Why not now?” said Meely impatiently. + +“Couldn't. Much as my life is worth! Must keep watching out! You come at +four.” + +And with an assuring nod he released the fence and trotted off. He +returned cautiously in the direction of the cave; he was by no means +sure that the robbers might not return that day, and his mysterious +rendezvous with Meely veiled a certain prudence. And it was well! For as +he stealthily crept around the face of the outcrop, hidden in the ferns, +he saw from the altered angle of the tree that the cavern was opened. +He remained motionless, with bated breath. Then he heard the sound of +subdued voices from the cavern, and a figure emerged from the opening. +Johnny grasped the ferns rigidly to check the dreadful cry that rose to +his lips at its sight. For that figure was his own brother! + +There was no mistaking that weak, wicked face, even then flushed with +liquor! Johnny had seen it too often thus. But never before as a thief's +face! He gave a little gasp, and fell back upon that strange reserve of +apathy and reticence in which children are apt to hide their emotions +from us at such a moment. He watched impassively the two other men who +followed his brother out to give him a small bag and some instructions, +and then returned within their cave, while his brother walked quickly +away. He watched him disappear; he did not move, for even if he had +followed him he could not bear to face him in his shame. And then out of +his sullen despair came a boyish idea of revenge. It was those two men +who had made his brother a thief! + +He was very near the tree. He crept stealthily on his hands and knees +through the bracken, and as stealthily climbed the wedge of outcrop, +and then leaped like a wild cat on the tree. With incredible activity he +lifted the balancing stone, and as the tree began to move, in a flash +of perception transferred it to the other side of its axis, and felt +the roots and debris, under that additional weight, descend quickly with +something like a crash over the opening. Then he took to his heels. He +ran so swiftly that all unknowingly he overtook a figure, who, turning, +glanced at him, and then disappeared in the wood. It was his second and +last view of his brother, as he never saw him again! + +But now, strange to say, the crucial and most despairing moment of his +day's experience had come. He had to face Meely Stryker under the burnt +pine, and the promise he could not keep, and to tell her that he had +lied to her. It was the only way to save his brother now! His small +wits, and alas! his smaller methods, were equal to the despairing task. +As soon as he saw her waiting under the tree he fell to capering and +dancing with an extravagance in which hysteria had no small part. “Sold! +sold! sold again, and got the money!” he laughed shrilly. + +The girl looked at him with astonishment, which changed gradually to +scorn, and then to anger. Johnny's heart sank, but he redoubled his +antics. + +“Who's sold?” she said disdainfully. + +“You be. You swallered all that stuff about Ali Baba! You wanted to be +Morgy Anna! Ho! ho! And I've made you play hookey--from home!” + +“You hateful, horrid, little liar!” + +Johnny accepted his punishment meekly--in his heart gratefully. “I +reckoned you'd laugh and not get mad,” he said submissively. The girl +turned, with tears of rage and vexation in her eyes, and walked away. +Johnny followed at a humble distance. Perhaps there was something +instinctively touching in the boy's remorse, for they made it up before +they reached her fence. + +Nevertheless Johnny went home miserable. Luckily for him, his father was +absent at a Vigilance Committee called to take cognizance of the late +sluice robberies, and although this temporarily concealed his offense +of truancy, the news of the vigilance meeting determined him to keep +his lips sealed. He lay all night wondering how long it would take the +robbers to dig themselves out of the cave, and whether they suspected +their imprisonment was the work of an enemy or only an accident. For +several days he avoided the locality, and even feared the vengeful +appearance of Spanish Pete some night at his father's house. It was +not until the end of a fortnight that he had the courage to revisit the +spot. The tree was in its normal position, but immovable, and a great +quantity of fresh debris at the mouth of the cave convinced him that the +robbers, after escaping, had abandoned it as unsafe. His brother did not +return, and either the activity of the Vigilance Committee or the lack +of a new place of rendezvous seemed to have dispersed the robbers from +the locality, for they were not heard of again. + +The next ten years brought an improvement to Mr. Starleigh's fortunes. +Johnny Starleigh, then a student at San Jose, one morning found a +newspaper clipping in a letter from Miss Amelia Stryker. It read as +follows: “The excavators in the new tunnel in Heavystone Ridge lately +discovered the skeletons of two unknown men, who had evidently been +crushed and entombed some years previously, by the falling of a large +tree over the mouth of their temporary refuge. From some river gold +found with them, they were supposed to be part of the gang of sluice +robbers who infested the locality some years ago, and were hiding from +the Vigilants.” + +For a few days thereafter Johnny Starleigh was thoughtful and reserved, +but he did not refer to the paragraph in answering the letter. He +decided to keep it for later confidences, when Miss Stryker should +become Mrs. Starleigh. + + + + +MISS PEGGY'S PROTEGES + + +The string of Peggy's sunbonnet had become untied--so had her right +shoe. These were not unusual accidents to a country girl of ten, but as +both of her hands were full she felt obliged to put down what she was +carrying. This was further complicated by the nature of her burden--a +half-fledged shrike and a baby gopher--picked up in her walk. It was +impossible to wrap them both in her apron without serious peril to one +or the other; she could not put either down without the chance of its +escaping. “It's like that dreadful riddle of the ferryman who had to +take the wolf and the sheep in his boat,” said Peggy to herself, “though +I don't believe anybody was ever so silly as to want to take a wolf +across the river.” But, looking up, she beheld the approach of Sam +Bedell, a six-foot tunnelman of the “Blue Cement Lead,” and, hailing +him, begged him to hold one of her captives. The giant, loathing the +little mouse-like ball of fur, chose the shrike. “Hold him by the feet, +for he bites AWFUL,” said Peggy, as the bird regarded Sam with the +diabolically intense frown of his species. Then, dropping the gopher +unconcernedly in her pocket, she proceeded to rearrange her toilet. The +tunnelman waited patiently until Peggy had secured the nankeen sunbonnet +around her fresh but freckled cheeks, and, with a reckless display +of yellow flannel petticoat and stockings like peppermint sticks, had +double-knotted her shoestrings viciously when he ventured to speak. + +“Same old game, Peggy? Thought you'd got rather discouraged with your +'happy family,' arter that new owl o' yours had gathered 'em in.” + +Peggy's cheek flushed slightly at this ungracious allusion to a former +collection of hers, which had totally disappeared one evening after the +introduction of a new member in the shape of a singularly venerable and +peaceful-looking horned owl. + +“I could have tamed HIM, too,” said Peggy indignantly, “if Ned Myers, +who gave him to me, hadn't been training him to ketch things, and never +let on anything about it to me. He was a reg'lar game owl!” + +“And wot are ye goin' to do with the Colonel here?” said Sam, indicating +under that gallant title the infant shrike, who, with his claws deeply +imbedded in Sam's finger, was squatting like a malignant hunchback, and +resisting his transfer to Peggy. “Won't HE make it rather lively for the +others? He looks pow'ful discontented for one so young.” + +“That's his nater,” said Peggy promptly. “Jess wait till I tame him. +Ef he'd been left along o' his folks, he'd grow up like 'em. He's a +'butcher bird'--wot they call a 'nine-killer '--kills nine birds a day! +Yes! True ez you live! Sticks 'em up on thorns outside his nest, jest +like a butcher's shop, till he gets hungry. I've seen 'em!” + +“And how do you kalkilate to tame him?” asked Sam. + +“By being good to him and lovin' him,” said Peggy, stroking the head of +the bird with infinite gentleness. + +“That means YOU'VE got to do all the butchering for him?” said the +cynical Sam. + +Peggy shook her head, disdaining a verbal reply. + +“Ye can't bring him up on sugar and crackers, like a Polly,” persisted +Sam. + +“Ye ken do anythin' with critters, if you ain't afeerd of 'em and love +'em,” said Peggy shyly. + +The tall tunnelman, looking down into the depths of Peggy's sunbonnet, +saw something in the round blue eyes and grave little mouth that made +him think so too. But here Peggy's serious little face took a shade of +darker concern as her arm went down deeper into her pocket, and her eyes +got rounder. + +“It's--it's--BURRERED OUT!” she said breathlessly. + +The giant leaped briskly to one side. “Hol' on,” said Peggy +abstractedly. With infinite gravity she followed, with her fingers, a +seam of her skirt down to the hem, popped them quickly under it, and +produced, with a sigh of relief, the missing gopher. + +“You'll do,” said Sam, in fearful admiration. “Mebbe you'll make suthin' +out o' the Colonel too. But I never took stock in that there owl. He +was too durned self-righteous for a decent bird. Now, run along afore +anythin' else fetches loose ag'in. So long!” + +He patted the top of her sunbonnet, gave a little pull to the short +brown braid that hung behind her temptingly,--which no miner was ever +known to resist,--and watched her flutter off with her spoils. He had +done so many times before, for the great, foolish heart of the Blue +Cement Ridge had gone out to Peggy Baker, the little daughter of the +blacksmith, quite early. There were others of the family, notably +two elder sisters, invincible at picnics and dances, but Peggy was as +necessary to these men as the blue jay that swung before them in the +dim woods, the squirrel that whisked across their morning path, or the +woodpecker who beat his tattoo at their midday meal from the hollow +pine above them. She was part of the nature that kept them young. Her +truancies and vagrancies concerned them not: she was a law to herself, +like the birds and squirrels. There were bearded lips to hail her +wherever she went, and a blue or red-shirted arm always stretched out in +any perilous pass or dangerous crossing. + +Her peculiar tastes were an outcome of her nature, assisted by her +surroundings. Left a good deal to herself in her infancy, she made +playfellows of animated nature around her, without much reference to +selection or fitness, but always with a fearlessness that was the result +of her own observation, and unhampered by tradition or other children's +timidity. She had no superstition regarding the venom of toads, the +poison of spiders, or the ear-penetrating capacity of earwigs. She had +experiences and revelations of her own,--which she kept sacredly to +herself, as children do,--and one was in regard to a rattlesnake, partly +induced, however, by the indiscreet warning of her elders. She was +cautioned NOT to take her bread and milk into the woods, and was told +the affecting story of the little girl who was once regularly visited by +a snake that partook of HER bread and milk, and who was ultimately found +rapping the head of the snake for gorging more than his share, and not +“taking a 'poon as me do.” It is needless to say that this incautious +caution fired Peggy's adventurous spirit. SHE took a bowlful of milk to +the haunt of a “rattler” near her home, but, without making the pretense +of sharing it, generously left the whole to the reptile. After repeating +this hospitality for three or four days, she was amazed one morning on +returning to the house to find the snake--an elderly one with a dozen +rattles--devotedly following her. Alarmed, not for her own safety nor +that of her family, but for the existence of her grateful friend in +danger of the blacksmith's hammer, she took a circuitous route leading +it away. Then recalling a bit of woodland lore once communicated to her +by a charcoal-burner, she broke a spray of the white ash, and laid it +before her in the track of the rattlesnake. He stopped instantly, and +remained motionless without crossing the slight barrier. She repeated +this experiment on later occasions, until the reptile understood her. +She kept the experience to herself, but one day it was witnessed by a +tunnelman. On that day Peggy's reputation was made! + +From this time henceforth the major part of Blue Cement Ridge became +serious collectors for what was known as “Peggy's menagerie,” and two +of the tunnelmen constructed a stockaded inclosure--not half a mile +from the blacksmith's cabin, but unknown to him--for the reception of +specimens. For a long time its existence was kept a secret between Peggy +and her loyal friends. Her parents, aware of her eccentric tastes only +through the introduction of such smaller creatures as lizards, toads, +and tarantulas into their house,--which usually escaped from their tin +cans and boxes and sought refuge in the family slippers,--had frowned +upon her zoological studies. Her mother found that her woodland rambles +entailed an extraordinary wear and tear of her clothing. A pinafore +reduced to ribbons by a young fox, and a straw hat half swallowed by a +mountain kid, did not seem to be a natural incident to an ordinary +walk to the schoolhouse. Her sisters thought her tastes “low,” and +her familiar association with the miners inconsistent with their own +dignity. But Peggy went regularly to school, was a fair scholar in +elementary studies (what she knew of natural history, in fact, quite +startled her teachers), and being also a teachable child, was allowed +some latitude. As for Peggy herself, she kept her own faith unshaken; +her little creed, whose shibboleth was not “to be afraid” of God's +creatures, but to “love 'em,” sustained her through reprimand, torn +clothing, and, it is to be feared, occasional bites and scratches from +the loved ones themselves. + +The unsuspected contiguity of the “menagerie” to the house had its +drawbacks, and once nearly exposed her. A mountain wolf cub, brought +especially for her from the higher northern Sierras with great trouble +and expense by Jack Ryder, of the Lone Star Lead, unfortunately escaped +from the menagerie just as the child seemed to be in a fair way of +taming it. Yet it had been already familiarized enough with civilization +to induce it to stop in its flight and curiously examine the +blacksmith's shop. A shout from the blacksmith and a hurled hammer sent +it flying again, with Mr. Baker and his assistant in full pursuit. But +it quickly distanced them with its long, tireless gallop, and they were +obliged to return to the forge, lost in wonder and conjecture. For the +blacksmith had recognized it as a stranger to the locality, and as a +man of oracular pretension had a startling theory to account for its +presence. This he confided to the editor of the local paper, and the +next issue contained an editorial paragraph: “Our presage of a severe +winter in the higher Sierras, and consequent spring floods in the +valleys, has been startlingly confirmed! Mountain wolves have been +seen in Blue Cement Ridge, and our esteemed fellow citizen, Mr. Ephraim +Baker, yesterday encountered a half-starved cub entering his premises in +search of food. Mr. Baker is of the opinion that the mother of the +cub, driven down by stress of weather, was in the immediate vicinity.” + Nothing but the distress of the only responsible mother of the cub, +Peggy, and loyalty to her, kept Jack Ryder from exposing the absurdity +publicly, but for weeks the camp fires of Blue Cement Ridge shook with +the suppressed and unhallowed joy of the miners, who were in the guilty +secret. + +But, fortunately for Peggy, the most favored of her cherished +possessions was not obliged to be kept secret. That one exception was +an Indian dog! This was also a gift, and had been procured with great +“difficulty” by a “packer” from an Indian encampment on the Oregon +frontier. The “difficulty” was, in plain English, that it had been +stolen from the Indians at some peril to the stealer's scalp. It was +a mongrel to all appearances, of no recognized breed or outward +significance, yet of a quality distinctly its own. It was absolutely and +totally uncivilized. Whether this was a hereditary trait, or the result +of degeneracy, no one knew. It refused to enter a house; it would not +stay in a kennel. It would not eat in public, but gorged ravenously +and stealthily in the shadows. It had the slink of a tramp, and in its +patched and mottled hide seemed to simulate the rags of a beggar. It had +the tirelessness without the affected limp of a coyote. Yet it had none +of the ferocity of barbarians. With teeth that could gnaw through the +stoutest rope and toughest lariat, it never bared them in anger. It +was cringing without being amiable or submissive; it was gentle without +being affectionate. + +Yet almost insensibly it began to yield to Peggy's faith and kindness. +Gradually it seemed to single her out as the one being in this vast +white-faced and fully clothed community that it could trust. It +presently allowed her to half drag, half lead it to and fro from school, +although on the approach of a stranger it would bite through the rope +or frantically endeavor to efface itself in Peggy's petticoats. It was +trying, even to the child's sweet gravity, to face the ridicule excited +by its appearance on the road; and its habit of carrying its tail +between its legs--at such an inflexible curve that, on the authority +of Sam Bedell, a misstep caused it to “turn a back somersault”--was +painfully disconcerting. But Peggy endured this, as she did the greater +dangers of the High Street in the settlement, where she had often, at +her own risk, absolutely to drag the dazed and bewildered creature from +under the wheels of carts and the heels of horses. But this shyness +wore off--or rather was eventually lost in the dog's complete and utter +absorption in Peggy. His limited intelligence and imperfect perceptions +were excited for her alone. His singularly keen scent detected her +wherever or how remote she might be. Her passage along a “blind trail,” + her deviations from the school path, her more distant excursions, +were all mysteriously known to him. It seemed as if his senses were +concentrated in this one faculty. No matter how unexpected or unfamiliar +the itinerary, “Lo, the poor Indian”--as the men had nicknamed him (in +possible allusion to his “untutored mind”)--always arrived promptly and +silently. + +It was to this singular faculty that Peggy owed one of her strangest +experiences. One Saturday afternoon she was returning from an errand to +the village when she was startled by the appearance of Lo in her path. +For the reason already given, she no longer took him with her to these +active haunts of civilization, but had taught him on such occasions to +remain as a guard outside the stockade which contained her treasures. +After reading him a severe lecture on this flagrant abandonment of his +trust, enforced with great seriousness and an admonitory forefinger, +she was concerned to see that the animal appeared less agitated by her +reproof than by some other disturbance. He ran ahead of her, instead +of at her heels, as was his usual custom, and barked--a thing he rarely +did. Presently she thought she discovered the cause of this in the +appearance from the wood of a dozen men armed with guns. They seemed to +be strangers, but among them she recognized the deputy sheriff of the +settlement. The leader noticed her, and, after a word or two with the +others, the deputy approached her. + +“You and Lo had better be scooting home by the highroad, outer this--or +ye might get hurt,” he said, half playfully, half seriously. + +Peggy looked fearlessly at the men and their guns. + +“Look ez ef you was huntin'?” she said curiously. + +“We are!” said the leader. + +“Wot you huntin'?” + +The deputy glanced at the others. “B'ar!” he replied. + +“Ba'r!” repeated the child with the quick resentment which a palpable +falsehood always provoked in her. “There ain't no b'ar in ten miles! See +yourself huntin' b'ar! Ho!” + +The man laughed. “Never you mind, missy,” said the deputy, “you trot +along!” He laid his hand very gently on her head, faced her sunbonnet +towards the near highway, gave the usual parting pull to her brown +pigtail, added, “Make a bee-line home,” and turned away. + +Lo uttered the first growl known in his history. Whereat Peggy said, +with lofty forbearance, “Serve you jest right ef I set my dog on you.” + +But force is no argument, and Peggy felt this truth even of herself and +Lo. So she trotted away. Nevertheless, Lo showed signs of hesitation. +After a few moments Peggy herself hesitated and looked back. The men +had spread out under the trees, and were already lost in the woods. But +there was more than one trail through it, and Peggy knew it. + +And here an alarming occurrence startled her. A curiously striped brown +and white squirrel whisked past her and ran up a tree. Peggy's round +eyes became rounder. There was but one squirrel of that kind in all the +length and breadth of Blue Cement Ridge, and that was in the menagerie! +Even as she looked it vanished. Peggy faced about and ran back to the +road in the direction of the stockade, Lo bounding before her. But +another surprise awaited her. There was the clutter of short wings +under the branches, and the sunlight flashed upon the iris throat of a +wood-duck as it swung out of sight past her. But in this single +glance Peggy recognized one of the latest and most precious of her +acquisitions. There was no mistake now! With a despairing little cry to +Lo, “The menagerie's broke loose!” she ran like the wind towards it. She +cared no longer for the mandate of the men; the trail she had taken was +out of their sight; they were proceeding so slowly and cautiously that +she and Lo quickly distanced them in the same direction. She would have +yet time to reach the stockade and secure what was left of her treasures +before they came up and drove her away. Yet she had to make a long +circuit to avoid the blacksmith's shop and cabin, before she saw the +stockade, lifting its four-foot walls around an inclosure a dozen feet +square, in the midst of a manzanita thicket. But she could see also +broken coops, pens, cages, and boxes lying before it, and stopped once, +even in her grief and indignation, to pick up a ruby-throated lizard, +one of its late inmates that had stopped in the trail, stiffened to +stone at her approach. The next moment she was before the roofless +walls, and then stopped, stiffened like the lizard. For out of that +peaceful ruin which had once held the wild and untamed vagabonds of +earth and sky, arose a type of savagery and barbarism the child had +never before looked upon,--the head and shoulders of a hunted, desperate +man! + +His head was bare, and his hair matted with sweat over his forehead; his +face was unshorn, and the black roots of his beard showed against the +deadly pallor of his skin, except where it was scratched by thorns, +or where the red spots over his cheek bones made his cheeks look as +if painted. His eyes were as insanely bright, he panted as quickly, he +showed his white teeth as perpetually, his movements were as convulsive, +as those captured animals she had known. Yet he did not attempt to fly, +and it was only when, with a sudden effort and groan of pain, he half +lifted himself above the stockade, that she saw that his leg, bandaged +with his cravat and handkerchief, stained a dull red, dragged helplessly +beneath him. He stared at her vacantly for a moment, and then looked +hurriedly into the wood behind her. + +The child was more interested than frightened, and more curious than +either. She had grasped the situation at a glance. It was the hunted and +the hunters. Suddenly he started and reached for his rifle, which he had +apparently set down outside when he climbed into the stockade. He had +just caught sight of a figure emerging from the wood at a distance. But +the weapon was out of his reach. + +“Hand me that gun!” he said roughly. + +But Peggy did not stir. The figure came more plainly and quite +unconsciously into full view, an easy shot at that distance. + +The man uttered a horrible curse, and turned a threatening face on +the child. But Peggy had seen something like that in animals SHE had +captured. She only said gravely,-- + +“Ef you shoot that gun you'll bring 'em all down on you!” + +“All?” he demanded. + +“Yes! a dozen folks with guns like yours,” said Peggy. “You jest crouch +down and lie low. Don't move! Watch me.” + +The man dropped below the stockade. Peggy ran swiftly towards the +unsuspecting figure, evidently the leader of the party, but deviated +slightly to snatch a tiny spray from a white-ash tree. She never knew +that in that brief interval the wounded man, after a supreme effort, had +possessed himself of his weapon, and for a moment had covered HER with +its deadly muzzle. She ran on fearlessly until she saw that she had +attracted the attention of the leader, when she stopped and began to +wave the white-ash wand before her. The leader halted, conferred with +some one behind him, who proved to be the deputy sheriff. Stepping out +he advanced towards Peggy, and called sharply, + +“I told you to get out of this! Come, be quick!” + +“You'd better get out yourself,” said Peggy, waving her ash spray, “and +quicker, too.” + +The deputy stopped, staring at the spray. “Wot's up?” + +“Rattlers.” + +“Where?” + +“Everywhere round ye--a reg'lar nest of 'em! That's your way round!” She +pointed to the right, and again began beating the underbrush with her +wand. The men had, meantime, huddled together in consultation. It was +evident that the story of Peggy and her influence on rattlesnakes was +well known, and, in all probability, exaggerated. After a pause, the +whole party filed off to the right, making a long circuit of the unseen +stockade, and were presently lost in the distance. Peggy ran back to the +fugitive. The fire of savagery and desperation in his eyes had gone out, +but had been succeeded by a glazing film of faintness. + +“Can you--get me--some water?” he whispered. + +The stockade was near a spring,--a necessity for the menagerie. Peggy +brought him water in a dipper. She sighed a little; her “butcher +bird”--now lost forever--had been the last to drink from it! + +The water seemed to revive him. “The rattlesnakes scared the cowards,” + he said, with an attempt to smile. “Were there many rattlers?” + +“There wasn't ANY,” said Peggy, a little spitefully, “'cept YOU--a +two-legged rattler!” + +The rascal grinned at the compliment. + +“ONE-legged, you mean,” he said, indicating his helpless limb. + +Peggy's heart relented slightly. “Wot you goin' to do now?” she said. +“You can't stay on THERE, you know. It b'longs to ME!” She was generous, +but practical. + +“Were those things I fired out yours?” + +“Yes.” + +“Mighty rough of me.” + +Peggy was slightly softened. “Kin you walk?” + +“No.” + +“Kin you crawl?” + +“Not as far as a rattler.” + +“Ez far ez that clearin'?” + +“Yes.” + +“There's a hoss tethered out in that clearin'. I kin shift him to this +end.” + +“You're white all through,” said the man gravely. + +Peggy ran off to the clearing. The horse belonged to Sam Bedell, but +he had given Peggy permission to ride it whenever she wished. This was +equivalent, in Peggy's mind, to a permission to PLACE him where she +wished. She consequently led him to a point nearest the stockade, and, +thoughtfully, close beside a stump. But this took some time, and when +she arrived she found the fugitive already there, very thin and weak, +but still smiling. + +“Ye kin turn him loose when you get through with him; he'll find his way +back,” said Peggy. “Now I must go.” + +Without again looking at the man, she ran back to the stockade. Then she +paused until she heard the sound of hoofs crossing the highway in the +opposite direction from which the pursuers had crossed, and knew that +the fugitive had got away. Then she took the astonished and still +motionless lizard from her pocket, and proceeded to restore the broken +coops and cages to the empty stockade. + +But she never reconstructed her menagerie nor renewed her collection. +People said she had tired of her whim, and that really she was getting +too old for such things. Perhaps she was. But she never got old enough +to reveal her story of the last wild animal she had tamed by kindness. +Nor was she quite sure of it herself, until a few years afterwards on +Commencement Day at a boarding-school at San Jose, when they pointed out +to her one of the most respectable trustees. But they said he was once +a gambler, who had shot a man with whom he had quarreled, and was nearly +caught and lynched by a Vigilance Committee. + + + + +THE GODDESS OF EXCELSIOR + + +When the two isolated mining companies encamped on Sycamore Creek +discovered on the same day the great “Excelsior Lead,” they met around +a neutral camp fire with that grave and almost troubled demeanor which +distinguished the successful prospector in those days. Perhaps the term +“prospectors” could hardly be used for men who had labored patiently +and light-heartedly in the one spot for over three years to gain a daily +yield from the soil which gave them barely the necessaries of life. +Perhaps this was why, now that their reward was beyond their most +sanguine hopes, they mingled with this characteristic gravity an +ambition and resolve peculiarly their own. Unlike most successful +miners, they had no idea of simply realizing their wealth and departing +to invest or spend it elsewhere, as was the common custom. On the +contrary, that night they formed a high resolve to stand or fall by +their claims, to develop the resources of the locality, to build up a +town, and to devote themselves to its growth and welfare. And to this +purpose they bound themselves that night by a solemn and legal compact. + +Many circumstances lent themselves to so original a determination. The +locality was healthful, picturesque, and fertile. Sycamore Creek, a +considerable tributary of the Sacramento, furnished them a generous +water supply at all seasons; its banks were well wooded and +interspersed with undulating meadow land. Its distance from stage-coach +communication--nine miles--could easily be abridged by a wagon road over +a practically level country. Indeed, all the conditions for a thriving +settlement were already there. It was natural, therefore, that the most +sanguine anticipations were indulged by the more youthful of the twenty +members of this sacred compact. The sites of a hotel, a bank, the +express company's office, stage office, and court-house, with other +necessary buildings, were all mapped out and supplemented by a theatre, +a public park, and a terrace along the river bank! It was only when +Clinton Grey, an intelligent but youthful member, on offering a plan of +the town with five avenues eighty feet wide, radiating from a central +plaza and the court-house, explained that “it could be commanded by +artillery in case of an armed attack upon the building,” that it was +felt that a line must be drawn in anticipatory suggestion. Nevertheless, +although their determination was unabated, at the end of six months +little had been done beyond the building of a wagon road and the +importation of new machinery for the working of the lead. The +peculiarity of their design debarred any tentative or temporary efforts; +they wished the whole settlement to spring up in equal perfection, +so that the first stage-coach over the new road could arrive upon the +completed town. “We don't want to show up in a 'b'iled shirt' and a plug +hat, and our trousers stuck in our boots,” said a figurative speaker. +Nevertheless, practical necessity compelled them to build the hotel +first for their own occupation, pending the erection of their private +dwellings on allotted sites. The hotel, a really elaborate structure +for the locality and period, was a marvel to the workmen and casual +teamsters. It was luxuriously fitted and furnished. Yet it was in +connection with this outlay that the event occurred which had a singular +effect upon the fancy of the members. + +Washington Trigg, a Western member, who had brought up the architect and +builder from San Francisco, had returned in a state of excitement. He +had seen at an art exhibition in that city a small replica of a famous +statue of California, and, without consulting his fellow members, had +ordered a larger copy for the new settlement. He, however, made up for +his precipitancy by an extravagant description of his purchase, which +impressed even the most cautious. “It's the figger of a mighty pretty +girl, in them spirit clothes they allus wear, holding a divinin' rod for +findin' gold afore her in one hand; all the while she's hidin' behind +her, in the other hand, a branch o' thorns out of sight. The idea +bein'--don't you see?--that blamed old 'forty-niners like us, or +ordinary greenhorns, ain't allowed to see the difficulties they've got +to go through before reaching a strike. Mighty cute, ain't it? It's +to be made life-size,--that is, about the size of a girl of that kind, +don't you see?” he explained somewhat vaguely, “and will look powerful +fetchin' standin' onto a pedestal in the hall of the hotel.” In reply to +some further cautious inquiry as to the exact details of the raiment +and of any possible shock to the modesty of lady guests at the hotel, he +replied confidently, “Oh, THAT'S all right! It's the regulation uniform +of goddesses and angels,--sorter as if they'd caught up a sheet or a +cloud to fling round 'em before coming into this world afore folks; +and being an allegory, so to speak, it ain't as if it was me or you +prospectin' in high water. And, being of bronze, it”-- + +“Looks like a squaw, eh?” interrupted a critic, “or a cursed Chinaman?” + +“And if it's of metal, it will weigh a ton! How are we going to get it +up here?” said another. + +But here Mr. Trigg was on sure ground. “I've ordered it cast holler, +and, if necessary, in two sections,” he returned triumphantly. “A child +could tote it round and set it up.” + +Its arrival was therefore looked forward to with great expectancy when +the hotel was finished and occupied by the combined Excelsior companies. +It was to come from New York via San Francisco, where, however, +there was some delay in its transshipment, and still further delay at +Sacramento. It finally reached the settlement over the new wagon +road, and was among the first freight carried there by the new +express company, and delivered into the new express office. The +box--a packing-case, nearly three feet square by five feet long--bore +superficial marks of travel and misdirection, inasmuch as the original +address was quite obliterated and the outside lid covered with corrected +labels. It was carried to a private sitting-room in the hotel, where +its beauty was to be first disclosed to the president of the united +companies, three of the committee, and the excited and triumphant +purchaser. A less favored crowd of members and workmen gathered +curiously outside the room. Then the lid was carefully removed, +revealing a quantity of shavings and packing paper which still hid the +outlines of the goddess. When this was promptly lifted a stare of blank +astonishment fixed the faces of the party! It was succeeded by a quick, +hysteric laugh, and then a dead silence. + +Before them lay a dressmaker's dummy, the wire and padded model on +which dresses are fitted and shown. With its armless and headless bust, +abruptly ending in a hooped wire skirt, it completely filled the sides +of the box. + +“Shut the door,” said the president promptly. + +The order was obeyed. The single hysteric shriek of laughter had been +followed by a deadly, ironical silence. The president, with supernatural +gravity, lifted it out and set it up on its small, round, disk-like +pedestal. + +“It's some cussed fool blunder of that confounded express company,” + burst out the unlucky purchaser. But there was no echo to his outburst. +He looked around with a timid, tentative smile. But no other smile +followed his. + +“It looks,” said the president, with portentous gravity, “like the +beginnings of a fine woman, that MIGHT show up, if you gave her time, +into a first-class goddess. Of course she ain't all here; other boxes +with sections of her, I reckon, are under way from her factory, and will +meander along in the course of the year. Considerin' this as a sample--I +think, gentlemen,” he added, with gloomy precision, “we are prepared to +accept it, and signify we'll take more.” + +“It ain't, perhaps, exactly the idee that we've been led to expect from +previous description,” said Dick Flint, with deeper seriousness; “for +instance, this yer branch of thorns we heard of ez bein' held behind her +is wantin', as is the arms that held it; but even if they had arrived, +anybody could see the thorns through them wires, and so give the hull +show away.” + +“Jam it into its box again, and we'll send it back to the confounded +express company with a cussin' letter,” again thundered the wretched +purchaser. + +“No, sonny,” said the president with gentle but gloomy determination, +“we'll fasten on to this little show jest as it is, and see what +follows. It ain't every day that a first-class sell like this is worked +off on us ACCIDENTALLY.” + +It was quite true! The settlement had long since exhausted every +possible form of practical joking, and languished for a new sensation. +And here it was! It was not a thing to be treated angrily, nor lightly, +nor dismissed with that single hysteric laugh. It was capable of the +greatest possibilities! Indeed, as Washington Trigg looked around on the +imperturbably ironical faces of his companions, he knew that they felt +more true joy over the blunder than they would in the possession of the +real statue. But an exclamation from the fifth member, who was examining +the box, arrested their attention. + +“There's suthin' else here!” + +He had found under the heavier wrapping a layer of tissue-paper, and +under that a further envelope of linen, lightly stitched together. A +knife blade quickly separated the stitches, and the linen was carefully +unfolded. It displayed a beautifully trimmed evening dress of pale blue +satin, with a dressing-gown of some exquisite white fabric armed with +lace. The men gazed at it in silence, and then the one single expression +broke from their lips,-- + +“Her duds!” + +“Stop, boys,” said “Clint” Grey, as a movement was made to lift the +dress towards the model, “leave that to a man who knows. What's the +use of my having left five grown-up sisters in the States if I haven't +brought a little experience away with me? This sort of thing ain't to be +'pulled on' like trousers. No, sir!--THIS is the way she's worked.” + +With considerable dexterity, unexpected gentleness, and some taste, +he shook out the folds of the skirt delicately and lifted it over the +dummy, settling it skillfully upon the wire hoops, and drawing the +bodice over the padded shoulders. This he then proceeded to fasten with +hooks and eyes,--a work of some patience. Forty eager fingers stretched +out to assist him, but were waved aside, with a look of pained decorum +as he gravely completed his task. Then falling back, he bade the others +do the same, and they formed a contemplative semicircle before the +figure. + +Up to that moment a delighted but unsmiling consciousness of their own +absurdities, a keen sense of the humorous possibilities of the +original blunder, and a mischievous recognition of the mortification of +Trigg--whose only safety now lay in accepting the mistake in the same +spirit--had determined these grown-up schoolboys to artfully protract +a joke that seemed to be providentially delivered into their hands. But +NOW an odd change crept on them. The light from the open window that +gave upon the enormous pines and the rolling prospect up to the +dim heights of the Sierras fell upon this strange, incongruous, yet +perfectly artistic figure. For the dress was the skillful creation of a +great Parisian artist, and in its exquisite harmony of color, shape, +and material it not only hid the absurd model, but clothed it with an +alarming grace and refinement! A queer feeling of awe, of shame, and of +unwilling admiration took possession of them. Some of them--from +remote Western towns--had never seen the like before; those who HAD had +forgotten it in those five years of self-exile, of healthy independence, +and of contiguity to Nature in her unaffected simplicity. All had been +familiar with the garish, extravagant, and dazzling femininity of +the Californian towns and cities, but never had they known anything +approaching the ideal grace of this type of exalted, even if artificial, +womanhood. And although in the fierce freedom of their little republic +they had laughed to scorn such artificiality, a few yards of satin and +lace cunningly fashioned, and thrown over a frame of wood and wire, +touched them now with a strange sense of its superiority. The better +to show its attractions, Clinton Grey had placed the figure near a +full-length, gold-framed mirror, beside a marble-topped table. Yet how +cheap and tawdry these splendors showed beside this work of art! How +cruel was the contrast of their own rough working clothes to this +miracle of adornment which that same mirror reflected! And even when +Clinton Grey, the enthusiast, looked towards his beloved woods for +relief, he could not help thinking of them as a more fitting frame for +this strange goddess than this new house into which she had strayed. +Their gravity became real; their gibes in some strange way had vanished. + +“Must have cost a pile of money,” said one, merely to break an +embarrassing silence. + +“My sister had a friend who brought over a dress from Paris, not as +high-toned as that, that cost five hundred dollars,” said Clinton Grey. + +“How much did you say that spirit-clad old rag of yours cost--thorns and +all?” said the president, turning sharply on Trigg. + +Trigg swallowed this depreciation of his own purchase meekly. “Seven +hundred and fifty dollars, without the express charges.” + +“That's only two-fifty more,” said the president thoughtfully, “if we +call it quits.” + +“But,” said Trigg in alarm, “we must send it back.” + +“Not much, sonny,” said the president promptly. “We'll hang on to this +until we hear where that thorny old chump of yours has fetched up and is +actin' her conundrums, and mebbe we can swap even.” + +“But how will we explain it to the boys?” queried Trigg. “They're +waitin' outside to see it.” + +“There WON'T be any explanation,” said the president, in the same tone +of voice in which he had ordered the door shut. “We'll just say that +the statue hasn't come, which is the frozen truth; and this box only +contained some silk curtain decorations we'd ordered, which is only +half a lie. And,” still more firmly, “THIS SECRET DOESN'T GO OUT OF THIS +ROOM, GENTLEMEN--or I ain't your president! I'm not going to let you +give yourselves away to that crowd outside--you hear me? Have you ever +allowed your unfettered intellect to consider what they'd say about +this,--what a godsend it would be to every man we'd ever had a 'pull' on +in this camp? Why, it would last 'em a whole year; we'd never hear the +end of it! No, gentlemen! I prefer to live here without shootin' my +fellow man, but I can't promise it if they once start this joke agin +us!” + +There was a swift approval of this sentiment, and the five members shook +hands solemnly. + +“Now,” said the president, “we'll just fold up that dress again, and put +it with the figure in this closet”--he opened a large dressing-chest +in the suite of rooms in which they stood--“and we'll each keep a key. +We'll retain this room for committee purposes, so that no one need see +the closet. See? Now take off the dress! Be careful there! You're not +handlin' pay dirt, though it's about as expensive! Steady!” + +Yet it was wonderful to see the solicitude and care with which the dress +was re-covered and folded in its linen wrapper. + +“Hold on,” exclaimed Trigg,--as the dummy was lifted into the +chest,--“we haven't tried on the other dress!” + +“Yes! yes!” repeated the others eagerly; “there's another!” + +“We'll keep that for next committee meeting, gentlemen,” said the +president decisively. “Lock her up, Trigg.” + + +The three following months wrought a wonderful change in +Excelsior,--wonderful even in that land of rapid growth and progress. +Their organized and matured plans, executed by a full force of workmen +from the county town, completed the twenty cottages for the members, the +bank, and the town hall. Visitors and intending settlers flocked over +the new wagon road to see this new Utopia, whose founders, holding the +land and its improvements as a corporate company, exercised the right +of dictating the terms on which settlers were admitted. The feminine +invasion was not yet potent enough to affect their consideration, either +through any refinement or attractiveness, being composed chiefly of the +industrious wives and daughters of small traders or temporary artisans. +Yet it was found necessary to confide the hotel to the management of Mr. +Dexter Marsh, his wife, and one intelligent but somewhat plain daughter, +who looked after the accounts. There were occasional lady visitors at +the hotel, attracted from the neighboring towns and settlements by +its picturesqueness and a vague suggestiveness of its being a +watering-place--and there was the occasional flash in the decorous +street of a Sacramento or San Francisco gown. It is needless to say that +to the five men who held the guilty secret of Committee Room No. 4 it +only strengthened their belief in the super-elegance of their hidden +treasure. At their last meeting they had fitted the second dress--which +turned out to be a vapory summer house-frock or morning wrapper--over +the dummy, and opinions were divided as to its equality with the first. +However, the same subtle harmony of detail and grace of proportion +characterized it. + +“And you see,” said Clint Grey, “it's jest the sort o' rig in which a +man would be most likely to know her--and not in her war-paint, which +would be only now and then.” + +Already “SHE” had become an individuality! + +“Hush!” said the president. He had turned towards the door, at which +some one was knocking lightly. + +“Come in.” + +The door opened upon Miss Marsh, secretary and hotel assistant. She had +a business aspect, and an open letter in her hand, but hesitated at +the evident confusion she had occasioned. Two of the gentlemen had +absolutely blushed, and the others regarded her with inane smiles or +affected seriousness. They all coughed slightly. + +“I beg your pardon,” she said, not ungracefully, a slight color coming +into her sallow cheek, which, in conjunction with the gold eye-glasses, +gave her, at least in the eyes of the impressible Clint, a certain +piquancy. “But my father said you were here in committee and I might +consult you. I can come again, if you are busy.” + +She had addressed the president, partly from his office, his +comparatively extreme age--he must have been at least thirty!--and +possibly for his extremer good looks. He said hurriedly, “It's just an +informal meeting;” and then, more politely, “What can we do for you?” + +“We have an application for a suite of rooms next week,” she said, +referring to the letter, “and as we shall be rather full, father thought +you gentlemen might be willing to take another larger room for your +meetings, and give up these, which are part of a suite--and perhaps not +exactly suitable”-- + +“Quite impossible!” “Quite so!” “Really out of the question,” said the +members, in a rapid chorus. + +The young girl was evidently taken aback at this unanimity of +opposition. She stared at them curiously, and then glanced around the +room. “We're quite comfortable here,” said the president explanatorily, +“and--in fact--it's just what we want.” + +“We could give you a closet like that which you could lock up, and a +mirror,” she suggested, with the faintest trace of a smile. + +“Tell your father, Miss Marsh,” said the president, with dignified +politeness, “that while we cannot submit to any change, we fully +appreciate his business foresight, and are quite prepared to see that +the hotel is properly compensated for our retaining these rooms.” As the +young girl withdrew with a puzzled curtsy he closed the door, placed his +back against it, and said,-- + +“What the deuce did she mean by speaking of that closet?” + +“Reckon she allowed we kept some fancy drinks in there,” said Trigg; +“and calkilated that we wanted the marble stand and mirror to put our +glasses on and make it look like a swell private bar, that's all!” + +“Humph,” said the president. + +Their next meeting, however, was a hurried one, and as the president +arrived late, when the door closed smartly behind him he was met by the +worried faces of his colleagues. + +“Here's a go!” said Trigg excitedly, producing a folded paper. “The +game's up, the hull show is busted; that cussed old statue--the reg'lar +old hag herself--is on her way here! There's a bill o' lading and the +express company's letter, and she'll be trundled down here by express at +any moment.” + +“Well?” said the president quietly. + +“Well!” replied the members aghast. “Do you know what that means?” + +“That we must rig her up in the hall on a pedestal, as we reckoned to +do,” returned the president coolly. + +“But you don't sabe,” said Clinton Grey; “that's all very well as to the +hag, but now we must give HER up,” with an adoring glance towards the +closet. + +“Does the letter say so?” + +“No,” said Trigg hesitatingly, “no! But I reckon we can't keep BOTH.” + +“Why not?” said the president imperturbably, “if we paid for 'em?” + +As the men only stared in reply he condescended to explain. + +“Look here! I calculated all these risks after our last meeting. While +you boys were just fussin' round, doin' nothing, I wrote to the express +company that a box of women's damaged duds had arrived here, while we +were looking for our statue; that you chaps were so riled at bein' +sold by them that you dumped the whole blamed thing in the creek. But I +added, if they'd let me know what the damage was, I'd send 'em a draft +to cover it. After a spell of waitin' they said they'd call it square +for two hundred dollars, considering our disappointment. And I sent the +draft. That's spurred them up to get over our statue, I reckon. And, now +that it's coming, it will set us right with the boys.” + +“And SHE,” said Clinton Grey again, pointing to the locked chest, +“belongs to us?” + +“Until we can find some lady guest that will take her with the rooms,” + returned the president, a little cynically. + +But the arrival of the real statue and its erection in the hotel +vestibule created a new sensation. The members of the Excelsior Company +were loud in its praises except the executive committee, whose coolness +was looked upon by the others as an affectation of superiority. It +awakened the criticism and jealousy of the nearest town. + +“We hear,” said the “Red Dog Advertiser,” “that the long-promised statue +has been put up in that high-toned Hash Dispensary they call a hotel +at Excelsior. It represents an emaciated squaw in a scanty blanket +gathering roots, and carrying a bit of thorn-bush kindlings behind her. +The high-toned, close corporation of Excelsior may consider this a fair +allegory of California; WE should say it looks mighty like a prophetic +forecast of a hard winter on Sycamore Creek and scarcity of provisions. +However, it isn't our funeral, though it's rather depressing to the +casual visitor on his way to dinner. For a long time this work of +art was missing and supposed to be lost, but by being sternly and +persistently rejected at every express office on the route, it was at +last taken in at Excelsior.” + +There was some criticism nearer home. + +“What do you think of it, Miss Marsh?” said the president politely to +that active young secretary, as he stood before it in the hall. The +young woman adjusted her eye-glasses over her aquiline nose. + +“As an idea or a woman, sir?” + +“As a woman, madam,” said the president, letting his brown eyes slip +for a moment from Miss Marsh's corn-colored crest over her straight but +scant figure down to her smart slippers. + +“Well, sir, she could wear YOUR boots, and there isn't a corset in +Sacramento would go round her.” + +“Thank you!” he returned gravely, and moved away. For a moment a wild +idea of securing possession of the figure some dark night, and, in +company with his fellow-conspirators, of trying those beautiful clothes +upon her, passed through his mind, but he dismissed it. And then +occurred a strange incident, which startled even his cool, American +sanity. + +It was a beautiful moonlight night, and he was returning to a bedroom +at the hotel which he temporarily occupied during the painting of +his house. It was quite late, he having spent the evening with a San +Francisco friend after a business conference which assured him of the +remarkable prosperity of Excelsior. It was therefore with some human +exaltation that he looked around the sleeping settlement which had +sprung up under the magic wand of their good fortune. The full moon had +idealized their youthful designs with something of their own youthful +coloring, graciously softening the garish freshness of paint and +plaster, hiding with discreet obscurity the disrupted banks and broken +woods at the beginning and end of their broad avenues, paving the rough +river terrace with tessellated shadows, and even touching the rapid +stream which was the source of their wealth with a Pactolean glitter. + +The windows of the hotel before him, darkened within, flashed in the +moonbeams like the casements of Aladdin's palace. Mingled with his +ambition, to-night, were some softer fancies, rarely indulged by him in +his forecast of the future of Excelsior--a dream of some fair partner +in his life, after this task was accomplished, yet always of some one +moving in a larger world than his youth had known. Rousing the half +sleeping porter, he found, however, only the spectral gold-seeker in +the vestibule,--the rays of his solitary candle falling upon her +divining-rod with a quaint persistency that seemed to point to the +stairs he was ascending. When he reached the first landing the rising +wind through an open window put out his light, but, although the +staircase was in darkness, he could see the long corridor above +illuminated by the moonlight throughout its whole length. He had nearly +reached it when the slow but unmistakable rustle of a dress in the +distance caught his ear. He paused, not only in the interest of +delicacy, but with a sudden nervous thrill he could not account for. The +rustle came nearer--he could hear the distinct frou-frou of satin; and +then, to his bewildered eyes, what seemed to be the figure of the +dummy, arrayed in the pale blue evening dress he knew so well, passed +gracefully and majestically down the corridor. He could see the shapely +folds of the skirt, the symmetry of the bodice, even the harmony of the +trimmings. He raised his eyes, half affrightedly, prepared to see +the headless shoulders, but they--and what seemed to be a head--were +concealed in a floating “cloud” or nubia of some fleecy tissue, as +if for protection from the evening air. He remained for an instant +motionless, dazed by this apparent motion of an inanimate figure; but +as the absurdity of the idea struck him he hurriedly but stealthily +ascended the remaining stairs, resolved to follow it. But he was only in +time to see it turn into the angle of another corridor, which, when he +had reached it, was empty. The figure had vanished! + +His first thought was to go to the committee room and examine the locked +closet. But the key was in his desk at home, he had no light, and the +room was on the other side of the house. Besides, he reflected that +even the detection of the figure would involve the exposure of the very +secret they had kept intact so long. He sought his bedroom, and went +quietly to bed. But not to sleep; a curiosity more potent than any sense +of the trespass done him kept him tossing half the night. Who was this +woman whom the clothes fitted so well? He reviewed in his mind the +guests in the house, but he knew none who could have carried off this +masquerade so bravely. + +In the morning early he made his way to the committee room, but as he +approached was startled to observe two pairs of boots, a man's and a +woman's, conjugally placed before its door. Now thoroughly indignant, +he hurried to the office, and was confronted by the face of the fair +secretary. She colored quickly on seeing him--but the reason was +obvious. + +“You are coming to scold me, sir! But it is not my fault. We were full +yesterday afternoon when your friend from San Francisco came here with +his wife. We told him those were YOUR rooms, but he said he would make +it right with you--and my father thought you would not be displeased +for once. Everything of yours was put into another room, and the closet +remains locked as you left it.” + +Amazed and bewildered, the president could only mutter a vague apology +and turn away. Had his friend's wife opened the door with another key in +some fit of curiosity and disported herself in those clothes? If so, she +DARE not speak of her discovery. + +An introduction to the lady at breakfast dispelled this faint hope. She +was a plump woman, whose generous proportions could hardly have been +confined in that pale blue bodice; she was frank and communicative, with +no suggestion of mischievous concealment. + +Nevertheless, he made a firm resolution. As soon as his friends left +he called a meeting of the committee. He briefly informed them of the +accidental occupation of the room, but for certain reasons of his own +said nothing of his ghostly experience. But he put it to them plainly +that no more risks must be run, and that he should remove the dresses +and dummy to his own house. To his considerable surprise this suggestion +was received with grave approval and a certain strange relief. + +“We kinder thought of suggesting it to you before,” said Mr. Trigg +slowly, “and that mebbe we've played this little game long enough--for +suthin's happened that's makin' it anything but funny. We'd have told +you before, but we dassent! Speak out, Clint, and tell the president +what we saw the other night, and don't mince matters.” + +The president glanced quickly and warningly around him. “I thought,” he +said sternly, “that we'd dropped all fooling. It's no time for practical +joking now!” + +“Honest Injun--it's gospel truth! Speak up, Clint!” + +The president looked on the serious faces around him, and was himself +slightly awed. + +“It's a matter of two or three nights ago,” said Grey slowly, “that +Trigg and I were passing through Sycamore Woods, just below the hotel. +It was after twelve--bright moonlight, so that we could see everything +as plain as day, and we were dead sober. Just as we passed under the +sycamores Trigg grabs my arm, and says, 'Hi!' I looked up, and there, +not ten yards away, standing dead in the moonlight, was that dummy! She +was all in white--that dress with the fairy frills, you know--and had, +what's more, A HEAD! At least, something white all wrapped around it, +and over her shoulders. At first we thought you or some of the boys +had dressed her up and lifted her out there for a joke, and left her +to frighten us! So we started forward, and then--it's the gospel +truth!--she MOVED AWAY, gliding like the moonbeams, and vanished among +the trees!” + +“Did you see her face?” asked the president. + +“No; you bet! I didn't try to--it would have haunted me forever.” + +“What do you mean?” + +“This--I mean it was that GIRL THE BOX BELONGED TO! She's dead +somewhere--as you'll find out sooner or later--AND HAS COME BACK FOR HER +CLOTHES! I've often heard of such things before.” + +Despite his coolness, at this corroboration of his own experience, +and impressed by Grey's unmistakable awe, a thrill went through the +president. For an instant he was silent. + +“That will do, boys,” he said finally. “It's a queer story; but +remember, it's all the more reason now for our keeping our secret. As +for those things, I'll remove them quietly and at once.” + +But he did not. + +On the contrary, prolonging his stay at the hotel with plausible +reasons, he managed to frequently visit the committee room or its +vicinity, at different and unsuspected hours of the day and night. +More than that, he found opportunities to visit the office, and under +pretexts of business connected with the economy of the hotel management, +informed himself through Miss Marsh on many points. A few of these +details naturally happened to refer to herself, her prospects, her +tastes, and education. He learned incidentally, what he had partly +known, that her father had been in better circumstances, and that she +had been gently nurtured--though of this she made little account in her +pride in her own independence and devotion to her duties. But in his +own persistent way he also made private notes of the breadth of her +shoulders, the size of her waist, her height, length of her skirt, her +movements in walking, and other apparently extraneous circumstances. It +was natural that he acquired some supplemental facts,--that her +eyes, under her eye-glasses, were a tender gray, and touched with the +melancholy beauty of near-sightedness; that her face had a sensitive +mobility beyond the mere charm of color, and like most people lacking +this primitive and striking element of beauty, what was really fine +about her escaped the first sight. As, for instance, it was only +by bending over to examine her accounts that he found that her +indistinctive hair was as delicate as floss silk and as electrical. It +was only by finding her romping with the children of a guest one evening +that he was startled by the appalling fact of her youth! But about this +time he left the hotel and returned to his house. + +On the first yearly anniversary of the great strike at Excelsior there +were some changes in the settlement, notably the promotion of Mr. Marsh +to a more important position in the company, and the installation of +Miss Cassie Marsh as manageress of the hotel. As Miss Marsh read the +official letter, signed by the president, conveying in complimentary but +formal terms this testimony of their approval and confidence, her lip +trembled slightly, and a tear trickling from her light lashes dimmed +her eye-glasses, so that she was fain to go up to her room to recover +herself alone. When she did so she was startled to find a wire dummy +standing near the door, and neatly folded upon the bed two elegant +dresses. A note in the president's own hand lay beside them. A swift +blush stung her cheek as she read,-- + + +DEAR MISS MARSH,--Will you make me happy by keeping the secret that no +other woman but yourself knows, and by accepting the clothes that no +other woman but yourself can wear? + + +The next moment, with the dresses over her arm and the ridiculous dummy +swinging by its wires from her other hand, she was flying down the +staircase to Committee Room No. 4. The door opened upon its sole +occupant, the president. + +“Oh, sir, how cruel of you!” she gasped. “It was only a joke of mine. +. . . I always intended to tell you. . . . It was very foolish, but it +seemed so funny. . . . You see, I thought it was . . . the dress you +had bought for your future intended--some young lady you were going to +marry!” + +“It is!” said the president quietly, and he closed the door behind her. + +And it was. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Openings in the Old Trail, by Bret Harte + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OPENINGS IN THE OLD TRAIL *** + +***** This file should be named 2535-0.txt or 2535-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/5/3/2535/ + +Produced by Donald Lainson + +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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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: Openings in the Old Trail + +Author: Bret Harte + +Release Date: May 18, 2006 [EBook #2535] +Last Updated: March 4, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OPENINGS IN THE OLD TRAIL *** + + + + +Produced by Donald Lainson; David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h1> + OPENINGS IN THE OLD TRAIL + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + by Bret Harte + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <h2> + Contents + </h2> + <p> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <b><big>OPENINGS IN THE OLD TRAIL</big></b> </a><br /> + </p> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> A MERCURY OF THE FOOT-HILLS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> COLONEL STARBOTTLE FOR THE PLAINTIFF </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> THE LANDLORD OF THE BIG FLUME HOTEL </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> A BUCKEYE HOLLOW INHERITANCE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> THE REINCARNATION OF SMITH </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> LANTY FOSTER'S MISTAKE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> AN ALI BABA OF THE SIERRAS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> MISS PEGGY'S PROTEGES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> THE GODDESS OF EXCELSIOR </a> + </p> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h1> + OPENINGS IN THE OLD TRAIL + </h1> + <h3> + by Bret Harte + </h3> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + A MERCURY OF THE FOOT-HILLS + </h2> + <p> + It was high hot noon on the Casket Ridge. Its very scant shade was + restricted to a few dwarf Scotch firs, and was so perpendicularly cast + that Leonidas Boone, seeking shelter from the heat, was obliged to draw + himself up under one of them, as if it were an umbrella. Occasionally, + with a boy's perversity, he permitted one bared foot to protrude beyond + the sharply marked shadow until the burning sun forced him to draw it in + again with a thrill of satisfaction. There was no earthly reason why he + had not sought the larger shadows of the pine-trees which reared + themselves against the Ridge on the slope below him, except that he was a + boy, and perhaps even more superstitious and opinionated than most boys. + Having got under this tree with infinite care, he had made up his mind + that he would not move from it until its line of shade reached and touched + a certain stone on the trail near him! WHY he did this he did not know, + but he clung to his sublime purpose with the courage and tenacity of a + youthful Casabianca. He was cramped, tickled by dust and fir sprays; he + was supremely uncomfortable—but he stayed! A woodpecker was + monotonously tapping in an adjacent pine, with measured intervals of + silence, which he always firmly believed was a certain telegraphy of the + bird's own making; a green-and-gold lizard flashed by his foot to stiffen + itself suddenly with a rigidity equal to his own. Still HE stirred not. + The shadow gradually crept nearer the mystic stone—and touched it. + He sprang up, shook himself, and prepared to go about his business. This + was simply an errand to the post-office at the cross-roads, scarcely a + mile from his father's house. He was already halfway there. He had taken + only the better part of one hour for this desultory journey! + </p> + <p> + However, he now proceeded on his way, diverging only to follow a fresh + rabbit-track a few hundred yards, to note that the animal had doubled + twice against the wind, and then, naturally, he was obliged to look + closely for other tracks to determine its pursuers. He paused also, but + only for a moment, to rap thrice on the trunk of the pine where the + woodpecker was at work, which he knew would make it cease work for a time—as + it did. Having thus renewed his relations with nature, he discovered that + one of the letters he was taking to the post-office had slipped in some + mysterious way from the bosom of his shirt, where he carried them, past + his waist-band into his trouser-leg, and was about to make a casual + delivery of itself on the trail. This caused him to take out his letters + and count them, when he found one missing. He had been given four letters + to post—he had only three. There was a big one in his father's + handwriting, two indistinctive ones of his mother's, and a smaller one of + his sister's—THAT was gone! Not at all disconcerted, he calmly + retraced his steps, following his own tracks minutely, with a grim face + and a distinct delight in the process, while looking—perfunctorily—for + the letter. In the midst of this slow progress a bright idea struck him. + He walked back to the fir-tree where he had rested, and found the lost + missive. It had slipped out of his shirt when he shook himself. He was not + particularly pleased. He knew that nobody would give him credit for his + trouble in going back for it, or his astuteness in guessing where it was. + He heaved the sigh of misunderstood genius, and again started for the + post-office. This time he carried the letters openly and ostentatiously in + his hand. + </p> + <p> + Presently he heard a voice say, “Hey!” It was a gentle, musical voice,—a + stranger's voice, for it evidently did not know how to call him, and did + not say, “Oh, Leonidas!” or “You—look here!” He was abreast of a + little clearing, guarded by a low stockade of bark palings, and beyond it + was a small white dwelling-house. Leonidas knew the place perfectly well. + It belonged to the superintendent of a mining tunnel, who had lately + rented it to some strangers from San Francisco. Thus much he had heard + from his family. He had a mountain boy's contempt for city folks, and was + not himself interested in them. Yet as he heard the call, he was conscious + of a slightly guilty feeling. He might have been trespassing in following + the rabbit's track; he might have been seen by some one when he lost the + letter and had to go back for it—all grown-up people had a way of + offering themselves as witnesses against him! He scowled a little as he + glanced around him. Then his eye fell on the caller on the other side of + the stockade. + </p> + <p> + To his surprise it was a woman: a pretty, gentle, fragile creature, all + soft muslin and laces, with her fingers interlocked, and leaning both + elbows on the top of the stockade as she stood under the checkered shadow + of a buckeye. + </p> + <p> + “Come here—please—won't you?” she said pleasantly. + </p> + <p> + It would have been impossible to resist her voice if Leonidas had wanted + to, which he didn't. He walked confidently up to the fence. She really was + very pretty, with eyes like his setter's, and as caressing. And there were + little puckers and satiny creases around her delicate nostrils and mouth + when she spoke, which Leonidas knew were “expression.” + </p> + <p> + “I—I”—she began, with charming hesitation; then suddenly, + “What's your name?” + </p> + <p> + “Leonidas.” + </p> + <p> + “Leonidas! That's a pretty name!” He thought it DID sound pretty. “Well, + Leonidas, I want you to be a good boy and do a great favor for me,—a + very great favor.” + </p> + <p> + Leonidas's face fell. This kind of prelude and formula was familiar to + him. It was usually followed by, “Promise me that you will never swear + again,” or, “that you will go straight home and wash your face,” or some + other irrelevant personality. But nobody with that sort of eyes had ever + said it. So he said, a little shyly but sincerely, “Yes, ma'am.” + </p> + <p> + “You are going to the post-office?” + </p> + <p> + This seemed a very foolish, womanish question, seeing that he was holding + letters in his hand; but he said, “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “I want you to put a letter of mine among yours and post them all + together,” she said, putting one little hand to her bosom and drawing out + a letter. He noticed that she purposely held the addressed side so that he + could not see it, but he also noticed that her hand was small, thin, and + white, even to a faint tint of blue in it, unlike his sister's, the + baby's, or any other hand he had ever seen. “Can you read?” she said + suddenly, withdrawing the letter. + </p> + <p> + The boy flushed slightly at the question. “Of course I can,” he said + proudly. + </p> + <p> + “Of course, certainly,” she repeated quickly; “but,” she added, with a + mischievous smile, “you mustn't NOW! Promise me! Promise me that you won't + read this address, but just post the letter, like one of your own, in the + letter-box with the others.” + </p> + <p> + Leonidas promised readily; it seemed to him a great fuss about nothing; + perhaps it was some kind of game or a bet. He opened his sunburnt hand, + holding his own letters, and she slipped hers, face downward, between + them. Her soft fingers touched his in the operation, and seemed to leave a + pleasant warmth behind them. + </p> + <p> + “Promise me another thing,” she added; “promise me you won't say a word of + this to any one.” + </p> + <p> + “Of course!” said Leonidas. + </p> + <p> + “That's a good boy, and I know you will keep your word.” She hesitated a + moment, smilingly and tentatively, and then held out a bright half-dollar. + Leonidas backed from the fence. “I'd rather not,” he said shyly. + </p> + <p> + “But as a present from ME?” + </p> + <p> + Leonidas colored—he was really proud; and he was also bright enough + to understand that the possession of such unbounded wealth would provoke + dangerous inquiry at home. But he didn't like to say it, and only replied, + “I can't.” + </p> + <p> + She looked at him curiously. “Then—thank you,” she said, offering + her white hand, which felt like a bird in his. “Now run on, and don't let + me keep you any longer.” She drew back from the fence as she spoke, and + waved him a pretty farewell. Leonidas, half sorry, half relieved, darted + away. + </p> + <p> + He ran to the post-office, which he never had done before. Loyally he + never looked at her letter, nor, indeed, at his own again, swinging the + hand that held them far from his side. He entered the post-office + directly, going at once to the letter-box and depositing the precious + missive with the others. The post-office was also the “country store,” and + Leonidas was in the habit of still further protracting his errands there + by lingering in that stimulating atmosphere of sugar, cheese, and coffee. + But to-day his stay was brief, so transitory that the postmaster himself + inferred audibly that “old man Boone must have been tanning Lee with a + hickory switch.” But the simple reason was that Leonidas wished to go back + to the stockade fence and the fair stranger, if haply she was still there. + His heart sank as, breathless with unwonted haste, he reached the clearing + and the empty buckeye shade. He walked slowly and with sad diffidence by + the deserted stockade fence. But presently his quick eye discerned a glint + of white among the laurels near the house. It was SHE, walking with + apparent indifference away from him towards the corner of the clearing and + the road. But this he knew would bring her to the end of the stockade + fence, where he must pass—and it did. She turned to him with a + bright smile of affected surprise. “Why, you're as swift-footed as + Mercury!” + </p> + <p> + Leonidas understood her perfectly. Mercury was the other name for + quicksilver—and that was lively, you bet! He had often spilt some on + the floor to see it move. She must be awfully cute to have noticed it too—cuter + than his sisters. He was quite breathless with pleasure. + </p> + <p> + “I put your letter in the box all right,” he burst out at last. + </p> + <p> + “Without any one seeing it?” she asked. + </p> + <p> + “Sure pop! nary one! The postmaster stuck out his hand to grab it, but I + just let on that I didn't see him, and shoved it in myself.” + </p> + <p> + “You're as sharp as you're good,” she said smilingly. “Now, there's just + ONE thing more I want you to do. Forget all about this—won't you?” + </p> + <p> + Her voice was very caressing. Perhaps that was why he said boldly: “Yes, + ma'am, all except YOU.” + </p> + <p> + “Dear me, what a compliment! How old are you?” + </p> + <p> + “Goin' on fifteen,” said Leonidas confidently. + </p> + <p> + “And going very fast,” said the lady mischievously. “Well, then, you + needn't forget ME. On the contrary,” she added, after looking at him + curiously, “I would rather you'd remember me. Good-by—or, rather, + good-afternoon—if I'm to be remembered, Leon.” + </p> + <p> + “Good-afternoon, ma'am.” + </p> + <p> + She moved away, and presently disappeared among the laurels. But her last + words were ringing in his ears. “Leon”—everybody else called him + “Lee” for brevity; “Leon”—it was pretty as she said it. + </p> + <p> + He turned away. But it so chanced that their parting was not to pass + unnoticed, for, looking up the hill, Leonidas perceived his elder sister + and little brother coming down the road, and knew that they must have seen + him from the hilltop. It was like their “snoopin'”! + </p> + <p> + They ran to him eagerly. + </p> + <p> + “You were talking to the stranger,” said his sister breathlessly. + </p> + <p> + “She spoke to me first,” said Leonidas, on the defensive. + </p> + <p> + “What did she say?” + </p> + <p> + “Wanted to know the eleckshun news,” said Leonidas with cool mendacity, + “and I told her.” + </p> + <p> + This improbable fiction nevertheless satisfied them. “What was she like? + Oh, do tell us, Lee!” continued his sister. + </p> + <p> + Nothing would have delighted him more than to expatiate upon her + loveliness, the soft white beauty of her hands, the “cunning” little + puckers around her lips, her bright tender eyes, the angelic texture of + her robes, and the musical tinkle of her voice. But Leonidas had no + confidant, and what healthy boy ever trusted his sister in such matter! + “YOU saw what she was like,” he said, with evasive bluntness. + </p> + <p> + “But, Lee”— + </p> + <p> + But Lee was adamant. “Go and ask her,” he said. + </p> + <p> + “Like as not you were sassy to her, and she shut you up,” said his sister + artfully. But even this cruel suggestion, which he could have so easily + flouted, did not draw him, and his ingenious relations flounced + disgustedly away. + </p> + <p> + But Leonidas was not spared any further allusion to the fair stranger; for + the fact of her having spoken to him was duly reported at home, and at + dinner his reticence was again sorely attacked. “Just like her, in spite + of all her airs and graces, to hang out along the fence like any ordinary + hired girl, jabberin' with anybody that went along the road,” said his + mother incisively. He knew that she didn't like her new neighbors, so this + did not surprise nor greatly pain him. Neither did the prosaic facts that + were now first made plain to him. His divinity was a Mrs. Burroughs, whose + husband was conducting a series of mining operations, and prospecting with + a gang of men on the Casket Ridge. As his duty required his continual + presence there, Mrs. Burroughs was forced to forego the civilized + pleasures of San Francisco for a frontier life, for which she was ill + fitted, and in which she had no interest. All this was a vague irrelevance + to Leonidas, who knew her only as a goddess in white who had been familiar + to him, and kind, and to whom he was tied by the delicious joy of having a + secret in common, and having done her a special favor. Healthy youth + clings to its own impressions, let reason, experience, and even facts + argue ever to the contrary. + </p> + <p> + So he kept her secret and his intact, and was rewarded a few days + afterwards by a distant view of her walking in the garden, with a man whom + he recognized as her husband. It is needless to say that, without any + extraneous thought, the man suffered in Leonidas's estimation by his + propinquity to the goddess, and that he deemed him vastly inferior. + </p> + <p> + It was a still greater reward to his fidelity that she seized an + opportunity when her husband's head was turned to wave her hand to him. + Leonidas did not approach the fence, partly through shyness and partly + through a more subtle instinct that this man was not in the secret. He was + right, for only the next day, as he passed to the post-office, she called + him to the fence. + </p> + <p> + “Did you see me wave my hand to you yesterday?” she asked pleasantly. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, ma'am; but”—he hesitated—“I didn't come up, for I didn't + think you wanted me when any one else was there.” + </p> + <p> + She laughed merrily, and lifting his straw hat from his head, ran the + fingers of the other hand through his damp curls. “You're the brightest, + dearest boy I ever knew, Leon,” she said, dropping her pretty face to the + level of his own, “and I ought to have remembered it. But I don't mind + telling you I was dreadfully frightened lest you might misunderstand me + and come and ask for another letter—before HIM.” As she emphasized + the personal pronoun, her whole face seemed to change: the light of her + blue eyes became mere glittering points, her nostrils grew white and + contracted, and her pretty little mouth seemed to narrow into a straight + cruel line, like a cat's. “Not a word ever to HIM, of all men! Do you + hear?” she said almost brusquely. Then, seeing the concern in the boy's + face, she laughed, and added explanatorily: “He's a bad, bad man, Leon, + remember that.” + </p> + <p> + The fact that she was speaking of her husband did not shock the boy's + moral sense in the least. The sacredness of those relations, and even of + blood kinship, is, I fear, not always so clear to the youthful mind as we + fondly imagine. That Mr. Burroughs was a bad man to have excited this + change in this lovely woman was Leonidas's only conclusion. He remembered + how his sister's soft, pretty little kitten, purring on her lap, used to + get its back up and spit at the postmaster's yellow hound. + </p> + <p> + “I never wished to come unless you called me first,” he said frankly. + </p> + <p> + “What?” she said, in her half playful, half reproachful, but wholly + caressing way. “You mean to say you would never come to see me unless I + sent for you? Oh, Leon! and you'd abandon me in that way?” + </p> + <p> + But Leonidas was set in his own boyish superstition. “I'd just delight in + being sent for by you any time, Mrs. Burroughs, and you kin always find + me,” he said shyly, but doggedly; “but”—He stopped. + </p> + <p> + “What an opinionated young gentleman! Well, I see I must do all the + courting. So consider that I sent for you this morning. I've got another + letter for you to mail.” She put her hand to her breast, and out of the + pretty frillings of her frock produced, as before, with the same faint + perfume of violets, a letter like the first. But it was unsealed. “Now, + listen, Leon; we are going to be great friends—you and I.” Leonidas + felt his cheeks glowing. “You are going to do me another great favor, and + we are going to have a little fun and a great secret all by our own + selves. Now, first, have you any correspondent—you know—any + one who writes to you—any boy or girl—from San Francisco?” + </p> + <p> + Leonidas's cheeks grew redder—alas! from a less happy consciousness. + He never received any letters; nobody ever wrote to him. He was obliged to + make this shameful admission. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Burroughs looked thoughtful. “But you have some friend in San + Francisco—some one who MIGHT write to you?” she suggested + pleasantly. + </p> + <p> + “I knew a boy once who went to San Francisco,” said Leonidas doubtfully. + “At least, he allowed he was goin' there.” + </p> + <p> + “That will do,” said Mrs. Burroughs. “I suppose your parents know him or + of him?” + </p> + <p> + “Why,” said Leonidas, “he used to live here.” + </p> + <p> + “Better still. For, you see, it wouldn't be strange if he DID write. What + was the gentleman's name?” + </p> + <p> + “Jim Belcher,” returned Leonidas hesitatingly, by no means sure that the + absent Belcher knew how to write. Mrs. Burroughs took a tiny pencil from + her belt, opened the letter she was holding in her hand, and apparently + wrote the name in it. Then she folded it and sealed it, smiling charmingly + at Leonidas's puzzled face. + </p> + <p> + “Now, Leon, listen; for here is the favor I am asking. Mr. Jim Belcher”—she + pronounced the name with great gravity—“will write to you in a few + days. But inside of YOUR letter will be a little note to me, which you + will bring me. You can show your letter to your family, if they want to + know who it is from; but no one must see MINE. Can you manage that?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said Leonidas. Then, as the whole idea flashed upon his quick + intelligence, he smiled until he showed his dimples. Mrs. Burroughs leaned + forward over the fence, lifted his torn straw hat, and dropped a + fluttering little kiss on his forehead. It seemed to the boy, flushed and + rosy as a maid, as if she had left a shining star there for every one to + see. + </p> + <p> + “Don't smile like that, Leon, you're positively irresistible! It will be a + nice little game, won't it? Nobody in it but you and me—and Belcher! + We'll outwit them yet. And, you see, you'll be obliged to come to me, + after all, without my asking.” + </p> + <p> + They both laughed; indeed, quite a dimpled, bright-eyed, rosy, innocent + pair, though I think Leonidas was the more maidenly. + </p> + <p> + “And,” added Leonidas, with breathless eagerness, “I can sometimes write + to—to—Jim, and inclose your letter.” + </p> + <p> + “Angel of wisdom! certainly. Well, now, let's see—have you got any + letters for the post to-day?” He colored again, for in anticipation of + meeting her he had hurried up the family post that morning. He held out + his letters: she thrust her own among them. “Now,” she said, laying her + cool, soft hand against his hot cheek, “run along, dear; you must not be + seen loitering here.” + </p> + <p> + Leonidas ran off, buoyed up on ambient air. It seemed just like a + fairy-book. Here he was, the confidant of the most beautiful creature he + had seen, and there was a mysterious letter coming to him—Leonidas—and + no one to know why. And now he had a “call” to see her often; she would + not forget him—he needn't loiter by the fencepost to see if she + wanted him—and his boyish pride and shyness were appeased. There was + no question of moral ethics raised in Leonidas's mind; he knew that it + would not be the real Jim Belcher who would write to him, but that made + the prospect the more attractive. Nor did another circumstance trouble his + conscience. When he reached the post-office, he was surprised to see the + man whom he knew to be Mr. Burroughs talking with the postmaster. Leonidas + brushed by him and deposited his letters in the box in discreet triumph. + The postmaster was evidently officially resenting some imputation on his + carelessness, and, concluding his defense, “No, sir,” he said, “you kin + bet your boots that ef any letter hez gone astray for you or your wife—Ye + said your wife, didn't ye?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said Burroughs hastily, with a glance around the shop. + </p> + <p> + “Well, for you or anybody at your house—it ain't here that's the + fault. You hear me! I know every letter that comes in and goes outer this + office, I reckon, and handle 'em all,”—Leonidas pricked up his ears,—“and + if anybody oughter know, it's me. Ye kin paste that in your hat, Mr. + Burroughs.” Burroughs, apparently disconcerted by the intrusion of a third + party—Leonidas—upon what was evidently a private inquiry, + murmured something surlily, and passed out. + </p> + <p> + Leonidas was puzzled. That big man seemed to be “snoopin'” around for + something! He knew that he dared not touch the letter-bag,—Leonidas + had heard somewhere that it was a deadly crime to touch any letters after + the Government had got hold of them once, and he had no fears for the + safety of hers. But ought he not go back at once and tell her about her + husband's visit, and the alarming fact that the postmaster was personally + acquainted with all the letters? He instantly saw, too, the wisdom of her + inclosing her letter hereafter in another address. Yet he finally resolved + not to tell her to-day,—it would look like “hanging round” again; + and—another secret reason—he was afraid that any allusion to + her husband's interference would bring back that change in her beautiful + face which he did not like. The better to resist temptation, he went back + another way. + </p> + <p> + It must not be supposed that, while Leonidas indulged in this secret + passion for the beautiful stranger, it was to the exclusion of his boyish + habits. It merely took the place of his intellectual visions and his + romantic reading. He no longer carried books in his pocket on his lazy + rambles. What were mediaeval legends of high-born ladies and their pages + to this real romance of himself and Mrs. Burroughs? What were the exploits + of boy captains and juvenile trappers and the Indian maidens and Spanish + senoritas to what was now possible to himself and his divinity here—upon + Casket Ridge! The very ground around her was now consecrated to romance + and adventure. Consequently, he visited a few traps on his way back which + he had set for “jackass-rabbits” and wildcats,—the latter a + vindictive reprisal for aggression upon an orphan brood of mountain quail + which he had taken under his protection. For, while he nourished a keen + love of sport, it was controlled by a boy's larger understanding of + nature: a pantheistic sympathy with man and beast and plant, which made + him keenly alive to the strange cruelties of creation, revealed to him + some queer animal feuds, and made him a chivalrous partisan of the weaker. + He had even gone out of his way to defend, by ingenious contrivances of + his own, the hoard of a golden squirrel and the treasures of some wild + bees from a predatory bear, although it did not prevent him later from + capturing the squirrel by an equally ingenious contrivance, and from + eventually eating some of the honey. + </p> + <p> + He was late home that evening. But this was “vacation,”—the district + school was closed, and but for the household “chores,” which occupied his + early mornings, each long summer day was a holiday. So two or three + passed; and then one morning, on his going to the post-office, the + postmaster threw down upon the counter a real and rather bulky letter, + duly stamped, and addressed to Mr. Leonidas Boone! Leonidas was too + discreet to open it before witnesses, but in the solitude of the trail + home broke the seal. It contained another letter with no address—clearly + the one SHE expected—and, more marvelous still, a sheaf of + trout-hooks, with delicate gut-snells such as Leonidas had only dared to + dream of. The letter to himself was written in a clear, distinct hand, and + ran as follows:— + </p> + <p> + DEAR LEE,—How are you getting on on old Casket Ridge? It seems a + coon's age since you and me was together, and times I get to think I must + just run up and see you! We're having bully times in 'Frisco, you bet! + though there ain't anything wild worth shucks to go to see—'cept the + sea lions at the Cliff House. They're just stunning—big as a + grizzly, and bigger—climbing over a big rock or swimming in the sea + like an otter or muskrat. I'm sending you some snells and hooks, such as + you can't get at Casket. Use the fine ones for pot-holes and the bigger + ones for running water or falls. Let me know when you've got 'em. Write to + Lock Box No. 1290. That's where dad's letters come. So no more at present. + </p> + <p> + From yours truly, + </p> + <p> + JIM BELCHER. + </p> + <p> + Not only did Leonidas know that this was not from the real Jim, but he + felt the vague contact of a new, charming, and original personality that + fascinated him. Of course, it was only natural that one of HER friends—as + he must be—should be equally delightful. There was no jealousy in + Leonidas's devotion; he knew only a joy in this fellowship of admiration + for her which he was satisfied that the other boy must feel. And only the + right kind of boy could know the importance of his ravishing gift, and + this Jim was evidently “no slouch”! Yet, in Leonidas's new joy he did not + forget HER! He ran back to the stockade fence and lounged upon the road in + view of the house, but she did not appear. + </p> + <p> + Leonidas lingered on the top of the hill, ostentatiously examining a young + hickory for a green switch, but to no effect. Then it suddenly occurred to + him that she might be staying in purposely, and, perhaps a little piqued + by her indifference, he ran off. There was a mountain stream hard by, now + dwindled in the summer drouth to a mere trickling thread among the + boulders, and there was a certain “pot-hole” that he had long known. It + was the lurking-place of a phenomenal trout,—an almost historic fish + in the district, which had long resisted the attempt of such rude + sportsmen as miners, or even experts like himself. Few had seen it, except + as a vague, shadowy bulk in the four feet of depth and gloom in which it + hid; only once had Leonidas's quick eye feasted on its fair proportions. + On that memorable occasion Leonidas, having exhausted every kind of lure + of painted fly and living bait, was rising from his knees behind the bank, + when a pink five-cent stamp dislodged from his pocket fluttered in the + air, and descended slowly upon the still pool. Horrified at his loss, + Leonidas leaned over to recover it, when there was a flash like lightning + in the black depths, a dozen changes of light and shadow on the surface, a + little whirling wave splashing against the side of the rock, and the + postage stamp was gone. More than that—for one instant the trout + remained visible, stationary and expectant! Whether it was the instinct of + sport, or whether the fish had detected a new, subtle, and original flavor + in the gum and paper, Leonidas never knew. Alas! he had not another stamp; + he was obliged to leave the fish, but carried a brilliant idea away with + him. Ever since then he had cherished it—and another extra stamp in + his pocket. And now, with this strong but gossamer-like snell, this new + hook, and this freshly cut hickory rod, he would make the trial! + </p> + <p> + But fate was against him! He had scarcely descended the narrow trail to + the pine-fringed margin of the stream before his quick ear detected an + unusual rustling through the adjacent underbrush, and then a voice that + startled him! It was HERS! In an instant all thought of sport had fled. + With a beating heart, half opened lips, and uplifted lashes, Leonidas + awaited the coming of his divinity like a timorous virgin at her first + tryst. + </p> + <p> + But Mrs. Burroughs was clearly not in an equally responsive mood. With her + fair face reddened by the sun, the damp tendrils of her unwound hair + clinging to her forehead, and her smart little slippers red with dust, + there was also a querulous light in her eyes, and a still more querulous + pinch in her nostrils, as she stood panting before him. + </p> + <p> + “You tiresome boy!” she gasped, holding one little hand to her side as she + gripped her brambled skirt around her ankles with the other. “Why didn't + you wait? Why did you make me run all this distance after you?” + </p> + <p> + Leonidas timidly and poignantly protested. He had waited before the house + and on the hill; he thought she didn't want him. + </p> + <p> + “Couldn't you see that THAT MAN kept me in?” she went on peevishly. + “Haven't you sense enough to know that he suspects something, and follows + me everywhere, dogging my footsteps every time the post comes in, and even + going to the post-office himself, to make sure that he sees all my + letters? Well,” she added impatiently, “have you anything for me? Why + don't you speak?” + </p> + <p> + Crushed and remorseful, Leonidas produced her letter. She almost snatched + it from his hand, opened it, read a few lines, and her face changed. A + smile strayed from her eyes to her lips, and back again. Leonidas's heart + was lifted; she was so forgiving and so beautiful! + </p> + <p> + “Is he a boy, Mrs. Burroughs?” asked Leonidas shyly. + </p> + <p> + “Well—not exactly,” she said, her charming face all radiant again. + “He's older than you. What has he written to you?” + </p> + <p> + Leonidas put his letter in her hand for reply. + </p> + <p> + “I wish I could see him, you know,” he said shyly. “That letter's bully—it's + just rats! I like him pow'ful.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Burroughs had skimmed through the letter, but not interestedly. + </p> + <p> + “You mustn't like him more than you like me,” she said laughingly, + caressing him with her voice and eyes, and even her straying hand. + </p> + <p> + “I couldn't do that! I never could like anybody as I like you,” said. + Leonidas gravely. There was such appalling truthfulness in the boy's voice + and frankly opened eyes that the woman could not evade it, and was + slightly disconcerted. But she presently started up with a vexatious cry. + “There's that wretch following me again, I do believe,” she said, staring + at the hilltop. “Yes! Look, Leon, he's turning to come down this trail. + What's to be done? He mustn't see me here!” + </p> + <p> + Leonidas looked. It was indeed Mr. Burroughs; but he was evidently only + taking a short cut towards the Ridge, where his men were working. Leonidas + had seen him take it before. But it was the principal trail on the steep + hillside, and they must eventually meet. A man might evade it by + scrambling through the brush to a lower and rougher trail; but a woman, + never! But an idea had seized Leonidas. “I can stop him,” he said + confidently to her. “You just lie low here behind that rock till I come + back. He hasn't seen you yet.” + </p> + <p> + She had barely time to draw back before Leonidas darted down the trail + towards her husband. Yet, in her intense curiosity, she leaned out the + next moment to watch him. He paused at last, not far from the approaching + figure, and seemed to kneel down on the trail. What was he doing? Her + husband was still slowly advancing. Suddenly he stopped. At the same + moment she heard their two voices in excited parley, and then, to her + amazement, she saw her husband scramble hurriedly down the trail to the + lower level, and with an occasional backward glance, hasten away until he + had passed beyond her view. + </p> + <p> + She could scarcely realize her narrow escape when Leonidas stood by her + side. “How did you do it?” she said eagerly. + </p> + <p> + “With a rattler!” said the boy gravely. + </p> + <p> + “With a what?” + </p> + <p> + “A rattlesnake—pizen snake, you know.” + </p> + <p> + “A rattlesnake?” she said, staring at Leonidas with a quick snatching away + of her skirts. + </p> + <p> + The boy, who seemed to have forgotten her in his other abstraction of + adventure, now turned quickly, with devoted eyes and a reassuring smile. + </p> + <p> + “Yes; but I wouldn't let him hurt you,” he said gently. + </p> + <p> + “But what did you DO?” + </p> + <p> + He looked at her curiously. “You won't be frightened if I show you?” he + said doubtfully. “There's nothin' to be afeerd of s'long as you're with + me,” he added proudly. + </p> + <p> + “Yes—that is”—she stammered, and then, her curiosity getting + the better of her fear, she added in a whisper: “Show me quick!” + </p> + <p> + He led the way up the narrow trail until he stopped where he had knelt + before. It was a narrow, sunny ledge of rock, scarcely wide enough for a + single person to pass. He silently pointed to a cleft in the rock, and + kneeling down again, began to whistle in a soft, fluttering way. There was + a moment of suspense, and then she was conscious of an awful gliding + something,—a movement so measured yet so exquisitely graceful that + she stood enthralled. A narrow, flattened, expressionless head was + followed by a footlong strip of yellow-barred scales; then there was a + pause, and the head turned, in a beautifully symmetrical half-circle, + towards the whistler. The whistling ceased; the snake, with half its body + out of the cleft, remained poised in air as if stiffened to stone. + </p> + <p> + “There,” said Leonidas quietly, “that's what Mr. Burroughs saw, and that's + WHY he scooted off the trail. I just called out William Henry,—I + call him William Henry, and he knows his name,—and then I sang out + to Mr. Burroughs what was up; and it was lucky I did, for the next moment + he'd have been on top of him and have been struck, for rattlers don't give + way to any one.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, why didn't you let”—She stopped herself quickly, but could not + stop the fierce glint in her eye nor the sharp curve in her nostril. + Luckily, Leonidas did not see this, being preoccupied with his other + graceful charmer, William Henry. + </p> + <p> + “But how did you know it was here?” said Mrs. Burroughs, recovering + herself. + </p> + <p> + “Fetched him here,” said Leonidas briefly. + </p> + <p> + “What in your hands?” she said, drawing back. + </p> + <p> + “No! made him follow! I HAVE handled him, but it was after I'd first made + him strike his pizen out upon a stick. Ye know, after he strikes four + times he ain't got any pizen left. Then ye kin do anythin' with him, and + he knows it. He knows me, you bet! I've bin three months trainin' him. + Look! Don't be frightened,” he said, as Mrs. Burroughs drew hurriedly + back; “see him mind me. Now scoot home, William Henry.” + </p> + <p> + He accompanied the command with a slow, dominant movement of the hickory + rod he was carrying. The snake dropped its head, and slid noiselessly out + of the cleft across the trail and down the hill. + </p> + <p> + “Thinks my rod is witch-hazel, which rattlers can't abide,” continued + Leonidas, dropping into a boy's breathless abbreviated speech. “Lives down + your way—just back of your farm. Show ye some day. Suns himself on a + flat stone every day—always cold—never can get warm. Eh?” + </p> + <p> + She had not spoken, but was gazing into space with a breathless rigidity + of attitude and a fixed look in her eye, not unlike the motionless orbs of + the reptile that had glided away. + </p> + <p> + “Does anybody else know you keep him?” she asked. + </p> + <p> + “Nary one. I never showed him to anybody but you,” replied the boy. + </p> + <p> + “Don't! You must show me where he hides to-morrow,” she said, in her old + laughing way. “And now, Leon, I must go back to the house.” + </p> + <p> + “May I write to him—to Jim Belcher, Mrs. Burroughs?” said the boy + timidly. + </p> + <p> + “Certainly. And come to me to-morrow with your letter—I will have + mine ready. Good-by.” She stopped and glanced at the trail. “And you say + that if that man had kept on, the snake would have bitten him?” + </p> + <p> + “Sure pop!—if he'd trod on him—as he was sure to. The snake + wouldn't have known he didn't mean it. It's only natural,” continued + Leonidas, with glowing partisanship for the gentle and absent William + Henry. “YOU wouldn't like to be trodden upon, Mrs. Burroughs!” + </p> + <p> + “No! I'd strike out!” she said quickly. She made a rapid motion forward + with her low forehead and level head, leaving it rigid the next moment, so + that it reminded him of the snake, and he laughed. At which she laughed + too, and tripped away. + </p> + <p> + Leonidas went back and caught his trout. But even this triumph did not + remove a vague sense of disappointment which had come over him. He had + often pictured to himself a Heaven-sent meeting with her in the woods, a + walk with her, alone, where he could pick her the rarest flowers and herbs + and show her his woodland friends; and it had only ended in this, and an + exhibition of William Henry! He ought to have saved HER from something, + and not her husband. Yet he had no ill-feeling for Burroughs, only a + desire to circumvent him, on behalf of the unprotected, as he would have + baffled a hawk or a wildcat. He went home in dismal spirits, but later + that evening constructed a boyish letter of thanks to the apocryphal + Belcher and told him all about—the trout! + </p> + <p> + He brought her his letter the next day, and received hers to inclose. She + was pleasant, her own charming self again, but she seemed more interested + in other things than himself, as, for instance, the docile William Henry, + whose hiding-place he showed, and whose few tricks she made him exhibit to + her, and which the gratified Leonidas accepted as a delicate form of + flattery to himself. But his yearning, innocent spirit detected a + something lacking, which he was too proud to admit even to himself. It was + his own fault; he ought to have waited for her, and not gone for the + trout! + </p> + <p> + So a fortnight passed with an interchange of the vicarious letters, and + brief, hopeful, and disappointing meetings to Leonidas. To add to his + unhappiness, he was obliged to listen to sneering disparagement of his + goddess from his family, and criticisms which, happily, his innocence did + not comprehend. It was his own mother who accused her of shamefully + “making up” to the good-looking expressman at church last Sunday, and + declared that Burroughs ought to “look after that wife of his,”—two + statements which the simple Leonidas could not reconcile. He had seen the + incident, and only thought her more lovely than ever. Why should not the + expressman think so too? And yet the boy was not happy; something intruded + upon his sports, upon his books, making them dull and vapid, and yet that + something was she! He grew pale and preoccupied. If he had only some one + in whom to confide—some one who could explain his hopes and fears. + That one was nearer than he thought! + </p> + <p> + It was quite three weeks since the rattlesnake incident, and he was + wandering moodily over Casket Ridge. He was near the Casket, that abrupt + upheaval of quartz and gneiss, shaped like a coffer, from which the + mountain took its name. It was a favorite haunt of Leonidas, one of whose + boyish superstitions was that it contained a treasure of gold, and one of + whose brightest dreams had been that he should yet discover it. This he + did not do to-day, but looking up from the rocks that he was listlessly + examining, he made the almost as thrilling discovery that near him on the + trail was a distinguished-looking stranger. + </p> + <p> + He was bestriding a shapely mustang, which well became his handsome face + and slight, elegant figure, and he was looking at Leonidas with an amused + curiosity and a certain easy assurance that were difficult to withstand. + It was with the same fascinating self-confidence of smile, voice, and + manner that he rode up to the boy, and leaning lightly over his saddle, + said with exaggerated politeness: “I believe I have the pleasure of + addressing Mr. Leonidas Boone?” + </p> + <p> + The rising color in Leonidas's face was apparently a sufficient answer to + the stranger, for he continued smilingly, “Then permit me to introduce + myself as Mr. James Belcher. As you perceive, I have grown considerably + since you last saw me. In fact, I've done nothing else. It's surprising + what a fellow can do when he sets his mind on one thing. And then, you + know, they're always telling you that San Francisco is a 'growing place.' + That accounts for it!” + </p> + <p> + Leonidas, dazed, dazzled, but delighted, showed all his white teeth in a + shy laugh. At which the enchanting stranger leaped from his horse like a + very boy, drew his arm through the rein, and going up to Leonidas, lifted + the boy's straw hat from his head and ran his fingers through his curls. + There was nothing original in that—everybody did that to him as a + preliminary to conversation. But when this ingenuous fine gentleman put + his own Panama hat on Leonidas's head, and clapped Leonidas's torn straw + on his own, and, passing his arm through the boy's, began to walk on with + him, Leonidas's simple heart went out to him at once. + </p> + <p> + “And now, Leon,” said the delightful stranger, “let's you and me have a + talk. There's a nice cool spot under these laurels; I'll stake out Pepita, + and we'll just lie off there and gab, and not care if school keeps or + not.” + </p> + <p> + “But you know you ain't really Jim Belcher,” said the boy shyly. + </p> + <p> + “I'm as good a man as he is any day, whoever I am,” said the stranger, + with humorous defiance, “and can lick him out of his boots, whoever HE is. + That ought to satisfy you. But if you want my certificate, here's your own + letter, old man,” he said, producing Leonidas's last scrawl from his + pocket. + </p> + <p> + “And HERS?” said the boy cautiously. + </p> + <p> + The stranger's face changed a little. “And HERS,” he repeated gravely, + showing a little pink note which Leonidas recognized as one of Mrs. + Burroughs's inclosures. The boy was silent until they reached the laurels, + where the stranger tethered his horse and then threw himself in an easy + attitude beneath the tree, with the back of his head upon his clasped + hands. Leonidas could see his curved brown mustaches and silky lashes that + were almost as long, and thought him the handsomest man he had ever + beheld. + </p> + <p> + “Well, Leon,” said the stranger, stretching himself out comfortably and + pulling the boy down beside him, “how are things going on the Casket? All + serene, eh?” + </p> + <p> + The inquiry so dismally recalled Leonidas's late feelings that his face + clouded, and he involuntarily sighed. The stranger instantly shifted his + head and gazed curiously at him. Then he took the boy's sunburnt hand in + his own, and held it a moment. “Well, go on,” he said. + </p> + <p> + “Well, Mr.—Mr.—I can't go on—I won't!” said Leonidas, + with a sudden fit of obstinacy. “I don't know what to call you.” + </p> + <p> + “Call me 'Jack'—'Jack Hamlin' when you're not in a hurry. Ever heard + of me before?” he added, suddenly turning his head towards Leonidas. + </p> + <p> + The boy shook his head. “No.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Jack Hamlin lifted his lashes in affected expostulation to the skies. + “And this is Fame!” he murmured audibly. + </p> + <p> + But this Leonidas did not comprehend. Nor could he understand why the + stranger, who clearly must have come to see HER, should not ask about her, + should not rush to seek her, but should lie back there all the while so + contentedly on the grass. HE wouldn't. He half resented it, and then it + occurred to him that this fine gentleman was like himself—shy. Who + could help being so before such an angel? HE would help him on. + </p> + <p> + And so, shyly at first, but bit by bit emboldened by a word or two from + Jack, he began to talk of her—of her beauty—of her kindness—of + his own unworthiness—of what she had said and done—until, + finding in this gracious stranger the vent his pent-up feelings so long + had sought, he sang then and there the little idyl of his boyish life. He + told of his decline in her affections after his unpardonable sin in + keeping her waiting while he went for the trout, and added the miserable + mistake of the rattlesnake episode. “For it was a mistake, Mr. Hamlin. I + oughtn't to have let a lady like that know anything about snakes—just + because I happen to know them.” + </p> + <p> + “It WAS an awful slump, Lee,” said Hamlin gravely. “Get a woman and a + snake together—and where are you? Think of Adam and Eve and the + serpent, you know.” + </p> + <p> + “But it wasn't that way,” said the boy earnestly. “And I want to tell you + something else that's just makin' me sick, Mr. Hamlin. You know I told you + William Henry lives down at the bottom of Burroughs's garden, and how I + showed Mrs. Burroughs his tricks! Well, only two days ago I was down there + looking for him, and couldn't find him anywhere. There's a sort of narrow + trail from the garden to the hill, a short cut up to the Ridge, instead o' + going by their gate. It's just the trail any one would take in a hurry, or + if they didn't want to be seen from the road. Well! I was looking this way + and that for William Henry, and whistlin' for him, when I slipped on to + the trail. There, in the middle of it, was an old bucket turned upside + down—just the thing a man would kick away or a woman lift up. Well, + Mr. Hamlin, I kicked it away, and”—the boy stopped, with rounded + eyes and bated breath, and added—“I just had time to give one jump + and save myself! For under that pail, cramped down so he couldn't get out, + and just bilin' over with rage, and chockful of pizen, was William Henry! + If it had been anybody else less spry, they'd have got bitten,—and + that's just what the sneak who put it there knew.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Hamlin uttered an exclamation under his breath, and rose to his feet. + </p> + <p> + “What did you say?” asked the boy quickly. + </p> + <p> + “Nothing,” said Mr. Hamlin. + </p> + <p> + But it had sounded to Leonidas like an oath. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Hamlin walked a few steps, as if stretching his limbs, and then said: + “And you think Burroughs would have been bitten?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, no!” said Leonidas in astonished indignation; “of course not—not + BURROUGHS. It would have been poor MRS. Burroughs. For, of course, HE set + that trap for her—don't you see? Who else would do it?” + </p> + <p> + “Of course, of course! Certainly,” said Mr. Hamlin coolly. “Of course, as + you say, HE set the trap—yes—you just hang on to that idea.” + </p> + <p> + But something in Mr. Hamlin's manner, and a peculiar look in his eye, did + not satisfy Leonidas. “Are you going to see her now?” he said eagerly. “I + can show you the house, and then run in and tell her you're outside in the + laurels.” + </p> + <p> + “Not just yet,” said Mr. Hamlin, laying his hand on the boy's head after + having restored his own hat. “You see, I thought of giving her a surprise. + A big surprise!” he added slowly. After a pause, he went on: “Did you tell + her what you had seen?” + </p> + <p> + “Of course I did,” said Leonidas reproachfully. “Did you think I was going + to let her get bit? It might have killed her.” + </p> + <p> + “And it might not have been an unmixed pleasure for William Henry. I + mean,” said Mr. Hamlin gravely, correcting himself, “YOU would never have + forgiven him. But what did she say?” + </p> + <p> + The boy's face clouded. “She thanked me and said it was very thoughtful—and + kind—though it might have been only an accident”—he stammered—“and + then she said perhaps I was hanging round and coming there a little too + much lately, and that as Burroughs was very watchful, I'd better quit for + two or three days.” The tears were rising to his eyes, but by putting his + two clenched fists into his pockets, he managed to hold them down. Perhaps + Mr. Hamlin's soft hand on his head assisted him. Mr. Hamlin took from his + pocket a notebook, and tearing out a leaf, sat down again and began to + write on his knee. After a pause, Leonidas said,— + </p> + <p> + “Was you ever in love, Mr. Hamlin?” + </p> + <p> + “Never,” said Mr. Hamlin, quietly continuing to write. “But, now you speak + of it, it's a long-felt want in my nature that I intend to supply some + day. But not until I've made my pile. And don't YOU either.” He continued + writing, for it was this gentleman's peculiarity to talk without + apparently the slightest concern whether anybody else spoke, whether he + was listened to, or whether his remarks were at all relevant to the case. + Yet he was always listened to for that reason. When he had finished + writing, he folded up the paper, put it in an envelope, and addressed it. + </p> + <p> + “Shall I take it to her?” said Leonidas eagerly. + </p> + <p> + “It's not for HER; it's for him—Mr. Burroughs,” said Mr. Hamlin + quietly. + </p> + <p> + The boy drew back. “To get him out of the way,” added Hamlin + explanatorily. “When he gets it, lightning wouldn't keep him here. Now, + how to send it,” he said thoughtfully. + </p> + <p> + “You might leave it at the post-office,” said Leonidas timidly. “He always + goes there to watch his wife's letters.” + </p> + <p> + For the first time in their interview Mr. Hamlin distinctly laughed. + </p> + <p> + “Your head is level, Leo, and I'll do it. Now the best thing you can do is + to follow Mrs. Burroughs's advice. Quit going to the house for a day or + two.” He walked towards his horse. The boy's face sank, but he kept up + bravely. “And will I see you again?” he said wistfully. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Hamlin lowered his face so near the boy's that Leonidas could see + himself in the brown depths of Mr. Hamlin's eyes. “I hope you will,” he + said gravely. He mounted, shook the boy's hand, and rode away in the + lengthening shadows. Then Leonidas walked sadly home. + </p> + <p> + There was no need for him to keep his promise; for the next morning the + family were stirred by the announcement that Mr. and Mrs. Burroughs had + left Casket Ridge that night by the down stage for Sacramento, and that + the house was closed. There were various rumors concerning the reason of + this sudden departure, but only one was persistent, and borne out by the + postmaster. It was that Mr. Burroughs had received that afternoon an + anonymous note that his wife was about to elope with the notorious San + Francisco gambler, Jack Hamlin. + </p> + <p> + But Leonidas Boone, albeit half understanding, kept his miserable secret + with a still hopeful and trustful heart. It grieved him a little that + William Henry was found a few days later dead, with his head crushed. Yet + it was not until years later, when he had made a successful “prospect” on + Casket Ridge, that he met Mr. Hamlin in San Francisco, and knew how he had + played the part of Mercury upon that “heaven-kissing hill.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + COLONEL STARBOTTLE FOR THE PLAINTIFF + </h2> + <p> + It had been a day of triumph for Colonel Starbottle. First, for his + personality, as it would have been difficult to separate the Colonel's + achievements from his individuality; second, for his oratorical abilities + as a sympathetic pleader; and third, for his functions as the leading + legal counsel for the Eureka Ditch Company versus the State of California. + On his strictly legal performances in this issue I prefer not to speak; + there were those who denied them, although the jury had accepted them in + the face of the ruling of the half amused, half cynical Judge himself. For + an hour they had laughed with the Colonel, wept with him, been stirred to + personal indignation or patriotic exaltation by his passionate and lofty + periods,—what else could they do than give him their verdict? If it + was alleged by some that the American eagle, Thomas Jefferson, and the + Resolutions of '98 had nothing whatever to do with the contest of a ditch + company over a doubtfully worded legislative document; that wholesale + abuse of the State Attorney and his political motives had not the + slightest connection with the legal question raised—it was, + nevertheless, generally accepted that the losing party would have been + only too glad to have the Colonel on their side. And Colonel Starbottle + knew this, as, perspiring, florid, and panting, he rebuttoned the lower + buttons of his blue frock-coat, which had become loosed in an oratorical + spasm, and readjusted his old-fashioned, spotless shirt frill above it as + he strutted from the court-room amidst the handshakings and acclamations + of his friends. + </p> + <p> + And here an unprecedented thing occurred. The Colonel absolutely declined + spirituous refreshment at the neighboring Palmetto Saloon, and declared + his intention of proceeding directly to his office in the adjoining + square. Nevertheless, the Colonel quitted the building alone, and + apparently unarmed, except for his faithful gold-headed stick, which hung + as usual from his forearm. The crowd gazed after him with undisguised + admiration of this new evidence of his pluck. It was remembered also that + a mysterious note had been handed to him at the conclusion of his speech,—evidently + a challenge from the State Attorney. It was quite plain that the Colonel—a + practiced duelist—was hastening home to answer it. + </p> + <p> + But herein they were wrong. The note was in a female hand, and simply + requested the Colonel to accord an interview with the writer at the + Colonel's office as soon as he left the court. But it was an engagement + that the Colonel—as devoted to the fair sex as he was to the “code”—was + no less prompt in accepting. He flicked away the dust from his spotless + white trousers and varnished boots with his handkerchief, and settled his + black cravat under his Byron collar as he neared his office. He was + surprised, however, on opening the door of his private office, to find his + visitor already there; he was still more startled to find her somewhat + past middle age and plainly attired. But the Colonel was brought up in a + school of Southern politeness, already antique in the republic, and his + bow of courtesy belonged to the epoch of his shirt frill and strapped + trousers. No one could have detected his disappointment in his manner, + albeit his sentences were short and incomplete. But the Colonel's + colloquial speech was apt to be fragmentary incoherencies of his larger + oratorical utterances. + </p> + <p> + “A thousand pardons—for—er—having kept a lady waiting—er! + But—er—congratulations of friends—and—er—courtesy + due to them—er—interfered with—though perhaps only + heightened—by procrastination—the pleasure of—ha!” And + the Colonel completed his sentence with a gallant wave of his fat but + white and well-kept hand. + </p> + <p> + “Yes! I came to see you along o' that speech of yours. I was in court. + When I heard you gettin' it off on that jury, I says to myself, 'That's + the kind o' lawyer I want. A man that's flowery and convincin'! Just the + man to take up our case.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! It's a matter of business, I see,” said the Colonel, inwardly + relieved, but externally careless. “And—er—may I ask the + nature of the case?” + </p> + <p> + “Well! it's a breach-o'-promise suit,” said the visitor calmly. + </p> + <p> + If the Colonel had been surprised before, he was now really startled, and + with an added horror that required all his politeness to conceal. + Breach-of-promise cases were his peculiar aversion. He had always held + them to be a kind of litigation which could have been obviated by the + prompt killing of the masculine offender—in which case he would have + gladly defended the killer. But a suit for damages,—DAMAGES!—with + the reading of love-letters before a hilarious jury and court, was against + all his instincts. His chivalry was outraged; his sense of humor was + small, and in the course of his career he had lost one or two important + cases through an unexpected development of this quality in a jury. + </p> + <p> + The woman had evidently noticed his hesitation, but mistook its cause. “It + ain't me—but my darter.” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel recovered his politeness. “Ah! I am relieved, my dear madam! I + could hardly conceive a man ignorant enough to—er—er—throw + away such evident good fortune—or base enough to deceive the + trustfulness of womanhood—matured and experienced only in the + chivalry of our sex, ha!” + </p> + <p> + The woman smiled grimly. “Yes!—it's my darter, Zaidee Hooker—so + ye might spare some of them pretty speeches for HER—before the + jury.” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel winced slightly before this doubtful prospect, but smiled. + “Ha! Yes!—certainly—the jury. But—er—my dear lady, + need we go as far as that? Can not this affair be settled—er—out + of court? Could not this—er—individual—be admonished—told + that he must give satisfaction—personal satisfaction—for his + dastardly conduct—to—er—near relative—or even + valued personal friend? The—er—arrangements necessary for that + purpose I myself would undertake.” + </p> + <p> + He was quite sincere; indeed, his small black eyes shone with that fire + which a pretty woman or an “affair of honor” could alone kindle. The + visitor stared vacantly at him, and said slowly, “And what good is that + goin' to do US?” + </p> + <p> + “Compel him to—er—perform his promise,” said the Colonel, + leaning back in his chair. + </p> + <p> + “Ketch him doin' it!” she exclaimed scornfully. “No—that ain't wot + we're after. We must make him PAY! Damages—and nothin' short o' + THAT.” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel bit his lip. “I suppose,” he said gloomily, “you have + documentary evidence—written promises and protestations—er—er + love-letters, in fact?” + </p> + <p> + “No—nary a letter! Ye see, that's jest it—and that's where YOU + come in. You've got to convince that jury yourself. You've got to show + what it is—tell the whole story your own way. Lord! to a man like + you that's nothin'.” + </p> + <p> + Startling as this admission might have been to any other lawyer, + Starbottle was absolutely relieved by it. The absence of any + mirth-provoking correspondence, and the appeal solely to his own powers of + persuasion, actually struck his fancy. He lightly put aside the compliment + with a wave of his white hand. + </p> + <p> + “Of course,” he said confidently, “there is strongly presumptive and + corroborative evidence? Perhaps you can give me—er—a brief + outline of the affair?” + </p> + <p> + “Zaidee kin do that straight enough, I reckon,” said the woman; “what I + want to know first is, kin you take the case?” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel did not hesitate; his curiosity was piqued. “I certainly can. + I have no doubt your daughter will put me in possession of sufficient + facts and details—to constitute what we call—er—a + brief.” + </p> + <p> + “She kin be brief enough—or long enough—for the matter of + that,” said the woman, rising. The Colonel accepted this implied witticism + with a smile. + </p> + <p> + “And when may I have the pleasure of seeing her?” he asked politely. + </p> + <p> + “Well, I reckon as soon as I can trot out and call her. She's just + outside, meanderin' in the road—kinder shy, ye know, at first.” + </p> + <p> + She walked to the door. The astounded Colonel nevertheless gallantly + accompanied her as she stepped out into the street and called shrilly, + “You Zaidee!” + </p> + <p> + A young girl here apparently detached herself from a tree and the + ostentatious perusal of an old election poster, and sauntered down towards + the office door. Like her mother, she was plainly dressed; unlike her, she + had a pale, rather refined face, with a demure mouth and downcast eyes. + This was all the Colonel saw as he bowed profoundly and led the way into + his office, for she accepted his salutations without lifting her head. He + helped her gallantly to a chair, on which she seated herself sideways, + somewhat ceremoniously, with her eyes following the point of her parasol + as she traced a pattern on the carpet. A second chair offered to the + mother that lady, however, declined. “I reckon to leave you and Zaidee + together to talk it out,” she said; turning to her daughter, she added, + “Jest you tell him all, Zaidee,” and before the Colonel could rise again, + disappeared from the room. In spite of his professional experience, + Starbottle was for a moment embarrassed. The young girl, however, broke + the silence without looking up. + </p> + <p> + “Adoniram K. Hotchkiss,” she began, in a monotonous voice, as if it were a + recitation addressed to the public, “first began to take notice of me a + year ago. Arter that—off and on”— + </p> + <p> + “One moment,” interrupted the astounded Colonel; “do you mean Hotchkiss + the President of the Ditch Company?” He had recognized the name of a + prominent citizen—a rigid, ascetic, taciturn, middle-aged man—a + deacon—and more than that, the head of the company he had just + defended. It seemed inconceivable. + </p> + <p> + “That's him,” she continued, with eyes still fixed on the parasol and + without changing her monotonous tone—“off and on ever since. Most of + the time at the Free-Will Baptist Church—at morning service, + prayer-meetings, and such. And at home—outside—er—in the + road.” + </p> + <p> + “Is it this gentleman—Mr. Adoniram K. Hotchkiss—who—er—promised + marriage?” stammered the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel shifted uneasily in his chair. “Most extraordinary! for—you + see—my dear young lady—this becomes—a—er—most + delicate affair.” + </p> + <p> + “That's what maw said,” returned the young woman simply, yet with the + faintest smile playing around her demure lips and downcast cheek. + </p> + <p> + “I mean,” said the Colonel, with a pained yet courteous smile, “that this—er—gentleman—is + in fact—er—one of my clients.” + </p> + <p> + “That's what maw said too, and of course your knowing him will make it all + the easier for you.” + </p> + <p> + A slight flush crossed the Colonel's cheek as he returned quickly and a + little stiffly, “On the contrary—er—it may make it impossible + for me to—er—act in this matter.” + </p> + <p> + The girl lifted her eyes. The Colonel held his breath as the long lashes + were raised to his level. Even to an ordinary observer that sudden + revelation of her eyes seemed to transform her face with subtle witchery. + They were large, brown, and soft, yet filled with an extraordinary + penetration and prescience. They were the eyes of an experienced woman of + thirty fixed in the face of a child. What else the Colonel saw there + Heaven only knows! He felt his inmost secrets plucked from him—his + whole soul laid bare—his vanity, belligerency, gallantry—even + his mediaeval chivalry, penetrated, and yet illuminated, in that single + glance. And when the eyelids fell again, he felt that a greater part of + himself had been swallowed up in them. + </p> + <p> + “I beg your pardon,” he said hurriedly. “I mean—this matter may be + arranged—er—amicably. My interest with—and as you wisely + say—my—er—knowledge of my client—er—Mr. + Hotchkiss—may effect—a compromise.” + </p> + <p> + “And DAMAGES,” said the young girl, readdressing her parasol, as if she + had never looked up. + </p> + <p> + The Colonel winced. “And—er—undoubtedly COMPENSATION—if + you do not press a fulfillment of the promise. Unless,” he said, with an + attempted return to his former easy gallantry, which, however, the + recollection of her eyes made difficult, “it is a question of—er—the + affections.” + </p> + <p> + “Which?” asked his fair client softly. + </p> + <p> + “If you still love him?” explained the Colonel, actually blushing. + </p> + <p> + Zaidee again looked up; again taking the Colonel's breath away with eyes + that expressed not only the fullest perception of what he had SAID, but of + what he thought and had not said, and with an added subtle suggestion of + what he might have thought. “That's tellin',” she said, dropping her long + lashes again. + </p> + <p> + The Colonel laughed vacantly. Then feeling himself growing imbecile, he + forced an equally weak gravity. “Pardon me—I understand there are no + letters; may I know the way in which he formulated his declaration and + promises?” + </p> + <p> + “Hymn-books.” + </p> + <p> + “I beg your pardon,” said the mystified lawyer. + </p> + <p> + “Hymn-books—marked words in them with pencil—and passed 'em on + to me,” repeated Zaidee. “Like 'love,' 'dear,' 'precious,' 'sweet,' and + 'blessed,'” she added, accenting each word with a push of her parasol on + the carpet. “Sometimes a whole line outer Tate and Brady—and + Solomon's Song, you know, and sich.” + </p> + <p> + “I believe,” said the Colonel loftily, “that the—er—phrases of + sacred psalmody lend themselves to the language of the affections. But in + regard to the distinct promise of marriage—was there—er—no + OTHER expression?” + </p> + <p> + “Marriage Service in the prayer-book—lines and words outer that—all + marked,” Zaidee replied. + </p> + <p> + The Colonel nodded naturally and approvingly. “Very good. Were others + cognizant of this? Were there any witnesses?” + </p> + <p> + “Of course not,” said the girl. “Only me and him. It was generally at + church-time—or prayer-meeting. Once, in passing the plate, he + slipped one o' them peppermint lozenges with the letters stamped on it 'I + love you' for me to take.” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel coughed slightly. “And you have the lozenge?” + </p> + <p> + “I ate it.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah,” said the Colonel. After a pause he added delicately, “But were these + attentions—er—confined to—er—sacred precincts? Did + he meet you elsewhere?” + </p> + <p> + “Useter pass our house on the road,” returned the girl, dropping into her + monotonous recital, “and useter signal.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, signal?” repeated the Colonel approvingly. + </p> + <p> + “Yes! He'd say 'Keerow,' and I'd say 'Keeree.' Suthing like a bird, you + know.” + </p> + <p> + Indeed, as she lifted her voice in imitation of the call, the Colonel + thought it certainly very sweet and birdlike. At least as SHE gave it. + With his remembrance of the grim deacon he had doubts as to the + melodiousness of HIS utterance. He gravely made her repeat it. + </p> + <p> + “And after that signal?” he added suggestively. + </p> + <p> + “He'd pass on.” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel again coughed slightly, and tapped his desk with his + penholder. + </p> + <p> + “Were there any endearments—er—caresses—er—such as + taking your hand—er—clasping your waist?” he suggested, with a + gallant yet respectful sweep of his white hand and bowing of his head; “er—slight + pressure of your fingers in the changes of a dance—I mean,” he + corrected himself, with an apologetic cough—“in the passing of the + plate?” + </p> + <p> + “No; he was not what you'd call 'fond,'” returned the girl. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! Adoniram K. Hotchkiss was not 'fond' in the ordinary acceptance of + the word,” noted the Colonel, with professional gravity. + </p> + <p> + She lifted her disturbing eyes, and again absorbed his in her own. She + also said “Yes,” although her eyes in their mysterious prescience of all + he was thinking disclaimed the necessity of any answer at all. He smiled + vacantly. There was a long pause. On which she slowly disengaged her + parasol from the carpet pattern, and stood up. + </p> + <p> + “I reckon that's about all,” she said. + </p> + <p> + “Er—yes—but one moment,” began the Colonel vaguely. He would + have liked to keep her longer, but with her strange premonition of him he + felt powerless to detain her, or explain his reason for doing so. He + instinctively knew she had told him all; his professional judgment told + him that a more hopeless case had never come to his knowledge. Yet he was + not daunted, only embarrassed. “No matter,” he said. “Of course I shall + have to consult with you again.” + </p> + <p> + Her eyes again answered that she expected he would, and she added simply, + “When?” + </p> + <p> + “In the course of a day or two;” he replied quickly. “I will send you + word.” + </p> + <p> + She turned to go. In his eagerness to open the door for her, he upset his + chair, and with some confusion, that was actually youthful, he almost + impeded her movements in the hall, and knocked his broad-brimmed Panama + hat from his bowing hand in a final gallant sweep. Yet as her small, trim, + youthful figure, with its simple Leghorn straw hat confined by a blue bow + under her round chin, passed away before him, she looked more like a child + than ever. + </p> + <p> + The Colonel spent that afternoon in making diplomatic inquiries. He found + his youthful client was the daughter of a widow who had a small ranch on + the cross-roads, near the new Free-Will Baptist Church—the evident + theatre of this pastoral. They led a secluded life, the girl being little + known in the town, and her beauty and fascination apparently not yet being + a recognized fact. The Colonel felt a pleasurable relief at this, and a + general satisfaction he could not account for. His few inquiries + concerning Mr. Hotchkiss only confirmed his own impressions of the alleged + lover,—a serious-minded, practically abstracted man, abstentive of + youthful society, and the last man apparently capable of levity of the + affections or serious flirtation. The Colonel was mystified, but + determined of purpose, whatever that purpose might have been. + </p> + <p> + The next day he was at his office at the same hour. He was alone—as + usual—the Colonel's office being really his private lodgings, + disposed in connecting rooms, a single apartment reserved for + consultation. He had no clerk, his papers and briefs being taken by his + faithful body-servant and ex-slave “Jim” to another firm who did his + office work since the death of Major Stryker, the Colonel's only law + partner, who fell in a duel some years previous. With a fine constancy the + Colonel still retained his partner's name on his doorplate, and, it was + alleged by the superstitious, kept a certain invincibility also through + the 'manes' of that lamented and somewhat feared man. + </p> + <p> + The Colonel consulted his watch, whose heavy gold case still showed the + marks of a providential interference with a bullet destined for its owner, + and replaced it with some difficulty and shortness of breath in his fob. + At the same moment he heard a step in the passage, and the door opened to + Adoniram K. Hotchkiss. The Colonel was impressed; he had a duelist's + respect for punctuality. + </p> + <p> + The man entered with a nod and the expectant inquiring look of a busy man. + As his feet crossed that sacred threshold the Colonel became all courtesy; + he placed a chair for his visitor, and took his hat from his half + reluctant hand. He then opened a cupboard and brought out a bottle of + whiskey and two glasses. + </p> + <p> + “A—er—slight refreshment, Mr. Hotchkiss,” he suggested + politely. + </p> + <p> + “I never drink,” replied Hotchkiss, with the severe attitude of a total + abstainer. + </p> + <p> + “Ah—er—not the finest Bourbon whiskey, selected by a Kentucky + friend? No? Pardon me! A cigar, then—the mildest Havana.” + </p> + <p> + “I do not use tobacco nor alcohol in any form,” repeated Hotchkiss + ascetically. “I have no foolish weaknesses.” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel's moist, beady eyes swept silently over his client's sallow + face. He leaned back comfortably in his chair, and half closing his eyes + as in dreamy reminiscence, said slowly: “Your reply, Mr. Hotchkiss, + reminds me of—er—sing'lar circumstance that—er—occurred, + in point of fact—at the St. Charles Hotel, New Orleans. Pinkey + Hornblower—personal friend—invited Senator Doolittle to join + him in social glass. Received, sing'larly enough, reply similar to yours. + 'Don't drink nor smoke?' said Pinkey. 'Gad, sir, you must be mighty sweet + on the ladies.' Ha!” The Colonel paused long enough to allow the faint + flush to pass from Hotchkiss's cheek, and went on, half closing his eyes: + “'I allow no man, sir, to discuss my personal habits,' declared Doolittle, + over his shirt collar. 'Then I reckon shootin' must be one of those + habits,' said Pinkey coolly. Both men drove out on the Shell Road back of + cemetery next morning. Pinkey put bullet at twelve paces through + Doolittle's temple. Poor Doo never spoke again. Left three wives and seven + children, they say—two of 'em black.” + </p> + <p> + “I got a note from you this morning,” said Hotchkiss, with badly concealed + impatience. “I suppose in reference to our case. You have taken judgment, + I believe.” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel, without replying, slowly filled a glass of whiskey and water. + For a moment he held it dreamily before him, as if still engaged in gentle + reminiscences called up by the act. Then tossing it off, he wiped his lips + with a large white handkerchief, and leaning back comfortably in his + chair, said, with a wave of his hand, “The interview I requested, Mr. + Hotchkiss, concerns a subject—which I may say is—er—er—at + present NOT of a public or business nature—although LATER it might + become—er—er—both. It is an affair of some—er—delicacy.” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel paused, and Mr. Hotchkiss regarded him with increased + impatience. The Colonel, however, continued, with unchanged deliberation: + “It concerns—er—er—a young lady—a beautiful, + high-souled creature, sir, who, apart from her personal loveliness—er—er—I + may say is of one of the first families of Missouri, and—er—not + remotely connected by marriage with one of—er—er—my + boyhood's dearest friends.” The latter, I grieve to say, was a pure + invention of the Colonel's—an oratorical addition to the scanty + information he had obtained the previous day. “The young lady,” he + continued blandly, “enjoys the further distinction of being the object of + such attention from you as would make this interview—really—a + confidential matter—er—er among friends and—er—er—relations + in present and future. I need not say that the lady I refer to is Miss + Zaidee Juno Hooker, only daughter of Almira Ann Hooker, relict of + Jefferson Brown Hooker, formerly of Boone County, Kentucky, and latterly + of—er—Pike County, Missouri.” + </p> + <p> + The sallow, ascetic hue of Mr. Hotchkiss's face had passed through a livid + and then a greenish shade, and finally settled into a sullen red. “What's + all this about?” he demanded roughly. + </p> + <p> + The least touch of belligerent fire came into Starbottle's eye, but his + bland courtesy did not change. “I believe,” he said politely, “I have made + myself clear as between—er—gentlemen, though perhaps not as + clear as I should to—er—er—jury.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Hotchkiss was apparently struck with some significance in the lawyer's + reply. “I don't know,” he said, in a lower and more cautious voice, “what + you mean by what you call 'my attentions' to—any one—or how it + concerns you. I have not exchanged half a dozen words with—the + person you name—have never written her a line—nor even called + at her house.” + </p> + <p> + He rose with an assumption of ease, pulled down his waistcoat, buttoned + his coat, and took up his hat. The Colonel did not move. + </p> + <p> + “I believe I have already indicated my meaning in what I have called 'your + attentions,'” said the Colonel blandly, “and given you my 'concern' for + speaking as—er—er—mutual friend. As to YOUR statement of + your relations with Miss Hooker, I may state that it is fully corroborated + by the statement of the young lady herself in this very office yesterday.” + </p> + <p> + “Then what does this impertinent nonsense mean? Why am I summoned here?” + demanded Hotchkiss furiously. + </p> + <p> + “Because,” said the Colonel deliberately, “that statement is infamously—yes, + damnably to your discredit, sir!” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Hotchkiss was here seized by one of those impotent and inconsistent + rages which occasionally betray the habitually cautious and timid man. He + caught up the Colonel's stick, which was lying on the table. At the same + moment the Colonel, without any apparent effort, grasped it by the handle. + To Mr. Hotchkiss's astonishment, the stick separated in two pieces, + leaving the handle and about two feet of narrow glittering steel in the + Colonel's hand. The man recoiled, dropping the useless fragment. The + Colonel picked it up, fitted the shining blade in it, clicked the spring, + and then rising with a face of courtesy yet of unmistakably genuine pain, + and with even a slight tremor in his voice, said gravely,— + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Hotchkiss, I owe you a thousand apologies, sir, that—er—a + weapon should be drawn by me—even through your own inadvertence—under + the sacred protection of my roof, and upon an unarmed man. I beg your + pardon, sir, and I even withdraw the expressions which provoked that + inadvertence. Nor does this apology prevent you from holding me + responsible—personally responsible—ELSEWHERE for an + indiscretion committed in behalf of a lady—my—er—client.” + </p> + <p> + “Your client? Do you mean you have taken her case? You, the counsel for + the Ditch Company?” asked Mr. Hotchkiss, in trembling indignation. + </p> + <p> + “Having won YOUR case, sir,” replied the Colonel coolly, “the—er—usages + of advocacy do not prevent me from espousing the cause of the weak and + unprotected.” + </p> + <p> + “We shall see, sir,” said Hotchkiss, grasping the handle of the door and + backing into the passage. “There are other lawyers who”— + </p> + <p> + “Permit me to see you out,” interrupted the Colonel, rising politely. + </p> + <p> + —“will be ready to resist the attacks of blackmail,” continued + Hotchkiss, retreating along the passage. + </p> + <p> + “And then you will be able to repeat your remarks to me IN THE STREET,” + continued the Colonel, bowing, as he persisted in following his visitor to + the door. + </p> + <p> + But here Mr. Hotchkiss quickly slammed it behind him, and hurried away. + The Colonel returned to his office, and sitting down, took a sheet of + letter-paper bearing the inscription “Starbottle and Stryker, Attorneys + and Counselors,” and wrote the following lines:— + </p> + <p> + HOOKER versus HOTCHKISS. + </p> + <p> + DEAR MADAM,—Having had a visit from the defendant in above, we + should be pleased to have an interview with you at two P. M. to-morrow. + </p> + <p> + Your obedient servants, + </p> + <p> + STARBOTTLE AND STRYKER. + </p> + <p> + This he sealed and dispatched by his trusted servant Jim, and then devoted + a few moments to reflection. It was the custom of the Colonel to act + first, and justify the action by reason afterwards. + </p> + <p> + He knew that Hotchkiss would at once lay the matter before rival counsel. + He knew that they would advise him that Miss Hooker had “no case”—that + she would be nonsuited on her own evidence, and he ought not to + compromise, but be ready to stand trial. He believed, however, that + Hotchkiss feared such exposure, and although his own instincts had been at + first against this remedy, he was now instinctively in favor of it. He + remembered his own power with a jury; his vanity and his chivalry alike + approved of this heroic method; he was bound by no prosaic facts—he + had his own theory of the case, which no mere evidence could gainsay. In + fact, Mrs. Hooker's admission that he was to “tell the story in his own + way” actually appeared to him an inspiration and a prophecy. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps there was something else, due possibly to the lady's wonderful + eyes, of which he had thought much. Yet it was not her simplicity that + affected him solely; on the contrary, it was her apparent intelligent + reading of the character of her recreant lover—and of his own! Of + all the Colonel's previous “light” or “serious” loves, none had ever + before flattered him in that way. And it was this, combined with the + respect which he had held for their professional relations, that precluded + his having a more familiar knowledge of his client, through serious + questioning or playful gallantry. I am not sure it was not part of the + charm to have a rustic femme incomprise as a client. + </p> + <p> + Nothing could exceed the respect with which he greeted her as she entered + his office the next day. He even affected not to notice that she had put + on her best clothes, and he made no doubt appeared as when she had first + attracted the mature yet faithless attentions of Deacon Hotchkiss at + church. A white virginal muslin was belted around her slim figure by a + blue ribbon, and her Leghorn hat was drawn around her oval cheek by a bow + of the same color. She had a Southern girl's narrow feet, encased in white + stockings and kid slippers, which were crossed primly before her as she + sat in a chair, supporting her arm by her faithful parasol planted firmly + on the floor. A faint odor of southernwood exhaled from her, and, oddly + enough, stirred the Colonel with a far-off recollection of a pine-shaded + Sunday-school on a Georgia hillside, and of his first love, aged ten, in a + short starched frock. Possibly it was the same recollection that revived + something of the awkwardness he had felt then. + </p> + <p> + He, however, smiled vaguely, and sitting down, coughed slightly, and + placed his finger-tips together. “I have had an—er—interview + with Mr. Hotchkiss, but—I—er—regret to say there seems + to be no prospect of—er—compromise.” + </p> + <p> + He paused, and to his surprise her listless “company” face lit up with an + adorable smile. “Of course!—ketch him!” she said. “Was he mad when + you told him?” She put her knees comfortably together and leaned forward + for a reply. + </p> + <p> + For all that, wild horses could not have torn from the Colonel a word + about Hotchkiss's anger. “He expressed his intention of employing counsel—and + defending a suit,” returned the Colonel, affably basking in her smile. + </p> + <p> + She dragged her chair nearer his desk. “Then you'll fight him tooth and + nail?” she asked eagerly; “you'll show him up? You'll tell the whole story + your own way? You'll give him fits?—and you'll make him pay? Sure?” + she went on breathlessly. + </p> + <p> + “I—er—will,” said the Colonel, almost as breathlessly. + </p> + <p> + She caught his fat white hand, which was lying on the table, between her + own and lifted it to her lips. He felt her soft young fingers even through + the lisle-thread gloves that encased them, and the warm moisture of her + lips upon his skin. He felt himself flushing—but was unable to break + the silence or change his position. The next moment she had scuttled back + with her chair to her old position. + </p> + <p> + “I—er—certainly shall do my best,” stammered the Colonel, in + an attempt to recover his dignity and composure. + </p> + <p> + “That's enough! You'll do it,” said she enthusiastically. “Lordy! Just you + talk for ME as ye did for HIS old Ditch Company, and you'll fetch it—every + time! Why, when you made that jury sit up the other day—when you got + that off about the Merrikan flag waving equally over the rights of honest + citizens banded together in peaceful commercial pursuits, as well as over + the fortress of official proflig—” + </p> + <p> + “Oligarchy,” murmured the Colonel courteously. + </p> + <p> + —“oligarchy,” repeated the girl quickly, “my breath was just took + away. I said to maw, 'Ain't he too sweet for anything!' I did, honest + Injin! And when you rolled it all off at the end—never missing a + word (you didn't need to mark 'em in a lesson-book, but had 'em all ready + on your tongue)—and walked out—Well! I didn't know you nor the + Ditch Company from Adam, but I could have just run over and kissed you + there before the whole court!” + </p> + <p> + She laughed, with her face glowing, although her strange eyes were cast + down. Alack! the Colonel's face was equally flushed, and his own beady + eyes were on his desk. To any other woman he would have voiced the banal + gallantry that he should now, himself, look forward to that reward, but + the words never reached his lips. He laughed, coughed slightly, and when + he looked up again she had fallen into the same attitude as on her first + visit, with her parasol point on the floor. + </p> + <p> + “I must ask you to—er—direct your memory to—er—another + point: the breaking off of the—er—er—er—engagement. + Did he—er—give any reason for it? Or show any cause?” + </p> + <p> + “No; he never said anything,” returned the girl. + </p> + <p> + “Not in his usual way?—er—no reproaches out of the hymn-book?—or + the sacred writings?” + </p> + <p> + “No; he just QUIT.” + </p> + <p> + “Er—ceased his attentions,” said the Colonel gravely. “And naturally + you—er—were not conscious of any cause for his doing so.” + </p> + <p> + The girl raised her wonderful eyes so suddenly and so penetratingly + without replying in any other way that the Colonel could only hurriedly + say: “I see! None, of course!” + </p> + <p> + At which she rose, the Colonel rising also. “We—shall begin + proceedings at once. I must, however, caution you to answer no questions, + nor say anything about this case to any one until you are in court.” + </p> + <p> + She answered his request with another intelligent look and a nod. He + accompanied her to the door. As he took her proffered hand, he raised the + lisle-thread fingers to his lips with old-fashioned gallantry. As if that + act had condoned for his first omissions and awkwardness, he became his + old-fashioned self again, buttoned his coat, pulled out his shirt frill, + and strutted back to his desk. + </p> + <p> + A day or two later it was known throughout the town that Zaidee Hooker had + sued Adoniram Hotchkiss for breach of promise, and that the damages were + laid at five thousand dollars. As in those bucolic days the Western press + was under the secure censorship of a revolver, a cautious tone of + criticism prevailed, and any gossip was confined to personal expression, + and even then at the risk of the gossiper. Nevertheless, the situation + provoked the intensest curiosity. The Colonel was approached—until + his statement that he should consider any attempt to overcome his + professional secrecy a personal reflection withheld further advances. The + community were left to the more ostentatious information of the + defendant's counsel, Messrs. Kitcham and Bilser, that the case was + “ridiculous” and “rotten,” that the plaintiff would be nonsuited, and the + fire-eating Starbottle would be taught a lesson that he could not “bully” + the law, and there were some dark hints of a conspiracy. It was even + hinted that the “case” was the revengeful and preposterous outcome of the + refusal of Hotchkiss to pay Starbottle an extravagant fee for his late + services to the Ditch Company. It is unnecessary to say that these words + were not reported to the Colonel. It was, however, an unfortunate + circumstance for the calmer, ethical consideration of the subject that the + Church sided with Hotchkiss, as this provoked an equal adherence to the + plaintiff and Starbottle on the part of the larger body of + non-churchgoers, who were delighted at a possible exposure of the weakness + of religious rectitude. “I've allus had my suspicions o' them early + candle-light meetings down at that gospel shop,” said one critic, “and I + reckon Deacon Hotchkiss didn't rope in the gals to attend jest for + psalm-singing.” “Then for him to get up and leave the board afore the + game's finished and try to sneak out of it,” said an other,—“I + suppose that's what they call RELIGIOUS.” + </p> + <p> + It was therefore not remarkable that the court-house three weeks later was + crowded with an excited multitude of the curious and sympathizing. The + fair plaintiff, with her mother, was early in attendance, and under the + Colonel's advice appeared in the same modest garb in which she had first + visited his office. This and her downcast, modest demeanor were perhaps at + first disappointing to the crowd, who had evidently expected a paragon of + loveliness in this Circe of that grim, ascetic defendant, who sat beside + his counsel. But presently all eyes were fixed on the Colonel, who + certainly made up in his appearance any deficiency of his fair client. His + portly figure was clothed in a blue dress coat with brass buttons, a buff + waistcoat which permitted his frilled shirt-front to become erectile above + it, a black satin stock which confined a boyish turned-down collar around + his full neck, and immaculate drill trousers, strapped over varnished + boots. A murmur ran round the court. “Old 'Personally Responsible' has got + his war-paint on;” “The Old War-Horse is smelling powder,” were whispered + comments. Yet for all that, the most irreverent among them recognized + vaguely, in this bizarre figure, something of an honored past in their + country's history, and possibly felt the spell of old deeds and old names + that had once thrilled their boyish pulses. The new District Judge + returned Colonel Starbottle's profoundly punctilious bow. The Colonel was + followed by his negro servant, carrying a parcel of hymn-books and Bibles, + who, with a courtesy evidently imitated from his master, placed one before + the opposite counsel. This, after a first curious glance, the lawyer + somewhat superciliously tossed aside. But when Jim, proceeding to the + jury-box, placed with equal politeness the remaining copies before the + jury, the opposite counsel sprang to his feet. + </p> + <p> + “I want to direct the attention of the Court to this unprecedented + tampering with the jury, by this gratuitous exhibition of matter + impertinent and irrelevant to the issue.” + </p> + <p> + The Judge cast an inquiring look at Colonel Starbottle. + </p> + <p> + “May it please the Court,” returned Colonel Starbottle with dignity, + ignoring the counsel, “the defendant's counsel will observe that he is + already furnished with the matter—which I regret to say he has + treated—in the presence of the Court—and of his client, a + deacon of the church—with—er—great superciliousness. + When I state to your Honor that the books in question are hymn-books and + copies of the Holy Scriptures, and that they are for the instruction of + the jury, to whom I shall have to refer them in the course of my opening, + I believe I am within my rights.” + </p> + <p> + “The act is certainly unprecedented,” said the Judge dryly, “but unless + the counsel for the plaintiff expects the jury to SING from these + hymn-books, their introduction is not improper, and I cannot admit the + objection. As defendant's counsel are furnished with copies also, they + cannot plead 'surprise,' as in the introduction of new matter, and as + plaintiff's counsel relies evidently upon the jury's attention to his + opening, he would not be the first person to distract it.” After a pause + he added, addressing the Colonel, who remained standing, “The Court is + with you, sir; proceed.” + </p> + <p> + But the Colonel remained motionless and statuesque, with folded arms. + </p> + <p> + “I have overruled the objection,” repeated the Judge; “you may go on.” + </p> + <p> + “I am waiting, your Honor, for the—er—withdrawal by the + defendant's counsel of the word 'tampering,' as refers to myself, and of + 'impertinent,' as refers to the sacred volumes.” + </p> + <p> + “The request is a proper one, and I have no doubt will be acceded to,” + returned the Judge quietly. The defendant's counsel rose and mumbled a few + words of apology, and the incident closed. There was, however, a general + feeling that the Colonel had in some way “scored,” and if his object had + been to excite the greatest curiosity about the books, he had made his + point. + </p> + <p> + But impassive of his victory, he inflated his chest, with his right hand + in the breast of his buttoned coat, and began. His usual high color had + paled slightly, but the small pupils of his prominent eyes glittered like + steel. The young girl leaned forward in her chair with an attention so + breathless, a sympathy so quick, and an admiration so artless and + unconscious that in an instant she divided with the speaker the attention + of the whole assemblage. It was very hot; the court was crowded to + suffocation; even the open windows revealed a crowd of faces outside the + building, eagerly following the Colonel's words. + </p> + <p> + He would remind the jury that only a few weeks ago he stood there as the + advocate of a powerful Company, then represented by the present defendant. + He spoke then as the champion of strict justice against legal oppression; + no less should he to-day champion the cause of the unprotected and the + comparatively defenseless—save for that paramount power which + surrounds beauty and innocence—even though the plaintiff of + yesterday was the defendant of to-day. As he approached the court a moment + ago he had raised his eyes and beheld the starry flag flying from its + dome, and he knew that glorious banner was a symbol of the perfect + equality, under the Constitution, of the rich and the poor, the strong and + the weak—an equality which made the simple citizen taken from the + plough in the field, the pick in the gulch, or from behind the counter in + the mining town, who served on that jury, the equal arbiters of justice + with that highest legal luminary whom they were proud to welcome on the + bench to-day. The Colonel paused, with a stately bow to the impassive + Judge. It was this, he continued, which lifted his heart as he approached + the building. And yet—he had entered it with an uncertain—he + might almost say—a timid step. And why? He knew, gentlemen, he was + about to confront a profound—aye! a sacred responsibility! Those + hymn-books and holy writings handed to the jury were NOT, as his Honor had + surmised, for the purpose of enabling the jury to indulge in—er—preliminary + choral exercise! He might, indeed, say, “Alas, not!” They were the + damning, incontrovertible proofs of the perfidy of the defendant. And they + would prove as terrible a warning to him as the fatal characters upon + Belshazzar's wall. There was a strong sensation. Hotchkiss turned a sallow + green. His lawyers assumed a careless smile. + </p> + <p> + It was his duty to tell them that this was not one of those ordinary + “breach-of-promise” cases which were too often the occasion of ruthless + mirth and indecent levity in the court-room. The jury would find nothing + of that here. There were no love-letters with the epithets of endearment, + nor those mystic crosses and ciphers which, he had been credibly informed, + chastely hid the exchange of those mutual caresses known as “kisses.” + There was no cruel tearing of the veil from those sacred privacies of the + human affection; there was no forensic shouting out of those fond + confidences meant only for ONE. But there was, he was shocked to say, a + new sacrilegious intrusion. The weak pipings of Cupid were mingled with + the chorus of the saints,—the sanctity of the temple known as the + “meeting—house” was desecrated by proceedings more in keeping with + the shrine of Venus; and the inspired writings themselves were used as the + medium of amatory and wanton flirtation by the defendant in his sacred + capacity as deacon. + </p> + <p> + The Colonel artistically paused after this thunderous denunciation. The + jury turned eagerly to the leaves of the hymn-books, but the larger gaze + of the audience remained fixed upon the speaker and the girl, who sat in + rapt admiration of his periods. After the hush, the Colonel continued in a + lower and sadder voice: “There are, perhaps, few of us here, gentlemen,—with + the exception of the defendant,—who can arrogate to themselves the + title of regular church-goers, or to whom these humbler functions of the + prayer-meeting, the Sunday-school, and the Bible-class are habitually + familiar. Yet”—more solemnly—“down in our hearts is the deep + conviction of our shortcomings and failings, and a laudable desire that + others, at least, should profit by the teachings we neglect. Perhaps,” he + continued, closing his eyes dreamily, “there is not a man here who does + not recall the happy days of his boyhood, the rustic village spire, the + lessons shared with some artless village maiden, with whom he later + sauntered, hand in hand, through the woods, as the simple rhyme rose upon + their lips,— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Always make it a point to have it a rule, + Never to be late at the Sabbath-school.' +</pre> + <p> + “He would recall the strawberry feasts, the welcome annual picnic, + redolent with hunks of gingerbread and sarsaparilla. How would they feel + to know that these sacred recollections were now forever profaned in their + memory by the knowledge that the defendant was capable of using such + occasions to make love to the larger girls and teachers, whilst his + artless companions were innocently—the Court will pardon me for + introducing what I am credibly informed is the local expression—'doing + gooseberry'?” The tremulous flicker of a smile passed over the faces of + the listening crowd, and the Colonel slightly winced. But he recovered + himself instantly, and continued,— + </p> + <p> + “My client, the only daughter of a widowed mother—who has for years + stemmed the varying tides of adversity, in the western precincts of this + town—stands before you to-day invested only in her own innocence. + She wears no—er—rich gifts of her faithless admirer—is + panoplied in no jewels, rings, nor mementos of affection such as lovers + delight to hang upon the shrine of their affections; hers is not the glory + with which Solomon decorated the Queen of Sheba, though the defendant, as + I shall show later, clothed her in the less expensive flowers of the + king's poetry. No, gentlemen! The defendant exhibited in this affair a + certain frugality of—er—pecuniary investment, which I am + willing to admit may be commendable in his class. His only gift was + characteristic alike of his methods and his economy. There is, I + understand, a certain not unimportant feature of religious exercise known + as 'taking a collection.' The defendant, on this occasion, by the mute + presentation of a tin plate covered with baize, solicited the pecuniary + contributions of the faithful. On approaching the plaintiff, however, he + himself slipped a love-token upon the plate and pushed it towards her. + That love-token was a lozenge—a small disk, I have reason to + believe, concocted of peppermint and sugar, bearing upon its reverse + surface the simple words, 'I love you!' I have since ascertained that + these disks may be bought for five cents a dozen—or at considerably + less than one half cent for the single lozenge. Yes, gentlemen, the words + 'I love you!'—the oldest legend of all; the refrain 'when the + morning stars sang together'—were presented to the plaintiff by a + medium so insignificant that there is, happily, no coin in the republic + low enough to represent its value. + </p> + <p> + “I shall prove to you, gentlemen of the jury,” said the Colonel solemnly, + drawing a Bible from his coat-tail pocket, “that the defendant for the + last twelve months conducted an amatory correspondence with the plaintiff + by means of underlined words of Sacred Writ and church psalmody, such as + 'beloved,' 'precious,' and 'dearest,' occasionally appropriating whole + passages which seemed apposite to his tender passion. I shall call your + attention to one of them. The defendant, while professing to be a total + abstainer,—a man who, in my own knowledge, has refused spirituous + refreshment as an inordinate weakness of the flesh,—with shameless + hypocrisy underscores with his pencil the following passage, and presents + it to the plaintiff. The gentlemen of the jury will find it in the Song of + Solomon, page 548, chapter ii. verse 5.” After a pause, in which the rapid + rustling of leaves was heard in the jury-box, Colonel Starbottle declaimed + in a pleading, stentorian voice, “'Stay me with—er—FLAGONS, + comfort me with—er—apples—for I am—er—sick + of love.' Yes, gentlemen!—yes, you may well turn from those accusing + pages and look at the double-faced defendant. He desires—to—er—be—'stayed + with flagons'! I am not aware at present what kind of liquor is habitually + dispensed at these meetings, and for which the defendant so urgently + clamored; but it will be my duty, before this trial is over, to discover + it, if I have to summon every barkeeper in this district. For the moment I + will simply call your attention to the QUANTITY. It is not a single drink + that the defendant asks for—not a glass of light and generous wine, + to be shared with his inamorata, but a number of flagons or vessels, each + possibly holding a pint measure—FOR HIMSELF!” + </p> + <p> + The smile of the audience had become a laugh. The Judge looked up + warningly, when his eye caught the fact that the Colonel had again winced + at this mirth. He regarded him seriously. Mr. Hotchkiss's counsel had + joined in the laugh affectedly, but Hotchkiss himself sat ashy pale. There + was also a commotion in the jury-box, a hurried turning over of leaves, + and an excited discussion. + </p> + <p> + “The gentlemen of the jury,” said the Judge, with official gravity, “will + please keep order and attend only to the speeches of counsel. Any + discussion HERE is irregular and premature, and must be reserved for the + jury-room after they have retired.” + </p> + <p> + The foreman of the jury struggled to his feet. He was a powerful man, with + a good-humored face, and, in spite of his unfelicitous nickname of “The + Bone-Breaker,” had a kindly, simple, but somewhat emotional nature. + Nevertheless, it appeared as if he were laboring under some powerful + indignation. + </p> + <p> + “Can we ask a question, Judge?” he said respectfully, although his voice + had the unmistakable Western American ring in it, as of one who was + unconscious that he could be addressing any but his peers. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said the Judge good-humoredly. + </p> + <p> + “We're finding in this yere piece, out o' which the Kernel hes just bin + a-quotin', some language that me and my pardners allow hadn't orter be + read out afore a young lady in court, and we want to know of you—ez + a fa'r-minded and impartial man—ef this is the reg'lar kind o' book + given to gals and babies down at the meetin'-house.” + </p> + <p> + “The jury will please follow the counsel's speech without comment,” said + the Judge briefly, fully aware that the defendant's counsel would spring + to his feet, as he did promptly. + </p> + <p> + “The Court will allow us to explain to the gentlemen that the language + they seem to object to has been accepted by the best theologians for the + last thousand years as being purely mystic. As I will explain later, those + are merely symbols of the Church”— + </p> + <p> + “Of wot?” interrupted the foreman, in deep scorn. + </p> + <p> + “Of the Church!” + </p> + <p> + “We ain't askin' any questions o' YOU, and we ain't takin' any answers,” + said the foreman, sitting down abruptly. + </p> + <p> + “I must insist,” said the Judge sternly, “that the plaintiff's counsel be + allowed to continue his opening without interruption. You” (to defendant's + counsel) “will have your opportunity to reply later.” + </p> + <p> + The counsel sank down in his seat with the bitter conviction that the jury + was manifestly against him, and the case as good as lost. But his face was + scarcely as disturbed as his client's, who, in great agitation, had begun + to argue with him wildly, and was apparently pressing some point against + the lawyer's vehement opposal. The Colonel's murky eyes brightened as he + still stood erect, with his hand thrust in his breast. + </p> + <p> + “It will be put to you, gentlemen, when the counsel on the other side + refrains from mere interruption and confines himself to reply, that my + unfortunate client has no action—no remedy at law—because + there were no spoken words of endearment. But, gentlemen, it will depend + upon YOU to say what are and what are not articulate expressions of love. + We all know that among the lower animals, with whom you may possibly be + called upon to classify the defendant, there are certain signals more or + less harmonious, as the case may be. The ass brays, the horse neighs, the + sheep bleats—the feathered denizens of the grove call to their mates + in more musical roundelays. These are recognized facts, gentlemen, which + you yourselves, as dwellers among nature in this beautiful land, are all + cognizant of. They are facts that no one would deny—and we should + have a poor opinion of the ass who, at—er—such a supreme + moment, would attempt to suggest that his call was unthinking and without + significance. But, gentlemen, I shall prove to you that such was the + foolish, self-convicting custom of the defendant. With the greatest + reluctance, and the—er—greatest pain, I succeeded in wresting + from the maidenly modesty of my fair client the innocent confession that + the defendant had induced her to correspond with him in these methods. + Picture to yourself, gentlemen, the lonely moonlight road beside the + widow's humble cottage. It is a beautiful night, sanctified to the + affections, and the innocent girl is leaning from her casement. Presently + there appears upon the road a slinking, stealthy figure, the defendant on + his way to church. True to the instruction she has received from him, her + lips part in the musical utterance” (the Colonel lowered his voice in a + faint falsetto, presumably in fond imitation of his fair client), + “'Keeree!' Instantly the night becomes resonant with the impassioned + reply” (the Colonel here lifted his voice in stentorian tones), + “'Kee-row.' Again, as he passes, rises the soft 'Keeree;' again, as his + form is lost in the distance, comes back the deep 'Keerow.'” + </p> + <p> + A burst of laughter, long, loud, and irrepressible, struck the whole + court-room, and before the Judge could lift his half-composed face and + take his handkerchief from his mouth, a faint “Keeree” from some + unrecognized obscurity of the court-room was followed by a loud “Keerow” + from some opposite locality. “The Sheriff will clear the court,” said the + Judge sternly; but, alas! as the embarrassed and choking officials rushed + hither and thither, a soft “Keeree” from the spectators at the window, + OUTSIDE the court-house, was answered by a loud chorus of “Keerows” from + the opposite windows, filled with onlookers. Again the laughter arose + everywhere,—even the fair plaintiff herself sat convulsed behind her + handkerchief. + </p> + <p> + The figure of Colonel Starbottle alone remained erect—white and + rigid. And then the Judge, looking up, saw—what no one else in the + court had seen—that the Colonel was sincere and in earnest; that + what he had conceived to be the pleader's most perfect acting and most + elaborate irony were the deep, serious, mirthless CONVICTIONS of a man + without the least sense of humor. There was the respect of this conviction + in the Judge's voice as he said to him gently, “You may proceed, Colonel + Starbottle.” + </p> + <p> + “I thank your Honor,” said the Colonel slowly, “for recognizing and doing + all in your power to prevent an interruption that, during my thirty years' + experience at the bar, I have never been subjected to without the + privilege of holding the instigators thereof responsible—PERSONALLY + responsible. It is possibly my fault that I have failed, oratorically, to + convey to the gentlemen of the jury the full force and significance of the + defendant's signals. I am aware that my voice is singularly deficient in + producing either the dulcet tones of my fair client or the impassioned + vehemence of the defendant's response. I will,” continued the Colonel, + with a fatigued but blind fatuity that ignored the hurriedly knit brows + and warning eyes of the Judge, “try again. The note uttered by my client” + (lowering his voice to the faintest of falsettos) “was 'Keeree;' the + response was 'Keerow-ow.'” And the Colonel's voice fairly shook the dome + above him. + </p> + <p> + Another uproar of laughter followed this apparently audacious repetition, + but was interrupted by an unlooked-for incident. The defendant rose + abruptly, and tearing himself away from the withholding hand and pleading + protestations of his counsel, absolutely fled from the court-room, his + appearance outside being recognized by a prolonged “Keerow” from the + bystanders, which again and again followed him in the distance. + </p> + <p> + In the momentary silence which followed, the Colonel's voice was heard + saying, “We rest here, your Honor,” and he sat down. No less white, but + more agitated, was the face of the defendant's counsel, who instantly + rose. + </p> + <p> + “For some unexplained reason, your Honor, my client desires to suspend + further proceedings, with a view to effect a peaceable compromise with the + plaintiff. As he is a man of wealth and position, he is able and willing + to pay liberally for that privilege. While I, as his counsel, am still + convinced of his legal irresponsibility, as he has chosen publicly to + abandon his rights here, I can only ask your Honor's permission to suspend + further proceedings until I can confer with Colonel Starbottle.” + </p> + <p> + “As far as I can follow the pleadings,” said the Judge gravely, “the case + seems to be hardly one for litigation, and I approve of the defendant's + course, while I strongly urge the plaintiff to accept it.” + </p> + <p> + Colonel Starbottle bent over his fair client. Presently he rose, unchanged + in look or demeanor. “I yield, your Honor, to the wishes of my client, and—er—lady. + We accept.” + </p> + <p> + Before the court adjourned that day it was known throughout the town that + Adoniram K. Hotchkiss had compromised the suit for four thousand dollars + and costs. + </p> + <p> + Colonel Starbottle had so far recovered his equanimity as to strut + jauntily towards his office, where he was to meet his fair client. He was + surprised, however, to find her already there, and in company with a + somewhat sheepish-looking young man—a stranger. If the Colonel had + any disappointment in meeting a third party to the interview, his + old-fashioned courtesy did not permit him to show it. He bowed graciously, + and politely motioned them each to a seat. + </p> + <p> + “I reckoned I'd bring Hiram round with me,” said the young lady, lifting + her searching eyes, after a pause, to the Colonel's, “though he WAS awful + shy, and allowed that you didn't know him from Adam, or even suspect his + existence. But I said, 'That's just where you slip up, Hiram; a pow'ful + man like the Colonel knows everything—and I've seen it in his eye.' + Lordy!” she continued, with a laugh, leaning forward over her parasol, as + her eyes again sought the Colonel's, “don't you remember when you asked me + if I loved that old Hotchkiss, and I told you, 'That's tellin',' and you + looked at me—Lordy! I knew THEN you suspected there was a Hiram + SOMEWHERE, as good as if I'd told you. Now you jest get up, Hiram, and + give the Colonel a good hand-shake. For if it wasn't for HIM and HIS + searchin' ways, and HIS awful power of language, I wouldn't hev got that + four thousand dollars out o' that flirty fool Hotchkiss—enough to + buy a farm, so as you and me could get married! That's what you owe to + HIM. Don't stand there like a stuck fool starin' at him. He won't eat you—though + he's killed many a better man. Come, have I got to do ALL the kissin'?” + </p> + <p> + It is of record that the Colonel bowed so courteously and so profoundly + that he managed not merely to evade the proffered hand of the shy Hiram, + but to only lightly touch the franker and more impulsive finger-tips of + the gentle Zaidee. “I—er—offer my sincerest congratulations—though + I think you—er—overestimate—my—er—powers of + penetration. Unfortunately, a pressing engagement, which may oblige me + also to leave town tonight, forbids my saying more. I have—er—left + the—er—business settlement of this—er—case in the + hands of the lawyers who do my office work, and who will show you every + attention. And now let me wish you a very good afternoon.” + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, the Colonel returned to his private room, and it was nearly + twilight when the faithful Jim entered, to find him sitting meditatively + before his desk. “'Fo' God! Kernel, I hope dey ain't nuffin de matter, but + you's lookin' mighty solemn! I ain't seen you look dat way, Kernel, since + de day pooh Massa Stryker was fetched home shot froo de head.” + </p> + <p> + “Hand me down the whiskey, Jim,” said the Colonel, rising slowly. + </p> + <p> + The negro flew to the closet joyfully, and brought out the bottle. The + Colonel poured out a glass of the spirit and drank it with his old + deliberation. + </p> + <p> + “You're quite right, Jim,” he said, putting down his glass, “but I'm—er—getting + old—and—somehow I am missing poor Stryker damnably!” + </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> + THE LANDLORD OF THE BIG FLUME HOTEL + </h2> + <p> + The Big Flume stage-coach had just drawn up at the Big Flume Hotel + simultaneously with the ringing of a large dinner bell in the two hands of + a negro waiter, who, by certain gyrations of the bell was trying to impart + to his performance that picturesque elegance and harmony which the + instrument and its purpose lacked. For the refreshment thus proclaimed was + only the ordinary station dinner, protracted at Big Flume for three + quarters of an hour, to allow for the arrival of the connecting mail from + Sacramento, although the repast was of a nature that seldom prevailed upon + the traveler to linger the full period over its details. The ordinary + cravings of hunger were generally satisfied in half an hour, and the + remaining minutes were employed by the passengers in drowning the memory + of their meal in “drinks at the bar,” in smoking, and even in a hurried + game of “old sledge,” or dominoes. Yet to-day the deserted table was still + occupied by a belated traveler, and a lady—separated by a wilderness + of empty dishes—who had arrived after the stage-coach. Observing + which, the landlord, perhaps touched by this unwonted appreciation of his + fare, moved forward to give them his personal attention. + </p> + <p> + He was a man, however, who seemed to be singularly deficient in those + supreme qualities which in the West have exalted the ability to “keep a + hotel” into a proverbial synonym for superexcellence. He had little or no + innovating genius, no trade devices, no assumption, no faculty for + advertisement, no progressiveness, and no “racket.” He had the tolerant + good-humor of the Southwestern pioneer, to whom cyclones, famine, drought, + floods, pestilence, and savages were things to be accepted, and whom + disaster, if it did not stimulate, certainly did not appall. He received + the insults, complaints, and criticisms of hurried and hungry passengers, + the comments and threats of the Stage Company as he had submitted to the + aggressions of a stupid, unjust, but overruling Nature—with unshaken + calm. Perhaps herein lay his strength. People were obliged to submit to + him and his hotel as part of the unfinished civilization, and they even + saw something humorous in his impassiveness. Those who preferred to + remonstrate with him emerged from the discussion with the general feeling + of having been played with by a large-hearted and paternally disposed + bear. Tall and long-limbed, with much strength in his lazy muscles, there + was also a prevailing impression that this feeling might be intensified if + the discussion were ever carried to physical contention. Of his personal + history it was known only that he had emigrated from Wisconsin in 1852, + that he had calmly unyoked his ox teams at Big Flume, then a trackless + wilderness, and on the opening of a wagon road to the new mines had built + a wayside station which eventually developed into the present hotel. He + had been divorced in a Western State by his wife “Rosalie,” locally known + as “The Prairie Flower of Elkham Creek,” for incompatibility of temper! + Her temper was not stated. + </p> + <p> + Such was Abner Langworthy, the proprietor, as he moved leisurely down + towards the lady guest, who was nearest, and who was sitting with her back + to the passage between the tables. Stopping, occasionally, to + professionally adjust the tablecloths and glasses, he at last reached her + side. + </p> + <p> + “Ef there's anythin' more ye want that ye ain't seein', ma'am,” he began—and + stopped suddenly. For the lady had looked up at the sound of his voice. It + was his divorced wife, whom he had not seen since their separation. The + recognition was instantaneous, mutual, and characterized by perfect + equanimity on both sides. + </p> + <p> + “Well! I wanter know!” said the lady, although the exclamation point was + purely conventional. “Abner Langworthy! though perhaps I've no call to say + 'Abner.'” + </p> + <p> + “Same to you, Rosalie—though I say it too,” returned the landlord. + “But hol' on just a minit.” He moved forward to the other guest, put the + same perfunctory question regarding his needs, received a negative answer, + and then returned to the lady and dropped into a chair opposite to her. + </p> + <p> + “You're looking peart and—fleshy,” he said resignedly, as if he were + tolerating his own conventional politeness with his other difficulties; + “unless,” he added cautiously, “you're takin' on some new disease.” + </p> + <p> + “No! I'm fairly comf'ble,” responded the lady calmly, “and you're gettin' + on in the vale, ez is natural—though you still kind o' run to bone, + as you used.” + </p> + <p> + There was not a trace of malevolence in either of their comments, only a + resigned recognition of certain unpleasant truths which seemed to have + been habitual to both of them. Mr. Langworthy paused to flick away some + flies from the butter with his professional napkin, and resumed,— + </p> + <p> + “It must be a matter o' five years sens I last saw ye, isn't it?—in + court arter you got the decree—you remember?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes—the 28th o' July, '51. I paid Lawyer Hoskins's bill that very + day—that's how I remember,” returned the lady. “You've got a big + business here,” she continued, glancing round the room; “I reckon you're + makin' it pay. Don't seem to be in your line, though; but then, thar + wasn't many things that was.” + </p> + <p> + “No—that's so,” responded Mr. Langworthy, nodding his head, as + assenting to an undeniable proposition, “and you—I suppose you're + gettin' on too. I reckon you're—er—married—eh?”—with + a slight suggestion of putting the question delicately. + </p> + <p> + The lady nodded, ignoring the hesitation. “Yes, let me see, it's just + three years and three days. Constantine Byers—I don't reckon you + know him—from Milwaukee. Timber merchant. Standin' timber's his + specialty.” + </p> + <p> + “And I reckon he's—satisfactory?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes! Mr. Byers is a good provider—and handy. And you? I should say + you'd want a wife in this business?” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Langworthy's serious half-perfunctory manner here took on an + appearance of interest. “Yes—I've bin thinkin' that way. Thar's a + young woman helpin' in the kitchen ez might do, though I'm not certain, + and I ain't lettin' on anything as yet. You might take a look at her, + Rosalie,—I orter say Mrs. Byers ez is,—and kinder size her up, + and gimme the result. It's still wantin' seven minutes o' schedule time + afore the stage goes, and—if you ain't wantin' more food”—delicately, + as became a landlord—“and ain't got anythin' else to do, it might + pass the time.” + </p> + <p> + Strange as it may seem, Mrs. Byers here displayed an equal animation in + her fresh face as she rose promptly to her feet and began to rearrange her + dust cloak around her buxom figure. “I don't mind, Abner,” she said, “and + I don't think that Mr. Byers would mind either;” then seeing Langworthy + hesitating at the latter unexpected suggestion, she added confidently, + “and I wouldn't mind even if he did, for I'm sure if I don't know the kind + o' woman you'd be likely to need, I don't know who would. Only last week I + was sayin' like that to Mr. Byers”— + </p> + <p> + “To Mr. Byers?” said Abner, with some surprise. + </p> + <p> + “Yes—to him. I said, 'We've been married three years, Constantine, + and ef I don't know by this time what kind o' woman you need now—and + might need in future—why, thar ain't much use in matrimony.'” + </p> + <p> + “You was always wise, Rosalie,” said Abner, with reminiscent appreciation. + </p> + <p> + “I was always there, Abner,” returned Mrs. Byers, with a complacent show + of dimples, which she, however, chastened into that resignation which + seemed characteristic of the pair. “Let's see your 'intended'—as + might be.” + </p> + <p> + Thus supported, Mr. Langworthy led Mrs. Byers into the hall through a + crowd of loungers, into a smaller hall, and there opened the door of the + kitchen. It was a large room, whose windows were half darkened by the + encompassing pines which still pressed around the house on the scantily + cleared site. A number of men and women, among them a Chinaman and a + negro, were engaged in washing dishes and other culinary duties; and + beside the window stood a young blonde girl, who was wiping a tin pan + which she was also using to hide a burst of laughter evidently caused by + the abrupt entrance of her employer. A quantity of fluffy hair and part of + a white, bared arm were nevertheless visible outside the disk, and Mrs. + Byers gathered from the direction of Mr. Langworthy's eyes, assisted by a + slight nudge from his elbow, that this was the selected fair one. His + feeble explanatory introduction, addressed to the occupants generally, + “Just showing the house to Mrs.—er—Dusenberry,” convinced her + that the circumstances of his having been divorced he had not yet confided + to the young woman. As he turned almost immediately away, Mrs. Byers in + following him managed to get a better look at the girl, as she was + exchanging some facetious remark to a neighbor. Mr. Langworthy did not + speak until they had reached the deserted dining-room again. + </p> + <p> + “Well?” he said briefly, glancing at the clock, “what did ye think o' Mary + Ellen?” + </p> + <p> + To any ordinary observer the girl in question would have seemed the least + fitted in age, sobriety of deportment, and administrative capacity to fill + the situation thus proposed for her, but Mrs. Byers was not an ordinary + observer, and her auditor was not an ordinary listener. + </p> + <p> + “She's older than she gives herself out to be,” said Mrs. Byers + tentatively, “and them kitten ways don't amount to much.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Langworthy nodded. Had Mrs. Byers discovered a homicidal tendency in + Mary Ellen he would have been equally unmoved. + </p> + <p> + “She don't handsome much,” continued Mrs. Byers musingly, “but”— + </p> + <p> + “I never was keen on good looks in a woman, Rosalie. You know that!” Mrs. + Byers received the equivocal remark unemotionally, and returned to the + subject. + </p> + <p> + “Well!” she said contemplatively, “I should think you could make her + suit.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Langworthy nodded with resigned toleration of all that might have + influenced her judgment and his own. “I was wantin' a fa'r-minded opinion, + Rosalie, and you happened along jest in time. Kin I put up anythin' in the + way of food for ye?” he added, as a stir outside and the words “All + aboard!” proclaimed the departing of the stage-coach,—“an orange or + a hunk o' gingerbread, freshly baked?” + </p> + <p> + “Thank ye kindly, Abner, but I sha'n't be usin' anythin' afore supper,” + responded Mrs. Byers, as they passed out into the veranda beside the + waiting coach. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Langworthy helped her to her seat. “Ef you're passin' this way ag'in”—he + hesitated delicately. + </p> + <p> + “I'll drop in, or I reckon Mr. Byers might, he havin' business along the + road,” returned Mrs. Byers with a cheerful nod, as the coach rolled away + and the landlord of the Big Flume Hotel reentered his house. + </p> + <p> + For the next three weeks, however, it did not appear that Mr. Langworthy + was in any hurry to act upon the advice of his former wife. His relations + to Mary Ellen Budd were characterized by his usual tolerance to his + employees' failings,—which in Mary Ellen's case included many + “breakages,”—but were not marked by the invasion of any warmer + feeling, or a desire for confidences. The only perceptible divergence from + his regular habits was a disposition to be on the veranda at the arrival + of the stage-coach, and when his duties permitted this, a cautious survey + of his female guests at the beginning of dinner. This probably led to his + more or less ignoring any peculiarities in his masculine patrons or their + claims to his personal attention. Particularly so, in the case of a + red-bearded man, in a long linen duster, both heavily freighted with the + red dust of the stage road, which seemed to have invaded his very eyes as + he watched the landlord closely. Towards the close of the dinner, when + Abner, accompanied by a negro waiter after his usual custom, passed down + each side of the long table, collecting payment for the meal, the stranger + looked up. “You air the landlord of this hotel, I reckon?” + </p> + <p> + “I am,” said Abner tolerantly. + </p> + <p> + “I'd like a word or two with ye.” + </p> + <p> + But Abner had been obliged to have a formula for such occasions. “Ye'll + pay for yer dinner first,” he said submissively, but firmly, “and make yer + remarks agin the food arter.” + </p> + <p> + The stranger flushed quickly, and his eye took an additional shade of red, + but meeting Abner's serious gray ones, he contented himself with + ostentatiously taking out a handful of gold and silver and paying his + bill. Abner passed on, but after dinner was over he found the stranger in + the hall. + </p> + <p> + “Ye pulled me up rather short in thar,” said the man gloomily, “but it's + just as well, as the talk I was wantin' with ye was kinder betwixt and + between ourselves, and not hotel business. My name's Byers, and my wife + let on she met ye down here.” + </p> + <p> + For the first time it struck Abner as incongruous that another man should + call Rosalie “his wife,” although the fact of her remarriage had been made + sufficiently plain to him. He accepted it as he would an earthquake, or + any other dislocation, with his usual tolerant smile, and held out his + hand. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Byers took it, seemingly mollified, and yet inwardly disturbed,—more + even than was customary in Abner's guests after dinner. + </p> + <p> + “Have a drink with me,” he suggested, although it had struck him that Mr. + Byers had been drinking before dinner. + </p> + <p> + “I'm agreeable,” responded Byers promptly; “but,” with a glance at the + crowded bar-room, “couldn't we go somewhere, jest you and me, and have a + quiet confab?” + </p> + <p> + “I reckon. But ye must wait till we get her off.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Byers started slightly, but it appeared that the impedimental sex in + this case was the coach, which, after a slight feminine hesitation, was at + last started. Whereupon Mr. Langworthy, followed by a negro with a tray + bearing a decanter and glasses, grasped Mr. Byers's arm, and walked along + a small side veranda the depth of the house, stepped off, and apparently + plunged with his guest into the primeval wilderness. + </p> + <p> + It has already been indicated that the site of the Big Flume Hotel had + been scantily cleared; but Mr. Byers, backwoodsman though he was, was + quite unprepared for so abrupt a change. The hotel, with its noisy crowd + and garish newness, although scarcely a dozen yards away, seemed lost + completely to sight and sound. A slight fringe of old tin cans, broken + china, shavings, and even of the long-dried chips of the felled trees, + once crossed, the two men were alone! From the tray, deposited at the foot + of an enormous pine, they took the decanter, filled their glasses, and + then disposed of themselves comfortably against a spreading root. The + curling tail of a squirrel disappeared behind them; the far-off tap of a + woodpecker accented the loneliness. And then, almost magically as it + seemed, the thin veneering of civilization on the two men seemed to be + cast off like the bark of the trees around them, and they lounged before + each other in aboriginal freedom. Mr. Byers removed his restraining duster + and undercoat. Mr. Langworthy resigned his dirty white jacket, his collar, + and unloosed a suspender, with which he played. + </p> + <p> + “Would it be a fair question between two fa'r-minded men, ez hez lived + alone,” said Mr. Byers, with a gravity so supernatural that it could be + referred only to liquor, “to ask ye in what sort o' way did Mrs. Byers + show her temper?” + </p> + <p> + “Show her temper?” echoed Abner vacantly. + </p> + <p> + “Yes—in course, I mean when you and Mrs. Byers was—was—one? + You know the di-vorce was for in-com-pat-ibility of temper.” + </p> + <p> + “But she got the divorce from me, so I reckon I had the temper,” said + Langworthy, with great simplicity. + </p> + <p> + “Wha-at?” said Mr. Byers, putting down his glass and gazing with drunken + gravity at the sad-eyed yet good-humoredly tolerant man before him. “You?—you + had the temper?” + </p> + <p> + “I reckon that's what the court allowed,” said Abner simply. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Byers stared. Then after a moment's pause he nodded with a significant + yet relieved face. “Yes, I see, in course. Times when you'd h'isted too + much o' this corn juice,” lifting up his glass, “inside ye—ye sorter + bu'st out ravin'?” + </p> + <p> + But Abner shook his head. “I wuz a total abstainer in them days,” he said + quietly. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Byers got unsteadily on his legs and looked around him. “Wot might hev + bin the general gait o' your temper, pardner?” he said in a hoarse + whisper. + </p> + <p> + “Don't know. I reckon that's jest whar the incompatibility kem in.” + </p> + <p> + “And when she hove plates at your head, wot did you do?” + </p> + <p> + “She didn't hove no plates,” said Abner gravely; “did she say she did?” + </p> + <p> + “No, no!” returned Byers hastily, in crimson confusion. “I kinder got it + mixed with suthin' else.” He waved his hand in a lordly way, as if + dismissing the subject. “Howsumever, you and her is 'off' anyway,” he + added with badly concealed anxiety. + </p> + <p> + “I reckon: there's the decree,” returned Abner, with his usual resigned + acceptance of the fact. + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Byers wuz allowin' ye wuz thinkin' of a second. How's that comin' + on?” + </p> + <p> + “Jest whar it was,” returned Abner. “I ain't doin' anything yet. Ye see + I've got to tell the gal, naterally, that I'm di-vorced. And as that isn't + known hereabouts, I don't keer to do so till I'm pretty certain. And then, + in course, I've got to.” + </p> + <p> + “Why hev ye 'got to'?” asked Byers abruptly. + </p> + <p> + “Because it wouldn't be on the square with the girl,” said Abner. “How + would you like it if Mrs. Byers had never told you she'd been married to + me? And s'pose you'd happen to hev bin a di-vorced man and hadn't told + her, eh? Well,” he continued, sinking back resignedly against the tree, “I + ain't sayin' anythin' but she'd hev got another di-vorce, and FROM you on + the spot—you bet!” + </p> + <p> + “Well! all I kin say is,” said Mr. Byers, lifting his voice excitedly, + “that”—but he stopped short, and was about to fill his glass again + from the decanter when the hand of Abner stopped him. + </p> + <p> + “Ye've got ez much ez ye kin carry now, Byers,” he said slowly, “and + that's about ez much ez I allow a man to take in at the Big Flume Hotel. + Treatin' is treatin', hospitality is hospitality; ef you and me was + squattin' out on the prairie I'd let you fill your skin with that pizen + and wrap ye up in yer blankets afterwards. But here at Big Flume, the + Stage Kempenny and the wimen and children passengers hez their rights.” He + paused a moment, and added, “And so I reckon hez Mrs. Byers, and I ain't + goin' to send you home to her outer my house blind drunk. It's mighty + rough on you and me, I know, but there's a lot o' roughness in this world + ez hez to be got over, and life, ez far ez I kin see, ain't all a + clearin'.” + </p> + <p> + Perhaps it was his good-humored yet firm determination, perhaps it was his + resigned philosophy, but something in the speaker's manner affected Mr. + Byers's alcoholic susceptibility, and hastened his descent from the + passionate heights of intoxication to the maudlin stage whither he was + drifting. The fire of his red eyes became filmed and dim, an equal + moisture gathered in his throat as he pressed Abner's hand with drunken + fervor. “Thash so! your thinking o' me an' Mish Byersh is like troo + fr'en',” he said thickly. “I wosh only goin' to shay that wotever Mish + Byersh wosh—even if she wosh wife o' yours—she wosh—noble + woman! Such a woman,” continued Mr. Byers, dreamily regarding space, + “can't have too many husbands.” + </p> + <p> + “You jest sit back here a minit, and have a quiet smoke till I come back,” + said Abner, handing him his tobacco plug. “I've got to give the butcher + his order—but I won't be a minit.” He secured the decanter as he + spoke, and evading an apparent disposition of his companion to fall upon + his neck, made his way with long strides to the hotel, as Mr. Byers, + sinking back against the trees, began certain futile efforts to light his + unfilled pipe. + </p> + <p> + Whether Abner's attendance on the butcher was merely an excuse to withdraw + with the decanter, I cannot say. He, however, dispatched his business + quickly, and returned to the tree. But to his surprise Mr. Byers was no + longer there. He explored the adjacent woodland with non-success, and no + reply to his shouting. Annoyed but not alarmed, as it seemed probable that + the missing man had fallen in a drunken sleep in some hidden shadows, he + returned to the house, when it occurred to him that Byers might have + sought the bar-room for some liquor. But he was still more surprised when + the barkeeper volunteered the information that he had seen Mr. Byers + hurriedly pass down the side veranda into the highroad. An hour later this + was corroborated by an arriving teamster, who had passed a man answering + to the description of Byers, “mor' 'n half full,” staggeringly but + hurriedly walking along the road “two miles back.” There seemed to be no + doubt that the missing man had taken himself off in a fit of indignation + or of extreme thirst. Either hypothesis was disagreeable to Abner, in his + queer sense of responsibility to Mrs. Byers, but he accepted it with his + usual good-humored resignation. + </p> + <p> + Yet it was difficult to conceive what connection this episode had in his + mind with his suspended attention to Mary Ellen, or why it should + determine his purpose. But he had a logic of his own, and it seemed to + have demonstrated to him that he must propose to the girl at once. This + was no easy matter, however; he had never shown her any previous + attention, and her particular functions in the hotel,—the charge of + the few bedrooms for transient guests—seldom brought him in contact + with her. His interview would have to appear to be a business one—which, + however, he wished to avoid from a delicate consciousness of its truth. + While making up his mind, for a few days he contented himself with gravely + regarding her in his usual resigned, tolerant way, whenever he passed her. + Unfortunately the first effect of this was an audible giggle from Mary + Ellen, later some confusion and anxiety in her manner, and finally a + demeanor of resentment and defiance. + </p> + <p> + This was so different from what he had expected that he was obliged to + precipitate matters. The next day was Sunday,—a day on which his + employees, in turns, were allowed the recreation of being driven to Big + Flume City, eight miles distant, to church, or for the day's holiday. In + the morning Mary Ellen was astonished by Abner informing her that he + designed giving her a separate holiday with himself. It must be admitted + that the girl, who was already “prinked up” for the enthrallment of the + youth of Big Flume City, did not appear as delighted with the change of + plan as a more exacting lover would have liked. Howbeit, as soon as the + wagon had left with its occupants, Abner, in the unwonted disguise of a + full suit of black clothes, turned to the girl, and offering her his arm, + gravely proceeded along the side veranda across the mound of debris + already described, to the adjacent wilderness and the very trees under + which he and Byers had sat. + </p> + <p> + “It's about ez good a place for a little talk, Miss Budd,” he said, + pointing to a tree root, “ez ef we went a spell further, and it's handy to + the house. And ef you'll jest say what you'd like outer the cupboard or + the bar—no matter which—I'll fetch it to you.” + </p> + <p> + But Mary Ellen Budd seated herself sideways on the root, with her furled + white parasol in her lap, her skirts fastidiously tucked about her feet, + and glancing at the fatuous Abner from under her stack of fluffy hair and + light eyelashes, simply shook her head and said that “she reckoned she + wasn't hankering much for anything” that morning. + </p> + <p> + “I've been calkilatin' to myself, Miss Budd,” said Abner resignedly, “that + when two folks—like ez you and me—meet together to kinder + discuss things that might go so far ez to keep them together, if they hez + had anything of that sort in their lives afore, they ought to speak of it + confidentially like together.” + </p> + <p> + “Ef any one o' them sneakin', soulless critters in the kitchen hez bin + slingin' lies to ye about me—or carryin' tales,” broke in Mary Ellen + Budd, setting every one of her thirty-two strong, white teeth together + with a snap, “well—ye might hev told me so to oncet without spilin' + my Sunday! But ez fer yer keepin' me a minit longer, ye've only got to pay + me my salary to-day and”—but here she stopped, for the astonishment + in Abner's face was too plain to be misunderstood. + </p> + <p> + “Nobody's been slinging any lies about ye, Miss Budd,” he said slowly, + recovering himself resignedly from this last back-handed stroke of fate; + “I warn't talkin' o' you, but myself. I was only allowin' to say that I + was a di-vorced man.” + </p> + <p> + As a sudden flush came over Mary Ellen's brownish-white face while she + stared at him, Abner hastened to delicately explain. “It wasn't no + onfaithfulness, Miss Budd—no philanderin' o' mine, but only + 'incompatibility o' temper.'” + </p> + <p> + “Temper—your temper!” gasped Mary Ellen. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said Abner. + </p> + <p> + And here a sudden change came over Mary Ellen's face, and she burst into a + shriek of laughter. She laughed with her hands slapping the sides of her + skirt, she laughed with her hands clasping her narrow, hollow waist, + laughed with her head down on her knees and her fluffy hair tumbling over + it. Abner was relieved, and yet it seemed strange to him that this + revelation of his temper should provoke such manifest incredulity in both + Byers and Mary Ellen. But perhaps these things would be made plain to him + hereafter; at present they must be accepted “in the day's work” and + tolerated. + </p> + <p> + “Your temper,” gurgled Mary Ellen. “Saints alive! What kind o' temper?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I reckon,” returned Abner submissively, and selecting a word to + give his meaning more comprehension,—“I reckon it was kinder—aggeravokin'.” + </p> + <p> + Mary Ellen sniffed the air for a moment in speechless incredulity, and + then, locking her hands around her knees and bending forward, said, “Look + here! Ef that old woman o' yours ever knew what temper was in a man; ef + she's ever bin tied to a brute that treated her like a nigger till she + daren't say her soul was her own; who struck her with his eyes and tongue + when he hadn't anythin' else handy; who made her life miserable when he + was sober, and a terror when he was drunk; who at last drove her away, and + then divorced her for desertion—then—then she might talk. But + 'incompatibility o' temper' with you! Oh, go away—it makes me sick!” + </p> + <p> + How far Abner was impressed with the truth of this, how far it prompted + his next question, nobody but Abner knew. For he said deliberately, “I was + only goin' to ask ye, if, knowin' I was a di-vorced man, ye would mind + marryin' me!” + </p> + <p> + Mary Ellen's face changed; the evasive instincts of her sex rose up. + “Didn't I hear ye sayin' suthin' about refreshments,” she said archly. + “Mebbe you wouldn't mind gettin' me a bottle o' lemming sody outer the + bar!” + </p> + <p> + Abner got up at once, perhaps not dismayed by this diversion, and departed + for the refreshment. As he passed along the side veranda the recollection + of Mr. Byers and his mysterious flight occurred to him. For a wild moment + he thought of imitating him. But it was too late now—he had spoken. + Besides, he had no wife to fly to, and the thirsty or indignant Byers had—his + wife! Fate was indeed hard. He returned with the bottle of lemon soda on a + tray and a resigned spirit equal to her decrees. Mary Ellen, remarking + that he had brought nothing for himself, archly insisted upon his sharing + with her the bottle of soda, and even coquettishly touched his lips with + her glass. Abner smiled patiently. + </p> + <p> + But here, as if playfully exhilarated by the naughty foaming soda, she + regarded him with her head—and a good deal of her blonde hair—very + much on one side, as she said, “Do you know that all along o' you bein' so + free with me in tellin' your affairs I kinder feel like just telling you + mine?” + </p> + <p> + “Don't,” said Abner promptly. + </p> + <p> + “Don't?” echoed Miss Budd. + </p> + <p> + “Don't,” repeated Abner. “It's nothing to me. What I said about myself is + different, for it might make some difference to you. But nothing you could + say of yourself would make any change in me. I stick to what I said just + now.” + </p> + <p> + “But,” said Miss Budd,—in half real, half simulated threatening,—“what + if it had suthin' to do with my answer to what you said just now?” + </p> + <p> + “It couldn't. So, if it's all the same to you, Miss Budd, I'd rather ye + wouldn't.” + </p> + <p> + “That,” said the lady still more archly, lifting a playful finger, “is + your temper.” + </p> + <p> + “Mebbe it is,” said Abner suddenly, with a wondering sense of relief. + </p> + <p> + It was, however, settled that Miss Budd should go to Sacramento to visit + her friends, that Abner would join her later, when their engagement would + be announced, and that she should not return to the hotel until they were + married. The compact was sealed by the interchange of a friendly kiss from + Miss Budd with a patient, tolerating one from Abner, and then it suddenly + occurred to them both that they might as well return to their duties in + the hotel, which they did. Miss Budd's entire outing that Sunday lasted + only half an hour. + </p> + <p> + A week elapsed. Miss Budd was in Sacramento, and the landlord of the Big + Flume Hotel was standing at his usual post in the doorway during dinner, + when a waiter handed him a note. It contained a single line scrawled in + pencil:— + </p> + <p> + “Come out and see me behind the house as before. I dussent come in on + account of her. C. BYERS.” + </p> + <p> + “On account of 'her'!” Abner cast a hurried glance around the tables. + Certainly Mrs. Byers was not there! He walked in the hall and the veranda—she + was not there. He hastened to the rendezvous evidently meant by the + writer, the wilderness behind the house. Sure enough, Byers, drunk and + maudlin, supporting himself by the tree root, staggered forward, clasped + him in his arms, and murmured hoarsely,— + </p> + <p> + “She's gone!” + </p> + <p> + “Gone?” echoed Abner, with a whitening face. “Mrs. Byers? Where?” + </p> + <p> + “Run away! Never come back no more! Gone!” + </p> + <p> + A vague idea that had been in Abner's mind since Byers's last visit now + took awful shape. Before the unfortunate Byers could collect his senses he + felt himself seized in a giant's grasp and forced against the tree. + </p> + <p> + “You coward!” said all that was left of the tolerant Abner—his even + voice—“you hound! Did you dare to abuse her? to lay your vile hands + on her—to strike her? Answer me.” + </p> + <p> + The shock—the grasp—perhaps Abner's words, momentarily + silenced Byers. “Did I strike her?” he said dazedly; “did I abuse her? Oh, + yes!” with deep irony. “Certainly! In course! Look yer, pardner!”—he + suddenly dragged up his sleeve from his red, hairy arm, exposing a blue + cicatrix in its centre—“that's a jab from her scissors about three + months ago; look yer!”—he bent his head and showed a scar along the + scalp—“that's her playfulness with a fire shovel! Look yer!”—he + quickly opened his collar, where his neck and cheek were striped and + crossed with adhesive plaster—“that's all that was left o' a glass + jar o' preserves—the preserves got away, but some of the glass got + stuck! That's when she heard I was a di-vorced man and hadn't told her.” + </p> + <p> + “Were you a di-vorced man?” gasped Abner. + </p> + <p> + “You know that; in course I was,” said Byers scornfully; “d'ye meanter say + she didn't tell ye?” + </p> + <p> + “She?” echoed Abner vaguely. “Your wife—you said just now she didn't + know it before.” + </p> + <p> + “My wife ez oncet was, I mean! Mary Ellen—your wife ez is to be,” + said Byers, with deep irony. “Oh, come now. Pretend ye don't know! Hi + there! Hands off! Don't strike a man when he's down, like I am.” + </p> + <p> + But Abner's clutch of Byers's shoulder relaxed, and he sank down to a + sitting posture on the root. In the meantime Byers, overcome by a sense of + this new misery added to his manifold grievances, gave way to maudlin + silent tears. + </p> + <p> + “Mary Ellen—your first wife?” repeated Abner vacantly. + </p> + <p> + “Yesh!” said Byers thickly, “my first wife—shelected and picked out + fer your shecond wife—by your first—like d——d + conundrum. How wash I t'know?” he said, with a sudden shriek of public + expostulation—“thash what I wanter know. Here I come to talk with + fr'en', like man to man, unshuspecting, innoshent as chile, about my + shecond wife! Fr'en' drops out, carryin' off the whiskey. Then I hear all + o' suddent voice o' Mary Ellen talkin' in kitchen; then I come round + softly and see Mary Ellen—my wife as useter be—standin' at + fr'en's kitchen winder. Then I lights out quicker 'n lightnin' and scoots! + And when I gets back home, I ups and tells my wife. And whosh fault ish't! + Who shaid a man oughter tell hish wife? You! Who keepsh other mensh' first + wivesh at kishen winder to frighten 'em to tell? You!” + </p> + <p> + But a change had already come over the face of Abner Langworthy. The + anger, anxiety, astonishment, and vacuity that was there had vanished, and + he looked up with his usual resigned acceptance of the inevitable as he + said, “I reckon that's so! And seein' it's so,” with good-natured + tolerance, he added, “I reckon I'll break rules for oncet and stand ye + another drink.” + </p> + <p> + He stood another drink and yet another, and eventually put the doubly + widowed Byers to bed in his own room. These were but details of a larger + tribulation,—and yet he knew instinctively that his cup was not yet + full. The further drop of bitterness came a few days later in a line from + Mary Ellen: “I needn't tell you that all betwixt you and me is off, and + you kin tell your old woman that her selection for a second wife for you + wuz about as bad as your own first selection. Ye kin tell Mr. Byers—yer + great friend whom ye never let on ye knew—that when I want another + husband I shan't take the trouble to ask him to fish one out for me. It + would be kind—but confusin'.” + </p> + <p> + He never heard from her again. Mr. Byers was duly notified that Mrs. Byers + had commenced action for divorce in another state in which concealment of + a previous divorce invalidated the marriage, but he did not respond. The + two men became great friends—and assured celibates. Yet they always + spoke reverently of their “wife,” with the touching prefix of “our.” + </p> + <p> + “She was a good woman, pardner,” said Byers. + </p> + <p> + “And she understood us,” said Abner resignedly. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps she had. + </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> + A BUCKEYE HOLLOW INHERITANCE + </h2> + <p> + The four men on the “Zip Coon” Ledge had not got fairly settled to their + morning's work. There was the usual lingering hesitation which is apt to + attend the taking-up of any regular or monotonous performance, shown in + this instance in the prolonged scrutiny of a pick's point, the solemn + selection of a shovel, or the “hefting” or weighing of a tapping-iron or + drill. One member, becoming interested in a funny paragraph he found in + the scrap of newspaper wrapped around his noonday cheese, shamelessly sat + down to finish it, regardless of the prospecting pan thrown at him by + another. They had taken up their daily routine of mining life like + schoolboys at their tasks. + </p> + <p> + “Hello!” said Ned Wyngate, joyously recognizing a possible further + interruption. “Blamed if the Express rider ain't comin' here!” + </p> + <p> + He was shading his eyes with his hand as he gazed over the broad sun-baked + expanse of broken “flat” between them and the highroad. They all looked + up, and saw the figure of a mounted man, with a courier's bag thrown over + his shoulder, galloping towards them. It was really an event, as their + letters were usually left at the grocery at the crossroads. + </p> + <p> + “I knew something was goin' to happen,” said Wyngate. “I didn't feel a bit + like work this morning.” + </p> + <p> + Here one of their number ran off to meet the advancing horseman. They + watched him until they saw the latter rein up, and hand a brown envelope + to their messenger, who ran breathlessly back with it to the Ledge as the + horseman galloped away again. + </p> + <p> + “A telegraph for Jackson Wells,” he said, handing it to the young man who + had been reading the scrap of paper. + </p> + <p> + There was a dead silence. Telegrams were expensive rarities in those days, + especially with the youthful Bohemian miners of the Zip Coon Ledge. They + were burning with curiosity, yet a singular thing happened. Accustomed as + they had been to a life of brotherly familiarity and unceremoniousness, + this portentous message from the outside world of civilization recalled + their old formal politeness. They looked steadily away from the receiver + of the telegram, and he on his part stammered an apologetic “Excuse me, + boys,” as he broke the envelope. + </p> + <p> + There was another pause, which seemed to be interminable to the waiting + partners. Then the voice of Wells, in quite natural tones, said, “By gum! + that's funny! Read that, Dexter,—read it out loud.” + </p> + <p> + Dexter Rice, the foreman, took the proffered telegram from Wells's hand, + and read as follows:— + </p> + <p> + Your uncle, Quincy Wells, died yesterday, leaving you sole heir. Will + attend you to-morrow for instructions. + </p> + <p> + BAKER AND TWIGGS, + </p> + <p> + Attorneys, Sacramento. + </p> + <p> + The three miners' faces lightened and turned joyously to Wells; but HIS + face looked puzzled. + </p> + <p> + “May we congratulate you, Mr. Wells?” said Wyngate, with affected + politeness; “or possibly your uncle may have been English, and a title + goes with the 'prop,' and you may be Lord Wells, or Very Wells—at + least.” + </p> + <p> + But here Jackson Wells's youthful face lost its perplexity, and he began + to laugh long and silently to himself. This was protracted to such an + extent that Dexter asserted himself,—as foreman and senior partner. + </p> + <p> + “Look here, Jack! don't sit there cackling like a chuckle-headed magpie, + if you ARE the heir.” + </p> + <p> + “I—can't—help it,” gasped Jackson. “I am the heir—but + you see, boys, there AIN'T ANY PROPERTY.” + </p> + <p> + “What do you mean? Is all that a sell?” demanded Rice. + </p> + <p> + “Not much! Telegraph's too expensive for that sort o' feelin'. You see, + boys, I've got an Uncle Quincy, though I don't know him much, and he MAY + be dead. But his whole fixin's consisted of a claim the size of ours, and + played out long ago: a ramshackle lot o' sheds called a cottage, and a + kind of market garden of about three acres, where he reared and sold + vegetables. He was always poor, and as for calling it 'property,' and ME + the 'heir'—good Lord!” + </p> + <p> + “A miser, as sure as you're born!” said Wyngate, with optimistic decision. + “That's always the way. You'll find every crack of that blessed old shed + stuck full of greenbacks and certificates of deposit, and lots of gold + dust and coin buried all over that cow patch! And of course no one + suspected it! And of course he lived alone, and never let any one get into + his house—and nearly starved himself! Lord love you! There's + hundreds of such cases. The world is full of 'em!” + </p> + <p> + “That's so,” chimed in Pulaski Briggs, the fourth partner, “and I tell you + what, Jacksey, we'll come over with you the day you take possession, and + just 'prospect' the whole blamed shanty, pigsties, and potato patch, for + fun—and won't charge you anything.” + </p> + <p> + For a moment Jackson's face had really brightened under the infection of + enthusiasm, but it presently settled into perplexity again. + </p> + <p> + “No! You bet the boys around Buckeye Hollow would have spotted anything + like that long ago.” + </p> + <p> + “Buckeye Hollow!” repeated Rice and his partners. + </p> + <p> + “Yes! Buckeye Hollow, that's the place; not twenty miles from here, and a + God-forsaken hole, as you know.” + </p> + <p> + A cloud had settled on Zip Coon Ledge. They knew of Buckeye Hollow, and it + was evident that no good had ever yet come out of that Nazareth. + </p> + <p> + “There's no use of talking now,” said Rice conclusively. “You'll draw it + all from that lawyer shark who's coming here tomorrow, and you can bet + your life he wouldn't have taken this trouble if there wasn't suthin' in + it. Anyhow, we'll knock off work now and call it half a day, in honor of + our distinguished young friend's accession to his baronial estates of + Buckeye Hollow. We'll just toddle down to Tomlinson's at the cross-roads, + and have a nip and a quiet game of old sledge at Jacksey's expense. I + reckon the estate's good for THAT,” he added, with severe gravity. “And, + speaking as a fa'r-minded man and the president of this yer Company, if + Jackson would occasionally take out and air that telegraphic dispatch of + his while we're at Tomlinson's, it might do something for that Company's + credit—with Tomlinson! We're wantin' some new blastin' plant bad!” + </p> + <p> + Oddly enough the telegram—accidentally shown at Tomlinson's—produced + a gratifying effect, and the Zip Coon Ledge materially advanced in public + estimation. With this possible infusion of new capital into its resources, + the Company was beset by offers of machinery and goods; and it was deemed + expedient by the sapient Rice, that to prevent the dissemination of any + more accurate information regarding Jackson's property the next day, the + lawyer should be met at the stage office by one of the members, and + conveyed secretly past Tomlinson's to the Ledge. + </p> + <p> + “I'd let you go,” he said to Jackson, “only it won't do for that d——d + skunk of a lawyer to think you're too anxious—sabe? We want to rub + into him that we are in the habit out yer of havin' things left to us, and + a fortin' more or less, falling into us now and then, ain't nothin' + alongside of the Zip Coon claim. It won't hurt ye to keep up a big bluff + on that hand of yours. Nobody would dare to 'call' you.” + </p> + <p> + Indeed this idea was carried out with such elaboration the next day that + Mr. Twiggs, the attorney, was considerably impressed both by the conduct + of his guide, who (although burning with curiosity) expressed absolute + indifference regarding Jackson Wells's inheritance, and the calmness of + Jackson himself, who had to be ostentatiously called from his work on the + Ledge to meet him, and who even gave him an audience in the hearing of his + partners. Forced into an apologetic attitude, he expressed his regret at + being obliged to bother Mr. Wells with an affair of such secondary + importance, but he was obliged to carry out the formalities of the law. + </p> + <p> + “What do you suppose the estate is worth?” asked Wells carelessly. + </p> + <p> + “I should not think that the house, the claim, and the land would bring + more than fifteen hundred dollars,” replied Twiggs submissively. + </p> + <p> + To the impecunious owners of Zip Coon Ledge it seemed a large sum, but + they did not show it. + </p> + <p> + “You see,” continued Mr. Twiggs, “it's really a case of 'willing away' + property from its obvious or direct inheritors, instead of a beneficial + grant. I take it that you and your uncle were not particularly intimate,—at + least, so I gathered when I made the will,—and his simple object was + to disinherit his only daughter, with whom he had had some quarrel, and + who had left him to live with his late wife's brother, Mr. Morley Brown, + who is quite wealthy and residing in the same township. Perhaps you + remember the young lady?” + </p> + <p> + Jackson Wells had a dim recollection of this cousin, a hateful, red-haired + schoolgirl, and an equally unpleasant memory of this other uncle, who was + purse-proud and had never taken any notice of him. He answered + affirmatively. + </p> + <p> + “There may be some attempt to contest the will,” continued Mr. Twiggs, “as + the disinheriting of an only child and a daughter offends the sentiment of + the people and of judges and jury, and the law makes such a will invalid, + unless a reason is given. Fortunately your uncle has placed his reasons on + record. I have a copy of the will here, and can show you the clause.” He + took it from his pocket, and read as follows: “'I exclude my daughter, + Jocelinda Wells, from any benefit or provision of this my will and + testament, for the reason that she has voluntarily abandoned her father's + roof for the house of her mother's brother, Morley Brown; has preferred + the fleshpots of Egypt to the virtuous frugalities of her own home, and + has discarded the humble friends of her youth, and the associates of her + father, for the meretricious and slavish sympathy of wealth and position. + In lieu thereof, and as compensation therefor, I do hereby give and + bequeath to her my full and free permission to gratify her frequently + expressed wish for another guardian in place of myself, and to become the + adopted daughter of the said Morley Brown, with the privilege of assuming + the name of Brown as aforesaid.' You see,” he continued, “as the young + lady's present position is a better one than it would be if she were in + her father's house, and was evidently a compromise, the sentimental + consideration of her being left homeless and penniless falls to the + ground. However, as the inheritance is small, and might be of little + account to you, if you choose to waive it, I dare say we may make some + arrangement.” + </p> + <p> + This was an utterly unexpected idea to the Zip Coon Company, and Jackson + Wells was for a moment silent. But Dexter Rice was equal to the emergency, + and turned to the astonished lawyer with severe dignity. + </p> + <p> + “You'll excuse me for interferin', but, as the senior partner of this yer + Ledge, and Jackson Wells yer bein' a most important member, what affects + his usefulness on this claim affects us. And we propose to carry out this + yer will, with all its dips and spurs and angles!” + </p> + <p> + As the surprised Twiggs turned from one to the other, Rice continued, “Ez + far as we kin understand this little game, it's the just punishment of a + high-flying girl as breaks her pore old father's heart, and the re-ward of + a young feller ez has bin to our knowledge ez devoted a nephew as they + make 'em. Time and time again, sittin' around our camp fire at night, + we've heard Jacksey say,—kinder to himself, and kinder to us, 'Now I + wonder what's gone o' old uncle Quincy;' and he never sat down to a square + meal, or ever rose from a square game, but what he allus said, 'If old + uncle Quince was only here now, boys, I'd die happy.' I leave it to you, + gentlemen, if that wasn't Jackson Wells's gait all the time?” + </p> + <p> + There was a prolonged murmur of assent, and an affecting corroboration + from Ned Wyngate of “That was him; that was Jacksey all the time!” + </p> + <p> + “Indeed, indeed,” said the lawyer nervously. “I had quite the idea that + there was very little fondness”— + </p> + <p> + “Not on your side—not on your side,” said Rice quickly. “Uncle + Quincy may not have anted up in this matter o' feelin', nor seen his + nephew's rise. You know how it is yourself in these things—being a + lawyer and a fa'r-minded man—it's all on one side, ginerally! + There's always one who loves and sacrifices, and all that, and there's + always one who rakes in the pot! That's the way o' the world; and that's + why,” continued Rice, abandoning his slightly philosophical attitude, and + laying his hand tenderly, and yet with a singularly significant grip, on + Wells's arm, “we say to him, 'Hang on to that will, and uncle Quincy's + memory.' And we hev to say it. For he's that tender-hearted and keerless + of money—having his own share in this Ledge—that ef that girl + came whimperin' to him he'd let her take the 'prop' and let the hull thing + slide! And then he'd remember that he had rewarded that gal that broke the + old man's heart, and that would upset him again in his work. And there, + you see, is just where WE come in! And we say, 'Hang on to that will like + grim death!'” + </p> + <p> + The lawyer looked curiously at Rice and his companions, and then turned to + Wells: “Nevertheless, I must look to you for instructions,” he said dryly. + </p> + <p> + But by this time Jackson Wells, although really dubious about supplanting + the orphan, had gathered the sense of his partners, and said with a frank + show of decision, “I think I must stand by the will.” + </p> + <p> + “Then I'll have it proved,” said Twiggs, rising. “In the meantime, if + there is any talk of contesting”— + </p> + <p> + “If there is, you might say,” suggested Wyngate, who felt he had not had a + fair show in the little comedy,—“ye might say to that old skeesicks + of a wife's brother, if he wants to nipple in, that there are four men on + the Ledge—and four revolvers! We are gin'rally fa'r-minded, peaceful + men, but when an old man's heart is broken, and his gray hairs brought + down in sorrow to the grave, so to speak, we're bound to attend the + funeral—sabe?” + </p> + <p> + When Mr. Twiggs had departed again, accompanied by a partner to guide him + past the dangerous shoals of Tomlinson's grocery, Rice clapped his hand on + Wells's shoulder. “If it hadn't been for me, sonny, that shark would have + landed you into some compromise with that red-haired gal! I saw you + weakenin', and then I chipped in. I may have piled up the agony a little + on your love for old Quince, but if you aren't an ungrateful cub, that's + how you ought to hev been feein', anyhow!” + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, the youthful Wells, although touched by his elder partner's + loyalty, and convinced of his own disinterestedness, felt a painful sense + of lost chivalrous opportunity. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + On mature consideration it was finally settled that Jackson Wells should + make his preliminary examination of his inheritance alone, as it might + seem inconsistent with the previous indifferent attitude of his partners + if they accompanied him. But he was implored to yield to no blandishments + of the enemy, and to even make his visit a secret. + </p> + <p> + He went. The familiar flower-spiked trees which had given their name to + Buckeye Hollow had never yielded entirely to improvements and the + incursions of mining enterprise, and many of them had even survived the + disused ditches, the scarred flats, the discarded levels, ruined flumes, + and roofless cabins of the earlier occupation, so that when Jackson Wells + entered the wide, straggling street of Buckeye, that summer morning was + filled with the radiance of its blossoms and fragrant with their incense. + His first visit there, ten years ago, had been a purely perfunctory and + hasty one, yet he remembered the ostentatious hotel, built in the “flush + time” of its prosperity, and already in a green premature decay; he + recalled the Express Office and Town Hall, also passing away in a kind of + similar green deliquescence; the little zinc church, now overgrown with + fern and brambles, and the two or three fine substantial houses in the + outskirts, which seemed to have sucked the vitality of the little + settlement. One of these—he had been told—was the property of + his rich and wicked maternal uncle, the hated appropriator of his + red-headed cousin's affections. He recalled his brief visit to the + departed testator's claim and market garden, and his by no means favorable + impression of the lonely, crabbed old man, as well as his relief that his + objectionable cousin, whom he had not seen since he was a boy, was then + absent at the rival uncle's. He made his way across the road to a sunny + slope where the market garden of three acres seemed to roll like a river + of green rapids to a little “run” or brook, which, even in the dry season, + showed a trickling rill. But here he was struck by a singular + circumstance. The garden rested in a rich, alluvial soil, and under the + quickening Californian sky had developed far beyond the ability of its + late cultivator to restrain or keep it in order. Everything had grown + luxuriantly, and in monstrous size and profusion. The garden had even + trespassed its bounds, and impinged upon the open road, the deserted + claims, and the ruins of the past. Stimulated by the little cultivation + Quincy Wells had found time to give it, it had leaped its three acres and + rioted through the Hollow. There were scarlet runners crossing the + abandoned sluices, peas climbing the court-house wall, strawberries + matting the trail, while the seeds and pollen of its few homely Eastern + flowers had been blown far and wide through the woods. By a grim satire, + Nature seemed to have been the only thing that still prospered in that + settlement of man. + </p> + <p> + The cabin itself, built of unpainted boards, consisted of a sitting-room, + dining-room, kitchen, and two bedrooms, all plainly furnished, although + one of the bedrooms was better ordered, and displayed certain signs of + feminine decoration, which made Jackson believe it had been his cousin's + room. Luckily, the slight, temporary structure bore no deep traces of its + previous occupancy to disturb him with its memories, and for the same + reason it gained in cleanliness and freshness. The dry, desiccating summer + wind that blew through it had carried away both the odors and the sense of + domesticity; even the adobe hearth had no fireside tales to tell,—its + very ashes had been scattered by the winds; and the gravestone of its dead + owner on the hill was no more flavorless of his personality than was this + plain house in which he had lived and died. The excessive vegetation + produced by the stirred-up soil had covered and hidden the empty tin cans, + broken boxes, and fragments of clothing which usually heaped and littered + the tent-pegs of the pioneer. Nature's own profusion had thrust them into + obscurity. Jackson Wells smiled as he recalled his sanguine partner's idea + of a treasure-trove concealed and stuffed in the crevices of this + tenement, already so palpably picked clean by those wholesome scavengers + of California, the dry air and burning sun. Yet he was not displeased at + this obliteration of a previous tenancy; there was the better chance for + him to originate something. He whistled hopefully as he lounged, with his + hands in his pockets, towards the only fence and gate that gave upon the + road. Something stuck up on the gate-post attracted his attention. It was + a sheet of paper bearing the inscription in a large hand: “Notice to + trespassers. Look out for the Orphan Robber!” A plain signboard in faded + black letters on the gate, which had borne the legend: “Quincy Wells, + Dealer in Fruit and Vegetables,” had been rudely altered in chalk to read: + “Jackson Wells, Double Dealer in Wills and Codicils,” and the intimation + “Bouquets sold here” had been changed to “Bequests stole here.” For an + instant the simple-minded Jackson failed to discover any significance of + this outrage, which seemed to him to be merely the wanton mischief of a + schoolboy. But a sudden recollection of the lawyer's caution sent the + blood to his cheeks and kindled his indignation. He tore down the paper + and rubbed out the chalk interpolation—and then laughed at his own + anger. Nevertheless, he would not have liked his belligerent partners to + see it. + </p> + <p> + A little curious to know the extent of this feeling, he entered one of the + shops, and by one or two questions which judiciously betrayed his + ownership of the property, he elicited only a tradesman's interest in a + possible future customer, and the ordinary curiosity about a stranger. The + barkeeper of the hotel was civil, but brief and gloomy. He had heard the + property was “willed away on account of some family quarrel which 'warn't + none of his'.” Mr. Wells would find Buckeye Hollow a mighty dull place + after the mines. It was played out, sucked dry by two or three big mine + owners who were trying to “freeze out” the other settlers, so as they + might get the place to themselves and “boom it.” Brown, who had the big + house over the hill, was the head devil of the gang! Wells felt his + indignation kindle anew. And this girl that he had ousted was Brown's + friend. Was it possible that she was a party to Brown's designs to get + this three acres with the other lands? If so, his long-suffering uncle was + only just in his revenge. + </p> + <p> + He put all this diffidently before his partners on his return, and was a + little startled at their adopting it with sanguine ferocity. They hoped + that he would put an end to his thoughts of backing out of it. Such a + course now would be dishonorable to his uncle's memory. It was clearly his + duty to resist these blasted satraps of capitalists; he was providentially + selected for the purpose—a village Hampden to withstand the tyrant. + “And I reckon that shark of a lawyer knew all about it when he was gettin' + off that 'purp stuff' about people's sympathies with the girl,” said Rice + belligerently. “Contest the will, would he? Why, if we caught that Brown + with a finger in the pie we'd just whip up the boys on this Ledge and + lynch him. You hang on to that three acres and the garden patch of your + forefathers, sonny, and we'll see you through!” + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, it was with some misgivings that Wells consented that his + three partners should actually accompany him and see him put in peaceable + possession of his inheritance. His instinct told him that there would be + no contest of the will, and still less any opposition on the part of the + objectionable relative, Brown. When the wagon which contained his personal + effects and the few articles of furniture necessary for his occupancy of + the cabin arrived, the exaggerated swagger which his companions had put on + in their passage through the settlement gave way to a pastoral indolence, + equally half real, half affected. Lying on their backs under a buckeye, + they permitted Rice to voice the general sentiment. “There's a suthin' + soothin' and dreamy in this kind o' life, Jacksey, and we'll make a point + of comin' here for a couple of days every two weeks to lend you a hand; it + will be a mighty good change from our nigger work on the claim.” + </p> + <p> + In spite of this assurance, and the fact that they had voluntarily come to + help him put the place in order, they did very little beyond lending a + cheering expression of unqualified praise and unstinted advice. At the end + of four hours' weeding and trimming the boundaries of the garden, they + unanimously gave their opinion that it would be more systematic for him to + employ Chinese labor at once. + </p> + <p> + “You see,” said Ned Wyngate, “the Chinese naturally take to this kind o' + business. Why, you can't take up a china plate or saucer but you see 'em + pictured there working at jobs like this, and they kin live on green + things and rice that cost nothin', and chickens. You'll keep chickens, of + course.” + </p> + <p> + Jackson thought that his hands would be full enough with the garden, but + he meekly assented. + </p> + <p> + “I'll get a pair—you only want two to begin with,” continued Wyngate + cheerfully, “and in a month or two you've got all you want, and eggs + enough for market. On second thoughts, I don't know whether you hadn't + better begin with eggs first. That is, you borry some eggs from one man + and a hen from another. Then you set 'em, and when the chickens are + hatched out you just return the hen to the second man, and the eggs, when + your chickens begin to lay, to the first man, and you've got your chickens + for nothing—and there you are.” + </p> + <p> + This ingenious proposition, which was delivered on the last slope of the + domain, where the partners were lying exhausted from their work, was + broken in upon by the appearance of a small boy, barefooted, sunburnt, and + tow-headed, who, after a moment's hurried scrutiny of the group, threw a + letter with unerring precision into the lap of Jackson Wells, and then + fled precipitately. Jackson instinctively suspected he was connected with + the outrage on his fence and gate-post, but as he had avoided telling his + partners of the incident, fearing to increase their belligerent attitude, + he felt now an awkward consciousness mingled with his indignation as he + broke the seal and read as follows:— + </p> + <p> + SIR,—This is to inform you that although you have got hold of the + property by underhanded and sneaking ways, you ain't no right to touch or + lay your vile hands on the Cherokee Rose alongside the house, nor on the + Giant of Battles, nor on the Maiden's Pride by the gate—the same + being the property of Miss Jocelinda Wells, and planted by her, under the + penalty of the Law. And if you, or any of your gang of ruffians, touches + it or them, or any thereof, or don't deliver it up when called for in good + order, you will be persecuted by them. + </p> + <p> + AVENGER. + </p> + <p> + It is to be feared that Jackson would have suppressed this also, but the + keen eyes of his partners, excited by the abruptness of the messenger, + were upon him. He smiled feebly, and laid the letter before them. But he + was unprepared for their exaggerated indignation, and with difficulty + restrained them from dashing off in the direction of the vanished herald. + “And what could you do?” he said. “The boy's only a messenger.” + </p> + <p> + “I'll get at that d——d skunk Brown, who's back of him,” said + Dexter Rice. + </p> + <p> + “And what then?” persisted Jackson, with a certain show of independence. + “If this stuff belongs to the girl, I'm not certain I shan't give them up + without any fuss. Lord! I want nothing but what the old man left me—and + certainly nothing of HERS.” + </p> + <p> + Here Ned Wyngate was heard to murmur that Jackson was one of those men who + would lie down and let coyotes crawl over him if they first presented a + girl's visiting card, but he was stopped by Rice demanding paper and + pencil. The former being torn from a memorandum book, and a stub of the + latter produced from another pocket, he wrote as follows:— + </p> + <p> + SIR,—In reply to the hogwash you have kindly exuded in your letter + of to-day, I have to inform you that you can have what you ask for Miss + Wells, and perhaps a trifle on your own account, by calling this afternoon + on—Yours truly— + </p> + <p> + “Now, sign it,” continued Rice, handing him the pencil. + </p> + <p> + “But this will look as if we were angry and wanted to keep the plants,” + protested Wells. + </p> + <p> + “Never you mind, sonny, but sign! Leave the rest to your partners, and + when you lay your head on your pillow to-night return thanks to an + overruling Providence for providing you with the right gang of ruffians to + look after you!” + </p> + <p> + Wells signed reluctantly, and Wyngate offered to find a Chinaman in the + gulch who would take the missive. “And being a Chinaman, Brown can do any + cussin' or buck talk THROUGH him!” he added. + </p> + <p> + The afternoon wore on; the tall Douglas pines near the water pools wheeled + their long shadows round and halfway up the slope, and the sun began to + peer into the faces of the reclining men. Subtle odors of mint and + southern-wood, stragglers from the garden, bruised by their limbs, + replaced the fumes of their smoked-out pipes, and the hammers of the + woodpeckers were busy in the grove as they lay lazily nibbling the + fragrant leaves like peaceful ruminants. Then came the sound of + approaching wheels along the invisible highway beyond the buckeyes, and + then a halt and silence. Rice rose slowly, bright pin points in the pupils + of his gray eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Bringin' a wagon with him to tote the hull shanty away,” suggested + Wyngate. + </p> + <p> + “Or fetched his own ambulance,” said Briggs. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, after a pause, the wheels presently rolled away again. + </p> + <p> + “We'd better go and meet him at the gate,” said Rice, hitching his + revolver holster nearer his hip. “That wagon stopped long enough to put + down three or four men.” + </p> + <p> + They walked leisurely but silently to the gate. It is probable that none + of them believed in a serious collision, but now the prospect had enough + possibility in it to quicken their pulses. They reached the gate. But it + was still closed; the road beyond it empty. + </p> + <p> + “Mebbe they've sneaked round to the cabin,” said Briggs, “and are holdin' + it inside.” + </p> + <p> + They were turning quickly in that direction, when Wyngate said, “Hush!—some + one's there in the brush under the buckeyes.” + </p> + <p> + They listened; there was a faint rustling in the shadows. + </p> + <p> + “Come out o' that, Brown—into the open. Don't be shy,” called out + Rice in cheerful irony. “We're waitin' for ye.” + </p> + <p> + But Briggs, who was nearest the wood, here suddenly uttered an + exclamation,—“B'gosh!” and fell back, open-mouthed, upon his + companions. They too, in another moment, broke into a feeble laugh, and + lapsed against each other in sheepish silence. For a very pretty girl, + handsomely dressed, swept out of the wood and advanced towards them. + </p> + <p> + Even at any time she would have been an enchanting vision to these men, + but in the glow of exercise and sparkle of anger she was bewildering. Her + wonderful hair, the color of freshly hewn redwood, had escaped from her + hat in her passage through the underbrush, and even as she swept down upon + them in her majesty she was jabbing a hairpin into it with a dexterous + feminine hand. + </p> + <p> + The three partners turned quite the color of her hair; Jackson Wells alone + remained white and rigid. She came on, her very short upper lip showing + her white teeth with her panting breath. + </p> + <p> + Rice was first to speak. “I beg—your pardon, Miss—I thought it + was Brown—you know,” he stammered. + </p> + <p> + But she only turned a blighting brown eye on the culprit, curled her short + lip till it almost vanished in her scornful nostrils, drew her skirt aside + with a jerk, and continued her way straight to Jackson Wells, where she + halted. + </p> + <p> + “We did not know you were—here alone,” he said apologetically. + </p> + <p> + “Thought I was afraid to come alone, didn't you? Well, you see, I'm not. + There!” She made another dive at her hat and hair, and brought the hat + down wickedly over her eyebrows. “Gimme my plants.” + </p> + <p> + Jackson had been astonished. He would have scarcely recognized in this + willful beauty the red-haired girl whom he had boyishly hated, and with + whom he had often quarreled. But there was a recollection—and with + that recollection came an instinct of habit. He looked her squarely in the + face, and, to the horror of his partners, said, “Say please!” + </p> + <p> + They had expected to see him fall, smitten with the hairpin! But she only + stopped, and then in bitter irony said, “Please, Mr. Jackson Wells.” + </p> + <p> + “I haven't dug them up yet—and it would serve you just right if I + made you get them for yourself. But perhaps my friends here might help you—if + you were civil.” + </p> + <p> + The three partners seized spades and hoes and rushed forward eagerly. + “Only show us what you want,” they said in one voice. The young girl + stared at them, and at Jackson. Then with swift determination she turned + her back scornfully upon him, and with a dazzling smile which reduced the + three men to absolute idiocy, said to the others, “I'll show YOU,” and + marched away to the cabin. + </p> + <p> + “Ye mustn't mind Jacksey,” said Rice, sycophantically edging to her side, + “he's so cut up with losin' your father that he loved like a son, he isn't + himself, and don't seem to know whether to ante up or pass out. And as for + yourself, Miss—why—What was it he was sayin' only just as the + young lady came?” he added, turning abruptly to Wyngate. + </p> + <p> + “Everything that cousin Josey planted with her own hands must be took up + carefully and sent back—even though it's killin' me to part with + it,” quoted Wyngate unblushingly, as he slouched along on the other side. + </p> + <p> + Miss Wells's eyes glared at them, though her mouth still smiled + ravishingly. “I'm sure I'm troubling you.” + </p> + <p> + In a few moments the plants were dug up and carefully laid together; + indeed, the servile Briggs had added a few that she had not indicated. + </p> + <p> + “Would you mind bringing them as far as the buggy that's coming down the + hill?” she said, pointing to a buggy driven by a small boy which was + slowly approaching the gate. The men tenderly lifted the uprooted plants, + and proceeded solemnly, Miss Wells bringing up the rear, towards the gate, + where Jackson Wells was still surlily lounging. + </p> + <p> + They passed out first. Miss Wells lingered for an instant, and then + advancing her beautiful but audacious face within an inch of Jackson's, + hissed out, “Make-believe! and hypocrite!” + </p> + <p> + “Cross-patch and sauce-box!” returned Jackson readily, still under the + malign influence of his boyish past, as she flounced away. + </p> + <p> + Presently he heard the buggy rattle away with his persecutor. But his + partners still lingered on the road in earnest conversation, and when they + did return it was with a singular awkwardness and embarrassment, which he + naturally put down to a guilty consciousness of their foolish weakness in + succumbing to the girl's demands. + </p> + <p> + But he was a little surprised when Dexter Rice approached him gloomily. + “Of course,” he began, “it ain't no call of ours to interfere in family + affairs, and you've a right to keep 'em to yourself, but if you'd been + fair and square and above board in what you got off on us about this per—” + </p> + <p> + “What do you mean?” demanded the astonished Wells. + </p> + <p> + “Well—callin' her a 'red-haired gal.'” + </p> + <p> + “Well—she is a red-haired girl!” said Wells impatiently. + </p> + <p> + “A man,” continued Rice pityingly, “that is so prejudiced as to apply such + language to a beautiful orphan—torn with grief at the loss of a + beloved but d——d misconstruing parent—merely because she + begs a few vegetables out of his potato patch, ain't to be reasoned with. + But when you come to look at this thing by and large, and as a fa'r-minded + man, sonny, you'll agree with us that the sooner you make terms with her + the better. Considerin' your interest, Jacksey,—let alone the claims + of humanity,—we've concluded to withdraw from here until this thing + is settled. She's sort o' mixed us up with your feelings agin her, and + naturally supposed we object to the color of her hair! and bein' a + penniless orphan, rejected by her relations”— + </p> + <p> + “What stuff are you talking?” burst in Jackson. “Why, YOU saw she treated + you better than she did me.” + </p> + <p> + “Steady! There you go with that temper of yours that frightened the girl! + Of course she could see that WE were fa'r-minded men, accustomed to the + ways of society, and not upset by the visit of a lady, or the givin' up of + a few green sticks! But let that slide! We're goin' back home to-night, + sonny, and when you've thought this thing over and are straightened up and + get your right bearin's, we'll stand by you as before. We'll put a man on + to do your work on the Ledge, so ye needn't worry about that.” + </p> + <p> + They were quite firm in this decision,—however absurd or obscure + their conclusions,—and Jackson, after his first flash of + indignation, felt a certain relief in their departure. But strangely + enough, while he had hesitated about keeping the property when they were + violently in favor of it, he now felt he was right in retaining it against + their advice to compromise. The sentimental idea had vanished with his + recognition of his hateful cousin in the role of the injured orphan. And + for the same odd reason her prettiness only increased his resentment. He + was not deceived,—it was the same capricious, willful, red-haired + girl. + </p> + <p> + The next day he set himself to work with that dogged steadiness that + belonged to his simple nature, and which had endeared him to his partners. + He set half a dozen Chinamen to work, and followed, although apparently + directing, their methods. The great difficulty was to restrain and control + the excessive vegetation, and he matched the small economies of the + Chinese against the opulence of the Californian soil. The “garden patch” + prospered; the neighbors spoke well of it and of him. But Jackson knew + that this fierce harvest of early spring was to be followed by the + sterility of the dry season, and that irrigation could alone make his work + profitable in the end. He brought a pump to force the water from the + little stream at the foot of the slope to the top, and allowed it to flow + back through parallel trenches. Again Buckeye applauded! Only the gloomy + barkeeper shook his head. “The moment you get that thing to pay, Mr. + Wells, you'll find the hand of Brown, somewhere, getting ready to squeeze + it dry!” + </p> + <p> + But Jackson Wells did not trouble himself about Brown, whom he scarcely + knew. Once indeed, while trenching the slope, he was conscious that he was + watched by two men from the opposite bank; but they were apparently + satisfied by their scrutiny, and turned away. Still less did he concern + himself with the movements of his cousin, who once or twice passed him + superciliously in her buggy on the road. Again, she met him as one of a + cavalcade of riders, mounted on a handsome but ill-tempered mustang, which + she was managing with an ill-temper and grace equal to the brute's, to the + alternate delight and terror of her cavalier. He could see that she had + been petted and spoiled by her new guardian and his friends far beyond his + conception. But why she should grudge him the little garden and the + pastoral life for which she was so unsuited, puzzled him greatly. + </p> + <p> + One afternoon he was working near the road, when he was startled by an + outcry from his Chinese laborers, their rapid dispersal from the + strawberry beds where they were working, the splintering crash of his + fence rails, and a commotion among the buckeyes. Furious at what seemed to + him one of the usual wanton attacks upon coolie labor, he seized his pick + and ran to their assistance. But he was surprised to find Jocelinda's + mustang caught by the saddle and struggling between two trees, and its + unfortunate mistress lying upon the strawberry bed. Shocked but + cool-headed, Jackson released the horse first, who was lashing out and + destroying everything within his reach, and then turned to his cousin. But + she had already lifted herself to her elbow, and with a trickle of blood + and mud on one fair cheek was surveying him scornfully under her tumbled + hair and hanging hat. + </p> + <p> + “You don't suppose I was trespassing on your wretched patch again, do + you?” she said in a voice she was trying to keep from breaking. “It was + that brute—who bolted.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't suppose you were bullying ME this time,” he said, “but you were + YOUR HORSE—or it wouldn't have happened. Are you hurt?” + </p> + <p> + She tried to move; he offered her his hand, but she shied from it and + struggled to her feet. She took a step forward—but limped. + </p> + <p> + “If you don't want my arm, let me call a Chinaman,” he suggested. + </p> + <p> + She glared at him. “If you do I'll scream!” she said in a low voice, and + he knew she would. But at the same moment her face whitened, at which he + slipped his arm under hers in a dexterous, business-like way, so as to + support her weight. Then her hat got askew, and down came a long braid + over his shoulder. He remembered it of old, only it was darker than then + and two or three feet longer. + </p> + <p> + “If you could manage to limp as far as the gate and sit down on the bank, + I'd get your horse for you,” he said. “I hitched it to a sapling.” + </p> + <p> + “I saw you did—before you even offered to help me,” she said + scornfully. + </p> + <p> + “The horse would have got away—YOU couldn't.” + </p> + <p> + “If you only knew how I hated you,” she said, with a white face, but a + trembling lip. + </p> + <p> + “I don't see how that would make things any better,” he said. “Better wipe + your face; it's scratched and muddy, and you've been rubbing your nose in + my strawberry bed.” + </p> + <p> + She snatched his proffered handkerchief suddenly, applied it to her face, + and said: “I suppose it looks dreadful.” + </p> + <p> + “Like a pig's,” he returned cheerfully. + </p> + <p> + She walked a little more firmly after this, until they reached the gate. + He seated her on the bank, and went back for the mustang. That beautiful + brute, astounded and sore from its contact with the top rail and brambles, + was cowed and subdued as he led it back. + </p> + <p> + She had finished wiping her face, and was hurriedly disentangling two + stinging tears from her long lashes, before she threw back his + handkerchief. Her sprained ankle obliged him to lift her into the saddle + and adjust her little shoe in the stirrup. He remembered when it was still + smaller. “You used to ride astride,” he said, a flood of recollection + coming over him, “and it's much safer with your temper and that brute.” + </p> + <p> + “And you,” she said in a lower voice, “used to be”—But the rest of + her sentence was lost in the switch of the whip and the jump of her horse, + but he thought the word was “kinder.” + </p> + <p> + Perhaps this was why, after he watched her canter away, he went back to + the garden, and from the bruised and trampled strawberry bed gathered a + small basket of the finest fruit, covered them with leaves, added a paper + with the highly ingenious witticism, “Picked up with you,” and sent them + to her by one of the Chinamen. Her forcible entry moved Li Sing, his + foreman, also chief laundryman to the settlement, to reminiscences: + </p> + <p> + “Me heap knew Missy Wells and ole man, who go dead. Ole man allee time + make chin music to Missy. Allee time jaw jaw—allee time make lows—allee + time cuttee up Missy! Plenty time lockee up Missy topside house; no can + walkee—no can talkee—no hab got—how can get?—must + washee washee allee same Chinaman. Ole man go dead—Missy all lightee + now. Plenty fun. Plenty stay in Blown's big house, top-side hill; Blown + first-chop man.” + </p> + <p> + Had he inquired he might have found this pagan testimony, for once, + corroborated by the Christian neighbors. + </p> + <p> + But another incident drove all this from his mind. The little stream—the + life blood of his garden—ran dry! Inquiry showed that it had been + diverted two miles away into Brown's ditch! Wells's indignant protest + elicited a formal reply from Brown, stating that he owned the adjacent + mining claims, and reminding him that mining rights to water took + precedence of the agricultural claim, but offering, by way of + compensation, to purchase the land thus made useless and sterile. Jackson + suddenly recalled the prophecy of the gloomy barkeeper. The end, had come! + But what could the scheming capitalist want with the land, equally useless—as + his uncle had proved—for mining purposes? Could it be sheer + malignity, incited by his vengeful cousin? But here he paused, rejecting + the idea as quickly as it came. No! his partners were right! He was a + trespasser on his cousin's heritage—there was no luck in it—he + was wrong, and this was his punishment! Instead of yielding gracefully as + he might, he must back down now, and she would never know his first real + feelings. Even now he would make over the property to her as a free gift. + But his partners had advanced him money from their scanty means to plant + and work it. He believed that an appeal to their feelings would persuade + them to forego even that, but he shrank even more from confessing his + defeat to THEM than to her. + </p> + <p> + He had little heart in his labors that day, and dismissed the Chinamen + early. He again examined his uncle's old mining claim on the top of the + slope, but was satisfied that it had been a hopeless enterprise and wisely + abandoned. It was sunset when he stood under the buckeyes, gloomily + looking at the glow fade out of the west, as it had out of his boyish + hopes. He had grown to like the place. It was the hour, too, when the few + flowers he had cultivated gave back their pleasant odors, as if grateful + for his care. And then he heard his name called. + </p> + <p> + It was his cousin, standing a few yards from him in evident hesitation. + She was quite pale, and for a moment he thought she was still suffering + from her fall, until he saw in her nervous, half-embarrassed manner that + it had no physical cause. Her old audacity and anger seemed gone, yet + there was a queer determination in her pretty brows. + </p> + <p> + “Good-evening,” he said. + </p> + <p> + She did not return his greeting, but pulling uneasily at her glove, said + hesitatingly: “Uncle has asked you to sell him this land?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “Well—don't!” she burst out abruptly. + </p> + <p> + He stared at her. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I'm not trying to keep you here,” she went on, flashing back into her + old temper; “so you needn't stare like that. I say, 'Don't,' because it + ain't right, it ain't fair.” + </p> + <p> + “Why, he's left me no alternative,” he said. + </p> + <p> + “That's just it—that's why it's mean and low. I don't care if he is + our uncle.” + </p> + <p> + Jackson was bewildered and shocked. + </p> + <p> + “I know it's horrid to say it,” she said, with a white face; “but it's + horrider to keep it in! Oh, Jack! when we were little, and used to fight + and quarrel, I never was mean—was I? I never was underhanded—was + I? I never lied—did I? And I can't lie now. Jack,” she looked + hurriedly around her, “HE wants to get hold of the land—HE thinks + there's gold in the slope and bank by the stream. He says dad was a fool + to have located his claim so high up. Jack! did you ever prospect the + bank?” + </p> + <p> + A dawning of intelligence came upon Jackson. “No,” he said; “but,” he + added bitterly, “what's the use? He owns the water now,—I couldn't + work it.” + </p> + <p> + “But, Jack, IF you found the color, this would be a MINING claim! You + could claim the water right; and, as it's your land, your claim would be + first!” + </p> + <p> + Jackson was startled. “Yes, IF I found the color.” + </p> + <p> + “You WOULD find it.” + </p> + <p> + “WOULD?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes! I DID—on the sly! Yesterday morning on your slope by the + stream, when no one was up! I washed a panful and got that.” She took a + piece of tissue paper from her pocket, opened it, and shook into her + little palm three tiny pin points of gold. + </p> + <p> + “And that was your own idea, Jossy?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes!” + </p> + <p> + “Your very own?” + </p> + <p> + “Honest Injin!” + </p> + <p> + “Wish you may die?” + </p> + <p> + “True, O King!” + </p> + <p> + He opened his arms, and they mutually embraced. Then they separated, + taking hold of each other's hands solemnly, and falling back until they + were at arm's length. Then they slowly extended their arms sideways at + full length, until this action naturally brought their faces and lips + together. They did this with the utmost gravity three times, and then + embraced again, rocking on pivoted feet like a metronome. Alas! it was no + momentary inspiration. The most casual and indifferent observer could see + that it was the result of long previous practice and shameless experience. + And as such—it was a revelation and an explanation. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + “I always suspected that Jackson was playin' us about that red-haired + cousin,” said Rice two weeks later; “but I can't swallow that purp stuff + about her puttin' him up to that dodge about a new gold discovery on a + fresh claim, just to knock out Brown. No, sir. He found that gold in + openin' these irrigatin' trenches,—the usual nigger luck, findin' + what you're not lookin' arter.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, we can't complain, for he's offered to work it on shares with us,” + said Briggs. + </p> + <p> + “Yes—until he's ready to take in another partner.” + </p> + <p> + “Not—Brown?” said his horrified companions. + </p> + <p> + “No!—but Brown's adopted daughter—that red-haired cousin!” + </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> + THE REINCARNATION OF SMITH + </h2> + <p> + The extravagant supper party by which Mr. James Farendell celebrated the + last day of his bachelorhood was protracted so far into the night, that + the last guest who parted from him at the door of the principal Sacramento + restaurant was for a moment impressed with the belief that a certain ruddy + glow in the sky was already the dawn. But Mr. Farendell had kept his head + clear enough to recognize it as the light of some burning building in a + remote business district, a not infrequent occurrence in the dry season. + When he had dismissed his guest he turned away in that direction for + further information. His own counting-house was not in that immediate + neighborhood, but Sacramento had been once before visited by a rapid and + far-sweeping conflagration, and it behooved him to be on the alert even on + this night of festivity. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps also a certain anxiety arose out of the occasion. He was to be + married to-morrow to the widow of his late partner, and the marriage, + besides being an attractive one, would settle many business difficulties. + He had been a fortunate man, but, like many more fortunate men, was not + blind to the possibilities of a change of luck. The death of his partner + in a successful business had at first seemed to betoken that change, but + his successful, though hasty, courtship of the inexperienced widow had + restored his chances without greatly shocking the decorum of a pioneer + community. Nevertheless, he was not a contented man, and hardly a + determined—although an energetic one. + </p> + <p> + A walk of a few moments brought him to the levee of the river,—a + favored district, where his counting-house, with many others, was + conveniently situated. In these early days only a few of these buildings + could be said to be permanent,—fire and flood perpetually threatened + them. They were merely temporary structures of wood, or in the case of Mr. + Farendell's office, a shell of corrugated iron, sheathing a one-storied + wooden frame, more or less elaborate in its interior decorations. By the + time he had reached it, the distant fire had increased. On his way he had + met and recognized many of his business acquaintances hurrying thither,—some + to save their own property, or to assist the imperfectly equipped + volunteer fire department in their unselfish labors. It was probably Mr. + Farendell's peculiar preoccupation on that particular night which had + prevented his joining in their brotherly zeal. + </p> + <p> + He unlocked the iron door, and lit the hanging lamp that was used in + all-night sittings on steamer days. It revealed a smartly furnished + office, with a high desk for his clerks, and a smaller one for himself in + one corner. In the centre of the wall stood a large safe. This he also + unlocked and took out a few important books, as well as a small drawer + containing gold coin and dust to the amount of about five hundred dollars, + the large balance having been deposited in bank on the previous day. The + act was only precautionary, as he did not exhibit any haste in removing + them to a place of safety, and remained meditatively absorbed in looking + over a packet of papers taken from the same drawer. The closely shuttered + building, almost hermetically sealed against light, and perhaps sound, + prevented his observing the steadily increasing light of the + conflagration, or hearing the nearer tumult of the firemen, and the + invasion of his quiet district by other equally solicitous tenants. The + papers seemed also to possess some importance, for, the stillness being + suddenly broken by the turning of the handle of the heavy door he had just + closed, and its opening with difficulty, his first act was to hurriedly + conceal them, without apparently paying a thought to the exposed gold + before him. And his expression and attitude in facing round towards the + door was quite as much of nervous secretiveness as of indignation at the + interruption. + </p> + <p> + Yet the intruder appeared, though singular, by no means formidable. He was + a man slightly past the middle age, with a thin face, hollowed at the + cheeks and temples as if by illness or asceticism, and a grayish beard + that encircled his throat like a soiled worsted “comforter” below his + clean-shaven chin and mouth. His manner was slow and methodical, and even + when he shot the bolt of the door behind him, the act did not seem + aggressive. Nevertheless Mr. Farendell half rose with his hand on his + pistol-pocket, but the stranger merely lifted his own hand with a gesture + of indifferent warning, and, drawing a chair towards him, dropped into it + deliberately. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Farendell's angry stare changed suddenly to one of surprised + recognition. “Josh Scranton,” he said hesitatingly. + </p> + <p> + “I reckon,” responded the stranger slowly. “That's the name I allus bore, + and YOU called yourself Farendell. Well, we ain't seen each other sens the + spring o' '50, when ye left me lying nigh petered out with chills and + fever on the Stanislaus River, and sold the claim that me and Duffy worked + under our very feet, and skedaddled for 'Frisco!” + </p> + <p> + “I only exercised my right as principal owner, and to secure my advances,” + began the late Mr. Farendell sharply. + </p> + <p> + But again the thin hand was raised, this time with a slow, scornful + waiving of any explanations. “It ain't that in partickler that I've kem to + see ye for to-night,” said the stranger slowly, “nor it ain't about your + takin' the name o' 'Farendell,' that friend o' yours who died on the + passage here with ye, and whose papers ye borrowed! Nor it ain't on + account o' that wife of yours ye left behind in Missouri, and whose + letters you never answered. It's them things all together—and + suthin' else!” + </p> + <p> + “What the d—-l do you want, then?” said Farendell, with a desperate + directness that was, however, a tacit confession of the truth of these + accusations. + </p> + <p> + “Yer allowin' that ye'll get married tomorrow?” said Scranton slowly. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, and be d——d to you,” said Farendell fiercely. + </p> + <p> + “Yer NOT,” returned Scranton. “Not if I knows it. Yer goin' to climb down. + Yer goin' to get up and get! Yer goin' to step down and out! Yer goin' to + shut up your desk and your books and this hull consarn inside of an hour, + and vamose the ranch. Arter an hour from now thar won't be any Mr. + Farendell, and no weddin' to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + “If that's your game—perhaps you'd like to murder me at once?” said + Farendell with a shifting eye, as his hand again moved towards his + revolver. + </p> + <p> + But again the thin hand of the stranger was also lifted. “We ain't in the + business o' murderin' or bein' murdered, or we might hev kem here + together, me and Duffy. Now if anything happens to me Duffy will be left, + and HE'S got the proofs.” + </p> + <p> + Farendell seemed to recognize the fact with the same directness. “That's + it, is it?” he said bluntly. “Well, how much do you want? Only, I warn you + that I haven't much to give.” + </p> + <p> + “Wotever you've got, if it was millions, it ain't enough to buy us up, and + ye ought to know that by this time,” responded Scranton, with a momentary + flash in his eyes. But the next moment his previous passionless + deliberation returned, and leaning his arm on the desk of the man before + him he picked up a paperweight carelessly and turned it over as he said + slowly, “The fact is, Mr. Farendell, you've been making us, me and Duffy, + tired. We've bin watchin' you and your doin's, lyin' low and sayin' + nothin', till we concluded that it was about time you handed in your + checks and left the board. We ain't wanted nothin' of ye, we ain't + begrudged ye nothin', but we've allowed that this yer thing must stop.” + </p> + <p> + “And what if I refuse?” said Farendell. + </p> + <p> + “Thar'll be some cussin' and a big row from YOU, I kalkilate—and + maybe some fightin' all round,” said Scranton dispassionately. “But it + will be all the same in the end. The hull thing will come out, and you'll + hev to slide just the same. T'otherwise, ef ye slide out NOW, it's without + a row.” + </p> + <p> + “And do you suppose a business man like me can disappear without a fuss + over it?” said Farendell angrily. “Are you mad?” + </p> + <p> + “I reckon the hole YOU'LL make kin be filled up,” said Scranton dryly. + “But ef ye go NOW, you won't be bothered by the fuss, while if you stay + you'll have to face the music, and go too!” + </p> + <p> + Farendell was silent. Possibly the truth of this had long since been borne + upon him. No one but himself knew the incessant strain of these years of + evasion and concealment, and how he often had been near to some such + desperate culmination. The sacrifice offered to him was not, therefore, so + great as it might have seemed. The knowledge of this might have given him + a momentary superiority over his antagonist had Scranton's motive been a + purely selfish or malignant one, but as it was not, and as he may have had + some instinctive idea of Farendell's feeling also, it made his ultimatum + appear the more passionless and fateful. And it was this quality which + perhaps caused Farendell to burst out with desperate abruptness,— + </p> + <p> + “What in h-ll ever put you up to this!” + </p> + <p> + Scranton folded his arms upon Farendell's desk, and slowly wiping his + clean jaw with one hand, repeated deliberately, “Wall—I reckon I + told ye that before! You've been making us—me and Duffy—tired!” + He paused for a moment, and then, rising abruptly, with a careless gesture + towards the uncovered tray of gold, said, “Come! ye kin take enuff o' that + to get away with; the less ye take, though, the less likely you'll be to + be followed!” + </p> + <p> + He went to the door, unlocked and opened it. A strange light, as of a + lurid storm interspersed by sheet-like lightning, filled the outer + darkness, and the silence was now broken by dull crashes and nearer cries + and shouting. A few figures were also dimly flitting around the + neighboring empty offices, some of which, like Farendell's, had been + entered by their now alarmed owners. + </p> + <p> + “You've got a good chance now,” continued Scranton; “ye couldn't hev a + better. It's a big fire—a scorcher—and jest the time for a man + to wipe himself out and not be missed. Make tracks where the crowd is + thickest and whar ye're likely to be seen, ez ef ye were helpin'! Ther' + 'll be other men missed tomorrow beside you,” he added with grim + significance; “but nobody'll know that you was one who really got away.” + </p> + <p> + Where the imperturbable logic of the strange man might have failed, the + noise, the tumult, the suggestion of swift-coming disaster, and the + necessity for some immediate action of any kind, was convincing. Farendell + hastily stuffed his pockets with gold and the papers he had found, and + moved to the door. Already he fancied he felt the hot breath of the + leaping conflagration beyond. “And you?” he said, turning suspiciously to + Scranton. + </p> + <p> + “When you're shut of this and clean off, I'll fix things and leave too—but + not before. I reckon,” he added grimly, with a glance at the sky, now + streaming with sparks like a meteoric shower, “thar won't be much left + here in the morning.” + </p> + <p> + A few dull embers pattered on the iron roof of the low building and + bounded off in ashes. Farendell cast a final glance around him, and then + darted from the building. The iron door clanged behind him—he was + gone. + </p> + <p> + Evidently not too soon, for the other buildings were already deserted by + their would-be salvors, who had filled the streets with piles of books and + valuables waiting to be carried away. Then occurred a terrible phenomenon, + which had once before in such disasters paralyzed the efforts of the + firemen. A large wooden warehouse in the centre of the block of offices, + many hundred feet from the scene of active conflagration—which had + hitherto remained intact—suddenly became enveloped in clouds of + smoke, and without warning burst as suddenly from roof and upper story + into vivid flame. There were eye-witnesses who declared that a stream of + living fire seemed to leap upon it from the burning district, and + connected the space between them with an arch of luminous heat. In another + instant the whole district was involved in a whirlwind of smoke and flame, + out of whose seething vortex the corrugated iron buildings occasionally + showed their shriveling or glowing outlines. And then the fire swept on + and away. + </p> + <p> + When the sun again arose over the panic-stricken and devastated city, all + personal incident and disaster was forgotten in the larger calamity. It + was two or three days before the full particulars could be gathered—even + while the dominant and resistless energy of the people was erecting new + buildings upon the still-smoking ruins. It was only on the third day + afterwards that James Farendell, on the deck of a coasting steamer, + creeping out through the fogs of the Golden Gate, read the latest news in + a San Francisco paper brought by the pilot. As he hurriedly comprehended + the magnitude of the loss, which was far beyond his previous conception, + he experienced a certain satisfaction in finding his position no worse + materially than that of many of his fellow workers. THEY were ruined like + himself; THEY must begin their life afresh—but then! Ah! there was + still that terrible difference. He drew his breath quickly, and read on. + Suddenly he stopped, transfixed by a later paragraph. For an instant he + failed to grasp its full significance. Then he read it again, the words + imprinting themselves on his senses with a slow deliberation that seemed + to him as passionless as Scranton's utterances on that fateful night. + </p> + <p> + “The loss of life, it is now feared, is much greater than at first + imagined. To the list that has been already published we must add the name + of James Farendell, the energetic contractor so well known to our + citizens, who was missing the morning after the fire. His calcined remains + were found this afternoon in the warped and twisted iron shell of his + counting-house, the wooden frame having been reduced to charcoal in the + intense heat. The unfortunate man seems to have gone there to remove his + books and papers,—as was evidenced by the iron safe being found + open,—but to have been caught and imprisoned in the building through + the heat causing the metal sheathing to hermetically seal the doors and + windows. He was seen by some neighbors to enter the building while the + fire was still distant, and his remains were identified by his keys, which + were found beneath him. A poignant interest is added to his untimely fate + by the circumstance that he was to have been married on the following day + to the widow of his late partner, and that he had, at the call of duty, + that very evening left a dinner party given to celebrate the last day of + his bachelorhood—or, as it has indeed proved, of his earthly + existence. Two families are thus placed in mourning, and it is a singular + sequel that by this untoward calamity the well-known firm of Farendell + & Cutler may be said to have ceased to exist.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Farendell started to his feet. But a lurch of the schooner as she rose + on the long swell of the Pacific sent him staggering dizzily back to his + seat, and checked his first wild impulse to return. He saw it all now,—the + fire had avenged him by wiping out his persecutor, Scranton, but in the + eyes of his contemporaries it had only erased HIM! He might return to + refute the story in his own person, but the dead man's partner still lived + with his secret, and his own rehabilitation could only revive his former + peril. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Four years elapsed before the late Mr. Farendell again set foot in the + levee of Sacramento. The steamboat that brought him from San Francisco was + a marvel to him in size, elegance, and comfort; so different from the + little, crowded, tri-weekly packet he remembered; and it might, in a + manner, have prepared him for the greater change in the city. But he was + astounded to find nothing to remind him of the past,—no landmark, + nor even ruin, of the place he had known. Blocks of brick buildings, with + thoroughfares having strange titles, occupied the district where his + counting-house had stood, and even obliterated its site; equally strange + names were upon the shops and warehouses. In his four years' wanderings he + had scarcely found a place as unfamiliar. He had trusted to the great + change in his own appearance—the full beard that he wore and the + tanning of a tropical sun—to prevent recognition; but the precaution + was unnecessary, there were none to recognize him in the new faces which + were the only ones he saw in the transformed city. A cautious allusion to + the past which he had made on the boat to a fellow passenger had brought + only the surprised rejoinder, “Oh, that must have been before the big + fire,” as if it was an historic epoch. There was something of pain even in + this assured security of his loneliness. His obliteration was complete. + </p> + <p> + For the late Mr. Farendell had suffered some change of mind with his other + mutations. He had been singularly lucky. The schooner in which he had + escaped brought him to Acapulco, where, as a returning Californian, and a + presumably successful one, his services and experience were eagerly sought + by an English party engaged in developing certain disused Mexican mines. + As the post, however, was perilously near the route of regular emigration, + as soon as he had gained a sufficient sum he embarked with some goods to + Callao, where he presently established himself in business, resuming his + REAL name—the unambitious but indistinctive one of “Smith.” It is + highly probable that this prudential act was also his first step towards + rectitude. For whether the change was a question of moral ethics, or + merely a superstitious essay in luck, he was thereafter strictly honest in + business. He became prosperous. He had been sustained in his flight by the + intention that, if he were successful elsewhere, he would endeavor to + communicate with his abandoned fiancee, and ask her to join him, and share + not his name but fortune in exile. But as he grew rich, the difficulties + of carrying out this intention became more apparent; he was by no means + certain of her loyalty surviving the deceit he had practiced and the + revelation he would have to make; he was doubtful of the success of any + story which at other times he would have glibly invented to take the place + of truth. Already several months had elapsed since his supposed death; + could he expect her to be less accessible to premature advances now than + when she had been a widow? Perhaps this made him think of the wife he had + deserted so long ago. He had been quite content to live without regret or + affection, forgetting and forgotten, but in his present prosperity he felt + there was some need of putting his domestic affairs into a more secure and + legitimate shape, to avert any catastrophe like the last. HERE at least + would be no difficulty; husbands had deserted their wives before this in + Californian emigration, and had been heard of only after they had made + their fortune. Any plausible story would be accepted by HER in the joy of + his reappearance; or if, indeed, as he reflected with equal complacency, + she was dead or divorced from him through his desertion—a sufficient + cause in her own State—and re-married, he would at least be more + secure. He began, without committing himself, by inquiry and anonymous + correspondence. His wife, he learnt, had left Missouri for Sacramento only + a month or two after his own disappearance from that place, and her + address was unknown! + </p> + <p> + A complication so unlooked for disquieted him, and yet whetted his + curiosity. The only person she might meet in California who could possibly + identify him with the late Mr. Farendell was Duffy; he had often wondered + if that mysterious partner of Scranton's had been deceived with the + others, or had ever suspected that the body discovered in the + counting-house was Scranton's. If not, he must have accepted the strange + coincidence that Scranton had disappeared also the same night. In the + first six months of his exile he had searched the Californian papers + thoroughly, but had found no record of any doubt having been thrown on the + accepted belief. It was these circumstances, and perhaps a vague + fascination not unlike that which impels the malefactor to haunt the scene + of his crime, that, at the end of four years, had brought him, a man of + middle age and assured occupation and fortune, back to the city he had + fled from. + </p> + <p> + A few days at one of the new hotels convinced him thoroughly that he was + in no danger of recognition, and gave him the assurance to take rooms more + in keeping with his circumstances and his own frankly avowed position as + the head of a South American house. A cautious acquaintance—through + the agency of his banker—with a few business men gave him some + occupation, and the fact of his South American letters being addressed to + Don Diego Smith gave a foreign flavor to his individuality, which his + tanned face and dark beard had materially helped. A stronger test + convinced him how complete was the obliteration of his former identity. + One day at the bank he was startled at being introduced by the manager to + a man whom he at once recognized as a former business acquaintance. But + the shock was his alone; the formal approach and unfamiliar manner of the + man showed that he had failed to recognize even a resemblance. But would + he equally escape detection by his wife if he met her as accidentally,—an + encounter not to be thought of until he knew something more of her? He + became more cautious in going to public places, but luckily for him the + proportion of women to men was still small in California, and they were + more observed than observing. + </p> + <p> + A month elapsed; in that time he had thoroughly exhausted the local + Directories in his cautious researches among the “Smiths,” for in his fear + of precipitating a premature disclosure he had given up his former + anonymous advertising. And there was a certain occupation in this personal + quest that filled his business time. He was in no hurry. He had a singular + faith that he would eventually discover her whereabouts, be able to make + all necessary inquiries into her conduct and habits, and perhaps even + enjoy a brief season of unsuspected personal observation before revealing + himself. And this faith was as singularly rewarded. + </p> + <p> + Having occasion to get his watch repaired one day he entered a large + jeweler's shop, and while waiting its examination his attention was + attracted by an ordinary old-fashioned daguerreotype case in the form of a + heart-shaped locket lying on the counter with other articles left for + repairs. Something in its appearance touched a chord in his memory; he + lifted the half-opened case and saw a much faded daguerreotype portrait of + himself taken in Missouri before he left in the Californian emigration. He + recognized it at once as one he had given to his wife; the faded likeness + was so little like his present self that he boldly examined it and asked + the jeweler one or two questions. The man was communicative. Yes, it was + an old-fashioned affair which had been left for repairs a few days ago by + a lady whose name and address, written by herself, were on the card tied + to it. + </p> + <p> + Mr. James Smith had by this time fully controlled the emotion he felt as + he recognized his wife's name and handwriting, and knew that at last the + clue was found! He laid down the case carelessly, gave the final + directions for the repairs of his watch, and left the shop. The address, + of which he had taken a mental note, was, to his surprise, very near his + own lodgings; but he went straight home. Here a few inquiries of his + janitor elicited the information that the building indicated in the + address was a large one of furnished apartments and offices like his own, + and that the “Mrs. Smith” must be simply the housekeeper of the landlord, + whose name appeared in the Directory, but not her own. Yet he waited until + evening before he ventured to reconnoitre the premises; with the + possession of his clue came a slight cooling of his ardor and extreme + caution in his further proceedings. The house—a reconstructed wooden + building—offered no external indication of the rooms she occupied in + the uniformly curtained windows that front the street. Yet he felt an odd + and pleasurable excitement in passing once or twice before those walls + that hid the goal of his quest. As yet he had not seen her, and there was + naturally the added zest of expectation. He noticed that there was a new + building opposite, with vacant offices to let. A project suddenly occurred + to him, which by morning he had fully matured. He hired a front room in + the first floor of the new building, had it hurriedly furnished as a + private office, and on the second morning of his discovery was installed + behind his desk at the window commanding a full view of the opposite + house. There was nothing strange in the South American capitalist + selecting a private office in so popular a locality. + </p> + <p> + Two or three days elapsed without any result from his espionage. He came + to know by sight the various tenants, the two Chinese servants, and the + solitary Irish housemaid, but as yet had no glimpse of the housekeeper. + She evidently led a secluded life among her duties; it occurred to him + that perhaps she went out, possibly to market, earlier than he came, or + later, after he had left the office. In this belief he arrived one morning + after an early walk in a smart spring shower, the lingering straggler of + the winter rains. There were few people astir, yet he had been preceded + for two or three blocks by a tall woman whose umbrella partly concealed + her head and shoulders from view. He had noticed, however, even in his + abstraction, that she walked well, and managed the lifting of her skirt + over her trim ankles and well-booted feet with some grace and cleverness. + Yet it was only on her unexpectedly turning the corner of his own street + that he became interested. She continued on until within a few doors of + his office, when she stopped to give an order to a tradesman, who was just + taking down his shutters. He heard her voice distinctly; in the quick + emotion it gave him he brushed hurriedly past her without lifting his + eyes. Gaining his own doorway he rushed upstairs to his office, hastily + unlocked it, and ran to the window. The lady was already crossing the + street. He saw her pause before the door of the opposite house, open it + with a latchkey, and caught a full view of her profile in the single + moment that she turned to furl her umbrella and enter. It was his wife's + voice he had heard; it was his wife's face that he had seen in profile. + </p> + <p> + Yet she was changed from the lanky young schoolgirl he had wedded ten + years ago, or, at least, compared to what his recollection of her had + been. Had he ever seen her as she really was? Surely somewhere in that + timid, freckled, half-grown bride he had known in the first year of their + marriage the germ of this self-possessed, matured woman was hidden. There + was the tone of her voice; he had never recalled it before as a lover + might, yet now it touched him; her profile he certainly remembered, but + not with the feeling it now produced in him. Would he have ever abandoned + her had she been like that? Or had HE changed, and was this no longer his + old self?—perhaps even a self SHE would never recognize again? James + Smith had the superstitions of a gambler, and that vague idea of fate that + comes to weak men; a sudden fright seized him, and he half withdrew from + the window lest she should observe him, recognize him, and by some act + precipitate that fate. + </p> + <p> + By lingering beyond the usual hour for his departure he saw her again, and + had even a full view of her face as she crossed the street. The years had + certainly improved her; he wondered with a certain nervousness if she + would think they had done the same for him. The complacency with which he + had at first contemplated her probable joy at recovering him had become + seriously shaken since he had seen her; a woman as well preserved and + good-looking as that, holding a certain responsible and, no doubt, + lucrative position, must have many admirers and be independent. He longed + to tell her now of his fortune, and yet shrank from the test its exposure + implied. He waited for her return until darkness had gathered, and then + went back to his lodgings a little chagrined and ill at ease. It was + rather late for her to be out alone! After all, what did he know of her + habits or associations? He recalled the freedom of Californian life, and + the old scandals relating to the lapses of many women who had previously + led blameless lives in the Atlantic States. Clearly it behooved him to be + cautious. Yet he walked late that night before the house again, eager to + see if she had returned, and with WHOM? He was restricted in his eagerness + by the fear of detection, but he gathered very little knowledge of her + habits; singularly enough nobody seemed to care. A little piqued at this, + he began to wonder if he were not thinking too much of this woman to whom + he still hesitated to reveal himself. Nevertheless, he found himself that + night again wandering around the house, and even watching with some + anxiety the shadow which he believed to be hers on the window-blind of the + room where he had by discreet inquiry located her. Whether his memory was + stimulated by his quest he never knew, but presently he was able to recall + step by step and incident by incident his early courtship of her and the + brief days of their married life. He even remembered the day she accepted + him, and even dwelt upon it with a sentimental thrill that he probably + never felt at the time, and it was a distinct feature of his extraordinary + state of mind and its concentration upon this particular subject that he + presently began to look upon HIMSELF as the abandoned and deserted + conjugal partner, and to nurse a feeling of deep injury at her hands! The + fact that he was thinking of her, and she, probably, contented with her + lot, was undisturbed by any memory of him, seemed to him a logical + deduction of his superior affection. + </p> + <p> + It was, therefore, quite as much in the attitude of a reproachful and + avenging husband as of a merely curious one that, one afternoon, seeing + her issue from her house at an early hour, he slipped down the stairs and + began to follow her at a secure distance. She turned into the principal + thoroughfare, and presently made one of the crowd who were entering a + popular place of amusement where there was an afternoon performance. So + complete was his selfish hallucination, that he smiled bitterly at this + proof of heartless indifference, and even so far overcame his previous + caution as to actually brush by her somewhat rudely as he entered the + building at the same moment. He was conscious that she lifted her eyes a + little impatiently to the face of the awkward stranger; he was equally, + but more bitterly, conscious that she had not recognized him! He dropped + into a seat behind her; she did not look at him again with even a sense of + disturbance; the momentary contact had evidently left no impression upon + her. She glanced casually at her neighbors on either side, and presently + became absorbed in the performance. When it was over she rose, and on her + way out recognized and exchanged a few words with one or two + acquaintances. Again he heard her familiar voice, almost at his elbow, + raised with no more consciousness of her contiguity to him than if he were + a mere ghost. The thought struck him for the first time with a hideous and + appalling significance. What was he but a ghost to her—to every one! + A man dead, buried, and forgotten! His vanity and self-complacency + vanished before this crushing realization of the hopelessness of his + existence. Dazed and bewildered, he mingled blindly and blunderingly with + the departing crowd, tossed here and there as if he were an invisible + presence, stumbling over the impeding skirts of women with a vague apology + they heeded not, and which seemed in his frightened ears as hollow as a + voice from the grave. + </p> + <p> + When he at last reached the street he did not look back, but wandered + abstractedly through by-streets in the falling rain, scarcely realizing + where he was, until he found himself drenched through, with his closed + umbrella in his tremulous hand, standing at the half-submerged levee + beside the overflowed river. Here again he realized how completely he had + been absorbed and concentrated in his search for his wife during the last + three weeks; he had never been on the levee since his arrival. He had + taken no note of the excitement of the citizens over the alarming reports + of terrible floods in the mountains, and the daily and hourly fear that + they experienced of disastrous inundation from the surcharged river. He + had never thought of it, yet he had read of it, and even talked, and yet + now for the first time in his selfish, blind absorption was certain of it. + He stood still for some time, watching doggedly the enormous yellow stream + laboring with its burden and drift from many a mountain town and camp, + moving steadily and fatefully towards the distant bay, and still more + distant and inevitable ocean. For a few moments it vaguely fascinated and + diverted him; then it as vaguely lent itself to his one dominant, haunting + thought. Yes, it was pointing him the only way out,—the path to the + distant ocean and utter forgetfulness again! + </p> + <p> + The chill of his saturated clothing brought him to himself once more, he + turned and hurried home. He went tiredly to his bedroom, and while + changing his garments there came a knock at the door. It was the porter to + say that a lady had called, and was waiting for him in the sitting-room. + She had not given her name. + </p> + <p> + The closed door prevented the servant from seeing the extraordinary effect + produced by this simple announcement upon the tenant. For one instant + James Smith remained spellbound in his chair. It was characteristic of his + weak nature and singular prepossession that he passed in an instant from + the extreme of doubt to the extreme of certainty and conviction. It was + his wife! She had recognized him in that moment of encounter at the + entertainment; had found his address, and had followed him here! He + dressed himself with feverish haste, not, however, without a certain care + of his appearance and some selection of apparel, and quickly forecast the + forthcoming interview in his mind. For the pendulum had swung back; Mr. + James Smith was once more the self-satisfied, self-complacent, and + discreetly cautious husband that he had been at the beginning of his + quest, perhaps with a certain sense of grievance superadded. He should + require the fullest explanations and guarantees before committing himself,—indeed, + her present call might be an advance that it would be necessary for him to + check. He even pictured her pleading at his feet; a very little stronger + effort of his Alnaschar imagination would have made him reject her like + the fatuous Persian glass peddler. + </p> + <p> + He opened the door of the sitting-room deliberately, and walked in with a + certain formal precision. But the figure of a woman arose from the sofa, + and with a slight outcry, half playful, half hysterical, threw herself + upon his breast with the single exclamation, “Jim!” He started back from + the double shock. For the woman was NOT his wife! A woman extravagantly + dressed, still young, but bearing, even through her artificially + heightened color, a face worn with excitement, excess, and premature age. + Yet a face that as he disengaged himself from her arms grew upon him with + a terrible recognition, a face that he had once thought pretty, + inexperienced, and innocent,—the face of the widow of his former + partner, Cutler, the woman he was to have married on the day he fled. The + bitter revulsion of feeling and astonishment was evidently visible in his + face, for she, too, drew back for a moment as they separated. But she had + evidently been prepared, if not pathetically inured to such experiences. + She dropped into a chair again with a dry laugh, and a hard metallic + voice, as she said,— + </p> + <p> + “Well, it's YOU, anyway—and you can't get out of it.” + </p> + <p> + As he still stared at her, in her inconsistent finery, draggled and wet by + the storm, at her limp ribbons and ostentatious jewelry, she continued, in + the same hard voice,— + </p> + <p> + “I thought I spotted you once or twice before; but you took no notice of + me, and I reckoned I was mistaken. But this afternoon at the Temple of + Music”— + </p> + <p> + “Where?” said James Smith harshly. + </p> + <p> + “At the Temple—the San Francisco Troupe performance—where you + brushed by me, and I heard your voice saying, 'Beg pardon!' I says, + 'That's Jim Farendell.'” + </p> + <p> + “Farendell!” burst out James Smith, half in simulated astonishment, half + in real alarm. + </p> + <p> + “Well! Smith, then, if you like better,” said the woman impatiently; + “though it's about the sickest and most played-out dodge of a name you + could have pitched upon. James Smith, Don Diego Smith!” she repeated, with + a hysteric laugh. “Why, it beats the nigger minstrels all hollow! Well, + when I saw you there, I said, 'That's Jim Farendell, or his twin brother;' + I didn't say 'his ghost,' mind you; for, from the beginning, even before I + knew it all, I never took any stock in that fool yarn about your burnt + bones being found in your office.” + </p> + <p> + “Knew all, knew what?” demanded the man, with a bravado which he + nevertheless felt was hopeless. + </p> + <p> + She rose, crossed the room, and, standing before him, placed one hand upon + her hip as she looked at him with half-pitying effrontery. + </p> + <p> + “Look here, Jim,” she began slowly, “do you know what you're doing? Well, + you're making me tired!” In spite of himself, a half-superstitious thrill + went through him as her words and attitude recalled the dead Scranton. “Do + you suppose that I don't know that you ran away the night of the fire? Do + you suppose that I don't know that you were next to ruined that night, and + that you took that opportunity of skedaddling out of the country with all + the money you had left, and leaving folks to imagine you were burnt up + with the books you had falsified and the accounts you had doctored! It was + a mean thing for you to do to me, Jim, for I loved you then, and would + have been fool enough to run off with you if you'd told me all, and not + left me to find out that you had lost MY money—every cent Cutler had + left me in the business—with the rest.” + </p> + <p> + With the fatuousness of a weak man cornered, he clung to unimportant + details. “But the body was believed to be mine by every one,” he stammered + angrily. “My papers and books were burnt,—there was no evidence.” + </p> + <p> + “And why was there not?” she said witheringly, staring doggedly in his + face. “Because I stopped it! Because when I knew those bones and rags shut + up in that office weren't yours, and was beginning to make a row about it, + a strange man came to me and said they were the remains of a friend of his + who knew your bankruptcy and had come that night to warn you,—a man + whom you had half ruined once, a man who had probably lost his life in + helping you away. He said if I went on making a fuss he'd come out with + the whole truth—how you were a thief and a forger, and”—she + stopped. + </p> + <p> + “And what else?” he asked desperately, dreading to hear his wife's name + next fall from her lips. + </p> + <p> + “And that—as it could be proved that his friend knew your secrets,” + she went on in a frightened, embarrassed voice, “you might be accused of + making away with him.” + </p> + <p> + For a moment James Smith was appalled; he had never thought of this. As in + all his past villainy he was too cowardly to contemplate murder, he was + frightened at the mere accusation of it. “But,” he stammered, forgetful of + all save this new terror, “he KNEW I wouldn't be such a fool, for the man + himself told me Duffy had the papers, and killing him wouldn't have helped + me.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Cutler stared at him a moment searchingly, and then turned wearily + away. “Well,” she said, sinking into her chair again, “he said if I'd shut + my mouth he'd shut his—and—I did. And this,” she added, + throwing her hands from her lap, a gesture half of reproach and half of + contempt,—“this is what I get for it.” + </p> + <p> + More frightened than touched by the woman's desperation, James Smith + stammered a vague apologetic disclaimer, even while he was loathing with a + revulsion new to him her draggled finery, her still more faded beauty, and + the half-distinct consciousness of guilt that linked her to him. But she + waved it away, a weary gesture that again reminded him of the dead + Scranton. + </p> + <p> + “Of course I ain't what I was, but who's to blame for it? When you left me + alone without a cent, face to face with a lie, I had to do something. I + wasn't brought up to work; I like good clothes, and you know it better + than anybody. I ain't one of your stage heroines that go out as dependants + and governesses and die of consumption, but I thought,” she went on with a + shrill, hysterical laugh, more painful than the weariness which inevitably + followed it, “I thought I might train myself to do it, ON THE STAGE! and I + joined Barker's Company. They said I had a face and figure for the stage; + that face and figure wore out before I had anything more to show, and I + wasn't big enough to make better terms with the manager. They kept me + nearly a year doing chambermaids and fairy queens the other side of the + footlights, where I saw you today. Then I kicked! I suppose I might have + married some fool for his money, but I was soft enough to think you might + be sending for me when you were safe. You seem to be mighty comfortable + here,” she continued, with a bitter glance around his handsomely furnished + room, “as 'Don Diego Smith.' I reckon skedaddling pays better than staying + behind.” + </p> + <p> + “I have only been here a few weeks,” he said hurriedly. “I never knew what + had become of you, or that you were still here”— + </p> + <p> + “Or you wouldn't have come,” she interrupted, with a bitter laugh. “Speak + out, Jim.” + </p> + <p> + “If there—is anything—I can do—for you,” he stammered, + “I'm sure”— + </p> + <p> + “Anything you can do?” she repeated, slowly and scornfully. “Anything you + can do NOW? Yes!” she screamed, suddenly rising, crossing the room, and + grasping his arms convulsively. “Yes! Take me away from here—anywhere—at + once! Look, Jim,” she went on feverishly, “let bygones be bygones—I + won't peach! I won't tell on you—though I had it in my heart when + you gave me the go-by just now! I'll do anything you say—go to your + farthest hiding-place—work for you—only take me out of this + cursed place.” + </p> + <p> + Her passionate pleading stung even through his selfishness and loathing. + He thought of his wife's indifference! Yes, he might be driven to this, + and at least he must secure the only witness against his previous + misconduct. “We will see,” he said soothingly, gently loosening her hands. + “We must talk it over.” He stopped as his old suspiciousness returned. + “But you must have some friends,” he said searchingly, “some one who has + helped you.” + </p> + <p> + “None! Only one—he helped me at first,” she hesitated—“Duffy.” + </p> + <p> + “Duffy!” said James Smith, recoiling. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, when he had to tell me all,” she said in half-frightened tones, “he + was sorry for me. Listen, Jim! He was a square man, for all he was devoted + to his partner—and you can't blame him for that. I think he helped + me because I was alone; for nothing else, Jim. I swear it! He helped me + from time to time. Maybe he might have wanted to marry me if he had not + been waiting for another woman that he loved, a married woman that had + been deserted years ago by her husband, just as you might have deserted me + if we'd been married that day. He helped her and paid for her journey here + to seek her husband, and set her up in business.” + </p> + <p> + “What are you talking about—what woman?” stammered James Smith, with + a strange presentiment creeping over him. + </p> + <p> + “A Mrs. Smith. Yes,” she said quickly, as he started, “not a sham name + like yours, but really and truly SMITH—that was her husband's name! + I'm not lying, Jim,” she went on, evidently mistaking the cause of the + sudden contraction of the man's face. “I didn't invent her nor her name; + there IS such a woman, and Duffy loves her—and HER only, and he + never, NEVER was anything more than a friend to me. I swear it!” + </p> + <p> + The room seemed to swim around him. She was staring at him, but he could + see in her vacant eyes that she had no conception of his secret, nor knew + the extent of her revelation. Duffy had not dared to tell all! He burst + into a coarse laugh. “What matters Duffy or the silly woman he'd try to + steal away from other men.” + </p> + <p> + “But he didn't try to steal her, and she's only silly because she wants to + be true to her husband while he lives. She told Duffy she'd never marry + him until she saw her husband's dead face. More fool she,” she added + bitterly. + </p> + <p> + “Until she saw her husband's dead face,” was all that James Smith heard of + this speech. His wife's faithfulness through years of desertion, her long + waiting and truthfulness, even the bitter commentary of the equally + injured woman before him, were to him as nothing to what that single + sentence conjured up. He laughed again, but this time strangely and + vacantly. “Enough of this Duffy and his intrusion in my affairs until I'm + able to settle my account with him. Come,” he added brusquely, “if we are + going to cut out of this at once I've got much to do. Come here again + to-morrow, early. This Duffy—does he live here?” + </p> + <p> + “No. In Marysville.” + </p> + <p> + “Good! Come early to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + As she seemed to hesitate, he opened a drawer of his table and took out a + handful of gold, and handed it to her. She glanced at it for a moment with + a strange expression, put it mechanically in her pocket, and then looking + up at him said, with a forced laugh, “I suppose that means I am to clear + out?” + </p> + <p> + “Until to-morrow,” he said shortly. + </p> + <p> + “If the Sacramento don't sweep us away before then,” she interrupted, with + a reckless laugh; “the river's broken through the levee—a clear + sweep in two places. Where I live the water's up to the doorstep. They say + it's going to be the biggest flood yet. You're all right here; you're on + higher ground.” + </p> + <p> + She seemed to utter these sentences abstractedly, disconnectedly, as if to + gain time. He made an impatient gesture. + </p> + <p> + “All right, I'm going,” she said, compressing her lips slowly to keep them + from trembling. “You haven't forgotten anything?” As he turned half + angrily towards her she added, hurriedly and bitterly, “Anything—for + to-morrow?” + </p> + <p> + “No!” + </p> + <p> + She opened the door and passed out. He listened until the trail of her wet + skirt had descended the stairs, and the street door had closed behind her. + Then he went back to his table and began collecting his papers and putting + them away in his trunks, which he packed feverishly, yet with a set and + determined face. He wrote one or two letters, which he sealed and left + upon his table. He then went to his bedroom and deliberately shaved off + his disguising beard. Had he not been so preoccupied in one thought, he + might have been conscious of loud voices in the street and a hurrying of + feet on the wet sidewalk. But he was possessed by only one idea. He must + see his wife that evening! How, he knew not yet, but the way would appear + when he had reached his office in the building opposite hers. Three hours + had elapsed before he had finished his preparations. On going downstairs + he stopped to give some directions to the porter, but his room was empty; + passing into the street he was surprised to find it quite deserted, and + the shops closed; even a drinking saloon at the corner was quite empty. He + turned the corner of the street, and began the slight descent towards his + office. To his amazement the lower end of the street, which was crossed by + the thoroughfare which was his destination, was blocked by a crowd of + people. As he hurried forward to join them he suddenly saw, moving down + that thoroughfare, what appeared to his startled eyes to be the + smokestacks of some small, flat-bottomed steamer. He rubbed his eyes; it + was no illusion, for the next moment he had reached the crowd, who were + standing half a block away from the thoroughfare, and on the edge of a + lagoon of yellow water, whose main current was the thoroughfare he was + seeking, and between whose houses, submerged to their first stories, a + steamboat was really paddling. Other boats and rafts were adrift on its + sluggish waters, and a boatman had just landed a passenger in the + backwater of the lower half of the street on which he stood with the + crowd. + </p> + <p> + Possessed of his one idea, he fought his way desperately to the water edge + and the boat, and demanded a passage to his office. The boatman hesitated, + but James Smith promptly offered him double the value of his craft. The + act was not deemed singular in that extravagant epoch, and the + sympathizing crowd cheered his solitary departure, as he declined even the + services of the boatman. The next moment he was off in mid-stream of the + thoroughfare, paddling his boat with a desperate but inexperienced hand + until he reached his office, which he entered by the window. The building, + which was new and of brick, showed very little damage from the flood, but + in far different case was the one opposite, on which his eyes were eagerly + bent, and whose cheap and insecure foundations he could see the flood was + already undermining. There were boats around the house, and men hurriedly + removing trunks and valuables, but the one figure he expected to see was + not there. He tied his own boat to the window; there was evidently no + chance of an interview now, but if she were leaving there would be still + the chance of following her and knowing her destination. As he gazed she + suddenly appeared at a window, and was helped by a boatman into a + flat-bottomed barge containing trunks and furniture. She was evidently the + last to leave. The other boats put off at once, and none too soon; for + there was a warning cry, a quick swerving of the barge, and the end of the + dwelling slowly dropped into the flood, seeming to sink on its knees like + a stricken ox. A great undulation of yellow water swept across the street, + inundating his office through the open window and half swamping his boat + beside it. At the same time he could see that the current had changed and + increased in volume and velocity, and, from the cries and warning of the + boatmen, he knew that the river had burst its banks at its upper bend. He + had barely time to leap into his boat and cast it off before there was a + foot of water on his floor. + </p> + <p> + But the new current was carrying the boats away from the higher level, + which they had been eagerly seeking, and towards the channel of the + swollen river. The barge was first to feel its influence, and was hurried + towards the river against the strongest efforts of its boatmen. One by one + the other and smaller boats contrived to get into the slack water of + crossing streets, and one was swamped before his eyes. But James Smith + kept only the barge in view. His difficulty in following it was increased + by his inexperience in managing a boat, and the quantity of drift which + now charged the current. Trees torn by their roots from some upland bank; + sheds, logs, timber, and the bloated carcasses of cattle choked the + stream. All the ruin worked by the flood seemed to be compressed in this + disastrous current. Once or twice he narrowly escaped collision with a + heavy beam or the bed of some farmer's wagon. Once he was swamped by a + tree, and righted his frail boat while clinging to its branches. + </p> + <p> + And then those who watched him from the barge and shore said afterwards + that a great apathy seemed to fall upon him. He no longer attempted to + guide the boat or struggle with the drift, but sat in the stern with + intent forward gaze and motionless paddles. Once they strove to warn him, + called to him to make an effort to reach the barge, and did what they + could, in spite of their own peril, to alter their course and help him. + But he neither answered nor heeded them. And then suddenly a great log + that they had just escaped seemed to rise up under the keel of his boat, + and it was gone. After a moment his face and head appeared above the + current, and so close to the stern of the barge that there was a slight + cry from the woman in it, but the next moment, and before the boatman + could reach him, he was drawn under it and disappeared. They lay on their + oars eagerly watching, but the body of James Smith was sucked under the + barge, and, in the mid-channel of the great river, was carried out towards + the distant sea. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + There was a strange meeting that night on the deck of a relief boat, which + had been sent out in search of the missing barge, between Mrs. Smith and a + grave and anxious passenger who had chartered it. When he had comforted + her, and pointed out, as, indeed, he had many times before, the loneliness + and insecurity of her unprotected life, she yielded to his arguments. But + it was not until many months after their marriage that she confessed to + him on that eventful night she thought she had seen in a moment of great + peril the vision of the dead face of her husband uplifted to her through + the water. + </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> + LANTY FOSTER'S MISTAKE + </h2> + <p> + Lanty Foster was crouching on a low stool before the dying kitchen fire, + the better to get its fading radiance on the book she was reading. Beyond, + through the open window and door, the fire was also slowly fading from the + sky and the mountain ridge whence the sun had dropped half an hour before. + The view was uphill, and the sky-line of the hill was marked by two or + three gibbet-like poles from which, on a now invisible line between them, + depended certain objects—mere black silhouettes against the sky—which + bore weird likeness to human figures. Absorbed as she was in her book, she + nevertheless occasionally cast an impatient glance in that direction, as + the sunlight faded more quickly than her fire. For the fluttering objects + were the “week's wash” which had to be brought in before night fell and + the mountain wind arose. It was strong at that altitude, and before this + had ravished the clothes from the line, and scattered them along the + highroad leading over the ridge, once even lashing the shy schoolmaster + with a pair of Lanty's own stockings, and blinding the parson with a + really tempestuous petticoat. + </p> + <p> + A whiff of wind down the big-throated chimney stirred the log embers on + the hearth, and the girl jumped to her feet, closing the book with an + impatient snap. She knew her mother's voice would follow. It was hard to + leave her heroine at the crucial moment of receiving an explanation from a + presumed faithless lover, just to climb a hill and take in a lot of + soulless washing, but such are the infelicities of stolen romance reading. + She threw the clothes-basket over her head like a hood, the handle resting + across her bosom and shoulders, and with both her hands free started out + of the cabin. But the darkness had come up from the valley in one stride + after its mountain fashion, had outstripped her, and she was instantly + plunged in it. Still the outline of the ridge above her was visible, with + the white, steadfast stars that were not there a moment ago, and by that + sign she knew she was late. She had to battle against the rushing wind + now, which sung through the inverted basket over her head and held her + back, but with bent shoulders she at last reached the top of the ridge and + the level. Yet here, owing to the shifting of the lighter background above + her, she now found herself again encompassed with the darkness. The + outlines of the poles had disappeared, the white fluttering garments were + distinct apparitions waving in the wind, like dancing ghosts. But there + certainly was a queer misshapen bulk moving beyond, which she did not + recognize, and as she at last reached one of the poles, a shock was + communicated to it, through the clothes-line and the bulk beyond. Then she + heard a voice say impatiently,— + </p> + <p> + “What in h-ll am I running into now?” + </p> + <p> + It was a man's voice, and, from its elevation, the voice of a man on + horseback. She answered without fear and with slow deliberation,— + </p> + <p> + “Inter our clothes-line, I reckon.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh!” said the man in a half-apologetic tone. Then in brisker accents, + “The very thing I want! I say, can you give me a bit of it? The ring of my + saddle girth has fetched loose. I can fasten it with that.” + </p> + <p> + “I reckon,” replied Lanty, with the same unconcern, moving nearer the + bulk, which now separated into two parts as the man dismounted. “How much + do you want?” + </p> + <p> + “A foot or two will do.” + </p> + <p> + They were now in front of each other, although their faces were not + distinguishable to either. Lanty, who had been following the lines with + her hand, here came upon the end knotted around the last pole. This she + began to untie. + </p> + <p> + “What a place to hang clothes,” he said curiously. + </p> + <p> + “Mighty dryin', tho',” returned Lanty laconically. + </p> + <p> + “And your house? Is it near by?” he continued. + </p> + <p> + “Just down the ridge—ye kin see from the edge. Got a knife?” She had + untied the knot. + </p> + <p> + “No—yes—wait.” He had hesitated a moment and then produced + something from his breast pocket, which he however kept in his hand. As he + did not offer it to her she simply held out a section of the rope between + her hands, which he divided with a single cut. She saw only that the + instrument was long and keen. Then she lifted the flap of the saddle for + him as he attempted to fasten the loose ring with the rope, but the + darkness made it impossible. With an ejaculation, he fumbled in his + pockets. “My last match!” he said, striking it, as he crouched over it to + protect it from the wind. Lanty leaned over also, with her apron raised + between it and the blast. The flame for an instant lit up the ring, the + man's dark face, mustache, and white teeth set together as he tugged at + the girth, and Lanty's brown, velvet eyes and soft, round cheek framed in + the basket. Then it went out, but the ring was secured. + </p> + <p> + “Thank you,” said the man, with a short laugh, “but I thought you were a + humpbacked witch in the dark there.” + </p> + <p> + “And I couldn't make out whether you was a cow or a b'ar,” returned the + young girl simply. + </p> + <p> + Here, however, he quickly mounted his horse, but in the action something + slipped from his clothes, struck a stone, and bounded away into the + darkness. + </p> + <p> + “My knife,” he said hurriedly. “Please hand it to me.” But although the + girl dropped on her knees and searched the ground diligently, it could not + be found. The man with a restrained ejaculation again dismounted, and + joined in the search. + </p> + <p> + “Haven't you got another match?” suggested Lanty. + </p> + <p> + “No—it was my last!” he said impatiently. + </p> + <p> + “Just you hol' on here,” she said suddenly, “and I'll run down to the + kitchen and fetch you a light. I won't be long.” + </p> + <p> + “No! no!” said the man quickly; “don't! I couldn't wait. I've been here + too long now. Look here. You come in daylight and find it, and—just + keep it for me, will you?” He laughed. “I'll come for it. And now, if + you'll only help to set me on that road again, for it's so infernal black + I can't see the mare's ears ahead of me, I won't bother you any more. + Thank you.” + </p> + <p> + Lanty had quietly moved to his horse's head and taken the bridle in her + hand, and at once seemed to be lost in the gloom. But in a few moments he + felt the muffled thud of his horse's hoof on the thick dust of the + highway, and its still hot, impalpable powder rising to his nostrils. + </p> + <p> + “Thank you,” he said again, “I'm all right now,” and in the pause that + followed it seemed to Lanty that he had extended a parting hand to her in + the darkness. She put up her own to meet it, but missed his, which had + blundered onto her shoulder. Before she could grasp it, she felt him + stooping over her, the light brush of his soft mustache on her cheek, and + then the starting forward of his horse. But the retaliating box on the ear + she had promptly aimed at him spent itself in the black space which seemed + suddenly to have swallowed up the man, and even his light laugh. + </p> + <p> + For an instant she stood still, and then, swinging the basket indignantly + from her shoulder, took up her suspended task. It was no light one in the + increasing wind, and the unfastened clothes-line had precipitated a part + of its burden to the ground through the loosening of the rope. But on + picking up the trailing garments her hand struck an unfamiliar object. The + stranger's lost knife! She thrust it hastily into the bottom of the basket + and completed her work. As she began to descend with her burden she saw + that the light of the kitchen fire, seen through the windows, was + augmented by a candle. Her mother was evidently awaiting her. + </p> + <p> + “Pretty time to be fetchin' in the wash,” said Mrs. Foster querulously. + “But what can you expect when folks stand gossipin' and philanderin' on + the ridge instead o' tendin' to their work?” + </p> + <p> + Now Lanty knew that she had NOT been “gossipin'” nor “philanderin',” yet + as the parting salute might have been open to that imputation, and as she + surmised that her mother might have overheard their voices, she briefly + said, to prevent further questioning, that she had shown a stranger the + road. But for her mother's unjust accusation she would have been more + communicative. As Mrs. Foster went back grumblingly into the sitting-room + Lanty resolved to keep the knife at present a secret from her mother, and + to that purpose removed it from the basket. But in the light of the candle + she saw it for the first time plainly—and started. + </p> + <p> + For it was really a dagger! jeweled-handled and richly wrought—such + as Lanty had never looked upon before. The hilt was studded with gems, and + the blade, which had a cutting edge, was damascened in blue and gold. Her + soft eyes reflected the brilliant setting, her lips parted breathlessly; + then, as her mother's voice arose in the other room, she thrust it back + into its velvet sheath and clapped it into her pocket. Its rare beauty had + confirmed her resolution of absolute secrecy. To have shown it now would + have made “no end of talk.” And she was not sure but that her parents + would have demanded its custody! And it was given to HER by HIM to keep. + This settled the question of moral ethics. She took the first opportunity + to run up to her bedroom and hide it under the mattress. + </p> + <p> + Yet the thought of it filled the rest of her evening. When her household + duties were done she took up her novel again, partly from force of habit + and partly as an attitude in which she could think of IT undisturbed. For + what was fiction to her now? True, it possessed a certain reminiscent + value. A “dagger” had appeared in several romances she had devoured, but + she never had a clear idea of one before. “The Count sprang back, and, + drawing from his belt a richly jeweled dagger, hissed between his teeth,” + or, more to the purpose: “'Take this,' said Orlando, handing her the + ruby-hilted poignard which had gleamed upon his thigh, 'and should the + caitiff attempt thy unguarded innocence—'” + </p> + <p> + “Did ye hear what your father was sayin'?” Lanty started. It was her + mother's voice in the doorway, and she had been vaguely conscious of + another voice pitched in the same querulous key, which, indeed, was the + dominant expression of the small ranchers of that fertile neighborhood. + Possibly a too complaisant and unaggressive Nature had spoiled them. + </p> + <p> + “Yes!—no!” said Lanty abstractedly, “what did he say?” + </p> + <p> + “If you wasn't taken up with that fool book,” said Mrs. Foster, glancing + at her daughter's slightly conscious color, “ye'd know! He allowed ye'd + better not leave yer filly in the far pasture nights. That gang o' Mexican + horse-thieves is out again, and raided McKinnon's stock last night.” + </p> + <p> + This touched Lanty closely. The filly was her own property, and she was + breaking it for her own riding. But her distrust of her parents' + interference was greater than any fear of horse-stealers. “She's mighty + uneasy in the barn; and,” she added, with a proud consciousness of that + beautiful yet carnal weapon upstairs, “I reckon I ken protect her and + myself agin any Mexican horse-thieves.” + </p> + <p> + “My! but we're gettin' high and mighty,” responded Mrs. Foster, with deep + irony. “Did you git all that outer your fool book?” + </p> + <p> + “Mebbe,” said Lanty curtly. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, her thoughts that night were not entirely based on written + romance. She wondered if the stranger knew that she had really tried to + box his ears in the darkness, also if he had been able to see her face. + HIS she remembered, at least the flash of his white teeth against his dark + face and darker mustache, which was quite as soft as her own hair. But if + he thought “for a minnit” that she was “goin' to allow an entire stranger + to kiss her—he was mighty mistaken.” She should let him know it + “pretty quick”! She should hand him back the dagger “quite careless like,” + and never let on that she'd thought anything of it. Perhaps that was the + reason why, before she went to bed, she took a good look at it, and after + taking off her straight, beltless, calico gown she even tried the effect + of it, thrust in the stiff waistband of her petticoat, with the jeweled + hilt displayed, and thought it looked charming—as indeed it did. And + then, having said her prayers like a good girl, and supplicated that she + should be less “tetchy” with her parents, she went to sleep and dreamed + that she had gone out to take in the wash again, but that the clothes had + all changed to the queerest lot of folks, who were all fighting and + struggling with each other until she, Lanty, drawing her dagger, rushed up + single-handed among them, crying, “Disperse, ye craven curs,—disperse, + I say.” And they dispersed. + </p> + <p> + Yet even Lanty was obliged to admit the next morning that all this was + somewhat incongruous with the baking of “corn dodgers,” the frying of + fish, the making of beds, and her other household duties, and dismissed + the stranger from her mind until he should “happen along.” In her freer + and more acceptable outdoor duties she even tolerated the advances of + neighboring swains who made a point of passing by “Foster's Ranch,” and + who were quite aware that Atalanta Foster, alias “Lanty,” was one of the + prettiest girls in the country. But Lanty's toleration consisted in that + singular performance known to herself as “giving them as good as they + sent,” being a lazy traversing, qualified with scorn, of all that they + advanced. How long they would have put up with this from a plain girl I do + not know, but Lanty's short upper lip seemed framed for indolent and + fascinating scorn, and her dreamy eyes usually looked beyond the + questioner, or blunted his bolder glances in their velvety surfaces. The + libretto of these scenes was not exhaustive, e.g.:— + </p> + <p> + The Swain (with bold, bad gayety). “Saw that shy schoolmaster hangin' + round your ridge yesterday! Orter know by this time that shyness with a + gal don't pay.” + </p> + <p> + Lanty (decisively). “Mebbe he allows it don't get left as often as + impudence.” + </p> + <p> + The Swain (ignoring the reply and his previous attitude and becoming more + direct). “I was calkilatin' to say that with these yer hoss-thieves about, + yer filly ain't safe in the pasture. I took a turn round there two or + three times last evening to see if she was all right.” + </p> + <p> + Lanty (with a flattering show of interest). “No! DID ye, now? I was jest + wonderin”'— + </p> + <p> + The Swain (eagerly). “I did—quite late, too! Why, that's nothin', + Miss Atalanty, to what I'd do for you.” + </p> + <p> + Lanty (musing, with far off-eyes). “Then that's why she was so awful + skeerd and frightened! Just jumpin' outer her skin with horror. I reckoned + it was a b'ar or panther or a spook! You ought to have waited till she got + accustomed to your looks.” + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, despite this elegant raillery, Lanty was enough concerned in + the safety of her horse to visit it the next day with a view of bringing + it nearer home. She had just stepped into the alder fringe of a dry “run” + when she came suddenly upon the figure of a horseman in the “run,” who had + been hidden by the alders from the plain beyond and who seemed to be + engaged in examining the hoof marks in the dust of the old ford. Something + about his figure struck her recollection, and as he looked up quickly she + saw it was the owner of the dagger. But he appeared to be lighter of hair + and complexion, and was dressed differently, and more like a vaquero. Yet + there was the same flash of his teeth as he recognized her, and she knew + it was the same man. + </p> + <p> + Alas for her preparation! Without the knife she could not make that + haughty return of it which she had contemplated. And more than that, she + was conscious she was blushing! Nevertheless she managed to level her + pretty brown eyebrows at him, and said sharply that if he followed her to + her home she would return his property at once. + </p> + <p> + “But I'm in no hurry for it,” he said with a laugh,—the same light + laugh and pleasant voice she remembered,—“and I'd rather not come to + the house just now. The knife is in good hands, I know, and I'll call for + it when I want it! And until then—if it's all the same to you—keep + it to yourself,—keep it dark, as dark as the night I lost it!” + </p> + <p> + “I don't go about blabbing my affairs,” said Lanty indignantly, “and if it + hadn't BEEN dark that night you'd have had your ears boxed—you know + why!” + </p> + <p> + The stranger laughed again, waved his hand to Lanty, and galloped away. + </p> + <p> + Lanty was a little disappointed. The daylight had taken away some of her + illusions. He was certainly very good-looking, but not quite as + picturesque, mysterious, and thrilling as in the dark! And it was very + queer—he certainly did look darker that night! Who was he? And why + was he lingering near her? He was different from her neighbors—her + admirers. He might be one of those locaters, from the big towns, who + prospect the lands, with a view of settling government warrants on them,—they + were always so secret until they had found what they wanted. She did not + dare to seek information of her friends, for the same reason that she had + concealed his existence from her mother,—it would provoke awkward + questions; and it was evident that he was trusting to her secrecy, too. + The thought thrilled her with a new pride, and was some compensation for + the loss of her more intangible romance. It would be mighty fine, when he + did call openly for his beautiful knife and declared himself, to have them + all know that SHE knew about it all along. + </p> + <p> + When she reached home, to guard against another such surprise she + determined to keep the weapon with her, and, distrusting her pocket, + confided it to the cheap little country-made corset which only for the + last year had confined her budding figure, and which now, perhaps, heaved + with an additional pride. She was quite abstracted during the rest of the + day, and paid but little attention to the gossip of the farm lads, who + were full of a daring raid, two nights before, by the Mexican gang on the + large stock farm of a neighbor. The Vigilant Committee had been baffled; + it was even alleged that some of the smaller ranchmen and herders were in + league with the gang. It was also believed to be a widespread conspiracy; + to have a political complexion in its combination of an alien race with + Southwestern filibusters. The legal authorities had been reinforced by + special detectives from San Francisco. Lanty seldom troubled herself with + these matters; she knew the exaggeration, she suspected the ignorance of + her rural neighbors. She roughly referred it, in her own vocabulary, to + “jaw,” a peculiarly masculine quality. But later in the evening, when the + domestic circle in the sitting-room had been augmented by a neighbor, and + Lanty had taken refuge behind her novel as an excuse for silence, Zob + Hopper, the enamored swain of the previous evening, burst in with more + astounding news. A posse of the sheriff had just passed along the ridge; + they had “corraled” part of the gang, and rescued some of the stock. The + leader of the gang had escaped, but his capture was inevitable, as the + roads were stopped. “All the same, I'm glad to see ye took my advice, Miss + Atalanty, and brought in your filly,” he concluded, with an insinuating + glance at the young girl. + </p> + <p> + But “Miss Atalanty,” curling a quarter of an inch of scarlet lip above the + edge of her novel, here “allowed” that if his advice or the filly had to + be “took,” she didn't know which was worse. + </p> + <p> + “I wonder ye kin talk to sech peartness, Mr. Hopper,” said Mrs. Foster + severely; “she ain't got eyes nor senses for anythin' but that book.” + </p> + <p> + “Talkin' o' what's to be 'took,'” put in the diplomatic neighbor, “you bet + it ain't that Mexican leader! No, sir! he's been 'stopped' before this—and + then got clean away all the same! One o' them detectives got him once and + disarmed him—but he managed to give them the slip, after all. Why, + he's that full o' shifts and disguises thar ain't no spottin' him. He + walked right under the constable's nose oncet, and took a drink with the + sheriff that was arter him—and the blamed fool never knew it. He kin + change even the color of his hair quick as winkin'.” + </p> + <p> + “Is he a real Mexican,—a regular Greaser?” asked the paternal + Foster. “Cos I never heard that they wuz smart.” + </p> + <p> + “No! They say he comes o' old Spanish stock, a bad egg they threw outer + the nest, I reckon,” put in Hopper eagerly, seeing a strange animated + interest dilating Lanty's eyes, and hoping to share in it; “but he's + reg'lar high-toned, you bet! Why, I knew a man who seed him in his own + camp—prinked out in a velvet jacket and silk sash, with gold chains + and buttons down his wide pants and a dagger stuck in his sash, with a + handle just blazin' with jew'ls. Yes! Miss Atalanty, they say that one + stone at the top—a green stone, what they call an 'em'ral'—was + worth the price o' a 'Frisco house-lot. True ez you live! Eh—what's + up now?” + </p> + <p> + Lanty's book had fallen on the floor as she was rising to her feet with a + white face, still more strange and distorted in an affected yawn behind + her little hand. “Yer makin' me that sick and nervous with yer fool + yarns,” she said hysterically, “that I'm goin' to get a little fresh air. + It's just stifling here with lies and terbacker!” With another high laugh, + she brushed past him into the kitchen, opened the door, and then paused, + and, turning, ran rapidly up to her bedroom. Here she locked herself in, + tore open the bosom of her dress, plucked out the dagger, threw it on the + bed, where the green stone gleamed for an instant in the candlelight, and + then dropped on her knees beside the bed with her whirling head buried in + her cold red hands. + </p> + <p> + It had all come to her in a flash, like a blaze of lightning,—the + black, haunting figure on the ridge, the broken saddle girth, the + abandonment of the dagger in the exigencies of flight and concealment; the + second meeting, the skulking in the dry, alder-hidden “run,” the changed + dress, the lighter-colored hair, but always the same voice and laugh—the + leader, the fugitive, the Mexican horse-thief! And she, the Godforsaken + fool, the chuckle-headed nigger baby, with not half the sense of her own + filly or that sop-headed Hopper—had never seen it! She—SHE who + would be the laughing-stock of them all—she had thought him a + “locater,” a “towny” from 'Frisco! And she had consented to keep his knife + until he would call for it,—yes, call for it, with fire and flame + perhaps, the trampling of hoofs, pistol shots—and—yet— + </p> + <p> + Yet!—he had TRUSTED her. Yes! trusted her when he knew a word from + her lips would have brought the whole district down on him! when the mere + exposure of that dagger would have identified and damned him! Trusted her + a second time, when she was within cry of her house! When he might have + taken her filly without her knowing it? And now she remembered vaguely + that the neighbors had said how strange it was that her father's stock had + not suffered as theirs had. HE had protected them—he who was now a + fugitive—and their men pursuing him! She rose suddenly with a single + stamp of her narrow foot, and as suddenly became cool and sane. And then, + quite her old self again, she lazily picked up the dagger and restored it + to its place in her bosom. That done, with her color back and her eyes a + little brighter, she deliberately went downstairs again, stuck her little + brown head into the sitting-room, said cheerfully, “Still yawpin', you + folks,” and quietly passed out into the darkness. + </p> + <p> + She ran swiftly up to the ridge, impelled by the blind memory of having + met him there at night and the one vague thought to give him warning. But + it was dark and empty, with no sound but the rushing wind. And then an + idea seized her. If he were haunting the vicinity still, he might see the + fluttering of the clothes upon the line and believe she was there. She + stooped quickly, and in the merciful and exonerating darkness stripped off + her only white petticoat and pinned it on the line. It flapped, fluttered, + and streamed in the mountain wind. She lingered and listened. But there + came a sound she had not counted on,—the clattering hoofs of not + ONE, but many, horses on the lower road! She ran back to the house to find + its inmates already hastening towards the road for news. She took that + chance to slip in quietly, go to her room, whose window commanded a view + of the ridge, and crouching low behind it she listened. She could hear the + sound of voices, and the dull trampling of heavy boots on the dusty path + towards the barnyard on the other side of the house—a pause, and + then the return of the trampling boots, and the final clattering of hoofs + on the road again. Then there was a tap on her door and her mother's + querulous voice. + </p> + <p> + “Oh! yer there, are ye? Well—it's the best place fer a girl—with + all these man's doin's goin' on! They've got that Mexican horse-thief and + have tied him up in your filly's stall in the barn—till the 'Frisco + deputy gets back from rounding up the others. So ye jest stay where ye are + till they've come and gone, and we're shut o' all that cattle. Are ye + mindin'?” + </p> + <p> + “All right, maw; 'taint no call o' mine, anyhow,” returned Lanty, through + the half-open door. + </p> + <p> + At another time her mother might have been startled at her passive + obedience. Still more would she have been startled had she seen her + daughter's face now, behind the closed door—with her little mouth + set over her clenched teeth. And yet it was her own child, and Lanty was + her mother's real daughter; the same pioneer blood filled their veins, the + blood that had never nourished cravens or degenerates, but had given + itself to sprinkle and fertilize desert solitudes where man might follow. + Small wonder, then, that this frontier-born Lanty, whose first infant cry + had been answered by the yelp of wolf and scream of panther; whose + father's rifle had been leveled across her cradle to cover the stealthy + Indian who prowled outside, small wonder that she should feel herself + equal to these “man's doin's,” and prompt to take a part. For even in the + first shock of the news of the capture she recalled the fact that the barn + was old and rotten, that only that day the filly had kicked a board loose + from behind her stall, which she, Lanty, had lightly returned to avoid + “making a fuss.” If his captors had not noticed it, or trusted only to + their guards, she might make the opening wide enough to free him! + </p> + <p> + Two hours later the guard nearest the now sleeping house, a farm hand of + the Fosters', saw his employer's daughter slip out and cautiously approach + him. A devoted slave of Lanty's, and familiar with her impulses, he + guessed her curiosity, and was not averse to satisfy it and the sense of + his own importance. To her whispers of affected, half-terrified interest, + he responded in whispers that the captive was really in the filly's stall, + securely bound by his wrists behind his back, and his feet “hobbled” to a + post. That Lanty couldn't see him, for it was dark inside, and he was + sitting with his back to the wall, as he couldn't sleep comf'ble lyin' + down. Lanty's eyes glowed, but her face was turned aside. + </p> + <p> + “And ye ain't reckonin' his friends will come and rescue him?” said Lanty, + gazing with affected fearfulness in the darkness. + </p> + <p> + “Not much! There's two other guards down in the corral, and I'd fire my + gun and bring 'em up.” + </p> + <p> + But Lanty was gazing open-mouthed towards the ridge. “What's that wavin' + on the ridge?” she said in awe-stricken tones. + </p> + <p> + She was pointing to the petticoat,—a vague, distant, moving object + against the horizon. + </p> + <p> + “Why, that's some o' the wash on the line, ain't it?” + </p> + <p> + “Wash—TWO DAYS IN THE WEEK!” said Lanty sharply. “Wot's gone of + you?” + </p> + <p> + “Thet's so,” muttered the man, “and it wan't there at sundown, I'll swear! + P'r'aps I'd better call the guard,” and he raised his rifle. + </p> + <p> + “Don't,” said Lanty, catching his arm. “Suppose it's nothin', they'll + laugh at ye. Creep up softly and see; ye ain't afraid, are ye? If ye are, + give me yer gun, and I'LL go.” + </p> + <p> + This settled the question, as Lanty expected. The man cocked his piece, + and bending low began cautiously to mount the acclivity. Lanty waited + until his figure began to fade, and then ran like fire to the barn. + </p> + <p> + She had arranged every detail of her plan beforehand. Crouching beside the + wall of the stall she hissed through a crack in thrilling whispers, “Don't + move. Don't speak for your life's sake. Wait till I hand you back your + knife, then do the best you can.” Then slipping aside the loosened board + she saw dimly the black outline of curling hair, back, shoulders, and tied + wrists of the captive. Drawing the knife from her pocket, with two strokes + of its keen cutting edge she severed the cords, threw the knife into the + opening, and darted away. Yet in that moment she knew that the man was + instinctively turning towards her. But it was one thing to free a + horse-thief, and another to stop and “philander” with him. + </p> + <p> + She ran halfway up the ridge, and met the farm hand returning. It was only + a bit of washing after all, and he was glad he hadn't fired his gun. On + the other hand, Lanty confessed she had got “so skeert” being alone, that + she came to seek him. She had the shivers; wasn't her hand cold? It was, + but thrilling even in its coldness to the bashfully admiring man. And she + was that weak and dizzy, he must let her lean on his arm going down; and + they must go SLOW. She was sure he was cold, too, and if he would wait at + the back door she would give him a drink of whiskey. Thus Lanty, with her + brain afire, her eyes and ears straining into the darkness, and the vague + outline of the barn beyond. Another moment was protracted over the drink + of whiskey, and then Lanty, with a faint archness, made him promise not to + tell her mother of her escapade, and she promised on her part not to say + anything about his “stalking a petticoat on the clothesline,” and then + shyly closed the door and regained her room. HE must have got away by this + time, or have been discovered; she believed they would not open the barn + door until the return of the posse. + </p> + <p> + She was right. It was near daybreak when they returned, and, again + crouching low beside her window, she heard, with a fierce joy, the sudden + outcry, the oaths, the wrangling voices, the summoning of her father to + the front door, and then the tumultuous sweeping away again of the whole + posse, and a blessed silence falling over the rancho. And then Lanty went + quietly to bed, and slept like a three-year child! + </p> + <p> + Perhaps that was the reason why she was able at breakfast to listen with + lazy and even rosy indifference to the startling events of the night; to + the sneers of the farm hands at the posse who had overlooked the knife + when they searched their prisoner, as well as the stupidity of the corral + guard who had never heard him make a hole “the size of a house” in the + barn side! Once she glanced demurely at Silas Briggs—the farm hand + and the poor fellow felt consoled in his shame at the remembrance of their + confidences. + </p> + <p> + But Lanty's tranquillity was not destined to last long. There was again + the irruption of exciting news from the highroad; the Mexican leader had + been recaptured, and was now safely lodged in Brownsville jail! Those who + were previously loud in their praises of the successful horse-thief who + had baffled the vigilance of his pursuers were now equally keen in their + admiration of the new San Francisco deputy who, in turn, had outwitted the + whole gang. It was HE who was fertile in expedients; HE who had studied + the whole country, and even risked his life among the gang, and HE who had + again closed the meshes of the net around the escaped outlaw. He was + already returning by way of the rancho, and might stop there a moment,—so + that they could all see the hero. Such was the power of success on the + country-side! Outwardly indifferent, inwardly bitter, Lanty turned away. + She should not grace his triumph, if she kept in her room all day! And + when there was a clatter of hoofs on the road again, Lanty slipped + upstairs. + </p> + <p> + But in a few moments she was summoned. Captain Lance Wetherby, Assistant + Chief of Police of San Francisco, Deputy Sheriff and ex-U. S. scout, had + requested to see Miss Foster a few moments alone. Lanty knew what it + meant,—her secret had been discovered; but she was not the girl to + shirk the responsibility! She lifted her little brown head proudly, and + with the same resolute step with which she had left the house the night + before, descended the stairs and entered the sitting-room. At first she + saw nothing. Then a remembered voice struck her ear; she started, looked + up, and gasping, fell back against the door. It was the stranger who had + given her the dagger, the stranger she had met in the run!—the + horse-thief himself! No! no! she saw it all now—she had cut loose + the wrong man! + </p> + <p> + He looked at her with a smile of sadness—as he drew from his + breast-pocket that dreadful dagger, the very sight of which Lanty now + loathed! “This is the SECOND time, Miss Foster,” he said gently, “that I + have taken this knife from Murietta, the Mexican bandit: once when I + disarmed him three weeks ago, and he escaped, and last night, when he had + again escaped and I recaptured him. After I lost it that night I + understood from you that you had found it and were keeping it for me.” He + paused a moment and went on: “I don't ask you what happened last night. I + don't condemn you for it; I can believe what a girl of your courage and + sympathy might rightly do if her pity were excited; I only ask—why + did you give HIM back that knife I trusted you with?” + </p> + <p> + “Why? Why did I?” burst out Lanty in a daring gush of truth, scorn, and + temper. “BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU WERE THAT HORSE-THIEF. There!” + </p> + <p> + He drew back astonished, and then suddenly came that laugh that Lanty + remembered and now hailed with joy. “I believe you, by Jove!” he gasped. + “That first night I wore the disguise in which I have tracked him and + mingled with his gang. Yes! I see it all now—and more. I see that to + YOU I owe his recapture!” + </p> + <p> + “To me!” echoed the bewildered girl; “how?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, instead of making for his cave he lingered here in the confines of + the ranch! He thought you were in love with him, because you freed him and + gave him his knife, and stayed to see you!” + </p> + <p> + But Lanty had her apron to her eyes, whose first tears were filling their + velvet depths. And her voice was broken as she said,— + </p> + <p> + “Then he—cared—a—good deal more for me—than some + people!” + </p> + <p> + But there is every reason to believe that Lanty was wrong! At least later + events that are part of the history of Foster's Rancho and the Foster + family pointed distinctly to the contrary. + </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> + AN ALI BABA OF THE SIERRAS + </h2> + <p> + Johnny Starleigh found himself again late for school. It was always + happening. It seemed to be inevitable with the process of going to school + at all. And it was no fault “o' his.” Something was always occurring,—some + eccentricity of Nature or circumstance was invariably starting up in his + daily path to the schoolroom. He may not have been “thinkin' of + squirrels,” and yet the rarest and most evasive of that species were + always crossing his trail; he may not have been “huntin' honey,” and yet a + wild bees' nest in the hollow of an oak absolutely obtruded itself before + him; he wasn't “bird-catchin',” and yet there was a yellow-hammer always + within stone's throw. He had heard how grown men hunters always saw the + most wonderful animals when they “hadn't got a gun with 'em,” and it + seemed to be his lot to meet them in his restricted possibilities on the + way to school. If Nature was thus capricious with his elders, why should + folk think it strange if she was as mischievous with a small boy? + </p> + <p> + On this particular morning Johnny had been beguiled by the unmistakable + footprints—so like his own!—of a bear's cub. What chances he + had of ever coming up with them, or what he would have done if he had, he + did not know. He only knew that at the end of an hour and a half he found + himself two miles from the schoolhouse, and, from the position of the sun, + at least an hour too late for school. He knew that nobody would believe + him. The punishment for complete truancy was little worse than for being + late. He resolved to accept it, and by way of irrevocability at once burnt + his ships behind him—in devouring part of his dinner. + </p> + <p> + Thus fortified in his outlawry, he began to look about him. He was on a + thickly wooded terrace with a blank wall of “outcrop” on one side nearly + as high as the pines which pressed close against it. He had never seen it + before; it was two or three miles from the highroad and seemed to be a + virgin wilderness. But on close examination he could see, with the eye of + a boy bred in a mining district, that the wall of outcrop had not escaped + the attention of the mining prospector. There were marks of his pick in + some attractive quartz seams of the wall, and farther on, a more ambitious + attempt, evidently by a party of miners, to begin a tunnel, shown in an + abandoned excavation and the heap of debris before it. It had evidently + been abandoned for some time, as ferns already forced their green fronds + through the stones and gravel, and the yerba buena vine was beginning to + mat the surface of the heap. But the boy's fancy was quickly taken by the + traces of a singular accident, and one which had perhaps arrested the + progress of the excavators. The roots of a large pine-tree growing close + to the wall had been evidently loosened by the excavators, and the tree + had fallen, with one of its largest roots still in the opening the miners + had made, and apparently blocking the entrance. The large tree lay, as it + fell—midway across another but much smaller outcrop of rock which + stood sharply about fifteen feet above the level of the terrace—with + its gaunt, dead limbs in the air at a low angle. To Johnny's boyish fancy + it seemed so easily balanced on the rock that but for its imprisoned root + it would have made a capital see-saw. This he felt must be looked to + hereafter. But here his attention was arrested by something more alarming. + His quick ear, attuned like an animal's to all woodland sounds, detected + the crackling of underwood in the distance. His equally sharp eye saw the + figures of two men approaching. But as he recognized the features of one + of them he drew back with a beating heart, a hushed breath, and hurriedly + hid himself in the shadow. For he had seen that figure once before—flying + before the sheriff and an armed posse—and had never forgotten it! It + was the figure of Spanish Pete, a notorious desperado and sluice robber! + </p> + <p> + Finding he had been unobserved, the boy took courage, and his small + faculties became actively alive. The two men came on together cautiously, + and at a little distance the second man, whom Johnny did not know, parted + from his companion and began to loiter up and down, looking around as if + acting as a sentinel for the desperado, who advanced directly to the + fallen tree. Suddenly the sentinel uttered an exclamation, and Spanish + Pete paused. The sentinel was examining the ground near the heap of + debris. + </p> + <p> + “What's up?” growled the desperado. + </p> + <p> + “Foot tracks! Weren't here before. And fresh ones, too.” + </p> + <p> + Johnny's heart sank. It was where he had just passed. + </p> + <p> + Spanish Pete hurriedly joined his companion. + </p> + <p> + “Foot tracks be ——!” he said scornfully. “What fool would be + crawlin' round here barefooted? It's a young b'ar!” + </p> + <p> + Johnny knew the footprints were his own. Yet he recognized the truth of + the resemblance; it was uncomplimentary, but he felt relieved. The + desperado came forward, and to the boy's surprise began to climb the small + ridge of outcrop until he reached the fallen tree. Johnny saw that he was + carrying a heavy stone. “What's the blamed fool goin' to do?” he said to + himself; the man's evident ignorance regarding footprints had lessened the + boy's awe of him. But the stranger's next essay took Johnny's breath away. + Standing on the fallen tree trunk at its axis on the outcrop, he began to + rock it gently. To Johnny's surprise it began to move. The upper end + descended slowly, lifting the root in the excavation at the lower end, and + with it a mass of rock, and revealing a cavern behind large enough to + admit a man. Johnny gasped. The desperado coolly deposited the heavy stone + on the tree beyond its axis on the rock, so that it would keep the tree in + position, leaped from the tree to the rock, and quickly descended, at + which he was joined by the other man, who was carrying two heavy + chamois-leather bags. They both proceeded to the opening thus miraculously + disclosed, and disappeared in it. + </p> + <p> + Johnny sat breathless, wondering, expectant, but not daring to move. The + men might come out at any moment; he had seen enough to know that their + enterprise as well as their cave was a secret, and that the desperado + would subject any witness to it, however innocent or unwilling, to + horrible penalties. The time crept slowly by,—he heard every rap of + a woodpecker in a distant tree; a blue jay dipped and lighted on a branch + within his reach, but he dared not extend his hand; his legs were infested + by ants; he even fancied he heard the dry, hollow rattle of a rattlesnake + not a yard from him. And then the entrance of the cave was darkened, and + the two men reappeared. Johnny stared. He would have rubbed his eyes if he + had dared. They were not the same men! Did the cave contain others who had + been all the while shut up in its dark recesses? Was there a band? Would + they all swarm out upon him? Should he run for his life? + </p> + <p> + But the illusion was only momentary. A longer look at them convinced him + that they were the same men in new clothes and disguised, and as one + remounted the outcrop Johnny's keen eyes recognized him as Spanish Pete. + He merely kicked away the stone; the root again descended gently over the + opening, and the tree recovered its former angle. The two hurried away, + but Johnny noticed that they were empty-handed. The bags had been left + behind. + </p> + <p> + The boy waited patiently, listening with his ear to the ground, like an + Indian, for the last rustle of fern and crackle of underbrush, and then + emerged, stiff and cramped from his concealment. But he no longer thought + of flight; curiosity and ambition burned in his small veins. He quickly + climbed up the outcrop, picked up the fallen stone, and in spite of its + weight lifted it to the prostrate tree. Here he paused, and from his coign + of vantage looked and listened. The solitude was profound. Then mounting + the tree and standing over its axis he tried to rock it as the others had. + Alas! Johnny's heart was stout, his courage unlimited, his perception + all-embracing, his ambition boundless; but his actual avoirdupois was only + that of a boy of ten. The tree did not move. But Johnny had played see-saw + before, and quietly moved towards its highest part. It slowly descended + under the changed centre of gravity, and the root arose, disclosing the + opening as before. Yet here the little hero paused. He waited with his + eyes fixed on the opening, ready to fly on the sallying out of any one who + had remained concealed. He then placed the stone where he had stood, + leaped down, and ran to the opening. + </p> + <p> + The change from the dazzling sunlight to the darkness confused him at + first, and he could see nothing. On entering he stumbled over something + which proved to be a bottle in which a candle was fitted, and a box of + matches evidently used by the two men. Lighting the candle he could now + discern that the cavern was only a few yards long, the beginning of a + tunnel which the accident to the tree had stopped. In one corner lay the + clothes that the men had left, and which for a moment seemed all that the + cavern contained, but on removing them Johnny saw that they were thrown + over a rifle, a revolver, and the two chamois-leather bags that the men + had brought there. They were so heavy that the boy could scarcely lift + them. His face flushed; his hands trembled with excitement. To a boy whose + truant wanderings had given him a fair knowledge of mining, he knew that + weight could have but one meaning! Gold! He hurriedly untied the nearest + bag. But it was not the gold of the locality, of the tunnel, of the “bed + rock”! It was “flake gold,” the gold of the river! It had been taken from + the miners' sluices in the distant streams. The bags before him were the + spoils of the sluice robber,—spoils that could not be sold or even + shown in the district without danger, spoils kept until they could be + taken to Marysville or Sacramento for disposal. All this might have + occurred to the mind of any boy of the locality who had heard the common + gossip of his elders, but to Johnny's fancy an idea was kindled peculiarly + his own! Here was a cavern like that of the “Forty Thieves” in the story + book, and he was the “Ali Baba” who knew its secret! He was not obliged to + say “Open Sesame,” but he could say it if he liked, if he was showing it + off to anybody! + </p> + <p> + Yet alas he also knew it was a secret he must keep to himself. He had + nobody to trust it to. His father was a charcoal-burner of small means; a + widower with two children, Johnny and his elder brother Sam. The latter, a + flagrant incorrigible of twenty-two, with a tendency to dissipation and + low company, had lately abandoned his father's roof, only to reappear at + intervals of hilarious or maudlin intoxication. He had always been held up + to Johnny as a warning, or with the gloomy prognosis that he, Johnny, was + already following in his tortuous footsteps. Even if he were here he was + not to be thought of as a confidant. Still less could he trust his father, + who would be sure to bungle the secret with sheriffs and constables, and + end by bringing down the vengeance of the gang upon the family. As for + himself, he could not dispose of the gold if he were to take it. The + exhibition of a single flake of it to the adult public would arouse + suspicion, and as it was Johnny's hard fate to be always doubted, he might + be connected with the gang. As a truant he knew he had no moral standing, + but he also had the superstition—quite characteristic of childhood—that + being in possession of a secret he was a participant in its criminality—and + bound, as it were, by terrible oaths! And then a new idea seized him. He + carefully put back everything as he had found it, extinguished the candle, + left the cave, remounted the tree, and closed the opening again as he had + seen the others do it, with the addition of murmuring “Shut Sesame” to + himself, and then ran away as fast as his short legs could carry him. + </p> + <p> + Well clear of the dangerous vicinity, he proceeded more leisurely for + about a mile, until he came to a low whitewashed fence, inclosing a small + cultivated patch and a neat farmhouse beyond. Here he paused, and, + cowering behind the fence, with extraordinary facial contortions produced + a cry not unlike the scream of a blue jay. Repeating it at intervals, he + was presently relieved by observing the approach of a nankeen sunbonnet + within the inclosure above the line of fence. Stopping before him, the + sun-bonnet revealed a rosy little face, more than usually plump on one + side, and a neck enormously wrapped in a scarf. It was “Meely” (Amelia) + Stryker, a schoolmate, detained at home by “mumps,” as Johnny was + previously aware. For, with the famous indiscretion of some other great + heroes, he was about to intrust his secret and his destiny to one of the + weaker sex. And what were the minor possibilities of contagion to this? + </p> + <p> + “Playin' hookey ag'in?” said the young lady, with a cordial and even + expansive smile, exclusively confined to one side of her face. + </p> + <p> + “Um! So'd you be ef you'd bin whar I hev,” he said with harrowing mystery. + </p> + <p> + “No!—say!” said Meely eagerly. + </p> + <p> + At which Johnny, clutching at the top of the fence, with hurried breath + told his story. But not all. With the instinct of a true artist he + withheld the manner in which the opening of the cave was revealed, said + nothing about the tree, and, I grieve to say, added the words “Open + Sesame” as the important factor to the operation. Neither did he mention + the name of Spanish Pete. For all of which he was afterwards duly + grateful. + </p> + <p> + “Meet me at the burnt pine down the crossroads at four o'clock,” he said + in conclusion, “and I'll show ye.” + </p> + <p> + “Why not now?” said Meely impatiently. + </p> + <p> + “Couldn't. Much as my life is worth! Must keep watching out! You come at + four.” + </p> + <p> + And with an assuring nod he released the fence and trotted off. He + returned cautiously in the direction of the cave; he was by no means sure + that the robbers might not return that day, and his mysterious rendezvous + with Meely veiled a certain prudence. And it was well! For as he + stealthily crept around the face of the outcrop, hidden in the ferns, he + saw from the altered angle of the tree that the cavern was opened. He + remained motionless, with bated breath. Then he heard the sound of subdued + voices from the cavern, and a figure emerged from the opening. Johnny + grasped the ferns rigidly to check the dreadful cry that rose to his lips + at its sight. For that figure was his own brother! + </p> + <p> + There was no mistaking that weak, wicked face, even then flushed with + liquor! Johnny had seen it too often thus. But never before as a thief's + face! He gave a little gasp, and fell back upon that strange reserve of + apathy and reticence in which children are apt to hide their emotions from + us at such a moment. He watched impassively the two other men who followed + his brother out to give him a small bag and some instructions, and then + returned within their cave, while his brother walked quickly away. He + watched him disappear; he did not move, for even if he had followed him he + could not bear to face him in his shame. And then out of his sullen + despair came a boyish idea of revenge. It was those two men who had made + his brother a thief! + </p> + <p> + He was very near the tree. He crept stealthily on his hands and knees + through the bracken, and as stealthily climbed the wedge of outcrop, and + then leaped like a wild cat on the tree. With incredible activity he + lifted the balancing stone, and as the tree began to move, in a flash of + perception transferred it to the other side of its axis, and felt the + roots and debris, under that additional weight, descend quickly with + something like a crash over the opening. Then he took to his heels. He ran + so swiftly that all unknowingly he overtook a figure, who, turning, + glanced at him, and then disappeared in the wood. It was his second and + last view of his brother, as he never saw him again! + </p> + <p> + But now, strange to say, the crucial and most despairing moment of his + day's experience had come. He had to face Meely Stryker under the burnt + pine, and the promise he could not keep, and to tell her that he had lied + to her. It was the only way to save his brother now! His small wits, and + alas! his smaller methods, were equal to the despairing task. As soon as + he saw her waiting under the tree he fell to capering and dancing with an + extravagance in which hysteria had no small part. “Sold! sold! sold again, + and got the money!” he laughed shrilly. + </p> + <p> + The girl looked at him with astonishment, which changed gradually to + scorn, and then to anger. Johnny's heart sank, but he redoubled his + antics. + </p> + <p> + “Who's sold?” she said disdainfully. + </p> + <p> + “You be. You swallered all that stuff about Ali Baba! You wanted to be + Morgy Anna! Ho! ho! And I've made you play hookey—from home!” + </p> + <p> + “You hateful, horrid, little liar!” + </p> + <p> + Johnny accepted his punishment meekly—in his heart gratefully. “I + reckoned you'd laugh and not get mad,” he said submissively. The girl + turned, with tears of rage and vexation in her eyes, and walked away. + Johnny followed at a humble distance. Perhaps there was something + instinctively touching in the boy's remorse, for they made it up before + they reached her fence. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless Johnny went home miserable. Luckily for him, his father was + absent at a Vigilance Committee called to take cognizance of the late + sluice robberies, and although this temporarily concealed his offense of + truancy, the news of the vigilance meeting determined him to keep his lips + sealed. He lay all night wondering how long it would take the robbers to + dig themselves out of the cave, and whether they suspected their + imprisonment was the work of an enemy or only an accident. For several + days he avoided the locality, and even feared the vengeful appearance of + Spanish Pete some night at his father's house. It was not until the end of + a fortnight that he had the courage to revisit the spot. The tree was in + its normal position, but immovable, and a great quantity of fresh debris + at the mouth of the cave convinced him that the robbers, after escaping, + had abandoned it as unsafe. His brother did not return, and either the + activity of the Vigilance Committee or the lack of a new place of + rendezvous seemed to have dispersed the robbers from the locality, for + they were not heard of again. + </p> + <p> + The next ten years brought an improvement to Mr. Starleigh's fortunes. + Johnny Starleigh, then a student at San Jose, one morning found a + newspaper clipping in a letter from Miss Amelia Stryker. It read as + follows: “The excavators in the new tunnel in Heavystone Ridge lately + discovered the skeletons of two unknown men, who had evidently been + crushed and entombed some years previously, by the falling of a large tree + over the mouth of their temporary refuge. From some river gold found with + them, they were supposed to be part of the gang of sluice robbers who + infested the locality some years ago, and were hiding from the Vigilants.” + </p> + <p> + For a few days thereafter Johnny Starleigh was thoughtful and reserved, + but he did not refer to the paragraph in answering the letter. He decided + to keep it for later confidences, when Miss Stryker should become Mrs. + Starleigh. + </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> + MISS PEGGY'S PROTEGES + </h2> + <p> + The string of Peggy's sunbonnet had become untied—so had her right + shoe. These were not unusual accidents to a country girl of ten, but as + both of her hands were full she felt obliged to put down what she was + carrying. This was further complicated by the nature of her burden—a + half-fledged shrike and a baby gopher—picked up in her walk. It was + impossible to wrap them both in her apron without serious peril to one or + the other; she could not put either down without the chance of its + escaping. “It's like that dreadful riddle of the ferryman who had to take + the wolf and the sheep in his boat,” said Peggy to herself, “though I + don't believe anybody was ever so silly as to want to take a wolf across + the river.” But, looking up, she beheld the approach of Sam Bedell, a + six-foot tunnelman of the “Blue Cement Lead,” and, hailing him, begged him + to hold one of her captives. The giant, loathing the little mouse-like + ball of fur, chose the shrike. “Hold him by the feet, for he bites AWFUL,” + said Peggy, as the bird regarded Sam with the diabolically intense frown + of his species. Then, dropping the gopher unconcernedly in her pocket, she + proceeded to rearrange her toilet. The tunnelman waited patiently until + Peggy had secured the nankeen sunbonnet around her fresh but freckled + cheeks, and, with a reckless display of yellow flannel petticoat and + stockings like peppermint sticks, had double-knotted her shoestrings + viciously when he ventured to speak. + </p> + <p> + “Same old game, Peggy? Thought you'd got rather discouraged with your + 'happy family,' arter that new owl o' yours had gathered 'em in.” + </p> + <p> + Peggy's cheek flushed slightly at this ungracious allusion to a former + collection of hers, which had totally disappeared one evening after the + introduction of a new member in the shape of a singularly venerable and + peaceful-looking horned owl. + </p> + <p> + “I could have tamed HIM, too,” said Peggy indignantly, “if Ned Myers, who + gave him to me, hadn't been training him to ketch things, and never let on + anything about it to me. He was a reg'lar game owl!” + </p> + <p> + “And wot are ye goin' to do with the Colonel here?” said Sam, indicating + under that gallant title the infant shrike, who, with his claws deeply + imbedded in Sam's finger, was squatting like a malignant hunchback, and + resisting his transfer to Peggy. “Won't HE make it rather lively for the + others? He looks pow'ful discontented for one so young.” + </p> + <p> + “That's his nater,” said Peggy promptly. “Jess wait till I tame him. Ef + he'd been left along o' his folks, he'd grow up like 'em. He's a 'butcher + bird'—wot they call a 'nine-killer '—kills nine birds a day! + Yes! True ez you live! Sticks 'em up on thorns outside his nest, jest like + a butcher's shop, till he gets hungry. I've seen 'em!” + </p> + <p> + “And how do you kalkilate to tame him?” asked Sam. + </p> + <p> + “By being good to him and lovin' him,” said Peggy, stroking the head of + the bird with infinite gentleness. + </p> + <p> + “That means YOU'VE got to do all the butchering for him?” said the cynical + Sam. + </p> + <p> + Peggy shook her head, disdaining a verbal reply. + </p> + <p> + “Ye can't bring him up on sugar and crackers, like a Polly,” persisted + Sam. + </p> + <p> + “Ye ken do anythin' with critters, if you ain't afeerd of 'em and love + 'em,” said Peggy shyly. + </p> + <p> + The tall tunnelman, looking down into the depths of Peggy's sunbonnet, saw + something in the round blue eyes and grave little mouth that made him + think so too. But here Peggy's serious little face took a shade of darker + concern as her arm went down deeper into her pocket, and her eyes got + rounder. + </p> + <p> + “It's—it's—BURRERED OUT!” she said breathlessly. + </p> + <p> + The giant leaped briskly to one side. “Hol' on,” said Peggy abstractedly. + With infinite gravity she followed, with her fingers, a seam of her skirt + down to the hem, popped them quickly under it, and produced, with a sigh + of relief, the missing gopher. + </p> + <p> + “You'll do,” said Sam, in fearful admiration. “Mebbe you'll make suthin' + out o' the Colonel too. But I never took stock in that there owl. He was + too durned self-righteous for a decent bird. Now, run along afore anythin' + else fetches loose ag'in. So long!” + </p> + <p> + He patted the top of her sunbonnet, gave a little pull to the short brown + braid that hung behind her temptingly,—which no miner was ever known + to resist,—and watched her flutter off with her spoils. He had done + so many times before, for the great, foolish heart of the Blue Cement + Ridge had gone out to Peggy Baker, the little daughter of the blacksmith, + quite early. There were others of the family, notably two elder sisters, + invincible at picnics and dances, but Peggy was as necessary to these men + as the blue jay that swung before them in the dim woods, the squirrel that + whisked across their morning path, or the woodpecker who beat his tattoo + at their midday meal from the hollow pine above them. She was part of the + nature that kept them young. Her truancies and vagrancies concerned them + not: she was a law to herself, like the birds and squirrels. There were + bearded lips to hail her wherever she went, and a blue or red-shirted arm + always stretched out in any perilous pass or dangerous crossing. + </p> + <p> + Her peculiar tastes were an outcome of her nature, assisted by her + surroundings. Left a good deal to herself in her infancy, she made + playfellows of animated nature around her, without much reference to + selection or fitness, but always with a fearlessness that was the result + of her own observation, and unhampered by tradition or other children's + timidity. She had no superstition regarding the venom of toads, the poison + of spiders, or the ear-penetrating capacity of earwigs. She had + experiences and revelations of her own,—which she kept sacredly to + herself, as children do,—and one was in regard to a rattlesnake, + partly induced, however, by the indiscreet warning of her elders. She was + cautioned NOT to take her bread and milk into the woods, and was told the + affecting story of the little girl who was once regularly visited by a + snake that partook of HER bread and milk, and who was ultimately found + rapping the head of the snake for gorging more than his share, and not + “taking a 'poon as me do.” It is needless to say that this incautious + caution fired Peggy's adventurous spirit. SHE took a bowlful of milk to + the haunt of a “rattler” near her home, but, without making the pretense + of sharing it, generously left the whole to the reptile. After repeating + this hospitality for three or four days, she was amazed one morning on + returning to the house to find the snake—an elderly one with a dozen + rattles—devotedly following her. Alarmed, not for her own safety nor + that of her family, but for the existence of her grateful friend in danger + of the blacksmith's hammer, she took a circuitous route leading it away. + Then recalling a bit of woodland lore once communicated to her by a + charcoal-burner, she broke a spray of the white ash, and laid it before + her in the track of the rattlesnake. He stopped instantly, and remained + motionless without crossing the slight barrier. She repeated this + experiment on later occasions, until the reptile understood her. She kept + the experience to herself, but one day it was witnessed by a tunnelman. On + that day Peggy's reputation was made! + </p> + <p> + From this time henceforth the major part of Blue Cement Ridge became + serious collectors for what was known as “Peggy's menagerie,” and two of + the tunnelmen constructed a stockaded inclosure—not half a mile from + the blacksmith's cabin, but unknown to him—for the reception of + specimens. For a long time its existence was kept a secret between Peggy + and her loyal friends. Her parents, aware of her eccentric tastes only + through the introduction of such smaller creatures as lizards, toads, and + tarantulas into their house,—which usually escaped from their tin + cans and boxes and sought refuge in the family slippers,—had frowned + upon her zoological studies. Her mother found that her woodland rambles + entailed an extraordinary wear and tear of her clothing. A pinafore + reduced to ribbons by a young fox, and a straw hat half swallowed by a + mountain kid, did not seem to be a natural incident to an ordinary walk to + the schoolhouse. Her sisters thought her tastes “low,” and her familiar + association with the miners inconsistent with their own dignity. But Peggy + went regularly to school, was a fair scholar in elementary studies (what + she knew of natural history, in fact, quite startled her teachers), and + being also a teachable child, was allowed some latitude. As for Peggy + herself, she kept her own faith unshaken; her little creed, whose + shibboleth was not “to be afraid” of God's creatures, but to “love 'em,” + sustained her through reprimand, torn clothing, and, it is to be feared, + occasional bites and scratches from the loved ones themselves. + </p> + <p> + The unsuspected contiguity of the “menagerie” to the house had its + drawbacks, and once nearly exposed her. A mountain wolf cub, brought + especially for her from the higher northern Sierras with great trouble and + expense by Jack Ryder, of the Lone Star Lead, unfortunately escaped from + the menagerie just as the child seemed to be in a fair way of taming it. + Yet it had been already familiarized enough with civilization to induce it + to stop in its flight and curiously examine the blacksmith's shop. A shout + from the blacksmith and a hurled hammer sent it flying again, with Mr. + Baker and his assistant in full pursuit. But it quickly distanced them + with its long, tireless gallop, and they were obliged to return to the + forge, lost in wonder and conjecture. For the blacksmith had recognized it + as a stranger to the locality, and as a man of oracular pretension had a + startling theory to account for its presence. This he confided to the + editor of the local paper, and the next issue contained an editorial + paragraph: “Our presage of a severe winter in the higher Sierras, and + consequent spring floods in the valleys, has been startlingly confirmed! + Mountain wolves have been seen in Blue Cement Ridge, and our esteemed + fellow citizen, Mr. Ephraim Baker, yesterday encountered a half-starved + cub entering his premises in search of food. Mr. Baker is of the opinion + that the mother of the cub, driven down by stress of weather, was in the + immediate vicinity.” Nothing but the distress of the only responsible + mother of the cub, Peggy, and loyalty to her, kept Jack Ryder from + exposing the absurdity publicly, but for weeks the camp fires of Blue + Cement Ridge shook with the suppressed and unhallowed joy of the miners, + who were in the guilty secret. + </p> + <p> + But, fortunately for Peggy, the most favored of her cherished possessions + was not obliged to be kept secret. That one exception was an Indian dog! + This was also a gift, and had been procured with great “difficulty” by a + “packer” from an Indian encampment on the Oregon frontier. The + “difficulty” was, in plain English, that it had been stolen from the + Indians at some peril to the stealer's scalp. It was a mongrel to all + appearances, of no recognized breed or outward significance, yet of a + quality distinctly its own. It was absolutely and totally uncivilized. + Whether this was a hereditary trait, or the result of degeneracy, no one + knew. It refused to enter a house; it would not stay in a kennel. It would + not eat in public, but gorged ravenously and stealthily in the shadows. It + had the slink of a tramp, and in its patched and mottled hide seemed to + simulate the rags of a beggar. It had the tirelessness without the + affected limp of a coyote. Yet it had none of the ferocity of barbarians. + With teeth that could gnaw through the stoutest rope and toughest lariat, + it never bared them in anger. It was cringing without being amiable or + submissive; it was gentle without being affectionate. + </p> + <p> + Yet almost insensibly it began to yield to Peggy's faith and kindness. + Gradually it seemed to single her out as the one being in this vast + white-faced and fully clothed community that it could trust. It presently + allowed her to half drag, half lead it to and fro from school, although on + the approach of a stranger it would bite through the rope or frantically + endeavor to efface itself in Peggy's petticoats. It was trying, even to + the child's sweet gravity, to face the ridicule excited by its appearance + on the road; and its habit of carrying its tail between its legs—at + such an inflexible curve that, on the authority of Sam Bedell, a misstep + caused it to “turn a back somersault”—was painfully disconcerting. + But Peggy endured this, as she did the greater dangers of the High Street + in the settlement, where she had often, at her own risk, absolutely to + drag the dazed and bewildered creature from under the wheels of carts and + the heels of horses. But this shyness wore off—or rather was + eventually lost in the dog's complete and utter absorption in Peggy. His + limited intelligence and imperfect perceptions were excited for her alone. + His singularly keen scent detected her wherever or how remote she might + be. Her passage along a “blind trail,” her deviations from the school + path, her more distant excursions, were all mysteriously known to him. It + seemed as if his senses were concentrated in this one faculty. No matter + how unexpected or unfamiliar the itinerary, “Lo, the poor Indian”—as + the men had nicknamed him (in possible allusion to his “untutored mind”)—always + arrived promptly and silently. + </p> + <p> + It was to this singular faculty that Peggy owed one of her strangest + experiences. One Saturday afternoon she was returning from an errand to + the village when she was startled by the appearance of Lo in her path. For + the reason already given, she no longer took him with her to these active + haunts of civilization, but had taught him on such occasions to remain as + a guard outside the stockade which contained her treasures. After reading + him a severe lecture on this flagrant abandonment of his trust, enforced + with great seriousness and an admonitory forefinger, she was concerned to + see that the animal appeared less agitated by her reproof than by some + other disturbance. He ran ahead of her, instead of at her heels, as was + his usual custom, and barked—a thing he rarely did. Presently she + thought she discovered the cause of this in the appearance from the wood + of a dozen men armed with guns. They seemed to be strangers, but among + them she recognized the deputy sheriff of the settlement. The leader + noticed her, and, after a word or two with the others, the deputy + approached her. + </p> + <p> + “You and Lo had better be scooting home by the highroad, outer this—or + ye might get hurt,” he said, half playfully, half seriously. + </p> + <p> + Peggy looked fearlessly at the men and their guns. + </p> + <p> + “Look ez ef you was huntin'?” she said curiously. + </p> + <p> + “We are!” said the leader. + </p> + <p> + “Wot you huntin'?” + </p> + <p> + The deputy glanced at the others. “B'ar!” he replied. + </p> + <p> + “Ba'r!” repeated the child with the quick resentment which a palpable + falsehood always provoked in her. “There ain't no b'ar in ten miles! See + yourself huntin' b'ar! Ho!” + </p> + <p> + The man laughed. “Never you mind, missy,” said the deputy, “you trot + along!” He laid his hand very gently on her head, faced her sunbonnet + towards the near highway, gave the usual parting pull to her brown + pigtail, added, “Make a bee-line home,” and turned away. + </p> + <p> + Lo uttered the first growl known in his history. Whereat Peggy said, with + lofty forbearance, “Serve you jest right ef I set my dog on you.” + </p> + <p> + But force is no argument, and Peggy felt this truth even of herself and + Lo. So she trotted away. Nevertheless, Lo showed signs of hesitation. + After a few moments Peggy herself hesitated and looked back. The men had + spread out under the trees, and were already lost in the woods. But there + was more than one trail through it, and Peggy knew it. + </p> + <p> + And here an alarming occurrence startled her. A curiously striped brown + and white squirrel whisked past her and ran up a tree. Peggy's round eyes + became rounder. There was but one squirrel of that kind in all the length + and breadth of Blue Cement Ridge, and that was in the menagerie! Even as + she looked it vanished. Peggy faced about and ran back to the road in the + direction of the stockade, Lo bounding before her. But another surprise + awaited her. There was the clutter of short wings under the branches, and + the sunlight flashed upon the iris throat of a wood-duck as it swung out + of sight past her. But in this single glance Peggy recognized one of the + latest and most precious of her acquisitions. There was no mistake now! + With a despairing little cry to Lo, “The menagerie's broke loose!” she ran + like the wind towards it. She cared no longer for the mandate of the men; + the trail she had taken was out of their sight; they were proceeding so + slowly and cautiously that she and Lo quickly distanced them in the same + direction. She would have yet time to reach the stockade and secure what + was left of her treasures before they came up and drove her away. Yet she + had to make a long circuit to avoid the blacksmith's shop and cabin, + before she saw the stockade, lifting its four-foot walls around an + inclosure a dozen feet square, in the midst of a manzanita thicket. But + she could see also broken coops, pens, cages, and boxes lying before it, + and stopped once, even in her grief and indignation, to pick up a + ruby-throated lizard, one of its late inmates that had stopped in the + trail, stiffened to stone at her approach. The next moment she was before + the roofless walls, and then stopped, stiffened like the lizard. For out + of that peaceful ruin which had once held the wild and untamed vagabonds + of earth and sky, arose a type of savagery and barbarism the child had + never before looked upon,—the head and shoulders of a hunted, + desperate man! + </p> + <p> + His head was bare, and his hair matted with sweat over his forehead; his + face was unshorn, and the black roots of his beard showed against the + deadly pallor of his skin, except where it was scratched by thorns, or + where the red spots over his cheek bones made his cheeks look as if + painted. His eyes were as insanely bright, he panted as quickly, he showed + his white teeth as perpetually, his movements were as convulsive, as those + captured animals she had known. Yet he did not attempt to fly, and it was + only when, with a sudden effort and groan of pain, he half lifted himself + above the stockade, that she saw that his leg, bandaged with his cravat + and handkerchief, stained a dull red, dragged helplessly beneath him. He + stared at her vacantly for a moment, and then looked hurriedly into the + wood behind her. + </p> + <p> + The child was more interested than frightened, and more curious than + either. She had grasped the situation at a glance. It was the hunted and + the hunters. Suddenly he started and reached for his rifle, which he had + apparently set down outside when he climbed into the stockade. He had just + caught sight of a figure emerging from the wood at a distance. But the + weapon was out of his reach. + </p> + <p> + “Hand me that gun!” he said roughly. + </p> + <p> + But Peggy did not stir. The figure came more plainly and quite + unconsciously into full view, an easy shot at that distance. + </p> + <p> + The man uttered a horrible curse, and turned a threatening face on the + child. But Peggy had seen something like that in animals SHE had captured. + She only said gravely,— + </p> + <p> + “Ef you shoot that gun you'll bring 'em all down on you!” + </p> + <p> + “All?” he demanded. + </p> + <p> + “Yes! a dozen folks with guns like yours,” said Peggy. “You jest crouch + down and lie low. Don't move! Watch me.” + </p> + <p> + The man dropped below the stockade. Peggy ran swiftly towards the + unsuspecting figure, evidently the leader of the party, but deviated + slightly to snatch a tiny spray from a white-ash tree. She never knew that + in that brief interval the wounded man, after a supreme effort, had + possessed himself of his weapon, and for a moment had covered HER with its + deadly muzzle. She ran on fearlessly until she saw that she had attracted + the attention of the leader, when she stopped and began to wave the + white-ash wand before her. The leader halted, conferred with some one + behind him, who proved to be the deputy sheriff. Stepping out he advanced + towards Peggy, and called sharply, + </p> + <p> + “I told you to get out of this! Come, be quick!” + </p> + <p> + “You'd better get out yourself,” said Peggy, waving her ash spray, “and + quicker, too.” + </p> + <p> + The deputy stopped, staring at the spray. “Wot's up?” + </p> + <p> + “Rattlers.” + </p> + <p> + “Where?” + </p> + <p> + “Everywhere round ye—a reg'lar nest of 'em! That's your way round!” + She pointed to the right, and again began beating the underbrush with her + wand. The men had, meantime, huddled together in consultation. It was + evident that the story of Peggy and her influence on rattlesnakes was well + known, and, in all probability, exaggerated. After a pause, the whole + party filed off to the right, making a long circuit of the unseen + stockade, and were presently lost in the distance. Peggy ran back to the + fugitive. The fire of savagery and desperation in his eyes had gone out, + but had been succeeded by a glazing film of faintness. + </p> + <p> + “Can you—get me—some water?” he whispered. + </p> + <p> + The stockade was near a spring,—a necessity for the menagerie. Peggy + brought him water in a dipper. She sighed a little; her “butcher bird”—now + lost forever—had been the last to drink from it! + </p> + <p> + The water seemed to revive him. “The rattlesnakes scared the cowards,” he + said, with an attempt to smile. “Were there many rattlers?” + </p> + <p> + “There wasn't ANY,” said Peggy, a little spitefully, “'cept YOU—a + two-legged rattler!” + </p> + <p> + The rascal grinned at the compliment. + </p> + <p> + “ONE-legged, you mean,” he said, indicating his helpless limb. + </p> + <p> + Peggy's heart relented slightly. “Wot you goin' to do now?” she said. “You + can't stay on THERE, you know. It b'longs to ME!” She was generous, but + practical. + </p> + <p> + “Were those things I fired out yours?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “Mighty rough of me.” + </p> + <p> + Peggy was slightly softened. “Kin you walk?” + </p> + <p> + “No.” + </p> + <p> + “Kin you crawl?” + </p> + <p> + “Not as far as a rattler.” + </p> + <p> + “Ez far ez that clearin'?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “There's a hoss tethered out in that clearin'. I kin shift him to this + end.” + </p> + <p> + “You're white all through,” said the man gravely. + </p> + <p> + Peggy ran off to the clearing. The horse belonged to Sam Bedell, but he + had given Peggy permission to ride it whenever she wished. This was + equivalent, in Peggy's mind, to a permission to PLACE him where she + wished. She consequently led him to a point nearest the stockade, and, + thoughtfully, close beside a stump. But this took some time, and when she + arrived she found the fugitive already there, very thin and weak, but + still smiling. + </p> + <p> + “Ye kin turn him loose when you get through with him; he'll find his way + back,” said Peggy. “Now I must go.” + </p> + <p> + Without again looking at the man, she ran back to the stockade. Then she + paused until she heard the sound of hoofs crossing the highway in the + opposite direction from which the pursuers had crossed, and knew that the + fugitive had got away. Then she took the astonished and still motionless + lizard from her pocket, and proceeded to restore the broken coops and + cages to the empty stockade. + </p> + <p> + But she never reconstructed her menagerie nor renewed her collection. + People said she had tired of her whim, and that really she was getting too + old for such things. Perhaps she was. But she never got old enough to + reveal her story of the last wild animal she had tamed by kindness. Nor + was she quite sure of it herself, until a few years afterwards on + Commencement Day at a boarding-school at San Jose, when they pointed out + to her one of the most respectable trustees. But they said he was once a + gambler, who had shot a man with whom he had quarreled, and was nearly + caught and lynched by a Vigilance Committee. + </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> + THE GODDESS OF EXCELSIOR + </h2> + <p> + When the two isolated mining companies encamped on Sycamore Creek + discovered on the same day the great “Excelsior Lead,” they met around a + neutral camp fire with that grave and almost troubled demeanor which + distinguished the successful prospector in those days. Perhaps the term + “prospectors” could hardly be used for men who had labored patiently and + light-heartedly in the one spot for over three years to gain a daily yield + from the soil which gave them barely the necessaries of life. Perhaps this + was why, now that their reward was beyond their most sanguine hopes, they + mingled with this characteristic gravity an ambition and resolve + peculiarly their own. Unlike most successful miners, they had no idea of + simply realizing their wealth and departing to invest or spend it + elsewhere, as was the common custom. On the contrary, that night they + formed a high resolve to stand or fall by their claims, to develop the + resources of the locality, to build up a town, and to devote themselves to + its growth and welfare. And to this purpose they bound themselves that + night by a solemn and legal compact. + </p> + <p> + Many circumstances lent themselves to so original a determination. The + locality was healthful, picturesque, and fertile. Sycamore Creek, a + considerable tributary of the Sacramento, furnished them a generous water + supply at all seasons; its banks were well wooded and interspersed with + undulating meadow land. Its distance from stage-coach communication—nine + miles—could easily be abridged by a wagon road over a practically + level country. Indeed, all the conditions for a thriving settlement were + already there. It was natural, therefore, that the most sanguine + anticipations were indulged by the more youthful of the twenty members of + this sacred compact. The sites of a hotel, a bank, the express company's + office, stage office, and court-house, with other necessary buildings, + were all mapped out and supplemented by a theatre, a public park, and a + terrace along the river bank! It was only when Clinton Grey, an + intelligent but youthful member, on offering a plan of the town with five + avenues eighty feet wide, radiating from a central plaza and the + court-house, explained that “it could be commanded by artillery in case of + an armed attack upon the building,” that it was felt that a line must be + drawn in anticipatory suggestion. Nevertheless, although their + determination was unabated, at the end of six months little had been done + beyond the building of a wagon road and the importation of new machinery + for the working of the lead. The peculiarity of their design debarred any + tentative or temporary efforts; they wished the whole settlement to spring + up in equal perfection, so that the first stage-coach over the new road + could arrive upon the completed town. “We don't want to show up in a + 'b'iled shirt' and a plug hat, and our trousers stuck in our boots,” said + a figurative speaker. Nevertheless, practical necessity compelled them to + build the hotel first for their own occupation, pending the erection of + their private dwellings on allotted sites. The hotel, a really elaborate + structure for the locality and period, was a marvel to the workmen and + casual teamsters. It was luxuriously fitted and furnished. Yet it was in + connection with this outlay that the event occurred which had a singular + effect upon the fancy of the members. + </p> + <p> + Washington Trigg, a Western member, who had brought up the architect and + builder from San Francisco, had returned in a state of excitement. He had + seen at an art exhibition in that city a small replica of a famous statue + of California, and, without consulting his fellow members, had ordered a + larger copy for the new settlement. He, however, made up for his + precipitancy by an extravagant description of his purchase, which + impressed even the most cautious. “It's the figger of a mighty pretty + girl, in them spirit clothes they allus wear, holding a divinin' rod for + findin' gold afore her in one hand; all the while she's hidin' behind her, + in the other hand, a branch o' thorns out of sight. The idea bein'—don't + you see?—that blamed old 'forty-niners like us, or ordinary + greenhorns, ain't allowed to see the difficulties they've got to go + through before reaching a strike. Mighty cute, ain't it? It's to be made + life-size,—that is, about the size of a girl of that kind, don't you + see?” he explained somewhat vaguely, “and will look powerful fetchin' + standin' onto a pedestal in the hall of the hotel.” In reply to some + further cautious inquiry as to the exact details of the raiment and of any + possible shock to the modesty of lady guests at the hotel, he replied + confidently, “Oh, THAT'S all right! It's the regulation uniform of + goddesses and angels,—sorter as if they'd caught up a sheet or a + cloud to fling round 'em before coming into this world afore folks; and + being an allegory, so to speak, it ain't as if it was me or you + prospectin' in high water. And, being of bronze, it”— + </p> + <p> + “Looks like a squaw, eh?” interrupted a critic, “or a cursed Chinaman?” + </p> + <p> + “And if it's of metal, it will weigh a ton! How are we going to get it up + here?” said another. + </p> + <p> + But here Mr. Trigg was on sure ground. “I've ordered it cast holler, and, + if necessary, in two sections,” he returned triumphantly. “A child could + tote it round and set it up.” + </p> + <p> + Its arrival was therefore looked forward to with great expectancy when the + hotel was finished and occupied by the combined Excelsior companies. It + was to come from New York via San Francisco, where, however, there was + some delay in its transshipment, and still further delay at Sacramento. It + finally reached the settlement over the new wagon road, and was among the + first freight carried there by the new express company, and delivered into + the new express office. The box—a packing-case, nearly three feet + square by five feet long—bore superficial marks of travel and + misdirection, inasmuch as the original address was quite obliterated and + the outside lid covered with corrected labels. It was carried to a private + sitting-room in the hotel, where its beauty was to be first disclosed to + the president of the united companies, three of the committee, and the + excited and triumphant purchaser. A less favored crowd of members and + workmen gathered curiously outside the room. Then the lid was carefully + removed, revealing a quantity of shavings and packing paper which still + hid the outlines of the goddess. When this was promptly lifted a stare of + blank astonishment fixed the faces of the party! It was succeeded by a + quick, hysteric laugh, and then a dead silence. + </p> + <p> + Before them lay a dressmaker's dummy, the wire and padded model on which + dresses are fitted and shown. With its armless and headless bust, abruptly + ending in a hooped wire skirt, it completely filled the sides of the box. + </p> + <p> + “Shut the door,” said the president promptly. + </p> + <p> + The order was obeyed. The single hysteric shriek of laughter had been + followed by a deadly, ironical silence. The president, with supernatural + gravity, lifted it out and set it up on its small, round, disk-like + pedestal. + </p> + <p> + “It's some cussed fool blunder of that confounded express company,” burst + out the unlucky purchaser. But there was no echo to his outburst. He + looked around with a timid, tentative smile. But no other smile followed + his. + </p> + <p> + “It looks,” said the president, with portentous gravity, “like the + beginnings of a fine woman, that MIGHT show up, if you gave her time, into + a first-class goddess. Of course she ain't all here; other boxes with + sections of her, I reckon, are under way from her factory, and will + meander along in the course of the year. Considerin' this as a sample—I + think, gentlemen,” he added, with gloomy precision, “we are prepared to + accept it, and signify we'll take more.” + </p> + <p> + “It ain't, perhaps, exactly the idee that we've been led to expect from + previous description,” said Dick Flint, with deeper seriousness; “for + instance, this yer branch of thorns we heard of ez bein' held behind her + is wantin', as is the arms that held it; but even if they had arrived, + anybody could see the thorns through them wires, and so give the hull show + away.” + </p> + <p> + “Jam it into its box again, and we'll send it back to the confounded + express company with a cussin' letter,” again thundered the wretched + purchaser. + </p> + <p> + “No, sonny,” said the president with gentle but gloomy determination, + “we'll fasten on to this little show jest as it is, and see what follows. + It ain't every day that a first-class sell like this is worked off on us + ACCIDENTALLY.” + </p> + <p> + It was quite true! The settlement had long since exhausted every possible + form of practical joking, and languished for a new sensation. And here it + was! It was not a thing to be treated angrily, nor lightly, nor dismissed + with that single hysteric laugh. It was capable of the greatest + possibilities! Indeed, as Washington Trigg looked around on the + imperturbably ironical faces of his companions, he knew that they felt + more true joy over the blunder than they would in the possession of the + real statue. But an exclamation from the fifth member, who was examining + the box, arrested their attention. + </p> + <p> + “There's suthin' else here!” + </p> + <p> + He had found under the heavier wrapping a layer of tissue-paper, and under + that a further envelope of linen, lightly stitched together. A knife blade + quickly separated the stitches, and the linen was carefully unfolded. It + displayed a beautifully trimmed evening dress of pale blue satin, with a + dressing-gown of some exquisite white fabric armed with lace. The men + gazed at it in silence, and then the one single expression broke from + their lips,— + </p> + <p> + “Her duds!” + </p> + <p> + “Stop, boys,” said “Clint” Grey, as a movement was made to lift the dress + towards the model, “leave that to a man who knows. What's the use of my + having left five grown-up sisters in the States if I haven't brought a + little experience away with me? This sort of thing ain't to be 'pulled on' + like trousers. No, sir!—THIS is the way she's worked.” + </p> + <p> + With considerable dexterity, unexpected gentleness, and some taste, he + shook out the folds of the skirt delicately and lifted it over the dummy, + settling it skillfully upon the wire hoops, and drawing the bodice over + the padded shoulders. This he then proceeded to fasten with hooks and + eyes,—a work of some patience. Forty eager fingers stretched out to + assist him, but were waved aside, with a look of pained decorum as he + gravely completed his task. Then falling back, he bade the others do the + same, and they formed a contemplative semicircle before the figure. + </p> + <p> + Up to that moment a delighted but unsmiling consciousness of their own + absurdities, a keen sense of the humorous possibilities of the original + blunder, and a mischievous recognition of the mortification of Trigg—whose + only safety now lay in accepting the mistake in the same spirit—had + determined these grown-up schoolboys to artfully protract a joke that + seemed to be providentially delivered into their hands. But NOW an odd + change crept on them. The light from the open window that gave upon the + enormous pines and the rolling prospect up to the dim heights of the + Sierras fell upon this strange, incongruous, yet perfectly artistic + figure. For the dress was the skillful creation of a great Parisian + artist, and in its exquisite harmony of color, shape, and material it not + only hid the absurd model, but clothed it with an alarming grace and + refinement! A queer feeling of awe, of shame, and of unwilling admiration + took possession of them. Some of them—from remote Western towns—had + never seen the like before; those who HAD had forgotten it in those five + years of self-exile, of healthy independence, and of contiguity to Nature + in her unaffected simplicity. All had been familiar with the garish, + extravagant, and dazzling femininity of the Californian towns and cities, + but never had they known anything approaching the ideal grace of this type + of exalted, even if artificial, womanhood. And although in the fierce + freedom of their little republic they had laughed to scorn such + artificiality, a few yards of satin and lace cunningly fashioned, and + thrown over a frame of wood and wire, touched them now with a strange + sense of its superiority. The better to show its attractions, Clinton Grey + had placed the figure near a full-length, gold-framed mirror, beside a + marble-topped table. Yet how cheap and tawdry these splendors showed + beside this work of art! How cruel was the contrast of their own rough + working clothes to this miracle of adornment which that same mirror + reflected! And even when Clinton Grey, the enthusiast, looked towards his + beloved woods for relief, he could not help thinking of them as a more + fitting frame for this strange goddess than this new house into which she + had strayed. Their gravity became real; their gibes in some strange way + had vanished. + </p> + <p> + “Must have cost a pile of money,” said one, merely to break an + embarrassing silence. + </p> + <p> + “My sister had a friend who brought over a dress from Paris, not as + high-toned as that, that cost five hundred dollars,” said Clinton Grey. + </p> + <p> + “How much did you say that spirit-clad old rag of yours cost—thorns + and all?” said the president, turning sharply on Trigg. + </p> + <p> + Trigg swallowed this depreciation of his own purchase meekly. “Seven + hundred and fifty dollars, without the express charges.” + </p> + <p> + “That's only two-fifty more,” said the president thoughtfully, “if we call + it quits.” + </p> + <p> + “But,” said Trigg in alarm, “we must send it back.” + </p> + <p> + “Not much, sonny,” said the president promptly. “We'll hang on to this + until we hear where that thorny old chump of yours has fetched up and is + actin' her conundrums, and mebbe we can swap even.” + </p> + <p> + “But how will we explain it to the boys?” queried Trigg. “They're waitin' + outside to see it.” + </p> + <p> + “There WON'T be any explanation,” said the president, in the same tone of + voice in which he had ordered the door shut. “We'll just say that the + statue hasn't come, which is the frozen truth; and this box only contained + some silk curtain decorations we'd ordered, which is only half a lie. + And,” still more firmly, “THIS SECRET DOESN'T GO OUT OF THIS ROOM, + GENTLEMEN—or I ain't your president! I'm not going to let you give + yourselves away to that crowd outside—you hear me? Have you ever + allowed your unfettered intellect to consider what they'd say about this,—what + a godsend it would be to every man we'd ever had a 'pull' on in this camp? + Why, it would last 'em a whole year; we'd never hear the end of it! No, + gentlemen! I prefer to live here without shootin' my fellow man, but I + can't promise it if they once start this joke agin us!” + </p> + <p> + There was a swift approval of this sentiment, and the five members shook + hands solemnly. + </p> + <p> + “Now,” said the president, “we'll just fold up that dress again, and put + it with the figure in this closet”—he opened a large dressing-chest + in the suite of rooms in which they stood—“and we'll each keep a + key. We'll retain this room for committee purposes, so that no one need + see the closet. See? Now take off the dress! Be careful there! You're not + handlin' pay dirt, though it's about as expensive! Steady!” + </p> + <p> + Yet it was wonderful to see the solicitude and care with which the dress + was re-covered and folded in its linen wrapper. + </p> + <p> + “Hold on,” exclaimed Trigg,—as the dummy was lifted into the chest,—“we + haven't tried on the other dress!” + </p> + <p> + “Yes! yes!” repeated the others eagerly; “there's another!” + </p> + <p> + “We'll keep that for next committee meeting, gentlemen,” said the + president decisively. “Lock her up, Trigg.” + </p> + <p> + The three following months wrought a wonderful change in Excelsior,—wonderful + even in that land of rapid growth and progress. Their organized and + matured plans, executed by a full force of workmen from the county town, + completed the twenty cottages for the members, the bank, and the town + hall. Visitors and intending settlers flocked over the new wagon road to + see this new Utopia, whose founders, holding the land and its improvements + as a corporate company, exercised the right of dictating the terms on + which settlers were admitted. The feminine invasion was not yet potent + enough to affect their consideration, either through any refinement or + attractiveness, being composed chiefly of the industrious wives and + daughters of small traders or temporary artisans. Yet it was found + necessary to confide the hotel to the management of Mr. Dexter Marsh, his + wife, and one intelligent but somewhat plain daughter, who looked after + the accounts. There were occasional lady visitors at the hotel, attracted + from the neighboring towns and settlements by its picturesqueness and a + vague suggestiveness of its being a watering-place—and there was the + occasional flash in the decorous street of a Sacramento or San Francisco + gown. It is needless to say that to the five men who held the guilty + secret of Committee Room No. 4 it only strengthened their belief in the + super-elegance of their hidden treasure. At their last meeting they had + fitted the second dress—which turned out to be a vapory summer + house-frock or morning wrapper—over the dummy, and opinions were + divided as to its equality with the first. However, the same subtle + harmony of detail and grace of proportion characterized it. + </p> + <p> + “And you see,” said Clint Grey, “it's jest the sort o' rig in which a man + would be most likely to know her—and not in her war-paint, which + would be only now and then.” + </p> + <p> + Already “SHE” had become an individuality! + </p> + <p> + “Hush!” said the president. He had turned towards the door, at which some + one was knocking lightly. + </p> + <p> + “Come in.” + </p> + <p> + The door opened upon Miss Marsh, secretary and hotel assistant. She had a + business aspect, and an open letter in her hand, but hesitated at the + evident confusion she had occasioned. Two of the gentlemen had absolutely + blushed, and the others regarded her with inane smiles or affected + seriousness. They all coughed slightly. + </p> + <p> + “I beg your pardon,” she said, not ungracefully, a slight color coming + into her sallow cheek, which, in conjunction with the gold eye-glasses, + gave her, at least in the eyes of the impressible Clint, a certain + piquancy. “But my father said you were here in committee and I might + consult you. I can come again, if you are busy.” + </p> + <p> + She had addressed the president, partly from his office, his comparatively + extreme age—he must have been at least thirty!—and possibly + for his extremer good looks. He said hurriedly, “It's just an informal + meeting;” and then, more politely, “What can we do for you?” + </p> + <p> + “We have an application for a suite of rooms next week,” she said, + referring to the letter, “and as we shall be rather full, father thought + you gentlemen might be willing to take another larger room for your + meetings, and give up these, which are part of a suite—and perhaps + not exactly suitable”— + </p> + <p> + “Quite impossible!” “Quite so!” “Really out of the question,” said the + members, in a rapid chorus. + </p> + <p> + The young girl was evidently taken aback at this unanimity of opposition. + She stared at them curiously, and then glanced around the room. “We're + quite comfortable here,” said the president explanatorily, “and—in + fact—it's just what we want.” + </p> + <p> + “We could give you a closet like that which you could lock up, and a + mirror,” she suggested, with the faintest trace of a smile. + </p> + <p> + “Tell your father, Miss Marsh,” said the president, with dignified + politeness, “that while we cannot submit to any change, we fully + appreciate his business foresight, and are quite prepared to see that the + hotel is properly compensated for our retaining these rooms.” As the young + girl withdrew with a puzzled curtsy he closed the door, placed his back + against it, and said,— + </p> + <p> + “What the deuce did she mean by speaking of that closet?” + </p> + <p> + “Reckon she allowed we kept some fancy drinks in there,” said Trigg; “and + calkilated that we wanted the marble stand and mirror to put our glasses + on and make it look like a swell private bar, that's all!” + </p> + <p> + “Humph,” said the president. + </p> + <p> + Their next meeting, however, was a hurried one, and as the president + arrived late, when the door closed smartly behind him he was met by the + worried faces of his colleagues. + </p> + <p> + “Here's a go!” said Trigg excitedly, producing a folded paper. “The game's + up, the hull show is busted; that cussed old statue—the reg'lar old + hag herself—is on her way here! There's a bill o' lading and the + express company's letter, and she'll be trundled down here by express at + any moment.” + </p> + <p> + “Well?” said the president quietly. + </p> + <p> + “Well!” replied the members aghast. “Do you know what that means?” + </p> + <p> + “That we must rig her up in the hall on a pedestal, as we reckoned to do,” + returned the president coolly. + </p> + <p> + “But you don't sabe,” said Clinton Grey; “that's all very well as to the + hag, but now we must give HER up,” with an adoring glance towards the + closet. + </p> + <p> + “Does the letter say so?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” said Trigg hesitatingly, “no! But I reckon we can't keep BOTH.” + </p> + <p> + “Why not?” said the president imperturbably, “if we paid for 'em?” + </p> + <p> + As the men only stared in reply he condescended to explain. + </p> + <p> + “Look here! I calculated all these risks after our last meeting. While you + boys were just fussin' round, doin' nothing, I wrote to the express + company that a box of women's damaged duds had arrived here, while we were + looking for our statue; that you chaps were so riled at bein' sold by them + that you dumped the whole blamed thing in the creek. But I added, if + they'd let me know what the damage was, I'd send 'em a draft to cover it. + After a spell of waitin' they said they'd call it square for two hundred + dollars, considering our disappointment. And I sent the draft. That's + spurred them up to get over our statue, I reckon. And, now that it's + coming, it will set us right with the boys.” + </p> + <p> + “And SHE,” said Clinton Grey again, pointing to the locked chest, “belongs + to us?” + </p> + <p> + “Until we can find some lady guest that will take her with the rooms,” + returned the president, a little cynically. + </p> + <p> + But the arrival of the real statue and its erection in the hotel vestibule + created a new sensation. The members of the Excelsior Company were loud in + its praises except the executive committee, whose coolness was looked upon + by the others as an affectation of superiority. It awakened the criticism + and jealousy of the nearest town. + </p> + <p> + “We hear,” said the “Red Dog Advertiser,” “that the long-promised statue + has been put up in that high-toned Hash Dispensary they call a hotel at + Excelsior. It represents an emaciated squaw in a scanty blanket gathering + roots, and carrying a bit of thorn-bush kindlings behind her. The + high-toned, close corporation of Excelsior may consider this a fair + allegory of California; WE should say it looks mighty like a prophetic + forecast of a hard winter on Sycamore Creek and scarcity of provisions. + However, it isn't our funeral, though it's rather depressing to the casual + visitor on his way to dinner. For a long time this work of art was missing + and supposed to be lost, but by being sternly and persistently rejected at + every express office on the route, it was at last taken in at Excelsior.” + </p> + <p> + There was some criticism nearer home. + </p> + <p> + “What do you think of it, Miss Marsh?” said the president politely to that + active young secretary, as he stood before it in the hall. The young woman + adjusted her eye-glasses over her aquiline nose. + </p> + <p> + “As an idea or a woman, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “As a woman, madam,” said the president, letting his brown eyes slip for a + moment from Miss Marsh's corn-colored crest over her straight but scant + figure down to her smart slippers. + </p> + <p> + “Well, sir, she could wear YOUR boots, and there isn't a corset in + Sacramento would go round her.” + </p> + <p> + “Thank you!” he returned gravely, and moved away. For a moment a wild idea + of securing possession of the figure some dark night, and, in company with + his fellow-conspirators, of trying those beautiful clothes upon her, + passed through his mind, but he dismissed it. And then occurred a strange + incident, which startled even his cool, American sanity. + </p> + <p> + It was a beautiful moonlight night, and he was returning to a bedroom at + the hotel which he temporarily occupied during the painting of his house. + It was quite late, he having spent the evening with a San Francisco friend + after a business conference which assured him of the remarkable prosperity + of Excelsior. It was therefore with some human exaltation that he looked + around the sleeping settlement which had sprung up under the magic wand of + their good fortune. The full moon had idealized their youthful designs + with something of their own youthful coloring, graciously softening the + garish freshness of paint and plaster, hiding with discreet obscurity the + disrupted banks and broken woods at the beginning and end of their broad + avenues, paving the rough river terrace with tessellated shadows, and even + touching the rapid stream which was the source of their wealth with a + Pactolean glitter. + </p> + <p> + The windows of the hotel before him, darkened within, flashed in the + moonbeams like the casements of Aladdin's palace. Mingled with his + ambition, to-night, were some softer fancies, rarely indulged by him in + his forecast of the future of Excelsior—a dream of some fair partner + in his life, after this task was accomplished, yet always of some one + moving in a larger world than his youth had known. Rousing the half + sleeping porter, he found, however, only the spectral gold-seeker in the + vestibule,—the rays of his solitary candle falling upon her + divining-rod with a quaint persistency that seemed to point to the stairs + he was ascending. When he reached the first landing the rising wind + through an open window put out his light, but, although the staircase was + in darkness, he could see the long corridor above illuminated by the + moonlight throughout its whole length. He had nearly reached it when the + slow but unmistakable rustle of a dress in the distance caught his ear. He + paused, not only in the interest of delicacy, but with a sudden nervous + thrill he could not account for. The rustle came nearer—he could + hear the distinct frou-frou of satin; and then, to his bewildered eyes, + what seemed to be the figure of the dummy, arrayed in the pale blue + evening dress he knew so well, passed gracefully and majestically down the + corridor. He could see the shapely folds of the skirt, the symmetry of the + bodice, even the harmony of the trimmings. He raised his eyes, half + affrightedly, prepared to see the headless shoulders, but they—and + what seemed to be a head—were concealed in a floating “cloud” or + nubia of some fleecy tissue, as if for protection from the evening air. He + remained for an instant motionless, dazed by this apparent motion of an + inanimate figure; but as the absurdity of the idea struck him he hurriedly + but stealthily ascended the remaining stairs, resolved to follow it. But + he was only in time to see it turn into the angle of another corridor, + which, when he had reached it, was empty. The figure had vanished! + </p> + <p> + His first thought was to go to the committee room and examine the locked + closet. But the key was in his desk at home, he had no light, and the room + was on the other side of the house. Besides, he reflected that even the + detection of the figure would involve the exposure of the very secret they + had kept intact so long. He sought his bedroom, and went quietly to bed. + But not to sleep; a curiosity more potent than any sense of the trespass + done him kept him tossing half the night. Who was this woman whom the + clothes fitted so well? He reviewed in his mind the guests in the house, + but he knew none who could have carried off this masquerade so bravely. + </p> + <p> + In the morning early he made his way to the committee room, but as he + approached was startled to observe two pairs of boots, a man's and a + woman's, conjugally placed before its door. Now thoroughly indignant, he + hurried to the office, and was confronted by the face of the fair + secretary. She colored quickly on seeing him—but the reason was + obvious. + </p> + <p> + “You are coming to scold me, sir! But it is not my fault. We were full + yesterday afternoon when your friend from San Francisco came here with his + wife. We told him those were YOUR rooms, but he said he would make it + right with you—and my father thought you would not be displeased for + once. Everything of yours was put into another room, and the closet + remains locked as you left it.” + </p> + <p> + Amazed and bewildered, the president could only mutter a vague apology and + turn away. Had his friend's wife opened the door with another key in some + fit of curiosity and disported herself in those clothes? If so, she DARE + not speak of her discovery. + </p> + <p> + An introduction to the lady at breakfast dispelled this faint hope. She + was a plump woman, whose generous proportions could hardly have been + confined in that pale blue bodice; she was frank and communicative, with + no suggestion of mischievous concealment. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, he made a firm resolution. As soon as his friends left he + called a meeting of the committee. He briefly informed them of the + accidental occupation of the room, but for certain reasons of his own said + nothing of his ghostly experience. But he put it to them plainly that no + more risks must be run, and that he should remove the dresses and dummy to + his own house. To his considerable surprise this suggestion was received + with grave approval and a certain strange relief. + </p> + <p> + “We kinder thought of suggesting it to you before,” said Mr. Trigg slowly, + “and that mebbe we've played this little game long enough—for + suthin's happened that's makin' it anything but funny. We'd have told you + before, but we dassent! Speak out, Clint, and tell the president what we + saw the other night, and don't mince matters.” + </p> + <p> + The president glanced quickly and warningly around him. “I thought,” he + said sternly, “that we'd dropped all fooling. It's no time for practical + joking now!” + </p> + <p> + “Honest Injun—it's gospel truth! Speak up, Clint!” + </p> + <p> + The president looked on the serious faces around him, and was himself + slightly awed. + </p> + <p> + “It's a matter of two or three nights ago,” said Grey slowly, “that Trigg + and I were passing through Sycamore Woods, just below the hotel. It was + after twelve—bright moonlight, so that we could see everything as + plain as day, and we were dead sober. Just as we passed under the + sycamores Trigg grabs my arm, and says, 'Hi!' I looked up, and there, not + ten yards away, standing dead in the moonlight, was that dummy! She was + all in white—that dress with the fairy frills, you know—and + had, what's more, A HEAD! At least, something white all wrapped around it, + and over her shoulders. At first we thought you or some of the boys had + dressed her up and lifted her out there for a joke, and left her to + frighten us! So we started forward, and then—it's the gospel truth!—she + MOVED AWAY, gliding like the moonbeams, and vanished among the trees!” + </p> + <p> + “Did you see her face?” asked the president. + </p> + <p> + “No; you bet! I didn't try to—it would have haunted me forever.” + </p> + <p> + “What do you mean?” + </p> + <p> + “This—I mean it was that GIRL THE BOX BELONGED TO! She's dead + somewhere—as you'll find out sooner or later—AND HAS COME BACK + FOR HER CLOTHES! I've often heard of such things before.” + </p> + <p> + Despite his coolness, at this corroboration of his own experience, and + impressed by Grey's unmistakable awe, a thrill went through the president. + For an instant he was silent. + </p> + <p> + “That will do, boys,” he said finally. “It's a queer story; but remember, + it's all the more reason now for our keeping our secret. As for those + things, I'll remove them quietly and at once.” + </p> + <p> + But he did not. + </p> + <p> + On the contrary, prolonging his stay at the hotel with plausible reasons, + he managed to frequently visit the committee room or its vicinity, at + different and unsuspected hours of the day and night. More than that, he + found opportunities to visit the office, and under pretexts of business + connected with the economy of the hotel management, informed himself + through Miss Marsh on many points. A few of these details naturally + happened to refer to herself, her prospects, her tastes, and education. He + learned incidentally, what he had partly known, that her father had been + in better circumstances, and that she had been gently nurtured—though + of this she made little account in her pride in her own independence and + devotion to her duties. But in his own persistent way he also made private + notes of the breadth of her shoulders, the size of her waist, her height, + length of her skirt, her movements in walking, and other apparently + extraneous circumstances. It was natural that he acquired some + supplemental facts,—that her eyes, under her eye-glasses, were a + tender gray, and touched with the melancholy beauty of near-sightedness; + that her face had a sensitive mobility beyond the mere charm of color, and + like most people lacking this primitive and striking element of beauty, + what was really fine about her escaped the first sight. As, for instance, + it was only by bending over to examine her accounts that he found that her + indistinctive hair was as delicate as floss silk and as electrical. It was + only by finding her romping with the children of a guest one evening that + he was startled by the appalling fact of her youth! But about this time he + left the hotel and returned to his house. + </p> + <p> + On the first yearly anniversary of the great strike at Excelsior there + were some changes in the settlement, notably the promotion of Mr. Marsh to + a more important position in the company, and the installation of Miss + Cassie Marsh as manageress of the hotel. As Miss Marsh read the official + letter, signed by the president, conveying in complimentary but formal + terms this testimony of their approval and confidence, her lip trembled + slightly, and a tear trickling from her light lashes dimmed her + eye-glasses, so that she was fain to go up to her room to recover herself + alone. When she did so she was startled to find a wire dummy standing near + the door, and neatly folded upon the bed two elegant dresses. A note in + the president's own hand lay beside them. A swift blush stung her cheek as + she read,— + </p> + <p> + DEAR MISS MARSH,—Will you make me happy by keeping the secret that + no other woman but yourself knows, and by accepting the clothes that no + other woman but yourself can wear? + </p> + <p> + The next moment, with the dresses over her arm and the ridiculous dummy + swinging by its wires from her other hand, she was flying down the + staircase to Committee Room No. 4. The door opened upon its sole occupant, + the president. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, sir, how cruel of you!” she gasped. “It was only a joke of mine. . . + . I always intended to tell you. . . . It was very foolish, but it seemed + so funny. . . . You see, I thought it was . . . the dress you had bought + for your future intended—some young lady you were going to marry!” + </p> + <p> + “It is!” said the president quietly, and he closed the door behind her. + </p> + <p> + And it was. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Openings in the Old Trail, by Bret Harte + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OPENINGS IN THE OLD TRAIL *** + +***** This file should be named 2535-h.htm or 2535-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/5/3/2535/ + +Produced by Donald Lainson; 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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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: Openings in the Old Trail + +Author: Bret Harte + +Release Date: May 18, 2006 [EBook #2535] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OPENINGS IN THE OLD TRAIL *** + + + + +Produced by Donald Lainson + + + + + +OPENINGS IN THE OLD TRAIL + +by Bret Harte + + + + +CONTENTS + + + OPENINGS IN THE OLD TRAIL + + I. A MERCURY OF THE FOOT-HILLS + II. COLONEL STARBOTTLE FOR THE PLAINTIFF + III. THE LANDLORD OF THE BIG FLUME HOTEL + IV. A BUCKEYE HOLLOW INHERITANCE + V. THE REINCARNATION OF SMITH + VI. LANTY FOSTER'S MISTAKE + VII. AN ALI BABA OF THE SIERRAS + VIII. MISS PEGGY'S PROTEGES + IX. THE GODDESS OF EXCELSIOR + + + + + +OPENINGS IN THE OLD TRAIL + +by Bret Harte + + + + +A MERCURY OF THE FOOT-HILLS + + +It was high hot noon on the Casket Ridge. Its very scant shade was +restricted to a few dwarf Scotch firs, and was so perpendicularly cast +that Leonidas Boone, seeking shelter from the heat, was obliged to draw +himself up under one of them, as if it were an umbrella. Occasionally, +with a boy's perversity, he permitted one bared foot to protrude beyond +the sharply marked shadow until the burning sun forced him to draw it in +again with a thrill of satisfaction. There was no earthly reason why +he had not sought the larger shadows of the pine-trees which reared +themselves against the Ridge on the slope below him, except that he was +a boy, and perhaps even more superstitious and opinionated than most +boys. Having got under this tree with infinite care, he had made up his +mind that he would not move from it until its line of shade reached and +touched a certain stone on the trail near him! WHY he did this he did +not know, but he clung to his sublime purpose with the courage and +tenacity of a youthful Casabianca. He was cramped, tickled by dust and +fir sprays; he was supremely uncomfortable--but he stayed! A woodpecker +was monotonously tapping in an adjacent pine, with measured intervals of +silence, which he always firmly believed was a certain telegraphy of +the bird's own making; a green-and-gold lizard flashed by his foot +to stiffen itself suddenly with a rigidity equal to his own. Still HE +stirred not. The shadow gradually crept nearer the mystic stone--and +touched it. He sprang up, shook himself, and prepared to go about +his business. This was simply an errand to the post-office at the +cross-roads, scarcely a mile from his father's house. He was already +halfway there. He had taken only the better part of one hour for this +desultory journey! + +However, he now proceeded on his way, diverging only to follow a fresh +rabbit-track a few hundred yards, to note that the animal had doubled +twice against the wind, and then, naturally, he was obliged to look +closely for other tracks to determine its pursuers. He paused also, +but only for a moment, to rap thrice on the trunk of the pine where the +woodpecker was at work, which he knew would make it cease work for +a time--as it did. Having thus renewed his relations with nature, he +discovered that one of the letters he was taking to the post-office had +slipped in some mysterious way from the bosom of his shirt, where he +carried them, past his waist-band into his trouser-leg, and was about to +make a casual delivery of itself on the trail. This caused him to take +out his letters and count them, when he found one missing. He had been +given four letters to post--he had only three. There was a big one in +his father's handwriting, two indistinctive ones of his mother's, and a +smaller one of his sister's--THAT was gone! Not at all disconcerted, +he calmly retraced his steps, following his own tracks minutely, with +a grim face and a distinct delight in the process, while +looking--perfunctorily--for the letter. In the midst of this slow +progress a bright idea struck him. He walked back to the fir-tree where +he had rested, and found the lost missive. It had slipped out of his +shirt when he shook himself. He was not particularly pleased. He knew +that nobody would give him credit for his trouble in going back for +it, or his astuteness in guessing where it was. He heaved the sigh of +misunderstood genius, and again started for the post-office. This time +he carried the letters openly and ostentatiously in his hand. + +Presently he heard a voice say, "Hey!" It was a gentle, musical +voice,--a stranger's voice, for it evidently did not know how to call +him, and did not say, "Oh, Leonidas!" or "You--look here!" He was +abreast of a little clearing, guarded by a low stockade of bark palings, +and beyond it was a small white dwelling-house. Leonidas knew the place +perfectly well. It belonged to the superintendent of a mining tunnel, +who had lately rented it to some strangers from San Francisco. Thus much +he had heard from his family. He had a mountain boy's contempt for city +folks, and was not himself interested in them. Yet as he heard the +call, he was conscious of a slightly guilty feeling. He might have been +trespassing in following the rabbit's track; he might have been seen by +some one when he lost the letter and had to go back for it--all grown-up +people had a way of offering themselves as witnesses against him! He +scowled a little as he glanced around him. Then his eye fell on the +caller on the other side of the stockade. + +To his surprise it was a woman: a pretty, gentle, fragile creature, all +soft muslin and laces, with her fingers interlocked, and leaning both +elbows on the top of the stockade as she stood under the checkered +shadow of a buckeye. + +"Come here--please--won't you?" she said pleasantly. + +It would have been impossible to resist her voice if Leonidas had wanted +to, which he didn't. He walked confidently up to the fence. She really +was very pretty, with eyes like his setter's, and as caressing. And +there were little puckers and satiny creases around her delicate +nostrils and mouth when she spoke, which Leonidas knew were +"expression." + +"I--I"--she began, with charming hesitation; then suddenly, "What's your +name?" + +"Leonidas." + +"Leonidas! That's a pretty name!" He thought it DID sound pretty. "Well, +Leonidas, I want you to be a good boy and do a great favor for me,--a +very great favor." + +Leonidas's face fell. This kind of prelude and formula was familiar to +him. It was usually followed by, "Promise me that you will never swear +again," or, "that you will go straight home and wash your face," or some +other irrelevant personality. But nobody with that sort of eyes had ever +said it. So he said, a little shyly but sincerely, "Yes, ma'am." + +"You are going to the post-office?" + +This seemed a very foolish, womanish question, seeing that he was +holding letters in his hand; but he said, "Yes." + +"I want you to put a letter of mine among yours and post them all +together," she said, putting one little hand to her bosom and drawing +out a letter. He noticed that she purposely held the addressed side so +that he could not see it, but he also noticed that her hand was +small, thin, and white, even to a faint tint of blue in it, unlike +his sister's, the baby's, or any other hand he had ever seen. "Can you +read?" she said suddenly, withdrawing the letter. + +The boy flushed slightly at the question. "Of course I can," he said +proudly. + +"Of course, certainly," she repeated quickly; "but," she added, with +a mischievous smile, "you mustn't NOW! Promise me! Promise me that you +won't read this address, but just post the letter, like one of your own, +in the letter-box with the others." + +Leonidas promised readily; it seemed to him a great fuss about nothing; +perhaps it was some kind of game or a bet. He opened his sunburnt hand, +holding his own letters, and she slipped hers, face downward, between +them. Her soft fingers touched his in the operation, and seemed to leave +a pleasant warmth behind them. + +"Promise me another thing," she added; "promise me you won't say a word +of this to any one." + +"Of course!" said Leonidas. + +"That's a good boy, and I know you will keep your word." She hesitated +a moment, smilingly and tentatively, and then held out a bright +half-dollar. Leonidas backed from the fence. "I'd rather not," he said +shyly. + +"But as a present from ME?" + +Leonidas colored--he was really proud; and he was also bright enough to +understand that the possession of such unbounded wealth would provoke +dangerous inquiry at home. But he didn't like to say it, and only +replied, "I can't." + +She looked at him curiously. "Then--thank you," she said, offering her +white hand, which felt like a bird in his. "Now run on, and don't let +me keep you any longer." She drew back from the fence as she spoke, and +waved him a pretty farewell. Leonidas, half sorry, half relieved, darted +away. + +He ran to the post-office, which he never had done before. Loyally he +never looked at her letter, nor, indeed, at his own again, swinging +the hand that held them far from his side. He entered the post-office +directly, going at once to the letter-box and depositing the precious +missive with the others. The post-office was also the "country store," +and Leonidas was in the habit of still further protracting his errands +there by lingering in that stimulating atmosphere of sugar, cheese, and +coffee. But to-day his stay was brief, so transitory that the postmaster +himself inferred audibly that "old man Boone must have been tanning Lee +with a hickory switch." But the simple reason was that Leonidas wished +to go back to the stockade fence and the fair stranger, if haply she +was still there. His heart sank as, breathless with unwonted haste, he +reached the clearing and the empty buckeye shade. He walked slowly and +with sad diffidence by the deserted stockade fence. But presently his +quick eye discerned a glint of white among the laurels near the house. +It was SHE, walking with apparent indifference away from him towards the +corner of the clearing and the road. But this he knew would bring her +to the end of the stockade fence, where he must pass--and it did. She +turned to him with a bright smile of affected surprise. "Why, you're as +swift-footed as Mercury!" + +Leonidas understood her perfectly. Mercury was the other name for +quicksilver--and that was lively, you bet! He had often spilt some on +the floor to see it move. She must be awfully cute to have noticed it +too--cuter than his sisters. He was quite breathless with pleasure. + +"I put your letter in the box all right," he burst out at last. + +"Without any one seeing it?" she asked. + +"Sure pop! nary one! The postmaster stuck out his hand to grab it, but I +just let on that I didn't see him, and shoved it in myself." + +"You're as sharp as you're good," she said smilingly. "Now, there's just +ONE thing more I want you to do. Forget all about this--won't you?" + +Her voice was very caressing. Perhaps that was why he said boldly: "Yes, +ma'am, all except YOU." + +"Dear me, what a compliment! How old are you?" + +"Goin' on fifteen," said Leonidas confidently. + +"And going very fast," said the lady mischievously. "Well, then, you +needn't forget ME. On the contrary," she added, after looking at him +curiously, "I would rather you'd remember me. Good-by--or, rather, +good-afternoon--if I'm to be remembered, Leon." + +"Good-afternoon, ma'am." + +She moved away, and presently disappeared among the laurels. But her +last words were ringing in his ears. "Leon"--everybody else called him +"Lee" for brevity; "Leon"--it was pretty as she said it. + +He turned away. But it so chanced that their parting was not to pass +unnoticed, for, looking up the hill, Leonidas perceived his elder sister +and little brother coming down the road, and knew that they must have +seen him from the hilltop. It was like their "snoopin'"! + +They ran to him eagerly. + +"You were talking to the stranger," said his sister breathlessly. + +"She spoke to me first," said Leonidas, on the defensive. + +"What did she say?" + +"Wanted to know the eleckshun news," said Leonidas with cool mendacity, +"and I told her." + +This improbable fiction nevertheless satisfied them. "What was she like? +Oh, do tell us, Lee!" continued his sister. + +Nothing would have delighted him more than to expatiate upon her +loveliness, the soft white beauty of her hands, the "cunning" little +puckers around her lips, her bright tender eyes, the angelic texture +of her robes, and the musical tinkle of her voice. But Leonidas had no +confidant, and what healthy boy ever trusted his sister in such matter! +"YOU saw what she was like," he said, with evasive bluntness. + +"But, Lee"-- + +But Lee was adamant. "Go and ask her," he said. + +"Like as not you were sassy to her, and she shut you up," said his +sister artfully. But even this cruel suggestion, which he could have so +easily flouted, did not draw him, and his ingenious relations flounced +disgustedly away. + +But Leonidas was not spared any further allusion to the fair stranger; +for the fact of her having spoken to him was duly reported at home, and +at dinner his reticence was again sorely attacked. "Just like her, in +spite of all her airs and graces, to hang out along the fence like any +ordinary hired girl, jabberin' with anybody that went along the road," +said his mother incisively. He knew that she didn't like her new +neighbors, so this did not surprise nor greatly pain him. Neither did +the prosaic facts that were now first made plain to him. His divinity +was a Mrs. Burroughs, whose husband was conducting a series of mining +operations, and prospecting with a gang of men on the Casket Ridge. +As his duty required his continual presence there, Mrs. Burroughs was +forced to forego the civilized pleasures of San Francisco for a frontier +life, for which she was ill fitted, and in which she had no interest. +All this was a vague irrelevance to Leonidas, who knew her only as a +goddess in white who had been familiar to him, and kind, and to whom he +was tied by the delicious joy of having a secret in common, and having +done her a special favor. Healthy youth clings to its own impressions, +let reason, experience, and even facts argue ever to the contrary. + +So he kept her secret and his intact, and was rewarded a few days +afterwards by a distant view of her walking in the garden, with a man +whom he recognized as her husband. It is needless to say that, without +any extraneous thought, the man suffered in Leonidas's estimation by his +propinquity to the goddess, and that he deemed him vastly inferior. + +It was a still greater reward to his fidelity that she seized an +opportunity when her husband's head was turned to wave her hand to him. +Leonidas did not approach the fence, partly through shyness and partly +through a more subtle instinct that this man was not in the secret. He +was right, for only the next day, as he passed to the post-office, she +called him to the fence. + +"Did you see me wave my hand to you yesterday?" she asked pleasantly. + +"Yes, ma'am; but"--he hesitated--"I didn't come up, for I didn't think +you wanted me when any one else was there." + +She laughed merrily, and lifting his straw hat from his head, ran the +fingers of the other hand through his damp curls. "You're the brightest, +dearest boy I ever knew, Leon," she said, dropping her pretty face to +the level of his own, "and I ought to have remembered it. But I +don't mind telling you I was dreadfully frightened lest you might +misunderstand me and come and ask for another letter--before HIM." As +she emphasized the personal pronoun, her whole face seemed to change: +the light of her blue eyes became mere glittering points, her nostrils +grew white and contracted, and her pretty little mouth seemed to narrow +into a straight cruel line, like a cat's. "Not a word ever to HIM, +of all men! Do you hear?" she said almost brusquely. Then, seeing the +concern in the boy's face, she laughed, and added explanatorily: "He's a +bad, bad man, Leon, remember that." + +The fact that she was speaking of her husband did not shock the boy's +moral sense in the least. The sacredness of those relations, and even of +blood kinship, is, I fear, not always so clear to the youthful mind as +we fondly imagine. That Mr. Burroughs was a bad man to have excited +this change in this lovely woman was Leonidas's only conclusion. He +remembered how his sister's soft, pretty little kitten, purring on her +lap, used to get its back up and spit at the postmaster's yellow hound. + +"I never wished to come unless you called me first," he said frankly. + +"What?" she said, in her half playful, half reproachful, but wholly +caressing way. "You mean to say you would never come to see me unless I +sent for you? Oh, Leon! and you'd abandon me in that way?" + +But Leonidas was set in his own boyish superstition. "I'd just delight +in being sent for by you any time, Mrs. Burroughs, and you kin always +find me," he said shyly, but doggedly; "but"--He stopped. + +"What an opinionated young gentleman! Well, I see I must do all the +courting. So consider that I sent for you this morning. I've got another +letter for you to mail." She put her hand to her breast, and out of the +pretty frillings of her frock produced, as before, with the same faint +perfume of violets, a letter like the first. But it was unsealed. "Now, +listen, Leon; we are going to be great friends--you and I." Leonidas +felt his cheeks glowing. "You are going to do me another great favor, +and we are going to have a little fun and a great secret all by our own +selves. Now, first, have you any correspondent--you know--any one who +writes to you--any boy or girl--from San Francisco?" + +Leonidas's cheeks grew redder--alas! from a less happy consciousness. He +never received any letters; nobody ever wrote to him. He was obliged to +make this shameful admission. + +Mrs. Burroughs looked thoughtful. "But you have some friend in San +Francisco--some one who MIGHT write to you?" she suggested pleasantly. + +"I knew a boy once who went to San Francisco," said Leonidas doubtfully. +"At least, he allowed he was goin' there." + +"That will do," said Mrs. Burroughs. "I suppose your parents know him or +of him?" + +"Why," said Leonidas, "he used to live here." + +"Better still. For, you see, it wouldn't be strange if he DID write. +What was the gentleman's name?" + +"Jim Belcher," returned Leonidas hesitatingly, by no means sure that the +absent Belcher knew how to write. Mrs. Burroughs took a tiny pencil from +her belt, opened the letter she was holding in her hand, and apparently +wrote the name in it. Then she folded it and sealed it, smiling +charmingly at Leonidas's puzzled face. + +"Now, Leon, listen; for here is the favor I am asking. Mr. Jim +Belcher"--she pronounced the name with great gravity--"will write to you +in a few days. But inside of YOUR letter will be a little note to me, +which you will bring me. You can show your letter to your family, if +they want to know who it is from; but no one must see MINE. Can you +manage that?" + +"Yes," said Leonidas. Then, as the whole idea flashed upon his quick +intelligence, he smiled until he showed his dimples. Mrs. Burroughs +leaned forward over the fence, lifted his torn straw hat, and dropped +a fluttering little kiss on his forehead. It seemed to the boy, flushed +and rosy as a maid, as if she had left a shining star there for every +one to see. + +"Don't smile like that, Leon, you're positively irresistible! It will be +a nice little game, won't it? Nobody in it but you and me--and Belcher! +We'll outwit them yet. And, you see, you'll be obliged to come to me, +after all, without my asking." + +They both laughed; indeed, quite a dimpled, bright-eyed, rosy, innocent +pair, though I think Leonidas was the more maidenly. + +"And," added Leonidas, with breathless eagerness, "I can sometimes write +to--to--Jim, and inclose your letter." + +"Angel of wisdom! certainly. Well, now, let's see--have you got any +letters for the post to-day?" He colored again, for in anticipation of +meeting her he had hurried up the family post that morning. He held out +his letters: she thrust her own among them. "Now," she said, laying her +cool, soft hand against his hot cheek, "run along, dear; you must not be +seen loitering here." + +Leonidas ran off, buoyed up on ambient air. It seemed just like a +fairy-book. Here he was, the confidant of the most beautiful creature he +had seen, and there was a mysterious letter coming to him--Leonidas--and +no one to know why. And now he had a "call" to see her often; she would +not forget him--he needn't loiter by the fencepost to see if she wanted +him--and his boyish pride and shyness were appeased. There was no +question of moral ethics raised in Leonidas's mind; he knew that it +would not be the real Jim Belcher who would write to him, but that made +the prospect the more attractive. Nor did another circumstance trouble +his conscience. When he reached the post-office, he was surprised to see +the man whom he knew to be Mr. Burroughs talking with the postmaster. +Leonidas brushed by him and deposited his letters in the box in +discreet triumph. The postmaster was evidently officially resenting some +imputation on his carelessness, and, concluding his defense, "No, sir," +he said, "you kin bet your boots that ef any letter hez gone astray for +you or your wife--Ye said your wife, didn't ye?" + +"Yes," said Burroughs hastily, with a glance around the shop. + +"Well, for you or anybody at your house--it ain't here that's the fault. +You hear me! I know every letter that comes in and goes outer this +office, I reckon, and handle 'em all,"--Leonidas pricked up his +ears,--"and if anybody oughter know, it's me. Ye kin paste that in your +hat, Mr. Burroughs." Burroughs, apparently disconcerted by the intrusion +of a third party--Leonidas--upon what was evidently a private inquiry, +murmured something surlily, and passed out. + +Leonidas was puzzled. That big man seemed to be "snoopin'" around for +something! He knew that he dared not touch the letter-bag,--Leonidas had +heard somewhere that it was a deadly crime to touch any letters after +the Government had got hold of them once, and he had no fears for the +safety of hers. But ought he not go back at once and tell her about +her husband's visit, and the alarming fact that the postmaster was +personally acquainted with all the letters? He instantly saw, too, the +wisdom of her inclosing her letter hereafter in another address. Yet he +finally resolved not to tell her to-day,--it would look like "hanging +round" again; and--another secret reason--he was afraid that any +allusion to her husband's interference would bring back that change +in her beautiful face which he did not like. The better to resist +temptation, he went back another way. + +It must not be supposed that, while Leonidas indulged in this secret +passion for the beautiful stranger, it was to the exclusion of his +boyish habits. It merely took the place of his intellectual visions and +his romantic reading. He no longer carried books in his pocket on his +lazy rambles. What were mediaeval legends of high-born ladies and their +pages to this real romance of himself and Mrs. Burroughs? What were the +exploits of boy captains and juvenile trappers and the Indian maidens +and Spanish senoritas to what was now possible to himself and his +divinity here--upon Casket Ridge! The very ground around her was now +consecrated to romance and adventure. Consequently, he visited a +few traps on his way back which he had set for "jackass-rabbits" and +wildcats,--the latter a vindictive reprisal for aggression upon an +orphan brood of mountain quail which he had taken under his protection. +For, while he nourished a keen love of sport, it was controlled by a +boy's larger understanding of nature: a pantheistic sympathy with +man and beast and plant, which made him keenly alive to the strange +cruelties of creation, revealed to him some queer animal feuds, and made +him a chivalrous partisan of the weaker. He had even gone out of his way +to defend, by ingenious contrivances of his own, the hoard of a golden +squirrel and the treasures of some wild bees from a predatory bear, +although it did not prevent him later from capturing the squirrel by an +equally ingenious contrivance, and from eventually eating some of the +honey. + +He was late home that evening. But this was "vacation,"--the district +school was closed, and but for the household "chores," which occupied +his early mornings, each long summer day was a holiday. So two or three +passed; and then one morning, on his going to the post-office, the +postmaster threw down upon the counter a real and rather bulky letter, +duly stamped, and addressed to Mr. Leonidas Boone! Leonidas was too +discreet to open it before witnesses, but in the solitude of the +trail home broke the seal. It contained another letter with no +address--clearly the one SHE expected--and, more marvelous still, a +sheaf of trout-hooks, with delicate gut-snells such as Leonidas had +only dared to dream of. The letter to himself was written in a clear, +distinct hand, and ran as follows:-- + + +DEAR LEE,--How are you getting on on old Casket Ridge? It seems a coon's +age since you and me was together, and times I get to think I must just +run up and see you! We're having bully times in 'Frisco, you bet! though +there ain't anything wild worth shucks to go to see--'cept the sea +lions at the Cliff House. They're just stunning--big as a grizzly, and +bigger--climbing over a big rock or swimming in the sea like an otter or +muskrat. I'm sending you some snells and hooks, such as you can't get at +Casket. Use the fine ones for pot-holes and the bigger ones for running +water or falls. Let me know when you've got 'em. Write to Lock Box No. +1290. That's where dad's letters come. So no more at present. + +From yours truly, + +JIM BELCHER. + + +Not only did Leonidas know that this was not from the real Jim, but he +felt the vague contact of a new, charming, and original personality +that fascinated him. Of course, it was only natural that one of HER +friends--as he must be--should be equally delightful. There was no +jealousy in Leonidas's devotion; he knew only a joy in this fellowship +of admiration for her which he was satisfied that the other boy must +feel. And only the right kind of boy could know the importance of +his ravishing gift, and this Jim was evidently "no slouch"! Yet, in +Leonidas's new joy he did not forget HER! He ran back to the stockade +fence and lounged upon the road in view of the house, but she did not +appear. + +Leonidas lingered on the top of the hill, ostentatiously examining a +young hickory for a green switch, but to no effect. Then it suddenly +occurred to him that she might be staying in purposely, and, perhaps +a little piqued by her indifference, he ran off. There was a mountain +stream hard by, now dwindled in the summer drouth to a mere trickling +thread among the boulders, and there was a certain "pot-hole" that he +had long known. It was the lurking-place of a phenomenal trout,--an +almost historic fish in the district, which had long resisted the +attempt of such rude sportsmen as miners, or even experts like himself. +Few had seen it, except as a vague, shadowy bulk in the four feet of +depth and gloom in which it hid; only once had Leonidas's quick eye +feasted on its fair proportions. On that memorable occasion Leonidas, +having exhausted every kind of lure of painted fly and living bait, +was rising from his knees behind the bank, when a pink five-cent stamp +dislodged from his pocket fluttered in the air, and descended slowly +upon the still pool. Horrified at his loss, Leonidas leaned over to +recover it, when there was a flash like lightning in the black depths, a +dozen changes of light and shadow on the surface, a little whirling wave +splashing against the side of the rock, and the postage stamp was gone. +More than that--for one instant the trout remained visible, stationary +and expectant! Whether it was the instinct of sport, or whether the fish +had detected a new, subtle, and original flavor in the gum and paper, +Leonidas never knew. Alas! he had not another stamp; he was obliged to +leave the fish, but carried a brilliant idea away with him. Ever since +then he had cherished it--and another extra stamp in his pocket. And +now, with this strong but gossamer-like snell, this new hook, and this +freshly cut hickory rod, he would make the trial! + +But fate was against him! He had scarcely descended the narrow trail to +the pine-fringed margin of the stream before his quick ear detected an +unusual rustling through the adjacent underbrush, and then a voice that +startled him! It was HERS! In an instant all thought of sport had fled. +With a beating heart, half opened lips, and uplifted lashes, Leonidas +awaited the coming of his divinity like a timorous virgin at her first +tryst. + +But Mrs. Burroughs was clearly not in an equally responsive mood. With +her fair face reddened by the sun, the damp tendrils of her unwound hair +clinging to her forehead, and her smart little slippers red with dust, +there was also a querulous light in her eyes, and a still more querulous +pinch in her nostrils, as she stood panting before him. + +"You tiresome boy!" she gasped, holding one little hand to her side as +she gripped her brambled skirt around her ankles with the other. "Why +didn't you wait? Why did you make me run all this distance after you?" + +Leonidas timidly and poignantly protested. He had waited before the +house and on the hill; he thought she didn't want him. + +"Couldn't you see that THAT MAN kept me in?" she went on peevishly. +"Haven't you sense enough to know that he suspects something, and +follows me everywhere, dogging my footsteps every time the post comes +in, and even going to the post-office himself, to make sure that he sees +all my letters? Well," she added impatiently, "have you anything for me? +Why don't you speak?" + +Crushed and remorseful, Leonidas produced her letter. She almost +snatched it from his hand, opened it, read a few lines, and her face +changed. A smile strayed from her eyes to her lips, and back again. +Leonidas's heart was lifted; she was so forgiving and so beautiful! + +"Is he a boy, Mrs. Burroughs?" asked Leonidas shyly. + +"Well--not exactly," she said, her charming face all radiant again. +"He's older than you. What has he written to you?" + +Leonidas put his letter in her hand for reply. + +"I wish I could see him, you know," he said shyly. "That letter's +bully--it's just rats! I like him pow'ful." + +Mrs. Burroughs had skimmed through the letter, but not interestedly. + +"You mustn't like him more than you like me," she said laughingly, +caressing him with her voice and eyes, and even her straying hand. + +"I couldn't do that! I never could like anybody as I like you," said. +Leonidas gravely. There was such appalling truthfulness in the boy's +voice and frankly opened eyes that the woman could not evade it, and +was slightly disconcerted. But she presently started up with a vexatious +cry. "There's that wretch following me again, I do believe," she said, +staring at the hilltop. "Yes! Look, Leon, he's turning to come down this +trail. What's to be done? He mustn't see me here!" + +Leonidas looked. It was indeed Mr. Burroughs; but he was evidently +only taking a short cut towards the Ridge, where his men were working. +Leonidas had seen him take it before. But it was the principal trail on +the steep hillside, and they must eventually meet. A man might evade +it by scrambling through the brush to a lower and rougher trail; but a +woman, never! But an idea had seized Leonidas. "I can stop him," he said +confidently to her. "You just lie low here behind that rock till I come +back. He hasn't seen you yet." + +She had barely time to draw back before Leonidas darted down the trail +towards her husband. Yet, in her intense curiosity, she leaned out +the next moment to watch him. He paused at last, not far from the +approaching figure, and seemed to kneel down on the trail. What was he +doing? Her husband was still slowly advancing. Suddenly he stopped. At +the same moment she heard their two voices in excited parley, and then, +to her amazement, she saw her husband scramble hurriedly down the trail +to the lower level, and with an occasional backward glance, hasten away +until he had passed beyond her view. + +She could scarcely realize her narrow escape when Leonidas stood by her +side. "How did you do it?" she said eagerly. + +"With a rattler!" said the boy gravely. + +"With a what?" + +"A rattlesnake--pizen snake, you know." + +"A rattlesnake?" she said, staring at Leonidas with a quick snatching +away of her skirts. + +The boy, who seemed to have forgotten her in his other abstraction of +adventure, now turned quickly, with devoted eyes and a reassuring smile. + +"Yes; but I wouldn't let him hurt you," he said gently. + +"But what did you DO?" + +He looked at her curiously. "You won't be frightened if I show you?" he +said doubtfully. "There's nothin' to be afeerd of s'long as you're with +me," he added proudly. + +"Yes--that is"--she stammered, and then, her curiosity getting the +better of her fear, she added in a whisper: "Show me quick!" + +He led the way up the narrow trail until he stopped where he had knelt +before. It was a narrow, sunny ledge of rock, scarcely wide enough for +a single person to pass. He silently pointed to a cleft in the rock, and +kneeling down again, began to whistle in a soft, fluttering way. There +was a moment of suspense, and then she was conscious of an awful gliding +something,--a movement so measured yet so exquisitely graceful that she +stood enthralled. A narrow, flattened, expressionless head was followed +by a footlong strip of yellow-barred scales; then there was a pause, and +the head turned, in a beautifully symmetrical half-circle, towards the +whistler. The whistling ceased; the snake, with half its body out of the +cleft, remained poised in air as if stiffened to stone. + +"There," said Leonidas quietly, "that's what Mr. Burroughs saw, and +that's WHY he scooted off the trail. I just called out William Henry,--I +call him William Henry, and he knows his name,--and then I sang out to +Mr. Burroughs what was up; and it was lucky I did, for the next moment +he'd have been on top of him and have been struck, for rattlers don't +give way to any one." + +"Oh, why didn't you let"--She stopped herself quickly, but could not +stop the fierce glint in her eye nor the sharp curve in her nostril. +Luckily, Leonidas did not see this, being preoccupied with his other +graceful charmer, William Henry. + +"But how did you know it was here?" said Mrs. Burroughs, recovering +herself. + +"Fetched him here," said Leonidas briefly. + +"What in your hands?" she said, drawing back. + +"No! made him follow! I HAVE handled him, but it was after I'd first +made him strike his pizen out upon a stick. Ye know, after he strikes +four times he ain't got any pizen left. Then ye kin do anythin' with +him, and he knows it. He knows me, you bet! I've bin three months +trainin' him. Look! Don't be frightened," he said, as Mrs. Burroughs +drew hurriedly back; "see him mind me. Now scoot home, William Henry." + +He accompanied the command with a slow, dominant movement of the hickory +rod he was carrying. The snake dropped its head, and slid noiselessly +out of the cleft across the trail and down the hill. + +"Thinks my rod is witch-hazel, which rattlers can't abide," continued +Leonidas, dropping into a boy's breathless abbreviated speech. "Lives +down your way--just back of your farm. Show ye some day. Suns himself on +a flat stone every day--always cold--never can get warm. Eh?" + +She had not spoken, but was gazing into space with a breathless rigidity +of attitude and a fixed look in her eye, not unlike the motionless orbs +of the reptile that had glided away. + +"Does anybody else know you keep him?" she asked. + +"Nary one. I never showed him to anybody but you," replied the boy. + +"Don't! You must show me where he hides to-morrow," she said, in her old +laughing way. "And now, Leon, I must go back to the house." + +"May I write to him--to Jim Belcher, Mrs. Burroughs?" said the boy +timidly. + +"Certainly. And come to me to-morrow with your letter--I will have mine +ready. Good-by." She stopped and glanced at the trail. "And you say that +if that man had kept on, the snake would have bitten him?" + +"Sure pop!--if he'd trod on him--as he was sure to. The snake wouldn't +have known he didn't mean it. It's only natural," continued Leonidas, +with glowing partisanship for the gentle and absent William Henry. "YOU +wouldn't like to be trodden upon, Mrs. Burroughs!" + +"No! I'd strike out!" she said quickly. She made a rapid motion forward +with her low forehead and level head, leaving it rigid the next moment, +so that it reminded him of the snake, and he laughed. At which she +laughed too, and tripped away. + +Leonidas went back and caught his trout. But even this triumph did not +remove a vague sense of disappointment which had come over him. He had +often pictured to himself a Heaven-sent meeting with her in the woods, +a walk with her, alone, where he could pick her the rarest flowers and +herbs and show her his woodland friends; and it had only ended in this, +and an exhibition of William Henry! He ought to have saved HER from +something, and not her husband. Yet he had no ill-feeling for Burroughs, +only a desire to circumvent him, on behalf of the unprotected, as he +would have baffled a hawk or a wildcat. He went home in dismal spirits, +but later that evening constructed a boyish letter of thanks to the +apocryphal Belcher and told him all about--the trout! + +He brought her his letter the next day, and received hers to inclose. +She was pleasant, her own charming self again, but she seemed more +interested in other things than himself, as, for instance, the docile +William Henry, whose hiding-place he showed, and whose few tricks she +made him exhibit to her, and which the gratified Leonidas accepted as a +delicate form of flattery to himself. But his yearning, innocent spirit +detected a something lacking, which he was too proud to admit even to +himself. It was his own fault; he ought to have waited for her, and not +gone for the trout! + +So a fortnight passed with an interchange of the vicarious letters, and +brief, hopeful, and disappointing meetings to Leonidas. To add to his +unhappiness, he was obliged to listen to sneering disparagement of his +goddess from his family, and criticisms which, happily, his innocence +did not comprehend. It was his own mother who accused her of shamefully +"making up" to the good-looking expressman at church last Sunday, and +declared that Burroughs ought to "look after that wife of his,"--two +statements which the simple Leonidas could not reconcile. He had seen +the incident, and only thought her more lovely than ever. Why should not +the expressman think so too? And yet the boy was not happy; something +intruded upon his sports, upon his books, making them dull and vapid, +and yet that something was she! He grew pale and preoccupied. If he had +only some one in whom to confide--some one who could explain his hopes +and fears. That one was nearer than he thought! + +It was quite three weeks since the rattlesnake incident, and he was +wandering moodily over Casket Ridge. He was near the Casket, that abrupt +upheaval of quartz and gneiss, shaped like a coffer, from which the +mountain took its name. It was a favorite haunt of Leonidas, one of +whose boyish superstitions was that it contained a treasure of gold, and +one of whose brightest dreams had been that he should yet discover it. +This he did not do to-day, but looking up from the rocks that he was +listlessly examining, he made the almost as thrilling discovery that +near him on the trail was a distinguished-looking stranger. + +He was bestriding a shapely mustang, which well became his handsome +face and slight, elegant figure, and he was looking at Leonidas with +an amused curiosity and a certain easy assurance that were difficult to +withstand. It was with the same fascinating self-confidence of smile, +voice, and manner that he rode up to the boy, and leaning lightly over +his saddle, said with exaggerated politeness: "I believe I have the +pleasure of addressing Mr. Leonidas Boone?" + +The rising color in Leonidas's face was apparently a sufficient +answer to the stranger, for he continued smilingly, "Then permit me to +introduce myself as Mr. James Belcher. As you perceive, I have grown +considerably since you last saw me. In fact, I've done nothing else. +It's surprising what a fellow can do when he sets his mind on one thing. +And then, you know, they're always telling you that San Francisco is a +'growing place.' That accounts for it!" + +Leonidas, dazed, dazzled, but delighted, showed all his white teeth in a +shy laugh. At which the enchanting stranger leaped from his horse like +a very boy, drew his arm through the rein, and going up to Leonidas, +lifted the boy's straw hat from his head and ran his fingers through his +curls. There was nothing original in that--everybody did that to him as +a preliminary to conversation. But when this ingenuous fine gentleman +put his own Panama hat on Leonidas's head, and clapped Leonidas's torn +straw on his own, and, passing his arm through the boy's, began to walk +on with him, Leonidas's simple heart went out to him at once. + +"And now, Leon," said the delightful stranger, "let's you and me have +a talk. There's a nice cool spot under these laurels; I'll stake out +Pepita, and we'll just lie off there and gab, and not care if school +keeps or not." + +"But you know you ain't really Jim Belcher," said the boy shyly. + +"I'm as good a man as he is any day, whoever I am," said the stranger, +with humorous defiance, "and can lick him out of his boots, whoever HE +is. That ought to satisfy you. But if you want my certificate, here's +your own letter, old man," he said, producing Leonidas's last scrawl +from his pocket. + +"And HERS?" said the boy cautiously. + +The stranger's face changed a little. "And HERS," he repeated gravely, +showing a little pink note which Leonidas recognized as one of Mrs. +Burroughs's inclosures. The boy was silent until they reached the +laurels, where the stranger tethered his horse and then threw himself +in an easy attitude beneath the tree, with the back of his head upon his +clasped hands. Leonidas could see his curved brown mustaches and silky +lashes that were almost as long, and thought him the handsomest man he +had ever beheld. + +"Well, Leon," said the stranger, stretching himself out comfortably and +pulling the boy down beside him, "how are things going on the Casket? +All serene, eh?" + +The inquiry so dismally recalled Leonidas's late feelings that his face +clouded, and he involuntarily sighed. The stranger instantly shifted his +head and gazed curiously at him. Then he took the boy's sunburnt hand in +his own, and held it a moment. "Well, go on," he said. + +"Well, Mr.--Mr.--I can't go on--I won't!" said Leonidas, with a sudden +fit of obstinacy. "I don't know what to call you." + +"Call me 'Jack'--'Jack Hamlin' when you're not in a hurry. Ever heard of +me before?" he added, suddenly turning his head towards Leonidas. + +The boy shook his head. "No." + +Mr. Jack Hamlin lifted his lashes in affected expostulation to the +skies. "And this is Fame!" he murmured audibly. + +But this Leonidas did not comprehend. Nor could he understand why the +stranger, who clearly must have come to see HER, should not ask about +her, should not rush to seek her, but should lie back there all the +while so contentedly on the grass. HE wouldn't. He half resented it, and +then it occurred to him that this fine gentleman was like himself--shy. +Who could help being so before such an angel? HE would help him on. + +And so, shyly at first, but bit by bit emboldened by a word or two from +Jack, he began to talk of her--of her beauty--of her kindness--of his +own unworthiness--of what she had said and done--until, finding in this +gracious stranger the vent his pent-up feelings so long had sought, he +sang then and there the little idyl of his boyish life. He told of his +decline in her affections after his unpardonable sin in keeping her +waiting while he went for the trout, and added the miserable mistake of +the rattlesnake episode. "For it was a mistake, Mr. Hamlin. I oughtn't +to have let a lady like that know anything about snakes--just because I +happen to know them." + +"It WAS an awful slump, Lee," said Hamlin gravely. "Get a woman and +a snake together--and where are you? Think of Adam and Eve and the +serpent, you know." + +"But it wasn't that way," said the boy earnestly. "And I want to tell +you something else that's just makin' me sick, Mr. Hamlin. You know I +told you William Henry lives down at the bottom of Burroughs's garden, +and how I showed Mrs. Burroughs his tricks! Well, only two days ago I +was down there looking for him, and couldn't find him anywhere. There's +a sort of narrow trail from the garden to the hill, a short cut up to +the Ridge, instead o' going by their gate. It's just the trail any one +would take in a hurry, or if they didn't want to be seen from the road. +Well! I was looking this way and that for William Henry, and whistlin' +for him, when I slipped on to the trail. There, in the middle of it, was +an old bucket turned upside down--just the thing a man would kick away +or a woman lift up. Well, Mr. Hamlin, I kicked it away, and"--the boy +stopped, with rounded eyes and bated breath, and added--"I just had time +to give one jump and save myself! For under that pail, cramped down so +he couldn't get out, and just bilin' over with rage, and chockful of +pizen, was William Henry! If it had been anybody else less spry, they'd +have got bitten,--and that's just what the sneak who put it there knew." + +Mr. Hamlin uttered an exclamation under his breath, and rose to his +feet. + +"What did you say?" asked the boy quickly. + +"Nothing," said Mr. Hamlin. + +But it had sounded to Leonidas like an oath. + +Mr. Hamlin walked a few steps, as if stretching his limbs, and then +said: "And you think Burroughs would have been bitten?" + +"Why, no!" said Leonidas in astonished indignation; "of course not--not +BURROUGHS. It would have been poor MRS. Burroughs. For, of course, HE +set that trap for her--don't you see? Who else would do it?" + +"Of course, of course! Certainly," said Mr. Hamlin coolly. "Of course, +as you say, HE set the trap--yes--you just hang on to that idea." + +But something in Mr. Hamlin's manner, and a peculiar look in his eye, +did not satisfy Leonidas. "Are you going to see her now?" he said +eagerly. "I can show you the house, and then run in and tell her you're +outside in the laurels." + +"Not just yet," said Mr. Hamlin, laying his hand on the boy's head +after having restored his own hat. "You see, I thought of giving her a +surprise. A big surprise!" he added slowly. After a pause, he went on: +"Did you tell her what you had seen?" + +"Of course I did," said Leonidas reproachfully. "Did you think I was +going to let her get bit? It might have killed her." + +"And it might not have been an unmixed pleasure for William Henry. I +mean," said Mr. Hamlin gravely, correcting himself, "YOU would never +have forgiven him. But what did she say?" + +The boy's face clouded. "She thanked me and said it was very +thoughtful--and kind--though it might have been only an accident"--he +stammered--"and then she said perhaps I was hanging round and coming +there a little too much lately, and that as Burroughs was very watchful, +I'd better quit for two or three days." The tears were rising to his +eyes, but by putting his two clenched fists into his pockets, he managed +to hold them down. Perhaps Mr. Hamlin's soft hand on his head assisted +him. Mr. Hamlin took from his pocket a notebook, and tearing out a leaf, +sat down again and began to write on his knee. After a pause, Leonidas +said,-- + +"Was you ever in love, Mr. Hamlin?" + +"Never," said Mr. Hamlin, quietly continuing to write. "But, now you +speak of it, it's a long-felt want in my nature that I intend to supply +some day. But not until I've made my pile. And don't YOU either." He +continued writing, for it was this gentleman's peculiarity to talk +without apparently the slightest concern whether anybody else spoke, +whether he was listened to, or whether his remarks were at all relevant +to the case. Yet he was always listened to for that reason. When he had +finished writing, he folded up the paper, put it in an envelope, and +addressed it. + +"Shall I take it to her?" said Leonidas eagerly. + +"It's not for HER; it's for him--Mr. Burroughs," said Mr. Hamlin +quietly. + +The boy drew back. "To get him out of the way," added Hamlin +explanatorily. "When he gets it, lightning wouldn't keep him here. Now, +how to send it," he said thoughtfully. + +"You might leave it at the post-office," said Leonidas timidly. "He +always goes there to watch his wife's letters." + +For the first time in their interview Mr. Hamlin distinctly laughed. + +"Your head is level, Leo, and I'll do it. Now the best thing you can do +is to follow Mrs. Burroughs's advice. Quit going to the house for a day +or two." He walked towards his horse. The boy's face sank, but he kept +up bravely. "And will I see you again?" he said wistfully. + +Mr. Hamlin lowered his face so near the boy's that Leonidas could see +himself in the brown depths of Mr. Hamlin's eyes. "I hope you will," +he said gravely. He mounted, shook the boy's hand, and rode away in the +lengthening shadows. Then Leonidas walked sadly home. + +There was no need for him to keep his promise; for the next morning the +family were stirred by the announcement that Mr. and Mrs. Burroughs had +left Casket Ridge that night by the down stage for Sacramento, and that +the house was closed. There were various rumors concerning the reason of +this sudden departure, but only one was persistent, and borne out by +the postmaster. It was that Mr. Burroughs had received that afternoon an +anonymous note that his wife was about to elope with the notorious San +Francisco gambler, Jack Hamlin. + +But Leonidas Boone, albeit half understanding, kept his miserable secret +with a still hopeful and trustful heart. It grieved him a little that +William Henry was found a few days later dead, with his head crushed. +Yet it was not until years later, when he had made a successful +"prospect" on Casket Ridge, that he met Mr. Hamlin in San Francisco, +and knew how he had played the part of Mercury upon that "heaven-kissing +hill." + + + + +COLONEL STARBOTTLE FOR THE PLAINTIFF + + +It had been a day of triumph for Colonel Starbottle. First, for his +personality, as it would have been difficult to separate the Colonel's +achievements from his individuality; second, for his oratorical +abilities as a sympathetic pleader; and third, for his functions as the +leading legal counsel for the Eureka Ditch Company versus the State of +California. On his strictly legal performances in this issue I prefer +not to speak; there were those who denied them, although the jury had +accepted them in the face of the ruling of the half amused, half cynical +Judge himself. For an hour they had laughed with the Colonel, wept with +him, been stirred to personal indignation or patriotic exaltation by +his passionate and lofty periods,--what else could they do than give him +their verdict? If it was alleged by some that the American eagle, Thomas +Jefferson, and the Resolutions of '98 had nothing whatever to do with +the contest of a ditch company over a doubtfully worded legislative +document; that wholesale abuse of the State Attorney and his political +motives had not the slightest connection with the legal question +raised--it was, nevertheless, generally accepted that the losing party +would have been only too glad to have the Colonel on their side. And +Colonel Starbottle knew this, as, perspiring, florid, and panting, he +rebuttoned the lower buttons of his blue frock-coat, which had become +loosed in an oratorical spasm, and readjusted his old-fashioned, +spotless shirt frill above it as he strutted from the court-room amidst +the handshakings and acclamations of his friends. + +And here an unprecedented thing occurred. The Colonel absolutely +declined spirituous refreshment at the neighboring Palmetto Saloon, +and declared his intention of proceeding directly to his office in the +adjoining square. Nevertheless, the Colonel quitted the building alone, +and apparently unarmed, except for his faithful gold-headed stick, +which hung as usual from his forearm. The crowd gazed after him with +undisguised admiration of this new evidence of his pluck. It was +remembered also that a mysterious note had been handed to him at +the conclusion of his speech,--evidently a challenge from the State +Attorney. It was quite plain that the Colonel--a practiced duelist--was +hastening home to answer it. + +But herein they were wrong. The note was in a female hand, and simply +requested the Colonel to accord an interview with the writer at the +Colonel's office as soon as he left the court. But it was an engagement +that the Colonel--as devoted to the fair sex as he was to the +"code"--was no less prompt in accepting. He flicked away the dust from +his spotless white trousers and varnished boots with his handkerchief, +and settled his black cravat under his Byron collar as he neared his +office. He was surprised, however, on opening the door of his private +office, to find his visitor already there; he was still more startled to +find her somewhat past middle age and plainly attired. But the Colonel +was brought up in a school of Southern politeness, already antique in +the republic, and his bow of courtesy belonged to the epoch of his +shirt frill and strapped trousers. No one could have detected his +disappointment in his manner, albeit his sentences were short +and incomplete. But the Colonel's colloquial speech was apt to be +fragmentary incoherencies of his larger oratorical utterances. + +"A thousand pardons--for--er--having kept a lady waiting--er! +But--er--congratulations of friends--and--er--courtesy due to +them--er--interfered with--though perhaps only heightened--by +procrastination--the pleasure of--ha!" And the Colonel completed his +sentence with a gallant wave of his fat but white and well-kept hand. + +"Yes! I came to see you along o' that speech of yours. I was in court. +When I heard you gettin' it off on that jury, I says to myself, 'That's +the kind o' lawyer I want. A man that's flowery and convincin'! Just the +man to take up our case." + +"Ah! It's a matter of business, I see," said the Colonel, inwardly +relieved, but externally careless. "And--er--may I ask the nature of the +case?" + +"Well! it's a breach-o'-promise suit," said the visitor calmly. + +If the Colonel had been surprised before, he was now really startled, +and with an added horror that required all his politeness to conceal. +Breach-of-promise cases were his peculiar aversion. He had always held +them to be a kind of litigation which could have been obviated by the +prompt killing of the masculine offender--in which case he would have +gladly defended the killer. But a suit for damages,--DAMAGES!--with the +reading of love-letters before a hilarious jury and court, was against +all his instincts. His chivalry was outraged; his sense of humor was +small, and in the course of his career he had lost one or two important +cases through an unexpected development of this quality in a jury. + +The woman had evidently noticed his hesitation, but mistook its cause. +"It ain't me--but my darter." + +The Colonel recovered his politeness. "Ah! I am relieved, my dear madam! +I could hardly conceive a man ignorant enough to--er--er--throw away +such evident good fortune--or base enough to deceive the trustfulness of +womanhood--matured and experienced only in the chivalry of our sex, ha!" + +The woman smiled grimly. "Yes!--it's my darter, Zaidee Hooker--so ye +might spare some of them pretty speeches for HER--before the jury." + +The Colonel winced slightly before this doubtful prospect, but smiled. +"Ha! Yes!--certainly--the jury. But--er--my dear lady, need we go as +far as that? Can not this affair be settled--er--out of court? Could +not this--er--individual--be admonished--told that he must +give satisfaction--personal satisfaction--for his dastardly +conduct--to--er--near relative--or even valued personal friend? +The--er--arrangements necessary for that purpose I myself would +undertake." + +He was quite sincere; indeed, his small black eyes shone with that fire +which a pretty woman or an "affair of honor" could alone kindle. The +visitor stared vacantly at him, and said slowly, "And what good is that +goin' to do US?" + +"Compel him to--er--perform his promise," said the Colonel, leaning back +in his chair. + +"Ketch him doin' it!" she exclaimed scornfully. "No--that ain't wot +we're after. We must make him PAY! Damages--and nothin' short o' THAT." + +The Colonel bit his lip. "I suppose," he said gloomily, "you have +documentary evidence--written promises and protestations--er--er +love-letters, in fact?" + +"No--nary a letter! Ye see, that's jest it--and that's where YOU come +in. You've got to convince that jury yourself. You've got to show what +it is--tell the whole story your own way. Lord! to a man like you that's +nothin'." + +Startling as this admission might have been to any other lawyer, +Starbottle was absolutely relieved by it. The absence of any +mirth-provoking correspondence, and the appeal solely to his own powers +of persuasion, actually struck his fancy. He lightly put aside the +compliment with a wave of his white hand. + +"Of course," he said confidently, "there is strongly presumptive and +corroborative evidence? Perhaps you can give me--er--a brief outline of +the affair?" + +"Zaidee kin do that straight enough, I reckon," said the woman; "what I +want to know first is, kin you take the case?" + +The Colonel did not hesitate; his curiosity was piqued. "I certainly +can. I have no doubt your daughter will put me in possession of +sufficient facts and details--to constitute what we call--er--a brief." + +"She kin be brief enough--or long enough--for the matter of that," said +the woman, rising. The Colonel accepted this implied witticism with a +smile. + +"And when may I have the pleasure of seeing her?" he asked politely. + +"Well, I reckon as soon as I can trot out and call her. She's just +outside, meanderin' in the road--kinder shy, ye know, at first." + +She walked to the door. The astounded Colonel nevertheless gallantly +accompanied her as she stepped out into the street and called shrilly, +"You Zaidee!" + +A young girl here apparently detached herself from a tree and the +ostentatious perusal of an old election poster, and sauntered down +towards the office door. Like her mother, she was plainly dressed; +unlike her, she had a pale, rather refined face, with a demure mouth and +downcast eyes. This was all the Colonel saw as he bowed profoundly and +led the way into his office, for she accepted his salutations without +lifting her head. He helped her gallantly to a chair, on which she +seated herself sideways, somewhat ceremoniously, with her eyes following +the point of her parasol as she traced a pattern on the carpet. A second +chair offered to the mother that lady, however, declined. "I reckon to +leave you and Zaidee together to talk it out," she said; turning to her +daughter, she added, "Jest you tell him all, Zaidee," and before the +Colonel could rise again, disappeared from the room. In spite of his +professional experience, Starbottle was for a moment embarrassed. The +young girl, however, broke the silence without looking up. + +"Adoniram K. Hotchkiss," she began, in a monotonous voice, as if it were +a recitation addressed to the public, "first began to take notice of me +a year ago. Arter that--off and on"-- + +"One moment," interrupted the astounded Colonel; "do you mean Hotchkiss +the President of the Ditch Company?" He had recognized the name of +a prominent citizen--a rigid, ascetic, taciturn, middle-aged man--a +deacon--and more than that, the head of the company he had just +defended. It seemed inconceivable. + +"That's him," she continued, with eyes still fixed on the parasol and +without changing her monotonous tone--"off and on ever since. Most +of the time at the Free-Will Baptist Church--at morning service, +prayer-meetings, and such. And at home--outside--er--in the road." + +"Is it this gentleman--Mr. Adoniram K. Hotchkiss--who--er--promised +marriage?" stammered the Colonel. + +"Yes." + +The Colonel shifted uneasily in his chair. "Most extraordinary! for--you +see--my dear young lady--this becomes--a--er--most delicate affair." + +"That's what maw said," returned the young woman simply, yet with the +faintest smile playing around her demure lips and downcast cheek. + +"I mean," said the Colonel, with a pained yet courteous smile, "that +this--er--gentleman--is in fact--er--one of my clients." + +"That's what maw said too, and of course your knowing him will make it +all the easier for you." + +A slight flush crossed the Colonel's cheek as he returned quickly and a +little stiffly, "On the contrary--er--it may make it impossible for me +to--er--act in this matter." + +The girl lifted her eyes. The Colonel held his breath as the long lashes +were raised to his level. Even to an ordinary observer that sudden +revelation of her eyes seemed to transform her face with subtle +witchery. They were large, brown, and soft, yet filled with an +extraordinary penetration and prescience. They were the eyes of an +experienced woman of thirty fixed in the face of a child. What else the +Colonel saw there Heaven only knows! He felt his inmost secrets +plucked from him--his whole soul laid bare--his vanity, belligerency, +gallantry--even his mediaeval chivalry, penetrated, and yet illuminated, +in that single glance. And when the eyelids fell again, he felt that a +greater part of himself had been swallowed up in them. + +"I beg your pardon," he said hurriedly. "I mean--this matter may +be arranged--er--amicably. My interest with--and as you wisely +say--my--er--knowledge of my client--er--Mr. Hotchkiss--may effect--a +compromise." + +"And DAMAGES," said the young girl, readdressing her parasol, as if she +had never looked up. + +The Colonel winced. "And--er--undoubtedly COMPENSATION--if you do not +press a fulfillment of the promise. Unless," he said, with an attempted +return to his former easy gallantry, which, however, the recollection of +her eyes made difficult, "it is a question of--er--the affections." + +"Which?" asked his fair client softly. + +"If you still love him?" explained the Colonel, actually blushing. + +Zaidee again looked up; again taking the Colonel's breath away with eyes +that expressed not only the fullest perception of what he had SAID, but +of what he thought and had not said, and with an added subtle suggestion +of what he might have thought. "That's tellin'," she said, dropping her +long lashes again. + +The Colonel laughed vacantly. Then feeling himself growing imbecile, he +forced an equally weak gravity. "Pardon me--I understand there are no +letters; may I know the way in which he formulated his declaration and +promises?" + +"Hymn-books." + +"I beg your pardon," said the mystified lawyer. + +"Hymn-books--marked words in them with pencil--and passed 'em on to +me," repeated Zaidee. "Like 'love,' 'dear,' 'precious,' 'sweet,' and +'blessed,'" she added, accenting each word with a push of her parasol on +the carpet. "Sometimes a whole line outer Tate and Brady--and Solomon's +Song, you know, and sich." + +"I believe," said the Colonel loftily, "that the--er--phrases of sacred +psalmody lend themselves to the language of the affections. But in +regard to the distinct promise of marriage--was there--er--no OTHER +expression?" + +"Marriage Service in the prayer-book--lines and words outer that--all +marked," Zaidee replied. + +The Colonel nodded naturally and approvingly. "Very good. Were others +cognizant of this? Were there any witnesses?" + +"Of course not," said the girl. "Only me and him. It was generally at +church-time--or prayer-meeting. Once, in passing the plate, he slipped +one o' them peppermint lozenges with the letters stamped on it 'I love +you' for me to take." + +The Colonel coughed slightly. "And you have the lozenge?" + +"I ate it." + +"Ah," said the Colonel. After a pause he added delicately, "But were +these attentions--er--confined to--er--sacred precincts? Did he meet you +elsewhere?" + +"Useter pass our house on the road," returned the girl, dropping into +her monotonous recital, "and useter signal." + +"Ah, signal?" repeated the Colonel approvingly. + +"Yes! He'd say 'Keerow,' and I'd say 'Keeree.' Suthing like a bird, you +know." + +Indeed, as she lifted her voice in imitation of the call, the Colonel +thought it certainly very sweet and birdlike. At least as SHE gave +it. With his remembrance of the grim deacon he had doubts as to the +melodiousness of HIS utterance. He gravely made her repeat it. + +"And after that signal?" he added suggestively. + +"He'd pass on." + +The Colonel again coughed slightly, and tapped his desk with his +penholder. + +"Were there any endearments--er--caresses--er--such as taking your +hand--er--clasping your waist?" he suggested, with a gallant yet +respectful sweep of his white hand and bowing of his head; "er--slight +pressure of your fingers in the changes of a dance--I mean," he +corrected himself, with an apologetic cough--"in the passing of the +plate?" + +"No; he was not what you'd call 'fond,'" returned the girl. + +"Ah! Adoniram K. Hotchkiss was not 'fond' in the ordinary acceptance of +the word," noted the Colonel, with professional gravity. + +She lifted her disturbing eyes, and again absorbed his in her own. She +also said "Yes," although her eyes in their mysterious prescience of all +he was thinking disclaimed the necessity of any answer at all. He smiled +vacantly. There was a long pause. On which she slowly disengaged her +parasol from the carpet pattern, and stood up. + +"I reckon that's about all," she said. + +"Er--yes--but one moment," began the Colonel vaguely. He would have +liked to keep her longer, but with her strange premonition of him he +felt powerless to detain her, or explain his reason for doing so. He +instinctively knew she had told him all; his professional judgment told +him that a more hopeless case had never come to his knowledge. Yet he +was not daunted, only embarrassed. "No matter," he said. "Of course I +shall have to consult with you again." + +Her eyes again answered that she expected he would, and she added +simply, "When?" + +"In the course of a day or two;" he replied quickly. "I will send you +word." + +She turned to go. In his eagerness to open the door for her, he upset +his chair, and with some confusion, that was actually youthful, he +almost impeded her movements in the hall, and knocked his broad-brimmed +Panama hat from his bowing hand in a final gallant sweep. Yet as her +small, trim, youthful figure, with its simple Leghorn straw hat confined +by a blue bow under her round chin, passed away before him, she looked +more like a child than ever. + +The Colonel spent that afternoon in making diplomatic inquiries. He +found his youthful client was the daughter of a widow who had a small +ranch on the cross-roads, near the new Free-Will Baptist Church--the +evident theatre of this pastoral. They led a secluded life, the +girl being little known in the town, and her beauty and fascination +apparently not yet being a recognized fact. The Colonel felt a +pleasurable relief at this, and a general satisfaction he could not +account for. His few inquiries concerning Mr. Hotchkiss only confirmed +his own impressions of the alleged lover,--a serious-minded, practically +abstracted man, abstentive of youthful society, and the last man +apparently capable of levity of the affections or serious flirtation. +The Colonel was mystified, but determined of purpose, whatever that +purpose might have been. + +The next day he was at his office at the same hour. He was alone--as +usual--the Colonel's office being really his private lodgings, disposed +in connecting rooms, a single apartment reserved for consultation. +He had no clerk, his papers and briefs being taken by his faithful +body-servant and ex-slave "Jim" to another firm who did his office work +since the death of Major Stryker, the Colonel's only law partner, who +fell in a duel some years previous. With a fine constancy the Colonel +still retained his partner's name on his doorplate, and, it was alleged +by the superstitious, kept a certain invincibility also through the +'manes' of that lamented and somewhat feared man. + +The Colonel consulted his watch, whose heavy gold case still showed +the marks of a providential interference with a bullet destined for its +owner, and replaced it with some difficulty and shortness of breath in +his fob. At the same moment he heard a step in the passage, and the door +opened to Adoniram K. Hotchkiss. The Colonel was impressed; he had a +duelist's respect for punctuality. + +The man entered with a nod and the expectant inquiring look of a busy +man. As his feet crossed that sacred threshold the Colonel became all +courtesy; he placed a chair for his visitor, and took his hat from his +half reluctant hand. He then opened a cupboard and brought out a bottle +of whiskey and two glasses. + +"A--er--slight refreshment, Mr. Hotchkiss," he suggested politely. + +"I never drink," replied Hotchkiss, with the severe attitude of a total +abstainer. + +"Ah--er--not the finest Bourbon whiskey, selected by a Kentucky friend? +No? Pardon me! A cigar, then--the mildest Havana." + +"I do not use tobacco nor alcohol in any form," repeated Hotchkiss +ascetically. "I have no foolish weaknesses." + +The Colonel's moist, beady eyes swept silently over his client's sallow +face. He leaned back comfortably in his chair, and half closing his +eyes as in dreamy reminiscence, said slowly: "Your reply, Mr. Hotchkiss, +reminds me of--er--sing'lar circumstance that--er--occurred, in point of +fact--at the St. Charles Hotel, New Orleans. Pinkey Hornblower--personal +friend--invited Senator Doolittle to join him in social glass. Received, +sing'larly enough, reply similar to yours. 'Don't drink nor smoke?' said +Pinkey. 'Gad, sir, you must be mighty sweet on the ladies.' Ha!" +The Colonel paused long enough to allow the faint flush to pass from +Hotchkiss's cheek, and went on, half closing his eyes: "'I allow no man, +sir, to discuss my personal habits,' declared Doolittle, over his shirt +collar. 'Then I reckon shootin' must be one of those habits,' said +Pinkey coolly. Both men drove out on the Shell Road back of cemetery +next morning. Pinkey put bullet at twelve paces through Doolittle's +temple. Poor Doo never spoke again. Left three wives and seven children, +they say--two of 'em black." + +"I got a note from you this morning," said Hotchkiss, with badly +concealed impatience. "I suppose in reference to our case. You have +taken judgment, I believe." + +The Colonel, without replying, slowly filled a glass of whiskey and +water. For a moment he held it dreamily before him, as if still engaged +in gentle reminiscences called up by the act. Then tossing it off, +he wiped his lips with a large white handkerchief, and leaning back +comfortably in his chair, said, with a wave of his hand, "The interview +I requested, Mr. Hotchkiss, concerns a subject--which I may say +is--er--er--at present NOT of a public or business nature--although +LATER it might become--er--er--both. It is an affair of +some--er--delicacy." + +The Colonel paused, and Mr. Hotchkiss regarded him with increased +impatience. The Colonel, however, continued, with unchanged +deliberation: "It concerns--er--er--a young lady--a beautiful, +high-souled creature, sir, who, apart from her personal +loveliness--er--er--I may say is of one of the first families of +Missouri, and--er--not remotely connected by marriage with one +of--er--er--my boyhood's dearest friends." The latter, I grieve to say, +was a pure invention of the Colonel's--an oratorical addition to the +scanty information he had obtained the previous day. "The young lady," +he continued blandly, "enjoys the further distinction of being +the object of such attention from you as would make this +interview--really--a confidential matter--er--er among friends +and--er--er--relations in present and future. I need not say that the +lady I refer to is Miss Zaidee Juno Hooker, only daughter of Almira +Ann Hooker, relict of Jefferson Brown Hooker, formerly of Boone County, +Kentucky, and latterly of--er--Pike County, Missouri." + +The sallow, ascetic hue of Mr. Hotchkiss's face had passed through a +livid and then a greenish shade, and finally settled into a sullen red. +"What's all this about?" he demanded roughly. + +The least touch of belligerent fire came into Starbottle's eye, but his +bland courtesy did not change. "I believe," he said politely, "I have +made myself clear as between--er--gentlemen, though perhaps not as clear +as I should to--er--er--jury." + +Mr. Hotchkiss was apparently struck with some significance in the +lawyer's reply. "I don't know," he said, in a lower and more cautious +voice, "what you mean by what you call 'my attentions' to--any one--or +how it concerns you. I have not exchanged half a dozen words with--the +person you name--have never written her a line--nor even called at her +house." + +He rose with an assumption of ease, pulled down his waistcoat, buttoned +his coat, and took up his hat. The Colonel did not move. + +"I believe I have already indicated my meaning in what I have called +'your attentions,'" said the Colonel blandly, "and given you my +'concern' for speaking as--er--er--mutual friend. As to YOUR statement +of your relations with Miss Hooker, I may state that it is fully +corroborated by the statement of the young lady herself in this very +office yesterday." + +"Then what does this impertinent nonsense mean? Why am I summoned here?" +demanded Hotchkiss furiously. + +"Because," said the Colonel deliberately, "that statement is +infamously--yes, damnably to your discredit, sir!" + +Mr. Hotchkiss was here seized by one of those impotent and inconsistent +rages which occasionally betray the habitually cautious and timid man. +He caught up the Colonel's stick, which was lying on the table. At the +same moment the Colonel, without any apparent effort, grasped it by +the handle. To Mr. Hotchkiss's astonishment, the stick separated in two +pieces, leaving the handle and about two feet of narrow glittering steel +in the Colonel's hand. The man recoiled, dropping the useless fragment. +The Colonel picked it up, fitted the shining blade in it, clicked the +spring, and then rising with a face of courtesy yet of unmistakably +genuine pain, and with even a slight tremor in his voice, said +gravely,-- + +"Mr. Hotchkiss, I owe you a thousand apologies, sir, that--er--a weapon +should be drawn by me--even through your own inadvertence--under the +sacred protection of my roof, and upon an unarmed man. I beg your +pardon, sir, and I even withdraw the expressions which provoked +that inadvertence. Nor does this apology prevent you from holding me +responsible--personally responsible--ELSEWHERE for an indiscretion +committed in behalf of a lady--my--er--client." + +"Your client? Do you mean you have taken her case? You, the counsel for +the Ditch Company?" asked Mr. Hotchkiss, in trembling indignation. + +"Having won YOUR case, sir," replied the Colonel coolly, +"the--er--usages of advocacy do not prevent me from espousing the cause +of the weak and unprotected." + +"We shall see, sir," said Hotchkiss, grasping the handle of the door and +backing into the passage. "There are other lawyers who"-- + +"Permit me to see you out," interrupted the Colonel, rising politely. + +--"will be ready to resist the attacks of blackmail," continued +Hotchkiss, retreating along the passage. + +"And then you will be able to repeat your remarks to me IN THE STREET," +continued the Colonel, bowing, as he persisted in following his visitor +to the door. + +But here Mr. Hotchkiss quickly slammed it behind him, and hurried away. +The Colonel returned to his office, and sitting down, took a sheet of +letter-paper bearing the inscription "Starbottle and Stryker, Attorneys +and Counselors," and wrote the following lines:-- + + +HOOKER versus HOTCHKISS. + +DEAR MADAM,--Having had a visit from the defendant in above, we should +be pleased to have an interview with you at two P. M. to-morrow. + +Your obedient servants, + +STARBOTTLE AND STRYKER. + + +This he sealed and dispatched by his trusted servant Jim, and then +devoted a few moments to reflection. It was the custom of the Colonel to +act first, and justify the action by reason afterwards. + +He knew that Hotchkiss would at once lay the matter before rival +counsel. He knew that they would advise him that Miss Hooker had "no +case"--that she would be nonsuited on her own evidence, and he ought not +to compromise, but be ready to stand trial. He believed, however, that +Hotchkiss feared such exposure, and although his own instincts had been +at first against this remedy, he was now instinctively in favor of it. +He remembered his own power with a jury; his vanity and his chivalry +alike approved of this heroic method; he was bound by no prosaic +facts--he had his own theory of the case, which no mere evidence could +gainsay. In fact, Mrs. Hooker's admission that he was to "tell the story +in his own way" actually appeared to him an inspiration and a prophecy. + +Perhaps there was something else, due possibly to the lady's wonderful +eyes, of which he had thought much. Yet it was not her simplicity that +affected him solely; on the contrary, it was her apparent intelligent +reading of the character of her recreant lover--and of his own! Of all +the Colonel's previous "light" or "serious" loves, none had ever before +flattered him in that way. And it was this, combined with the respect +which he had held for their professional relations, that precluded +his having a more familiar knowledge of his client, through serious +questioning or playful gallantry. I am not sure it was not part of the +charm to have a rustic femme incomprise as a client. + +Nothing could exceed the respect with which he greeted her as she +entered his office the next day. He even affected not to notice that she +had put on her best clothes, and he made no doubt appeared as when +she had first attracted the mature yet faithless attentions of Deacon +Hotchkiss at church. A white virginal muslin was belted around her slim +figure by a blue ribbon, and her Leghorn hat was drawn around her oval +cheek by a bow of the same color. She had a Southern girl's narrow feet, +encased in white stockings and kid slippers, which were crossed primly +before her as she sat in a chair, supporting her arm by her faithful +parasol planted firmly on the floor. A faint odor of southernwood +exhaled from her, and, oddly enough, stirred the Colonel with a far-off +recollection of a pine-shaded Sunday-school on a Georgia hillside, and +of his first love, aged ten, in a short starched frock. Possibly it was +the same recollection that revived something of the awkwardness he had +felt then. + +He, however, smiled vaguely, and sitting down, coughed slightly, and +placed his finger-tips together. "I have had an--er--interview with +Mr. Hotchkiss, but--I--er--regret to say there seems to be no prospect +of--er--compromise." + +He paused, and to his surprise her listless "company" face lit up with +an adorable smile. "Of course!--ketch him!" she said. "Was he mad when +you told him?" She put her knees comfortably together and leaned forward +for a reply. + +For all that, wild horses could not have torn from the Colonel a word +about Hotchkiss's anger. "He expressed his intention of employing +counsel--and defending a suit," returned the Colonel, affably basking in +her smile. + +She dragged her chair nearer his desk. "Then you'll fight him tooth and +nail?" she asked eagerly; "you'll show him up? You'll tell the whole +story your own way? You'll give him fits?--and you'll make him pay? +Sure?" she went on breathlessly. + +"I--er--will," said the Colonel, almost as breathlessly. + +She caught his fat white hand, which was lying on the table, between +her own and lifted it to her lips. He felt her soft young fingers even +through the lisle-thread gloves that encased them, and the warm moisture +of her lips upon his skin. He felt himself flushing--but was unable +to break the silence or change his position. The next moment she had +scuttled back with her chair to her old position. + +"I--er--certainly shall do my best," stammered the Colonel, in an +attempt to recover his dignity and composure. + +"That's enough! You'll do it," said she enthusiastically. "Lordy! Just +you talk for ME as ye did for HIS old Ditch Company, and you'll fetch +it--every time! Why, when you made that jury sit up the other day--when +you got that off about the Merrikan flag waving equally over the rights +of honest citizens banded together in peaceful commercial pursuits, as +well as over the fortress of official proflig--" + +"Oligarchy," murmured the Colonel courteously. + +--"oligarchy," repeated the girl quickly, "my breath was just took away. +I said to maw, 'Ain't he too sweet for anything!' I did, honest Injin! +And when you rolled it all off at the end--never missing a word (you +didn't need to mark 'em in a lesson-book, but had 'em all ready on your +tongue)--and walked out--Well! I didn't know you nor the Ditch Company +from Adam, but I could have just run over and kissed you there before +the whole court!" + +She laughed, with her face glowing, although her strange eyes were cast +down. Alack! the Colonel's face was equally flushed, and his own beady +eyes were on his desk. To any other woman he would have voiced the banal +gallantry that he should now, himself, look forward to that reward, but +the words never reached his lips. He laughed, coughed slightly, and when +he looked up again she had fallen into the same attitude as on her first +visit, with her parasol point on the floor. + +"I must ask you to--er--direct your memory to--er--another point: the +breaking off of the--er--er--er--engagement. Did he--er--give any reason +for it? Or show any cause?" + +"No; he never said anything," returned the girl. + +"Not in his usual way?--er--no reproaches out of the hymn-book?--or the +sacred writings?" + +"No; he just QUIT." + +"Er--ceased his attentions," said the Colonel gravely. "And naturally +you--er--were not conscious of any cause for his doing so." + +The girl raised her wonderful eyes so suddenly and so penetratingly +without replying in any other way that the Colonel could only hurriedly +say: "I see! None, of course!" + +At which she rose, the Colonel rising also. "We--shall begin proceedings +at once. I must, however, caution you to answer no questions, nor say +anything about this case to any one until you are in court." + +She answered his request with another intelligent look and a nod. He +accompanied her to the door. As he took her proffered hand, he raised +the lisle-thread fingers to his lips with old-fashioned gallantry. As if +that act had condoned for his first omissions and awkwardness, he became +his old-fashioned self again, buttoned his coat, pulled out his shirt +frill, and strutted back to his desk. + +A day or two later it was known throughout the town that Zaidee Hooker +had sued Adoniram Hotchkiss for breach of promise, and that the damages +were laid at five thousand dollars. As in those bucolic days the Western +press was under the secure censorship of a revolver, a cautious tone of +criticism prevailed, and any gossip was confined to personal expression, +and even then at the risk of the gossiper. Nevertheless, the situation +provoked the intensest curiosity. The Colonel was approached--until +his statement that he should consider any attempt to overcome his +professional secrecy a personal reflection withheld further advances. +The community were left to the more ostentatious information of the +defendant's counsel, Messrs. Kitcham and Bilser, that the case was +"ridiculous" and "rotten," that the plaintiff would be nonsuited, and +the fire-eating Starbottle would be taught a lesson that he could not +"bully" the law, and there were some dark hints of a conspiracy. It was +even hinted that the "case" was the revengeful and preposterous outcome +of the refusal of Hotchkiss to pay Starbottle an extravagant fee for his +late services to the Ditch Company. It is unnecessary to say that these +words were not reported to the Colonel. It was, however, an unfortunate +circumstance for the calmer, ethical consideration of the subject that +the Church sided with Hotchkiss, as this provoked an equal adherence +to the plaintiff and Starbottle on the part of the larger body of +non-churchgoers, who were delighted at a possible exposure of the +weakness of religious rectitude. "I've allus had my suspicions o' them +early candle-light meetings down at that gospel shop," said one critic, +"and I reckon Deacon Hotchkiss didn't rope in the gals to attend jest +for psalm-singing." "Then for him to get up and leave the board afore +the game's finished and try to sneak out of it," said an other,--"I +suppose that's what they call RELIGIOUS." + +It was therefore not remarkable that the court-house three weeks later +was crowded with an excited multitude of the curious and sympathizing. +The fair plaintiff, with her mother, was early in attendance, and under +the Colonel's advice appeared in the same modest garb in which she had +first visited his office. This and her downcast, modest demeanor were +perhaps at first disappointing to the crowd, who had evidently expected +a paragon of loveliness in this Circe of that grim, ascetic defendant, +who sat beside his counsel. But presently all eyes were fixed on the +Colonel, who certainly made up in his appearance any deficiency of his +fair client. His portly figure was clothed in a blue dress coat with +brass buttons, a buff waistcoat which permitted his frilled shirt-front +to become erectile above it, a black satin stock which confined a boyish +turned-down collar around his full neck, and immaculate drill trousers, +strapped over varnished boots. A murmur ran round the court. "Old +'Personally Responsible' has got his war-paint on;" "The Old War-Horse +is smelling powder," were whispered comments. Yet for all that, the +most irreverent among them recognized vaguely, in this bizarre figure, +something of an honored past in their country's history, and possibly +felt the spell of old deeds and old names that had once thrilled their +boyish pulses. The new District Judge returned Colonel Starbottle's +profoundly punctilious bow. The Colonel was followed by his negro +servant, carrying a parcel of hymn-books and Bibles, who, with a +courtesy evidently imitated from his master, placed one before the +opposite counsel. This, after a first curious glance, the lawyer +somewhat superciliously tossed aside. But when Jim, proceeding to the +jury-box, placed with equal politeness the remaining copies before the +jury, the opposite counsel sprang to his feet. + +"I want to direct the attention of the Court to this unprecedented +tampering with the jury, by this gratuitous exhibition of matter +impertinent and irrelevant to the issue." + +The Judge cast an inquiring look at Colonel Starbottle. + +"May it please the Court," returned Colonel Starbottle with dignity, +ignoring the counsel, "the defendant's counsel will observe that he +is already furnished with the matter--which I regret to say he has +treated--in the presence of the Court--and of his client, a deacon of +the church--with--er--great superciliousness. When I state to your +Honor that the books in question are hymn-books and copies of the Holy +Scriptures, and that they are for the instruction of the jury, to whom +I shall have to refer them in the course of my opening, I believe I am +within my rights." + +"The act is certainly unprecedented," said the Judge dryly, "but unless +the counsel for the plaintiff expects the jury to SING from these +hymn-books, their introduction is not improper, and I cannot admit the +objection. As defendant's counsel are furnished with copies also, they +cannot plead 'surprise,' as in the introduction of new matter, and as +plaintiff's counsel relies evidently upon the jury's attention to his +opening, he would not be the first person to distract it." After a pause +he added, addressing the Colonel, who remained standing, "The Court is +with you, sir; proceed." + +But the Colonel remained motionless and statuesque, with folded arms. + +"I have overruled the objection," repeated the Judge; "you may go on." + +"I am waiting, your Honor, for the--er--withdrawal by the defendant's +counsel of the word 'tampering,' as refers to myself, and of +'impertinent,' as refers to the sacred volumes." + +"The request is a proper one, and I have no doubt will be acceded to," +returned the Judge quietly. The defendant's counsel rose and mumbled +a few words of apology, and the incident closed. There was, however, a +general feeling that the Colonel had in some way "scored," and if his +object had been to excite the greatest curiosity about the books, he had +made his point. + +But impassive of his victory, he inflated his chest, with his right hand +in the breast of his buttoned coat, and began. His usual high color had +paled slightly, but the small pupils of his prominent eyes glittered +like steel. The young girl leaned forward in her chair with an attention +so breathless, a sympathy so quick, and an admiration so artless +and unconscious that in an instant she divided with the speaker the +attention of the whole assemblage. It was very hot; the court was +crowded to suffocation; even the open windows revealed a crowd of faces +outside the building, eagerly following the Colonel's words. + +He would remind the jury that only a few weeks ago he stood there as +the advocate of a powerful Company, then represented by the present +defendant. He spoke then as the champion of strict justice against +legal oppression; no less should he to-day champion the cause of the +unprotected and the comparatively defenseless--save for that paramount +power which surrounds beauty and innocence--even though the plaintiff +of yesterday was the defendant of to-day. As he approached the court a +moment ago he had raised his eyes and beheld the starry flag flying from +its dome, and he knew that glorious banner was a symbol of the perfect +equality, under the Constitution, of the rich and the poor, the strong +and the weak--an equality which made the simple citizen taken from the +plough in the field, the pick in the gulch, or from behind the counter +in the mining town, who served on that jury, the equal arbiters of +justice with that highest legal luminary whom they were proud to welcome +on the bench to-day. The Colonel paused, with a stately bow to the +impassive Judge. It was this, he continued, which lifted his heart as +he approached the building. And yet--he had entered it with an +uncertain--he might almost say--a timid step. And why? He knew, +gentlemen, he was about to confront a profound--aye! a sacred +responsibility! Those hymn-books and holy writings handed to the jury +were NOT, as his Honor had surmised, for the purpose of enabling the +jury to indulge in--er--preliminary choral exercise! He might, indeed, +say, "Alas, not!" They were the damning, incontrovertible proofs of the +perfidy of the defendant. And they would prove as terrible a warning to +him as the fatal characters upon Belshazzar's wall. There was a strong +sensation. Hotchkiss turned a sallow green. His lawyers assumed a +careless smile. + +It was his duty to tell them that this was not one of those ordinary +"breach-of-promise" cases which were too often the occasion of ruthless +mirth and indecent levity in the court-room. The jury would find +nothing of that here. There were no love-letters with the epithets of +endearment, nor those mystic crosses and ciphers which, he had been +credibly informed, chastely hid the exchange of those mutual caresses +known as "kisses." There was no cruel tearing of the veil from those +sacred privacies of the human affection; there was no forensic shouting +out of those fond confidences meant only for ONE. But there was, he was +shocked to say, a new sacrilegious intrusion. The weak pipings of Cupid +were mingled with the chorus of the saints,--the sanctity of the temple +known as the "meeting--house" was desecrated by proceedings more in +keeping with the shrine of Venus; and the inspired writings themselves +were used as the medium of amatory and wanton flirtation by the +defendant in his sacred capacity as deacon. + +The Colonel artistically paused after this thunderous denunciation. The +jury turned eagerly to the leaves of the hymn-books, but the larger gaze +of the audience remained fixed upon the speaker and the girl, who sat in +rapt admiration of his periods. After the hush, the Colonel continued +in a lower and sadder voice: "There are, perhaps, few of us here, +gentlemen,--with the exception of the defendant,--who can arrogate to +themselves the title of regular church-goers, or to whom these humbler +functions of the prayer-meeting, the Sunday-school, and the Bible-class +are habitually familiar. Yet"--more solemnly--"down in our hearts is the +deep conviction of our shortcomings and failings, and a laudable desire +that others, at least, should profit by the teachings we neglect. +Perhaps," he continued, closing his eyes dreamily, "there is not a +man here who does not recall the happy days of his boyhood, the rustic +village spire, the lessons shared with some artless village maiden, with +whom he later sauntered, hand in hand, through the woods, as the simple +rhyme rose upon their lips,-- + + 'Always make it a point to have it a rule, + Never to be late at the Sabbath-school.' + +"He would recall the strawberry feasts, the welcome annual picnic, +redolent with hunks of gingerbread and sarsaparilla. How would they feel +to know that these sacred recollections were now forever profaned in +their memory by the knowledge that the defendant was capable of using +such occasions to make love to the larger girls and teachers, whilst +his artless companions were innocently--the Court will pardon me for +introducing what I am credibly informed is the local expression--'doing +gooseberry'?" The tremulous flicker of a smile passed over the faces of +the listening crowd, and the Colonel slightly winced. But he recovered +himself instantly, and continued,-- + +"My client, the only daughter of a widowed mother--who has for years +stemmed the varying tides of adversity, in the western precincts of this +town--stands before you to-day invested only in her own innocence. She +wears no--er--rich gifts of her faithless admirer--is panoplied in no +jewels, rings, nor mementos of affection such as lovers delight to hang +upon the shrine of their affections; hers is not the glory with which +Solomon decorated the Queen of Sheba, though the defendant, as I shall +show later, clothed her in the less expensive flowers of the king's +poetry. No, gentlemen! The defendant exhibited in this affair a certain +frugality of--er--pecuniary investment, which I am willing to admit may +be commendable in his class. His only gift was characteristic alike +of his methods and his economy. There is, I understand, a certain +not unimportant feature of religious exercise known as 'taking a +collection.' The defendant, on this occasion, by the mute presentation +of a tin plate covered with baize, solicited the pecuniary contributions +of the faithful. On approaching the plaintiff, however, he himself +slipped a love-token upon the plate and pushed it towards her. That +love-token was a lozenge--a small disk, I have reason to believe, +concocted of peppermint and sugar, bearing upon its reverse surface the +simple words, 'I love you!' I have since ascertained that these disks +may be bought for five cents a dozen--or at considerably less than one +half cent for the single lozenge. Yes, gentlemen, the words 'I love +you!'--the oldest legend of all; the refrain 'when the morning +stars sang together'--were presented to the plaintiff by a medium so +insignificant that there is, happily, no coin in the republic low enough +to represent its value. + +"I shall prove to you, gentlemen of the jury," said the Colonel +solemnly, drawing a Bible from his coat-tail pocket, "that the defendant +for the last twelve months conducted an amatory correspondence with +the plaintiff by means of underlined words of Sacred Writ and church +psalmody, such as 'beloved,' 'precious,' and 'dearest,' occasionally +appropriating whole passages which seemed apposite to his tender +passion. I shall call your attention to one of them. The defendant, +while professing to be a total abstainer,--a man who, in my own +knowledge, has refused spirituous refreshment as an inordinate weakness +of the flesh,--with shameless hypocrisy underscores with his pencil the +following passage, and presents it to the plaintiff. The gentlemen of +the jury will find it in the Song of Solomon, page 548, chapter ii. +verse 5." After a pause, in which the rapid rustling of leaves was heard +in the jury-box, Colonel Starbottle declaimed in a pleading, stentorian +voice, "'Stay me with--er--FLAGONS, comfort me with--er--apples--for +I am--er--sick of love.' Yes, gentlemen!--yes, you may well turn +from those accusing pages and look at the double-faced defendant. He +desires--to--er--be--'stayed with flagons'! I am not aware at present +what kind of liquor is habitually dispensed at these meetings, and for +which the defendant so urgently clamored; but it will be my duty, before +this trial is over, to discover it, if I have to summon every barkeeper +in this district. For the moment I will simply call your attention to +the QUANTITY. It is not a single drink that the defendant asks for--not +a glass of light and generous wine, to be shared with his inamorata, +but a number of flagons or vessels, each possibly holding a pint +measure--FOR HIMSELF!" + +The smile of the audience had become a laugh. The Judge looked up +warningly, when his eye caught the fact that the Colonel had again +winced at this mirth. He regarded him seriously. Mr. Hotchkiss's counsel +had joined in the laugh affectedly, but Hotchkiss himself sat ashy pale. +There was also a commotion in the jury-box, a hurried turning over of +leaves, and an excited discussion. + +"The gentlemen of the jury," said the Judge, with official gravity, +"will please keep order and attend only to the speeches of counsel. Any +discussion HERE is irregular and premature, and must be reserved for the +jury-room after they have retired." + +The foreman of the jury struggled to his feet. He was a powerful man, +with a good-humored face, and, in spite of his unfelicitous nickname of +"The Bone-Breaker," had a kindly, simple, but somewhat emotional nature. +Nevertheless, it appeared as if he were laboring under some powerful +indignation. + +"Can we ask a question, Judge?" he said respectfully, although his voice +had the unmistakable Western American ring in it, as of one who was +unconscious that he could be addressing any but his peers. + +"Yes," said the Judge good-humoredly. + +"We're finding in this yere piece, out o' which the Kernel hes just bin +a-quotin', some language that me and my pardners allow hadn't orter be +read out afore a young lady in court, and we want to know of you--ez a +fa'r-minded and impartial man--ef this is the reg'lar kind o' book given +to gals and babies down at the meetin'-house." + +"The jury will please follow the counsel's speech without comment," said +the Judge briefly, fully aware that the defendant's counsel would spring +to his feet, as he did promptly. + +"The Court will allow us to explain to the gentlemen that the language +they seem to object to has been accepted by the best theologians for +the last thousand years as being purely mystic. As I will explain later, +those are merely symbols of the Church"-- + +"Of wot?" interrupted the foreman, in deep scorn. + +"Of the Church!" + +"We ain't askin' any questions o' YOU, and we ain't takin' any answers," +said the foreman, sitting down abruptly. + +"I must insist," said the Judge sternly, "that the plaintiff's counsel +be allowed to continue his opening without interruption. You" (to +defendant's counsel) "will have your opportunity to reply later." + +The counsel sank down in his seat with the bitter conviction that the +jury was manifestly against him, and the case as good as lost. But his +face was scarcely as disturbed as his client's, who, in great agitation, +had begun to argue with him wildly, and was apparently pressing some +point against the lawyer's vehement opposal. The Colonel's murky eyes +brightened as he still stood erect, with his hand thrust in his breast. + +"It will be put to you, gentlemen, when the counsel on the other side +refrains from mere interruption and confines himself to reply, that my +unfortunate client has no action--no remedy at law--because there were +no spoken words of endearment. But, gentlemen, it will depend upon YOU +to say what are and what are not articulate expressions of love. We all +know that among the lower animals, with whom you may possibly be called +upon to classify the defendant, there are certain signals more or less +harmonious, as the case may be. The ass brays, the horse neighs, the +sheep bleats--the feathered denizens of the grove call to their mates +in more musical roundelays. These are recognized facts, gentlemen, which +you yourselves, as dwellers among nature in this beautiful land, are all +cognizant of. They are facts that no one would deny--and we should have +a poor opinion of the ass who, at--er--such a supreme moment, +would attempt to suggest that his call was unthinking and without +significance. But, gentlemen, I shall prove to you that such was the +foolish, self-convicting custom of the defendant. With the greatest +reluctance, and the--er--greatest pain, I succeeded in wresting from +the maidenly modesty of my fair client the innocent confession that +the defendant had induced her to correspond with him in these methods. +Picture to yourself, gentlemen, the lonely moonlight road beside the +widow's humble cottage. It is a beautiful night, sanctified to the +affections, and the innocent girl is leaning from her casement. +Presently there appears upon the road a slinking, stealthy figure, the +defendant on his way to church. True to the instruction she has received +from him, her lips part in the musical utterance" (the Colonel lowered +his voice in a faint falsetto, presumably in fond imitation of his +fair client), "'Keeree!' Instantly the night becomes resonant with the +impassioned reply" (the Colonel here lifted his voice in stentorian +tones), "'Kee-row.' Again, as he passes, rises the soft 'Keeree;' again, +as his form is lost in the distance, comes back the deep 'Keerow.'" + +A burst of laughter, long, loud, and irrepressible, struck the whole +court-room, and before the Judge could lift his half-composed face +and take his handkerchief from his mouth, a faint "Keeree" from some +unrecognized obscurity of the court-room was followed by a loud "Keerow" +from some opposite locality. "The Sheriff will clear the court," said +the Judge sternly; but, alas! as the embarrassed and choking officials +rushed hither and thither, a soft "Keeree" from the spectators at +the window, OUTSIDE the court-house, was answered by a loud chorus of +"Keerows" from the opposite windows, filled with onlookers. Again +the laughter arose everywhere,--even the fair plaintiff herself sat +convulsed behind her handkerchief. + +The figure of Colonel Starbottle alone remained erect--white and rigid. +And then the Judge, looking up, saw--what no one else in the court had +seen--that the Colonel was sincere and in earnest; that what he had +conceived to be the pleader's most perfect acting and most elaborate +irony were the deep, serious, mirthless CONVICTIONS of a man without the +least sense of humor. There was the respect of this conviction in +the Judge's voice as he said to him gently, "You may proceed, Colonel +Starbottle." + +"I thank your Honor," said the Colonel slowly, "for recognizing and +doing all in your power to prevent an interruption that, during my +thirty years' experience at the bar, I have never been subjected +to without the privilege of holding the instigators thereof +responsible--PERSONALLY responsible. It is possibly my fault that I have +failed, oratorically, to convey to the gentlemen of the jury the full +force and significance of the defendant's signals. I am aware that my +voice is singularly deficient in producing either the dulcet tones of my +fair client or the impassioned vehemence of the defendant's response. +I will," continued the Colonel, with a fatigued but blind fatuity that +ignored the hurriedly knit brows and warning eyes of the Judge, "try +again. The note uttered by my client" (lowering his voice to the +faintest of falsettos) "was 'Keeree;' the response was 'Keerow-ow.'" And +the Colonel's voice fairly shook the dome above him. + +Another uproar of laughter followed this apparently audacious +repetition, but was interrupted by an unlooked-for incident. The +defendant rose abruptly, and tearing himself away from the withholding +hand and pleading protestations of his counsel, absolutely fled from +the court-room, his appearance outside being recognized by a prolonged +"Keerow" from the bystanders, which again and again followed him in the +distance. + +In the momentary silence which followed, the Colonel's voice was heard +saying, "We rest here, your Honor," and he sat down. No less white, but +more agitated, was the face of the defendant's counsel, who instantly +rose. + +"For some unexplained reason, your Honor, my client desires to suspend +further proceedings, with a view to effect a peaceable compromise with +the plaintiff. As he is a man of wealth and position, he is able and +willing to pay liberally for that privilege. While I, as his counsel, am +still convinced of his legal irresponsibility, as he has chosen publicly +to abandon his rights here, I can only ask your Honor's permission to +suspend further proceedings until I can confer with Colonel Starbottle." + +"As far as I can follow the pleadings," said the Judge gravely, "the +case seems to be hardly one for litigation, and I approve of the +defendant's course, while I strongly urge the plaintiff to accept it." + +Colonel Starbottle bent over his fair client. Presently he rose, +unchanged in look or demeanor. "I yield, your Honor, to the wishes of my +client, and--er--lady. We accept." + +Before the court adjourned that day it was known throughout the town +that Adoniram K. Hotchkiss had compromised the suit for four thousand +dollars and costs. + +Colonel Starbottle had so far recovered his equanimity as to strut +jauntily towards his office, where he was to meet his fair client. He +was surprised, however, to find her already there, and in company with a +somewhat sheepish-looking young man--a stranger. If the Colonel had +any disappointment in meeting a third party to the interview, his +old-fashioned courtesy did not permit him to show it. He bowed +graciously, and politely motioned them each to a seat. + +"I reckoned I'd bring Hiram round with me," said the young lady, lifting +her searching eyes, after a pause, to the Colonel's, "though he WAS +awful shy, and allowed that you didn't know him from Adam, or even +suspect his existence. But I said, 'That's just where you slip up, +Hiram; a pow'ful man like the Colonel knows everything--and I've seen it +in his eye.' Lordy!" she continued, with a laugh, leaning forward over +her parasol, as her eyes again sought the Colonel's, "don't you remember +when you asked me if I loved that old Hotchkiss, and I told you, 'That's +tellin',' and you looked at me--Lordy! I knew THEN you suspected there +was a Hiram SOMEWHERE, as good as if I'd told you. Now you jest get up, +Hiram, and give the Colonel a good hand-shake. For if it wasn't for HIM +and HIS searchin' ways, and HIS awful power of language, I wouldn't hev +got that four thousand dollars out o' that flirty fool Hotchkiss--enough +to buy a farm, so as you and me could get married! That's what you owe +to HIM. Don't stand there like a stuck fool starin' at him. He won't eat +you--though he's killed many a better man. Come, have I got to do ALL +the kissin'?" + +It is of record that the Colonel bowed so courteously and so profoundly +that he managed not merely to evade the proffered hand of the shy Hiram, +but to only lightly touch the franker and more impulsive finger-tips of +the gentle Zaidee. "I--er--offer my sincerest congratulations--though +I think you--er--overestimate--my--er--powers of penetration. +Unfortunately, a pressing engagement, which may oblige me also to leave +town tonight, forbids my saying more. I have--er--left the--er--business +settlement of this--er--case in the hands of the lawyers who do my +office work, and who will show you every attention. And now let me wish +you a very good afternoon." + +Nevertheless, the Colonel returned to his private room, and it was +nearly twilight when the faithful Jim entered, to find him sitting +meditatively before his desk. "'Fo' God! Kernel, I hope dey ain't nuffin +de matter, but you's lookin' mighty solemn! I ain't seen you look dat +way, Kernel, since de day pooh Massa Stryker was fetched home shot froo +de head." + +"Hand me down the whiskey, Jim," said the Colonel, rising slowly. + +The negro flew to the closet joyfully, and brought out the bottle. +The Colonel poured out a glass of the spirit and drank it with his old +deliberation. + +"You're quite right, Jim," he said, putting down his glass, "but +I'm--er--getting old--and--somehow I am missing poor Stryker damnably!" + + + + +THE LANDLORD OF THE BIG FLUME HOTEL + + +The Big Flume stage-coach had just drawn up at the Big Flume Hotel +simultaneously with the ringing of a large dinner bell in the two hands +of a negro waiter, who, by certain gyrations of the bell was trying to +impart to his performance that picturesque elegance and harmony +which the instrument and its purpose lacked. For the refreshment thus +proclaimed was only the ordinary station dinner, protracted at Big +Flume for three quarters of an hour, to allow for the arrival of the +connecting mail from Sacramento, although the repast was of a nature +that seldom prevailed upon the traveler to linger the full period over +its details. The ordinary cravings of hunger were generally satisfied in +half an hour, and the remaining minutes were employed by the passengers +in drowning the memory of their meal in "drinks at the bar," in smoking, +and even in a hurried game of "old sledge," or dominoes. Yet to-day +the deserted table was still occupied by a belated traveler, and a +lady--separated by a wilderness of empty dishes--who had arrived after +the stage-coach. Observing which, the landlord, perhaps touched by +this unwonted appreciation of his fare, moved forward to give them his +personal attention. + +He was a man, however, who seemed to be singularly deficient in those +supreme qualities which in the West have exalted the ability to "keep a +hotel" into a proverbial synonym for superexcellence. He had little or +no innovating genius, no trade devices, no assumption, no faculty for +advertisement, no progressiveness, and no "racket." He had the tolerant +good-humor of the Southwestern pioneer, to whom cyclones, famine, +drought, floods, pestilence, and savages were things to be accepted, +and whom disaster, if it did not stimulate, certainly did not appall. He +received the insults, complaints, and criticisms of hurried and hungry +passengers, the comments and threats of the Stage Company as he had +submitted to the aggressions of a stupid, unjust, but overruling +Nature--with unshaken calm. Perhaps herein lay his strength. People +were obliged to submit to him and his hotel as part of the unfinished +civilization, and they even saw something humorous in his impassiveness. +Those who preferred to remonstrate with him emerged from the discussion +with the general feeling of having been played with by a large-hearted +and paternally disposed bear. Tall and long-limbed, with much strength +in his lazy muscles, there was also a prevailing impression that this +feeling might be intensified if the discussion were ever carried to +physical contention. Of his personal history it was known only that he +had emigrated from Wisconsin in 1852, that he had calmly unyoked his ox +teams at Big Flume, then a trackless wilderness, and on the opening of a +wagon road to the new mines had built a wayside station which eventually +developed into the present hotel. He had been divorced in a Western +State by his wife "Rosalie," locally known as "The Prairie Flower of +Elkham Creek," for incompatibility of temper! Her temper was not stated. + +Such was Abner Langworthy, the proprietor, as he moved leisurely down +towards the lady guest, who was nearest, and who was sitting with her +back to the passage between the tables. Stopping, occasionally, to +professionally adjust the tablecloths and glasses, he at last reached +her side. + +"Ef there's anythin' more ye want that ye ain't seein', ma'am," he +began--and stopped suddenly. For the lady had looked up at the sound of +his voice. It was his divorced wife, whom he had not seen since their +separation. The recognition was instantaneous, mutual, and characterized +by perfect equanimity on both sides. + +"Well! I wanter know!" said the lady, although the exclamation point was +purely conventional. "Abner Langworthy! though perhaps I've no call to +say 'Abner.'" + +"Same to you, Rosalie--though I say it too," returned the landlord. "But +hol' on just a minit." He moved forward to the other guest, put the same +perfunctory question regarding his needs, received a negative answer, +and then returned to the lady and dropped into a chair opposite to her. + +"You're looking peart and--fleshy," he said resignedly, as if he were +tolerating his own conventional politeness with his other difficulties; +"unless," he added cautiously, "you're takin' on some new disease." + +"No! I'm fairly comf'ble," responded the lady calmly, "and you're +gettin' on in the vale, ez is natural--though you still kind o' run to +bone, as you used." + +There was not a trace of malevolence in either of their comments, only +a resigned recognition of certain unpleasant truths which seemed to have +been habitual to both of them. Mr. Langworthy paused to flick away some +flies from the butter with his professional napkin, and resumed,-- + +"It must be a matter o' five years sens I last saw ye, isn't it?--in +court arter you got the decree--you remember?" + +"Yes--the 28th o' July, '51. I paid Lawyer Hoskins's bill that very +day--that's how I remember," returned the lady. "You've got a big +business here," she continued, glancing round the room; "I reckon you're +makin' it pay. Don't seem to be in your line, though; but then, thar +wasn't many things that was." + +"No--that's so," responded Mr. Langworthy, nodding his head, as +assenting to an undeniable proposition, "and you--I suppose you're +gettin' on too. I reckon you're--er--married--eh?"--with a slight +suggestion of putting the question delicately. + +The lady nodded, ignoring the hesitation. "Yes, let me see, it's just +three years and three days. Constantine Byers--I don't reckon you know +him--from Milwaukee. Timber merchant. Standin' timber's his specialty." + +"And I reckon he's--satisfactory?" + +"Yes! Mr. Byers is a good provider--and handy. And you? I should say +you'd want a wife in this business?" + +Mr. Langworthy's serious half-perfunctory manner here took on an +appearance of interest. "Yes--I've bin thinkin' that way. Thar's a young +woman helpin' in the kitchen ez might do, though I'm not certain, and +I ain't lettin' on anything as yet. You might take a look at her, +Rosalie,--I orter say Mrs. Byers ez is,--and kinder size her up, and +gimme the result. It's still wantin' seven minutes o' schedule time +afore the stage goes, and--if you ain't wantin' more food"--delicately, +as became a landlord--"and ain't got anythin' else to do, it might pass +the time." + +Strange as it may seem, Mrs. Byers here displayed an equal animation in +her fresh face as she rose promptly to her feet and began to rearrange +her dust cloak around her buxom figure. "I don't mind, Abner," she +said, "and I don't think that Mr. Byers would mind either;" then seeing +Langworthy hesitating at the latter unexpected suggestion, she added +confidently, "and I wouldn't mind even if he did, for I'm sure if I +don't know the kind o' woman you'd be likely to need, I don't know who +would. Only last week I was sayin' like that to Mr. Byers"-- + +"To Mr. Byers?" said Abner, with some surprise. + +"Yes--to him. I said, 'We've been married three years, Constantine, and +ef I don't know by this time what kind o' woman you need now--and might +need in future--why, thar ain't much use in matrimony.'" + +"You was always wise, Rosalie," said Abner, with reminiscent +appreciation. + +"I was always there, Abner," returned Mrs. Byers, with a complacent show +of dimples, which she, however, chastened into that resignation which +seemed characteristic of the pair. "Let's see your 'intended'--as might +be." + +Thus supported, Mr. Langworthy led Mrs. Byers into the hall through a +crowd of loungers, into a smaller hall, and there opened the door of the +kitchen. It was a large room, whose windows were half darkened by the +encompassing pines which still pressed around the house on the scantily +cleared site. A number of men and women, among them a Chinaman and a +negro, were engaged in washing dishes and other culinary duties; and +beside the window stood a young blonde girl, who was wiping a tin pan +which she was also using to hide a burst of laughter evidently caused by +the abrupt entrance of her employer. A quantity of fluffy hair and part +of a white, bared arm were nevertheless visible outside the disk, +and Mrs. Byers gathered from the direction of Mr. Langworthy's eyes, +assisted by a slight nudge from his elbow, that this was the selected +fair one. His feeble explanatory introduction, addressed to the +occupants generally, "Just showing the house to Mrs.--er--Dusenberry," +convinced her that the circumstances of his having been divorced he had +not yet confided to the young woman. As he turned almost immediately +away, Mrs. Byers in following him managed to get a better look at the +girl, as she was exchanging some facetious remark to a neighbor. Mr. +Langworthy did not speak until they had reached the deserted dining-room +again. + +"Well?" he said briefly, glancing at the clock, "what did ye think o' +Mary Ellen?" + +To any ordinary observer the girl in question would have seemed the +least fitted in age, sobriety of deportment, and administrative capacity +to fill the situation thus proposed for her, but Mrs. Byers was not an +ordinary observer, and her auditor was not an ordinary listener. + +"She's older than she gives herself out to be," said Mrs. Byers +tentatively, "and them kitten ways don't amount to much." + +Mr. Langworthy nodded. Had Mrs. Byers discovered a homicidal tendency in +Mary Ellen he would have been equally unmoved. + +"She don't handsome much," continued Mrs. Byers musingly, "but"-- + +"I never was keen on good looks in a woman, Rosalie. You know that!" +Mrs. Byers received the equivocal remark unemotionally, and returned to +the subject. + +"Well!" she said contemplatively, "I should think you could make her +suit." + +Mr. Langworthy nodded with resigned toleration of all that might have +influenced her judgment and his own. "I was wantin' a fa'r-minded +opinion, Rosalie, and you happened along jest in time. Kin I put up +anythin' in the way of food for ye?" he added, as a stir outside and the +words "All aboard!" proclaimed the departing of the stage-coach,--"an +orange or a hunk o' gingerbread, freshly baked?" + +"Thank ye kindly, Abner, but I sha'n't be usin' anythin' afore supper," +responded Mrs. Byers, as they passed out into the veranda beside the +waiting coach. + +Mr. Langworthy helped her to her seat. "Ef you're passin' this way +ag'in"--he hesitated delicately. + +"I'll drop in, or I reckon Mr. Byers might, he havin' business along the +road," returned Mrs. Byers with a cheerful nod, as the coach rolled away +and the landlord of the Big Flume Hotel reentered his house. + +For the next three weeks, however, it did not appear that Mr. Langworthy +was in any hurry to act upon the advice of his former wife. His +relations to Mary Ellen Budd were characterized by his usual tolerance +to his employees' failings,--which in Mary Ellen's case included many +"breakages,"--but were not marked by the invasion of any warmer feeling, +or a desire for confidences. The only perceptible divergence from his +regular habits was a disposition to be on the veranda at the arrival of +the stage-coach, and when his duties permitted this, a cautious survey +of his female guests at the beginning of dinner. This probably led to +his more or less ignoring any peculiarities in his masculine patrons or +their claims to his personal attention. Particularly so, in the case of +a red-bearded man, in a long linen duster, both heavily freighted with +the red dust of the stage road, which seemed to have invaded his very +eyes as he watched the landlord closely. Towards the close of the +dinner, when Abner, accompanied by a negro waiter after his usual +custom, passed down each side of the long table, collecting payment for +the meal, the stranger looked up. "You air the landlord of this hotel, I +reckon?" + +"I am," said Abner tolerantly. + +"I'd like a word or two with ye." + +But Abner had been obliged to have a formula for such occasions. "Ye'll +pay for yer dinner first," he said submissively, but firmly, "and make +yer remarks agin the food arter." + +The stranger flushed quickly, and his eye took an additional shade of +red, but meeting Abner's serious gray ones, he contented himself with +ostentatiously taking out a handful of gold and silver and paying his +bill. Abner passed on, but after dinner was over he found the stranger +in the hall. + +"Ye pulled me up rather short in thar," said the man gloomily, "but it's +just as well, as the talk I was wantin' with ye was kinder betwixt and +between ourselves, and not hotel business. My name's Byers, and my wife +let on she met ye down here." + +For the first time it struck Abner as incongruous that another man +should call Rosalie "his wife," although the fact of her remarriage +had been made sufficiently plain to him. He accepted it as he would an +earthquake, or any other dislocation, with his usual tolerant smile, and +held out his hand. + +Mr. Byers took it, seemingly mollified, and yet inwardly +disturbed,--more even than was customary in Abner's guests after dinner. + +"Have a drink with me," he suggested, although it had struck him that +Mr. Byers had been drinking before dinner. + +"I'm agreeable," responded Byers promptly; "but," with a glance at the +crowded bar-room, "couldn't we go somewhere, jest you and me, and have a +quiet confab?" + +"I reckon. But ye must wait till we get her off." + +Mr. Byers started slightly, but it appeared that the impedimental sex in +this case was the coach, which, after a slight feminine hesitation, was +at last started. Whereupon Mr. Langworthy, followed by a negro with a +tray bearing a decanter and glasses, grasped Mr. Byers's arm, and walked +along a small side veranda the depth of the house, stepped off, and +apparently plunged with his guest into the primeval wilderness. + +It has already been indicated that the site of the Big Flume Hotel had +been scantily cleared; but Mr. Byers, backwoodsman though he was, was +quite unprepared for so abrupt a change. The hotel, with its noisy crowd +and garish newness, although scarcely a dozen yards away, seemed lost +completely to sight and sound. A slight fringe of old tin cans, broken +china, shavings, and even of the long-dried chips of the felled trees, +once crossed, the two men were alone! From the tray, deposited at the +foot of an enormous pine, they took the decanter, filled their glasses, +and then disposed of themselves comfortably against a spreading root. +The curling tail of a squirrel disappeared behind them; the far-off tap +of a woodpecker accented the loneliness. And then, almost magically as +it seemed, the thin veneering of civilization on the two men seemed to +be cast off like the bark of the trees around them, and they lounged +before each other in aboriginal freedom. Mr. Byers removed his +restraining duster and undercoat. Mr. Langworthy resigned his dirty +white jacket, his collar, and unloosed a suspender, with which he +played. + +"Would it be a fair question between two fa'r-minded men, ez hez lived +alone," said Mr. Byers, with a gravity so supernatural that it could be +referred only to liquor, "to ask ye in what sort o' way did Mrs. Byers +show her temper?" + +"Show her temper?" echoed Abner vacantly. + +"Yes--in course, I mean when you and Mrs. Byers was--was--one? You know +the di-vorce was for in-com-pat-ibility of temper." + +"But she got the divorce from me, so I reckon I had the temper," said +Langworthy, with great simplicity. + +"Wha-at?" said Mr. Byers, putting down his glass and gazing with drunken +gravity at the sad-eyed yet good-humoredly tolerant man before him. +"You?--you had the temper?" + +"I reckon that's what the court allowed," said Abner simply. + +Mr. Byers stared. Then after a moment's pause he nodded with a +significant yet relieved face. "Yes, I see, in course. Times when you'd +h'isted too much o' this corn juice," lifting up his glass, "inside +ye--ye sorter bu'st out ravin'?" + +But Abner shook his head. "I wuz a total abstainer in them days," he +said quietly. + +Mr. Byers got unsteadily on his legs and looked around him. "Wot might +hev bin the general gait o' your temper, pardner?" he said in a hoarse +whisper. + +"Don't know. I reckon that's jest whar the incompatibility kem in." + +"And when she hove plates at your head, wot did you do?" + +"She didn't hove no plates," said Abner gravely; "did she say she did?" + +"No, no!" returned Byers hastily, in crimson confusion. "I kinder got +it mixed with suthin' else." He waved his hand in a lordly way, as if +dismissing the subject. "Howsumever, you and her is 'off' anyway," he +added with badly concealed anxiety. + +"I reckon: there's the decree," returned Abner, with his usual resigned +acceptance of the fact. + +"Mrs. Byers wuz allowin' ye wuz thinkin' of a second. How's that comin' +on?" + +"Jest whar it was," returned Abner. "I ain't doin' anything yet. Ye see +I've got to tell the gal, naterally, that I'm di-vorced. And as that +isn't known hereabouts, I don't keer to do so till I'm pretty certain. +And then, in course, I've got to." + +"Why hev ye 'got to'?" asked Byers abruptly. + +"Because it wouldn't be on the square with the girl," said Abner. "How +would you like it if Mrs. Byers had never told you she'd been married to +me? And s'pose you'd happen to hev bin a di-vorced man and hadn't told +her, eh? Well," he continued, sinking back resignedly against the tree, +"I ain't sayin' anythin' but she'd hev got another di-vorce, and FROM +you on the spot--you bet!" + +"Well! all I kin say is," said Mr. Byers, lifting his voice excitedly, +"that"--but he stopped short, and was about to fill his glass again from +the decanter when the hand of Abner stopped him. + +"Ye've got ez much ez ye kin carry now, Byers," he said slowly, "and +that's about ez much ez I allow a man to take in at the Big Flume Hotel. +Treatin' is treatin', hospitality is hospitality; ef you and me was +squattin' out on the prairie I'd let you fill your skin with that pizen +and wrap ye up in yer blankets afterwards. But here at Big Flume, the +Stage Kempenny and the wimen and children passengers hez their rights." +He paused a moment, and added, "And so I reckon hez Mrs. Byers, and I +ain't goin' to send you home to her outer my house blind drunk. It's +mighty rough on you and me, I know, but there's a lot o' roughness in +this world ez hez to be got over, and life, ez far ez I kin see, ain't +all a clearin'." + +Perhaps it was his good-humored yet firm determination, perhaps it was +his resigned philosophy, but something in the speaker's manner affected +Mr. Byers's alcoholic susceptibility, and hastened his descent from the +passionate heights of intoxication to the maudlin stage whither he +was drifting. The fire of his red eyes became filmed and dim, an equal +moisture gathered in his throat as he pressed Abner's hand with drunken +fervor. "Thash so! your thinking o' me an' Mish Byersh is like troo +fr'en'," he said thickly. "I wosh only goin' to shay that wotever Mish +Byersh wosh--even if she wosh wife o' yours--she wosh--noble woman! Such +a woman," continued Mr. Byers, dreamily regarding space, "can't have too +many husbands." + +"You jest sit back here a minit, and have a quiet smoke till I come +back," said Abner, handing him his tobacco plug. "I've got to give the +butcher his order--but I won't be a minit." He secured the decanter as +he spoke, and evading an apparent disposition of his companion to fall +upon his neck, made his way with long strides to the hotel, as Mr. +Byers, sinking back against the trees, began certain futile efforts to +light his unfilled pipe. + +Whether Abner's attendance on the butcher was merely an excuse to +withdraw with the decanter, I cannot say. He, however, dispatched his +business quickly, and returned to the tree. But to his surprise Mr. +Byers was no longer there. He explored the adjacent woodland with +non-success, and no reply to his shouting. Annoyed but not alarmed, as +it seemed probable that the missing man had fallen in a drunken sleep in +some hidden shadows, he returned to the house, when it occurred to him +that Byers might have sought the bar-room for some liquor. But he was +still more surprised when the barkeeper volunteered the information +that he had seen Mr. Byers hurriedly pass down the side veranda into the +highroad. An hour later this was corroborated by an arriving teamster, +who had passed a man answering to the description of Byers, "mor' 'n +half full," staggeringly but hurriedly walking along the road "two +miles back." There seemed to be no doubt that the missing man had +taken himself off in a fit of indignation or of extreme thirst. +Either hypothesis was disagreeable to Abner, in his queer sense +of responsibility to Mrs. Byers, but he accepted it with his usual +good-humored resignation. + +Yet it was difficult to conceive what connection this episode had in +his mind with his suspended attention to Mary Ellen, or why it should +determine his purpose. But he had a logic of his own, and it seemed to +have demonstrated to him that he must propose to the girl at once. +This was no easy matter, however; he had never shown her any previous +attention, and her particular functions in the hotel,--the charge of the +few bedrooms for transient guests--seldom brought him in contact with +her. His interview would have to appear to be a business one--which, +however, he wished to avoid from a delicate consciousness of its truth. +While making up his mind, for a few days he contented himself with +gravely regarding her in his usual resigned, tolerant way, whenever he +passed her. Unfortunately the first effect of this was an audible giggle +from Mary Ellen, later some confusion and anxiety in her manner, and +finally a demeanor of resentment and defiance. + +This was so different from what he had expected that he was obliged +to precipitate matters. The next day was Sunday,--a day on which his +employees, in turns, were allowed the recreation of being driven to Big +Flume City, eight miles distant, to church, or for the day's holiday. +In the morning Mary Ellen was astonished by Abner informing her that he +designed giving her a separate holiday with himself. It must be admitted +that the girl, who was already "prinked up" for the enthrallment of the +youth of Big Flume City, did not appear as delighted with the change of +plan as a more exacting lover would have liked. Howbeit, as soon as the +wagon had left with its occupants, Abner, in the unwonted disguise of +a full suit of black clothes, turned to the girl, and offering her his +arm, gravely proceeded along the side veranda across the mound of debris +already described, to the adjacent wilderness and the very trees under +which he and Byers had sat. + +"It's about ez good a place for a little talk, Miss Budd," he said, +pointing to a tree root, "ez ef we went a spell further, and it's handy +to the house. And ef you'll jest say what you'd like outer the cupboard +or the bar--no matter which--I'll fetch it to you." + +But Mary Ellen Budd seated herself sideways on the root, with her furled +white parasol in her lap, her skirts fastidiously tucked about her feet, +and glancing at the fatuous Abner from under her stack of fluffy hair +and light eyelashes, simply shook her head and said that "she reckoned +she wasn't hankering much for anything" that morning. + +"I've been calkilatin' to myself, Miss Budd," said Abner resignedly, +"that when two folks--like ez you and me--meet together to kinder +discuss things that might go so far ez to keep them together, if they +hez had anything of that sort in their lives afore, they ought to speak +of it confidentially like together." + +"Ef any one o' them sneakin', soulless critters in the kitchen hez bin +slingin' lies to ye about me--or carryin' tales," broke in Mary Ellen +Budd, setting every one of her thirty-two strong, white teeth together +with a snap, "well--ye might hev told me so to oncet without spilin' my +Sunday! But ez fer yer keepin' me a minit longer, ye've only got to pay +me my salary to-day and"--but here she stopped, for the astonishment in +Abner's face was too plain to be misunderstood. + +"Nobody's been slinging any lies about ye, Miss Budd," he said slowly, +recovering himself resignedly from this last back-handed stroke of fate; +"I warn't talkin' o' you, but myself. I was only allowin' to say that I +was a di-vorced man." + +As a sudden flush came over Mary Ellen's brownish-white face while +she stared at him, Abner hastened to delicately explain. "It wasn't +no onfaithfulness, Miss Budd--no philanderin' o' mine, but only +'incompatibility o' temper.'" + +"Temper--your temper!" gasped Mary Ellen. + +"Yes," said Abner. + +And here a sudden change came over Mary Ellen's face, and she burst into +a shriek of laughter. She laughed with her hands slapping the sides of +her skirt, she laughed with her hands clasping her narrow, hollow waist, +laughed with her head down on her knees and her fluffy hair tumbling +over it. Abner was relieved, and yet it seemed strange to him that this +revelation of his temper should provoke such manifest incredulity in +both Byers and Mary Ellen. But perhaps these things would be made plain +to him hereafter; at present they must be accepted "in the day's work" +and tolerated. + +"Your temper," gurgled Mary Ellen. "Saints alive! What kind o' temper?" + +"Well, I reckon," returned Abner submissively, and selecting a word +to give his meaning more comprehension,--"I reckon it was +kinder--aggeravokin'." + +Mary Ellen sniffed the air for a moment in speechless incredulity, and +then, locking her hands around her knees and bending forward, said, +"Look here! Ef that old woman o' yours ever knew what temper was in a +man; ef she's ever bin tied to a brute that treated her like a nigger +till she daren't say her soul was her own; who struck her with his +eyes and tongue when he hadn't anythin' else handy; who made her life +miserable when he was sober, and a terror when he was drunk; who at +last drove her away, and then divorced her for desertion--then--then she +might talk. But 'incompatibility o' temper' with you! Oh, go away--it +makes me sick!" + +How far Abner was impressed with the truth of this, how far it prompted +his next question, nobody but Abner knew. For he said deliberately, "I +was only goin' to ask ye, if, knowin' I was a di-vorced man, ye would +mind marryin' me!" + +Mary Ellen's face changed; the evasive instincts of her sex rose up. +"Didn't I hear ye sayin' suthin' about refreshments," she said archly. +"Mebbe you wouldn't mind gettin' me a bottle o' lemming sody outer the +bar!" + +Abner got up at once, perhaps not dismayed by this diversion, and +departed for the refreshment. As he passed along the side veranda the +recollection of Mr. Byers and his mysterious flight occurred to him. For +a wild moment he thought of imitating him. But it was too late now--he +had spoken. Besides, he had no wife to fly to, and the thirsty or +indignant Byers had--his wife! Fate was indeed hard. He returned with +the bottle of lemon soda on a tray and a resigned spirit equal to her +decrees. Mary Ellen, remarking that he had brought nothing for himself, +archly insisted upon his sharing with her the bottle of soda, and even +coquettishly touched his lips with her glass. Abner smiled patiently. + +But here, as if playfully exhilarated by the naughty foaming soda, she +regarded him with her head--and a good deal of her blonde hair--very +much on one side, as she said, "Do you know that all along o' you bein' +so free with me in tellin' your affairs I kinder feel like just telling +you mine?" + +"Don't," said Abner promptly. + +"Don't?" echoed Miss Budd. + +"Don't," repeated Abner. "It's nothing to me. What I said about myself +is different, for it might make some difference to you. But nothing you +could say of yourself would make any change in me. I stick to what I +said just now." + +"But," said Miss Budd,--in half real, half simulated threatening,--"what +if it had suthin' to do with my answer to what you said just now?" + +"It couldn't. So, if it's all the same to you, Miss Budd, I'd rather ye +wouldn't." + +"That," said the lady still more archly, lifting a playful finger, "is +your temper." + +"Mebbe it is," said Abner suddenly, with a wondering sense of relief. + +It was, however, settled that Miss Budd should go to Sacramento to visit +her friends, that Abner would join her later, when their engagement +would be announced, and that she should not return to the hotel until +they were married. The compact was sealed by the interchange of a +friendly kiss from Miss Budd with a patient, tolerating one from Abner, +and then it suddenly occurred to them both that they might as well +return to their duties in the hotel, which they did. Miss Budd's entire +outing that Sunday lasted only half an hour. + +A week elapsed. Miss Budd was in Sacramento, and the landlord of the Big +Flume Hotel was standing at his usual post in the doorway during dinner, +when a waiter handed him a note. It contained a single line scrawled in +pencil:-- + + +"Come out and see me behind the house as before. I dussent come in on +account of her. C. BYERS." + + +"On account of 'her'!" Abner cast a hurried glance around the tables. +Certainly Mrs. Byers was not there! He walked in the hall and the +veranda--she was not there. He hastened to the rendezvous evidently +meant by the writer, the wilderness behind the house. Sure enough, +Byers, drunk and maudlin, supporting himself by the tree root, staggered +forward, clasped him in his arms, and murmured hoarsely,-- + +"She's gone!" + +"Gone?" echoed Abner, with a whitening face. "Mrs. Byers? Where?" + +"Run away! Never come back no more! Gone!" + +A vague idea that had been in Abner's mind since Byers's last visit now +took awful shape. Before the unfortunate Byers could collect his senses +he felt himself seized in a giant's grasp and forced against the tree. + +"You coward!" said all that was left of the tolerant Abner--his even +voice--"you hound! Did you dare to abuse her? to lay your vile hands on +her--to strike her? Answer me." + +The shock--the grasp--perhaps Abner's words, momentarily silenced Byers. +"Did I strike her?" he said dazedly; "did I abuse her? Oh, yes!" with +deep irony. "Certainly! In course! Look yer, pardner!"--he suddenly +dragged up his sleeve from his red, hairy arm, exposing a blue cicatrix +in its centre--"that's a jab from her scissors about three months ago; +look yer!"--he bent his head and showed a scar along the scalp--"that's +her playfulness with a fire shovel! Look yer!"--he quickly opened his +collar, where his neck and cheek were striped and crossed with adhesive +plaster--"that's all that was left o' a glass jar o' preserves--the +preserves got away, but some of the glass got stuck! That's when she +heard I was a di-vorced man and hadn't told her." + +"Were you a di-vorced man?" gasped Abner. + +"You know that; in course I was," said Byers scornfully; "d'ye meanter +say she didn't tell ye?" + +"She?" echoed Abner vaguely. "Your wife--you said just now she didn't +know it before." + +"My wife ez oncet was, I mean! Mary Ellen--your wife ez is to be," said +Byers, with deep irony. "Oh, come now. Pretend ye don't know! Hi there! +Hands off! Don't strike a man when he's down, like I am." + +But Abner's clutch of Byers's shoulder relaxed, and he sank down to a +sitting posture on the root. In the meantime Byers, overcome by a sense +of this new misery added to his manifold grievances, gave way to maudlin +silent tears. + +"Mary Ellen--your first wife?" repeated Abner vacantly. + +"Yesh!" said Byers thickly, "my first wife--shelected and picked out +fer your shecond wife--by your first--like d----d conundrum. How wash I +t'know?" he said, with a sudden shriek of public expostulation--"thash +what I wanter know. Here I come to talk with fr'en', like man to man, +unshuspecting, innoshent as chile, about my shecond wife! Fr'en' drops +out, carryin' off the whiskey. Then I hear all o' suddent voice o' +Mary Ellen talkin' in kitchen; then I come round softly and see Mary +Ellen--my wife as useter be--standin' at fr'en's kitchen winder. Then I +lights out quicker 'n lightnin' and scoots! And when I gets back home, +I ups and tells my wife. And whosh fault ish't! Who shaid a man oughter +tell hish wife? You! Who keepsh other mensh' first wivesh at kishen +winder to frighten 'em to tell? You!" + +But a change had already come over the face of Abner Langworthy. The +anger, anxiety, astonishment, and vacuity that was there had vanished, +and he looked up with his usual resigned acceptance of the inevitable +as he said, "I reckon that's so! And seein' it's so," with good-natured +tolerance, he added, "I reckon I'll break rules for oncet and stand ye +another drink." + +He stood another drink and yet another, and eventually put the doubly +widowed Byers to bed in his own room. These were but details of a larger +tribulation,--and yet he knew instinctively that his cup was not yet +full. The further drop of bitterness came a few days later in a line +from Mary Ellen: "I needn't tell you that all betwixt you and me is off, +and you kin tell your old woman that her selection for a second wife +for you wuz about as bad as your own first selection. Ye kin tell Mr. +Byers--yer great friend whom ye never let on ye knew--that when I want +another husband I shan't take the trouble to ask him to fish one out for +me. It would be kind--but confusin'." + +He never heard from her again. Mr. Byers was duly notified that Mrs. +Byers had commenced action for divorce in another state in which +concealment of a previous divorce invalidated the marriage, but he did +not respond. The two men became great friends--and assured celibates. +Yet they always spoke reverently of their "wife," with the touching +prefix of "our." + +"She was a good woman, pardner," said Byers. + +"And she understood us," said Abner resignedly. + +Perhaps she had. + + + + +A BUCKEYE HOLLOW INHERITANCE + + +The four men on the "Zip Coon" Ledge had not got fairly settled to their +morning's work. There was the usual lingering hesitation which is apt to +attend the taking-up of any regular or monotonous performance, shown in +this instance in the prolonged scrutiny of a pick's point, the solemn +selection of a shovel, or the "hefting" or weighing of a tapping-iron or +drill. One member, becoming interested in a funny paragraph he found in +the scrap of newspaper wrapped around his noonday cheese, shamelessly +sat down to finish it, regardless of the prospecting pan thrown at him +by another. They had taken up their daily routine of mining life like +schoolboys at their tasks. + +"Hello!" said Ned Wyngate, joyously recognizing a possible further +interruption. "Blamed if the Express rider ain't comin' here!" + +He was shading his eyes with his hand as he gazed over the broad +sun-baked expanse of broken "flat" between them and the highroad. They +all looked up, and saw the figure of a mounted man, with a courier's +bag thrown over his shoulder, galloping towards them. It was really +an event, as their letters were usually left at the grocery at the +crossroads. + +"I knew something was goin' to happen," said Wyngate. "I didn't feel a +bit like work this morning." + +Here one of their number ran off to meet the advancing horseman. They +watched him until they saw the latter rein up, and hand a brown envelope +to their messenger, who ran breathlessly back with it to the Ledge as +the horseman galloped away again. + +"A telegraph for Jackson Wells," he said, handing it to the young man +who had been reading the scrap of paper. + +There was a dead silence. Telegrams were expensive rarities in those +days, especially with the youthful Bohemian miners of the Zip Coon +Ledge. They were burning with curiosity, yet a singular thing happened. +Accustomed as they had been to a life of brotherly familiarity and +unceremoniousness, this portentous message from the outside world of +civilization recalled their old formal politeness. They looked steadily +away from the receiver of the telegram, and he on his part stammered an +apologetic "Excuse me, boys," as he broke the envelope. + +There was another pause, which seemed to be interminable to the waiting +partners. Then the voice of Wells, in quite natural tones, said, "By +gum! that's funny! Read that, Dexter,--read it out loud." + +Dexter Rice, the foreman, took the proffered telegram from Wells's hand, +and read as follows:-- + + +Your uncle, Quincy Wells, died yesterday, leaving you sole heir. Will +attend you to-morrow for instructions. + +BAKER AND TWIGGS, + +Attorneys, Sacramento. + + +The three miners' faces lightened and turned joyously to Wells; but HIS +face looked puzzled. + +"May we congratulate you, Mr. Wells?" said Wyngate, with affected +politeness; "or possibly your uncle may have been English, and a title +goes with the 'prop,' and you may be Lord Wells, or Very Wells--at +least." + +But here Jackson Wells's youthful face lost its perplexity, and he began +to laugh long and silently to himself. This was protracted to such an +extent that Dexter asserted himself,--as foreman and senior partner. + +"Look here, Jack! don't sit there cackling like a chuckle-headed magpie, +if you ARE the heir." + +"I--can't--help it," gasped Jackson. "I am the heir--but you see, boys, +there AIN'T ANY PROPERTY." + +"What do you mean? Is all that a sell?" demanded Rice. + +"Not much! Telegraph's too expensive for that sort o' feelin'. You see, +boys, I've got an Uncle Quincy, though I don't know him much, and he MAY +be dead. But his whole fixin's consisted of a claim the size of ours, +and played out long ago: a ramshackle lot o' sheds called a cottage, and +a kind of market garden of about three acres, where he reared and sold +vegetables. He was always poor, and as for calling it 'property,' and ME +the 'heir'--good Lord!" + +"A miser, as sure as you're born!" said Wyngate, with optimistic +decision. "That's always the way. You'll find every crack of that +blessed old shed stuck full of greenbacks and certificates of deposit, +and lots of gold dust and coin buried all over that cow patch! And of +course no one suspected it! And of course he lived alone, and never let +any one get into his house--and nearly starved himself! Lord love you! +There's hundreds of such cases. The world is full of 'em!" + +"That's so," chimed in Pulaski Briggs, the fourth partner, "and I tell +you what, Jacksey, we'll come over with you the day you take possession, +and just 'prospect' the whole blamed shanty, pigsties, and potato patch, +for fun--and won't charge you anything." + +For a moment Jackson's face had really brightened under the infection of +enthusiasm, but it presently settled into perplexity again. + +"No! You bet the boys around Buckeye Hollow would have spotted anything +like that long ago." + +"Buckeye Hollow!" repeated Rice and his partners. + +"Yes! Buckeye Hollow, that's the place; not twenty miles from here, and +a God-forsaken hole, as you know." + +A cloud had settled on Zip Coon Ledge. They knew of Buckeye Hollow, and +it was evident that no good had ever yet come out of that Nazareth. + +"There's no use of talking now," said Rice conclusively. "You'll draw it +all from that lawyer shark who's coming here tomorrow, and you can bet +your life he wouldn't have taken this trouble if there wasn't suthin' in +it. Anyhow, we'll knock off work now and call it half a day, in honor +of our distinguished young friend's accession to his baronial estates +of Buckeye Hollow. We'll just toddle down to Tomlinson's at the +cross-roads, and have a nip and a quiet game of old sledge at Jacksey's +expense. I reckon the estate's good for THAT," he added, with severe +gravity. "And, speaking as a fa'r-minded man and the president of +this yer Company, if Jackson would occasionally take out and air that +telegraphic dispatch of his while we're at Tomlinson's, it might do +something for that Company's credit--with Tomlinson! We're wantin' some +new blastin' plant bad!" + +Oddly enough the telegram--accidentally shown at Tomlinson's--produced a +gratifying effect, and the Zip Coon Ledge materially advanced in +public estimation. With this possible infusion of new capital into its +resources, the Company was beset by offers of machinery and goods; +and it was deemed expedient by the sapient Rice, that to prevent the +dissemination of any more accurate information regarding Jackson's +property the next day, the lawyer should be met at the stage office by +one of the members, and conveyed secretly past Tomlinson's to the Ledge. + +"I'd let you go," he said to Jackson, "only it won't do for that d----d +skunk of a lawyer to think you're too anxious--sabe? We want to rub into +him that we are in the habit out yer of havin' things left to us, and +a fortin' more or less, falling into us now and then, ain't nothin' +alongside of the Zip Coon claim. It won't hurt ye to keep up a big bluff +on that hand of yours. Nobody would dare to 'call' you." + +Indeed this idea was carried out with such elaboration the next day that +Mr. Twiggs, the attorney, was considerably impressed both by the conduct +of his guide, who (although burning with curiosity) expressed absolute +indifference regarding Jackson Wells's inheritance, and the calmness of +Jackson himself, who had to be ostentatiously called from his work on +the Ledge to meet him, and who even gave him an audience in the hearing +of his partners. Forced into an apologetic attitude, he expressed his +regret at being obliged to bother Mr. Wells with an affair of such +secondary importance, but he was obliged to carry out the formalities of +the law. + +"What do you suppose the estate is worth?" asked Wells carelessly. + +"I should not think that the house, the claim, and the land would bring +more than fifteen hundred dollars," replied Twiggs submissively. + +To the impecunious owners of Zip Coon Ledge it seemed a large sum, but +they did not show it. + +"You see," continued Mr. Twiggs, "it's really a case of 'willing away' +property from its obvious or direct inheritors, instead of a beneficial +grant. I take it that you and your uncle were not particularly +intimate,--at least, so I gathered when I made the will,--and his simple +object was to disinherit his only daughter, with whom he had had some +quarrel, and who had left him to live with his late wife's brother, Mr. +Morley Brown, who is quite wealthy and residing in the same township. +Perhaps you remember the young lady?" + +Jackson Wells had a dim recollection of this cousin, a hateful, +red-haired schoolgirl, and an equally unpleasant memory of this other +uncle, who was purse-proud and had never taken any notice of him. He +answered affirmatively. + +"There may be some attempt to contest the will," continued Mr. Twiggs, +"as the disinheriting of an only child and a daughter offends the +sentiment of the people and of judges and jury, and the law makes such +a will invalid, unless a reason is given. Fortunately your uncle has +placed his reasons on record. I have a copy of the will here, and can +show you the clause." He took it from his pocket, and read as follows: +"'I exclude my daughter, Jocelinda Wells, from any benefit or provision +of this my will and testament, for the reason that she has voluntarily +abandoned her father's roof for the house of her mother's brother, +Morley Brown; has preferred the fleshpots of Egypt to the virtuous +frugalities of her own home, and has discarded the humble friends of +her youth, and the associates of her father, for the meretricious +and slavish sympathy of wealth and position. In lieu thereof, and as +compensation therefor, I do hereby give and bequeath to her my full and +free permission to gratify her frequently expressed wish for another +guardian in place of myself, and to become the adopted daughter of the +said Morley Brown, with the privilege of assuming the name of Brown +as aforesaid.' You see," he continued, "as the young lady's present +position is a better one than it would be if she were in her father's +house, and was evidently a compromise, the sentimental consideration of +her being left homeless and penniless falls to the ground. However, as +the inheritance is small, and might be of little account to you, if you +choose to waive it, I dare say we may make some arrangement." + +This was an utterly unexpected idea to the Zip Coon Company, and +Jackson Wells was for a moment silent. But Dexter Rice was equal to the +emergency, and turned to the astonished lawyer with severe dignity. + +"You'll excuse me for interferin', but, as the senior partner of this +yer Ledge, and Jackson Wells yer bein' a most important member, what +affects his usefulness on this claim affects us. And we propose to carry +out this yer will, with all its dips and spurs and angles!" + +As the surprised Twiggs turned from one to the other, Rice continued, +"Ez far as we kin understand this little game, it's the just punishment +of a high-flying girl as breaks her pore old father's heart, and the +re-ward of a young feller ez has bin to our knowledge ez devoted a +nephew as they make 'em. Time and time again, sittin' around our camp +fire at night, we've heard Jacksey say,--kinder to himself, and kinder +to us, 'Now I wonder what's gone o' old uncle Quincy;' and he never +sat down to a square meal, or ever rose from a square game, but what +he allus said, 'If old uncle Quince was only here now, boys, I'd die +happy.' I leave it to you, gentlemen, if that wasn't Jackson Wells's +gait all the time?" + +There was a prolonged murmur of assent, and an affecting corroboration +from Ned Wyngate of "That was him; that was Jacksey all the time!" + +"Indeed, indeed," said the lawyer nervously. "I had quite the idea that +there was very little fondness"-- + +"Not on your side--not on your side," said Rice quickly. "Uncle Quincy +may not have anted up in this matter o' feelin', nor seen his nephew's +rise. You know how it is yourself in these things--being a lawyer and a +fa'r-minded man--it's all on one side, ginerally! There's always one who +loves and sacrifices, and all that, and there's always one who rakes in +the pot! That's the way o' the world; and that's why," continued Rice, +abandoning his slightly philosophical attitude, and laying his hand +tenderly, and yet with a singularly significant grip, on Wells's arm, +"we say to him, 'Hang on to that will, and uncle Quincy's memory.' +And we hev to say it. For he's that tender-hearted and keerless of +money--having his own share in this Ledge--that ef that girl came +whimperin' to him he'd let her take the 'prop' and let the hull thing +slide! And then he'd remember that he had rewarded that gal that broke +the old man's heart, and that would upset him again in his work. And +there, you see, is just where WE come in! And we say, 'Hang on to that +will like grim death!'" + +The lawyer looked curiously at Rice and his companions, and then turned +to Wells: "Nevertheless, I must look to you for instructions," he said +dryly. + +But by this time Jackson Wells, although really dubious about +supplanting the orphan, had gathered the sense of his partners, and said +with a frank show of decision, "I think I must stand by the will." + +"Then I'll have it proved," said Twiggs, rising. "In the meantime, if +there is any talk of contesting"-- + +"If there is, you might say," suggested Wyngate, who felt he had not had +a fair show in the little comedy,--"ye might say to that old skeesicks +of a wife's brother, if he wants to nipple in, that there are four men +on the Ledge--and four revolvers! We are gin'rally fa'r-minded, peaceful +men, but when an old man's heart is broken, and his gray hairs brought +down in sorrow to the grave, so to speak, we're bound to attend the +funeral--sabe?" + +When Mr. Twiggs had departed again, accompanied by a partner to guide +him past the dangerous shoals of Tomlinson's grocery, Rice clapped his +hand on Wells's shoulder. "If it hadn't been for me, sonny, that shark +would have landed you into some compromise with that red-haired gal! I +saw you weakenin', and then I chipped in. I may have piled up the agony +a little on your love for old Quince, but if you aren't an ungrateful +cub, that's how you ought to hev been feein', anyhow!" + +Nevertheless, the youthful Wells, although touched by his elder +partner's loyalty, and convinced of his own disinterestedness, felt a +painful sense of lost chivalrous opportunity. + +***** + +On mature consideration it was finally settled that Jackson Wells should +make his preliminary examination of his inheritance alone, as it might +seem inconsistent with the previous indifferent attitude of his +partners if they accompanied him. But he was implored to yield to no +blandishments of the enemy, and to even make his visit a secret. + +He went. The familiar flower-spiked trees which had given their name +to Buckeye Hollow had never yielded entirely to improvements and the +incursions of mining enterprise, and many of them had even survived the +disused ditches, the scarred flats, the discarded levels, ruined flumes, +and roofless cabins of the earlier occupation, so that when Jackson +Wells entered the wide, straggling street of Buckeye, that summer +morning was filled with the radiance of its blossoms and fragrant with +their incense. His first visit there, ten years ago, had been a purely +perfunctory and hasty one, yet he remembered the ostentatious hotel, +built in the "flush time" of its prosperity, and already in a green +premature decay; he recalled the Express Office and Town Hall, also +passing away in a kind of similar green deliquescence; the little zinc +church, now overgrown with fern and brambles, and the two or three fine +substantial houses in the outskirts, which seemed to have sucked the +vitality of the little settlement. One of these--he had been told--was +the property of his rich and wicked maternal uncle, the hated +appropriator of his red-headed cousin's affections. He recalled his +brief visit to the departed testator's claim and market garden, and his +by no means favorable impression of the lonely, crabbed old man, as well +as his relief that his objectionable cousin, whom he had not seen since +he was a boy, was then absent at the rival uncle's. He made his way +across the road to a sunny slope where the market garden of three acres +seemed to roll like a river of green rapids to a little "run" or brook, +which, even in the dry season, showed a trickling rill. But here he was +struck by a singular circumstance. The garden rested in a rich, alluvial +soil, and under the quickening Californian sky had developed far beyond +the ability of its late cultivator to restrain or keep it in order. +Everything had grown luxuriantly, and in monstrous size and profusion. +The garden had even trespassed its bounds, and impinged upon the open +road, the deserted claims, and the ruins of the past. Stimulated by the +little cultivation Quincy Wells had found time to give it, it had +leaped its three acres and rioted through the Hollow. There were scarlet +runners crossing the abandoned sluices, peas climbing the court-house +wall, strawberries matting the trail, while the seeds and pollen of +its few homely Eastern flowers had been blown far and wide through the +woods. By a grim satire, Nature seemed to have been the only thing that +still prospered in that settlement of man. + +The cabin itself, built of unpainted boards, consisted of a +sitting-room, dining-room, kitchen, and two bedrooms, all plainly +furnished, although one of the bedrooms was better ordered, and +displayed certain signs of feminine decoration, which made Jackson +believe it had been his cousin's room. Luckily, the slight, temporary +structure bore no deep traces of its previous occupancy to disturb him +with its memories, and for the same reason it gained in cleanliness and +freshness. The dry, desiccating summer wind that blew through it had +carried away both the odors and the sense of domesticity; even the adobe +hearth had no fireside tales to tell,--its very ashes had been scattered +by the winds; and the gravestone of its dead owner on the hill was no +more flavorless of his personality than was this plain house in which he +had lived and died. The excessive vegetation produced by the stirred-up +soil had covered and hidden the empty tin cans, broken boxes, and +fragments of clothing which usually heaped and littered the tent-pegs +of the pioneer. Nature's own profusion had thrust them into obscurity. +Jackson Wells smiled as he recalled his sanguine partner's idea of a +treasure-trove concealed and stuffed in the crevices of this tenement, +already so palpably picked clean by those wholesome scavengers of +California, the dry air and burning sun. Yet he was not displeased at +this obliteration of a previous tenancy; there was the better chance for +him to originate something. He whistled hopefully as he lounged, with +his hands in his pockets, towards the only fence and gate that gave upon +the road. Something stuck up on the gate-post attracted his attention. +It was a sheet of paper bearing the inscription in a large hand: "Notice +to trespassers. Look out for the Orphan Robber!" A plain signboard in +faded black letters on the gate, which had borne the legend: "Quincy +Wells, Dealer in Fruit and Vegetables," had been rudely altered in chalk +to read: "Jackson Wells, Double Dealer in Wills and Codicils," and the +intimation "Bouquets sold here" had been changed to "Bequests stole +here." For an instant the simple-minded Jackson failed to discover +any significance of this outrage, which seemed to him to be merely +the wanton mischief of a schoolboy. But a sudden recollection of +the lawyer's caution sent the blood to his cheeks and kindled +his indignation. He tore down the paper and rubbed out the chalk +interpolation--and then laughed at his own anger. Nevertheless, he would +not have liked his belligerent partners to see it. + +A little curious to know the extent of this feeling, he entered one of +the shops, and by one or two questions which judiciously betrayed his +ownership of the property, he elicited only a tradesman's interest in a +possible future customer, and the ordinary curiosity about a stranger. +The barkeeper of the hotel was civil, but brief and gloomy. He had heard +the property was "willed away on account of some family quarrel which +'warn't none of his'." Mr. Wells would find Buckeye Hollow a mighty dull +place after the mines. It was played out, sucked dry by two or three big +mine owners who were trying to "freeze out" the other settlers, so as +they might get the place to themselves and "boom it." Brown, who had the +big house over the hill, was the head devil of the gang! Wells felt his +indignation kindle anew. And this girl that he had ousted was Brown's +friend. Was it possible that she was a party to Brown's designs to get +this three acres with the other lands? If so, his long-suffering uncle +was only just in his revenge. + +He put all this diffidently before his partners on his return, and was a +little startled at their adopting it with sanguine ferocity. They hoped +that he would put an end to his thoughts of backing out of it. Such a +course now would be dishonorable to his uncle's memory. It was clearly +his duty to resist these blasted satraps of capitalists; he was +providentially selected for the purpose--a village Hampden to withstand +the tyrant. "And I reckon that shark of a lawyer knew all about it when +he was gettin' off that 'purp stuff' about people's sympathies with the +girl," said Rice belligerently. "Contest the will, would he? Why, if we +caught that Brown with a finger in the pie we'd just whip up the boys on +this Ledge and lynch him. You hang on to that three acres and the garden +patch of your forefathers, sonny, and we'll see you through!" + +Nevertheless, it was with some misgivings that Wells consented that +his three partners should actually accompany him and see him put in +peaceable possession of his inheritance. His instinct told him that +there would be no contest of the will, and still less any opposition +on the part of the objectionable relative, Brown. When the wagon +which contained his personal effects and the few articles of furniture +necessary for his occupancy of the cabin arrived, the exaggerated +swagger which his companions had put on in their passage through the +settlement gave way to a pastoral indolence, equally half real, half +affected. Lying on their backs under a buckeye, they permitted Rice to +voice the general sentiment. "There's a suthin' soothin' and dreamy in +this kind o' life, Jacksey, and we'll make a point of comin' here for a +couple of days every two weeks to lend you a hand; it will be a mighty +good change from our nigger work on the claim." + +In spite of this assurance, and the fact that they had voluntarily come +to help him put the place in order, they did very little beyond lending +a cheering expression of unqualified praise and unstinted advice. At the +end of four hours' weeding and trimming the boundaries of the garden, +they unanimously gave their opinion that it would be more systematic for +him to employ Chinese labor at once. + +"You see," said Ned Wyngate, "the Chinese naturally take to this kind o' +business. Why, you can't take up a china plate or saucer but you see +'em pictured there working at jobs like this, and they kin live on green +things and rice that cost nothin', and chickens. You'll keep chickens, +of course." + +Jackson thought that his hands would be full enough with the garden, but +he meekly assented. + +"I'll get a pair--you only want two to begin with," continued Wyngate +cheerfully, "and in a month or two you've got all you want, and eggs +enough for market. On second thoughts, I don't know whether you hadn't +better begin with eggs first. That is, you borry some eggs from one +man and a hen from another. Then you set 'em, and when the chickens are +hatched out you just return the hen to the second man, and the eggs, +when your chickens begin to lay, to the first man, and you've got your +chickens for nothing--and there you are." + +This ingenious proposition, which was delivered on the last slope of +the domain, where the partners were lying exhausted from their work, was +broken in upon by the appearance of a small boy, barefooted, sunburnt, +and tow-headed, who, after a moment's hurried scrutiny of the group, +threw a letter with unerring precision into the lap of Jackson Wells, +and then fled precipitately. Jackson instinctively suspected he was +connected with the outrage on his fence and gate-post, but as he had +avoided telling his partners of the incident, fearing to increase their +belligerent attitude, he felt now an awkward consciousness mingled with +his indignation as he broke the seal and read as follows:-- + + +SIR,--This is to inform you that although you have got hold of the +property by underhanded and sneaking ways, you ain't no right to touch +or lay your vile hands on the Cherokee Rose alongside the house, nor on +the Giant of Battles, nor on the Maiden's Pride by the gate--the same +being the property of Miss Jocelinda Wells, and planted by her, under +the penalty of the Law. And if you, or any of your gang of ruffians, +touches it or them, or any thereof, or don't deliver it up when called +for in good order, you will be persecuted by them. + +AVENGER. + + +It is to be feared that Jackson would have suppressed this also, but the +keen eyes of his partners, excited by the abruptness of the messenger, +were upon him. He smiled feebly, and laid the letter before them. But +he was unprepared for their exaggerated indignation, and with difficulty +restrained them from dashing off in the direction of the vanished +herald. "And what could you do?" he said. "The boy's only a messenger." + +"I'll get at that d----d skunk Brown, who's back of him," said Dexter +Rice. + +"And what then?" persisted Jackson, with a certain show of independence. +"If this stuff belongs to the girl, I'm not certain I shan't give them +up without any fuss. Lord! I want nothing but what the old man left +me--and certainly nothing of HERS." + +Here Ned Wyngate was heard to murmur that Jackson was one of those +men who would lie down and let coyotes crawl over him if they first +presented a girl's visiting card, but he was stopped by Rice demanding +paper and pencil. The former being torn from a memorandum book, and a +stub of the latter produced from another pocket, he wrote as follows:-- + + +SIR,--In reply to the hogwash you have kindly exuded in your letter of +to-day, I have to inform you that you can have what you ask for Miss +Wells, and perhaps a trifle on your own account, by calling this +afternoon on--Yours truly-- + + +"Now, sign it," continued Rice, handing him the pencil. + +"But this will look as if we were angry and wanted to keep the plants," +protested Wells. + +"Never you mind, sonny, but sign! Leave the rest to your partners, +and when you lay your head on your pillow to-night return thanks to an +overruling Providence for providing you with the right gang of ruffians +to look after you!" + +Wells signed reluctantly, and Wyngate offered to find a Chinaman in the +gulch who would take the missive. "And being a Chinaman, Brown can do +any cussin' or buck talk THROUGH him!" he added. + +The afternoon wore on; the tall Douglas pines near the water pools +wheeled their long shadows round and halfway up the slope, and the sun +began to peer into the faces of the reclining men. Subtle odors of mint +and southern-wood, stragglers from the garden, bruised by their limbs, +replaced the fumes of their smoked-out pipes, and the hammers of the +woodpeckers were busy in the grove as they lay lazily nibbling the +fragrant leaves like peaceful ruminants. Then came the sound of +approaching wheels along the invisible highway beyond the buckeyes, +and then a halt and silence. Rice rose slowly, bright pin points in the +pupils of his gray eyes. + +"Bringin' a wagon with him to tote the hull shanty away," suggested +Wyngate. + +"Or fetched his own ambulance," said Briggs. + +Nevertheless, after a pause, the wheels presently rolled away again. + +"We'd better go and meet him at the gate," said Rice, hitching his +revolver holster nearer his hip. "That wagon stopped long enough to put +down three or four men." + +They walked leisurely but silently to the gate. It is probable that none +of them believed in a serious collision, but now the prospect had enough +possibility in it to quicken their pulses. They reached the gate. But it +was still closed; the road beyond it empty. + +"Mebbe they've sneaked round to the cabin," said Briggs, "and are +holdin' it inside." + +They were turning quickly in that direction, when Wyngate said, +"Hush!--some one's there in the brush under the buckeyes." + +They listened; there was a faint rustling in the shadows. + +"Come out o' that, Brown--into the open. Don't be shy," called out Rice +in cheerful irony. "We're waitin' for ye." + +But Briggs, who was nearest the wood, here suddenly uttered an +exclamation,--"B'gosh!" and fell back, open-mouthed, upon his +companions. They too, in another moment, broke into a feeble laugh, and +lapsed against each other in sheepish silence. For a very pretty girl, +handsomely dressed, swept out of the wood and advanced towards them. + +Even at any time she would have been an enchanting vision to these men, +but in the glow of exercise and sparkle of anger she was bewildering. +Her wonderful hair, the color of freshly hewn redwood, had escaped from +her hat in her passage through the underbrush, and even as she swept +down upon them in her majesty she was jabbing a hairpin into it with a +dexterous feminine hand. + +The three partners turned quite the color of her hair; Jackson Wells +alone remained white and rigid. She came on, her very short upper lip +showing her white teeth with her panting breath. + +Rice was first to speak. "I beg--your pardon, Miss--I thought it was +Brown--you know," he stammered. + +But she only turned a blighting brown eye on the culprit, curled her +short lip till it almost vanished in her scornful nostrils, drew her +skirt aside with a jerk, and continued her way straight to Jackson +Wells, where she halted. + +"We did not know you were--here alone," he said apologetically. + +"Thought I was afraid to come alone, didn't you? Well, you see, I'm not. +There!" She made another dive at her hat and hair, and brought the hat +down wickedly over her eyebrows. "Gimme my plants." + +Jackson had been astonished. He would have scarcely recognized in this +willful beauty the red-haired girl whom he had boyishly hated, and with +whom he had often quarreled. But there was a recollection--and with that +recollection came an instinct of habit. He looked her squarely in the +face, and, to the horror of his partners, said, "Say please!" + +They had expected to see him fall, smitten with the hairpin! But she +only stopped, and then in bitter irony said, "Please, Mr. Jackson +Wells." + +"I haven't dug them up yet--and it would serve you just right if I +made you get them for yourself. But perhaps my friends here might help +you--if you were civil." + +The three partners seized spades and hoes and rushed forward eagerly. +"Only show us what you want," they said in one voice. The young girl +stared at them, and at Jackson. Then with swift determination she turned +her back scornfully upon him, and with a dazzling smile which reduced +the three men to absolute idiocy, said to the others, "I'll show YOU," +and marched away to the cabin. + +"Ye mustn't mind Jacksey," said Rice, sycophantically edging to her +side, "he's so cut up with losin' your father that he loved like a son, +he isn't himself, and don't seem to know whether to ante up or pass out. +And as for yourself, Miss--why--What was it he was sayin' only just as +the young lady came?" he added, turning abruptly to Wyngate. + +"Everything that cousin Josey planted with her own hands must be took up +carefully and sent back--even though it's killin' me to part with it," +quoted Wyngate unblushingly, as he slouched along on the other side. + +Miss Wells's eyes glared at them, though her mouth still smiled +ravishingly. "I'm sure I'm troubling you." + +In a few moments the plants were dug up and carefully laid together; +indeed, the servile Briggs had added a few that she had not indicated. + +"Would you mind bringing them as far as the buggy that's coming down +the hill?" she said, pointing to a buggy driven by a small boy which +was slowly approaching the gate. The men tenderly lifted the uprooted +plants, and proceeded solemnly, Miss Wells bringing up the rear, towards +the gate, where Jackson Wells was still surlily lounging. + +They passed out first. Miss Wells lingered for an instant, and then +advancing her beautiful but audacious face within an inch of Jackson's, +hissed out, "Make-believe! and hypocrite!" + +"Cross-patch and sauce-box!" returned Jackson readily, still under the +malign influence of his boyish past, as she flounced away. + +Presently he heard the buggy rattle away with his persecutor. But his +partners still lingered on the road in earnest conversation, and when +they did return it was with a singular awkwardness and embarrassment, +which he naturally put down to a guilty consciousness of their foolish +weakness in succumbing to the girl's demands. + +But he was a little surprised when Dexter Rice approached him gloomily. +"Of course," he began, "it ain't no call of ours to interfere in family +affairs, and you've a right to keep 'em to yourself, but if you'd been +fair and square and above board in what you got off on us about this +per--" + +"What do you mean?" demanded the astonished Wells. + +"Well--callin' her a 'red-haired gal.'" + +"Well--she is a red-haired girl!" said Wells impatiently. + +"A man," continued Rice pityingly, "that is so prejudiced as to apply +such language to a beautiful orphan--torn with grief at the loss of a +beloved but d----d misconstruing parent--merely because she begs a few +vegetables out of his potato patch, ain't to be reasoned with. But when +you come to look at this thing by and large, and as a fa'r-minded man, +sonny, you'll agree with us that the sooner you make terms with her the +better. Considerin' your interest, Jacksey,--let alone the claims of +humanity,--we've concluded to withdraw from here until this thing is +settled. She's sort o' mixed us up with your feelings agin her, and +naturally supposed we object to the color of her hair! and bein' a +penniless orphan, rejected by her relations"-- + +"What stuff are you talking?" burst in Jackson. "Why, YOU saw she +treated you better than she did me." + +"Steady! There you go with that temper of yours that frightened the +girl! Of course she could see that WE were fa'r-minded men, accustomed +to the ways of society, and not upset by the visit of a lady, or the +givin' up of a few green sticks! But let that slide! We're goin' back +home to-night, sonny, and when you've thought this thing over and are +straightened up and get your right bearin's, we'll stand by you as +before. We'll put a man on to do your work on the Ledge, so ye needn't +worry about that." + +They were quite firm in this decision,--however absurd or obscure their +conclusions,--and Jackson, after his first flash of indignation, felt +a certain relief in their departure. But strangely enough, while he had +hesitated about keeping the property when they were violently in favor +of it, he now felt he was right in retaining it against their advice to +compromise. The sentimental idea had vanished with his recognition of +his hateful cousin in the role of the injured orphan. And for the same +odd reason her prettiness only increased his resentment. He was not +deceived,--it was the same capricious, willful, red-haired girl. + +The next day he set himself to work with that dogged steadiness that +belonged to his simple nature, and which had endeared him to his +partners. He set half a dozen Chinamen to work, and followed, although +apparently directing, their methods. The great difficulty was to +restrain and control the excessive vegetation, and he matched the small +economies of the Chinese against the opulence of the Californian soil. +The "garden patch" prospered; the neighbors spoke well of it and of +him. But Jackson knew that this fierce harvest of early spring was to be +followed by the sterility of the dry season, and that irrigation could +alone make his work profitable in the end. He brought a pump to force +the water from the little stream at the foot of the slope to the top, +and allowed it to flow back through parallel trenches. Again Buckeye +applauded! Only the gloomy barkeeper shook his head. "The moment you get +that thing to pay, Mr. Wells, you'll find the hand of Brown, somewhere, +getting ready to squeeze it dry!" + +But Jackson Wells did not trouble himself about Brown, whom he scarcely +knew. Once indeed, while trenching the slope, he was conscious that he +was watched by two men from the opposite bank; but they were apparently +satisfied by their scrutiny, and turned away. Still less did he concern +himself with the movements of his cousin, who once or twice passed him +superciliously in her buggy on the road. Again, she met him as one of +a cavalcade of riders, mounted on a handsome but ill-tempered mustang, +which she was managing with an ill-temper and grace equal to the +brute's, to the alternate delight and terror of her cavalier. He could +see that she had been petted and spoiled by her new guardian and his +friends far beyond his conception. But why she should grudge him the +little garden and the pastoral life for which she was so unsuited, +puzzled him greatly. + +One afternoon he was working near the road, when he was startled by +an outcry from his Chinese laborers, their rapid dispersal from the +strawberry beds where they were working, the splintering crash of his +fence rails, and a commotion among the buckeyes. Furious at what seemed +to him one of the usual wanton attacks upon coolie labor, he seized +his pick and ran to their assistance. But he was surprised to find +Jocelinda's mustang caught by the saddle and struggling between two +trees, and its unfortunate mistress lying upon the strawberry bed. +Shocked but cool-headed, Jackson released the horse first, who was +lashing out and destroying everything within his reach, and then turned +to his cousin. But she had already lifted herself to her elbow, and +with a trickle of blood and mud on one fair cheek was surveying him +scornfully under her tumbled hair and hanging hat. + +"You don't suppose I was trespassing on your wretched patch again, do +you?" she said in a voice she was trying to keep from breaking. "It was +that brute--who bolted." + +"I don't suppose you were bullying ME this time," he said, "but you were +YOUR HORSE--or it wouldn't have happened. Are you hurt?" + +She tried to move; he offered her his hand, but she shied from it and +struggled to her feet. She took a step forward--but limped. + +"If you don't want my arm, let me call a Chinaman," he suggested. + +She glared at him. "If you do I'll scream!" she said in a low voice, and +he knew she would. But at the same moment her face whitened, at which he +slipped his arm under hers in a dexterous, business-like way, so as to +support her weight. Then her hat got askew, and down came a long braid +over his shoulder. He remembered it of old, only it was darker than then +and two or three feet longer. + +"If you could manage to limp as far as the gate and sit down on the +bank, I'd get your horse for you," he said. "I hitched it to a sapling." + +"I saw you did--before you even offered to help me," she said +scornfully. + +"The horse would have got away--YOU couldn't." + +"If you only knew how I hated you," she said, with a white face, but a +trembling lip. + +"I don't see how that would make things any better," he said. "Better +wipe your face; it's scratched and muddy, and you've been rubbing your +nose in my strawberry bed." + +She snatched his proffered handkerchief suddenly, applied it to her +face, and said: "I suppose it looks dreadful." + +"Like a pig's," he returned cheerfully. + +She walked a little more firmly after this, until they reached the gate. +He seated her on the bank, and went back for the mustang. That beautiful +brute, astounded and sore from its contact with the top rail and +brambles, was cowed and subdued as he led it back. + +She had finished wiping her face, and was hurriedly disentangling +two stinging tears from her long lashes, before she threw back his +handkerchief. Her sprained ankle obliged him to lift her into the saddle +and adjust her little shoe in the stirrup. He remembered when it +was still smaller. "You used to ride astride," he said, a flood of +recollection coming over him, "and it's much safer with your temper and +that brute." + +"And you," she said in a lower voice, "used to be"--But the rest of her +sentence was lost in the switch of the whip and the jump of her horse, +but he thought the word was "kinder." + +Perhaps this was why, after he watched her canter away, he went back to +the garden, and from the bruised and trampled strawberry bed gathered +a small basket of the finest fruit, covered them with leaves, added a +paper with the highly ingenious witticism, "Picked up with you," and +sent them to her by one of the Chinamen. Her forcible entry moved +Li Sing, his foreman, also chief laundryman to the settlement, to +reminiscences: + +"Me heap knew Missy Wells and ole man, who go dead. Ole man allee +time make chin music to Missy. Allee time jaw jaw--allee time make +lows--allee time cuttee up Missy! Plenty time lockee up Missy topside +house; no can walkee--no can talkee--no hab got--how can get?--must +washee washee allee same Chinaman. Ole man go dead--Missy all lightee +now. Plenty fun. Plenty stay in Blown's big house, top-side hill; Blown +first-chop man." + +Had he inquired he might have found this pagan testimony, for once, +corroborated by the Christian neighbors. + +But another incident drove all this from his mind. The little +stream--the life blood of his garden--ran dry! Inquiry showed that it +had been diverted two miles away into Brown's ditch! Wells's indignant +protest elicited a formal reply from Brown, stating that he owned the +adjacent mining claims, and reminding him that mining rights to water +took precedence of the agricultural claim, but offering, by way of +compensation, to purchase the land thus made useless and sterile. +Jackson suddenly recalled the prophecy of the gloomy barkeeper. The end, +had come! But what could the scheming capitalist want with the land, +equally useless--as his uncle had proved--for mining purposes? Could it +be sheer malignity, incited by his vengeful cousin? But here he paused, +rejecting the idea as quickly as it came. No! his partners were right! +He was a trespasser on his cousin's heritage--there was no luck in +it--he was wrong, and this was his punishment! Instead of yielding +gracefully as he might, he must back down now, and she would never know +his first real feelings. Even now he would make over the property to +her as a free gift. But his partners had advanced him money from their +scanty means to plant and work it. He believed that an appeal to their +feelings would persuade them to forego even that, but he shrank even +more from confessing his defeat to THEM than to her. + +He had little heart in his labors that day, and dismissed the Chinamen +early. He again examined his uncle's old mining claim on the top of +the slope, but was satisfied that it had been a hopeless enterprise +and wisely abandoned. It was sunset when he stood under the buckeyes, +gloomily looking at the glow fade out of the west, as it had out of his +boyish hopes. He had grown to like the place. It was the hour, too, when +the few flowers he had cultivated gave back their pleasant odors, as if +grateful for his care. And then he heard his name called. + +It was his cousin, standing a few yards from him in evident hesitation. +She was quite pale, and for a moment he thought she was still suffering +from her fall, until he saw in her nervous, half-embarrassed manner that +it had no physical cause. Her old audacity and anger seemed gone, yet +there was a queer determination in her pretty brows. + +"Good-evening," he said. + +She did not return his greeting, but pulling uneasily at her glove, said +hesitatingly: "Uncle has asked you to sell him this land?" + +"Yes." + +"Well--don't!" she burst out abruptly. + +He stared at her. + +"Oh, I'm not trying to keep you here," she went on, flashing back into +her old temper; "so you needn't stare like that. I say, 'Don't,' because +it ain't right, it ain't fair." + +"Why, he's left me no alternative," he said. + +"That's just it--that's why it's mean and low. I don't care if he is our +uncle." + +Jackson was bewildered and shocked. + +"I know it's horrid to say it," she said, with a white face; "but it's +horrider to keep it in! Oh, Jack! when we were little, and used to fight +and quarrel, I never was mean--was I? I never was underhanded--was I? +I never lied--did I? And I can't lie now. Jack," she looked hurriedly +around her, "HE wants to get hold of the land--HE thinks there's gold in +the slope and bank by the stream. He says dad was a fool to have located +his claim so high up. Jack! did you ever prospect the bank?" + +A dawning of intelligence came upon Jackson. "No," he said; "but," he +added bitterly, "what's the use? He owns the water now,--I couldn't work +it." + +"But, Jack, IF you found the color, this would be a MINING claim! You +could claim the water right; and, as it's your land, your claim would be +first!" + +Jackson was startled. "Yes, IF I found the color." + +"You WOULD find it." + +"WOULD?" + +"Yes! I DID--on the sly! Yesterday morning on your slope by the stream, +when no one was up! I washed a panful and got that." She took a piece of +tissue paper from her pocket, opened it, and shook into her little palm +three tiny pin points of gold. + +"And that was your own idea, Jossy?" + +"Yes!" + +"Your very own?" + +"Honest Injin!" + +"Wish you may die?" + +"True, O King!" + +He opened his arms, and they mutually embraced. Then they separated, +taking hold of each other's hands solemnly, and falling back until they +were at arm's length. Then they slowly extended their arms sideways at +full length, until this action naturally brought their faces and lips +together. They did this with the utmost gravity three times, and then +embraced again, rocking on pivoted feet like a metronome. Alas! it was +no momentary inspiration. The most casual and indifferent observer +could see that it was the result of long previous practice and shameless +experience. And as such--it was a revelation and an explanation. + + +***** + +"I always suspected that Jackson was playin' us about that red-haired +cousin," said Rice two weeks later; "but I can't swallow that purp stuff +about her puttin' him up to that dodge about a new gold discovery on +a fresh claim, just to knock out Brown. No, sir. He found that gold in +openin' these irrigatin' trenches,--the usual nigger luck, findin' what +you're not lookin' arter." + +"Well, we can't complain, for he's offered to work it on shares with +us," said Briggs. + +"Yes--until he's ready to take in another partner." + +"Not--Brown?" said his horrified companions. + +"No!--but Brown's adopted daughter--that red-haired cousin!" + + + + +THE REINCARNATION OF SMITH + + +The extravagant supper party by which Mr. James Farendell celebrated the +last day of his bachelorhood was protracted so far into the night, +that the last guest who parted from him at the door of the principal +Sacramento restaurant was for a moment impressed with the belief that +a certain ruddy glow in the sky was already the dawn. But Mr. Farendell +had kept his head clear enough to recognize it as the light of some +burning building in a remote business district, a not infrequent +occurrence in the dry season. When he had dismissed his guest he turned +away in that direction for further information. His own counting-house +was not in that immediate neighborhood, but Sacramento had been once +before visited by a rapid and far-sweeping conflagration, and it +behooved him to be on the alert even on this night of festivity. + +Perhaps also a certain anxiety arose out of the occasion. He was to be +married to-morrow to the widow of his late partner, and the +marriage, besides being an attractive one, would settle many business +difficulties. He had been a fortunate man, but, like many more fortunate +men, was not blind to the possibilities of a change of luck. The death +of his partner in a successful business had at first seemed to betoken +that change, but his successful, though hasty, courtship of the +inexperienced widow had restored his chances without greatly shocking +the decorum of a pioneer community. Nevertheless, he was not a contented +man, and hardly a determined--although an energetic one. + +A walk of a few moments brought him to the levee of the river,--a +favored district, where his counting-house, with many others, was +conveniently situated. In these early days only a few of these buildings +could be said to be permanent,--fire and flood perpetually threatened +them. They were merely temporary structures of wood, or in the case +of Mr. Farendell's office, a shell of corrugated iron, sheathing +a one-storied wooden frame, more or less elaborate in its interior +decorations. By the time he had reached it, the distant fire had +increased. On his way he had met and recognized many of his business +acquaintances hurrying thither,--some to save their own property, or +to assist the imperfectly equipped volunteer fire department in their +unselfish labors. It was probably Mr. Farendell's peculiar preoccupation +on that particular night which had prevented his joining in their +brotherly zeal. + +He unlocked the iron door, and lit the hanging lamp that was used in +all-night sittings on steamer days. It revealed a smartly furnished +office, with a high desk for his clerks, and a smaller one for himself +in one corner. In the centre of the wall stood a large safe. This he +also unlocked and took out a few important books, as well as a small +drawer containing gold coin and dust to the amount of about five hundred +dollars, the large balance having been deposited in bank on the previous +day. The act was only precautionary, as he did not exhibit any haste in +removing them to a place of safety, and remained meditatively absorbed +in looking over a packet of papers taken from the same drawer. The +closely shuttered building, almost hermetically sealed against light, +and perhaps sound, prevented his observing the steadily increasing light +of the conflagration, or hearing the nearer tumult of the firemen, and +the invasion of his quiet district by other equally solicitous tenants. +The papers seemed also to possess some importance, for, the stillness +being suddenly broken by the turning of the handle of the heavy door he +had just closed, and its opening with difficulty, his first act was +to hurriedly conceal them, without apparently paying a thought to the +exposed gold before him. And his expression and attitude in facing +round towards the door was quite as much of nervous secretiveness as of +indignation at the interruption. + +Yet the intruder appeared, though singular, by no means formidable. He +was a man slightly past the middle age, with a thin face, hollowed at +the cheeks and temples as if by illness or asceticism, and a grayish +beard that encircled his throat like a soiled worsted "comforter" below +his clean-shaven chin and mouth. His manner was slow and methodical, and +even when he shot the bolt of the door behind him, the act did not seem +aggressive. Nevertheless Mr. Farendell half rose with his hand on +his pistol-pocket, but the stranger merely lifted his own hand with +a gesture of indifferent warning, and, drawing a chair towards him, +dropped into it deliberately. + +Mr. Farendell's angry stare changed suddenly to one of surprised +recognition. "Josh Scranton," he said hesitatingly. + +"I reckon," responded the stranger slowly. "That's the name I allus +bore, and YOU called yourself Farendell. Well, we ain't seen each other +sens the spring o' '50, when ye left me lying nigh petered out with +chills and fever on the Stanislaus River, and sold the claim that me and +Duffy worked under our very feet, and skedaddled for 'Frisco!" + +"I only exercised my right as principal owner, and to secure my +advances," began the late Mr. Farendell sharply. + +But again the thin hand was raised, this time with a slow, scornful +waiving of any explanations. "It ain't that in partickler that I've kem +to see ye for to-night," said the stranger slowly, "nor it ain't about +your takin' the name o' 'Farendell,' that friend o' yours who died on +the passage here with ye, and whose papers ye borrowed! Nor it ain't +on account o' that wife of yours ye left behind in Missouri, and whose +letters you never answered. It's them things all together--and suthin' +else!" + +"What the d---l do you want, then?" said Farendell, with a desperate +directness that was, however, a tacit confession of the truth of these +accusations. + +"Yer allowin' that ye'll get married tomorrow?" said Scranton slowly. + +"Yes, and be d----d to you," said Farendell fiercely. + +"Yer NOT," returned Scranton. "Not if I knows it. Yer goin' to climb +down. Yer goin' to get up and get! Yer goin' to step down and out! Yer +goin' to shut up your desk and your books and this hull consarn inside +of an hour, and vamose the ranch. Arter an hour from now thar won't be +any Mr. Farendell, and no weddin' to-morrow." + +"If that's your game--perhaps you'd like to murder me at once?" said +Farendell with a shifting eye, as his hand again moved towards his +revolver. + +But again the thin hand of the stranger was also lifted. "We ain't in +the business o' murderin' or bein' murdered, or we might hev kem here +together, me and Duffy. Now if anything happens to me Duffy will be +left, and HE'S got the proofs." + +Farendell seemed to recognize the fact with the same directness. "That's +it, is it?" he said bluntly. "Well, how much do you want? Only, I warn +you that I haven't much to give." + +"Wotever you've got, if it was millions, it ain't enough to buy us up, +and ye ought to know that by this time," responded Scranton, with +a momentary flash in his eyes. But the next moment his previous +passionless deliberation returned, and leaning his arm on the desk of +the man before him he picked up a paperweight carelessly and turned it +over as he said slowly, "The fact is, Mr. Farendell, you've been making +us, me and Duffy, tired. We've bin watchin' you and your doin's, lyin' +low and sayin' nothin', till we concluded that it was about time you +handed in your checks and left the board. We ain't wanted nothin' of +ye, we ain't begrudged ye nothin', but we've allowed that this yer thing +must stop." + +"And what if I refuse?" said Farendell. + +"Thar'll be some cussin' and a big row from YOU, I kalkilate--and maybe +some fightin' all round," said Scranton dispassionately. "But it will be +all the same in the end. The hull thing will come out, and you'll hev +to slide just the same. T'otherwise, ef ye slide out NOW, it's without a +row." + +"And do you suppose a business man like me can disappear without a fuss +over it?" said Farendell angrily. "Are you mad?" + +"I reckon the hole YOU'LL make kin be filled up," said Scranton dryly. +"But ef ye go NOW, you won't be bothered by the fuss, while if you stay +you'll have to face the music, and go too!" + +Farendell was silent. Possibly the truth of this had long since been +borne upon him. No one but himself knew the incessant strain of these +years of evasion and concealment, and how he often had been near to +some such desperate culmination. The sacrifice offered to him was not, +therefore, so great as it might have seemed. The knowledge of this +might have given him a momentary superiority over his antagonist had +Scranton's motive been a purely selfish or malignant one, but as it was +not, and as he may have had some instinctive idea of Farendell's feeling +also, it made his ultimatum appear the more passionless and fateful. +And it was this quality which perhaps caused Farendell to burst out with +desperate abruptness,-- + +"What in h-ll ever put you up to this!" + +Scranton folded his arms upon Farendell's desk, and slowly wiping his +clean jaw with one hand, repeated deliberately, "Wall--I reckon I told +ye that before! You've been making us--me and Duffy--tired!" He paused +for a moment, and then, rising abruptly, with a careless gesture towards +the uncovered tray of gold, said, "Come! ye kin take enuff o' that to +get away with; the less ye take, though, the less likely you'll be to be +followed!" + +He went to the door, unlocked and opened it. A strange light, as of +a lurid storm interspersed by sheet-like lightning, filled the outer +darkness, and the silence was now broken by dull crashes and nearer +cries and shouting. A few figures were also dimly flitting around the +neighboring empty offices, some of which, like Farendell's, had been +entered by their now alarmed owners. + +"You've got a good chance now," continued Scranton; "ye couldn't hev a +better. It's a big fire--a scorcher--and jest the time for a man to wipe +himself out and not be missed. Make tracks where the crowd is thickest +and whar ye're likely to be seen, ez ef ye were helpin'! Ther' 'll be +other men missed tomorrow beside you," he added with grim significance; +"but nobody'll know that you was one who really got away." + +Where the imperturbable logic of the strange man might have failed, +the noise, the tumult, the suggestion of swift-coming disaster, and +the necessity for some immediate action of any kind, was convincing. +Farendell hastily stuffed his pockets with gold and the papers he had +found, and moved to the door. Already he fancied he felt the hot +breath of the leaping conflagration beyond. "And you?" he said, turning +suspiciously to Scranton. + +"When you're shut of this and clean off, I'll fix things and leave +too--but not before. I reckon," he added grimly, with a glance at the +sky, now streaming with sparks like a meteoric shower, "thar won't be +much left here in the morning." + +A few dull embers pattered on the iron roof of the low building and +bounded off in ashes. Farendell cast a final glance around him, and then +darted from the building. The iron door clanged behind him--he was gone. + +Evidently not too soon, for the other buildings were already deserted by +their would-be salvors, who had filled the streets with piles of books +and valuables waiting to be carried away. Then occurred a terrible +phenomenon, which had once before in such disasters paralyzed the +efforts of the firemen. A large wooden warehouse in the centre of +the block of offices, many hundred feet from the scene of active +conflagration--which had hitherto remained intact--suddenly became +enveloped in clouds of smoke, and without warning burst as suddenly +from roof and upper story into vivid flame. There were eye-witnesses who +declared that a stream of living fire seemed to leap upon it from the +burning district, and connected the space between them with an arch of +luminous heat. In another instant the whole district was involved in +a whirlwind of smoke and flame, out of whose seething vortex the +corrugated iron buildings occasionally showed their shriveling or +glowing outlines. And then the fire swept on and away. + +When the sun again arose over the panic-stricken and devastated city, +all personal incident and disaster was forgotten in the larger +calamity. It was two or three days before the full particulars could be +gathered--even while the dominant and resistless energy of the people +was erecting new buildings upon the still-smoking ruins. It was only on +the third day afterwards that James Farendell, on the deck of a coasting +steamer, creeping out through the fogs of the Golden Gate, read the +latest news in a San Francisco paper brought by the pilot. As he +hurriedly comprehended the magnitude of the loss, which was far beyond +his previous conception, he experienced a certain satisfaction in +finding his position no worse materially than that of many of his fellow +workers. THEY were ruined like himself; THEY must begin their life +afresh--but then! Ah! there was still that terrible difference. He drew +his breath quickly, and read on. Suddenly he stopped, transfixed by +a later paragraph. For an instant he failed to grasp its full +significance. Then he read it again, the words imprinting themselves on +his senses with a slow deliberation that seemed to him as passionless as +Scranton's utterances on that fateful night. + +"The loss of life, it is now feared, is much greater than at first +imagined. To the list that has been already published we must add the +name of James Farendell, the energetic contractor so well known to +our citizens, who was missing the morning after the fire. His calcined +remains were found this afternoon in the warped and twisted iron shell +of his counting-house, the wooden frame having been reduced to charcoal +in the intense heat. The unfortunate man seems to have gone there to +remove his books and papers,--as was evidenced by the iron safe being +found open,--but to have been caught and imprisoned in the building +through the heat causing the metal sheathing to hermetically seal the +doors and windows. He was seen by some neighbors to enter the building +while the fire was still distant, and his remains were identified by his +keys, which were found beneath him. A poignant interest is added to his +untimely fate by the circumstance that he was to have been married on +the following day to the widow of his late partner, and that he had, +at the call of duty, that very evening left a dinner party given to +celebrate the last day of his bachelorhood--or, as it has indeed proved, +of his earthly existence. Two families are thus placed in mourning, and +it is a singular sequel that by this untoward calamity the well-known +firm of Farendell & Cutler may be said to have ceased to exist." + +Mr. Farendell started to his feet. But a lurch of the schooner as she +rose on the long swell of the Pacific sent him staggering dizzily back +to his seat, and checked his first wild impulse to return. He saw it all +now,--the fire had avenged him by wiping out his persecutor, Scranton, +but in the eyes of his contemporaries it had only erased HIM! He might +return to refute the story in his own person, but the dead man's partner +still lived with his secret, and his own rehabilitation could only +revive his former peril. + + +***** + +Four years elapsed before the late Mr. Farendell again set foot in the +levee of Sacramento. The steamboat that brought him from San Francisco +was a marvel to him in size, elegance, and comfort; so different from +the little, crowded, tri-weekly packet he remembered; and it might, in a +manner, have prepared him for the greater change in the city. But he was +astounded to find nothing to remind him of the past,--no landmark, nor +even ruin, of the place he had known. Blocks of brick buildings, with +thoroughfares having strange titles, occupied the district where his +counting-house had stood, and even obliterated its site; equally strange +names were upon the shops and warehouses. In his four years' wanderings +he had scarcely found a place as unfamiliar. He had trusted to the +great change in his own appearance--the full beard that he wore and the +tanning of a tropical sun--to prevent recognition; but the precaution +was unnecessary, there were none to recognize him in the new faces which +were the only ones he saw in the transformed city. A cautious allusion +to the past which he had made on the boat to a fellow passenger had +brought only the surprised rejoinder, "Oh, that must have been before +the big fire," as if it was an historic epoch. There was something of +pain even in this assured security of his loneliness. His obliteration +was complete. + +For the late Mr. Farendell had suffered some change of mind with his +other mutations. He had been singularly lucky. The schooner in which he +had escaped brought him to Acapulco, where, as a returning Californian, +and a presumably successful one, his services and experience were +eagerly sought by an English party engaged in developing certain disused +Mexican mines. As the post, however, was perilously near the route +of regular emigration, as soon as he had gained a sufficient sum he +embarked with some goods to Callao, where he presently established +himself in business, resuming his REAL name--the unambitious but +indistinctive one of "Smith." It is highly probable that this prudential +act was also his first step towards rectitude. For whether the change +was a question of moral ethics, or merely a superstitious essay in luck, +he was thereafter strictly honest in business. He became prosperous. +He had been sustained in his flight by the intention that, if he +were successful elsewhere, he would endeavor to communicate with his +abandoned fiancee, and ask her to join him, and share not his name but +fortune in exile. But as he grew rich, the difficulties of carrying out +this intention became more apparent; he was by no means certain of her +loyalty surviving the deceit he had practiced and the revelation he +would have to make; he was doubtful of the success of any story which +at other times he would have glibly invented to take the place of truth. +Already several months had elapsed since his supposed death; could he +expect her to be less accessible to premature advances now than when +she had been a widow? Perhaps this made him think of the wife he had +deserted so long ago. He had been quite content to live without regret +or affection, forgetting and forgotten, but in his present prosperity +he felt there was some need of putting his domestic affairs into a more +secure and legitimate shape, to avert any catastrophe like the last. +HERE at least would be no difficulty; husbands had deserted their wives +before this in Californian emigration, and had been heard of only after +they had made their fortune. Any plausible story would be accepted by +HER in the joy of his reappearance; or if, indeed, as he reflected +with equal complacency, she was dead or divorced from him through his +desertion--a sufficient cause in her own State--and re-married, he +would at least be more secure. He began, without committing himself, +by inquiry and anonymous correspondence. His wife, he learnt, had left +Missouri for Sacramento only a month or two after his own disappearance +from that place, and her address was unknown! + +A complication so unlooked for disquieted him, and yet whetted his +curiosity. The only person she might meet in California who could +possibly identify him with the late Mr. Farendell was Duffy; he had +often wondered if that mysterious partner of Scranton's had been +deceived with the others, or had ever suspected that the body discovered +in the counting-house was Scranton's. If not, he must have accepted the +strange coincidence that Scranton had disappeared also the same night. +In the first six months of his exile he had searched the Californian +papers thoroughly, but had found no record of any doubt having been +thrown on the accepted belief. It was these circumstances, and perhaps +a vague fascination not unlike that which impels the malefactor to haunt +the scene of his crime, that, at the end of four years, had brought him, +a man of middle age and assured occupation and fortune, back to the city +he had fled from. + +A few days at one of the new hotels convinced him thoroughly that he was +in no danger of recognition, and gave him the assurance to take rooms +more in keeping with his circumstances and his own frankly +avowed position as the head of a South American house. A cautious +acquaintance--through the agency of his banker--with a few business men +gave him some occupation, and the fact of his South American letters +being addressed to Don Diego Smith gave a foreign flavor to his +individuality, which his tanned face and dark beard had materially +helped. A stronger test convinced him how complete was the obliteration +of his former identity. One day at the bank he was startled at being +introduced by the manager to a man whom he at once recognized as a +former business acquaintance. But the shock was his alone; the formal +approach and unfamiliar manner of the man showed that he had failed to +recognize even a resemblance. But would he equally escape detection by +his wife if he met her as accidentally,--an encounter not to be thought +of until he knew something more of her? He became more cautious in going +to public places, but luckily for him the proportion of women to men was +still small in California, and they were more observed than observing. + +A month elapsed; in that time he had thoroughly exhausted the local +Directories in his cautious researches among the "Smiths," for in his +fear of precipitating a premature disclosure he had given up his former +anonymous advertising. And there was a certain occupation in this +personal quest that filled his business time. He was in no hurry. He had +a singular faith that he would eventually discover her whereabouts, be +able to make all necessary inquiries into her conduct and habits, and +perhaps even enjoy a brief season of unsuspected personal observation +before revealing himself. And this faith was as singularly rewarded. + +Having occasion to get his watch repaired one day he entered a large +jeweler's shop, and while waiting its examination his attention was +attracted by an ordinary old-fashioned daguerreotype case in the form of +a heart-shaped locket lying on the counter with other articles left for +repairs. Something in its appearance touched a chord in his memory; he +lifted the half-opened case and saw a much faded daguerreotype +portrait of himself taken in Missouri before he left in the Californian +emigration. He recognized it at once as one he had given to his wife; +the faded likeness was so little like his present self that he boldly +examined it and asked the jeweler one or two questions. The man was +communicative. Yes, it was an old-fashioned affair which had been left +for repairs a few days ago by a lady whose name and address, written by +herself, were on the card tied to it. + +Mr. James Smith had by this time fully controlled the emotion he felt as +he recognized his wife's name and handwriting, and knew that at last +the clue was found! He laid down the case carelessly, gave the final +directions for the repairs of his watch, and left the shop. The address, +of which he had taken a mental note, was, to his surprise, very near +his own lodgings; but he went straight home. Here a few inquiries of +his janitor elicited the information that the building indicated in the +address was a large one of furnished apartments and offices like his +own, and that the "Mrs. Smith" must be simply the housekeeper of the +landlord, whose name appeared in the Directory, but not her own. Yet +he waited until evening before he ventured to reconnoitre the premises; +with the possession of his clue came a slight cooling of his ardor and +extreme caution in his further proceedings. The house--a reconstructed +wooden building--offered no external indication of the rooms she +occupied in the uniformly curtained windows that front the street. +Yet he felt an odd and pleasurable excitement in passing once or twice +before those walls that hid the goal of his quest. As yet he had not +seen her, and there was naturally the added zest of expectation. He +noticed that there was a new building opposite, with vacant offices to +let. A project suddenly occurred to him, which by morning he had fully +matured. He hired a front room in the first floor of the new building, +had it hurriedly furnished as a private office, and on the second +morning of his discovery was installed behind his desk at the window +commanding a full view of the opposite house. There was nothing strange +in the South American capitalist selecting a private office in so +popular a locality. + +Two or three days elapsed without any result from his espionage. He came +to know by sight the various tenants, the two Chinese servants, and the +solitary Irish housemaid, but as yet had no glimpse of the housekeeper. +She evidently led a secluded life among her duties; it occurred to him +that perhaps she went out, possibly to market, earlier than he came, +or later, after he had left the office. In this belief he arrived one +morning after an early walk in a smart spring shower, the lingering +straggler of the winter rains. There were few people astir, yet he had +been preceded for two or three blocks by a tall woman whose umbrella +partly concealed her head and shoulders from view. He had noticed, +however, even in his abstraction, that she walked well, and managed the +lifting of her skirt over her trim ankles and well-booted feet with some +grace and cleverness. Yet it was only on her unexpectedly turning the +corner of his own street that he became interested. She continued on +until within a few doors of his office, when she stopped to give an +order to a tradesman, who was just taking down his shutters. He heard +her voice distinctly; in the quick emotion it gave him he brushed +hurriedly past her without lifting his eyes. Gaining his own doorway +he rushed upstairs to his office, hastily unlocked it, and ran to the +window. The lady was already crossing the street. He saw her pause +before the door of the opposite house, open it with a latchkey, and +caught a full view of her profile in the single moment that she turned +to furl her umbrella and enter. It was his wife's voice he had heard; it +was his wife's face that he had seen in profile. + +Yet she was changed from the lanky young schoolgirl he had wedded ten +years ago, or, at least, compared to what his recollection of her had +been. Had he ever seen her as she really was? Surely somewhere in that +timid, freckled, half-grown bride he had known in the first year of +their marriage the germ of this self-possessed, matured woman was +hidden. There was the tone of her voice; he had never recalled it before +as a lover might, yet now it touched him; her profile he certainly +remembered, but not with the feeling it now produced in him. Would he +have ever abandoned her had she been like that? Or had HE changed, and +was this no longer his old self?--perhaps even a self SHE would never +recognize again? James Smith had the superstitions of a gambler, and +that vague idea of fate that comes to weak men; a sudden fright seized +him, and he half withdrew from the window lest she should observe him, +recognize him, and by some act precipitate that fate. + +By lingering beyond the usual hour for his departure he saw her again, +and had even a full view of her face as she crossed the street. The +years had certainly improved her; he wondered with a certain nervousness +if she would think they had done the same for him. The complacency with +which he had at first contemplated her probable joy at recovering him +had become seriously shaken since he had seen her; a woman as well +preserved and good-looking as that, holding a certain responsible +and, no doubt, lucrative position, must have many admirers and be +independent. He longed to tell her now of his fortune, and yet shrank +from the test its exposure implied. He waited for her return until +darkness had gathered, and then went back to his lodgings a little +chagrined and ill at ease. It was rather late for her to be out alone! +After all, what did he know of her habits or associations? He recalled +the freedom of Californian life, and the old scandals relating to the +lapses of many women who had previously led blameless lives in the +Atlantic States. Clearly it behooved him to be cautious. Yet he +walked late that night before the house again, eager to see if she had +returned, and with WHOM? He was restricted in his eagerness by the +fear of detection, but he gathered very little knowledge of her habits; +singularly enough nobody seemed to care. A little piqued at this, he +began to wonder if he were not thinking too much of this woman to whom +he still hesitated to reveal himself. Nevertheless, he found himself +that night again wandering around the house, and even watching with some +anxiety the shadow which he believed to be hers on the window-blind +of the room where he had by discreet inquiry located her. Whether his +memory was stimulated by his quest he never knew, but presently he was +able to recall step by step and incident by incident his early courtship +of her and the brief days of their married life. He even remembered the +day she accepted him, and even dwelt upon it with a sentimental thrill +that he probably never felt at the time, and it was a distinct feature +of his extraordinary state of mind and its concentration upon this +particular subject that he presently began to look upon HIMSELF as the +abandoned and deserted conjugal partner, and to nurse a feeling of deep +injury at her hands! The fact that he was thinking of her, and she, +probably, contented with her lot, was undisturbed by any memory of him, +seemed to him a logical deduction of his superior affection. + +It was, therefore, quite as much in the attitude of a reproachful and +avenging husband as of a merely curious one that, one afternoon, seeing +her issue from her house at an early hour, he slipped down the stairs +and began to follow her at a secure distance. She turned into the +principal thoroughfare, and presently made one of the crowd who were +entering a popular place of amusement where there was an afternoon +performance. So complete was his selfish hallucination, that he smiled +bitterly at this proof of heartless indifference, and even so far +overcame his previous caution as to actually brush by her somewhat +rudely as he entered the building at the same moment. He was conscious +that she lifted her eyes a little impatiently to the face of the awkward +stranger; he was equally, but more bitterly, conscious that she had not +recognized him! He dropped into a seat behind her; she did not look at +him again with even a sense of disturbance; the momentary contact had +evidently left no impression upon her. She glanced casually at +her neighbors on either side, and presently became absorbed in the +performance. When it was over she rose, and on her way out recognized +and exchanged a few words with one or two acquaintances. Again he +heard her familiar voice, almost at his elbow, raised with no more +consciousness of her contiguity to him than if he were a mere ghost. +The thought struck him for the first time with a hideous and appalling +significance. What was he but a ghost to her--to every one! A man dead, +buried, and forgotten! His vanity and self-complacency vanished before +this crushing realization of the hopelessness of his existence. Dazed +and bewildered, he mingled blindly and blunderingly with the departing +crowd, tossed here and there as if he were an invisible presence, +stumbling over the impeding skirts of women with a vague apology they +heeded not, and which seemed in his frightened ears as hollow as a voice +from the grave. + +When he at last reached the street he did not look back, but wandered +abstractedly through by-streets in the falling rain, scarcely realizing +where he was, until he found himself drenched through, with his closed +umbrella in his tremulous hand, standing at the half-submerged levee +beside the overflowed river. Here again he realized how completely he +had been absorbed and concentrated in his search for his wife during the +last three weeks; he had never been on the levee since his arrival. He +had taken no note of the excitement of the citizens over the alarming +reports of terrible floods in the mountains, and the daily and hourly +fear that they experienced of disastrous inundation from the surcharged +river. He had never thought of it, yet he had read of it, and even +talked, and yet now for the first time in his selfish, blind absorption +was certain of it. He stood still for some time, watching doggedly the +enormous yellow stream laboring with its burden and drift from many +a mountain town and camp, moving steadily and fatefully towards the +distant bay, and still more distant and inevitable ocean. For a few +moments it vaguely fascinated and diverted him; then it as vaguely lent +itself to his one dominant, haunting thought. Yes, it was pointing him +the only way out,--the path to the distant ocean and utter forgetfulness +again! + +The chill of his saturated clothing brought him to himself once more, +he turned and hurried home. He went tiredly to his bedroom, and while +changing his garments there came a knock at the door. It was the +porter to say that a lady had called, and was waiting for him in the +sitting-room. She had not given her name. + +The closed door prevented the servant from seeing the extraordinary +effect produced by this simple announcement upon the tenant. For +one instant James Smith remained spellbound in his chair. It was +characteristic of his weak nature and singular prepossession that +he passed in an instant from the extreme of doubt to the extreme of +certainty and conviction. It was his wife! She had recognized him in +that moment of encounter at the entertainment; had found his address, +and had followed him here! He dressed himself with feverish haste, not, +however, without a certain care of his appearance and some selection of +apparel, and quickly forecast the forthcoming interview in his mind. +For the pendulum had swung back; Mr. James Smith was once more the +self-satisfied, self-complacent, and discreetly cautious husband that he +had been at the beginning of his quest, perhaps with a certain sense +of grievance superadded. He should require the fullest explanations and +guarantees before committing himself,--indeed, her present call might be +an advance that it would be necessary for him to check. He even pictured +her pleading at his feet; a very little stronger effort of his Alnaschar +imagination would have made him reject her like the fatuous Persian +glass peddler. + +He opened the door of the sitting-room deliberately, and walked in with +a certain formal precision. But the figure of a woman arose from the +sofa, and with a slight outcry, half playful, half hysterical, threw +herself upon his breast with the single exclamation, "Jim!" He started +back from the double shock. For the woman was NOT his wife! A woman +extravagantly dressed, still young, but bearing, even through her +artificially heightened color, a face worn with excitement, excess, and +premature age. Yet a face that as he disengaged himself from her arms +grew upon him with a terrible recognition, a face that he had once +thought pretty, inexperienced, and innocent,--the face of the widow of +his former partner, Cutler, the woman he was to have married on the day +he fled. The bitter revulsion of feeling and astonishment was evidently +visible in his face, for she, too, drew back for a moment as they +separated. But she had evidently been prepared, if not pathetically +inured to such experiences. She dropped into a chair again with a dry +laugh, and a hard metallic voice, as she said,-- + +"Well, it's YOU, anyway--and you can't get out of it." + +As he still stared at her, in her inconsistent finery, draggled and +wet by the storm, at her limp ribbons and ostentatious jewelry, she +continued, in the same hard voice,-- + +"I thought I spotted you once or twice before; but you took no notice of +me, and I reckoned I was mistaken. But this afternoon at the Temple of +Music"-- + +"Where?" said James Smith harshly. + +"At the Temple--the San Francisco Troupe performance--where you brushed +by me, and I heard your voice saying, 'Beg pardon!' I says, 'That's Jim +Farendell.'" + +"Farendell!" burst out James Smith, half in simulated astonishment, half +in real alarm. + +"Well! Smith, then, if you like better," said the woman impatiently; +"though it's about the sickest and most played-out dodge of a name you +could have pitched upon. James Smith, Don Diego Smith!" she repeated, +with a hysteric laugh. "Why, it beats the nigger minstrels all hollow! +Well, when I saw you there, I said, 'That's Jim Farendell, or his twin +brother;' I didn't say 'his ghost,' mind you; for, from the beginning, +even before I knew it all, I never took any stock in that fool yarn +about your burnt bones being found in your office." + +"Knew all, knew what?" demanded the man, with a bravado which he +nevertheless felt was hopeless. + +She rose, crossed the room, and, standing before him, placed one hand +upon her hip as she looked at him with half-pitying effrontery. + +"Look here, Jim," she began slowly, "do you know what you're doing? +Well, you're making me tired!" In spite of himself, a half-superstitious +thrill went through him as her words and attitude recalled the dead +Scranton. "Do you suppose that I don't know that you ran away the night +of the fire? Do you suppose that I don't know that you were next to +ruined that night, and that you took that opportunity of skedaddling +out of the country with all the money you had left, and leaving folks +to imagine you were burnt up with the books you had falsified and the +accounts you had doctored! It was a mean thing for you to do to me, Jim, +for I loved you then, and would have been fool enough to run off with +you if you'd told me all, and not left me to find out that you had lost +MY money--every cent Cutler had left me in the business--with the rest." + +With the fatuousness of a weak man cornered, he clung to unimportant +details. "But the body was believed to be mine by every one," he +stammered angrily. "My papers and books were burnt,--there was no +evidence." + +"And why was there not?" she said witheringly, staring doggedly in his +face. "Because I stopped it! Because when I knew those bones and rags +shut up in that office weren't yours, and was beginning to make a row +about it, a strange man came to me and said they were the remains of a +friend of his who knew your bankruptcy and had come that night to warn +you,--a man whom you had half ruined once, a man who had probably lost +his life in helping you away. He said if I went on making a fuss he'd +come out with the whole truth--how you were a thief and a forger, +and"--she stopped. + +"And what else?" he asked desperately, dreading to hear his wife's name +next fall from her lips. + +"And that--as it could be proved that his friend knew your secrets," +she went on in a frightened, embarrassed voice, "you might be accused of +making away with him." + +For a moment James Smith was appalled; he had never thought of this. As +in all his past villainy he was too cowardly to contemplate murder, +he was frightened at the mere accusation of it. "But," he stammered, +forgetful of all save this new terror, "he KNEW I wouldn't be such a +fool, for the man himself told me Duffy had the papers, and killing him +wouldn't have helped me." + +Mrs. Cutler stared at him a moment searchingly, and then turned wearily +away. "Well," she said, sinking into her chair again, "he said if I'd +shut my mouth he'd shut his--and--I did. And this," she added, +throwing her hands from her lap, a gesture half of reproach and half of +contempt,--"this is what I get for it." + +More frightened than touched by the woman's desperation, James Smith +stammered a vague apologetic disclaimer, even while he was loathing with +a revulsion new to him her draggled finery, her still more faded beauty, +and the half-distinct consciousness of guilt that linked her to him. But +she waved it away, a weary gesture that again reminded him of the dead +Scranton. + +"Of course I ain't what I was, but who's to blame for it? When you left +me alone without a cent, face to face with a lie, I had to do something. +I wasn't brought up to work; I like good clothes, and you know it +better than anybody. I ain't one of your stage heroines that go out as +dependants and governesses and die of consumption, but I thought," she +went on with a shrill, hysterical laugh, more painful than the weariness +which inevitably followed it, "I thought I might train myself to do it, +ON THE STAGE! and I joined Barker's Company. They said I had a face +and figure for the stage; that face and figure wore out before I had +anything more to show, and I wasn't big enough to make better terms with +the manager. They kept me nearly a year doing chambermaids and fairy +queens the other side of the footlights, where I saw you today. Then I +kicked! I suppose I might have married some fool for his money, but I +was soft enough to think you might be sending for me when you were safe. +You seem to be mighty comfortable here," she continued, with a bitter +glance around his handsomely furnished room, "as 'Don Diego Smith.' I +reckon skedaddling pays better than staying behind." + +"I have only been here a few weeks," he said hurriedly. "I never knew +what had become of you, or that you were still here"-- + +"Or you wouldn't have come," she interrupted, with a bitter laugh. +"Speak out, Jim." + +"If there--is anything--I can do--for you," he stammered, "I'm sure"-- + +"Anything you can do?" she repeated, slowly and scornfully. "Anything +you can do NOW? Yes!" she screamed, suddenly rising, crossing the +room, and grasping his arms convulsively. "Yes! Take me away from +here--anywhere--at once! Look, Jim," she went on feverishly, "let +bygones be bygones--I won't peach! I won't tell on you--though I had it +in my heart when you gave me the go-by just now! I'll do anything you +say--go to your farthest hiding-place--work for you--only take me out of +this cursed place." + +Her passionate pleading stung even through his selfishness and loathing. +He thought of his wife's indifference! Yes, he might be driven to +this, and at least he must secure the only witness against his previous +misconduct. "We will see," he said soothingly, gently loosening her +hands. "We must talk it over." He stopped as his old suspiciousness +returned. "But you must have some friends," he said searchingly, "some +one who has helped you." + +"None! Only one--he helped me at first," she hesitated--"Duffy." + +"Duffy!" said James Smith, recoiling. + +"Yes, when he had to tell me all," she said in half-frightened tones, +"he was sorry for me. Listen, Jim! He was a square man, for all he was +devoted to his partner--and you can't blame him for that. I think he +helped me because I was alone; for nothing else, Jim. I swear it! He +helped me from time to time. Maybe he might have wanted to marry me if +he had not been waiting for another woman that he loved, a married woman +that had been deserted years ago by her husband, just as you might have +deserted me if we'd been married that day. He helped her and paid for +her journey here to seek her husband, and set her up in business." + +"What are you talking about--what woman?" stammered James Smith, with a +strange presentiment creeping over him. + +"A Mrs. Smith. Yes," she said quickly, as he started, "not a sham name +like yours, but really and truly SMITH--that was her husband's name! +I'm not lying, Jim," she went on, evidently mistaking the cause of the +sudden contraction of the man's face. "I didn't invent her nor her name; +there IS such a woman, and Duffy loves her--and HER only, and he never, +NEVER was anything more than a friend to me. I swear it!" + +The room seemed to swim around him. She was staring at him, but he could +see in her vacant eyes that she had no conception of his secret, nor +knew the extent of her revelation. Duffy had not dared to tell all! He +burst into a coarse laugh. "What matters Duffy or the silly woman he'd +try to steal away from other men." + +"But he didn't try to steal her, and she's only silly because she wants +to be true to her husband while he lives. She told Duffy she'd never +marry him until she saw her husband's dead face. More fool she," she +added bitterly. + +"Until she saw her husband's dead face," was all that James Smith heard +of this speech. His wife's faithfulness through years of desertion, her +long waiting and truthfulness, even the bitter commentary of the equally +injured woman before him, were to him as nothing to what that single +sentence conjured up. He laughed again, but this time strangely and +vacantly. "Enough of this Duffy and his intrusion in my affairs until +I'm able to settle my account with him. Come," he added brusquely, "if +we are going to cut out of this at once I've got much to do. Come here +again to-morrow, early. This Duffy--does he live here?" + +"No. In Marysville." + +"Good! Come early to-morrow." + +As she seemed to hesitate, he opened a drawer of his table and took out +a handful of gold, and handed it to her. She glanced at it for a moment +with a strange expression, put it mechanically in her pocket, and then +looking up at him said, with a forced laugh, "I suppose that means I am +to clear out?" + +"Until to-morrow," he said shortly. + +"If the Sacramento don't sweep us away before then," she interrupted, +with a reckless laugh; "the river's broken through the levee--a clear +sweep in two places. Where I live the water's up to the doorstep. They +say it's going to be the biggest flood yet. You're all right here; +you're on higher ground." + +She seemed to utter these sentences abstractedly, disconnectedly, as if +to gain time. He made an impatient gesture. + +"All right, I'm going," she said, compressing her lips slowly to keep +them from trembling. "You haven't forgotten anything?" As he turned half +angrily towards her she added, hurriedly and bitterly, "Anything--for +to-morrow?" + +"No!" + +She opened the door and passed out. He listened until the trail of +her wet skirt had descended the stairs, and the street door had closed +behind her. Then he went back to his table and began collecting his +papers and putting them away in his trunks, which he packed feverishly, +yet with a set and determined face. He wrote one or two letters, which +he sealed and left upon his table. He then went to his bedroom and +deliberately shaved off his disguising beard. Had he not been so +preoccupied in one thought, he might have been conscious of loud voices +in the street and a hurrying of feet on the wet sidewalk. But he was +possessed by only one idea. He must see his wife that evening! How, he +knew not yet, but the way would appear when he had reached his office +in the building opposite hers. Three hours had elapsed before he had +finished his preparations. On going downstairs he stopped to give some +directions to the porter, but his room was empty; passing into the +street he was surprised to find it quite deserted, and the shops closed; +even a drinking saloon at the corner was quite empty. He turned the +corner of the street, and began the slight descent towards his office. +To his amazement the lower end of the street, which was crossed by +the thoroughfare which was his destination, was blocked by a crowd of +people. As he hurried forward to join them he suddenly saw, moving +down that thoroughfare, what appeared to his startled eyes to be the +smokestacks of some small, flat-bottomed steamer. He rubbed his eyes; it +was no illusion, for the next moment he had reached the crowd, who were +standing half a block away from the thoroughfare, and on the edge of a +lagoon of yellow water, whose main current was the thoroughfare he was +seeking, and between whose houses, submerged to their first stories, a +steamboat was really paddling. Other boats and rafts were adrift on +its sluggish waters, and a boatman had just landed a passenger in the +backwater of the lower half of the street on which he stood with the +crowd. + +Possessed of his one idea, he fought his way desperately to the water +edge and the boat, and demanded a passage to his office. The boatman +hesitated, but James Smith promptly offered him double the value of his +craft. The act was not deemed singular in that extravagant epoch, and +the sympathizing crowd cheered his solitary departure, as he declined +even the services of the boatman. The next moment he was off in +mid-stream of the thoroughfare, paddling his boat with a desperate but +inexperienced hand until he reached his office, which he entered by the +window. The building, which was new and of brick, showed very little +damage from the flood, but in far different case was the one opposite, +on which his eyes were eagerly bent, and whose cheap and insecure +foundations he could see the flood was already undermining. There were +boats around the house, and men hurriedly removing trunks and valuables, +but the one figure he expected to see was not there. He tied his own +boat to the window; there was evidently no chance of an interview now, +but if she were leaving there would be still the chance of following +her and knowing her destination. As he gazed she suddenly appeared at +a window, and was helped by a boatman into a flat-bottomed barge +containing trunks and furniture. She was evidently the last to leave. +The other boats put off at once, and none too soon; for there was a +warning cry, a quick swerving of the barge, and the end of the dwelling +slowly dropped into the flood, seeming to sink on its knees like a +stricken ox. A great undulation of yellow water swept across the street, +inundating his office through the open window and half swamping his boat +beside it. At the same time he could see that the current had changed +and increased in volume and velocity, and, from the cries and warning +of the boatmen, he knew that the river had burst its banks at its upper +bend. He had barely time to leap into his boat and cast it off before +there was a foot of water on his floor. + +But the new current was carrying the boats away from the higher level, +which they had been eagerly seeking, and towards the channel of the +swollen river. The barge was first to feel its influence, and was +hurried towards the river against the strongest efforts of its boatmen. +One by one the other and smaller boats contrived to get into the slack +water of crossing streets, and one was swamped before his eyes. But +James Smith kept only the barge in view. His difficulty in following it +was increased by his inexperience in managing a boat, and the quantity +of drift which now charged the current. Trees torn by their roots from +some upland bank; sheds, logs, timber, and the bloated carcasses of +cattle choked the stream. All the ruin worked by the flood seemed to be +compressed in this disastrous current. Once or twice he narrowly escaped +collision with a heavy beam or the bed of some farmer's wagon. Once he +was swamped by a tree, and righted his frail boat while clinging to its +branches. + +And then those who watched him from the barge and shore said afterwards +that a great apathy seemed to fall upon him. He no longer attempted to +guide the boat or struggle with the drift, but sat in the stern with +intent forward gaze and motionless paddles. Once they strove to warn +him, called to him to make an effort to reach the barge, and did what +they could, in spite of their own peril, to alter their course and help +him. But he neither answered nor heeded them. And then suddenly a great +log that they had just escaped seemed to rise up under the keel of his +boat, and it was gone. After a moment his face and head appeared above +the current, and so close to the stern of the barge that there was a +slight cry from the woman in it, but the next moment, and before the +boatman could reach him, he was drawn under it and disappeared. They lay +on their oars eagerly watching, but the body of James Smith was sucked +under the barge, and, in the mid-channel of the great river, was carried +out towards the distant sea. + + +***** + +There was a strange meeting that night on the deck of a relief boat, +which had been sent out in search of the missing barge, between Mrs. +Smith and a grave and anxious passenger who had chartered it. When +he had comforted her, and pointed out, as, indeed, he had many times +before, the loneliness and insecurity of her unprotected life, she +yielded to his arguments. But it was not until many months after their +marriage that she confessed to him on that eventful night she thought +she had seen in a moment of great peril the vision of the dead face of +her husband uplifted to her through the water. + + + + +LANTY FOSTER'S MISTAKE + + +Lanty Foster was crouching on a low stool before the dying kitchen +fire, the better to get its fading radiance on the book she was reading. +Beyond, through the open window and door, the fire was also slowly +fading from the sky and the mountain ridge whence the sun had dropped +half an hour before. The view was uphill, and the sky-line of the +hill was marked by two or three gibbet-like poles from which, on a +now invisible line between them, depended certain objects--mere black +silhouettes against the sky--which bore weird likeness to human figures. +Absorbed as she was in her book, she nevertheless occasionally cast an +impatient glance in that direction, as the sunlight faded more quickly +than her fire. For the fluttering objects were the "week's wash" which +had to be brought in before night fell and the mountain wind arose. It +was strong at that altitude, and before this had ravished the clothes +from the line, and scattered them along the highroad leading over the +ridge, once even lashing the shy schoolmaster with a pair of Lanty's own +stockings, and blinding the parson with a really tempestuous petticoat. + +A whiff of wind down the big-throated chimney stirred the log embers on +the hearth, and the girl jumped to her feet, closing the book with an +impatient snap. She knew her mother's voice would follow. It was hard to +leave her heroine at the crucial moment of receiving an explanation from +a presumed faithless lover, just to climb a hill and take in a lot +of soulless washing, but such are the infelicities of stolen romance +reading. She threw the clothes-basket over her head like a hood, the +handle resting across her bosom and shoulders, and with both her hands +free started out of the cabin. But the darkness had come up from the +valley in one stride after its mountain fashion, had outstripped her, +and she was instantly plunged in it. Still the outline of the ridge +above her was visible, with the white, steadfast stars that were not +there a moment ago, and by that sign she knew she was late. She had to +battle against the rushing wind now, which sung through the inverted +basket over her head and held her back, but with bent shoulders she at +last reached the top of the ridge and the level. Yet here, owing to +the shifting of the lighter background above her, she now found herself +again encompassed with the darkness. The outlines of the poles had +disappeared, the white fluttering garments were distinct apparitions +waving in the wind, like dancing ghosts. But there certainly was a queer +misshapen bulk moving beyond, which she did not recognize, and as she at +last reached one of the poles, a shock was communicated to it, through +the clothes-line and the bulk beyond. Then she heard a voice say +impatiently,-- + +"What in h-ll am I running into now?" + +It was a man's voice, and, from its elevation, the voice of a man on +horseback. She answered without fear and with slow deliberation,-- + +"Inter our clothes-line, I reckon." + +"Oh!" said the man in a half-apologetic tone. Then in brisker accents, +"The very thing I want! I say, can you give me a bit of it? The ring of +my saddle girth has fetched loose. I can fasten it with that." + +"I reckon," replied Lanty, with the same unconcern, moving nearer the +bulk, which now separated into two parts as the man dismounted. "How +much do you want?" + +"A foot or two will do." + +They were now in front of each other, although their faces were not +distinguishable to either. Lanty, who had been following the lines with +her hand, here came upon the end knotted around the last pole. This she +began to untie. + +"What a place to hang clothes," he said curiously. + +"Mighty dryin', tho'," returned Lanty laconically. + +"And your house? Is it near by?" he continued. + +"Just down the ridge--ye kin see from the edge. Got a knife?" She had +untied the knot. + +"No--yes--wait." He had hesitated a moment and then produced something +from his breast pocket, which he however kept in his hand. As he did not +offer it to her she simply held out a section of the rope between +her hands, which he divided with a single cut. She saw only that the +instrument was long and keen. Then she lifted the flap of the saddle +for him as he attempted to fasten the loose ring with the rope, but +the darkness made it impossible. With an ejaculation, he fumbled in his +pockets. "My last match!" he said, striking it, as he crouched over +it to protect it from the wind. Lanty leaned over also, with her apron +raised between it and the blast. The flame for an instant lit up the +ring, the man's dark face, mustache, and white teeth set together as +he tugged at the girth, and Lanty's brown, velvet eyes and soft, round +cheek framed in the basket. Then it went out, but the ring was secured. + +"Thank you," said the man, with a short laugh, "but I thought you were a +humpbacked witch in the dark there." + +"And I couldn't make out whether you was a cow or a b'ar," returned the +young girl simply. + +Here, however, he quickly mounted his horse, but in the action something +slipped from his clothes, struck a stone, and bounded away into the +darkness. + +"My knife," he said hurriedly. "Please hand it to me." But although the +girl dropped on her knees and searched the ground diligently, it could +not be found. The man with a restrained ejaculation again dismounted, +and joined in the search. + +"Haven't you got another match?" suggested Lanty. + +"No--it was my last!" he said impatiently. + +"Just you hol' on here," she said suddenly, "and I'll run down to the +kitchen and fetch you a light. I won't be long." + +"No! no!" said the man quickly; "don't! I couldn't wait. I've been here +too long now. Look here. You come in daylight and find it, and--just +keep it for me, will you?" He laughed. "I'll come for it. And now, if +you'll only help to set me on that road again, for it's so infernal +black I can't see the mare's ears ahead of me, I won't bother you any +more. Thank you." + +Lanty had quietly moved to his horse's head and taken the bridle in her +hand, and at once seemed to be lost in the gloom. But in a few moments +he felt the muffled thud of his horse's hoof on the thick dust of the +highway, and its still hot, impalpable powder rising to his nostrils. + +"Thank you," he said again, "I'm all right now," and in the pause that +followed it seemed to Lanty that he had extended a parting hand to her +in the darkness. She put up her own to meet it, but missed his, which +had blundered onto her shoulder. Before she could grasp it, she felt him +stooping over her, the light brush of his soft mustache on her cheek, +and then the starting forward of his horse. But the retaliating box on +the ear she had promptly aimed at him spent itself in the black space +which seemed suddenly to have swallowed up the man, and even his light +laugh. + +For an instant she stood still, and then, swinging the basket +indignantly from her shoulder, took up her suspended task. It was no +light one in the increasing wind, and the unfastened clothes-line had +precipitated a part of its burden to the ground through the loosening +of the rope. But on picking up the trailing garments her hand struck an +unfamiliar object. The stranger's lost knife! She thrust it hastily into +the bottom of the basket and completed her work. As she began to descend +with her burden she saw that the light of the kitchen fire, seen +through the windows, was augmented by a candle. Her mother was evidently +awaiting her. + +"Pretty time to be fetchin' in the wash," said Mrs. Foster querulously. +"But what can you expect when folks stand gossipin' and philanderin' on +the ridge instead o' tendin' to their work?" + +Now Lanty knew that she had NOT been "gossipin'" nor "philanderin'," yet +as the parting salute might have been open to that imputation, and as +she surmised that her mother might have overheard their voices, she +briefly said, to prevent further questioning, that she had shown a +stranger the road. But for her mother's unjust accusation she would have +been more communicative. As Mrs. Foster went back grumblingly into the +sitting-room Lanty resolved to keep the knife at present a secret from +her mother, and to that purpose removed it from the basket. But in the +light of the candle she saw it for the first time plainly--and started. + +For it was really a dagger! jeweled-handled and richly wrought--such as +Lanty had never looked upon before. The hilt was studded with gems, and +the blade, which had a cutting edge, was damascened in blue and +gold. Her soft eyes reflected the brilliant setting, her lips parted +breathlessly; then, as her mother's voice arose in the other room, she +thrust it back into its velvet sheath and clapped it into her pocket. +Its rare beauty had confirmed her resolution of absolute secrecy. To +have shown it now would have made "no end of talk." And she was not sure +but that her parents would have demanded its custody! And it was given +to HER by HIM to keep. This settled the question of moral ethics. She +took the first opportunity to run up to her bedroom and hide it under +the mattress. + +Yet the thought of it filled the rest of her evening. When her household +duties were done she took up her novel again, partly from force of habit +and partly as an attitude in which she could think of IT undisturbed. +For what was fiction to her now? True, it possessed a certain +reminiscent value. A "dagger" had appeared in several romances she +had devoured, but she never had a clear idea of one before. "The Count +sprang back, and, drawing from his belt a richly jeweled dagger, hissed +between his teeth," or, more to the purpose: "'Take this,' said Orlando, +handing her the ruby-hilted poignard which had gleamed upon his thigh, +'and should the caitiff attempt thy unguarded innocence--'" + +"Did ye hear what your father was sayin'?" Lanty started. It was her +mother's voice in the doorway, and she had been vaguely conscious of +another voice pitched in the same querulous key, which, indeed, was the +dominant expression of the small ranchers of that fertile neighborhood. +Possibly a too complaisant and unaggressive Nature had spoiled them. + +"Yes!--no!" said Lanty abstractedly, "what did he say?" + +"If you wasn't taken up with that fool book," said Mrs. Foster, glancing +at her daughter's slightly conscious color, "ye'd know! He allowed +ye'd better not leave yer filly in the far pasture nights. That gang +o' Mexican horse-thieves is out again, and raided McKinnon's stock last +night." + +This touched Lanty closely. The filly was her own property, and she +was breaking it for her own riding. But her distrust of her parents' +interference was greater than any fear of horse-stealers. "She's mighty +uneasy in the barn; and," she added, with a proud consciousness of that +beautiful yet carnal weapon upstairs, "I reckon I ken protect her and +myself agin any Mexican horse-thieves." + +"My! but we're gettin' high and mighty," responded Mrs. Foster, with +deep irony. "Did you git all that outer your fool book?" + +"Mebbe," said Lanty curtly. + +Nevertheless, her thoughts that night were not entirely based on written +romance. She wondered if the stranger knew that she had really tried to +box his ears in the darkness, also if he had been able to see her face. +HIS she remembered, at least the flash of his white teeth against his +dark face and darker mustache, which was quite as soft as her own hair. +But if he thought "for a minnit" that she was "goin' to allow an entire +stranger to kiss her--he was mighty mistaken." She should let him know +it "pretty quick"! She should hand him back the dagger "quite careless +like," and never let on that she'd thought anything of it. Perhaps that +was the reason why, before she went to bed, she took a good look at it, +and after taking off her straight, beltless, calico gown she even tried +the effect of it, thrust in the stiff waistband of her petticoat, with +the jeweled hilt displayed, and thought it looked charming--as indeed it +did. And then, having said her prayers like a good girl, and supplicated +that she should be less "tetchy" with her parents, she went to sleep and +dreamed that she had gone out to take in the wash again, but that the +clothes had all changed to the queerest lot of folks, who were all +fighting and struggling with each other until she, Lanty, drawing her +dagger, rushed up single-handed among them, crying, "Disperse, ye craven +curs,--disperse, I say." And they dispersed. + +Yet even Lanty was obliged to admit the next morning that all this was +somewhat incongruous with the baking of "corn dodgers," the frying of +fish, the making of beds, and her other household duties, and dismissed +the stranger from her mind until he should "happen along." In her freer +and more acceptable outdoor duties she even tolerated the advances of +neighboring swains who made a point of passing by "Foster's Ranch," and +who were quite aware that Atalanta Foster, alias "Lanty," was one of the +prettiest girls in the country. But Lanty's toleration consisted in that +singular performance known to herself as "giving them as good as they +sent," being a lazy traversing, qualified with scorn, of all that they +advanced. How long they would have put up with this from a plain girl I +do not know, but Lanty's short upper lip seemed framed for indolent +and fascinating scorn, and her dreamy eyes usually looked beyond the +questioner, or blunted his bolder glances in their velvety surfaces. The +libretto of these scenes was not exhaustive, e.g.:-- + +The Swain (with bold, bad gayety). "Saw that shy schoolmaster hangin' +round your ridge yesterday! Orter know by this time that shyness with a +gal don't pay." + +Lanty (decisively). "Mebbe he allows it don't get left as often as +impudence." + +The Swain (ignoring the reply and his previous attitude and becoming +more direct). "I was calkilatin' to say that with these yer hoss-thieves +about, yer filly ain't safe in the pasture. I took a turn round there +two or three times last evening to see if she was all right." + +Lanty (with a flattering show of interest). "No! DID ye, now? I was jest +wonderin"'-- + +The Swain (eagerly). "I did--quite late, too! Why, that's nothin', Miss +Atalanty, to what I'd do for you." + +Lanty (musing, with far off-eyes). "Then that's why she was so awful +skeerd and frightened! Just jumpin' outer her skin with horror. I +reckoned it was a b'ar or panther or a spook! You ought to have waited +till she got accustomed to your looks." + +Nevertheless, despite this elegant raillery, Lanty was enough concerned +in the safety of her horse to visit it the next day with a view of +bringing it nearer home. She had just stepped into the alder fringe of +a dry "run" when she came suddenly upon the figure of a horseman in the +"run," who had been hidden by the alders from the plain beyond and who +seemed to be engaged in examining the hoof marks in the dust of the +old ford. Something about his figure struck her recollection, and as +he looked up quickly she saw it was the owner of the dagger. But +he appeared to be lighter of hair and complexion, and was dressed +differently, and more like a vaquero. Yet there was the same flash of +his teeth as he recognized her, and she knew it was the same man. + +Alas for her preparation! Without the knife she could not make that +haughty return of it which she had contemplated. And more than that, she +was conscious she was blushing! Nevertheless she managed to level her +pretty brown eyebrows at him, and said sharply that if he followed her +to her home she would return his property at once. + +"But I'm in no hurry for it," he said with a laugh,--the same light +laugh and pleasant voice she remembered,--"and I'd rather not come to +the house just now. The knife is in good hands, I know, and I'll call +for it when I want it! And until then--if it's all the same to you--keep +it to yourself,--keep it dark, as dark as the night I lost it!" + +"I don't go about blabbing my affairs," said Lanty indignantly, "and if +it hadn't BEEN dark that night you'd have had your ears boxed--you know +why!" + +The stranger laughed again, waved his hand to Lanty, and galloped away. + +Lanty was a little disappointed. The daylight had taken away some of +her illusions. He was certainly very good-looking, but not quite as +picturesque, mysterious, and thrilling as in the dark! And it was very +queer--he certainly did look darker that night! Who was he? And why +was he lingering near her? He was different from her neighbors--her +admirers. He might be one of those locaters, from the big towns, who +prospect the lands, with a view of settling government warrants on +them,--they were always so secret until they had found what they wanted. +She did not dare to seek information of her friends, for the same reason +that she had concealed his existence from her mother,--it would provoke +awkward questions; and it was evident that he was trusting to her +secrecy, too. The thought thrilled her with a new pride, and was some +compensation for the loss of her more intangible romance. It would +be mighty fine, when he did call openly for his beautiful knife and +declared himself, to have them all know that SHE knew about it all +along. + +When she reached home, to guard against another such surprise she +determined to keep the weapon with her, and, distrusting her pocket, +confided it to the cheap little country-made corset which only for +the last year had confined her budding figure, and which now, perhaps, +heaved with an additional pride. She was quite abstracted during the +rest of the day, and paid but little attention to the gossip of the farm +lads, who were full of a daring raid, two nights before, by the Mexican +gang on the large stock farm of a neighbor. The Vigilant Committee had +been baffled; it was even alleged that some of the smaller ranchmen +and herders were in league with the gang. It was also believed to be a +widespread conspiracy; to have a political complexion in its combination +of an alien race with Southwestern filibusters. The legal authorities +had been reinforced by special detectives from San Francisco. Lanty +seldom troubled herself with these matters; she knew the exaggeration, +she suspected the ignorance of her rural neighbors. She roughly referred +it, in her own vocabulary, to "jaw," a peculiarly masculine quality. But +later in the evening, when the domestic circle in the sitting-room had +been augmented by a neighbor, and Lanty had taken refuge behind her +novel as an excuse for silence, Zob Hopper, the enamored swain of the +previous evening, burst in with more astounding news. A posse of the +sheriff had just passed along the ridge; they had "corraled" part of the +gang, and rescued some of the stock. The leader of the gang had escaped, +but his capture was inevitable, as the roads were stopped. "All the +same, I'm glad to see ye took my advice, Miss Atalanty, and brought in +your filly," he concluded, with an insinuating glance at the young girl. + +But "Miss Atalanty," curling a quarter of an inch of scarlet lip above +the edge of her novel, here "allowed" that if his advice or the filly +had to be "took," she didn't know which was worse. + +"I wonder ye kin talk to sech peartness, Mr. Hopper," said Mrs. Foster +severely; "she ain't got eyes nor senses for anythin' but that book." + +"Talkin' o' what's to be 'took,'" put in the diplomatic neighbor, "you +bet it ain't that Mexican leader! No, sir! he's been 'stopped' before +this--and then got clean away all the same! One o' them detectives got +him once and disarmed him--but he managed to give them the slip, after +all. Why, he's that full o' shifts and disguises thar ain't no spottin' +him. He walked right under the constable's nose oncet, and took a drink +with the sheriff that was arter him--and the blamed fool never knew it. +He kin change even the color of his hair quick as winkin'." + +"Is he a real Mexican,--a regular Greaser?" asked the paternal Foster. +"Cos I never heard that they wuz smart." + +"No! They say he comes o' old Spanish stock, a bad egg they threw outer +the nest, I reckon," put in Hopper eagerly, seeing a strange animated +interest dilating Lanty's eyes, and hoping to share in it; "but he's +reg'lar high-toned, you bet! Why, I knew a man who seed him in his own +camp--prinked out in a velvet jacket and silk sash, with gold chains +and buttons down his wide pants and a dagger stuck in his sash, with a +handle just blazin' with jew'ls. Yes! Miss Atalanty, they say that one +stone at the top--a green stone, what they call an 'em'ral'--was worth +the price o' a 'Frisco house-lot. True ez you live! Eh--what's up now?" + +Lanty's book had fallen on the floor as she was rising to her feet +with a white face, still more strange and distorted in an affected yawn +behind her little hand. "Yer makin' me that sick and nervous with yer +fool yarns," she said hysterically, "that I'm goin' to get a little +fresh air. It's just stifling here with lies and terbacker!" With +another high laugh, she brushed past him into the kitchen, opened the +door, and then paused, and, turning, ran rapidly up to her bedroom. Here +she locked herself in, tore open the bosom of her dress, plucked out +the dagger, threw it on the bed, where the green stone gleamed for an +instant in the candlelight, and then dropped on her knees beside the bed +with her whirling head buried in her cold red hands. + +It had all come to her in a flash, like a blaze of lightning,--the +black, haunting figure on the ridge, the broken saddle girth, the +abandonment of the dagger in the exigencies of flight and concealment; +the second meeting, the skulking in the dry, alder-hidden "run," the +changed dress, the lighter-colored hair, but always the same voice and +laugh--the leader, the fugitive, the Mexican horse-thief! And she, the +Godforsaken fool, the chuckle-headed nigger baby, with not half the +sense of her own filly or that sop-headed Hopper--had never seen it! +She--SHE who would be the laughing-stock of them all--she had thought +him a "locater," a "towny" from 'Frisco! And she had consented to keep +his knife until he would call for it,--yes, call for it, with fire and +flame perhaps, the trampling of hoofs, pistol shots--and--yet-- + +Yet!--he had TRUSTED her. Yes! trusted her when he knew a word from her +lips would have brought the whole district down on him! when the mere +exposure of that dagger would have identified and damned him! Trusted +her a second time, when she was within cry of her house! When he might +have taken her filly without her knowing it? And now she remembered +vaguely that the neighbors had said how strange it was that her father's +stock had not suffered as theirs had. HE had protected them--he who was +now a fugitive--and their men pursuing him! She rose suddenly with a +single stamp of her narrow foot, and as suddenly became cool and sane. +And then, quite her old self again, she lazily picked up the dagger and +restored it to its place in her bosom. That done, with her color back +and her eyes a little brighter, she deliberately went downstairs again, +stuck her little brown head into the sitting-room, said cheerfully, +"Still yawpin', you folks," and quietly passed out into the darkness. + +She ran swiftly up to the ridge, impelled by the blind memory of having +met him there at night and the one vague thought to give him warning. +But it was dark and empty, with no sound but the rushing wind. And then +an idea seized her. If he were haunting the vicinity still, he might see +the fluttering of the clothes upon the line and believe she was there. +She stooped quickly, and in the merciful and exonerating darkness +stripped off her only white petticoat and pinned it on the line. It +flapped, fluttered, and streamed in the mountain wind. She lingered and +listened. But there came a sound she had not counted on,--the clattering +hoofs of not ONE, but many, horses on the lower road! She ran back to +the house to find its inmates already hastening towards the road for +news. She took that chance to slip in quietly, go to her room, whose +window commanded a view of the ridge, and crouching low behind it she +listened. She could hear the sound of voices, and the dull trampling of +heavy boots on the dusty path towards the barnyard on the other side of +the house--a pause, and then the return of the trampling boots, and the +final clattering of hoofs on the road again. Then there was a tap on her +door and her mother's querulous voice. + +"Oh! yer there, are ye? Well--it's the best place fer a girl--with all +these man's doin's goin' on! They've got that Mexican horse-thief and +have tied him up in your filly's stall in the barn--till the 'Frisco +deputy gets back from rounding up the others. So ye jest stay where ye +are till they've come and gone, and we're shut o' all that cattle. Are +ye mindin'?" + +"All right, maw; 'taint no call o' mine, anyhow," returned Lanty, +through the half-open door. + +At another time her mother might have been startled at her passive +obedience. Still more would she have been startled had she seen her +daughter's face now, behind the closed door--with her little mouth set +over her clenched teeth. And yet it was her own child, and Lanty was her +mother's real daughter; the same pioneer blood filled their veins, the +blood that had never nourished cravens or degenerates, but had given +itself to sprinkle and fertilize desert solitudes where man might +follow. Small wonder, then, that this frontier-born Lanty, whose first +infant cry had been answered by the yelp of wolf and scream of panther; +whose father's rifle had been leveled across her cradle to cover the +stealthy Indian who prowled outside, small wonder that she should feel +herself equal to these "man's doin's," and prompt to take a part. For +even in the first shock of the news of the capture she recalled the +fact that the barn was old and rotten, that only that day the filly +had kicked a board loose from behind her stall, which she, Lanty, +had lightly returned to avoid "making a fuss." If his captors had not +noticed it, or trusted only to their guards, she might make the opening +wide enough to free him! + +Two hours later the guard nearest the now sleeping house, a farm hand +of the Fosters', saw his employer's daughter slip out and cautiously +approach him. A devoted slave of Lanty's, and familiar with her +impulses, he guessed her curiosity, and was not averse to satisfy it +and the sense of his own importance. To her whispers of affected, +half-terrified interest, he responded in whispers that the captive was +really in the filly's stall, securely bound by his wrists behind his +back, and his feet "hobbled" to a post. That Lanty couldn't see him, for +it was dark inside, and he was sitting with his back to the wall, as he +couldn't sleep comf'ble lyin' down. Lanty's eyes glowed, but her face +was turned aside. + +"And ye ain't reckonin' his friends will come and rescue him?" said +Lanty, gazing with affected fearfulness in the darkness. + +"Not much! There's two other guards down in the corral, and I'd fire my +gun and bring 'em up." + +But Lanty was gazing open-mouthed towards the ridge. "What's that wavin' +on the ridge?" she said in awe-stricken tones. + +She was pointing to the petticoat,--a vague, distant, moving object +against the horizon. + +"Why, that's some o' the wash on the line, ain't it?" + +"Wash--TWO DAYS IN THE WEEK!" said Lanty sharply. "Wot's gone of you?" + +"Thet's so," muttered the man, "and it wan't there at sundown, I'll +swear! P'r'aps I'd better call the guard," and he raised his rifle. + +"Don't," said Lanty, catching his arm. "Suppose it's nothin', they'll +laugh at ye. Creep up softly and see; ye ain't afraid, are ye? If ye +are, give me yer gun, and I'LL go." + +This settled the question, as Lanty expected. The man cocked his piece, +and bending low began cautiously to mount the acclivity. Lanty waited +until his figure began to fade, and then ran like fire to the barn. + +She had arranged every detail of her plan beforehand. Crouching beside +the wall of the stall she hissed through a crack in thrilling whispers, +"Don't move. Don't speak for your life's sake. Wait till I hand you back +your knife, then do the best you can." Then slipping aside the loosened +board she saw dimly the black outline of curling hair, back, shoulders, +and tied wrists of the captive. Drawing the knife from her pocket, with +two strokes of its keen cutting edge she severed the cords, threw the +knife into the opening, and darted away. Yet in that moment she knew +that the man was instinctively turning towards her. But it was one thing +to free a horse-thief, and another to stop and "philander" with him. + +She ran halfway up the ridge, and met the farm hand returning. It was +only a bit of washing after all, and he was glad he hadn't fired his +gun. On the other hand, Lanty confessed she had got "so skeert" being +alone, that she came to seek him. She had the shivers; wasn't her +hand cold? It was, but thrilling even in its coldness to the bashfully +admiring man. And she was that weak and dizzy, he must let her lean on +his arm going down; and they must go SLOW. She was sure he was cold, +too, and if he would wait at the back door she would give him a drink of +whiskey. Thus Lanty, with her brain afire, her eyes and ears straining +into the darkness, and the vague outline of the barn beyond. Another +moment was protracted over the drink of whiskey, and then Lanty, with a +faint archness, made him promise not to tell her mother of her escapade, +and she promised on her part not to say anything about his "stalking +a petticoat on the clothesline," and then shyly closed the door and +regained her room. HE must have got away by this time, or have been +discovered; she believed they would not open the barn door until the +return of the posse. + +She was right. It was near daybreak when they returned, and, again +crouching low beside her window, she heard, with a fierce joy, the +sudden outcry, the oaths, the wrangling voices, the summoning of her +father to the front door, and then the tumultuous sweeping away again of +the whole posse, and a blessed silence falling over the rancho. And then +Lanty went quietly to bed, and slept like a three-year child! + +Perhaps that was the reason why she was able at breakfast to listen with +lazy and even rosy indifference to the startling events of the night; to +the sneers of the farm hands at the posse who had overlooked the knife +when they searched their prisoner, as well as the stupidity of the +corral guard who had never heard him make a hole "the size of a house" +in the barn side! Once she glanced demurely at Silas Briggs--the farm +hand and the poor fellow felt consoled in his shame at the remembrance +of their confidences. + +But Lanty's tranquillity was not destined to last long. There was again +the irruption of exciting news from the highroad; the Mexican leader had +been recaptured, and was now safely lodged in Brownsville jail! Those +who were previously loud in their praises of the successful horse-thief +who had baffled the vigilance of his pursuers were now equally keen +in their admiration of the new San Francisco deputy who, in turn, had +outwitted the whole gang. It was HE who was fertile in expedients; HE +who had studied the whole country, and even risked his life among the +gang, and HE who had again closed the meshes of the net around the +escaped outlaw. He was already returning by way of the rancho, and might +stop there a moment,--so that they could all see the hero. Such was the +power of success on the country-side! Outwardly indifferent, inwardly +bitter, Lanty turned away. She should not grace his triumph, if she kept +in her room all day! And when there was a clatter of hoofs on the road +again, Lanty slipped upstairs. + +But in a few moments she was summoned. Captain Lance Wetherby, Assistant +Chief of Police of San Francisco, Deputy Sheriff and ex-U. S. scout, +had requested to see Miss Foster a few moments alone. Lanty knew what +it meant,--her secret had been discovered; but she was not the girl to +shirk the responsibility! She lifted her little brown head proudly, and +with the same resolute step with which she had left the house the night +before, descended the stairs and entered the sitting-room. At first she +saw nothing. Then a remembered voice struck her ear; she started, looked +up, and gasping, fell back against the door. It was the stranger who +had given her the dagger, the stranger she had met in the run!--the +horse-thief himself! No! no! she saw it all now--she had cut loose the +wrong man! + +He looked at her with a smile of sadness--as he drew from his +breast-pocket that dreadful dagger, the very sight of which Lanty now +loathed! "This is the SECOND time, Miss Foster," he said gently, "that +I have taken this knife from Murietta, the Mexican bandit: once when I +disarmed him three weeks ago, and he escaped, and last night, when he +had again escaped and I recaptured him. After I lost it that night I +understood from you that you had found it and were keeping it for me." +He paused a moment and went on: "I don't ask you what happened last +night. I don't condemn you for it; I can believe what a girl of your +courage and sympathy might rightly do if her pity were excited; I only +ask--why did you give HIM back that knife I trusted you with?" + +"Why? Why did I?" burst out Lanty in a daring gush of truth, scorn, and +temper. "BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU WERE THAT HORSE-THIEF. There!" + +He drew back astonished, and then suddenly came that laugh that Lanty +remembered and now hailed with joy. "I believe you, by Jove!" he gasped. +"That first night I wore the disguise in which I have tracked him and +mingled with his gang. Yes! I see it all now--and more. I see that to +YOU I owe his recapture!" + +"To me!" echoed the bewildered girl; "how?" + +"Why, instead of making for his cave he lingered here in the confines of +the ranch! He thought you were in love with him, because you freed him +and gave him his knife, and stayed to see you!" + +But Lanty had her apron to her eyes, whose first tears were filling +their velvet depths. And her voice was broken as she said,-- + +"Then he--cared--a--good deal more for me--than some people!" + +But there is every reason to believe that Lanty was wrong! At least +later events that are part of the history of Foster's Rancho and the +Foster family pointed distinctly to the contrary. + + + + +AN ALI BABA OF THE SIERRAS + + +Johnny Starleigh found himself again late for school. It was always +happening. It seemed to be inevitable with the process of going to +school at all. And it was no fault "o' his." Something was always +occurring,--some eccentricity of Nature or circumstance was invariably +starting up in his daily path to the schoolroom. He may not have been +"thinkin' of squirrels," and yet the rarest and most evasive of that +species were always crossing his trail; he may not have been "huntin' +honey," and yet a wild bees' nest in the hollow of an oak absolutely +obtruded itself before him; he wasn't "bird-catchin'," and yet there was +a yellow-hammer always within stone's throw. He had heard how grown men +hunters always saw the most wonderful animals when they "hadn't got +a gun with 'em," and it seemed to be his lot to meet them in his +restricted possibilities on the way to school. If Nature was thus +capricious with his elders, why should folk think it strange if she was +as mischievous with a small boy? + +On this particular morning Johnny had been beguiled by the unmistakable +footprints--so like his own!--of a bear's cub. What chances he had of +ever coming up with them, or what he would have done if he had, he did +not know. He only knew that at the end of an hour and a half he found +himself two miles from the schoolhouse, and, from the position of the +sun, at least an hour too late for school. He knew that nobody would +believe him. The punishment for complete truancy was little worse than +for being late. He resolved to accept it, and by way of irrevocability +at once burnt his ships behind him--in devouring part of his dinner. + +Thus fortified in his outlawry, he began to look about him. He was on a +thickly wooded terrace with a blank wall of "outcrop" on one side nearly +as high as the pines which pressed close against it. He had never seen +it before; it was two or three miles from the highroad and seemed to be +a virgin wilderness. But on close examination he could see, with the +eye of a boy bred in a mining district, that the wall of outcrop had not +escaped the attention of the mining prospector. There were marks of his +pick in some attractive quartz seams of the wall, and farther on, a more +ambitious attempt, evidently by a party of miners, to begin a tunnel, +shown in an abandoned excavation and the heap of debris before it. It +had evidently been abandoned for some time, as ferns already forced +their green fronds through the stones and gravel, and the yerba buena +vine was beginning to mat the surface of the heap. But the boy's fancy +was quickly taken by the traces of a singular accident, and one which +had perhaps arrested the progress of the excavators. The roots of a +large pine-tree growing close to the wall had been evidently loosened by +the excavators, and the tree had fallen, with one of its largest roots +still in the opening the miners had made, and apparently blocking the +entrance. The large tree lay, as it fell--midway across another but much +smaller outcrop of rock which stood sharply about fifteen feet above +the level of the terrace--with its gaunt, dead limbs in the air at a low +angle. To Johnny's boyish fancy it seemed so easily balanced on the rock +that but for its imprisoned root it would have made a capital see-saw. +This he felt must be looked to hereafter. But here his attention was +arrested by something more alarming. His quick ear, attuned like an +animal's to all woodland sounds, detected the crackling of underwood +in the distance. His equally sharp eye saw the figures of two men +approaching. But as he recognized the features of one of them he drew +back with a beating heart, a hushed breath, and hurriedly hid himself in +the shadow. For he had seen that figure once before--flying before +the sheriff and an armed posse--and had never forgotten it! It was the +figure of Spanish Pete, a notorious desperado and sluice robber! + +Finding he had been unobserved, the boy took courage, and his +small faculties became actively alive. The two men came on together +cautiously, and at a little distance the second man, whom Johnny did not +know, parted from his companion and began to loiter up and down, looking +around as if acting as a sentinel for the desperado, who advanced +directly to the fallen tree. Suddenly the sentinel uttered an +exclamation, and Spanish Pete paused. The sentinel was examining the +ground near the heap of debris. + +"What's up?" growled the desperado. + +"Foot tracks! Weren't here before. And fresh ones, too." + +Johnny's heart sank. It was where he had just passed. + +Spanish Pete hurriedly joined his companion. + +"Foot tracks be ----!" he said scornfully. "What fool would be crawlin' +round here barefooted? It's a young b'ar!" + +Johnny knew the footprints were his own. Yet he recognized the truth +of the resemblance; it was uncomplimentary, but he felt relieved. The +desperado came forward, and to the boy's surprise began to climb the +small ridge of outcrop until he reached the fallen tree. Johnny saw that +he was carrying a heavy stone. "What's the blamed fool goin' to do?" he +said to himself; the man's evident ignorance regarding footprints +had lessened the boy's awe of him. But the stranger's next essay took +Johnny's breath away. Standing on the fallen tree trunk at its axis on +the outcrop, he began to rock it gently. To Johnny's surprise it +began to move. The upper end descended slowly, lifting the root in the +excavation at the lower end, and with it a mass of rock, and revealing a +cavern behind large enough to admit a man. Johnny gasped. The desperado +coolly deposited the heavy stone on the tree beyond its axis on the +rock, so that it would keep the tree in position, leaped from the tree +to the rock, and quickly descended, at which he was joined by the +other man, who was carrying two heavy chamois-leather bags. They both +proceeded to the opening thus miraculously disclosed, and disappeared in +it. + +Johnny sat breathless, wondering, expectant, but not daring to move. The +men might come out at any moment; he had seen enough to know that their +enterprise as well as their cave was a secret, and that the desperado +would subject any witness to it, however innocent or unwilling, to +horrible penalties. The time crept slowly by,--he heard every rap of a +woodpecker in a distant tree; a blue jay dipped and lighted on a branch +within his reach, but he dared not extend his hand; his legs were +infested by ants; he even fancied he heard the dry, hollow rattle of a +rattlesnake not a yard from him. And then the entrance of the cave +was darkened, and the two men reappeared. Johnny stared. He would have +rubbed his eyes if he had dared. They were not the same men! Did the +cave contain others who had been all the while shut up in its dark +recesses? Was there a band? Would they all swarm out upon him? Should he +run for his life? + +But the illusion was only momentary. A longer look at them convinced +him that they were the same men in new clothes and disguised, and as one +remounted the outcrop Johnny's keen eyes recognized him as Spanish Pete. +He merely kicked away the stone; the root again descended gently over +the opening, and the tree recovered its former angle. The two hurried +away, but Johnny noticed that they were empty-handed. The bags had been +left behind. + +The boy waited patiently, listening with his ear to the ground, like an +Indian, for the last rustle of fern and crackle of underbrush, and +then emerged, stiff and cramped from his concealment. But he no longer +thought of flight; curiosity and ambition burned in his small veins. He +quickly climbed up the outcrop, picked up the fallen stone, and in spite +of its weight lifted it to the prostrate tree. Here he paused, and from +his coign of vantage looked and listened. The solitude was profound. +Then mounting the tree and standing over its axis he tried to rock it as +the others had. Alas! Johnny's heart was stout, his courage unlimited, +his perception all-embracing, his ambition boundless; but his actual +avoirdupois was only that of a boy of ten. The tree did not move. But +Johnny had played see-saw before, and quietly moved towards its highest +part. It slowly descended under the changed centre of gravity, and the +root arose, disclosing the opening as before. Yet here the little hero +paused. He waited with his eyes fixed on the opening, ready to fly on +the sallying out of any one who had remained concealed. He then placed +the stone where he had stood, leaped down, and ran to the opening. + +The change from the dazzling sunlight to the darkness confused him at +first, and he could see nothing. On entering he stumbled over something +which proved to be a bottle in which a candle was fitted, and a box of +matches evidently used by the two men. Lighting the candle he could now +discern that the cavern was only a few yards long, the beginning of a +tunnel which the accident to the tree had stopped. In one corner lay the +clothes that the men had left, and which for a moment seemed all that +the cavern contained, but on removing them Johnny saw that they were +thrown over a rifle, a revolver, and the two chamois-leather bags +that the men had brought there. They were so heavy that the boy +could scarcely lift them. His face flushed; his hands trembled with +excitement. To a boy whose truant wanderings had given him a fair +knowledge of mining, he knew that weight could have but one meaning! +Gold! He hurriedly untied the nearest bag. But it was not the gold of +the locality, of the tunnel, of the "bed rock"! It was "flake gold," +the gold of the river! It had been taken from the miners' sluices in +the distant streams. The bags before him were the spoils of the sluice +robber,--spoils that could not be sold or even shown in the district +without danger, spoils kept until they could be taken to Marysville or +Sacramento for disposal. All this might have occurred to the mind of any +boy of the locality who had heard the common gossip of his elders, but +to Johnny's fancy an idea was kindled peculiarly his own! Here was a +cavern like that of the "Forty Thieves" in the story book, and he was +the "Ali Baba" who knew its secret! He was not obliged to say "Open +Sesame," but he could say it if he liked, if he was showing it off to +anybody! + +Yet alas he also knew it was a secret he must keep to himself. He had +nobody to trust it to. His father was a charcoal-burner of small means; +a widower with two children, Johnny and his elder brother Sam. The +latter, a flagrant incorrigible of twenty-two, with a tendency to +dissipation and low company, had lately abandoned his father's roof, +only to reappear at intervals of hilarious or maudlin intoxication. +He had always been held up to Johnny as a warning, or with the gloomy +prognosis that he, Johnny, was already following in his tortuous +footsteps. Even if he were here he was not to be thought of as a +confidant. Still less could he trust his father, who would be sure to +bungle the secret with sheriffs and constables, and end by bringing down +the vengeance of the gang upon the family. As for himself, he could not +dispose of the gold if he were to take it. The exhibition of a single +flake of it to the adult public would arouse suspicion, and as it was +Johnny's hard fate to be always doubted, he might be connected with the +gang. As a truant he knew he had no moral standing, but he also had +the superstition--quite characteristic of childhood--that being in +possession of a secret he was a participant in its criminality--and +bound, as it were, by terrible oaths! And then a new idea seized him. +He carefully put back everything as he had found it, extinguished the +candle, left the cave, remounted the tree, and closed the opening again +as he had seen the others do it, with the addition of murmuring "Shut +Sesame" to himself, and then ran away as fast as his short legs could +carry him. + +Well clear of the dangerous vicinity, he proceeded more leisurely for +about a mile, until he came to a low whitewashed fence, inclosing a +small cultivated patch and a neat farmhouse beyond. Here he paused, +and, cowering behind the fence, with extraordinary facial contortions +produced a cry not unlike the scream of a blue jay. Repeating it at +intervals, he was presently relieved by observing the approach of a +nankeen sunbonnet within the inclosure above the line of fence. Stopping +before him, the sun-bonnet revealed a rosy little face, more than +usually plump on one side, and a neck enormously wrapped in a scarf. It +was "Meely" (Amelia) Stryker, a schoolmate, detained at home by "mumps," +as Johnny was previously aware. For, with the famous indiscretion of +some other great heroes, he was about to intrust his secret and his +destiny to one of the weaker sex. And what were the minor possibilities +of contagion to this? + +"Playin' hookey ag'in?" said the young lady, with a cordial and even +expansive smile, exclusively confined to one side of her face. + +"Um! So'd you be ef you'd bin whar I hev," he said with harrowing +mystery. + +"No!--say!" said Meely eagerly. + +At which Johnny, clutching at the top of the fence, with hurried breath +told his story. But not all. With the instinct of a true artist he +withheld the manner in which the opening of the cave was revealed, said +nothing about the tree, and, I grieve to say, added the words "Open +Sesame" as the important factor to the operation. Neither did he mention +the name of Spanish Pete. For all of which he was afterwards duly +grateful. + +"Meet me at the burnt pine down the crossroads at four o'clock," he said +in conclusion, "and I'll show ye." + +"Why not now?" said Meely impatiently. + +"Couldn't. Much as my life is worth! Must keep watching out! You come at +four." + +And with an assuring nod he released the fence and trotted off. He +returned cautiously in the direction of the cave; he was by no means +sure that the robbers might not return that day, and his mysterious +rendezvous with Meely veiled a certain prudence. And it was well! For as +he stealthily crept around the face of the outcrop, hidden in the ferns, +he saw from the altered angle of the tree that the cavern was opened. +He remained motionless, with bated breath. Then he heard the sound of +subdued voices from the cavern, and a figure emerged from the opening. +Johnny grasped the ferns rigidly to check the dreadful cry that rose to +his lips at its sight. For that figure was his own brother! + +There was no mistaking that weak, wicked face, even then flushed with +liquor! Johnny had seen it too often thus. But never before as a thief's +face! He gave a little gasp, and fell back upon that strange reserve of +apathy and reticence in which children are apt to hide their emotions +from us at such a moment. He watched impassively the two other men who +followed his brother out to give him a small bag and some instructions, +and then returned within their cave, while his brother walked quickly +away. He watched him disappear; he did not move, for even if he had +followed him he could not bear to face him in his shame. And then out of +his sullen despair came a boyish idea of revenge. It was those two men +who had made his brother a thief! + +He was very near the tree. He crept stealthily on his hands and knees +through the bracken, and as stealthily climbed the wedge of outcrop, +and then leaped like a wild cat on the tree. With incredible activity he +lifted the balancing stone, and as the tree began to move, in a flash +of perception transferred it to the other side of its axis, and felt +the roots and debris, under that additional weight, descend quickly with +something like a crash over the opening. Then he took to his heels. He +ran so swiftly that all unknowingly he overtook a figure, who, turning, +glanced at him, and then disappeared in the wood. It was his second and +last view of his brother, as he never saw him again! + +But now, strange to say, the crucial and most despairing moment of his +day's experience had come. He had to face Meely Stryker under the burnt +pine, and the promise he could not keep, and to tell her that he had +lied to her. It was the only way to save his brother now! His small +wits, and alas! his smaller methods, were equal to the despairing task. +As soon as he saw her waiting under the tree he fell to capering and +dancing with an extravagance in which hysteria had no small part. "Sold! +sold! sold again, and got the money!" he laughed shrilly. + +The girl looked at him with astonishment, which changed gradually to +scorn, and then to anger. Johnny's heart sank, but he redoubled his +antics. + +"Who's sold?" she said disdainfully. + +"You be. You swallered all that stuff about Ali Baba! You wanted to be +Morgy Anna! Ho! ho! And I've made you play hookey--from home!" + +"You hateful, horrid, little liar!" + +Johnny accepted his punishment meekly--in his heart gratefully. "I +reckoned you'd laugh and not get mad," he said submissively. The girl +turned, with tears of rage and vexation in her eyes, and walked away. +Johnny followed at a humble distance. Perhaps there was something +instinctively touching in the boy's remorse, for they made it up before +they reached her fence. + +Nevertheless Johnny went home miserable. Luckily for him, his father was +absent at a Vigilance Committee called to take cognizance of the late +sluice robberies, and although this temporarily concealed his offense +of truancy, the news of the vigilance meeting determined him to keep +his lips sealed. He lay all night wondering how long it would take the +robbers to dig themselves out of the cave, and whether they suspected +their imprisonment was the work of an enemy or only an accident. For +several days he avoided the locality, and even feared the vengeful +appearance of Spanish Pete some night at his father's house. It was +not until the end of a fortnight that he had the courage to revisit the +spot. The tree was in its normal position, but immovable, and a great +quantity of fresh debris at the mouth of the cave convinced him that the +robbers, after escaping, had abandoned it as unsafe. His brother did not +return, and either the activity of the Vigilance Committee or the lack +of a new place of rendezvous seemed to have dispersed the robbers from +the locality, for they were not heard of again. + +The next ten years brought an improvement to Mr. Starleigh's fortunes. +Johnny Starleigh, then a student at San Jose, one morning found a +newspaper clipping in a letter from Miss Amelia Stryker. It read as +follows: "The excavators in the new tunnel in Heavystone Ridge lately +discovered the skeletons of two unknown men, who had evidently been +crushed and entombed some years previously, by the falling of a large +tree over the mouth of their temporary refuge. From some river gold +found with them, they were supposed to be part of the gang of sluice +robbers who infested the locality some years ago, and were hiding from +the Vigilants." + +For a few days thereafter Johnny Starleigh was thoughtful and reserved, +but he did not refer to the paragraph in answering the letter. He +decided to keep it for later confidences, when Miss Stryker should +become Mrs. Starleigh. + + + + +MISS PEGGY'S PROTEGES + + +The string of Peggy's sunbonnet had become untied--so had her right +shoe. These were not unusual accidents to a country girl of ten, but as +both of her hands were full she felt obliged to put down what she was +carrying. This was further complicated by the nature of her burden--a +half-fledged shrike and a baby gopher--picked up in her walk. It was +impossible to wrap them both in her apron without serious peril to one +or the other; she could not put either down without the chance of its +escaping. "It's like that dreadful riddle of the ferryman who had to +take the wolf and the sheep in his boat," said Peggy to herself, "though +I don't believe anybody was ever so silly as to want to take a wolf +across the river." But, looking up, she beheld the approach of Sam +Bedell, a six-foot tunnelman of the "Blue Cement Lead," and, hailing +him, begged him to hold one of her captives. The giant, loathing the +little mouse-like ball of fur, chose the shrike. "Hold him by the feet, +for he bites AWFUL," said Peggy, as the bird regarded Sam with the +diabolically intense frown of his species. Then, dropping the gopher +unconcernedly in her pocket, she proceeded to rearrange her toilet. The +tunnelman waited patiently until Peggy had secured the nankeen sunbonnet +around her fresh but freckled cheeks, and, with a reckless display +of yellow flannel petticoat and stockings like peppermint sticks, had +double-knotted her shoestrings viciously when he ventured to speak. + +"Same old game, Peggy? Thought you'd got rather discouraged with your +'happy family,' arter that new owl o' yours had gathered 'em in." + +Peggy's cheek flushed slightly at this ungracious allusion to a former +collection of hers, which had totally disappeared one evening after the +introduction of a new member in the shape of a singularly venerable and +peaceful-looking horned owl. + +"I could have tamed HIM, too," said Peggy indignantly, "if Ned Myers, +who gave him to me, hadn't been training him to ketch things, and never +let on anything about it to me. He was a reg'lar game owl!" + +"And wot are ye goin' to do with the Colonel here?" said Sam, indicating +under that gallant title the infant shrike, who, with his claws deeply +imbedded in Sam's finger, was squatting like a malignant hunchback, and +resisting his transfer to Peggy. "Won't HE make it rather lively for the +others? He looks pow'ful discontented for one so young." + +"That's his nater," said Peggy promptly. "Jess wait till I tame him. +Ef he'd been left along o' his folks, he'd grow up like 'em. He's a +'butcher bird'--wot they call a 'nine-killer '--kills nine birds a day! +Yes! True ez you live! Sticks 'em up on thorns outside his nest, jest +like a butcher's shop, till he gets hungry. I've seen 'em!" + +"And how do you kalkilate to tame him?" asked Sam. + +"By being good to him and lovin' him," said Peggy, stroking the head of +the bird with infinite gentleness. + +"That means YOU'VE got to do all the butchering for him?" said the +cynical Sam. + +Peggy shook her head, disdaining a verbal reply. + +"Ye can't bring him up on sugar and crackers, like a Polly," persisted +Sam. + +"Ye ken do anythin' with critters, if you ain't afeerd of 'em and love +'em," said Peggy shyly. + +The tall tunnelman, looking down into the depths of Peggy's sunbonnet, +saw something in the round blue eyes and grave little mouth that made +him think so too. But here Peggy's serious little face took a shade of +darker concern as her arm went down deeper into her pocket, and her eyes +got rounder. + +"It's--it's--BURRERED OUT!" she said breathlessly. + +The giant leaped briskly to one side. "Hol' on," said Peggy +abstractedly. With infinite gravity she followed, with her fingers, a +seam of her skirt down to the hem, popped them quickly under it, and +produced, with a sigh of relief, the missing gopher. + +"You'll do," said Sam, in fearful admiration. "Mebbe you'll make suthin' +out o' the Colonel too. But I never took stock in that there owl. He +was too durned self-righteous for a decent bird. Now, run along afore +anythin' else fetches loose ag'in. So long!" + +He patted the top of her sunbonnet, gave a little pull to the short +brown braid that hung behind her temptingly,--which no miner was ever +known to resist,--and watched her flutter off with her spoils. He had +done so many times before, for the great, foolish heart of the Blue +Cement Ridge had gone out to Peggy Baker, the little daughter of the +blacksmith, quite early. There were others of the family, notably +two elder sisters, invincible at picnics and dances, but Peggy was as +necessary to these men as the blue jay that swung before them in the +dim woods, the squirrel that whisked across their morning path, or the +woodpecker who beat his tattoo at their midday meal from the hollow +pine above them. She was part of the nature that kept them young. Her +truancies and vagrancies concerned them not: she was a law to herself, +like the birds and squirrels. There were bearded lips to hail her +wherever she went, and a blue or red-shirted arm always stretched out in +any perilous pass or dangerous crossing. + +Her peculiar tastes were an outcome of her nature, assisted by her +surroundings. Left a good deal to herself in her infancy, she made +playfellows of animated nature around her, without much reference to +selection or fitness, but always with a fearlessness that was the result +of her own observation, and unhampered by tradition or other children's +timidity. She had no superstition regarding the venom of toads, the +poison of spiders, or the ear-penetrating capacity of earwigs. She had +experiences and revelations of her own,--which she kept sacredly to +herself, as children do,--and one was in regard to a rattlesnake, partly +induced, however, by the indiscreet warning of her elders. She was +cautioned NOT to take her bread and milk into the woods, and was told +the affecting story of the little girl who was once regularly visited by +a snake that partook of HER bread and milk, and who was ultimately found +rapping the head of the snake for gorging more than his share, and not +"taking a 'poon as me do." It is needless to say that this incautious +caution fired Peggy's adventurous spirit. SHE took a bowlful of milk to +the haunt of a "rattler" near her home, but, without making the pretense +of sharing it, generously left the whole to the reptile. After repeating +this hospitality for three or four days, she was amazed one morning on +returning to the house to find the snake--an elderly one with a dozen +rattles--devotedly following her. Alarmed, not for her own safety nor +that of her family, but for the existence of her grateful friend in +danger of the blacksmith's hammer, she took a circuitous route leading +it away. Then recalling a bit of woodland lore once communicated to her +by a charcoal-burner, she broke a spray of the white ash, and laid it +before her in the track of the rattlesnake. He stopped instantly, and +remained motionless without crossing the slight barrier. She repeated +this experiment on later occasions, until the reptile understood her. +She kept the experience to herself, but one day it was witnessed by a +tunnelman. On that day Peggy's reputation was made! + +From this time henceforth the major part of Blue Cement Ridge became +serious collectors for what was known as "Peggy's menagerie," and two +of the tunnelmen constructed a stockaded inclosure--not half a mile +from the blacksmith's cabin, but unknown to him--for the reception of +specimens. For a long time its existence was kept a secret between Peggy +and her loyal friends. Her parents, aware of her eccentric tastes only +through the introduction of such smaller creatures as lizards, toads, +and tarantulas into their house,--which usually escaped from their tin +cans and boxes and sought refuge in the family slippers,--had frowned +upon her zoological studies. Her mother found that her woodland rambles +entailed an extraordinary wear and tear of her clothing. A pinafore +reduced to ribbons by a young fox, and a straw hat half swallowed by a +mountain kid, did not seem to be a natural incident to an ordinary +walk to the schoolhouse. Her sisters thought her tastes "low," and +her familiar association with the miners inconsistent with their own +dignity. But Peggy went regularly to school, was a fair scholar in +elementary studies (what she knew of natural history, in fact, quite +startled her teachers), and being also a teachable child, was allowed +some latitude. As for Peggy herself, she kept her own faith unshaken; +her little creed, whose shibboleth was not "to be afraid" of God's +creatures, but to "love 'em," sustained her through reprimand, torn +clothing, and, it is to be feared, occasional bites and scratches from +the loved ones themselves. + +The unsuspected contiguity of the "menagerie" to the house had its +drawbacks, and once nearly exposed her. A mountain wolf cub, brought +especially for her from the higher northern Sierras with great trouble +and expense by Jack Ryder, of the Lone Star Lead, unfortunately escaped +from the menagerie just as the child seemed to be in a fair way of +taming it. Yet it had been already familiarized enough with civilization +to induce it to stop in its flight and curiously examine the +blacksmith's shop. A shout from the blacksmith and a hurled hammer sent +it flying again, with Mr. Baker and his assistant in full pursuit. But +it quickly distanced them with its long, tireless gallop, and they were +obliged to return to the forge, lost in wonder and conjecture. For the +blacksmith had recognized it as a stranger to the locality, and as a +man of oracular pretension had a startling theory to account for its +presence. This he confided to the editor of the local paper, and the +next issue contained an editorial paragraph: "Our presage of a severe +winter in the higher Sierras, and consequent spring floods in the +valleys, has been startlingly confirmed! Mountain wolves have been +seen in Blue Cement Ridge, and our esteemed fellow citizen, Mr. Ephraim +Baker, yesterday encountered a half-starved cub entering his premises in +search of food. Mr. Baker is of the opinion that the mother of the +cub, driven down by stress of weather, was in the immediate vicinity." +Nothing but the distress of the only responsible mother of the cub, +Peggy, and loyalty to her, kept Jack Ryder from exposing the absurdity +publicly, but for weeks the camp fires of Blue Cement Ridge shook with +the suppressed and unhallowed joy of the miners, who were in the guilty +secret. + +But, fortunately for Peggy, the most favored of her cherished +possessions was not obliged to be kept secret. That one exception was +an Indian dog! This was also a gift, and had been procured with great +"difficulty" by a "packer" from an Indian encampment on the Oregon +frontier. The "difficulty" was, in plain English, that it had been +stolen from the Indians at some peril to the stealer's scalp. It was +a mongrel to all appearances, of no recognized breed or outward +significance, yet of a quality distinctly its own. It was absolutely and +totally uncivilized. Whether this was a hereditary trait, or the result +of degeneracy, no one knew. It refused to enter a house; it would not +stay in a kennel. It would not eat in public, but gorged ravenously +and stealthily in the shadows. It had the slink of a tramp, and in its +patched and mottled hide seemed to simulate the rags of a beggar. It had +the tirelessness without the affected limp of a coyote. Yet it had none +of the ferocity of barbarians. With teeth that could gnaw through the +stoutest rope and toughest lariat, it never bared them in anger. It +was cringing without being amiable or submissive; it was gentle without +being affectionate. + +Yet almost insensibly it began to yield to Peggy's faith and kindness. +Gradually it seemed to single her out as the one being in this vast +white-faced and fully clothed community that it could trust. It +presently allowed her to half drag, half lead it to and fro from school, +although on the approach of a stranger it would bite through the rope +or frantically endeavor to efface itself in Peggy's petticoats. It was +trying, even to the child's sweet gravity, to face the ridicule excited +by its appearance on the road; and its habit of carrying its tail +between its legs--at such an inflexible curve that, on the authority +of Sam Bedell, a misstep caused it to "turn a back somersault"--was +painfully disconcerting. But Peggy endured this, as she did the greater +dangers of the High Street in the settlement, where she had often, at +her own risk, absolutely to drag the dazed and bewildered creature from +under the wheels of carts and the heels of horses. But this shyness +wore off--or rather was eventually lost in the dog's complete and utter +absorption in Peggy. His limited intelligence and imperfect perceptions +were excited for her alone. His singularly keen scent detected her +wherever or how remote she might be. Her passage along a "blind trail," +her deviations from the school path, her more distant excursions, +were all mysteriously known to him. It seemed as if his senses were +concentrated in this one faculty. No matter how unexpected or unfamiliar +the itinerary, "Lo, the poor Indian"--as the men had nicknamed him (in +possible allusion to his "untutored mind")--always arrived promptly and +silently. + +It was to this singular faculty that Peggy owed one of her strangest +experiences. One Saturday afternoon she was returning from an errand to +the village when she was startled by the appearance of Lo in her path. +For the reason already given, she no longer took him with her to these +active haunts of civilization, but had taught him on such occasions to +remain as a guard outside the stockade which contained her treasures. +After reading him a severe lecture on this flagrant abandonment of his +trust, enforced with great seriousness and an admonitory forefinger, +she was concerned to see that the animal appeared less agitated by her +reproof than by some other disturbance. He ran ahead of her, instead +of at her heels, as was his usual custom, and barked--a thing he rarely +did. Presently she thought she discovered the cause of this in the +appearance from the wood of a dozen men armed with guns. They seemed to +be strangers, but among them she recognized the deputy sheriff of the +settlement. The leader noticed her, and, after a word or two with the +others, the deputy approached her. + +"You and Lo had better be scooting home by the highroad, outer this--or +ye might get hurt," he said, half playfully, half seriously. + +Peggy looked fearlessly at the men and their guns. + +"Look ez ef you was huntin'?" she said curiously. + +"We are!" said the leader. + +"Wot you huntin'?" + +The deputy glanced at the others. "B'ar!" he replied. + +"Ba'r!" repeated the child with the quick resentment which a palpable +falsehood always provoked in her. "There ain't no b'ar in ten miles! See +yourself huntin' b'ar! Ho!" + +The man laughed. "Never you mind, missy," said the deputy, "you trot +along!" He laid his hand very gently on her head, faced her sunbonnet +towards the near highway, gave the usual parting pull to her brown +pigtail, added, "Make a bee-line home," and turned away. + +Lo uttered the first growl known in his history. Whereat Peggy said, +with lofty forbearance, "Serve you jest right ef I set my dog on you." + +But force is no argument, and Peggy felt this truth even of herself and +Lo. So she trotted away. Nevertheless, Lo showed signs of hesitation. +After a few moments Peggy herself hesitated and looked back. The men +had spread out under the trees, and were already lost in the woods. But +there was more than one trail through it, and Peggy knew it. + +And here an alarming occurrence startled her. A curiously striped brown +and white squirrel whisked past her and ran up a tree. Peggy's round +eyes became rounder. There was but one squirrel of that kind in all the +length and breadth of Blue Cement Ridge, and that was in the menagerie! +Even as she looked it vanished. Peggy faced about and ran back to the +road in the direction of the stockade, Lo bounding before her. But +another surprise awaited her. There was the clutter of short wings +under the branches, and the sunlight flashed upon the iris throat of a +wood-duck as it swung out of sight past her. But in this single +glance Peggy recognized one of the latest and most precious of her +acquisitions. There was no mistake now! With a despairing little cry to +Lo, "The menagerie's broke loose!" she ran like the wind towards it. She +cared no longer for the mandate of the men; the trail she had taken was +out of their sight; they were proceeding so slowly and cautiously that +she and Lo quickly distanced them in the same direction. She would have +yet time to reach the stockade and secure what was left of her treasures +before they came up and drove her away. Yet she had to make a long +circuit to avoid the blacksmith's shop and cabin, before she saw the +stockade, lifting its four-foot walls around an inclosure a dozen feet +square, in the midst of a manzanita thicket. But she could see also +broken coops, pens, cages, and boxes lying before it, and stopped once, +even in her grief and indignation, to pick up a ruby-throated lizard, +one of its late inmates that had stopped in the trail, stiffened to +stone at her approach. The next moment she was before the roofless +walls, and then stopped, stiffened like the lizard. For out of that +peaceful ruin which had once held the wild and untamed vagabonds of +earth and sky, arose a type of savagery and barbarism the child had +never before looked upon,--the head and shoulders of a hunted, desperate +man! + +His head was bare, and his hair matted with sweat over his forehead; his +face was unshorn, and the black roots of his beard showed against the +deadly pallor of his skin, except where it was scratched by thorns, +or where the red spots over his cheek bones made his cheeks look as +if painted. His eyes were as insanely bright, he panted as quickly, he +showed his white teeth as perpetually, his movements were as convulsive, +as those captured animals she had known. Yet he did not attempt to fly, +and it was only when, with a sudden effort and groan of pain, he half +lifted himself above the stockade, that she saw that his leg, bandaged +with his cravat and handkerchief, stained a dull red, dragged helplessly +beneath him. He stared at her vacantly for a moment, and then looked +hurriedly into the wood behind her. + +The child was more interested than frightened, and more curious than +either. She had grasped the situation at a glance. It was the hunted and +the hunters. Suddenly he started and reached for his rifle, which he had +apparently set down outside when he climbed into the stockade. He had +just caught sight of a figure emerging from the wood at a distance. But +the weapon was out of his reach. + +"Hand me that gun!" he said roughly. + +But Peggy did not stir. The figure came more plainly and quite +unconsciously into full view, an easy shot at that distance. + +The man uttered a horrible curse, and turned a threatening face on +the child. But Peggy had seen something like that in animals SHE had +captured. She only said gravely,-- + +"Ef you shoot that gun you'll bring 'em all down on you!" + +"All?" he demanded. + +"Yes! a dozen folks with guns like yours," said Peggy. "You jest crouch +down and lie low. Don't move! Watch me." + +The man dropped below the stockade. Peggy ran swiftly towards the +unsuspecting figure, evidently the leader of the party, but deviated +slightly to snatch a tiny spray from a white-ash tree. She never knew +that in that brief interval the wounded man, after a supreme effort, had +possessed himself of his weapon, and for a moment had covered HER with +its deadly muzzle. She ran on fearlessly until she saw that she had +attracted the attention of the leader, when she stopped and began to +wave the white-ash wand before her. The leader halted, conferred with +some one behind him, who proved to be the deputy sheriff. Stepping out +he advanced towards Peggy, and called sharply, + +"I told you to get out of this! Come, be quick!" + +"You'd better get out yourself," said Peggy, waving her ash spray, "and +quicker, too." + +The deputy stopped, staring at the spray. "Wot's up?" + +"Rattlers." + +"Where?" + +"Everywhere round ye--a reg'lar nest of 'em! That's your way round!" She +pointed to the right, and again began beating the underbrush with her +wand. The men had, meantime, huddled together in consultation. It was +evident that the story of Peggy and her influence on rattlesnakes was +well known, and, in all probability, exaggerated. After a pause, the +whole party filed off to the right, making a long circuit of the unseen +stockade, and were presently lost in the distance. Peggy ran back to the +fugitive. The fire of savagery and desperation in his eyes had gone out, +but had been succeeded by a glazing film of faintness. + +"Can you--get me--some water?" he whispered. + +The stockade was near a spring,--a necessity for the menagerie. Peggy +brought him water in a dipper. She sighed a little; her "butcher +bird"--now lost forever--had been the last to drink from it! + +The water seemed to revive him. "The rattlesnakes scared the cowards," +he said, with an attempt to smile. "Were there many rattlers?" + +"There wasn't ANY," said Peggy, a little spitefully, "'cept YOU--a +two-legged rattler!" + +The rascal grinned at the compliment. + +"ONE-legged, you mean," he said, indicating his helpless limb. + +Peggy's heart relented slightly. "Wot you goin' to do now?" she said. +"You can't stay on THERE, you know. It b'longs to ME!" She was generous, +but practical. + +"Were those things I fired out yours?" + +"Yes." + +"Mighty rough of me." + +Peggy was slightly softened. "Kin you walk?" + +"No." + +"Kin you crawl?" + +"Not as far as a rattler." + +"Ez far ez that clearin'?" + +"Yes." + +"There's a hoss tethered out in that clearin'. I kin shift him to this +end." + +"You're white all through," said the man gravely. + +Peggy ran off to the clearing. The horse belonged to Sam Bedell, but +he had given Peggy permission to ride it whenever she wished. This was +equivalent, in Peggy's mind, to a permission to PLACE him where she +wished. She consequently led him to a point nearest the stockade, and, +thoughtfully, close beside a stump. But this took some time, and when +she arrived she found the fugitive already there, very thin and weak, +but still smiling. + +"Ye kin turn him loose when you get through with him; he'll find his way +back," said Peggy. "Now I must go." + +Without again looking at the man, she ran back to the stockade. Then she +paused until she heard the sound of hoofs crossing the highway in the +opposite direction from which the pursuers had crossed, and knew that +the fugitive had got away. Then she took the astonished and still +motionless lizard from her pocket, and proceeded to restore the broken +coops and cages to the empty stockade. + +But she never reconstructed her menagerie nor renewed her collection. +People said she had tired of her whim, and that really she was getting +too old for such things. Perhaps she was. But she never got old enough +to reveal her story of the last wild animal she had tamed by kindness. +Nor was she quite sure of it herself, until a few years afterwards on +Commencement Day at a boarding-school at San Jose, when they pointed out +to her one of the most respectable trustees. But they said he was once +a gambler, who had shot a man with whom he had quarreled, and was nearly +caught and lynched by a Vigilance Committee. + + + + +THE GODDESS OF EXCELSIOR + + +When the two isolated mining companies encamped on Sycamore Creek +discovered on the same day the great "Excelsior Lead," they met around +a neutral camp fire with that grave and almost troubled demeanor which +distinguished the successful prospector in those days. Perhaps the term +"prospectors" could hardly be used for men who had labored patiently +and light-heartedly in the one spot for over three years to gain a daily +yield from the soil which gave them barely the necessaries of life. +Perhaps this was why, now that their reward was beyond their most +sanguine hopes, they mingled with this characteristic gravity an +ambition and resolve peculiarly their own. Unlike most successful +miners, they had no idea of simply realizing their wealth and departing +to invest or spend it elsewhere, as was the common custom. On the +contrary, that night they formed a high resolve to stand or fall by +their claims, to develop the resources of the locality, to build up a +town, and to devote themselves to its growth and welfare. And to this +purpose they bound themselves that night by a solemn and legal compact. + +Many circumstances lent themselves to so original a determination. The +locality was healthful, picturesque, and fertile. Sycamore Creek, a +considerable tributary of the Sacramento, furnished them a generous +water supply at all seasons; its banks were well wooded and +interspersed with undulating meadow land. Its distance from stage-coach +communication--nine miles--could easily be abridged by a wagon road over +a practically level country. Indeed, all the conditions for a thriving +settlement were already there. It was natural, therefore, that the most +sanguine anticipations were indulged by the more youthful of the twenty +members of this sacred compact. The sites of a hotel, a bank, the +express company's office, stage office, and court-house, with other +necessary buildings, were all mapped out and supplemented by a theatre, +a public park, and a terrace along the river bank! It was only when +Clinton Grey, an intelligent but youthful member, on offering a plan of +the town with five avenues eighty feet wide, radiating from a central +plaza and the court-house, explained that "it could be commanded by +artillery in case of an armed attack upon the building," that it was +felt that a line must be drawn in anticipatory suggestion. Nevertheless, +although their determination was unabated, at the end of six months +little had been done beyond the building of a wagon road and the +importation of new machinery for the working of the lead. The +peculiarity of their design debarred any tentative or temporary efforts; +they wished the whole settlement to spring up in equal perfection, +so that the first stage-coach over the new road could arrive upon the +completed town. "We don't want to show up in a 'b'iled shirt' and a plug +hat, and our trousers stuck in our boots," said a figurative speaker. +Nevertheless, practical necessity compelled them to build the hotel +first for their own occupation, pending the erection of their private +dwellings on allotted sites. The hotel, a really elaborate structure +for the locality and period, was a marvel to the workmen and casual +teamsters. It was luxuriously fitted and furnished. Yet it was in +connection with this outlay that the event occurred which had a singular +effect upon the fancy of the members. + +Washington Trigg, a Western member, who had brought up the architect and +builder from San Francisco, had returned in a state of excitement. He +had seen at an art exhibition in that city a small replica of a famous +statue of California, and, without consulting his fellow members, had +ordered a larger copy for the new settlement. He, however, made up for +his precipitancy by an extravagant description of his purchase, which +impressed even the most cautious. "It's the figger of a mighty pretty +girl, in them spirit clothes they allus wear, holding a divinin' rod for +findin' gold afore her in one hand; all the while she's hidin' behind +her, in the other hand, a branch o' thorns out of sight. The idea +bein'--don't you see?--that blamed old 'forty-niners like us, or +ordinary greenhorns, ain't allowed to see the difficulties they've got +to go through before reaching a strike. Mighty cute, ain't it? It's +to be made life-size,--that is, about the size of a girl of that kind, +don't you see?" he explained somewhat vaguely, "and will look powerful +fetchin' standin' onto a pedestal in the hall of the hotel." In reply to +some further cautious inquiry as to the exact details of the raiment +and of any possible shock to the modesty of lady guests at the hotel, he +replied confidently, "Oh, THAT'S all right! It's the regulation uniform +of goddesses and angels,--sorter as if they'd caught up a sheet or a +cloud to fling round 'em before coming into this world afore folks; +and being an allegory, so to speak, it ain't as if it was me or you +prospectin' in high water. And, being of bronze, it"-- + +"Looks like a squaw, eh?" interrupted a critic, "or a cursed Chinaman?" + +"And if it's of metal, it will weigh a ton! How are we going to get it +up here?" said another. + +But here Mr. Trigg was on sure ground. "I've ordered it cast holler, +and, if necessary, in two sections," he returned triumphantly. "A child +could tote it round and set it up." + +Its arrival was therefore looked forward to with great expectancy when +the hotel was finished and occupied by the combined Excelsior companies. +It was to come from New York via San Francisco, where, however, +there was some delay in its transshipment, and still further delay at +Sacramento. It finally reached the settlement over the new wagon +road, and was among the first freight carried there by the new +express company, and delivered into the new express office. The +box--a packing-case, nearly three feet square by five feet long--bore +superficial marks of travel and misdirection, inasmuch as the original +address was quite obliterated and the outside lid covered with corrected +labels. It was carried to a private sitting-room in the hotel, where +its beauty was to be first disclosed to the president of the united +companies, three of the committee, and the excited and triumphant +purchaser. A less favored crowd of members and workmen gathered +curiously outside the room. Then the lid was carefully removed, +revealing a quantity of shavings and packing paper which still hid the +outlines of the goddess. When this was promptly lifted a stare of blank +astonishment fixed the faces of the party! It was succeeded by a quick, +hysteric laugh, and then a dead silence. + +Before them lay a dressmaker's dummy, the wire and padded model on +which dresses are fitted and shown. With its armless and headless bust, +abruptly ending in a hooped wire skirt, it completely filled the sides +of the box. + +"Shut the door," said the president promptly. + +The order was obeyed. The single hysteric shriek of laughter had been +followed by a deadly, ironical silence. The president, with supernatural +gravity, lifted it out and set it up on its small, round, disk-like +pedestal. + +"It's some cussed fool blunder of that confounded express company," +burst out the unlucky purchaser. But there was no echo to his outburst. +He looked around with a timid, tentative smile. But no other smile +followed his. + +"It looks," said the president, with portentous gravity, "like the +beginnings of a fine woman, that MIGHT show up, if you gave her time, +into a first-class goddess. Of course she ain't all here; other boxes +with sections of her, I reckon, are under way from her factory, and will +meander along in the course of the year. Considerin' this as a sample--I +think, gentlemen," he added, with gloomy precision, "we are prepared to +accept it, and signify we'll take more." + +"It ain't, perhaps, exactly the idee that we've been led to expect from +previous description," said Dick Flint, with deeper seriousness; "for +instance, this yer branch of thorns we heard of ez bein' held behind her +is wantin', as is the arms that held it; but even if they had arrived, +anybody could see the thorns through them wires, and so give the hull +show away." + +"Jam it into its box again, and we'll send it back to the confounded +express company with a cussin' letter," again thundered the wretched +purchaser. + +"No, sonny," said the president with gentle but gloomy determination, +"we'll fasten on to this little show jest as it is, and see what +follows. It ain't every day that a first-class sell like this is worked +off on us ACCIDENTALLY." + +It was quite true! The settlement had long since exhausted every +possible form of practical joking, and languished for a new sensation. +And here it was! It was not a thing to be treated angrily, nor lightly, +nor dismissed with that single hysteric laugh. It was capable of the +greatest possibilities! Indeed, as Washington Trigg looked around on the +imperturbably ironical faces of his companions, he knew that they felt +more true joy over the blunder than they would in the possession of the +real statue. But an exclamation from the fifth member, who was examining +the box, arrested their attention. + +"There's suthin' else here!" + +He had found under the heavier wrapping a layer of tissue-paper, and +under that a further envelope of linen, lightly stitched together. A +knife blade quickly separated the stitches, and the linen was carefully +unfolded. It displayed a beautifully trimmed evening dress of pale blue +satin, with a dressing-gown of some exquisite white fabric armed with +lace. The men gazed at it in silence, and then the one single expression +broke from their lips,-- + +"Her duds!" + +"Stop, boys," said "Clint" Grey, as a movement was made to lift the +dress towards the model, "leave that to a man who knows. What's the +use of my having left five grown-up sisters in the States if I haven't +brought a little experience away with me? This sort of thing ain't to be +'pulled on' like trousers. No, sir!--THIS is the way she's worked." + +With considerable dexterity, unexpected gentleness, and some taste, +he shook out the folds of the skirt delicately and lifted it over the +dummy, settling it skillfully upon the wire hoops, and drawing the +bodice over the padded shoulders. This he then proceeded to fasten with +hooks and eyes,--a work of some patience. Forty eager fingers stretched +out to assist him, but were waved aside, with a look of pained decorum +as he gravely completed his task. Then falling back, he bade the others +do the same, and they formed a contemplative semicircle before the +figure. + +Up to that moment a delighted but unsmiling consciousness of their own +absurdities, a keen sense of the humorous possibilities of the +original blunder, and a mischievous recognition of the mortification of +Trigg--whose only safety now lay in accepting the mistake in the same +spirit--had determined these grown-up schoolboys to artfully protract +a joke that seemed to be providentially delivered into their hands. But +NOW an odd change crept on them. The light from the open window that +gave upon the enormous pines and the rolling prospect up to the +dim heights of the Sierras fell upon this strange, incongruous, yet +perfectly artistic figure. For the dress was the skillful creation of a +great Parisian artist, and in its exquisite harmony of color, shape, +and material it not only hid the absurd model, but clothed it with an +alarming grace and refinement! A queer feeling of awe, of shame, and of +unwilling admiration took possession of them. Some of them--from +remote Western towns--had never seen the like before; those who HAD had +forgotten it in those five years of self-exile, of healthy independence, +and of contiguity to Nature in her unaffected simplicity. All had been +familiar with the garish, extravagant, and dazzling femininity of +the Californian towns and cities, but never had they known anything +approaching the ideal grace of this type of exalted, even if artificial, +womanhood. And although in the fierce freedom of their little republic +they had laughed to scorn such artificiality, a few yards of satin and +lace cunningly fashioned, and thrown over a frame of wood and wire, +touched them now with a strange sense of its superiority. The better +to show its attractions, Clinton Grey had placed the figure near a +full-length, gold-framed mirror, beside a marble-topped table. Yet how +cheap and tawdry these splendors showed beside this work of art! How +cruel was the contrast of their own rough working clothes to this +miracle of adornment which that same mirror reflected! And even when +Clinton Grey, the enthusiast, looked towards his beloved woods for +relief, he could not help thinking of them as a more fitting frame for +this strange goddess than this new house into which she had strayed. +Their gravity became real; their gibes in some strange way had vanished. + +"Must have cost a pile of money," said one, merely to break an +embarrassing silence. + +"My sister had a friend who brought over a dress from Paris, not as +high-toned as that, that cost five hundred dollars," said Clinton Grey. + +"How much did you say that spirit-clad old rag of yours cost--thorns and +all?" said the president, turning sharply on Trigg. + +Trigg swallowed this depreciation of his own purchase meekly. "Seven +hundred and fifty dollars, without the express charges." + +"That's only two-fifty more," said the president thoughtfully, "if we +call it quits." + +"But," said Trigg in alarm, "we must send it back." + +"Not much, sonny," said the president promptly. "We'll hang on to this +until we hear where that thorny old chump of yours has fetched up and is +actin' her conundrums, and mebbe we can swap even." + +"But how will we explain it to the boys?" queried Trigg. "They're +waitin' outside to see it." + +"There WON'T be any explanation," said the president, in the same tone +of voice in which he had ordered the door shut. "We'll just say that +the statue hasn't come, which is the frozen truth; and this box only +contained some silk curtain decorations we'd ordered, which is only +half a lie. And," still more firmly, "THIS SECRET DOESN'T GO OUT OF THIS +ROOM, GENTLEMEN--or I ain't your president! I'm not going to let you +give yourselves away to that crowd outside--you hear me? Have you ever +allowed your unfettered intellect to consider what they'd say about +this,--what a godsend it would be to every man we'd ever had a 'pull' on +in this camp? Why, it would last 'em a whole year; we'd never hear the +end of it! No, gentlemen! I prefer to live here without shootin' my +fellow man, but I can't promise it if they once start this joke agin +us!" + +There was a swift approval of this sentiment, and the five members shook +hands solemnly. + +"Now," said the president, "we'll just fold up that dress again, and put +it with the figure in this closet"--he opened a large dressing-chest +in the suite of rooms in which they stood--"and we'll each keep a key. +We'll retain this room for committee purposes, so that no one need see +the closet. See? Now take off the dress! Be careful there! You're not +handlin' pay dirt, though it's about as expensive! Steady!" + +Yet it was wonderful to see the solicitude and care with which the dress +was re-covered and folded in its linen wrapper. + +"Hold on," exclaimed Trigg,--as the dummy was lifted into the +chest,--"we haven't tried on the other dress!" + +"Yes! yes!" repeated the others eagerly; "there's another!" + +"We'll keep that for next committee meeting, gentlemen," said the +president decisively. "Lock her up, Trigg." + + +The three following months wrought a wonderful change in +Excelsior,--wonderful even in that land of rapid growth and progress. +Their organized and matured plans, executed by a full force of workmen +from the county town, completed the twenty cottages for the members, the +bank, and the town hall. Visitors and intending settlers flocked over +the new wagon road to see this new Utopia, whose founders, holding the +land and its improvements as a corporate company, exercised the right +of dictating the terms on which settlers were admitted. The feminine +invasion was not yet potent enough to affect their consideration, either +through any refinement or attractiveness, being composed chiefly of the +industrious wives and daughters of small traders or temporary artisans. +Yet it was found necessary to confide the hotel to the management of Mr. +Dexter Marsh, his wife, and one intelligent but somewhat plain daughter, +who looked after the accounts. There were occasional lady visitors at +the hotel, attracted from the neighboring towns and settlements by +its picturesqueness and a vague suggestiveness of its being a +watering-place--and there was the occasional flash in the decorous +street of a Sacramento or San Francisco gown. It is needless to say that +to the five men who held the guilty secret of Committee Room No. 4 it +only strengthened their belief in the super-elegance of their hidden +treasure. At their last meeting they had fitted the second dress--which +turned out to be a vapory summer house-frock or morning wrapper--over +the dummy, and opinions were divided as to its equality with the first. +However, the same subtle harmony of detail and grace of proportion +characterized it. + +"And you see," said Clint Grey, "it's jest the sort o' rig in which a +man would be most likely to know her--and not in her war-paint, which +would be only now and then." + +Already "SHE" had become an individuality! + +"Hush!" said the president. He had turned towards the door, at which +some one was knocking lightly. + +"Come in." + +The door opened upon Miss Marsh, secretary and hotel assistant. She had +a business aspect, and an open letter in her hand, but hesitated at +the evident confusion she had occasioned. Two of the gentlemen had +absolutely blushed, and the others regarded her with inane smiles or +affected seriousness. They all coughed slightly. + +"I beg your pardon," she said, not ungracefully, a slight color coming +into her sallow cheek, which, in conjunction with the gold eye-glasses, +gave her, at least in the eyes of the impressible Clint, a certain +piquancy. "But my father said you were here in committee and I might +consult you. I can come again, if you are busy." + +She had addressed the president, partly from his office, his +comparatively extreme age--he must have been at least thirty!--and +possibly for his extremer good looks. He said hurriedly, "It's just an +informal meeting;" and then, more politely, "What can we do for you?" + +"We have an application for a suite of rooms next week," she said, +referring to the letter, "and as we shall be rather full, father thought +you gentlemen might be willing to take another larger room for your +meetings, and give up these, which are part of a suite--and perhaps not +exactly suitable"-- + +"Quite impossible!" "Quite so!" "Really out of the question," said the +members, in a rapid chorus. + +The young girl was evidently taken aback at this unanimity of +opposition. She stared at them curiously, and then glanced around the +room. "We're quite comfortable here," said the president explanatorily, +"and--in fact--it's just what we want." + +"We could give you a closet like that which you could lock up, and a +mirror," she suggested, with the faintest trace of a smile. + +"Tell your father, Miss Marsh," said the president, with dignified +politeness, "that while we cannot submit to any change, we fully +appreciate his business foresight, and are quite prepared to see that +the hotel is properly compensated for our retaining these rooms." As the +young girl withdrew with a puzzled curtsy he closed the door, placed his +back against it, and said,-- + +"What the deuce did she mean by speaking of that closet?" + +"Reckon she allowed we kept some fancy drinks in there," said Trigg; +"and calkilated that we wanted the marble stand and mirror to put our +glasses on and make it look like a swell private bar, that's all!" + +"Humph," said the president. + +Their next meeting, however, was a hurried one, and as the president +arrived late, when the door closed smartly behind him he was met by the +worried faces of his colleagues. + +"Here's a go!" said Trigg excitedly, producing a folded paper. "The +game's up, the hull show is busted; that cussed old statue--the reg'lar +old hag herself--is on her way here! There's a bill o' lading and the +express company's letter, and she'll be trundled down here by express at +any moment." + +"Well?" said the president quietly. + +"Well!" replied the members aghast. "Do you know what that means?" + +"That we must rig her up in the hall on a pedestal, as we reckoned to +do," returned the president coolly. + +"But you don't sabe," said Clinton Grey; "that's all very well as to the +hag, but now we must give HER up," with an adoring glance towards the +closet. + +"Does the letter say so?" + +"No," said Trigg hesitatingly, "no! But I reckon we can't keep BOTH." + +"Why not?" said the president imperturbably, "if we paid for 'em?" + +As the men only stared in reply he condescended to explain. + +"Look here! I calculated all these risks after our last meeting. While +you boys were just fussin' round, doin' nothing, I wrote to the express +company that a box of women's damaged duds had arrived here, while we +were looking for our statue; that you chaps were so riled at bein' +sold by them that you dumped the whole blamed thing in the creek. But I +added, if they'd let me know what the damage was, I'd send 'em a draft +to cover it. After a spell of waitin' they said they'd call it square +for two hundred dollars, considering our disappointment. And I sent the +draft. That's spurred them up to get over our statue, I reckon. And, now +that it's coming, it will set us right with the boys." + +"And SHE," said Clinton Grey again, pointing to the locked chest, +"belongs to us?" + +"Until we can find some lady guest that will take her with the rooms," +returned the president, a little cynically. + +But the arrival of the real statue and its erection in the hotel +vestibule created a new sensation. The members of the Excelsior Company +were loud in its praises except the executive committee, whose coolness +was looked upon by the others as an affectation of superiority. It +awakened the criticism and jealousy of the nearest town. + +"We hear," said the "Red Dog Advertiser," "that the long-promised statue +has been put up in that high-toned Hash Dispensary they call a hotel +at Excelsior. It represents an emaciated squaw in a scanty blanket +gathering roots, and carrying a bit of thorn-bush kindlings behind her. +The high-toned, close corporation of Excelsior may consider this a fair +allegory of California; WE should say it looks mighty like a prophetic +forecast of a hard winter on Sycamore Creek and scarcity of provisions. +However, it isn't our funeral, though it's rather depressing to the +casual visitor on his way to dinner. For a long time this work of +art was missing and supposed to be lost, but by being sternly and +persistently rejected at every express office on the route, it was at +last taken in at Excelsior." + +There was some criticism nearer home. + +"What do you think of it, Miss Marsh?" said the president politely to +that active young secretary, as he stood before it in the hall. The +young woman adjusted her eye-glasses over her aquiline nose. + +"As an idea or a woman, sir?" + +"As a woman, madam," said the president, letting his brown eyes slip +for a moment from Miss Marsh's corn-colored crest over her straight but +scant figure down to her smart slippers. + +"Well, sir, she could wear YOUR boots, and there isn't a corset in +Sacramento would go round her." + +"Thank you!" he returned gravely, and moved away. For a moment a wild +idea of securing possession of the figure some dark night, and, in +company with his fellow-conspirators, of trying those beautiful clothes +upon her, passed through his mind, but he dismissed it. And then +occurred a strange incident, which startled even his cool, American +sanity. + +It was a beautiful moonlight night, and he was returning to a bedroom +at the hotel which he temporarily occupied during the painting of +his house. It was quite late, he having spent the evening with a San +Francisco friend after a business conference which assured him of the +remarkable prosperity of Excelsior. It was therefore with some human +exaltation that he looked around the sleeping settlement which had +sprung up under the magic wand of their good fortune. The full moon had +idealized their youthful designs with something of their own youthful +coloring, graciously softening the garish freshness of paint and +plaster, hiding with discreet obscurity the disrupted banks and broken +woods at the beginning and end of their broad avenues, paving the rough +river terrace with tessellated shadows, and even touching the rapid +stream which was the source of their wealth with a Pactolean glitter. + +The windows of the hotel before him, darkened within, flashed in the +moonbeams like the casements of Aladdin's palace. Mingled with his +ambition, to-night, were some softer fancies, rarely indulged by him in +his forecast of the future of Excelsior--a dream of some fair partner +in his life, after this task was accomplished, yet always of some one +moving in a larger world than his youth had known. Rousing the half +sleeping porter, he found, however, only the spectral gold-seeker in +the vestibule,--the rays of his solitary candle falling upon her +divining-rod with a quaint persistency that seemed to point to the +stairs he was ascending. When he reached the first landing the rising +wind through an open window put out his light, but, although the +staircase was in darkness, he could see the long corridor above +illuminated by the moonlight throughout its whole length. He had nearly +reached it when the slow but unmistakable rustle of a dress in the +distance caught his ear. He paused, not only in the interest of +delicacy, but with a sudden nervous thrill he could not account for. The +rustle came nearer--he could hear the distinct frou-frou of satin; and +then, to his bewildered eyes, what seemed to be the figure of the +dummy, arrayed in the pale blue evening dress he knew so well, passed +gracefully and majestically down the corridor. He could see the shapely +folds of the skirt, the symmetry of the bodice, even the harmony of the +trimmings. He raised his eyes, half affrightedly, prepared to see +the headless shoulders, but they--and what seemed to be a head--were +concealed in a floating "cloud" or nubia of some fleecy tissue, as +if for protection from the evening air. He remained for an instant +motionless, dazed by this apparent motion of an inanimate figure; but +as the absurdity of the idea struck him he hurriedly but stealthily +ascended the remaining stairs, resolved to follow it. But he was only in +time to see it turn into the angle of another corridor, which, when he +had reached it, was empty. The figure had vanished! + +His first thought was to go to the committee room and examine the locked +closet. But the key was in his desk at home, he had no light, and the +room was on the other side of the house. Besides, he reflected that +even the detection of the figure would involve the exposure of the very +secret they had kept intact so long. He sought his bedroom, and went +quietly to bed. But not to sleep; a curiosity more potent than any sense +of the trespass done him kept him tossing half the night. Who was this +woman whom the clothes fitted so well? He reviewed in his mind the +guests in the house, but he knew none who could have carried off this +masquerade so bravely. + +In the morning early he made his way to the committee room, but as he +approached was startled to observe two pairs of boots, a man's and a +woman's, conjugally placed before its door. Now thoroughly indignant, +he hurried to the office, and was confronted by the face of the fair +secretary. She colored quickly on seeing him--but the reason was +obvious. + +"You are coming to scold me, sir! But it is not my fault. We were full +yesterday afternoon when your friend from San Francisco came here with +his wife. We told him those were YOUR rooms, but he said he would make +it right with you--and my father thought you would not be displeased +for once. Everything of yours was put into another room, and the closet +remains locked as you left it." + +Amazed and bewildered, the president could only mutter a vague apology +and turn away. Had his friend's wife opened the door with another key in +some fit of curiosity and disported herself in those clothes? If so, she +DARE not speak of her discovery. + +An introduction to the lady at breakfast dispelled this faint hope. She +was a plump woman, whose generous proportions could hardly have been +confined in that pale blue bodice; she was frank and communicative, with +no suggestion of mischievous concealment. + +Nevertheless, he made a firm resolution. As soon as his friends left +he called a meeting of the committee. He briefly informed them of the +accidental occupation of the room, but for certain reasons of his own +said nothing of his ghostly experience. But he put it to them plainly +that no more risks must be run, and that he should remove the dresses +and dummy to his own house. To his considerable surprise this suggestion +was received with grave approval and a certain strange relief. + +"We kinder thought of suggesting it to you before," said Mr. Trigg +slowly, "and that mebbe we've played this little game long enough--for +suthin's happened that's makin' it anything but funny. We'd have told +you before, but we dassent! Speak out, Clint, and tell the president +what we saw the other night, and don't mince matters." + +The president glanced quickly and warningly around him. "I thought," he +said sternly, "that we'd dropped all fooling. It's no time for practical +joking now!" + +"Honest Injun--it's gospel truth! Speak up, Clint!" + +The president looked on the serious faces around him, and was himself +slightly awed. + +"It's a matter of two or three nights ago," said Grey slowly, "that +Trigg and I were passing through Sycamore Woods, just below the hotel. +It was after twelve--bright moonlight, so that we could see everything +as plain as day, and we were dead sober. Just as we passed under the +sycamores Trigg grabs my arm, and says, 'Hi!' I looked up, and there, +not ten yards away, standing dead in the moonlight, was that dummy! She +was all in white--that dress with the fairy frills, you know--and had, +what's more, A HEAD! At least, something white all wrapped around it, +and over her shoulders. At first we thought you or some of the boys +had dressed her up and lifted her out there for a joke, and left her +to frighten us! So we started forward, and then--it's the gospel +truth!--she MOVED AWAY, gliding like the moonbeams, and vanished among +the trees!" + +"Did you see her face?" asked the president. + +"No; you bet! I didn't try to--it would have haunted me forever." + +"What do you mean?" + +"This--I mean it was that GIRL THE BOX BELONGED TO! She's dead +somewhere--as you'll find out sooner or later--AND HAS COME BACK FOR HER +CLOTHES! I've often heard of such things before." + +Despite his coolness, at this corroboration of his own experience, +and impressed by Grey's unmistakable awe, a thrill went through the +president. For an instant he was silent. + +"That will do, boys," he said finally. "It's a queer story; but +remember, it's all the more reason now for our keeping our secret. As +for those things, I'll remove them quietly and at once." + +But he did not. + +On the contrary, prolonging his stay at the hotel with plausible +reasons, he managed to frequently visit the committee room or its +vicinity, at different and unsuspected hours of the day and night. +More than that, he found opportunities to visit the office, and under +pretexts of business connected with the economy of the hotel management, +informed himself through Miss Marsh on many points. A few of these +details naturally happened to refer to herself, her prospects, her +tastes, and education. He learned incidentally, what he had partly +known, that her father had been in better circumstances, and that she +had been gently nurtured--though of this she made little account in her +pride in her own independence and devotion to her duties. But in his +own persistent way he also made private notes of the breadth of her +shoulders, the size of her waist, her height, length of her skirt, her +movements in walking, and other apparently extraneous circumstances. It +was natural that he acquired some supplemental facts,--that her +eyes, under her eye-glasses, were a tender gray, and touched with the +melancholy beauty of near-sightedness; that her face had a sensitive +mobility beyond the mere charm of color, and like most people lacking +this primitive and striking element of beauty, what was really fine +about her escaped the first sight. As, for instance, it was only +by bending over to examine her accounts that he found that her +indistinctive hair was as delicate as floss silk and as electrical. It +was only by finding her romping with the children of a guest one evening +that he was startled by the appalling fact of her youth! But about this +time he left the hotel and returned to his house. + +On the first yearly anniversary of the great strike at Excelsior there +were some changes in the settlement, notably the promotion of Mr. Marsh +to a more important position in the company, and the installation of +Miss Cassie Marsh as manageress of the hotel. As Miss Marsh read the +official letter, signed by the president, conveying in complimentary but +formal terms this testimony of their approval and confidence, her lip +trembled slightly, and a tear trickling from her light lashes dimmed +her eye-glasses, so that she was fain to go up to her room to recover +herself alone. When she did so she was startled to find a wire dummy +standing near the door, and neatly folded upon the bed two elegant +dresses. A note in the president's own hand lay beside them. A swift +blush stung her cheek as she read,-- + + +DEAR MISS MARSH,--Will you make me happy by keeping the secret that no +other woman but yourself knows, and by accepting the clothes that no +other woman but yourself can wear? + + +The next moment, with the dresses over her arm and the ridiculous dummy +swinging by its wires from her other hand, she was flying down the +staircase to Committee Room No. 4. The door opened upon its sole +occupant, the president. + +"Oh, sir, how cruel of you!" she gasped. "It was only a joke of mine. +. . . I always intended to tell you. . . . It was very foolish, but it +seemed so funny. . . . You see, I thought it was . . . the dress you +had bought for your future intended--some young lady you were going to +marry!" + +"It is!" said the president quietly, and he closed the door behind her. + +And it was. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Openings in the Old Trail, by Bret Harte + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OPENINGS IN THE OLD TRAIL *** + +***** This file should be named 2535.txt or 2535.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/5/3/2535/ + +Produced by Donald Lainson + +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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THE LANDLORD OF THE BIG FLUME HOTEL + IV. A BUCKEYE HOLLOW INHERITANCE + V. THE REINCARNATION OF SMITH + VI. LANTY FOSTER'S MISTAKE + VII. AN ALI BABA OF THE SIERRAS +VIII. MISS PEGGY'S PROTEGES + IX. THE GODDESS OF EXCELSIOR + + + + +OPENINGS IN THE OLD TRAIL + +by Bret Harte + + + + +A MERCURY OF THE FOOT-HILLS + + +It was high hot noon on the Casket Ridge. Its very scant shade was +restricted to a few dwarf Scotch firs, and was so perpendicularly +cast that Leonidas Boone, seeking shelter from the heat, was +obliged to draw himself up under one of them, as if it were an +umbrella. Occasionally, with a boy's perversity, he permitted one +bared foot to protrude beyond the sharply marked shadow until the +burning sun forced him to draw it in again with a thrill of +satisfaction. There was no earthly reason why he had not sought +the larger shadows of the pine-trees which reared themselves +against the Ridge on the slope below him, except that he was a boy, +and perhaps even more superstitious and opinionated than most boys. +Having got under this tree with infinite care, he had made up his +mind that he would not move from it until its line of shade reached +and touched a certain stone on the trail near him! WHY he did this +he did not know, but he clung to his sublime purpose with the +courage and tenacity of a youthful Casabianca. He was cramped, +tickled by dust and fir sprays; he was supremely uncomfortable--but +he stayed! A woodpecker was monotonously tapping in an adjacent +pine, with measured intervals of silence, which he always firmly +believed was a certain telegraphy of the bird's own making; a +green-and-gold lizard flashed by his foot to stiffen itself +suddenly with a rigidity equal to his own. Still HE stirred not. +The shadow gradually crept nearer the mystic stone--and touched it. +He sprang up, shook himself, and prepared to go about his business. +This was simply an errand to the post-office at the cross-roads, +scarcely a mile from his father's house. He was already halfway +there. He had taken only the better part of one hour for this +desultory journey! + +However, he now proceeded on his way, diverging only to follow a +fresh rabbit-track a few hundred yards, to note that the animal had +doubled twice against the wind, and then, naturally, he was obliged +to look closely for other tracks to determine its pursuers. He +paused also, but only for a moment, to rap thrice on the trunk of +the pine where the woodpecker was at work, which he knew would make +it cease work for a time--as it did. Having thus renewed his +relations with nature, he discovered that one of the letters he was +taking to the post-office had slipped in some mysterious way from +the bosom of his shirt, where he carried them, past his waist-band +into his trouser-leg, and was about to make a casual delivery of +itself on the trail. This caused him to take out his letters and +count them, when he found one missing. He had been given four +letters to post--he had only three. There was a big one in his +father's handwriting, two indistinctive ones of his mother's, and a +smaller one of his sister's--THAT was gone! Not at all disconcerted, +he calmly retraced his steps, following his own tracks minutely, +with a grim face and a distinct delight in the process, while +looking--perfunctorily--for the letter. In the midst of this slow +progress a bright idea struck him. He walked back to the fir-tree +where he had rested, and found the lost missive. It had slipped out +of his shirt when he shook himself. He was not particularly pleased. +He knew that nobody would give him credit for his trouble in going +back for it, or his astuteness in guessing where it was. He heaved +the sigh of misunderstood genius, and again started for the +post-office. This time he carried the letters openly and +ostentatiously in his hand. + +Presently he heard a voice say, "Hey!" It was a gentle, musical +voice,--a stranger's voice, for it evidently did not know how to +call him, and did not say, "Oh, Leonidas!" or "You--look here!" He +was abreast of a little clearing, guarded by a low stockade of bark +palings, and beyond it was a small white dwelling-house. Leonidas +knew the place perfectly well. It belonged to the superintendent +of a mining tunnel, who had lately rented it to some strangers from +San Francisco. Thus much he had heard from his family. He had a +mountain boy's contempt for city folks, and was not himself +interested in them. Yet as he heard the call, he was conscious of +a slightly guilty feeling. He might have been trespassing in +following the rabbit's track; he might have been seen by some one +when he lost the letter and had to go back for it--all grown-up +people had a way of offering themselves as witnesses against him! +He scowled a little as he glanced around him. Then his eye fell on +the caller on the other side of the stockade. + +To his surprise it was a woman: a pretty, gentle, fragile creature, +all soft muslin and laces, with her fingers interlocked, and +leaning both elbows on the top of the stockade as she stood under +the checkered shadow of a buckeye. + +"Come here--please--won't you?" she said pleasantly. + +It would have been impossible to resist her voice if Leonidas had +wanted to, which he didn't. He walked confidently up to the fence. +She really was very pretty, with eyes like his setter's, and as +caressing. And there were little puckers and satiny creases around +her delicate nostrils and mouth when she spoke, which Leonidas knew +were "expression." + +"I--I"--she began, with charming hesitation; then suddenly, "What's +your name?" + +"Leonidas." + +"Leonidas! That's a pretty name!" He thought it DID sound pretty. +"Well, Leonidas, I want you to be a good boy and do a great favor +for me,--a very great favor." + +Leonidas's face fell. This kind of prelude and formula was +familiar to him. It was usually followed by, "Promise me that you +will never swear again," or, "that you will go straight home and +wash your face," or some other irrelevant personality. But nobody +with that sort of eyes had ever said it. So he said, a little +shyly but sincerely, "Yes, ma'am." + +"You are going to the post-office?" + +This seemed a very foolish, womanish question, seeing that he was +holding letters in his hand; but he said, "Yes." + +"I want you to put a letter of mine among yours and post them all +together," she said, putting one little hand to her bosom and +drawing out a letter. He noticed that she purposely held the +addressed side so that he could not see it, but he also noticed +that her hand was small, thin, and white, even to a faint tint of +blue in it, unlike his sister's, the baby's, or any other hand he +had ever seen. "Can you read?" she said suddenly, withdrawing the +letter. + +The boy flushed slightly at the question. "Of course I can," he +said proudly. + +"Of course, certainly," she repeated quickly; "but," she added, +with a mischievous smile, "you mustn't NOW! Promise me! Promise +me that you won't read this address, but just post the letter, like +one of your own, in the letter-box with the others." + +Leonidas promised readily; it seemed to him a great fuss about +nothing; perhaps it was some kind of game or a bet. He opened his +sunburnt hand, holding his own letters, and she slipped hers, face +downward, between them. Her soft fingers touched his in the +operation, and seemed to leave a pleasant warmth behind them. + +"Promise me another thing," she added; "promise me you won't say a +word of this to any one." + +"Of course!" said Leonidas. + +"That's a good boy, and I know you will keep your word." She +hesitated a moment, smilingly and tentatively, and then held out a +bright half-dollar. Leonidas backed from the fence. "I'd rather +not," he said shyly. + +"But as a present from ME?" + +Leonidas colored--he was really proud; and he was also bright +enough to understand that the possession of such unbounded wealth +would provoke dangerous inquiry at home. But he didn't like to say +it, and only replied, "I can't." + +She looked at him curiously. "Then--thank you," she said, offering +her white hand, which felt like a bird in his. "Now run on, and +don't let me keep you any longer." She drew back from the fence as +she spoke, and waved him a pretty farewell. Leonidas, half sorry, +half relieved, darted away. + +He ran to the post-office, which he never had done before. Loyally +he never looked at her letter, nor, indeed, at his own again, +swinging the hand that held them far from his side. He entered the +post-office directly, going at once to the letter-box and +depositing the precious missive with the others. The post-office +was also the "country store," and Leonidas was in the habit of +still further protracting his errands there by lingering in that +stimulating atmosphere of sugar, cheese, and coffee. But to-day +his stay was brief, so transitory that the postmaster himself +inferred audibly that "old man Boone must have been tanning Lee +with a hickory switch." But the simple reason was that Leonidas +wished to go back to the stockade fence and the fair stranger, if +haply she was still there. His heart sank as, breathless with +unwonted haste, he reached the clearing and the empty buckeye +shade. He walked slowly and with sad diffidence by the deserted +stockade fence. But presently his quick eye discerned a glint of +white among the laurels near the house. It was SHE, walking with +apparent indifference away from him towards the corner of the +clearing and the road. But this he knew would bring her to the end +of the stockade fence, where he must pass--and it did. She turned +to him with a bright smile of affected surprise. "Why, you're as +swift-footed as Mercury!" + +Leonidas understood her perfectly. Mercury was the other name for +quicksilver--and that was lively, you bet! He had often spilt some +on the floor to see it move. She must be awfully cute to have +noticed it too--cuter than his sisters. He was quite breathless +with pleasure. + +"I put your letter in the box all right," he burst out at last. + +"Without any one seeing it?" she asked. + +"Sure pop! nary one! The postmaster stuck out his hand to grab it, +but I just let on that I didn't see him, and shoved it in myself." + +"You're as sharp as you're good," she said smilingly. "Now, +there's just ONE thing more I want you to do. Forget all about +this--won't you?" + +Her voice was very caressing. Perhaps that was why he said boldly: +"Yes, ma'am, all except YOU." + +"Dear me, what a compliment! How old are you?" + +"Goin' on fifteen," said Leonidas confidently. + +"And going very fast," said the lady mischievously. "Well, then, +you needn't forget ME. On the contrary," she added, after looking +at him curiously, "I would rather you'd remember me. Good-by--or, +rather, good-afternoon--if I'm to be remembered, Leon." + +"Good-afternoon, ma'am." + +She moved away, and presently disappeared among the laurels. But +her last words were ringing in his ears. "Leon"--everybody else +called him "Lee" for brevity; "Leon"--it was pretty as she said it. + +He turned away. But it so chanced that their parting was not to +pass unnoticed, for, looking up the hill, Leonidas perceived his +elder sister and little brother coming down the road, and knew that +they must have seen him from the hilltop. It was like their +"snoopin'"! + +They ran to him eagerly. + +"You were talking to the stranger," said his sister breathlessly. + +"She spoke to me first," said Leonidas, on the defensive. + +"What did she say?" + +"Wanted to know the eleckshun news," said Leonidas with cool +mendacity, "and I told her." + +This improbable fiction nevertheless satisfied them. "What was she +like? Oh, do tell us, Lee!" continued his sister. + +Nothing would have delighted him more than to expatiate upon her +loveliness, the soft white beauty of her hands, the "cunning" +little puckers around her lips, her bright tender eyes, the angelic +texture of her robes, and the musical tinkle of her voice. But +Leonidas had no confidant, and what healthy boy ever trusted his +sister in such matter! "YOU saw what she was like," he said, with +evasive bluntness. + +"But, Lee"-- + +But Lee was adamant. "Go and ask her," he said. + +"Like as not you were sassy to her, and she shut you up," said his +sister artfully. But even this cruel suggestion, which he could +have so easily flouted, did not draw him, and his ingenious +relations flounced disgustedly away. + +But Leonidas was not spared any further allusion to the fair +stranger; for the fact of her having spoken to him was duly +reported at home, and at dinner his reticence was again sorely +attacked. "Just like her, in spite of all her airs and graces, to +hang out along the fence like any ordinary hired girl, jabberin' +with anybody that went along the road," said his mother incisively. +He knew that she didn't like her new neighbors, so this did not +surprise nor greatly pain him. Neither did the prosaic facts that +were now first made plain to him. His divinity was a Mrs. +Burroughs, whose husband was conducting a series of mining +operations, and prospecting with a gang of men on the Casket Ridge. +As his duty required his continual presence there, Mrs. Burroughs +was forced to forego the civilized pleasures of San Francisco for a +frontier life, for which she was ill fitted, and in which she had +no interest. All this was a vague irrelevance to Leonidas, who +knew her only as a goddess in white who had been familiar to him, +and kind, and to whom he was tied by the delicious joy of having a +secret in common, and having done her a special favor. Healthy +youth clings to its own impressions, let reason, experience, and +even facts argue ever to the contrary. + +So he kept her secret and his intact, and was rewarded a few days +afterwards by a distant view of her walking in the garden, with a +man whom he recognized as her husband. It is needless to say that, +without any extraneous thought, the man suffered in Leonidas's +estimation by his propinquity to the goddess, and that he deemed +him vastly inferior. + +It was a still greater reward to his fidelity that she seized an +opportunity when her husband's head was turned to wave her hand to +him. Leonidas did not approach the fence, partly through shyness +and partly through a more subtle instinct that this man was not in +the secret. He was right, for only the next day, as he passed to +the post-office, she called him to the fence. + +"Did you see me wave my hand to you yesterday?" she asked +pleasantly. + +"Yes, ma'am; but"--he hesitated--"I didn't come up, for I didn't +think you wanted me when any one else was there." + +She laughed merrily, and lifting his straw hat from his head, ran +the fingers of the other hand through his damp curls. "You're the +brightest, dearest boy I ever knew, Leon," she said, dropping her +pretty face to the level of his own, "and I ought to have +remembered it. But I don't mind telling you I was dreadfully +frightened lest you might misunderstand me and come and ask for +another letter--before HIM." As she emphasized the personal +pronoun, her whole face seemed to change: the light of her blue +eyes became mere glittering points, her nostrils grew white and +contracted, and her pretty little mouth seemed to narrow into a +straight cruel line, like a cat's. "Not a word ever to HIM, of all +men! Do you hear?" she said almost brusquely. Then, seeing the +concern in the boy's face, she laughed, and added explanatorily: +"He's a bad, bad man, Leon, remember that." + +The fact that she was speaking of her husband did not shock the +boy's moral sense in the least. The sacredness of those relations, +and even of blood kinship, is, I fear, not always so clear to the +youthful mind as we fondly imagine. That Mr. Burroughs was a bad +man to have excited this change in this lovely woman was Leonidas's +only conclusion. He remembered how his sister's soft, pretty +little kitten, purring on her lap, used to get its back up and spit +at the postmaster's yellow hound. + +"I never wished to come unless you called me first," he said +frankly. + +"What?" she said, in her half playful, half reproachful, but wholly +caressing way. "You mean to say you would never come to see me +unless I sent for you? Oh, Leon! and you'd abandon me in that +way?" + +But Leonidas was set in his own boyish superstition. "I'd just +delight in being sent for by you any time, Mrs. Burroughs, and you +kin always find me," he said shyly, but doggedly; "but"-- He +stopped. + +"What an opinionated young gentleman! Well, I see I must do all +the courting. So consider that I sent for you this morning. I've +got another letter for you to mail." She put her hand to her +breast, and out of the pretty frillings of her frock produced, as +before, with the same faint perfume of violets, a letter like the +first. But it was unsealed. "Now, listen, Leon; we are going to +be great friends--you and I." Leonidas felt his cheeks glowing. +"You are going to do me another great favor, and we are going to +have a little fun and a great secret all by our own selves. Now, +first, have you any correspondent--you know--any one who writes to +you--any boy or girl--from San Francisco?" + +Leonidas's cheeks grew redder--alas! from a less happy consciousness. +He never received any letters; nobody ever wrote to him. He was +obliged to make this shameful admission. + +Mrs. Burroughs looked thoughtful. "But you have some friend in San +Francisco--some one who MIGHT write to you?" she suggested +pleasantly. + +"I knew a boy once who went to San Francisco," said Leonidas +doubtfully. "At least, he allowed he was goin' there." + +"That will do," said Mrs. Burroughs. "I suppose your parents know +him or of him?" + +"Why," said Leonidas, "he used to live here." + +"Better still. For, you see, it wouldn't be strange if he DID +write. What was the gentleman's name?" + +"Jim Belcher," returned Leonidas hesitatingly, by no means sure +that the absent Belcher knew how to write. Mrs. Burroughs took a +tiny pencil from her belt, opened the letter she was holding in her +hand, and apparently wrote the name in it. Then she folded it and +sealed it, smiling charmingly at Leonidas's puzzled face. + +"Now, Leon, listen; for here is the favor I am asking. Mr. Jim +Belcher"--she pronounced the name with great gravity--"will write +to you in a few days. But inside of YOUR letter will be a little +note to me, which you will bring me. You can show your letter to +your family, if they want to know who it is from; but no one must +see MINE. Can you manage that?" + +"Yes," said Leonidas. Then, as the whole idea flashed upon his +quick intelligence, he smiled until he showed his dimples. Mrs. +Burroughs leaned forward over the fence, lifted his torn straw hat, +and dropped a fluttering little kiss on his forehead. It seemed to +the boy, flushed and rosy as a maid, as if she had left a shining +star there for every one to see. + +"Don't smile like that, Leon, you're positively irresistible! It +will be a nice little game, won't it? Nobody in it but you and me-- +and Belcher! We'll outwit them yet. And, you see, you'll be +obliged to come to me, after all, without my asking." + +They both laughed; indeed, quite a dimpled, bright-eyed, rosy, +innocent pair, though I think Leonidas was the more maidenly. + +"And," added Leonidas, with breathless eagerness, "I can sometimes +write to--to--Jim, and inclose your letter." + +"Angel of wisdom! certainly. Well, now, let's see--have you got +any letters for the post to-day?" He colored again, for in +anticipation of meeting her he had hurried up the family post that +morning. He held out his letters: she thrust her own among them. +"Now," she said, laying her cool, soft hand against his hot cheek, +"run along, dear; you must not be seen loitering here." + +Leonidas ran off, buoyed up on ambient air. It seemed just like a +fairy-book. Here he was, the confidant of the most beautiful +creature he had seen, and there was a mysterious letter coming to +him--Leonidas--and no one to know why. And now he had a "call" to +see her often; she would not forget him--he needn't loiter by the +fencepost to see if she wanted him--and his boyish pride and +shyness were appeased. There was no question of moral ethics +raised in Leonidas's mind; he knew that it would not be the real +Jim Belcher who would write to him, but that made the prospect the +more attractive. Nor did another circumstance trouble his +conscience. When he reached the post-office, he was surprised to +see the man whom he knew to be Mr. Burroughs talking with the +postmaster. Leonidas brushed by him and deposited his letters in +the box in discreet triumph. The postmaster was evidently +officially resenting some imputation on his carelessness, and, +concluding his defense, "No, sir," he said, "you kin bet your boots +that ef any letter hez gone astray for you or your wife-- Ye said +your wife, didn't ye?" + +"Yes," said Burroughs hastily, with a glance around the shop. + +"Well, for you or anybody at your house--it ain't here that's the +fault. You hear me! I know every letter that comes in and goes +outer this office, I reckon, and handle 'em all,"--Leonidas pricked +up his ears,--"and if anybody oughter know, it's me. Ye kin paste +that in your hat, Mr. Burroughs." Burroughs, apparently +disconcerted by the intrusion of a third party--Leonidas--upon what +was evidently a private inquiry, murmured something surlily, and +passed out. + +Leonidas was puzzled. That big man seemed to be "snoopin'" around +for something! He knew that he dared not touch the letter-bag,-- +Leonidas had heard somewhere that it was a deadly crime to touch +any letters after the Government had got hold of them once, and he +had no fears for the safety of hers. But ought he not go back at +once and tell her about her husband's visit, and the alarming fact +that the postmaster was personally acquainted with all the letters? +He instantly saw, too, the wisdom of her inclosing her letter +hereafter in another address. Yet he finally resolved not to tell +her to-day,--it would look like "hanging round" again; and--another +secret reason--he was afraid that any allusion to her husband's +interference would bring back that change in her beautiful face +which he did not like. The better to resist temptation, he went +back another way. + +It must not be supposed that, while Leonidas indulged in this +secret passion for the beautiful stranger, it was to the exclusion +of his boyish habits. It merely took the place of his intellectual +visions and his romantic reading. He no longer carried books in +his pocket on his lazy rambles. What were mediaeval legends of +high-born ladies and their pages to this real romance of himself +and Mrs. Burroughs? What were the exploits of boy captains and +juvenile trappers and the Indian maidens and Spanish senoritas to +what was now possible to himself and his divinity here--upon Casket +Ridge! The very ground around her was now consecrated to romance +and adventure. Consequently, he visited a few traps on his way +back which he had set for "jackass-rabbits" and wildcats,--the +latter a vindictive reprisal for aggression upon an orphan brood of +mountain quail which he had taken under his protection. For, while +he nourished a keen love of sport, it was controlled by a boy's +larger understanding of nature: a pantheistic sympathy with man and +beast and plant, which made him keenly alive to the strange +cruelties of creation, revealed to him some queer animal feuds, and +made him a chivalrous partisan of the weaker. He had even gone out +of his way to defend, by ingenious contrivances of his own, the +hoard of a golden squirrel and the treasures of some wild bees from +a predatory bear, although it did not prevent him later from +capturing the squirrel by an equally ingenious contrivance, and +from eventually eating some of the honey. + +He was late home that evening. But this was "vacation,"--the +district school was closed, and but for the household "chores," +which occupied his early mornings, each long summer day was a +holiday. So two or three passed; and then one morning, on his +going to the post-office, the postmaster threw down upon the +counter a real and rather bulky letter, duly stamped, and addressed +to Mr. Leonidas Boone! Leonidas was too discreet to open it before +witnesses, but in the solitude of the trail home broke the seal. +It contained another letter with no address--clearly the one SHE +expected--and, more marvelous still, a sheaf of trout-hooks, with +delicate gut-snells such as Leonidas had only dared to dream of. +The letter to himself was written in a clear, distinct hand, and +ran as follows:-- + + +DEAR LEE,--How are you getting on on old Casket Ridge? It seems a +coon's age since you and me was together, and times I get to think +I must just run up and see you! We're having bully times in +'Frisco, you bet! though there ain't anything wild worth shucks to +go to see--'cept the sea lions at the Cliff House. They're just +stunning--big as a grizzly, and bigger--climbing over a big rock or +swimming in the sea like an otter or muskrat. I'm sending you some +snells and hooks, such as you can't get at Casket. Use the fine +ones for pot-holes and the bigger ones for running water or falls. +Let me know when you've got 'em. Write to Lock Box No. 1290. +That's where dad's letters come. So no more at present. + +From yours truly, + +JIM BELCHER. + + +Not only did Leonidas know that this was not from the real Jim, but +he felt the vague contact of a new, charming, and original +personality that fascinated him. Of course, it was only natural +that one of HER friends--as he must be--should be equally +delightful. There was no jealousy in Leonidas's devotion; he knew +only a joy in this fellowship of admiration for her which he was +satisfied that the other boy must feel. And only the right kind of +boy could know the importance of his ravishing gift, and this Jim +was evidently "no slouch"! Yet, in Leonidas's new joy he did not +forget HER! He ran back to the stockade fence and lounged upon the +road in view of the house, but she did not appear. + +Leonidas lingered on the top of the hill, ostentatiously examining +a young hickory for a green switch, but to no effect. Then it +suddenly occurred to him that she might be staying in purposely, +and, perhaps a little piqued by her indifference, he ran off. +There was a mountain stream hard by, now dwindled in the summer +drouth to a mere trickling thread among the boulders, and there was +a certain "pot-hole" that he had long known. It was the lurking- +place of a phenomenal trout,--an almost historic fish in the +district, which had long resisted the attempt of such rude +sportsmen as miners, or even experts like himself. Few had seen +it, except as a vague, shadowy bulk in the four feet of depth and +gloom in which it hid; only once had Leonidas's quick eye feasted +on its fair proportions. On that memorable occasion Leonidas, +having exhausted every kind of lure of painted fly and living bait, +was rising from his knees behind the bank, when a pink five-cent +stamp dislodged from his pocket fluttered in the air, and descended +slowly upon the still pool. Horrified at his loss, Leonidas leaned +over to recover it, when there was a flash like lightning in the +black depths, a dozen changes of light and shadow on the surface, a +little whirling wave splashing against the side of the rock, and +the postage stamp was gone. More than that--for one instant the +trout remained visible, stationary and expectant! Whether it was +the instinct of sport, or whether the fish had detected a new, +subtle, and original flavor in the gum and paper, Leonidas never +knew. Alas! he had not another stamp; he was obliged to leave the +fish, but carried a brilliant idea away with him. Ever since then +he had cherished it--and another extra stamp in his pocket. And +now, with this strong but gossamer-like snell, this new hook, and +this freshly cut hickory rod, he would make the trial! + +But fate was against him! He had scarcely descended the narrow +trail to the pine-fringed margin of the stream before his quick ear +detected an unusual rustling through the adjacent underbrush, and +then a voice that startled him! It was HERS! In an instant all +thought of sport had fled. With a beating heart, half opened lips, +and uplifted lashes, Leonidas awaited the coming of his divinity +like a timorous virgin at her first tryst. + +But Mrs. Burroughs was clearly not in an equally responsive mood. +With her fair face reddened by the sun, the damp tendrils of her +unwound hair clinging to her forehead, and her smart little +slippers red with dust, there was also a querulous light in her +eyes, and a still more querulous pinch in her nostrils, as she +stood panting before him. + +"You tiresome boy!" she gasped, holding one little hand to her side +as she gripped her brambled skirt around her ankles with the other. +"Why didn't you wait? Why did you make me run all this distance +after you?" + +Leonidas timidly and poignantly protested. He had waited before +the house and on the hill; he thought she didn't want him. + +"Couldn't you see that THAT MAN kept me in?" she went on peevishiy. +"Haven't you sense enough to know that he suspects something, and +follows me everywhere, dogging my footsteps every time the post +comes in, and even going to the post-office himself, to make sure +that he sees all my letters? Well," she added impatiently, "have +you anything for me? Why don't you speak?" + +Crushed and remorseful, Leonidas produced her letter. She almost +snatched it from his hand, opened it, read a few lines, and her +face changed. A smile strayed from her eyes to her lips, and back +again. Leonidas's heart was lifted; she was so forgiving and so +beautiful! + +"Is he a boy, Mrs. Burroughs?" asked Leonidas shyly. + +"Well--not exactly," she said, her charming face all radiant again. +"He's older than you. What has he written to you?" + +Leonidas put his letter in her hand for reply. + +"I wish I could see him, you know," he said shyly. "That letter's +bully--it's just rats! I like him pow'ful." + +Mrs. Burroughs had skimmed through the letter, but not interestedly. + +"You mustn't like him more than you like me," she said laughingly, +caressing him with her voice and eyes, and even her straying hand. + +"I couldn't do that! I never could like anybody as I like you," +said. Leonidas gravely. There was such appalling truthfulness in +the boy's voice and frankly opened eyes that the woman could not +evade it, and was slightly disconcerted. But she presently started +up with a vexatious cry. "There's that wretch following me again, +I do believe," she said, staring at the hilltop. "Yes! Look, +Leon, he's turning to come down this trail. What's to be done? He +mustn't see me here!" + +Leonidas looked. It was indeed Mr. Burroughs; but he was evidently +only taking a short cut towards the Ridge, where his men were +working. Leonidas had seen him take it before. But it was the +principal trail on the steep hillside, and they must eventually +meet. A man might evade it by scrambling through the brush to a +lower and rougher trail; but a woman, never! But an idea had +seized Leonidas. "I can stop him," he said confidently to her. +"You just lie low here behind that rock till I come back. He +hasn't seen you yet." + +She had barely time to draw back before Leonidas darted down the +trail towards her husband. Yet, in her intense curiosity, she +leaned out the next moment to watch him. He paused at last, not +far from the approaching figure, and seemed to kneel down on the +trail. What was he doing? Her husband was still slowly advancing. +Suddenly he stopped. At the same moment she heard their two voices +in excited parley, and then, to her amazement, she saw her husband +scramble hurriedly down the trail to the lower level, and with an +occasional backward glance, hasten away until he had passed beyond +her view. + +She could scarcely realize her narrow escape when Leonidas stood by +her side. "How did you do it?" she said eagerly. + +"With a rattler!" said the boy gravely. + +"With a what?" + +"A rattlesnake--pizen snake, you know." + +"A rattlesnake?" she said, staring at Leonidas with a quick +snatching away of her skirts. + +The boy, who seemed to have forgotten her in his other abstraction +of adventure, now turned quickly, with devoted eyes and a +reassuring smile. + +"Yes; but I wouldn't let him hurt you," he said gently. + +"But what did you DO?" + +He looked at her curiously. "You won't be frightened if I show +you?" he said doubtfully. "There's nothin' to be afeerd of s'long +as you're with me," he added proudly. + +"Yes--that is"--she stammered, and then, her curiosity getting the +better of her fear, she added in a whisper: "Show me quick!" + +He led the way up the narrow trail until he stopped where he had +knelt before. It was a narrow, sunny ledge of rock, scarcely wide +enough for a single person to pass. He silently pointed to a cleft +in the rock, and kneeling down again, began to whistle in a soft, +fluttering way. There was a moment of suspense, and then she was +conscious of an awful gliding something,--a movement so measured +yet so exquisitely graceful that she stood enthralled. A narrow, +flattened, expressionless head was followed by a footlong strip of +yellow-barred scales; then there was a pause, and the head turned, +in a beautifully symmetrical half-circle, towards the whistler. +The whistling ceased; the snake, with half its body out of the +cleft, remained poised in air as if stiffened to stone. + +"There," said Leonidas quietly, "that's what Mr. Burroughs saw, and +that's WHY he scooted off the trail. I just called out William +Henry,--I call him William Henry, and he knows his name,--and then +I sang out to Mr. Burroughs what was up; and it was lucky I did, +for the next moment he'd have been on top of him and have been +struck, for rattlers don't give way to any one." + +"Oh, why didn't you let"-- She stopped herself quickly, but could +not stop the fierce glint in her eye nor the sharp curve in her +nostril. Luckily, Leonidas did not see this, being preoccupied +with his other graceful charmer, William Henry. + +"But how did you know it was here?" said Mrs. Burroughs, recovering +herself. + +"Fetched him here," said Leonidas briefly. + +"What in your hands?" she said, drawing back. + +"No! made him follow! I HAVE handled him, but it was after I'd +first made him strike his pizen out upon a stick. Ye know, after +he strikes four times he ain't got any pizen left. Then ye kin do +anythin' with him, and he knows it. He knows me, you bet! I've +bin three months trainin' him. Look! Don't be frightened," he +said, as Mrs. Burroughs drew hurriedly back; "see him mind me. Now +scoot home, William Henry." + +He accompanied the command with a slow, dominant movement of the +hickory rod he was carrying. The snake dropped its head, and slid +noiselessly out of the cleft across the trail and down the hill. + +"Thinks my rod is witch-hazel, which rattlers can't abide," +continued Leonidas, dropping into a boy's breathless abbreviated +speech. "Lives down your way--just back of your farm. Show ye +some day. Suns himself on a flat stone every day--always cold-- +never can get warm. Eh?" + +She had not spoken, but was gazing into space with a breathless +rigidity of attitude and a fixed look in her eye, not unlike the +motionless orbs of the reptile that had glided away. + +"Does anybody else know you keep him?" she asked. + +"Nary one. I never showed him to anybody but you," replied the +boy. + +"Don't! You must show me where he hides to-morrow," she said, in +her old laughing way. "And now, Leon, I must go back to the +house." + +"May I write to him--to Jim Belcher, Mrs. Burroughs?" said the boy +timidly. + +"Certainly. And come to me to-morrow with your letter--I will have +mine ready. Good-by." She stopped and glanced at the trail. "And +you say that if that man had kept on, the snake would have bitten +him?" + +"Sure pop!--if he'd trod on him--as he was sure to. The snake +wouldn't have known he didn't mean it. It's only natural," +continued Leonidas, with glowing partisanship for the gentle and +absent William Henry. "YOU wouldn't like to be trodden upon, Mrs. +Burroughs!" + +"No! I'd strike out!" she said quickly. She made a rapid motion +forward with her low forehead and level head, leaving it rigid the +next moment, so that it reminded him of the snake, and he laughed. +At which she laughed too, and tripped away. + +Leonidas went back and caught his trout. But even this triumph did +not remove a vague sense of disappointment which had come over him. +He had often pictured to himself a Heaven-sent meeting with her in +the woods, a walk with her, alone, where he could pick her the +rarest flowers and herbs and show her his woodland friends; and it +had only ended in this, and an exhibition of William Henry! He +ought to have saved HER from something, and not her husband. Yet +he had no ill-feeling for Burroughs, only a desire to circumvent +him, on behalf of the unprotected, as he would have baffled a hawk +or a wildcat. He went home in dismal spirits, but later that +evening constructed a boyish letter of thanks to the apocryphal +Belcher and told him all about--the trout! + +He brought her his letter the next day, and received hers to +inclose. She was pleasant, her own charming self again, but she +seemed more interested in other things than himself, as, for +instance, the docile William Henry, whose hiding-place he showed, +and whose few tricks she made him exhibit to her, and which the +gratified Leonidas accepted as a delicate form of flattery to +himself. But his yearning, innocent spirit detected a something +lacking, which he was too proud to admit even to himself. It was +his own fault; he ought to have waited for her, and not gone for +the trout! + +So a fortnight passed with an interchange of the vicarious letters, +and brief, hopeful, and disappointing meetings to Leonidas. To add +to his unhappiness, he was obliged to listen to sneering +disparagement of his goddess from his family, and criticisms which, +happily, his innocence did not comprehend. It was his own mother +who accused her of shamefully "making up" to the good-looking +expressman at church last Sunday, and declared that Burroughs ought +to "look after that wife of his,"--two statements which the simple +Leonidas could not reconcile. He had seen the incident, and only +thought her more lovely than ever. Why should not the expressman +think so too? And yet the boy was not happy; something intruded +upon his sports, upon his books, making them dull and vapid, and +yet that something was she! He grew pale and preoccupied. If he +had only some one in whom to confide--some one who could explain +his hopes and fears. That one was nearer than he thought! + +It was quite three weeks since the rattlesnake incident, and he was +wandering moodily over Casket Ridge. He was near the Casket, that +abrupt upheaval of quartz and gneiss, shaped like a coffer, from +which the mountain took its name. It was a favorite haunt of +Leonidas, one of whose boyish superstitions was that it contained a +treasure of gold, and one of whose brightest dreams had been that +he should yet discover it. This he did not do to-day, but looking +up from the rocks that he was listlessly examining, he made the +almost as thrilling discovery that near him on the trail was a +distinguished-looking stranger. + +He was bestriding a shapely mustang, which well became his handsome +face and slight, elegant figure, and he was looking at Leonidas +with an amused curiosity and a certain easy assurance that were +difficult to withstand. It was with the same fascinating self- +confidence of smile, voice, and manner that he rode up to the boy, +and leaning lightly over his saddle, said with exaggerated +politeness: "I believe I have the pleasure of addressing Mr. +Leonidas Boone?" + +The rising color in Leonidas's face was apparently a sufficient +answer to the stranger, for he continued smilingly, "Then permit me +to introduce myself as Mr. James Belcher. As you perceive, I have +grown considerably since you last saw me. In fact, I've done +nothing else. It's surprising what a fellow can do when he sets +his mind on one thing. And then, you know, they're always telling +you that San Francisco is a 'growing place.' That accounts for +it!" + +Leonidas, dazed, dazzled, but delighted, showed all his white teeth +in a shy laugh. At which the enchanting stranger leaped from his +horse like a very boy, drew his arm through the rein, and going up +to Leonidas, lifted the boy's straw hat from his head and ran his +fingers through his curls. There was nothing original in that-- +everybody did that to him as a preliminary to conversation. But +when this ingenuous fine gentleman put his own Panama hat on +Leonidas's head, and clapped Leonidas's torn straw on his own, and, +passing his arm through the boy's, began to walk on with him, +Leonidas's simple heart went out to him at once. + +"And now, Leon," said the delightful stranger, "let's you and me +have a talk. There's a nice cool spot under these laurels; I'll +stake out Pepita, and we'll just lie off there and gab, and not +care if school keeps or not." + +"But you know you ain't really Jim Belcher," said the boy shyly. + +"I'm as good a man as he is any day, whoever I am," said the +stranger, with humorous defiance, "and can lick him out of his +boots, whoever HE is. That ought to satisfy you. But if you want +my certificate, here's your own letter, old man," he said, +producing Leonidas's last scrawl from his pocket. + +"And HERS?" said the boy cautiously. + +The stranger's face changed a little. "And HERS," he repeated +gravely, showing a little pink note which Leonidas recognized as +one of Mrs. Burroughs's inclosures. The boy was silent until they +reached the laurels, where the stranger tethered his horse and then +threw himself in an easy attitude beneath the tree, with the back +of his head upon his clasped hands. Leonidas could see his curved +brown mustaches and silky lashes that were almost as long, and +thought him the handsomest man he had ever beheld. + +"Well, Leon," said the stranger, stretching himself out comfortably +and pulling the boy down beside him, "how are things going on the +Casket? All serene, eh?" + +The inquiry so dismally recalled Leonidas's late feelings that his +face clouded, and he involuntarily sighed. The stranger instantly +shifted his head and gazed curiously at him. Then he took the +boy's sunburnt hand in his own, and held it a moment. "Well, go +on," he said. + +"Well, Mr.--Mr.--I can't go on--I won't!" said Leonidas, with a +sudden fit of obstinacy. "I don't know what to call you." + +"Call me 'Jack'--'Jack Hamlin' when you're not in a hurry. Ever +heard of me before?" he added, suddenly turning his head towards +Leonidas. + +The boy shook his head. "No." + +Mr. Jack Hamlin lifted his lashes in affected expostulation to the +skies. "And this is Fame!" he murmured audibly. + +But this Leonidas did not comprehend. Nor could he understand why +the stranger, who clearly must have come to see HER, should not ask +about her, should not rush to seek her, but should lie back there +all the while so contentedly on the grass. HE wouldn't. He half +resented it, and then it occurred to him that this fine gentleman +was like himself--shy. Who could help being so before such an +angel? HE would help him on. + +And so, shyly at first, but bit by bit emboldened by a word or two +from Jack, he began to talk of her--of her beauty--of her kindness-- +of his own unworthiness--of what she had said and done--until, +finding in this gracious stranger the vent his pent-up feelings so +long had sought, he sang then and there the little idyl of his +boyish life. He told of his decline in her affections after his +unpardonable sin in keeping her waiting while he went for the +trout, and added the miserable mistake of the rattlesnake episode. +"For it was a mistake, Mr. Hamlin. I oughtn't to have let a lady +like that know anything about snakes--just because I happen to know +them." + +"It WAS an awful slump, Lee," said Hamlin gravely. "Get a woman +and a snake together--and where are you? Think of Adam and Eve and +the serpent, you know." + +"But it wasn't that way," said the boy earnestly. "And I want to +tell you something else that's just makin' me sick, Mr. Hamlin. +You know I told you William Henry lives down at the bottom of +Burroughs's garden, and how I showed Mrs. Burroughs his tricks! +Well, only two days ago I was down there looking for him, and +couldn't find him anywhere. There's a sort of narrow trail from +the garden to the hill, a short cut up to the Ridge, instead o' +going by their gate. It's just the trail any one would take in a +hurry, or if they didn't want to be seen from the road. Well! I +was looking this way and that for William Henry, and whistlin' for +him, when I slipped on to the trail. There, in the middle of it, +was an old bucket turned upside down--just the thing a man would +kick away or a woman lift up. Well, Mr. Hamlin, I kicked it away, +and"--the boy stopped, with rounded eyes and bated breath, and +added--"I just had time to give one jump and save myself! For +under that pail, cramped down so he couldn't get out, and just +bilin' over with rage, and chockful of pizen, was William Henry! +If it had been anybody else less spry, they'd have got bitten,--and +that's just what the sneak who put it there knew." + +Mr. Hamlin uttered an exclamation under his breath, and rose to his +feet. + +"What did you say?" asked the boy quickly. + +"Nothing," said Mr. Hamlin. + +But it had sounded to Leonidas like an oath. + +Mr. Hamlin walked a few steps, as if stretching his limbs, and then +said: "And you think Burroughs would have been bitten?" + +"Why, no!" said Leonidas in astonished indignation; "of course not-- +not BURROUGHS. It would have been poor MRS. Burroughs. For, of +course, HE set that trap for her--don't you see? Who else would do +it?" + +"Of course, of course! Certainly," said Mr. Hamlin coolly. "Of +course, as you say, HE set the trap--yes--you just hang on to that +idea." + +But something in Mr. Hamlin's manner, and a peculiar look in his +eye, did not satisfy Leonidas. "Are you going to see her now?" he +said eagerly. "I can show you the house, and then run in and tell +her you're outside in the laurels." + +"Not just yet," said Mr. Hamlin, laying his hand on the boy's head +after having restored his own hat. "You see, I thought of giving +her a surprise. A big surprise!" he added slowly. After a pause, +he went on: "Did you tell her what you had seen?" + +"Of course I did," said Leonidas reproachfully. "Did you think I +was going to let her get bit? It might have killed her." + +"And it might not have been an unmixed pleasure for William Henry. +I mean," said Mr. Hamlin gravely, correcting himself, "YOU would +never have forgiven him. But what did she say?" + +The boy's face clouded. "She thanked me and said it was very +thoughtful--and kind--though it might have been only an accident"-- +he stammered--"and then she said perhaps I was hanging round and +coming there a little too much lately, and that as Burroughs was +very watchful, I'd better quit for two or three days." The tears +were rising to his eyes, but by putting his two clenched fists into +his pockets, he managed to hold them down. Perhaps Mr. Hamlin's +soft hand on his head assisted him. Mr. Hamlin took from his +pocket a notebook, and tearing out a leaf, sat down again and began +to write on his knee. After a pause, Leonidas said,-- + +"Was you ever in love, Mr. Hamlin?" + +"Never," said Mr. Hamlin, quietly continuing to write. "But, now +you speak of it, it's a long-felt want in my nature that I intend +to supply some day. But not until I've made my pile. And don't +YOU either." He continued writing, for it was this gentleman's +peculiarity to talk without apparently the slightest concern +whether anybody else spoke, whether he was listened to, or whether +his remarks were at all relevant to the case. Yet he was always +listened to for that reason. When he had finished writing, he +folded up the paper, put it in an envelope, and addressed it. + +"Shall I take it to her?" said Leonidas eagerly. + +"It's not for HER; it's for him--Mr. Burroughs," said Mr. Hamlin +quietly. + +The boy drew back. "To get him out of the way," added Hamlin +explanatorily. "When he gets it, lightning wouldn't keep him here. +Now, how to send it," he said thoughtfully. + +"You might leave it at the post-office," said Leonidas timidly. +"He always goes there to watch his wife's letters." + +For the first time in their interview Mr. Hamlin distinctly +laughed. + +"Your head is level, Leo, and I'll do it. Now the best thing you +can do is to follow Mrs. Burroughs's advice. Quit going to the +house for a day or two." He walked towards his horse. The boy's +face sank, but he kept up bravely. "And will I see you again?" he +said wistfully. + +Mr. Hamlin lowered his face so near the boy's that Leonidas could +see himself in the brown depths of Mr. Hamlin's eyes. "I hope you +will," he said gravely. He mounted, shook the boy's hand, and rode +away in the lengthening shadows. Then Leonidas walked sadly home. + +There was no need for him to keep his promise; for the next morning +the family were stirred by the announcement that Mr. and Mrs. +Burroughs had left Casket Ridge that night by the down stage for +Sacramento, and that the house was closed. There were various +rumors concerning the reason of this sudden departure, but only one +was persistent, and borne out by the postmaster. It was that Mr. +Burroughs had received that afternoon an anonymous note that his +wife was about to elope with the notorious San Francisco gambler, +Jack Hamlin. + +But Leonidas Boone, albeit half understanding, kept his miserable +secret with a still hopeful and trustful heart. It grieved him a +little that William Henry was found a few days later dead, with his +head crushed. Yet it was not until years later, when he had made a +successful "prospect" on Casket Ridge, that he met Mr. Hamlin in +San Francisco, and knew how he had played the part of Mercury upon +that "heaven-kissing hill." + + + +COLONEL STARBOTTLE FOR THE PLAINTIFF + + +It had been a day of triumph for Colonel Starbottle. First, for +his personality, as it would have been difficult to separate the +Colonel's achievements from his individuality; second, for his +oratorical abilities as a sympathetic pleader; and third, for his +functions as the leading legal counsel for the Eureka Ditch Company +versus the State of California. On his strictly legal performances +in this issue I prefer not to speak; there were those who denied +them, although the jury had accepted them in the face of the ruling +of the half amused, half cynical Judge himself. For an hour they +had laughed with the Colonel, wept with him, been stirred to +personal indignation or patriotic exaltation by his passionate and +lofty periods,--what else could they do than give him their +verdict? If it was alleged by some that the American eagle, Thomas +Jefferson, and the Resolutions of '98 had nothing whatever to do +with the contest of a ditch company over a doubtfully worded +legislative document; that wholesale abuse of the State Attorney +and his political motives had not the slightest connection with the +legal question raised--it was, nevertheless, generally accepted +that the losing party would have been only too glad to have the +Colonel on their side. And Colonel Starbottle knew this, as, +perspiring, florid, and panting, he rebuttoned the lower buttons of +his blue frock-coat, which had become loosed in an oratorical +spasm, and readjusted his old-fashioned, spotless shirt frill above +it as he strutted from the court-room amidst the handshakings and +acclamations of his friends. + +And here an unprecedented thing occurred. The Colonel absolutely +declined spirituous refreshment at the neighboring Palmetto Saloon, +and declared his intention of proceeding directly to his office in +the adjoining square. Nevertheless, the Colonel quitted the +building alone, and apparently unarmed, except for his faithful +gold-headed stick, which hung as usual from his forearm. The crowd +gazed after him with undisguised admiration of this new evidence of +his pluck. It was remembered also that a mysterious note had been +handed to him at the conclusion of his speech,--evidently a +challenge from the State Attorney. It was quite plain that the +Colonel--a practiced duelist--was hastening home to answer it. + +But herein they were wrong. The note was in a female hand, and +simply requested the Colonel to accord an interview with the writer +at the Colonel's office as soon as he left the court. But it was +an engagement that the Colonel--as devoted to the fair sex as he +was to the "code"--was no less prompt in accepting. He flicked +away the dust from his spotless white trousers and varnished boots +with his handkerchief, and settled his black cravat under his Byron +collar as he neared his office. He was surprised, however, on +opening the door of his private office, to find his visitor already +there; he was still more startled to find her somewhat past middle +age and plainly attired. But the Colonel was brought up in a +school of Southern politeness, already antique in the republic, and +his bow of courtesy belonged to the epoch of his shirt frill and +strapped trousers. No one could have detected his disappointment +in his manner, albeit his sentences were short and incomplete. But +the Colonel's colloquial speech was apt to be fragmentary +incoherencies of his larger oratorical utterances. + +"A thousand pardons--for--er--having kept a lady waiting--er! +But--er--congratulations of friends--and--er--courtesy due to +them--er--interfered with--though perhaps only heightened--by +procrastination--the pleasure of--ha!" And the Colonel completed +his sentence with a gallant wave of his fat but white and well-kept +hand. + +"Yes! I came to see you along o' that speech of yours. I was in +court. When I heard you gettin' it off on that jury, I says to +myself, 'That's the kind o' lawyer I want. A man that's flowery +and convincin'! Just the man to take up our case." + +"Ah! It's a matter of business, I see," said the Colonel, inwardly +relieved, but externally careless. "And--er--may I ask the nature +of the case?" + +"Well! it's a breach-o'-promise suit," said the visitor calmly. + +If the Colonel had been surprised before, he was now really +startled, and with an added horror that required all his politeness +to conceal. Breach-of-promise cases were his peculiar aversion. +He had always held them to be a kind of litigation which could have +been obviated by the prompt killing of the masculine offender--in +which case he would have gladly defended the killer. But a suit +for damages,--DAMAGES!--with the reading of love-letters before a +hilarious jury and court, was against all his instincts. His +chivalry was outraged; his sense of humor was small, and in the +course of his career he had lost one or two important cases through +an unexpected development of this quality in a jury. + +The woman had evidently noticed his hesitation, but mistook its +cause. "It ain't me--but my darter." + +The Colonel recovered his politeness. "Ah! I am relieved, my dear +madam! I could hardly conceive a man ignorant enough to--er--er-- +throw away such evident good fortune--or base enough to deceive the +trustfulness of womanhood--matured and experienced only in the +chivalry of our sex, ha!" + +The woman smiled grimly. "Yes!--it's my darter, Zaidee Hooker--so +ye might spare some of them pretty speeches for HER--before the +jury." + +The Colonel winced slightly before this doubtful prospect, but +smiled. "Ha! Yes!--certainly--the jury. But--er--my dear lady, +need we go as far as that? Can not this affair be settled--er--out +of court? Could not this--er--individual--be admonished--told that +he must give satisfaction--personal satisfaction--for his dastardly +conduct--to--er--near relative--or even valued personal friend? +The--er--arrangements necessary for that purpose I myself would +undertake." + +He was quite sincere; indeed, his small black eyes shone with that +fire which a pretty woman or an "affair of honor" could alone +kindle. The visitor stared vacantly at him, and said slowly, "And +what good is that goin' to do US?" + +"Compel him to--er--perform his promise," said the Colonel, leaning +back in his chair. + +"Ketch him doin' it!" she exclaimed scornfully. "No--that ain't +wot we're after. We must make him PAY! Damages--and nothin' short +o' THAT." + +The Colonel bit his lip. "I suppose," he said gloomily, "you have +documentary evidence--written promises and protestations--er--er-- +love-letters, in fact?" + +"No--nary a letter! Ye see, that's jest it--and that's where YOU +come in. You've got to convince that jury yourself. You've got to +show what it is--tell the whole story your own way. Lord! to a man +like you that's nothin'." + +Startling as this admission might have been to any other lawyer, +Starbottle was absolutely relieved by it. The absence of any +mirth-provoking correspondence, and the appeal solely to his own +powers of persuasion, actually struck his fancy. He lightly put +aside the compliment with a wave of his white hand. + +"Of course," he said confidently, "there is strongly presumptive +and corroborative evidence? Perhaps you can give me--er--a brief +outline of the affair?" + +"Zaidee kin do that straight enough, I reckon," said the woman; +"what I want to know first is, kin you take the case?" + +The Colonel did not hesitate; his curiosity was piqued. "I +certainly can. I have no doubt your daughter will put me in +possession of sufficient facts and details--to constitute what we +call--er--a brief." + +"She kin be brief enough--or long enough--for the matter of that," +said the woman, rising. The Colonel accepted this implied +witticism with a smile. + +"And when may I have the pleasure of seeing her?" he asked +politely. + +"Well, I reckon as soon as I can trot out and call her. She's just +outside, meanderin' in the road--kinder shy, ye know, at first." + +She walked to the door. The astounded Colonel nevertheless +gallantly accompanied her as she stepped out into the street and +called shrilly, "You Zaidee!" + +A young girl here apparently detached herself from a tree and the +ostentatious perusal of an old election poster, and sauntered down +towards the office door. Like her mother, she was plainly dressed; +unlike her, she had a pale, rather refined face, with a demure +mouth and downcast eyes. This was all the Colonel saw as he bowed +profoundly and led the way into his office, for she accepted his +salutations without lifting her head. He helped her gallantly to a +chair, on which she seated herself sideways, somewhat ceremoniously, +with her eyes following the point of her parasol as she traced a +pattern on the carpet. A second chair offered to the mother that +lady, however, declined. "I reckon to leave you and Zaidee together +to talk it out," she said; turning to her daughter, she added, "Jest +you tell him all, Zaidee," and before the Colonel could rise again, +disappeared from the room. In spite of his professional experience, +Starbottle was for a moment embarrassed. The young girl, however, +broke the silence without looking up. + +"Adoniram K. Hotchkiss," she began, in a monotonous voice, as if it +were a recitation addressed to the public, "first began to take +notice of me a year ago. Arter that--off and on"-- + +"One moment," interrupted the astounded Colonel; "do you mean +Hotchkiss the President of the Ditch Company?" He had recognized +the name of a prominent citizen--a rigid, ascetic, taciturn, +middle-aged man--a deacon--and more than that, the head of the +company he had just defended. It seemed inconceivable. + +"That's him," she continued, with eyes still fixed on the parasol +and without changing her monotonous tone--"off and on ever since. +Most of the time at the Free-Will Baptist Church--at morning +service, prayer-meetings, and such. And at home--outside--er--in +the road." + +"Is it this gentleman--Mr. Adoniram K. Hotchkiss--who--er--promised +marriage?" stammered the Colonel. + +"Yes." + +The Colonel shifted uneasily in his chair. "Most extraordinary! +for--you see--my dear young lady--this becomes--a--er--most +delicate affair." + +"That's what maw said," returned the young woman simply, yet with +the faintest smile playing around her demure lips and downcast +cheek. + +"I mean," said the Colonel, with a pained yet courteous smile, +"that this--er--gentleman--is in fact--er--one of my clients." + +"That's what maw said too, and of course your knowing him will make +it all the easier for you." + +A slight flush crossed the Colonel's cheek as he returned quickly +and a little stiffly, "On the contrary--er--it may make it +impossible for me to--er--act in this matter." + +The girl lifted her eyes. The Colonel held his breath as the long +lashes were raised to his level. Even to an ordinary observer that +sudden revelation of her eyes seemed to transform her face with +subtle witchery. They were large, brown, and soft, yet filled with +an extraordinary penetration and prescience. They were the eyes of +an experienced woman of thirty fixed in the face of a child. What +else the Colonel saw there Heaven only knows! He felt his inmost +secrets plucked from him--his whole soul laid bare--his vanity, +belligerency, gallantry--even his mediaeval chivalry, penetrated, +and yet illuminated, in that single glance. And when the eyelids +fell again, he felt that a greater part of himself had been +swallowed up in them. + +"I beg your pardon," he said hurriedly. "I mean--this matter may +be arranged--er--amicably. My interest with--and as you wisely +say--my--er--knowledge of my client--er--Mr. Hotchkiss--may effect-- +a compromise." + +"And DAMAGES," said the young girl, readdressing her parasol, as if +she had never looked up. + +The Colonel winced. "And--er--undoubtedly COMPENSATION--if you do +not press a fulfillment of the promise. Unless," he said, with an +attempted return to his former easy gallantry, which, however, the +recollection of her eyes made difficult, "it is a question of--er-- +the affections." + +"Which?" asked his fair client softly. + +"If you still love him?" explained the Colonel, actually blushing. + +Zaidee again looked up; again taking the Colonel's breath away with +eyes that expressed not only the fullest perception of what he had +SAID, but of what he thought and had not said, and with an added +subtle suggestion of what he might have thought. "That's tellin'," +she said, dropping her long lashes again. + +The Colonel laughed vacantly. Then feeling himself growing +imbecile, he forced an equally weak gravity. "Pardon me--I +understand there are no letters; may I know the way in which he +formulated his declaration and promises?" + +"Hymn-books." + +"I beg your pardon," said the mystified lawyer. + +"Hymn-books--marked words in them with pencil--and passed 'em on to +me," repeated Zaidee. "Like 'love,' 'dear,' 'precious,' 'sweet,' +and 'blessed,'" she added, accenting each word with a push of her +parasol on the carpet. "Sometimes a whole line outer Tate and +Brady--and Solomon's Song, you know, and sich." + +"I believe," said the Colonel loftily, "that the--er--phrases of +sacred psalmody lend themselves to the language of the affections. +But in regard to the distinct promise of marriage--was there--er-- +no OTHER expression?" + +"Marriage Service in the prayer-book--lines and words outer that-- +all marked," Zaidee replied. + +The Colonel nodded naturally and approvingly. "Very good. Were +others cognizant of this? Were there any witnesses?" + +"Of course not," said the girl. "Only me and him. It was +generally at church-time--or prayer-meeting. Once, in passing the +plate, he slipped one o' them peppermint lozenges with the letters +stamped on it 'I love you' for me to take." + +The Colonel coughed slightly. "And you have the lozenge?" + +"I ate it." + +"Ah," said the Colonel. After a pause he added delicately, "But +were these attentions--er--confined to--er--sacred precincts? Did +he meet you elsewhere?" + +"Useter pass our house on the road," returned the girl, dropping +into her monotonous recital, "and useter signal." + +"Ah, signal?" repeated the Colonel approvingly. + +"Yes! He'd say 'Keerow,' and I'd say 'Keeree.' Suthing like a +bird, you know." + +Indeed, as she lifted her voice in imitation of the call, the +Colonel thought it certainly very sweet and birdlike. At least as +SHE gave it. With his remembrance of the grim deacon he had doubts +as to the melodiousness of HIS utterance. He gravely made her +repeat it. + +"And after that signal?" he added suggestively. + +"He'd pass on." + +The Colonel again coughed slightly, and tapped his desk with his +penholder. + +"Were there any endearments--er--caresses--er--such as taking your +hand--er--clasping your waist?" he suggested, with a gallant yet +respectful sweep of his white hand and bowing of his head; "er-- +slight pressure of your fingers in the changes of a dance--I mean," +he corrected himself, with an apologetic cough--"in the passing of +the plate?" + +"No; he was not what you'd call 'fond,'" returned the girl. + +"Ah! Adoniram K. Hotchkiss was not 'fond' in the ordinary +acceptance of the word," noted the Colonel, with professional +gravity. + +She lifted her disturbing eyes, and again absorbed his in her own. +She also said "Yes," although her eyes in their mysterious +prescience of all he was thinking disclaimed the necessity of any +answer at all. He smiled vacantly. There was a long pause. On +which she slowly disengaged her parasol from the carpet pattern, +and stood up. + +"I reckon that's about all," she said. + +"Er--yes--but one moment," began the Colonel vaguely. He would +have liked to keep her longer, but with her strange premonition of +him he felt powerless to detain her, or explain his reason for +doing so. He instinctively knew she had told him all; his +professional judgment told him that a more hopeless case had never +come to his knowledge. Yet he was not daunted, only embarrassed. +"No matter," he said. "Of course I shall have to consult with you +again." + +Her eyes again answered that she expected he would, and she added +simply, "When?" + +"In the course of a day or two;" he replied quickly. "I will send +you word." + +She turned to go. In his eagerness to open the door for her, he +upset his chair, and with some confusion, that was actually +youthful, he almost impeded her movements in the hall, and knocked +his broad-brimmed Panama hat from his bowing hand in a final +gallant sweep. Yet as her small, trim, youthful figure, with its +simple Leghorn straw hat confined by a blue bow under her round +chin, passed away before him, she looked more like a child than +ever. + +The Colonel spent that afternoon in making diplomatic inquiries. +He found his youthful client was the daughter of a widow who had a +small ranch on the cross-roads, near the new Free-Will Baptist +Church--the evident theatre of this pastoral. They led a secluded +life, the girl being little known in the town, and her beauty and +fascination apparently not yet being a recognized fact. The Colonel +felt a pleasurable relief at this, and a general satisfaction he +could not account for. His few inquiries concerning Mr. Hotchkiss +only confirmed his own impressions of the alleged lover,--a +serious-minded, practically abstracted man, abstentive of youthful +society, and the last man apparently capable of levity of the +affections or serious flirtation. The Colonel was mystified, but +determined of purpose, whatever that purpose might have been. + +The next day he was at his office at the same hour. He was alone-- +as usual--the Colonel's office being really his private lodgings, +disposed in connecting rooms, a single apartment reserved for +consultation. He had no clerk, his papers and briefs being taken +by his faithful body-servant and ex-slave "Jim" to another firm who +did his office work since the death of Major Stryker, the Colonel's +only law partner, who fell in a duel some years previous. With a +fine constancy the Colonel still retained his partner's name on his +doorplate, and, it was alleged by the superstitious, kept a certain +invincibility also through the 'manes' of that lamented and +somewhat feared man. + +The Colonel consulted his watch, whose heavy gold case still showed +the marks of a providential interference with a bullet destined for +its owner, and replaced it with some difficulty and shortness of +breath in his fob. At the same moment he heard a step in the +passage, and the door opened to Adoniram K. Hotchkiss. The Colonel +was impressed; he had a duelist's respect for punctuality. + +The man entered with a nod and the expectant inquiring look of a +busy man. As his feet crossed that sacred threshold the Colonel +became all courtesy; he placed a chair for his visitor, and took +his hat from his half reluctant hand. He then opened a cupboard +and brought out a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. + +"A--er--slight refreshment, Mr. Hotchkiss," he suggested politely. + +"I never drink," replied Hotchkiss, with the severe attitude of a +total abstainer. + +"Ah--er--not the finest Bourbon whiskey, selected by a Kentucky +friend? No? Pardon me! A cigar, then--the mildest Havana." + +"I do not use tobacco nor alcohol in any form," repeated Hotchkiss +ascetically. "I have no foolish weaknesses." + +The Colonel's moist, beady eyes swept silently over his client's +sallow face. He leaned back comfortably in his chair, and half +closing his eyes as in dreamy reminiscence, said slowly: "Your +reply, Mr. Hotchkiss, reminds me of--er--sing'lar circumstance +that--er--occurred, in point of fact--at the St. Charles Hotel, New +Orleans. Pinkey Hornblower--personal friend--invited Senator +Doolittle to join him in social glass. Received, sing'larly +enough, reply similar to yours. 'Don't drink nor smoke?' said +Pinkey. 'Gad, sir, you must be mighty sweet on the ladies.' Ha!" +The Colonel paused long enough to allow the faint flush to pass +from Hotchkiss's cheek, and went on, half closing his eyes: "'I +allow no man, sir, to discuss my personal habits,' declared +Doolittle, over his shirt collar. 'Then I reckon shootin' must he +one of those habits,' said Pinkey coolly. Both men drove out on +the Shell Road back of cemetery next morning. Pinkey put bullet at +twelve paces through Doolittle's temple. Poor Doo never spoke +again. Left three wives and seven children, they say--two of 'em +black." + +"I got a note from you this morning," said Hotchkiss, with badly +concealed impatience. "I suppose in reference to our case. You +have taken judgment, I believe." + +The Colonel, without replying, slowly filled a glass of whiskey and +water. For a moment he held it dreamily before him, as if still +engaged in gentle reminiscences called up by the act. Then tossing +it off, he wiped his lips with a large white handkerchief, and +leaning back comfortably in his chair, said, with a wave of his +hand, "The interview I requested, Mr. Hotchkiss, concerns a +subject--which I may say is--er--er--at present NOT of a public or +business nature--although LATER it might become--er--er--both. It +is an affair of some--er--delicacy." + +The Colonel paused, and Mr. Hotchkiss regarded him with increased +impatience. The Colonel, however, continued, with unchanged +deliberation: "It concerns--er--er--a young lady--a beautiful, +high-souled creature, sir, who, apart from her personal loveliness-- +er--er--I may say is of one of the first families of Missouri, +and--er--not remotely connected by marriage with one of--er--er--my +boyhood's dearest friends." The latter, I grieve to say, was a +pure invention of the Colonel's--an oratorical addition to the +scanty information he had obtained the previous day. "The young +lady," he continued blandly, "enjoys the further distinction of +being the object of such attention from you as would make this +interview--really--a confidential matter--er--er among friends and-- +er--er--relations in present and future. I need not say that the +lady I refer to is Miss Zaidee Juno Hooker, only daughter of Almira +Ann Hooker, relict of Jefferson Brown Hooker, formerly of Boone +County, Kentucky, and latterly of--er--Pike County, Missouri." + +The sallow, ascetic hue of Mr. Hotchkiss's face had passed through +a livid and then a greenish shade, and finally settled into a +sullen red. "What's all this about?" he demanded roughly. + +The least touch of belligerent fire came into Starbottle's eye, but +his bland courtesy did not change. "I believe," he said politely, +"I have made myself clear as between--er--gentlemen, though perhaps +not as clear as I should to--er--er--jury." + +Mr. Hotchkiss was apparently struck with some significance in the +lawyer's reply. "I don't know," he said, in a lower and more +cautious voice, "what you mean by what you call 'my attentions' +to--any one--or how it concerns you. I have not exchanged half a +dozen words with--the person you name--have never written her a +line--nor even called at her house." + +He rose with an assumption of ease, pulled down his waistcoat, +buttoned his coat, and took up his hat. The Colonel did not move. + +"I believe I have already indicated my meaning in what I have +called 'your attentions,'" said the Colonel blandly, "and given you +my 'concern' for speaking as--er--er--mutual friend. As to YOUR +statement of your relations with Miss Hooker, I may state that it +is fully corroborated by the statement of the young lady herself in +this very office yesterday." + +"Then what does this impertinent nonsense mean? Why am I summoned +here?" demanded Hotchkiss furiously. + +"Because," said the Colonel deliberately, "that statement is +infamously--yes, damnably to your discredit, sir!" + +Mr. Hotchkiss was here seized by one of those impotent and +inconsistent rages which occasionally betray the habitually +cautious and timid man. He caught up the Colonel's stick, which +was lying on the table. At the same moment the Colonel, without +any apparent effort, grasped it by the handle. To Mr. Hotchkiss's +astonishment, the stick separated in two pieces, leaving the handle +and about two feet of narrow glittering steel in the Colonel's +hand. The man recoiled, dropping the useless fragment. The +Colonel picked it up, fitted the shining blade in it, clicked the +spring, and then rising with a face of courtesy yet of unmistakably +genuine pain, and with even a slight tremor in his voice, said +gravely,-- + +"Mr. Hotchkiss, I owe you a thousand apologies, sir, that--er--a +weapon should be drawn by me--even through your own inadvertence-- +under the sacred protection of my roof, and upon an unarmed man. I +beg your pardon, sir, and I even withdraw the expressions which +provoked that inadvertence. Nor does this apology prevent you from +holding me responsible--personally responsible--ELSEWHERE for an +indiscretion committed in behalf of a lady--my--er--client." + +"Your client? Do you mean you have taken her case? You, the +counsel for the Ditch Company?" asked Mr. Hotchkiss, in trembling +indignation. + +"Having won YOUR case, sir," replied the Colonel coolly, "the--er-- +usages of advocacy do not prevent me from espousing the cause of +the weak and unprotected." + +"We shall see, sir," said Hotchkiss, grasping the handle of the +door and backing into the passage. "There are other lawyers who"-- + +"Permit me to see you out," interrupted the Colonel, rising +politely. + +--"will be ready to resist the attacks of blackmail," continued +Hotchkiss, retreating along the passage. + +"And then you will be able to repeat your remarks to me IN THE +STREET," continued the Colonel, bowing, as he persisted in +following his visitor to the door. + +But here Mr. Hotchkiss quickly slammed it behind him, and hurried +away. The Colonel returned to his office, and sitting down, took a +sheet of letter-paper bearing the inscription "Starbottle and +Stryker, Attorneys and Counselors," and wrote the following lines:-- + + +HOOKER versus HOTCHKISS. + +DEAR MADAM,--Having had a visit from the defendant in above, we +should be pleased to have an interview with you at two P. M. +to-morrow. + +Your obedient servants, + +STARBOTTLE AND STRYKER. + + +This he sealed and dispatched by his trusted servant Jim, and then +devoted a few moments to reflection. It was the custom of the +Colonel to act first, and justify the action by reason afterwards. + +He knew that Hotchkiss would at once lay the matter before rival +counsel. He knew that they would advise him that Miss Hooker had +"no case"--that she would be nonsuited on her own evidence, and he +ought not to compromise, but be ready to stand trial. He believed, +however, that Hotchkiss feared such exposure, and although his own +instincts had been at first against this remedy, he was now +instinctively in favor of it. He remembered his own power with a +jury; his vanity and his chivalry alike approved of this heroic +method; he was bound by no prosaic facts--he had his own theory of +the case, which no mere evidence could gainsay. In fact, Mrs. +Hooker's admission that he was to "tell the story in his own way" +actually appeared to him an inspiration and a prophecy. + +Perhaps there was something else, due possibly to the lady's +wonderful eyes, of which he had thought much. Yet it was not her +simplicity that affected him solely; on the contrary, it was her +apparent intelligent reading of the character of her recreant +lover--and of his own! Of all the Colonel's previous "light" or +"serious" loves, none had ever before flattered him in that way. +And it was this, combined with the respect which he had held for +their professional relations, that precluded his having a more +familiar knowledge of his client, through serious questioning or +playful gallantry. I am not sure it was not part of the charm to +have a rustic femme incomprise as a client. + +Nothing could exceed the respect with which he greeted her as she +entered his office the next day. He even affected not to notice +that she had put on her best clothes, and he made no doubt appeared +as when she had first attracted the mature yet faithless attentions +of Deacon Hotchkiss at church. A white virginal muslin was belted +around her slim figure by a blue ribbon, and her Leghorn hat was +drawn around her oval cheek by a bow of the same color. She had a +Southern girl's narrow feet, encased in white stockings and kid +slippers, which were crossed primly before her as she sat in a +chair, supporting her arm by her faithful parasol planted firmly on +the floor. A faint odor of southernwood exhaled from her, and, +oddly enough, stirred the Colonel with a far-off recollection of a +pine-shaded Sunday-school on a Georgia hillside, and of his first +love, aged ten, in a short starched frock. Possibly it was the +same recollection that revived something of the awkwardness he had +felt then. + +He, however, smiled vaguely, and sitting down, coughed slightly, +and placed his finger-tips together. "I have had an--er--interview +with Mr. Hotchkiss, but--I--er--regret to say there seems to be no +prospect of--er--compromise." + +He paused, and to his surprise her listless "company" face lit up +with an adorable smile. "Of course!--ketch him!" she said. "Was +he mad when you told him?" She put her knees comfortably together +and leaned forward for a reply. + +For all that, wild horses could not have torn from the Colonel a +word about Hotchkiss's anger. "He expressed his intention of +employing counsel--and defending a suit," returned the Colonel, +affably basking in her smile. + +She dragged her chair nearer his desk. "Then you'll fight him +tooth and nail?" she asked eagerly; "you'll show him up? You'll +tell the whole story your own way? You'll give him fits?--and +you'll make him pay? Sure?" she went on breathlessly. + +"I--er--will," said the Colonel, almost as breathlessly. + +She caught his fat white hand, which was lying on the table, +between her own and lifted it to her lips. He felt her soft young +fingers even through the lisle-thread gloves that encased them, and +the warm moisture of her lips upon his skin. He felt himself +flushing--but was unable to break the silence or change his +position. The next moment she had scuttled back with her chair to +her old position. + +"I--er--certainly shall do my best," stammered the Colonel, in an +attempt to recover his dignity and composure. + +"That's enough! You'll do it," said she enthusiastically. "Lordy! +Just you talk for ME as ye did for HIS old Ditch Company, and +you'll fetch it--every time! Why, when you made that jury sit up +the other day--when you got that off about the Merrikan flag waving +equally over the rights of honest citizens banded together in +peaceful commercial pursuits, as well as over the fortress of +official proflig--" + +"Oligarchy," murmured the Colonel courteously. + +--"oligarchy," repeated the girl quickly, "my breath was just took +away. I said to maw, 'Ain't he too sweet for anything!' I did, +honest Injin! And when you rolled it all off at the end--never +missing a word (you didn't need to mark 'em in a lesson-book, but +had 'em all ready on your tongue)--and walked out-- Well! I +didn't know you nor the Ditch Company from Adam, but I could have +just run over and kissed you there before the whole court!" + +She laughed, with her face glowing, although her strange eyes were +cast down. Alack! the Colonel's face was equally flushed, and his +own beady eyes were on his desk. To any other woman he would have +voiced the banal gallantry that he should now, himself, look +forward to that reward, but the words never reached his lips. He +laughed, coughed slightly, and when he looked up again she had +fallen into the same attitude as on her first visit, with her +parasol point on the floor. + +"I must ask you to--er--direct your memory to--er--another point: +the breaking off of the--er--er--er--engagement. Did he--er--give +any reason for it? Or show any cause?" + +"No; he never said anything," returned the girl. + +"Not in his usual way?--er--no reproaches out of the hymn-book?--or +the sacred writings?" + +"No; he just QUIT." + +"Er--ceased his attentions," said the Colonel gravely. "And +naturally you--er--were not conscious of any cause for his doing +so." + +The girl raised her wonderful eyes so suddenly and so penetratingly +without replying in any other way that the Colonel could only +hurriedly say: "I see! None, of course!" + +At which she rose, the Colonel rising also. "We--shall begin +proceedings at once. I must, however, caution you to answer no +questions, nor say anything about this case to any one until you +are in court." + +She answered his request with another intelligent look and a nod. +He accompanied her to the door. As he took her proffered hand, he +raised the lisle-thread fingers to his lips with old-fashioned +gallantry. As if that act had condoned for his first omissions and +awkwardness, he became his old-fashioned self again, buttoned his +coat, pulled out his shirt frill, and strutted back to his desk. + +A day or two later it was known throughout the town that Zaidee +Hooker had sued Adoniram Hotchkiss for breach of promise, and that +the damages were laid at five thousand dollars. As in those +bucolic days the Western press was under the secure censorship of a +revolver, a cautious tone of criticism prevailed, and any gossip +was confined to personal expression, and even then at the risk of +the gossiper. Nevertheless, the situation provoked the intensest +curiosity. The Colonel was approached--until his statement that he +should consider any attempt to overcome his professional secrecy a +personal reflection withheld further advances. The community were +left to the more ostentatious information of the defendant's +counsel, Messrs. Kitcham and Bilser, that the case was "ridiculous" +and "rotten," that the plaintiff would be nonsuited, and the fire- +eating Starbottle would be taught a lesson that he could not +"bully" the law, and there were some dark hints of a conspiracy. +It was even hinted that the "case" was the revengeful and +preposterous outcome of the refusal of Hotchkiss to pay Starbottle +an extravagant fee for his late services to the Ditch Company. It +is unnecessary to say that these words were not reported to the +Colonel. It was, however, an unfortunate circumstance for the +calmer, ethical consideration of the subject that the Church sided +with Hotchkiss, as this provoked an equal adherence to the +plaintiff and Starbottle on the part of the larger body of non- +churchgoers, who were delighted at a possible exposure of the +weakness of religious rectitude. "I've allus had my suspicions o' +them early candle-light meetings down at that gospel shop," said +one critic, "and I reckon Deacon Hotchkiss didn't rope in the gals +to attend jest for psalm-singing." "Then for him to get up and +leave the board afore the game's finished and try to sneak out of +it," said an other,--"I suppose that's what they call RELIGIOUS." + +It was therefore not remarkable that the court-house three weeks +later was crowded with an excited multitude of the curious and +sympathizing. The fair plaintiff, with her mother, was early in +attendance, and under the Colonel's advice appeared in the same +modest garb in which she had first visited his office. This and +her downcast, modest demeanor were perhaps at first disappointing +to the crowd, who had evidently expected a paragon of loveliness in +this Circe of that grim, ascetic defendant, who sat beside his +counsel. But presently all eyes were fixed on the Colonel, who +certainly made up in his appearance any deficiency of his fair +client. His portly figure was clothed in a blue dress coat with +brass buttons, a buff waistcoat which permitted his frilled shirt- +front to become erectile above it, a black satin stock which +confined a boyish turned-down collar around his full neck, and +immaculate drill trousers, strapped over varnished boots. A murmur +ran round the court. "Old 'Personally Responsible' has got his +war-paint on;" "The Old War-Horse is smelling powder," were +whispered comments. Yet for all that, the most irreverent among +them recognized vaguely, in this bizarre figure, something of an +honored past in their country's history, and possibly felt the +spell of old deeds and old names that had once thrilled their +boyish pulses. The new District Judge returned Colonel Starbottle's +profoundly punctilious bow. The Colonel was followed by his negro +servant, carrying a parcel of hymn-books and Bibles, who, with a +courtesy evidently imitated from his master, placed one before the +opposite counsel. This, after a first curious glance, the lawyer +somewhat superciliously tossed aside. But when Jim, proceeding to +the jury-box, placed with equal politeness the remaining copies +before the jury, the opposite counsel sprang to his feet. + +"I want to direct the attention of the Court to this unprecedented +tampering with the jury, by this gratuitous exhibition of matter +impertinent and irrelevant to the issue." + +The Judge cast an inquiring look at Colonel Starbottle. + +"May it please the Court," returned Colonel Starbottle with dignity, +ignoring the counsel, "the defendant's counsel will observe that he +is already furnished with the matter--which I regret to say he has +treated--in the presence of the Court--and of his client, a deacon +of the church--with--er--great superciliousness. When I state to +your Honor that the books in question are hymn-books and copies of +the Holy Scriptures, and that they are for the instruction of the +jury, to whom I shall have to refer them in the course of my +opening, I believe I am within my rights." + +"The act is certainly unprecedented," said the Judge dryly, "but +unless the counsel for the plaintiff expects the jury to SING from +these hymn-books, their introduction is not improper, and I cannot +admit the objection. As defendant's counsel are furnished with +copies also, they cannot plead 'surprise,' as in the introduction +of new matter, and as plaintiff's counsel relies evidently upon the +jury's attention to his opening, he would not be the first person +to distract it." After a pause he added, addressing the Colonel, +who remained standing, "The Court is with you, sir; proceed." + +But the Colonel remained motionless and statuesque, with folded +arms. + +"I have overruled the objection," repeated the Judge; "you may go +on." + +"I am waiting, your Honor, for the--er--withdrawal by the +defendant's counsel of the word 'tampering,' as refers to myself, +and of 'impertinent,' as refers to the sacred volumes." + +"The request is a proper one, and I have no doubt will be acceded +to," returned the Judge quietly. The defendant's counsel rose and +mumbled a few words of apology, and the incident closed. There +was, however, a general feeling that the Colonel had in some way +"scored," and if his object had been to excite the greatest +curiosity about the books, he had made his point. + +But impassive of his victory, he inflated his chest, with his right +hand in the breast of his buttoned coat, and began. His usual high +color had paled slightly, but the small pupils of his prominent +eyes glittered like steel. The young girl leaned forward in her +chair with an attention so breathless, a sympathy so quick, and an +admiration so artless and unconscious that in an instant she +divided with the speaker the attention of the whole assemblage. It +was very hot; the court was crowded to suffocation; even the open +windows revealed a crowd of faces outside the building, eagerly +following the Colonel's words. + +He would remind the jury that only a few weeks ago he stood there +as the advocate of a powerful Company, then represented by the +present defendant. He spoke then as the champion of strict justice +against legal oppression; no less should he to-day champion the +cause of the unprotected and the comparatively defenseless--save +for that paramount power which surrounds beauty and innocence--even +though the plaintiff of yesterday was the defendant of to-day. As +he approached the court a moment ago he had raised his eyes and +beheld the starry flag flying from its dome, and he knew that +glorious banner was a symbol of the perfect equality, under the +Constitution, of the rich and the poor, the strong and the weak--an +equality which made the simple citizen taken from the plough in the +field, the pick in the gulch, or from behind the counter in the +mining town, who served on that jury, the equal arbiters of justice +with that highest legal luminary whom they were proud to welcome on +the bench to-day. The Colonel paused, with a stately bow to the +impassive Judge. It was this, he continued, which lifted his heart +as he approached the building. And yet--he had entered it with an +uncertain--he might almost say--a timid step. And why? He knew, +gentlemen, he was about to confront a profound--aye! a sacred +responsibility! Those hymn-books and holy writings handed to the +jury were NOT, as his Honor had surmised, for the purpose of +enabling the jury to indulge in--er--preliminary choral exercise! +He might, indeed, say, "Alas, not!" They were the damning, +incontrovertible proofs of the perfidy of the defendant. And they +would prove as terrible a warning to him as the fatal characters +upon Belshazzar's wall. There was a strong sensation. Hotchkiss +turned a sallow green. His lawyers assumed a careless smile. + +It was his duty to tell them that this was not one of those +ordinary "breach-of-promise" cases which were too often the +occasion of ruthless mirth and indecent levity in the court-room. +The jury would find nothing of that here. There were no love- +letters with the epithets of endearment, nor those mystic crosses +and ciphers which, he had been credibly informed, chastely hid the +exchange of those mutual caresses known as "kisses." There was no +cruel tearing of the veil from those sacred privacies of the human +affection; there was no forensic shouting out of those fond +confidences meant only for ONE. But there was, he was shocked to +say, a new sacrilegious intrusion. The weak pipings of Cupid were +mingled with the chorus of the saints,--the sanctity of the temple +known as the "meeting--house" was desecrated by proceedings more in +keeping with the shrine of Venus; and the inspired writings +themselves were used as the medium of amatory and wanton flirtation +by the defendant in his sacred capacity as deacon. + +The Colonel artistically paused after this thunderous denunciation. +The jury turned eagerly to the leaves of the hymn-books, but the +larger gaze of the audience remained fixed upon the speaker and the +girl, who sat in rapt admiration of his periods. After the hush, +the Colonel continued in a lower and sadder voice: "There are, +perhaps, few of us here, gentlemen,--with the exception of the +defendant,--who can arrogate to themselves the title of regular +church-goers, or to whom these humbler functions of the prayer- +meeting, the Sunday-school, and the Bible-class are habitually +familiar. Yet"--more solemnly--"down in our hearts is the deep +conviction of our shortcomings and failings, and a laudable desire +that others, at least, should profit by the teachings we neglect. +Perhaps," he continued, closing his eyes dreamily, "there is not a +man here who does not recall the happy days of his boyhood, the +rustic village spire, the lessons shared with some artless village +maiden, with whom he later sauntered, hand in hand, through the +woods, as the simple rhyme rose upon their lips,-- + + + 'Always make it a point to have it a rule, + Never to be late at the Sabbath-school.' + + +He would recall the strawberry feasts, the welcome annual picnic, +redolent with hunks of gingerbread and sarsaparilla. How would +they feel to know that these sacred recollections were now forever +profaned in their memory by the knowledge that the defendant was +capable of using such occasions to make love to the larger girls +and teachers, whilst his artless companions were innocently--the +Court will pardon me for introducing what I am credibly informed is +the local expression--'doing gooseberry'?" The tremulous flicker +of a smile passed over the faces of the listening crowd, and the +Colonel slightly winced. But he recovered himself instantly, and +continued,-- + +"My client, the only daughter of a widowed mother--who has for +years stemmed the varying tides of adversity, in the western +precincts of this town--stands before you to-day invested only in +her own innocence. She wears no--er--rich gifts of her faithless +admirer--is panoplied in no jewels, rings, nor mementos of +affection such as lovers delight to hang upon the shrine of their +affections; hers is not the glory with which Solomon decorated the +Queen of Sheba, though the defendant, as I shall show later, +clothed her in the less expensive flowers of the king's poetry. +No, gentlemen! The defendant exhibited in this affair a certain +frugality of--er--pecuniary investment, which I am willing to admit +may be commendable in his class. His only gift was characteristic +alike of his methods and his economy. There is, I understand, a +certain not unimportant feature of religious exercise known as +'taking a collection.' The defendant, on this occasion, by the +mute presentation of a tin plate covered with baize, solicited the +pecuniary contributions of the faithful. On approaching the +plaintiff, however, he himself slipped a love-token upon the plate +and pushed it towards her. That love-token was a lozenge--a small +disk, I have reason to believe, concocted of peppermint and sugar, +bearing upon its reverse surface the simple words, 'I love you!' I +have since ascertained that these disks may be bought for five +cents a dozen--or at considerably less than one half cent for the +single lozenge. Yes, gentlemen, the words 'I love you!'--the +oldest legend of all; the refrain 'when the morning stars sang +together'--were presented to the plaintiff by a medium so +insignificant that there is, happily, no coin in the republic low +enough to represent its value. + +"I shall prove to you, gentlemen of the jury," said the Colonel +solemnly, drawing a Bible from his coat-tail pocket, "that the +defendant for the last twelve months conducted an amatory +correspondence with the plaintiff by means of underlined words of +Sacred Writ and church psalmody, such as 'beloved,' 'precious,' and +'dearest,' occasionally appropriating whole passages which seemed +apposite to his tender passion. I shall call your attention to one +of them. The defendant, while professing to be a total abstainer,-- +a man who, in my own knowledge, has refused spirituous refreshment +as an inordinate weakness of the flesh,--with shameless hypocrisy +underscores with his pencil the following passage, and presents it +to the plaintiff. The gentlemen of the jury will find it in the +Song of Solomon, page 548, chapter ii. verse 5." After a pause, in +which the rapid rustling of leaves was heard in the jury-box, +Colonel Starbottle declaimed in a pleading, stentorian voice, +"'Stay me with--er--FLAGONS, comfort me with--er--apples--for I am-- +er--sick of love.' Yes, gentlemen!--yes, you may well turn from +those accusing pages and look at the double-faced defendant. He +desires--to--er--be--'stayed with flagons'! I am not aware at +present what kind of liquor is habitually dispensed at these +meetings, and for which the defendant so urgently clamored; but it +will be my duty, before this trial is over, to discover it, if I +have to summon every barkeeper in this district. For the moment I +will simply call your attention to the QUANTITY. It is not a +single drink that the defendant asks for--not a glass of light and +generous wine, to be shared with his inamorata, but a number of +flagons or vessels, each possibly holding a pint measure--FOR +HIMSELF!" + +The smile of the audience had become a laugh. The Judge looked up +warningly, when his eye caught the fact that the Colonel had again +winced at this mirth. He regarded him seriously. Mr. Hotchkiss's +counsel had joined in the laugh affectedly, but Hotchkiss himself +sat ashy pale. There was also a commotion in the jury-box, a +hurried turning over of leaves, and an excited discussion. + +"The gentlemen of the jury," said the Judge, with official gravity, +"will please keep order and attend only to the speeches of counsel. +Any discussion HERE is irregular and premature, and must be +reserved for the jury-room after they have retired." + +The foreman of the jury struggled to his feet. He was a powerful +man, with a good-humored face, and, in spite of his unfelicitous +nickname of "The Bone-Breaker," had a kindly, simple, but somewhat +emotional nature. Nevertheless, it appeared as if he were laboring +under some powerful indignation. + +"Can we ask a question, Judge?" he said respectfully, although his +voice had the unmistakable Western American ring in it, as of one +who was unconscious that he could be addressing any but his peers. + +"Yes," said the Judge good-humoredly. + +"We're finding in this yere piece, out o' which the Kernel hes just +bin a-quotin', some language that me and my pardners allow hadn't +orter be read out afore a young lady in court, and we want to know +of you--ez a fa'r-minded and impartial man--ef this is the reg'lar +kind o' book given to gals and babies down at the meetin'-house." + +"The jury will please follow the counsel's speech without comment," +said the Judge briefly, fully aware that the defendant's counsel +would spring to his feet, as he did promptly. + +"The Court will allow us to explain to the gentlemen that the +language they seem to object to has been accepted by the best +theologians for the last thousand years as being purely mystic. As +I will explain later, those are merely symbols of the Church"-- + +"Of wot?" interrupted the foreman, in deep scorn. + +"Of the Church!" + +"We ain't askin' any questions o' YOU, and we ain't takin' any +answers," said the foreman, sitting down abruptly. + +"I must insist," said the Judge sternly, "that the plaintiff's +counsel be allowed to continue his opening without interruption. +You" (to defendant's counsel) "will have your opportunity to reply +later." + +The counsel sank down in his seat with the bitter conviction that +the jury was manifestly against him, and the case as good as lost. +But his face was scarcely as disturbed as his client's, who, in +great agitation, had begun to argue with him wildly, and was +apparently pressing some point against the lawyer's vehement +opposal. The Colonel's murky eyes brightened as he still stood +erect, with his hand thrust in his breast. + +"It will be put to you, gentlemen, when the counsel on the other +side refrains from mere interruption and confines himself to reply, +that my unfortunate client has no action--no remedy at law--because +there were no spoken words of endearment. But, gentlemen, it will +depend upon YOU to say what are and what are not articulate +expressions of love. We all know that among the lower animals, +with whom you may possibly be called upon to classify the +defendant, there are certain signals more or less harmonious, as +the case may be. The ass brays, the horse neighs, the sheep +bleats--the feathered denizens of the grove call to their mates in +more musical roundelays. These are recognized facts, gentlemen, +which you yourselves, as dwellers among nature in this beautiful +land, are all cognizant of. They are facts that no one would deny-- +and we should have a poor opinion of the ass who, at--er--such a +supreme moment, would attempt to suggest that his call was +unthinking and without significance. But, gentlemen, I shall prove +to you that such was the foolish, self-convicting custom of the +defendant. With the greatest reluctance, and the--er--greatest +pain, I succeeded in wresting from the maidenly modesty of my fair +client the innocent confession that the defendant had induced her +to correspond with him in these methods. Picture to yourself, +gentlemen, the lonely moonlight road beside the widow's humble +cottage. It is a beautiful night, sanctified to the affections, +and the innocent girl is leaning from her casement. Presently +there appears upon the road a slinking, stealthy figure, the +defendant on his way to church. True to the instruction she has +received from him, her lips part in the musical utterance" (the +Colonel lowered his voice in a faint falsetto, presumably in fond +imitation of his fair client), "'Keeree!' Instantly the night +becomes resonant with the impassioned reply" (the Colonel here +lifted his voice in stentorian tones), "'Kee-row.' Again, as he +passes, rises the soft 'Keeree;' again, as his form is lost in the +distance, comes back the deep 'Keerow.'" + +A burst of laughter, long, loud, and irrepressible, struck the +whole court-room, and before the Judge could lift his half-composed +face and take his handkerchief from his mouth, a faint "Keeree" +from some unrecognized obscurity of the court-room was followed by +a loud "Keerow" from some opposite locality. "The Sheriff will +clear the court," said the Judge sternly; but, alas! as the +embarrassed and choking officials rushed hither and thither, a soft +"Keeree" from the spectators at the window, OUTSIDE the court- +house, was answered by a loud chorus of "Keerows" from the opposite +windows, filled with onlookers. Again the laughter arose +everywhere,--even the fair plaintiff herself sat convulsed behind +her handkerchief. + +The figure of Colonel Starbottle alone remained erect--white and +rigid. And then the Judge, looking up, saw--what no one else in +the court had seen--that the Colonel was sincere and in earnest; +that what he had conceived to be the pleader's most perfect acting +and most elaborate irony were the deep, serious, mirthless +CONVICTIONS of a man without the least sense of humor. There was +the respect of this conviction in the Judge's voice as he said to +him gently, "You may proceed, Colonel Starbottle." + +"I thank your Honor," said the Colonel slowly, "for recognizing and +doing all in your power to prevent an interruption that, during my +thirty years' experience at the bar, I have never been subjected to +without the privilege of holding the instigators thereof +responsible--PERSONALLY responsible. It is possibly my fault that +I have failed, oratorically, to convey to the gentlemen of the jury +the full force and significance of the defendant's signals. I am +aware that my voice is singularly deficient in producing either the +dulcet tones of my fair client or the impassioned vehemence of the +defendant's response. I will," continued the Colonel, with a +fatigued but blind fatuity that ignored the hurriedly knit brows +and warning eyes of the Judge, "try again. The note uttered by my +client" (lowering his voice to the faintest of falsettos) "was +'Keeree;' the response was 'Keerow-ow.'" And the Colonel's voice +fairly shook the dome above him. + +Another uproar of laughter followed this apparently audacious +repetition, but was interrupted by an unlooked-for incident. The +defendant rose abruptly, and tearing himself away from the +withholding hand and pleading protestations of his counsel, +absolutely fled from the court-room, his appearance outside being +recognized by a prolonged "Keerow" from the bystanders, which again +and again followed him in the distance. + +In the momentary silence which followed, the Colonel's voice was +heard saying, "We rest here, your Honor," and he sat down. No less +white, but more agitated, was the face of the defendant's counsel, +who instantly rose. + +"For some unexplained reason, your Honor, my client desires to +suspend further proceedings, with a view to effect a peaceable +compromise with the plaintiff. As he is a man of wealth and +position, he is able and willing to pay liberally for that +privilege. While I, as his counsel, am still convinced of his +legal irresponsibility, as he has chosen publicly to abandon his +rights here, I can only ask your Honor's permission to suspend +further proceedings until I can confer with Colonel Starbottle." + +"As far as I can follow the pleadings," said the Judge gravely, +"the case seems to be hardly one for litigation, and I approve of +the defendant's course, while I strongly urge the plaintiff to +accept it." + +Colonel Starbottle bent over his fair client. Presently he rose, +unchanged in look or demeanor. "I yield, your Honor, to the wishes +of my client, and--er--lady. We accept." + +Before the court adjourned that day it was known throughout the +town that Adoniram K. Hotchkiss had compromised the suit for four +thousand dollars and costs. + +Colonel Starbottle had so far recovered his equanimity as to strut +jauntily towards his office, where he was to meet his fair client. +He was surprised, however, to find her already there, and in +company with a somewhat sheepish-looking young man--a stranger. If +the Colonel had any disappointment in meeting a third party to the +interview, his old-fashioned courtesy did not permit him to show +it. He bowed graciously, and politely motioned them each to a seat. + +"I reckoned I'd bring Hiram round with me," said the young lady, +lifting her searching eyes, after a pause, to the Colonel's, +"though he WAS awful shy, and allowed that you didn't know him from +Adam, or even suspect his existence. But I said, 'That's just +where you slip up, Hiram; a pow'ful man like the Colonel knows +everything--and I've seen it in his eye.' Lordy!" she continued, +with a laugh, leaning forward over her parasol, as her eyes again +sought the Colonel's, "don't you remember when you asked me if I +loved that old Hotchkiss, and I told you, 'That's tellin',' and you +looked at me--Lordy! I knew THEN you suspected there was a Hiram +SOMEWHERE, as good as if I'd told you. Now you jest get up, Hiram, +and give the Colonel a good hand-shake. For if it wasn't for HIM +and HIS searchin' ways, and HIS awful power of language, I wouldn't +hev got that four thousand dollars out o' that flirty fool +Hotchkiss--enough to buy a farm, so as you and me could get +married! That's what you owe to HIM. Don't stand there like a +stuck fool starin' at him. He won't eat you--though he's killed +many a better man. Come, have I got to do ALL the kissin'?" + +It is of record that the Colonel bowed so courteously and so +profoundly that he managed not merely to evade the proffered hand +of the shy Hiram, but to only lightly touch the franker and more +impulsive finger-tips of the gentle Zaidee. "I--er--offer my +sincerest congratulations--though I think you--er--overestimate-- +my--er--powers of penetration. Unfortunately, a pressing +engagement, which may oblige me also to leave town tonight, forbids +my saying more. I have--er--left the--er--business settlement of +this--er--case in the hands of the lawyers who do my office work, +and who will show you every attention. And now let me wish you a +very good afternoon." + +Nevertheless, the Colonel returned to his private room, and it was +nearly twilight when the faithful Jim entered, to find him sitting +meditatively before his desk. "'Fo' God! Kernel, I hope dey ain't +nuffin de matter, but you's lookin' mighty solemn! I ain't seen +you look dat way, Kernel, since de day pooh Massa Stryker was +fetched home shot froo de head." + +"Hand me down the whiskey, Jim," said the Colonel, rising slowly. + +The negro flew to the closet joyfully, and brought out the bottle. +The Colonel poured out a glass of the spirit and drank it with his +old deliberation. + +"You're quite right, Jim," he said, putting down his glass, "but +I'm--er--getting old--and--somehow I am missing poor Stryker +damnably!" + + + +THE LANDLORD OF THE BIG FLUME HOTEL + + +The Big Flume stage-coach had just drawn up at the Big Flume Hotel +simultaneously with the ringing of a large dinner bell in the two +hands of a negro waiter, who, by certain gyrations of the bell was +trying to impart to his performance that picturesque elegance and +harmony which the instrument and its purpose lacked. For the +refreshment thus proclaimed was only the ordinary station dinner, +protracted at Big Flume for three quarters of an hour, to allow for +the arrival of the connecting mail from Sacramento, although the +repast was of a nature that seldom prevailed upon the traveler to +linger the full period over its details. The ordinary cravings of +hunger were generally satisfied in half an hour, and the remaining +minutes were employed by the passengers in drowning the memory of +their meal in "drinks at the bar," in smoking, and even in a +hurried game of "old sledge," or dominoes. Yet to-day the deserted +table was still occupied by a belated traveler, and a lady-- +separated by a wilderness of empty dishes--who had arrived after +the stage-coach. Observing which, the landlord, perhaps touched by +this unwonted appreciation of his fare, moved forward to give them +his personal attention. + +He was a man, however, who seemed to be singularly deficient in +those supreme qualities which in the West have exalted the ability +to "keep a hotel" into a proverbial synonym for superexcellence. +He had little or no innovating genius, no trade devices, no +assumption, no faculty for advertisement, no progressiveness, and +no "racket." He had the tolerant good-humor of the Southwestern +pioneer, to whom cyclones, famine, drought, floods, pestilence, and +savages were things to be accepted, and whom disaster, if it did +not stimulate, certainly did not appall. He received the insults, +complaints, and criticisms of hurried and hungry passengers, the +comments and threats of the Stage Company as he had submitted to +the aggressions of a stupid, unjust, but overruling Nature--with +unshaken calm. Perhaps herein lay his strength. People were +obliged to submit to him and his hotel as part of the unfinished +civilization, and they even saw something humorous in his +impassiveness. Those who preferred to remonstrate with him emerged +from the discussion with the general feeling of having been played +with by a large-hearted and paternally disposed bear. Tall and +long-limbed, with much strength in his lazy muscles, there was also +a prevailing impression that this feeling might be intensified if +the discussion were ever carried to physical contention. Of his +personal history it was known only that he had emigrated from +Wisconsin in 1852, that he had calmly unyoked his ox teams at Big +Flume, then a trackless wilderness, and on the opening of a wagon +road to the new mines had built a wayside station which eventually +developed into the present hotel. He had been divorced in a +Western State by his wife "Rosalie," locally known as "The Prairie +Flower of Elkham Creek," for incompatibility of temper! Her temper +was not stated. + +Such was Abner Langworthy, the proprietor, as he moved leisurely +down towards the lady guest, who was nearest, and who was sitting +with her back to the passage between the tables. Stopping, +occasionally, to professionally adjust the tablecloths and glasses, +he at last reached her side. + +"Ef there's anythin' more ye want that ye ain't seein', ma'am," he +began--and stopped suddenly. For the lady had looked up at the +sound of his voice. It was his divorced wife, whom he had not seen +since their separation. The recognition was instantaneous, mutual, +and characterized by perfect equanimity on both sides. + +"Well! I wanter know!" said the lady, although the exclamation +point was purely conventional. "Abner Langworthy! though perhaps +I've no call to say 'Abner.'" + +"Same to you, Rosalie--though I say it too," returned the landlord. +"But hol' on just a minit." He moved forward to the other guest, +put the same perfunctory question regarding his needs, received a +negative answer, and then returned to the lady and dropped into a +chair opposite to her. + +"You're looking peart and--fleshy," he said resignedly, as if he +were tolerating his own conventional politeness with his other +difficulties; "unless," he added cautiously, "you're takin' on some +new disease." + +"No! I'm fairly comf'ble," responded the lady calmly, "and you're +gettin' on in the vale, ez is natural--though you still kind o' run +to bone, as you used." + +There was not a trace of malevolence in either of their comments, +only a resigned recognition of certain unpleasant truths which +seemed to have been habitual to both of them. Mr. Langworthy +paused to flick away some flies from the butter with his +professional napkin, and resumed,-- + +"It must be a matter o' five years sens I last saw ye, isn't it?-- +in court arter you got the decree--you remember?" + +"Yes--the 28th o' July, '51. I paid Lawyer Hoskins's bill that +very day--that's how I remember," returned the lady. "You've got a +big business here," she continued, glancing round the room; "I +reckon you're makin' it pay. Don't seem to be in your line, +though; but then, thar wasn't many things that was." + +"No--that's so," responded Mr. Langworthy, nodding his head, as +assenting to an undeniable proposition, "and you--I suppose you're +gettin' on too. I reckon you're--er--married--eh?"--with a slight +suggestion of putting the question delicately. + +The lady nodded, ignoring the hesitation. "Yes, let me see, it's +just three years and three days. Constantine Byers--I don't reckon +you know him--from Milwaukee. Timber merchant. Standin' timber's +his specialty." + +"And I reckon he's--satisfactory?" + +"Yes! Mr. Byers is a good provider--and handy. And you? I should +say you'd want a wife in this business?" + +Mr. Langworthy's serious half-perfunctory manner here took on an +appearance of interest. "Yes--I've bin thinkin' that way. Thar's +a young woman helpin' in the kitchen ez might do, though I'm not +certain, and I ain't lettin' on anything as yet. You might take a +look at her, Rosalie,--I orter say Mrs. Byers ez is,--and kinder +size her up, and gimme the result. It's still wantin' seven +minutes o' schedule time afore the stage goes, and--if you ain't +wantin' more food"--delicately, as became a landord--"and ain't got +anythin' else to do, it might pass the time." + +Strange as it may seem, Mrs. Byers here displayed an equal animation +in her fresh face as she rose promptly to her feet and began to +rearrange her dust cloak around her buxom figure. "I don't mind, +Abner," she said, "and I don't think that Mr. Byers would mind +either;" then seeing Langworthy hesitating at the latter unexpected +suggestion, she added confidently, "and I wouldn't mind even if he +did, for I'm sure if I don't know the kind o' woman you'd be likely +to need, I don't know who would. Only last week I was sayin' like +that to Mr. Byers"-- + +"To Mr. Byers?" said Abner, with some surprise. + +"Yes--to him. I said, 'We've been married three years, Constantine, +and ef I don't know by this time what kind o' woman you need +now--and might need in future--why, thar ain't much use in +matrimony.'" + +"You was always wise, Rosalie," said Abner, with reminiscent +appreciation. + +"I was always there, Abner," returned Mrs. Byers, with a complacent +show of dimples, which she, however, chastened into that +resignation which seemed characteristic of the pair. "Let's see +your 'intended'--as might be." + +Thus supported, Mr. Langworthy led Mrs. Byers into the hall through +a crowd of loungers, into a smaller hall, and there opened the door +of the kitchen. It was a large room, whose windows were half +darkened by the encompassing pines which still pressed around the +house on the scantily cleared site. A number of men and women, +among them a Chinaman and a negro, were engaged in washing dishes +and other culinary duties; and beside the window stood a young +blonde girl, who was wiping a tin pan which she was also using to +hide a burst of laughter evidently caused by the abrupt entrance of +her employer. A quantity of fluffy hair and part of a white, bared +arm were nevertheless visible outside the disk, and Mrs. Byers +gathered from the direction of Mr. Langworthy's eyes, assisted by a +slight nudge from his elbow, that this was the selected fair one. +His feeble explanatory introduction, addressed to the occupants +generally, "Just showing the house to Mrs.--er--Dusenberry," +convinced her that the circumstances of his having been divorced he +had not yet confided to the young woman. As he turned almost +immediately away, Mrs. Byers in following him managed to get a +better look at the girl, as she was exchanging some facetious +remark to a neighbor. Mr. Langworthy did not speak until they had +reached the deserted dining-room again. + +"Well?" he said briefly, glancing at the clock, "what did ye think +o' Mary Ellen?" + +To any ordinary observer the girl in question would have seemed the +least fitted in age, sobriety of deportment, and administrative +capacity to fill the situation thus proposed for her, but Mrs. +Byers was not an ordinary observer, and her auditor was not an +ordinary listener. + +"She's older than she gives herself out to be," said Mrs. Byers +tentatively, "and them kitten ways don't amount to much." + +Mr. Langworthy nodded. Had Mrs. Byers discovered a homicidal +tendency in Mary Ellen he would have been equally unmoved. + +"She don't handsome much," continued Mrs. Byers musingly, "but"-- + +"I never was keen on good looks in a woman, Rosalie. You know +that!" Mrs. Byers received the equivocal remark unemotionally, and +returned to the subject. + +"Well!" she said contemplatively, "I should think you could make +her suit." + +Mr. Langworthy nodded with resigned toleration of all that might +have influenced her judgment and his own. "I was wantin' a fa'r- +minded opinion, Rosalie, and you happened along jest in time. Kin +I put up anythin' in the way of food for ye?" he added, as a stir +outside and the words "All aboard!" proclaimed the departing of the +stage-coach,--"an orange or a hunk o' gingerbread, freshly baked?" + +"Thank ye kindly, Abner, but I sha'n't be usin' anythin' afore +supper," responded Mrs. Byers, as they passed out into the veranda +beside the waiting coach. + +Mr. Langworthy helped her to her seat. "Ef you're passin' this way +ag'in"--he hesitated delicately. + +"I'll drop in, or I reckon Mr. Byers might, he havin' business +along the road," returned Mrs. Byers with a cheerful nod, as the +coach rolled away and the landlord of the Big Flume Hotel reentered +his house. + +For the next three weeks, however, it did not appear that Mr. +Langworthy was in any hurry to act upon the advice of his former +wife. His relations to Mary Ellen Budd were characterized by his +usual tolerance to his employees' failings,--which in Mary Ellen's +case included many "breakages,"--but were not marked by the +invasion of any warmer feeling, or a desire for confidences. The +only perceptible divergence from his regular habits was a +disposition to be on the veranda at the arrival of the stage-coach, +and when his duties permitted this, a cautious survey of his female +guests at the beginning of dinner. This probably led to his more +or less ignoring any peculiarities in his masculine patrons or +their claims to his personal attention. Particularly so, in the +case of a red-bearded man, in a long linen duster, both heavily +freighted with the red dust of the stage road, which seemed to have +invaded his very eyes as he watched the landlord closely. Towards +the close of the dinner, when Abner, accompanied by a negro waiter +after his usual custom, passed down each side of the long table, +collecting payment for the meal, the stranger looked up. "You air +the landlord of this hotel, I reckon?" + +"I am," said Abner tolerantly. + +"I'd like a word or two with ye." + +But Abner had been obliged to have a formula for such occasions. +"Ye'll pay for yer dinner first," he said submissively, but firmly, +"and make yer remarks agin the food arter." + +The stranger flushed quickly, and his eye took an additional shade +of red, but meeting Abner's serious gray ones, he contented himself +with ostentatiously taking out a handful of gold and silver and +paying his bill. Abner passed on, but after dinner was over he +found the stranger in the hall. + +"Ye pulled me up rather short in thar," said the man gloomily, "but +it's just as well, as the talk I was wantin' with ye was kinder +betwixt and between ourselves, and not hotel business. My name's +Byers, and my wife let on she met ye down here." + +For the first time it struck Abner as incongruous that another man +should call Rosalie "his wife," although the fact of her remarriage +had been made sufficiently plain to him. He accepted it as he +would an earthquake, or any other dislocation, with his usual +tolerant smile, and held out his hand. + +Mr. Byers took it, seemingly mollified, and yet inwardly disturbed,-- +more even than was customary in Abner's guests after dinner. + +"Have a drink with me," he suggested, although it had struck him +that Mr. Byers had been drinking before dinner. + +"I'm agreeable," responded Byers promptly; "but," with a glance at +the crowded bar-room, "couldn't we go somewhere, jest you and me, +and have a quiet confab?" + +"I reckon. But ye must wait till we get her off." + +Mr. Byers started slightly, but it appeared that the impedimental +sex in this case was the coach, which, after a slight feminine +hesitation, was at last started. Whereupon Mr. Langworthy, +followed by a negro with a tray bearing a decanter and glasses, +grasped Mr. Byers's arm, and walked along a small side veranda the +depth of the house, stepped off, and apparently plunged with his +guest into the primeval wilderness. + +It has already been indicated that the site of the Big Flume Hotel +had been scantily cleared; but Mr. Byers, backwoodsman though he +was, was quite unprepared for so abrupt a change. The hotel, with +its noisy crowd and garish newness, although scarcely a dozen yards +away, seemed lost completely to sight and sound. A slight fringe +of old tin cans, broken china, shavings, and even of the long-dried +chips of the felled trees, once crossed, the two men were alone! +From the tray, deposited at the foot of an enormous pine, they took +the decanter, filled their glasses, and then disposed of themselves +comfortably against a spreading root. The curling tail of a +squirrel disappeared behind them; the far-off tap of a woodpecker +accented the loneliness. And then, almost magically as it seemed, +the thin veneering of civilization on the two men seemed to be cast +off like the bark of the trees around them, and they lounged before +each other in aboriginal freedom. Mr. Byers removed his restraining +duster and undercoat. Mr. Langworthy resigned his dirty white +jacket, his collar, and unloosed a suspender, with which he played. + +"Would it be a fair question between two fa'r-minded men, ez hez +lived alone," said Mr. Byers, with a gravity so supernatural that +it could be referred only to liquor, "to ask ye in what sort o' way +did Mrs. Byers show her temper?" + +"Show her temper?" echoed Abner vacantly. + +"Yes--in course, I mean when you and Mrs. Byers was--was--one? You +know the di-vorce was for in-com-pat-ibility of temper." + +"But she got the divorce from me, so I reckon I had the temper," +said Langworthy, with great simplicity. + +"Wha-at?" said Mr. Byers, putting down his glass and gazing with +drunken gravity at the sad-eyed yet good-humoredly tolerant man +before him. "You?--you had the temper?" + +"I reckon that's what the court allowed," said Abner simply. + +Mr. Byers stared. Then after a moment's pause he nodded with a +significant yet relieved face. "Yes, I see, in course. Times when +you'd h'isted too much o' this corn juice," lifting up his glass, +"inside ye--ye sorter bu'st out ravin'?" + +But Abner shook his head. "I wuz a total abstainer in them days," +he said quietly. + +Mr. Byers got unsteadily on his legs and looked around him. "Wot +might hev bin the general gait o' your temper, pardner?" he said in +a hoarse whisper. + +"Don't know. I reckon that's jest whar the incompatibility kem +in." + +"And when she hove plates at your head, wot did you do?" + +"She didn't hove no plates," said Abner gravely; "did she say she +did?" + +"No, no!" returned Byers hastily, in crimson confusion. "I kinder +got it mixed with suthin' else." He waved his hand in a lordly +way, as if dismissing the subject. "Howsumever, you and her is +'off' anyway," he added with badly concealed anxiety. + +"I reckon: there's the decree," returned Abner, with his usual +resigned acceptance of the fact. + +"Mrs. Byers wuz allowin' ye wuz thinkin' of a second. How's that +comin' on?" + +"Jest whar it was," returned Abner. "I ain't doin' anything yet. +Ye see I've got to tell the gal, naterally, that I'm di-vorced. +And as that isn't known hereabouts, I don't keer to do so till I'm +pretty certain. And then, in course, I've got to." + +"Why hev ye 'got to'?" asked Byers abruptly. + +"Because it wouldn't be on the square with the girl," said Abner. +"How would you like it if Mrs. Byers had never told you she'd been +married to me? And s'pose you'd happen to hev bin a di-vorced man +and hadn't told her, eh? Well," he continued, sinking back +resignedly against the tree, "I ain't sayin' anythin' but she'd hev +got another di-vorce, and FROM you on the spot--you bet!" + +"Well! all I kin say is," said Mr. Byers, lifting his voice +excitedly, "that"--but he stopped short, and was about to fill his +glass again from the decanter when the hand of Abner stopped him. + +"Ye've got ez much ez ye kin carry now, Byers," he said slowly, +"and that's about ez much ez I allow a man to take in at the Big +Flume Hotel. Treatin' is treatin', hospitality is hospitality; ef +you and me was squattin' out on the prairie I'd let you fill your +skin with that pizen and wrap ye up in yer blankets afterwards. +But here at Big Flume, the Stage Kempenny and the wimen and +children passengers hez their rights." He paused a moment, and +added, "And so I reckon hez Mrs. Byers, and I ain't goin' to send +you home to her outer my house blind drunk. It's mighty rough on +you and me, I know, but there's a lot o' roughness in this world ez +hez to be got over, and life, ez far ez I kin see, ain't all a +clearin'." + +Perhaps it was his good-humored yet firm determination, perhaps it +was his resigned philosophy, but something in the speaker's manner +affected Mr. Byers's alcoholic susceptibility, and hastened his +descent from the passionate heights of intoxication to the maudlin +stage whither he was drifting. The fire of his red eyes became +filmed and dim, an equal moisture gathered in his throat as he +pressed Abner's hand with drunken fervor. "Thash so! your thinking +o' me an' Mish Byersh is like troo fr'en'," he said thickly. "I +wosh only goin' to shay that wotever Mish Byersh wosh--even if she +wosh wife o' yours--she wosh--noble woman! Such a woman," continued +Mr. Byers, dreamily regarding space, "can't have too many husbands." + +"You jest sit back here a minit, and have a quiet smoke till I come +back," said Abner, handing him his tobacco plug. "I've got to give +the butcher his order--but I won't be a minit." He secured the +decanter as he spoke, and evading an apparent disposition of his +companion to fall upon his neck, made his way with long strides to +the hotel, as Mr. Byers, sinking back against the trees, began +certain futile efforts to light his unfilled pipe. + +Whether Abner's attendance on the butcher was merely an excuse to +withdraw with the decanter, I cannot say. He, however, dispatched +his business quickly, and returned to the tree. But to his +surprise Mr. Byers was no longer there. He explored the adjacent +woodland with non-success, and no reply to his shouting. Annoyed +but not alarmed, as it seemed probable that the missing man had +fallen in a drunken sleep in some hidden shadows, he returned to +the house, when it occurred to him that Byers might have sought the +bar-room for some liquor. But he was still more surprised when the +barkeeper volunteered the information that he had seen Mr. Byers +hurriedly pass down the side veranda into the highroad. An hour +later this was corroborated by an arriving teamster, who had passed +a man answering to the description of Byers, "mor' 'n half full," +staggeringly but hurriedly walking along the road "two miles back." +There seemed to be no doubt that the missing man had taken himself +off in a fit of indignation or of extreme thirst. Either hypothesis +was disagreeable to Abner, in his queer sense of responsibility to +Mrs. Byers, but he accepted it with his usual good-humored +resignation. + +Yet it was difficult to conceive what connection this episode had +in his mind with his suspended attention to Mary Ellen, or why it +should determine his purpose. But he had a logic of his own, and +it seemed to have demonstrated to him that he must propose to the +girl at once. This was no easy matter, however; he had never shown +her any previous attention, and her particular functions in the +hotel,--the charge of the few bedrooms for transient guests--seldom +brought him in contact with her. His interview would have to +appear to be a business one--which, however, he wished to avoid +from a delicate consciousness of its truth. While making up his +mind, for a few days he contented himself with gravely regarding +her in his usual resigned, tolerant way, whenever he passed her. +Unfortunately the first effect of this was an audible giggle from +Mary Ellen, later some confusion and anxiety in her manner, and +finally a demeanor of resentment and defiance. + +This was so different from what he had expected that he was obliged +to precipitate matters. The next day was Sunday,--a day on which +his employees, in turns, were allowed the recreation of being +driven to Big Flume City, eight miles distant, to church, or for +the day's holiday. In the morning Mary Ellen was astonished by +Abner informing her that he designed giving her a separate holiday +with himself. It must be admitted that the girl, who was already +"prinked up" for the enthrallment of the youth of Big Flume City, +did not appear as delighted with the change of plan as a more +exacting lover would have liked. Howbeit, as soon as the wagon had +left with its occupants, Abner, in the unwonted disguise of a full +suit of black clothes, turned to the girl, and offering her his +arm, gravely proceeded along the side veranda across the mound of +debris already described, to the adjacent wilderness and the very +trees under which he and Byers had sat. + +"It's about ez good a place for a little talk, Miss Budd," he said, +pointing to a tree root, "ez ef we went a spell further, and it's +handy to the house. And ef you'll jest say what you'd like outer +the cupboard or the bar--no matter which--I'll fetch it to you." + +But Mary Ellen Budd seated herself sideways on the root, with her +furled white parasol in her lap, her skirts fastidiously tucked +about her feet, and glancing at the fatuous Abner from under her +stack of fluffy hair and light eyelashes, simply shook her head and +said that "she reckoned she wasn't hankering much for anything" +that morning. + +I've been calkilatin' to myself, Miss Budd," said Abner resignedly, +"that when two folks--like ez you and me--meet together to kinder +discuss things that might go so far ez to keep them together, if +they hez had anything of that sort in their lives afore, they ought +to speak of it confidentially like together." + +"Ef any one o' them sneakin', soulless critters in the kitchen hez +bin slingin' lies to ye about me--or carryin' tales," broke in Mary +Ellen Budd, setting every one of her thirty-two strong, white teeth +together with a snap, "well--ye might hev told me so to oncet +without spilin' my Sunday! But ez fer yer keepin' me a minit +longer, ye've only got to pay me my salary to-day and"--but here +she stopped, for the astonishment in Abner's face was too plain to +be misunderstood. + +"Nobody's been slinging any lies about ye, Miss Budd," he said +slowly, recovering himself resignedly from this last back-handed +stroke of fate; "I warn't talkin' o' you, but myself. I was only +allowin' to say that I was a di-vorced man." + +As a sudden flush came over Mary Ellen's brownish-white face while +she stared at him, Abner hastened to delicately explain. "It +wasn't no onfaithfulness, Miss Budd--no philanderin' o' mine, but +only 'incompatibility o' temper.'" + +"Temper--your temper!" gasped Mary Ellen. + +"Yes," said Abner. + +And here a sudden change came over Mary Ellen's face, and she burst +into a shriek of laughter. She laughed with her hands slapping the +sides of her skirt, she laughed with her hands clasping her narrow, +hollow waist, laughed with her head down on her knees and her +fluffy hair tumbling over it. Abner was relieved, and yet it +seemed strange to him that this revelation of his temper should +provoke such manifest incredulity in both Byers and Mary Ellen. +But perhaps these things would be made plain to him hereafter; at +present they must be accepted "in the day's work" and tolerated. + +"Your temper," gurgled Mary Ellen. "Saints alive! What kind o' +temper?" + +"Well, I reckon," returned Abner submissively, and selecting a word +to give his meaning more comprehension,--"I reckon it was kinder-- +aggeravokin'." + +Mary Ellen sniffed the air for a moment in speechless incredulity, +and then, locking her hands around her knees and bending forward, +said, "Look here! Ef that old woman o' yours ever knew what temper +was in a man; ef she's ever bin tied to a brute that treated her +like a nigger till she daren't say her soul was her own; who struck +her with his eyes and tongue when he hadn't anythin' else handy; +who made her life miserable when he was sober, and a terror when he +was drunk; who at last drove her away, and then divorced her for +desertion--then--then she might talk. But 'incompatibility o' +temper' with you! Oh, go away--it makes me sick!" + +How far Abner was impressed with the truth of this, how far it +prompted his next question, nobody but Abner knew. For he said +deliberately, "I was only goin' to ask ye, if, knowin' I was a +di-vorced man, ye would mind marryin' me!" + +Mary Ellen's face changed; the evasive instincts of her sex rose +up. "Didn't I hear ye sayin' suthin' about refreshments," she said +archly. "Mebbe you wouldn't mind gettin' me a bottle o' lemming +sody outer the bar!" + +Abner got up at once, perhaps not dismayed by this diversion, and +departed for the refreshment. As he passed along the side veranda +the recollection of Mr. Byers and his mysterious flight occurred to +him. For a wild moment he thought of imitating him. But it was +too late now--he had spoken. Besides, he had no wife to fly to, +and the thirsty or indignant Byers had--his wife! Fate was indeed +hard. He returned with the bottle of lemon soda on a tray and a +resigned spirit equal to her decrees. Mary Ellen, remarking that +he had brought nothing for himself, archly insisted upon his +sharing with her the bottle of soda, and even coquettishly touched +his lips with her glass. Abner smiled patiently. + +But here, as if playfully exhilarated by the naughty foaming soda, +she regarded him with her head--and a good deal of her blonde hair-- +very much on one side, as she said, "Do you know that all along o' +you bein' so free with me in tellin' your affairs I kinder feel +like just telling you mine?" + +"Don't," said Abner promptly. + +"Don't?" echoed Miss Budd. + +"Don't," repeated Abner. "It's nothing to me. What I said about +myself is different, for it might make some difference to you. But +nothing you could say of yourself would make any change in me. I +stick to what I said just now." + +"But," said Miss Budd,--in half real, half simulated threatening,-- +"what if it had suthin' to do with my answer to what you said just +now?" + +"It couldn't. So, if it's all the same to you, Miss Budd, I'd +rather ye wouldn't." + +"That," said the lady still more archly, lifting a playful finger, +"is your temper." + +"Mebbe it is," said Abner suddenly, with a wondering sense of +relief. + +It was, however, settled that Miss Budd should go to Sacramento to +visit her friends, that Abner would join her later, when their +engagement would be announced, and that she should not return to +the hotel until they were married. The compact was sealed by the +interchange of a friendly kiss from Miss Budd with a patient, +tolerating one from Abner, and then it suddenly occurred to them +both that they might as well return to their duties in the hotel, +which they did. Miss Budd's entire outing that Sunday lasted only +half an hour. + +A week elapsed. Miss Budd was in Sacramento, and the landlord of +the Big Flume Hotel was standing at his usual post in the doorway +during dinner, when a waiter handed him a note. It contained a +single line scrawled in pencil:-- + + +"Come out and see me behind the house as before. I dussent come in +on account of her. C. BYERS." + + +"On account of 'her'!" Abner cast a hurried glance around the +tables. Certainly Mrs. Byers was not there! He walked in the hall +and the veranda--she was not there. He hastened to the rendezvous +evidently meant by the writer, the wilderness behind the house. +Sure enough, Byers, drunk and maudlin, supporting himself by the +tree root, staggered forward, clasped him in his arms, and murmured +hoarsely,-- + +"She's gone!" + +"Gone?" echoed Abner, with a whitening face. "Mrs. Byers? Where?" + +"Run away! Never come back no more! Gone!" + +A vague idea that had been in Abner's mind since Byers's last visit +now took awful shape. Before the unfortunate Byers could collect +his senses he felt himself seized in a giant's grasp and forced +against the tree. + +"You coward!" said all that was left of the tolerant Abner--his +even voice--"you hound! Did you dare to abuse her? to lay your +vile hands on her--to strike her? Answer me." + +The shock--the grasp--perhaps Abner's words, momentarily silenced +Byers. "Did I strike her?" he said dazedly; "did I abuse her? Oh, +yes!" with deep irony. "Certainly! In course! Look yer, +pardner!"--he suddenly dragged up his sleeve from his red, hairy +arm, exposing a blue cicatrix in its centre--"that's a jab from her +scissors about three months ago; look yer!"--he bent his head and +showed a scar along the scalp--"that's her playfulness with a fire +shovel! Look yer!"--he quickly opened his collar, where his neck +and cheek were striped and crossed with adhesive plaster--"that's +all that was left o' a glass jar o' preserves--the preserves got +away, but some of the glass got stuck! That's when she heard I was +a di-vorced man and hadn't told her." + +"Were you a di-vorced man?" gasped Abner. + +"You know that; in course I was," said Byers scornfully; "d'ye +meanter say she didn't tell ye?" + +"She?" echoed Abner vaguely. "Your wife--you said just now she +didn't know it before." + +"My wife ez oncet was, I mean! Mary Ellen--your wife ez is to be," +said Byers, with deep irony. "Oh, come now. Pretend ye don't +know! Hi there! Hands off! Don't strike a man when he's down, +like I am." + +But Abner's clutch of Byers's shoulder relaxed, and he sank down to +a sitting posture on the root. In the meantime Byers, overcome by +a sense of this new misery added to his manifold grievances, gave +way to maudlin silent tears. + +"Mary Ellen--your first wife?" repeated Abner vacantly. + +"Yesh!" said Byers thickly, "my first wife--shelected and picked +out fer your shecond wife--by your first--like d----d conundrum. +How wash I t'know?" he said, with a sudden shriek of public +expostulation--"thash what I wanter know. Here I come to talk with +fr'en', like man to man, unshuspecting, innoshent as chile, about +my shecond wife! Fr'en' drops out, carryin' off the whiskey. Then +I hear all o' suddent voice o' Mary Ellen talkin' in kitchen; then +I come round softly and see Mary Ellen--my wife as useter be-- +standin' at fr'en's kitchen winder. Then I lights out quicker 'n +lightnin' and scoots! And when I gets back home, I ups and tells +my wife. And whosh fault ish't! Who shaid a man oughter tell hish +wife? You! Who keepsh other mensh' first wivesh at kishen winder +to frighten 'em to tell? You!" + +But a change had already come over the face of Abner Langworthy. +The anger, anxiety, astonishment, and vacuity that was there had +vanished, and he looked up with his usual resigned acceptance of +the inevitable as he said, "I reckon that's so! And seein' it's +so," with good-natured tolerance, he added, "I reckon I'll break +rules for oncet and stand ye another drink." + +He stood another drink and yet another, and eventually put the +doubly widowed Byers to bed in his own room. These were but +details of a larger tribulation,--and yet he knew instinctively +that his cup was not yet full. The further drop of bitterness came +a few days later in a line from Mary Ellen: "I needn't tell you +that all betwixt you and me is off, and you kin tell your old woman +that her selection for a second wife for you wuz about as bad as +your own first selection. Ye kin tell Mr. Byers--yer great friend +whom ye never let on ye knew--that when I want another husband I +shan't take the trouble to ask him to fish one out for me. It +would be kind--but confusin'." + +He never heard from her again. Mr. Byers was duly notified that +Mrs. Byers had commenced action for divorce in another state in +which concealment of a previous divorce invalidated the marriage, +but he did not respond. The two men became great friends--and +assured celibates. Yet they always spoke reverently of their +"wife," with the touching prefix of "our." + +"She was a good woman, pardner," said Byers. + +"And she understood us," said Abner resignedly. + +Perhaps she had. + + + +A BUCKEYE HOLLOW INHERITANCE + + +The four men on the "Zip Coon" Ledge had not got fairly settled to +their morning's work. There was the usual lingering hesitation +which is apt to attend the taking-up of any regular or monotonous +performance, shown in this instance in the prolonged scrutiny of a +pick's point, the solemn selection of a shovel, or the "hefting" or +weighing of a tapping-iron or drill. One member, becoming +interested in a funny paragraph he found in the scrap of newspaper +wrapped around his noonday cheese, shamelessly sat down to finish +it, regardless of the prospecting pan thrown at him by another. +They had taken up their daily routine of mining life like schoolboys +at their tasks. + +"Hello!" said Ned Wyngate, joyously recognizing a possible further +interruption. "Blamed if the Express rider ain't comin' here!" + +He was shading his eyes with his hand as he gazed over the broad +sun-baked expanse of broken "flat" between them and the highroad. +They all looked up, and saw the figure of a mounted man, with a +courier's bag thrown over his shoulder, galloping towards them. It +was really an event, as their letters were usually left at the +grocery at the crossroads. + +"I knew something was goin' to happen," said Wyngate. "I didn't +feel a bit like work this morning." + +Here one of their number ran off to meet the advancing horseman. +They watched him until they saw the latter rein up, and hand a +brown envelope to their messenger, who ran breathlessly back with +it to the Ledge as the horseman galloped away again. + +"A telegraph for Jackson Wells," he said, handing it to the young +man who had been reading the scrap of paper. + +There was a dead silence. Telegrams were expensive rarities in +those days, especially with the youthful Bohemian miners of the Zip +Coon Ledge. They were burning with curiosity, yet a singular thing +happened. Accustomed as they had been to a life of brotherly +familiarity and unceremoniousness, this portentous message from the +outside world of civilization recalled their old formal politeness. +They looked steadily away from the receiver of the telegram, and he +on his part stammered an apologetic "Excuse me, boys," as he broke +the envelope. + +There was another pause, which seemed to be interminable to the +waiting partners. Then the voice of Wells, in quite natural tones, +said, "By gum! that's funny! Read that, Dexter,--read it out loud." + +Dexter Rice, the foreman, took the proffered telegram from Wells's +hand, and read as follows:-- + + +Your uncle, Quincy Wells, died yesterday, leaving you sole heir. +Will attend you to-morrow for instructions. + +BAKER AND TWIGGS, + +Attorneys, Sacramento. + + +The three miners' faces lightened and turned joyously to Wells; but +HIS face looked puzzled. + +"May we congratulate you, Mr. Wells?" said Wyngate, with affected +politeness; "or possibly your uncle may have been English, and a +title goes with the 'prop,' and you may be Lord Wells, or Very +Wells--at least." + +But here Jackson Wells's youthful face lost its perplexity, and he +began to laugh long and silently to himself. This was protracted +to such an extent that Dexter asserted himself,--as foreman and +senior partner. + +"Look here, Jack! don't sit there cackling like a chuckle-headed +magpie, if you ARE the heir." + +"I--can't--help it," gasped Jackson. "I am the heir--but you see, +boys, there AIN'T ANY PROPERTY." + +"What do you mean? Is all that a sell?" demanded Rice. + +"Not much! Telegraph's too expensive for that sort o' feelin'. +You see, boys, I've got an Uncle Quincy, though I don't know him +much, and he MAY be dead. But his whole fixin's consisted of a +claim the size of ours, and played out long ago: a ramshackle lot +o' sheds called a cottage, and a kind of market garden of about +three acres, where he reared and sold vegetables. He was always +poor, and as for calling it 'property,' and ME the 'heir'--good +Lord!" + +"A miser, as sure as you're born!" said Wyngate, with optimistic +decision. "That's always the way. You'll find every crack of that +blessed old shed stuck full of greenbacks and certificates of +deposit, and lots of gold dust and coin buried all over that cow +patch! And of course no one suspected it! And of course he lived +alone, and never let any one get into his house--and nearly starved +himself! Lord love you! There's hundreds of such cases. The +world is full of 'em!" + +"That's so," chimed in Pulaski Briggs, the fourth partner, "and I +tell you what, Jacksey, we'll come over with you the day you take +possession, and just 'prospect' the whole blamed shanty, pigsties, +and potato patch, for fun--and won't charge you anything." + +For a moment Jackson's face had really brightened under the +infection of enthusiasm, but it presently settled into perplexity +again. + +"No! You bet the boys around Buckeye Hollow would have spotted +anything like that long ago." + +"Buckeye Hollow!" repeated Rice and his partners. + +"Yes! Buckeye Hollow, that's the place; not twenty miles from +here, and a God-forsaken hole, as you know." + +A cloud had settled on Zip Coon Ledge. They knew of Buckeye +Hollow, and it was evident that no good had ever yet come out of +that Nazareth. + +"There's no use of talking now," said Rice conclusively. "You'll +draw it all from that lawyer shark who's coming here tomorrow, and +you can bet your life he wouldn't have taken this trouble if there +wasn't suthin' in it. Anyhow, we'll knock off work now and call it +half a day, in honor of our distinguished young friend's accession +to his baronial estates of Buckeye Hollow. We'll just toddle down +to Tomlinson's at the cross-roads, and have a nip and a quiet game +of old sledge at Jacksey's expense. I reckon the estate's good for +THAT," he added, with severe gravity. "And, speaking as a fa'r- +minded man and the president of this yer Company, if Jackson would +occasionally take out and air that telegraphic dispatch of his +while we're at Tomlinson's, it might do something for that Company's +credit--with Tomlinson! We're wantin' some new blastin' plant bad!" + +Oddly enough the telegram--accidentally shown at Tomlinson's-- +produced a gratifying effect, and the Zip Coon Ledge materially +advanced in public estimation. With this possible infusion of new +capital into its resources, the Company was beset by offers of +machinery and goods; and it was deemed expedient by the sapient +Rice, that to prevent the dissemination of any more accurate +information regarding Jackson's property the next day, the lawyer +should be met at the stage office by one of the members, and +conveyed secretly past Tomlinson's to the Ledge. + +"I'd let you go," he said to Jackson, "only it won't do for that +d----d skunk of a lawyer to think you're too anxious--sabe? We want +to rub into him that we are in the habit out yer of havin' things +left to us, and a fortin' more or less, falling into us now and +then, ain't nothin' alongside of the Zip Coon claim. It won't hurt +ye to keep up a big bluff on that hand of yours. Nobody would dare +to 'call' you." + +Indeed this idea was carried out with such elaboration the next day +that Mr. Twiggs, the attorney, was considerably impressed both by +the conduct of his guide, who (although burning with curiosity) +expressed absolute indifference regarding Jackson Wells's +inheritance, and the calmness of Jackson himself, who had to be +ostentatiously called from his work on the Ledge to meet him, and +who even gave him an audience in the hearing of his partners. +Forced into an apologetic attitude, he expressed his regret at +being obliged to bother Mr. Wells with an affair of such secondary +importance, but he was obliged to carry out the formalities of the +law. + +"What do you suppose the estate is worth?" asked Wells carelessly. + +"I should not think that the house, the claim, and the land would +bring more than fifteen hundred dollars," replied Twiggs +submissively. + +To the impecunious owners of Zip Coon Ledge it seemed a large sum, +but they did not show it. + +"You see," continued Mr. Twiggs, "it's really a case of 'willing +away' property from its obvious or direct inheritors, instead of a +beneficial grant. I take it that you and your uncle were not +particularly intimate,--at least, so I gathered when I made the +will,--and his simple object was to disinherit his only daughter, +with whom he had had some quarrel, and who had left him to live +with his late wife's brother, Mr. Morley Brown, who is quite +wealthy and residing in the same township. Perhaps you remember +the young lady?" + +Jackson Wells had a dim recollection of this cousin, a hateful, +red-haired schoolgirl, and an equally unpleasant memory of this +other uncle, who was purse-proud and had never taken any notice of +him. He answered affirmatively. + +"There may be some attempt to contest the will," continued Mr. +Twiggs, "as the disinheriting of an only child and a daughter +offends the sentiment of the people and of judges and jury, and the +law makes such a will invalid, unless a reason is given. +Fortunately your uncle has placed his reasons on record. I have a +copy of the will here, and can show you the clause." He took it +from his pocket, and read as follows: "'I exclude my daughter, +Jocelinda Wells, from any benefit or provision of this my will and +testament, for the reason that she has voluntarily abandoned her +father's roof for the house of her mother's brother, Morley Brown; +has preferred the fleshpots of Egypt to the virtuous frugalities of +her own home, and has discarded the humble friends of her youth, +and the associates of her father, for the meretricious and slavish +sympathy of wealth and position. In lieu thereof, and as +compensation therefor, I do hereby give and bequeath to her my full +and free permission to gratify her frequently expressed wish for +another guardian in place of myself, and to become the adopted +daughter of the said Morley Brown, with the privilege of assuming +the name of Brown as aforesaid.' You see," he continued, "as the +young lady's present position is a better one than it would be if +she were in her father's house, and was evidently a compromise, the +sentimental consideration of her being left homeless and penniless +falls to the ground. However, as the inheritance is small, and +might be of little account to you, if you choose to waive it, I +dare say we may make some arrangement." + +This was an utterly unexpected idea to the Zip Coon Company, and +Jackson Wells was for a moment silent. But Dexter Rice was equal +to the emergency, and turned to the astonished lawyer with severe +dignity. + +"You'll excuse me for interferin', but, as the senior partner of +this yer Ledge, and Jackson Wells yer bein' a most important +member, what affects his usefulness on this claim affects us. And +we propose to carry out this yer will, with all its dips and spurs +and angles!" + +As the surprised Twiggs turned from one to the other, Rice +continued, "Ez far as we kin understand this little game, it's the +just punishment of a high-flying girl as breaks her pore old +father's heart, and the re-ward of a young feller ez has bin to our +knowledge ez devoted a nephew as they make 'em. Time and time +again, sittin' around our camp fire at night, we've heard Jacksey +say,--kinder to himself, and kinder to us, 'Now I wonder what's +gone o' old uncle Quincy;' and he never sat down to a square meal, +or ever rose from a square game, but what he allus said, 'If old +uncle Quince was only here now, boys, I'd die happy.' I leave it +to you, gentlemen, if that wasn't Jackson Wells's gait all the +time?" + +There was a prolonged murmur of assent, and an affecting +corroboration from Ned Wyngate of "That was him; that was Jacksey +all the time!" + +"Indeed, indeed," said the lawyer nervously. "I had quite the idea +that there was very little fondness"-- + +"Not on your side--not on your side," said Rice quickly. "Uncle +Quincy may not have anted up in this matter o' feelin', nor seen +his nephew's rise. You know how it is yourself in these things-- +being a lawyer and a fa'r-minded man--it's all on one side, +ginerally! There's always one who loves and sacrifices, and all +that, and there's always one who rakes in the pot! That's the way +o' the world; and that's why," continued Rice, abandoning his +slightly philosophical attitude, and laying his hand tenderly, and +yet with a singularly significant grip, on Wells's arm, "we say to +him, 'Hang on to that will, and uncle Quincy's memory.' And we hev +to say it. For he's that tender-hearted and keerless of money-- +having his own share in this Ledge--that ef that girl came +whimperin' to him he'd let her take the 'prop' and let the hull +thing slide! And then he'd remember that he had rewarded that gal +that broke the old man's heart, and that would upset him again in +his work. And there, you see, is just where WE come in! And we +say, 'Hang on to that will like grim death!'" + +The lawyer looked curiously at Rice and his companions, and then +turned to Wells: "Nevertheless, I must look to you for instructions," +he said dryly. + +But by this time Jackson Wells, although really dubious about +supplanting the orphan, had gathered the sense of his partners, and +said with a frank show of decision, "I think I must stand by the +will." + +"Then I'll have it proved," said Twiggs, rising. "In the meantime, +if there is any talk of contesting"-- + +"If there is, you might say," suggested Wyngate, who felt he had +not had a fair show in the little comedy,--"ye might say to that +old skeesicks of a wife's brother, if he wants to nipple in, that +there are four men on the Ledge--and four revolvers! We are +gin'rally fa'r-minded, peaceful men, but when an old man's heart is +broken, and his gray hairs brought down in sorrow to the grave, so +to speak, we're bound to attend the funeral--sabe?" + +When Mr. Twiggs had departed again, accompanied by a partner to +guide him past the dangerous shoals of Tomlinson's grocery, Rice +clapped his hand on Wells's shoulder. "If it hadn't been for me, +sonny, that shark would have landed you into some compromise with +that red-haired gal! I saw you weakenin', and then I chipped in. +I may have piled up the agony a little on your love for old Quince, +but if you aren't an ungrateful cub, that's how you ought to hev +been feein', anyhow!" + +Nevertheless, the youthful Wells, although touched by his elder +partner's loyalty, and convinced of his own disinterestedness, felt +a painful sense of lost chivalrous opportunity. + + . . . . . . + +On mature consideration it was finally settled that Jackson Wells +should make his preliminary examination of his inheritance alone, +as it might seem inconsistent with the previous indifferent +attitude of his partners if they accompanied him. But he was +implored to yield to no blandishments of the enemy, and to even +make his visit a secret. + +He went. The familiar flower-spiked trees which had given their +name to Buckeye Hollow had never yielded entirely to improvements +and the incursions of mining enterprise, and many of them had even +survived the disused ditches, the scarred flats, the discarded +levels, ruined flumes, and roofless cabins of the earlier +occupation, so that when Jackson Wells entered the wide, straggling +street of Buckeye, that summer morning was filled with the radiance +of its blossoms and fragrant with their incense. His first visit +there, ten years ago, had been a purely perfunctory and hasty one, +yet he remembered the ostentatious hotel, built in the "flush time" +of its prosperity, and already in a green premature decay; he +recalled the Express Office and Town Hall, also passing away in a +kind of similar green deliquescence; the little zinc church, now +overgrown with fern and brambles, and the two or three fine +substantial houses in the outskirts, which seemed to have sucked +the vitality of the little settlement. One of these--he had been +told--was the property of his rich and wicked maternal uncle, the +hated appropriator of his red-headed cousin's affections. He +recalled his brief visit to the departed testator's claim and +market garden, and his by no means favorable impression of the +lonely, crabbed old man, as well as his relief that his +objectionable cousin, whom he had not seen since he was a boy, was +then absent at the rival uncle's. He made his way across the road +to a sunny slope where the market garden of three acres seemed to +roll like a river of green rapids to a little "run" or brook, +which, even in the dry season, showed a trickling rill. But here +he was struck by a singular circumstance. The garden rested in a +rich, alluvial soil, and under the quickening Californian sky had +developed far beyond the ability of its late cultivator to restrain +or keep it in order. Everything had grown luxuriantly, and in +monstrous size and profusion. The garden had even trespassed its +bounds, and impinged upon the open road, the deserted claims, and +the ruins of the past. Stimulated by the little cultivation Quincy +Wells had found time to give it, it had leaped its three acres and +rioted through the Hollow. There were scarlet runners crossing the +abandoned sluices, peas climbing the court-house wall, strawberries +matting the trail, while the seeds and pollen of its few homely +Eastern flowers had been blown far and wide through the woods. By +a grim satire, Nature seemed to have been the only thing that still +prospered in that settlement of man. + +The cabin itself, built of unpainted boards, consisted of a +sitting-room, dining-room, kitchen, and two bedrooms, all plainly +furnished, although one of the bedrooms was better ordered, and +displayed certain signs of feminine decoration, which made Jackson +believe it had been his cousin's room. Luckily, the slight, +temporary structure bore no deep traces of its previous occupancy +to disturb him with its memories, and for the same reason it gained +in cleanliness and freshness. The dry, desiccating summer wind +that blew through it had carried away both the odors and the sense +of domesticity; even the adobe hearth had no fireside tales to +tell,--its very ashes had been scattered by the winds; and the +gravestone of its dead owner on the hill was no more flavorless of +his personality than was this plain house in which he had lived and +died. The excessive vegetation produced by the stirred-up soil had +covered and hidden the empty tin cans, broken boxes, and fragments +of clothing which usually heaped and littered the tent-pegs of the +pioneer. Nature's own profusion had thrust them into obscurity. +Jackson Wells smiled as he recalled his sanguine partner's idea of +a treasure-trove concealed and stuffed in the crevices of this +tenement, already so palpably picked clean by those wholesome +scavengers of California, the dry air and burning sun. Yet he was +not displeased at this obliteration of a previous tenancy; there +was the better chance for him to originate something. He whistled +hopefully as he lounged, with his hands in his pockets, towards the +only fence and gate that gave upon the road. Something stuck up on +the gate-post attracted his attention. It was a sheet of paper +bearing the inscription in a large hand: "Notice to trespassers. +Look out for the Orphan Robber!" A plain signboard in faded black +letters on the gate, which had borne the legend: "Quincy Wells, +Dealer in Fruit and Vegetables," had been rudely altered in chalk +to read: "Jackson Wells, Double Dealer in Wills and Codicils," and +the intimation "Bouquets sold here" had been changed to "Bequests +stole here." For an instant the simple-minded Jackson failed to +discover any significance of this outrage, which seemed to him to +be merely the wanton mischief of a schoolboy. But a sudden +recollection of the lawyer's caution sent the blood to his cheeks +and kindled his indignation. He tore down the paper and rubbed out +the chalk interpolation--and then laughed at his own anger. +Nevertheless, he would not have liked his belligerent partners to +see it. + +A little curious to know the extent of this feeling, he entered one +of the shops, and by one or two questions which judiciously +betrayed his ownership of the property, he elicited only a +tradesman's interest in a possible future customer, and the +ordinary curiosity about a stranger. The barkeeper of the hotel +was civil, but brief and gloomy. He had heard the property was +"willed away on account of some family quarrel which "warn't none +of his." Mr. Wells would find Buckeye Hollow a mighty dull place +after the mines. It was played out, sucked dry by two or three big +mine owners who were trying to "freeze out" the other settlers, so +as they might get the place to themselves and "boom it." Brown, +who had the big house over the hill, was the head devil of the +gang! Wells felt his indignation kindle anew. And this girl that +he had ousted was Brown's friend. Was it possible that she was a +party to Brown's designs to get this three acres with the other +lands? If so, his long-suffering uncle was only just in his +revenge. + +He put all this diffidently before his partners on his return, and +was a little startled at their adopting it with sanguine ferocity. +They hoped that he would put an end to his thoughts of backing out +of it. Such a course now would be dishonorable to his uncle's +memory. It was clearly his duty to resist these blasted satraps of +capitalists; he was providentially selected for the purpose--a +village Hampden to withstand the tyrant. "And I reckon that shark +of a lawyer knew all about it when he was gettin' off that 'purp +stuff' about people's sympathies with the girl," said Rice +belligerently. "Contest the will, would he? Why, if we caught +that Brown with a finger in the pie we'd just whip up the boys on +this Ledge and lynch him. You hang on to that three acres and the +garden patch of your forefathers, sonny, and we'll see you through!" + +Nevertheless, it was with some misgivings that Wells consented that +his three partners should actually accompany him and see him put in +peaceable possession of his inheritance. His instinct told him +that there would be no contest of the will, and still less any +opposition on the part of the objectionable relative, Brown. When +the wagon which contained his personal effects and the few articles +of furniture necessary for his occupancy of the cabin arrived, the +exaggerated swagger which his companions had put on in their +passage through the settlement gave way to a pastoral indolence, +equally half real, half affected. Lying on their backs under a +buckeye, they permitted Rice to voice the general sentiment. +"There's a suthin' soothin' and dreamy in this kind o' life, +Jacksey, and we'll make a point of comin' here for a couple of days +every two weeks to lend you a hand; it will be a mighty good change +from our nigger work on the claim." + +In spite of this assurance, and the fact that they had voluntarily +come to help him put the place in order, they did very little +beyond lending a cheering expression of unqualified praise and +unstinted advice. At the end of four hours' weeding and trimming +the boundaries of the garden, they unanimously gave their opinion +that it would be more systematic for him to employ Chinese labor at +once. + +"You see," said Ned Wyngate, "the Chinese naturally take to this +kind o' business. Why, you can't take up a china plate or saucer +but you see 'em pictured there working at jobs like this, and they +kin live on green things and rice that cost nothin', and chickens. +You'll keep chickens, of course." + +Jackson thought that his hands would be full enough with the +garden, but he meekly assented. + +"I'll get a pair--you only want two to begin with," continued +Wyngate cheerfully, "and in a month or two you've got all you want, +and eggs enough for market. On second thoughts, I don't know +whether you hadn't better begin with eggs first. That is, you +borry some eggs from one man and a hen from another. Then you set +'em, and when the chickens are hatched out you just return the hen +to the second man, and the eggs, when your chickens begin to lay, +to the first man, and you've got your chickens for nothing--and +there you are." + +This ingenious proposition, which was delivered on the last slope +of the domain, where the partners were lying exhausted from their +work, was broken in upon by the appearance of a small boy, +barefooted, sunburnt, and tow-headed, who, after a moment's hurried +scrutiny of the group, threw a letter with unerring precision into +the lap of Jackson Wells, and then fled precipitately. Jackson +instinctively suspected he was connected with the outrage on his +fence and gate-post, but as he had avoided telling his partners of +the incident, fearing to increase their belligerent attitude, he +felt now an awkward consciousness mingled with his indignation as +he broke the seal and read as follows:-- + + +SIR,--This is to inform you that although you have got hold of the +property by underhanded and sneaking ways, you ain't no right to +touch or lay your vile hands on the Cherokee Rose alongside the +house, nor on the Giant of Battles, nor on the Maiden's Pride by +the gate--the same being the property of Miss Jocelinda Wells, and +planted by her, under the penalty of the Law. And if you, or any +of your gang of ruffians, touches it or them, or any thereof, or +don't deliver it up when called for in good order, you will be +persecuted by them. + +AVENGER. + + +It is to be feared that Jackson would have suppressed this also, +but the keen eyes of his partners, excited by the abruptness of the +messenger, were upon him. He smiled feebly, and laid the letter +before them. But he was unprepared for their exaggerated +indignation, and with difficulty restrained them from dashing off +in the direction of the vanished herald. "And what could you do?" +he said. "The boy's only a messenger." + +"I'll get at that d----d skunk Brown, who's back of him," said +Dexter Rice. + +"And what then?" persisted Jackson, with a certain show of +independence. "If this stuff belongs to the girl, I'm not certain +I shan't give them up without any fuss. Lord! I want nothing but +what the old man left me--and certainly nothing of HERS." + +Here Ned Wyngate was heard to murmur that Jackson was one of those +men who would lie down and let coyotes crawl over him if they first +presented a girl's visiting card, but he was stopped by Rice +demanding paper and pencil. The former being torn from a +memorandum book, and a stub of the latter produced from another +pocket, he wrote as follows:-- + + +SIR,--In reply to the hogwash you have kindly exuded in your letter +of to-day, I have to inform you that you can have what you ask for +Miss Wells, and perhaps a trifle on your own account, by calling +this afternoon on--Yours truly-- + + +"Now, sign it," continued Rice, handing him the pencil. + +"But this will look as if we were angry and wanted to keep the +plants," protested Wells. + +"Never you mind, sonny, but sign! Leave the rest to your partners, +and when you lay your head on your pillow to-night return thanks to +an overruling Providence for providing you with the right gang of +ruffians to look after you!" + +Wells signed reluctantly, and Wyngate offered to find a Chinaman in +the gulch who would take the missive. "And being a Chinaman, Brown +can do any cussin' or buck talk THROUGH him!" he added. + +The afternoon wore on; the tall Douglas pines near the water pools +wheeled their long shadows round and halfway up the slope, and the +sun began to peer into the faces of the reclining men. Subtle +odors of mint and southern-wood, stragglers from the garden, +bruised by their limbs, replaced the fumes of their smoked-out +pipes, and the hammers of the woodpeckers were busy in the grove as +they lay lazily nibbling the fragrant leaves like peaceful +ruminants. Then came the sound of approaching wheels along the +invisible highway beyond the buckeyes, and then a halt and silence. +Rice rose slowly, bright pin points in the pupils of his gray eyes. + +"Bringin' a wagon with him to tote the hull shanty away," suggested +Wyngate. + +"Or fetched his own ambulance," said Briggs. + +Nevertheless, after a pause, the wheels presently rolled away again. + +"We'd better go and meet him at the gate," said Rice, hitching his +revolver holster nearer his hip. "That wagon stopped long enough +to put down three or four men." + +They walked leisurely but silently to the gate. It is probable +that none of them believed in a serious collision, but now the +prospect had enough possibility in it to quicken their pulses. +They reached the gate. But it was still closed; the road beyond it +empty. + +"Mebbe they've sneaked round to the cabin," said Briggs, "and are +holdin' it inside." + +They were turning quickly in that direction, when Wyngate said, +"Hush!--some one's there in the brush under the buckeyes." + +They listened; there was a faint rustling in the shadows. + +"Come out o' that, Brown--into the open. Don't be shy," called out +Rice in cheerful irony. "We're waitin' for ye." + +But Briggs, who was nearest the wood, here suddenly uttered an +exclamation,--"B'gosh!" and fell back, open-mouthed, upon his +companions. They too, in another moment, broke into a feeble +laugh, and lapsed against each other in sheepish silence. For a +very pretty girl, handsomely dressed, swept out of the wood and +advanced towards them. + +Even at any time she would have been an enchanting vision to these +men, but in the glow of exercise and sparkle of anger she was +bewildering. Her wonderful hair, the color of freshly hewn +redwood, had escaped from her hat in her passage through the +underbrush, and even as she swept down upon them in her majesty she +was jabbing a hairpin into it with a dexterous feminine hand. + +The three partners turned quite the color of her hair; Jackson +Wells alone remained white and rigid. She came on, her very short +upper lip showing her white teeth with her panting breath. + +Rice was first to speak. "I beg--your pardon, Miss--I thought it +was Brown--you know," he stammered. + +But she only turned a blighting brown eye on the culprit, curled +her short lip till it almost vanished in her scornful nostrils, +drew her skirt aside with a jerk, and continued her way straight to +Jackson Wells, where she halted. + +"We did not know you were--here alone," he said apologetically. + +"Thought I was afraid to come alone, didn't you? Well, you see, +I'm not. There!" She made another dive at her hat and hair, and +brought the hat down wickedly over her eyebrows. "Gimme my plants." + +Jackson had been astonished. He would have scarcely recognized in +this willful beauty the red-haired girl whom he had boyishly hated, +and with whom he had often quarreled. But there was a recollection-- +and with that recollection came an instinct of habit. He looked +her squarely in the face, and, to the horror of his partners, said, +"Say please!" + +They had expected to see him fall, smitten with the hairpin! But +she only stopped, and then in bitter irony said, "Please, Mr. +Jackson Wells." + +"I haven't dug them up yet--and it would serve you just right if I +made you get them for yourself. But perhaps my friends here might +help you--if you were civil." + +The three partners seized spades and hoes and rushed forward +eagerly. "Only show us what you want," they said in one voice. +The young girl stared at them, and at Jackson. Then with swift +determination she turned her back scornfully upon him, and with a +dazzling smile which reduced the three men to absolute idiocy, said +to the others, "I'll show YOU," and marched away to the cabin. + +"Ye mustn't mind Jacksey," said Rice, sycophantically edging to her +side, "he's so cut up with losin' your father that he loved like a +son, he isn't himself, and don't seem to know whether to ante up or +pass out. And as for yourself, Miss--why-- What was it he was +sayin' only just as the young lady came?" he added, turning +abruptly to Wyngate. + +"Everything that cousin Josey planted with her own hands must be +took up carefully and sent back--even though it's killin' me to +part with it," quoted Wyngate unblushingly, as he slouched along on +the other side. + +Miss Wells's eyes glared at them, though her mouth still smiled +ravishingly. "I'm sure I'm troubling you." + +In a few moments the plants were dug up and carefully laid +together; indeed, the servile Briggs had added a few that she had +not indicated. + +"Would you mind bringing them as far as the buggy that's coming +down the hill?" she said, pointing to a buggy driven by a small boy +which was slowly approaching the gate. The men tenderly lifted the +uprooted plants, and proceeded solemnly, Miss Wells bringing up the +rear, towards the gate, where Jackson Wells was still surlily +lounging. + +They passed out first. Miss Wells lingered for an instant, and +then advancing her beautiful but audacious face within an inch of +Jackson's, hissed out, "Make-believe! and hypocrite!" + +"Cross-patch and sauce-box!" returned Jackson readily, still under +the malign influence of his boyish past, as she flounced away. + +Presently he heard the buggy rattle away with his persecutor. But +his partners still lingered on the road in earnest conversation, +and when they did return it was with a singular awkwardness and +embarrassment, which he naturally put down to a guilty consciousness +of their foolish weakness in succumbing to the girl's demands. + +But he was a little surprised when Dexter Rice approached him +gloomily. "Of course," he began, "it ain't no call of ours to +interfere in family affairs, and you've a right to keep 'em to +yourself, but if you'd been fair and square and above board in what +you got off on us about this per--" + +"What do you mean?" demanded the astonished Wells. + +"Well--callin' her a 'red-haired gal.'" + +"Well--she is a red-haired girl!" said Wells impatiently. + +"A man," continued Rice pityingly, "that is so prejudiced as to +apply such language to a beautiful orphan--torn with grief at the +loss of a beloved but d----d misconstruing parent--merely because +she begs a few vegetables out of his potato patch, ain't to be +reasoned with. But when you come to look at this thing by and +large, and as a fa'r-minded man, sonny, you'll agree with us that +the sooner you make terms with her the better. Considerin' your +interest, Jacksey,--let alone the claims of humanity,--we've +concluded to withdraw from here until this thing is settled. She's +sort o' mixed us up with your feelings agin her, and naturally +supposed we object to the color of her hair! and bein' a penniless +orphan, rejected by her relations"-- + +"What stuff are you talking?" burst in Jackson. "Why, YOU saw she +treated you better than she did me." + +"Steady! There you go with that temper of yours that frightened +the girl! Of course she could see that WE were fa'r-minded men, +accustomed to the ways of society, and not upset by the visit of a +lady, or the givin' up of a few green sticks! But let that slide! +We're goin' back home to-night, sonny, and when you've thought this +thing over and are straightened up and get your right bearin's, +we'll stand by you as before. We'll put a man on to do your work +on the Ledge, so ye needn't worry about that." + +They were quite firm in this decision,--however absurd or obscure +their conclusions,--and Jackson, after his first flash of +indignation, felt a certain relief in their departure. But +strangely enough, while he had hesitated about keeping the property +when they were violently in favor of it, he now felt he was right in +retaining it against their advice to compromise. The sentimental +idea had vanished with his recognition of his hateful cousin in the +role of the injured orphan. And for the same odd reason her +prettiness only increased his resentment. He was not deceived,--it +was the same capricious, willful, red-haired girl. + +The next day he set himself to work with that dogged steadiness +that belonged to his simple nature, and which had endeared him to +his partners. He set half a dozen Chinamen to work, and followed, +although apparently directing, their methods. The great difficulty +was to restrain and control the excessive vegetation, and he +matched the small economies of the Chinese against the opulence of +the Californian soil. The "garden patch" prospered; the neighbors +spoke well of it and of him. But Jackson knew that this fierce +harvest of early spring was to be followed by the sterility of the +dry season, and that irrigation could alone make his work +profitable in the end. He brought a pump to force the water from +the little stream at the foot of the slope to the top, and allowed +it to flow back through parallel trenches. Again Buckeye +applauded! Only the gloomy barkeeper shook his head. "The moment +you get that thing to pay, Mr. Wells, you'll find the hand of +Brown, somewhere, getting ready to squeeze it dry!" + +But Jackson Wells did not trouble himself about Brown, whom he +scarcely knew. Once indeed, while trenching the slope, he was +conscious that he was watched by two men from the opposite bank; +but they were apparently satisfied by their scrutiny, and turned +away. Still less did he concern himself with the movements of his +cousin, who once or twice passed him superciliously in her buggy on +the road. Again, she met him as one of a cavalcade of riders, +mounted on a handsome but ill-tempered mustang, which she was +managing with an ill-temper and grace equal to the brute's, to the +alternate delight and terror of her cavalier. He could see that +she had been petted and spoiled by her new guardian and his friends +far beyond his conception. But why she should grudge him the +little garden and the pastoral life for which she was so unsuited, +puzzled him greatly. + +One afternoon he was working near the road, when he was startled by +an outcry from his Chinese laborers, their rapid dispersal from the +strawberry beds where they were working, the splintering crash of +his fence rails, and a commotion among the buckeyes. Furious at +what seemed to him one of the usual wanton attacks upon coolie +labor, he seized his pick and ran to their assistance. But he was +surprised to find Jocelinda's mustang caught by the saddle and +struggling between two trees, and its unfortunate mistress lying +upon the strawberry bed. Shocked but cool-headed, Jackson released +the horse first, who was lashing out and destroying everything +within his reach, and then turned to his cousin. But she had +already lifted herself to her elbow, and with a trickle of blood +and mud on one fair cheek was surveying him scornfully under her +tumbled hair and hanging hat. + +"You don't suppose I was trespassing on your wretched patch again, +do you?" she said in a voice she was trying to keep from breaking. +"It was that brute--who bolted." + +"I don't suppose you were bullying ME this time," he said, "but you +were YOUR HORSE--or it wouldn't have happened. Are you hurt?" + +She tried to move; he offered her his hand, but she shied from it +and struggled to her feet. She took a step forward--but limped. + +"If you don't want my arm, let me call a Chinaman," he suggested. + +She glared at him. "If you do I'll scream!" she said in a low +voice, and he knew she would. But at the same moment her face +whitened, at which he slipped his arm under hers in a dexterous, +business-like way, so as to support her weight. Then her hat got +askew, and down came a long braid over his shoulder. He remembered +it of old, only it was darker than then and two or three feet +longer. + +"If you could manage to limp as far as the gate and sit down on the +bank, I'd get your horse for you," he said. "I hitched it to a +sapling." + +"I saw you did--before you even offered to help me," she said +scornfully. + +"The horse would have got away--YOU couldn't." + +"If you only knew how I hated you," she said, with a white face, +but a trembling lip. + +"I don't see how that would make things any better," he said. +"Better wipe your face; it's scratched and muddy, and you've been +rubbing your nose in my strawberry bed." + +She snatched his proffered handkerchief suddenly, applied it to her +face, and said: "I suppose it looks dreadful." + +"Like a pig's," he returned cheerfully. + +She walked a little more firmly after this, until they reached the +gate. He seated her on the bank, and went back for the mustang. +That beautiful brute, astounded and sore from its contact with the +top rail and brambles, was cowed and subdued as he led it back. + +She had finished wiping her face, and was hurriedly disentangling +two stinging tears from her long lashes, before she threw back his +handkerchief. Her sprained ankle obliged him to lift her into the +saddle and adjust her little shoe in the stirrup. He remembered +when it was still smaller. "You used to ride astride," he said, a +flood of recollection coming over him, "and it's much safer with +your temper and that brute." + +"And you," she said in a lower voice, "used to be"-- But the rest +of her sentence was lost in the switch of the whip and the jump of +her horse, but he thought the word was "kinder." + +Perhaps this was why, after he watched her canter away, he went +back to the garden, and from the bruised and trampled strawberry +bed gathered a small basket of the finest fruit, covered them with +leaves, added a paper with the highly ingenious witticism, "Picked +up with you," and sent them to her by one of the Chinamen. Her +forcible entry moved Li Sing, his foreman, also chief laundryman to +the settlement, to reminiscences: + +"Me heap knew Missy Wells and ole man, who go dead. Ole man allee +time make chin music to Missy. Allee time jaw jaw--allee time make +lows--allee time cuttee up Missy! Plenty time lockee up Missy +topside house; no can walkee--no can talkee--no hab got--how can +get?--must washee washee allee same Chinaman. Ole man go dead-- +Missy all lightee now. Plenty fun. Plenty stay in Blown's big +house, top-side hill; Blown first-chop man." + +Had he inquired he might have found this pagan testimony, for once, +corroborated by the Christian neighbors. + +But another incident drove all this from his mind. The little +stream--the life blood of his garden--ran dry! Inquiry showed that +it had been diverted two miles away into Brown's ditch! Wells's +indignant protest elicited a formal reply from Brown, stating that +he owned the adjacent mining claims, and reminding him that mining +rights to water took precedence of the agricultural claim, but +offering, by way of compensation, to purchase the land thus made +useless and sterile. Jackson suddenly recalled the prophecy of the +gloomy barkeeper. The end, had come! But what could the scheming +capitalist want with the land, equally useless--as his uncle had +proved--for mining purposes? Could it be sheer malignity, incited +by his vengeful cousin? But here he paused, rejecting the idea as +quickly as it came. No! his partners were right! He was a +trespasser on his cousin's heritage--there was no luck in it--he +was wrong, and this was his punishment! Instead of yielding +gracefully as he might, he must back down now, and she would never +know his first real feelings. Even now he would make over the +property to her as a free gift. But his partners had advanced him +money from their scanty means to plant and work it. He believed +that an appeal to their feelings would persuade them to forego even +that, but he shrank even more from confessing his defeat to THEM +than to her. + +He had little heart in his labors that day, and dismissed the +Chinamen early. He again examined his uncle's old mining claim on +the top of the slope, but was satisfied that it had been a hopeless +enterprise and wisely abandoned. It was sunset when he stood under +the buckeyes, gloomily looking at the glow fade out of the west, as +it had out of his boyish hopes. He had grown to like the place. +It was the hour, too, when the few flowers he had cultivated gave +back their pleasant odors, as if grateful for his care. And then +he heard his name called. + +It was his cousin, standing a few yards from him in evident +hesitation. She was quite pale, and for a moment he thought she +was still suffering from her fall, until he saw in her nervous, +half-embarrassed manner that it had no physical cause. Her old +audacity and anger seemed gone, yet there was a queer determination +in her pretty brows. + +"Good-evening," he said. + +She did not return his greeting, but pulling uneasily at her glove, +said hesitatingly: "Uncle has asked you to sell him this land?" + +"Yes." + +"Well--don't!" she burst out abruptly. + +He stared at her. + +"Oh, I'm not trying to keep you here," she went on, flashing back +into her old temper; "so you needn't stare like that. I say, +'Don't,' because it ain't right, it ain't fair." + +"Why, he's left me no alternative," he said. + +"That's just it--that's why it's mean and low. I don't care if he +is our uncle." + +Jackson was bewildered and shocked. + +"I know it's horrid to say it," she said, with a white face; "but +it's horrider to keep it in! Oh, Jack! when we were little, and +used to fight and quarrel, I never was mean--was I? I never was +underhanded--was I? I never lied--did I? And I can't lie now. +Jack," she looked hurriedly around her, "HE wants to get hold of +the land--HE thinks there's gold in the slope and bank by the +stream. He says dad was a fool to have located his claim so high +up. Jack! did you ever prospect the bank?" + +A dawning of intelligence came upon Jackson. "No," he said; "but," +he added bitterly, "what's the use? He owns the water now,--I +couldn't work it." + +"But, Jack, IF you found the color, this would be a MINING claim! +You could claim the water right; and, as it's your land, your claim +would be first!" + +Jackson was startled. "Yes, IF I found the color." + +"You WOULD find it." + +"WOULD?" + +"Yes! I DID--on the sly! Yesterday morning on your slope by the +stream, when no one was up! I washed a panful and got that." She +took a piece of tissue paper from her pocket, opened it, and shook +into her little palm three tiny pin points of gold. + +"And that was your own idea, Jossy?" + +"Yes!" + +"Your very own?" + +"Honest Injin!" + +"Wish you may die?" + +"True, O King!" + +He opened his arms, and they mutually embraced. Then they +separated, taking hold of each other's hands solemnly, and falling +back until they were at arm's length. Then they slowly extended +their arms sideways at full length, until this action naturally +brought their faces and lips together. They did this with the +utmost gravity three times, and then embraced again, rocking on +pivoted feet like a metronome. Alas! it was no momentary +inspiration. The most casual and indifferent observer could see +that it was the result of long previous practice and shameless +experience. And as such--it was a revelation and an explanation. + + . . . . . . + +"I always suspected that Jackson was playin' us about that red- +haired cousin," said Rice two weeks later; "but I can't swallow +that purp stuff about her puttin' him up to that dodge about a new +gold discovery on a fresh claim, just to knock out Brown. No, sir. +He found that gold in openin' these irrigatin' trenches,--the usual +nigger luck, findin' what you're not lookin' arter." + +"Well, we can't complain, for he's offered to work it on shares +with us," said Briggs. + +"Yes--until he's ready to take in another partner." + +"Not--Brown?" said his horrified companions. + +"No!--but Brown's adopted daughter--that red-haired cousin!" + + + +THE REINCARNATION OF SMITH + + +The extravagant supper party by which Mr. James Farendell celebrated +the last day of his bachelorhood was protracted so far into the +night, that the last guest who parted from him at the door of the +principal Sacramento restaurant was for a moment impressed with the +belief that a certain ruddy glow in the sky was already the dawn. +But Mr. Farendell had kept his head clear enough to recognize it as +the light of some burning building in a remote business district, a +not infrequent occurrence in the dry season. When he had dismissed +his guest he turned away in that direction for further information. +His own counting-house was not in that immediate neighborhood, but +Sacramento had been once before visited by a rapid and far-sweeping +conflagration, and it behooved him to be on the alert even on this +night of festivity. + +Perhaps also a certain anxiety arose out of the occasion. He was to +be married to-morrow to the widow of his late partner, and the +marriage, besides being an attractive one, would settle many +business difficulties. He had been a fortunate man, but, like many +more fortunate men, was not blind to the possibilities of a change +of luck. The death of his partner in a successful business had at +first seemed to betoken that change, but his successful, though +hasty, courtship of the inexperienced widow had restored his chances +without greatly shocking the decorum of a pioneer community. +Nevertheless, he was not a contented man, and hardly a determined-- +although an energetic one. + +A walk of a few moments brought him to the levee of the river,--a +favored district, where his counting-house, with many others, was +conveniently situated. In these early days only a few of these +buildings could be said to be permanent,--fire and flood perpetually +threatened them. They were merely temporary structures of wood, or +in the case of Mr. Farendell's office, a shell of corrugated iron, +sheathing a one-storied wooden frame, more or less elaborate in its +interior decorations. By the time he had reached it, the distant +fire had increased. On his way he had met and recognized many of +his business acquaintances hurrying thither,--some to save their +own property, or to assist the imperfectly equipped volunteer fire +department in their unselfish labors. It was probably Mr. +Farendell's peculiar preoccupation on that particular night which +had prevented his joining in their brotherly zeal. + +He unlocked the iron door, and lit the hanging lamp that was used +in all-night sittings on steamer days. It revealed a smartly +furnished office, with a high desk for his clerks, and a smaller +one for himself in one corner. In the centre of the wall stood a +large safe. This he also unlocked and took out a few important +books, as well as a small drawer containing gold coin and dust to +the amount of about five hundred dollars, the large balance having +been deposited in bank on the previous day. The act was only +precautionary, as he did not exhibit any haste in removing them to +a place of safety, and remained meditatively absorbed in looking +over a packet of papers taken from the same drawer. The closely +shuttered building, almost hermetically sealed against light, and +perhaps sound, prevented his observing the steadily increasing +light of the conflagration, or hearing the nearer tumult of the +firemen, and the invasion of his quiet district by other equally +solicitous tenants. The papers seemed also to possess some +importance, for, the stillness being suddenly broken by the turning +of the handle of the heavy door he had just closed, and its opening +with difficulty, his first act was to hurriedly conceal them, +without apparently paying a thought to the exposed gold before him. +And his expression and attitude in facing round towards the door +was quite as much of nervous secretiveness as of indignation at the +interruption. + +Yet the intruder appeared, though singular, by no means formidable. +He was a man slightly past the middle age, with a thin face, +hollowed at the cheeks and temples as if by illness or asceticism, +and a grayish beard that encircled his throat like a soiled worsted +"comforter" below his clean-shaven chin and mouth. His manner was +slow and methodical, and even when he shot the bolt of the door +behind him, the act did not seem aggressive. Nevertheless Mr. +Farendell half rose with his hand on his pistol-pocket, but the +stranger merely lifted his own hand with a gesture of indifferent +warning, and, drawing a chair towards him, dropped into it +deliberately. + +Mr. Farendell's angry stare changed suddenly to one of surprised +recognition. "Josh Scranton," he said hesitatingly. + +"I reckon," responded the stranger slowly. "That's the name I +allus bore, and YOU called yourself Farendell. Well, we ain't seen +each other sens the spring o' '50, when ye left me lying nigh +petered out with chills and fever on the Stanislaus River, and sold +the claim that me and Duffy worked under our very feet, and +skedaddled for 'Frisco!" + +"I only exercised my right as principal owner, and to secure my +advances," began the late Mr. Farendell sharply. + +But again the thin hand was raised, this time with a slow, scornful +waiving of any explanations. "It ain't that in partickler that +I've kem to see ye for to-night," said the stranger slowly, "nor it +ain't about your takin' the name o' 'Farendell,' that friend o' +yours who died on the passage here with ye, and whose papers ye +borrowed! Nor it ain't on account o' that wife of yours ye left +behind in Missouri, and whose letters you never answered. It's +them things all together--and suthin' else!" + +"What the d---l do you want, then?" said Farendell, with a +desperate directness that was, however, a tacit confession of the +truth of these accusations. + +"Yer allowin' that ye'll get married tomorrow?" said Scranton +slowly. + +"Yes, and be d----d to you," said Farendell fiercely. + +"Yer NOT," returned Scranton. "Not if I knows it. Yer goin' to +climb down. Yer goin' to get up and get! Yer goin' to step down +and out! Yer goin' to shut up your desk and your books and this +hull consarn inside of an hour, and vamose the ranch. Arter an +hour from now thar won't be any Mr. Farendell, and no weddin' +to-morrow." + +"If that's your game--perhaps you'd like to murder me at once?" +said Farendell with a shifting eye, as his hand again moved towards +his revolver. + +But again the thin hand of the stranger was also lifted. "We ain't +in the business o' murderin' or bein' murdered, or we might hev kem +here together, me and Duffy. Now if anything happens to me Duffy +will be left, and HE'S got the proofs." + +Farendell seemed to recognize the fact with the same directness. +"That's it, is it?" he said bluntly. "Well, how much do you want? +Only, I warn you that I haven't much to give." + +"Wotever you've got, if it was millions, it ain't enough to buy us +up, and ye ought to know that by this time," responded Scranton, +with a momentary flash in his eyes. But the next moment his +previous passionless deliberation returned, and leaning his arm on +the desk of the man before him he picked up a paperweight +carelessly and turned it over as he said slowly, "The fact is, Mr. +Farendell, you've been making us, me and Duffy, tired. We've bin +watchin' you and your doin's, lyin' low and sayin' nothin', till we +concluded that it was about time you handed in your checks and left +the board. We ain't wanted nothin' of ye, we ain't begrudged ye +nothin', but we've allowed that this yer thing must stop." + +"And what if I refuse?" said Farendell. + +"Thar'll be some cussin' and a big row from YOU, I kalkilate--and +maybe some fightin' all round," said Scranton dispassionately. +"But it will be all the same in the end. The hull thing will come +out, and you'll hev to slide just the same. T'otherwise, ef ye +slide out NOW, it's without a row." + +"And do you suppose a business man like me can disappear without a +fuss over it?" said Farendell angrily. "Are you mad?" + +"I reckon the hole YOU'LL make kin be filled up," said Scranton +dryly. "But ef ye go NOW, you won't be bothered by the fuss, while +if you stay you'll have to face the music, and go too!" + +Farendell was silent. Possibly the truth of this had long since +been borne upon him. No one but himself knew the incessant strain +of these years of evasion and concealment, and how he often had +been near to some such desperate culmination. The sacrifice +offered to him was not, therefore, so great as it might have +seemed. The knowledge of this might have given him a momentary +superiority over his antagonist had Scranton's motive been a purely +selfish or malignant one, but as it was not, and as he may have had +some instinctive idea of Farendell's feeling also, it made his +ultimatum appear the more passionless and fateful. And it was this +quality which perhaps caused Farendell to burst out with desperate +abruptness,-- + +"What in h-ll ever put you up to this!" + +Scranton folded his arms upon Farendell's desk, and slowly wiping +his clean jaw with one hand, repeated deliberately, "Wall--I reckon +I told ye that before! You've been making us--me and Duffy-- +tired!" He paused for a moment, and then, rising abruptly, with a +careless gesture towards the uncovered tray of gold, said, "Come! +ye kin take enuff o' that to get away with; the less ye take, +though, the less likely you'll be to be followed!" + +He went to the door, unlocked and opened it. A strange light, as +of a lurid storm interspersed by sheet-like lightning, filled the +outer darkness, and the silence was now broken by dull crashes and +nearer cries and shouting. A few figures were also dimly flitting +around the neighboring empty offices, some of which, like +Farendell's, had been entered by their now alarmed owners. + +"You've got a good chance now," continued Scranton; "ye couldn't +hev a better. It's a big fire--a scorcher--and jest the time for a +man to wipe himself out and not be missed. Make tracks where the +crowd is thickest and whar ye're likely to be seen, ez ef ye were +helpin'! Ther' 'll be other men missed tomorrow beside you," he +added with grim significance; "but nobody'll know that you was one +who really got away." + +Where the imperturbable logic of the strange man might have failed, +the noise, the tumult, the suggestion of swift-coming disaster, and +the necessity for some immediate action of any kind, was convincing. +Farendell hastily stuffed his pockets with gold and the papers he +had found, and moved to the door. Already he fancied he felt the +hot breath of the leaping conflagration beyond. "And you?" he said, +turning suspiciously to Scranton. + +"When you're shut of this and clean off, I'll fix things and leave +too--but not before. I reckon," he added grimly, with a glance at +the sky, now streaming with sparks like a meteoric shower, "thar +won't be much left here in the morning." + +A few dull embers pattered on the iron roof of the low building and +bounded off in ashes. Farendell cast a final glance around him, +and then darted from the building. The iron door clanged behind +him--he was gone. + +Evidently not too soon, for the other buildings were already +deserted by their would-be salvors, who had filled the streets with +piles of books and valuables waiting to be carried away. Then +occurred a terrible phenomenon, which had once before in such +disasters paralyzed the efforts of the firemen. A large wooden +warehouse in the centre of the block of offices, many hundred feet +from the scene of active conflagration--which had hitherto remained +intact--suddenly became enveloped in clouds of smoke, and without +warning burst as suddenly from roof and upper story into vivid +flame. There were eye-witnesses who declared that a stream of +living fire seemed to leap upon it from the burning district, and +connected the space between them with an arch of luminous heat. In +another instant the whole district was involved in a whirlwind of +smoke and flame, out of whose seething vortex the corrugated iron +buildings occasionally showed their shriveling or glowing outlines. +And then the fire swept on and away. + +When the sun again arose over the panic-stricken and devastated +city, all personal incident and disaster was forgotten in the +larger calamity. It was two or three days before the full +particulars could be gathered--even while the dominant and +resistless energy of the people was erecting new buildings upon the +still-smoking ruins. It was only on the third day afterwards that +James Farendell, on the deck of a coasting steamer, creeping out +through the fogs of the Golden Gate, read the latest news in a San +Francisco paper brought by the pilot. As he hurriedly comprehended +the magnitude of the loss, which was far beyond his previous +conception, he experienced a certain satisfaction in finding his +position no worse materially than that of many of his fellow +workers. THEY were ruined like himself; THEY must begin their life +afresh--but then! Ah! there was still that terrible difference. +He drew his breath quickly, and read on. Suddenly he stopped, +transfixed by a later paragraph. For an instant he failed to grasp +its full significance. Then he read it again, the words imprinting +themselves on his senses with a slow deliberation that seemed to +him as passionless as Scranton's utterances on that fateful night. + +"The loss of life, it is now feared, is much greater than at first +imagined. To the list that has been already published we must add +the name of James Farendell, the energetic contractor so well known +to our citizens, who was missing the morning after the fire. His +calcined remains were found this afternoon in the warped and +twisted iron shell of his counting-house, the wooden frame having +been reduced to charcoal in the intense heat. The unfortunate man +seems to have gone there to remove his books and papers,--as was +evidenced by the iron safe being found open,--but to have been +caught and imprisoned in the building through the heat causing the +metal sheathing to hermetically seal the doors and windows. He was +seen by some neighbors to enter the building while the fire was +still distant, and his remains were identified by his keys, which +were found beneath him. A poignant interest is added to his +untimely fate by the circumstance that he was to have been married +on the following day to the widow of his late partner, and that he +had, at the call of duty, that very evening left a dinner party +given to celebrate the last day of his bachelorhood--or, as it has +indeed proved, of his earthly existence. Two families are thus +placed in mourning, and it is a singular sequel that by this +untoward calamity the well-known firm of Farendell & Cutler may be +said to have ceased to exist." + +Mr. Farendell started to his feet. But a lurch of the schooner as +she rose on the long swell of the Pacific sent him staggering +dizzily back to his seat, and checked his first wild impulse to +return. He saw it all now,--the fire had avenged him by wiping out +his persecutor, Scranton, but in the eyes of his contemporaries it +had only erased HIM! He might return to refute the story in his +own person, but the dead man's partner still lived with his secret, +and his own rehabilitation could only revive his former peril. + + . . . . . . + +Four years elapsed before the late Mr. Farendell again set foot in +the levee of Sacramento. The steamboat that brought him from San +Francisco was a marvel to him in size, elegance, and comfort; so +different from the little, crowded, tri-weekly packet he +remembered; and it might, in a manner, have prepared him for the +greater change in the city. But he was astounded to find nothing +to remind him of the past,--no landmark, nor even ruin, of the +place he had known. Blocks of brick buildings, with thoroughfares +having strange titles, occupied the district where his counting- +house had stood, and even obliterated its site; equally strange +names were upon the shops and warehouses. In his four years' +wanderings he had scarcely found a place as unfamiliar. He had +trusted to the great change in his own appearance--the full beard +that he wore and the tanning of a tropical sun--to prevent +recognition; but the precaution was unnecessary, there were none to +recognize him in the new faces which were the only ones he saw in +the transformed city. A cautious allusion to the past which he had +made on the boat to a fellow passenger had brought only the +surprised rejoinder, "Oh, that must have been before the big fire," +as if it was an historic epoch. There was something of pain even +in this assured security of his loneliness. His obliteration was +complete. + +For the late Mr. Farendell had suffered some change of mind with +his other mutations. He had been singularly lucky. The schooner +in which he had escaped brought him to Acapulco, where, as a +returning Californian, and a presumably successful one, his +services and experience were eagerly sought by an English party +engaged in developing certain disused Mexican mines. As the post, +however, was perilously near the route of regular emigration, as +soon as he had gained a sufficient sum he embarked with some goods +to Callao, where he presently established himself in business, +resuming his REAL name--the unambitious but indistinctive one of +"Smith." It is highly probable that this prudential act was also +his first step towards rectitude. For whether the change was a +question of moral ethics, or merely a superstitious essay in luck, +he was thereafter strictly honest in business. He became +prosperous. He had been sustained in his flight by the intention +that, if he were successful elsewhere, he would endeavor to +communicate with his abandoned fiancee, and ask her to join him, +and share not his name but fortune in exile. But as he grew rich, +the difficulties of carrying out this intention became more +apparent; he was by no means certain of her loyalty surviving the +deceit he had practiced and the revelation he would have to make; +he was doubtful of the success of any story which at other times he +would have glibly invented to take the place of truth. Already +several months had elapsed since his supposed death; could he +expect her to be less accessible to premature advances now than +when she had been a widow? Perhaps this made him think of the wife +he had deserted so long ago. He had been quite content to live +without regret or affection, forgetting and forgotten, but in his +present prosperity he felt there was some need of putting his +domestic affairs into a more secure and legitimate shape, to avert +any catastrophe like the last. HERE at least would be no +difficulty; husbands had deserted their wives before this in +Californian emigration, and had been heard of only after they had +made their fortune. Any plausible story would be accepted by HER +in the joy of his reappearance; or if, indeed, as he reflected with +equal complacency, she was dead or divorced from him through his +desertion--a sufficient cause in her own State--and re-married, he +would at least be more secure. He began, without committing +himself, by inquiry and anonymous correspondence. His wife, he +learnt, had left Missouri for Sacramento only a month or two after +his own disappearance from that place, and her address was unknown! + +A complication so unlooked for disquieted him, and yet whetted his +curiosity. The only person she might meet in California who could +possibly identify him with the late Mr. Farendell was Duffy; he had +often wondered if that mysterious partner of Scranton's had been +deceived with the others, or had ever suspected that the body +discovered in the counting-house was Scranton's. If not, he must +have accepted the strange coincidence that Scranton had disappeared +also the same night. In the first six months of his exile he had +searched the Californian papers thoroughly, but had found no record +of any doubt having been thrown on the accepted belief. It was +these circumstances, and perhaps a vague fascination not unlike +that which impels the malefactor to haunt the scene of his crime, +that, at the end of four years, had brought him, a man of middle +age and assured occupation and fortune, back to the city he had +fled from. + +A few days at one of the new hotels convinced him thoroughly that +he was in no danger of recognition, and gave him the assurance to +take rooms more in keeping with his circumstances and his own +frankly avowed position as the head of a South American house. A +cautious acquaintance--through the agency of his banker--with a few +business men gave him some occupation, and the fact of his South +American letters being addressed to Don Diego Smith gave a foreign +flavor to his individuality, which his tanned face and dark beard +had materially helped. A stronger test convinced him how complete +was the obliteration of his former identity. One day at the bank +he was startled at being introduced by the manager to a man whom he +at once recognized as a former business acquaintance. But the +shock was his alone; the formal approach and unfamiliar manner of +the man showed that he had failed to recognize even a resemblance. +But would he equally escape detection by his wife if he met her as +accidentally,--an encounter not to be thought of until he knew +something more of her? He became more cautious in going to public +places, but luckily for him the proportion of women to men was +still small in California, and they were more observed than +observing. + +A month elapsed; in that time he had thoroughly exhausted the local +Directories in his cautious researches among the "Smiths," for in +his fear of precipitating a premature disclosure he had given up +his former anonymous advertising. And there was a certain +occupation in this personal quest that filled his business time. +He was in no hurry. He had a singular faith that he would +eventually discover her whereabouts, be able to make all necessary +inquiries into her conduct and habits, and perhaps even enjoy a +brief season of unsuspected personal observation before revealing +himself. And this faith was as singularly rewarded. + +Having occasion to get his watch repaired one day he entered a +large jeweler's shop, and while waiting its examination his +attention was attracted by an ordinary old-fashioned daguerreotype +case in the form of a heart-shaped locket lying on the counter with +other articles left for repairs. Something in its appearance +touched a chord in his memory; he lifted the half-opened case and +saw a much faded daguerreotype portrait of himself taken in +Missouri before he left in the Californian emigration. He +recognized it at once as one he had given to his wife; the faded +likeness was so little like his present self that he boldly +examined it and asked the jeweler one or two questions. The man +was communicative. Yes, it was an old-fashioned affair which had +been left for repairs a few days ago by a lady whose name and +address, written by herself, were on the card tied to it. + +Mr. James Smith had by this time fully controlled the emotion he +felt as he recognized his wife's name and handwriting, and knew +that at last the clue was found! He laid down the case carelessly, +gave the final directions for the repairs of his watch, and left +the shop. The address, of which he had taken a mental note, was, +to his surprise, very near his own lodgings; but he went straight +home. Here a few inquiries of his janitor elicited the information +that the building indicated in the address was a large one of +furnished apartments and offices like his own, and that the "Mrs. +Smith" must be simply the housekeeper of the landlord, whose name +appeared in the Directory, but not her own. Yet he waited until +evening before he ventured to reconnoitre the premises; with the +possession of his clue came a slight cooling of his ardor and +extreme caution in his further proceedings. The house--a +reconstructed wooden building--offered no external indication of +the rooms she occupied in the uniformly curtained windows that +front the street. Yet he felt an odd and pleasurable excitement in +passing once or twice before those walls that hid the goal of his +quest. As yet he had not seen her, and there was naturally the +added zest of expectation. He noticed that there was a new +building opposite, with vacant offices to let. A project suddenly +occurred to him, which by morning he had fully matured. He hired a +front room in the first floor of the new building, had it hurriedly +furnished as a private office, and on the second morning of his +discovery was installed behind his desk at the window commanding a +full view of the opposite house. There was nothing strange in the +South American capitalist selecting a private office in so popular +a locality. + +Two or three days elapsed without any result from his espionage. +He came to know by sight the various tenants, the two Chinese +servants, and the solitary Irish housemaid, but as yet had no +glimpse of the housekeeper. She evidently led a secluded life +among her duties; it occurred to him that perhaps she went out, +possibly to market, earlier than he came, or later, after he had +left the office. In this belief he arrived one morning after an +early walk in a smart spring shower, the lingering straggler of the +winter rains. There were few people astir, yet he had been +preceded for two or three blocks by a tall woman whose umbrella +partly concealed her head and shoulders from view. He had noticed, +however, even in his abstraction, that she walked well, and managed +the lifting of her skirt over her trim ankles and well-booted feet +with some grace and cleverness. Yet it was only on her unexpectedly +turning the corner of his own street that he became interested. She +continued on until within a few doors of his office, when she +stopped to give an order to a tradesman, who was just taking down +his shutters. He heard her voice distinctly; in the quick emotion +it gave him he brushed hurriedly past her without lifting his eyes. +Gaining his own doorway he rushed upstairs to his office, hastily +unlocked it, and ran to the window. The lady was already crossing +the street. He saw her pause before the door of the opposite house, +open it with a latchkey, and caught a full view of her profile in +the single moment that she turned to furl her umbrella and enter. +It was his wife's voice he had heard; it was his wife's face that he +had seen in profile. + +Yet she was changed from the lanky young schoolgirl he had wedded +ten years ago, or, at least, compared to what his recollection of +her had been. Had he ever seen her as she really was? Surely +somewhere in that timid, freckled, half-grown bride he had known in +the first year of their marriage the germ of this self-possessed, +matured woman was hidden. There was the tone of her voice; he had +never recalled it before as a lover might, yet now it touched him; +her profile he certainly remembered, but not with the feeling it +now produced in him. Would he have ever abandoned her had she been +like that? Or had HE changed, and was this no longer his old +self?--perhaps even a self SHE would never recognize again? James +Smith had the superstitions of a gambler, and that vague idea of +fate that comes to weak men; a sudden fright seized him, and he +half withdrew from the window lest she should observe him, +recognize him, and by some act precipitate that fate. + +By lingering beyond the usual hour for his departure he saw her +again, and had even a full view of her face as she crossed the +street. The years had certainly improved her; he wondered with a +certain nervousness if she would think they had done the same for +him. The complacency with which he had at first contemplated her +probable joy at recovering him had become seriously shaken since he +had seen her; a woman as well preserved and good-looking as that, +holding a certain responsible and, no doubt, lucrative position, +must have many admirers and be independent. He longed to tell her +now of his fortune, and yet shrank from the test its exposure +implied. He waited for her return until darkness had gathered, and +then went back to his lodgings a little chagrined and ill at ease. +It was rather late for her to be out alone! After all, what did he +know of her habits or associations? He recalled the freedom of +Californian life, and the old scandals relating to the lapses of +many women who had previously led blameless lives in the Atlantic +States. Clearly it behooved him to be cautious. Yet he walked +late that night before the house again, eager to see if she had +returned, and with WHOM? He was restricted in his eagerness by the +fear of detection, but he gathered very little knowledge of her +habits; singularly enough nobody seemed to care. A little piqued +at this, he began to wonder if he were not thinking too much of +this woman to whom he still hesitated to reveal himself. +Nevertheless, he found himself that night again wandering around +the house, and even watching with some anxiety the shadow which he +believed to be hers on the window-blind of the room where he had by +discreet inquiry located her. Whether his memory was stimulated by +his quest he never knew, but presently he was able to recall step +by step and incident by incident his early courtship of her and the +brief days of their married life. He even remembered the day she +accepted him, and even dwelt upon it with a sentimental thrill that +he probably never felt at the time, and it was a distinct feature +of his extraordinary state of mind and its concentration upon this +particular subject that he presently began to look upon HIMSELF as +the abandoned and deserted conjugal partner, and to nurse a feeling +of deep injury at her hands! The fact that he was thinking of her, +and she, probably, contented with her lot, was undisturbed by any +memory of him, seemed to him a logical deduction of his superior +affection. + +It was, therefore, quite as much in the attitude of a reproachful +and avenging husband as of a merely curious one that, one +afternoon, seeing her issue from her house at an early hour, he +slipped down the stairs and began to follow her at a secure +distance. She turned into the principal thoroughfare, and +presently made one of the crowd who were entering a popular place +of amusement where there was an afternoon performance. So complete +was his selfish hallucination, that he smiled bitterly at this +proof of heartless indifference, and even so far overcame his +previous caution as to actually brush by her somewhat rudely as he +entered the building at the same moment. He was conscious that she +lifted her eyes a little impatiently to the face of the awkward +stranger; he was equally, but more bitterly, conscious that she had +not recognized him! He dropped into a seat behind her; she did not +look at him again with even a sense of disturbance; the momentary +contact had evidently left no impression upon her. She glanced +casually at her neighbors on either side, and presently became +absorbed in the performance. When it was over she rose, and on her +way out recognized and exchanged a few words with one or two +acquaintances. Again he heard her familiar voice, almost at his +elbow, raised with no more consciousness of her contiguity to him +than if he were a mere ghost. The thought struck him for the first +time with a hideous and appalling significance. What was he but a +ghost to her--to every one! A man dead, buried, and forgotten! +His vanity and self-complacency vanished before this crushing +realization of the hopelessness of his existence. Dazed and +bewildered, he mingled blindly and blunderingly with the departing +crowd, tossed here and there as if he were an invisible presence, +stumbling over the impeding skirts of women with a vague apology +they heeded not, and which seemed in his frightened ears as hollow +as a voice from the grave. + +When he at last reached the street he did not look back, but +wandered abstractedly through by-streets in the falling rain, +scarcely realizing where he was, until he found himself drenched +through, with his closed umbrella in his tremulous hand, standing +at the half-submerged levee beside the overflowed river. Here +again he realized how completely he had been absorbed and +concentrated in his search for his wife during the last three +weeks; he had never been on the levee since his arrival. He had +taken no note of the excitement of the citizens over the alarming +reports of terrible floods in the mountains, and the daily and +hourly fear that they experienced of disastrous inundation from the +surcharged river. He had never thought of it, yet he had read of +it, and even talked, and yet now for the first time in his selfish, +blind absorption was certain of it. He stood still for some time, +watching doggedly the enormous yellow stream laboring with its +burden and drift from many a mountain town and camp, moving +steadily and fatefully towards the distant bay, and still more +distant and inevitable ocean. For a few moments it vaguely +fascinated and diverted him; then it as vaguely lent itself to his +one dominant, haunting thought. Yes, it was pointing him the only +way out,--the path to the distant ocean and utter forgetfulness +again! + +The chill of his saturated clothing brought him to himself once +more, he turned and hurried home. He went tiredly to his bedroom, +and while changing his garments there came a knock at the door. It +was the porter to say that a lady had called, and was waiting for +him in the sitting-room. She had not given her name. + +The closed door prevented the servant from seeing the extraordinary +effect produced by this simple announcement upon the tenant. For +one instant James Smith remained spellbound in his chair. It was +characteristic of his weak nature and singular prepossession that +he passed in an instant from the extreme of doubt to the extreme of +certainty and conviction. It was his wife! She had recognized him +in that moment of encounter at the entertainment; had found his +address, and had followed him here! He dressed himself with +feverish haste, not, however, without a certain care of his +appearance and some selection of apparel, and quickly forecast the +forthcoming interview in his mind. For the pendulum had swung +back; Mr. James Smith was once more the self-satisfied, self- +complacent, and discreetly cautious husband that he had been at the +beginning of his quest, perhaps with a certain sense of grievance +superadded. He should require the fullest explanations and +guarantees before committing himself,--indeed, her present call +might be an advance that it would be necessary for him to check. +He even pictured her pleading at his feet; a very little stronger +effort of his Alnaschar imagination would have made him reject her +like the fatuous Persian glass peddler. + +He opened the door of the sitting-room deliberately, and walked in +with a certain formal precision. But the figure of a woman arose +from the sofa, and with a slight outcry, half playful, half +hysterical, threw herself upon his breast with the single +exclamation, "Jim!" He started back from the double shock. For +the woman was NOT his wife! A woman extravagantly dressed, still +young, but bearing, even through her artificially heightened color, +a face worn with excitement, excess, and premature age. Yet a face +that as he disengaged himself from her arms grew upon him with a +terrible recognition, a face that he had once thought pretty, +inexperienced, and innocent,--the face of the widow of his former +partner, Cutler, the woman he was to have married on the day he +fled. The bitter revulsion of feeling and astonishment was +evidently visible in his face, for she, too, drew back for a moment +as they separated. But she had evidently been prepared, if not +pathetically inured to such experiences. She dropped into a chair +again with a dry laugh, and a hard metallic voice, as she said,-- + +"Well, it's YOU, anyway--and you can't get out of it." + +As he still stared at her, in her inconsistent finery, draggled and +wet by the storm, at her limp ribbons and ostentatious jewelry, she +continued, in the same hard voice,-- + +"I thought I spotted you once or twice before; but you took no +notice of me, and I reckoned I was mistaken. But this afternoon at +the Temple of Music"-- + +"Where?" said James Smith harshly. + +"At the Temple--the San Francisco Troupe performance--where you +brushed by me, and I heard your voice saying, 'Beg pardon!' I +says, 'That's Jim Farendell.'" + +"Farendell!" burst out James Smith, half in simulated astonishment, +half in real alarm. + +"Well! Smith, then, if you like better," said the woman impatiently; +"though it's about the sickest and most played-out dodge of a name +you could have pitched upon. James Smith, Don Diego Smith!" she +repeated, with a hysteric laugh. "Why, it beats the nigger +minstrels all hollow! Well, when I saw you there, I said, 'That's +Jim Farendell, or his twin brother;' I didn't say 'his ghost,' mind +you; for, from the beginning, even before I knew it all, I never +took any stock in that fool yarn about your burnt bones being found +in your office." + +"Knew all, knew what?" demanded the man, with a bravado which he +nevertheless felt was hopeless. + +She rose, crossed the room, and, standing before him, placed one +hand upon her hip as she looked at him with half-pitying effrontery. + +"Look here, Jim," she began slowly, "do you know what you're doing? +Well, you're making me tired!" In spite of himself, a half- +superstitious thrill went through him as her words and attitude +recalled the dead Scranton. "Do you suppose that I don't know that +you ran away the night of the fire? Do you suppose that I don't +know that you were next to ruined that night, and that you took +that opportunity of skedaddling out of the country with all the +money you had left, and leaving folks to imagine you were burnt up +with the books you had falsified and the accounts you had doctored! +It was a mean thing for you to do to me, Jim, for I loved you then, +and would have been fool enough to run off with you if you'd told +me all, and not left me to find out that you had lost MY money-- +every cent Cutler had left me in the business--with the rest." + +With the fatuousness of a weak man cornered, he clung to unimportant +details. "But the body was believed to be mine by every one," he +stammered angrily. "My papers and books were burnt,--there was no +evidence." + +"And why was there not?" she said witheringly, staring doggedly in +his face. "Because I stopped it! Because when I knew those bones +and rags shut up in that office weren't yours, and was beginning to +make a row about it, a strange man came to me and said they were +the remains of a friend of his who knew your bankruptcy and had +come that night to warn you,--a man whom you had half ruined once, +a man who had probably lost his life in helping you away. He said +if I went on making a fuss he'd come out with the whole truth--how +you were a thief and a forger, and"--she stopped. + +"And what else?" he asked desperately, dreading to hear his wife's +name next fall from her lips. + +"And that--as it could be proved that his friend knew your +secrets," she went on in a frightened, embarrassed voice, "you +might be accused of making away with him." + +For a moment James Smith was appalled; he had never thought of +this. As in all his past villainy he was too cowardly to +contemplate murder, he was frightened at the mere accusation of it. +"But," he stammered, forgetful of all save this new terror, "he +KNEW I wouldn't be such a fool, for the man himself told me Duffy +had the papers, and killing him wouldn't have helped me." + +Mrs. Cutler stared at him a moment searchingly, and then turned +wearily away. "Well," she said, sinking into her chair again, "he +said if I'd shut my mouth he'd shut his--and--I did. And this," +she added, throwing her hands from her lap, a gesture half of +reproach and half of contempt,--"this is what I get for it." + +More frightened than touched by the woman's desperation, James +Smith stammered a vague apologetic disclaimer, even while he was +loathing with a revulsion new to him her draggled finery, her still +more faded beauty, and the half-distinct consciousness of guilt +that linked her to him. But she waved it away, a weary gesture +that again reminded him of the dead Scranton. + +"Of course I ain't what I was, but who's to blame for it? When you +left me alone without a cent, face to face with a lie, I had to do +something. I wasn't brought up to work; I like good clothes, and +you know it better than anybody. I ain't one of your stage +heroines that go out as dependants and governesses and die of +consumption, but I thought," she went on with a shrill, hysterical +laugh, more painful than the weariness which inevitably followed +it, "I thought I might train myself to do it, ON THE STAGE! and I +joined Barker's Company. They said I had a face and figure for the +stage; that face and figure wore out before I had anything more to +show, and I wasn't big enough to make better terms with the +manager. They kept me nearly a year doing chambermaids and fairy +queens the other side of the footlights, where I saw you today. +Then I kicked! I suppose I might have married some fool for his +money, but I was soft enough to think you might be sending for me +when you were safe. You seem to be mighty comfortable here," she +continued, with a bitter glance around his handsomely furnished +room, "as 'Don Diego Smith.' I reckon skedaddling pays better than +staying behind." + +"I have only been here a few weeks," he said hurriedly. "I never +knew what had become of you, or that you were still here"-- + +"Or you wouldn't have come," she interrupted, with a bitter laugh. +"Speak out, Jim." + +"If there--is anything--I can do--for you," he stammered, "I'm +sure"-- + +"Anything you can do?" she repeated, slowly and scornfully. +"Anything you can do NOW? Yes!" she screamed, suddenly rising, +crossing the room, and grasping his arms convulsively. "Yes! Take +me away from here--anywhere--at once! Look, Jim," she went on +feverishly, "let bygones be bygones--I won't peach! I won't tell +on you--though I had it in my heart when you gave me the go-by just +now! I'll do anything you say--go to your farthest hiding-place-- +work for you--only take me out of this cursed place." + +Her passionate pleading stung even through his selfishness and +loathing. He thought of his wife's indifference! Yes, he might be +driven to this, and at least he must secure the only witness +against his previous misconduct. "We will see," he said soothingly, +gently loosening her hands. "We must talk it over." He stopped as +his old suspiciousness returned. "But you must have some friends," +he said searchingly, "some one who has helped you." + +"None! Only one--he helped me at first," she hesitated--"Duffy." + +"Duffy!" said James Smith, recoiling. + +"Yes, when he had to tell me all," she said in half-frightened +tones, "he was sorry for me. Listen, Jim! He was a square man, +for all he was devoted to his partner--and you can't blame him for +that. I think he helped me because I was alone; for nothing else, +Jim. I swear it! He helped me from time to time. Maybe he might +have wanted to marry me if he had not been waiting for another +woman that he loved, a married woman that had been deserted years +ago by her husband, just as you might have deserted me if we'd been +married that day. He helped her and paid for her journey here to +seek her husband, and set her up in business." + +"What are you talking about--what woman?" stammered James Smith, +with a strange presentiment creeping over him. + +"A Mrs. Smith. Yes," she said quickly, as he started, "not a sham +name like yours, but really and truly SMITH--that was her husband's +name! I'm not lying, Jim," she went on, evidently mistaking the +cause of the sudden contraction of the man's face. "I didn't +invent her nor her name; there IS such a woman, and Duffy loves +her--and HER only, and he never, NEVER was anything more than a +friend to me. I swear it!" + +The room seemed to swim around him. She was staring at him, but he +could see in her vacant eyes that she had no conception of his +secret, nor knew the extent of her revelation. Duffy had not dared +to tell all! He burst into a coarse laugh. "What matters Duffy or +the silly woman he'd try to steal away from other men." + +"But he didn't try to steal her, and she's only silly because she +wants to be true to her husband while he lives. She told Duffy +she'd never marry him until she saw her husband's dead face. More +fool she," she added bitterly. + +"Until she saw her husband's dead face," was all that James Smith +heard of this speech. His wife's faithfulness through years of +desertion, her long waiting and truthfulness, even the bitter +commentary of the equally injured woman before him, were to him as +nothing to what that single sentence conjured up. He laughed +again, but this time strangely and vacantly. "Enough of this Duffy +and his intrusion in my affairs until I'm able to settle my account +with him. Come," he added brusquely, "if we are going to cut out +of this at once I've got much to do. Come here again to-morrow, +early. This Duffy--does he live here?" + +"No. In Marysville." + +"Good! Come early to-morrow." + +As she seemed to hesitate, he opened a drawer of his table and took +out a handful of gold, and handed it to her. She glanced at it for +a moment with a strange expression, put it mechanically in her +pocket, and then looking up at him said, with a forced laugh, "I +suppose that means I am to clear out?" + +"Until to-morrow," he said shortly. + +"If the Sacramento don't sweep us away before then," she interrupted, +with a reckless laugh; "the river's broken through the levee--a +clear sweep in two places. Where I live the water's up to the +doorstep. They say it's going to be the biggest flood yet. You're +all right here; you're on higher ground." + +She seemed to utter these sentences abstractedly, disconnectedly, +as if to gain time. He made an impatient gesture. + +"All right, I'm going," she said, compressing her lips slowly to +keep them from trembling. "You haven't forgotten anything?" As he +turned half angrily towards her she added, hurriedly and bitterly, +"Anything--for to-morrow?" + +"No!" + +She opened the door and passed out. He listened until the trail of +her wet skirt had descended the stairs, and the street door had +closed behind her. Then he went back to his table and began +collecting his papers and putting them away in his trunks, which he +packed feverishly, yet with a set and determined face. He wrote +one or two letters, which he sealed and left upon his table. He +then went to his bedroom and deliberately shaved off his disguising +beard. Had he not been so preoccupied in one thought, he might +have been conscious of loud voices in the street and a hurrying of +feet on the wet sidewalk. But he was possessed by only one idea. +He must see his wife that evening! How, he knew not yet, but the +way would appear when he had reached his office in the building +opposite hers. Three hours had elapsed before he had finished his +preparations. On going downstairs he stopped to give some +directions to the porter, but his room was empty; passing into the +street he was surprised to find it quite deserted, and the shops +closed; even a drinking saloon at the corner was quite empty. He +turned the corner of the street, and began the slight descent +towards his office. To his amazement the lower end of the street, +which was crossed by the thoroughfare which was his destination, +was blocked by a crowd of people. As he hurried forward to join +them he suddenly saw, moving down that thoroughfare, what appeared +to his startled eyes to be the smokestacks of some small, flat- +bottomed steamer. He rubbed his eyes; it was no illusion, for the +next moment he had reached the crowd, who were standing half a +block away from the thoroughfare, and on the edge of a lagoon of +yellow water, whose main current was the thoroughfare he was +seeking, and between whose houses, submerged to their first +stories, a steamboat was really paddling. Other boats and rafts +were adrift on its sluggish waters, and a boatman had just landed a +passenger in the backwater of the lower half of the street on which +he stood with the crowd. + +Possessed of his one idea, he fought his way desperately to the +water edge and the boat, and demanded a passage to his office. The +boatman hesitated, but James Smith promptly offered him double the +value of his craft. The act was not deemed singular in that +extravagant epoch, and the sympathizing crowd cheered his solitary +departure, as he declined even the services of the boatman. The +next moment he was off in mid-stream of the thoroughfare, paddling +his boat with a desperate but inexperienced hand until he reached +his office, which he entered by the window. The building, which +was new and of brick, showed very little damage from the flood, but +in far different case was the one opposite, on which his eyes were +eagerly bent, and whose cheap and insecure foundations he could see +the flood was already undermining. There were boats around the +house, and men hurriedly removing trunks and valuables, but the one +figure he expected to see was not there. He tied his own boat to +the window; there was evidently no chance of an interview now, but +if she were leaving there would be still the chance of following +her and knowing her destination. As he gazed she suddenly appeared +at a window, and was helped by a boatman into a flat-bottomed barge +containing trunks and furniture. She was evidently the last to +leave. The other boats put off at once, and none too soon; for +there was a warning cry, a quick swerving of the barge, and the end +of the dwelling slowly dropped into the flood, seeming to sink on +its knees like a stricken ox. A great undulation of yellow water +swept across the street, inundating his office through the open +window and half swamping his boat beside it. At the same time he +could see that the current had changed and increased in volume and +velocity, and, from the cries and warning of the boatmen, he knew +that the river had burst its banks at its upper bend. He had +barely time to leap into his boat and cast it off before there was +a foot of water on his floor. + +But the new current was carrying the boats away from the higher +level, which they had been eagerly seeking, and towards the channel +of the swollen river. The barge was first to feel its influence, +and was hurried towards the river against the strongest efforts of +its boatmen. One by one the other and smaller boats contrived to +get into the slack water of crossing streets, and one was swamped +before his eyes. But James Smith kept only the barge in view. His +difficulty in following it was increased by his inexperience in +managing a boat, and the quantity of drift which now charged the +current. Trees torn by their roots from some upland bank; sheds, +logs, timber, and the bloated carcasses of cattle choked the +stream. All the ruin worked by the flood seemed to be compressed +in this disastrous current. Once or twice he narrowly escaped +collision with a heavy beam or the bed of some farmer's wagon. +Once he was swamped by a tree, and righted his frail boat while +clinging to its branches. + +And then those who watched him from the barge and shore said +afterwards that a great apathy seemed to fall upon him. He no +longer attempted to guide the boat or struggle with the drift, but +sat in the stern with intent forward gaze and motionless paddles. +Once they strove to warn him, called to him to make an effort to +reach the barge, and did what they could, in spite of their own +peril, to alter their course and help him. But he neither answered +nor heeded them. And then suddenly a great log that they had just +escaped seemed to rise up under the keel of his boat, and it was +gone. After a moment his face and head appeared above the current, +and so close to the stern of the barge that there was a slight cry +from the woman in it, but the next moment, and before the boatman +could reach him, he was drawn under it and disappeared. They lay +on their oars eagerly watching, but the body of James Smith was +sucked under the barge, and, in the mid-channel of the great river, +was carried out towards the distant sea. + + . . . . . . + +There was a strange meeting that night on the deck of a relief +boat, which had been sent out in search of the missing barge, +between Mrs. Smith and a grave and anxious passenger who had +chartered it. When he had comforted her, and pointed out, as, +indeed, he had many times before, the loneliness and insecurity of +her unprotected life, she yielded to his arguments. But it was not +until many months after their marriage that she confessed to him on +that eventful night she thought she had seen in a moment of great +peril the vision of the dead face of her husband uplifted to her +through the water. + + + +LANTY FOSTER'S MISTAKE + + +Lanty Foster was crouching on a low stool before the dying kitchen +fire, the better to get its fading radiance on the book she was +reading. Beyond, through the open window and door, the fire was +also slowly fading from the sky and the mountain ridge whence the +sun had dropped half an hour before. The view was uphill, and the +sky-line of the hill was marked by two or three gibbet-like poles +from which, on a now invisible line between them, depended certain +objects--mere black silhouettes against the sky--which bore weird +likeness to human figures. Absorbed as she was in her book, she +nevertheless occasionally cast an impatient glance in that +direction, as the sunlight faded more quickly than her fire. For +the fluttering objects were the "week's wash" which had to be +brought in before night fell and the mountain wind arose. It was +strong at that altitude, and before this had ravished the clothes +from the line, and scattered them along the highroad leading over +the ridge, once even lashing the shy schoolmaster with a pair of +Lanty's own stockings, and blinding the parson with a really +tempestuous petticoat. + +A whiff of wind down the big-throated chimney stirred the log +embers on the hearth, and the girl jumped to her feet, closing the +book with an impatient snap. She knew her mother's voice would +follow. It was hard to leave her heroine at the crucial moment of +receiving an explanation from a presumed faithless lover, just to +climb a hill and take in a lot of soulless washing, but such are +the infelicities of stolen romance reading. She threw the clothes- +basket over her head like a hood, the handle resting across her +bosom and shoulders, and with both her hands free started out of +the cabin. But the darkness had come up from the valley in one +stride after its mountain fashion, had outstripped her, and she was +instantly plunged in it. Still the outline of the ridge above her +was visible, with the white, steadfast stars that were not there a +moment ago, and by that sign she knew she was late. She had to +battle against the rushing wind now, which sung through the +inverted basket over her head and held her back, but with bent +shoulders she at last reached the top of the ridge and the level. +Yet here, owing to the shifting of the lighter background above +her, she now found herself again encompassed with the darkness. +The outlines of the poles had disappeared, the white fluttering +garments were distinct apparitions waving in the wind, like dancing +ghosts. But there certainly was a queer misshapen bulk moving +beyond, which she did not recognize, and as she at last reached one +of the poles, a shock was communicated to it, through the clothes- +line and the bulk beyond. Then she heard a voice say impatiently,-- + +"What in h-ll am I running into now?" + +It was a man's voice, and, from its elevation, the voice of a man +on horseback. She answered without fear and with slow +deliberation,-- + +"Inter our clothes-line, I reckon." + +"Oh!" said the man in a half-apologetic tone. Then in brisker +accents, "The very thing I want! I say, can you give me a bit of +it? The ring of my saddle girth has fetched loose. I can fasten +it with that." + +"I reckon," replied Lanty, with the same unconcern, moving nearer +the bulk, which now separated into two parts as the man dismounted. +"How much do you want?" + +"A foot or two will do." + +They were now in front of each other, although their faces were not +distinguishable to either. Lanty, who had been following the lines +with her hand, here came upon the end knotted around the last pole. +This she began to untie. + +"What a place to hang clothes," he said curiously. + +"Mighty dryin', tho'," returned Lanty laconically. + +"And your house? Is it near by?" he continued. + +"Just down the ridge--ye kin see from the edge. Got a knife?" She +had untied the knot. + +"No--yes--wait." He had hesitated a moment and then produced +something from his breast pocket, which he however kept in his +hand. As he did not offer it to her she simply held out a section +of the rope between her hands, which he divided with a single cut. +She saw only that the instrument was long and keen. Then she +lifted the flap of the saddle for him as he attempted to fasten the +loose ring with the rope, but the darkness made it impossible. +With an ejaculation, he fumbled in his pockets. "My last match!" +he said, striking it, as he crouched over it to protect it from the +wind. Lanty leaned over also, with her apron raised between it and +the blast. The flame for an instant lit up the ring, the man's +dark face, mustache, and white teeth set together as he tugged at +the girth, and Lanty's brown, velvet eyes and soft, round cheek +framed in the basket. Then it went out, but the ring was secured. + +"Thank you," said the man, with a short laugh, "but I thought you +were a humpbacked witch in the dark there." + +"And I couldn't make out whether you was a cow or a b'ar," returned +the young girl simply. + +Here, however, he quickly mounted his horse, but in the action +something slipped from his clothes, struck a stone, and bounded +away into the darkness. + +"My knife," he said hurriedly. "Please hand it to me." But +although the girl dropped on her knees and searched the ground +diligently, it could not be found. The man with a restrained +ejaculation again dismounted, and joined in the search. + +"Haven't you got another match?" suggested Lanty. + +"No--it was my last!" he said impatiently. + +"Just you hol' on here," she said suddenly, "and I'll run down to +the kitchen and fetch you a light. I won't be long." + +"No! no!" said the man quickly; "don't! I couldn't wait. I've +been here too long now. Look here. You come in daylight and find +it, and--just keep it for me, will you?" He laughed. "I'll come +for it. And now, if you'll only help to set me on that road again, +for it's so infernal black I can't see the mare's ears ahead of me, +I won't bother you any more. Thank you." + +Lanty had quietly moved to his horse's head and taken the bridle in +her hand, and at once seemed to be lost in the gloom. But in a few +moments he felt the muffled thud of his horse's hoof on the thick +dust of the highway, and its still hot, impalpable powder rising to +his nostrils. + +"Thank you," he said again, "I'm all right now," and in the pause +that followed it seemed to Lanty that he had extended a parting +hand to her in the darkness. She put up her own to meet it, but +missed his, which had blundered onto her shoulder. Before she +could grasp it, she felt him stooping over her, the light brush of +his soft mustache on her cheek, and then the starting forward of +his horse. But the retaliating box on the ear she had promptly +aimed at him spent itself in the black space which seemed suddenly +to have swallowed up the man, and even his light laugh. + +For an instant she stood still, and then, swinging the basket +indignantly from her shoulder, took up her suspended task. It was +no light one in the increasing wind, and the unfastened clothes- +line had precipitated a part of its burden to the ground through +the loosening of the rope. But on picking up the trailing garments +her hand struck an unfamiliar object. The stranger's lost knife! +She thrust it hastily into the bottom of the basket and completed +her work. As she began to descend with her burden she saw that the +light of the kitchen fire, seen through the windows, was augmented +by a candle. Her mother was evidently awaiting her. + +"Pretty time to be fetchin' in the wash," said Mrs. Foster +querulously. "But what can you expect when folks stand gossipin' +and philanderin' on the ridge instead o' tendin' to their work?" + +Now Lanty knew that she had NOT been "gossipin'" nor "philanderin'," +yet as the parting salute might have been open to that imputation, +and as she surmised that her mother might have overheard their +voices, she briefly said, to prevent further questioning, that she +had shown a stranger the road. But for her mother's unjust +accusation she would have been more communicative. As Mrs. Foster +went back grumblingly into the sitting-room Lanty resolved to keep +the knife at present a secret from her mother, and to that purpose +removed it from the basket. But in the light of the candle she saw +it for the first time plainly--and started. + +For it was really a dagger! jeweled-handled and richly wrought-- +such as Lanty had never looked upon before. The hilt was studded +with gems, and the blade, which had a cutting edge, was damascened +in blue and gold. Her soft eyes reflected the brilliant setting, +her lips parted breathlessly; then, as her mother's voice arose in +the other room, she thrust it back into its velvet sheath and +clapped it into her pocket. Its rare beauty had confirmed her +resolution of absolute secrecy. To have shown it now would have +made "no end of talk." And she was not sure but that her parents +would have demanded its custody! And it was given to HER by HIM to +keep. This settled the question of moral ethics. She took the +first opportunity to run up to her bedroom and hide it under the +mattress. + +Yet the thought of it filled the rest of her evening. When her +household duties were done she took up her novel again, partly from +force of habit and partly as an attitude in which she could think +of IT undisturbed. For what was fiction to her now? True, it +possessed a certain reminiscent value. A "dagger" had appeared in +several romances she had devoured, but she never had a clear idea +of one before. "The Count sprang back, and, drawing from his belt +a richly jeweled dagger, hissed between his teeth," or, more to the +purpose: "'Take this,' said Orlando, handing her the ruby-hilted +poignard which had gleamed upon his thigh, 'and should the caitiff +attempt thy unguarded innocence--'" + +"Did ye hear what your father was sayin'?" Lanty started. It was +her mother's voice in the doorway, and she had been vaguely +conscious of another voice pitched in the same querulous key, +which, indeed, was the dominant expression of the small ranchers of +that fertile neighborhood. Possibly a too complaisant and +unaggressive Nature had spoiled them. + +"Yes!--no!" said Lanty abstractedly, "what did he say?" + +"If you wasn't taken up with that fool book," said Mrs. Foster, +glancing at her daughter's slightly conscious color, "ye'd know! +He allowed ye'd better not leave yer filly in the far pasture +nights. That gang o' Mexican horse-thieves is out again, and +raided McKinnon's stock last night." + +This touched Lanty closely. The filly was her own property, and +she was breaking it for her own riding. But her distrust of her +parents' interference was greater than any fear of horse-stealers. +"She's mighty uneasy in the barn; and," she added, with a proud +consciousness of that beautiful yet carnal weapon upstairs, "I +reckon I ken protect her and myself agin any Mexican horse- +thieves." + +"My! but we're gettin' high and mighty," responded Mrs. Foster, +with deep irony. "Did you git all that outer your fool book?" + +"Mebbe," said Lanty curtly. + +Nevertheless, her thoughts that night were not entirely based on +written romance. She wondered if the stranger knew that she had +really tried to box his ears in the darkness, also if he had been +able to see her face. HIS she remembered, at least the flash of +his white teeth against his dark face and darker mustache, which +was quite as soft as her own hair. But if he thought "for a +minnit" that she was "goin' to allow an entire stranger to kiss +her--he was mighty mistaken." She should let him know it "pretty +quick"! She should hand him back the dagger "quite careless like," +and never let on that she'd thought anything of it. Perhaps that +was the reason why, before she went to bed, she took a good look at +it, and after taking off her straight, beltless, calico gown she +even tried the effect of it, thrust in the stiff waistband of her +petticoat, with the jeweled hilt displayed, and thought it looked +charming--as indeed it did. And then, having said her prayers like +a good girl, and supplicated that she should be less "tetchy" with +her parents, she went to sleep and dreamed that she had gone out to +take in the wash again, but that the clothes had all changed to the +queerest lot of folks, who were all fighting and struggling with +each other until she, Lanty, drawing her dagger, rushed up single- +handed among them, crying, "Disperse, ye craven curs,--disperse, I +say." And they dispersed. + +Yet even Lanty was obliged to admit the next morning that all this +was somewhat incongruous with the baking of "corn dodgers," the +frying of fish, the making of beds, and her other household duties, +and dismissed the stranger from her mind until he should "happen +along." In her freer and more acceptable outdoor duties she even +tolerated the advances of neighboring swains who made a point of +passing by "Foster's Ranch," and who were quite aware that Atalanta +Foster, alias "Lanty," was one of the prettiest girls in the +country. But Lanty's toleration consisted in that singular +performance known to herself as "giving them as good as they sent," +being a lazy traversing, qualified with scorn, of all that they +advanced. How long they would have put up with this from a plain +girl I do not know, but Lanty's short upper lip seemed framed for +indolent and fascinating scorn, and her dreamy eyes usually looked +beyond the questioner, or blunted his bolder glances in their +velvety surfaces. The libretto of these scenes was not exhaustive, +e.g.:-- + +The Swain (with bold, bad gayety). "Saw that shy schoolmaster +hangin' round your ridge yesterday! Orter know by this time that +shyness with a gal don't pay." + +Lanty (decisively). "Mebbe he allows it don't get left as often as +impudence." + +The Swain (ignoring the reply and his previous attitude and +becoming more direct). "I was calkilatin' to say that with these +yer hoss-thieves about, yer filly ain't safe in the pasture. I +took a turn round there two or three times last evening to see if +she was all right." + +Lanty (with a flattering show of interest). "No! DID ye, now? I +was jest wonderin"'-- + +The Swain (eagerly). "I did--quite late, too! Why, that's +nothin', Miss Atalanty, to what I'd do for you." + +Lanty (musing, with far off-eyes). "Then that's why she was so +awful skeerd and frightened! Just jumpin' outer her skin with +horror. I reckoned it was a b'ar or panther or a spook! You ought +to have waited till she got accustomed to your looks." + +Nevertheless, despite this elegant raillery, Lanty was enough +concerned in the safety of her horse to visit it the next day with +a view of bringing it nearer home. She had just stepped into the +alder fringe of a dry "run" when she came suddenly upon the figure +of a horseman in the "run," who had been hidden by the alders from +the plain beyond and who seemed to be engaged in examining the hoof +marks in the dust of the old ford. Something about his figure +struck her recollection, and as he looked up quickly she saw it was +the owner of the dagger. But he appeared to be lighter of hair and +complexion, and was dressed differently, and more like a vaquero. +Yet there was the same flash of his teeth as he recognized her, and +she knew it was the same man. + +Alas for her preparation! Without the knife she could not make +that haughty return of it which she had contemplated. And more +than that, she was conscious she was blushing! Nevertheless she +managed to level her pretty brown eyebrows at him, and said sharply +that if he followed her to her home she would return his property +at once. + +"But I'm in no hurry for it," he said with a laugh,--the same light +laugh and pleasant voice she remembered,--"and I'd rather not come +to the house just now. The knife is in good hands, I know, and +I'll call for it when I want it! And until then--if it's all the +same to you--keep it to yourself,--keep it dark, as dark as the +night I lost it!" + +"I don't go about blabbing my affairs," said Lanty indignantly, +"and if it hadn't BEEN dark that night you'd have had your ears +boxed--you know why!" + +The stranger laughed again, waved his hand to Lanty, and galloped +away. + +Lanty was a little disappointed. The daylight had taken away some +of her illusions. He was certainly very good-looking, but not +quite as picturesque, mysterious, and thrilling as in the dark! +And it was very queer--he certainly did look darker that night! +Who was he? And why was he lingering near her? He was different +from her neighbors--her admirers. He might be one of those +locaters, from the big towns, who prospect the lands, with a view +of settling government warrants on them,--they were always so +secret until they had found what they wanted. She did not dare to +seek information of her friends, for the same reason that she had +concealed his existence from her mother,--it would provoke awkward +questions; and it was evident that he was trusting to her secrecy, +too. The thought thrilled her with a new pride, and was some +compensation for the loss of her more intangible romance. It would +be mighty fine, when he did call openly for his beautiful knife and +declared himself, to have them all know that SHE knew about it all +along. + +When she reached home, to guard against another such surprise she +determined to keep the weapon with her, and, distrusting her +pocket, confided it to the cheap little country-made corset which +only for the last year had confined her budding figure, and which +now, perhaps, heaved with an additional pride. She was quite +abstracted during the rest of the day, and paid but little +attention to the gossip of the farm lads, who were full of a daring +raid, two nights before, by the Mexican gang on the large stock +farm of a neighbor. The Vigilant Committee had been baffled; it +was even alleged that some of the smaller ranchmen and herders were +in league with the gang. It was also believed to be a widespread +conspiracy; to have a political complexion in its combination of an +alien race with Southwestern filibusters. The legal authorities +had been reinforced by special detectives from San Francisco. +Lanty seldom troubled herself with these matters; she knew the +exaggeration, she suspected the ignorance of her rural neighbors. +She roughly referred it, in her own vocabulary, to "jaw," a +peculiarly masculine quality. But later in the evening, when the +domestic circle in the sitting-room had been augmented by a +neighbor, and Lanty had taken refuge behind her novel as an excuse +for silence, Zob Hopper, the enamored swain of the previous +evening, burst in with more astounding news. A posse of the +sheriff had just passed along the ridge; they had "corraled" part +of the gang, and rescued some of the stock. The leader of the gang +had escaped, but his capture was inevitable, as the roads were +stopped. "All the same, I'm glad to see ye took my advice, Miss +Atalanty, and brought in your filly," he concluded, with an +insinuating glance at the young girl. + +But "Miss Atalanty," curling a quarter of an inch of scarlet lip +above the edge of her novel, here "allowed" that if his advice or +the filly had to be "took," she didn't know which was worse. + +"I wonder ye kin talk to sech peartness, Mr. Hopper," said Mrs. +Foster severely; "she ain't got eyes nor senses for anythin' but +that book." + +"Talkin' o' what's to be 'took,'" put in the diplomatic neighbor, +"you bet it ain't that Mexican leader! No, sir! he's been +'stopped' before this--and then got clean away all the same! One +o' them detectives got him once and disarmed him--but he managed to +give them the slip, after all. Why, he's that full o' shifts and +disguises thar ain't no spottin' him. He walked right under the +constable's nose oncet, and took a drink with the sheriff that was +arter him--and the blamed fool never knew it. He kin change even +the color of his hair quick as winkin'." + +"Is he a real Mexican,--a regular Greaser?" asked the paternal +Foster. "Cos I never heard that they wuz smart." + +"No! They say he comes o' old Spanish stock, a bad egg they threw +outer the nest, I reckon," put in Hopper eagerly, seeing a strange +animated interest dilating Lanty's eyes, and hoping to share in it; +"but he's reg'lar high-toned, you bet! Why, I knew a man who seed +him in his own camp--prinked out in a velvet jacket and silk sash, +with gold chains and buttons down his wide pants and a dagger stuck +in his sash, with a handle just blazin' with jew'ls. Yes! Miss +Atalanty, they say that one stone at the top--a green stone, what +they call an 'em'ral'--was worth the price o' a 'Frisco house-lot. +True ez you live! Eh--what's up now?" + +Lanty's book had fallen on the floor as she was rising to her feet +with a white face, still more strange and distorted in an affected +yawn behind her little hand. "Yer makin' me that sick and nervous +with yer fool yarns," she said hysterically, "that I'm goin' to get +a little fresh air. It's just stifling here with lies and +terbacker!" With another high laugh, she brushed past him into the +kitchen, opened the door, and then paused, and, turning, ran +rapidly up to her bedroom. Here she locked herself in, tore open +the bosom of her dress, plucked out the dagger, threw it on the +bed, where the green stone gleamed for an instant in the +candlelight, and then dropped on her knees beside the bed with her +whirling head buried in her cold red hands. + +It had all come to her in a flash, like a blaze of lightning,--the +black, haunting figure on the ridge, the broken saddle girth, the +abandonment of the dagger in the exigencies of flight and +concealment; the second meeting, the skulking in the dry, alder- +hidden "run," the changed dress, the lighter-colored hair, but +always the same voice and laugh--the leader, the fugitive, the +Mexican horse-thief! And she, the Godforsaken fool, the chuckle- +headed nigger baby, with not half the sense of her own filly or +that sop-headed Hopper--had never seen it! She--SHE who would be +the laughing-stock of them all--she had thought him a "locater," a +"towny" from 'Frisco! And she had consented to keep his knife +until he would call for it,--yes, call for it, with fire and flame +perhaps, the trampling of hoofs, pistol shots--and--yet-- + +Yet!--he had TRUSTED her. Yes! trusted her when he knew a word +from her lips would have brought the whole district down on him! +when the mere exposure of that dagger would have identified and +damned him! Trusted her a second time, when she was within cry of +her house! When he might have taken her filly without her knowing +it? And now she remembered vaguely that the neighbors had said how +strange it was that her father's stock had not suffered as theirs +had. HE had protected them--he who was now a fugitive--and their +men pursuing him! She rose suddenly with a single stamp of her +narrow foot, and as suddenly became cool and sane. And then, quite +her old self again, she lazily picked up the dagger and restored it +to its place in her bosom. That done, with her color back and her +eyes a little brighter, she deliberately went downstairs again, +stuck her little brown head into the sitting-room, said cheerfully, +"Still yawpin', you folks," and quietly passed out into the darkness. + +She ran swiftly up to the ridge, impelled by the blind memory of +having met him there at night and the one vague thought to give him +warning. But it was dark and empty, with no sound but the rushing +wind. And then an idea seized her. If he were haunting the +vicinity still, he might see the fluttering of the clothes upon the +line and believe she was there. She stooped quickly, and in the +merciful and exonerating darkness stripped off her only white +petticoat and pinned it on the line. It flapped, fluttered, and +streamed in the mountain wind. She lingered and listened. But +there came a sound she had not counted on,--the clattering hoofs of +not ONE, but many, horses on the lower road! She ran back to the +house to find its inmates already hastening towards the road for +news. She took that chance to slip in quietly, go to her room, +whose window commanded a view of the ridge, and crouching low +behind it she listened. She could hear the sound of voices, and +the dull trampling of heavy boots on the dusty path towards the +barnyard on the other side of the house--a pause, and then the +return of the trampling boots, and the final clattering of hoofs on +the road again. Then there was a tap on her door and her mother's +querulous voice. + +"Oh! yer there, are ye? Well--it's the best place fer a girl--with +all these man's doin's goin' on! They've got that Mexican horse- +thief and have tied him up in your filly's stall in the barn--till +the 'Frisco deputy gets back from rounding up the others. So ye +jest stay where ye are till they've come and gone, and we're shut +o' all that cattle. Are ye mindin'?" + +"All right, maw; 'taint no call o' mine, anyhow," returned Lanty, +through the half-open door. + +At another time her mother might have been startled at her passive +obedience. Still more would she have been startled had she seen +her daughter's face now, behind the closed door--with her little +mouth set over her clenched teeth. And yet it was her own child, +and Lanty was her mother's real daughter; the same pioneer blood +filled their veins, the blood that had never nourished cravens or +degenerates, but had given itself to sprinkle and fertilize desert +solitudes where man might follow. Small wonder, then, that this +frontier-born Lanty, whose first infant cry had been answered by +the yelp of wolf and scream of panther; whose father's rifle had +been leveled across her cradle to cover the stealthy Indian who +prowled outside, small wonder that she should feel herself equal to +these "man's doin's," and prompt to take a part. For even in the +first shock of the news of the capture she recalled the fact that +the barn was old and rotten, that only that day the filly had +kicked a board loose from behind her stall, which she, Lanty, had +lightly returned to avoid "making a fuss." If his captors had not +noticed it, or trusted only to their guards, she might make the +opening wide enough to free him! + +Two hours later the guard nearest the now sleeping house, a farm +hand of the Fosters', saw his employer's daughter slip out and +cautiously approach him. A devoted slave of Lanty's, and familiar +with her impulses, he guessed her curiosity, and was not averse to +satisfy it and the sense of his own importance. To her whispers of +affected, half-terrified interest, he responded in whispers that +the captive was really in the filly's stall, securely bound by his +wrists behind his back, and his feet "hobbled" to a post. That +Lanty couldn't see him, for it was dark inside, and he was sitting +with his back to the wall, as he couldn't sleep comf'ble lyin' +down. Lanty's eyes glowed, but her face was turned aside. + +"And ye ain't reckonin' his friends will come and rescue him?" said +Lanty, gazing with affected fearfulness in the darkness. + +"Not much! There's two other guards down in the corral, and I'd +fire my gun and bring 'em up." + +But Lanty was gazing open-mouthed towards the ridge. "What's that +wavin' on the ridge?" she said in awe-stricken tones. + +She was pointing to the petticoat,--a vague, distant, moving object +against the horizon. + +"Why, that's some o' the wash on the line, ain't it?" + +"Wash--TWO DAYS IN THE WEEK!" said Lanty sharply. "Wot's gone of +you?" + +"Thet's so," muttered the man, "and it wan't there at sundown, I'll +swear! P'r'aps I'd better call the guard," and he raised his rifle. + +"Don't," said Lanty, catching his arm. "Suppose it's nothin', +they'll laugh at ye. Creep up softly and see; ye ain't afraid, are +ye? If ye are, give me yer gun, and I'LL go." + +This settled the question, as Lanty expected. The man cocked his +piece, and bending low began cautiously to mount the acclivity. +Lanty waited until his figure began to fade, and then ran like fire +to the barn. + +She had arranged every detail of her plan beforehand. Crouching +beside the wall of the stall she hissed through a crack in +thrilling whispers, "Don't move. Don't speak for your life's sake. +Wait till I hand you back your knife, then do the best you can." +Then slipping aside the loosened board she saw dimly the black +outline of curling hair, back, shoulders, and tied wrists of the +captive. Drawing the knife from her pocket, with two strokes of +its keen cutting edge she severed the cords, threw the knife into +the opening, and darted away. Yet in that moment she knew that the +man was instinctively turning towards her. But it was one thing to +free a horse-thief, and another to stop and "philander" with him. + +She ran halfway up the ridge, and met the farm hand returning. It +was only a bit of washing after all, and he was glad he hadn't +fired his gun. On the other hand, Lanty confessed she had got "so +skeert" being alone, that she came to seek him. She had the +shivers; wasn't her hand cold? It was, but thrilling even in its +coldness to the bashfully admiring man. And she was that weak and +dizzy, he must let her lean on his arm going down; and they must go +SLOW. She was sure he was cold, too, and if he would wait at the +back door she would give him a drink of whiskey. Thus Lanty, with +her brain afire, her eyes and ears straining into the darkness, and +the vague outline of the barn beyond. Another moment was +protracted over the drink of whiskey, and then Lanty, with a faint +archness, made him promise not to tell her mother of her escapade, +and she promised on her part not to say anything about his +"stalking a petticoat on the clothesline," and then shyly closed +the door and regained her room. HE must have got away by this +time, or have been discovered; she believed they would not open the +barn door until the return of the posse. + +She was right. It was near daybreak when they returned, and, again +crouching low beside her window, she heard, with a fierce joy, the +sudden outcry, the oaths, the wrangling voices, the summoning of +her father to the front door, and then the tumultuous sweeping away +again of the whole posse, and a blessed silence falling over the +rancho. And then Lanty went quietly to bed, and slept like a +three-year child! + +Perhaps that was the reason why she was able at breakfast to listen +with lazy and even rosy indifference to the startling events of the +night; to the sneers of the farm hands at the posse who had +overlooked the knife when they searched their prisoner, as well as +the stupidity of the corral guard who had never heard him make a +hole "the size of a house" in the barn side! Once she glanced +demurely at Silas Briggs--the farm hand and the poor fellow felt +consoled in his shame at the remembrance of their confidences. + +But Lanty's tranquillity was not destined to last long. There was +again the irruption of exciting news from the highroad; the Mexican +leader had been recaptured, and was now safely lodged in Brownsville +jail! Those who were previously loud in their praises of the +successful horse-thief who had baffled the vigilance of his pursuers +were now equally keen in their admiration of the new San Francisco +deputy who, in turn, had outwitted the whole gang. It was HE who +was fertile in expedients; HE who had studied the whole country, and +even risked his life among the gang, and HE who had again closed the +meshes of the net around the escaped outlaw. He was already +returning by way of the rancho, and might stop there a moment,--so +that they could all see the hero. Such was the power of success on +the country-side! Outwardly indifferent, inwardly bitter, Lanty +turned away. She should not grace his triumph, if she kept in her +room all day! And when there was a clatter of hoofs on the road +again, Lanty slipped upstairs. + +But in a few moments she was summoned. Captain Lance Wetherby, +Assistant Chief of Police of San Francisco, Deputy Sheriff and ex- +U. S. scout, had requested to see Miss Foster a few moments alone. +Lanty knew what it meant,--her secret had been discovered; but she +was not the girl to shirk the responsibility! She lifted her +little brown head proudly, and with the same resolute step with +which she had left the house the night before, descended the stairs +and entered the sitting-room. At first she saw nothing. Then a +remembered voice struck her ear; she started, looked up, and +gasping, fell back against the door. It was the stranger who had +given her the dagger, the stranger she had met in the run!--the +horse-thief himself! No! no! she saw it all now--she had cut loose +the wrong man! + +He looked at her with a smile of sadness--as he drew from his +breast-pocket that dreadful dagger, the very sight of which Lanty +now loathed! "This is the SECOND time, Miss Foster," he said +gently, "that I have taken this knife from Murietta, the Mexican +bandit: once when I disarmed him three weeks ago, and he escaped, +and last night, when he had again escaped and I recaptured him. +After I lost it that night I understood from you that you had found +it and were keeping it for me." He paused a moment and went on: "I +don't ask you what happened last night. I don't condemn you for +it; I can believe what a girl of your courage and sympathy might +rightly do if her pity were excited; I only ask--why did you give +HIM back that knife I trusted you with?" + +"Why? Why did I?" burst out Lanty in a daring gush of truth, +scorn, and temper. "BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU WERE THAT HORSE-THIEF. +There!" + +He drew back astonished, and then suddenly came that laugh that +Lanty remembered and now hailed with joy. "I believe you, by +Jove!" he gasped. "That first night I wore the disguise in which I +have tracked him and mingled with his gang. Yes! I see it all now-- +and more. I see that to YOU I owe his recapture!" + +"To me!" echoed the bewildered girl; "how?" + +"Why, instead of making for his cave he lingered here in the +confines of the ranch! He thought you were in love with him, +because you freed him and gave him his knife, and stayed to see +you!" + +But Lanty had her apron to her eyes, whose first tears were filling +their velvet depths. And her voice was broken as she said,-- + +"Then he--cared--a--good deal more for me--than some people!" + +But there is every reason to believe that Lanty was wrong! At +least later events that are part of the history of Foster's Rancho +and the Foster family pointed distinctly to the contrary. + + + +AN ALI BABA OF THE SIERRAS + + +Johnny Starleigh found himself again late for school. It was +always happening. It seemed to be inevitable with the process of +going to school at all. And it was no fault "o' his." Something +was always occurring,--some eccentricity of Nature or circumstance +was invariably starting up in his daily path to the schoolroom. He +may not have been "thinkin' of squirrels," and yet the rarest and +most evasive of that species were always crossing his trail; he may +not have been "huntin' honey," and yet a wild bees' nest in the +hollow of an oak absolutely obtruded itself before him; he wasn't +"bird-catchin'," and yet there was a yellow-hammer always within +stone's throw. He had heard how grown men hunters always saw the +most wonderful animals when they "hadn't got a gun with 'em," and +it seemed to be his lot to meet them in his restricted possibilities +on the way to school. If Nature was thus capricious with his +elders, why should folk think it strange if she was as mischievous +with a small boy? + +On this particular morning Johnny had been beguiled by the +unmistakable footprints--so like his own!--of a bear's cub. What +chances he had of ever coming up with them, or what he would have +done if he had, he did not know. He only knew that at the end of +an hour and a half he found himself two miles from the schoolhouse, +and, from the position of the sun, at least an hour too late for +school. He knew that nobody would believe him. The punishment for +complete truancy was little worse than for being late. He resolved +to accept it, and by way of irrevocability at once burnt his ships +behind him--in devouring part of his dinner. + +Thus fortified in his outlawry, he began to look about him. He was +on a thickly wooded terrace with a blank wall of "outcrop" on one +side nearly as high as the pines which pressed close against it. +He had never seen it before; it was two or three miles from the +highroad and seemed to be a virgin wilderness. But on close +examination he could see, with the eye of a boy bred in a mining +district, that the wall of outcrop had not escaped the attention of +the mining prospector. There were marks of his pick in some +attractive quartz seams of the wall, and farther on, a more +ambitious attempt, evidently by a party of miners, to begin a +tunnel, shown in an abandoned excavation and the heap of debris +before it. It had evidently been abandoned for some time, as ferns +already forced their green fronds through the stones and gravel, +and the yerba buena vine was beginning to mat the surface of the +heap. But the boy's fancy was quickly taken by the traces of a +singular accident, and one which had perhaps arrested the progress +of the excavators. The roots of a large pine-tree growing close to +the wall had been evidently loosened by the excavators, and the +tree had fallen, with one of its largest roots still in the opening +the miners had made, and apparently blocking the entrance. The +large tree lay, as it fell--midway across another but much smaller +outcrop of rock which stood sharply about fifteen feet above the +level of the terrace--with its gaunt, dead limbs in the air at a +low angle. To Johnny's boyish fancy it seemed so easily balanced +on the rock that but for its imprisoned root it would have made a +capital see-saw. This he felt must be looked to hereafter. But +here his attention was arrested by something more alarming. His +quick ear, attuned like an animal's to all woodland sounds, +detected the crackling of underwood in the distance. His equally +sharp eye saw the figures of two men approaching. But as he +recognized the features of one of them he drew back with a beating +heart, a hushed breath, and hurriedly hid himself in the shadow. +For he had seen that figure once before--flying before the sheriff +and an armed posse--and had never forgotten it! It was the figure +of Spanish Pete, a notorious desperado and sluice robber! + +Finding he had been unobserved, the boy took courage, and his small +faculties became actively alive. The two men came on together +cautiously, and at a little distance the second man, whom Johnny +did not know, parted from his companion and began to loiter up and +down, looking around as if acting as a sentinel for the desperado, +who advanced directly to the fallen tree. Suddenly the sentinel +uttered an exclamation, and Spanish Pete paused. The sentinel was +examining the ground near the heap of debris. + +"What's up?" growled the desperado. + +"Foot tracks! Weren't here before. And fresh ones, too." + +Johnny's heart sank. It was where he had just passed. + +Spanish Pete hurriedly joined his companion. + +"Foot tracks be ----!" he said scornfully. "What fool would be +crawlin' round here barefooted? It's a young b'ar!" + +Johnny knew the footprints were his own. Yet he recognized the +truth of the resemblance; it was uncomplimentary, but he felt +relieved. The desperado came forward, and to the boy's surprise +began to climb the small ridge of outcrop until he reached the +fallen tree. Johnny saw that he was carrying a heavy stone. +"What's the blamed fool goin' to do?" he said to himself; the man's +evident ignorance regarding footprints had lessened the boy's awe +of him. But the stranger's next essay took Johnny's breath away. +Standing on the fallen tree trunk at its axis on the outcrop, he +began to rock it gently. To Johnny's surprise it began to move. +The upper end descended slowly, lifting the root in the excavation +at the lower end, and with it a mass of rock, and revealing a +cavern behind large enough to admit a man. Johnny gasped. The +desperado coolly deposited the heavy stone on the tree beyond its +axis on the rock, so that it would keep the tree in position, +leaped from the tree to the rock, and quickly descended, at which +he was joined by the other man, who was carrying two heavy chamois- +leather bags. They both proceeded to the opening thus miraculously +disclosed, and disappeared in it. + +Johnny sat breathless, wondering, expectant, but not daring to +move. The men might come out at any moment; he had seen enough to +know that their enterprise as well as their cave was a secret, and +that the desperado would subject any witness to it, however +innocent or unwilling, to horrible penalties. The time crept +slowly by,--he heard every rap of a woodpecker in a distant tree; a +blue jay dipped and lighted on a branch within his reach, but he +dared not extend his hand; his legs were infested by ants; he even +fancied he heard the dry, hollow rattle of a rattlesnake not a yard +from him. And then the entrance of the cave was darkened, and the +two men reappeared. Johnny stared. He would have rubbed his eyes +if he had dared. They were not the same men! Did the cave contain +others who had been all the while shut up in its dark recesses? +Was there a band? Would they all swarm out upon him? Should he +run for his life? + +But the illusion was only momentary. A longer look at them +convinced him that they were the same men in new clothes and +disguised, and as one remounted the outcrop Johnny's keen eyes +recognized him as Spanish Pete. He merely kicked away the stone; +the root again descended gently over the opening, and the tree +recovered its former angle. The two hurried away, but Johnny +noticed that they were empty-handed. The bags had been left +behind. + +The boy waited patiently, listening with his ear to the ground, +like an Indian, for the last rustle of fern and crackle of +underbrush, and then emerged, stiff and cramped from his +concealment. But he no longer thought of flight; curiosity and +ambition burned in his small veins. He quickly climbed up the +outcrop, picked up the fallen stone, and in spite of its weight +lifted it to the prostrate tree. Here he paused, and from his +coign of vantage looked and listened. The solitude was profound. +Then mounting the tree and standing over its axis he tried to rock +it as the others had. Alas! Johnny's heart was stout, his courage +unlimited, his perception all-embracing, his ambition boundless; +but his actual avoirdupois was only that of a boy of ten. The tree +did not move. But Johnny had played see-saw before, and quietly +moved towards its highest part. It slowly descended under the +changed centre of gravity, and the root arose, disclosing the +opening as before. Yet here the little hero paused. He waited +with his eyes fixed on the opening, ready to fly on the sallying +out of any one who had remained concealed. He then placed the +stone where he had stood, leaped down, and ran to the opening. + +The change from the dazzling sunlight to the darkness confused him +at first, and he could see nothing. On entering he stumbled over +something which proved to be a bottle in which a candle was fitted, +and a box of matches evidently used by the two men. Lighting the +candle he could now discern that the cavern was only a few yards +long, the beginning of a tunnel which the accident to the tree had +stopped. In one corner lay the clothes that the men had left, and +which for a moment seemed all that the cavern contained, but on +removing them Johnny saw that they were thrown over a rifle, a +revolver, and the two chamois-leather bags that the men had brought +there. They were so heavy that the boy could scarcely lift them. +His face flushed; his hands trembled with excitement. To a boy +whose truant wanderings had given him a fair knowledge of mining, +he knew that weight could have but one meaning! Gold! He +hurriedly untied the nearest bag. But it was not the gold of the +locality, of the tunnel, of the "bed rock"! It was "flake gold," +the gold of the river! It had been taken from the miners' sluices +in the distant streams. The bags before him were the spoils of the +sluice robber,--spoils that could not be sold or even shown in the +district without danger, spoils kept until they could be taken to +Marysville or Sacramento for disposal. All this might have +occurred to the mind of any boy of the locality who had heard the +common gossip of his elders, but to Johnny's fancy an idea was +kindled peculiarly his own! Here was a cavern like that of the +"Forty Thieves" in the story book, and he was the "Ali Baba" who +knew its secret! He was not obliged to say "Open Sesame," but he +could say it if he liked, if he was showing it off to anybody! + +Yet alas he also knew it was a secret he must keep to himself. He +had nobody to trust it to. His father was a charcoal-burner of +small means; a widower with two children, Johnny and his elder +brother Sam. The latter, a flagrant incorrigible of twenty-two, +with a tendency to dissipation and low company, had lately +abandoned his father's roof, only to reappear at intervals of +hilarious or maudlin intoxication. He had always been held up to +Johnny as a warning, or with the gloomy prognosis that he, Johnny, +was already following in his tortuous footsteps. Even if he were +here he was not to be thought of as a confidant. Still less could +he trust his father, who would be sure to bungle the secret with +sheriffs and constables, and end by bringing down the vengeance of +the gang upon the family. As for himself, he could not dispose of +the gold if he were to take it. The exhibition of a single flake +of it to the adult public would arouse suspicion, and as it was +Johnny's hard fate to be always doubted, he might be connected with +the gang. As a truant he knew he had no moral standing, but he +also had the superstition--quite characteristic of childhood--that +being in possession of a secret he was a participant in its +criminality--and bound, as it were, by terrible oaths! And then a +new idea seized him. He carefully put back everything as he had +found it, extinguished the candle, left the cave, remounted the +tree, and closed the opening again as he had seen the others do it, +with the addition of murmuring "Shut Sesame" to himself, and then +ran away as fast as his short legs could carry him. + +Well clear of the dangerous vicinity, he proceeded more leisurely +for about a mile, until he came to a low whitewashed fence, +inclosing a small cultivated patch and a neat farmhouse beyond. +Here he paused, and, cowering behind the fence, with extraordinary +facial contortions produced a cry not unlike the scream of a blue +jay. Repeating it at intervals, he was presently relieved by +observing the approach of a nankeen sunbonnet within the inclosure +above the line of fence. Stopping before him, the sun-bonnet +revealed a rosy little face, more than usually plump on one side, +and a neck enormously wrapped in a scarf. It was "Meely" (Amelia) +Stryker, a schoolmate, detained at home by "mumps," as Johnny was +previously aware. For, with the famous indiscretion of some other +great heroes, he was about to intrust his secret and his destiny to +one of the weaker sex. And what were the minor possibilities of +contagion to this? + +"Playin' hookey ag'in?" said the young lady, with a cordial and +even expansive smile, exclusively confined to one side of her face. + +"Um! So'd you be ef you'd bin whar I hev," he said with harrowing +mystery. + +"No!--say!" said Meely eagerly. + +At which Johnny, clutching at the top of the fence, with hurried +breath told his story. But not all. With the instinct of a true +artist he withheld the manner in which the opening of the cave was +revealed, said nothing about the tree, and, I grieve to say, added +the words "Open Sesame" as the important factor to the operation. +Neither did he mention the name of Spanish Pete. For all of which +he was afterwards duly grateful. + +"Meet me at the burnt pine down the crossroads at four o'clock," he +said in conclusion, "and I'll show ye." + +"Why not now?" said Meely impatiently. + +"Couldn't. Much as my life is worth! Must keep watching out! You +come at four." + +And with an assuring nod he released the fence and trotted off. He +returned cautiously in the direction of the cave; he was by no +means sure that the robbers might not return that day, and his +mysterious rendezvous with Meely veiled a certain prudence. And it +was well! For as he stealthily crept around the face of the +outcrop, hidden in the ferns, he saw from the altered angle of the +tree that the cavern was opened. He remained motionless, with +bated breath. Then he heard the sound of subdued voices from the +cavern, and a figure emerged from the opening. Johnny grasped the +ferns rigidly to check the dreadful cry that rose to his lips at +its sight. For that figure was his own brother! + +There was no mistaking that weak, wicked face, even then flushed +with liquor! Johnny had seen it too often thus. But never before +as a thief's face! He gave a little gasp, and fell back upon that +strange reserve of apathy and reticence in which children are apt +to hide their emotions from us at such a moment. He watched +impassively the two other men who followed his brother out to give +him a small bag and some instructions, and then returned within +their cave, while his brother walked quickly away. He watched him +disappear; he did not move, for even if he had followed him he +could not bear to face him in his shame. And then out of his +sullen despair came a boyish idea of revenge. It was those two men +who had made his brother a thief! + +He was very near the tree. He crept stealthily on his hands and +knees through the bracken, and as stealthily climbed the wedge of +outcrop, and then leaped like a wild cat on the tree. With +incredible activity he lifted the balancing stone, and as the tree +began to move, in a flash of perception transferred it to the other +side of its axis, and felt the roots and debris, under that +additional weight, descend quickly with something like a crash over +the opening. Then he took to his heels. He ran so swiftly that +all unknowingly he overtook a figure, who, turning, glanced at him, +and then disappeared in the wood. It was his second and last view +of his brother, as he never saw him again! + +But now, strange to say, the crucial and most despairing moment of +his day's experience had come. He had to face Meely Stryker under +the burnt pine, and the promise he could not keep, and to tell her +that he had lied to her. It was the only way to save his brother +now! His small wits, and alas! his smaller methods, were equal to +the despairing task. As soon as he saw her waiting under the tree +he fell to capering and dancing with an extravagance in which +hysteria had no small part. "Sold! sold! sold again, and got the +money!" he laughed shrilly. + +The girl looked at him with astonishment, which changed gradually +to scorn, and then to anger. Johnny's heart sank, but he redoubled +his antics. + +"Who's sold?" she said disdainfully. + +"You be. You swallered all that stuff about Ali Baba! You wanted +to be Morgy Anna! Ho! ho! And I've made you play hookey--from +home!" + +"You hateful, horrid, little liar!" + +Johnny accepted his punishment meekly--in his heart gratefully. "I +reckoned you'd laugh and not get mad," he said submissively. The +girl turned, with tears of rage and vexation in her eyes, and +walked away. Johnny followed at a humble distance. Perhaps there +was something instinctively touching in the boy's remorse, for they +made it up before they reached her fence. + +Nevertheless Johnny went home miserable. Luckily for him, his +father was absent at a Vigilance Committee called to take +cognizance of the late sluice robberies, and although this +temporarily concealed his offense of truancy, the news of the +vigilance meeting determined him to keep his lips sealed. He lay +all night wondering how long it would take the robbers to dig +themselves out of the cave, and whether they suspected their +imprisonment was the work of an enemy or only an accident. For +several days he avoided the locality, and even feared the vengeful +appearance of Spanish Pete some night at his father's house. It +was not until the end of a fortnight that he had the courage to +revisit the spot. The tree was in its normal position, but +immovable, and a great quantity of fresh debris at the mouth of the +cave convinced him that the robbers, after escaping, had abandoned +it as unsafe. His brother did not return, and either the activity +of the Vigilance Committee or the lack of a new place of rendezvous +seemed to have dispersed the robbers from the locality, for they +were not heard of again. + +The next ten years brought an improvement to Mr. Starleigh's +fortunes. Johnny Starleigh, then a student at San Jose, one +morning found a newspaper clipping in a letter from Miss Amelia +Stryker. It read as follows: "The excavators in the new tunnel in +Heavystone Ridge lately discovered the skeletons of two unknown +men, who had evidently been crushed and entombed some years +previously, by the falling of a large tree over the mouth of their +temporary refuge. From some river gold found with them, they were +supposed to be part of the gang of sluice robbers who infested the +locality some years ago, and were hiding from the Vigilants." + +For a few days thereafter Johnny Starleigh was thoughtful and +reserved, but he did not refer to the paragraph in answering the +letter. He decided to keep it for later confidences, when Miss +Stryker should become Mrs. Starleigh. + + + +MISS PEGGY'S PROTEGES + + +The string of Peggy's sunbonnet had become untied--so had her right +shoe. These were not unusual accidents to a country girl of ten, +but as both of her hands were full she felt obliged to put down +what she was carrying. This was further complicated by the nature +of her burden--a half-fledged shrike and a baby gopher--picked up +in her walk. It was impossible to wrap them both in her apron +without serious peril to one or the other; she could not put either +down without the chance of its escaping. "It's like that dreadful +riddle of the ferryman who had to take the wolf and the sheep in +his boat," said Peggy to herself, "though I don't believe anybody +was ever so silly as to want to take a wolf across the river." +But, looking up, she beheld the approach of Sam Bedell, a six-foot +tunnelman of the "Blue Cement Lead," and, hailing him, begged him +to hold one of her captives. The giant, loathing the little mouse- +like ball of fur, chose the shrike. "Hold him by the feet, for he +bites AWFUL," said Peggy, as the bird regarded Sam with the +diabolically intense frown of his species. Then, dropping the +gopher unconcernedly in her pocket, she proceeded to rearrange her +toilet. The tunnelman waited patiently until Peggy had secured the +nankeen sunbonnet around her fresh but freckled cheeks, and, with a +reckless display of yellow flannel petticoat and stockings like +peppermint sticks, had double-knotted her shoestrings viciously +when he ventured to speak. + +"Same old game, Peggy? Thought you'd got rather discouraged with +your 'happy family,' arter that new owl o' yours had gathered 'em +in." + +Peggy's cheek flushed slightly at this ungracious allusion to a +former collection of hers, which had totally disappeared one +evening after the introduction of a new member in the shape of a +singularly venerable and peaceful-looking horned owl. + +"I could have tamed HIM, too," said Peggy indignantly, "if Ned +Myers, who gave him to me, hadn't been training him to ketch +things, and never let on anything about it to me. He was a reg'lar +game owl!" + +"And wot are ye goin' to do with the Colonel here?" said Sam, +indicating under that gallant title the infant shrike, who, with +his claws deeply imbedded in Sam's finger, was squatting like a +malignant hunchback, and resisting his transfer to Peggy. "Won't +HE make it rather lively for the others? He looks pow'ful +discontented for one so young." + +"That's his nater," said Peggy promptly. "Jess wait till I tame +him. Ef he'd been left along o' his folks, he'd grow up like 'em. +He's a 'butcher bird'--wot they call a 'nine-killer '--kills nine +birds a day! Yes! True ez you live! Sticks 'em up on thorns +outside his nest, jest like a butcher's shop, till he gets hungry. +I've seen 'em!" + +"And how do you kalkilate to tame him?" asked Sam. + +"By being good to him and lovin' him," said Peggy, stroking the +head of the bird with infinite gentleness. + +"That means YOU'VE got to do all the butchering for him?" said the +cynical Sam. + +Peggy shook her head, disdaining a verbal reply. + +"Ye can't bring him up on sugar and crackers, like a Polly," +persisted Sam. + +"Ye ken do anythin' with critters, if you ain't afeerd of 'em and +love 'em," said Peggy shyly. + +The tall tunnelman, looking down into the depths of Peggy's +sunbonnet, saw something in the round blue eyes and grave little +mouth that made him think so too. But here Peggy's serious little +face took a shade of darker concern as her arm went down deeper +into her pocket, and her eyes got rounder. + +"It's--it's--BURRERED OUT!" she said breathlessly. + +The giant leaped briskly to one side. "Hol' on," said Peggy +abstractedly. With infinite gravity she followed, with her +fingers, a seam of her skirt down to the hem, popped them quickly +under it, and produced, with a sigh of relief, the missing gopher. + +"You'll do," said Sam, in fearful admiration. "Mebbe you'll make +suthin' out o' the Colonel too. But I never took stock in that +there owl. He was too durned self-righteous for a decent bird. +Now, run along afore anythin' else fetches loose ag'in. So long!" + +He patted the top of her sunbonnet, gave a little pull to the short +brown braid that hung behind her temptingly,--which no miner was +ever known to resist,--and watched her flutter off with her spoils. +He had done so many times before, for the great, foolish heart of +the Blue Cement Ridge had gone out to Peggy Baker, the little +daughter of the blacksmith, quite early. There were others of the +family, notably two elder sisters, invincible at picnics and +dances, but Peggy was as necessary to these men as the blue jay +that swung before them in the dim woods, the squirrel that whisked +across their morning path, or the woodpecker who beat his tattoo at +their midday meal from the hollow pine above them. She was part of +the nature that kept them young. Her truancies and vagrancies +concerned them not: she was a law to herself, like the birds and +squirrels. There were bearded lips to hail her wherever she went, +and a blue or red-shirted arm always stretched out in any perilous +pass or dangerous crossing. + +Her peculiar tastes were an outcome of her nature, assisted by her +surroundings. Left a good deal to herself in her infancy, she made +playfellows of animated nature around her, without much reference +to selection or fitness, but always with a fearlessness that was +the result of her own observation, and unhampered by tradition or +other children's timidity. She had no superstition regarding the +venom of toads, the poison of spiders, or the ear-penetrating +capacity of earwigs. She had experiences and revelations of her +own,--which she kept sacredly to herself, as children do,--and one +was in regard to a rattlesnake, partly induced, however, by the +indiscreet warning of her elders. She was cautioned NOT to take +her bread and milk into the woods, and was told the affecting story +of the little girl who was once regularly visited by a snake that +partook of HER bread and milk, and who was ultimately found rapping +the head of the snake for gorging more than his share, and not +"taking a 'poon as me do." It is needless to say that this +incautious caution fired Peggy's adventurous spirit. SHE took a +bowlful of milk to the haunt of a "rattler" near her home, but, +without making the pretense of sharing it, generously left the +whole to the reptile. After repeating this hospitality for three +or four days, she was amazed one morning on returning to the house +to find the snake--an elderly one with a dozen rattles--devotedly +following her. Alarmed, not for her own safety nor that of her +family, but for the existence of her grateful friend in danger of +the blacksmith's hammer, she took a circuitous route leading it +away. Then recalling a bit of woodland lore once communicated to +her by a charcoal-burner, she broke a spray of the white ash, and +laid it before her in the track of the rattlesnake. He stopped +instantly, and remained motionless without crossing the slight +barrier. She repeated this experiment on later occasions, until +the reptile understood her. She kept the experience to herself, +but one day it was witnessed by a tunnelman. On that day Peggy's +reputation was made! + +From this time henceforth the major part of Blue Cement Ridge +became serious collectors for what was known as "Peggy's +menagerie," and two of the tunnelmen constructed a stockaded +inclosure--not half a mile from the blacksmith's cabin, but unknown +to him--for the reception of specimens. For a long time its +existence was kept a secret between Peggy and her loyal friends. +Her parents, aware of her eccentric tastes only through the +introduction of such smaller creatures as lizards, toads, and +tarantulas into their house,--which usually escaped from their tin +cans and boxes and sought refuge in the family slippers,--had +frowned upon her zoological studies. Her mother found that her +woodland rambles entailed an extraordinary wear and tear of her +clothing. A pinafore reduced to ribbons by a young fox, and a +straw hat half swallowed by a mountain kid, did not seem to be a +natural incident to an ordinary walk to the schoolhouse. Her +sisters thought her tastes "low," and her familiar association with +the miners inconsistent with their own dignity. But Peggy went +regularly to school, was a fair scholar in elementary studies (what +she knew of natural history, in fact, quite startled her teachers), +and being also a teachable child, was allowed some latitude. As +for Peggy herself, she kept her own faith unshaken; her little +creed, whose shibboleth was not "to be afraid" of God's creatures, +but to "love 'em," sustained her through reprimand, torn clothing, +and, it is to be feared, occasional bites and scratches from the +loved ones themselves. + +The unsuspected contiguity of the "menagerie" to the house had its +drawbacks, and once nearly exposed her. A mountain wolf cub, +brought especially for her from the higher northern Sierras with +great trouble and expense by Jack Ryder, of the Lone Star Lead, +unfortunately escaped from the menagerie just as the child seemed +to be in a fair way of taming it. Yet it had been already +familiarized enough with civilization to induce it to stop in its +flight and curiously examine the blacksmith's shop. A shout from +the blacksmith and a hurled hammer sent it flying again, with Mr. +Baker and his assistant in full pursuit. But it quickly distanced +them with its long, tireless gallop, and they were obliged to +return to the forge, lost in wonder and conjecture. For the +blacksmith had recognized it as a stranger to the locality, and as +a man of oracular pretension had a startling theory to account for +its presence. This he confided to the editor of the local paper, +and the next issue contained an editorial paragraph: "Our presage +of a severe winter in the higher Sierras, and consequent spring +floods in the valleys, has been startlingly confirmed! Mountain +wolves have been seen in Blue Cement Ridge, and our esteemed fellow +citizen, Mr. Ephraim Baker, yesterday encountered a half-starved +cub entering his premises in search of food. Mr. Baker is of the +opinion that the mother of the cub, driven down by stress of +weather, was in the immediate vicinity." Nothing but the distress +of the only responsible mother of the cub, Peggy, and loyalty to +her, kept Jack Ryder from exposing the absurdity publicly, but for +weeks the camp fires of Blue Cement Ridge shook with the suppressed +and unhallowed joy of the miners, who were in the guilty secret. + +But, fortunately for Peggy, the most favored of her cherished +possessions was not obliged to be kept secret. That one exception +was an Indian dog! This was also a gift, and had been procured +with great "difficulty" by a "packer" from an Indian encampment on +the Oregon frontier. The "difficulty" was, in plain English, that +it had been stolen from the Indians at some peril to the stealer's +scalp. It was a mongrel to all appearances, of no recognized breed +or outward significance, yet of a quality distinctly its own. It +was absolutely and totally uncivilized. Whether this was a +hereditary trait, or the result of degeneracy, no one knew. It +refused to enter a house; it would not stay in a kennel. It would +not eat in public, but gorged ravenously and stealthily in the +shadows. It had the slink of a tramp, and in its patched and +mottled hide seemed to simulate the rags of a beggar. It had the +tirelessness without the affected limp of a coyote. Yet it had +none of the ferocity of barbarians. With teeth that could gnaw +through the stoutest rope and toughest lariat, it never bared them +in anger. It was cringing without being amiable or submissive; it +was gentle without being affectionate. + +Yet almost insensibly it began to yield to Peggy's faith and +kindness. Gradually it seemed to single her out as the one being +in this vast white-faced and fully clothed community that it could +trust. It presently allowed her to half drag, half lead it to and +fro from school, although on the approach of a stranger it would +bite through the rope or frantically endeavor to efface itself in +Peggy's petticoats. It was trying, even to the child's sweet +gravity, to face the ridicule excited by its appearance on the +road; and its habit of carrying its tail between its legs--at such +an inflexible curve that, on the authority of Sam Bedell, a misstep +caused it to "turn a back somersault"--was painfully disconcerting. +But Peggy endured this, as she did the greater dangers of the High +Street in the settlement, where she had often, at her own risk, +absolutely to drag the dazed and bewildered creature from under the +wheels of carts and the heels of horses. But this shyness wore +off--or rather was eventually lost in the dog's complete and utter +absorption in Peggy. His limited intelligence and imperfect +perceptions were excited for her alone. His singularly keen scent +detected her wherever or how remote she might be. Her passage +along a "blind trail," her deviations from the school path, her +more distant excursions, were all mysteriously known to him. It +seemed as if his senses were concentrated in this one faculty. No +matter how unexpected or unfamiliar the itinerary, "Lo, the poor +Indian"--as the men had nicknamed him (in possible allusion to his +"untutored mind")--always arrived promptly and silently. + +It was to this singular faculty that Peggy owed one of her +strangest experiences. One Saturday afternoon she was returning +from an errand to the village when she was startled by the +appearance of Lo in her path. For the reason already given, she no +longer took him with her to these active haunts of civilization, +but had taught him on such occasions to remain as a guard outside +the stockade which contained her treasures. After reading him a +severe lecture on this flagrant abandonment of his trust, enforced +with great seriousness and an admonitory forefinger, she was +concerned to see that the animal appeared less agitated by her +reproof than by some other disturbance. He ran ahead of her, +instead of at her heels, as was his usual custom, and barked--a +thing he rarely did. Presently she thought she discovered the +cause of this in the appearance from the wood of a dozen men armed +with guns. They seemed to be strangers, but among them she +recognized the deputy sheriff of the settlement. The leader +noticed her, and, after a word or two with the others, the deputy +approached her. + +"You and Lo had better be scooting home by the highroad, outer +this--or ye might get hurt," he said, half playfully, half +seriously. + +Peggy looked fearlessly at the men and their guns. + +"Look ez ef you was huntin'?" she said curiously. + +"We are!" said the leader. + +"Wot you huntin'?" + +The deputy glanced at the others. "B'ar!" he replied. + +"Ba'r!" repeated the child with the quick resentment which a +palpable falsehood always provoked in her. "There ain't no b'ar in +ten miles! See yourself huntin' b'ar! Ho!" + +The man laughed. "Never you mind, missy," said the deputy, "you +trot along!" He laid his hand very gently on her head, faced her +sunbonnet towards the near highway, gave the usual parting pull to +her brown pigtail, added, "Make a bee-line home," and turned away. + +Lo uttered the first growl known in his history. Whereat Peggy +said, with lofty forbearance, "Serve you jest right ef I set my dog +on you." + +But force is no argument, and Peggy felt this truth even of herself +and Lo. So she trotted away. Nevertheless, Lo showed signs of +hesitation. After a few moments Peggy herself hesitated and looked +back. The men had spread out under the trees, and were already +lost in the woods. But there was more than one trail through it, +and Peggy knew it. + +And here an alarming occurrence startled her. A curiously striped +brown and white squirrel whisked past her and ran up a tree. +Peggy's round eyes became rounder. There was but one squirrel of +that kind in all the length and breadth of Blue Cement Ridge, and +that was in the menagerie! Even as she looked it vanished. Peggy +faced about and ran back to the road in the direction of the +stockade, Lo bounding before her. But another surprise awaited +her. There was the clutter of short wings under the branches, and +the sunlight flashed upon the iris throat of a wood-duck as it +swung out of sight past her. But in this single glance Peggy +recognized one of the latest and most precious of her acquisitions. +There was no mistake now! With a despairing little cry to Lo, "The +menagerie's broke loose!" she ran like the wind towards it. She +cared no longer for the mandate of the men; the trail she had taken +was out of their sight; they were proceeding so slowly and +cautiously that she and Lo quickly distanced them in the same +direction. She would have yet time to reach the stockade and +secure what was left of her treasures before they came up and drove +her away. Yet she had to make a long circuit to avoid the +blacksmith's shop and cabin, before she saw the stockade, lifting +its four-foot walls around an inclosure a dozen feet square, in the +midst of a manzanita thicket. But she could see also broken coops, +pens, cages, and boxes lying before it, and stopped once, even in +her grief and indignation, to pick up a ruby-throated lizard, one +of its late inmates that had stopped in the trail, stiffened to +stone at her approach. The next moment she was before the roofless +walls, and then stopped, stiffened like the lizard. For out of +that peaceful ruin which had once held the wild and untamed +vagabonds of earth and sky, arose a type of savagery and barbarism +the child had never before looked upon,--the head and shoulders of +a hunted, desperate man! + +His head was bare, and his hair matted with sweat over his +forehead; his face was unshorn, and the black roots of his beard +showed against the deadly pallor of his skin, except where it was +scratched by thorns, or where the red spots over his cheek bones +made his cheeks look as if painted. His eyes were as insanely +bright, he panted as quickly, he showed his white teeth as +perpetually, his movements were as convulsive, as those captured +animals she had known. Yet he did not attempt to fly, and it was +only when, with a sudden effort and groan of pain, he half lifted +himself above the stockade, that she saw that his leg, bandaged +with his cravat and handkerchief, stained a dull red, dragged +helplessly beneath him. He stared at her vacantly for a moment, +and then looked hurriedly into the wood behind her. + +The child was more interested than frightened, and more curious +than either. She had grasped the situation at a glance. It was +the hunted and the hunters. Suddenly he started and reached for +his rifle, which he had apparently set down outside when he climbed +into the stockade. He had just caught sight of a figure emerging +from the wood at a distance. But the weapon was out of his reach. + +"Hand me that gun!" he said roughly. + +But Peggy did not stir. The figure came more plainly and quite +unconsciously into full view, an easy shot at that distance. + +The man uttered a horrible curse, and turned a threatening face on +the child. But Peggy had seen something like that in animals SHE +had captured. She only said gravely,-- + +"Ef you shoot that gun you'll bring 'em all down on you!" + +"All?" he demanded. + +"Yes! a dozen folks with guns like yours," said Peggy. "You jest +crouch down and lie low. Don't move! Watch me." + +The man dropped below the stockade. Peggy ran swiftly towards the +unsuspecting figure, evidently the leader of the party, but +deviated slightly to snatch a tiny spray from a white-ash tree. +She never knew that in that brief interval the wounded man, after a +supreme effort, had possessed himself of his weapon, and for a +moment had covered HER with its deadly muzzle. She ran on +fearlessly until she saw that she had attracted the attention of +the leader, when she stopped and began to wave the white-ash wand +before her. The leader halted, conferred with some one behind him, +who proved to be the deputy sheriff. Stepping out he advanced +towards Peggy, and called sharply, + +"I told you to get out of this! Come, be quick!" + +"You'd better get out yourself," said Peggy, waving her ash spray, +"and quicker, too." + +The deputy stopped, staring at the spray. "Wot's up?" + +"Rattlers." + +"Where?" + +"Everywhere round ye--a reg'lar nest of 'em! That's your way +round!" She pointed to the right, and again began beating the +underbrush with her wand. The men had, meantime, huddled together +in consultation. It was evident that the story of Peggy and her +influence on rattlesnakes was well known, and, in all probability, +exaggerated. After a pause, the whole party filed off to the +right, making a long circuit of the unseen stockade, and were +presently lost in the distance. Peggy ran back to the fugitive. +The fire of savagery and desperation in his eyes had gone out, but +had been succeeded by a glazing film of faintness. + +"Can you--get me--some water?" he whispered. + +The stockade was near a spring,--a necessity for the menagerie. +Peggy brought him water in a dipper. She sighed a little; her +"butcher bird"--now lost forever--had been the last to drink from +it! + +The water seemed to revive him. "The rattlesnakes scared the +cowards," he said, with an attempt to smile. "Were there many +rattlers?" + +"There wasn't ANY," said Peggy, a little spitefully, "'cept YOU--a +two-legged rattler!" + +The rascal grinned at the compliment. + +"ONE-legged, you mean," he said, indicating his helpless limb. + +Peggy's heart relented slightly. "Wot you goin' to do now?" she +said. "You can't stay on THERE, you know. It b'longs to ME!" She +was generous, but practical. + +"Were those things I fired out yours?" + +"Yes." + +"Mighty rough of me." + +Peggy was slightly softened. "Kin you walk?" + +"No." + +"Kin you crawl?" + +"Not as far as a rattler." + +"Ez far ez that clearin'?" + +"Yes." + +"There's a hoss tethered out in that clearin'. I kin shift him to +this end." + +"You're white all through," said the man gravely. + +Peggy ran off to the clearing. The horse belonged to Sam Bedell, +but he had given Peggy permission to ride it whenever she wished. +This was equivalent, in Peggy's mind, to a permission to PLACE him +where she wished. She consequently led him to a point nearest the +stockade, and, thoughtfully, close beside a stump. But this took +some time, and when she arrived she found the fugitive already +there, very thin and weak, but still smiling. + +"Ye kin turn him loose when you get through with him; he'll find +his way back," said Peggy. "Now I must go." + +Without again looking at the man, she ran back to the stockade. +Then she paused until she heard the sound of hoofs crossing the +highway in the opposite direction from which the pursuers had +crossed, and knew that the fugitive had got away. Then she took +the astonished and still motionless lizard from her pocket, and +proceeded to restore the broken coops and cages to the empty +stockade. + +But she never reconstructed her menagerie nor renewed her +collection. People said she had tired of her whim, and that really +she was getting too old for such things. Perhaps she was. But she +never got old enough to reveal her story of the last wild animal +she had tamed by kindness. Nor was she quite sure of it herself, +until a few years afterwards on Commencement Day at a boarding- +school at San Jose, when they pointed out to her one of the most +respectable trustees. But they said he was once a gambler, who had +shot a man with whom he had quarreled, and was nearly caught and +lynched by a Vigilance Committee. + + + +THE GODDESS OF EXCELSIOR + + +When the two isolated mining companies encamped on Sycamore Creek +discovered on the same day the great "Excelsior Lead," they met +around a neutral camp fire with that grave and almost troubled +demeanor which distinguished the successful prospector in those +days. Perhaps the term "prospectors" could hardly be used for men +who had labored patiently and light-heartedly in the one spot for +over three years to gain a daily yield from the soil which gave +them barely the necessaries of life. Perhaps this was why, now +that their reward was beyond their most sanguine hopes, they +mingled with this characteristic gravity an ambition and resolve +peculiarly their own. Unlike most successful miners, they had no +idea of simply realizing their wealth and departing to invest or +spend it elsewhere, as was the common custom. On the contrary, +that night they formed a high resolve to stand or fall by their +claims, to develop the resources of the locality, to build up a +town, and to devote themselves to its growth and welfare. And to +this purpose they bound themselves that night by a solemn and legal +compact. + +Many circumstances lent themselves to so original a determination. +The locality was healthful, picturesque, and fertile. Sycamore +Creek, a considerable tributary of the Sacramento, furnished them a +generous water supply at all seasons; its banks were well wooded +and interspersed with undulating meadow land. Its distance from +stage-coach communication--nine miles--could easily be abridged by +a wagon road over a practically level country. Indeed, all the +conditions for a thriving settlement were already there. It was +natural, therefore, that the most sanguine anticipations were +indulged by the more youthful of the twenty members of this sacred +compact. The sites of a hotel, a bank, the express company's +office, stage office, and court-house, with other necessary +buildings, were all mapped out and supplemented by a theatre, a +public park, and a terrace along the river bank! It was only when +Clinton Grey, an intelligent but youthful member, on offering a +plan of the town with five avenues eighty feet wide, radiating from +a central plaza and the court-house, explained that "it could be +commanded by artillery in case of an armed attack upon the +building," that it was felt that a line must be drawn in anticipatory +suggestion. Nevertheless, although their determination was +unabated, at the end of six months little had been done beyond the +building of a wagon road and the importation of new machinery for +the working of the lead. The peculiarity of their design debarred +any tentative or temporary efforts; they wished the whole settlement +to spring up in equal perfection, so that the first stage-coach over +the new road could arrive upon the completed town. "We don't want to +show up in a 'b'iled shirt' and a plug hat, and our trousers stuck +in our boots," said a figurative speaker. Nevertheless, practical +necessity compelled them to build the hotel first for their own +occupation, pending the erection of their private dwellings on +allotted sites. The hotel, a really elaborate structure for the +locality and period, was a marvel to the workmen and casual +teamsters. It was luxuriously fitted and furnished. Yet it was in +connection with this outlay that the event occurred which had a +singular effect upon the fancy of the members. + +Washington Trigg, a Western member, who had brought up the +architect and builder from San Francisco, had returned in a state +of excitement. He had seen at an art exhibition in that city a +small replica of a famous statue of California, and, without +consulting his fellow members, had ordered a larger copy for the +new settlement. He, however, made up for his precipitancy by an +extravagant description of his purchase, which impressed even the +most cautious. "It's the figger of a mighty pretty girl, in them +spirit clothes they allus wear, holding a divinin' rod for findin' +gold afore her in one hand; all the while she's hidin' behind her, +in the other hand, a branch o' thorns out of sight. The idea +bein'--don't you see?--that blamed old 'forty-niners like us, or +ordinary greenhorns, ain't allowed to see the difficulties they've +got to go through before reaching a strike. Mighty cute, ain't it? +It's to be made life-size,--that is, about the size of a girl of +that kind, don't you see?" he explained somewhat vaguely, "and will +look powerful fetchin' standin' onto a pedestal in the hall of the +hotel." In reply to some further cautious inquiry as to the exact +details of the raiment and of any possible shock to the modesty of +lady guests at the hotel, he replied confidently, "Oh, THAT'S all +right! It's the regulation uniform of goddesses and angels,-- +sorter as if they'd caught up a sheet or a cloud to fling round 'em +before coming into this world afore folks; and being an allegory, +so to speak, it ain't as if it was me or you prospectin' in high +water. And, being of bronze, it"-- + +"Looks like a squaw, eh?" interrupted a critic, "or a cursed +Chinaman?" + +"And if it's of metal, it will weigh a ton! How are we going to +get it up here?" said another. + +But here Mr. Trigg was on sure ground. "I've ordered it cast +holler, and, if necessary, in two sections," he returned +triumphantly. "A child could tote it round and set it up." + +Its arrival was therefore looked forward to with great expectancy +when the hotel was finished and occupied by the combined Excelsior +companies. It was to come from New York via San Francisco, where, +however, there was some delay in its transshipment, and still +further delay at Sacramento. It finally reached the settlement +over the new wagon road, and was among the first freight carried +there by the new express company, and delivered into the new +express office. The box--a packing-case, nearly three feet square +by five feet long--bore superficial marks of travel and +misdirection, inasmuch as the original address was quite +obliterated and the outside lid covered with corrected labels. It +was carried to a private sitting-room in the hotel, where its +beauty was to be first disclosed to the president of the united +companies, three of the committee, and the excited and triumphant +purchaser. A less favored crowd of members and workmen gathered +curiously outside the room. Then the lid was carefully removed, +revealing a quantity of shavings and packing paper which still hid +the outlines of the goddess. When this was promptly lifted a stare +of blank astonishment fixed the faces of the party! It was +succeeded by a quick, hysteric laugh, and then a dead silence. + +Before them lay a dressmaker's dummy, the wire and padded model on +which dresses are fitted and shown. With its armless and headless +bust, abruptly ending in a hooped wire skirt, it completely filled +the sides of the box. + +"Shut the door," said the president promptly. + +The order was obeyed. The single hysteric shriek of laughter had +been followed by a deadly, ironical silence. The president, with +supernatural gravity, lifted it out and set it up on its small, +round, disk-like pedestal. + +"It's some cussed fool blunder of that confounded express company," +burst out the unlucky purchaser. But there was no echo to his +outburst. He looked around with a timid, tentative smile. But no +other smile followed his. + +"It looks," said the president, with portentous gravity, "like the +beginnings of a fine woman, that MIGHT show up, if you gave her +time, into a first-class goddess. Of course she ain't all here; +other boxes with sections of her, I reckon, are under way from her +factory, and will meander along in the course of the year. +Considerin' this as a sample--I think, gentlemen," he added, with +gloomy precision, "we are prepared to accept it, and signify we'll +take more." + +"It ain't, perhaps, exactly the idee that we've been led to expect +from previous description," said Dick Flint, with deeper +seriousness; "for instance, this yer branch of thorns we heard of +ez bein' held behind her is wantin', as is the arms that held it; +but even if they had arrived, anybody could see the thorns through +them wires, and so give the hull show away." + +"Jam it into its box again, and we'll send it back to the +confounded express company with a cussin' letter," again thundered +the wretched purchaser. + +"No, sonny," said the president with gentle but gloomy determination, +"we'll fasten on to this little show jest as it is, and see what +follows. It ain't every day that a first-class sell like this is +worked off on us ACCIDENTALLY." + +It was quite true! The settlement had long since exhausted every +possible form of practical joking, and languished for a new +sensation. And here it was! It was not a thing to be treated +angrily, nor lightly, nor dismissed with that single hysteric +laugh. It was capable of the greatest possibilities! Indeed, as +Washington Trigg looked around on the imperturbably ironical faces +of his companions, he knew that they felt more true joy over the +blunder than they would in the possession of the real statue. But +an exclamation from the fifth member, who was examining the box, +arrested their attention. + +"There's suthin' else here!" + +He had found under the heavier wrapping a layer of tissue-paper, +and under that a further envelope of linen, lightly stitched +together. A knife blade quickly separated the stitches, and the +linen was carefully unfolded. It displayed a beautifully trimmed +evening dress of pale blue satin, with a dressing-gown of some +exquisite white fabric armed with lace. The men gazed at it in +silence, and then the one single expression broke from their lips,-- + +"Her duds!" + +"Stop, boys," said "Clint" Grey, as a movement was made to lift the +dress towards the model, "leave that to a man who knows. What's +the use of my having left five grown-up sisters in the States if I +haven't brought a little experience away with me? This sort of +thing ain't to be 'pulled on' like trousers. No, sir!--THIS is the +way she's worked." + +With considerable dexterity, unexpected gentleness, and some taste, +he shook out the folds of the skirt delicately and lifted it over +the dummy, settling it skillfully upon the wire hoops, and drawing +the bodice over the padded shoulders. This he then proceeded to +fasten with hooks and eyes,--a work of some patience. Forty eager +fingers stretched out to assist him, but were waved aside, with a +look of pained decorum as he gravely completed his task. Then +falling back, he bade the others do the same, and they formed a +contemplative semicircle before the figure. + +Up to that moment a delighted but unsmiling consciousness of their +own absurdities, a keen sense of the humorous possibilities of the +original blunder, and a mischievous recognition of the +mortification of Trigg--whose only safety now lay in accepting the +mistake in the same spirit--had determined these grown-up +schoolboys to artfully protract a joke that seemed to be +providentially delivered into their hands. But NOW an odd change +crept on them. The light from the open window that gave upon the +enormous pines and the rolling prospect up to the dim heights of +the Sierras fell upon this strange, incongruous, yet perfectly +artistic figure. For the dress was the skillful creation of a +great Parisian artist, and in its exquisite harmony of color, +shape, and material it not only hid the absurd model, but clothed +it with an alarming grace and refinement! A queer feeling of awe, +of shame, and of unwilling admiration took possession of them. +Some of them--from remote Western towns--had never seen the like +before; those who HAD had forgotten it in those five years of self- +exile, of healthy independence, and of contiguity to Nature in her +unaffected simplicity. All had been familiar with the garish, +extravagant, and dazzling femininity of the Californian towns and +cities, but never had they known anything approaching the ideal +grace of this type of exalted, even if artificial, womanhood. And +although in the fierce freedom of their little republic they had +laughed to scorn such artificiality, a few yards of satin and lace +cunningly fashioned, and thrown over a frame of wood and wire, +touched them now with a strange sense of its superiority. The +better to show its attractions, Clinton Grey had placed the figure +near a full-length, gold-framed mirror, beside a marble-topped +table. Yet how cheap and tawdry these splendors showed beside this +work of art! How cruel was the contrast of their own rough working +clothes to this miracle of adornment which that same mirror +reflected! And even when Clinton Grey, the enthusiast, looked +towards his beloved woods for relief, he could not help thinking of +them as a more fitting frame for this strange goddess than this new +house into which she had strayed. Their gravity became real; their +gibes in some strange way had vanished. + +"Must have cost a pile of money," said one, merely to break an +embarrassing silence. + +"My sister had a friend who brought over a dress from Paris, not as +high-toned as that, that cost five hundred dollars," said Clinton +Grey. + +"How much did you say that spirit-clad old hag of yours cost-- +thorns and all?" said the president, turning sharply on Trigg. + +Trigg swallowed this depreciation of his own purchase meekly. +"Seven hundred and fifty dollars, without the express charges." + +"That's only two-fifty more," said the president thoughtfully, "if +we call it quits." + +"But," said Trigg in alarm, "we must send it back." + +"Not much, sonny," said the president promptly. "We'll hang on to +this until we hear where that thorny old chump of yours has fetched +up and is actin' her conundrums, and mebbe we can swap even." + +"But how will we explain it to the boys?" queried Trigg. "They're +waitin' outside to see it." + +"There WON'T be any explanation," said the president, in the same +tone of voice in which he had ordered the door shut. "We'll just +say that the statue hasn't come, which is the frozen truth; and +this box only contained some silk curtain decorations we'd ordered, +which is only half a lie. And," still more firmly, "THIS SECRET +DOESN'T GO OUT OF THIS ROOM, GENTLEMEN--or I ain't your president! +I'm not going to let you give yourselves away to that crowd +outside--you hear me? Have you ever allowed your unfettered +intellect to consider what they'd say about this,--what a godsend +it would be to every man we'd ever had a 'pull' on in this camp? +Why, it would last 'em a whole year; we'd never hear the end of it! +No, gentlemen! I prefer to live here without shootin' my fellow +man, but I can't promise it if they once start this joke agin us!" + +There was a swift approval of this sentiment, and the five members +shook hands solemnly. + +"Now," said the president, "we'll just fold up that dress again, +and put it with the figure in this closet"--he opened a large +dressing-chest in the suite of rooms in which they stood--"and +we'll each keep a key. We'll retain this room for committee +purposes, so that no one need see the closet. See? Now take off +the dress! Be careful there! You're not handlin' pay dirt, though +it's about as expensive! Steady!" + +Yet it was wonderful to see the solicitude and care with which the +dress was re-covered and folded in its linen wrapper. + +"Hold on," exclaimed Trigg,--as the dummy was lifted into the +chest,--"we haven't tried on the other dress!" + +"Yes! yes!" repeated the others eagerly; "there's another!" + +"We'll keep that for next committee meeting, gentlemen," said the +president decisively. "Lock her up, Trigg." + + +The three following months wrought a wonderful change in +Excelsior,--wonderful even in that land of rapid growth and +progress. Their organized and matured plans, executed by a full +force of workmen from the county town, completed the twenty +cottages for the members, the bank, and the town hall. Visitors +and intending settlers flocked over the new wagon road to see this +new Utopia, whose founders, holding the land and its improvements +as a corporate company, exercised the right of dictating the terms +on which settlers were admitted. The feminine invasion was not yet +potent enough to affect their consideration, either through any +refinement or attractiveness, being composed chiefly of the +industrious wives and daughters of small traders or temporary +artisans. Yet it was found necessary to confide the hotel to the +management of Mr. Dexter Marsh, his wife, and one intelligent but +somewhat plain daughter, who looked after the accounts. There were +occasional lady visitors at the hotel, attracted from the +neighboring towns and settlements by its picturesqueness and a +vague suggestiveness of its being a watering-place--and there was +the occasional flash in the decorous street of a Sacramento or San +Francisco gown. It is needless to say that to the five men who +held the guilty secret of Committee Room No. 4 it only strengthened +their belief in the super-elegance of their hidden treasure. At +their last meeting they had fitted the second dress--which turned +out to be a vapory summer house-frock or morning wrapper--over the +dummy, and opinions were divided as to its equality with the first. +However, the same subtle harmony of detail and grace of proportion +characterized it. + +"And you see," said Clint Grey, "it's jest the sort o' rig in which +a man would be most likely to know her--and not in her war-paint, +which would be only now and then." + +Already "SHE" had become an individuality! + +"Hush!" said the president. He had turned towards the door, at +which some one was knocking lightly. + +"Come in." + +The door opened upon Miss Marsh, secretary and hotel assistant. +She had a business aspect, and an open letter in her hand, but +hesitated at the evident confusion she had occasioned. Two of the +gentlemen had absolutely blushed, and the others regarded her with +inane smiles or affected seriousness. They all coughed slightly. + +"I beg your pardon," she said, not ungracefully, a slight color +coming into her sallow cheek, which, in conjunction with the gold +eye-glasses, gave her, at least in the eyes of the impressible +Clint, a certain piquancy. "But my father said you were here in +committee and I might consult you. I can come again, if you are +busy." + +She had addressed the president, partly from his office, his +comparatively extreme age--he must have been at least thirty!--and +possibly for his extremer good looks. He said hurriedly, "It's +just an informal meeting;" and then, more politely, "What can we do +for you?" + +"We have an application for a suite of rooms next week," she said, +referring to the letter, "and as we shall be rather full, father +thought you gentlemen might be willing to take another larger room +for your meetings, and give up these, which are part of a suite-- +and perhaps not exactly suitable"-- + +"Quite impossible!" "Quite so!" "Really out of the question," +said the members, in a rapid chorus. + +The young girl was evidently taken aback at this unanimity of +opposition. She stared at them curiously, and then glanced around +the room. "We're quite comfortable here," said the president +explanatorily, "and--in fact--it's just what we want." + +"We could give you a closet like that which you could lock up, and +a mirror," she suggested, with the faintest trace of a smile. + +"Tell your father, Miss Marsh," said the president, with dignified +politeness, "that while we cannot submit to any change, we fully +appreciate his business foresight, and are quite prepared to see +that the hotel is properly compensated for our retaining these +rooms." As the young girl withdrew with a puzzled curtsy he closed +the door, placed his back against it, and said,-- + +"What the deuce did she mean by speaking of that closet?" + +"Reckon she allowed we kept some fancy drinks in there," said +Trigg; "and calkilated that we wanted the marble stand and mirror +to put our glasses on and make it look like a swell private bar, +that's all!" + +"Humph," said the president. + +Their next meeting, however, was a hurried one, and as the +president arrived late, when the door closed smartly behind him he +was met by the worried faces of his colleagues. + +"Here's a go!" said Trigg excitedly, producing a folded paper. +"The game's up, the hull show is busted; that cussed old statue-- +the reg'lar old hag herself--is on her way here! There's a bill o' +lading and the express company's letter, and she'll be trundled +down here by express at any moment." + +"Well?" said the president quietly. + +"Well!" replied the members aghast. "Do you know what that means?" + +"That we must rig her up in the hall on a pedestal, as we reckoned +to do," returned the president coolly. + +"But you don't sabe," said Clinton Grey; "that's all very well as +to the hag, but now we must give HER up," with an adoring glance +towards the closet. + +"Does the letter say so?" + +"No," said Trigg hesitatingly, "no! But I reckon we can't keep +BOTH." + +"Why not?" said the president imperturbably, "if we paid for 'em?" + +As the men only stared in reply he condescended to explain. + +"Look here! I calculated all these risks after our last meeting. +While you boys were just fussin' round, doin' nothing, I wrote to +the express company that a box of women's damaged duds had arrived +here, while we were looking for our statue; that you chaps were so +riled at bein' sold by them that you dumped the whole blamed thing +in the creek. But I added, if they'd let me know what the damage +was, I'd send 'em a draft to cover it. After a spell of waitin' +they said they'd call it square for two hundred dollars, +considering our disappointment. And I sent the draft. That's +spurred them up to get over our statue, I reckon. And, now that +it's coming, it will set us right with the boys." + +"And SHE," said Clinton Grey again, pointing to the locked chest, +"belongs to us?" + +"Until we can find some lady guest that will take her with the +rooms," returned the president, a little cynically. + +But the arrival of the real statue and its erection in the hotel +vestibule created a new sensation. The members of the Excelsior +Company were loud in its praises except the executive committee, +whose coolness was looked upon by the others as an affectation of +superiority. It awakened the criticism and jealousy of the nearest +town. + +"We hear," said the "Red Dog Advertiser," "that the long-promised +statue has been put up in that high-toned Hash Dispensary they call +a hotel at Excelsior. It represents an emaciated squaw in a scanty +blanket gathering roots, and carrying a bit of thorn-bush kindlings +behind her. The high-toned, close corporation of Excelsior may +consider this a fair allegory of California; WE should say it looks +mighty like a prophetic forecast of a hard winter on Sycamore Creek +and scarcity of provisions. However, it isn't our funeral, though +it's rather depressing to the casual visitor on his way to dinner. +For a long time this work of art was missing and supposed to be +lost, but by being sternly and persistently rejected at every +express office on the route, it was at last taken in at Excelsior." + +There was some criticism nearer home. + +"What do you think of it, Miss Marsh?" said the president politely +to that active young secretary, as he stood before it in the hall. +The young woman adjusted her eye-glasses over her aquiline nose. + +"As an idea or a woman, sir?" + +"As a woman, madam," said the president, letting his brown eyes +slip for a moment from Miss Marsh's corn-colored crest over her +straight but scant figure down to her smart slippers. + +"Well, sir, she could wear YOUR boots, and there isn't a corset in +Sacramento would go round her." + +"Thank you!" he returned gravely, and moved away. For a moment a +wild idea of securing possession of the figure some dark night, +and, in company with his fellow-conspirators, of trying those +beautiful clothes upon her, passed through his mind, but he +dismissed it. And then occurred a strange incident, which startled +even his cool, American sanity. + +It was a beautiful moonlight night, and he was returning to a +bedroom at the hotel which he temporarily occupied during the +painting of his house. It was quite late, he having spent the +evening with a San Francisco friend after a business conference +which assured him of the remarkable prosperity of Excelsior. It +was therefore with some human exaltation that he looked around the +sleeping settlement which had sprung up under the magic wand of +their good fortune. The full moon had idealized their youthful +designs with something of their own youthful coloring, graciously +softening the garish freshness of paint and plaster, hiding with +discreet obscurity the disrupted banks and broken woods at the +beginning and end of their broad avenues, paving the rough river +terrace with tessellated shadows, and even touching the rapid +stream which was the source of their wealth with a Pactolean +glitter. + +The windows of the hotel before him, darkened within, flashed in +the moonbeams like the casements of Aladdin's palace. Mingled with +his ambition, to-night, were some softer fancies, rarely indulged +by him in his forecast of the future of Excelsior--a dream of some +fair partner in his life, after this task was accomplished, yet +always of some one moving in a larger world than his youth had +known. Rousing the half sleeping porter, he found, however, only +the spectral gold-seeker in the vestibule,--the rays of his +solitary candle falling upon her divining-rod with a quaint +persistency that seemed to point to the stairs he was ascending. +When he reached the first landing the rising wind through an open +window put out his light, but, although the staircase was in +darkness, he could see the long corridor above illuminated by the +moonlight throughout its whole length. He had nearly reached it +when the slow but unmistakable rustle of a dress in the distance +caught his ear. He paused, not only in the interest of delicacy, +but with a sudden nervous thrill he could not account for. The +rustle came nearer--he could hear the distinct frou-frou of satin; +and then, to his bewildered eyes, what seemed to be the figure of +the dummy, arrayed in the pale blue evening dress he knew so well, +passed gracefully and majestically down the corridor. He could see +the shapely folds of the skirt, the symmetry of the bodice, even +the harmony of the trimmings. He raised his eyes, half affrightedly, +prepared to see the headless shoulders, but they--and what seemed to +be a head--were concealed in a floating "cloud" or nubia of some +fleecy tissue, as if for protection from the evening air. He +remained for an instant motionless, dazed by this apparent motion of +an inanimate figure; but as the absurdity of the idea struck him he +hurriedly but stealthily ascended the remaining stairs, resolved to +follow it. But he was only in time to see it turn into the angle of +another corridor, which, when he had reached it, was empty. The +figure had vanished! + +His first thought was to go to the committee room and examine the +locked closet. But the key was in his desk at home, he had no +light, and the room was on the other side of the house. Besides, +he reflected that even the detection of the figure would involve +the exposure of the very secret they had kept intact so long. He +sought his bedroom, and went quietly to bed. But not to sleep; a +curiosity more potent than any sense of the trespass done him kept +him tossing half the night. Who was this woman whom the clothes +fitted so well? He reviewed in his mind the guests in the house, +but he knew none who could have carried off this masquerade so +bravely. + +In the morning early he made his way to the committee room, but as +he approached was startled to observe two pairs of boots, a man's +and a woman's, conjugally placed before its door. Now thoroughly +indignant, he hurried to the office, and was confronted by the face +of the fair secretary. She colored quickly on seeing him--but the +reason was obvious. + +"You are coming to scold me, sir! But it is not my fault. We were +full yesterday afternoon when your friend from San Francisco came +here with his wife. We told him those were YOUR rooms, but he said +he would make it right with you--and my father thought you would +not be displeased for once. Everything of yours was put into +another room, and the closet remains locked as you left it." + +Amazed and bewildered, the president could only mutter a vague +apology and turn away. Had his friend's wife opened the door with +another key in some fit of curiosity and disported herself in those +clothes? If so, she DARE not speak of her discovery. + +An introduction to the lady at breakfast dispelled this faint hope. +She was a plump woman, whose generous proportions could hardly have +been confined in that pale blue bodice; she was frank and +communicative, with no suggestion of mischievous concealment. + +Nevertheless, he made a firm resolution. As soon as his friends +left he called a meeting of the committee. He briefly informed +them of the accidental occupation of the room, but for certain +reasons of his own said nothing of his ghostly experience. But he +put it to them plainly that no more risks must be run, and that he +should remove the dresses and dummy to his own house. To his +considerable surprise this suggestion was received with grave +approval and a certain strange relief. + +"We kinder thought of suggesting it to you before," said Mr. Trigg +slowly, "and that mebbe we've played this little game long enough-- +for suthin's happened that's makin' it anything but funny. We'd +have told you before, but we dassent! Speak out, Clint, and tell +the president what we saw the other night, and don't mince matters." + +The president glanced quickly and warningly around him. "I +thought," he said sternly, "that we'd dropped all fooling. It's no +time for practical joking now!" + +"Honest Injun--it's gospel truth! Speak up, Clint!" + +The president looked on the serious faces around him, and was +himself slightly awed. + +"It's a matter of two or three nights ago," said Grey slowly, "that +Trigg and I were passing through Sycamore Woods, just below the +hotel. It was after twelve--bright moonlight, so that we could see +everything as plain as day, and we were dead sober. Just as we +passed under the sycamores Trigg grabs my arm, and says, 'Hi!' I +looked up, and there, not ten yards away, standing dead in the +moonlight, was that dummy! She was all in white--that dress with +the fairy frills, you know--and had, what's more, A HEAD! At +least, something white all wrapped around it, and over her +shoulders. At first we thought you or some of the boys had dressed +her up and lifted her out there for a joke, and left her to +frighten us! So we started forward, and then--it's the gospel +truth!--she MOVED AWAY, gliding like the moonbeams, and vanished +among the trees!" + +"Did you see her face?" asked the president. + +"No; you bet! I didn't try to--it would have haunted me forever." + +"What do you mean?" + +"This--I mean it was that GIRL THE BOX BELONGED TO! She's dead +somewhere--as you'll find out sooner or later--AND HAS COME BACK +FOR HER CLOTHES! I've often heard of such things before." + +Despite his coolness, at this corroboration of his own experience, +and impressed by Grey's unmistakable awe, a thrill went through the +president. For an instant he was silent. + +"That will do, boys," he said finally. "It's a queer story; but +remember, it's all the more reason now for our keeping our secret. +As for those things, I'll remove them quietly and at once." + +But he did not. + +On the contrary, prolonging his stay at the hotel with plausible +reasons, he managed to frequently visit the committee room or its +vicinity, at different and unsuspected hours of the day and night. +More than that, he found opportunities to visit the office, and +under pretexts of business connected with the economy of the hotel +management, informed himself through Miss Marsh on many points. A +few of these details naturally happened to refer to herself, her +prospects, her tastes, and education. He learned incidentally, +what he had partly known, that her father had been in better +circumstances, and that she had been gently nurtured--though of +this she made little account in her pride in her own independence +and devotion to her duties. But in his own persistent way he also +made private notes of the breadth of her shoulders, the size of her +waist, her height, length of her skirt, her movements in walking, +and other apparently extraneous circumstances. It was natural that +he acquired some supplemental facts,--that her eyes, under her eye- +glasses, were a tender gray, and touched with the melancholy beauty +of near-sightedness; that her face had a sensitive mobility beyond +the mere charm of color, and like most people lacking this +primitive and striking element of beauty, what was really fine +about her escaped the first sight. As, for instance, it was only +by bending over to examine her accounts that he found that her +indistinctive hair was as delicate as floss silk and as electrical. +It was only by finding her romping with the children of a guest one +evening that he was startled by the appalling fact of her youth! +But about this time he left the hotel and returned to his house. + +On the first yearly anniversary of the great strike at Excelsior +there were some changes in the settlement, notably the promotion of +Mr. Marsh to a more important position in the company, and the +installation of Miss Cassie Marsh as manageress of the hotel. As +Miss Marsh read the official letter, signed by the president, +conveying in complimentary but formal terms this testimony of their +approval and confidence, her lip trembled slightly, and a tear +trickling from her light lashes dimmed her eye-glasses, so that she +was fain to go up to her room to recover herself alone. When she +did so she was startled to find a wire dummy standing near the +door, and neatly folded upon the bed two elegant dresses. A note +in the president's own hand lay beside them. A swift blush stung +her cheek as she read,-- + + +DEAR MISS MARSH,--Will you make me happy by keeping the secret that +no other woman but yourself knows, and by accepting the clothes +that no other woman but yourself can wear? + + +The next moment, with the dresses over her arm and the ridiculous +dummy swinging by its wires from her other hand, she was flying +down the staircase to Committee Room No. 4. The door opened upon +its sole occupant, the president. + +"Oh, sir, how cruel of you!" she gasped. "It was only a joke of +mine. . . . I always intended to tell you. . . . It was very +foolish, but it seemed so funny. . . . You see, I thought it +was . . . the dress you had bought for your future intended--some +young lady you were going to marry!" + +"It is!" said the president quietly, and he closed the door behind +her. + +And it was. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg Etext Openings in the Old Trail, by Bret Harte + diff --git a/old/oitot10.zip b/old/oitot10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..c0ca292 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/oitot10.zip |