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diff --git a/2676-h/2676-h.htm b/2676-h/2676-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0e81114 --- /dev/null +++ b/2676-h/2676-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,8030 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Bell-ringer of Angel's, by Bret Harte + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Bell-Ringer of Angel's and Other Stories, 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: The Bell-Ringer of Angel's and Other Stories + +Author: Bret Harte + +Release Date: May 25, 2006 [EBook #2676] +Last Updated: March 5, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BELL-RINGER OF ANGEL'S *** + + + + +Produced by Donald Lainson; David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE BELL-RINGER OF ANGEL'S + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Bret Harte + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <big><b>THE BELL-RINGER OF ANGEL'S</b></big> + </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> JOHNNYBOY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> YOUNG ROBIN GRAY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> THE SHERIFF OF SISKYOU. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> A ROSE OF GLENBOGIE. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> THE MYSTERY OF THE HACIENDA. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> CHU CHU. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> MY FIRST BOOK. </a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE BELL-RINGER OF ANGEL'S + </h1> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. + </h2> + <p> + Where the North Fork of the Stanislaus River begins to lose its youthful + grace, vigor, and agility, and broadens more maturely into the plain, + there is a little promontory which at certain high stages of water lies + like a small island in the stream. To the strongly-marked heroics of + Sierran landscape it contrasts a singular, pastoral calm. White and gray + mosses from the overhanging rocks and feathery alders trail their + filaments in its slow current, and between the woodland openings there are + glimpses of vivid velvet sward, even at times when the wild oats and + “wire-grasses” of the plains are already yellowing. The placid river, + unstained at this point by mining sluices or mill drift, runs clear under + its contemplative shadows. Originally the camping-ground of a Digger + Chief, it passed from his tenancy with the American rifle bullet that + terminated his career. The pioneer who thus succeeded to its attractive + calm gave way in turn to a well-directed shot from the revolver of a + quartz-prospector, equally impressed with the charm of its restful + tranquillity. How long he might have enjoyed its riparian seclusion is not + known. A sudden rise of the river one March night quietly removed him, + together with the overhanging post oak beneath which he was profoundly but + unconsciously meditating. The demijohn of whiskey was picked up further + down. But no other suggestion of these successive evictions was ever + visible in the reposeful serenity of the spot. + </p> + <p> + It was later occupied, and a cabin built upon the spot, by one Alexander + McGee, better known as “the Bell-ringer of Angel's.” This euphonious + title, which might have suggested a consistently peaceful occupation, + however, referred to his accuracy of aim at a mechanical target, where the + piercing of the bull's eye was celebrated by the stroke of a bell. It is + probable that this singular proficiency kept his investment of that gentle + seclusion unchallenged. At all events it was uninvaded. He shared it only + with the birds. Perhaps some suggestion of nest building may have been in + his mind, for one pleasant spring morning he brought hither a wife. It was + his OWN; and in this way he may be said to have introduced that morality + which is supposed to be the accompaniment and reflection of pastoral life. + Mrs. McGee's red petticoat was sometimes seen through the trees—a + cheerful bit of color. Mrs. McGee's red cheeks, plump little figure, + beribboned hat and brown, still-girlish braids were often seen at sunset + on the river bank, in company with her husband, who seemed to be pleased + with the discreet and distant admiration that followed them. Strolling + under the bland shadows of the cotton-woods, by the fading gold of the + river, he doubtless felt that peace which the mere world cannot give, and + which fades not away before the clear, accurate eye of the perfect + marksman. + </p> + <p> + Their nearest neighbors were the two brothers Wayne, who took up a claim, + and built themselves a cabin on the river bank near the promontory. Quiet, + simple men, suspected somewhat of psalm-singing, and undue retirement on + Sundays, they attracted but little attention. But when, through some + original conception or painstaking deliberation, they turned the current + of the river so as to restrict the overflow between the promontory and the + river bank, disclosing an auriferous “bar” of inconceivable richness, and + establishing their theory that it was really the former channel of the + river, choked and diverted though ages of alluvial drift, they may be said + to have changed, also, the fortunes of the little settlement. Popular + feeling and the new prosperity which dawned upon the miners recognized the + two brothers by giving the name of Wayne's Bar to the infant settlement + and its post-office. The peaceful promontory, although made easier of + access, still preserved its calm seclusion, and pretty Mrs. McGee could + contemplate through the leaves of her bower the work going on at its base, + herself unseen. Nevertheless, this Arcadian retreat was being slowly and + surely invested; more than that, the character of its surroundings was + altered, and the complexion of the river had changed. The Wayne engines on + the point above had turned the drift and debris into the current that now + thickened and ran yellow around the wooded shore. The fringes of this Eden + were already tainted with the color of gold. + </p> + <p> + It is doubtful, however, if Mrs. McGee was much affected by this + sentimental reflection, and her husband, in a manner, lent himself to the + desecration of his exclusive domain by accepting a claim along the shore—tendered + by the conscientious Waynes in compensation for restricting the approach + to the promontory—and thus participated in the fortunes of the Bar. + Mrs. McGee amused herself by watching from her eyrie, with a presumably + childish interest, the operations of the red-shirted brothers on the Bar; + her husband, however, always accompanying her when she crossed the Bar to + the bank. Some two or three other women—wives of miners—had + joined the camp, but it was evident that McGee was as little inclined to + intrust his wife to their companionship as to that of their husbands. An + opinion obtained that McGee, being an old resident, with alleged high + connections in Angel's, was inclined to be aristocratic and exclusive. + </p> + <p> + Meantime, the two brothers who had founded the fortunes of the Bar were + accorded an equally high position, with an equal amount of reserve. Their + ways were decidedly not those of the other miners, and were as efficacious + in keeping them from familiar advances as the reputation of Mr. McGee was + in isolating his wife. Madison Wayne, the elder, was tall, well-knit and + spare, reticent in speech and slow in deduction; his brother, Arthur, was + of rounder outline, but smaller and of a more delicate and perhaps a more + impressible nature. It was believed by some that it was within the range + of possibility that Arthur would yet be seen “taking his cocktail like a + white man,” or “dropping his scads” at draw poker. At present, however, + they seemed content to spend their evenings in their own cabin, and their + Sundays at a grim Presbyterian tabernacle in the next town, to which they + walked ten miles, where, it was currently believed, “hell fire was ladled + out free,” and “infants damned for nothing.” When they did not go to + meeting it was also believed that the minister came to them, until it was + ascertained that the sound of sacred recitation overheard in their cabin + was simply Madison Wayne reading the Bible to his younger brother. McGee + is said to have stopped on one of these occasions—unaccompanied by + his wife—before their cabin, moving away afterwards with more than + his usual placid contentment. + </p> + <p> + It was about eleven o'clock one morning, and Madison Wayne was at work + alone on the Bar. Clad in a dark gray jersey and white duck trousers + rolled up over high india-rubber boots, he looked not unlike a peaceful + fisherman digging stakes for his nets, as he labored in the ooze and + gravel of the still half-reclaimed river bed. He was far out on the Bar, + within a stone's throw of the promontory. Suddenly his quick ear caught an + unfamiliar cry and splash. Looking up hastily, he saw Mrs. McGee's red + petticoat in the water under the singularly agitated boughs of an + overhanging tree. Madison Wayne ran to the bank, threw off his heavy + boots, and sprang into the stream. A few strokes brought him to Mrs. + McGee's petticoat, which, as he had wisely surmised, contained Mrs. McGee, + who was still clinging to a branch of the tree. Grasping her waist with + one hand and the branch with the other, he obtained a foothold on the + bank, and dragged her ashore. A moment later they both stood erect and + dripping at the foot of the tree. + </p> + <p> + “Well?” said the lady. + </p> + <p> + Wayne glanced around their seclusion with his habitual caution, slightly + knit his brows perplexedly, and said: “You fell in?” + </p> + <p> + “I didn't do nothin' of the sort. I JUMPED in.” + </p> + <p> + Wayne again looked around him, as if expecting her companion, and squeezed + the water out of his thick hair. “Jumped in?” he repeated slowly. “What + for?” + </p> + <p> + “To make you come over here, Mad Wayne,” she said, with a quick laugh, + putting her arms akimbo. + </p> + <p> + They stood looking at each other, dripping like two river gods. Like them, + also, Wayne had apparently ignored the fact that his trousers were rolled + up above his bare knees, and Mrs. McGee that her red petticoat clung + closely to her rather pretty figure. But he quickly recovered himself. + “You had better go in and change your clothes,” he said, with grave + concern. “You'll take cold.” + </p> + <p> + She only shook herself disdainfully. “I'm all right,” she said; “but YOU, + Mad Wayne, what do you mean by not speaking to me—not knowing me? + You can't say that I've changed like that.” She passed her hand down her + long dripping braids as if to press the water from them, and yet with a + half-coquettish suggestion in the act. + </p> + <p> + Something struggled up into the man's face which was not there before. + There was a new light in his grave eyes. “You look the same,” he said + slowly; “but you are married—you have a husband.” + </p> + <p> + “You think that changes a girl?” she said, with a laugh “That's where all + you men slip up! You're afraid of his rifle—THAT'S the change that + bothers you, Mad.” + </p> + <p> + “You know I care little for carnal weapons,” he said quietly. She DID know + it; but it is the privilege of the sex to invent its facts and then to + graciously abandon them as if they were only arguments. “Then why do you + keep off from me? Why do you look the other way when I pass?” she said + quickly. + </p> + <p> + “Because you are married,” he said slowly. + </p> + <p> + She again shook the water from her like a Newfoundland dog. “That's it. + You're mad because I got married. You're mad because I wouldn't marry you + and your church over on the cross roads, and sing hymns with you and + become SISTER Wayne. You wanted me to give up dancing and buggy ridin' + Sundays—and you're just mad because I didn't. Yes, mad—just + mean, baby mad, Mr. Maddy Wayne, for all your CHRISTIAN resignation! + That's what's the matter with you.” Yet she looked very pretty and piquant + in her small spitefulness, which was still so general and superficial that + she seemed to shake it out of her wet petticoats in a vicious flap that + disclosed her neat ankles. + </p> + <p> + “You preferred McGee to me,” he said grimly. “I didn't blame you.” + </p> + <p> + “Who said I PREFERRED him?” she retorted quickly. “Much you know!” Then, + with swift feminine abandonment of her position, she added, with a little + laugh, “It's all the same whether you're guarded with a rifle or a Church + Presbytery, only”— + </p> + <p> + “Only what?” said Madison earnestly. + </p> + <p> + “There's men who'd risk being SHOT for a girl, that couldn't stand + psalm-singin' palaver.” + </p> + <p> + The quick expression of pain that passed over his hard, dark face seemed + only to heighten her pretty mischievousness. But he simply glanced again + around the solitude, passed his hand over his wet sleeve, and said, “I + must go now; your husband wouldn't like me being here.” + </p> + <p> + “He's workin' in the claim,—the claim YOU gave him,” said Mrs. + McGee, with cheerful malice. “Wonder what he'd say if he knew it was given + to him by the man who used to spark his wife only two years ago? How does + that suit your Christian conscience, Mad?” + </p> + <p> + “I should have told him, had I not believed that everything was over + between us, or that it was possible that you and me should ever meet + again,” he returned, in a tone so measured that the girl seemed to hear + the ring of the conventicle in it. + </p> + <p> + “Should you, BROTHER Wayne?” she said, imitating him. “Well, let me tell + you that you are the one man on the Bar that Sandy has taken a fancy to.” + </p> + <p> + Madison's sallow cheek colored a little, but he did not speak. + </p> + <p> + “Well!” continued Mrs. McGee impatiently. “I don't believe he'd object to + your comin' here to see me—if you cared.” + </p> + <p> + “But I wouldn't care to come, unless he first knew that I had been once + engaged to you,” said Madison gravely. + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps he might not think as much of that as you do,” retorted the woman + pertly. “Every one isn't as straitlaced as you, and every girl has had one + or two engagements. But do as you like—stay at home if you want to, + and sing psalms and read the Scriptures to that younger brother of yours! + All the same, I'm thinkin' he'd rather be out with the boys.” + </p> + <p> + “My brother is God-fearing and conscientious,” said Madison quickly. “You + do not know him. You have never seen him.” + </p> + <p> + “No,” said Mrs. McGee shortly. She then gave a little shiver (that was, + however, half simulated) in her wet garments, and added: “ONE saint was + enough for me; I couldn't stand the whole church, Mad.” + </p> + <p> + “You are catching cold,” he said quickly, his whole face brightening with + a sudden tenderness that seemed to transfigure the dark features. “I am + keeping you here when you should be changing your clothes. Go, I beg you, + at once.” + </p> + <p> + She stood still provokingly, with an affectation of wiping her arms and + shoulders and sopping her wet dress with clusters of moss. + </p> + <p> + “Go, please do—Safie, please!” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!”—she drew a quick, triumphant breath. “Then you'll come again + to see me, Mad?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” he said slowly, and even more gravely than before. + </p> + <p> + “But you must let me show you the way out—round under those trees—where + no one can see you come.” She held out her hand. + </p> + <p> + “I'll go the way I came,” he said quietly, swinging himself silently from + the nearest bough into the stream. And before she could utter a protest he + was striking out as silently, hand over hand, across the current. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. + </h2> + <p> + A week later Madison Wayne was seated alone in his cabin. His supper table + had just been cleared by his Chinese coolie, as it was getting late, and + the setting sun, which for half an hour had been persistently making a + vivid beacon of his windows for the benefit of wayfarers along the river + bank, had at last sunk behind the cottonwoods. His head was resting on his + hand; the book he had been reading when the light faded was lying open on + the table before him. In this attitude he became aware of a hesitating + step on the gravel outside his open door. He had been so absorbed that the + approach of any figure along the only highway—the river bank—had + escaped his observation. Looking up, he discovered that Mr. Alexander + McGee was standing in the doorway, his hand resting lightly on the jamb. A + sudden color suffused Wayne's cheek; his hand reached for his book, which + he drew towards him hurriedly, yet half automatically, as he might have + grasped some defensive weapon. + </p> + <p> + The Bell-ringer of Angel's noticed the act, but not the blush, and nodded + approvingly. “Don't let me disturb ye. I was only meanderin' by and + reckoned I'd say 'How do?' in passin'.” He leaned gently back against the + door-post, to do which comfortably he was first obliged to shift the + revolver on his hip. The sight of the weapon brought a slight contraction + to the brows of Wayne, but he gravely said: “Won't you come in?” + </p> + <p> + “It ain't your prayin' time?” said McGee politely. + </p> + <p> + “No.” + </p> + <p> + “Nor you ain't gettin' up lessons outer the Book?” he continued + thoughtfully. + </p> + <p> + “No.” + </p> + <p> + “Cos it don't seem, so to speak, you see, the square thing to be botherin' + a man when he might be doin' suthin' else, don't you see? You understand + what I mean?” + </p> + <p> + It was his known peculiarity that he always seemed to be suffering from an + inability to lucid expression, and the fear of being misunderstood in + regard to the most patent or equally the most unimportant details of his + speech. All of which, however, was in very remarkable contrast to his + perfectly clear and penetrating eyes. + </p> + <p> + Wayne gravely assured him that he was not interrupting him in any way. + </p> + <p> + “I often thought—that is, I had an idea, you understand what I mean—of + stoppin' in passing. You and me, you see, are sorter alike; we don't seem + to jibe in with the gin'ral gait o' the camp. You understand what I mean? + We ain't in the game, eh? You see what I'm after?” + </p> + <p> + Madison Wayne glanced half mechanically at McGee's revolver. McGee's clear + eyes at once took in the glance. + </p> + <p> + “That's it! You understand? You with them books of yours, and me with my + shootin' iron—we're sort o' different from the rest, and ought to be + kinder like partners. You understand what I mean? We keep this camp in + check. We hold a full hand, and don't stand no bluffing.” + </p> + <p> + “If you mean there is some effect in Christian example and the life of a + God-fearing man”—began Madison gravely. + </p> + <p> + “That's it! God-fearin' or revolver-fearin', it amounts to the same when + you come down to the hard pan and bed-rock,” interrupted McGee. “I ain't + expectin' you to think much of my style, but I go a heap on yours, even if + I can't play your game. And I sez to my wife, 'Safie'—her that trots + around with me sometimes—I sez, 'Safie, I oughter know that man, and + shall. And I WANT YOU to know him.' Hol' on,” he added quickly, as Madison + rose with a flushed face and a perturbed gesture. “Ye don't understand! I + see wot's in your mind—don't you see? When I married my wife and + brought her down here, knowin' this yer camp, I sez: 'No flirtin', no + foolin', no philanderin' here, my dear! You're young and don't know the + ways o' men. The first man I see you talking with, I shoot. You needn't + fear, my dear, for accidents. I kin shoot all round you, under your arm, + across your shoulders, over your head and between your fingers, my dear, + and never start skin or fringe or ruffle. But I don't miss HIM. You sorter + understand what I mean,' sez I,so don't!' Ye noticed how my wife is + respected, Mr. Wayne? Queen Victoria sittin' on her throne ain't in it + with my Safie. But when I see YOU not herdin' with that cattle, never + liftin' your eyes to me or Safie as we pass, never hangin' round the + saloons and jokin', nor winkin', nor slingin' muddy stories about women, + but prayin' and readin' Scripter stories, here along with your brother, I + sez to myself, I sez, 'Sandy, ye kin take off your revolver and hang up + your shot gun when HE'S around. For 'twixt HIM and your wife ain't no + revolver, but the fear of God and hell and damnation and the world to + come!' You understand what I mean, don't ye? Ye sorter follow my lead, eh? + Ye can see what I'm shootin' round, don't ye? So I want you to come up + neighborly like, and drop in to see my wife.” + </p> + <p> + Madison Wayne's face became set and hard again, but he advanced towards + McGee with the book against his breast, and his finger between the leaves. + “I already know your wife, Mr. McGee! I saw her before YOU ever met her. I + was engaged to her; I loved her, and—as far as man may love the wife + of another and keep the commands of this book—I love her still!” + </p> + <p> + To his surprise, McGee, whose calm eyes had never dimmed or blenched, + after regarding him curiously, took the volume from him, laid it on the + table, opened it, turned its leaves critically, said earnestly, “That's + the law here, is it?” and then held out his hand. + </p> + <p> + “Shake!” + </p> + <p> + Madison Wayne hesitated—and then grasped his hand. + </p> + <p> + “Ef I had known this,” continued McGee, “I reckon I wouldn't have been so + hard on Safie and so partikler. She's better than I took her for—havin' + had you for a beau! You understand what I mean. You follow me—don't + ye? I allus kinder wondered why she took me, but sens you've told me that + YOU used to spark her, in your God-fearin' way, I reckon it kinder + prepared her for ME. You understand? Now you come up, won't ye?” + </p> + <p> + “I will call some evening with my brother,” said Wayne embarrassedly. + </p> + <p> + “With which?” demanded McGee. + </p> + <p> + “My brother Arthur. We usually spend the evenings together.” + </p> + <p> + McGee paused, leaned against the doorpost, and, fixing his clear eyes on + Wayne, said: “Ef it's all the same to you, I'd rather you did not bring + him. You understand what I mean? You follow me; no other man but you and + me. I ain't sayin' anything agin' your brother, but you see how it is, + don't you? Just me and you.” + </p> + <p> + “Very well, I will come,” said Wayne gloomily. But as McGee backed out of + the door, he followed him, hesitatingly. Then, with an effort he seemed to + recover himself, and said almost harshly: “I ought to tell you another + thing—that I have seen and spoken to Mrs. McGee since she came to + the Bar. She fell into the water last week, and I swam out and dragged her + ashore. We talked and spoke of the past.” + </p> + <p> + “She fell in,” echoed McGee. + </p> + <p> + Wayne hesitated; then a murky blush came into his face as he slowly + repeated, “She FELL in.” + </p> + <p> + McGee's eyes only brightened. “I have been too hard on her. She might have + drowned ef you hadn't took risks. You see? You understand what I mean? And + she never let out anything about it—and never boasted o' YOU helpin' + her out. All right—you'll come along and see her agin'.” He turned + and walked cheerfully away. + </p> + <p> + Wayne re-entered the cabin. He sat for a long time by the window until the + stars came out above the river, and another star, with which he had been + long familiar, took its place apparently in the heart of the wooded crest + of the little promontory. Then the fringing woods on the opposite shore + became a dark level line across the landscape, and the color seemed to + fade out of the moist shining gravel before his cabin. Presently the + silhouette of his dark face disappeared from the window, and Mr. McGee + might have been gratified to know that he had slipped to his knees before + the chair whereon he had been sitting, and that his head was bowed before + it on his clasped hands. In a little while he rose again, and, dragging a + battened old portmanteau from the corner, took out a number of letters + tied up in a package, with which, from time to time, he slowly fed the + flame that flickered on his hearth. In this way the windows of the cabin + at times sprang into light, making a somewhat confusing beacon for the + somewhat confused Arthur Wayne, who was returning from a visit to Angel's, + and who had fallen into that slightly morose and irritated state which + follows excessive hilarity, and is also apt to indicate moral misgivings. + </p> + <p> + But the last letter was burnt and the cabin quite dark when he entered. + His brother was sitting by the slowly dying fire, and he trusted that in + that uncertain light any observation of his expression or manner—of + which he himself was uneasily conscious—would pass unheeded. + </p> + <p> + “You are late,” said Madison gravely. + </p> + <p> + At which his brother rashly assumed the aggressive. He was no later than + the others, and if the Rogers boys were good enough to walk with him for + company he couldn't run ahead of them just because his brother was + waiting! He didn't want any supper, he had something at the Cross Roads + with the others. Yes! WHISKEY, if he wanted to know. People couldn't keep + coffee and temperance drinks just to please him and his brother, and he + wasn't goin' to insult the others by standing aloof. Anyhow, he had never + taken the pledge, and as long as he hadn't he couldn't see why he should + refuse a single glass. As it was, everybody said he was a milksop, and a + tender-foot, and he was just sick of it. + </p> + <p> + Madison rose and lit a candle and held it up before his brother's face. It + was a handsome, youthful face that looked into his, flushed with the + excitement of novel experiences and perhaps a more material stimulation. + The little silken moustache was ostentatiously curled, the brown curls + were redolent of bear's grease. Yet there was a certain boyish timidity + and nervousness in the defiance of his blue eyes that momentarily touched + the elder brother. + </p> + <p> + “I've been too hand with him,” he said to himself, half consciously + recalling what McGee had said of Safie. He put the candle down, laid his + hand gently on Arthur's shoulder, and said, with a certain cautious + tenderness, “Come, Arty, sit down and tell me all about it.” + </p> + <p> + Whereupon the mercurial Arthur, not only relieved of his nervousness but + of his previous ethical doubts and remorse, became gay and voluble. He had + finished his purchases at Angel's, and the storekeeper had introduced him + to Colonel Starbottle, of Kentucky, as one of “the Waynes who had made + Wayne's Bar famous.” Colonel Starbottle had said in his pompous fashion—yet + he was not such a bad fellow, after all—that the Waynes ought to be + represented in the Councils of the State, and that he, Starbottle, would + be proud to nominate Madison for the next Legislature and run him, too. + “And you know, really, Mad, if you mixed a little more with folks, and + they weren't—well, sorter AFRAID of you—you could do it. Why, + I've made a heap o' friends over there, just by goin' round a little, and + one of old Selvedge's girls—the storekeeper, you know—said + from what she'd heard of us, she always thought I was about fifty, and + turned up the whites of my eyes instead of the ends of my moustache! She's + mighty smart! Then the Postmaster has got his wife and three daughters out + from the States, and they've asked me to come over to their church + festival next week. It isn't our church, of course, but I suppose it's all + right.” + </p> + <p> + This and much more with the volubility of relieved feelings. When he + stopped, out of breath, Madison said, “I have had a visitor since you left—Mr. + McGee.” + </p> + <p> + “And his wife?” asked Arthur quickly. Madison flushed slightly. “No; but + he asked me to go and see her.” + </p> + <p> + “That's HER doin', then,” returned Arthur, with a laugh. “She's always + lookin' round the corners of her eyes at me when she passes. Why, John + Rogers was joking me about her only yesterday, and said McGee would blow a + hole through me some of these days if I didn't look out! Of course,” he + added, affectedly curling his moustache, “that's nonsense! But you know + how they talk, and she's too pretty for that fellow McGee.” + </p> + <p> + “She has found a careful helpmeet in her husband,” said Madison sternly, + “and it's neither seemly nor Christian in you, Arthur, to repeat the idle, + profane gossip of the Bar. I knew her before her marriage, and if she was + not a professing Christian, she was, and is, a pure, good woman! Let us + have no more of this.” + </p> + <p> + Whether impressed by the tone of his brother's voice, or only affected by + his own mercurial nature, Arthur changed the subject to further voluble + reminiscences of his trip to Angel's. Yet he did not seem embarrassed nor + disconcerted when his brother, in the midst of his speech, placed the + candle and the Bible on the table, with two chairs before it. He listened + to Madison's monotonous reading of the evening exercise with equally + monotonous respect. Then they both arose, without looking at each other, + but with equally set and stolid faces, and knelt down before their + respective chairs, clasping the back with both hands, and occasionally + drawing the hard, wooden frames against their breasts convulsively, as if + it were a penitential act. It was the elder brother who that night prayed + aloud. It was his voice that rose higher by degrees above the low roof and + encompassing walls, the level river camp lights that trembled through the + window, the dark belt of riverside trees, and the light on the + promontory's crest—up to the tranquil, passionless stars themselves. + </p> + <p> + With those confidences to his Maker this chronicle does not lie—obtrusive + and ostentatious though they were in tone and attitude. Enough that they + were a general arraignment of humanity, the Bar, himself, and his brother, + and indeed much that the same Maker had created and permitted. That + through this hopeless denunciation still lingered some human feeling and + tenderness might have been shown by the fact that at its close his hands + trembled and his face was bedewed by tears. And his brother was so deeply + affected that he resolved hereafter to avoid all evening prayers. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. + </h2> + <p> + It was a week later that Madison Wayne and Mr. McGee were seen, to the + astonishment of the Bar, leisurely walking together in the direction of + the promontory. Here they disappeared, entering a damp fringe of willows + and laurels that seemed to mark its limits, and gradually ascending some + thickly-wooded trail, until they reached its crest, which, to Madison's + surprise, was cleared and open, and showed an acre or two of rude + cultivation. Here, too, stood the McGees' conjugal home—a small, + four-roomed house, but so peculiar and foreign in aspect that it at once + challenged even Madison's abstracted attention. It was a tiny Swiss + chalet, built in sections, and originally packed in cases, one of the + early importations from Europe to California after the gold discovery, + when the country was supposed to be a woodless wilderness. Mr. McGee + explained, with his usual laborious care, how he had bought it at + Marysville, not only for its picturesqueness, but because in its + unsuggestive packing-cases it offered no indication to the curious miners, + and could be put up by himself and a single uncommunicative Chinaman, + without any one else being aware of its existence. There was, indeed, + something quaint in this fragment of Old World handicraft, with its + smooth-jointed paneling, in two colors, its little lozenge fretwork, its + lapped roof, overhanging eaves, and miniature gallery. Inartistic as + Madison was—like most men of rigidly rectangular mind and principle—and + accustomed to the bleak and economic sufficiency of the Californian + miner's cabin, he was touched strangely by its novel grace and freshness. + It reminded him of HER; he had a new respect for this rough, sinful man + who had thus idealized his wife in her dwelling. Already a few Madeira + vines and a Cherokee rose clambered up the gallery. And here Mrs. McGee + was sitting. + </p> + <p> + In the face that she turned upon the two men Madison could see that she + was not expecting them, and even in the slight curiosity with which she + glanced at her husband, that evidently he had said nothing of his previous + visit or invitation. And this conviction became certainty at Mr. McGee's + first words. + </p> + <p> + “I've brought you an ole friend, Safie. He used to spark ye once at + Angel's afore my time—he told me so; he picked ye outer the water + here—he told me that, too. Ye mind that I said afore that he was the + only man I wanted ter know; I reckon now it seems the square thing that he + should be the one man YOU wanted ter know, too. You understand what I mean—you + follow me, don't you?” + </p> + <p> + Whether or not Mrs. McGee DID follow him, she exhibited neither concern, + solicitude, nor the least embarrassment. An experienced lover might have + augured ill from this total absence of self-consciousness. But Madison was + not an experienced lover. He accepted her amused smile as a recognition of + his feelings, trembled at the touch of her cool hands, as if it had been a + warm pressure, and scarcely dared to meet her maliciously laughing eyes. + When he had followed Mr. McGee to the little gallery, the previous + occupation of Mrs. McGee when they arrived was explained. From that slight + elevation there was a perfect view over the whole landscape and river + below; the Bar stretched out as a map at her feet; in that clear, + transparent air she could see every movement and gesture of Wayne's + brother, all unconscious of that surveillance, at work on the Bar. For an + instant Madison's sallow cheek reddened, he knew not why; a remorseful + feeling that he ought to be there with Arthur came over him. Mrs. McGee's + voice seemed to answer his thought. “You can see everything that's going + on down there without being seen yourself. It's good fun for me sometimes. + The other day I saw that young Carpenter hanging round Mrs. Rogers's cabin + in the bush when old Rogers was away. And I saw her creep out and join + him, never thinking any one could see her!” + </p> + <p> + She laughed, seeking Madison's averted eyes, yet scarcely noticing his + suddenly contracted brows. Mr. McGee alone responded. + </p> + <p> + “That's why,” he said, explanatorily, to Madison, “I don't allow to have + my Safie go round with those women. Not as I ever see anything o' that + sort goin' on, or keer to look, but on gin'ral principles. You understand + what I mean.” + </p> + <p> + “That's your brother over there, isn't it?” said Mrs. McGee, turning to + Madison and calmly ignoring her husband's explanation, as she indicated + the distant Arthur. “Why didn't you bring him along with you?” + </p> + <p> + Madison hesitated, and looked at McGee. “He wasn't asked,” said that + gentleman cheerfully. “One's company, two's none! You don't know him, my + dear; and this yer ain't a gin'ral invitation to the Bar. You follow me?” + </p> + <p> + To this Mrs. McGee made no comment, but proceeded to show Madison over the + little cottage. Yet in a narrow passage she managed to touch his hand, + lingered to let her husband precede them from one room to another, and + once or twice looked meaningly into his eyes over McGee's shoulder. + Disconcerted and embarrassed, he tried to utter a few commonplaces, but so + constrainedly that even McGee presently noticed it. And the result was + still more embarrassing. + </p> + <p> + “Look yer,” he said, suddenly turning to them both. “I reckon as how you + two wanter talk over old times, and I'll just meander over to the claim, + and do a spell o' work. Don't mind ME. And if HE”—indicating Madison + with his finger—“gets on ter religion, don't you mind him. It won't + hurt you, Safie,—no more nor my revolver,—but it's pow'ful + persuadin', and you understand me? You follow me? Well, so long!” + </p> + <p> + He turned away quickly, and was presently lost among the trees. For an + instant the embarrassed Madison thought of following him; but he was + confronted by Mrs. McGee's wicked eyes and smiling face between him and + the door. Composing herself, however, with a simulation of perfect gravity + she pointed to a chair. + </p> + <p> + “Sit down, Brother Wayne. If you're going to convert me, it may take some + time, you know, and you might as well make yourself comfortable. As for + me, I'll take the anxious bench.” She laughed with a certain girlishness, + which he well remembered, and leaped to a sitting posture on the table + with her hands on her knees, swinging her smart shoes backwards and + forwards below it. + </p> + <p> + Madison looked at her in hopeless silence, with a pale, disturbed face and + shining eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Or, if you want to talk as we used to talk, Mad, when we sat on the front + steps at Angel's and pa and ma went inside to give us a show, ye can hop + up alongside o' me.” She made a feint of gathering her skirts beside her. + </p> + <p> + “Safie!” broke out the unfortunate man, in a tone that seemed to increase + in formal solemnity with his manifest agitation, “this is impossible. The + laws of God that have joined you and this man”— + </p> + <p> + “Oh, it's the prayer-meeting, is it?” said Safie, settling her skirts + again, with affected resignation. “Go on.” + </p> + <p> + “Listen, Safie,” said Madison, turning despairingly towards her. “Let us + for His sake, let us for the sake of our dear blessed past, talk together + earnestly and prayerfully. Let us take this time to root out of our feeble + hearts all yearnings that are not prompted by Him—yearnings that + your union with this man makes impossible and sinful. Let us for the sake + of the past take counsel of each other, even as brother and sister.” + </p> + <p> + “Sister McGee!” she interrupted mockingly. “It wasn't as brother and + sister you made love to me at Angel's.” + </p> + <p> + “No! I loved you then, and would have made you my wife.” + </p> + <p> + “And you don't love me any more,” she said, audaciously darting a wicked + look into his eyes, “only because I didn't marry you? And you think that + Christian?” + </p> + <p> + “You know I love you as I have loved you always,” he said passionately. + </p> + <p> + “Hush!” she said mockingly; “suppose he should hear you.” + </p> + <p> + “He knows it!” said Madison bitterly. “I told him all!” + </p> + <p> + She stared at him fixedly. + </p> + <p> + “You have—told—him—that—you STILL love me?” she + repeated slowly. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, or I wouldn't be here now. It was due to him—to my own + conscience.” + </p> + <p> + “And what did he say?” + </p> + <p> + “He insisted upon my coming, and, as God is my Judge and witness—he + seemed satisfied and content.” + </p> + <p> + She drew her pretty lips together with a long whistle, and then leaped + from the table. Her face was hard and her eyes were bright as she went to + the window and looked out. He followed her timidly. + </p> + <p> + “Don't touch me,” she said, sharply striking away his proffered hand. He + turned with a flushed cheek and walked slowly towards the door. Her laugh + stopped him. + </p> + <p> + “Come! I reckon that squeezin' hands ain't no part of your contract with + Sandy?” she said, glancing down at her own. “Well, so you're goin'?” + </p> + <p> + “I only wished to talk seriously and prayerfully with you for a few + moments, Safie, and then—to see you no more.” + </p> + <p> + “And how would that suit him,” she said dryly, “if he wants your company + here? Then, just because you can't convert me and bring me to your ways of + thinkin' in one visit, I suppose you think it is Christian-like to run + away like this! Or do you suppose that, if you turn tail now, he won't + believe that your Christian strength and Christian resignation is all + humbug?” + </p> + <p> + Madison dropped into the chair, put his elbows on the table, and buried + his face in his hands. She came a little nearer, and laid her hand lightly + on his arm. He made a movement as if to take it, but she withdrew it + impatiently. + </p> + <p> + “Come,” she said brusquely; “now you're in for it you must play the game + out. He trusts you; if he sees you can't trust yourself, he'll shoot you + on sight. That don't frighten you? Well, perhaps this will then! He'll SAY + your religion is a sham and you a hypocrite—and everybody will + believe him. How do you like that, Brother Wayne? How will that help the + Church? Come! You're a pair of cranks together; but he's got the whip-hand + of you this time. All you can do is to keep up to his idea of you. Put a + bold face on it, and come here as often as you can—the oftener the + better; the sooner you'll both get sick of each other—and of ME. + That's what you're both after, ain't it? Well! I can tell you now, you + needn't either of you be the least afraid of me.” + </p> + <p> + She walked away to the window again, not angrily, but smoothing down the + folds of her bright print dress as if she were wiping her hands of her + husband and his guest. Something like a very material and man-like sense + of shame struggled up through his crust of religion. He stammered, “You + don't understand me, Safie.” + </p> + <p> + “Then talk of something I do understand,” she said pertly. “Tell me some + news of Angel's. Your brother was over there the other day. He made + himself quite popular with the young ladies—so I hear from Mrs. + Selvedge. You can tell me as we walk along the bank towards Sandy's claim. + It's just as well that you should move on now, as it's your FIRST call, + and next time you can stop longer.” She went to the corner of the room, + removed her smart slippers, and put on a pair of walking-shoes, tying + them, with her foot on a chair, in a quiet disregard of her visitor's + presence; took a brown holland sunbonnet from the wall, clapped it over + her browner hair and hanging braids, and tied it under her chin with + apparently no sense of coquetry in the act—becoming though it was—and + without glancing at him. Alas for Madison's ethics! The torment of her + worldly speech and youthful contempt was nothing to this tacit ignoring of + the manhood of her lover—this silent acceptance of him as something + even lower than her husband. He followed her with a burning cheek and a + curious revolting of his whole nature that it is to be feared were + scarcely Christian. The willows opened to let them pass and closed behind + them. + </p> + <p> + An hour later Mrs. McGee returned to her leafy bower alone. She took off + her sunbonnet, hung it on its nail on the wall, shook down her braids, + took off her shoes, stained with the mud of her husband's claim, and put + on her slippers. Then she ascended to her eyrie in the little gallery, and + gazed smilingly across the sunlit Bar. The two gaunt shadows of her + husband and lover, linked like twins, were slowly passing along the river + bank on their way to the eclipsing obscurity of the cottonwoods. Below her—almost + at her very feet—the unconscious Arthur Wayne was pushing his work + on the river bed, far out to the promontory. The sunlight fell upon his + vivid scarlet shirt, his bared throat, and head clustering with perspiring + curls. The same sunlight fell upon Mrs. McGee's brown head too, and + apparently put a wicked fancy inside it. She ran to her bedroom, and + returned with a mirror from its wall, and, after some trials in getting + the right angle, sent a searching reflection upon the spot where Arthur + was at work. + </p> + <p> + For an instant a diamond flash played around him. Then he lifted his head + and turned it curiously towards the crest above him. But the next moment + he clapped his hands over his dazzled but now smiling eyes, as Mrs. McGee, + secure in her leafy obscurity, fell back and laughed to herself, like a + very schoolgirl. + </p> + <p> + It was three weeks later, and Madison Wayne was again sitting alone in his + cabin. This solitude had become of more frequent occurrence lately, since + Arthur had revolted and openly absented himself from his religious + devotions for lighter diversions of the Bar. Keenly as Madison felt his + defection, he was too much preoccupied with other things to lay much + stress upon it, and the sting of Arthur's relapse to worldliness and folly + lay in his own consciousness that it was partly his fault. He could not + chide his brother when he felt that his own heart was absorbed in his + neighbor's wife, and although he had rigidly adhered to his own crude + ideas of self-effacement and loyalty to McGee, he had been again and again + a visitor at his house. It was true that Mrs. McGee had made this easier + by tacitly accepting his conditions of their acquaintanceship, by seeming + more natural, by exhibiting a gayety, and at times even a certain + gentleness and thoughtfulness of conduct that delighted her husband and + astonished her lover. Whether this wonderful change had really been + effected by the latter's gloomy theology and still more hopeless ethics, + he could not say. She certainly showed no disposition to imitate their + formalities, nor seemed to be impressed by them on the rare occasions when + he now offered them. Yet she appeared to link the two men together—even + physically—as on these occasions when, taking an arm of each, she + walked affectionately between them along the river bank promenade, to the + great marveling and admiration of the Bar. It was said, however, that Mr. + Jack Hamlin, a gambler, at that moment professionally visiting Wayne's + Bar, and a great connoisseur of feminine charms and weaknesses, had + glanced at them under his handsome lashes, and asked a single question, + evidently so amusing to the younger members of the Bar that Madison Wayne + knit his brow and Arthur Wayne blushed. Mr. Hamlin took no heed of the + elder brother's frown, but paid some slight attention to the color of the + younger brother, and even more to a slightly coquettish glance from the + pretty Mrs. McGee. Whether or not—as has been ingeniously alleged by + some moralists—the light and trifling of either sex are prone to + recognize each other by some mysterious instinct, is not a necessary + consideration of this chronicle; enough that the fact is recorded. + </p> + <p> + And yet Madison Wayne should have been satisfied with his work! His + sacrifice was accepted; his happy issue from a dangerous situation, and + his happy triumph over a more dangerous temptation, was complete and + perfect, and even achieved according to his own gloomy theories of + redemption and regeneration. Yet he was not happy. The human heart is at + times strangely unappeasable. And as he sat that evening in the gathering + shadows, the Book which should have yielded him balm and comfort lay + unopened in his lap. + </p> + <p> + A step upon the gravel outside had become too familiar to startle him. It + was Mr. McGee lounging into the cabin like a gaunt shadow. It must be + admitted that the friendship of these strangely contrasted men, however + sincere and sympathetic, was not cheerful. A belief in the thorough + wickedness of humanity, kept under only through fear of extreme penalty + and punishment, material and spiritual, was not conducive to light and + amusing conversation. Their talk was mainly a gloomy chronicle of life at + the Bar, which was in itself half an indictment. To-night, Mr. McGee spoke + of the advent of Mr. Jack Hamlin, and together they deplored the diversion + of the hard-earned gains and valuable time of the Bar through the efforts + of that ingenious gentleman. “Not,” added McGee cautiously, “but what he + can shoot straight enough, and I've heard tell that he don't LIE. That + mout and it moutn't be good for your brother who goes around with him + considerable, there's different ways of lookin' at that; you understand + what I mean? You follow me?” For all that, the conversation seemed to + languish this evening, partly through some abstraction on the part of + Wayne and partly some hesitation in McGee, who appeared to have a greater + fear than usual of not expressing himself plainly. It was quite dark in + the cabin when at last, detaching himself from his usual lounging place, + the door-post, he walked to the window and leaned, more shadowy than ever, + over Wayne's chair. “I want to tell you suthin',” he said slowly, “that I + don't want you to misunderstand—you follow me? and that ain't no + ways carpin' or criticisin' nor reflectin' on YOU—you understand + what I mean? Ever sens you and me had that talk here about you and Safie, + and ever sens I got the hang of your ways and your style o' thinkin', I've + been as sure of you and her as if I'd been myself trottin' round with you + and a revolver. And I'm as sure of you now—you sabe what I mean? you + understand? You've done me and her a heap o' good; she's almost another + woman sens you took hold of her, and ef you ever want me to stand up and + 'testify,' as you call it, in church, Sandy McGee is ready. What I'm + tryin' to say to ye is this. Tho' I understand you and your work and your + ways—there's other folks ez moutn't—you follow? You understand + what I mean? And it's just that I'm coming to. Now las' night, when you + and Safie was meanderin' along the lower path by the water, and I kem + across you”— + </p> + <p> + “But,” interrupted Madison quickly, “you're mistaken. I wasn't”— + </p> + <p> + “Hol' on,” said McGee, quietly; “I know you got out o' the way without you + seein' me or me you, because you didn't know it was me, don't you see? + don't you follow? and that's just it! It mout have bin some one from the + Bar as seed you instead o' ME. See? That's why you lit out before I could + recognize you, and that's why poor Safie was so mighty flustered at first + and was for runnin' away until she kem to herself agin. When, of course, + she laughed, and agreed you must have mistook me.” + </p> + <p> + “But,” gasped Madison quickly, “I WASN'T THERE AT ALL LAST NIGHT.” + </p> + <p> + “What?” + </p> + <p> + The two men had risen simultaneously and were facing each other. McGee, + with a good-natured, half-critical expression, laid his hand on Wayne's + shoulder and slightly turned him towards the window, that he might see his + face. It seemed to him white and dazed. + </p> + <p> + “You—wasn't there—last night?” he repeated, with a slow + tolerance. + </p> + <p> + Scarcely a moment elapsed, but the agony of an hour may have thrilled + through Wayne's consciousness before he spoke. Then all the blood of his + body rushed to his face with his first lie as he stammered, “No! Yes! Of + course. I have made a mistake—it WAS I.” + </p> + <p> + “I see—you thought I was riled?” said McGee quietly. + </p> + <p> + “No; I was thinking it was NIGHT BEFORE LAST! Of course it was last night. + I must be getting silly.” He essayed a laugh—rare at any time with + him—and so forced now that it affected McGee more than his + embarrassment. He looked at Wayne thoughtfully, and then said slowly: “I + reckon I did come upon you a little too sudden last night, but, you see, I + was thinkin' of suthin' else and disremembered you might be there. But I + wasn't mad—no! no! and I only spoke about it now that you might be + more keerful before folks. You follow me? You understand what I mean?” + </p> + <p> + He turned and walked to the door, when he halted. “You follow me, don't + you? It ain't no cussedness o' mine, or want o' trustin', don't you see? + Mebbe I oughtened have spoken. I oughter remembered that times this sort + o' thing must be rather rough on you and her. You follow me? You + understand what I mean? Good-night.” + </p> + <p> + He walked slowly down the path towards the river. Had Madison Wayne been + watching him, he would have noticed that his head was bent and his step + less free. But Madison Wayne was at that moment sitting rigidly in his + chair, nursing, with all the gloomy concentration of a monastic nature, a + single terrible suspicion. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. + </h2> + <p> + Howbeit the sun shone cheerfully over the Bar the next morning and the + next; the breath of life and activity was in the air; the settlement never + had been more prosperous, and the yield from the opened placers on the + drained river-bed that week was enormous. The Brothers Wayne were said to + be “rolling in gold.” It was thought to be consistent with Madison Wayne's + nature that there was no trace of good fortune in his face or manner—rather + that he had become more nervous, restless, and gloomy. This was attributed + to the joylessness of avarice as contrasted with the spendthrift gayety of + the more liberal Arthur, and he was feared and RESPECTED as a miser. His + long, solitary walks around the promontory, his incessant watchfulness, + his reticence when questioned, were all recognized as the indications of a + man whose soul was absorbed in money-getting. The reverence they failed to + yield to his religious isolation they were willing to freely accord to his + financial abstraction. But Mr. McGee was not so deceived. Overtaking him + one day under the fringe of willows, he characteristically chided him with + absenting himself from Mrs. McGee and her house since their last + interview. + </p> + <p> + “I reckon you did not harbor malice in your Christianity,” he said; “but + it looks mighty like ez if ye was throwing off on Safie and me on account + of what I said.” + </p> + <p> + In vain Madison gloomily and almost sternly protested. + </p> + <p> + McGee looked him all over with his clear measuring eye, and for some + minutes was singularly silent. At last he said slowly: “I've been thinkin' + suthin' o' goin' down to 'Frisco, and I'd be a heap easier in my mind ef + you'd promise to look arter Safie now and then.” + </p> + <p> + “You surely are not going to leave her here ALONE?” said Wayne roughly. + </p> + <p> + “Why not?” + </p> + <p> + For an instant Wayne hesitated. Then he burst out. “For a hundred reasons! + If she ever wanted your protection, before, she surely does now. Do you + suppose the Bar is any less heathen or more regenerated than it was when + you thought it necessary to guard her with your revolver? Man! It is a + hundred times worse than then! The new claims have filled it with spying + adventurers—with wolves like Hamlin and his friends—idolaters + who would set up Baal and Ashteroth here—and fill your tents with + the curses of Sodom!” + </p> + <p> + Perhaps it was owing to the Scriptural phrasing, perhaps it was from some + unusual authority of the man's manner, but a look of approving relief and + admiration came into McGee's clear eyes. + </p> + <p> + “And YOU'RE just the man to tackle 'em,” he said, clapping his hand on + Wayne's shoulder. “That's your gait—keep it up! But,” he added, in a + lower voice, “me and my revolver are played out.” There was a strangeness + in the tone that arrested Wayne's attention. “Yes,” continued McGee, + stroking his beard slowly, “men like me has their day, and revolvers has + theirs; the world turns round and the Bar fills up, and this yer river + changes its course—and it's all in the day's work. You understand + what I mean—you follow me? And if anything should happen to me—not + that it's like to; but it's in the way o' men—I want you to look + arter Safie. It ain't every woman ez has two men, ez like and unlike, to + guard her. You follow me—you understand what I mean, don't you?” + With these words he parted somewhat abruptly from Wayne, turning into the + steep path to the promontory crest and leaving his companion lost in + gloomy abstraction. The next day Alexander McGee had departed on a + business trip to San Francisco. + </p> + <p> + In his present frame of mind, with his new responsibility and the carrying + out of a plan which he had vaguely conceived might remove the terrible + idea that had taken possession of him, Madison Wayne was even relieved + when his brother also announced his intention of going to Angel's for a + few days. + </p> + <p> + For since his memorable interview with McGee he had been convinced that + Safie had been clandestinely visited by some one. Whether it was the + thoughtless and momentary indiscretion of a willful woman, or the sequel + to some deliberately planned intrigue, did not concern him so much as the + falsity of his own position, and the conniving lie by which he had saved + her and her lover. That at this crucial moment he had failed to “testify” + to guilt and wickedness; that he firmly believed—such is the + inordinate vanity of the religious zealot—that he had denied Him in + his effort to shield HER; and that he had broken faith with the husband + who had entrusted to him the custody of his wife's honor, seemed to him + more terrible than her faithlessness. In his first horror he had dreaded + to see her, lest her very confession—he knew her reckless frankness + towards himself—should reveal to him the extent of his complicity. + But since then, and during her husband's absence, he had convinced himself + that it was his duty to wrestle and strive with her weak spirit, to + implore her to reveal her new intrigue to her husband, and then he would + help her to sue for his forgiveness. It was a part of the inconsistency of + his religious convictions; in his human passion he was perfectly + unselfish, and had already forgiven her the offense against himself. He + would see her at once! + </p> + <p> + But it happened to be a quiet, intense night, with the tremulous opulence + of a full moon that threw quivering shafts of light like summer lightning + over the blue river, and laid a wonderful carpet of intricate lace along + the path that wound through the willows to the crest. There was the dry, + stimulating dust and spice of heated pines from below; the languorous + odors of syringa; the faint, feminine smell of southernwood, and the + infinite mystery of silence. This silence was at times softly broken with + the tender inarticulate whisper of falling leaves, broken sighs from the + tree-tops, and the languid stretching of wakened and unclasping boughs. + Madison Wayne had not, alas! taken into account this subtle conspiracy of + Night and Nature, and as he climbed higher, his steps began to falter with + new and strange sensations. The rigidity of purpose which had guided the + hard religious convictions that always sustained him, began to relax. A + tender sympathy stole over him; a loving mercy to himself as well as + others stole into his heart. He thought of HER as she had nestled at his + side, hand in hand, upon the moonlit veranda of her father's house, before + his hard convictions had chilled and affrighted her. He thought of her + fresh simplicity, and what had seemed to him her wonderful girlish beauty, + and lo! in a quick turn of the path he stood breathless and tremulous + before the house. The moonbeams lay tenderly upon the peaceful eaves; the + long blossoms of the Madeira vine seemed sleeping also. The pink flush of + the Cherokee rose in the unreal light had become chastely white. + </p> + <p> + But he was evidently too late for an interview. The windows were blank in + the white light; only one—her bedroom—showed a light behind + the lowered muslin blind. Her draped shadow once or twice passed across + it. He was turning away with soft steps and even bated breath when + suddenly he stopped. The exaggerated but unmistakable shadow of a man + stood beside her on the blind. + </p> + <p> + With a fierce leap as of a maniac, he was at the door, pounding, rattling, + and uttering hoarse and furious outcries. Even through his fury he heard + quickened footsteps—her light, reckless, half-hysterical laugh—a + bound upon the staircase—the hurried unbolting and opening of + distant doors, as the lighter one with which he was struggling at last + yielded to his blind rage, and threw him crashing into the sitting-room. + The back door was wide open. He could hear the rustling and crackling of + twigs and branches in different directions down the hillside, where the + fugitives had separated as they escaped. And yet he stood there for an + instant, dazed and wondering, “What next?” + </p> + <p> + His eyes fell upon McGee's rifle standing upright in the corner. It was a + clean, beautiful, precise weapon, even to the unprofessional eye, its + long, laminated hexagonal barrel taking a tenderer blue in the moonlight. + He snatched it up. It was capped and loaded. Without a pause he dashed + down the hill. + </p> + <p> + Only one thought was in his mind now—the crudest, simplest duty. He + was there in McGee's place; he should do what McGee would do. God had + abandoned him, but McGee's rifle remained. + </p> + <p> + In a few minutes' downward plunging he had reached the river bank. The + tranquil silver surface quivered and glittered before him. He saw what he + knew he would see, the black target of a man's head above it, making for + the Bar. He took deliberate aim and fired. There was no echo to that sharp + detonation; a distant dog barked, there was a slight whisper in the trees + beside him, that was all! But the head of the man was no longer visible, + and the liquid silver filmed over again, without a speck or stain. + </p> + <p> + He shouldered the rifle, and with the automatic action of men in great + crises returned slowly and deliberately to the house and carefully + replaced the rifle in its old position. He had no concern for the + miserable woman who had fled; had she appeared before him at the moment, + he would not have noticed her. Yet a strange instinct—it seemed to + him the vaguest curiosity—made him ascend the stairs and enter her + chamber. The candle was still burning on the table with that awful + unconsciousness and simplicity of detail which makes the scene of real + tragedy so terrible. Beside it lay a belt and leather pouch. Madison Wayne + suddenly dashed forward and seized it, with a wild, inarticulate cry; + staggered, fell over the chair, rose to his feet, blindly groped his way + down the staircase, burst into the road, and, hugging the pouch to his + bosom, fled like a madman down the hill. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The body of Arthur Wayne was picked up two days later a dozen miles down + the river. Nothing could be more evident and prosaic than the manner in + which he had met his fate. His body was only partly clothed, and the money + pouch and belt, which had been securely locked next his skin, after the + fashion of all miners, was gone. He was known to have left the Bar with a + considerable sum of money; he was undoubtedly dogged, robbed, and murdered + during his journey on the river bank by the desperadoes who were beginning + to infest the vicinity. The grief and agony of his only brother, sole + survivor of that fraternal and religious partnership so well known to the + camp, although shown only by a grim and speechless melancholy,—broken + by unintelligible outbursts of religious raving,—was so real, that + it affected even the callous camp. But scarcely had it regained its + feverish distraction, before it was thrilled by another sensation. + Alexander McGee had fallen from the deck of a Sacramento steamboat in the + Straits of Carquinez, and his body had been swept out to sea. The news had + apparently been first to reach the ears of his devoted wife, for when the + camp—at this lapse of the old prohibition—climbed to her bower + with their rude consolations, the house was found locked and deserted. The + fateful influence of the promontory had again prevailed, the grim record + of its seclusion was once more unbroken. + </p> + <p> + For with it, too, drooped and faded the fortunes of the Bar. Madison Wayne + sold out his claim, endowed the church at the Cross Roads with the + proceeds, and the pulpit with his grim, hopeless, denunciatory presence. + The first rains brought a freshet to the Bar. The river leaped the light + barriers that had taken the place of Wayne's peaceful engines, and + regained the old channel. The curse that the Rev. Madison Wayne had + launched on this riverside Sodom seemed to have been fulfilled. But even + this brought no satisfaction to the gloomy prophet, for it was presently + known that he had abandoned his terror-stricken flock to take the circuit + as revivalist preacher and camp-meeting exhorter, in the rudest and most + lawless of gatherings. Desperate ruffians writhed at his feet in impotent + terror or more impotent rage; murderers and thieves listened to him with + blanched faces and set teeth, restrained only by a more awful fear. Over + and over again he took his life with his Bible into his own hands when he + rose above the excited multitude; he was shot at, he was rail-ridden, he + was deported, but never silenced. And so, sweeping over the country, + carrying fear and frenzy with him, scouting life and mercy, and crushing + alike the guilty and innocent, he came one Sabbath to a rocky crest of the + Sierras—the last tattered and frayed and soiled fringe of + civilization on the opened tract of a great highway. And here he was to + “testify,” as was his wont. + </p> + <p> + But not as he expected. For as he stood up on a boulder above the thirty + or forty men sitting or lying upon other rocks and boulders around him, on + the craggy mountain shelf where they had gathered, a man also rose, + elbowed past them, and with a hurried impulse tried to descend the + declivity. But a cry was suddenly heard from others, quick and clamoring, + which called the whole assembly to its feet, and it was seen that the + fugitive had in some blundering way fallen from the precipice. + </p> + <p> + He was brought up cruelly maimed and mangled, his ribs crushed, and one + lung perforated, but still breathing and conscious. He had asked to see + the preacher. Death impending, and even then struggling with his breath, + made this request imperative. Madison Wayne stopped the service, and + stalked grimly and inflexibly to where the dying man lay. But there he + started. + </p> + <p> + “McGee!” he said breathlessly. + </p> + <p> + “Send these men away,” said McGee faintly. “I've got suthin' to tell you.” + </p> + <p> + The men drew back without a word. “You thought I was dead,” said McGee, + with eyes still undimmed and marvelously clear. “I orter bin, but it don't + need no doctor to say it ain't far off now. I left the Bar to get killed; + I tried to in a row, but the fellows were skeert to close with me, + thinkin' I'd shoot. My reputation was agin me, there! You follow me? You + understand what I mean?” + </p> + <p> + Kneeling beside him now and grasping both his hands, the changed and + horror-stricken Wayne gasped, “But”— + </p> + <p> + “Hold on! I jumped off the Sacramento boat—I was goin' down the + third time—they thought on the boat I was gone—they think so + now! But a passin' fisherman dived for me. I grappled him—he was + clear grit and would have gone down with me, but I couldn't let him die + too—havin' so to speak no cause. You follow me—you understand + me? I let him save me. But it was all the same, for when I got to 'Frisco + I read as how I was drowned. And then I reckoned it was all right, and I + wandered HERE, where I wasn't known—until I saw you.” + </p> + <p> + “But why should you want to die?” said Wayne, almost fiercely. “What right + have you to die while others—double-dyed and blood-stained, are + condemned to live, 'testify,' and suffer?” + </p> + <p> + The dying man feebly waved a deprecation with his maimed hand, and even + smiled faintly. “I knew you'd say that. I knew what you'd think about it, + but it's all the same now. I did it for you and Safie! I knew I was in the + way; I knew you was the man she orter had; I knew you was the man who had + dragged her outer the mire and clay where I was leavin' her, as you did + when she fell in the water. I knew that every day I lived I was makin' YOU + suffer and breakin' HER heart—for all she tried to be gentle and + gay.” + </p> + <p> + “Great God in heaven! Will you stop!” said Wayne, springing to his feet in + agony. A frightened look—the first that any one had ever seen in the + clear eyes of the Bell-ringer of Angel's—passed over them, and he + murmured tremulously: “All right—I'm stoppin'!” + </p> + <p> + So, too, was his heart, for the wonderful eyes were now slowly glazing. + Yet he rallied once more—coming up again the third time as it seemed + to Wayne—and his lips moved slowly. The preacher threw himself + despairingly on the ground beside him. + </p> + <p> + “Speak, brother! For God's sake, speak!” + </p> + <p> + It was his last whisper—so faint it might have been the first of his + freed soul. But he only said:— + </p> + <p> + “You're—followin'—me? You—understand—what—I—mean?” + </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> + JOHNNYBOY. + </h2> + <p> + The vast dining-room of the Crustacean Hotel at Greyport, U. S., was empty + and desolate. It was so early in the morning that there was a bedroom + deshabille in the tucked-up skirts and bare legs of the little oval + breakfast-tables as they had just been left by the dusting servants. The + most stirring of travelers was yet abed, the most enterprising of + first-train catchers had not yet come down; there was a breath of + midsummer sleep still in the air; through the half-opened windows that + seemed to be yawning, the pinkish blue Atlantic beyond heaved gently and + slumberously, and drowsy early bathers crept into it as to bed. Yet as I + entered the room I saw that one of the little tables in the corner was in + reality occupied by a very small and very extraordinary child. Seated in a + high chair, attended by a dreamily abstracted nurse on one side, an + utterly perfunctory negro waiter on the other, and an incongruous + assortment of disregarded viands before him, he was taking—or, + rather, declining—his solitary breakfast. He appeared to be a pale, + frail, but rather pretty boy, with a singularly pathetic combination of + infant delicacy of outline and maturity of expression. His heavily fringed + eyes expressed an already weary and discontented intelligence, and his + willful, resolute little mouth was, I fancied, marked with lines of pain + at either corner. He struck me as not only being physically dyspeptic, but + as morally loathing his attendants and surroundings. + </p> + <p> + My entrance did not disturb the waiter, with whom I had no financial + relations; he simply concealed an exaggerated yawn professionally behind + his napkin until my own servitor should appear. The nurse slightly awoke + from her abstraction, shoved the child mechanically,—as if starting + up some clogged machinery,—said, “Eat your breakfast, Johnnyboy,” + and subsided into her dream. I think the child had at first some faint + hope of me, and when my waiter appeared with my breakfast he betrayed some + interest in my selection, with a view of possible later appropriation, + but, as my repast was simple, that hope died out of his infant mind. Then + there was a silence, broken at last by the languid voice of the nurse:— + </p> + <p> + “Try some milk then—nice milk.” + </p> + <p> + “No! No mik! Mik makes me sick—mik does!” + </p> + <p> + In spite of the hurried infantine accent the protest was so emphatic, and, + above all, fraught with such pent-up reproach and disgust, that I turned + about sympathetically. But Johnnyboy had already thrown down his spoon, + slipped from his high chair, and was marching out of the room as fast as + his little sandals would carry him, with indignation bristling in every + line of the crisp bows of his sash. + </p> + <p> + I, however, gathered from Mr. Johnson, my waiter, that the unfortunate + child owned a fashionable father and mother, one or two blocks of houses + in New York, and a villa at Greyport, which he consistently and + intelligently despised. That he had imperiously brought his parents here + on account of his health, and had demanded that he should breakfast alone + in the big dining-room. That, however, he was not happy. “Nuffin peahs to + agree wid him, Sah, but he doan' cry, and he speaks his mind, Sah; he + speaks his mind.” + </p> + <p> + Unfortunately, I did not keep Johnnyboy's secret, but related the scene I + had witnessed to some of the lighter-hearted Crustaceans of either sex, + with the result that his alliterative protest became a sort of catchword + among them, and that for the next few mornings he had a large audience of + early breakfasters, who fondly hoped for a repetition of his performance. + I think that Johnnyboy for the time enjoyed this companionship, yet + without the least affectation or self-consciousness—so long as it + was unobtrusive. It so chanced, however, that the Rev. Mr. Belcher, a + gentleman with bovine lightness of touch, and a singular misunderstanding + of childhood, chose to presume upon his paternal functions. Approaching + the high chair in which Johnnyboy was dyspeptically reflecting, with a + ponderous wink at the other guests, and a fat thumb and forefinger on + Johnnyboy's table, he leaned over him, and with slow, elephantine + playfulness said:— + </p> + <p> + “And so, my dear young friend, I understand that 'mik makes you sick—mik + does.'” + </p> + <p> + Anything approaching to the absolute likeness of this imitation of + Johnnyboy's accents it is impossible to conceive. Possibly Johnnyboy felt + it. But he simply lifted his lovely lashes, and said with great + distinctness:— + </p> + <p> + “Mik don't—you devil!” + </p> + <p> + After this, closely as it had knitted us together, Johnnyboy's morning + presence was mysteriously withdrawn. It was later pointed out to us by Mr. + Belcher, upon the veranda, that, although Wealth had its privileges, it + was held in trust for the welfare of Mankind, and that the children of the + Rich could not too early learn the advantages of Self-restraint and the + vanity of a mere gratification of the Senses. Early and frequent morning + ablutions, brisk morning toweling, half of a Graham biscuit in a teacup of + milk, exercise with the dumb-bells, and a little rough-and-tumble play in + a straw hat, check apron, and overalls would eventually improve that + stamina necessary for his future Position, and repress a dangerous + cerebral activity and tendency to give way to—He suddenly stopped, + coughed, and absolutely looked embarrassed. Johnnyboy, a moving cloud of + white pique, silk, and embroidery, had just turned the corner of the + veranda. He did not speak, but as he passed raised his blue-veined lids to + the orator. The look of ineffable scorn and superiority in those beautiful + eyes surpassed anything I had ever seen. At the next veranda column he + paused, and, with his baby thumbs inserted in his silk sash, again + regarded him under his half-dropped lashes as if he were some curious + animal, and then passed on. But Belcher was silenced for the second time. + </p> + <p> + I think I have said enough to show that Johnnyboy was hopelessly worshiped + by an impressible and illogical sex. I say HOPELESSLY, for he slipped + equally from the proudest silken lap and the humblest one of calico, and + carried his eyelashes and small aches elsewhere. I think that a secret + fear of his alarming frankness, and his steady rejection of the various + tempting cates they offered him, had much to do with their passion. “It + won't hurt you, dear,” said Miss Circe, “and it's so awfully nice. See!” + she continued, putting one of the delicacies in her own pretty mouth with + every assumption of delight. “It's SO good!” Johnnyboy rested his elbows + on her knees, and watched her with a grieved and commiserating + superiority. “Bimeby, you'll have pains in youse tommick, and you'll be + tookt to bed,” he said sadly, “and then you'll—have to dit up and”—But + as it was found necessary here to repress further details, he escaped + other temptation. + </p> + <p> + Two hours later, as Miss Circe was seated in the drawing-room with her + usual circle of enthusiastic admirers around her, Johnnyboy—who was + issued from his room for circulation, two or three times a day, as a + genteel advertisement of his parents—floated into the apartment in a + new dress and a serious demeanor. Sidling up to Miss Circe he laid a phial—evidently + his own pet medicine—on her lap, said, “For youse tommikake + to-night,” and vanished. Yet I have reason to believe that this slight + evidence of unusual remembrance on Johnnyboy's part more than compensated + for its publicity, and for a few days Miss Circe was quite “set up” by it. + </p> + <p> + It was through some sympathy of this kind that I first gained Johnnyboy's + good graces. I had been presented with a small pocket case of homoeopathic + medicines, and one day on the beach I took out one of the tiny phials and, + dropping two or three of the still tinier pellets in my hand, swallowed + them. To my embarrassment, a small hand presently grasped my trouser-leg. + I looked down; it was Johnnyboy, in a new and ravishing smuggler suit, + with his questioning eyes fixed on mine. + </p> + <p> + “Howjer do dat?” + </p> + <p> + “Eh?” + </p> + <p> + “Wajer do dat for?” + </p> + <p> + “That?—Oh, that's medicine. I've got a headache.” + </p> + <p> + He searched the inmost depths of my soul with his wonderful eyes. Then, + after a pause, he held out his baby palm. + </p> + <p> + “You kin give Johnny some.” + </p> + <p> + “But you haven't got headache—have you?” + </p> + <p> + “Me alluz has.” + </p> + <p> + “Not ALWAYS.” + </p> + <p> + He nodded his head rapidly. Then added slowly, and with great elaboration, + “Et mo'nins, et affernoons, et nights, 'nd mo'nins adain. 'N et becker” + (i. e., breakfast). + </p> + <p> + There was no doubt it was the truth. Those eyes did not seem to be in the + habit of lying. After all, the medicine could not hurt him. His nurse was + at a little distance gazing absently at the sea. I sat down on a bench, + and dropped a few of the pellets into his palm. He ate them seriously, and + then turned around and backed—after the well-known appealing fashion + of childhood—against my knees. I understood the movement—although + it was unlike my idea of Johnnyboy. However, I raised him to my lap—with + the sensation of lifting a dozen lace-edged handkerchiefs, and with very + little more effort—where he sat silently for a moment, with his + sandals crossed pensively before him. + </p> + <p> + “Wouldn't you like to go and play with those children?” I asked, pointing + to a group of noisy sand levelers not far away. + </p> + <p> + “No!” After a pause, “You wouldn't neither.” + </p> + <p> + “Why?” + </p> + <p> + “Hediks.” + </p> + <p> + “But,” I said, “perhaps if you went and played with them and ran up and + down as they do, you wouldn't have headache.” + </p> + <p> + Johnnyboy did not answer for a moment; then there was a perceptible gentle + movement of his small frame. I confess I felt brutally like Belcher. He + was getting down. + </p> + <p> + Once down he faced me, lifted his frank eyes, said, “Do way and play den,” + smoothed down his smuggler frock, and rejoined his nurse. + </p> + <p> + But although Johnnyboy afterwards forgave my moral defection, he did not + seem to have forgotten my practical medical ministration, and our brief + interview had a surprising result. From that moment he confounded his + parents and doctors by resolutely and positively refusing to take any more + of their pills, tonics, or drops. Whether from a sense of loyalty to me, + or whether he was not yet convinced of the efficacy of homoeopathy, he did + not suggest a substitute, declare his preferences, or even give his + reasons, but firmly and peremptorily declined his present treatment. And, + to everybody's astonishment, he did not seem a bit the worse for it. + </p> + <p> + Still he was not strong, and his continual aversion to childish sports and + youthful exercise provoked the easy criticism of that large part of + humanity who are ready to confound cause and effect, and such brief + moments as the Sluysdaels could spare him from their fashionable duties + were made miserable to them by gratuitous suggestions and plans for their + child's improvement. It was noticeable, however, that few of them were + ever offered to Johnnyboy personally. He had a singularly direct way of + dealing with them, and a precision of statement that was embarrassing. + </p> + <p> + One afternoon, Jack Bracy drove up to the veranda of the Crustacean with a + smart buggy and spirited thoroughbred for Miss Circe's especial driving, + and his own saddle-horse on which he was to accompany her. Jack had + dismounted, a groom held his saddle-horse until the young lady should + appear, and he himself stood at the head of the thoroughbred. As + Johnnyboy, leaning against the railing, was regarding the turnout with + ill-concealed disdain, Jack, in the pride of his triumph over his rivals, + good-humoredly offered to put him in the buggy, and allow him to take the + reins. Johnnyboy did not reply. + </p> + <p> + “Come along!” continued Jack, “it will do you a heap of good! It's better + than lazing there like a girl! Rouse up, old man!” + </p> + <p> + “Me don't like that geegee,” said Johnnyboy calmly. “He's a silly fool.” + </p> + <p> + “You're afraid,” said Jack. + </p> + <p> + Johnnyboy lifted his proud lashes, and toddled to the steps. Jack received + him in his arms, swung him into the seat, and placed the slim yellow reins + in his baby hands. + </p> + <p> + “Now you feel like a man, and not like a girl!” said Jack. “Eh, what? Oh, + I beg your pardon.” + </p> + <p> + For Miss Circe had appeared—had absolutely been obliged to wait a + whole half-minute unobserved—and now stood there a dazzling but + pouting apparition. In eagerly turning to receive her, Jack's foot slipped + on the step, and he fell. The thoroughbred started, gave a sickening + plunge forward, and was off! But so, too, was Jack, the next moment, on + his own horse, and before Miss Circe's screams had died away. + </p> + <p> + For two blocks on Ocean Avenue, passersby that afternoon saw a strange + vision. A galloping horse careering before a light buggy, in which a small + child, seated upright, was grasping the tightened reins. But so erect and + composed was the little face and figure—albeit as white as its own + frock—that for an instant they did not grasp its awful significance. + Those further along, however, read the whole awful story in the drawn face + and blazing eyes of Jack Bracy as he, at last, swung into the Avenue. For + Jack had the brains as well as the nerve of your true hero, and, knowing + the dangerous stimulus of a stern chase to a frightened horse, had kept a + side road until it branched into the Avenue. So furious had been his pace, + and so correct his calculation, that he ranged alongside of the runaway + even as it passed, grasped the reins, and, in half a block, pulled up on + even wheels. + </p> + <p> + “I never saw such pluck in a mite like that,” he whispered afterwards to + his anxious auditory. “He never dropped those ribbons, by G—, until + I got alongside, and then he just hopped down and said, as short and cool + as you please, 'Dank you!'” + </p> + <p> + “Me didn't,” uttered a small voice reproachfully. + </p> + <p> + “Didn't you, dear! What DID you say then, darling?” exclaimed a + sympathizing chorus. + </p> + <p> + “Me said: 'Damn you!' Me don't like silly fool geegees. Silly fool geegees + make me sick—silly fool geegees do!” + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, in spite of this incident, the attempts at Johnnyboy's + physical reformation still went on. More than that, it was argued by some + complacent casuists that the pluck displayed by the child was the actual + result of this somewhat heroic method of taking exercise, and NOT an + inherent manliness distinct from his physical tastes. So he was made to + run when he didn't want to—to dance when he frankly loathed his + partners—to play at games that he despised. His books and pictures + were taken away; he was hurried past hoardings and theatrical posters that + engaged his fancy; the public was warned against telling him fairy tales, + except those constructed on strictly hygienic principles. His fastidious + cleanliness was rebuked, and his best frocks taken away—albeit at a + terrible sacrifice of his parents' vanity—to suit the theories of + his critics. How long this might have continued is not known—for the + theory and practice were suddenly arrested by another sensation. + </p> + <p> + One morning a children's picnic party was given on a rocky point only + accessible at certain states of the tide, whither they were taken in a + small boat under the charge of a few hotel servants, and, possibly as part + of his heroic treatment, Johnnyboy, who was included in the party, was not + allowed to be attended by his regular nurse. + </p> + <p> + Whether this circumstance added to his general disgust of the whole + affair, and his unwillingness to go, I cannot say, but it is to be + regretted, since the omission deprived Johnnyboy of any impartial witness + to what subsequently occurred. That he was somewhat roughly handled by + several of the larger children appeared to be beyond doubt, although there + was conflicting evidence as to the sequel. Enough that at noon screams + were heard in the direction of certain detached rocks on the point, and + the whole party proceeding thither found three of the larger boys on the + rocks, alone and cut off by the tide, having been left there, as they + alleged, by Johnnyboy, WHO HAD RUN AWAY WITH THE BOAT. They subsequently + admitted that THEY had first taken the boat and brought Johnnyboy with + them, “just to frighten him,” but they adhered to the rest. And certainly + Johnnyboy and the boat were nowhere to be found. The shore was + communicated with, the alarm was given, the telegraph, up and down the + coast trilled with excitement, other boats were manned—consternation + prevailed. + </p> + <p> + But that afternoon the captain of the “Saucy Jane,” mackerel fisher, lying + off the point, perceived a derelict “Whitehall” boat drifting lazily + towards the Gulf Stream. On boarding it he was chagrined to find the + expected flotsam already in the possession of a very small child, who + received him with a scornful reticence as regarded himself and his + intentions, and some objurgation of a person or persons unknown. It was + Johnnyboy. But whether he had attempted the destruction of the three other + boys by “marooning” them upon the rocks—as their parents firmly + believed—or whether he had himself withdrawn from their company + simply because he did not like them, was never known. Any further attempt + to improve his education by the roughing gregarious process was, however, + abandoned. The very critics who had counseled it now clamored for + restraint and perfect isolation. It was ably pointed out by the Rev. Mr. + Belcher that the autocratic habits begotten by wealth and pampering should + be restricted, and all intercourse with their possessor promptly withheld. + </p> + <p> + But the season presently passed with much of this and other criticism, and + the Sluysdaels passed too, carrying Johnnyboy and his small aches and long + eyelashes beyond these Crustacean voices, where it was to be hoped there + was peace. I did not hear of him again for five years, and then, oddly + enough, from the lips of Mr. Belcher on the deck of a transatlantic + steamer, as he was being wafted to Europe for his recreation by the + prayers and purses of a grateful and enduring flock. “Master John Jacob + Astor Sluysdael,” said Mr. Belcher, speaking slowly, with great precision + of retrospect, “was taken from his private governess—I may say by my + advice—and sent to an admirable school in New York, fashioned upon + the English system of Eton and Harrow, and conducted by English masters + from Oxford and Cambridge. Here—I may also say at my suggestion—he + was subjected to the wholesome discipline equally of his schoolmates and + his masters; in fact, sir, as you are probably aware, the most perfect + democracy that we have yet known, in which the mere accidents of wealth, + position, luxury, effeminacy, physical degeneration, and over-civilized + stimulation, are not recognized. He was put into compulsory cricket, + football, and rounders. As an undersized boy he was subjected to that + ingenious preparation for future mastership by the pupillary state of + servitude known, I think, as 'fagging.' His physical inertia was + stimulated and quickened, and his intellectual precocity repressed, from + time to time, by the exuberant playfulness of his fellow-students, which + occasionally took the form of forced ablutions and corporal discomfort, + and was called, I am told, 'hazing.' It is but fair to state that our + young friend had some singular mental endowments, which, however, were + promptly checked to repress the vanity and presumption that would follow.” + The Rev. Mr. Belcher paused, closed his eyes resignedly, and added, “Of + course, you know the rest.” + </p> + <p> + “Indeed, I do not,” I said anxiously. + </p> + <p> + “A most deplorable affair—indeed, a most shocking incident! It was + hushed up, I believe, on account of the position of his parents.” He + glanced furtively around, and in a lower and more impressive voice said, + “I am not myself a believer in heredity, and I am not personally aware + that there was a MURDERER among the Sluysdael ancestry, but it seems that + this monstrous child, in some clandestine way, possessed himself of a huge + bowie-knife, sir, and on one of those occasions actually rushed furiously + at the larger boys—his innocent play-fellows—and absolutely + forced them to flee in fear of their lives. More than that, sir, a LOADED + REVOLVER was found in his desk, and he boldly and shamelessly avowed his + intention to eviscerate, or—to use his own revolting language—'to + cut the heart out' of the first one who again 'laid a finger on him.'” He + paused again, and, joining his two hands together with the fingers + pointing to the deck, breathed hard and said, “His instantaneous + withdrawal from the school was a matter of public necessity. He was + afterwards taken, in the charge of a private tutor, to Europe, where, I + trust, we shall NOT meet.” + </p> + <p> + I could not resist saying cheerfully that, at least, Johnnyboy had for a + short time made it lively for the big boys. + </p> + <p> + The Rev. Mr. Belcher rose slowly, but painfully, said with a deeply + grieved expression, “I don't think that I entirely follow you,” and moved + gently away. + </p> + <p> + The changes of youth are apt to be more bewildering than those of age, and + a decade scarcely perceptible in an old civilization often means utter + revolution to the new. It did not seem strange to me, therefore, on + meeting Jack Bracy twelve years after, to find that he had forgotten Miss + Circe, or that SHE had married, and was living unhappily with a + middle-aged adventurer by the name of Jason, who was reputed to have had + domestic relations elsewhere. But although subjugated and exorcised, she + at least was reminiscent. To my inquiries about the Sluysdaels, she + answered with a slight return of her old vivacity:— + </p> + <p> + “Ah, yes, dear fellow, he was one of my greatest admirers.” + </p> + <p> + “He was about four years old when you knew him, wasn't he?” suggested + Jason meanly. “Yes, they usually WERE young, but so kind of you to + recollect them. Young Sluysdael,” he continued, turning to me, “is—but + of course you know that disgraceful story.” + </p> + <p> + I felt that I could stand this no longer. “Yes,” I said indignantly, “I + know all about the school, and I don't call his conduct disgraceful + either.” + </p> + <p> + Jason stared. “I don't know what you mean about the school,” he returned. + “I am speaking of his stepfather.” + </p> + <p> + “His STEPFATHER!” + </p> + <p> + “Yes; his father, Van Buren Sluysdael, died, you know—a year after + they left Greyport. The widow was left all the money in trust for Johnny, + except about twenty-five hundred a year which he was in receipt of as a + separate income, even as a boy. Well, a glib-tongued parson, a fellow by + the name of Belcher, got round the widow—she was a desperate fool—and, + by Jove! made her marry him. He made ducks and drakes of not only her + money, but Johnny's too, and had to skip to Spain to avoid the trustees. + And Johnny—for the Sluysdaels are all fools or lunatics—made + over his whole separate income to that wretched, fashionable fool of a + mother, and went into a stockbroker's office as a clerk.” + </p> + <p> + “And walks to business before eight every morning, and they say even takes + down the shutters and sweeps out,” broke in Circe impulsively. “Works like + a slave all day, wears out his old clothes, has given up his clubs and + amusements, and shuns society.” + </p> + <p> + “But how about his health?” I asked. “Is he better and stronger?” + </p> + <p> + “I don't know,” said Circe, “but he LOOKS as beautiful as Endymion.” + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + At his bank, in Wall Street, Bracy that afternoon confirmed all that Jason + had told me of young Sluysdael. “But his temper?” I asked. “You remember + his temper—surely.” + </p> + <p> + “He's as sweet as a lamb, never quarrels, never whines, never alludes to + his lost fortune, and is never put out. For a youngster, he's the most + popular man in the street. Shall we nip round and see him?” + </p> + <p> + “By all means.” + </p> + <p> + “Come. It isn't far.” + </p> + <p> + A few steps down the crowded street we dived into a den of plate-glass + windows, of scraps of paper, of rattling, ticking machines, more voluble + and excited than the careworn, abstracted men who leaned over them. But + “Johnnyboy”—I started at the familiar name again—was not + there. He was at luncheon. + </p> + <p> + “Let us join him,” I said, as we gained the street again and turned + mechanically into Delmonico's. + </p> + <p> + “Not there,” said Bracy with a laugh. “You forget! That's not Johnnyboy's + gait just now. Come here.” He was descending a few steps that led to a + humble cake-shop. As we entered I noticed a young fellow standing before + the plain wooden counter with a cake of gingerbread in one hand and a + glass of milk in the other. His profile was before me; I at once + recognized the long lashes. But the happy, boyish, careless laugh that + greeted Bracy, as he presented me, was a revelation. + </p> + <p> + Yet he was pleased to remember me. And then—it may have been + embarrassment that led me to such tactlessness, but as I glanced at him + and the glass of milk he was holding, I could not help reminding him of + the first words I had ever heard him utter. + </p> + <p> + He tossed off the glass, colored slightly, as I thought, and said with a + light laugh:— + </p> + <p> + “I suppose I have changed a good deal since then, sir.” + </p> + <p> + I looked at his demure and resolute mouth, and wondered if he had. + </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> + YOUNG ROBIN GRAY. + </h2> + <p> + The good American barque Skyscraper was swinging at her moorings in the + Clyde, off Bannock, ready for sea. But that good American barque—although + owned in Baltimore—had not a plank of American timber in her hulk, + nor a native American in her crew, and even her nautical “goodness” had + been called into serious question by divers of that crew during her + voyage, and answered more or less inconclusively with belaying-pins, + marlin-spikes, and ropes' ends at the hands of an Irish-American captain + and a Dutch and Danish mate. So much so, that the mysterious powers of the + American consul at St. Kentigern had been evoked to punish mutiny on the + one hand, and battery and starvation on the other; both equally attested + by manifestly false witness and subornation on each side. In the exercise + of his functions the consul had opened and shut some jail doors, and + otherwise effected the usual sullen and deceitful compromise, and his flag + was now flying, on a final visit, from the stern sheets of a smart boat + alongside. It was with a feeling of relief at the end of the interview + that he at last lifted his head above an atmosphere of perjury and + bilge-water and came on deck. The sun and wind were ruffling and glinting + on the broadening river beyond the “measured mile”; a few gulls were + wavering and dipping near the lee scuppers, and the sound of Sabbath + bells, mellowed by a distance that secured immunity of conscience, came + peacefully to his ear. + </p> + <p> + “Now that job's over ye'll be takin' a partin' dhrink,” suggested the + captain. + </p> + <p> + The consul thought not. Certain incidents of “the job” were fresh in his + memory, and he proposed to limit himself to his strict duty. + </p> + <p> + “You have some passengers, I see,” he said, pointing to a group of two men + and a young girl, who had apparently just come aboard. + </p> + <p> + “Only wan; an engineer going out to Rio. Them's just his friends seein' + him off, I'm thinkin',” returned the captain, surveying them somewhat + contemptuously. + </p> + <p> + The consul was a little disturbed. He wondered if the passenger knew + anything of the quality and reputation of the ship to which he was + entrusting his fortunes. But he was only a PASSENGER, and the consul's + functions—like those of the aloft-sitting cherub of nautical song—were + restricted exclusively to looking after “Poor Jack.” However, he asked a + few further questions, eliciting the fact that the stranger had already + visited the ship with letters from the eminently respectable consignees at + St. Kentigern, and contented himself with lingering near them. The young + girl was accompanied by her father, a respectably rigid-looking + middle-class tradesman, who, however, seemed to be more interested in the + novelty of his surroundings than in the movements of his daughter and + their departing friend. So it chanced that the consul re-entered the cabin—ostensibly + in search of a missing glove, but really with the intention of seeing how + the passenger was bestowed—just behind them. But to his great + embarrassment he at once perceived that, owing to the obscurity of the + apartment, they had not noticed him, and before he could withdraw, the man + had passed his arm around the young girl's half stiffened, yet half + yielding figure. + </p> + <p> + “Only one, Ailsa,” he pleaded in a slow, serious voice, pathetic from the + very absence of any youthful passion in it; “just one now. It'll be gey + lang before we meet again. Ye'll not refuse me now.” + </p> + <p> + The young girl's lips seemed to murmur some protest that, however, was + lost in the beginning of a long and silent kiss. + </p> + <p> + The consul slipped out softly. His smile had died away. That unlooked-for + touch of human weakness seemed to purify the stuffy and evil-reeking + cabin, and the recollection of its brutal past to drop with a deck-load of + iniquity behind him to the bottom of the Clyde. It is to be feared that in + his unofficial moments he was inclined to be sentimental, and it seemed to + him that the good ship Skyscraper henceforward carried an innocent freight + not mentioned in her manifest, and that a gentle, ever-smiling figure, not + entered on her books, had invisibly taken a place at her wheel. + </p> + <p> + But he was recalled to himself by a slight altercation on deck. The young + girl and the passenger had just returned from the cabin. The consul, after + a discreetly careless pause, had lifted his eyes to the young girl's face, + and saw that it was singularly pretty in color and outline, but perfectly + self-composed and serenely unconscious. And he was a little troubled to + observe that the passenger was a middle-aged man, whose hard features were + already considerably worn with trial and experience. + </p> + <p> + Both he and the girl were listening with sympathizing but cautious + interest to her father's contention with the boatman who had brought them + from shore, and who was now inclined to demand an extra fee for returning + with them. The boatman alleged that he had been detained beyond “kirk + time,” and that this imperiling of his salvation could only be compensated + by another shilling. To the consul's surprise, this extraordinary argument + was recognized by the father, who, however, contented himself by simply + contending that it had not been stipulated in the bargain. The issue was, + therefore, limited, and the discussion progressed slowly and deliberately, + with a certain calm dignity and argumentative satisfaction on both sides + that exalted the subject, though it irritated the captain. + </p> + <p> + “If ye accept the premisses that I've just laid down, that it's a + contract”—-began the boatman. + </p> + <p> + “Dry up! and haul off,” said the captain. + </p> + <p> + “One moment,” interposed the consul, with a rapid glance at the slight + trouble in the young girl's face. Turning to the father, he went on: “Will + you allow me to offer you and your daughter a seat in my boat?” + </p> + <p> + It was an unlooked-for and tempting proposal. The boatman was lazily lying + on his oars, secure in self-righteousness and the conscious possession of + the only available boat to shore; on the other hand, the smart gig of the + consul, with its four oars, was not only a providential escape from a + difficulty, but even to some extent a quasi-official endorsement of his + contention. Yet he hesitated. + </p> + <p> + “It'll be costin' ye no more?” he said interrogatively, glancing at the + consul's boat crew, “or ye'll be askin' me a fair proportion.” + </p> + <p> + “It will be the gentleman's own boat,” said the girl, with a certain shy + assurance, “and he'll be paying his boatmen by the day.” + </p> + <p> + The consul hastened to explain that their passage would involve no + additional expense to anybody, and added, tactfully, that he was glad to + enable them to oppose extortion. + </p> + <p> + “Ay, but it's a preencipel,” said the father proudly, “and I'm pleased, + sir, to see ye recognize it.” + </p> + <p> + He proceeded to help his daughter into the boat without any further + leave-taking of the passenger, to the consul's great surprise, and with + only a parting nod from the young girl. It was as if this momentous + incident were a sufficient reason for the absence of any further trivial + sentiment. + </p> + <p> + Unfortunately the father chose to add an exordium for the benefit of the + astonished boatsman still lying on his oars. + </p> + <p> + “Let this be a lesson to ye, ma frien', when ye're ower sure! Ye'll ne'er + say a herrin' is dry until it be reestit an' reekit.” + </p> + <p> + “Ay,” said the boatman, with a lazy, significant glance at the consul, “it + wull be a lesson to me not to trust to a lassie's GANGIN' jo, when thair's + anither yin comin'.” + </p> + <p> + “Give way,” said the consul sharply. + </p> + <p> + Yet his was the only irritated face in the boat as the men bent over their + oars. The young girl and her father looked placidly at the receding ship, + and waved their hands to the grave, resigned face over the taffrail. The + consul examined them more attentively. The father's face showed + intelligence and a certain probity in its otherwise commonplace features. + The young girl had more distinction, with, perhaps, more delicacy of + outline than of texture. Her hair was dark, with a burnished copper tint + at its roots, and eyes that had the same burnished metallic lustre in + their brown pupils. Both sat respectfully erect, as if anxious to record + the fact that the boat was not their own to take their ease in; and both + were silently reserved, answering briefly to the consul's remarks as if to + indicate the formality of their presence there. But a distant railway + whistle startled them into emotion. + </p> + <p> + “We've lost the train, father!” said the young girl. + </p> + <p> + The consul followed the direction of her anxious eyes; the train was just + quitting the station at Bannock. + </p> + <p> + “If ye had not lingered below with Jamie, we'd have been away in time, ay, + and in our own boat,” said the father, with marked severity. + </p> + <p> + The consul glanced quickly at the girl. But her face betrayed no + consciousness, except of their present disappointment. + </p> + <p> + “There's an excursion boat coming round the Point,” he said, pointing to + the black smoke trail of a steamer at the entrance of a loch, “and it will + be returning to St. Kentigern shortly. If you like, we'll pull over and + put you aboard.” + </p> + <p> + “Eh! but it's the Sabbath-breaker!” said the old man harshly. + </p> + <p> + The consul suddenly remembered that that was the name which the righteous + St. Kentigerners had given to the solitary bold, bad pleasure-boat that + defied their Sabbatical observances. + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps you won't find very pleasant company on board,” said the consul + smiling; “but, then, you're not seeking THAT. And as you would be only + using the boat to get back to your home, and not for Sunday recreation, I + don't think your conscience should trouble you.” + </p> + <p> + “Ay, that's a fine argument, Mr. Consul, but I'm thinkin' it's none the + less sopheestry for a' that,” said the father grimly. “No; if ye'll just + land us yonder at Bannock pier, we'll be ay thankin' ye the same.” + </p> + <p> + “But what will you do there? There's no other train to-day.” + </p> + <p> + “Ay, we'll walk on a bit.” + </p> + <p> + The consul was silent. After a pause the young girl lifted her clear eyes, + and with a half pathetic, half childish politeness, said: “We'll be doing + very well—my father and me. You're far too kind.” + </p> + <p> + Nothing further was said as they began to thread their way between a few + large ships and an ocean steamer at anchor, from whose decks a few + Sunday-clothed mariners gazed down admiringly on the smart gig and the + pretty girl in a Tam o' Shanter in its stern sheets. But here a new idea + struck the consul. A cable's length ahead lay a yacht, owned by an + American friend, and at her stern a steam launch swung to its painter. + Without intimating his intention to his passengers he steered for it. + “Bow!—way enough,” he called out as the boat glided under the + yacht's counter, and, grasping the companion-ladder ropes, he leaped + aboard. In a few hurried words he explained the situation to Mr. Robert + Gray, her owner, and suggested that he should send the belated passengers + to St. Kentigern by the launch. Gray assented with the easy good-nature of + youth, wealth, and indolence, and lounged from his cabin to the side. The + consul followed. Looking down upon the boat he could not help observing + that his fair young passenger, sitting in her demure stillness at her + father's side, made a very pretty picture. It was possible that “Bob Gray” + had made the same observation, for he presently swung himself over the + gangway into the gig, hat in hand. The launch could easily take them; in + fact, he added unblushingly, it was even then getting up steam to go to + St. Kentigern. Would they kindly come on board until it was ready? At an + added word or two of explanation from the consul, the father accepted, + preserving the same formal pride and stiffness, and the transfer was made. + The consul, looking back as his gig swept round again towards Bannock + pier, received their parting salutations, and the first smile he had seen + on the face of his grave little passenger. He thought it very sweet and + sad. + </p> + <p> + He did not return to the Consulate at St. Kentigern until the next day. + But he was somewhat surprised to find Mr. Robert Gray awaiting him, and + upon some business which the young millionaire could have easily deputed + to his captain or steward. As he still lingered, the consul pleasantly + referred to his generosity on the previous day, and hoped the passengers + had given him no trouble. + </p> + <p> + “No,” said Gray with a slight simulation of carelessness. “In fact I came + up with them myself. I had nothing to do; it was Sunday, you know.” + </p> + <p> + The consul lifted his eyebrows slightly. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I saw them home,” continued Gray lightly. “In one of those + by-streets not far from here; neat-looking house outside; inside, + corkscrew stone staircase like a lighthouse; fourth floor, no lift, but + SHE circled up like a swallow! Flat—sitting-room, two bedrooms, and + a kitchen—mighty snug and shipshape and pretty as a pink. They OWN + it too—fancy OWNING part of a house! Seems to be a way they have + here in St. Kentigern.” He paused and then added: “Stayed there to a kind + of high tea!” + </p> + <p> + “Indeed,” said the consul. + </p> + <p> + “Why not? The old man wanted to return my 'hospitality' and square the + account! He wasn't going to lie under any obligation to a stranger, and, + by Jove! he made it a special point of honor! A Spanish grandee couldn't + have been more punctilious. And with an accent, Jerusalem! like a + northeaster off the Banks! But the feed was in good taste, and he only a + mathematical instrument maker, on about twelve hundred dollars a year!” + </p> + <p> + “You seem to know all about him,” said the consul smilingly. + </p> + <p> + “Not so much as he does about me,” returned Gray, with a half perplexed + face; “for he saw enough to admonish me about my extravagance, and even to + intimate that that rascal Saunderson, my steward, was imposing on me. SHE + took me to task, too, for not laying the yacht up on Sunday that the men + could go 'to kirk,' and for swearing at a bargeman who ran across our + bows. It's their perfect simplicity and sincerity in all this that gets + me! You'd have thought that the old man was my guardian, and the daughter + my aunt.” After a pause he uttered a reminiscent laugh. “She thought we + ate and drank too much on the yacht, and wondered what we could find to do + all day. All this, you know, in the gentlest, caressing sort of voice, as + if she was really concerned, like one's own sister. Well, not exactly like + mine”—he interrupted himself grimly—“but, hang it all, you + know what I mean. You know that our girls over there haven't got THAT + trick of voice. Too much self-assertion, I reckon; things made too easy + for them by us men. Habit of race, I dare say.” He laughed a little. “Why, + I mislaid my glove when I was coming away, and it was as good as a play to + hear her commiserating and sympathizing, and hunting for it as if it were + a lost baby.” + </p> + <p> + “But you've seen Scotch girls before this,” said the consul. “There were + Lady Glairn's daughters, whom you took on a cruise.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, but the swell Scotch all imitate the English, as everybody else + does, for the matter of that, our girls included; and they're all alike. + Society makes 'em fit in together like tongued and grooved planks that + will take any amount of holy-stoning and polish. It's like dropping into a + dead calm, with every rope and spar that you know already reflected back + from the smooth water upon you. It's mighty pretty, but it isn't getting + on, you know.” After a pause he added: “I asked them to take a little + holiday cruise with me.” + </p> + <p> + “And they declined,” interrupted the consul. + </p> + <p> + Gray glanced at him quickly. + </p> + <p> + “Well, yes; that's all right enough. They don't know me, you see, but they + do know you; and the fact is, I was thinking that as you're our consul + here, don't you see, and sort of responsible for me, you might say that it + was all right, you know. Quite the customary thing with us over there. And + you might say, generally, who I am.” + </p> + <p> + “I see,” said the consul deliberately. “Tell them you're Bob Gray, with + more money and time than you know what to do with; that you have a fine + taste for yachting and shooting and racing, and amusing yourself + generally; that you find that THEY amuse you, and you would like your + luxury and your dollars to stand as an equivalent to their independence + and originality; that, being a good republican yourself, and recognizing + no distinction of class, you don't care what this may mean to them, who + are brought up differently; that after their cruise with you you don't + care what life, what friends, or what jealousies they return to; that you + know no ties, no responsibilities beyond the present, and that you are not + a marrying man.” + </p> + <p> + “Look here, I say, aren't you making a little too much of this?” said Gray + stiffly. + </p> + <p> + The consul laughed. “I should be glad to know that I am.” + </p> + <p> + Gray rose. “We'll be dropping down the river to-morrow,” he said, with a + return of his usual lightness, “and I reckon I'll be toddling down to the + wharf. Good-bye, if I don't see you again.” + </p> + <p> + He passed out. As the consul glanced from the window he observed, however, + that Mr. Gray was “toddling” in quite another direction than the wharf. + For an instant he half regretted that he had not suggested, in some + discreet way, the conclusion he had arrived at after witnessing the girl's + parting with the middle-aged passenger the day before. But he reflected + that this was something he had only accidentally overseen, and was the + girl's own secret. + </p> + <p> + II. + </p> + <p> + When the summer had so waxed in its fullness that the smoke of factory + chimneys drifted high, permitting glimpses of fairly blue sky; when the + grass in St. Kentigern's proudest park took on a less sober green in the + comfortable sun, and even in the thickest shade there was no chilliness, + the good St. Kentigerners recognized that the season had arrived to go + “down the river,” and that it was time for them to betake themselves, with + rugs, mackintoshes, and umbrellas, to the breezy lochs and misty hillsides + for which the neighborhood of St. Kentigern is justly famous. So when it + came to pass that the blinds were down in the highest places, and the most + exclusive pavements of St. Kentigern were echoless and desolate, the + consul heroically tore himself from the weak delight of basking in the + sunshine, and followed the others. + </p> + <p> + He soon found himself settled at the furthest end of a long narrow loch, + made longer and narrower by the steep hillside of rock and heather which + flanked its chilly surface on either side, and whose inequalities were + lost in the firs and larches that filled ravine and chasm. The fragrant + road which ran sinuously through their shadowy depths was invisible from + the loch; no protuberance broke the seemingly sheer declivity; the even + sky-line was indented in two places—one where it was cracked into a + fanciful resemblance to a human profile, the other where it was curved + like a bowl. Need it be said that one was distinctly recognized as the + silhouette of a prehistoric giant, and that the other was his + drinking-cup; need it be added that neither lent the slightest human + suggestion to the solitude? A toy-like pier extending into the loch, + midway from the barren shore, only heightened the desolation. And when the + little steamboat that occasionally entered the loch took away a solitary + passenger from the pier-head, the simplest parting was invested with a + dreary loneliness that might have brought tears to the most hardened eye. + </p> + <p> + Still, when the shadow of either hillside was not reaching across the + loch, the meridian sun, chancing upon this coy mirror, made the most of + it. Then it was that, seen from above, it flashed like a falchion lying + between the hills; then its reflected glory, striking up, transfigured the + two acclivities, tipped the cold heather with fire, gladdened the funereal + pines, and warmed the ascetic rocks. And it was in one of those rare, + passionate intervals that the consul, riding along the wooded track and + turning his eyes from their splendors, came upon a little house. + </p> + <p> + It had once been a sturdy cottage, with a grim endurance and inflexibility + which even some later and lighter additions had softened rather than + changed. On either side of the door, against the bleak whitewashed wall, + two tall fuchsias relieved the rigid blankness with a show of color. The + windows were prettily draped with curtains caught up with gay ribbons. In + a stony pound-like enclosure there was some attempt at floral cultivation, + but all quite recent. So, too, were a wicker garden seat, a bright + Japanese umbrella, and a tropical hammock suspended between two + arctic-looking bushes, which the rude and rigid forefathers of the hamlet + would have probably resented. + </p> + <p> + He had just passed the house when a charming figure slipped across the + road before him. To his surprise it was the young girl he had met a few + months before on the Skyscraper. But the Tam o' Shanter was replaced by a + little straw hat; and a light dress, summery in color and texture, but + more in keeping with her rustic surroundings, seemed as grateful and rare + as the sunshine. Without knowing why, he had an impression that it was of + her own making—a gentle plagiarism of the style of her more + fortunate sisters, but with a demure restraint all her own. As she + recognized him a faint color came to her cheek, partly from surprise, + partly from some association. To his delighted greeting she responded by + informing him that her father had taken the cottage he had just passed, + where they were spending a three weeks' vacation from his business. It was + not so far from St. Kentigern but that he could run up for a day to look + after the shop. Did the consul not think it was wise? + </p> + <p> + Quite ready to assent to any sagacity in those clear brown eyes, the + consul thought it was. But was it not, like wisdom, sometimes lonely? + </p> + <p> + Ah! no. There was the loch and the hills and the heather; there were her + flowers; did he not think they were growing well? and at the head of the + loch there was the old tomb of the McHulishes, and some of the coffins + were still to be seen. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps emboldened by the consul's smile, she added, with a more serious + precision which was, however, lost in the sympathizing caress of her + voice, “And would you not be getting off and coming in and resting a wee + bit before you go further? It would be so good of you, and father would + think it so kind. And he will be there now, if you're looking.” + </p> + <p> + The consul looked. The old man was standing in the doorway of the cottage, + as respectably uncompromising as ever, with the slight concession to his + rural surroundings of wearing a Tam o' Shanter and easy slippers. The + consul dismounted and entered. The interior was simply, but tastefully + furnished. It struck him that the Scotch prudence and economy, which + practically excluded display and meretricious glitter, had reached the + simplicity of the truest art and the most refined wealth. He felt he could + understand Gray's enthusiasm, and by an odd association of ideas he found + himself thinking of the resigned face of the lonely passenger on the + Skyscraper. + </p> + <p> + “Have you heard any news of your friend who went to Rio?” he asked + pleasantly, but without addressing himself particularly to either. + </p> + <p> + There was a perceptible pause; doubtless of deference to her father on the + part of the young girl, and of the usual native conscientious caution on + the part of the father, but neither betrayed any embarrassment or emotion. + “No; he would not be writing yet,” she at length said simply, “he would be + waiting until he was settled to his business. Jamie would be waiting until + he could say how he was doing, father?” she appealed interrogatively to + the old man. + </p> + <p> + “Ay, James Gow would not fash himself to write compliments and gossip till + he knew his position and work,” corroborated the old man. “He'll not be + going two thousand miles to send us what we can read in the 'St. Kentigern + Herald.' But,” he added, suddenly, with a recall of cautiousness, “perhaps + YOU will be hearing of the ship?” + </p> + <p> + “The consul will not be remembering what he hears of all the ships,” + interposed the young girl, with the same gentle affectation of superior + worldly knowledge which had before amused him. “We'll be wearying him, + father,” and the subject dropped. + </p> + <p> + The consul, glancing around the room again, but always returning to the + sweet and patient seriousness of the young girl's face and the grave + decorum of her father, would have liked to ask another question, but it + was presently anticipated; for when he had exhausted the current topics, + in which both father and daughter displayed a quiet sagacity, and he had + gathered a sufficient knowledge of their character to seem to justify + Gray's enthusiasm, and was rising to take his leave, the young girl said + timidly:— + </p> + <p> + “Would ye not let Bessie take your horse to the grass field over yonder, + and yourself stay with us to dinner? It would be most kind, and you would + meet a great friend of yours who will be here.” + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Gray?” suggested the consul audaciously. Yet he was greatly surprised + when the young girl said quietly, “Ay.” + </p> + <p> + “He'll be coming in the loch with his yacht,” said the old man. “It's not + so expensive lying here as at Bannock, I'm thinking; and the men cannot + gang ashore for drink. Eh, but it's an awful waste o' pounds, shillings, + and pence, keeping these gowks in idleness with no feeshin' nor carrying + of passengers.” + </p> + <p> + “Ay, but it's better Mr. Gray should pay them for being decent and + well-behaved on board his ship, than that they should be out of work and + rioting in taverns and lodging-houses. And you yourself, father, remember + the herrin' fishers that come ashore at Ardie, and the deck hands of the + excursion boat, and the language they'll be using.” + </p> + <p> + “Have you had a cruise in the yacht?” asked the consul quickly. + </p> + <p> + “Ay,” said the father, “we have been up and down the loch, and around the + far point, but not for boardin' or lodgin' the night, nor otherwise + conteenuing or parteecipating. I have explained to Mr. Gray that we must + return to our own home and our own porridge at evening, and he has agreed, + and even come with us. He's a decent enough lad, and not above + instructin', but extraordinar' extravagant.” + </p> + <p> + “Ye know, father,” interposed the young girl, “he talks of fitting up the + yacht for the fishing, and taking some of his most decent men on shares. + He says he was very fond of fishing off the Massachusetts coast, in + America. It will be, I'm thinking,” she said, suddenly turning to the + consul with an almost pathetic appeal in her voice, “a great occupation + for the rich young men over there.” + </p> + <p> + The consul, desperately struggling with a fanciful picture of Mr. Robert + Gray as a herring fisher, thought gravely that it “might be.” But he + thought still more gravely, though silently, of this singular companion + ship, and was somewhat anxious to confront his friend with his new + acquaintances. He had not long to wait. The sun was just dipping behind + the hill when the yacht glided into the lonely loch. A boat was put off, + and in a few moments Robert Gray was climbing the little path from the + loch. + </p> + <p> + Had the consul expected any embarrassment or lover-like consciousness on + the face of Mr. Gray at their unexpected meeting, he would have been + disappointed. Nor was the young man's greeting of father and daughter, + whom he addressed as Mr. and Miss Callender, marked by any tenderness or + hesitation. On the contrary, a certain seriousness and quiet reticence, + unlike Gray, which might have been borrowed from his new friends, + characterized his speech and demeanor. Beyond this freemasonry of sad + repression there was no significance of look or word passed between these + two young people. The girl's voice retained its even pathos. Gray's grave + politeness was equally divided between her and her father. He corroborated + what Callender had said of his previous visits without affectation or + demonstration; he spoke of the possibilities of his fitting up the yacht + for the fishing season with a practical detail and economy that left the + consul's raillery ineffective. Even when, after dinner, the consul + purposely walked out in the garden with the father, Gray and Ailsa + presently followed them without lingering or undue precipitation, and with + no change of voice or manner. The consul was perplexed. Had the girl + already told Gray of her lover across the sea, and was this singular + restraint their joint acceptance of their fate; or was he mistaken in + supposing that their relations were anything more than the simple + friendship of patron and protegee? Gray was rich enough to indulge in such + a fancy, and the father and daughter were too proud to ever allow it to + influence their own independence. In any event the consul's right to + divulge the secret he was accidentally possessed of seemed more + questionable than ever. Nor did there appear to be any opportunity for a + confidential talk with Gray, since it was proposed that the whole party + should return to the yacht for supper, after which the consul should be + dropped at the pier-head, distant only a few minutes from his hotel, and + his horse sent to him the next day. + </p> + <p> + A faint moon was shimmering along the surface of Loch Dour in icy little + ripples when they pulled out from the shadows of the hillside. By the + accident of position, Gray, who was steering, sat beside Ailsa in the + stern, while the consul and Mr. Callender were further forward, although + within hearing. The faces of the young people were turned towards each + other, yet in the cold moonlight the consul fancied they looked as + impassive and unemotional as statues. The few distant, far-spaced lights + that trembled on the fading shore, the lonely glitter of the water, the + blackness of the pine-clad ravines seemed to be a part of this repression, + until the vast melancholy of the lake appeared to meet and overflow them + like an advancing tide. Added to this, there came from time to time the + faint sound and smell of the distant, desolate sea. + </p> + <p> + The consul, struggling manfully to keep up a spasmodic discussion on + Scotch diminutives in names, found himself mechanically saying: + </p> + <p> + “And James you call Jamie?” + </p> + <p> + “Ay; but ye would say, to be pure Scotch, 'Hamish,'” said Mr. Callender + precisely. The girl, however, had not spoken; but Gray turned to her with + something of his old gayety. + </p> + <p> + “And I suppose you would call me 'Robbie'?” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, no!” + </p> + <p> + “What then?” + </p> + <p> + “Robin.” + </p> + <p> + Her voice was low yet distinct, but she had thrown into the two syllables + such infinite tenderness, that the consul was for an instant struck with + an embarrassment akin to that he had felt in the cabin of the Skyscraper, + and half expected the father to utter a shocked protest. And to save what + he thought would be an appalling silence, he said with a quiet laugh:— + </p> + <p> + “That's the fellow who 'made the assembly shine' in the song, isn't it?” + </p> + <p> + “That was Robin Adair,” said Gray quietly; “unfortunately I would only be + 'Robin Gray,' and that's quite another song.” + </p> + <p> + “AULD Robin Gray, sir, deestinctly 'auld' in the song,” interrupted Mr. + Callender with stern precision; “and I'm thinking he was not so very + unfortunate either.” + </p> + <p> + The discussion of Scotch diminutives halting here, the boat sped on + silently to the yacht. But although Robert Gray, as host, recovered some + of his usual lightheartedness, the consul failed to discover anything in + his manner to indicate the lover, nor did Miss Ailsa after her single + lapse of tender accent exhibit the least consciousness. It was true that + their occasional frank allusions to previous conversations seemed to show + that their opportunities had not been restricted, but nothing more. He + began again to think he was mistaken. + </p> + <p> + As he wished to return early, and yet not hasten the Callenders, he + prevailed upon Gray to send him to the pier-head first, and not disturb + the party. As he stepped into the boat, something in the appearance of the + coxswain awoke an old association in his mind. The man at first seemed to + avoid his scrutiny, but when they were well away from the yacht, he said + hesitatingly:— + </p> + <p> + “I see you remember me, sir. But if it's all the same to you, I've got a + good berth here and would like to keep it.” + </p> + <p> + The consul had a flash of memory. It was the boatswain of the Skyscraper, + one of the least objectionable of the crew. “But what are you doing here? + you shipped for the voyage,” he said sharply. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, but I got away at Key West, when I knew what was coming. I wasn't on + her when she was abandoned.” + </p> + <p> + “Abandoned!” repeated the consul. “What the d—-l! Do you mean to say + she was wrecked?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, yes—you know what I mean, sir. It was an understood thing. + She was over-insured and scuttled in the Bahamas. It was a put-up job, and + I reckoned I was well out of it.” + </p> + <p> + “But there was a passenger! What of him?” demanded the consul anxiously. + </p> + <p> + “Dnnno! But I reckon he got away. There wasn't any of the crew lost that I + know of. Let's see, he was an engineer, wasn't he? I reckon he had to take + a hand at the pumps, and his chances with the rest.” + </p> + <p> + “Does Mr. Gray know of this?” asked the consul after a pause. + </p> + <p> + The man stared. + </p> + <p> + “Not from me, sir. You see it was nothin' to him, and I didn't care + talking much about the Skyscraper. It was hushed up in the papers. You + won't go back on me, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “You don't know what became of the passenger?” + </p> + <p> + “No! But he was a Scotchman, and they're bound to fall on their feet + somehow!” + </p> + <p> + III. + </p> + <p> + The December fog that overhung St. Kentigern had thinned sufficiently to + permit the passage of a few large snowflakes, soiled in their descent, + until in color and consistency they spotted the steps of the Consulate and + the umbrellas of the passers-by like sprinklings of gray mortar. + Nevertheless the consul thought the streets preferable to the persistent + gloom of his office, and sallied out. Youthful mercantile St. Kentigern + strode sturdily past him in the lightest covert coats; collegiate St. + Kentigern fluttered by in the scantiest of red gowns, shaming the furs + that defended his more exotic blood; and the bare red feet of a few + factory girls, albeit their heads and shoulders were draped and hooded in + thick shawls, filled him with a keen sense of his effeminacy. Everything + of earth, air, and sky, and even the faces of those he looked upon, seemed + to be set in the hard, patient endurance of the race. Everywhere on that + dismal day, he fancied he could see this energy without restlessness, this + earnestness without geniality, all grimly set against the hard environment + of circumstance and weather. + </p> + <p> + The consul turned into one of the main arteries of St. Kentigern, a wide + street that, however, began and ended inconsequently, and with half a + dozen social phases in as many blocks. Here the snow ceased, the fog + thickened suddenly with the waning day, and the consul found himself + isolated and cut off on a block which he did not remember, with the + clatter of an invisible tramway in his ears. It was a block of small + houses with smaller shop-fronts. The one immediately before him seemed to + be an optician's, but the dimly lighted windows also displayed the + pathetic reinforcement of a few watches, cheap jewelry on cards, and + several cairngorm brooches and pins set in silver. It occurred to him that + he wanted a new watch crystal, and that he would procure it here and + inquire his way. Opening the door he perceived that there was no one in + the shop, but from behind the counter another open door disclosed a neat + sitting-room, so close to the street that it gave the casual customer the + sensation of having intruded upon domestic privacy. The consul's entrance + tinkled a small bell which brought a figure to the door. It was Ailsa + Callender. + </p> + <p> + The consul was startled. He had not seen her since he had brought to their + cottage the news of the shipwreck with a precaution and delicacy that + their calm self-control and patient resignation, however, seemed to make + almost an impertinence. But this was no longer the handsome shop in the + chief thoroughfare with its two shopmen, which he previously knew as + “Callender's.” And Ailsa here! What misfortune had befallen them? + </p> + <p> + Whatever it was, there was no shadow of it in her clear eyes and frank yet + timid recognition of him. Falling in with her stoical and reticent + acceptance of it, he nevertheless gathered that the Callenders had lost + money in some invention which James Gow had taken with him to Rio, but + which was sunk in the ship. With this revelation of a business interest in + what he had believed was only a sentimental relation, the consul ventured + to continue his inquiries. Mr. Gow had escaped with his life and had + reached Honduras, where he expected to try his fortunes anew. It might be + a year or two longer before there were any results. Did the consul know + anything of Honduras? There was coffee there—so she and her father + understood. All this with little hopefulness, no irritation, but a divine + patience in her eyes. The consul, who found that his watch required + extensive repairing, and had suddenly developed an inordinate passion for + cairngorms, watched her as she opened the show-case with no affectation of + unfamiliarity with her occupation, but with all her old serious concern. + Surely she would have made as thorough a shop-girl as she would—His + half-formulated thought took the shape of a question. + </p> + <p> + “Have you seen Mr. Gray since his return from the Mediterranean?” + </p> + <p> + Ah! one of the brooches had slipped from her fingers to the bottom of the + case. There was an interval or two of pathetic murmuring, with her fair + head under the glass, before she could find it; then she lifted her eyes + to the consul. They were still slightly suffused with her sympathetic + concern. The stone, which was set in a thistle—the national emblem—did + he not know it?—had dropped out. But she could put it in. It was + pretty and not expensive. It was marked twelve shillings on the card, but + he could have it for ten shillings. No, she had not seen Mr. Gray since + they had lost their fortune. (It struck the consul as none the less + pathetic that she seemed really to believe in their former opulence.) They + could not be seeing him there in a small shop, and they could not see him + elsewhere. It was far better as it was. Yet she paused a moment when she + had wrapped up the brooch. “You'd be seeing him yourself some time?” she + added gently. + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps.” + </p> + <p> + “Then you'll not mind saying how my father and myself are sometimes + thinking of his goodness and kindness,” she went on, in a voice whose + tenderness seemed to increase with the formal precision of her speech. + </p> + <p> + “Certainly.” + </p> + <p> + “And you'll say we're not forgetting him.” + </p> + <p> + “I promise.” + </p> + <p> + As she handed him the parcel her lips softly parted in what might have + been equally a smile or a sigh. + </p> + <p> + He was able to keep his promise sooner than he had imagined. It was only a + few weeks later that, arriving in London, he found Gray's hatbox and bag + in the vestibule of his club, and that gentleman himself in the + smoking-room. He looked tanned and older. + </p> + <p> + “I only came from Southampton an hour ago, where I left the yacht. And,” + shaking the consul's hand cordially, “how's everything and everybody up at + old St. Kentigern?” + </p> + <p> + The consul thought fit to include his news of the Callenders in reference + to that query, and with his eyes fixed on Gray dwelt at some length on + their change of fortune. Gray took his cigar from his mouth, but did not + lift his eyes from the fire. Presently he said, “I suppose that's why + Callender declined to take the shares I offered him in the fishing scheme. + You know I meant it, and would have done it.” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps he had other reasons.” + </p> + <p> + “What do you mean?” said Gray, facing the consul suddenly. + </p> + <p> + “Look here, Gray,” said the consul, “did Miss Callender or her father ever + tell you she was engaged?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes; but what's that to do with it?” + </p> + <p> + “A good deal. Engagements, you know, are sometimes forced, unsuitable, or + unequal, and are broken by circumstances. Callender is proud.” + </p> + <p> + Gray turned upon the consul the same look of gravity that he had worn on + the yacht—the same look that the consul even fancied he had seen in + Ailsa's eyes. “That's exactly where you're mistaken in her,” he said + slowly. “A girl like that gives her word and keeps it. She waits, hopes, + accepts what may come—breaks her heart, if you will, but not her + word. Come, let's talk of something else. How did he—that man Gow—lose + Callender's money?” + </p> + <p> + The consul did not see the Callenders again on his return, and perhaps did + not think it necessary to report the meeting. But one morning he was + delighted to find an official document from New York upon his desk, asking + him to communicate with David Callender of St. Kentigern, and, on proof of + his identity, giving him authority to draw the sum of five thousand + dollars damages awarded for the loss of certain property on the + Skyscraper, at the request of James Gow. Yet it was with mixed sensations + that the consul sought the little shop of the optician with this + convincing proof of Gow's faithfulness and the indissolubility of Ailsa's + engagement. That there was some sad understanding between the girl and + Gray he did not doubt, and perhaps it was not strange that he felt a + slight partisanship for his friend, whose nature had so strangely changed. + Miss Ailsa was not there. Her father explained that her health had + required a change, and she was visiting some friends on the river. + </p> + <p> + “I'm thinkin' that the atmosphere is not so pure here. It is deficient in + ozone. I noticed it myself in the early morning. No! it was not the + confinement of the shop, for she never cared to go out.” + </p> + <p> + He received the announcement of his good fortune with unshaken calm and + great practical consideration of detail. He would guarantee his identity + to the consul. As for James Gow, it was no more than fair; and what he had + expected of him. As to its being an equivalent of his loss, he could not + tell until the facts were before him. + </p> + <p> + “Miss Ailsa,” suggested the consul venturously, “will be pleased to hear + again from her old friend, and know that he is succeeding.” + </p> + <p> + “I'm not so sure that ye could call it 'succeeding,'” returned the old + man, carefully wiping the glasses of a pair of spectacles that he held + critically to the light, “when ye consider that, saying nothing of the + waste of valuable time, it only puts James Gow back where he was when he + went away.” + </p> + <p> + “But any man who has had the pleasure of knowing Mr. and Miss Callender + would be glad to be on that footing,” said the consul, with polite + significance. + </p> + <p> + “I'm not agreeing with you there,” said Mr. Callender quietly; “and I'm + observing in ye of late a tendency to combine business wi' compleement. + But it was kind of ye to call; and I'll be sending ye the authorization.” + </p> + <p> + Which he did. But the consul, passing through the locality a few weeks + later, was somewhat concerned to find the shop closed, with others on the + same block, behind a hoarding that indicated rebuilding and improvement. + Further inquiry elicited the fact that the small leases had been bought up + by some capitalist, and that Mr. Callender, with the others, had benefited + thereby. But there was no trace nor clew to his present locality. He and + his daughter seemed to have again vanished with this second change in + their fortunes. + </p> + <p> + It was a late March morning when the streets were dumb with snow, and the + air was filled with flying granulations that tinkled against the windows + of the Consulate like fairy sleigh-bells, when there was the stamping of + snow-clogged feet in the outer hall, and the door was opened to Mr. and + Miss Callender. For an instant the consul was startled. The old man + appeared as usual—erect, and as frigidly respectable as one of the + icicles that fringed the window, but Miss Ailsa was, to his astonishment, + brilliant with a new-found color, and sparkling with health and only + half-repressed animation. The snow-flakes, scarcely melting on the brown + head of this true daughter of the North, still crowned her hood; and, as + she threw back her brown cloak and disclosed a plump little scarlet jacket + and brown skirt, the consul could not resist her suggested likeness to + some bright-eyed robin redbreast, to whom the inclement weather had given + a charming audacity. And shy and demure as she still was, it was evident + that some change had been wrought in her other than that evoked by the + stimulus of her native sky and air. + </p> + <p> + To his eager questioning, the old man replied briefly that he had bought + the old cottage at Loch Dour, where they were living, and where he had + erected a small manufactory and laboratory for the making of his + inventions, which had become profitable. The consul reiterated his delight + at meeting them again. + </p> + <p> + “I'm not so sure of that, sir, when you know the business on which I + come,” said Mr. Callender, dropping rigidly into a chair, and clasping his + hands over the crutch of a shepherd-like staff. “Ye mind, perhaps, that ye + conveyed to me, osteensibly at the request of James Gow, a certain sum of + money, for which I gave ye a good and sufficient guarantee. I thought at + the time that it was a most feckless and unbusiness-like proceeding on the + part of James, as it was without corroboration or advice by letter; but I + took the money.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you mean to say that he made no allusion to it in his other letters?” + interrupted the consul, glancing at Ailsa. + </p> + <p> + “There were no other letters at the time,” said Callender dryly. “But + about a month afterwards we DID receive a letter from him enclosing a + draft and a full return of the profits of the invention, which HE HAD SOLD + IN HONDURAS. Ye'll observe the deescrepancy! I then wrote to the bank on + which I had drawn as you authorized me, and I found that they knew nothing + of any damages awarded, but that the sum I had drawn had been placed to my + credit by Mr. Robert Gray.” + </p> + <p> + In a flash the consul recalled the one or two questions that Gray had + asked him, and saw it all. For an instant he felt the whole bitterness of + Gray's misplaced generosity—its exposure and defeat. He glanced + again hopelessly at Ailsa. In the eye of that fresh, glowing, yet demure, + young goddess, unhallowed as the thought might be, there was certainly a + distinctly tremulous wink. + </p> + <p> + The consul took heart. “I believe I need not say, Mr. Callender,” he began + with some stiffness, “that this is as great a surprise to me as to you. I + had no reason to believe the transaction other than bona fide, and acted + accordingly. If my friend, deeply sympathizing with your previous + misfortune, has hit upon a delicate, but unbusiness-like way of assisting + you temporarily—I say TEMPORARILY, because it must have been as + patent to him as to you, that you would eventually find out his generous + deceit—you surely can forgive him for the sake of his kind + intention. Nay, more; may I point out to you that you have no right to + assume that this benefaction was intended exclusively for you; if Mr. + Gray, in his broader sympathy with you and your daughter, has in this way + chosen to assist and strengthen the position of a gentleman so closely + connected with you, but still struggling with hard fortune”— + </p> + <p> + “I'd have ye know, sir,” interrupted the old man, rising to his feet, + “that ma frien' Mr. James Gow is as independent of yours as he is of me + and mine. He has married, sir, a Mrs. Hernandez, the rich widow of a + coffee-planter, and now is the owner of the whole estate, minus the + encumbrance of three children. And now, sir, you'll take this,”—he + drew from his pocket an envelope. “It's a draft for five thousand dollars, + with the ruling rate of interest computed from the day I received it till + this day, and ye'll give it to your frien' when ye see him. And ye'll just + say to him from me”— + </p> + <p> + But Miss Ailsa, with a spirit and independence that challenged her + father's, here suddenly fluttered between them with sparkling eyes and + outstretched hands. + </p> + <p> + “And ye'll say to him from ME that a more honorable, noble, and generous + man, and a kinder, truer, and better friend than he, cannot be found + anywhere! And that the foolishest and most extravagant thing he ever did + is better than the wisest and most prudent thing that anybody else ever + did, could, or would do! And if he was a bit overproud—it was only + because those about him were overproud and foolish. And you'll tell him + that we're wearying for him! And when you give him that daft letter from + father you'll give him this bit line from me,” she went on rapidly as she + laid a tiny note in his hand. “And,” with wicked dancing eyes that seemed + to snap the last bond of repression, “ye'll give him THAT too, and say I + sent it!” + </p> + <p> + There was a stir in the official apartment! The portraits of Lincoln and + Washington rattled uneasily in their frames; but it was no doubt only a + discreet blast of the north wind that drowned the echo of a kiss. + </p> + <p> + “Ailsa!” gasped the shocked Mr. Callender. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! but, father, if it had not been for HIM we would not have known + Robin.” + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + It was the last that the consul saw of Ailsa Callender; for the next + summer when he called at Loch Dour she was Mrs. Gray. + </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> + THE SHERIFF OF SISKYOU. + </h2> + <p> + I. + </p> + <p> + On the fifteenth of August, 1854, what seemed to be the entire population + of Wynyard's Bar was collected upon a little bluff which overlooked the + rude wagon road that was the only approach to the settlement. In general + appearance the men differed but little from ordinary miners, although the + foreign element, shown in certain Spanish peculiarities of dress and + color, predominated, and some of the men were further distinguished by the + delicacy of education and sedentary pursuits. Yet Wynyard's Bar was a city + of refuge, comprised among its inhabitants a number who were “wanted” by + the State authorities, and its actual attitude at that moment was one of + open rebellion against the legal power, and of particular resistance to + the apprehension by warrant of one of its prominent members. This + gentleman, Major Overstone, then astride of a gray mustang, and directing + the movements of the crowd, had, a few days before, killed the sheriff of + Siskyou county, who had attempted to arrest him for the double offense of + misappropriating certain corporate funds of the State and the shooting of + the editor who had imprudently exposed him. The lesser crime of homicide + might have been overlooked by the authorities, but its repetition upon the + body of their own over-zealous and misguided official could not pass + unchallenged if they expected to arrest Overstone for the more serious + offense against property. So it was known that a new sheriff had been + appointed and was coming to Wynyard's Bar with an armed posse. But it was + also understood that this invasion would be resisted by the Bar to its + last man. + </p> + <p> + All eyes were turned upon a fringe of laurel and butternut that encroached + upon the road half a mile away, where it seemed that such of the + inhabitants who were missing from the bluff were hidden to give warning or + retard the approach of the posse. A gray haze, slowly rising between the + fringe and the distant hillside, was recognized as the dust of a cavalcade + passing along the invisible highway. In the hush of expectancy that + followed, the irregular clatter of hoofs, the sharp crack of a rifle, and + a sudden halt were faintly audible. The men, scattered in groups on the + bluff, exchanged a smile of grim satisfaction. + </p> + <p> + Not so their leader! A quick start and an oath attracted attention to him. + To their surprise he was looking in another direction, but as they looked + too they saw and understood the cause. A file of horsemen, hitherto + undetected, were slowly passing along the little ridge on their right. + Their compact accoutrements and the yellow braid on their blue jackets, + distinctly seen at that distance, showed them to be a detachment of United + States cavalry. + </p> + <p> + Before the assemblage could realize this new invasion, a nearer clatter of + hoofs was heard along the high road, and one of the ambuscading party + dashed up from the fringe of woods below. His face was flushed, but + triumphant. + </p> + <p> + “A reg'lar skunk—by the living hokey!” he panted, pointing to the + faint haze that was again slowly rising above the invisible road. “They + backed down as soon as they saw our hand, and got a hole through their new + sheriff's hat. But what are you lookin' at? What's up?” + </p> + <p> + The leader impatiently pointed with a darkening face to the distant file. + </p> + <p> + “Reg'lars, by gum!” ejaculated the other. “But Uncle Sam ain't in this + game. Wot right have THEY”— + </p> + <p> + “Dry up!” said the leader. + </p> + <p> + The detachment was now moving at right angles with the camp, but suddenly + halted, almost doubling upon itself in some evident commotion. A + dismounted figure was seen momentarily flying down the hillside dodging + from bush to bush until lost in the underbrush. A dozen shots were fired + over its head, and then the whole detachment wheeled and came clattering + down the trail in the direction of the camp. A single riderless horse, + evidently that of the fugitive, followed. + </p> + <p> + “Spread yourselves along the ridge, every man of you, and cover them as + they enter the gulch!” shouted the leader. “But not a shot until I give + the word. Scatter!” + </p> + <p> + The assemblage dispersed like a startled village of prairie dogs, + squatting behind every available bush and rock along the line of bluff. + The leader alone trotted quietly to the head of the gulch. + </p> + <p> + The nine cavalrymen came smartly up in twos, a young officer leading. The + single figure of Major Overstone opposed them with a command to halt. + Looking up, the young officer drew rein, said a word to his file leader, + and the four files closed in a compact square motionless on the road. The + young officer's unsworded hand hung quietly at his thigh, the men's + unslung carbines rested easily on their saddles. Yet at that moment every + man of them knew that they were covered by a hundred rifles and shot guns + leveled from every bush, and that they were caught helplessly in a trap. + </p> + <p> + “Since when,” said Major Overstone with an affectation of tone and manner + different from that in which he had addressed his previous companions, + “have the Ninth United States Cavalry helped to serve a State court's + pettifogging process?” + </p> + <p> + “We are hunting a deserter—a half-breed agent—who has just + escaped us,” returned the officer. His voice was boyish—so, too, was + his figure in its slim, cadet-like smartness of belted tunic—but + very quiet and level, although his face was still flushed with the shock + and shame of his surprise. + </p> + <p> + The relaxation of relief went through the wrought and waiting camp. The + soldiers were not seeking THEM. Ready as these desperate men had been to + do their leader's bidding, they were well aware that a momentary victory + over the troopers would not pass unpunished, and meant the ultimate + dispersion of the camp. And quiet as these innocent invaders seemed to be + they would no doubt sell their lives dearly. The embattled desperadoes + glanced anxiously at their leader; the soldiers, on the contrary, looked + straight before them. + </p> + <p> + “Process or no process,” said Major Overstone with a sneer, “you've come + to the last place to recover your deserter. We don't give up men in + Wynyard's Bar. And they didn't teach you at the Academy, sir, to stop to + take prisoners when you were outflanked and outnumbered.” + </p> + <p> + “Bedad! They didn't teach YOU, Captain Overstone, to engage a battery at + Cerro Gordo with a half company, but you did it; more shame to you now, + sorr, commandin' the thayves and ruffians you do.” + </p> + <p> + “Silence!” said the young officer. + </p> + <p> + The sleeve of the sergeant who had spoken—with the chevrons of long + service upon it—went up to a salute, and dropped again over his + carbine as he stared stolidly before him. But his shot had told. A flush + of mingled pride and shame passed over Overstone's face. + </p> + <p> + “Oh! it's YOU, Murphy,” he said with an affected laugh, “and you haven't + improved with your stripes.” + </p> + <p> + The young officer turned his head slightly. + </p> + <p> + “Attention!” + </p> + <p> + “One moment more,” said Overstone coming forward. “I have told you that we + don't give up any man who seeks our protection. But,” he added with a + half-careless, half-contemptuous wave of his hand, and a significant + glance at his followers, “we don't prevent you from seeking him. The road + is clear; the camp is before you.” + </p> + <p> + The young officer continued without looking at him. “Forward—in two + files—open order. Ma-arch!” + </p> + <p> + The little troop moved forward, passed Major Overstone at the head of the + gully, and spread out on the hillside. The assembled camp, still armed, + lounging out of ambush here and there, ironically made way for them to + pass. A few moments of this farcical quest, and a glance at the + impenetrably wooded heights around, apparently satisfied the young + officer, and he turned his files again into the gully. Major Overstone was + still lingering there. + </p> + <p> + “I hope you are satisfied,” he said grimly. He then paused, and in a + changed and more hesitating voice added: “I am an older soldier than you, + sir, but I am always glad to make the acquaintance of West Point.” He + paused and held out his hand. + </p> + <p> + West Point, still red and rigid, glanced at him with bright clear eyes + under light lashes and the peak of a smartly cocked cap, looked coolly at + the proffered hand, raised his own to a stiff salute, said, “Good + afternoon, sir,” and rode away. + </p> + <p> + Major Overstone wheeled angrily, but in doing so came sharply upon his + coadjutor—the leader of the ambushed party. + </p> + <p> + “Well, Dawson,” he said impatiently. “Who was it?” + </p> + <p> + “Only one of them d——d half-breed Injin agents. He's just over + there in the brush with Simpson, lying low till the soldiers clear out.” + </p> + <p> + “Did you talk to him?” + </p> + <p> + “Not much!” returned Dawson scornfully. “He ain't my style.” + </p> + <p> + “Fetch him up to my cabin; he may be of some use to us.” + </p> + <p> + Dawson looked skeptical. “I reckon he ain't no more gain here than he was + over there,” he said, and turned away. + </p> + <p> + II. + </p> + <p> + The cabin of Major Overstone differed outwardly but little from those of + his companions. It was the usual structure of logs, laid lengthwise, and + rudely plastered at each point of contact with adobe, the material from + which the chimney, which entirely occupied one gable, was built. It was + pierced with two windows and a door, roofed with smaller logs, and + thatched with long half cylinders of spruce bark. But the interior gave + certain indications of the distinction as well as the peculiar experiences + of its occupant. In place of the usual bunk or berth built against the + wall stood a small folding camp bedstead, and upon a rude deal table that + held a tin wash-basin and pail lay two ivory-handled brushes, combs, and + other elegant toilet articles, evidently the contents of the major's + dressing-bag. A handsome leather trunk occupied one corner, with a richly + caparisoned silver-mounted Mexican saddle, a mahogany case of dueling + pistols, a leather hat-box, locked and strapped, and a gorgeous gold and + quartz handled ebony “presentation” walking stick. There was a certain + dramatic suggestion in this revelation of the sudden and hurried + transition from a life of ostentatious luxury to one of hidden toil and + privation, and a further significance in the slow and gradual distribution + and degradation of these elegant souvenirs. A pair of silver boot-hooks + had been used for raking the hearth and lifting the coffee kettle; the + ivory of the brushes was stained with coffee; the cut-glass bottles had + lost their stoppers, and had been utilized for vinegar and salt; a + silver-framed hand mirror hung against the blackened wall. For the major's + occupancy was the sequel of a hurried flight from his luxurious hotel at + Sacramento—a transfer that he believed was only temporary until the + affair blew over, and he could return in safety to brow-beat his accusers, + as was his wont. But this had not been so easy as he had imagined; his + prosecutors were bitter, and his enforced seclusion had been prolonged + week by week until the fracas which ended in the shooting of the sheriff + had apparently closed the door upon his return to civilization forever. + Only here was his life and person secure. For Wynyard's Bar had quickly + succumbed to the domination of his reckless courage, and the eminence of + his double crime had made him respected among spendthrifts, gamblers, and + gentlemen whose performances had never risen above a stage-coach robbery + or a single assassination. Even criticism of his faded luxuries had been + delicately withheld. + </p> + <p> + He was leaning over his open trunk—which the camp popularly supposed + to contain State bonds and securities of fabulous amount—and had + taken some letters from it, when a figure darkened the doorway. He looked + up, laying his papers carelessly aside. WITHIN Wynyard's Bar property was + sacred. + </p> + <p> + It was the late fugitive. Although some hours had already elapsed since + his arrival in camp, and he had presumably refreshed himself inwardly, his + outward appearance was still disheveled and dusty. Brier and milkweed + clung to his frayed blouse and trousers. What could be seen of the skin of + his face and hands under its stains and begriming was of a dull yellow. + His light eyes had all the brightness without the restlessness of the + mongrel race. They leisurely took in the whole cabin, the still open trunk + before the major, and then rested deliberately on the major himself. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said Major Overstone abruptly, “what brought you here?” + </p> + <p> + “Same as brought you, I reckon,” responded the man almost as abruptly. + </p> + <p> + The major knew something of the half-breed temper, and neither the retort + nor its tone affected him. + </p> + <p> + “You didn't come here just because you deserted,” said the major coolly. + “You've been up to something else.” + </p> + <p> + “I have,” said the man with equal coolness. + </p> + <p> + “I thought so. Now, you understand you can't try anything of that kind + HERE. If you do, up you go on the first tree. That's Rule 1.” + </p> + <p> + “I see you ain't pertickler about waiting for the sheriff here, you + fellers.” + </p> + <p> + The major glanced at him quickly. He seemed to be quite unconscious of any + irony in his remark, and continued grimly, “And what's Rule 2?” + </p> + <p> + “I reckon you needn't trouble yourself beyond No. 1,” returned the major + with dry significance. Nevertheless, he opened a rude cupboard in the + corner and brought out a rich silver-mounted cut-glass drinking-flask, + which he handed to the stranger. + </p> + <p> + “I say,” said the half-breed, admiringly, “yours?” + </p> + <p> + “Certainly.” + </p> + <p> + “Certainly NOW, but BEFORE, eh?” + </p> + <p> + Rule No. 2 may have indicated that references to the past held no + dishonor. The major, although accustomed to these pleasantries, laughed a + little harshly. + </p> + <p> + “Mine always,” he said. “But you don't drink?” + </p> + <p> + The half-breed's face darkened under its grime. + </p> + <p> + “Wot you're givin' us? I've been filled chock up by Simpson over thar. I + reckon I know when I've got a load on.” + </p> + <p> + “Were you ever in Sacramento?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “When?” + </p> + <p> + “Last week.” + </p> + <p> + “Did you hear anything about me?” + </p> + <p> + The half-breed glanced through his tangled hair at the major in some + wonder, not only at the question, but at the almost childish eagerness + with which it was asked. + </p> + <p> + “I didn't hear much of anything else,” he answered grimly. + </p> + <p> + “And—what did they SAY?” + </p> + <p> + “Said you'd got to be TOOK anyhow! They allowed the new sheriff would do + it too.” + </p> + <p> + The major laughed. “Well, you heard HOW the new sheriff did it—skunked + away with his whole posse before one-eighth of my men! You saw how the + rest of this camp held up your nine troopers, and that sap-headed cub of a + lieutenant—didn't you? You wouldn't have been standing here if you + hadn't. No; there isn't the civil process nor the civil power in all + California that can take me out of this camp.” + </p> + <p> + But neither his previous curiosity nor present bravado seemed to impress + the ragged stranger with much favor. He glanced sulkily around the cabin + and began to shuffle towards the door. + </p> + <p> + “Stop! Where are you going to? Sit down. I want to talk to you.” + </p> + <p> + The fugitive hesitated for a moment, and then dropped ungraciously on the + edge of a camp-stool near the door. The major looked at him. + </p> + <p> + “I may have to remind you that I run this camp, and the boys hereabouts do + pretty much as I say. What's your name?” + </p> + <p> + “Tom.” + </p> + <p> + “Tom? Well, look here, Tom! D—n it all! Can't you see that when a + man is stuck here alone, as I am, he wants to know what's going on + outside, and hear a little fresh talk?” + </p> + <p> + The singular weakness of this blended command and appeal apparently struck + the fugitive curiously. He fixed his lowering eyes on the major as if in + gloomy doubt if he were really the reckless desperado he had been + represented. That this man—twice an assassin and the ruler of + outlaws as reckless as himself—should approach him in this + half-confidential way evidently puzzled him. + </p> + <p> + “Wot you wanter know?” he asked gruffly. + </p> + <p> + “Well, what's my party saying or doing about me?” said the major + impatiently. “What's the 'Express' saying about me?” + </p> + <p> + “I reckon they're throwing off on you all round; they allow you never + represented the party, but worked for yourself,” said the man shortly. + </p> + <p> + Here the major lashed out. A set of traitors and hirelings! He had bought + and paid for them all! He had sunk two thousand dollars in the “Express” + and saved the editor from being horsewhipped and jailed for libel! Half + the cursed bonds that they were making such a blanked fuss about were + handled by these hypocrites—blank them! They were a low-lived crew + of thieves and deserters! It is presumed that the major had forgotten + himself in this infelicitous selection of epithets, but the stranger's + face only relaxed into a grim smile. More than that, the major had + apparently forgotten his desire to hear his guest talk, for he himself at + once launched into an elaborate exposition of his own affairs and a + specious and equally elaborate defense and justification of himself and + denunciation of his accusers. For nearly half an hour he reviewed step by + step and detail by detail the charges against him—with plausible + explanation and sophistical argument, but always with a singular prolixity + and reiteration that spoke of incessant self-consciousness and + self-abstraction. Of that dashing self-sufficiency which had dazzled his + friends and awed his enemies there was no trace! At last, even the set + smile of the degraded recipient of these confidences darkened with a dull, + bewildered disgust. Then, to his relief, a step was heard without. The + major's manner instantly changed. + </p> + <p> + “Well?” he demanded impatiently, as Dawson entered. + </p> + <p> + “I came to know what you want done with HIM,” said Dawson, indicating the + fugitive with a contemptuous finger. + </p> + <p> + “Take him to your cabin!” + </p> + <p> + “My cabin! HIM?” ejaculated Dawson, turning sharply on his chief. + </p> + <p> + The major's light eyes contracted and his thin lips became a straight + line. “I don't think you understand me, Dawson, and another time you'd + better wait until I'm done. I want you to take him to your cabin—and + then CLEAR OUT OF IT YOURSELF. You understand? I want him NEAR ME AND + ALONE!” + </p> + <p> + III. + </p> + <p> + Dawson was not astonished the next morning to see Major Overstone and the + half-breed walking together down the gully road, for he had already come + to the conclusion that the major was planning some extraordinary reprisals + against the invaders, that would ensure the perpetual security of the + camp. That he should use so insignificant and unimportant a tool now + appeared to him to be quite natural, particularly as the service was + probably one in which the man would be sacrificed. “The major,” he + suggested to his companions, “ain't going to risk a white man's skin, when + he can get an Injun's hide handy.” + </p> + <p> + The reluctant hesitating step of the half-breed as they walked along + seemed to give some color to this hypothesis. He listened sullenly to the + major as he pointed out the strategic position of the Bar. “That wagon + road is the only approach to Wynyard's, and a dozen men along the rocks + could hold it against a hundred. The trail that you came by, over the + ridge, drops straight into this gully, and you saw what that would mean to + any blanked fools who might try it. Of course we could be shelled from + that ridge if the sheriff had a howitzer, or the men who knew how to work + one, but even then we could occupy the ridge before them.” He paused a + moment and then added: “I used to be in the army, Tom; I saw service in + Mexico before that cub you got away from had his first trousers. I was + brought up as a gentleman—blank it all—and HERE I am!” + </p> + <p> + The man slouched on by his side, casting his surly, furtive glances from + left to right, as if seeking to escape from these confidences. + Nevertheless, the major kept on through the gully, until reaching the + wagon road they crossed it, and began to ascend the opposite slope, half + hidden by the underbrush and larches. Here the major paused again and + faced about. The cabins of the settlement were already behind the bluff; + the little stream which indicated the “bar”—on which some + perfunctory mining was still continued—now and then rang out quite + clearly at their feet, although the bar itself had disappeared. The sounds + of occupation and labor had at last died away in the distance. They were + quite alone. The major sat down on a boulder, and pointed to another. The + man, however, remained sullenly standing where he was, as if to accent as + strongly as possible the enforced companionship. Either the major was too + self-absorbed to notice it, or accepted it as a satisfactory + characteristic of the half-breed's race. He continued confidently:— + </p> + <p> + “Now look here, Tom. I want to leave this cursed hole, and get clear out + of the State! Anywhere; over the Oregon line into British Columbia, or to + the coast, where I can get a coasting vessel down to Mexico. It will cost + money, but I've got it. It will cost a lot of risks, but I'll take them. I + want somebody to help me, some one to share risks with me, and some one to + share my luck if I succeed. Help to put me on the other side of the border + line, by sea or land, and I'll give you a thousand dollars down BEFORE WE + START and a thousand dollars when I'm safe.” + </p> + <p> + The half-breed had changed his slouching attitude. It seemed more indolent + on account of the loosely hanging strap that had once held his haversack, + which was still worn in a slovenly fashion over his shoulder as a kind of + lazy sling for his shiftless hand. + </p> + <p> + “Well, Tom, is it a go? You can trust ME, for you'll have the thousand in + your pocket before you start. I can trust YOU, for I'll kill you quicker + than lightning if you say a word of this to any one before I go, or play a + single trick on me afterwards.” + </p> + <p> + Suddenly the two men were rolling over and over in the underbrush. The + half-breed had thrown himself upon the major, bearing him down to the + ground. The haversack strap for an instant whirled like the loop of a + lasso in the air, and descended over the major's shoulders, pinioning his + arms to his side. Then the half-breed, tearing open his ragged blouse, + stripped off his waist-belt, and as dexterously slipped it over the ankles + of the struggling man. + </p> + <p> + It was all over in a moment. Neither had spoken a word. Only their rapid + panting broke the profound silence. Each probably knew that no outcry + would be overheard. + </p> + <p> + For the first time the half-breed sat down. But there was no trace of + triumph or satisfaction in his face, which wore the same lowering look of + disgust, as he gazed upon the prostrate man. + </p> + <p> + “I want to tell you first,” he said, slowly wiping his face, “that I + didn't kalkilate upon doin' this in this yer kind o' way. I expected more + of a stan' up fight from you—more risk in gettin' you out o' that + hole—and a different kind of a man to tackle. I never expected you + to play into my hand like this—and it goes against me to hev to take + advantage of it.” + </p> + <p> + “Who are you?” said the major, pantingly. + </p> + <p> + “I'm the new sheriff of Siskyou!” + </p> + <p> + He drew from beneath his begrimed shirt a paper wrapping, from which he + gingerly extracted with the ends of his dirty fingers a clean, + legal-looking folded paper. + </p> + <p> + “That's my warrant! I've kept it fresh for you. I reckon you don't care to + read it—you've seen it afore. It's just the same as t'other sheriff + had—what you shot.” + </p> + <p> + “Then this was a plant of yours, and that whelp's troopers?” said the + major. + </p> + <p> + “Neither him nor the sojers knows any more about it than you,” returned + the sheriff slowly. “I enlisted as Injin guide or scout ten days ago. I + deserted just as reg'lar and nat'ral like when we passed that ridge + yesterday. I could be took to-morrow by the sojers if they caught sight o' + me and court-martialed—it's as reg'lar as THAT! But I timed to have + my posse, under a deputy, draw you off by an attack just as the escort + reached the ridge. And here I am.” + </p> + <p> + “And you're no half-breed?” + </p> + <p> + “There's nothin' Injin about me that water won't wash off. I kalkilated + you wouldn't suspect anything so insignificant as an INJIN, when I fixed + myself up. You saw Dawson didn't hanker after me much. But I didn't reckon + on YOUR tumbling to me so quick. That's what gets me! You must hev been + pretty low down for kempany when you took a man like me inter your + confidence. I don't see it yet.” + </p> + <p> + He looked inquiringly at his captive—with the same wondering + surliness. Nor could he understand another thing which was evident. After + the first shock of resistance the major had exhibited none of the + indignation of a betrayed man, but actually seemed to accept the situation + with a calmness that his captor lacked. His voice was quite unemotional as + he said: + </p> + <p> + “And how are you going to get me away from here?” + </p> + <p> + “That's MY look out, and needn't trouble you, major; but, seein' as how + confidential you've been to me, I don't mind tellin' you. Last night that + posse of mine that you 'skunked,' you know, halted at the cross roads till + them sojers went by. They has only to SEE THEM to know that I had got + away. They'll hang round the cross roads till they see my signal on top of + the ridge, and then they'll make another show against that pass. Your men + will have their hands full, I reckon, without huntin' for YOU, or noticin' + the three men o' mine that will come along this ridge where the sojers + come yesterday—to help me get you down in the same way. You see, + major, your little trap in that gully ain't in this fight—WE'RE THE + OTHER SIDE OF IT. I ain't much of a sojer, but I reckon I've got you + there! And it's all owing to YOU. I ain't,” he added gloomily, “takin' + much pride in it MYSELF.” + </p> + <p> + “I shouldn't think you would,” said the major, “and look here! I'll double + that offer I made you just now. Set me down just as I am on the deck of + some coasting vessel, and I'll pay you four thousand dollars. You may have + all the glory of having captured me, HERE, and of making your word good + before your posse. But you can arrange afterwards on the way to let me + give you the slip somewhere near Sacramento.” + </p> + <p> + The sheriff's face actually brightened. “Thanks for that, major. I was + gettin' a little sick of my share in this job, but, by God, you've put + some sand in me. Well, then! there ain't gold enough in all Californy to + make me let you go. You hear me; so drop that. I've TOOK you, and TOOK + ye'll remain until I land you in Sacramento jail. I don't want to kill + you, though your life's forfeit a dozen times over, and I reckon you don't + care for it either way, but if you try any tricks on me I may have to MAIM + ye to make you come along comf'able and easy. I ain't hankerin' arter THAT + either, but come you shall!” + </p> + <p> + “Give your signal and have an end of this,” said the major curtly. + </p> + <p> + The sheriff looked at him again curiously. “I never had my hands in + another man's pockets before, major, but I reckon I'll have to take your + derringers from yours.” He slipped his hand into the major's waistcoat and + secured the weapons. “I'll have to trouble you for your sash, too,” he + said, unwinding the knitted silken girdle from the captive's waist. “You + won't want it, for you ain't walking, and it'll come in handy to me just + now.” + </p> + <p> + He bent over, and, passing it across the major's breast with more + gentleness and solicitude than he had yet shown, secured him in an easy + sitting posture against the tree. Then, after carefully trying the knots + and straps that held his prisoner, he turned and lightly bounded up the + hill. + </p> + <p> + He was absent scarcely ten minutes, yet when he returned the major's eyes + were half closed. But not his lips. “If you expect to hold me until your + posse comes you had better take me to some less exposed position,” he said + dryly. “There's a man just crossed the gully, coming into the brush below + in the wood.” + </p> + <p> + “None of your tricks, major!” + </p> + <p> + “Look for yourself.” + </p> + <p> + The sheriff glanced quickly below him. A man with an axe on his shoulder + could be seen plainly making his way through the underbrush not a hundred + yards away. The sheriff instantly clapped his hand upon his captive's + mouth, but at a look from his eyes took it away again. + </p> + <p> + “I see,” he said grimly, “you don't want to lure that man within reach of + my revolver by calling to him.” + </p> + <p> + “I could have called him while you were away,” returned the major quietly. + </p> + <p> + The sheriff with a darkened face loosened the sash that bound his prisoner + to the tree, and then, lifting him in his arms, began to ascend the hill + cautiously, dipping into the heavier shadows. But the ascent was + difficult, the load a heavy one, and the sheriff was agile rather than + muscular. After a few minutes' climbing he was forced to pause and rest + his burden at the foot of a tree. But the valley and the man in the + underbrush were no longer in view. + </p> + <p> + “Come,” said the major quietly, “unstrap my ankles and I'll WALK up. We'll + never get there at this rate.” + </p> + <p> + The sheriff paused, wiped his grimy face with his grimier blouse, and + stood looking at his prisoner. Then he said slowly:— + </p> + <p> + “Look yer! Wot's your little game? Blessed if I kin follow suit.” + </p> + <p> + For the first time the major burst into a rage. “Blast it all! Don't you + see that if I'm discovered HERE, in this way, there's not a man on the Bar + who would believe that I walked into your trap, not a man, by God, who + wouldn't think it was a trick of yours and mine together?” + </p> + <p> + “Or,” interrupted the sheriff slowly, fixing his eyes on his prisoner, + “not a man who would ever trust Major Overstone for a leader again?” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps,” said the major, unmovedly again, “I don't think EITHER OF US + would ever get a chance of being trusted again by any one.” + </p> + <p> + The sheriff still kept his eyes fixed on his prisoner, his gloomy face + growing darker under its grime. “THAT ain't the reason, major. Life and + death don't mean much more to you than they do to me in this yer game. I + know that you'd kill me quicker nor lightning if you got the chance; YOU + know that I'm takin' you to the gallows.” + </p> + <p> + “The reason is that I want to leave Wynyard's Bar,” said the major coolly; + “and even this way out of it will suit me.” + </p> + <p> + The sheriff took his revolver from his pocket and deliberately cocked it. + Then, leaning down, he unbuckled the strap from the major's ankles. A wild + hope that his incomprehensible captive might seize that moment to develop + his real intent—that he might fly, fight, or in some way act up to + his reckless reputation—sustained him for a moment, but in the next + proved futile. The major only said, “Thank you, Tom,” and stretched his + cramped legs. + </p> + <p> + “Get up and go on,” said the sheriff roughly. + </p> + <p> + The major began to slowly ascend the hill, the sheriff close on his heels, + alert, tingling, and watchful of every movement. For a few moments this + strain upon his faculties seemed to invigorate him, and his gloom relaxed, + but presently it became too evident that the prisoner's pinioned arms made + it impossible for him to balance or help himself on that steep trail, and + once or twice he stumbled and reeled dangerously to one side. With an oath + the sheriff caught him, and tore from his arms the only remaining bonds + that fettered him. “There!” he said savagely; “go on; we're equal!” + </p> + <p> + Without replying, the major continued his ascent; it became steeper as + they neared the crest, and at last they were both obliged to drag + themselves up by clutching the vines and underbrush. Suddenly the major + stopped with a listening gesture. A strange roaring—as of wind or + water—was distinctly audible. + </p> + <p> + “How did you signal?” asked the major abruptly. + </p> + <p> + “Made a smoke,” said the sheriff as abruptly. + </p> + <p> + “I thought so—well! you've set the woods on fire.” + </p> + <p> + They both plunged upwards again, now quite abreast, vying with each other + to reach the summit as if with the one thought only. Already the sting and + smart of acrid fumes were in their eyes and nostrils; when they at last + stood on level ground again, it was hidden by a thin film of grayish blue + haze that seemed to be creeping along it. But above was the clear sky, + seen through the interlacing boughs, and to their surprise—they who + had just come from the breathless, stagnant hillside—a fierce wind + was blowing! But the roaring was louder than before. + </p> + <p> + “Unless your three men are already here, your game is up,” said the major + calmly. “The wind blows dead along the ridge where they should come, and + they can't get through the smoke and fire.” + </p> + <p> + It was indeed true! In the scarce twenty minutes that had elapsed since + the sheriff's return the dry and brittle underbrush for half a mile on + either side had been converted into a sheet of flame, which at times rose + to a furnace blast through the tall chimney-like conductors of tree + shafts, from whose shriveled sides bark was crackling, and lighted dead + limbs falling in all directions. The whole valley, the gully, the Bar, the + very hillside they had just left, were blotted out by a creeping, stifling + smoke-fog that scarcely rose breast high, but was beaten down or cut off + cleanly by the violent wind that swept the higher level of the forest. At + times this gale became a sirocco in temperature, concentrating its heat in + withering blasts which they could not face, or focusing its intensity upon + some mass of foliage that seemed to shrink at its touch and open a scathed + and quivering aisle to its approach. The enormous skeleton of a dead and + rotten redwood, not a hundred yards to their right, broke suddenly like a + gigantic firework into sparks and flame. + </p> + <p> + The sheriff had grasped the full meaning of their situation. In spite of + his first error—the very carelessness of familiarity—his + knowledge of woodcraft was greater than his companion's, and he saw their + danger. “Come,” he said quickly, “we must make for an opening or we shall + be caught.” + </p> + <p> + The major smiled in misapprehension. + </p> + <p> + “Who could catch us here?” + </p> + <p> + The sheriff pointed to the blazing tree. + </p> + <p> + “THAT,” he said. “In five minutes IT will have a posse that will wipe us + both out.” + </p> + <p> + He caught the major by the arm and rushed him into the smoke, apparently + in the direction of the greatest mass of flame. The heat was suffocating, + but it struck the major that the more they approached the actual scene of + conflagration the heat and smoke became less, until he saw that the fire + was retreating before them and the following wind. In a few moments their + haven of safety—the expanse already burnt over—came in sight. + Here and there, seen dimly through the drifting smoke, the scattered + embers that still strewed the forest floor glowed in weird nebulous spots + like will-o'-the-wisps. For an instant the major hesitated; the sheriff + cast a significant glance behind them. + </p> + <p> + “Go on; it's our only chance,” he said imperatively. + </p> + <p> + They darted on, skimming the blackened or smouldering surface, which at + times struck out sparks and flame from their heavier footprints as they + passed. Their boots crackled and scorched beneath them; their shreds of + clothing were on fire; their breathing became more difficult, until, + providentially, they fell upon an abrupt, fissure-like depression of the + soil, which the fire had leaped, and into which they blindly plunged and + rolled together. A moment of relief and coolness followed, as they crept + along the fissure, filled with damp and rotting leaves. + </p> + <p> + “Why not stay here?” said the exhausted prisoner. + </p> + <p> + “And be roasted like sweet potatoes when these trees catch,” returned the + sheriff grimly. “No.” Even as he spoke, a dropping rain of fire spattered + through the leaves from a splintered redwood, before overlooked, that was + now blazing fiercely in the upper wind. A vague and indefinable terror was + in the air. The conflagration no longer seemed to obey any rule of + direction. The incendiary torch had passed invisibly everywhere. They + scrambled out of the hollow, and again dashed desperately forward. + </p> + <p> + Beaten, bruised, blackened, and smoke-grimed—looking less human than + the animals who had long since deserted the crest—they at last + limped into a “wind opening” in the woods that the fire had skirted. The + major sank exhaustedly to the ground; the sheriff threw himself beside + him. Their strange relations to each other seemed to have been forgotten; + they looked and acted as if they no longer thought of anything beyond the + present. And when the sheriff finally arose and, disappearing for several + minutes, brought his hat full of water for his prisoner from a distant + spring that they had passed in their flight, he found him where he had + left him—unchanged and unmoved. + </p> + <p> + He took the water gratefully, and after a pause fixed his eyes earnestly + upon his captor. “I want you to do a favor to me,” he said slowly. “I'm + not going to offer you a bribe to do it either, nor ask you anything that + isn't in a line with your duty. I think I understand you now, if I didn't + before. Do you know Briggs's restaurant in Sacramento?” + </p> + <p> + The sheriff nodded. + </p> + <p> + “Well! over the restaurant are my private rooms, the finest in Sacramento. + Nobody knows it but Briggs, and he has never told. They've been locked + ever since I left; I've got the key still in my pocket. Now when we get to + Sacramento, instead of taking me straight to jail, I want you to hold me + THERE as your prisoner for a day and a night. I don't want to get away; + you can take what precautions you like—surround the house with + policemen, and sleep yourself in the ante-room. I don't want to destroy + any papers or evidence; you can go through the rooms and examine + everything before and after; I only want to stay there a day and a night; + I want to be in my old rooms, have my meals from the restaurant as I used + to, and sleep in my own bed once more. I want to live for one day like a + gentleman, as I used to live before I came here. That's all! It isn't + much, Tom. You can do it and say you require to do it to get evidence + against me, or that you want to search the rooms.” + </p> + <p> + The expression of wonder which had come into the sheriff's face at the + beginning of this speech deepened into his old look of surly + dissatisfaction. “And that's all ye want?” he said gloomily. “Ye don't + want no friends—no lawyer? For I tell you, straight out, major, + there ain't no hope for ye, when the law once gets hold of ye in + Sacramento.” + </p> + <p> + “That's all. Will you do it?” + </p> + <p> + The sheriff's face grew still darker. After a pause he said: “I don't say + 'no,' and I don't say 'yes.' But,” he added grimly, “it strikes me we'd + better wait till we get clear o' these woods afore you think o' your + Sacramento lodgings.” + </p> + <p> + The major did not reply. The day had worn on, but the fire, now completely + encircling them, opposed any passage in or out of that fateful barrier. + The smoke of the burning underbrush hung low around them in a bank equally + impenetrable to vision. They were as alone as shipwrecked sailors on an + island, girded by a horizon of clouds. + </p> + <p> + “I'm going to try to sleep,” said the major; “if your men come you can + waken me.” + </p> + <p> + “And if YOUR men come?” said the sheriff dryly. + </p> + <p> + “Shoot me.” + </p> + <p> + He lay down, closed his eyes, and to the sheriff's astonishment presently + fell asleep. The sheriff, with his chin in his grimy hands, sat and + watched him as the day slowly darkened around them and the distant fires + came out in more lurid intensity. The face of the captive and outlawed + murderer was singularly peaceful; that of the captor and man of duty was + haggard, wild, and perplexed. + </p> + <p> + But even this changed soon. The sleeping man stirred restlessly and + uneasily; his face began to work, his lips to move. “Tom,” he gasped + suddenly, “Tom!” + </p> + <p> + The sheriff bent over him eagerly. The sleeping man's eyes were still + closed; beads of sweat stood upon his forehead. He was dreaming. + </p> + <p> + “Tom,” he whispered, “take me out of this place—take me out from + these dogs and pimps and beggars! Listen, Tom!—they're Sydney ducks, + ticket-of-leave men, short card sharps, and sneak thieves! There isn't a + gentleman among 'em! There isn't one I don't loathe and hate—and + would grind under my heel, elsewhere. I'm a gentleman, Tom—yes, by + God—an officer and a gentleman! I've served my country in the 9th + Cavalry. That cub of West Point knows it and despises me, seeing me here + in such company. That sergeant knows it—I recommended him for his + first stripes for all he taunts me,—d—n him!” + </p> + <p> + “Come, wake up!” said the sheriff harshly. + </p> + <p> + The prisoner did not heed him; the sheriff shook him roughly, so roughly + that the major's waistcoat and shirt dragged open, disclosing his fine + silk undershirt, delicately worked and embroidered with golden thread. At + the sight of this abased and faded magnificence the sheriff's hand was + stayed; his eye wandered over the sleeping form before him. Yes, the hair + was dyed too; near the roots it was quite white and grizzled; the pomatum + was coming off the pointed moustache and imperial; the face in the light + was very haggard; the lines from the angles of the nostril and mouth were + like deep, half-healed gashes. The major was, without doubt, prematurely + worn and played out. + </p> + <p> + The sheriff's persistent eyes, however, seemed to effect what his ruder + hand could not. The sleeping man stirred, awoke to full consciousness, and + sat up. + </p> + <p> + “Are they here? I'm ready,” he said calmly. + </p> + <p> + “No,” said the sheriff deliberately; “I only woke ye to say that I've been + thinkin' over what ye asked me, and if we get to Sacramento all right, + why, I'll do it and give ye that day and night at your old lodgings.” + </p> + <p> + “Thank you.” + </p> + <p> + The major reached out his hand; the sheriff hesitated, and then extended + his own. The hands of the two men clasped for the first, and it would + seem, the last time. + </p> + <p> + For the “cub of West Point” was, like most cubs, irritable when thwarted. + And having been balked of his prey, the deserter, and possibly chaffed by + his comrades for his profitless invasion of Wynyard's Bar, he had + persuaded his commanding officer to give him permission to effect a + recapture. Thus it came about that at dawn, filing along the ridge, on the + outskirts of the fire, his heart was gladdened by the sight of the + half-breed—with his hanging haversack belt and tattered army tunic—evidently + still a fugitive, not a hundred yards away on the other side of the belt + of fire, running down the hill with another ragged figure at his side. The + command to “halt” was enforced by a single rifle shot over the fugitives' + heads—but they still kept on their flight. Then the boy-officer + snatched a carbine from one of his men, a volley rang out from the little + troop—the shots of the privates mercifully high, those of the + officer and sergeant leveled with wounded pride and full of deliberate + purpose. The half-breed fell; so did his companion, and, rolling over + together, both lay still. + </p> + <p> + But between the hunters and their fallen quarry reared a cheval de frise + of flame and fallen timber impossible to cross. The young officer + hesitated, shrugged his shoulders, wheeled his men about, and left the + fire to correct any irregularity in his action. + </p> + <p> + It did not, however, change contemporaneous history, for a week later, + when Wynyard's Bar discovered Major Overstone lying beside the man now + recognized by them as the disguised sheriff of Siskyou, they rejoiced at + this unfailing evidence of their lost leader's unequaled prowess. That he + had again killed a sheriff and fought a whole posse, yielding only with + his life, was never once doubted, and kept his memory green in Sierran + chronicles long after Wynyard's Bar had itself become a memory. + </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> + A ROSE OF GLENBOGIE. + </h2> + <p> + The American consul at St. Kentigern stepped gloomily from the train at + Whistlecrankie station. For the last twenty minutes his spirits had been + slowly sinking before the drifting procession past the carriage windows of + dull gray and brown hills—mammiform in shape, but so cold and + sterile in expression that the swathes of yellow mist which lay in their + hollows, like soiled guipure, seemed a gratuitous affectation of modesty. + And when the train moved away, mingling its escaping steam with the slower + mists of the mountain, he found himself alone on the platform—the + only passenger and apparently the sole occupant of the station. He was + gazing disconsolately at his trunk, which had taken upon itself a human + loneliness in the emptiness of the place, when a railway porter stepped + out of the solitary signal-box, where he had evidently been performing a + double function, and lounged with exasperating deliberation towards him. + He was a hard-featured man, with a thin fringe of yellow-gray whiskers + that met under his chin like dirty strings to tie his cap on with. + </p> + <p> + “Ye'll be goin' to Glenbogie House, I'm thinkin'?” he said moodily. + </p> + <p> + The consul said that he was. + </p> + <p> + “I kenned it. Ye'll no be gettin' any machine to tak' ye there. They'll be + sending a carriage for ye—if ye're EXPECTED.” He glanced half + doubtfully at the consul as if he was not quite so sure of it. + </p> + <p> + But the consul believed he WAS expected, and felt relieved at the certain + prospect of a conveyance. The porter meanwhile surveyed him moodily. + </p> + <p> + “Ye'll be seein' Mistress MacSpadden there!” + </p> + <p> + The consul was surprised into a little over-consciousness. Mrs. MacSpadden + was a vivacious acquaintance at St. Kentigern, whom he certainly—and + not without some satisfaction—expected to meet at Glenbogie House. + He raised his eyes inquiringly to the porter's. + </p> + <p> + “Ye'll no be rememberin' me. I had a machine in St. Kentigern and drove ye + to MacSpadden's ferry often. Far, far too often! She's a strange + flagrantitious creature; her husband's but a puir fule, I'm thinkin', and + ye did yersel' nae guid gaunin' there.” + </p> + <p> + It was a besetting weakness of the consul's that his sense of the + ludicrous was too often reached before his more serious perceptions. The + absurd combination of the bleak, inhospitable desolation before him, and + the sepulchral complacency of his self-elected monitor, quite upset his + gravity. + </p> + <p> + “Ay, ye'll be laughin' THE NOO,” returned the porter with gloomy + significance. + </p> + <p> + The consul wiped his eyes. “Still,” he said demurely, “I trust you won't + object to my giving you sixpence to carry my box to the carriage when it + comes, and let the morality of this transaction devolve entirely upon me. + Unless,” he continued, even more gravely, as a spick and span brougham, + drawn by two thoroughbreds, dashed out of the mist up to the platform, + “unless you prefer to state the case to those two gentlemen”—pointing + to the smart coachman and footman on the box—“and take THEIR opinion + as to the propriety of my proceeding any further. It seems to me that + their consciences ought to be consulted as well as yours. I'm only a + stranger here, and am willing to do anything to conform to the local + custom.” + </p> + <p> + “It's a saxpence ye'll be payin' anyway,” said the porter, grimly + shouldering the trunk, “but I'll be no takin' any other mon's opinion on + matters of my am dooty and conscience.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah,” said the consul gravely, “then you'll perhaps be allowing ME the + same privilege.” + </p> + <p> + The porter's face relaxed, and a gleam of approval—purely + intellectual, however,—came into his eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Ye were always a smooth deevel wi' your tongue, Mr. Consul,” he said, + shouldering the box and walking off to the carriage. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, as soon as he was fairly seated and rattling away from the + station, the consul had a flashing conviction that he had not only been + grievously insulted but also that he had allowed the wife of an + acquaintance to be spoken of disrespectfully in his presence. And he had + done nothing! Yes—it was like him!—he had LAUGHED at the + absurdity of the impertinence without resenting it! Another man would have + slapped the porter's face! For an instant he hung out of the carriage + window, intent upon ordering the coachman to drive back to the station, + but the reflection—again a ludicrous one—that he would now be + only bringing witnesses to a scene which might provoke a scandal more + invidious to his acquaintance, checked him in time. But his spirits, + momentarily diverted by the porter's effrontery, sunk to a lower ebb than + before. + </p> + <p> + The clattering of his horses' hoofs echoed back from the rocky walls that + occasionally hemmed in the road was not enlivening, but was less + depressing than the recurring monotony of the open. The scenery did not + suggest wildness to his alien eyes so much as it affected him with a vague + sense of scorbutic impoverishment. It was not the loneliness of + unfrequented nature, for there was a well-kept carriage road traversing + its dreariness; and even when the hillside was clothed with scanty + verdure, there were “outcrops” of smooth glistening weather-worn rocks + showing like bare brown knees under the all too imperfectly kilted slopes. + And at a little distance, lifting above a black drift of firs, were the + square rigid sky lines of Glenbogie House, standing starkly against the + cold, lingering northern twilight. As the vehicle turned, and rolled + between two square stone gate-posts, the long avenue before him, though as + well kept as the road, was but a slight improvement upon the outer + sterility, and the dark iron-gray rectangular mansion beyond, guiltless of + external decoration, even to the outlines of its small lustreless windows, + opposed the grim inhospitable prospect with an equally grim inhospitable + front. There were a few moments more of rapid driving, a swift swishing + over soft gravel, the opening of a heavy door into a narrow vestibule, and + then—a sudden sense of exquisitely diffused light and warmth from an + arched and galleried central hall, the sounds of light laughter and + subdued voices half lost in the airy space between the lofty pictured + walls; the luxury of color in trophies, armor, and hangings; one or two + careless groups before the recessed hearth or at the centre table, and the + halted figure of a pretty woman on the broad, slow staircase. The contrast + was sharp, ironical, and bewildering. + </p> + <p> + So much so that the consul, when he had followed the servant to his room, + was impelled to draw aside the heavy window-curtains and look out again + upon the bleak prospect it had half obliterated. The wing in which he was + placed overhung a dark ravine or gully choked with shrubs and brambles + that grew in a new luxuriance. As he gazed a large black bird floated + upwards slowly from its depths, circled around the house with a few quick + strokes of its wing, and then sped away—a black bolt—in one + straight undeviating line towards the paling north. He still gazed into + the abyss—half expecting another, even fancying he heard the + occasional stir and flutter of obscure life below, and the melancholy call + of nightfowl. A long-forgotten fragment of old English verse began to + haunt him— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Hark! the raven flaps hys wing + In the briered dell belowe, + Hark! the dethe owl loude doth synge + To the night maers as thaie goe. +</pre> + <p> + “Now, what put that stuff in my head?” he said as he turned impatiently + from the window. “And why does this house, with all its interior luxury, + hypocritically oppose such a forbidding front to its neighbors?” Then it + occurred to him that perhaps the architect instinctively felt that a more + opulent and elaborate exterior would only bring the poverty of surrounding + nature into greater relief. But he was not in the habit of troubling + himself with abstruse problems. A nearer recollection of the pretty frock + he had seen on the staircase—in whose wearer he had just recognized + his vivacious friend—turned his thoughts to her. He remembered how + at their first meeting he had been interested in her bright audacity, + unconventionality, and high spirits, which did not, however, amuse him as + greatly as his later suspicion that she was playing a self-elected role, + often with difficulty, opposition, and feverishness, rather than + spontaneity. He remembered how he had watched her in the obtrusive + assumption of a new fashion, in some reckless departure from an old one, + or in some ostentatious disregard of certain hard and set rules of St. + Kentigern; but that it never seemed to him that she was the happier for + it. He even fancied that her mirth at such times had an undue nervousness; + that her pluck—which was undoubted—had something of the + defiance of despair, and that her persistence often had the grimness of + duty rather than the thoughtlessness of pure amusement. What was she + trying to do?—what was she trying to UNDO or forget? Her married + life was apparently happy and even congenial. Her young husband was + clever, complaisant, yet honestly devoted to her, even to the extension of + a certain camaraderie to her admirers and a chivalrous protection by + half-participation in her maddest freaks. Nor could he honestly say that + her attitude towards his own sex—although marked by a freedom that + often reached the verge of indiscretion—conveyed the least + suggestion of passion or sentiment. The consul, more perceptive than + analytical, found her a puzzle—who was, perhaps, the least + mystifying to others who were content to sum up her eccentricities under + the single vague epithet, “fast.” Most women disliked her: she had a few + associates among them, but no confidante, and even these were so unlike + her, again, as to puzzle him still more. And yet he believed himself + strictly impartial. + </p> + <p> + He walked to the window again, and looked down upon the ravine from which + the darkness now seemed to be slowly welling up and obliterating the + landscape, and then, taking a book from his valise, settled himself in the + easy-chair by the fire. He was in no hurry to join the party below, whom + he had duly recognized and greeted as he passed through. They or their + prototypes were familiar friends. There was the recently created baronet, + whose “bloody hand” had apparently wiped out the stains of his earlier + Radicalism, and whose former provincial self-righteousness had been + supplanted by an equally provincial skepticism; there was his wife, who + through all the difficulties of her changed position had kept the stalwart + virtues of the Scotch bourgeoisie, and was—“decent”; there were the + two native lairds that reminded him of “parts of speech,” one being + distinctly alluded to as a definite article, and the other being “of” + something, and apparently governed always by that possessive case. There + were two or three “workers”—men of power and ability in their + several vocations; indeed, there was the general over-proportion of + intellect, characteristic of such Scotch gatherings, and often in excess + of minor social qualities. There was the usual foreigner, with Latin + quickness, eagerness, and misapprehending adaptability. And there was the + solitary Englishman—perhaps less generously equipped than the others—whom + everybody differed from, ridiculed, and then looked up to and imitated. + There were the half-dozen smartly frocked women, who, far from being the + females of the foregoing species, were quite indistinctive, with the + single exception of an American wife, who was infinitely more Scotch than + her Scotch husband. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly he became aware of a faint rustling at his door, and what seemed + to be a slight tap on the panel. He rose and opened it—the long + passage was dark and apparently empty, but he fancied he could detect the + quick swish of a skirt in the distance. As he re-entered his room, his eye + fell for the first time on a rose whose stalk was thrust through the + keyhole of his door. The consul smiled at this amiable solution of a + mystery. It was undoubtedly the playful mischievousness of the vivacious + MacSpadden. He placed it in water—intending to wear it in his coat + at dinner as a gentle recognition of the fair donor's courtesy. + </p> + <p> + Night had thickened suddenly as from a passing cloud. He lit the two + candles on his dressing-table, gave a glance into the now scarcely + distinguishable abyss below his window, as he drew the curtains, and by + the more diffused light for the first time surveyed his room critically. + It was a larger apartment than that usually set aside for bachelors; the + heavy four-poster had a conjugal reserve about it, and a tall cheval glass + and certain minor details of the furniture suggested that it had been used + for a married couple. He knew that the guest-rooms in country houses, as + in hotels, carried no suggestion or flavor of the last tenant, and + therefore lacked color and originality, and he was consequently surprised + to find himself impressed with some distinctly novel atmosphere. He was + puzzling himself to discover what it might be, when he again became aware + of cautious footsteps apparently halting outside his door. This time he + was prepared. With a half smile he stepped softly to the door and opened + it suddenly. To his intense surprise he was face to face with a man. + </p> + <p> + But his discomfiture was as nothing compared to that of the stranger—whom + he at once recognized as one of his fellow-guests—the youthful Laird + of Whistlecrankie. The young fellow's healthy color at once paled, then + flushed a deep crimson, and a forced smile stiffened his mouth. + </p> + <p> + “I—beg your par-r-rdon,” he said with a nervous brusqueness that + brought out his accent. “I couldna find ma room. It'll be changed, and I—” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps I have got it,” interrupted the consul smilingly. “I've only just + come, and they've put me in here.” + </p> + <p> + “Nae! Nae!” said the young man hurriedly, “it's no' thiss. That is, it's + no' mine noo.” + </p> + <p> + “Won't you come in?” suggested the consul politely, holding open the door. + </p> + <p> + The young man entered the room with the quick strides but the mechanical + purposelessness of embarrassment. Then he stiffened and stood erect. Yet + in spite of all this he was strikingly picturesque and unconventional in + his Highland dress, worn with the freedom of long custom and a certain + lithe, barbaric grace. As the consul continued to gaze at him + encouragingly, the quick resentful pride of a shy man suddenly mantled his + high cheekbones, and with an abrupt “I'll not deesturb ye longer,” he + strode out of the room. + </p> + <p> + The consul watched the easy swing of his figure down the passage, and then + closed the door. “Delightful creature,” he said musingly, “and not so very + unlike an Apache chief either! But what was he doing outside my door? And + was it HE who left that rose—not as a delicate Highland attention to + an utter stranger, but”—the consul's mouth suddenly expanded—“to + some fair previous occupant? Or was it really HIS room—he looked as + if he were lying—and”—here the consul's mouth expanded even + more wickedly—“and Mrs. MacSpadden had put the flower there for + him.” This implied snub to his vanity was, however, more than compensated + by his wicked anticipation of the pretty perplexity of his fair friend + when HE should appear at dinner with the flower in his own buttonhole. It + would serve her right, the arrant flirt! But here he was interrupted by + the entrance of a tall housemaid with his hot water. + </p> + <p> + “I am afraid I've dispossessed Mr.—Mr.—Kilcraithie rather + prematurely,” said the consul lightly. + </p> + <p> + To his infinite surprise the girl answered with grim decision, “Nane too + soon.” + </p> + <p> + The consul stared. “I mean,” he explained, “that I found him hesitating + here in the passage, looking for his room.” + </p> + <p> + “Ay, he's always hoaverin' and glowerin' in the passages—but it's + no' for his ROOM! And it's a deesgrace to decent Christian folk his + carryin' on wi' married weemen—mebbee they're nae better than he!” + </p> + <p> + “That will do,” said the consul curtly. He had no desire to encourage a + repetition of the railway porter's freedom. + </p> + <p> + “Ye'll no fash yoursel' aboot HIM,” continued the girl, without heeding + the rebuff. “It's no' the meestreess' wish that he's keepit here in the + wing reserved for married folk, and she's no' sorry for the excuse to pit + ye in his place. Ye'll be married yoursel', I'm hearin'. But, I ken ye's + nae mair to be lippened tae for THAT.” + </p> + <p> + This was too much for the consul's gravity. “I'm afraid,” he said with + diplomatic gayety, “that although I am married, as I haven't my wife with + me, I've no right to this superior accommodation and comfort. But you can + assure your mistress that I'll try to deserve them.” + </p> + <p> + “Ay,” said the girl, but with no great confidence in her voice as she + grimly quitted the room. + </p> + <p> + “When our foot's upon our native heath, whether our name's Macgregor or + Kilcraithie, it would seem that we must tread warily,” mused the consul as + he began to dress. “But I'm glad she didn't see that rose, or MY + reputation would have been ruined.” Here another knock at the door + arrested him. He opened it impatiently to a tall gillie, who instantly + strode into the room. There was such another suggestion of Kilcraithie in + the man and his manner that the consul instantly divined that he was + Kilcraithie's servant. + </p> + <p> + “I'll be takin' some bit things that yon Whistlecrankie left,” said the + gillie gravely, with a stolid glance around the room. + </p> + <p> + “Certainly,” said the consul; “help yourself.” He continued his dressing + as the man began to rummage in the empty drawers. The consul had his back + towards him, but, looking in the glass of the dressing-table, he saw that + the gillie was stealthily watching him. Suddenly he passed before the + mantelpiece and quickly slipped the rose from its glass into his hand. + </p> + <p> + “I'll trouble you to put that back,” said the consul quietly, without + turning round. The gillie slid a quick glance towards the door, but the + consul was before him. “I don't think THAT was left by your master,” he + said in an ostentatiously calm voice, for he was conscious of an absurd + and inexplicable tumult in his blood, “and perhaps you'd better put it + back.” + </p> + <p> + The man looked at the flower with an attention that might have been merely + ostentatious, and replaced it in the glass. + </p> + <p> + “A thocht it was hiss.” + </p> + <p> + “And I think it isn't,” said the consul, opening the door. + </p> + <p> + Yet when the man had passed out he was by no means certain that the flower + was not Kilcraithie's. He was even conscious that if the young Laird had + approached him with a reasonable explanation or appeal he would have + yielded it up. Yet here he was—looking angrily pale in the glass, + his eyes darker than they should be, and with an unmistakable instinct to + do battle for this idiotic gage! Was there some morbid disturbance in the + air that was affecting him as it had Kilcraithie? He tried to laugh, but + catching sight of its sardonic reflection in the glass became grave again. + He wondered if the gillie had been really looking for anything his master + had left—he had certainly TAKEN nothing. He opened one or two of the + drawers, and found only a woman's tortoiseshell hairpin—overlooked + by the footman when he had emptied them for the consul's clothes. It had + been probably forgotten by some fair and previous tenant to Kilcraithie. + The consul looked at his watch—it was time to go down. He grimly + pinned the fateful flower in his buttonhole, and half-defiantly descended + to the drawing-room. + </p> + <p> + Here, however, he was inclined to relax when, from a group of pretty + women, the bright gray eyes of Mrs. MacSpadden caught his, were suddenly + diverted to the lapel of his coat, and then leaped up to his again with a + sparkle of mischief. But the guests were already pairing off in dinner + couples, and as they passed out of the room, he saw that she was on the + arm of Kilcraithie. Yet, as she passed him, she audaciously turned her + head, and in a mischievous affectation of jealous reproach, murmured:— + </p> + <p> + “So soon!” + </p> + <p> + At dinner she was too far removed for any conversation with him, although + from his seat by his hostess he could plainly see her saucy profile midway + up the table. But, to his surprise, her companion, Kilcraithie, did not + seem to be responding to her gayety. By turns abstracted and feverish, his + glances occasionally wandered towards the end of the table where the + consul was sitting. For a few moments he believed that the affair of the + flower, combined, perhaps, with the overhearing of Mrs. MacSpadden's + mischievous sentence, rankled in the Laird's barbaric soul. But he became + presently aware that Kilcraithie's eyes eventually rested upon a + quiet-looking blonde near the hostess. Yet the lady not only did not seem + to be aware of it, but her face was more often turned towards the consul, + and their eyes had once or twice met. He had been struck by the fact that + they were half-veiled but singularly unimpassioned eyes, with a certain + expression of cold wonderment and criticism quite inconsistent with their + veiling. Nor was he surprised when, after a preliminary whispering over + the plates, his hostess presented him. The lady was the young wife of the + middle-aged dignitary who, seated further down the table, opposite Mrs. + MacSpadden, was apparently enjoying that lady's wildest levities. The + consul bowed, the lady leaned a little forward. + </p> + <p> + “We were saying what a lovely rose you had.” + </p> + <p> + The consul's inward response was “Hang that flower!” His outward + expression was the modest query:— + </p> + <p> + “Is it SO peculiar?” + </p> + <p> + “No; but it's very pretty. Would you allow me to see it?” + </p> + <p> + Disengaging the flower from his buttonhole he handed it to her. Oddly + enough, it seemed to him that half the table was watching and listening to + them. Suddenly the lady uttered a little cry. “Dear me! it's full of + thorns; of course you picked and arranged it yourself, for any lady would + have wrapped something around the stalk!” + </p> + <p> + But here there was a burlesque outcry and a good-humored protest from the + gentlemen around her against this manifestly leading question. “It's no + fair! Ye'll not answer her—for the dignity of our sex.” Yet in the + midst of it, it suddenly occurred to the consul that there HAD been a slip + of paper wrapped around it, which had come off and remained in the + keyhole. The blue eyes of the lady were meanwhile sounding his, but he + only smiled and said:— + </p> + <p> + “Then it seems it IS peculiar?” + </p> + <p> + When the conversation became more general he had time to observe other + features of the lady than her placid eyes. Her light hair was very long, + and grew low down the base of her neck. Her mouth was firm, the upper lip + slightly compressed in a thin red line, but the lower one, although + equally precise at the corners, became fuller in the centre and turned + over like a scarlet leaf, or, as it struck him suddenly, like the + tell-tale drop of blood on the mouth of a vampire. Yet she was very + composed, practical, and decorous, and as the talk grew more animated—and + in the vicinity of Mrs. MacSpadden, more audacious—she kept a + smiling reserve of expression,—which did not, however, prevent her + from following that lively lady, whom she evidently knew, with a kind of + encouraging attention. + </p> + <p> + “Kate is in full fling to-night,” she said to the hostess. Lady Macquoich + smiled ambiguously—so ambiguously that the consul thought it + necessary to interfere for his friend. “She seems to say what most of us + think, but I am afraid very few of us could voice as innocently,” he + smilingly suggested. + </p> + <p> + “She is a great friend of yours,” returned the lady, looking at him + through her half-veiled lids. “She has made us quite envy her.” + </p> + <p> + “And I am afraid made it impossible for ME to either sufficiently thank + her or justify her taste,” he said quietly. Yet he was vexed at an + unaccountable resentment which had taken possession of him—who but a + few hours before had only laughed at the porter's criticism. + </p> + <p> + After the ladies had risen, the consul with an instinct of sympathy was + moving up towards “Jock” MacSpadden, who sat nearer the host, when he was + stopped midway of the table by the dignitary who had sat opposite to Mrs. + MacSpadden. “Your frien' is maist amusing wi' her audacious tongue—ay, + and her audacious ways,” he said with large official patronage; “and we've + enjoyed her here immensely, but I hae mae doots if mae Leddy Macquoich + taks as kindly to them. You and I—men of the wurrld, I may say—we + understand them for a' their worth; ay!—ma wife too, with whom I + observed ye speakin'—is maist tolerant of her, but man! it's + extraordinar'”—he lowered his voice slightly—“that yon husband + of hers does na' check her freedoms with Kilcraithie. I wadna' say + anythin' was wrong, ye ken, but is he no' over confident and conceited + aboot his wife?” + </p> + <p> + “I see you don't know him,” said the consul smilingly, “and I'd be + delighted to make you acquainted. Jock,” he continued, raising his voice + as he turned towards MacSpadden, “let me introduce you to Sir Alan + Deeside, who don't know YOU, although he's a great admirer of your wife;” + and unheeding the embarrassed protestations of Sir Alan and the laughing + assertions of Jock that they were already acquainted, he moved on beside + his host. That hospitable knight, who had been airing his knowledge of + London smart society to his English guest with a singular mixture of + assertion and obsequiousness, here stopped short. “Ay, sit down, laddie, + it was so guid of ye to come, but I'm thinkin' at your end of the table ye + lost the bit fun of Mistress MacSpadden. Eh, but she was unco' lively + to-night. 'Twas all Kilcraithie could do to keep her from proposin' your + health with Hieland honors, and offerin' to lead off with her ain foot on + the table! Ay, and she'd ha' done it. And that's a braw rose she's been + givin' ye—and ye got out of it claverly wi' Lady Deeside.” + </p> + <p> + When he left the table with the others to join the ladies, the same + unaccountable feeling of mingled shyness and nervous irascibility still + kept possession of him. He felt that in his present mood he could not + listen to any further criticisms of his friend without betraying some + unwonted heat, and as his companions filed into the drawing-room he + slipped aside in the hope of recovering his equanimity by a few moments' + reflection in his own room. He glided quickly up the staircase and entered + the corridor. The passage that led to his apartment was quite dark, + especially before his door, which was in a bay that really ended the + passage. He was consequently surprised and somewhat alarmed at seeing a + shadowy female figure hovering before it. He instinctively halted; the + figure became more distinct from some luminous halo that seemed to + encompass it. It struck him that this was only the light of his fire + thrown through his open door, and that the figure was probably that of a + servant before it, who had been arranging his room. He started forward + again, but at the sound of his advancing footsteps the figure and the + luminous glow vanished, and he arrived blankly face to face with his own + closed door. He looked around the dim bay; it was absolutely vacant. It + was equally impossible for any one to have escaped without passing him. + There was only his room left. A half-nervous, half-superstitious thrill + crept over him as he suddenly grasped the handle of the door and threw it + open. The leaping light of his fire revealed its emptiness: no one was + there! He lit the candle and peered behind the curtains and furniture and + under the bed; the room was as vacant and undisturbed as when he left it. + </p> + <p> + Had it been a trick of his senses or a bona-fide apparition? He had never + heard of a ghost at Glenbogie—the house dated back some fifty years; + Sir John Macquoich's tardy knighthood carried no such impedimenta. He + looked down wonderingly on the flower in his buttonhole. Was there + something uncanny in that innocent blossom? But here he was struck by + another recollection, and examined the keyhole of his door. With the aid + of the tortoiseshell hairpin he dislodged the paper he had forgotten. It + was only a thin spiral strip, apparently the white outer edge of some + newspaper, and it certainly seemed to be of little service as a protection + against the thorns of the rose-stalk. He was holding it over the fire, + about to drop it into the blaze, when the flame revealed some pencil-marks + upon it. Taking it to the candle he read, deeply bitten into the paper by + a hard pencil-point: “At half-past one.” There was nothing else—no + signature; but the handwriting was NOT Mrs. MacSpadden's! + </p> + <p> + Then whose? Was it that of the mysterious figure whom he had just seen? + Had he been selected as the medium of some spiritual communication, and, + perhaps, a ghostly visitation later on? Or was he the victim of some + clever trick? He had once witnessed such dubious attempts to relieve the + monotony of a country house. He again examined the room carefully, but + without avail. Well! the mystery or trick would be revealed at half-past + one. It was a somewhat inconvenient hour, certainly. He looked down at the + baleful gift in his buttonhole, and for a moment felt inclined to toss it + in the fire. But this was quickly followed by his former revulsion of + resentment and defiance. No! he would wear it, no matter what happened, + until its material or spiritual owner came for it. He closed the door and + returned to the drawing-room. + </p> + <p> + Midway of the staircase he heard the droning of pipes. There was dancing + in the drawing-room to the music of the gorgeous piper who had marshaled + them to dinner. He was not sorry, as he had no inclination to talk, and + the one confidence he had anticipated with Mrs. MacSpadden was out of the + question now. He had no right to reveal his later discovery. He lingered a + few moments in the hall. The buzzing of the piper's drones gave him that + impression of confused and blindly aggressive intoxication which he had + often before noticed in this barbaric instrument, and had always seemed to + him as the origin of its martial inspiration. From this he was startled by + voices and steps in the gallery he had just quitted, but which came from + the opposite direction to his room. It was Kilcraithie and Mrs. + MacSpadden. As she caught sight of him, he fancied she turned slightly and + aggressively pale, with a certain hardening of her mischievous eyes. + Nevertheless, she descended the staircase more deliberately than her + companion, who brushed past him with an embarrassed self-consciousness, + quite in advance of her. She lingered for an instant. + </p> + <p> + “You are not dancing?” she said. + </p> + <p> + “No.” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps you are more agreeably employed?” + </p> + <p> + “At this exact moment, certainly.” + </p> + <p> + She cast a disdainful glance at him, crossed the hall, and followed + Kilcraithie. + </p> + <p> + “Hang me, if I understand it all!” mused the consul, by no means + good-humoredly. “Does she think I have been spying upon her and her noble + chieftain? But it's just as well that I didn't tell her anything.” + </p> + <p> + He turned to follow them. In the vestibule he came upon a figure which had + halted before a large pier-glass. He recognized M. Delfosse, the French + visitor, complacently twisting the peak of his Henri Quatre beard. He + would have passed without speaking, but the Frenchman glanced smilingly at + the consul and his buttonhole. Again the flower! + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur is decore,” he said gallantly. + </p> + <p> + The consul assented, but added, not so gallantly, that though they were + not in France he might still be unworthy of it. The baleful flower had not + improved his temper. Nor did the fact that, as he entered the room, he + thought the people stared at him—until he saw that their attention + was directed to Lady Deeside, who had entered almost behind him. From his + hostess, who had offered him a seat beside her, he gathered that M. + Delfosse and Kilcraithie had each temporarily occupied his room, but that + they had been transferred to the other wing, apart from the married + couples and young ladies, because when they came upstairs from the + billiard and card room late, they sometimes disturbed the fair occupants. + No!—there were no ghosts at Glenbogie. Mysterious footsteps had + sometimes been heard in the ladies' corridor, but—with peculiar + significance—she was AFRAID they could be easily accounted for. Sir + Alan, whose room was next to the MacSpaddens', had been disturbed by them. + </p> + <p> + He was glad when it was time to escape to the billiard-room and tobacco. + For a while he forgot the evening's adventure, but eventually found + himself listening to a discussion—carried on over steaming tumblers + of toddy—in regard to certain predispositions of the always + debatable sex. + </p> + <p> + “Ye'll not always judge by appearances,” said Sir Alan. “Ye'll mind the + story o' the meenester's wife of Aiblinnoch. It was thocht that she was + ower free wi' one o' the parishioners—ay! it was the claish o' the + whole kirk, while none dare tell the meenester hisself—bein' a + bookish, simple, unsuspectin' creeter. At last one o' the elders bethocht + him of a bit plan of bringing it home to the wife, through the gospel lips + of her ain husband! So he intimated to the meenester his suspicions of + grievous laxity amang the female flock, and of the necessity of a special + sermon on the Seventh Command. The puir man consented—although he + dinna ken why and wherefore—and preached a gran' sermon! Ay, man! it + was crammed wi' denunciation and an emptyin' o' the vials o' wrath! The + congregation sat dumb as huddled sheep—when they were no' starin' + and gowpin' at the meenester's wife settin' bolt upright in her place. And + then, when the air was blue wi' sulphur frae tae pit, the meenester's wife + up rises! Man! Ivry eye was spearin' her—ivry lug was prickt towards + her! And she goes out in the aisle facin' the meenester, and—” + </p> + <p> + Sir Alan paused. + </p> + <p> + “And what?” demanded the eager auditory. + </p> + <p> + “She pickit up the elder's wife, sobbin' and tearin' her hair in strong + hysterics.” + </p> + <p> + At the end of a relieved pause Sir Alan slowly concluded: “It was said + that the elder removed frae Aiblinnoch wi' his wife, but no' till he had + effected a change of meenesters.” + </p> + <p> + It was already past midnight, and the party had dropped off one by one, + with the exception of Deeside, Macquoich, the young Englishman, and a + Scotch laird, who were playing poker—an amusement which he + understood they frequently protracted until three in the morning. It was + nearly time for him to expect his mysterious visitant. Before he went + upstairs he thought he would take a breath of the outer evening air, and + throwing a mackintosh over his shoulders, passed out of the garden door of + the billiard-room. To his surprise it gave immediately upon the fringe of + laurel that hung over the chasm. + </p> + <p> + It was quite dark; the few far-spread stars gave scarcely any light, and + the slight auroral glow towards the north was all that outlined the fringe + of the abyss, which might have proved dangerous to any unfamiliar + wanderer. A damp breath of sodden leaves came from its depths. Beside him + stretched the long dark facade of the wing he inhabited, his own window + the only one that showed a faint light. A few paces beyond, a singular + structure of rustic wood and glass, combining the peculiarities of a + sentry-box, a summer-house, and a shelter, was built against the blank + wall of the wing. He imagined the monotonous prospect from its windows of + the tufted chasm, the coldly profiled northern hills beyond,—and + shivered. A little further on, sunk in the wall like a postern, was a + small door that evidently gave easy egress to seekers of this stern + retreat. In the still air a faint grating sound like the passage of a foot + across gravel came to him as from the distance. He paused, thinking he had + been followed by one of the card-players, but saw no one, and the sound + was not repeated. + </p> + <p> + It was past one. He re-entered the billiard-room, passed the unchanged + group of card-players, and taking a candlestick from the hall ascended the + dark and silent staircase into the corridor. The light of his candle cast + a flickering halo around him—but did not penetrate the gloomy + distance. He at last halted before his door, gave a scrutinizing glance + around the embayed recess, and opened the door half expectantly. But the + room was empty as he had left it. + </p> + <p> + It was a quarter past one. He threw himself on the bed without undressing, + and fixed his eyes alternately on the door and his watch. Perhaps the + unwonted seriousness of his attitude struck him, but a sudden sense of the + preposterousness of the whole situation, of his solemnly ridiculous + acceptance of a series of mere coincidences as a foregone conclusion, + overcame him, and he laughed. But in the same breath he stopped. + </p> + <p> + There WERE footsteps approaching—cautious footsteps—but not at + his door! They were IN THE ROOM—no! in the WALL just behind him! + They were descending some staircase at the back of his bed—he could + hear the regular tap of a light slipper from step to step and the rustle + of a skirt seemingly in his very ear. They were becoming less and less + distinct—they were gone! He sprang to his feet, but almost at the + same instant he was conscious of a sudden chill—that seemed to him + as physical as it was mental. The room was slowly suffused with a cool + sodden breath and the dank odor of rotten leaves. He looked at the candle—its + flame was actually deflecting in this mysterious blast. It seemed to come + from a recess for hanging clothes topped by a heavy cornice and curtain. + He had examined it before, but he drew the curtain once more aside. The + cold current certainly seemed to be more perceptible there. He felt the + red-clothed backing of the interior, and his hand suddenly grasped a + doorknob. It turned, and the whole structure—cornice and curtains—swung + inwards towards him with THE DOOR ON WHICH IT WAS HUNG! Behind it was a + dark staircase leading from the floor above to some outer door below, + whose opening had given ingress to the chill humid current from the + ravine. This was the staircase where he had just heard the footsteps—and + this was, no doubt, the door through which the mysterious figure had + vanished from his room a few hours before! + </p> + <p> + Taking his candle, he cautiously ascended the stairs until he found + himself on the landing of the suites of the married couples and directly + opposite to the rooms of the MacSpaddens and Deesides. He was about to + descend again when he heard a far-off shout, a scuffling sound on the + outer gravel, and the frenzied shaking of the handle of the lower door. He + had hardly time to blow out his candle and flatten himself against the + wall, when the door was flung open and a woman frantically flew up the + staircase. His own door was still open; from within its depths the light + of his fire projected a flickering beam across the steps. As she rushed + past it the light revealed her face; it needed not the peculiar perfume of + her garments as she swept by his concealed figure to make him recognize—Lady + Deeside! + </p> + <p> + Amazed and confounded, he was about to descend, when he heard the lower + door again open. But here a sudden instinct bade him pause, turn, and + reascend to the upper landing. There he calmly relit his candle, and made + his way down to the corridor that overlooked the central hall. The sound + of suppressed voices—speaking with the exhausted pauses that come + from spent excitement—made him cautious again, and he halted. It was + the card party slowly passing from the billiard-room to the hall. + </p> + <p> + “Ye owe it yoursel'—to your wife—not to pit up with it a day + longer,” said the subdued voice of Sir Alan. “Man! ye war in an ace o' + havin' a braw scandal.” + </p> + <p> + “Could ye no' get your wife to speak till her,” responded Macquoich, “to + gie her a hint that she's better awa' out of this? Lady Deeside has some + influence wi' her.” + </p> + <p> + The consul ostentatiously dropped the extinguisher from his candlestick. + The party looked up quickly. Their faces were still flushed and agitated, + but a new restraint seemed to come upon them on seeing him. + </p> + <p> + “I thought I heard a row outside,” said the consul explanatorily. + </p> + <p> + They each looked at their host without speaking. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, ay,” said Macquoich, with simulated heartiness, “a bit fuss between + the Kilcraithie and yon Frenchman; but they're baith goin' in the + mornin'.” + </p> + <p> + “I thought I heard MacSpadden's voice,” said the consul quietly. + </p> + <p> + There was a dead silence. Then Macquoich said hurriedly:— + </p> + <p> + “Is he no' in his room—in bed—asleep,—man?” + </p> + <p> + “I really don't know; I didn't inquire,” said the consul with a slight + yawn. “Good night!” + </p> + <p> + He turned, not without hearing them eagerly whispering again, and entered + the passage leading to his own room. As he opened the door he was startled + to find the subject of his inquiry—Jock MacSpadden—quietly + seated in his armchair by his fire. + </p> + <p> + “Jock!” + </p> + <p> + “Don't be alarmed, old man; I came up by that staircase and saw the door + open, and guessed you'd be returning soon. But it seemed you went ROUND BY + THE CORRIDOR,” he said, glancing curiously at the consul's face. “Did you + meet the crowd?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, Jock! WHAT does it all mean?” + </p> + <p> + MacSpadden laughed. “It means that I was just in time to keep Kilbraithie + from chucking Delfosse down that ravine; but they both scooted when they + saw me. By Jove! I don't know which was the most frightened.” + </p> + <p> + “But,” said the consul slowly, “what was it all about, Jock?” + </p> + <p> + “Some gallantry of that d——d Frenchman, who's trying to do + some woman-stalking up here, and jealousy of Kilcraithie's, who's just got + enough of his forbears' blood in him to think nothing of sticking three + inches of his dirk in the wame of the man that crosses him. But I say,” + continued Jock, leaning easily back in his chair, “YOU ought to know + something of all this. This room, old man, was used as a sort of + rendezvous, having two outlets, don't you see, when they couldn't get at + the summer-house below. By Jove! they both had it in turns—Kilcraithie + and the Frenchman—until Lady Macquoich got wind of something, swept + them out, and put YOU in it.” + </p> + <p> + The consul rose and approached his friend with a grave face. “Jock, I DO + know something about it—more about it than any one thinks. You and I + are old friends. Shall I tell you WHAT I know?” + </p> + <p> + Jock's handsome face became a trifle paler, but his frank, clear eyes + rested steadily on the consul's. + </p> + <p> + “Go on!” he said. + </p> + <p> + “I know that this flower which I am wearing was the signal for the + rendezvous this evening,” said the consul slowly, “and this paper,” taking + it from his pocket, “contained the time of the meeting, written in the + lady's own hand. I know who she was, for I saw her face as plainly as I + see yours now, by the light of the same fire; it was as pale, but not as + frank as yours, old man. That is what I know. But I know also what people + THINK they know, and for that reason I put that paper in YOUR hand. It is + yours—your vindication—your REVENGE, if you choose. Do with it + what you like.” + </p> + <p> + Jock, with unchanged features and undimmed eyes, took the paper from the + consul's hand, without looking at it. + </p> + <p> + “I may do with it what I like?” he repeated. + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + He was about to drop it into the fire, but the consul stayed his hand. + </p> + <p> + “Are you not going to LOOK at the handwriting first?” + </p> + <p> + There was a moment of silence. Jock raised his eyes with a sudden flash of + pride in them and said, “No!” + </p> + <p> + The friends stood side by side, grasping each other's hands, as the + burning paper leaped up the chimney in a vanishing flame. + </p> + <p> + “Do you think you have done quite right, Jock, in view of any scandal you + may hear?” + </p> + <p> + “Quite! You see, old man, I know MY WIFE—but I don't think that + Deeside KNOWS HIS.” + </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 MYSTERY OF THE HACIENDA. + </h2> + <p> + Dick Bracy gazed again at the Hacienda de los Osos, and hesitated. There + it lay—its low whitewashed walls looking like a quartz outcrop of + the long lazy hillside—unmistakably hot, treeless, and staring + broadly in the uninterrupted Californian sunlight. Yet he knew that behind + those blistering walls was a reposeful patio, surrounded by low-pitched + verandas; that the casa was full of roomy corridors, nooks, and recesses, + in which lurked the shadows of a century, and that hidden by the further + wall was a lonely old garden, hoary with gnarled pear-trees, and smothered + in the spice and dropping leaves of its baking roses. He knew that, + although the unwinking sun might glitter on its red tiles, and the + unresting trade winds whistle around its angles, it always kept one + unvarying temperature and untroubled calm, as if the dignity of years had + triumphed over the changes of ephemeral seasons. But would others see it + with his eyes? Would his practical, housekeeping aunt, and his pretty + modern cousin— + </p> + <p> + “Well, what do you say? Speak the word, and you can go into it with your + folks to-morrow. And I reckon you won't want to take anything either, for + you'll find everything there—just as the old Don left it. I don't + want it; the land is good enough for me; I shall have my vaqueros and + rancheros to look after the crops and the cattle, and they won't trouble + you, for their sheds and barns will be two miles away. You can stay there + as long as you like, and go when you choose. You might like to try it for + a spell; it's all the same to me. But I should think it the sort of thing + a man like you would fancy, and it seems the right thing to have you + there. Well,—what shall it be? Is it a go?” + </p> + <p> + Dick knew that the speaker was sincere. It was an offer perfectly + characteristic of his friend, the Western millionaire, who had halted by + his side. And he knew also that the slow lifting of his bridle-rein, + preparatory to starting forward again, was the business-like gesture of a + man who wasted no time even over his acts of impulsive liberality. In + another moment he would dismiss the unaccepted offer from his mind—without + concern and without resentment. + </p> + <p> + “Thank you—it is a go,” said Dick gratefully. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, when he reached his own little home in the outskirts of San + Francisco that night, he was a trifle nervous in confiding to the lady, + who was at once his aunt and housekeeper, the fact that he was now the + possessor of a huge mansion in whose patio alone the little eight-roomed + villa where they had lived contentedly might be casually dropped. “You + see, Aunt Viney,” he hurriedly explained, “it would have been so + ungrateful to have refused him—and it really was an offer as + spontaneous as it was liberal. And then, you see, we need occupy only a + part of the casa.” + </p> + <p> + “And who will look after the other part?” said Aunt Viney grimly. “That + will have to be kept tidy, too; and the servants for such a house, where + in heaven are they to come from? Or do they go with it?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” said Dick quickly; “the servants left with their old master, when + Ringstone bought the property. But we'll find servants enough in the + neighborhood—Mexican peons and Indians, you know.” + </p> + <p> + Aunt Viney sniffed. “And you'll have to entertain—if it's a big + house. There are all your Spanish neighbors. They'll be gallivanting in + and out all the time.” + </p> + <p> + “They won't trouble us,” he returned, with some hesitation. “You see, + they're furious at the old Don for disposing of his lands to an American, + and they won't be likely to look upon the strangers in the new place as + anything but interlopers.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, that is it, is it?” ejaculated Aunt Viney, with a slight puckering of + her lips. “I thought there was SOMETHING.” + </p> + <p> + “My dear aunt,” said Dick, with a sudden illogical heat which he tried to + suppress; “I don't know what you mean by 'it' and 'something.' Ringstone's + offer was perfectly unselfish; he certainly did not suppose that I would + be affected, any more than he would he, by the childish sentimentality of + these people over a legitimate, every-day business affair. The old Don + made a good bargain, and simply sold the land he could no longer make + profitable with his obsolete method of farming, his gang of idle + retainers, and his Noah's Ark machinery, to a man who knew how to use + steam reapers, and hired sensible men to work on shares.” Nevertheless he + was angry with himself for making any explanation, and still more + disturbed that he was conscious of a certain feeling that it was + necessary. + </p> + <p> + “I was thinking,” said Aunt Viney quietly, “that if we invited anybody to + stay with us—like Cecily, for example—it might be rather dull + for her if we had no neighbors to introduce her to.” + </p> + <p> + Dick started; he had not thought of this. He had been greatly influenced + by the belief that his pretty cousin, who was to make them a visit, would + like the change and would not miss excitement. “We can always invite some + girls down there and make our own company,” he answered cheerfully. + Nevertheless, he was dimly conscious that he had already made an airy + castle of the old hacienda, in which Cecily and her aunt moved ALONE. It + was to Cecily that he would introduce the old garden, it was Cecily whom + he would accompany through the dark corridors, and with whom he would + lounge under the awnings of the veranda. All this innocently, and without + prejudice or ulterior thought. He was not yet in love with the pretty + cousin whom he had seen but once or twice during the past few years, but + it was a possibility not unpleasant to occasionally contemplate. Yet it + was equally possible that she might yearn for lighter companionship and + accustomed amusement; that the passion-fringed garden and shadow-haunted + corridor might be profaned by hoydenish romping and laughter, or by that + frivolous flirtation which, in others, he had always regarded as + commonplace and vulgar. + </p> + <p> + Howbeit, at the end of two weeks he found himself regularly installed in + the Hacienda de los Osos. His little household, re-enforced by his cousin + Cecily and three peons picked up at Los Pinos, bore their transplantation + with a singular equanimity that seemed to him unaccountable. Then occurred + one of those revelations of character with which Nature is always ready to + trip up merely human judgment. Aunt Viney, an unrelenting widow of calm + but unshaken Dutch prejudices, high but narrow in religious belief, merged + without a murmur into the position of chatelaine of this unconventional, + half-Latin household. Accepting the situation without exaltation or + criticism, placid but unresponsive amidst the youthful enthusiasm of Dick + and Cecily over each quaint detail, her influence was, nevertheless, felt + throughout the lingering length and shadowy breadth of the strange old + house. The Indian and Mexican servants, at first awed by her practical + superiority, succumbed to her half-humorous toleration of their + incapacity, and became her devoted slaves. Dick was astonished, and even + Cecily was confounded. “Do you know,” she said confidentially to her + cousin, “that when that brown Conchita thought to please Aunty by wearing + white stockings instead of going round as usual with her cinnamon-colored + bare feet in yellow slippers—which I was afraid would be enough to + send Aunty into conniption fits—she actually told her, very quietly, + to take them off, and dress according to her habits and her station? And + you remember that in her big, square bedroom there is a praying-stool and + a ghastly crucifix, at least three feet long, in ivory and black, quite + too human for anything? Well, when I offered to put them in the corridor, + she said I 'needn't trouble'; that really she hadn't noticed them, and + they would do very well where they were. You'd think she had been + accustomed to this sort of thing all her life. It's just too sweet of her, + any way, even if she's shamming. And if she is, she just does it to the + life too, and could give those Spanish women points. Why, she rode en + pillion on Manuel's mule, behind him, holding on by his sash, across to + the corral yesterday; and you should have seen Manuel absolutely scrape + the ground before her with his sombrero when he let her down.” Indeed, her + tall, erect figure in black lustreless silk, appearing in a heavily + shadowed doorway, or seated in a recessed window, gave a new and patrician + dignity to the melancholy of the hacienda. It was pleasant to follow this + quietly ceremonious shadow gliding along the rose garden at twilight, + halting at times to bend stiffly over the bushes, garden-shears in hand, + and carrying a little basket filled with withered but still odorous + petals, as if she were grimly gathering the faded roses of her youth. + </p> + <p> + It was also probable that the lively Cecily's appreciation of her aunt + might have been based upon another virtue of that lady—namely, her + exquisite tact in dealing with the delicate situation evolved from the + always possible relations of the two cousins. It was not to be supposed + that the servants would fail to invest the young people with Southern + romance, and even believe that the situation was prearranged by the aunt + with a view to their eventual engagement. To deal with the problem openly, + yet without startling the consciousness of either Dick or Cecily; to allow + them the privileges of children subject to the occasional restraints of + childhood; to find certain household duties for the young girl that kept + them naturally apart until certain hours of general relaxation; to calmly + ignore the meaning of her retainers' smiles and glances, and yet to + good-humoredly accept their interest as a kind of feudal loyalty, was part + of Aunt Viney's deep diplomacy. Cecily enjoyed her freedom and + companionship with Dick, as she enjoyed the novel experiences of the old + house, the quaint, faded civilization that it represented, and the change + and diversion always acceptable to youth. She did not feel the absence of + other girls of her own age; neither was she aware that through this + omission she was spared the necessity of a confidante or a rival—both + equally revealing to her thoughtless enjoyment. They took their rides + together openly and without concealment, relating their adventures + afterwards to Aunt Viney with a naivete and frankness that dreamed of no + suppression. The city-bred Cecily, accustomed to horse exercise solely as + an ornamental and artificial recreation, felt for the first time the + fearful joy of a dash across a league-long plain, with no onlookers but + the scattered wild horses she might startle up to scurry before her, or + race at her side. Small wonder that, mounted on her fiery little mustang, + untrammeled by her short gray riding-habit, free as the wind itself that + blew through the folds of her flannel blouse, with her brown hair + half-loosed beneath her slouched felt hat, she seemed to Dick a more + beautiful and womanly figure than the stiff buckramed simulation of man's + angularity and precision he had seen in the parks. Perhaps one day she + detected this consciousness too plainly in his persistent eyes. Up to that + moment she had only watched the glittering stretches of yellow grain, in + which occasional wind-shorn evergreen oaks stood mid-leg deep like cattle + in water, the distant silhouette of the Sierras against the steely blue, + or perhaps the frankly happy face of the good-looking young fellow at her + side. But it seemed to her now that an intruder had entered the field—a + stranger before whom she was impelled to suddenly fly—half-laughingly, + half-affrightedly—the anxious Dick following wonderingly at her + mustang's heels, until she reached the gates of the hacienda, where she + fell into a gravity and seriousness that made him wonder still more. He + did not dream that his guileless cousin had discovered, with a woman's + instinct, a mysterious invader who sought to share their guileless + companionship, only to absorb it entirely, and that its name was—love! + </p> + <p> + The next day she was so greatly preoccupied with her household duties that + she could not ride with him. Dick felt unaccountably lost. Perhaps this + check to their daily intercourse was no less accelerating to his feelings + than the vague motive that induced Cecily to withhold herself. He moped in + the corridor; he rode out alone, bullying his mustang in proportion as he + missed his cousin's gentle companionship, and circling aimlessly, but + still unconsciously, around the hacienda as a centre of attraction. The + sun at last was sinking to the accompaniment of a rising wind, which + seemed to blow and scatter its broad rays over the shimmering plain until + every slight protuberance was burnished into startling brightness; the + shadows of the short green oaks grew disproportionally long, and all + seemed to point to the white-walled casa. Suddenly he started and + instantly reined up. + </p> + <p> + The figure of a young girl, which he had not before noticed, was slowly + moving down the half-shadowed lane made by the two walls of the garden and + the corral. Cecily! Perhaps she had come out to meet him. He spurred + forward; but, as he came nearer, he saw that the figure and its attire + were surely not hers. He reined up again abruptly, mortified at his + disappointment, and a little ashamed lest he should have seemed to have + been following an evident stranger. He vaguely remembered, too, that there + was a trail to the high road, through a little swale clothed with myrtle + and thorn bush which he had just passed, and that she was probably one of + his reserved and secluded neighbors—indeed, her dress, in that + uncertain light, looked half Spanish. This was more confusing, since his + rashness might have been taken for an attempt to force an acquaintance. He + wheeled and galloped towards the front of the casa as the figure + disappeared at the angle of the wall. + </p> + <p> + “I don't suppose you ever see any of our neighbors?” said Dick to his aunt + casually. + </p> + <p> + “I really can't say,” returned the lady with quiet equanimity. “There were + some extraordinary-looking foreigners on the road to San Gregorio + yesterday. Manuel, who was driving me, may have known who they were—he + is a kind of Indian Papist himself, you know—but I didn't. They + might have been relations of his, for all I know.” + </p> + <p> + At any other time Dick would have been amused at this serene relegation of + the lofty Estudillos and Peraltas to the caste of the Indian convert, but + he was worried to think that perhaps Cecily was really being bored by the + absence of neighbors. After dinner, when they sought the rose garden, he + dropped upon the little lichen-scarred stone bench by her side. It was + still warm from the sun; the hot musk of the roses filled the air; the + whole garden, shielded from the cool evening trade winds by its high + walls, still kept the glowing memory of the afternoon sunshine. Aunt + Viney, with her garden basket on her arm, moved ghost-like among the + distant bushes. + </p> + <p> + “I hope you are not getting bored here?” he said, after a slight + inconsequent pause. + </p> + <p> + “Does that mean that YOU are?” she returned, raising her mischievous eyes + to his. + </p> + <p> + “No; but I thought you might find it lonely, without neighbors.” + </p> + <p> + “I stayed in to-day,” she said, femininely replying to the unasked + question, “because I fancied Aunt Viney might think it selfish of me to + leave her alone so much.” + </p> + <p> + “But YOU are not lonely?” + </p> + <p> + Certainly not! The young lady was delighted with the whole place, with the + quaint old garden, the mysterious corridors, the restful quiet of + everything, the picture of dear Aunt Viney—who was just the sweetest + soul in the world—moving about like the genius of the casa. It was + such a change to all her ideas, she would never forget it. It was so + thoughtful of him, Dick, to have given them all that pleasure. + </p> + <p> + “And the rides,” continued Dick, with the untactful pertinacity of the + average man at such moments—“you are not tired of THEM?” + </p> + <p> + No; she thought them lovely. Such freedom and freshness in the exercise; + so different from riding in the city or at watering-places, where it was + one-half show, and one was always thinking of one's habit or one's self. + One quite forgot one's self on that lovely plain—with everything so + far away, and only the mountains to look at in the distance. Nevertheless + she did not lift her eyes from the point of the little slipper which had + strayed beyond her skirt. + </p> + <p> + Dick was relieved, but not voluble; he could only admiringly follow the + curves of her pretty arms and hands, clasped lightly in her lap, down to + the point of the little slipper. But even that charming vanishing point + was presently withdrawn—possibly through some instinct—for the + young lady had apparently not raised her eyes. + </p> + <p> + “I'm so glad you like it,” said Dick earnestly, yet with a nervous + hesitation that made his speech seem artificial to his own ears. “You see + I—that is—I had an idea that you might like an occasional + change of company. It's a great pity we're not on speaking terms with one + of these Spanish families. Some of the men, you know, are really fine + fellows, with an old-world courtesy that is very charming.” + </p> + <p> + He was surprised to see that she had lifted her head suddenly, with a + quick look that however changed to an amused and half coquettish smile. + </p> + <p> + “I am finding no fault with my present company,” she said demurely, + dropping her head and eyelids until a faint suffusion seemed to follow the + falling lashes over her cheek. “I don't think YOU ought to undervalue it.” + </p> + <p> + If he had only spoken then! The hot scent of the roses hung suspended in + the air, which seemed to be hushed around them in mute expectancy; the + shadows which were hiding Aunt Viney from view were also closing round the + bench where they sat. He was very near her; he had only to reach out his + hand to clasp hers, which lay idly in her lap. He felt himself glowing + with a strange emanation; he even fancied that she was turning + mechanically towards him, as a flower might turn towards the fervent + sunlight. But he could not speak; he could scarcely collect his thoughts, + conscious though he was of the absurdity of his silence. What was he + waiting for? what did he expect? He was not usually bashful, he was no + coward; there was nothing in her attitude to make him hesitate to give + expression to what he believed was his first real passion. But he could do + nothing. He even fancied that his face, turned towards hers, was + stiffening into a vacant smile. + </p> + <p> + The young girl rose. “I think I heard Aunt Viney call me,” she said + constrainedly, and made a hesitating step forward. The spell which had + held Dick seemed to be broken suddenly; he stretched forth his arm to + detain her. But the next step appeared to carry her beyond his influence; + and it was even with a half movement of rejection that she quickened her + pace and disappeared down the path. Dick fell back dejectedly into his + seat, yet conscious of a feeling of RELIEF that bewildered him. + </p> + <p> + But only for a moment. A recollection of the chance that he had impotently + and unaccountably thrown away returned to him. He tried to laugh, albeit + with a glowing cheek, over the momentary bashfulness which he thought had + overtaken him, and which must have made him ridiculous in her eyes. He + even took a few hesitating steps in the direction of the path where she + had disappeared. The sound of voices came to his ear, and the light ring + of Cecily's laughter. The color deepened a little on his cheek; he + re-entered the house and went to his room. + </p> + <p> + The red sunset, still faintly showing through the heavily recessed windows + to the opposite wall, made two luminous aisles through the darkness of the + long low apartment. From his easy-chair he watched the color drop out of + the sky, the yellow plain grow pallid and seem to stretch itself to + infinite rest; then a black line began to deepen and creep towards him + from the horizon edge; the day was done. It seemed to him a day lost. He + had no doubt now but that he loved his cousin, and the opportunity of + telling her so—of profiting by her predisposition of the moment—had + passed. She would remember herself, she would remember his weak hesitancy, + she would despise him. He rose and walked uneasily up and down. And yet—and + it disgusted him with himself still more—he was again conscious of + the feeling of relief he had before experienced. A vague formula, “It's + better as it is,” “Who knows what might have come of it?” he found himself + repeating, without reason and without resignation. + </p> + <p> + Ashamed even of his seclusion, he rose to join the little family circle, + which now habitually gathered around a table on the veranda of the patio + under the rays of a swinging lamp to take their chocolate. To his surprise + the veranda was empty and dark; a light shining from the inner + drawing-room showed him his aunt in her armchair reading, alone. A slight + thrill ran over him: Cecily might be still in the garden! He noiselessly + passed the drawing-room door, turned into a long corridor, and slipped + through a grating in the wall into the lane that separated it from the + garden. The gate was still open; a few paces brought him into the long + alley of roses. Their strong perfume—confined in the high, hot walls—at + first made him giddy. This was followed by an inexplicable languor; he + turned instinctively towards the stone bench and sank upon it. The long + rows of calla lilies against the opposite wall looked ghostlike in the + darkness, and seemed to have turned their white faces towards him. Then he + fancied that ONE had detached itself from the rank and was moving away. He + looked again: surely there was something gliding along the wall! A quick + tremor of anticipation passed over him. It was Cecily, who had lingered in + the garden—perhaps to give him one more opportunity! He rose + quickly, and stepped towards the apparition, which had now plainly + resolved itself into a slight girlish figure; it slipped on beneath the + trees; he followed quickly—his nervous hesitancy had vanished before + what now seemed to be a half-coy, half-coquettish evasion of him. He + called softly, “Cecily!” but she did not heed him; he quickened his pace—she + increased hers. They were both running. She reached the angle of the wall + where the gate opened upon the road. Suddenly she stopped, as if + intentionally, in the clear open space before it. He could see her + distinctly. The lace mantle slipped from her head and shoulders. It was + NOT Cecily! + </p> + <p> + But it was a face so singularly beautiful and winsome that he was as + quickly arrested. It was a woman's deep, passionate eyes and heavy hair, + joined to a childish oval of cheek and chin, an infantine mouth, and a + little nose whose faintly curved outline redeemed the lower face from + weakness and brought it into charming harmony with the rest. A yellow rose + was pinned in the lustrous black hair above the little ear; a yellow silk + shawl or mantle, which had looked white in the shadows, was thrown over + one shoulder and twisted twice or thrice around the plump but petite bust. + The large black velvety eyes were fixed on his in half wonderment, half + amusement; the lovely lips were parted in half astonishment and half a + smile. And yet she was like a picture, a dream,—a materialization of + one's most fanciful imaginings,—like anything, in fact, but the + palpable flesh and blood she evidently was, standing only a few feet + before him, whose hurried breath he could see even now heaving her + youthful breast. + </p> + <p> + His own breath appeared suspended, although his heart beat rapidly as he + stammered out: “I beg your pardon—I thought—” He stopped at + the recollection that this was the SECOND time he had followed her. + </p> + <p> + She did not speak, although her parted lips still curved with their faint + coy smile. Then she suddenly lifted her right hand, which had been hanging + at her side, clasping some long black object like a stick. Without any + apparent impulse from her fingers, the stick slowly seemed to broaden in + her little hand into the segment of an opening disk, that, lifting to her + face and shoulders, gradually eclipsed the upper part of her figure, + until, mounting higher, the beautiful eyes and the yellow rose of her hair + alone remained above—a large unfurled fan! Then the long eyelashes + drooped, as if in a mute farewell, and they too disappeared as the fan was + lifted higher. The half-hidden figure appeared to glide to the gateway, + lingered for an instant, and vanished. The astounded Dick stepped quickly + into the road, but fan and figure were swallowed up in the darkness. + </p> + <p> + Amazed and bewildered, he stood for a moment, breathless and irresolute. + It was no doubt the same stranger that he had seen before. But WHO was + she, and what was she doing there? If she were one of their Spanish + neighbors, drawn simply by curiosity to become a trespasser, why had she + lingered to invite a scrutiny that would clearly identify her? It was not + the escapade of that giddy girl which the lower part of her face had + suggested, for such a one would have giggled and instantly flown; it was + not the deliberate act of a grave woman of the world, for its sequel was + so purposeless. Why had she revealed herself to HIM alone? Dick felt + himself glowing with a half-shamed, half-secret pleasure. Then he + remembered Cecily, and his own purpose in coming into the garden. He + hurriedly made a tour of the walks and shrubbery, ostentatiously calling + her, yet seeing, as in a dream, only the beautiful eyes of the stranger + still before him, and conscious of an ill-defined remorse and disloyalty + he had never known before. But Cecily was not there; and again he + experienced the old sensation of relief! + </p> + <p> + He shut the garden gate, crossed the road, and found the grille just + closing behind a slim white figure. He started, for it was Cecily; but + even in his surprise he was conscious of wondering how he could have ever + mistaken the stranger for her. She appeared startled too; she looked pale + and abstracted. Could she have been a witness of his strange interview? + </p> + <p> + Her first sentence dispelled the idea. + </p> + <p> + “I suppose you were in the garden?” she said, with a certain timidity. “I + didn't go there—it seemed so close and stuffy—but walked a + little down the lane.” + </p> + <p> + A moment before he would have eagerly told her his adventure; but in the + presence of her manifest embarrassment his own increased. He concluded to + tell her another time. He murmured vaguely that he had been looking for + her in the garden, yet he had a flushing sense of falsehood in his + reserve; and they passed silently along the corridor and entered the patio + together. She lit the hanging lamp mechanically. She certainly WAS pale; + her slim hand trembled slightly. Suddenly her eyes met his, a faint color + came into her cheek, and she smiled. She put up her hand with a girlish + gesture towards the back of her head. + </p> + <p> + “What are you looking at? Is my hair coming down?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” hesitated Dick, “but—I—thought—you were looking + just a LITTLE pale.” + </p> + <p> + An aggressive ray slipped into her blue eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Strange! I thought YOU were. Just now at the grille you looked as if the + roses hadn't agreed with you.” + </p> + <p> + They both laughed, a little nervously, and Conchita brought the chocolate. + When Aunt Viney came from the drawing-room she found the two young people + together, and Cecily in a gale of high spirits. + </p> + <p> + She had had SUCH a wonderfully interesting walk, all by herself, alone on + the plain. It was really so queer and elfish to find one's self where one + could see nothing above or around one anywhere but stars. Stars above one, + to right and left of one, and some so low down they seemed as if they were + picketed on the plain. It was so odd to find the horizon line at one's + very feet, like a castaway at sea. And the wind! it seemed to move one + this way and that way, for one could not see anything, and might really be + floating in the air. Only once she thought she saw something, and was + quite frightened. + </p> + <p> + “What was it?” asked Dick quickly. + </p> + <p> + “Well, it was a large black object; but—it turned out only to be a + horse.” + </p> + <p> + She laughed, although she had evidently noticed her cousin's eagerness, + and her own eyes had a nervous brightness. + </p> + <p> + “And where was Dick all this while?” asked Aunt Viney quietly. + </p> + <p> + Cecily interrupted, and answered for him briskly. “Oh, he was trying to + make attar of rose of himself in the garden. He's still stupefied by his + own sweetness.” + </p> + <p> + “If this means,” said Aunt Viney, with matter-of-fact precision, “that + you've been gallivanting all alone, Cecily, on that common plain, where + you're likely to meet all sorts of foreigners and tramps and savages, and + Heaven knows what other vermin, I shall set my face against a repetition + of it. If you MUST go out, and Dick can't go with you—and I must say + that even you and he going out together there at night isn't exactly the + kind of American Christian example to set to our neighbors—you had + better get Concepcion to go with you and take a lantern.” + </p> + <p> + “But there is nobody one meets on the plain—at least, nobody likely + to harm one,” protested Cecily. + </p> + <p> + “Don't tell ME,” said Aunt Viney decidedly; “haven't I seen all sorts of + queer figures creeping along by the brink after nightfall between San + Gregorio and the next rancho? Aren't they always skulking backwards and + forwards to mass and aguardiente?” + </p> + <p> + “And I don't know why WE should set any example to our neighbors. We don't + see much of them, or they of us.” + </p> + <p> + “Of course not,” returned Aunt Viney; “because all proper Spanish young + ladies are shut up behind their grilles at night. You don't see THEM + traipsing over the plain in the darkness, WITH or WITHOUT cavaliers! Why, + Don Rafael would lock one of HIS sisters up in a convent and consider her + disgraced forever, if he heard of it.” + </p> + <p> + Dick felt his cheeks burning; Cecily slightly paled. Yet both said eagerly + together: “Why, what do YOU know about it, Aunty?” + </p> + <p> + “A great deal,” returned Aunt Viney quietly, holding her tatting up to the + light and examining the stitches with a critical eye. “I've got my eyes + about me, thank heaven! even if my ears don't understand the language. And + there's a great deal, my dears, that you young people might learn from + these Papists.” + </p> + <p> + “And do you mean to say,” continued Dick, with a glowing cheek and an + uneasy smile, “that Spanish girls don't go out alone?” + </p> + <p> + “No young LADY goes out without her duenna,” said Aunt Viney emphatically. + “Of course there's the Concha variety, that go out without even + stockings.” + </p> + <p> + As the conversation flagged after this, and the young people once or twice + yawned nervously, Aunt Viney thought they had better go to bed. + </p> + <p> + But Dick did not sleep. The beautiful face beamed out again from the + darkness of his room; the light that glimmered through his deep-set + curtainless windows had an odd trick of bringing out certain hanging + articles, or pieces of furniture, into a resemblance to a mantled figure. + The deep, velvety eyes, fringed with long brown lashes, again looked into + his with amused, childlike curiosity. He scouted the harsh criticisms of + Aunt Viney, even while he shrank from proving to her her mistake in the + quality of his mysterious visitant. Of course she was a lady—far + superior to any of her race whom he had yet met. Yet how should he find + WHO she was? His pride and a certain chivalry forbade his questioning the + servants—before whom it was the rule of the household to avoid all + reference to their neighbors. He would make the acquaintance of the old + padre—perhaps HE might talk. He would ride early along the trail in + the direction of the nearest rancho,—Don Jose Amador's,—a + thing he had hitherto studiously refrained from doing. It was three miles + away. She must have come that distance, but not ALONE. Doubtless she had + kept her duenna in waiting in the road. Perhaps it was she who had + frightened Cecily. Had Cecily told ALL she had seen? Her embarrassed + manner certainly suggested more than she had told. He felt himself turning + hot with an indefinite uneasiness. Then he tried to compose himself. After + all, it was a thing of the past. The fair unknown had bribed the duenna + for once, no doubt—had satisfied her girlish curiosity—she + would not come again! But this thought brought with it such a sudden sense + of utter desolation, a deprivation so new and startling, that it + frightened him. Was his head turned by the witcheries of some black-eyed + schoolgirl whom he had seen but once? Or—he felt his cheeks glowing + in the darkness—was it really a case of love at first sight, and she + herself had been impelled by the same yearning that now possessed him? A + delicious satisfaction followed, that left a smile on his lips as if it + had been a kiss. He knew now why he had so strangely hesitated with + Cecily. He had never really loved her—he had never known what love + was till now! + </p> + <p> + He was up early the next morning, skimming the plain on the back of “Chu + Chu,” before the hacienda was stirring. He did not want any one to suspect + his destination, and it was even with a sense of guilt that he dashed + along the swale in the direction of the Amador rancho. A few vaqueros, an + old Digger squaw carrying a basket, two little Indian acolytes on their + way to mass passed him. He was surprised to find that there were no ruts + of carriage wheels within three miles of the casa, and evidently no track + for carriages through the swale. SHE must have come on HORSEBACK. A + broader highway, however, intersected the trail at a point where the low + walls of the Amador rancho came in view. Here he was startled by the + apparition of an old-fashioned family carriage drawn by two large piebald + mules. But it was unfortunately closed. Then, with a desperate audacity + new to his reserved nature, he ranged close beside it, and even stared in + the windows. A heavily mantled old woman, whose brown face was in high + contrast to her snow-white hair, sat in the back seat. Beside her was a + younger companion, with the odd blonde hair and blue eyes sometimes seen + in the higher Castilian type. For an instant the blue eyes caught his, + half-coquettishly. But the girl was NOT at all like his mysterious + visitor, and he fell, discomfited, behind. + </p> + <p> + He had determined to explain his trespass on the grounds of his neighbor, + if questioned, by the excuse that he was hunting a strayed mustang. But + his presence, although watched with a cold reserve by the few peons who + were lounging near the gateway, provoked no challenge from them; and he + made a circuit of the low adobe walls, with their barred windows and + cinnamon-tiled roofs, without molestation—but equally without + satisfaction. He felt he was a fool for imagining that he would see her in + that way. He turned his horse towards the little Mission half a mile away. + There he had once met the old padre, who spoke a picturesque but limited + English; now he was only a few yards ahead of him, just turning into the + church. The padre was pleased to see Don Ricardo; it was an unusual thing + for the Americanos, he observed, to be up so early: for himself, he had + his functions, of course. No, the ladies that the caballero had seen had + not been to mass! They were Donna Maria and her daughter, going to San + Gregorio. They comprised ALL the family at the rancho,—there were + none others, unless the caballero, of a possibility, meant Donna Inez, a + maiden aunt of sixty—an admirable woman, a saint on earth! He + trusted that he would find his estray; there was no doubt a mark upon it, + otherwise the plain was illimitable; there were many horses—the + world was wide! + </p> + <p> + Dick turned his face homewards a little less adventurously, and it must be + confessed, with a growing sense of his folly. The keen, dry morning air + brushed away his fancies of the preceding night; the beautiful eyes that + had lured him thither seemed to flicker and be blown out by its practical + breath. He began to think remorsefully of his cousin, of his aunt,—of + his treachery to that reserve which the little alien household had + maintained towards their Spanish neighbors. He found Aunt Viney and Cecily + at breakfast—Cecily, he thought, looking a trifle pale. Yet (or was + it only his fancy?) she seemed curious about his morning ride. And he + became more reticent. + </p> + <p> + “You must see a good many of our neighbors when you are out so early?” + </p> + <p> + “Why?” he asked shortly, feeling his color rise. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, because—because we don't see them at any other time.” + </p> + <p> + “I saw a very nice chap—I think the best of the lot,” he began, with + assumed jocularity; then, seeing Cecily's eyes suddenly fixed on him, he + added, somewhat lamely, “the padre! There were also two women in a queer + coach.” + </p> + <p> + “Donna Maria Amador, and Dona Felipa Peralta—her daughter by her + first husband,” said Aunt Viney quietly. “When you see the horses you + think it's a circus; when you look inside the carriage you KNOW it's a + funeral.” + </p> + <p> + Aunt Viney did not condescend to explain how she had acquired her + genealogical knowledge of her neighbor's family, but succeeded in breaking + the restraint between the young people. Dick proposed a ride in the + afternoon, which was cheerfully accepted by Cecily. Their intercourse + apparently recovered its old frankness and freedom, marred only for a + moment when they set out on the plain. Dick, really to forget his + preoccupation of the morning, turned his horse's head AWAY from the trail, + to ride in another direction; but Cecily oddly, and with an exhibition of + caprice quite new to her, insisted upon taking the old trail. Nevertheless + they met nothing, and soon became absorbed in the exercise. Dick felt + something of his old tenderness return to this wholesome, pretty girl at + his side; perhaps he betrayed it in his voice, or in an unconscious + lingering by her bridle-rein, but she accepted it with a naive reserve + which he naturally attributed to the effect of his own previous + preoccupation. He bore it so gently, however, that it awakened her + interest, and, possibly, her pique. Her reserve relaxed, and by the time + they returned to the hacienda they had regained something of their former + intimacy. The dry, incisive breath of the plains swept away the last + lingering remnants of yesterday's illusions. Under this frankly open sky, + in this clear perspective of the remote Sierras, which admitted no + fanciful deception of form or distance—there remained nothing but a + strange incident—to be later explained or forgotten. Only he could + not bring himself to talk to HER about it. + </p> + <p> + After dinner, and a decent lingering for coffee on the veranda, Dick rose, + and leaning half caressingly, half mischievously, over his aunt's + rocking-chair, but with his eyes on Cecily, said:— + </p> + <p> + “I've been deeply considering, dear Aunty, what you said last evening of + the necessity of our offering a good example to our neighbors. Now, + although Cecily and I are cousins, yet, as I am HEAD of the house, lord of + the manor, and padron, according to the Spanish ideas I am her recognised + guardian and protector, and it seems to me it is my positive DUTY to + accompany her if she wishes to walk out this evening.” + </p> + <p> + A momentary embarrassment—which, however, changed quickly into an + answering smile to her cousin—came over Cecily's face. She turned to + her aunt. + </p> + <p> + “Well, don't go too far,” said that lady quietly. + </p> + <p> + When they closed the grille behind them and stepped into the lane, Cecily + shot a quick glance at her cousin. + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps you'd rather walk in the garden?” + </p> + <p> + “I? Oh, no,” he answered honestly. “But”—he hesitated—“would + you?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” she said faintly. + </p> + <p> + He impulsively offered his arm; her slim hand slipped lightly through it + and rested on his sleeve. They crossed the lane together, and entered the + garden. A load appeared to be lifted from his heart; the moment seemed + propitious,—here was a chance to recover his lost ground, to regain + his self-respect and perhaps his cousin's affection. By a common instinct, + however, they turned to the right, and AWAY from the stone bench, and + walked slowly down the broad allee. + </p> + <p> + They talked naturally and confidingly of the days when they had met + before, of old friends they had known and changes that had crept into + their young lives; they spoke affectionately of the grim, lonely, but + self-contained old woman they had just left, who had brought them thus + again together. Cecily talked of Dick's studies, of the scientific work on + which he was engaged, that was to bring him, she was sure, fame and + fortune! They talked of the thoughtful charm of the old house, of its + quaint old-world flavor. They spoke of the beauty of the night, the + flowers and the stars, in whispers, as one is apt to do—as fearing + to disturb a super-sensitiveness in nature. + </p> + <p> + They had come out later than on the previous night; and the moon, already + risen above the high walls of the garden, seemed a vast silver shield + caught in the interlacing tops of the old pear-trees, whose branches + crossed its bright field like dark bends or bars. As it rose higher, it + began to separate the lighter shrubbery, and open white lanes through the + olive-trees. Damp currents of air, alternating with drier heats, on what + appeared to be different levels, moved across the whole garden, or gave + way at times to a breathless lull and hush of everything, in which the + long rose alley seemed to be swooning in its own spices. They had reached + the bottom of the garden, and had turned, facing the upper moonlit + extremity and the bare stone bench. Cecily's voice faltered, her hand + leaned more heavily on his arm, as if she were overcome by the strong + perfume. His right hand began to steal towards hers. But she had stopped; + she was trembling. + </p> + <p> + “Go on,” she said in a half whisper. “Leave me a moment; I'll join you + afterwards.” + </p> + <p> + “You are ill, Cecily! It's those infernal flowers!” said Dick earnestly. + “Let me help you to the bench.” + </p> + <p> + “No—it's nothing. Go on, please. Do! Will you go!” + </p> + <p> + She spoke with imperiousness, unlike herself. He walked on mechanically a + dozen paces and turned. She had disappeared. He remembered there was a + smaller gate opening upon the plain near where they had stopped. Perhaps + she had passed through that. He continued on, slowly, towards the upper + end of the garden, occasionally turning to await her return. In this way + he gradually approached the stone bench. He was facing about to continue + his walk, when his heart seemed to stop beating. The beautiful visitor of + last night was sitting alone on the bench before him! + </p> + <p> + She had not been there a moment before; he could have sworn it. Yet there + was no illusion now of shade or distance. She was scarcely six feet from + him, in the bright moonlight. The whole of her exquisite little figure was + visible, from her lustrous hair down to the tiny, black satin, + low-quartered slipper, held as by two toes. Her face was fully revealed; + he could see even the few minute freckles, like powdered allspice, that + heightened the pale satin sheen of her beautifully rounded cheek; he could + detect even the moist shining of her parted red lips, the white outlines + of her little teeth, the length of her curved lashes, and the meshes of + the black lace veil that fell from the yellow rose above her ear to the + black silk camisa; he noted even the thick yellow satin saya, or skirt, + heavily flounced with black lace and bugles, and that it was a different + dress from that worn on the preceding night, a half-gala costume, carried + with the indescribable air of a woman looking her best and pleased to do + so: all this he had noted, drawing nearer and nearer, until near enough to + forget it all and drown himself in the depths of her beautiful eyes. For + they were no longer childlike and wondering: they were glowing with + expectancy, anticipation—love! + </p> + <p> + He threw himself passionately on the bench beside her. Yet, even if he had + known her language, he could not have spoken. She leaned towards him; + their eyes seemed to meet caressingly, as in an embrace. Her little hand + slipped from the yellow folds of her skirt to the bench. He eagerly seized + it. A subtle thrill ran through his whole frame. There was no delusion + here; it was flesh and blood, warm, quivering, and even tightening round + his own. He was about to carry it to his lips, when she rose and stepped + backwards. He pressed eagerly forward. Another backward step brought her + to the pear-tree, where she seemed to plunge into its shadow. Dick Bracy + followed—and the same shadow seemed to fold them in its embrace. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + He did not return to the veranda and chocolate that evening, but sent word + from his room that he had retired, not feeling well. + </p> + <p> + Cecily, herself a little nervously exalted, corroborated the fact of his + indisposition by telling Aunt Viney that the close odors of the rose + garden had affected them both. Indeed, she had been obliged to leave + before him. Perhaps in waiting for her return—and she really was not + well enough to go back—he was exposed to the night air too long. She + was very sorry. + </p> + <p> + Aunt Viney heard this with a slight contraction of her brows and a renewed + scrutiny of her knitting; and, having satisfied herself by a personal + visit to Dick's room that he was not alarmingly ill, set herself to find + out what was really the matter with the young people; for there was no + doubt that Cecily was in some vague way as disturbed and preoccupied as + Dick. He rode out again early the next morning, returning to his studies + in the library directly after breakfast; and Cecily was equally reticent, + except when, to Aunt Viney's perplexity, she found excuses for Dick's + manner on the ground of his absorption in his work, and that he was + probably being bored by want of society. She proposed that she should ask + an old schoolfellow to visit them. + </p> + <p> + “It would give Dick a change of ideas, and he would not be perpetually + obliged to look so closely after me.” She blushed slightly under Aunt + Viney's gaze, and added hastily, “I mean, of course, he would not feel it + his DUTY.” + </p> + <p> + She even induced her aunt to drive with her to the old mission church, + where she displayed a pretty vivacity and interest in the people they met, + particularly a few youthful and picturesque caballeros. Aunt Viney smiled + gravely. Was the poor child developing an unlooked-for coquetry, or + preparing to make the absent-minded Dick jealous? Well, the idea was not a + bad one. In the evening she astonished the two cousins by offering to + accompany them into the garden—a suggestion accepted with eager and + effusive politeness by each, but carried out with great awkwardness by the + distrait young people later. Aunt Viney clearly saw that it was not her + PRESENCE that was required. In this way two or three days elapsed without + apparently bringing the relations of Dick and Cecily to any more + satisfactory conclusion. The diplomatic Aunt Viney confessed herself + puzzled. + </p> + <p> + One night it was very warm; the usual trade winds had died away before + sunset, leaving an unwonted hush in sky and plain. There was something so + portentous in this sudden withdrawal of that rude stimulus to the + otherwise monotonous level, that a recurrence of such phenomena was always + known as “earthquake weather.” The wild cattle moved uneasily in the + distance without feeding; herds of unbroken mustangs approached the + confines of the hacienda in vague timorous squads. The silence and + stagnation of the old house was oppressive, as if the life had really gone + out of it at last; and Aunt Viney, after waiting impatiently for the young + people to come in to chocolate, rose grimly, set her lips together, and + went out into the lane. The gate of the rose garden opposite was open. She + walked determinedly forward and entered. + </p> + <p> + In that doubly stagnant air the odor of the roses was so suffocating and + overpowering that she had to stop to take breath. The whole garden, except + a near cluster of pear-trees, was brightly illuminated by the moonlight. + No one was to be seen along the length of the broad allee, strewn an inch + deep with scattered red and yellow petals—colorless in the + moonbeams. She was turning away, when Dick's familiar voice, but with a + strange accent of entreaty in it, broke the silence. It seemed to her + vaguely to come from within the pear-tree shadow. + </p> + <p> + “But we must understand one another, my darling! Tell me all. This + suspense, this mystery, this brief moment of happiness, and these hours of + parting and torment, are killing me!” + </p> + <p> + A slight cough broke from Aunt Viney. She had heard enough—she did + not wish to hear more. The mystery was explained. Dick loved Cecily; the + coyness or hesitation was not on HIS part. Some idiotic girlish caprice, + quite inconsistent with what she had noticed at the mission church, was + keeping Cecily silent, reserved, and exasperating to her lover. She would + have a talk with the young lady, without revealing the fact that she had + overheard them. She was perhaps a little hurt that affairs should have + reached this point without some show of confidence to her from the young + people. Dick might naturally be reticent—but Cecily! + </p> + <p> + She did not even look towards the pear-tree, but turned and walked stiffly + out of the gate. As she was crossing the lane she suddenly started back in + utter dismay and consternation! For Cecily, her niece,—in her own + proper person,—was actually just coming OUT OF THE HOUSE! + </p> + <p> + Aunt Viney caught her wrist. “Where have you been?” she asked quickly. + </p> + <p> + “In the house,” stammered Cecily, with a frightened face. + </p> + <p> + “You have not been in the garden with Dick?” continued Aunt Viney sharply—yet + with a hopeless sense of the impossibility of the suggestion. + </p> + <p> + “No, I was not even going there. I thought of just strolling down the + lane.” + </p> + <p> + The girl's accents were truthful; more than that, she absolutely looked + relieved by her aunt's question. “Do you want me, Aunty?” she added + quickly. + </p> + <p> + “Yes—no. Run away, then—but don't go far.” + </p> + <p> + At any other time Aunt Viney might have wondered at the eagerness with + which Cecily tripped away; now she was only anxious to get rid of her. She + entered the casa hurriedly. + </p> + <p> + “Send Josefa to me at once,” she said to Manuel. + </p> + <p> + Josefa, the housekeeper,—a fat Mexican woman,—appeared. “Send + Concha and the other maids here.” They appeared, mutely wondering. Aunt + Viney glanced hurriedly over them—they were all there—a few + comely, but not too attractive, and all stupidly complacent. “Have you + girls any friends here this evening—or are you expecting any?” she + demanded. Of a surety, no!—as the padrona knew—it was not + night for church. “Very well,” returned Aunt Viney; “I thought I heard + your voices in the garden; understand, I want no gallivanting there. Go to + bed.” + </p> + <p> + She was relieved! Dick certainly was not guilty of a low intrigue with one + of the maids. But who and what was she? + </p> + <p> + Dick was absent again from chocolate; there was unfinished work to do. + Cecily came in later, just as Aunt Viney was beginning to be anxious. Had + she appeared distressed or piqued by her cousin's conduct, Aunt Viney + might have spoken; but there was a pretty color on her cheek—the + result, she said, of her rapid walking, and the fresh air; did Aunt Viney + know that a cool breeze had just risen?—and her delicate lips were + wreathed at times in a faint retrospective smile. Aunt Viney stared; + certainly the girl was not pining! What young people were made of + now-a-days she really couldn't conceive. She shrugged her shoulders and + resumed her tatting. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, as Dick's unfinished studies seemed to have whitened his + cheek and impaired his appetite the next morning, she announced her + intention of driving out towards the mission alone. When she returned at + luncheon she further astonished the young people by casually informing + them they would have Spanish visitors to dinner—namely, their + neighbors, Donna Maria Amador and the Dona Felipa Peralta. + </p> + <p> + Both faces were turned eagerly towards her; both said almost in the same + breath, “But, Aunt Viney! you don't know them! However did you—What + does it all mean?” + </p> + <p> + “My dears,” said Aunt Viney placidly, “Mrs. Amador and I have always + nodded to each other, and I knew they were only waiting for the slightest + encouragement. I gave it, and they're coming.” + </p> + <p> + It was difficult to say whether Cecily's or Dick's face betrayed the + greater delight and animation. Aunt Viney looked from the one to the + other. It seemed as if her attempt at diversion had been successful. + </p> + <p> + “Tell us all about it, you dear, clever, artful Aunty!” said Cecily gayly. + </p> + <p> + “There's nothing whatever to tell, my love! It seems, however, that the + young one, Dona Felipa, has seen Dick, and remembers him.” She shot a keen + glance at Dick, but was obliged to admit that the rascal's face remained + unchanged. “And I wanted to bring a cavalier for YOU, dear, but Don Jose's + nephew isn't at home now.” Yet here, to her surprise, Cecily was faintly + blushing. + </p> + <p> + Early in the afternoon the piebald horses and dark brown chariot of the + Amadors drew up before the gateway. The young people were delighted with + Dona Felipa, and thought her blue eyes and tawny hair gave an added + piquancy to her colorless satin skin and otherwise distinctively Spanish + face and figure. Aunt Viney, who entertained Donna Maria, was nevertheless + watchful of the others; but failed to detect in Dick's effusive greeting, + or the Dona's coquettish smile of recognition, any suggestion of previous + confidences. It was rather to Cecily that Dona Felipa seemed to be + characteristically exuberant and childishly feminine. Both mother and + stepdaughter spoke a musical infantine English, which the daughter + supplemented with her eyes, her eyebrows, her little brown fingers, her + plump shoulders, a dozen charming intonations of voice, and a complete + vocabulary in her active and emphatic fan. + </p> + <p> + The young lady went over the house with Cecily curiously, as if recalling + some old memories. “Ah, yes, I remember it—but it was long ago and I + was very leetle—you comprehend, and I have not arrive mooch when the + old Don was alone. It was too—too—what you call melank-oaly. + And the old man have not make mooch to himself of company.” + </p> + <p> + “Then there were no young people in the house, I suppose?” said Cecily, + smiling. + </p> + <p> + “No—not since the old man's father lif. Then there were TWO. It is a + good number, this two, eh?” She gave a single gesture, which took in, with + Cecily, the distant Dick, and with a whole volume of suggestion in her + shoulders, and twirling fan, continued: “Ah! two sometime make one—is + it not? But not THEN in the old time—ah, no! It is a sad story. I + shall tell it to you some time, but not to HIM.” + </p> + <p> + But Cecily's face betrayed no undue bashful consciousness, and she only + asked, with a quiet smile, “Why not to—to my cousin?” + </p> + <p> + “Imbecile!” responded that lively young lady. + </p> + <p> + After dinner the young people proposed to take Dona Felipa into the rose + garden, while Aunt Viney entertained Donna Maria on the veranda. The young + girl threw up her hands with an affectation of horror. “Santa Maria!—in + the rose garden? After the Angelus, you and him? Have you not heard?” + </p> + <p> + But here Donna Maria interposed. Ah! Santa Maria! What was all that! Was + it not enough to talk old woman's gossip and tell vaqueros tales at home, + without making uneasy the strangers? She would have none of it. “Vamos!” + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless Dona Felipa overcame her horror of the rose garden at + infelicitous hours, so far as to permit herself to be conducted by the + cousins into it, and to be installed like a rose queen on the stone bench, + while Dick and Cecily threw themselves in submissive and imploring + attitudes at her little feet. The young girl looked mischievously from one + to the other. + </p> + <p> + “It ees very pret-ty, but all the same I am not a rose: I am what you call + a big goose-berry! Eh—is it not?” + </p> + <p> + The cousins laughed, but without any embarrassed consciousness. “Dona + Felipa knows a sad story of this house,” said Cecily; “but she will not + tell it before you, Dick.” + </p> + <p> + Dick, looking up at the coquettish little figure, with Heaven knows what + OTHER memories in his mind, implored and protested. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! but this little story—she ees not so mooch sad of herself as + she ees str-r-r-ange!” She gave an exaggerated little shiver under her + lace shawl, and closed her eyes meditatively. + </p> + <p> + “Go on,” said Dick, smiling in spite of his interested expectation. + </p> + <p> + Dona Felipa took her fan in both hands, spanning her knees, leaned + forward, and after a preliminary compressing of her lips and knitting of + her brows, said:— + </p> + <p> + “It was a long time ago. Don Gregorio he have his daughter Rosita here, + and for her he will fill all thees rose garden and gif to her; for she + like mooch to lif with the rose. She ees very pret-ty. You shall have seen + her picture here in the casa. No? It have hang under the crucifix in the + corner room, turn around to the wall—WHY, you shall comprehend when + I have made finish thees story. Comes to them here one day Don Vincente, + Don Gregorio's nephew, to lif when his father die. He was yong, a pollio—same + as Rosita. They were mooch together; they have make lofe. What will you?—it + ees always the same. The Don Gregorio have comprehend; the friends have + all comprehend; in a year they will make marry. Dona Rosita she go to + Monterey to see his family. There ees an English warship come there; and + Rosita she ees very gay with the officers, and make the flirtation very + mooch. Then Don Vincente he is onhappy, and he revenge himself to make + lofe with another. When Rosita come back it is very miserable for them + both, but they say nossing. The warship he have gone away; the other girl + Vincente he go not to no more. All the same, Rosita and Vincente are very + triste, and the family will not know what to make. Then Rosita she is sick + and eat nossing, and walk to herself all day in the rose garden, until she + is as white and fade away as the rose. And Vincente he eat nossing, but + drink mooch aguardiente. Then he have fever and go dead. And Rosita she + have fainting and fits; and one day they have look for her in the rose + garden, and she is not! And they poosh and poosh in the ground for her, + and they find her with so mooch rose-leaves—so deep—on top of + her. SHE has go dead. It is a very sad story, and when you hear it you are + very, very mooch dissatisfied.” + </p> + <p> + It is to be feared that the two Americans were not as thrilled by this sad + recital as the fair narrator had expected, and even Dick ventured to point + out that those sort of things happened also to his countrymen, and were + not peculiar to the casa. + </p> + <p> + “But you said that there was a terrible sequel,” suggested Cecily + smilingly: “tell us THAT. Perhaps Mr. Bracy may receive it a little more + politely.” + </p> + <p> + An expression of superstitious gravity, half real, half simulated, came + over Dona Felipa's face, although her vivacity of gesticulation and + emphasis did not relax. She cast a hurried glance around her, and leaned a + little forward towards the cousins. + </p> + <p> + “When there are no more young people in the casa because they are dead,” + she continued, in a lower voice, “Don Gregorio he is very melank-oaly, and + he have no more company for many years. Then there was a rodeo near the + hacienda, and there came five or six caballeros to stay with him for the + feast. Notabilimente comes then Don Jorge Martinez. He is a bad man—so + weeked—a Don Juan for making lofe to the ladies. He lounge in the + garden, he smoke his cigarette, he twist the moustache—so! One day + he came in, and he laugh and wink so and say, 'Oh, the weeked, sly Don + Gregorio! He have hid away in the casa a beautiful, pret-ty girl, and he + will nossing say.' And the other caballeros say, 'Mira! what is this? + there is not so mooch as one young lady in the casa.' And Don Jorge he + wink, and he say, 'Imbeciles! pigs!' And he walk in the garden and twist + his moustache more than ever. And one day, behold! he walk into the casa, + very white and angry, and he swear mooch to himself; and he orders his + horse, and he ride away, and never come back no more, never-r-r! And one + day another caballero, Don Esteban Briones, he came in, and say, 'Hola! + Don Jorge has forgotten his pret-ty girl: he have left her over on the + garden bench. Truly I have seen.' And they say, 'We will too.' And they + go, and there is nossing. And they say, 'Imbecile and pig!' But he is not + imbecile and pig; for he has seen, and Don Jorge has seen; and why? For it + is not a girl, but what you call her—a ghost! And they will that Don + Esteban should make a picture of her—a design; and he make one. And + old Don Gregorio he say, 'madre de Dios! it is Rosita'—the same that + hung under the crucifix in the big room.” + </p> + <p> + “And is that all?” asked Dick, with a somewhat pronounced laugh, but a + face that looked quite white in the moonlight. + </p> + <p> + “No, it ees NOT all. For when Don Gregorio got himself more company + another time—it ees all yonge ladies, and my aunt she is invite too; + for she was yonge then, and she herself have tell to me this:— + </p> + <p> + “One night she is in the garden with the other girls, and when they want + to go in the casa one have say, 'Where is Francisca Pacheco? Look, she + came here with us, and now she is not.' Another one say, 'She have conceal + herself to make us affright.' And my aunt she say, 'I will go seek that I + shall find her.' And she go. And when she came to the pear-tree, she heard + Francisca's voice, and it say to some one she see not, 'Fly! vamos! some + one have come.' And then she come at the moment upon Francisca, very white + and trembling, and—alone. And Francisca she have run away and say + nossing, and shut herself in her room. And one of the other girls say: 'It + is the handsome caballero with the little black moustache and sad white + face that I have seen in the garden that make this. It is truly that he is + some poor relation of Don Gregorio, or some mad kinsman that he will not + we should know.' And my aunt ask Don Gregorio; for she is yonge. And he + have say: 'What silly fool ees thees? There is not one caballero here, but + myself.' And when the other young girl have tell to him how the caballero + look, he say: 'The saints save us! I cannot more say. It ees Don Vincente, + who haf gone dead.' And he cross himself, and—But look! Madre de + Dios! Mees Cecily, you are ill—you are affrighted. I am a gabbling + fool! Help her, Don Ricardo; she is falling!” + </p> + <p> + But it was too late: Cecily had tried to rise to her feet, had staggered + forward and fallen in a faint on the bench. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Dick did not remember how he helped to carry the insensible Cecily to the + casa, nor what explanation he had given to the alarmed inmates of her + sudden attack. He recalled vaguely that something had been said of the + overpowering perfumes of the garden at that hour, that the lively Felipa + had become half hysterical in her remorseful apologies, and that Aunt + Viney had ended the scene by carrying Cecily into her own room, where she + presently recovered a still trembling but reticent consciousness. But the + fainting of his cousin and the presence of a real emergency had diverted + his imagination from the vague terror that had taken possession of it, and + for the moment enabled him to control himself. With a desperate effort he + managed to keep up a show of hospitable civility to his Spanish friends + until their early departure. Then he hurried to his own room. So + bewildered and horrified he had become, and a prey to such superstitious + terrors, that he could not at that moment bring himself to the test of + looking for the picture of the alleged Rosita, which might still be + hanging in his aunt's room. If it were really the face of his mysterious + visitant—in his present terror—he felt that his reason might + not stand the shock. He would look at it to-morrow, when he was calmer! + Until then he would believe that the story was some strange coincidence + with what must have been his hallucination, or a vulgar trick to which he + had fallen a credulous victim. Until then he would believe that Cecily's + fright had been only the effect of Dona Felipa's story, acting upon a + vivid imagination, and not a terrible confirmation of something she had + herself seen. He threw himself, without undressing, upon his bed in a + benumbing agony of doubt. + </p> + <p> + The gentle opening of his door and the slight rustle of a skirt started + him to his feet with a feeling of new and overpowering repulsion. But it + was a familiar figure that he saw in the long aisle of light which led + from his recessed window, whose face was white enough to have been a + spirit's, and whose finger was laid upon its pale lips, as it softly + closed the door behind it. + </p> + <p> + “Cecily!” + </p> + <p> + “Hush!” she said, in a distracted whisper: “I felt I must see you + to-night. I could not wait until day—no, not another hour! I could + not speak to you before them. I could not go into that dreadful garden + again, or beyond the walls of this house. Dick, I want to—I MUST + tell you something! I would have kept it from every one—from you + most of all! I know you will hate me, and despise me; but, Dick, listen!”—she + caught his hand despairingly, drawing it towards her—“that girl's + awful story was TRUE!” She threw his hand away. + </p> + <p> + “And you have seen HER!” said Dick, frantically. “Good God!” + </p> + <p> + The young girl's manner changed. “HER!” she said, half scornfully, “you + don't suppose I believe THAT story? No. I—I—don't blame me, + Dick,—I have seen HIM.” + </p> + <p> + “Him?” + </p> + <p> + She pushed him nervously into a seat, and sat down beside him. In the half + light of the moon, despite her pallor and distraction, she was still very + human, womanly, and attractive in her disorder. + </p> + <p> + “Listen to me, Dick. Do you remember one afternoon, when we were riding + together, I got ahead of you, and dashed off to the casa. I don't know + what possessed me, or WHY I did it. I only know I wanted to get home + quickly, and get away from you. No, I was not angry, Dick, at YOU; it did + not seem to be THAT; I—well, I confess I was FRIGHTENED—at + something, I don't know what. When I wheeled round into the lane, I saw—a + man—a young gentleman standing by the garden-wall. He was very + picturesque-looking, in his red sash, velvet jacket, and round silver + buttons; handsome, but oh, so pale and sad! He looked at me very eagerly, + and then suddenly drew back, and I heard you on Chu Chu coming at my + heels. You must have seen him and passed him too, I thought: but when you + said nothing of it, I—I don't know why, Dick, I said nothing of it + too. Don't speak!” she added, with a hurried gesture: “I know NOW why you + said nothing,—YOU had not seen him.” + </p> + <p> + She stopped, and put back a wisp of her disordered chestnut hair. + </p> + <p> + “The next time was the night YOU were so queer, Dick, sitting on that + stone bench. When I left you—I thought you didn't care to have me + stay—I went to seek Aunt Viney at the bottom of the garden. I was + very sad, but suddenly I found myself very gay, talking and laughing with + her in a way I could not account for. All at once, looking up, I saw HIM + standing by the little gate, looking at me very sadly. I think I would + have spoken to Aunt Viney, but he put his finger to his lips—his + hand was so slim and white, quite like a hand in one of those Spanish + pictures—and moved slowly backwards into the lane, as if he wished + to speak with ME only—out there. I know I ought to have spoken to + Aunty; I knew it was wrong what I did, but he looked so earnest, so + appealing, so awfully sad, Dick, that I slipped past Aunty and went out of + the gate. Just then she missed me, and called. He made a kind of + despairing gesture, raising his hand Spanish fashion to his lips, as if to + say good-night. You'll think me bold, Dick, but I was so anxious to know + what it all meant, that I gave a glance behind to see if Aunty was + following, before I should go right up to him and demand an explanation. + But when I faced round again, he was gone! I walked up and down the lane + and out on the plain nearly half an hour, seeking him. It was strange, I + know; but I was not a bit FRIGHTENED, Dick—that was so queer—but + I was only amazed and curious.” + </p> + <p> + The look of spiritual terror in Dick's face here seemed to give way to a + less exalted disturbance, as he fixed his eyes on Cecily's. + </p> + <p> + “You remember I met YOU coming in: you seemed so queer then that I did not + say anything to you, for I thought you would laugh at me, or reproach me + for my boldness; and I thought, Dick, that—that—that—this + person wished to speak only to ME.” She hesitated. + </p> + <p> + “Go on,” said Dick, in a voice that had also undergone a singular change. + </p> + <p> + The chestnut head was bent a little lower, as the young girl nervously + twisted her fingers in her lap. + </p> + <p> + “Then I saw him again—and—again,” she went on hesitatingly. + “Of course I spoke to him, to—to—find out what he wanted; but + you know, Dick, I cannot speak Spanish, and of course he didn't understand + me, and didn't reply.” + </p> + <p> + “But his manner, his appearance, gave you some idea of his meaning?” said + Dick suddenly. + </p> + <p> + Cecily's head drooped a little lower. “I thought—that is, I fancied + I knew what he meant.” + </p> + <p> + “No doubt,” said Dick, in a voice which, but for the superstitious horror + of the situation, might have impressed a casual listener as indicating a + trace of human irony. + </p> + <p> + But Cecily did not seem to notice it. “Perhaps I was excited that night, + perhaps I was bolder because I knew you were near me; but I went up to him + and touched him! And then, Dick!—oh, Dick! think how awful—” + </p> + <p> + Again Dick felt the thrill of superstitious terror creep over him. “And he + vanished!” he said hoarsely. + </p> + <p> + “No—not at once,” stammered Cecily, with her head almost buried in + her lap; “for he—he—he took me in his arms and—” + </p> + <p> + “And kissed you?” said Dick, springing to his feet, with every trace of + his superstitious agony gone from his indignant face. But Cecily, without + raising her head, caught at his gesticulating hand. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Dick, Dick! do you think he really did it? The horror of it, Dick! to + be kissed by a—a—man who has been dead a hundred years!” + </p> + <p> + “A hundred fiddlesticks!” said Dick furiously. “We have been deceived! + No,” he stammered, “I mean YOU have been deceived—insulted!” + </p> + <p> + “Hush! Aunty will hear you,” murmured the girl despairingly. + </p> + <p> + Dick, who had thrown away his cousin's hand, caught it again, and dragged + her along the aisle of light to the window. The moon shone upon his + flushed and angry face. + </p> + <p> + “Listen!” he said; “you have been fooled, tricked—infamously tricked + by these people, and some confederate, whom—whom I shall horsewhip + if I catch. The whole story is a lie!” + </p> + <p> + “But you looked as if you believed it—about the girl,” said Cecily; + “you acted so strangely. I even thought, Dick,—sometimes—you + had seen HIM.” + </p> + <p> + Dick shuddered, trembled; but it is to be feared that the lower, more + natural human element in him triumphed. + </p> + <p> + “Nonsense!” he stammered; “the girl was a foolish farrago of absurdities, + improbable on the face of things, and impossible to prove. But that + infernal, sneaking rascal was flesh and blood.” + </p> + <p> + It seemed to him to relieve the situation and establish his own sanity to + combat one illusion with another. Cecily had already been deceived—another + lie wouldn't hurt her. But, strangely enough, he was satisfied that + Cecily's visitant was real, although he still had doubts about his own. + </p> + <p> + “Then you think, Dick, it was actually some real man?” she said piteously. + “Oh, Dick, I have been so foolish!” + </p> + <p> + Foolish she no doubt had been; pretty she certainly was, sitting there in + her loosened hair, and pathetic, appealing earnestness. Surely the ghostly + Rosita's glances were never so pleading as these actual honest eyes behind + their curving lashes. Dick felt a strange, new-born sympathy of suffering, + mingled tantalizingly with a new doubt and jealousy, that was human and + stimulating. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Dick, what are WE to do?” + </p> + <p> + The plural struck him as deliciously sweet and subtle. Had they really + been singled out for this strange experience, or still stranger + hallucination? His arm crept around her; she gently withdrew from it. + </p> + <p> + “I must go now,” she murmured; “but I couldn't sleep until I told you all. + You know, Dick, I have no one else to come to, and it seemed to me that + YOU ought to know it first. I feel better for telling you. You will tell + me to-morrow what you think we ought to do.” + </p> + <p> + They reached the door, opening it softly. She lingered for a moment on the + threshold. + </p> + <p> + “Tell me, Dick” (she hesitated), “if that—that really were a spirit, + and not a real man,—you don't think that—that kiss” (she + shuddered) “could do me harm!” + </p> + <p> + He shuddered too, with a strange and sympathetic consciousness that, + happily, she did not even suspect. But he quickly recovered himself and + said, with something of bitterness in his voice, “I should be more afraid + if it really were a man.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, thank you, Dick!” + </p> + <p> + Her lips parted in a smile of relief; the color came faintly back to her + cheek. + </p> + <p> + A wild thought crossed his fancy that seemed an inspiration. They would + share the risks alike. He leaned towards her: their lips met in their + first kiss. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Dick!” + </p> + <p> + “Dearest!” + </p> + <p> + “I think—we are saved.” + </p> + <p> + “Why?” + </p> + <p> + “It wasn't at all like that.” + </p> + <p> + He smiled as she flew swiftly down the corridor. Perhaps he thought so + too. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + No picture of the alleged Rosita was ever found. Dona Felipa, when the + story was again referred to, smiled discreetly, but was apparently too + preoccupied with the return of Don Jose's absent nephew for further + gossiping visits to the hacienda; and Dick and Cecily, as Mr. and Mrs. + Bracy, would seem to have survived—if they never really solved—the + mystery of the Hacienda de los Osos. Yet in the month of June, when the + moon is high, one does not sit on the stone bench in the rose garden after + the last stroke of the Angelus. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHU CHU. + </h2> + <p> + I do not believe that the most enthusiastic lover of that “useful and + noble animal,” the horse, will claim for him the charm of geniality, + humor, or expansive confidence. Any creature who will not look you + squarely in the eye—whose only oblique glances are inspired by fear, + distrust, or a view to attack; who has no way of returning caresses, and + whose favorite expression is one of head-lifting disdain, may be “noble” + or “useful,” but can be hardly said to add to the gayety of nations. + Indeed it may be broadly stated that, with the single exception of + gold-fish, of all animals kept for the recreation of mankind the horse is + alone capable of exciting a passion that shall be absolutely hopeless. I + deem these general remarks necessary to prove that my unreciprocated + affection for “Chu Chu” was not purely individual or singular. And I may + add that to these general characteristics she brought the waywardness of + her capricious sex. + </p> + <p> + She came to me out of the rolling dust of an emigrant wagon, behind whose + tailboard she was gravely trotting. She was a half-broken colt—in + which character she had at different times unseated everybody in the train—and, + although covered with dust, she had a beautiful coat, and the most lambent + gazelle-like eyes I had ever seen. I think she kept these latter organs + purely for ornament—apparently looking at things with her nose, her + sensitive ears, and, sometimes, even a slight lifting of her slim near + fore-leg. On our first interview I thought she favored me with a coy + glance, but as it was accompanied by an irrelevant “Look out!” from her + owner, the teamster, I was not certain. I only know that after some + conversation, a good deal of mental reservation, and the disbursement of + considerable coin, I found myself standing in the dust of the departing + emigrant-wagon with one end of a forty-foot riata in my hand, and Chu Chu + at the other. + </p> + <p> + I pulled invitingly at my own end, and even advanced a step or two towards + her. She then broke into a long disdainful pace, and began to circle round + me at the extreme limit of her tether. I stood admiring her free action + for some moments—not always turning with her, which was tiring—until + I found that she was gradually winding herself up ON ME! Her frantic + astonishment when she suddenly found herself thus brought up against me + was one of the most remarkable things I ever saw, and nearly took me off + my legs. Then when she had pulled against the riata until her narrow head + and prettily arched neck were on a perfectly straight line with it, she as + suddenly slackened the tension and condescended to follow me, at an angle + of her own choosing. Sometimes it was on one side of me, sometimes on the + other. Even then the sense of my dreadful contiguity apparently would come + upon her like a fresh discovery, and she would become hysterical. But I do + not think that she really SAW me. She looked at the riata and sniffed it + disparagingly, she pawed some pebbles that were near me tentatively with + her small hoof; she started back with a Robinson Crusoe-like horror of my + footprints in the wet gully, but my actual personal presence she ignored. + She would sometimes pause, with her head thoughtfully between her + fore-legs, and apparently say: “There is some extraordinary presence here: + animal, vegetable, or mineral—I can't make out which—but it's + not good to eat, and I loathe and detest it.” + </p> + <p> + When I reached my house in the suburbs, before entering the “fifty vara” + lot inclosure, I deemed it prudent to leave her outside while I informed + the household of my purchase; and with this object I tethered her by the + long riata to a solitary sycamore which stood in the centre of the road, + the crossing of two frequented thoroughfares. It was not long, however, + before I was interrupted by shouts and screams from that vicinity, and on + returning thither I found that Chu Chu, with the assistance of her riata, + had securely wound up two of my neighbors to the tree, where they + presented the appearance of early Christian martyrs. When I released them + it appeared that they had been attracted by Chu Chu's graces, and had + offered her overtures of affection, to which she had characteristically + rotated with this miserable result. I led her, with some difficulty, + warily keeping clear of the riata, to the inclosure, from whose fence I + had previously removed several bars. Although the space was wide enough to + have admitted a troop of cavalry she affected not to notice it, and + managed to kick away part of another section on entering. She resisted the + stable for some time, but after carefully examining it with her hoofs, and + an affectedly meek outstretching of her nose, she consented to recognize + some oats in the feed-box—without looking at them—and was + formally installed. All this while she had resolutely ignored my presence. + As I stood watching her she suddenly stopped eating; the same reflective + look came over her. “Surely I am not mistaken, but that same obnoxious + creature is somewhere about here!” she seemed to say, and shivered at the + possibility. + </p> + <p> + It was probably this which made me confide my unreciprocated affection to + one of my neighbors—a man supposed to be an authority on horses, and + particularly of that wild species to which Chu Chu belonged. It was he + who, leaning over the edge of the stall where she was complacently and, as + usual, obliviously munching, absolutely dared to toy with a pet lock of + hair which she wore over the pretty star on her forehead. “Ye see, + captain,” he said with jaunty easiness, “hosses is like wimmen; ye don't + want ter use any standoffishness or shyness with THEM; a stiddy but + keerless sort o' familiarity, a kind o' free but firm handlin', jess like + this, to let her see who's master”— + </p> + <p> + We never clearly knew HOW it happened; but when I picked up my neighbor + from the doorway, amid the broken splinters of the stall rail, and a + quantity of oats that mysteriously filled his hair and pockets, Chu Chu + was found to have faced around the other way, and was contemplating her + forelegs, with her hind ones in the other stall. My neighbor spoke of + damages while he was in the stall, and of physical coercion when he was + out of it again. But here Chu Chu, in some marvelous way, righted herself, + and my neighbor departed hurriedly with a brimless hat and an unfinished + sentence. + </p> + <p> + My next intermediary was Enriquez Saltello—a youth of my own age, + and the brother of Consuelo Saltello, whom I adored. As a Spanish + Californian he was presumed, on account of Chu Chu's half-Spanish origin, + to have superior knowledge of her character, and I even vaguely believed + that his language and accent would fall familiarly on her ear. There was + the drawback, however, that he always preferred to talk in a marvelous + English, combining Castilian precision with what he fondly believed to be + Californian slang. + </p> + <p> + “To confer then as to thees horse, which is not—observe me—a + Mexican plug! Ah, no! you can your boots bet on that. She is of Castilian + stock—believe me and strike me dead! I will myself at different + times overlook and affront her in the stable, examine her as to the + assault, and why she should do thees thing. When she is of the exercise I + will also accost and restrain her. Remain tranquil, my friend! When a few + days shall pass much shall be changed, and she will be as another. Trust + your oncle to do thees thing! Comprehend me? Everything shall be lovely, + and the goose hang high!” + </p> + <p> + Conformably with this he “overlooked” her the next day, with a cigarette + between his yellow-stained finger-tips, which made her sneeze in a silent + pantomimic way, and certain Spanish blandishments of speech which she + received with more complacency. But I don't think she ever even looked at + him. In vain he protested that she was the “dearest” and “littlest” of his + “little loves”—in vain he asserted that she was his patron saint, + and that it was his soul's delight to pray to her; she accepted the + compliment with her eyes fixed upon the manger. When he had exhausted his + whole stock of endearing diminutives, adding a few playful and more + audacious sallies, she remained with her head down, as if inclined to + meditate upon them. This he declared was at least an improvement on her + former performances. It may have been my own jealousy, but I fancied she + was only saying to herself, “Gracious! can there be TWO of them?” + </p> + <p> + “Courage and patience, my friend,” he said, as we were slowly quitting the + stable. “Thees horse is yonge, and has not yet the habitude of the person. + To-morrow, at another season, I shall give to her a foundling” + (“fondling,” I have reason to believe, was the word intended by Enriquez)—“and + we shall see. It shall be as easy as to fall away from a log. A leetle + more of this chin music which your friend Enriquez possesses, and some + tapping of the head and neck, and you are there. You are ever the right + side up. Houp la! But let us not precipitate this thing. The more haste, + we do not so much accelerate ourselves.” + </p> + <p> + He appeared to be suiting the action to the word as he lingered in the + doorway of the stable. “Come on,” I said. + </p> + <p> + “Pardon,” he returned, with a bow that was both elaborate and evasive, + “but you shall yourself precede me—the stable is YOURS.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, come along!” I continued impatiently. To my surprise he seemed to + dodge back into the stable again. After an instant he reappeared. + </p> + <p> + “Pardon! but I am re-strain! Of a truth, in this instant I am grasp by the + mouth of thees horse in the coat-tail of my dress! She will that I should + remain. It would seem”—he disappeared again—“that”—he + was out once more—“the experiment is a sooccess! She reciprocate! + She is, of a truth, gone on me. It is lofe!”—a stronger pull from + Chu Chu here sent him in again—“but”—he was out now + triumphantly with half his garment torn away—“I shall coquet.” + </p> + <p> + Nothing daunted, however, the gallant fellow was back next day with a + Mexican saddle, and attired in the complete outfit of a vaquero. Overcome + though HE was by heavy deerskin trousers, open at the side from the knees + down, and fringed with bullion buttons, an enormous flat sombrero, and a + stiff, short embroidered velvet jacket, I was more concerned at the + ponderous saddle and equipments intended for the slim Chu Chu. That these + would hide and conceal her beautiful curves and contour, as well as + overweight her, seemed certain; that she would resist them all to the last + seemed equally clear. Nevertheless, to my surprise, when she was led out, + and the saddle thrown deftly across her back, she was passive. Was it + possible that some drop of her old Spanish blood responded to its clinging + embrace? She did not either look at it nor smell it. But when Enriquez + began to tighten the “cinch” or girth a more singular thing occurred. Chu + Chu visibly distended her slender barrel to twice its dimensions; the more + he pulled the more she swelled, until I was actually ashamed of her. Not + so Enriquez. He smiled at us, and complacently stroked his thin moustache. + </p> + <p> + “Eet is ever so! She is the child of her grandmother! Even when you shall + make saddle thees old Castilian stock, it will make large—it will + become a balloon! Eet is a trick—eet is a leetle game—believe + me. For why?” + </p> + <p> + I had not listened, as I was at that moment astonished to see the saddle + slowly slide under Chu Chu's belly, and her figure resume, as if by magic, + its former slim proportions. Enriquez followed my eyes, lifted his + shoulders, shrugged them, and said smilingly, “Ah, you see!” + </p> + <p> + When the girths were drawn in again with an extra pull or two from the + indefatigable Enriquez, I fancied that Chu Chu nevertheless secretly + enjoyed it, as her sex is said to appreciate tight-lacing. She drew a deep + sigh, possibly of satisfaction, turned her neck, and apparently tried to + glance at her own figure—Enriquez promptly withdrawing to enable her + to do so easily. Then the dread moment arrived. Enriquez, with his hand on + her mane, suddenly paused and, with exaggerated courtesy, lifted his hat + and made an inviting gesture. + </p> + <p> + “You will honor me to precede.” + </p> + <p> + I shook my head laughingly. + </p> + <p> + “I see,” responded Enriquez gravely. “You have to attend the obsequies of + your aunt who is dead, at two of the clock. You have to meet your broker + who has bought you feefty share of the Comstock lode—at thees moment—or + you are loss! You are excuse! Attend! Gentlemen, make your bets! The band + has arrived to play! 'Ere we are!” + </p> + <p> + With a quick movement the alert young fellow had vaulted into the saddle. + But, to the astonishment of both of us, the mare remained perfectly still. + There was Enriquez bolt upright in the stirrups, completely overshadowing + by his saddle-flaps, leggings, and gigantic spurs the fine proportions of + Chu Chu, until she might have been a placid Rosinante, bestridden by some + youthful Quixote. She closed her eyes, she was going to sleep! We were + dreadfully disappointed. This clearly would not do. Enriquez lifted the + reins cautiously! Chu Chu moved forward slowly—then stopped, + apparently lost in reflection. + </p> + <p> + “Affront her on thees side.” + </p> + <p> + I approached her gently. She shot suddenly into the air, coming down again + on perfectly stiff legs with a springless jolt. This she instantly + followed by a succession of other rocket-like propulsions, utterly unlike + a leap, all over the inclosure. The movements of the unfortunate Enriquez + were equally unlike any equitation I ever saw. He appeared occasionally + over Chu Chu's head, astride of her neck and tail, or in the free air, but + never IN the saddle. His rigid legs, however, never lost the stirrups, but + came down regularly, accentuating her springless hops. More than that, the + disproportionate excess of rider, saddle, and accoutrements was so great + that he had, at times, the appearance of lifting Chu Chu forcibly from the + ground by superior strength, and of actually contributing to her exercise! + As they came towards me, a wild tossing and flying mass of hoofs and + spurs, it was not only difficult to distinguish them apart, but to + ascertain how much of the jumping was done by Enriquez separately. At last + Chu Chu brought matters to a close by making for the low-stretching + branches of an oak-tree which stood at the corner of the lot. In a few + moments she emerged from it—but without Enriquez. + </p> + <p> + I found the gallant fellow disengaging himself from the fork of a branch + in which he had been firmly wedged, but still smiling and confident, and + his cigarette between his teeth. Then for the first time he removed it, + and seating himself easily on the branch with his legs dangling down, he + blandly waved aside my anxious queries with a gentle reassuring gesture. + </p> + <p> + “Remain tranquil, my friend. Thees does not count! I have conquer—you + observe—for why? I have NEVER for once ARRIVE AT THE GROUND! + Consequent she is disappoint! She will ever that I SHOULD! But I have got + her when the hair is not long! Your oncle Henry”—with an angelic + wink—“is fly! He is ever a bully boy, with the eye of glass! Believe + me. Behold! I am here! Big Injin! Whoop!” + </p> + <p> + He leaped lightly to the ground. Chu Chu, standing watchfully at a little + distance, was evidently astonished at his appearance. She threw out her + hind hoofs violently, shot up into the air until the stirrups crossed each + other high above the saddle, and made for the stable in a succession of + rabbit-like bounds—taking the precaution to remove the saddle, on + entering, by striking it against the lintel of the door. “You observe,” + said Enriquez blandly, “she would make that thing of ME. Not having the + good occasion, she ees dissatisfied. Where are you now?” + </p> + <p> + Two or three days afterwards he rode her again with the same result—accepted + by him with the same heroic complacency. As we did not, for certain + reasons, care to use the open road for this exercise, and as it was + impossible to remove the tree, we were obliged to submit to the + inevitable. On the following day I mounted her—undergoing the same + experience as Enriquez, with the individual sensation of falling from a + third-story window on top of a counting-house stool, and the variation of + being projected over the fence. When I found that Chu Chu had not + accompanied me, I saw Enriquez at my side. “More than ever is become + necessary that we should do thees things again,” he said gravely, as he + assisted me to my feet. “Courage, my noble General! God and Liberty! Once + more on to the breach! Charge, Chestare, charge! Come on, Don Stanley! + 'Ere we are!” + </p> + <p> + He helped me none too quickly to catch my seat again, for it apparently + had the effect of the turned peg on the enchanted horse in the Arabian + Nights, and Chu Chu instantly rose into the air. But she came down this + time before the open window of the kitchen, and I alighted easily on the + dresser. The indefatigable Enriquez followed me. + </p> + <p> + “Won't this do?” I asked meekly. + </p> + <p> + “It ees BETTER—for you arrive NOT on the ground,” he said + cheerfully; “but you should not once but a thousand times make trial! Ha! + Go and win! Nevare die and say so! 'Eave ahead! 'Eave! There you are!” + </p> + <p> + Luckily, this time I managed to lock the rowels of my long spurs under her + girth, and she could not unseat me. She seemed to recognize the fact after + one or two plunges, when, to my great surprise, she suddenly sank to the + ground and quietly rolled over me. The action disengaged my spurs, but, + righting herself without getting up, she turned her beautiful head and + absolutely LOOKED at me!—still in the saddle. I felt myself + blushing! But the voice of Enriquez was at my side. + </p> + <p> + “Errise, my friend; you have conquer! It is SHE who has arrive at the + ground! YOU are all right. It is done; believe me, it is feenish! No more + shall she make thees thing. From thees instant you shall ride her as the + cow—as the rail of thees fence—and remain tranquil. For she is + a-broke! Ta-ta! Regain your hats, gentlemen! Pass in your checks! It is + ovar! How are you now?” He lit a fresh cigarette, put his hands in his + pockets, and smiled at me blandly. + </p> + <p> + For all that, I ventured to point out that the habit of alighting in the + fork of a tree, or the disengaging of one's self from the saddle on the + ground, was attended with inconvenience, and even ostentatious display. + But Enriquez swept the objections away with a single gesture. “It is the + PREENCIPAL—the bottom fact—at which you arrive. The next come + of himself! Many horse have achieve to mount the rider by the knees, and + relinquish after thees same fashion. My grandfather had a barb of thees + kind—but she has gone dead, and so have my grandfather. Which is sad + and strange! Otherwise I shall make of them both an instant example!” + </p> + <p> + I ought to have said that although these performances were never actually + witnessed by Enriquez's sister—for reasons which he and I thought + sufficient—the dear girl displayed the greatest interest in them, + and, perhaps aided by our mutually complimentary accounts of each other, + looked upon us both as invincible heroes. It is possible also that she + over-estimated our success, for she suddenly demanded that I should RIDE + Chu Chu to her house, that she might see her. It was not far; by going + through a back lane I could avoid the trees which exercised such a fatal + fascination for Chu Chu. There was a pleading, child-like entreaty in + Consuelo's voice that I could not resist, with a slight flash from her + lustrous dark eyes that I did not care to encourage. So I resolved to try + it at all hazards. + </p> + <p> + My equipment for the performance was modeled after Enriquez's previous + costume, with the addition of a few fripperies of silver and stamped + leather out of compliment to Consuelo, and even with a faint hope that it + might appease Chu Chu. SHE certainly looked beautiful in her glittering + accoutrements, set off by her jet-black shining coat. With an air of + demure abstraction she permitted me to mount her, and even for a hundred + yards or so indulged in a mincing maidenly amble that was not without a + touch of coquetry. Encouraged by this, I addressed a few terms of + endearment to her, and in the exuberance of my youthful enthusiasm I even + confided to her my love for Consuelo, and begged her to be “good” and not + disgrace herself and me before my Dulcinea. In my foolish trustfulness I + was rash enough to add a caress, and to pat her soft neck. She stopped + instantly with a hysteric shudder. I knew what was passing through her + mind: she had suddenly become aware of my baleful existence. + </p> + <p> + The saddle and bridle Chu Chu was becoming accustomed to, but who was this + living, breathing object that had actually touched her? Presently her + oblique vision was attracted by the fluttering movement of a fallen + oak-leaf in the road before her. She had probably seen many oak-leaves + many times before; her ancestors had no doubt been familiar with them on + the trackless hills and in field and paddock, but this did not alter her + profound conviction that I and the leaf were identical, that our baleful + touch was something indissolubly connected. She reared before that + innocent leaf, she revolved round it, and then fled from it at the top of + her speed. + </p> + <p> + The lane passed before the rear wall of Saltello's garden. Unfortunately, + at the angle of the fence stood a beautiful Madrono-tree, brilliant with + its scarlet berries, and endeared to me as Consuelo's favorite haunt, + under whose protecting shade I had more than once avowed my youthful + passion. By the irony of fate Chu Chu caught sight of it, and with a + succession of spirited bounds instantly made for it. In another moment I + was beneath it, and Chu Chu shot like a rocket into the air. I had barely + time to withdraw my feet from the stirrups, to throw up one arm to protect + my glazed sombrero and grasp an overhanging branch with the other, before + Chu Chu darted off. But to my consternation, as I gained a secure perch on + the tree, and looked about me, I saw her—instead of running away—quietly + trot through the open gate into Saltello's garden. + </p> + <p> + Need I say that it was to the beneficent Enriquez that I again owed my + salvation? Scarcely a moment elapsed before his bland voice rose in a + concentrated whisper from the corner of the garden below me. He had + divined the dreadful truth! + </p> + <p> + “For the love of God, collect to yourself many kinds of thees berry! All + you can! Your full arms round! Rest tranquil. Leave to your ole oncle to + make for you a delicate exposure. At the instant!” + </p> + <p> + He was gone again. I gathered, wonderingly, a few of the larger clusters + of parti-colored fruit and patiently waited. Presently he reappeared, and + with him the lovely Consuelo—her dear eyes filled with an adorable + anxiety. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” continued Enriquez to his sister, with a confidential lowering of + tone but great distinctness of utterance, “it is ever so with the + American! He will ever make FIRST the salutation of the flower or the + fruit, picked to himself by his own hand, to the lady where he call. It is + the custom of the American hidalgo! My God—what will you? I make it + not—it is so! Without doubt he is in this instant doing thees thing. + That is why he have let go his horse to precede him here; it is always the + etiquette to offer these things on the feet. Ah! Behold! it is he!—Don + Francisco! Even now he will descend from thees tree! Ah! You make the + blush, little sister (archly)! I will retire! I am discreet; two is not + company for the one! I make tracks! I am gone!” + </p> + <p> + How far Consuelo entirely believed and trusted her ingenious brother I do + not know, nor even then cared to inquire. For there was a pretty mantling + of her olive cheek, as I came forward with my offering, and a certain + significant shyness in her manner that were enough to throw me into a + state of hopeless imbecility. And I was always miserably conscious that + Consuelo possessed an exalted sentimentality, and a predilection for the + highest mediaeval romance, in which I knew I was lamentably deficient. + Even in our most confidential moments I was always aware that I weakly + lagged behind this daughter of a gloomily distinguished ancestry, in her + frequent incursions into a vague but poetic past. There was something of + the dignity of the Spanish chatelaine in the sweetly grave little figure + that advanced to accept my specious offering. I think I should have fallen + on my knees to present it, but for the presence of the all seeing + Enriquez. But why did I even at that moment remember that he had early + bestowed upon her the nickname of “Pomposa”? This, as Enriquez himself + might have observed, was “sad and strange.” + </p> + <p> + I managed to stammer out something about the Madrono berries being at her + “disposicion” (the tree was in her own garden!), and she took the branches + in her little brown hand with a soft response to my unutterable glances. + </p> + <p> + But here Chu Chu, momentarily forgotten, executed a happy diversion. To + our astonishment she gravely walked up to Consuelo and, stretching out her + long slim neck, not only sniffed curiously at the berries, but even + protruded a black underlip towards the young girl herself. In another + instant Consuelo's dignity melted. Throwing her arms around Chu Chu's neck + she embraced and kissed her. Young as I was, I understood the divine + significance of a girl's vicarious effusiveness at such a moment, and felt + delighted. But I was the more astonished that the usually sensitive horse + not only submitted to these caresses, but actually responded to the extent + of affecting to nip my mistress's little right ear. + </p> + <p> + This was enough for the impulsive Consuelo. She ran hastily into the + house, and in a few moments reappeared in a bewitching riding-skirt + gathered round her jimp waist. In vain Enriquez and myself joined in + earnest entreaty: the horse was hardly broken for even a man's riding yet; + the saints alone could tell what the nervous creature might do with a + woman's skirt flapping at her side! We begged for delay, for reflection, + for at least time to change the saddle—but with no avail! Consuelo + was determined, indignant, distressingly reproachful! Ah, well! if Don + Pancho (an ingenious diminutive of my Christian name) valued his horse so + highly—if he were jealous of the evident devotion of the animal to + herself, he would—but here I succumbed! And then I had the felicity + of holding that little foot for one brief moment in the hollow of my hand, + of readjusting the skirt as she threw her knee over the saddle-horn, of + clasping her tightly—only half in fear—as I surrendered the + reins to her grasp. And to tell the truth, as Enriquez and I fell back, + although I had insisted upon still keeping hold of the end of the riata, + it was a picture to admire. The petite figure of the young girl, and the + graceful folds of her skirt, admirably harmonized with Chu Chu's lithe + contour, and as the mare arched her slim neck and raised her slender head + under the pressure of the reins, it was so like the lifted velvet-capped + toreador crest of Consuelo herself, that they seemed of one race. + </p> + <p> + “I would not that you should hold the riata,” said Consuelo petulantly. + </p> + <p> + I hesitated—Chu Chu looked certainly very amiable—I let go. + She began to amble towards the gate, not mincingly as before, but with a + freer and fuller stride. In spite of the incongruous saddle the young + girl's seat was admirable. As they neared the gate she cast a single + mischievous glance at me, jerked at the rein, and Chu Chu sprang into the + road at a rapid canter. I watched them fearfully and breathlessly, until + at the end of the lane I saw Consuelo rein in slightly, wheel easily, and + come flying back. There was no doubt about it; the horse was under perfect + control. Her second subjugation was complete and final! + </p> + <p> + Overjoyed and bewildered, I overwhelmed them with congratulations; + Enriquez alone retaining the usual brotherly attitude of criticism, and a + superior toleration of a lover's enthusiasm. I ventured to hint to + Consuelo (in what I believed was a safe whisper) that Chu Chu only showed + my own feelings towards her. “Without doubt,” responded Enriquez gravely. + “She have of herself assist you to climb to the tree to pull to yourself + the berry for my sister.” But I felt Consuelo's little hand return my + pressure, and I forgave and even pitied him. + </p> + <p> + From that day forward, Chu Chu and Consuelo were not only firm friends but + daily companions. In my devotion I would have presented the horse to the + young girl, but with flattering delicacy she preferred to call it mine. “I + shall erride it for you, Pancho,” she said; “I shall feel,” she continued + with exalted although somewhat vague poetry, “that it is of YOU! You lofe + the beast—it is therefore of a necessity YOU, my Pancho! It is YOUR + soul I shall erride like the wings of the wind—your lofe in this + beast shall be my only cavalier for ever.” I would have preferred + something whose vicarious qualities were less uncertain than I still felt + Chu Chu's to be, but I kissed the girl's hand submissively. It was only + when I attempted to accompany her in the flesh, on another horse, that I + felt the full truth of my instinctive fears. Chu Chu would not permit any + one to approach her mistress's side. My mounted presence revived in her + all her old blind astonishment and disbelief in my existence; she would + start suddenly, face about, and back away from me in utter amazement as if + I had been only recently created, or with an affected modesty as if I had + been just guilty of some grave indecorum towards her sex which she really + could not stand. The frequency of these exhibitions in the public highway + were not only distressing to me as a simple escort, but as it had the + effect on the casual spectators of making Consuelo seem to participate in + Chu Chu's objections, I felt that, as a lover, it could not be borne. Any + attempt to coerce Chu Chu ended in her running away. And my frantic + pursuit of her was open to equal misconstruction. “Go it, Miss, the little + dude is gainin' on you!” shouted by a drunken teamster to the frightened + Consuelo, once checked me in mid career. Even the dear girl herself saw + the uselessness of my real presence, and after a while was content to ride + with “my soul.” + </p> + <p> + Notwithstanding this, I am not ashamed to say that it was my custom, + whenever she rode out, to keep a slinking and distant surveillance of Chu + Chu on another horse, until she had fairly settled down to her pace. A + little nod of Consuelo's round black-and-red toreador hat or a kiss tossed + from her riding-whip was reward enough! + </p> + <p> + I remember a pleasant afternoon when I was thus awaiting her in the + outskirts of the village. The eternal smile of the Californian summer had + begun to waver and grow less fixed; dust lay thick on leaf and blade; the + dry hills were clothed in russet leather; the trade winds were shifting to + the south with an ominous warm humidity; a few days longer and the rains + would be here. It so chanced that this afternoon my seclusion on the + roadside was accidentally invaded by a village belle—a Western young + lady somewhat older than myself, and of flirtatious reputation. As she + persistently and—as I now have reason to believe—mischievously + lingered, I had only a passing glimpse of Consuelo riding past at an + unaccustomed speed which surprised me at the moment. But as I reasoned + later that she was only trying to avoid a merely formal meeting, I thought + no more about it. It was not until I called at the house to fetch Chu Chu + at the usual hour, and found that Consuelo had not yet returned, that a + recollection of Chu Chu's furious pace again troubled me. An hour passed—it + was getting towards sunset, but there were no signs of Chu Chu nor her + mistress. I became seriously alarmed. I did not care to reveal my fears to + the family, for I felt myself responsible for Chu Chu. At last I + desperately saddled my horse, and galloped off in the direction she had + taken. It was the road to Rosario and the hacienda of one of her + relations, where she sometimes halted. + </p> + <p> + The road was a very unfrequented one, twisting like a mountain river; + indeed, it was the bed of an old watercourse, between brown hills of wild + oats, and debouching at last into a broad blue lake-like expanse of + alfalfa meadows. In vain I strained my eyes over the monotonous level; + nothing appeared to rise above or move across it. In the faint hope that + she might have lingered at the hacienda, I was spurring on again when I + heard a slight splashing on my left. I looked around. A broad patch of + fresher-colored herbage and a cluster of dwarfed alders indicated a hidden + spring. I cautiously approached its quaggy edges, when I was shocked by + what appeared to be a sudden vision! Mid-leg deep in the centre of a + greenish pool stood Chu Chu! But without a strap or buckle of harness upon + her—as naked as when she was foaled! + </p> + <p> + For a moment I could only stare at her in bewildered terror. Far from + recognizing me, she seemed to be absorbed in a nymph-like contemplation of + her own graces in the pool. Then I called “Consuelo!” and galloped + frantically around the spring. But there was no response, nor was there + anything to be seen but the all-unconscious Chu Chu. The pool, thank + Heaven! was not deep enough to have drowned any one; there were no signs + of a struggle on its quaggy edges. The horse might have come from a + distance! I galloped on, still calling. A few hundred yards further I + detected the vivid glow of Chu Chu's scarlet saddle-blanket, in the brush + near the trail. My heart leaped—I was on the track. I called again; + this time a faint reply, in accents I knew too well, came from the field + beside me! + </p> + <p> + Consuelo was there! reclining beside a manzanita bush which screened her + from the road, in what struck me, even at that supreme moment, as a + judicious and picturesquely selected couch of scented Indian grass and dry + tussocks. The velvet hat with its balls of scarlet plush was laid + carefully aside; her lovely blue-black hair retained its tight coils + undisheveled, her eyes were luminous and tender. Shocked as I was at her + apparent helplessness, I remember being impressed with the fact that it + gave so little indication of violent usage or disaster. + </p> + <p> + I threw myself frantically on the ground beside her. + </p> + <p> + “You are hurt, Consita! For Heaven's sake, what has happened?” + </p> + <p> + She pushed my hat back with her little hand, and tumbled my hair gently. + </p> + <p> + “Nothing. YOU are here, Pancho—eet is enofe! What shall come after + thees—when I am perhaps gone among the grave—make nothing! YOU + are here—I am happy. For a little, perhaps—not mooch.” + </p> + <p> + “But,” I went on desperately, “was it an accident? Were you thrown? Was it + Chu Chu?”—for somehow, in spite of her languid posture and voice, I + could not, even in my fears, believe her seriously hurt. + </p> + <p> + “Beat not the poor beast, Pancho. It is not from HER comes thees thing. + She have make nothing—believe me! I have come upon your assignation + with Miss Essmith! I make but to pass you—to fly—to never come + back! I have say to Chu Chu, 'Fly!' We fly many miles. Sometimes together, + sometimes not so mooch! Sometimes in the saddle, sometimes on the neck! + Many things remain in the road; at the end, I myself remain! I have say, + 'Courage, Pancho will come!' Then I say, 'No, he is talk with Miss + Essmith!' I remember not more. I have creep here on the hands. Eet is + feenish!” + </p> + <p> + I looked at her distractedly. She smiled tenderly, and slightly smoothed + down and rearranged a fold of her dress to cover her delicate little boot. + </p> + <p> + “But,” I protested, “you are not much hurt, dearest. You have broken no + bones. Perhaps,” I added, looking at the boot, “only a slight sprain. Let + me carry you to my horse; I will walk beside you, home. Do, dearest + Consita!” + </p> + <p> + She turned her lovely eyes towards me sadly. “You comprehend not, my poor + Pancho! It is not of the foot, the ankle, the arm, or the head that I can + say, 'She is broke!' I would it were even so. But”—she lifted her + sweet lashes slowly—“I have derrange my inside. It is an affair of + my family. My grandfather have once toomble over the bull at a rodeo. He + speak no more; he is dead. For why? He has derrange his inside. Believe + me, it is of the family. You comprehend? The Saltellos are not as the + other peoples for this. When I am gone, you will bring to me the berry to + grow upon my tomb, Pancho; the berry you have picked for me. The little + flower will come too, the little star will arrive, but Consuelo, who lofe + you, she will come not more! When you are happy and talk in the road to + the Essmith, you will not think of me. You will not see my eyes, Pancho; + thees little grass”—she ran her plump little fingers through a + tussock—“will hide them; and the small animals in the black coats + that lif here will have much sorrow—but you will not. It ees better + so! My father will not that I, a Catholique, should marry into a + camp-meeting, and lif in a tent, and make howl like the coyote.” (It was + one of Consuelo's bewildering beliefs that there was only one form of + dissent—Methodism!) “He will not that I should marry a man who + possess not the many horses, ox, and cow, like him. But I care not. YOU + are my only religion, Pancho! I have enofe of the horse, and ox, and cow + when YOU are with me! Kiss me, Pancho. Perhaps it is for the last time—the + feenish! Who knows?” + </p> + <p> + There were tears in her lovely eyes; I felt that my own were growing dim; + the sun was sinking over the dreary plain to the slow rising of the wind; + an infinite loneliness had fallen upon us, and yet I was miserably + conscious of some dreadful unreality in it all. A desire to laugh, which I + felt must be hysterical, was creeping over me; I dared not speak. But her + dear head was on my shoulder, and the situation was not unpleasant. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, something must be done! This was the more difficult as it + was by no means clear what had already been done. Even while I supported + her drooping figure I was straining my eyes across her shoulder for succor + of some kind. Suddenly the figure of a rapid rider appeared upon the road. + It seemed familiar. I looked again—it was the blessed Enriquez! A + sense of deep relief came over me. I loved Consuelo; but never before had + lover ever hailed the irruption of one of his beloved's family with such + complacency. + </p> + <p> + “You are safe, dearest; it is Enriquez!” + </p> + <p> + I thought she received the information coldly. Suddenly she turned upon me + her eyes, now bright and glittering. “Swear to me at the instant, Pancho, + that you will not again look upon Miss Essmith, even for once.” + </p> + <p> + I was simple and literal. Miss Smith was my nearest neighbor, and, unless + I was stricken with blindness, compliance was impossible. I hesitated—but + swore. + </p> + <p> + “Enofe—you have hesitate—I will no more.” + </p> + <p> + She rose to her feet with grave deliberation. For an instant, with the + recollection of the delicate internal organization of the Saltellos on my + mind, I was in agony lest she should totter and fall, even then, yielding + up her gentle spirit on the spot. But when I looked again she had a + hairpin between her white teeth, and was carefully adjusting her toreador + hat. And beside us was Enriquez—cheerful, alert, voluble, and + undaunted. + </p> + <p> + “Eureka! I have found! We are all here! Eet is a leetle public—eh! a + leetle too much of a front seat for a tete-a-tete, my yonge friends,” he + said, glancing at the remains of Consuelo's bower, “but for the accounting + of taste there is none. What will you? The meat of the one man shall + envenom the meat of the other. But” (in a whisper to me) “as to thees + horse—thees Chu Chu, which I have just pass—why is she + undress? Surely you would not make an exposition of her to the traveler to + suspect! And if not, why so?” + </p> + <p> + I tried to explain, looking at Consuelo, that Chu Chu had run away, that + Consuelo had met with a terrible accident, had been thrown, and I feared + had suffered serious internal injury. But to my embarrassment Consuelo + maintained a half scornful silence, and an inconsistent freshness of + healthful indifference, as Enriquez approached her with an engaging smile. + “Ah, yes, she have the headache, and the molligrubs. She will sit on the + damp stone when the gentle dew is falling. I comprehend. Meet me in the + lane when the clock strike nine! But,” in a lower voice, “of thees undress + horse I comprehend nothing! Look you—it is sad and strange.” + </p> + <p> + He went off to fetch Chu Chu, leaving me and Consuelo alone. I do not + think I ever felt so utterly abject and bewildered before in my life. + Without knowing why, I was miserably conscious of having in some way + offended the girl for whom I believed I would have given my life, and I + had made her and myself ridiculous in the eyes of her brother. I had again + failed in my slower Western nature to understand her high romantic Spanish + soul! Meantime she was smoothing out her riding-habit, and looking as + fresh and pretty as when she first left her house. + </p> + <p> + “Consita,” I said hesitatingly, “you are not angry with me?” + </p> + <p> + “Angry?” she repeated haughtily, without looking at me. “Oh, no! Of a + possibility eet is Mees Essmith who is angry that I have interroopt her + tete-a-tete with you, and have send here my brother to make the same with + me.” + </p> + <p> + “But,” I said eagerly, “Miss Smith does not even know Enriquez!” + </p> + <p> + Consuelo turned on me a glance of unutterable significance. “Ah!” she said + darkly, “you TINK!” + </p> + <p> + Indeed I KNEW. But here I believed I understood Consuelo, and was + relieved. I even ventured to say gently, “And you are better?” + </p> + <p> + She drew herself up to her full height, which was not much. “Of my health, + what is it? A nothing. Yes! Of my soul let us not speak.” + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, when Enriquez appeared with Chu Chu she ran towards her with + outstretched arms. Chu Chu protruded about six inches of upper lip in + response—apparently under the impression, which I could quite + understand, that her mistress was edible. And, I may have been mistaken, + but their beautiful eyes met in an absolute and distinct glance of + intelligence! + </p> + <p> + During the home journey Consuelo recovered her spirits, and parted from me + with a magnanimous and forgiving pressure of the hand. I do not know what + explanation of Chu Chu's original escapade was given to Enriquez and the + rest of the family; the inscrutable forgiveness extended to me by Consuelo + precluded any further inquiry on my part. I was willing to leave it a + secret between her and Chu Chu. But, strange to say, it seemed to complete + our own understanding, and precipitated, not only our lovemaking, but the + final catastrophe which culminated that romance. For we had resolved to + elope. I do not know that this heroic remedy was absolutely necessary from + the attitude of either Consuelo's family or my own; I am inclined to think + we preferred it, because it involved no previous explanation or advice. + Need I say that our confidant and firm ally was Consuelo's brother—the + alert, the linguistic, the ever-happy, ever-ready Enriquez! It was + understood that his presence would not only give a certain mature + respectability to our performance—but I do not think we would have + contemplated this step without it. During one of our riding excursions we + were to secure the services of a Methodist minister in the adjoining + county, and, later, that of the Mission padre—when the secret was + out. “I will gif her away,” said Enriquez confidently, “it will on the + instant propitiate the old shadbelly who shall perform the affair, and + withhold his jaw. A little chin-music from your oncle 'Arry shall finish + it! Remain tranquil and forgot not a ring! One does not always, in the + agony and dissatisfaction of the moment, a ring remember. I shall bring + two in the pocket of my dress.” + </p> + <p> + If I did not entirely participate in this roseate view it may have been + because Enriquez, although a few years my senior, was much + younger-looking, and with his demure deviltry of eye, and his upper lip + close shaven for this occasion, he suggested a depraved acolyte rather + than a responsible member of a family. Consuelo had also confided to me + that her father—possibly owing to some rumors of our previous + escapade—had forbidden any further excursions with me alone. The + innocent man did not know that Chu Chu had forbidden it also, and that + even on this momentous occasion both Enriquez and myself were obliged to + ride in opposite fields like out flankers. But we nevertheless felt the + full guilt of disobedience added to our desperate enterprise. Meanwhile, + although pressed for time, and subject to discovery at any moment, I + managed at certain points of the road to dismount and walk beside Chu Chu + (who did not seem to recognize me on foot), holding Consuelo's hand in my + own, with the discreet Enriquez leading my horse in the distant field. I + retain a very vivid picture of that walk—the ascent of a gentle + slope towards a prospect as yet unknown, but full of glorious + possibilities; the tender dropping light of an autumn sky, slightly filmed + with the promise of the future rains, like foreshadowed tears, and the + half frightened, half serious talk into which Consuelo and I had + insensibly fallen. And then, I don't know how it happened, but as we + reached the summit Chu Chu suddenly reared, wheeled, and the next moment + was flying back along the road we had just traveled, at the top of her + speed! It might have been that, after her abstracted fashion, she only at + that moment detected my presence; but so sudden and complete was her + evolution that before I could regain my horse from the astonished Enriquez + she was already a quarter of a mile on the homeward stretch, with the + frantic Consuelo pulling hopelessly at the bridle. We started in pursuit. + But a horrible despair seized us. To attempt to overtake her, to even + follow at the same rate of speed would only excite Chu Chu and endanger + Consuelo's life. There was absolutely no help for it, nothing could be + done; the mare had taken her determined long, continuous stride, the road + was a straight, steady descent all the way back to the village, Chu Chu + had the bit between her teeth, and there was no prospect of swerving her. + We could only follow hopelessly, idiotically, furiously, until Chu Chu + dashed triumphantly into the Saltellos' courtyard, carrying the + half-fainting Consuelo back to the arms of her assembled and astonished + family. + </p> + <p> + It was our last ride together. It was the last I ever saw of Consuelo + before her transfer to the safe seclusion of a convent in Southern + California. It was the last I ever saw of Chu Chu, who in the confusion of + that rencontre was overlooked in her half-loosed harness, and allowed to + escape though the back gate to the fields. Months afterwards it was said + that she had been identified among a band of wild horses in the Coast + Range, as a strange and beautiful creature who had escaped the brand of + the rodeo and had become a myth. There was another legend that she had + been seen, sleek, fat, and gorgeously caparisoned, issuing from the + gateway of the Rosario patio, before a lumbering Spanish cabriole in which + a short, stout matron was seated—but I will have none of it. For + there are days when she still lives, and I can see her plainly still + climbing the gentle slope towards the summit, with Consuelo on her back, + and myself at her side, pressing eagerly forward towards the illimitable + prospect that opens in the distance. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + MY FIRST BOOK. + </h2> + <p> + When I say that my “First Book” was NOT my own, and contained beyond the + title-page not one word of my own composition, I trust that I will not be + accused of trifling with paradox, or tardily unbosoming myself of youthful + plagiary. But the fact remains that in priority of publication the first + book for which I became responsible, and which probably provoked more + criticism than anything I have written since, was a small compilation of + Californian poems indited by other hands. + </p> + <p> + A well-known bookseller of San Francisco one day handed me a collection of + certain poems which had already appeared in Pacific Coast magazines and + newspapers, with the request that I should, if possible, secure further + additions to them, and then make a selection of those which I considered + the most notable and characteristic, for a single volume to be issued by + him. I have reason to believe that this unfortunate man was actutated by a + laudable desire to publish a pretty Californian book—HIS first essay + in publication—and at the same time to foster Eastern immigration by + an exhibit of the Californian literary product; but, looking back upon his + venture, I am inclined to think that the little volume never contained + anything more poetically pathetic or touchingly imaginative than that + gentle conception. Equally simple and trustful was his selection of myself + as compiler. It was based somewhat, I think, upon the fact that “the + artless Helicon” I boasted “was Youth,” but I imagine it was chiefly owing + to the circumstance that I had from the outset, with precocious foresight, + confided to him my intention of not putting any of my own verses in the + volume. Publishers are appreciative; and a self-abnegation so sublime, to + say nothing of its security, was not without its effect. + </p> + <p> + We settled to our work with fatuous self-complacency, and no suspicion of + the trouble in store for us, or the storm that was to presently hurtle + around our devoted heads. I winnowed the poems, and he exploited a + preliminary announcement to an eager and waiting press, and we moved + together unwittingly to our doom. I remember to have been early struck + with the quantity of material coming in—evidently the result of some + popular misunderstanding of the announcement. I found myself in daily and + hourly receipt of sere and yellow fragments, originally torn from some + dead and gone newspaper, creased and seamed from long folding in wallet or + pocketbook. Need I say that most of them were of an emotional or didactic + nature; need I add any criticism of these homely souvenirs, often + discolored by the morning coffee, the evening tobacco, or, heaven knows! + perhaps blotted by too easy tears! Enough that I knew now what had become + of those original but never recopied verses which filled the “Poet's + Corner” of every country newspaper on the coast. I knew now the genesis of + every didactic verse that “coldly furnished forth the marriage table” in + the announcement of weddings in the rural press. I knew now who had read—and + possibly indited—the dreary hic jacets of the dead in their mourning + columns. I knew now why certain letters of the alphabet had been more + tenderly considered than others, and affectionately addressed. I knew the + meaning of the “Lines to Her who can best understand them,” and I knew + that they HAD been understood. The morning's post buried my table beneath + these withered leaves of posthumous passion. They lay there like the + pathetic nosegays of quickly fading wild flowers, gathered by school + children, inconsistently abandoned upon roadsides, or as inconsistently + treasured as limp and flabby superstitions in their desks. The chill wind + from the Bay blowing in at the window seemed to rustle them into sad + articulate appeal. I remember that when one of them was whisked from the + window by a stronger gust than usual, and was attaining a circulation it + had never known before, I ran a block or two to recover it. I was young + then, and in an exalted sense of editorial responsibility which I have + since survived, I think I turned pale at the thought that the reputation + of some unknown genius might have thus been swept out and swallowed by the + all-absorbing sea. + </p> + <p> + There were other difficulties arising from this unexpected wealth of + material. There were dozens of poems on the same subject. “The Golden + Gate,” “Mount Shasta,” “The Yosemite,” were especially provocative. A + beautiful bird known as the “Californian Canary” appeared to have been + shot at and winged by every poet from Portland to San Diego. Lines to the + “Mariposa” flower were as thick as the lovely blossoms themselves in the + Merced valley, and the Madrone tree was as “berhymed” as Rosalind. Again, + by a liberal construction of the publisher's announcement, MANUSCRIPT + poems, which had never known print, began to coyly unfold their virgin + blossoms in the morning's mail. They were accompanied by a few lines + stating, casually, that their sender had found them lying forgotten in his + desk, or, mendaciously, that they were “thrown off” on the spur of the + moment a few hours before. Some of the names appended to them astonished + me. Grave, practical business men, sage financiers, fierce speculators, + and plodding traders, never before suspected of poetry, or even correct + prose, were among the contributors. It seemed as if most of the + able-bodied inhabitants of the Pacific Coast had been in the habit at some + time of expressing themselves in verse. Some sought confidential + interviews with the editor. The climax was reached when, in Montgomery + Street, one day, I was approached by a well known and venerable judicial + magnate. After some serious preliminary conversation, the old gentleman + finally alluded to what he was pleased to call a task of “great delicacy + and responsibility laid upon my young shoulders.” “In fact,” he went on + paternally, adding the weight of his judicial hand to that burden, “I have + thought of speaking to you about it. In my leisure moments on the Bench I + have, from time to time, polished and perfected a certain college poem + begun years ago, but which may now be said to have been finished in + California, and thus embraced in the scope of your proposed selection. If + a few extracts, selected by myself, to save you all trouble and + responsibility, be of any benefit to you, my dear young friend, consider + them at your service.” + </p> + <p> + In this fashion the contributions had increased to three times the bulk of + the original collection, and the difficulties of selection were augmented + in proportion. The editor and publisher eyed each other aghast. “Never + thought there were so many of the blamed things alive,” said the latter + with great simplicity, “had you?” The editor had not. “Couldn't you sorter + shake 'em up and condense 'em, you know? keep their ideas—and their + names—separate, so that they'd have proper credit. See?” The editor + pointed out that this would infringe the rule he had laid down. “I see,” + said the publisher thoughtfully; “well, couldn't you pare 'em down; give + the first verse entire and sorter sample the others?” The editor thought + not. There was clearly nothing to do but to make a more rigid selection—a + difficult performance when the material was uniformly on a certain dead + level, which it is not necessary to define here. Among the rejections + were, of course, the usual plagiarisms from well-known authors imposed + upon an inexperienced country press; several admirable pieces detected as + acrostics of patent medicines, and certain veiled libels and indecencies + such as mark the “first” publications on blank walls and fences of the + average youth. Still the bulk remained too large, and the youthful editor + set to work reducing it still more with a sympathizing concern which the + good-natured, but unliterary, publisher failed to understand, and which, + alas! proved to be equally unappreciated by the rejected contributors. + </p> + <p> + The book appeared—a pretty little volume typographically, and + externally a credit to pioneer book-making. Copies were liberally supplied + to the press, and authors and publishers self-complacently awaited the + result. To the latter this should have been satisfactory; the book sold + readily from his well-known counters to purchasers who seemed to be drawn + by a singular curiosity, unaccompanied, however, by any critical comment. + People would lounge in to the shop, turn over the leaves of other volumes, + say carelessly, “Got a new book of California poetry out, haven't you?” + purchase it, and quietly depart. There were as yet no notices from the + press; the big dailies were silent; there was something ominous in this + calm. + </p> + <p> + Out of it the bolt fell. A well-known mining weekly, which I here + poetically veil under the title of the Red Dog “Jay Hawk,” was first to + swoop down upon the tuneful and unsuspecting quarry. At this century-end + of fastidious and complaisant criticism, it may be interesting to recall + the direct style of the Californian “sixties.” “The hogwash and + 'purp'-stuff ladled out from the slop-bucket of Messrs. —— and + Co., of 'Frisco, by some lop-eared Eastern apprentice, and called 'A + Compilation of Californian Verse,' might be passed over, so far as + criticism goes. A club in the hands of any able-bodied citizen of Red Dog, + and a steamboat ticket to the Bay, cheerfully contributed from this + office, would be all-sufficient. But when an imported greenhorn dares to + call his flapdoodle mixture 'Californian,' it is an insult to the State + that has produced the gifted 'Yellow Hammer,' whose lofty flights have + from time to time dazzled our readers in the columns of the 'Jay Hawk.' + That this complacent editorial jackass, browsing among the dock and + thistles which he has served up in this volume, should make no allusion to + California's greatest bard, is rather a confession of his idiocy than a + slur upon the genius of our esteemed contributor.” I turned hurriedly to + my pile of rejected contributions—the nom de plume of “Yellow + Hammer” did NOT appear among them; certainly I had never heard of its + existence. Later, when a friend showed me one of that gifted bard's + pieces, I was inwardly relieved! It was so like the majority of the other + verses, in and out of the volume, that the mysterious poet might have + written under a hundred aliases. But the Dutch Flat “Clarion,” following, + with no uncertain sound, left me small time for consideration. “We doubt,” + said that journal, “if a more feeble collection of drivel could have been + made, even if taken exclusively from the editor's own verses, which we + note he has, by an equal editorial incompetency, left out of the volume. + When we add that, by a felicity of idiotic selection, this person has + chosen only one, and the least characteristic, of the really clever poems + of Adoniram Skaggs, which have so often graced these columns, we have said + enough to satisfy our readers.” The Mormon Hill “Quartz Crusher” relieved + this simple directness with more fancy: “We don't know why Messrs. —— + and Co. send us, under the title of 'Selections of Californian Poetry,' a + quantity of slumgullion which really belongs to the sluices of a placer + mining camp, or the ditches of the rural districts. We have sometimes been + compelled to run a lot of tailings through our stamps, but never of the + grade of the samples offered, which, we should say, would average about + 33-1/3 cents per ton. We have, however, come across a single specimen of + pure gold evidently overlooked by the serene ass who has compiled this + volume. We copy it with pleasure, as it has already shone in the 'Poet's + Corner' of the 'Crusher' as the gifted effusion of the talented Manager of + the Excelsior Mill, otherwise known to our delighted readers as + 'Outcrop.'” The Green Springs “Arcadian” was no less fanciful in imagery: + “Messrs. —— and Co. send us a gaudy green-and-yellow, + parrot-colored volume, which is supposed to contain the first callow + 'cheepings' and 'peepings' of Californian songsters. From the flavor of + the specimens before us we should say that the nest had been disturbed + prematurely. There seems to be a good deal of the parrot inside as well as + outside the covers, and we congratulate our own sweet singer 'Blue Bird,' + who has so often made these columns melodious, that she has escaped the + ignominy of being exhibited in Messrs. —— and Co.'s aviary.” I + should add that this simile of the aviary and its occupants was ominous, + for my tuneful choir was relentlessly slaughtered; the bottom of the cage + was strewn with feathers! The big dailies collected the criticisms and + published them in their own columns with the grim irony of exaggerated + head-lines. The book sold tremendously on account of this abuse, but I am + afraid that the public was disappointed. The fun and interest lay in the + criticisms, and not in any pointedly ludicrous quality in the rather + commonplace collection, and I fear I cannot claim for it even that merit. + And it will be observed that the animus of the criticism appeared to be + the omission rather than the retention of certain writers. + </p> + <p> + But this brings me to the most extraordinary feature of this singular + demonstration. I do not think that the publishers were at all troubled by + it; I cannot conscientiously say that I was; I have every reason to + believe that the poets themselves, in and out of the volume, were not + displeased at the notoriety they had not expected, and I have long since + been convinced that my most remorseless critics were not in earnest, but + were obeying some sudden impulse started by the first attacking journal. + The extravagance of the Red Dog “Jay Hawk” was emulated by others: it was + a large, contagious joke, passed from journal to journal in a peculiar + cyclonic Western fashion. And there still lingers, not unpleasantly, in my + memory the conclusion of a cheerfully scathing review of the book which + may make my meaning clearer: “If we have said anything in this article + which might cause a single pang to the poetically sensitive nature of the + youthful individual calling himself Mr. Francis Bret Harte—but who, + we believe, occasionally parts his name and his hair in the middle—we + will feel that we have not labored in vain, and are ready to sing Nunc + Dimittis, and hand in our checks. We have no doubt of the absolutely + pellucid and lacteal purity of Franky's intentions. He means well to the + Pacific Coast, and we return the compliment. But he has strayed away from + his parents and guardians while he was too fresh. He will not keep without + a little salt.” + </p> + <p> + It was thirty years ago. The book and its Rabelaisian criticisms have been + long since forgotten. Alas! I fear that even the capacity for that + Gargantuan laughter which met them, in those days, exists no longer. The + names I have used are necessarily fictitious, but where I have been + obliged to quote the criticisms from memory I have, I believe, only + softened their asperity. I do not know that this story has any moral. The + criticisms here recorded never hurt a reputation nor repressed a single + honest aspiration. A few contributors to the volume, who were of original + merit, have made their mark, independently of it or its critics. The + editor, who was for two months the most abused man on the Pacific slope, + within the year became the editor of its first successful magazine. Even + the publisher prospered, and died respected! + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Bell-Ringer of Angel's and Other +Stories, by Bret Harte + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BELL-RINGER OF ANGEL'S *** + +***** This file should be named 2676-h.htm or 2676-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/6/7/2676/ + +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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