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diff --git a/old/68586-h/68586-h.htm b/old/68586-h/68586-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 95ad0f2..0000000 --- a/old/68586-h/68586-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5806 +0,0 @@ -<!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" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - Smoking Flax, by Hallie Erminie Rives—A Project Gutenberg eBook - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - <style type="text/css"> - -body {margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%;} - - h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both;} - -p {margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; - text-indent: 1.5em;} - -.no-indent {text-indent: 0;} - -.p6 {margin-top: 6em;} - -.ph2 {text-align: center; - margin-top: .51em; - margin-bottom: .49em; - font-size: x-large; - font-weight: bold; - text-indent: 0;} - -.ph3 {text-align: center; - margin-top: .51em; - margin-bottom: .49em; - font-size: large; - font-weight: bold; - text-indent: 0;} - -hr {width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both;} - -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } - -hr.r5 {width: 10%; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 45%; margin-right: 45%;} - -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} -h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} - -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; - font-weight: normal; - font-variant: normal; -} /* page numbers */ - -.adblock {margin-left: 15%; - margin-right: 15%; - padding-left: 3em; - padding-right: 3em; - padding-top: 1.5em; - padding-bottom: 1.5em;} - -.adblock2{margin-left: 20%; - margin-right: 20%; - padding-left: 2em; - padding-right: 2em; - padding-top: 1.5em; - padding-bottom: 1.5em; - border-style: dotted;} - -.adblock3{margin-left: 25%; - margin-right: 25%; - padding-left: 2em; - padding-right: 2em; - padding-top: 1.5em; - padding-bottom: 1.5em; - border-style: dotted;} - -.smaller {font-size: 85%;} - -.stylea {text-align: left; - display: inline;} - -.styleb {text-align: left; - display: inline-block; - vertical-align: middle;} - -.stylec {vertical-align: middle; - text-align: center; - display: inline-block;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right; - padding-right: 3em;} - -.left {text-align: left; - padding-left: 2em;} - -.left2 {text-align: left; - padding-left: 3.5em;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -/* Images */ - -img { - max-width: 100%; - height: auto;} - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; - max-width: 100%;} - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - padding:0.5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; - margin-left: 20%; - margin-right: 20%;} - -.x-ebookmaker-drop .hide {display: none; visibility: hidden;} - -.x-ebookmaker .hide {display: none; visibility: hidden;} - -.x-ebookmaker .figcenter {width:100%} - - </style> - </head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Smoking flax, by Hallie Erminie Rives</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Smoking flax</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Hallie Erminie Rives</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: July 22, 2022 [eBook #68586]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: D A Alexander and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by University of California libraries)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SMOKING FLAX ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter hide" style="width: 30%"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Cover" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<h1>SMOKING FLAX</h1> - -<p class="center no-indent">BY</p> - -<p class="ph3"><span class="smcap">Hallie Erminie Rives</span></p> - -<p class="p6"> </p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 150px;"> -<img src="images/i_logo.jpg" width="150" alt="Publishers Logo" /></div> - -<p class="center no-indent p6"><i>SECOND EDITION</i></p> - -<p class="ph3">F. TENNYSON NEELY</p> - -<p class="center no-indent" >PUBLISHER</p> - -<p class="center no-indent">LONDON    NEW YORK</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="adblock2"> -<p class="ph2 nobreak"><b>Neely’s Prismatic Library.</b></p> - - -<p class="center no-indent"><b>GILT TOP, 50 CENTS.</b></p> - -<hr class="r5" /> - -<p>“I know of nothing in the book line that equals -Neely’s Prismatic Library for elegance and careful -selection. It sets a pace that others will not easily -equal and none surpass.”—<span class="smcap">E. A. Robinson.</span></p> - -<p class="no-indent"><i>SOUR SAINTS AND SWEET SINNERS. By Carlos Martyn.</i></p> - -<p class="no-indent"><i>SEVEN SMILES AND A FEW FIBS. By Thomas J. Vivian. With full-page -illustrations by well-known artists.</i></p> - -<p class="no-indent"><i>A MODERN PROMETHEUS. By E. Phillips Oppenheim.</i></p> - -<p class="no-indent"><i>THE SHACKLES OF FATE. By Max Nordau.</i></p> - -<p class="no-indent"><i>A BACHELOR OF PARIS. By John W. Harding. With over 50 illustrations -by William Hofacher.</i></p> - -<p class="no-indent"><i>MONTRESOR. By Loota.</i></p> - -<p class="no-indent"><i>REVERIES OF A SPINSTER. By Helen Davies.</i></p> - -<p class="no-indent"><i>THE ART MELODIOUS. By Louis Lombard.</i></p> - -<p class="no-indent"><i>THE HONOR OF A PRINCESS. By F. Kimball Scribner.</i></p> - -<p class="no-indent"><i>OBSERVATIONS OF A BACHELOR. By Louis Lombard.</i></p> - -<p class="no-indent"><i>KINGS IN ADVERSITY. By E. S. Van Zile.</i></p> - -<p class="no-indent"><i>NOBLE BLOOD AND A WEST POINT -PARALLEL. By Captain King.</i></p> - -<p class="no-indent"><i>TRUMPETER FRED. By Captain King. Illustrated.</i></p> - -<p class="no-indent"><i>FATHER STAFFORD. By Anthony Hope.</i></p> - -<p class="no-indent"><i>THE KING IN YELLOW. By R. W. Chambers.</i></p> - -<p class="no-indent"><i>IN THE QUARTER. By R. W. Chambers.</i></p> - -<p class="no-indent"><i>A PROFESSIONAL LOVER. By Gyp.</i></p> - -<p class="no-indent"><i>BIJOU’S COURTSHIPS. By Gyp. Illustrated.</i></p> - -<p class="no-indent"><i>A CONSPIRACY OF THE CARBONARI. By Louise Muhlbach.</i></p> - -<p class="no-indent"><i>SOAP BUBBLES. By Dr. Max Nordau.</i></p></div> - -<p class="center no-indent">F. TENNYSON NEELY,<br /> -<span class="smaller">PUBLISHER,<br /> -NEW YORK, LONDON.</span></p> - -<div class="adblock3"> -<p class="center no-indent"> -<i>Copyrighted in the United States and<br /> -Great Britain in MDCCCXCVII by<br /> -F. Tennyson Neely.</i><br /> -<br /> -<i>All rights reserved.</i></p></div></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center no-indent">TO MY MOTHER AND THE SOUTH</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="INTRODUCTION">INTRODUCTION.</h2> -</div> - -<p>“Smoking Flax” is a story of the South -written by a young Kentucky woman. Undoubtedly -in the South its advent will be -saluted with enthusiastic bravos. What -will be the nature of its reception in the -North it is hazardous to predict. One -thing, however, can be confidently prophesied -for it everywhere—consideration. -This the subject and manner of its treatment -assures.</p> - -<p>The methods of Judge Lynch viewed -from most standpoints are, without extenuation, -evil; from a few aspects they may -appear to be perhaps not wholly without -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</span>justification. Miss Rives, through the -medium of romance, presents the question -as seen from many sides, and then leaves -to the reader the responsibility of determining -“what is truth,” though where her -own sympathies lie she does not leave -much in doubt.</p> - -<p>The authoress comes of an old Virginia -stock to whom the gift of narrative and -literary expression seem to be a birthright. -Since revolutionary days literature -has been more or less enriched by contributions -from successive members of the -family—the well known contemporary -novelist and the youthful author of this -book sharing at the present time the responsibility -of upholding the hereditary -traditions. It seems, therefore, happily -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</span>appropriate that Miss Rives should have -taken upon herself the task of placing -before the world southern views of the -problem of lynching, which, be it understood, -are far from unanimous. The subject -is handled with admirable tact, the -author steering clear alike from prudish -affectations of modesty and shocking details -of inartistic realism: and throughout -is maintained a judicial impartiality -infrequent in the treatment of such burning -questions.</p> - -<p>Miss Rives will achieve distinction in -the South and at least notability elsewhere.</p> - -<p class="right">H. F. G.</p> - -<p class="left"><span class="smcap">Rochester</span>, N. Y.</p> - -<p class="left2"><i>September 22nd, 97.</i></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</h2> -</div> - -<p>The house faced the college campus and -was the only one in the block. This, in -Georgetown, implies a lawn of no small -dimensions; the place had neither gardener’s -house nor porter’s lodge—nothing -but that old home half hidden by ancient -elms. For many a year it had stood with -closed doors in the very heart of that -prosperous Kentucky town, presenting a -gloomy aspect and exercising for many a -singular attraction. Near the deep veranda -a great tree, whose boughs were no -longer held in check by trimming, had -thrust one of its branches through the -frontmost window. Dampness had attacked -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</span>everything. The upper balcony was -loosened, the roof warped, and lizards -sunned themselves on the wall.</p> - -<p>As for the garden, long ago it had lapsed -into a chaotic state. The thistle and the -pale poppy grew in fragrant tangle with -the wild ivy and Virginia creeper, and -wilful weeds thrust their way across the -gravel walks.</p> - -<p>Sadly old residents saw the place approaching -the last stages of decay—saw this -house, once the pride of the town, in its -decrepitude and loneliness the plaything -of the elements.</p> - -<p>“A noble wreck! It must have a history -of some kind,” strangers would remark.</p> - -<p>“Ah, that it has, and a sombre one it -is!” any man or woman living near would -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</span>have answered, as they recalled the history -of Richard Harding’s home. For the -fate of Richard Harding was a sad memory -to them. They remembered how he had -been the representative of a fine old family -and that much of his fortune had been -spent in beautifying this place, to make it -a fitting home for Catharine Field, his -bride.</p> - -<p>She too had been of gentle birth and -held an important place in their memory -as one who brought with her to this rural -community the wider experience usual to -a young woman educated in Boston, who, -after a few seasons of social success in an -ultra fashionable set, has crowned her -many achievements by a brilliant marriage.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</span></p> - -<p>Her husband adored her and showed his -devotion by humoring her extravagant -tastes and prodigal fancies. He detested -gayeties, yet complied with her slightest -wish for social pleasures.</p> - -<p>Although it was generally agreed that -this young couple got on well together, -at the end of two years the husband had -to admit to himself that his efforts to render -his wife happy had not been entirely -successful. He saw that she fretted for her -northern life, was bored by everything -about her. She cherished a bitter resentment -for the slaveholders, vowing that it -was barbarous and inhuman to own human -beings as her husband and neighbors did. -Though expressing pity for the poor, -simple, dependent creatures, she did little<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span> -to make their tasks more healthful and -reasonable ones, or to render them more -capable and contented.</p> - -<p>Her baby’s nurse was the one servant of -her household who met with gracious treatment -at her hands. This old slave came -to her endowed with the womanly virtues -of honor, self-respect and humility. But -in marveling at her on these accounts, -Mrs. Harding forgot that it was the former -mistress—her husband’s mother—that had -made her what she was.</p> - -<p>At length the truth became clearly apparent -that she was an obstinate, intensely -prejudiced and very unreasonable woman, -who, having lived for a time at a centre -of fashionable intelligence in a city -of culture, supposed herself to be quite -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span>beyond the reach of and entirely superior -to ordinary country folk. Eventually, -her morbid dissatisfaction became so extreme -that her husband yielded to her -importunities, closed the house, and with -her and their baby boy, went to live in -Boston.</p> - -<p>This sacrifice he made quietly and uncomplainingly, -his closest friends not then -knowing how it wrenched his heart. A -year passed, then another, and at the end -of the third, the papers announced the -death of Richard Harding.</p> - -<p>Though never again seeing his southern -home, where he had planned to live his -life in peace and useful happiness, it had -held to the end a most sacred place in his -memory—a memory which he truly hoped -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span>would be transmittted to the heart and -mind of his son. It was his last wish that -the old homestead should remain as it -was—closed to strangers—that no living -being, unless of his own blood, should inhabit -that abode of love and sorrow, that -it be kept from the careless profanation -of aliens.</p> - -<p>The world prophesied that his widow -would soon forget the wishes of the dead, -but as witness that she had thus far kept -faith, there stood the closed, abandoned -home, upon which Nature alone laid a -destroying hand.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</h2> -</div> - -<p>In process of time, hardly a brick was -to be seen in this old house that had not -grown purple with age and become -cloaked with moss and ivy. Antiquity -looked out from covering to foundation -stone. Only the flowers were young, and -flowers spring from a remote ancestry. -This house, inlaid in solitude, was as quiet -as some cloister hidden away within some -French forest.</p> - -<p>One summer afternoon, the quiet was -broken by a group of college girls looking -for some new flower for their botanical -collection. But so full of youthful -spirits were they that they hardly saw -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</span>the valley lilies with stems so short -that they could scarcely bear up their -innocent, sweet eyes, distressed, and stare -like children in a crowd.</p> - -<p>Among these girls was one whom the -most casual observer would have singled -out from her companions for a beauty -rare even in that land of beautiful women. -She had wandered off alone and found a -sleepy little primrose. As she freed the -blossom from its stem and held it in her -hand, a tide of thought surged up from -her memory and deepened the color of her -face. Quietly she dropped down upon the -grass and began turning the leaves of her -floral diary until she came to a similar -flower pressed between its pages.</p> - -<p>In a corner was written: “Gathered in -the mountains on the 18th of August.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span></p> - -<p>“How strange,” she thought, “to note -how late it was found there, while it -blooms so early here.”</p> - -<p>Commonplace as that discovery seemed -to be, the face so radiant a moment before, -became thoughtfully drawn.</p> - -<p>She looked at the name “E. Harding” -written below the dry, dead blossom, and -thought of the time when it had been written, -thence back to her first meeting with -its owner—one of those happy chances of -travel, which have all the charm of the -unexpected—as fresh in her memory as -though it had been but yesterday. That -summer had been one of those idyllic -periods which are lived so unconsciously -that their beauty is only realized in -memories. To become conscious of such -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span>charm at the time would be to break the -spell which lies in the very ignorance of -its existence.</p> - -<p>She, this ardent novice in learning, -fresh from graduating honors, and full of -unmanageable, new emotions did not comprehend -that the same youthful impetuosity -which had made the two fast friends -in so brief a time, had also made it possible -for a few heedless words even more -quickly to separate them. An older or -more experienced woman would have -missed the sudden bloom and escaped the -no less sudden storm.</p> - -<p>“Primroses are his favorite flowers,” -she said half aloud, and a dainty little -smile lifted ever so slightly the corners -of her mouth as if there were pleasure in -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span>the thought. Then she took up her pencil -and studiously began to jot down the -botanical notes concerning the primrose. -“Primrose, a biennial herb, from three -to six inches tall. The flower is regular, -symmetrical and four parted.”</p> - -<p>A twig snapped. The girl looked up -quickly. “Welcome to my flowers,” said -a voice beside her, and a young man -smiled frankly, as he bowed and raised -his white straw hat.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Harding!” she exclaimed, opening -her eyes in wonder and staring at him -with the prettiest face of astonishment. -Alarm had brought color to her cheeks, -while the level rays of the sun, which -forced her to screen her eyes with one -hand, clothed her figure in a broad belt -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span>of gold. “How did you happen to be here?”</p> - -<p>“I did not happen. Man comes not to -his place by accident.”</p> - -<p>His answer, though given with a laugh, -had a touch of truth.</p> - -<p>Through the bright excitement of her -eyes, a sudden gleam of archness flashed.</p> - -<p>“Have you come to write us up, or -rather down?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“I have come to help those who won’t -help themselves, but first let us make -peace, if such a thing be necessary between -us. Here is my offering,” and smilingly -he laid two fresh white roses in her hand.</p> - -<p>She answered his smile with one of her -own as she thrust the long generous stems -through her waist belt; but she did not -thank him with words, and he was glad -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span>that she did not. Just as he would have -spoken again, a number of girlish voices -called in chorus:</p> - -<p>“Come, Dorothy, we are going now.”</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</h2> -</div> - -<p>In the same year that Elliott Harding -was graduated from Princeton, he came -into possession of his estate, which he at -once began to share with his mother. Her -love of good living and luxury, her craving -for such elegancies as sumptuous -furniture, expensive bric-à-brac, and -stylish equipages had well nigh exhausted -her means, and she was now almost entirely -dependent upon a half-interest in -the small estate in Kentucky. Considering -that Elliott had a leaning towards the -learned professions and political and social -pursuits, added to a constitutional -abhorrence of a business career, his financial<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span> -condition was not altogether uncomfortable. -He longed to own a superb -library, a collection of books, great both -in number and quality, and, furthermore, -he wanted to complete his education by -travel abroad, followed by a year or two -of serious research in the South. He realized -how ill these aspirations mated with -the pleasure loving habits of his mother -and how impossible it would be for him -to realize his dreams, so long as his purse -remained the joint source of supply.</p> - -<p>To many a young man the outlook would -have been deeply discouraging. To him -it was a means of developing the endurance -and the strength of will which were -among his distinguishing characteristics.</p> - -<p>Nature had fashioned Elliott Harding -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span>when in one of her kindly moods. She -had endowed him with many gifts; good -birth, sound health of body and mind, industry, -resolution and ambition. Besides -possessing these goodly qualifications, he -stood six feet in height, and in breadth of -shoulder, depth of chest, sturdiness of -legs and arms, he had few superiors. There -was, too, a nobility of proportion in his -forehead that indicated high breeding and -broad intellectuality, and his face was full -of force and refinement. His steel blue -eyes gleamed with a superb self-confidence.</p> - -<p>By profession, Elliott Harding was a -lawyer; by instinct, a writer. He practiced -law for gain. He wrote because it -was his ruling passion. He was a man who -had been early taught to have faith in his -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span>own destiny and to consider himself an -agent called by God to do a great work. -When he came to his southern home he -came with a purpose—a purpose which -he determined to carry out quietly but -with mighty earnestness. When he first -arrived in the town he was content to rest -unheralded, and his presence was not understood -by the villagers. Nearly every -morning now, he could be seen from the -opposite window of the college to enter -the old abandoned house and sit for hours -near the door, his head bowed, his fingers -busy with note-book and pencil.</p> - -<p>For some weeks this proceeding had continued -with little variation. People noted -it with diverse conjectures. Old men and -women feared lest this man, whoever he -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span>might be,—a real estate agent perhaps—would -bring about the restoration and sale -of the old Harding home. These old-time -friends, who had known and loved the -father, Richard Harding, through youth -and manhood, now rebelled against the -possible disregard of his last request, which -had become a heritage of the locality. -With anxiety they watched the maneuvers -of this mysterious individual and -drearily wondered what would result from -his stay.</p> - -<p>To young Harding the anxiety he had -caused was unknown. Absorbed in his own -affairs, he was too much occupied to think -of the impression he was creating. His -whole thought was given to gleaning the -knowledge he required for the writing of -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span>the book by which he hoped to permanently -mould southern opinion in conformity -with his own against what he -believed to be the shame of his native land.</p> - -<p>It was an evening in the third month of -his residence in Georgetown. Elliott Harding -paused in his walk along the street -not quite decided which way to go.</p> - -<p>“She writes me she has drawn a ten-day -draft for twenty-two hundred dollars,” -he said to himself. “How on earth can I -meet it? What shall I do about it? Let -me think it out.” And checking his steps, -which had begun to tend towards the -college, where a reception to which he -had been invited was being held, he took -a turn or two in the already darkening -street, and then started back to his -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span>rooms. In his mind, step by step, he -traced out the possible consequences of -action in the matter, but long consideration -only confirmed his first impression -that it was too late now to change the course -of affairs so long existing.</p> - -<p>“But how am I to meet this last demand?” -he questioned. “There is but one -way open to me,” he finally thought. “The -old home must go.”</p> - -<p>He nervously walked on, repeating to -himself, “Mother! mother! I could never -do this for anyone but you.”</p> - -<p>With the memory of his beloved father -so strong within him, it was difficult to -bring himself to face the inevitable with -composure. The turbulent working of his -heart contended against the resignation of -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span>his brain, and, when for a moment he -felt resigned, then the memory of his dead -father’s wish would rise up and protest, -and the battle would have to be fought -over again.</p> - -<p>But what he considered to be duty to the -living triumphed over what he held as -loyalty to the dead, so the next time he -went to the old homestead, “For Sale” -glared coldly and, he even imagined, reproachfully -at him. It was then that -Elliott realized the immensity of his sacrifice -and bowed his head in silent sorrow.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</h2> -</div> - -<p>After that one time, Elliott Harding determined -to face the inevitable and passed -into the house without seeming to see the -placard.</p> - -<p>One day while sitting in his accustomed -writing place, which was the parlor, now -furnished with a table and office chair, a -man walked up the front steps. Elliott -had just finished writing the words “The -glimpses of light I have gained make the -darkness more apparent,” when the man -entered the doorway.</p> - -<p>The stranger was a tall, lean individual -with iron gray beard curving out from under -the chin. Eyes dark, keen and deep set; -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span>cheekbones as high as an Indian’s; hair -iron gray and thick around the base of -the skull, but thin and tangled over the -top of the head, formed a combination -striking and not unattractive. Though apparently -far past his prime, he appeared -to be as hearty and hale as if half the -years of his life were yet to come. After -gazing a moment at Elliott, he opened the -conversation by saying:</p> - -<p>“Good morning! I suppose you are the -agent for this property?”</p> - -<p>“I am, sir,” answered Elliott, courteously. -“Come in and have a seat,” offering -him his chair as he stood up and -leaned against the writing table.</p> - -<p>“I have come to make a bid for this -place. I would like to buy it, if it is to be -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</span>had at a reasonable figure. It is not for -the land value alone that I want it,” he -went on, “it is the old home of my only -sister. Besides, for another and more -sacred reason, I never want it to pass out -of the family.”</p> - -<p>“Your sister’s old home,” said Elliott, -without appearing to have heard the offer, -“then you are Mr. Field—Philip Field?”</p> - -<p>“That is my name—and yours?”</p> - -<p>“Elliott Field Harding.”</p> - -<p>“My nephew?” questioned the elder.</p> - -<p>“Your nephew, I suppose,” assented -Elliott.</p> - -<p>“And you did not know you had an -uncle here?” the old man asked quickly.</p> - -<p>“Well, I knew you were living somewhere -in the South, but was not certain -of the exact locality.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</span></p> - -<p>At this, the face of the visitor softened, -a strange glow leaping to life in his quiet -eyes.</p> - -<p>“Your mother discarded me years ago -for marrying a Southern girl not—not exactly -up to her ideal, and I thought you -might not have known she had a cast-off -brother, whom she thought had shamed -his blood and name,” was the low spoken -comment.</p> - -<p>Then, half-unconsciously he stammered, -“Catharine—your mother, is she well?”</p> - -<p>“Quite well, I thank you,” said Elliott.</p> - -<p>“Will she come here to—to see you?”</p> - -<p>“Not likely, no; I don’t think she will -ever come South again,” was the contemplative -reply.</p> - -<p>“Then she has not changed; she still -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</span>hates us here!” commented the other half -sadly.</p> - -<p>“Well ‘hate’ is perhaps too strong a -word; but I think that her inflexible disapproval -of the social conditions here -will never alter. You know her character. -Her ideas are not easily changed and she -thinks little outside of Boston and Boston -ideals worthy of much consideration.”</p> - -<p>“Poor, dear sister! I had hoped that -maternity and her early widowhood would -awake in her a sense of the vast duties and -responsibilities attached to her position as -a southern woman. How I have longed to -hear that she had learned the blessed lesson.”</p> - -<p>To these words Elliott listened intently, -his breath coming quick with rebellious -mortification.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</span></p> - -<p>“If she had learned that lesson I might -not now have to sacrifice the old home,” -said Elliott, somewhat impetuously.</p> - -<p>“Sacrifice!” repeated the other, “and -did you care to hold it?”</p> - -<p>“It was the dearest wish of my life to -do so,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>Mr. Field gazed at the young man with -a look of admiration.</p> - -<p>“Elliott, my nephew,” he fervently -said, holding out his hand as he spoke, “if -it will please you to call me friend as well -as uncle, I shall refuse neither the name -nor the duties.”</p> - -<p>“Uncle Philip, I thank you and accept -your kindly offer,” and Elliott’s face -brightened. The furrow which care had -been ploughing between his brows the past -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</span>few days, smoothed itself out. Then in a -burst of confidence, he continued:</p> - -<p>“It has long been my ambition to do -something with this place, worthy of the -memory of my father; but my mother is a -little extravagant, I am afraid, and I have -not as yet been able to carry out my wish. -She lately drew upon me for twenty-two -hundred dollars and it came at a time -when my only recourse was either to sell -the place or dishonor her paper.”</p> - -<p>“Elliott, it is very pleasing to me that -you should speak thus frankly with me. -Let me help you. I will gladly lend you -the money so that you may not be forced -to sell. I am well-to-do and can afford to -help you.”</p> - -<p>Elliott listened in pleased surprise. He -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</span>felt touched beyond expression, but emotion -irresistibly impelled him to seize -his uncle’s hand, to bend low and press his -lips upon it. This unexpected offer again -buoyed up the hope of his intense desire -to keep the homestead. For a time he -stared steadily at this friend, his whole -soul reflected upon his face.</p> - -<p>Mr. Field eyed his nephew closely during -this silence and noted the evidence of -strength in the serious young face, and the -unmistakable air of a thinker it bore, and -rightly judged that here was one who had -given over play for work.</p> - -<p>“The memory of your kind offer will -live with me forever,” said Elliott, his -voice full of deep feeling, breaking the -silence. “But I cannot accept your generosity.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</span> -I have no assurance that my labors -will be attended with success, and I -have a horror of starting out in debt.”</p> - -<p>“Very well, my boy,” kindly spoke the -other, “that spirit will win. I will buy -the place, and it will still be in the family.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, uncle! You don’t know -how grateful I am for that.”</p> - -<p>“And I am doubly pleased to be the -owner since meeting you,” interrupted -the elder. “This old heart of mine beats -warmly for your father. He was a good -man and I want to see the boy who bears -his name winning a way up to the level of -life which was once Richard’s. Yes, I -want to see you foremost amongst just and -honored men.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</span></p> - -<p>“Uncle Philip,” heartily spoke Elliott, -“for the sake of my father’s memory, I -hope to fulfill that hope.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, yes, yes, you will, my boy!” The -old man arose to go and as he and Elliott -clasped hands in a hearty good-bye, he -added: “I shall be glad to see you at my -home, which is two miles south of here, or -at the Agricultural Bank of which I am -president. I am a widower, have no children, -and your presence in my home -would fill a void,” and as though not wishing -to trust himself further along the -mournful trend of thought, he hastily -withdrew.</p> - -<p>As Elliott watched his uncle walking -down the gravelled path, his offer of friendship -took a tempting form. A week before,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</span> -he would have scornfully repelled -any such advances.</p> - -<p>“Only to think of it!” Elliott soliloquized, -“an offer of sympathy and help -from this man for whom my mother, his -sister, has not one gleam of sympathy, or -even comprehension! It is strange that -he should be the first to come in when all -the world seems gone out.”</p> - -<p>Thus, without further heralding and no -outward commercial negotiation, the old -Harding homestead passed quietly into -Mr. Field’s possession, and this matter -once settled, Elliott began in earnest the -practice of his profession. Accordingly, -his law card at once appeared in the local -papers and his “shingle” was hung out -beside another, bearing the name “John -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</span>Holmes, Attorney at Law,” at the door of -a building containing numerous small -offices.</p> - -<p>Elliott knew his literary work was not -enough to satisfy his insistent appetite for -occupation, and for this reason, besides the -necessity of earning something toward his -modest expenses, he went into the practice -of law.</p> - -<p>As Mr. Field felt he had been largely -instrumental in his nephew’s settling here, -he took an active interest in furthering -his success.</p> - -<p>“That is Elliott Harding, my nephew,” -he would say, with an affectionate familiarity, -dashed with pride. “He is a most -worthy young man, deserving of your confidence,” -a commendation usually agreed -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</span>to, with the unspoken thought sometimes, -“and a very conceited one.”</p> - -<p>Why does the world look with such disapproval -on self confidence? When a person -is endowed with a vigorous brain, -there is no better way for him to face the -world than to start out with a full respect -for his own talents, and unbounded faith -in the possibilities that lie within him.</p> - -<p>Elliott Harding’s belief in himself was -not small, and the consciousness of his -ability led him to work diligently for -both honor and profit. He expected labor -and did not shrink from it. Very soon he -riveted the attention of a few, then of the -many, and it was not long before he rose -to a position of considerable importance -in the community and began to feel financial -ground more solid beneath his feet.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</h2> -</div> - -<p>It was a glorious morning in August, -when summer’s wide-set doors let in a torrent -of later bloom.</p> - -<p>As early as ten o’clock the Riverside -road was thronged with all manner of conveyances, -moving toward the country, -bound for an out-of-door fête of the character -known in that region as a “bran-dance -and barbecue.” This country road, -prodigally overhung with the foliage of -trees in the very heyday of their southern -vigor is bounded on one side by goodly -acres of farmland, and on the other by the -Elkhorn, a historic river.</p> - -<p>The neighboring farms were still to-day. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</span>The light wind rustling the silken tassels -of the corn was all the sound that would -be heard until the morrow, unless, maybe, -the neighing of the young horses left behind.</p> - -<p>From the topic of stock and farming, -called forth by what they saw in passing, -Elliott Harding and his uncle, as they rode -along, fell to discussing the grim details of -a murder and lynching that had but recently -taken place just over the boundary, -in Tennessee.</p> - -<p>“What a tremendous problem is this -lynching evil,” said Elliott, looking keenly -at his uncle, who shook his head seriously -as he answered:</p> - -<p>“It is a very grave question that confronts -us, and by far the less easier of settlement<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</span> -because we are placed in the full -light of public observation, all our doings -heightened by its glare, and the passion of -the people aroused. It is not that we will, -but that we must lynch in these extreme -cases. There seems no other way, and that -is a poor enough one.”</p> - -<p>“How many persons do you suppose have -lost their lives by lynch law in the south -during the past ten years?” asked Elliott.</p> - -<p>“I should say at least a thousand,” replied -Mr. Field.</p> - -<p>“Heavens! What a record!” exclaimed -Elliott, who became silent, a look of brooding -thoughtfulness taking the place of the -happy expression that had lighted up his -face. His uncle, noticing his preoccupation, -endeavored to distract his thoughts -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</span>by calling attention to the distant sound -of a big bass fiddle and a strong negro -voice that called out many times, “balance -all, swing yo par-d-ners.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose on this festive occasion I -shall also hear some political aspirant -promising poor humanity unconditional -prosperity and deliverance from evil?” -asked Elliott, by way of inquiry as to -what other diversions might be expected.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, Holmes and Feland, the candidates -for prosecuting attorney, are sure -to be on hand,” replied Mr. Field.</p> - -<p>A little further on they came upon the -crowd gathered in the woods. On the -bough-roofed dancing ground the youths -were tripping with lissome maids, who, -with their filmy skirts a little lifted, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</span>showed shapely ankles at every turn. The -lookers-on seemed witched with the rhythmic -motion and the sensuous music. -Old and young women, as well as men, the -well-to-do and the poor, were there. Neat, -nice-looking young people, with happy, -intelligent faces, kept time to the waltz -and the cotillion, which were the order of -the day. As the graceful figures animated -the arbor, far away in the depths of -the wood could be heard echoes of light-hearted -talk and happy laughter. The -very genius of frolic seemed to preside -over the gathering.</p> - -<p>Elliott stood near one end of the arbor -and drew a long breath of pure delight at -this, to him, truly strange and delightful -pastoral. The mellow tints of nature’s -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</span>verdure, the soft languor of the warm -atmosphere, gave a happy turn to his -thoughts as he looked upon his first “bran-dance.”</p> - -<p>“Come! finish this with me,” cried a -sturdy farmer boy.</p> - -<p>“Do, dear mamma!” begged the gasping -maiden at her side, “I am so tired. -Do take a round with him.”</p> - -<p>Thus appealed to, the stout, handsome -matron threw aside her palm-leaf fan and -held out her hands to the boy. Although -she had but reached that age when those of -the opposite sex are considered just in -their prime, she, being old enough to be -the mother of the twenty-year-old daughter -at her side, was considered too old to -be one of the dancers. But at the hearty -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</span>invitation she too became one of the -tripping throng and entered into the fun -with all the sweetness and spontaneity in -voice and gesture which made herself and -others forget how far her Spring was past. -The waltz now became a waltz indeed. -The musicians played faster and faster -and the girl clapped her hands as the -couple whirled round and round, as though -nothing on earth could stop them.</p> - -<p>“Please let’s stop. I beg you to stop, -now!” cried the matron, panting for breath -but the enraptured youth paid no heed to -her pleadings, but swifter and swifter grew -his pace, wilder and wilder his gyrations, -till, fortunately for her, he encountered an -unexpected post and was brought to a sudden -halt. The waltz, too, had come to an end, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</span>and the onlookers clapped their hands in -hearty applause. Even the veterans of -the community seemed to enjoy the spirit -of the sport. Elliott particularly noted -the rapt enjoyment of a group of old men -silver haired, ruddy skinned, keen eyed, -who once seen, remained penciled upon -the gazer’s memory—each head a worthy -sketch.</p> - -<p>These patriarchs were bent with toil as -well as age, their hands were roughened -by labor, the Sunday broadcloth became -them less than the week-day short coat, yet -each figure had a dignity of its own. In one -aged man, with snow-white hair, Roman -nose and tawny, beardless face, the -staunch Southerner of old lived again. -Here was that calm and resolution betokening<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</span> -the indomitable spirit, the unswerving -faith that led men to brave fire -and sword, ruin and desolation, rather -than surrender principle.</p> - -<p>In strong relief were these sombre figures -of the group set forth by the light, -airy frocks and the young faces and graceful -forms of the pretty girls, with beflowered -hats coquettishly perched above -their heads, or swinging from their hands. -One could step easily from the verge of -the white holiday keeper to the confines of -the pleasure loving black. But it was a -great distance—like the crossing of a vast -continent—between the habitats of alien -races.</p> - -<p>On the outskirts of the crowd, here and -there, under the friendly shade of some -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</span>wide spreading tree, could be seen a -darkey busily engaged in vending watermelons -and cool drinks. Coatless and hatless, -with shirt wide open at neck and -chest, and sleeves rolled elbow high, he -transferred the luscious fruit from his -wagon to the eager throng about him; while -he passed compliments without stint upon -the unbleached domestics who came to -“trade” with him, not forgetting to occasionally -lift his voice and proclaim the -superior quality of his stock, verifying -his assurances by taking capacious mouthfuls -from the severed melon lying on the -top of the load.</p> - -<p>Without ceremony, the darkeys, male -and female, swarmed about the vender, -some seating themselves in picturesque -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</span>ease upon the ground in pairs and groups. -There were mulattos and octoroons of light -and darker shades, to the type of glossy -blackness, discussing last week’s church -“festival,” to-morrow’s funeral, the Methodists’ -protracted meeting which begins -one Christmas and lasts till the next.</p> - -<p>In astonishing quantities did the “culled -folks” stow away “red meat” and “white -meat,” and with juice trickling from the -corners of their mouths down over their -best raiment, gave ready ear to the vender’s -broad jokes and joined in his loud -laughter, showing, as only negroes can, -their ready appreciation of the feast and -holiday. Their hilarity kept up an undiminished -flow until the participants were -called to serve the midday meal for the -“white folks.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</span></p> - -<p>Hundreds partook of the delicious pig -which had been roasted whole, that meat -of which the poet wrote, “Send me, gods, a -whole hog barbecued.”</p> - -<p>Animals spitted on pointed sticks sputtered -and fizzled over a hole in the -ground filled with live coals. Mindful attendants -shifted the appetizing viands from -side to side, seasoning them with salt, pepper, -vinegar or lemon as the case might -require, and when set forth, offered a -feast as close to primitive nature as the -trees under which it was served.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</h2> -</div> - -<p>Very soon after the feast was ended, -Elliott saw John Holmes and a party of -men coming toward him.</p> - -<p>To a casual reader of the human countenance, -it would be evident at a first -glance that Holmes was a man of no small -worldly knowledge, and as he now appeared -with his companions one could discern -that this superiority was recognized -by them and that he held a certain position -of authority, in fact that he was a -man accustomed to rule rather than be -ruled.</p> - -<p>As he approached Elliott, he addressed -him with a pleased smile, saying: “I am -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</span>glad to see you here, Mr. Harding. Maybe -you can help us out of a difficulty.”</p> - -<p>“In what way?” asked Elliott, surprised.</p> - -<p>“My political opponent was to have -been here and we were to briefly address -the people this afternoon, but, so far, he -has failed to put in an appearance. The -toiling folk have come here to-day, even -laying aside important work in some instances, -to hear a ‘speaking,’ and unless -they hear some sort of an address (they -are not particular about the subject) it -will be hard to bring them together again -when we need them more.</p> - -<p>“I, as a representative of the committee, -request you to lend us a helping hand. -It is generally desired that you be the -orator upon this occasion.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</span></p> - -<p>“What! address this gathering offhand -and wholly unprepared? It would blight -my prospects forever with them,” laughed -Elliott.</p> - -<p>“On the other hand, it would give you -an opportunity for a wider acquaintance -and perhaps elect you to the first office to -which you may yet aspire. Come! I will -take no excuse,” persisted Holmes, while -his companions seconded his insistence.</p> - -<p>After considerable pressing, Elliott was -escorted to the platform, from which the -musicians had moved. Without delay -Holmes stepped to the front and in a loud, -clear voice which hushed the crowd, -said:</p> - -<p>“Ladies and gentlemen, I have the honor -of introducing Mr. Elliott Harding, who -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</span>will speak in place of Mr. Feland, that -gentleman, for some reason or other, having -failed to put in an appearance.”</p> - -<p>Amid a storm of cheers, Elliott arose, -straightening his eloquent shoulders as he -came forward. His blonde face was full -of eager life when he began.</p> - -<p>“Ladies and gentlemen: The unexpected -compliment paid me by your committee -has given me the pleasure of addressing -you to-day. I accept the invitation the -more gladly inasmuch as it gives me the -opportunity of telling you that my heart, -linked to the South by birth, has retained -its old love in spite of absence and distance, -and brings me back to my own -place with a fonder and, if possible, a -greater and nobler pride in this Southland<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</span> -of yours and mine. And, it <i>is</i> a land -to be proud of. More magnificent a country -God has never made. It has seen the -fierce harrowing of war. Gazing through -the past years my fancy sees the ruin that -has confronted the home-coming soldier—ashes -instead of homes, burnt stubble instead -of fences, the slaves on whose labor -he had long depended for the cultivation -of his fertile fields, with their bonds -cast off, meeting him as freemen. Without -money, provisions or even the ordinary -implements of husbandry, he at once began -the toilsome task of repairing his fallen -fortunes. Having converted his sword into -a plowshare, his spear into a pruning hook, -he lost no time, but manfully set to work -to restore his lost estate, and bring a measure<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</span> -of comfort to the dear ones deprived -of their former luxuries.</p> - -<p>“So it is to the soldier of the ‘Lost -Cause’ that all honor and praise must be -given for the present prosperity of the -land. And it becomes us as heirs of his -sacrifice and of the fruits of his toil, to -lend our every effort to the full garnering -of the harvest.</p> - -<p>“As the giant West has sprung up from -the sap of the East, so must the South rise -up by strength drawn from the soil of the -North. What the South needs to-day more -than any other one thing is an influx of -intelligent laborers from the North. It -needs its sturdy folk of industrious habit, -economy and indomitable energy; it needs -a more profitable system of agriculture. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</span>Accustomed as that people is to economy, -to frugality and to forcing existence out -of an unwilling soil, if only they could be -induced to come here in sufficient numbers, -the country would soon blossom into -mellow prosperity. And, my friends, I -want to see them coming—coming with -their capital to aid us in developing the -inexhaustible mineral resources of our -mines, the timber of our forests, to build -our mills and rear our infant manufactures -to the full stature of lusty manhood. -Our future with all its limitless possibilities—this -future which is to warm the great -breast of the business world toward us, -this future which shall shower upon us the -fullness of earth—is all with you.</p> - -<p>“Therefore, with such a vista of promise -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</span>opening before our gaze, ill would it become -us to fail in our duty toward ourselves, -toward our country and toward -Him who giveth all. Thus it befits us to -lend every effort to the furtherance of this, -our future salvation. To those upon whose -coming so much depends, every inducement -must be offered. And be it remembered -that capital seeks its home in sections -wherein life and prosperity enjoy -the greatest security under the law. This -is a conclusion founded on the great law of -caution, upon which intelligent capital is -planted and reared. It becomes necessary, -then, to ask ourselves seriously, ‘Are we -making every effort to solidify peace and -order by the protection of life and the -supreme establishment of law?’</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</span></p> - -<p>“I need not answer this question. Circumstances -have done so for me. The electric -wire is still hot from flashing to the -furtherest corner of our Nation, in all its -revolting details, news of the recent -awful crime in our sister state.</p> - -<p>“I am well aware that in touching upon -this point I am wounding the sensibilities -of a people who have been shadowed by -personal injury and embittered by a -natural race prejudice; but I feel that I -can speak the more boldly because I -touch the matter not as an alien whose -sympathies are foreign and whose theories -are theoretical chimeras, but as a southerner—one -whose interest is the stronger -because he is a southerner. My audience -may refuse to grant the justice of my -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</span>argument, but it must admit the truth of -the situation I outline. Whichever way -we turn the tremendous problem of the -lynching evil stares us in the face. It -baits us, it defies us, it shames us.</p> - -<p>“Think of it! More than one thousand -human lives forfeited to Judge Lynch -form the South’s record for the past ten -years. What a horrible record! It seems -almost incredible that such lawlessness -can exist in communities supposed to be -civilized. Would to God it were but an -evil dream and that I could to-day assure -the world that this terrible condition is -but the unfounded imagining of a nightmared -mind.</p> - -<p>“Lynching is a peculiarly revolting -form of murder, and to tolerate it is to -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</span>pave the way for anarchy and barbarism. -It cannot be truthfully denied that one -of the most potent factors militating -against the progress of this country is this -frequent resort to illegal execution, and -before we can realize the full benefits of -your natural inheritance, your laws—our -laws—must be impartially enforced, property -must be protected, and life sacredly -guarded by rigid legal enforcement, -backed by an elevated public conception -of duty.</p> - -<p>“It is no greater crime for one man to -seize a brother man and take his life than -it is for a lawless multitude to do the same -act. The first, if there be any difference, -is less criminal than the latter for it, at -least often has the merit of individual -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</span>courage and the plea for revenge on -the ground of personal injury. But when -a man is deprived of his liberty by incarceration -in the jail and thus shorn of -his power of self protection, it is the acme -of dishonor and cowardice to wrest him -from the grasp of the law and deprive him -of his life upon evidence that possibly -might not convict him before a jury.</p> - -<p>“I do not wish to be understood as saying -that brave and good men do not sometimes, -under strong excitement, participate -in this outrage against human rights -and organized society, for it is a fact that -such rebellions are not infrequently led -by the most prominent citizens, and, from -this very fact, it is the more to be deplored.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</span></p> - -<p>“My friends, have you never thought to -what this practice may lead? Has the -frequency of mob violence no alarming -indications for you? Directed, as it more -often is, against our negro population, instead -of making better citizens of the depraved -and deterring them from crime, -it has a tendency to cultivate a race prejudice -and stir up the worst of human -passions. It is inculcating a disregard of -law because it ignores that greatest principle -of freedom—that every man is to be -considered innocent until proven to be -guilty by competent testimony.</p> - -<p>“Judge Lynch is the enemy of law and -strikes at the very foundation of order and -civil government. His rule is causing -large classes to feel that the law of the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</span>land affords them no protection. The -courts furnish an adequate remedy for -every wrong. One legal death on the -scaffold has a more salutary effect than -a score of mob executions. The former -teaches a proper dread of offended law, -leaves no unhealing wounds in the hearts -of the living, stirs up no revengeful impulses, -creates no feuds and causes no retaliatory -murders. What a field of home -mission stretches before us! We owe it to -the South to remove this blot on our good -name. Let us hasten the day when Judge -Lynch shall be spoken of with a shudder, -as a hideous memory.</p> - -<p>“This pitiful people, our former slaves, -if instructed by intelligent ministers and -teachers, might be delivered from the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</span>cramped mind, freed from the brutalized -spirit which causes these crimes among us. -They are naturally a religious people -and this principle, which seems to be -strong within them, under the guidance of -an earnest enlightened ministry, might -prove to be the key to the race problem -find open up a social and political reformation, -unequalled in modern times.</p> - -<p>“Already the negro race is doing much -for its own advancement and good. To-day -there are thirty-five thousand negro -teachers in the elementary schools of the -South. Six hundred ministers of the gospel -have been educated in their own theological -halls. They own and edit more than -two hundred newspapers. They have -equipped and maintain more than three -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</span>hundred lawyers and four hundred doctors -and have accumulated property which is -estimated at more than two hundred and -fifty millions. I note this fact with pleasure. -It makes them better citizens by -holding a stake in their community. Let -us show our appreciation of what they -have already done by helping them to do -more.”</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</h2> -</div> - -<p>The strange faces, the new scene, the -suddenness of the call had shaken Elliott’s -self-possession, and he breathed a sigh of -relief as he finished his speech.</p> - -<p>The mayor and municipal council -crowded around him with outstretched -hands, foremost amongst them, an old man -with Roman features.</p> - -<p>“I was interested in your speech, young -man,” said he, “but wait until this thing -strikes home before you condemn our -code.”</p> - -<p>“You’re right, Mr. Carr, you’re right!” -cried several voices in chorus.</p> - -<p>The old gentleman talked on during the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</span>intervals of greetings and ended by inviting -young Harding to his home, where a -lawn party was to be held that night.</p> - -<p>As the volume of general applause lessened, -the cry of “Holmes! Holmes!” was -kept up with an insistence which might -have induced a less capable man to respond. -Nor would the enthused throng be -quieted until John Holmes mounted the -platform.</p> - -<p>“It had not been my purpose, ladies and -gentlemen,” said he, “to address you to-day -upon the subject touched upon by Mr. -Harding, but, since he has modestly lectured -us on our barbarity, I must say a -word in defense of the South and southerners. -He intimates that the curse of slavery -still rests upon the southern states. I wonder<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</span> -if Mr. Harding knows whether or not -the curse of slave-trade, which to be accurate -is called ‘the sum of all villainies,’ -really rests upon Great Britain, who was -the originator of the inhuman system and -not upon us southerners?</p> - -<p>“The most careful statistics show that in -the beginning over 19,000,000 Africans were -imported into the British West Indies and -so severely were they dealt with that -when emancipation came, only a little over -600,000 were left to benefit by it. The -slave trade was fastened on the American -colonies by the greed of English kings, -who, over and over again, vetoed the restrictive -legislation of the Colonial Assemblies -on the ground that it interfered with -the just profits of their sea-faring subjects. -Is there no work for Nemesis here?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</span></p> - -<p>“That the system of slavery, as it existed -in the southern states, was accompanied -by many cases of hardship and cruelty, -we freely admit; that its abolition is a -proper ground for sincere rejoicing, we -do not hesitate to affirm. But, it is nevertheless -true, that, looked at in a large way, -slavery was a lifting force to the negro -race during the whole period of its existence -here. The proof lies just here—when -the war of emancipation came, the -4,000,000 negroes in the southern states -stood on a higher level of civilization -than did any other equal number of people -of the same race anywhere on the -globe.</p> - -<p>“As to the mental and moral advancement -of the negro, we have not done enough to -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</span>render us boastful or self-satisfied, but -enough to dull the shafts of the mistaken -or malicious who would convict us of -heathenish indifference to his elevation. -We have from childhood had a lively appreciation -of the debt we owe to the race. -Nobody owes them as much as we do; -nobody knows them as well; nobody’s -future is so involved in their destiny as -our own. Is it not natural that we should -help them in their pathetic struggle -against poverty, ignorance and degradation?</p> - -<p>“Mr. Harding, in speaking of their progress, -intimates that these results have -been reached by their own unaided efforts. -The fact is that the elementary schools of -which he speaks are sustained almost entirely<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</span> -by the southern white people, who, -in the midst of their own grinding poverty, -have taxed themselves to the extent -of $50,000,000 to educate the children of -their former slaves. The colored churches -of to-day are the legitimate fruit of the -faithful work done amongst the slaves -before the war by white missionaries.</p> - -<p>“Two hundred and fifty millions is a -vast sum. Could a race gather and hold so -much in a commonwealth where its -rights are being trampled upon with impunity? -The question answers itself. -There is, in truth, no place on earth where -the common negro laborer has so good an -opportunity as between the Potomac and -Rio Grande. Here he is admitted to all -the trades, toils side by side with white -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</span>workmen, and is protected in person and -property so long as he justifies protection.</p> - -<p>“As to the statement that one thousand -have been lynched in the past ten years, -doubtless Mr. Harding accepts without -further examination the crooked figures of -partisan newspapers. But, granting this -horrible record to be true, it must be acknowledged -that the man does something -to call forth such treatment. Along with -the telling of our alleged bloodthirstiness, -there should be related the frequency and -atrocity of his outrages against our homes. -The south willingly appeals to the judgment -of civilized mankind as to the truth -of her declaration that the objects of enlightened -government are as well secured -here as on any portion of the globe.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</span></p> - -<p>“That Mr. Harding and his sympathizers -are actuated by excellent motives, I do -not mean to question.</p> - -<p>“We are as mindful as others of the dangerous -tendency of resorting to lawlessness, -but strangers cannot understand the -situation as well as those who are personally -familiar with it and have suffered by -it. It is much to be regretted, of course, -that lynchings occur, but it is far more to -be regretted that there are so many occasions -for them. When the sanctity of -woman is violated, man, if man he be, cannot -but choose to avenge it. If the villain -did not commit the crime for which this -penalty is inflicted, then we would not be -inflamed to summary vengeance. The perpetrator -of this deed, the most heinous of -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</span>all crimes and to which death is often -added, need not complain when vengeance -is visited upon him in a swift and merciless -manner, according with the teaching -of his own villainy.</p> - -<p>“Unquestionably it would be better if -judicial formalities could be duly observed, -but the law should make special provisions -for summary execution when such grave -offenses occur. Then, too, there is something -to be said for the peculiar indignation -which such cases incite. This anger is -the just indignation of a community -against a peculiarly vile class of criminal, -not against a race, as Mr. Harding -and others have grown to believe and to -set forth. That it has seemed a race question -with the south, has been because for -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</span>every negro in the north we have one -hundred here.</p> - -<p>“Mid the stormy scenes a quarter of a -century ago, when the bugle called the -sons of the south to war, they went, leaving -their wives, mothers, children and -homes in the hands of the slaves who, -though their personal interests were on the -other side, were true to their trust, protected -the helpless women and children -and earned for them their support by the -sweat of their own brow, and with a patience -unparalleled left the question of -freedom to the arbitrament of war. Their -behavior under manifold temptations was -always kindly and respectful, and never -one raised an arm to molest the helpless. In -the drama of all humanity, there is not a -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</span>figure more pathetic or touching than the -figure of the slave, who followed his master -to the battle-field, marched, thirsted -and hungered with him, nursed, served -and cheered him—that master who was -fighting to keep him in slavery. This subject -comprises a whole vast field of its -own and if the history of it is ever written, -it will be written in the literature of -the south, for here alone lies the knowledge -and the love.</p> - -<p>“Who has taught him to regard liberty as -a license? Who has sown this seed of animosity -in his mind? Until they who have -sown the seed of discord shall root up and -clear away the tares, the peace and prosperity -that might reign in this southern -land can be but a hope, a dream. It is -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</span>this rooting of the tares, and this more -surely than anything else, that will bring -nearer the union and perfect good fellowship -which is so greatly needed. Sound -common sense and sterling Americanism -can and will find a way to prosperity and -peace.”</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</h2> -</div> - -<p>The sun had set; off beyond the glistening -green woodline, the sky was duskily -red. The air was full of that freshness of -twilight, which is so different from the -dew of morning.</p> - -<p>Elliott left the bran-dance by a new road -which was plain and characterless until he -had passed through an unpretentious gate -and was driving along the old elm avenue, -a part of the Carr domain, which was undeniably -picturesque. Shortly the elm -branches came to an end and he entered a -park, indifferently cared for, according -to modern ideas, but well stocked with -timber of magnificent growth and of almost<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</span> -every known native variety. Perhaps -the oaks dominated in number and -majesty, but they found worthy rivals in -the towering elms.</p> - -<p>Neglect is very picturesque in its effect, -whether the thing neglected be a ruined -castle or an unkept tangle. The unpicturesque -things are those in which man’s -artificial selection reigns supreme.</p> - -<p>Had Elliott’s order-loving mother been -with him, she would have observed that -this park was ill-maintained, and that she -would dearly love to have the thinning -out and regulating of its trees. Whereas, -to his less orderly fancy, it presented a -most agreeable appearance. There was -Nature’s charm wholly undisturbed by -man, and what perhaps added the finishing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</span> -touch to his satisfaction was the exceeding -number of maples, in the perfect -maturity of their growth. These straight -and goodly trees so screened the house -that he was very close before it could be -seen. Even at the instant and before he -had looked upon more than its gray stone -frontage almost smothered in Virginia -creepers, up to the very top of its rounded -gables, Elliott was pleased.</p> - -<p>It was a secluded place. Its position -was, according to his taste, perfect. It -had the blended charm of simple, harmonious -form and venerable age. It faced -almost southeast, the proper aspect for a -country house, as it ensures morning -cheerfulness all the year round, and the -full advantage of whatever sunshine there -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</span>is in winter from dawn practically to -sundown and the exquisite effects of the -rising of the moon.</p> - -<p>Low-growing lilies breathed seductive -fragrance, and the softness of the air permitted -the gay party assembled to indulge -in what would have been indiscretion in -a more northerly climate. Young girls -discarded their straw hats and danced -upon the smooth, green lawn, while elderly -chaperons could retire to the halls and -porches if they feared the chill night air.</p> - -<p>As Elliott approached the moonlit crowd -of figures, Dorothy Carr came out to greet -him. A young woman, tall and slight, -with a figure lithe and graceful, made -more perfect by ardent exercise. A skin -which had never been permitted to lose -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</span>its infant softness, with lips as pure as -perfect health and lofty thoughts could -make them. Her blown gold hair was -lustrous and soft, and she carried herself -with the modesty of the gentlewoman. -Her blue eyes were dark, their brows -pencilled with delicate precision combining -a breadth that was both commanding -and sweet.</p> - -<p>“I am delighted to see you again, Mr. -Harding,” Dorothy Carr said, graciously.</p> - -<p>“And I am delighted to be here,” replied -Elliott, as he turned with his fair -hostess to a rude seat fixed about the bole -of an oak.</p> - -<p>“It was upon your grounds that we last -met,” she added after a slight pause.</p> - -<p>“Yes, and I have waited with some impatience<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</span> -for an invitation here, which -came just to-day. You see how quickly I -accepted.”</p> - -<p>“What a dainty reproof,” she said, -laughing. “But I have been away all the -summer or you should have been invited -here long ago.”</p> - -<p>A few such commonplaces passed between -them, then Dorothy referred to Elliott’s -speech, which she had listened to with -interest.</p> - -<p>“I was so suddenly called upon that I -did little justice to the subject, and it is -a subject of such grave responsibility. -But perhaps it is just as well that I did -not have time to present it more strongly -for it appears to have been already misunderstood, -and I hear that not a few -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</span>have branded me with all sorts of bad -names. I trust I have not fallen under -your condemnation.”</p> - -<p>“Well, to be frank, I think you exhibited -a somewhat fanatical anxiety to lecture -people differently circumstanced,” -she answered gravely. “Yet I did not -condemn you. I hope you give me credit -for more liberality than that. You are -new to our land, and have much to grow -accustomed to. We should not expect you -at once to see this matter as we do,” was -the evasive reply.</p> - -<p>“She certainly does not lack the courage -of her convictions,” he thought. Then -aloud:</p> - -<p>“You evidently think I shall alter my -views?” this in his airily candid manner; -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</span>“I stated the true conditions of affairs, -just as I understand them.”</p> - -<p>“There is the trouble. The true condition -is not as you and many others -understand it.”</p> - -<p>“Then let us hope that I may fully comprehend -before a great while. I at least -intend to make the best of this opportunity, -for, as you may know, I have settled -permanently in Georgetown.”</p> - -<p>She looked up with a beautiful aloofness -in her eyes. The brave mouth, with its full, -sensitive lips, was strong, yet delicate.</p> - -<p>“I am glad to hear that, for then you -can hardly fail, sooner or later, to feel -as we do about the subject of your to-day’s -discussion. I hope to help you to think -kindly of your new home.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</span></p> - -<p>“Nothing could be more comforting than -this from you,” he assured her, with that -frank manner which suited well the fearless -expression of his face. “I am now delightfully -quartered with my kinsman, -Mr. Field, whose acres join yours, I believe; -so we shall be neighbors.”</p> - -<p>Then they laughed. “We are really to -be neighbors after all our quarrel in the -mountains? Well!” she added, hospitably, -“a cover will always be laid for you at -our table, and you shall have due warning -of any entertainment that may take -place. It shall be my duty to see that you -are thoroughly won over to the South; to -her traditions as well as her pleasures.”</p> - -<p>“But changing this flippant subject to -one of graver importance, just now; there -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</span>is one thing absolutely necessary for you -Kentuckians to learn before you win me.” -His face lighted with a charming smile.</p> - -<p>“What is that?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“You must first know how to make Manhattan -cocktails.”</p> - -<p>She answered with a pretty pout, “I—we -can make them now; why shouldn’t we? -Doesn’t all the good whiskey you get up -North come from the bluegrass state?”</p> - -<p>Amused at her loyalty, Elliott assented -willingly: “That is a fact. And I like -your whiskey,—a little of it—I like your -state—all of it—its bluegrass, its thoroughbreds, -and its women. But, you will pardon -me, there is something wanting in its -cocktails, perhaps—it’s the cherry!”</p> - -<p>“A fault that can be easily remedied, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</span>and—suppose we did succeed, would you -belong to us?”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid I would,” he agreed smilingly.</p> - -<p>Here the music of the two-step stopped, -and Uncle Josh, the old negro fiddler, -famous the country over for calling the -figures of the dance, straightened himself -with dignity, and called loudly:</p> - -<p>“Pardners for de las’ waltz ’fore supper!”</p> - -<p>Dorothy could not keep the mirth from -her lips. Uncle Josh was not measuring -time by heartbeats but the cravings of -his stomach; his immortal soul was his immortal -appetite. However, whatever -motive inspired him to fix the supper -time, it proved efficacious, and partners -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</span>were soon chosen and the dancing began -again as vigorously as ever.</p> - -<p>Dorothy and Elliott were not slow in -joining the other dancers and glided -through the dreamy measures which -Uncle Josh, despite his longing to eat, -drew forth sweetly from his old, worn -fiddle. He was the soul of melody and -had an eye to widening his range of selections -and his inimitable technique appreciating -the demands upon his art. When, -with an extra flourish, Uncle Josh eventually -brought the music to an end, Mr. -Carr, with his easy Southern manner, -courteously invited every one in to supper. -He led the way, accompanied by -Elliott Harding and Dorothy.</p> - -<p>How pretty the dining-room looked! Its -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</span>half-light coming through soft low tones of -pink. Big rosy balls of sweet clover, -fresh from the home fields, were massed -in cream tinted vases, bunched over pictures -and trailed down in lovely confusion -about the window and straggling -over door frames. Upon the long table -stood tall candlesticks and candelabras -many prismed, with branching vines -twisted in and out in quaint fashion, -bearing tall candles tipped with pink -shades. From the centre of the ceiling to -each corner of the room first, then to -regular distances, were loosely stretched -chains of pink and white clovers. Large -bows of ribbon held these lengths in place -where they met the chair board. In each -corner close to the wall were jars which, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</span>in their pretty pink dresses of crinkled -paper held in place by broad ribbon -sashes, would scarcely be recognized as -the old butter pots of our grandmothers’ -days. From these jars grew tufts of rooted -clover. Even the old fireplace and broad -mantel were decked with these blossoms.</p> - -<p>At each side of the table stood two glass -bowls filled with branches of clover leaves -only; one lot tied with pink ribbon, the -other with white. When supper was served -these bowls were passed around while -Dorothy repeated the pretty tradition of -the four-leaf clover. Then commenced the -merry hunt for the prize that only two -could win. Bright eyes and deft fingers -searched their leaves through.</p> - -<p>While this went on, in the dining-room -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</span>just outside, under the moon and the -maples, near the kitchen door, was another -scene as joyous, if not so fair. At the head -of the musician’s banquetting board sat -Uncle Josh, hospitably helping each to -the good things Aunt Chloe had heaped -before them in accordance with the orders -of “her white folks.” She was considered -one of the most important members of the -Carr household, having been in the service -of the family for thirty years, being -a blend of nurse, cook and lady’s maid.</p> - -<p>As Uncle Josh’s brown, eager hands -greedily grasped the mint julep, and held -it sparkling between him and the light, -with a broad smile on his beaming face, -he exultantly exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“De Lawd love her soul, Miss Dor’thy, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</span>nebber is ter fergit we all. Talk erbout -de stars! She’s ’way ’bove dem.”</p> - -<p>While he and his companions drank mint -julep in token that his grateful sentiment -was recognized as a toast to the fine hostess, -the dining-room was ringing with laughter -and congratulations over Elliott Harding’s -victory, he having found one of the -four-leaved trophies.</p> - -<p>“Where is its mate?” was the eager -question as nimble fingers and sharp eyes -searched over the little bunches right and -left again, anxious to find this potent -charm against evil. The search, however, -was vain. Some one asked if its loss meant -that Mr. Harding should live unwedded -for the rest of his days.</p> - -<p>The evening closed with jokes of his -bachelorhood.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</span></p> - -<p>By midnight the dining-room was still, -the table cleared, the only sign of what -had been was the floor with its scattered -leaves.</p> - -<p>All tired out with the long hours of -gayety, Dorothy had hurried off to bed. -There was a little crushed four-leaved -clover fastened upon her nightgown as she -lay down to her sweet, mysterious, girlish -dreams.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</h2> -</div> - -<p>Dorothy’s father, Napoleon Carr, was a -man well known and greatly respected -throughout the south country where he -had always lived. His existence had been -a laborious one, for he had entered the -lists heavily handicapped in the matter of -education. Intellectual enjoyment, dimly -realized, had never been his; but he struggled -that his family might have a fairer -chance. Much of his comfortable income -of late years had been generously devoted -to the education of his daughter.</p> - -<p>He had been happily wedded, though -long childless. At length, when Dorothy -was born it was at the price of her mother’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</span> -life. This was a terrific blow to the -husband and father. He was inconsolable -with grief. The child was sent to a -kinsman for a few months, after which time -Mr. Carr felt that he must have her ever -with him. To him there was nothing so -absorbing as the tender care of Dorothy. -He was very prideful of her. He watched -her daily growth and then, all at once, -while he scarcely realized that the -twilight of childhood was passing, the -dawn came, and, like the rose vine by his -doorway, she burst into bloom.</p> - -<p>With what a reverential pride he saw -her filling the vacant place, diffusing a -fragrance upon all around like the sweet, -wet smell of a rose.</p> - -<p>He was a splendid horseman and crack -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</span>shot, and it had been one of his pleasures -to teach her to handle horse and gun. -Together they would ride and hunt, and -no day’s outing was perfect to him unless -Dorothy was by his side.</p> - -<p>It was not surprising, therefore, to find -her a little boyish in her fondness for -sport. However, as she grew to womanhood, -she sometimes, from a fancy that it -was undignified, would decline to take -part in these sports. But when he had -started off alone with dogs and gun, the -sound of running feet behind him would -cause him to turn to find Dorothy with -penitent face before him. Then lovingly -encircling his neck with arms like stripped -willow boughs, the repentant words: -“I do want to go. I was only in fun,” -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</span>would be a preface to a long day of delight.</p> - -<p>In time these little moods set him thinking, -and he began to realize that their -beautiful days of sporting comradeship -were in a measure over. How he wished -she might never outgrow this charm of -childhood.</p> - -<p>Ah! those baby days, not far past! How -often of nights the father went to her bedroom, -just touching his child to find out if -the covering was right and that she slept -well. How many, many times had he -leaned over her sleeping form in the dim -night light, seeming to see a halo around -her head as he watched the dimpling smile -about her infant mouth, and, recalling the -old nurse saying, that when a baby smiles, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</span>angels are whispering to it, took comfort -in the thought that maybe it was all -true, that the mother was soothing her -child to deeper slumber, and so, perhaps, -was also beside him. All unconsciously -she had slept, never hearing the prayer to -God that when the day should come when -she would leave him for the man of her -heart, death might claim his lone companionship.</p> - -<p>How it hurt when the neighbors would -says “You have a grown daughter now,” -or “Dorothy is a full fledged woman.” It -was not until then that Mr. Carr had let -his daughter know that it would almost -break his heart if she should ever leave -him for another. But he made absolutely no -restrictions against her meeting young men.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</span></p> - -<p>Of course this rare creature had sweethearts -not a few, for the neighboring boys -began to nourish a tender sentiment for -her before she was out of short dresses. -Her playmates were free of the house; -their coming was always welcome to her -and encouraged by her father though -this past year, when a new visitor had -found his way there, the father took particular -note of her manner toward this -possible suitor. The kind old eyes would -follow her with pathetic eagerness, not -reproaching or reproving, only always -questioning: “Is this to be the man who -shall open the new world’s doors for her; -who shall give her the first glimpse of that -wonderful joy called love?”</p> - -<p>Yet so truly unselfish was her nature,—despite<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</span> -the unlimited indulgences when, -visiting in congenial homes where she -was petted and admired, full of the intoxication -of the social triumphs, she had -out of the abundance of her heart exclaimed: -“Oh, I am so happy! happy! happy!”—there -was sure to follow a time of anxious -solicitude, when she asked herself, “But -how has it been with him—with dear old -father?”</p> - -<p>It was so generous of him to spare so -much of her society; so good of him to -make her orphan way so smooth and fair. -She could read in his pictured face something -of the loneliness and the disappointments -he had borne; something of the -heartaches he must have suffered. All -this she recalled, the pleasure of it and -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</span>the pain of it, the pride and joy of it. -What a delight it was to make her visit -short, and surprise him by returning home -before he expected her.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</h2> -</div> - -<p>Time went swiftly. The seasons followed -each other without that fierceness -in them to which one is accustomed in the -North. The very frosts were gentle; -slowly and kindly they stripped the -green robes from tree and thicket, gave -ample warning to the robin, linnet and -ruby-throat before taking down the leafy -hangings and leaving their shelter open -to the chill rains of December. The wet -kine and horses turned away from the -North and stood in slanting rains with -bowed heads.</p> - -<p>Christmas passed, and New Year. Pretty -soon spring was in the valleys, creeping -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</span>first for shelter shyly, in the pause of the -blustering wind that was blowing the last -remnants of old winter from the land.</p> - -<p>There was a general spreading of dry -brush over the spaded farm country; then -the sweet, clean smell of its burning and -a misty veil of thin blue smoke hanging -everywhere throughout the clearing. As -soon as the fear of frost was gone, all the -air was a fount of freshness. The earth -smiled its gladness, and the laughing -waters prattled of the kindness of the -sun. When the dappled softness of the sky -gave some earnest of its mood, a brisk -south wind arose and the blessed rain -came driving cold, yet most refreshing. -At its ceasing, coy leaves peeped out, and -the bravest blossoms; the dogwoods, full-flowered,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</span> -quivered like white butterflies -poised to dream. In every wet place the -little frogs began to pipe to each other -their joy that spring was holding her -revel. The heart of the people was not -sluggish in its thankfulness to God, for if -there were no spring, no seed time, there -would be no harvest. Now summer was -all back again. Song birds awakening at -dawn made the woods merry carolling to -mates and younglings in the nests. All -nature was in glad, gay earnest. Busy -times, corn in blossom rustling in the -breeze, blackberries were ripe, morning-glories -under foot, the trumpet flower -flaring above some naked girdled tree. -Open meadows full of sun where the hot -bee sucks the clover, the grass tops gather -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</span>purple, and ox-eyed daisies thrive in wide -unshadowed acres.</p> - -<p>“Just a year ago since I came to the -South,” mused Elliott Harding, as he -walked back and forth in his room, the -deep bay window of which overlooked a -lawn noticeably neat and having a representative -character of its own.</p> - -<p>As a rule, South country places in -thickly settled regions are pronounced -unlovely at a glance, either by reason of -the plainness of their architecture or by -the too close proximity of other buildings. -Here was an exception for the outhouses -were numerous but in excellent repair -and red-tiled like the house itself. The -tiles were silvered here and there with -the growth and stains of unremoved lichens.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</span> -There was not an eye-sore anywhere -about this quiet home of Mr. Field.</p> - -<p>Elliott’s intimates had expressed a pity -for him. Surely this quiet must dull his -nerves so used to spurring, and he find the -jog-trot of the days’ monotony an insupportable -experience. That Elliott belonged -to the world, loved it, none knew -better than himself. He had revelled in -its delights with the indifferent thought, -“Time enough for fireside happiness by-and-by.” -His interest in life had been -little more than that which a desire for -achievement occasions in an energetic -mind.</p> - -<p>In spite of his past association, his -past carelessness, this moment found him -going over the most trivial event that had -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</span>the slightest connection with Dorothy -Carr. He tried to recall every word, -every look of hers. Often when he had -had a particularly hard day’s work, it -rested him to stop and take supper with -the Carrs. The sight of their home life -fascinated him. He had never known -happy family life; he had little conception -of what a pure, genial home might be. -The simple country customs, the common -interests so keenly shared, the home loyalty—all -these were new to him, and impressed -him forcibly. And how like one -of them he had got to feel walking in the -front hall often, hanging up his hat, and -reading the evening papers if the folks -were out, and sometimes when Aunt Chloe -told him where Dorothy had gone, he felt -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</span>the natural inclination to go in pursuit of -her. He remembered once finding her -ankle deep in the warm lush garden -grasses, pulling weeds out from her flowers, -and he had actually got down and -helped her. That was a very happy hour; -the freshness of the sweet air gave her unconventional -garb a genuine loveliness—gave -him a sense of manliness and mastery -which he had not felt in the old life. -How infinitely sweet she looked! Something -about her neatness, grace and order -typified to him that palladium of man’s -honor and woman’s affection—the home. -She appealed to the heart and that appeal -has no year, no period, no fashion.</p> - -<p>Daylight was dying now; he looked -longingly towards the gray gables, the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</span>only indication of the Carr homestead. -Afar beyond the range of woodland the -day’s great stirrup cup was growing -fuller. Up from the slow moving river -came a breath of cool air, and beyond the -landline quivered the green of its willows. -Dusk had fallen—the odorous dusk of the -Southland. In the distance somewhere -sounds of sweet voices of the negroes singing -in the summer dark, their music -mingling with the warm wind under the -stars. The night with its soft shadings -held him—he leaned long against the window -and listened.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</h2> -</div> - -<p>“Whar’s dat bucket? Whar’s dat bucket? -Here it is done sun up an’ my cows aint -milked yit!”</p> - -<p>Aunt Chloe floundered round in a hurry, -peering among the butter bowls and pans -on the bench, in search of her milk bucket.</p> - -<p>“I’se ransacked dis place an’ it kyant -be paraded,” she said, placing her hands -on her ample hips to pant and wonder. -Meanwhile she could hear the impatient -lowing of the cows and the hungry bleating -of the calves from their separate pens. -Presently her thick lips broadened into a -knowing smile.</p> - -<p>“Laws ter gracious! If Miss Dorothy -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</span>aint kyard my las’ ling’rin basket an’ -bucket to dem cherry trees. She ’lowed -to beat de birds dar. Do she spec me to -milk in my han’? I’m gwine down dar -an’ git dat.”</p> - -<p>Here she broke off with a second laugh, -and with a natural affection in the midst -of her hilarity, which had its tender touch -with it.</p> - -<p>“I’se lyin’! I’d do nuthin’ ob de sort. -If she’d wanted me ter climb dem trees -myself I’d done it even if I’d knowed I’d -fall out and bust my ole haid.”</p> - -<p>Again Aunt Chloe looked about her for -something which would do service for a -milkpail. Out in the sun stood the big -cedar churn, just where she had placed it -the night before that it might catch the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</span>fresh morning air and sunshine. At sight -of it she looked relieved.</p> - -<p>“Well! dis here doan leak, and aint -milk got to go in it arter all?” So shouldering -the awkward substitute, she hurried -to the “cup pen” with the thought: -“Lemme make ’aste an’ git thro’, I’se -gwine ter he’p Miss Dorothy put up dem -brandy cherries.”</p> - -<p>Down in the orchard Dorothy was picking -cherries to fill the last bucket whose -loss had caused Aunt Chloe’s mind such -vexation, and whose substitute—the churn—was -now causing her a vast deal more, as -the cow refused to recognize any new airs, -and so moved away from its vicinity as -fast as she set it beside her.</p> - -<p>Presently Dorothy heard the sound of a -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</span>horse’s tread, at the same time a voice -called out:</p> - -<p>“Oh, little boy, is this the road to -Georgetown?”</p> - -<p>Elliott Harding had drawn in rein, and -was looking up through the leaves.</p> - -<p>“How mean of you!” she stammered, her -face flushing. “What made you come this -way?”</p> - -<p>He only laughed, and did not dare admit -that Aunt Chloe had been the traitor, but -got down, hitched his horse, and went -nearer. Dorothy was very lovely as she -stood there in the gently swaying tree, -one arm holding to a big limb, while the -other one was reaching out for a bunch of -cherries. Her white sunbonnet with its -long streamers swayed over her shoulders. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</span>Her plenteous hair, inclined to float, had -come unplaited at the ends and fell in -shimmering gold waves about her blue -gingham dress. Nothing more fragrant with -innocent beauty had Elliott ever seen, as -her lithe, slim arms let loose their hold to -climb down. She was excited and trembling -as she put out her hands and took -both his strong ones that he might help her -to the ground.</p> - -<p>“I suppose it is tomboyish to climb -trees,” she commenced, in a confused sort -of way. “But, the birds eat the cherries -almost as fast as they ripen, and I wanted -to save some nice ones for your cocktails.”</p> - -<p>A look of embarrassment had been deepening -in Dorothy’s face. Her voice -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</span>sounded tearful, and looking at her he -saw that her lips quivered and her nostrils -dilated, and at once comprehended -that the frank confession was prompted -by embarrassment rather than gayety. -Remembering her diffidence at times with -him, he quickly reassured her, feeling -brutal for having chaffed her.</p> - -<p>“It is all right to climb if you wish,” -he said. “I admire your spirit of independence -as well as your fearlessness. You -are a wholesome-minded girl; you will -never be tempted to do anything unbecoming.”</p> - -<p>As he stood idly tapping the leaves with -his whip, a strange softening came over -him against which he strove. He wanted -to find some excuse to get on his horse and -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</span>ride away without another word. He -looked off toward the path along which he -had come. At the turn of it was Aunt -Chloe’s cabin, half hidden by a jungle of -vines and stalks of great sunflowers. Festoons -of white and purple morning-glories -ran over the windows to the sapling porch -around which a trellis of gourd vines -swung their long-necked, grotesque fruit. -Flaming hollyhocks and other bits of -brilliant bloom gave evidence of the warm -native taste that distinguished the negro of -the old regime. The sun flaring with -blinding brilliancy against the white-washed -fence made him turn back to the -shade where he could see only Dorothy’s -blue eyes, with just that mingling of love -and pain in them; the sweet mouth a little -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</span>tremulous, the color coming and going in -the soft cheeks.</p> - -<p>“And a cocktail with the cherry will be -perfect.” He had almost forgotten to take -up the conversation where she had left off. -“But your dear labor has brought a questionable -reward. You will remember the -cherry was the one thing lacking to make -me yours?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes!” her face lightening with a -sudden recollection. “Now you do belong -to us.”</p> - -<p>“If ‘us’ means you, I grant you that I -have been fairly and squarely won.”</p> - -<p>Dropping his whip, Elliott leaned over -and took Dorothy’s face between his hands -bringing it close to his own, their hearts -and lips together for one delicious moment.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</span></p> - -<p>“Dorothy, we belong to each other,” he -said, gazing straight into her eyes.</p> - -<p>She had been beautiful to him always, -but loveliest now with the look of love -thrilling her as he felt her tapering -wrists close around his neck.</p> - -<p>“It seems as though I have loved you -all my life, Elliott.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, if in loving me, the sweetness of -you, the youth, the happiness should be -wasted! Shall I always make you happy, I -often ask myself. I want to know this, -Dorothy, for I hope to make you my -wife.”</p> - -<p>At the word “wife,” delicate vibrations -glided through her, deepening into pulsations -that were all a wonder and a wild -delight, throbbing with the vigor of love -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</span>and youth that drenched her soul with a -rapturous sense.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Elliott! Elliott! You are mine. -All mine.”</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</h2> -</div> - -<p>Happy weeks! Happy moons! uncounted -days of uncounted joys! For Elliott and -Dorothy the summer passed away in -blissful Arcadian fashion. She was to him -that most precious and sustaining of all -good influences—a woman gently wise and -kindly sympathetic, an influence such as -weans men by the beauty of purity from -committing grosser sins and elevates them -above low tastes and its objects by the -exquisite ineffable loftiness of soul, which -is the noblest attribute of pure womanhood.</p> - -<p>There was a bond between these two, real -eternal, independent of themselves, made -not by man, but God.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</span></p> - -<p>With the hope of sparing her father -sorrow over the fact that another shared -her affection, Dorothy did not at first tell -him of her engagement, and Elliott was -not unnaturally reticent about it, having -so often heard that Mr. Carr would feel -it a heavy blow to have his daughter leave -him alone.</p> - -<p>September was now well advanced and -the equinoctial storms were bold and bitter -on the hills. Many trees succumbed to -their violence, broken branches filled the -roads and tall tree trunks showed their -wounds. The long blue grass looked like -the dishevelled fur of an animal that had -been rubbed the wrong way. There were -many runnels and washouts trending -riverward in the loose soil. By the time -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</span>the storm showed signs of abating, considerable -damage had been done. Many -barns, cabins and even houses were unroofed -or blown down. Among other victims -of the wind was Mr. Field, inasmuch -as the old homestead which he had -purchased of Elliott was one of the buildings -wrecked.</p> - -<p>It happened that the morning after the -storm, Elliott was to drive into town with -Dorothy. As they passed along, they -noted here and there the havoc wrought. -Finally, as they approached the old Harding -place, they saw that the fury of the -storm had counted it among its playthings. -Elliott gazed lingeringly and sadly at the -wreck. Then he stopped the horses and -helping Dorothy out of the vehicle he -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</span>tied the team and together they went up -the pathway, looking often at each other -in mute sorrow. She felt that any words -of consolation would be out of place while -the first shock lasted, so kept silent, letting -her eyes tell of her sympathy. For -a time they stood and looked at the scene -of devastation, the ruins covered with abundant -ivy that gleamed and trembled in -the light of the sun. Then Elliott said -slowly:</p> - -<p>“My father’s wish is now beyond the -reach of possible denial. Nature has -destroyed it, just as he wished it should -be done.”</p> - -<p>Walking about, looking now at this, now -at that remnant of the wreck, he kept biting -his lips to keep back the tears, but -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</span>the sight was so like looking upon a loved -one dead, that he could not long keep -them back—hot tears came in a passionate -gush, and he must allow himself relief of -them.</p> - -<p>Business successes eventually rendered -it possible for Elliott to gratify his -old ambition about the homestead and -thinking that the time for action had come -the next day, when his uncle dropped into -his office to talk over the storm and its -destroying of the old homestead, Elliott -suggested:</p> - -<p>“Uncle Philip, I have a mind to buy -that lot from you. Would you sell it?”</p> - -<p>“Why do you ask? Are you going to -get married?”</p> - -<p>“If I can ever get the father’s blessing -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</span>of the woman I love, I am,” was Elliott’s -straightforward reply.</p> - -<p>Mr. Field looked solemn. “I am afraid -no man will ever get his willing consent, -if you refer to Mr. Carr,” he remarked.</p> - -<p>“Well, never mind, that has no connection -with this proposition. I have long -had a desire to do something to perpetuate -my father’s memory. Since fate has removed -the house, I have an idea of erecting -a building and presenting it as an institution -for the manual education of -colored children.”</p> - -<p>The astonished look on Mr. Field’s face -gave place to one of admiration as Elliott -proceeded and he quickly interrupted:</p> - -<p>“My dear boy, I am glad to say I have -anticipated you. The bank has in its -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</span>safe keeping a deed already made out in -your name. The property has always been -and now is yours to do with as you -please.”</p> - -<p>“Uncle Philip, you overwhelm me with -surprise and gratitude,” exclaimed Elliott -grasping the old man’s hand firmly in his. -“You are too good to me.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Field rested his face in his hand -and regarded his nephew with all the -fondness of a parent. After a pause, -Elliott continued:</p> - -<p>“Since you have so greatly aided me by -giving me such a generous start, I will -myself erect the building, but together -we will make the gift of it in my father’s -name, and call it the ‘Richard Harding -Institute.’”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</span></p> - -<p>Mr. Field showed the warmth of his appreciation -by grasping his nephew’s hand, -and together they discussed at length the -plan of the buildings.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</h2> -</div> - -<p>As Elliott drove briskly home that -evening, hope pointed enthusiastically -forward. The two ambitions he was about -to realize had long been interwoven with -the whole tenor of his existence. The possibility -of making a fitting memorial to -his father’s name had been unexpectedly -brought about, and following close upon -this good luck came the gratifying news -that the book he had been so long at work -upon had been favorably received by the -publishers, who were assured not only of -its literary merit, but of its commercial -value as well, since it dealt with the popular -side of the lynching evil, as viewed by -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</span>the outer world. His subject was at the -time attracting so much attention and causing -so many heated discussions, that he had -hardly dared to hope that his first attempt -in serious literature would meet with the -success of acceptance.</p> - -<p>When he got home he found his uncle -looking over the manuscript which had -been returned to him for final review and -quietly took a seat beside him to listen to -his comments while awaiting the supper -hour.</p> - -<p>Mr. Field laid the papers on his knee.</p> - -<p>“This is very good, as a story. I can -truthfully say that I am more than pleased -with it from a literary standpoint. But -that alone is no reason for publishing. -This haste to rush into print is one of the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</span>bad signs of the times. Your views as -herein expressed are more pardonable -than reasonable, for they are your inheritance -rather than your fault.”</p> - -<p>“I have been conscientious, am I to blame -for that?”</p> - -<p>“Who is to blame?” asked his uncle. -“First, your mother had something to do -with the forming of your opinions. She -had the training of your mind at that critical -age when the bend of the twig forms -the shape of the tree, and no doubt the -society in which you have been thrown -has helped to make you an agitator.”</p> - -<p>“Society must then take the consequences -of its own handiwork. As for my -mother, I will say in her defense, that if -her teachings were not always the best, she -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</span>aimed toward what she considered a high -ideal.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Field knew there was a deep sincerity, -an almost fanatical earnestness in -his nephew, and he respected him none -the less for it. He was at that critical -season of life in which the mind of man -is made up in nearly equal proportions of -depth and simplicity.</p> - -<p>“I see your convictions are real, yet I -strongly advise you to give more time to -the matter and make further investigation -before you give your views to the world.”</p> - -<p>“The more I search, the more I find that -condemns lynching.” Elliott spoke in a -deferential tone, for despite his own strong -convictions, the soundness of his uncle’s -views on other matters made him respect -his opinion of this.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</span></p> - -<p>“I wish you would give over reading -those unprincipled authors, my boy, whose -aim is to excite the evil passions of the -multitude; and shut your ears to the extravagant -statements of people who make -tools of enthusiastic and imaginative -minds to further their own selfish ends. -An intelligent conservatism is one of the -needs of the day.”</p> - -<p>“I am profoundly sorry that my work -is so objectionable to you. My publishers -tell me it is worth printing, and as -evidence of their assurance, they offer me -a good round sum, besides a royalty.”</p> - -<p>“I grant the probabilities of the book -being a pecuniary success, but there are -other considerations. You must recollect -that all your prospects are centered in the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</span>South, and now the affections of your -heart bind you here; therefore you should -give up all this bitter feeling against us. -As you know more of this race, you will -find that it is by no means as ill used as -you are taught to believe. I advise you -most earnestly, as you value your future -here, to suppress this book, which would -do the South a great injury and yourself -little credit.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Field leaned wearily back on the -high armchair. He had swayed Elliott in -some things, but it was clear that in one -direction one would always be opposed to -that which the other advocated. They -could never agree, nor even affect a compromise. -The nephew was grieved, yet his -purpose was fixed, and he fed on the hope -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</span>of one day winning reconciliation through -fame if not conviction, and in reuniting -the sister and brother in the mutual pride -of his success.</p> - -<p>With half a sigh Elliott began rearranging -the pages, when a finely written line -in an obscure corner of one page caught -his eye. Holding it toward the light he -read:</p> - -<p>“Are you my country’s foe, and therefore -mine?”</p> - -<p>At her urgent request, he had allowed -Dorothy to read the manuscript, and had -been happy in the thought that she had -returned it into his own hands without a -word of criticism. As he read this question, -he felt and appreciated both her love -for him and her loyalty to her people. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</span>And, while she had not openly condemned -his work, he knew he had not her approval -of its sentiment. He felt a growing -knowledge that any success, no matter its -magnitude, would be hollow unless she -shared his rejoicings.</p> - -<p>As soon as the quiet meal was done, he -set out for the Carr’s. Twilight was well -advanced. A white frost was on the stubble -fields and the stacked corn and the -crimson and russet foliage of the woodside -had the moist look of colors on a painter’s -palette.</p> - -<p>At the window, Dorothy stood and -watched her sweetheart come. The same -constancy shone in her gentle face for him -as ever and her greeting was as warm as his -fondest anticipations could have pictured.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</span></p> - -<p>“Have I displeased you? You do not -share a pride in my work, Dorothy?”</p> - -<p>“Since you guess it,” she answered, “I -may be spared the pain of confessing.”</p> - -<p>Elliott was silent for a time, but his expression -showed the deep disappointment -he felt.</p> - -<p>At length in an undertone, he said:</p> - -<p>“Don’t reproach me. Of course you have -not felt this as I feel it, being so differently -situated and looking at it from another -point of view.”</p> - -<p>Seeing that he paused for her answer, -Dorothy replied: “I have considered all -this. But do you not see what a reflection -your clever plot is upon us, or what a -gross injustice it will do the South?”</p> - -<p>“Cold facts may sound harsh, but you -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</span>will be all the better for your chastening. -The South will advance under it.”</p> - -<p>“I wish I could believe it; the chances -are all against us. Why did you ever -want to take such a risk?” and the air of -the little, slender, determined maiden -marked the uncompromising rebel.</p> - -<p>Elliott deliberately arose. His face was -earnest and full of a strange power.</p> - -<p>“It hurts me to displease you, Dorothy, -but I must direct my own will and conscience. -To hold your respect and my -own, I must be a man,—not a compromise.”</p> - -<p>There was such lofty sentiment in that -calm utterance from his heart that Dorothy, -acknowledging the strength of it, -could not resist the impulse of admiring -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</span>compassion and stifling any lingering -feeling of resentment, she quietly laid her -hand on his and looked into his face with -eyes that Fate must have purposed to be -wells of comfort to a grieving mind. At -her touch Elliott started, looked down -and met her soothing gaze.</p> - -<p>“If it were not for our mistakes, failures -and disappointments, the love we -bear our treasures would soon perish for -lack of sustenance. It is the failures in -life that make one gentle and forgiving -with the weak and I almost believe it is -the failures of others that mostly endear -them to us. Do what you may, let it bring -what it will, all my love and sanction -goes with it,” she said softly.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</h2> -</div> - -<p>October days! The sumacs drabbled in -the summer’s blood flaunt boldly, and -green, gold and purple shades entrance the -eye. The mullein stands upon the brown -land a lonely sentinel. The thistle-down -floats ghost-like through the haze, and -silvery disks of a spider’s web swing twixt -the cornrows.</p> - -<p>Sunday. Elliott remained at home -until late in the afternoon. While -he feared the result, he still held to his -fixed resolve to go that day and definitely -ascertain what was to come of his love for -Dorothy. He said to Mr. Field, as he -started off, “I shall not be back to supper—I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</span> -am going to see Mr. Carr.” His voice -was hopeful and his face wore a smile.</p> - -<p>His nephew’s assumed hopefulness had -long been more painful to Mr. Field than -this despondency he sought to cover by it. -It was so unlike hopefulness, had in it -something so fierce in its determination—was -so hungry and eager, and yet carried -such a consciousness of being forced, that -it had long touched his heart.</p> - -<p>Dorothy knew the object of this call, -and when her father came into the parlor -she withdrew, full of sweet alarm, and -left the two together. A tender glance, a -soft rustling of pretty garments, and -Elliott knew that he and her father were -alone. He had scarcely taken his chair, -when he began:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</span></p> - -<p>“Mr. Carr, I have come upon the most -sacred and important duty of my life.”</p> - -<p>“Draw your chair closer, I cannot see -you well,” said Mr. Carr. “I am growing -old and my sight is failing me.” And the -way his voice faded into silence was typical -of what he had said.</p> - -<p>Elliott obeying his request, continued:</p> - -<p>“I have had the honor of being received -in this house for some time—nearly two -years now, and I hope the topic on which -I am about to speak will not surprise you.”</p> - -<p>“Is it about Dorothy?”</p> - -<p>“It is. You evidently anticipate what -I would say, though you cannot realize -my hopes and fears. I love her truly, -Mr. Carr, and I want to make her my -wife.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</span></p> - -<p>“I knew it would come. But why not a -little later?” he said, pathetically.</p> - -<p>It was so like a cry of pain, this appeal, -that it made Elliott’s heart ache and -hushed him into silence. After a little, -Mr. Carr said, solemnly:</p> - -<p>“Go on!”</p> - -<p>“I know, after seeing you together from -day to day, that between you and her there -is an affection so strong, so closely allied -to the circumstances in which it has been -nurtured, that it has few parallels. I -know that mingled with the love and duty -of a daughter who has become a woman, -there is yet in her heart all the love and -reliance of childhood itself. When she is -clinging to you the reliance of baby, girl -and woman in one is upon you. All this I -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</span>have known since first I met you in your -home life.”</p> - -<p>With an air of perfect patience the old -man remained mute, keeping his eyes cast -down as though, in his habit of passive endurance, -it was all one to him if it never -came his turn to speak.</p> - -<p>“Feeling that,” Elliott went on, “I have -waited as long as it is in the nature of man -to do. I have felt, and even now feel, that -perhaps to interpose my love between you -and her is to touch this hallowed association -with something not so good as itself, -but my life is empty without her, and I -must know now if you will entrust her to -my care.”</p> - -<p>The old man’s breathing was a little -quickened as he asked, mournfully: “How -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</span>could I do without her? What would become -of me?”</p> - -<p>“Do without her?” Elliott repeated. -“I do not mean to stand between you two—to -separate you. I only seek to share with -her her love for you, and to be as faithful -always as she has been; to add to hers a -son’s affection and care. I have no other -thought in my heart but to double with -Dorothy her privileges as your child, companion, -friend. If I harbored any thought -of separating her from you, I could not -now touch this honored hand.” He laid -his own upon the wrinkled one as he spoke.</p> - -<p>Answering the touch for an instant only, -but not coldly, Mr. Carr lifted his eyes -with one grave look at Elliott, then gazed -anxiously toward the door. These last -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</span>words seemed to awaken his subdued lips.</p> - -<p>“You speak so manfully, Mr. Harding, -that I feel I must treat your confidence -and sincerity in the same spirit.”</p> - -<p>“With all my heart I thank you, Mr. -Carr, for I well understand that without -you I have no hope. She, I feel sure, -would not give it, nor would I ask her -hand without your consent.”</p> - -<p>The old man spoke out plainly now.</p> - -<p>“I am not much longer for this world, I -think, for I am very feeble, and of all the -living and dead world, this one soul—my -child—is left to me. The tie between us is -the only one that now remains unbroken, -therefore you cannot be surprised that its -breaking would crowd all my suffering -into the one act. But I believe you to be -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</span>a good man. I believe your object to be -purely and truthfully what you have -stated, and as a proof of my belief, I will -give her to you—with my blessing,” and -extending his hand, he allowed Elliott to -grasp it warmly.</p> - -<p>“God bless you for this, Mr. Carr,” was -all that he could say.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</h2> -</div> - -<p>Elliott had had a succession of busy -months, when the case was called for the -notorious moonshiner, Burr Chester, who -had killed the sheriff while resisting arrest. -The Grand Jury had found a true -bill against him for murder in the first -degree and Elliott Harding had been engaged -to aid in the prosecution. It was no -common case to deal with, and he was -keenly conscious of this fact. After two -long weeks of incessant work, a verdict of -guilty was brought in, but as a last resort -to save his client’s neck, an appeal was -taken to the higher courts.</p> - -<p>After this Elliott had gone home weak, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</span>nervous and excited beyond natural tension. -He spent a restless night, and the -next morning was unexpectedly called to -Boston to attend to business that required -his immediate presence. He went over to -let Dorothy know of his plans. Under a -spell of sadness and impulse he said passionately:</p> - -<p>“If I left, not knowing that a near day -was to bring me back to you I could not -bear it. Our wedding day is just three weeks -off, and from that time on you are to be -inseparably mine—mine forever!”</p> - -<p>She clung to him quivering, tears, despite -her efforts to be strong, escaping -down her cheek. He held her to his heart -and soothed her back to something of the -calm she had lost.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</span></p> - -<p>Just ten days he expected to be gone.</p> - -<p>The intervening time busily passed in -preparations for the approaching wedding. -Besides that, Dorothy’s heart had feasted -upon the letters that had daily come on the -noon train out of the North. Each afternoon -since Elliott’s absence, she had been -to town for the mail, having no patience to -await its coming from the office by any -neighboring messenger who chanced to -pass that way.</p> - -<p>To-day’s expected letter was to be the -last, for to-morrow Elliott would be with -her again.</p> - -<p>Oh, Love! Love! life is sweet to all -mortals, but it was particularly sweet to -these two.</p> - -<p>After receiving her letter Dorothy -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</span>started the short way home, singing lightly -some old love tune. In the deep forest -around her the faithful ring-dove poured -forth his anthem of abiding peace.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>John Holmes, the staunch friend of the -family, had an engagement that evening -with the Carr’s; so he started out to overtake -Dorothy, hearing she had gone on -just ahead of him.</p> - -<p>As he hurried along through the coming -night, the moon’s white beams fell deep -down in the beechen stems. Now and again -wood-folk wakened from their dreams -and carolled brokenly. The spirit of delicious -peace that pervaded the lowering -twilight enriched and beautified the -reverie that rendered the dreamer oblivious<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</span> -to the present. His thoughts, his -hopes were far afield—wandering along -beckoning paths of the unexplored future. -The office of prosecuting attorney was only -the first step. He dreamed of Congress, -too.</p> - -<p>“Why shouldn’t one do whatever one -wants to do?”</p> - -<p>Thus he mused, when suddenly the sound -of crashing underbrush startled him into -consciousness of the present and a dark -outline dashed into the road just ahead -from out of the dense thicket that lay to -his left. Before he could collect his scattered -senses sufficiently to question or intercept -the excited runner, the man dodged -to one side, and sped along the road until -he passed out of sight around an angle of -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</span>the wood. Holmes called after him to -stop, but his command was not obeyed.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter?” he shouted after -the flying figure; but receiving no answer, -again he cried:</p> - -<p>“Stop, I say.” And this time a reply -came in the shape of a faint groan from -near by in the wood. He dashed into the -darkness of the forest in the direction -from whence the sound had come, his -flesh quivering and his breath coming in -gasps as an overwhelming sense of apprehension -seized him.</p> - -<p>At first the gloom was such that he could -see nothing distinctly and he groped his -way forward with difficulty. The moon -that for a moment had passed under a cloud -now again shone brightly out, filling all -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</span>the open spaces with a play of wavering -light. He forced himself into the thicket -from where he again heard a low sound—writhing, -twisting his way through the -thick, hindering stems, and there before -him, in a little opening, he saw what appeared -to be a prostrate human form.</p> - -<p>He sprang toward it and drew the clinging -boughs aside to let the moonlight in. -Then he saw it was the figure of a woman. -Two ghastly gashes, edged with crimson, -stained the white flesh of her throat.</p> - -<p>The awful meaning of the crime, as he -thought of the headlong haste of the flying -man, surged over Holmes. He quickly -knelt to gaze into her face and as he gazed -a terrible cry broke from his lips.</p> - -<p>“Dorothy! Oh, my God!”</p> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</span></p> -<p>Raising the light form in his arms, he -cried passionately on her name.</p> - -<p>The wind sobbed a dirge in the bare -boughs above, but beside that, all the country-side -was still.</p> - -<p>The girl hung heavy and limp in his arms -as he bore her to the road. She made no -answer to his cry—he felt blindly for a -pulse—a heart—but found none.</p> - -<p>One short, sharp gasp convulsed her -breast as he gently laid her down—a faint -tremor passed over her frame, and she was -dead!</p> - -<p>John Holmes looked into her face, distraught -with agony. The blood drummed -in his ears, his heart beat wildly; dazed -and bewildered, a moment he stood—the -power of action almost paralyzed. But he -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</span>felt that something must be done, and done -quickly.</p> - -<p>With a superhuman effort he lifted the -dead girl and carried her toward her home. -When he reached the door, after what -seemed an eternity of travel, he waited, -struggling for composure. How could he -meet her father and break the news? Seeing -no one around he slipped quietly in -and laid the body upon a couch in the -room which so long had been her own. -When he entered the father’s room a deep -calm filled the place. There sat the old -man in his armchair, his head fallen to one -side in the unstudied attitude of slumber. -Upon his face there was more than a smile—a -radiance—his countenance was lit up -with a vague expression of content and -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</span>happiness. His white hairs added sweet -majesty to the cheerful light upon his face. -He slept peacefully—perhaps dreaming that -his child was well and would soon be home.</p> - -<p>An inexpressible pity was in his voice -as John Holmes gently aroused the sleeper -and told him the mournful truth. He -would never forget that old face so full of -startled grief—that awful appeal to him—that -withered hand upraised to heaven. -Then darkness came before the dim old -eyes, when for a time all things were blotted -out of his remembrance.</p> - -<p>The truth was so terrible that at first he -could not grasp it. The moan he uttered -was inarticulate and stifled. Gently John -Holmes led him tremblingly to the couch -where Dorothy lay—the blood still oozing -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</span>from her throat; the dew of agony yet -fresh on her brow, her dainty nostrils expanded -by their last convulsive effort to -retain the breath of life, appearing almost -to quiver.</p> - -<p>A moment, motionless and staring, he -stood above her—dead!</p> - -<p>Slowly awaking to the awful reality, he -threw his hands up with the vehemence of -despair and horror—then fell forward by -her side, saying by the motion of his lips, -“Dead!”</p> - -<p>Slowly his speech returned, and he -reached out one hand.</p> - -<p>“My boy, she is not dead. I feel her -heart in mine, I see her love for me in -her face. No! she is not dead!—not dead!” -his voice fell to a whispered groan.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</span></p> - -<p>The other tried to stay his tears and to -reply, but he could only touch her cold, -bruised hand, hoping that he might grow -to a perfect understanding of the tragedy.</p> - -<p>The father turned his head. His look -was full of supplicating agony. In a plaintive -and quivering voice he cried:</p> - -<p>“My God! My God! My God!”</p> - -<p>Presently John Holmes went away to -give the alarm. Returning later, he went -through the dreary house and darkened -the windows—the windows of the room -where the dead girl lay he darkened last. -He lifted her cold hand and held it to his -heart—and all the world seemed death and -silence, broken only by the father’s moaning.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</h2> -</div> - -<p>The news flashed over the country as if -by the lightning’s spark and by nine -o’clock the district was aroused to a state -of frenzied passion. From near and far -they gathered to the stricken home, till -in an hour a mob had assembled, vowing -torture and death to the fiend. A brief -questioning revealed the fact that the -Carrs’ cook had seen a negro man pass the -kitchen door about dusk, and he had asked -for a drink of water. She would know -him again, she said.</p> - -<p>A fierce yell rent the silence as Holmes -told of the fleeing man and grim curses -filled the air, followed by the thunder of -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</span>hoofbeats as the horsemen dashed away in -pursuit. On they rode through the darkness, -galloping where the way was clear, -and everywhere and at all times urging -their horses to their utmost, every minute -pressing forward with increasing rage -and recklessness. Uphill, downhill the -searchers went, scouring every nook and -corner for miles around. Their panting -horses needed not to be urged. They -seemed to have caught the same fierce -spirit that inspired their riders, their -straining muscles and distended nostrils -telling of their eagerness and exertion.</p> - -<p>The night was going, but the searchers -had as yet found no trace. If the earth -had opened and swallowed the one they -sought, the mystery of his disappearance -could have been greater.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</span></p> - -<p>Shrewder than those of unthinking -haste, the sheriff permitted the excited -crowd to go ahead, that his plans would -not be interfered with. Then, with his -deputies and a bloodhound, he went to the -scene of the murder. There he found a -sprinkling of blood on the ground, and -the imprints of the heavy shoes in the -moist earth showed the direction which -the murderer had taken. He quickly -drew the hound’s nose to the trail and -cheered him on. The dark, savage beast -was wonderful at trailing, and had more -than once overtaken fleeing criminals. -He sniffed intelligently for a few minutes, -then gave an eager yelp and plunged -along the road, made an abrupt turn, then -struck down through a narrow hollow, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</span>deep and dark. The men put spurs to -their horses and dashed after him, heedless -of the thorns that tore and reckless of -sharp blows from matted undergrowth -and low-lying boughs.</p> - -<p>The hound, with his deep guide-note, -despite their efforts, was soon far ahead; -his lithe, long body close to the earth, -leaving no scent untouched.</p> - -<p>The trail led through what is known as -“Robbers’ Hollow,” a ravine that runs in -a trough through the winding hills, whose -rugged sides looked jagged and terrible, -surrounded by a savage darkness full of -snares, where it was fearful to penetrate -and appalling to stay. In spite of all, they -hurried on faster and faster.</p> - -<p>Far ahead the pilot note of the hound -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</span>called them on and they were well nigh -exhausted when they came upon him, -baying furiously at a cabin built on the -naked side of a hill, around which there -was not a tree or bush to shelter a man -from bullets, should the occupants resist -arrest. As the sheriff and his men arrived, -the hound flung his note in the air -and sent up a long howl, then dashed -against the door, which shook and strained -from the shock.</p> - -<p>The sheriff called him to heel and placed -his men at corners of the cabin. He then -rapped on the door and repeated it half -a dozen times before there was a response. -Finally a man came to the front.</p> - -<p>“Who wants me this time of night?” he -grumbled, in a deep, gruff voice, as he -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</span>stood in the doorway, his broad chest and -arms showing strongly dark in the light of -the lamp he held.</p> - -<p>“I do,” answered the sheriff. “Do you -live here?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir.”</p> - -<p>“When did you come here, and from -where?”</p> - -<p>“From the other side of Georgetown, -and I got here ’bout an hour before -dark.”</p> - -<p>“Why, Mr. Cooley,” whispered a voice -at his elbow, “it was way arter dark.”</p> - -<p>“Sh!” he stuttered, shuffling his feet -that the men might not hear anything else -she said.</p> - -<p>“What is your name and occupation?” -resumed the sheriff, calmly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</span></p> - -<p>“Ephriam Cooley, and I teach school -ten miles north of Georgetown.”</p> - -<p>His speech was not that of a common -negro, but of a lettered man, and seemed -strangely at variance with his bearded, -scowling face.</p> - -<p>“Have you a knife? I would like to -borrow it, if you’ve got one?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir, I left my knife in my other -pants’ pocket.”</p> - -<p>“But you’ve got a razor, haven’t you? -Let me have it,” said the sheriff. “One -of our men broke his girth and unfortunately -we have no way of fixing it, as -there is not a knife in the crowd.”</p> - -<p>There was a slight agitation in the -negro’s manner as he turned to find the -razor, or rather to pretend to search for -it. The sheriff pushed in after him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</span></p> - -<p>“Maybe I can help you find it?” he said, -as he picked up a coat from under one -corner of the rumpled bed. A razor -dropped to the floor. The negro made a -move toward it, but the sheriff’s foot held -it fast.</p> - -<p>“You need not trouble yourself; I will -get it,” he said, as he stooped and raised -it. “Bloodstained? Why, what does this -mean?”</p> - -<p>“I killed a dog,” the negro muttered, -his mouth parched with terror, his vicious -eyes shooting forth venomous flashes. “I’d -kill anybody’s dog before I’d let him bite -me. Was it your dog?” and he shrank -slightly away.</p> - -<p>“No,” said the sheriff, “it was not mine, -but I am afraid you made a great mistake -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</span>in killing that dog! Come, get yourself -dressed and show it to me.”</p> - -<p>“I threw him in the creek,” he said, -angrily.</p> - -<p>“You are under arrest. Come, we are -going to take you to Georgetown.” The -sheriff caught him by the arm.</p> - -<p>“What! for killing a dog, and a yellow -dog at that?” He scowled blackly and -fiercely. “I’m in hopes you won’t get me -into court about this matter. I am willing -to pay for it,” he said in a husky voice.</p> - -<p>“Very likely you will be called upon to -pay—in full, but I will protect you to the -extent of my authority. Hurry up! we’ve -no time to lose. It is late and it’s going to -rain.”</p> - -<p>The negro cast his eyes wildly about -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</span>him, the last mechanical resource of despair, -but saw nothing else to do.</p> - -<p>Mounting the prisoner handcuffed behind -him, the sheriff was soon off for the -Scott county jail, one of the party being -sent ahead to have the Carr cook in waiting. -The negro had nothing to say, but -rode on in savage silence, his head dropped -forward on his breast.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.</h2> -</div> - -<p>A storm was gathering and the sheriff -thought by hard riding he might reach the -nearest railway station before it broke. -He knew his prisoner’s life depended -upon his getting him to a place of safety -with all speed. The whole country was -alive with armed men.</p> - -<p>Far off the ordnance of the sky boomed -as the battle of the elements began. The -lightning cut the clouds and soon the rain -came, a dark falling wall. As far as the -eye could bore into the darkness, only -one light could be seen. They dared not -take shelter under the roof of any man. -So the sheriff and his men rode on through -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</span>the storm, picking their way as best they -could.</p> - -<p>Drenched and fagged, they reached the -station only to find that the Elkhorn trestle -had sustained some damage and in consequence -delayed the Georgetown train. -It would probably be three hours before -the wreck could be repaired.</p> - -<p>The position of the sheriff was now -serious; he could not think of such folly -as remaining there at the mercy of the -telegraph wires; he must try to make the -trip by the river road and that, too, before -daybreak.</p> - -<p>A pint of whiskey was brought from the -little corner saloon and the party determined -to start out again. The horses still -bearing marks of hard riding stood in -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</span>waiting. As they set off the rain ceased, -the clouds broke and the moon came out -brightly. Soon the sheriff thought he -heard the sound of a gun, the signal that -the searchers were on his track. They -quickened their pace.</p> - -<p>“We are treed, I am afraid,” he said to -his companions, and he could almost see -the mob surrounding them, and their pitiless -joy after the humiliation of having -for awhile lost the trail.</p> - -<p>The prisoner began to show signs of anxiety. -Every sound startled him and he -kept looking expectantly about. The -men urged their horses and rode on in a -state of nervous tension to the ford where -they must cross the river. It was away -out of its banks. They halted and there -was a moment’s silence.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</span></p> - -<p>“She looks pretty high. What do you -say?” asked the sheriff of one of his -deputies.</p> - -<p>The man shook his head forbiddingly. -To attempt to cross the river would be -running a frightful risk.</p> - -<p>“There goes a gun again.”</p> - -<p>It required no longer an effort of the -imagination to hear it. It was a fact and -with all the terror that reality possesses, -the prisoner shuddered, his restless eyeballs -full of fear rolling wildly.</p> - -<p>The sheriff tried to collect his startled -thoughts and resist the strange certainty -which possessed him. His own frame felt -the shudder that convulsed the form behind -him.</p> - -<p>“Well!” he asked, once more addressing -his deputy, “what say you?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</span></p> - -<p>“We’ll take the danger before us,” the -other answered and, touching their horses, -they plunged in. Half way across, the -sheriff convulsively seized his horse’s -neck for he could not swim. He was -struggling desperately against the waves, -clinging frantically around the neck of -his swimming horse, when he heard a cry:</p> - -<p>“Great God, he’s gone!” and turning to -look behind him, he saw that the negro -had disappeared into the water. All eyes -turned toward the spot where the manacled -wretch had gone down.</p> - -<p>The drowning man arose to the surface a -dizzy moment then sank again as quickly. -Not a cry, not a word could be heard. -The river went on booming heavily, its -hoarse roar rising to a deafening intensity. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</span>The chief deputy, meanwhile, had managed -to slip from his horse and float down -stream, and with a violent swinging movement -he succeeded in thrusting one arm -between the negro’s handcuffed ones and -sustaining him, just as he rose for the last -time. Supporting him against his horse -an instant he tightened his hold, that he -might keep both heads above water. He -was taking desperate chances against -tremendous odds.</p> - -<p>With an indescribable feeling, the sheriff -looked on but could render no assistance. -The swimmer fought hard, but, -after pulling some distance, it seemed -clear that he had miscalculated his -strength. Inch by inch, the two swept -downward, notwithstanding the almost -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</span>superhuman efforts of the desperate -deputy. Gradually his stroke became -more feeble and he saw the gap between -them and the bank grow wider, the lost -inches grew to feet, the feet to yards, -and finally with utter despair, he thought -the whole world had turned to water. He -felt terrified. Exhaustion could be distinguished -in all his limbs and his arms -felt miserably dragged. He was going, -not forward, but round and round, and -with dizziness came unconsciousness.</p> - -<p>The next thing he remembered was an -awful stiffness in every joint and muscle, -a scent of whiskey, and the sheriff kneeling -beside him upon the wet ground, forcing -the warm liquid through his lips. -As he gazed about him, he slowly asked:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</span></p> - -<p>“Did that d——d nigger die after all?”</p> - -<p>The sheriff had not time to tell him that -the negro was safe, for the next minute -there came a volley of yells and sounds of -oaths with the dull thunder of rapidly advancing -hoofbeats, and before either -man could speak again, a party of armed -riders reined up in front of the ford.</p> - -<p>“Stop! men, stop!” The sheriff’s voice -was heard eagerly hailing those on the -opposite side. “You will risk your lives -to try to cross here.”</p> - -<p>The quivering negro, terrified by the -idea that the pursuers were upon them, -made an effort to rise.</p> - -<p>“My God! don’t let them take me! Don’t -give me up!”</p> - -<p>There was something savage and frenzied -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</span>in the accent that went with those words. -He clutched at the sheriff’s knees, his -eyes became wild and fixed and filled -with terror.</p> - -<p>“We must have your prisoner,” someone -shouted. “Will you surrender him?”</p> - -<p>“Not yet,” was the sheriff’s answer. -“I deliver him only to the law.”</p> - -<p>“You’ll give him up!” cried a score of -determined voices.</p> - -<p>“Never! Never!”</p> - -<p>“Then we will fire on him!”</p> - -<p>Like a flash, the sheriff jumped in front -of his prisoner. “Fire ahead,” he said.</p> - -<p>The next instant, there were a number -of reports. All but one had fired in -the air.</p> - -<p>“Cowards!” yelled the leader, “kill -’em all!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</span></p> - -<p>“Look here,” answered one, “that sheriff -lives neighbor to me.”</p> - -<p>“We’re out for the nigger, not a white -man!” said another. “Wait boys, we’ll -get him yet!”</p> - -<p>The sheriff calmly mounted, forming a -bar between the rifles and his prisoner -and rode away, leaving the mob to await -the fall of the stream. Half an hour later -they reached the jail.</p> - -<p>“Chloe Carr,” the sheriff distinctly -pronounced her name, as he summoned the -negro cook, “did you ever see this man -before?”</p> - -<p>“Yas, sah.”</p> - -<p>“Will you tell me when and where?”</p> - -<p>The prisoner made a desperate sign, his -fiendish face blazing with mingled rage -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</span>and terror. Wildly he shook his head. -“She lies!” he growled, with a sudden -threatening movement. “She never saw -me before.”</p> - -<p>An animal-like snarl came from his -throat. His face was shining with sweat, -the veins of his neck were twisted and -knotted. His body shook with savage -fear, and the woman trembled.</p> - -<p>She said excitedly: “He’s de one I saw -pass de do’ awhile befo’ Miss Dor’thy was -found dead. I give him a drink ov -water.”</p> - -<p>The prisoner was in a frenzy now. -Fiercely he glared like a great black -beast, caged. The woman saw the officers -fairly carry him into the cell, but she felt -less fear than sorrow now, as her heart -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</span>was full of the memory of the girl she had -loved and had watched from the cradle-side.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> -</div> - -<p>Elliott Harding was coming home—home -to Dorothy, and joy was so strong within -him that it almost touched the edge of -tears. The rising sun was trying hard to -struggle out of a bluish haze, as he stepped -from the train at Georgetown. Nodding -to a negro driver, he walked to the hack, -saying, “Drive me to my office, first, then -you may take me out to Mr. Carr’s.”</p> - -<p>The negro cast a glance behind, and -stammered excitedly, as he mounted to the -seat:</p> - -<p>“Boss, dey’s erbout to mob yo’ man—de -moonshiner dat you like ter got hung, I -reck’n. Dey’s done at de jail by now.”</p> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</span></p> -<p>A mob! A multitude in passion! Anticipation -of the consequences flashed all -too plainly upon Elliott Harding. A -thrill shot through him! He leaped into -the back, and commanded:</p> - -<p>“Drive to the jail with all your might.”</p> - -<p>The negro’s white eyeballs rolled with -swift alarm. He seized the lines, laid on -the whip and shouted:</p> - -<p>“Git up, git up.”</p> - -<p>The horses dashed forward and turned -down the main street, the cumbrous wheels -tearing up the mud and flinging it to right -and left.</p> - -<p>Elliott’s breath fluttered in his throat. -A fellow being—the man for whose conviction -he had pleaded was in personal peril. -In law he was against this poor wretch; in -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</span>humanity he was for him—humanity has no -distinctions. He saw but the slaughter!—the -struggle!—the united forces on the one -side; the lone desperation on the other.</p> - -<p>The good horses were doing their best -now, and with a final lurch and swing -were pulling up at the jail. Elliott -bounded to his feet, rushed into the stirring -crowd, and pushed through the circle -that was moving toward the door.</p> - -<p>Low mutterings, fierce as the roar of a -wounded lion, went forth as one man threw -up his clinched hand, from which dangled -a rope. As if impelled by a single spirit, -they raged against the jail doors, clamoring -at the oak.</p> - -<p>“Hang him! hang him! Give us the -keys!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</span></p> - -<p>The terror stricken criminal heard and -cowered in his cell, his giant muscles quivering -in tense knots. He gathered himself -for the last struggle with a dogged fierceness -born of savage courage.</p> - -<p>“Break down the doors!”</p> - -<p>At this command there was a crash and -commotion below—and then silence. Suddenly -a man appeared facing them. He -held up his hand, and all recognized that -it was Elliott Harding.</p> - -<p>“Fellow citizens,” he cried, his voice -ringing out over the gathering. “Don’t -do this thing! This man will die by the -hands of the law. Don’t stain yours!”</p> - -<p>Directly there was a universal hush. -The crowd stood like stone before the calm -courage of this remarkable arraignment. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</span>The men doubting their senses, gazed at -each other curiously, then they looked at -Elliott again. With indescribable speed -a spirit flew from mind to mind, seizing -them all alike. Then without a word, -silently, and as though abashed, they turned -away. Elliott was left alone, surprised at -his sudden triumph, gazing with a curious -stare at the frowning walls of the dingy -jail.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.</h2> -</div> - -<p>A half hour before, Elliott had been in a -delicious reverie passing what were, perhaps -the sweetest moments of his life. He -had awakened early from a dream. He -had dreamed that he felt the touch of soft -fingers upon his cheek and the beating of -a loving heart against his, and the memory -of the ecstasy lingered like some charmed -spell. Dorothy was his very own—Dorothy, -crowned with the beauty which combined -all of the woman and all of the -angel. He saw nothing in the world save -her radiant face. He praised God for giving -him her love, and the hope of preserving -that nearest likeness on earth to heaven—a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</span> -home. This sweet foretokening of -life’s full, ripe completeness had filled his -heart.</p> - -<p>Joyous, enraptured, young, he had -stepped upon the railway platform at -Georgetown. From such thoughts to the -vivid scene at the jail, was an abrupt and -wild plunge into a whirling abysm. His -mind was in a turmoil, and he felt the -need of cooling air and brisk movement to -regain his composure.</p> - -<p>As he set out on foot for the Carr’s, the -sheriff, relieved from the anxiety of the -jail attack, overtook him. Laying hand -on his shoulder, he said earnestly:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Harding, you are a credit to your -principles. I’m mightily obliged to you. -When you need a friend, I’m your man. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</span>Nobody could have stopped that mob but -you.”</p> - -<p>“I—why anyone else could have done so -as well.”</p> - -<p>“No, because it was known that Miss -Carr and you was goin’ to be married -soon. They naturally thought you ought -to be the man to fix the scoundrel’s sentence.”</p> - -<p>Elliott sprang round with such a start -that the sheriff shrank back instinctively.</p> - -<p>“What!” he gasped, “you don’t mean—you -don’t mean—”</p> - -<p>“My God!” said the sheriff. “Haven’t -you heard?”</p> - -<p>“Heard, heard what, man? not Dorothy? -You can’t mean that it was Dorothy Carr—what—what—”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</span></p> - -<p>He stopped, a thrill of terror froze his -blood.</p> - -<p>“It’s true—too true! Mr. Harding, she -is dead!”</p> - -<p>“You lie! You lie!” Elliott shrieked.</p> - -<p>Then in a different tone, he huskily -whispered:</p> - -<p>“Give me the keys, man, give me the -keys! Quick! Quick!”</p> - -<p>It was all that the sheriff could do to -make him understand that the jailer had -the keys. A whirlwind of ungovernable -fury swept over him.</p> - -<p>“Good God!” he panted, “The driver -said the mob was for the moonshiner!” -His senses reeled; staggering, he leaned -against a wall near by.</p> - -<p>“What shall I do, my God! What shall -I do!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</span></p> - -<p>“I advise you to go first to her poor old -father. They say the shock has pretty -near killed him,” said the sheriff.</p> - -<p>“You are right. I must go to him.” -Elliott’s face knit convulsively as he -spoke, crushing back the horror that almost -paralyzed him. Then the sheriff -proposed to get a buggy and drive him to -Mr. Carr’s. As they rode along silently, -all nature was still and peaceful—cruelly -peaceful it seemed to Elliott, as he sat with -his head inclined, his body shaken with -deep grief, his breast laboring hard.</p> - -<p>They soon reached the hushed, dark -home. A long trail of blood lay in ruddy -streaks from the gateway to the door -where the white crape swayed so gently—so -gently.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</span></p> - -<p>Elliott walked slowly and as if stunned. -He went into the house, turned and looked -about him.</p> - -<p>The parlor door was slightly open. He -went in and began to walk the floor—the -resource of those who suffer. There are -instincts for all the crises of life—he felt -that he was not alone.</p> - -<p>Nervously he unclasped and threw open -the window blind, then, turning, cast his -eyes sadly about him.</p> - -<p>There sat the old father in a posture of -dejection, his eyes almost closed. Just -beyond lay his child! Clasping his hands -with an expression full of the most violent, -most gentle entreaty, Elliott uttered a -piercing cry!</p> - -<p>“Dorothy! Dorothy, my little girl, come -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</span>back to me! Come back!” And with this -appeal he sank upon his knees with both -hands upon his eyes.</p> - -<p>“Elliott! Elliott!”</p> - -<p>He raised his head at length and looked -steadily at Mr. Carr—this venerable, manly -face, upon which God had imprinted goodness -and heroism.</p> - -<p>“Yes, father,” and leaning forward he -embraced his white head. Drawing it to -his breast, his overcharged heart found -relief in tears.</p> - -<p>The intense calm and silence of the -father’s beautiful, mute resignation finally -silenced him.</p> - -<p>Rigid before the fire, as if it were a -charmed flame that was turning him old, -he sat, with the dark lines deepening in -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</span>his face; its stare becoming more and more -haggard; its surface turning whiter and -whiter, as if it were being overspread -with ashes—the very texture and color of -his hair appearing to change.</p> - -<p>A sunbeam shot in and faltered over the -face of the girl asleep. This fair, white -bride, robed in her wedding gown.</p> - -<p>Elliott got up and went to her side. -He turned away again, and dropped upon -the broad divan, utterly helpless, hopeless. -Here he lay face downward, with -his elbows on the cushions and his hands -clutching his chin, his sad eyes staring -steadily. He lay for hours gazing upon -her face, moving not from the first position -he had assumed. He took no heed of -time—time and he were separate that day. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</span>He was neither hungry nor thirsty—only -sick at the heart which lay like lead in him.</p> - -<p>By and by a long procession was seen -moving from the house. Six bearers deposited -their burden. Dorothy’s grave -had been made beside her mother’s in the -family burying ground, at the back of the -garden.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX.</h2> -</div> - -<p>The preliminary inquiry into the case -of Ephriam Cooley resulted in his being -held over to the next meeting of the Grand -Jury, which was yet some months away.</p> - -<p>Mr. Carr was not left alone in his grief. -Elliott Harding gave up residence at his -uncle’s home and went to live with and -care for him.</p> - -<p>Among the neighboring people, there prevailed -a respect for these two in their distress -which was full of gentleness and -delicacy. Men kept apart when they were -seen walking with slow steps on the street, -or stood in knots talking compassionately -among themselves.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</span></p> - -<p>At length the day came when the Grand -Jury was in session. The absence of witnesses, -upon which the defense had relied -to argue the innocence of the accused, -caused the prisoner’s counsel no little uneasiness -as the hour for the opening of the -court drew near. As he paced restlessly -to and fro in the reserved space before -the bench, there was a look of anxiety on -his countenance and a frown upon his -brow.</p> - -<p>When the hands of the big clock pointed -to nine, the judge ascended the bench and -took his seat. It was the signal for breathless -silence, and as if to emphasize this -silence, his honor rapped sharply with his -gavel upon the desk in front of him.</p> - -<p>The clerk read the minutes of the preceding<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</span> -day and took the volume over for -the judicial signature.</p> - -<p>“The case of the State against Ephriam -Cooley,” called the clerk. “Are both -sides ready?”</p> - -<p>The look of concern grew deeper on the -face of the defendant’s attorney. He asked -for a few minutes’ consultation with his -witnesses and retired into an ante-room. -Presently the door of this room opened -and the attorney reappeared. The expression -of anxiety and suspense had not left -his face.</p> - -<p>“Your Honor,” he said, “the defense -must ask for a continuance. We had hoped -to be ready to proceed with the case without -delay or cost to the state, but a witness -whose testimony is essential and whom -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</span>the defense has spared no diligence to -secure, has failed to appear. Believing -that the just interests of our client will -suffer if we enter into trial without this -witness, we have decided to ask Your Honor -to continue the case until the next term.”</p> - -<p>The audience could scarcely restrain its -impatience, and the judge found it necessary -to call for order before stating that -the postponement was granted.</p> - -<p>The courtroom was soon cleared. Groups -of excited men gathered upon the street, -their looks indicating sullen anger and -desperate resolve. The bayonets of the -militia had been set bristling around the -jail and their gleam was all that kept the -crowds back.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, the strain upon Elliott Harding<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</span> -was telling. He walked erect with -an effort and spent much of the time alone -in his office, with his head bowed upon the -desk, moaning in unutterable anguish. -His suffering had drained his very soul—he -could weep no more. Since the tragedy, -every hour, every day had been a lifetime -of misery. Fate had employed his bravest -deeds for the breaking of his stout -heart. Unheld, unhindered, he had long -chosen his road but now he was grasped with -sovereign indifference while there was -brought upon him punishment for the insufferable -egotism of his stubborn contentions. -This was the bitterest cup he was ever -called upon to drain, and he was never -the same after draining it. He was experiencing -perhaps what the earth experiences<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</span> -when it is furrowed with the share -that the grain may be sown; it feels the -wound alone, the thrill of the germ and -the joy of the fruit are not yet come to -comfort it.</p> - -<p>Mr. Carr was rapidly growing feeble. -He was quite shut in. But with every -fiber of the Carr endurance, he clung to -life, with every desire intensified into the -longing to live until the murderer’s trial -was ended. On this night he sat in a large -wooden rocker near the window, with a -pillow at his shoulders. His pathetic figure, -with its long attenuated frame, testified -to his rapid decline. The soft south -wind waved the white locks fringing his -temples. One shaking hand lay helplessly -on the arm of the chair, the other -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</span>held loose grasp of a remotely-dated -family monthly. His gray eyes, bright and -clear in spite of their fine, crape-like -setting of wrinkles, were absently turned -to the sky. They kindled as Elliott laid a -hand gently upon his shoulder.</p> - -<p>“How is my dear father by now?”</p> - -<p>“Pretty well,” he answered faintly—his -old reply.</p> - -<p>“That’s good!” and Elliott tried to smile -as he sank wearily into a chair.</p> - -<p>Mr. Carr, noticing how thinly his lips -fitted about his white, even teeth, asked, -“What have they done to my boy?”</p> - -<p>“Done enough, father,” said Elliot, -starting up and revealing his haggard, -agitated face. “They have postponed the -trial.”</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI.</h2> -</div> - -<p>The coming of October brought the next -term of court. What seemed an age had -at last terminated and Ephriam Cooley -was again brought to trial. His removal -from the prison to the courthouse was -without incident. The prisoner was -guarded in the most thorough manner -against possible molestation. The regular -police guards were reinforced by deputies -sworn in by the sheriff, and the vicinity -of the court had, in consequence, the appearance -of an armed camp.</p> - -<p>Police were stationed at every approach -as well as in the hall and every preparation -had been made to quell instantly any -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</span>attempt at lawless interference with the -ordinary course of law.</p> - -<p>When the doors opened, the waiting -crowd was allowed to enter and in a few -minutes all the available space within -the courtroom was densely packed.</p> - -<p>The judge took his seat.</p> - -<p>Ephriam Cooley entered between two -officers, handcuffed, his bold, insulting -eyes wearing a look of sullen defiance, -his unkempt beard lending more than ever -an animal look to his face.</p> - -<p>The selection of the jury occupied the -greater portion of the morning, but at -length twelve citizens were impaneled and -listened to the reading of the indictment.</p> - -<p>The temper of the people might be seen -in the burst of rage that swept over the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</span>crowd when the atrocious deed was described.</p> - -<p>Elliott Harding, with his usual aspect of -dignity, had schooled his face into a cold -passiveness, but though outwardly calm, -his pulse was throbbing with the fierceness -of fever beats. A stranger entering -the courtroom would never have selected -him from the group of men as the one -whose life had been crushed out by the -object of this trial.</p> - -<p>When the reading was finished, the witnesses -for the state were called. The first -name which rang through the courtroom -was that of John Holmes. The prisoner -drew himself together and watched him -keenly as the oath was administered; his -face, despite its defiant mask, had a restless,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</span> -haunted look which sat strangely on -his hard, grim features.</p> - -<p>Skillfully aided by questions from the -court, Holmes unfolded the whole awful -story of the first discovery of the dead -body of Dorothy Carr. Passing rapidly -over the painful details, the sheriff told -then of the man-hunt, of the finding of the -bloody razor as it had dropped from the -pocket of the prisoner’s coat.</p> - -<p>The negro cook of the Carrs swore that -the prisoner was the man to whom she had -given a drink of water about half an hour -before her mistress had been brought -home.</p> - -<p>Toward the close of the State’s evidence, -the chain binding the prisoner to the gallows -had become all but complete. In -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</span>the face of such evidence and in the atmosphere -of such bitter resentment, the -counsel appointed for his defense struggled -against overwhelming odds.</p> - -<p>He contented himself with belittling the -value of circumstantial evidence adduced -by the prosecution, and presenting the -argument that the prisoner’s education -and his social position as a school teacher -attested to his inability to commit a crime -so revolting in its conception and so brutal -in its execution. He stated that the woman -at whose house the prisoner had been -arrested, had repeatedly said that he had -been at her house, some fifteen miles away -from the scene of the crime, at the very -hour the deed was said to have been committed, -that she would testify to that statement<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</span> -here if she had not moved away and -could not now be located. Whatever effect -the counsel thus produced was more -than neutralized when the prisoner was -called to the stand for a specious denial.</p> - -<p>The sinister fear with which the negro -peered about the courtroom, the affected -nonchalance and thinly veiled defiance of -his mumbled answers told damningly -against him. The passions of raging fear -and terror had driven from his low-browed -face every trace of intellectuality -or culture, leaving only the cunning -cruelty and ferocity of the animal. His -cross-examination left him without a vestige -of self control, and before it had well -finished, in a violent passion he poured -forth a volley of oaths, his huge frame -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</span>quivering as he burst into a raving, -shrieking arraignment of the white man, -in which he had to be almost throttled -into silence by the deputies.</p> - -<p>When the prosecuting attorney arose to -review the case, there hung over the -courtroom the ominous hush that is significant -of but one thing. After a brief recital -of the details of the evidence, the -counsel appealed to the jury to do its -sworn duty.</p> - -<p>The judge’s charge was a cool, impartial -exposition of the law as it applied to the -case. When finished, the jury arose amid -a general movement of relief upon the -part of the audience and as the twelve -men filed out, there was considerable excited -conversation, mingled with whispered<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</span> -speculations as to how long they -would be out. Within the courtroom -proper, as soon as the jury had retired, -the Court instructed the sheriff to announce -a recess.</p> - -<p>A half hour passed and there was a commotion -in the outer hall. The sheriff wore -an agitated air. Presently, one by one, -a half-dozen men walked inside the railing -and dropped carelessly into chairs.</p> - -<p>The prisoner looked at his new companions -and evidently read aright their -mission. They were deputy sheriffs. Four -of them sat in chairs ranged behind the -prisoner and one sat at either side of -him.</p> - -<p>Directly across the aisle sat Elliott -Harding, apparently cool and patient.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</span></p> - -<p>Very soon it became generally known -that a verdict had been reached.</p> - -<p>During the next five minutes, the rooms -filled rapidly. The sheriff rapped for -order and shouted:</p> - -<p>“Let everyone within the courtroom -sit down.”</p> - -<p>From that moment the stillness of death -prevailed. Every eye was turned toward -the prisoner. His fingers worked convulsively -and his whole body trembled. -But few seconds elapsed before the twelve -men slowly and gravely filed into their -places.</p> - -<p>“Have you reached a verdict, gentlemen?” -asked the Court, as they lined up.</p> - -<p>“We have, Your Honor,” answered the -foreman.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</span></p> - -<p>The Court then announced: “I want -everyone to understand that the least attempt -at an expression of approval or disapproval -of this verdict, as it is read, -will be punished by a fine for contempt. -Mr. Clerk, read the verdict.”</p> - -<p>The clerk obeyed. His voice was clear -and everyone heard: “We, the jury, agree -and find the defendant, Ephriam Cooley, -guilty of the murder of Dorothy Carr, and -fix his punishment at death.”</p> - -<p>Elliott Harding quietly left the scene, -feeling already a lightening of the intolerable -load which had so long weighed -upon him.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII.</h2> -</div> - -<p>Mr. Carr, who had been slowly succumbing -to his great grief, was ill the closing -day of the trial. Dragging heavily through -an existence that was not life, he was but -a wraith of his former self. Waiting patiently, -submitting with lifted head to the -law’s justice. When he was told of the -doom of Cooley, he seemed hardly to hear -it, and he made no comment. It seemed -now as if little else of life remained -and yet occasional incoherent phrases -showed the signs of some duty neglected -and weighing heavily on the wandering -mind.</p> - -<p>One morning, Elliott, seeing the longing -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</span>visibly reflected on the old man’s countenance, -asked:</p> - -<p>“What is it, father? Is there anything I -can do?” And he laid his face to the -withered palm of the outstretched hand. -The sick man suddenly seemed to realize -that his reason was abandoning him, and -he made a supreme effort to collect his -ideas and frame them into coherent speech.</p> - -<p>“Help me!” he said piteously. Then -turning his head toward the window -where he could see the grave so lately -made for Dorothy, his worn face quivered -and the big, slow tears ran down his furrowed -cheeks.</p> - -<p>“Is it something of her you would -say?” Elliott inquired.</p> - -<p>But the aged lips made no answer. For -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</span>a time Elliott sat beside him, silent. Suddenly -the old face lighted. Lifting up his -sorrowful eyes, he said:</p> - -<p>“It has come, Elliott—my will! I have -left everything to you, and, don’t forget -Chloe.”</p> - -<p>Then once again, the look of blank abstraction -spread over his features and he -sank into a state of collapse as if the effort -to think had exhausted his share of -vitality.</p> - -<p>Elliott and his neighbors stood by and -saw him grow feebler, his breath fainter. -The old and eternal Mother Nature was -silently slipping her pitying arms around -her tired child. Presently the uncomplaining -eyes were to be dimmed and the -lips silenced forever. And as the end -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</span>came, peacefully and quietly, Elliott forgot -all—himself, his heartbreak, his -wrath, forgot everything in the realization -of the peace, the rest now possessing -this long tired soul.</p> - -<p>The memory of the past swept over -him. He recalled all that Dorothy had -been to her father from the time when she -had first stretched out her baby arms to -him, all the little ways by which she had -brought back his youth and made his -house home, and his heart soft again.</p> - -<p>Two days later, all that was mortal of -Napoleon Carr lay prone and cold in a -new grave. He himself had chosen the -spot between the two mounds, over which -the grass lay in long windrows above his -wife and child.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</span></p> - -<p>Chloe was faithful to the end and was -there when death darkened the eyes of her -master.</p> - -<p>She was given the home she then lived -in and ample provision for its maintenance.</p> - -<p>The Carr homestead was closed and -Elliott went again to live with his uncle, -Mr. Field.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII.</h2> -</div> - -<p>The day set by the court, upon which -Ephriam Cooley was to pay the penalty -for the crime of which he had been adjudged -guilty, was the thirteenth of June.</p> - -<p>Long before that time, the colored population -had been aroused to a lively interest -in their convicted brother. There was -a movement on foot to make a fight for his -life. The negroes had gained the idea that -the evidence of the woman at whose house -Cooley had been arrested, and who could -not be found to give evidence at the trial, -would have cleared him. It was now -rumored that she had been located away -up in the East Kentucky mountains, where -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</span>she had moved the year before. This story -flew like thistle-down in the wind. Negro -petitions were got up calling for mercy -and commutation and were poured in upon -the governor from all parts of the state.</p> - -<p>Sometimes it was rumored that the governor -would commute the sentence to -penal servitude for life. Then the rumor -was contradicted, and so it went on. The -governor had an eye to his own reelection -and it was the current belief that he was -not averse to doing that which might -further the ends of his own ambition.</p> - -<p>It was well on in June and up to this -time the governor had arrived at no decision, -or if he had, had given no indication -of it.</p> - -<p>Elliott was almost prostrate, the prey -of a long drawn agony. This effort to -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</span>soften the sentence weighed upon his weak -nerves so that the phantom silence of his -nights had been peopled by visions. His -life became one oppression and a terror, -and rest a thing never to be his. Again -and again, amid the whirl of memory, he -pressed the sad accusing words, “Are you -my country’s foe and therefore mine?” -upon the inward wound, tasting, cherishing -the smart of them.</p> - -<p>He no longer had opinions: his opinions -had become sympathies.</p> - -<p>There had come a day when, in his room -alone, he took a pile of manuscript from -his desk and looked at it long and hard, -then held it to a blaze and watched it burn -to a charred tissue on the hearthstone. -It was his book.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV.</h2> -</div> - -<p>Tuesday, June the twenty-ninth, was an -Eastwind day and it had nearly ended -when Elliott Harding met the sheriff and -inquired:</p> - -<p>“Any news from the governor?”</p> - -<p>He shook his head as he answered: “And -none likely to come.” Taking out a silver -watch he added: “The hanging is set for -eleven o’clock to-morrow morning. -Umph! This is tough work.”</p> - -<p>“I shall breathe more freely to-morrow,” -was Elliott’s comment, as he passed -on.</p> - -<p>A little further down he met John -Holmes.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</span></p> - -<p>“I was just going to your office,” said -Holmes almost tenderly.</p> - -<p>Being near that place, they locked arms -and went silently together. When they -were seated, Holmes broke the silence.</p> - -<p>“Has any reprieve come yet?” he said -abruptly as a man plunges into a critical -subject.</p> - -<p>“No, I am glad to say!” and the lined -face that lifted to the other was worn, -the eyes strained and bloodshot.</p> - -<p>“Holmes, I have been thinking of my -old views. God knows I have had time to -think and cause to think! I am appreciating -now the problem you of the South -could not solve.” His voice grew unsteady.</p> - -<p>“Harding, I am sorry for you. You -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</span>have suffered greatly. It is useless to attempt -to convey in words what the South -has long endured, but I believe she is on -the point of struggling from beneath the -crushing burden that weighs her down. -A time will come when our southern governors -will order a special term of Superior -Court to try speedily a criminal -and invariably fix the death penalty for -the offense which is largely responsible -for lynching. How much graver, deeper, -more human now, must seem to you our -tragedies and our defense. We would indeed -welcome a worthier mode or the -day when there will be no such tragedies.”</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>That night as the sheriff and his family -sat in their lighted room, a man outside -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</span>kept patient tryst, every fiber of his being -directly concerned in the slightest -movement or sound.</p> - -<p>As the night wore on and no one entered -the door, his soul illumined with hope and -seemed loosening itself from pain and -desire.</p> - -<p>Presently there was a sound, a sight that -startled him. A messenger was at the door -holding a yellow slip. The sheriff came -out rubbing his eyes.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” he asked sleepily.</p> - -<p>“A reprieve! A reprieve!”</p> - -<p>Holding it to the lamp in the hall, the -sheriff read:</p> - -<p>“Sheriff of Scott County, Georgetown, -Ky.—Ephriam Cooley’s sentence commuted -to life imprisonment. Hurry prisoner -to Frankfort. ——, Governor.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</span></p> - -<p>The sheriff hastily pencilled an answer -and sent the boy speeding back.</p> - -<p>“Hitch the horse!” he called to his man.</p> - -<p>“Oh my God!” In that supreme cry, -hope quivered in its death throb. Elliott -Harding received the lance thrust of despair. -He stood defenseless: alone with -Destiny.</p> - -<p>All was done quietly and swiftly. The -sleeping town knew nothing of the change.</p> - -<p>As the midnight train whistled in the -distance, the sheriff with his handcuffed -prisoner stepped from behind his sweating -horse onto the empty platform. When -the iron monster, like a great strong -savior came rushing in, the criminal -looked as if he could have embraced it. -It was a thing of life to him.</p> - -<p>One or maybe two drowsy travelers -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</span>shook themselves and scrambled to the -platform. The sheriff and his man lost no -time in seating themselves. The murderer -was within a hair’s breadth of safety. -The engine was ready to start. Snorting, -trembling, as if in frightened pain, she -moved off slowly, slowly.</p> - -<p>There was a sudden rush and speeding -through the darkness; an unkempt figure, -running staggeringly as though in exhaustion, -leaped to the platform and pursued -the moving train. A sudden flash, a -sharp report, and Ephriam Cooley fell -back dead, shot through the heart.</p> - -<p>By the time the train had drawn back -to the station, the platform was deserted; -only the shrouding mists of blue smoke -remained.</p> - -<p class="center no-indent">THE END.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="adblock"><div class="chapter"> -<p class="ph2 nobreak"><b>Neely’s Tourist Library.</b></p> -</div> - -<p class="center no-indent"><b>PRICE, — TEN CENTS.</b><br /> -<i>Entered as second-class matter.</i></p> - -<p>Mr. F. 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By Mrs. Stowe.</b><br /> -<b>BEYOND THE CITY. By A. Conan Doyle.</b></p> - -<p class="center no-indent">A NEW ISSUE EVERY WEEK.</p></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="adblock"><div class="chapter"> -<p class="ph2 nobreak"><b>Neely’s Library of -Choice Literature.</b></p> -</div> - -<p class="center no-indent"><b>Paper,—Fifty Cents.</b></p> - -<p class="no-indent"><b>THE EMBASSY BALL.</b> By Virginia Rosalie Coxe.<br /> -<b>TRUE TO THEMSELVES.</b> By Alex. J. C. Skene, M.D., LL.D.<br /> -<b>THE RASCAL CLUB.</b> By Julius Chambers. -Fully Illustrated by J. P. Burns.<br /> -<b>ISIDRA, THE PATRIOT DAUGHTER OF -MEXICO.</b> By Willis Steell.<br /> -<b>THE MILLS OF GOD.</b> By Helen Davies. -Author of “Reveries of a Spinster.”<br /> -<b>PETRONILLA, THE SISTER.</b> -By Emma Homan Thayer. Fully Illustrated.<br /> -<b>URANIA.</b> By Camille Flammarion. -Profusely Illustrated with half-tone engravings.<br /> -<b>A GARRISON TANGLE.</b> Capt. Chas. 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By Louise Muhlbach.</b></p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="transnote"> -<p class="ph2 nobreak"><span class="smcap">Transcriber’s Notes:</span></p> - -<p>On page 34, Catherine has been changed to Catharine.</p> - -<p>On page 37, aple has been changed to able.</p> - -<p>On page 38, sierous has been changed to serious.</p> - -<p>On page 59, unexpceted has been changed to unexpected.</p> - -<p>On page 63, futherance has been changed to furtherance.</p> - -<p>On page 83, fellow ship has been changed to fellowship.</p> - -<p>On page 88, comanding has been changed to commanding.</p> - -<p>On page 124, dolicious has been changed to delicious.</p> - -<p>On page 184, a repetitive “the the” has been removed.</p> - -<p>On page 202, a repetitive “and and” has been removed.</p> - -<p>On page 205, dilligence has been changed to diligence.</p> - -<p>On page 225, thistledown has been changed to thistle-down.</p> - -<p>Minor silent changes have been made to regularize usage of -punctuation.</p> - -<p>All other spelling, hyphenation and dialect have been -retained as typeset.</p></div></div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SMOKING FLAX ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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