Hisexpressionchanged。Heknockedtheashesfromhiscigarandfrowned。
"Isee,"hesneered。"Humph!Well,I’vetriedtomakeitplaintoyoufellowsdownherethatIcouldn’tbeheldup。IthoughtI’ddoneit,butevidentlyIhaven’t。Fivehundredisagoodpriceforthatland。Fivethousandisridiculous,butIgaveyoumyreasonsforbeingwillingtoberobbedthatmuch。That,however,isthelimit。I’llgiveyoufivethousand,butnotanothercent。Youcantakeitorgetout。"
Thiswasbetter。WhenhetalkedlikethatIcouldanswerhimandenjoyit。
"I’llgetoutveryshortly,"Isaid。"YouarenomoreanxioustohavethathappenthanIam。Idon’twantyourothercent。Idon’twantyourfivethousanddollars。I’llsellyouthelandononecondition——no,ontwo。Thefirstisthatyoupaymethirty—fivehundreddollarsforit。"
"WHAT?"
Ihadupsethiscomposurethistime。Heforgottosneer;heevenforgottosmoke。
"What?"hecriedagain。"Thirty—fivehundred!Why,Iofferedyou——"
"Iknowyouroffer。Thisismine:Iwillsellyouthelandforthirty—fivehundred,andnotanothercent。That,asyousay,isthelimit。Youcantakeitor——orIwillfollowyoursuggestionandgetout。"
Welookedateachother。Hisfingersmovedtowardthematchboxonthetable。Hetookamatch,scratchedit,andheldittotheendofhiscigar。Thenhetookthecigarfromhislips,blewoutthematchandtossedthelatterintothefireplace。
"Whatisthesecondcondition?"heasked,abruptly。
"Thatyoupaymeincash,inmoneyandnotbycheck,atonce。"
"Atonce?Now,doyoumean?"
"Yes,now。To—nightifpossible;ifnot,nolaterthannineo’clockto—morrowmorning。"
"Humph!DoyouthinkIcarrythirty—fivehundredlooseinmychangepocket?"
"Idon’tknow。Butthatisthesecondcondition。"
"Humph!……Lookhere,Paine;what——?Iofferedyouthefivethousand。Thatofferholdsgood。"
"Idon’tacceptit。Iwillsellforthirty—fivehundred;nomoreandnoless。"
"Butwhynotmore?"
"Idon’tknow。Yes,Ido,too。Yousaidoncethatyouwerewillingtopayforty—fivehundredfortheprivilegeofhavingyourownway。PerhapsIamwillingtosacrificefifteenhundredfortheprivilegeofhavingmine。AtalleventsImeanwhatIsay。"
"Butwhyjustthirty—five?Wouldn’tyoutakethirty—six?"
"No。Itisuselesstoargue,Mr。Colton,anduselesstoaskmyreasons。Ihavethem,andthatisenough。WillyouacceptMY
offer?"
Hehesitated。Thesneerhadlefthisfaceandhistonewhenheaddressedmewasrespectful,thoughtherewasacuriousnoteofchagrinordissatisfactioninit。Ihadexpectedhimtobeeagerand,perhaps,mockinglytriumphant。Hewasnot。Heseemedreluctant,almostdisappointed。
"IsupposeI’llhaveto,"hesaid。"But,Paine,whatisup?Whyareyoudoingthis?You’renotafraidofme?No,ofcourseyou’renot。You’renotthekindtosquealandliedownbecauseyouthinktheoddsareagainstyou……Confoundyou!"withasuddenburstofimpatience,"youareenoughtoupsetalltheself—conceitaman’sgotinhim。JustasIthinkI’mbeginningtosizeyouupyoubreaklooseinanewplace。"
"Pardonme,"Iputin,"butIdon’tseethatyouarehelpingtosavethatvaluabletimeofyours。Iunderstandthatyouaccept。
Willyoupaymenow?"
Herose,threwawayhiscigar,and,withhishandsinhispockets,stoodregardingme。
"Yourmindismadeup,isit?"heasked。
"Yes。"
"Humph!HaveyouthoughtofwhatourmutualfriendDeanandtherestofthepatriotsmaysaywhentheyfindthisout?"
Ihadthoughtoflittleelseallthewayfromthebanktohisdoor。
Iwasthinkingofitthen。
"Ofcourse,"headded,"thatisnotmyaffair,but——"
"Itisnot。"
"You’reright;itisn’t。Still——hangitall,Paine!Idon’toftenfeelanycompunctionswhenIbeatafellowinagamelikethis,andIdidintendtohavemyownwayinthisone——"
"Well,you’rehavingit,aren’tyou?"Iputin。"Whytalksomuchaboutit?"
"BecauseIamnotsosureIamhavingit。OfcourseIcanseethat,forsomereasonorother,youneedthirty—fivehundreddollars。Anyonebutyou,iftheyweregoingtosell,wouldgetthelastdimetheycouldsqueeze。Youwon’t,becauseyouareaspig—
headedas——as——"
"Oh,docutitshort,"Isnapped。Andthen,atrifleashamedofmyrudeness,"Excuseme,Mr。Colton,butthisisn’texactlypleasantformeandIwanttogetitover。Willyoupaymenow?"
"Holdon;letmefinish。Iwasgoingtosaythat,ifyouneededthethirty—five,perhapsIcouldmanagetoletyouhaveit。"
Istaredathim。"Letmehaveit!"Icried。"Doyoumeanyou’lllendittome?"
"Why,yes,maybe。YouandIhavehadsuchafirst—rate,square,standupfightthatIratherhatetohaveitend。Iwanttolickyou,nothaveyouquitbeforeI’vereallybeguntofight。There’snofoolphilanthropyinthis,understand;itisjustformyownsatisfaction。"
IwassotakenabackbythistotallyunexpectedofferfromthemanwhomIhadinsultedadozentimessinceIenteredhishouse,thatI
founditalmostimpossibletoanswer。
"Whatdoyousay?"heasked。
"No,"Ifaltered。Andthenmorefirmly,"No;certainlynot。I——I
ammuchobligedtoyou,Mr。Colton,but——no。"
"Allright。Youknowbest。I’lltakeyourofferandIwillhandyouthemoneyatthebankto—morrowmorning。Willthatdo?"
"Notatthebank,Mr。Colton。Senditovertothehouse,ifyoucanconveniently。"
"I’llhaveitherebeforeten。Mylawyerwilldrawupthepapersandarrangefortransferoftitleinafewdays。What?Going,areyou?Goodnight。Oh——er——Paine,rememberthatmyotheroffer,thatoftheplaceinmyoffice,isopenwhenyou’rereadytotakeit。"
Ishookmyhead。Ihadturnedtogo,butnowIturnedback,feelingthat,perhaps,Ishouldapologizeagainformyrudeness。
Afterall,hehadbeenkind,verykind,andIhadscarcelythankedhim。SoIturnedbacktosaysomething,Ihardlyknewwhat。
Mydoingsowasamistake。Thedoorbehindmeopenedandavoicesaidreproachfully,"Father,areyoustillhere?Thedoctorsaid……Oh,Ibegpardon。"
Irecognizedthevoice。OfallvoicesintheworldIwishedleasttohearitjustthen。MybackwastowardthedoorandIkeptitso。Ifshewouldonlygo!Ifshewouldonlyshutthatdoorandgoaway!
Ithinkshewouldhavegonebutherfathercalledher。
"Mabel,"hecried,"Mabel,don’tgo。It’sallright。Comein。
PaineandIhavefinishedourtalk。Nothingmoreyouwishedtosay,wasthere,Paine?"
"No,"saidI。Iwasobligedtoturnnow;Icouldnotgetoutofthatroomwithoutdoingit。SoturnIdid,andwefacedeachother。
"Goodevening,MissColton,"Isaid,withallthecalmnessIcouldmuster。
Shesaid,"Goodevening,"distantlyandwithoutanyenthusiasm,butIsawherglanceatherfatherandthenatmeandIknewshewaswonderingwhatourbeingtogethercouldpossiblymean。
"Painehasbeenmakingmealittlecall,"explainedColton,hiseyetwinkling。"Mabel,I’llriskanotherbetthatyoucan’tguesswhyhecame。"
"Ishallnottry,"shesaid,disdainfully。
"Oh,you’dbetter!No?Youwon’t?Well,then,I’lltellyou。Hehasjustsoldmethatlandofhis……Don’tlookatmelikethat;hehas。Wehadalittledisagreementastoprice,but,"withagrin,"Imethisfiguresandweclosedthedeal。Aren’tyougoingtocongratulatehimonhavingcometohissensesatlast?
Come!he’swaitingforcongratulations。"
Thiswasnottrue。Iwaswaitingfornothing;Iwasonmywaytothedoor。But,toreachitIwasobligedtopassherandoureyesmet。Myglancewavered,Iknow,buthersdidnot。Foramomentshelookedatme。Thenshesmiled。WheneverIamtemptedtobevain,evennow,Irememberthatsmile。
"Icongratulatehim,"shesaid。"Come,Father;youmustgotobednow。"
CHAPTERXVII
Iamnotgoingtoattemptadescriptionofmythoughtsthatnight。
Itwouldtaketoolongandthedescriptionwouldbewearisome。
Otherpeople’smiseriesarenotinterestingandIshallnotcatalogmine。MorningcameatlastandIrose,bathedmyhotfaceincoldwater,andwentdownstairs。Earlyasitwas,notyetsix,IheardDorindainthekitchenand,havingnodesireforconversation,I
wentoutandwalkedupanddownthebeachuntilbreakfasttime。I
hadtopretendtoeat,butIatesolittlethatbothLuteandDorindaoncemorecommenteduponmylackofappetite。Lute,whohadneverbecomefullyreconciledtomybecomingamemberoftheworkingclass,hastenedtolaytheblameformyconditionuponmylaborsatthebank。
"Thetroubleis,"heannounced,dogmatically,"thetroubleis,Roscoe,thatyouain’tfittedforbein’shutupasternofadeck。
Lookatyourselfnow!JustgointoComfort’sroomandstandinfrontofherlookin’glassandlookatyourself。Thereyoube,paleandpeakedandworeout。LookforalltheworldjustasI
donewhenIhadthetonsilstwowintersago。Ain’tthatso,Dorindy?"
Hiswife’sanswerwasacontemptuoussniff。
"Ifyoumeantosaythatyoulookedpeakedwhenyouhadsorethroat,"sheannounced,"thenthere’ssomethin’thematterwithyourmindoryoureyesight,oneort’other。Youpeaked?Why,yourfacewasswelleduplikeayoungone’sballoonFourthofJulyDay。
Andasforbein’pale!Mysoul!IgiveyoumywordIcouldn’tscurcelytellwhereyourneckleftoffandthestripofredflannelyoumademetie’rounditbegun。"
"Don’tmakenodifference!IFELTpale,anyhow。AndIdidn’teatnomore’nRosdoes。You’llhavetogiveintothat,Dorindy。I
didn’teatnothin’butbeefteaandgruel。"
"Youetenoughofthemtofloataschooner。"
"MaybeIdid,"withgrieveddignity;"maybeIdid。Butthat’snoreasonwhyyoushouldsetthereandheavemysufferin’sinmyface。"
"Whatisthemantalkin’aboutnow?Ididn’theave’eminyourface。Theycometherethemselves,sameassorethroatsufferin’sgenerallydo,andifyouhadn’twadedaroundinthesnowwithleakyboots,becauseyouwastoolazytotake’emtotheshoemaker’stobepatched,theywouldn’t。"
Lutedrewbackfromthetable。"It’snouse!"hedeclared,"amancan’tevenbesickinpeaceinthishouse。Somewiveswouldhavebeensorrytoseetheirhusbandswithonefootinthegrave。"
"Yourfeetwasinthecookstoveovenmostofthetime。There!
there!themoreyoutalkthefurtherfromhomeyouget。YoustartedinwithRoscoeandthebankandyou’reinthegravealready。IfIwasyouI’dquitaforeIwentanyfurther。Landknowswhereyoumightfetchupifyoukepton!I……Mercyonus!who’satthekitchendoorthistimeinthemornin’?"
Herhusband,evercurious,wasonhiswaytoanswertheknockalready。Hecameback,amomentlater,sputteringwithexcitement。
"It’sthatMr。butler,theJohnsonovertoMr。Colton’s,"hewhispered。"Imeanit’sthatJutler——that——There,Dorindy!youseewhatsortofastateyourhectorin’hasworkedmeinto!It’sthatparsoncritterwhoopensColton’sdoorforhim,that’swho’tis。AndhewantstoseeRos。Itriedtofindoutwhatfor,buthewouldn’ttell。"
EvenDorindashowedsurprise。Shelookedattheclock,"Thishourofthemornin’!"sheexclaimed;"whatintheworld——?"
Ihastenedtothekitchen,closingthedining—roomdoorbehindmejustintimetopreventLute’sfollowingme。Johnson,thebutler,wasstandingonthemicaslabatthethresholdinspectingourhumblepremiseswithloftydisdain。
"Mr。Coltonsentthistoyou,sir,"hesaid,handingmeanenvelope。"Hewishesyoutosendareceiptbyme。"
Itooktheenvelopeand,steppingbackoutofsight,toreitopen。
InsidewasacheckonaNewYorkbankforfourthousanddollars。
Itwasmadepayableto"Bearer。"Withitwasthisbriefnote:
DearPaine:
ThisisthebestIcandoforyou,asIhaven’tthemoneyonhand。
Cashityourself,takeoutyourthirty—fivehundredandholdtheadditionalfivehundreduntilI,oroneofthefamily,callforit。
ImadethethingpayabletoBearerbecauseIimaginedyouwouldpreferitthatway。SendmesomesortofreceiptbyJohnson;
anythingwilldo。Iwillseemylawyerinadayortwo。Meanwhilehaveyourpapers,deeds,etc。,readywhenhecallsforthem。
Yourstruly,JAMESW。COLTON。
ForaminuteIconsidered。IfIcouldcashthecheckatthebankwithoutTaylor’sknowledgeandgethimofftoBostonontheearlytrain,Imightbeabletocovermytracks。Itwasnecessarythattheyshouldbecovered。KnowingGeorgeasIdidIknewthathewouldneverconsenttomysacrifice。HewouldnotpermitmetowreckmyfutureinDenborotosavehim。ThemoneymustbeturnedovertotheBostonbankersandthebank’sbondsoncemoreinthevaultwheretheybelongedbeforehelearnedwherethatmoneycamefrom。Thenitwouldbetoolatetorefuseandtoolatetoundowhathadbeendone。HewouldhavetoacceptandImightbeabletoprevailuponhimtokeepsilentregardingthewholeaffair。I
dislikedthecheckwithColton’snameuponit;Ishouldhavemuchpreferredthecash;butcash,itseemed,couldnotbehadwithoutconsiderabledelay,andwiththatbankexaminer’svisitimminenteverymomentoftimewasvaluable。Ifoldedthecheck,putitinmypocketbook,and,hastilyscribblingareceiptinpencilatthebottomofColton’snote,replacedthelatterintheenvelopeandhandedittoJohnson,whodeparted。
Enteringthedining—roomIfoundDorindaandLuteatthewindow,peeringafterthebutler。
"Bytime!"exclaimedLute,"ifIdidn’tknowIshouldsayhewasabiggerbig—bugthanoldColtonhimself。Lookhowhestruts!Hesartinisadignifiedlookin’man。Idon’tseehowheevercometobejusthiredhelp。"
"Um—hm,"sniffedthecynicalMrs。Rogers。"Well;youcangetanawfullotofdignityforitsboardandlodgin’!There’snothin’
muchmoredignifiedorstrutsmuchbetter’narooster,butit’sthehensthatlaytheeggs。Whatdidhewant,Roscoe?"
ImadesomeexcuseorotherforMr。Johnson’searlycalland,takingmycapfromtherack,hurriedfromthehouse。Iwent"acrosslots"and,runningagoodpartoftheway,reachedthebankjustasSamWheelerwassweepingout。Heexpressedsurpriseatmyearlyarrivalandwishedtoknowwhatwasup。
"Ain’tnothin’wrong,isthere,Ros?"askedSamanxiously。"Isawbythepaperthatthemarketwasfeverishagainyesterday。"
Samwasanambitiousyouthand,beingdesirousofbecomingabankerintheshortestpossibletime,readthefinancialpagewithconscientiousthoroughness。Iassuredhimthatthemarket’sfeverwasnotcontagious——atleastIhadnotcontractedthedisease——andsenthimouttosweepthefrontsteps。AssoonashehadgoneI
openedthesafe,found,tomyjoy,thatwehadanabundanceofcurrencyonhand,cashedtheColtoncheckandlockeditsecurelyinthedrawerofmyowndesk。SofarIwassafe。NowtosecureGeorge’ssafety。
Hecameinsoonafter,lookingasif,ashehadtoldme,hehadnotsleptforyears。HebadeSamgoodmorningandthenwalkedovertomyside。
"Well,Ros?"heasked,layingashakinghandonthedeskbesideme。
"Nothere,George,"Iwhispered。"Comeintothedirectors’room。"
Iledthewayandhefollowedme。Iclosedthedoorbehindus,tookthethirty—fivehundreddollarsinnotesfrommypocketandlaidthemonthetable。
"There’sthemoney,George,"Isaid。"Nowyou’vegotjusttimeenoughtocatchthatnineo’clocktrainforBoston。"
Ithought,foramoment,hewasgoingtocollapsealtogether。Thenhepounceduponthemoney,counteditwithfingersthattrembledsohecouldscarcelycontrolthem,andturnedtome。
"Ros——Ros——"hestammered。"Wheredidyou——howdidyou——GreatGod,man!I——I——"
"There!there!"Iinterrupted。"ItoldyouIwasn’tapauperexactly。Putthatwhereyouwon’tloseitandclearout。Youhaven’tanytimetoargue。"
"But——but,Ros,Ihadn’toughttotakethisfromyou。Idon’tseewhereyougotitand——"
"That’smybusiness。Willyougo?"
"Idon’tknowasIevercanpayyou。LordknowsI’lltryallmylife,but——"
Iseizedhisarm。"George,"Iurged,impatiently,"youfool,don’twastetime。Getthattrain,doyouhear!Thosebondsmustbeinthatsafebynight。Go!"
Thementionofthebondsdidwhatmyurginghadfailedtodo。Hecrammedthebillsintohispocketbook,thrustthelatterintoaninsidepocket,andrushedfromtheroom。Ifollowedhimasfarastheouterdoor。Hewasrunninguptheroadlikeawildman。Samstaredafterhim。
"Formercysakes!"hecried,"what’sthematterwiththeboss?Hashegoneloony?"
"No,"Isaid,turningbacktomydesk;"he’ssaneenough,Iguess。
He’safterthetrain。"
"Ishouldthinkhewasaftersomethin’。Didyouseethefacehehadonhim?Ifheain’tcrazythenyouandIare,that’sallI’vegottosay。"
"Allright,Sam,"Ianswered,drawingalongbreath,"perhapsthat’sit。PerhapsyouandIarethecrazyones——oneofus,atanyrate。"
AllthatdayIworkedhard。Ididnotgohomeforlunch,butsentSamovertoEldredge’sstoreforcannedhamandcrackerswhichI
ateatmydesk。Itwasafairlybusyday,fortunately,andIcouldalwaysfindsometasktooccupymymind。Lutecalled,attwoo’clock,toinquirewhyIhadnotbeenhomeandItoldhimthatTaylorwasawayandIshouldbelateforsupper。Hedeparted,shakinghishead。
"It’sjustasIsaid,"hedeclared,"you’reworkin’yourselfsick,that’swhatyou’redoin’。You’regrowin’foolishintheheadaboutwork,justthesameasDorindy。AndYOUdon’tneedto;you’vegotmoneyenough。IfIhadindependentmeanssameasyou’vegotItellyouI’dhavemoresense。Onesickinvalidinthefamily’senough,ain’tit?"
"Nodoubt,Lute,"Ireplied。"Atalleventsyoumusttakecareofyourhealth。Don’tYOUworkyourselfsick。"
Luteturnedonme。"Itrynotto,"hesaid,seriously;"Itrynotto,butit’sahardjob。Youknowwhatthatwifeofmineiscal’latin’tohavemedonext?Washthehenhousewindow!Yessir!washthewindowso’sthehenscanlookatthescenery,I
presumelikely。Isaystoher,saysI,’ThatbeatsanyfoolishnesseverIheard!Nextthingyou’llwantmetoputdownacarpetinthepigsty,won’tye?Youwouldifwekeptapig,Iknow。’"
"Whatdidshesaytothat?"Iinquired。
"Oh,thelandknows!Somethin’aboutkeepin’onepigbein’troubleenough。Ididn’tpaymuchattention。ButIshan’twashnohen’swindow,nowyoucanbetonthat!"
Ishouldn’thavebetmuchonit。Hewentaway,tospendthenexthourinapoliticaldebateatEldredge’s,andIwroteletters,needlesslylongones。ClosingtimecameandSamwenthome,leavingmetolockup。Thetrainwasdueatsix—twenty,butitwasnearlysevenbeforeIhearditwhistleatthestation。Istoodatthefrontwindowlookinguptheroadandwaiting。
Iwaitedonlyafewminutes,buttheywerelongones。ThenIsawGeorgecoming,notrunningthistime,butwalkingwithrapidstrides。Thecrowd,waitingonthepost—officesteps,shoutedathimbuthepaidnoattention。Hesprangupthestepsandenteredthebank。Isteppedforwardandseizedhishand。Onelookathisfacewasenough;hehadthebonds,Iknewit。
"Ros,youhere!"heexclaimed。"Isitallright?Theexaminerhasn’tshowedup?"
"No,"Ianswered。"Youhavethem,George?"
"Rightinmypocket,thanktheLord——andyou,RosPaine。JustletmegetthemintothatsafeandI——What!You’renotgoing?"
"Yes,I’mgoing。Icongratulateyou,George。Iamasgladasyouare。Goodnight。"
"ButRos,Iwanttotellyouaboutit。Iwanttothankyouagain。
Inevershallforget……Ros,holdon!"
ButIwasalreadyatthedoor。"Goodnight,"Icalledagain,andwentout。Iwentstraighthome,atesupper,spentahalfhourwithMother,andthenwenttomyroomandtobed。Theexcitementwasover,forgoodorbadthethingwasdonebeyondrecall,andI
suddenlyrealizedthatIwasverytired。Ifellasleepalmostimmediatelyandsleptsoundlyuntilmorning。Iwastootiredeventothink。
Ihadplentyoftimetothinkduringthefortnightwhichfollowedandtherewasenoughtothinkabout。ThelawyercameandthepapersweresignedtransferringtoJamesW。ColtonthestripoflandoverwhichDenborohadexciteditselfformonths。EachdayI
satatmydeskexpectingCaptainDeanandadelegationofindignantcitizenstorushinanddenouncemeasatraitorandaturncoat。
EverytimeSamWheelermetmeatmyarrivalatthebankIdreadedtolookhimintheface,fearingthathehadlearnedofmyactionandwaswaitingtoquestionmeaboutit。Inspiteofallmyboastsandsolemnvowsnottopermit"BigJim"ColtontoobtaintheShoreLaneIhadsoldittohim;hecould,anditwastobeexpectedthathewould,closeitatonce;Denborowouldmakeitsjustdemanduponmeforexplanations,explanationswhich,forGeorgeandNellie’ssake,Icouldnotgive;andafterthatthedeluge。IwassittingoverapowdermineandIbracedmyselffortheexplosion。
Buthoursanddayspassedandnoexplosioncame。ThefishcartsrattleddowntheLanewithouthindrance。ExceptforthelittleflurryofexcitementcausedbythecomingweddingattheDeanhomesteadthevillagelifemovedonitslazy,uneventfuljog。I
couldnotunderstandit。WhydidColtondelay?He,whoseoneobjectinlifewastohavehisownway,haditoncemore。Nowthathehaditwhydidn’themakeuseofit?Whywasheholdingback?
Outofpityforme?Ididnotbelieveit。Muchmorelikelythathisdaughter,whoseprideIhaddaredtooffend,hadtakentheaffairinherhandsandthisagonyofsuspensewasapreliminarytorture,apartofmypunishmentforpresumingtoactcontrarytoherimperialwill。
Isawheroccasionally,althoughItriedmybestnottodoso。
OncewepassedeachotheronthestreetandIstubbornlykeptmyheadturnedintheotherdirection。Iwouldrisknomorelookssuchasshehadgivenmewhen,inresponsetoherfather’swould—behumoroussuggestion,shehadofferedmeher"congratulations。"
Once,too,Isawheronthebay,IwasaboardtheComfort,havingjustanchoredafterashortcruise,andshewentbyinthecanoe,hernewestplaything,whichhadarrivedbyfreightafewdaysbefore。AcanoeinDenboroBaywasadistinctnovelty;probablynotsincethedaysoftheIndianshadoneofthelight,gracefullittlevesselsfloatedthere,andthisonecarriedmuchcommentamongtheoldsaltsalongshore。Itwasthegeneralopinionthatitwasnocraftforsaltwater。
"Themthings,"saidZebKendrick,sagely,"areallrightforpondsorriversorcrickswherethereain’tnotidenorsearunnin’。
Floatanywhereswherethere’saheavydew,theysaytheywill。Butnodarterofmineshouldgooutpasttheflatsinoneof’emifI
hadthesay。It’stoobigarisk。"
"Yup;well,Zeb,youain’tgotthesay,Ical’late,"observedThophNewcomb。"Andittakesmore’nsaytogetaskifflikethatone。
Theytellmethemetalworkaboardherissilver—plated——silverorgold,Iain’tsurewhich。Wondertheoldmandidn’tmakeitsolidgoldwhilehewasaboutit。He’ddoanythingforthatgirlifsheaskedhimto。Andshesartindoeshandleitlikeabird!Shewentbymydoryt’othermornin’andIswantomanifsheandthecanoetogetherwan’tasightforsoreeyes。Isetandwatchedherfortwentyminutes。"
"Um——ye—es,"gruntedZeb。"Andthenyouchargedthetwentyminutesinagainsttheday’sworkquahaugin’youwassupposedtobedoin’
forme,Isuppose。"
"Youcantakeoutthetencentswhenyoupayme——ifyoueverdo,"
saidNewcomb,gallantly。"’Twaswuthmore’nthatjusttolookather。"
ThetimehadbeenwhenIshouldhaveagreedwithThoph。Sittinginthecanoe,bare—headed,herhairtossinginthebreeze,andherroundedarmsswingingthelightpaddle,shewasasightforsoreeyes,doubtless。Butitwasnotmyeyeswhichweresore,justthen。Iwatchedherforamomentandthenbentovermyengine。I
didnotlookupagainuntilthecanoehaddisappearedbeyondtheColtonwharf。
IdidnottellMotherthatIhadsoldtheland。Iintendedtodoso;eachmorningIrosewithmymindmadeuptotellher,andalwaysIputoffthetellinguntilsomeothertime。Iknew,ofcourse,thatsheshouldbetold;thatIoughttotellherratherthantohaveherlearnthenewsfromothersasshecertainlywouldatalmostanymoment,butIknew,too,thateventoherIcouldnotdisclosemyreasonforselling。ImustkeepGeorge’ssecretashehadkeptmineandtaketheconsequenceswithaclosemouthandasmuchofmyoldindifferencetopublicopinionasIcouldmuster。
ButIrealized,onlytoowell,thattheindifferencewhichhadoncebeenrealwasnowonlypretense。
IhavesaidverylittleaboutGeorgeTaylor’sgratitudetome,norhisappreciationofwhatIhaddoneforhim。ThepoorfellowwouldhavetalkedofnothingelseifIhadlethim。
"You’vesavedmygoodnameandmylife,Ros,"hesaid,overandoveragain,"andnotonlymylife,butwhatisamightysightmoreworthsaving,Nellie’shappiness。Idon’tknowhowyoudidit;I
believeyetthatthereissomethingbehindallthis,thatyou’rekeepingsomethingfromme。Ican’tseehow,consideringallyou’vesaidtomeaboutyournotbeingwell—off,yougotthatmoneysoquick。ButIknowyoudon’twantmetotalkaboutit。"
"Idon’t,George,"Isaid。"AllIaskofyouisjusttoforgetthewholething。"
"Forget!Ishan’tforgetwhileIlive。And,assoonaseverIcanscrapeittogether,I’llpayyoubackthatloan。"
Hehadkepthisword,sofarastellingNellieofhisfinancialconditionwasconcerned。Hehadnot,ofcourse,toldherofhisuseofthebankbonds,buthehad,ashesaidhewould,toldherthat,inallprobability,heshouldbeleftwithnothingbuthissalary。
"Itoldhershewasfreetogivemeup,"hesaid,withemotion,"andwhatdoyousupposeshesaidtome?Thatshewouldmarrymeifsheknewshemustliveinthepoorhousetherestofherdays。
Yes,andbehappy,solongaswecouldbetogether。Well,Iain’tworthit,andItoldherso,butI’lldomybesttobeworthsomething;andsheshan’thavetoliveinthepoorhouseeither。"
"Idon’tthinkthere’smuchdangerofthat,"Isaid。"And,bytheway,George,yourLouisvilleandTranscontinentalspeculationmaynotbeallloss。Youmaysavesomethingoutofit。Therehasbeenconsiderabletradinginthestockduringthepasttwodays。Itisuphalfapointalready,accordingtothepapers。Didyounoticeit?"
"Yes,Inoticedit。ButItellyou,Ros,Idon’tcare。I’llbegladtogetsomeofmymoneyback,ofcourse;enoughtopayyouandCap’nElishaanyhow;butI’msohappytothinkthatNellieneedneverknowIwasathiefthatIdon’tseemtocaremuchforanythingelse。"
Nelliewashappy,too。Shecametomeandtoldmeofherhappiness。
ItwasallonGeorge’saccount,ofcourse。
"Thepoorfellowhadlostmoneyininvestments,"shesaid,"andhethoughtIwouldnotcareforhimifIfoundouthewaspoor。Heisn’tpoor,ofcourse,butifhewasitwouldmakenodifferencetome。IamsogladtoseehimwithoutthatdreadfulworriedlookonhisfacethatI——I——Oh,youmustthinkmeawfulsilly,Roscoe!I