"Nothing,"saidLyndallquietly;"onlytheyhavelockedusin。"
Sheturned,andwentbacktobedagain。ButerelongEmheardasoundofmovement。Lyndallhadclimbedupintothewindow,andwithherfingersfeltthewoodworkthatsurroundedthepanes。Slippingdown,thegirlloosenedtheironknobfromthefootofthebedstead,andclimbingupagainshebrokewithiteverypaneofglassinthewindow,beginningatthetopandendingatthebottom。
"Whatareyoudoing?"askedEm,whoheardthefallingfragments。
Hercompanionmadehernoreply;butleanedoneverylittlecross—bar,whichcrackedandgavewaybeneathher。Thenshepressedwithallherstrengthagainsttheshutter。Shehadthoughtthewoodenbuttonswouldgiveway,butbytheclinkingsoundsheknewthattheironbarhadbeenputacross。Shewasquitequietforatime。Clamberingdown,shetookfromthetableasmallone—bladedpenknife,withwhichshebegantopeckatthehardwoodoftheshutter。
"Whatareyoudoingnow?"askedEm,whohadceasedcryinginherwonder,andhaddrawnnear。
"Tryingtomakeahole,"wastheshortreply。
"Doyouthinkyouwillbeableto?"
"No;butIamtrying。"
InanagonyofsuspenseEmwaited。FortenminutesLyndallpecked。Theholewasthree—eighthsofaninchdeep——thenthebladesprungintotenpieces。
"Whathashappenednow?"Emasked,blubberingafresh。
"Nothing,"saidLyndall。"Bringmemynightgown,apieceofpaper,andthematches。"
Wondering,Emfumbledabouttillshefoundthem。
"Whatareyougoingtodowiththem?"shewhispered。
"Burndownthewindow。"
"Butwon’tthewholehousetakefireandburndowntoo?"
"Yes。"
"Butwillitnotbeverywicked?"
"Yes,very。AndIdonotcare。"
Shearrangedthenightgowncarefullyinthecornerofthewindow,withthechipsoftheframeaboutit。Therewasonlyonematchinthebox。Shedrewitcarefullyalongthewall。Foramomentitburntupblue,andshowedthetinyfacewithitsglisteningeyes。Shehelditcarefullytothepaper。Foraninstantitburntupbrightly,thenflickeredandwentout。Sheblewthespark,butitdiedalso。Thenshethrewthepaperontotheground,trodonit,andwenttoherbed,andbegantoundress。
Emrushedtothedoor,knockingagainstitwildly。
"Oh,TantSannie!TantSannie!Oh,letusout!"shecried。"Oh,Lyndall,whatarewetodo?"
Lyndallwipedadropofbloodoffthelipshehadbitten。
"Iamgoingtosleep,"shesaid。"Ifyouliketositthereandhowltillthemorning,do。Perhapsyouwillfindthatithelps;Ineverheardthathowlinghelpedanyone。"
Longafter,whenEmherselfhadgonetobedandwasalmostasleep,Lyndallcameandstoodatherbedside。
"Here,"shesaid,slippingalittlepotofpowderintoherhand;"rubsomeontoyourface。Doesitnotburnwhereshestruckyou?"
Thenshecreptbacktoherownbed。Long,longafter,whenEmwasreallyasleep,shelaystillawake,andfoldedherhandsonherlittlebreast,andmuttered——
"Whenthatdaycomes,andIamstrong,Iwillhateeverythingthathaspower,andhelpeverythingthatisweak。"Andshebitherlipagain。
TheGermanlookedoutatthecabindoorforthelasttimethatnight。Thenhepacedtheroomslowlyandsighed。Thenhedrewoutpenandpaper,andsatdowntowrite,rubbinghisoldgreyeyeswithhisknucklesbeforehebegan。
"MyChickens:Youdidnotcometosaygood—byetotheoldman。Mightyou?
Ah,well,thereisalandwheretheypartnomore,wheresaintsimmortalreign。
"Isitherealone,andIthinkofyou。Willyouforgettheoldman?Whenyouwaketomorrowhewillbefaraway。Theoldhorseislazy,buthehashissticktohelphim;thatisthreelegs。Hecomesbackonedaywithgoldanddiamonds。Willyouwelcomehim?Well,weshallsee。IgotomeetWaldo。Hecomesbackwiththewagon;thenhefollowsme。Poorboy?Godknows。Thereisalandwhereallthingsaremaderight,butthatlandisnothere。
"Mylittlechildren,servetheSaviour;giveyourheartstoHimwhileyouareyetyoung。Lifeisshort。
"Nothingismine,otherwiseIwouldsay,Lyndall,takemybooks,Emmystones。NowIsaynothing。Thethingsaremine:itisnotrighteous,Godknows?ButIamsilent。Letitbe。ButIfeelit,ImustsayIfeelit。
"Donotcrytoomuchfortheoldman。Hegoesouttoseekhisfortune,andcomesbackwithitinabag,itmaybe。
"Ilovemychildren。Dotheythinkofme?IamOldOtto,whogoesouttoseekhisfortune。
O。F。"
Havingconcludedthisquaintproduction,heputitwherethechildrenwouldfinditthenextmorning,andproceededtopreparehisbundle。Heneverthoughtofenteringaprotestagainstthelossofhisgoods;likeachild,hesubmitted,andwept。Hehadbeenthereelevenyears,anditwashardtogoaway。Hespreadopenonthebedabluehandkerchief,andonitputonebyonethethingshethoughtmostnecessaryandimportant——alittlebagofcuriousseeds,whichhemeanttoplantsomeday,anoldGermanhymn—book,threemisshapenstonesthathegreatlyvalued,aBible,ashirtandtwohandkerchiefs;thentherewasroomfornothingmore。Hetiedupthebundletightlyandputitonachairbyhisbedside。
"Thatisnotmuch;theycannotsayItakemuch,"hesaid,lookingatit。
Heputhisknottedstickbesideit,hisbluetobaccobagandhisshortpipe,andtheninspectedhiscoats。Hehadtwoleft——amoth—eatenovercoatandablackalpaca,outattheelbows。Hedecidedfortheovercoat;itwaswarm,certainly,butthenhecouldcarryitoverhisarmandonlyputitonwhenhemetsomeonealongtheroad。Itwasmorerespectablethantheblackalpaca。
Hehungthegreatcoatoverthebackofthechair,andstuffedahardbitofroaster—cakeundertheknotofthebundle,andthenhispreparationswerecompleted。TheGermanstoodcontemplatingthemwithmuchsatisfaction。Hehadalmostforgottenhissorrowatleavinginhispleasureatpreparing。
Suddenlyhestarted;anexpressionofintensepainpassedoverhisface。
Hedrewbackhisleftarmquickly,andthenpressedhisrighthanduponhisbreast。
"Ah,thesuddenpangagain,"hesaid。
Hisfacewaswhite,butitquicklyregaineditscolour。Thentheoldmanbusiedhimselfinputtingeverythingright。
"Iwillleaveitneat。TheyshallnotsayIdidnotleaveitneat,"hesaid。Eventhelittlebagsofseedsonthemantelpieceheputinrowsanddusted。Thenheundressedandgotintobed。Underhispillowwasalittlestorybook。Hedrewitforth。TotheoldGermanastorywasnostory。Itseventswereasrealandasimportanttohimselfasthemattersofhisownlife。
HecouldnotgoawaywithoutknowingwhetherthatwickedearlrelentedandwhetherthebaronmarriedEmilina。Soheadjustedhisspectaclesandbegantoread。Occasionally,ashisfeelingsbecametoostronglymoved,heejaculated:"Ah,Ithoughtso!Thatwasarogue!Isawitbefore!I
knewitfromthebeginning!"Morethanhalfanhourhadpassedwhenhelookeduptothesilverwatchatthetopofhisbed。
"Themarchislongtomorrow;thiswillnotdo,"hesaid,takingoffhisspectaclesandputtingthemcarefullyintothebooktomarktheplace。
"ThiswillbegoodreadingasIwalkalongtomorrow,"headded,ashestuffedthebookintothepocketofthegreatcoat;"verygoodreading。"Henoddedhisheadandlaydown。Hethoughtalittleofhisowntroubles,agooddealofthetwolittlegirlshewasleaving,oftheearl,ofEmilina,ofthebaron;buthewassoonasleep——sleepingaspeacefullyasalittlechild,uponwhoseinnocentsoulsorrowandcarecannotrest。
Itwasveryquietintheroom。Thecoalsinthefireplacethrewadullredlightacrossthefloorupontheredlionsonthequilt。Eleveno’clockcame,andtheroomwasverystill。
Oneo’clockcame。Theglimmerhaddiedout,thoughtheasheswerestillwarm,andtheroomwasverydark。Thegreymouse,whohadhisholeunderthetoolbox,cameoutandsatonthesacksinthecorner;then,growingbolder,theroomwassodark,itclimbedthechairatthebedside,nibbledattheroaster—cake,tookonebitequicklyatthecandle,andthensatonhishauncheslistening。Itheardtheevenbreathingoftheoldman,andthestepsofthehungryKafferdoggoinghislastroundinsearchofaboneoraskinthathadbeenforgotten;anditheardthewhitehencalloutasthewildcatranawaywithoneofherbrood,anditheardthechickencry。
Thenthegreymousewentbacktoitsholeunderthetoolbox,andtheroomwasquiet。Andtwoo’clockcame。Bythattimethenightwasgrowndullandcloudy。Thewildcathadgonetoitshomeonthekopje;theKafferdoghadfoundabone,andlaygnawingit。
Anintensequietreignedeverywhere。OnlyinherroomtheBoer—womantossedhergreatarmsinhersleep;forshedreamedthatadarkshadowwithoutstretchedwingsfledslowlyoverherhouse,andshemoanedandshivered。
Andthenightwasverystill。
But,quietasallplaceswere,therewasaquitepeculiarquietintheGerman’sroom。Thoughyoustrainedyourearmostcarefullyyoucaughtnosoundofbreathing。
Hewasnotgone,fortheoldcoatstillhungonthechair——thecoatthatwastobeputonwhenhemetanyone;andthebundleandstickwerereadyfortomorrow’slongmarch。TheoldGermanhimselflaythere,hiswavyblackhairjusttouchedwithgreythrownbackuponthepillow。Theoldfacewaslyingtherealoneinthedark,smilinglikealittlechild’s——oh,sopeacefully。Thereisastrangerwhosecoming,theysay,isworsethanalltheillsoflife,fromwhosepresencewefleeawaytrembling;buthecomesverytenderlysometimes。AnditseemedalmostasthoughDeathhadknownandlovedtheoldman,sogentlyittouchedhim。Andhowcoulditdealhardlywithhim——theloving,simple,childlikeoldman?
Soitsmoothedoutthewrinklesthatwereintheoldforehead,andfixedthepassingsmile,andsealedtheeyesthattheymightnotweepagain;andthentheshortsleepoftimewasmeltedintothelong,longsleepofeternity。
"Howhashegrownsoyounginthisonenight?"theysaidwhentheyfoundhiminthemorning。
Yes,dearoldman;tosuchasyoutimebringsnoage。Youdiewiththepurityandinnocenceofyourchildhooduponyou,thoughyoudieinyourgreyhairs。
Chapter1。IX。HeSeesAGhost。
Bonapartestoodontheash—heap。Heespiedacrosstheplainamovingspeckandhechuckedhiscoat—tailsupanddowninexpectancyofascene。
Thewagoncameonslowly。Waldolaidcurledamongthesacksatthebackofthewagon,thehandinhisbreastrestingonthesheep—shearingmachine。
Itwasfinishednow。Therightthoughthadstruckhimthedaybeforeashesat,halfasleep,watchingthewatergooverthemill—wheel。Hemutteredtohimselfwithhalf—closedeyes:
"Tomorrowsmooththecogs——tightenthescrewsalittle——showittothem。"
Thenafterapause——"Overthewholeworld——thewholeworld——mine,thatI
havemade!"Hepressedthelittlewheelsandpulleysinhispockettilltheycracked。Presentlyhismutteringbecamelouder——"Andfiftypounds——ablackhatformydadda——forLyndallabluesilk,verylight;andonepurpleliketheearth—bells,andwhiteshoes。"Hemutteredon——"Aboxfull,fullofbooks。Theyshalltellmeall,all,all,"headded,movinghisfingersdesiringly:"whythecrystalsgrowinsuchbeautifulshapes;whylightningrunstotheiron;whyblackpeopleareblack;whythesunlightmakesthingswarm。Ishallread,read,read,"hemutteredslowly。Thencameoverhimsuddenlywhathecalled"ThepresenceofGod";asenseofagood,strongsomethingfoldinghimround。Hesmiledthroughhishalf—shuteyes。"Ah,Father,myownFather,itissosweettofeelyou,likethewarmsunshine。
TheBiblesandbookscannottellofyouandallIfeelyou。Theyaremixedwithmen’swords;butyou——"
Hismutteringsankintoinaudibleconfusion,till,openinghiseyeswide,itstruckhimthatthebrownplainhelookedatwastheoldhomefarm。Forhalfanhourtheyhadbeenridinginit,andhehadnotknownit。Herousedtheleader,whosatnoddingonthefrontofthewagonintheearlymorningsunlight。Theywerewithinhalfamileofthehomestead。Itseemedtohimthathehadbeengonefromthemallayear。HefanciedhecouldseeLyndallstandingonthebrickwalltowatchforhim;hisfather,passingfromonehousetotheother,stoppingtolook。
Hecalledaloudtotheoxen。Foreachoneathomehehadbroughtsomething。Forhisfatherapieceoftobacco,boughtattheshopbythemill;forEmathimble;forLyndallabeautifulflowerdugoutbytheroots,ataplacewheretheyhadoutspanned;forTantSannieahandkerchief。WhentheydrewnearthehousehethrewthewhiptotheKafferleader,andsprungfromthesideofthewagontorunon。Bonapartestoppedhimasheranpasttheash—heap。
"Goodmorning,mydearboy。Whereareyourunningtosofastwithyourrosycheeks?"
Theboylookedupathim,gladeventoseeBonaparte。
"Iamgoingtothecabin,"hesaid,outofbreath。
"Youwon’tfindtheminjustnow——notyourgoodoldfather,"saidBonaparte。
"Whereishe?"askedthelad。
"There,beyondthecamps,"saidBonaparte,wavinghishandoratoricallytowardthestone—walledostrich—camps。
"Whatishedoingthere?"askedtheboy。
Bonapartepattedhimonthecheekkindly。
"Wecouldnotkeephimanymore,itwastoohot。We’veburiedhim,myboy,"saidBonaparte,touchingwithhisfingertheboy’scheek。Wecouldn’tkeephimanymore。He,he,he!"laughedBonaparte,astheboyfledawayalongthelowstonewall,almostfurtively,asoneinfear……
Atfiveo’clockBonapartekneltbeforeaboxintheGerman’sroom。Hewasbusilyunpackingit。
IthadbeenagreeduponbetweenTantSannieandhimself,thatnowtheGermanwasgonehe,Bonaparte,wastobenolongerschoolmaster,butoverseerofthefarm。Inreturnforhispastscholasticlabourshehadexpressedhimselfwillingtotakepossessionofthedeadman’sgoodsandroom。TantSanniehardlylikedthearrangement。ShehadagreatdealmorerespectfortheGermandeadthantheGermanliving,andwouldratherhisgoodshadbeenallowedtodescendpeacefullytohisson。Forshewasafirmbelieverinthechinksintheworldabove,wherenotonlyears,buteyesmightbeappliedtoseehowthingswentoninthisworldbelow。Sheneverfeltsurehowfarthespirit—worldmightoverlapthisworldofsense,and,asarule,prudentlyabstainedfromdoinganythingwhichmightoffendunseenauditors。Forthisreasonsheabstainedfromill—usingthedeadEnglishman’sdaughterandniece,andforthisreasonshewouldrathertheboyhadhadhisfather’sgoods。ButitwashardtorefuseBonaparteanythingwhensheandhesatsohappilytogetherintheeveningdrinkingcoffee,BonapartetellingherinthebrokenDutchhewasfastlearninghowheadoredfatwomen,andwhatasplendidfarmerhewas。
Soatfiveo’clockonthisafternoonBonapartekneltintheGerman’sroom。
"Somewhere,hereitis,"hesaid,ashepackedtheoldclothescarefullyoutofthebox,and,findingnothing,packedtheminagain。"Somewhereinthisroomitis;andifit’shereBonapartefindsit,"herepeated。"Youdidn’tstayherealltheseyearswithoutmakingalittlepilesomewhere,mylamb。Youweren’tsuchafoolasyoulooked。Oh,no!"saidBonaparte。
Henowwalkedabouttheroom,divinghisfingersineverywhere:stickingthemintothegreatcrevicesinthewallandfrighteningoutthespiders;
rappingthemagainsttheoldplastertillitcrackedandfellinpieces;
peeringupthechimney,tillthesootdroppedonhisbaldheadandblackenedit。Hefeltinlittlebluebags;hetriedtoraisethehearth—
stone;heshookeachbook,tilltheoldleavesfelldowninshowersonthefloor。
Itwasgettingdark,andBonapartestoodwithhisfingeronhisnosereflecting。Finallyhewalkedtothedoor,behindwhichhungthetrousersandwaistcoatthedeadmanhadlastworn。Hehadfeltinthem,buthurriedly,justafterthefuneralthedaybefore;hewouldexaminethemagain。Stickinghisfingersintothewaistcoatpockets,hefoundinonecornerahole。Pressinghishandthroughit,betweentheliningandthecloth,hepresentlycameintocontactwithsomething。Bonapartedrewitforth——asmall,squareparcel,sewedupinsail—cloth。Hegazedatit,squeezedit;itcracked,asthoughfullofbank—notes。Heputitquicklyintohisownwaistcoatpocket,andpeepedoverthehalf—doortoseeiftherewasanyonecoming。Therewasnothingtobeseenbutthelastraysofyellowsunsetlight,paintingthekaroobushesintheplain,andshiningontheash—heap,wherethefowlswerepecking。Heturnedandsatdownonthenearestchair,and,takingouthispen—knife,rippedtheparcelopen。
Thefirstthingthatfellwasashowerofyellowfadedpapers。Bonaparteopenedthemcarefullyonebyone,andsmoothedthemoutonhisknee。Therewassomethingveryvaluabletobehiddensocarefully,thoughtheGermancharactershecouldnotdecipher。Whenhecametothelastone,hefelttherewassomethinghardinit。
"You’vegotit,Bon,myboy!you’vegotit!"hecried,slappinghisleghard。Edgingnearertothedoor,forthelightwasfading,heopenedthepapercarefully。Therewasnothinginsidebutaplaingoldwedding—ring。
"Betterthannothing!"saidBonaparte,tryingtoputitonhislittlefinger,which,however,provedtoofat。
Hetookitoffandsetitdownonthetablebeforehim,andlookedatitwithhiscrosswiseeyes。
"Whenthatauspicioushour,Sannie,"hesaid,"shallhavearrived,when,panting,Ishallleadthee,lightedbyHymen’storch,totheconnubialaltar,thenuponthyfairamaranthinefinger,myjoyousbride,shallthisringrepose。
"Thyfairbody,oh,mygirl,ShallBonapartepossess;
Hisfingersinthymoney—bags,Hetherein,too,shallmess。"
Havinggivenutterancetothisfloodofpoesy,hesatlostinjoyousreflection。
"Hetherein,too,shallmess,"herepeatedmeditatively。
Atthisinstant,asBonaparteswore,andsworetrulytotheendofhislife,aslowanddistinctrapwasgivenonthecrownofhisbaldhead。
Bonapartestartedandlookedup。Noriemorstrap,hungdownfromtheraftersabove,andnotahumancreaturewasnearthedoor。Itwasgrowingdark;hedidnotlikeit。Hebegantofoldupthepapersexpeditiously。
Hestretchedouthishandforthering。Theringwasgone!Gone,althoughnohumancreaturehadenteredtheroom;gone,althoughnoformhadcrossedthedoorway。Gone!
Hewouldnotsleepthere,thatwascertain。
Hestuffedthepapersintohispocket。Ashedidso,threeslowanddistincttapsweregivenonthecrownofhishead。Bonaparte’sjawfell:
eachseparatejointlostitspower:hecouldnotmove;hedarednotrise;
histonguelaylooseinhismouth。
"Takeall,takeall!"hegurgledinhisthroat。"I——Idonotwantthem。
Take"——
Herearesolutetugatthegreycurlsatthebackofhisheadcausedhimtoleapup,yellingwildly。Washetositstillparalyzed,tobedraggedawaybodilytothedevil?Withterrificshriekshefled,castingnoglancebehind……
Whenthedewwasfalling,andtheeveningwasdark,asmallfiguremovedtowardthegateofthefurthestostrich—camp,drivingabirdbeforeit。
Whenthegatewasopenedandthebirddriveninandthegatefastened,itturnedaway,butthensuddenlypausednearthestonewall。
"Isthatyou,Waldo?"saidLyndall,hearingasound。
Theboywassittingonthedampgroundwithhisbacktothewall。Hegavehernoanswer。
"Come,"shesaid,bendingoverhim,"Ihavebeenlookingforyouallday。"
Hemumbledsomething。
"Youhavehadnothingtoeat。Ihaveputsomesupperinyourroom。Youmustcomehomewithme,Waldo。"
Shetookhishand,andtheboyroseslowly。
Shemadehimtakeherarm,andtwistedhersmallfingersamonghis。
"Youmustforget,"shewhispered。"SinceithappenedIwalk,Italk,I
neversitstill。Ifweremember,wecannotbringbackthedead。"Sheknitherlittlefingerscloseramonghis。"Forgettingisthebestthing。Hedidwatchitcoming,"shewhisperedpresently。"Thatisthedreadfulthing,toseeitcoming!"Sheshuddered。"Iwantittocomesotometoo。
WhydoyouthinkIwasdrivingthatbird?"sheaddedquickly。"ThatwasHans,thebirdthathatesBonaparte。Ilethimoutthisafternoon;I
thoughthewouldchasehimandperhapskillhim。"
Theboyshowednosignofinterest。
"Hedidnotcatchhim;butheputhisheadoverthehalf—doorofyourcabinandfrightenedhimhorribly。Hewasthere,busystealingyourthings。
Perhapshewillleavethemalonenow;butIwishthebirdhadtroddenonhim。"
Theysaidnomoretilltheyreachedthedoorofthecabin。
"Thereisacandleandsupperonthetable。Youmusteat,"shesaidauthoritatively。"Icannotstaywithyounow,lesttheyfindoutaboutthebird。"
Hegraspedherarmandbroughthismouthclosetoherear。
"ThereisnoGod!"healmosthissed;"noGod;notanywhere!"
Shestarted。
"Notanywhere!"
Hegrounditoutbetweenhisteeth,andshefelthishotbreathonhercheek。
"Waldo,youaremad,"shesaid,drawingherselffromhim,instinctively。
Heloosenedhisgraspandturnedawayfromheralso。
Intruth,isitnotlife’sway?Wefightourlittlebattlesalone;youyours,Imine。Wemustnothelporfindhelp。
Whenyourlifeismostreal,tomeyouaremad;whenyouragonyisblackest,Ilookatyouandwonder。Friendshipisgood,astrongstick;
butwhenthehourcomestoleanhard,itgives。Inthedayoftheirbitterestneedallsoulsarealone。
Lyndallstoodbyhiminthedark,pityingly,wonderingly。Ashewalkedtothedoor,shecameafterhim。
"Eatyoursupper;itwilldoyougood,"shesaid。
Sherubbedhercheekagainsthisshoulderandthenranaway。
InthefrontroomthelittlewoollyKaffergirlwaswashingTantSannie’sfeetinasmalltub,andBonaparte,whosatonthewoodensofa,waspullingoffhisshoesandstockingsthathisownfeetmightbewashedalso。Therewerethreecandlesburningintheroom,andheandTantSanniesatclosetogether,withtheleanHottentotnotfaroff;forwhenghostsareaboutmuchlightisneeded,thereisgreatstrengthinnumbers。Bonapartehadcompletelyrecoveredfromtheeffectsofhisfrightintheafternoon,andthenumerousdosesofbrandythatithadbeennecessarytoadministertohimtoeffecthisrestorationhadputhimintoasingularlypleasantandamiablemood。
"ThatboyWaldo,"saidBonaparte,rubbinghistoes,"tookhimselfoffcoollythismorningassoonasthewagoncame,andhasnotdoneastiverofworkallday。I’llnothavethatkindofthingnowI’mmasterofthisfarm。"
TheHottentotmaidtranslated。
"Ah,Iexpecthe’ssorrythathisfather’sdead,"saidTantSannie。"It’snature,youknow。Icriedthewholemorningwhenmyfatherdied。Onecanalwaysgetanotherhusband,butonecan’tgetanotherfather,"saidTantSannie,castingasidelongglanceatBonaparte。
BonaparteexpressedawishtogiveWaldohisordersforthenextday’swork,andaccordinglythelittlewoolly—headedKafferwassenttocallhim。
Afteraconsiderabletimetheboyappeared,andstoodinthedoorway。
Iftheyhaddressedhiminoneoftheswallow—tailedcoats,andoiledhishairtillthedropsfellfromit,anditlayassmoothasanelder’sonsacramentSunday,therewouldstillhavebeensomethingunanointedintheaspectofthefellow。Asitwas,standingthereinhisstrangeoldcostume,hisheadpresentingmuchtheappearanceofhavingbeendeeplyrolledinsand,hiseyelidsswollen,thehairhangingoverhisforehead,andadoggedsullennessonhisfeatures,hepresentedmosttheappearanceofanill—conditionedyoungbuffalo。
"BelovedLord,"criedTantSannie,"howhelooks!Comein,boy。Couldn’tyoucomeandsaygood—daytome?Don’tyouwantsomesupper?"
Hesaidhewantednothing,andturnedhisheavyeyesawayfromher。
"There’saghostbeenseeninyourfather’sroom,"saidTantSannie。"Ifyou’reafraidyoucansleepinthekitchen。"
"Iwillsleepinourroom,"saidtheboyslowly。
"Well,youcangonow,"shesaid;"butbeupearlytotakethesheep。Theherd——"