"I beg your pardon. I do not agree with you," replied Col. Zane. "It does concern others. You cannot do things like that in this little place where every one knows all about you and expect it to pa.s.s unnoticed. Martin"s wife saw you cut Clarke and you know what a gossip she is. Already every one is talking about you and Clarke."
"To that I am indifferent."
"But I care. I won"t have people talking about you," replied the Colonel, who began to lose patience. Usually he had the best temper imaginable. "Last fall you allowed Clarke to pay you a good deal of attention and apparently you were on good terms when he went away.
Now that he has returned you won"t even speak to him. You let this fellow Miller run after you. In my estimation Miller is not to be compared to Clarke, and judging from the warm greetings I saw Clarke receive this morning, there are a number of folk who agree with me.
Not that I am praising Clarke. I simply say this because to Bessie, to Jack, to everyone, your act is incomprehensible. People are calling you a flirt and saying that they would prefer some country manners."
"I have not allowed Mr. Miller to run after me, as you are pleased to term it," retorted Betty with indignation. "I do not like him. I never see him any more unless you or Bessie or some one else is present. You know that. I cannot prevent him from walking to church with me."
"No, I suppose not, but are you entirely innocent of those sweet glances which you gave him this morning?"
"I did not," cried Betty with an angry blush. "I won"t be called a flirt by you or by anyone else. The moment I am civil to some man all these old maids and old women say I am flirting. It is outrageous."
"Now, Betty, don"t get excited. We are getting from the question.
Why are you not civil to Clarke?" asked Col. Zane. She did not answer and after a moment he continued. "If there is anything about Clarke that I do not know and that I should know I want you to tell me. Personally I like the fellow. I am not saying that to make you think you ought to like him because I do. You might not care for him at all, but that would be no good reason for your actions. Betty, in these frontier settlements a man is soon known for his real worth.
Every one at the Fort liked Clarke. The youngsters adored him.
Jessie liked him very much. You know he and Isaac became good friends. I think he acted like a man to-day. I saw the look Miller gave him. I don"t like this fellow Miller, anyway. Now, I am taking the trouble to tell you my side of the argument. It is not a question of your liking Clarke--that is none of my affair. It is simply that either he is not the man we all think him or you are acting in a way unbecoming a Zane. I do not purpose to have this state of affairs continue. Now, enough of this beating about the bush."
Betty had seen the Colonel angry more than once, but never with her.
It was quite certain she had angered him and she forgot her own resentment. Her heart had warmed with her brother"s praise of Clarke. Then as she remembered the past she felt a scorn for her weakness and such a revulsion of feeling that she cried out pa.s.sionately:
"He is a trifler. He never cared for me. He insulted me."
Col. Zane reached for his hat, got up without saying another word and went down stairs.
Betty had not intended to say quite what she had and instantly regretted her hasty words. She called to the Colonel, but he did not answer her, nor return.
"Betty, what in the world could you have said to my husband?" said Mrs. Zane as she entered the room. She was breathless from running up the stairs and her comely face wore a look of concern. "He was as white as that sheet and he stalked off toward the Fort without a word to me."
"I simply told him Mr. Clarke had insulted me," answered Betty calmly.
"Great Heavens! Betty, what have you done?" exclaimed Mrs. Zane.
"You don"t know Eb when he is angry. He is a big fool over you, anyway. He is liable to kill Clarke."
Betty"s blood was up now and she said that would not be a matter of much importance.
"When did he insult you?" asked the elder woman, yielding to her natural curiosity.
"It was last October."
"Pooh! It took you a long time to tell it. I don"t believe it amounted to much. Mr. Clarke did not appear to be the sort of a man to insult anyone. All the girls were crazy about him last year. If he was not all right they would not have been."
"I do not care if they were. The girls can have him and welcome. I don"t want him. I never did. I am tired of hearing everyone eulogize him. I hate him. Do you hear? I hate him! And I wish you would go away and leave me alone."
"Well, Betty, all I will say is that you are a remarkable young woman," answered Mrs. Zane, who saw plainly that Betty"s violent outburst was a prelude to a storm of weeping. "I don"t believe a word you have said. I don"t believe you hate him. There!"
Col. Zane walked straight to the Fort, entered the block-house and knocked on the door of Clarke"s room. A voice bade him come in. He shoved open the door and went into the room. Clarke had evidently just returned from a tramp in the hills, for his garments were covered with burrs and his boots were dusty. He looked tired, but his face was calm.
"Why, Col. Zane! Have a seat. What can I do for you?"
"I have come to ask you to explain a remark of my sister"s."
"Very well, I am at your service," answered Alfred slowly lighting his pipe, after which he looked straight into Col. Zane"s face.
"My sister informs me that you insulted her last fall before you left the Fort. I am sure you are neither a liar nor a coward, and I expect you to answer as a man."
"Col. Zane, I am not a liar, and I hope I am not a coward," said Alfred coolly. He took a long pull on his pipe and blew a puff of white smoke toward the ceiling.
"I believe you, but I must have an explanation. There is something wrong somewhere. I saw Betty pa.s.s you without speaking this morning.
I did not like it and I took her to task about it. She then said you had insulted her. Betty is p.r.o.ne to exaggerate, especially when angry, but she never told me a lie in her life. Ever since you pulled Isaac out of the river I have taken an interest in you.
That"s why I"d like to avoid any trouble. But this thing has gone far enough. Now be sensible, swallow your pride and let me hear your side of the story."
Alfred had turned pale at his visitor"s first words. There was no mistaking Col. Zane"s manner. Alfred well knew that the Colonel, if he found Betty had really been insulted, would call him out and kill him. Col. Zane spoke quietly, ever kindly, but there was an undercurrent of intense feeling in his voice, a certain deadly intent which boded ill to anyone who might cross him at that moment.
Alfred"s first impulse was a reckless desire to tell Col. Zane he had nothing to explain and that he stood ready to give any satisfaction in his power. But he wisely thought better of this. It struck him that this would not be fair, for no matter what the girl had done the Colonel had always been his friend. So Alfred pulled himself together and resolved to make a clean breast of the whole affair.
"Col. Zane, I do not feel that I owe your sister anything, and what I am going to tell you is simply because you have always been my friend, and I do not want you to have any wrong ideas about me. I"ll tell you the truth and you can be the judge as to whether or not I insulted your sister. I fell in love with her, almost at first sight. The night after the Indians recaptured your brother, Betty and I stood out in the moonlight and she looked so bewitching and I felt so sorry for her and so carried away by my love for her that I yielded to a momentary impulse and kissed her. I simply could not help it. There is no excuse for me. She struck me across the face and ran into the house. I had intended that night to tell her of my love and place my fate in her hands, but, of course, the unfortunate occurrence made that impossible. As I was to leave at dawn next day, I remained up all night, thinking what I ought to do. Finally I decided to write. I wrote her a letter, telling her all and begging her to become my wife. I gave the letter to your slave, Sam, and told him it was a matter of life and death, and not to lose the letter nor fail to give it to Betty. I have had no answer to that letter. Today she coldly ignored me. That is my story, Col. Zane."
"Well, I don"t believe she got the letter," said Col. Zane. "She has not acted like a young lady who has had the privilege of saying "yes" or "no" to you. And Sam never had any use for you. He disliked you from the first, and never failed to say something against you."
"I"ll kill that d--n n.i.g.g.e.r if he did not deliver that letter," said Clarke, jumping up in his excitement. "I never thought of that. Good Heaven! What could she have thought of me? She would think I had gone away without a word. If she knew I really loved her she could not think so terribly of me."
"There is more to be explained, but I am satisfied with your side of it," said Col. Zane. "Now I"ll go to Sam and see what has become of that letter. I am glad I am justified in thinking of you as I have.
I imagine this thing has hurt you and I don"t wonder at it. Maybe we can untangle the problem yet. My advice would be--but never mind that now. Anyway, I"m your friend in this matter. I"ll let you know the result of my talk with Sam."
"I thought that young fellow was a gentleman," mused Col. Zane as he crossed the green square and started up the hill toward the cabins.
He found the old negro seated on his doorstep.
"Sam, what did you do with a letter Mr. Clarke gave you last October and instructed you to deliver to Betty?"
"I dun recollec" no lettah, sah," replied Sam.
"Now, Sam, don"t lie about it. Clarke has just told me that he gave you the letter. What did you do with it?"
"Ma.s.se Zane, I ain dun seen no lettah," answered the old darkey, taking a dingy pipe from his mouth and rolling his eyes at his master.
"If you lie again I will punish you," said Col. Zane sternly. "You are getting old, Sam, and I would not like to whip you, but I will if you do not find that letter."
Sam grumbled, and shuffled inside the cabin. Col. Zane heard him rummaging around. Presently he came back to the door and handed a very badly soiled paper to the Colonel.
"What possessed you to do this, Sam? You have always been honest.
Your act has caused great misunderstanding and it might have led to worse."
"He"s one of dem no good Southern white trash; he"s good fer nuttin"," said Sam. "I saw yo" sistah, Mis" Betty, wit him, and I seen she was gittin" fond of him, and I says I ain"t gwinter have Mis" Betty runnin" off wif him. And I"se never gibbin de lettah to her."
That was all the explanation Sam would vouchsafe, and Col. Zane, knowing it would be useless to say more to the well-meaning but ignorant and superst.i.tious old negro, turned and wended his way back to the house. He looked at the paper and saw that it was addressed to Elizabeth Zane, and that the ink was faded until the letters were scarcely visible.
"What have you there?" asked his wife, who had watched him go up the hill to the negro"s cabin. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her husband"s face had recovered its usual placid expression.