He shook his head.
"I don"t know"s you quite understand, ma"am," he said. "It"s your thinkin" of doin" it, your askin" me and--and WANTIN" to ask me that seems so kind of odd. Do you know," he added, in a burst of confidence, "I don"t suppose that, leavin" Sam Hunniwell out, another soul has asked me to eat at their house for ten year.
Course I"m far from blamin" "em for that, you understand, but--"
"Wait. Mr. Winslow, you had tenants in this house before?"
"Yes"m. Davidson, their names was."
"And did THEY never invite you here?"
Jed looked at her, then away, out of the window. It was a moment or two before he answered. Then--
"Mrs. Armstrong," he said, "you knew, I cal"late, that I was--er-- kind of prejudiced against rentin" anybody this house after the Davidsons left?"
The lady, trying not to smile, nodded.
"Yes," she replied, "I--well, I guessed as much."
"Yes"m, I was. They would have took it again, I"m pretty sartin, if I"d let "em, but--but somehow I couldn"t do it. No, I couldn"t, and I never meant anybody else should be here. Seems funny to you, I don"t doubt."
"Why, no, it was your property to do what you pleased with, and I am sure you had a reason for refusing."
"Yes"m. But I ain"t ever told anybody what that reason was. I"ve told Sam a reason, but "twan"t the real one. I--I guess likely I"ll tell it to you. I imagine "twill sound foolish enough. "Twas just somethin" I heard Colonel Davidson say, that"s all."
He paused. Mrs. Armstrong did not speak. After an interval he continued:
""Twas one day along the last of the season. The Davidsons had company and they"d been in to see the shop and the mills and vanes and one thing or "nother. They seemed nice, pleasant enough folks; laughed a good deal, but I didn"t mind that. I walked out into the yard along with "em and then, after I left "em, I stood for a minute on the front step of the shop, with the open door between me and this house here. A minute or so later I heard "em come into this very room. They couldn"t see me, "count of the door, but I could hear them, "count of the windows bein" open. And then . . .
Huh . . . Oh, well."
He sighed and lapsed into one of his long fits of abstraction. At length Mrs. Armstrong ventured to remind him.
"And then--?" she asked.
"Eh? Oh, yes, ma"am! Well, then I heard one of the comp"ny say: "I don"t wonder you enjoy it here, Ed," he says. "That landlord of yours is worth all the rent you pay and more. "Tain"t everybody that has a dime museum right on the premises." All hands laughed and then Colonel Davidson said: "I thought you"d appreciate him,"
he says. "We"ll have another session with him before you leave.
Perhaps we can get him into the house here this evenin". My wife is pretty good at that, she jollies him along. Oh, he swallows it all; the poor simpleton don"t know when he"s bein" shown off.""
Mrs. Armstrong uttered an exclamation.
"Oh!" she cried. "The brute!"
"Yes"m," said Jed, quietly, "that was what he said. You see," with an apologetic twitch of the lip, "it came kind of sudden to me and-- and it hurt. Fact is, I--I had noticed he and his wife was--er-- well, nice and--er--folksy, as you might say, but I never once thought they did it for any reason but just because they--well, liked me, maybe. Course I"d ought to have known better. Fine ladies and gentlemen like them don"t take much fancy to dime museum folks."
There was just a trace of bitterness in his tone, the first Mrs.
Armstrong had ever noticed there. Involuntarily she leaned toward him.
"Don"t, Mr. Winslow," she begged. "Don"t think of it again. They must have been beasts, those people, and they don"t deserve a moment"s thought. And DON"T call them ladies and gentlemen. The only gentleman there was yourself."
Jed shook his head.
"If you said that around the village here," he drawled, "somebody might be for havin" you sent to the asylum up to Taunton. Course I"m much obliged to you, but, honest, you hadn"t ought to take the risk."
Mrs. Armstrong smiled slightly, but hers was a forced smile. What she had just heard, told in her guest"s quaint language as a statement of fact and so obviously with no thought of effect, had touched her more than any plea for sympathy could have done. She felt as if she had a glimpse into this man"s simple, trusting, sensitive soul. And with that glimpse came a new feeling toward him, a feeling of pity--yes, and more than that, a feeling of genuine respect.
He sighed again and rose to go. "I declare," he said, apologetically, "I don"t know what I"ve been botherin" you with all this for. As I said, I"ve never told that yarn to anybody afore and I never meant to tell it. I--"
But she interrupted him. "Please don"t apologize," she said. "I"m very glad you told it to me."
"I cal"late you think it"s a queer reason for lettin" this house stand empty all this time."
"No, I think it was a very good one, and Babbie and I are honored to know that your estimate of us is sufficiently high to overcome your prejudice."
"Well, ma"am, I--I guess it"s goin" to be all right. If you feel you can get along with me for a landlord I"d ought sartin to be willin" to have you for tenants. Course I don"t blame the Davidsons, in one way, you understand, but--"
"I do. I blame them in every way. They must have been unspeakable.
Mr. Winslow, I hope you will consider Babbie and me not merely tenants and neighbors, but friends--real friends."
Jed did not reply for at least a minute. Then he said: "I"m afraid you"ll be kind of lonesome; my friends are like corn sprouts in a henyard, few and scatterin"."
"So much the better; we shall feel that we belong to select company."
He did not thank her nor answer, but walked slowly on through the dining-room and kitchen, where he opened the door and stepped out upon the gra.s.s. There he stood for a moment, gazing at the sky, alternately puckering his lips and opening them, but without saying a word. Mrs. Armstrong and Barbara, who had followed him, watched these facial gymnastics, the lady with astonishment, her daughter with expectant interest.
"I know what he is doing that for, Mamma," she whispered. "It"s because he"s thinking and don"t know whether to whistle or not.
When he thinks AWFUL hard he"s almost sure to whistle--or sing."
"Hush, hush, Babbie!"
"Oh, he won"t hear us. He hardly ever hears any one when he"s thinking like that. And see, Mamma, he IS going to whistle."
Sure enough, their guest whistled a few mournful bars, breaking off suddenly to observe:
"I hope there wan"t any bones in it."
"Bones in what? What do you mean, Mr. Winslow?" queried Mrs.
Armstrong, who was puzzled, to say the least.
"Eh? Oh, I hope there wan"t any bones in that mackerel Heman"s cat got away with. If there was it might choke or somethin"."
"Good gracious! I shouldn"t worry over that possibility, if I were you. I should scarcely blame you for wishing it might choke, after stealing your dinner."
Mr. Winslow shook his head. "That wouldn"t do," solemnly. "If it choked it couldn"t ever steal another one."
"But you don"t WANT it to steal another one, do you?"
"We-ll, if every one it stole meant my havin" as good an afternoon as this one"s been, I"d--"
He stopped. Barbara ventured to spur him on.