""Twas Jeemes Hanks set fire to the straw stack! Not me! Not me!" from one who knelt and rocked himself back and forth.
"I ain"t teched a thing what don"t b"long to me!"
"I jes" come along to see the fun! I ain"t nebber had no idee er harmin"
Miss Ellanlouise!"
"Me neither! Me neither!"
"Jeemes Hanks, He"s the one, good Gawd! He"s the one!"
James Hanks, goaded to desperation by the backslidings of his followers, turned on them in fury:
"You low down sneaks! Can"t you see that this ain"t no angel of the Lawd? This is one of them gals come to live in the ol" tumble-down overseer"s house, jes" a play actin" to scare you. If"n we can"t down them we ain"t worth of the name of Loyal Af"cans. Come on, boys, an"
let"s finish "em an" thin we can git our loot. I ain"t afraid of them. A flamin" sword ain"t in it with a gun." He reached for his hip pocket.
Dr. Wright grabbed the angel of the Lord most unceremoniously and held her behind him. The kneeling and groveling mob was divided in its feelings as to whether Helen was or was not a celestial visitor, but they were one and all anxious to be through with the night"s work without bloodshed. This was an outcome they had not bargained for. To go to Grantly and get all the money that they ignorantly supposed the old ladies to possess, to steal the silver and whatever else they fancied and then to set fire to the ancient pile, thereby destroying all trace of their burglary, so that when the white folks came home from the count"s fine ball there would be naught to tell the tale, was a very different matter from this thing of having to get rid of two persons, perhaps kill them and then be found out.
"Jeemes, you is foolish in de haid," spoke up Bandy-Legs.
"Indeed you are!" came in clear ringing tones from Helen as she waved her scimiter, the moonlight flashing on it. "This minute the whole county knows that Grantly is on fire and that all of you are here."
"Oh, rats! Whatcher tryin" ter give us?" from the scornful, incredulous leader.
"I am telling you what is so. As soon as I heard you in the yard and saw the light from the straw stack, I gave a hurry call and got the neighbors on the "phone."
"An" what was you an" the young man a-doin" of in Grantly?" sneered James, coming up quite close to Helen. "Looks like whin Miss Ellanlouise is to the ball, it"s a strange place----" but James was not allowed to finish what he had to say. Dr. Wright"s powerful fist shot out and the darky received a scientifically dealt blow square on his jaw bone that sent him backwards down the steps, where he lay in a huddled heap and like the Heathen Chinee:
"Subsequent proceedings interested him no more"--at least, not for a while.
Their leader down and out, the crowd began to melt away, but in a tone that commanded instant obedience George Wright bade them to halt.
"Listen, you fools! If one of you budges from this spot until I give him permission I will lick him to within an inch of his life. Miss Ella Grant had a fainting spell and could not go to the ball, and Miss Carter and I came over here from Weston when her sister telephoned us the trouble she was in. We were just leaving the house when you arrived."
"Is Miss Ellanlouise in dar now?" asked a trembling old man.
"Yes!"
"Praise be ter Gawd fer stayin" our han"! Praise be ter Gawd!"
"Yes, you had better give praise. I am not going to tell you what I think of you for attempting this terrible thing. You know yourselves how wicked and foolish you are."
Just then a light shot across the yard and in a moment the red car belonging to the count came whizzing into view.
"Now you may go, all but you, and you, and you!" indicating the ones who had been so glib about the kerosene and their rights, and the one who had known so well that G.o.d would not have sent an angel without even a razor.
The men pointed out tremblingly obeyed, coming up to the steps as though drawn by a magnet. The rest of the mob simply disappeared, dodging behind the box bushes and losing themselves in the convenient labyrinth.
That little red car had brought over six men: the count and his secretary, Mr. Carter, Mr. Sutton, Lewis Somerville and Bill Tinsley.
Hardly a word had been spoken on that ride. The count had pushed the powerful engine to its utmost ability and it had taken the car through heavy mud, up hills and down dales, through mire and ruts with a speed truly remarkable.
"Some car!" remarked Lewis.
"Some!" grunted Bill.
Mr. Carter"s mouth was close set and his eyes looked like steel points.
All of his girls were dear to him but Helen had always seemed closer for some reason; perhaps her very wilfulness was the reason. And now as he thought of her in danger, it seemed as though he could single-handed tackle any number of foes. He prayed continuously as he stood on the running-board of that speeding car, but his prayer was perhaps not very devout:
"Oh, G.o.d, let me get at them! Let me get at them!"
The relief of finding his dear girl alive and unharmed was so great that Mr. Carter sobbed. When Helen saw him jump from the car, she flew down the box-bordered walk and threw herself into his arms.
"Daddy! Daddy! We saved Miss Ella and Miss Louise!"
"And who saved you?"
"Dr. Wright saved me and I saved him."
Mr. Sutton, who was magistrate for the district, made short order in arresting James Hanks and his companions. As the vehicles arrived with the other members of the posse there was some whisper of a lynching, but Mr. Sutton downed the whisper with contempt.
"There hasn"t been a lynching in Virginia for eighteen years and I should hate our county to be the one to break the record. It will have a much more salutary effect to have these poor fools locked up in jail and be brought to trial with all of their deviltry exposed and aired in the papers. After all, the only real harm done is the burning of an old rotting straw stack that was not fit for bedding, as I remember."
The count and Herz were most solicitous in their endeavors to help in any possible way. It was decided that Grantly must be patrolled for the rest of the night, as it was feared that some of the darkies might return. Dr. Wright smiled at the suggestion. He knew full well that the poor negroes who had been allowed to depart would not be seen or heard of for many a day. He had seen too great and abject a fear in their rolling eyes to have any apprehension of danger from them.
James Hanks showed signs of returning life. The young physician leaned over him and felt his pulse.
"Umm hum! You had better be glad I didn"t break your jaw. You"ll be all right in a few days and in the meantime the quiet of the lock-up will be very good for your nerves."
"Ah, then that is some work that Herz and I can do," cried the count.
"These men must be taken to jail, and why should not we attend to it?
Eh, Adolph!"
"Certainly!" Herz had been looking very grim ever since Chloe had dropped the tray of second helpings for Helen.
"I wish we had handcuffs," said Mr. Sutton.
"Why, that is hardly necessary. I should think Herz and I with pistols could take four poor devils, unarmed, to jail. Especially since one of those devils has been already put out of business by this skilful surgeon," laughed the count.
"Yes, and I"ll go along with you," sighed Mr. Sutton who was accustomed to early retiring. This midnight rioting was not much to his taste, but he was determined as magistrate of the district to see the matter safely through.
"Why, my dear man, there is not a bit of use in your going. You can trust Herz and me to land them safely."
"Well, all right, but I feel responsible for the good of the community and these black devils must be locked up in the court-house jail before many hours."
"You had better take my car," suggested Dr. Wright. "It will hold the six of you more comfortably."
"Oh, not at all! Mine brought six of us over here from Weston and can take six away. The prisoners can stand on the running-boards, all but the injured one, and he can sit by me. If any of them attempts to escape we can wing him quite easily."
Dr. Wright felt rather relieved that his offer was turned down. No man would relish his perfectly new car being used to carry four bad darkies to jail over roads that were quite as vile as the prisoners.