Ellison, in her own room, rang and called in vain for Delphine. The master himself, moody and aloof, took saddle and rode across the fields; but if there were fewer hands at labor than there should have been, he did not notice the fact as he rode on, his hat pulled down over his face, and his mind busy with many things, not all of which were pleasing to him.
As for Miss Lady, she occupied herself during the afternoon much after the fashion of any young girl of seventeen left thus, without companions of her own s.e.x and age. She strolled about the yard, finding fellowship with the hounds, with the horses in the neighboring pasture. She looked up in pensive question at the clouds, feeling the soft wind, the hot kiss of the sun on her cheek. Upon her soul sat the melancholy of youth. In her heart arose unanswered queries of young womanhood.
Now, as to this young man, Henry Decherd, thought Miss Lady, why should he trouble her by being continually about when she did not care for him? Why had he been so eager, even from the first day when he met her at the Big House? What had he to do with her coming to the Big House? Why did her mother now leave her with him, and, then again, capriciously call her away from him? And why should she herself avoid him, dismiss him, and then wonder whither he had gone?
Miss Lady, with one vague thought or another in her mind, wandered idly back to the great drawing-room where but an hour ago she had last seen Henry Decherd. He was not there as she peered in at the door; wherefore she needed no excuse, but stepped in and dropped into a chair which offered invitation in the depths of the half-darkened room.
A beautiful girl was Miss Lady, round of throat and arm, already stately, quite past the days of flat immaturity. A veritable young G.o.ddess one might have called her, with her high, short mouth and upright head, and her shoulders carried back with a certain haughtiness. Yet only a gracious, pensive G.o.ddess might have had this wistfulness in the deep eyes, this little pensive droop of the mouth corners, this piteous quality of the eye which left one saying that here, after all, was a maiden most like to the wild deer of the forest, strong, beautiful, yet timid; ready to flee, yet anxious to confide.
As she sat thus, the idle gaze of Miss Lady chanced upon an object lying on the floor, fallen apparently by accident from the near-by table. She stooped to pick it up, examining it at first carelessly and then with greater interest. It was a book, a little old-fashioned book, in the French language, the covers now broken and faded, though once of brave red morocco. The type was old and quaint, and the paper yellow with age. Miss Lady had never seen this book before, and now, failing better occupation, fell to reading in it. Presently she became so absorbed that once more she was surprised by the quiet approach of Mrs. Ellison. The latter paused at the door, looked in and coughed a second time. Miss Lady started in surprise.
"You frightened me, mamma," said she, "coming up so close. You are always frightening me that way. Do you think I need watching all the time?"
"Well, you know, my child, we must not keep Colonel Blount waiting for his dinner."
"But tell me, what book is this, mamma?" said Miss Lady to her. "It"s French. See, I can read some of it. It is about people in St. Louis years and years ago. It tells about a Louise Loisson--isn"t that a pretty name!--who was a captive among the Indians, or something of that sort. She was an heiress, like enough, too, I can"t make out just what, but certainly well-born. I think her father was a count, or something. Mamma, you should have insisted upon my taking up French more thoroughly when I was at the Sisters". Now, this is the strangest thing."
"Nonsense, child. Can"t you spend your time better than fooling with such trash?"
"It isn"t trash, mamma. The girl went to France, to Paris, and she danced--she was famous."
Mrs. Ellison shifted uneasily. "You are old enough to begin reading books of proper sort. I don"t know how you pick up such notions as this," said she.
"Is not the book yours, mamma?"
"Why, no, of course not. I don"t know whose it is."
How much it might have saved Mrs. Ellison later had she now simply picked up this book, admitted its ownership and so concealed it for ever! How much, too, that had meant in the life of Miss Lady, its chance finder! Yet this was not to be. Fate sometimes teaches a woman to say the thing which at the instant relieves, though it later d.a.m.ns. It was Mrs. Ellison"s fate to deny all knowledge of this little volume.
"Come, we must hurry, my child," she repeated. Miss Lady resolved to come back after dinner and look further into this interesting book.
Mrs. Ellison resolved the same. Her interest in the little volume was far greater than she cared to evince. She hesitated. Her eyes turned to it again and again, her hands longed to clutch it. Once more in her possession, she resolved that never in the future should it be left lying carelessly about, to fall into precisely the wrong hands.
She hurried Miss Lady away from the place.
"Go and get ready for dinner," she commanded, "and try to look your best to-night; you know we"ve Mr. Decherd, and perhaps other company.
That girl Delphine has run away, and I had to look after things myself; I don"t want you to disgrace me--"
"I"ll try not," said Miss Lady, coolly, and swept her a mocking courtesy.
Mrs. Ellison gazed after her with ill-veiled hostility, but turned away presently, quite as anxious as she was angry. This girl was a problem, and a dangerous one as well.
Things were not going smoothly at the Big House. Sam, the curly- headed, embryonic butler, who gazed out over Colonel Blount"s dinner- table each evening in solemn dignity, knew that something was wrong with his people that evening, though he could not tell what. Some of them talked too much. Miss Lady laughed too much. The boss was too thoughtful, and young Ma.s.sa Decherd--whom Sam had never learned to like--was too scowling. Little Sam was almost relieved when a knock summoned him without, and he betook his ten years of dignity from Colonel Blount"s right hand, to learn what might be wanted at the door.
"What is it, Sam?" asked Colonel Blount.
"M-m-m-m-man outside, sah, h-h-h-he wants to see you, sah."
"Well, Sam, if there is a gentleman outside, why don"t you ask him to come in and eat with us? Don"t you know your manners, Sam? Why do I give you this place to run if you can"t ask a gentleman to come in and sit at your table when we are having dinner?"
"D-d-did as-s-s-sk him, sah," said Sam, "b-b-but he wouldn"t c-c-c- _come_ in; n-n-n-no, sah, wouldn"t c-c-c-_come_ in."
"What, wouldn"t come in, eh?"
"No, sah, s-s-s-says you must come out, sah. W-w-w-wants to see you, sah. H-h-h-he won"t wait."
It was the claim agent of the Y. V. railroad who stood on the gallery awaiting the appearance of Colonel Blount. The latter looked at him quietly for a moment, and held out his hand.
"Come in," said he, "you are just in time for dinner. I"m glad to see you back."
"Colonel Blount," said Eddring, in spite of himself grown again swiftly choleric, "d.a.m.n your dinner! I have come back because as a white man I"ve got to tell you what you ought to know." There was an eagerness in his tone whose import was recognized by Blount.
"What"s up?" said he, shortly. "n.i.g.g.e.rs?"
"Yes, down below there."
"Down towards the Sands" place?"
"Yes, they"ve been holding a meeting all the afternoon; they"ve got a regular church over there in the cane. They"ve got a leader this time, of some sort; I can"t find out who it is, but it all means trouble. There has been a plot going on for a long time. They think you have been too rough with them, and, in fact, I reckon they are just generally right desperate and dangerous. They"ve heard a lot of this political and educational talk from up North, and it"s done what might have been expected all along. The n.i.g.g.e.rs are up. They are going to march on your house to-night. Why, haven"t you heard their infernal drum going all the evening! This is insurrection, I tell you!"
"Come in," said Blount, simply. "I thank you."
"I don"t want any thanks," said Eddring, "I am telling you this because you are a white man and so am I. It is my duty."
Blount reached out his hand again. "Not necessary," said Eddring; but the older man threw a long arm over his shoulders, so that for an instant they looked into each other"s eyes; then quickly Eddring turned and caught Blount by the hand.
"I can"t come in," said he, "until you take back this infernal voucher we were wrangling over."
"Oh, well," said Blount, "I will take it, if that will please you, or you may keep it, if that will please you better. There"s no time for that sort of thing now. Come in and sit down at my table--and now you, Sam, run and tell Mollie to ring the big plantation bell, and keep it ringing until I tell her to stop."
John Eddring thus came back to the Big House which lately he had left in anger; and as he entered the great dining-room he saw once more his coveted picture, the image of the morning, the tall young girl with the brown ruff of hair rolling back from the smooth brow, above the clear-seeing dark eyes. Here again, by miracle, had come his friend, to meet him in the smother of the grimy way of life! Yet he thought the girl looked at him but coldly as he stood wearily apart.
He felt himself unaccredited, a man of no station. Again there swept over him the feeling of his own insufficiency, his own failure of all life"s things worth having. It seemed to him that in this young girl"s gaze there called out to him the cool, insolent tone of pitiless youth, saying: "I know you not; you are not my friend."
Himself simple and direct in good masculine sort, he knew little of such thing as coquetry, nor knew that the soul feminine might hide much curiosity, if not interest, behind a glance indifferently turned, a word calmly or coolly spoken. And so he raged, unhappy in his own ignorance, and most of all unhappy for that, now disobedient to all his mandates, there surged up in his heart a great and dangerous longing, the mutiny of a soul too long crushed down by the iron hand of the commonplace,--the iron hand of this thing called Duty.
Out of this sudden conflict, and out of this sudden misery, he could formulate no better course of action to set him straight; and in the uneasy silence, tense, overstrung, he almost longed for that physical action which he knew must presently follow.
But now there pealed out suddenly upon the air of evening the mighty clangor of the great bell, the one used only in time of stress at the Big House, which soon sent all else silent. High and clear arose the note, ringing out for a moment and then silent, only to resume. The dinner in the great hall pa.s.sed with few explanations vouchsafed, and presently Mrs. Ellison hurried Miss Lady away. Eddring, dimly aware that now in spite of himself he was established on some sort of footing in the Big House, none the less reflected that the occasion counted for but little from a social standpoint. He caught himself looking at the door where the tall young woman had disappeared. For the time he forgot his own station, and his own errand in that place.
He forgot no more than an instant, for there came to him the swift feeling that a grave peril impended for this girl, for all the white women of the house. From that moment his problems became savagely impersonal. He was simply one of a few men called upon to defend a home, and the women of that home. He asked his soul as to his fitness for the task, and rejoiced grimly that he found himself calm and ready for this thing which was now his duty.
Colonel Calvin Blount scarcely spoke, yet he gladly welcomed his neighbor, the storekeeper, Ben Buckner, who now came strolling up to the gallery steps; and he smiled with yet greater pleasure when he peered out of the window into the twilight and saw riding up to the gate his other neighbor, Jim Bowles, who carried across the saddle in front of him a long rifle. Behind Bowles, on the family mule, sat his wife, Sarah Ann, dipping snuff vigorously.
"Good even", Cunnel," said Bowles, alighting, "I heah you-all got a b"ah this mawnin". I just brung my own gun "long heah, "lowin" I might see somethin" "long the road, even if it is gittin" a little dark." Blount smiled grimly. No mention was made of the ringing of the bell until Blount himself explained.
"You-all know something is up," said he.
"Yas, sah," said Buckner, evincing no great curiosity.
"Well, there"s trouble enough on hand right now. We need every white man we can get. Bowles, take your wife inside to get something to eat, and you, Ben, go back and get your women-folks; and don"t forget your Winchester."
The bell spoke on. The plantation paths now began to blacken with slowly moving figures, but within the Big House there was no confusion. Colonel Blount paced slowly up and down the gallery.