Carl lingered for a moment on the steps. Perhaps Tom had some further orders; perhaps, too, Jennie would come out again. Involuntarily his eye wandered toward the open door, and then he turned to go. Jennie"s heart sprang up in her throat. She had seen from behind the curtains the shade of disappointment that crossed her lover"s face. She could suffer herself, but she could not see Carl unhappy. In an instant she was beside her mother. Anything to keep Carl--she did not care what.
"Oh, Carl, will you bring the ladder so I can reach the long branches?"
she said, her quick wit helping her with a subterfuge.
Carl turned and glanced at Tom. He felt the look in her face and could read her thoughts.
If Tom had heard Jennie she never moved. This affair must end in some way, she said to herself. Why had she not sent him away long before? How could she do it now when he had risked his life to save Patsy?
Then she answered firmly, still without turning her head, "No, Jennie; there won"t be time. Carl must get ready to"--
Pop laid his hand on hers.
"There"s plinty o" toime, Mary. Ye"ll git the ladder behint the kitchen door, Carl. I hed it ther" mesilf this mornin"."
Carl found the ladder, steadied it against the tree, and guided Jennie"s little feet till they reached the topmost round, holding on to her skirts so that she should not fall. Above their heads the branches twined and interlaced, shedding their sweetest blossoms over their happy upturned faces. The old man"s eyes lightened as he watched them for some moments; then, turning to Tom, his voice full of tenderness, he said:--
"Carl"s a foine lad, Mary; ye"ll do no better for Jinnie."
Tom did not answer; her eyes were on the cedars where the crows were flying, black silhouettes against the yellow sky.
"Did I shtop ye an" break yer heart whin ye wint off wid yer own Tom?
What wuz he but an honest lad thet loved ye, an" he wid not a pinny in his pocket but the fare that brought ye both to the new counthry."
Tom"s eyes filled. She could not see the cedars now. All the hill was swimming in light.
"Oi hev watched Carl sence he fust come, Mary. It"s a good mither some"er"s as has lost a foine b"y. W"u"dn"t ye be lonely yersilf ef ye"d come here wid n.o.body to touch yer hand?"
Tom shivered and covered her face. Who was more lonely than she--she who had hungered for the same companionship that she was denying Jennie; she who had longed for somebody to stand between her and the world, some hand to touch, some arm to lean on; she who must play the man always--the man and the mother too!
Pop went on, stroking her strong, firm hand with his stiff, shriveled fingers. He never looked at her; his face was now too turned toward the dying sun.
"Do ye remimber the day ye left me in the ould counthry, Mary, wid yer own Tom; an" how I walked wid ye to the turnin" of the road? It wuz spring thin, an" the hedges all white wid blossoms. Look at thim two over there, Mary, wid their arms full o" flowers. Don"t be breakin"
their hearts, child."
Tom turned and slipped her arm around the old man"s neck, her head sinking on his shoulder. The tears were under her eyelids; her heart was bursting; only her pride sustained her. Then in a half-whispered voice, like a child telling its troubles, she said:--
"Ye don"t know--ye don"t know, Gran"pop. The dear G.o.d knows it"s not on account of meself. It"s Tom I"m thinkin" of night an" day--me Tom, me Tom. She"s his child as well as mine. If he could only help me! He wanted such great things for Jennie. It ud be easier if he hadn"t saved Patsy. Don"t speak to me ag"in about it, father dear; it hurts me."
The old man rose from his chair and walked slowly into the house. All his talks with his daughter ended in this way. It was always what Tom would have thought. Why should a poor crazy cripple like her husband, shut up in an asylum, make trouble for Jennie?
When the light faded and the trees grew indistinct in the gloom, Tom still sat where Pop had left her. Soon the shadows fell in the little valley, and the hill beyond the cedars lost itself in the deepening haze that now crept in from the tranquil sea.
Carl"s voice calling to Cully to take in the Gray roused her to consciousness. She pushed back her chair, stood for an instant watching Carl romping with Patsy, and then walked slowly toward the stable.
By the time she reached the water-trough her old manner had returned.
Her step became once more elastic and firm; her strong will a.s.serted itself. She had work to do, and at once. In two hours the board would meet. She needed all her energies and resources. The lovers must wait; she could not decide any question for them now.
As she pa.s.sed the stable window a man in a fur cap raised his head cautiously above the low fence and shrank back into the shadow.
Tom threw open the door and felt along the sill for the lantern and matches. They were not in their accustomed place. The man crouched, ran noiselessly toward the rear entrance, and crept in behind a stall. Tom laid her hand on the haunches of the horse and began rolling back his blanket. The man drew himself up slowly until his shoulders were on a level with the planking. Tom moved a step and turned her face. The man raised his arm, whirled a hammer high in the air, and brought it down upon her head.
When Cully led the Big Gray into his stall, a moment later, he stepped into a pool of blood.
XV. IN THE SHADOW OF DEATH
At the appointed hour the Board of Trustees met in the hall over the post-office. The usual loungers filled the room--members of the Union, and others who had counted on a piece of the highway pie when it was cut. Dempsey, Crimmins, and Quigg sat outside the rail, against the wall. They were waiting for McGaw, who had not been seen since the afternoon.
The president was in his accustomed place. The five gentlemen of leisure, the veterinary surgeon, and the other trustees occupied their several chairs. The roll had been called, and every man had answered to his name. The occasion being one of much importance, a full board was required.
As the minute-hand neared the hour of nine Dempsey became uneasy. He started every time a new-comer mounted the stairs. Where was McGaw?
No one had seen him since he swallowed the tumblerful of whiskey and disappeared from O"Leary"s, a few hours before.
The president rapped for order, and announced that the board was ready to sign the contract with Thomas Grogan for the hauling and delivery of the broken stone required for public highways.
There was no response.
"Is Mrs. Grogan here?" asked the president, looking over the room and waiting for a reply.
"Is any one here who represents her?" he repeated, after a pause, rising in his seat as he spoke.
No one answered. The only sound heard in the room was that of the heavy step of a man mounting the stairs.
"Is there any one here who can speak for Mrs. Thomas Grogan?" called the president again, in a louder voice.
"I can," said the man with the heavy tread, who proved to be the foreman at the brewery. "She won"t live till mornin"; one of her horses kicked her and broke her skull, so McGaw told me."
"Broke her skull! My G.o.d! man, how do you know?" demanded the president, his voice trembling with excitement.
Every man"s face was now turned toward the new-comer; a momentary thrill of horror ran through the a.s.semblage.
"I heard it at the druggist"s. One of her boys was over for medicine.
Dr. Mason sewed up her head. He was drivin" by, on his way to Quarantine, when it happened."
"What Dr. Mason?" asked a trustee, eager for details.
"The man what used to be at Quarantine seven years ago. He"s app"inted ag"in."
Dempsey caught up his hat and hurriedly left the room, followed by Quigg and Crimmins. McGaw, he said to himself, as he ran downstairs, must be blind drunk, not to come to the meeting, "----him! What if he gives everything away!" he added aloud.
"This news is awful," said the president. "I am very sorry for Mrs.
Grogan and her children--she was a fine woman. It is a serious matter, too, for the village. The highway work ought to commence at once; the roads need it. We may now have to advertise again. That would delay everything for a month."
"Well, there"s other bids," said another trustee,--one of the gentlemen of leisure,--ignoring the president"s sympathy, and hopeful now of a possible slice on his own account. "What"s the matter with McGaw"s proposal? There"s not much difference in the price. Perhaps he would come down to the Grogan figure. Is Mr. McGaw here, or anybody who can speak for him?"
Justice Rowan sat against the wall. The overzealous trustee had exactly expressed his own wishes and anxieties. He wanted McGaw"s chances settled at once. If they failed, there was Rowan"s own brother who might come in for the work, the justice sharing of course in the profits.