She wondered if the chatter6 of Marion about the girl in Nashville were only a child’s guess or more. She laughed softly at the absurdity7 of the idea. Never since she had first looked into Ben Cameron’s face did she feel surer of the honesty and earnestness of his love than to-day in this quiet home of his native village. It must be the queer call of the bird which appealed to superstitions8 she did not know were hidden within her being.
Still dreaming under its spell, she was startled at the tread of two men approaching the gate.
The taller, more powerful-looking man put his hand on the latch9 and paused.
“Allow no white man to order you around. Remember you are a freeman and as good as any pale-face who walks this earth.” 205
She recognized the voice of Silas Lynch.
“Ben Cameron dare me to come about de house,” said the other voice.
“What did he say?”
“He say, wid his eyes batten’ des like lightnen’, ‘Ef I ketch you hangin’ ’roun’ dis place agin’, Gus, I’ll jump on you en stomp10 de life outen ye.’”
“Well, you tell him that your name is Augustus, not ‘Gus,’ and that the United States troops quartered in this town will be with him soon after the stomping11 begins. You wear its uniform. Give the white trash in this town to understand that they are not even citizens of the nation. As a sovereign voter, you, once their slave, are not only their equal—you are their master.”
“Dat I will!” was the firm answer.
The negro to whom Lynch spoke12 disappeared in the direction taken by Marion and her mother, and the figure of the handsome mulatto passed rapidly up the walk, ascended13 the steps and knocked at the door.
Elsie followed him.
“My father is too much fatigued14 with his journey to be seen now; you must call to-morrow,” she said.
The negro lifted his hat and bowed:
“Ah, we are delighted to welcome you, Miss Stoneman, to our land! Your father asked me to call immediately on his arrival. I have but obeyed his orders.”
Elsie shrank from the familiarity of his manner and the tones of authority and patronage16 with which he spoke.
“He cannot be seen at this hour,” she answered shortly. 206
“Perhaps you will present my card, then—say that I am at his service, and let him appoint the time at which I shall return?”
She did not invite him in, but with easy assurance he took his seat on the joggle-board beside the door and awaited her return.
Against her urgent protest, Stoneman ordered Lynch to be shown at once to his bedroom.
When the door was closed, the old Commoner, without turning to greet his visitor or moving his position in bed, asked:
“Are you following my instructions?”
“To the letter, sir.”
“You are initiating17 the negroes into the League and teaching them the new catechism?”
“With remarkable18 success. Its secrecy19 and ritual appeal to them. Within six months we shall have the whole race under our control almost to a man.”
“Almost to a man?”
“We find some so attached to their former masters that reason is impossible with them. Even threats and the promise of forty acres of land have no influence.”
The old man snorted with contempt.
“If anything could reconcile me to the Satanic Institution it is the character of the wretches20 who submit to it and kiss the hand that strikes. After all, a slave deserves to be a slave. The man who is mean enough to wear chains ought to wear them. You must teach, teach, TEACH these black hounds to know they are men, not brutes21!” 207
The old man paused a moment, and his restless hands fumbled22 the cover.
“Your first task, as I told you in the beginning, is to teach every negro to stand erect23 in the presence of his former master and assert his manhood. Unless he does this, the South will bristle24 with bayonets in vain. The man who believes he is a dog, is one. The man who believes himself a king, may become one. Stop this snivelling and sneaking25 round the back doors. I can do nothing, God Almighty26 can do nothing, for a coward. Fix this as the first law of your own life. Lift up your head! The world is yours. Take it. Beat this into the skulls27 of your people, if you do it with an axe28. Teach them the military drill at once. I’ll see that Washington sends the guns. The state, when under your control, can furnish the powder.”
“It will surprise you to know the thoroughness with which this has been done already by the League,” said Lynch. “The white master believed he could vote the negro as he worked him in the fields during the war. The League, with its blue flaming altar, under the shadows of night, has wrought29 a miracle. The negro is the enemy of his former master and will be for all time.”
“For the present,” said the old man meditatively30, “not a word to a living soul as to my connection with this work. When the time is ripe, I’ll show my hand.”
Elsie entered, protesting against her father’s talking longer, and showed Lynch to the door.
He paused on the moonlit porch and tried to engage her in familiar talk. 208
She cut him short, and he left reluctantly.
As he bowed his thick neck in pompous31 courtesy, she caught with a shiver the odour of pomade on his black half-kinked hair. He stopped on the lower step, looked back with smiling insolence32, and gazed intently at her beauty. The girl shrank from the gleam of the jungle in his eyes and hurried within.
She found her father sunk in a stupor33. Her cry brought the young surgeon hurrying into the room, and at the end of an hour he said to Elsie and Phil:
“He has had a stroke of paralysis34. He may lie in mental darkness for months and then recover. His heart action is perfect. Patience, care, and love will save him. There is no cause for immediate15 alarm.”
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1
sensuous
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| adj.激发美感的；感官的，感觉上的 | |
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anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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spectral
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| adj.幽灵的，鬼魂的 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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punctuated
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| v.（在文字中）加标点符号，加标点( punctuate的过去式和过去分词 )；不时打断某事物 | |
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chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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7
absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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8
superstitions
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| 迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 ) | |
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latch
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| n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁 | |
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10
stomp
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| v.跺（脚），重踩，重踏 | |
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stomping
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| v.跺脚，践踏，重踏( stomp的现在分词 ) | |
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12
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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13
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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14
fatigued
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| adj. 疲乏的 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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patronage
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| n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场 | |
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17
initiating
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| v.开始( initiate的现在分词 )；传授；发起；接纳新成员 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
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21
brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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fumbled
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| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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bristle
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| v.（毛发）直立，气势汹汹，发怒；n.硬毛发 | |
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sneaking
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| a.秘密的，不公开的 | |
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almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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27
skulls
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| 颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜 | |
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28
axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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29
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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30
meditatively
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| adv.冥想地 | |
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31
pompous
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的 | |
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32
insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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33
stupor
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| v.昏迷；不省人事 | |
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34
paralysis
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| n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症) | |
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