The ball had its political significance which the military martinet1 who commanded the post understood. It was the way the people of Piedmont expressed to him and the world their contempt for the farce2 of an election he had conducted, and their indifference3 as to the result he would celebrate with many guns before midnight.
The young people of the town were out in force. Marion was a universal favourite. The grace, charm, and tender beauty of the Southern girl of sixteen were combined in her with a gentle and unselfish disposition5. Amid poverty that was pitiful, unconscious of its limitations, her thoughts were always of others, and she was the one human being everybody had agreed to love. In the village 255 in which she lived wealth counted for naught6. She belonged to the aristocracy of poetry, beauty, and intrinsic worth, and her people knew no other.
As she stood in the long dining-room, dressed in her first ball costume of white organdy and lace, the little plump shoulders peeping through its meshes7, she was the picture of happiness. A half-dozen boys hung on every word as the utterance8 of an oracle9. She waved gently an old ivory fan with white down on its edges in a way the charm of which is the secret birthright of every Southern girl.
Now and then she glanced at the door for some one who had not yet appeared.
Phil paid his tribute to her with genuine feeling, and Marion repaid him by whispering:
“Margaret’s dressed to kill—all in soft azure10 blue—her rosy11 cheeks, black hair, and eyes never shone as they do to-night. She doesn’t dance on account of her Sunday-school—it’s all for you.”
Phil blushed and smiled.
“The preacher won’t be here?”
“Our rector will.”
“He’s a nice old gentleman. I’m fond of him. Miss Marion, your mother is a genius. I hope she can plan these little affairs oftener.”
It was half-past ten o’clock when Ben Cameron entered the room with Elsie a little ruffled12 at his delay over imaginary business at his office. Ben answered her criticisms with a strange elation13. She had felt a secret between them and resented it. 256
At Mrs. Lenoir’s special request, he had put on his full uniform of a Confederate Colonel in honour of Marion and the poem her father had written of one of his gallant14 charges. He had not worn it since he fell that day in Phil’s arms.
No one in the room had ever seen him in this Colonel’s uniform. Its yellow sash with the gold fringe and tassels15 was faded and there were two bullet holes in the coat. A murmur16 of applause from the boys, sighs and exclamations17 from the girls swept the room as he took Marion’s hand, bowed and kissed it. Her blue eyes danced and smiled on him with frank admiration18.
“Ben, you’re the handsomest thing I’ve ever seen!” she said softly.
“Thanks. I thought you had a mirror. I’ll send you one,” he answered, slipping his arm around her and gliding19 away to the strains of a waltz. The girl’s hand trembled as she placed it on his shoulder, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes had a wistful dreamy look in their depths.
When Ben rejoined Elsie and they strolled on the lawn, the military commandant suddenly confronted them with a squad20 of soldiers.
“I’ll trouble you for those buttons and shoulder straps21,” said the Captain.
Elsie’s amber22 eyes began to spit fire. Ben stood still and smiled.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“That I will not be insulted by the wearing of this uniform to-day.” 257
“I dare you to touch it, coward, poltroon23!” cried the girl, her plump little figure bristling24 in front of her lover.
Ben laid his hand on her arm and gently drew her back to his side: “He has the power to do this. It is a technical violation25 of law to wear them. I have surrendered. I am a gentleman and I have been a soldier. He can have his tribute. I’ve promised my father to offer no violence to the military authority of the United States.”
He stepped forward, and the officer cut the buttons from his coat and ripped the straps from his shoulders.
While the performance was going on, Ben quietly said:
“General Grant at Appomattox, with the instincts of a great soldier, gave our men his spare horses and ordered that Confederate officers retain their side-arms. The General is evidently not in touch with this force.”
“No: I’m in command in this county,” said the Captain.
“Evidently.”
When he had gone, Elsie’s eyes were dim. They strolled under the shadow of the great oak and stood in silence, listening to the music within and the distant murmur of the falls.
“Why is it, sweetheart, that a girl will persist in admiring brass26 buttons?” Ben asked softly.
She raised her lips to his for a kiss and answered:
“Because a soldier’s business is to die for his country.”
As Ben led her back into the ballroom27 and surrendered her to a friend for a dance, the first gun pealed28 its note of victory from the square in the celebration of the triumph of the African slave over his white master. 258
Ben strolled out in the street to hear the news.
The Constitution had been ratified29 by an enormous majority, and a Legislature elected composed of 101 negroes and 23 white men. Silas Lynch had been elected Lieutenant-Governor, a negro Secretary of State, a negro Treasurer30, and a negro Justice of the Supreme31 Court.
When Bizzel, the wizzen-faced agent of the Freedman’s Bureau, made this announcement from the courthouse steps, pandemonium32 broke lose. An incessant33 rattle34 of musketry began in which ball cartridges35 were used, the missiles whistling over the town in every direction. Yet within half an hour the square was deserted36 and a strange quiet followed the storm.
Old Aleck staggered by the hotel, his drunkenness having reached the religious stage.
“Behold, a curiosity, gentlemen,” cried Ben to a group of boys who had gathered, “a voter is come among us—in fact, he is the people, the king, our representative elect, the Honourable37 Alexander Lenoir, of the county of Ulster!”
“Gemmens, de Lawd’s bin4 good ter me,” said Aleck, weeping copiously38.
“They say the rat labels were in a majority in this precinct—how was that?” asked Ben.
“Yessah—dat what de scornful say—dem dat sets in de seat o’ de scornful, but de Lawd er Hosts He fetch ’em low. Mistah Bissel de Buro man count all dem rat votes right, sah—dey couldn’t fool him—he know what dey mean—he count ’em all for me an’ de ratification39.” 259
“Sure-pop!” said Ben; “if you can’t ratify40 with a rat, I’d like to know why?”
“Dat’s what I tells ’em, sah.”
“Of course,” said Ben good-humouredly. “The voice of the people is the voice of God—rats or no rats—if you know how to count.”
As old Aleck staggered away, the sudden crash of a volley of musketry echoed in the distance.
“What’s that?” asked Ben, listening intently. The sound was unmistakable to a soldier’s ear—that volley from a hundred rifles at a single word of command. It was followed by a shot on a hill in the distance, and then by a faint echo, farther still. Ben listened a few moments and turned into the lawn of the hotel. The music suddenly stopped, the tramp of feet echoed on the porch, a woman screamed, and from the rear of the house came the cry:
“Fire! Fire!”
Almost at the same moment an immense sheet of flame shot skyward from the big barn.
“My God!” groaned41 Ben. “Jake’s in jail to-night, and they’ve set the barn on fire. It’s worth more than the house.”
The crowd rushed down the hill to the blazing building, Marion’s fleet figure in its flying white dress leading the crowd.
The lowing of the cows and the wild neighing of the horses rang above the roar of the flames.
Before Ben could reach the spot Marion had opened every stall. Two cows leaped out to safety, but not a 260 horse would move from its stall, and each moment wilder and more pitiful grew their death cries.
Marion rushed to Ben, her eyes dilated42, her face as white as the dress she wore.
“Oh, Ben, Queen won’t come out! What shall I do?”
“You can do nothing, child. A horse won’t come out of a burning stable unless he’s blindfolded43. They’ll all be burned to death.”
“Oh! no!” the girl cried in agony.
“They’d trample44 you to death if you tried to get them out. It can’t be helped. It’s too late.”
As Ben looked back at the gathering45 crowd, Marion suddenly snatched a horse blanket, lying at the door, ran with the speed of a deer to the pond, plunged46 in, sprang out, and sped back to the open door of Queen’s stall, through which her shrill47 cry could be heard above the others.
As the girl ran toward the burning building, her thin white dress clinging close to her exquisite48 form, she looked like the marble figure of a sylph by the hand of some great master into which God had suddenly breathed the breath of life.
As they saw her purpose, a cry of horror rose from the crowd, her mother’s scream loud above the rest.
Ben rushed to catch her, shouting:
“Marion! Marion! She’ll trample you to death!”
He was too late. She leaped into the stall. The crowd held their breath. There was a moment of awful suspense49, and the mare50 sprang through the open door with the little white figure clinging to her mane and holding the blanket over her head. 261
A cheer rang above the roar of the flames. The girl did not loose her hold until her beautiful pet was led to a place of safety, while she clung to her neck and laughed and cried for joy. First her mother, then Margaret, Mrs. Cameron, and Elsie took her in their arms.
As Ben approached the group, Elsie whispered to him: “Kiss her!”
Ben took her hand, his eyes full of unshed tears, and said:
“The bravest deed a woman ever did—you’re a heroine, Marion!”
Before she knew it he stooped and kissed her.
She was very still for a moment, smiled, trembled from head to foot, blushed scarlet51, took her mother by the hand, and without a word hurried to the house.
Poor Becky was whining52 among the excited crowd and sought in vain for Marion. At last she got Margaret’s attention, caught her dress in her teeth and led her to a corner of the lot, where she had laid side by side her puppies, smothered53 to death. She stood and looked at them with her tail drooping54, the picture of despair. Margaret burst into tears and called Ben.
He bent55 and put his arm around the setter’s neck and stroked her head with his hand. Looking at up his sister, he said:
“Don’t tell Marion of this. She can’t stand any more to-night.”
The crowd had all dispersed56, and the flames had died down for want of fuel. The odour of roasting flesh, pungent57 and acrid58, still lingered a sharp reminder59 of the tragedy. 262
Ben stood on the back porch, talking in low tones to his father.
“Will you join us now, sir? We need the name and influence of men of your standing60.”
“My boy, two wrongs never made a right. It’s better to endure awhile. The sober commonsense61 of the Nation will yet save us. We must appeal to it.”
“Eight more fires were seen from town to-night.”
“You only guess their origin.”
“I know their origin. It was done by the League at a signal as a celebration of the election and a threat of terror to the county. One of our men concealed62 a faithful negro under the floor of the school-house and heard the plot hatched. We expected it a month ago—but hoped they had given it up.”
“Even so, my boy, a secret society such as you have planned means a conspiracy63 that may bring exile or death. I hate lawlessness and disorder64. We have had enough of it. Your clan65 means ultimately martial66 law. At least we will get rid of these soldiers by this election. They have done their worst to me, but we may save others by patience.”
“It’s the only way, sir. The next step will be a black hand on a white woman’s throat!”
The doctor frowned. “Let us hope for the best. Your clan is the last act of desperation.”
“But if everything else fail, and this creeping horror becomes a fact—then what?”
“My boy, we will pray that God may never let us live to see the day!”
THE BLACK MASTERS OF THE SOUTH DURING RECONSTRUCTION67.
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1
martinet
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| n.要求严格服从纪律的人 | |
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farce
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| n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹 | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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4
bin
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| n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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meshes
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| 网孔( mesh的名词复数 )； 网状物； 陷阱； 困境 | |
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utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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oracle
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| n.神谕，神谕处，预言 | |
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10
azure
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| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
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rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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ruffled
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| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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13
elation
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| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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15
tassels
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| n.穗( tassel的名词复数 )；流苏状物；（植物的）穗；玉蜀黍的穗状雄花v.抽穗， （玉米）长穗须( tassel的第三人称单数 )；使抽穗， （为了使作物茁壮生长）摘去穗状雄花；用流苏装饰 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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exclamations
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| n.呼喊( exclamation的名词复数 )；感叹；感叹语；感叹词 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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squad
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| n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组 | |
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straps
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| n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
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amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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poltroon
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| n.胆怯者；懦夫 | |
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bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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violation
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| n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯 | |
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brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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ballroom
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| n.舞厅 | |
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28
pealed
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| v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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ratified
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| v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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treasurer
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| n.司库，财务主管 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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pandemonium
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| n.喧嚣，大混乱 | |
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incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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cartridges
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| 子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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copiously
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| adv.丰富地，充裕地 | |
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ratification
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| n.批准，认可 | |
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ratify
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| v.批准，认可，追认 | |
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groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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dilated
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| adj.加宽的，扩大的v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
blindfolded
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| v.（尤指用布）挡住（某人）的视线( blindfold的过去式 )；蒙住（某人）的眼睛；使不理解；蒙骗 | |
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44
trample
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| vt.踩，践踏；无视，伤害，侵犯 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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mare
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| n.母马，母驴 | |
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51
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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whining
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| n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚 | |
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53
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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56
dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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pungent
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| adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的 | |
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acrid
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| adj.辛辣的，尖刻的，刻薄的 | |
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reminder
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| n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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commonsense
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| adj.有常识的；明白事理的；注重实际的 | |
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62
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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63
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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67
reconstruction
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| n.重建，再现，复原 | |
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