The old man did not notice it, but Margaret knew a squadron of white-and-scarlet horsemen stood in those woods, and her heart gave a bound of joy.
As they passed the Presbyterian church, she saw through the open window her father standing2 at his Elder’s seat leading in prayer. They were holding a watch service, asking God for victory in the eventful struggle of the day.
Margaret attempted to drive straight to the jail, and a sentinel stopped them.
“I am Stoneman, sir—the real commander of these troops,” said the old man, with authority.
“Orders is orders, and I don’t take ’em from you,” was the answer.
“Then tell your commander that Mr. Stoneman has just arrived from Spartanburg and asks to see him at the hotel immediately.”
He hobbled into the parlour and waited in agony while 370 Margaret tied the mare3. Ben, her mother and father, and every servant were gone.
In a few moments the second officer hurried to Stoneman, saluted4, and said:
“We’ve pulled it off in good shape, sir. They’ve tried to fool us with a dozen tricks, and a whole regiment5 has been lying in wait for us all day. But at dark the Captain outwitted them, took his prisoner with a squad1 of picked cavalry6, and escaped their pickets7. They’ve been gone an hour, and ought to be back with the body——”
Old Stoneman sprang on him with the sudden fury of a madman, clutching at his throat.
“If you’ve killed my son,” he gasped8—“go—go! Follow them with a swift messenger and stop them! It’s a mistake—you’re killing9 the wrong man—you’re killing my boy—quick—my God, quick—don’t stand there staring at me!”
The officer rushed to obey his order as Margaret entered.
The old man seized her arm, and said with laboured breath:
“Your father, my child, ask him to come to me quickly.”
Margaret hurried to the church, and an usher10 called the doctor to the door.
He read the question trembling on the girl’s lips.
“Nothing has happened yet, my daughter. Your brother has held a regiment of his men in readiness every moment of the day.”
“Mr. Stoneman is at the hotel and asks to see you immediately,” she whispered. 371
“God grant he may prevent bloodshed,” said the father. “Go inside and stay with your mother.”
When Doctor Cameron entered the parlour Stoneman hobbled painfully to meet him, his face ashen11, and his breath rattling12 in his throat as if his soul were being strangled.
“You are my enemy, Doctor,” he said, taking his hand, “but you are a pious13 man. I have been called an infidel—I am only a wilful14 sinner—I have slain15 my own son, unless God Almighty16, who can raise the dead, shall save him! You are the man at whom I aimed the blow that has fallen on my head. I wish to confess to you and set myself right before God. He may hear my cry, and have mercy on me.”
He gasped for breath, sank into his seat, looked around, and said:
“Will you close the door?”
The doctor complied with his request and returned.
“We all wear masks, Doctor,” began the trembling voice. “Beneath lie the secrets of love and hate from which actions move. My will alone forged the chains of negro rule. Three forces moved me—party success, a vicious woman, and the quenchless17 desire for personal vengeance18. When I first fell a victim to the wiles19 of the yellow vampire20 who kept my house, I dreamed of lifting her to my level. And when I felt myself sinking into the black abyss of animalism, I, whose soul had learned the pathway of the stars and held high converse21 with the great spirits of the ages——”
He paused, looked up in terror, and whispered: 372
“What’s that noise? Isn’t it the distant beat of horses’ hoofs22?”
“No,” said the doctor, listening; “it’s the roar of the falls we hear, from a sudden change of the wind.”
“I’m done now,” Stoneman went on, slowly fumbling23 his hands. “My life has been a failure. The dice24 of God are always loaded.”
His great head drooped25 lower, and he continued:
“Mightiest of all was my motive26 of revenge. Fierce business and political feuds27 wrecked28 my iron mills. I shouldered their vast debts, and paid the last mortgage of a hundred thousand dollars the week before Lee invaded my State. I stood on the hill in the darkness, cried, raved29, cursed, while I watched the troops lay those mills in ashes. Then and there I swore that I’d live until I ground the South beneath my heel! When I got back to my house they had buried a Confederate soldier in the field. I dug his body up, carted it to the woods, and threw it into a ditch——”
The hand of the white-haired Southerner suddenly gripped old Stoneman’s throat—and then relaxed. His head sank on his breast, and he cried in anguish30:
“God be merciful to me a sinner! Would I, too, seek revenge!”
Stoneman looked at the doctor, dazed by his sudden onslaught and collapse31.
“Yes, he was somebody’s boy down here,” he went on, “who was loved perhaps even as I love—I don’t blame you. See, in the inside pocket next to my heart I carry the pictures of Phil and Elsie taken from babyhood up, 373 all set in a little book. They don’t know this—nor does the world dream I’ve been so soft-hearted——”
He drew a miniature album from his pocket and fumbled32 it aimlessly:
“You know Phil was my first-born——”
His voice broke, and he looked at the doctor helplessly.
The Southerner slipped his arm around the old man’s shoulders and began a tender and reverent33 prayer.
The sudden thunder of a squad of cavalry with clanking sabres swept by the hotel toward the jail.
Stoneman scrambled34 to his feet, staggered, and caught a chair.
“It’s no use,” he groaned35, “—they’ve come with his body—I’m slipping down—the lights are going out—I haven’t a friend! It’s dark and cold—I’m alone, and lost—God—has—hidden—His—face—from—me!”
Voices were heard without, and the tramp of heavy feet on the steps.
Stoneman clutched the doctor’s arm in agony:
“Stop them!—Stop them! Don’t let them bring him in here!”
He sank limp into the chair and stared at the door as it swung open and Phil walked in, with Ben and Elsie by his side, in full clansman disguise.
The old man leaped to his feet and gasped:
“The Klan!—The Klan! No? Yes! It’s true—glory to God, they’ve saved my boy—Phil—Phil!”
“How did you rescue him?” Doctor Cameron asked Ben.
“Had a squadron lying in wait on every road that led 374 from town. The Captain thought a thousand men were on him, and surrendered without a shot.”
At twelve o’clock Ben stood at the gate with Elsie.
“Your fate hangs in the balance of this election to-night,” she said. “I’ll share it with you, success or failure, life or death.”
“Success, not failure,” he answered firmly. “The Grand Dragons of six States have already wired victory. Look at our lights on the mountains! They are ablaze—range on range our signals gleam until the Fiery36 Cross is lost among the stars!”
“What does it mean?” she whispered.
“That I am a successful revolutionist—that Civilization has been saved, and the South redeemed37 from shame.”
THE END
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收听单词发音
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1
squad
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| n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组 | |
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2
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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3
mare
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| n.母马，母驴 | |
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4
saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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5
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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6
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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7
pickets
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| 罢工纠察员( picket的名词复数 ) | |
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8
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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9
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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10
usher
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| n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员 | |
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11
ashen
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| adj.灰的 | |
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12
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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13
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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14
wilful
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| adj.任性的，故意的 | |
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15
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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16
almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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17
quenchless
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| 不可熄灭的 | |
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18
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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19
wiles
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| n.（旨在欺骗或吸引人的）诡计，花招；欺骗，欺诈( wile的名词复数 ) | |
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20
vampire
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| n.吸血鬼 | |
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21
converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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22
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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23
fumbling
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| n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理 | |
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24
dice
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| n.骰子；vt.把（食物）切成小方块，冒险 | |
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25
drooped
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| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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27
feuds
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| n.长期不和，世仇( feud的名词复数 ) | |
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28
wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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29
raved
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| v.胡言乱语( rave的过去式和过去分词 )；愤怒地说；咆哮；痴心地说 | |
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30
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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31
collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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32
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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33
reverent
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| adj.恭敬的，虔诚的 | |
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34
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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35
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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36
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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37
redeemed
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| adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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