"Where on airth have you been?" said Mrs. Fishley, chiming in with her husband; and if I had not realized before, I did now, that the squire1 had actually gone home.
"I haven't been a great ways," I replied.
As the fact of my absence, rather than where I had been, was the great grievance2 with my tyrants4, I concluded not to tell them in what precise locality I had spent the forenoon. The old order of things was fully5 restored. It was snap, snarl6, and growl7. But I soon learned that there was something more than this. Captain Fishley and Ham both looked glum8 and savage9; but they ate their dinner in silence.
"Buck10, I want you," said the captain, in a very ugly tone, as I was going to the barn after dinner. "Come into the store."[155]
I followed him into the shop. He sat down behind the post-office counter, looked at me sternly, and then gazed at the floor.
"Where have you been to-day?" said he, after his gaze had vibrated for some time between me and the floor.
"I haven't been far."
"Buck, have you got any money?" he added, sharply, and putting the question as a home thrust at me.
"Yes, sir, I have," I replied, startled by the inquiry11; for it was evident to me now that the storm was coming in the shape of a tempest.
"How much have you got?"
"I haven't got any of your money," I answered.
If Ham could rob the mail, it would not be a very hard step for him to take to rob his father's pocket-book; and I began to think he had done so, charging the crime upon me.
"I didn't say you had got any of my money," added Captain Fishley. "I asked you how much you had."
"What do you want to know for?"[156]
"No matter what I want to know for. Why don't you answer me?"
I felt innocent, and I could not tell him anything about my money without exposing his brother. He made a movement towards me, and I thought he was going to seize me by the collar. I jumped over the counter, for I had all my money in my pocket, and I did not care about being searched.
"I am just as well here."
"You may send for the constable, if you like; but I haven't any money that belongs to you, or anybody but myself."
Robbing the mail! I saw through the mill-stone. The postmaster had heard from Miss Larrabee, or her brother, in regard to the missing letter, and[157] I was accused of purloining15 it! No doubt Captain Fishley thought I was the robber. Probably Ham had charged the crime upon me, and his father was willing to believe him.
"I have not robbed the mail," I replied, smartly.
"Yes, you did; and I can prove it. You had better own it, and give back the money."
"I didn't take the money."
"What's the use to deny it, Buck?" said he, more mildly. "If you will own it, and give back the money, I will try and make it as easy as I can for you."
"I tell you I didn't take the money, and I won't own it when I didn't do it."
"Well, just as you like, Buck. If you won't give up the money, I shall have to hand you over to the constable, and see what he can do."
"You may hand me over to the constable as much as you please. Neither he nor anybody else can make me own up to what I didn't do."
"Why will you persist in saying you didn't do it?"
"Because I didn't do it."[158]
"I can prove it."
"Let's see you prove it."
"You carry the mail to Riverport and back."
"I know it; but I don't have any key to the bag."
"You know where the key is," said he, earnestly. "This morning I had a letter from Miss Larrabee's brother, saying that he sent his sister forty dollars, which must have come on before she left."
"That don't prove that I took it," I interposed; for I wished to know what the trap was before I said anything about Ham.
"It proves that the letter came. I've been down to Riverport this forenoon, and seen the postmaster there. He says the name was an odd one to him, and he distinctly remembers seeing it when he sorted the mail. I haven't any doubt the letter came to this office."
"Nor I either," I replied, glancing at Ham, who had taken position by his father's side to hear what was said.
"What do you mean by that?" demanded Captain Fishley, puzzled by my remark.[159]
"You haven't proved that I took the letter."
"It came here, but none of us saw it. The very night the mail containing that letter came in, you were seen counting money."
"Who saw me?" I asked.
"Ham saw you—didn't you, Ham?" replied the captain, appealing to his son.
"Yes, I did. After I came home from Crofton's, I put on my old rubbers, and went out to the barn after the lantern. I found Buck on the hay-loft, counting a roll of bank bills," answered Ham, glibly16.
"How much was there?" asked the postmaster.
"I asked him how much he had, but he wouldn't tell me," replied Ham. "He said it was a little money that he had made on his own account."
"How did you make it, Buck?"
"I made it honestly, and I did not steal it," was the only safe answer I could give.
I confess that it must have looked very bad for me; but I could not expose Squire Fishley, and my lips were sealed.
"How much did there appear to be, Ham?" continued Captain Fishley; and I must do him the [160]justice to say that he now appeared to be only anxious to elicit17 the truth.
"I don't know. I thought there were five or six bills. It was a good deal of money for him to have, anyhow. I didn't think much about it till since we found this letter was lost."
"Didn't you, Ham Fishley?" said I, looking him right in the eye. "You know very well that I didn't take that letter."
"Yes, you know it, if your father don't."
"I don't see who could have taken it, if he didn't," added Ham, turning to his father.
"Don't you, Ham?" I shouted, in my excitement.
"Of course he took it," said the postmaster. "He isn't willing to tell where he got that money, which he don't deny having."
"I can't tell where I got it, without injuring some one else; but I most solemnly declare that I did not steal it, nor take the letter."
"That's all in your eye," said Ham.
"It was all in my eye the night the mail was [161]robbed," I replied. "I didn't do it; but I saw it done; and I know who did it, Ham Fishley."
"Humph! I shouldn't wonder if he meant to lay it to me, father!" added Ham.
"That's just what I mean to do. I saw Ham take the money out of the envelope, and then burn the letter."
"Well, that's a good one!" said Ham, laughing heartily19; but his face was pale, and his laugh hollow.
Captain Fishley looked at his son earnestly. Perhaps he saw the unrealness of his mirth. Ham was extravagant20 in his demonstrations21, and so far overdid22 the matter, that even his father must have been troubled with a suspicion that all was not right in relation to him.
"Buck Bradford, you have a large sum of money about you," said he. "Have you not?"
"No matter how much," I answered.
"You have forty dollars. Will you deny it?"
"I will neither own nor deny it. I have nothing to say about it."
"Ham saw you have five or six bills. Now, you [162]must tell me where you got that money, or I shall believe you robbed the mail."
"I shall not tell you," I replied, firmly. "If it was right for me to do so, I would; but it isn't right, and I can't."
"That's rich!" sneered23 Ham. "If you want any better evidence than that, you will have to send to Texas after it. His trying to lay it to me is the best proof I want."
"Ham Fishley, you know that what I have said is true," I continued indignantly. "You know that you opened that mail-bag after you came home from Crofton's, put the money in your pocket, and burned the letter."
"I'm tired of this jaw," added Captain Fishley, in disgust. "Buck, come round here."
"I know what you want, and I think I won't do it," I replied, leaving the store.
"Ham, go over to Stevens's, and tell him I want to see him," said my tyrant, coming to the door.
Stevens was a constable. I was not anxious to [163]see him. I went to the barn, and by a roundabout way reached the swamp. I need hardly say that I was in great excitement and alarm. The constable was to be put upon my track; but I was not at all afraid that he would find me in the swamp, which for nearly half a mile had three feet of water on the ground. He could not reach me at the raft without a boat.
I went to work upon the interior of the house, put up a partition to divide Flora25's room from the rest of the space, and built a bunk26 in her apartment. I had already rigged a steering27 oar28, and at one end of the raft I had set up a mast, on which I intended to spread a square-sail for use when the wind was favorable. I worked very hard all the afternoon, and kept Sim as busy as I was myself in sawing boards of the right length for the work.
The raft was in condition to go down the river, though it was not yet finished. I was ready to start that very night, if necessary. I was confident that I was to be persecuted29, if not prosecuted30, for robbing the mail. As long as I could not explain where I obtained the money which Ham had unfortunately[164] seen, I was not able to clear myself of the suspicion. Before I left the swamp, I concealed31 all my money, but a few dollars, in the hollow of a tree.
I was not afraid of the constable. I determined32 to go back to the house, and trust to my wits for safety. I went into the kitchen as usual, where Captain Fishley and his wife were just sitting down to supper.
"Where have you been all the afternoon?" asked he, in a milder tone than I expected to hear him use.
"Keeping out of the way of the constable," I replied.
"I don't want to call the constable for you, but I shall if you don't give up the money," added Captain Fishley.
"I haven't got it. What I said about Ham was the truth."
Poor Flora had heard the story about me, and she trembled with apprehension35. How I pitied her![165]
"I will hand him over to Stevens to-morrow, if he don't give up the money before that time," added the captain.
I was not permitted to go after the mail that night. The postmaster went himself, and his wife accompanied him to "do some shopping."
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1
squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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grievance
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| n.怨愤，气恼，委屈 | |
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3
tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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tyrants
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| 专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 )； 暴君似的人； （古希腊的）僭主； 严酷的事物 | |
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5
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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6
snarl
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| v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮 | |
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7
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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8
glum
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| adj.闷闷不乐的，阴郁的 | |
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9
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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10
buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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saucily
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| adv.傲慢地，莽撞地 | |
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savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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14
constable
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| n.(英国)警察，警官 | |
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15
purloining
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| v.偷窃( purloin的现在分词 ) | |
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glibly
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| adv.流利地，流畅地；满口 | |
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elicit
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| v.引出,抽出,引起 | |
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bluster
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| v.猛刮；怒冲冲的说；n.吓唬，怒号；狂风声 | |
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19
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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21
demonstrations
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| 证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威 | |
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22
overdid
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| v.做得过分( overdo的过去式 )；太夸张；把…煮得太久；（工作等）过度 | |
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23
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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flora
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| n.(某一地区的)植物群 | |
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bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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oar
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| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 | |
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29
persecuted
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| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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prosecuted
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| a.被起诉的 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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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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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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