Yet it should be said that the man least respected by the Pinetuckians was the man least gossiped about. This was Bradley Gaither, the richest man in the neighbourhood. With few exceptions, all the Pinetuckians owned land and negroes; but Bradley Gaither owned more land and more negroes than the most of them put together. No man, to all appearances, led a more correct life than Bradley Gaither. He was first at church, and the last to leave; he even affected14 a sort of personal interest in politics; but the knack15 of addressing himself to the respect and esteem16 of his neighbours he lacked altogether. He was not parsimonious17, but, as Squire Inchly expressed it, "narrer-minded in money matters." He had the air of a man who is satisfied with himself rather than with the world, and the continual exhibition of this species of selfishness is apt to irritate the most simple-minded spectator. Lacking the sense of humour necessary to give him a knowledge of his own relations to his neighbours, he lived under the impression that he was not only one of the most generous of men, but the most popular. He insisted upon his rights. If people made bad bargains when they traded with him—and he allowed them to make no other kind,—they must stand or fall by them. Where his lands joined those of his neighbours, there was always "a lane for the rabbits," as the saying is. He would join fences with none of them. Indeed, he was a surly neighbour, though he did not even suspect the fact.
He had one weakness,—a greed for land. If he drove hard bargains, it was for the purpose of adding to his landed possessions. He overworked and underfed his negroes in order that he might buy more land. Day and night he toiled18, and planned, and pinched himself and the people around him to gratify his land- hunger.
Bradley Gaither had one redeeming19 feature,—his daughter Rose. For the sake of this daughter Pinetueky was willing to forgive him a great many things. To say that Rose Gaither was charming or lovely, and leave the matter there, would ill become even the casual historian of Pinetucky. She was lovely, but her loveliness was of the rare kind that shows itself in strength of character as well as in beauty of form and feature. In the appreciative20 eyes of the Pinetuckians she seemed to invest womanhood with a new nobility. She possessed21 dignity without vanity, and her candour was tempered by a rare sweetness that won all hearts. She carried with her that mysterious flavour of romance that belongs to the perfection of youth and beauty; and there are old men in Rockville to-day, sitting in the sunshine on the street corners and dreaming of the past, whose eyes will kindle22 with enthusiasm at mention of Rose Gaither's name.
But in 1840 Bradley Gaither's beautiful daughter was not by any means the only representative of womankind in Pinetucky. There was Miss Jane Inchly, to go no further. Miss Jane was Squire Inchly's maiden23 sister; and though she was neither fat nor fair, she was forty. Perhaps she was more than forty; but if she was fifty she was not ashamed of it. She had a keen eye and a sharp tongue, and used both with a freedom befitting her sex and her experience.
Squire Inchly's house was convenient to his shop; and just opposite lived the Carews, father and son, once the most prosperous and prominent family in the neighbourhood. It was the custom of Pinetucky to take a half-holiday on Saturdays, and on one of these occasions Squire Inchly, instead of going to his shop or to the store, sat in his porch and smoked his pipe. After a while Miss Jane brought out her sewing and sat with him. Across the way Uncle Billy Carew sat in his easy-chair under the shade of a tree, and made queer gestures in the air with his hands and cane24, while his son, a young man of twenty-five or thereabouts, paced moodily25 up and down the veranda26. The birds fluttered in and out of the hedges of Cherokee rose that ran along both sides of the road, and over all the sun shone brightly.
"Billy is cuttin' up his antics ag'in," said the Squire, finally. "First the limbs give way, and then the mind. It's Providence27, I reckon. We're all a-gittin' old."
"Why, you talk, Ichabod, as if Providence went around with a drink of dram in one hand and a stroke of palsy in t'other one," said Miss Jane. "It's the Old Boy that totes the dram. And don't you pester28 yourself on account of old Billy Oarew's palsy. A man's nimble enough in the legs when he can git to the dimmy- john."
"Well, I'm sorry for Jack29, Sister Jane," exclaimed the Squire, heartily30. "I am, from the bottom of my heart. The boy is too lonesome in his ways. He needs comp'ny; he needs to be holp up, Sister Jane. He does, certain and shore."
"Well, we're all near-sighted; but when Im in trouble, I'm like a hen a-layin'; I don't want nobody to stand around and watch me. Not even them that feeds me. The Lord knows what he keeps old Billy Carew here to fret31 poor Jack for, but I don't," continued Miss Jane, with a sigh. "I'm much mistaken if that old creetur hain't got years before him to drink and dribble32 in."
"It passes me, Sister Jane," said Squire Inchly, moving uneasily in his chair. "It passes me, certain and shore. Here was Billy, rich and healthy, Jack at college, and ever'thing a-runnin' slick and smooth, when nothin' must do but the old creetur must take to the jug33, and it's gone on and gone on, till old Bradley Gaither owns in-about all the Carew plantation34 that's wuth ownin'. Maybe it was Billy's wife druv him to it, Sister Jane."
"I say the word!" exclaimed Miss Jane, scornfully,—"I say the word! How could a little bit of a dried-up 'oman drive a grown man to drink?"
"They are a heap livelier than they look to be, Sister Jane," said the Squire reassuringly35. "Little as she was, I lay Billy Carew's wife had her say."
Squire Inchly had a jovial37 appearance ordinarily; but when he found it necessary to wrestle38 with the moral problems that the sharp tongue of his sister presented to his mind, he was in the habit of putting on his spectacles, as if by that means to examine them more impartially39. He put his spectacles on now, and with them a severe judicial40 frown.
"That's the trouble, Sister Jane,—that's the trouble," he said after a while. "The mouse'll squeal and squeal, but where's the man that ever got use to sech squealin'?"
"Don't pester the mouse then," said Miss Jane, sententiously.
"Old Bradley Gaither," remarked the Squire, showing a disposition41 to wander away from a dangerous discussion,—"Old Bradley Gaither ain't only got mighty42 nigh all the Carew plantation, but he's hot arter the balance of it. Last sale-day he took me off behind the Court-house, and, says he—
"'Square,' says he, 'I'd like mighty well for to git that Carew place,' says he.
"'Why, Mr. Gaither,' says I, 'you've in-about got it all now,' says I.
"'Square Ichabod," says he, 'it's only a matter of two hundred acres or thereabouts, and it cuts right spang into my plantation,' says he.
"'Well,' says I, 'two hundred acres ain't much, yit arter all it's a piece of land,' says I.
"'That's so,' says he, 'but I want that land, and I'm willin' for to pay reasonable. I want you to buy it for me, Square,' says he.
"Right across from where we sot," the Squire continued, taking off his spectacles, "old Billy Carew was a cuttin' up and singin' his worldly-reminded gongs, and Jack was a-tryin' for to git him off home.
"'Mr. Gaither,' says I, 'do you want to crowd that poor old creetur out 'n the county?' says I. 'And look at Jack; you won't find a better-favoured youngster,' says I.
"I disremember what he said," the Squire went on; "but when I named Jack he puckered44 up them thin lips of his'n like he was fortifyin' his mind ag'in anger. I didn't let on about Rose and Jack, Sister Jane, but I reckon Mr. Gaither has got his suspicions. No doubt he has got his suspicions, Sister Jane."
"Ichabod," said Miss Jane, scratching her head with the long teeth of her tucking-comb, "you're too old to be made a tool of. Let old Bradley Gaither do his own buyin' and sellin'. That old scamp is deep as a well. Them that didn't know him'd think he was sanctified; yit he's got devilment enough in him to break the winders out 'n the meetin'-house. Well, he needn't pester wi' Jack and Rose," Miss Jane went on; "Jack'll never marry Rose whilst old Billy Carew is hoppin' along betwixt the grocery and the graveyard45. Lord, Lord! to think that sech a no- 'count old ereetur as that should be a-ha'ntin' the face of the earth!"
"He took to fiddlin' and drinkin' arter he was fifty year old," remarked the Squire.
"Yes, and the property he hain't drunk up he's fiddled46 away, till now he hain't got nothin' but a passel of half-free niggers and a little piece of land, and old Bradley Gaither is hungry for that. And that ain't all," exclaimed Miss Jane, solemnly; "Jack is ruined, and Rose is distracted."
"Ah!" said the Squire.
"Yes," said Miss Jane. "Trouble is always double and thribble. Rose was here last Tuesday, and she sot by the winder there and watched Jack all the time she stayed.
"'That's what I call courtship at long taw,' s' I.
"'Yes, Miss Jane,' se' she, 'it is, and I'm in a great deal of trouble about Jack. I understand him, but he don't understand me,' se' she. 'He's mad because father loaned his father money and then took land to pay for it. But I'd marry Jack,' se' she, 'if only to give him his land back.'
"I declare!" Miss Jane continued, "'twould 'a' melted airy heart in the universe to see that child blushin' and cryin', I went and stood by her and put my arms round her, and I says to her, s' I—
"'Don't you fret, honey, don't you fret. Old Billy Carew is full of capers47 and vain babblin's,' s' I, 'and your pappy is puffed48 up by his fleshly mind; but the Almighty49, he's a-watching' 'em. He'll fetch 'em up wi' a round turn,' s' I; 'He knows how to deal wi' unreasonable50 and wicked men.' I said them very words."
"Saint Paul said 'em before you, Sister Jane, but you said 'em right,—you said 'em right," exclaimed Squire Inchly, heartily.
"Well, I don't set up to judge nobody, but I don't need no spyglass to see what's right in front of my face," said Miss Jane.
Thus these two old people sat and talked about the affairs of their friends and neighbours,—affairs in which they might be said to have almost a personal interest. The conversation turned to other matters; but across the way they saw enacted51 some of the preliminaries and accompaniments of a mysterious complication that finally became as distressing52 and as disastrous53 as a tragedy.
Old Billy Carew continued to gesticulate with his cane and to talk to himself. He desired no other audience. One moment he would be convulsed with laughter; then he would draw himself up proudly, wave his hand imperiously, and seem to be laying down a proposition that demanded great deliberation of thought and accuracy of expression. After a while his son, apparently54 growing tired of the humiliating spectacle, left his father to himself, and went over to Squire Inchly's.
Jack Carew was a great favourite with the Squire and his sister. Miss Jane had petted him as a boy; indeed, after the death of his own mother, she had maintained towards him the relations of a foster-mother. His instinct had told him, even when a child, that the asperity55 of Miss Inehly was merely the humorous mask of a gentle and sensitive heart.
As he flung himself wearily in the chair which Miss Jane had been quick to provide, he seemed, notwithstanding his dejection, to be a very handsome specimen57 of manhood. His hair was dark, his eyes large and lustrous58, his nose straight and firm, and his chin square and energetic. His face was smooth-shaven, and but for the glow of health in his cheeks, his complexion59 would have been sallow.
"Father has gone to the legislature again," he said with a faint apologetic smile and a motion of the hand toward the scene of the poor old man's alcoholic60 eloquence61.
"Well," said Miss Jane, soothingly62, "he hain't the first poor creetur that's flung his welfare to the winds. The Old Boy's mighty busy in these days, but the Almighty hain't dead yit, I reckon, and he'll come along thereckly and set things to rights."
The young man's face grew gloomy as he looked across the way at his homestead. The house was showing signs of neglect, and the fences were falling away here and there, The jagged splinters of a tall oak, whose top had been wrenched63 off by a storm, were outlined against the sky, and an old man babbled64 and dribbled65 near by. On the hither side the Cherokee roses bloomed and the birds sang. It seemed as if some horrible nightmare had thrust itself between Jack Carew and the sweet dreams of his youth.
"I trust you are right, Miss Jane," said Jack, after a long pause; "but He will have to come soon if lie sets my affairs to rights."
"Don't git down-hearted, Jack," exclaimed Miss Jane, laying her hand upon the young man's arm with a motherly touch. "Them that's big-hearted and broad- shouldered hain't got much to be afear'd of in this world. Have you forgot Rose Gaither, Jack?"
"I haven't forgotten Bradley Gaither," said Jack, frowning darkly, "and I won't forget him in a day, you may depend. Bradley Gaither is at the bottom of all the misery66 you see there." The young man made a gesture that included the whole horizon.
"Ah, Jack!" exclaimed Miss Jane, solemnly, "I won't deny but what old Bradley Gaither is been mighty busy runnin' arter the rudiments67 of the world, but the time was when you'd kindle up barely at the mention of Rose Gaither's name."
"Shall I tell you the truth, Miss Jane?" asked Jack Carew, turning to Miss Inchly with a frank but bashful smile.
"You've never failed to do that, Jack, when the pinch come."
"Well, this is the pinch, then. But for Rose Gaither I should have sold out here when I first found how matters stood. I could easily sell out now—to Bradley Gaither."
"That's so, Jack, you could," said Squire Inchly, who had been a sympathetic listener. "Yes, sir, you could; there ain't no two ways about that."
"But I wouldn't, and I won't," continued Jack. "Everybody around here knows my troubles, and I propose, to stay here. I haven't forgotten Rose Gaither, Miss Jane, but I'm afraid she has forgotten me. She has changed greatly."
"You look in the glass," said Miss Jane, with a knowing toss of the head, "and you'll see where the change is. Rose was here t'other day, and she stood right in that room there, behind them identical curtains. I wish—but I sha'n't tell the poor child's secrets. I'll say this: the next time you see Rose Gaither a-passin' by, you raise your hat and tell her howdy, and you'll git the sweetest smile that ever man got."
"Miss Jane!" exclaimed Jack Carew, "you are the best woman in the world."
"Except one, I reckon," said Miss Jane, dryly.
Jack Carew rose from his chair, and straightened himself to his full height. He was a new man. Youth and hope rekindled69 their fires in his eyes. The flush of enthusiasm revisited his face.
"I feel like a new man; I am a new man!" he exclaimed. Then he glanced at the pitiful figure, maundering and sputtering70 across the way. "I am going home," he went on, "and will put father to bed and nurse him and take care of him just as if—well, just as if I was his mother."
"The Lord'll love you for it, Jack," said Miss Jane, "and so'll Rose Gaither. When ever'thing else happens," she continued, solemnly, "put your trust in the Lord, and don't have no misdoubts of Rose."
The superstition71 that recognises omens72 and portents73 we are apt to laugh at as vulgar, but it has an enduring basis in the fact that no circumstance can be regarded as absolutely trivial. Events apparently the most trifling74 lead' to the most tremendous results. The wisest of us know not by what process the casual is transformed into the dreadful, nor how accident is twisted into fate.
Jack Carew visited the Inchlys almost daily; yet if he had postponed75 the visit, the purport76 of which has been given above, the probability is that he would have been spared much suffering; on the other hand, he would have missed much happiness that came to him at a time of life when he was best prepared to appreciate it. He had determined77 in his own mind to sell the little land and the few negroes he had saved from the wreck78 his father's extravagance had made; he had determined to sell these, and slip away with his father to a new life in the West; but his conversation with Miss Jane gave him new hope and courage, so that when Bradley Gaither, a few weeks afterwards, offered to buy the Carew place for two or three times its value, he received a curt68 and contemptuous message of refusal.
Young Carew was high-strung and sensitive, even as a boy, and events had only served to develop these traits. When he was compelled to leave college to take charge of his father's' affairs, he felt that his name was disgraced for ever. He found, however, that all who had known him were anxious to hold up his hands, and to give him such support as one friend is prepared to give another. If the Pinetuckians were simple-minded, they were also sympathetic, There was something gracious as well as wholesome79 in their attitude. The men somehow succeeded in impressing him with a vague idea that they had passed through just such troubles in their youth. The idea was encouraging, and Jack Carew made the most of it.
But he never thought of Rose Gaither without a sense of deepest humiliation80. He had loved Rose when they were schoolchildren together, but his passion had now reached such proportions that he deeply resented the fact that his school-hoy love had been so careless and shallow a feeling. Now that circumstances had placed her beyond his reach, he regretted that his youthful love experience was not worthier81 of the place it held in his remembrance. He could forget that Rose Gaither was the daughter of the man to whom he attributed his troubles, but he could never forget that he himself was the son of a man whose weakness had found him out at an age when manhood ought to have made him strong.
Still, Jack Carew made the most of a bad situation. He had the courage, the endurance, and the hopefulness of youth. He faced his perplexities with at least the appearance of good-humour; and if he had his moments of despair, when the skeleton in the jug in the closet paraded in public, Pinetucky never suspected it. The truth is, while Pinetucky was sympathetic and neighbourly, it was not inclined to make a great fuss over those who took a dram too much now and then. Intemperance82 was an evil, to be sure; but even intemperance had its humorous side in those days, and Pinetucky was apt to look at the humorous side.
One fine morning, however, Pinetuoky awoke to the fact that it was the centre and scene of a decided83 sensation. Rumour84 pulled on her bonnet85 and boots, and went gadding86 about like mad. Pinetucky was astonished, then perplexed87, then distressed88, and finally indignant, as became a conservative and moral community. A little after sunrise, Bradley Gaither had galloped89 up to Squire Inchly's door with the information that two bales of cotton had been stolen from hie place the night before.
The facts, as sot forth90 by Bradley Gaither, were that he had twelve bales of cotton ready for market. The twelve balei had been loaded upon three, wagons92, and the wagons were to start for Augusta at daybreak. At the last moment, when everything was ready, the teams harnessed, and the drivers in their seats, it was discovered that two bales of the cotton were missing. Fortunately, it had rained during the night, and Bradley Gaither had waited until it was light enough to make an investigation93. He found that a wagon91 bad been driven to his packing-screw. He saw, moreover, that but one wagon had passed along the road after the rain, and it was an easy matter to follow the tracks.
The fact of the theft had surprised Squire Inchly, but the details created consternation94 in his mind. The tracks of the wagon led to the Carew place! Squire Inchly was prompt with a rebuke95.
"Why, you've woke up wi' a joke in your mouth, Mr. Gaither. Now that you've spit it out, less start fresh. A spiteful joke before breakfus' 'll make your flesh crawl arter supper, Mr. Gaither."
Squire Inchly spoke96 seriously, as became a magistrate97. Bradley Gaither's thin lips grew thinner as he smiled.
"I'm as serious as the thieves that stole my cotton, Squire Inchly," said Bradley Gaither.
"Two whole bales of cotton in these days is a heavy loss," said the Squire, reflectively. "I hope you'll ketch the inconsiderate parties to the larceny98."
"If you will go with me, Squire, we'll call by for Brother Gossett and Colonel Hightower, and if I'm not mistaken we'll find the cotton not far from here."
"Well, sir," said the Squire, indignantly, "you won't find it on the Carew place. I'll go wi' you and welcome. We don't need no search warrant."
The long and the short of it was that the cotton was found concealed99 in Jack Carew's rickety barn under a pile of fodder100. Of those who joined Bradley Gaither in the search, not one believed that the cottor would be found on the Carew place; and some of them had even gone so far as to suggest to Mr. Gaither that his suspicions had been fathered by his prejudices; but that injured individual merely smiled his cold little smile, and declared that there could be no harm in following the wagon tracks. This was reasonable enough; and the result was that not only was the cotton found, but the wagon standing56 under the shelter, and two mules101 at the trough in the lot showed signs of having been used.
These things so shocked those who had gone with Bradley Gaither that they had little to say. They stood confounded. They could not successfully dispute the evidence of their eyes.
They were simple-minded men, and therefore sympathetic. Each one felt ashamed. They did not look into each other's eyes and give utterance102 to expressions of astonishment103. They said nothing; but each one, with the exception of Bradley Gaither, fell into a state of mental confusion akin43 to awe104.
When Bradley Gaither, with cm. air of triumph, asked them if they were satisfied, they said nothing, but turned and walked away one after the other.
They turned and walked away, and went to their homes; and somehow after that, though the sun shone as brightly and the birds fluttered and sang as joyously105, a silence fell upon Pinetucky,—a silence full of austerity. The men talked in subdued106 tones when they met, as though they expected justice to discharge one of her thunderbolts at their feet; and the women went about their duties with a degree of nervousness that was aptly described by Miss Jane Inchly long afterwards, when reciting the experiences of that most memorable107 day in the history of Pinetucky. "I let a sifter108 drop out 'n my hand," said she, "and I declare to gracious if it didn't sound like a cannon109 had went off."
In all that neighbourhood the Carews, father and son, had but one accuser, and not one apologist. Pinetucky existed in a primitive110 period, as we are in the habit of believing now, and its people were simple- minded people. In this age of progress and culture, morality and justice are arrayed in many refinements111 of speech and thought. They have been readjusted, so to speak, by science; but in Pinetucky in the forties, morality and justice were as robust112 and as severe as they are in the Bible.
It was not until after the machinery113 of justice had been set in motion that Pinetucky allowed itself to comment on the case; but the comment was justified114 by the peculiar5 conduct of the Carews, When they were confronted with the facts—the cotton concealed in the barn and the warrant in the hands of the sheriff,—old Billy Carew fell to trembling as though he had the palsy. Jack had turned pale as death, and had made a movement toward Bradley Gaither as though to offer violence; but when he saw his father shaking so, the colour returned to his face, and he exclaimed quickly—
"The warrant is for me alone, Mr. Sheriff. Pay no attention to father. He is old, and his mind is weak."
"He's a liar7!" the old man screamed, when he found his voice. "He's a miserable115 liar! He never stole that cotton. Don't tetch him! don't you dast to tetch him! He'll lie to you, but he won't steal your cotton! Put my name in that warrant. Bradley Gaither stole my money and land; I reckon I've got the rights to steal his cotton."
"He's drunk again," said Jack. "We'll carry him in the house, and then I'll be ready to go with you."
But the old man was not carried to the house without a scene. He raved116, and screamed, and swore, and finally fell to the ground in a fit of impotent rage, protesting to the last that Jack was a liar. When those who were present had been worked up to the highest pitch of excitement, Bradley Gaither spoke—
"Don't criminate yourself, Jack. I am willing to drop this matter." He appeared to be greatly agitated117.
"drop what matter?" exclaimed young Carew in a passion. "I have a matter with you, sir, that won't be dropped."
"Go your ways, then," said Bradley Gaither; "I've done my duty." With that he mounted his horse, and Jack Carew was left in the hands of the sheriff.
The machinery of the law was not as difficult to set in motion in those days as it is now. There was no delay. Pinetuoky was greatly interested in the trial, and during the two days of its continuance delegations118 of Pinetuckians were present as spectators. Some of these were summoned to testify to the good character of young Carew, and this they did with a simplicity119 that was impressive; but neither their testimony120 nor the efforts of the distinguished121 counsel for the defence, Colonel Peyton Poindexter, had any effect. The facts and the tacit admissions of Jack were against him. Colonel Poindexter's closing speech was long remembered, and indeed is alluded122 to even now, as the most eloquent123 and impressive ever delivered in the court-house in Rockville; but it failed to convince the jury. A verdict in accordance with the facts and testimony was brought in, and Jack Carew was sentenced to serve a term in the penitentiary124 at Milledgeville.
The first to bring this information to Pinetucky was Bradley Gaither himself. He stopped at Squire Inehly's for his daughter, and went in.
"What's the news?" asked Miss Jane.
"Bad, very bad news," said Bradley Gaither.
"Jack ain't hung, I reckon," said Miss Jane. "My mind tells me, day and night, that the poor boy in innocent as the child that's unborn."
"Innocent or guilty," said Bradley Gaither, "he has been sent to the penitentiary."
Miss Jane gave a quick glance at Rose, and was just in time to catch her as she fell from her chair.
"Ah, poor child!" cried Miss Jane, "her heart is broke!"
"Rose!—Daughter!—Darling!" exclaimed Bradley Gaither, dropping on his knees beside her. "Oh, what is this? What have I done? Speak to her, Miss Inchly! What shall I do?" He was pale as death, and his features worked convulsively.
"Do nothin', Mr. Gaither. You've done more 'n you can undo125 a'ready. You've took and give that poor boy over for to be persecuted126, Mr. Gaither, and now the innocent suffers and the wicked goes scotch-free."
"What have I done? What have I done?" he cried.
Miss Jane supported the girl in her strong arms with a grim display of affection, but her attitude towards Bradley Gaither was uncompromising.
"Don't alarm yourself, Mr. Gaither," she said; "this poor child'll come too, quick enough. Folks don't fling off the'r misery this easy!"
Rose revived after a while, but she seemed to have no desire to talk to her father. After a copious128 use of camphor, Miss Jane fixed129 Rose comfortably on the lounge, and the girl lay there and gazed at the ceiling, the picture of wide-eyed despair. Bradley Gaither paced the room like one distracted. His sighs were heart-rending. When Miss Jane succeeded in getting him out of the room, he paced up and down the entry, moving his lips and groaning130 as though in great mental agony. Failing to understand what emotions he was at the mercy of, Miss Jane failed to sympathise with him. To her mind his display of grief bore no sort of proportion to the cause, and she had a woman's contempt for any manifestation131 of weakness in man, even the weakness of grief.
"I'll pray to the Lord to forgive me!" he cried out piteously.
"That's right," exclaimed Miss Jane, in her decisive way. "But if the grace of pra'r was in the hinges of the knee, I know a heap of folks that'd be easy in the mind."
Every word she spoke cut like a knife, but not until long after did Miss Inchly realise the fact. When she did realise it, it is to be feared she hugged the remembrance of it to her bosom132 with a sort of grim thankfulness that Providence had so happily fashioned her words and directed her tongue.
As time passed on, the Pinetuckians became aware that a great change had come over both Bradley Gaither and his daughter. The father grew old before his time, and fell into a decline, as his neighbours expressed it. The daughter grew more beautiful, but it was beauty of a kind that belonged to devoutness133; so that in contemplating134 it the minds of men were led in the direction of mercy and charity and all manner of good deeds.
One night, a year or more after the trial and sentence of Jack Carew, a negro on horseback rode to Squire Inchly's door, and said that his master, Bradley Gaither, desired the Squire to come to him at once. The worthy135 magistrate was prompt to obey the summons; and when he arrived at the Gaither place, he found that the preacher and other neighbours had also been summoned. Bradley Gaither lay upon his bed, surrounded by these, and it was plain to see that his sands of life had about run out. He presented a spectacle of dissolution calculated to arouse the sympathies of those who stood around his bed.
When Squire Inchly had arrived, Bradley Gaither lay a little while with his eyes closed as in a dream. Then he motioned to his daughter, who drew from beneath his pillow a few sheets of letter-paper stained and blotted136 with ink. This she handed to the minister.
"Read it aloud," said Bradley Gaither. The minister, with some degree of embarrassment137, adjusted his spectacles and read:—
"With this paper will be found my last will and testament138. I am unhappy, but I should be less miserable if I knew I could put such meaning in these lines as no man could misunderstand. I have sinned against an innocent man, I have sinned against my dear daughter, I have sinned against myself, I have sinned against God. I have been guilty of a great wrong, and though I cannot forgive myself, yet I hope to be forgiven. John Carew, who is now in prison, is an innocent man. I coveted139 his land. In my worldly-mindedness I set my heart upon his possessions. I offered him double their value. I thought he treated me with contempt, and then I hit upon a plan to drive him out. I carried the cotton to his barn and hid it. He knew no more about it than any honest man. But as God is my judge, I did not foresee the end. I thought he would compromise and sell the land and go away. At the last the law took the matter out of my hands. John Carew believes that he is suffering punishment in place of his father; but William Carew is as honest as his son, and no man could be honester than that. I, Bradley Gaither, being in my right mind and of sound memory, do hereby charge myself with the crime for which John Carew has been adjudged guilty. Let the disgrace of it be attached to me alone. The sin of it I hope a merciful God will forgive."
This document was duly signed and witnessed. When the preacher reached the end, he said, "Let us pray;" and while that prayer, as fervent140 as simplicity could make it, was ascending141 heavenward, the soul of Bradley Gaither took its flight.
"I glanced at him arter the breath left him," said Squire Inchly, relating the facts to his sister, "and he looked like a man that had shook hisself free from a heap of worriment. I hope he's at peace. I do, from the bottom of my heart."
The confession142 was received with great wonder in Pinetucky; but there was not one among the Pinetuckians who did not believe that Bradley Gaither was a better man at bottom than his life had shown him to be, not one, indeed, who did not believe that his grievous errors were among the dispensations which an all- wise Providence employs to chasten the proud and humble143 the vainglorious144.
When Jack Carew returned to his friends, he made his way straight to Squire Inchly's. He was not much changed, but the sight of him gave Miss Jane the cue for tears. These, however, she dried immediately, and, with a smile that Jack remembered long, motioned towards the little sitting-room145.
"Go in there, Jack. A man oughtn't to grumble146 at waitin' for his dinner, if he knows he'll git pie."
In the little sitting-room Rose Gaither was waiting for him.
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1
dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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jersey
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| n.运动衫 | |
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3
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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4
winked
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| v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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5
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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6
peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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7
liar
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| n.说谎的人 | |
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8
sparsely
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| adv.稀疏地；稀少地；不足地；贫乏地 | |
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sociable
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| adj.好交际的，友好的，合群的 | |
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10
militia
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| n.民兵，民兵组织 | |
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11
squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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12
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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13
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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14
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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15
knack
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| n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法 | |
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16
esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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17
parsimonious
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| adj.吝啬的，质量低劣的 | |
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18
toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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19
redeeming
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| 补偿的，弥补的 | |
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20
appreciative
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| adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的 | |
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21
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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22
kindle
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| v.点燃，着火 | |
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23
maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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24
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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25
moodily
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| adv.喜怒无常地；情绪多变地；心情不稳地；易生气地 | |
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26
veranda
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| n.走廊；阳台 | |
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27
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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28
pester
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| v.纠缠，强求 | |
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29
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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30
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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31
fret
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| v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损 | |
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32
dribble
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| v.点滴留下，流口水；n.口水 | |
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33
jug
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| n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂 | |
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34
plantation
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| n.种植园，大农场 | |
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35
reassuringly
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| ad.安心，可靠 | |
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36
squeal
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| v.发出长而尖的声音；n.长而尖的声音 | |
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37
jovial
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| adj.快乐的，好交际的 | |
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38
wrestle
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| vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付 | |
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39
impartially
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| adv.公平地，无私地 | |
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40
judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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41
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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42
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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43
akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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44
puckered
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| v.（使某物）起褶子或皱纹( pucker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45
graveyard
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| n.坟场 | |
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46
fiddled
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| v.伪造( fiddle的过去式和过去分词 )；篡改；骗取；修理或稍作改动 | |
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47
capers
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| n.开玩笑( caper的名词复数 )；刺山柑v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的第三人称单数 ) | |
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48
puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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49
almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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50
unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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51
enacted
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| 制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52
distressing
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| a.使人痛苦的 | |
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53
disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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54
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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55
asperity
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| n.粗鲁，艰苦 | |
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56
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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57
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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58
lustrous
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| adj.有光泽的；光辉的 | |
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59
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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60
alcoholic
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| adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者 | |
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61
eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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62
soothingly
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| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
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63
wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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64
babbled
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| v.喋喋不休( babble的过去式和过去分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密 | |
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65
dribbled
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| v.流口水( dribble的过去式和过去分词 )；（使液体）滴下或作细流；运球，带球 | |
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66
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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67
rudiments
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| n.基础知识，入门 | |
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68
curt
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| adj.简短的，草率的 | |
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69
rekindled
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| v.使再燃( rekindle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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70
sputtering
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| n.反应溅射法；飞溅；阴极真空喷镀；喷射v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的现在分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出 | |
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71
superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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72
omens
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| n.前兆，预兆( omen的名词复数 ) | |
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73
portents
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| n.预兆( portent的名词复数 )；征兆；怪事；奇物 | |
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74
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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75
postponed
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| vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发） | |
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76
purport
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| n.意义，要旨，大要；v.意味著，做为...要旨，要领是... | |
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77
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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78
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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79
wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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80
humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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81
worthier
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| 应得某事物( worthy的比较级 )； 值得做某事； 可尊敬的； 有（某人或事物）的典型特征 | |
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82
intemperance
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| n.放纵 | |
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83
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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84
rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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85
bonnet
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| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
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86
gadding
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| n.叮搔症adj.蔓生的v.闲逛( gad的现在分词 )；游荡；找乐子；用铁棒刺 | |
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87
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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88
distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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89
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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90
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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91
wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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92
wagons
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| n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车 | |
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93
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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94
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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95
rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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96
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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97
magistrate
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| n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官 | |
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98
larceny
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| n.盗窃（罪） | |
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99
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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100
fodder
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| n.草料；炮灰 | |
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101
mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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102
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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103
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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104
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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105
joyously
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| ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
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106
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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107
memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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108
sifter
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| n.（用于筛撒粉状食物的）筛具，撒粉器；滤器；罗圈；罗 | |
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109
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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110
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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111
refinements
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| n.（生活）风雅；精炼( refinement的名词复数 )；改良品；细微的改良；优雅或高贵的动作 | |
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112
robust
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| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
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113
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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114
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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115
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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116
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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117
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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118
delegations
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| n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派 | |
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119
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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120
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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121
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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122
alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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123
eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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penitentiary
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| n.感化院；监狱 | |
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undo
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| vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销 | |
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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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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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copious
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| adj.丰富的，大量的 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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groaning
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| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
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manifestation
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| n.表现形式；表明；现象 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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devoutness
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| 朝拜 | |
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contemplating
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| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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blotted
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| 涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 )； （用吸墨纸）吸干 | |
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embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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testament
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| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
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coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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fervent
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| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
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ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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vainglorious
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| adj.自负的；夸大的 | |
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sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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grumble
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| vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声 | |
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