"De ha'nt, Marse Cunnel, de ha'nt! He's sperrited off de chicken. Right outen de oven from under Nancy's eyes."
"Sho's yuh bohn, Marse Cunnel; it's de libbin' truf I's tellin' yuh. Dat ha'nt has fotched dat chicken right outen de oven, an' it's vanished in de air."
"You go out and bring that chicken in and don't let me hear another word."
"I cayn't, Marse Cunnel, 'deed I cayn't. Dere ain't no chicken dere."
"Very well, then! Go and get us some ham and eggs and stop this fuss."
Solomon withdrew and we three looked at each other.
"Rad, what's the meaning of this?" the Colonel demanded querulously.
"Some foolishness on the part of the niggers. I'll look into it after supper. When the ha'nt begins abstracting chickens from the oven I think it's time to investigate."
Being naturally curious over the matter, I commenced asking questions about the history and prior appearances of the ha'nt. Radnor answered readily enough, but I noticed that the Colonel appeared restless under the inquiry3, and the amused suspicion crossed my mind that he did not entirely4 discredit5 the story. When a man has been born and brought up among negroes he comes, in spite of himself, to be tinged6 with their ideas.
Supper finished, the three of us turned down the gallery toward the kitchen. As we approached the door we heard a murmur7 of voices, one rising every now and then in a shrill8 wail9 which furnished a sort of chorus. Radnor whispered in my ear that he reckoned Nancy had "got um" again. Though I did not comprehend at the moment, I subsequently learned that "um" referred to a sort of emotional ecstasy10 into which Nancy occasionally worked herself, the motive11 power being indifferently ghosts or religion.
The kitchen was a large square room, with brick floor, rough shack12 walls and smoky rafters overhead from which pended strings13 of garlic, red peppers and herbs. The light was supplied ostensibly by two tallow dips, but in reality by the glowing wood embers of the great open stove bricked into one side of the wall.
Five or six excited negroes were grouped in a circle about a woman with a yellow turban on her head, who was rocking back and forth14 and shouting at intervals15:
"Oh-h, dere's sperrits in de air! I can smell um. I can smell um."
"Nancy!" called the Colonel sharply as we stepped into the room.
Nancy paused a moment and turned upon us a pair of frenzied16 eyes with nothing much but the whites showing.
"Marse Cunnel, dere's sperrits in de air," she cried. "Sabe yuhself while dere's time. We's all a-treadin' de road to destruction."
"You'll be treading the road to destruction in mighty17 short order if you don't keep still," he returned grimly. "Now stop this foolishness and tell me what's gone with that chicken."
After a great deal of questioning and patching together, we finally got her story, but I cannot say that it threw much light upon the matter. She had put the chicken in the oven, and then she felt powerful queer, as if something were going to happen. Suddenly she felt a cold wind blow through the room, the candles went out, and she could hear the rustle18 of "ghostly gahments" sweeping19 past her. The oven door sprang open of its own accord; she looked inside, and "dere wa'n't no chicken dere!"
Repeated questioning only brought out the same statement but with more circumstantial details. The other negroes backed her up, and the story grew rapidly in magnitude and horror. Nancy's seizures20, it appeared, were contagious21, and the others by this time were almost as excited as she. The only approximately calm one among them was Cat-Eye Mose who sat in the doorway22 watching the scene with half furtive23 eyes and something resembling a grin on his face.
The Colonel, observing that it was a good deal of commotion24 for the sake of one small chicken, disgustedly dropped the inquiry. As we stepped out into the gallery again, I glanced back at the dancing firelight,the weird25 cross shadows, and the circle of dusky faces, with, I confess, a somewhat creepy feeling. I could see that in such an atmosphere, it would not take long for superstition26 to lay its hold on a man.
"What's the meaning of it?" I asked as we strolled slowly toward the house.
"The meaning of it," Radnor shrugged27, "is that some of them are lying. The ha'nt, I could swear, has a good flesh and blood appetite. Nancy has been frightened and she believes her own story. There's never any use in trying to sift28 a negro's lies; they have so much imagination that after five minutes they believe themselves."
"I think I could spot the ghost," I returned. "And that's your precious Cat-Eye Mose."
Radnor shook his head.
"Mose doesn't need to steal chickens. He gets all he wants."
"Mose," the Colonel added emphatically, "is the one person on the place who is absolutely to be trusted."
We had almost reached the house, when we were suddenly startled by a series of shrieks30 and screams coming toward us across the open stretch of lawn that lay between us and the old negro cabins. In another moment an old woman, her face twitching31 with terror, had thrown herself at our feet in a species of convulsion.
The other negroes came pouring out from the kitchen and gathered in a frenzied circle about the writhing33 woman. Mose, I noted34, was among them; he could at least prove an alibi35 this time.
"Here Mose, quick! Get us some torches," Radnor called. "We'll fetch that ha'nt up here to answer for himself.—It's old Aunt Sukie," he added to me, nodding toward the woman on the ground whose spasms36 by this time were growing somewhat quieter. "She lives on the next plantation and was probably taking a cross cut through the laurel path that leads by the cabins. She's almost a hundred and is pretty nearly a witch herself."
Mose shambled up with some torches—pine knots dipped in tar29, such as they used for hunting 'possums at night, and he and I and Radnor set out for the cabins. I noticed that none of the other negroes volunteered to assist; I also noticed that Mose went on ahead with a low whining37 cry which sent chills chasing up and down my back.
"What's the matter with him?" I gasped38, more intent on the negro than the ghost we had come to search.
"That's the way he always hunts," Radnor laughed. "There are a good many things about Mose that you will have to get used to."
We searched the whole region of the abandoned quarters with a considerable degree of thoroughness. Three or four of the larger cabins were used as store houses for fodder39; the rest were empty. We poked40 into all of them, but found nothing more terrifying than a few bats and owls41. Though I did not give much consideration to the fact at the time, I later remembered that there was one of the cabins which we didn't explore as thoroughly42 as the rest. Mose dropped his torch as we entered, and in the confusion of relighting it, the interior was somewhat slighted. In any case we unearthed43 no ha'nt that night; and we finally gave up the search and turned back to the house.
"I suspect," Radnor laughed, "that if the truth were known, old Aunt Sukie's beckoning ha'nt would turn out to be nothing more alarming than a white cow waving her tail."
"It's rather suggestive coming on top of the chicken episode," I observed.
"Oh, this won't be the end! We'll have ha'nt served for breakfast, dinner and supper during the rest of your stay. When the niggers begin to see things they keep it up."
When I went upstairs that night, Rad followed close on my heels to see that I had everything I needed. The room was a huge four windowed affair, furnished with a canopied44 bed and a mahogany wardrobe as big as a small house. The nights still being chilly45, a roaring wood fire had been built, adding a note of cheerfulness to an otherwise sombre apartment.
"This was Nan's room," he said suddenly.
"Nan's room!" I echoed glancing about the shadowy interior. "Rather heavy for a girl."
"It is a trifle severe," he agreed, "but I dare say it was different when she was here. Her things are all packed away in the attic46." He picked up a candle and held it so that it lighted the face of a portrait over the mantle47. "That's Nan—painted when she was eighteen."
"Yes," I nodded. "I recognized her the moment I saw it. She was like that when I knew her."
"It used to hang down stairs but after her marriage my father had it brought up here. He kept the door locked until the news came that she was dead, then he turned it into a guest room. He never comes in himself; he won't look at the picture."
Radnor spoke48 shortly, but with an underlying49 note of bitterness. I could see that he felt keenly on the subject. After a few desultory50 words, he somewhat brusquely said good night, and left me to the memories of the place.
Instead of going to bed I set about unpacking51. I was tired but wide awake. Aunt Sukie's convulsions and our torch light hunt for ghosts were novel events in my experience, and they acted as anything but a sedative52. The unpacking finished, I settled myself in an easy chair before the fire and fell to studying the portrait. It was a huge canvas in the romantic fashion of Romney, with a landscape in the background. The girl was dressed in flowing pink drapery, a garden hat filled with roses swinging from her arm, a Scotch53 collie with great lustrous54 eyes pressed against her side. The pose, the attributes, were artificial; but the painter had caught the spirit. Nannie's face looked out of the frame as I remembered it from long ago. Youth and gaiety and goodness trembled on her lips and laughed in her eyes. The picture seemed a prophecy of all the happiness the future was to bring. Nannie at eighteen with life before her!
And three years later she was dying in a dreary55 little Western town, separated from her girlhood friends, without a word of forgiveness from her father. What had she done to deserve this fate? Merely set up her will against his, and married the man she loved. Her husband was poor, but from all I ever heard, a very decent chap. As I studied the eager smiling face, I felt a hot wave of anger against her father. What a power of vindictiveness56 the man must have, still to cherish rancour against a daughter fifteen years in her grave! There was something too poignantly57 sad about the unfulfilled hope of the picture. I blew out the candles to rid my mind of poor little Nannie's smile.
I sat for some time my eyes fixed58 moodily59 on the glowing embers, till I was roused by the deep boom of the hall clock as it slowly counted twelve. I rose with a laugh and a yawn. The first of the doctor's orders had been, "Early to bed!" I hastily made ready, but before turning in, paused for a moment by the open window, enticed60 by the fresh country smells of plowed61 land and sprouting62 green things, that blew in on the damp breeze. It was a wild night with a young moon hanging low in the sky. Shadows chased themselves over the lawn and the trees waved and[Pg 38] shifted in the wind. It had been a long time since I had looked out on such a scene of peaceful tranquillity63 as this. New York with the hurry and rush of its streets, with the horrors of Terry's morgue, seemed to lie in another continent.
But suddenly I was recalled to the present by hearing, almost beneath me, the low shuddering64 squeak65 of an opening window. I leaned out silently alert, and to my surprise I saw Cat-Eye Mose—though it was pretty dark I could not be mistaken in his long loping run—slink out from the shadow of the house and make across the open space of lawn toward the deserted66 negro cabins. As he ran he was bent67 almost double over a large black bundle which he carried in his arms. Though I strained my eyes to follow him I could make out nothing more before he had plunged68 into the shadow of the laurels69.
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1
plantation
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| n.种植园，大农场 | |
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2
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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3
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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discredit
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| vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑 | |
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6
tinged
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| v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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8
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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9
wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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10
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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11
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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shack
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| adj.简陋的小屋，窝棚 | |
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strings
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| n.弦 | |
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14
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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15
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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16
frenzied
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| a.激怒的；疯狂的 | |
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17
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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19
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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20
seizures
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| n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物 | |
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21
contagious
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| adj.传染性的，有感染力的 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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furtive
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| adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的 | |
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24
commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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25
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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sift
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| v.筛撒，纷落，详察 | |
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29
tar
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| n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于 | |
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30
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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31
twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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32
beckoning
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| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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33
writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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34
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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alibi
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| n.某人当时不在犯罪现场的申辩或证明；借口 | |
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spasms
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| n.痉挛( spasm的名词复数 )；抽搐；（能量、行为等的）突发；发作 | |
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37
whining
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| n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚 | |
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38
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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39
fodder
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| n.草料；炮灰 | |
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40
poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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41
owls
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| n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 ) | |
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42
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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43
unearthed
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| 出土的（考古） | |
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44
canopied
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| adj. 遮有天篷的 | |
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45
chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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46
attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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47
mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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48
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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49
underlying
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| adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的 | |
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50
desultory
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| adj.散漫的，无方法的 | |
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51
unpacking
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| n.取出货物，拆包[箱]v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的现在分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等） | |
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52
sedative
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| adj.使安静的，使镇静的；n. 镇静剂，能使安静的东西 | |
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53
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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54
lustrous
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| adj.有光泽的；光辉的 | |
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55
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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56
vindictiveness
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| 恶毒；怀恨在心 | |
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57
poignantly
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58
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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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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60
enticed
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| 诱惑，怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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61
plowed
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| v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过 | |
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62
sprouting
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| v.发芽( sprout的现在分词 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出 | |
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63
tranquillity
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| n. 平静, 安静 | |
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64
shuddering
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| v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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65
squeak
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| n.吱吱声，逃脱；v.（发出）吱吱叫，侥幸通过；（俚）告密 | |
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66
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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67
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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68
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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69
laurels
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| n.桂冠，荣誉 | |
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