"Don't want anybody to get scared. Sit down, Guilford, and you, too, Hanna, (nodding at Old Miss). Ah, and this is the one you call Bob? All right, got no objections to that, either. Dropped my baggage out there on the porch. Have someone take it up. Not now, plenty of time. Don't want anybody to get scared; I'm not a pauper4. Shall insist upon paying my way. Here, girl, bring another plate; I'm as hungry as a prairie wolf. Look here! (and now he turned to me). Don't want you to call me master. Won't have it; call me Mr. Clem. Long time since I went away, but nothing has changed. Hurry up, there, with that plate. Confound it, don't be put out so, everybody. How are you getting along, Guilford?"
All this was rattled5 off before anyone else had a chance to say a word. Old Master was glad to see him and the tears ran down his wrinkled cheeks. He tried to tell him much but could tell him nothing except that he was welcome to make his home there.
"What's board worth?" Mr. Clem asked, and Old[Pg 112] Master cried out, "Good Lord! Did I ever hear anything like that? Clem, is it possible that you—"
"Mean to pay my board as long as I stay here. You'll have to take the money, Hanna. If you don't agree, I'll grab my saddle-bags and put out. I'm from a place where every man is expected to pay his way. Wish you'd all quit your everlasting7 sniffling. What are you doing, Bob?" Old Master was now helping8 his plate. "Another slab9 of that meat, Guilford. What are you doing, young feller?"
"Preparing myself for the law," Young Master answered proudly.
"All right, no particular harm in it. Good job for a lazy man. Hanna, you hold your own pretty well. Not as old as I expected to find you; and Guilford is a marvel10 of youthfulness. Don't know how I happened to come back—Just took the notion one night and I was on the road before daylight the next morning. That's the way we do things in Illinois. Pass me some more of that egg-bread. Hanged, if that ain't Kentucky up and down. Old aristocracy still on its mouldering11 throne, eh? Good thing for some people while it lasts, but it will tumble over pretty soon."
"Clem, you musn't talk that way," Old Miss interposed.
[Pg 113]
"All right, I'll shut it off; thousands of things to talk about. What's board worth in this neighborhood?"
"Clem," said Old Master, leaning upon the table and looking at him, "I don't know that I ever heard of a gentleman paying board in this neighborhood."
"Hah! By the hoofs13, I never heard of a gentleman refusing to pay board in any neighborhood," Mr. Clem replied. "Come, how much am I expected to pay? Can't get board here, board somewhere else."
"Oh, that would be a scandal," Old Miss cried.
"Then let us avoid scandal. Find out what is customary and let me know. Guilford, devilish glad to see you. Wish I had come before. Bob, got a horse you want to trade for a better one? I've got a nag14 out there that's a beauty. Let's go and look at him?" he added, throwing down his knife and fork and shoving his chair back.
"Not now, uncle Clem," the young man replied, laughing.
"Uncle! That's good—like to hear it; gives me a sort of anchor. I think you and I will get along all right. Guilford told me, I don't know how long ago—got the letter somewhere—that it was your ambition to become an orator15. And I can give you a few points, for I have lived for years in a hot bed of free speech,[Pg 114] and without free speech, there is no real oratory16. Round here they think that Marshall and Clay were great orators17, and they were in a way, but you ought to hear Abe Lincoln."
"Oh, no; but you will. He can squeeze mirth and tears out of the heart all at once. When he arises to speak, and even before he has uttered a word, every man in the audience says to himself, 'there is my brother.' Guilford, your polished Kentuckians speak out of the book, by note, and they may work themselves into a fine heat, but this man Lincoln cries from the fullness of a soul that the Lord has given him."
"Clem," said Old Master, bending a hard look upon his brother and rolling his pill of bread, "you tempt20 me to say that you are a blasphemer against the majestic21 voice of my State, sir. Never was the voice of man truer than among these graceful22 hills, and never did the heart of man beat warmer for freedom and justice."
"Ah," Mr. Clem cried, "for freedom, did you say? For slavery, you mean."
"Sir," said Old Master, "Henry Clay has spoken for the bondman."
[Pg 115]
"But was he honored for it?" Mr. Clem asked. "Do you honor him for it?"
"Clem, if you have come to sow the seeds of abolition23, to disgrace my household with the mud brought from your free soil—your sink hole of iniquity—I must request you to go away."
"It is easier to drop a subject than to ride a long distance," Mr. Clem replied with a broad smile. "Got any good horses?"
"Horses native to this land and therefore the best," said Old Master.
"Got one you can't manage? If you have, I'll make him get down on his knees and beg for mercy."
Old Master looked at Bob and laughed. "We've got a great black horse we call Zeb, and our sick quarter is sometimes filled with his victims. Dan here, can break almost any piece of horse-flesh, but he's afraid of Zeb. The negroes don't call him Zeb—they call him the Devil, sir."
"And I would advise you not to have anything to do with him, Uncle Clem," said Young Master. "He cut a great gash24 on Andrew's head, broke Tony's arm not long ago, and laid Dan up for a week. We keep him merely for show, for he is the most graceful thing you ever saw."
[Pg 116]
"And I will drive him to town this morning," Mr. Clem declared. And getting up, he added: "Come, show him to me?"
We could but laugh at the self-confidence shown by this rugged25 man from the West; we felt that he had brought with him the breezy brag26 so characteristic of his boundless27 territory. But I felt a pinch of regret, for I had conceived a liking28 for the man and did not wish to see him humbled29.
"Come on," said Old Master, leading the way, but Old Miss interposed. "You must not go near that vicious creature," she said to Mr. Clem. "Nothing would delight him more than to plant a hoof12 between your eyes, and I declare, General, it's a shame that you encourage such a thing."
"Come out and take a drive with me," Mr. Clem cried, gently putting Old Miss out of the way. But she shuddered30 at the thought and closed the door upon us as we passed out. "In one respect I am not a true Kentuckian," said my Young Master to Mr. Clem as we walked along toward the stable. "I could never find it in my heart to worship a horse."
Mr. Clem stepped in front of the young man, halted and looked at him and then at Old Master. [Pg 117]"Guilford," said he, "can it be possible that this is your son?"
"Wait until you see the Devil, and you will deny that you are my brother," Old Master laughed, rubbing his thin hands in a sort of mischievous31 glee. Bob took Mr. Clem by the arm and as they walked along I heard him say: "If I had known you, I should have wished for your coming. There is something so unexpected about you that I must call you the new man—you are the very opposite of the books I have been reading."
"Yes, Bub, I am the opposite of all your teaching."
"I don't know that I like the word Bub."
"But you'll have to stand it; I'm going to pay my way, and the world, the flesh and the devil are willing to put up with much from that sort of a man."
We had now come to the stable. Through a small window we saw the fiery32 horse's black eyes shining. "Bring him out," Mr. Clem commanded.
"That is easy enough," Old Master replied. "It is only when you attempt to put leather on him that he shows his mettle33."
There was a great commotion35 in the barn-yard, and the negroes went running to and fro, amid whisperings[Pg 118] and the suppressed excitement of expected sport. The horse was led out by the halter, a picture of devilish majesty36, head high in contempt, nostrils37 broad, eyes afire. The harness lay in a heap upon the ground. Mr. Clem took up the bridle. In an instant the horse had jerked the halter from the negro's grasp, was standing38 almost erect39 on his hind40 feet, and he came toward Mr. Clem, cutting the air with his fore6 hoofs. The rest of us fell back, one over the other, but Mr. Clem did not move. Old Master shouted at him, but paying no heed41 he stood, with his eyes fixed42 upon the advancing beast. I was off to one side and could see his face, hard-set and with steady eyes. "Ho!" he said, low in his breast, and the horse's feet fell to the ground. I don't think I ever saw so complete a picture of astonishment43. The horse, cowed by that one low word, stood there trembling, with the coming sweat glistening44 upon his flanks. Mr. Clem stepped forward and touched his neck and he squatted45 and trembled. A loud murmur46 arose among the negroes. The Devil had been conquered with a word. He took the bit and suffered the harness to be put upon him; he was put between the shafts47 and with but one protest he was driven about the grounds. That one protest was a convulsive kick. Mr. Clem got out of the buggy,[Pg 119] walked round, caught him in the nostrils, and with a violent torsion cried, "Ho!"
That was a great day on the plantation48, and before nightfall the news had spread about the neighborhood, and at evening a number of people came to welcome Mr. Clem's return to the home of his youth. The degree of fawning49 shown on that occasion was of great amusement to my Young Master, for he knew that had his uncle come back a great scholar, an authority upon some scientific discovery, he would have been suffered to poke19 about almost unobserved; but appearing as the conqueror50 of a vicious horse, he laid a strong hold upon the admiration51 of his fellows.
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1
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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thrift
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| adj.节约，节俭；n.节俭，节约 | |
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bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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pauper
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| n.贫民，被救济者，穷人 | |
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rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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slab
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| n.平板，厚的切片；v.切成厚板，以平板盖上 | |
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marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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mouldering
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| v.腐朽( moulder的现在分词 )；腐烂，崩塌 | |
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12
hoof
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| n.(马，牛等的)蹄 | |
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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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nag
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| v.(对…)不停地唠叨；n.爱唠叨的人 | |
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orator
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| n.演说者，演讲者，雄辩家 | |
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oratory
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| n.演讲术；词藻华丽的言辞 | |
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orators
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| n.演说者，演讲家( orator的名词复数 ) | |
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18
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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poke
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| n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
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tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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abolition
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| n.废除，取消 | |
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gash
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| v.深切，划开；n.(深长的)切(伤)口；裂缝 | |
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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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brag
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| v./n.吹牛，自夸；adj.第一流的 | |
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boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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humbled
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| adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低 | |
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shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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mischievous
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| adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的 | |
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fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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mettle
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| n.勇气，精神 | |
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bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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38
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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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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40
hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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42
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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43
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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44
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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45
squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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46
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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47
shafts
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| n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等） | |
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48
plantation
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| n.种植园，大农场 | |
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49
fawning
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| adj.乞怜的，奉承的v.（尤指狗等）跳过来往人身上蹭以示亲热( fawn的现在分词 )；巴结；讨好 | |
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50
conqueror
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| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
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51
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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