Carolina Lee

by Lilian Bell

  CHAPTER XXIII.

  LOOSE THREADS

  Mrs. Goddard alone knew of Carolina's discouragements, disappointments,and dangers, as the summer came and went. To all others the girl turneda smiling face, and Mrs. La Grange often wondered at her courage. Howcould she know that there were times when that sorely tried courageebbed so low that many a cipher telegram winged its soft way to herpractitioner for help, and that the battle with tears and disheartenmentwas fought out alone in the silence and sanctuary of her closet?

  Often things went very wrong. She was cheated by men because she was awoman. She was hated by the rural doctors because she healed diseases.She was an object of suspicion among the neighbours because she was not"orthodox." She was accused of inciting the negroes to an idea ofsocial equality because she taught them. Father Hennessey gave her allthe trouble he could, but Carolina's constant and unvarying kindness tothe poor in his parish finally drove him to an armed neutrality. Hehated her, but dared not show it too openly, because she had powerfulinfluence back of her. The La Granges rose to her defence _en masse_,and carried all their enormous relationship with them. Carolina hadremoved the largest blot from their escutcheon, and no price was toogreat to pay. Flower became the pet of the whole family, and, in theirgratitude, they even endeavoured to provide for Onteora, but that wisewoman, having seen justice meted out to her child, silently disappeared,and, beyond knowing that she lived and wanted for nothing, they coulddiscover no more about her.

  She was not too far away, however, to keep the unruly negroes in order,and many a warning went out from the voodoo when Carolina's interestswere jeopardized.

  'Polyte's surveillance was something Carolina had not bargained for. Atfirst his devotion was engendered by gratitude for the trust she placedin him, and fear, for he knew that she actually held over him the powerof life and death. Even if she were ignorant of the true significanceof that meeting in the woods, at what moment might not some strayanecdote bring home to her its meaning? 'Polyte was no fool, and therewere times when he writhed in a hell of fear.

  Then gradually Carolina's personality began to gain ascendency over him,as it had over Tempy and Calla and Rose Maud, and even flighty ones likeLily and her kind, and he worshipped her as a superior being. Carolinaembodied to the negroes the old times of prosperity and the patriarchalprotection of the whites. They liked the idea of the restoration of theold Guildford mansion. Aged negroes, who had known the place in itsprime, heard of its rebuilding and journeyed back many weary miles tosee "old mahstah's" granddaughter, and to test her hospitality. Severalof these Carolina annexed and housed in the clean and shining newquarters, and she was amply repaid by their real knowledge of pastevents and their idolatry of herself as the last of the Lees.

  'Polyte studied her every whim, and carried it out with the zeal of afetich.

  The mare Araby became her property almost by magic. 'Polyte would neversay one word concerning it, but one day Barnwell Mazyck sent word toCarolina that she could have the mare on her own terms, only he feltobliged to warn her that Araby had turned vicious.

  'Polyte spoke only one sentence.

  "Ef you tek her, missy, she won't trick _you_!"

  "Oh, 'Polyte!" cried Carolina, "what have you been doing?"

  "Not a t'ing, Miss Callina. Honest! Only I raised dat mah, en I knowshuh!"

  Carolina still hesitated until Moultrie brought word that Araby hadnipped at Barney's hand, and in a rage he had kicked her. After that,the mare would not allow him to approach, but even at the sight of himshe would rear, bite, and kick, so that, being quite useless to herowner, he proposed to sell her,--if not to Carolina, then to some oneelse.

  Hearing that decided the girl. She bought Araby, and sent 'Polyte tofetch her.

  The beautiful creature proved as gentle as a lamb, and, even on the daywhen 'Polyte led her up for Carolina to see, she nosed her new mistresslovingly.

  "Why, she seems just as usual," said Carolina, but she did not see'Polyte's heaving shoulders and convulsed face.

  Thus, for the most part, the negroes were Carolina's friends. They notonly stood in awe of her body-guard, 'Polyte, who knew them root andbranch, good and bad alike, but their childish vanity was tickled by thebeauty of the small white marble chapel Carolina built on the estate,which had an organ and stained-glass windows and a gallery for negroes.

  This had been Mr. Howard's gift to the little band of ChristianScientists which he had found on his first trip down South, meetingevery Sunday on Carolina's cottage porch, which, vine-shaded andscreened and furnished daintily, was as large as the cottage itself. Hetook infinite pleasure in furnishing the finest material and in rushingthe work with Northern energy, and personally supervising the building.

  He well knew that he could please Carolina in no better way, and, whenRosemary Goddard's husband, the Honourable Lionel Spencer, becamepresident of the turpentine company, which was organized on the basis ofCarolina's investigations, and confirmed by Mr. Howard's agents, and itbecame necessary for the Spencers to live in South Carolina, Rosemarywas elected first reader of the little church, and Carolina offered themthe use of her cottage until they could build, while she and Cousin Loistook possession of the now completed Guildford mansion.

  Things were prospering with the La Grange family. Peachie had becomeengaged to Sir Hubert Wemyss, who, urged by the example of his friendLionel Spencer, and the enormous profits of the turpentine company, hadinvested largely, and, after taking Peachie to England to meet hisfamily and make her bow as Lady Wemyss to the king and queen, hepromised to return to America for half of the year.

  Carolina went to New York twice during the summer, and visited Shermanand Addie at their camp in the Adirondacks.

  To her surprise, she found Colonel Yancey there. He had paid one or twomysterious visits to his sisters at Whitehall, and had been deeplypleased to discover that they were both members of the little ChristianScience church there. He even went so far as to ask Carolina toorganize a Sunday school, which had not then been done, and to enrollEmmeline and Gladys as its first members.

  He also took this opportunity, let it be said, to offer himself toCarolina again, but promised her, if she refused him this time, after hehad declared himself a believer in the new thought, that he would nevertrouble her again.

  Mr. Howard viewed Colonel Yancey's conversion to Christian Science withamused toleration, but Carolina, who knew why, held steadfastly to thethought that there can be no dishonesty in the perfect man, and sofirmly did she cling to this affirmation that, when Colonel Yancey, inthe Adirondacks, announced that the old oil wells had again begun toyield, and that all the money which she and Sherman had considered lostwas by way of being restored to them, Carolina resolutely closed hereyes to any investigations which might unearth disagreeable discoveries,even opposing her best friend, Mr. Howard, in this decision, and simplyopened her arms to her reappearing fortune and her heart in gratitudetherefor.

  Neither she nor Mrs. Goddard was even surprised.

  "From the moment I knew that the man's change of heart was sincere andthat he was a true Christian Scientist, I knew this restoration mustcome," she said, "otherwise no blessing of peace nor untroubled night'ssleep could come to him. Christian Science lays bare the very root oferror, and when error is recognized in the light of day, it mustdisappear from the heart of an honest man."

  But Carolina only said in the depths of her own soul:

  "See what Divine Love hath wrought!"

  There were changes, too, going on in Moultrie. He had never repeated hisdeclaration of love to Carolina, but in every unobtrusive way he madeher feel that she was surrounded by it, while as to the lesson she hadconveyed to him in that one stinging sentence, which was never absentfrom the minds of either of them, it was his mother who brought word ofits effect.

  "Carolina, child, I never saw such a change in any man in my life, asthere is in Moultrie. He has subscribed for t
hree or four Northernnewspapers, and as to books! Not novels, mind you. They are historiesand biographies and Congressional reports,--the driest things! Peachieand I tried to read them, but we couldn't, and, when I asked Moultrie ifhe were getting ready to write a book, he answered me in such a shortway, 'No, mother. I am only trying to educate myself for the firsttime.' 'Oh, son!' I said, for I assure you I was hurt to hear my son,who has had the best education of any of the boys around here, speak asif he weren't satisfied with his education. But he only patted my headand said he was only studying now for a purpose. What do you reckon itis?"

  "He has said nothing to me about it," said Carolina, but Mrs. La Grangenoticed her scarlet cheeks, and, thinking it might be only aself-conscious blush, dropped the subject.

  Moultrie had asked Carolina if he might write to her while she was away,and she had assented, though with fear and trembling, for some of theletters she had received on business from various people containedserious shocks for a fastidious and cultivated mind, but Moultrie'sletters proved a pleasant surprise. Not only were they correctlywritten and correctly spelled, but in them he had dared to let himselfgo as he never had done in conversation, and Carolina found not only adistinct literary style but an imagination which astonished her.Although he carefully avoided subjects which had been discussed betweenthem, he showed a breadth and largeness of view which could only comefrom a wider vision of things in general.

  Then came the time, after Carolina's return, when the great turpentinecompany was being organized, backed by unlimited capital, and destinedto corner the market "for educational purposes," as Kate put it, whenthere arose a crying need for an honest Southern man, one who knew thecountry well, one who possessed the confidence of the sly, trickycrackers,--those crackers so crafty that straight-forward dealing isimpossible,--who possess little sense of honour, who are prejudicedbeyond belief, narrow beyond credence, ignorant beyond imagination, whoare only honest under compulsion, and who require the greatest tact, notto say craft, in handling. These are the men who, for the most part,produce the orchard turpentine, and who, for the company's purpose, hadto be tied up by contract in long leases. A Northern man could not havetouched them. They will deal only with their own, and even then must be"managed."

  For two months the organization of the company was held up because noone could be found capable of filling this delicate position.

  Then, to the relief of all, and to Carolina's secret delight, MoultrieLa Grange offered himself, and, upon being instantly accepted, upon Mr.Howard's and Carolina's advice, he leased them the stumpage rights ofSunnymede, and then and there was born the purpose to restore the homeof the La Granges, even as Carolina had restored Guildford--out of moneyearned by the place itself.