CHAPTER XIV
LEECH SECURES AN ORDER AND LOSES IT
When Leech returned from the city, next day, he was in such goodspirits that Steve and Thurston both arrived at a similar conclusion,and decided that there was some mischief brewing. Steve called Jerryand had a talk with him.
About sunset Leech mounted his horse at his stable and rode out ofthe village through a back lane. He was to meet Still that night atNicholas Ash’s. Still and his son met him according to appointment, andthe details of their plan were arranged.
Leech found that he had an ally stronger than he had dreamed of. Stillshowed him that he was a much richer man than he had ever admitted. Henot only held the bonds of Dr. Cary, given for the money he had lentthe Doctor, and a bond of his late employer, Mr. Gray, of which Leechalready knew; but he held another bond of Mr. Gray for an amount largeenough to swallow up his entire estate. Leech could scarcely believehis eyes. Mrs. Gray did not know of its existence; but the bond wasundoubtedly genuine. Mrs. Gray herself, Still said, would admit that.He had a satisfactory explanation for her ignorance, as well as for thefact that he had never before mentioned to Leech that he held so largea claim against the Gray estate. He had made the money by negro-tradingquietly, before the war, and had lent it to Mr. Gray to stock aplantation, which he, as Mr. Gray’s agent, had bought for him in thefar South. And he had not mentioned it to Mrs. Gray or anyone else fora very simple reason. He had promised Mr. Gray that he would nevertrouble Mrs. Gray about the bonds during her life.
Leech did not believe this; but there were the bonds—one a small one,and one a very big one, and Still had of late hinted several times atsomething that he was storing up for the proper moment.
“I told you I didn’t care if you killed that young Jacquelin thatnight,” he laughed. “Why didn’t you do it? I must say I never allowedthat he’d git thar alive.”
“Neither did I,” suggested Leech. “And I believe it did him good.”
“I don’t know about that,” said Still, enigmatically; “but I wouldn’t’a’ shed no tears over him. But if you do as I tell you, we’ll git evenand have a leetle somethin’ to spare. You just work Krafton and getyour friends to back you, and you and me’ll own this county. I’ll seethat Moses is there on time, if he don’t have an inch of skin left onhim.”
A rumor had meantime got abroad at the county seat that an orderhad been secured by Leech forbidding the assembly, and that thoughMiddleton knew nothing of it as yet, Leech would spring it at theproper time and try to prevent the assembly. There was much excitementover it. A number of young men dropped in at Steve Allen’s office toascertain the truth of the report, and there was a rather generalexpression of opinion that the ball would take place whether Leech hadsuch an order or not.
“Go and ask Middleton, directly,” advised Jacquelin, and Steve did so.Middleton said he had no knowledge on the subject, and knew of no oneto whom such an order should be addressed except himself.
Jerry, who was lounging sleepily not far from Leech’s office, wascalled in by Steve and interrogated again with sundry forcibleintimations of what would happen in case he should be deceiving him.But Jerry was firm. He reiterated again and again his fervent wish fora speedy dissolution and a perpetual condemnation of the most luridcharacter, if every word he had spoken were not more than true. Leech,he declared, had the paper in his pocket, and had read it to Sherwoodand Moses and Nicholas in his back office, and was going to deliver itto Captain Middleton next day, the day set for the entertainment.
“I lies to urrers; but the Cun’l knows I wouldn’ lie to him,” protestedJerry, in final asseveration.
“That’s so—he knows better,” said Steve; and Jerry, with a grin, wentback to his post in sight of Leech’s back door.
Steve, with a new light in his face, went up to Mrs. Dockett’s and hada little talk with Miss Dockett and one or two of the young ladiesthere, and in ten minutes, with locked doors, they were busy sewing forlife. It must have been something very amusing they were engaged in, tojudge from the laughter that floated down from their windows.
That night Hiram Still, with his son, was on his way back to RedRock from his meeting with Leech, while Leech was riding back to thecourt-house.
It was about ten o’clock and the moon was covered by clouds; Leech wasriding along, thinking of the plans he had formed and the manner ofpublishing his order, and of the effect it would have in establishinghis position in the county. He had got within a mile or two of thevillage when, in a little “bottom” in a lonely piece of woods, justbefore reaching a fork in the road, there was an owl-hoot behindhim, and another, as if in response, a little ahead of him. The nextmoment his horse started violently, as a dark object which Leech hadnoticed when still at a distance from it, but thought merely a bush,moved out into the road immediately before him. His heart jumped intohis throat, for it was not like anything earthly. In the darkness, itlooked as much like a small elephant with a howdah on it, as anythingelse; but he did not have time to think much about it, for the nextinstant it was close on him right across the road, a huge muffledfigure on a high, shapeless beast. Leech’s horse snorted and wheeled.Another figure was behind him, closing in on him. Leech pulled in hisfrightened horse; for somewhere about the middle of the dark figurelowering above him there was a momentary flash of steel. Leech thoughtof his own pistol, but the great figure moved closer to him, very closeto him, and stopped. Not a word was said. The figure simply sat infront of him, silent and motionless, while the other moved up on theother side and did the same. Leech’s tongue was sticking to his mouth.The stillness and silence were more awful than any words could havebeen. He tried to speak, but his lips could scarcely frame the words.Presently he managed to falter:
“What do you want?”
There was no answer, and again the silence became worse than ever. Thevoices of the katydids sounded far and near.
“Who are you?”
There was not a word. Only the figures pressed closer to him.
“What—what do you want?”
Silence and the katydids in the woods.
“Let me go by. I have no money.”
There was no answer, and for a moment no motion, only the gleam ofsteel again. Then the two figures, pressing close against the Provost,silently turned his horse around and moved slowly off into the woods,without a word, with him between them.
He tried to pull up his reins; they were held on either side, and anarm was thrown around him.
“Where are you going?” faltered Leech.
They moved on without a word.
“Wait—I will—I will give——”
A bag or something was suddenly thrown over his head and pressed downto his elbows, which at the same moment were pinioned to his side, andhis pistol was taken. He was afraid to cry out, and perhaps could nothave done so even had he tried.
The next instant a hand was put into his breast pocket and hispocket-book and all his papers were taken out; he was conscious of amatch being struck and a light made, and that his papers were beinglooked over. He thought he heard one of his captors say, “Ah!” and thenext moment the papers and pocket-book were put back in his pocket,and the light was extinguished; the bag was drawn from over his head,and his captors rode off through the woods. When he tried to move hediscovered that his horse was tied to a bush and he had to dismount tountie him. His pistol was lying at the foot of the sapling. Long beforehe had finished loosing his horse, the sound of his two waylayers haddied out.
As the Provost entered the village the sour expression on his facedeepened. The clouds had disappeared and the summer night was perfect;the village lay before him, a picture of peace; the glint of whitebeneath the court-house trees being just enough to suggest that thetents there were hidden. The streets were filled with a carelessthrong, and all the sounds were those of merriment: laughter andshouting, and the twang of banjos. There was never an unlikelier fieldfor such a plan as the Provost had in mind.
He rode through like
a shadow, silencing the negroes and scowlingat the whites, and as soon as he had put up his horse, he called onCaptain Middleton. It was not a long interview, but it was a stormyone, and when the Provost came out of the Captain’s office he hadthrown down the gauntlet and there was an open breach between them. Hehad complained to Middleton of being beset by highwaymen and robbed ofhis order, and Middleton had told him plainly he did not believe a wordhe said.
“How did you get such an order? If there was such an order, why was itnot addressed to me?” he asked.
Leech said that he declined to be interrogated, but he would soon showhim that he had authority.
“Then you will have to bring some better evidence than your own word,”said Middleton, coldly.
Leech fired up and attempted a bolder tone than he had ever dared usebefore with Middleton, and actually forbade the meeting the followingnight. The young Captain, however, gave him to understand that hehimself was the commandant there and that for another word, order or noorder, he would place him under arrest, which step at that moment wouldhave so interfered with Leech’s plans that he had not ventured to pushthe matter further.
Next night the long-talked-of entertainment came off duly, and MissBlair Cary and Miss Elizabeth Dockett and the other girls who hadwaited so long, showed their little plain, sweet, white and pinkdresses which they had made themselves, and their prettier whitethroats and pink faces, and lovely flashing eyes which God had made;and danced with their gray-jacketed escorts, their little feet slippedin their little slippers, many of which were high-heeled and fadedwith age, having belonged to their mothers, and grandmothers—evengreat-grandmothers—and enjoyed it all as much as ever the formerwearers of the slippers did in their full glory of satin and lace. Forof such is the Kingdom of Youth.
The Yankee officers attended, very dignified, and were treatedpolitely, but not warmly, of course, only just so civilly as to showthat Southerners knew what was due to guests even when they wereenemies; but not so warmly as to let them forget that they were foes.
This, however, made little difference to the young men, for thecivility which it was felt was “their due as guests” was sufficient tomake a marked contrast with a past in which not a soul in petticoatshad noticed them, and the girls were pretty enough to satisfy them atfirst, even if there was no other privilege conferred than merely thatprimal right of the cat in the proverb. Everyone, however, meant to becivil, and for the time, at least, at peace.
But there was more than this; the night was perfect; the breath offlowers and shrubbery came in through the open windows; the moon wasalmost at her full, and her soft light was lying on the grass, mantlingthe trees, and filling the night with that amber mellowness whichsometimes comes in summer, and seems to bring a special peacefulness.
The camp lay hidden in the distance, and the throng in the streets hungon the fences, listening to the music, or laughed and danced in fullsympathy with the occasion.
Steve Allen constituted himself the especial host of the two officers.It was by him that Middleton and Thurston were introduced to most ofthe girls, and to the older ladies, who sat at the end of the roomfarthest from the music, their eyes, filled with light, followingtheir daughters or others whose success was near to their hearts, or,like Miss Thomasia, beaming a benediction on the whole throng of happydancers.
Still, an hour after the dancing began, the one person whom Middletonparticularly wished to meet had not appeared, and Middleton, who hadbeen planning for a week what he should say to Miss Cary, found himselfwith a vague feeling of dissatisfaction. Little Thurston was caperingaround as if to the manner born; perspiring at every pore; payingattention to half the girls in the room, and casting glances at MissDockett languishing enough, as Middleton said, to lay the foundationfor a breach of promise suit. But Middleton could not get into thespirit of the occasion. He asked a number of girls to dance, but theywere all “engaged,” and politely showed their cards. So Middletonfell back. General Legaie, and the other older gentlemen courteouslydrew him into their conversation, and the General rallied him, withan old bachelor’s license, on not dancing, declaring that the sightof such girls was the true fountain of youth; but the young Captainwas not in the mood for fun. A vague feeling of unrest was on him.The order that Leech had mentioned; the Provost’s positive manner;the warning that he had given; the covert threat he had dared toemploy, all began to recur to Middleton and worry him. He felt thathe would be responsible if any trouble should occur. He went out andwalked through the village. A light was shining under the door ofLeech’s office; but all was as it had been: good-humor everywhere. Themoonlight soothed him and the pleasant greetings as he passed served torestore his good-humor, and he returned to the ball. As he did so anold high-backed carriage, which he thought he recognized, made its wayslowly past him. The driver was explaining to someone who walked besidehim the cause of his delay.
“Dat fool hoss—you can’t git him in de water to save your life. He’llbreck ev’ything to pieces fust. But my young Mistis, she’s dyah now,an’ she’s de queen on ’em all, I tell you. You go dyah an’ look at herth’oo de winder,” he wound up with a proud laugh.
As Middleton re-entered the ball-room there was quite a group near thedoor surrounding someone who was the centre of attraction, and whomCaptain Allen was teasing.
“Oh! You’ll dance with him. He left because you had not come, but Ihave sent for him. He’s saved a set expressly for you.”
“I won’t. He has done no such thing, and I won’t dance with you either,unless you go away and let me alone.” The voice was a charming one.
“I’ll bet you do. I understand why you made old Gideon drive you up thestream that evening; but you can’t expect him to be mooning on the bankof every creek in the county, you know——”
“That settles it for you, Steve,” said the voice over behind the heads.“Jack, I have the seventh dance with you as well as the first andfourth,” she called to Jacquelin who was seated against the wall, hiscrutches beside him.
“Jack never was any hand at arithmetic, and besides he can’t dance,”declared Allen, as his friend professed his gratitude.
Just then Allen caught sight of Middleton, over the heads of the others.
“Ah! here—Captain Middleton, I want to present you to my cousin, MissBlair Cary, who wishes to know how you happened not to be—” He caughthis cousin’s eye, and changed his speech “—who has a question to askyou. Captain Middleton—Miss Cary.” The others made way for Middleton,and he stepped forward and bowed low.
She was all in white, and was blazing with brass buttons. They wereher only ornaments, except a single old jewel consisting of a rubysurrounded by diamonds. She wore bracelets of the buttons on her arms,and a necklace of larger ones on a band around her white throat. Abroad belt of them girdled her little waist.
As Middleton bowed, he caught her eye and the same look of mingleddefiance and amusement which he remembered so well at the ford. Hehardly knew whether to laugh or be grave, and was conscious that hewas growing red, as her look changed into one of triumph. He remainedgrave, however, and rallied enough to ask her for a dance. She bowed.They were all engaged.
“I have the seventh—to sit out, I believe?” said Jacquelin Graymaliciously, from his seat, for Steve’s benefit. Miss Blair looked ather card;—then to Jacquelin:
“You only _believe_? As you have forgotten so far as to have a doubtabout it, the seventh is _not_ engaged,” said the young coquette, witha curtsey. She turned. “I will give it to you, Captain Middleton.” Shelooked at Jacquelin and with a little—only the least little toss ofthe head, took the arm of a young man who had just claimed his set, andbowing to Middleton moved off, leaving both Steve and Jacquelin lookinga trifle blank.
“That girl’s the most unaccountable creature that ever was on earth,”growled Jacquelin. “I’ll be hanged if I’ll be treated so!” He lookedacross the room after her floating form.
“Go slow, old man, go slow,” said Steve. “You’ll be
treated that wayand come again for more. And you know you will.”
Jacquelin growled. He knew in his heart it was true.
Middleton thought that the seventh set would never come, but, likeeverything else in life, it came at last, and though there were threeclaimants for it, the one who was the final judge decided for Middletonand walked off with him, calmly leaving both the other aspirants fumingand scowling.
“You can’t fight him Jack,” said Steve with a laugh to his cousin, whowas muttering to himself, “because I’d first have to fight you, youknow.”
Having thus punished both her admirers, Miss Cary declined todance—whether to keep her word; to avoid pleasing too much the youngFederal Captain, or to soothe the ruffled spirits of his unsuccessfulcompetitors, who may tell? For no one can thread the mazes of a girl’scaprice.
But this made little difference to Middleton. They strolled outsideand found a seat. The moonlight appeared to Middleton more charmingthan he ever remembered it, and he discovered something which he hadnever known before. He wanted to please this girl as he never recalledhaving wanted to please any other, and he was conscious that it was adifficult, if not an impossible task. It was as though he lay in faceof a foe, one who appeared at the outset stronger than he. Yet she didnot appear to be attempting anything. She was simply in oppositionto him, that was all. She appeared so unaffected and simple that,remembering what he had just seen of her coquetry, he wondered if shecould be as natural as she seemed to be. Her gaze was so direct, hervoice so placid, her manner so self-possessed, that he felt she had theadvantage of him. And all the time he wanted to please her.
In the course of their conversation she spoke of her brother.
Middleton had not remembered that she had a brother.
“Where is he?” he asked.
“He was killed.” She spoke very quietly.
“Oh!” he said, softly. “I beg your pardon.”
“He was killed at Jacquelin Gray’s side, and Jacquelin brought hisbody out under fire—just as Steve afterward tried to bring Jack.” Shesighed deeply, and her eyes seemed to say, “You can understand now?”
Middleton had a strange sensation. He had never before looked in theeyes of a woman whose brother had been killed, possibly by his command.He hated Jacquelin, but in a way he was grateful to him too; for it wasthe first time Miss Cary had softened at all.
“I believe that all your men went in the army,” he said, feeling aboutfor a new subject.
“Of course.”
“And some of your ladies?” he smiled.
“All of them.” Up went her head again.
“I wonder that you were ever conquered?”
“Conquered! We were not conquered.” She looked it, as she stood therein the moonlight. Middleton had a sudden thrill that it would be worthhis life to win such a girl, and she had never given him even onefriendly glance. He could not help thinking,
“What would Thurston say?”
A partner came and claimed his set, and Middleton was left outside. Hesat for a moment thinking how lonely her departure had made the place.He had never felt this way about any other girl. Just then a strangesound, like distant shouting, came through the stillness. Middletonrose and strolled down to the gate. There were fewer people in thestreet. A man came hurrying along and spoke to another. His voice wasso excited that it arrested Middleton’s attention, and he caught thelast of his sentence.
“It ought to be broke up at once. Go in there and call Captain Allenand McRaffle out.”
“What’s that?” asked Middleton, walking out of the gate, and up to him.
“A nigger-meetin’ down yonder,” answered the man, sullenly. “If itain’t broken up there’ll be trouble. Leech started it by reading apaper he had, tellin’ ’em the Gov’ment wants the party broke up, andthen he put Sherrod up, and now that yaller nigger, Dr. Moses, is up.Leech’s been givin’ ’em liquor, and unless it’s stopped there’ll be thedevil to pay.”
“I’ll see about it,” said Middleton. He walked rapidly down in thedirection the man had indicated. He was sensible, as he passed along,of some change, and, presently, the distant sound of a man speakingat the top of his voice came to him, followed shortly by a roar ofapplause. He hurried on and passed a group of half a dozen white men,some of whom were advocating sending for “reinforcements,” as theysaid, while others were insisting that they should go right in on themat once. All were united as to one thing: that the meeting ought to bestopped.
“If we don’t,” said one, “there’ll be trouble, and we might’s well doit at once. I can do it by myself.”
Some one said something about “the Yankee officers.”
“Yankees be blanked!” said the other. “Wasn’t it that scoundrel Leechas started it all? He’s been workin’ it up all day. I got wind of it upat home;—that’s the reason I come down. We’ve got to do it ourselves.”It was Andy Stamper.
Just then they saw Middleton and followed him, offering their adviceand services. All they wanted was authority.
When Middleton arrived, he agreed with them that the speaking oughtto be stopped at once. He had never seen such a sight. The entirenegro population of the place appeared to be packed there, moaningand singing, hugging each other and shouting, whilst Moses, the negrohe had ordered to leave town, was on the platform, tossing his armsin a sort of frenzy and calling on them to rise and prove they werethe chosen people. “God had brought their enemies all together in oneplace,” he cried, “and all that was needed was for Samson to arise andprove his strength. Their deliverer was at hand.” Ain’t you heah dat dewud done come from de New Jerusalem, an’ ain’t my name Moses—Moses?Moses is my name!” he shouted, intoning the words in a sort of wildfrenzy. The shout that greeted him proved the danger of his course.
“D—n him, I’ll stop his mouth,” said one of the young men, pushing hisway through the throng, but Middleton was before him. He forced hisway, followed by the others, through the crowd which gave way beforehim at his command, and, when still some yards away from the platform,he ordered the speaker to cease. But Moses was either too drunk or tooexcited to heed, and went on shouting his singsong.
“I’ll lead you to de burnin’ bush,” he cried. “I’ll give you de promiselan’.” As it happened, a man standing in the crowd had a carriage-whipin his hand. The Captain snatched it from him and sprang on theplatform, and the next instant was raining on the would-be prophet andleader such a thrashing as he had never had in his life. The effectwas miraculous. The first lash of the heavy whip took the preacher bysurprise and dazed him; the second recalled him to himself and strippedhis prophetic character from him, leaving him nothing but a whining,miserable creature, who was trying to deceive and mislead others asmiserable and more ignorant than himself.
As the Captain laid the blows on fast and thick, Moses cringed andfinally broke and fled from the platform, followed by the jeers andshouts of the crowd who had just been ready to follow him in anyviolence, if, indeed, he would have had the courage to lead them. Andwhen the irate officer appeared ready to turn his whip on them, and didaccompany his peremptory order that they should disperse at once, witha few contemptuous lashes at those nearest him, they broke and ran withas much good-humor as they had shown an hour previously, when they weredancing and shuffling in the street, before Leech and his agents gothold of them.
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