Phoebe Deane (15 page)

" Tell me, Miss Deane, suppose I knew of some people who were oppressed, suffering, and wanted their freedom; suppose they needed help to set them free, what do you think I ought to do? Think of myself and my career, or go and help set them free ? "

Phoebe raised her sweet eyes to his earnest face in the moonlight and tried to understand.

" I am not wise," she said, " and perhaps I would not know what you ought to do, but I think I can tell what you would do. I think you would forget all about yourself and go to set those people free."

He looked down into her face, and thought what it meant to a man to have a girl like this one believe in him.

" Thank you!" he said gravely. " I am honored by your opinion of me. You have told me where duty lies. I will remember your words when the time comes."

In the quiet of her chamber a few minutes later Phoebe remembered the words of the young people that day upon the hill-side, and wondered if it were the people of Texas whom he meant needed to be set free.

He had bade her good-night with a pleasant ring in his voice, saying he was glad to know her, and hoped to see her again before he left for New York, which would be in a few days. Then the door closed behind her and he walked briskly down the frosty way. The night was cold even for October, and each startled blade of grass was furred with a tiny frost-spike.

Suddenly, out from behind a cluster of tall elder bushes that bordered the roadside stepped a man, and without warning dealt him a blow between his eyes that made him stagger and almost fall.

" That's to teach you to let my girl alone!" snarled Hiram Green like an angry dog, and the moonlight made his face look fairly livid with unholy wrath. " Hev yeh learned yer lesson, er d'yeh need another? 'Cause there's plenty more where that come from!"

Nathaniel's senses had almost deserted him for an instant, but he was master of the art of self-defense, and before the bully had finished his threat with a curse he found himself lying in the ditch with Nathaniel towering over him in righteous wrath.

" Coward," he said, looking down on him contemptuously, "you have made a mistake, of course, and struck the wrong man, but that makes no difference. A brave man does not strike in the dark."

" No, I haven't made no mistake, either," snarled Hiram, as he got up angrily from the ground. " I seen you myself with my own eyes, Nate Graham. I seen you trail down the hill out o' the woods after her, 'n I seen you try to get a kiss from her, an' she run away. I was an eye-witness. I seen yeh. Then you tried to get 'longside her after meetin' was out Sunday, tippin' yer hat so polite, as ef that was everythin' a girl wanted; an' I seen yeh takin' her home tonight after decent folks was a-bed, walkin' 'long a country road talkin' so sweet an' low butter wouldn't melt in yer mouth. No, sir! I ain't made no mistake. An' I jest want you to understand after this you're not to meddle with Phoebe Deane, fer she belongs to me!"

By this time Nathaniel had recognized Hiram Green, and his astonishment and dismay knew no bounds. Could it be possible that a girl like that had aught to do in any way with this coarse, ignorant man ? Indignation filled him. He longed to pound the insolent wretch before him and make him take back all he had said, but he realized that this might be a serious matter for the young girl, and it was necessary to proceed cautiously, therefore he drew himself up haughtily and replied:

" There has never been anything between myself and Miss Deane to which any one, no matter how close their relationship to her might be could object. I met her in the woods while hunting with a party of friends, and had the good fortune to help her out of a tangle of laurel that had caught in her hair, and to show her the short cut to the road. I merely spoke to her on Sunday as I spoke to my other acquaintances, and this evening I have been escorting her home from the house of a friend where we have both been taking tea."

" You lie! " snarled Hiram.

" What did I understand you to say, Mr. Green ? "

" It don't make any matter what you understood me to say. I said You Lie, an' I'll say it again, too, ef I like. You needn't git off any more o' your fine words, fer they don't go down with me, even ef you have been to college. All I've got to say is YOU LET MY GIRL ALONE FROM NOW ON! D'yeh understand that? Ef yeh don't I'll take means to make ye!" And Hiram's big first was raised threateningly again.

But somehow the next instant Hiram was sprawling in the dust, and this time Nathaniel held something gleaming and sinister in his hand as he stood above Mm.

" I always go armed," said Nathaniel, in a cool voice. " You will oblige me by lying still where you are until I am out of sight down the road. Then it will be quite safe for you to rise to go home and wash your face. If I see you get up before that I shall shoot. Another thing. If I hear another word of this ridiculous nonsense from you I will have you arrested and brought before my uncle on charge of assault, and blackmail, and several other things perhaps. As for speaking to the young lady in question, or showing her any courtesy whatever that is ordinarily shown between young men and women in good society, that shall be as Miss Deane says, and not in any way as you say. You are not fit to speak her name."

Nathaniel stepped back slowly a few paces, and Hiram attempted to rise, pouring forth a volley of oaths and vile language. Nathaniel halted and raised the pistol, flashing in the moonlight.

" You will keep entirely still, Mr. Green. Remember that this is loaded."

Hiram subsided and Nathaniel walked deliberately backward until the man on the ground could see but a dim speck in the gray of the distance, and a night-hawk in the trees by his home mocked him in a clamorous tone.

Now all this happened not a stone's throw from Albert Deane's front gate, and might almost have been discerned from Phoebe’s window if her room had not been upon the other side of the house.

After a little Hiram crawled stiffly up from the ground, looked furtively about, shook his fist menacingly at the distance where the flash of Nathaniel's pistol had disappeared, and slunk like a shadow close to the fence till he reached his house. Presently only a bit of white paper ground down with a great heel-mark, and a few footprints in the frosty dust, told where the encounter had been. The moon spread her obliterating white light over all, and Phoebe slept smiling in her dreams and living over her happy afternoon and evening again. But Nathaniel sat up far into the night till his candle burned low and sputtered out, and even the moon grew weary and bent low. He was thinking, and his thoughts were not all of the oppressed Texans. It had occurred to him that there were other people in the world whom it might be harder to set free than the Texans.

If Hiram Green did not sleep it was because his heart was busy with evil plans for revenge. He was by no means meekly done with Nathaniel Graham. He might submit under necessity, but he was a man in whom a sense of injury dwelt long, and smoldered into a great fire that grew far beyond all proportion of the fancied offence. Hatred and revenge were the ruling passions with him.

But Phoebe slept, and dreamed not that more evil was brewing.

The lights had been out, all save a candle in Emmeline's room, when she came home, but the door was left on the latch for her. She knew Emmeline wished to reprove her for the late hour of her return, and was fully prepared for the greeting next morning, spoken frigidly:

" Oh, so you did come home last night, after all! Or was it this morning? I'm surprised. I thought you had gone for good."

At breakfast things were uncomfortable. Albert persisted in asking Phoebe questions about her tea-party, in spite of Emmeline's disagreeable sarcasms. When Emmeline complained that Phoebe had " sneaked " away without giving her a chance to send for anything to the village, and that she needed thread for her quilting that very morning, Phoebe arose from her almost untasted breakfast and offered to go for it at once.

She stepped into the crisp morning with a sigh of relief, and walked briskly down the road feeling exultantly happy that she had escaped her prison for a little hour of the early freshness. Then she stopped suddenly, for there before her lay a letter ground into the dust, and about the writing there was something strangely familiar, as if she had seen it before, yet it was not anyone's she knew. It was not folded so that the address could be seen, as the manner of letters was in those days of no envelopes, but open and rumpled with the communication uppermost, and the words that stood out clearly to her vision as she stooped to pick it up were these: " It is most important that you present this letter or it will do no good to go but BE SURE THAT NO ONE ELSE SEES IT, or great harm may come to you!"

She turned the paper over with reverent fingers, for a bit of writing was not so common then as now and was treated with far more importance. And there on the other side lay the name that had gleamed at her pleasantly but a few days before through the laurel bushes as she lay in hiding, " Nathaniel Graham, Esq." Did it look up at her confidingly now as if it would plead to be restored to its owner ? Phoebe started at the foolish fancy, and was appalled with her responsibility.

Was this letter but an old one, useless now, and of no value to its owner? Surely it must be, and he had dropped it on his way home with her last night. The wind had blown it open and a passer-by had trodden upon it. That must be the explanation, for surely if it were important he would not have laid it down behind the log so carelessly in keeping of a stranger. Yet there were the words in the letter: " It is most important that you present it when you come." Well, perhaps he had already " come," wherever that was, and the letter had seen its usefulness and passed out of value. But then it further stated that great harm might come to the owner if anyone saw it. She might make sure no one would see it by destroying it, but how was she to know but that she was really destroying an important document? And she might not read further because of that caution, "Be sure that no one else sees it." A less conscientious soul might not have heeded it, but Phoebe would not have read another word for the world. She felt it was a secret communication to which she had no right, and she must respect it.

More and more as this reasoning became clear to her, she saw that there was only one thing to do, and that was to go at once to the owner and give it to him, telling him that she had not read another word than those she saw at first, and making him understand that not a breath of it would ever pass her lips.

Her troubled gaze saw nothing of the morning beauties.

Little jewels gemmed the fringes of the grass along the road, and the dull red and brown leaves that still lingered on their native branches were coated over with silver gauze. It would have given her joy at another time, but now it was as if it was not. She passed by Hiram Green's farm just as he was coming down to his barn near the road. He was in full view, and near enough for recognition. He quickened his pace as he saw her coming in her morning tidiness and beauty. She made a trim and dainty picture. But her eyes were straight ahead and she did not turn her head to look at him. He thought she did it to escape speaking, and he had had it in mind to imitate Nathaniel and call a good- morning. It angered him anew to have her pass him by unseeing, as if he were not good enough to treat with ordinary common politeness as between neighbors at least. If he had needed anything more to justify his heart in its evil plot he had it now. With lowering brow and ugly mien he raised his voice and called unpleasantly:

" Where you goin' this early, Phoebe ? " but with her face set straight ahead and eyes that were studying perplexing questions she went on her way and never even heard him. Then the devil entered into Hiram Green.

He waited until she had passed beyond the red school- house that marked the boundary line between the village and the country, and then slouched out from the shelter of the barn, and with long dogged steps followed her; keeping his little eyes narrowed and intent upon the blue of her frock in the distance. He would not let her see him, but he meant to know where she was going. She had a letter in her hand as she passed, at least it was a small white article much like a letter. Was she writing his rival a letter already? The thought brought a throb of hate—hate toward the man who was better than he, toward the girl who had scorned him, and toward the whole world, even the little weak caterpillar that crawled in a sickly way across his path which he crushed with an ugly twist of his cruel boot.

Phoebe, all unsuspecting, thinking only of her duty, which was not at all a pleasant one to her, went on her way. She felt she must get the letter out of her hands at once before she did anything else, so she turned down the street past the church to the stately house with its white fence and high hedge, and her heart beat fast and hard against her blue print frock. In the presence of the great house she suddenly felt that she was not dressed for such a call, yet she would not turn back, nor even hesitate, for it was something that must be done at once. She gave herself no time for thought of what would be said, but entered the great gate, which to her relief stood open. She held the letter tight in her cold trembling hand. Hiram had arrived at the church corner just in time to see her disappear within the white gates, and his jaw dropped down in astonishment. He had not dreamed she would go to his house. Yet after a moment's thought his eyes narrowed and gleamed with the satisfaction they always showed when he had thought out some theory, or seen through some possibility. The situation was one that was trying for the girl, and the fact of his being an eye-witness might some day give him power over her. He took his stand behind the trunk of a weeping willow tree in the church-yard to see what might happen.