第17章

Then，withhisoldboyishenthusiasm，hesketchedaglowingpictureoftheirfuture:howtheywouldkeeptheDorntonpropertyintactuntilthecaptainwasfoundandcommunicatedwith；andhowtheywouldcautiouslycollectalltheinformationaccessibletofindhimuntilsuchtimeasRandolph’sfortuneswouldenablethembothtogoonavoyageofdiscoveryafterhim。Andinthemidstofthispropheticforecast，whichbroughtthemsocloselytogetherthatshewasenabledtoexaminehiswatchchain，shesaid，—— “IseeyouhavekeptCousinJack’sring。Didheeverseeit？“ “Hetoldmehehadgivenittoyouashislittlesweetheart，andthathe“—— Therewasasingularpausehere。 “HeneverdidTHAT——atleast，notinthatway！“saidSybilEversleigh。 And，strangelyenough，theoptimisticRandolph’spropheciescametrue。HewasmarriedamonthlatertoSibylEversleigh，Mr。 Dingwallgivingawaythebride。Heandhiswifewereabletokeeptheirtrustinregardtotheproperty，for，withoutinvestingadollarofitinthebank，themerereputationofhiswife’swealthbroughthimafloodofotherinvestorsandaconfidencewhichatoncesecuredhissuccess。Intwoyearshewasabletotakehiswifeonasixmonths’holidaytoEuropeviaAustralia，butofthedetailsofthatholidaynooneknew。Itis，however，onrecordthattenortwelveyearsagoDorntonHall，whichhadbeenleasedorunoccupiedforalongtime，wasrefittedfortheheiress，herhusband，andtheirchildrenduringabriefoccupancy，andthatinthatperiodextensiverepairsweremadetotheinterioroftheoldNormanchurch，andmuchattentiongiventotheredecorationandrestorationofitsancienttombs。 MR。MACGLOWRIE’SWIDOW Verylittlewasknownofherlatehusband，yetthatlittlewasofasufficientlyawe-inspiringcharactertosatisfythecuriosityofLaurelSpring。Amanofunswervinganimosityandcandidbelligerency，untemperedbyanyhumanweakness，hehadbeenactivelyengagedassurvivorintwoorthreebloodfeudsinKentucky，andsomedesultorydueling，onlytosuccumb，throughtheironyoffate，toanattackoffeverandagueinSanFrancisco。 Giftedwithafinesenseofhumor，heissaid，inhislastmoments，tohavecalledthesimple-mindedclergymantohisbedsidetoassisthiminputtingonhisboots。Thekindlydivine，althoughpointingouttohimthathewastooweaktorise，muchlesswalk，couldnotresisttherequestofadyingman。Whenitwasfulfilled，Mr。 MacGlowriecrawledbackintobedwiththeremarkthathisracehadalways“diedwiththeirbootson，“andsopassedsmilinglyandtranquillyaway。 ItisprobablethatthisstorywasinventedtosoftentheignominyofMacGlowrie’speacefulend。Thewidowherselfwasalsoreportedtobeendowedwithrelationsofequallyhomicidaleccentricities。 Hertwobrothers，StephenandHectorBoompointer，hadWesternreputationsthatwerequiteasluridandremote。Herownexperiencesofafrontierlifehadbeenrudeandstartling，andherscalp——asingularlybeautifuloneofblondhair——hadbeeninperilfromIndiansonseveraloccasions。Apairofscissors，withwhichshehadoncepinnedtheintrudinghandofamaraudertohercabindoorpost，wastobeseeninhersittingroomatLaurelSpring。A fair-facedwomanwitheyesthecolorofpalesherry，acomplexionsallowedbyinnutritiousfood，slightandtallfigure，shegavelittlesuggestionofthisAmazonianfeat。Butthatitexercisedawholesomerestraintoverthemanywhowouldliketohaveinducedhertoreenterthemarriedstate，thereislittlereasontodoubt。 LaurelSpringwasapeacefulagriculturalsettlement。FewofitscitizensdaredtoaspiretothedangerouseminenceofsucceedingthedefunctMacGlowrie；fewcouldhopethatthesisteroflivingBoompointerswouldacceptanobviousmesalliancewiththem。 Howeversinceretheiraffection，lifewasstillsweettotherudeinhabitantsofLaurelSpring，andthepreservationoftheusualquantityoflimbsnecessarytothemintheiravocations。Withtheirdevotionthuschastenedbycaution，itwouldseemasifthecharmingmistressofLaurelSpringHousewassecurefromdisturbingattentions。 Itwasapleasantsummerafternoon，andthesunwasbeginningtostrikeunderthelaurelsaroundthehotelintothelittleofficewherethewidowsatwiththehousekeeper——astoutspinsterofacoarserWesterntype。Mrs。MacGlowriewaslookingwearilyoversomeaccountsonthedeskbeforeher，andabsentlyputtingbacksometumbledsheavesfromthestackofherheavyhair。ForthewidowhadacertainindolentSouthernnegligence，whichinalessprettywomanwouldhavebeenuntidiness，andacharacteristichookandeyelessfreedomofattirewhichonlessgracefullimbswouldhavebeenslovenly。Onesleevecuffwasunbuttoned，butitshowedtheblueveinsofherdelicatewrist；theneckofherdresshadlostahook，buttheglimpseofabitofedgingroundthewhitethroatmadeamends。Ofallwhich，however，itshouldbesaidthatthewidow，inherlimpabstraction，wasreallyunconscious。 “IreckonwekinputthenewpreacherinKernelStarbottle’sroom，“ saidMissMorvin，thehousekeeper。“Thekernel’sgoingto-night。“ “Oh，“saidthewidowinatoneofrelief，butwhetherattheearlydepartureofthegallantcoloneloratthesuccessfulsolutionoftheproblemoflodgingthepreacher，MissMorvincouldnotdetermine。Butshewentontentatively:—— “Thekernelwastalkin’inthebarroom，andkindo’wonderin’whyyouhadn’tgotmarriedagin。Saidyou’dmakeastirinSacramento—— butyouwasjestberriedHERE。“ “Isupposehe’sheardofmyhusband？“saidthewidowindifferently。 “Yes——buthesaidhecouldn’tPLACEYOU，“returnedMissMorvin。 Thewidowlookedup。“Couldn’tplaceME？“sherepeated。 “Yes——hadn’theardo’MacGlowrie’swifeanddisrememberedyourbrothers。“ “Thecoloneldoesn’tknoweverybody，evenifheisafightingman，“ saidMrs。MacGlowriewithlanguidscorn。 “That’sjustwhatDickBlairsaid，“returnedMissMorvin。“Andthoughhe’sonlyadoctor，hejeststuckupagin’thekernel，andtoldthatstoryaboutyourjabbin’thatmanwithyourscissors—— beautiful；andhowyouoncefoughtoffabearwithared-hotiron，sothatyou’dhaveadmiredtohearhim。He’sawfullygoneonyou！“ Thewidowtookthatopportunitytobuttonhercuff。 “Andhowlongdoesthepreachercalculatetostay？“sheadded，returningtobusinessdetails。 “Onlyaday。They’llhavehishousefixedupandreadyforhimto-morrow。They’respendin’aheapo’moneyonit。Heoughttobethepow’fulpreachertheysayheis——tobeworthit。“ ButhereMrs。MacGlowrie’sinterestintheconversationceased，anditdropped。 InheranxietytofurtherthesuitofDickBlair，MissMorvinhadscarcelyreportedthecolonelwithfairness。 Thatgentleman，leaningagainstthebarinthehotelsaloonwithacocktailinhishand，hadexpatiatedwithhisusualgallantryuponMrs。MacGlowrie’scharms，andonhisown“personal“responsibilityhadexpressedtheopinionthattheywerethrownawayonLaurelSpring。That——blankitall——sheremindedhimoftheblankestbeautifulwomanhehadseeneveninWashington——oldMajorBeveridge’sdaughterfromKentucky。Weretheysureshewasn’tfromKentucky？Wasn’thernameBeveridge——andnotBoompointer？ Becomingmorereminiscentoverhisseconddrink，thecolonelcouldvaguelyrecallonlyoneBoompointer——ablankskulkinghound，sir——ameanwhiteshyster——but，ofcourse，hecouldn’thavebeenofthesamebreedassuchablankfinewomanasthewidow！ItwasherethatDickBlairinterruptedwithaheightenedcolorandaglowingeulogyofthewidow’srelationsandherself，which，however，onlyincreasedthechivalryofthecolonel——whowouldbethelastman，sir，todetractfrom——orsufferanydetractionof——alady’sreputation。Itwasneedlesstosaythatallthiswasintenselydivertingtothebystanders，andproportionallydiscomposingtoBlair，whoalreadyexperiencedsomeslightjealousyofthecolonelasamanwhosefightingreputationmightpossiblyattracttheaffectionsofthewidowofthebelligerentMacGlowrie。Hehadcursedhisfollyandrelapsedintogloomysilenceuntilthecolonelleft。 ForDickBlairlovedthewidowwiththeunselfishnessofagenerousnatureandafirstpassion。HehadadmiredherfromthefirstdayhislotwascastinLaurelSpring，wherecomingfromarudefrontierpracticehehadsucceededthedistrictdoctorinamorepeacefulanddomesticministration。Askillfulandgentlesurgeonratherthanageneralhouseholdpractitioner，hewasatfirstcoldlywelcomedbythegloomydyspepticsandague-hauntedsettlersfromriparianlowlands。Thefewbucolicidlerswhohadrelievedthemonotonyoftheirlivesbythestimulusofpatentmedicinesandtheexaltationofstomachbitters，alsolookedaskanceathim。A common-sensewayofdealingwiththeirailmentsdidnotnaturallycommenditselftotheshopkeeperswhovendedthesenostrums，andhewasmadetofeeltheoppositionoftrade。Buthewasgentletowomenandchildrenandanimals，and，oddlyenough，itwastothislatterdilectionthatheowedthewidow’sinterestinhim——aninterestthateventuallymadehimpopularelsewhere。 Thewidowhadapetdog——abeautifulspaniel，who，however，hadassimilatedhergracefullanguortohisownnativeloveofeasetosuchanextentthathefailedinashortleapbetweenabalconyandawindow，andfelltothegroundwithafracturedthigh。Thedogwassupposedtobecrippledforlifeevenifthatlifewereworthpreserving——whenDr。Blaircametotherescue，setthefracturedlimb，putitinsplintsandplasterafteraningeniousdesignofhisown，visitedhimdaily，andeventuallyrestoredhimtohismistress’slapsoundinwindandlimb。Howfarthisdailyministrationandthenecessaryexchangeofsympathybetweenthewidowandhimselfheightenedhiszealwasnotknown。Therewerethosewhobelievedthatthewholethingwasanunmanlytricktogetthebetterofhisrivalsinthewidow’sgoodgraces；therewereotherswhoaverredthathistreatmentofabrutebeastlikeahumanbeingwassinfulandunchristian。“Hecouldn’thavedonemoreforaregularlybaptizedchild，“saidthepostmistress。“Andwhatmo’ wouldaregularlybaptizedchildhavewanted？“returnedMrs。 MacGlowrie，withthedrawlingSouthernintonationshefellbackuponwhenmostcontemptuous。