第20章

denunciationoftheirpastlife——previoustotheirconversion。IfIammistakenI——er——askyourpardon，andtheirsand——er——holdmyselfresponsible——er——personallyresponsible！“ Thepreacherglanceduneasilyatthecolonel，butreplied，stillinthehystericalintonationofhisexordium:—— “Yes！acompletesearchingofhearts——acastingoutofthesevenDevilsofPride，VainGlory“—— “Thankyou——thatissufficient，“saidthecolonelblandly。“ButmightI——er——bepermittedtosuggestthatyou——er——er——SETTHEMTHE EXAMPLE！Thestatementofthecircumstancesattendingyourownpastlifeandconversionwouldbesingularlyinterestingandexemplary。“ Thepreacherturnedsuddenlyandglancedatthecolonelwithfuriouseyessetinanashyface。 “IfthisisthefloutingandjeeringoftheUngodlyandDissolute，“ hescreamed，“woetoyou！Isay——woetoyou！WhathavesuchasYOUtodowithmypreviousstateofunregeneracy？“ “Nothing，“saidthecolonelblandly，“unlessthatstatewerealsotheSTATEOFARKANSAS！Then，sir，asaformermemberoftheArkansasBAR——Imightbeabletoassistyourmemory——and——er——evencorroborateyourconfession。“ Butheretheenthusiasticadherentsofthepreacher，vaguelyconsciousofsomedangertotheiridol，gatheredthreateninglyroundtheplatformfromwhichhehadpromptlyleapedintotheirmidst，leavingthecolonelalone，tofacetheseaofangryupturnedfaces。Butthatgallantwarriorneveralteredhischaracteristicpose。Behindhimloomedthereputationofthedozenduelshehadfought，thegold-headedstickonwhichheleanedwasbelievedtocontaineighteeninchesofshiningsteel——andthepeopleofLaurelSpringhaddiscretion。 Hesmiledsuavely，steppedjauntilydown，andmadehiswaytotheentrancewithoutmolestation。 ButherehewasmetbyBlairandSlocum，andadozeneagerquestions:—— “Whatwasit？““Whathadhedone？““WHOwashe？“ “Ablankshyster，whohadswindledthewidowsandorphansinArkansasandescapedfromjail。“ “Andhisnameisn’tBrown？“ “No，“saidthecolonelcurtly。 “Whatisit？“ “Thatisamatterwhichconcernsonlymyselfandhim，sir，“saidthecolonelloftily；“butforwhichIam——er——personallyresponsible。“ AwildideatookpossessionofBlair。 “Andyousayhewasanoteddesperado？“hesaidwithnervoushesitation。 Thecolonelglared。 “Desperado，sir！Never！Blankitall！——amean，psalm-singing，crawling，sneakthief！“ AndBlairfeltrelievedwithoutknowingexactlywhy。 Thenextdayitwasknownthatthepreacher，GabrielBrown，hadleftLaurelSpringonanurgent“Gospelcall“elsewhere。 ColonelStarbottlereturnedthatnightwithhisfriendstothecountytown。Strangetosay，amajorityoftheaudiencehadnotgraspedthefullsignificanceofthecolonel’sunseemlyinterruption，andthosewhohad，aspartisans，keptitquiet。 Blair，torturedbydoubt，hadanewdelicacyaddedtohishesitation，whichlefthimhelplessuntilthewidowshouldtaketheinitiativeinexplanation。 Asuddensummonsfromhispatientattheloggers’campthenextdaybroughthimagaintothefatefulredwoods。Buthewasvexedandmystifiedtofind，onarrivingatthecamp，thathehadbeenmadethevictimofsomestupidblunder，andthatnomessagehadbeensentfromthere。HewasreturningabstractedlythroughthewoodswhenhewasamazedatseeingatalittledistancebeforehimtheflutterofMrs。MacGlowrie’swell-knowndarkgreenridinghabitandthefigureoftheladyherself。Herdogwasnotwithher，neitherwastherevivalpreacher——orhemighthavethoughtthewholevisionatrickofhismemory。Butsheslackenedherpace，andhewasobligedtoreinupabreastofherinsomeconfusion。 “IhopeIwon’tshockyouagainbyridingalonethroughthewoodswithaman，“shesaidwithalightlaugh。 Nevertheless，shewasquitepaleasheanswered，somewhatcoldly，thathehadnorighttobeshockedatanythingshemightchoosetodo。 “ButyouWEREshocked，foryourodeawaythelasttimewithoutspeaking，“shesaid；“andyet“——shelookedupsuddenlyintohiseyeswithasmilelessface——“thatmanyousawmewithoncehadabetterrighttoridealonewithmethananyotherman。Hewas“—— “Yourlover？“saidBlairwithbrutalbrevity。 “Myhusband！“returnedMrs。MacGlowrieslowly。 “ThenyouareNOTawidow，“gaspedBlair。 “No。Iamonlyadivorcedwoman。ThatiswhyIhavehadtolivealiehere。Thatman——thathypocrite——whosesecretwasonlyhalfexposedtheothernight，wasmyhusband——divorcedfrommebythelaw，when，anescapedconvict，hefledwithanotherwomanfromtheStatethreeyearsago。“Herfaceflushedandwhitenedagain；sheputupherhandblindlytoherstrayinghair，andforaninstantseemedtoswayinthesaddle。 ButBlairasquicklyleapedfromhishorse，andwasbesideher。 “Letmehelpyoudown，“hesaidquickly，“andrestyourselfuntilyouarebetter。“Beforeshecouldreply，heliftedhertenderlytothegroundandplacedheronamossystumpalittledistancefromthetrail。Hercolorandafaintsmilereturnedtohertroubledface。 “Hadwenotbettergoon？“shesaid，lookingaround。“IneverwentsofarastositdowninthewoodswithHIMthatday。“ “Forgiveme，“hesaidpleadingly，“but，ofcourse，Iknewnothing。 Idislikedthemanfrominstinct——Ithoughthehadsomepoweroveryou。“ “Hehasnone——exceptthesecretthatwouldalsohaveexposedhimself。“ “Butothersknewit。ColonelStarbottlemusthaveknownhisname？ Andyet“——asherememberedhestammered——“herefusedtotellme。“ “Yes，butnotbecauseheknewhewasmyhusband，butbecauseheknewheborethesamename。Hethinks，aseveryonedoes，thatmyhusbanddiedinSanFrancisco。Themanwhodiedtherewasmyhusband’scousin——adesperatemanandanotedduelist。“ “AndYOUassumedtobeHISwidow？“saidtheastoundedBlair。 “Yes，butdon’tblamemetoomuch，“shesaidpathetically。“Itwasawild，asillydeceit，butitwaspartlyforceduponme。ForwhenIfirstarrivedacrosstheplains，atthefrontier，Iwasstillbearingmyhusband’sname，andalthoughIwasaloneandhelpless，I foundmyselfstrangelywelcomedandrespectedbythoserudefrontiersmen。ItwasnotlongbeforeIsawitwasbecauseIwaspresumedtobethewidowofALLENMacGlowrie——whohadjustdiedinSanFrancisco。Iletthemthinkso，forIknew——whattheydidnot—— thatAllen’swifehadseparatedfromhimandmarriedagain，andthatmytakinghisnamecoulddonoharm。Iacceptedtheirkindness；theygavememyfirststartinbusiness，whichbroughtmehere。Itwasnotmuchofadeceit，“shecontinued，withaslighttrembleofherprettylip，“toprefertopassasthewidowofadeaddesperadothantobeknownasthedivorcedwifeofalivingconvict。Ithashurtnoone，andithassavedmejustnow。“ “Youwereright！Noonecouldblameyou，“saidBlaireagerly，seizingherhand。 Butshedisengageditgently，andwenton:—— “AndnowyouwonderwhyIgavehimameetinghere？“ “Iwonderatnothingbutyourcourageandpatienceinallthissuffering！“saidBlairfervently；“andatyourforgivingmeforsocruellymisunderstandingyou。“ “Butyoumustlearnall。WhenIfirstsawMacGlowrieunderhisassumedname，Ifainted，forIwasterrifiedandbelievedheknewI washereandhadcometoexposemeevenathisownrisk。ThatwaswhyIhesitatedbetweengoingawayoropenlydefyinghim。ButitappearshewasmorefrightenedthanIatfindingmehere——hehadsupposedIhadchangedmynameafterthedivorce，andthatMrs。 MacGlowrie，LaurelSpring，washiscousin’swidow。WhenhefoundoutwhoIwashewaseagertoseemeandagreeuponamutualsilencewhilehewashere。Hethoughtonlyofhimself，“sheaddedscornfully，“andColonelStarbottle’srecognitionofhimthatnightastheconvictedswindlerwasenoughtoputhimtoflight。“ “Andthecolonelneversuspectedthatyouwerehiswife？“saidBlair。 “Never！Hesupposedfromthenamethathewassomerelationofmyhusband，andthatwaswhyherefusedtotellit——formysake。Thecolonelisanoldfogy——andpompous——butagentleman——asgoodastheymakethem！“ AslightlyjealousuneasinessandagreatersenseofshamecameoverBlair。 “Iseemtohavebeentheonlyonewhosuspectedanddidnotaidyou，“hesaidsadly，“andyetGodknows“—— Thewidowhadputupherslimhandinhalf-smiling，half-patheticinterruption。