第26章

“Inthisstyle，eh？Afterherlifehasbeenmadeahellbyherassociationwithamanofyourreputation，youproposetowhitewashitbyaquarrelwithacoupleofdrunkenscallawagslikeBeeswingerandWynyard，inthepresenceofthreepaintedtrollopsandad——dscamplikemyself！Doyousupposethiswon’tbeblownalloverCaliforniabeforeshecanbesentbacktoschool？Doyousupposethosecacklinghussiesinthenextroomwon’tgivethewholestoryawaytothenextmanwhostandstreat？“(AfinecontemptforthesexingeneralwasoneofMr。Hamlin’smostsubtleattractionsforthem。) “Nevertheless，sir，“stammeredthecolonel，“thepromptpunishmentofthemanwhohasdared“—— “Punishment！“interruptedHamlin，“who’stopunishthemanwhohasdaredmost？Theonemanwhoisresponsibleforthewholething？ Who’stopunishYOU？“ “Mr。Hamlin——sir！“gaspedthecolonel，fallingback，ashishandinvoluntarilyrosetothelevelofhiswaistcoatpocketandhisderringer。 ButMr。Hamlinonlyputdownthewineglasshehadliftedfromthetableandwasdelicatelytwirlingbetweenhisfingers，andlookedfixedlyatthecolonel。 “Lookhere，“hesaidslowly。“WhentheboyssaidthatyouacceptedtheguardianshipofthatchildNOTonaccountofDickStannard，butonlyasabluffagainstthejokethey’dsetupatyou，Ididn’tbelievethem！Whenthesemenandwomento-nighttumbledtothatstoryofthechildbeingYOURS，Ididn’tbelievethat！Whenitwassaidbyothersthatyouwereseriousaboutmakingheryourward，andgivingheryourproperty，becauseyoudotedonherlikeafather，Ididn’tbelievethat。“ “And——whynotTHAT？“saidthecolonelquickly，yetwithanoddtremorinhisvoice。 “Because，“saidHamlin，becomingsuddenlyasgraveasthecolonel，“Icouldnotbelievethatanyonewhocaredapicayuneforthechildcouldundertakeatrustthatmightbringherintocontactwithalifeandcompanyasrottenasours。IcouldnotbelievethateventhemostGod-forsaken，conceitedfoolwould，forthesakeofalittlesentimentalparadeandsplurgeamongpeopleoutsidehisregularwalk，allowtheprospectsofthatchildtobeblasted。I couldn’tbelieveit，evenifhethoughthewasactinglikeafather。Ididn’tbelieveit——butI’mbeginningtobelieveitnow！“ Therewaslittletochoosebetweentheattitudesandexpressionsofthetwosetsternfacesnowregardingeachother，silently，afootapart。Butthecolonelwasthefirsttospeak:—— “Mr。Hamlin——sir！YousaidamomentagothatIwas——er——ahem—— responsibleforthisevening’saffair——butyouexpressedadoubtastowhocould——er——punishmeforit。Iaccepttheresponsibilityyouhaveindicated，sir，andofferyouthatchance。Butasthismatterbetweenusmusthaveprecedenceover——myengagementswiththatcanaille，IshallexpectyouwithyoursecondsatsunriseonBurntRidge。Good-evening，sir。“ Withheaderectthecolonellefttheroom。Mr。Hamlinslightlyshruggedhisshoulders，turnedtothedooroftheroomwhitherhehadjustbanishedtheladies，andinafewminuteshisvoicewasheardmelodiouslyamongthegayest。 Forallthathemanagedtogetthemawayearly。Whenhehadbundledthemintoalargecarryall，andwatchedthemdriveawaythroughthestorm，hereturnedforaminutetothewaitingroomforhisovercoat。Hewassurprisedtohearthesoundofthechild’svoiceinthesupperroom，andthedoorbeingajar，hecouldseequitedistinctlythatshewasseatedatthetable，withaplatefullofsweetsbeforeher，whileColonelStarbottle，withhisbacktothedoor，wassittingoppositetoher，hisshouldersslightlybowedasheeagerlywatchedher。ItseemedtoMr。Hamlinthatitwasthecloseofanemotionalinterview，forPansy’svoicewasbroken，partlybysobs，andpartly，Igrievetosay，bythehurriedswallowingofthedelicaciesbeforeher。Yet，abovethebeatingofthestormoutside，hecouldhearhersaying，—— “Yes！Ipromisetobegood——(sob)——andtogowithMrs。Pyecroft—— (sob)——andtotrytolikeanotherguardian——(sob)——andnottocryanymore——(sob)——and——oh，please，DON’TYOUDOITEITHER！“ ButhereMr。Hamlinslippedoutoftheroomandoutofthehouse，witharathergraveface。Anhourlater，whenthecoloneldroveuptothePyecrofts’doorwithPansy，hefoundthatMr。Pyecroftwasslightlyembarrassed，andafigure，which，inthedarkness，seemedtoresembleMr。Hamlin’s，hadjustemergedfromthedoorasheentered。 YetthesunwasnotuponBurntRidgeearlierthanMr。Hamlin。Thestormofthenightbeforehadblownitselfout；afewshredsofmisthunginthevalleysfromtheRidge，thatlayabovecoldlyreddening。Thenabreezesweptoverit，andoutofthedissipatingmistfringeMr。Hamlinsawtwoblackfigures，closelybuttoneduplikehimself，emerge，whichherecognizedasBeeswingerandWynyard，followedbytheirseconds。Butthecolonelcamenot，Hamlinjoinedtheothersinananimatedconfidentialconversation，attendedbyawatchfuloutlookforthemissingadversary。Five，tenminuteselapsed，andyettheusuallypromptcolonelwasnotthere。Mr。Hamlinlookedgrave；WynyardandBeeswingerexchangedinterrogatoryglances。Thenabuggywasseendrivingfuriouslyupthegrade，andfromitleapedColonelStarbottle，accompaniedbyDickMacKinstry，hissecond，carryinghispistolcase。Andthen—— strangelyenoughformenwhowerewaitingthecomingofanantagonistwhowasadeadshot——theydrewabreathofrelief！ MacKinstryslightlyprecededhisprincipal，andtheotherscouldseethatStarbottle，thougherect，waswalkingslowly。Theyweresurprisedalsotoobservethathewashaggardandholloweyed，andseemed，inthefewhoursthathadelapsedsincetheylastsawhim，tohaveagedtenyears。MacKinstry，atallKentuckian，saluted，andwasthefirstonetospeak。 “ColonelStarbottle，“hesaidformally，“desirestoexpresshisregretsatthisdelay，whichwasunavoidable，ashewasobligedtoattendhisward，whowasleavingbythedowncoachforSacramentowithMrs。Pyecroft，thismorning。“Hamlin，Wynyard，andBeeswingerexchangedglances。“ColonelStarbottle，“continuedMacKinstry，turningtohisprincipal，“desirestosayawordtoMr。Hamlin。“ AsMr。Hamlinwouldhaveadvancedfromthegroup，ColonelStarbottleliftedhishanddeprecatingly。“WhatIhavetosaymustbesaidbeforethesegentlemen，“hebeganslowly。“Mr。Hamlin—— sir！whenIsolicitedthehonorofthismeetingIwasunderagrievousmisapprehensionoftheintentandpurposeofyourcommentsonmyactionlastevening。Ithink，“headded，slightlyinflatinghisbuttoned-upfigure，“thatthereputationIhavealwaysbornein——er——meetingsofthiskindwillpreventany——er——misunderstandingofmypresentaction——whichisto——er——askpermissiontowithdrawmychallenge——andtohumblybegyourpardon。“ Theastonishmentproducedbythisunexpectedapology，andMr。 Hamlin’spromptgraspofthecolonel’shand，hadscarcelypassedbeforethecoloneldrewhimselfupagain，andturningtohissecondsaid，“AndnowIamattheserviceofJudgeBeeswingerandMr。 Wynyard——whichevermayelecttohonormefirst。“ Butthetwomenthusaddressedlookedforamomentstrangelyfoolishandembarrassed。YettheawkwardnesswasatlastbrokenbyJudgeBeeswingerfranklyadvancingtowardsthecolonelwithanoutstretchedhand。“Wecamehereonlytoapologize，ColonelStarbottle。Withoutpossessingyourreputationandexperienceinthesematters，westillthinkwecanclaim，asyouhave，anequalexemptionfromanymisunderstandingwhenwesaythatwedeeplyregretourfoolishanddiscourteousconductlastevening。“ Aquickflushmountedtothecolonel’shaggardcheekashedrewbackwithasuspiciousglanceatHamlin。 “Mr。Hamlin！——gentlemen！——ifthisis——er——！“ ButbeforehecouldfinishhissentenceHamlinhadclappedhishandonthecolonel’sshoulder。“You’lltakemyword，colonel，thatthesegentlemenhonestlyintendedtoapologize，andcamehereforthatpurpose；——and——SODIDI——onlyyouanticipatedme！“ InthelaughterthatfollowedMr。Hamlin’sfranknessthecolonel’sfeaturesrelaxedgrimly，andheshookthehandsofhislatepossibleantagonists。 “Andnow，“saidMr。Hamlingayly，“you’llalladjourntobreakfastwithme——andtrytomakeupforthesupperweleftunfinishedlastnight。“ Itwastheonlyallusiontothatinterruptionanditsconsequences，forduringthebreakfastthecolonelsaidnothinginregardtohisward，andtheotherguestswerediscreetlyreticent。ButMr。 Hamlinwasnotsatisfied。Hemanagedtogetthecolonel’sservant，Jim，aside，andextractedfromthenegrothatColonelStarbottlehadtakenthechildthatnighttoPyecroft’s；thathehadhadalonginterviewwithPyecroft；hadwrittenlettersand’walkeddeflo’“allnight；thathe(Jim)wasgladthechildwasgone！ “Why？“askedHamlin，withaffectedcarelessness。 “Shewasjustmakin’dekernellikeanyo’delow-downNo’th’nfolks——keerful，andstingy，andmighty’fraido’deopinionso’debiggetypeople。Andfo’what？Jesstostrutroundwiddatchildlikehewasher’spectablegotomeetingfader！“ “Andwasthechildsorrytoleavehim？“askedHamlin。 “Wull——no，sah。Demightycurosthing，MarseJack，aboutthegals—— bigandlittle——isdeyjustUSEdekernel——dat’sall！Deyjustusedeolemanlikeapoletobringdowndeirpersimmons——see？“ ButMr。Hamlindidnotsmile。 LateritwasknownthatColonelStarbottlehadresignedhisguardianshipwiththeconsentofthecourt。Whetherheeveragainsawhislatewardwasnotknown，norifheremainedloyaltohismemoriesofher。 Readersofthesechroniclesmay，however，rememberthatyearsafter，whenthecolonelmarriedthewidowofacertainMr。 Tretherick，bothinhiscourtshipandhisshortmarriedlifehewassingularlyindifferenttothechildishgracesofCarrieTretherick，herbelovedlittledaughter，andthathisobtusenessinthatrespectprovokedthewidow’sire。 PROSPER’S“OLDMOTHER“