第27章

“It’sallverywell，“saidJoeWynbrook，“forustobesittin’ here，slingin’lieseasyandcomfortable，withthewindwhistlin’ inthepinesoutside，andtherainjustliftin’theditchestofilloursluiceboxeswithgoldezwe’resmokin’andwaitin’，butItellyouwhat，boys——itain’thome！No，sir，itain’tHOME！“ Thespeakerpaused，glancedaroundthebright，comfortablebarroom，theshiningarrayofglassesbeyond，andthecircleofcomplacentfacesfrontingthestove，onwhichhisownbootswerecheerfullysteaming，liftedaglassofwhiskeyfromthefloorunderhischair，andinspiteofhisdeprecatingremark，tookalongdraughtofthespiritswitheverysymptomofsatisfaction。 “Ifyemean，“returnedCyrusBrewster，“thatitain’ttheoldfarmhouseofourboyhood，’waybackinthewoods，I’llagreewithyou；butye’lljustrememberthattherewasn’tanygoldplacerslyingroundonthemedderonthatfarm。Notmuch！Eftharhadbeen，wewouldn’thaveleftit。“ “Idon’tmeanthat，“saidJoeWynbrook，settlinghimselfcomfortablybackinhischair；“it’sthefamilyhearthI’mtalkin’ of。Thesoothin’influence，yeknow——thetidinessofthewomenfolks。“ “Eztothesoothin’influence，“remarkedthebarkeeper，leaninghiselbowsmeditativelyonhiscounter，’aforeIstruckthesediggin’sIhadagroceryandbar，’waybackinMizzoori，wheretherewasfiveold-fashionedfarmsjined。Blamemyskinefthemenfolksweren’tadarnedsightofteneroverinmygrocery，sittin’onbarrilsandhistin’intheirreg’larcorn-juice，thaneveranyofyoubehere——withallthesemodernimprovements。“ “Yedon’tcatchon，anyofyou，“returnedWynbrookimpatiently。 “Efitwasameremattero’buildin’housesandbecomin’familymen，Ireckonthatthisyercampisaboutprosperousenoughtodoit，andabletogetgalsenoughtomarryus，butthatwouldbeonlyborryin’troubleandlettin’loosealotofjabberin’womentogossipagin’eachotherandspileallourfriendships。No，gentlemen！Whatwewanthere——eachofus——isagoodoldmother！ Nothin’new-fangledorfancy，butthereg’larold-fashionedmotherwewasusedtowhenwewasboys！“ Thespeakerstruckawell-wornchord——rathertheworseforwear，andonethathadjangledfalselyerenow，butwhichstillproduceditseffect。Themenweresilent。Thusencouraged，Wynbrookproceeded:—— “Thinko’comin’homefromthegulchanightlikethisandfindin’ yeroldmothera-waitin’ye！Nofumblin’aroundforthematchesye’dleftinthegulch；nohigholdcussin’becausethewoodwaswetoryouforgottobringitin；nobustlin’aroundforyourdrythingsandfindin’youforgottodry’emthatmornin’——buteverythingwaitin’foryeandready。Andthen，mebbe，shebringsyeinsomedoughnutsshe’sjustcookedforye——cookedezonlySHE kincook’em！TakeProssyRiggs——alongsideofmehere——forinstance！HE’Smadethebiggeststrikeyet，andisputtin’upahigh-tonedhouseonthehill。Well！he’llhevitfinishedoffandfurnishedslap-upstyle，youbet！withaChinesecook，andaBiddy，andaMexicanvaquerotolookafterhishorse——buthewon’thavenomothertohousekeep！Thatis，“hecorrectedhimselfperfunctorily，turningtohiscompanion，“you’veneverspokeo’yourmother，soI reckonyou’reaboutfixeduplikeus。“ Theyoungmanthusaddressedflushedslightly，andthennoddedhisheadwithasheepishsmile。Hehad，however，listenedtotheconversationwithaninterestalmostchildish，andareverentadmirationofhiscomrades——qualitieswhich，combinedwithanintellectnotparticularlybrilliant，madehimalternatelythebuttandthefavoriteofthecamp。Indeed，hewassupposedtopossessthatproportionofstupidityandinexperiencewhich，inminingsuperstition，gives“luck“toitspossessor。Andthishadbeensingularlyproveninthefactthathehadmadethebiggest“strike“ oftheseason。 JoeWynbrook’ssentimentalism，albeitonlyargumentativeandhalfserious，hadunwittinglytouchedachordofsimplehistory，andtheflushwhichhadrisentohischeekwasnotentirelybashfulness。 Thehomeandrelationshipofwhichtheyspokesoglibly，HEhadneverknown；hewasafoundling！Ashelayawakethatnightherememberedthecharitableinstitutionwhichhadprotectedhisinfancy，themastertowhomhehadlaterbeenapprenticed；thatwasallheknewofhischildhood。Inhissimplewayhehadbeengreatlyimpressedbythestrangevalueplacedbyhiscompanionsuponthefamilyinfluence，andhehadreceivedtheirextravagancewithperfectcredulity。Inhisabsoluteignoranceandhislackofhumorhehaddetectednofalsequalityintheirsentiment。Andavaguesenseofhisresponsibility，asonewhohadbeentheluckiest，andwhowasbuildingthefirst“house“inthecamp，troubledhim。Helaystaringlywideawake，hearingthemountainwind，andfeelingwarmpuffsofitonhisfacethroughthecrevicesofthelogcabin，ashethoughtofthenewhouseonthehillthatwastobelathedandplasteredandclapboarded，andyetvoidandvacantofthatmysterious“mother“！Andthen，outofthesolitudeanddarkness，atremendousideastruckhimthatmadehimsitupinhisbunk！ Adayortwolater“Prossy“Riggsstoodonasand-blown，wind-sweptsuburbofSanFrancisco，beforealargebuildingwhomforbiddingexteriorproclaimedthatitwasaninstitutionofformalcharity。 Itwas，infact，arefugeforthevariouswaifsandstraysofill- advisedorhopelessimmigration。AsProsperpausedbeforethedoor，certaintoldrecollectionsofasimilarrefugewerecreepingoverhim，and，oddlyenough，hefeltasembarrassedasifhehadbeenseekingreliefforhimself。Theperspirationstoodoutonhisforeheadasheenteredtheroomofthemanager。 Itchanced，however，thatthisofficial，besidesbeingamanofshrewdexperienceofhumanweakness，wasalsokindlyhearted，andhaving，afterhisfirstofficialscrutinyofhisvisitorandhisresplendentwatchchain，assuredhimselfthathewasnotseekingpersonalrelief，courteouslyassistedhiminhisstammeringrequest。 “IfIunderstandyou，youwantsomeonetoactasyourhousekeeper？“ “That’sit！Somebodytokinderlookarterthings——andme—— ginrally，“returnedProsper，greatlyrelieved。 “Ofwhatage？“continuedthemanager，withacautiousglanceattherobustyouthandgood-looking，simplefaceofProsper。 “Iain’tnowisepartickler——ezlongezshe’sold——yeknow。Yefollowme？Old——ezof——betwixtyouan’me，shemightbemyownmother。“ Themanagersmiledinwardly。Acertaindegreeofdiscretionwasnoticeableinthisrusticyouth！“Youarequiteright，“heansweredgravely，“asyoursisaminingcampwheretherearenootherwomen，Still，youdon’twantanyoneTOOoldordecrepit。 Thereisanelderlymaidenlady“——ButachangewastransparentlyvisibleonProsper’ssimpleface，andthemanagerpaused。 “Sheoughterbekindermarried，youknow——terbelikeamother，“ stammeredProsper。 “Oh，ay。Isee，“returnedthemanager，againilluminatedbyProsper’sunexpectedwisdom。 Hemusedforamoment。“Thereis，“hebegantentatively，“aladyinreducedcircumstances——notaninmateofthishouse，butwhohasreceivedsomerelieffromus。Shewasthewifeofawhalingcaptainwhodiedsomeyearsago，andbrokeupherhome。Shewasnotbroughtuptowork，andthis，withherdelicatehealth，haspreventedherfromseekingactiveemployment。Asyoudon’tseemtorequirethatofher，butratherwantanoverseer，andasyourpurpose，Igather，issomewhatphilanthropical，youmightinducehertoaccepta’home’withyou。Havingseenbetterdays，sheisratherparticular，“headded，withashrewdsmile。 SimpleProsper’sfacewasradiant。“She’llhaveaChinamanandaBiddytohelpher，“hesaidquickly。Thenrecollectingthetastesofhiscomrades，headded，halfapologetically，halfcautiously，“Efshecould，nowandthen，throwherselfintoalemmingpieorapotofdoughnuts，jestinamotherlykindo’way，itwouldpleasetheboys。“ “Perhapsyoucanarrangethat，too，“returnedthemanager，“butI shallhavetobroachthewholesubjecttoher，andyouhadbettercallagainto-morrow，whenIwillgiveyouheranswer。“ “Yekinsay，“saidProsper，lightlyfingeringhismassivegoldchainandsomewhatvaguelyrecallingthelanguageofadvertisement，“thatshekinhavethecomfortsofahomeandnoquestionsasked，andfiftydollarsamonth。“ Rejoicedattheeasyprogressofhisplan，andhalfinclinedtobelievehimselfamiracleofcautiousdiplomacy，Prosper，twodayslater，accompaniedthemanagertothecottageonTelegraphHillwheretherelictofthelateCaptainPottingerlamentedthelossofherspouse，infullviewoftheseahehadsooftentempted。OntheirwaythitherthemanagerimpartedtoProsperhow，accordingtohearsay，thatlamentedseamanhadcarriedintothedomesticcirclethoseseverehabitsofdisciplinewhichhadearnedforhimtheprefixof“Bully“and“Belaying-pin“Pottingerduringhisstrenuouslife。“Theysaythatthoughsheisveryquietandresigned，sheonceortwicestooduptothecaptain；butthat’snotabadqualitytohave，inaroughcommunity，asIpresumeyoursis，andwouldinsureherrespect。“ Usheredatlastintoasmalltank-likesittingroom，whosechiefdecorationsconsistedoflargeabeloneshells，driedmarinealgae，coral，andaswordfish’sbrokenweapon，Prosper’sdisturbedfancydiscoveredthewidow，sitting，apparently，asifamongherhusband’sremainsatthebottomofthesea。Shehadadejectedyetsomewhatruddyface；herhairwasstreakedwithwhite，butprimlydisposedoverherearslikelappets，andhergarbwascleanlybutsombre。Therewasnodoubtbutthatshewasalugubriousfigure，eventoProsper’soptimisticandinexperiencedmind。Hecouldnotimagineherasbeamingonhishearth！Itwaswithsomealarmthat，aftertheintroductionhadbeencompleted，hebeheldthemanagertakehisleave。Asthedoorclosed，thebashfulProsperfeltthemurkyeyesofthewidowfixeduponhim。Agentlecough，accompaniedwiththeresignedlayingofablackmittenedhanduponherchest，suggestedagenteelpreludetoconversation，withpossiblepulmonarycomplications。