第29章

InthisconscientiouswayweretheshacklesofthatunhallowedrelationshipslowlyrivetedontheunfortunateProssy。Inhisintercoursewithhiscomradesduringthenexttwoorthreedaystheirattitudewasshowninfrequentandostentatiouspraiseofhismother，andsuggestiveadvice，suchas:“Iwouldn’tstopatthesaloon，Prossy；youroldmotheriswantin’ye；“or，“Chuckthat’eretarpolinoveryourshoulders，Pross，anddon’ttakeyourwetdudsintothehousethatyeroldmother’sbinmakin’tidy。“Oddlyenough，muchofthisadvicewasquitesincere，andrepresented——foratleasttwentyminutes——thehonestsentimentsofthespeaker。 Prosperwastouchedatwhatseemedarevivalofthesentimentunderwhichhehadacted，forgothisuneasiness，andbecamequitehimselfagain——afactalsonoticedbyhiscritics。“Ye’veonlytokeephimuptohisworkandhe’llbethewidder’sjoyagin，“saidCyrusBrewster。CertainlyhewassofarencouragedthathehadalongconversationwithMrs。Pottingerthatnight，withtheresultthatthenextmorningJoeWynbrook，CyrusBrewster，HankMann，andKentuckyIkewereinvitedtospendtheeveningatthenewhouse。 Asthemen，cleanshirtedanddecentlyjacketed，filedintotheneatsittingroomwithitsbrightcarpet，itscheerfulfire，itssidetablewithasnowyclothonwhichshiningteaandcoffeepotswerestanding，theirheartsthrilledwithsatisfaction。Inalargestuffedrockingchair，Prossy’soldmother，wrappedupinashawlandsomemysteriousillhealthwhichseemedtoforbidanyexertion，receivedthemwithgenteellanguorandanextendedblackmitten。 “Icannot，“saidMrs。Pottinger，withsadpensiveness，“offeryouthehospitalityofmyownhome，gentlemen——youremember，Prosper，dear，thelargesalonandourstaffofservantsatLexingtonAvenue！——butsincemysonhaspersuadedmetotakechargeofhishumblecot，Ihopeyouwillmakeallallowancesforitsdeficiencies——even，“sheadded，castingalookofmildreproachontheastonishedProsper——“evenifHEcannot。“ “I’msureheoughtertobethankfultoye，ma’am，“saidJoeWynbrookquickly，“formakin’abreaktocomeheretolive，jestezwe’rethankful——speakin’fortherestofthiscamp——foryerlightin’usupezyou’redoin’！IreckonI’mspeakin’forthecrowd，“headded，lookingroundhim。 Murmursof“That’sso“and“Youbet“passedthroughthecompany，andoneortwocastahalf-indignantglanceatProsper。 “It’sonlynatural，“continuedMrs。Pottingerresignedly，“thathavinglivedsolongalone，mydearProspermayatfirstbealittleimpatientofhisoldmother’scontrol，andperhapsregrethisinvitation。“ “Ohno，ma’am，“saidtheembarrassedProsper。 ButherethemercurialWynbrookinterposedonbehalfofamityandthecamp’sespritdecorps。“Why，Lord！ma’am，he’sjestbinlongin’forye！Timesandtimesaginhe’stalkedaboutye；sayin’ howefhecouldonlygetyeoutofyerFifthAvenuesaloontosharehishumblelotwithhimhere，he’ddiehappy！YOU’VEheardhimtalk，Brewster？“ “Frequent，“repliedtheaccommodatingBrewster。 “PartofthesimplerefreshmentIhavetoofferyou，“continuedMrs。Pottinger，ignoringfurthercomment，“isaviandtheexactqualityofwhichIamnotfamiliarwith，butwhichmysoninformsmeisagreatfavoritewithyou。IthasbeenpreparedbyLiSing，undermydirection。Prosper，dear，seethatthe——er——doughnuts—— arebroughtinwiththecoffee。“ Satisfactionbeamedonthefacesofthecompany，withperhapsthesoleexceptionofProsper。Asadishcontaininganumberofbrownglisteningspheresofbakeddoughwasbroughtin，themen’seyesshoneinsympatheticappreciation。Yetthatepicureanlightwasforamomentdulledaseachmangraspedasphere，andthensatmotionlesswithitinhishand，asifitwasaballandtheywerewaitingthesignalforplaying。 “Iamtold，“saidMrs。Pottinger，withaglanceofChristiantoleranceatProsper，“thatlightnessisconsidereddesirablebysome——perhapsyougentlemenmayfindthemheavy。“ “Tharistwokinds，“saidthediplomaticJoecheerfully，ashebegantonibblehis，sideways，likeasquirrel，“lightandheavy； somelikes’emoneway，andsomeanother。“ Theywerehardandheavy，butthemen，assistedbythesteamingcoffee，finishedthemwithheroicpoliteness。“Andnow，gentlemen，“saidMrs。Pottinger，leaningbackinherchairandcalmlysurveyingtheparty，“youhavemypermissiontolightyourpipeswhileyoupartakeofsomewhiskeyandwater。“ Theguestslookedup——gratifiedbutastonished。“Areyesure，ma’am，youdon’tmindit？“saidJoepolitely。 “Notatall，“respondedMrs。Pottingerbriefly。“Infact，asmyphysicianadvisestheinhalationoftobaccosmokeformyasthmaticdifficulties，Iwilljoinyou。“Afteramoment’sfumblinginabeadedbagthathungfromherwaist，sheproducedasmallblackclaypipe，filleditfromthesamereceptacle，andlitit。 Athrillofsurprisewentroundthecompany，anditwasnoticedthatProsperseemedequallyconfounded。Nevertheless，thisawkwardnesswasquicklyovercomebytheprivilegeandexamplegiventhem，andwith，aglassofwhiskeyandwaterbeforethem，themenwerespeedilyattheirease。NordidMrs。Pottingerdisdaintomingleintheirdesultorytalk。Sittingtherewithherblackpipeinhermouth，butstillpreciseandsuperior，shetoldathrillingwhalingadventureofProsper’sfather(drawnevidentlyfromtheexperienceofthelamentedPottinger)，whichnotonlydeeplyinterestedherhearers，butmomentarilyexaltedProsperintheirmindsasthesonofthathero。“Nowyouspeako’that，ma’am，“ saidtheingenuousWynbrook，“there’sagooddealo’Prossyinthatyarno’hisfather’s；samekindo’keerlessgrit！Youremember，boys，thatdaythedambrokeandhestoodthar，thewateruptohisneck，heavin’logsinthebreaktillhestoppedit。“Briefly，theevening，inspiteofitsinitialculinaryfailureanditssurprises，wasadecidedsocialsuccess，andeventhebewilderedanddoubtingProsperwenttobedrelieved。Itwasfollowedbymanyandmoreinformalgatheringsatthehouse，andMrsPottingersofarunbent——ifthattermcouldbeusedofonewhoneveralteredherprimnessofmanner——astojoininagameofpoker——andevenpermittedherselftowin。 ButbytheendofsixweeksanotherchangeintheirfeelingstowardsProsperseemedtocreepinsidiouslyoverthecamp。Hehadbeenreceivedintohisformerfellowship，andeventhepresenceofhismotherhadbecomefamiliar，buthebegantobeanobjectofsecretcommiseration。Theystillfrequentedthehouse，butamongthemselvesafterwardstheytalkedinwhispers。TherewasnodoubttothemthatProsper’soldmotherdranknotonlywhathersonhadprovided，butwhatshesurreptitiouslyobtainedfromthesaloon。 Therewasthetestimonyofthebarkeeper，himselfconcernedequallywiththecampintheintegrityoftheRiggshousehold。Andtherewasanevendarkersuspicion。ButthismustbegiveninJoeWynbrook’sownwords:—— “Ididn’tmindtheoldwomanwinnin’andwinnin’reg’lar——forpoker’sanunsartingame；——itain’tthemoneythatwe’relosin’—— forit’sallinthecamp。Butwhenshe’sdevelopingahabito’ holdin’FOURaceswhensomebodyelsehezTWO，whodon’tliketoletonbecauseit’sProsper’soldmother——it’sgettin’rough！Anddangeroustoo，gentlemen，iftherehappenedtobeanoutsiderin，oroneoftheboysshouldkick。Why，IsawBilsongrindhisteeth—— heholdin’asequenceflush——acehigh——whenthedearoldcritterlaiddownherreg’larfouracesandrakedinthepile。Wehadtonearlykickhislegsoffunderthetableaforehe’dunderstand——nothavin’anoldmotherhimself。“ “SomeunwillhevtotackleherwithoutProssyknowin’it。Foritwouldjestbreakhisheart，arterallhe’sgonethroughtogetherhere！“saidBrewstersignificantly。 “OnlessheDIDknowitanditwasthatwhatmadehimsosorrowfulwhentheyfirstcame。B’gosh！Ineverthoughto’that，“saidWynbrook，withoneofhischaracteristicsuddenilluminations。 “Well，gentlemen，whetherhedidornot，“saidthebarkeeperstoutly，“hemustneverknowthatWEknowit。No，notiftheoldgalcleansoutmybarandtakesthelastscadinthecamp。“ Andtothisnoblesentimenttheyrespondedasoneman。 Howfartheywouldhavebeenabletocarryoutthatheroicresolvewasneverknown，foraneventoccurredwhicheclipseditsimportance。OnemorningatbreakfastMrs。PottingerfixedacloudedeyeuponProsper。 “Prosper，“shesaid，withfelldeliberation“yououghttoknowyouhaveasister。“ “Yes，ma’am，“returnedProsper，withthatmeeknesswithwhichheusuallyreceivedthesefamilydisclosures。 “Asister，“continuedthelady，“whomyouhaven’tseensinceyouwereachild；asisterwhoforfamilyreasonshasbeenlivingwithotherrelatives；agirlofnineteen。“ “Yea，ma’am，“saidProsperhumbly。“Butefyouwouldn’tmindwritin’allthatdownonabito’paper——yeknowmyshortmemory！ Iwouldgetitbyheartto-dayinthegulch。I’dhaveitallpatenoughbynight，ef，“headded，withashortsigh，“yewaskalkilatin’tomakeanyillusionstoitwhentheboysarehere。“ “YoursisterAugusta，“continuedMrs。Pottinger，calmlyignoringthesedetails，“willbehereto-morrowtomakemeavisit。“ ButherethewormProspernotonlyturned，butstoodup，nearlyupsettingthetable。“Itcan’tbedid，ma’amitMUSTN’Tbedid！“ hesaidwildly。“It’senoughformetohaveplayedthiscampwithYOU——butnowtorunin“—— “Can’tbedid！“repeatedMrs。Pottinger，risinginherturnandfixingupontheunfortunateProsperapairofmurkypiraticaleyesthathadoncequelledthesea-rovingPottinger。“Doyou，myadoptedson，daretotellmethatIcan’thavemyownfleshandbloodbeneathmyroof？“ “Yes！I’drathertellthewholestory——I’drathertelltheboysI fooledthem——thangoonagain！“burstouttheexcitedProsper。