第31章

Infact，hehadbeenpossessedbyanotherluminousidea——awildideathattohimseemedalmostasabsurdastheonewhichhadbroughthimallthistrouble。Ithadcometohimlikethatone—— outofastarlitnight——andhehadrisenonemorningwithafeverishintenttoputitintoaction！ItbroughthimlatertotakeanunprecedentedwalkalonewithMissPottinger，tolingerundergreenleavesinunfrequentedwoods，andatlastseemedabouttodeserthimashestoodinalittlehollowwithherhandinhis—— theironlylisteneraninquisitivesquirrel。Yetthiswasallthedisappointedanimalheardhimstammer，—— “Soyousee，dear，itwouldTHENbenolie——for——don’tyousee？—— she’dbereallyMYmotheraswellasYOURS。“ ThemarriageofProsperRiggsandMissPottingerwasquietlycelebratedatSacramento，butProssy’s“oldmother“didnotreturnwiththehappypair。 OfMrs。Pottinger’slatercareersomeideamaybegatheredfromaletterwhichProsperreceivedayearafterhismarriage。 “Circumstances，“wroteMrs。Pottinger，“whichhadinducedmetoaccepttheofferofawidowertotakecareofhismotherlesshousehold，havesincedevelopedintoamoreenduringmatrimonialposition，sothatIcanalwaysoffermydearProsperahomewithhismother，shouldhechoosetovisitthislocality，andasecondfatherinHiramW。Watergates，Esq。，herhusband。“ THECONVALESCENCEOFJACKHAMLIN Thehabituallyquiet，asceticfaceofSethRiverswassomewhatdisturbedandhisbrowswereknittedasheclimbedthelongascentofWindyHilltoitssummitandhisownrancho。Perhapsitwastheeffectofthecharacteristicwind，whichthatafternoonseemedtoassaulthimfromallpointsatonceanddidnotceaseitsbatteryevenathisfrontdoor，buthustledhimintothepassage，blewhimintothesittingroom，andthencelebrateditsownexitfromthelong，ramblinghousebythebangingofdoorsthroughoutthehallsandtheslammingofwindowsintheremotedistance。 Mrs。Riverslookedupfromherworkatthisabruptonsetofherhusband，butwithoutchangingherownexpressionofslightlyfatiguedself-righteousness。Accustomedtotheseelementaleruptions，shelaidherhandsfromforceofhabitupontheliftingtablecloth，andthenrosesubmissivelytobrushtogetherthescatteredembersandashesfromthelargehearthstone，asshehadoftendonebefore。 “You’reinearly，Seth，“shesaid。 “Yes。IstoppedattheCrossRoadsPostOffice。LuckyIdid，oryou’dhevhadkempanyonyourhandsaforeyouknowedit——thisverynight！IfoundthisletterfromDr。Duchesne，“andheproducedaletterfromhispocket。 Mrs。Riverslookedupwithanexpressionofworldlyinterest。Dr。 Duchesnehadbroughthertwochildrenintotheworldwithsomedifficulty，andhadskillfullyattendedherthroughalongillnessconsequentupontheinefficientmaternityofsoulfulbutfragileAmericanwomenofhertype。Thedoctorhadmorethanamerelocalreputationasasurgeon，andMrs。RiverslookeduptohimashersoleconnectinglinkwithaworldofthoughtbeyondWindyHill。 “He’scomin’upyerto-night，bringin’afriendofhis——apatientthathewantsustoboardandkeepforthreeweeksuntilhe’swellagin，“continuedMr。Rivers。“Yeknowhowthedoctorusedtoraveaboutthepureaironourhill。“ Mrs。Riversshiveredslightly，anddrewhershawloverhershoulders，butnoddedapatientassent。 “Well，hesaysit’sjustwhatthatpatientoughterhavetocurehim。He’shadlungfeverandotherthings，andthisyerairandgin’ralquietisboundtosethimup。We’retoboardandkeephimwithoutanyfussorfeathers，andthedoctorsezhe’llpayliberalforit。Thisyer’swhathesez，“concludedMr。Rivers，readingfromtheletter:“’Heisnowfullyconvalescent，thoughweak，andreallyrequiresnoothermedicinethanthe——ozone’——yes，that’swhatthedoctorcallsit——’ofWindyHill，andinfactaslittleattendanceaspossible。Iwillnotlethimkeepevenhisnegroservantwithhim。He’llgiveyounotrouble，ifhecanbeprevailedupontostaythewholetimeofhiscure。’“ “There’sourspareroom——ithasn’tbeenusedsinceParsonGreenwoodwashere，“saidMrs。Riversreflectively。“Melindacouldputittorightsinanhour。Atwhattimewillhecome？“ “He’dcomeaboutnine。TheydriveoverfromHightowndepot。But，“ headdedgrimly，“hereyeareorderin’roomstobedoneupandyedon’tknowwhofor。“ “YousaidafriendofDr。Duchesne，“returnedMrs。Riverssimply。 “Dr。Duchesnehasmanyfriendsthatyouandmemightn’tcottonto，“ saidherhusband。“ThismanisJackHamlin。“Ashiswife’sremoteandintrospectiveblackeyesreturnedonlyvacancy，headdedquickly。“Thenotedgambler！“ “Gambler？“echoedhiswife，stillvaguely。 “Yes——reg’lar；it’shisbusiness。“ “Goodness，Seth！Hecan’texpecttodoithere。“ “No，“saidSethquickly，withthatsenseoffairnesstohisfellowmanwhichmostwomenfinditsodifficulttounderstand。“No——andheprobablywon’tmentiontheword’card’whilehe’shere。“ “Well？“saidMrs。Riversinterrogatively。 “And，“continuedSeth，seeingthattheobjectionwasnotpressed，he’soneofthemdespritmen！Areg’larfighter！Killedtwoorthreemenindools！“ Mrs。Riversstared。“WhatcouldDr。Duchesnehavebeenthinkingof？Why，wewouldn’tbesafeinthehousewithhim！“ AgainSeth’ssenseofequitytriumphed。“Ineverheardofhisfightin’anybodybuthisownkind，andwhenhewasbullyragged。 Andeztowomenhe’squitet’otherwayinfact，andthat’swhyI thinkyeoughterknowitaforeyoulethimcome。Hedon’tgoroundwithdecentwomen。Infact“——ButhereMr。Rivers，inthesanctityofconjugalconfidencesandthefullnessofBiblereading，usedafewstrongscripturalsubstantiveshappilyunnecessarytorepeathere。 “Seth！“saidMrs。Riverssuddenly，“youseemtoknowthisman。“ TheunexpectednessandirrelevancyofthisforamomentstartledSeth。ButthatchasteandGod-fearingmanhadnosecrets。“Onlybyhearsay，Jane，“hereturnedquietly；“butifyesaythewordI’llstophiscomin’now。“ “It’stoolate，“saidMrs。Riversdecidedly。 “Ireckonnot，“returnedherhusband，“andthat’swhyIcamestraighthere。I’veonlygottomeetthematthedepotandsaythisthingcan’tbedone——andthat’stheendofit。They’llgooffquiettothehotel。“ “Idon’tliketodisappointthedoctor，Seth，“saidMrs。Rivers。 “Wemight，“sheadded，withatroubledlookofinquiryatherhusband，“wemighttakethatMr。Hamlinontrial。Likeasnothewon’tstay，anyway，whenheseeswhatwe’relike，Seth。Whatdoyouthink？ItwouldbeonlyourChristianduty，too。“ “Iwasthinkin’o’thatasaprofessin’Christian，Jane，“saidherhusband。“Butsupposin’thatotherChristiansdon’tlookatitinthatlight。Thar’sDeaconStubbsandhiswifeandtheparson。Yerememberwhathesaidabout’nocovenantwithsin’？“ “TheStubbseshavenorighttodictatewhoI’llhaveinmyhouse，“ saidMrs。Riversquickly，withafaintflushinherrathersallowcheeks。 “It’syoursayandnobodyelse’s，“assentedherhusbandwithgrimsubmissiveness。“Youdowhatyoulike。“ Mrs。Riversmused。“There’sonlymyselfandMelindahere，“shesaidwithsublimenaivete；“andthechildrenain’toldenoughtobecorrupted。Iamsatisfiedifyouare，Seth，“andsheagainlookedathiminquiringly。 “Goahead，then，andgetreadyfor’em，“saidSeth，hurryingawaywithunaffectedrelief。“Ifyouhaveeverythingfixedbynineo’clock，that’lldo。“ Mrs。Rivershadeverything“fixed“bythathour，includingherselfpresumably，forshehadputonagraydresswhichsheusuallyworewhenshoppinginthecountytown，addingaprimcollarandcuffs。 Apearl-encircledbrooch，theweddinggiftofSeth，andasolitaireringnexttoherweddingring，withalocketcontainingherchildren’shair，accentedherpositionasaproperwifeandmother。 Ataquartertonineshehadfinishedtidyingtheparlor，openingtheharmoniumsothatthelightmightplayuponitspolishedkeyboard，andbringingfromtheforgottenseclusionofherclosettwobeautifullyboundvolumesofTupper’s“Poems“andPollok’s“CourseofTime，“toimpartaliterarygracetothecentretable。 Shethendrewachairtothetableandsatdownbeforeitwithareligiousmagazineinherlap。Thewindroaredoverthedeep- throatedchimney，theclocktickedmonotonously，andthentherecamethesoundofwheelsandvoices。 ButMrs。Riverswasnotdestinedtoseeherguestthatnight。Dr。 Duchesne，underthesafeleeofthedoor，explainedthatMr。Hamlinhadbeenexhaustedbythejourney，and，assistedbyamildopiate，wasasleepinthecarriage；thatifMrs。Riversdidnotobject，theywouldcarryhimatoncetohisroom。Intheflaringandgutteringofcandles，theflashingoflanterns，theflappingofcoatsandshawls，andthebewilderingrushofwind，Mrs。Riverswasonlyvaguelyconsciousofaslightfiguremuffledtightlyinacloakcarriedpastherinthearmsofagrizzlednegroupthestaircase，followedbyDr。Duchesne。Withtheclosingofthefrontdooronthetumultuousworldwithout，asilencefellagainonthelittleparlor。