第33章

“Igrievetosayyouaredeeplymistaken——itismyveryown，“hereturnedwithgreatgravity。Nevertheless，hedrewthecoverletcloseoverhisshoulder。Butherehewasagainattractedbyanotherfaceatthehalf-openeddoor——afreckledone，belongingtoaboyapparentlyayearortwoolderthanthegirl。Hewasviolentlytelegraphingtohertocomeaway，althoughitwasevidentthathewasatthesametimedeeplyinterestedintheguest’stoiletarticles。YetashisbrightgrayeyesandMr。Hamlin’sbrownonesmet，hesuccumbed，asthegirlhad，andwalkeddirectlytothebedside。Buthediditbashfully——asthegirlhadnot。Heevenattemptedadefensiveexplanation。 “Shehadn’toughtercomeinhere，andmarwouldn’tlether，andsheknowsit，“hesaidwithsuperiorvirtue。 “ButIaskedhertocomeasI’maskingyou，“saidMr。Hamlinpromptly，“anddon’tyougobackonyoursisteroryou’llneverbepresidentoftheUnitedStates。“Withthishelaidhishandontheboy’stowhead，andthen，liftinghimselfonhispillowtoahalf- sittingposture，putanarmaroundeachofthechildren，drawingthemtogether，withthedolloccupyingthecentralpostofhonor。 “Now，“continuedMr。Hamlin，albeitinavoicealittlefaintfromtheexertion，“nowthatwe’recomfortabletogetherI’lltellyouthestoryofthegoodlittleboywhobecameapirateinordertosavehisgrandmotherandlittlesisterfrombeingeatenbyawolfatthedoor。“ But，alas！thatinterestingrecordofself-sacrificeneverwastold。ForitchancedthatMelindaBird，Mrs。Rivers’shelp，followingthetrailofthemissingchildren，cameupontheopendoorandglancedin。There，toherastonishment，shesawthedomesticgroupalreadydescribed，andtohereyesdominatedbythe“mostbeautifulandperfectlyelegant“youngmanshehadeverseen。 Butletnottheincautiousreadersupposethatshesuccumbedasweaklyasherartlesschargestothesefascinations。Thecharacterandantecedentsofthatyoungmanhadbeenalreadydeliveredtoherinthekitchenbytheotherhelp。Withthatsingleglanceshehalted；hereyessoughttheceilinginchasteexaltation。Fallingbackastep，shecalledinladylikehauteurandprecision，“MaryEmmelineandJohnWesley。“ Mr。Hamlinglancedatthechildren。“It’sMelindylookingforus，“ saidJohnWesley。Buttheydidnotmove。AtwhichMr。Hamlincalledoutfaintlybutcheerfully，“They’rehere，allright。“ Againthevoicearosewithstillmoremarkedandloftydistinctness，“JohnWesleyandMaryEm-me-line。“ItseemedtoMr。 Hamlinthathumanaccentscouldnotconveyamoresignificantandelevatedignoringofsomeimpliedimproprietyinhisinvitation。 Hewasforamomentcrushed。 Butheonlysaidtohislittlefriendswithasmile，“You’dbettergonowandwe’llhavethatstorylater。“ “Afferbeckus？“suggestedMaryEmmeline。 “Inthewoods，“addedJohnWesley。 Mr。Hamlinnoddedblandly。Thechildrentrottedtothedoor。ItcloseduponthemandMissBird’spartingadmonition，loudenoughforMr。Hamlintohear，“Nomorefreedoms，nomoreintrudings，youhear。“ Theolderculprit，Hamlin，retreatedluxuriouslyunderhisblankets，butpresentlyanothernewsensationcameoverhim—— absolutely，hunger。Perhapsitwasthechild’sallusionto“beckus，“buthefoundhimselfwonderingwhenitwouldbeready。 Thisanxietywassoonrelievedbytheappearanceofhishosthimselfbearingatray，possiblyindeferencetoMissBird’ssenseofpropriety。ItappearedalsothatDr。Duchesnehadpreviouslygivensuitabledirectionsforhisdiet，andMr。Hamlinfoundhisrepastsimplebutenjoyable。Alwaysplayfullyorironicallypolitetostrangers，hethankedhishostandsaidhehadsleptsplendidly。 “It’sthisyer’ozone’intheairthatDr。Duchesnetalksabout，“ saidSethcomplacently。 “Iaminclinedtothinkitisalsothosetexts，“saidMr。Hamlingravely，asheindicatedthemonthewall。“Youseetheyremindedmeofchurchandmyboyhood’sslumbersthere。Ihaveneversleptsopeacefullysince。“Seth’sfacebrightenedsointerestedlyatwhathebelievedtobeasuggestionofhisguest’sconversionthatMr。Hamlinwasfaintochangethesubject。Whenhishosthadwithdrawnheproceededtodresshimself，butherebecameconsciousofhisweaknessandwasobligedtositdown。Inoneofthoseenforcedrestshechancedtobenearthewindow，andforthefirsttimelookedontheenvironsofhisplaceofexile。Foramomenthewasstaggered。Everythingseemedtopitchdownwardfromtherockyoutcroponwhichtheramblinghouseandfarmshedsstood。Eventhegreatpinesarounditsweptdownwardlikeagreenwave，toriseagaininenormousbillowsasfarastheeyecouldreach。Hecouldcountadozenoftheirtumbledcrestsfollowingeachotherontheirwaytothedistantplain。Insomevaguepointofthatshimmeringhorizonofheatanddustwasthespothecamefromtheprecedingnight。Yettherecollectionofitandhisfeverishpastseemedtoconfusehim，andheturnedhiseyesgladlyaway。 Pale，alittletremulous，butimmaculateandjauntyinhiswhiteflannelsandstrawhat，heatlastmadehiswaydownstairs。Tohisgreatreliefhefoundthesittingroomempty，ashewouldhavewillinglydeferredhisformalacknowledgmentstohishostesslater。 Asingleglanceattheinteriordeterminedhimnottolinger，andheslippedquietlyintotheopenairandsunshine。Thedaywaswarmandstill，asthewindonlycameupwiththegoingdownofthesun，andtheatmospherewasstillredolentwiththemorningspicingofpineandhayandastrongerbalmthatseemedtofillhisbreastwithsunshine。Hewalkedtowardthenearestshade——aclusterofyoungbuckeyes——andhavingwithacertaincivicfastidiousnessflickedthedustfromastumpwithhishandkerchiefhesatdown。 Itwasveryquietandcalm。Thelifeandanimationofearlymorninghadalreadyvanishedfromthehill，orseemedtobesuspendedwiththesuninthesky。Hecouldseetheranchmenandoxentoilingonthegreenterracedslopesbelow，butnosoundreachedhisears。Eventhehousehehadjustquittedseemedemptyoflifethroughoutitsramblinglength。Hisseclusionwascomplete。Couldhestanditforthreeweeks？Perhapsitneednotbeforsolong；hewasalreadystronger！HeforesawthattheasceticSethmightbecomewearisome。HehadanintuitionthatMrs。 Riverswouldbeequallyso；heshouldcertainlyquarrelwithMelinda，andthiswouldprobablydebarhimfromthecompanyofthechildren——hisonlyhope。 Buthisseclusionwasbynomeanssocompleteasheexpected。Hepresentlywasawareofacamp-meetinghymnhummedsomewhatostentatiouslybyadeepcontraltovoice，whichheatoncerecognizedasMelinda’s，andsawthatseverevirginproceedingfromthekitchenalongtheridgeuntilwithinafewpacesofthebuckeyes，whenshestoppedand，withherhandshadinghereyes，apparentlybegantoexaminethedistantfields。Shewasatall，robustgirl，notwithoutcertainrusticattractions，ofwhichsheseemedfullyconscious。ThislatterweaknessgaveMr。Hamlinanewidea。Heputupthepenknifewithwhichhehadbeenparinghisnailswhilewonderingwhyhishandshadbecomesothin，andawaitedevents。Shepresentlyturned，approachedthebuckeyes，pluckedaspikeoftheblossomswithgreatgirlishlightness，andthenapparentlydiscoveringMr。Hamlin，startedindeepconcernandsaidwithsomewhatstentorianpoliteness:“IBEGyourpardon——didn’tknowIwasintruding！“ “Don’tmentionit，“returnedJackpromptly，butwithoutmoving。“I sawyoucomingandwasprepared；butgenerally——asIhavesomethingthematterwithmyheart——asuddenjoylikethisisdangerous。“ Somewhatmystified，butstrugglingbetweenanexpressionofrigorousdecorumandgratifiedvanity，MissMelindastammered，“I wasonly“—— “Iknewit——Isawwhatyouweredoing，“interruptedJackgravely，“onlyIwouldn’tdoitifIwereyou。Youwerelookingatoneofthoseyoungmendownthehill。Youforgotthatifyoucouldseehimhecouldseeyoulookingtoo，andthatwouldonlymakehimconceited。AndagirlwithYOURattractionsdon’trequirethat。“ “Ezif，“saidMelinda，withloftybutsomewhatreddeningscorn，“therewasamanonthishullranchothatI’dtakeasecondlookat。“ “It’sthefirstlookthatdoesthebusiness，“returnedJacksimply。 “ButmaybeIwaswrong。Wouldyoumind——asyou’regoingstraightbacktothehouse“(MissMelindahadcertainlyexpressednosuchintention)——“turningthosetwolittlekidslooseouthere？I’veasortofengagementwiththem。“ “Iwillspeaktotheirmar，“saidMelindaprimly，yetwithacertainsignofrelenting，assheturnedaway。 “YoucansaytoherthatIregrettednotfindingherinthesittingroomwhenIcamedown，“continuedJacktactfully。 Apparentlythetactwassuccessful，forhewasdelightedafewmomentslaterbythejoyousonsetofJohnWesleyandMaryEmmelineuponthebuckeyes，whichheatonceconvertedintoagameofhideandseek，permittinghimselfatlasttobeshamelesslycaughtintheopen。Butherehewiselyresolveduponguardingagainstfurthergrown-upinterruption，andconsultingwithhiscompanionsfoundthatononeofthelowerterracestherewasalargereservoirfedbyamountainrivulet，buttheywerenotallowedtoplaythere。 Thither，however，therecklessJackhiedwithhisplaymatesandwaspresentlyensconcedunderawillowtree，wherehedexterouslyfashionedtinywillowcanoeswithhispenknifeandsentthemsailingoverasubmergedexpanseofnearlyanacre。Buthalfanhourofthisingeniousamusementwasbroughttoanabrupttermination。Whilecuttingbark，withhisbackmomentarilyturnedonhiscompanions，heheardascream，andturnedquicklytoseeJohnWesleystrugglinginthewater，graspingatreeroot，andMaryEmmeline——nowhere！Inanotherminutehesawthestringsofherpinaforeappearonthesurfaceafewyardsbeyond，andinyetanotherminute，withaswiftruefulglanceathiswhiteflannels，hehadplungedafterher。Adisagreeableshockoffindinghimselfoutofhisdepthswas，however，followedbycontactwiththechild’sclothing，andclutchingherfirmly，astrokeortwobroughthimpantingtothebank。Hereagasp，agurgle，andthenaroarfromMaryEmmeline，followedbyasympathetichowlfromJohnWesley，satisfiedhimthatthedangerwasover。Rescuingtheboyfromthetreeroot，helaidthembothonthegrassandcontemplatedthemexercisingtheirlungswithmiserablesatisfaction。Butherehefoundhisownbreathingimpededinadditiontoaslightfaintness，andwassuddenlyobligedtositdownbesidethem，atwhich，bysomesympatheticintuition，theybothstoppedcrying。