xt7cvd6p066x https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7cvd6p066x/data/mets.xml Page, Thomas Nelson, 1853-1922. 190618  books b92-230-31280747v5 English C. Scribner's sons, : New York : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Novels, stories, sketches, and poems of Thomas Nelson Page (vol. 5) text Novels, stories, sketches, and poems of Thomas Nelson Page (vol. 5) 1906 2002 true xt7cvd6p066x section xt7cvd6p066x 









PLANTATION

  EDITION



  VOLUME V

 



















































She gave a step forward and with a quick movement
          pulled the mask from his face.
                     (PAGE 193)

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4 THE NOVELS, STORIES,
SKETCHES AND POEMS OF



THOMAS NELSON



PAGE &



     RED ROCK
A CHRONICLE OF RECONSTRUCTION

           11








CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
NEW YORK.  4  + 1906



I



I

 




























Copyright, 1898, 1906, by
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS


  All Rights Resem'ed

 










                 CONTENTS


CHAPTER                                     PAGE
  XXV THE TRICK-DOCTOR. . . . . . . . . . . 1

  XXVI MAJOR WELCH AND RUTH BECOME RESIDENTS . 9

  Xxvii HIRAM STILL GETS A LEGAL OPINION AND CAP-
         TAIN ALLEN CLIMBS FOR CHERRIES . . . . 21

XXVIII MRS. WELCH ARRIVES AND GIvES HER FIRST
         LESSON IN ENTERPRISE.. . . . . . . 52

 XXIX MRS. WELCH ENTERS THE HARVEST . . . . . 68

 XXX SOME OF THE GRAIN MRS. WELCH REAPED . . 9

 XXXI JACQUELIN GRAY LEARNS THAT HE IS A FOOL,
        AND STEVE ASTONISHES MAJOR WELCH . . 125

 XXXII A CUT DIRECT AND A REJECTED ADDRESS. . . 157

 XXXIII BLAIR CARY SAVES A RIVAL SCHOOL  . . . . 178

 XXXIV LEECH AND STILL MAKE A MOVE, AND TWO
        WOMEN CHECK THEM . . . . . . . . . 198

XXXV CAPTAIN ALLEN FINDS RUPERT AND BREAKS THE
        LAW ... .  . . . .  . . . . . .   . 216

XXXVI MR. STILL OFFERS A COMPROMISE. AND A BLUFF. 238
                      v

 


                   CONTENTS
CHAPTrER                                      PAGE
XXXVII IN WHICH IT IS SHOWN THAT, IN A TRIAL, COUN-
          SEL MAY ASK ONE QUESTION Too MANY. . 268

XXXVIII IN WHICH MR. LEECH SPRINGS A TRAP WITH
          MUCH SUCCESS   . . . . . . . . . . 295

XXXIX CAPTAIN ALLEN CLAIMS THE REWARD LEECH
         OFFERED  . . .  . . . . .  . . . .  . 341

   XL JACQUELIN GRAY AND ANDY STAMPER PAY AN
         OLD DEBT . . . .  . . . .  . . . .  . 361

   XLI DR. CARY WRITES A LETTER TO AN OLD FRIEND 376

   XUI CAPTAIN ALLEN SURRENDERS . . . . . . . 387

   XLIII MISS WELCH HEARS A PIECE OF NEWS - . . . 404

   XULV MIDDLETON REVISITS RED ROCK, AND AN OLD
         SOLDIER LAYS DOWN HIS ARMS .  . . . . 414

  XLV CAPTAIN ALLEN HAS AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR . 439

  XLVi THE OLD LAWYER DECLINES TO SURPRISE THE
         COURT. AND SURPRISES LEECH  . . . - . 461

 XLVII SOME OF THE THREADS ARE TIED.          472



vi

 























                 ILLUSTRATIONS
                     VOLUME 11

            From Drawings by B. West Clinedinst


SHE GAVE A STEP FORWARD AND WITH A QUICK MOVE-
   MENT PULLED THE MASK FROM HIS FACE . . . Frontispiece
                                            FACING 1'AtGE
STEVE STRETCHED, AND, PICKING UP HIS BOOK, DIVED
   ONCE MORE INTO THE "IDYLLS OF THE KING' . . . 140

AND THERE, IN THE LITTLE PARLOR, STEVE AND RUTH
   WERE MARRIED .460

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RED ROCK
  VOL. II

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            RED ROCK


            CHAPTER XXV
              THE TRICK-DOCTOR

RUTH WELCH, on awaking, still, perhaps,
I t had some little feeling about what she un-
derstood to be her hosts' attitude on the ques-
tion of Northerners, but when on coming down-
stairs she was greeted on the veranda by her
young hostess, who presented her with a hand-
ful of dewy roses, and looked as sweet as any
one of them, or all of them put together, her re-
sentment vanished, and, as she expressed it to
her mother afterward, she "went over to the en-
emy bag and baggage. " As she looked out
through the orchard and across over the fields,
glowing after the last night's rain, there came
to Ruth for the first time that tender feeling
which comes to dwellers in the country, almost
like a sweet odor, and compensates them for so
much besides, and which has made so many a
poet, whether he has written or not. Her hos-
   VOL. II.

 

                RED ROCK
tess took her around the yard to show her her
rose-bushes, particularly one which she said had
come from one which had always been her mo-
ther's favorite at their old home.
  " We have not always lived here " Her voice
had a little interrogation in it as she looked at
Ruth, much as if she had said, "You know"
And just as if she had said it, Ruth answered,
softly, "Yes, I know. "
  "It was almost entirely destroyed once dur-
ing the war when a regiment of cavalry camped
in the yard, " continued the young hostess, " and
we thought it gone; but to our delight a little
sprig put up next spring, and some day I hope
this may be almost as good as the old one."
She sighed, and her eyes rested on the horizon
far away.
  Ruth saw that the roses she had given her
had come from that bush, and she would have
liked to stretch out her arms and take her into
a bond of hearty friendship.
  Just then Major Welch appeared, and a mo-
ment later, breakfast was announced. When
they went into the little plain dining-room there
were other roses in an old blue bowl on the table,
and Ruth saw that they not only made the table
sweet, but were arranged deftly to hide the
                     2

 
           THE TRICK-DOCTOR
cracks and chipped places in the bowl. She was
wondering where Dr. Cary could be, when his
daughter apologized for his absence, explaining
that he had been called up in the night to go and
see a sick woman, and then, in his name, invited
them to remain as their guests as long as might
be convenient to them. They "might find it
pleasanter than to stay at Mr. Still's" This
hospitality the travellers could not accept, but
Ruth appreciated it now, and she would have
appreciated it yet more could she have known
that her young hostess, sitting before her so
dainty and fresh, had cooked their breakfast
that morning. When they left after breakfast,
Miss Cary came out to their vehicle, giving them
full directions as to their road. Had her father
been at homne, she said, he would have taken
pleasure in conducting them himself as far as
the river. Uncle Tarquin would tell them about
the ford.
  The horse was held by an old colored man, of
a dark mahogany hue, with bushy gray hair,
and short gray whiskers. On the approach of
the visitors he took off his hat and greeted them
with an air as dignified as Dr. Cary's could have
been. As he took leave of them, he might have
been a host bidding his guests good-by, and he
                     3

 
                 RED ROCK
seconded his mistress's invitation to them to
come again.
  When they drove off, Ruth somehow felt as if
she were parting from an old friend. Her lit-
tle hostess's patched table-cover and darned
dress, and cracked china hidden by the roses, all
seemed to come before her, and Ruth glanced
at her father with something very like tears in
her eyes. They had been in her heart all the
morning. Major Welch, however, did not ob-
serve it. The fresh, balmy air filled his lungs
like a draught of new life, and he felt an inter-
est in the country about him, and a right to criti-
cise it. It had been rich enough before the war,
he said, and might be made so now if the people
would but give up their prejudices and go to
work. He added many other criticisms, ab-
stractly wise and sensible enough. Ruth lis-
tened in silence.
  As the travellers drove along they passed a
small house, just off the road, hardly more than
a double cabin, but it was set back amid fruit-
trees, sheltered by one great oak, and there was
an air of quietude and peace about it which went
to Ruth's soul. A lady in black, with a white
cap on her gray hair, and a white kerchief on
her shoulders, was sitting out on the little ve-
                      4

 
           THE TRICK-DOCTOR
randa, knitting, and Ruth was sure that as they
drove by she bowed to them.
  The sense of peace was still on the girl when
they came on a country store, at a fork in the
road a mile below. There was a well, off to one
side, and a small group of negroes stood around
it, two or three of them with muskets in their
hands, and one with a hare hung at his waist.
Another, who stood with his back to the road
and had a twisted stick in his hand, and an old
army haversack over his shoulder, was, at the
moment the wagon drew up, talking loudly and
with vehement gesticulation; and, as Major
Welch stopped to ask a question, Ruth caught
the end of what this man was saying:
  "I'm jest as good as any white man, and I'm
goin' to show 'em so. I'm goin' to marry a
white 'oonman and meek white folks wait on me.
When I puts my mark agin a man he's gone,
whether he's a man or a 'ooman, and I'se done
set it now in a gum-tree. "
  His hearers were manifestly much impressed
by him. An exclamation of approval went
round among them.
  The little wagon stopping attracted attention,
and the speaker turned, and then, quickly, as if
to make amends for his loud speech, pulled off
                     5

 
                RED ROCK
his hat and came toward the vehicle with a curi-
ous, cringing motion.
  "My master, my mistis," he said, bowing
lower with each step until his knee almost
touched the ground. He was a somewhat
strongly built, (lark mulatto, perhaps a little
past middle age and of medium height, and, as
he came up to the vehicle, Ruth thought she had
never seen so grotesque a figure, and she took
in by an instinct that this was the trick-doctor
of whom Dr. Cary had spoken. His chin stuck
so far forward that the lower teeth were much
outside of the upper, or, at least, the lower jaw
was; for the teeth looked as though they had
been ground down, and his gums, as he grinned,
showed as blue on the edges as if he had painted
them. His nose was so short and the upper part
of his face receded so much that the nostrils
were unusually wide, and gave an appearance
of a black circle in his yellow countenance. His
forehead was so low that he had evidently
shaved a band across it, and the band ran around
over the top of his flat head, leaving a tuft of
coarse hair right in the middle, and on either
side of it were certain lines which looked as if
they had been tattooed. Immediately under
these were a pair of little furtive eyes which
                      6

 
           THE TRICK-DOCTOR
looked in quite different directions, and yet
moved so quickly at times that it almost seemed
as if they were both focussed on the same ob-
ject. Large brass earrings were in his ears,
and about his throat was a necklace of blue and
white beads.
  Major Welch, having asked his question,
drove on, the mulatto bowing low at each step
as he backed away with that curious motion to-
ward his companions by the well; and Ruth,
who had been sitting very close to her father,
fascinated bv the negro's gaze and strange ap-
pearance, could hardly wait to get out of hear-
ing before she whispered: "Oh, father, did you
ever see such a repulsive-looking creature in all
your life'"
  The Major admitted that he was an ugly fel-
low, and then, as a loud guffaw came to them
from the rear, added, with that reasonable sense
of justice which men possess and are pleased
to call wisdom, that he seemed to be very civil
and was, no doubt, a harmless good-natured
creature.
  "I don't know," said Ruth, doubtfully. "1
only hope T shall never set eyes on him again.
I should die if I were to meet him alone."
  "Oh, nonsense!" said her father, reassur-
                     7

                 RED ROCK
ingly. "They are the most good-natured, civil
poor creatures in the world. I used to see them
during the war. I
  The Major was still contesting Dr. Cary's
prejudices.



8

 






CHAPTER XXVI



  MAJOR WELCH AND RUTH BECOME RESIDENTS

IT was yet early in the day, when the trav-
ellers drove up to Red Rock, and though
there were certain things which showed that the
place was not kept up as it had formerly been,
it was far handsomer, and appeared to be more
extensively cultivated, than any plantation they
had yet seen. A long line of barns and stables
lay at some little distance behind the mansion,
half screened by the hill, and off to one side
stretched a large garden with shrubbery, ap-
parently somewhat neglected, at the far end of
which was a grove or great thicket of evergreens
and other trees.
  A tall man with a slight stoop in his shoulders
came down the broad steps, and advanced to
meet them as they drove up.
  "Is this Colonel Welch" he asked.
  "Well, not exactly, but Major Welch," said
that gentleinan, pleasantly, wondering how he
could know him, "and vou are-Mr. Still"
                     9

                 RED ROCK
  "Yes, sir, I'm the gentleman: I'm Mr. Still
-Colonel Still, some of 'em calls me; but I'm
like yourself, Colonel, I don't care for titles.
The madam, I suppose, sir " he smiled, as he
handed Ruth down.
  " No, my daughter, Miss Welch," said the
Major, a little stiffly, to Ruth 's amusement.
  "Ah! I thought she was a leetle young for
you, Colonel; but sometimes we old fellows get
a chance at a fresh covey and we most always
try to pick a young bird. We 're real glad to
see you, ma 'am, and to have the honor of en-
tertainin' so fine a young lady in our humble
home. My son Wash, the Doctor, ain't at home
this mornin', but he '11 be back to-night, and he '11
know how to make you have a good time. He's
had advantages his daddy never had," he ex-
plained.
  There was something almost pathetic, Major
Welch thought, in this allusion to his son, and
his recognition of his own failure to measure up
to his standard. It made Major Welch overlook
his vulgarity and his attempt to be familiar.
And the Major decided anew that Hiram Still
was not half as black as he had been painted,
and that the opposition to him which he had dis-
covered was nothing but prejudice.
                    10

 
       MAJOR WELCH AND RUTH
  As they entered the house, both Major Welch
and Ruth stopped on the threshold, with an ex-
clamation. Before them stretched one of the
most striking halls Ruth had ever seen. At the
other end was an open door with a glimpse of
green fields and blue hills in the distance; but
it was the hall itself that took Ruth's eye. And
it was the picture of the man in the space just
over the great fireplace that caught Major
Welch. The "Indian-killer" again stood before
him. Clad in his hunter's garb, with the dark
rock behind him, his broken rifle at his feet, his
cap on the back of his head, and his yellow hair
pushed from under it, his eyes fastened on Ma-
jor Welch with so calm and yet so intense a look
that Major Welch was almost startled. That
figure had suddenly obliterated the years. It
brought back to him vividly the whole of his
former visit.
  Ruth, impressed by the expression of her fa-
ther's face, and intensely struck by the picture,
pressed forward to her father's side, almost
holding her breath.
  "I see you're like most folks, ma'am; you're
taken first thing with that picture," said Still;
then added, with a half laugh, "and it's the only
picture in the batch I don't really like. But I
                     11

                 RED ROCK
jist mortally dislikes that, and I'd give it to
anybody who 'd take it down from thar, and save
me harmless."
  He went off into a half reverie. The Major
was examining the frame curiously. He put his
finger on a dim, red smear on the bottom of the
frame. Memory was bringing back a long train
of recollections. Hardly more than ten years
before, he had stood on that same spot and done
the same thing. This hall was thronged with a
gay and happy and high bred company. He
himself was an honored guest. His gracious
host was standing beside him, telling him the
story. He remembered it all. Now-they were
all gone. It was as if a flood had swept over
them. These inanimate things alone had sur-
vived. He ran his hand along the frame.
  The voice of his host broke in on his reflec-
tions.
  " That thar red paint I see you lookin' at, got
on the frame one day the picture fell down be-
fore the war. A nigger was paintin' the hairth
right below it; it wa'n't nailed then-and a gust
of wind come-up sudden and banged a door and
the picture dropped right down in the paint.
Mr. Gray, who used to own this place, was a
settin' right by the winder where his secretary
                     12

 
       MAJOR WELCH AND RUTH
used to stand, and I had jest come back from the
South the day befo' and was talkin' to Mr. Gray
about it in the hall here that minute. 'Well,'
says I to him, 'if I was you, I'd be sort o'
skeered to see that happen';-because thar's a
story about it, that whenever it comes down the
old fellow in the graveyard gits up, and some-
thing's goin' to happen to the man as lives here.
'No,' he says, 'Hiram (he always called me Hi-
ram), I 'm not superstitious; but if anything
should happen, I have confidence in you to know
you'd still be faithful-a faithful friend to my
wife and boys,' he says, in them very words.
And I says to him, 'Mr. Gray, I promise you I
will, faithful.' And that's what I've done, Ma-
jor, I've kept my word and yet, see how they
treat me! So after I got the place I nailed the
picture in the wall-or rather just before that, "
he said in his former natural voice, "and it ain't
been down since, an' it ain't comin' down nei-
ther. '
  "But does that keep him from coming on his
horse as they say Has lie ever been seen since
you nailed the frame to the wall" Ruth asked.
  "Well, ma'am, I can only tell you that I ain't
never seen him," said their host, with a faint,
little smile. "Some says he's still ridin', and
                    13

                 RED ROCK
every time they hears a horse nicker at night
around here they say that's him; but I can't say
as I believes it."
  "Of course you cannot," said the Major, a
little abruptly, "for you know it isn't he; you
have too much sense. A good head and a good
conscience never see apparitions." The Major
was still thinking of the past.
  "How like he is to a picture I saw at Dr.
Cary's, that they said was of a young Mr. Gray
who still lives about here," said Ruth, recur-
ring to the picture. She turned and was sur-
prised to see what a change had come over her
host's face. He suddenly changed the subject.
  "Well, I'm glad you've come down, Colonel.
Only I'm sorry I didn't know just when you
were coming. I'd have sent my carriage for
you. I've been lookin' out for you, and I've
got the prettiest place in the country for you,"
he said. He nodded over in the direction of
the garden. "I want to take you to see it. It
will just suit you. The house ain't big, but the
land's as rich as low grounds.
  "And you're the very sort of a man we want
here, Major. Your name will be worth a heap
to us. Between ourselves, you can conjure with
a Gover'ment title like a trick-doctor. Now, this
                    14

 
       MAJOR WELCH AND RUTH
fall, if you just go in with us-How would you
like to go to the Legislature" he asked, his
voice lowered the least bit, and interrupting
himself in a way he had.
  "Not at all," said Major Welch. "No poli-
tics for me. Why, I'm not eligible-even if I
settle here. I suppose there are some require-
ments in the way of residence and so forth"
  "Oh! requirements ain't nothin'. We 've got
the Legislature, you see, and we-There's some
several been elected ain't been here as long as
you'll been when the election comes off." He
glanced at Major Welch and interrupted him-
self again. "The fact is, Major," he explained,
in a somewhat lower key, "we've had to do
some things a leetle out of the regular run-to
git the best men we could. But if we could get
a gentleman like yourself-"
  "No, I'ni not in politics," said Major Welch,
decisively. "I've neither experience nor liking
for it, and I've come for business purposes  "
  "Of course, you are quite right, Major, you're
just like me; but I didn't know what your opin-
ion was. Well, you've come to the right place
for business, Major," he said, in so changed a
voice that he seemed to be two persons speaking.
"It's the garden spot of the world-the money's
                    15

                 RED ROCK
jest layin' round to waste on the ground, if the
folks jist had the sense to see it. All it wants is
a little more capital. Colonel Leech and them's
been talkin' about runnin' a railroad through
this region. You know after all 's said and done,
Colonel, I ain't nothin' but a plain farmer. I
talks about railroads, but, fact is, I'd ruther see
cotton and corn grow 'n, the finest railroad's
ever run. My son Wash, the Doctor, he's got
education, and he's got city ways and wants a
railroad, and I says to him, that's all right,
Wash, you have yer railroad and enjoy it, but
jist let yer old pappy set on his porch and see
the crops grow. I've made ten thousand dol-
lars a year clear money on this place, and that's
good enough for me, I says. That may sound
like foolishness to you, Major, but that's my
raisin', and a man can't git over his raisin'."
  This was a philosophic fact which the Major
had often been struck with, and it appeared to
him now that he had a most excellent example
of it before him.
  As Major Welch was desirous to get settled as
soon as possible, he and Ruth rode over that af-
ternoon to take a look at the place Still had
spoken of. A detour of a mile or so brought
them around to a small farm-house with peaked
                     16

 
       MAJOR WELCH AND RUTH
roof and dormer windows, amid big locust-trees,
on top of a hill. Behind it, at a little distance,
rose the line of timbered spurs that were visible
through the hall-door at Red Rock, and in front
a sudden bend brought the river in view, with
an old mill on its nearer bank, and the comb of
water flashing over the dam. Ruth gave an ex-
clamation of delight. She sketched rapidly just
what they could do with the place. Still ob-
served her silently, and when Major Welch in-
quired what price was asked for the place, told
him that he could not exactly say that it was for
sale. The Major looked so surprised at this,
however, that he explained himself.
  "It is this way," he said, "it is for sale and it
ain't. "
  "Well, that's a way I do not understand.
Whose is it" said Major Welch, so stiffly that
the other changed his tone.
  "Well, the fact is, Colonel, to be honest about
it," he said, "this here place belongs to me; but
I was born on this here place, not exactly in this
house, but on the place, an' I always thought 't
if anything was to happen-if my son Wash,
the Doctor, was to git married or anything, and
take a notion to set up at Red Rock, I might
come back here and live-you see"
   VOL. H.          17

 
                RED ROCK
  The Major was mollified. He had not given
the man credit for so much sentiment.
  "Of course, if you really wants it-" began
Still, but the Major said, no, he would not insist
on one's making such a sacrifice; that such a
feeling did him credit.
  So the matter ended in Still's proposing to
lease the place to the Major, which was accepted,
Major Welch agreeing to the first price he
named, only saying he supposed it was the cus-
tomary figure, which Still assured him was the
case. He pointed out to him that the land was
unusually rich.
  "What's the name of the place 7" asked Ruth.
  "Well, 'tain't got any special name. We call
it Stamper's," Still said.
  "Stamper-Stamper" repeated the Major.
"Where have I heard that name "
  "You might 'a' heard of him in connection
with the riot 't took place near here a few years
ago, when a dozen or so soldiers was murdered.
'Twas up here they hatched the plot and from
here they started. They moved away from here,
and I bought it."
  It was not in this connection that the Major re-
called the name.
  "What was ever done about it" he asked.
                    18

        MAJOR WELCH AND RUTH
  "Nothin'. What could you do" demanded
Still, tragically.
  "Why, arrest them and hang them, or send
them to prison."
  Still gave an ejaculation.
  "You don't know 'em, Major! But we are
gittin' 'em straight now," he added.
  On their return to Red Rock they found that
Still's son, the Doctor, had arrived. He was a
tall, dark, and, at a distance, a rather handsome
young man; but on nearer view this impression
vanished. His eyes were small and too close to-
gether, like his father's, but instead of the good-
humored expression which these sometimes had,
his had a suspicious and ill-contented look. He
dressed showily and evidently took great pride
in his personal appearance. He had some edu-
cation and was fond of making quotations, es-
pecially in his father's presence, toward whom
his attitude was one of censoriousness and ill-
humor.
  His manner to the Major was always polite,
and to Ruth it was especially so; but to the ser-
vants it was arrogant, and to his father it was
little short of contemptuous. The Major heard
him that evening berating someone in so angry
a tone that he thought it was a dog he was scold-
                     19

                  RED ROCK
ing, until he heard Hiram Still 's voice in mild
expostulation; and again at the table that even-
ing Dr. Still spoke to his father so sharply for
some little breach of table etiquette that the
Major's blood boiled. The meekness with which
the father took his son's rebuke did more to se-
cure for him the Major's friendship than any-
thing else that occurred during their stay with
him.



20

 






CHAPTER XXVII



HIRAM STILL GETS A LEGAL OPINION AND CAPTAIN
         ALLEN CLIMBS FOR CHERRIES

 A S Major Welch was anxious to be indepen-
     dent, he declined Still's invitation to stay
with him, and within a week he and Ruth were
"camping out" at the Stamper place, which he
had rented, preparing it for the arrival of Mrs.
Welch and their furniture.
  As it happened, no one had called on the
Welches while they remained at Still's; but they
were no sooner in their own house than all the
neighbors round began to come to see them.
  Ruth found herself treated as if she were an
old friend, and feeling as if she had known these
visitors all her life. One came in an old wagon
and brought two or three chairs, which were left
until Ruth's should come; another sent over a
mahogany table; a third came with a quarter of
lamb; all accompanied by some message of apol-
ogy or friendliness which made the kindness
appear rather done to the senders than by them.
                     21

 
                RED ROCK
  In the contribution which the Carys brought,
Ruth found the two old cups she had admired.
She packed them up and returned them to Blair
with the sweetest note she knew how to write.
  As soon as he was settled, Major Welch went
to the Court-house to examine the records. He
had intended to go alone and had made arrange-
ments, the afternoon before, with a negro near
by to furnish him a horse next day; that even-
ing, however, Still, who appeared to know every-
thing that was going on, rode over and asked
if he could not take him down in his buggy. He
had to go there on some business, he explained,
and Colonel Lee(ch would be there and had told
him he wanted to see the Major and talk over
some matters, and wanted him to be there
too.
  The Major would have preferred to go first
without Still. However, there was nothing else
to do but to accept the offer he made of his com-
pany; and the next morning Still drove over,
and they set out together, Ruth saying that she
had plenty to occupy her until her father's re-
turn.
  They had not been gone very long and Ruth
was busying herself, out in the yard, trimming
the old rose-bushes into some sort of shape, when
                     22

 
   HIRAM STILL GETS AN OPINION
she heard a step, and looking up saw coming
across the grass, the small man they had met in
the road, who had told them the way to Dr.
Cary's.
  He wasn't "so very busy just then," he said.
and had come to see if they "mightn't like to
have a little hauling done when their furniture
came."
  Ruth thought that her father had arranged
with Mr. Still to have it done.
  "I ain't particularly busy jest now, and I'd
take feed along-I jest thought I'd like to be
neighborly," repeated the man. "Hiram, I
s'pect, he's chargin' you some'n'
  Ruth supposed so.
  "Well, if he ain't directly, he will some way.
The best way to pay Hiram is to pay him right
down. "
  He asked Ruth if she would mind his going in
and looking at the house, and, when she as-
sented, he walked around silently, looking at the
two rooms which she showed him: their sitting--
room and her father's room; then asked if he
could not look into the other room also. This
was Ruth's chamber, and for a second she hesi-
tated to gratify curiosity carried so far; but re-
flecting that he was a plain countryman, and
                     23

                 RED ROCK
might possibly misunderstand her refusal and
be wounded, she nodded her assent, and stepped
forward to open the door. He opened it him-
self, however, and walked in, stepping on tip-
toe. He stopped in the middle of the room and
looked about him, his gaze resting presently on
a nail driven into a strip in the wall just beside
the bed.
  "I was born in this here room," he said, as
much to himself as to her; then, after a pause:
"right in that thar cornder-and my father was
born in it before me and his father befo' him,
and to think that Hiram owns it! Hiram Still!
Well-well-things do turn out strange-don't
they Thar's the very nail my father used to
hang his big silver watch on. I b'lieve I'd give
Hiram a hoss for that nail, ef I knowed where
I could get another one to plough my crop."
He walked up and put his hand on the nail, feel-
ing it softly. Then walked out.
  "Thankee, miss. Will you tell yo' pa, Ser-
geant Stamper 'd be glad to do what he could
for him, and ef he wants him jist to let him
know" He had gone but a few steps, when he
turned back: "And will you tell him I say he's
got to watch out for Hiram"
  The next moment he was gone, leaving Ruth
                    24

 
   HIRAM STILL GETS AN OPINION
with a sinking feeling about her heart. What
could he mean 
  She had not long to think of it, however, for
just then she heard the sound of wheels grinding
along outside, and she looked out of the door
just as a rickety little wagon drew up to the
door. She recognized the driver as Miss Cary
and walked out to meet her. Beside Blair in the
wagon sat, wrapped up in shawls, though the day
was warm, an elderly lady with a faded face,
but with very pleasant eyes, looking down at
Ruth from under a brown veil. Ruth at first
supposed that she was Blair's mother, but Blair
introduced her as " Cousin Tliomasia. " As they
helped the lady out of the vehicle, Ruth was
amused at the preparation she made. Every
step she took she gave some explanation or ex-
clamation, talking to herself, it appeared, rather
than to either of the girls.
  "My dear Blair, for heaven's sake don't let
his head go. Take care, my dear, don't let
this drop. " (This to Ruth, about a package
wrapped in paper.)
When at length she was down on the ground,
she asked Blair if her bonnet was on straight:
"Because, my dear"-and Ruth could not for
her life tell to whom she was speaking-"no-
                    25

 
                RED ROCK
thing characterizes a woman more than her
bonnet. "
  Then having been assured that this mark of
character was all right, she turned to Ruth, and
said, with the greatest graciousness:
  "How do you do, my dear You must allow
me to kiss you. I am Cousin Thomasia. "
  Ruth's surprised look as she greeted her, per-
haps, made her add, "I am everybody's Cousin
Thomasia. "
  It was indeed as she said, she was everybody's
Cousin Thomasia, and before she had been in
the house ten minutes, Ruth felt as if she were,
at least, hers. She accepted the arm-chair of-
fered her, with the graciousness of a queen, and
spread out her faded skirts with an air which
Ruth noted and forthwith determined to copy.
Then she produced her knitting, and began to
knit so quietly that it was almost as if the yarn
and needles had appeared at her bidding. The
next instant she began a search for something--
began it casually, so casually that she knit be-
tween-times, but the search quickened and the
knitting ceased.
  " Blair -!"
  "You brought