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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4cbb1c3 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #54766 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54766) diff --git a/old/54766-0.txt b/old/54766-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index df23218..0000000 --- a/old/54766-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9520 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Traitor, by Thomas Dixon, Jr. - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The Traitor - A Story of the Fall of the Invisible Empire - -Author: Thomas Dixon, Jr. - -Illustrator: C. D. Williams - -Release Date: May 23, 2017 [EBook #54766] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRAITOR *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - - - - - - - - -THE TRAITOR - -A Story of the Fall of the Invisible Empire - -By Thomas Dixon, Jr. - -Illustrated By C. D. Williams - -New York: Doubleday, Page & Company - -1907 - -[Illustration: 0001] - -[Illustration: 0008] - -[Illustration: 0008] - -DEDICATED TO THE MEN OF THE SOUTH WHO SUFFERED EXILE. IMPRISONMENT AND -DEATH FOR THE DARING SERVICE THEY RENDERED OUR COUNTRY AS CITIZENS OF -THE INVISIBLE EMPIRE - -This volume closes, as originally planned, - -“THE TRILOGY OF RECONSTRUCTION” - -“The Leopard’s Spots” - -“The Clansman” - -“The Traitor” - -“The Clansman” ended with the political triumph of the Klu Klux Klan, -or Invisible Empire. The story of “The Traitor” opens with the order of -dissolution by General Forest and is set in the atmosphere of the fierce -neighborhood feuds which marked the Klan’s downfall in the Piedmont -region of the South. - -Thomas Dixon, Jr. - -New York, 1907. - - - - -LEADING CHARACTERS OF THE STORY - - -Scene: The Foothills of North Carolina. - -Time: 1870 to 1872. - -John Graham.............Ex-chief of the Klan - -Major Graham............His Father - -Billy...................His Brother - -Alfred..................The Family Butler - -Mrs. Wilson.............Their Landlady - -Susie...................Her Daughter - -Dan Wiley...............A Mountaineer - -Steve Hoyle.............Chief of the New Klan - -Judge Butler............Of the U. S. Circuit Court - -Stella..................His Daughter - -Aunt Julie Ann..........His Cook - -Maggie..................Stella’s Maid - -Suggs...................A Detective - -Ackerman................Of the U. S. Secret Service - -Alexander Larkin........A Carpetbagger - -Isaac A. Postle.........A Sanctified Man - -The Attorney General of the United States -Hon. Reverdy Johnson of Maryland - -Hon. Henry Stanbery.....Of Ohio - -U. S. Grant.............The President - - - - -THE TRAITOR - - - - -BOOK I-THE CRIME - - - - -CHAPTER I--THE THREAT - - -WHAS the mather with the latch! - -He shook it gently. - -“No mistake about it--grown solid to the fence. I’ll have to climb -over.” - -He touched the points of the sharp pickets, suddenly straightened -himself with dignity and growled: - -“I won’t climb over my own fence, and I won’t scratch under. I’ll walk -straight through.” - -A vicious lurch against the gate smashed the latch and he fell heavily -inside. - -He had scarcely touched the ground when a fair girl of eighteen, dressed -in spotless white, reached the gate, running breathlessly, darted -inside, seized his arm and helped him to his feet. - -“Mr. John, you must come home with me,” she said eagerly. - -“Grot to see old Butler, Miss Susie.” - -“You’re in no condition to see Judge Butler.” She spoke with tenderness -and yet with authority. - -“And why not?” he argued good-naturedly. “Ain’t I dressed in my best bib -and tucker?” - -He brushed the dirt from his seedy frock coat and buttoned it carefully. - -“You’ve been drinking,” pleaded the girl. - -“Yet I’m not drunk!” he declared triumphantly. - -“Then you’re giving a good imitation,” she said with an audible smile. - -“Miss Susie, I deny the allegation.” - -He bowed with impressive dignity. - -Susie drew him firmly toward the street. - -“You mustn’t go in--I ran all the way to stop you in time--you’ll -quarrel with the Judge.” - -“That’s what I came for.” - -“Well, you musn’t do it. Mama says the Judge has the power to ruin you.” - -John’s eyes shot a look of red hate toward the house and his strong jaws -snapped. - -“He has done it already, child!” he growled; paused, and changed his -tone to a quizzical drawl. “The fact is, Miss Susie, I’ve merely imbibed -a little eloquence on purpose to-night to tell this distinguished -ornament of the United States Judiciary, without reservation and with -due emphasis, just how many kinds of a scoundrel he really is.” - -“Don’t do it.” - -“It’s my patriotic duty.” - -“But you’ll fight.” - -“Far from it, Miss Susie. I may thrash the Judge incidentally during our -talk, but there will be no fight.” - -“Please don’t go in, Mr. John!” she pleaded softly. - -“I must, child,” he answered, smilingly but firmly. “Old Butler to-day -used his arbitrary power to disbar me from the practice of law. If that -order stands, I’m a pauper. I already owe your mother for two months’ -board.” - -“We don’t want the money,” eagerly broke in the girl. - -“Two months’ board,” he went on, ignoring her interruption, “for my dear -old crazy Dad, helpless as a babe with his faithful servant Alfred who -must wait on him--two months’ board for my bouncing brother Billy, an -eighteen-year-old cub who never missed a meal--two months’ board for -my war-tried appetite that was never known to fail. No, Miss Susie, we -can’t impose on the good nature of the widow Wilson and her beautiful -daughter who does the work of a slave without wages and without a -murmur.” - -Susie’s eyes suddenly fell. - -“No, I’ve given Alfred orders to pack. We must move to-morrow.” - -“You’ll do nothing of the kind,” cried the girl. “You can pay us when -you are able. Your father saved us from want during the war. We owe -him a debt that can’t be paid. He is no trouble, and Alfred works the -garden. Mother loves Billy as if he were my brother. And we are honoured -in having you in our home.” - -The tender gray eyes were lowered again. - -John looked at her curiously, bowed and kissed her hand. - -“Thanks, Miss Susie! I appreciate, more than I can tell, your coming -alone after me here to-night--a very rash and daring thing for a girl to -do in these troublesome times. Such things make a fellow ashamed that -he ever took a drink, make him feel that life is always worth the -fight--and I’m going to make it to-night--and I’m going to win!” - -“Then don’t give old Butler the chance to ruin you,” pleaded the gentle -voice. - -“I won’t, my little girl, I won’t--don’t worry! I’ll play my trump -card--I’ve got it here.” - -He fumbled in his pocket and drew out a letter which he crushed -nervously in his slender but powerful hand, drawing his tall figure -suddenly erect. - -The girl saw that her pleadings were in vain, and said helplessly: - -“You won’t come back with me?” - -“No, Miss Susie, I’ve serious work just now with the present lord of -this manor; my future hangs on the issue. I’ll win--and I’ll come home -later in the evening without a scratch.” - -Again the slender white hand rested on his arm. “Promise me to wait -an hour until you are cooler and your head is clear before you see -him--will you?” - -“Maybe,” he said evasively. - -“If you do appreciate my coming,” she urged, “at least show it by this; -promise for my sake, won’t you?” - -He hesitated a moment and answered with courtesy: - -“Yes, I promise for your sake, Susie, my little mascot and fellow -conspirator of The Invisible Empire--good-bye!” He seized her hand, and -held it a moment. “My! my! but you look one of us to-night, with that -sylph figure robed in white standing there ghost-like in the moonlit -shadows!” - -“I wish I could share your dangers. I’d go on a raid with you if you’d -let me,” she cried eagerly. - -“No doubt,” he laughed. - -“I’ll sit up until you come,” she whispered as she turned and left him. - -John Graham leaned against the picket fence and watched intently the -white figure until Susie Wilson disappeared. The talk with her had more -than half sobered him. - -“And now for business,” he muttered, turning through the open gate -toward the house. He stopped suddenly with amazement. - -“Well, what the Devil! every window from cellar to attic ablaze with -light. And the old scoundrel has always kept it dark as the grave.” - -He seated himself on a rustic bench in the shadows to await the lapse of -the hour he had promised Susie, and pondered more carefully the plan of -personal vengeance against Butler which was now rapidly shaping itself -in his mind. That he had the power, as chief of the dreaded Ku Klux -Klan, to execute it was not to be doubted. The Invisible Empire obeyed -his word without a question. - -Tender memories of his childhood began to flood his soul. Beneath these -trees he had spent the happiest days of life--the charmed life of the -old régime. He could see now the stately form of his mother moving among -its boxwood walks directing the work of her slaves. - -He had not been there before since the day her body was carried from -the hall five years ago and laid to rest in the family vault in the far -corner of the lawn. Ah, that awful day! Could he ever forget it? The day -old Butler brought his deputy marshals and evicted his father and mother -from the home they loved as life itself! - -The Graham house had always been a show place in the town of -Independence. Built in 1840, by John’s grandfather, Robert Graham, the -eccentric son of Colonel John Graham of Revolutionary fame, it was a -curious mixture of Colonial and French architecture. The French touches -were tributes to the Huguenot ancestry of his grandmother. - -The building crowned the summit of a hill and was surrounded by -twenty-five acres of trees of native growth beneath which wound -labyrinths of walks hedged by boxwood. Its shape was a huge, red brick -rectangle, three and a half stories in height, with mansard roof broken -by quaint projecting French windows. On three sides porches had been -added, their roof supported by small white Colonial columns. The front -door, of pure Colonial pattern, opened directly into a great hall of -baronial dimensions, at the back of which a circular stairway wound -along the curved wall. - -The attic story was lighted by the windows of an observatory. From the -hall one could thus look up through the galleries of three floors and -the slightest whisper from above was echoed with startling distinctness. -The strange noises which the Negro servants had heard floating down -from these upper spaces had been translated into ghost stories which -had grown in volume and picturesque distinction with each succeeding -generation. The house had always been “haunted.” - -The family vault in the remotest corner of the lawn was built of solid -masonry sunk deep into the hillside. Its iron doors, which were never -locked, opened through a mass of tangled ivy and honeysuckle climbing -in all directions over the cedars and holly which completely hid its -existence. - -Popular tradition said that Robert Graham had loved his frail Huguenot -bride with passionate idolatry, and anticipating her early death, had -constructed this vault, a very unusual thing in this section of the -South. It was whispered, too, that he had dug a secret passage-way from -the house to this tomb, that he might spend his evenings near her body -without the prying eyes of the world to watch his anguish. Whether this -secret way was a myth or reality only the Grahams knew. Not one of the -family had ever been known to speak of the rumour, either to affirm or -deny it. - -A year after his wife’s death Robert Graham was found insane, wandering -among the trees at the entrance of the vault. This branch of the -family had always been noted for it’s men of genius and it’s touch of -hereditary insanity. - -On the day of his mother’s burial John Graham had found his own father -sitting in the door of this tomb hopelessly insane. - -But he had not accepted the theory of hereditary insanity in the case of -his father. The Major was a man of quiet courteous manners, deliberate -in his habits, a trained soldier, a distinguished veteran of the Mexican -war, conciliatory in temper, and a diplomat by instinct. He had never -had a quarrel with a neighbour or a personal feud in his life. - -The longer John Graham brooded over this tragedy to-night, the fiercer -grew his hatred of Butler. Something had happened in the hall the day -of his mother’s death which had remained a mystery. Aunt Julie Ann, who -stayed with the new master of the old house as his cook, had told John -that she had heard high words between Butler and the Major, and when she -was called, found her mistress dead on the floor and his father lying -moaning beside her. - -John had always held the theory that Butler had used rough or insulting -language to his mother; his father had resented it, and the Judge, -taking advantage of his weakness from a long illness of typhoid fever, -had struck the Major a cowardly blow. The shock had killed his mother, -and rendered his father insane. Experts had examined the Major’s head, -however, and failed to discover any pressure of the skull on the brain. -Yet John held this theory as firmly as if he had been present and -witnessed the tragedy. - -He rose from his seat, walked to the front entrance of the house and -looked at his watch by the bright light which streamed through the -leaded glass beside the door. He had yet ten minutes. - -He retraced in part his steps, followed the narrow path to the foot of -the hill and entered the vault. Feeling his way along the sides to the -arched niche in the rear, he pressed his shoulder heavily against the -right side of the smooth stone wall forming the back of the niche, -and felt it instantly give. The rush of damp air told him that the old -underground way was open. - -He smiled with satisfaction. He knew that this passage led through a -blind wall in the basement of the house and up into the great hall by a -panel in the oak wainscoting under the stairs. - -“It’s easy! My men could seize him without a struggle!” he said grimly, -slowly allowing the door to settle back of its own weight into place -again. - -He stood for a moment in the darkness of the vault, clinched his fist at -last and exclaimed: - -“I’ll do it!--but I prefer the front door. I’ll try that first.” - -A few minutes later he had reached the house, knocked loudly and stood -waiting an answer. - -Aunt Julie Ann’s black face smiled him a hearty welcome. - -“Come right in, Marse John, honey, an’ make yo’ sef at home. I sho is -glad ter see ye!” - -John walked deliberately across the hall and sat down on the old -mahogany davenport under the stairs behind which he knew the secret door -opened. He reached back carelessly, played with the spring and felt it -yield. - -Aunt Julie Ann’s huge form waddled after him. “Fore I pass de time er -day I mus’ tell ye Marse John, what de Jedge say. He give ‘structions -ter all de folks dat ef any Graham put his foot ter dat do’ ter tell ‘im -he don’t low you inside dis yard! I tell ye, so’s I kin tell him I tell -ye--Cose, I can’t help it dat you brush right pass me an’ come in, can -I, honey?” - -“Of course not, Aunt Julie Ann.” - -Her big figure shook with suppressed laughter. “De very idee er me -keepin’ Mammy’s baby outen dis house when I carry him across dis hall in -my arms de day he wuz born! An how’s all de folks, Marse John?” - -“About as usual, thank you, Aunt Julie Ann. How are you?” - -“Poorly, thank God, poorly.” - -“Why, what’s the matter?” - -She glanced furtively up into the dim moonlit gallery of the observatory -and whispered: - -“Dey wuz terrible times here las’ night!” - -“What happened?” - -“Ghosts!” - -“What, again?” John laughed. - -“Nasah, dem wuz new ones! We got de lights all burnin’ ter-night. De -Jedge, he wuz scared outen ten years growth. He been in bed all day, des -now git up ter supper. Wuz Marse William well las’ night?” - -“As well as usual, yes; Alfred put him to bed early.” - -“Well, sho’s you born, his livin’ ghost wuz here! He wuz clothed an’ in -his right min’ too! I hear sumfin walkin’ up in de attic ’bout leben -erclock, an’ I creep out in de hall an’ look up, an’ bress de Lawd, dar -stood you Pa leanin’ ober de railin’ lookin’ right at me! Well, sah, I -wuz scared dat bad I couldn’t holler. I look ergin an’ dar stood yo Ma, -my dead Missy, right side er him.” - -“Ah, Aunt Julie Ann, you were walking in your sleep.” - -“Nasah! I’se jist as waked as I is now. I try my bes’ ergin ter holler, -but I clean los’ my breath and couldn’t. So I crawl to the Jedge’s room, -an’ tell him what I see. He wuz scared most ter death, but he follow me -out in de hall an’ look up. He seed ‘em too an’ drop down side er me er -foamin’ at de mouf. He’s powerful scary anyhow, de Jedge is--des like us -niggers. I got him ter bed and poured er big drink er licker down ‘im, -an’ when he come to, he make me promise nebber ter tell nobody, an’ I -promise. Cose, hit’s des like I’se talkin’ ter myself, honey, when I -tell you.” - -“And this morning he gave orders to admit no one of the tribe of Graham -inside the yard again?” - -“Yassah!” - -“Well, tell his Honour that I am here and wish to see him at once.” - -“Yassah, I spec he won’t come down--but I tell ‘im, sah.” - -She waddled up the stairs to the Judge’s room. John heard the quarrel -between them. Aunt Julie Ann’s voice loud, shrill, defiant, insolent, -above the Judge’s. She served him for his money and her love for the old -house, but secretly she despised him as she did all poor white trash and -in such moments made no effort to hide her feelings. - -“Bully for Aunt Julie Ann!” John chuckled. - -When she returned, he slipped the last piece of money he possessed into -her hand and smiled. - -“Keep it for good luck,” he said. - -“Yassah! De Jedge say he be down as soon as he dresses--he all dress now -but he des want ter keep you waitin’.” - -“I understand,” said John with a laugh. “Are you sure, Aunt Julie Ann, -that the ghost of the Major you saw last night wasn’t the real man -himself?” - -“Cose I’se sho’. Hit wuz his speret!” - -“Alfred says he’s walking in his sleep of late; at least he found mud on -his shoes the other morning when he got up.” - -“De Lawd, Marse John, hit wuz his speret, des lak I tell ye. He didn’t -look crazy no mo’n you is. He look des lak he look in de ole days when -we wuz all rich an’ proud and happy. He wuz laughin’ an’ talkin’ low -like to my Missy an’ she wuz laughin’ an talkin’ back at ‘im. I seed ‘em -bof wid my own eyes des ez plain ez I see you now, chile.” - -“You thought you did, anyway.” - -“Cose I did, honey. De doors is all locked an’ bolted wid new iron -bolts--nuttin but sperets kin get in dis house atter dark--de Jedge he -sees ‘em too--des ez plain ez I did.” - -“And this coward is set to rule a downtrodden people,” John muttered -fiercely under his breath. “Yes it’s easy, he’ll do what I tell -him to-night, or--I’ll--use--the--power I wield--to--execute--the -judgment--of--a--just--God.” - -“What you say, honey?” Aunt Julie Ann asked. - -“Nothing.” - -“Dar’s de Jedge commin’ now,” she whispered, hastily leaving. - -John kept his seat in sullen silence until the shuffling footsteps of -his enemy had descended the stairs and crossed half the space of the -hall. - -The younger man rose and gazed at him a moment, his eyes flashing with -hatred he could no longer mask. - -The Judge halted, moved his feet nervously and fumbled at the big gold -watch-chain he wore across his ponderous waist. His shifting bead eyes -sought the floor, and then he suddenly lifted his drooping head like -a turtle, approached John in a fawning, creeping, half-walk, -half-shuffle, and extended his hand. - -“I bid you welcome, young man, to the old home of your ancestors. In -fact, I’m delighted to see you. I heard to-day that you would probably -call this evening, and had the servants illuminate every room in your -honour.” - -“Indeed!” John sneered. - -“Yes, I’ve wished for some time that I might have such an opportunity to -talk things over with you.” - -John had turned from the proffered hand and seated himself with -deliberate insolence. - -“Thanks for the illuminations in honour of my family!” - -The sneer with which he spoke was not lost on the Judge. His patronising -judicial air, so newly acquired, wavered before the cold threat of the -younger man’s manner. Yet he recovered himself sufficiently to say: - -“My boy, I like your high spirit, but I _must_ give you a little -fatherly advice.” - -“Seeing that my own father at present cannot do so.” - -The Judge ignored the interruption and seated himself with an attempt at -dignity. - -“Mr. Graham, you must recognise the authority of the United States -Government.” - -“Which means you?” - -“I was compelled to make an example of disloyalty.” - -“You disbarred me from personal malice.” - -“For your treasonable utterances.” - -“I have the right to criticise your degradation of the judiciary in -using it to further your political ambitions.” - -“I disbarred you for treason and contempt of court.” - -John rose and stood glaring at the judge whose shifting eyes avoided -him. - -“Well, you’re on solid ground there, your Honour! Were I the master -of every language of earth, past master of all the dead tongues of the -ages, a genius in the use of every epithet the rage of man ever spoke, -still words would have no power to express my contempt for you!” - -The Judge shuffled his big feet as if to rise. - -“Sit still!” John growled. “I’ve come here to-night to demand of you two -things.” - -“You’re in no position to demand anything of me!” spluttered Butler, -running his hand nervously through his heavy black hair. - -“Two things,” John went on evenly: “First revoke your order and restore -me to my law practice to-morrow morning.” - -“Not until you apologise for your criticism.” - -“That’s what I’m doing now. I profoundly regret the incident. I should -have kicked you across the street--criticism was an error of judgment.” - -Butler shambled to his feet, trembling with rage, pulled nervously at -his beard again and gasped: - -“How dare you insult me in my house!” - -“It’s my house!” flashed the angry answer. - -“Your house?” the Judge stammered, again tugging at his beard. - -“Yes, sit down.” - -The astonished jurist dropped into his chair, his shifting basilisk eyes -dancing with a new excitement. - -“Your house, your house--why, what--what!” - -“Yes and you’re going to vacate it within two weeks.” - -“What do you mean, sir?” demanded the Judge, plucking up his courage for -a moment. - -“I mean that the distinguished jurist, Hugh Butler, who had the honour -of presiding over the trial of Jefferson Davis, and now aspires to the -leadership of his party in the South, was living in a stolen house when -he delivered his famous charge concerning traitors to the grand jury, -that morning in Richmond. It is with peculiar personal pleasure that I -now brand you to your face--coward, liar, perjurer, thief!” - -John paused a moment to watch the effects of his words on his enemy. The -cold sweat began to appear in the bald spot above the Judge’s forehead, -and his answer came with gasping feeble emphasis: - -“I bought this house and paid for it!” - -“Exactly!” sneered the younger man. “But I never knew until I got this -letter”--he drew the letter from his pocket--“just how you came to buy a -house which cost $50,000 for so trifling a sum of money.” - -“Who wrote that letter?” interrupted the Judge eagerly. - -“Evidently a friend of yours, once high in your councils, who has grown -of late to love you as passionately as I do. And I think he could put a -knife into your ribs with as much pleasure.” - -The Judge winced and glanced nervously into the galleries. - -“Don’t worry, your Honour. If you take the medicine I prescribe, -amputation will not be necessary. Let me read the letter. It’s brief but -to the point:” - -_To John Graham, Esq._ - -_Dear Sir: The secret of Butler’s possession of your estate is simple. -Under his authority as United States Judge, he ordered its confiscation, -forced his wife to buy it for $2,800, at a fake sale, which had not been -advertised, and later had it reconveyed to him. His wife refused to live -in the house, sent her daughter to school in Washington, and died two -years later from the conscious dishonour she had been obliged at least -in secret to share. A suit brought before the United States Supreme -Court will restore your property, hurl a scoundrel from the bench, and -cover him with everlasting infamy._ - -_A Former Pal of His Honour._ - -“An anonymous slanderer!” snorted the judge. - -“Yet he expresses himself with vigour and accuracy, and his words are -backed by circumstantial evidence.” - -Butler sprang to his feet livid with rage crying: - -“John Graham, you’re drunk!” - -“Just drunk enough to talk entertainingly to you, Judge.” - -“Will you leave my house? or must I call an officer to eject you, sir?” - he thundered. - -“A process of law is slow and expensive, Judge,” said John with a drawl. -“I haven’t the money at present to waste on a suit, May I ask when you -will vacate this estate?” - -“When ordered to do so by the last court of appeal, sir!” - -John looked the Judge squarely in the eye and slowly said: - -“You are before the last court of appeal now, and it’s judgment day.” - -“I understand your threat, sir, but I want to tell you that your Ku Klux -Klan has had its day. The President is aroused--Congress has acted. -I’ll order a regiment of troops to this town tomorrow! Dare to lift the -weight of your little finger against my authority and I’ll send your -crazy old father to the county poorhouse and you to the gallows--to the -gallows! I warn you!” John took a step closer to his enemy, towering -over his slouchy figure menacingly, and said, “When will you vacate this -house?” - -Butler grasped the back of his chair, trembling with fury. - -“The possession of this estate is the fulfillment of one of the proudest -ambitions of my life.” - -“When will you get out?” - -“And my daughter has just returned to-day from Washington, a beautiful -accomplished woman, to preside over it.” - -“When--will--you--get--out?” - -“When ordered by the Supreme Court of the United States--or when I’m -carried out--feet--foremost--through--that--door!” - -The Judge choked with anger. - -“Then, until we meet again!” - -John bowed with mock courtesy, walked across the hall to the alcove and -took his hat from the rack where Aunt Julie Ann had hung it, just as -Stella Butler sprang through the rear entrance with a joyous shout, -reached at a bound the Judge’s side and threw her arms around his neck. - -“Oh! Papa, what a glorious night! Steve and I had such a ride!” The -Judge placed his hand on her lips and whispered: - -“My dear, there’s someone here.” - -Stella glanced over her shoulder and saw John fumbling his hat in -embarrassment. - -“Why it’s the famous Mr. John Graham--introduce me, quick!” - -“Not to-night, dear; I do not wish you to know him.” - -Stella released herself and, with a ripple of girlish laughter, walked -boldly over to John, her face wreathed in friendly smiles. - -“Mr. Graham, permit me to introduce myself, Stella Butler. My father has -just forbidden it. I care nothing for your old politics--shall we not be -friends?” - -She extended a dainty little hand and John took it stammering -incoherently. Never had he touched a hand so warm, and tender and so -full of vital magnetism. It thrilled him with strange confusion. - -Never had he seen a vision of such bewildering loveliness. An exquisite -oval face with lines like a delicate cameo, cheeks of ripe-peach red, -a crown of unruly raven-black hair, and big brown eyes shaded by heavy -lashes. Her dress showed the perfection of good taste and careful -study--a yellow satin, trimmed in old lace that fitted her rounded -little figure without a wrinkle, dainty feet in snow-white stockings and -bow-tipped slippers that peeped in and out mischievously as she walked, -and with it all a magnetic personality which riveted and held the -attention. - -He stared at her a moment dumb with wonder. Could it be possible that a -girl of such extraordinary beauty, of such remarkable character, of such -appealing manners could have been born of such a father! - -“As the new mistress of your old home let me bid you a hearty welcome, -Mr. Graham,” she said softly. “You must come often and tell me all its -legends and ghost stories?” - -The Judge shuffled uneasily and cleared his throat with nervous anger. - -“Now keep still, Papa! I’m going to make this old house ring with joy -and laughter. I won’t have any of your political quarrels. I’m going to -be friends with everybody, as my mother was--they say she was a famous -belle in her day, Mr. Graham?” - -“So I have often heard,” John answered with increasing confusion, as he -retreated toward the door. - -“You will come again?” - -“I hope to soon,” he gravely answered as he bowed himself out the door. - - - - -CHAPTER II--MR. HOYLE RECEIVES A SHOCK - -STEVE HOYLE had called early at the Judge’s to see Stella the morning -after John’s encounter in the hall. As he paced restlessly back and -forth waiting the return of Stella’s maid, he was evidently in an ugly -humour. - -When he heard the story at the hotel late the night before, that his -hated rival in politics and society had dared to venture into Judge -Butler’s home, he could not believe it. And the idea that Stella should -receive him had cut his vanity to the quick. - -The richest young man in the county, he aspired to be the most popular, -and he had long enjoyed the distinction in the estimation of his friends -of being the handsomest man in his section of the state. In his own -estimation there had never been any question about this. And beyond -a doubt he was a magnificent animal. Six feet tall, a superb figure, -somewhat coarse and heavy in the neck, with smooth, regular features. -He was slightly given to fat, but his complexion was red and clean as a -boy’s, and he might well be pardoned his vanity when one remembered his -money. - -His father, the elder Hoyle, who had avoided service in the war by -hiring a substitute, had emerged from the tragedy far wealthier than -when he entered it. Some people hinted that if the Treasury Agents, -who had stolen the cotton of the country under the absurd and infamous -Confiscation Act of Congress, would speak, they might explain this -fortune. They had never spoken. The old fox had been too clever and his -tracks were all covered. - -Steve had recently met Stella at one of her school receptions in -Washington while on business for his father, yielded instantly to her -spell, and they were engaged. He felt that he had condescended to honour -the Judge by marrying into his family. - -Butler never had been a slave owner, and in spite of his fawning -ambitions as a turncoat politician and social aspirant, he was still -poor--so poor in fact that he could scarcely keep up appearances in -the Graham mansion. Steve planned to live there after his marriage in -a style befitting his wealth and social position. He noted the faded -covering on the old mahogany furniture and determined to make it shine -with new plush on his advent as master. - -He walked over to the hall mirror and adjusted his tie. He was getting -nervous. Stella was keeping him waiting longer than usual. She was doing -this to tease him, but he would have his revenge when they were married. - -Steve had quickly come to a perfect understanding with the Judge. -The Piedmont Congressional District, which included several mountain -counties, was overwhelmingly Democratic. The Judge, as the Republican -leader, had promised Steve to put up no candidate, but to support him as -an independent if the approaching Democratic Convention nominated John -Graham for Congress. - -Steve as a man of capital proclaimed that the money interests of the -North should be cultivated and that a deal with the enemy was always -better than a fight. - -Sure of his success, he had already promised Stella with boastful -certainty a brilliant social season in Washington as his wife. In spite -of his immense vanity, he knew that this promise had gone far to win her -favour. She too was vain of her beauty, and her social ambitions were -boundless. He had received her mild professions of love with a grain of -salt. She was yet too young and beautiful to take life seriously. His -fortune and his good looks had been the magnets that drew her. But he -was content. He would make her love him in due time. He was sure of it. -Yet on two occasions he had observed that she had shown a disposition -to flirt skilfully and daringly with every handsome fellow who came her -way--and it had distressed him not a little. - -He was angry and uneasy this morning, and made up his mind to assert -his rights with dignity--and yet with a firmness that would leave no -question as to who was going to be master in his house. He decided to -nip Stella’s acquaintance with John Graham in the bud on the spot. That -he had called for any other reason than to see her, never occurred to -him. - -When Maggie, Stella’s little coal black maid, at length reappeared, she -was grinning with more than usual cunning. - -“Miss Stella say she be down in a minute,” she said with a giggle. - -“You’ve been gone a half hour,” Steve answered frowning. - -“I spec I is,” observed Maggie, continuing to giggle and glance -furtively at Steve. - -“What’s the matter with you?” he asked suspiciously. - -“Nuttin.” - -He held up a quarter and beckoned. She hastened to his side. - -“I want us to be good friends.” - -She took the money, grinned again and said: “Yassah!” - -“Now, what have you been giggling about?” - -“Mr. John Graham wuz here last night!” - -“So I hear. Did he see Miss Stella?” - -“Deed he did! Dat’s what dey all come fur. She so purty dey can’t hep -it.” - -“How long did he stay?” - -“Till atter midnight!” - -“Indeed!” - -“Yassah!” Maggie went on, walling her eyes with tragic earnestness. “She -play de pianer fur ’im long time in de parlour, an’ he sing fur her an’ -den she sing fur ’im.” - -Steve cleared his throat angrily. - -“Yassah! an’ atter dey git froo singin’ she take him out fur er stroll -on de lawn an’ dey go way down in de fur corner an’ set in one er dem -rustics fur ’bout er hour. Den dey come in an’ bof un ’em set in de -moonlight in de hammock right close side an’ side, and he talk low an’ -sof, an’ she laugh, an’ laugh, an’ hit ’im wid er fan--jesso! Yassah. Sh! -She comin’ now!” - -The girl darted out of sight as Stella’s dress rustled in the hall -above. - -Steve pulled himself together with an effort, and met her at the foot of -the stairs. - -She made an entrancing picture as she slowly descended the steps, -serenely conscious of her beauty and its power over the man below whose -eyes were now devouring her. The flowing train of her cream-coloured -morning gown made her look a half foot taller than she was. She had -always fretted at her diminutive stature, and wore her dresses the -extreme length to give her added height. - -With a gracious smile she welcomed Steve and he attempted to kiss her. -She repulsed him firmly and allowed him to kiss her hand. - -“Stella dear,” he began petulantly, with an accent of offended dignity, -“you must quit this foolishness! We have been engaged three weeks and -I’ve never touched your lips.” - -She laughed and tossed her pretty head. - -“And we’re engaged!” - -“Not yet married,” she observed, lifting her arched brows. - -“I have honoured you with my fortune and my life.” - -“Thanks,” she interrupted smiling. - -Steve flushed and went on rapidly. - -“Really, Stella, the time has come for a serious talk between us.” - -She seated herself at the piano and ran her fingers lightly over the -keys. Steve followed, a frown clouding his smooth handsome forehead. - -“Will you hear me?” he asked. - -“Certainly!” she answered, turning on him her big brown eyes. In their -depths he might have seen a sudden dangerous light, had he been less -absorbed in himself. As it was he only saw a smile lurking about the -corners of her lips which irritated him the more. - -“I understand that John Graham called on you last night?” - -“Indeed, I hadn’t heard it,” she answered lightly. - -“And stayed until after midnight.” - -Stella sprang to her feet, looked steadily at Steve, frowned, walked to -the door and called: - -“Maggie!” - -The black face appeared instantly. - -“Yassum!” she answered, with eager innocence. - -“Have you said anything about Mr. Graham’s visit last night?” - -Maggie walled her eyes in amazement at such an outrageous suspicion. - -“No, M’am! I aint open my mouf--has I Mister Steve?” - -“Certainly not,” Steve answered curtly. - -“I thought I heard your voice in the hall,” Stella continued, looking -sternly at Maggie. - -“Nobum! Twan’t me. I nebber stop er second. I pass right straight on -froo de hall--nebber even look t’ward Mr. Steve.” - -“You can go,” was the stern command. “Yassum!” Maggie half whispered, -backing out the door, her eyes travelling quickly from Steve to her -mistress. - -“As my affianced bride,” he went on firmly, “I cannot afford to have you -receive the man who is my bitterest enemy.” - -With a smile, Stella quickly but quietly removed the ring from her -hand and gave it to Steve, who stood for a moment paralysed with -astonishment. “Stella!” he gasped. - -“The burden of your affianced bride is too heavy for my young -shoulders.” - -“Forgive me dear!” he pleaded. - -“I prefer to receive whom I please, when and where I please, without -consulting you. When I need a master to order my daily conduct, I’ll let -you know. - -“But, Stella, dear!” - -“Miss Butler--if you please!” - -“I--I only meant to tell you that I love you desperately, that I’m -jealous and ask you not to torture me--you cannot mean this, dear?” - -“How dare you address me in that manner again!” she cried, flaming with -anger, the tense little figure drawn to its full height. - -Steve attempted to take her hand, but the fierce light in her eyes -stopped him without a word. - -“Leave this house instantly!” she said, with quiet emphasis. - -With deep muttered curses in his soul against John Graham, Steve turned -and left. - -As he passed through the doorway, a black face peeped from the alcove -and giggled. - - - - -CHAPTER III--A BLOW IS STRUCK - - -TRUE to his word Butler called for a regiment of United States troops. - -On the second day after his interview with the Judge, John Graham -watched from his office window the blue coats march through the streets -of Independence to their camp. - -He turned to his chair beside a quaint old mahogany desk and wrote an -official order to each of the eight district chiefs of the Invisible -Empire who were under his command in the state. - -When he had finished his task he sat for an hour in silence staring out -of his window and seeing nothing save the big brown eyes of a beautiful -girl--eyes of extraordinary size and brilliance that seemed to be -searching the depths of his soul. It was a new and startling experience -in his life. He had made love harmlessly after the gallant fashion of -his race to many girls; yet none of them had found the man within. - -He was angry with himself now for his inability to shake off the -impression Stella Butler had made. He hated her very name. The idea of -his ever seeking the hand of a Butler in marriage made him shiver. To -even meet her socially with such a father was unthinkable. And yet he -kept thinking. - -Two things especially about her haunted him with persistence and had -thrown a spell over his imagination--the strange appealing tenderness -of her eyes and the marvellous low notes of her voice, a voice at once -musical, and warm with slumbering passion. Her voice seemed the echo of -ravishing music he had heard somewhere, or dreamed or caught in another -world he fancied sometimes his soul had inhabited before reaching this. -Never had he heard a voice so full of feeling, so soft, so seductive, so -full of tender appeal. Its every accent seemed to caress. - -He cursed himself for brooding over her and then came back to his -brooding with the certainty of fate. Yet it should make no difference -in his fight with old Butler. He would kick that fawning, creeping -scoundrel out of his house if it was the last and only thing he ever -accomplished on earth. The only question he still debated was the time -and method of the execution of his plan. - -One thing became more and more clear--he was going to need the full -use of every faculty with which God had endowed him and he must set his -house in order. - -He opened the door of the little cupboard above his desk and took from -it a decanter of moonshine whiskey Dan Wiley, one of his mountain men, -had always kept filled for him. From the drawer he took two packs of -cards and a case of poker chips. The cards and chips he rolled in a -newspaper, placed in his stove and set them on fire. He smiled as he -stood and listened to the roar of the sudden blaze. He raised his window -and hurled the red-eyed decanter across the vacant lot in the rear -of his office and saw it break into a hundred fragments on a pile of -stones. - -“Wonder what Dan will say to that when he comes this morning?” he -exclaimed, looking at his watch and resuming his seat. - -He heard a stealthy footfall at the door, turned and saw the tall lanky -form of the mountaineer smiling at him. - -“Well, Chief, you sent for me?” - -“Yes, come in Dan!” - -Dan Wiley tipped in and stood pulling his long moustache thoughtfully, -before taking a chair. - -“What’s on your mind?” asked John. - -“I heered somethin’.” - -“About me?” - -“Yes, and it pestered me.” - -“Well?” - -“They say you got drunk night ’fore last.” - -“And you’re going to preach me a sermon on temperance, you confounded -old moonshining distilling sinner!” - -“Ye mustn’t git drunk,” observed Dan seriously. - -“But, didn’t you bring me the whiskey?” - -“Not to git drunk on. I brought it as a compliment. My whiskey’s pure -mountain dew, life restorer--it’s medicine.” - -“It’s good whiskey, I’ll say that,” said John. “Even if you don’t pay -taxes on it. You brought the men?” - -“Yes, but Chief, I’m oneasy.” - -“What about?” - -“Don’t like the looks er them dam Yankees. I’m a member er the church -an’ a law abidin’ citizen.” - -“Yet I hear that a revenue officer passed away in your township last -fall.” - -“Rattlesnakes and Revenue officers don’t count--they ain’t human.” - -“I see!” laughed John. - -“Say,” Dan whispered, “you ain’t calculatin’ ter make a raid ternight -with them thousand blue-coats paradin’ round this town, are ye?” - -“That’s my business, Dan,” was John’s smiling answer. “It’s your -business as a faithful night-hawk of the Empire to obey orders. Are you -ready?” - -“Well, Chief, I followed you four years in the war, an’ I’ve never -showed the white feather yet, but these is ticklish times. There’s a -powerful lot er damfools gettin’ ermongst us, an’ I want ter ax ye one -question?” - -“What?” - -“Are ye goin’ ter git drunk ter-night?” - -John walked to Dan’s side and placed his hand on his shoulder, and said -slowly: - -“I’ll never touch another drop of liquor as long as I live. Does that -satisfy you?” - -“I never knowd a Graham ter break his word.” John pressed the -mountaineer’s hand. - -“Thanks Dan.” - -“I’m with you--and I’ll charge the mouth of the pit with my bare hands -if you give the order.” - -“Good. Meet me at the spring in the woods behind the old cemetery at -eleven o’clock to-night with forty picked men.” - -“Forty!--better make it an even thousand, man for man with the Yanks.” - -“Just forty men, mark you--picked men, not a boy or a fool among them.” - -“I understand,” said Dan, turning on his heel toward the door. - -“And see to it”--called John--“I want them mounted on the best horses in -the county and every man armed to the teeth.” - -Dan nodded and disappeared. - -By eight o’clock the town was in a ferment of excitement and the streets -were crowded with feverish groups discussing a rumour which late in the -afternoon had spread like wild-fire. From some mysterious source had -come the announcement that a great Ku Klux parade was to take place in -Independence at midnight for the purpose of overawing if not attacking -the regiment of soldiers, which had just been quartered in the town. - -By eleven o’clock the entire white population, men, women and children, -were crowding the sidewalks of the main street. - -Billy Graham passed John’s office with Susie Wilson leaning on his arm. -Billy was in high feather and Susie silent and depressed. - -“Great Scott, Miss Susie, what’s the matter? This isn’t a funeral. It’s -a triumphant demonstration of power to our oppressors.” - -“I wish they wouldn’t do it with all these troops in town,” answered the -girl, anxiously glancing at the dark window of John’s office. - -“Bah! The Ku Klux have been getting pusillanimous of late--haven’t been -on a raid in six months. They need a leader. Give me a hundred of those -white mounted men and I’d be the master of this county in ten days!” - -“It’s a dangerous job, Billy.” - -“That’s the only kind of a job that interests me. A dozen wholesome -raids would put these scalawags and carpetbaggers out of business. -There ought to be five thousand men in line tonight. I’ll bet they -don’t muster a thousand. It wouldn’t surprise me if they backed out -altogether.” - -“I wish they would,” sighed Susie. - -“Of course you do, little girl,” said Billy with sudden patronising -tenderness. “I know what you need.” - -Susie smiled and asked demurely: - -“What?” - -Billy seized both her hands and drew her under the shadow of a tree. - -“A strong manly breast on which to lean--Susie, my Darling, I love you! -Will you be my wife?” - -Susie burst into a fit of laughter and Billy dropped her hands in rage. - -“You treat the offer of my heart as a senseless joke, young woman?” - -“No, Billy dear, I don’t. I appreciate it more than words can express. -You have paid me the highest tribute a girl can receive, but the idea of -marrying a boy of your age is ridiculous!” - -“Ridiculous! Ridiculous! How dare you insult me? I’m as old as you are!” - thundered Billy. - -“Yes, we are each eighteen.” - -“And your mother married at sixteen.” - -“And she’s still only sixteen,” said the girl with a sigh. - -“Wait a few days and I’ll show you whether I’m a man or not,” said -Billy, with insulted dignity. “Come, your mother is waiting for us at -the corner.” - -Mrs. Wilson stood among a group of boys chatting and joking. She -belonged to the type of widows, fair, fat and frivolous. Time had dealt -gently with her. She was still handsome in spite of her weight, -and intensely jealous lest her serious daughter supplant her in the -affections of the youth of Independence. - -She greeted Billy with just the words to heal his wounded vanity. - -“My! Billy, but you look serious and manly! I’d kiss you if the other -boys were not here. You ought to be at the head of that line of white -raiders to-night”--she dropped her voice to a whisper--“I’ll be making -your disguise before long.” - -Billy turned from Susie and devoted himself with dignity to her mother. - -The widow lifted her hand in sudden warning. - -“Sh! Billy, the enemy! There goes Stella Butler with that fat little -detective whom the Judge has imported with the troops.” - -“Captain” Suggs of the Secret Service was more than duly impressed with -his importance as he forced his pudgy figure through the throng on the -sidewalk, ostentatiously protecting Stella from the touch of the crowd. - -“It’s arrant nonsense, Miss Stella,” he was saying, as they passed. -“These Southern people are savages, I know----” - -“Why, Captain, I’m a Southerner too,” said the girl archly. - -“I mean the disloyal traitors of the South--not the broad-minded -patriots like your father,” Suggs hastened to explain. “I say it’s -arrant nonsense this talk of such a parade by these traitors. I credit -them with too much cunning to dare to flaunt their treason in the -streets here to-night with a regiment of troops and the head of the -Secret Service on the spot.” - -The little fellow expanded his chest and puffed his cheeks. - -Billy doubled his fist, and made a dash for him. With a suppressed -scream, Mrs. Wilson caught him. - -“Billy! for heaven’s sake, are you crazy!” They passed on down the -street toward the Judge’s house. - -“I’m not so sure they will not parade, Mr. Suggs,” Stella replied. - -“Don’t be alarmed, Miss Stella!” he urged soothingly. “I’ve taken ample -means to protect you and your father from any attack of these assassins -and desperadoes if they dare enter the town.” - -“I’m not afraid of them, Captain, she answered lightly. - -“Of course not--we’re here and ready for them. The very audacity of -their manner is an insult to the Government.” - -“I like audacity. It stirs your blood,” Stella cried, her brown eyes -twinkling. - -Suggs leaned nearer and said in his deepest voice: - -“Let them dare this insult to authority to-night and you’ll see audacity -come to sudden grief in front of your father’s house.” - -“Have you prepared an ambush?” Stella asked eagerly. - -“Better. We’ve an extra hundred loyal policemen on the spot. Each of -them is sworn to capture dead or alive any Ku Klux raider who shows his -head. I hope they’ll come--but it’s too good to be true. With a dozen -prisoners safe in jail, before to-morrow dawns I’ll have the secrets -of the Klan in my pocket. I’ll make things hum in Washington. Watch me. -It’s the big opportunity of life I’ve been waiting for--my only fear is -I’ll miss it.” - -“I think you’ll get it, Mr. Suggs,” was the laughing answer. - -She had scarcely spoken, when a tow-headed boy rushed into the middle of -the street and yelled, “Gee bucks! Look out! They’re a comin’!” - -Men, women and children rushed into the street. - -Suggs stood irresolute and tightened his grip on Stella’s arm. - -Down the street cheers burst forth and as they died away the clatter of -horses’ hoofs rang clear, distinct, defiant. They were riding slowly as -in dress parade. - -Another cheer was heard and Suggs stepped into the street and -reconnoitred. - -His face wore a puzzled look as he returned to Stella’s side. - -“They’ve actually ridden past the regimental camp. I can’t understand -why the Colonel did not attack them.” - -“Gee Whilikens, there’s a million of ’em!” cried a boy nearby. - -“Perhaps the Colonel thought discretion the better part of valour, Mr. -Suggs,” suggested Stella smilingly. - -“Red tape,” the detective explained with disgust--“he has no order. Just -wait until the assassins walk into the trap I’ve laid for them. Come, we -will hurry to your gate. I want you to see what happens.” - -They crossed the street and hurried to the Judge’s place. - -Suggs summoned the commander of his force of “metropolitan” police and -in short sharp tones gave his orders. - -“Are your men all ready, officer?” - -“Yessir!” - -“Fully armed?” - -“You bet.” - -“Handcuffs ready?” - -“All ready.” - -“Good. Throw your line, double column, across the street, stop the -parade and arrest them one at a time.” - -Suggs squared his round shoulders as best he could; the officer saluted -and returned to his place to execute the order. - -When the cordon formed across the street the boys yelled and the -news flashed from lip to lip far down the line. A great crowd quickly -gathered surging back and forth in waves of excitement as the raiders -approached. - -The white ghostlike figures could now be seen, the draped horse and -rider appearing of gigantic size in the shimmering moonlight. - -“Now we’ll have some fun,” exclaimed Suggs with a triumphant smile. - -Stella trembled with excitement, two bright red spots appearing on her -dimpled cheeks, her eyes sparkling. - -Amid constant cheers from the crowds the line of white figures slowly -approached the cordon of police without apparently noticing their -existence. - -“Now for the climax of the drama!” cried Suggs, watching with eager -interest the rapidly closing space between the Clansmen and his police. - -The officer in command, noting an uneasy tension along his lines, -crossed the street in front of his men exhorting them. - -“Stand your ground, boys!” he said firmly. - -“Better save your hides, you scalawag skunks!” yelled an urchin from the -crowd. - -The leader of the Klan was now but ten feet away, towering tall, white -and terrible, with an apparently interminable procession of mounted -ghosts behind him. - -The line of police swayed in the centre. - -The Clansman leader lifted his hand, and the shrill scream of his -whistle rang three times, and each white figure answered with a long -piercing cry. - -The police cordon broke into scurrying fragments and melted into the -throngs on the sidewalks, while the procession of white and scarlet -horsemen, without a pause, passed slowly on amid shouts of laughter from -the people who had witnessed the fiasco. - -“Well, I’ll be d------! excuse me, Miss Stella!” - -Suggs cried in a stupor of blank amazement, his round little figure -suddenly collapsing like a punctured balloon. - -“You can’t help admiring such men, Captain!” the girl laughed. - -Suggs who had lost the power of speech wandered among the crowd in -search of his commanding officer. - -As the parade passed the Judge’s gate, Stella stood wide-eyed, tense -with excitement, watching the tall horseman with two scarlet crosses on -his breast who led the procession. - -“The spirit of some daring knight of the middle ages come back to earth -again!” she cried. “Superb! Superb! I could surrender to such a man!” - -A lace handkerchief fluttered from her bosom and waved a moment above -her head. The tall figure turned in astonishment, bowed, tipped his -spiked helmet, and without realising it suddenly reined his horse to a -stand--and the whole line halted. - -The leader whispered to a tall figure by his side, apparently his -orderly, who turned to the line behind and shouted. - -“Boys! three cheers for the little gal at the gate! She’s all right! -_The purtiest little gal in the countee--oh!_” - -A rousing cheer rose from the ranks. - -A ripple of sweet girlish laughter broke the silence which followed, the -lace handkerchief fluttered again and the line moved slowly on. - -Stella counted them. - -“Only forty men. And they dared a regiment!” With another laugh, she -deserted Suggs and disappeared in the flowers and shrubbery toward the -house as the last echoes of the raiders died away in the distance. - -The Clansmen descended a hill, turned sharply to the right toward the -river and broke into a quick gallop. Within thirty minutes they entered -a forest on the river bank, and down its dim aisles, lit by moonbeams, -slowly wound their way to their old rendezvous. - -The signal was given to dismount and disrobe the horses. Within a minute -the white figures gathered about a newly opened grave. - -The men began to whisper excitedly to one another. - -“What’s this?” - -“What’s the matter?” - -“Who’s dead?” - -“You’re too many for me!” - -“What’s up, Steve Hoyle?” asked one of the raiders. - -“It’s beyond me, sonny. The Grand Dragon of the State honours us with -his presence to-night and is in command--he will no doubt explain. Have -a drink.” He handed the group a flask of whiskey, and passed on. - -When the men had assembled beside the shallow grave, the chaplain led in -prayer. - -The tall figure with the double scarlet cross on his breast removed his -helmet and faced the men. - -“Boys,” began John Graham, “you have assembled here to-night for the -last time as members of the Invisible Empire!” - -“Hell!” - -“What’s that?” - -The exclamations, half incredulous, half angry, came from every -direction with suddenness and unanimity which showed the men to be -utterly unprepared for such an announcement. - -“Yes,” the even voice went on, “I hold in my hand an official order of -the Grand Wizard of the Empire, dissolving its existence for all time. -Our Commander-in-chief has given the word. As loyal members of the -order, we accept his message.” - -“Then our parade to-night was not a defiance of these soldiers who have -marched into town?” sneered a voice. - -“No, Steve Hoyle, it was not. Our parade to-night was in accordance with -this order of dissolution. It was our last formal appearance. Our work -is done----” - -Steve saw in a flash his opportunity to defeat his enemy and make -himself not only the master of his Congressional District but of the -state itself. - -“Not by a damn sight!” snapped the big square jaw. - -“You refuse as the commander of this district to obey the order of the -Grand Wizard?” asked the tall quiet figure. - -“I refuse, John Graham, to accept your word as the edict of God!” was -the quick retort. “Our men can vote on this and decide for themselves.” - -“Yes, vote on it!” - -“We’ll decide for ourselves!” - -The quick responses which came from all sides showed the temper of the -men. John Graham stepped in front of the big leader of the district. - -“Look here, Steve Hoyle, I want no trouble with you to-night, nor in the -future--but I’m going to carry this order into execution here and now.” - -“Let’s see you do it!” was the defiant answer. - -“I will,” he continued. “Boys!” - -There was the ring of conscious authority in his tones and the men -responded with sharp attention. - -“You have each sworn to obey your superior officer on the penalty of -your life?” - -“Yes!” - -“You are men of your word. As the Grand Dragon of the State I command -you to deliver to me immediately your helmets and robes.” - -With the precision of soldiers they deposited them in the open grave. -Steve Hoyle surrendered his last. - -When all had been placed in the grave, John Graham removed his own, -reverently placed it with the others, tied two pieces of pine into the -form of the fiery cross, lighted its ends, drew the ritual of the Klan -from his pocket, set it on fire and held it over the grave while the -ashes slowly fell on the folds of the white and scarlet regalia which -he also ignited. Some of the men were sobbing. While the regalia rapidly -burned he turned and said: - -[Illustration: 0073] - -“Boys, I thank you. You have helped me do a painful thing. But it is -best. Our work is done. We have rescued our state from Negro rule. -We dissolve this powerful secret order in time to save you from -persecution, exile, imprisonment and death. The National Government is -getting ready to strike. When the blow falls it will be on the vanished -shadow of a ghost. There’s a time to fight, and a time to retreat. We -retreat from a field of victory. - -“I should have dissolved the Klan a month ago. I confess to you a -secret. I waited because I meant to strike with it a blow at a personal -enemy. I realise now that I stood as your leader on the brink of the -precipice of social anarchy. Forgive me for the wrong I might have done, -had you followed me. As Grand Dragon of the Empire I declare this order -dissolved forever in the state of North Carolina!” - -He seized a shovel and covered with earth and leaves the ashes of the -burned regalia. - -Steve Hoyle stepped quickly in front of his rival. The veins on his -massive neck stood out like cords and his eyes shone ominously in the -moonlight. The slender figure of John Graham instinctively stiffened at -the threat of his movement as the two men faced each other. - -“The Klan is now a thing of the past?” asked Steve. - -“Yes.” - -“As though it had never been?” - -“As though it had never existed.” - -“Then your authority is at an end?” - -“As an officer of the Klan, yes. As a leader of men, no.” - -“The officer only interests me--Boys!” Steve’s angry voice rang with -defiance. - -The men gathered closer. - -“The Invisible Empire is no more. Its officers are as dead as the -ashes of its ritual. Meet me here to-morrow night at eleven o’clock to -organise a new order of patriots! Will you come?” - -“Yes!” - -“You bet your life!” - -The answers seemed to leap from every throat at the same moment. - -John Graham’s face went white for a moment and his fist closed. - -“Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, Steve Hoyle,” he said -with slow emphasis. - -“And traitors pose as moral leaders,” was the retort. - -“Time will show which of us is a traitor. Will you dare thus to defy me -and reorganise this Klan?” - -“Wait and see!” - -John Graham stepped close to his rival, and, in a low voice unheard save -by the man to whom he spoke, said: - -“Take back that order and tell those men to go home and stay there.” - -“I’ll see you in hell first!” came the answer in a growl. - -Scarcely had the words passed his lips when John Graham’s fist shot into -his rival’s face. - -The blow was delivered so quickly Steve’s heavy form struck the ground -before the astonished men could interfere. - -In a moment a dozen men sprang between them and John said with quiet -emphasis, glaring at his enemy: - -“I’ll be in my office at ten o’clock to-morrow morning, to receive any -communication you may wish to make--you understand!” - -And deliberately mounting his horse, he rode away into the night alone. - - - - -CHAPTER IV--THE OLD CODE - - -JOHN GRAHAM walked briskly to his office the next morning at a quarter -to ten, and found Dan Wiley standing at the door. - -The lank mountaineer merely nodded, followed the young lawyer into -the office, and stood in silence watching him as he opened a case of -duelling pistols which had been handed down through four generations of -his family. - -“Don’t do it,” said Dan abruptly. - -“I’ve got to.” - -“Ain’t no sense in it.” - -“It’s the only way, Dan, and I’m going to ask you to be my second.” - -Dan placed his big rough hand on the younger man’s shoulders. - -“Lemme be fust, not second.” - -“It’s not my way!” - -“That’s why I’m axin ye. You’re the biggest man in the state! I seed it -last night as ye stood there makin’ that speech to the boys. You’ll -be the Governor if ye don’t do some fool thing like this. If ye -fight ’im, an’ he kills ye, your’e a goner. If you kill him, you’re -ruined--what’s the use?” - -“It can’t be helped,” was the quiet answer. - -“Are ye goin’ ter kill ’im?” - -“Yes. The Klan was the only way to save our civilisation. I’ve sowed -the wind and now I begin to see that somebody must reap the whirlwind. I -realised it all in a flash last night when that scoundrel called the men -to reorganise.” - -“They won’t follow him.” - -“The fools will, and there are thousands outside clamouring to get in. -I’ve kept the young and reckless out as far as possible. Steve Hoyle -knows that he can beat me for Congress with this new wildcat Klan at -his back. He hasn’t sense enough to see that the spell of authority once -broken, he wields a power no human hand can control. It will be faction -against faction, neighbour against neighbour, man against man--the end -martial law, prison bars and the shadow of the gallows. I can save -the lives of thousands of men, and my state from crime and disgrace by -killing this fool as I’d kill a mad dog, and I’m going to do it!” - -“Hit’ll ruin ye, boy!” - -“I know it.” - -“Look here, John Graham, do me a special favour. Leave Steve to me. -My wife’s dead and I aint got a chick or a child--you’ve defended me -without a cent and you’re the best friend I’ve got in the world. It’s my -turn now. Nobody would miss me.” - -“I’d miss you, Dan!” said John slowly. - -The two men silently clasped hands and looked into each other’s faces. - -“You’re a fool to do this, boy”--the mountaineer’s voice broke. - -“Of course, Dan, many of our old-fashioned ways are foolish but at least -they hold the honour of man, and the virtue of woman dearer than human -life!” - -A boy suddenly opened the door without knocking and handed John a note. - -He read it aloud with a scowl: - -_My friends have decided that I shall not play into your hands by an -absurd appeal to the Code of the Dark Ages. I’ll fight you in my own -way at a time and place of my own choosing and with weapons that will be -effective._ - -_Steve Hoyle._ - -“Now, by gum, you’ll have to leave ’im to me,” laughed the -mountaineer. - -John tore the note into bits and turned to the boy: - -“No answer, you can go.” - -“He’ll pick you off some night from behind a tree,” warned Dan. - -“Sneak and coward!” muttered John. - -“Ye won’t let me help ye?” - -“No, go home and disband your men.” - -“May they keep the rig?” - -“If you won’t go on a raid.” - -“I’ll not, unless you need me, John Graham,” cried the mountaineer -grasping again his young leader’s hand. - -“All right. I can trust you. Keep their costumes in your house under -lock and key until I call for them.” - -As Dan turned slowly through the door he drawled over his shoulder: -“You’ll ’em purty quick!” - - - - -CHAPTER V--GRAHAM VS. BUTLER - -WHEN Dan Wiley closed the door John turned to his desk and drew from -a pigeon hole the mass of legal papers containing the evidence he had -gathered of Butler’s theft of his estate. - -The dissolution of the Klan had left him only the process of the law -by which to recover it. Yet it was only a question of time when the -decision of the Supreme Court would hurl the Judge from the Graham home -and arraign him for impeachment. - -Now that he was ready to file the suit, his mind was in a tumult of -hesitation. The soft invisible hand of a girl was holding his hand. He -gazed steadily at the documents and saw nothing that was within. The ink -lines slowly resolved themselves into the raven glossy hair of Stella -piled in curling confusion above her white forehead, and he was trying -in vain to find the depths of her wonderful eyes. - -Something in the expression of those eyes held his memory in a perpetual -spell--their remarkable size and their dilation when she spoke. They -seemed to enfold him in a soft mantle of light. - -He suddenly bundled the papers, replaced them, and took up his pen. - -“I’ve got to see her--that’s all!” he exclaimed. “Who knows? Perhaps I’m -answering the great summons of life. I’ll put it to the test. At least -I’ll not throw my chance away for a house, some trees and a few acres of -dirt. When Love calls life’s too short for revenge.” - -On a sheet of delicate old note paper with a crest of yellow and black -at the top, he wrote: - -_My Dear Miss Butler:_ - -_You were gracious enough to ask me to call again. I cannot believe your -words were mere conventional phrases. Their accent was too genuine and -sincere. So I beg the privilege of calling to-day while your father, -my valiant political enemy, is busy down town with the delegates to his -convention which meets to-morrow. I anxiously await your answer._ - -_Sincerely,_ - -_John Graham_. - -“Unless I’ve mistaken her character, she’ll see me!” he mused as he -sealed the note. - -He went at once to Mrs. Wilson’s, found Alfred, and gave him the -missive. - -“Take that to the Judge’s and give it to Miss Stella.” - -Alfred stared. - -“Down to de ole place!” - -“Yes, of course.” - -Alfred sat down and laughed. - -“Well, fore de Lawd, doan dat beat ye!” - -“Shut up, and hurry back--I’ll wait for you at the office.” - -“Yassah, right away, sah!” - -“And Alfred, not a word to a living soul of this.” - -“No, sah, cose not Marse John--I know how tis ’my sef’--de course er -true love ain’t run smooth wid me nuther.” - -“Quick, now, don’t you lose a minute.” - -John returned to his office to await with impatience the word that would -mean the beginning of a new chapter in his life. - -Alfred placed the note carefully under his hat and hastened to the -Judge’s, laughing and chuckling to himself. - -For reasons best known to himself he entered by the carriage way. - -At the wide double gate still stood the old lodge-keeper’s cottage, -a relic of the slave regime. In the cottage Aunt Julie Ann lived with -Uncle Isaac, her latest husband. Alfred had once been honoured with that -relationship before the war, but Isaac had whipped him and taken Aunt -Julie Ann by force of arms. - -Alfred was much the larger man of the two, tall, awkward and slow of -movement, while Isaac was small and active as a cat. The agility of his -movements had swept Aunt Julie Ann’s imagination by storm. The contrast -to her own three hundred pounds had no doubt been the secret charm. - -She had loudly professed her love for Alfred until she saw Isaac thrash -him, and without a word she surrendered to the new lord and refused to -recognise her former husband. - -This happened two years before the war and Alfred had watched and waited -the day of his revenge to dawn. Many a night he had prowled around her -cottage spying and listening at the keyhole for her cry of help. He had -heard at last that Isaac was beating her unmercifully and he chuckled -with grim satisfaction. Every opportunity he got he hung around the -cottage and listened for the long expected cry. As he approached the -gates this morning in a peculiarly romantic frame of mind, remembering -the mission he was on, he heard Uncle Isaac’s voice in sharp accents -within, hectoring it over his former spouse. - -He crept to the door and listened breathlessly. - -“Dar now, I’se jes’ in time ter sabe my lady love!” - -He peeped cautiously through the keyhole and saw Aunt Julie Ann’s huge -form busy at the ironing board, while Isaac sat majestically in a rocker -delivering to her an eloquent discourse on Sanctification in general -and his own sinless perfection in particular. Isaac had changed his name -several times after the war, following the example of many Negroes who -were afraid the use of their old master’s name might some day serve as -the badge of slavery. He had lately become a Northern Methodist -exhorter of great fame and went from church to church holding revivals, -particularly among the sisters of the church, calling them to the life -of stainless purity of those who had not merely “salvation,” as the -ordinary Methodist or Baptist understood it, but “sanctification” as -only those of the inner circle of the Lord knew it. - -Isaac had long ago been “sanctified,” and had declared not only his -sinless nature but had boldy proclaimed himself a prophet of the new -dispensation and had finally fixed his name as “Isaac the Apostle,” - which had been simplified by busy clerks in written form to Isaac A. -Postle. - -Aunt Julie Ann had heard of his wonderful success in his sanctification -meetings with misgivings, as the large majority of his converts were -invariably among the sisters. She had finally dared to question the -authenticity of his apostolic call. Her scepticism had aroused Isaac to -a frenzy of religious enthusiasm. That the wife of his bosom should be -the only voice to question his divine mission was proof positive that -she had in some mysterious way become possessed of the devil--perhaps -seven devils. - -He determined to cast them out--by moral suasion if possible--if not, -by the main strength of his good right arm. He must set his own house -in order lest the very source of his inspiration be poisoned by lack of -faith. He was devoting this morning to the task when Alfred arrived. - -He had just finished a long and fervid explanation of the mystery of -Sanctification. - -“Fur de las’ time I axes ye, ’oman, what sez ye ter de word er de -Lawd?” - -Aunt Julie Ann banged the board with the iron and merely grunted: - -“Huh!” - -Isaac rose and repeated his question with rising wrath: - -“What sez ye ter de word er de Lawd?” - -“I ain’ heared de Lawd say nuttin yit!” - -“An’ why ain’t ye?” - -“Case you keep so much fuss I can’t hear nuttin’, Isaac Graham!” - -“Doan you call me dat name, you brazen sinner dat sets in de seat er de -scornful! Is ye ready ter repent an’ sin no mo?” - -Isaac approached her threateningly and Alfred, watching with bulging -eyes, clutched the stick he had picked up. - -“Tech me if ye dare--I bus’ yo head open wid dis flat-iron!” - -Isaac knew his duty now and determined to perform it without further -ceremony. The anointed of the Lord had been threatened by the ungodly. -He drew a seasoned hickory withe from a crack where he had hidden it and -approached his sceptical spouse. - -Aunt Julie Ann began to whimper. - -“Put down dat flat-iron!” he sternly commanded. - -Alfred peering through the keyhole gasped in amazement as he saw her -drop the iron heavily on the floor. - -Isaac raised his switch and began to whip her. Around and around she -flew screaming, begging, pleading for mercy. But Isaac continued to lay -on steadily. - -Alfred tried to rise and rush to the rescue but somehow he couldn’t -move. To his own surprise the performance fascinated him. He sat peering -with satisfaction. - -“Dat’s paying her back now fur leavin’ me fer dat low live rascal. Give -it to her, old man! Give it to her! She sho’ deserves it!” - -At length Isaac paused, and eyed her steadily while he shook his switch -with unction. - -“I axes ye now, does ye believe in de Sanctification er de Saints?” - -“Yes, Lawd, I sees it now!” she cried with fervour. - -“An’ thanks me fer showin’ ye de error er yo’ way?” - -“Yes, honey! I’m gwine ter seek dat Sanctification myself!” - -“Glory! We’se er comin’ on!” - -Aunt Julie Ann picked up the flat-iron. Isaac eyed her with suspicion -but he was too much elated with his victory to notice anything unusual -in her manner. - -“Ye b’lieves now in de Sanctification er de Lawd’s messenger Isaac A. -Postle?” - -With a sudden flash of her eye Aunt Julie Ann hurled the flat-iron -straight at the head of the Lord’s messenger saying: - -“No, I ain’t sed dat yit!” - -But Isaac was quick. He dodged in time. The corner of the flat-iron -merely tipped his ear and smashed through the window. - -He grabbed his ear with sudden pain and gripped his switch with renewed -zeal. - -“I see I’se des begun--one debble out, but dey’s six mo’ ter come!” - -Again he whipped her around the room, threw her down, held her hair and -banged her head against the floor. - -“Fur de las’ time I axes ye, is de Lawd’s messenger, Isaac A. Postle, a -sanctified one?” - -Bang! Bang! Bang! went her head against the planks. - -“Yes honey, I sees it now!” she cried with enthusiasm. - -“Dat’s de way!” - -“Does ye lub me fur showin’ ye de light?” - -Bang! Bang! went her head. - -“Yes, Lawd, I lub ye.” - -“Say it strong.” - -Bang! Bang! went her head. - -“I lubs ye, my honey, yes I do!” shouted Aunt Julie Ann. - -“An’ I’se de only man dat ye ebber lub?” - -A moment’s pause, and again bang! bang! went her head. - -Alfred couldn’t wait for the answer; he gripped his stick, sprang -through the door, knocked the Apostle flat on his back, and jumped on -him. - -Aunt Julie Ann was more astonished than Isaac at her sudden deliverance. - -She scrambled to her feet and gazed for a moment in amazement at Alfred -as he pummelled Isaac’s head against the floor with one hand and pounded -him with the other. - -At every thump of his head Isaac yelled: - -“God sabe me! de debble done got me! Help, Lawd, help! Save me -Lawd--save me now!” Alfred pounded steadily away. - -Aunt Julie Ann, when she caught her breath, grasped Alfred’s arm and -yelled: - -“What yer doin’ here, nigger!” - -He wrenched his arm loose from her grasp and hit Isaac a smashing blow -in the mouth as he cried again for help. - -“Git often my ole man. I tell ye!” screamed Aunt Julie Ann, gripping -Alfred by the throat. - -“Name er God, ’oman, what yer doin’ when I comes here ter save ye!” cried -Alfred, wrenching himself from her grip and returning to his work on -Isaac. - -“Git often ’im, I tell ye, fo’ I bus’ yer open!” she panted, towering -above the writhing pair. She began to pound Alfred over the head with -her fists, but he worked steadily away on Isaac without noticing the -interruptions. - -Suddenly Aunt Julie Ann threw both arms around his neck, bent his -lank figure double across Isaac’s prostrate form, and hurled her three -hundred pounds squarely across the two writhing men. There was dead -silence for a moment and then Isaac groaned: - -“God save me now! we’se bof gone! De house done fall on us!” - -“Na! honey, it’s me!” cried Aunt Julie Ann, “an’ I got ’im in de gills!” - -She rolled over and pulled Alfred with her--both hands gripped to his -throat. - -In a moment Isaac was on his feet. - -“De Lawd hear my cry!” he exclaimed with unction, pouncing on Alfred -and pounding him unmercifully while his faithful spouse held him fast. -Alfred found his voice at last, and began to yell murder. - -Steve Hoyle, who was pacing the walk in front of the Judge’s anxiously -waiting an answer to a pleading letter he had sent to Stella asking for -an interview, heard the cries and rushed to Alfred’s rescue. - -He pulled Isaac and Aunt Julie Ann off in time to save his hat and -portions of his clothes. - -As he entered the cottage, he had seen instantly the note in John -Graham’s handwriting which Alfred had dropped on the floor. He picked it -up hastily and put it in his pocket. - -When Alfred got out the door, he did not stand on the order of his -going. He struck a bee line for John Graham’s office and ran every step -of the way without looking back. - -John was pacing the floor, his heart beating out the interminable -minutes. - -Alfred burst into the room, his nose bleeding, a gash across his -forehead, his clothes torn and spotted with the blood from his nose. He -was still wild with the fear of death which had clutched his soul as the -light of day faded under Aunt Julie Ann’s awful grip on his throat. - -He dropped, panting and speechless, on the floor. “For God’s sake, -Alfred, what’s happened!” John cried, seizing a glass of water and -pressing it to his lips. - -“Dey kill me, Marse John!” - -“Who did it?--what for?” - -“De folks at de Judge’s.” - -“Where’s my note?” - -“Dunno sah!” - -“Didn’t you deliver it?” - -“Dunno sah!” - -“Did you go to the house?” - -“Dunno sah!” - -“Where did this happen?” - -“At de gate, sah, dey wuz layin’ fer me--De Judge mus’ er tole ’em ter -kill me.” - -“Who did it?” - -“Ole Isaac and Julie Ann jump on me fust, but tow’d de last dey wuz er -dozen. Six un ’em wuz er beatin’ me on de head at de same time, three er -four wuz er settin’ on top er me, two had me by the throat an’ de res’ -un ’em wuz er steady kickin’ me in de stummick. Dey’d er had me sho’ by -dis time ef I hadn’t kotch my breaf an’ holler’d.” - -“And who helped you?” - -“Mr. Steve Hoyle wuz dar ter see Miss Stella an’ he run in an’ pulled -’em off. When I lit out for home I wuz er sight sho nuff. I hear Miss -Stella come up ter Mr. Steve an’ bust out laffin’ fit ter kill herself.” - -“And you don’t know what became of the note?” - -“Yassah! cose sah! dey tuck hit away fum me and tore it up--dat’s what -I fit ’em ’bout--yassah!” John’s face was white with rage. He sent Alfred -home, sat down at his desk, and drew out the papers he had laid aside. -The Judge had won. He had covered him with infamy in the eyes of his -beautiful daughter and had dared to perpetrate this infamous outrage. He -couldn’t understand Aunt Julie Ann’s part in the row, but the evidence -of Alfred’s plight could not be mistaken. - -For three hours with stern set face he worked completing the case -of Graham vs. Butler. At four o’clock he had entered the suit and an -officer served the papers on the astonished Judge. - - - - -CHAPTER VI--SCALAWAG AND CARPETBAGGER - - -JOHN GRAHAM, as leader of the opposition, as well as for personal -reasons, was early on the grounds with half a dozen trusted lieutenants -to watch the action of the Republican County Convention. He was curious -to observe the effects of his suit on the Judge and his followers. -He soon discovered that the scathing recital of fraud which he had -incorporated into the form of his complaint as published in the -morning’s paper was a mistake. It had been accepted by the mottled crew -of nondescript politicians and Negroes as proof positive of his own -depravity and the Judge’s spotless purity. - -The Convention was seated in the open air on improvised boards. The -Judge was peculiarly sensitive to the atmosphere of a crowd of Negroes. -He had to associate with them to get their votes, but like all poor -white men of Southern birth, he hated them without measure. - -This Convention of his home county was the most important crisis in the -development of his ambitions as the leader of his party in the South. - -He was a candidate for the United States Senate. Delegates were to be -elected to-day to the state convention. Unless he could go with a united -front from his home county he was doomed. - -His opponent, Alexander Larkin, was the boldest, most unscrupulous, and -powerful Carpetbag adventurer who had ever entered the South from the -slums of the North. - -Larkin had made himself the Chairman of the Republican State Executive -Committee, and was running neck and neck with the Judge for the Senate. -He had determined to break his opponent’s backbone by capturing the -whole, or at least a part of the delegates from Butler’s home county. -The audacity of this movement had fairly taken the Judge’s breath. He -halted Suggs in his thrilling pursuit of Ku Klux evidence and sent him -North on an important mission. He meant to be fully prepared for any -trick Larkin might spring. Suggs was bustling about among the delegates -conscious that he was the trusted lieutenant of the coming man. - -The Carpetbagger had so timed his anonymous letter to John Graham that -the shadow of disgrace thus thrown over Butler’s name would give him the -balance of power. He could not foresee the chain of trivial events which -would produce the terrific document John Graham had filed. Every word of -its passionate arraignment had the sting of a scorpion, and its effects -had been electrical. By instinct the crowd had accepted John’s suit as a -blow at the cause and Butler had become their champion. - -As the Judge approached the crowd accompanied by Stella and Steve Hoyle, -John saw with sinking heart that the first effect of his suit had been -to bring Steve and Stella closer together and to dig an impassable gulf -between him and the girl he had begun unconsciously to worship. She -had evidently laid aside her hatred of politics and become her father’s -champion. And he knew that Steve Hoyle had lost no time in this crisis -in poisoning her mind forever against him. In fact Steve had spent the -morning by her side developing the bitter sentences in his complaint -into revelations of hereditary insanity and envenomed malice. - -The girl had, however, taken his statements with reservations. She would -stand by her father before the world and she would publicly insult John -Graham if he ever dared give her the opportunity, but deep down in -her heart she half suspected the truth. The memory of the bitter feud -between her mother and father over some secret connected with this -estate and her father’s shuffling evasions, returned to her now with -startling import. - -Her mother was of the old regime of the South, an aristocrat of -aristocrats to her finger tips. Her people had blotted her very name -from their memory for her marriage to Butler. She had fiercely resented -to the day of her death this ostracism. The fear that her husband was -a scoundrel, which slowly grew into a certainty in later years, at last -broke her proud spirit. She gave up the struggle and died. - -There were moments in which Stella felt this inherited repugnance to her -father when the proud spirit of her mother’s blood ruled in her soul. -There were other moments when she felt the necessity of tricks and lies -to make life agreeable and accepted her father as of the inevitable -order of human existence. - -This morning she was her father’s daughter. Whether he was guilty -or innocent she would show John Graham and his proud Bourbon set her -contempt for them and their opinions. - -As the three reached the edge of the crowd she was smiling graciously on -Steve in answer to a sally of his cheap wit. She fixed John with a look -of contempt and his soul grew sick with the consciousness that he had -paid too great a price for his suit against the Judge. In her anger she -was superb. The very air about her seemed charged with the intensity -of her personality. She radiated it in every direction. It was the -consciousness of this intensity of nature which drew John to her with -resistless power. No other type of woman could interest him, and Stella -was endowed with this subtle magnetism as no human being he had ever -met. It spoke in every movement of her body, in every accent of her -voice. - -As she passed and turned her back on him, the sense of a hopeless and -irreparable loss crushed his spirit. The words of the preacher rang in -his soul, “What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and -forfeit his life.” - -“What are houses and lands after all, before the elemental forces -which make life worth while,” he muttered. “I’ve an almost irresistible -impulse to knock Steve Hoyle down, seize her in my arms, smother her -with kisses and carry her off to some cave on a mountain! To the devil -with goods and chattels, houses and lands.” - -With a start he came down from the clouds of fancy. She had dismissed -Steve, taken the Judge’s arm, and was actually going to walk down the -aisle through that mob of Negroes and greasy politicians and accompany -him to the platform. - -When they reached the centre of the crowd, seated in semicircle about -the covered speaker’s stand, pandemonium broke loose. The Judge received -the most remarkable ovation of his life. - -The throng leaped to their feet and screamed themselves horse. - -“Keep your house Judge!” yelled a henchman. - -“Houses were built for patriots, and jails for traitors!” - -The Judge bowed and again the crowd yelled. - -Larkin from the platform watched the demonstration with amazement. - -“I’ve miscalculated. They’re all thieves and scoundrels. I’ve made him a -hero.” - -With a hypocritical smile he seized the Judge’s hand, wrung it heartily, -congratulated him, and drew him to the platform. Stella sprang lightly -up after him, took a rosebud from her belt, pinned it on her father’s -slouchy ill-fitting broadcloth coat, kissed him and amid the cheers of -the mob retraced her steps and left the ground with Steve Hoyle. - -John watched her lift her parasol above her dainty head with smothered -curses at his folly. He had unconsciously taken his own hat off and -stood bareheaded in the broiling Southern sun of a June day. The -bitterness of his mistake stirred him to more dogged persistence. With -an effort he turned to the Judge and the Convention--trying in vain -to shake off the impression Stella had left. But he found his mind -constantly wandering from the scene. Wherever he looked, within or -without, he saw the delicate oval face with those great brown eyes -smiling as they did the night he met her in the hall of his old home. - -At length he awoke from his reverie with his eye resting unconsciously -on Larkin, the Judge’s opponent. He had never seen him before, though -his name had become known in every county of the state. - -He was a man of more than the average height, of powerful build, high -intellectual forehead, a full beard, long, silken, snow white. His hair, -also long and white, was inclined to curl at the ends, and a pair of -piercing black eyes looked out fearlessly from shaggy brows. He carried -himself with instinctive dignity, and his whole appearance proclaimed a -bold and powerful leader of men. - -Rumour said that he had been a Wesleyan preacher in England but had been -expelled in some factional fight and had sought his fortunes in America. -Darker rumour whispered that he had a criminal record and that he had -never even attained citizenship in the country of his adoption. Such -rumours, however, counted for nothing in the tainted atmosphere of the -riot and revolution of the Reconstruction period. From the sewers of the -North, jail birds and ex-convicts had poured into the stricken South as -vultures follow the wake of a victorious army. - -In two years Larkin had proven himself a party leader of remarkable -executive ability and on the hustings had shown himself an orator of -undoubted eloquence. He was fast becoming the idol of the more daring -and radical wing of his party. He boldly proclaimed and practiced Negro -equality and held up to public scorn any man who dared to quibble on the -issue. - -So bold and radical were his utterances the Negroes were a little afraid -of him. Yet he was steadily gaining in his influence over them. He -knew that they constituted nine-tenths of the voting strength of the -Republican party in the South, and that ultimately the man who pandered -most skilfully to their passions must become master of the situation. - -He had laid siege to Uncle Isaac immediately on his arrival and had -played on his vanity so deftly that the Apostle of Sanctification had -been completely fascinated by the Carpetbagger. - -The moment Larkin’s eye rested on Isaac seated in the crowd he saw in a -flash the master stroke by which he could break the spell of the -Judge’s influence over the delegates. He quickly threaded his way to -the Apostle’s side and escorted him to the speakers’ stand with his arm -around his waist. He lifted him to the platform, forced the Judge to -rise and shake hands, and seated Isaac by Butler’s side. The Negroes -burst into a frenzy of applause. - -So elated was Isaac by his newly found honours he began to interrupt the -meeting by fervid religious exclamations to the intense disgust of the -Judge who squirmed with increasing anger at each new outburst. When -Isaac recognised any of his dusky acquaintances in the crowd he waved -his hand and pointed his remarks in that direction. - -“Yas Lawd! De year er juberlee is come, an’ I’se right here!” - -A loud guffaw would invariably answer his sally. - -Larkin ostentatiously consulted Isaac from time to time as to the -conduct of the convention and every Negro watched him spellbound. - -The Judge’s henchmen were dismayed at the impending stampede by the -Carpetbagger. Butler had assured them the night before that they had -nothing to fear from Larkin. But it was only too apparent that he -had underestimated his opponent. Larkin’s commanding appearance, his -magnetism and eloquence, the boldness and evident sincerity of his -profession of Negro equality were steadily winning adherents. - -Personally the Judge cut a poor figure beside him with his slouchy -ill-fitting clothes, his fawning shuffling walk, his drooping head, -shifting eyes, and his vague professions of platitudes. - -Butler watched Larkin’s sudden growth of power with sullen rage. He had -in reserve a weapon which he had found in the Carpetbagger’s English -career, with which he could crush him at a single blow, but he had not -expected to be forced to the extreme necessity of using it. For many -reasons he wished to beat Larkin in an open fight. The weapon he could -use was a dangerous one. He knew that Larkin had learned the facts -concerning his confiscation of the Graham estate, and he was not sure -how far his resentment would go in retaliation for an attack on his -personal character. But he determined to put a stop to Isaac’s insolence -which was rapidly becoming unendurable. - -The Judge leaned over toward the enthusiastic Apostle and with a frown -said: - -“Shut your mouth and behave yourself!” Isaac subsided with a look of -injured innocence directed in mute appeal toward Larkin. - -Again the Carpetbagger saw his opportunity. He approached Isaac, seized -his hand, slipped his arm around his shoulder and whispered: - -“Brother, I’m going to make a motion to amend the Judge’s list of -delegates by substituting six men of colour for six of the poor white -men he has chosen. I’ll put your name first. Will you make a speech in -favour of my motion?” - -“Dat I will!” - -“Then repeat that story of the vision you told me last night, and apply -it to the Judge--will you do it?” - -“Make de movement, an’ I sho’ ye!” whispered Isaac. - -Larkin’s bold motion, a direct appeal to the Negro to use his power -against the white man, took the Judge’s breath. He stared at his -opponent in blank amazement while Larkin smiled at him with good-natured -contempt. - -“And I have asked,” continued the Carpetbagger, “a distinguished leader -of his race, Mr. Isaac A. Postle, a constituent and neighbour of Judge -Butler, to address the Convention before the motion is opened to general -debate. I am sure the Convention will give its unanimous consent to hear -him.” - -The roar of applause which greeted this remark left no doubt as to their -consent. Larkin seized Isaac and drew him before the speaker’s table -with his arm again affectionately around him. - -Isaac was in a broad grin and evidently enjoyed his honours. He cleared -his throat and glanced at the Judge. The Negroes burst into roars of -laughter and the Apostle lifted his hand solemnly for silence. - -Butler scowled and shuffled uneasily while Larkin’s face was wreathed in -smiles. - -“Gemmens an’ feller citizens!” Isaac began with great deliberation. -“I’se called by de Lawd dis mawnin’ ter come up on high and expose de -vision dat I seed in de dead er de night las’ week. I drempt a dream. -I dream dat I die and go ter heaben. An’ as I wuz gwine long up de hill -ter de pearly gates who should I meet comin’ down de hill but our good -frien’ Judge Butler----” - -The Judge gave a sharp little angry cough, pulled his long black -whiskers and crossed his legs quickly. Isaac glanced at him and walled -his eyes at the dusky crowd who broke into another roar of laughter. - -“Yassah!” he went on, “I met Judge Butler comin’ down de hill lookin’ -pow’ful sad. An’ he say ter me: - -“‘Isaac, whar ye gwine?’ - -“‘Gwine ter heben,’ sezzi. - -“‘Ye can’t git in!’ sezze. - -“‘Why so?’ sezzi. - -“‘Case ye got ter be er ridin’,’ sezze--‘I jes come down frum dar--an’ -hits des lak I tell ye!’ - -“‘Is dat so?’ sezzi. - -“‘But I tell ye what we kin do, Isaac!’ sezze. - -“‘I’ll git on yo back an’ ride up to de gate, an’ we bof git in.” - -“Dat seem all right ter me fust off so I hump mysef an’ de Jedge git -on my back, an’ I gallup up de hill ter de pearly gates, an’ de angel -Gabul, he look over de fence an’ say: - -“‘Who’s dar?’ - -“‘Hit’s me, Jedge Butler,’ sezze. - -“‘Ridin’ er walkin’?’ de angel say. - -“‘Er ridin’!’ sezze. - -“An’ I chuckled ter myse’f dat I’se er settin my feet in de gates er -glory! - -“An’ den de angel say: - -“‘Des hitch yer hoss outside an’ come in!’ - -“An’ bress God! ef de Jedge didn’t hitch me ter de pos’ on de outside -an’ go in an’ leave me dar!” - -Again the crowd screamed with laughter. Wave after wave swept them while -Isaac folded his hands across his little protruding stomach and laughed -with them. In vain the chairman rapped for order. - -The Judge flushed red with anger and called Suggs to his side. Larkin -bent low his face between his hands, convulsed with laughter. - -When at length the tumult wore itself out Isaac’s voice rang over the -assembly in sharp vibrant triumphant tones: - -“An’ I moves yer, sah, dat we all unanimously second de motion er Brer -Larkin!” - -Amid a shout of approval he sat down. - -The Carpetbagger, elated by his success, determined to make a bolder -stroke, capture the entire delegation and put the Judge out of the race. - -He leaped to his feet and launched at once into an eloquent appeal for -the equal rights of man, meaning, of course, the right of the Negro race -to rule the white man of the South, the former slave to rule his master. -Bold as a lion by instinct, he did not quibble over words. He told the -Negro that his hour had come to strike for his right by force of arms -if need be. He denounced the Ku Klux Klan in the bitterest terms. Every -Negro followed his scathing words with breathless attention. For the -moment he was the veritable prophet of the Most High God. Never before -had they heard any man in public dare thus to arraign this dreaded order -of white and scarlet horsemen. Here was their champion whose valiant -soul knew not the fear of man, ghost, clansman or devil. He was -transfigured before their yes into the white-haired prophet of the Lord, -and they hung on his every word as inspired. - -In another moment he would have made his motion for a solid Negro -delegation and stampeded the Convention had it not been for the single -burst of eloquence with which he closed his speech. Just at the moment -when he held every heart in the dusky host in the hollow of his hand, he -thundered: - -“Against the white traitor of the South who has perpetrated these wrongs -on your defenseless heads I hurl the everlasting curse of God! Only a -race of dastards and cowards would thus sneak under the cover of night -to strike their foes!” - -He had scarcely uttered the words when Billy Graham rushed from the -outer circle of the crowd where he had sauntered with Mrs. Wilson, -surrounded by a dozen fun-making youngsters, and ran toward the -platform. - -“Wait a minute!” he said, with uplifted hand, his voice quivering with -rage. - -Larkin’s arm dropped; he halted in amazement, every eye fixed on Billy. -John Graham sprang to his feet with a muttered oath of surprise in time -to see Billy square himself in front of the speaker and say: - -“If you think the Southern people a race of cowards and dastards come -down off that platform and knock this chip off my shoulder, you old -white-livered cur!” - -He placed a chip on his shoulder and strutted before Larkin. The -Carpetbagger was too astonished to reply. He gazed at the boy in -confusion and muttered an inarticulate protest. - -Billy jumped on the platform and walked around him like a game bantam, -crying: - -“Knock it off--d------ you! knock it off! If you want to test it! A -dozen of my friends are out there, yours all around you, a hundred to -one, but knock it off! knock it off!” - -John Graham had reached the platform by this time, seized Billy and led -him back through the crowd to Mrs. Wilson who was in hysterics, the boys -vainly trying to quiet her. - -“What the devil’s the matter with you--have you gone crazy?” John -whispered, shaking Billy fiercely. “Go home and behave yourself!” - -“Attend to your own business, John Graham; I’m attending to mine!” was -Billy’s sullen answer. And without another word he led Mrs. Wilson away -followed by his companions, while John gazed after him with increasing -astonishment. - -In the confusion which followed Billy’s sudden challenge the Judge -saw his chance. He sprang to his feet and moved to adjourn for dinner. -Before Larkin could recover himself the motion was carried and the -Convention adjourned. - -Butler turned to the Carpetbagger and said: - -“I wish to see you in my hotel immediately on a matter of the gravest -importance.” - -“I haven’t time, Judge,” Larkin carelessly answered. - -“I’m in no mood to be trifled with,” answered the Judge. - -“It’s a waste of time, your Honour--you’re a back number. Why should I -talk with you?” - -“There’s one reason big enough to interest you,” the Judge answered with -sinister suggestion. - -Larkin fixed his opponent a moment with his piercing eyes and said with -contempt: - -“I’ll join you in a moment.” - -The Judge beckoned to Suggs who had hovered near, and the detective -handed him a package of documents from his inside pocket. The movement -was not lost on Larkin who was watching his enemy with uneasiness. - -Suggs accompanied the Judge to his room at the hotel and awaited his -call outside the door. Larkin looked at him with a scowl as he entered. - -The Judge adjusted his slouchy coat, shuffled his feet, and stroked his -beard with deliberation as Larkin seated himself. - -“I’m going to ask you, Larkin,” he began, “to write out your resignation -as Chairman of our State Executive Committee and withdraw from this -race.” - -The Carpetbagger laughed aloud. - -“Well, you are an ass, you fawning, timeserving Scalawag--what do you -take me for?” - -“For the criminal adventurer you are!” thundered the Judge. - -“I’ll not bandy words with you, Butler. I’ve got you now, just where I -want you. Five minutes more of that Convention and you’ll be a memory as -a politician. You never had a principle in your life. A professed leader -of the Republican party in the South composed of Negroes, you loathe the -very sight of a Negro. You profess to be a Southerner, yet your ear is -always to the ground to hear the slightest whisper from the lowest breed -of Yankee demagogues in the North. You lie to the Negro, you lie to -the Southern white man, you lie to the Yankee. You’re a pusillanimous, -office-seeking turncoat beneath the contempt of a man. Why did you send -for me?” - -“To tell you that it’s time for you to move on, sir!” cried Butler with -spluttering rage. “You Carpetbag vultures have winged your way into the -South to tear from the loyal men of native birth the rewards of their -long patriotic services. Go back to the slums and prison pens of the -North where you belong!” - -“What do you mean?” Larkin broke in with sudden energy. - -“That you are a criminal adventurer, sir; that’s what I mean!” - -Larkin laughed again. - -“Is that all?” - -“And I have in my pocket the documents to prove that you have never -acquired citizenship in the State of New York!” - -“True, but irrelevant. I am a citizen now of this state under the -Reconstruction Acts, and I’m going to represent the old commonwealth in -the next Senate while you sink once more into the obscurity your feeble -intelligence has prepared for you. Is this all you have to say?” - -“No, sir, it’s not!” whispered the Judge hoarsely with triumphant -malice. “I have a letter in my pocket from the warden of the prison in -England where you served your time, enclosing your photograph.” - -With a sudden cry of anguish Larkin leaped the distance separating them, -gripped Butler by the throat, hurled him back in his seat, and held -him strangling, spluttering, squirming in mortal terror. In a moment he -released him, sank to a chair and buried his face in his hands. - -“So! I am your master after all,” the Judge sneered, recovering from his -terror. - -Larkin lifted his lion-like head a moment and looked at his opponent. - -“Yes, I give up. I’ll withdraw from the race if you’ll keep my secret.” - -“I’ll make no conditions with you sir; I mean to brand you a felon -throughout the length and breadth of this land!” - -“Not if you’ve an ounce of manhood in you,” said the Carpetbagger with -quiet dignity. “You can’t do it when I tell you the truth. Fifteen years -ago I was an honoured minister of the gospel in Australia. An enemy of -mine in England published against me an infamous slander. I returned -to ask reparation. He not only refused to give it but insulted me by -a dastardly blow in a public assembly. In a moment of insane rage I -returned his blow with one which resulted in his death. Four months -later I found myself, a man of culture, refinement and the highest -order of social talents, a convict in prison garb serving a sentence for -manslaughter. I emerged more dead than alive--it was late in life, but -I lifted up my head, sought a new world and began all over again. -Once more I’ve shown my power as a leader of men. It was born in me--a -God-given birthright. My hair is white now with the frost of the grave; -I’m alone and friendless. Put yourself in my place. It’s my last chance. -You are twenty years younger. I ask your pity, your sympathy, your -friendship. Come, Judge, you too are a soldier of fortune in conquered -territory and have your own secrets. Fight me fair.” - -“I’ll fight you with every weapon in my power, fair or foul. You’re in -my way; get out of it,” sneered the Judge. - -“You contemptible cur!” cried Larkin. “I could strangle you!” - -“No doubt,” sneered Butler. “If you dared!” - -“Take care, you cowardly dog!” leaped the threat from the lips of the -Carpetbagger, with a sudden flash of incontrollable rage; and again his -massive figure towered over the Judge’s slouching form. Butler’s -shifting eyes blinked in terror as he spluttered: - -“I’ll keep your secret on one condition!” - -“What is it?” snapped Larkin. - -“You’re a man of genius. Use your talents for me, and we’ll be friends.” - -“You have told no one the facts you have discovered?” - -“No. Suggs knows only of the investigation as to your citizenship.” - -“I accept your terms,” was the quiet answer. The Convention ended in -unexpected harmony, electing a solid Butler delegation. Larkin lingered -in town for several days and, to the surprise and uneasiness of the -Judge, stopped with Uncle Isaac in the little cottage by his gate. - - - - -CHAPTER VII--THE REIGN OF FOLLY - -WITHIN two weeks Steve Hoyle’s new Klan was organised and in absolute -control of the Piedmont Congressional District. - -John Graham saw that his defeat was a certainty and gave up the -political fight in disgust. But he determined to prevent at all hazards -the degradation of the Klan into an engine of personal vengeance -and criminal folly. There was but one way to do it. He dreaded the -undertaking, yet there was no help for it. He must again fight the devil -with fire. The reign of terror inaugurated by the Black Union League had -made necessary the Ku Klux Klan. There must be a power to hold in check -Steve’s irresponsible gang. - -He immediately organised in each county a vigilance committee composed -of the bravest and most reliable members of the old Klan who had refused -to follow Steve. Over these men he sought to exercise only a moral -influence as their former Commander-in-chief, save in his own county -where his word was accepted as law by the surviving veterans of the -regiment he had commanded in the Civil War. - -These men he instructed to watch the movements of Steve’s followers, -learn in advance of their intended raids, break them up by moral suasion -if possible; by force as a last resort. - -He had found the task a tremendous one. For the first time he realised -the terrible meaning of the lawless power of the Klan. The secrecy of -their movements under his own leadership had been perfect. Yet with his -knowledge of their methods he had believed it would be comparatively. -easy to defeat their plans. He found it next to impossible. In spite -of the utmost vigilance on the part of his committees, the new Klan had -inaugurated a reign of folly and terror unprecedented in the history of -the whole Reconstruction saturnalia. - -They whipped scalawag politicians night after night and drove them from -the county. They called on carpetbagger postmasters who immediately left -for parts unknown. They whipped Negroes, young and old, for all sorts of -wrongdoing, real or fancied, and finally began to regulate the general -morals of the community. They whipped a rowdy for abusing his wife and -on the same night tarred and feathered a white girl of low origin who -lived in the outskirts of town and ran her from the county. - -The morning after this outrage occurred, John Graham walked into Steve’s -law office, brushed by his clerks and boldly entered the inner room -where his enemy was at work. - -Steve sprang to his feet and his hand instinctively sought the revolver -in his hip pocket. - -“You needn’t be alarmed; I’m not ready for you yet,” said John, his eyes -holding Steve’s with their steady light. - -“Well, I’m ready for you,” was the quick retort. “What do you want?” - -“Merely to give you a little advice this morning.” - -“When I need your advice, I’ll let you know.” - -John closed the door. - -“Your men are covering the name of the Ku Klux Klan with infamy,” John -went on evenly. “If you have even the rudiments of common sense you must -know that within a few weeks these fools will be beyond your control.” - -“I haven’t felt the need of your help as yet,” interrupted Steve. - -“No, but I’m generous. I volunteer to anticipate the needs of your weak -intelligence.” - -“John Graham,” Steve broke in angrily, “if you have anything to say to -me, say it, and get out of this room!” - -“I will say it, my boy, and--don’t--you--forget it!” John answered with -quiet emphasis, taking a step closer to his rival. “I’m close on the -track of the men who are at present terrorising this county. I’ll come -up with them some night and there’ll be business for the coroner next -day. Dare to permit another outrage of a personal character in this -county and I’ll find your men if I drag the bottom of hell for them, -and when I do, I’ll hang them to a tree in front of your door. And--mark -you--if I fail to find them I’ll--hold--you--personally--responsible!” - -Before Steve could reply he turned on his heel, slammed the door and -left. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII--THE MASQUERADERS - -IMMEDIATELY following the interview with Steve the character of the -raids of the new Klan changed to harmless pranks and practical jokes on -impudent Negroes, scalawags and carpetbaggers, and John Graham observed -it with a sigh of relief. Some of these escapades he could have enjoyed -himself--particularly a call they made on the Apostle of Sanctification. - -Uncle Isaac had greatly increased his prestige and following since -the sensational speech he made in the County Convention and his public -association with Larkin. - -Following up his victory over the seven devils in Aunt Julie Ann, he -had begun a series of revival meetings in the Northern Methodist church, -calling its members to come up still higher. With each night his fervour -and eloquence had increased. On this particular evening he attained -unheard-of heights of inspiration, and announced not only his sinless -perfection and his apostolic call, but the more startling fact that he -was in daily personal communication with Jehovah himself. Amid a chorus -of “Amens” and “Glory hallelujahs” from the sisters he boldly declared: - -“Hear de Lawd’s messenger! I come straight from him. De Lawd come every -day ter my house. I sees him wid my own eyes. De debbil he doan pester -me no mo. I’se de Lawd’s sanctified one. I done wipe my weepin’ eyes an’ -gone up on high. Will ye come wid me breddren an’ sisters! I walk in de -cool er de mawnin an’ de shank er de even’ wid de Lawd and de Lawd walks -wid me. An’ I ain’t er skeered er nuttin in heaben above er hell below.” - -He had scarcely uttered the words when a white-robed ghost, fully ten -feet high, walked solemnly down the aisle. There was a moment of awful -silence. Isaac’s jaw dropped in speechless terror. A sister in the amen -corner screamed, and the Apostle sprang through the window behind the -pulpit without a word, carrying the sash with him. In a minute the -church was empty and the revival of Sanctification came to an untimely -end. - -It soon became the fashion for these merry masqueraders to call in -groups on the pretty girls in town with the offer of their knightly -protection. Frequently they spent the evening dancing and making merry, -always in full disguise, guarding with the utmost care their identity. -The mystery attending such visits, their secret signs and passwords, -and the thrilling call of their whistles gave to these performances a -peculiar atmosphere of romance and daring, and their visits came to be -prized by the fair ones as tributes to their beauty and popularity. - -A sign of invitation was devised by order of the leader of the raiders -and posted one night on the bulletin board of the post office. The girl -who wished the honour of such a call had only to express it by walking -through the main street to the post office with a scarlet bow of ribbon -tied on her left arm, and on the night following, promptly at ten -o’clock, the knights on their white-robed horses would call. - -Stella Butler had immediately become the most popular girl in -Independence in spite of her father’s politics. Her beauty was -resistless. Every boy on whom she chose to smile was at once her friend -and champion. The old Graham house became the most popular meeting place -of the youth and beauty of the town, and the only men not welcome there -were its real owner and his pugnacious younger brother. - -Stella was fairly intoxicated with her social victory. Steve led in the -devoted circle of her admirers, each day pressing his suit with humble -and dogged persistence. She smiled in triumph at his abject surrender -but continued to keep him at arm’s length, showering her favours on all -who were worth while. - -She determined to crown her social leadership with a unique fancy dress -ball by inviting the Klan masqueraders to dance with a select group of -her girl friends at her home. The Klan itself was too deep a mystery for -her to note the difference in the character of the raids since the night -its gallant horsemen had cheered at her father’s gate. She only knew -in a general way that the Klan was born in the unconquered and -unconquerable spirit of the old Bourbon South, the South of her mother, -the only South worth cultivating socially. - -So when the Judge’s beautiful daughter, radiant and smiling, walked down -the main street of Independence with the scarlet sign of the Klan on her -left arm, she paralysed the business of the town. Every clerk stopped -work and took his stand at the door or window until she was out of -sight. - -Her name was on every lip. If the raiders should accept her invitation, -and appear at the old Graham mansion the evening following, the Judge -would be in the anomalous position of a host who seeks the life of his -guests. For the destruction of the Klan by exile, imprisonment and -death had become the main plank in his political platform under Larkin’s -guidance. - -Before Stella reached home the town was in a ferment of excitement to -know whether the Judge had given his consent to this daring act. The -older heads were sure that it was a child’s thoughtless whim and that -Butler would promptly and vigorously repudiate it. - -John stood in the shadow by the window of his office and watched her -pass in anguish. He saw in this invitation the complete triumph of the -man he was coming to hate with deeper loathing than he had ever felt for -her father. He was sure it was an inspiration of Steve Hoyle. - -He observed old Larkin talking earnestly to Isaac on the other side -of the street, and began to regret that the regiment of United States -troops had been removed on the Carpetbagger’s advice. - -Were they here, he would suggest to the Judge that they be stationed -about his home to-morrow night and those masked fools be kept out. He -resented such a masquerade, not only because it was a travesty of the -tragic drama in which he had played a part, but because he felt a deep -sense of foreboding over the possible outcome of the affair. However -harmless the intentions of the leaders of such a prank, there was always -the chance of a drunken fool among them. - -“My God,” he exclaimed with a shiver of dread, “what will happen if -the Judge in an ugly stupid temper encounters one of those masked fools -maddened by drink!” - -He sat down and hastily wrote a note of warning to Butler without a -signature, tore it up in anger and threw it in his waste basket. - -“Bah! it’s nonsense!” he muttered in rage. “Her father is in no danger. -The trouble is with me--I’m jealous, jealous, jealous! of the men who -can see her. I want to dance with her myself. I’m mad with a passion I -dare not breathe aloud.” - -Yet the longer he brooded over the thing, the keener became his sense of -its dangers and the more oppressive the fear that it would result in a -tragedy. - -He sat down and rewrote his warning to the Judge, crossed the street and -dropped the letter in the post office. - - - - -CHAPTER IX--A COUNTER STROKE - -WHEN John returned to’ his desk he found Dan Wiley standing in the -middle of the room pulling his long black moustache with unusual energy. - -The young lawyer seated himself and motioned the mountaineer to a chair. - -“No time ter fool.” - -“Steve’s gang from up in the hills in my township is on the way ter -Independence. They’re goin’ ter raid old Sam Nickaroshinski, the Jew -storekeeper, and rob ’im ter-night.” - -“Nonsense, Dan, they haven’t got that low.” - -“Hit’s jest like I tell ye. They’re a gang of flightin’ drunken devils. -They’ll do anything. I got a man to join ’em, an’ he gimme the -whole plot. Steve Hoyle don’t know nothin’ about it no more than their -township leader does.” - -“Did you bring your men?” John asked. “Yes, a half dozen. They ain’t but -six er.” - -“What’s up?” - -“Hell’s afloat and the river’s a risin!” - -“Well?” - -“Them skunks comin’. Our fellers are lyin’ out in the woods at the -spring where we met you the last time.” - -John leaped to his feet with a sudden resolution. - -“I’ll join you at eight o’clock to-night and we’ll give the gentlemen -from the hills an unexpected reception.” He seized his hat and closed -his office. As Dan turned to go he gave the low quick order: - -“Gags and ropes for six. Lay low and don’t let anybody know you’re in -town.” - -“I understand,” said the mountaineer, with a grin. - -“John hurried home, and found to his annoyance that Mrs. Wilson had gone -buggy riding with Billy and left the entire work of the house to Susie. - -“I hate to put more responsibility on your beautiful young shoulders, -Miss Susie,” John said hurriedly, “but I must beg you to stop your work -and make me a regalia for a little parade to-night--you understand--will -you do it?” - -“With pleasure,” was the smiling answer. “I’ll forgive Mama her idiotic -trip with Billy for this chance to serve you.” She looked tenderly into -John’s eyes. - -Before sundown the costume was finished and fitted to the tall figure by -Susie’s swift and gentle hands and the last scrap of the cloth gathered -up and piled in her work-basket before the first boarder arrived. Supper -was an hour late, but Susie was singing at her work when Mrs. Wilson and -Billy returned after dark. - -Nickaroshinski’s cottage was situated on the edge of a deep forest two -miles out of town. It was a well-known fact that the old Jew walked to -and from his store every morning and evening alone. And it was popularly -believed that he hoarded his money under the floor of his bedroom. - -Had any other man than Dan Wiley reported to John Graham such a -projected raid, it would have been beyond his belief. The old Jew was -on good terms with everybody. A refugee from Poland, his instinctive -sympathies had always been with the oppressed people of the South, and -to their cause he had faithfully given what influence he possessed. - -The idea of such an atrocity by men wearing the uniform of his Klan -roused John to the highest pitch of indignation. He was determined to -make an example of these scoundrels that would not be forgotten. - -The stars were shining brightly when he started with his men to the old -Jew’s place. - -It was with a queer consciousness of the irony of fate that he galloped -through the shadows to strike horsemen who were wearing the uniform of -the mysterious order he had helped to create. The wind freshened and -grew chill, heavy clouds obscuring the sky. The darkness became intense. - -He carefully placed his men in positions to guard every approach to the -house, and walked to the door to warn the Jew of his danger and arrange -for the capture of the raiders. - -A sudden crash and groan within told him only too plainly that the -scoundrels were already inside. - -Gathering his men John closed in on the house. As he expected they had -put out no pickets, never dreaming that they would be molested. They -had bound Nickaroshinski, beaten him unmercifully and tortured him until -they had secured his money and, not satisfied, had begun to smash things -to pieces. - -Looking through the window John saw that their costumes were exactly -like his own and that the six men had scattered through the house bent -on plundering every nook and corner. Knowing that it would be impossible -for them to distinguish their own men from his, he made at once his plan -to capture the crowd without a struggle. Stationing his own six men at -the front door, he took Dan Wiley and boldly entered the room where the -leader stood covering the Jew with his revolver. - -Without a word they walked toward him in the dim light. - -Merely glancing at them the leader growled: “Finish up and let’s get -away from here!” - -“All right,” John answered coming closer, “I’m getting in a hurry -myself.” - -Before he knew what they meant, Dan pounced on him and pinioned his arms -while John quickly covered his mouth and fixed the gag. - -It was but the work of a moment to tie the wretch and pass him out the -door to the grim figures waiting. They repeated this performance in each -room until all but two had been taken. These two were together. John -suddenly blew his whistle giving the Klan signal “Follow me.” When they -entered the room two revolvers were suddenly thrust under their noses. -They surrendered without a struggle. - -John quickly released the old man, bound his wounds, restored his money -and left with his prisoners. - -Each of them were given forty lashes and the next morning when Steve -Hoyle woke he found six stripe-marked half-naked men gagged and bleeding -dangling by their arms from the limbs of the trees on his lawn. Around -the neck of each hung a placard: “A warning to the scoundrels who are -disgracing the uniform of the Ku Klux Klan in this county.” - - - - -CHAPTER X--THE STRENGTH OF THE WEAK - -STEVE HOYLE had cut down his men and hustled them out of town before -eight o’clock, but the news rapidly spread and had thrown the people -into a tremor of wonder as to the meaning of the events of the night. -Evidently there had been a clash of forces within the ranks of the -Invisible Empire. What did it mean? - -Steve had lost no time in explaining to the desperadoes from the hills -what they wished to know, and they had left with deep muttered curses -against their former Commander-in-chief. - -The outrage on Nickaroshinski had aroused the fiercest passions between -the friends of John Graham and Steve Hoyle. Excited groups stood on -every corner and it was with the utmost difficulty that John succeeded -finally in dispersing them without a clash. - -At one o’clock Larkin called at the old Graham mansion and announced to -Aunt Julie Ann his desire to see the Judge. - -“Ye can’t see ’im,” was her contemptuous answer. - -Larkin had captured Isaac, but his influence had not reached his wife. -For any white man who stayed at a Negro’s house her contempt was beyond -words. That the house happened to be her husband’s only aggravated the -offence. - -“I must see him,” urged Larkin. - -“He’s in bed sick, I tell ye!” - -“But you had’nt told me,” protested the Carpetbagger. - -“Well I tells ye now. De Judge ain’t lif’ his head offen de piller -ter day. De ghosts wuz here agin las’ night--an’ you’d better be a -movin ‘fore Miss Stella find you here. She sick de dog on you.” - Larkin took a threatening step toward her and said in low tones: - -“Shut your mouth, and tell the Judge I’m here to see him on important -business. I’m not going out of this house until I do see him. Tell him -so.” - -Aunt Julie Ann turned muttering and slowly climbed the stairs to -Butler’s room. - -In a moment the Judge came down, hastily dressed in a faded slouchy -dressing-gown and a pair of bedroom slippers. - -“Is it possible,” exclaimed Larkin, “that you know nothing of what’s -happened here within the past twenty-four hours?” - -“I’ve been sick in bed. Haven’t left the house,” was the nervous reply. - -“Well, it’s time you knew at least what is going on in the house.” - -The Judge shivered and glanced up into the galleries. - -“What do you mean?” he feebly asked. - -Larkin rapidly sketched to him the events which had thrown the town into -a ferment. - -“But what I called for,” observed the Carpetbagger, “was to enquire, -as your political adviser, whether you really intend to permit your -daughter to receive here to-night this gang of masked cutthroats as your -guests?” - -The Judge rose trembling. - -“My daughter receive the Ku Klux Klan here to-night?” he gasped. - -“She has invited them, and in spite of the excitement it is rumoured -that they will promptly appear in full costume at ten o’clock.” - -“Impossible, Larkin, impossible! They won’t dare such a thing. Besides, -of course, my daughter will stop it.” - -“How can she stop it? Her invitation was by their sign of the scarlet -bow. They have devised no signal to stop such a festival.” - -“She must find a way at once,” cried the Judge excitedly, “otherwise we -must wire for troops.” - -“It’s too late.” - -“We’ll order a special if necessary. I’ll call my daughter at once.” - -Larkin rose as if to go. - -“Wait,” continued the Judge, “I wish you to be present.” - -He summoned Maggie, sent for Stella, and picked up his mail lying on the -centre table, and opened it with fumbling nervous fingers while awaiting -his daughter’s appearance. - -The Carpetbagger smiled contemptuously at his lack of good breeding, and -studied the room while the Judge read his letters. - -“I see here some friend has written me a warning against the dangers of -such a meeting,” cried Butler, his beady eyes dancing with excitement. -“We must stop it, Larkin, we must stop it!” - -Maggie slowly descended the stairs. - -“Well, well, where’s your mistress?” spluttered the Judge. - -“Miss Stella say she busy tryin’ on a dress an’ she can’t come now.” - -Butler turned on Maggie with sudden fury. - -“Go back, you little black imp of the devil, and tell her to come down -immediately! Immediately, I say!” - -“Yassah! Yassah!” Maggie panted. She turned back up the stairs jumping -three steps at a time, and fell sprawling across the top landing. She -reached Stella’s room gasping for breath. - -Stella turned leisurely from her mirror. - -“What on earth’s the matter, Maggie?” - -“De Jedge say ef you doan come dar dis minute he gwine ter come up here -and slap yo head off!” - -“As bad as that, Maggie?” - -“Yassam. He flung a big book at me an’ hit me right in the head jes case -I tell ’im what you say. Didn’t ye hear it?” - -Stella continued deliberately curling the ringlets about the edges of -her raven hair. - -“Go back and tell him I’ll be down in a minute.” - -“Yassum. I spec he kill me dis time.” - -Stella finished her hair, sat down by the window and read a novel for -ten minutes and then slowly descended the stairs. - -The Judge sat slouching low in his chair, and Larkin rose with the -instinctive impulse of a gentleman on Stella’s appearance. - -The girl stared coldly at her father, noted his dressing-gown, turned -hastily toward the stairs and began to ascend. - -“Excuse me,” she said to him with pointed insolence, “I thought you were -waiting to receive me.” - -“Look here, my child, I’ve no time for silly nonsense!” the Judge -exclaimed, adjusting the folds of his slouchy robe. - -“When you have completed your toilet,” she said with a sneering little -smile, “I’ll come at once. Please let me know.” - -“Stella!” sternly called her father. - -The girl continued without turning her head and disappeared on the floor -above. - -“A stickler for social forms, Larkin,” said the Judge petulantly, -rising. - -“I see,” said the Carpetbagger with amusement. “I’ll have to humour her. -Wait for me. We must stop it.” - -When at length the Judge returned and confronted Stella he was unnerved, -while she stood staring at him with a hard glitter in her great brown -eyes, complete mistress of every faculty she possessed. - -“My child,” began Butler, “Larkin tells me that you have invited the Ku -Klux raiders to dance here to-night.” - -“I have,” was the cool answer. - -“But my dear, you should have consulted me.” - -“You made me the mistress of this house; why should I consult you about -a harmless social gathering of my friends?” - -“The Klan is a secret order of assassins and desperadoes.” - -“Please father, don’t!” she interrupted. “Your politics disgust me. -These boys are of the best families in town.” - -“How can you know this?” pleaded the Judge. “They come disguised. Not -one of them has ever made himself known.” - -“Which makes the romance of such a visit all the deeper.” - -“And its dangers all the greater, my child. Mr. Larkin has come to warn -me.” - -“I agree with your father, Miss Stella,” said Larkin with a grave bow. - -The girl tossed her head with contempt. - -“And I have in my hand a letter of warning from an unknown friend,” - continued Butler. - -“But you are not really afraid?” cried the girl with scorn. “I refuse to -believe my own father the contemptible coward your enemies have called -you.” - -“Have you heard of the criminal outrages committed last night by those -masked raiders?” - -“They do not interest me.” - -“You must remember, my dear, that I have sworn to send these men to the -gallows.” - -“I can’t help your political bluster. I refuse to sacrifice my social -career and insult my friends for your dirty politics.” - -“And you can not see that the presence of these masked men in this house -would be a mortal insult to me?” - -“Certainly not. A crowd of gay masqueraders who come to do me honour.” - -“You must stop it, my child.” - -“It is impossible now. My friends are getting ready. I’ve hired a band.” - -“You refuse to respect my wishes?” - -“I refuse to make a fool of myself!” - -“Come, my dear, you must be reasonable. I know I’ve spoiled you. I’ve -loved you too well. I’ve indulged every whim of your heart and allowed -you to rule me, but you can’t do this absurd and dangerous thing. -You forget that you are not only making a fool of me but that you are -putting my life in jeopardy.” - -“I’ll assume the responsibility!” she broke in, drawing herself up with -pride. “If you receive the slightest insult or a hair of your head is -harmed I’ll give my life to avenge it.” - -“You persist?” asked her father with a scowl. “I do,” flashed the -answer. - -The Judge rose, hesitated a moment and then said with stern -determination: - -“Then for the first time in my life, I forbid you a thing on which you -have set your heart. These masked men shall not enter my house!” - -Stella’s eyes flashed fire. - -“They shall come!” she cried. - -“Larkin,” said the Judge, turning to the Carpetbagger, “I shall have -to ask you to go to the telegraph office and order the troops here on a -special. Ask them to protect me to-night from these assassins.” - -Stella’s figure suddenly stiffened with incontrollable rage. She -clenched her fists and sprang in front of her father screaming. - -“Don’t you dare insult me by applying such epithets to my friends! If -you are my father, you are a poltroon and a coward!” - -“Stella, my darling!” gasped the Judge. - -“Don’t you call me darling! Don’t you dare to speak to me again! I’ll -leave this house and blot your very name from my memory!” - -Butler staggered back in dumb amazement and Larkin watched with a -curious smile playing about the corners of his piercing eyes. - -Stella stamped her foot, turned, and bounded up the stairs and into her -room, slammed the door and began to scream. - -The Judge stood for a moment in speechless horror. He had never crossed -her imperious will before and he was utterly unprepared for her mad -outburst. He loved her with all the tenderness of which his low nature -was capable, and had never seen a woman in hysterics. He had therefore -no standard by which to measure how much of pure devil and how much of -real suffering were mingled in her cries. Each piercing scream tore his -heart. He turned helplessly to Larkin and asked: “What shall I do?” - -“Excuse me Judge, I can’t advise you in such a matter,” the Carpetbagger -replied. “But I think you’ll have to summon a doctor.” - -“My God, is she in danger?” he asked, in a stupor of pain. “I’ll go up -and see.” - -He shuffled up the stairs as quickly as possible, and hurried into her -room without knocking. - -Stella sprang from the bed where she lay moaning, laughing and crying, -and flew at him, stamping and screaming: - -“Don’t you come near me. Don’t you touch me! Don’t you speak to me! Get -out of this room!” - -“But my dear,” stammered the Judge. - -“Get out of this room--get out of this room! or I’ll jump out of that -window and kill myself!” She seized him by the arm, hustled and pushed -him out of the door, slammed and locked it. Again she threw herself on -the bed and burst into strangling groans. - -The Judge retreated to the hall below, his eyes filled with tears, his -heart sick with terror. He dropped into a seat, covered his face with -his hands and sat for a moment in stupid pain. - -Maggie suddenly plunged down the stairs yelling: - -“Goddermighty, ye better run fur de doctor quick--Miss Stella dying! She -done choke ter death!” - -“I’ll bring the doctor,” said Larkin, rising quickly. - -“Run and bring Aunt Julie Ann!” whispered the Judge to Maggie. - -The maid met Aunt Julie Ann who had heard the commotion and the two -hurried back to Stella’s room. - -When the doctor came she refused to see him, and he left in a rage. The -Judge begged Larkin to stay until he could see his daughter. - -An hour later, propped up in bed with Maggie rubbing one hand and Aunt -Julie Ann the other, she permitted her father to enter and receive her -pardon. The Judge knelt by the bedside, kissed her hand and wet it with -tears. His surrender was abject. He sent Larkin away and promised to be -present at the ball and treat the whole thing as a schoolboys’ frolic. - -And then she smiled and kissed him. - -“If I’m only strong enough to dress by ten o’clock!” she cried, -laughing. - -“Try to eat something, dear,” urged her father. - -She promised and asked Aunt Julie Ann to send her a little soup. She got -the soup and with it a substantial meal. - -Still and catlike, Maggie watched her eat it down to the last crumb with -quiet enjoyment. When the black maid picked up the tray she walled her -eyes first at the empty dishes and then at her wonderful little mistress -and softly giggled. - - - - -CHAPTER XI--THROUGH THE SECRET PANEL - -AS THE hour approached for the masqueraders to appear at the Judge’s -John Graham was drawn to the spot by an irresistible impulse. He stood -in the shadows of the trees on the sidewalk and watched the little -squadron of white and scarlet horsemen wheel into the gate past Isaac’s -cottage, and gallop swiftly up to the front door of the old mansion. - -They had scarcely passed when Isaac suddenly stepped from the shrubbery -through the open gateway and ran into him. - -The Apostle gasped in terror: - -“De Lawd, marse John, I thought you wuz one er dem ghostes--‘scuse me, -sah, I’se er gettin’ away from here!” - -John made no reply, merely watching him until he disappeared. - -Again he turned toward the house. Every window was gleaming with light. -The subdued strains of a string band came stealing through the trailing -roses on the porch, and he fancied he could catch the odour of the -flowers in their sweet notes. Scarcely knowing what he did, he strolled -into the lawn and sank on a rustic bench with a groan. He could hear the -gay banter of the masqueraders and the peals of girlish laughter with -which their tomfoolery was being received. - -A mocking bird began singing in the tree above him, roused by the music -of the band. Far off in the corner of the lawn in the clump of holly and -cedars at the entrance of the vault a whippoorwill was making the ravine -ring with the weird notes of his ghost-like call. The moon flooded the -scene with silvery splendour. Crushed with a sense of loneliness and -failure, he felt to-night that he would give all the wealth and honours -of the earth for one touch of the hand of the girl whose laughter -lingered and echoed in his heart. And again the feeling of impending -disaster overwhelmed him. - -“Of course it’s nonsense!” he kept repeating to himself. “The disaster -is within. I’m merely a wounded animal caught in a trap, bleeding and -dying of thirst, and no one knows or cares, and I can’t cry for help.” - -He tried to rise and go. But something held him in a silent spell to -the spot. He sat dreaming out each movement of the gay drama in progress -within. - -Stella had welcomed her white-robed guests without the aid of a servant. -No Negro could be hired for love or money to approach one of these -ghostly figures. Maggie had hidden in the closet in her mistress’ room -and Aunt Julie Ann had barred herself inside the kitchen and refused to -answer a call. - -In spite of these little annoyances the beautiful young mistress of the -Graham house, resplendent in her ball dress costume, was in her gayest -mood. - -When the shrill whistles rang their summons at the door, she hastened to -greet her mysterious guests. - -“And your name, Sir Knight?” she asked the leader with bantering -laughter. - -“We are Ghouls! And come from beyond the river Styx, my lady!” solemnly -answered the tall white figure. - -“Welcome shades of Darkness, welcome back to the world of joy and light, -song and dance, life and love!” Stella cried, extending her hand. - -When they had tied their horses to the posts beside the wide driveway -they slowly entered single file into the great hall. Stella, assisted by -Susie Wilson, who had become her fast friend, greeted each of them with -words of gay welcome. - -They were dressed in the regulation raider’s costume of the Klan. The -white flowing ulsterlike robe came within three inches of the floor. -A scarlet belt circled the waist, from either side of which hung heavy -revolvers in leather holsters. A dagger was attached to the centre of -the belt, and the scarlet-lined white cape thrown back on the shoulders -revealed their militant trappings with startling distinctness. On each -breast was wrought the emblem of the Invisible Empire, the scarlet -circle, and in its centre a white cross. Spiked helmets of white cloth -with flowing masks reached to the cape on each shoulder, completely -covering the head and face. With red gauntlets to complete their -costume, the disguise was absolute. The only visible part of the body -was the eye, gleaming with a strange steady supernatural brilliance -through the holes cut in the mask. It was a curious fact that all eyes -looked alike in the shadows of these trappings at night. They were -simply flashing points of living light with all traces of colour lost in -the shadows. - -In spite of the fact that the girls felt they had nothing to fear from -the white figures, it was with a tremor of excitement they each greeted -the mysterious partners of their dance. - -Stella left them talking romantic nonsense of knights and tournaments, -ghouls and ghosts in the hall and ran up to her father’s room. - -“Oh! Papa,” she cried with childish glee. “It’s such fun! They’re all -here. You will come down and join the party as you promised?” - -“Yes, yes, dear, I’ll come, presently,” said the Judge with evident -dread. - -Stella slipped her beautiful bare arm around his neck and her cheek -rested against his, while the soft little fingers found his hand. - -“I’m awfully sorry I was so ugly to-day,” she said gently. “But I -couldn’t help it. I didn’t know I had such a temper. I must have gotten -it from you Dad.” - -“It’s all right, my darling, if you’ll never say such bitter things to -me again--will you?” he asked tenderly, tears filling his eyes. - -“No, I’ll be good now, if you’ll forgive me?” - -Her father answered with a kiss. “You see, you’re all I have in the -world, my little girlie. I’m not as strong as I used to be. I don’t -think I’m going to live long.” - -“Rubbish! you’ve just got the blues. Shake them off and be young again -to-night. Imagine you are a boy here with mother the sweetheart you’re -trying to steal from the proud rich people who hate you--come, come!” - -The Judge smiled in spite of himself. Her mood was contagious. He -stroked her hand gently. - -“I’ll be down right away. Run on and have a good time.” - -“All right, I’ll start the first dance and you’ll be there by the time -it’s over and shake hands with your enemies. It will be so jolly!” - -Throwing him a kiss she returned to the hall below and led her guests -into the big double parlours which had been fitted up for dancing. The -French windows, opening as doors on the porches, were raised, and the -band stationed outside near one of them. - -When the dance had begun the Judge, dressed in his usual broadcloth -frock coat which hung in slouching lines from his drooping shoulders, -slowly descended the stairs and stood embarrassed and hesitating in the -hall a moment, and sat down by the centre table. - -A masquerader came in from the ball room for the fan his partner had -left, and so soft was his footfall the Judge did not hear or see him -until the tall white figure suddenly loomed above him to pick up the -fan. - -The apparition was so startling the Judge’s nerves collapsed. He leaped -to his feet with an inarticulate cry of terror, overturning his chair -and started to bolt for the door. - -The masquerader smothered a laugh and said: - -“I beg your pardon, I only wanted the fan.” Butler stammered: - -“Ah--I--must have been dreaming--you--startled me!” - -He watched the white figure disappear, mopped the perspiration from -his brow, called Aunt Julie Ann and ordered her to bring him a drink of -whiskey. She refused to stir at first, but he threatened to discharge -her, and she obeyed. - -When the Judge raised the glass to his lips his hand trembled so -violently that he spilled some of the liquor on his clothes. He gulped -it down and glanced nervously about the hall. - -He placed the glass back on the tray and Aunt Julie Ann, watching the -parlour-door like a hawk, started back to the kitchen on a run. - -“Wait a moment,” cried the Judge, shuffling to his feet. - -“I ain’t gwine stay in here wid dem things in de house,” she answered, -halting timidly in the shadows of the door leading into the dining-room. - -Butler walked to her side and said: - -“Tell Miss Stella I’m not feeling well--I’m going to bed.” - -He hesitated a moment. “You’ve said nothing to any one about this ghost -business?” - -“Hush, man, hush! Don’t talk about dat now!” she whispered. “I tole dat -ole whiteheaded Larkin--dat’s all.” - -“Well, I want to warn you, don’t mention it to another living soul. I’m -beginning to suspect that we’ve been seeing old Major Graham himself!” - -“De Lawd er mussy, man, how he bin gittin’ in de house wid all de doors -and windows locked an’ bolted?” - -“That’s a mystery I can’t fathom.” - -“No, ner nobody else. Hit’s his sperit I tells ye.” - -While they were talking thus in the alcove the oak panel under the -stairs was softly opened and closed; old Major Graham, dressed with -scrupulous care, thin and pale as a corpse, yet erect and dignified, -walked slowly across the hall to the foot of the stairs. His lips were -muttering inarticulate sounds and his wide staring eyes had the far-off -look of the dreamer who lives, breathes and moves, yet sees nothing. - -Butler’s back was to the Major, and Aunt Julie Ann, hearing the -footsteps, was first to see him. She staggered against the wall and -gasped: - -“God, save us, dar he is now!” - -Butler glanced over his shoulder and backed against the huge figure of -the cook, trembling. - -“Look--look!” he whispered. “It is old Graham. Watch his thin bony -fingers grip the rail as he climbs the steps!” - -“Hit’s his livin’ ghost I tell ye!” persisted Aunt Julie Ann. “He’ll -walk right out on de roof an’ step off’n de house des like he does every -night--you won’t see’ ’im again.” - -“Get some more whiskey!” said the Judge. “I’ll go with you”--he added, -following her into the dining room, mopping the perspiration from his -brow. - -“I’ll go up there in a minute and find out the truth!” - -“Better keep outen dat attic I tells ye. Dey say dat de ghosts er de -livin’ is wuss dan de dead.” They had scarcely passed from the hall when -the oak panel again opened and a white masked figure peered through, and -quickly entered. - -The dress was an exact duplicate of the masqueraders down to its -minutest details, and only the closest observer would have noted the -awkward way in which the figure moved as though not in the habit of -walking in his disguise. - -He quickly glanced about the hall, listened a moment to the sounds of -revelry in the ballroom, closed the door of the small hall leading into -it, reopened the panel and signalled. - -In rapid succession eight more silent figures filed through the panel -door. The leader whispered to his followers: - -“He’s in the dining room. Guard every entrance now but that.” - -In a moment a masked man stood guard at each door and the leader lowered -the lamp on the table until only the dim outlines of the forms could -be seen, and stepped back himself into the shadows of the alcove by the -dining room door. - -Aunt Julie Ann returned to the kitchen, and the Judge, afraid to go -upstairs, came back into the hall to enter the ballroom as he promised -Stella.. As he passed through the door of the dining room the shrouded -figure standing in the alcove quickly followed, cutting off this -retreat. - -The Judge stopped, blinked his eyes around the dim hall and muttered: - -“Why, why, the lamp’s gone out!” He quickly crossed the space to the -table and extended his hand to turn up the lamp. - -The figure behind him seized his arm and a guttural voice spoke through -the mask: - -“There’s light enough for our work, Judge.” - -Butler staggered back in terror and glanced about him at the dim -spectres closing around the table. With an effort he pulled himself -together and stammered: - -“Why, of course, boys. I see! I see! You’re going to initiate me! give -me the third degree first--I see--a good joke!” - -“You’ll find it a serious joke before you’re through,” replied the -leader, gripping his dagger. - -The Judge could see the movement of his hand as he slowly drew the -knife from its sheath, the blade glistening for an instant in the dim -lamplight, but he still thought the boys were playing a prank on him. - -“Well, gentlemen, have your fun!” he cried with forced gaiety, “Have -your way, I’m at your service. What is the penalty I must pay to-night -for my many sins against the Klan?” - -“The penalty is your life,” said the mask with sullen menace in his -tones, stepping closer, “unless you agree to leave this state to-morrow -and never enter it again--will you go?” - -“So bad as that?” The Judge forced a laugh. “What else?” - -“You are not fooling with boys now!” sullenly said the towering white -form. “Give me your answer, you d------d old sneaking coward! Will you -go or do you prefer to die?” - -Butler, trembling now with mingled terror and rage, cried angrily: - -“Gentlemen, your joke is going too far!” - -“It’ll go farther,” was the quick reply, as the white figures closed in -threateningly and the foremost man moved as if to raise his hand. - -“Enough of this! Get out of my house!” Butler suddenly shouted, -snatching the mask from the leader’s head by a quick unexpected display -of courage. A cry of horror and surprise leaped from his lips. The knife -flashed, and was buried in his heart. He reeled, staggered, clutched a -chair and sank with a groan to a sitting posture. His long awkward arms -drooped and his head sank slowly on his breast. - -The leader, who had quickly replaced his helmet, bent over him a moment, -sheathed his knife and said: - -“A good stroke--all right--quick now--open the doors and follow me.” - -The guard at the door leading into the ballroom opened it gently and -the sweet strains of the music rang through the hall with startling -distinctness, as the white-masked figures slowly disappeared through the -panel under the stairs. - -Aunt Julie Ann who had heard the Judge’s cry and the sudden noise -entered trembling. - -“Name er God what’s dis!” she cried. “De light gone out! De ghost done -dat!” - -She turned up the lamp and saw the Judge sitting dead in the chair, the -scarlet stain on his clean ruffled shirt holding her for a moment in -speechless horror. - -Screaming at last, she rushed to the ballroom door and shouted: - -“De Lawd hab mussy! De ghost done kill de Judge--Stab ’im fro de heart!” - -The music stopped with a crash and the crowd rushed into the hall. - -[Illustration: 0157] - -Stella stared at the lifeless form, her beautiful face whiter than -the dead, turned to the masqueraders huddled in a group, drew herself -proudly erect, pointed to the door and said: - -“Go!” - -Silently and quickly they left, and as the last beat of their horses’ -hoofs died away in the distance she lifted her face from her father’s -hand which she had covered with kisses, and groaned: - -“Forgive me--forgive me! I have but one aim in life now--God give me -strength!” - - - - -BOOK II--A WOMAN’S REVENGE - - - - -CHAPTER I--STELLA’S RESOLUTION - -THE murder of Judge Butler created a profound sensation both in the -state and the nation. The Northern press held the Ku Klux Klan guilty of -this atrocious crime without question, and it was the last straw needed -to start an avalanche of hostile legislation in Congress against the -entire South. - -The famous Conspiracy Act was rushed through both houses of the National -Legislature and signed by the President. It made membership in the -secret order known as the Ku Klux Klan, or Invisible Empire, a felony, -and provided for the trial of its members on the charge of treason, -conspiracy and murder. The President was authorised to suspend the -writ of _habeas corpus_ and proclaim martial law in any county of the -Southern States, and use the army and navy to enforce his authority. - -The Attorney General promptly placed the county of Independence under -military government, stationed two regiments of troops within its -borders, and set to work with scores of detectives to find the guilty -man. - -Two months passed without the slightest progress. Five thousand dollars -reward was offered by the national authorities and a similar sum by the -state. Not a trace of the man responsible for the deed could be found, -though a price of ten thousand dollars was set thus on his head. A -number of arrests had been made, but the evidence produced was of so -flimsy a character that in each instance the prisoner could not be held. - -The longer the case was probed, the deeper became its insoluble aspects. -The “Butler Murder Mystery,” as it was popularly known, provoked the -widest public discussion, both in the state and national press, yet no -explanation from any quarter could be found. - -The effects of the crime on the Ku Klux raiders was immediate. Not -a trace of their existence was left. The enormity of the tragedy had -evidently sobered the dare-devils who had found amusement or personal -profit in its activities. It now became the fashion to denounce the Klan -and demand its extermination. - -As the order had never had a spokesman, it had no defender. The demand -for its suppression was universal. Yet no traitor had appeared among its -ranks. The deepest curses of a race were reserved for the white lip that -should betray its members. Whatever the leaders of public opinion might -say, the masses of the people knew the necessity which had called -this dreaded order into existence--the black threat of Negro dominion. -Thousands of women and children knew its secrets and held them -inviolate. - -On Stella Butler the death of her father had wrought a deep and -remarkable change. The fun-loving, imperious, self-willed, spoiled child -had suddenly become a serious woman. She had given every hour of her -time assisting the authorities in their search for the murderer and had -followed every possible clue with breathless hope. - -Two forces had driven her into a morbid interest in the crime, pride and -remorse. In mere laughing banter she had promised her father if a single -insult should be offered him, or a hair of his head harmed, she -would give her life to avenge the deed. She had not dreamed of such a -possibility. But now that the impossible had happened, she would make -good her word to the dead. And she would make it good, not only because -she had promised and her heart was sick with remorse for the part she -had unconsciously played in the tragedy, but for a deeper personal -reason--the consciousness of the insult to her pride which the crime had -offered. The assassin had dared to strike her father dead in her home, -in her very presence. - -Had the knife sought her own heart she would have felt less deeply the -wound. Somewhere even by her side there stood amid the shadows of life -a being who could thus insult her by ignoring her very existence! She -resolved to make that man feel her power by paying the penalty with his -own life. An element of pitiless cruelty in her character found for the -first time its expression in a passionate thirst for the blood of this -criminal. - -She had seen every effort to penetrate the mystery fail with increasing -inward rage. Larkin, who had charge of the Judge’s campaign, had been -aggressive and untiring for two weeks and then had given up and returned -to his duties as Chairman of the State Executive Committee. - -The Attorney General announced his departure for Washington and ordered -the withdrawal of the troops and detectives. - -Stella hastened to send her burning protest against his action. General -Champion, who had been deeply moved by her beauty and evident suffering, -called personally at the old Graham mansion for an interview. He -received her indignant protests with the gravest courtesy. - -“Please don’t tell me, General,” she began bitterly, “that my father’s -death is an apparently insoluble mystery. I am sick, sick, sick of -hearing such rubbish! Eight weeks ago he was murdered in cold blood in -this hall on the very spot where you are now sitting. It was not done by -ghosts, it was not an accident, it was done by a living man. I refuse -to recognise in it an act of Providence. I will not wear an emblem -of mourning as long as this man breathes on earth. I have sworn it My -father was in the service of his country attempting to enforce its laws. -I have the right to demand that a rich and powerful government avenge -his death. It is incredible that the coward who did this crime can not -be caught and punished.” - -“Upon the other hand, my dear child,” said the General, “I assure you -that the apprehension of this criminal is one of the most difficult -tasks ever assigned the Department of Justice.” - -“And why, pray?” - -“Because in this climate the Invisible Empire is yet stronger than the -visible----” - -“You believe then that the Klan committed the deed?” she asked - -“As sure of it as that I live. If we were dealing with the ordinary -criminal, it would be easy. We are dealing with larger problems. Every -clue we have found has proven false for this reason. The man really -responsible stands at our elbow did we but know the truth.” - -“What do you mean?” Stella asked with sudden interest. - -“That your father’s death was ordered by an inner circle of the -Invisible Empire. He was probably executed by an individual who did -not even know his name. The occasion of the masquerade ball was simply -utilised for the purpose. Unless we know the name of the Chief of the -Klan in this state no progress can be made. This man has the power of -life and death over his men. No such deed could have been committed -without his order.” - -“And you are going to give up the search?” was the eager question. - -“For the present yes. It is a waste of time.” - -“And you have formed no idea as to who this Chief may be?” asked the big -brown eyes, flashing with a new purpose. - -“I haven’t a scrap of evidence that can be used in an English-speaking -court of justice--but I am morally certain that I know the man.” - -“And if you knew him by his own confession?” - -“I could send him to the gallows within thirty days.” - -“The man you suspect?” - -“John Graham!” - -Stella sprang to her feet, her face white with an emotion which stopped -for a moment her very heart-beat. - -“Within a month I’ll tell you the truth”--she said with laboured breath. - -“Can you do it?” - -“Beyond the shadow of a doubt!” was her firm answer. - -The General seized her hand as he took his leave. - -“If you do, my child, you will destroy an empire mightier than the -law of the land. I’ll place the entire resources of the Department of -Justice at your command.” - -Stella’s brown eyes rested on her own beautiful reflection in the mirror -as she slowly said: - -“Thank you, General, I have at present all the weapons I shall need.” - - - - -CHAPTER II--WEIGHED AND FOUND WANTING - -STELLA was putting the last touches to a perfect toilet before meeting -Steve Hoyle who was waiting impatiently below. She had given him the -sign for which he had long prayed, her permission for the formal renewal -of his suit. They had remained friends on condition that he keep silent -on the subject until she gave him permission to speak. She had done -this in the most delicate way in the note of reply she had sent in the -afternoon to his request for permission to call. - -She had determined to take Steve by storm to-night. The secret on which -her heart was set she counted already within her grasp, yet she would -leave no stone unturned, neglect no trick in all the known realm of -woman’s art to make her victory absolute. - -Her refusal to put on black at her father’s funeral, or wear it since, -and her declaration that his death was not the act of God but of the -devil, had shocked the tradition-loving Southern people beyond measure. -Maggie had lost no time in telling her their comments. She heard -them with contempt and proceeded to shock her critics still worse by -establishing herself permanently in the great lonely house with only -Aunt Julie Ann as her guardian. - -Her whole being was fused into a single deathless purpose--to take the -life of the man who had killed her father. She would stop at no means to -accomplish this end, and she would treat with scorn every convention of -society which might interfere. - -She slowly descended the winding stairs to-night before Steve’s -enraptured gaze, dressed in pure white with full train. A single deep -red rose was set in her black hair. Her arms were bare and their beauty -was perfect--starting with the tiniest wrists and swelling into full -voluptuous splendour above the dimpled elbows. She had a way of moving -them when she walked which was modest yet subtle in sensuous suggestion. - -Steve watched her spellbound. She placed her hand in his with a tender -smile, the brown eyes watching the effects of her beauty with quiet -triumph. - -She allowed Steve to silently lead her to the old davenport under the -stairs and take his seat by her side. - -“You meant what your letter implied?” he asked eagerly. - -“I did,” was the firm answer. - -“It seemed too good to be true, dear, yet I felt sure that you would -need me in this crisis of your life.” - -“I do need you. I wonder if you will prove wanting when put to the -test?” - -“Try me!” he boldly challenged. - -“You are sure that you love me with a love that will endure through good -and evil, through life and death, through every test?” - -She leaned close, her eyes searching Steve’s soul. - -The man drew a deep breath and his hand grasped hers with fierce -passion. - -“I love you beyond the power of words to tell--I worship you!” he cried, -attempting instinctively to draw her into his arms. - -“Yes I know,” she answered, lifting her hand in warning, “you love me -that way--I don’t say it displeases me--I have a soul and I have a -body too. There’s something big, fierce, and strong in you, Steve, that -always drew me--that draws me to you to-night--but I want to know if -your love goes deeper than the body; if it’s big enough, true enough to -dare anything in this world or the next for the woman you love?” - -“Yes!” he cried. - -“You love me better than money?” - -“Yes!” - -“Better than power?” - -“Yes!” - -“Better than your own life?” - -“Yes!” he whispered, crushing her hand in his. - -“Suppose I should put you to a test and you should fail?” - -“With your eyes calling me I’d dare the terrors of hell!” - -She took both his hands, fixed her eyes on his until their warm brown -light enfolded him with tenderness: - -“Give me the name of the Chief of the Ku Klux Klan in North Carolina,” - she whispered. - -Steve’s face went white, and he stammered: - -“Why--why--my dear--how--can--I? I don’t know him. It’s impossible!” - -“Nothing is impossible to the man who loves me if I desire it,” she -answered, firmly holding Steve with her eyes dilated to extraordinary -size under the tension of her deep emotion. - -He turned from her gaze, the cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. - -“But, Stella, my dear, I’m not a member of the Klan.” - -She dropped his hand, sprang to her feet, and looked at him a moment. - -“You are lying!” - -“I swear I’m telling you the truth,” he cried, eagerly attempting to -regain her hand. - -She turned from him with contempt. She saw too late that she had -overplayed the part. She had been too eager, too sure. He was a greater -coward than she had suspected. - -“But why should you ask such a thing of me?” he stammered. - -“You know why.” - -“I haven’t the remotest idea.” - -“Coward!” she hissed, turning suddenly. “You know that I wish to hang -this man for the murder of my father.” - -“If the Government of the United States with its army and navy and its -millions cannot find him--am I a coward because I tell you that I do not -know his name?” - -“Yes.” - -“In God’s name why?” he pleaded. - -“I know that you are a member of the Klan.” - -“Upon my soul and honour I swear that I am not!” - -“Have you either soul or honour?” - -“I won’t quarrel with you, dear; you are overwrought and crushed by this -tragedy. You don’t mean what you say.” - -“I do mean it!” she fiercely cried. - -“Then you’ll live to regret it,” he answered, recovering his composure. -“I’ll do anything within human reason. You must not ask the impossible.” - -“Then you will help me to find this man?” - -“To the limit of my power.” - -“Why say to the limit of my power? I hate a man who fences, squirms and -lies when face to face with a test of his manhood! Will you help me find -this man? Yes or no?” - -“Yes.” - -“That’s better.” - -“But tell me,” he said, watching her with increasing reserve and -cunning. “Whom do you suspect?” - -“John Graham.” - -Steve’s eyes flashed. - -“And what is your programme when you have established the fact?” - -“The Attorney General has promised to hang him within thirty days.” - -“With all due respect to the Attorney General--he can’t do it.” - -“Why not?” - -“We are living under conditions of revolution. No jury can be found who -will convict him. There’s but one way.” - -“What do you mean?” Stella asked, lowering her voice. - -“That beyond a doubt John Graham inspired this crime.” - -“You believe it?” she broke in fiercely. - -“I’m sure of it. His hatred of the Judge had become a mania. He used the -Klan as the cloak of his hired assassin.” - -“The Klan decreed his death,” said Stella sternly. - -“John Graham decreed it.” - -“What do you propose?” she asked, again coming close to Steve. - -“To have him executed by the Klan itself!” - -“And yet you are not a member?” she asked with a smile. - -“I am in touch with men who are.” - -“How could his execution be brought about?” - -“Ask him the question you put to me.” - -“And if he tells?” - -“He will forfeit his life.” - -Stella’s eyes rested a moment on the chair in which her father fell -the night of his death. She turned and gazed into Steve’s face with -a strange absent expression in her eyes as though they were seeing a -picture which had etched itself in fire on her soul. - -“I’m going to cultivate Mr. Graham’s acquaintance,” she slowly said. -“I’ll learn from his own lips if he is the leader of the Ku Klux Klan.” - -“And if you find that he is?” - -“I may hold you to your pledge!” - -“And on the day he is executed.” - -“I will marry you!” - - - - -CHAPTER III--THE TRAP IS SET - -THE next morning Steve Hoyle left town and Stella began at once to -put into execution her plan to entrap John Graham in the meshes of her -beauty and deliver him to justice. She felt instinctively that if this -man with his intense and romantic nature ever yielded to the spell -of her love, there could be no limit to which he would not go at her -bidding. With equal certainty she realised that the task would be -a delicate one--a task which might put to the test every power she -possessed. Her whole being rose to the work with a thrill of keen, cruel -interest--the interest of the primitive huntress on track of the rarest, -wildest and most daring game. - -The first difficulty which apparently opened an impassable gulf between -them was the suit which John Graham had begun to regain possession of -the estate. The language in which his complaint had been drawn was the -limit of bitter accusation permitted in a legal document--parts of it, -indeed, the Court had ordered stricken from the record as scandalous and -irrelevant. - -Stella’s eyes danced with excitement as she read in the morning’s -paper the announcement of his withdrawal of this suit. The news was -accompanied by a brief statement which might have been written as a -personal apology to her for the language he had used. - -_“I beg leave to say to the public in withdrawing this action that -I regret the overheated language in which the original complaint was -expressed.”_ - -Without a moment’s hesitation she seized her pen and wrote him an -invitation to call. Her words revealed the deeply laid scheme on which -her mind had seized in a flash of inspiration. She read and reread it -carefully: - -_My dear Mr. Graham:_ - -_Permit me to thank you for the manly words of retraction which you -have used in this morning’s paper.-Your withdrawal of this suit and the -generous manner in which it was done, removes the only barrier to our -friendly acquaintance. I wish to renew it, and ask you to please accept -at once the position of my personal attorney in the settlement of my -father’s estate. Your influence in the courts of North Carolina, your -eloquence and genius will, be of invaluable service to an orphan girl -who needs the advice of one on whose integrity she can absolutely rely._ - -_Trusting that you may honour me by answering this request in person at -three o’clock this afternoon._ - -_Sincerely,_ - -_Stella Butler._ - -John Graham could not believe his senses when he first read this letter. -The boy had turned and gone without waiting for an answer and he sat -stupefied by a whirl of conflicting emotions. - -He read it again, bent and kissed her name. He had never before seen -her handwriting. He studied it with curious interest. Its deep lines -revealed with startling distinctness traits of a remarkable character. -It was full of long strokes of the pen with equal emphasis across, up -and down. The letters were unevenly formed, showing the self-willed, -imperious spirit that had refused to copy the lines set by another -hand, and yet the effect was pleasing and held the eye in a continuous -surprise at its sensational curves and dashes. Through every line he -felt the throb of an intense nature, which seemed to sink into inaudible -whispers of emotion in the queer little twists of the pen with which -each sentence ended. - -He placed the note in an inner pocket. Had he received this invitation -yesterday, he would have locked his doors, shouted and danced for joy at -the opportunity to press her hand again and look into those deep brown -eyes that haunted him waking or dreaming. Now it was a serious question. -Within twenty-four hours he had received confirmation of two suspicions -which had oppressed him since the night of Butler’s death--that his -father might have committed the deed and that Billy was in the party of -masqueraders. - -In either case, the stain of the Judge’s blood was on the house of -Graham and the Angel of Death stood with drawn sword barring the way of -his happiness. He would not seek the hand of Stella with the blood of -her father on his own. He would accept the moral responsibility of his -father’s act or that of his younger brother. He had reproached himself -bitterly that he had neglected to know and teach his high-strung younger -brother as he might. The mother dead, his father a hopeless mental -invalid, Billy had grown up with no hand to guide his wayward fancy. It -was not to be wondered at that he soon recognised no authority save that -of his own will. - -Stella’s request had brought John face to face with the problems of his -father and Billy. He must know the truth before he could answer that -letter. Better to strangle the love that was fast swelling in his heart -than wait until the hour when the call of love might drown the voice of -honour. - -He left his office and went at once to his father’s room. The Major was -dressed with his habitual care, his linen spotless, his boots carefully -polished, his thin white hair brushed straight back from his high -forehead. He was seated in his armchair, gently stroking with his -chalk-white bony hand his delicate ghostly beard, while delivering to -Alfred one of his interminable talks of the old life in the South. At -times he forgot the war and the horrors which followed and reenacted the -scenes of the past until his former slave, too full to bear more, would -stop him tenderly, and get him to change the subject. - -“Leave us awhile, Alfred,” John said, on entering. - -“Yassah,” the old butler answered, bowing himself out with stately -dignity. - -John closed the door and drew his chair close to the Major’s. - -“Father, I want to ask you something very particular,” he began. - -The old man smiled indulgently. - -“Well, out with it, you young rascal! You’ve been flying round her long -enough. I knew it would come at last. So she’s got you, has she! -Well, well, Jennie’s a fine girl, my boy; I danced at her father’s -and mother’s wedding. I wish I had more to give you. You’ll have to be -content with the lower plantation, and a dozen slaves to start with.” - -“Listen, father,” John urged, stopping him with a gentle pressure on his -arm. “And try to remember. Have you encountered Butler lately?” - -“Change our butler!--what better butler do you want than Alfred? He’s an -aristocrat to his finger tips. I wouldn’t think of reducing him from his -present rank; what has he done to offend any one?” - -“I mean the Judge who took the house--I mean Judge Butler.” - -“Ah! A man of low origin and no principle, my son--a renegade who -betrayed his people for thirty pieces of silver--silver stained with -blood--a dirty, contemptible office-seeker. I wouldn’t lower myself by -speaking to such a man.” - -“Yes, I know father,” John broke in, “but I’m trying to recall to your -memory the visits you have made at night lately to the old home.” - -“Of course, I love the old home. I was born here. I brought my bride -here. I’ll never leave it except for a better world.” - -John felt a lump rise in his throat and rose to go. It was useless. -Besides, the thing was unthinkable. How could this feeble old man spring -on one of Butler’s physique and stab him to death. He couldn’t, except -in a moment of superhuman frenzy which sometimes comes to the insane. -There was the thought which returned again and again to torment him! -Aunt Julie Ann declared the ghost was seen to pass through the hall and -go upstairs but a few moments before the tragedy. Yes, it was possible. - -John peered into his father’s restless eyes with a mad desire to lift -the mysterious veil that obscured the world from his vision. The horror -of the sickening tragedy strangled him and he turned, abruptly leaving -the room. - -He sought Billy with a growing sense of helpless and bitter despair. -Since the day of their brief quarrel which followed the demonstration -before old Larkin, Billy had avoided John. Since Butler’s death they had -scarcely spoken. The effect of this tragedy on his headstrong younger -brother first led John to suspect his membership in the newly organised -Klan under Steve’s leadership. - -John found him in his room reading. - -“Billy, I must have a serious talk with you,” the older brother began. - -“All right, sit down,” the boy answered, laying aside his book. - -“A youngster of eighteen who keeps to his room for days at a time and -reads is either sick or has something on his mind.” - -“Which do you think?” Billy asked, looking vaguely out the window. - -“I’ll answer you by asking a question, and I want you to answer on the -honour of a Graham. Are you a member of Steve Hoyle’s Klan?” - -“You have no right to ask that question,” was the hot reply. - -“Yes, I have,” John slowly said, “for two reasons. As the organiser -of the original Ku Klux Klan in this state I hold myself in a measure -responsible for its existence even in its lowest forms. But that’s not -all, my boy, you’re my brother, and I love you.” - -Billy’s eyes blinked and he looked at the ceiling. He had never heard -such an expression from John’s lips before. - -“I wish I’d slipped my arm around you and told you that long ago. I’ve -always been proud of your high-strung, sensitive spirit, proud in my own -heart that we were of the same blood, and I want to ask you to forgive -me for seeing so little of you and being of so little help to you.” - -A sob caught the boy’s breath. - -“You’ll let me help you now?” John asked tenderly, extending his hand. - -Billy rose trembling, his eyes running over with tears, took a step -toward the door, turned and threw himself into John’s arms, sobbing -bitterly. - -The older brother held him close for a moment in silence, and slowly -said at last: - -“Now tell me.” - -“I was at Judge Butler’s that night!” - -John sank to a chair with a groan. - -“My God! I knew it!” - -“But, of course, you know that I had nothing to do with any attack on a -man in whose house I was a guest,” he went on rapidly. “The whole thing -is a horrible mystery to us all. Every man in our crowd was in the -ballroom dancing.” - -“How did you know that?” John interrupted sharply. - -“Because I counted them as they entered.” - -“_You_ counted them?” - -“Yes.” - -“Then you were in command of the crowd?” Billy hesitated a moment, and -said: - -“Yes!” - -John drew a deep breath and turned his head away in anguish. - -“I could not resist the temptation to lead them. I wanted to see -inside the old house again--you understand. I never dreamed of anything -happening.” - -“None of the boys were drinking?” - -“No, and there wasn’t a fool among them--they were all my chums and -friends in town.” - -“Then go at once and tell them that I say to put a thousand miles -between them and this town in the next forty-eight hours--to Texas if -possible.” - -“Why?” asked Billy with a touch of wounded pride. - -“There are a hundred reasons--one is enough. There’s a price on the head -of the man who committed that crime.” - -“My men didn’t do it!” - -“Granted. But one of these fine days a white-livered traitor may crawl -from your Klan and claim his reward of gold or office. You will be -convicted in ten minutes.” - -Billy turned pale, and straightened his boyish figure. - -“Well, I’ll tell my men to go. I’ll not run.” - -“You can serve your men best by going. The bravest general always knows -when to retreat.” - -“I’ll stand my ground.” - -“You must go. I can fight for you better with a thousand miles between -us. I’ll play a trick on my Yankee friends this time. I’m going to send -you North into the enemy’s country--to college.” - -Billy was trembling now with a new excitement. His heart was set on a -college career and he hadn’t as yet hoped to find the way. - -“How will you do it?” he asked eagerly. - -“Old Nickaroshinski will take my note. I’ll borrow the money.” - -The boy smiled for the first time in a month. - -“Oh! John, you’ve taken a load off my soul.” - -John’s hand crushed the letter from Stella, which he was unconsciously -grasping in his pocket. - -“And you’ve piled one on my soul under which I’ll stagger to the grave,” - he cried within, outwardly answering with a smile and warm grip of the -hand as he said: - -“Quick now, boy. Don’t lose a minute. There will be some heart-broken -mothers in town tomorrow night. There’s but one choice: the plains of -the West, or a prison pen.” - -“I’ll go at once,” Billy cried, seizing his hat and hastily leaving. - -Pale and haggard, John slowly returned to his office. He looked at his -watch. It was five minutes to three. Stella was waiting to receive him. -He could hear the low sweet tones of her voice greeting him, and see her -great brown eyes smiling their welcome. - -But his mind was made up. Safety lay in flight. He wrote a brief reply -to her letter. - -_My dear Miss Butler:_ - -_I thank you for the honour you do me in the request you make. I regret -that I cannot see my way clear at present to accept your offer. I -have many reasons, and I beg you to believe that they are very serious -ones--otherwise I would hasten to answer in person your call._ - -_With sincere regrets,_ - -_John Graham_ - -Stella received the note with mingled surprise and rage, and immediately -wired the Attorney General in the cipher code he had given her asking -for the assistance for two months of the best detective the Secret -Service could command. - -General Champion replied within two hours. “Mr. Ackerman leaves here -to-night. He will report to you in Independence to-morrow.” - - - - -CHAPTER IV--ACKERMAN SECURES A PLEDGE - - -ACKERMAN sent to Stella his letter of introduction from the Attorney -General, stating that he would call the following day and report -progress. - -General Champion’s letter had raised the highest hopes by the -declaration that the young detective had developed a well defined and -intelligent theory on which to conduct the prosecution of the case. - -Stella awaited his call impatiently. She had pictured the ideal -detective of romance and could not conceal her amazement at his personal -appearance when she extended her hand to greet him. - -His voice was soft and low as her own, his face wreathed in smiles--and -such a face!--plump, rosy cheeked, young, fresh and boyish, save for -the slightest touch of gray in the dark hair about his temples. His eye -alone, to the close student of men, might have revealed his profession. -It looked a steady blaze of light from beneath straight intellectual -brows. - -“You had better understand at once, Miss Butler,” he began, “that I am -a prosperous young business man from the North at present engaged in the -organisation of cotton mills in the South.” - -Stella could not repress a smile, as she said: - -“I must say you look the part.” - -“I have engaged board at Mrs. Wilson’s and asked Mr. John Graham to act -as my attorney in the organisation of a company in this county.” - -“I see,” she cried, for the first time catching the steady light of -Ackerman’s eye. - -“I cannot be seen in conference with you. We will report to each other -by letter. But we must clearly understand each other. Am I right that -you mean to press this case to the bitter end, let the blow fall on whom -it may?” - -“Certainly,” was the firm answer. - -“I learn from the Attorney General’s office that you are on the track of -the man who is Commander-in-chief of the Klan in this state?” - -“Yes.” - -“Pardon another question. I must know if you are in dead earnest? I have -found that women have little tenacity of purpose in such cases and as a -rule cannot be depended on.” - -“I’ll show you that they are not all alike!” Stella broke in angrily. - -“Then may I ask that if you succeed in securing this name that you will -place it in my hands without a moment’s delay?” - -“At once.” - - - - -CHAPTER V--IN THE TOILS - -STELLA determined to make one more direct appeal to John Graham before -resorting to indirect subterfuges for the purpose of meeting him. - -She wrote half a dozen letters and tore them up. They lacked simplicity. -The only effective appeal to this man must disarm all suspicion of -subtlety. It must be natural, sincere and ring true. She found it a -very difficult thing to express in cold written words one thing and mean -another, and yet preserve the ring of truth and sincerity. At last she -wrote a letter which seemed to be effective. She read it over and over, -and added to the paper the faintest touch of delicate perfume, an old -extract of sweet pinks, which she had used the night of their meeting. -She laid it aside and waited an hour to carefully read it again. It -was too important to risk a failure. Should he once suspect an ulterior -purpose of any kind her plan must end in utter defeat. She spent an hour -walking through the lawn, returned and read again the letter. - -It seemed cold, stiff and artificial, and the touch of perfume obvious -and vulgar. It lacked the magnetism of personality. She had no power -to convey this as yet in words. She must see him face to face, hold him -with the deep charm of her great eyes, and enfold him with the spell of -her beauty. - -“I must see him,” she cried--“or I’ll fail! If I can only touch his -hand, stand by his side and look into his face, I’ll win.” - -She walked to the window and stood thoughtful a moment. Suddenly her -eyes lighted. - -“I’ll do it! I’ll go to his dingy office and ask for his services as any -other client. Why not? His sign is a standing invitation to the world. -How stupid of me to be wasting paper!” - -In five minutes she was on the way. Her dress was a simple girlish -pattern of green dimity. A quaint bonnet of the period, flaring wide and -high in front, its tiny circular crown tilted, with ribbon tied under -her dainty chin, made a picture no artist could pass without a sigh. - -She stopped before the wrought-iron weatherbeaten sign which hung from -the doorway leading up a flight of stairs to the young lawyer’s office. -Her heart fluttered with a moment of uncertainty as she felt herself -standing on the threshold of the most daring step of her life. The plain -gold letters of the sign held her with a strange fascination: - - JOHN GRAHAM - - ATTORNEY AND COUNSELLOR - - AT LAW - -She had never noticed this piece of plain black iron before, and yet -somehow it seemed a part of the record of her deep inner life, and, as -it moved, gently stirred by the soft breezes of a Southern day, creaking -on the rod from which it hung, the sound thrilled her with a feeling -of strange terror. She turned quickly away, her heart pounding with -excitement, and began to retrace her steps. - -She walked a block, stopped, flushed red, frowned and turned on her -heels. - -“I’ll not be a silly coward. I’ll not look back again until it’s done.” - -This time she walked firmly up the stairs and gently knocked on his -door. - -John had just finished his business with Nickaroshinski. - -The old Jew had accepted his personal note unsecured by any endorsement -for the money needed to send Billy north to college. He sat in brooding -silence, idly holding between his fingers the paper on which he had -recorded the memorandum of his new indebtedness. He was not worrying -over his ability to pay--of that he felt sure. Butler had answered his -suit by removing the order of his disbarment on Larkin’s advice the day -of the County Convention. His practice gave promise of a comfortable -living. - -It was Billy’s flight, which was arranged for the following day, that -had focussed his thoughts on the miserable tragedy which had raised -still another barrier between him and his possible approach to Stella. - -The knock on his door had not interrupted the train of his thought. He -was looking through his window into the deep blue of the infinite skies, -and linking in fancy the mysteries of their changing lights to those -which flashed from the fathomless depths of the eyes of the woman he -loved. - -He had mechanically answered the knock without moving and still sat -wide-eyed and dreaming when the rustle of Stella’s dress and the echo of -her soft footfall startled him. - -He turned in amazement, stared, suddenly sprang to his feet, his face -flushed with excitement. Surely he was asleep--dreaming! Or had the -picture in his soul suddenly stepped from the infinite into the flesh -and blood of the finite in answer to the yearning call of his heart! A -hundred wild thoughts swept his imagination in the brief moment before -he could speak. - -“I fear I’ve startled you!” she said, drawing back with a timid gesture. - -“Why, why--it’s you--Miss Butler! I hadn’t dreamed of seeing you in this -dingy office!” - -He stammered and hesitated, and continued to gaze at her in confusion. - -“May I sit down?” she asked softly. - -“I beg a thousand pardons,” he answered, springing across the room for a -chair. He dumped a pile of law books from it--brushed the dust from the -bottom and placed it before her. - -“Believe me,” he went on, “I was so astonished at seeing you, I thought -I must have fallen asleep--you see it was too beautiful to be true--I -thought it must be a dream.” - -“Well, there was nothing left but to humble myself and call on you--you -refused to call on me.” - -“I can never tell you how sorry I was to have to write that note,” he -said gravely. - -“I’m glad, for I refuse to take your letter as final. You said there -were many and serious reasons why you could not act as my counsel. I’ve -come to hear them.” - -“I assure you they are serious enough, Miss Butler. I fear it will not -be possible for me to state them.” - -“Then I refuse to accept them,” she answered with a smile. - -John gazed at her, wondering if she could know what havoc her sweet -appealing smile was playing with his resolutions. - -He tried to speak and couldn’t. - -Stella continued, her voice low and musical with childlike tenderness: - -“I know that my father was your political foe, but he had the -profoundest respect for your ability and your high sense of honour. -His death will doubtless remain one of the unexplained tragedies of the -troubles through which the country is now passing.” - -She rose and slowly approached John’s chair, her great brown eyes -blinding him with their light as she gently laid a white hand on his -shoulder. - -He started at her touch. - -“Mr. Graham,” she said, with exquisite tenderness, “life is too short to -cherish its bitter feuds.” - -“Yes,” he answered in a whisper barely audible. - -“I am utterly alone and distressed over business affairs I do not -understand. I have implicit faith in you. I need your help and advice. -Will you refuse me what you would grant without question to a stranger -who would call at this office and ask?” - -John flushed and fumbled his hands nervously. - -“Come, you will accept, will you not?” She extended her hand. “Shall we -be friends?” - -He trembled for a moment and his own hand resistlessly sought hers. - -“Yes!” he cried with deep emotion, unconsciously crushing her hand in -his. - -“You will come to-morrow morning to the house and go over the papers -with me?” - -“To-morrow afternoon,” he replied, as a momentary cloud shadowed his -brow. “I have an important engagement for the morning.” And he thought -of Billy with a pang. - -“Then to-morrow afternoon,” she cried, with a tender smile that lingered -as a caress long after she had passed from the door. - - - - -CHAPTER VI--THE TRAIN FOR THE NORTH - -ONE by one the boys engaged in the masquerade at the Judge’s the night -of his death slipped out of Independence from various nearby stations -and left for the West. An hour before the time for Billy’s train going -North John went to his room for a chat before saying good-bye. Billy had -begun to unpack his trunk. - -John seized his arm. - -“What’s this--what’s the matter?” - -“I’m not going!” he snapped. - -“Why not?” - -“I’ve found out that you may be put on trial for your life.” - -“Well, what’s that got to do with your education?” - -“You’re just packing me off to get me out of danger.” - -“Suppose I am?” - -“I’m not going to sneak out of trouble and leave you to stand for what -I’ve done.” - -“I’m responsible, my boy.” - -“You’re not. You tried to keep me out of it. I got Steve Hoyle to take -me in. I knew what I was doing. I was a headstrong fool.” - -“Because you’ve been a fool is no reason why you should keep it up. -Don’t talk any more nonsense. Hurry--put your clothes back in that -trunk--you must catch this train.” - -“No!” was the dogged answer. - -John put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. - -“You must do it for me, Billy. I’m trying to make good my failure. -I ought to have been both father and mother to you. I was neither--I -didn’t know how--forgive me! I let you slip away. It seems to me now it -would have been very easy for me to have taken you by the hand, and -with a jolly word or two and a little pains and a little friendly -comradeship, I could have kept you out of trouble. I’m heartsick over -it, boy. You must let me atone in this way. You can do no good by -staying. You’ll be in the way when trouble comes. You’ll promise me now, -because I ask you--won’t you?” - -The boy choked back a sob. - -“I’ll go on one condition----” - -“Well?” - -“If you get in trouble about this thing, that you’ll let me know.” - -John grasped his hand: - -“I promise you.” - -Mrs. Wilson and Susie accompanied them to the station. As the train -signalled to pull out Billy shook hands with Susie awkwardly and tried -to take leave of her mother in the same way, but Mrs. Wilson broke down, -threw her arms around his neck and sobbed: - -“Billy, darling, you’re my own sweet boy--I love you--I love you! You’ll -write to me every week--won’t you?” - -Billy promised, disengaging himself in evident embarrassment and trying -to hide his tears. - -Moved by a sudden impulse Susie smiled, drew Billy’s head down and -kissed him. - -“For the high honour you once paid me. I shall expect great things of -you, Billy.” - -As the train started, he gripped John’s hand: - -“Remember, we stand together. We are Grahams--I’ll hold you to your -promise!” - -John saw Ackerman join Susie and caught the sudden flash of his keen -eye. - -He touched his lip in sign of warning to Billy and waved his hand. - -“I’ll remember! Good luck!” - - - - -CHAPTER VII--THE DAUGHTER OF EVE - -STELLA had piled on the big oblong oak table in the library the letters -and legal documents relating to her father’s estate. - -She had determined to treat John Graham’s first visit as a purely -business one, and make her approach to him by the more subtle way of -child-like dependence on his help and advice. - -She wore on purpose the same simple green dimity dress in which she -had called at his office. Each step in her plans must be taken with the -utmost care. He had masked his feelings with an iron will and she could -as yet form no conception of the impression she had made. - -Seated beside the table, idly turning the papers, she awaited his coming -to-night with the keenest interest, every faculty of her being keyed to -the highest pitch of power. - -A letter from Ackerman had aroused anew her curiosity over every detail -of the murder of her father and had given her a definite purpose toward -which to work during John’s visit. She studied carefully again the -paragraph in which he said: - -_“I have made several important discoveries in the past twenty-four -hours. (1) That old Isaac has left the county and is not holding a -sanctification meeting as he told his wife. (2) That Larkin and your -father had a violent quarrel on the day of the Convention. (3) That a -dozen young men, one at a time, have left Independence recently. (4) -And most important, that the tradition that there is a secret passage -somewhere into the Graham house must be true. If you can confirm this -fourth fact for me by its discovery my work will be greatly helped.”_ - -Stella had quietly ransacked the house from cellar to attic in vain -searching for this secret way. She had questioned Aunt Julie Ann without -results, and had made up her mind to gain from John first this important -fact. - -The brass knocker struck three sharp strokes on the front door. With a -quick, cat-like movement she concealed Ackerman’s letter in her bosom, -smoothed her dress, and as the young lawyer entered, rose and greeted -him with a gracious smile. - -“I must thank you again for undertaking this work for me,” she said, -taking his hand. “It is such a relief to feel that it is now in the -hands of one who understands--one I can trust implicitly.” - -“It will be a pleasure if I can serve you,” he answered gravely. - -“I have the papers all spread out here ready for you.” - -“Pardon me, if I look about the room a moment,” John said with deep -emotion. “You see I haven’t been in this room before for years. I spent -many happy hours in it, in the old days.” - -“I hope this will not be the last time you will enter, now that we are -going to be friends. When we have time you must take me all through -in every nook and corner--show me all the secret closets and dark -passageways and tell me its history.” - -“Yes, of course”--he answered with an absent look. - -“I don’t believe you were listening to what I said at all,” she -exclaimed with mock anger. “A penny for your real thoughts!” - -“May I be bold enough to tell you just what I was thinking?” - -“Yes.” - -“I was thinking,” he said with a sober smile, “what a beautiful picture -you make in this old oak panelled room. The delicate lines of your face -seem at home here as though the master workman who carved the figure in -that mantel had seen you in a vision while he was at work.” - -“What a dreamer you are!” she laughed. - -“And you are willing to trust me as a lawyer?” - -“Absolutely.” - -“Then I must prove myself worthy, mustn’t I?” - -“The papers are ready”--she said, bustling about the table and mixing -the bundles in greater confusion with an attempt at arranging them in -business order. - -John seated himself and began to examine them. She bent over his -shoulder saying with a light laugh: - -“I’ll do my best to explain them--they are all Greek to me--but you’ll -understand.” - -“I’m sure there will be no great difficulty.” - -He ran rapidly over the bundles and in half an hour had made memorandums -of each division of the work before him. He took up one of the packages -and began its careful reading, but the writing faded. He could hear -Stella softly breathing as she bent near him and see the beautiful -little hand resting on the table. He was seized with a mad impulse to -grasp it and clasp her in his arms. He smiled and placed his hand on his -forehead a moment lest she might see his confusion. He could endure it -no longer. He must leave and regain control of himself. - -He tied the packages of papers together and rose. - -“You are going so soon?” she asked. - -“Yes, I’ll take them down to my office. It will require several hours to -go over them.” - -“You will come again to-morrow?” she said softly. - -“I’ll report to you again to-morrow evening.” - -“I shall expect you at eight,” she said, extending her hand. - -He held it unconsciously for an instant, and wondered if she could feel -the pounding of his heart. - -He came each evening for a week and spent two hours in the library with -Stella until every letter and paper had been thoroughly examined. In -a hundred little ways she had made him feel the power and charm of -her personality; in no way so keenly, perhaps, as in the long silences -during which she sat near with her great brown eyes watching him -intently. He could feel their deep mysterious light in whatever -direction he turned. In no other way could she have made so powerful an -appeal to his imagination. To his poetic fancy, this capacity for silent -comradeship in a girl so young revealed a depth of character which he -had not suspected. - -The real depth of its meaning he could not dream. The moments of -exultant triumph, of breathless suspense, of merciless cruelty with -which she watched him slowly entering the trap she had set, were safely -concealed beneath the childlike expression of her beautiful face. - -Each night he felt his resolution to allow no word of love to pass -his lips harder and harder to keep. And each night she watched with -increasing excitement his gradual approach to the brink of the precipice -to which she silently beckoned. - -On the night of his final report when the work was finished, she looked -at him intently and said: “Now, I’m going to hold you to your promise.” - -“And have I broken one?” - -“Only forgotten it, I think--you must go over the old house with -me--every nook and corner. But before we start, come, you are tired, -I’ve some refreshments for you.” - -She led the way into the dining room where she had prepared a dainty -supper. Aunt Julie Ann in spotless white cap and apron, stood smiling -her welcome. The table was lighted with a dozen wax candles set in two -old silver candelabra which had belonged to the Graham family more -than a hundred years, until they had fallen with the house and its -furnishings into the Judge’s hands. - -Stella seated herself at one end of the table which had been shortened -to its smallest size and placed John at the other. Her position, the -lights and the effects of the picture in his imagination, she had -carefully planned and rehearsed before his arrival. She meant to win -to-night. - -Behind her stood the rich old mahogany sideboard of Colonial pattern, -the Graham silver flashing in the quaint gold mirror which hung above -it. In the mirror her own image was clearly reflected. The man opposite -could look into her face and at the same time see in the shining silvery -picture above the sideboard the black ringlets of curling hair at the -back of her neck, as well as the exquisite lines of her figure. - -John gazed at her in silent wonder. Never had he seen a picture so -appealing in its beauty to every sense of his being. He felt that she -was born to sit at that table amid such surroundings. - -She lifted the teapot to fill his cup: - -“This little feast is to celebrate the completion of our work.” - -“And seal our friendship, may I hope?” he broke in with a smile. - -“Yes,” she answered in a whisper. - -These soft notes of her voice thrilled the man before her, and his -whole being quivered in response to their call. He wondered if he could -conceal the hunger with which he was looking into her eyes. - -He had always thought her the most beautiful being he had ever seen, but -to-night for the first time she had dressed specially to receive him, -and his imagination had not dreamed the picture--Her beauty fairly -stunned him. - -Her dress was of filmy zephyr-like white chiffon, cut low to show the -full lines of the neck and shoulders. Around the upper part of her -beautiful bare arms, where they melted into the shoulders, was drawn a -scarf of delicate lace. Where it crossed the waist line in V shape, was -pinned an ivorytype miniature portrait of her proud mother, painted at -her own age of twenty, which looked so strikingly like the living form -above, it might have been taken for the image of a twin sister. A sash -of pink ribbon encircled her figure. The skirt hung in full puffy lines -draped over a number of under-skirts after the fashion of the period. -The bottom of the skirt was finished with a border of lace on the top -of which were set at intervals clusters of little pink roses wrought in -silk. - -Her curly crown of black hair was parted in the middle and drawn low -on the side of the face in two great waves and tied behind with a -pink ribbon. The long ends were curled into four strands and thrown -carelessly around her neck in front and hung to the waist. Her head was -circled with a tiny wreath of the living pink roses from which the silk -ones had been modelled. To John’s fancy this wreath against her black -hair seemed the jewelled crown of a queen set in priceless rubies. - -She poured the tea with her bare arm uplifted in a fascinating pose, -the right arm curved just enough to tilt the teapot and yet preserve the -dimple at her elbow. In all his life he could not remember an arm like -these--so graceful, so seductive each little movement, they seemed to -possess a conscious soul of their own. Her whole being spoke the charm -of the boundless vitality of youth just budding into perfect womanhood. -Her delicate skin flashed its tints in harmony with every mood of -thought in her voice. She had as a divine gift a sensitiveness of -expression, so acute that it could be controlled by the fierce will -which hid beneath the velvet surface. She could blush at will because -her imagination was so vivid that she could direct its powers by a -subtle process of auto-suggestion. - -John had not realised until he saw her eat how wonderful were the lines -of her luscious lips. He felt that he could sit there forever and -watch her dainty wrist and tapering fingers lift the cup. Her eyes -were friendly to-night! They looked at him with dreamy tenderness, a -childlike trust, and perfect faith. - -How could he live through the evening without telling her of his love! -Yet he must keep silent. He felt with deep foreboding an approaching -catastrophe which must soon overwhelm the men who had created an Empire -whose power they could not control. That Empire had left a stain of -blood on the floor of this house--a stain that must forever darken his -own life and hers--and yet--how could he give her up? - -He rose from the table at her suggestion and followed her in a spell as -she lifted a silver candlestick above her head and started to explore -the house. - -He found his tongue at last and told her with boyish enthusiasm the -legends of the old mansion, the associations of each room, and sketched -with good-humoured criticism the peculiarities of his people. In the -gallery of the observatory he showed her the spots from which the -slightest sounds were echoed to the hall below, and explained the -origin of many of the ghost stories which the Negroes believed with such -implicit faith. - -Stella leaned over the railing and looked down into the hall at the -chair in which her father had fallen the night of the dance, and a -curious smile played about her lips. - -“And what are you smiling at?” he asked softly. - -Without the quiver of an eyelid, either in surprise or recognition of -the fact that he had caught her in a moment off her guard, she replied: - -“I was just wondering if you ever believed in ghosts?” - -“Of course,” he laughed. - -“Really?” - -“Yes. When Aunt Julie Ann used to tell them to me at night in the -nursery they were vivid and terrible realities.” - -“And you’ve laughed away all the romances of childhood now?” - -“No,” he answered firmly. “I halfway believe in ghosts still, and the -old dreams of beauty and love, of honour and truth, seem to me more and -more the only things in human life that have any value.” - -They had returned to the hall. Stella placed the candle on the table and -sat down on the davenport. John followed her instinctively and seated -himself by her side. - -Suddenly she placed her soft hand on his, exclaiming: - -“Oh! There’s one thing we’ve forgotten!” She felt him tremble at her -touch. - -“What?” - -“The legend of the secret way--tell me about it--how it originated and -all--of course, I know it is only a legend. Such things are only found -in stories.” - -John looked at her, with a smile playing about the corners of his mouth. - -“You have ceased to believe in romance, ghosts and fairies?” - -“I’ll believe it if you tell me,” she said softly. - -John took her hand and lifted her from the lounge. - -“Have you faith enough to follow me through the dark secret way to-night -if I can find it for you?” - -“Yes!” she whispered, leaning toward him trustingly. - -“Then I’m going to do what was never done before--show this secret way -to one who does not answer to the name of Graham.” - -Stella’s bosom rose and fell with deep emotion as she turned her brown -eyes on John. - -“But why not?” he continued. “The house is yours. And I’m haunted with -the strange fancy that your spirit has lived here before.” - -“I have grown to love it,” she said hesitatingly, “in spite of the -tragedy. It’s strange. I wonder at myself for it.” - -John turned toward the panel in the wainscoting whose location he knew -so well, paused and said: - -“I’d better wait and let you change your dress. You’ll soil it against -the damp narrow walls.” - -Stella’s eyes were sparkling now with excitement. - -“No matter. I can’t wait a minute. The mystery and romance will be worth -a dress. Show me the way. I’ll follow.” - -“All right,” John answered, as he extended his hand and pressed the -moulding behind which lay the spring. The panel flew open and a rush of -cool air took Stella’s breath. - -“Heavens!” she exclaimed, clinging suddenly to John’s arm, “why, I had -no idea it could open here just behind us in the hall!” - -He could feel her tremble. - -“There’s not the slightest danger--you need not be afraid,” he said, -tenderly. “Wait, I’ll get the candle and go before you.” - -He took the candle from the centre table and entered the passage-way, -closing the panel. - -“Wait, you must hold my hand,” Stella cried timidly. - -He took the soft little hand in his with a throb of joy and carefully -led her down the tiny stairs into the basement, where the passage turned -between two walls and again descended a half dozen steps to another door -which led out of the house into the long straight way to the vault. - -Trembling with excitement, she clung in silence to his hand as they -entered the long damp passage. He closed the door suddenly, the sound -crashing through the narrow walls in a thousand startling echoes. - -Stella sprang into his arms, nestling close and whispered: - -“Mercy! what was that?” - -“Only the door,” he laughed. - -“It scared me nearly to death,” she faltered, slowly withdrawing from -his sheltering protection while she skilfully managed to press her soft -bare arm against his hand. She felt him tremble, his breath deepen and -quicken at the touch of her flesh. - -“You’re sure there’s no danger?” she asked. - -“Not the slightest,” he replied cheerily. “Just one more little surprise -and we are out in the moonlight on the lawn.” - -He led her clinging to his hand along the dark way, holding the -flickering candle above her head, a hundred mad impulses of love surging -through his brain. - -They stopped at the stoneset door leading into the tomb, and he handed -her the candle, gently disengaging his other hand. He drew the heavy -door back, Stella stepped through and he followed close behind her. - -She raised the candle high and looked about the vault. With a sudden -cry, she staggered into his arms gasping: - -“Why,--we’re--in--the--vault!” - -The candle dropped from her hand and she threw her arm around John’s -neck clinging to him frantically. Her hold relaxed and her head drooped -against his breast. He clasped her tenderly for a moment and his lips -instinctively touched the curling mass of her hair, as he cried in -agony: - -“God help me--I’m lost!” - -She revived as quickly as she had collapsed and murmured: - -“I was about to faint--quick, let’s get out!” - -He led her through the iron grilled door into the moonlit shadows of the -lawn. - -“Oh!” she cried with a gasp of relief. “What a wild experience! I hope I -didn’t do anything very silly--did I?” she asked dreamily. - -“You did just what any little girl of your age might do under such -conditions,” he replied, gazing at her with deep seriousness. “Come, let -us find a seat on the lawn and I’ll tell you the story of the vault and -the secret way.” - -He led her to the seat on which he had sunk in despair the night he -came half-mad with pain to watch the masqueraders whirl past her lighted -windows. - -The full moon wrapped the earth in the white mantle of Southern -midsummer glory, and the night wind stirred, its breath laden with the -rich perfume of every flower in full bloom. A katydid was singing a -plaintive song in the tree above, and in the rose bushes near the porch -a mocking-bird rehearsed in a burst of mad joy every love song of the -feathered world. - -In low, rapid tones John told her the story of Robert Graham’s great -love for his Huguenot grandmother and why he built the vault and secret -way. - -She listened and furtively watched him struggling with his emotions. - -Suddenly he turned, looked tenderly into her eyes and took her hand. - -“After all, Miss Stella, what else matters on earth, when life has once -been made glorious by a great, deathless love--such a love as that which -has grown in my own heart for you.” - -Stella turned away to hide the flash of triumph with which her face was -flushed. - -“Ah! don’t answer me now,” he rushed on. “I don’t ask it. I only beg the -privilege of telling you--telling you how you have lifted my soul from -the shadows of self and hate, and made life radiant and beautiful. I -dare not hope that you love me yet--that you only hear me is enough. -That I sit by your side and tell you is all I ask. My love is so deep, -so full, so rich, so great, it is glory and life and strength within -itself. I could die to-night and count my life a triumph, because I’ve -seen you and loved you, and you have heard me. May I tell you all that -is in my heart?” - -He leaned closer and pressed her hand gently. - -“Yes,” she whispered. “Why not?” - -“I dare not tell you why I pause to ask the question. I’ve sometimes -thought that an impassable gulf yawned between us. To-night I’ve thrown -such rubbish to the winds. There’s no gulf so wide, so deep and dark -the heart of love may not leap it. Nothing matters save that I love you, -that you smile and hear me!” - -“I am honoured in your love,” she answered gently. - -“Ah! you can never know how sweet it is to hear that from your dear -lips. I cannot tell you the madness of the joy that fills me, when -I realise that I have found in you all I’ve ever dreamed of beauty, -tenderness and purity. All the songs of life that poets dream and find -no words in which to sing, I feel within. If you should send me from -your presence now, I’d laugh at Death for I have tasted Life! To win -your love is all I ask of this world or the next--You will let me try?” - -“Yes,” said the low voice, as she placed her hand again in his. - -“Then I must go,” he said, rising and lifting her from the seat--“I’ve -said enough to-night. I must go before I dare say too much and break the -spell of joy that holds me.” - -At the door he asked. - -“I may come again to-morrow?” - -“Yes, at eight.” - -He bowed and kissed the tips of her fingers. - -“I may have something to say to you to-morrow,” she said seriously. - -“I shall count the minutes of every hour that separates us.” - -She watched the tall figure pass swiftly and joyously along the white -gravelled moonlit walk, while a paean of fierce joy welled within her -heart. - -“I’ve won--I’ve won, beyond the shadow of a doubt!” she cried, -exultantly. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII--THE TRACKS AT THE DOOR - -WITHIN thirty minutes after Ackerman had received Stella’s message that -she had found the secret entrance to the house he was waiting for her at -the door of the vault as she had suggested. - -He had entered by the rear wagon road and passed into the shrubbery -without attracting the attention of the servants. - -She showed him the way to the underground passage through the niche -in the rear of the vault, and in ten minutes Ackerman entered the hall -through the panel under the stairs. - -Stella, who had returned to the house across the lawn, watched the panel -slowly open at his touch and her eyes gleamed with a cold, hard light as -she saw reenacted in imagination the tragedy of her father’s death. - -The detective made an accurate diagram of the hall, measured carefully -the distance of the secret door from the chair in which the Judge had -been found, and reëxamined the ballroom and all its possible exits and -entrances. - -Stella returned to the entrance of the vault and placed a padlock and -chain on its iron door while Ackerman again entered the underground -passage and spent two hours alone, making the most minute examinations -and measurements of every track to be found at any point from the door -of the vault to the panel in the wainscoting. The work of measurement -was rendered easy by the accumulation of soft earth in the bottom of the -underground way from the action of the water which had soaked through -the brick ceiling and walls. - -He discovered the footprints of eleven different men besides the dainty -mark of Stella’s little shoe made the night before. - -He returned to the hall and asked her permission to come from time to -time and continue his study of the grounds. - -“Certainly,” she answered eagerly. “And your discoveries?” - -“Confirm so far my theory of the crime,” he answered quickly. “The -assassins undoubtedly entered the house by this secret passage, -committed the crime and passed quickly out without discovery. I did not -know who was with you last night, but he has been there at least once -before within the past few weeks.” - -“Is it possible!” Stella exclaimed. - -“I find,” he continued, “that he merely took a single step inside the -door leading from the vault into the underground passage as if he were -showing the way to others who traversed the entire length.” - -Stella’s red lips were suddenly pressed tight and Ackerman watched her -keenly. - -“This may mean something or it may mean nothing. It all depends on what -night he stepped inside the door.” - -“I see,” she said cautiously. - -“Other facts I have found are of significance,” he went on. “I have -located Mr. Isaac A. Postle, and learned from him two startling things. -First that he encountered John Graham at the gate on the night of the -murder--collided with him, he declares, as he was running from the -masked men who had just galloped past his cottage.” - -The girl smothered a cry. - -“He also says that later in the evening, just before the murder -occurred, he passed by the front door and saw John Graham seated on a -rustic bench in the shadows watching the house.” - -“It’s horrible--it’s horrible!” Stella murmured. “The two statements -contradict each other. Uncle Isaac is lying at some point of his story. -If he ran for his life from the masqueraders he certainly would not have -returned to the house in thirty minutes while they were still there. -Until I can find the motive for that lie his story must be taken with a -large grain of salt. In the meantime if you can confirm for me his -statement that Graham was here on that night you will do me a service.” - -“Within a week I’ll tell you,” she replied, the strange cold light -flashing again from her eyes. - - - - -CHAPTER IX--A TEST OF STRENGTH - -IN TAKING leave of Ackerman Stella went immediately to her room to -select her dress and plan her campaign for John Graham’s reception in -the evening. - -A feeling of reaction depressed her. The passionate warmth and -tenderness of his love remained a haunting memory. A sense of loneliness -crept into her heart. She began to see that she was playing a -desperate game with the great stake of a human life as the issue. The -consciousness of its possible tragedy began to be dimly felt. She sat -staring idly at the gowns she had piled on the big tester bed without -being able to make a selection. - -“I’ve begun a daring task,” she mused. “The wit and beauty of a girl of -twenty against the iron will and personality of a man of genius. A man -just entering his thirtieth year, who has looked Death in the face on -the field of battle and dared defy the power of the Government that has -crushed him. Can I win?” - -The closer she had drawn to John Graham in their intimate daily -association the more impossible seemed the idea that such a man could -have murdered her father or known of such a crime. And yet the closer -each day drew the net of circumstantial evidence about him and the -fiercer grew her determination to demand the life of the murderer. - -What had surprised her most of all in his character was the spirit of -eternal youth within him--youth strong, fresh, buoyant and throbbing -with poetic ideals. At first she had thought him sombre and morose, yet -in his presence she could never imagine him more than twenty years of -age. In many of his little ways and moods she found him more boy than -man. And she must acknowledge the truth--she had begun to think of his -possible death as a criminal with a pang of regret. - -She rose and studied her beautiful figure in her mirror until self and -pride once more filled the universe. - -“Bah! What to me is the life of the man who struck my father dead at my -feet! I’ll amuse myself by playing the game of love with him for a week, -and then for the master-stroke. I’ll watch him as a cat a mouse, and -when I’m ready, strike to kill. If he had no mercy, I shall have none.” - -John found her in a mood of elusive girlishness. When he begged her to -remember her parting words, the half-pledged promise of a message for -which he waited, she only laughed and fenced. - -She allowed him to call each afternoon and evening for a week until -he was drunk with the joy of her presence--until the sense of personal -intimacy and the growing consciousness of comradeship had made his will -obedient to her slightest whim. It amused her to watch the growth of -his powers of intuition, born of this daily life, which enabled him to -anticipate her wishes. - -For the man, these days were as water to the lips of a thirsty dreamer. -In the heart of the girl, who studied his every movement with deep -sinister purpose, there had grown a cruel joy in the consciousness of -the tyranny she wielded over a powerful human life. - -Toward the end of the week he began to beg her tenderly for a single -word of love. At last she promised him an answer on the evening -following, and forbade his afternoon call. She knew the effect of his -longer absence would be to give her greater power. At last she was sure -that the hour had struck toward which she had moved with such infinite -pains, the hour of his complete surrender and his utter trust, when she -had but to breathe her wish to know the guarded secrets of the Klan and -they would be whispered into her ear without a moment’s hesitation. - -She had planned to lead him to the seat amid the shadows of the trees -near the house from which Isaac said he had watched the dance the night -of the tragedy, and if possible gain both important secrets at once. - -She again selected the low cut white chiffon she wore the night he had -declared his love. - -Maggie’s keen eyes watched her dress with a care never shown before. The -little black maid flashed her white teeth more than once behind her back -as she observed the delicate yet sure art with which, by a touch here -and there, her mistress managed to suggest with unusual daring the -physical charms of her extraordinary beauty. When the task was finished -and she surveyed her form in her mirror with a look of proud content, -Maggie laughed: - -“You sho’ is trying ter kill ’im to-night!” - -“Maggie, how dare you suggest such a thing!” - -“De Laws a mussy, Miss Stella, I des mean dat you’se de purtiest thing -in de whole worl’ an’ he gwine drap dead quick as he sees ye!” - -“That will do, Maggie,” she said severely. - -“Yassum.” - -But in spite of her severity, the mistress smiled at the maid, and -Maggie burst into a fit of laughter. When at length it subsided, she -stood with wide staring worshipful eyes gazing at Stella entranced. - -“Ef I could look lak dat, Miss Stella, I’d let ‘em bile me in ile, roast -me on a red-hot stove and peel me!” - -“You are breaking the Ten Commandments, Maggie.” - -“Yassum, I’d bust a hundred commandments ef I could look lak you.” - -“I accept the compliment, if I can’t commend your morals.” - -“Yassum.” - -A sudden flash of lightning revealed the clouds of a rapidly approaching -summer storm. - -Stella frowned. - -“It’s going to storm,” she said, fretfully, - -“Yassum, but he’ll come.” - -The mistress laughed in spite of herself. - -“I’m not worrying about his coming, Maggie.” - -“Nobum, you needn’t worry. He swim er river ef he couldn’t git here no -odder way--dar he is now!” - -His familiar knock echoed through the hall and the maid hastened to open -the door. - -When Stella stood before him, John seized both her hands and looked into -her deep eyes with silent rapture. - -“How glorious you are to-night!” he whispered passionately. - -She made no answer save the sensitive smile of triumph which lighted her -face and quivered through her form. - -“I meant to find a seat on the lawn to-night, but it’s going to rain.” - -“Yes, I ran, to get here first,” he cried with boyish enthusiasm--“It’s -raining now, but the old davenport under the stairs is cosey on a rainy -night.” - -She looked at the panel door and hesitated. - -“You’re not afraid of ghosts from below I hope?” he laughed. - -“No, I’ve locked the iron door,” she announced soberly, taking her seat -by his side. - -With a vivid flash of lightning followed by a crash of thunder the storm -broke, the big raindrops mixed with hail rattling furiously against the -windows. - -Stella nestled closer to his side, and John turned his swarthy, eager -face toward her. - -“Now, while the storm roars,” he whispered, “and shuts out the world, -drawing us closer together--so close I feel that there is no world -beyond the touch of your hand and the music of your voice--won’t you -tell me what my heart is starving to hear?” - -“Do you realise what it means for a girl to say to a man, ‘I love you?’” - she asked slowly. - -“I do,” was the quick answer. - -“In all its depths?” - -“Yes. It means the utter surrender of soul and body or it means -nothing!” - -“And yet, you ask that I say it?” - -“I know that I’m not worthy, but Love has always dared to claim its own, -soul crying to soul, mate calling to mate--I love you! I love you! -Ah! The story is old as the throb of life, yet always new and full of -wonder. I know it’s too much to ask, yet I dare to ask it.” - -“There should be no shadows between those who thus love, should there?” - she asked with a far-away dreamy look as if his burning words had caught -her spirit in their spell. - -“No,” he answered, solemnly. “A thousand times I’ve longed to tell you -how tender was my sympathy for you in the tragedy that threw its shadow -across your young life in this hall a few months ago.” - -“And yet you didn’t,” she said reproachfully, studying him keenly and -furtively, with her head bowed as if in grief for the memory of her -father. - -“How could I without hypocrisy? The Judge and I had been uncompromising -enemies. Could I tear my heart open and let the vulgar world see the -deep secret of my love for you?” - -“You loved me then?” she broke in with surprise. - -“From the moment you crossed this old hall the night I met you.” - -Loved me when you refused to answer my appeal in person the day I wrote -you?” - -“I refused because I loved you.” - -She looked at him a moment with a feeling of sudden fear. For the first -time she realised with a shock that her imperious will to master his -life was not the only force at work. The shadowy figure of Fate stood -grim and silent before her. - -“The man who wins my heart,” she said firmly, “can hold no -reservations--he must be all mine, body and soul. He asks as much of me. -I demand the same. Are you ready to place your life in my hands as I am -asked to place mine in yours?” - -“Without reservation,” he answered. - -“I must be frank with you,” she said, turning her eyes appealingly on -him. “Since the awful night I saw my father sitting dead in that chair -with those masked figures, white, silent and terrible behind me, I have -had a morbid curiosity mingled with terror for everything and everyone -connected with the Klan. I have heard that you are a member?” - -John suddenly knelt before her and took her hand. - -“Here on my knees before you and before God--and when I am before you I -am in the presence of God!--I call the spirit of the dead back on the -wings of this storm to-night into this hall to witness when I swear to -you that I am innocent of any knowledge of his death!” - -“And there shall be not one shadow between us? - -“Not one. Every secret of my life shall be laid bare before I’d dare -claim you as my wife. I only beg to-night one word of love from your -dear lips. You believe me when I swear to you, on my honour, my life, my -love that I am innocent?” - -“Yes, I believe and trust you!” - -He bowed and kissed her fingers reverently. - -“And now you must show that you trust me before I speak,” she went on -dreamily--“you are in reality the Chief of the Klan in North Carolina, -are you not?” - -John’s hand trembled, his lips quivered, and a look of mortal anguish -overspread his face. - -“Please don’t ask me that yet?” he begged. “You are afraid to trust me?” - she said reproachfully. - -“I trust you implicitly,” he cried, pressing her hand, “but do not ask me -now!” - -“The hands of Southern women made those white and scarlet costumes,” she -persisted. “May I not share at least one of its secrets with them?” - -“Remember that conditions have changed!” he urged--“A price is set on -the head of every member of the Klan. The South now swarms with -spies--the Government is straining every nerve to learn the secrets of -the order--have I the right even to breathe the name of the Klan while -another’s life may hang on my word?” - -“I see,” she cried with scorn, rising. “The daughter of a murdered -‘Scalawag’ judge may not be trusted as other loyal women of the proud -old aristocratic South!” - -“Please, I beg of you----” - -“You may go!” she said proudly. - -And without another word she quickly turned, ascended the stairs and -disappeared. - -John stood for a moment blind and dumb with pain, mechanically took his -hat and slowly passed through the door and out into the black, raging -storm. - - - - -CHAPTER X--BEHIND BOLTED DOORS - -JOHN GRAHAM fought his way home heedless of the storm’s blinding fury. -The hurricane without was but a zephyr to the one which raged within -his own soul. Again and again he asked himself the question why Stella -should have demanded of him such a confession. - -He had instantly resented it. Perhaps he had scented danger. And yet it -was preposterous to think the girl he worshipped could have desired this -dangerous knowledge to be used against him. - -Ackerman in discussing his mill projects in the office during the -afternoon had asked him a number of irritating questions about the Klan -which he had skilfully parried. His mind was over-sensitive and sore -perhaps from this annoyance. Ackerman could have nothing to do with -Stella--they were not even passing acquaintances. - -From every point of view he tested the problem of her possible design -to use this knowledge and found it preposterous. There was but one -reasonable explanation. She had found with her keen woman’s intuition -the one weak spot in his mental attitude toward her. Yes, it was true. -He loved her with passionate devotion, but he had not fully trusted her. -She had discovered it. Had she not thus revealed the true state of her -own heart? She must love him. Otherwise this keen sensitiveness to his -moods would not be possible. The thought was sweet in spite of his agony -over their break. After all she was right, proud little queen of his -heart, to demand his loyal faith! Should he yield to her this perilous -secret of his own life? Would he thus endanger those with whom he had -been associated in the daring task of saving the civilisation of the -South in the blackest hour of her history? - -While the battle thus raged in his soul he reached his room, removed -his drenched clothing and replaced them with dry ones. He walked to -his window and looked out on the spluttering street lamp across the way -struggling to hold its tiny flame against the storm and wondered why -he had dressed again. He should have gone to bed. And then the dawning -sense of loss and misery crushed him. He sank into a chair and watched -the rain dash against the glass and stream down the sides of the window, -his heart aching in dumb agony. - -“My God!” he cried at last, “I can’t live without her! She loves me, and -I must win her!” - -The memory of her cold words as she ordered him from the house came -crashing back into his heart with sinister echoes. Never had he seen a -human being so transformed by anger--eyes that a moment before had held -him enraptured with their tender light had flashed cold points of steel. -Hands, soft and warm and full of velvet feeling, had closed in rage as -the claws of a tigress! - -Suppose she refused to see him again? It was unthinkable. He seemed to -have lived a century within the weeks since she had called him to her -side. The life which had gone before grew dim. Four years of war and two -years of daring secret revolution as a leader of the Invisible Empire -faded from his consciousness. Only a great love remained, and those days -by her side seemed to hold the full measure of his life. - -He undressed and went to bed, only to roll and toss hour after hour -without sleep. - -He saw the first gray light of dawn with a sense of utter desolation. -The rain had ceased an hour before. Swift flying clouds and swaying -tree-tops heralded the coming of a clear, beautiful day. He determined -to write at once and beg to see her. In a moment his mind was on fire -with his passionate plea. As the sun rose, reflecting through scurrying -clouds its scarlet and purple glory, he hastily dressed, sat down at -his table and poured out his anguish in burning words of tenderness and -love. He read it over with renewed hope. Never had he expressed himself -so well. The letter was a living thing. No woman’s hand could touch it -without feeling its vital power. An immortal soul beat within it. - -He had added the last line of a postscript begging her to name an early -hour at which he might call, and sat in dull moody reverie unconscious -of the flight of time. - -A gentle knock on his door roused him. He opened it and stared blankly -at Susie’s gentle face. - -“I trust you’re not sick, Mr. John,” she said. “Everybody is through -breakfast. I’ve kept yours warm.” - -“Thank you, Miss Susie. I’ve only a little headache. I won’t eat any -breakfast. I’ve important work at the office. I’m going down at once.” - -As he passed her at the head of the stairs she said with a wistful look: - -“Mama says she heard you stirring all night. If I can help you, won’t -you let me?” - -“Yes, little comrade, I will. I’ll let you know,” he answered, swinging -quickly down the stairs and out the front door. - -He found a boy on the street and sent him to Stella with his letter. He -stood at his office door and watched him until out of sight and counted -the minutes until he reappeared. He had paid him a dime on dispatching -the letter and promised to double it if he came back in a hurry. Fifteen -minutes later he smiled as he saw the boy coming in a run, his swift -bare feet making the dirt fly in the middle of the street. - -“I knew it! Of course, she will see me!” he exclaimed as he bounded up -his stairs two rounds at a jump. He gave the astonished boy a quarter -instead of another dime, hurried into his office, and slammed the door. -He felt the weight of the letter with faint misgivings. It was large -to have been written so quickly. Yet it was addressed with her own dear -hand. He tore it open, and from his trembling fingers dropped his own -letter with the seal unbroken. Not a line from her. Her meaning could -not be misunderstood. She could have offered him no deeper insult. He -sank to his seat with a groan and sat for an hour in a stupor of wounded -pride. “I won’t accept such an answer from her!” he cried bitterly. “And -I won’t stand on ceremony.” - -He walked down the street to the gate of the driveway of the Graham -house, hoping he might find Aunt Julie Ann at her cottage. The door was -closed and he could get no response to his knock. He looked longingly at -the old house shining with its snow white doors and windows against the -dark fresh green of the rain-soaked trees, and thought with a pang of -his quarrel over its possession. What did houses matter if the heart was -sick unto death! The humblest Negro cabin would be a palace if only her -face would shine from the doorway! - -He felt himself drawn toward her with resistless force and before he -realised what he was doing his hand was on the brass knocker and its -echoes were ringing through the hall. - -Aunt Julie Ann shook her head as she ushered him in. - -“I wish ye hadn’t come, marse John,” she said sorrowfully. - -“Why not?” - -“She shut hersef up in de room an’ won’t let nobody come in. I creep -up to de door, and hear her cryin’ sof’ an’ low. I knock an’ she didn’ -answer. I knock again an’ calls her sweet names an’ ax her please lemme -do sumfin for her. She jump up an’ stamp her foot an’ say she kill me -ef I doan’ leave her ’lone. I’se skeered of her, honey, she ain’t lak our -folks. When de old Boy’s in her lak it is ter day she talks jes lak de -Judge. When she laughs an’ plays an’ looks purty as an angel her voice -jest like her Ma’s, low an’ sweet.” - -“Tell her I’m here and wish to see her”--John interrupted with -impatience. - -Aunt Julie Ann shook her head again: - -“You better not honey!” - -“I must see her. Try!” - -John stood at the foot of the stairs nervously fumbling his hat while -Aunt Julie Ann climbed to the floor and knocked on her door. - -He listened breathlessly for her answer. The key clicked in the lock and -Stella opened it wide enough to be distinctly heard. Her voice rang cold -and clear: - -“Tell Mr. Graham to leave this house instantly and never enter it -again!” - -The door closed and the bolt flashed into its place again. - -John’s face flushed red, the colour slowly fading as his strong jaws -snapped with new determination. - -“In spite of the devil, I’ll win her yet!” - - - - -CHAPTER XI--A VOICE IN WARNING - -TWO days passed without a word of hope for John. On the third morning -after his dismissal by Stella he sat pale and listless at breakfast, -scarcely tasting his food, while Susie watched his drawn face with keen -sympathetic eyes. An hour later she entered his office. - -“You promised to let me help you,” she said quietly. “I have come.” - -He looked at her a moment and wondered why he had never before seen her -striking beauty. A tall figure with exquisite sylph like lines, a serene -and perfectly moulded face with straight, thoughtful brows shadowing the -tenderest gray-blue eyes, and a crown of luxuriant auburn blonde hair. - -He caught at once the sincere sympathy of her mood, as he pressed her -hand. - -“I never saw you so beautiful, Miss Susie, or your face so sweet and -restful.” - -She blushed and looked out the window. - -“I can’t tell you how I thank you for coming. I think we must have been -brother and sister in some other world before this.” - -The corners of the girl’s lips twitched and she turned her tender eyes -full on John’s. - -“You are in love with Stella?” - -“Yes.” - -“And she has rejected you?” - -“No, we have quarrelled and she refuses to see me or read my letters.” - -“She loves you?” - -“I’ve hoped so, I don’t know. She lets me feel it without words.” - -“We are friends, what can I do?” - -“See her and beg her for God’s sake to let me call, at least to read my -letters. Will you go to-day?” - -“Immediately.” - -“Thank you,” he cried, again tenderly pressing her hand. “You must have -loved too, Miss Susie.” - -“Perhaps I have,” was the soft reply. “Write your message and I’ll take -it.” - -John seated himself and hastily wrote: - -_My dear Stella:_ - -_From the bottom of a heart crushed with anguish I ask your pardon for -my lack of faith. Your pride was right. Give me a chance and I will show -you what the trust of perfect love means for me. I await from you the -words of life or death._ - -_John Graham_. - -Susie promised to return at once with her answer. - -She knocked at the door of the old Graham house with a strange conflict -raging in her own breast. She hoped to succeed for the sake of the -aching heart of the man she had left, and yet mingled with the fear of -failure was the half-mad wish that Stella might reject his plea. - -Aunt Julie Ann’s face was troubled as she greeted Susie. - -“Tell Miss Stella, that I’m very sorry to learn of her illness and I -trust she can see me a moment.” - -“Yassum, I tell her--but I’se feard she ain’t well enough.” - -Aunt Julie Ann returned immediately, smiling. - -“She say come right up to her room, Miss Susie.” - -Susie was shocked to note the change-in the beautiful young face lying -still and pale against the white pillow. - -“I’m sorry to find you so ill!” - -“Yes, I suppose I have nerves,” she said, smiling wanly. “I didn’t know -it before. I think some of them must have snapped--but I’m better now. -I’ll get up this afternoon.” - -“I’ve something that will help you, if you will take it.” - -Stella’s brow clouded, and her eyes, wide and cold, assumed a sinister -half-mad expression. - -“You have a message from Mr. Graham?” - -“How did you guess it?” - -“He has tried every other possible way. I wondered if he would stoop to -this.” - -“Stoop!--what do you mean?” - -“To use you for such a purpose.” - -“And why not?” - -“You ask that of me?” The great brown eyes pierced Susie’s soul. - -“Certainly.” - -“Then it’s all right,” she said with a light laugh. “You must receive -his message,” Susie said. “You’ve won the heart of the noblest man I -have ever known--a great, beautiful, measureless love. Don’t turn away -from it--you may not know its like again.” - -The full lips smiled curiously. - -“I’ve brought you a letter from him--you must read it.” - -Susie pressed the letter into Stella’s hand and turned away to the -window. She heard the rattle of the paper as it was opened and refolded, -and walked back to the bedside. Before she could ask Stella’s answer, -her eye rested on a letter in Ackerman’s handwriting, lying open on -the white covering. She started violently but managed to suppress an -exclamation. Only that morning she had received herself a letter from -the young Northerner declaring his love in simple, honest fashion. She -couldn’t believe her eyes at first, but a second look convinced her -of its reality. What puzzled her still more was to observe beside this -letter a sheet of paper on which was drawn the diagram of the hall -with the minute accuracy of an architect’s plan, with Ackerman’s notes -interlining it. - -“What shall I say?” she stammered in confusion. - -Stella looked at her with a momentary start, smiled and answered: - -“Tell Mr. Graham I have received and read his letter. I’ll think it over -this evening and reply to-morrow.” - -“Then I’ll go,” said Susie, taking her hand. “I’m so glad I saw you.” - -As she turned through the door her eye again was drawn irresistibly to -Ackerman’s letter. She returned to John Graham’s office stunned by this -puzzling discovery. - -John was bitterly disappointed in the message she brought. Her long -stay had raised in him the highest hope. His own surrender had been so -complete and generous, that he could not conceive it possible that she -would debate in cold blood for twenty-four hours the question of her -answer. It seemed heartless and utterly cruel. He rebelled in fierce -futile protest. He did not try to conceal the bitterness of his -disappointment from Susie, and was too selfishly occupied with his own -grief to note the constraint in her manner as she hurried home from his -office, even before he had found words in which to thank her for the -delicate service she had rendered him. - -He sent for Alfred and got word to Aunt Julie Ann that he wished to see -her at her cottage after supper. He knew that Alfred had taken advantage -of Isaac’s long absence to renew his calls on his former love. - -When he arrived at nine o’clock Aunt Julie Ann had placed a pot of -coffee and a plate of tea-cakes on a little table for him. - -“What’s de matter, honey?” she asked. - -“I’m in great trouble, Aunt Julie Ann.” - -“Well, Mammy’s baby knows who ter come to when he’s in trouble!” she -said tenderly. She had always called him baby--this bronzed hero of -battle fields. His thirty years meant nothing to her except increasing -faith in his manhood. Since the day she first took his baby form in her -arms she had watched him grow in body and spirit with a brooding mother -pride. - -“You must talk to Miss Stella for me,” he said. “Get close to her Aunt -Julie Ann, you’re a woman, and tell her all the good things you remember -about me. You know better than I do--you understand? Make her smile -again and get her to see me.” - -“Now, you set down dar sir, an’ drink dat coffee an’ tell me what you -doin’ gwine roun’ here mopin’ an’ pinin’ yo’ life out all ’bout a gal -don’t care two straws whedder you’se er livin’ er dyin’. I’d be shamed -er myself, great big grown man lak you is, what fit froo de war an’ -everybody say gwine ter be de guvnor some day.” - -“Can’t you get her to see me, Aunt Julie Ann?” he interrupted, -earnestly. - -“Drink dat coffee, an’ den I tell ye!” - -“It’s too hot for coffee--I’m not hungry--Tell me now.” - -“Drink it fur Mammy, boy--I wants de grouns. I’m gwine tell ye somefin -when I looks in de cup. I seed a vision las’ night.” - -To humour her John drank the coffee in silence. She took the empty cup, -studied its message, and looked into John’s face. - -“Yes, honey, hit’s des lak I see hit las’ night, an’ I warns ye! I see -two purty gals--a fair one and a dark one. Bof lubs ye--but dey’s one -er slippin up behind yer back wid a shinin’ knife in her hand. Her long -black hair is hangin’ loose on her white shoulders an’ all twisted lak -snakes. I see her hide de knife in her bosom an’ slip her arms roun’ yo -neck. She kiss you an’ blindfold ye wid her curly hair an’ slip de knife -from her bosom an’ stab you froo de heart! Mammy’s baby! Mammy’s baby!” - -The black woman’s voice sank to a weird whisper full of tears and ‘wild -half-savage music as she seized John’s hand. - -“Don’t come to de house no mo,’ Marse John!” she pleaded. - -“And why not?” he asked sharply. - -“Case I look again in de vision an’ I see her face plain--an’ it wuz -hers!” - -“Whose?” - -“Miss Stella, honey--I warns ye! she doan lub my baby--keep away from -her!” - -“Rubbish, Aunt Julie Ann; you’ve been having a nightmare.” - -“I see it all, des ez plain ez I sees you now--I warns ye!” - -“I’ll risk it,” John laughed. “I’m hoping for good news -to-morrow--please say your prayers for me to-night.” - -Yet in spite of his culture and the inheritance of centuries of -knowledge, the voodoo message of his old nurse shrouded his spirit in -deeper gloom. He walked home with a new sense of dread in his heart, -wondering what answer she would send him to-morrow. - - - - -CHAPTER XII--THE TRAP IS SPRUNG - -THE following morning when Stella, sitting up in bed, opened her mail -and read Ackerman’s report, the last doubt of John Graham’s guilt was -shattered. - -_“I have just learned,” Ackerman wrote, “that a number of men of -notoriously desperate character from the foot of the mountains were in -Independence on the day before the tragedy and that a man by the name of -Dan Wiley, their leader, reported in person to John Graham’s office.”_ - -Stella sprang from her bed and began hurriedly to dress. - -“Now God give me strength for the work I’m going to do!” she cried, with -strangling rage. “To think that such a man should dare to speak to me of -love--should dare to clasp my hand with the stain of my father’s blood -yet fresh on his! I could kill him with my own hand--coward, dastard, -sneak, assassin! I hate him--I hate him!” - -She threw herself on her bed again in a paroxysm of uncontrollable fury. -She arose at length, calm, alert, her cheeks flushed with brilliant -colour, her great eyes dilated wide and sparkling with courage. - -The knocker struck sharply and she remembered with a start that Steve -Hoyle had returned on the midnight train and would call this morning. -She heard Maggie show Steve into the library. - -Without waiting for her breakfast she hastened to meet him, and he -plunged at once into the purpose of his call: - -“Has John Graham yet confessed his leadership?” - -“He will to-day,” was the quiet answer. - -“The fame of your desperate love affair has set the town agog,” Steve -laughed triumphantly. - -“Doubtless,” she replied moodily. - -“I’ve everything arranged--the men are only waiting for the word.” - -“I prefer that the law take its course. I’m not ready to commit murder,” - she said emphatically. - -“Nonsense! The law’s a farce--Deliver him to his own men to be judged -by the Klan which has set itself above the State. If he is the leader of -the Invisible Empire he holds his own High Court. Let his men decide his -fate. It’s justice!” - -Stella hesitated a moment and slowly said: - -“When I learn from his own lips that he is the Chief of the Klan and -find that there is no other way in which he can be made to pay the -penalty of his crime, I’ll deliver him to his men.” - -“They’ll be ready to receive him.” - -“I shall know in twenty-four hours.” - -“I’ll await your word,” he answered eagerly, his eyes devouring her -beauty. - -Steve hurriedly left and Stella seated herself at her desk to write her -answer to John Graham. Two attempts she tore up. The third suited her. -In the centre of a sheet of paper she wrote two words: - -_“Come--Stella.”_ - -When John Graham received this note at eleven o’clock from the hands -of her messenger, he felt before he broke the seal that it bore glad -tidings. - -He tore it open and with a cry of joy, tried to read, and the tears -blinded him. He crushed the note in his hand and bowed his head on his -desk, his whole being convulsed with emotion which he could not control. -He rose at length, walked to his window, opened the note again and gazed -at it until he broke into a joyous laugh, repeating the words: - -_“Come--Stella.”_ - -“The most wonderful letter I ever received,” he exclaimed. “The longest, -the richest, the deepest--the answering call of my mate! In all nature -there’s no such cry. From out the shadows of hell I lift my soul and -answer, ‘My love, I come!’” - -In a moment he had forgotten every fear; and all the pain, blind and -hideous, of the last three days was lost in a joy that lit the world -with splendour. - -He called immediately on horseback and asked her to ride with him -through a beautiful wooded road he had long wished to show her. Stella -caught the echo of his horse’s hoofs with a shudder as he approached the -house. She had not heard that sound on the gravelled roadway of the lawn -since the night she listened to the distant echoes of the masqueraders -as she stood beside the dead. - -She accepted his suggestion and hastily despatched a message to Ackerman -asking that he await her return in her library at sundown as she -intended to spend the afternoon in the country on important business. - -At three o’clock they galloped out of Independence toward the river. - -“My heart is too full now for speech,” he said, leaning toward her, his -face radiant with happiness. - -“I understand.” - -“Just to be near you is all I ask for a while. It seems too good to be -true. It has been a century since I saw you.” - -She remained silent. The only visible response, if any, was the -quickening of her horse’s pace at the unconscious touch of the little -spur concealed beneath her skirts. - -Her silence meant to him feelings too deep for words, and again his -heart sang for joy. - -Four miles out of town they left the main highway and turned into the -narrow crooked road which wound along the banks of a creek through the -densest forest in the county. - -“I’m going to take you to ‘Inwood,’ General Gaston’s place. The house -was burned by Sherman’s army, only the vine-covered ruins are standing -now. It was the finest house ever built in the state, and many a gay -party held high carnival there in the old days.” - -“I’ve heard my mother speak of it,” she answered soberly, glancing at -him from the corner of her eye. “In fact, it was there at a picnic one -day that my father proposed to his sweetheart and my mother accepted -him, and planned their elopement. How strange that you should have -chosen to bring me to this place to-day!” - -“You’ll understand it later,” he quickly responded. - -“I hope you don’t mean to kidnap me?” - -“It might be advisable in view of the events of the past three days,” he -laughed. - -She glanced about her at the deep shadows of the great trees through -which they had been passing for more than a mile and shot at him a -sudden look of fear. - -“Let’s turn back,” she said, flushing and reining her horse to a stand. - -A look of pain clouded his face as he bent near. - -“Surely, dearest, you can trust the man who worships you! Come, we are -only a few hundred yards from the gate.” - -“Then I’ll trust you that much further,” she said with a light laugh, -spurring her horse forward. - -In a few minutes they passed through the ruined gate in the edge of the -woods. The broken marble figures which once crowned the brick pillars -lay beside the entrance among a mass of tangled blackberry briars. They -had been pried from their places and hurled there by the bayonets of -Sherman’s men and had not been touched since. - -The lawn, which once had spread its beautiful carpet of flowers and -shrubbery in wide acres here in the heart of the ancient woods, -had grown up in ugly broom straw and young pines, which were slowly -strangling to death the more delicate forms of life. The dark fir trees, -magnolia and holly, still flourished in luxury. - -Towering in solemn, serried line on a gentle eminence still stood the -six great white Corinthian pillars of the front façade of the house. -Behind them in dark background a row of Norwegian firs, fifty years old, -marked the sky line. The afternoon sun cast the shadows of the trees -across the fluted marble of two of the pillars, while the other four -shimmered in the splendour of the sunlight. - -The capitals of the columns had fallen with the blazing ruins of the -house, but the bases and tall beautiful fluted forms of each were yet -perfect. The ivy which had grown on the sides of the stone steps had -climbed in unbridled riot over one of them and hung in graceful festoons -from the top. - -To Stella’s fancy they seemed grim white sentinels guarding the entrance -to some vast empire of the dead. - -“How still and death-like everything is,” she said, with a timid glance -about her. “We seem a thousand miles from life.” - -He took her hand. - -“When I stand by your side, in every silent space I hear the beating of -the wings of angels.” - -“The wings of the angel of Death here, I should think!” she said in -strange subdued tones, as her eyelids drooped and she looked away. - -“Away with such nonsense,” he cried, cheerily. “I’ve something to do -before I dare to speak to you again of the love that is in my heart.” - -He led her behind the towering columns, and, at the rear of the ruins of -the heavy brick walls, entered the basement by a stairway half covered -with fallen débris. - -The floors of the first story which had been constructed of iron and -cement foundations had remained unbroken. The basement, once entered -below the ruins, was in a state of perfect preservation. - -They entered the immense kitchen whose walls had once echoed with the -voices of swarms of indolent well-fed slaves. - -Stella looked about her in amazement, asking with a slight tremor in her -voice: - -“Why have you brought me here?” - -“To place my life in your hands, joyously, without a single -reservation,” he said with deep earnestness. “You are in the council -chamber of the Invisible Empire. Here its High Court of Life and Death -was held.” - -Stella’s breath quickened and she glanced at John with furtive eyes. - -“I should have told you frankly at first. You had the right to know -before you gave your life into my keeping.” - -He led her to the big wrought-iron range and opened one of its ovens, -revealing the form of an old-fashioned safe. - -Taking a huge key from his pocket, he opened the door and drew from it a -package of papers. - -“I am going to show you, my love, what no woman’s eye ever saw before, -the guarded secrets of the Invisible Empire, its signs, passwords, -ritual and secret oath. In this act I now imperil no life save my own.” - -Stella’s tapering fingers trembled as she turned the pages nervously and -read its brief formulas. - -“As Chief of the Klan I met here the leaders from each district.” - -“Then--you--are--the--Chief?” she slowly asked, bending low to hide her -flushed face. - -“Yes, I was the only Chief the Empire ever had in the state,” he -answered with a ring of boyish pride. - -“And you bowed to no law save your own?” she asked in low tones. - -“No.” - -“And you really did hold high courts of life and death?” she whispered. - -“Yes, we were the sole guardians of white civilisation. It was a -necessity--the last resort of desperation.” - -“You tried men here in secret, sentenced them without a hearing, -executed them at night without warning, mercy or appeal?” - -“It had to be--there was no other way. A million soldiers girded us with -their bayonets. We had to strike under a mantle of darkness and terror, -where the power of resistance was weakest, the blow unsuspected and -discovery impossible.” - -“How terrible!” she interrupted with a shudder. “And yet,” she went on -with a sudden flash of her eye, “its mystery and its daring fascinate -me! Would you do something just to please a romantic fancy of mine?” - -“I have but one desire in life--to please your fancy,” he cried. - -“Come here with me again, day after to-morrow night, and dress in your -costume as Chief of the High Court of the Klan. Bring some lanterns and -we’ll light it up--it’s just a fancy of mine--will you do it?” - -“You’re not afraid to be here alone with me at night?” - -“Why should I? I love to do daring unconventional things. Besides, do we -not belong to each other now?” - -“You do love me?” he whispered. - -“Do you doubt it?” - -“Kiss me!” he pleaded, bending closer. - -With a sudden shudder she drew away. - -“Not yet! you must be patient. I’ve a lot of silly notions. That’s one -of them. I’ll learn, no doubt.” - -“I’ll try to teach you,” he laughed--“and be content to touch your hand -until my desire shall be yours.” - -They rode swiftly home, John’s soul in a warm glow of happiness. Stella -spoke scarcely a word, but her cheeks were flushed and about her deep -brown eyes a curious smile was constantly playing. - -He left her at the door and as he pressed her hand softly said: - -“You scarcely spoke the whole way home--tell me what were you thinking -about?” - -“I don’t know--perhaps dreaming of your terrible court--of a man being -condemned to death without knowing it!” - -“Yet a smile was playing about your beautiful face?” - -Stella suddenly burst into half hysterical laughter: - -“Of course, how can you doubt that I was happy! I’ll tell you all my -thoughts to-morrow night.” - -“Shall we go on horseback?” - -“Yes, but I wish to go alone; I’ll meet you there at dusk,” she replied -with another strange laugh, waving her hand as he mounted his horse and -galloped away. - -She closed the door and with quick nervous step, crossed the hall and -passed into the library, confronting Ackerman. - -“John Graham is the Chief of the Ku Klux Klan--he has confessed to me!” - she whispered excitedly. “I have arranged everything for his arrest day -after to-morrow evening at their secret meeting place.” - -“Then our work is complete,” he said with a ring of triumph. - -“And his execution is a certainty?” - -“I haven’t the remotest idea that Graham himself can ever be convicted -of the murder of Judge Butler--but your discovery is of tremendous -importance.” - -“He--cannot--be--convicted!” Stella gasped. - -“No, but the Invisible Empire will be in ruins in forty-eight hours,” - he replied, seizing his hat. “Excuse me now, I have work of the gravest -importance to-night. Thanks for the promptness with which you have kept -your promise.” - -Before Stella could speak he was gone. With a scowl on her beautiful -brow, she called Maggie: - -“Tell Mr. Steve Hoyle I wish to see him here immediately.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIII--FOR LOVE’S SAKE - - -STEVE’S response to Stella’s call was prompt. - -He entered the library with heavy, firm step, a flush of triumph on his -sleek handsome animal face. - -“He has betrayed the Klan to you?” he asked with eagerness. - -“Sit down,” she responded coolly, an accent of resentment rising in her -voice. “Before I answer that important question, I’ve something I wish to -ask you.” - -“Anything you like,” he answered suavely. “And I want the truth,” she -continued, with increasing emphasis. - -“I’ll give it to you if it’s in my power.” - -“You haven’t done it always,” was the firm retort. - -“You wish to know about the men on whom I rely to execute justice on -John Graham?” - -“Yes, who are they?” - -“Members of the Klan from the hills--innocent men on whom he wreaked his -vengeance in the most brutal and inhuman manner without a trial.” - -“You are sure they are members of the Klan?” - -“Certainly.” - -“They will come to arrest and try him, dressed in the same costumes the -men wore the night my father was killed?” - -“Yes.” - -“Have you hired these men to assassinate him?” she suddenly asked, -piercing Steve with her great eyes. - -“My God, no!” he protested. - -“What will they do?” - -“Why, try him by his own laws, of course,” Steve answered vaguely. - -“What laws?” - -“The law of the Order which forbids an officer to abuse his power by -using it for personal ends as he did in the murder of the Judge.” - -“Why have they not tried him before?” - -“The feeling against him was not strong enough.” - -“And now?” - -“If he has betrayed the Klan, by his own laws he can be torn limb from -limb, so long as a shred of its power remains.” - -“He could not be put to death for telling the secrets of the Klan to the -woman he loves?” - -“Yes.” - -“And he knows this?” - -“Of course.” - -“A big, glorious, beautiful thing, a love like that, isn’t it?” she -cried with strange elation, tears flashing from her eyes. - -“From the woman’s point of view, perhaps it is--from that of the man -whose life he puts in peril, hardly.” - -“But from the woman’s point of view! yes--and judged by her standard, -cowards who hedge and lie and fear to do such things don’t measure very -high beside him--do they? I’m afraid, Steve, your love is a weak thing. -It would be a pity to kill a man who would dare death to please the -fancy of the woman he loves--now, wouldn’t it?” - -“Such a man, for example, as he who sneaked under cover of the night -and struck your father dead at your feet without a chance to defend -himself,” Steve sneered. - -“Yes! That’s the hideous thought that strangles me!” she cried, her -breast heaving with a tumult of emotion, her breath coming in gasps of -passion. - -“You are going to falter and give up?” he asked indignantly. - -Stella ignored his question and said in even tones as though talking to -herself: - -“I had intended to have the United States marshals arrest him dressed in -the Klan costume at their meeting place.” - -“And now?” Steve broke in eagerly. - -“I don’t know what to do. I’ll be frank with you, Steve--I never -expected to keep my promise to marry you--I never really expected to -face such a choice. There are times when I like you. There’s evil in me, -as there is in you--cruelty, pride, selfishness--I feel our kinship. But -I don’t love you, and the closer I get to you the less I love you.” - -“You’ll learn to love me--I’ll wait,” he broke in. - -“The reason why I like you less and less,” she went on, “is that I -feel other forces in me which are not evil--big, generous impulses, and -aspirations for things beautiful and true and good that you have never -felt and could never understand.” - -“Which some other man might develop,” he snapped. “Well, play the baby -act then, and give it all up.” - -“No, I’ve made up my mind to have the life of the man who took my -father’s. It’s the one supreme passion which dominates my soul and -body.” - -“He has confessed to you then?” Steve cried breathlessly. - -“Yes.” - -“Where will the men meet you?” - -“At Inwood immediately after dark, day after to-morrow,” she answered -firmly. - -“It’s too early. Nine o’clock is better. The men will have time for -careful preparation.” - -“I’ll be with him in the basement. He will be in the Klan costume; I -wish him arrested and tried in that.” - -“It shall be exactly as you wish,” said Steve, his eyes sparkling with -triumph. “And your signal to the men?” - -“Will be a light in the window of the basement.” - -“I understand--Inwood--nine o’clock at night, day after to-morrow.” - -Stella’s answer was scarcely a whisper: - -“Yes.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIV--THE JUDGMENT HALL OF FATE - -STELLA made excuses to John Graham for not being able to see him before -their appointment to meet at Inwood, and on the afternoon of the day -fixed rode out of town at four o’clock alone. - -Her unconventional ways had ceased to excite comment in Independence -since her extraordinary conduct in refusing to wear mourning for her -father. There could be no graver breach of the traditions of good -society than this in the eyes of her neighbours, and so long as she -remained within the pale of respectability any other feat she might -perform would be of minor interest. - -She rode rapidly, her mind in a tumult of excitement over the daring act -of revenge she meant to wreak to-night on the man who had wronged her -beyond the power of human forgiveness. Singlehanded and alone she had -mastered his will and brought him to her feet. Single-handed and alone -she had decided the question of his life and death. And this afternoon -she wished to ride alone to the place appointed for his judgment. - -In spite of her resolution to mete out the sternest justice to John -Graham, the memory of his passionate words of love, the deep tenderness -with which he had hovered about her, and the utter trust he had shown -during their last meeting, began to torment her. - -Had they met under fair conditions she could have loved him. She began -to see it clearly now. His sincerity, his fiery emotions, his romantic -extravagances, the old-fashioned chivalry with which he worshipped -her were very sweet. The complete and generous surrender he had made, -placing his life absolutely in her hands, began to glow with poetry in -her imagination. - -He had always possessed the faculty of drawing out the best that was -in her. Somehow she had never been able to hate him as she ought in -his presence. There was something contagious in the spirit of love with -which his whole personality seemed to radiate. She had begun to feel at -home with him as with no other man she had ever met. - -“Oh, dear, I’m sorry!” she sighed, as she entered the deep woods. -Unconsciously she reined her horse to a stand, and was startled from her -reverie by a tear rolling down her cheek and falling on her glove. -“What a fool I am!” she cried in anger. “I’d better turn back now. I’m a -chicken-hearted coward when put to the test. I’m scared out of my senses -at the size of the task I’ve undertaken--that’s what’s the matter--I, -who have boasted of my strength and shouted my triumph over a strong -man’s conquest.” - -Another tear rolled down her cheek. She brushed it away with an angry -stroke. - -“Suppose I find too late that I’m in love with him!” she exclaimed, -helplessly. - -Her horse moved on without her urging or recognising it, so absorbed had -she become in the battle raging within her heart. - -“What is love?” she mused aloud. “I wonder how it feels to really -love?--Love him?--nonsense--I hate the very ground he walks on--the -self-centered, proud, bigoted, narrow-minded fanatic! I’ve sworn to avenge -my father’s death. I’ll do it. Let him come to-night to the judgment -hall of his own making. I’ll prove myself a woman, and do my country a -service when I hand him over to justice.” - -She touched her horse with the whip, and he bounded forward in a swift -gallop, and in a few minutes she passed into the old lawn and saw the -flash of the white ghost-like columns among the dark firs. - -Again she found herself recalling the silly extravagances of his talk as -they entered the grounds two days before. - -“What was it he said about angels?” she mused with a smile. “Yes, I -remember. Somehow I seem to remember them all!--‘When I stand by -your side, in every silent space I hear the beating of the wings of -angels’--and I liked it! what a fool a woman is! and tried to convince -myself that I didn’t like it by adding, ‘the wings of the angel -of death,’ only because I felt my hate grow weak under a silly -compliment--well, I’m done with his maudlin love-making. It’s judgment -day.” - -She dismounted, tied her horse, and wandered down the little crooked -pathway to the famous spring at the foot of the hill where many a lover -had lingered in days long past and poured out the old story that remains -eternal in its youth. She wondered at the mad resolution of her mother, -taken perhaps on this very spot twenty-five years ago, that had led her -to break the bonds of blood, throw to the winds every tie of tenderness -that bound her to the earth, and brave the scorn of her own proud world, -all for the sake of the son of a poor white man--because she loved him! - -Why did people do such idiotic things? Why should a woman thus sink her -soul and body in the fortunes of a man? She couldn’t understand it. - -“Surely this is the miracle of miracles of human life!” she murmured. “I -wonder if John Graham was crazy when he said that night on the lawn: -‘If you should send me from your presence now, I’d laugh at Death, for I -have tasted Life!’ Why do I keep thinking of what he has said?--Perhaps -because he may die to-night!” - -She sprang to her feet, clasped her hands nervously and began to -cry--softly at first, and then with utter abandonment, sinking again to -the ground and burying her face in her arm. - -“Oh, dear! oh, dear! I’m lonely and heartsick and afraid!” she sobbed. “I -wish I had a friend to share my secret, advise and help me--yes, such -a friend as he would be!--he’d know what I ought to do--and I know what -he’d say, too--that I’m proud and cruel and selfish--that I’m doing a -hideous, unnatural thing--well I’m not! the impulse for vengeance -is God’s first law--I know it because I feel it, deep, instinctive, -resistless!--and I’m going to do it! I’m going to do it!--I hate him! I -hate him!” - -She rose and returned to the ruins, and sat down on the steps between -the white columns. The sun was sinking through an ocean of filmy clouds, -reflecting in rapid changes every colour ever dreamed in the soul of -the artist. She watched in deep breathless reverence, until the sense of -loneliness again overpowered her and she sprang up with restless energy -exclaiming: - -“I meant to explore that room before he comes--I must do it.” - -She descended the steps and stopped before the dark entrance. It hadn’t -seemed so dark the other day with him. It was earlier in the day of -course. Why had she paused? The question angered her. She was afraid to -go through the long dark corridor alone--that was the disgusting truth. - -She turned back to await his coming. What a foolish contradiction. -She would wait for the protection of the wretch she meant to deliver -to-night to--death! - -She returned with quick angry strides to the columns, and leaned against -one of their friendly sides. In the gathering twilight they seemed human -and sheltering in their protection. She wished he would come. A dozen -times she looked toward the gate and thought she heard the beat of his -horse’s hoof in the distance. - -Dusk settled into darkness and still he did not come. The moon rose and -touched the tall pillars above with a magic glow of mellow light, and a -whip-poor-will struck the first note of his thrilling song beneath the -bush at her feet. - -With a shudder, she moved to the outer column and waited with increasing -impatience and alarm. The wildest fears began to fill her fancy. Why had -she dared this mad task alone? For some unaccountable reason she had not -reckoned on being alone. - -Was it possible that she had been so illogical, so utterly bereft of -reason that the idea of his companionship had filled her imagination? -Surely she had not been such a fool! She knew Steve Hoyle would -accompany those men, beyond a doubt, and join her after the affair was -over, but she had not given Steve a thought. He had been but a cog in -the wheel of things that had swiftly moved to the tragic crisis which -she now faced for the first time. She looked at her watch in the bright -moonlight and it was half past eight. What if he failed to come! Would -she be glad or angry? The tumult of feeling had reached a point of -intensity that paralysed her powers of reasoning--she didn’t know. A -single sense remained, the consciousness of chilling loneliness. - -With a throb of joy she caught at last the quick hoof-beat of John’s -horse sweeping through the gateway in a furious gallop. - -He leaped to the ground, and hurried to her side. - -“I’m awfully sorry!” he cried, seizing both her hands with eager -tenderness. “A most unexpected thing occurred which delayed me thirty -minutes. I’ll explain to you later. Come, I’m hungry to see your dear -face in the light of these lanterns in that gloomy old room below. I’ve -a thousand things to tell you. Life will be too short a time in which to -tell it all. I hope you’ve been very lonely and hungry for me to come?” - -“I must confess, my heart began to fail me once or twice,” she said -seriously, while he felt her hand trembling. - -He stooped to light a lantern, and she caught his arm. - -“Wait, not yet--the moon is shining brightly--we don’t need it.” - -“But you’ll stumble on those dark stairs in the corridor.” - -“No matter, wait,” she urged nervously; “I’ll hold your arm--you know -the way.” - -“Yes, I know the way,” he laughed. “Come then, your slightest whim is -law.” - -He drew her little hand through his arm and picking his steps carefully, -led her down through the tangled debris and along the dark corridor -without once stumbling, the timid figure clinging close to his side. - -“You see a revolutionist soon learns to find his way in the dark without -a light,” he said, as they emerged into the kitchen whose wide space was -lighted by the moonbeams streaming through the windows. - -He released her arm, placed the lantern and a bundle he carried on the -top of the range, and said with a laugh: - -“Now, shall the actor make up for his part? I’ve the costume all ready. -This is the palace of the queen to-night. I have been commanded to -appear before her!” - -She gave no answer. - -He bent and kissed her hand and found it cold and trembling violently. - -“You feel the chill of this old basement,” he said with tender -solicitude. “I’ll light the lantern at once.” - -She caught his hand. - -“No! No!--I--prefer it like this--the moonlight is enough.” - -“All right,” he answered gaily. “Shall I don my robes as ruler of the -Invisible Empire to please the fancy of Your Majesty?” - -He opened the bundle and shook out the long white ulster-like disguise -with its double cross of scarlet and gold. - -“Put it back--I’m not ready yet!” she gasped. - -“You’ll laugh and chat a while with the audience before the curtain goes -up on the drama!--good! I’ve a lot to say. Sit here in the window while -I tell you something.” - -He led her to the low casement of the window and seated her by his side. - -She sprang to her feet instantly, grasping at her heart, her breath -coming in quick gasps: - -“What’s that!--Listen!” - -He took her hand soothingly: - -“Why, it’s only our horses neighing to each other.” - -“You’re sure?” she whispered. - -“Of course.” - -“I thought it was something else,” she faltered. “My poor little -darling! This has been too much for your nerves--you should have allowed -me to come with you.” - -“Yes, I’m afraid I did make a mistake!” she said in low strained tones. - -“Well, there’s nothing to be afraid of now--is there?” he said -assuringly. - -“No! there’s nothing to be afraid of now--is there?” she laughed -hysterically, and suddenly stopped with a suppressed scream. - -“My darling!” he exclaimed. - -“Listen! Listen! My God, what’s that?” - -“It’s nothing dear.” - -“It is! Listen! I hear them coming!” - -“Impossible, my child, we’re all here!” he laughed. “How could you guess -there was anyone coming except you and me?” - -“Oh, dear, you don’t understand, and I can’t explain!” she went on -frantically. She looked at her watch and couldn’t see. - -“Quick, strike a match and see what time it is--we can get away!” she -whispered. - -He struck the match and saw her eyes gleaming with a strange madness. -Stella blew the match out, seized his arm and drew him from the window. - -“Not there--by the window--over here in this corner.” - -“He struck another match and she masked its light from the window, -staring with wide-set eyes at the hands of her watch. - -“It’s half past nine. It’s too late!” she said hopelessly. - -“Come, come, my darling, remember that I am by your side--nothing can -harm you except the tongue of gossip, and you’ve shown your contempt for -that. Sit down here again in the moonlight and let me tell you the story -of my love.” - -He led her back to the window and she sank tremblingly by his side. - -“I’ve never had the chance to tell you,” he began, with low passionate -tenderness, “what a wonderful thing your love has been in my life. The -night I met you, I went to your house drunk, with murder in my heart, -determined to use the lawless power I wielded to crush your father. I -was about to leave with a threat to kill him on my lips. It was no idle -threat then. I had entered the vault, pushed open its massive door, -stepped inside and saw the way was open.” - -“The night you came first, you entered alone the secret way?” she -interrupted. - -“Yes, I meant to use it if necessary.” - -“But you never did! You never did!” she whispered. - -“How could I, dearest! I saw your face that night for the first time, -heard the low music of your voice, touched your hand, and I was a -new man! Love, not hate, has ruled me since. I disbanded the Klan -immediately and ordered my men never again to use its power.” - -“Disbanded the Klan!” she repeated with choking surprise. - -“Yes, and a dastard reorganised it as a local order to further his low -ambitions. I’ve done my best to hold in check their crimes and follies. -I warned your father of danger the night those fools came. In a madness -of love, fear and jealous rage I came down to the house, sat there in -dumb pain and watched your beautiful form whirl past the lighted window -until I could endure it no longer.” Stella strangled a sob. - -“I’ve reproached myself a hundred times I didn’t prevent that masquerade -by force. I might have done it. I had some faithful old soldiers from -the foothills in town that day whom I had used to capture the scoundrels -who committed the outrage on old Nicaroshinski.” - -“Hush! hush! before I scream!” Stella cried in anguish, placing her hand -on his lips. - -Suddenly a white figure stood before the window and his whistle rang -through the still night. - -Stella sprang to her feet gasping, with horror: - -“My God! they’ve come: I must save you! Hide! Hide and give me your -revolver--they shall not take you--quick--quick--hide!” - -“But, my dear, there’s not the slightest danger. No man who wears that -uniform will lift his hand against me--see, I’m going to answer his call -with my own signal.” - -He lifted the whistle to his lips and she snatched it from his grasp. - -“Don’t! Don’t for God’s sake, don’t! you don’t -understand--Oh!--John--darling--I love you! I love you!” - -She threw herself into his arms and kissed him, passionately sobbing. - -“I’ve tried to hate you, dear, but I couldn’t--I couldn’t--I know now -I’ve loved you always! I must save you, God help me!” - -“Well, sir?” called a voice without. - -“It’s all right! Come in, boys!” he answered before Stella could stop -him. She huddled in his arms paralysed for the moment with terror. - -“You must not!--they will kill you, dear!” she moaned in agony. - -“Nonsense, child, the boys have only a little surprise for us.” - -Their feet were already echoing in the corridor and their voices could -be heard in whispers and low laughter. - -“Hide! please, for the love of God!” she gasped. With sudden fierce -strength she pressed him into the shadows and stood panting before him, -while the silent ghost-like figures ranged themselves solemnly around -the room. - -“Stella, my dear, you must not suffer like this--there is no danger, -these are all my men.” - -“Your men!--your men!” she cried, bewildered. - -“Yes, I brought them here to-night in full costume to make a little play -complete for the fancy of a queen!” - -“My darling,” she sobbed, sinking in his arms. - -“We unexpectedly met some ugly customers from the hills we had seen once -before. A little pitched battle delayed us thirty minutes, but none of -our boys were hurt.” - -“Kiss me!” she whispered. - -A distant whistle rang through the woods and the picket outside -answered. - -“What’s that?” Stella gasped. - -“He blew the signal, ‘message for the Chief’; he’s from town, I’m -afraid,” John answered. - -A horse’s hoof echoed on the flagstones before the columns, and in a -moment the picket rushed to the window. - -“Bad news, sir!” - -“What is it?” John asked quietly: - -“A regiment of United States cavalry slipped into town just after dark.” - -“I’ve been looking for it,” John broke in. “Well?” - -“A squadron has surrounded Mrs. Wilson’s boarding house to wait for -you.” - -“Merciful God! what have I done!” Stella sobbed inaudibly. - -John touched her hand soothingly at the sound of her sob, bent low and -whispered tenderly: - -“It’s all right--dearest--you love me!” - - - - -BOOK III--PRISONER AND TRAITOR - - - - -CHAPTER I--THE ARREST - -THE news of the arrival of the regiment of cavalry, and the swift -silent way in which they had struck their first blow, brought to John -Graham at once a sharp realisation of the danger of his men. - -Releasing Stella, he turned to the white figures gathered in an excited -group and in short sharp accents said: - -“I thank you boys for your kindness in coming to the little masquerade -we had prepared to celebrate the announcement of my engagement to the -woman who is the queen of my heart. Sorry the Yanks have interrupted us. -Get home as fast as your horses can carry you. Burn your costumes the -minute you reach a safe place. Hide them under your saddles as usual -until you can burn them. Leave one at a time and go home by unused roads -if possible. And listen--every man of you who can, should leave the -state in twenty-four hours and stay until the trouble blows over.” - -“What are you goin’ to do?” asked a tall masked figure. - -“Don’t worry, Dan. I’ll look out for myself. You boys do the same and do -it quick.” - -“We’ll stan’ by you if ye give the word,” persisted Dan. - -John left Stella’s side, stepped to the men and growled: - -“I’ve given the word. Run, and run like hell!” - -“We don’t like the orders, Chief, but orders is orders--git boys!” - -The men quickly disappeared, and John took Stella’s hand: - -“Come, dearest, we must go.” - -“Yes,” she answered, timidly clinging to his arm and holding him back. - -“We must hurry,” he urged. - -“I won’t hurry,” she said with tender wilfulness. - -“When a woman won’t, she won’t,” John laughed. - -She gently stroked his hand and slowly slipped her arm in his as she -allowed him to lead her out into the moonlight beside the white silent -pillars. - -“Wait here until I bring the horses,” John said, gently disengaging his -arm. - -Stella clung to him firmly. - -“No, don’t go yet. Why hurry? Let them wait. I wish to be alone with you -for a while here on this beautiful spot. It’s all so new and wonderful. -This knowing that I love and am loved! I’ve just begun to live the past -hour. I’m afraid to go back to the world.” - -“I must face some stern realities to-night. But you love me. That’s -the only thing of any importance. What do jails matter? They can only -imprison the body--my soul will follow you, hover about you, laugh and -cry with you day and night, waking or dreaming.” - -“They won’t put you in jail to-night, dear?” she asked, piteously. - -“Yes.” - -“Then you shall not give yourself up to them! You’ll let me have my own -way now that you know that I love you, won’t you, John dear? There! -I’ve called your name for the first time--haven’t I?--I love your -name!--You’re not going to give up to them--are you?” - -“I see no other way, dearest.” - -“You told your men to fly. Our horses are fresh. We can put miles -between us and these troops before day. I’ll go with you, just as I am -in this riding habit--no matter--I’ll get a dress somewhere when you’re -out of danger.” - -He slipped his arm about her, bent his tall form, and stopped her with a -kiss. - -“How sweet to hear you talk this beautiful nonsense!” - -“I mean it,” she hurried on earnestly. “We must leave to-night, I don’t -know what they may do to you. Something terrible--maybe--I can’t think -of it! Something may happen to separate us. I want to feel your hand -clasping mine like this forever!” - -He answered by crushing the little hand in his. - -“You won’t go back and let them arrest you, will you, John?” she -pleaded, a sob catching her voice. - -He was silent and a smile played about his mouth. - -“Answer me, John dear! You must do as I say because life is too sweet -and beautiful to lose it! You will leave if I go with you--won’t you? -My whim you said should be your law. This is my whim, my heart’s desire. -Get the horses now, and we’ll make them fly as far from Independence -to-night as their heels can carry us! You’ll do this because I ask -it--won’t you, darling?” - -The little head began to droop, the voice broke, and she lay sobbing in -his arms. - -He held her close for a moment. - -“You know this is impossible, dear!”--he said tenderly. - -“Yes, I know!” she sobbed. - -“My business is to save others now.” - -“At least, you’ll go by the house and stay with me a little while?” - -“They’ll think I’m hiding.” - -“Who cares what they think? I can’t go home alone, can I?” - -“Of course, I’ll stop a moment. And now we must hurry.” - -He brought the horses and they galloped back to town in silence. Along -a dark rough place of the road, they slowed down to a walk, and his hand -sought hers. - -“What a strange ending to the most wonderful day of my life!” she -suddenly cried with passionate tenderness. - -“Why strange?” he asked. “I never had a doubt that you would love me. It -was written in the Book of Life.” - -“But I didn’t know it until to-night.” - -“Tell me, dear,” he pleaded; “what sudden flash revealed the truth?” - -“Don’t ask me!” she said with a shiver. “I’ll tell you some day.” - -“Why not now? This has been a wonderful day for me. I shall never live -its like again. I heard for the first time the one woman I love, the -only woman I ever loved, the one woman I shall love forever, speak the -sweetest words that ever fell from human lips.” - -“I love you--I love you!” she softly repeated. - -“But tell me how you came to know it to-day?” he urged. - -“It’s a secret--one I fear that will give me many an hour of anguish. -I’ll tell you, dear--but not now. - -“I’ll share it with you when you’ll let me.” - -“Not this one, John. I need to bear it alone to keep me humble, and -sweeten with suffering and fear the bitter, selfish impulses that fight -within me. Oh, I want to be good and tender and beautiful and true now!” - -“How full of strange moods you’ve been tonight!” he exclaimed. - -“Have I dear?” - -She caught his hand and pressed it tenderly. - -The lights of the town flashed in view from the hill. - -They galloped boldly down the main street and into the lawn. As they -passed the cabin at the gate, Isaac’s face appeared a moment at the -door. - -“I didn’t know old Isaac had returned?” John remarked. - -“Nor did I,” she replied; “he must have come with those troops.” - -A tremor caught her voice as she recalled that Ackerman was in -communication with Isaac, and the cords she had been winding about the -man by her side began slowly to tighten around her own throat. - -He tried to leave her at the door, but she drew him inside. - -“You can’t go yet.” - -“I must hurry, my love,” he protested. “Those men will think I’m a -coward. I should have been at home when they called.” - -“Sh!”---- - -She placed her hand over his lips, ignoring his plea. - -“I’ve a little experiment to make. My whim is law. Go stand there in the -alcove with your hat in your hand fumbling it.” - -Laughing with girlish excitement she pressed him into the exact spot he -stood the night she first met him, drew back, and gazed tenderly into -his face, her big brown eyes dancing with the hysterical strain of the -deep half-conscious fear for his safety which had begun to strangle her. - -“Have you forgotten the first scene in the drama of our life?” she -asked, slowly approaching him with extended hand. - -He clasped it with a smile. - -“I shall not forget it if I live to be a hundred years old,” he said -reverently. - -“And yet, you are trying to hurry away from me to-night again. Don’t you -like the picture as well now?” - -“A thousand times better, dearest,” he cried. “The love that shines in -your eyes will make radiant the darkest hour of life. I’ve nothing now -to fear. Perfect love has cast out fear. My way’s a shining one whether -it leads to a palace or a prison.” - -“Come into the dining room,” she whispered, leading him through the door -and seating herself at the head of the table. “You remember the night we -sat together here?” - -“Do I!” - -“Would you believe me if I told you that I tried to make you love me -that night?” - -“You said you tried to hate me.” - -“But we can’t always do what we try--can we?” she asked wistfully. - -“You did that night I’m sure.” - -“And yet, I’m failing to-night!” she sobbed, unable to keep back the -tears, “just when I’ve told you that I love you, and the joy and wonder -of it all has begun to light the world. Before I’ve thought only of -myself. To-night I’m thinking only of you, my sweetheart! Just as I’ve -learned to speak your name I feel you slipping away from me--oh, John -darling, what will they do to you? Tell me--tell me!” - -“They can only put me in jail to-night.” - -“But they shall not--they shall not!” she moaned, clinging close to him. -“You shall not let them! You shall not leave this house except to fly -with me.” - -Stella’s words choked into sudden silence at the shrill angry notes of -Aunt Julie Ann’s voice ringing in the hall: - -“Git out er dis house, I tells ye, ‘fo I bus’ yo head open wid dis door -weight.” - -“Mind your own business,” snapped the angry reply. - -“I’se mindin’ my own business. Git out dat door, an’ knock ‘fo yer come -in! An’ I lets yer in when I gits ready--when my mistis say yer kin -come!” - -“Faith, an’ I’ll slap ye head off ye shoulders, if ye don’t kape still,” - growled the trooper. - -“What do you want in here, yer low-life sluefooted Yankee?” - -“If it’s just the same ter ye, I wants Mr. John Graham, me dusky -maiden!” - -John suddenly released himself from Stella’s clinging form and stepped -through the door into the hall. - -“I’m John Graham. What is It?” - -“You’re my prisoner, sir, ye’ll have to come with me!” - -“I’m ready.” - -The sergeant took a step toward John, drawing a pair of handcuffs from -his pocket. - -Stella sprang between them, her eyes blazing with rage: - -“How dare you enter my house without my permission?” - -The sergeant stopped in sheer amazement at the fury of her outburst. -Recovering himself with a smile he replied: - -“Axin yer pardon m’am, it may be rude, but hit ain’t writ in our book -of etiquette ter knock at the front door when we’re huntin’ fer a man -charged with murder.” - -“But he’s not guilty!” Stella stormed. - -“I believe ye, Miss--ye’d have an easy time with me. But I ain’t the -Coort!” - -“Stella, dear,” John pleaded. - -“Leave this house!” Stella cried with fury. - -“Sure m’am, but yer friend comes wid me,” said the sergeant, taking -another step toward John. - -“I tell you he’s not guilty! It’s all a mistake. I’ll explain to your -commander in the morning.” - -John smiled in spite of himself. - -“Stella dear, this is nonsense. The sergeant is acting under orders. I -must go at once.” - -“Ye see, m’am!” said the sergeant with a polite bow. - -“All right then, sergeant,” said Stella, suddenly changing her tone, -“I’ll excuse you for your rudeness; I’ll go with you.” - -“You mustn’t, my love,” John protested. - -“Yes, I’m going with you, but I’ve had nothing to eat. We must have -supper--it’s waiting. Aunt Julie Ann, show the sergeant downstairs and -give him supper. Mr. Graham will be ready in half an hour, sergeant.” - -The trooper looked doubtfully at John and at Stella, smiling. - -“All right m’am. It’s agin my principles as a soldier to leave a good -supper to spoil--an’, axin yer pardon agin, I’ll station one o’ me -men at each door an’ window to make sure we wont lose any of our party -durin’ the festivities. It’ll be more sociable like to feel that we’re -all here.” - -The sergeant placed his men and followed Aunt Julie Ann to the kitchen. - -Stella drew John to the old davenport: - -“Quick, John darling, through the old secret way--the way of love----” - -“Dearest!” he said reproachfully. - -She extended her hand to press the spring in the panel. - -“Quick, the soldier at the door can’t see you. I’ll stand in front. Wait -for me in the vault. I’ll let them search the house and when they go, -I’ll join you and we can leave before daylight.” - -“I must face it. There’s no other way.” - -“Yes, yes, this way--the old sweet way of love! I can’t let them take -you--you’re mine now--I love you--I love you!--John, dear, he has -big ugly handcuffs. He was going to put them on you--didn’t you see -him?”--her voice faltered. - -“Yes, I saw him.” - -“I can’t stand it, John, I can’t--oh, dear, you don’t understand, and I -can’t explain--You love me?” - -“Better than life and deeper than death.” - -“And yet you refuse my heart’s desire?” - -“Only in this. I’m done with lawlessness. I’m not a coward. I’ve led a -successful revolution. It had to be, and now with silent lips I’ll face -my accusers.” - -A hot tear fell on his hand. - -“Come, dearest, you must help me,” he pleaded. - -“Yes, yes, I will,” she faltered, brushing the tears away. “Come then, -we will have this one little supper together, shall we not?” - -“Yes. I want to look across that old table into your face again.” - -He chatted gaily through the supper and she sat silent, choking back the -sobs, unable to eat. - -The sergeant bowed at the door: - -“Axin yer pardon m’am, but I must hurry now.” John rose and the trooper -again drew his handcuffs, Stella watching him with wide-set eyes. “I’m -sorry, sir, I’ll have to put ’em on.” - -“It’s all right, sergeant,” he answered. - -Stella sprang between them and placed a trembling little hand on the -trooper’s. - -“Please, sergeant!” - -“Orders, m’am, I’m sorry.” - -“Please--for--my--sake--don’t. He’ll go with you. I tried to get him to -fly with me, and he wouldn’t. You won’t put them on him--will you? For -my sake?” - -Her voice sank to the softest music of tears. The sergeant hesitated a -moment and said gruffly: “All right, for your sake, m’am, I won’t.” - -John stooped and kissed her. The door closed behind him and with a low -piteous moan Stella sank to the floor, crying: - -“God have mercy on me!” - - - - -CHAPTER II--THROUGH PRISON BARS - -AN IMMENSE crowd had gathered at the hotel awaiting John’s arrival. The -news of his arrest had stirred the town to feverish excitement. - -Without turning to the right or left, or answering a look of -recognition, he marched between two soldiers through the mass of men -and boys in the office and climbed the stairs to the rooms of the United -States Commissioner who was waiting to receive him. - -The Commissioner handed him the warrant and he merely glanced at its -title: - - “THE UNITED STATES VERSUS JOHN GRAHAM - - CONSPIRACY AND MURDER” - -“I shall hold you without bail, Mr. Graham,” said the Commissioner. - -John merely nodded his head. - -“To the county jail, sergeant!” - -The soldiers turned and John descended the stairs, and again passed -through the crowd, his head erect, his face an immovable mask. - -In fifteen minutes the heavy bolt shot into place and he was a prisoner -awaiting trial for life, locked in a filthy cell of the common jail of -the county of Independence. - -He had often been to this jail as a lawyer to interview prisoners whom -he had defended at various times, but he had paid no attention to the -building. The complaints of the discomforts of the jail he had always -taken as a humorous contribution to life. - -He was amazed to discover that the place into which he had been suddenly -thrust was an inner room opening into a corridor with no means of light -or ventilation save the single iron-grilled door--a veritable hell-hole -whose heat was so stifling and air so foul with disgusting odours he -could scarcely breathe. By the rays of the little kerosene lamp which -hung in the corridor, flickering, sputtering and stinking, he saw that -there was not a trace of furniture in the room, not even a pile of straw -on which to sleep. The floor had evidently not been swept in a year, the -dust lay in piles, and the room had just been vacated by four perspiring -Negro convicts who had been removed to the penitentiary to serve -sentences for burglary, arson and murder. - -It was impossible to sit down, it was unthinkable to lie down, and so -for five hours back and forth he walked the length of his cell like a -caged panther. - -For the first hour his proud spirit was sustained by the enormity of the -degradation thus heaped upon him. He felt sure that such treatment was -given him for a purpose. He knew that all the prisoners of the county -were not treated as swine. In his anger he paused once, determined to -demand a chair or bed of some kind, and found that he could only make -his wants known by yelling down two flights of stairs to the guard who -stood at the outer door of the last floor. He could not thus humiliate -himself. - -For the first time he realised what it meant to be deprived not only of -the comforts but the common decencies of human life. In fierce anger he -silently raved for two hours and then a strange calm came over his soul. -His hands grasped the iron bars of the door and he stood as if in a -trance while the unconscious minutes lengthened into hours. A beautiful -face bent above him. Her voice, low and tender with the music of love, -filled all space. The stifling cell vanished. He was in the open fields -with her hand in his. He woke with a laugh, and caught the glint of -the first beams of the rising sun stealing through the window of the -corridor. - -[Illustration: 0295] - -A Negro boy brought his breakfast of corn bread and bacon in a dirty tin -plate. - -John looked at it a minute with a curious smile: “No, thank you, my boy, -I’ve just had my breakfast of ambrosia. I’ll take a chair, however, if -the jailor can spare one!” - -“Yassah, I’ll tell ‘im when I goes down,” he replied. “But I spec dey -ain’t none lef. We got lots er boarders now.” - -He placed the plate on the floor by the door, and grinned. - -“Dey wuz er young lady come ter see ye las’ night, sah, but dey wouldn’t -let ’er in!” - -John smiled. - -“What time was it?” - -“Bout two er clock.” - -“Yes, I saw her,” John slowly said with a strange look in his deep-set -eyes. “She came up and stayed with me until sunrise.” - -The Negro backed cautiously away muttering. “He got ‘em sho!” and darted -down the steps. The fact that he was being kept in solitary confinement -and refused communication of any kind with friend or counsel, roused -every force of John Graham’s character. - -When the Attorney General who had come down from Washington called at -ten o’clock he greeted him with a laugh through the bars of his door: - -“Excuse my lack of hospitality, General Champion,” he said; “I’d offer -you a chair, but the hotel is crowded and we’re short of chairs just -now.” - -“Haven’t you a chair or a bed in your cell?” he enquired, peering in. -“It’s an outrage. Bring two chairs here at once!” he thundered to the -attendant. - -“Mr. Graham,” said the General cordially, “I’ve hastened to you as -a friend. I was a member of Congress with your uncle. We were warm -personal friends. I’ve known several of your people, and always found -them the salt of the earth.” - -“Thanks,” John interrupted, a smile playing about the corners of his -eyes. - -“I wish to be of help to you if you will let me. It has long been known -to the Department of Justice that you are the Chief of the Klan in North -Carolina.” - -“I congratulate the Department of Justice on the attainment of such -interesting knowledge,” John broke in. - -“Do you deny it?” - -“I’m not discussing it.” - -“You must know, Mr. Graham, that the organisation is doomed, and that -you are in an extremely dangerous position. I trust you realise this?” - -“Quite warm last night, General!” - -“Come, come, young man, I’m your friend----” - -“It’s a pleasure to meet a friend; do you think it will rain?” - -“You are to be put on trial for your life----” - -“My idea is that we are in for a long dry spell, General.” - -“Tut, tut, my boy, come now, don’t try my temper with such nonsense. -President Grant is not hostile to the South. He grieves over the -necessity of the severe laws which he is now enforcing. His only desire -is to pacify these disorders. The Klan must be stamped out. You have -realised this--I know that you have led parties who have inflicted -summary justice on some of the scoundrels who are operating in its -disguises. Is not this a fact?” - -John laughed. - -“I know it,” affirmed the General. - -“Then why ask me?” - -“I know that you have tried to stamp out the disorders,” the General -repeated. “Whatever the impulses which led a man of your high character -into this lawless conspiracy, you have realised at last its dangerous -character. You are in a position to render the South and the Nation an -enormous service. Help me to restore law and order in the South and the -Government will show its gratitude.” - -“You mean exactly?” - -“That you give me the information needed to wipe the Invisible Empire -out of existence----” - -“And in return?” - -The General placed his hands on the bars and leaned close. - -“The President has promised me to immediately appoint you an Assistant -Prosecuting Attorney, and in six months promote you to the high honour -of a United States Circuit Judgeship.” - -John’s fist suddenly shot through the iron bars, struck the General in -the mouth, and hurled him in a heap against the wall of the corridor, as -he cried with rage: - -“D----n you! How dare you thus insult me?” - -The General picked up his broken glasses from the floor, wiped a drop of -blood from his lip, shook his fist at the man who glared at him through -the barred door, and shouted: - -“I’ll make you pay dearly for this!” - -John laughed in his face. - -“But you won’t make me that offer again, will you?” - - - - -CHAPTER III--A WOMAN’S WAY - -IT WAS one o’clock before Stella recovered from the first collapse of -terror for the fate of her lover. And then the imperious will summoned -every energy to the struggle for his liberty and life. - -She changed her riding habit and, taking Maggie, started at half past -one in the morning to find Ackerman. - -She had gone half way to Mrs. Wilson’s before she recalled the startling -fact that her relations to Ackerman were unknown, and the still more -painful fact that all knowledge of her relations to the detective must -now be concealed with the utmost care. She felt instinctively that if -John Graham discovered her plan to entrap him into a confession and her -betrayal of his generous trust in her love, he could not forgive it. She -shivered at the thought of his anger and disgust. - -“We’ll go to the jail, Maggie,” she said, with sudden energy, “where is -it?” - -“Right down de nex street, I show ye,” Maggie answered. “I been dar -lots er times. I wuz down dar yistiddy ter see my uncle Joe start ter de -penitentiary.” - -Stella shuddered, followed her down the side street, and knocked at the -jail door. - -No one answered. She knocked again and again. Finally the jailor thrust -his head from the window above, saw it was a woman, shut the sash with a -bang and went back to bed. - -Stella looked at the grim walls with a sense of blind fury. - -“I’ll show that insolent lazy rascal to-morrow morning how to treat me,” - she cried, as she turned and started home. When they reached the -corner she stopped, looked back at the jail looming black, silent and -threatening among the shadows, and her heart went out in an agony of -piteous yearning to the man within its walls. - -Maggie pointed to the mass of trees behind the jail. - -“See dem trees dar behin’ de house?” - -Her mistress gave no answer, and the maid rattled on in awed whispers: - -“Dars where dey hang folks! Dey’s er high fence roun’ de yard, but ye -can see over it from here. I stan’ right on dis corner an’ see ’em -hang a man dar las’ year.” - -“Hush Maggie!” Stella sternly commanded. - -“Yassum.” - -Stella hurried home, and paced the floor of her room until morning. - -At eight o’clock, in answer to her urgent summons, Ackerman came. - -“You are sure no one saw you enter?” she asked nervously. - -“Yes, but why such caution now? Our work is done, and well done. I -congratulate you on the skill with which you did your part.” - -“I had nothing to do with it. I’ve sent for you to have the whole thing -stopped at once.” - -“You had nothing to do with it!” Ackerman exclaimed. - -“Absolutely nothing. I repudiate the whole affair.” - -“I came here to do this work at your own request,” he protested. - -“The arrest of Mr. Graham is an infamous outrage!” - -“What!” - -“An infamous outrage. I repeat it and demand his immediate release.” - -“Why, my dear young woman, it was on the information which you gave that -I swore out the warrant for his arrest.” - -“It was you who swore out the warrant against him?” Stella fiercely -cried. “Oh, I could kill you!” - -“You gave me the information.” - -“I did nothing of the kind,” she stormed. “It’s false--I deny it!” - -“On your statement to me that he had confessed that he was Chief of -the Klan, I made the oath on which his warrant was based,” Ackerman -maintained with warmth. - -“Then you swore a lie!” she hissed. “A lie--a lie!” - -Stella fell on the lounge and buried her face in her hands. - -Ackerman flushed and was silent. His keen eyes grew suddenly tender. -He smiled, rose and stood by her side a moment, and when she looked up -extended his hand. - -“I’m sorry for you, Miss Stella. I think I understand!” - -“Then you will know how to forgive my bitter and unjust words?” - -“Yes.” - -“Can’t you help me?” she asked piteously. - -“The situation is extremely delicate for me as it is dangerous for John -Graham. The Government is determined to press these cases for conspiracy -and murder. Personally I have never believed Graham guilty of the murder -of the Judge.” - -“Of course he is innocent!” - -“I think I know the man who killed your father.” - -“And you will help me save John Graham?” she cried. - -“I’ll have a big job before me to complete my work before this trial. -There’ll be plenty of witnesses to swear anything the Government wants, -but I’ll do my best.” - -“Thank you.” - -With a cordial grasp of the hand Ackerman took his leave and Stella -hastened to confer with the Attorney General. - -“I’ve come to demand the immediate release of Mr. Graham on the absurd -charge that has been made against him,” she began impetuously. - -The General looked at her in astonishment. “Hoity toity! My dear Miss, -not so fast.” - -“You began this at my request. I demand that it cease.” - -“Yes, yes, I see, but you have forgotten that greater issues are at -stake than even the lives of two men.” - -“I’ll have nothing to do with the prosecution of an innocent man, -General Champion.” - -“Even so, you have set in motion forces you can not control. The fate -of Mr. Graham is fixed. He is the Chief of the Klan. He’s as sure of -conviction as the fact that he is to be put on trial. I’ll see that he -is tried and that all the resources of the Government are used to secure -his conviction.” - -Stella’s beautiful face grew white and still. - -“You will make a special effort against him?” she faltered. - -“I will,” was the stern answer. “There was a way of escape. I offered it -to him this morning in the most friendly and generous spirit. His answer -was the gravest personal insult.” - -“May I see him at once?” - -“Certainly.” - -The General hastily wrote an order and Stella hurried to the jail. - -She determined to make a desperate appeal to induce him to compromise -with the authorities and save his life. - -At the sight of the heavy iron bars of his door before which John stood -smiling, she broke completely down, seized his extended hand, covered it -with kisses and sobbed bitterly. - -“Come, come, my beautiful one, this is not like you! I’ve counted on -your brave spirit to win this fight. Not another tear. Courage and -laughter in our souls, defiance, scorn, contempt for our enemies! See, -they have made me quite comfortable within the past hour. I tried to -knock the Attorney General down, and lo, they rewarded me with a cot and -a chair!” - -“You knocked General Champion down?” Stella gasped in amazement. - -“I did my best under difficulties. Think of it, my dear! He offered -me an office for the betrayal of my people! I couldn’t kill him. I was -behind the bars, but I shall always thank God that he stood close enough -for my fist to reach his mouth.” - -John broke into a joyous laugh. His spirit was contagious. Stella looked -at him with wonder until a smile stole through the clouds that shadowed -her own brow. - -“How beautiful you are this morning, dearest!” he cried exultantly. - -She brushed the tears from her eyes. - -“I tried to see you last night at two o’clock,” she softly said. - -“And succeeded, my love,” he interrupted smiling. “You came up and stood -there and talked to me just as you are now. You told me to be of good -cheer--that you loved me. That you hated a sneak and a coward and a -traitor. That you had rather see me cold in death than stoop to a low -dishonourable deed, even for all the honours of earth. And I lifted up -my head in courage. I forgot jails and handcuffs, courts and trials. You -took me by the hand and led me away into green fields through the deep -woods beside beautiful waters. All night hand in hand we roamed through -the mystic world of Love--the only world of realities--I was angry with -the sun for waking me!” - -“My darling, I’m not worthy of such love,” Stella cried, pressing his -hand. “What can I do to help you?” - -“Keep on loving me--that’s the main thing!--incidentally consult a -lawyer--the best you can find--tell him that I’m going to fight, fight, -fight to the last ditch my own cause and the cause of my people! Keep -out of old Champion’s way. He carries a bribe in one hand, a death -warrant in the other. Don’t let him know your plans. Don’t let him know -that you love me.” - -Stella lifted her head with sudden resolution. - -“I’ll get the best lawyer in America. I’ll mortgage the house for the -money.” - -“My little heroine!” he exclaimed with pride. - -“I’ll go at once.” - -Through the iron bars she pressed her lips and hurried to the telegraph -office with the light of new courage shining in her eyes. - - - - -CHAPTER IV--THE HON. STEPHEN HOYLE - -STEVE HOYLE was confined to his room with a bullet hole through the -flesh of his right arm the day following the meeting at Inwood. - -He wrote Stella a letter informing her that John Graham had hired a gang -of thugs to attempt his assassination on the night he was to meet her, -that he had been desperately wounded in her service, and begged that she -call at once. - -Stella sent him a reply that cut deeper than the bullet from John’s -revolver. It was very brief. Steve read it with muttered curses: - -_Mr. Stephen Hoyle,_ - -_I have long suspected that you were a liar. Last night you proved -yourself a coward. Our acquaintance has ended._ - -_Stella Butler._ - -Steve paced his room in a speechless rage for an hour, dressed to call -on her and demand an interview, and suddenly changed his mind at the -sight of a squad of troops hurrying past his door. - -The arrest of John Graham had brought him to the verge of collapse. He -trembled at the thought that his turn might come next, and feared to put -his head out the door. - -When ten minutes later the soldiers who had passed suddenly appeared at -every exit of his house and loudly knocked for entrance, he dropped into -a chair shivering with abject terror. - -When arrested he turned his heavy white face toward the sergeant -piteously. - -“I beg of you, officer, allow me to stay here under guard. I am -desperately wounded, by an accident.” - -“You’ll have to go to jail,” the trooper snapped. - -“But, my dear man, I can’t. I can’t walk,” he gasped with laboured -breath. “Just let me stay here under arrest until I can arrange with the -authorities to give bail.” - -“Ye’ll have ter fix that at headquarters--come on,” he answered gruffly, -seizing Steve and lifting him to his feet. - -The heavy form collapsed and he sank in a heap on the floor. - -The sergeant looked at him a moment with contempt, turned to his men and -said: - -“Keep him under guard till I report.” - -The moment he had gone, Steve revived and crawled in bed, his teeth -chattering with a nervous chill. The soldiers sat down and laughed in -his face, and cracked jokes about the bravery of men who could ride well -at night but sometimes fainted in the daylight. - -The Attorney General had ordered Steve’s arrest on a shrewd guess which -Ackerman had made on hearing of the strange fight between two groups of -horsemen in the country at dusk the night before. The detective had -seen the doctor leaving Hoyle’s house and learned at once that Steve was -wounded. - -In attempting to serve the warrant on John Graham he had found that he -had ridden into the country alone in the direction taken by Steve Hoyle. -Ackerman had long suspected Steve of complicity in the movements of -the Klan, and knowing the deadly enmity between the two men had at once -reached the conclusion that a feud within the ranks of its members could -alone account for the situation. - -“Arrest Hoyle,” he urged on Champion; “threaten him with immediate -conviction for conspiracy and murder and see what happens.” - -The Attorney General had taken his advice, and on receiving the report -of Steve’s “illness” from the sergeant, went immediately to see him. - -Steve was profuse in his expressions of cordiality. - -“I’m sorry, General Champion,” he said, with loud friendliness, “that my -father and mother are in the North at present. They spend a great deal -of their time up there among you good Yankees. The fact is they are -specially fond of you. My father, you know, was a secret Union man -during the war and has always voted your ticket since, though for social -reasons he don’t say much about it down here.” - -Steve winked and laughed feebly. - -“Is it so?” asked the General. - -“Yes, of course,” Steve hurried on, “and I want to ask you as a personal -favour to my father, if not to me, to accept my bail for £10,000. The -whole thing, I assure you, is an absurd mistake. My father and I can -convince you of this on his return.” - -The General pursed his lips and watched Steve shrewdly for a moment. - -“I’m sorry I can’t accommodate you, Mr. Hoyle. We cannot accept bail -in cases of this kind. You must realise at once that you are in a very -dangerous position. Beyond a doubt your life is in peril.” - -Steve attempted to laugh but choked with terror, saying feebly: - -“Oh, not so bad as that, General. I’m a lawyer myself you know. I can -only be tried on a charge of murder before a state judge and jury. You -have no right to put a man on trial for his life here.” - -“Right or no right, young man, we are going to do it under the Act of -Congress. We’ve got the power. The army is here. The Supreme Court may -decide the Act unconstitutional later.” - -“I assure you, General, the charge against me is a monstrous falsehood,” - Steve protested vigorously. - -“And yet, my boy, the men have found in the search of this house a full -Ku Klux regalia for man and horse. Sergeant, bring that thing in!” - -The trooper stepped in the door and held up before Steve’s astonished -gaze the costume which he had taken under his saddle the night before on -his trip to meet Stella. - -Steve sat up in bed trembling and perspiring. - -“Why, yes, of course,” he stammered. “That has been here for some time. -I’ve made no attempt to conceal it. It was given me by a client of mine -who was a member. I’m keeping it as a curiosity.” - -“A dangerous curiosity to keep about your house in these times, sir,” - said the General sternly. “Let’s come to the point. Do you wish to -keep out of jail or do you wish to test the power of the United States -Government to put you on trial for your life?” - -“I want to keep out of jail,” was the quick answer. - -“That’s sensible. Then face the facts. My detective has watched you for -three months. I can convict you of murder.” - -Steve fumbled his hands nervously while the General paused and gazed -steadily at his wavering eyes. - -“Now, I’ve a generous proposition to make you.” - -“Yes?--yes?” Steve gasped. - -“One that will give you an opportunity to prove yourself a patriot and a -hero--a patriot because you will render your country a great service--a -hero because you must brave the scorn of every white man and woman whose -opinion is worth anything to you. Will you consider it?” - -“Yes,” Steve answered. - -“Give me the information needed to destroy the Invisible Empire and I -will not only release you from custody; I will make you my assistant and -ultimately secure your promotion to a judgeship. Your answer?” - -“I’ll do it, General, I’ll do it!” Steve cried, while the maudlin tears -of a coward’s relief from mortal fear coursed down his fat cheeks. “I’ll -stand by you and help save our country by restoring law and order.” - -The General thanked and congratulated him, again called him a patriot -and hero and sent for his stenographer. For four hours he was closeted -with Steve. - -At dusk the soldiers moved with sure tread in every county in Piedmont -Carolina, and before the sun rose the blow had fallen swift, relentless, -terrible! - -The Klan leaders in every county were behind the bars. - -More than five hundred arrests were made in the county of Independence. -Around the jail, and half a dozen improvised prisons, throngs of -sadfaced wives, mothers, sisters and sweethearts stood silently weeping. - -The next morning Champion wired the President asking that the Honourable -Stephen Hoyle be appointed acting Assistant United States District -Attorney, and his request was granted. - - - - -CHAPTER V--ACKERMAN CORNERED - -THE arrest of John Graham precipitated a crisis between Ackerman and -Susie Wilson which was as unexpected as it was embarrassing to the -handsome young detective. - -From the moment she had seen his letter on Stella’s bed she had watched -the young Northerner with the keenest suspicions. - -The following day he pressed his love with straightforward earnestness. - -She answered with an evasive smile. - -“I appreciate the honour you pay me, Mr. Ackerman, but I’m not in love -with you. I hope we shall always be friends. If your love endures it may -win mine in the end--if you persist.” - -“I have your permission to persist?” - -“Certainly,” she answered frankly. “I love to be loved.” - -“All right,” he said with a boyish laugh. “I’m going to build my house -in the fall.” - -On the day following John Graham’s arrest she saw Ackerman emerge from -the hotel in earnest consultation with the Attorney General. To her the -prosecuting officer of the United States at that moment meant all that -was vile and hateful in the tyranny under which the South had groaned -since the dawn of her memory. - -The moment she saw Ackerman with this man, his very name became to her -accursed. Her keen intuition at once linked the letter to Stella with -the murder of the Judge and the prosecution of the Klan. She was sure -that Ackerman had been playing the hypocrite and was at heart an enemy -of the South. She determined not only to cut his acquaintance but put -him out of her mother’s house. - -When the young detective received a written notice from Susie to vacate -his room immediately, he took it to be a practical joke and asked to see -her. She sent word by the servant that unless he moved during the day -his trunk would be thrown on the sidewalk. - -Ackerman left in answer to a summons from the Attorney General’s office, -still puzzling his brain over the meaning of the joke. He was sure that -she could not possibly know of his oath against John Graham which was a -secret of the Department of Justice. He was equally sure that she could -not suspect his real business in Independence. He meant to win her love -first. He didn’t care what she thought of his profession afterwards. - -When he returned to Mrs. Wilson’s for supper he was struck dumb by the -sight of his trunk lying on the sidewalk outside the gate. - -Without a word he picked it up, carried it back upstairs and threw it on -the floor with a bang in front of the room that had been his. - -He sat down on it and refused to stir until Susie answered in person his -demand for an interview. - -To avoid a scene she finally consented to meet him in the parlour. - -Susie’s gray eyes were cold and her tall figure rigid. - -“In violation of every law that should govern the conduct of a gentleman -you have forced yourself into my presence Mr. Ackerman. I trust our -interview may be very brief.” - -“In violation of every law of Southern hospitality, to say nothing of -the rules which should govern the temper of a lady, you have thrown -me out of your house without rhyme or reason. And before I go I -respectfully but firmly ask, why?” - -“You have pretended to be a friend of our people I find that you are an -enemy--a sneak and a hypocrite.” - -Ackerman’s cheeks blushed redder than usual; he bit his lips and finally -burst into laughter. - -“Is that all?” - -Susie rose with dignity. - -“It’s quite enough for my mother and myself.” - -“But it’s not enough for me, Miss Susie. My defence against your unjust -suspicions is perfect. I will make it if necessary. I trust it will not -be necessary.” - -“You might include in your defence an explanation of why you were -corresponding with Stella Butler while you were writing love to me?” - -“Who said that I wrote to Miss Butler?” - -“I say it. I saw your letter in her room the day you declared your love -for me.” - -Ackerman was cornered. He must confess and betray Stella’s secret or -keep silent and wreck his own hopes. His decision was instantly made. - -“Miss Susie, you’ve got me. I give up. I’m not a sneak--but I am a -hypocrite by profession.” - -“You confess it?” Susie cried with scorn. “Yes,” he whispered. “I am -a trusted detective of the United States Secret Service. I am not the -enemy of your people. On the other hand, I have learned to love and -sympathise with them. Perhaps my love for you has given me that point -of view. Anyway, I’ve taken it. I am simply here as an officer on duty -under command of his superior.” - -Susie’s face softened. She saw at once her mistake. - -“And your duty led you into correspondence with Miss Butler?5’ - -“I regret to be compelled to answer, but it did.” - -“She has aided in your work?” - -“Yes. I reported to her by order of the Chief on arrival, and have been -in constant communication with her at every step since.” - -“Up to the hour of John Graham’s arrest?” Susie asked breathlessly. - -“Yes.” - -“Oh, the little fiend! I could strangle her!” the girl cried. - -“I’m sorry to have to betray this confidence. But you have forced me.” - -“And you are pressing the charge of murder against John Graham?” - -“On the other hand, I am not. If my plans succeed, I’ll explode a -bombshell in the court room the day he faces the jury.” - -Susie extended her hand. - -“I beg your pardon for my rudeness. Alfred will put your trunk back -immediately, if you will stay.” - -Ackerman mounted to his room and unpacked his trunk, humming a love song -while Susie put on her hat and left with swift firm step to find Stella -Butler. - - - - -CHAPTER VI--THROUGH DEEP WATERS - -STELLA had hurried to the jail with a bouquet of flowers earlier than -usual, accompanied by Maggie who carried a dainty breakfast. She wished -to be the first to tell John Graham of the blow which had fallen on his -people. She had forgotten that the jail in which he lay had been jammed -with prisoners during the night. Four of his friends were crowded into -the cell in which he was confined. - -Her heart sank at the sight of the pitiful crowds of weeping women who -stood at the jail door, some of them with sick babies in their arms. - -A little tow-headed boy sat on the steps, with his lips quivering and -the big tears slowly rolling down his cheeks. She recognised him as the -one she saw in front of her house the night of the Klan’s first parade. - -She bent over him and took his hand: - -“What’s the matter?” - -The boy’s breast heaved and he choked, unable to answer, bent his -sunburnt head on Stella’s hand and burst into strangling tears. - -She stroked his hair, and at length he sobbed: - -“They’ve got my big brother in here--locked--up--in--a--cage! They’re -going to kill him, and he ain’t got nobody but me to help him. I ain’t -nothing but a little boy. I can’t get no money, and I can’t do nothing. -Oh, me! oh, me!” - -He bowed again and sobbed as though his heart would break. - -Stella slipped her arm around his neck and placed a rose in his hand. - -“Hush dear, I’ll be your friend and his. I’ve got money. I’ll help -you--give the rose to your brother and come to see me.” - -“Will you, Miss?” he cried, leaping up with joy. “Make’em let me go in -with you and I’ll tell him!” - -Stella took him by the hand and led him into the jail. - -When the jailor frowned at the boy, she said with a smile: - -“He’s a little friend of mine. He’ll go in with me.” - -The boy nestled close to her side and gripped her hand tightly. When -they reached the first corridor, he sprang to a grated door and seized -his brother’s hand. As she passed on Stella heard him say joyously: - -“It’ll be all right, Jim, don’t worry. She’s a goin’ to help us. She -told me so. She’s rich--she’ll get us a lawyer.” - -Stella climbed the stairs to John’s door with a great voiceless fear in -her soul. The thought of his discovery of her betrayal stopped the very -beat of her heart. - -To her surprise she found him strangely calm. - -“It’s sweet of you to come so early,” he said with a smile. - -“Love makes one’s feet swift, doesn’t it?” she answered softly. - -“And beautiful!” he cried. “I’m going to make you happier by giving you -more work. Don’t bring me anything more to eat or any more flowers until -you’ve made the other fellows comfortable. I’m all right, but a lot of -the poor boys who have just come have broken down. Oh, God, if I could -have gotten my hands on the throat of the traitor last night!” - -Never had she seen a more terrible look on a human face. Stella gazed at -his convulsed features fascinated with fear. - -“You’ll help the boys, won’t you, dear, for my sake?” he asked suddenly. -“Susie Wilson and her mother will join you.” - -Stella answered with a start: - -“Why--of course, John. I’ll go at once.” - -“And dear!” he called as she turned quickly. - -“The lawyer whom you engage for me must take all their cases. I’ll stand -or fall with my people.” - -“Yes, I understand.” - -Stella hurried home with her soul in a tumult of conflicting purposes. -She felt it yet too dangerous to confess the dual rôle she had played; -yet with each hour’s startling events the agony of fear lest he discover -her betrayal became more and more intense. - -One thing she could do at once. She would make the cause of his men her -own, she would make her ministry of love so tender and unselfish, her -sacrifices so generous he must hear her plea when the awful moment of -her confession should come. - -She had just given Aunt Julie Ann orders to prepare three meals each day -for every man in jail with John, and was about to start for the garden -to cut more flowers, when Maggie ushered Susie Wilson into the hall. - -“I’m so glad you’ve come,” Stella cried. “I was just going to ask you -and your mother to help us make those men comfortable who have been put -in jail. Mr. Graham was sure you would join me.” - -Susie stared at Stella for a moment and slowly said: - -“Is it possible!” - -“Why, what’s the matter?” Stella asked. “Won’t you sit down?” - -“I prefer to stand, thank you, and to come straight to the point,” Susie -answered with quiet emphasis. “May I ask you some questions?” - -Stella flushed and her first impulse was to show her questioner to the -door, but she felt the dangerous menace in Susie’s tone and knew that -she had suspected at least part of the truth. It was necessary to fence. - -“Why, as many as you like,” she replied with a light laugh. - -“You have told John Graham that you love him?” - -“Your question is an impertinence. It’s none of your business.” - -“I have made it my business.” - -“Then the sooner you recover your self-respect the better,” Stella -sneered. - -“What do you mean?” Susie’s gray eyes danced with anger. - -“That you are desperately and hopelessly in love with John Graham -yourself, and that you haven’t pride and character enough to hold up -your head before his indifference, and his patronising contempt. I have -won him, and you come with cheap insults for the woman he loves.” - -Susie’s eyes grew dim. - -“Your accusation is infamously false,” she cried with choking emotion. - -“You deny that you love him?” Stella flashed. - -“I glory in it--if you will know!” Susie cried in dreamy tenderness. -“I’ve always loved him with a girl’s blind worship of the hero of her -dreams. And I shall cherish every gentle word that he has ever spoken to -me. The impulse which brought me here wasn’t the vulgar desire to insult -the woman he loves. I came to save his life.” - -Stella sprang to her feet, her face scarlet, her breath coming in quick -gasps of anger. - -“What do you mean?” - -“I’ll tell you if you answer my questions. Do you dare tell me that you -love him?” - -Stella drew herself up proudly. - -“You have no right to ask that question. But I answer it. I do love him -and I have told him.” - -Susie confronted her with flashing eyes. - -“Then you have deceived him!” - -“How dare you thus insult me in my house,” Stella cried with flaming -cheeks. - -“I’ll leave your house and never enter it again. You can also rest -assured that John Graham’s foot will never again cross this threshold -when I have told him the truth.” - -“When--you--have--told--him--the--truth!” Stella gasped. “What truth?” - -“That you have betrayed him and his people to his enemies.” - -“It’s false! It’s false!” Stella panted. “You lie. You lie, because you -hate me! You hate me because you love him. Tell him if you dare. He -will laugh in your face! Try it--try it--I dare you!” Her voice rose and -fell, quivering and breaking in hoarse whispers of passion. - -Susie stood quietly and coldly staring at her with lips upturned in -scorn. - -“If he doubts my word, Mr. Ackerman’s will be sufficient.” - -“Ackerman!” Stella moaned, staggering to the table. - -“Mr. Ackerman of the Secret Service who came here in answer to your -call.” - -“He--has--told--you?” - -“Yes, and I know the whole black hideous truth. I know that you hate -John Graham, that you have used your devil’s beauty to entrap and betray -him.” - -“I swear that I love him!” Stella groaned as she sank to a chair. - -“As you’ve sworn to him no doubt while you lured him to his ruin. I hate -you--I hate you--and I could strangle you!” - -The tall lithe form trembling with fury towered above Stella’s shivering -little figure. - -“Susie, you are mistaken,” she faltered. “Come into the library a moment -and I’ll convince you that you are wrong.” - -She seized Susie’s hand and led her into the library, sinking again into -a chair. - -“See, here is a mortgage for ten thousand dollars on this house which -I’ve prepared to raise the money for two great lawyers from the North -who are coming to defend him.” - -“From the North?” - -“Yes.” - -“You mean to convict him,” Susie cried. “Another shrewd trick you are -playing. Your lawyers will gain his confidence, learn his secrets, -betray and send him to his death. But, I’ll warn him!” - -“Susie, you can’t believe this of me! The pledging of this house is the -first great act of selfsacrifice of my life. The joy of it has been a -sweet revelation to me. You must hear me when I tell you that I love him -with passionate devotion. I’d give my life for him if I could!” - -“And yet you brought Ackerman here and hounded him for three months -until at last he lies in a filthy jail with the shadow of death over -him--and you call this love?” - -The tall form again towered in rage above the shrinking figure. - -“Wait! I must tell you all, Susie. You know but half the truth. Listen -dear, I did try to avenge my father’s death. I believed John Graham -guilty. I did lure him on to love me only to find that I loved him! I -tried to hate him and couldn’t. I’ve betrayed only his name to Ackerman. -I could tear my tongue out for it. If he learns of it, he will turn from -me and hate me! Susie darling, I’ve been proud and vain and wilful. Now -I’m a poor little girl alone, friendless and lost. You’re stronger than -I am. Have pity on me. Be a mother to me--I’m lonely and heart-sick. You -know what it is to love. If he turns from me now before I can atone for -the wrong I have done him, I can’t live. You--believe--me--now--dear?” - -Susie’s eyes filled with tears. - -“Yes, I believe you now.” - -Stella’s head sank on the table and her form shook with sobs. - -Susie gently stroked the curling black hair, and said: - -“I’ll help you. We’ll work together to save his life.” - -In a moment they were sobbing in each other’s arms. - - - - -CHAPTER VII--THE PRISONER AT THE BAR - -WHEN the day of trial dawned, Stella had succeeded in securing the -services of two of the greatest lawyers in America, Reverdy Johnson of -Maryland, Attorney General in the Cabinet of President Taylor, and Henry -Stanbery of Ohio, Attorney General in the Cabinet of Andrew Johnson. - -The Government was represented by the finest legal talent its vast -resources and power could command. - -For eleven days, before two presiding judges of the United States -Circuit Court, the fierce battle of legal giants raged. The great -lawyers for the defence fought every inch of ground with dogged -tenacity. - -Stella watched from day to day with breathless intensity as she sat by -John Graham’s side. - -It soon became plain that the Court had constituted itself a partisan -political tribunal for the purpose, not of administering justice, but of -crushing the enemies of the party in power. - -Every decision was against the prisoner, though, in deference to the -distinguished character of the lawyers for the defence, they were -allowed to argue each point. The profound and accurate learning with -which they reviewed the Constitutional law of the Republic was a liberal -education to the shallow little partisans who sat on the judge’s bench -before them. But their eloquence and learning fell on the ears of men -whose decisions were already made. - -In violation of the rights of the prisoner under the constitutions of -the state and nation the indictment for murder was ordered to immediate -trial. - -From the moment the actual proceedings of the trial began, the -Government had no delay or difficulty. - -With sinking heart Stella saw the disgraceful travesty of justice draw -each moment the cords of death closer about the form of the man she -loved. - -The jury corruptly chosen for this case marked the lowest tide mud to -which the administration of justice ever sank in our history. A white -freeman, a man of culture and heroic mould, whose fathers created the -American Republic, was arraigned to plead for his life before a jury -composed of one dirty, ignorant white scalawag and eleven coal-black -Negroes! The white man was not made its foreman, a Negro teamster was -chosen. - -Steve Hoyle became at once the presiding genius of the prosecution. The -court room was thronged with liars, perjurers and sycophants who hung -about his fat figure with obsequious deference. Old Larkin, who came -from the Capitol to assist the prosecution, sat constantly by Steve’s -side. - -John Graham watched Steve with cold deadly hate, but he had warned his -men under no conceivable circumstances to lift a hand in resistance -either to constituted authority, or to give the traitor his deserts. -A pall of helpless grief and fear hung over every decent white man who -witnessed the High Court of Justice of the Anglo-Saxon race suddenly -transformed into a Negro minstrel farce on which hung their liberty and -life. - -The star witness of the prosecution was Uncle Isaac A. Postle. He took -his seat before the jury, grinning and nodding at two of his dusky -friends among them with calm assurance. - -Isaac was allowed to tell a marvellous rambling story of Ku Klux -outrages--stories which he had heard from Larkin--about whose truth -he could possibly know nothing. In vain the lawyers for the defence -objected. The court overruled every objection and allowed the Apostle -free scope to his vivid imagination. - -Reverdy Johnson, the distinguished ex-Attorney General of the United -States who stood before the judges protesting with dignity, bowed to the -Bench and sat down in disgust with the quiet remark: - -“We shall offer no further objection to anything that may be said in -this Court.” - -He had scarcely taken his seat when Ackerman moved his chair behind him -and began to whisper. - -The District Attorney watched the detective in astonishment, while Hoyle -and Larkin bent their heads together in excited conference. - -Susie looked at Stella, smiled and blushed. - -Isaac finally came to specific charges against John Graham. - -“Now tell the court what you know about John Graham’s connection -with the murder of Judge Butler,” said Steve, who was conducting his -examination. - -“Yassah, I knows all ’bout it, sah. Mr. John Graham de very man dat -kill de jedge wid his own han’. I see ’im when he do it. Dey come -slippin’ up back er de house, an’ creep in froo de winder while de odder -folks wuz in de ballroom dancin’. Dey wuz eight un ’em--yassah. Dey -slip up an’ grab de jedge an’ hol’ ’im while Mr. John Graham stick a -knife right in his heart----yassah. I wuz lookin’ right at ’im froo de -winder when he done it. When he kill ’im, dey all mix up wid de odder -Ku Kluxes what wuz dancin’, an’ go way ter-gedder.” - -“Take the witness,” said Steve with a wave of his hand. - -“How did you know it was Mr. Graham?” asked General Johnson. - -“I seed ’im wid my own eyes.” - -“He wore a complete disguise, did he not?” - -“Yassah, but I seed ’im all de same.” - -“You could see through the mask?” - -“I seed ’im--I done tole ye!” - -“Answer my question,” sternly commanded the lawyer. “Could you see his -face through the mask?” - -“Nasah.” - -“Then how did you recognise him?” - -“He tuck it off ter scratch his head, sah, an’ I see his face. I knowed -it wuz him all de time fo’ I see his face.” - -Ackerman whispered to the lawyer. - -“Did you tell Mr. Ackerman, Uncle Isaac, that, as you started to run -away from the masqueraders that night, you saw John Graham at your -gate--ran into him?” - -“Nasah, I nebber say no sech thing!” Isaac shouted, glaring and shaking -his head at Ackerman. - -“Didn’t you tell the same gentleman that later in the evening you saw -John Graham seated on a rustic near the house watching it from the -outside?” - -“Nasah! dat I didn’t!” - -“Do you know that if you swear a lie----” - -“I ain’t swar no lie!” Isaac interrupted with religious fervour. -“I’se de Lord’s Sanctified One, sah. I ain’t done no sin since I got -sanctification. Yassah, praise God!” - -“Don’t you know,” repeated the lawyer, “that if you swear to a lie on -that witness stand you can be sent to the penitentiary for perjury?” - -“I knows dey ain’t gwine sen’ me dar--I knows dat,” Isaac said with a -grin, and his Negro acquaintances in the jury box laughed. - -The lawyer changed his line of questions. “You say you saw John Graham -strike the death-blow?” - -“Yassah, I see ’im wid dese very eyes.” - -“Were you close enough to hear what was said?” - -“Yassah, I wuz right dar by de open winder.” - -“What did he say?” - -“Des ez he raise de knife he say, ‘I got you now, you d---- Black -Radical ‘Publican!’” - -“You swear that you heard him say that he killed the Judge because he -was a Republican?” - -“Yassah! dat’s what de Ku Kluxes kill ’em all fur, sah!” - -Larkin shuffled uneasily, bent again in conference with Steve who rose -immediately and asked for an adjournment of two hours. - -When the Court reassembled and Isaac took his seat in the witness chair, -Aunt Julie Ann’s huge form suddenly appeared in the doorway with her -hand resting confidingly on Alfred’s arm. They walked inside the railing -of the bar and took seats assigned to them behind John Graham’s counsel. -Aunt Julie Ann handed Ackerman a pair of Isaac’s old shoes. He measured -them quickly on a diagram which he drew from his pocket. - -Isaac watched Aunt Julie Ann and Alfred with mouth opened in wonder, -rage and growing fear. - -He rose and bowed to the judges. - -“I gotter ax de cote ter perteck me, gemmens,” he said falteringly. - -“What do you mean?” asked a judge. - -“Dat nigger Alfred dar tryin’ ter steal my wife from me, sah!” - -Alfred grinned, and patted Aunt Julie Ann’s hand and whispered: “Doan -min’ de low-live rascal, honey!” - -“Yassah, an’ my wife come here tryin’ ter timidate me, sah. She jes -fetch er par er my ole shoes inter dis cote. She’s a cunjer ‘oman, sah. -I try ter sanctify her, but she won’t stay sanctified. She got a kink er -my hair las’ night and wrap it up in a piece er paper and put it under -de cote house do’ step, an’ she say dat ef I walk over dat into dis -house ter-day an’ jestify ergin Marse John Graham she fling er spell -over me. I ax de cote fer perfection, sah. I axes de Sheriff ter take -dat bunch er hair from under dem steps fo’ I say annuder word!” - -“Silence, sir, and proceed with your testimony,” said the Judge. - -Aunt Julie Ann fanned her fat face, smiled at Stella and Susie and -quietly slipped her hand in Alfred’s. - -Isaac dropped into his chair limp and crestfallen. In a sort of dazed -trance he kept his eye fixed on Alfred’s face grinning in triumph. - -John’s lawyer pounced on him in sudden sharp accents. - -“Is this a pair of your shoes, Isaac?” - -“Yassah,” was the listless answer. - -“You wore these shoes the night the Judge was killed, didn’t you?” - -“Yassah.” - -“You’re sure of it?” - -“Yassah. Dem’s my ole ones. I got a new pair now.” - -The lawyer stepped close and in threatening tones asked: - -“Will you explain to this Court what your shoes were doing making tracks -in the soft mud of the underground passage from the family vault of the -Graham house the night of this murder?” - -Isaac’s jaw dropped, he drew his red bandanna handkerchief and mopped -his brow. - -A hum of excitement ran over the court room, and an officer cried: - -“Silence!” - -Isaac continued to mop his brow and fumble at his handkerchief while he -gazed at the lawyer in a helpless stupor. - -“Answer my question, sir!” the towering figure thundered into his face. - -“I doan know what yer means, sah,” he faltered. - -“Yes you do. There were nine other men with you. Who were they?” - -“I dunno, sah!” - -Larkin whispered excitedly to Steve, who shook his head and gazed at -Isaac in amazement. - -“Were they masked so that you couldn’t see their faces?” - -Isaac looked appealingly to the judges and whimpered: - -“I doan know what dey er talkin’ ‘bout, sah.” - -“You must answer the questions,” said the Judge. - -The lawyer glared at Isaac whose shifting eyes sought Larkin. - -“Think it over a minute, Isaac,” the lawyer continued; “in the meantime -examine that knife.” - -He drew from its case a long, keen hunting-knife, and handed it to the -witness who was now trembling from head to foot. - -“Did you ever see that knife before?” - -Isaac hesitated and finally answered: - -“Yassah, I sold it ter Mr. Ackerman.” - -“Where did you get it?” - -Larkin suddenly cleared his throat with a deep guttural sound like the -growl of an infuriated animal. - -The lawyer looked at him with annoyance and the officer again shouted: - -“Silence!” - -“I foun’ it, sah,” he answered evasively. - -“Now, Isaac, you want to be very careful how you answer my next -question.” - -The lawyer took the knife from the Negro’s hand and felt of its point. - -“You will notice that a tiny piece is broken off the tip of this blade. -I hold in my hand the little bit of steel which exactly fits there. It -was found embedded in a bone in Judge Butler’s body. This is the knife -that struck the death-blow. Did you own that knife the night of the -murder? Answer me!” - -Isaac fumbled his handkerchief again and looked about the room -helplessly. - -Larkin rose carelessly and started from the court room. Ackerman, -watching him keenly, sprang to his side. - -“Don’t leave, Larkin, we want you as a witness in a moment,” he -whispered. - -“I’ll return immediately,” the Carpetbagger replied, increasing his -haste. - -“Wait!” Ackerman commanded. - -Larkin quickened his pace and the detective seized his arm. - -The Carpetbagger threw him off with sudden fury and plunged toward the -door. - -With the spring of a tiger, Ackerman leaped on him. A brief fierce -fight, and he was dragged panting back before the astonished Court, -while every man in the room sprang to his feet and pressed around the -struggling men. - -“What’s the meaning of this disorder?” thundered the presiding Judge. - -“With apologies to the Court for the interruption I beg leave to present -the murderer of Judge Butler--I ask a warrant for his arrest,” Ackerman -demanded. - -A wave of horror swept the crowd of Larkin’s friends. - -“The man is a crazy liar, your Honours,” protested Larkin. “And he has -proven himself a renegade and a scoundrel in this court room to-day. I -protest against this outrage.” - -“I’ll prove my charge to the Court--every link in the chain of evidence -is now complete,” was the cool answer. - -With the court room in an uproar, Larkin was arrested and placed between -Ackerman and a deputy, and the trial resumed. - -A brief conference between the District Attorney and Isaac preceded the -first question asked by John’s counsel after the disturbance. - -“Now, Isaac,” the lawyer began suavely, “the District Attorney has just -promised to spare your life on condition that you tell us the truth, the -whole truth, and nothing but the truth--let’s have it.” - -“Yassah,” the Apostle responded in humble accents. “Mr. Larkin, he tell -me ter say what I did, sah.” - -Larkin’s head dropped and his keen eyes furtively sought the door. - -“Who gave you that knife?” - -A moment of breathless suspense rippled the crowded court room and every -head was bent forward. - -“Mr. Larkin gimme de knife! We’se been powful good friends, sah. I show -him de under-groun’ way fum de tomb inter de house. I’se de only black -man dat know it--my daddy help dig it--yassah. Mr. Larkin de fust man I -ebber tell dat I know ’bout it. He say he want ter beat de Ku Kluxes. -He say he make’em smoke dat night, an’ he git eight men an’ dress up jes -lak ‘em, an’ I show him de way ter git in froo de panel in de hall. He -fool me. I didn’t know he gwine ter kill de jedge, sah, er I wouldn’t er -let ’em in, nosah. I doan’ believe in killin’ nobody. He tell me ter -git outen de county an’ I stay till de soldiers come back. Yassah, an’ -dat’s de whole troof!” - -Ackerman motioned the sergeant, a pair of handcuffs clicked on Larkin’s -wrists, and the great white head sank on his breast. - -Stella gazed at his pathetic figure with a strange feeling of pity and -wonder, while her hand sought John Graham’s and pressed it tenderly. - -The count of murder was dropped, but the charge of conspiracy was -pressed with merciless ferocity. A procession of hired liars ascended -the witness stand and in rapid succession perjured themselves by -swearing that they had recognised the prisoner on various raids made by -the Klan in the county. - -The jury was out fifteen minutes. - -When they returned John Graham, in whose veins flowed the blood of -a race of world-conquering men, entitled to a trial by a jury of his -peers, rose with quiet dignity and heard the verdict of his condemnation -fall from the thick protruding lips of a flat-nosed Negro: - -“We finds de prisoner guilty!” - -“So say you all gentlemen?” asked the clerk. - -And in response each black spindle-shanked juror shambled to his feet -and answered: - -“Guilty!” - -The last name called was the little white Scalawag’s, whose weak voice -squeaked an echo: - -“Guilty.” - -The Judge imposed a fine of one thousand dollars and sentenced John -Graham to five years imprisonment at hard labour in the United States -penitentiary at Albany, New York. - -A low moan from Stella, and her head sank in voiceless anguish. - -To the brave and the proud there are visions darker than death. - -John Graham saw this as he was led from the court room back to jail--the -vision of the hideous leprous shame of a convict’s suit of stripes! - - - - -CHAPTER VIII--THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS - -EVERY delicacy which love could devise and her money buy Stella -lavished on John and his friends. Each day added to the list of men who -returned to jail condemned to the infamy of a convict’s pen at Albany. - -When the deep-muttered curses against Steve Hoyle for the betrayal of -his men reached John’s ears, he sent through Stella his sternest orders -and his tenderest entreaties to Dan Wiley to prevent violence. Dan had -successfully eluded every effort to arrest him. John knew that he was -hiding in the mountains with the men he had commanded armed to -the teeth, and he lived in constant dread of the news of Steve’s -assassination, even under the noses of the United States troops. - -A single burst of sunlight came to brighten for Stella the gloom of -the day before John’s departure for Albany. She succeeded in liberating -“Jim,” the big brother of her little tow-headed friend. Her interest -in the boy had been noted, and she received the usual mysterious -message--that money placed at the right spot would prevent any witness -from identifying Jim. She found the right spot promptly and paid the -bribe of two hundred and fifty dollars without a question as to the -ethics involved. Jim was discharged, and when he walked out a free man a -little tow-headed boy lay sobbing out his joy on her breast. - -“I’m goin’ to work for you, if you’ll let me,” he cried through his -tears. - -“Why, I thought you said you couldn’t do anything that day we met?” she -laughed. - -“Oh, I’m awful smart,” he boasted--“I can tote fresh water, carry -all your notes to your sweetheart--and I’m great diggin’ worms ter go -fishin’--I know right where to find ’em!” - -She sent him away with a kiss and a promise to let him come and show her -what he could do. - -As she entered the jail with John’s dinner, the jailor, whose friendship -she had won by the liberal use of money and skilful flattery, whispered -to her: - -“Come in here a minute, Miss, I want to show you something.” - -She followed him into his room and started with horror at the sight of a -dirty suit of convict’s stripes spread out on a chair. - -Stella’s face blanched. - -“They are for him?” she gasped. - -“Yessum, an’ if ye’ll excuse me fer sayin’ it, I think it’s a d------ -shame.” - -“They have no right to put this outrage on him before his people,” she -cried. - -“No’m, they haint got no right, but they’re goin’ ter do it to-morrow -mornin’ just the same. They’re goin’ ter take him all the way ter Albany -in that suit.” - -“Who’s doing this?” she asked with rising wrath. - -“Steve Hoyle, m’am. He’s fixin’ to have a big gang er niggers and low -white trash here in the mornin’ ter hoot and yell and make fun of him -all the way to the train, an’ I thought I’d tell ye.” - -“Thank you,” she answered warmly, her big brown eyes beginning to flash -fire. - -“Ye know ef I’d step out, that suit o’ clothes might be foun’ missin’. -It ain’t mine. I’ll swear to that. I don’t know anybody that owns it, er -wants it.” - -“I understand. Wrap it up, please. I can’t touch it.” - -Stella shuddered and watched the jailor with wide-staring eyes as he -picked up the suit, wrapped it in a piece of brown paper and laid it -back on the chair. - -“I got to go--there’s somebody knockin’ at the door--course, I won’t -know what’s become er the d---- thing.” - -He left her with a grin, and Stella seized the bundle, hurried home -and burned it. On the way she stopped at a hardware store and made -a mysterious purchase which she carefully concealed, and there was -a dangerous light in her eyes as she placed this package beside the -travelling dress which she had laid out to wear on the train with John. - -The jailor passed Stella in the hall but looked the other way as he -hurried forward with two soldiers who had called to see John Graham. -They were dressed in the regulation blue suits of the army. The jailor, -trusting implicitly their uniforms, allowed them to go up unaccompanied -to John’s door. - -So complete was the disguise that at first the condemned man gazed -through the bars with indifference at his callers. - -The taller of the two suddenly thrust his face close and whispered: - -“God, man, don’t ye know me?” - -John started. - -“Dan--Billy--what does this mean!” - -Dan put his finger on his lips. - -“Everything’s all right. Billy’s been up in the mountains with me at my -summer resort.” - -“I wrote you, Billy, not to come!” John scowled. - -“I’m not going to see this infamy puton you----” - -“It’s all fixed, Chief,” Dan broke in, drawing a new sledge hammer from -his pocket, and slipping the handle from his sleeve. - -With a loud cough to mask the sound he thrust the handle into its place. - -“You’re both crazy!” John said with anger. - -“It’s as easy as failin’ off a log,” Dan urged. “Billy’ll smash the -lock, I’ll gag and tie the jailor. I’ve got the fastest horse in the -county waitin’ fer ye at the corner. Git thirty minutes start, an’ there -ain’t cavalry enough this side er hell to stop ye. When ye get ter my -house, ye’ll be in God’s country. The boys are there waitin’ fer ye.” - Dan handed the hammer to Billy. - -“Put that hammer down!” John commanded sternly. - -“I won’t--you’ve got to go with us.” - -“Do as I tell you, or I’ll call the jailor,” John said with a frown. - -“For God’s sake, come with us!” Billy pleaded. “Steve Hoyle’s going to -have a crowd of Negroes here to laugh and jeer at you to-morrow as you -come out. I tell you I can’t stand it!” - -John’s face suddenly paled. - -“You can stand it if I can, Billy! Get out of this, both of you, before -you’re arrested--quick now. I won’t have it. Come here, Dan!” - -John called to the mountaineer who had turned away. - -“Give me your hand.” - -Dan thrust his hand through the bars and John grasped it. - -“Are you a friend of mine?” - -“Ain’t I a showin’ ye.” - -“Take Billy home and take care of him until I return--will you do it?” - -“Yes--but I don’t like this givin’ up a fight when I’ve won it.” - -“And one thing more, Dan, old boy, before I let your hand go, you’ve got -to promise me not to kill Steve Hoyle.” - -“Who said I was goin’ to do it?” - -“I say it.” - -“He ain’t fit ter live.” - -“Yes, but somehow God lets a lot of such trash cumber the earth. We’d -better not try any more interference with his plans.” - -Dan hesitated, struggling with deep passion, drew a handkerchief and -blew his nose. - -“Ye’re putty hard on me, Chief, I was goin’ ter call by Steve’s house -and finish both jobs to-day, but orders is orders. I’ll take ’em -from you. I won’t take ’em from nobody else. Goodbye, take care er -yourself.” - -Billy pressed his brother’s hand, silently turned and left with Dan. - -When the last echo of their steps had died away - -John Graham stared through the iron bars for half an hour and saw only -the vision of a mob of yelling, laughing Negroes and behind them the -fat, white cowardly face of Steve Hoyle. - -He sank to the chair with a groan: - -“O God, if it be possible let this cup pass from me!” - - - - -CHAPTER IX--THE DAY OF ATONEMENT - -WHEN Steve Hoyle discovered next morning that the suit of stripes which -he had secured at enormous expense in bribery and hush money had been -lost he was furious. The jailor laughed at his idle threats and cursed -him roundly when accused of making way with the suit. - -Steve left in a rage to drum up a larger crowd to hoot and yell at the -man he hated. - -Stella pressed her way through the throng of Negroes into the jail, -carrying an enormous bouquet of roses in one hand and in the other a -basket of delicate flowers threaded into long beautiful garlands. - -John determined to save her from the scene of his humiliation. - -“You must not go through the streets with me to the train, my dear,” he -said tenderly. “Go down in a carriage and join me at the station.” - -“I will if they let you ride with me,” she firmly answered. - -“Impossible. They’ve given special orders that I shall walk.” - -“Then I’ll walk with you,” she said with a smile. - -John’s face clouded with pain. - -“Please, dearest, for my sake?” - -“It’s for your sake I’m going with you.” - -“They may say something to hurt you,” he pleaded. - -“I don’t think they will,” she said as the fire suddenly flashed from -her brown eyes. - -“But they will, my love, they will. It’s hard enough for me. They -mustn’t hurt you--I can hear them out there now--that black mob--waiting -to hoot and yell--please, don’t go with me!” - -Stella left his cell door, stepped to the window and looked out. Steve -Hoyle was passing along the lines of Negroes ranged on either side of -the walk, instructing them what to say. He had massed around the door a -mob of two hundred to follow his lead the moment John appeared. - -“Watch me,” he said, “and I’ll give you the signal. I want you to let -him have it square in the face when I raise my hand. I’ll stand on -the doorstep. I want a laugh first from five hundred black throats--on -old-fashioned nigger laugh, long, deep and loud! It’ll be a funny sight, -I promise you that.” - -“We watch ye,” answered a big buck Negro with a grin. - -Stella heard the click of the lock of John’s cell with a start and -turned to find the deputy marshal standing with a pair of handcuffs. - -“We are ready,” he said. - -John stepped into the corridor, and extended his hands. The deputy -snapped the steel on his wrists, and Stella drew the garlands of flowers -from the basket. - -“You don’t mind the flowers--do you officer? I’m going with you.” - -“Certainly not, m’am,” he replied. - -John saw that protest was useless, but he gazed at the garlands with -amazement. - -“What on earth are you going to do, my dear?” - -“Just a little trick of love,” was the laughing answer. - -She wound the flowers around each handcuff, placed in John’s hand the -enormous bouquet of roses, and not a trace of steel could be seen. - -“You can carry them for me,” she said, hurrying on before him. - -Stella passed suddenly through the jail door to the little brick landing -of the steps on which Steve Hoyle stood to give his signal. - -Steve started in surprise at her appearance, stammered and flushed, and -a murmur of uncertainty ran through the crowd. - -In a moment the traitor had recovered himself, and glancing at Stella -with a sneer of triumph, he shouted to his henchmen: - -“Say what you please, boys--don’t mind the ladies!” - -Stella turned her eyes, gleaming with a deadly purpose, straight on -Steve, and a revolver flashed from her hand into his face. He dodged, -trembled, and crouched against the wall, while she sternly said: - -“Now lift your hand or open your mouth, you contemptible sneak and -coward!” - -A cry of terror swept the dark crowd, and scores broke and fled. - -As John appeared in the doorway, Stella turned to the Negroes and in -ringing tones cried: - -“I dare one of you black loafers to offer a single insult to the man -whose love I hold dearer than my life. I’ll kill you as I would a dog.” - -Revolver in hand, with stern set face and flaming eyes she opened the -way through which John Graham passed in silence. - -At the station a crowd of friends gathered and cheered his departure. - -Old Nicaroshinski slipped a hundred dollars in his hand and whispered in -broken voice: - -“Don’t--don’t you vorry, me poy, ve’ll puild a monumendt to you in de -public squvare yedt!” - -Stella was allowed to sit by his side in the car, and as the train -started John looked at her a moment through dimmed eyes, and slowly -said: “The glory of this hour has more than paid for all the pain and -all the shame a thousand lives could hold!” - -And then in low soft accents broken with sobs she confessed to him the -story of her love and at the end with trembling lips asked: - -“But you can’t hate me for it now, can you, my darling?” - -For an answer he bent and tenderly kissed her hand, while she felt -rather than heard the low passionate words: “I love you--I love you--I -love you!” - - - - -CHAPTER X--UNDER BRIGHT SKIES--AN EPILOGUE - -TIME slowly healed the poisoned wounds left by the fierce struggles -of Reconstruction. John Graham’s case was never decided by the Supreme -Court of the United States. Before the day arrived for the test of -its appeal to the great tribunal which is the last bulwark of American -liberties, he was hastily pardoned, and every man with him who -languished in prison pens for similar political offences. The little -politicians who had forced through Congress the venomous Conspiracy Acts -in violation of the Constitution of the Republic did not dare to allow -the Supreme Court the opportunity to overwhelm them with infamy. - -The years have brought magic changes to the people of Independence. The -growing city has ploughed a new street through the old Graham house and -a dozen beautiful homes stand on the site of its wide lawn. - -Poetic justice demanded that Steve Hoyle should pay the penalty of his -treachery. But Time plays many a joke on Justice. The Honourable Stephen -Hoyle is now one of our fattest, most solemn and most dignified judges -of the Federal Courts. - -Ackerman’s long talks on imaginary cotton mills had one important -result. They planted in John Graham’s imagination the seeds of fortune. -On his return from prison he quit the practice of law and began the -manufacture of cotton goods. To please his wife he bought Inwood, whose -wide acres of forest extend to the river. Here the Graham Brothers’ -mills are located. - -The Inwood mansion he restored on its original foundations, rebuilding -it of native marble behind the stately old Corinthian pillars around one -of which the ivy is yet allowed to hang in graceful festoons. - -Ackerman, who is the Superintendent of the mills, lives but a stone’s -throw from Inwood, and every day Susie’s and Stella’s children play -together on the great lawn that still lies hidden in the heart of the -ancient woods. - -THE END - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Traitor, by Thomas Dixon, Jr. - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRAITOR *** - -***** This file should be named 54766-0.txt or 54766-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/7/6/54766/ - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - diff --git a/old/54766-0.zip b/old/54766-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 3ca462d..0000000 --- a/old/54766-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/54766-h.zip b/old/54766-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 6a2fe14..0000000 --- a/old/54766-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/54766-h/54766-h.htm b/old/54766-h/54766-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 1830274..0000000 --- a/old/54766-h/54766-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,12721 +0,0 @@ -<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> - -<!DOCTYPE html - PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > - -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" /> - <title>The Traitor, by Thomas Dixon, Jr.</title> - <meta content="pg2html (binary v0.17)" /> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> - - body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} - P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .75em; margin-bottom: .75em; } - H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } - hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} - .foot { margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%; text-align: justify; font-size: 80%; font-style: italic;} - blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} - .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} - .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} - .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} - .xx-small {font-size: 60%;} - .x-small {font-size: 75%;} - .small {font-size: 85%;} - .large {font-size: 115%;} - .x-large {font-size: 130%;} - .indent5 { margin-left: 5%;} - .indent10 { margin-left: 10%;} - .indent15 { margin-left: 15%;} - .indent20 { margin-left: 20%;} - .indent30 { margin-left: 30%;} - .indent40 { margin-left: 40%;} - div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } - div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } - .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} - .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} - .pagenum {position: absolute; right: 1%; font-size: 0.6em; - font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; - text-align: right; background-color: #FFFACD; - border: 1px solid; padding: 0.3em;text-indent: 0em;} - .side { float: left; font-size: 75%; width: 15%; padding-left: 0.8em; - border-left: dashed thin; text-align: left; - text-indent: 0; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; - font-weight: bold; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;} - .head { float: left; font-size: 90%; width: 98%; padding-left: 0.8em; - border-left: dashed thin; text-align: center; - text-indent: 0; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; - font-weight: bold; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;} - p.pfirst, p.noindent {text-indent: 0} - span.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 0.8 } - pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} - -</style> - </head> - <body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Traitor, by Thomas Dixon, Jr. - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The Traitor - A Story of the Fall of the Invisible Empire - -Author: Thomas Dixon, Jr. - -Illustrator: C. D. Williams - -Release Date: May 23, 2017 [EBook #54766] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRAITOR *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - - - - - -</pre> - - <div style="height: 8em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h1> - THE TRAITOR - </h1> - <h3> - A Story of the Fall of the Invisible Empire - </h3> - <h2> - By Thomas Dixon, Jr. - </h2> - <h3> - Illustrated By C. D. Williams - </h3> - <h4> - New York: Doubleday, Page & Company - </h4> - <h3> - 1907 - </h3> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0001" id="linkimage-0001"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0001.jpg" alt="0001 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0001.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0002" id="linkimage-0002"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0008.jpg" alt="0008 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0008.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0003" id="linkimage-0003"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0009.jpg" alt="0009 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0009.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <blockquote> - <p> - DEDICATED TO THE MEN OF THE SOUTH WHO SUFFERED EXILE. IMPRISONMENT AND - DEATH FOR THE DARING SERVICE THEY RENDERED OUR COUNTRY AS CITIZENS OF - THE INVISIBLE EMPIRE - </p> - </blockquote> - <p> - This volume closes, as originally planned, - </p> - <h3> - “THE TRILOGY OF RECONSTRUCTION” - </h3> - <p> - “The Leopard’s Spots” - </p> - <p> - “The Clansman” - </p> - <p> - “The Traitor” - </p> - <p> - “The Clansman” ended with the political triumph of the Klu Klux Klan, or - Invisible Empire. The story of “The Traitor” opens with the order of - dissolution by General Forest and is set in the atmosphere of the fierce - neighborhood feuds which marked the Klan’s downfall in the Piedmont region - of the South. - </p> - <p> - Thomas Dixon, Jr. - </p> - <p> - New York, 1907. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <p> - <b>CONTENTS</b> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> LEADING CHARACTERS OF THE STORY </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> <b>THE TRAITOR</b> </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> <b>BOOK I-THE CRIME</b> </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I—THE THREAT </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II—MR. HOYLE RECEIVES A SHOCK </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III—A BLOW IS STRUCK </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV—THE OLD CODE </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V—GRAHAM VS. BUTLER </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI—SCALAWAG AND CARPETBAGGER </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII—THE REIGN OF FOLLY </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII—THE MASQUERADERS </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX—A COUNTER STROKE </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X—THE STRENGTH OF THE WEAK </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER XI—THROUGH THE SECRET PANEL </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> <b>BOOK II—A WOMAN’S REVENGE</b> </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0012"> CHAPTER I—STELLA’S RESOLUTION </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0013"> CHAPTER II—WEIGHED AND FOUND WANTING </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0014"> CHAPTER III—THE TRAP IS SET </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0015"> CHAPTER IV—ACKERMAN SECURES A PLEDGE </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0016"> CHAPTER V—IN THE TOILS </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0017"> CHAPTER VI—THE TRAIN FOR THE NORTH </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0018"> CHAPTER VII—THE DAUGHTER OF EVE </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0019"> CHAPTER VIII—THE TRACKS AT THE DOOR </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0020"> CHAPTER IX—A TEST OF STRENGTH </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0021"> CHAPTER X—BEHIND BOLTED DOORS </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0022"> CHAPTER XI—A VOICE IN WARNING </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0023"> CHAPTER XII—THE TRAP IS SPRUNG </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0024"> CHAPTER XIII—FOR LOVE’S SAKE </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0025"> CHAPTER XIV—THE JUDGMENT HALL OF FATE </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0030"> <b>BOOK III—PRISONER AND TRAITOR</b> </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0026"> CHAPTER I—THE ARREST </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0027"> CHAPTER II—THROUGH PRISON BARS </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0028"> CHAPTER III—A WOMAN’S WAY </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0029"> CHAPTER IV—THE HON. STEPHEN HOYLE </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0030"> CHAPTER V—ACKERMAN CORNERED </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0031"> CHAPTER VI—THROUGH DEEP WATERS </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0032"> CHAPTER VII—THE PRISONER AT THE BAR </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0033"> CHAPTER VIII—THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0034"> CHAPTER IX—THE DAY OF ATONEMENT </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0035"> CHAPTER X—UNDER BRIGHT SKIES—AN - EPILOGUE </a> - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - LEADING CHARACTERS OF THE STORY - </h2> - <p> - Scene: The Foothills of North Carolina. - </p> - <p> - Time: 1870 to 1872. - </p> - <p> - John Graham.............Ex-chief of the Klan - </p> - <p> - Major Graham............His Father - </p> - <p> - Billy...................His Brother - </p> - <p> - Alfred..................The Family Butler - </p> - <p> - Mrs. Wilson.............Their Landlady - </p> - <p> - Susie...................Her Daughter - </p> - <p> - Dan Wiley...............A Mountaineer - </p> - <p> - Steve Hoyle.............Chief of the New Klan - </p> - <p> - Judge Butler............Of the U. S. Circuit Court - </p> - <p> - Stella..................His Daughter - </p> - <p> - Aunt Julie Ann..........His Cook - </p> - <p> - Maggie..................Stella’s Maid - </p> - <p> - Suggs...................A Detective - </p> - <p> - Ackerman................Of the U. S. Secret Service - </p> - <p> - Alexander Larkin........A Carpetbagger - </p> - <p> - Isaac A. Postle.........A Sanctified Man - </p> - <p> - The Attorney General of the United States Hon. Reverdy Johnson of Maryland - </p> - <p> - Hon. Henry Stanbery.....Of Ohio - </p> - <p> - U. S. Grant.............The President - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h1> - THE TRAITOR - </h1> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - BOOK I-THE CRIME - </h2> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER I—THE THREAT - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">W</span>HAS the mather - with the latch! - </p> - <p> - He shook it gently. - </p> - <p> - “No mistake about it—grown solid to the fence. I’ll have to climb - over.” - </p> - <p> - He touched the points of the sharp pickets, suddenly straightened himself - with dignity and growled: - </p> - <p> - “I won’t climb over my own fence, and I won’t scratch under. I’ll walk - straight through.” - </p> - <p> - A vicious lurch against the gate smashed the latch and he fell heavily - inside. - </p> - <p> - He had scarcely touched the ground when a fair girl of eighteen, dressed - in spotless white, reached the gate, running breathlessly, darted inside, - seized his arm and helped him to his feet. - </p> - <p> - “Mr. John, you must come home with me,” she said eagerly. - </p> - <p> - “Grot to see old Butler, Miss Susie.” - </p> - <p> - “You’re in no condition to see Judge Butler.” She spoke with tenderness - and yet with authority. - </p> - <p> - “And why not?” he argued good-naturedly. “Ain’t I dressed in my best bib - and tucker?” - </p> - <p> - He brushed the dirt from his seedy frock coat and buttoned it carefully. - </p> - <p> - “You’ve been drinking,” pleaded the girl. - </p> - <p> - “Yet I’m not drunk!” he declared triumphantly. - </p> - <p> - “Then you’re giving a good imitation,” she said with an audible smile. - </p> - <p> - “Miss Susie, I deny the allegation.” - </p> - <p> - He bowed with impressive dignity. - </p> - <p> - Susie drew him firmly toward the street. - </p> - <p> - “You mustn’t go in—I ran all the way to stop you in time—you’ll - quarrel with the Judge.” - </p> - <p> - “That’s what I came for.” - </p> - <p> - “Well, you musn’t do it. Mama says the Judge has the power to ruin you.” - </p> - <p> - John’s eyes shot a look of red hate toward the house and his strong jaws - snapped. - </p> - <p> - “He has done it already, child!” he growled; paused, and changed his tone - to a quizzical drawl. “The fact is, Miss Susie, I’ve merely imbibed a - little eloquence on purpose to-night to tell this distinguished ornament - of the United States Judiciary, without reservation and with due emphasis, - just how many kinds of a scoundrel he really is.” - </p> - <p> - “Don’t do it.” - </p> - <p> - “It’s my patriotic duty.” - </p> - <p> - “But you’ll fight.” - </p> - <p> - “Far from it, Miss Susie. I may thrash the Judge incidentally during our - talk, but there will be no fight.” - </p> - <p> - “Please don’t go in, Mr. John!” she pleaded softly. - </p> - <p> - “I must, child,” he answered, smilingly but firmly. “Old Butler to-day - used his arbitrary power to disbar me from the practice of law. If that - order stands, I’m a pauper. I already owe your mother for two months’ - board.” - </p> - <p> - “We don’t want the money,” eagerly broke in the girl. - </p> - <p> - “Two months’ board,” he went on, ignoring her interruption, “for my dear - old crazy Dad, helpless as a babe with his faithful servant Alfred who - must wait on him—two months’ board for my bouncing brother Billy, an - eighteen-year-old cub who never missed a meal—two months’ board for - my war-tried appetite that was never known to fail. No, Miss Susie, we - can’t impose on the good nature of the widow Wilson and her beautiful - daughter who does the work of a slave without wages and without a murmur.” - </p> - <p> - Susie’s eyes suddenly fell. - </p> - <p> - “No, I’ve given Alfred orders to pack. We must move to-morrow.” - </p> - <p> - “You’ll do nothing of the kind,” cried the girl. “You can pay us when you - are able. Your father saved us from want during the war. We owe him a debt - that can’t be paid. He is no trouble, and Alfred works the garden. Mother - loves Billy as if he were my brother. And we are honoured in having you in - our home.” - </p> - <p> - The tender gray eyes were lowered again. - </p> - <p> - John looked at her curiously, bowed and kissed her hand. - </p> - <p> - “Thanks, Miss Susie! I appreciate, more than I can tell, your coming alone - after me here to-night—a very rash and daring thing for a girl to do - in these troublesome times. Such things make a fellow ashamed that he ever - took a drink, make him feel that life is always worth the fight—and - I’m going to make it to-night—and I’m going to win!” - </p> - <p> - “Then don’t give old Butler the chance to ruin you,” pleaded the gentle - voice. - </p> - <p> - “I won’t, my little girl, I won’t—don’t worry! I’ll play my trump - card—I’ve got it here.” - </p> - <p> - He fumbled in his pocket and drew out a letter which he crushed nervously - in his slender but powerful hand, drawing his tall figure suddenly erect. - </p> - <p> - The girl saw that her pleadings were in vain, and said helplessly: - </p> - <p> - “You won’t come back with me?” - </p> - <p> - “No, Miss Susie, I’ve serious work just now with the present lord of this - manor; my future hangs on the issue. I’ll win—and I’ll come home - later in the evening without a scratch.” - </p> - <p> - Again the slender white hand rested on his arm. “Promise me to wait an - hour until you are cooler and your head is clear before you see him—will - you?” - </p> - <p> - “Maybe,” he said evasively. - </p> - <p> - “If you do appreciate my coming,” she urged, “at least show it by this; - promise for my sake, won’t you?” - </p> - <p> - He hesitated a moment and answered with courtesy: - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I promise for your sake, Susie, my little mascot and fellow - conspirator of The Invisible Empire—good-bye!” He seized her hand, - and held it a moment. “My! my! but you look one of us to-night, with that - sylph figure robed in white standing there ghost-like in the moonlit - shadows!” - </p> - <p> - “I wish I could share your dangers. I’d go on a raid with you if you’d let - me,” she cried eagerly. - </p> - <p> - “No doubt,” he laughed. - </p> - <p> - “I’ll sit up until you come,” she whispered as she turned and left him. - </p> - <p> - John Graham leaned against the picket fence and watched intently the white - figure until Susie Wilson disappeared. The talk with her had more than - half sobered him. - </p> - <p> - “And now for business,” he muttered, turning through the open gate toward - the house. He stopped suddenly with amazement. - </p> - <p> - “Well, what the Devil! every window from cellar to attic ablaze with - light. And the old scoundrel has always kept it dark as the grave.” - </p> - <p> - He seated himself on a rustic bench in the shadows to await the lapse of - the hour he had promised Susie, and pondered more carefully the plan of - personal vengeance against Butler which was now rapidly shaping itself in - his mind. That he had the power, as chief of the dreaded Ku Klux Klan, to - execute it was not to be doubted. The Invisible Empire obeyed his word - without a question. - </p> - <p> - Tender memories of his childhood began to flood his soul. Beneath these - trees he had spent the happiest days of life—the charmed life of the - old régime. He could see now the stately form of his mother moving among - its boxwood walks directing the work of her slaves. - </p> - <p> - He had not been there before since the day her body was carried from the - hall five years ago and laid to rest in the family vault in the far corner - of the lawn. Ah, that awful day! Could he ever forget it? The day old - Butler brought his deputy marshals and evicted his father and mother from - the home they loved as life itself! - </p> - <p> - The Graham house had always been a show place in the town of Independence. - Built in 1840, by John’s grandfather, Robert Graham, the eccentric son of - Colonel John Graham of Revolutionary fame, it was a curious mixture of - Colonial and French architecture. The French touches were tributes to the - Huguenot ancestry of his grandmother. - </p> - <p> - The building crowned the summit of a hill and was surrounded by - twenty-five acres of trees of native growth beneath which wound labyrinths - of walks hedged by boxwood. Its shape was a huge, red brick rectangle, - three and a half stories in height, with mansard roof broken by quaint - projecting French windows. On three sides porches had been added, their - roof supported by small white Colonial columns. The front door, of pure - Colonial pattern, opened directly into a great hall of baronial - dimensions, at the back of which a circular stairway wound along the - curved wall. - </p> - <p> - The attic story was lighted by the windows of an observatory. From the - hall one could thus look up through the galleries of three floors and the - slightest whisper from above was echoed with startling distinctness. The - strange noises which the Negro servants had heard floating down from these - upper spaces had been translated into ghost stories which had grown in - volume and picturesque distinction with each succeeding generation. The - house had always been “haunted.” - </p> - <p> - The family vault in the remotest corner of the lawn was built of solid - masonry sunk deep into the hillside. Its iron doors, which were never - locked, opened through a mass of tangled ivy and honeysuckle climbing in - all directions over the cedars and holly which completely hid its - existence. - </p> - <p> - Popular tradition said that Robert Graham had loved his frail Huguenot - bride with passionate idolatry, and anticipating her early death, had - constructed this vault, a very unusual thing in this section of the South. - It was whispered, too, that he had dug a secret passage-way from the house - to this tomb, that he might spend his evenings near her body without the - prying eyes of the world to watch his anguish. Whether this secret way was - a myth or reality only the Grahams knew. Not one of the family had ever - been known to speak of the rumour, either to affirm or deny it. - </p> - <p> - A year after his wife’s death Robert Graham was found insane, wandering - among the trees at the entrance of the vault. This branch of the family - had always been noted for it’s men of genius and it’s touch of hereditary - insanity. - </p> - <p> - On the day of his mother’s burial John Graham had found his own father - sitting in the door of this tomb hopelessly insane. - </p> - <p> - But he had not accepted the theory of hereditary insanity in the case of - his father. The Major was a man of quiet courteous manners, deliberate in - his habits, a trained soldier, a distinguished veteran of the Mexican war, - conciliatory in temper, and a diplomat by instinct. He had never had a - quarrel with a neighbour or a personal feud in his life. - </p> - <p> - The longer John Graham brooded over this tragedy to-night, the fiercer - grew his hatred of Butler. Something had happened in the hall the day of - his mother’s death which had remained a mystery. Aunt Julie Ann, who - stayed with the new master of the old house as his cook, had told John - that she had heard high words between Butler and the Major, and when she - was called, found her mistress dead on the floor and his father lying - moaning beside her. - </p> - <p> - John had always held the theory that Butler had used rough or insulting - language to his mother; his father had resented it, and the Judge, taking - advantage of his weakness from a long illness of typhoid fever, had struck - the Major a cowardly blow. The shock had killed his mother, and rendered - his father insane. Experts had examined the Major’s head, however, and - failed to discover any pressure of the skull on the brain. Yet John held - this theory as firmly as if he had been present and witnessed the tragedy. - </p> - <p> - He rose from his seat, walked to the front entrance of the house and - looked at his watch by the bright light which streamed through the leaded - glass beside the door. He had yet ten minutes. - </p> - <p> - He retraced in part his steps, followed the narrow path to the foot of the - hill and entered the vault. Feeling his way along the sides to the arched - niche in the rear, he pressed his shoulder heavily against the right side - of the smooth stone wall forming the back of the niche, and felt it - instantly give. The rush of damp air told him that the old underground way - was open. - </p> - <p> - He smiled with satisfaction. He knew that this passage led through a blind - wall in the basement of the house and up into the great hall by a panel in - the oak wainscoting under the stairs. - </p> - <p> - “It’s easy! My men could seize him without a struggle!” he said grimly, - slowly allowing the door to settle back of its own weight into place - again. - </p> - <p> - He stood for a moment in the darkness of the vault, clinched his fist at - last and exclaimed: - </p> - <p> - “I’ll do it!—but I prefer the front door. I’ll try that first.” - </p> - <p> - A few minutes later he had reached the house, knocked loudly and stood - waiting an answer. - </p> - <p> - Aunt Julie Ann’s black face smiled him a hearty welcome. - </p> - <p> - “Come right in, Marse John, honey, an’ make yo’ sef at home. I sho is glad - ter see ye!” - </p> - <p> - John walked deliberately across the hall and sat down on the old mahogany - davenport under the stairs behind which he knew the secret door opened. He - reached back carelessly, played with the spring and felt it yield. - </p> - <p> - Aunt Julie Ann’s huge form waddled after him. “Fore I pass de time er day - I mus’ tell ye Marse John, what de Jedge say. He give ‘structions ter all - de folks dat ef any Graham put his foot ter dat do’ ter tell ‘im he don’t - low you inside dis yard! I tell ye, so’s I kin tell him I tell ye—Cose, - I can’t help it dat you brush right pass me an’ come in, can I, honey?” - </p> - <p> - “Of course not, Aunt Julie Ann.” - </p> - <p> - Her big figure shook with suppressed laughter. “De very idee er me keepin’ - Mammy’s baby outen dis house when I carry him across dis hall in my arms - de day he wuz born! An how’s all de folks, Marse John?” - </p> - <p> - “About as usual, thank you, Aunt Julie Ann. How are you?” - </p> - <p> - “Poorly, thank God, poorly.” - </p> - <p> - “Why, what’s the matter?” - </p> - <p> - She glanced furtively up into the dim moonlit gallery of the observatory - and whispered: - </p> - <p> - “Dey wuz terrible times here las’ night!” - </p> - <p> - “What happened?” - </p> - <p> - “Ghosts!” - </p> - <p> - “What, again?” John laughed. - </p> - <p> - “Nasah, dem wuz new ones! We got de lights all burnin’ ter-night. De - Jedge, he wuz scared outen ten years growth. He been in bed all day, des - now git up ter supper. Wuz Marse William well las’ night?” - </p> - <p> - “As well as usual, yes; Alfred put him to bed early.” - </p> - <p> - “Well, sho’s you born, his livin’ ghost wuz here! He wuz clothed an’ in - his right min’ too! I hear sumfin walkin’ up in de attic ’bout - leben erclock, an’ I creep out in de hall an’ look up, an’ bress de Lawd, - dar stood you Pa leanin’ ober de railin’ lookin’ right at me! Well, sah, I - wuz scared dat bad I couldn’t holler. I look ergin an’ dar stood yo Ma, my - dead Missy, right side er him.” - </p> - <p> - “Ah, Aunt Julie Ann, you were walking in your sleep.” - </p> - <p> - “Nasah! I’se jist as waked as I is now. I try my bes’ ergin ter holler, - but I clean los’ my breath and couldn’t. So I crawl to the Jedge’s room, - an’ tell him what I see. He wuz scared most ter death, but he follow me - out in de hall an’ look up. He seed ‘em too an’ drop down side er me er - foamin’ at de mouf. He’s powerful scary anyhow, de Jedge is—des like - us niggers. I got him ter bed and poured er big drink er licker down ‘im, - an’ when he come to, he make me promise nebber ter tell nobody, an’ I - promise. Cose, hit’s des like I’se talkin’ ter myself, honey, when I tell - you.” - </p> - <p> - “And this morning he gave orders to admit no one of the tribe of Graham - inside the yard again?” - </p> - <p> - “Yassah!” - </p> - <p> - “Well, tell his Honour that I am here and wish to see him at once.” - </p> - <p> - “Yassah, I spec he won’t come down—but I tell ‘im, sah.” - </p> - <p> - She waddled up the stairs to the Judge’s room. John heard the quarrel - between them. Aunt Julie Ann’s voice loud, shrill, defiant, insolent, - above the Judge’s. She served him for his money and her love for the old - house, but secretly she despised him as she did all poor white trash and - in such moments made no effort to hide her feelings. - </p> - <p> - “Bully for Aunt Julie Ann!” John chuckled. - </p> - <p> - When she returned, he slipped the last piece of money he possessed into - her hand and smiled. - </p> - <p> - “Keep it for good luck,” he said. - </p> - <p> - “Yassah! De Jedge say he be down as soon as he dresses—he all dress - now but he des want ter keep you waitin’.” - </p> - <p> - “I understand,” said John with a laugh. “Are you sure, Aunt Julie Ann, - that the ghost of the Major you saw last night wasn’t the real man - himself?” - </p> - <p> - “Cose I’se sho’. Hit wuz his speret!” - </p> - <p> - “Alfred says he’s walking in his sleep of late; at least he found mud on - his shoes the other morning when he got up.” - </p> - <p> - “De Lawd, Marse John, hit wuz his speret, des lak I tell ye. He didn’t - look crazy no mo’n you is. He look des lak he look in de ole days when we - wuz all rich an’ proud and happy. He wuz laughin’ an’ talkin’ low like to - my Missy an’ she wuz laughin’ an talkin’ back at ‘im. I seed ‘em bof wid - my own eyes des ez plain ez I see you now, chile.” - </p> - <p> - “You thought you did, anyway.” - </p> - <p> - “Cose I did, honey. De doors is all locked an’ bolted wid new iron bolts—nuttin - but sperets kin get in dis house atter dark—de Jedge he sees ‘em too—des - ez plain ez I did.” - </p> - <p> - “And this coward is set to rule a downtrodden people,” John muttered - fiercely under his breath. “Yes it’s easy, he’ll do what I tell him - to-night, or—I’ll—use—the—power I wield—to—execute—the - judgment—of—a—just—God.” - </p> - <p> - “What you say, honey?” Aunt Julie Ann asked. - </p> - <p> - “Nothing.” - </p> - <p> - “Dar’s de Jedge commin’ now,” she whispered, hastily leaving. - </p> - <p> - John kept his seat in sullen silence until the shuffling footsteps of his - enemy had descended the stairs and crossed half the space of the hall. - </p> - <p> - The younger man rose and gazed at him a moment, his eyes flashing with - hatred he could no longer mask. - </p> - <p> - The Judge halted, moved his feet nervously and fumbled at the big gold - watch-chain he wore across his ponderous waist. His shifting bead eyes - sought the floor, and then he suddenly lifted his drooping head like a - turtle, approached John in a fawning, creeping, half-walk, half-shuffle, - and extended his hand. - </p> - <p> - “I bid you welcome, young man, to the old home of your ancestors. In fact, - I’m delighted to see you. I heard to-day that you would probably call this - evening, and had the servants illuminate every room in your honour.” - </p> - <p> - “Indeed!” John sneered. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I’ve wished for some time that I might have such an opportunity to - talk things over with you.” - </p> - <p> - John had turned from the proffered hand and seated himself with deliberate - insolence. - </p> - <p> - “Thanks for the illuminations in honour of my family!” - </p> - <p> - The sneer with which he spoke was not lost on the Judge. His patronising - judicial air, so newly acquired, wavered before the cold threat of the - younger man’s manner. Yet he recovered himself sufficiently to say: - </p> - <p> - “My boy, I like your high spirit, but I <i>must</i> give you a little - fatherly advice.” - </p> - <p> - “Seeing that my own father at present cannot do so.” - </p> - <p> - The Judge ignored the interruption and seated himself with an attempt at - dignity. - </p> - <p> - “Mr. Graham, you must recognise the authority of the United States - Government.” - </p> - <p> - “Which means you?” - </p> - <p> - “I was compelled to make an example of disloyalty.” - </p> - <p> - “You disbarred me from personal malice.” - </p> - <p> - “For your treasonable utterances.” - </p> - <p> - “I have the right to criticise your degradation of the judiciary in using - it to further your political ambitions.” - </p> - <p> - “I disbarred you for treason and contempt of court.” - </p> - <p> - John rose and stood glaring at the judge whose shifting eyes avoided him. - </p> - <p> - “Well, you’re on solid ground there, your Honour! Were I the master of - every language of earth, past master of all the dead tongues of the ages, - a genius in the use of every epithet the rage of man ever spoke, still - words would have no power to express my contempt for you!” - </p> - <p> - The Judge shuffled his big feet as if to rise. - </p> - <p> - “Sit still!” John growled. “I’ve come here to-night to demand of you two - things.” - </p> - <p> - “You’re in no position to demand anything of me!” spluttered Butler, - running his hand nervously through his heavy black hair. - </p> - <p> - “Two things,” John went on evenly: “First revoke your order and restore me - to my law practice to-morrow morning.” - </p> - <p> - “Not until you apologise for your criticism.” - </p> - <p> - “That’s what I’m doing now. I profoundly regret the incident. I should - have kicked you across the street—criticism was an error of - judgment.” - </p> - <p> - Butler shambled to his feet, trembling with rage, pulled nervously at his - beard again and gasped: - </p> - <p> - “How dare you insult me in my house!” - </p> - <p> - “It’s my house!” flashed the angry answer. - </p> - <p> - “Your house?” the Judge stammered, again tugging at his beard. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, sit down.” - </p> - <p> - The astonished jurist dropped into his chair, his shifting basilisk eyes - dancing with a new excitement. - </p> - <p> - “Your house, your house—why, what—what!” - </p> - <p> - “Yes and you’re going to vacate it within two weeks.” - </p> - <p> - “What do you mean, sir?” demanded the Judge, plucking up his courage for a - moment. - </p> - <p> - “I mean that the distinguished jurist, Hugh Butler, who had the honour of - presiding over the trial of Jefferson Davis, and now aspires to the - leadership of his party in the South, was living in a stolen house when he - delivered his famous charge concerning traitors to the grand jury, that - morning in Richmond. It is with peculiar personal pleasure that I now - brand you to your face—coward, liar, perjurer, thief!” - </p> - <p> - John paused a moment to watch the effects of his words on his enemy. The - cold sweat began to appear in the bald spot above the Judge’s forehead, - and his answer came with gasping feeble emphasis: - </p> - <p> - “I bought this house and paid for it!” - </p> - <p> - “Exactly!” sneered the younger man. “But I never knew until I got this - letter”—he drew the letter from his pocket—“just how you came - to buy a house which cost $50,000 for so trifling a sum of money.” - </p> - <p> - “Who wrote that letter?” interrupted the Judge eagerly. - </p> - <p> - “Evidently a friend of yours, once high in your councils, who has grown of - late to love you as passionately as I do. And I think he could put a knife - into your ribs with as much pleasure.” - </p> - <p> - The Judge winced and glanced nervously into the galleries. - </p> - <p> - “Don’t worry, your Honour. If you take the medicine I prescribe, - amputation will not be necessary. Let me read the letter. It’s brief but - to the point:” - </p> - <p> - <i>To John Graham, Esq.</i> - </p> - <p> - <i>Dear Sir: The secret of Butler’s possession of your estate is simple. - Under his authority as United States Judge, he ordered its confiscation, - forced his wife to buy it for $2,800, at a fake sale, which had not been - advertised, and later had it reconveyed to him. His wife refused to live - in the house, sent her daughter to school in Washington, and died two - years later from the conscious dishonour she had been obliged at least in - secret to share. A suit brought before the United States Supreme Court - will restore your property, hurl a scoundrel from the bench, and cover him - with everlasting infamy.</i> - </p> - <p> - <i>A Former Pal of His Honour.</i> - </p> - <p> - “An anonymous slanderer!” snorted the judge. - </p> - <p> - “Yet he expresses himself with vigour and accuracy, and his words are - backed by circumstantial evidence.” - </p> - <p> - Butler sprang to his feet livid with rage crying: - </p> - <p> - “John Graham, you’re drunk!” - </p> - <p> - “Just drunk enough to talk entertainingly to you, Judge.” - </p> - <p> - “Will you leave my house? or must I call an officer to eject you, sir?” he - thundered. - </p> - <p> - “A process of law is slow and expensive, Judge,” said John with a drawl. - “I haven’t the money at present to waste on a suit, May I ask when you - will vacate this estate?” - </p> - <p> - “When ordered to do so by the last court of appeal, sir!” - </p> - <p> - John looked the Judge squarely in the eye and slowly said: - </p> - <p> - “You are before the last court of appeal now, and it’s judgment day.” - </p> - <p> - “I understand your threat, sir, but I want to tell you that your Ku Klux - Klan has had its day. The President is aroused—Congress has acted. - I’ll order a regiment of troops to this town tomorrow! Dare to lift the - weight of your little finger against my authority and I’ll send your crazy - old father to the county poorhouse and you to the gallows—to the - gallows! I warn you!” John took a step closer to his enemy, towering over - his slouchy figure menacingly, and said, “When will you vacate this - house?” - </p> - <p> - Butler grasped the back of his chair, trembling with fury. - </p> - <p> - “The possession of this estate is the fulfillment of one of the proudest - ambitions of my life.” - </p> - <p> - “When will you get out?” - </p> - <p> - “And my daughter has just returned to-day from Washington, a beautiful - accomplished woman, to preside over it.” - </p> - <p> - “When—will—you—get—out?” - </p> - <p> - “When ordered by the Supreme Court of the United States—or when I’m - carried out—feet—foremost—through—that—door!” - </p> - <p> - The Judge choked with anger. - </p> - <p> - “Then, until we meet again!” - </p> - <p> - John bowed with mock courtesy, walked across the hall to the alcove and - took his hat from the rack where Aunt Julie Ann had hung it, just as - Stella Butler sprang through the rear entrance with a joyous shout, - reached at a bound the Judge’s side and threw her arms around his neck. - </p> - <p> - “Oh! Papa, what a glorious night! Steve and I had such a ride!” The Judge - placed his hand on her lips and whispered: - </p> - <p> - “My dear, there’s someone here.” - </p> - <p> - Stella glanced over her shoulder and saw John fumbling his hat in - embarrassment. - </p> - <p> - “Why it’s the famous Mr. John Graham—introduce me, quick!” - </p> - <p> - “Not to-night, dear; I do not wish you to know him.” - </p> - <p> - Stella released herself and, with a ripple of girlish laughter, walked - boldly over to John, her face wreathed in friendly smiles. - </p> - <p> - “Mr. Graham, permit me to introduce myself, Stella Butler. My father has - just forbidden it. I care nothing for your old politics—shall we not - be friends?” - </p> - <p> - She extended a dainty little hand and John took it stammering - incoherently. Never had he touched a hand so warm, and tender and so full - of vital magnetism. It thrilled him with strange confusion. - </p> - <p> - Never had he seen a vision of such bewildering loveliness. An exquisite - oval face with lines like a delicate cameo, cheeks of ripe-peach red, a - crown of unruly raven-black hair, and big brown eyes shaded by heavy - lashes. Her dress showed the perfection of good taste and careful study—a - yellow satin, trimmed in old lace that fitted her rounded little figure - without a wrinkle, dainty feet in snow-white stockings and bow-tipped - slippers that peeped in and out mischievously as she walked, and with it - all a magnetic personality which riveted and held the attention. - </p> - <p> - He stared at her a moment dumb with wonder. Could it be possible that a - girl of such extraordinary beauty, of such remarkable character, of such - appealing manners could have been born of such a father! - </p> - <p> - “As the new mistress of your old home let me bid you a hearty welcome, Mr. - Graham,” she said softly. “You must come often and tell me all its legends - and ghost stories?” - </p> - <p> - The Judge shuffled uneasily and cleared his throat with nervous anger. - </p> - <p> - “Now keep still, Papa! I’m going to make this old house ring with joy and - laughter. I won’t have any of your political quarrels. I’m going to be - friends with everybody, as my mother was—they say she was a famous - belle in her day, Mr. Graham?” - </p> - <p> - “So I have often heard,” John answered with increasing confusion, as he - retreated toward the door. - </p> - <p> - “You will come again?” - </p> - <p> - “I hope to soon,” he gravely answered as he bowed himself out the door. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER II—MR. HOYLE RECEIVES A SHOCK - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">S</span>TEVE HOYLE had - called early at the Judge’s to see Stella the morning after John’s - encounter in the hall. As he paced restlessly back and forth waiting the - return of Stella’s maid, he was evidently in an ugly humour. - </p> - <p> - When he heard the story at the hotel late the night before, that his hated - rival in politics and society had dared to venture into Judge Butler’s - home, he could not believe it. And the idea that Stella should receive him - had cut his vanity to the quick. - </p> - <p> - The richest young man in the county, he aspired to be the most popular, - and he had long enjoyed the distinction in the estimation of his friends - of being the handsomest man in his section of the state. In his own - estimation there had never been any question about this. And beyond a - doubt he was a magnificent animal. Six feet tall, a superb figure, - somewhat coarse and heavy in the neck, with smooth, regular features. He - was slightly given to fat, but his complexion was red and clean as a - boy’s, and he might well be pardoned his vanity when one remembered his - money. - </p> - <p> - His father, the elder Hoyle, who had avoided service in the war by hiring - a substitute, had emerged from the tragedy far wealthier than when he - entered it. Some people hinted that if the Treasury Agents, who had stolen - the cotton of the country under the absurd and infamous Confiscation Act - of Congress, would speak, they might explain this fortune. They had never - spoken. The old fox had been too clever and his tracks were all covered. - </p> - <p> - Steve had recently met Stella at one of her school receptions in - Washington while on business for his father, yielded instantly to her - spell, and they were engaged. He felt that he had condescended to honour - the Judge by marrying into his family. - </p> - <p> - Butler never had been a slave owner, and in spite of his fawning ambitions - as a turncoat politician and social aspirant, he was still poor—so - poor in fact that he could scarcely keep up appearances in the Graham - mansion. Steve planned to live there after his marriage in a style - befitting his wealth and social position. He noted the faded covering on - the old mahogany furniture and determined to make it shine with new plush - on his advent as master. - </p> - <p> - He walked over to the hall mirror and adjusted his tie. He was getting - nervous. Stella was keeping him waiting longer than usual. She was doing - this to tease him, but he would have his revenge when they were married. - </p> - <p> - Steve had quickly come to a perfect understanding with the Judge. The - Piedmont Congressional District, which included several mountain counties, - was overwhelmingly Democratic. The Judge, as the Republican leader, had - promised Steve to put up no candidate, but to support him as an - independent if the approaching Democratic Convention nominated John Graham - for Congress. - </p> - <p> - Steve as a man of capital proclaimed that the money interests of the North - should be cultivated and that a deal with the enemy was always better than - a fight. - </p> - <p> - Sure of his success, he had already promised Stella with boastful - certainty a brilliant social season in Washington as his wife. In spite of - his immense vanity, he knew that this promise had gone far to win her - favour. She too was vain of her beauty, and her social ambitions were - boundless. He had received her mild professions of love with a grain of - salt. She was yet too young and beautiful to take life seriously. His - fortune and his good looks had been the magnets that drew her. But he was - content. He would make her love him in due time. He was sure of it. Yet on - two occasions he had observed that she had shown a disposition to flirt - skilfully and daringly with every handsome fellow who came her way—and - it had distressed him not a little. - </p> - <p> - He was angry and uneasy this morning, and made up his mind to assert his - rights with dignity—and yet with a firmness that would leave no - question as to who was going to be master in his house. He decided to nip - Stella’s acquaintance with John Graham in the bud on the spot. That he had - called for any other reason than to see her, never occurred to him. - </p> - <p> - When Maggie, Stella’s little coal black maid, at length reappeared, she - was grinning with more than usual cunning. - </p> - <p> - “Miss Stella say she be down in a minute,” she said with a giggle. - </p> - <p> - “You’ve been gone a half hour,” Steve answered frowning. - </p> - <p> - “I spec I is,” observed Maggie, continuing to giggle and glance furtively - at Steve. - </p> - <p> - “What’s the matter with you?” he asked suspiciously. - </p> - <p> - “Nuttin.” - </p> - <p> - He held up a quarter and beckoned. She hastened to his side. - </p> - <p> - “I want us to be good friends.” - </p> - <p> - She took the money, grinned again and said: “Yassah!” - </p> - <p> - “Now, what have you been giggling about?” - </p> - <p> - “Mr. John Graham wuz here last night!” - </p> - <p> - “So I hear. Did he see Miss Stella?” - </p> - <p> - “Deed he did! Dat’s what dey all come fur. She so purty dey can’t hep it.” - </p> - <p> - “How long did he stay?” - </p> - <p> - “Till atter midnight!” - </p> - <p> - “Indeed!” - </p> - <p> - “Yassah!” Maggie went on, walling her eyes with tragic earnestness. “She - play de pianer fur ’im long time in de parlour, an’ he sing fur her - an’ den she sing fur ’im.” - </p> - <p> - Steve cleared his throat angrily. - </p> - <p> - “Yassah! an’ atter dey git froo singin’ she take him out fur er stroll on - de lawn an’ dey go way down in de fur corner an’ set in one er dem rustics - fur ’bout er hour. Den dey come in an’ bof un ’em set in de - moonlight in de hammock right close side an’ side, and he talk low an’ - sof, an’ she laugh, an’ laugh, an’ hit ’im wid er fan—jesso! - Yassah. Sh! She comin’ now!” - </p> - <p> - The girl darted out of sight as Stella’s dress rustled in the hall above. - </p> - <p> - Steve pulled himself together with an effort, and met her at the foot of - the stairs. - </p> - <p> - She made an entrancing picture as she slowly descended the steps, serenely - conscious of her beauty and its power over the man below whose eyes were - now devouring her. The flowing train of her cream-coloured morning gown - made her look a half foot taller than she was. She had always fretted at - her diminutive stature, and wore her dresses the extreme length to give - her added height. - </p> - <p> - With a gracious smile she welcomed Steve and he attempted to kiss her. She - repulsed him firmly and allowed him to kiss her hand. - </p> - <p> - “Stella dear,” he began petulantly, with an accent of offended dignity, - “you must quit this foolishness! We have been engaged three weeks and I’ve - never touched your lips.” - </p> - <p> - She laughed and tossed her pretty head. - </p> - <p> - “And we’re engaged!” - </p> - <p> - “Not yet married,” she observed, lifting her arched brows. - </p> - <p> - “I have honoured you with my fortune and my life.” - </p> - <p> - “Thanks,” she interrupted smiling. - </p> - <p> - Steve flushed and went on rapidly. - </p> - <p> - “Really, Stella, the time has come for a serious talk between us.” - </p> - <p> - She seated herself at the piano and ran her fingers lightly over the keys. - Steve followed, a frown clouding his smooth handsome forehead. - </p> - <p> - “Will you hear me?” he asked. - </p> - <p> - “Certainly!” she answered, turning on him her big brown eyes. In their - depths he might have seen a sudden dangerous light, had he been less - absorbed in himself. As it was he only saw a smile lurking about the - corners of her lips which irritated him the more. - </p> - <p> - “I understand that John Graham called on you last night?” - </p> - <p> - “Indeed, I hadn’t heard it,” she answered lightly. - </p> - <p> - “And stayed until after midnight.” - </p> - <p> - Stella sprang to her feet, looked steadily at Steve, frowned, walked to - the door and called: - </p> - <p> - “Maggie!” - </p> - <p> - The black face appeared instantly. - </p> - <p> - “Yassum!” she answered, with eager innocence. - </p> - <p> - “Have you said anything about Mr. Graham’s visit last night?” - </p> - <p> - Maggie walled her eyes in amazement at such an outrageous suspicion. - </p> - <p> - “No, M’am! I aint open my mouf—has I Mister Steve?” - </p> - <p> - “Certainly not,” Steve answered curtly. - </p> - <p> - “I thought I heard your voice in the hall,” Stella continued, looking - sternly at Maggie. - </p> - <p> - “Nobum! Twan’t me. I nebber stop er second. I pass right straight on froo - de hall—nebber even look t’ward Mr. Steve.” - </p> - <p> - “You can go,” was the stern command. “Yassum!” Maggie half whispered, - backing out the door, her eyes travelling quickly from Steve to her - mistress. - </p> - <p> - “As my affianced bride,” he went on firmly, “I cannot afford to have you - receive the man who is my bitterest enemy.” - </p> - <p> - With a smile, Stella quickly but quietly removed the ring from her hand - and gave it to Steve, who stood for a moment paralysed with astonishment. - “Stella!” he gasped. - </p> - <p> - “The burden of your affianced bride is too heavy for my young shoulders.” - </p> - <p> - “Forgive me dear!” he pleaded. - </p> - <p> - “I prefer to receive whom I please, when and where I please, without - consulting you. When I need a master to order my daily conduct, I’ll let - you know. - </p> - <p> - “But, Stella, dear!” - </p> - <p> - “Miss Butler—if you please!” - </p> - <p> - “I—I only meant to tell you that I love you desperately, that I’m - jealous and ask you not to torture me—you cannot mean this, dear?” - </p> - <p> - “How dare you address me in that manner again!” she cried, flaming with - anger, the tense little figure drawn to its full height. - </p> - <p> - Steve attempted to take her hand, but the fierce light in her eyes stopped - him without a word. - </p> - <p> - “Leave this house instantly!” she said, with quiet emphasis. - </p> - <p> - With deep muttered curses in his soul against John Graham, Steve turned - and left. - </p> - <p> - As he passed through the doorway, a black face peeped from the alcove and - giggled. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER III—A BLOW IS STRUCK - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>RUE to his word - Butler called for a regiment of United States troops. - </p> - <p> - On the second day after his interview with the Judge, John Graham watched - from his office window the blue coats march through the streets of - Independence to their camp. - </p> - <p> - He turned to his chair beside a quaint old mahogany desk and wrote an - official order to each of the eight district chiefs of the Invisible - Empire who were under his command in the state. - </p> - <p> - When he had finished his task he sat for an hour in silence staring out of - his window and seeing nothing save the big brown eyes of a beautiful girl—eyes - of extraordinary size and brilliance that seemed to be searching the - depths of his soul. It was a new and startling experience in his life. He - had made love harmlessly after the gallant fashion of his race to many - girls; yet none of them had found the man within. - </p> - <p> - He was angry with himself now for his inability to shake off the - impression Stella Butler had made. He hated her very name. The idea of his - ever seeking the hand of a Butler in marriage made him shiver. To even - meet her socially with such a father was unthinkable. And yet he kept - thinking. - </p> - <p> - Two things especially about her haunted him with persistence and had - thrown a spell over his imagination—the strange appealing tenderness - of her eyes and the marvellous low notes of her voice, a voice at once - musical, and warm with slumbering passion. Her voice seemed the echo of - ravishing music he had heard somewhere, or dreamed or caught in another - world he fancied sometimes his soul had inhabited before reaching this. - Never had he heard a voice so full of feeling, so soft, so seductive, so - full of tender appeal. Its every accent seemed to caress. - </p> - <p> - He cursed himself for brooding over her and then came back to his brooding - with the certainty of fate. Yet it should make no difference in his fight - with old Butler. He would kick that fawning, creeping scoundrel out of his - house if it was the last and only thing he ever accomplished on earth. The - only question he still debated was the time and method of the execution of - his plan. - </p> - <p> - One thing became more and more clear—he was going to need the full - use of every faculty with which God had endowed him and he must set his - house in order. - </p> - <p> - He opened the door of the little cupboard above his desk and took from it - a decanter of moonshine whiskey Dan Wiley, one of his mountain men, had - always kept filled for him. From the drawer he took two packs of cards and - a case of poker chips. The cards and chips he rolled in a newspaper, - placed in his stove and set them on fire. He smiled as he stood and - listened to the roar of the sudden blaze. He raised his window and hurled - the red-eyed decanter across the vacant lot in the rear of his office and - saw it break into a hundred fragments on a pile of stones. - </p> - <p> - “Wonder what Dan will say to that when he comes this morning?” he - exclaimed, looking at his watch and resuming his seat. - </p> - <p> - He heard a stealthy footfall at the door, turned and saw the tall lanky - form of the mountaineer smiling at him. - </p> - <p> - “Well, Chief, you sent for me?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, come in Dan!” - </p> - <p> - Dan Wiley tipped in and stood pulling his long moustache thoughtfully, - before taking a chair. - </p> - <p> - “What’s on your mind?” asked John. - </p> - <p> - “I heered somethin’.” - </p> - <p> - “About me?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, and it pestered me.” - </p> - <p> - “Well?” - </p> - <p> - “They say you got drunk night ’fore last.” - </p> - <p> - “And you’re going to preach me a sermon on temperance, you confounded old - moonshining distilling sinner!” - </p> - <p> - “Ye mustn’t git drunk,” observed Dan seriously. - </p> - <p> - “But, didn’t you bring me the whiskey?” - </p> - <p> - “Not to git drunk on. I brought it as a compliment. My whiskey’s pure - mountain dew, life restorer—it’s medicine.” - </p> - <p> - “It’s good whiskey, I’ll say that,” said John. “Even if you don’t pay - taxes on it. You brought the men?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, but Chief, I’m oneasy.” - </p> - <p> - “What about?” - </p> - <p> - “Don’t like the looks er them dam Yankees. I’m a member er the church an’ - a law abidin’ citizen.” - </p> - <p> - “Yet I hear that a revenue officer passed away in your township last - fall.” - </p> - <p> - “Rattlesnakes and Revenue officers don’t count—they ain’t human.” - </p> - <p> - “I see!” laughed John. - </p> - <p> - “Say,” Dan whispered, “you ain’t calculatin’ ter make a raid ternight with - them thousand blue-coats paradin’ round this town, are ye?” - </p> - <p> - “That’s my business, Dan,” was John’s smiling answer. “It’s your business - as a faithful night-hawk of the Empire to obey orders. Are you ready?” - </p> - <p> - “Well, Chief, I followed you four years in the war, an’ I’ve never showed - the white feather yet, but these is ticklish times. There’s a powerful lot - er damfools gettin’ ermongst us, an’ I want ter ax ye one question?” - </p> - <p> - “What?” - </p> - <p> - “Are ye goin’ ter git drunk ter-night?” - </p> - <p> - John walked to Dan’s side and placed his hand on his shoulder, and said - slowly: - </p> - <p> - “I’ll never touch another drop of liquor as long as I live. Does that - satisfy you?” - </p> - <p> - “I never knowd a Graham ter break his word.” John pressed the - mountaineer’s hand. - </p> - <p> - “Thanks Dan.” - </p> - <p> - “I’m with you—and I’ll charge the mouth of the pit with my bare - hands if you give the order.” - </p> - <p> - “Good. Meet me at the spring in the woods behind the old cemetery at - eleven o’clock to-night with forty picked men.” - </p> - <p> - “Forty!—better make it an even thousand, man for man with the - Yanks.” - </p> - <p> - “Just forty men, mark you—picked men, not a boy or a fool among - them.” - </p> - <p> - “I understand,” said Dan, turning on his heel toward the door. - </p> - <p> - “And see to it”—called John—“I want them mounted on the best - horses in the county and every man armed to the teeth.” - </p> - <p> - Dan nodded and disappeared. - </p> - <p> - By eight o’clock the town was in a ferment of excitement and the streets - were crowded with feverish groups discussing a rumour which late in the - afternoon had spread like wild-fire. From some mysterious source had come - the announcement that a great Ku Klux parade was to take place in - Independence at midnight for the purpose of overawing if not attacking the - regiment of soldiers, which had just been quartered in the town. - </p> - <p> - By eleven o’clock the entire white population, men, women and children, - were crowding the sidewalks of the main street. - </p> - <p> - Billy Graham passed John’s office with Susie Wilson leaning on his arm. - Billy was in high feather and Susie silent and depressed. - </p> - <p> - “Great Scott, Miss Susie, what’s the matter? This isn’t a funeral. It’s a - triumphant demonstration of power to our oppressors.” - </p> - <p> - “I wish they wouldn’t do it with all these troops in town,” answered the - girl, anxiously glancing at the dark window of John’s office. - </p> - <p> - “Bah! The Ku Klux have been getting pusillanimous of late—haven’t - been on a raid in six months. They need a leader. Give me a hundred of - those white mounted men and I’d be the master of this county in ten days!” - </p> - <p> - “It’s a dangerous job, Billy.” - </p> - <p> - “That’s the only kind of a job that interests me. A dozen wholesome raids - would put these scalawags and carpetbaggers out of business. There ought - to be five thousand men in line tonight. I’ll bet they don’t muster a - thousand. It wouldn’t surprise me if they backed out altogether.” - </p> - <p> - “I wish they would,” sighed Susie. - </p> - <p> - “Of course you do, little girl,” said Billy with sudden patronising - tenderness. “I know what you need.” - </p> - <p> - Susie smiled and asked demurely: - </p> - <p> - “What?” - </p> - <p> - Billy seized both her hands and drew her under the shadow of a tree. - </p> - <p> - “A strong manly breast on which to lean—Susie, my Darling, I love - you! Will you be my wife?” - </p> - <p> - Susie burst into a fit of laughter and Billy dropped her hands in rage. - </p> - <p> - “You treat the offer of my heart as a senseless joke, young woman?” - </p> - <p> - “No, Billy dear, I don’t. I appreciate it more than words can express. You - have paid me the highest tribute a girl can receive, but the idea of - marrying a boy of your age is ridiculous!” - </p> - <p> - “Ridiculous! Ridiculous! How dare you insult me? I’m as old as you are!” - thundered Billy. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, we are each eighteen.” - </p> - <p> - “And your mother married at sixteen.” - </p> - <p> - “And she’s still only sixteen,” said the girl with a sigh. - </p> - <p> - “Wait a few days and I’ll show you whether I’m a man or not,” said Billy, - with insulted dignity. “Come, your mother is waiting for us at the - corner.” - </p> - <p> - Mrs. Wilson stood among a group of boys chatting and joking. She belonged - to the type of widows, fair, fat and frivolous. Time had dealt gently with - her. She was still handsome in spite of her weight, and intensely jealous - lest her serious daughter supplant her in the affections of the youth of - Independence. - </p> - <p> - She greeted Billy with just the words to heal his wounded vanity. - </p> - <p> - “My! Billy, but you look serious and manly! I’d kiss you if the other boys - were not here. You ought to be at the head of that line of white raiders - to-night”—she dropped her voice to a whisper—“I’ll be making - your disguise before long.” - </p> - <p> - Billy turned from Susie and devoted himself with dignity to her mother. - </p> - <p> - The widow lifted her hand in sudden warning. - </p> - <p> - “Sh! Billy, the enemy! There goes Stella Butler with that fat little - detective whom the Judge has imported with the troops.” - </p> - <p> - “Captain” Suggs of the Secret Service was more than duly impressed with - his importance as he forced his pudgy figure through the throng on the - sidewalk, ostentatiously protecting Stella from the touch of the crowd. - </p> - <p> - “It’s arrant nonsense, Miss Stella,” he was saying, as they passed. “These - Southern people are savages, I know——” - </p> - <p> - “Why, Captain, I’m a Southerner too,” said the girl archly. - </p> - <p> - “I mean the disloyal traitors of the South—not the broad-minded - patriots like your father,” Suggs hastened to explain. “I say it’s arrant - nonsense this talk of such a parade by these traitors. I credit them with - too much cunning to dare to flaunt their treason in the streets here - to-night with a regiment of troops and the head of the Secret Service on - the spot.” - </p> - <p> - The little fellow expanded his chest and puffed his cheeks. - </p> - <p> - Billy doubled his fist, and made a dash for him. With a suppressed scream, - Mrs. Wilson caught him. - </p> - <p> - “Billy! for heaven’s sake, are you crazy!” They passed on down the street - toward the Judge’s house. - </p> - <p> - “I’m not so sure they will not parade, Mr. Suggs,” Stella replied. - </p> - <p> - “Don’t be alarmed, Miss Stella!” he urged soothingly. “I’ve taken ample - means to protect you and your father from any attack of these assassins - and desperadoes if they dare enter the town.” - </p> - <p> - “I’m not afraid of them, Captain, she answered lightly. - </p> - <p> - “Of course not—we’re here and ready for them. The very audacity of - their manner is an insult to the Government.” - </p> - <p> - “I like audacity. It stirs your blood,” Stella cried, her brown eyes - twinkling. - </p> - <p> - Suggs leaned nearer and said in his deepest voice: - </p> - <p> - “Let them dare this insult to authority to-night and you’ll see audacity - come to sudden grief in front of your father’s house.” - </p> - <p> - “Have you prepared an ambush?” Stella asked eagerly. - </p> - <p> - “Better. We’ve an extra hundred loyal policemen on the spot. Each of them - is sworn to capture dead or alive any Ku Klux raider who shows his head. I - hope they’ll come—but it’s too good to be true. With a dozen - prisoners safe in jail, before to-morrow dawns I’ll have the secrets of - the Klan in my pocket. I’ll make things hum in Washington. Watch me. It’s - the big opportunity of life I’ve been waiting for—my only fear is - I’ll miss it.” - </p> - <p> - “I think you’ll get it, Mr. Suggs,” was the laughing answer. - </p> - <p> - She had scarcely spoken, when a tow-headed boy rushed into the middle of - the street and yelled, “Gee bucks! Look out! They’re a comin’!” - </p> - <p> - Men, women and children rushed into the street. - </p> - <p> - Suggs stood irresolute and tightened his grip on Stella’s arm. - </p> - <p> - Down the street cheers burst forth and as they died away the clatter of - horses’ hoofs rang clear, distinct, defiant. They were riding slowly as in - dress parade. - </p> - <p> - Another cheer was heard and Suggs stepped into the street and - reconnoitred. - </p> - <p> - His face wore a puzzled look as he returned to Stella’s side. - </p> - <p> - “They’ve actually ridden past the regimental camp. I can’t understand why - the Colonel did not attack them.” - </p> - <p> - “Gee Whilikens, there’s a million of ’em!” cried a boy nearby. - </p> - <p> - “Perhaps the Colonel thought discretion the better part of valour, Mr. - Suggs,” suggested Stella smilingly. - </p> - <p> - “Red tape,” the detective explained with disgust—“he has no order. - Just wait until the assassins walk into the trap I’ve laid for them. Come, - we will hurry to your gate. I want you to see what happens.” - </p> - <p> - They crossed the street and hurried to the Judge’s place. - </p> - <p> - Suggs summoned the commander of his force of “metropolitan” police and in - short sharp tones gave his orders. - </p> - <p> - “Are your men all ready, officer?” - </p> - <p> - “Yessir!” - </p> - <p> - “Fully armed?” - </p> - <p> - “You bet.” - </p> - <p> - “Handcuffs ready?” - </p> - <p> - “All ready.” - </p> - <p> - “Good. Throw your line, double column, across the street, stop the parade - and arrest them one at a time.” - </p> - <p> - Suggs squared his round shoulders as best he could; the officer saluted - and returned to his place to execute the order. - </p> - <p> - When the cordon formed across the street the boys yelled and the news - flashed from lip to lip far down the line. A great crowd quickly gathered - surging back and forth in waves of excitement as the raiders approached. - </p> - <p> - The white ghostlike figures could now be seen, the draped horse and rider - appearing of gigantic size in the shimmering moonlight. - </p> - <p> - “Now we’ll have some fun,” exclaimed Suggs with a triumphant smile. - </p> - <p> - Stella trembled with excitement, two bright red spots appearing on her - dimpled cheeks, her eyes sparkling. - </p> - <p> - Amid constant cheers from the crowds the line of white figures slowly - approached the cordon of police without apparently noticing their - existence. - </p> - <p> - “Now for the climax of the drama!” cried Suggs, watching with eager - interest the rapidly closing space between the Clansmen and his police. - </p> - <p> - The officer in command, noting an uneasy tension along his lines, crossed - the street in front of his men exhorting them. - </p> - <p> - “Stand your ground, boys!” he said firmly. - </p> - <p> - “Better save your hides, you scalawag skunks!” yelled an urchin from the - crowd. - </p> - <p> - The leader of the Klan was now but ten feet away, towering tall, white and - terrible, with an apparently interminable procession of mounted ghosts - behind him. - </p> - <p> - The line of police swayed in the centre. - </p> - <p> - The Clansman leader lifted his hand, and the shrill scream of his whistle - rang three times, and each white figure answered with a long piercing cry. - </p> - <p> - The police cordon broke into scurrying fragments and melted into the - throngs on the sidewalks, while the procession of white and scarlet - horsemen, without a pause, passed slowly on amid shouts of laughter from - the people who had witnessed the fiasco. - </p> - <p> - “Well, I’ll be d———! excuse me, Miss Stella!” - </p> - <p> - Suggs cried in a stupor of blank amazement, his round little figure - suddenly collapsing like a punctured balloon. - </p> - <p> - “You can’t help admiring such men, Captain!” the girl laughed. - </p> - <p> - Suggs who had lost the power of speech wandered among the crowd in search - of his commanding officer. - </p> - <p> - As the parade passed the Judge’s gate, Stella stood wide-eyed, tense with - excitement, watching the tall horseman with two scarlet crosses on his - breast who led the procession. - </p> - <p> - “The spirit of some daring knight of the middle ages come back to earth - again!” she cried. “Superb! Superb! I could surrender to such a man!” - </p> - <p> - A lace handkerchief fluttered from her bosom and waved a moment above her - head. The tall figure turned in astonishment, bowed, tipped his spiked - helmet, and without realising it suddenly reined his horse to a stand—and - the whole line halted. - </p> - <p> - The leader whispered to a tall figure by his side, apparently his orderly, - who turned to the line behind and shouted. - </p> - <p> - “Boys! three cheers for the little gal at the gate! She’s all right! <i>The - purtiest little gal in the countee—oh!</i>” - </p> - <p> - A rousing cheer rose from the ranks. - </p> - <p> - A ripple of sweet girlish laughter broke the silence which followed, the - lace handkerchief fluttered again and the line moved slowly on. - </p> - <p> - Stella counted them. - </p> - <p> - “Only forty men. And they dared a regiment!” With another laugh, she - deserted Suggs and disappeared in the flowers and shrubbery toward the - house as the last echoes of the raiders died away in the distance. - </p> - <p> - The Clansmen descended a hill, turned sharply to the right toward the - river and broke into a quick gallop. Within thirty minutes they entered a - forest on the river bank, and down its dim aisles, lit by moonbeams, - slowly wound their way to their old rendezvous. - </p> - <p> - The signal was given to dismount and disrobe the horses. Within a minute - the white figures gathered about a newly opened grave. - </p> - <p> - The men began to whisper excitedly to one another. - </p> - <p> - “What’s this?” - </p> - <p> - “What’s the matter?” - </p> - <p> - “Who’s dead?” - </p> - <p> - “You’re too many for me!” - </p> - <p> - “What’s up, Steve Hoyle?” asked one of the raiders. - </p> - <p> - “It’s beyond me, sonny. The Grand Dragon of the State honours us with his - presence to-night and is in command—he will no doubt explain. Have a - drink.” He handed the group a flask of whiskey, and passed on. - </p> - <p> - When the men had assembled beside the shallow grave, the chaplain led in - prayer. - </p> - <p> - The tall figure with the double scarlet cross on his breast removed his - helmet and faced the men. - </p> - <p> - “Boys,” began John Graham, “you have assembled here to-night for the last - time as members of the Invisible Empire!” - </p> - <p> - “Hell!” - </p> - <p> - “What’s that?” - </p> - <p> - The exclamations, half incredulous, half angry, came from every direction - with suddenness and unanimity which showed the men to be utterly - unprepared for such an announcement. - </p> - <p> - “Yes,” the even voice went on, “I hold in my hand an official order of the - Grand Wizard of the Empire, dissolving its existence for all time. Our - Commander-in-chief has given the word. As loyal members of the order, we - accept his message.” - </p> - <p> - “Then our parade to-night was not a defiance of these soldiers who have - marched into town?” sneered a voice. - </p> - <p> - “No, Steve Hoyle, it was not. Our parade to-night was in accordance with - this order of dissolution. It was our last formal appearance. Our work is - done——” - </p> - <p> - Steve saw in a flash his opportunity to defeat his enemy and make himself - not only the master of his Congressional District but of the state itself. - </p> - <p> - “Not by a damn sight!” snapped the big square jaw. - </p> - <p> - “You refuse as the commander of this district to obey the order of the - Grand Wizard?” asked the tall quiet figure. - </p> - <p> - “I refuse, John Graham, to accept your word as the edict of God!” was the - quick retort. “Our men can vote on this and decide for themselves.” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, vote on it!” - </p> - <p> - “We’ll decide for ourselves!” - </p> - <p> - The quick responses which came from all sides showed the temper of the - men. John Graham stepped in front of the big leader of the district. - </p> - <p> - “Look here, Steve Hoyle, I want no trouble with you to-night, nor in the - future—but I’m going to carry this order into execution here and - now.” - </p> - <p> - “Let’s see you do it!” was the defiant answer. - </p> - <p> - “I will,” he continued. “Boys!” - </p> - <p> - There was the ring of conscious authority in his tones and the men - responded with sharp attention. - </p> - <p> - “You have each sworn to obey your superior officer on the penalty of your - life?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes!” - </p> - <p> - “You are men of your word. As the Grand Dragon of the State I command you - to deliver to me immediately your helmets and robes.” - </p> - <p> - With the precision of soldiers they deposited them in the open grave. - Steve Hoyle surrendered his last. - </p> - <p> - When all had been placed in the grave, John Graham removed his own, - reverently placed it with the others, tied two pieces of pine into the - form of the fiery cross, lighted its ends, drew the ritual of the Klan - from his pocket, set it on fire and held it over the grave while the ashes - slowly fell on the folds of the white and scarlet regalia which he also - ignited. Some of the men were sobbing. While the regalia rapidly burned he - turned and said: - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0004" id="linkimage-0004"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0073.jpg" alt="0073 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0073.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - “Boys, I thank you. You have helped me do a painful thing. But it is best. - Our work is done. We have rescued our state from Negro rule. We dissolve - this powerful secret order in time to save you from persecution, exile, - imprisonment and death. The National Government is getting ready to - strike. When the blow falls it will be on the vanished shadow of a ghost. - There’s a time to fight, and a time to retreat. We retreat from a field of - victory. - </p> - <p> - “I should have dissolved the Klan a month ago. I confess to you a secret. - I waited because I meant to strike with it a blow at a personal enemy. I - realise now that I stood as your leader on the brink of the precipice of - social anarchy. Forgive me for the wrong I might have done, had you - followed me. As Grand Dragon of the Empire I declare this order dissolved - forever in the state of North Carolina!” - </p> - <p> - He seized a shovel and covered with earth and leaves the ashes of the - burned regalia. - </p> - <p> - Steve Hoyle stepped quickly in front of his rival. The veins on his - massive neck stood out like cords and his eyes shone ominously in the - moonlight. The slender figure of John Graham instinctively stiffened at - the threat of his movement as the two men faced each other. - </p> - <p> - “The Klan is now a thing of the past?” asked Steve. - </p> - <p> - “Yes.” - </p> - <p> - “As though it had never been?” - </p> - <p> - “As though it had never existed.” - </p> - <p> - “Then your authority is at an end?” - </p> - <p> - “As an officer of the Klan, yes. As a leader of men, no.” - </p> - <p> - “The officer only interests me—Boys!” Steve’s angry voice rang with - defiance. - </p> - <p> - The men gathered closer. - </p> - <p> - “The Invisible Empire is no more. Its officers are as dead as the ashes of - its ritual. Meet me here to-morrow night at eleven o’clock to organise a - new order of patriots! Will you come?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes!” - </p> - <p> - “You bet your life!” - </p> - <p> - The answers seemed to leap from every throat at the same moment. - </p> - <p> - John Graham’s face went white for a moment and his fist closed. - </p> - <p> - “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, Steve Hoyle,” he said with - slow emphasis. - </p> - <p> - “And traitors pose as moral leaders,” was the retort. - </p> - <p> - “Time will show which of us is a traitor. Will you dare thus to defy me - and reorganise this Klan?” - </p> - <p> - “Wait and see!” - </p> - <p> - John Graham stepped close to his rival, and, in a low voice unheard save - by the man to whom he spoke, said: - </p> - <p> - “Take back that order and tell those men to go home and stay there.” - </p> - <p> - “I’ll see you in hell first!” came the answer in a growl. - </p> - <p> - Scarcely had the words passed his lips when John Graham’s fist shot into - his rival’s face. - </p> - <p> - The blow was delivered so quickly Steve’s heavy form struck the ground - before the astonished men could interfere. - </p> - <p> - In a moment a dozen men sprang between them and John said with quiet - emphasis, glaring at his enemy: - </p> - <p> - “I’ll be in my office at ten o’clock to-morrow morning, to receive any - communication you may wish to make—you understand!” - </p> - <p> - And deliberately mounting his horse, he rode away into the night alone. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER IV—THE OLD CODE - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">J</span>OHN GRAHAM walked - briskly to his office the next morning at a quarter to ten, and found Dan - Wiley standing at the door. - </p> - <p> - The lank mountaineer merely nodded, followed the young lawyer into the - office, and stood in silence watching him as he opened a case of duelling - pistols which had been handed down through four generations of his family. - </p> - <p> - “Don’t do it,” said Dan abruptly. - </p> - <p> - “I’ve got to.” - </p> - <p> - “Ain’t no sense in it.” - </p> - <p> - “It’s the only way, Dan, and I’m going to ask you to be my second.” - </p> - <p> - Dan placed his big rough hand on the younger man’s shoulders. - </p> - <p> - “Lemme be fust, not second.” - </p> - <p> - “It’s not my way!” - </p> - <p> - “That’s why I’m axin ye. You’re the biggest man in the state! I seed it - last night as ye stood there makin’ that speech to the boys. You’ll be the - Governor if ye don’t do some fool thing like this. If ye fight ’im, - an’ he kills ye, your’e a goner. If you kill him, you’re ruined—what’s - the use?” - </p> - <p> - “It can’t be helped,” was the quiet answer. - </p> - <p> - “Are ye goin’ ter kill ’im?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes. The Klan was the only way to save our civilisation. I’ve sowed the - wind and now I begin to see that somebody must reap the whirlwind. I - realised it all in a flash last night when that scoundrel called the men - to reorganise.” - </p> - <p> - “They won’t follow him.” - </p> - <p> - “The fools will, and there are thousands outside clamouring to get in. - I’ve kept the young and reckless out as far as possible. Steve Hoyle knows - that he can beat me for Congress with this new wildcat Klan at his back. - He hasn’t sense enough to see that the spell of authority once broken, he - wields a power no human hand can control. It will be faction against - faction, neighbour against neighbour, man against man—the end - martial law, prison bars and the shadow of the gallows. I can save the - lives of thousands of men, and my state from crime and disgrace by killing - this fool as I’d kill a mad dog, and I’m going to do it!” - </p> - <p> - “Hit’ll ruin ye, boy!” - </p> - <p> - “I know it.” - </p> - <p> - “Look here, John Graham, do me a special favour. Leave Steve to me. My - wife’s dead and I aint got a chick or a child—you’ve defended me - without a cent and you’re the best friend I’ve got in the world. It’s my - turn now. Nobody would miss me.” - </p> - <p> - “I’d miss you, Dan!” said John slowly. - </p> - <p> - The two men silently clasped hands and looked into each other’s faces. - </p> - <p> - “You’re a fool to do this, boy”—the mountaineer’s voice broke. - </p> - <p> - “Of course, Dan, many of our old-fashioned ways are foolish but at least - they hold the honour of man, and the virtue of woman dearer than human - life!” - </p> - <p> - A boy suddenly opened the door without knocking and handed John a note. - </p> - <p> - He read it aloud with a scowl: - </p> - <p> - <i>My friends have decided that I shall not play into your hands by an - absurd appeal to the Code of the Dark Ages. I’ll fight you in my own way - at a time and place of my own choosing and with weapons that will be - effective.</i> - </p> - <p> - <i>Steve Hoyle.</i> - </p> - <p> - “Now, by gum, you’ll have to leave ’im to me,” laughed the - mountaineer. - </p> - <p> - John tore the note into bits and turned to the boy: - </p> - <p> - “No answer, you can go.” - </p> - <p> - “He’ll pick you off some night from behind a tree,” warned Dan. - </p> - <p> - “Sneak and coward!” muttered John. - </p> - <p> - “Ye won’t let me help ye?” - </p> - <p> - “No, go home and disband your men.” - </p> - <p> - “May they keep the rig?” - </p> - <p> - “If you won’t go on a raid.” - </p> - <p> - “I’ll not, unless you need me, John Graham,” cried the mountaineer - grasping again his young leader’s hand. - </p> - <p> - “All right. I can trust you. Keep their costumes in your house under lock - and key until I call for them.” - </p> - <p> - As Dan turned slowly through the door he drawled over his shoulder: - “You’ll ’em purty quick!” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER V—GRAHAM VS. BUTLER - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">W</span>HEN Dan Wiley - closed the door John turned to his desk and drew from a pigeon hole the - mass of legal papers containing the evidence he had gathered of Butler’s - theft of his estate. - </p> - <p> - The dissolution of the Klan had left him only the process of the law by - which to recover it. Yet it was only a question of time when the decision - of the Supreme Court would hurl the Judge from the Graham home and arraign - him for impeachment. - </p> - <p> - Now that he was ready to file the suit, his mind was in a tumult of - hesitation. The soft invisible hand of a girl was holding his hand. He - gazed steadily at the documents and saw nothing that was within. The ink - lines slowly resolved themselves into the raven glossy hair of Stella - piled in curling confusion above her white forehead, and he was trying in - vain to find the depths of her wonderful eyes. - </p> - <p> - Something in the expression of those eyes held his memory in a perpetual - spell—their remarkable size and their dilation when she spoke. They - seemed to enfold him in a soft mantle of light. - </p> - <p> - He suddenly bundled the papers, replaced them, and took up his pen. - </p> - <p> - “I’ve got to see her—that’s all!” he exclaimed. “Who knows? Perhaps - I’m answering the great summons of life. I’ll put it to the test. At least - I’ll not throw my chance away for a house, some trees and a few acres of - dirt. When Love calls life’s too short for revenge.” - </p> - <p> - On a sheet of delicate old note paper with a crest of yellow and black at - the top, he wrote: - </p> - <p> - <i>My Dear Miss Butler:</i> - </p> - <p> - <i>You were gracious enough to ask me to call again. I cannot believe your - words were mere conventional phrases. Their accent was too genuine and - sincere. So I beg the privilege of calling to-day while your father, my - valiant political enemy, is busy down town with the delegates to his - convention which meets to-morrow. I anxiously await your answer.</i> - </p> - <p> - <i>Sincerely,</i> - </p> - <p> - <i>John Graham</i>. - </p> - <p> - “Unless I’ve mistaken her character, she’ll see me!” he mused as he sealed - the note. - </p> - <p> - He went at once to Mrs. Wilson’s, found Alfred, and gave him the missive. - </p> - <p> - “Take that to the Judge’s and give it to Miss Stella.” - </p> - <p> - Alfred stared. - </p> - <p> - “Down to de ole place!” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, of course.” - </p> - <p> - Alfred sat down and laughed. - </p> - <p> - “Well, fore de Lawd, doan dat beat ye!” - </p> - <p> - “Shut up, and hurry back—I’ll wait for you at the office.” - </p> - <p> - “Yassah, right away, sah!” - </p> - <p> - “And Alfred, not a word to a living soul of this.” - </p> - <p> - “No, sah, cose not Marse John—I know how tis ’my sef’—de - course er true love ain’t run smooth wid me nuther.” - </p> - <p> - “Quick, now, don’t you lose a minute.” - </p> - <p> - John returned to his office to await with impatience the word that would - mean the beginning of a new chapter in his life. - </p> - <p> - Alfred placed the note carefully under his hat and hastened to the - Judge’s, laughing and chuckling to himself. - </p> - <p> - For reasons best known to himself he entered by the carriage way. - </p> - <p> - At the wide double gate still stood the old lodge-keeper’s cottage, a - relic of the slave regime. In the cottage Aunt Julie Ann lived with Uncle - Isaac, her latest husband. Alfred had once been honoured with that - relationship before the war, but Isaac had whipped him and taken Aunt - Julie Ann by force of arms. - </p> - <p> - Alfred was much the larger man of the two, tall, awkward and slow of - movement, while Isaac was small and active as a cat. The agility of his - movements had swept Aunt Julie Ann’s imagination by storm. The contrast to - her own three hundred pounds had no doubt been the secret charm. - </p> - <p> - She had loudly professed her love for Alfred until she saw Isaac thrash - him, and without a word she surrendered to the new lord and refused to - recognise her former husband. - </p> - <p> - This happened two years before the war and Alfred had watched and waited - the day of his revenge to dawn. Many a night he had prowled around her - cottage spying and listening at the keyhole for her cry of help. He had - heard at last that Isaac was beating her unmercifully and he chuckled with - grim satisfaction. Every opportunity he got he hung around the cottage and - listened for the long expected cry. As he approached the gates this - morning in a peculiarly romantic frame of mind, remembering the mission he - was on, he heard Uncle Isaac’s voice in sharp accents within, hectoring it - over his former spouse. - </p> - <p> - He crept to the door and listened breathlessly. - </p> - <p> - “Dar now, I’se jes’ in time ter sabe my lady love!” - </p> - <p> - He peeped cautiously through the keyhole and saw Aunt Julie Ann’s huge - form busy at the ironing board, while Isaac sat majestically in a rocker - delivering to her an eloquent discourse on Sanctification in general and - his own sinless perfection in particular. Isaac had changed his name - several times after the war, following the example of many Negroes who - were afraid the use of their old master’s name might some day serve as the - badge of slavery. He had lately become a Northern Methodist exhorter of - great fame and went from church to church holding revivals, particularly - among the sisters of the church, calling them to the life of stainless - purity of those who had not merely “salvation,” as the ordinary Methodist - or Baptist understood it, but “sanctification” as only those of the inner - circle of the Lord knew it. - </p> - <p> - Isaac had long ago been “sanctified,” and had declared not only his - sinless nature but had boldy proclaimed himself a prophet of the new - dispensation and had finally fixed his name as “Isaac the Apostle,” which - had been simplified by busy clerks in written form to Isaac A. Postle. - </p> - <p> - Aunt Julie Ann had heard of his wonderful success in his sanctification - meetings with misgivings, as the large majority of his converts were - invariably among the sisters. She had finally dared to question the - authenticity of his apostolic call. Her scepticism had aroused Isaac to a - frenzy of religious enthusiasm. That the wife of his bosom should be the - only voice to question his divine mission was proof positive that she had - in some mysterious way become possessed of the devil—perhaps seven - devils. - </p> - <p> - He determined to cast them out—by moral suasion if possible—if - not, by the main strength of his good right arm. He must set his own house - in order lest the very source of his inspiration be poisoned by lack of - faith. He was devoting this morning to the task when Alfred arrived. - </p> - <p> - He had just finished a long and fervid explanation of the mystery of - Sanctification. - </p> - <p> - “Fur de las’ time I axes ye, ’oman, what sez ye ter de word er de - Lawd?” - </p> - <p> - Aunt Julie Ann banged the board with the iron and merely grunted: - </p> - <p> - “Huh!” - </p> - <p> - Isaac rose and repeated his question with rising wrath: - </p> - <p> - “What sez ye ter de word er de Lawd?” - </p> - <p> - “I ain’ heared de Lawd say nuttin yit!” - </p> - <p> - “An’ why ain’t ye?” - </p> - <p> - “Case you keep so much fuss I can’t hear nuttin’, Isaac Graham!” - </p> - <p> - “Doan you call me dat name, you brazen sinner dat sets in de seat er de - scornful! Is ye ready ter repent an’ sin no mo?” - </p> - <p> - Isaac approached her threateningly and Alfred, watching with bulging eyes, - clutched the stick he had picked up. - </p> - <p> - “Tech me if ye dare—I bus’ yo head open wid dis flat-iron!” - </p> - <p> - Isaac knew his duty now and determined to perform it without further - ceremony. The anointed of the Lord had been threatened by the ungodly. He - drew a seasoned hickory withe from a crack where he had hidden it and - approached his sceptical spouse. - </p> - <p> - Aunt Julie Ann began to whimper. - </p> - <p> - “Put down dat flat-iron!” he sternly commanded. - </p> - <p> - Alfred peering through the keyhole gasped in amazement as he saw her drop - the iron heavily on the floor. - </p> - <p> - Isaac raised his switch and began to whip her. Around and around she flew - screaming, begging, pleading for mercy. But Isaac continued to lay on - steadily. - </p> - <p> - Alfred tried to rise and rush to the rescue but somehow he couldn’t move. - To his own surprise the performance fascinated him. He sat peering with - satisfaction. - </p> - <p> - “Dat’s paying her back now fur leavin’ me fer dat low live rascal. Give it - to her, old man! Give it to her! She sho’ deserves it!” - </p> - <p> - At length Isaac paused, and eyed her steadily while he shook his switch - with unction. - </p> - <p> - “I axes ye now, does ye believe in de Sanctification er de Saints?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, Lawd, I sees it now!” she cried with fervour. - </p> - <p> - “An’ thanks me fer showin’ ye de error er yo’ way?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, honey! I’m gwine ter seek dat Sanctification myself!” - </p> - <p> - “Glory! We’se er comin’ on!” - </p> - <p> - Aunt Julie Ann picked up the flat-iron. Isaac eyed her with suspicion but - he was too much elated with his victory to notice anything unusual in her - manner. - </p> - <p> - “Ye b’lieves now in de Sanctification er de Lawd’s messenger Isaac A. - Postle?” - </p> - <p> - With a sudden flash of her eye Aunt Julie Ann hurled the flat-iron - straight at the head of the Lord’s messenger saying: - </p> - <p> - “No, I ain’t sed dat yit!” - </p> - <p> - But Isaac was quick. He dodged in time. The corner of the flat-iron merely - tipped his ear and smashed through the window. - </p> - <p> - He grabbed his ear with sudden pain and gripped his switch with renewed - zeal. - </p> - <p> - “I see I’se des begun—one debble out, but dey’s six mo’ ter come!” - </p> - <p> - Again he whipped her around the room, threw her down, held her hair and - banged her head against the floor. - </p> - <p> - “Fur de las’ time I axes ye, is de Lawd’s messenger, Isaac A. Postle, a - sanctified one?” - </p> - <p> - Bang! Bang! Bang! went her head against the planks. - </p> - <p> - “Yes honey, I sees it now!” she cried with enthusiasm. - </p> - <p> - “Dat’s de way!” - </p> - <p> - “Does ye lub me fur showin’ ye de light?” - </p> - <p> - Bang! Bang! went her head. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, Lawd, I lub ye.” - </p> - <p> - “Say it strong.” - </p> - <p> - Bang! Bang! went her head. - </p> - <p> - “I lubs ye, my honey, yes I do!” shouted Aunt Julie Ann. - </p> - <p> - “An’ I’se de only man dat ye ebber lub?” - </p> - <p> - A moment’s pause, and again bang! bang! went her head. - </p> - <p> - Alfred couldn’t wait for the answer; he gripped his stick, sprang through - the door, knocked the Apostle flat on his back, and jumped on him. - </p> - <p> - Aunt Julie Ann was more astonished than Isaac at her sudden deliverance. - </p> - <p> - She scrambled to her feet and gazed for a moment in amazement at Alfred as - he pummelled Isaac’s head against the floor with one hand and pounded him - with the other. - </p> - <p> - At every thump of his head Isaac yelled: - </p> - <p> - “God sabe me! de debble done got me! Help, Lawd, help! Save me Lawd—save - me now!” Alfred pounded steadily away. - </p> - <p> - Aunt Julie Ann, when she caught her breath, grasped Alfred’s arm and - yelled: - </p> - <p> - “What yer doin’ here, nigger!” - </p> - <p> - He wrenched his arm loose from her grasp and hit Isaac a smashing blow in - the mouth as he cried again for help. - </p> - <p> - “Git often my ole man. I tell ye!” screamed Aunt Julie Ann, gripping - Alfred by the throat. - </p> - <p> - “Name er God, ’oman, what yer doin’ when I comes here ter save ye!” cried - Alfred, wrenching himself from her grip and returning to his work on - Isaac. - </p> - <p> - “Git often ’im, I tell ye, fo’ I bus’ yer open!” she panted, - towering above the writhing pair. She began to pound Alfred over the head - with her fists, but he worked steadily away on Isaac without noticing the - interruptions. - </p> - <p> - Suddenly Aunt Julie Ann threw both arms around his neck, bent his lank - figure double across Isaac’s prostrate form, and hurled her three hundred - pounds squarely across the two writhing men. There was dead silence for a - moment and then Isaac groaned: - </p> - <p> - “God save me now! we’se bof gone! De house done fall on us!” - </p> - <p> - “Na! honey, it’s me!” cried Aunt Julie Ann, “an’ I got ’im in de - gills!” - </p> - <p> - She rolled over and pulled Alfred with her—both hands gripped to his - throat. - </p> - <p> - In a moment Isaac was on his feet. - </p> - <p> - “De Lawd hear my cry!” he exclaimed with unction, pouncing on Alfred and - pounding him unmercifully while his faithful spouse held him fast. Alfred - found his voice at last, and began to yell murder. - </p> - <p> - Steve Hoyle, who was pacing the walk in front of the Judge’s anxiously - waiting an answer to a pleading letter he had sent to Stella asking for an - interview, heard the cries and rushed to Alfred’s rescue. - </p> - <p> - He pulled Isaac and Aunt Julie Ann off in time to save his hat and - portions of his clothes. - </p> - <p> - As he entered the cottage, he had seen instantly the note in John Graham’s - handwriting which Alfred had dropped on the floor. He picked it up hastily - and put it in his pocket. - </p> - <p> - When Alfred got out the door, he did not stand on the order of his going. - He struck a bee line for John Graham’s office and ran every step of the - way without looking back. - </p> - <p> - John was pacing the floor, his heart beating out the interminable minutes. - </p> - <p> - Alfred burst into the room, his nose bleeding, a gash across his forehead, - his clothes torn and spotted with the blood from his nose. He was still - wild with the fear of death which had clutched his soul as the light of - day faded under Aunt Julie Ann’s awful grip on his throat. - </p> - <p> - He dropped, panting and speechless, on the floor. “For God’s sake, Alfred, - what’s happened!” John cried, seizing a glass of water and pressing it to - his lips. - </p> - <p> - “Dey kill me, Marse John!” - </p> - <p> - “Who did it?—what for?” - </p> - <p> - “De folks at de Judge’s.” - </p> - <p> - “Where’s my note?” - </p> - <p> - “Dunno sah!” - </p> - <p> - “Didn’t you deliver it?” - </p> - <p> - “Dunno sah!” - </p> - <p> - “Did you go to the house?” - </p> - <p> - “Dunno sah!” - </p> - <p> - “Where did this happen?” - </p> - <p> - “At de gate, sah, dey wuz layin’ fer me—De Judge mus’ er tole ’em - ter kill me.” - </p> - <p> - “Who did it?” - </p> - <p> - “Ole Isaac and Julie Ann jump on me fust, but tow’d de last dey wuz er - dozen. Six un ’em wuz er beatin’ me on de head at de same time, - three er four wuz er settin’ on top er me, two had me by the throat an’ de - res’ un ’em wuz er steady kickin’ me in de stummick. Dey’d er had - me sho’ by dis time ef I hadn’t kotch my breaf an’ holler’d.” - </p> - <p> - “And who helped you?” - </p> - <p> - “Mr. Steve Hoyle wuz dar ter see Miss Stella an’ he run in an’ pulled ’em - off. When I lit out for home I wuz er sight sho nuff. I hear Miss Stella - come up ter Mr. Steve an’ bust out laffin’ fit ter kill herself.” - </p> - <p> - “And you don’t know what became of the note?” - </p> - <p> - “Yassah! cose sah! dey tuck hit away fum me and tore it up—dat’s - what I fit ’em ’bout—yassah!” John’s face was white - with rage. He sent Alfred home, sat down at his desk, and drew out the - papers he had laid aside. The Judge had won. He had covered him with - infamy in the eyes of his beautiful daughter and had dared to perpetrate - this infamous outrage. He couldn’t understand Aunt Julie Ann’s part in the - row, but the evidence of Alfred’s plight could not be mistaken. - </p> - <p> - For three hours with stern set face he worked completing the case of - Graham vs. Butler. At four o’clock he had entered the suit and an officer - served the papers on the astonished Judge. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER VI—SCALAWAG AND CARPETBAGGER - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">J</span>OHN GRAHAM, as - leader of the opposition, as well as for personal reasons, was early on - the grounds with half a dozen trusted lieutenants to watch the action of - the Republican County Convention. He was curious to observe the effects of - his suit on the Judge and his followers. He soon discovered that the - scathing recital of fraud which he had incorporated into the form of his - complaint as published in the morning’s paper was a mistake. It had been - accepted by the mottled crew of nondescript politicians and Negroes as - proof positive of his own depravity and the Judge’s spotless purity. - </p> - <p> - The Convention was seated in the open air on improvised boards. The Judge - was peculiarly sensitive to the atmosphere of a crowd of Negroes. He had - to associate with them to get their votes, but like all poor white men of - Southern birth, he hated them without measure. - </p> - <p> - This Convention of his home county was the most important crisis in the - development of his ambitions as the leader of his party in the South. - </p> - <p> - He was a candidate for the United States Senate. Delegates were to be - elected to-day to the state convention. Unless he could go with a united - front from his home county he was doomed. - </p> - <p> - His opponent, Alexander Larkin, was the boldest, most unscrupulous, and - powerful Carpetbag adventurer who had ever entered the South from the - slums of the North. - </p> - <p> - Larkin had made himself the Chairman of the Republican State Executive - Committee, and was running neck and neck with the Judge for the Senate. He - had determined to break his opponent’s backbone by capturing the whole, or - at least a part of the delegates from Butler’s home county. The audacity - of this movement had fairly taken the Judge’s breath. He halted Suggs in - his thrilling pursuit of Ku Klux evidence and sent him North on an - important mission. He meant to be fully prepared for any trick Larkin - might spring. Suggs was bustling about among the delegates conscious that - he was the trusted lieutenant of the coming man. - </p> - <p> - The Carpetbagger had so timed his anonymous letter to John Graham that the - shadow of disgrace thus thrown over Butler’s name would give him the - balance of power. He could not foresee the chain of trivial events which - would produce the terrific document John Graham had filed. Every word of - its passionate arraignment had the sting of a scorpion, and its effects - had been electrical. By instinct the crowd had accepted John’s suit as a - blow at the cause and Butler had become their champion. - </p> - <p> - As the Judge approached the crowd accompanied by Stella and Steve Hoyle, - John saw with sinking heart that the first effect of his suit had been to - bring Steve and Stella closer together and to dig an impassable gulf - between him and the girl he had begun unconsciously to worship. She had - evidently laid aside her hatred of politics and become her father’s - champion. And he knew that Steve Hoyle had lost no time in this crisis in - poisoning her mind forever against him. In fact Steve had spent the - morning by her side developing the bitter sentences in his complaint into - revelations of hereditary insanity and envenomed malice. - </p> - <p> - The girl had, however, taken his statements with reservations. She would - stand by her father before the world and she would publicly insult John - Graham if he ever dared give her the opportunity, but deep down in her - heart she half suspected the truth. The memory of the bitter feud between - her mother and father over some secret connected with this estate and her - father’s shuffling evasions, returned to her now with startling import. - </p> - <p> - Her mother was of the old regime of the South, an aristocrat of - aristocrats to her finger tips. Her people had blotted her very name from - their memory for her marriage to Butler. She had fiercely resented to the - day of her death this ostracism. The fear that her husband was a - scoundrel, which slowly grew into a certainty in later years, at last - broke her proud spirit. She gave up the struggle and died. - </p> - <p> - There were moments in which Stella felt this inherited repugnance to her - father when the proud spirit of her mother’s blood ruled in her soul. - There were other moments when she felt the necessity of tricks and lies to - make life agreeable and accepted her father as of the inevitable order of - human existence. - </p> - <p> - This morning she was her father’s daughter. Whether he was guilty or - innocent she would show John Graham and his proud Bourbon set her contempt - for them and their opinions. - </p> - <p> - As the three reached the edge of the crowd she was smiling graciously on - Steve in answer to a sally of his cheap wit. She fixed John with a look of - contempt and his soul grew sick with the consciousness that he had paid - too great a price for his suit against the Judge. In her anger she was - superb. The very air about her seemed charged with the intensity of her - personality. She radiated it in every direction. It was the consciousness - of this intensity of nature which drew John to her with resistless power. - No other type of woman could interest him, and Stella was endowed with - this subtle magnetism as no human being he had ever met. It spoke in every - movement of her body, in every accent of her voice. - </p> - <p> - As she passed and turned her back on him, the sense of a hopeless and - irreparable loss crushed his spirit. The words of the preacher rang in his - soul, “What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and forfeit - his life.” - </p> - <p> - “What are houses and lands after all, before the elemental forces which - make life worth while,” he muttered. “I’ve an almost irresistible impulse - to knock Steve Hoyle down, seize her in my arms, smother her with kisses - and carry her off to some cave on a mountain! To the devil with goods and - chattels, houses and lands.” - </p> - <p> - With a start he came down from the clouds of fancy. She had dismissed - Steve, taken the Judge’s arm, and was actually going to walk down the - aisle through that mob of Negroes and greasy politicians and accompany him - to the platform. - </p> - <p> - When they reached the centre of the crowd, seated in semicircle about the - covered speaker’s stand, pandemonium broke loose. The Judge received the - most remarkable ovation of his life. - </p> - <p> - The throng leaped to their feet and screamed themselves horse. - </p> - <p> - “Keep your house Judge!” yelled a henchman. - </p> - <p> - “Houses were built for patriots, and jails for traitors!” - </p> - <p> - The Judge bowed and again the crowd yelled. - </p> - <p> - Larkin from the platform watched the demonstration with amazement. - </p> - <p> - “I’ve miscalculated. They’re all thieves and scoundrels. I’ve made him a - hero.” - </p> - <p> - With a hypocritical smile he seized the Judge’s hand, wrung it heartily, - congratulated him, and drew him to the platform. Stella sprang lightly up - after him, took a rosebud from her belt, pinned it on her father’s slouchy - ill-fitting broadcloth coat, kissed him and amid the cheers of the mob - retraced her steps and left the ground with Steve Hoyle. - </p> - <p> - John watched her lift her parasol above her dainty head with smothered - curses at his folly. He had unconsciously taken his own hat off and stood - bareheaded in the broiling Southern sun of a June day. The bitterness of - his mistake stirred him to more dogged persistence. With an effort he - turned to the Judge and the Convention—trying in vain to shake off - the impression Stella had left. But he found his mind constantly wandering - from the scene. Wherever he looked, within or without, he saw the delicate - oval face with those great brown eyes smiling as they did the night he met - her in the hall of his old home. - </p> - <p> - At length he awoke from his reverie with his eye resting unconsciously on - Larkin, the Judge’s opponent. He had never seen him before, though his - name had become known in every county of the state. - </p> - <p> - He was a man of more than the average height, of powerful build, high - intellectual forehead, a full beard, long, silken, snow white. His hair, - also long and white, was inclined to curl at the ends, and a pair of - piercing black eyes looked out fearlessly from shaggy brows. He carried - himself with instinctive dignity, and his whole appearance proclaimed a - bold and powerful leader of men. - </p> - <p> - Rumour said that he had been a Wesleyan preacher in England but had been - expelled in some factional fight and had sought his fortunes in America. - Darker rumour whispered that he had a criminal record and that he had - never even attained citizenship in the country of his adoption. Such - rumours, however, counted for nothing in the tainted atmosphere of the - riot and revolution of the Reconstruction period. From the sewers of the - North, jail birds and ex-convicts had poured into the stricken South as - vultures follow the wake of a victorious army. - </p> - <p> - In two years Larkin had proven himself a party leader of remarkable - executive ability and on the hustings had shown himself an orator of - undoubted eloquence. He was fast becoming the idol of the more daring and - radical wing of his party. He boldly proclaimed and practiced Negro - equality and held up to public scorn any man who dared to quibble on the - issue. - </p> - <p> - So bold and radical were his utterances the Negroes were a little afraid - of him. Yet he was steadily gaining in his influence over them. He knew - that they constituted nine-tenths of the voting strength of the Republican - party in the South, and that ultimately the man who pandered most - skilfully to their passions must become master of the situation. - </p> - <p> - He had laid siege to Uncle Isaac immediately on his arrival and had played - on his vanity so deftly that the Apostle of Sanctification had been - completely fascinated by the Carpetbagger. - </p> - <p> - The moment Larkin’s eye rested on Isaac seated in the crowd he saw in a - flash the master stroke by which he could break the spell of the Judge’s - influence over the delegates. He quickly threaded his way to the Apostle’s - side and escorted him to the speakers’ stand with his arm around his - waist. He lifted him to the platform, forced the Judge to rise and shake - hands, and seated Isaac by Butler’s side. The Negroes burst into a frenzy - of applause. - </p> - <p> - So elated was Isaac by his newly found honours he began to interrupt the - meeting by fervid religious exclamations to the intense disgust of the - Judge who squirmed with increasing anger at each new outburst. When Isaac - recognised any of his dusky acquaintances in the crowd he waved his hand - and pointed his remarks in that direction. - </p> - <p> - “Yas Lawd! De year er juberlee is come, an’ I’se right here!” - </p> - <p> - A loud guffaw would invariably answer his sally. - </p> - <p> - Larkin ostentatiously consulted Isaac from time to time as to the conduct - of the convention and every Negro watched him spellbound. - </p> - <p> - The Judge’s henchmen were dismayed at the impending stampede by the - Carpetbagger. Butler had assured them the night before that they had - nothing to fear from Larkin. But it was only too apparent that he had - underestimated his opponent. Larkin’s commanding appearance, his magnetism - and eloquence, the boldness and evident sincerity of his profession of - Negro equality were steadily winning adherents. - </p> - <p> - Personally the Judge cut a poor figure beside him with his slouchy - ill-fitting clothes, his fawning shuffling walk, his drooping head, - shifting eyes, and his vague professions of platitudes. - </p> - <p> - Butler watched Larkin’s sudden growth of power with sullen rage. He had in - reserve a weapon which he had found in the Carpetbagger’s English career, - with which he could crush him at a single blow, but he had not expected to - be forced to the extreme necessity of using it. For many reasons he wished - to beat Larkin in an open fight. The weapon he could use was a dangerous - one. He knew that Larkin had learned the facts concerning his confiscation - of the Graham estate, and he was not sure how far his resentment would go - in retaliation for an attack on his personal character. But he determined - to put a stop to Isaac’s insolence which was rapidly becoming unendurable. - </p> - <p> - The Judge leaned over toward the enthusiastic Apostle and with a frown - said: - </p> - <p> - “Shut your mouth and behave yourself!” Isaac subsided with a look of - injured innocence directed in mute appeal toward Larkin. - </p> - <p> - Again the Carpetbagger saw his opportunity. He approached Isaac, seized - his hand, slipped his arm around his shoulder and whispered: - </p> - <p> - “Brother, I’m going to make a motion to amend the Judge’s list of - delegates by substituting six men of colour for six of the poor white men - he has chosen. I’ll put your name first. Will you make a speech in favour - of my motion?” - </p> - <p> - “Dat I will!” - </p> - <p> - “Then repeat that story of the vision you told me last night, and apply it - to the Judge—will you do it?” - </p> - <p> - “Make de movement, an’ I sho’ ye!” whispered Isaac. - </p> - <p> - Larkin’s bold motion, a direct appeal to the Negro to use his power - against the white man, took the Judge’s breath. He stared at his opponent - in blank amazement while Larkin smiled at him with good-natured contempt. - </p> - <p> - “And I have asked,” continued the Carpetbagger, “a distinguished leader of - his race, Mr. Isaac A. Postle, a constituent and neighbour of Judge - Butler, to address the Convention before the motion is opened to general - debate. I am sure the Convention will give its unanimous consent to hear - him.” - </p> - <p> - The roar of applause which greeted this remark left no doubt as to their - consent. Larkin seized Isaac and drew him before the speaker’s table with - his arm again affectionately around him. - </p> - <p> - Isaac was in a broad grin and evidently enjoyed his honours. He cleared - his throat and glanced at the Judge. The Negroes burst into roars of - laughter and the Apostle lifted his hand solemnly for silence. - </p> - <p> - Butler scowled and shuffled uneasily while Larkin’s face was wreathed in - smiles. - </p> - <p> - “Gemmens an’ feller citizens!” Isaac began with great deliberation. “I’se - called by de Lawd dis mawnin’ ter come up on high and expose de vision dat - I seed in de dead er de night las’ week. I drempt a dream. I dream dat I - die and go ter heaben. An’ as I wuz gwine long up de hill ter de pearly - gates who should I meet comin’ down de hill but our good frien’ Judge - Butler——” - </p> - <p> - The Judge gave a sharp little angry cough, pulled his long black whiskers - and crossed his legs quickly. Isaac glanced at him and walled his eyes at - the dusky crowd who broke into another roar of laughter. - </p> - <p> - “Yassah!” he went on, “I met Judge Butler comin’ down de hill lookin’ - pow’ful sad. An’ he say ter me: - </p> - <p> - “‘Isaac, whar ye gwine?’ - </p> - <p> - “‘Gwine ter heben,’ sezzi. - </p> - <p> - “‘Ye can’t git in!’ sezze. - </p> - <p> - “‘Why so?’ sezzi. - </p> - <p> - “‘Case ye got ter be er ridin’,’ sezze—‘I jes come down frum dar—an’ - hits des lak I tell ye!’ - </p> - <p> - “‘Is dat so?’ sezzi. - </p> - <p> - “‘But I tell ye what we kin do, Isaac!’ sezze. - </p> - <p> - “‘I’ll git on yo back an’ ride up to de gate, an’ we bof git in.” - </p> - <p> - “Dat seem all right ter me fust off so I hump mysef an’ de Jedge git on my - back, an’ I gallup up de hill ter de pearly gates, an’ de angel Gabul, he - look over de fence an’ say: - </p> - <p> - “‘Who’s dar?’ - </p> - <p> - “‘Hit’s me, Jedge Butler,’ sezze. - </p> - <p> - “‘Ridin’ er walkin’?’ de angel say. - </p> - <p> - “‘Er ridin’!’ sezze. - </p> - <p> - “An’ I chuckled ter myse’f dat I’se er settin my feet in de gates er - glory! - </p> - <p> - “An’ den de angel say: - </p> - <p> - “‘Des hitch yer hoss outside an’ come in!’ - </p> - <p> - “An’ bress God! ef de Jedge didn’t hitch me ter de pos’ on de outside an’ - go in an’ leave me dar!” - </p> - <p> - Again the crowd screamed with laughter. Wave after wave swept them while - Isaac folded his hands across his little protruding stomach and laughed - with them. In vain the chairman rapped for order. - </p> - <p> - The Judge flushed red with anger and called Suggs to his side. Larkin bent - low his face between his hands, convulsed with laughter. - </p> - <p> - When at length the tumult wore itself out Isaac’s voice rang over the - assembly in sharp vibrant triumphant tones: - </p> - <p> - “An’ I moves yer, sah, dat we all unanimously second de motion er Brer - Larkin!” - </p> - <p> - Amid a shout of approval he sat down. - </p> - <p> - The Carpetbagger, elated by his success, determined to make a bolder - stroke, capture the entire delegation and put the Judge out of the race. - </p> - <p> - He leaped to his feet and launched at once into an eloquent appeal for the - equal rights of man, meaning, of course, the right of the Negro race to - rule the white man of the South, the former slave to rule his master. Bold - as a lion by instinct, he did not quibble over words. He told the Negro - that his hour had come to strike for his right by force of arms if need - be. He denounced the Ku Klux Klan in the bitterest terms. Every Negro - followed his scathing words with breathless attention. For the moment he - was the veritable prophet of the Most High God. Never before had they - heard any man in public dare thus to arraign this dreaded order of white - and scarlet horsemen. Here was their champion whose valiant soul knew not - the fear of man, ghost, clansman or devil. He was transfigured before - their yes into the white-haired prophet of the Lord, and they hung on his - every word as inspired. - </p> - <p> - In another moment he would have made his motion for a solid Negro - delegation and stampeded the Convention had it not been for the single - burst of eloquence with which he closed his speech. Just at the moment - when he held every heart in the dusky host in the hollow of his hand, he - thundered: - </p> - <p> - “Against the white traitor of the South who has perpetrated these wrongs - on your defenseless heads I hurl the everlasting curse of God! Only a race - of dastards and cowards would thus sneak under the cover of night to - strike their foes!” - </p> - <p> - He had scarcely uttered the words when Billy Graham rushed from the outer - circle of the crowd where he had sauntered with Mrs. Wilson, surrounded by - a dozen fun-making youngsters, and ran toward the platform. - </p> - <p> - “Wait a minute!” he said, with uplifted hand, his voice quivering with - rage. - </p> - <p> - Larkin’s arm dropped; he halted in amazement, every eye fixed on Billy. - John Graham sprang to his feet with a muttered oath of surprise in time to - see Billy square himself in front of the speaker and say: - </p> - <p> - “If you think the Southern people a race of cowards and dastards come down - off that platform and knock this chip off my shoulder, you old - white-livered cur!” - </p> - <p> - He placed a chip on his shoulder and strutted before Larkin. The - Carpetbagger was too astonished to reply. He gazed at the boy in confusion - and muttered an inarticulate protest. - </p> - <p> - Billy jumped on the platform and walked around him like a game bantam, - crying: - </p> - <p> - “Knock it off—d——— you! knock it off! If you want - to test it! A dozen of my friends are out there, yours all around you, a - hundred to one, but knock it off! knock it off!” - </p> - <p> - John Graham had reached the platform by this time, seized Billy and led - him back through the crowd to Mrs. Wilson who was in hysterics, the boys - vainly trying to quiet her. - </p> - <p> - “What the devil’s the matter with you—have you gone crazy?” John - whispered, shaking Billy fiercely. “Go home and behave yourself!” - </p> - <p> - “Attend to your own business, John Graham; I’m attending to mine!” was - Billy’s sullen answer. And without another word he led Mrs. Wilson away - followed by his companions, while John gazed after him with increasing - astonishment. - </p> - <p> - In the confusion which followed Billy’s sudden challenge the Judge saw his - chance. He sprang to his feet and moved to adjourn for dinner. Before - Larkin could recover himself the motion was carried and the Convention - adjourned. - </p> - <p> - Butler turned to the Carpetbagger and said: - </p> - <p> - “I wish to see you in my hotel immediately on a matter of the gravest - importance.” - </p> - <p> - “I haven’t time, Judge,” Larkin carelessly answered. - </p> - <p> - “I’m in no mood to be trifled with,” answered the Judge. - </p> - <p> - “It’s a waste of time, your Honour—you’re a back number. Why should - I talk with you?” - </p> - <p> - “There’s one reason big enough to interest you,” the Judge answered with - sinister suggestion. - </p> - <p> - Larkin fixed his opponent a moment with his piercing eyes and said with - contempt: - </p> - <p> - “I’ll join you in a moment.” - </p> - <p> - The Judge beckoned to Suggs who had hovered near, and the detective handed - him a package of documents from his inside pocket. The movement was not - lost on Larkin who was watching his enemy with uneasiness. - </p> - <p> - Suggs accompanied the Judge to his room at the hotel and awaited his call - outside the door. Larkin looked at him with a scowl as he entered. - </p> - <p> - The Judge adjusted his slouchy coat, shuffled his feet, and stroked his - beard with deliberation as Larkin seated himself. - </p> - <p> - “I’m going to ask you, Larkin,” he began, “to write out your resignation - as Chairman of our State Executive Committee and withdraw from this race.” - </p> - <p> - The Carpetbagger laughed aloud. - </p> - <p> - “Well, you are an ass, you fawning, timeserving Scalawag—what do you - take me for?” - </p> - <p> - “For the criminal adventurer you are!” thundered the Judge. - </p> - <p> - “I’ll not bandy words with you, Butler. I’ve got you now, just where I - want you. Five minutes more of that Convention and you’ll be a memory as a - politician. You never had a principle in your life. A professed leader of - the Republican party in the South composed of Negroes, you loathe the very - sight of a Negro. You profess to be a Southerner, yet your ear is always - to the ground to hear the slightest whisper from the lowest breed of - Yankee demagogues in the North. You lie to the Negro, you lie to the - Southern white man, you lie to the Yankee. You’re a pusillanimous, - office-seeking turncoat beneath the contempt of a man. Why did you send - for me?” - </p> - <p> - “To tell you that it’s time for you to move on, sir!” cried Butler with - spluttering rage. “You Carpetbag vultures have winged your way into the - South to tear from the loyal men of native birth the rewards of their long - patriotic services. Go back to the slums and prison pens of the North - where you belong!” - </p> - <p> - “What do you mean?” Larkin broke in with sudden energy. - </p> - <p> - “That you are a criminal adventurer, sir; that’s what I mean!” - </p> - <p> - Larkin laughed again. - </p> - <p> - “Is that all?” - </p> - <p> - “And I have in my pocket the documents to prove that you have never - acquired citizenship in the State of New York!” - </p> - <p> - “True, but irrelevant. I am a citizen now of this state under the - Reconstruction Acts, and I’m going to represent the old commonwealth in - the next Senate while you sink once more into the obscurity your feeble - intelligence has prepared for you. Is this all you have to say?” - </p> - <p> - “No, sir, it’s not!” whispered the Judge hoarsely with triumphant malice. - “I have a letter in my pocket from the warden of the prison in England - where you served your time, enclosing your photograph.” - </p> - <p> - With a sudden cry of anguish Larkin leaped the distance separating them, - gripped Butler by the throat, hurled him back in his seat, and held him - strangling, spluttering, squirming in mortal terror. In a moment he - released him, sank to a chair and buried his face in his hands. - </p> - <p> - “So! I am your master after all,” the Judge sneered, recovering from his - terror. - </p> - <p> - Larkin lifted his lion-like head a moment and looked at his opponent. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I give up. I’ll withdraw from the race if you’ll keep my secret.” - </p> - <p> - “I’ll make no conditions with you sir; I mean to brand you a felon - throughout the length and breadth of this land!” - </p> - <p> - “Not if you’ve an ounce of manhood in you,” said the Carpetbagger with - quiet dignity. “You can’t do it when I tell you the truth. Fifteen years - ago I was an honoured minister of the gospel in Australia. An enemy of - mine in England published against me an infamous slander. I returned to - ask reparation. He not only refused to give it but insulted me by a - dastardly blow in a public assembly. In a moment of insane rage I returned - his blow with one which resulted in his death. Four months later I found - myself, a man of culture, refinement and the highest order of social - talents, a convict in prison garb serving a sentence for manslaughter. I - emerged more dead than alive—it was late in life, but I lifted up my - head, sought a new world and began all over again. Once more I’ve shown my - power as a leader of men. It was born in me—a God-given birthright. - My hair is white now with the frost of the grave; I’m alone and - friendless. Put yourself in my place. It’s my last chance. You are twenty - years younger. I ask your pity, your sympathy, your friendship. Come, - Judge, you too are a soldier of fortune in conquered territory and have - your own secrets. Fight me fair.” - </p> - <p> - “I’ll fight you with every weapon in my power, fair or foul. You’re in my - way; get out of it,” sneered the Judge. - </p> - <p> - “You contemptible cur!” cried Larkin. “I could strangle you!” - </p> - <p> - “No doubt,” sneered Butler. “If you dared!” - </p> - <p> - “Take care, you cowardly dog!” leaped the threat from the lips of the - Carpetbagger, with a sudden flash of incontrollable rage; and again his - massive figure towered over the Judge’s slouching form. Butler’s shifting - eyes blinked in terror as he spluttered: - </p> - <p> - “I’ll keep your secret on one condition!” - </p> - <p> - “What is it?” snapped Larkin. - </p> - <p> - “You’re a man of genius. Use your talents for me, and we’ll be friends.” - </p> - <p> - “You have told no one the facts you have discovered?” - </p> - <p> - “No. Suggs knows only of the investigation as to your citizenship.” - </p> - <p> - “I accept your terms,” was the quiet answer. The Convention ended in - unexpected harmony, electing a solid Butler delegation. Larkin lingered in - town for several days and, to the surprise and uneasiness of the Judge, - stopped with Uncle Isaac in the little cottage by his gate. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER VII—THE REIGN OF FOLLY - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">W</span>ITHIN two weeks - Steve Hoyle’s new Klan was organised and in absolute control of the - Piedmont Congressional District. - </p> - <p> - John Graham saw that his defeat was a certainty and gave up the political - fight in disgust. But he determined to prevent at all hazards the - degradation of the Klan into an engine of personal vengeance and criminal - folly. There was but one way to do it. He dreaded the undertaking, yet - there was no help for it. He must again fight the devil with fire. The - reign of terror inaugurated by the Black Union League had made necessary - the Ku Klux Klan. There must be a power to hold in check Steve’s - irresponsible gang. - </p> - <p> - He immediately organised in each county a vigilance committee composed of - the bravest and most reliable members of the old Klan who had refused to - follow Steve. Over these men he sought to exercise only a moral influence - as their former Commander-in-chief, save in his own county where his word - was accepted as law by the surviving veterans of the regiment he had - commanded in the Civil War. - </p> - <p> - These men he instructed to watch the movements of Steve’s followers, learn - in advance of their intended raids, break them up by moral suasion if - possible; by force as a last resort. - </p> - <p> - He had found the task a tremendous one. For the first time he realised the - terrible meaning of the lawless power of the Klan. The secrecy of their - movements under his own leadership had been perfect. Yet with his - knowledge of their methods he had believed it would be comparatively. easy - to defeat their plans. He found it next to impossible. In spite of the - utmost vigilance on the part of his committees, the new Klan had - inaugurated a reign of folly and terror unprecedented in the history of - the whole Reconstruction saturnalia. - </p> - <p> - They whipped scalawag politicians night after night and drove them from - the county. They called on carpetbagger postmasters who immediately left - for parts unknown. They whipped Negroes, young and old, for all sorts of - wrongdoing, real or fancied, and finally began to regulate the general - morals of the community. They whipped a rowdy for abusing his wife and on - the same night tarred and feathered a white girl of low origin who lived - in the outskirts of town and ran her from the county. - </p> - <p> - The morning after this outrage occurred, John Graham walked into Steve’s - law office, brushed by his clerks and boldly entered the inner room where - his enemy was at work. - </p> - <p> - Steve sprang to his feet and his hand instinctively sought the revolver in - his hip pocket. - </p> - <p> - “You needn’t be alarmed; I’m not ready for you yet,” said John, his eyes - holding Steve’s with their steady light. - </p> - <p> - “Well, I’m ready for you,” was the quick retort. “What do you want?” - </p> - <p> - “Merely to give you a little advice this morning.” - </p> - <p> - “When I need your advice, I’ll let you know.” - </p> - <p> - John closed the door. - </p> - <p> - “Your men are covering the name of the Ku Klux Klan with infamy,” John - went on evenly. “If you have even the rudiments of common sense you must - know that within a few weeks these fools will be beyond your control.” - </p> - <p> - “I haven’t felt the need of your help as yet,” interrupted Steve. - </p> - <p> - “No, but I’m generous. I volunteer to anticipate the needs of your weak - intelligence.” - </p> - <p> - “John Graham,” Steve broke in angrily, “if you have anything to say to me, - say it, and get out of this room!” - </p> - <p> - “I will say it, my boy, and—don’t—you—forget it!” John - answered with quiet emphasis, taking a step closer to his rival. “I’m - close on the track of the men who are at present terrorising this county. - I’ll come up with them some night and there’ll be business for the coroner - next day. Dare to permit another outrage of a personal character in this - county and I’ll find your men if I drag the bottom of hell for them, and - when I do, I’ll hang them to a tree in front of your door. And—mark - you—if I fail to find them I’ll—hold—you—personally—responsible!” - </p> - <p> - Before Steve could reply he turned on his heel, slammed the door and left. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER VIII—THE MASQUERADERS - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">I</span>MMEDIATELY - following the interview with Steve the character of the raids of the new - Klan changed to harmless pranks and practical jokes on impudent Negroes, - scalawags and carpetbaggers, and John Graham observed it with a sigh of - relief. Some of these escapades he could have enjoyed himself—particularly - a call they made on the Apostle of Sanctification. - </p> - <p> - Uncle Isaac had greatly increased his prestige and following since the - sensational speech he made in the County Convention and his public - association with Larkin. - </p> - <p> - Following up his victory over the seven devils in Aunt Julie Ann, he had - begun a series of revival meetings in the Northern Methodist church, - calling its members to come up still higher. With each night his fervour - and eloquence had increased. On this particular evening he attained - unheard-of heights of inspiration, and announced not only his sinless - perfection and his apostolic call, but the more startling fact that he was - in daily personal communication with Jehovah himself. Amid a chorus of - “Amens” and “Glory hallelujahs” from the sisters he boldly declared: - </p> - <p> - “Hear de Lawd’s messenger! I come straight from him. De Lawd come every - day ter my house. I sees him wid my own eyes. De debbil he doan pester me - no mo. I’se de Lawd’s sanctified one. I done wipe my weepin’ eyes an’ gone - up on high. Will ye come wid me breddren an’ sisters! I walk in de cool er - de mawnin an’ de shank er de even’ wid de Lawd and de Lawd walks wid me. - An’ I ain’t er skeered er nuttin in heaben above er hell below.” - </p> - <p> - He had scarcely uttered the words when a white-robed ghost, fully ten feet - high, walked solemnly down the aisle. There was a moment of awful silence. - Isaac’s jaw dropped in speechless terror. A sister in the amen corner - screamed, and the Apostle sprang through the window behind the pulpit - without a word, carrying the sash with him. In a minute the church was - empty and the revival of Sanctification came to an untimely end. - </p> - <p> - It soon became the fashion for these merry masqueraders to call in groups - on the pretty girls in town with the offer of their knightly protection. - Frequently they spent the evening dancing and making merry, always in full - disguise, guarding with the utmost care their identity. The mystery - attending such visits, their secret signs and passwords, and the thrilling - call of their whistles gave to these performances a peculiar atmosphere of - romance and daring, and their visits came to be prized by the fair ones as - tributes to their beauty and popularity. - </p> - <p> - A sign of invitation was devised by order of the leader of the raiders and - posted one night on the bulletin board of the post office. The girl who - wished the honour of such a call had only to express it by walking through - the main street to the post office with a scarlet bow of ribbon tied on - her left arm, and on the night following, promptly at ten o’clock, the - knights on their white-robed horses would call. - </p> - <p> - Stella Butler had immediately become the most popular girl in Independence - in spite of her father’s politics. Her beauty was resistless. Every boy on - whom she chose to smile was at once her friend and champion. The old - Graham house became the most popular meeting place of the youth and beauty - of the town, and the only men not welcome there were its real owner and - his pugnacious younger brother. - </p> - <p> - Stella was fairly intoxicated with her social victory. Steve led in the - devoted circle of her admirers, each day pressing his suit with humble and - dogged persistence. She smiled in triumph at his abject surrender but - continued to keep him at arm’s length, showering her favours on all who - were worth while. - </p> - <p> - She determined to crown her social leadership with a unique fancy dress - ball by inviting the Klan masqueraders to dance with a select group of her - girl friends at her home. The Klan itself was too deep a mystery for her - to note the difference in the character of the raids since the night its - gallant horsemen had cheered at her father’s gate. She only knew in a - general way that the Klan was born in the unconquered and unconquerable - spirit of the old Bourbon South, the South of her mother, the only South - worth cultivating socially. - </p> - <p> - So when the Judge’s beautiful daughter, radiant and smiling, walked down - the main street of Independence with the scarlet sign of the Klan on her - left arm, she paralysed the business of the town. Every clerk stopped work - and took his stand at the door or window until she was out of sight. - </p> - <p> - Her name was on every lip. If the raiders should accept her invitation, - and appear at the old Graham mansion the evening following, the Judge - would be in the anomalous position of a host who seeks the life of his - guests. For the destruction of the Klan by exile, imprisonment and death - had become the main plank in his political platform under Larkin’s - guidance. - </p> - <p> - Before Stella reached home the town was in a ferment of excitement to know - whether the Judge had given his consent to this daring act. The older - heads were sure that it was a child’s thoughtless whim and that Butler - would promptly and vigorously repudiate it. - </p> - <p> - John stood in the shadow by the window of his office and watched her pass - in anguish. He saw in this invitation the complete triumph of the man he - was coming to hate with deeper loathing than he had ever felt for her - father. He was sure it was an inspiration of Steve Hoyle. - </p> - <p> - He observed old Larkin talking earnestly to Isaac on the other side of the - street, and began to regret that the regiment of United States troops had - been removed on the Carpetbagger’s advice. - </p> - <p> - Were they here, he would suggest to the Judge that they be stationed about - his home to-morrow night and those masked fools be kept out. He resented - such a masquerade, not only because it was a travesty of the tragic drama - in which he had played a part, but because he felt a deep sense of - foreboding over the possible outcome of the affair. However harmless the - intentions of the leaders of such a prank, there was always the chance of - a drunken fool among them. - </p> - <p> - “My God,” he exclaimed with a shiver of dread, “what will happen if the - Judge in an ugly stupid temper encounters one of those masked fools - maddened by drink!” - </p> - <p> - He sat down and hastily wrote a note of warning to Butler without a - signature, tore it up in anger and threw it in his waste basket. - </p> - <p> - “Bah! it’s nonsense!” he muttered in rage. “Her father is in no danger. - The trouble is with me—I’m jealous, jealous, jealous! of the men who - can see her. I want to dance with her myself. I’m mad with a passion I - dare not breathe aloud.” - </p> - <p> - Yet the longer he brooded over the thing, the keener became his sense of - its dangers and the more oppressive the fear that it would result in a - tragedy. - </p> - <p> - He sat down and rewrote his warning to the Judge, crossed the street and - dropped the letter in the post office. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER IX—A COUNTER STROKE - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">W</span>HEN John returned - to’ his desk he found Dan Wiley standing in the middle of the room pulling - his long black moustache with unusual energy. - </p> - <p> - The young lawyer seated himself and motioned the mountaineer to a chair. - </p> - <p> - “No time ter fool.” - </p> - <p> - “Steve’s gang from up in the hills in my township is on the way ter - Independence. They’re goin’ ter raid old Sam Nickaroshinski, the Jew - storekeeper, and rob ’im ter-night.” - </p> - <p> - “Nonsense, Dan, they haven’t got that low.” - </p> - <p> - “Hit’s jest like I tell ye. They’re a gang of flightin’ drunken devils. - They’ll do anything. I got a man to join ’em, an’ he gimme the - whole plot. Steve Hoyle don’t know nothin’ about it no more than their - township leader does.” - </p> - <p> - “Did you bring your men?” John asked. “Yes, a half dozen. They ain’t but - six er.” - </p> - <p> - “What’s up?” - </p> - <p> - “Hell’s afloat and the river’s a risin!” - </p> - <p> - “Well?” - </p> - <p> - “Them skunks comin’. Our fellers are lyin’ out in the woods at the spring - where we met you the last time.” - </p> - <p> - John leaped to his feet with a sudden resolution. - </p> - <p> - “I’ll join you at eight o’clock to-night and we’ll give the gentlemen from - the hills an unexpected reception.” He seized his hat and closed his - office. As Dan turned to go he gave the low quick order: - </p> - <p> - “Gags and ropes for six. Lay low and don’t let anybody know you’re in - town.” - </p> - <p> - “I understand,” said the mountaineer, with a grin. - </p> - <p> - “John hurried home, and found to his annoyance that Mrs. Wilson had gone - buggy riding with Billy and left the entire work of the house to Susie. - </p> - <p> - “I hate to put more responsibility on your beautiful young shoulders, Miss - Susie,” John said hurriedly, “but I must beg you to stop your work and - make me a regalia for a little parade to-night—you understand—will - you do it?” - </p> - <p> - “With pleasure,” was the smiling answer. “I’ll forgive Mama her idiotic - trip with Billy for this chance to serve you.” She looked tenderly into - John’s eyes. - </p> - <p> - Before sundown the costume was finished and fitted to the tall figure by - Susie’s swift and gentle hands and the last scrap of the cloth gathered up - and piled in her work-basket before the first boarder arrived. Supper was - an hour late, but Susie was singing at her work when Mrs. Wilson and Billy - returned after dark. - </p> - <p> - Nickaroshinski’s cottage was situated on the edge of a deep forest two - miles out of town. It was a well-known fact that the old Jew walked to and - from his store every morning and evening alone. And it was popularly - believed that he hoarded his money under the floor of his bedroom. - </p> - <p> - Had any other man than Dan Wiley reported to John Graham such a projected - raid, it would have been beyond his belief. The old Jew was on good terms - with everybody. A refugee from Poland, his instinctive sympathies had - always been with the oppressed people of the South, and to their cause he - had faithfully given what influence he possessed. - </p> - <p> - The idea of such an atrocity by men wearing the uniform of his Klan roused - John to the highest pitch of indignation. He was determined to make an - example of these scoundrels that would not be forgotten. - </p> - <p> - The stars were shining brightly when he started with his men to the old - Jew’s place. - </p> - <p> - It was with a queer consciousness of the irony of fate that he galloped - through the shadows to strike horsemen who were wearing the uniform of the - mysterious order he had helped to create. The wind freshened and grew - chill, heavy clouds obscuring the sky. The darkness became intense. - </p> - <p> - He carefully placed his men in positions to guard every approach to the - house, and walked to the door to warn the Jew of his danger and arrange - for the capture of the raiders. - </p> - <p> - A sudden crash and groan within told him only too plainly that the - scoundrels were already inside. - </p> - <p> - Gathering his men John closed in on the house. As he expected they had put - out no pickets, never dreaming that they would be molested. They had bound - Nickaroshinski, beaten him unmercifully and tortured him until they had - secured his money and, not satisfied, had begun to smash things to pieces. - </p> - <p> - Looking through the window John saw that their costumes were exactly like - his own and that the six men had scattered through the house bent on - plundering every nook and corner. Knowing that it would be impossible for - them to distinguish their own men from his, he made at once his plan to - capture the crowd without a struggle. Stationing his own six men at the - front door, he took Dan Wiley and boldly entered the room where the leader - stood covering the Jew with his revolver. - </p> - <p> - Without a word they walked toward him in the dim light. - </p> - <p> - Merely glancing at them the leader growled: “Finish up and let’s get away - from here!” - </p> - <p> - “All right,” John answered coming closer, “I’m getting in a hurry myself.” - </p> - <p> - Before he knew what they meant, Dan pounced on him and pinioned his arms - while John quickly covered his mouth and fixed the gag. - </p> - <p> - It was but the work of a moment to tie the wretch and pass him out the - door to the grim figures waiting. They repeated this performance in each - room until all but two had been taken. These two were together. John - suddenly blew his whistle giving the Klan signal “Follow me.” When they - entered the room two revolvers were suddenly thrust under their noses. - They surrendered without a struggle. - </p> - <p> - John quickly released the old man, bound his wounds, restored his money - and left with his prisoners. - </p> - <p> - Each of them were given forty lashes and the next morning when Steve Hoyle - woke he found six stripe-marked half-naked men gagged and bleeding - dangling by their arms from the limbs of the trees on his lawn. Around the - neck of each hung a placard: “A warning to the scoundrels who are - disgracing the uniform of the Ku Klux Klan in this county.” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER X—THE STRENGTH OF THE WEAK - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">S</span>TEVE HOYLE had cut - down his men and hustled them out of town before eight o’clock, but the - news rapidly spread and had thrown the people into a tremor of wonder as - to the meaning of the events of the night. Evidently there had been a - clash of forces within the ranks of the Invisible Empire. What did it - mean? - </p> - <p> - Steve had lost no time in explaining to the desperadoes from the hills - what they wished to know, and they had left with deep muttered curses - against their former Commander-in-chief. - </p> - <p> - The outrage on Nickaroshinski had aroused the fiercest passions between - the friends of John Graham and Steve Hoyle. Excited groups stood on every - corner and it was with the utmost difficulty that John succeeded finally - in dispersing them without a clash. - </p> - <p> - At one o’clock Larkin called at the old Graham mansion and announced to - Aunt Julie Ann his desire to see the Judge. - </p> - <p> - “Ye can’t see ’im,” was her contemptuous answer. - </p> - <p> - Larkin had captured Isaac, but his influence had not reached his wife. For - any white man who stayed at a Negro’s house her contempt was beyond words. - That the house happened to be her husband’s only aggravated the offence. - </p> - <p> - “I must see him,” urged Larkin. - </p> - <p> - “He’s in bed sick, I tell ye!” - </p> - <p> - “But you had’nt told me,” protested the Carpetbagger. - </p> - <p> - “Well I tells ye now. De Judge ain’t lif’ his head offen de piller ter - day. De ghosts wuz here agin las’ night—an’ you’d better be a movin - ‘fore Miss Stella find you here. She sick de dog on you.” Larkin took a - threatening step toward her and said in low tones: - </p> - <p> - “Shut your mouth, and tell the Judge I’m here to see him on important - business. I’m not going out of this house until I do see him. Tell him - so.” - </p> - <p> - Aunt Julie Ann turned muttering and slowly climbed the stairs to Butler’s - room. - </p> - <p> - In a moment the Judge came down, hastily dressed in a faded slouchy - dressing-gown and a pair of bedroom slippers. - </p> - <p> - “Is it possible,” exclaimed Larkin, “that you know nothing of what’s - happened here within the past twenty-four hours?” - </p> - <p> - “I’ve been sick in bed. Haven’t left the house,” was the nervous reply. - </p> - <p> - “Well, it’s time you knew at least what is going on in the house.” - </p> - <p> - The Judge shivered and glanced up into the galleries. - </p> - <p> - “What do you mean?” he feebly asked. - </p> - <p> - Larkin rapidly sketched to him the events which had thrown the town into a - ferment. - </p> - <p> - “But what I called for,” observed the Carpetbagger, “was to enquire, as - your political adviser, whether you really intend to permit your daughter - to receive here to-night this gang of masked cutthroats as your guests?” - </p> - <p> - The Judge rose trembling. - </p> - <p> - “My daughter receive the Ku Klux Klan here to-night?” he gasped. - </p> - <p> - “She has invited them, and in spite of the excitement it is rumoured that - they will promptly appear in full costume at ten o’clock.” - </p> - <p> - “Impossible, Larkin, impossible! They won’t dare such a thing. Besides, of - course, my daughter will stop it.” - </p> - <p> - “How can she stop it? Her invitation was by their sign of the scarlet bow. - They have devised no signal to stop such a festival.” - </p> - <p> - “She must find a way at once,” cried the Judge excitedly, “otherwise we - must wire for troops.” - </p> - <p> - “It’s too late.” - </p> - <p> - “We’ll order a special if necessary. I’ll call my daughter at once.” - </p> - <p> - Larkin rose as if to go. - </p> - <p> - “Wait,” continued the Judge, “I wish you to be present.” - </p> - <p> - He summoned Maggie, sent for Stella, and picked up his mail lying on the - centre table, and opened it with fumbling nervous fingers while awaiting - his daughter’s appearance. - </p> - <p> - The Carpetbagger smiled contemptuously at his lack of good breeding, and - studied the room while the Judge read his letters. - </p> - <p> - “I see here some friend has written me a warning against the dangers of - such a meeting,” cried Butler, his beady eyes dancing with excitement. “We - must stop it, Larkin, we must stop it!” - </p> - <p> - Maggie slowly descended the stairs. - </p> - <p> - “Well, well, where’s your mistress?” spluttered the Judge. - </p> - <p> - “Miss Stella say she busy tryin’ on a dress an’ she can’t come now.” - </p> - <p> - Butler turned on Maggie with sudden fury. - </p> - <p> - “Go back, you little black imp of the devil, and tell her to come down - immediately! Immediately, I say!” - </p> - <p> - “Yassah! Yassah!” Maggie panted. She turned back up the stairs jumping - three steps at a time, and fell sprawling across the top landing. She - reached Stella’s room gasping for breath. - </p> - <p> - Stella turned leisurely from her mirror. - </p> - <p> - “What on earth’s the matter, Maggie?” - </p> - <p> - “De Jedge say ef you doan come dar dis minute he gwine ter come up here - and slap yo head off!” - </p> - <p> - “As bad as that, Maggie?” - </p> - <p> - “Yassam. He flung a big book at me an’ hit me right in the head jes case I - tell ’im what you say. Didn’t ye hear it?” - </p> - <p> - Stella continued deliberately curling the ringlets about the edges of her - raven hair. - </p> - <p> - “Go back and tell him I’ll be down in a minute.” - </p> - <p> - “Yassum. I spec he kill me dis time.” - </p> - <p> - Stella finished her hair, sat down by the window and read a novel for ten - minutes and then slowly descended the stairs. - </p> - <p> - The Judge sat slouching low in his chair, and Larkin rose with the - instinctive impulse of a gentleman on Stella’s appearance. - </p> - <p> - The girl stared coldly at her father, noted his dressing-gown, turned - hastily toward the stairs and began to ascend. - </p> - <p> - “Excuse me,” she said to him with pointed insolence, “I thought you were - waiting to receive me.” - </p> - <p> - “Look here, my child, I’ve no time for silly nonsense!” the Judge - exclaimed, adjusting the folds of his slouchy robe. - </p> - <p> - “When you have completed your toilet,” she said with a sneering little - smile, “I’ll come at once. Please let me know.” - </p> - <p> - “Stella!” sternly called her father. - </p> - <p> - The girl continued without turning her head and disappeared on the floor - above. - </p> - <p> - “A stickler for social forms, Larkin,” said the Judge petulantly, rising. - </p> - <p> - “I see,” said the Carpetbagger with amusement. “I’ll have to humour her. - Wait for me. We must stop it.” - </p> - <p> - When at length the Judge returned and confronted Stella he was unnerved, - while she stood staring at him with a hard glitter in her great brown - eyes, complete mistress of every faculty she possessed. - </p> - <p> - “My child,” began Butler, “Larkin tells me that you have invited the Ku - Klux raiders to dance here to-night.” - </p> - <p> - “I have,” was the cool answer. - </p> - <p> - “But my dear, you should have consulted me.” - </p> - <p> - “You made me the mistress of this house; why should I consult you about a - harmless social gathering of my friends?” - </p> - <p> - “The Klan is a secret order of assassins and desperadoes.” - </p> - <p> - “Please father, don’t!” she interrupted. “Your politics disgust me. These - boys are of the best families in town.” - </p> - <p> - “How can you know this?” pleaded the Judge. “They come disguised. Not one - of them has ever made himself known.” - </p> - <p> - “Which makes the romance of such a visit all the deeper.” - </p> - <p> - “And its dangers all the greater, my child. Mr. Larkin has come to warn - me.” - </p> - <p> - “I agree with your father, Miss Stella,” said Larkin with a grave bow. - </p> - <p> - The girl tossed her head with contempt. - </p> - <p> - “And I have in my hand a letter of warning from an unknown friend,” - continued Butler. - </p> - <p> - “But you are not really afraid?” cried the girl with scorn. “I refuse to - believe my own father the contemptible coward your enemies have called - you.” - </p> - <p> - “Have you heard of the criminal outrages committed last night by those - masked raiders?” - </p> - <p> - “They do not interest me.” - </p> - <p> - “You must remember, my dear, that I have sworn to send these men to the - gallows.” - </p> - <p> - “I can’t help your political bluster. I refuse to sacrifice my social - career and insult my friends for your dirty politics.” - </p> - <p> - “And you can not see that the presence of these masked men in this house - would be a mortal insult to me?” - </p> - <p> - “Certainly not. A crowd of gay masqueraders who come to do me honour.” - </p> - <p> - “You must stop it, my child.” - </p> - <p> - “It is impossible now. My friends are getting ready. I’ve hired a band.” - </p> - <p> - “You refuse to respect my wishes?” - </p> - <p> - “I refuse to make a fool of myself!” - </p> - <p> - “Come, my dear, you must be reasonable. I know I’ve spoiled you. I’ve - loved you too well. I’ve indulged every whim of your heart and allowed you - to rule me, but you can’t do this absurd and dangerous thing. You forget - that you are not only making a fool of me but that you are putting my life - in jeopardy.” - </p> - <p> - “I’ll assume the responsibility!” she broke in, drawing herself up with - pride. “If you receive the slightest insult or a hair of your head is - harmed I’ll give my life to avenge it.” - </p> - <p> - “You persist?” asked her father with a scowl. “I do,” flashed the answer. - </p> - <p> - The Judge rose, hesitated a moment and then said with stern determination: - </p> - <p> - “Then for the first time in my life, I forbid you a thing on which you - have set your heart. These masked men shall not enter my house!” - </p> - <p> - Stella’s eyes flashed fire. - </p> - <p> - “They shall come!” she cried. - </p> - <p> - “Larkin,” said the Judge, turning to the Carpetbagger, “I shall have to - ask you to go to the telegraph office and order the troops here on a - special. Ask them to protect me to-night from these assassins.” - </p> - <p> - Stella’s figure suddenly stiffened with incontrollable rage. She clenched - her fists and sprang in front of her father screaming. - </p> - <p> - “Don’t you dare insult me by applying such epithets to my friends! If you - are my father, you are a poltroon and a coward!” - </p> - <p> - “Stella, my darling!” gasped the Judge. - </p> - <p> - “Don’t you call me darling! Don’t you dare to speak to me again! I’ll - leave this house and blot your very name from my memory!” - </p> - <p> - Butler staggered back in dumb amazement and Larkin watched with a curious - smile playing about the corners of his piercing eyes. - </p> - <p> - Stella stamped her foot, turned, and bounded up the stairs and into her - room, slammed the door and began to scream. - </p> - <p> - The Judge stood for a moment in speechless horror. He had never crossed - her imperious will before and he was utterly unprepared for her mad - outburst. He loved her with all the tenderness of which his low nature was - capable, and had never seen a woman in hysterics. He had therefore no - standard by which to measure how much of pure devil and how much of real - suffering were mingled in her cries. Each piercing scream tore his heart. - He turned helplessly to Larkin and asked: “What shall I do?” - </p> - <p> - “Excuse me Judge, I can’t advise you in such a matter,” the Carpetbagger - replied. “But I think you’ll have to summon a doctor.” - </p> - <p> - “My God, is she in danger?” he asked, in a stupor of pain. “I’ll go up and - see.” - </p> - <p> - He shuffled up the stairs as quickly as possible, and hurried into her - room without knocking. - </p> - <p> - Stella sprang from the bed where she lay moaning, laughing and crying, and - flew at him, stamping and screaming: - </p> - <p> - “Don’t you come near me. Don’t you touch me! Don’t you speak to me! Get - out of this room!” - </p> - <p> - “But my dear,” stammered the Judge. - </p> - <p> - “Get out of this room—get out of this room! or I’ll jump out of that - window and kill myself!” She seized him by the arm, hustled and pushed him - out of the door, slammed and locked it. Again she threw herself on the bed - and burst into strangling groans. - </p> - <p> - The Judge retreated to the hall below, his eyes filled with tears, his - heart sick with terror. He dropped into a seat, covered his face with his - hands and sat for a moment in stupid pain. - </p> - <p> - Maggie suddenly plunged down the stairs yelling: - </p> - <p> - “Goddermighty, ye better run fur de doctor quick—Miss Stella dying! - She done choke ter death!” - </p> - <p> - “I’ll bring the doctor,” said Larkin, rising quickly. - </p> - <p> - “Run and bring Aunt Julie Ann!” whispered the Judge to Maggie. - </p> - <p> - The maid met Aunt Julie Ann who had heard the commotion and the two - hurried back to Stella’s room. - </p> - <p> - When the doctor came she refused to see him, and he left in a rage. The - Judge begged Larkin to stay until he could see his daughter. - </p> - <p> - An hour later, propped up in bed with Maggie rubbing one hand and Aunt - Julie Ann the other, she permitted her father to enter and receive her - pardon. The Judge knelt by the bedside, kissed her hand and wet it with - tears. His surrender was abject. He sent Larkin away and promised to be - present at the ball and treat the whole thing as a schoolboys’ frolic. - </p> - <p> - And then she smiled and kissed him. - </p> - <p> - “If I’m only strong enough to dress by ten o’clock!” she cried, laughing. - </p> - <p> - “Try to eat something, dear,” urged her father. - </p> - <p> - She promised and asked Aunt Julie Ann to send her a little soup. She got - the soup and with it a substantial meal. - </p> - <p> - Still and catlike, Maggie watched her eat it down to the last crumb with - quiet enjoyment. When the black maid picked up the tray she walled her - eyes first at the empty dishes and then at her wonderful little mistress - and softly giggled. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XI—THROUGH THE SECRET PANEL - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">A</span>S THE hour - approached for the masqueraders to appear at the Judge’s John Graham was - drawn to the spot by an irresistible impulse. He stood in the shadows of - the trees on the sidewalk and watched the little squadron of white and - scarlet horsemen wheel into the gate past Isaac’s cottage, and gallop - swiftly up to the front door of the old mansion. - </p> - <p> - They had scarcely passed when Isaac suddenly stepped from the shrubbery - through the open gateway and ran into him. - </p> - <p> - The Apostle gasped in terror: - </p> - <p> - “De Lawd, marse John, I thought you wuz one er dem ghostes—‘scuse - me, sah, I’se er gettin’ away from here!” - </p> - <p> - John made no reply, merely watching him until he disappeared. - </p> - <p> - Again he turned toward the house. Every window was gleaming with light. - The subdued strains of a string band came stealing through the trailing - roses on the porch, and he fancied he could catch the odour of the flowers - in their sweet notes. Scarcely knowing what he did, he strolled into the - lawn and sank on a rustic bench with a groan. He could hear the gay banter - of the masqueraders and the peals of girlish laughter with which their - tomfoolery was being received. - </p> - <p> - A mocking bird began singing in the tree above him, roused by the music of - the band. Far off in the corner of the lawn in the clump of holly and - cedars at the entrance of the vault a whippoorwill was making the ravine - ring with the weird notes of his ghost-like call. The moon flooded the - scene with silvery splendour. Crushed with a sense of loneliness and - failure, he felt to-night that he would give all the wealth and honours of - the earth for one touch of the hand of the girl whose laughter lingered - and echoed in his heart. And again the feeling of impending disaster - overwhelmed him. - </p> - <p> - “Of course it’s nonsense!” he kept repeating to himself. “The disaster is - within. I’m merely a wounded animal caught in a trap, bleeding and dying - of thirst, and no one knows or cares, and I can’t cry for help.” - </p> - <p> - He tried to rise and go. But something held him in a silent spell to the - spot. He sat dreaming out each movement of the gay drama in progress - within. - </p> - <p> - Stella had welcomed her white-robed guests without the aid of a servant. - No Negro could be hired for love or money to approach one of these ghostly - figures. Maggie had hidden in the closet in her mistress’ room and Aunt - Julie Ann had barred herself inside the kitchen and refused to answer a - call. - </p> - <p> - In spite of these little annoyances the beautiful young mistress of the - Graham house, resplendent in her ball dress costume, was in her gayest - mood. - </p> - <p> - When the shrill whistles rang their summons at the door, she hastened to - greet her mysterious guests. - </p> - <p> - “And your name, Sir Knight?” she asked the leader with bantering laughter. - </p> - <p> - “We are Ghouls! And come from beyond the river Styx, my lady!” solemnly - answered the tall white figure. - </p> - <p> - “Welcome shades of Darkness, welcome back to the world of joy and light, - song and dance, life and love!” Stella cried, extending her hand. - </p> - <p> - When they had tied their horses to the posts beside the wide driveway they - slowly entered single file into the great hall. Stella, assisted by Susie - Wilson, who had become her fast friend, greeted each of them with words of - gay welcome. - </p> - <p> - They were dressed in the regulation raider’s costume of the Klan. The - white flowing ulsterlike robe came within three inches of the floor. A - scarlet belt circled the waist, from either side of which hung heavy - revolvers in leather holsters. A dagger was attached to the centre of the - belt, and the scarlet-lined white cape thrown back on the shoulders - revealed their militant trappings with startling distinctness. On each - breast was wrought the emblem of the Invisible Empire, the scarlet circle, - and in its centre a white cross. Spiked helmets of white cloth with - flowing masks reached to the cape on each shoulder, completely covering - the head and face. With red gauntlets to complete their costume, the - disguise was absolute. The only visible part of the body was the eye, - gleaming with a strange steady supernatural brilliance through the holes - cut in the mask. It was a curious fact that all eyes looked alike in the - shadows of these trappings at night. They were simply flashing points of - living light with all traces of colour lost in the shadows. - </p> - <p> - In spite of the fact that the girls felt they had nothing to fear from the - white figures, it was with a tremor of excitement they each greeted the - mysterious partners of their dance. - </p> - <p> - Stella left them talking romantic nonsense of knights and tournaments, - ghouls and ghosts in the hall and ran up to her father’s room. - </p> - <p> - “Oh! Papa,” she cried with childish glee. “It’s such fun! They’re all - here. You will come down and join the party as you promised?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, yes, dear, I’ll come, presently,” said the Judge with evident dread. - </p> - <p> - Stella slipped her beautiful bare arm around his neck and her cheek rested - against his, while the soft little fingers found his hand. - </p> - <p> - “I’m awfully sorry I was so ugly to-day,” she said gently. “But I couldn’t - help it. I didn’t know I had such a temper. I must have gotten it from you - Dad.” - </p> - <p> - “It’s all right, my darling, if you’ll never say such bitter things to me - again—will you?” he asked tenderly, tears filling his eyes. - </p> - <p> - “No, I’ll be good now, if you’ll forgive me?” - </p> - <p> - Her father answered with a kiss. “You see, you’re all I have in the world, - my little girlie. I’m not as strong as I used to be. I don’t think I’m - going to live long.” - </p> - <p> - “Rubbish! you’ve just got the blues. Shake them off and be young again - to-night. Imagine you are a boy here with mother the sweetheart you’re - trying to steal from the proud rich people who hate you—come, come!” - </p> - <p> - The Judge smiled in spite of himself. Her mood was contagious. He stroked - her hand gently. - </p> - <p> - “I’ll be down right away. Run on and have a good time.” - </p> - <p> - “All right, I’ll start the first dance and you’ll be there by the time - it’s over and shake hands with your enemies. It will be so jolly!” - </p> - <p> - Throwing him a kiss she returned to the hall below and led her guests into - the big double parlours which had been fitted up for dancing. The French - windows, opening as doors on the porches, were raised, and the band - stationed outside near one of them. - </p> - <p> - When the dance had begun the Judge, dressed in his usual broadcloth frock - coat which hung in slouching lines from his drooping shoulders, slowly - descended the stairs and stood embarrassed and hesitating in the hall a - moment, and sat down by the centre table. - </p> - <p> - A masquerader came in from the ball room for the fan his partner had left, - and so soft was his footfall the Judge did not hear or see him until the - tall white figure suddenly loomed above him to pick up the fan. - </p> - <p> - The apparition was so startling the Judge’s nerves collapsed. He leaped to - his feet with an inarticulate cry of terror, overturning his chair and - started to bolt for the door. - </p> - <p> - The masquerader smothered a laugh and said: - </p> - <p> - “I beg your pardon, I only wanted the fan.” Butler stammered: - </p> - <p> - “Ah—I—must have been dreaming—you—startled me!” - </p> - <p> - He watched the white figure disappear, mopped the perspiration from his - brow, called Aunt Julie Ann and ordered her to bring him a drink of - whiskey. She refused to stir at first, but he threatened to discharge her, - and she obeyed. - </p> - <p> - When the Judge raised the glass to his lips his hand trembled so violently - that he spilled some of the liquor on his clothes. He gulped it down and - glanced nervously about the hall. - </p> - <p> - He placed the glass back on the tray and Aunt Julie Ann, watching the - parlour-door like a hawk, started back to the kitchen on a run. - </p> - <p> - “Wait a moment,” cried the Judge, shuffling to his feet. - </p> - <p> - “I ain’t gwine stay in here wid dem things in de house,” she answered, - halting timidly in the shadows of the door leading into the dining-room. - </p> - <p> - Butler walked to her side and said: - </p> - <p> - “Tell Miss Stella I’m not feeling well—I’m going to bed.” - </p> - <p> - He hesitated a moment. “You’ve said nothing to any one about this ghost - business?” - </p> - <p> - “Hush, man, hush! Don’t talk about dat now!” she whispered. “I tole dat - ole whiteheaded Larkin—dat’s all.” - </p> - <p> - “Well, I want to warn you, don’t mention it to another living soul. I’m - beginning to suspect that we’ve been seeing old Major Graham himself!” - </p> - <p> - “De Lawd er mussy, man, how he bin gittin’ in de house wid all de doors - and windows locked an’ bolted?” - </p> - <p> - “That’s a mystery I can’t fathom.” - </p> - <p> - “No, ner nobody else. Hit’s his sperit I tells ye.” - </p> - <p> - While they were talking thus in the alcove the oak panel under the stairs - was softly opened and closed; old Major Graham, dressed with scrupulous - care, thin and pale as a corpse, yet erect and dignified, walked slowly - across the hall to the foot of the stairs. His lips were muttering - inarticulate sounds and his wide staring eyes had the far-off look of the - dreamer who lives, breathes and moves, yet sees nothing. - </p> - <p> - Butler’s back was to the Major, and Aunt Julie Ann, hearing the footsteps, - was first to see him. She staggered against the wall and gasped: - </p> - <p> - “God, save us, dar he is now!” - </p> - <p> - Butler glanced over his shoulder and backed against the huge figure of the - cook, trembling. - </p> - <p> - “Look—look!” he whispered. “It is old Graham. Watch his thin bony - fingers grip the rail as he climbs the steps!” - </p> - <p> - “Hit’s his livin’ ghost I tell ye!” persisted Aunt Julie Ann. “He’ll walk - right out on de roof an’ step off’n de house des like he does every night—you - won’t see’ ’im again.” - </p> - <p> - “Get some more whiskey!” said the Judge. “I’ll go with you”—he - added, following her into the dining room, mopping the perspiration from - his brow. - </p> - <p> - “I’ll go up there in a minute and find out the truth!” - </p> - <p> - “Better keep outen dat attic I tells ye. Dey say dat de ghosts er de - livin’ is wuss dan de dead.” They had scarcely passed from the hall when - the oak panel again opened and a white masked figure peered through, and - quickly entered. - </p> - <p> - The dress was an exact duplicate of the masqueraders down to its minutest - details, and only the closest observer would have noted the awkward way in - which the figure moved as though not in the habit of walking in his - disguise. - </p> - <p> - He quickly glanced about the hall, listened a moment to the sounds of - revelry in the ballroom, closed the door of the small hall leading into - it, reopened the panel and signalled. - </p> - <p> - In rapid succession eight more silent figures filed through the panel - door. The leader whispered to his followers: - </p> - <p> - “He’s in the dining room. Guard every entrance now but that.” - </p> - <p> - In a moment a masked man stood guard at each door and the leader lowered - the lamp on the table until only the dim outlines of the forms could be - seen, and stepped back himself into the shadows of the alcove by the - dining room door. - </p> - <p> - Aunt Julie Ann returned to the kitchen, and the Judge, afraid to go - upstairs, came back into the hall to enter the ballroom as he promised - Stella.. As he passed through the door of the dining room the shrouded - figure standing in the alcove quickly followed, cutting off this retreat. - </p> - <p> - The Judge stopped, blinked his eyes around the dim hall and muttered: - </p> - <p> - “Why, why, the lamp’s gone out!” He quickly crossed the space to the table - and extended his hand to turn up the lamp. - </p> - <p> - The figure behind him seized his arm and a guttural voice spoke through - the mask: - </p> - <p> - “There’s light enough for our work, Judge.” - </p> - <p> - Butler staggered back in terror and glanced about him at the dim spectres - closing around the table. With an effort he pulled himself together and - stammered: - </p> - <p> - “Why, of course, boys. I see! I see! You’re going to initiate me! give me - the third degree first—I see—a good joke!” - </p> - <p> - “You’ll find it a serious joke before you’re through,” replied the leader, - gripping his dagger. - </p> - <p> - The Judge could see the movement of his hand as he slowly drew the knife - from its sheath, the blade glistening for an instant in the dim lamplight, - but he still thought the boys were playing a prank on him. - </p> - <p> - “Well, gentlemen, have your fun!” he cried with forced gaiety, “Have your - way, I’m at your service. What is the penalty I must pay to-night for my - many sins against the Klan?” - </p> - <p> - “The penalty is your life,” said the mask with sullen menace in his tones, - stepping closer, “unless you agree to leave this state to-morrow and never - enter it again—will you go?” - </p> - <p> - “So bad as that?” The Judge forced a laugh. “What else?” - </p> - <p> - “You are not fooling with boys now!” sullenly said the towering white - form. “Give me your answer, you d———d old sneaking - coward! Will you go or do you prefer to die?” - </p> - <p> - Butler, trembling now with mingled terror and rage, cried angrily: - </p> - <p> - “Gentlemen, your joke is going too far!” - </p> - <p> - “It’ll go farther,” was the quick reply, as the white figures closed in - threateningly and the foremost man moved as if to raise his hand. - </p> - <p> - “Enough of this! Get out of my house!” Butler suddenly shouted, snatching - the mask from the leader’s head by a quick unexpected display of courage. - A cry of horror and surprise leaped from his lips. The knife flashed, and - was buried in his heart. He reeled, staggered, clutched a chair and sank - with a groan to a sitting posture. His long awkward arms drooped and his - head sank slowly on his breast. - </p> - <p> - The leader, who had quickly replaced his helmet, bent over him a moment, - sheathed his knife and said: - </p> - <p> - “A good stroke—all right—quick now—open the doors and - follow me.” - </p> - <p> - The guard at the door leading into the ballroom opened it gently and the - sweet strains of the music rang through the hall with startling - distinctness, as the white-masked figures slowly disappeared through the - panel under the stairs. - </p> - <p> - Aunt Julie Ann who had heard the Judge’s cry and the sudden noise entered - trembling. - </p> - <p> - “Name er God what’s dis!” she cried. “De light gone out! De ghost done - dat!” - </p> - <p> - She turned up the lamp and saw the Judge sitting dead in the chair, the - scarlet stain on his clean ruffled shirt holding her for a moment in - speechless horror. - </p> - <p> - Screaming at last, she rushed to the ballroom door and shouted: - </p> - <p> - “De Lawd hab mussy! De ghost done kill de Judge—Stab ’im fro - de heart!” - </p> - <p> - The music stopped with a crash and the crowd rushed into the hall. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0005" id="linkimage-0005"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0157.jpg" alt="0157 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0157.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - Stella stared at the lifeless form, her beautiful face whiter than the - dead, turned to the masqueraders huddled in a group, drew herself proudly - erect, pointed to the door and said: - </p> - <p> - “Go!” - </p> - <p> - Silently and quickly they left, and as the last beat of their horses’ - hoofs died away in the distance she lifted her face from her father’s hand - which she had covered with kisses, and groaned: - </p> - <p> - “Forgive me—forgive me! I have but one aim in life now—God - give me strength!” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - BOOK II—A WOMAN’S REVENGE - </h2> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER I—STELLA’S RESOLUTION - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE murder of Judge - Butler created a profound sensation both in the state and the nation. The - Northern press held the Ku Klux Klan guilty of this atrocious crime - without question, and it was the last straw needed to start an avalanche - of hostile legislation in Congress against the entire South. - </p> - <p> - The famous Conspiracy Act was rushed through both houses of the National - Legislature and signed by the President. It made membership in the secret - order known as the Ku Klux Klan, or Invisible Empire, a felony, and - provided for the trial of its members on the charge of treason, conspiracy - and murder. The President was authorised to suspend the writ of <i>habeas - corpus</i> and proclaim martial law in any county of the Southern States, - and use the army and navy to enforce his authority. - </p> - <p> - The Attorney General promptly placed the county of Independence under - military government, stationed two regiments of troops within its borders, - and set to work with scores of detectives to find the guilty man. - </p> - <p> - Two months passed without the slightest progress. Five thousand dollars - reward was offered by the national authorities and a similar sum by the - state. Not a trace of the man responsible for the deed could be found, - though a price of ten thousand dollars was set thus on his head. A number - of arrests had been made, but the evidence produced was of so flimsy a - character that in each instance the prisoner could not be held. - </p> - <p> - The longer the case was probed, the deeper became its insoluble aspects. - The “Butler Murder Mystery,” as it was popularly known, provoked the - widest public discussion, both in the state and national press, yet no - explanation from any quarter could be found. - </p> - <p> - The effects of the crime on the Ku Klux raiders was immediate. Not a trace - of their existence was left. The enormity of the tragedy had evidently - sobered the dare-devils who had found amusement or personal profit in its - activities. It now became the fashion to denounce the Klan and demand its - extermination. - </p> - <p> - As the order had never had a spokesman, it had no defender. The demand for - its suppression was universal. Yet no traitor had appeared among its - ranks. The deepest curses of a race were reserved for the white lip that - should betray its members. Whatever the leaders of public opinion might - say, the masses of the people knew the necessity which had called this - dreaded order into existence—the black threat of Negro dominion. - Thousands of women and children knew its secrets and held them inviolate. - </p> - <p> - On Stella Butler the death of her father had wrought a deep and remarkable - change. The fun-loving, imperious, self-willed, spoiled child had suddenly - become a serious woman. She had given every hour of her time assisting the - authorities in their search for the murderer and had followed every - possible clue with breathless hope. - </p> - <p> - Two forces had driven her into a morbid interest in the crime, pride and - remorse. In mere laughing banter she had promised her father if a single - insult should be offered him, or a hair of his head harmed, she would give - her life to avenge the deed. She had not dreamed of such a possibility. - But now that the impossible had happened, she would make good her word to - the dead. And she would make it good, not only because she had promised - and her heart was sick with remorse for the part she had unconsciously - played in the tragedy, but for a deeper personal reason—the - consciousness of the insult to her pride which the crime had offered. The - assassin had dared to strike her father dead in her home, in her very - presence. - </p> - <p> - Had the knife sought her own heart she would have felt less deeply the - wound. Somewhere even by her side there stood amid the shadows of life a - being who could thus insult her by ignoring her very existence! She - resolved to make that man feel her power by paying the penalty with his - own life. An element of pitiless cruelty in her character found for the - first time its expression in a passionate thirst for the blood of this - criminal. - </p> - <p> - She had seen every effort to penetrate the mystery fail with increasing - inward rage. Larkin, who had charge of the Judge’s campaign, had been - aggressive and untiring for two weeks and then had given up and returned - to his duties as Chairman of the State Executive Committee. - </p> - <p> - The Attorney General announced his departure for Washington and ordered - the withdrawal of the troops and detectives. - </p> - <p> - Stella hastened to send her burning protest against his action. General - Champion, who had been deeply moved by her beauty and evident suffering, - called personally at the old Graham mansion for an interview. He received - her indignant protests with the gravest courtesy. - </p> - <p> - “Please don’t tell me, General,” she began bitterly, “that my father’s - death is an apparently insoluble mystery. I am sick, sick, sick of hearing - such rubbish! Eight weeks ago he was murdered in cold blood in this hall - on the very spot where you are now sitting. It was not done by ghosts, it - was not an accident, it was done by a living man. I refuse to recognise in - it an act of Providence. I will not wear an emblem of mourning as long as - this man breathes on earth. I have sworn it My father was in the service - of his country attempting to enforce its laws. I have the right to demand - that a rich and powerful government avenge his death. It is incredible - that the coward who did this crime can not be caught and punished.” - </p> - <p> - “Upon the other hand, my dear child,” said the General, “I assure you that - the apprehension of this criminal is one of the most difficult tasks ever - assigned the Department of Justice.” - </p> - <p> - “And why, pray?” - </p> - <p> - “Because in this climate the Invisible Empire is yet stronger than the - visible——” - </p> - <p> - “You believe then that the Klan committed the deed?” she asked - </p> - <p> - “As sure of it as that I live. If we were dealing with the ordinary - criminal, it would be easy. We are dealing with larger problems. Every - clue we have found has proven false for this reason. The man really - responsible stands at our elbow did we but know the truth.” - </p> - <p> - “What do you mean?” Stella asked with sudden interest. - </p> - <p> - “That your father’s death was ordered by an inner circle of the Invisible - Empire. He was probably executed by an individual who did not even know - his name. The occasion of the masquerade ball was simply utilised for the - purpose. Unless we know the name of the Chief of the Klan in this state no - progress can be made. This man has the power of life and death over his - men. No such deed could have been committed without his order.” - </p> - <p> - “And you are going to give up the search?” was the eager question. - </p> - <p> - “For the present yes. It is a waste of time.” - </p> - <p> - “And you have formed no idea as to who this Chief may be?” asked the big - brown eyes, flashing with a new purpose. - </p> - <p> - “I haven’t a scrap of evidence that can be used in an English-speaking - court of justice—but I am morally certain that I know the man.” - </p> - <p> - “And if you knew him by his own confession?” - </p> - <p> - “I could send him to the gallows within thirty days.” - </p> - <p> - “The man you suspect?” - </p> - <p> - “John Graham!” - </p> - <p> - Stella sprang to her feet, her face white with an emotion which stopped - for a moment her very heart-beat. - </p> - <p> - “Within a month I’ll tell you the truth”—she said with laboured - breath. - </p> - <p> - “Can you do it?” - </p> - <p> - “Beyond the shadow of a doubt!” was her firm answer. - </p> - <p> - The General seized her hand as he took his leave. - </p> - <p> - “If you do, my child, you will destroy an empire mightier than the law of - the land. I’ll place the entire resources of the Department of Justice at - your command.” - </p> - <p> - Stella’s brown eyes rested on her own beautiful reflection in the mirror - as she slowly said: - </p> - <p> - “Thank you, General, I have at present all the weapons I shall need.” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER II—WEIGHED AND FOUND WANTING - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">S</span>TELLA was putting - the last touches to a perfect toilet before meeting Steve Hoyle who was - waiting impatiently below. She had given him the sign for which he had - long prayed, her permission for the formal renewal of his suit. They had - remained friends on condition that he keep silent on the subject until she - gave him permission to speak. She had done this in the most delicate way - in the note of reply she had sent in the afternoon to his request for - permission to call. - </p> - <p> - She had determined to take Steve by storm to-night. The secret on which - her heart was set she counted already within her grasp, yet she would - leave no stone unturned, neglect no trick in all the known realm of - woman’s art to make her victory absolute. - </p> - <p> - Her refusal to put on black at her father’s funeral, or wear it since, and - her declaration that his death was not the act of God but of the devil, - had shocked the tradition-loving Southern people beyond measure. Maggie - had lost no time in telling her their comments. She heard them with - contempt and proceeded to shock her critics still worse by establishing - herself permanently in the great lonely house with only Aunt Julie Ann as - her guardian. - </p> - <p> - Her whole being was fused into a single deathless purpose—to take - the life of the man who had killed her father. She would stop at no means - to accomplish this end, and she would treat with scorn every convention of - society which might interfere. - </p> - <p> - She slowly descended the winding stairs to-night before Steve’s enraptured - gaze, dressed in pure white with full train. A single deep red rose was - set in her black hair. Her arms were bare and their beauty was perfect—starting - with the tiniest wrists and swelling into full voluptuous splendour above - the dimpled elbows. She had a way of moving them when she walked which was - modest yet subtle in sensuous suggestion. - </p> - <p> - Steve watched her spellbound. She placed her hand in his with a tender - smile, the brown eyes watching the effects of her beauty with quiet - triumph. - </p> - <p> - She allowed Steve to silently lead her to the old davenport under the - stairs and take his seat by her side. - </p> - <p> - “You meant what your letter implied?” he asked eagerly. - </p> - <p> - “I did,” was the firm answer. - </p> - <p> - “It seemed too good to be true, dear, yet I felt sure that you would need - me in this crisis of your life.” - </p> - <p> - “I do need you. I wonder if you will prove wanting when put to the test?” - </p> - <p> - “Try me!” he boldly challenged. - </p> - <p> - “You are sure that you love me with a love that will endure through good - and evil, through life and death, through every test?” - </p> - <p> - She leaned close, her eyes searching Steve’s soul. - </p> - <p> - The man drew a deep breath and his hand grasped hers with fierce passion. - </p> - <p> - “I love you beyond the power of words to tell—I worship you!” he - cried, attempting instinctively to draw her into his arms. - </p> - <p> - “Yes I know,” she answered, lifting her hand in warning, “you love me that - way—I don’t say it displeases me—I have a soul and I have a - body too. There’s something big, fierce, and strong in you, Steve, that - always drew me—that draws me to you to-night—but I want to - know if your love goes deeper than the body; if it’s big enough, true - enough to dare anything in this world or the next for the woman you love?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes!” he cried. - </p> - <p> - “You love me better than money?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes!” - </p> - <p> - “Better than power?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes!” - </p> - <p> - “Better than your own life?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes!” he whispered, crushing her hand in his. - </p> - <p> - “Suppose I should put you to a test and you should fail?” - </p> - <p> - “With your eyes calling me I’d dare the terrors of hell!” - </p> - <p> - She took both his hands, fixed her eyes on his until their warm brown - light enfolded him with tenderness: - </p> - <p> - “Give me the name of the Chief of the Ku Klux Klan in North Carolina,” she - whispered. - </p> - <p> - Steve’s face went white, and he stammered: - </p> - <p> - “Why—why—my dear—how—can—I? I don’t know - him. It’s impossible!” - </p> - <p> - “Nothing is impossible to the man who loves me if I desire it,” she - answered, firmly holding Steve with her eyes dilated to extraordinary size - under the tension of her deep emotion. - </p> - <p> - He turned from her gaze, the cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. - </p> - <p> - “But, Stella, my dear, I’m not a member of the Klan.” - </p> - <p> - She dropped his hand, sprang to her feet, and looked at him a moment. - </p> - <p> - “You are lying!” - </p> - <p> - “I swear I’m telling you the truth,” he cried, eagerly attempting to - regain her hand. - </p> - <p> - She turned from him with contempt. She saw too late that she had - overplayed the part. She had been too eager, too sure. He was a greater - coward than she had suspected. - </p> - <p> - “But why should you ask such a thing of me?” he stammered. - </p> - <p> - “You know why.” - </p> - <p> - “I haven’t the remotest idea.” - </p> - <p> - “Coward!” she hissed, turning suddenly. “You know that I wish to hang this - man for the murder of my father.” - </p> - <p> - “If the Government of the United States with its army and navy and its - millions cannot find him—am I a coward because I tell you that I do - not know his name?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes.” - </p> - <p> - “In God’s name why?” he pleaded. - </p> - <p> - “I know that you are a member of the Klan.” - </p> - <p> - “Upon my soul and honour I swear that I am not!” - </p> - <p> - “Have you either soul or honour?” - </p> - <p> - “I won’t quarrel with you, dear; you are overwrought and crushed by this - tragedy. You don’t mean what you say.” - </p> - <p> - “I do mean it!” she fiercely cried. - </p> - <p> - “Then you’ll live to regret it,” he answered, recovering his composure. - “I’ll do anything within human reason. You must not ask the impossible.” - </p> - <p> - “Then you will help me to find this man?” - </p> - <p> - “To the limit of my power.” - </p> - <p> - “Why say to the limit of my power? I hate a man who fences, squirms and - lies when face to face with a test of his manhood! Will you help me find - this man? Yes or no?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes.” - </p> - <p> - “That’s better.” - </p> - <p> - “But tell me,” he said, watching her with increasing reserve and cunning. - “Whom do you suspect?” - </p> - <p> - “John Graham.” - </p> - <p> - Steve’s eyes flashed. - </p> - <p> - “And what is your programme when you have established the fact?” - </p> - <p> - “The Attorney General has promised to hang him within thirty days.” - </p> - <p> - “With all due respect to the Attorney General—he can’t do it.” - </p> - <p> - “Why not?” - </p> - <p> - “We are living under conditions of revolution. No jury can be found who - will convict him. There’s but one way.” - </p> - <p> - “What do you mean?” Stella asked, lowering her voice. - </p> - <p> - “That beyond a doubt John Graham inspired this crime.” - </p> - <p> - “You believe it?” she broke in fiercely. - </p> - <p> - “I’m sure of it. His hatred of the Judge had become a mania. He used the - Klan as the cloak of his hired assassin.” - </p> - <p> - “The Klan decreed his death,” said Stella sternly. - </p> - <p> - “John Graham decreed it.” - </p> - <p> - “What do you propose?” she asked, again coming close to Steve. - </p> - <p> - “To have him executed by the Klan itself!” - </p> - <p> - “And yet you are not a member?” she asked with a smile. - </p> - <p> - “I am in touch with men who are.” - </p> - <p> - “How could his execution be brought about?” - </p> - <p> - “Ask him the question you put to me.” - </p> - <p> - “And if he tells?” - </p> - <p> - “He will forfeit his life.” - </p> - <p> - Stella’s eyes rested a moment on the chair in which her father fell the - night of his death. She turned and gazed into Steve’s face with a strange - absent expression in her eyes as though they were seeing a picture which - had etched itself in fire on her soul. - </p> - <p> - “I’m going to cultivate Mr. Graham’s acquaintance,” she slowly said. “I’ll - learn from his own lips if he is the leader of the Ku Klux Klan.” - </p> - <p> - “And if you find that he is?” - </p> - <p> - “I may hold you to your pledge!” - </p> - <p> - “And on the day he is executed.” - </p> - <p> - “I will marry you!” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER III—THE TRAP IS SET - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE next morning - Steve Hoyle left town and Stella began at once to put into execution her - plan to entrap John Graham in the meshes of her beauty and deliver him to - justice. She felt instinctively that if this man with his intense and - romantic nature ever yielded to the spell of her love, there could be no - limit to which he would not go at her bidding. With equal certainty she - realised that the task would be a delicate one—a task which might - put to the test every power she possessed. Her whole being rose to the - work with a thrill of keen, cruel interest—the interest of the - primitive huntress on track of the rarest, wildest and most daring game. - </p> - <p> - The first difficulty which apparently opened an impassable gulf between - them was the suit which John Graham had begun to regain possession of the - estate. The language in which his complaint had been drawn was the limit - of bitter accusation permitted in a legal document—parts of it, - indeed, the Court had ordered stricken from the record as scandalous and - irrelevant. - </p> - <p> - Stella’s eyes danced with excitement as she read in the morning’s paper - the announcement of his withdrawal of this suit. The news was accompanied - by a brief statement which might have been written as a personal apology - to her for the language he had used. - </p> - <p> - <i>“I beg leave to say to the public in withdrawing this action that I - regret the overheated language in which the original complaint was - expressed.”</i> - </p> - <p> - Without a moment’s hesitation she seized her pen and wrote him an - invitation to call. Her words revealed the deeply laid scheme on which her - mind had seized in a flash of inspiration. She read and reread it - carefully: - </p> - <p> - <i>My dear Mr. Graham:</i> - </p> - <p> - <i>Permit me to thank you for the manly words of retraction which you have - used in this morning’s paper.-Your withdrawal of this suit and the - generous manner in which it was done, removes the only barrier to our - friendly acquaintance. I wish to renew it, and ask you to please accept at - once the position of my personal attorney in the settlement of my father’s - estate. Your influence in the courts of North Carolina, your eloquence and - genius will, be of invaluable service to an orphan girl who needs the - advice of one on whose integrity she can absolutely rely.</i> - </p> - <p> - <i>Trusting that you may honour me by answering this request in person at - three o’clock this afternoon.</i> - </p> - <p> - <i>Sincerely,</i> - </p> - <p> - <i>Stella Butler.</i> - </p> - <p> - John Graham could not believe his senses when he first read this letter. - The boy had turned and gone without waiting for an answer and he sat - stupefied by a whirl of conflicting emotions. - </p> - <p> - He read it again, bent and kissed her name. He had never before seen her - handwriting. He studied it with curious interest. Its deep lines revealed - with startling distinctness traits of a remarkable character. It was full - of long strokes of the pen with equal emphasis across, up and down. The - letters were unevenly formed, showing the self-willed, imperious spirit - that had refused to copy the lines set by another hand, and yet the effect - was pleasing and held the eye in a continuous surprise at its sensational - curves and dashes. Through every line he felt the throb of an intense - nature, which seemed to sink into inaudible whispers of emotion in the - queer little twists of the pen with which each sentence ended. - </p> - <p> - He placed the note in an inner pocket. Had he received this invitation - yesterday, he would have locked his doors, shouted and danced for joy at - the opportunity to press her hand again and look into those deep brown - eyes that haunted him waking or dreaming. Now it was a serious question. - Within twenty-four hours he had received confirmation of two suspicions - which had oppressed him since the night of Butler’s death—that his - father might have committed the deed and that Billy was in the party of - masqueraders. - </p> - <p> - In either case, the stain of the Judge’s blood was on the house of Graham - and the Angel of Death stood with drawn sword barring the way of his - happiness. He would not seek the hand of Stella with the blood of her - father on his own. He would accept the moral responsibility of his - father’s act or that of his younger brother. He had reproached himself - bitterly that he had neglected to know and teach his high-strung younger - brother as he might. The mother dead, his father a hopeless mental - invalid, Billy had grown up with no hand to guide his wayward fancy. It - was not to be wondered at that he soon recognised no authority save that - of his own will. - </p> - <p> - Stella’s request had brought John face to face with the problems of his - father and Billy. He must know the truth before he could answer that - letter. Better to strangle the love that was fast swelling in his heart - than wait until the hour when the call of love might drown the voice of - honour. - </p> - <p> - He left his office and went at once to his father’s room. The Major was - dressed with his habitual care, his linen spotless, his boots carefully - polished, his thin white hair brushed straight back from his high - forehead. He was seated in his armchair, gently stroking with his - chalk-white bony hand his delicate ghostly beard, while delivering to - Alfred one of his interminable talks of the old life in the South. At - times he forgot the war and the horrors which followed and reenacted the - scenes of the past until his former slave, too full to bear more, would - stop him tenderly, and get him to change the subject. - </p> - <p> - “Leave us awhile, Alfred,” John said, on entering. - </p> - <p> - “Yassah,” the old butler answered, bowing himself out with stately - dignity. - </p> - <p> - John closed the door and drew his chair close to the Major’s. - </p> - <p> - “Father, I want to ask you something very particular,” he began. - </p> - <p> - The old man smiled indulgently. - </p> - <p> - “Well, out with it, you young rascal! You’ve been flying round her long - enough. I knew it would come at last. So she’s got you, has she! Well, - well, Jennie’s a fine girl, my boy; I danced at her father’s and mother’s - wedding. I wish I had more to give you. You’ll have to be content with the - lower plantation, and a dozen slaves to start with.” - </p> - <p> - “Listen, father,” John urged, stopping him with a gentle pressure on his - arm. “And try to remember. Have you encountered Butler lately?” - </p> - <p> - “Change our butler!—what better butler do you want than Alfred? He’s - an aristocrat to his finger tips. I wouldn’t think of reducing him from - his present rank; what has he done to offend any one?” - </p> - <p> - “I mean the Judge who took the house—I mean Judge Butler.” - </p> - <p> - “Ah! A man of low origin and no principle, my son—a renegade who - betrayed his people for thirty pieces of silver—silver stained with - blood—a dirty, contemptible office-seeker. I wouldn’t lower myself - by speaking to such a man.” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I know father,” John broke in, “but I’m trying to recall to your - memory the visits you have made at night lately to the old home.” - </p> - <p> - “Of course, I love the old home. I was born here. I brought my bride here. - I’ll never leave it except for a better world.” - </p> - <p> - John felt a lump rise in his throat and rose to go. It was useless. - Besides, the thing was unthinkable. How could this feeble old man spring - on one of Butler’s physique and stab him to death. He couldn’t, except in - a moment of superhuman frenzy which sometimes comes to the insane. There - was the thought which returned again and again to torment him! Aunt Julie - Ann declared the ghost was seen to pass through the hall and go upstairs - but a few moments before the tragedy. Yes, it was possible. - </p> - <p> - John peered into his father’s restless eyes with a mad desire to lift the - mysterious veil that obscured the world from his vision. The horror of the - sickening tragedy strangled him and he turned, abruptly leaving the room. - </p> - <p> - He sought Billy with a growing sense of helpless and bitter despair. Since - the day of their brief quarrel which followed the demonstration before old - Larkin, Billy had avoided John. Since Butler’s death they had scarcely - spoken. The effect of this tragedy on his headstrong younger brother first - led John to suspect his membership in the newly organised Klan under - Steve’s leadership. - </p> - <p> - John found him in his room reading. - </p> - <p> - “Billy, I must have a serious talk with you,” the older brother began. - </p> - <p> - “All right, sit down,” the boy answered, laying aside his book. - </p> - <p> - “A youngster of eighteen who keeps to his room for days at a time and - reads is either sick or has something on his mind.” - </p> - <p> - “Which do you think?” Billy asked, looking vaguely out the window. - </p> - <p> - “I’ll answer you by asking a question, and I want you to answer on the - honour of a Graham. Are you a member of Steve Hoyle’s Klan?” - </p> - <p> - “You have no right to ask that question,” was the hot reply. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I have,” John slowly said, “for two reasons. As the organiser of the - original Ku Klux Klan in this state I hold myself in a measure responsible - for its existence even in its lowest forms. But that’s not all, my boy, - you’re my brother, and I love you.” - </p> - <p> - Billy’s eyes blinked and he looked at the ceiling. He had never heard such - an expression from John’s lips before. - </p> - <p> - “I wish I’d slipped my arm around you and told you that long ago. I’ve - always been proud of your high-strung, sensitive spirit, proud in my own - heart that we were of the same blood, and I want to ask you to forgive me - for seeing so little of you and being of so little help to you.” - </p> - <p> - A sob caught the boy’s breath. - </p> - <p> - “You’ll let me help you now?” John asked tenderly, extending his hand. - </p> - <p> - Billy rose trembling, his eyes running over with tears, took a step toward - the door, turned and threw himself into John’s arms, sobbing bitterly. - </p> - <p> - The older brother held him close for a moment in silence, and slowly said - at last: - </p> - <p> - “Now tell me.” - </p> - <p> - “I was at Judge Butler’s that night!” - </p> - <p> - John sank to a chair with a groan. - </p> - <p> - “My God! I knew it!” - </p> - <p> - “But, of course, you know that I had nothing to do with any attack on a - man in whose house I was a guest,” he went on rapidly. “The whole thing is - a horrible mystery to us all. Every man in our crowd was in the ballroom - dancing.” - </p> - <p> - “How did you know that?” John interrupted sharply. - </p> - <p> - “Because I counted them as they entered.” - </p> - <p> - “<i>You</i> counted them?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes.” - </p> - <p> - “Then you were in command of the crowd?” Billy hesitated a moment, and - said: - </p> - <p> - “Yes!” - </p> - <p> - John drew a deep breath and turned his head away in anguish. - </p> - <p> - “I could not resist the temptation to lead them. I wanted to see inside - the old house again—you understand. I never dreamed of anything - happening.” - </p> - <p> - “None of the boys were drinking?” - </p> - <p> - “No, and there wasn’t a fool among them—they were all my chums and - friends in town.” - </p> - <p> - “Then go at once and tell them that I say to put a thousand miles between - them and this town in the next forty-eight hours—to Texas if - possible.” - </p> - <p> - “Why?” asked Billy with a touch of wounded pride. - </p> - <p> - “There are a hundred reasons—one is enough. There’s a price on the - head of the man who committed that crime.” - </p> - <p> - “My men didn’t do it!” - </p> - <p> - “Granted. But one of these fine days a white-livered traitor may crawl - from your Klan and claim his reward of gold or office. You will be - convicted in ten minutes.” - </p> - <p> - Billy turned pale, and straightened his boyish figure. - </p> - <p> - “Well, I’ll tell my men to go. I’ll not run.” - </p> - <p> - “You can serve your men best by going. The bravest general always knows - when to retreat.” - </p> - <p> - “I’ll stand my ground.” - </p> - <p> - “You must go. I can fight for you better with a thousand miles between us. - I’ll play a trick on my Yankee friends this time. I’m going to send you - North into the enemy’s country—to college.” - </p> - <p> - Billy was trembling now with a new excitement. His heart was set on a - college career and he hadn’t as yet hoped to find the way. - </p> - <p> - “How will you do it?” he asked eagerly. - </p> - <p> - “Old Nickaroshinski will take my note. I’ll borrow the money.” - </p> - <p> - The boy smiled for the first time in a month. - </p> - <p> - “Oh! John, you’ve taken a load off my soul.” - </p> - <p> - John’s hand crushed the letter from Stella, which he was unconsciously - grasping in his pocket. - </p> - <p> - “And you’ve piled one on my soul under which I’ll stagger to the grave,” - he cried within, outwardly answering with a smile and warm grip of the - hand as he said: - </p> - <p> - “Quick now, boy. Don’t lose a minute. There will be some heart-broken - mothers in town tomorrow night. There’s but one choice: the plains of the - West, or a prison pen.” - </p> - <p> - “I’ll go at once,” Billy cried, seizing his hat and hastily leaving. - </p> - <p> - Pale and haggard, John slowly returned to his office. He looked at his - watch. It was five minutes to three. Stella was waiting to receive him. He - could hear the low sweet tones of her voice greeting him, and see her - great brown eyes smiling their welcome. - </p> - <p> - But his mind was made up. Safety lay in flight. He wrote a brief reply to - her letter. - </p> - <p> - <i>My dear Miss Butler:</i> - </p> - <p> - <i>I thank you for the honour you do me in the request you make. I regret - that I cannot see my way clear at present to accept your offer. I have - many reasons, and I beg you to believe that they are very serious ones—otherwise - I would hasten to answer in person your call.</i> - </p> - <p> - <i>With sincere regrets,</i> - </p> - <p> - <i>John Graham</i> - </p> - <p> - Stella received the note with mingled surprise and rage, and immediately - wired the Attorney General in the cipher code he had given her asking for - the assistance for two months of the best detective the Secret Service - could command. - </p> - <p> - General Champion replied within two hours. “Mr. Ackerman leaves here - to-night. He will report to you in Independence to-morrow.” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER IV—ACKERMAN SECURES A PLEDGE - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">A</span>CKERMAN sent to - Stella his letter of introduction from the Attorney General, stating that - he would call the following day and report progress. - </p> - <p> - General Champion’s letter had raised the highest hopes by the declaration - that the young detective had developed a well defined and intelligent - theory on which to conduct the prosecution of the case. - </p> - <p> - Stella awaited his call impatiently. She had pictured the ideal detective - of romance and could not conceal her amazement at his personal appearance - when she extended her hand to greet him. - </p> - <p> - His voice was soft and low as her own, his face wreathed in smiles—and - such a face!—plump, rosy cheeked, young, fresh and boyish, save for - the slightest touch of gray in the dark hair about his temples. His eye - alone, to the close student of men, might have revealed his profession. It - looked a steady blaze of light from beneath straight intellectual brows. - </p> - <p> - “You had better understand at once, Miss Butler,” he began, “that I am a - prosperous young business man from the North at present engaged in the - organisation of cotton mills in the South.” - </p> - <p> - Stella could not repress a smile, as she said: - </p> - <p> - “I must say you look the part.” - </p> - <p> - “I have engaged board at Mrs. Wilson’s and asked Mr. John Graham to act as - my attorney in the organisation of a company in this county.” - </p> - <p> - “I see,” she cried, for the first time catching the steady light of - Ackerman’s eye. - </p> - <p> - “I cannot be seen in conference with you. We will report to each other by - letter. But we must clearly understand each other. Am I right that you - mean to press this case to the bitter end, let the blow fall on whom it - may?” - </p> - <p> - “Certainly,” was the firm answer. - </p> - <p> - “I learn from the Attorney General’s office that you are on the track of - the man who is Commander-in-chief of the Klan in this state?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes.” - </p> - <p> - “Pardon another question. I must know if you are in dead earnest? I have - found that women have little tenacity of purpose in such cases and as a - rule cannot be depended on.” - </p> - <p> - “I’ll show you that they are not all alike!” Stella broke in angrily. - </p> - <p> - “Then may I ask that if you succeed in securing this name that you will - place it in my hands without a moment’s delay?” - </p> - <p> - “At once.” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0016" id="link2HCH0016"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER V—IN THE TOILS - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">S</span>TELLA determined - to make one more direct appeal to John Graham before resorting to indirect - subterfuges for the purpose of meeting him. - </p> - <p> - She wrote half a dozen letters and tore them up. They lacked simplicity. - The only effective appeal to this man must disarm all suspicion of - subtlety. It must be natural, sincere and ring true. She found it a very - difficult thing to express in cold written words one thing and mean - another, and yet preserve the ring of truth and sincerity. At last she - wrote a letter which seemed to be effective. She read it over and over, - and added to the paper the faintest touch of delicate perfume, an old - extract of sweet pinks, which she had used the night of their meeting. She - laid it aside and waited an hour to carefully read it again. It was too - important to risk a failure. Should he once suspect an ulterior purpose of - any kind her plan must end in utter defeat. She spent an hour walking - through the lawn, returned and read again the letter. - </p> - <p> - It seemed cold, stiff and artificial, and the touch of perfume obvious and - vulgar. It lacked the magnetism of personality. She had no power to convey - this as yet in words. She must see him face to face, hold him with the - deep charm of her great eyes, and enfold him with the spell of her beauty. - </p> - <p> - “I must see him,” she cried—“or I’ll fail! If I can only touch his - hand, stand by his side and look into his face, I’ll win.” - </p> - <p> - She walked to the window and stood thoughtful a moment. Suddenly her eyes - lighted. - </p> - <p> - “I’ll do it! I’ll go to his dingy office and ask for his services as any - other client. Why not? His sign is a standing invitation to the world. How - stupid of me to be wasting paper!” - </p> - <p> - In five minutes she was on the way. Her dress was a simple girlish pattern - of green dimity. A quaint bonnet of the period, flaring wide and high in - front, its tiny circular crown tilted, with ribbon tied under her dainty - chin, made a picture no artist could pass without a sigh. - </p> - <p> - She stopped before the wrought-iron weatherbeaten sign which hung from the - doorway leading up a flight of stairs to the young lawyer’s office. Her - heart fluttered with a moment of uncertainty as she felt herself standing - on the threshold of the most daring step of her life. The plain gold - letters of the sign held her with a strange fascination:= - </p> - <h3> - ````JOHN GRAHAM - </h3> - <h3> - ```ATTORNEY AND COUNSELLOR - </h3> - <h3> - `````AT LAW= - </h3> - <p> - She had never noticed this piece of plain black iron before, and yet - somehow it seemed a part of the record of her deep inner life, and, as it - moved, gently stirred by the soft breezes of a Southern day, creaking on - the rod from which it hung, the sound thrilled her with a feeling of - strange terror. She turned quickly away, her heart pounding with - excitement, and began to retrace her steps. - </p> - <p> - She walked a block, stopped, flushed red, frowned and turned on her heels. - </p> - <p> - “I’ll not be a silly coward. I’ll not look back again until it’s done.” - </p> - <p> - This time she walked firmly up the stairs and gently knocked on his door. - </p> - <p> - John had just finished his business with Nickaroshinski. - </p> - <p> - The old Jew had accepted his personal note unsecured by any endorsement - for the money needed to send Billy north to college. He sat in brooding - silence, idly holding between his fingers the paper on which he had - recorded the memorandum of his new indebtedness. He was not worrying over - his ability to pay—of that he felt sure. Butler had answered his - suit by removing the order of his disbarment on Larkin’s advice the day of - the County Convention. His practice gave promise of a comfortable living. - </p> - <p> - It was Billy’s flight, which was arranged for the following day, that had - focussed his thoughts on the miserable tragedy which had raised still - another barrier between him and his possible approach to Stella. - </p> - <p> - The knock on his door had not interrupted the train of his thought. He was - looking through his window into the deep blue of the infinite skies, and - linking in fancy the mysteries of their changing lights to those which - flashed from the fathomless depths of the eyes of the woman he loved. - </p> - <p> - He had mechanically answered the knock without moving and still sat - wide-eyed and dreaming when the rustle of Stella’s dress and the echo of - her soft footfall startled him. - </p> - <p> - He turned in amazement, stared, suddenly sprang to his feet, his face - flushed with excitement. Surely he was asleep—dreaming! Or had the - picture in his soul suddenly stepped from the infinite into the flesh and - blood of the finite in answer to the yearning call of his heart! A hundred - wild thoughts swept his imagination in the brief moment before he could - speak. - </p> - <p> - “I fear I’ve startled you!” she said, drawing back with a timid gesture. - </p> - <p> - “Why, why—it’s you—Miss Butler! I hadn’t dreamed of seeing you - in this dingy office!” - </p> - <p> - He stammered and hesitated, and continued to gaze at her in confusion. - </p> - <p> - “May I sit down?” she asked softly. - </p> - <p> - “I beg a thousand pardons,” he answered, springing across the room for a - chair. He dumped a pile of law books from it—brushed the dust from - the bottom and placed it before her. - </p> - <p> - “Believe me,” he went on, “I was so astonished at seeing you, I thought I - must have fallen asleep—you see it was too beautiful to be true—I - thought it must be a dream.” - </p> - <p> - “Well, there was nothing left but to humble myself and call on you—you - refused to call on me.” - </p> - <p> - “I can never tell you how sorry I was to have to write that note,” he said - gravely. - </p> - <p> - “I’m glad, for I refuse to take your letter as final. You said there were - many and serious reasons why you could not act as my counsel. I’ve come to - hear them.” - </p> - <p> - “I assure you they are serious enough, Miss Butler. I fear it will not be - possible for me to state them.” - </p> - <p> - “Then I refuse to accept them,” she answered with a smile. - </p> - <p> - John gazed at her, wondering if she could know what havoc her sweet - appealing smile was playing with his resolutions. - </p> - <p> - He tried to speak and couldn’t. - </p> - <p> - Stella continued, her voice low and musical with childlike tenderness: - </p> - <p> - “I know that my father was your political foe, but he had the profoundest - respect for your ability and your high sense of honour. His death will - doubtless remain one of the unexplained tragedies of the troubles through - which the country is now passing.” - </p> - <p> - She rose and slowly approached John’s chair, her great brown eyes blinding - him with their light as she gently laid a white hand on his shoulder. - </p> - <p> - He started at her touch. - </p> - <p> - “Mr. Graham,” she said, with exquisite tenderness, “life is too short to - cherish its bitter feuds.” - </p> - <p> - “Yes,” he answered in a whisper barely audible. - </p> - <p> - “I am utterly alone and distressed over business affairs I do not - understand. I have implicit faith in you. I need your help and advice. - Will you refuse me what you would grant without question to a stranger who - would call at this office and ask?” - </p> - <p> - John flushed and fumbled his hands nervously. - </p> - <p> - “Come, you will accept, will you not?” She extended her hand. “Shall we be - friends?” - </p> - <p> - He trembled for a moment and his own hand resistlessly sought hers. - </p> - <p> - “Yes!” he cried with deep emotion, unconsciously crushing her hand in his. - </p> - <p> - “You will come to-morrow morning to the house and go over the papers with - me?” - </p> - <p> - “To-morrow afternoon,” he replied, as a momentary cloud shadowed his brow. - “I have an important engagement for the morning.” And he thought of Billy - with a pang. - </p> - <p> - “Then to-morrow afternoon,” she cried, with a tender smile that lingered - as a caress long after she had passed from the door. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0017" id="link2HCH0017"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER VI—THE TRAIN FOR THE NORTH - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">O</span>NE by one the boys - engaged in the masquerade at the Judge’s the night of his death slipped - out of Independence from various nearby stations and left for the West. An - hour before the time for Billy’s train going North John went to his room - for a chat before saying good-bye. Billy had begun to unpack his trunk. - </p> - <p> - John seized his arm. - </p> - <p> - “What’s this—what’s the matter?” - </p> - <p> - “I’m not going!” he snapped. - </p> - <p> - “Why not?” - </p> - <p> - “I’ve found out that you may be put on trial for your life.” - </p> - <p> - “Well, what’s that got to do with your education?” - </p> - <p> - “You’re just packing me off to get me out of danger.” - </p> - <p> - “Suppose I am?” - </p> - <p> - “I’m not going to sneak out of trouble and leave you to stand for what - I’ve done.” - </p> - <p> - “I’m responsible, my boy.” - </p> - <p> - “You’re not. You tried to keep me out of it. I got Steve Hoyle to take me - in. I knew what I was doing. I was a headstrong fool.” - </p> - <p> - “Because you’ve been a fool is no reason why you should keep it up. Don’t - talk any more nonsense. Hurry—put your clothes back in that trunk—you - must catch this train.” - </p> - <p> - “No!” was the dogged answer. - </p> - <p> - John put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. - </p> - <p> - “You must do it for me, Billy. I’m trying to make good my failure. I ought - to have been both father and mother to you. I was neither—I didn’t - know how—forgive me! I let you slip away. It seems to me now it - would have been very easy for me to have taken you by the hand, and with a - jolly word or two and a little pains and a little friendly comradeship, I - could have kept you out of trouble. I’m heartsick over it, boy. You must - let me atone in this way. You can do no good by staying. You’ll be in the - way when trouble comes. You’ll promise me now, because I ask you—won’t - you?” - </p> - <p> - The boy choked back a sob. - </p> - <p> - “I’ll go on one condition——” - </p> - <p> - “Well?” - </p> - <p> - “If you get in trouble about this thing, that you’ll let me know.” - </p> - <p> - John grasped his hand: - </p> - <p> - “I promise you.” - </p> - <p> - Mrs. Wilson and Susie accompanied them to the station. As the train - signalled to pull out Billy shook hands with Susie awkwardly and tried to - take leave of her mother in the same way, but Mrs. Wilson broke down, - threw her arms around his neck and sobbed: - </p> - <p> - “Billy, darling, you’re my own sweet boy—I love you—I love - you! You’ll write to me every week—won’t you?” - </p> - <p> - Billy promised, disengaging himself in evident embarrassment and trying to - hide his tears. - </p> - <p> - Moved by a sudden impulse Susie smiled, drew Billy’s head down and kissed - him. - </p> - <p> - “For the high honour you once paid me. I shall expect great things of you, - Billy.” - </p> - <p> - As the train started, he gripped John’s hand: - </p> - <p> - “Remember, we stand together. We are Grahams—I’ll hold you to your - promise!” - </p> - <p> - John saw Ackerman join Susie and caught the sudden flash of his keen eye. - </p> - <p> - He touched his lip in sign of warning to Billy and waved his hand. - </p> - <p> - “I’ll remember! Good luck!” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0018" id="link2HCH0018"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER VII—THE DAUGHTER OF EVE - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">S</span>TELLA had piled on - the big oblong oak table in the library the letters and legal documents - relating to her father’s estate. - </p> - <p> - She had determined to treat John Graham’s first visit as a purely business - one, and make her approach to him by the more subtle way of child-like - dependence on his help and advice. - </p> - <p> - She wore on purpose the same simple green dimity dress in which she had - called at his office. Each step in her plans must be taken with the utmost - care. He had masked his feelings with an iron will and she could as yet - form no conception of the impression she had made. - </p> - <p> - Seated beside the table, idly turning the papers, she awaited his coming - to-night with the keenest interest, every faculty of her being keyed to - the highest pitch of power. - </p> - <p> - A letter from Ackerman had aroused anew her curiosity over every detail of - the murder of her father and had given her a definite purpose toward which - to work during John’s visit. She studied carefully again the paragraph in - which he said: - </p> - <p> - <i>“I have made several important discoveries in the past twenty-four - hours. (1) That old Isaac has left the county and is not holding a - sanctification meeting as he told his wife. (2) That Larkin and your - father had a violent quarrel on the day of the Convention. (3) That a - dozen young men, one at a time, have left Independence recently. (4) And - most important, that the tradition that there is a secret passage - somewhere into the Graham house must be true. If you can confirm this - fourth fact for me by its discovery my work will be greatly helped.”</i> - </p> - <p> - Stella had quietly ransacked the house from cellar to attic in vain - searching for this secret way. She had questioned Aunt Julie Ann without - results, and had made up her mind to gain from John first this important - fact. - </p> - <p> - The brass knocker struck three sharp strokes on the front door. With a - quick, cat-like movement she concealed Ackerman’s letter in her bosom, - smoothed her dress, and as the young lawyer entered, rose and greeted him - with a gracious smile. - </p> - <p> - “I must thank you again for undertaking this work for me,” she said, - taking his hand. “It is such a relief to feel that it is now in the hands - of one who understands—one I can trust implicitly.” - </p> - <p> - “It will be a pleasure if I can serve you,” he answered gravely. - </p> - <p> - “I have the papers all spread out here ready for you.” - </p> - <p> - “Pardon me, if I look about the room a moment,” John said with deep - emotion. “You see I haven’t been in this room before for years. I spent - many happy hours in it, in the old days.” - </p> - <p> - “I hope this will not be the last time you will enter, now that we are - going to be friends. When we have time you must take me all through in - every nook and corner—show me all the secret closets and dark - passageways and tell me its history.” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, of course”—he answered with an absent look. - </p> - <p> - “I don’t believe you were listening to what I said at all,” she exclaimed - with mock anger. “A penny for your real thoughts!” - </p> - <p> - “May I be bold enough to tell you just what I was thinking?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes.” - </p> - <p> - “I was thinking,” he said with a sober smile, “what a beautiful picture - you make in this old oak panelled room. The delicate lines of your face - seem at home here as though the master workman who carved the figure in - that mantel had seen you in a vision while he was at work.” - </p> - <p> - “What a dreamer you are!” she laughed. - </p> - <p> - “And you are willing to trust me as a lawyer?” - </p> - <p> - “Absolutely.” - </p> - <p> - “Then I must prove myself worthy, mustn’t I?” - </p> - <p> - “The papers are ready”—she said, bustling about the table and mixing - the bundles in greater confusion with an attempt at arranging them in - business order. - </p> - <p> - John seated himself and began to examine them. She bent over his shoulder - saying with a light laugh: - </p> - <p> - “I’ll do my best to explain them—they are all Greek to me—but - you’ll understand.” - </p> - <p> - “I’m sure there will be no great difficulty.” - </p> - <p> - He ran rapidly over the bundles and in half an hour had made memorandums - of each division of the work before him. He took up one of the packages - and began its careful reading, but the writing faded. He could hear Stella - softly breathing as she bent near him and see the beautiful little hand - resting on the table. He was seized with a mad impulse to grasp it and - clasp her in his arms. He smiled and placed his hand on his forehead a - moment lest she might see his confusion. He could endure it no longer. He - must leave and regain control of himself. - </p> - <p> - He tied the packages of papers together and rose. - </p> - <p> - “You are going so soon?” she asked. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I’ll take them down to my office. It will require several hours to - go over them.” - </p> - <p> - “You will come again to-morrow?” she said softly. - </p> - <p> - “I’ll report to you again to-morrow evening.” - </p> - <p> - “I shall expect you at eight,” she said, extending her hand. - </p> - <p> - He held it unconsciously for an instant, and wondered if she could feel - the pounding of his heart. - </p> - <p> - He came each evening for a week and spent two hours in the library with - Stella until every letter and paper had been thoroughly examined. In a - hundred little ways she had made him feel the power and charm of her - personality; in no way so keenly, perhaps, as in the long silences during - which she sat near with her great brown eyes watching him intently. He - could feel their deep mysterious light in whatever direction he turned. In - no other way could she have made so powerful an appeal to his imagination. - To his poetic fancy, this capacity for silent comradeship in a girl so - young revealed a depth of character which he had not suspected. - </p> - <p> - The real depth of its meaning he could not dream. The moments of exultant - triumph, of breathless suspense, of merciless cruelty with which she - watched him slowly entering the trap she had set, were safely concealed - beneath the childlike expression of her beautiful face. - </p> - <p> - Each night he felt his resolution to allow no word of love to pass his - lips harder and harder to keep. And each night she watched with increasing - excitement his gradual approach to the brink of the precipice to which she - silently beckoned. - </p> - <p> - On the night of his final report when the work was finished, she looked at - him intently and said: “Now, I’m going to hold you to your promise.” - </p> - <p> - “And have I broken one?” - </p> - <p> - “Only forgotten it, I think—you must go over the old house with me—every - nook and corner. But before we start, come, you are tired, I’ve some - refreshments for you.” - </p> - <p> - She led the way into the dining room where she had prepared a dainty - supper. Aunt Julie Ann in spotless white cap and apron, stood smiling her - welcome. The table was lighted with a dozen wax candles set in two old - silver candelabra which had belonged to the Graham family more than a - hundred years, until they had fallen with the house and its furnishings - into the Judge’s hands. - </p> - <p> - Stella seated herself at one end of the table which had been shortened to - its smallest size and placed John at the other. Her position, the lights - and the effects of the picture in his imagination, she had carefully - planned and rehearsed before his arrival. She meant to win to-night. - </p> - <p> - Behind her stood the rich old mahogany sideboard of Colonial pattern, the - Graham silver flashing in the quaint gold mirror which hung above it. In - the mirror her own image was clearly reflected. The man opposite could - look into her face and at the same time see in the shining silvery picture - above the sideboard the black ringlets of curling hair at the back of her - neck, as well as the exquisite lines of her figure. - </p> - <p> - John gazed at her in silent wonder. Never had he seen a picture so - appealing in its beauty to every sense of his being. He felt that she was - born to sit at that table amid such surroundings. - </p> - <p> - She lifted the teapot to fill his cup: - </p> - <p> - “This little feast is to celebrate the completion of our work.” - </p> - <p> - “And seal our friendship, may I hope?” he broke in with a smile. - </p> - <p> - “Yes,” she answered in a whisper. - </p> - <p> - These soft notes of her voice thrilled the man before her, and his whole - being quivered in response to their call. He wondered if he could conceal - the hunger with which he was looking into her eyes. - </p> - <p> - He had always thought her the most beautiful being he had ever seen, but - to-night for the first time she had dressed specially to receive him, and - his imagination had not dreamed the picture—Her beauty fairly - stunned him. - </p> - <p> - Her dress was of filmy zephyr-like white chiffon, cut low to show the full - lines of the neck and shoulders. Around the upper part of her beautiful - bare arms, where they melted into the shoulders, was drawn a scarf of - delicate lace. Where it crossed the waist line in V shape, was pinned an - ivorytype miniature portrait of her proud mother, painted at her own age - of twenty, which looked so strikingly like the living form above, it might - have been taken for the image of a twin sister. A sash of pink ribbon - encircled her figure. The skirt hung in full puffy lines draped over a - number of under-skirts after the fashion of the period. The bottom of the - skirt was finished with a border of lace on the top of which were set at - intervals clusters of little pink roses wrought in silk. - </p> - <p> - Her curly crown of black hair was parted in the middle and drawn low on - the side of the face in two great waves and tied behind with a pink - ribbon. The long ends were curled into four strands and thrown carelessly - around her neck in front and hung to the waist. Her head was circled with - a tiny wreath of the living pink roses from which the silk ones had been - modelled. To John’s fancy this wreath against her black hair seemed the - jewelled crown of a queen set in priceless rubies. - </p> - <p> - She poured the tea with her bare arm uplifted in a fascinating pose, the - right arm curved just enough to tilt the teapot and yet preserve the - dimple at her elbow. In all his life he could not remember an arm like - these—so graceful, so seductive each little movement, they seemed to - possess a conscious soul of their own. Her whole being spoke the charm of - the boundless vitality of youth just budding into perfect womanhood. Her - delicate skin flashed its tints in harmony with every mood of thought in - her voice. She had as a divine gift a sensitiveness of expression, so - acute that it could be controlled by the fierce will which hid beneath the - velvet surface. She could blush at will because her imagination was so - vivid that she could direct its powers by a subtle process of - auto-suggestion. - </p> - <p> - John had not realised until he saw her eat how wonderful were the lines of - her luscious lips. He felt that he could sit there forever and watch her - dainty wrist and tapering fingers lift the cup. Her eyes were friendly - to-night! They looked at him with dreamy tenderness, a childlike trust, - and perfect faith. - </p> - <p> - How could he live through the evening without telling her of his love! Yet - he must keep silent. He felt with deep foreboding an approaching - catastrophe which must soon overwhelm the men who had created an Empire - whose power they could not control. That Empire had left a stain of blood - on the floor of this house—a stain that must forever darken his own - life and hers—and yet—how could he give her up? - </p> - <p> - He rose from the table at her suggestion and followed her in a spell as - she lifted a silver candlestick above her head and started to explore the - house. - </p> - <p> - He found his tongue at last and told her with boyish enthusiasm the - legends of the old mansion, the associations of each room, and sketched - with good-humoured criticism the peculiarities of his people. In the - gallery of the observatory he showed her the spots from which the - slightest sounds were echoed to the hall below, and explained the origin - of many of the ghost stories which the Negroes believed with such implicit - faith. - </p> - <p> - Stella leaned over the railing and looked down into the hall at the chair - in which her father had fallen the night of the dance, and a curious smile - played about her lips. - </p> - <p> - “And what are you smiling at?” he asked softly. - </p> - <p> - Without the quiver of an eyelid, either in surprise or recognition of the - fact that he had caught her in a moment off her guard, she replied: - </p> - <p> - “I was just wondering if you ever believed in ghosts?” - </p> - <p> - “Of course,” he laughed. - </p> - <p> - “Really?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes. When Aunt Julie Ann used to tell them to me at night in the nursery - they were vivid and terrible realities.” - </p> - <p> - “And you’ve laughed away all the romances of childhood now?” - </p> - <p> - “No,” he answered firmly. “I halfway believe in ghosts still, and the old - dreams of beauty and love, of honour and truth, seem to me more and more - the only things in human life that have any value.” - </p> - <p> - They had returned to the hall. Stella placed the candle on the table and - sat down on the davenport. John followed her instinctively and seated - himself by her side. - </p> - <p> - Suddenly she placed her soft hand on his, exclaiming: - </p> - <p> - “Oh! There’s one thing we’ve forgotten!” She felt him tremble at her - touch. - </p> - <p> - “What?” - </p> - <p> - “The legend of the secret way—tell me about it—how it - originated and all—of course, I know it is only a legend. Such - things are only found in stories.” - </p> - <p> - John looked at her, with a smile playing about the corners of his mouth. - </p> - <p> - “You have ceased to believe in romance, ghosts and fairies?” - </p> - <p> - “I’ll believe it if you tell me,” she said softly. - </p> - <p> - John took her hand and lifted her from the lounge. - </p> - <p> - “Have you faith enough to follow me through the dark secret way to-night - if I can find it for you?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes!” she whispered, leaning toward him trustingly. - </p> - <p> - “Then I’m going to do what was never done before—show this secret - way to one who does not answer to the name of Graham.” - </p> - <p> - Stella’s bosom rose and fell with deep emotion as she turned her brown - eyes on John. - </p> - <p> - “But why not?” he continued. “The house is yours. And I’m haunted with the - strange fancy that your spirit has lived here before.” - </p> - <p> - “I have grown to love it,” she said hesitatingly, “in spite of the - tragedy. It’s strange. I wonder at myself for it.” - </p> - <p> - John turned toward the panel in the wainscoting whose location he knew so - well, paused and said: - </p> - <p> - “I’d better wait and let you change your dress. You’ll soil it against the - damp narrow walls.” - </p> - <p> - Stella’s eyes were sparkling now with excitement. - </p> - <p> - “No matter. I can’t wait a minute. The mystery and romance will be worth a - dress. Show me the way. I’ll follow.” - </p> - <p> - “All right,” John answered, as he extended his hand and pressed the - moulding behind which lay the spring. The panel flew open and a rush of - cool air took Stella’s breath. - </p> - <p> - “Heavens!” she exclaimed, clinging suddenly to John’s arm, “why, I had no - idea it could open here just behind us in the hall!” - </p> - <p> - He could feel her tremble. - </p> - <p> - “There’s not the slightest danger—you need not be afraid,” he said, - tenderly. “Wait, I’ll get the candle and go before you.” - </p> - <p> - He took the candle from the centre table and entered the passage-way, - closing the panel. - </p> - <p> - “Wait, you must hold my hand,” Stella cried timidly. - </p> - <p> - He took the soft little hand in his with a throb of joy and carefully led - her down the tiny stairs into the basement, where the passage turned - between two walls and again descended a half dozen steps to another door - which led out of the house into the long straight way to the vault. - </p> - <p> - Trembling with excitement, she clung in silence to his hand as they - entered the long damp passage. He closed the door suddenly, the sound - crashing through the narrow walls in a thousand startling echoes. - </p> - <p> - Stella sprang into his arms, nestling close and whispered: - </p> - <p> - “Mercy! what was that?” - </p> - <p> - “Only the door,” he laughed. - </p> - <p> - “It scared me nearly to death,” she faltered, slowly withdrawing from his - sheltering protection while she skilfully managed to press her soft bare - arm against his hand. She felt him tremble, his breath deepen and quicken - at the touch of her flesh. - </p> - <p> - “You’re sure there’s no danger?” she asked. - </p> - <p> - “Not the slightest,” he replied cheerily. “Just one more little surprise - and we are out in the moonlight on the lawn.” - </p> - <p> - He led her clinging to his hand along the dark way, holding the flickering - candle above her head, a hundred mad impulses of love surging through his - brain. - </p> - <p> - They stopped at the stoneset door leading into the tomb, and he handed her - the candle, gently disengaging his other hand. He drew the heavy door - back, Stella stepped through and he followed close behind her. - </p> - <p> - She raised the candle high and looked about the vault. With a sudden cry, - she staggered into his arms gasping: - </p> - <p> - “Why,—we’re—in—the—vault!” - </p> - <p> - The candle dropped from her hand and she threw her arm around John’s neck - clinging to him frantically. Her hold relaxed and her head drooped against - his breast. He clasped her tenderly for a moment and his lips - instinctively touched the curling mass of her hair, as he cried in agony: - </p> - <p> - “God help me—I’m lost!” - </p> - <p> - She revived as quickly as she had collapsed and murmured: - </p> - <p> - “I was about to faint—quick, let’s get out!” - </p> - <p> - He led her through the iron grilled door into the moonlit shadows of the - lawn. - </p> - <p> - “Oh!” she cried with a gasp of relief. “What a wild experience! I hope I - didn’t do anything very silly—did I?” she asked dreamily. - </p> - <p> - “You did just what any little girl of your age might do under such - conditions,” he replied, gazing at her with deep seriousness. “Come, let - us find a seat on the lawn and I’ll tell you the story of the vault and - the secret way.” - </p> - <p> - He led her to the seat on which he had sunk in despair the night he came - half-mad with pain to watch the masqueraders whirl past her lighted - windows. - </p> - <p> - The full moon wrapped the earth in the white mantle of Southern midsummer - glory, and the night wind stirred, its breath laden with the rich perfume - of every flower in full bloom. A katydid was singing a plaintive song in - the tree above, and in the rose bushes near the porch a mocking-bird - rehearsed in a burst of mad joy every love song of the feathered world. - </p> - <p> - In low, rapid tones John told her the story of Robert Graham’s great love - for his Huguenot grandmother and why he built the vault and secret way. - </p> - <p> - She listened and furtively watched him struggling with his emotions. - </p> - <p> - Suddenly he turned, looked tenderly into her eyes and took her hand. - </p> - <p> - “After all, Miss Stella, what else matters on earth, when life has once - been made glorious by a great, deathless love—such a love as that - which has grown in my own heart for you.” - </p> - <p> - Stella turned away to hide the flash of triumph with which her face was - flushed. - </p> - <p> - “Ah! don’t answer me now,” he rushed on. “I don’t ask it. I only beg the - privilege of telling you—telling you how you have lifted my soul - from the shadows of self and hate, and made life radiant and beautiful. I - dare not hope that you love me yet—that you only hear me is enough. - That I sit by your side and tell you is all I ask. My love is so deep, so - full, so rich, so great, it is glory and life and strength within itself. - I could die to-night and count my life a triumph, because I’ve seen you - and loved you, and you have heard me. May I tell you all that is in my - heart?” - </p> - <p> - He leaned closer and pressed her hand gently. - </p> - <p> - “Yes,” she whispered. “Why not?” - </p> - <p> - “I dare not tell you why I pause to ask the question. I’ve sometimes - thought that an impassable gulf yawned between us. To-night I’ve thrown - such rubbish to the winds. There’s no gulf so wide, so deep and dark the - heart of love may not leap it. Nothing matters save that I love you, that - you smile and hear me!” - </p> - <p> - “I am honoured in your love,” she answered gently. - </p> - <p> - “Ah! you can never know how sweet it is to hear that from your dear lips. - I cannot tell you the madness of the joy that fills me, when I realise - that I have found in you all I’ve ever dreamed of beauty, tenderness and - purity. All the songs of life that poets dream and find no words in which - to sing, I feel within. If you should send me from your presence now, I’d - laugh at Death for I have tasted Life! To win your love is all I ask of - this world or the next—You will let me try?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes,” said the low voice, as she placed her hand again in his. - </p> - <p> - “Then I must go,” he said, rising and lifting her from the seat—“I’ve - said enough to-night. I must go before I dare say too much and break the - spell of joy that holds me.” - </p> - <p> - At the door he asked. - </p> - <p> - “I may come again to-morrow?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, at eight.” - </p> - <p> - He bowed and kissed the tips of her fingers. - </p> - <p> - “I may have something to say to you to-morrow,” she said seriously. - </p> - <p> - “I shall count the minutes of every hour that separates us.” - </p> - <p> - She watched the tall figure pass swiftly and joyously along the white - gravelled moonlit walk, while a paean of fierce joy welled within her - heart. - </p> - <p> - “I’ve won—I’ve won, beyond the shadow of a doubt!” she cried, - exultantly. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0019" id="link2HCH0019"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER VIII—THE TRACKS AT THE DOOR - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">W</span>ITHIN thirty - minutes after Ackerman had received Stella’s message that she had found - the secret entrance to the house he was waiting for her at the door of the - vault as she had suggested. - </p> - <p> - He had entered by the rear wagon road and passed into the shrubbery - without attracting the attention of the servants. - </p> - <p> - She showed him the way to the underground passage through the niche in the - rear of the vault, and in ten minutes Ackerman entered the hall through - the panel under the stairs. - </p> - <p> - Stella, who had returned to the house across the lawn, watched the panel - slowly open at his touch and her eyes gleamed with a cold, hard light as - she saw reenacted in imagination the tragedy of her father’s death. - </p> - <p> - The detective made an accurate diagram of the hall, measured carefully the - distance of the secret door from the chair in which the Judge had been - found, and reëxamined the ballroom and all its possible exits and - entrances. - </p> - <p> - Stella returned to the entrance of the vault and placed a padlock and - chain on its iron door while Ackerman again entered the underground - passage and spent two hours alone, making the most minute examinations and - measurements of every track to be found at any point from the door of the - vault to the panel in the wainscoting. The work of measurement was - rendered easy by the accumulation of soft earth in the bottom of the - underground way from the action of the water which had soaked through the - brick ceiling and walls. - </p> - <p> - He discovered the footprints of eleven different men besides the dainty - mark of Stella’s little shoe made the night before. - </p> - <p> - He returned to the hall and asked her permission to come from time to time - and continue his study of the grounds. - </p> - <p> - “Certainly,” she answered eagerly. “And your discoveries?” - </p> - <p> - “Confirm so far my theory of the crime,” he answered quickly. “The - assassins undoubtedly entered the house by this secret passage, committed - the crime and passed quickly out without discovery. I did not know who was - with you last night, but he has been there at least once before within the - past few weeks.” - </p> - <p> - “Is it possible!” Stella exclaimed. - </p> - <p> - “I find,” he continued, “that he merely took a single step inside the door - leading from the vault into the underground passage as if he were showing - the way to others who traversed the entire length.” - </p> - <p> - Stella’s red lips were suddenly pressed tight and Ackerman watched her - keenly. - </p> - <p> - “This may mean something or it may mean nothing. It all depends on what - night he stepped inside the door.” - </p> - <p> - “I see,” she said cautiously. - </p> - <p> - “Other facts I have found are of significance,” he went on. “I have - located Mr. Isaac A. Postle, and learned from him two startling things. - First that he encountered John Graham at the gate on the night of the - murder—collided with him, he declares, as he was running from the - masked men who had just galloped past his cottage.” - </p> - <p> - The girl smothered a cry. - </p> - <p> - “He also says that later in the evening, just before the murder occurred, - he passed by the front door and saw John Graham seated on a rustic bench - in the shadows watching the house.” - </p> - <p> - “It’s horrible—it’s horrible!” Stella murmured. “The two statements - contradict each other. Uncle Isaac is lying at some point of his story. If - he ran for his life from the masqueraders he certainly would not have - returned to the house in thirty minutes while they were still there. Until - I can find the motive for that lie his story must be taken with a large - grain of salt. In the meantime if you can confirm for me his statement - that Graham was here on that night you will do me a service.” - </p> - <p> - “Within a week I’ll tell you,” she replied, the strange cold light - flashing again from her eyes. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0020" id="link2HCH0020"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER IX—A TEST OF STRENGTH - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">I</span>N TAKING leave of - Ackerman Stella went immediately to her room to select her dress and plan - her campaign for John Graham’s reception in the evening. - </p> - <p> - A feeling of reaction depressed her. The passionate warmth and tenderness - of his love remained a haunting memory. A sense of loneliness crept into - her heart. She began to see that she was playing a desperate game with the - great stake of a human life as the issue. The consciousness of its - possible tragedy began to be dimly felt. She sat staring idly at the gowns - she had piled on the big tester bed without being able to make a - selection. - </p> - <p> - “I’ve begun a daring task,” she mused. “The wit and beauty of a girl of - twenty against the iron will and personality of a man of genius. A man - just entering his thirtieth year, who has looked Death in the face on the - field of battle and dared defy the power of the Government that has - crushed him. Can I win?” - </p> - <p> - The closer she had drawn to John Graham in their intimate daily - association the more impossible seemed the idea that such a man could have - murdered her father or known of such a crime. And yet the closer each day - drew the net of circumstantial evidence about him and the fiercer grew her - determination to demand the life of the murderer. - </p> - <p> - What had surprised her most of all in his character was the spirit of - eternal youth within him—youth strong, fresh, buoyant and throbbing - with poetic ideals. At first she had thought him sombre and morose, yet in - his presence she could never imagine him more than twenty years of age. In - many of his little ways and moods she found him more boy than man. And she - must acknowledge the truth—she had begun to think of his possible - death as a criminal with a pang of regret. - </p> - <p> - She rose and studied her beautiful figure in her mirror until self and - pride once more filled the universe. - </p> - <p> - “Bah! What to me is the life of the man who struck my father dead at my - feet! I’ll amuse myself by playing the game of love with him for a week, - and then for the master-stroke. I’ll watch him as a cat a mouse, and when - I’m ready, strike to kill. If he had no mercy, I shall have none.” - </p> - <p> - John found her in a mood of elusive girlishness. When he begged her to - remember her parting words, the half-pledged promise of a message for - which he waited, she only laughed and fenced. - </p> - <p> - She allowed him to call each afternoon and evening for a week until he was - drunk with the joy of her presence—until the sense of personal - intimacy and the growing consciousness of comradeship had made his will - obedient to her slightest whim. It amused her to watch the growth of his - powers of intuition, born of this daily life, which enabled him to - anticipate her wishes. - </p> - <p> - For the man, these days were as water to the lips of a thirsty dreamer. In - the heart of the girl, who studied his every movement with deep sinister - purpose, there had grown a cruel joy in the consciousness of the tyranny - she wielded over a powerful human life. - </p> - <p> - Toward the end of the week he began to beg her tenderly for a single word - of love. At last she promised him an answer on the evening following, and - forbade his afternoon call. She knew the effect of his longer absence - would be to give her greater power. At last she was sure that the hour had - struck toward which she had moved with such infinite pains, the hour of - his complete surrender and his utter trust, when she had but to breathe - her wish to know the guarded secrets of the Klan and they would be - whispered into her ear without a moment’s hesitation. - </p> - <p> - She had planned to lead him to the seat amid the shadows of the trees near - the house from which Isaac said he had watched the dance the night of the - tragedy, and if possible gain both important secrets at once. - </p> - <p> - She again selected the low cut white chiffon she wore the night he had - declared his love. - </p> - <p> - Maggie’s keen eyes watched her dress with a care never shown before. The - little black maid flashed her white teeth more than once behind her back - as she observed the delicate yet sure art with which, by a touch here and - there, her mistress managed to suggest with unusual daring the physical - charms of her extraordinary beauty. When the task was finished and she - surveyed her form in her mirror with a look of proud content, Maggie - laughed: - </p> - <p> - “You sho’ is trying ter kill ’im to-night!” - </p> - <p> - “Maggie, how dare you suggest such a thing!” - </p> - <p> - “De Laws a mussy, Miss Stella, I des mean dat you’se de purtiest thing in - de whole worl’ an’ he gwine drap dead quick as he sees ye!” - </p> - <p> - “That will do, Maggie,” she said severely. - </p> - <p> - “Yassum.” - </p> - <p> - But in spite of her severity, the mistress smiled at the maid, and Maggie - burst into a fit of laughter. When at length it subsided, she stood with - wide staring worshipful eyes gazing at Stella entranced. - </p> - <p> - “Ef I could look lak dat, Miss Stella, I’d let ‘em bile me in ile, roast - me on a red-hot stove and peel me!” - </p> - <p> - “You are breaking the Ten Commandments, Maggie.” - </p> - <p> - “Yassum, I’d bust a hundred commandments ef I could look lak you.” - </p> - <p> - “I accept the compliment, if I can’t commend your morals.” - </p> - <p> - “Yassum.” - </p> - <p> - A sudden flash of lightning revealed the clouds of a rapidly approaching - summer storm. - </p> - <p> - Stella frowned. - </p> - <p> - “It’s going to storm,” she said, fretfully, - </p> - <p> - “Yassum, but he’ll come.” - </p> - <p> - The mistress laughed in spite of herself. - </p> - <p> - “I’m not worrying about his coming, Maggie.” - </p> - <p> - “Nobum, you needn’t worry. He swim er river ef he couldn’t git here no - odder way—dar he is now!” - </p> - <p> - His familiar knock echoed through the hall and the maid hastened to open - the door. - </p> - <p> - When Stella stood before him, John seized both her hands and looked into - her deep eyes with silent rapture. - </p> - <p> - “How glorious you are to-night!” he whispered passionately. - </p> - <p> - She made no answer save the sensitive smile of triumph which lighted her - face and quivered through her form. - </p> - <p> - “I meant to find a seat on the lawn to-night, but it’s going to rain.” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I ran, to get here first,” he cried with boyish enthusiasm—“It’s - raining now, but the old davenport under the stairs is cosey on a rainy - night.” - </p> - <p> - She looked at the panel door and hesitated. - </p> - <p> - “You’re not afraid of ghosts from below I hope?” he laughed. - </p> - <p> - “No, I’ve locked the iron door,” she announced soberly, taking her seat by - his side. - </p> - <p> - With a vivid flash of lightning followed by a crash of thunder the storm - broke, the big raindrops mixed with hail rattling furiously against the - windows. - </p> - <p> - Stella nestled closer to his side, and John turned his swarthy, eager face - toward her. - </p> - <p> - “Now, while the storm roars,” he whispered, “and shuts out the world, - drawing us closer together—so close I feel that there is no world - beyond the touch of your hand and the music of your voice—won’t you - tell me what my heart is starving to hear?” - </p> - <p> - “Do you realise what it means for a girl to say to a man, ‘I love you?’” - she asked slowly. - </p> - <p> - “I do,” was the quick answer. - </p> - <p> - “In all its depths?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes. It means the utter surrender of soul and body or it means nothing!” - </p> - <p> - “And yet, you ask that I say it?” - </p> - <p> - “I know that I’m not worthy, but Love has always dared to claim its own, - soul crying to soul, mate calling to mate—I love you! I love you! - Ah! The story is old as the throb of life, yet always new and full of - wonder. I know it’s too much to ask, yet I dare to ask it.” - </p> - <p> - “There should be no shadows between those who thus love, should there?” - she asked with a far-away dreamy look as if his burning words had caught - her spirit in their spell. - </p> - <p> - “No,” he answered, solemnly. “A thousand times I’ve longed to tell you how - tender was my sympathy for you in the tragedy that threw its shadow across - your young life in this hall a few months ago.” - </p> - <p> - “And yet you didn’t,” she said reproachfully, studying him keenly and - furtively, with her head bowed as if in grief for the memory of her - father. - </p> - <p> - “How could I without hypocrisy? The Judge and I had been uncompromising - enemies. Could I tear my heart open and let the vulgar world see the deep - secret of my love for you?” - </p> - <p> - “You loved me then?” she broke in with surprise. - </p> - <p> - “From the moment you crossed this old hall the night I met you.” - </p> - <p> - Loved me when you refused to answer my appeal in person the day I wrote - you?” - </p> - <p> - “I refused because I loved you.” - </p> - <p> - She looked at him a moment with a feeling of sudden fear. For the first - time she realised with a shock that her imperious will to master his life - was not the only force at work. The shadowy figure of Fate stood grim and - silent before her. - </p> - <p> - “The man who wins my heart,” she said firmly, “can hold no reservations—he - must be all mine, body and soul. He asks as much of me. I demand the same. - Are you ready to place your life in my hands as I am asked to place mine - in yours?” - </p> - <p> - “Without reservation,” he answered. - </p> - <p> - “I must be frank with you,” she said, turning her eyes appealingly on him. - “Since the awful night I saw my father sitting dead in that chair with - those masked figures, white, silent and terrible behind me, I have had a - morbid curiosity mingled with terror for everything and everyone connected - with the Klan. I have heard that you are a member?” - </p> - <p> - John suddenly knelt before her and took her hand. - </p> - <p> - “Here on my knees before you and before God—and when I am before you - I am in the presence of God!—I call the spirit of the dead back on - the wings of this storm to-night into this hall to witness when I swear to - you that I am innocent of any knowledge of his death!” - </p> - <p> - “And there shall be not one shadow between us? - </p> - <p> - “Not one. Every secret of my life shall be laid bare before I’d dare claim - you as my wife. I only beg to-night one word of love from your dear lips. - You believe me when I swear to you, on my honour, my life, my love that I - am innocent?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I believe and trust you!” - </p> - <p> - He bowed and kissed her fingers reverently. - </p> - <p> - “And now you must show that you trust me before I speak,” she went on - dreamily—“you are in reality the Chief of the Klan in North - Carolina, are you not?” - </p> - <p> - John’s hand trembled, his lips quivered, and a look of mortal anguish - overspread his face. - </p> - <p> - “Please don’t ask me that yet?” he begged. “You are afraid to trust me?” - she said reproachfully. - </p> - <p> - “I trust you implicitly,” he cried, pressing her hand, “but do not ask me - now!” - </p> - <p> - “The hands of Southern women made those white and scarlet costumes,” she - persisted. “May I not share at least one of its secrets with them?” - </p> - <p> - “Remember that conditions have changed!” he urged—“A price is set on - the head of every member of the Klan. The South now swarms with spies—the - Government is straining every nerve to learn the secrets of the order—have - I the right even to breathe the name of the Klan while another’s life may - hang on my word?” - </p> - <p> - “I see,” she cried with scorn, rising. “The daughter of a murdered - ‘Scalawag’ judge may not be trusted as other loyal women of the proud old - aristocratic South!” - </p> - <p> - “Please, I beg of you——” - </p> - <p> - “You may go!” she said proudly. - </p> - <p> - And without another word she quickly turned, ascended the stairs and - disappeared. - </p> - <p> - John stood for a moment blind and dumb with pain, mechanically took his - hat and slowly passed through the door and out into the black, raging - storm. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0021" id="link2HCH0021"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER X—BEHIND BOLTED DOORS - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">J</span>OHN GRAHAM fought - his way home heedless of the storm’s blinding fury. The hurricane without - was but a zephyr to the one which raged within his own soul. Again and - again he asked himself the question why Stella should have demanded of him - such a confession. - </p> - <p> - He had instantly resented it. Perhaps he had scented danger. And yet it - was preposterous to think the girl he worshipped could have desired this - dangerous knowledge to be used against him. - </p> - <p> - Ackerman in discussing his mill projects in the office during the - afternoon had asked him a number of irritating questions about the Klan - which he had skilfully parried. His mind was over-sensitive and sore - perhaps from this annoyance. Ackerman could have nothing to do with Stella—they - were not even passing acquaintances. - </p> - <p> - From every point of view he tested the problem of her possible design to - use this knowledge and found it preposterous. There was but one reasonable - explanation. She had found with her keen woman’s intuition the one weak - spot in his mental attitude toward her. Yes, it was true. He loved her - with passionate devotion, but he had not fully trusted her. She had - discovered it. Had she not thus revealed the true state of her own heart? - She must love him. Otherwise this keen sensitiveness to his moods would - not be possible. The thought was sweet in spite of his agony over their - break. After all she was right, proud little queen of his heart, to demand - his loyal faith! Should he yield to her this perilous secret of his own - life? Would he thus endanger those with whom he had been associated in the - daring task of saving the civilisation of the South in the blackest hour - of her history? - </p> - <p> - While the battle thus raged in his soul he reached his room, removed his - drenched clothing and replaced them with dry ones. He walked to his window - and looked out on the spluttering street lamp across the way struggling to - hold its tiny flame against the storm and wondered why he had dressed - again. He should have gone to bed. And then the dawning sense of loss and - misery crushed him. He sank into a chair and watched the rain dash against - the glass and stream down the sides of the window, his heart aching in - dumb agony. - </p> - <p> - “My God!” he cried at last, “I can’t live without her! She loves me, and I - must win her!” - </p> - <p> - The memory of her cold words as she ordered him from the house came - crashing back into his heart with sinister echoes. Never had he seen a - human being so transformed by anger—eyes that a moment before had - held him enraptured with their tender light had flashed cold points of - steel. Hands, soft and warm and full of velvet feeling, had closed in rage - as the claws of a tigress! - </p> - <p> - Suppose she refused to see him again? It was unthinkable. He seemed to - have lived a century within the weeks since she had called him to her - side. The life which had gone before grew dim. Four years of war and two - years of daring secret revolution as a leader of the Invisible Empire - faded from his consciousness. Only a great love remained, and those days - by her side seemed to hold the full measure of his life. - </p> - <p> - He undressed and went to bed, only to roll and toss hour after hour - without sleep. - </p> - <p> - He saw the first gray light of dawn with a sense of utter desolation. The - rain had ceased an hour before. Swift flying clouds and swaying tree-tops - heralded the coming of a clear, beautiful day. He determined to write at - once and beg to see her. In a moment his mind was on fire with his - passionate plea. As the sun rose, reflecting through scurrying clouds its - scarlet and purple glory, he hastily dressed, sat down at his table and - poured out his anguish in burning words of tenderness and love. He read it - over with renewed hope. Never had he expressed himself so well. The letter - was a living thing. No woman’s hand could touch it without feeling its - vital power. An immortal soul beat within it. - </p> - <p> - He had added the last line of a postscript begging her to name an early - hour at which he might call, and sat in dull moody reverie unconscious of - the flight of time. - </p> - <p> - A gentle knock on his door roused him. He opened it and stared blankly at - Susie’s gentle face. - </p> - <p> - “I trust you’re not sick, Mr. John,” she said. “Everybody is through - breakfast. I’ve kept yours warm.” - </p> - <p> - “Thank you, Miss Susie. I’ve only a little headache. I won’t eat any - breakfast. I’ve important work at the office. I’m going down at once.” - </p> - <p> - As he passed her at the head of the stairs she said with a wistful look: - </p> - <p> - “Mama says she heard you stirring all night. If I can help you, won’t you - let me?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, little comrade, I will. I’ll let you know,” he answered, swinging - quickly down the stairs and out the front door. - </p> - <p> - He found a boy on the street and sent him to Stella with his letter. He - stood at his office door and watched him until out of sight and counted - the minutes until he reappeared. He had paid him a dime on dispatching the - letter and promised to double it if he came back in a hurry. Fifteen - minutes later he smiled as he saw the boy coming in a run, his swift bare - feet making the dirt fly in the middle of the street. - </p> - <p> - “I knew it! Of course, she will see me!” he exclaimed as he bounded up his - stairs two rounds at a jump. He gave the astonished boy a quarter instead - of another dime, hurried into his office, and slammed the door. He felt - the weight of the letter with faint misgivings. It was large to have been - written so quickly. Yet it was addressed with her own dear hand. He tore - it open, and from his trembling fingers dropped his own letter with the - seal unbroken. Not a line from her. Her meaning could not be - misunderstood. She could have offered him no deeper insult. He sank to his - seat with a groan and sat for an hour in a stupor of wounded pride. “I - won’t accept such an answer from her!” he cried bitterly. “And I won’t - stand on ceremony.” - </p> - <p> - He walked down the street to the gate of the driveway of the Graham house, - hoping he might find Aunt Julie Ann at her cottage. The door was closed - and he could get no response to his knock. He looked longingly at the old - house shining with its snow white doors and windows against the dark fresh - green of the rain-soaked trees, and thought with a pang of his quarrel - over its possession. What did houses matter if the heart was sick unto - death! The humblest Negro cabin would be a palace if only her face would - shine from the doorway! - </p> - <p> - He felt himself drawn toward her with resistless force and before he - realised what he was doing his hand was on the brass knocker and its - echoes were ringing through the hall. - </p> - <p> - Aunt Julie Ann shook her head as she ushered him in. - </p> - <p> - “I wish ye hadn’t come, marse John,” she said sorrowfully. - </p> - <p> - “Why not?” - </p> - <p> - “She shut hersef up in de room an’ won’t let nobody come in. I creep up to - de door, and hear her cryin’ sof’ an’ low. I knock an’ she didn’ answer. I - knock again an’ calls her sweet names an’ ax her please lemme do sumfin - for her. She jump up an’ stamp her foot an’ say she kill me ef I doan’ - leave her ’lone. I’se skeered of her, honey, she ain’t lak our - folks. When de old Boy’s in her lak it is ter day she talks jes lak de - Judge. When she laughs an’ plays an’ looks purty as an angel her voice - jest like her Ma’s, low an’ sweet.” - </p> - <p> - “Tell her I’m here and wish to see her”—John interrupted with - impatience. - </p> - <p> - Aunt Julie Ann shook her head again: - </p> - <p> - “You better not honey!” - </p> - <p> - “I must see her. Try!” - </p> - <p> - John stood at the foot of the stairs nervously fumbling his hat while Aunt - Julie Ann climbed to the floor and knocked on her door. - </p> - <p> - He listened breathlessly for her answer. The key clicked in the lock and - Stella opened it wide enough to be distinctly heard. Her voice rang cold - and clear: - </p> - <p> - “Tell Mr. Graham to leave this house instantly and never enter it again!” - </p> - <p> - The door closed and the bolt flashed into its place again. - </p> - <p> - John’s face flushed red, the colour slowly fading as his strong jaws - snapped with new determination. - </p> - <p> - “In spite of the devil, I’ll win her yet!” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0022" id="link2HCH0022"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XI—A VOICE IN WARNING - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>WO days passed - without a word of hope for John. On the third morning after his dismissal - by Stella he sat pale and listless at breakfast, scarcely tasting his - food, while Susie watched his drawn face with keen sympathetic eyes. An - hour later she entered his office. - </p> - <p> - “You promised to let me help you,” she said quietly. “I have come.” - </p> - <p> - He looked at her a moment and wondered why he had never before seen her - striking beauty. A tall figure with exquisite sylph like lines, a serene - and perfectly moulded face with straight, thoughtful brows shadowing the - tenderest gray-blue eyes, and a crown of luxuriant auburn blonde hair. - </p> - <p> - He caught at once the sincere sympathy of her mood, as he pressed her - hand. - </p> - <p> - “I never saw you so beautiful, Miss Susie, or your face so sweet and - restful.” - </p> - <p> - She blushed and looked out the window. - </p> - <p> - “I can’t tell you how I thank you for coming. I think we must have been - brother and sister in some other world before this.” - </p> - <p> - The corners of the girl’s lips twitched and she turned her tender eyes - full on John’s. - </p> - <p> - “You are in love with Stella?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes.” - </p> - <p> - “And she has rejected you?” - </p> - <p> - “No, we have quarrelled and she refuses to see me or read my letters.” - </p> - <p> - “She loves you?” - </p> - <p> - “I’ve hoped so, I don’t know. She lets me feel it without words.” - </p> - <p> - “We are friends, what can I do?” - </p> - <p> - “See her and beg her for God’s sake to let me call, at least to read my - letters. Will you go to-day?” - </p> - <p> - “Immediately.” - </p> - <p> - “Thank you,” he cried, again tenderly pressing her hand. “You must have - loved too, Miss Susie.” - </p> - <p> - “Perhaps I have,” was the soft reply. “Write your message and I’ll take - it.” - </p> - <p> - John seated himself and hastily wrote: - </p> - <p> - <i>My dear Stella:</i> - </p> - <p> - <i>From the bottom of a heart crushed with anguish I ask your pardon for - my lack of faith. Your pride was right. Give me a chance and I will show - you what the trust of perfect love means for me. I await from you the - words of life or death.</i> - </p> - <p> - <i>John Graham</i>. - </p> - <p> - Susie promised to return at once with her answer. - </p> - <p> - She knocked at the door of the old Graham house with a strange conflict - raging in her own breast. She hoped to succeed for the sake of the aching - heart of the man she had left, and yet mingled with the fear of failure - was the half-mad wish that Stella might reject his plea. - </p> - <p> - Aunt Julie Ann’s face was troubled as she greeted Susie. - </p> - <p> - “Tell Miss Stella, that I’m very sorry to learn of her illness and I trust - she can see me a moment.” - </p> - <p> - “Yassum, I tell her—but I’se feard she ain’t well enough.” - </p> - <p> - Aunt Julie Ann returned immediately, smiling. - </p> - <p> - “She say come right up to her room, Miss Susie.” - </p> - <p> - Susie was shocked to note the change-in the beautiful young face lying - still and pale against the white pillow. - </p> - <p> - “I’m sorry to find you so ill!” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I suppose I have nerves,” she said, smiling wanly. “I didn’t know it - before. I think some of them must have snapped—but I’m better now. - I’ll get up this afternoon.” - </p> - <p> - “I’ve something that will help you, if you will take it.” - </p> - <p> - Stella’s brow clouded, and her eyes, wide and cold, assumed a sinister - half-mad expression. - </p> - <p> - “You have a message from Mr. Graham?” - </p> - <p> - “How did you guess it?” - </p> - <p> - “He has tried every other possible way. I wondered if he would stoop to - this.” - </p> - <p> - “Stoop!—what do you mean?” - </p> - <p> - “To use you for such a purpose.” - </p> - <p> - “And why not?” - </p> - <p> - “You ask that of me?” The great brown eyes pierced Susie’s soul. - </p> - <p> - “Certainly.” - </p> - <p> - “Then it’s all right,” she said with a light laugh. “You must receive his - message,” Susie said. “You’ve won the heart of the noblest man I have ever - known—a great, beautiful, measureless love. Don’t turn away from it—you - may not know its like again.” - </p> - <p> - The full lips smiled curiously. - </p> - <p> - “I’ve brought you a letter from him—you must read it.” - </p> - <p> - Susie pressed the letter into Stella’s hand and turned away to the window. - She heard the rattle of the paper as it was opened and refolded, and - walked back to the bedside. Before she could ask Stella’s answer, her eye - rested on a letter in Ackerman’s handwriting, lying open on the white - covering. She started violently but managed to suppress an exclamation. - Only that morning she had received herself a letter from the young - Northerner declaring his love in simple, honest fashion. She couldn’t - believe her eyes at first, but a second look convinced her of its reality. - What puzzled her still more was to observe beside this letter a sheet of - paper on which was drawn the diagram of the hall with the minute accuracy - of an architect’s plan, with Ackerman’s notes interlining it. - </p> - <p> - “What shall I say?” she stammered in confusion. - </p> - <p> - Stella looked at her with a momentary start, smiled and answered: - </p> - <p> - “Tell Mr. Graham I have received and read his letter. I’ll think it over - this evening and reply to-morrow.” - </p> - <p> - “Then I’ll go,” said Susie, taking her hand. “I’m so glad I saw you.” - </p> - <p> - As she turned through the door her eye again was drawn irresistibly to - Ackerman’s letter. She returned to John Graham’s office stunned by this - puzzling discovery. - </p> - <p> - John was bitterly disappointed in the message she brought. Her long stay - had raised in him the highest hope. His own surrender had been so complete - and generous, that he could not conceive it possible that she would debate - in cold blood for twenty-four hours the question of her answer. It seemed - heartless and utterly cruel. He rebelled in fierce futile protest. He did - not try to conceal the bitterness of his disappointment from Susie, and - was too selfishly occupied with his own grief to note the constraint in - her manner as she hurried home from his office, even before he had found - words in which to thank her for the delicate service she had rendered him. - </p> - <p> - He sent for Alfred and got word to Aunt Julie Ann that he wished to see - her at her cottage after supper. He knew that Alfred had taken advantage - of Isaac’s long absence to renew his calls on his former love. - </p> - <p> - When he arrived at nine o’clock Aunt Julie Ann had placed a pot of coffee - and a plate of tea-cakes on a little table for him. - </p> - <p> - “What’s de matter, honey?” she asked. - </p> - <p> - “I’m in great trouble, Aunt Julie Ann.” - </p> - <p> - “Well, Mammy’s baby knows who ter come to when he’s in trouble!” she said - tenderly. She had always called him baby—this bronzed hero of battle - fields. His thirty years meant nothing to her except increasing faith in - his manhood. Since the day she first took his baby form in her arms she - had watched him grow in body and spirit with a brooding mother pride. - </p> - <p> - “You must talk to Miss Stella for me,” he said. “Get close to her Aunt - Julie Ann, you’re a woman, and tell her all the good things you remember - about me. You know better than I do—you understand? Make her smile - again and get her to see me.” - </p> - <p> - “Now, you set down dar sir, an’ drink dat coffee an’ tell me what you - doin’ gwine roun’ here mopin’ an’ pinin’ yo’ life out all ’bout a - gal don’t care two straws whedder you’se er livin’ er dyin’. I’d be shamed - er myself, great big grown man lak you is, what fit froo de war an’ - everybody say gwine ter be de guvnor some day.” - </p> - <p> - “Can’t you get her to see me, Aunt Julie Ann?” he interrupted, earnestly. - </p> - <p> - “Drink dat coffee, an’ den I tell ye!” - </p> - <p> - “It’s too hot for coffee—I’m not hungry—Tell me now.” - </p> - <p> - “Drink it fur Mammy, boy—I wants de grouns. I’m gwine tell ye - somefin when I looks in de cup. I seed a vision las’ night.” - </p> - <p> - To humour her John drank the coffee in silence. She took the empty cup, - studied its message, and looked into John’s face. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, honey, hit’s des lak I see hit las’ night, an’ I warns ye! I see two - purty gals—a fair one and a dark one. Bof lubs ye—but dey’s - one er slippin up behind yer back wid a shinin’ knife in her hand. Her - long black hair is hangin’ loose on her white shoulders an’ all twisted - lak snakes. I see her hide de knife in her bosom an’ slip her arms roun’ - yo neck. She kiss you an’ blindfold ye wid her curly hair an’ slip de - knife from her bosom an’ stab you froo de heart! Mammy’s baby! Mammy’s - baby!” - </p> - <p> - The black woman’s voice sank to a weird whisper full of tears and ‘wild - half-savage music as she seized John’s hand. - </p> - <p> - “Don’t come to de house no mo,’ Marse John!” she pleaded. - </p> - <p> - “And why not?” he asked sharply. - </p> - <p> - “Case I look again in de vision an’ I see her face plain—an’ it wuz - hers!” - </p> - <p> - “Whose?” - </p> - <p> - “Miss Stella, honey—I warns ye! she doan lub my baby—keep away - from her!” - </p> - <p> - “Rubbish, Aunt Julie Ann; you’ve been having a nightmare.” - </p> - <p> - “I see it all, des ez plain ez I sees you now—I warns ye!” - </p> - <p> - “I’ll risk it,” John laughed. “I’m hoping for good news to-morrow—please - say your prayers for me to-night.” - </p> - <p> - Yet in spite of his culture and the inheritance of centuries of knowledge, - the voodoo message of his old nurse shrouded his spirit in deeper gloom. - He walked home with a new sense of dread in his heart, wondering what - answer she would send him to-morrow. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0023" id="link2HCH0023"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XII—THE TRAP IS SPRUNG - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE following - morning when Stella, sitting up in bed, opened her mail and read - Ackerman’s report, the last doubt of John Graham’s guilt was shattered. - </p> - <p> - <i>“I have just learned,” Ackerman wrote, “that a number of men of - notoriously desperate character from the foot of the mountains were in - Independence on the day before the tragedy and that a man by the name of - Dan Wiley, their leader, reported in person to John Graham’s office.”</i> - </p> - <p> - Stella sprang from her bed and began hurriedly to dress. - </p> - <p> - “Now God give me strength for the work I’m going to do!” she cried, with - strangling rage. “To think that such a man should dare to speak to me of - love—should dare to clasp my hand with the stain of my father’s - blood yet fresh on his! I could kill him with my own hand—coward, - dastard, sneak, assassin! I hate him—I hate him!” - </p> - <p> - She threw herself on her bed again in a paroxysm of uncontrollable fury. - She arose at length, calm, alert, her cheeks flushed with brilliant - colour, her great eyes dilated wide and sparkling with courage. - </p> - <p> - The knocker struck sharply and she remembered with a start that Steve - Hoyle had returned on the midnight train and would call this morning. She - heard Maggie show Steve into the library. - </p> - <p> - Without waiting for her breakfast she hastened to meet him, and he plunged - at once into the purpose of his call: - </p> - <p> - “Has John Graham yet confessed his leadership?” - </p> - <p> - “He will to-day,” was the quiet answer. - </p> - <p> - “The fame of your desperate love affair has set the town agog,” Steve - laughed triumphantly. - </p> - <p> - “Doubtless,” she replied moodily. - </p> - <p> - “I’ve everything arranged—the men are only waiting for the word.” - </p> - <p> - “I prefer that the law take its course. I’m not ready to commit murder,” - she said emphatically. - </p> - <p> - “Nonsense! The law’s a farce—Deliver him to his own men to be judged - by the Klan which has set itself above the State. If he is the leader of - the Invisible Empire he holds his own High Court. Let his men decide his - fate. It’s justice!” - </p> - <p> - Stella hesitated a moment and slowly said: - </p> - <p> - “When I learn from his own lips that he is the Chief of the Klan and find - that there is no other way in which he can be made to pay the penalty of - his crime, I’ll deliver him to his men.” - </p> - <p> - “They’ll be ready to receive him.” - </p> - <p> - “I shall know in twenty-four hours.” - </p> - <p> - “I’ll await your word,” he answered eagerly, his eyes devouring her - beauty. - </p> - <p> - Steve hurriedly left and Stella seated herself at her desk to write her - answer to John Graham. Two attempts she tore up. The third suited her. In - the centre of a sheet of paper she wrote two words: - </p> - <p> - <i>“Come—Stella.”</i> - </p> - <p> - When John Graham received this note at eleven o’clock from the hands of - her messenger, he felt before he broke the seal that it bore glad tidings. - </p> - <p> - He tore it open and with a cry of joy, tried to read, and the tears - blinded him. He crushed the note in his hand and bowed his head on his - desk, his whole being convulsed with emotion which he could not control. - He rose at length, walked to his window, opened the note again and gazed - at it until he broke into a joyous laugh, repeating the words: - </p> - <p> - <i>“Come—Stella.”</i> - </p> - <p> - “The most wonderful letter I ever received,” he exclaimed. “The longest, - the richest, the deepest—the answering call of my mate! In all - nature there’s no such cry. From out the shadows of hell I lift my soul - and answer, ‘My love, I come!’” - </p> - <p> - In a moment he had forgotten every fear; and all the pain, blind and - hideous, of the last three days was lost in a joy that lit the world with - splendour. - </p> - <p> - He called immediately on horseback and asked her to ride with him through - a beautiful wooded road he had long wished to show her. Stella caught the - echo of his horse’s hoofs with a shudder as he approached the house. She - had not heard that sound on the gravelled roadway of the lawn since the - night she listened to the distant echoes of the masqueraders as she stood - beside the dead. - </p> - <p> - She accepted his suggestion and hastily despatched a message to Ackerman - asking that he await her return in her library at sundown as she intended - to spend the afternoon in the country on important business. - </p> - <p> - At three o’clock they galloped out of Independence toward the river. - </p> - <p> - “My heart is too full now for speech,” he said, leaning toward her, his - face radiant with happiness. - </p> - <p> - “I understand.” - </p> - <p> - “Just to be near you is all I ask for a while. It seems too good to be - true. It has been a century since I saw you.” - </p> - <p> - She remained silent. The only visible response, if any, was the quickening - of her horse’s pace at the unconscious touch of the little spur concealed - beneath her skirts. - </p> - <p> - Her silence meant to him feelings too deep for words, and again his heart - sang for joy. - </p> - <p> - Four miles out of town they left the main highway and turned into the - narrow crooked road which wound along the banks of a creek through the - densest forest in the county. - </p> - <p> - “I’m going to take you to ‘Inwood,’ General Gaston’s place. The house was - burned by Sherman’s army, only the vine-covered ruins are standing now. It - was the finest house ever built in the state, and many a gay party held - high carnival there in the old days.” - </p> - <p> - “I’ve heard my mother speak of it,” she answered soberly, glancing at him - from the corner of her eye. “In fact, it was there at a picnic one day - that my father proposed to his sweetheart and my mother accepted him, and - planned their elopement. How strange that you should have chosen to bring - me to this place to-day!” - </p> - <p> - “You’ll understand it later,” he quickly responded. - </p> - <p> - “I hope you don’t mean to kidnap me?” - </p> - <p> - “It might be advisable in view of the events of the past three days,” he - laughed. - </p> - <p> - She glanced about her at the deep shadows of the great trees through which - they had been passing for more than a mile and shot at him a sudden look - of fear. - </p> - <p> - “Let’s turn back,” she said, flushing and reining her horse to a stand. - </p> - <p> - A look of pain clouded his face as he bent near. - </p> - <p> - “Surely, dearest, you can trust the man who worships you! Come, we are - only a few hundred yards from the gate.” - </p> - <p> - “Then I’ll trust you that much further,” she said with a light laugh, - spurring her horse forward. - </p> - <p> - In a few minutes they passed through the ruined gate in the edge of the - woods. The broken marble figures which once crowned the brick pillars lay - beside the entrance among a mass of tangled blackberry briars. They had - been pried from their places and hurled there by the bayonets of Sherman’s - men and had not been touched since. - </p> - <p> - The lawn, which once had spread its beautiful carpet of flowers and - shrubbery in wide acres here in the heart of the ancient woods, had grown - up in ugly broom straw and young pines, which were slowly strangling to - death the more delicate forms of life. The dark fir trees, magnolia and - holly, still flourished in luxury. - </p> - <p> - Towering in solemn, serried line on a gentle eminence still stood the six - great white Corinthian pillars of the front façade of the house. Behind - them in dark background a row of Norwegian firs, fifty years old, marked - the sky line. The afternoon sun cast the shadows of the trees across the - fluted marble of two of the pillars, while the other four shimmered in the - splendour of the sunlight. - </p> - <p> - The capitals of the columns had fallen with the blazing ruins of the - house, but the bases and tall beautiful fluted forms of each were yet - perfect. The ivy which had grown on the sides of the stone steps had - climbed in unbridled riot over one of them and hung in graceful festoons - from the top. - </p> - <p> - To Stella’s fancy they seemed grim white sentinels guarding the entrance - to some vast empire of the dead. - </p> - <p> - “How still and death-like everything is,” she said, with a timid glance - about her. “We seem a thousand miles from life.” - </p> - <p> - He took her hand. - </p> - <p> - “When I stand by your side, in every silent space I hear the beating of - the wings of angels.” - </p> - <p> - “The wings of the angel of Death here, I should think!” she said in - strange subdued tones, as her eyelids drooped and she looked away. - </p> - <p> - “Away with such nonsense,” he cried, cheerily. “I’ve something to do - before I dare to speak to you again of the love that is in my heart.” - </p> - <p> - He led her behind the towering columns, and, at the rear of the ruins of - the heavy brick walls, entered the basement by a stairway half covered - with fallen débris. - </p> - <p> - The floors of the first story which had been constructed of iron and - cement foundations had remained unbroken. The basement, once entered below - the ruins, was in a state of perfect preservation. - </p> - <p> - They entered the immense kitchen whose walls had once echoed with the - voices of swarms of indolent well-fed slaves. - </p> - <p> - Stella looked about her in amazement, asking with a slight tremor in her - voice: - </p> - <p> - “Why have you brought me here?” - </p> - <p> - “To place my life in your hands, joyously, without a single reservation,” - he said with deep earnestness. “You are in the council chamber of the - Invisible Empire. Here its High Court of Life and Death was held.” - </p> - <p> - Stella’s breath quickened and she glanced at John with furtive eyes. - </p> - <p> - “I should have told you frankly at first. You had the right to know before - you gave your life into my keeping.” - </p> - <p> - He led her to the big wrought-iron range and opened one of its ovens, - revealing the form of an old-fashioned safe. - </p> - <p> - Taking a huge key from his pocket, he opened the door and drew from it a - package of papers. - </p> - <p> - “I am going to show you, my love, what no woman’s eye ever saw before, the - guarded secrets of the Invisible Empire, its signs, passwords, ritual and - secret oath. In this act I now imperil no life save my own.” - </p> - <p> - Stella’s tapering fingers trembled as she turned the pages nervously and - read its brief formulas. - </p> - <p> - “As Chief of the Klan I met here the leaders from each district.” - </p> - <p> - “Then—you—are—the—Chief?” she slowly asked, - bending low to hide her flushed face. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I was the only Chief the Empire ever had in the state,” he answered - with a ring of boyish pride. - </p> - <p> - “And you bowed to no law save your own?” she asked in low tones. - </p> - <p> - “No.” - </p> - <p> - “And you really did hold high courts of life and death?” she whispered. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, we were the sole guardians of white civilisation. It was a necessity—the - last resort of desperation.” - </p> - <p> - “You tried men here in secret, sentenced them without a hearing, executed - them at night without warning, mercy or appeal?” - </p> - <p> - “It had to be—there was no other way. A million soldiers girded us - with their bayonets. We had to strike under a mantle of darkness and - terror, where the power of resistance was weakest, the blow unsuspected - and discovery impossible.” - </p> - <p> - “How terrible!” she interrupted with a shudder. “And yet,” she went on - with a sudden flash of her eye, “its mystery and its daring fascinate me! - Would you do something just to please a romantic fancy of mine?” - </p> - <p> - “I have but one desire in life—to please your fancy,” he cried. - </p> - <p> - “Come here with me again, day after to-morrow night, and dress in your - costume as Chief of the High Court of the Klan. Bring some lanterns and - we’ll light it up—it’s just a fancy of mine—will you do it?” - </p> - <p> - “You’re not afraid to be here alone with me at night?” - </p> - <p> - “Why should I? I love to do daring unconventional things. Besides, do we - not belong to each other now?” - </p> - <p> - “You do love me?” he whispered. - </p> - <p> - “Do you doubt it?” - </p> - <p> - “Kiss me!” he pleaded, bending closer. - </p> - <p> - With a sudden shudder she drew away. - </p> - <p> - “Not yet! you must be patient. I’ve a lot of silly notions. That’s one of - them. I’ll learn, no doubt.” - </p> - <p> - “I’ll try to teach you,” he laughed—“and be content to touch your - hand until my desire shall be yours.” - </p> - <p> - They rode swiftly home, John’s soul in a warm glow of happiness. Stella - spoke scarcely a word, but her cheeks were flushed and about her deep - brown eyes a curious smile was constantly playing. - </p> - <p> - He left her at the door and as he pressed her hand softly said: - </p> - <p> - “You scarcely spoke the whole way home—tell me what were you - thinking about?” - </p> - <p> - “I don’t know—perhaps dreaming of your terrible court—of a man - being condemned to death without knowing it!” - </p> - <p> - “Yet a smile was playing about your beautiful face?” - </p> - <p> - Stella suddenly burst into half hysterical laughter: - </p> - <p> - “Of course, how can you doubt that I was happy! I’ll tell you all my - thoughts to-morrow night.” - </p> - <p> - “Shall we go on horseback?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, but I wish to go alone; I’ll meet you there at dusk,” she replied - with another strange laugh, waving her hand as he mounted his horse and - galloped away. - </p> - <p> - She closed the door and with quick nervous step, crossed the hall and - passed into the library, confronting Ackerman. - </p> - <p> - “John Graham is the Chief of the Ku Klux Klan—he has confessed to - me!” she whispered excitedly. “I have arranged everything for his arrest - day after to-morrow evening at their secret meeting place.” - </p> - <p> - “Then our work is complete,” he said with a ring of triumph. - </p> - <p> - “And his execution is a certainty?” - </p> - <p> - “I haven’t the remotest idea that Graham himself can ever be convicted of - the murder of Judge Butler—but your discovery is of tremendous - importance.” - </p> - <p> - “He—cannot—be—convicted!” Stella gasped. - </p> - <p> - “No, but the Invisible Empire will be in ruins in forty-eight hours,” he - replied, seizing his hat. “Excuse me now, I have work of the gravest - importance to-night. Thanks for the promptness with which you have kept - your promise.” - </p> - <p> - Before Stella could speak he was gone. With a scowl on her beautiful brow, - she called Maggie: - </p> - <p> - “Tell Mr. Steve Hoyle I wish to see him here immediately.” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0024" id="link2HCH0024"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XIII—FOR LOVE’S SAKE - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">S</span>TEVE’S response to - Stella’s call was prompt. - </p> - <p> - He entered the library with heavy, firm step, a flush of triumph on his - sleek handsome animal face. - </p> - <p> - “He has betrayed the Klan to you?” he asked with eagerness. - </p> - <p> - “Sit down,” she responded coolly, an accent of resentment rising in her - voice. “Before I answer that important question, I’ve something I wish to - ask you.” - </p> - <p> - “Anything you like,” he answered suavely. “And I want the truth,” she - continued, with increasing emphasis. - </p> - <p> - “I’ll give it to you if it’s in my power.” - </p> - <p> - “You haven’t done it always,” was the firm retort. - </p> - <p> - “You wish to know about the men on whom I rely to execute justice on John - Graham?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, who are they?” - </p> - <p> - “Members of the Klan from the hills—innocent men on whom he wreaked - his vengeance in the most brutal and inhuman manner without a trial.” - </p> - <p> - “You are sure they are members of the Klan?” - </p> - <p> - “Certainly.” - </p> - <p> - “They will come to arrest and try him, dressed in the same costumes the - men wore the night my father was killed?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes.” - </p> - <p> - “Have you hired these men to assassinate him?” she suddenly asked, - piercing Steve with her great eyes. - </p> - <p> - “My God, no!” he protested. - </p> - <p> - “What will they do?” - </p> - <p> - “Why, try him by his own laws, of course,” Steve answered vaguely. - </p> - <p> - “What laws?” - </p> - <p> - “The law of the Order which forbids an officer to abuse his power by using - it for personal ends as he did in the murder of the Judge.” - </p> - <p> - “Why have they not tried him before?” - </p> - <p> - “The feeling against him was not strong enough.” - </p> - <p> - “And now?” - </p> - <p> - “If he has betrayed the Klan, by his own laws he can be torn limb from - limb, so long as a shred of its power remains.” - </p> - <p> - “He could not be put to death for telling the secrets of the Klan to the - woman he loves?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes.” - </p> - <p> - “And he knows this?” - </p> - <p> - “Of course.” - </p> - <p> - “A big, glorious, beautiful thing, a love like that, isn’t it?” she cried - with strange elation, tears flashing from her eyes. - </p> - <p> - “From the woman’s point of view, perhaps it is—from that of the man - whose life he puts in peril, hardly.” - </p> - <p> - “But from the woman’s point of view! yes—and judged by her standard, - cowards who hedge and lie and fear to do such things don’t measure very - high beside him—do they? I’m afraid, Steve, your love is a weak - thing. It would be a pity to kill a man who would dare death to please the - fancy of the woman he loves—now, wouldn’t it?” - </p> - <p> - “Such a man, for example, as he who sneaked under cover of the night and - struck your father dead at your feet without a chance to defend himself,” - Steve sneered. - </p> - <p> - “Yes! That’s the hideous thought that strangles me!” she cried, her breast - heaving with a tumult of emotion, her breath coming in gasps of passion. - </p> - <p> - “You are going to falter and give up?” he asked indignantly. - </p> - <p> - Stella ignored his question and said in even tones as though talking to - herself: - </p> - <p> - “I had intended to have the United States marshals arrest him dressed in - the Klan costume at their meeting place.” - </p> - <p> - “And now?” Steve broke in eagerly. - </p> - <p> - “I don’t know what to do. I’ll be frank with you, Steve—I never - expected to keep my promise to marry you—I never really expected to - face such a choice. There are times when I like you. There’s evil in me, - as there is in you—cruelty, pride, selfishness—I feel our - kinship. But I don’t love you, and the closer I get to you the less I love - you.” - </p> - <p> - “You’ll learn to love me—I’ll wait,” he broke in. - </p> - <p> - “The reason why I like you less and less,” she went on, “is that I feel - other forces in me which are not evil—big, generous impulses, and - aspirations for things beautiful and true and good that you have never - felt and could never understand.” - </p> - <p> - “Which some other man might develop,” he snapped. “Well, play the baby act - then, and give it all up.” - </p> - <p> - “No, I’ve made up my mind to have the life of the man who took my - father’s. It’s the one supreme passion which dominates my soul and body.” - </p> - <p> - “He has confessed to you then?” Steve cried breathlessly. - </p> - <p> - “Yes.” - </p> - <p> - “Where will the men meet you?” - </p> - <p> - “At Inwood immediately after dark, day after to-morrow,” she answered - firmly. - </p> - <p> - “It’s too early. Nine o’clock is better. The men will have time for - careful preparation.” - </p> - <p> - “I’ll be with him in the basement. He will be in the Klan costume; I wish - him arrested and tried in that.” - </p> - <p> - “It shall be exactly as you wish,” said Steve, his eyes sparkling with - triumph. “And your signal to the men?” - </p> - <p> - “Will be a light in the window of the basement.” - </p> - <p> - “I understand—Inwood—nine o’clock at night, day after - to-morrow.” - </p> - <p> - Stella’s answer was scarcely a whisper: - </p> - <p> - “Yes.” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0025" id="link2HCH0025"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER XIV—THE JUDGMENT HALL OF FATE - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">S</span>TELLA made excuses - to John Graham for not being able to see him before their appointment to - meet at Inwood, and on the afternoon of the day fixed rode out of town at - four o’clock alone. - </p> - <p> - Her unconventional ways had ceased to excite comment in Independence since - her extraordinary conduct in refusing to wear mourning for her father. - There could be no graver breach of the traditions of good society than - this in the eyes of her neighbours, and so long as she remained within the - pale of respectability any other feat she might perform would be of minor - interest. - </p> - <p> - She rode rapidly, her mind in a tumult of excitement over the daring act - of revenge she meant to wreak to-night on the man who had wronged her - beyond the power of human forgiveness. Singlehanded and alone she had - mastered his will and brought him to her feet. Single-handed and alone she - had decided the question of his life and death. And this afternoon she - wished to ride alone to the place appointed for his judgment. - </p> - <p> - In spite of her resolution to mete out the sternest justice to John - Graham, the memory of his passionate words of love, the deep tenderness - with which he had hovered about her, and the utter trust he had shown - during their last meeting, began to torment her. - </p> - <p> - Had they met under fair conditions she could have loved him. She began to - see it clearly now. His sincerity, his fiery emotions, his romantic - extravagances, the old-fashioned chivalry with which he worshipped her - were very sweet. The complete and generous surrender he had made, placing - his life absolutely in her hands, began to glow with poetry in her - imagination. - </p> - <p> - He had always possessed the faculty of drawing out the best that was in - her. Somehow she had never been able to hate him as she ought in his - presence. There was something contagious in the spirit of love with which - his whole personality seemed to radiate. She had begun to feel at home - with him as with no other man she had ever met. - </p> - <p> - “Oh, dear, I’m sorry!” she sighed, as she entered the deep woods. - Unconsciously she reined her horse to a stand, and was startled from her - reverie by a tear rolling down her cheek and falling on her glove. “What a - fool I am!” she cried in anger. “I’d better turn back now. I’m a - chicken-hearted coward when put to the test. I’m scared out of my senses - at the size of the task I’ve undertaken—that’s what’s the matter—I, - who have boasted of my strength and shouted my triumph over a strong man’s - conquest.” - </p> - <p> - Another tear rolled down her cheek. She brushed it away with an angry - stroke. - </p> - <p> - “Suppose I find too late that I’m in love with him!” she exclaimed, - helplessly. - </p> - <p> - Her horse moved on without her urging or recognising it, so absorbed had - she become in the battle raging within her heart. - </p> - <p> - “What is love?” she mused aloud. “I wonder how it feels to really love?—Love - him?—nonsense—I hate the very ground he walks on—the - self-centered, proud, bigoted, narrow-minded fanatic! I’ve sworn to avenge - my father’s death. I’ll do it. Let him come to-night to the judgment hall - of his own making. I’ll prove myself a woman, and do my country a service - when I hand him over to justice.” - </p> - <p> - She touched her horse with the whip, and he bounded forward in a swift - gallop, and in a few minutes she passed into the old lawn and saw the - flash of the white ghost-like columns among the dark firs. - </p> - <p> - Again she found herself recalling the silly extravagances of his talk as - they entered the grounds two days before. - </p> - <p> - “What was it he said about angels?” she mused with a smile. “Yes, I - remember. Somehow I seem to remember them all!—‘When I stand by your - side, in every silent space I hear the beating of the wings of angels’—and - I liked it! what a fool a woman is! and tried to convince myself that I - didn’t like it by adding, ‘the wings of the angel of death,’ only because - I felt my hate grow weak under a silly compliment—well, I’m done - with his maudlin love-making. It’s judgment day.” - </p> - <p> - She dismounted, tied her horse, and wandered down the little crooked - pathway to the famous spring at the foot of the hill where many a lover - had lingered in days long past and poured out the old story that remains - eternal in its youth. She wondered at the mad resolution of her mother, - taken perhaps on this very spot twenty-five years ago, that had led her to - break the bonds of blood, throw to the winds every tie of tenderness that - bound her to the earth, and brave the scorn of her own proud world, all - for the sake of the son of a poor white man—because she loved him! - </p> - <p> - Why did people do such idiotic things? Why should a woman thus sink her - soul and body in the fortunes of a man? She couldn’t understand it. - </p> - <p> - “Surely this is the miracle of miracles of human life!” she murmured. “I - wonder if John Graham was crazy when he said that night on the lawn: ‘If - you should send me from your presence now, I’d laugh at Death, for I have - tasted Life!’ Why do I keep thinking of what he has said?—Perhaps - because he may die to-night!” - </p> - <p> - She sprang to her feet, clasped her hands nervously and began to cry—softly - at first, and then with utter abandonment, sinking again to the ground and - burying her face in her arm. - </p> - <p> - “Oh, dear! oh, dear! I’m lonely and heartsick and afraid!” she sobbed. “I - wish I had a friend to share my secret, advise and help me—yes, such - a friend as he would be!—he’d know what I ought to do—and I - know what he’d say, too—that I’m proud and cruel and selfish—that - I’m doing a hideous, unnatural thing—well I’m not! the impulse for - vengeance is God’s first law—I know it because I feel it, deep, - instinctive, resistless!—and I’m going to do it! I’m going to do it!—I - hate him! I hate him!” - </p> - <p> - She rose and returned to the ruins, and sat down on the steps between the - white columns. The sun was sinking through an ocean of filmy clouds, - reflecting in rapid changes every colour ever dreamed in the soul of the - artist. She watched in deep breathless reverence, until the sense of - loneliness again overpowered her and she sprang up with restless energy - exclaiming: - </p> - <p> - “I meant to explore that room before he comes—I must do it.” - </p> - <p> - She descended the steps and stopped before the dark entrance. It hadn’t - seemed so dark the other day with him. It was earlier in the day of - course. Why had she paused? The question angered her. She was afraid to go - through the long dark corridor alone—that was the disgusting truth. - </p> - <p> - She turned back to await his coming. What a foolish contradiction. She - would wait for the protection of the wretch she meant to deliver to-night - to—death! - </p> - <p> - She returned with quick angry strides to the columns, and leaned against - one of their friendly sides. In the gathering twilight they seemed human - and sheltering in their protection. She wished he would come. A dozen - times she looked toward the gate and thought she heard the beat of his - horse’s hoof in the distance. - </p> - <p> - Dusk settled into darkness and still he did not come. The moon rose and - touched the tall pillars above with a magic glow of mellow light, and a - whip-poor-will struck the first note of his thrilling song beneath the - bush at her feet. - </p> - <p> - With a shudder, she moved to the outer column and waited with increasing - impatience and alarm. The wildest fears began to fill her fancy. Why had - she dared this mad task alone? For some unaccountable reason she had not - reckoned on being alone. - </p> - <p> - Was it possible that she had been so illogical, so utterly bereft of - reason that the idea of his companionship had filled her imagination? - Surely she had not been such a fool! She knew Steve Hoyle would accompany - those men, beyond a doubt, and join her after the affair was over, but she - had not given Steve a thought. He had been but a cog in the wheel of - things that had swiftly moved to the tragic crisis which she now faced for - the first time. She looked at her watch in the bright moonlight and it was - half past eight. What if he failed to come! Would she be glad or angry? - The tumult of feeling had reached a point of intensity that paralysed her - powers of reasoning—she didn’t know. A single sense remained, the - consciousness of chilling loneliness. - </p> - <p> - With a throb of joy she caught at last the quick hoof-beat of John’s horse - sweeping through the gateway in a furious gallop. - </p> - <p> - He leaped to the ground, and hurried to her side. - </p> - <p> - “I’m awfully sorry!” he cried, seizing both her hands with eager - tenderness. “A most unexpected thing occurred which delayed me thirty - minutes. I’ll explain to you later. Come, I’m hungry to see your dear face - in the light of these lanterns in that gloomy old room below. I’ve a - thousand things to tell you. Life will be too short a time in which to - tell it all. I hope you’ve been very lonely and hungry for me to come?” - </p> - <p> - “I must confess, my heart began to fail me once or twice,” she said - seriously, while he felt her hand trembling. - </p> - <p> - He stooped to light a lantern, and she caught his arm. - </p> - <p> - “Wait, not yet—the moon is shining brightly—we don’t need it.” - </p> - <p> - “But you’ll stumble on those dark stairs in the corridor.” - </p> - <p> - “No matter, wait,” she urged nervously; “I’ll hold your arm—you know - the way.” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I know the way,” he laughed. “Come then, your slightest whim is - law.” - </p> - <p> - He drew her little hand through his arm and picking his steps carefully, - led her down through the tangled debris and along the dark corridor - without once stumbling, the timid figure clinging close to his side. - </p> - <p> - “You see a revolutionist soon learns to find his way in the dark without a - light,” he said, as they emerged into the kitchen whose wide space was - lighted by the moonbeams streaming through the windows. - </p> - <p> - He released her arm, placed the lantern and a bundle he carried on the top - of the range, and said with a laugh: - </p> - <p> - “Now, shall the actor make up for his part? I’ve the costume all ready. - This is the palace of the queen to-night. I have been commanded to appear - before her!” - </p> - <p> - She gave no answer. - </p> - <p> - He bent and kissed her hand and found it cold and trembling violently. - </p> - <p> - “You feel the chill of this old basement,” he said with tender solicitude. - “I’ll light the lantern at once.” - </p> - <p> - She caught his hand. - </p> - <p> - “No! No!—I—prefer it like this—the moonlight is enough.” - </p> - <p> - “All right,” he answered gaily. “Shall I don my robes as ruler of the - Invisible Empire to please the fancy of Your Majesty?” - </p> - <p> - He opened the bundle and shook out the long white ulster-like disguise - with its double cross of scarlet and gold. - </p> - <p> - “Put it back—I’m not ready yet!” she gasped. - </p> - <p> - “You’ll laugh and chat a while with the audience before the curtain goes - up on the drama!—good! I’ve a lot to say. Sit here in the window - while I tell you something.” - </p> - <p> - He led her to the low casement of the window and seated her by his side. - </p> - <p> - She sprang to her feet instantly, grasping at her heart, her breath coming - in quick gasps: - </p> - <p> - “What’s that!—Listen!” - </p> - <p> - He took her hand soothingly: - </p> - <p> - “Why, it’s only our horses neighing to each other.” - </p> - <p> - “You’re sure?” she whispered. - </p> - <p> - “Of course.” - </p> - <p> - “I thought it was something else,” she faltered. “My poor little darling! - This has been too much for your nerves—you should have allowed me to - come with you.” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I’m afraid I did make a mistake!” she said in low strained tones. - </p> - <p> - “Well, there’s nothing to be afraid of now—is there?” he said - assuringly. - </p> - <p> - “No! there’s nothing to be afraid of now—is there?” she laughed - hysterically, and suddenly stopped with a suppressed scream. - </p> - <p> - “My darling!” he exclaimed. - </p> - <p> - “Listen! Listen! My God, what’s that?” - </p> - <p> - “It’s nothing dear.” - </p> - <p> - “It is! Listen! I hear them coming!” - </p> - <p> - “Impossible, my child, we’re all here!” he laughed. “How could you guess - there was anyone coming except you and me?” - </p> - <p> - “Oh, dear, you don’t understand, and I can’t explain!” she went on - frantically. She looked at her watch and couldn’t see. - </p> - <p> - “Quick, strike a match and see what time it is—we can get away!” she - whispered. - </p> - <p> - He struck the match and saw her eyes gleaming with a strange madness. - Stella blew the match out, seized his arm and drew him from the window. - </p> - <p> - “Not there—by the window—over here in this corner.” - </p> - <p> - “He struck another match and she masked its light from the window, staring - with wide-set eyes at the hands of her watch. - </p> - <p> - “It’s half past nine. It’s too late!” she said hopelessly. - </p> - <p> - “Come, come, my darling, remember that I am by your side—nothing can - harm you except the tongue of gossip, and you’ve shown your contempt for - that. Sit down here again in the moonlight and let me tell you the story - of my love.” - </p> - <p> - He led her back to the window and she sank tremblingly by his side. - </p> - <p> - “I’ve never had the chance to tell you,” he began, with low passionate - tenderness, “what a wonderful thing your love has been in my life. The - night I met you, I went to your house drunk, with murder in my heart, - determined to use the lawless power I wielded to crush your father. I was - about to leave with a threat to kill him on my lips. It was no idle threat - then. I had entered the vault, pushed open its massive door, stepped - inside and saw the way was open.” - </p> - <p> - “The night you came first, you entered alone the secret way?” she - interrupted. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I meant to use it if necessary.” - </p> - <p> - “But you never did! You never did!” she whispered. - </p> - <p> - “How could I, dearest! I saw your face that night for the first time, - heard the low music of your voice, touched your hand, and I was a new man! - Love, not hate, has ruled me since. I disbanded the Klan immediately and - ordered my men never again to use its power.” - </p> - <p> - “Disbanded the Klan!” she repeated with choking surprise. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, and a dastard reorganised it as a local order to further his low - ambitions. I’ve done my best to hold in check their crimes and follies. I - warned your father of danger the night those fools came. In a madness of - love, fear and jealous rage I came down to the house, sat there in dumb - pain and watched your beautiful form whirl past the lighted window until I - could endure it no longer.” Stella strangled a sob. - </p> - <p> - “I’ve reproached myself a hundred times I didn’t prevent that masquerade - by force. I might have done it. I had some faithful old soldiers from the - foothills in town that day whom I had used to capture the scoundrels who - committed the outrage on old Nicaroshinski.” - </p> - <p> - “Hush! hush! before I scream!” Stella cried in anguish, placing her hand - on his lips. - </p> - <p> - Suddenly a white figure stood before the window and his whistle rang - through the still night. - </p> - <p> - Stella sprang to her feet gasping, with horror: - </p> - <p> - “My God! they’ve come: I must save you! Hide! Hide and give me your - revolver—they shall not take you—quick—quick—hide!” - </p> - <p> - “But, my dear, there’s not the slightest danger. No man who wears that - uniform will lift his hand against me—see, I’m going to answer his - call with my own signal.” - </p> - <p> - He lifted the whistle to his lips and she snatched it from his grasp. - </p> - <p> - “Don’t! Don’t for God’s sake, don’t! you don’t understand—Oh!—John—darling—I - love you! I love you!” - </p> - <p> - She threw herself into his arms and kissed him, passionately sobbing. - </p> - <p> - “I’ve tried to hate you, dear, but I couldn’t—I couldn’t—I - know now I’ve loved you always! I must save you, God help me!” - </p> - <p> - “Well, sir?” called a voice without. - </p> - <p> - “It’s all right! Come in, boys!” he answered before Stella could stop him. - She huddled in his arms paralysed for the moment with terror. - </p> - <p> - “You must not!—they will kill you, dear!” she moaned in agony. - </p> - <p> - “Nonsense, child, the boys have only a little surprise for us.” - </p> - <p> - Their feet were already echoing in the corridor and their voices could be - heard in whispers and low laughter. - </p> - <p> - “Hide! please, for the love of God!” she gasped. With sudden fierce - strength she pressed him into the shadows and stood panting before him, - while the silent ghost-like figures ranged themselves solemnly around the - room. - </p> - <p> - “Stella, my dear, you must not suffer like this—there is no danger, - these are all my men.” - </p> - <p> - “Your men!—your men!” she cried, bewildered. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I brought them here to-night in full costume to make a little play - complete for the fancy of a queen!” - </p> - <p> - “My darling,” she sobbed, sinking in his arms. - </p> - <p> - “We unexpectedly met some ugly customers from the hills we had seen once - before. A little pitched battle delayed us thirty minutes, but none of our - boys were hurt.” - </p> - <p> - “Kiss me!” she whispered. - </p> - <p> - A distant whistle rang through the woods and the picket outside answered. - </p> - <p> - “What’s that?” Stella gasped. - </p> - <p> - “He blew the signal, ‘message for the Chief’; he’s from town, I’m afraid,” - John answered. - </p> - <p> - A horse’s hoof echoed on the flagstones before the columns, and in a - moment the picket rushed to the window. - </p> - <p> - “Bad news, sir!” - </p> - <p> - “What is it?” John asked quietly: - </p> - <p> - “A regiment of United States cavalry slipped into town just after dark.” - </p> - <p> - “I’ve been looking for it,” John broke in. “Well?” - </p> - <p> - “A squadron has surrounded Mrs. Wilson’s boarding house to wait for you.” - </p> - <p> - “Merciful God! what have I done!” Stella sobbed inaudibly. - </p> - <p> - John touched her hand soothingly at the sound of her sob, bent low and - whispered tenderly: - </p> - <p> - “It’s all right—dearest—you love me!” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0030" id="link2H_4_0030"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - BOOK III—PRISONER AND TRAITOR - </h2> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0026" id="link2HCH0026"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER I—THE ARREST - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE news of the - arrival of the regiment of cavalry, and the swift silent way in which they - had struck their first blow, brought to John Graham at once a sharp - realisation of the danger of his men. - </p> - <p> - Releasing Stella, he turned to the white figures gathered in an excited - group and in short sharp accents said: - </p> - <p> - “I thank you boys for your kindness in coming to the little masquerade we - had prepared to celebrate the announcement of my engagement to the woman - who is the queen of my heart. Sorry the Yanks have interrupted us. Get - home as fast as your horses can carry you. Burn your costumes the minute - you reach a safe place. Hide them under your saddles as usual until you - can burn them. Leave one at a time and go home by unused roads if - possible. And listen—every man of you who can, should leave the - state in twenty-four hours and stay until the trouble blows over.” - </p> - <p> - “What are you goin’ to do?” asked a tall masked figure. - </p> - <p> - “Don’t worry, Dan. I’ll look out for myself. You boys do the same and do - it quick.” - </p> - <p> - “We’ll stan’ by you if ye give the word,” persisted Dan. - </p> - <p> - John left Stella’s side, stepped to the men and growled: - </p> - <p> - “I’ve given the word. Run, and run like hell!” - </p> - <p> - “We don’t like the orders, Chief, but orders is orders—git boys!” - </p> - <p> - The men quickly disappeared, and John took Stella’s hand: - </p> - <p> - “Come, dearest, we must go.” - </p> - <p> - “Yes,” she answered, timidly clinging to his arm and holding him back. - </p> - <p> - “We must hurry,” he urged. - </p> - <p> - “I won’t hurry,” she said with tender wilfulness. - </p> - <p> - “When a woman won’t, she won’t,” John laughed. - </p> - <p> - She gently stroked his hand and slowly slipped her arm in his as she - allowed him to lead her out into the moonlight beside the white silent - pillars. - </p> - <p> - “Wait here until I bring the horses,” John said, gently disengaging his - arm. - </p> - <p> - Stella clung to him firmly. - </p> - <p> - “No, don’t go yet. Why hurry? Let them wait. I wish to be alone with you - for a while here on this beautiful spot. It’s all so new and wonderful. - This knowing that I love and am loved! I’ve just begun to live the past - hour. I’m afraid to go back to the world.” - </p> - <p> - “I must face some stern realities to-night. But you love me. That’s the - only thing of any importance. What do jails matter? They can only imprison - the body—my soul will follow you, hover about you, laugh and cry - with you day and night, waking or dreaming.” - </p> - <p> - “They won’t put you in jail to-night, dear?” she asked, piteously. - </p> - <p> - “Yes.” - </p> - <p> - “Then you shall not give yourself up to them! You’ll let me have my own - way now that you know that I love you, won’t you, John dear? There! I’ve - called your name for the first time—haven’t I?—I love your - name!—You’re not going to give up to them—are you?” - </p> - <p> - “I see no other way, dearest.” - </p> - <p> - “You told your men to fly. Our horses are fresh. We can put miles between - us and these troops before day. I’ll go with you, just as I am in this - riding habit—no matter—I’ll get a dress somewhere when you’re - out of danger.” - </p> - <p> - He slipped his arm about her, bent his tall form, and stopped her with a - kiss. - </p> - <p> - “How sweet to hear you talk this beautiful nonsense!” - </p> - <p> - “I mean it,” she hurried on earnestly. “We must leave to-night, I don’t - know what they may do to you. Something terrible—maybe—I can’t - think of it! Something may happen to separate us. I want to feel your hand - clasping mine like this forever!” - </p> - <p> - He answered by crushing the little hand in his. - </p> - <p> - “You won’t go back and let them arrest you, will you, John?” she pleaded, - a sob catching her voice. - </p> - <p> - He was silent and a smile played about his mouth. - </p> - <p> - “Answer me, John dear! You must do as I say because life is too sweet and - beautiful to lose it! You will leave if I go with you—won’t you? My - whim you said should be your law. This is my whim, my heart’s desire. Get - the horses now, and we’ll make them fly as far from Independence to-night - as their heels can carry us! You’ll do this because I ask it—won’t - you, darling?” - </p> - <p> - The little head began to droop, the voice broke, and she lay sobbing in - his arms. - </p> - <p> - He held her close for a moment. - </p> - <p> - “You know this is impossible, dear!”—he said tenderly. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I know!” she sobbed. - </p> - <p> - “My business is to save others now.” - </p> - <p> - “At least, you’ll go by the house and stay with me a little while?” - </p> - <p> - “They’ll think I’m hiding.” - </p> - <p> - “Who cares what they think? I can’t go home alone, can I?” - </p> - <p> - “Of course, I’ll stop a moment. And now we must hurry.” - </p> - <p> - He brought the horses and they galloped back to town in silence. Along a - dark rough place of the road, they slowed down to a walk, and his hand - sought hers. - </p> - <p> - “What a strange ending to the most wonderful day of my life!” she suddenly - cried with passionate tenderness. - </p> - <p> - “Why strange?” he asked. “I never had a doubt that you would love me. It - was written in the Book of Life.” - </p> - <p> - “But I didn’t know it until to-night.” - </p> - <p> - “Tell me, dear,” he pleaded; “what sudden flash revealed the truth?” - </p> - <p> - “Don’t ask me!” she said with a shiver. “I’ll tell you some day.” - </p> - <p> - “Why not now? This has been a wonderful day for me. I shall never live its - like again. I heard for the first time the one woman I love, the only - woman I ever loved, the one woman I shall love forever, speak the sweetest - words that ever fell from human lips.” - </p> - <p> - “I love you—I love you!” she softly repeated. - </p> - <p> - “But tell me how you came to know it to-day?” he urged. - </p> - <p> - “It’s a secret—one I fear that will give me many an hour of anguish. - I’ll tell you, dear—but not now. - </p> - <p> - “I’ll share it with you when you’ll let me.” - </p> - <p> - “Not this one, John. I need to bear it alone to keep me humble, and - sweeten with suffering and fear the bitter, selfish impulses that fight - within me. Oh, I want to be good and tender and beautiful and true now!” - </p> - <p> - “How full of strange moods you’ve been tonight!” he exclaimed. - </p> - <p> - “Have I dear?” - </p> - <p> - She caught his hand and pressed it tenderly. - </p> - <p> - The lights of the town flashed in view from the hill. - </p> - <p> - They galloped boldly down the main street and into the lawn. As they - passed the cabin at the gate, Isaac’s face appeared a moment at the door. - </p> - <p> - “I didn’t know old Isaac had returned?” John remarked. - </p> - <p> - “Nor did I,” she replied; “he must have come with those troops.” - </p> - <p> - A tremor caught her voice as she recalled that Ackerman was in - communication with Isaac, and the cords she had been winding about the man - by her side began slowly to tighten around her own throat. - </p> - <p> - He tried to leave her at the door, but she drew him inside. - </p> - <p> - “You can’t go yet.” - </p> - <p> - “I must hurry, my love,” he protested. “Those men will think I’m a coward. - I should have been at home when they called.” - </p> - <p> - “Sh!”—— - </p> - <p> - She placed her hand over his lips, ignoring his plea. - </p> - <p> - “I’ve a little experiment to make. My whim is law. Go stand there in the - alcove with your hat in your hand fumbling it.” - </p> - <p> - Laughing with girlish excitement she pressed him into the exact spot he - stood the night she first met him, drew back, and gazed tenderly into his - face, her big brown eyes dancing with the hysterical strain of the deep - half-conscious fear for his safety which had begun to strangle her. - </p> - <p> - “Have you forgotten the first scene in the drama of our life?” she asked, - slowly approaching him with extended hand. - </p> - <p> - He clasped it with a smile. - </p> - <p> - “I shall not forget it if I live to be a hundred years old,” he said - reverently. - </p> - <p> - “And yet, you are trying to hurry away from me to-night again. Don’t you - like the picture as well now?” - </p> - <p> - “A thousand times better, dearest,” he cried. “The love that shines in - your eyes will make radiant the darkest hour of life. I’ve nothing now to - fear. Perfect love has cast out fear. My way’s a shining one whether it - leads to a palace or a prison.” - </p> - <p> - “Come into the dining room,” she whispered, leading him through the door - and seating herself at the head of the table. “You remember the night we - sat together here?” - </p> - <p> - “Do I!” - </p> - <p> - “Would you believe me if I told you that I tried to make you love me that - night?” - </p> - <p> - “You said you tried to hate me.” - </p> - <p> - “But we can’t always do what we try—can we?” she asked wistfully. - </p> - <p> - “You did that night I’m sure.” - </p> - <p> - “And yet, I’m failing to-night!” she sobbed, unable to keep back the - tears, “just when I’ve told you that I love you, and the joy and wonder of - it all has begun to light the world. Before I’ve thought only of myself. - To-night I’m thinking only of you, my sweetheart! Just as I’ve learned to - speak your name I feel you slipping away from me—oh, John darling, - what will they do to you? Tell me—tell me!” - </p> - <p> - “They can only put me in jail to-night.” - </p> - <p> - “But they shall not—they shall not!” she moaned, clinging close to - him. “You shall not let them! You shall not leave this house except to fly - with me.” - </p> - <p> - Stella’s words choked into sudden silence at the shrill angry notes of - Aunt Julie Ann’s voice ringing in the hall: - </p> - <p> - “Git out er dis house, I tells ye, ‘fo I bus’ yo head open wid dis door - weight.” - </p> - <p> - “Mind your own business,” snapped the angry reply. - </p> - <p> - “I’se mindin’ my own business. Git out dat door, an’ knock ‘fo yer come - in! An’ I lets yer in when I gits ready—when my mistis say yer kin - come!” - </p> - <p> - “Faith, an’ I’ll slap ye head off ye shoulders, if ye don’t kape still,” - growled the trooper. - </p> - <p> - “What do you want in here, yer low-life sluefooted Yankee?” - </p> - <p> - “If it’s just the same ter ye, I wants Mr. John Graham, me dusky maiden!” - </p> - <p> - John suddenly released himself from Stella’s clinging form and stepped - through the door into the hall. - </p> - <p> - “I’m John Graham. What is It?” - </p> - <p> - “You’re my prisoner, sir, ye’ll have to come with me!” - </p> - <p> - “I’m ready.” - </p> - <p> - The sergeant took a step toward John, drawing a pair of handcuffs from his - pocket. - </p> - <p> - Stella sprang between them, her eyes blazing with rage: - </p> - <p> - “How dare you enter my house without my permission?” - </p> - <p> - The sergeant stopped in sheer amazement at the fury of her outburst. - Recovering himself with a smile he replied: - </p> - <p> - “Axin yer pardon m’am, it may be rude, but hit ain’t writ in our book of - etiquette ter knock at the front door when we’re huntin’ fer a man charged - with murder.” - </p> - <p> - “But he’s not guilty!” Stella stormed. - </p> - <p> - “I believe ye, Miss—ye’d have an easy time with me. But I ain’t the - Coort!” - </p> - <p> - “Stella, dear,” John pleaded. - </p> - <p> - “Leave this house!” Stella cried with fury. - </p> - <p> - “Sure m’am, but yer friend comes wid me,” said the sergeant, taking - another step toward John. - </p> - <p> - “I tell you he’s not guilty! It’s all a mistake. I’ll explain to your - commander in the morning.” - </p> - <p> - John smiled in spite of himself. - </p> - <p> - “Stella dear, this is nonsense. The sergeant is acting under orders. I - must go at once.” - </p> - <p> - “Ye see, m’am!” said the sergeant with a polite bow. - </p> - <p> - “All right then, sergeant,” said Stella, suddenly changing her tone, “I’ll - excuse you for your rudeness; I’ll go with you.” - </p> - <p> - “You mustn’t, my love,” John protested. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I’m going with you, but I’ve had nothing to eat. We must have supper—it’s - waiting. Aunt Julie Ann, show the sergeant downstairs and give him supper. - Mr. Graham will be ready in half an hour, sergeant.” - </p> - <p> - The trooper looked doubtfully at John and at Stella, smiling. - </p> - <p> - “All right m’am. It’s agin my principles as a soldier to leave a good - supper to spoil—an’, axin yer pardon agin, I’ll station one o’ me - men at each door an’ window to make sure we wont lose any of our party - durin’ the festivities. It’ll be more sociable like to feel that we’re all - here.” - </p> - <p> - The sergeant placed his men and followed Aunt Julie Ann to the kitchen. - </p> - <p> - Stella drew John to the old davenport: - </p> - <p> - “Quick, John darling, through the old secret way—the way of love——” - </p> - <p> - “Dearest!” he said reproachfully. - </p> - <p> - She extended her hand to press the spring in the panel. - </p> - <p> - “Quick, the soldier at the door can’t see you. I’ll stand in front. Wait - for me in the vault. I’ll let them search the house and when they go, I’ll - join you and we can leave before daylight.” - </p> - <p> - “I must face it. There’s no other way.” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, yes, this way—the old sweet way of love! I can’t let them take - you—you’re mine now—I love you—I love you!—John, - dear, he has big ugly handcuffs. He was going to put them on you—didn’t - you see him?”—her voice faltered. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I saw him.” - </p> - <p> - “I can’t stand it, John, I can’t—oh, dear, you don’t understand, and - I can’t explain—You love me?” - </p> - <p> - “Better than life and deeper than death.” - </p> - <p> - “And yet you refuse my heart’s desire?” - </p> - <p> - “Only in this. I’m done with lawlessness. I’m not a coward. I’ve led a - successful revolution. It had to be, and now with silent lips I’ll face my - accusers.” - </p> - <p> - A hot tear fell on his hand. - </p> - <p> - “Come, dearest, you must help me,” he pleaded. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, yes, I will,” she faltered, brushing the tears away. “Come then, we - will have this one little supper together, shall we not?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes. I want to look across that old table into your face again.” - </p> - <p> - He chatted gaily through the supper and she sat silent, choking back the - sobs, unable to eat. - </p> - <p> - The sergeant bowed at the door: - </p> - <p> - “Axin yer pardon m’am, but I must hurry now.” John rose and the trooper - again drew his handcuffs, Stella watching him with wide-set eyes. “I’m - sorry, sir, I’ll have to put ’em on.” - </p> - <p> - “It’s all right, sergeant,” he answered. - </p> - <p> - Stella sprang between them and placed a trembling little hand on the - trooper’s. - </p> - <p> - “Please, sergeant!” - </p> - <p> - “Orders, m’am, I’m sorry.” - </p> - <p> - “Please—for—my—sake—don’t. He’ll go with you. I - tried to get him to fly with me, and he wouldn’t. You won’t put them on - him—will you? For my sake?” - </p> - <p> - Her voice sank to the softest music of tears. The sergeant hesitated a - moment and said gruffly: “All right, for your sake, m’am, I won’t.” - </p> - <p> - John stooped and kissed her. The door closed behind him and with a low - piteous moan Stella sank to the floor, crying: - </p> - <p> - “God have mercy on me!” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0027" id="link2HCH0027"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER II—THROUGH PRISON BARS - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">A</span>N IMMENSE crowd - had gathered at the hotel awaiting John’s arrival. The news of his arrest - had stirred the town to feverish excitement. - </p> - <p> - Without turning to the right or left, or answering a look of recognition, - he marched between two soldiers through the mass of men and boys in the - office and climbed the stairs to the rooms of the United States - Commissioner who was waiting to receive him. - </p> - <p> - The Commissioner handed him the warrant and he merely glanced at its - title:= - </p> - <h3> - ```"THE UNITED STATES VERSUS JOHN GRAHAM - </h3> - <h3> - ````CONSPIRACY AND MURDER"= - </h3> - <p> - “I shall hold you without bail, Mr. Graham,” said the Commissioner. - </p> - <p> - John merely nodded his head. - </p> - <p> - “To the county jail, sergeant!” - </p> - <p> - The soldiers turned and John descended the stairs, and again passed - through the crowd, his head erect, his face an immovable mask. - </p> - <p> - In fifteen minutes the heavy bolt shot into place and he was a prisoner - awaiting trial for life, locked in a filthy cell of the common jail of the - county of Independence. - </p> - <p> - He had often been to this jail as a lawyer to interview prisoners whom he - had defended at various times, but he had paid no attention to the - building. The complaints of the discomforts of the jail he had always - taken as a humorous contribution to life. - </p> - <p> - He was amazed to discover that the place into which he had been suddenly - thrust was an inner room opening into a corridor with no means of light or - ventilation save the single iron-grilled door—a veritable hell-hole - whose heat was so stifling and air so foul with disgusting odours he could - scarcely breathe. By the rays of the little kerosene lamp which hung in - the corridor, flickering, sputtering and stinking, he saw that there was - not a trace of furniture in the room, not even a pile of straw on which to - sleep. The floor had evidently not been swept in a year, the dust lay in - piles, and the room had just been vacated by four perspiring Negro - convicts who had been removed to the penitentiary to serve sentences for - burglary, arson and murder. - </p> - <p> - It was impossible to sit down, it was unthinkable to lie down, and so for - five hours back and forth he walked the length of his cell like a caged - panther. - </p> - <p> - For the first hour his proud spirit was sustained by the enormity of the - degradation thus heaped upon him. He felt sure that such treatment was - given him for a purpose. He knew that all the prisoners of the county were - not treated as swine. In his anger he paused once, determined to demand a - chair or bed of some kind, and found that he could only make his wants - known by yelling down two flights of stairs to the guard who stood at the - outer door of the last floor. He could not thus humiliate himself. - </p> - <p> - For the first time he realised what it meant to be deprived not only of - the comforts but the common decencies of human life. In fierce anger he - silently raved for two hours and then a strange calm came over his soul. - His hands grasped the iron bars of the door and he stood as if in a trance - while the unconscious minutes lengthened into hours. A beautiful face bent - above him. Her voice, low and tender with the music of love, filled all - space. The stifling cell vanished. He was in the open fields with her hand - in his. He woke with a laugh, and caught the glint of the first beams of - the rising sun stealing through the window of the corridor. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0006" id="linkimage-0006"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0295.jpg" alt="0295 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0295.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - A Negro boy brought his breakfast of corn bread and bacon in a dirty tin - plate. - </p> - <p> - John looked at it a minute with a curious smile: “No, thank you, my boy, - I’ve just had my breakfast of ambrosia. I’ll take a chair, however, if the - jailor can spare one!” - </p> - <p> - “Yassah, I’ll tell ‘im when I goes down,” he replied. “But I spec dey - ain’t none lef. We got lots er boarders now.” - </p> - <p> - He placed the plate on the floor by the door, and grinned. - </p> - <p> - “Dey wuz er young lady come ter see ye las’ night, sah, but dey wouldn’t - let ’er in!” - </p> - <p> - John smiled. - </p> - <p> - “What time was it?” - </p> - <p> - “Bout two er clock.” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I saw her,” John slowly said with a strange look in his deep-set - eyes. “She came up and stayed with me until sunrise.” - </p> - <p> - The Negro backed cautiously away muttering. “He got ‘em sho!” and darted - down the steps. The fact that he was being kept in solitary confinement - and refused communication of any kind with friend or counsel, roused every - force of John Graham’s character. - </p> - <p> - When the Attorney General who had come down from Washington called at ten - o’clock he greeted him with a laugh through the bars of his door: - </p> - <p> - “Excuse my lack of hospitality, General Champion,” he said; “I’d offer you - a chair, but the hotel is crowded and we’re short of chairs just now.” - </p> - <p> - “Haven’t you a chair or a bed in your cell?” he enquired, peering in. - “It’s an outrage. Bring two chairs here at once!” he thundered to the - attendant. - </p> - <p> - “Mr. Graham,” said the General cordially, “I’ve hastened to you as a - friend. I was a member of Congress with your uncle. We were warm personal - friends. I’ve known several of your people, and always found them the salt - of the earth.” - </p> - <p> - “Thanks,” John interrupted, a smile playing about the corners of his eyes. - </p> - <p> - “I wish to be of help to you if you will let me. It has long been known to - the Department of Justice that you are the Chief of the Klan in North - Carolina.” - </p> - <p> - “I congratulate the Department of Justice on the attainment of such - interesting knowledge,” John broke in. - </p> - <p> - “Do you deny it?” - </p> - <p> - “I’m not discussing it.” - </p> - <p> - “You must know, Mr. Graham, that the organisation is doomed, and that you - are in an extremely dangerous position. I trust you realise this?” - </p> - <p> - “Quite warm last night, General!” - </p> - <p> - “Come, come, young man, I’m your friend——” - </p> - <p> - “It’s a pleasure to meet a friend; do you think it will rain?” - </p> - <p> - “You are to be put on trial for your life——” - </p> - <p> - “My idea is that we are in for a long dry spell, General.” - </p> - <p> - “Tut, tut, my boy, come now, don’t try my temper with such nonsense. - President Grant is not hostile to the South. He grieves over the necessity - of the severe laws which he is now enforcing. His only desire is to pacify - these disorders. The Klan must be stamped out. You have realised this—I - know that you have led parties who have inflicted summary justice on some - of the scoundrels who are operating in its disguises. Is not this a fact?” - </p> - <p> - John laughed. - </p> - <p> - “I know it,” affirmed the General. - </p> - <p> - “Then why ask me?” - </p> - <p> - “I know that you have tried to stamp out the disorders,” the General - repeated. “Whatever the impulses which led a man of your high character - into this lawless conspiracy, you have realised at last its dangerous - character. You are in a position to render the South and the Nation an - enormous service. Help me to restore law and order in the South and the - Government will show its gratitude.” - </p> - <p> - “You mean exactly?” - </p> - <p> - “That you give me the information needed to wipe the Invisible Empire out - of existence——” - </p> - <p> - “And in return?” - </p> - <p> - The General placed his hands on the bars and leaned close. - </p> - <p> - “The President has promised me to immediately appoint you an Assistant - Prosecuting Attorney, and in six months promote you to the high honour of - a United States Circuit Judgeship.” - </p> - <p> - John’s fist suddenly shot through the iron bars, struck the General in the - mouth, and hurled him in a heap against the wall of the corridor, as he - cried with rage: - </p> - <p> - “D——n you! How dare you thus insult me?” - </p> - <p> - The General picked up his broken glasses from the floor, wiped a drop of - blood from his lip, shook his fist at the man who glared at him through - the barred door, and shouted: - </p> - <p> - “I’ll make you pay dearly for this!” - </p> - <p> - John laughed in his face. - </p> - <p> - “But you won’t make me that offer again, will you?” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0028" id="link2HCH0028"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER III—A WOMAN’S WAY - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">I</span>T WAS one o’clock - before Stella recovered from the first collapse of terror for the fate of - her lover. And then the imperious will summoned every energy to the - struggle for his liberty and life. - </p> - <p> - She changed her riding habit and, taking Maggie, started at half past one - in the morning to find Ackerman. - </p> - <p> - She had gone half way to Mrs. Wilson’s before she recalled the startling - fact that her relations to Ackerman were unknown, and the still more - painful fact that all knowledge of her relations to the detective must now - be concealed with the utmost care. She felt instinctively that if John - Graham discovered her plan to entrap him into a confession and her - betrayal of his generous trust in her love, he could not forgive it. She - shivered at the thought of his anger and disgust. - </p> - <p> - “We’ll go to the jail, Maggie,” she said, with sudden energy, “where is - it?” - </p> - <p> - “Right down de nex street, I show ye,” Maggie answered. “I been dar lots - er times. I wuz down dar yistiddy ter see my uncle Joe start ter de - penitentiary.” - </p> - <p> - Stella shuddered, followed her down the side street, and knocked at the - jail door. - </p> - <p> - No one answered. She knocked again and again. Finally the jailor thrust - his head from the window above, saw it was a woman, shut the sash with a - bang and went back to bed. - </p> - <p> - Stella looked at the grim walls with a sense of blind fury. - </p> - <p> - “I’ll show that insolent lazy rascal to-morrow morning how to treat me,” - she cried, as she turned and started home. When they reached the corner - she stopped, looked back at the jail looming black, silent and threatening - among the shadows, and her heart went out in an agony of piteous yearning - to the man within its walls. - </p> - <p> - Maggie pointed to the mass of trees behind the jail. - </p> - <p> - “See dem trees dar behin’ de house?” - </p> - <p> - Her mistress gave no answer, and the maid rattled on in awed whispers: - </p> - <p> - “Dars where dey hang folks! Dey’s er high fence roun’ de yard, but ye can - see over it from here. I stan’ right on dis corner an’ see ’em hang - a man dar las’ year.” - </p> - <p> - “Hush Maggie!” Stella sternly commanded. - </p> - <p> - “Yassum.” - </p> - <p> - Stella hurried home, and paced the floor of her room until morning. - </p> - <p> - At eight o’clock, in answer to her urgent summons, Ackerman came. - </p> - <p> - “You are sure no one saw you enter?” she asked nervously. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, but why such caution now? Our work is done, and well done. I - congratulate you on the skill with which you did your part.” - </p> - <p> - “I had nothing to do with it. I’ve sent for you to have the whole thing - stopped at once.” - </p> - <p> - “You had nothing to do with it!” Ackerman exclaimed. - </p> - <p> - “Absolutely nothing. I repudiate the whole affair.” - </p> - <p> - “I came here to do this work at your own request,” he protested. - </p> - <p> - “The arrest of Mr. Graham is an infamous outrage!” - </p> - <p> - “What!” - </p> - <p> - “An infamous outrage. I repeat it and demand his immediate release.” - </p> - <p> - “Why, my dear young woman, it was on the information which you gave that I - swore out the warrant for his arrest.” - </p> - <p> - “It was you who swore out the warrant against him?” Stella fiercely cried. - “Oh, I could kill you!” - </p> - <p> - “You gave me the information.” - </p> - <p> - “I did nothing of the kind,” she stormed. “It’s false—I deny it!” - </p> - <p> - “On your statement to me that he had confessed that he was Chief of the - Klan, I made the oath on which his warrant was based,” Ackerman maintained - with warmth. - </p> - <p> - “Then you swore a lie!” she hissed. “A lie—a lie!” - </p> - <p> - Stella fell on the lounge and buried her face in her hands. - </p> - <p> - Ackerman flushed and was silent. His keen eyes grew suddenly tender. He - smiled, rose and stood by her side a moment, and when she looked up - extended his hand. - </p> - <p> - “I’m sorry for you, Miss Stella. I think I understand!” - </p> - <p> - “Then you will know how to forgive my bitter and unjust words?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes.” - </p> - <p> - “Can’t you help me?” she asked piteously. - </p> - <p> - “The situation is extremely delicate for me as it is dangerous for John - Graham. The Government is determined to press these cases for conspiracy - and murder. Personally I have never believed Graham guilty of the murder - of the Judge.” - </p> - <p> - “Of course he is innocent!” - </p> - <p> - “I think I know the man who killed your father.” - </p> - <p> - “And you will help me save John Graham?” she cried. - </p> - <p> - “I’ll have a big job before me to complete my work before this trial. - There’ll be plenty of witnesses to swear anything the Government wants, - but I’ll do my best.” - </p> - <p> - “Thank you.” - </p> - <p> - With a cordial grasp of the hand Ackerman took his leave and Stella - hastened to confer with the Attorney General. - </p> - <p> - “I’ve come to demand the immediate release of Mr. Graham on the absurd - charge that has been made against him,” she began impetuously. - </p> - <p> - The General looked at her in astonishment. “Hoity toity! My dear Miss, not - so fast.” - </p> - <p> - “You began this at my request. I demand that it cease.” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, yes, I see, but you have forgotten that greater issues are at stake - than even the lives of two men.” - </p> - <p> - “I’ll have nothing to do with the prosecution of an innocent man, General - Champion.” - </p> - <p> - “Even so, you have set in motion forces you can not control. The fate of - Mr. Graham is fixed. He is the Chief of the Klan. He’s as sure of - conviction as the fact that he is to be put on trial. I’ll see that he is - tried and that all the resources of the Government are used to secure his - conviction.” - </p> - <p> - Stella’s beautiful face grew white and still. - </p> - <p> - “You will make a special effort against him?” she faltered. - </p> - <p> - “I will,” was the stern answer. “There was a way of escape. I offered it - to him this morning in the most friendly and generous spirit. His answer - was the gravest personal insult.” - </p> - <p> - “May I see him at once?” - </p> - <p> - “Certainly.” - </p> - <p> - The General hastily wrote an order and Stella hurried to the jail. - </p> - <p> - She determined to make a desperate appeal to induce him to compromise with - the authorities and save his life. - </p> - <p> - At the sight of the heavy iron bars of his door before which John stood - smiling, she broke completely down, seized his extended hand, covered it - with kisses and sobbed bitterly. - </p> - <p> - “Come, come, my beautiful one, this is not like you! I’ve counted on your - brave spirit to win this fight. Not another tear. Courage and laughter in - our souls, defiance, scorn, contempt for our enemies! See, they have made - me quite comfortable within the past hour. I tried to knock the Attorney - General down, and lo, they rewarded me with a cot and a chair!” - </p> - <p> - “You knocked General Champion down?” Stella gasped in amazement. - </p> - <p> - “I did my best under difficulties. Think of it, my dear! He offered me an - office for the betrayal of my people! I couldn’t kill him. I was behind - the bars, but I shall always thank God that he stood close enough for my - fist to reach his mouth.” - </p> - <p> - John broke into a joyous laugh. His spirit was contagious. Stella looked - at him with wonder until a smile stole through the clouds that shadowed - her own brow. - </p> - <p> - “How beautiful you are this morning, dearest!” he cried exultantly. - </p> - <p> - She brushed the tears from her eyes. - </p> - <p> - “I tried to see you last night at two o’clock,” she softly said. - </p> - <p> - “And succeeded, my love,” he interrupted smiling. “You came up and stood - there and talked to me just as you are now. You told me to be of good - cheer—that you loved me. That you hated a sneak and a coward and a - traitor. That you had rather see me cold in death than stoop to a low - dishonourable deed, even for all the honours of earth. And I lifted up my - head in courage. I forgot jails and handcuffs, courts and trials. You took - me by the hand and led me away into green fields through the deep woods - beside beautiful waters. All night hand in hand we roamed through the - mystic world of Love—the only world of realities—I was angry - with the sun for waking me!” - </p> - <p> - “My darling, I’m not worthy of such love,” Stella cried, pressing his - hand. “What can I do to help you?” - </p> - <p> - “Keep on loving me—that’s the main thing!—incidentally consult - a lawyer—the best you can find—tell him that I’m going to - fight, fight, fight to the last ditch my own cause and the cause of my - people! Keep out of old Champion’s way. He carries a bribe in one hand, a - death warrant in the other. Don’t let him know your plans. Don’t let him - know that you love me.” - </p> - <p> - Stella lifted her head with sudden resolution. - </p> - <p> - “I’ll get the best lawyer in America. I’ll mortgage the house for the - money.” - </p> - <p> - “My little heroine!” he exclaimed with pride. - </p> - <p> - “I’ll go at once.” - </p> - <p> - Through the iron bars she pressed her lips and hurried to the telegraph - office with the light of new courage shining in her eyes. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0029" id="link2HCH0029"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER IV—THE HON. STEPHEN HOYLE - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">S</span>TEVE HOYLE was - confined to his room with a bullet hole through the flesh of his right arm - the day following the meeting at Inwood. - </p> - <p> - He wrote Stella a letter informing her that John Graham had hired a gang - of thugs to attempt his assassination on the night he was to meet her, - that he had been desperately wounded in her service, and begged that she - call at once. - </p> - <p> - Stella sent him a reply that cut deeper than the bullet from John’s - revolver. It was very brief. Steve read it with muttered curses: - </p> - <p> - <i>Mr. Stephen Hoyle,</i> - </p> - <p> - <i>I have long suspected that you were a liar. Last night you proved - yourself a coward. Our acquaintance has ended.</i> - </p> - <p> - <i>Stella Butler.</i> - </p> - <p> - Steve paced his room in a speechless rage for an hour, dressed to call on - her and demand an interview, and suddenly changed his mind at the sight of - a squad of troops hurrying past his door. - </p> - <p> - The arrest of John Graham had brought him to the verge of collapse. He - trembled at the thought that his turn might come next, and feared to put - his head out the door. - </p> - <p> - When ten minutes later the soldiers who had passed suddenly appeared at - every exit of his house and loudly knocked for entrance, he dropped into a - chair shivering with abject terror. - </p> - <p> - When arrested he turned his heavy white face toward the sergeant - piteously. - </p> - <p> - “I beg of you, officer, allow me to stay here under guard. I am - desperately wounded, by an accident.” - </p> - <p> - “You’ll have to go to jail,” the trooper snapped. - </p> - <p> - “But, my dear man, I can’t. I can’t walk,” he gasped with laboured breath. - “Just let me stay here under arrest until I can arrange with the - authorities to give bail.” - </p> - <p> - “Ye’ll have ter fix that at headquarters—come on,” he answered - gruffly, seizing Steve and lifting him to his feet. - </p> - <p> - The heavy form collapsed and he sank in a heap on the floor. - </p> - <p> - The sergeant looked at him a moment with contempt, turned to his men and - said: - </p> - <p> - “Keep him under guard till I report.” - </p> - <p> - The moment he had gone, Steve revived and crawled in bed, his teeth - chattering with a nervous chill. The soldiers sat down and laughed in his - face, and cracked jokes about the bravery of men who could ride well at - night but sometimes fainted in the daylight. - </p> - <p> - The Attorney General had ordered Steve’s arrest on a shrewd guess which - Ackerman had made on hearing of the strange fight between two groups of - horsemen in the country at dusk the night before. The detective had seen - the doctor leaving Hoyle’s house and learned at once that Steve was - wounded. - </p> - <p> - In attempting to serve the warrant on John Graham he had found that he had - ridden into the country alone in the direction taken by Steve Hoyle. - Ackerman had long suspected Steve of complicity in the movements of the - Klan, and knowing the deadly enmity between the two men had at once - reached the conclusion that a feud within the ranks of its members could - alone account for the situation. - </p> - <p> - “Arrest Hoyle,” he urged on Champion; “threaten him with immediate - conviction for conspiracy and murder and see what happens.” - </p> - <p> - The Attorney General had taken his advice, and on receiving the report of - Steve’s “illness” from the sergeant, went immediately to see him. - </p> - <p> - Steve was profuse in his expressions of cordiality. - </p> - <p> - “I’m sorry, General Champion,” he said, with loud friendliness, “that my - father and mother are in the North at present. They spend a great deal of - their time up there among you good Yankees. The fact is they are specially - fond of you. My father, you know, was a secret Union man during the war - and has always voted your ticket since, though for social reasons he don’t - say much about it down here.” - </p> - <p> - Steve winked and laughed feebly. - </p> - <p> - “Is it so?” asked the General. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, of course,” Steve hurried on, “and I want to ask you as a personal - favour to my father, if not to me, to accept my bail for £10,000. The - whole thing, I assure you, is an absurd mistake. My father and I can - convince you of this on his return.” - </p> - <p> - The General pursed his lips and watched Steve shrewdly for a moment. - </p> - <p> - “I’m sorry I can’t accommodate you, Mr. Hoyle. We cannot accept bail in - cases of this kind. You must realise at once that you are in a very - dangerous position. Beyond a doubt your life is in peril.” - </p> - <p> - Steve attempted to laugh but choked with terror, saying feebly: - </p> - <p> - “Oh, not so bad as that, General. I’m a lawyer myself you know. I can only - be tried on a charge of murder before a state judge and jury. You have no - right to put a man on trial for his life here.” - </p> - <p> - “Right or no right, young man, we are going to do it under the Act of - Congress. We’ve got the power. The army is here. The Supreme Court may - decide the Act unconstitutional later.” - </p> - <p> - “I assure you, General, the charge against me is a monstrous falsehood,” - Steve protested vigorously. - </p> - <p> - “And yet, my boy, the men have found in the search of this house a full Ku - Klux regalia for man and horse. Sergeant, bring that thing in!” - </p> - <p> - The trooper stepped in the door and held up before Steve’s astonished gaze - the costume which he had taken under his saddle the night before on his - trip to meet Stella. - </p> - <p> - Steve sat up in bed trembling and perspiring. - </p> - <p> - “Why, yes, of course,” he stammered. “That has been here for some time. - I’ve made no attempt to conceal it. It was given me by a client of mine - who was a member. I’m keeping it as a curiosity.” - </p> - <p> - “A dangerous curiosity to keep about your house in these times, sir,” said - the General sternly. “Let’s come to the point. Do you wish to keep out of - jail or do you wish to test the power of the United States Government to - put you on trial for your life?” - </p> - <p> - “I want to keep out of jail,” was the quick answer. - </p> - <p> - “That’s sensible. Then face the facts. My detective has watched you for - three months. I can convict you of murder.” - </p> - <p> - Steve fumbled his hands nervously while the General paused and gazed - steadily at his wavering eyes. - </p> - <p> - “Now, I’ve a generous proposition to make you.” - </p> - <p> - “Yes?—yes?” Steve gasped. - </p> - <p> - “One that will give you an opportunity to prove yourself a patriot and a - hero—a patriot because you will render your country a great service—a - hero because you must brave the scorn of every white man and woman whose - opinion is worth anything to you. Will you consider it?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes,” Steve answered. - </p> - <p> - “Give me the information needed to destroy the Invisible Empire and I will - not only release you from custody; I will make you my assistant and - ultimately secure your promotion to a judgeship. Your answer?” - </p> - <p> - “I’ll do it, General, I’ll do it!” Steve cried, while the maudlin tears of - a coward’s relief from mortal fear coursed down his fat cheeks. “I’ll - stand by you and help save our country by restoring law and order.” - </p> - <p> - The General thanked and congratulated him, again called him a patriot and - hero and sent for his stenographer. For four hours he was closeted with - Steve. - </p> - <p> - At dusk the soldiers moved with sure tread in every county in Piedmont - Carolina, and before the sun rose the blow had fallen swift, relentless, - terrible! - </p> - <p> - The Klan leaders in every county were behind the bars. - </p> - <p> - More than five hundred arrests were made in the county of Independence. - Around the jail, and half a dozen improvised prisons, throngs of sadfaced - wives, mothers, sisters and sweethearts stood silently weeping. - </p> - <p> - The next morning Champion wired the President asking that the Honourable - Stephen Hoyle be appointed acting Assistant United States District - Attorney, and his request was granted. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0030" id="link2HCH0030"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER V—ACKERMAN CORNERED - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE arrest of John - Graham precipitated a crisis between Ackerman and Susie Wilson which was - as unexpected as it was embarrassing to the handsome young detective. - </p> - <p> - From the moment she had seen his letter on Stella’s bed she had watched - the young Northerner with the keenest suspicions. - </p> - <p> - The following day he pressed his love with straightforward earnestness. - </p> - <p> - She answered with an evasive smile. - </p> - <p> - “I appreciate the honour you pay me, Mr. Ackerman, but I’m not in love - with you. I hope we shall always be friends. If your love endures it may - win mine in the end—if you persist.” - </p> - <p> - “I have your permission to persist?” - </p> - <p> - “Certainly,” she answered frankly. “I love to be loved.” - </p> - <p> - “All right,” he said with a boyish laugh. “I’m going to build my house in - the fall.” - </p> - <p> - On the day following John Graham’s arrest she saw Ackerman emerge from the - hotel in earnest consultation with the Attorney General. To her the - prosecuting officer of the United States at that moment meant all that was - vile and hateful in the tyranny under which the South had groaned since - the dawn of her memory. - </p> - <p> - The moment she saw Ackerman with this man, his very name became to her - accursed. Her keen intuition at once linked the letter to Stella with the - murder of the Judge and the prosecution of the Klan. She was sure that - Ackerman had been playing the hypocrite and was at heart an enemy of the - South. She determined not only to cut his acquaintance but put him out of - her mother’s house. - </p> - <p> - When the young detective received a written notice from Susie to vacate - his room immediately, he took it to be a practical joke and asked to see - her. She sent word by the servant that unless he moved during the day his - trunk would be thrown on the sidewalk. - </p> - <p> - Ackerman left in answer to a summons from the Attorney General’s office, - still puzzling his brain over the meaning of the joke. He was sure that - she could not possibly know of his oath against John Graham which was a - secret of the Department of Justice. He was equally sure that she could - not suspect his real business in Independence. He meant to win her love - first. He didn’t care what she thought of his profession afterwards. - </p> - <p> - When he returned to Mrs. Wilson’s for supper he was struck dumb by the - sight of his trunk lying on the sidewalk outside the gate. - </p> - <p> - Without a word he picked it up, carried it back upstairs and threw it on - the floor with a bang in front of the room that had been his. - </p> - <p> - He sat down on it and refused to stir until Susie answered in person his - demand for an interview. - </p> - <p> - To avoid a scene she finally consented to meet him in the parlour. - </p> - <p> - Susie’s gray eyes were cold and her tall figure rigid. - </p> - <p> - “In violation of every law that should govern the conduct of a gentleman - you have forced yourself into my presence Mr. Ackerman. I trust our - interview may be very brief.” - </p> - <p> - “In violation of every law of Southern hospitality, to say nothing of the - rules which should govern the temper of a lady, you have thrown me out of - your house without rhyme or reason. And before I go I respectfully but - firmly ask, why?” - </p> - <p> - “You have pretended to be a friend of our people I find that you are an - enemy—a sneak and a hypocrite.” - </p> - <p> - Ackerman’s cheeks blushed redder than usual; he bit his lips and finally - burst into laughter. - </p> - <p> - “Is that all?” - </p> - <p> - Susie rose with dignity. - </p> - <p> - “It’s quite enough for my mother and myself.” - </p> - <p> - “But it’s not enough for me, Miss Susie. My defence against your unjust - suspicions is perfect. I will make it if necessary. I trust it will not be - necessary.” - </p> - <p> - “You might include in your defence an explanation of why you were - corresponding with Stella Butler while you were writing love to me?” - </p> - <p> - “Who said that I wrote to Miss Butler?” - </p> - <p> - “I say it. I saw your letter in her room the day you declared your love - for me.” - </p> - <p> - Ackerman was cornered. He must confess and betray Stella’s secret or keep - silent and wreck his own hopes. His decision was instantly made. - </p> - <p> - “Miss Susie, you’ve got me. I give up. I’m not a sneak—but I am a - hypocrite by profession.” - </p> - <p> - “You confess it?” Susie cried with scorn. “Yes,” he whispered. “I am a - trusted detective of the United States Secret Service. I am not the enemy - of your people. On the other hand, I have learned to love and sympathise - with them. Perhaps my love for you has given me that point of view. - Anyway, I’ve taken it. I am simply here as an officer on duty under - command of his superior.” - </p> - <p> - Susie’s face softened. She saw at once her mistake. - </p> - <p> - “And your duty led you into correspondence with Miss Butler?5’ - </p> - <p> - “I regret to be compelled to answer, but it did.” - </p> - <p> - “She has aided in your work?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes. I reported to her by order of the Chief on arrival, and have been in - constant communication with her at every step since.” - </p> - <p> - “Up to the hour of John Graham’s arrest?” Susie asked breathlessly. - </p> - <p> - “Yes.” - </p> - <p> - “Oh, the little fiend! I could strangle her!” the girl cried. - </p> - <p> - “I’m sorry to have to betray this confidence. But you have forced me.” - </p> - <p> - “And you are pressing the charge of murder against John Graham?” - </p> - <p> - “On the other hand, I am not. If my plans succeed, I’ll explode a - bombshell in the court room the day he faces the jury.” - </p> - <p> - Susie extended her hand. - </p> - <p> - “I beg your pardon for my rudeness. Alfred will put your trunk back - immediately, if you will stay.” - </p> - <p> - Ackerman mounted to his room and unpacked his trunk, humming a love song - while Susie put on her hat and left with swift firm step to find Stella - Butler. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0031" id="link2HCH0031"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER VI—THROUGH DEEP WATERS - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">S</span>TELLA had hurried - to the jail with a bouquet of flowers earlier than usual, accompanied by - Maggie who carried a dainty breakfast. She wished to be the first to tell - John Graham of the blow which had fallen on his people. She had forgotten - that the jail in which he lay had been jammed with prisoners during the - night. Four of his friends were crowded into the cell in which he was - confined. - </p> - <p> - Her heart sank at the sight of the pitiful crowds of weeping women who - stood at the jail door, some of them with sick babies in their arms. - </p> - <p> - A little tow-headed boy sat on the steps, with his lips quivering and the - big tears slowly rolling down his cheeks. She recognised him as the one - she saw in front of her house the night of the Klan’s first parade. - </p> - <p> - She bent over him and took his hand: - </p> - <p> - “What’s the matter?” - </p> - <p> - The boy’s breast heaved and he choked, unable to answer, bent his sunburnt - head on Stella’s hand and burst into strangling tears. - </p> - <p> - She stroked his hair, and at length he sobbed: - </p> - <p> - “They’ve got my big brother in here—locked—up—in—a—cage! - They’re going to kill him, and he ain’t got nobody but me to help him. I - ain’t nothing but a little boy. I can’t get no money, and I can’t do - nothing. Oh, me! oh, me!” - </p> - <p> - He bowed again and sobbed as though his heart would break. - </p> - <p> - Stella slipped her arm around his neck and placed a rose in his hand. - </p> - <p> - “Hush dear, I’ll be your friend and his. I’ve got money. I’ll help you—give - the rose to your brother and come to see me.” - </p> - <p> - “Will you, Miss?” he cried, leaping up with joy. “Make’em let me go in - with you and I’ll tell him!” - </p> - <p> - Stella took him by the hand and led him into the jail. - </p> - <p> - When the jailor frowned at the boy, she said with a smile: - </p> - <p> - “He’s a little friend of mine. He’ll go in with me.” - </p> - <p> - The boy nestled close to her side and gripped her hand tightly. When they - reached the first corridor, he sprang to a grated door and seized his - brother’s hand. As she passed on Stella heard him say joyously: - </p> - <p> - “It’ll be all right, Jim, don’t worry. She’s a goin’ to help us. She told - me so. She’s rich—she’ll get us a lawyer.” - </p> - <p> - Stella climbed the stairs to John’s door with a great voiceless fear in - her soul. The thought of his discovery of her betrayal stopped the very - beat of her heart. - </p> - <p> - To her surprise she found him strangely calm. - </p> - <p> - “It’s sweet of you to come so early,” he said with a smile. - </p> - <p> - “Love makes one’s feet swift, doesn’t it?” she answered softly. - </p> - <p> - “And beautiful!” he cried. “I’m going to make you happier by giving you - more work. Don’t bring me anything more to eat or any more flowers until - you’ve made the other fellows comfortable. I’m all right, but a lot of the - poor boys who have just come have broken down. Oh, God, if I could have - gotten my hands on the throat of the traitor last night!” - </p> - <p> - Never had she seen a more terrible look on a human face. Stella gazed at - his convulsed features fascinated with fear. - </p> - <p> - “You’ll help the boys, won’t you, dear, for my sake?” he asked suddenly. - “Susie Wilson and her mother will join you.” - </p> - <p> - Stella answered with a start: - </p> - <p> - “Why—of course, John. I’ll go at once.” - </p> - <p> - “And dear!” he called as she turned quickly. - </p> - <p> - “The lawyer whom you engage for me must take all their cases. I’ll stand - or fall with my people.” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I understand.” - </p> - <p> - Stella hurried home with her soul in a tumult of conflicting purposes. She - felt it yet too dangerous to confess the dual rôle she had played; yet - with each hour’s startling events the agony of fear lest he discover her - betrayal became more and more intense. - </p> - <p> - One thing she could do at once. She would make the cause of his men her - own, she would make her ministry of love so tender and unselfish, her - sacrifices so generous he must hear her plea when the awful moment of her - confession should come. - </p> - <p> - She had just given Aunt Julie Ann orders to prepare three meals each day - for every man in jail with John, and was about to start for the garden to - cut more flowers, when Maggie ushered Susie Wilson into the hall. - </p> - <p> - “I’m so glad you’ve come,” Stella cried. “I was just going to ask you and - your mother to help us make those men comfortable who have been put in - jail. Mr. Graham was sure you would join me.” - </p> - <p> - Susie stared at Stella for a moment and slowly said: - </p> - <p> - “Is it possible!” - </p> - <p> - “Why, what’s the matter?” Stella asked. “Won’t you sit down?” - </p> - <p> - “I prefer to stand, thank you, and to come straight to the point,” Susie - answered with quiet emphasis. “May I ask you some questions?” - </p> - <p> - Stella flushed and her first impulse was to show her questioner to the - door, but she felt the dangerous menace in Susie’s tone and knew that she - had suspected at least part of the truth. It was necessary to fence. - </p> - <p> - “Why, as many as you like,” she replied with a light laugh. - </p> - <p> - “You have told John Graham that you love him?” - </p> - <p> - “Your question is an impertinence. It’s none of your business.” - </p> - <p> - “I have made it my business.” - </p> - <p> - “Then the sooner you recover your self-respect the better,” Stella - sneered. - </p> - <p> - “What do you mean?” Susie’s gray eyes danced with anger. - </p> - <p> - “That you are desperately and hopelessly in love with John Graham - yourself, and that you haven’t pride and character enough to hold up your - head before his indifference, and his patronising contempt. I have won - him, and you come with cheap insults for the woman he loves.” - </p> - <p> - Susie’s eyes grew dim. - </p> - <p> - “Your accusation is infamously false,” she cried with choking emotion. - </p> - <p> - “You deny that you love him?” Stella flashed. - </p> - <p> - “I glory in it—if you will know!” Susie cried in dreamy tenderness. - “I’ve always loved him with a girl’s blind worship of the hero of her - dreams. And I shall cherish every gentle word that he has ever spoken to - me. The impulse which brought me here wasn’t the vulgar desire to insult - the woman he loves. I came to save his life.” - </p> - <p> - Stella sprang to her feet, her face scarlet, her breath coming in quick - gasps of anger. - </p> - <p> - “What do you mean?” - </p> - <p> - “I’ll tell you if you answer my questions. Do you dare tell me that you - love him?” - </p> - <p> - Stella drew herself up proudly. - </p> - <p> - “You have no right to ask that question. But I answer it. I do love him - and I have told him.” - </p> - <p> - Susie confronted her with flashing eyes. - </p> - <p> - “Then you have deceived him!” - </p> - <p> - “How dare you thus insult me in my house,” Stella cried with flaming - cheeks. - </p> - <p> - “I’ll leave your house and never enter it again. You can also rest assured - that John Graham’s foot will never again cross this threshold when I have - told him the truth.” - </p> - <p> - “When—you—have—told—him—the—truth!” - Stella gasped. “What truth?” - </p> - <p> - “That you have betrayed him and his people to his enemies.” - </p> - <p> - “It’s false! It’s false!” Stella panted. “You lie. You lie, because you - hate me! You hate me because you love him. Tell him if you dare. He will - laugh in your face! Try it—try it—I dare you!” Her voice rose - and fell, quivering and breaking in hoarse whispers of passion. - </p> - <p> - Susie stood quietly and coldly staring at her with lips upturned in scorn. - </p> - <p> - “If he doubts my word, Mr. Ackerman’s will be sufficient.” - </p> - <p> - “Ackerman!” Stella moaned, staggering to the table. - </p> - <p> - “Mr. Ackerman of the Secret Service who came here in answer to your call.” - </p> - <p> - “He—has—told—you?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, and I know the whole black hideous truth. I know that you hate John - Graham, that you have used your devil’s beauty to entrap and betray him.” - </p> - <p> - “I swear that I love him!” Stella groaned as she sank to a chair. - </p> - <p> - “As you’ve sworn to him no doubt while you lured him to his ruin. I hate - you—I hate you—and I could strangle you!” - </p> - <p> - The tall lithe form trembling with fury towered above Stella’s shivering - little figure. - </p> - <p> - “Susie, you are mistaken,” she faltered. “Come into the library a moment - and I’ll convince you that you are wrong.” - </p> - <p> - She seized Susie’s hand and led her into the library, sinking again into a - chair. - </p> - <p> - “See, here is a mortgage for ten thousand dollars on this house which I’ve - prepared to raise the money for two great lawyers from the North who are - coming to defend him.” - </p> - <p> - “From the North?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes.” - </p> - <p> - “You mean to convict him,” Susie cried. “Another shrewd trick you are - playing. Your lawyers will gain his confidence, learn his secrets, betray - and send him to his death. But, I’ll warn him!” - </p> - <p> - “Susie, you can’t believe this of me! The pledging of this house is the - first great act of selfsacrifice of my life. The joy of it has been a - sweet revelation to me. You must hear me when I tell you that I love him - with passionate devotion. I’d give my life for him if I could!” - </p> - <p> - “And yet you brought Ackerman here and hounded him for three months until - at last he lies in a filthy jail with the shadow of death over him—and - you call this love?” - </p> - <p> - The tall form again towered in rage above the shrinking figure. - </p> - <p> - “Wait! I must tell you all, Susie. You know but half the truth. Listen - dear, I did try to avenge my father’s death. I believed John Graham - guilty. I did lure him on to love me only to find that I loved him! I - tried to hate him and couldn’t. I’ve betrayed only his name to Ackerman. I - could tear my tongue out for it. If he learns of it, he will turn from me - and hate me! Susie darling, I’ve been proud and vain and wilful. Now I’m a - poor little girl alone, friendless and lost. You’re stronger than I am. - Have pity on me. Be a mother to me—I’m lonely and heart-sick. You - know what it is to love. If he turns from me now before I can atone for - the wrong I have done him, I can’t live. You—believe—me—now—dear?” - </p> - <p> - Susie’s eyes filled with tears. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I believe you now.” - </p> - <p> - Stella’s head sank on the table and her form shook with sobs. - </p> - <p> - Susie gently stroked the curling black hair, and said: - </p> - <p> - “I’ll help you. We’ll work together to save his life.” - </p> - <p> - In a moment they were sobbing in each other’s arms. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0032" id="link2HCH0032"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER VII—THE PRISONER AT THE BAR - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">W</span>HEN the day of - trial dawned, Stella had succeeded in securing the services of two of the - greatest lawyers in America, Reverdy Johnson of Maryland, Attorney General - in the Cabinet of President Taylor, and Henry Stanbery of Ohio, Attorney - General in the Cabinet of Andrew Johnson. - </p> - <p> - The Government was represented by the finest legal talent its vast - resources and power could command. - </p> - <p> - For eleven days, before two presiding judges of the United States Circuit - Court, the fierce battle of legal giants raged. The great lawyers for the - defence fought every inch of ground with dogged tenacity. - </p> - <p> - Stella watched from day to day with breathless intensity as she sat by - John Graham’s side. - </p> - <p> - It soon became plain that the Court had constituted itself a partisan - political tribunal for the purpose, not of administering justice, but of - crushing the enemies of the party in power. - </p> - <p> - Every decision was against the prisoner, though, in deference to the - distinguished character of the lawyers for the defence, they were allowed - to argue each point. The profound and accurate learning with which they - reviewed the Constitutional law of the Republic was a liberal education to - the shallow little partisans who sat on the judge’s bench before them. But - their eloquence and learning fell on the ears of men whose decisions were - already made. - </p> - <p> - In violation of the rights of the prisoner under the constitutions of the - state and nation the indictment for murder was ordered to immediate trial. - </p> - <p> - From the moment the actual proceedings of the trial began, the Government - had no delay or difficulty. - </p> - <p> - With sinking heart Stella saw the disgraceful travesty of justice draw - each moment the cords of death closer about the form of the man she loved. - </p> - <p> - The jury corruptly chosen for this case marked the lowest tide mud to - which the administration of justice ever sank in our history. A white - freeman, a man of culture and heroic mould, whose fathers created the - American Republic, was arraigned to plead for his life before a jury - composed of one dirty, ignorant white scalawag and eleven coal-black - Negroes! The white man was not made its foreman, a Negro teamster was - chosen. - </p> - <p> - Steve Hoyle became at once the presiding genius of the prosecution. The - court room was thronged with liars, perjurers and sycophants who hung - about his fat figure with obsequious deference. Old Larkin, who came from - the Capitol to assist the prosecution, sat constantly by Steve’s side. - </p> - <p> - John Graham watched Steve with cold deadly hate, but he had warned his men - under no conceivable circumstances to lift a hand in resistance either to - constituted authority, or to give the traitor his deserts. A pall of - helpless grief and fear hung over every decent white man who witnessed the - High Court of Justice of the Anglo-Saxon race suddenly transformed into a - Negro minstrel farce on which hung their liberty and life. - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0008.jpg" alt="0008 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0008.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - The star witness of the prosecution was Uncle Isaac A. Postle. He took his - seat before the jury, grinning and nodding at two of his dusky friends - among them with calm assurance. - </p> - <p> - Isaac was allowed to tell a marvellous rambling story of Ku Klux outrages—stories - which he had heard from Larkin—about whose truth he could possibly - know nothing. In vain the lawyers for the defence objected. The court - overruled every objection and allowed the Apostle free scope to his vivid - imagination. - </p> - <p> - Reverdy Johnson, the distinguished ex-Attorney General of the United - States who stood before the judges protesting with dignity, bowed to the - Bench and sat down in disgust with the quiet remark: - </p> - <p> - “We shall offer no further objection to anything that may be said in this - Court.” - </p> - <p> - He had scarcely taken his seat when Ackerman moved his chair behind him - and began to whisper. - </p> - <p> - The District Attorney watched the detective in astonishment, while Hoyle - and Larkin bent their heads together in excited conference. - </p> - <p> - Susie looked at Stella, smiled and blushed. - </p> - <p> - Isaac finally came to specific charges against John Graham. - </p> - <p> - “Now tell the court what you know about John Graham’s connection with the - murder of Judge Butler,” said Steve, who was conducting his examination. - </p> - <p> - “Yassah, I knows all ’bout it, sah. Mr. John Graham de very man dat - kill de jedge wid his own han’. I see ’im when he do it. Dey come - slippin’ up back er de house, an’ creep in froo de winder while de odder - folks wuz in de ballroom dancin’. Dey wuz eight un ’em—yassah. - Dey slip up an’ grab de jedge an’ hol’ ’im while Mr. John Graham - stick a knife right in his heart——yassah. I wuz lookin’ right - at ’im froo de winder when he done it. When he kill ’im, dey - all mix up wid de odder Ku Kluxes what wuz dancin’, an’ go way - ter-gedder.” - </p> - <p> - “Take the witness,” said Steve with a wave of his hand. - </p> - <p> - “How did you know it was Mr. Graham?” asked General Johnson. - </p> - <p> - “I seed ’im wid my own eyes.” - </p> - <p> - “He wore a complete disguise, did he not?” - </p> - <p> - “Yassah, but I seed ’im all de same.” - </p> - <p> - “You could see through the mask?” - </p> - <p> - “I seed ’im—I done tole ye!” - </p> - <p> - “Answer my question,” sternly commanded the lawyer. “Could you see his - face through the mask?” - </p> - <p> - “Nasah.” - </p> - <p> - “Then how did you recognise him?” - </p> - <p> - “He tuck it off ter scratch his head, sah, an’ I see his face. I knowed it - wuz him all de time fo’ I see his face.” - </p> - <p> - Ackerman whispered to the lawyer. - </p> - <p> - “Did you tell Mr. Ackerman, Uncle Isaac, that, as you started to run away - from the masqueraders that night, you saw John Graham at your gate—ran - into him?” - </p> - <p> - “Nasah, I nebber say no sech thing!” Isaac shouted, glaring and shaking - his head at Ackerman. - </p> - <p> - “Didn’t you tell the same gentleman that later in the evening you saw John - Graham seated on a rustic near the house watching it from the outside?” - </p> - <p> - “Nasah! dat I didn’t!” - </p> - <p> - “Do you know that if you swear a lie——” - </p> - <p> - “I ain’t swar no lie!” Isaac interrupted with religious fervour. “I’se de - Lord’s Sanctified One, sah. I ain’t done no sin since I got - sanctification. Yassah, praise God!” - </p> - <p> - “Don’t you know,” repeated the lawyer, “that if you swear to a lie on that - witness stand you can be sent to the penitentiary for perjury?” - </p> - <p> - “I knows dey ain’t gwine sen’ me dar—I knows dat,” Isaac said with a - grin, and his Negro acquaintances in the jury box laughed. - </p> - <p> - The lawyer changed his line of questions. “You say you saw John Graham - strike the death-blow?” - </p> - <p> - “Yassah, I see ’im wid dese very eyes.” - </p> - <p> - “Were you close enough to hear what was said?” - </p> - <p> - “Yassah, I wuz right dar by de open winder.” - </p> - <p> - “What did he say?” - </p> - <p> - “Des ez he raise de knife he say, ‘I got you now, you d—— - Black Radical ‘Publican!’” - </p> - <p> - “You swear that you heard him say that he killed the Judge because he was - a Republican?” - </p> - <p> - “Yassah! dat’s what de Ku Kluxes kill ’em all fur, sah!” - </p> - <p> - Larkin shuffled uneasily, bent again in conference with Steve who rose - immediately and asked for an adjournment of two hours. - </p> - <p> - When the Court reassembled and Isaac took his seat in the witness chair, - Aunt Julie Ann’s huge form suddenly appeared in the doorway with her hand - resting confidingly on Alfred’s arm. They walked inside the railing of the - bar and took seats assigned to them behind John Graham’s counsel. Aunt - Julie Ann handed Ackerman a pair of Isaac’s old shoes. He measured them - quickly on a diagram which he drew from his pocket. - </p> - <p> - Isaac watched Aunt Julie Ann and Alfred with mouth opened in wonder, rage - and growing fear. - </p> - <p> - He rose and bowed to the judges. - </p> - <p> - “I gotter ax de cote ter perteck me, gemmens,” he said falteringly. - </p> - <p> - “What do you mean?” asked a judge. - </p> - <p> - “Dat nigger Alfred dar tryin’ ter steal my wife from me, sah!” - </p> - <p> - Alfred grinned, and patted Aunt Julie Ann’s hand and whispered: “Doan min’ - de low-live rascal, honey!” - </p> - <p> - “Yassah, an’ my wife come here tryin’ ter timidate me, sah. She jes fetch - er par er my ole shoes inter dis cote. She’s a cunjer ‘oman, sah. I try - ter sanctify her, but she won’t stay sanctified. She got a kink er my hair - las’ night and wrap it up in a piece er paper and put it under de cote - house do’ step, an’ she say dat ef I walk over dat into dis house ter-day - an’ jestify ergin Marse John Graham she fling er spell over me. I ax de - cote fer perfection, sah. I axes de Sheriff ter take dat bunch er hair - from under dem steps fo’ I say annuder word!” - </p> - <p> - “Silence, sir, and proceed with your testimony,” said the Judge. - </p> - <p> - Aunt Julie Ann fanned her fat face, smiled at Stella and Susie and quietly - slipped her hand in Alfred’s. - </p> - <p> - Isaac dropped into his chair limp and crestfallen. In a sort of dazed - trance he kept his eye fixed on Alfred’s face grinning in triumph. - </p> - <p> - John’s lawyer pounced on him in sudden sharp accents. - </p> - <p> - “Is this a pair of your shoes, Isaac?” - </p> - <p> - “Yassah,” was the listless answer. - </p> - <p> - “You wore these shoes the night the Judge was killed, didn’t you?” - </p> - <p> - “Yassah.” - </p> - <p> - “You’re sure of it?” - </p> - <p> - “Yassah. Dem’s my ole ones. I got a new pair now.” - </p> - <p> - The lawyer stepped close and in threatening tones asked: - </p> - <p> - “Will you explain to this Court what your shoes were doing making tracks - in the soft mud of the underground passage from the family vault of the - Graham house the night of this murder?” - </p> - <p> - Isaac’s jaw dropped, he drew his red bandanna handkerchief and mopped his - brow. - </p> - <p> - A hum of excitement ran over the court room, and an officer cried: - </p> - <p> - “Silence!” - </p> - <p> - Isaac continued to mop his brow and fumble at his handkerchief while he - gazed at the lawyer in a helpless stupor. - </p> - <p> - “Answer my question, sir!” the towering figure thundered into his face. - </p> - <p> - “I doan know what yer means, sah,” he faltered. - </p> - <p> - “Yes you do. There were nine other men with you. Who were they?” - </p> - <p> - “I dunno, sah!” - </p> - <p> - Larkin whispered excitedly to Steve, who shook his head and gazed at Isaac - in amazement. - </p> - <p> - “Were they masked so that you couldn’t see their faces?” - </p> - <p> - Isaac looked appealingly to the judges and whimpered: - </p> - <p> - “I doan know what dey er talkin’ ‘bout, sah.” - </p> - <p> - “You must answer the questions,” said the Judge. - </p> - <p> - The lawyer glared at Isaac whose shifting eyes sought Larkin. - </p> - <p> - “Think it over a minute, Isaac,” the lawyer continued; “in the meantime - examine that knife.” - </p> - <p> - He drew from its case a long, keen hunting-knife, and handed it to the - witness who was now trembling from head to foot. - </p> - <p> - “Did you ever see that knife before?” - </p> - <p> - Isaac hesitated and finally answered: - </p> - <p> - “Yassah, I sold it ter Mr. Ackerman.” - </p> - <p> - “Where did you get it?” - </p> - <p> - Larkin suddenly cleared his throat with a deep guttural sound like the - growl of an infuriated animal. - </p> - <p> - The lawyer looked at him with annoyance and the officer again shouted: - </p> - <p> - “Silence!” - </p> - <p> - “I foun’ it, sah,” he answered evasively. - </p> - <p> - “Now, Isaac, you want to be very careful how you answer my next question.” - </p> - <p> - The lawyer took the knife from the Negro’s hand and felt of its point. - </p> - <p> - “You will notice that a tiny piece is broken off the tip of this blade. I - hold in my hand the little bit of steel which exactly fits there. It was - found embedded in a bone in Judge Butler’s body. This is the knife that - struck the death-blow. Did you own that knife the night of the murder? - Answer me!” - </p> - <p> - Isaac fumbled his handkerchief again and looked about the room helplessly. - </p> - <p> - Larkin rose carelessly and started from the court room. Ackerman, watching - him keenly, sprang to his side. - </p> - <p> - “Don’t leave, Larkin, we want you as a witness in a moment,” he whispered. - </p> - <p> - “I’ll return immediately,” the Carpetbagger replied, increasing his haste. - </p> - <p> - “Wait!” Ackerman commanded. - </p> - <p> - Larkin quickened his pace and the detective seized his arm. - </p> - <p> - The Carpetbagger threw him off with sudden fury and plunged toward the - door. - </p> - <p> - With the spring of a tiger, Ackerman leaped on him. A brief fierce fight, - and he was dragged panting back before the astonished Court, while every - man in the room sprang to his feet and pressed around the struggling men. - </p> - <p> - “What’s the meaning of this disorder?” thundered the presiding Judge. - </p> - <p> - “With apologies to the Court for the interruption I beg leave to present - the murderer of Judge Butler—I ask a warrant for his arrest,” - Ackerman demanded. - </p> - <p> - A wave of horror swept the crowd of Larkin’s friends. - </p> - <p> - “The man is a crazy liar, your Honours,” protested Larkin. “And he has - proven himself a renegade and a scoundrel in this court room to-day. I - protest against this outrage.” - </p> - <p> - “I’ll prove my charge to the Court—every link in the chain of - evidence is now complete,” was the cool answer. - </p> - <p> - With the court room in an uproar, Larkin was arrested and placed between - Ackerman and a deputy, and the trial resumed. - </p> - <p> - A brief conference between the District Attorney and Isaac preceded the - first question asked by John’s counsel after the disturbance. - </p> - <p> - “Now, Isaac,” the lawyer began suavely, “the District Attorney has just - promised to spare your life on condition that you tell us the truth, the - whole truth, and nothing but the truth—let’s have it.” - </p> - <p> - “Yassah,” the Apostle responded in humble accents. “Mr. Larkin, he tell me - ter say what I did, sah.” - </p> - <p> - Larkin’s head dropped and his keen eyes furtively sought the door. - </p> - <p> - “Who gave you that knife?” - </p> - <p> - A moment of breathless suspense rippled the crowded court room and every - head was bent forward. - </p> - <p> - “Mr. Larkin gimme de knife! We’se been powful good friends, sah. I show - him de under-groun’ way fum de tomb inter de house. I’se de only black man - dat know it—my daddy help dig it—yassah. Mr. Larkin de fust - man I ebber tell dat I know ’bout it. He say he want ter beat de Ku - Kluxes. He say he make’em smoke dat night, an’ he git eight men an’ dress - up jes lak ‘em, an’ I show him de way ter git in froo de panel in de hall. - He fool me. I didn’t know he gwine ter kill de jedge, sah, er I wouldn’t - er let ’em in, nosah. I doan’ believe in killin’ nobody. He tell me - ter git outen de county an’ I stay till de soldiers come back. Yassah, an’ - dat’s de whole troof!” - </p> - <p> - Ackerman motioned the sergeant, a pair of handcuffs clicked on Larkin’s - wrists, and the great white head sank on his breast. - </p> - <p> - Stella gazed at his pathetic figure with a strange feeling of pity and - wonder, while her hand sought John Graham’s and pressed it tenderly. - </p> - <p> - The count of murder was dropped, but the charge of conspiracy was pressed - with merciless ferocity. A procession of hired liars ascended the witness - stand and in rapid succession perjured themselves by swearing that they - had recognised the prisoner on various raids made by the Klan in the - county. - </p> - <p> - The jury was out fifteen minutes. - </p> - <p> - When they returned John Graham, in whose veins flowed the blood of a race - of world-conquering men, entitled to a trial by a jury of his peers, rose - with quiet dignity and heard the verdict of his condemnation fall from the - thick protruding lips of a flat-nosed Negro: - </p> - <p> - “We finds de prisoner guilty!” - </p> - <p> - “So say you all gentlemen?” asked the clerk. - </p> - <p> - And in response each black spindle-shanked juror shambled to his feet and - answered: - </p> - <p> - “Guilty!” - </p> - <p> - The last name called was the little white Scalawag’s, whose weak voice - squeaked an echo: - </p> - <p> - “Guilty.” - </p> - <p> - The Judge imposed a fine of one thousand dollars and sentenced John Graham - to five years imprisonment at hard labour in the United States - penitentiary at Albany, New York. - </p> - <p> - A low moan from Stella, and her head sank in voiceless anguish. - </p> - <p> - To the brave and the proud there are visions darker than death. - </p> - <p> - John Graham saw this as he was led from the court room back to jail—the - vision of the hideous leprous shame of a convict’s suit of stripes! - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0033" id="link2HCH0033"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER VIII—THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">E</span>VERY delicacy - which love could devise and her money buy Stella lavished on John and his - friends. Each day added to the list of men who returned to jail condemned - to the infamy of a convict’s pen at Albany. - </p> - <p> - When the deep-muttered curses against Steve Hoyle for the betrayal of his - men reached John’s ears, he sent through Stella his sternest orders and - his tenderest entreaties to Dan Wiley to prevent violence. Dan had - successfully eluded every effort to arrest him. John knew that he was - hiding in the mountains with the men he had commanded armed to the teeth, - and he lived in constant dread of the news of Steve’s assassination, even - under the noses of the United States troops. - </p> - <p> - A single burst of sunlight came to brighten for Stella the gloom of the - day before John’s departure for Albany. She succeeded in liberating “Jim,” - the big brother of her little tow-headed friend. Her interest in the boy - had been noted, and she received the usual mysterious message—that - money placed at the right spot would prevent any witness from identifying - Jim. She found the right spot promptly and paid the bribe of two hundred - and fifty dollars without a question as to the ethics involved. Jim was - discharged, and when he walked out a free man a little tow-headed boy lay - sobbing out his joy on her breast. - </p> - <p> - “I’m goin’ to work for you, if you’ll let me,” he cried through his tears. - </p> - <p> - “Why, I thought you said you couldn’t do anything that day we met?” she - laughed. - </p> - <p> - “Oh, I’m awful smart,” he boasted—“I can tote fresh water, carry all - your notes to your sweetheart—and I’m great diggin’ worms ter go - fishin’—I know right where to find ’em!” - </p> - <p> - She sent him away with a kiss and a promise to let him come and show her - what he could do. - </p> - <p> - As she entered the jail with John’s dinner, the jailor, whose friendship - she had won by the liberal use of money and skilful flattery, whispered to - her: - </p> - <p> - “Come in here a minute, Miss, I want to show you something.” - </p> - <p> - She followed him into his room and started with horror at the sight of a - dirty suit of convict’s stripes spread out on a chair. - </p> - <p> - Stella’s face blanched. - </p> - <p> - “They are for him?” she gasped. - </p> - <p> - “Yessum, an’ if ye’ll excuse me fer sayin’ it, I think it’s a d——— - shame.” - </p> - <p> - “They have no right to put this outrage on him before his people,” she - cried. - </p> - <p> - “No’m, they haint got no right, but they’re goin’ ter do it to-morrow - mornin’ just the same. They’re goin’ ter take him all the way ter Albany - in that suit.” - </p> - <p> - “Who’s doing this?” she asked with rising wrath. - </p> - <p> - “Steve Hoyle, m’am. He’s fixin’ to have a big gang er niggers and low - white trash here in the mornin’ ter hoot and yell and make fun of him all - the way to the train, an’ I thought I’d tell ye.” - </p> - <p> - “Thank you,” she answered warmly, her big brown eyes beginning to flash - fire. - </p> - <p> - “Ye know ef I’d step out, that suit o’ clothes might be foun’ missin’. It - ain’t mine. I’ll swear to that. I don’t know anybody that owns it, er - wants it.” - </p> - <p> - “I understand. Wrap it up, please. I can’t touch it.” - </p> - <p> - Stella shuddered and watched the jailor with wide-staring eyes as he - picked up the suit, wrapped it in a piece of brown paper and laid it back - on the chair. - </p> - <p> - “I got to go—there’s somebody knockin’ at the door—course, I - won’t know what’s become er the d—— thing.” - </p> - <p> - He left her with a grin, and Stella seized the bundle, hurried home and - burned it. On the way she stopped at a hardware store and made a - mysterious purchase which she carefully concealed, and there was a - dangerous light in her eyes as she placed this package beside the - travelling dress which she had laid out to wear on the train with John. - </p> - <p> - The jailor passed Stella in the hall but looked the other way as he - hurried forward with two soldiers who had called to see John Graham. They - were dressed in the regulation blue suits of the army. The jailor, - trusting implicitly their uniforms, allowed them to go up unaccompanied to - John’s door. - </p> - <p> - So complete was the disguise that at first the condemned man gazed through - the bars with indifference at his callers. - </p> - <p> - The taller of the two suddenly thrust his face close and whispered: - </p> - <p> - “God, man, don’t ye know me?” - </p> - <p> - John started. - </p> - <p> - “Dan—Billy—what does this mean!” - </p> - <p> - Dan put his finger on his lips. - </p> - <p> - “Everything’s all right. Billy’s been up in the mountains with me at my - summer resort.” - </p> - <p> - “I wrote you, Billy, not to come!” John scowled. - </p> - <p> - “I’m not going to see this infamy puton you——” - </p> - <p> - “It’s all fixed, Chief,” Dan broke in, drawing a new sledge hammer from - his pocket, and slipping the handle from his sleeve. - </p> - <p> - With a loud cough to mask the sound he thrust the handle into its place. - </p> - <p> - “You’re both crazy!” John said with anger. - </p> - <p> - “It’s as easy as failin’ off a log,” Dan urged. “Billy’ll smash the lock, - I’ll gag and tie the jailor. I’ve got the fastest horse in the county - waitin’ fer ye at the corner. Git thirty minutes start, an’ there ain’t - cavalry enough this side er hell to stop ye. When ye get ter my house, - ye’ll be in God’s country. The boys are there waitin’ fer ye.” Dan handed - the hammer to Billy. - </p> - <p> - “Put that hammer down!” John commanded sternly. - </p> - <p> - “I won’t—you’ve got to go with us.” - </p> - <p> - “Do as I tell you, or I’ll call the jailor,” John said with a frown. - </p> - <p> - “For God’s sake, come with us!” Billy pleaded. “Steve Hoyle’s going to - have a crowd of Negroes here to laugh and jeer at you to-morrow as you - come out. I tell you I can’t stand it!” - </p> - <p> - John’s face suddenly paled. - </p> - <p> - “You can stand it if I can, Billy! Get out of this, both of you, before - you’re arrested—quick now. I won’t have it. Come here, Dan!” - </p> - <p> - John called to the mountaineer who had turned away. - </p> - <p> - “Give me your hand.” - </p> - <p> - Dan thrust his hand through the bars and John grasped it. - </p> - <p> - “Are you a friend of mine?” - </p> - <p> - “Ain’t I a showin’ ye.” - </p> - <p> - “Take Billy home and take care of him until I return—will you do - it?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes—but I don’t like this givin’ up a fight when I’ve won it.” - </p> - <p> - “And one thing more, Dan, old boy, before I let your hand go, you’ve got - to promise me not to kill Steve Hoyle.” - </p> - <p> - “Who said I was goin’ to do it?” - </p> - <p> - “I say it.” - </p> - <p> - “He ain’t fit ter live.” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, but somehow God lets a lot of such trash cumber the earth. We’d - better not try any more interference with his plans.” - </p> - <p> - Dan hesitated, struggling with deep passion, drew a handkerchief and blew - his nose. - </p> - <p> - “Ye’re putty hard on me, Chief, I was goin’ ter call by Steve’s house and - finish both jobs to-day, but orders is orders. I’ll take ’em from - you. I won’t take ’em from nobody else. Goodbye, take care er - yourself.” - </p> - <p> - Billy pressed his brother’s hand, silently turned and left with Dan. - </p> - <p> - When the last echo of their steps had died away - </p> - <p> - John Graham stared through the iron bars for half an hour and saw only the - vision of a mob of yelling, laughing Negroes and behind them the fat, - white cowardly face of Steve Hoyle. - </p> - <p> - He sank to the chair with a groan: - </p> - <p> - “O God, if it be possible let this cup pass from me!” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0034" id="link2HCH0034"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER IX—THE DAY OF ATONEMENT - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">W</span>HEN Steve Hoyle - discovered next morning that the suit of stripes which he had secured at - enormous expense in bribery and hush money had been lost he was furious. - The jailor laughed at his idle threats and cursed him roundly when accused - of making way with the suit. - </p> - <p> - Steve left in a rage to drum up a larger crowd to hoot and yell at the man - he hated. - </p> - <p> - Stella pressed her way through the throng of Negroes into the jail, - carrying an enormous bouquet of roses in one hand and in the other a - basket of delicate flowers threaded into long beautiful garlands. - </p> - <p> - John determined to save her from the scene of his humiliation. - </p> - <p> - “You must not go through the streets with me to the train, my dear,” he - said tenderly. “Go down in a carriage and join me at the station.” - </p> - <p> - “I will if they let you ride with me,” she firmly answered. - </p> - <p> - “Impossible. They’ve given special orders that I shall walk.” - </p> - <p> - “Then I’ll walk with you,” she said with a smile. - </p> - <p> - John’s face clouded with pain. - </p> - <p> - “Please, dearest, for my sake?” - </p> - <p> - “It’s for your sake I’m going with you.” - </p> - <p> - “They may say something to hurt you,” he pleaded. - </p> - <p> - “I don’t think they will,” she said as the fire suddenly flashed from her - brown eyes. - </p> - <p> - “But they will, my love, they will. It’s hard enough for me. They mustn’t - hurt you—I can hear them out there now—that black mob—waiting - to hoot and yell—please, don’t go with me!” - </p> - <p> - Stella left his cell door, stepped to the window and looked out. Steve - Hoyle was passing along the lines of Negroes ranged on either side of the - walk, instructing them what to say. He had massed around the door a mob of - two hundred to follow his lead the moment John appeared. - </p> - <p> - “Watch me,” he said, “and I’ll give you the signal. I want you to let him - have it square in the face when I raise my hand. I’ll stand on the - doorstep. I want a laugh first from five hundred black throats—on - old-fashioned nigger laugh, long, deep and loud! It’ll be a funny sight, I - promise you that.” - </p> - <p> - “We watch ye,” answered a big buck Negro with a grin. - </p> - <p> - Stella heard the click of the lock of John’s cell with a start and turned - to find the deputy marshal standing with a pair of handcuffs. - </p> - <p> - “We are ready,” he said. - </p> - <p> - John stepped into the corridor, and extended his hands. The deputy snapped - the steel on his wrists, and Stella drew the garlands of flowers from the - basket. - </p> - <p> - “You don’t mind the flowers—do you officer? I’m going with you.” - </p> - <p> - “Certainly not, m’am,” he replied. - </p> - <p> - John saw that protest was useless, but he gazed at the garlands with - amazement. - </p> - <p> - “What on earth are you going to do, my dear?” - </p> - <p> - “Just a little trick of love,” was the laughing answer. - </p> - <p> - She wound the flowers around each handcuff, placed in John’s hand the - enormous bouquet of roses, and not a trace of steel could be seen. - </p> - <p> - “You can carry them for me,” she said, hurrying on before him. - </p> - <p> - Stella passed suddenly through the jail door to the little brick landing - of the steps on which Steve Hoyle stood to give his signal. - </p> - <p> - Steve started in surprise at her appearance, stammered and flushed, and a - murmur of uncertainty ran through the crowd. - </p> - <p> - In a moment the traitor had recovered himself, and glancing at Stella with - a sneer of triumph, he shouted to his henchmen: - </p> - <p> - “Say what you please, boys—don’t mind the ladies!” - </p> - <p> - Stella turned her eyes, gleaming with a deadly purpose, straight on Steve, - and a revolver flashed from her hand into his face. He dodged, trembled, - and crouched against the wall, while she sternly said: - </p> - <p> - “Now lift your hand or open your mouth, you contemptible sneak and - coward!” - </p> - <p> - A cry of terror swept the dark crowd, and scores broke and fled. - </p> - <p> - As John appeared in the doorway, Stella turned to the Negroes and in - ringing tones cried: - </p> - <p> - “I dare one of you black loafers to offer a single insult to the man whose - love I hold dearer than my life. I’ll kill you as I would a dog.” - </p> - <p> - Revolver in hand, with stern set face and flaming eyes she opened the way - through which John Graham passed in silence. - </p> - <p> - At the station a crowd of friends gathered and cheered his departure. - </p> - <p> - Old Nicaroshinski slipped a hundred dollars in his hand and whispered in - broken voice: - </p> - <p> - “Don’t—don’t you vorry, me poy, ve’ll puild a monumendt to you in de - public squvare yedt!” - </p> - <p> - Stella was allowed to sit by his side in the car, and as the train started - John looked at her a moment through dimmed eyes, and slowly said: “The - glory of this hour has more than paid for all the pain and all the shame a - thousand lives could hold!” - </p> - <p> - And then in low soft accents broken with sobs she confessed to him the - story of her love and at the end with trembling lips asked: - </p> - <p> - “But you can’t hate me for it now, can you, my darling?” - </p> - <p> - For an answer he bent and tenderly kissed her hand, while she felt rather - than heard the low passionate words: “I love you—I love you—I - love you!” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0035" id="link2HCH0035"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER X—UNDER BRIGHT SKIES—AN EPILOGUE - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>IME slowly healed - the poisoned wounds left by the fierce struggles of Reconstruction. John - Graham’s case was never decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. - Before the day arrived for the test of its appeal to the great tribunal - which is the last bulwark of American liberties, he was hastily pardoned, - and every man with him who languished in prison pens for similar political - offences. The little politicians who had forced through Congress the - venomous Conspiracy Acts in violation of the Constitution of the Republic - did not dare to allow the Supreme Court the opportunity to overwhelm them - with infamy. - </p> - <p> - The years have brought magic changes to the people of Independence. The - growing city has ploughed a new street through the old Graham house and a - dozen beautiful homes stand on the site of its wide lawn. - </p> - <p> - Poetic justice demanded that Steve Hoyle should pay the penalty of his - treachery. But Time plays many a joke on Justice. The Honourable Stephen - Hoyle is now one of our fattest, most solemn and most dignified judges of - the Federal Courts. - </p> - <p> - Ackerman’s long talks on imaginary cotton mills had one important result. - They planted in John Graham’s imagination the seeds of fortune. On his - return from prison he quit the practice of law and began the manufacture - of cotton goods. To please his wife he bought Inwood, whose wide acres of - forest extend to the river. Here the Graham Brothers’ mills are located. - </p> - <p> - The Inwood mansion he restored on its original foundations, rebuilding it - of native marble behind the stately old Corinthian pillars around one of - which the ivy is yet allowed to hang in graceful festoons. - </p> - <p> - Ackerman, who is the Superintendent of the mills, lives but a stone’s - throw from Inwood, and every day Susie’s and Stella’s children play - together on the great lawn that still lies hidden in the heart of the - ancient woods. - </p> - <h3> - THE END - </h3> - <div style="height: 6em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Traitor, by Thomas Dixon, Jr. - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRAITOR *** - -***** This file should be named 54766-h.htm or 54766-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/7/6/54766/ - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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-Title: The Traitor
- A Story of the Fall of the Invisible Empire
-
-Author: Thomas Dixon, Jr.
-
-Illustrator: C. D. Williams
-
-Release Date: May 23, 2017 [EBook #54766]
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-Language: English
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- <div style="height: 8em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h1>
- THE TRAITOR
- </h1>
- <h3>
- A Story of the Fall of the Invisible Empire
- </h3>
- <h2>
- By Thomas Dixon, Jr.
- </h2>
- <h3>
- Illustrated By C. D. Williams
- </h3>
- <h4>
- New York: Doubleday, Page & Company
- </h4>
- <h3>
- 1907
- </h3>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0001" id="linkimage-0001"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0001.jpg" alt="0001 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
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- <a href="images/0001.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0002" id="linkimage-0002"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0008.jpg" alt="0008 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
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- </h5>
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- </p>
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- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0009.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <blockquote>
- <p>
- DEDICATED TO THE MEN OF THE SOUTH WHO SUFFERED EXILE. IMPRISONMENT AND
- DEATH FOR THE DARING SERVICE THEY RENDERED OUR COUNTRY AS CITIZENS OF
- THE INVISIBLE EMPIRE
- </p>
- </blockquote>
- <p>
- This volume closes, as originally planned,
- </p>
- <h3>
- “THE TRILOGY OF RECONSTRUCTION”
- </h3>
- <p>
- “The Leopard’s Spots”
- </p>
- <p>
- “The Clansman”
- </p>
- <p>
- “The Traitor”
- </p>
- <p>
- “The Clansman” ended with the political triumph of the Klu Klux Klan, or
- Invisible Empire. The story of “The Traitor” opens with the order of
- dissolution by General Forest and is set in the atmosphere of the fierce
- neighborhood feuds which marked the Klan’s downfall in the Piedmont region
- of the South.
- </p>
- <p>
- Thomas Dixon, Jr.
- </p>
- <p>
- New York, 1907.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <p>
- <b>CONTENTS</b>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> LEADING CHARACTERS OF THE STORY </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> <b>THE TRAITOR</b> </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> <b>BOOK I-THE CRIME</b> </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I—THE THREAT </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II—MR. HOYLE RECEIVES A SHOCK </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III—A BLOW IS STRUCK </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV—THE OLD CODE </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V—GRAHAM VS. BUTLER </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI—SCALAWAG AND CARPETBAGGER </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII—THE REIGN OF FOLLY </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII—THE MASQUERADERS </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX—A COUNTER STROKE </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X—THE STRENGTH OF THE WEAK </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER XI—THROUGH THE SECRET PANEL </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> <b>BOOK II—A WOMAN’S REVENGE</b> </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0012"> CHAPTER I—STELLA’S RESOLUTION </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0013"> CHAPTER II—WEIGHED AND FOUND WANTING </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0014"> CHAPTER III—THE TRAP IS SET </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0015"> CHAPTER IV—ACKERMAN SECURES A PLEDGE </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0016"> CHAPTER V—IN THE TOILS </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0017"> CHAPTER VI—THE TRAIN FOR THE NORTH </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0018"> CHAPTER VII—THE DAUGHTER OF EVE </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0019"> CHAPTER VIII—THE TRACKS AT THE DOOR </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0020"> CHAPTER IX—A TEST OF STRENGTH </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0021"> CHAPTER X—BEHIND BOLTED DOORS </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0022"> CHAPTER XI—A VOICE IN WARNING </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0023"> CHAPTER XII—THE TRAP IS SPRUNG </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0024"> CHAPTER XIII—FOR LOVE’S SAKE </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0025"> CHAPTER XIV—THE JUDGMENT HALL OF FATE </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2H_4_0030"> <b>BOOK III—PRISONER AND TRAITOR</b> </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0026"> CHAPTER I—THE ARREST </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0027"> CHAPTER II—THROUGH PRISON BARS </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0028"> CHAPTER III—A WOMAN’S WAY </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0029"> CHAPTER IV—THE HON. STEPHEN HOYLE </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0030"> CHAPTER V—ACKERMAN CORNERED </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0031"> CHAPTER VI—THROUGH DEEP WATERS </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0032"> CHAPTER VII—THE PRISONER AT THE BAR </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0033"> CHAPTER VIII—THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0034"> CHAPTER IX—THE DAY OF ATONEMENT </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0035"> CHAPTER X—UNDER BRIGHT SKIES—AN
- EPILOGUE </a>
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- LEADING CHARACTERS OF THE STORY
- </h2>
- <p>
- Scene: The Foothills of North Carolina.
- </p>
- <p>
- Time: 1870 to 1872.
- </p>
- <p>
- John Graham.............Ex-chief of the Klan
- </p>
- <p>
- Major Graham............His Father
- </p>
- <p>
- Billy...................His Brother
- </p>
- <p>
- Alfred..................The Family Butler
- </p>
- <p>
- Mrs. Wilson.............Their Landlady
- </p>
- <p>
- Susie...................Her Daughter
- </p>
- <p>
- Dan Wiley...............A Mountaineer
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve Hoyle.............Chief of the New Klan
- </p>
- <p>
- Judge Butler............Of the U. S. Circuit Court
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella..................His Daughter
- </p>
- <p>
- Aunt Julie Ann..........His Cook
- </p>
- <p>
- Maggie..................Stella’s Maid
- </p>
- <p>
- Suggs...................A Detective
- </p>
- <p>
- Ackerman................Of the U. S. Secret Service
- </p>
- <p>
- Alexander Larkin........A Carpetbagger
- </p>
- <p>
- Isaac A. Postle.........A Sanctified Man
- </p>
- <p>
- The Attorney General of the United States Hon. Reverdy Johnson of Maryland
- </p>
- <p>
- Hon. Henry Stanbery.....Of Ohio
- </p>
- <p>
- U. S. Grant.............The President
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h1>
- THE TRAITOR
- </h1>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- BOOK I-THE CRIME
- </h2>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER I—THE THREAT
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">W</span>HAS the mather
- with the latch!
- </p>
- <p>
- He shook it gently.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No mistake about it—grown solid to the fence. I’ll have to climb
- over.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He touched the points of the sharp pickets, suddenly straightened himself
- with dignity and growled:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I won’t climb over my own fence, and I won’t scratch under. I’ll walk
- straight through.”
- </p>
- <p>
- A vicious lurch against the gate smashed the latch and he fell heavily
- inside.
- </p>
- <p>
- He had scarcely touched the ground when a fair girl of eighteen, dressed
- in spotless white, reached the gate, running breathlessly, darted inside,
- seized his arm and helped him to his feet.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Mr. John, you must come home with me,” she said eagerly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Grot to see old Butler, Miss Susie.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’re in no condition to see Judge Butler.” She spoke with tenderness
- and yet with authority.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And why not?” he argued good-naturedly. “Ain’t I dressed in my best bib
- and tucker?”
- </p>
- <p>
- He brushed the dirt from his seedy frock coat and buttoned it carefully.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’ve been drinking,” pleaded the girl.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yet I’m not drunk!” he declared triumphantly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then you’re giving a good imitation,” she said with an audible smile.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Miss Susie, I deny the allegation.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He bowed with impressive dignity.
- </p>
- <p>
- Susie drew him firmly toward the street.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You mustn’t go in—I ran all the way to stop you in time—you’ll
- quarrel with the Judge.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “That’s what I came for.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, you musn’t do it. Mama says the Judge has the power to ruin you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- John’s eyes shot a look of red hate toward the house and his strong jaws
- snapped.
- </p>
- <p>
- “He has done it already, child!” he growled; paused, and changed his tone
- to a quizzical drawl. “The fact is, Miss Susie, I’ve merely imbibed a
- little eloquence on purpose to-night to tell this distinguished ornament
- of the United States Judiciary, without reservation and with due emphasis,
- just how many kinds of a scoundrel he really is.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Don’t do it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s my patriotic duty.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But you’ll fight.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Far from it, Miss Susie. I may thrash the Judge incidentally during our
- talk, but there will be no fight.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Please don’t go in, Mr. John!” she pleaded softly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I must, child,” he answered, smilingly but firmly. “Old Butler to-day
- used his arbitrary power to disbar me from the practice of law. If that
- order stands, I’m a pauper. I already owe your mother for two months’
- board.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “We don’t want the money,” eagerly broke in the girl.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Two months’ board,” he went on, ignoring her interruption, “for my dear
- old crazy Dad, helpless as a babe with his faithful servant Alfred who
- must wait on him—two months’ board for my bouncing brother Billy, an
- eighteen-year-old cub who never missed a meal—two months’ board for
- my war-tried appetite that was never known to fail. No, Miss Susie, we
- can’t impose on the good nature of the widow Wilson and her beautiful
- daughter who does the work of a slave without wages and without a murmur.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Susie’s eyes suddenly fell.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, I’ve given Alfred orders to pack. We must move to-morrow.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’ll do nothing of the kind,” cried the girl. “You can pay us when you
- are able. Your father saved us from want during the war. We owe him a debt
- that can’t be paid. He is no trouble, and Alfred works the garden. Mother
- loves Billy as if he were my brother. And we are honoured in having you in
- our home.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The tender gray eyes were lowered again.
- </p>
- <p>
- John looked at her curiously, bowed and kissed her hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Thanks, Miss Susie! I appreciate, more than I can tell, your coming alone
- after me here to-night—a very rash and daring thing for a girl to do
- in these troublesome times. Such things make a fellow ashamed that he ever
- took a drink, make him feel that life is always worth the fight—and
- I’m going to make it to-night—and I’m going to win!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then don’t give old Butler the chance to ruin you,” pleaded the gentle
- voice.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I won’t, my little girl, I won’t—don’t worry! I’ll play my trump
- card—I’ve got it here.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He fumbled in his pocket and drew out a letter which he crushed nervously
- in his slender but powerful hand, drawing his tall figure suddenly erect.
- </p>
- <p>
- The girl saw that her pleadings were in vain, and said helplessly:
- </p>
- <p>
- “You won’t come back with me?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, Miss Susie, I’ve serious work just now with the present lord of this
- manor; my future hangs on the issue. I’ll win—and I’ll come home
- later in the evening without a scratch.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Again the slender white hand rested on his arm. “Promise me to wait an
- hour until you are cooler and your head is clear before you see him—will
- you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Maybe,” he said evasively.
- </p>
- <p>
- “If you do appreciate my coming,” she urged, “at least show it by this;
- promise for my sake, won’t you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- He hesitated a moment and answered with courtesy:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I promise for your sake, Susie, my little mascot and fellow
- conspirator of The Invisible Empire—good-bye!” He seized her hand,
- and held it a moment. “My! my! but you look one of us to-night, with that
- sylph figure robed in white standing there ghost-like in the moonlit
- shadows!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I wish I could share your dangers. I’d go on a raid with you if you’d let
- me,” she cried eagerly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No doubt,” he laughed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll sit up until you come,” she whispered as she turned and left him.
- </p>
- <p>
- John Graham leaned against the picket fence and watched intently the white
- figure until Susie Wilson disappeared. The talk with her had more than
- half sobered him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And now for business,” he muttered, turning through the open gate toward
- the house. He stopped suddenly with amazement.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, what the Devil! every window from cellar to attic ablaze with
- light. And the old scoundrel has always kept it dark as the grave.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He seated himself on a rustic bench in the shadows to await the lapse of
- the hour he had promised Susie, and pondered more carefully the plan of
- personal vengeance against Butler which was now rapidly shaping itself in
- his mind. That he had the power, as chief of the dreaded Ku Klux Klan, to
- execute it was not to be doubted. The Invisible Empire obeyed his word
- without a question.
- </p>
- <p>
- Tender memories of his childhood began to flood his soul. Beneath these
- trees he had spent the happiest days of life—the charmed life of the
- old régime. He could see now the stately form of his mother moving among
- its boxwood walks directing the work of her slaves.
- </p>
- <p>
- He had not been there before since the day her body was carried from the
- hall five years ago and laid to rest in the family vault in the far corner
- of the lawn. Ah, that awful day! Could he ever forget it? The day old
- Butler brought his deputy marshals and evicted his father and mother from
- the home they loved as life itself!
- </p>
- <p>
- The Graham house had always been a show place in the town of Independence.
- Built in 1840, by John’s grandfather, Robert Graham, the eccentric son of
- Colonel John Graham of Revolutionary fame, it was a curious mixture of
- Colonial and French architecture. The French touches were tributes to the
- Huguenot ancestry of his grandmother.
- </p>
- <p>
- The building crowned the summit of a hill and was surrounded by
- twenty-five acres of trees of native growth beneath which wound labyrinths
- of walks hedged by boxwood. Its shape was a huge, red brick rectangle,
- three and a half stories in height, with mansard roof broken by quaint
- projecting French windows. On three sides porches had been added, their
- roof supported by small white Colonial columns. The front door, of pure
- Colonial pattern, opened directly into a great hall of baronial
- dimensions, at the back of which a circular stairway wound along the
- curved wall.
- </p>
- <p>
- The attic story was lighted by the windows of an observatory. From the
- hall one could thus look up through the galleries of three floors and the
- slightest whisper from above was echoed with startling distinctness. The
- strange noises which the Negro servants had heard floating down from these
- upper spaces had been translated into ghost stories which had grown in
- volume and picturesque distinction with each succeeding generation. The
- house had always been “haunted.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The family vault in the remotest corner of the lawn was built of solid
- masonry sunk deep into the hillside. Its iron doors, which were never
- locked, opened through a mass of tangled ivy and honeysuckle climbing in
- all directions over the cedars and holly which completely hid its
- existence.
- </p>
- <p>
- Popular tradition said that Robert Graham had loved his frail Huguenot
- bride with passionate idolatry, and anticipating her early death, had
- constructed this vault, a very unusual thing in this section of the South.
- It was whispered, too, that he had dug a secret passage-way from the house
- to this tomb, that he might spend his evenings near her body without the
- prying eyes of the world to watch his anguish. Whether this secret way was
- a myth or reality only the Grahams knew. Not one of the family had ever
- been known to speak of the rumour, either to affirm or deny it.
- </p>
- <p>
- A year after his wife’s death Robert Graham was found insane, wandering
- among the trees at the entrance of the vault. This branch of the family
- had always been noted for it’s men of genius and it’s touch of hereditary
- insanity.
- </p>
- <p>
- On the day of his mother’s burial John Graham had found his own father
- sitting in the door of this tomb hopelessly insane.
- </p>
- <p>
- But he had not accepted the theory of hereditary insanity in the case of
- his father. The Major was a man of quiet courteous manners, deliberate in
- his habits, a trained soldier, a distinguished veteran of the Mexican war,
- conciliatory in temper, and a diplomat by instinct. He had never had a
- quarrel with a neighbour or a personal feud in his life.
- </p>
- <p>
- The longer John Graham brooded over this tragedy to-night, the fiercer
- grew his hatred of Butler. Something had happened in the hall the day of
- his mother’s death which had remained a mystery. Aunt Julie Ann, who
- stayed with the new master of the old house as his cook, had told John
- that she had heard high words between Butler and the Major, and when she
- was called, found her mistress dead on the floor and his father lying
- moaning beside her.
- </p>
- <p>
- John had always held the theory that Butler had used rough or insulting
- language to his mother; his father had resented it, and the Judge, taking
- advantage of his weakness from a long illness of typhoid fever, had struck
- the Major a cowardly blow. The shock had killed his mother, and rendered
- his father insane. Experts had examined the Major’s head, however, and
- failed to discover any pressure of the skull on the brain. Yet John held
- this theory as firmly as if he had been present and witnessed the tragedy.
- </p>
- <p>
- He rose from his seat, walked to the front entrance of the house and
- looked at his watch by the bright light which streamed through the leaded
- glass beside the door. He had yet ten minutes.
- </p>
- <p>
- He retraced in part his steps, followed the narrow path to the foot of the
- hill and entered the vault. Feeling his way along the sides to the arched
- niche in the rear, he pressed his shoulder heavily against the right side
- of the smooth stone wall forming the back of the niche, and felt it
- instantly give. The rush of damp air told him that the old underground way
- was open.
- </p>
- <p>
- He smiled with satisfaction. He knew that this passage led through a blind
- wall in the basement of the house and up into the great hall by a panel in
- the oak wainscoting under the stairs.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s easy! My men could seize him without a struggle!” he said grimly,
- slowly allowing the door to settle back of its own weight into place
- again.
- </p>
- <p>
- He stood for a moment in the darkness of the vault, clinched his fist at
- last and exclaimed:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll do it!—but I prefer the front door. I’ll try that first.”
- </p>
- <p>
- A few minutes later he had reached the house, knocked loudly and stood
- waiting an answer.
- </p>
- <p>
- Aunt Julie Ann’s black face smiled him a hearty welcome.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Come right in, Marse John, honey, an’ make yo’ sef at home. I sho is glad
- ter see ye!”
- </p>
- <p>
- John walked deliberately across the hall and sat down on the old mahogany
- davenport under the stairs behind which he knew the secret door opened. He
- reached back carelessly, played with the spring and felt it yield.
- </p>
- <p>
- Aunt Julie Ann’s huge form waddled after him. “Fore I pass de time er day
- I mus’ tell ye Marse John, what de Jedge say. He give ‘structions ter all
- de folks dat ef any Graham put his foot ter dat do’ ter tell ‘im he don’t
- low you inside dis yard! I tell ye, so’s I kin tell him I tell ye—Cose,
- I can’t help it dat you brush right pass me an’ come in, can I, honey?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Of course not, Aunt Julie Ann.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Her big figure shook with suppressed laughter. “De very idee er me keepin’
- Mammy’s baby outen dis house when I carry him across dis hall in my arms
- de day he wuz born! An how’s all de folks, Marse John?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “About as usual, thank you, Aunt Julie Ann. How are you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Poorly, thank God, poorly.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, what’s the matter?”
- </p>
- <p>
- She glanced furtively up into the dim moonlit gallery of the observatory
- and whispered:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dey wuz terrible times here las’ night!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What happened?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ghosts!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What, again?” John laughed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Nasah, dem wuz new ones! We got de lights all burnin’ ter-night. De
- Jedge, he wuz scared outen ten years growth. He been in bed all day, des
- now git up ter supper. Wuz Marse William well las’ night?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “As well as usual, yes; Alfred put him to bed early.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, sho’s you born, his livin’ ghost wuz here! He wuz clothed an’ in
- his right min’ too! I hear sumfin walkin’ up in de attic ’bout
- leben erclock, an’ I creep out in de hall an’ look up, an’ bress de Lawd,
- dar stood you Pa leanin’ ober de railin’ lookin’ right at me! Well, sah, I
- wuz scared dat bad I couldn’t holler. I look ergin an’ dar stood yo Ma, my
- dead Missy, right side er him.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ah, Aunt Julie Ann, you were walking in your sleep.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Nasah! I’se jist as waked as I is now. I try my bes’ ergin ter holler,
- but I clean los’ my breath and couldn’t. So I crawl to the Jedge’s room,
- an’ tell him what I see. He wuz scared most ter death, but he follow me
- out in de hall an’ look up. He seed ‘em too an’ drop down side er me er
- foamin’ at de mouf. He’s powerful scary anyhow, de Jedge is—des like
- us niggers. I got him ter bed and poured er big drink er licker down ‘im,
- an’ when he come to, he make me promise nebber ter tell nobody, an’ I
- promise. Cose, hit’s des like I’se talkin’ ter myself, honey, when I tell
- you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And this morning he gave orders to admit no one of the tribe of Graham
- inside the yard again?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, tell his Honour that I am here and wish to see him at once.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah, I spec he won’t come down—but I tell ‘im, sah.”
- </p>
- <p>
- She waddled up the stairs to the Judge’s room. John heard the quarrel
- between them. Aunt Julie Ann’s voice loud, shrill, defiant, insolent,
- above the Judge’s. She served him for his money and her love for the old
- house, but secretly she despised him as she did all poor white trash and
- in such moments made no effort to hide her feelings.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Bully for Aunt Julie Ann!” John chuckled.
- </p>
- <p>
- When she returned, he slipped the last piece of money he possessed into
- her hand and smiled.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Keep it for good luck,” he said.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah! De Jedge say he be down as soon as he dresses—he all dress
- now but he des want ter keep you waitin’.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I understand,” said John with a laugh. “Are you sure, Aunt Julie Ann,
- that the ghost of the Major you saw last night wasn’t the real man
- himself?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Cose I’se sho’. Hit wuz his speret!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Alfred says he’s walking in his sleep of late; at least he found mud on
- his shoes the other morning when he got up.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “De Lawd, Marse John, hit wuz his speret, des lak I tell ye. He didn’t
- look crazy no mo’n you is. He look des lak he look in de ole days when we
- wuz all rich an’ proud and happy. He wuz laughin’ an’ talkin’ low like to
- my Missy an’ she wuz laughin’ an talkin’ back at ‘im. I seed ‘em bof wid
- my own eyes des ez plain ez I see you now, chile.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You thought you did, anyway.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Cose I did, honey. De doors is all locked an’ bolted wid new iron bolts—nuttin
- but sperets kin get in dis house atter dark—de Jedge he sees ‘em too—des
- ez plain ez I did.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And this coward is set to rule a downtrodden people,” John muttered
- fiercely under his breath. “Yes it’s easy, he’ll do what I tell him
- to-night, or—I’ll—use—the—power I wield—to—execute—the
- judgment—of—a—just—God.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What you say, honey?” Aunt Julie Ann asked.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Nothing.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dar’s de Jedge commin’ now,” she whispered, hastily leaving.
- </p>
- <p>
- John kept his seat in sullen silence until the shuffling footsteps of his
- enemy had descended the stairs and crossed half the space of the hall.
- </p>
- <p>
- The younger man rose and gazed at him a moment, his eyes flashing with
- hatred he could no longer mask.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge halted, moved his feet nervously and fumbled at the big gold
- watch-chain he wore across his ponderous waist. His shifting bead eyes
- sought the floor, and then he suddenly lifted his drooping head like a
- turtle, approached John in a fawning, creeping, half-walk, half-shuffle,
- and extended his hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I bid you welcome, young man, to the old home of your ancestors. In fact,
- I’m delighted to see you. I heard to-day that you would probably call this
- evening, and had the servants illuminate every room in your honour.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Indeed!” John sneered.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I’ve wished for some time that I might have such an opportunity to
- talk things over with you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- John had turned from the proffered hand and seated himself with deliberate
- insolence.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Thanks for the illuminations in honour of my family!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The sneer with which he spoke was not lost on the Judge. His patronising
- judicial air, so newly acquired, wavered before the cold threat of the
- younger man’s manner. Yet he recovered himself sufficiently to say:
- </p>
- <p>
- “My boy, I like your high spirit, but I <i>must</i> give you a little
- fatherly advice.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Seeing that my own father at present cannot do so.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge ignored the interruption and seated himself with an attempt at
- dignity.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Mr. Graham, you must recognise the authority of the United States
- Government.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Which means you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I was compelled to make an example of disloyalty.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You disbarred me from personal malice.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “For your treasonable utterances.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I have the right to criticise your degradation of the judiciary in using
- it to further your political ambitions.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I disbarred you for treason and contempt of court.”
- </p>
- <p>
- John rose and stood glaring at the judge whose shifting eyes avoided him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, you’re on solid ground there, your Honour! Were I the master of
- every language of earth, past master of all the dead tongues of the ages,
- a genius in the use of every epithet the rage of man ever spoke, still
- words would have no power to express my contempt for you!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge shuffled his big feet as if to rise.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Sit still!” John growled. “I’ve come here to-night to demand of you two
- things.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’re in no position to demand anything of me!” spluttered Butler,
- running his hand nervously through his heavy black hair.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Two things,” John went on evenly: “First revoke your order and restore me
- to my law practice to-morrow morning.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Not until you apologise for your criticism.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “That’s what I’m doing now. I profoundly regret the incident. I should
- have kicked you across the street—criticism was an error of
- judgment.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Butler shambled to his feet, trembling with rage, pulled nervously at his
- beard again and gasped:
- </p>
- <p>
- “How dare you insult me in my house!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s my house!” flashed the angry answer.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Your house?” the Judge stammered, again tugging at his beard.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, sit down.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The astonished jurist dropped into his chair, his shifting basilisk eyes
- dancing with a new excitement.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Your house, your house—why, what—what!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes and you’re going to vacate it within two weeks.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What do you mean, sir?” demanded the Judge, plucking up his courage for a
- moment.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I mean that the distinguished jurist, Hugh Butler, who had the honour of
- presiding over the trial of Jefferson Davis, and now aspires to the
- leadership of his party in the South, was living in a stolen house when he
- delivered his famous charge concerning traitors to the grand jury, that
- morning in Richmond. It is with peculiar personal pleasure that I now
- brand you to your face—coward, liar, perjurer, thief!”
- </p>
- <p>
- John paused a moment to watch the effects of his words on his enemy. The
- cold sweat began to appear in the bald spot above the Judge’s forehead,
- and his answer came with gasping feeble emphasis:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I bought this house and paid for it!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Exactly!” sneered the younger man. “But I never knew until I got this
- letter”—he drew the letter from his pocket—“just how you came
- to buy a house which cost $50,000 for so trifling a sum of money.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Who wrote that letter?” interrupted the Judge eagerly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Evidently a friend of yours, once high in your councils, who has grown of
- late to love you as passionately as I do. And I think he could put a knife
- into your ribs with as much pleasure.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge winced and glanced nervously into the galleries.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Don’t worry, your Honour. If you take the medicine I prescribe,
- amputation will not be necessary. Let me read the letter. It’s brief but
- to the point:”
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>To John Graham, Esq.</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Dear Sir: The secret of Butler’s possession of your estate is simple.
- Under his authority as United States Judge, he ordered its confiscation,
- forced his wife to buy it for $2,800, at a fake sale, which had not been
- advertised, and later had it reconveyed to him. His wife refused to live
- in the house, sent her daughter to school in Washington, and died two
- years later from the conscious dishonour she had been obliged at least in
- secret to share. A suit brought before the United States Supreme Court
- will restore your property, hurl a scoundrel from the bench, and cover him
- with everlasting infamy.</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>A Former Pal of His Honour.</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- “An anonymous slanderer!” snorted the judge.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yet he expresses himself with vigour and accuracy, and his words are
- backed by circumstantial evidence.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Butler sprang to his feet livid with rage crying:
- </p>
- <p>
- “John Graham, you’re drunk!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Just drunk enough to talk entertainingly to you, Judge.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Will you leave my house? or must I call an officer to eject you, sir?” he
- thundered.
- </p>
- <p>
- “A process of law is slow and expensive, Judge,” said John with a drawl.
- “I haven’t the money at present to waste on a suit, May I ask when you
- will vacate this estate?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “When ordered to do so by the last court of appeal, sir!”
- </p>
- <p>
- John looked the Judge squarely in the eye and slowly said:
- </p>
- <p>
- “You are before the last court of appeal now, and it’s judgment day.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I understand your threat, sir, but I want to tell you that your Ku Klux
- Klan has had its day. The President is aroused—Congress has acted.
- I’ll order a regiment of troops to this town tomorrow! Dare to lift the
- weight of your little finger against my authority and I’ll send your crazy
- old father to the county poorhouse and you to the gallows—to the
- gallows! I warn you!” John took a step closer to his enemy, towering over
- his slouchy figure menacingly, and said, “When will you vacate this
- house?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Butler grasped the back of his chair, trembling with fury.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The possession of this estate is the fulfillment of one of the proudest
- ambitions of my life.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “When will you get out?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And my daughter has just returned to-day from Washington, a beautiful
- accomplished woman, to preside over it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “When—will—you—get—out?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “When ordered by the Supreme Court of the United States—or when I’m
- carried out—feet—foremost—through—that—door!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge choked with anger.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then, until we meet again!”
- </p>
- <p>
- John bowed with mock courtesy, walked across the hall to the alcove and
- took his hat from the rack where Aunt Julie Ann had hung it, just as
- Stella Butler sprang through the rear entrance with a joyous shout,
- reached at a bound the Judge’s side and threw her arms around his neck.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh! Papa, what a glorious night! Steve and I had such a ride!” The Judge
- placed his hand on her lips and whispered:
- </p>
- <p>
- “My dear, there’s someone here.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella glanced over her shoulder and saw John fumbling his hat in
- embarrassment.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why it’s the famous Mr. John Graham—introduce me, quick!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Not to-night, dear; I do not wish you to know him.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella released herself and, with a ripple of girlish laughter, walked
- boldly over to John, her face wreathed in friendly smiles.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Mr. Graham, permit me to introduce myself, Stella Butler. My father has
- just forbidden it. I care nothing for your old politics—shall we not
- be friends?”
- </p>
- <p>
- She extended a dainty little hand and John took it stammering
- incoherently. Never had he touched a hand so warm, and tender and so full
- of vital magnetism. It thrilled him with strange confusion.
- </p>
- <p>
- Never had he seen a vision of such bewildering loveliness. An exquisite
- oval face with lines like a delicate cameo, cheeks of ripe-peach red, a
- crown of unruly raven-black hair, and big brown eyes shaded by heavy
- lashes. Her dress showed the perfection of good taste and careful study—a
- yellow satin, trimmed in old lace that fitted her rounded little figure
- without a wrinkle, dainty feet in snow-white stockings and bow-tipped
- slippers that peeped in and out mischievously as she walked, and with it
- all a magnetic personality which riveted and held the attention.
- </p>
- <p>
- He stared at her a moment dumb with wonder. Could it be possible that a
- girl of such extraordinary beauty, of such remarkable character, of such
- appealing manners could have been born of such a father!
- </p>
- <p>
- “As the new mistress of your old home let me bid you a hearty welcome, Mr.
- Graham,” she said softly. “You must come often and tell me all its legends
- and ghost stories?”
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge shuffled uneasily and cleared his throat with nervous anger.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now keep still, Papa! I’m going to make this old house ring with joy and
- laughter. I won’t have any of your political quarrels. I’m going to be
- friends with everybody, as my mother was—they say she was a famous
- belle in her day, Mr. Graham?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “So I have often heard,” John answered with increasing confusion, as he
- retreated toward the door.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You will come again?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I hope to soon,” he gravely answered as he bowed himself out the door.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER II—MR. HOYLE RECEIVES A SHOCK
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">S</span>TEVE HOYLE had
- called early at the Judge’s to see Stella the morning after John’s
- encounter in the hall. As he paced restlessly back and forth waiting the
- return of Stella’s maid, he was evidently in an ugly humour.
- </p>
- <p>
- When he heard the story at the hotel late the night before, that his hated
- rival in politics and society had dared to venture into Judge Butler’s
- home, he could not believe it. And the idea that Stella should receive him
- had cut his vanity to the quick.
- </p>
- <p>
- The richest young man in the county, he aspired to be the most popular,
- and he had long enjoyed the distinction in the estimation of his friends
- of being the handsomest man in his section of the state. In his own
- estimation there had never been any question about this. And beyond a
- doubt he was a magnificent animal. Six feet tall, a superb figure,
- somewhat coarse and heavy in the neck, with smooth, regular features. He
- was slightly given to fat, but his complexion was red and clean as a
- boy’s, and he might well be pardoned his vanity when one remembered his
- money.
- </p>
- <p>
- His father, the elder Hoyle, who had avoided service in the war by hiring
- a substitute, had emerged from the tragedy far wealthier than when he
- entered it. Some people hinted that if the Treasury Agents, who had stolen
- the cotton of the country under the absurd and infamous Confiscation Act
- of Congress, would speak, they might explain this fortune. They had never
- spoken. The old fox had been too clever and his tracks were all covered.
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve had recently met Stella at one of her school receptions in
- Washington while on business for his father, yielded instantly to her
- spell, and they were engaged. He felt that he had condescended to honour
- the Judge by marrying into his family.
- </p>
- <p>
- Butler never had been a slave owner, and in spite of his fawning ambitions
- as a turncoat politician and social aspirant, he was still poor—so
- poor in fact that he could scarcely keep up appearances in the Graham
- mansion. Steve planned to live there after his marriage in a style
- befitting his wealth and social position. He noted the faded covering on
- the old mahogany furniture and determined to make it shine with new plush
- on his advent as master.
- </p>
- <p>
- He walked over to the hall mirror and adjusted his tie. He was getting
- nervous. Stella was keeping him waiting longer than usual. She was doing
- this to tease him, but he would have his revenge when they were married.
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve had quickly come to a perfect understanding with the Judge. The
- Piedmont Congressional District, which included several mountain counties,
- was overwhelmingly Democratic. The Judge, as the Republican leader, had
- promised Steve to put up no candidate, but to support him as an
- independent if the approaching Democratic Convention nominated John Graham
- for Congress.
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve as a man of capital proclaimed that the money interests of the North
- should be cultivated and that a deal with the enemy was always better than
- a fight.
- </p>
- <p>
- Sure of his success, he had already promised Stella with boastful
- certainty a brilliant social season in Washington as his wife. In spite of
- his immense vanity, he knew that this promise had gone far to win her
- favour. She too was vain of her beauty, and her social ambitions were
- boundless. He had received her mild professions of love with a grain of
- salt. She was yet too young and beautiful to take life seriously. His
- fortune and his good looks had been the magnets that drew her. But he was
- content. He would make her love him in due time. He was sure of it. Yet on
- two occasions he had observed that she had shown a disposition to flirt
- skilfully and daringly with every handsome fellow who came her way—and
- it had distressed him not a little.
- </p>
- <p>
- He was angry and uneasy this morning, and made up his mind to assert his
- rights with dignity—and yet with a firmness that would leave no
- question as to who was going to be master in his house. He decided to nip
- Stella’s acquaintance with John Graham in the bud on the spot. That he had
- called for any other reason than to see her, never occurred to him.
- </p>
- <p>
- When Maggie, Stella’s little coal black maid, at length reappeared, she
- was grinning with more than usual cunning.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Miss Stella say she be down in a minute,” she said with a giggle.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’ve been gone a half hour,” Steve answered frowning.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I spec I is,” observed Maggie, continuing to giggle and glance furtively
- at Steve.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What’s the matter with you?” he asked suspiciously.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Nuttin.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He held up a quarter and beckoned. She hastened to his side.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I want us to be good friends.”
- </p>
- <p>
- She took the money, grinned again and said: “Yassah!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now, what have you been giggling about?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Mr. John Graham wuz here last night!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “So I hear. Did he see Miss Stella?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Deed he did! Dat’s what dey all come fur. She so purty dey can’t hep it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “How long did he stay?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Till atter midnight!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Indeed!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah!” Maggie went on, walling her eyes with tragic earnestness. “She
- play de pianer fur ’im long time in de parlour, an’ he sing fur her
- an’ den she sing fur ’im.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve cleared his throat angrily.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah! an’ atter dey git froo singin’ she take him out fur er stroll on
- de lawn an’ dey go way down in de fur corner an’ set in one er dem rustics
- fur ’bout er hour. Den dey come in an’ bof un ’em set in de
- moonlight in de hammock right close side an’ side, and he talk low an’
- sof, an’ she laugh, an’ laugh, an’ hit ’im wid er fan—jesso!
- Yassah. Sh! She comin’ now!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The girl darted out of sight as Stella’s dress rustled in the hall above.
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve pulled himself together with an effort, and met her at the foot of
- the stairs.
- </p>
- <p>
- She made an entrancing picture as she slowly descended the steps, serenely
- conscious of her beauty and its power over the man below whose eyes were
- now devouring her. The flowing train of her cream-coloured morning gown
- made her look a half foot taller than she was. She had always fretted at
- her diminutive stature, and wore her dresses the extreme length to give
- her added height.
- </p>
- <p>
- With a gracious smile she welcomed Steve and he attempted to kiss her. She
- repulsed him firmly and allowed him to kiss her hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Stella dear,” he began petulantly, with an accent of offended dignity,
- “you must quit this foolishness! We have been engaged three weeks and I’ve
- never touched your lips.”
- </p>
- <p>
- She laughed and tossed her pretty head.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And we’re engaged!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Not yet married,” she observed, lifting her arched brows.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I have honoured you with my fortune and my life.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Thanks,” she interrupted smiling.
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve flushed and went on rapidly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Really, Stella, the time has come for a serious talk between us.”
- </p>
- <p>
- She seated herself at the piano and ran her fingers lightly over the keys.
- Steve followed, a frown clouding his smooth handsome forehead.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Will you hear me?” he asked.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Certainly!” she answered, turning on him her big brown eyes. In their
- depths he might have seen a sudden dangerous light, had he been less
- absorbed in himself. As it was he only saw a smile lurking about the
- corners of her lips which irritated him the more.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I understand that John Graham called on you last night?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Indeed, I hadn’t heard it,” she answered lightly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And stayed until after midnight.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella sprang to her feet, looked steadily at Steve, frowned, walked to
- the door and called:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Maggie!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The black face appeared instantly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassum!” she answered, with eager innocence.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Have you said anything about Mr. Graham’s visit last night?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Maggie walled her eyes in amazement at such an outrageous suspicion.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, M’am! I aint open my mouf—has I Mister Steve?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Certainly not,” Steve answered curtly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I thought I heard your voice in the hall,” Stella continued, looking
- sternly at Maggie.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Nobum! Twan’t me. I nebber stop er second. I pass right straight on froo
- de hall—nebber even look t’ward Mr. Steve.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You can go,” was the stern command. “Yassum!” Maggie half whispered,
- backing out the door, her eyes travelling quickly from Steve to her
- mistress.
- </p>
- <p>
- “As my affianced bride,” he went on firmly, “I cannot afford to have you
- receive the man who is my bitterest enemy.”
- </p>
- <p>
- With a smile, Stella quickly but quietly removed the ring from her hand
- and gave it to Steve, who stood for a moment paralysed with astonishment.
- “Stella!” he gasped.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The burden of your affianced bride is too heavy for my young shoulders.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Forgive me dear!” he pleaded.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I prefer to receive whom I please, when and where I please, without
- consulting you. When I need a master to order my daily conduct, I’ll let
- you know.
- </p>
- <p>
- “But, Stella, dear!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Miss Butler—if you please!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I—I only meant to tell you that I love you desperately, that I’m
- jealous and ask you not to torture me—you cannot mean this, dear?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “How dare you address me in that manner again!” she cried, flaming with
- anger, the tense little figure drawn to its full height.
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve attempted to take her hand, but the fierce light in her eyes stopped
- him without a word.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Leave this house instantly!” she said, with quiet emphasis.
- </p>
- <p>
- With deep muttered curses in his soul against John Graham, Steve turned
- and left.
- </p>
- <p>
- As he passed through the doorway, a black face peeped from the alcove and
- giggled.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER III—A BLOW IS STRUCK
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>RUE to his word
- Butler called for a regiment of United States troops.
- </p>
- <p>
- On the second day after his interview with the Judge, John Graham watched
- from his office window the blue coats march through the streets of
- Independence to their camp.
- </p>
- <p>
- He turned to his chair beside a quaint old mahogany desk and wrote an
- official order to each of the eight district chiefs of the Invisible
- Empire who were under his command in the state.
- </p>
- <p>
- When he had finished his task he sat for an hour in silence staring out of
- his window and seeing nothing save the big brown eyes of a beautiful girl—eyes
- of extraordinary size and brilliance that seemed to be searching the
- depths of his soul. It was a new and startling experience in his life. He
- had made love harmlessly after the gallant fashion of his race to many
- girls; yet none of them had found the man within.
- </p>
- <p>
- He was angry with himself now for his inability to shake off the
- impression Stella Butler had made. He hated her very name. The idea of his
- ever seeking the hand of a Butler in marriage made him shiver. To even
- meet her socially with such a father was unthinkable. And yet he kept
- thinking.
- </p>
- <p>
- Two things especially about her haunted him with persistence and had
- thrown a spell over his imagination—the strange appealing tenderness
- of her eyes and the marvellous low notes of her voice, a voice at once
- musical, and warm with slumbering passion. Her voice seemed the echo of
- ravishing music he had heard somewhere, or dreamed or caught in another
- world he fancied sometimes his soul had inhabited before reaching this.
- Never had he heard a voice so full of feeling, so soft, so seductive, so
- full of tender appeal. Its every accent seemed to caress.
- </p>
- <p>
- He cursed himself for brooding over her and then came back to his brooding
- with the certainty of fate. Yet it should make no difference in his fight
- with old Butler. He would kick that fawning, creeping scoundrel out of his
- house if it was the last and only thing he ever accomplished on earth. The
- only question he still debated was the time and method of the execution of
- his plan.
- </p>
- <p>
- One thing became more and more clear—he was going to need the full
- use of every faculty with which God had endowed him and he must set his
- house in order.
- </p>
- <p>
- He opened the door of the little cupboard above his desk and took from it
- a decanter of moonshine whiskey Dan Wiley, one of his mountain men, had
- always kept filled for him. From the drawer he took two packs of cards and
- a case of poker chips. The cards and chips he rolled in a newspaper,
- placed in his stove and set them on fire. He smiled as he stood and
- listened to the roar of the sudden blaze. He raised his window and hurled
- the red-eyed decanter across the vacant lot in the rear of his office and
- saw it break into a hundred fragments on a pile of stones.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Wonder what Dan will say to that when he comes this morning?” he
- exclaimed, looking at his watch and resuming his seat.
- </p>
- <p>
- He heard a stealthy footfall at the door, turned and saw the tall lanky
- form of the mountaineer smiling at him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, Chief, you sent for me?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, come in Dan!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Dan Wiley tipped in and stood pulling his long moustache thoughtfully,
- before taking a chair.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What’s on your mind?” asked John.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I heered somethin’.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “About me?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, and it pestered me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “They say you got drunk night ’fore last.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And you’re going to preach me a sermon on temperance, you confounded old
- moonshining distilling sinner!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ye mustn’t git drunk,” observed Dan seriously.
- </p>
- <p>
- “But, didn’t you bring me the whiskey?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Not to git drunk on. I brought it as a compliment. My whiskey’s pure
- mountain dew, life restorer—it’s medicine.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s good whiskey, I’ll say that,” said John. “Even if you don’t pay
- taxes on it. You brought the men?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, but Chief, I’m oneasy.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What about?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Don’t like the looks er them dam Yankees. I’m a member er the church an’
- a law abidin’ citizen.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yet I hear that a revenue officer passed away in your township last
- fall.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Rattlesnakes and Revenue officers don’t count—they ain’t human.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I see!” laughed John.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Say,” Dan whispered, “you ain’t calculatin’ ter make a raid ternight with
- them thousand blue-coats paradin’ round this town, are ye?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “That’s my business, Dan,” was John’s smiling answer. “It’s your business
- as a faithful night-hawk of the Empire to obey orders. Are you ready?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, Chief, I followed you four years in the war, an’ I’ve never showed
- the white feather yet, but these is ticklish times. There’s a powerful lot
- er damfools gettin’ ermongst us, an’ I want ter ax ye one question?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Are ye goin’ ter git drunk ter-night?”
- </p>
- <p>
- John walked to Dan’s side and placed his hand on his shoulder, and said
- slowly:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll never touch another drop of liquor as long as I live. Does that
- satisfy you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I never knowd a Graham ter break his word.” John pressed the
- mountaineer’s hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Thanks Dan.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m with you—and I’ll charge the mouth of the pit with my bare
- hands if you give the order.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Good. Meet me at the spring in the woods behind the old cemetery at
- eleven o’clock to-night with forty picked men.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Forty!—better make it an even thousand, man for man with the
- Yanks.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Just forty men, mark you—picked men, not a boy or a fool among
- them.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I understand,” said Dan, turning on his heel toward the door.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And see to it”—called John—“I want them mounted on the best
- horses in the county and every man armed to the teeth.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Dan nodded and disappeared.
- </p>
- <p>
- By eight o’clock the town was in a ferment of excitement and the streets
- were crowded with feverish groups discussing a rumour which late in the
- afternoon had spread like wild-fire. From some mysterious source had come
- the announcement that a great Ku Klux parade was to take place in
- Independence at midnight for the purpose of overawing if not attacking the
- regiment of soldiers, which had just been quartered in the town.
- </p>
- <p>
- By eleven o’clock the entire white population, men, women and children,
- were crowding the sidewalks of the main street.
- </p>
- <p>
- Billy Graham passed John’s office with Susie Wilson leaning on his arm.
- Billy was in high feather and Susie silent and depressed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Great Scott, Miss Susie, what’s the matter? This isn’t a funeral. It’s a
- triumphant demonstration of power to our oppressors.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I wish they wouldn’t do it with all these troops in town,” answered the
- girl, anxiously glancing at the dark window of John’s office.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Bah! The Ku Klux have been getting pusillanimous of late—haven’t
- been on a raid in six months. They need a leader. Give me a hundred of
- those white mounted men and I’d be the master of this county in ten days!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s a dangerous job, Billy.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “That’s the only kind of a job that interests me. A dozen wholesome raids
- would put these scalawags and carpetbaggers out of business. There ought
- to be five thousand men in line tonight. I’ll bet they don’t muster a
- thousand. It wouldn’t surprise me if they backed out altogether.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I wish they would,” sighed Susie.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Of course you do, little girl,” said Billy with sudden patronising
- tenderness. “I know what you need.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Susie smiled and asked demurely:
- </p>
- <p>
- “What?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Billy seized both her hands and drew her under the shadow of a tree.
- </p>
- <p>
- “A strong manly breast on which to lean—Susie, my Darling, I love
- you! Will you be my wife?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Susie burst into a fit of laughter and Billy dropped her hands in rage.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You treat the offer of my heart as a senseless joke, young woman?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, Billy dear, I don’t. I appreciate it more than words can express. You
- have paid me the highest tribute a girl can receive, but the idea of
- marrying a boy of your age is ridiculous!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ridiculous! Ridiculous! How dare you insult me? I’m as old as you are!”
- thundered Billy.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, we are each eighteen.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And your mother married at sixteen.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And she’s still only sixteen,” said the girl with a sigh.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Wait a few days and I’ll show you whether I’m a man or not,” said Billy,
- with insulted dignity. “Come, your mother is waiting for us at the
- corner.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Mrs. Wilson stood among a group of boys chatting and joking. She belonged
- to the type of widows, fair, fat and frivolous. Time had dealt gently with
- her. She was still handsome in spite of her weight, and intensely jealous
- lest her serious daughter supplant her in the affections of the youth of
- Independence.
- </p>
- <p>
- She greeted Billy with just the words to heal his wounded vanity.
- </p>
- <p>
- “My! Billy, but you look serious and manly! I’d kiss you if the other boys
- were not here. You ought to be at the head of that line of white raiders
- to-night”—she dropped her voice to a whisper—“I’ll be making
- your disguise before long.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Billy turned from Susie and devoted himself with dignity to her mother.
- </p>
- <p>
- The widow lifted her hand in sudden warning.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Sh! Billy, the enemy! There goes Stella Butler with that fat little
- detective whom the Judge has imported with the troops.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Captain” Suggs of the Secret Service was more than duly impressed with
- his importance as he forced his pudgy figure through the throng on the
- sidewalk, ostentatiously protecting Stella from the touch of the crowd.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s arrant nonsense, Miss Stella,” he was saying, as they passed. “These
- Southern people are savages, I know——”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, Captain, I’m a Southerner too,” said the girl archly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I mean the disloyal traitors of the South—not the broad-minded
- patriots like your father,” Suggs hastened to explain. “I say it’s arrant
- nonsense this talk of such a parade by these traitors. I credit them with
- too much cunning to dare to flaunt their treason in the streets here
- to-night with a regiment of troops and the head of the Secret Service on
- the spot.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The little fellow expanded his chest and puffed his cheeks.
- </p>
- <p>
- Billy doubled his fist, and made a dash for him. With a suppressed scream,
- Mrs. Wilson caught him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Billy! for heaven’s sake, are you crazy!” They passed on down the street
- toward the Judge’s house.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m not so sure they will not parade, Mr. Suggs,” Stella replied.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Don’t be alarmed, Miss Stella!” he urged soothingly. “I’ve taken ample
- means to protect you and your father from any attack of these assassins
- and desperadoes if they dare enter the town.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m not afraid of them, Captain, she answered lightly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Of course not—we’re here and ready for them. The very audacity of
- their manner is an insult to the Government.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I like audacity. It stirs your blood,” Stella cried, her brown eyes
- twinkling.
- </p>
- <p>
- Suggs leaned nearer and said in his deepest voice:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Let them dare this insult to authority to-night and you’ll see audacity
- come to sudden grief in front of your father’s house.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Have you prepared an ambush?” Stella asked eagerly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Better. We’ve an extra hundred loyal policemen on the spot. Each of them
- is sworn to capture dead or alive any Ku Klux raider who shows his head. I
- hope they’ll come—but it’s too good to be true. With a dozen
- prisoners safe in jail, before to-morrow dawns I’ll have the secrets of
- the Klan in my pocket. I’ll make things hum in Washington. Watch me. It’s
- the big opportunity of life I’ve been waiting for—my only fear is
- I’ll miss it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I think you’ll get it, Mr. Suggs,” was the laughing answer.
- </p>
- <p>
- She had scarcely spoken, when a tow-headed boy rushed into the middle of
- the street and yelled, “Gee bucks! Look out! They’re a comin’!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Men, women and children rushed into the street.
- </p>
- <p>
- Suggs stood irresolute and tightened his grip on Stella’s arm.
- </p>
- <p>
- Down the street cheers burst forth and as they died away the clatter of
- horses’ hoofs rang clear, distinct, defiant. They were riding slowly as in
- dress parade.
- </p>
- <p>
- Another cheer was heard and Suggs stepped into the street and
- reconnoitred.
- </p>
- <p>
- His face wore a puzzled look as he returned to Stella’s side.
- </p>
- <p>
- “They’ve actually ridden past the regimental camp. I can’t understand why
- the Colonel did not attack them.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Gee Whilikens, there’s a million of ’em!” cried a boy nearby.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Perhaps the Colonel thought discretion the better part of valour, Mr.
- Suggs,” suggested Stella smilingly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Red tape,” the detective explained with disgust—“he has no order.
- Just wait until the assassins walk into the trap I’ve laid for them. Come,
- we will hurry to your gate. I want you to see what happens.”
- </p>
- <p>
- They crossed the street and hurried to the Judge’s place.
- </p>
- <p>
- Suggs summoned the commander of his force of “metropolitan” police and in
- short sharp tones gave his orders.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Are your men all ready, officer?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yessir!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Fully armed?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You bet.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Handcuffs ready?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “All ready.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Good. Throw your line, double column, across the street, stop the parade
- and arrest them one at a time.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Suggs squared his round shoulders as best he could; the officer saluted
- and returned to his place to execute the order.
- </p>
- <p>
- When the cordon formed across the street the boys yelled and the news
- flashed from lip to lip far down the line. A great crowd quickly gathered
- surging back and forth in waves of excitement as the raiders approached.
- </p>
- <p>
- The white ghostlike figures could now be seen, the draped horse and rider
- appearing of gigantic size in the shimmering moonlight.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now we’ll have some fun,” exclaimed Suggs with a triumphant smile.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella trembled with excitement, two bright red spots appearing on her
- dimpled cheeks, her eyes sparkling.
- </p>
- <p>
- Amid constant cheers from the crowds the line of white figures slowly
- approached the cordon of police without apparently noticing their
- existence.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now for the climax of the drama!” cried Suggs, watching with eager
- interest the rapidly closing space between the Clansmen and his police.
- </p>
- <p>
- The officer in command, noting an uneasy tension along his lines, crossed
- the street in front of his men exhorting them.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Stand your ground, boys!” he said firmly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Better save your hides, you scalawag skunks!” yelled an urchin from the
- crowd.
- </p>
- <p>
- The leader of the Klan was now but ten feet away, towering tall, white and
- terrible, with an apparently interminable procession of mounted ghosts
- behind him.
- </p>
- <p>
- The line of police swayed in the centre.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Clansman leader lifted his hand, and the shrill scream of his whistle
- rang three times, and each white figure answered with a long piercing cry.
- </p>
- <p>
- The police cordon broke into scurrying fragments and melted into the
- throngs on the sidewalks, while the procession of white and scarlet
- horsemen, without a pause, passed slowly on amid shouts of laughter from
- the people who had witnessed the fiasco.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, I’ll be d———! excuse me, Miss Stella!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Suggs cried in a stupor of blank amazement, his round little figure
- suddenly collapsing like a punctured balloon.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You can’t help admiring such men, Captain!” the girl laughed.
- </p>
- <p>
- Suggs who had lost the power of speech wandered among the crowd in search
- of his commanding officer.
- </p>
- <p>
- As the parade passed the Judge’s gate, Stella stood wide-eyed, tense with
- excitement, watching the tall horseman with two scarlet crosses on his
- breast who led the procession.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The spirit of some daring knight of the middle ages come back to earth
- again!” she cried. “Superb! Superb! I could surrender to such a man!”
- </p>
- <p>
- A lace handkerchief fluttered from her bosom and waved a moment above her
- head. The tall figure turned in astonishment, bowed, tipped his spiked
- helmet, and without realising it suddenly reined his horse to a stand—and
- the whole line halted.
- </p>
- <p>
- The leader whispered to a tall figure by his side, apparently his orderly,
- who turned to the line behind and shouted.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Boys! three cheers for the little gal at the gate! She’s all right! <i>The
- purtiest little gal in the countee—oh!</i>”
- </p>
- <p>
- A rousing cheer rose from the ranks.
- </p>
- <p>
- A ripple of sweet girlish laughter broke the silence which followed, the
- lace handkerchief fluttered again and the line moved slowly on.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella counted them.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Only forty men. And they dared a regiment!” With another laugh, she
- deserted Suggs and disappeared in the flowers and shrubbery toward the
- house as the last echoes of the raiders died away in the distance.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Clansmen descended a hill, turned sharply to the right toward the
- river and broke into a quick gallop. Within thirty minutes they entered a
- forest on the river bank, and down its dim aisles, lit by moonbeams,
- slowly wound their way to their old rendezvous.
- </p>
- <p>
- The signal was given to dismount and disrobe the horses. Within a minute
- the white figures gathered about a newly opened grave.
- </p>
- <p>
- The men began to whisper excitedly to one another.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What’s this?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What’s the matter?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Who’s dead?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’re too many for me!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What’s up, Steve Hoyle?” asked one of the raiders.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s beyond me, sonny. The Grand Dragon of the State honours us with his
- presence to-night and is in command—he will no doubt explain. Have a
- drink.” He handed the group a flask of whiskey, and passed on.
- </p>
- <p>
- When the men had assembled beside the shallow grave, the chaplain led in
- prayer.
- </p>
- <p>
- The tall figure with the double scarlet cross on his breast removed his
- helmet and faced the men.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Boys,” began John Graham, “you have assembled here to-night for the last
- time as members of the Invisible Empire!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Hell!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What’s that?”
- </p>
- <p>
- The exclamations, half incredulous, half angry, came from every direction
- with suddenness and unanimity which showed the men to be utterly
- unprepared for such an announcement.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes,” the even voice went on, “I hold in my hand an official order of the
- Grand Wizard of the Empire, dissolving its existence for all time. Our
- Commander-in-chief has given the word. As loyal members of the order, we
- accept his message.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then our parade to-night was not a defiance of these soldiers who have
- marched into town?” sneered a voice.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, Steve Hoyle, it was not. Our parade to-night was in accordance with
- this order of dissolution. It was our last formal appearance. Our work is
- done——”
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve saw in a flash his opportunity to defeat his enemy and make himself
- not only the master of his Congressional District but of the state itself.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Not by a damn sight!” snapped the big square jaw.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You refuse as the commander of this district to obey the order of the
- Grand Wizard?” asked the tall quiet figure.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I refuse, John Graham, to accept your word as the edict of God!” was the
- quick retort. “Our men can vote on this and decide for themselves.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, vote on it!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “We’ll decide for ourselves!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The quick responses which came from all sides showed the temper of the
- men. John Graham stepped in front of the big leader of the district.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Look here, Steve Hoyle, I want no trouble with you to-night, nor in the
- future—but I’m going to carry this order into execution here and
- now.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Let’s see you do it!” was the defiant answer.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I will,” he continued. “Boys!”
- </p>
- <p>
- There was the ring of conscious authority in his tones and the men
- responded with sharp attention.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You have each sworn to obey your superior officer on the penalty of your
- life?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You are men of your word. As the Grand Dragon of the State I command you
- to deliver to me immediately your helmets and robes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- With the precision of soldiers they deposited them in the open grave.
- Steve Hoyle surrendered his last.
- </p>
- <p>
- When all had been placed in the grave, John Graham removed his own,
- reverently placed it with the others, tied two pieces of pine into the
- form of the fiery cross, lighted its ends, drew the ritual of the Klan
- from his pocket, set it on fire and held it over the grave while the ashes
- slowly fell on the folds of the white and scarlet regalia which he also
- ignited. Some of the men were sobbing. While the regalia rapidly burned he
- turned and said:
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0004" id="linkimage-0004"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0073.jpg" alt="0073 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0073.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- “Boys, I thank you. You have helped me do a painful thing. But it is best.
- Our work is done. We have rescued our state from Negro rule. We dissolve
- this powerful secret order in time to save you from persecution, exile,
- imprisonment and death. The National Government is getting ready to
- strike. When the blow falls it will be on the vanished shadow of a ghost.
- There’s a time to fight, and a time to retreat. We retreat from a field of
- victory.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I should have dissolved the Klan a month ago. I confess to you a secret.
- I waited because I meant to strike with it a blow at a personal enemy. I
- realise now that I stood as your leader on the brink of the precipice of
- social anarchy. Forgive me for the wrong I might have done, had you
- followed me. As Grand Dragon of the Empire I declare this order dissolved
- forever in the state of North Carolina!”
- </p>
- <p>
- He seized a shovel and covered with earth and leaves the ashes of the
- burned regalia.
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve Hoyle stepped quickly in front of his rival. The veins on his
- massive neck stood out like cords and his eyes shone ominously in the
- moonlight. The slender figure of John Graham instinctively stiffened at
- the threat of his movement as the two men faced each other.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The Klan is now a thing of the past?” asked Steve.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “As though it had never been?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “As though it had never existed.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then your authority is at an end?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “As an officer of the Klan, yes. As a leader of men, no.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “The officer only interests me—Boys!” Steve’s angry voice rang with
- defiance.
- </p>
- <p>
- The men gathered closer.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The Invisible Empire is no more. Its officers are as dead as the ashes of
- its ritual. Meet me here to-morrow night at eleven o’clock to organise a
- new order of patriots! Will you come?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You bet your life!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The answers seemed to leap from every throat at the same moment.
- </p>
- <p>
- John Graham’s face went white for a moment and his fist closed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, Steve Hoyle,” he said with
- slow emphasis.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And traitors pose as moral leaders,” was the retort.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Time will show which of us is a traitor. Will you dare thus to defy me
- and reorganise this Klan?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Wait and see!”
- </p>
- <p>
- John Graham stepped close to his rival, and, in a low voice unheard save
- by the man to whom he spoke, said:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Take back that order and tell those men to go home and stay there.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll see you in hell first!” came the answer in a growl.
- </p>
- <p>
- Scarcely had the words passed his lips when John Graham’s fist shot into
- his rival’s face.
- </p>
- <p>
- The blow was delivered so quickly Steve’s heavy form struck the ground
- before the astonished men could interfere.
- </p>
- <p>
- In a moment a dozen men sprang between them and John said with quiet
- emphasis, glaring at his enemy:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll be in my office at ten o’clock to-morrow morning, to receive any
- communication you may wish to make—you understand!”
- </p>
- <p>
- And deliberately mounting his horse, he rode away into the night alone.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER IV—THE OLD CODE
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">J</span>OHN GRAHAM walked
- briskly to his office the next morning at a quarter to ten, and found Dan
- Wiley standing at the door.
- </p>
- <p>
- The lank mountaineer merely nodded, followed the young lawyer into the
- office, and stood in silence watching him as he opened a case of duelling
- pistols which had been handed down through four generations of his family.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Don’t do it,” said Dan abruptly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ve got to.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ain’t no sense in it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s the only way, Dan, and I’m going to ask you to be my second.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Dan placed his big rough hand on the younger man’s shoulders.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Lemme be fust, not second.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s not my way!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “That’s why I’m axin ye. You’re the biggest man in the state! I seed it
- last night as ye stood there makin’ that speech to the boys. You’ll be the
- Governor if ye don’t do some fool thing like this. If ye fight ’im,
- an’ he kills ye, your’e a goner. If you kill him, you’re ruined—what’s
- the use?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It can’t be helped,” was the quiet answer.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Are ye goin’ ter kill ’im?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes. The Klan was the only way to save our civilisation. I’ve sowed the
- wind and now I begin to see that somebody must reap the whirlwind. I
- realised it all in a flash last night when that scoundrel called the men
- to reorganise.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “They won’t follow him.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “The fools will, and there are thousands outside clamouring to get in.
- I’ve kept the young and reckless out as far as possible. Steve Hoyle knows
- that he can beat me for Congress with this new wildcat Klan at his back.
- He hasn’t sense enough to see that the spell of authority once broken, he
- wields a power no human hand can control. It will be faction against
- faction, neighbour against neighbour, man against man—the end
- martial law, prison bars and the shadow of the gallows. I can save the
- lives of thousands of men, and my state from crime and disgrace by killing
- this fool as I’d kill a mad dog, and I’m going to do it!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Hit’ll ruin ye, boy!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I know it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Look here, John Graham, do me a special favour. Leave Steve to me. My
- wife’s dead and I aint got a chick or a child—you’ve defended me
- without a cent and you’re the best friend I’ve got in the world. It’s my
- turn now. Nobody would miss me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’d miss you, Dan!” said John slowly.
- </p>
- <p>
- The two men silently clasped hands and looked into each other’s faces.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’re a fool to do this, boy”—the mountaineer’s voice broke.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Of course, Dan, many of our old-fashioned ways are foolish but at least
- they hold the honour of man, and the virtue of woman dearer than human
- life!”
- </p>
- <p>
- A boy suddenly opened the door without knocking and handed John a note.
- </p>
- <p>
- He read it aloud with a scowl:
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>My friends have decided that I shall not play into your hands by an
- absurd appeal to the Code of the Dark Ages. I’ll fight you in my own way
- at a time and place of my own choosing and with weapons that will be
- effective.</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Steve Hoyle.</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now, by gum, you’ll have to leave ’im to me,” laughed the
- mountaineer.
- </p>
- <p>
- John tore the note into bits and turned to the boy:
- </p>
- <p>
- “No answer, you can go.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “He’ll pick you off some night from behind a tree,” warned Dan.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Sneak and coward!” muttered John.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ye won’t let me help ye?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, go home and disband your men.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “May they keep the rig?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “If you won’t go on a raid.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll not, unless you need me, John Graham,” cried the mountaineer
- grasping again his young leader’s hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “All right. I can trust you. Keep their costumes in your house under lock
- and key until I call for them.”
- </p>
- <p>
- As Dan turned slowly through the door he drawled over his shoulder:
- “You’ll ’em purty quick!”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER V—GRAHAM VS. BUTLER
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">W</span>HEN Dan Wiley
- closed the door John turned to his desk and drew from a pigeon hole the
- mass of legal papers containing the evidence he had gathered of Butler’s
- theft of his estate.
- </p>
- <p>
- The dissolution of the Klan had left him only the process of the law by
- which to recover it. Yet it was only a question of time when the decision
- of the Supreme Court would hurl the Judge from the Graham home and arraign
- him for impeachment.
- </p>
- <p>
- Now that he was ready to file the suit, his mind was in a tumult of
- hesitation. The soft invisible hand of a girl was holding his hand. He
- gazed steadily at the documents and saw nothing that was within. The ink
- lines slowly resolved themselves into the raven glossy hair of Stella
- piled in curling confusion above her white forehead, and he was trying in
- vain to find the depths of her wonderful eyes.
- </p>
- <p>
- Something in the expression of those eyes held his memory in a perpetual
- spell—their remarkable size and their dilation when she spoke. They
- seemed to enfold him in a soft mantle of light.
- </p>
- <p>
- He suddenly bundled the papers, replaced them, and took up his pen.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ve got to see her—that’s all!” he exclaimed. “Who knows? Perhaps
- I’m answering the great summons of life. I’ll put it to the test. At least
- I’ll not throw my chance away for a house, some trees and a few acres of
- dirt. When Love calls life’s too short for revenge.”
- </p>
- <p>
- On a sheet of delicate old note paper with a crest of yellow and black at
- the top, he wrote:
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>My Dear Miss Butler:</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>You were gracious enough to ask me to call again. I cannot believe your
- words were mere conventional phrases. Their accent was too genuine and
- sincere. So I beg the privilege of calling to-day while your father, my
- valiant political enemy, is busy down town with the delegates to his
- convention which meets to-morrow. I anxiously await your answer.</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Sincerely,</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>John Graham</i>.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Unless I’ve mistaken her character, she’ll see me!” he mused as he sealed
- the note.
- </p>
- <p>
- He went at once to Mrs. Wilson’s, found Alfred, and gave him the missive.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Take that to the Judge’s and give it to Miss Stella.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Alfred stared.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Down to de ole place!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, of course.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Alfred sat down and laughed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, fore de Lawd, doan dat beat ye!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Shut up, and hurry back—I’ll wait for you at the office.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah, right away, sah!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And Alfred, not a word to a living soul of this.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, sah, cose not Marse John—I know how tis ’my sef’—de
- course er true love ain’t run smooth wid me nuther.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Quick, now, don’t you lose a minute.”
- </p>
- <p>
- John returned to his office to await with impatience the word that would
- mean the beginning of a new chapter in his life.
- </p>
- <p>
- Alfred placed the note carefully under his hat and hastened to the
- Judge’s, laughing and chuckling to himself.
- </p>
- <p>
- For reasons best known to himself he entered by the carriage way.
- </p>
- <p>
- At the wide double gate still stood the old lodge-keeper’s cottage, a
- relic of the slave regime. In the cottage Aunt Julie Ann lived with Uncle
- Isaac, her latest husband. Alfred had once been honoured with that
- relationship before the war, but Isaac had whipped him and taken Aunt
- Julie Ann by force of arms.
- </p>
- <p>
- Alfred was much the larger man of the two, tall, awkward and slow of
- movement, while Isaac was small and active as a cat. The agility of his
- movements had swept Aunt Julie Ann’s imagination by storm. The contrast to
- her own three hundred pounds had no doubt been the secret charm.
- </p>
- <p>
- She had loudly professed her love for Alfred until she saw Isaac thrash
- him, and without a word she surrendered to the new lord and refused to
- recognise her former husband.
- </p>
- <p>
- This happened two years before the war and Alfred had watched and waited
- the day of his revenge to dawn. Many a night he had prowled around her
- cottage spying and listening at the keyhole for her cry of help. He had
- heard at last that Isaac was beating her unmercifully and he chuckled with
- grim satisfaction. Every opportunity he got he hung around the cottage and
- listened for the long expected cry. As he approached the gates this
- morning in a peculiarly romantic frame of mind, remembering the mission he
- was on, he heard Uncle Isaac’s voice in sharp accents within, hectoring it
- over his former spouse.
- </p>
- <p>
- He crept to the door and listened breathlessly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dar now, I’se jes’ in time ter sabe my lady love!”
- </p>
- <p>
- He peeped cautiously through the keyhole and saw Aunt Julie Ann’s huge
- form busy at the ironing board, while Isaac sat majestically in a rocker
- delivering to her an eloquent discourse on Sanctification in general and
- his own sinless perfection in particular. Isaac had changed his name
- several times after the war, following the example of many Negroes who
- were afraid the use of their old master’s name might some day serve as the
- badge of slavery. He had lately become a Northern Methodist exhorter of
- great fame and went from church to church holding revivals, particularly
- among the sisters of the church, calling them to the life of stainless
- purity of those who had not merely “salvation,” as the ordinary Methodist
- or Baptist understood it, but “sanctification” as only those of the inner
- circle of the Lord knew it.
- </p>
- <p>
- Isaac had long ago been “sanctified,” and had declared not only his
- sinless nature but had boldy proclaimed himself a prophet of the new
- dispensation and had finally fixed his name as “Isaac the Apostle,” which
- had been simplified by busy clerks in written form to Isaac A. Postle.
- </p>
- <p>
- Aunt Julie Ann had heard of his wonderful success in his sanctification
- meetings with misgivings, as the large majority of his converts were
- invariably among the sisters. She had finally dared to question the
- authenticity of his apostolic call. Her scepticism had aroused Isaac to a
- frenzy of religious enthusiasm. That the wife of his bosom should be the
- only voice to question his divine mission was proof positive that she had
- in some mysterious way become possessed of the devil—perhaps seven
- devils.
- </p>
- <p>
- He determined to cast them out—by moral suasion if possible—if
- not, by the main strength of his good right arm. He must set his own house
- in order lest the very source of his inspiration be poisoned by lack of
- faith. He was devoting this morning to the task when Alfred arrived.
- </p>
- <p>
- He had just finished a long and fervid explanation of the mystery of
- Sanctification.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Fur de las’ time I axes ye, ’oman, what sez ye ter de word er de
- Lawd?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Aunt Julie Ann banged the board with the iron and merely grunted:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Huh!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Isaac rose and repeated his question with rising wrath:
- </p>
- <p>
- “What sez ye ter de word er de Lawd?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I ain’ heared de Lawd say nuttin yit!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “An’ why ain’t ye?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Case you keep so much fuss I can’t hear nuttin’, Isaac Graham!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Doan you call me dat name, you brazen sinner dat sets in de seat er de
- scornful! Is ye ready ter repent an’ sin no mo?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Isaac approached her threateningly and Alfred, watching with bulging eyes,
- clutched the stick he had picked up.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Tech me if ye dare—I bus’ yo head open wid dis flat-iron!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Isaac knew his duty now and determined to perform it without further
- ceremony. The anointed of the Lord had been threatened by the ungodly. He
- drew a seasoned hickory withe from a crack where he had hidden it and
- approached his sceptical spouse.
- </p>
- <p>
- Aunt Julie Ann began to whimper.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Put down dat flat-iron!” he sternly commanded.
- </p>
- <p>
- Alfred peering through the keyhole gasped in amazement as he saw her drop
- the iron heavily on the floor.
- </p>
- <p>
- Isaac raised his switch and began to whip her. Around and around she flew
- screaming, begging, pleading for mercy. But Isaac continued to lay on
- steadily.
- </p>
- <p>
- Alfred tried to rise and rush to the rescue but somehow he couldn’t move.
- To his own surprise the performance fascinated him. He sat peering with
- satisfaction.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dat’s paying her back now fur leavin’ me fer dat low live rascal. Give it
- to her, old man! Give it to her! She sho’ deserves it!”
- </p>
- <p>
- At length Isaac paused, and eyed her steadily while he shook his switch
- with unction.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I axes ye now, does ye believe in de Sanctification er de Saints?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, Lawd, I sees it now!” she cried with fervour.
- </p>
- <p>
- “An’ thanks me fer showin’ ye de error er yo’ way?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, honey! I’m gwine ter seek dat Sanctification myself!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Glory! We’se er comin’ on!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Aunt Julie Ann picked up the flat-iron. Isaac eyed her with suspicion but
- he was too much elated with his victory to notice anything unusual in her
- manner.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ye b’lieves now in de Sanctification er de Lawd’s messenger Isaac A.
- Postle?”
- </p>
- <p>
- With a sudden flash of her eye Aunt Julie Ann hurled the flat-iron
- straight at the head of the Lord’s messenger saying:
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, I ain’t sed dat yit!”
- </p>
- <p>
- But Isaac was quick. He dodged in time. The corner of the flat-iron merely
- tipped his ear and smashed through the window.
- </p>
- <p>
- He grabbed his ear with sudden pain and gripped his switch with renewed
- zeal.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I see I’se des begun—one debble out, but dey’s six mo’ ter come!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Again he whipped her around the room, threw her down, held her hair and
- banged her head against the floor.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Fur de las’ time I axes ye, is de Lawd’s messenger, Isaac A. Postle, a
- sanctified one?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Bang! Bang! Bang! went her head against the planks.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes honey, I sees it now!” she cried with enthusiasm.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dat’s de way!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Does ye lub me fur showin’ ye de light?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Bang! Bang! went her head.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, Lawd, I lub ye.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Say it strong.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Bang! Bang! went her head.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I lubs ye, my honey, yes I do!” shouted Aunt Julie Ann.
- </p>
- <p>
- “An’ I’se de only man dat ye ebber lub?”
- </p>
- <p>
- A moment’s pause, and again bang! bang! went her head.
- </p>
- <p>
- Alfred couldn’t wait for the answer; he gripped his stick, sprang through
- the door, knocked the Apostle flat on his back, and jumped on him.
- </p>
- <p>
- Aunt Julie Ann was more astonished than Isaac at her sudden deliverance.
- </p>
- <p>
- She scrambled to her feet and gazed for a moment in amazement at Alfred as
- he pummelled Isaac’s head against the floor with one hand and pounded him
- with the other.
- </p>
- <p>
- At every thump of his head Isaac yelled:
- </p>
- <p>
- “God sabe me! de debble done got me! Help, Lawd, help! Save me Lawd—save
- me now!” Alfred pounded steadily away.
- </p>
- <p>
- Aunt Julie Ann, when she caught her breath, grasped Alfred’s arm and
- yelled:
- </p>
- <p>
- “What yer doin’ here, nigger!”
- </p>
- <p>
- He wrenched his arm loose from her grasp and hit Isaac a smashing blow in
- the mouth as he cried again for help.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Git often my ole man. I tell ye!” screamed Aunt Julie Ann, gripping
- Alfred by the throat.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Name er God, ’oman, what yer doin’ when I comes here ter save ye!” cried
- Alfred, wrenching himself from her grip and returning to his work on
- Isaac.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Git often ’im, I tell ye, fo’ I bus’ yer open!” she panted,
- towering above the writhing pair. She began to pound Alfred over the head
- with her fists, but he worked steadily away on Isaac without noticing the
- interruptions.
- </p>
- <p>
- Suddenly Aunt Julie Ann threw both arms around his neck, bent his lank
- figure double across Isaac’s prostrate form, and hurled her three hundred
- pounds squarely across the two writhing men. There was dead silence for a
- moment and then Isaac groaned:
- </p>
- <p>
- “God save me now! we’se bof gone! De house done fall on us!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Na! honey, it’s me!” cried Aunt Julie Ann, “an’ I got ’im in de
- gills!”
- </p>
- <p>
- She rolled over and pulled Alfred with her—both hands gripped to his
- throat.
- </p>
- <p>
- In a moment Isaac was on his feet.
- </p>
- <p>
- “De Lawd hear my cry!” he exclaimed with unction, pouncing on Alfred and
- pounding him unmercifully while his faithful spouse held him fast. Alfred
- found his voice at last, and began to yell murder.
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve Hoyle, who was pacing the walk in front of the Judge’s anxiously
- waiting an answer to a pleading letter he had sent to Stella asking for an
- interview, heard the cries and rushed to Alfred’s rescue.
- </p>
- <p>
- He pulled Isaac and Aunt Julie Ann off in time to save his hat and
- portions of his clothes.
- </p>
- <p>
- As he entered the cottage, he had seen instantly the note in John Graham’s
- handwriting which Alfred had dropped on the floor. He picked it up hastily
- and put it in his pocket.
- </p>
- <p>
- When Alfred got out the door, he did not stand on the order of his going.
- He struck a bee line for John Graham’s office and ran every step of the
- way without looking back.
- </p>
- <p>
- John was pacing the floor, his heart beating out the interminable minutes.
- </p>
- <p>
- Alfred burst into the room, his nose bleeding, a gash across his forehead,
- his clothes torn and spotted with the blood from his nose. He was still
- wild with the fear of death which had clutched his soul as the light of
- day faded under Aunt Julie Ann’s awful grip on his throat.
- </p>
- <p>
- He dropped, panting and speechless, on the floor. “For God’s sake, Alfred,
- what’s happened!” John cried, seizing a glass of water and pressing it to
- his lips.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dey kill me, Marse John!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Who did it?—what for?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “De folks at de Judge’s.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Where’s my note?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dunno sah!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Didn’t you deliver it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dunno sah!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Did you go to the house?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dunno sah!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Where did this happen?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “At de gate, sah, dey wuz layin’ fer me—De Judge mus’ er tole ’em
- ter kill me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Who did it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ole Isaac and Julie Ann jump on me fust, but tow’d de last dey wuz er
- dozen. Six un ’em wuz er beatin’ me on de head at de same time,
- three er four wuz er settin’ on top er me, two had me by the throat an’ de
- res’ un ’em wuz er steady kickin’ me in de stummick. Dey’d er had
- me sho’ by dis time ef I hadn’t kotch my breaf an’ holler’d.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And who helped you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Mr. Steve Hoyle wuz dar ter see Miss Stella an’ he run in an’ pulled ’em
- off. When I lit out for home I wuz er sight sho nuff. I hear Miss Stella
- come up ter Mr. Steve an’ bust out laffin’ fit ter kill herself.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And you don’t know what became of the note?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah! cose sah! dey tuck hit away fum me and tore it up—dat’s
- what I fit ’em ’bout—yassah!” John’s face was white
- with rage. He sent Alfred home, sat down at his desk, and drew out the
- papers he had laid aside. The Judge had won. He had covered him with
- infamy in the eyes of his beautiful daughter and had dared to perpetrate
- this infamous outrage. He couldn’t understand Aunt Julie Ann’s part in the
- row, but the evidence of Alfred’s plight could not be mistaken.
- </p>
- <p>
- For three hours with stern set face he worked completing the case of
- Graham vs. Butler. At four o’clock he had entered the suit and an officer
- served the papers on the astonished Judge.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER VI—SCALAWAG AND CARPETBAGGER
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">J</span>OHN GRAHAM, as
- leader of the opposition, as well as for personal reasons, was early on
- the grounds with half a dozen trusted lieutenants to watch the action of
- the Republican County Convention. He was curious to observe the effects of
- his suit on the Judge and his followers. He soon discovered that the
- scathing recital of fraud which he had incorporated into the form of his
- complaint as published in the morning’s paper was a mistake. It had been
- accepted by the mottled crew of nondescript politicians and Negroes as
- proof positive of his own depravity and the Judge’s spotless purity.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Convention was seated in the open air on improvised boards. The Judge
- was peculiarly sensitive to the atmosphere of a crowd of Negroes. He had
- to associate with them to get their votes, but like all poor white men of
- Southern birth, he hated them without measure.
- </p>
- <p>
- This Convention of his home county was the most important crisis in the
- development of his ambitions as the leader of his party in the South.
- </p>
- <p>
- He was a candidate for the United States Senate. Delegates were to be
- elected to-day to the state convention. Unless he could go with a united
- front from his home county he was doomed.
- </p>
- <p>
- His opponent, Alexander Larkin, was the boldest, most unscrupulous, and
- powerful Carpetbag adventurer who had ever entered the South from the
- slums of the North.
- </p>
- <p>
- Larkin had made himself the Chairman of the Republican State Executive
- Committee, and was running neck and neck with the Judge for the Senate. He
- had determined to break his opponent’s backbone by capturing the whole, or
- at least a part of the delegates from Butler’s home county. The audacity
- of this movement had fairly taken the Judge’s breath. He halted Suggs in
- his thrilling pursuit of Ku Klux evidence and sent him North on an
- important mission. He meant to be fully prepared for any trick Larkin
- might spring. Suggs was bustling about among the delegates conscious that
- he was the trusted lieutenant of the coming man.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Carpetbagger had so timed his anonymous letter to John Graham that the
- shadow of disgrace thus thrown over Butler’s name would give him the
- balance of power. He could not foresee the chain of trivial events which
- would produce the terrific document John Graham had filed. Every word of
- its passionate arraignment had the sting of a scorpion, and its effects
- had been electrical. By instinct the crowd had accepted John’s suit as a
- blow at the cause and Butler had become their champion.
- </p>
- <p>
- As the Judge approached the crowd accompanied by Stella and Steve Hoyle,
- John saw with sinking heart that the first effect of his suit had been to
- bring Steve and Stella closer together and to dig an impassable gulf
- between him and the girl he had begun unconsciously to worship. She had
- evidently laid aside her hatred of politics and become her father’s
- champion. And he knew that Steve Hoyle had lost no time in this crisis in
- poisoning her mind forever against him. In fact Steve had spent the
- morning by her side developing the bitter sentences in his complaint into
- revelations of hereditary insanity and envenomed malice.
- </p>
- <p>
- The girl had, however, taken his statements with reservations. She would
- stand by her father before the world and she would publicly insult John
- Graham if he ever dared give her the opportunity, but deep down in her
- heart she half suspected the truth. The memory of the bitter feud between
- her mother and father over some secret connected with this estate and her
- father’s shuffling evasions, returned to her now with startling import.
- </p>
- <p>
- Her mother was of the old regime of the South, an aristocrat of
- aristocrats to her finger tips. Her people had blotted her very name from
- their memory for her marriage to Butler. She had fiercely resented to the
- day of her death this ostracism. The fear that her husband was a
- scoundrel, which slowly grew into a certainty in later years, at last
- broke her proud spirit. She gave up the struggle and died.
- </p>
- <p>
- There were moments in which Stella felt this inherited repugnance to her
- father when the proud spirit of her mother’s blood ruled in her soul.
- There were other moments when she felt the necessity of tricks and lies to
- make life agreeable and accepted her father as of the inevitable order of
- human existence.
- </p>
- <p>
- This morning she was her father’s daughter. Whether he was guilty or
- innocent she would show John Graham and his proud Bourbon set her contempt
- for them and their opinions.
- </p>
- <p>
- As the three reached the edge of the crowd she was smiling graciously on
- Steve in answer to a sally of his cheap wit. She fixed John with a look of
- contempt and his soul grew sick with the consciousness that he had paid
- too great a price for his suit against the Judge. In her anger she was
- superb. The very air about her seemed charged with the intensity of her
- personality. She radiated it in every direction. It was the consciousness
- of this intensity of nature which drew John to her with resistless power.
- No other type of woman could interest him, and Stella was endowed with
- this subtle magnetism as no human being he had ever met. It spoke in every
- movement of her body, in every accent of her voice.
- </p>
- <p>
- As she passed and turned her back on him, the sense of a hopeless and
- irreparable loss crushed his spirit. The words of the preacher rang in his
- soul, “What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and forfeit
- his life.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What are houses and lands after all, before the elemental forces which
- make life worth while,” he muttered. “I’ve an almost irresistible impulse
- to knock Steve Hoyle down, seize her in my arms, smother her with kisses
- and carry her off to some cave on a mountain! To the devil with goods and
- chattels, houses and lands.”
- </p>
- <p>
- With a start he came down from the clouds of fancy. She had dismissed
- Steve, taken the Judge’s arm, and was actually going to walk down the
- aisle through that mob of Negroes and greasy politicians and accompany him
- to the platform.
- </p>
- <p>
- When they reached the centre of the crowd, seated in semicircle about the
- covered speaker’s stand, pandemonium broke loose. The Judge received the
- most remarkable ovation of his life.
- </p>
- <p>
- The throng leaped to their feet and screamed themselves horse.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Keep your house Judge!” yelled a henchman.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Houses were built for patriots, and jails for traitors!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge bowed and again the crowd yelled.
- </p>
- <p>
- Larkin from the platform watched the demonstration with amazement.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ve miscalculated. They’re all thieves and scoundrels. I’ve made him a
- hero.”
- </p>
- <p>
- With a hypocritical smile he seized the Judge’s hand, wrung it heartily,
- congratulated him, and drew him to the platform. Stella sprang lightly up
- after him, took a rosebud from her belt, pinned it on her father’s slouchy
- ill-fitting broadcloth coat, kissed him and amid the cheers of the mob
- retraced her steps and left the ground with Steve Hoyle.
- </p>
- <p>
- John watched her lift her parasol above her dainty head with smothered
- curses at his folly. He had unconsciously taken his own hat off and stood
- bareheaded in the broiling Southern sun of a June day. The bitterness of
- his mistake stirred him to more dogged persistence. With an effort he
- turned to the Judge and the Convention—trying in vain to shake off
- the impression Stella had left. But he found his mind constantly wandering
- from the scene. Wherever he looked, within or without, he saw the delicate
- oval face with those great brown eyes smiling as they did the night he met
- her in the hall of his old home.
- </p>
- <p>
- At length he awoke from his reverie with his eye resting unconsciously on
- Larkin, the Judge’s opponent. He had never seen him before, though his
- name had become known in every county of the state.
- </p>
- <p>
- He was a man of more than the average height, of powerful build, high
- intellectual forehead, a full beard, long, silken, snow white. His hair,
- also long and white, was inclined to curl at the ends, and a pair of
- piercing black eyes looked out fearlessly from shaggy brows. He carried
- himself with instinctive dignity, and his whole appearance proclaimed a
- bold and powerful leader of men.
- </p>
- <p>
- Rumour said that he had been a Wesleyan preacher in England but had been
- expelled in some factional fight and had sought his fortunes in America.
- Darker rumour whispered that he had a criminal record and that he had
- never even attained citizenship in the country of his adoption. Such
- rumours, however, counted for nothing in the tainted atmosphere of the
- riot and revolution of the Reconstruction period. From the sewers of the
- North, jail birds and ex-convicts had poured into the stricken South as
- vultures follow the wake of a victorious army.
- </p>
- <p>
- In two years Larkin had proven himself a party leader of remarkable
- executive ability and on the hustings had shown himself an orator of
- undoubted eloquence. He was fast becoming the idol of the more daring and
- radical wing of his party. He boldly proclaimed and practiced Negro
- equality and held up to public scorn any man who dared to quibble on the
- issue.
- </p>
- <p>
- So bold and radical were his utterances the Negroes were a little afraid
- of him. Yet he was steadily gaining in his influence over them. He knew
- that they constituted nine-tenths of the voting strength of the Republican
- party in the South, and that ultimately the man who pandered most
- skilfully to their passions must become master of the situation.
- </p>
- <p>
- He had laid siege to Uncle Isaac immediately on his arrival and had played
- on his vanity so deftly that the Apostle of Sanctification had been
- completely fascinated by the Carpetbagger.
- </p>
- <p>
- The moment Larkin’s eye rested on Isaac seated in the crowd he saw in a
- flash the master stroke by which he could break the spell of the Judge’s
- influence over the delegates. He quickly threaded his way to the Apostle’s
- side and escorted him to the speakers’ stand with his arm around his
- waist. He lifted him to the platform, forced the Judge to rise and shake
- hands, and seated Isaac by Butler’s side. The Negroes burst into a frenzy
- of applause.
- </p>
- <p>
- So elated was Isaac by his newly found honours he began to interrupt the
- meeting by fervid religious exclamations to the intense disgust of the
- Judge who squirmed with increasing anger at each new outburst. When Isaac
- recognised any of his dusky acquaintances in the crowd he waved his hand
- and pointed his remarks in that direction.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yas Lawd! De year er juberlee is come, an’ I’se right here!”
- </p>
- <p>
- A loud guffaw would invariably answer his sally.
- </p>
- <p>
- Larkin ostentatiously consulted Isaac from time to time as to the conduct
- of the convention and every Negro watched him spellbound.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge’s henchmen were dismayed at the impending stampede by the
- Carpetbagger. Butler had assured them the night before that they had
- nothing to fear from Larkin. But it was only too apparent that he had
- underestimated his opponent. Larkin’s commanding appearance, his magnetism
- and eloquence, the boldness and evident sincerity of his profession of
- Negro equality were steadily winning adherents.
- </p>
- <p>
- Personally the Judge cut a poor figure beside him with his slouchy
- ill-fitting clothes, his fawning shuffling walk, his drooping head,
- shifting eyes, and his vague professions of platitudes.
- </p>
- <p>
- Butler watched Larkin’s sudden growth of power with sullen rage. He had in
- reserve a weapon which he had found in the Carpetbagger’s English career,
- with which he could crush him at a single blow, but he had not expected to
- be forced to the extreme necessity of using it. For many reasons he wished
- to beat Larkin in an open fight. The weapon he could use was a dangerous
- one. He knew that Larkin had learned the facts concerning his confiscation
- of the Graham estate, and he was not sure how far his resentment would go
- in retaliation for an attack on his personal character. But he determined
- to put a stop to Isaac’s insolence which was rapidly becoming unendurable.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge leaned over toward the enthusiastic Apostle and with a frown
- said:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Shut your mouth and behave yourself!” Isaac subsided with a look of
- injured innocence directed in mute appeal toward Larkin.
- </p>
- <p>
- Again the Carpetbagger saw his opportunity. He approached Isaac, seized
- his hand, slipped his arm around his shoulder and whispered:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Brother, I’m going to make a motion to amend the Judge’s list of
- delegates by substituting six men of colour for six of the poor white men
- he has chosen. I’ll put your name first. Will you make a speech in favour
- of my motion?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dat I will!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then repeat that story of the vision you told me last night, and apply it
- to the Judge—will you do it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Make de movement, an’ I sho’ ye!” whispered Isaac.
- </p>
- <p>
- Larkin’s bold motion, a direct appeal to the Negro to use his power
- against the white man, took the Judge’s breath. He stared at his opponent
- in blank amazement while Larkin smiled at him with good-natured contempt.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And I have asked,” continued the Carpetbagger, “a distinguished leader of
- his race, Mr. Isaac A. Postle, a constituent and neighbour of Judge
- Butler, to address the Convention before the motion is opened to general
- debate. I am sure the Convention will give its unanimous consent to hear
- him.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The roar of applause which greeted this remark left no doubt as to their
- consent. Larkin seized Isaac and drew him before the speaker’s table with
- his arm again affectionately around him.
- </p>
- <p>
- Isaac was in a broad grin and evidently enjoyed his honours. He cleared
- his throat and glanced at the Judge. The Negroes burst into roars of
- laughter and the Apostle lifted his hand solemnly for silence.
- </p>
- <p>
- Butler scowled and shuffled uneasily while Larkin’s face was wreathed in
- smiles.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Gemmens an’ feller citizens!” Isaac began with great deliberation. “I’se
- called by de Lawd dis mawnin’ ter come up on high and expose de vision dat
- I seed in de dead er de night las’ week. I drempt a dream. I dream dat I
- die and go ter heaben. An’ as I wuz gwine long up de hill ter de pearly
- gates who should I meet comin’ down de hill but our good frien’ Judge
- Butler——”
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge gave a sharp little angry cough, pulled his long black whiskers
- and crossed his legs quickly. Isaac glanced at him and walled his eyes at
- the dusky crowd who broke into another roar of laughter.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah!” he went on, “I met Judge Butler comin’ down de hill lookin’
- pow’ful sad. An’ he say ter me:
- </p>
- <p>
- “‘Isaac, whar ye gwine?’
- </p>
- <p>
- “‘Gwine ter heben,’ sezzi.
- </p>
- <p>
- “‘Ye can’t git in!’ sezze.
- </p>
- <p>
- “‘Why so?’ sezzi.
- </p>
- <p>
- “‘Case ye got ter be er ridin’,’ sezze—‘I jes come down frum dar—an’
- hits des lak I tell ye!’
- </p>
- <p>
- “‘Is dat so?’ sezzi.
- </p>
- <p>
- “‘But I tell ye what we kin do, Isaac!’ sezze.
- </p>
- <p>
- “‘I’ll git on yo back an’ ride up to de gate, an’ we bof git in.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dat seem all right ter me fust off so I hump mysef an’ de Jedge git on my
- back, an’ I gallup up de hill ter de pearly gates, an’ de angel Gabul, he
- look over de fence an’ say:
- </p>
- <p>
- “‘Who’s dar?’
- </p>
- <p>
- “‘Hit’s me, Jedge Butler,’ sezze.
- </p>
- <p>
- “‘Ridin’ er walkin’?’ de angel say.
- </p>
- <p>
- “‘Er ridin’!’ sezze.
- </p>
- <p>
- “An’ I chuckled ter myse’f dat I’se er settin my feet in de gates er
- glory!
- </p>
- <p>
- “An’ den de angel say:
- </p>
- <p>
- “‘Des hitch yer hoss outside an’ come in!’
- </p>
- <p>
- “An’ bress God! ef de Jedge didn’t hitch me ter de pos’ on de outside an’
- go in an’ leave me dar!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Again the crowd screamed with laughter. Wave after wave swept them while
- Isaac folded his hands across his little protruding stomach and laughed
- with them. In vain the chairman rapped for order.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge flushed red with anger and called Suggs to his side. Larkin bent
- low his face between his hands, convulsed with laughter.
- </p>
- <p>
- When at length the tumult wore itself out Isaac’s voice rang over the
- assembly in sharp vibrant triumphant tones:
- </p>
- <p>
- “An’ I moves yer, sah, dat we all unanimously second de motion er Brer
- Larkin!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Amid a shout of approval he sat down.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Carpetbagger, elated by his success, determined to make a bolder
- stroke, capture the entire delegation and put the Judge out of the race.
- </p>
- <p>
- He leaped to his feet and launched at once into an eloquent appeal for the
- equal rights of man, meaning, of course, the right of the Negro race to
- rule the white man of the South, the former slave to rule his master. Bold
- as a lion by instinct, he did not quibble over words. He told the Negro
- that his hour had come to strike for his right by force of arms if need
- be. He denounced the Ku Klux Klan in the bitterest terms. Every Negro
- followed his scathing words with breathless attention. For the moment he
- was the veritable prophet of the Most High God. Never before had they
- heard any man in public dare thus to arraign this dreaded order of white
- and scarlet horsemen. Here was their champion whose valiant soul knew not
- the fear of man, ghost, clansman or devil. He was transfigured before
- their yes into the white-haired prophet of the Lord, and they hung on his
- every word as inspired.
- </p>
- <p>
- In another moment he would have made his motion for a solid Negro
- delegation and stampeded the Convention had it not been for the single
- burst of eloquence with which he closed his speech. Just at the moment
- when he held every heart in the dusky host in the hollow of his hand, he
- thundered:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Against the white traitor of the South who has perpetrated these wrongs
- on your defenseless heads I hurl the everlasting curse of God! Only a race
- of dastards and cowards would thus sneak under the cover of night to
- strike their foes!”
- </p>
- <p>
- He had scarcely uttered the words when Billy Graham rushed from the outer
- circle of the crowd where he had sauntered with Mrs. Wilson, surrounded by
- a dozen fun-making youngsters, and ran toward the platform.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Wait a minute!” he said, with uplifted hand, his voice quivering with
- rage.
- </p>
- <p>
- Larkin’s arm dropped; he halted in amazement, every eye fixed on Billy.
- John Graham sprang to his feet with a muttered oath of surprise in time to
- see Billy square himself in front of the speaker and say:
- </p>
- <p>
- “If you think the Southern people a race of cowards and dastards come down
- off that platform and knock this chip off my shoulder, you old
- white-livered cur!”
- </p>
- <p>
- He placed a chip on his shoulder and strutted before Larkin. The
- Carpetbagger was too astonished to reply. He gazed at the boy in confusion
- and muttered an inarticulate protest.
- </p>
- <p>
- Billy jumped on the platform and walked around him like a game bantam,
- crying:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Knock it off—d——— you! knock it off! If you want
- to test it! A dozen of my friends are out there, yours all around you, a
- hundred to one, but knock it off! knock it off!”
- </p>
- <p>
- John Graham had reached the platform by this time, seized Billy and led
- him back through the crowd to Mrs. Wilson who was in hysterics, the boys
- vainly trying to quiet her.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What the devil’s the matter with you—have you gone crazy?” John
- whispered, shaking Billy fiercely. “Go home and behave yourself!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Attend to your own business, John Graham; I’m attending to mine!” was
- Billy’s sullen answer. And without another word he led Mrs. Wilson away
- followed by his companions, while John gazed after him with increasing
- astonishment.
- </p>
- <p>
- In the confusion which followed Billy’s sudden challenge the Judge saw his
- chance. He sprang to his feet and moved to adjourn for dinner. Before
- Larkin could recover himself the motion was carried and the Convention
- adjourned.
- </p>
- <p>
- Butler turned to the Carpetbagger and said:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I wish to see you in my hotel immediately on a matter of the gravest
- importance.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I haven’t time, Judge,” Larkin carelessly answered.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m in no mood to be trifled with,” answered the Judge.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s a waste of time, your Honour—you’re a back number. Why should
- I talk with you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “There’s one reason big enough to interest you,” the Judge answered with
- sinister suggestion.
- </p>
- <p>
- Larkin fixed his opponent a moment with his piercing eyes and said with
- contempt:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll join you in a moment.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge beckoned to Suggs who had hovered near, and the detective handed
- him a package of documents from his inside pocket. The movement was not
- lost on Larkin who was watching his enemy with uneasiness.
- </p>
- <p>
- Suggs accompanied the Judge to his room at the hotel and awaited his call
- outside the door. Larkin looked at him with a scowl as he entered.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge adjusted his slouchy coat, shuffled his feet, and stroked his
- beard with deliberation as Larkin seated himself.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m going to ask you, Larkin,” he began, “to write out your resignation
- as Chairman of our State Executive Committee and withdraw from this race.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The Carpetbagger laughed aloud.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, you are an ass, you fawning, timeserving Scalawag—what do you
- take me for?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “For the criminal adventurer you are!” thundered the Judge.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll not bandy words with you, Butler. I’ve got you now, just where I
- want you. Five minutes more of that Convention and you’ll be a memory as a
- politician. You never had a principle in your life. A professed leader of
- the Republican party in the South composed of Negroes, you loathe the very
- sight of a Negro. You profess to be a Southerner, yet your ear is always
- to the ground to hear the slightest whisper from the lowest breed of
- Yankee demagogues in the North. You lie to the Negro, you lie to the
- Southern white man, you lie to the Yankee. You’re a pusillanimous,
- office-seeking turncoat beneath the contempt of a man. Why did you send
- for me?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “To tell you that it’s time for you to move on, sir!” cried Butler with
- spluttering rage. “You Carpetbag vultures have winged your way into the
- South to tear from the loyal men of native birth the rewards of their long
- patriotic services. Go back to the slums and prison pens of the North
- where you belong!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What do you mean?” Larkin broke in with sudden energy.
- </p>
- <p>
- “That you are a criminal adventurer, sir; that’s what I mean!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Larkin laughed again.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Is that all?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And I have in my pocket the documents to prove that you have never
- acquired citizenship in the State of New York!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “True, but irrelevant. I am a citizen now of this state under the
- Reconstruction Acts, and I’m going to represent the old commonwealth in
- the next Senate while you sink once more into the obscurity your feeble
- intelligence has prepared for you. Is this all you have to say?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, sir, it’s not!” whispered the Judge hoarsely with triumphant malice.
- “I have a letter in my pocket from the warden of the prison in England
- where you served your time, enclosing your photograph.”
- </p>
- <p>
- With a sudden cry of anguish Larkin leaped the distance separating them,
- gripped Butler by the throat, hurled him back in his seat, and held him
- strangling, spluttering, squirming in mortal terror. In a moment he
- released him, sank to a chair and buried his face in his hands.
- </p>
- <p>
- “So! I am your master after all,” the Judge sneered, recovering from his
- terror.
- </p>
- <p>
- Larkin lifted his lion-like head a moment and looked at his opponent.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I give up. I’ll withdraw from the race if you’ll keep my secret.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll make no conditions with you sir; I mean to brand you a felon
- throughout the length and breadth of this land!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Not if you’ve an ounce of manhood in you,” said the Carpetbagger with
- quiet dignity. “You can’t do it when I tell you the truth. Fifteen years
- ago I was an honoured minister of the gospel in Australia. An enemy of
- mine in England published against me an infamous slander. I returned to
- ask reparation. He not only refused to give it but insulted me by a
- dastardly blow in a public assembly. In a moment of insane rage I returned
- his blow with one which resulted in his death. Four months later I found
- myself, a man of culture, refinement and the highest order of social
- talents, a convict in prison garb serving a sentence for manslaughter. I
- emerged more dead than alive—it was late in life, but I lifted up my
- head, sought a new world and began all over again. Once more I’ve shown my
- power as a leader of men. It was born in me—a God-given birthright.
- My hair is white now with the frost of the grave; I’m alone and
- friendless. Put yourself in my place. It’s my last chance. You are twenty
- years younger. I ask your pity, your sympathy, your friendship. Come,
- Judge, you too are a soldier of fortune in conquered territory and have
- your own secrets. Fight me fair.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll fight you with every weapon in my power, fair or foul. You’re in my
- way; get out of it,” sneered the Judge.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You contemptible cur!” cried Larkin. “I could strangle you!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No doubt,” sneered Butler. “If you dared!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Take care, you cowardly dog!” leaped the threat from the lips of the
- Carpetbagger, with a sudden flash of incontrollable rage; and again his
- massive figure towered over the Judge’s slouching form. Butler’s shifting
- eyes blinked in terror as he spluttered:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll keep your secret on one condition!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What is it?” snapped Larkin.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’re a man of genius. Use your talents for me, and we’ll be friends.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You have told no one the facts you have discovered?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No. Suggs knows only of the investigation as to your citizenship.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I accept your terms,” was the quiet answer. The Convention ended in
- unexpected harmony, electing a solid Butler delegation. Larkin lingered in
- town for several days and, to the surprise and uneasiness of the Judge,
- stopped with Uncle Isaac in the little cottage by his gate.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER VII—THE REIGN OF FOLLY
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">W</span>ITHIN two weeks
- Steve Hoyle’s new Klan was organised and in absolute control of the
- Piedmont Congressional District.
- </p>
- <p>
- John Graham saw that his defeat was a certainty and gave up the political
- fight in disgust. But he determined to prevent at all hazards the
- degradation of the Klan into an engine of personal vengeance and criminal
- folly. There was but one way to do it. He dreaded the undertaking, yet
- there was no help for it. He must again fight the devil with fire. The
- reign of terror inaugurated by the Black Union League had made necessary
- the Ku Klux Klan. There must be a power to hold in check Steve’s
- irresponsible gang.
- </p>
- <p>
- He immediately organised in each county a vigilance committee composed of
- the bravest and most reliable members of the old Klan who had refused to
- follow Steve. Over these men he sought to exercise only a moral influence
- as their former Commander-in-chief, save in his own county where his word
- was accepted as law by the surviving veterans of the regiment he had
- commanded in the Civil War.
- </p>
- <p>
- These men he instructed to watch the movements of Steve’s followers, learn
- in advance of their intended raids, break them up by moral suasion if
- possible; by force as a last resort.
- </p>
- <p>
- He had found the task a tremendous one. For the first time he realised the
- terrible meaning of the lawless power of the Klan. The secrecy of their
- movements under his own leadership had been perfect. Yet with his
- knowledge of their methods he had believed it would be comparatively. easy
- to defeat their plans. He found it next to impossible. In spite of the
- utmost vigilance on the part of his committees, the new Klan had
- inaugurated a reign of folly and terror unprecedented in the history of
- the whole Reconstruction saturnalia.
- </p>
- <p>
- They whipped scalawag politicians night after night and drove them from
- the county. They called on carpetbagger postmasters who immediately left
- for parts unknown. They whipped Negroes, young and old, for all sorts of
- wrongdoing, real or fancied, and finally began to regulate the general
- morals of the community. They whipped a rowdy for abusing his wife and on
- the same night tarred and feathered a white girl of low origin who lived
- in the outskirts of town and ran her from the county.
- </p>
- <p>
- The morning after this outrage occurred, John Graham walked into Steve’s
- law office, brushed by his clerks and boldly entered the inner room where
- his enemy was at work.
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve sprang to his feet and his hand instinctively sought the revolver in
- his hip pocket.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You needn’t be alarmed; I’m not ready for you yet,” said John, his eyes
- holding Steve’s with their steady light.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, I’m ready for you,” was the quick retort. “What do you want?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Merely to give you a little advice this morning.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “When I need your advice, I’ll let you know.”
- </p>
- <p>
- John closed the door.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Your men are covering the name of the Ku Klux Klan with infamy,” John
- went on evenly. “If you have even the rudiments of common sense you must
- know that within a few weeks these fools will be beyond your control.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I haven’t felt the need of your help as yet,” interrupted Steve.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, but I’m generous. I volunteer to anticipate the needs of your weak
- intelligence.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “John Graham,” Steve broke in angrily, “if you have anything to say to me,
- say it, and get out of this room!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I will say it, my boy, and—don’t—you—forget it!” John
- answered with quiet emphasis, taking a step closer to his rival. “I’m
- close on the track of the men who are at present terrorising this county.
- I’ll come up with them some night and there’ll be business for the coroner
- next day. Dare to permit another outrage of a personal character in this
- county and I’ll find your men if I drag the bottom of hell for them, and
- when I do, I’ll hang them to a tree in front of your door. And—mark
- you—if I fail to find them I’ll—hold—you—personally—responsible!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Before Steve could reply he turned on his heel, slammed the door and left.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER VIII—THE MASQUERADERS
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">I</span>MMEDIATELY
- following the interview with Steve the character of the raids of the new
- Klan changed to harmless pranks and practical jokes on impudent Negroes,
- scalawags and carpetbaggers, and John Graham observed it with a sigh of
- relief. Some of these escapades he could have enjoyed himself—particularly
- a call they made on the Apostle of Sanctification.
- </p>
- <p>
- Uncle Isaac had greatly increased his prestige and following since the
- sensational speech he made in the County Convention and his public
- association with Larkin.
- </p>
- <p>
- Following up his victory over the seven devils in Aunt Julie Ann, he had
- begun a series of revival meetings in the Northern Methodist church,
- calling its members to come up still higher. With each night his fervour
- and eloquence had increased. On this particular evening he attained
- unheard-of heights of inspiration, and announced not only his sinless
- perfection and his apostolic call, but the more startling fact that he was
- in daily personal communication with Jehovah himself. Amid a chorus of
- “Amens” and “Glory hallelujahs” from the sisters he boldly declared:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Hear de Lawd’s messenger! I come straight from him. De Lawd come every
- day ter my house. I sees him wid my own eyes. De debbil he doan pester me
- no mo. I’se de Lawd’s sanctified one. I done wipe my weepin’ eyes an’ gone
- up on high. Will ye come wid me breddren an’ sisters! I walk in de cool er
- de mawnin an’ de shank er de even’ wid de Lawd and de Lawd walks wid me.
- An’ I ain’t er skeered er nuttin in heaben above er hell below.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He had scarcely uttered the words when a white-robed ghost, fully ten feet
- high, walked solemnly down the aisle. There was a moment of awful silence.
- Isaac’s jaw dropped in speechless terror. A sister in the amen corner
- screamed, and the Apostle sprang through the window behind the pulpit
- without a word, carrying the sash with him. In a minute the church was
- empty and the revival of Sanctification came to an untimely end.
- </p>
- <p>
- It soon became the fashion for these merry masqueraders to call in groups
- on the pretty girls in town with the offer of their knightly protection.
- Frequently they spent the evening dancing and making merry, always in full
- disguise, guarding with the utmost care their identity. The mystery
- attending such visits, their secret signs and passwords, and the thrilling
- call of their whistles gave to these performances a peculiar atmosphere of
- romance and daring, and their visits came to be prized by the fair ones as
- tributes to their beauty and popularity.
- </p>
- <p>
- A sign of invitation was devised by order of the leader of the raiders and
- posted one night on the bulletin board of the post office. The girl who
- wished the honour of such a call had only to express it by walking through
- the main street to the post office with a scarlet bow of ribbon tied on
- her left arm, and on the night following, promptly at ten o’clock, the
- knights on their white-robed horses would call.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella Butler had immediately become the most popular girl in Independence
- in spite of her father’s politics. Her beauty was resistless. Every boy on
- whom she chose to smile was at once her friend and champion. The old
- Graham house became the most popular meeting place of the youth and beauty
- of the town, and the only men not welcome there were its real owner and
- his pugnacious younger brother.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella was fairly intoxicated with her social victory. Steve led in the
- devoted circle of her admirers, each day pressing his suit with humble and
- dogged persistence. She smiled in triumph at his abject surrender but
- continued to keep him at arm’s length, showering her favours on all who
- were worth while.
- </p>
- <p>
- She determined to crown her social leadership with a unique fancy dress
- ball by inviting the Klan masqueraders to dance with a select group of her
- girl friends at her home. The Klan itself was too deep a mystery for her
- to note the difference in the character of the raids since the night its
- gallant horsemen had cheered at her father’s gate. She only knew in a
- general way that the Klan was born in the unconquered and unconquerable
- spirit of the old Bourbon South, the South of her mother, the only South
- worth cultivating socially.
- </p>
- <p>
- So when the Judge’s beautiful daughter, radiant and smiling, walked down
- the main street of Independence with the scarlet sign of the Klan on her
- left arm, she paralysed the business of the town. Every clerk stopped work
- and took his stand at the door or window until she was out of sight.
- </p>
- <p>
- Her name was on every lip. If the raiders should accept her invitation,
- and appear at the old Graham mansion the evening following, the Judge
- would be in the anomalous position of a host who seeks the life of his
- guests. For the destruction of the Klan by exile, imprisonment and death
- had become the main plank in his political platform under Larkin’s
- guidance.
- </p>
- <p>
- Before Stella reached home the town was in a ferment of excitement to know
- whether the Judge had given his consent to this daring act. The older
- heads were sure that it was a child’s thoughtless whim and that Butler
- would promptly and vigorously repudiate it.
- </p>
- <p>
- John stood in the shadow by the window of his office and watched her pass
- in anguish. He saw in this invitation the complete triumph of the man he
- was coming to hate with deeper loathing than he had ever felt for her
- father. He was sure it was an inspiration of Steve Hoyle.
- </p>
- <p>
- He observed old Larkin talking earnestly to Isaac on the other side of the
- street, and began to regret that the regiment of United States troops had
- been removed on the Carpetbagger’s advice.
- </p>
- <p>
- Were they here, he would suggest to the Judge that they be stationed about
- his home to-morrow night and those masked fools be kept out. He resented
- such a masquerade, not only because it was a travesty of the tragic drama
- in which he had played a part, but because he felt a deep sense of
- foreboding over the possible outcome of the affair. However harmless the
- intentions of the leaders of such a prank, there was always the chance of
- a drunken fool among them.
- </p>
- <p>
- “My God,” he exclaimed with a shiver of dread, “what will happen if the
- Judge in an ugly stupid temper encounters one of those masked fools
- maddened by drink!”
- </p>
- <p>
- He sat down and hastily wrote a note of warning to Butler without a
- signature, tore it up in anger and threw it in his waste basket.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Bah! it’s nonsense!” he muttered in rage. “Her father is in no danger.
- The trouble is with me—I’m jealous, jealous, jealous! of the men who
- can see her. I want to dance with her myself. I’m mad with a passion I
- dare not breathe aloud.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Yet the longer he brooded over the thing, the keener became his sense of
- its dangers and the more oppressive the fear that it would result in a
- tragedy.
- </p>
- <p>
- He sat down and rewrote his warning to the Judge, crossed the street and
- dropped the letter in the post office.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER IX—A COUNTER STROKE
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">W</span>HEN John returned
- to’ his desk he found Dan Wiley standing in the middle of the room pulling
- his long black moustache with unusual energy.
- </p>
- <p>
- The young lawyer seated himself and motioned the mountaineer to a chair.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No time ter fool.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Steve’s gang from up in the hills in my township is on the way ter
- Independence. They’re goin’ ter raid old Sam Nickaroshinski, the Jew
- storekeeper, and rob ’im ter-night.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Nonsense, Dan, they haven’t got that low.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Hit’s jest like I tell ye. They’re a gang of flightin’ drunken devils.
- They’ll do anything. I got a man to join ’em, an’ he gimme the
- whole plot. Steve Hoyle don’t know nothin’ about it no more than their
- township leader does.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Did you bring your men?” John asked. “Yes, a half dozen. They ain’t but
- six er.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What’s up?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Hell’s afloat and the river’s a risin!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Them skunks comin’. Our fellers are lyin’ out in the woods at the spring
- where we met you the last time.”
- </p>
- <p>
- John leaped to his feet with a sudden resolution.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll join you at eight o’clock to-night and we’ll give the gentlemen from
- the hills an unexpected reception.” He seized his hat and closed his
- office. As Dan turned to go he gave the low quick order:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Gags and ropes for six. Lay low and don’t let anybody know you’re in
- town.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I understand,” said the mountaineer, with a grin.
- </p>
- <p>
- “John hurried home, and found to his annoyance that Mrs. Wilson had gone
- buggy riding with Billy and left the entire work of the house to Susie.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I hate to put more responsibility on your beautiful young shoulders, Miss
- Susie,” John said hurriedly, “but I must beg you to stop your work and
- make me a regalia for a little parade to-night—you understand—will
- you do it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “With pleasure,” was the smiling answer. “I’ll forgive Mama her idiotic
- trip with Billy for this chance to serve you.” She looked tenderly into
- John’s eyes.
- </p>
- <p>
- Before sundown the costume was finished and fitted to the tall figure by
- Susie’s swift and gentle hands and the last scrap of the cloth gathered up
- and piled in her work-basket before the first boarder arrived. Supper was
- an hour late, but Susie was singing at her work when Mrs. Wilson and Billy
- returned after dark.
- </p>
- <p>
- Nickaroshinski’s cottage was situated on the edge of a deep forest two
- miles out of town. It was a well-known fact that the old Jew walked to and
- from his store every morning and evening alone. And it was popularly
- believed that he hoarded his money under the floor of his bedroom.
- </p>
- <p>
- Had any other man than Dan Wiley reported to John Graham such a projected
- raid, it would have been beyond his belief. The old Jew was on good terms
- with everybody. A refugee from Poland, his instinctive sympathies had
- always been with the oppressed people of the South, and to their cause he
- had faithfully given what influence he possessed.
- </p>
- <p>
- The idea of such an atrocity by men wearing the uniform of his Klan roused
- John to the highest pitch of indignation. He was determined to make an
- example of these scoundrels that would not be forgotten.
- </p>
- <p>
- The stars were shining brightly when he started with his men to the old
- Jew’s place.
- </p>
- <p>
- It was with a queer consciousness of the irony of fate that he galloped
- through the shadows to strike horsemen who were wearing the uniform of the
- mysterious order he had helped to create. The wind freshened and grew
- chill, heavy clouds obscuring the sky. The darkness became intense.
- </p>
- <p>
- He carefully placed his men in positions to guard every approach to the
- house, and walked to the door to warn the Jew of his danger and arrange
- for the capture of the raiders.
- </p>
- <p>
- A sudden crash and groan within told him only too plainly that the
- scoundrels were already inside.
- </p>
- <p>
- Gathering his men John closed in on the house. As he expected they had put
- out no pickets, never dreaming that they would be molested. They had bound
- Nickaroshinski, beaten him unmercifully and tortured him until they had
- secured his money and, not satisfied, had begun to smash things to pieces.
- </p>
- <p>
- Looking through the window John saw that their costumes were exactly like
- his own and that the six men had scattered through the house bent on
- plundering every nook and corner. Knowing that it would be impossible for
- them to distinguish their own men from his, he made at once his plan to
- capture the crowd without a struggle. Stationing his own six men at the
- front door, he took Dan Wiley and boldly entered the room where the leader
- stood covering the Jew with his revolver.
- </p>
- <p>
- Without a word they walked toward him in the dim light.
- </p>
- <p>
- Merely glancing at them the leader growled: “Finish up and let’s get away
- from here!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “All right,” John answered coming closer, “I’m getting in a hurry myself.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Before he knew what they meant, Dan pounced on him and pinioned his arms
- while John quickly covered his mouth and fixed the gag.
- </p>
- <p>
- It was but the work of a moment to tie the wretch and pass him out the
- door to the grim figures waiting. They repeated this performance in each
- room until all but two had been taken. These two were together. John
- suddenly blew his whistle giving the Klan signal “Follow me.” When they
- entered the room two revolvers were suddenly thrust under their noses.
- They surrendered without a struggle.
- </p>
- <p>
- John quickly released the old man, bound his wounds, restored his money
- and left with his prisoners.
- </p>
- <p>
- Each of them were given forty lashes and the next morning when Steve Hoyle
- woke he found six stripe-marked half-naked men gagged and bleeding
- dangling by their arms from the limbs of the trees on his lawn. Around the
- neck of each hung a placard: “A warning to the scoundrels who are
- disgracing the uniform of the Ku Klux Klan in this county.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER X—THE STRENGTH OF THE WEAK
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">S</span>TEVE HOYLE had cut
- down his men and hustled them out of town before eight o’clock, but the
- news rapidly spread and had thrown the people into a tremor of wonder as
- to the meaning of the events of the night. Evidently there had been a
- clash of forces within the ranks of the Invisible Empire. What did it
- mean?
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve had lost no time in explaining to the desperadoes from the hills
- what they wished to know, and they had left with deep muttered curses
- against their former Commander-in-chief.
- </p>
- <p>
- The outrage on Nickaroshinski had aroused the fiercest passions between
- the friends of John Graham and Steve Hoyle. Excited groups stood on every
- corner and it was with the utmost difficulty that John succeeded finally
- in dispersing them without a clash.
- </p>
- <p>
- At one o’clock Larkin called at the old Graham mansion and announced to
- Aunt Julie Ann his desire to see the Judge.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ye can’t see ’im,” was her contemptuous answer.
- </p>
- <p>
- Larkin had captured Isaac, but his influence had not reached his wife. For
- any white man who stayed at a Negro’s house her contempt was beyond words.
- That the house happened to be her husband’s only aggravated the offence.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I must see him,” urged Larkin.
- </p>
- <p>
- “He’s in bed sick, I tell ye!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But you had’nt told me,” protested the Carpetbagger.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well I tells ye now. De Judge ain’t lif’ his head offen de piller ter
- day. De ghosts wuz here agin las’ night—an’ you’d better be a movin
- ‘fore Miss Stella find you here. She sick de dog on you.” Larkin took a
- threatening step toward her and said in low tones:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Shut your mouth, and tell the Judge I’m here to see him on important
- business. I’m not going out of this house until I do see him. Tell him
- so.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Aunt Julie Ann turned muttering and slowly climbed the stairs to Butler’s
- room.
- </p>
- <p>
- In a moment the Judge came down, hastily dressed in a faded slouchy
- dressing-gown and a pair of bedroom slippers.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Is it possible,” exclaimed Larkin, “that you know nothing of what’s
- happened here within the past twenty-four hours?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ve been sick in bed. Haven’t left the house,” was the nervous reply.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, it’s time you knew at least what is going on in the house.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge shivered and glanced up into the galleries.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What do you mean?” he feebly asked.
- </p>
- <p>
- Larkin rapidly sketched to him the events which had thrown the town into a
- ferment.
- </p>
- <p>
- “But what I called for,” observed the Carpetbagger, “was to enquire, as
- your political adviser, whether you really intend to permit your daughter
- to receive here to-night this gang of masked cutthroats as your guests?”
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge rose trembling.
- </p>
- <p>
- “My daughter receive the Ku Klux Klan here to-night?” he gasped.
- </p>
- <p>
- “She has invited them, and in spite of the excitement it is rumoured that
- they will promptly appear in full costume at ten o’clock.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Impossible, Larkin, impossible! They won’t dare such a thing. Besides, of
- course, my daughter will stop it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “How can she stop it? Her invitation was by their sign of the scarlet bow.
- They have devised no signal to stop such a festival.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “She must find a way at once,” cried the Judge excitedly, “otherwise we
- must wire for troops.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s too late.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “We’ll order a special if necessary. I’ll call my daughter at once.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Larkin rose as if to go.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Wait,” continued the Judge, “I wish you to be present.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He summoned Maggie, sent for Stella, and picked up his mail lying on the
- centre table, and opened it with fumbling nervous fingers while awaiting
- his daughter’s appearance.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Carpetbagger smiled contemptuously at his lack of good breeding, and
- studied the room while the Judge read his letters.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I see here some friend has written me a warning against the dangers of
- such a meeting,” cried Butler, his beady eyes dancing with excitement. “We
- must stop it, Larkin, we must stop it!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Maggie slowly descended the stairs.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, well, where’s your mistress?” spluttered the Judge.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Miss Stella say she busy tryin’ on a dress an’ she can’t come now.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Butler turned on Maggie with sudden fury.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Go back, you little black imp of the devil, and tell her to come down
- immediately! Immediately, I say!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah! Yassah!” Maggie panted. She turned back up the stairs jumping
- three steps at a time, and fell sprawling across the top landing. She
- reached Stella’s room gasping for breath.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella turned leisurely from her mirror.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What on earth’s the matter, Maggie?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “De Jedge say ef you doan come dar dis minute he gwine ter come up here
- and slap yo head off!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “As bad as that, Maggie?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassam. He flung a big book at me an’ hit me right in the head jes case I
- tell ’im what you say. Didn’t ye hear it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella continued deliberately curling the ringlets about the edges of her
- raven hair.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Go back and tell him I’ll be down in a minute.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassum. I spec he kill me dis time.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella finished her hair, sat down by the window and read a novel for ten
- minutes and then slowly descended the stairs.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge sat slouching low in his chair, and Larkin rose with the
- instinctive impulse of a gentleman on Stella’s appearance.
- </p>
- <p>
- The girl stared coldly at her father, noted his dressing-gown, turned
- hastily toward the stairs and began to ascend.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Excuse me,” she said to him with pointed insolence, “I thought you were
- waiting to receive me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Look here, my child, I’ve no time for silly nonsense!” the Judge
- exclaimed, adjusting the folds of his slouchy robe.
- </p>
- <p>
- “When you have completed your toilet,” she said with a sneering little
- smile, “I’ll come at once. Please let me know.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Stella!” sternly called her father.
- </p>
- <p>
- The girl continued without turning her head and disappeared on the floor
- above.
- </p>
- <p>
- “A stickler for social forms, Larkin,” said the Judge petulantly, rising.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I see,” said the Carpetbagger with amusement. “I’ll have to humour her.
- Wait for me. We must stop it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- When at length the Judge returned and confronted Stella he was unnerved,
- while she stood staring at him with a hard glitter in her great brown
- eyes, complete mistress of every faculty she possessed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “My child,” began Butler, “Larkin tells me that you have invited the Ku
- Klux raiders to dance here to-night.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I have,” was the cool answer.
- </p>
- <p>
- “But my dear, you should have consulted me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You made me the mistress of this house; why should I consult you about a
- harmless social gathering of my friends?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “The Klan is a secret order of assassins and desperadoes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Please father, don’t!” she interrupted. “Your politics disgust me. These
- boys are of the best families in town.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “How can you know this?” pleaded the Judge. “They come disguised. Not one
- of them has ever made himself known.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Which makes the romance of such a visit all the deeper.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And its dangers all the greater, my child. Mr. Larkin has come to warn
- me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I agree with your father, Miss Stella,” said Larkin with a grave bow.
- </p>
- <p>
- The girl tossed her head with contempt.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And I have in my hand a letter of warning from an unknown friend,”
- continued Butler.
- </p>
- <p>
- “But you are not really afraid?” cried the girl with scorn. “I refuse to
- believe my own father the contemptible coward your enemies have called
- you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Have you heard of the criminal outrages committed last night by those
- masked raiders?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “They do not interest me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You must remember, my dear, that I have sworn to send these men to the
- gallows.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I can’t help your political bluster. I refuse to sacrifice my social
- career and insult my friends for your dirty politics.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And you can not see that the presence of these masked men in this house
- would be a mortal insult to me?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Certainly not. A crowd of gay masqueraders who come to do me honour.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You must stop it, my child.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It is impossible now. My friends are getting ready. I’ve hired a band.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You refuse to respect my wishes?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I refuse to make a fool of myself!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Come, my dear, you must be reasonable. I know I’ve spoiled you. I’ve
- loved you too well. I’ve indulged every whim of your heart and allowed you
- to rule me, but you can’t do this absurd and dangerous thing. You forget
- that you are not only making a fool of me but that you are putting my life
- in jeopardy.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll assume the responsibility!” she broke in, drawing herself up with
- pride. “If you receive the slightest insult or a hair of your head is
- harmed I’ll give my life to avenge it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You persist?” asked her father with a scowl. “I do,” flashed the answer.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge rose, hesitated a moment and then said with stern determination:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then for the first time in my life, I forbid you a thing on which you
- have set your heart. These masked men shall not enter my house!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella’s eyes flashed fire.
- </p>
- <p>
- “They shall come!” she cried.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Larkin,” said the Judge, turning to the Carpetbagger, “I shall have to
- ask you to go to the telegraph office and order the troops here on a
- special. Ask them to protect me to-night from these assassins.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella’s figure suddenly stiffened with incontrollable rage. She clenched
- her fists and sprang in front of her father screaming.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Don’t you dare insult me by applying such epithets to my friends! If you
- are my father, you are a poltroon and a coward!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Stella, my darling!” gasped the Judge.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Don’t you call me darling! Don’t you dare to speak to me again! I’ll
- leave this house and blot your very name from my memory!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Butler staggered back in dumb amazement and Larkin watched with a curious
- smile playing about the corners of his piercing eyes.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella stamped her foot, turned, and bounded up the stairs and into her
- room, slammed the door and began to scream.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge stood for a moment in speechless horror. He had never crossed
- her imperious will before and he was utterly unprepared for her mad
- outburst. He loved her with all the tenderness of which his low nature was
- capable, and had never seen a woman in hysterics. He had therefore no
- standard by which to measure how much of pure devil and how much of real
- suffering were mingled in her cries. Each piercing scream tore his heart.
- He turned helplessly to Larkin and asked: “What shall I do?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Excuse me Judge, I can’t advise you in such a matter,” the Carpetbagger
- replied. “But I think you’ll have to summon a doctor.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “My God, is she in danger?” he asked, in a stupor of pain. “I’ll go up and
- see.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He shuffled up the stairs as quickly as possible, and hurried into her
- room without knocking.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella sprang from the bed where she lay moaning, laughing and crying, and
- flew at him, stamping and screaming:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Don’t you come near me. Don’t you touch me! Don’t you speak to me! Get
- out of this room!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But my dear,” stammered the Judge.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Get out of this room—get out of this room! or I’ll jump out of that
- window and kill myself!” She seized him by the arm, hustled and pushed him
- out of the door, slammed and locked it. Again she threw herself on the bed
- and burst into strangling groans.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge retreated to the hall below, his eyes filled with tears, his
- heart sick with terror. He dropped into a seat, covered his face with his
- hands and sat for a moment in stupid pain.
- </p>
- <p>
- Maggie suddenly plunged down the stairs yelling:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Goddermighty, ye better run fur de doctor quick—Miss Stella dying!
- She done choke ter death!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll bring the doctor,” said Larkin, rising quickly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Run and bring Aunt Julie Ann!” whispered the Judge to Maggie.
- </p>
- <p>
- The maid met Aunt Julie Ann who had heard the commotion and the two
- hurried back to Stella’s room.
- </p>
- <p>
- When the doctor came she refused to see him, and he left in a rage. The
- Judge begged Larkin to stay until he could see his daughter.
- </p>
- <p>
- An hour later, propped up in bed with Maggie rubbing one hand and Aunt
- Julie Ann the other, she permitted her father to enter and receive her
- pardon. The Judge knelt by the bedside, kissed her hand and wet it with
- tears. His surrender was abject. He sent Larkin away and promised to be
- present at the ball and treat the whole thing as a schoolboys’ frolic.
- </p>
- <p>
- And then she smiled and kissed him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “If I’m only strong enough to dress by ten o’clock!” she cried, laughing.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Try to eat something, dear,” urged her father.
- </p>
- <p>
- She promised and asked Aunt Julie Ann to send her a little soup. She got
- the soup and with it a substantial meal.
- </p>
- <p>
- Still and catlike, Maggie watched her eat it down to the last crumb with
- quiet enjoyment. When the black maid picked up the tray she walled her
- eyes first at the empty dishes and then at her wonderful little mistress
- and softly giggled.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XI—THROUGH THE SECRET PANEL
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">A</span>S THE hour
- approached for the masqueraders to appear at the Judge’s John Graham was
- drawn to the spot by an irresistible impulse. He stood in the shadows of
- the trees on the sidewalk and watched the little squadron of white and
- scarlet horsemen wheel into the gate past Isaac’s cottage, and gallop
- swiftly up to the front door of the old mansion.
- </p>
- <p>
- They had scarcely passed when Isaac suddenly stepped from the shrubbery
- through the open gateway and ran into him.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Apostle gasped in terror:
- </p>
- <p>
- “De Lawd, marse John, I thought you wuz one er dem ghostes—‘scuse
- me, sah, I’se er gettin’ away from here!”
- </p>
- <p>
- John made no reply, merely watching him until he disappeared.
- </p>
- <p>
- Again he turned toward the house. Every window was gleaming with light.
- The subdued strains of a string band came stealing through the trailing
- roses on the porch, and he fancied he could catch the odour of the flowers
- in their sweet notes. Scarcely knowing what he did, he strolled into the
- lawn and sank on a rustic bench with a groan. He could hear the gay banter
- of the masqueraders and the peals of girlish laughter with which their
- tomfoolery was being received.
- </p>
- <p>
- A mocking bird began singing in the tree above him, roused by the music of
- the band. Far off in the corner of the lawn in the clump of holly and
- cedars at the entrance of the vault a whippoorwill was making the ravine
- ring with the weird notes of his ghost-like call. The moon flooded the
- scene with silvery splendour. Crushed with a sense of loneliness and
- failure, he felt to-night that he would give all the wealth and honours of
- the earth for one touch of the hand of the girl whose laughter lingered
- and echoed in his heart. And again the feeling of impending disaster
- overwhelmed him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Of course it’s nonsense!” he kept repeating to himself. “The disaster is
- within. I’m merely a wounded animal caught in a trap, bleeding and dying
- of thirst, and no one knows or cares, and I can’t cry for help.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He tried to rise and go. But something held him in a silent spell to the
- spot. He sat dreaming out each movement of the gay drama in progress
- within.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella had welcomed her white-robed guests without the aid of a servant.
- No Negro could be hired for love or money to approach one of these ghostly
- figures. Maggie had hidden in the closet in her mistress’ room and Aunt
- Julie Ann had barred herself inside the kitchen and refused to answer a
- call.
- </p>
- <p>
- In spite of these little annoyances the beautiful young mistress of the
- Graham house, resplendent in her ball dress costume, was in her gayest
- mood.
- </p>
- <p>
- When the shrill whistles rang their summons at the door, she hastened to
- greet her mysterious guests.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And your name, Sir Knight?” she asked the leader with bantering laughter.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We are Ghouls! And come from beyond the river Styx, my lady!” solemnly
- answered the tall white figure.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Welcome shades of Darkness, welcome back to the world of joy and light,
- song and dance, life and love!” Stella cried, extending her hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- When they had tied their horses to the posts beside the wide driveway they
- slowly entered single file into the great hall. Stella, assisted by Susie
- Wilson, who had become her fast friend, greeted each of them with words of
- gay welcome.
- </p>
- <p>
- They were dressed in the regulation raider’s costume of the Klan. The
- white flowing ulsterlike robe came within three inches of the floor. A
- scarlet belt circled the waist, from either side of which hung heavy
- revolvers in leather holsters. A dagger was attached to the centre of the
- belt, and the scarlet-lined white cape thrown back on the shoulders
- revealed their militant trappings with startling distinctness. On each
- breast was wrought the emblem of the Invisible Empire, the scarlet circle,
- and in its centre a white cross. Spiked helmets of white cloth with
- flowing masks reached to the cape on each shoulder, completely covering
- the head and face. With red gauntlets to complete their costume, the
- disguise was absolute. The only visible part of the body was the eye,
- gleaming with a strange steady supernatural brilliance through the holes
- cut in the mask. It was a curious fact that all eyes looked alike in the
- shadows of these trappings at night. They were simply flashing points of
- living light with all traces of colour lost in the shadows.
- </p>
- <p>
- In spite of the fact that the girls felt they had nothing to fear from the
- white figures, it was with a tremor of excitement they each greeted the
- mysterious partners of their dance.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella left them talking romantic nonsense of knights and tournaments,
- ghouls and ghosts in the hall and ran up to her father’s room.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh! Papa,” she cried with childish glee. “It’s such fun! They’re all
- here. You will come down and join the party as you promised?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, yes, dear, I’ll come, presently,” said the Judge with evident dread.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella slipped her beautiful bare arm around his neck and her cheek rested
- against his, while the soft little fingers found his hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m awfully sorry I was so ugly to-day,” she said gently. “But I couldn’t
- help it. I didn’t know I had such a temper. I must have gotten it from you
- Dad.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s all right, my darling, if you’ll never say such bitter things to me
- again—will you?” he asked tenderly, tears filling his eyes.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, I’ll be good now, if you’ll forgive me?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Her father answered with a kiss. “You see, you’re all I have in the world,
- my little girlie. I’m not as strong as I used to be. I don’t think I’m
- going to live long.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Rubbish! you’ve just got the blues. Shake them off and be young again
- to-night. Imagine you are a boy here with mother the sweetheart you’re
- trying to steal from the proud rich people who hate you—come, come!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge smiled in spite of himself. Her mood was contagious. He stroked
- her hand gently.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll be down right away. Run on and have a good time.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “All right, I’ll start the first dance and you’ll be there by the time
- it’s over and shake hands with your enemies. It will be so jolly!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Throwing him a kiss she returned to the hall below and led her guests into
- the big double parlours which had been fitted up for dancing. The French
- windows, opening as doors on the porches, were raised, and the band
- stationed outside near one of them.
- </p>
- <p>
- When the dance had begun the Judge, dressed in his usual broadcloth frock
- coat which hung in slouching lines from his drooping shoulders, slowly
- descended the stairs and stood embarrassed and hesitating in the hall a
- moment, and sat down by the centre table.
- </p>
- <p>
- A masquerader came in from the ball room for the fan his partner had left,
- and so soft was his footfall the Judge did not hear or see him until the
- tall white figure suddenly loomed above him to pick up the fan.
- </p>
- <p>
- The apparition was so startling the Judge’s nerves collapsed. He leaped to
- his feet with an inarticulate cry of terror, overturning his chair and
- started to bolt for the door.
- </p>
- <p>
- The masquerader smothered a laugh and said:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I beg your pardon, I only wanted the fan.” Butler stammered:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ah—I—must have been dreaming—you—startled me!”
- </p>
- <p>
- He watched the white figure disappear, mopped the perspiration from his
- brow, called Aunt Julie Ann and ordered her to bring him a drink of
- whiskey. She refused to stir at first, but he threatened to discharge her,
- and she obeyed.
- </p>
- <p>
- When the Judge raised the glass to his lips his hand trembled so violently
- that he spilled some of the liquor on his clothes. He gulped it down and
- glanced nervously about the hall.
- </p>
- <p>
- He placed the glass back on the tray and Aunt Julie Ann, watching the
- parlour-door like a hawk, started back to the kitchen on a run.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Wait a moment,” cried the Judge, shuffling to his feet.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I ain’t gwine stay in here wid dem things in de house,” she answered,
- halting timidly in the shadows of the door leading into the dining-room.
- </p>
- <p>
- Butler walked to her side and said:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Tell Miss Stella I’m not feeling well—I’m going to bed.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He hesitated a moment. “You’ve said nothing to any one about this ghost
- business?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Hush, man, hush! Don’t talk about dat now!” she whispered. “I tole dat
- ole whiteheaded Larkin—dat’s all.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, I want to warn you, don’t mention it to another living soul. I’m
- beginning to suspect that we’ve been seeing old Major Graham himself!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “De Lawd er mussy, man, how he bin gittin’ in de house wid all de doors
- and windows locked an’ bolted?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “That’s a mystery I can’t fathom.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, ner nobody else. Hit’s his sperit I tells ye.”
- </p>
- <p>
- While they were talking thus in the alcove the oak panel under the stairs
- was softly opened and closed; old Major Graham, dressed with scrupulous
- care, thin and pale as a corpse, yet erect and dignified, walked slowly
- across the hall to the foot of the stairs. His lips were muttering
- inarticulate sounds and his wide staring eyes had the far-off look of the
- dreamer who lives, breathes and moves, yet sees nothing.
- </p>
- <p>
- Butler’s back was to the Major, and Aunt Julie Ann, hearing the footsteps,
- was first to see him. She staggered against the wall and gasped:
- </p>
- <p>
- “God, save us, dar he is now!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Butler glanced over his shoulder and backed against the huge figure of the
- cook, trembling.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Look—look!” he whispered. “It is old Graham. Watch his thin bony
- fingers grip the rail as he climbs the steps!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Hit’s his livin’ ghost I tell ye!” persisted Aunt Julie Ann. “He’ll walk
- right out on de roof an’ step off’n de house des like he does every night—you
- won’t see’ ’im again.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Get some more whiskey!” said the Judge. “I’ll go with you”—he
- added, following her into the dining room, mopping the perspiration from
- his brow.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll go up there in a minute and find out the truth!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Better keep outen dat attic I tells ye. Dey say dat de ghosts er de
- livin’ is wuss dan de dead.” They had scarcely passed from the hall when
- the oak panel again opened and a white masked figure peered through, and
- quickly entered.
- </p>
- <p>
- The dress was an exact duplicate of the masqueraders down to its minutest
- details, and only the closest observer would have noted the awkward way in
- which the figure moved as though not in the habit of walking in his
- disguise.
- </p>
- <p>
- He quickly glanced about the hall, listened a moment to the sounds of
- revelry in the ballroom, closed the door of the small hall leading into
- it, reopened the panel and signalled.
- </p>
- <p>
- In rapid succession eight more silent figures filed through the panel
- door. The leader whispered to his followers:
- </p>
- <p>
- “He’s in the dining room. Guard every entrance now but that.”
- </p>
- <p>
- In a moment a masked man stood guard at each door and the leader lowered
- the lamp on the table until only the dim outlines of the forms could be
- seen, and stepped back himself into the shadows of the alcove by the
- dining room door.
- </p>
- <p>
- Aunt Julie Ann returned to the kitchen, and the Judge, afraid to go
- upstairs, came back into the hall to enter the ballroom as he promised
- Stella.. As he passed through the door of the dining room the shrouded
- figure standing in the alcove quickly followed, cutting off this retreat.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge stopped, blinked his eyes around the dim hall and muttered:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, why, the lamp’s gone out!” He quickly crossed the space to the table
- and extended his hand to turn up the lamp.
- </p>
- <p>
- The figure behind him seized his arm and a guttural voice spoke through
- the mask:
- </p>
- <p>
- “There’s light enough for our work, Judge.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Butler staggered back in terror and glanced about him at the dim spectres
- closing around the table. With an effort he pulled himself together and
- stammered:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, of course, boys. I see! I see! You’re going to initiate me! give me
- the third degree first—I see—a good joke!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’ll find it a serious joke before you’re through,” replied the leader,
- gripping his dagger.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge could see the movement of his hand as he slowly drew the knife
- from its sheath, the blade glistening for an instant in the dim lamplight,
- but he still thought the boys were playing a prank on him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, gentlemen, have your fun!” he cried with forced gaiety, “Have your
- way, I’m at your service. What is the penalty I must pay to-night for my
- many sins against the Klan?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “The penalty is your life,” said the mask with sullen menace in his tones,
- stepping closer, “unless you agree to leave this state to-morrow and never
- enter it again—will you go?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “So bad as that?” The Judge forced a laugh. “What else?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You are not fooling with boys now!” sullenly said the towering white
- form. “Give me your answer, you d———d old sneaking
- coward! Will you go or do you prefer to die?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Butler, trembling now with mingled terror and rage, cried angrily:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Gentlemen, your joke is going too far!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’ll go farther,” was the quick reply, as the white figures closed in
- threateningly and the foremost man moved as if to raise his hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Enough of this! Get out of my house!” Butler suddenly shouted, snatching
- the mask from the leader’s head by a quick unexpected display of courage.
- A cry of horror and surprise leaped from his lips. The knife flashed, and
- was buried in his heart. He reeled, staggered, clutched a chair and sank
- with a groan to a sitting posture. His long awkward arms drooped and his
- head sank slowly on his breast.
- </p>
- <p>
- The leader, who had quickly replaced his helmet, bent over him a moment,
- sheathed his knife and said:
- </p>
- <p>
- “A good stroke—all right—quick now—open the doors and
- follow me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The guard at the door leading into the ballroom opened it gently and the
- sweet strains of the music rang through the hall with startling
- distinctness, as the white-masked figures slowly disappeared through the
- panel under the stairs.
- </p>
- <p>
- Aunt Julie Ann who had heard the Judge’s cry and the sudden noise entered
- trembling.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Name er God what’s dis!” she cried. “De light gone out! De ghost done
- dat!”
- </p>
- <p>
- She turned up the lamp and saw the Judge sitting dead in the chair, the
- scarlet stain on his clean ruffled shirt holding her for a moment in
- speechless horror.
- </p>
- <p>
- Screaming at last, she rushed to the ballroom door and shouted:
- </p>
- <p>
- “De Lawd hab mussy! De ghost done kill de Judge—Stab ’im fro
- de heart!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The music stopped with a crash and the crowd rushed into the hall.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0005" id="linkimage-0005"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0157.jpg" alt="0157 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0157.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- Stella stared at the lifeless form, her beautiful face whiter than the
- dead, turned to the masqueraders huddled in a group, drew herself proudly
- erect, pointed to the door and said:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Go!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Silently and quickly they left, and as the last beat of their horses’
- hoofs died away in the distance she lifted her face from her father’s hand
- which she had covered with kisses, and groaned:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Forgive me—forgive me! I have but one aim in life now—God
- give me strength!”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- BOOK II—A WOMAN’S REVENGE
- </h2>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER I—STELLA’S RESOLUTION
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE murder of Judge
- Butler created a profound sensation both in the state and the nation. The
- Northern press held the Ku Klux Klan guilty of this atrocious crime
- without question, and it was the last straw needed to start an avalanche
- of hostile legislation in Congress against the entire South.
- </p>
- <p>
- The famous Conspiracy Act was rushed through both houses of the National
- Legislature and signed by the President. It made membership in the secret
- order known as the Ku Klux Klan, or Invisible Empire, a felony, and
- provided for the trial of its members on the charge of treason, conspiracy
- and murder. The President was authorised to suspend the writ of <i>habeas
- corpus</i> and proclaim martial law in any county of the Southern States,
- and use the army and navy to enforce his authority.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Attorney General promptly placed the county of Independence under
- military government, stationed two regiments of troops within its borders,
- and set to work with scores of detectives to find the guilty man.
- </p>
- <p>
- Two months passed without the slightest progress. Five thousand dollars
- reward was offered by the national authorities and a similar sum by the
- state. Not a trace of the man responsible for the deed could be found,
- though a price of ten thousand dollars was set thus on his head. A number
- of arrests had been made, but the evidence produced was of so flimsy a
- character that in each instance the prisoner could not be held.
- </p>
- <p>
- The longer the case was probed, the deeper became its insoluble aspects.
- The “Butler Murder Mystery,” as it was popularly known, provoked the
- widest public discussion, both in the state and national press, yet no
- explanation from any quarter could be found.
- </p>
- <p>
- The effects of the crime on the Ku Klux raiders was immediate. Not a trace
- of their existence was left. The enormity of the tragedy had evidently
- sobered the dare-devils who had found amusement or personal profit in its
- activities. It now became the fashion to denounce the Klan and demand its
- extermination.
- </p>
- <p>
- As the order had never had a spokesman, it had no defender. The demand for
- its suppression was universal. Yet no traitor had appeared among its
- ranks. The deepest curses of a race were reserved for the white lip that
- should betray its members. Whatever the leaders of public opinion might
- say, the masses of the people knew the necessity which had called this
- dreaded order into existence—the black threat of Negro dominion.
- Thousands of women and children knew its secrets and held them inviolate.
- </p>
- <p>
- On Stella Butler the death of her father had wrought a deep and remarkable
- change. The fun-loving, imperious, self-willed, spoiled child had suddenly
- become a serious woman. She had given every hour of her time assisting the
- authorities in their search for the murderer and had followed every
- possible clue with breathless hope.
- </p>
- <p>
- Two forces had driven her into a morbid interest in the crime, pride and
- remorse. In mere laughing banter she had promised her father if a single
- insult should be offered him, or a hair of his head harmed, she would give
- her life to avenge the deed. She had not dreamed of such a possibility.
- But now that the impossible had happened, she would make good her word to
- the dead. And she would make it good, not only because she had promised
- and her heart was sick with remorse for the part she had unconsciously
- played in the tragedy, but for a deeper personal reason—the
- consciousness of the insult to her pride which the crime had offered. The
- assassin had dared to strike her father dead in her home, in her very
- presence.
- </p>
- <p>
- Had the knife sought her own heart she would have felt less deeply the
- wound. Somewhere even by her side there stood amid the shadows of life a
- being who could thus insult her by ignoring her very existence! She
- resolved to make that man feel her power by paying the penalty with his
- own life. An element of pitiless cruelty in her character found for the
- first time its expression in a passionate thirst for the blood of this
- criminal.
- </p>
- <p>
- She had seen every effort to penetrate the mystery fail with increasing
- inward rage. Larkin, who had charge of the Judge’s campaign, had been
- aggressive and untiring for two weeks and then had given up and returned
- to his duties as Chairman of the State Executive Committee.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Attorney General announced his departure for Washington and ordered
- the withdrawal of the troops and detectives.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella hastened to send her burning protest against his action. General
- Champion, who had been deeply moved by her beauty and evident suffering,
- called personally at the old Graham mansion for an interview. He received
- her indignant protests with the gravest courtesy.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Please don’t tell me, General,” she began bitterly, “that my father’s
- death is an apparently insoluble mystery. I am sick, sick, sick of hearing
- such rubbish! Eight weeks ago he was murdered in cold blood in this hall
- on the very spot where you are now sitting. It was not done by ghosts, it
- was not an accident, it was done by a living man. I refuse to recognise in
- it an act of Providence. I will not wear an emblem of mourning as long as
- this man breathes on earth. I have sworn it My father was in the service
- of his country attempting to enforce its laws. I have the right to demand
- that a rich and powerful government avenge his death. It is incredible
- that the coward who did this crime can not be caught and punished.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Upon the other hand, my dear child,” said the General, “I assure you that
- the apprehension of this criminal is one of the most difficult tasks ever
- assigned the Department of Justice.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And why, pray?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Because in this climate the Invisible Empire is yet stronger than the
- visible——”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You believe then that the Klan committed the deed?” she asked
- </p>
- <p>
- “As sure of it as that I live. If we were dealing with the ordinary
- criminal, it would be easy. We are dealing with larger problems. Every
- clue we have found has proven false for this reason. The man really
- responsible stands at our elbow did we but know the truth.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What do you mean?” Stella asked with sudden interest.
- </p>
- <p>
- “That your father’s death was ordered by an inner circle of the Invisible
- Empire. He was probably executed by an individual who did not even know
- his name. The occasion of the masquerade ball was simply utilised for the
- purpose. Unless we know the name of the Chief of the Klan in this state no
- progress can be made. This man has the power of life and death over his
- men. No such deed could have been committed without his order.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And you are going to give up the search?” was the eager question.
- </p>
- <p>
- “For the present yes. It is a waste of time.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And you have formed no idea as to who this Chief may be?” asked the big
- brown eyes, flashing with a new purpose.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I haven’t a scrap of evidence that can be used in an English-speaking
- court of justice—but I am morally certain that I know the man.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And if you knew him by his own confession?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I could send him to the gallows within thirty days.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “The man you suspect?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “John Graham!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella sprang to her feet, her face white with an emotion which stopped
- for a moment her very heart-beat.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Within a month I’ll tell you the truth”—she said with laboured
- breath.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Can you do it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Beyond the shadow of a doubt!” was her firm answer.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General seized her hand as he took his leave.
- </p>
- <p>
- “If you do, my child, you will destroy an empire mightier than the law of
- the land. I’ll place the entire resources of the Department of Justice at
- your command.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella’s brown eyes rested on her own beautiful reflection in the mirror
- as she slowly said:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Thank you, General, I have at present all the weapons I shall need.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER II—WEIGHED AND FOUND WANTING
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">S</span>TELLA was putting
- the last touches to a perfect toilet before meeting Steve Hoyle who was
- waiting impatiently below. She had given him the sign for which he had
- long prayed, her permission for the formal renewal of his suit. They had
- remained friends on condition that he keep silent on the subject until she
- gave him permission to speak. She had done this in the most delicate way
- in the note of reply she had sent in the afternoon to his request for
- permission to call.
- </p>
- <p>
- She had determined to take Steve by storm to-night. The secret on which
- her heart was set she counted already within her grasp, yet she would
- leave no stone unturned, neglect no trick in all the known realm of
- woman’s art to make her victory absolute.
- </p>
- <p>
- Her refusal to put on black at her father’s funeral, or wear it since, and
- her declaration that his death was not the act of God but of the devil,
- had shocked the tradition-loving Southern people beyond measure. Maggie
- had lost no time in telling her their comments. She heard them with
- contempt and proceeded to shock her critics still worse by establishing
- herself permanently in the great lonely house with only Aunt Julie Ann as
- her guardian.
- </p>
- <p>
- Her whole being was fused into a single deathless purpose—to take
- the life of the man who had killed her father. She would stop at no means
- to accomplish this end, and she would treat with scorn every convention of
- society which might interfere.
- </p>
- <p>
- She slowly descended the winding stairs to-night before Steve’s enraptured
- gaze, dressed in pure white with full train. A single deep red rose was
- set in her black hair. Her arms were bare and their beauty was perfect—starting
- with the tiniest wrists and swelling into full voluptuous splendour above
- the dimpled elbows. She had a way of moving them when she walked which was
- modest yet subtle in sensuous suggestion.
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve watched her spellbound. She placed her hand in his with a tender
- smile, the brown eyes watching the effects of her beauty with quiet
- triumph.
- </p>
- <p>
- She allowed Steve to silently lead her to the old davenport under the
- stairs and take his seat by her side.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You meant what your letter implied?” he asked eagerly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I did,” was the firm answer.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It seemed too good to be true, dear, yet I felt sure that you would need
- me in this crisis of your life.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I do need you. I wonder if you will prove wanting when put to the test?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Try me!” he boldly challenged.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You are sure that you love me with a love that will endure through good
- and evil, through life and death, through every test?”
- </p>
- <p>
- She leaned close, her eyes searching Steve’s soul.
- </p>
- <p>
- The man drew a deep breath and his hand grasped hers with fierce passion.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I love you beyond the power of words to tell—I worship you!” he
- cried, attempting instinctively to draw her into his arms.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes I know,” she answered, lifting her hand in warning, “you love me that
- way—I don’t say it displeases me—I have a soul and I have a
- body too. There’s something big, fierce, and strong in you, Steve, that
- always drew me—that draws me to you to-night—but I want to
- know if your love goes deeper than the body; if it’s big enough, true
- enough to dare anything in this world or the next for the woman you love?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes!” he cried.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You love me better than money?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Better than power?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Better than your own life?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes!” he whispered, crushing her hand in his.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Suppose I should put you to a test and you should fail?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “With your eyes calling me I’d dare the terrors of hell!”
- </p>
- <p>
- She took both his hands, fixed her eyes on his until their warm brown
- light enfolded him with tenderness:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Give me the name of the Chief of the Ku Klux Klan in North Carolina,” she
- whispered.
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve’s face went white, and he stammered:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why—why—my dear—how—can—I? I don’t know
- him. It’s impossible!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Nothing is impossible to the man who loves me if I desire it,” she
- answered, firmly holding Steve with her eyes dilated to extraordinary size
- under the tension of her deep emotion.
- </p>
- <p>
- He turned from her gaze, the cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
- </p>
- <p>
- “But, Stella, my dear, I’m not a member of the Klan.”
- </p>
- <p>
- She dropped his hand, sprang to her feet, and looked at him a moment.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You are lying!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I swear I’m telling you the truth,” he cried, eagerly attempting to
- regain her hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- She turned from him with contempt. She saw too late that she had
- overplayed the part. She had been too eager, too sure. He was a greater
- coward than she had suspected.
- </p>
- <p>
- “But why should you ask such a thing of me?” he stammered.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You know why.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I haven’t the remotest idea.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Coward!” she hissed, turning suddenly. “You know that I wish to hang this
- man for the murder of my father.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “If the Government of the United States with its army and navy and its
- millions cannot find him—am I a coward because I tell you that I do
- not know his name?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “In God’s name why?” he pleaded.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I know that you are a member of the Klan.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Upon my soul and honour I swear that I am not!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Have you either soul or honour?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I won’t quarrel with you, dear; you are overwrought and crushed by this
- tragedy. You don’t mean what you say.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I do mean it!” she fiercely cried.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then you’ll live to regret it,” he answered, recovering his composure.
- “I’ll do anything within human reason. You must not ask the impossible.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then you will help me to find this man?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “To the limit of my power.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why say to the limit of my power? I hate a man who fences, squirms and
- lies when face to face with a test of his manhood! Will you help me find
- this man? Yes or no?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “That’s better.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But tell me,” he said, watching her with increasing reserve and cunning.
- “Whom do you suspect?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “John Graham.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve’s eyes flashed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And what is your programme when you have established the fact?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “The Attorney General has promised to hang him within thirty days.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “With all due respect to the Attorney General—he can’t do it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why not?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “We are living under conditions of revolution. No jury can be found who
- will convict him. There’s but one way.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What do you mean?” Stella asked, lowering her voice.
- </p>
- <p>
- “That beyond a doubt John Graham inspired this crime.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You believe it?” she broke in fiercely.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m sure of it. His hatred of the Judge had become a mania. He used the
- Klan as the cloak of his hired assassin.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “The Klan decreed his death,” said Stella sternly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “John Graham decreed it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What do you propose?” she asked, again coming close to Steve.
- </p>
- <p>
- “To have him executed by the Klan itself!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And yet you are not a member?” she asked with a smile.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I am in touch with men who are.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “How could his execution be brought about?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ask him the question you put to me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And if he tells?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “He will forfeit his life.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella’s eyes rested a moment on the chair in which her father fell the
- night of his death. She turned and gazed into Steve’s face with a strange
- absent expression in her eyes as though they were seeing a picture which
- had etched itself in fire on her soul.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m going to cultivate Mr. Graham’s acquaintance,” she slowly said. “I’ll
- learn from his own lips if he is the leader of the Ku Klux Klan.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And if you find that he is?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I may hold you to your pledge!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And on the day he is executed.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I will marry you!”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER III—THE TRAP IS SET
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE next morning
- Steve Hoyle left town and Stella began at once to put into execution her
- plan to entrap John Graham in the meshes of her beauty and deliver him to
- justice. She felt instinctively that if this man with his intense and
- romantic nature ever yielded to the spell of her love, there could be no
- limit to which he would not go at her bidding. With equal certainty she
- realised that the task would be a delicate one—a task which might
- put to the test every power she possessed. Her whole being rose to the
- work with a thrill of keen, cruel interest—the interest of the
- primitive huntress on track of the rarest, wildest and most daring game.
- </p>
- <p>
- The first difficulty which apparently opened an impassable gulf between
- them was the suit which John Graham had begun to regain possession of the
- estate. The language in which his complaint had been drawn was the limit
- of bitter accusation permitted in a legal document—parts of it,
- indeed, the Court had ordered stricken from the record as scandalous and
- irrelevant.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella’s eyes danced with excitement as she read in the morning’s paper
- the announcement of his withdrawal of this suit. The news was accompanied
- by a brief statement which might have been written as a personal apology
- to her for the language he had used.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>“I beg leave to say to the public in withdrawing this action that I
- regret the overheated language in which the original complaint was
- expressed.”</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- Without a moment’s hesitation she seized her pen and wrote him an
- invitation to call. Her words revealed the deeply laid scheme on which her
- mind had seized in a flash of inspiration. She read and reread it
- carefully:
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>My dear Mr. Graham:</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Permit me to thank you for the manly words of retraction which you have
- used in this morning’s paper.-Your withdrawal of this suit and the
- generous manner in which it was done, removes the only barrier to our
- friendly acquaintance. I wish to renew it, and ask you to please accept at
- once the position of my personal attorney in the settlement of my father’s
- estate. Your influence in the courts of North Carolina, your eloquence and
- genius will, be of invaluable service to an orphan girl who needs the
- advice of one on whose integrity she can absolutely rely.</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Trusting that you may honour me by answering this request in person at
- three o’clock this afternoon.</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Sincerely,</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Stella Butler.</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- John Graham could not believe his senses when he first read this letter.
- The boy had turned and gone without waiting for an answer and he sat
- stupefied by a whirl of conflicting emotions.
- </p>
- <p>
- He read it again, bent and kissed her name. He had never before seen her
- handwriting. He studied it with curious interest. Its deep lines revealed
- with startling distinctness traits of a remarkable character. It was full
- of long strokes of the pen with equal emphasis across, up and down. The
- letters were unevenly formed, showing the self-willed, imperious spirit
- that had refused to copy the lines set by another hand, and yet the effect
- was pleasing and held the eye in a continuous surprise at its sensational
- curves and dashes. Through every line he felt the throb of an intense
- nature, which seemed to sink into inaudible whispers of emotion in the
- queer little twists of the pen with which each sentence ended.
- </p>
- <p>
- He placed the note in an inner pocket. Had he received this invitation
- yesterday, he would have locked his doors, shouted and danced for joy at
- the opportunity to press her hand again and look into those deep brown
- eyes that haunted him waking or dreaming. Now it was a serious question.
- Within twenty-four hours he had received confirmation of two suspicions
- which had oppressed him since the night of Butler’s death—that his
- father might have committed the deed and that Billy was in the party of
- masqueraders.
- </p>
- <p>
- In either case, the stain of the Judge’s blood was on the house of Graham
- and the Angel of Death stood with drawn sword barring the way of his
- happiness. He would not seek the hand of Stella with the blood of her
- father on his own. He would accept the moral responsibility of his
- father’s act or that of his younger brother. He had reproached himself
- bitterly that he had neglected to know and teach his high-strung younger
- brother as he might. The mother dead, his father a hopeless mental
- invalid, Billy had grown up with no hand to guide his wayward fancy. It
- was not to be wondered at that he soon recognised no authority save that
- of his own will.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella’s request had brought John face to face with the problems of his
- father and Billy. He must know the truth before he could answer that
- letter. Better to strangle the love that was fast swelling in his heart
- than wait until the hour when the call of love might drown the voice of
- honour.
- </p>
- <p>
- He left his office and went at once to his father’s room. The Major was
- dressed with his habitual care, his linen spotless, his boots carefully
- polished, his thin white hair brushed straight back from his high
- forehead. He was seated in his armchair, gently stroking with his
- chalk-white bony hand his delicate ghostly beard, while delivering to
- Alfred one of his interminable talks of the old life in the South. At
- times he forgot the war and the horrors which followed and reenacted the
- scenes of the past until his former slave, too full to bear more, would
- stop him tenderly, and get him to change the subject.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Leave us awhile, Alfred,” John said, on entering.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah,” the old butler answered, bowing himself out with stately
- dignity.
- </p>
- <p>
- John closed the door and drew his chair close to the Major’s.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Father, I want to ask you something very particular,” he began.
- </p>
- <p>
- The old man smiled indulgently.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, out with it, you young rascal! You’ve been flying round her long
- enough. I knew it would come at last. So she’s got you, has she! Well,
- well, Jennie’s a fine girl, my boy; I danced at her father’s and mother’s
- wedding. I wish I had more to give you. You’ll have to be content with the
- lower plantation, and a dozen slaves to start with.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Listen, father,” John urged, stopping him with a gentle pressure on his
- arm. “And try to remember. Have you encountered Butler lately?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Change our butler!—what better butler do you want than Alfred? He’s
- an aristocrat to his finger tips. I wouldn’t think of reducing him from
- his present rank; what has he done to offend any one?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I mean the Judge who took the house—I mean Judge Butler.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ah! A man of low origin and no principle, my son—a renegade who
- betrayed his people for thirty pieces of silver—silver stained with
- blood—a dirty, contemptible office-seeker. I wouldn’t lower myself
- by speaking to such a man.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I know father,” John broke in, “but I’m trying to recall to your
- memory the visits you have made at night lately to the old home.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Of course, I love the old home. I was born here. I brought my bride here.
- I’ll never leave it except for a better world.”
- </p>
- <p>
- John felt a lump rise in his throat and rose to go. It was useless.
- Besides, the thing was unthinkable. How could this feeble old man spring
- on one of Butler’s physique and stab him to death. He couldn’t, except in
- a moment of superhuman frenzy which sometimes comes to the insane. There
- was the thought which returned again and again to torment him! Aunt Julie
- Ann declared the ghost was seen to pass through the hall and go upstairs
- but a few moments before the tragedy. Yes, it was possible.
- </p>
- <p>
- John peered into his father’s restless eyes with a mad desire to lift the
- mysterious veil that obscured the world from his vision. The horror of the
- sickening tragedy strangled him and he turned, abruptly leaving the room.
- </p>
- <p>
- He sought Billy with a growing sense of helpless and bitter despair. Since
- the day of their brief quarrel which followed the demonstration before old
- Larkin, Billy had avoided John. Since Butler’s death they had scarcely
- spoken. The effect of this tragedy on his headstrong younger brother first
- led John to suspect his membership in the newly organised Klan under
- Steve’s leadership.
- </p>
- <p>
- John found him in his room reading.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Billy, I must have a serious talk with you,” the older brother began.
- </p>
- <p>
- “All right, sit down,” the boy answered, laying aside his book.
- </p>
- <p>
- “A youngster of eighteen who keeps to his room for days at a time and
- reads is either sick or has something on his mind.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Which do you think?” Billy asked, looking vaguely out the window.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll answer you by asking a question, and I want you to answer on the
- honour of a Graham. Are you a member of Steve Hoyle’s Klan?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You have no right to ask that question,” was the hot reply.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I have,” John slowly said, “for two reasons. As the organiser of the
- original Ku Klux Klan in this state I hold myself in a measure responsible
- for its existence even in its lowest forms. But that’s not all, my boy,
- you’re my brother, and I love you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Billy’s eyes blinked and he looked at the ceiling. He had never heard such
- an expression from John’s lips before.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I wish I’d slipped my arm around you and told you that long ago. I’ve
- always been proud of your high-strung, sensitive spirit, proud in my own
- heart that we were of the same blood, and I want to ask you to forgive me
- for seeing so little of you and being of so little help to you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- A sob caught the boy’s breath.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’ll let me help you now?” John asked tenderly, extending his hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- Billy rose trembling, his eyes running over with tears, took a step toward
- the door, turned and threw himself into John’s arms, sobbing bitterly.
- </p>
- <p>
- The older brother held him close for a moment in silence, and slowly said
- at last:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now tell me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I was at Judge Butler’s that night!”
- </p>
- <p>
- John sank to a chair with a groan.
- </p>
- <p>
- “My God! I knew it!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But, of course, you know that I had nothing to do with any attack on a
- man in whose house I was a guest,” he went on rapidly. “The whole thing is
- a horrible mystery to us all. Every man in our crowd was in the ballroom
- dancing.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “How did you know that?” John interrupted sharply.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Because I counted them as they entered.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “<i>You</i> counted them?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then you were in command of the crowd?” Billy hesitated a moment, and
- said:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes!”
- </p>
- <p>
- John drew a deep breath and turned his head away in anguish.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I could not resist the temptation to lead them. I wanted to see inside
- the old house again—you understand. I never dreamed of anything
- happening.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “None of the boys were drinking?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, and there wasn’t a fool among them—they were all my chums and
- friends in town.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then go at once and tell them that I say to put a thousand miles between
- them and this town in the next forty-eight hours—to Texas if
- possible.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why?” asked Billy with a touch of wounded pride.
- </p>
- <p>
- “There are a hundred reasons—one is enough. There’s a price on the
- head of the man who committed that crime.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “My men didn’t do it!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Granted. But one of these fine days a white-livered traitor may crawl
- from your Klan and claim his reward of gold or office. You will be
- convicted in ten minutes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Billy turned pale, and straightened his boyish figure.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, I’ll tell my men to go. I’ll not run.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You can serve your men best by going. The bravest general always knows
- when to retreat.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll stand my ground.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You must go. I can fight for you better with a thousand miles between us.
- I’ll play a trick on my Yankee friends this time. I’m going to send you
- North into the enemy’s country—to college.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Billy was trembling now with a new excitement. His heart was set on a
- college career and he hadn’t as yet hoped to find the way.
- </p>
- <p>
- “How will you do it?” he asked eagerly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Old Nickaroshinski will take my note. I’ll borrow the money.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The boy smiled for the first time in a month.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh! John, you’ve taken a load off my soul.”
- </p>
- <p>
- John’s hand crushed the letter from Stella, which he was unconsciously
- grasping in his pocket.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And you’ve piled one on my soul under which I’ll stagger to the grave,”
- he cried within, outwardly answering with a smile and warm grip of the
- hand as he said:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Quick now, boy. Don’t lose a minute. There will be some heart-broken
- mothers in town tomorrow night. There’s but one choice: the plains of the
- West, or a prison pen.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll go at once,” Billy cried, seizing his hat and hastily leaving.
- </p>
- <p>
- Pale and haggard, John slowly returned to his office. He looked at his
- watch. It was five minutes to three. Stella was waiting to receive him. He
- could hear the low sweet tones of her voice greeting him, and see her
- great brown eyes smiling their welcome.
- </p>
- <p>
- But his mind was made up. Safety lay in flight. He wrote a brief reply to
- her letter.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>My dear Miss Butler:</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>I thank you for the honour you do me in the request you make. I regret
- that I cannot see my way clear at present to accept your offer. I have
- many reasons, and I beg you to believe that they are very serious ones—otherwise
- I would hasten to answer in person your call.</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>With sincere regrets,</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>John Graham</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella received the note with mingled surprise and rage, and immediately
- wired the Attorney General in the cipher code he had given her asking for
- the assistance for two months of the best detective the Secret Service
- could command.
- </p>
- <p>
- General Champion replied within two hours. “Mr. Ackerman leaves here
- to-night. He will report to you in Independence to-morrow.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER IV—ACKERMAN SECURES A PLEDGE
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">A</span>CKERMAN sent to
- Stella his letter of introduction from the Attorney General, stating that
- he would call the following day and report progress.
- </p>
- <p>
- General Champion’s letter had raised the highest hopes by the declaration
- that the young detective had developed a well defined and intelligent
- theory on which to conduct the prosecution of the case.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella awaited his call impatiently. She had pictured the ideal detective
- of romance and could not conceal her amazement at his personal appearance
- when she extended her hand to greet him.
- </p>
- <p>
- His voice was soft and low as her own, his face wreathed in smiles—and
- such a face!—plump, rosy cheeked, young, fresh and boyish, save for
- the slightest touch of gray in the dark hair about his temples. His eye
- alone, to the close student of men, might have revealed his profession. It
- looked a steady blaze of light from beneath straight intellectual brows.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You had better understand at once, Miss Butler,” he began, “that I am a
- prosperous young business man from the North at present engaged in the
- organisation of cotton mills in the South.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella could not repress a smile, as she said:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I must say you look the part.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I have engaged board at Mrs. Wilson’s and asked Mr. John Graham to act as
- my attorney in the organisation of a company in this county.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I see,” she cried, for the first time catching the steady light of
- Ackerman’s eye.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I cannot be seen in conference with you. We will report to each other by
- letter. But we must clearly understand each other. Am I right that you
- mean to press this case to the bitter end, let the blow fall on whom it
- may?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Certainly,” was the firm answer.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I learn from the Attorney General’s office that you are on the track of
- the man who is Commander-in-chief of the Klan in this state?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Pardon another question. I must know if you are in dead earnest? I have
- found that women have little tenacity of purpose in such cases and as a
- rule cannot be depended on.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll show you that they are not all alike!” Stella broke in angrily.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then may I ask that if you succeed in securing this name that you will
- place it in my hands without a moment’s delay?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “At once.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0016" id="link2HCH0016"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER V—IN THE TOILS
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">S</span>TELLA determined
- to make one more direct appeal to John Graham before resorting to indirect
- subterfuges for the purpose of meeting him.
- </p>
- <p>
- She wrote half a dozen letters and tore them up. They lacked simplicity.
- The only effective appeal to this man must disarm all suspicion of
- subtlety. It must be natural, sincere and ring true. She found it a very
- difficult thing to express in cold written words one thing and mean
- another, and yet preserve the ring of truth and sincerity. At last she
- wrote a letter which seemed to be effective. She read it over and over,
- and added to the paper the faintest touch of delicate perfume, an old
- extract of sweet pinks, which she had used the night of their meeting. She
- laid it aside and waited an hour to carefully read it again. It was too
- important to risk a failure. Should he once suspect an ulterior purpose of
- any kind her plan must end in utter defeat. She spent an hour walking
- through the lawn, returned and read again the letter.
- </p>
- <p>
- It seemed cold, stiff and artificial, and the touch of perfume obvious and
- vulgar. It lacked the magnetism of personality. She had no power to convey
- this as yet in words. She must see him face to face, hold him with the
- deep charm of her great eyes, and enfold him with the spell of her beauty.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I must see him,” she cried—“or I’ll fail! If I can only touch his
- hand, stand by his side and look into his face, I’ll win.”
- </p>
- <p>
- She walked to the window and stood thoughtful a moment. Suddenly her eyes
- lighted.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll do it! I’ll go to his dingy office and ask for his services as any
- other client. Why not? His sign is a standing invitation to the world. How
- stupid of me to be wasting paper!”
- </p>
- <p>
- In five minutes she was on the way. Her dress was a simple girlish pattern
- of green dimity. A quaint bonnet of the period, flaring wide and high in
- front, its tiny circular crown tilted, with ribbon tied under her dainty
- chin, made a picture no artist could pass without a sigh.
- </p>
- <p>
- She stopped before the wrought-iron weatherbeaten sign which hung from the
- doorway leading up a flight of stairs to the young lawyer’s office. Her
- heart fluttered with a moment of uncertainty as she felt herself standing
- on the threshold of the most daring step of her life. The plain gold
- letters of the sign held her with a strange fascination:=
- </p>
- <h3>
- ````JOHN GRAHAM
- </h3>
- <h3>
- ```ATTORNEY AND COUNSELLOR
- </h3>
- <h3>
- `````AT LAW=
- </h3>
- <p>
- She had never noticed this piece of plain black iron before, and yet
- somehow it seemed a part of the record of her deep inner life, and, as it
- moved, gently stirred by the soft breezes of a Southern day, creaking on
- the rod from which it hung, the sound thrilled her with a feeling of
- strange terror. She turned quickly away, her heart pounding with
- excitement, and began to retrace her steps.
- </p>
- <p>
- She walked a block, stopped, flushed red, frowned and turned on her heels.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll not be a silly coward. I’ll not look back again until it’s done.”
- </p>
- <p>
- This time she walked firmly up the stairs and gently knocked on his door.
- </p>
- <p>
- John had just finished his business with Nickaroshinski.
- </p>
- <p>
- The old Jew had accepted his personal note unsecured by any endorsement
- for the money needed to send Billy north to college. He sat in brooding
- silence, idly holding between his fingers the paper on which he had
- recorded the memorandum of his new indebtedness. He was not worrying over
- his ability to pay—of that he felt sure. Butler had answered his
- suit by removing the order of his disbarment on Larkin’s advice the day of
- the County Convention. His practice gave promise of a comfortable living.
- </p>
- <p>
- It was Billy’s flight, which was arranged for the following day, that had
- focussed his thoughts on the miserable tragedy which had raised still
- another barrier between him and his possible approach to Stella.
- </p>
- <p>
- The knock on his door had not interrupted the train of his thought. He was
- looking through his window into the deep blue of the infinite skies, and
- linking in fancy the mysteries of their changing lights to those which
- flashed from the fathomless depths of the eyes of the woman he loved.
- </p>
- <p>
- He had mechanically answered the knock without moving and still sat
- wide-eyed and dreaming when the rustle of Stella’s dress and the echo of
- her soft footfall startled him.
- </p>
- <p>
- He turned in amazement, stared, suddenly sprang to his feet, his face
- flushed with excitement. Surely he was asleep—dreaming! Or had the
- picture in his soul suddenly stepped from the infinite into the flesh and
- blood of the finite in answer to the yearning call of his heart! A hundred
- wild thoughts swept his imagination in the brief moment before he could
- speak.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I fear I’ve startled you!” she said, drawing back with a timid gesture.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, why—it’s you—Miss Butler! I hadn’t dreamed of seeing you
- in this dingy office!”
- </p>
- <p>
- He stammered and hesitated, and continued to gaze at her in confusion.
- </p>
- <p>
- “May I sit down?” she asked softly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I beg a thousand pardons,” he answered, springing across the room for a
- chair. He dumped a pile of law books from it—brushed the dust from
- the bottom and placed it before her.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Believe me,” he went on, “I was so astonished at seeing you, I thought I
- must have fallen asleep—you see it was too beautiful to be true—I
- thought it must be a dream.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, there was nothing left but to humble myself and call on you—you
- refused to call on me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I can never tell you how sorry I was to have to write that note,” he said
- gravely.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m glad, for I refuse to take your letter as final. You said there were
- many and serious reasons why you could not act as my counsel. I’ve come to
- hear them.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I assure you they are serious enough, Miss Butler. I fear it will not be
- possible for me to state them.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then I refuse to accept them,” she answered with a smile.
- </p>
- <p>
- John gazed at her, wondering if she could know what havoc her sweet
- appealing smile was playing with his resolutions.
- </p>
- <p>
- He tried to speak and couldn’t.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella continued, her voice low and musical with childlike tenderness:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I know that my father was your political foe, but he had the profoundest
- respect for your ability and your high sense of honour. His death will
- doubtless remain one of the unexplained tragedies of the troubles through
- which the country is now passing.”
- </p>
- <p>
- She rose and slowly approached John’s chair, her great brown eyes blinding
- him with their light as she gently laid a white hand on his shoulder.
- </p>
- <p>
- He started at her touch.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Mr. Graham,” she said, with exquisite tenderness, “life is too short to
- cherish its bitter feuds.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes,” he answered in a whisper barely audible.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I am utterly alone and distressed over business affairs I do not
- understand. I have implicit faith in you. I need your help and advice.
- Will you refuse me what you would grant without question to a stranger who
- would call at this office and ask?”
- </p>
- <p>
- John flushed and fumbled his hands nervously.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Come, you will accept, will you not?” She extended her hand. “Shall we be
- friends?”
- </p>
- <p>
- He trembled for a moment and his own hand resistlessly sought hers.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes!” he cried with deep emotion, unconsciously crushing her hand in his.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You will come to-morrow morning to the house and go over the papers with
- me?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “To-morrow afternoon,” he replied, as a momentary cloud shadowed his brow.
- “I have an important engagement for the morning.” And he thought of Billy
- with a pang.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then to-morrow afternoon,” she cried, with a tender smile that lingered
- as a caress long after she had passed from the door.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0017" id="link2HCH0017"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER VI—THE TRAIN FOR THE NORTH
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">O</span>NE by one the boys
- engaged in the masquerade at the Judge’s the night of his death slipped
- out of Independence from various nearby stations and left for the West. An
- hour before the time for Billy’s train going North John went to his room
- for a chat before saying good-bye. Billy had begun to unpack his trunk.
- </p>
- <p>
- John seized his arm.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What’s this—what’s the matter?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m not going!” he snapped.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why not?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ve found out that you may be put on trial for your life.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, what’s that got to do with your education?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’re just packing me off to get me out of danger.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Suppose I am?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m not going to sneak out of trouble and leave you to stand for what
- I’ve done.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m responsible, my boy.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’re not. You tried to keep me out of it. I got Steve Hoyle to take me
- in. I knew what I was doing. I was a headstrong fool.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Because you’ve been a fool is no reason why you should keep it up. Don’t
- talk any more nonsense. Hurry—put your clothes back in that trunk—you
- must catch this train.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No!” was the dogged answer.
- </p>
- <p>
- John put his hand on the boy’s shoulder.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You must do it for me, Billy. I’m trying to make good my failure. I ought
- to have been both father and mother to you. I was neither—I didn’t
- know how—forgive me! I let you slip away. It seems to me now it
- would have been very easy for me to have taken you by the hand, and with a
- jolly word or two and a little pains and a little friendly comradeship, I
- could have kept you out of trouble. I’m heartsick over it, boy. You must
- let me atone in this way. You can do no good by staying. You’ll be in the
- way when trouble comes. You’ll promise me now, because I ask you—won’t
- you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- The boy choked back a sob.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll go on one condition——”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “If you get in trouble about this thing, that you’ll let me know.”
- </p>
- <p>
- John grasped his hand:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I promise you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Mrs. Wilson and Susie accompanied them to the station. As the train
- signalled to pull out Billy shook hands with Susie awkwardly and tried to
- take leave of her mother in the same way, but Mrs. Wilson broke down,
- threw her arms around his neck and sobbed:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Billy, darling, you’re my own sweet boy—I love you—I love
- you! You’ll write to me every week—won’t you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Billy promised, disengaging himself in evident embarrassment and trying to
- hide his tears.
- </p>
- <p>
- Moved by a sudden impulse Susie smiled, drew Billy’s head down and kissed
- him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “For the high honour you once paid me. I shall expect great things of you,
- Billy.”
- </p>
- <p>
- As the train started, he gripped John’s hand:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Remember, we stand together. We are Grahams—I’ll hold you to your
- promise!”
- </p>
- <p>
- John saw Ackerman join Susie and caught the sudden flash of his keen eye.
- </p>
- <p>
- He touched his lip in sign of warning to Billy and waved his hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll remember! Good luck!”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0018" id="link2HCH0018"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER VII—THE DAUGHTER OF EVE
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">S</span>TELLA had piled on
- the big oblong oak table in the library the letters and legal documents
- relating to her father’s estate.
- </p>
- <p>
- She had determined to treat John Graham’s first visit as a purely business
- one, and make her approach to him by the more subtle way of child-like
- dependence on his help and advice.
- </p>
- <p>
- She wore on purpose the same simple green dimity dress in which she had
- called at his office. Each step in her plans must be taken with the utmost
- care. He had masked his feelings with an iron will and she could as yet
- form no conception of the impression she had made.
- </p>
- <p>
- Seated beside the table, idly turning the papers, she awaited his coming
- to-night with the keenest interest, every faculty of her being keyed to
- the highest pitch of power.
- </p>
- <p>
- A letter from Ackerman had aroused anew her curiosity over every detail of
- the murder of her father and had given her a definite purpose toward which
- to work during John’s visit. She studied carefully again the paragraph in
- which he said:
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>“I have made several important discoveries in the past twenty-four
- hours. (1) That old Isaac has left the county and is not holding a
- sanctification meeting as he told his wife. (2) That Larkin and your
- father had a violent quarrel on the day of the Convention. (3) That a
- dozen young men, one at a time, have left Independence recently. (4) And
- most important, that the tradition that there is a secret passage
- somewhere into the Graham house must be true. If you can confirm this
- fourth fact for me by its discovery my work will be greatly helped.”</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella had quietly ransacked the house from cellar to attic in vain
- searching for this secret way. She had questioned Aunt Julie Ann without
- results, and had made up her mind to gain from John first this important
- fact.
- </p>
- <p>
- The brass knocker struck three sharp strokes on the front door. With a
- quick, cat-like movement she concealed Ackerman’s letter in her bosom,
- smoothed her dress, and as the young lawyer entered, rose and greeted him
- with a gracious smile.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I must thank you again for undertaking this work for me,” she said,
- taking his hand. “It is such a relief to feel that it is now in the hands
- of one who understands—one I can trust implicitly.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It will be a pleasure if I can serve you,” he answered gravely.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I have the papers all spread out here ready for you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Pardon me, if I look about the room a moment,” John said with deep
- emotion. “You see I haven’t been in this room before for years. I spent
- many happy hours in it, in the old days.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I hope this will not be the last time you will enter, now that we are
- going to be friends. When we have time you must take me all through in
- every nook and corner—show me all the secret closets and dark
- passageways and tell me its history.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, of course”—he answered with an absent look.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I don’t believe you were listening to what I said at all,” she exclaimed
- with mock anger. “A penny for your real thoughts!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “May I be bold enough to tell you just what I was thinking?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I was thinking,” he said with a sober smile, “what a beautiful picture
- you make in this old oak panelled room. The delicate lines of your face
- seem at home here as though the master workman who carved the figure in
- that mantel had seen you in a vision while he was at work.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What a dreamer you are!” she laughed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And you are willing to trust me as a lawyer?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Absolutely.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then I must prove myself worthy, mustn’t I?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “The papers are ready”—she said, bustling about the table and mixing
- the bundles in greater confusion with an attempt at arranging them in
- business order.
- </p>
- <p>
- John seated himself and began to examine them. She bent over his shoulder
- saying with a light laugh:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll do my best to explain them—they are all Greek to me—but
- you’ll understand.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m sure there will be no great difficulty.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He ran rapidly over the bundles and in half an hour had made memorandums
- of each division of the work before him. He took up one of the packages
- and began its careful reading, but the writing faded. He could hear Stella
- softly breathing as she bent near him and see the beautiful little hand
- resting on the table. He was seized with a mad impulse to grasp it and
- clasp her in his arms. He smiled and placed his hand on his forehead a
- moment lest she might see his confusion. He could endure it no longer. He
- must leave and regain control of himself.
- </p>
- <p>
- He tied the packages of papers together and rose.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You are going so soon?” she asked.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I’ll take them down to my office. It will require several hours to
- go over them.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You will come again to-morrow?” she said softly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll report to you again to-morrow evening.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I shall expect you at eight,” she said, extending her hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- He held it unconsciously for an instant, and wondered if she could feel
- the pounding of his heart.
- </p>
- <p>
- He came each evening for a week and spent two hours in the library with
- Stella until every letter and paper had been thoroughly examined. In a
- hundred little ways she had made him feel the power and charm of her
- personality; in no way so keenly, perhaps, as in the long silences during
- which she sat near with her great brown eyes watching him intently. He
- could feel their deep mysterious light in whatever direction he turned. In
- no other way could she have made so powerful an appeal to his imagination.
- To his poetic fancy, this capacity for silent comradeship in a girl so
- young revealed a depth of character which he had not suspected.
- </p>
- <p>
- The real depth of its meaning he could not dream. The moments of exultant
- triumph, of breathless suspense, of merciless cruelty with which she
- watched him slowly entering the trap she had set, were safely concealed
- beneath the childlike expression of her beautiful face.
- </p>
- <p>
- Each night he felt his resolution to allow no word of love to pass his
- lips harder and harder to keep. And each night she watched with increasing
- excitement his gradual approach to the brink of the precipice to which she
- silently beckoned.
- </p>
- <p>
- On the night of his final report when the work was finished, she looked at
- him intently and said: “Now, I’m going to hold you to your promise.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And have I broken one?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Only forgotten it, I think—you must go over the old house with me—every
- nook and corner. But before we start, come, you are tired, I’ve some
- refreshments for you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- She led the way into the dining room where she had prepared a dainty
- supper. Aunt Julie Ann in spotless white cap and apron, stood smiling her
- welcome. The table was lighted with a dozen wax candles set in two old
- silver candelabra which had belonged to the Graham family more than a
- hundred years, until they had fallen with the house and its furnishings
- into the Judge’s hands.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella seated herself at one end of the table which had been shortened to
- its smallest size and placed John at the other. Her position, the lights
- and the effects of the picture in his imagination, she had carefully
- planned and rehearsed before his arrival. She meant to win to-night.
- </p>
- <p>
- Behind her stood the rich old mahogany sideboard of Colonial pattern, the
- Graham silver flashing in the quaint gold mirror which hung above it. In
- the mirror her own image was clearly reflected. The man opposite could
- look into her face and at the same time see in the shining silvery picture
- above the sideboard the black ringlets of curling hair at the back of her
- neck, as well as the exquisite lines of her figure.
- </p>
- <p>
- John gazed at her in silent wonder. Never had he seen a picture so
- appealing in its beauty to every sense of his being. He felt that she was
- born to sit at that table amid such surroundings.
- </p>
- <p>
- She lifted the teapot to fill his cup:
- </p>
- <p>
- “This little feast is to celebrate the completion of our work.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And seal our friendship, may I hope?” he broke in with a smile.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes,” she answered in a whisper.
- </p>
- <p>
- These soft notes of her voice thrilled the man before her, and his whole
- being quivered in response to their call. He wondered if he could conceal
- the hunger with which he was looking into her eyes.
- </p>
- <p>
- He had always thought her the most beautiful being he had ever seen, but
- to-night for the first time she had dressed specially to receive him, and
- his imagination had not dreamed the picture—Her beauty fairly
- stunned him.
- </p>
- <p>
- Her dress was of filmy zephyr-like white chiffon, cut low to show the full
- lines of the neck and shoulders. Around the upper part of her beautiful
- bare arms, where they melted into the shoulders, was drawn a scarf of
- delicate lace. Where it crossed the waist line in V shape, was pinned an
- ivorytype miniature portrait of her proud mother, painted at her own age
- of twenty, which looked so strikingly like the living form above, it might
- have been taken for the image of a twin sister. A sash of pink ribbon
- encircled her figure. The skirt hung in full puffy lines draped over a
- number of under-skirts after the fashion of the period. The bottom of the
- skirt was finished with a border of lace on the top of which were set at
- intervals clusters of little pink roses wrought in silk.
- </p>
- <p>
- Her curly crown of black hair was parted in the middle and drawn low on
- the side of the face in two great waves and tied behind with a pink
- ribbon. The long ends were curled into four strands and thrown carelessly
- around her neck in front and hung to the waist. Her head was circled with
- a tiny wreath of the living pink roses from which the silk ones had been
- modelled. To John’s fancy this wreath against her black hair seemed the
- jewelled crown of a queen set in priceless rubies.
- </p>
- <p>
- She poured the tea with her bare arm uplifted in a fascinating pose, the
- right arm curved just enough to tilt the teapot and yet preserve the
- dimple at her elbow. In all his life he could not remember an arm like
- these—so graceful, so seductive each little movement, they seemed to
- possess a conscious soul of their own. Her whole being spoke the charm of
- the boundless vitality of youth just budding into perfect womanhood. Her
- delicate skin flashed its tints in harmony with every mood of thought in
- her voice. She had as a divine gift a sensitiveness of expression, so
- acute that it could be controlled by the fierce will which hid beneath the
- velvet surface. She could blush at will because her imagination was so
- vivid that she could direct its powers by a subtle process of
- auto-suggestion.
- </p>
- <p>
- John had not realised until he saw her eat how wonderful were the lines of
- her luscious lips. He felt that he could sit there forever and watch her
- dainty wrist and tapering fingers lift the cup. Her eyes were friendly
- to-night! They looked at him with dreamy tenderness, a childlike trust,
- and perfect faith.
- </p>
- <p>
- How could he live through the evening without telling her of his love! Yet
- he must keep silent. He felt with deep foreboding an approaching
- catastrophe which must soon overwhelm the men who had created an Empire
- whose power they could not control. That Empire had left a stain of blood
- on the floor of this house—a stain that must forever darken his own
- life and hers—and yet—how could he give her up?
- </p>
- <p>
- He rose from the table at her suggestion and followed her in a spell as
- she lifted a silver candlestick above her head and started to explore the
- house.
- </p>
- <p>
- He found his tongue at last and told her with boyish enthusiasm the
- legends of the old mansion, the associations of each room, and sketched
- with good-humoured criticism the peculiarities of his people. In the
- gallery of the observatory he showed her the spots from which the
- slightest sounds were echoed to the hall below, and explained the origin
- of many of the ghost stories which the Negroes believed with such implicit
- faith.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella leaned over the railing and looked down into the hall at the chair
- in which her father had fallen the night of the dance, and a curious smile
- played about her lips.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And what are you smiling at?” he asked softly.
- </p>
- <p>
- Without the quiver of an eyelid, either in surprise or recognition of the
- fact that he had caught her in a moment off her guard, she replied:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I was just wondering if you ever believed in ghosts?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Of course,” he laughed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Really?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes. When Aunt Julie Ann used to tell them to me at night in the nursery
- they were vivid and terrible realities.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And you’ve laughed away all the romances of childhood now?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No,” he answered firmly. “I halfway believe in ghosts still, and the old
- dreams of beauty and love, of honour and truth, seem to me more and more
- the only things in human life that have any value.”
- </p>
- <p>
- They had returned to the hall. Stella placed the candle on the table and
- sat down on the davenport. John followed her instinctively and seated
- himself by her side.
- </p>
- <p>
- Suddenly she placed her soft hand on his, exclaiming:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh! There’s one thing we’ve forgotten!” She felt him tremble at her
- touch.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “The legend of the secret way—tell me about it—how it
- originated and all—of course, I know it is only a legend. Such
- things are only found in stories.”
- </p>
- <p>
- John looked at her, with a smile playing about the corners of his mouth.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You have ceased to believe in romance, ghosts and fairies?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll believe it if you tell me,” she said softly.
- </p>
- <p>
- John took her hand and lifted her from the lounge.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Have you faith enough to follow me through the dark secret way to-night
- if I can find it for you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes!” she whispered, leaning toward him trustingly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then I’m going to do what was never done before—show this secret
- way to one who does not answer to the name of Graham.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella’s bosom rose and fell with deep emotion as she turned her brown
- eyes on John.
- </p>
- <p>
- “But why not?” he continued. “The house is yours. And I’m haunted with the
- strange fancy that your spirit has lived here before.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I have grown to love it,” she said hesitatingly, “in spite of the
- tragedy. It’s strange. I wonder at myself for it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- John turned toward the panel in the wainscoting whose location he knew so
- well, paused and said:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’d better wait and let you change your dress. You’ll soil it against the
- damp narrow walls.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella’s eyes were sparkling now with excitement.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No matter. I can’t wait a minute. The mystery and romance will be worth a
- dress. Show me the way. I’ll follow.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “All right,” John answered, as he extended his hand and pressed the
- moulding behind which lay the spring. The panel flew open and a rush of
- cool air took Stella’s breath.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Heavens!” she exclaimed, clinging suddenly to John’s arm, “why, I had no
- idea it could open here just behind us in the hall!”
- </p>
- <p>
- He could feel her tremble.
- </p>
- <p>
- “There’s not the slightest danger—you need not be afraid,” he said,
- tenderly. “Wait, I’ll get the candle and go before you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He took the candle from the centre table and entered the passage-way,
- closing the panel.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Wait, you must hold my hand,” Stella cried timidly.
- </p>
- <p>
- He took the soft little hand in his with a throb of joy and carefully led
- her down the tiny stairs into the basement, where the passage turned
- between two walls and again descended a half dozen steps to another door
- which led out of the house into the long straight way to the vault.
- </p>
- <p>
- Trembling with excitement, she clung in silence to his hand as they
- entered the long damp passage. He closed the door suddenly, the sound
- crashing through the narrow walls in a thousand startling echoes.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella sprang into his arms, nestling close and whispered:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Mercy! what was that?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Only the door,” he laughed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It scared me nearly to death,” she faltered, slowly withdrawing from his
- sheltering protection while she skilfully managed to press her soft bare
- arm against his hand. She felt him tremble, his breath deepen and quicken
- at the touch of her flesh.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’re sure there’s no danger?” she asked.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Not the slightest,” he replied cheerily. “Just one more little surprise
- and we are out in the moonlight on the lawn.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He led her clinging to his hand along the dark way, holding the flickering
- candle above her head, a hundred mad impulses of love surging through his
- brain.
- </p>
- <p>
- They stopped at the stoneset door leading into the tomb, and he handed her
- the candle, gently disengaging his other hand. He drew the heavy door
- back, Stella stepped through and he followed close behind her.
- </p>
- <p>
- She raised the candle high and looked about the vault. With a sudden cry,
- she staggered into his arms gasping:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why,—we’re—in—the—vault!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The candle dropped from her hand and she threw her arm around John’s neck
- clinging to him frantically. Her hold relaxed and her head drooped against
- his breast. He clasped her tenderly for a moment and his lips
- instinctively touched the curling mass of her hair, as he cried in agony:
- </p>
- <p>
- “God help me—I’m lost!”
- </p>
- <p>
- She revived as quickly as she had collapsed and murmured:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I was about to faint—quick, let’s get out!”
- </p>
- <p>
- He led her through the iron grilled door into the moonlit shadows of the
- lawn.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh!” she cried with a gasp of relief. “What a wild experience! I hope I
- didn’t do anything very silly—did I?” she asked dreamily.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You did just what any little girl of your age might do under such
- conditions,” he replied, gazing at her with deep seriousness. “Come, let
- us find a seat on the lawn and I’ll tell you the story of the vault and
- the secret way.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He led her to the seat on which he had sunk in despair the night he came
- half-mad with pain to watch the masqueraders whirl past her lighted
- windows.
- </p>
- <p>
- The full moon wrapped the earth in the white mantle of Southern midsummer
- glory, and the night wind stirred, its breath laden with the rich perfume
- of every flower in full bloom. A katydid was singing a plaintive song in
- the tree above, and in the rose bushes near the porch a mocking-bird
- rehearsed in a burst of mad joy every love song of the feathered world.
- </p>
- <p>
- In low, rapid tones John told her the story of Robert Graham’s great love
- for his Huguenot grandmother and why he built the vault and secret way.
- </p>
- <p>
- She listened and furtively watched him struggling with his emotions.
- </p>
- <p>
- Suddenly he turned, looked tenderly into her eyes and took her hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “After all, Miss Stella, what else matters on earth, when life has once
- been made glorious by a great, deathless love—such a love as that
- which has grown in my own heart for you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella turned away to hide the flash of triumph with which her face was
- flushed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ah! don’t answer me now,” he rushed on. “I don’t ask it. I only beg the
- privilege of telling you—telling you how you have lifted my soul
- from the shadows of self and hate, and made life radiant and beautiful. I
- dare not hope that you love me yet—that you only hear me is enough.
- That I sit by your side and tell you is all I ask. My love is so deep, so
- full, so rich, so great, it is glory and life and strength within itself.
- I could die to-night and count my life a triumph, because I’ve seen you
- and loved you, and you have heard me. May I tell you all that is in my
- heart?”
- </p>
- <p>
- He leaned closer and pressed her hand gently.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes,” she whispered. “Why not?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I dare not tell you why I pause to ask the question. I’ve sometimes
- thought that an impassable gulf yawned between us. To-night I’ve thrown
- such rubbish to the winds. There’s no gulf so wide, so deep and dark the
- heart of love may not leap it. Nothing matters save that I love you, that
- you smile and hear me!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I am honoured in your love,” she answered gently.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ah! you can never know how sweet it is to hear that from your dear lips.
- I cannot tell you the madness of the joy that fills me, when I realise
- that I have found in you all I’ve ever dreamed of beauty, tenderness and
- purity. All the songs of life that poets dream and find no words in which
- to sing, I feel within. If you should send me from your presence now, I’d
- laugh at Death for I have tasted Life! To win your love is all I ask of
- this world or the next—You will let me try?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes,” said the low voice, as she placed her hand again in his.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then I must go,” he said, rising and lifting her from the seat—“I’ve
- said enough to-night. I must go before I dare say too much and break the
- spell of joy that holds me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- At the door he asked.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I may come again to-morrow?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, at eight.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He bowed and kissed the tips of her fingers.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I may have something to say to you to-morrow,” she said seriously.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I shall count the minutes of every hour that separates us.”
- </p>
- <p>
- She watched the tall figure pass swiftly and joyously along the white
- gravelled moonlit walk, while a paean of fierce joy welled within her
- heart.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ve won—I’ve won, beyond the shadow of a doubt!” she cried,
- exultantly.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0019" id="link2HCH0019"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER VIII—THE TRACKS AT THE DOOR
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">W</span>ITHIN thirty
- minutes after Ackerman had received Stella’s message that she had found
- the secret entrance to the house he was waiting for her at the door of the
- vault as she had suggested.
- </p>
- <p>
- He had entered by the rear wagon road and passed into the shrubbery
- without attracting the attention of the servants.
- </p>
- <p>
- She showed him the way to the underground passage through the niche in the
- rear of the vault, and in ten minutes Ackerman entered the hall through
- the panel under the stairs.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella, who had returned to the house across the lawn, watched the panel
- slowly open at his touch and her eyes gleamed with a cold, hard light as
- she saw reenacted in imagination the tragedy of her father’s death.
- </p>
- <p>
- The detective made an accurate diagram of the hall, measured carefully the
- distance of the secret door from the chair in which the Judge had been
- found, and reëxamined the ballroom and all its possible exits and
- entrances.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella returned to the entrance of the vault and placed a padlock and
- chain on its iron door while Ackerman again entered the underground
- passage and spent two hours alone, making the most minute examinations and
- measurements of every track to be found at any point from the door of the
- vault to the panel in the wainscoting. The work of measurement was
- rendered easy by the accumulation of soft earth in the bottom of the
- underground way from the action of the water which had soaked through the
- brick ceiling and walls.
- </p>
- <p>
- He discovered the footprints of eleven different men besides the dainty
- mark of Stella’s little shoe made the night before.
- </p>
- <p>
- He returned to the hall and asked her permission to come from time to time
- and continue his study of the grounds.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Certainly,” she answered eagerly. “And your discoveries?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Confirm so far my theory of the crime,” he answered quickly. “The
- assassins undoubtedly entered the house by this secret passage, committed
- the crime and passed quickly out without discovery. I did not know who was
- with you last night, but he has been there at least once before within the
- past few weeks.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Is it possible!” Stella exclaimed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I find,” he continued, “that he merely took a single step inside the door
- leading from the vault into the underground passage as if he were showing
- the way to others who traversed the entire length.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella’s red lips were suddenly pressed tight and Ackerman watched her
- keenly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “This may mean something or it may mean nothing. It all depends on what
- night he stepped inside the door.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I see,” she said cautiously.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Other facts I have found are of significance,” he went on. “I have
- located Mr. Isaac A. Postle, and learned from him two startling things.
- First that he encountered John Graham at the gate on the night of the
- murder—collided with him, he declares, as he was running from the
- masked men who had just galloped past his cottage.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The girl smothered a cry.
- </p>
- <p>
- “He also says that later in the evening, just before the murder occurred,
- he passed by the front door and saw John Graham seated on a rustic bench
- in the shadows watching the house.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s horrible—it’s horrible!” Stella murmured. “The two statements
- contradict each other. Uncle Isaac is lying at some point of his story. If
- he ran for his life from the masqueraders he certainly would not have
- returned to the house in thirty minutes while they were still there. Until
- I can find the motive for that lie his story must be taken with a large
- grain of salt. In the meantime if you can confirm for me his statement
- that Graham was here on that night you will do me a service.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Within a week I’ll tell you,” she replied, the strange cold light
- flashing again from her eyes.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0020" id="link2HCH0020"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER IX—A TEST OF STRENGTH
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">I</span>N TAKING leave of
- Ackerman Stella went immediately to her room to select her dress and plan
- her campaign for John Graham’s reception in the evening.
- </p>
- <p>
- A feeling of reaction depressed her. The passionate warmth and tenderness
- of his love remained a haunting memory. A sense of loneliness crept into
- her heart. She began to see that she was playing a desperate game with the
- great stake of a human life as the issue. The consciousness of its
- possible tragedy began to be dimly felt. She sat staring idly at the gowns
- she had piled on the big tester bed without being able to make a
- selection.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ve begun a daring task,” she mused. “The wit and beauty of a girl of
- twenty against the iron will and personality of a man of genius. A man
- just entering his thirtieth year, who has looked Death in the face on the
- field of battle and dared defy the power of the Government that has
- crushed him. Can I win?”
- </p>
- <p>
- The closer she had drawn to John Graham in their intimate daily
- association the more impossible seemed the idea that such a man could have
- murdered her father or known of such a crime. And yet the closer each day
- drew the net of circumstantial evidence about him and the fiercer grew her
- determination to demand the life of the murderer.
- </p>
- <p>
- What had surprised her most of all in his character was the spirit of
- eternal youth within him—youth strong, fresh, buoyant and throbbing
- with poetic ideals. At first she had thought him sombre and morose, yet in
- his presence she could never imagine him more than twenty years of age. In
- many of his little ways and moods she found him more boy than man. And she
- must acknowledge the truth—she had begun to think of his possible
- death as a criminal with a pang of regret.
- </p>
- <p>
- She rose and studied her beautiful figure in her mirror until self and
- pride once more filled the universe.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Bah! What to me is the life of the man who struck my father dead at my
- feet! I’ll amuse myself by playing the game of love with him for a week,
- and then for the master-stroke. I’ll watch him as a cat a mouse, and when
- I’m ready, strike to kill. If he had no mercy, I shall have none.”
- </p>
- <p>
- John found her in a mood of elusive girlishness. When he begged her to
- remember her parting words, the half-pledged promise of a message for
- which he waited, she only laughed and fenced.
- </p>
- <p>
- She allowed him to call each afternoon and evening for a week until he was
- drunk with the joy of her presence—until the sense of personal
- intimacy and the growing consciousness of comradeship had made his will
- obedient to her slightest whim. It amused her to watch the growth of his
- powers of intuition, born of this daily life, which enabled him to
- anticipate her wishes.
- </p>
- <p>
- For the man, these days were as water to the lips of a thirsty dreamer. In
- the heart of the girl, who studied his every movement with deep sinister
- purpose, there had grown a cruel joy in the consciousness of the tyranny
- she wielded over a powerful human life.
- </p>
- <p>
- Toward the end of the week he began to beg her tenderly for a single word
- of love. At last she promised him an answer on the evening following, and
- forbade his afternoon call. She knew the effect of his longer absence
- would be to give her greater power. At last she was sure that the hour had
- struck toward which she had moved with such infinite pains, the hour of
- his complete surrender and his utter trust, when she had but to breathe
- her wish to know the guarded secrets of the Klan and they would be
- whispered into her ear without a moment’s hesitation.
- </p>
- <p>
- She had planned to lead him to the seat amid the shadows of the trees near
- the house from which Isaac said he had watched the dance the night of the
- tragedy, and if possible gain both important secrets at once.
- </p>
- <p>
- She again selected the low cut white chiffon she wore the night he had
- declared his love.
- </p>
- <p>
- Maggie’s keen eyes watched her dress with a care never shown before. The
- little black maid flashed her white teeth more than once behind her back
- as she observed the delicate yet sure art with which, by a touch here and
- there, her mistress managed to suggest with unusual daring the physical
- charms of her extraordinary beauty. When the task was finished and she
- surveyed her form in her mirror with a look of proud content, Maggie
- laughed:
- </p>
- <p>
- “You sho’ is trying ter kill ’im to-night!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Maggie, how dare you suggest such a thing!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “De Laws a mussy, Miss Stella, I des mean dat you’se de purtiest thing in
- de whole worl’ an’ he gwine drap dead quick as he sees ye!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “That will do, Maggie,” she said severely.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassum.”
- </p>
- <p>
- But in spite of her severity, the mistress smiled at the maid, and Maggie
- burst into a fit of laughter. When at length it subsided, she stood with
- wide staring worshipful eyes gazing at Stella entranced.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ef I could look lak dat, Miss Stella, I’d let ‘em bile me in ile, roast
- me on a red-hot stove and peel me!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You are breaking the Ten Commandments, Maggie.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassum, I’d bust a hundred commandments ef I could look lak you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I accept the compliment, if I can’t commend your morals.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassum.”
- </p>
- <p>
- A sudden flash of lightning revealed the clouds of a rapidly approaching
- summer storm.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella frowned.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s going to storm,” she said, fretfully,
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassum, but he’ll come.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The mistress laughed in spite of herself.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m not worrying about his coming, Maggie.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Nobum, you needn’t worry. He swim er river ef he couldn’t git here no
- odder way—dar he is now!”
- </p>
- <p>
- His familiar knock echoed through the hall and the maid hastened to open
- the door.
- </p>
- <p>
- When Stella stood before him, John seized both her hands and looked into
- her deep eyes with silent rapture.
- </p>
- <p>
- “How glorious you are to-night!” he whispered passionately.
- </p>
- <p>
- She made no answer save the sensitive smile of triumph which lighted her
- face and quivered through her form.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I meant to find a seat on the lawn to-night, but it’s going to rain.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I ran, to get here first,” he cried with boyish enthusiasm—“It’s
- raining now, but the old davenport under the stairs is cosey on a rainy
- night.”
- </p>
- <p>
- She looked at the panel door and hesitated.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’re not afraid of ghosts from below I hope?” he laughed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, I’ve locked the iron door,” she announced soberly, taking her seat by
- his side.
- </p>
- <p>
- With a vivid flash of lightning followed by a crash of thunder the storm
- broke, the big raindrops mixed with hail rattling furiously against the
- windows.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella nestled closer to his side, and John turned his swarthy, eager face
- toward her.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now, while the storm roars,” he whispered, “and shuts out the world,
- drawing us closer together—so close I feel that there is no world
- beyond the touch of your hand and the music of your voice—won’t you
- tell me what my heart is starving to hear?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Do you realise what it means for a girl to say to a man, ‘I love you?’”
- she asked slowly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I do,” was the quick answer.
- </p>
- <p>
- “In all its depths?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes. It means the utter surrender of soul and body or it means nothing!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And yet, you ask that I say it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I know that I’m not worthy, but Love has always dared to claim its own,
- soul crying to soul, mate calling to mate—I love you! I love you!
- Ah! The story is old as the throb of life, yet always new and full of
- wonder. I know it’s too much to ask, yet I dare to ask it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “There should be no shadows between those who thus love, should there?”
- she asked with a far-away dreamy look as if his burning words had caught
- her spirit in their spell.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No,” he answered, solemnly. “A thousand times I’ve longed to tell you how
- tender was my sympathy for you in the tragedy that threw its shadow across
- your young life in this hall a few months ago.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And yet you didn’t,” she said reproachfully, studying him keenly and
- furtively, with her head bowed as if in grief for the memory of her
- father.
- </p>
- <p>
- “How could I without hypocrisy? The Judge and I had been uncompromising
- enemies. Could I tear my heart open and let the vulgar world see the deep
- secret of my love for you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You loved me then?” she broke in with surprise.
- </p>
- <p>
- “From the moment you crossed this old hall the night I met you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Loved me when you refused to answer my appeal in person the day I wrote
- you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I refused because I loved you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- She looked at him a moment with a feeling of sudden fear. For the first
- time she realised with a shock that her imperious will to master his life
- was not the only force at work. The shadowy figure of Fate stood grim and
- silent before her.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The man who wins my heart,” she said firmly, “can hold no reservations—he
- must be all mine, body and soul. He asks as much of me. I demand the same.
- Are you ready to place your life in my hands as I am asked to place mine
- in yours?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Without reservation,” he answered.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I must be frank with you,” she said, turning her eyes appealingly on him.
- “Since the awful night I saw my father sitting dead in that chair with
- those masked figures, white, silent and terrible behind me, I have had a
- morbid curiosity mingled with terror for everything and everyone connected
- with the Klan. I have heard that you are a member?”
- </p>
- <p>
- John suddenly knelt before her and took her hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Here on my knees before you and before God—and when I am before you
- I am in the presence of God!—I call the spirit of the dead back on
- the wings of this storm to-night into this hall to witness when I swear to
- you that I am innocent of any knowledge of his death!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And there shall be not one shadow between us?
- </p>
- <p>
- “Not one. Every secret of my life shall be laid bare before I’d dare claim
- you as my wife. I only beg to-night one word of love from your dear lips.
- You believe me when I swear to you, on my honour, my life, my love that I
- am innocent?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I believe and trust you!”
- </p>
- <p>
- He bowed and kissed her fingers reverently.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And now you must show that you trust me before I speak,” she went on
- dreamily—“you are in reality the Chief of the Klan in North
- Carolina, are you not?”
- </p>
- <p>
- John’s hand trembled, his lips quivered, and a look of mortal anguish
- overspread his face.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Please don’t ask me that yet?” he begged. “You are afraid to trust me?”
- she said reproachfully.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I trust you implicitly,” he cried, pressing her hand, “but do not ask me
- now!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “The hands of Southern women made those white and scarlet costumes,” she
- persisted. “May I not share at least one of its secrets with them?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Remember that conditions have changed!” he urged—“A price is set on
- the head of every member of the Klan. The South now swarms with spies—the
- Government is straining every nerve to learn the secrets of the order—have
- I the right even to breathe the name of the Klan while another’s life may
- hang on my word?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I see,” she cried with scorn, rising. “The daughter of a murdered
- ‘Scalawag’ judge may not be trusted as other loyal women of the proud old
- aristocratic South!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Please, I beg of you——”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You may go!” she said proudly.
- </p>
- <p>
- And without another word she quickly turned, ascended the stairs and
- disappeared.
- </p>
- <p>
- John stood for a moment blind and dumb with pain, mechanically took his
- hat and slowly passed through the door and out into the black, raging
- storm.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0021" id="link2HCH0021"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER X—BEHIND BOLTED DOORS
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">J</span>OHN GRAHAM fought
- his way home heedless of the storm’s blinding fury. The hurricane without
- was but a zephyr to the one which raged within his own soul. Again and
- again he asked himself the question why Stella should have demanded of him
- such a confession.
- </p>
- <p>
- He had instantly resented it. Perhaps he had scented danger. And yet it
- was preposterous to think the girl he worshipped could have desired this
- dangerous knowledge to be used against him.
- </p>
- <p>
- Ackerman in discussing his mill projects in the office during the
- afternoon had asked him a number of irritating questions about the Klan
- which he had skilfully parried. His mind was over-sensitive and sore
- perhaps from this annoyance. Ackerman could have nothing to do with Stella—they
- were not even passing acquaintances.
- </p>
- <p>
- From every point of view he tested the problem of her possible design to
- use this knowledge and found it preposterous. There was but one reasonable
- explanation. She had found with her keen woman’s intuition the one weak
- spot in his mental attitude toward her. Yes, it was true. He loved her
- with passionate devotion, but he had not fully trusted her. She had
- discovered it. Had she not thus revealed the true state of her own heart?
- She must love him. Otherwise this keen sensitiveness to his moods would
- not be possible. The thought was sweet in spite of his agony over their
- break. After all she was right, proud little queen of his heart, to demand
- his loyal faith! Should he yield to her this perilous secret of his own
- life? Would he thus endanger those with whom he had been associated in the
- daring task of saving the civilisation of the South in the blackest hour
- of her history?
- </p>
- <p>
- While the battle thus raged in his soul he reached his room, removed his
- drenched clothing and replaced them with dry ones. He walked to his window
- and looked out on the spluttering street lamp across the way struggling to
- hold its tiny flame against the storm and wondered why he had dressed
- again. He should have gone to bed. And then the dawning sense of loss and
- misery crushed him. He sank into a chair and watched the rain dash against
- the glass and stream down the sides of the window, his heart aching in
- dumb agony.
- </p>
- <p>
- “My God!” he cried at last, “I can’t live without her! She loves me, and I
- must win her!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The memory of her cold words as she ordered him from the house came
- crashing back into his heart with sinister echoes. Never had he seen a
- human being so transformed by anger—eyes that a moment before had
- held him enraptured with their tender light had flashed cold points of
- steel. Hands, soft and warm and full of velvet feeling, had closed in rage
- as the claws of a tigress!
- </p>
- <p>
- Suppose she refused to see him again? It was unthinkable. He seemed to
- have lived a century within the weeks since she had called him to her
- side. The life which had gone before grew dim. Four years of war and two
- years of daring secret revolution as a leader of the Invisible Empire
- faded from his consciousness. Only a great love remained, and those days
- by her side seemed to hold the full measure of his life.
- </p>
- <p>
- He undressed and went to bed, only to roll and toss hour after hour
- without sleep.
- </p>
- <p>
- He saw the first gray light of dawn with a sense of utter desolation. The
- rain had ceased an hour before. Swift flying clouds and swaying tree-tops
- heralded the coming of a clear, beautiful day. He determined to write at
- once and beg to see her. In a moment his mind was on fire with his
- passionate plea. As the sun rose, reflecting through scurrying clouds its
- scarlet and purple glory, he hastily dressed, sat down at his table and
- poured out his anguish in burning words of tenderness and love. He read it
- over with renewed hope. Never had he expressed himself so well. The letter
- was a living thing. No woman’s hand could touch it without feeling its
- vital power. An immortal soul beat within it.
- </p>
- <p>
- He had added the last line of a postscript begging her to name an early
- hour at which he might call, and sat in dull moody reverie unconscious of
- the flight of time.
- </p>
- <p>
- A gentle knock on his door roused him. He opened it and stared blankly at
- Susie’s gentle face.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I trust you’re not sick, Mr. John,” she said. “Everybody is through
- breakfast. I’ve kept yours warm.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Thank you, Miss Susie. I’ve only a little headache. I won’t eat any
- breakfast. I’ve important work at the office. I’m going down at once.”
- </p>
- <p>
- As he passed her at the head of the stairs she said with a wistful look:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Mama says she heard you stirring all night. If I can help you, won’t you
- let me?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, little comrade, I will. I’ll let you know,” he answered, swinging
- quickly down the stairs and out the front door.
- </p>
- <p>
- He found a boy on the street and sent him to Stella with his letter. He
- stood at his office door and watched him until out of sight and counted
- the minutes until he reappeared. He had paid him a dime on dispatching the
- letter and promised to double it if he came back in a hurry. Fifteen
- minutes later he smiled as he saw the boy coming in a run, his swift bare
- feet making the dirt fly in the middle of the street.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I knew it! Of course, she will see me!” he exclaimed as he bounded up his
- stairs two rounds at a jump. He gave the astonished boy a quarter instead
- of another dime, hurried into his office, and slammed the door. He felt
- the weight of the letter with faint misgivings. It was large to have been
- written so quickly. Yet it was addressed with her own dear hand. He tore
- it open, and from his trembling fingers dropped his own letter with the
- seal unbroken. Not a line from her. Her meaning could not be
- misunderstood. She could have offered him no deeper insult. He sank to his
- seat with a groan and sat for an hour in a stupor of wounded pride. “I
- won’t accept such an answer from her!” he cried bitterly. “And I won’t
- stand on ceremony.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He walked down the street to the gate of the driveway of the Graham house,
- hoping he might find Aunt Julie Ann at her cottage. The door was closed
- and he could get no response to his knock. He looked longingly at the old
- house shining with its snow white doors and windows against the dark fresh
- green of the rain-soaked trees, and thought with a pang of his quarrel
- over its possession. What did houses matter if the heart was sick unto
- death! The humblest Negro cabin would be a palace if only her face would
- shine from the doorway!
- </p>
- <p>
- He felt himself drawn toward her with resistless force and before he
- realised what he was doing his hand was on the brass knocker and its
- echoes were ringing through the hall.
- </p>
- <p>
- Aunt Julie Ann shook her head as she ushered him in.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I wish ye hadn’t come, marse John,” she said sorrowfully.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why not?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “She shut hersef up in de room an’ won’t let nobody come in. I creep up to
- de door, and hear her cryin’ sof’ an’ low. I knock an’ she didn’ answer. I
- knock again an’ calls her sweet names an’ ax her please lemme do sumfin
- for her. She jump up an’ stamp her foot an’ say she kill me ef I doan’
- leave her ’lone. I’se skeered of her, honey, she ain’t lak our
- folks. When de old Boy’s in her lak it is ter day she talks jes lak de
- Judge. When she laughs an’ plays an’ looks purty as an angel her voice
- jest like her Ma’s, low an’ sweet.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Tell her I’m here and wish to see her”—John interrupted with
- impatience.
- </p>
- <p>
- Aunt Julie Ann shook her head again:
- </p>
- <p>
- “You better not honey!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I must see her. Try!”
- </p>
- <p>
- John stood at the foot of the stairs nervously fumbling his hat while Aunt
- Julie Ann climbed to the floor and knocked on her door.
- </p>
- <p>
- He listened breathlessly for her answer. The key clicked in the lock and
- Stella opened it wide enough to be distinctly heard. Her voice rang cold
- and clear:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Tell Mr. Graham to leave this house instantly and never enter it again!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The door closed and the bolt flashed into its place again.
- </p>
- <p>
- John’s face flushed red, the colour slowly fading as his strong jaws
- snapped with new determination.
- </p>
- <p>
- “In spite of the devil, I’ll win her yet!”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0022" id="link2HCH0022"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XI—A VOICE IN WARNING
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>WO days passed
- without a word of hope for John. On the third morning after his dismissal
- by Stella he sat pale and listless at breakfast, scarcely tasting his
- food, while Susie watched his drawn face with keen sympathetic eyes. An
- hour later she entered his office.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You promised to let me help you,” she said quietly. “I have come.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He looked at her a moment and wondered why he had never before seen her
- striking beauty. A tall figure with exquisite sylph like lines, a serene
- and perfectly moulded face with straight, thoughtful brows shadowing the
- tenderest gray-blue eyes, and a crown of luxuriant auburn blonde hair.
- </p>
- <p>
- He caught at once the sincere sympathy of her mood, as he pressed her
- hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I never saw you so beautiful, Miss Susie, or your face so sweet and
- restful.”
- </p>
- <p>
- She blushed and looked out the window.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I can’t tell you how I thank you for coming. I think we must have been
- brother and sister in some other world before this.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The corners of the girl’s lips twitched and she turned her tender eyes
- full on John’s.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You are in love with Stella?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And she has rejected you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, we have quarrelled and she refuses to see me or read my letters.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “She loves you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ve hoped so, I don’t know. She lets me feel it without words.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “We are friends, what can I do?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “See her and beg her for God’s sake to let me call, at least to read my
- letters. Will you go to-day?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Immediately.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Thank you,” he cried, again tenderly pressing her hand. “You must have
- loved too, Miss Susie.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Perhaps I have,” was the soft reply. “Write your message and I’ll take
- it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- John seated himself and hastily wrote:
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>My dear Stella:</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>From the bottom of a heart crushed with anguish I ask your pardon for
- my lack of faith. Your pride was right. Give me a chance and I will show
- you what the trust of perfect love means for me. I await from you the
- words of life or death.</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>John Graham</i>.
- </p>
- <p>
- Susie promised to return at once with her answer.
- </p>
- <p>
- She knocked at the door of the old Graham house with a strange conflict
- raging in her own breast. She hoped to succeed for the sake of the aching
- heart of the man she had left, and yet mingled with the fear of failure
- was the half-mad wish that Stella might reject his plea.
- </p>
- <p>
- Aunt Julie Ann’s face was troubled as she greeted Susie.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Tell Miss Stella, that I’m very sorry to learn of her illness and I trust
- she can see me a moment.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassum, I tell her—but I’se feard she ain’t well enough.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Aunt Julie Ann returned immediately, smiling.
- </p>
- <p>
- “She say come right up to her room, Miss Susie.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Susie was shocked to note the change-in the beautiful young face lying
- still and pale against the white pillow.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m sorry to find you so ill!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I suppose I have nerves,” she said, smiling wanly. “I didn’t know it
- before. I think some of them must have snapped—but I’m better now.
- I’ll get up this afternoon.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ve something that will help you, if you will take it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella’s brow clouded, and her eyes, wide and cold, assumed a sinister
- half-mad expression.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You have a message from Mr. Graham?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “How did you guess it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “He has tried every other possible way. I wondered if he would stoop to
- this.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Stoop!—what do you mean?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “To use you for such a purpose.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And why not?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You ask that of me?” The great brown eyes pierced Susie’s soul.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Certainly.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then it’s all right,” she said with a light laugh. “You must receive his
- message,” Susie said. “You’ve won the heart of the noblest man I have ever
- known—a great, beautiful, measureless love. Don’t turn away from it—you
- may not know its like again.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The full lips smiled curiously.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ve brought you a letter from him—you must read it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Susie pressed the letter into Stella’s hand and turned away to the window.
- She heard the rattle of the paper as it was opened and refolded, and
- walked back to the bedside. Before she could ask Stella’s answer, her eye
- rested on a letter in Ackerman’s handwriting, lying open on the white
- covering. She started violently but managed to suppress an exclamation.
- Only that morning she had received herself a letter from the young
- Northerner declaring his love in simple, honest fashion. She couldn’t
- believe her eyes at first, but a second look convinced her of its reality.
- What puzzled her still more was to observe beside this letter a sheet of
- paper on which was drawn the diagram of the hall with the minute accuracy
- of an architect’s plan, with Ackerman’s notes interlining it.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What shall I say?” she stammered in confusion.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella looked at her with a momentary start, smiled and answered:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Tell Mr. Graham I have received and read his letter. I’ll think it over
- this evening and reply to-morrow.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then I’ll go,” said Susie, taking her hand. “I’m so glad I saw you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- As she turned through the door her eye again was drawn irresistibly to
- Ackerman’s letter. She returned to John Graham’s office stunned by this
- puzzling discovery.
- </p>
- <p>
- John was bitterly disappointed in the message she brought. Her long stay
- had raised in him the highest hope. His own surrender had been so complete
- and generous, that he could not conceive it possible that she would debate
- in cold blood for twenty-four hours the question of her answer. It seemed
- heartless and utterly cruel. He rebelled in fierce futile protest. He did
- not try to conceal the bitterness of his disappointment from Susie, and
- was too selfishly occupied with his own grief to note the constraint in
- her manner as she hurried home from his office, even before he had found
- words in which to thank her for the delicate service she had rendered him.
- </p>
- <p>
- He sent for Alfred and got word to Aunt Julie Ann that he wished to see
- her at her cottage after supper. He knew that Alfred had taken advantage
- of Isaac’s long absence to renew his calls on his former love.
- </p>
- <p>
- When he arrived at nine o’clock Aunt Julie Ann had placed a pot of coffee
- and a plate of tea-cakes on a little table for him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What’s de matter, honey?” she asked.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m in great trouble, Aunt Julie Ann.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, Mammy’s baby knows who ter come to when he’s in trouble!” she said
- tenderly. She had always called him baby—this bronzed hero of battle
- fields. His thirty years meant nothing to her except increasing faith in
- his manhood. Since the day she first took his baby form in her arms she
- had watched him grow in body and spirit with a brooding mother pride.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You must talk to Miss Stella for me,” he said. “Get close to her Aunt
- Julie Ann, you’re a woman, and tell her all the good things you remember
- about me. You know better than I do—you understand? Make her smile
- again and get her to see me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now, you set down dar sir, an’ drink dat coffee an’ tell me what you
- doin’ gwine roun’ here mopin’ an’ pinin’ yo’ life out all ’bout a
- gal don’t care two straws whedder you’se er livin’ er dyin’. I’d be shamed
- er myself, great big grown man lak you is, what fit froo de war an’
- everybody say gwine ter be de guvnor some day.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Can’t you get her to see me, Aunt Julie Ann?” he interrupted, earnestly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Drink dat coffee, an’ den I tell ye!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s too hot for coffee—I’m not hungry—Tell me now.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Drink it fur Mammy, boy—I wants de grouns. I’m gwine tell ye
- somefin when I looks in de cup. I seed a vision las’ night.”
- </p>
- <p>
- To humour her John drank the coffee in silence. She took the empty cup,
- studied its message, and looked into John’s face.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, honey, hit’s des lak I see hit las’ night, an’ I warns ye! I see two
- purty gals—a fair one and a dark one. Bof lubs ye—but dey’s
- one er slippin up behind yer back wid a shinin’ knife in her hand. Her
- long black hair is hangin’ loose on her white shoulders an’ all twisted
- lak snakes. I see her hide de knife in her bosom an’ slip her arms roun’
- yo neck. She kiss you an’ blindfold ye wid her curly hair an’ slip de
- knife from her bosom an’ stab you froo de heart! Mammy’s baby! Mammy’s
- baby!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The black woman’s voice sank to a weird whisper full of tears and ‘wild
- half-savage music as she seized John’s hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Don’t come to de house no mo,’ Marse John!” she pleaded.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And why not?” he asked sharply.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Case I look again in de vision an’ I see her face plain—an’ it wuz
- hers!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Whose?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Miss Stella, honey—I warns ye! she doan lub my baby—keep away
- from her!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Rubbish, Aunt Julie Ann; you’ve been having a nightmare.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I see it all, des ez plain ez I sees you now—I warns ye!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll risk it,” John laughed. “I’m hoping for good news to-morrow—please
- say your prayers for me to-night.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Yet in spite of his culture and the inheritance of centuries of knowledge,
- the voodoo message of his old nurse shrouded his spirit in deeper gloom.
- He walked home with a new sense of dread in his heart, wondering what
- answer she would send him to-morrow.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0023" id="link2HCH0023"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XII—THE TRAP IS SPRUNG
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE following
- morning when Stella, sitting up in bed, opened her mail and read
- Ackerman’s report, the last doubt of John Graham’s guilt was shattered.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>“I have just learned,” Ackerman wrote, “that a number of men of
- notoriously desperate character from the foot of the mountains were in
- Independence on the day before the tragedy and that a man by the name of
- Dan Wiley, their leader, reported in person to John Graham’s office.”</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella sprang from her bed and began hurriedly to dress.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now God give me strength for the work I’m going to do!” she cried, with
- strangling rage. “To think that such a man should dare to speak to me of
- love—should dare to clasp my hand with the stain of my father’s
- blood yet fresh on his! I could kill him with my own hand—coward,
- dastard, sneak, assassin! I hate him—I hate him!”
- </p>
- <p>
- She threw herself on her bed again in a paroxysm of uncontrollable fury.
- She arose at length, calm, alert, her cheeks flushed with brilliant
- colour, her great eyes dilated wide and sparkling with courage.
- </p>
- <p>
- The knocker struck sharply and she remembered with a start that Steve
- Hoyle had returned on the midnight train and would call this morning. She
- heard Maggie show Steve into the library.
- </p>
- <p>
- Without waiting for her breakfast she hastened to meet him, and he plunged
- at once into the purpose of his call:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Has John Graham yet confessed his leadership?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “He will to-day,” was the quiet answer.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The fame of your desperate love affair has set the town agog,” Steve
- laughed triumphantly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Doubtless,” she replied moodily.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ve everything arranged—the men are only waiting for the word.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I prefer that the law take its course. I’m not ready to commit murder,”
- she said emphatically.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Nonsense! The law’s a farce—Deliver him to his own men to be judged
- by the Klan which has set itself above the State. If he is the leader of
- the Invisible Empire he holds his own High Court. Let his men decide his
- fate. It’s justice!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella hesitated a moment and slowly said:
- </p>
- <p>
- “When I learn from his own lips that he is the Chief of the Klan and find
- that there is no other way in which he can be made to pay the penalty of
- his crime, I’ll deliver him to his men.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “They’ll be ready to receive him.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I shall know in twenty-four hours.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll await your word,” he answered eagerly, his eyes devouring her
- beauty.
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve hurriedly left and Stella seated herself at her desk to write her
- answer to John Graham. Two attempts she tore up. The third suited her. In
- the centre of a sheet of paper she wrote two words:
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>“Come—Stella.”</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- When John Graham received this note at eleven o’clock from the hands of
- her messenger, he felt before he broke the seal that it bore glad tidings.
- </p>
- <p>
- He tore it open and with a cry of joy, tried to read, and the tears
- blinded him. He crushed the note in his hand and bowed his head on his
- desk, his whole being convulsed with emotion which he could not control.
- He rose at length, walked to his window, opened the note again and gazed
- at it until he broke into a joyous laugh, repeating the words:
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>“Come—Stella.”</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- “The most wonderful letter I ever received,” he exclaimed. “The longest,
- the richest, the deepest—the answering call of my mate! In all
- nature there’s no such cry. From out the shadows of hell I lift my soul
- and answer, ‘My love, I come!’”
- </p>
- <p>
- In a moment he had forgotten every fear; and all the pain, blind and
- hideous, of the last three days was lost in a joy that lit the world with
- splendour.
- </p>
- <p>
- He called immediately on horseback and asked her to ride with him through
- a beautiful wooded road he had long wished to show her. Stella caught the
- echo of his horse’s hoofs with a shudder as he approached the house. She
- had not heard that sound on the gravelled roadway of the lawn since the
- night she listened to the distant echoes of the masqueraders as she stood
- beside the dead.
- </p>
- <p>
- She accepted his suggestion and hastily despatched a message to Ackerman
- asking that he await her return in her library at sundown as she intended
- to spend the afternoon in the country on important business.
- </p>
- <p>
- At three o’clock they galloped out of Independence toward the river.
- </p>
- <p>
- “My heart is too full now for speech,” he said, leaning toward her, his
- face radiant with happiness.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I understand.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Just to be near you is all I ask for a while. It seems too good to be
- true. It has been a century since I saw you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- She remained silent. The only visible response, if any, was the quickening
- of her horse’s pace at the unconscious touch of the little spur concealed
- beneath her skirts.
- </p>
- <p>
- Her silence meant to him feelings too deep for words, and again his heart
- sang for joy.
- </p>
- <p>
- Four miles out of town they left the main highway and turned into the
- narrow crooked road which wound along the banks of a creek through the
- densest forest in the county.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m going to take you to ‘Inwood,’ General Gaston’s place. The house was
- burned by Sherman’s army, only the vine-covered ruins are standing now. It
- was the finest house ever built in the state, and many a gay party held
- high carnival there in the old days.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ve heard my mother speak of it,” she answered soberly, glancing at him
- from the corner of her eye. “In fact, it was there at a picnic one day
- that my father proposed to his sweetheart and my mother accepted him, and
- planned their elopement. How strange that you should have chosen to bring
- me to this place to-day!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’ll understand it later,” he quickly responded.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I hope you don’t mean to kidnap me?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It might be advisable in view of the events of the past three days,” he
- laughed.
- </p>
- <p>
- She glanced about her at the deep shadows of the great trees through which
- they had been passing for more than a mile and shot at him a sudden look
- of fear.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Let’s turn back,” she said, flushing and reining her horse to a stand.
- </p>
- <p>
- A look of pain clouded his face as he bent near.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Surely, dearest, you can trust the man who worships you! Come, we are
- only a few hundred yards from the gate.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then I’ll trust you that much further,” she said with a light laugh,
- spurring her horse forward.
- </p>
- <p>
- In a few minutes they passed through the ruined gate in the edge of the
- woods. The broken marble figures which once crowned the brick pillars lay
- beside the entrance among a mass of tangled blackberry briars. They had
- been pried from their places and hurled there by the bayonets of Sherman’s
- men and had not been touched since.
- </p>
- <p>
- The lawn, which once had spread its beautiful carpet of flowers and
- shrubbery in wide acres here in the heart of the ancient woods, had grown
- up in ugly broom straw and young pines, which were slowly strangling to
- death the more delicate forms of life. The dark fir trees, magnolia and
- holly, still flourished in luxury.
- </p>
- <p>
- Towering in solemn, serried line on a gentle eminence still stood the six
- great white Corinthian pillars of the front façade of the house. Behind
- them in dark background a row of Norwegian firs, fifty years old, marked
- the sky line. The afternoon sun cast the shadows of the trees across the
- fluted marble of two of the pillars, while the other four shimmered in the
- splendour of the sunlight.
- </p>
- <p>
- The capitals of the columns had fallen with the blazing ruins of the
- house, but the bases and tall beautiful fluted forms of each were yet
- perfect. The ivy which had grown on the sides of the stone steps had
- climbed in unbridled riot over one of them and hung in graceful festoons
- from the top.
- </p>
- <p>
- To Stella’s fancy they seemed grim white sentinels guarding the entrance
- to some vast empire of the dead.
- </p>
- <p>
- “How still and death-like everything is,” she said, with a timid glance
- about her. “We seem a thousand miles from life.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He took her hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “When I stand by your side, in every silent space I hear the beating of
- the wings of angels.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “The wings of the angel of Death here, I should think!” she said in
- strange subdued tones, as her eyelids drooped and she looked away.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Away with such nonsense,” he cried, cheerily. “I’ve something to do
- before I dare to speak to you again of the love that is in my heart.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He led her behind the towering columns, and, at the rear of the ruins of
- the heavy brick walls, entered the basement by a stairway half covered
- with fallen débris.
- </p>
- <p>
- The floors of the first story which had been constructed of iron and
- cement foundations had remained unbroken. The basement, once entered below
- the ruins, was in a state of perfect preservation.
- </p>
- <p>
- They entered the immense kitchen whose walls had once echoed with the
- voices of swarms of indolent well-fed slaves.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella looked about her in amazement, asking with a slight tremor in her
- voice:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why have you brought me here?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “To place my life in your hands, joyously, without a single reservation,”
- he said with deep earnestness. “You are in the council chamber of the
- Invisible Empire. Here its High Court of Life and Death was held.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella’s breath quickened and she glanced at John with furtive eyes.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I should have told you frankly at first. You had the right to know before
- you gave your life into my keeping.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He led her to the big wrought-iron range and opened one of its ovens,
- revealing the form of an old-fashioned safe.
- </p>
- <p>
- Taking a huge key from his pocket, he opened the door and drew from it a
- package of papers.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I am going to show you, my love, what no woman’s eye ever saw before, the
- guarded secrets of the Invisible Empire, its signs, passwords, ritual and
- secret oath. In this act I now imperil no life save my own.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella’s tapering fingers trembled as she turned the pages nervously and
- read its brief formulas.
- </p>
- <p>
- “As Chief of the Klan I met here the leaders from each district.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then—you—are—the—Chief?” she slowly asked,
- bending low to hide her flushed face.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I was the only Chief the Empire ever had in the state,” he answered
- with a ring of boyish pride.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And you bowed to no law save your own?” she asked in low tones.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And you really did hold high courts of life and death?” she whispered.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, we were the sole guardians of white civilisation. It was a necessity—the
- last resort of desperation.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You tried men here in secret, sentenced them without a hearing, executed
- them at night without warning, mercy or appeal?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It had to be—there was no other way. A million soldiers girded us
- with their bayonets. We had to strike under a mantle of darkness and
- terror, where the power of resistance was weakest, the blow unsuspected
- and discovery impossible.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “How terrible!” she interrupted with a shudder. “And yet,” she went on
- with a sudden flash of her eye, “its mystery and its daring fascinate me!
- Would you do something just to please a romantic fancy of mine?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I have but one desire in life—to please your fancy,” he cried.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Come here with me again, day after to-morrow night, and dress in your
- costume as Chief of the High Court of the Klan. Bring some lanterns and
- we’ll light it up—it’s just a fancy of mine—will you do it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’re not afraid to be here alone with me at night?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why should I? I love to do daring unconventional things. Besides, do we
- not belong to each other now?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You do love me?” he whispered.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Do you doubt it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Kiss me!” he pleaded, bending closer.
- </p>
- <p>
- With a sudden shudder she drew away.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Not yet! you must be patient. I’ve a lot of silly notions. That’s one of
- them. I’ll learn, no doubt.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll try to teach you,” he laughed—“and be content to touch your
- hand until my desire shall be yours.”
- </p>
- <p>
- They rode swiftly home, John’s soul in a warm glow of happiness. Stella
- spoke scarcely a word, but her cheeks were flushed and about her deep
- brown eyes a curious smile was constantly playing.
- </p>
- <p>
- He left her at the door and as he pressed her hand softly said:
- </p>
- <p>
- “You scarcely spoke the whole way home—tell me what were you
- thinking about?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I don’t know—perhaps dreaming of your terrible court—of a man
- being condemned to death without knowing it!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yet a smile was playing about your beautiful face?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella suddenly burst into half hysterical laughter:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Of course, how can you doubt that I was happy! I’ll tell you all my
- thoughts to-morrow night.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Shall we go on horseback?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, but I wish to go alone; I’ll meet you there at dusk,” she replied
- with another strange laugh, waving her hand as he mounted his horse and
- galloped away.
- </p>
- <p>
- She closed the door and with quick nervous step, crossed the hall and
- passed into the library, confronting Ackerman.
- </p>
- <p>
- “John Graham is the Chief of the Ku Klux Klan—he has confessed to
- me!” she whispered excitedly. “I have arranged everything for his arrest
- day after to-morrow evening at their secret meeting place.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then our work is complete,” he said with a ring of triumph.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And his execution is a certainty?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I haven’t the remotest idea that Graham himself can ever be convicted of
- the murder of Judge Butler—but your discovery is of tremendous
- importance.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “He—cannot—be—convicted!” Stella gasped.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, but the Invisible Empire will be in ruins in forty-eight hours,” he
- replied, seizing his hat. “Excuse me now, I have work of the gravest
- importance to-night. Thanks for the promptness with which you have kept
- your promise.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Before Stella could speak he was gone. With a scowl on her beautiful brow,
- she called Maggie:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Tell Mr. Steve Hoyle I wish to see him here immediately.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0024" id="link2HCH0024"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XIII—FOR LOVE’S SAKE
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">S</span>TEVE’S response to
- Stella’s call was prompt.
- </p>
- <p>
- He entered the library with heavy, firm step, a flush of triumph on his
- sleek handsome animal face.
- </p>
- <p>
- “He has betrayed the Klan to you?” he asked with eagerness.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Sit down,” she responded coolly, an accent of resentment rising in her
- voice. “Before I answer that important question, I’ve something I wish to
- ask you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Anything you like,” he answered suavely. “And I want the truth,” she
- continued, with increasing emphasis.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll give it to you if it’s in my power.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You haven’t done it always,” was the firm retort.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You wish to know about the men on whom I rely to execute justice on John
- Graham?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, who are they?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Members of the Klan from the hills—innocent men on whom he wreaked
- his vengeance in the most brutal and inhuman manner without a trial.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You are sure they are members of the Klan?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Certainly.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “They will come to arrest and try him, dressed in the same costumes the
- men wore the night my father was killed?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Have you hired these men to assassinate him?” she suddenly asked,
- piercing Steve with her great eyes.
- </p>
- <p>
- “My God, no!” he protested.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What will they do?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, try him by his own laws, of course,” Steve answered vaguely.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What laws?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “The law of the Order which forbids an officer to abuse his power by using
- it for personal ends as he did in the murder of the Judge.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why have they not tried him before?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “The feeling against him was not strong enough.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And now?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “If he has betrayed the Klan, by his own laws he can be torn limb from
- limb, so long as a shred of its power remains.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “He could not be put to death for telling the secrets of the Klan to the
- woman he loves?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And he knows this?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Of course.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “A big, glorious, beautiful thing, a love like that, isn’t it?” she cried
- with strange elation, tears flashing from her eyes.
- </p>
- <p>
- “From the woman’s point of view, perhaps it is—from that of the man
- whose life he puts in peril, hardly.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But from the woman’s point of view! yes—and judged by her standard,
- cowards who hedge and lie and fear to do such things don’t measure very
- high beside him—do they? I’m afraid, Steve, your love is a weak
- thing. It would be a pity to kill a man who would dare death to please the
- fancy of the woman he loves—now, wouldn’t it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Such a man, for example, as he who sneaked under cover of the night and
- struck your father dead at your feet without a chance to defend himself,”
- Steve sneered.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes! That’s the hideous thought that strangles me!” she cried, her breast
- heaving with a tumult of emotion, her breath coming in gasps of passion.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You are going to falter and give up?” he asked indignantly.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella ignored his question and said in even tones as though talking to
- herself:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I had intended to have the United States marshals arrest him dressed in
- the Klan costume at their meeting place.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And now?” Steve broke in eagerly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I don’t know what to do. I’ll be frank with you, Steve—I never
- expected to keep my promise to marry you—I never really expected to
- face such a choice. There are times when I like you. There’s evil in me,
- as there is in you—cruelty, pride, selfishness—I feel our
- kinship. But I don’t love you, and the closer I get to you the less I love
- you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’ll learn to love me—I’ll wait,” he broke in.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The reason why I like you less and less,” she went on, “is that I feel
- other forces in me which are not evil—big, generous impulses, and
- aspirations for things beautiful and true and good that you have never
- felt and could never understand.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Which some other man might develop,” he snapped. “Well, play the baby act
- then, and give it all up.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, I’ve made up my mind to have the life of the man who took my
- father’s. It’s the one supreme passion which dominates my soul and body.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “He has confessed to you then?” Steve cried breathlessly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Where will the men meet you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “At Inwood immediately after dark, day after to-morrow,” she answered
- firmly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s too early. Nine o’clock is better. The men will have time for
- careful preparation.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll be with him in the basement. He will be in the Klan costume; I wish
- him arrested and tried in that.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It shall be exactly as you wish,” said Steve, his eyes sparkling with
- triumph. “And your signal to the men?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Will be a light in the window of the basement.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I understand—Inwood—nine o’clock at night, day after
- to-morrow.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella’s answer was scarcely a whisper:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0025" id="link2HCH0025"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER XIV—THE JUDGMENT HALL OF FATE
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">S</span>TELLA made excuses
- to John Graham for not being able to see him before their appointment to
- meet at Inwood, and on the afternoon of the day fixed rode out of town at
- four o’clock alone.
- </p>
- <p>
- Her unconventional ways had ceased to excite comment in Independence since
- her extraordinary conduct in refusing to wear mourning for her father.
- There could be no graver breach of the traditions of good society than
- this in the eyes of her neighbours, and so long as she remained within the
- pale of respectability any other feat she might perform would be of minor
- interest.
- </p>
- <p>
- She rode rapidly, her mind in a tumult of excitement over the daring act
- of revenge she meant to wreak to-night on the man who had wronged her
- beyond the power of human forgiveness. Singlehanded and alone she had
- mastered his will and brought him to her feet. Single-handed and alone she
- had decided the question of his life and death. And this afternoon she
- wished to ride alone to the place appointed for his judgment.
- </p>
- <p>
- In spite of her resolution to mete out the sternest justice to John
- Graham, the memory of his passionate words of love, the deep tenderness
- with which he had hovered about her, and the utter trust he had shown
- during their last meeting, began to torment her.
- </p>
- <p>
- Had they met under fair conditions she could have loved him. She began to
- see it clearly now. His sincerity, his fiery emotions, his romantic
- extravagances, the old-fashioned chivalry with which he worshipped her
- were very sweet. The complete and generous surrender he had made, placing
- his life absolutely in her hands, began to glow with poetry in her
- imagination.
- </p>
- <p>
- He had always possessed the faculty of drawing out the best that was in
- her. Somehow she had never been able to hate him as she ought in his
- presence. There was something contagious in the spirit of love with which
- his whole personality seemed to radiate. She had begun to feel at home
- with him as with no other man she had ever met.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, dear, I’m sorry!” she sighed, as she entered the deep woods.
- Unconsciously she reined her horse to a stand, and was startled from her
- reverie by a tear rolling down her cheek and falling on her glove. “What a
- fool I am!” she cried in anger. “I’d better turn back now. I’m a
- chicken-hearted coward when put to the test. I’m scared out of my senses
- at the size of the task I’ve undertaken—that’s what’s the matter—I,
- who have boasted of my strength and shouted my triumph over a strong man’s
- conquest.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Another tear rolled down her cheek. She brushed it away with an angry
- stroke.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Suppose I find too late that I’m in love with him!” she exclaimed,
- helplessly.
- </p>
- <p>
- Her horse moved on without her urging or recognising it, so absorbed had
- she become in the battle raging within her heart.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What is love?” she mused aloud. “I wonder how it feels to really love?—Love
- him?—nonsense—I hate the very ground he walks on—the
- self-centered, proud, bigoted, narrow-minded fanatic! I’ve sworn to avenge
- my father’s death. I’ll do it. Let him come to-night to the judgment hall
- of his own making. I’ll prove myself a woman, and do my country a service
- when I hand him over to justice.”
- </p>
- <p>
- She touched her horse with the whip, and he bounded forward in a swift
- gallop, and in a few minutes she passed into the old lawn and saw the
- flash of the white ghost-like columns among the dark firs.
- </p>
- <p>
- Again she found herself recalling the silly extravagances of his talk as
- they entered the grounds two days before.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What was it he said about angels?” she mused with a smile. “Yes, I
- remember. Somehow I seem to remember them all!—‘When I stand by your
- side, in every silent space I hear the beating of the wings of angels’—and
- I liked it! what a fool a woman is! and tried to convince myself that I
- didn’t like it by adding, ‘the wings of the angel of death,’ only because
- I felt my hate grow weak under a silly compliment—well, I’m done
- with his maudlin love-making. It’s judgment day.”
- </p>
- <p>
- She dismounted, tied her horse, and wandered down the little crooked
- pathway to the famous spring at the foot of the hill where many a lover
- had lingered in days long past and poured out the old story that remains
- eternal in its youth. She wondered at the mad resolution of her mother,
- taken perhaps on this very spot twenty-five years ago, that had led her to
- break the bonds of blood, throw to the winds every tie of tenderness that
- bound her to the earth, and brave the scorn of her own proud world, all
- for the sake of the son of a poor white man—because she loved him!
- </p>
- <p>
- Why did people do such idiotic things? Why should a woman thus sink her
- soul and body in the fortunes of a man? She couldn’t understand it.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Surely this is the miracle of miracles of human life!” she murmured. “I
- wonder if John Graham was crazy when he said that night on the lawn: ‘If
- you should send me from your presence now, I’d laugh at Death, for I have
- tasted Life!’ Why do I keep thinking of what he has said?—Perhaps
- because he may die to-night!”
- </p>
- <p>
- She sprang to her feet, clasped her hands nervously and began to cry—softly
- at first, and then with utter abandonment, sinking again to the ground and
- burying her face in her arm.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, dear! oh, dear! I’m lonely and heartsick and afraid!” she sobbed. “I
- wish I had a friend to share my secret, advise and help me—yes, such
- a friend as he would be!—he’d know what I ought to do—and I
- know what he’d say, too—that I’m proud and cruel and selfish—that
- I’m doing a hideous, unnatural thing—well I’m not! the impulse for
- vengeance is God’s first law—I know it because I feel it, deep,
- instinctive, resistless!—and I’m going to do it! I’m going to do it!—I
- hate him! I hate him!”
- </p>
- <p>
- She rose and returned to the ruins, and sat down on the steps between the
- white columns. The sun was sinking through an ocean of filmy clouds,
- reflecting in rapid changes every colour ever dreamed in the soul of the
- artist. She watched in deep breathless reverence, until the sense of
- loneliness again overpowered her and she sprang up with restless energy
- exclaiming:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I meant to explore that room before he comes—I must do it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- She descended the steps and stopped before the dark entrance. It hadn’t
- seemed so dark the other day with him. It was earlier in the day of
- course. Why had she paused? The question angered her. She was afraid to go
- through the long dark corridor alone—that was the disgusting truth.
- </p>
- <p>
- She turned back to await his coming. What a foolish contradiction. She
- would wait for the protection of the wretch she meant to deliver to-night
- to—death!
- </p>
- <p>
- She returned with quick angry strides to the columns, and leaned against
- one of their friendly sides. In the gathering twilight they seemed human
- and sheltering in their protection. She wished he would come. A dozen
- times she looked toward the gate and thought she heard the beat of his
- horse’s hoof in the distance.
- </p>
- <p>
- Dusk settled into darkness and still he did not come. The moon rose and
- touched the tall pillars above with a magic glow of mellow light, and a
- whip-poor-will struck the first note of his thrilling song beneath the
- bush at her feet.
- </p>
- <p>
- With a shudder, she moved to the outer column and waited with increasing
- impatience and alarm. The wildest fears began to fill her fancy. Why had
- she dared this mad task alone? For some unaccountable reason she had not
- reckoned on being alone.
- </p>
- <p>
- Was it possible that she had been so illogical, so utterly bereft of
- reason that the idea of his companionship had filled her imagination?
- Surely she had not been such a fool! She knew Steve Hoyle would accompany
- those men, beyond a doubt, and join her after the affair was over, but she
- had not given Steve a thought. He had been but a cog in the wheel of
- things that had swiftly moved to the tragic crisis which she now faced for
- the first time. She looked at her watch in the bright moonlight and it was
- half past eight. What if he failed to come! Would she be glad or angry?
- The tumult of feeling had reached a point of intensity that paralysed her
- powers of reasoning—she didn’t know. A single sense remained, the
- consciousness of chilling loneliness.
- </p>
- <p>
- With a throb of joy she caught at last the quick hoof-beat of John’s horse
- sweeping through the gateway in a furious gallop.
- </p>
- <p>
- He leaped to the ground, and hurried to her side.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m awfully sorry!” he cried, seizing both her hands with eager
- tenderness. “A most unexpected thing occurred which delayed me thirty
- minutes. I’ll explain to you later. Come, I’m hungry to see your dear face
- in the light of these lanterns in that gloomy old room below. I’ve a
- thousand things to tell you. Life will be too short a time in which to
- tell it all. I hope you’ve been very lonely and hungry for me to come?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I must confess, my heart began to fail me once or twice,” she said
- seriously, while he felt her hand trembling.
- </p>
- <p>
- He stooped to light a lantern, and she caught his arm.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Wait, not yet—the moon is shining brightly—we don’t need it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But you’ll stumble on those dark stairs in the corridor.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No matter, wait,” she urged nervously; “I’ll hold your arm—you know
- the way.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I know the way,” he laughed. “Come then, your slightest whim is
- law.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He drew her little hand through his arm and picking his steps carefully,
- led her down through the tangled debris and along the dark corridor
- without once stumbling, the timid figure clinging close to his side.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You see a revolutionist soon learns to find his way in the dark without a
- light,” he said, as they emerged into the kitchen whose wide space was
- lighted by the moonbeams streaming through the windows.
- </p>
- <p>
- He released her arm, placed the lantern and a bundle he carried on the top
- of the range, and said with a laugh:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now, shall the actor make up for his part? I’ve the costume all ready.
- This is the palace of the queen to-night. I have been commanded to appear
- before her!”
- </p>
- <p>
- She gave no answer.
- </p>
- <p>
- He bent and kissed her hand and found it cold and trembling violently.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You feel the chill of this old basement,” he said with tender solicitude.
- “I’ll light the lantern at once.”
- </p>
- <p>
- She caught his hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No! No!—I—prefer it like this—the moonlight is enough.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “All right,” he answered gaily. “Shall I don my robes as ruler of the
- Invisible Empire to please the fancy of Your Majesty?”
- </p>
- <p>
- He opened the bundle and shook out the long white ulster-like disguise
- with its double cross of scarlet and gold.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Put it back—I’m not ready yet!” she gasped.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’ll laugh and chat a while with the audience before the curtain goes
- up on the drama!—good! I’ve a lot to say. Sit here in the window
- while I tell you something.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He led her to the low casement of the window and seated her by his side.
- </p>
- <p>
- She sprang to her feet instantly, grasping at her heart, her breath coming
- in quick gasps:
- </p>
- <p>
- “What’s that!—Listen!”
- </p>
- <p>
- He took her hand soothingly:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, it’s only our horses neighing to each other.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’re sure?” she whispered.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Of course.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I thought it was something else,” she faltered. “My poor little darling!
- This has been too much for your nerves—you should have allowed me to
- come with you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I’m afraid I did make a mistake!” she said in low strained tones.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, there’s nothing to be afraid of now—is there?” he said
- assuringly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No! there’s nothing to be afraid of now—is there?” she laughed
- hysterically, and suddenly stopped with a suppressed scream.
- </p>
- <p>
- “My darling!” he exclaimed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Listen! Listen! My God, what’s that?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s nothing dear.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It is! Listen! I hear them coming!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Impossible, my child, we’re all here!” he laughed. “How could you guess
- there was anyone coming except you and me?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, dear, you don’t understand, and I can’t explain!” she went on
- frantically. She looked at her watch and couldn’t see.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Quick, strike a match and see what time it is—we can get away!” she
- whispered.
- </p>
- <p>
- He struck the match and saw her eyes gleaming with a strange madness.
- Stella blew the match out, seized his arm and drew him from the window.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Not there—by the window—over here in this corner.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “He struck another match and she masked its light from the window, staring
- with wide-set eyes at the hands of her watch.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s half past nine. It’s too late!” she said hopelessly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Come, come, my darling, remember that I am by your side—nothing can
- harm you except the tongue of gossip, and you’ve shown your contempt for
- that. Sit down here again in the moonlight and let me tell you the story
- of my love.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He led her back to the window and she sank tremblingly by his side.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ve never had the chance to tell you,” he began, with low passionate
- tenderness, “what a wonderful thing your love has been in my life. The
- night I met you, I went to your house drunk, with murder in my heart,
- determined to use the lawless power I wielded to crush your father. I was
- about to leave with a threat to kill him on my lips. It was no idle threat
- then. I had entered the vault, pushed open its massive door, stepped
- inside and saw the way was open.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “The night you came first, you entered alone the secret way?” she
- interrupted.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I meant to use it if necessary.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But you never did! You never did!” she whispered.
- </p>
- <p>
- “How could I, dearest! I saw your face that night for the first time,
- heard the low music of your voice, touched your hand, and I was a new man!
- Love, not hate, has ruled me since. I disbanded the Klan immediately and
- ordered my men never again to use its power.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Disbanded the Klan!” she repeated with choking surprise.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, and a dastard reorganised it as a local order to further his low
- ambitions. I’ve done my best to hold in check their crimes and follies. I
- warned your father of danger the night those fools came. In a madness of
- love, fear and jealous rage I came down to the house, sat there in dumb
- pain and watched your beautiful form whirl past the lighted window until I
- could endure it no longer.” Stella strangled a sob.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ve reproached myself a hundred times I didn’t prevent that masquerade
- by force. I might have done it. I had some faithful old soldiers from the
- foothills in town that day whom I had used to capture the scoundrels who
- committed the outrage on old Nicaroshinski.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Hush! hush! before I scream!” Stella cried in anguish, placing her hand
- on his lips.
- </p>
- <p>
- Suddenly a white figure stood before the window and his whistle rang
- through the still night.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella sprang to her feet gasping, with horror:
- </p>
- <p>
- “My God! they’ve come: I must save you! Hide! Hide and give me your
- revolver—they shall not take you—quick—quick—hide!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But, my dear, there’s not the slightest danger. No man who wears that
- uniform will lift his hand against me—see, I’m going to answer his
- call with my own signal.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He lifted the whistle to his lips and she snatched it from his grasp.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Don’t! Don’t for God’s sake, don’t! you don’t understand—Oh!—John—darling—I
- love you! I love you!”
- </p>
- <p>
- She threw herself into his arms and kissed him, passionately sobbing.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ve tried to hate you, dear, but I couldn’t—I couldn’t—I
- know now I’ve loved you always! I must save you, God help me!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, sir?” called a voice without.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s all right! Come in, boys!” he answered before Stella could stop him.
- She huddled in his arms paralysed for the moment with terror.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You must not!—they will kill you, dear!” she moaned in agony.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Nonsense, child, the boys have only a little surprise for us.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Their feet were already echoing in the corridor and their voices could be
- heard in whispers and low laughter.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Hide! please, for the love of God!” she gasped. With sudden fierce
- strength she pressed him into the shadows and stood panting before him,
- while the silent ghost-like figures ranged themselves solemnly around the
- room.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Stella, my dear, you must not suffer like this—there is no danger,
- these are all my men.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Your men!—your men!” she cried, bewildered.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I brought them here to-night in full costume to make a little play
- complete for the fancy of a queen!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “My darling,” she sobbed, sinking in his arms.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We unexpectedly met some ugly customers from the hills we had seen once
- before. A little pitched battle delayed us thirty minutes, but none of our
- boys were hurt.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Kiss me!” she whispered.
- </p>
- <p>
- A distant whistle rang through the woods and the picket outside answered.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What’s that?” Stella gasped.
- </p>
- <p>
- “He blew the signal, ‘message for the Chief’; he’s from town, I’m afraid,”
- John answered.
- </p>
- <p>
- A horse’s hoof echoed on the flagstones before the columns, and in a
- moment the picket rushed to the window.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Bad news, sir!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What is it?” John asked quietly:
- </p>
- <p>
- “A regiment of United States cavalry slipped into town just after dark.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ve been looking for it,” John broke in. “Well?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “A squadron has surrounded Mrs. Wilson’s boarding house to wait for you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Merciful God! what have I done!” Stella sobbed inaudibly.
- </p>
- <p>
- John touched her hand soothingly at the sound of her sob, bent low and
- whispered tenderly:
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s all right—dearest—you love me!”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2H_4_0030" id="link2H_4_0030"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- BOOK III—PRISONER AND TRAITOR
- </h2>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0026" id="link2HCH0026"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER I—THE ARREST
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE news of the
- arrival of the regiment of cavalry, and the swift silent way in which they
- had struck their first blow, brought to John Graham at once a sharp
- realisation of the danger of his men.
- </p>
- <p>
- Releasing Stella, he turned to the white figures gathered in an excited
- group and in short sharp accents said:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I thank you boys for your kindness in coming to the little masquerade we
- had prepared to celebrate the announcement of my engagement to the woman
- who is the queen of my heart. Sorry the Yanks have interrupted us. Get
- home as fast as your horses can carry you. Burn your costumes the minute
- you reach a safe place. Hide them under your saddles as usual until you
- can burn them. Leave one at a time and go home by unused roads if
- possible. And listen—every man of you who can, should leave the
- state in twenty-four hours and stay until the trouble blows over.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What are you goin’ to do?” asked a tall masked figure.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Don’t worry, Dan. I’ll look out for myself. You boys do the same and do
- it quick.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “We’ll stan’ by you if ye give the word,” persisted Dan.
- </p>
- <p>
- John left Stella’s side, stepped to the men and growled:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ve given the word. Run, and run like hell!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “We don’t like the orders, Chief, but orders is orders—git boys!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The men quickly disappeared, and John took Stella’s hand:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Come, dearest, we must go.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes,” she answered, timidly clinging to his arm and holding him back.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We must hurry,” he urged.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I won’t hurry,” she said with tender wilfulness.
- </p>
- <p>
- “When a woman won’t, she won’t,” John laughed.
- </p>
- <p>
- She gently stroked his hand and slowly slipped her arm in his as she
- allowed him to lead her out into the moonlight beside the white silent
- pillars.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Wait here until I bring the horses,” John said, gently disengaging his
- arm.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella clung to him firmly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, don’t go yet. Why hurry? Let them wait. I wish to be alone with you
- for a while here on this beautiful spot. It’s all so new and wonderful.
- This knowing that I love and am loved! I’ve just begun to live the past
- hour. I’m afraid to go back to the world.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I must face some stern realities to-night. But you love me. That’s the
- only thing of any importance. What do jails matter? They can only imprison
- the body—my soul will follow you, hover about you, laugh and cry
- with you day and night, waking or dreaming.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “They won’t put you in jail to-night, dear?” she asked, piteously.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then you shall not give yourself up to them! You’ll let me have my own
- way now that you know that I love you, won’t you, John dear? There! I’ve
- called your name for the first time—haven’t I?—I love your
- name!—You’re not going to give up to them—are you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I see no other way, dearest.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You told your men to fly. Our horses are fresh. We can put miles between
- us and these troops before day. I’ll go with you, just as I am in this
- riding habit—no matter—I’ll get a dress somewhere when you’re
- out of danger.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He slipped his arm about her, bent his tall form, and stopped her with a
- kiss.
- </p>
- <p>
- “How sweet to hear you talk this beautiful nonsense!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I mean it,” she hurried on earnestly. “We must leave to-night, I don’t
- know what they may do to you. Something terrible—maybe—I can’t
- think of it! Something may happen to separate us. I want to feel your hand
- clasping mine like this forever!”
- </p>
- <p>
- He answered by crushing the little hand in his.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You won’t go back and let them arrest you, will you, John?” she pleaded,
- a sob catching her voice.
- </p>
- <p>
- He was silent and a smile played about his mouth.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Answer me, John dear! You must do as I say because life is too sweet and
- beautiful to lose it! You will leave if I go with you—won’t you? My
- whim you said should be your law. This is my whim, my heart’s desire. Get
- the horses now, and we’ll make them fly as far from Independence to-night
- as their heels can carry us! You’ll do this because I ask it—won’t
- you, darling?”
- </p>
- <p>
- The little head began to droop, the voice broke, and she lay sobbing in
- his arms.
- </p>
- <p>
- He held her close for a moment.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You know this is impossible, dear!”—he said tenderly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I know!” she sobbed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “My business is to save others now.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “At least, you’ll go by the house and stay with me a little while?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “They’ll think I’m hiding.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Who cares what they think? I can’t go home alone, can I?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Of course, I’ll stop a moment. And now we must hurry.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He brought the horses and they galloped back to town in silence. Along a
- dark rough place of the road, they slowed down to a walk, and his hand
- sought hers.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What a strange ending to the most wonderful day of my life!” she suddenly
- cried with passionate tenderness.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why strange?” he asked. “I never had a doubt that you would love me. It
- was written in the Book of Life.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But I didn’t know it until to-night.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Tell me, dear,” he pleaded; “what sudden flash revealed the truth?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Don’t ask me!” she said with a shiver. “I’ll tell you some day.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why not now? This has been a wonderful day for me. I shall never live its
- like again. I heard for the first time the one woman I love, the only
- woman I ever loved, the one woman I shall love forever, speak the sweetest
- words that ever fell from human lips.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I love you—I love you!” she softly repeated.
- </p>
- <p>
- “But tell me how you came to know it to-day?” he urged.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s a secret—one I fear that will give me many an hour of anguish.
- I’ll tell you, dear—but not now.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll share it with you when you’ll let me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Not this one, John. I need to bear it alone to keep me humble, and
- sweeten with suffering and fear the bitter, selfish impulses that fight
- within me. Oh, I want to be good and tender and beautiful and true now!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “How full of strange moods you’ve been tonight!” he exclaimed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Have I dear?”
- </p>
- <p>
- She caught his hand and pressed it tenderly.
- </p>
- <p>
- The lights of the town flashed in view from the hill.
- </p>
- <p>
- They galloped boldly down the main street and into the lawn. As they
- passed the cabin at the gate, Isaac’s face appeared a moment at the door.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I didn’t know old Isaac had returned?” John remarked.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Nor did I,” she replied; “he must have come with those troops.”
- </p>
- <p>
- A tremor caught her voice as she recalled that Ackerman was in
- communication with Isaac, and the cords she had been winding about the man
- by her side began slowly to tighten around her own throat.
- </p>
- <p>
- He tried to leave her at the door, but she drew him inside.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You can’t go yet.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I must hurry, my love,” he protested. “Those men will think I’m a coward.
- I should have been at home when they called.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Sh!”——
- </p>
- <p>
- She placed her hand over his lips, ignoring his plea.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ve a little experiment to make. My whim is law. Go stand there in the
- alcove with your hat in your hand fumbling it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Laughing with girlish excitement she pressed him into the exact spot he
- stood the night she first met him, drew back, and gazed tenderly into his
- face, her big brown eyes dancing with the hysterical strain of the deep
- half-conscious fear for his safety which had begun to strangle her.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Have you forgotten the first scene in the drama of our life?” she asked,
- slowly approaching him with extended hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- He clasped it with a smile.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I shall not forget it if I live to be a hundred years old,” he said
- reverently.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And yet, you are trying to hurry away from me to-night again. Don’t you
- like the picture as well now?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “A thousand times better, dearest,” he cried. “The love that shines in
- your eyes will make radiant the darkest hour of life. I’ve nothing now to
- fear. Perfect love has cast out fear. My way’s a shining one whether it
- leads to a palace or a prison.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Come into the dining room,” she whispered, leading him through the door
- and seating herself at the head of the table. “You remember the night we
- sat together here?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Do I!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Would you believe me if I told you that I tried to make you love me that
- night?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You said you tried to hate me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But we can’t always do what we try—can we?” she asked wistfully.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You did that night I’m sure.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And yet, I’m failing to-night!” she sobbed, unable to keep back the
- tears, “just when I’ve told you that I love you, and the joy and wonder of
- it all has begun to light the world. Before I’ve thought only of myself.
- To-night I’m thinking only of you, my sweetheart! Just as I’ve learned to
- speak your name I feel you slipping away from me—oh, John darling,
- what will they do to you? Tell me—tell me!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “They can only put me in jail to-night.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But they shall not—they shall not!” she moaned, clinging close to
- him. “You shall not let them! You shall not leave this house except to fly
- with me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella’s words choked into sudden silence at the shrill angry notes of
- Aunt Julie Ann’s voice ringing in the hall:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Git out er dis house, I tells ye, ‘fo I bus’ yo head open wid dis door
- weight.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Mind your own business,” snapped the angry reply.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’se mindin’ my own business. Git out dat door, an’ knock ‘fo yer come
- in! An’ I lets yer in when I gits ready—when my mistis say yer kin
- come!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Faith, an’ I’ll slap ye head off ye shoulders, if ye don’t kape still,”
- growled the trooper.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What do you want in here, yer low-life sluefooted Yankee?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “If it’s just the same ter ye, I wants Mr. John Graham, me dusky maiden!”
- </p>
- <p>
- John suddenly released himself from Stella’s clinging form and stepped
- through the door into the hall.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m John Graham. What is It?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’re my prisoner, sir, ye’ll have to come with me!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m ready.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The sergeant took a step toward John, drawing a pair of handcuffs from his
- pocket.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella sprang between them, her eyes blazing with rage:
- </p>
- <p>
- “How dare you enter my house without my permission?”
- </p>
- <p>
- The sergeant stopped in sheer amazement at the fury of her outburst.
- Recovering himself with a smile he replied:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Axin yer pardon m’am, it may be rude, but hit ain’t writ in our book of
- etiquette ter knock at the front door when we’re huntin’ fer a man charged
- with murder.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But he’s not guilty!” Stella stormed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I believe ye, Miss—ye’d have an easy time with me. But I ain’t the
- Coort!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Stella, dear,” John pleaded.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Leave this house!” Stella cried with fury.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Sure m’am, but yer friend comes wid me,” said the sergeant, taking
- another step toward John.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I tell you he’s not guilty! It’s all a mistake. I’ll explain to your
- commander in the morning.”
- </p>
- <p>
- John smiled in spite of himself.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Stella dear, this is nonsense. The sergeant is acting under orders. I
- must go at once.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ye see, m’am!” said the sergeant with a polite bow.
- </p>
- <p>
- “All right then, sergeant,” said Stella, suddenly changing her tone, “I’ll
- excuse you for your rudeness; I’ll go with you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You mustn’t, my love,” John protested.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I’m going with you, but I’ve had nothing to eat. We must have supper—it’s
- waiting. Aunt Julie Ann, show the sergeant downstairs and give him supper.
- Mr. Graham will be ready in half an hour, sergeant.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The trooper looked doubtfully at John and at Stella, smiling.
- </p>
- <p>
- “All right m’am. It’s agin my principles as a soldier to leave a good
- supper to spoil—an’, axin yer pardon agin, I’ll station one o’ me
- men at each door an’ window to make sure we wont lose any of our party
- durin’ the festivities. It’ll be more sociable like to feel that we’re all
- here.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The sergeant placed his men and followed Aunt Julie Ann to the kitchen.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella drew John to the old davenport:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Quick, John darling, through the old secret way—the way of love——”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dearest!” he said reproachfully.
- </p>
- <p>
- She extended her hand to press the spring in the panel.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Quick, the soldier at the door can’t see you. I’ll stand in front. Wait
- for me in the vault. I’ll let them search the house and when they go, I’ll
- join you and we can leave before daylight.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I must face it. There’s no other way.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, yes, this way—the old sweet way of love! I can’t let them take
- you—you’re mine now—I love you—I love you!—John,
- dear, he has big ugly handcuffs. He was going to put them on you—didn’t
- you see him?”—her voice faltered.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I saw him.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I can’t stand it, John, I can’t—oh, dear, you don’t understand, and
- I can’t explain—You love me?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Better than life and deeper than death.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And yet you refuse my heart’s desire?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Only in this. I’m done with lawlessness. I’m not a coward. I’ve led a
- successful revolution. It had to be, and now with silent lips I’ll face my
- accusers.”
- </p>
- <p>
- A hot tear fell on his hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Come, dearest, you must help me,” he pleaded.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, yes, I will,” she faltered, brushing the tears away. “Come then, we
- will have this one little supper together, shall we not?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes. I want to look across that old table into your face again.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He chatted gaily through the supper and she sat silent, choking back the
- sobs, unable to eat.
- </p>
- <p>
- The sergeant bowed at the door:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Axin yer pardon m’am, but I must hurry now.” John rose and the trooper
- again drew his handcuffs, Stella watching him with wide-set eyes. “I’m
- sorry, sir, I’ll have to put ’em on.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s all right, sergeant,” he answered.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella sprang between them and placed a trembling little hand on the
- trooper’s.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Please, sergeant!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Orders, m’am, I’m sorry.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Please—for—my—sake—don’t. He’ll go with you. I
- tried to get him to fly with me, and he wouldn’t. You won’t put them on
- him—will you? For my sake?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Her voice sank to the softest music of tears. The sergeant hesitated a
- moment and said gruffly: “All right, for your sake, m’am, I won’t.”
- </p>
- <p>
- John stooped and kissed her. The door closed behind him and with a low
- piteous moan Stella sank to the floor, crying:
- </p>
- <p>
- “God have mercy on me!”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0027" id="link2HCH0027"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER II—THROUGH PRISON BARS
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">A</span>N IMMENSE crowd
- had gathered at the hotel awaiting John’s arrival. The news of his arrest
- had stirred the town to feverish excitement.
- </p>
- <p>
- Without turning to the right or left, or answering a look of recognition,
- he marched between two soldiers through the mass of men and boys in the
- office and climbed the stairs to the rooms of the United States
- Commissioner who was waiting to receive him.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Commissioner handed him the warrant and he merely glanced at its
- title:=
- </p>
- <h3>
- ```"THE UNITED STATES VERSUS JOHN GRAHAM
- </h3>
- <h3>
- ````CONSPIRACY AND MURDER"=
- </h3>
- <p>
- “I shall hold you without bail, Mr. Graham,” said the Commissioner.
- </p>
- <p>
- John merely nodded his head.
- </p>
- <p>
- “To the county jail, sergeant!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The soldiers turned and John descended the stairs, and again passed
- through the crowd, his head erect, his face an immovable mask.
- </p>
- <p>
- In fifteen minutes the heavy bolt shot into place and he was a prisoner
- awaiting trial for life, locked in a filthy cell of the common jail of the
- county of Independence.
- </p>
- <p>
- He had often been to this jail as a lawyer to interview prisoners whom he
- had defended at various times, but he had paid no attention to the
- building. The complaints of the discomforts of the jail he had always
- taken as a humorous contribution to life.
- </p>
- <p>
- He was amazed to discover that the place into which he had been suddenly
- thrust was an inner room opening into a corridor with no means of light or
- ventilation save the single iron-grilled door—a veritable hell-hole
- whose heat was so stifling and air so foul with disgusting odours he could
- scarcely breathe. By the rays of the little kerosene lamp which hung in
- the corridor, flickering, sputtering and stinking, he saw that there was
- not a trace of furniture in the room, not even a pile of straw on which to
- sleep. The floor had evidently not been swept in a year, the dust lay in
- piles, and the room had just been vacated by four perspiring Negro
- convicts who had been removed to the penitentiary to serve sentences for
- burglary, arson and murder.
- </p>
- <p>
- It was impossible to sit down, it was unthinkable to lie down, and so for
- five hours back and forth he walked the length of his cell like a caged
- panther.
- </p>
- <p>
- For the first hour his proud spirit was sustained by the enormity of the
- degradation thus heaped upon him. He felt sure that such treatment was
- given him for a purpose. He knew that all the prisoners of the county were
- not treated as swine. In his anger he paused once, determined to demand a
- chair or bed of some kind, and found that he could only make his wants
- known by yelling down two flights of stairs to the guard who stood at the
- outer door of the last floor. He could not thus humiliate himself.
- </p>
- <p>
- For the first time he realised what it meant to be deprived not only of
- the comforts but the common decencies of human life. In fierce anger he
- silently raved for two hours and then a strange calm came over his soul.
- His hands grasped the iron bars of the door and he stood as if in a trance
- while the unconscious minutes lengthened into hours. A beautiful face bent
- above him. Her voice, low and tender with the music of love, filled all
- space. The stifling cell vanished. He was in the open fields with her hand
- in his. He woke with a laugh, and caught the glint of the first beams of
- the rising sun stealing through the window of the corridor.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0006" id="linkimage-0006"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0295.jpg" alt="0295 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0295.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- A Negro boy brought his breakfast of corn bread and bacon in a dirty tin
- plate.
- </p>
- <p>
- John looked at it a minute with a curious smile: “No, thank you, my boy,
- I’ve just had my breakfast of ambrosia. I’ll take a chair, however, if the
- jailor can spare one!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah, I’ll tell ‘im when I goes down,” he replied. “But I spec dey
- ain’t none lef. We got lots er boarders now.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He placed the plate on the floor by the door, and grinned.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dey wuz er young lady come ter see ye las’ night, sah, but dey wouldn’t
- let ’er in!”
- </p>
- <p>
- John smiled.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What time was it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Bout two er clock.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I saw her,” John slowly said with a strange look in his deep-set
- eyes. “She came up and stayed with me until sunrise.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The Negro backed cautiously away muttering. “He got ‘em sho!” and darted
- down the steps. The fact that he was being kept in solitary confinement
- and refused communication of any kind with friend or counsel, roused every
- force of John Graham’s character.
- </p>
- <p>
- When the Attorney General who had come down from Washington called at ten
- o’clock he greeted him with a laugh through the bars of his door:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Excuse my lack of hospitality, General Champion,” he said; “I’d offer you
- a chair, but the hotel is crowded and we’re short of chairs just now.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Haven’t you a chair or a bed in your cell?” he enquired, peering in.
- “It’s an outrage. Bring two chairs here at once!” he thundered to the
- attendant.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Mr. Graham,” said the General cordially, “I’ve hastened to you as a
- friend. I was a member of Congress with your uncle. We were warm personal
- friends. I’ve known several of your people, and always found them the salt
- of the earth.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Thanks,” John interrupted, a smile playing about the corners of his eyes.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I wish to be of help to you if you will let me. It has long been known to
- the Department of Justice that you are the Chief of the Klan in North
- Carolina.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I congratulate the Department of Justice on the attainment of such
- interesting knowledge,” John broke in.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Do you deny it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m not discussing it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You must know, Mr. Graham, that the organisation is doomed, and that you
- are in an extremely dangerous position. I trust you realise this?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Quite warm last night, General!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Come, come, young man, I’m your friend——”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s a pleasure to meet a friend; do you think it will rain?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You are to be put on trial for your life——”
- </p>
- <p>
- “My idea is that we are in for a long dry spell, General.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Tut, tut, my boy, come now, don’t try my temper with such nonsense.
- President Grant is not hostile to the South. He grieves over the necessity
- of the severe laws which he is now enforcing. His only desire is to pacify
- these disorders. The Klan must be stamped out. You have realised this—I
- know that you have led parties who have inflicted summary justice on some
- of the scoundrels who are operating in its disguises. Is not this a fact?”
- </p>
- <p>
- John laughed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I know it,” affirmed the General.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then why ask me?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I know that you have tried to stamp out the disorders,” the General
- repeated. “Whatever the impulses which led a man of your high character
- into this lawless conspiracy, you have realised at last its dangerous
- character. You are in a position to render the South and the Nation an
- enormous service. Help me to restore law and order in the South and the
- Government will show its gratitude.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You mean exactly?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “That you give me the information needed to wipe the Invisible Empire out
- of existence——”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And in return?”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General placed his hands on the bars and leaned close.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The President has promised me to immediately appoint you an Assistant
- Prosecuting Attorney, and in six months promote you to the high honour of
- a United States Circuit Judgeship.”
- </p>
- <p>
- John’s fist suddenly shot through the iron bars, struck the General in the
- mouth, and hurled him in a heap against the wall of the corridor, as he
- cried with rage:
- </p>
- <p>
- “D——n you! How dare you thus insult me?”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General picked up his broken glasses from the floor, wiped a drop of
- blood from his lip, shook his fist at the man who glared at him through
- the barred door, and shouted:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll make you pay dearly for this!”
- </p>
- <p>
- John laughed in his face.
- </p>
- <p>
- “But you won’t make me that offer again, will you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0028" id="link2HCH0028"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER III—A WOMAN’S WAY
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">I</span>T WAS one o’clock
- before Stella recovered from the first collapse of terror for the fate of
- her lover. And then the imperious will summoned every energy to the
- struggle for his liberty and life.
- </p>
- <p>
- She changed her riding habit and, taking Maggie, started at half past one
- in the morning to find Ackerman.
- </p>
- <p>
- She had gone half way to Mrs. Wilson’s before she recalled the startling
- fact that her relations to Ackerman were unknown, and the still more
- painful fact that all knowledge of her relations to the detective must now
- be concealed with the utmost care. She felt instinctively that if John
- Graham discovered her plan to entrap him into a confession and her
- betrayal of his generous trust in her love, he could not forgive it. She
- shivered at the thought of his anger and disgust.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We’ll go to the jail, Maggie,” she said, with sudden energy, “where is
- it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Right down de nex street, I show ye,” Maggie answered. “I been dar lots
- er times. I wuz down dar yistiddy ter see my uncle Joe start ter de
- penitentiary.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella shuddered, followed her down the side street, and knocked at the
- jail door.
- </p>
- <p>
- No one answered. She knocked again and again. Finally the jailor thrust
- his head from the window above, saw it was a woman, shut the sash with a
- bang and went back to bed.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella looked at the grim walls with a sense of blind fury.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll show that insolent lazy rascal to-morrow morning how to treat me,”
- she cried, as she turned and started home. When they reached the corner
- she stopped, looked back at the jail looming black, silent and threatening
- among the shadows, and her heart went out in an agony of piteous yearning
- to the man within its walls.
- </p>
- <p>
- Maggie pointed to the mass of trees behind the jail.
- </p>
- <p>
- “See dem trees dar behin’ de house?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Her mistress gave no answer, and the maid rattled on in awed whispers:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dars where dey hang folks! Dey’s er high fence roun’ de yard, but ye can
- see over it from here. I stan’ right on dis corner an’ see ’em hang
- a man dar las’ year.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Hush Maggie!” Stella sternly commanded.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassum.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella hurried home, and paced the floor of her room until morning.
- </p>
- <p>
- At eight o’clock, in answer to her urgent summons, Ackerman came.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You are sure no one saw you enter?” she asked nervously.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, but why such caution now? Our work is done, and well done. I
- congratulate you on the skill with which you did your part.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I had nothing to do with it. I’ve sent for you to have the whole thing
- stopped at once.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You had nothing to do with it!” Ackerman exclaimed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Absolutely nothing. I repudiate the whole affair.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I came here to do this work at your own request,” he protested.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The arrest of Mr. Graham is an infamous outrage!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “An infamous outrage. I repeat it and demand his immediate release.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, my dear young woman, it was on the information which you gave that I
- swore out the warrant for his arrest.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It was you who swore out the warrant against him?” Stella fiercely cried.
- “Oh, I could kill you!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You gave me the information.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I did nothing of the kind,” she stormed. “It’s false—I deny it!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “On your statement to me that he had confessed that he was Chief of the
- Klan, I made the oath on which his warrant was based,” Ackerman maintained
- with warmth.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then you swore a lie!” she hissed. “A lie—a lie!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella fell on the lounge and buried her face in her hands.
- </p>
- <p>
- Ackerman flushed and was silent. His keen eyes grew suddenly tender. He
- smiled, rose and stood by her side a moment, and when she looked up
- extended his hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m sorry for you, Miss Stella. I think I understand!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then you will know how to forgive my bitter and unjust words?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Can’t you help me?” she asked piteously.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The situation is extremely delicate for me as it is dangerous for John
- Graham. The Government is determined to press these cases for conspiracy
- and murder. Personally I have never believed Graham guilty of the murder
- of the Judge.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Of course he is innocent!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I think I know the man who killed your father.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And you will help me save John Graham?” she cried.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll have a big job before me to complete my work before this trial.
- There’ll be plenty of witnesses to swear anything the Government wants,
- but I’ll do my best.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Thank you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- With a cordial grasp of the hand Ackerman took his leave and Stella
- hastened to confer with the Attorney General.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ve come to demand the immediate release of Mr. Graham on the absurd
- charge that has been made against him,” she began impetuously.
- </p>
- <p>
- The General looked at her in astonishment. “Hoity toity! My dear Miss, not
- so fast.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You began this at my request. I demand that it cease.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, yes, I see, but you have forgotten that greater issues are at stake
- than even the lives of two men.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll have nothing to do with the prosecution of an innocent man, General
- Champion.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Even so, you have set in motion forces you can not control. The fate of
- Mr. Graham is fixed. He is the Chief of the Klan. He’s as sure of
- conviction as the fact that he is to be put on trial. I’ll see that he is
- tried and that all the resources of the Government are used to secure his
- conviction.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella’s beautiful face grew white and still.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You will make a special effort against him?” she faltered.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I will,” was the stern answer. “There was a way of escape. I offered it
- to him this morning in the most friendly and generous spirit. His answer
- was the gravest personal insult.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “May I see him at once?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Certainly.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General hastily wrote an order and Stella hurried to the jail.
- </p>
- <p>
- She determined to make a desperate appeal to induce him to compromise with
- the authorities and save his life.
- </p>
- <p>
- At the sight of the heavy iron bars of his door before which John stood
- smiling, she broke completely down, seized his extended hand, covered it
- with kisses and sobbed bitterly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Come, come, my beautiful one, this is not like you! I’ve counted on your
- brave spirit to win this fight. Not another tear. Courage and laughter in
- our souls, defiance, scorn, contempt for our enemies! See, they have made
- me quite comfortable within the past hour. I tried to knock the Attorney
- General down, and lo, they rewarded me with a cot and a chair!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You knocked General Champion down?” Stella gasped in amazement.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I did my best under difficulties. Think of it, my dear! He offered me an
- office for the betrayal of my people! I couldn’t kill him. I was behind
- the bars, but I shall always thank God that he stood close enough for my
- fist to reach his mouth.”
- </p>
- <p>
- John broke into a joyous laugh. His spirit was contagious. Stella looked
- at him with wonder until a smile stole through the clouds that shadowed
- her own brow.
- </p>
- <p>
- “How beautiful you are this morning, dearest!” he cried exultantly.
- </p>
- <p>
- She brushed the tears from her eyes.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I tried to see you last night at two o’clock,” she softly said.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And succeeded, my love,” he interrupted smiling. “You came up and stood
- there and talked to me just as you are now. You told me to be of good
- cheer—that you loved me. That you hated a sneak and a coward and a
- traitor. That you had rather see me cold in death than stoop to a low
- dishonourable deed, even for all the honours of earth. And I lifted up my
- head in courage. I forgot jails and handcuffs, courts and trials. You took
- me by the hand and led me away into green fields through the deep woods
- beside beautiful waters. All night hand in hand we roamed through the
- mystic world of Love—the only world of realities—I was angry
- with the sun for waking me!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “My darling, I’m not worthy of such love,” Stella cried, pressing his
- hand. “What can I do to help you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Keep on loving me—that’s the main thing!—incidentally consult
- a lawyer—the best you can find—tell him that I’m going to
- fight, fight, fight to the last ditch my own cause and the cause of my
- people! Keep out of old Champion’s way. He carries a bribe in one hand, a
- death warrant in the other. Don’t let him know your plans. Don’t let him
- know that you love me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella lifted her head with sudden resolution.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll get the best lawyer in America. I’ll mortgage the house for the
- money.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “My little heroine!” he exclaimed with pride.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll go at once.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Through the iron bars she pressed her lips and hurried to the telegraph
- office with the light of new courage shining in her eyes.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0029" id="link2HCH0029"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER IV—THE HON. STEPHEN HOYLE
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">S</span>TEVE HOYLE was
- confined to his room with a bullet hole through the flesh of his right arm
- the day following the meeting at Inwood.
- </p>
- <p>
- He wrote Stella a letter informing her that John Graham had hired a gang
- of thugs to attempt his assassination on the night he was to meet her,
- that he had been desperately wounded in her service, and begged that she
- call at once.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella sent him a reply that cut deeper than the bullet from John’s
- revolver. It was very brief. Steve read it with muttered curses:
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Mr. Stephen Hoyle,</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>I have long suspected that you were a liar. Last night you proved
- yourself a coward. Our acquaintance has ended.</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Stella Butler.</i>
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve paced his room in a speechless rage for an hour, dressed to call on
- her and demand an interview, and suddenly changed his mind at the sight of
- a squad of troops hurrying past his door.
- </p>
- <p>
- The arrest of John Graham had brought him to the verge of collapse. He
- trembled at the thought that his turn might come next, and feared to put
- his head out the door.
- </p>
- <p>
- When ten minutes later the soldiers who had passed suddenly appeared at
- every exit of his house and loudly knocked for entrance, he dropped into a
- chair shivering with abject terror.
- </p>
- <p>
- When arrested he turned his heavy white face toward the sergeant
- piteously.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I beg of you, officer, allow me to stay here under guard. I am
- desperately wounded, by an accident.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’ll have to go to jail,” the trooper snapped.
- </p>
- <p>
- “But, my dear man, I can’t. I can’t walk,” he gasped with laboured breath.
- “Just let me stay here under arrest until I can arrange with the
- authorities to give bail.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ye’ll have ter fix that at headquarters—come on,” he answered
- gruffly, seizing Steve and lifting him to his feet.
- </p>
- <p>
- The heavy form collapsed and he sank in a heap on the floor.
- </p>
- <p>
- The sergeant looked at him a moment with contempt, turned to his men and
- said:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Keep him under guard till I report.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The moment he had gone, Steve revived and crawled in bed, his teeth
- chattering with a nervous chill. The soldiers sat down and laughed in his
- face, and cracked jokes about the bravery of men who could ride well at
- night but sometimes fainted in the daylight.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Attorney General had ordered Steve’s arrest on a shrewd guess which
- Ackerman had made on hearing of the strange fight between two groups of
- horsemen in the country at dusk the night before. The detective had seen
- the doctor leaving Hoyle’s house and learned at once that Steve was
- wounded.
- </p>
- <p>
- In attempting to serve the warrant on John Graham he had found that he had
- ridden into the country alone in the direction taken by Steve Hoyle.
- Ackerman had long suspected Steve of complicity in the movements of the
- Klan, and knowing the deadly enmity between the two men had at once
- reached the conclusion that a feud within the ranks of its members could
- alone account for the situation.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Arrest Hoyle,” he urged on Champion; “threaten him with immediate
- conviction for conspiracy and murder and see what happens.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The Attorney General had taken his advice, and on receiving the report of
- Steve’s “illness” from the sergeant, went immediately to see him.
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve was profuse in his expressions of cordiality.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m sorry, General Champion,” he said, with loud friendliness, “that my
- father and mother are in the North at present. They spend a great deal of
- their time up there among you good Yankees. The fact is they are specially
- fond of you. My father, you know, was a secret Union man during the war
- and has always voted your ticket since, though for social reasons he don’t
- say much about it down here.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve winked and laughed feebly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Is it so?” asked the General.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, of course,” Steve hurried on, “and I want to ask you as a personal
- favour to my father, if not to me, to accept my bail for £10,000. The
- whole thing, I assure you, is an absurd mistake. My father and I can
- convince you of this on his return.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General pursed his lips and watched Steve shrewdly for a moment.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m sorry I can’t accommodate you, Mr. Hoyle. We cannot accept bail in
- cases of this kind. You must realise at once that you are in a very
- dangerous position. Beyond a doubt your life is in peril.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve attempted to laugh but choked with terror, saying feebly:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, not so bad as that, General. I’m a lawyer myself you know. I can only
- be tried on a charge of murder before a state judge and jury. You have no
- right to put a man on trial for his life here.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Right or no right, young man, we are going to do it under the Act of
- Congress. We’ve got the power. The army is here. The Supreme Court may
- decide the Act unconstitutional later.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I assure you, General, the charge against me is a monstrous falsehood,”
- Steve protested vigorously.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And yet, my boy, the men have found in the search of this house a full Ku
- Klux regalia for man and horse. Sergeant, bring that thing in!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The trooper stepped in the door and held up before Steve’s astonished gaze
- the costume which he had taken under his saddle the night before on his
- trip to meet Stella.
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve sat up in bed trembling and perspiring.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, yes, of course,” he stammered. “That has been here for some time.
- I’ve made no attempt to conceal it. It was given me by a client of mine
- who was a member. I’m keeping it as a curiosity.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “A dangerous curiosity to keep about your house in these times, sir,” said
- the General sternly. “Let’s come to the point. Do you wish to keep out of
- jail or do you wish to test the power of the United States Government to
- put you on trial for your life?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I want to keep out of jail,” was the quick answer.
- </p>
- <p>
- “That’s sensible. Then face the facts. My detective has watched you for
- three months. I can convict you of murder.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve fumbled his hands nervously while the General paused and gazed
- steadily at his wavering eyes.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now, I’ve a generous proposition to make you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes?—yes?” Steve gasped.
- </p>
- <p>
- “One that will give you an opportunity to prove yourself a patriot and a
- hero—a patriot because you will render your country a great service—a
- hero because you must brave the scorn of every white man and woman whose
- opinion is worth anything to you. Will you consider it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes,” Steve answered.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Give me the information needed to destroy the Invisible Empire and I will
- not only release you from custody; I will make you my assistant and
- ultimately secure your promotion to a judgeship. Your answer?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll do it, General, I’ll do it!” Steve cried, while the maudlin tears of
- a coward’s relief from mortal fear coursed down his fat cheeks. “I’ll
- stand by you and help save our country by restoring law and order.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The General thanked and congratulated him, again called him a patriot and
- hero and sent for his stenographer. For four hours he was closeted with
- Steve.
- </p>
- <p>
- At dusk the soldiers moved with sure tread in every county in Piedmont
- Carolina, and before the sun rose the blow had fallen swift, relentless,
- terrible!
- </p>
- <p>
- The Klan leaders in every county were behind the bars.
- </p>
- <p>
- More than five hundred arrests were made in the county of Independence.
- Around the jail, and half a dozen improvised prisons, throngs of sadfaced
- wives, mothers, sisters and sweethearts stood silently weeping.
- </p>
- <p>
- The next morning Champion wired the President asking that the Honourable
- Stephen Hoyle be appointed acting Assistant United States District
- Attorney, and his request was granted.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0030" id="link2HCH0030"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER V—ACKERMAN CORNERED
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>HE arrest of John
- Graham precipitated a crisis between Ackerman and Susie Wilson which was
- as unexpected as it was embarrassing to the handsome young detective.
- </p>
- <p>
- From the moment she had seen his letter on Stella’s bed she had watched
- the young Northerner with the keenest suspicions.
- </p>
- <p>
- The following day he pressed his love with straightforward earnestness.
- </p>
- <p>
- She answered with an evasive smile.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I appreciate the honour you pay me, Mr. Ackerman, but I’m not in love
- with you. I hope we shall always be friends. If your love endures it may
- win mine in the end—if you persist.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I have your permission to persist?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Certainly,” she answered frankly. “I love to be loved.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “All right,” he said with a boyish laugh. “I’m going to build my house in
- the fall.”
- </p>
- <p>
- On the day following John Graham’s arrest she saw Ackerman emerge from the
- hotel in earnest consultation with the Attorney General. To her the
- prosecuting officer of the United States at that moment meant all that was
- vile and hateful in the tyranny under which the South had groaned since
- the dawn of her memory.
- </p>
- <p>
- The moment she saw Ackerman with this man, his very name became to her
- accursed. Her keen intuition at once linked the letter to Stella with the
- murder of the Judge and the prosecution of the Klan. She was sure that
- Ackerman had been playing the hypocrite and was at heart an enemy of the
- South. She determined not only to cut his acquaintance but put him out of
- her mother’s house.
- </p>
- <p>
- When the young detective received a written notice from Susie to vacate
- his room immediately, he took it to be a practical joke and asked to see
- her. She sent word by the servant that unless he moved during the day his
- trunk would be thrown on the sidewalk.
- </p>
- <p>
- Ackerman left in answer to a summons from the Attorney General’s office,
- still puzzling his brain over the meaning of the joke. He was sure that
- she could not possibly know of his oath against John Graham which was a
- secret of the Department of Justice. He was equally sure that she could
- not suspect his real business in Independence. He meant to win her love
- first. He didn’t care what she thought of his profession afterwards.
- </p>
- <p>
- When he returned to Mrs. Wilson’s for supper he was struck dumb by the
- sight of his trunk lying on the sidewalk outside the gate.
- </p>
- <p>
- Without a word he picked it up, carried it back upstairs and threw it on
- the floor with a bang in front of the room that had been his.
- </p>
- <p>
- He sat down on it and refused to stir until Susie answered in person his
- demand for an interview.
- </p>
- <p>
- To avoid a scene she finally consented to meet him in the parlour.
- </p>
- <p>
- Susie’s gray eyes were cold and her tall figure rigid.
- </p>
- <p>
- “In violation of every law that should govern the conduct of a gentleman
- you have forced yourself into my presence Mr. Ackerman. I trust our
- interview may be very brief.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “In violation of every law of Southern hospitality, to say nothing of the
- rules which should govern the temper of a lady, you have thrown me out of
- your house without rhyme or reason. And before I go I respectfully but
- firmly ask, why?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You have pretended to be a friend of our people I find that you are an
- enemy—a sneak and a hypocrite.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Ackerman’s cheeks blushed redder than usual; he bit his lips and finally
- burst into laughter.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Is that all?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Susie rose with dignity.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s quite enough for my mother and myself.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But it’s not enough for me, Miss Susie. My defence against your unjust
- suspicions is perfect. I will make it if necessary. I trust it will not be
- necessary.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You might include in your defence an explanation of why you were
- corresponding with Stella Butler while you were writing love to me?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Who said that I wrote to Miss Butler?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I say it. I saw your letter in her room the day you declared your love
- for me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Ackerman was cornered. He must confess and betray Stella’s secret or keep
- silent and wreck his own hopes. His decision was instantly made.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Miss Susie, you’ve got me. I give up. I’m not a sneak—but I am a
- hypocrite by profession.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You confess it?” Susie cried with scorn. “Yes,” he whispered. “I am a
- trusted detective of the United States Secret Service. I am not the enemy
- of your people. On the other hand, I have learned to love and sympathise
- with them. Perhaps my love for you has given me that point of view.
- Anyway, I’ve taken it. I am simply here as an officer on duty under
- command of his superior.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Susie’s face softened. She saw at once her mistake.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And your duty led you into correspondence with Miss Butler?5’
- </p>
- <p>
- “I regret to be compelled to answer, but it did.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “She has aided in your work?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes. I reported to her by order of the Chief on arrival, and have been in
- constant communication with her at every step since.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Up to the hour of John Graham’s arrest?” Susie asked breathlessly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, the little fiend! I could strangle her!” the girl cried.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m sorry to have to betray this confidence. But you have forced me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And you are pressing the charge of murder against John Graham?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “On the other hand, I am not. If my plans succeed, I’ll explode a
- bombshell in the court room the day he faces the jury.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Susie extended her hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I beg your pardon for my rudeness. Alfred will put your trunk back
- immediately, if you will stay.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Ackerman mounted to his room and unpacked his trunk, humming a love song
- while Susie put on her hat and left with swift firm step to find Stella
- Butler.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0031" id="link2HCH0031"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER VI—THROUGH DEEP WATERS
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">S</span>TELLA had hurried
- to the jail with a bouquet of flowers earlier than usual, accompanied by
- Maggie who carried a dainty breakfast. She wished to be the first to tell
- John Graham of the blow which had fallen on his people. She had forgotten
- that the jail in which he lay had been jammed with prisoners during the
- night. Four of his friends were crowded into the cell in which he was
- confined.
- </p>
- <p>
- Her heart sank at the sight of the pitiful crowds of weeping women who
- stood at the jail door, some of them with sick babies in their arms.
- </p>
- <p>
- A little tow-headed boy sat on the steps, with his lips quivering and the
- big tears slowly rolling down his cheeks. She recognised him as the one
- she saw in front of her house the night of the Klan’s first parade.
- </p>
- <p>
- She bent over him and took his hand:
- </p>
- <p>
- “What’s the matter?”
- </p>
- <p>
- The boy’s breast heaved and he choked, unable to answer, bent his sunburnt
- head on Stella’s hand and burst into strangling tears.
- </p>
- <p>
- She stroked his hair, and at length he sobbed:
- </p>
- <p>
- “They’ve got my big brother in here—locked—up—in—a—cage!
- They’re going to kill him, and he ain’t got nobody but me to help him. I
- ain’t nothing but a little boy. I can’t get no money, and I can’t do
- nothing. Oh, me! oh, me!”
- </p>
- <p>
- He bowed again and sobbed as though his heart would break.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella slipped her arm around his neck and placed a rose in his hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Hush dear, I’ll be your friend and his. I’ve got money. I’ll help you—give
- the rose to your brother and come to see me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Will you, Miss?” he cried, leaping up with joy. “Make’em let me go in
- with you and I’ll tell him!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella took him by the hand and led him into the jail.
- </p>
- <p>
- When the jailor frowned at the boy, she said with a smile:
- </p>
- <p>
- “He’s a little friend of mine. He’ll go in with me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The boy nestled close to her side and gripped her hand tightly. When they
- reached the first corridor, he sprang to a grated door and seized his
- brother’s hand. As she passed on Stella heard him say joyously:
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’ll be all right, Jim, don’t worry. She’s a goin’ to help us. She told
- me so. She’s rich—she’ll get us a lawyer.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella climbed the stairs to John’s door with a great voiceless fear in
- her soul. The thought of his discovery of her betrayal stopped the very
- beat of her heart.
- </p>
- <p>
- To her surprise she found him strangely calm.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s sweet of you to come so early,” he said with a smile.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Love makes one’s feet swift, doesn’t it?” she answered softly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And beautiful!” he cried. “I’m going to make you happier by giving you
- more work. Don’t bring me anything more to eat or any more flowers until
- you’ve made the other fellows comfortable. I’m all right, but a lot of the
- poor boys who have just come have broken down. Oh, God, if I could have
- gotten my hands on the throat of the traitor last night!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Never had she seen a more terrible look on a human face. Stella gazed at
- his convulsed features fascinated with fear.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’ll help the boys, won’t you, dear, for my sake?” he asked suddenly.
- “Susie Wilson and her mother will join you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella answered with a start:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why—of course, John. I’ll go at once.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And dear!” he called as she turned quickly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The lawyer whom you engage for me must take all their cases. I’ll stand
- or fall with my people.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I understand.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella hurried home with her soul in a tumult of conflicting purposes. She
- felt it yet too dangerous to confess the dual rôle she had played; yet
- with each hour’s startling events the agony of fear lest he discover her
- betrayal became more and more intense.
- </p>
- <p>
- One thing she could do at once. She would make the cause of his men her
- own, she would make her ministry of love so tender and unselfish, her
- sacrifices so generous he must hear her plea when the awful moment of her
- confession should come.
- </p>
- <p>
- She had just given Aunt Julie Ann orders to prepare three meals each day
- for every man in jail with John, and was about to start for the garden to
- cut more flowers, when Maggie ushered Susie Wilson into the hall.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m so glad you’ve come,” Stella cried. “I was just going to ask you and
- your mother to help us make those men comfortable who have been put in
- jail. Mr. Graham was sure you would join me.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Susie stared at Stella for a moment and slowly said:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Is it possible!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, what’s the matter?” Stella asked. “Won’t you sit down?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I prefer to stand, thank you, and to come straight to the point,” Susie
- answered with quiet emphasis. “May I ask you some questions?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella flushed and her first impulse was to show her questioner to the
- door, but she felt the dangerous menace in Susie’s tone and knew that she
- had suspected at least part of the truth. It was necessary to fence.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, as many as you like,” she replied with a light laugh.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You have told John Graham that you love him?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Your question is an impertinence. It’s none of your business.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I have made it my business.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then the sooner you recover your self-respect the better,” Stella
- sneered.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What do you mean?” Susie’s gray eyes danced with anger.
- </p>
- <p>
- “That you are desperately and hopelessly in love with John Graham
- yourself, and that you haven’t pride and character enough to hold up your
- head before his indifference, and his patronising contempt. I have won
- him, and you come with cheap insults for the woman he loves.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Susie’s eyes grew dim.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Your accusation is infamously false,” she cried with choking emotion.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You deny that you love him?” Stella flashed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I glory in it—if you will know!” Susie cried in dreamy tenderness.
- “I’ve always loved him with a girl’s blind worship of the hero of her
- dreams. And I shall cherish every gentle word that he has ever spoken to
- me. The impulse which brought me here wasn’t the vulgar desire to insult
- the woman he loves. I came to save his life.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella sprang to her feet, her face scarlet, her breath coming in quick
- gasps of anger.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What do you mean?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll tell you if you answer my questions. Do you dare tell me that you
- love him?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella drew herself up proudly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You have no right to ask that question. But I answer it. I do love him
- and I have told him.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Susie confronted her with flashing eyes.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then you have deceived him!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “How dare you thus insult me in my house,” Stella cried with flaming
- cheeks.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll leave your house and never enter it again. You can also rest assured
- that John Graham’s foot will never again cross this threshold when I have
- told him the truth.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “When—you—have—told—him—the—truth!”
- Stella gasped. “What truth?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “That you have betrayed him and his people to his enemies.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s false! It’s false!” Stella panted. “You lie. You lie, because you
- hate me! You hate me because you love him. Tell him if you dare. He will
- laugh in your face! Try it—try it—I dare you!” Her voice rose
- and fell, quivering and breaking in hoarse whispers of passion.
- </p>
- <p>
- Susie stood quietly and coldly staring at her with lips upturned in scorn.
- </p>
- <p>
- “If he doubts my word, Mr. Ackerman’s will be sufficient.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ackerman!” Stella moaned, staggering to the table.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Mr. Ackerman of the Secret Service who came here in answer to your call.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “He—has—told—you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, and I know the whole black hideous truth. I know that you hate John
- Graham, that you have used your devil’s beauty to entrap and betray him.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I swear that I love him!” Stella groaned as she sank to a chair.
- </p>
- <p>
- “As you’ve sworn to him no doubt while you lured him to his ruin. I hate
- you—I hate you—and I could strangle you!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The tall lithe form trembling with fury towered above Stella’s shivering
- little figure.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Susie, you are mistaken,” she faltered. “Come into the library a moment
- and I’ll convince you that you are wrong.”
- </p>
- <p>
- She seized Susie’s hand and led her into the library, sinking again into a
- chair.
- </p>
- <p>
- “See, here is a mortgage for ten thousand dollars on this house which I’ve
- prepared to raise the money for two great lawyers from the North who are
- coming to defend him.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “From the North?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You mean to convict him,” Susie cried. “Another shrewd trick you are
- playing. Your lawyers will gain his confidence, learn his secrets, betray
- and send him to his death. But, I’ll warn him!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Susie, you can’t believe this of me! The pledging of this house is the
- first great act of selfsacrifice of my life. The joy of it has been a
- sweet revelation to me. You must hear me when I tell you that I love him
- with passionate devotion. I’d give my life for him if I could!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And yet you brought Ackerman here and hounded him for three months until
- at last he lies in a filthy jail with the shadow of death over him—and
- you call this love?”
- </p>
- <p>
- The tall form again towered in rage above the shrinking figure.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Wait! I must tell you all, Susie. You know but half the truth. Listen
- dear, I did try to avenge my father’s death. I believed John Graham
- guilty. I did lure him on to love me only to find that I loved him! I
- tried to hate him and couldn’t. I’ve betrayed only his name to Ackerman. I
- could tear my tongue out for it. If he learns of it, he will turn from me
- and hate me! Susie darling, I’ve been proud and vain and wilful. Now I’m a
- poor little girl alone, friendless and lost. You’re stronger than I am.
- Have pity on me. Be a mother to me—I’m lonely and heart-sick. You
- know what it is to love. If he turns from me now before I can atone for
- the wrong I have done him, I can’t live. You—believe—me—now—dear?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Susie’s eyes filled with tears.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I believe you now.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella’s head sank on the table and her form shook with sobs.
- </p>
- <p>
- Susie gently stroked the curling black hair, and said:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll help you. We’ll work together to save his life.”
- </p>
- <p>
- In a moment they were sobbing in each other’s arms.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0032" id="link2HCH0032"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER VII—THE PRISONER AT THE BAR
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">W</span>HEN the day of
- trial dawned, Stella had succeeded in securing the services of two of the
- greatest lawyers in America, Reverdy Johnson of Maryland, Attorney General
- in the Cabinet of President Taylor, and Henry Stanbery of Ohio, Attorney
- General in the Cabinet of Andrew Johnson.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Government was represented by the finest legal talent its vast
- resources and power could command.
- </p>
- <p>
- For eleven days, before two presiding judges of the United States Circuit
- Court, the fierce battle of legal giants raged. The great lawyers for the
- defence fought every inch of ground with dogged tenacity.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella watched from day to day with breathless intensity as she sat by
- John Graham’s side.
- </p>
- <p>
- It soon became plain that the Court had constituted itself a partisan
- political tribunal for the purpose, not of administering justice, but of
- crushing the enemies of the party in power.
- </p>
- <p>
- Every decision was against the prisoner, though, in deference to the
- distinguished character of the lawyers for the defence, they were allowed
- to argue each point. The profound and accurate learning with which they
- reviewed the Constitutional law of the Republic was a liberal education to
- the shallow little partisans who sat on the judge’s bench before them. But
- their eloquence and learning fell on the ears of men whose decisions were
- already made.
- </p>
- <p>
- In violation of the rights of the prisoner under the constitutions of the
- state and nation the indictment for murder was ordered to immediate trial.
- </p>
- <p>
- From the moment the actual proceedings of the trial began, the Government
- had no delay or difficulty.
- </p>
- <p>
- With sinking heart Stella saw the disgraceful travesty of justice draw
- each moment the cords of death closer about the form of the man she loved.
- </p>
- <p>
- The jury corruptly chosen for this case marked the lowest tide mud to
- which the administration of justice ever sank in our history. A white
- freeman, a man of culture and heroic mould, whose fathers created the
- American Republic, was arraigned to plead for his life before a jury
- composed of one dirty, ignorant white scalawag and eleven coal-black
- Negroes! The white man was not made its foreman, a Negro teamster was
- chosen.
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve Hoyle became at once the presiding genius of the prosecution. The
- court room was thronged with liars, perjurers and sycophants who hung
- about his fat figure with obsequious deference. Old Larkin, who came from
- the Capitol to assist the prosecution, sat constantly by Steve’s side.
- </p>
- <p>
- John Graham watched Steve with cold deadly hate, but he had warned his men
- under no conceivable circumstances to lift a hand in resistance either to
- constituted authority, or to give the traitor his deserts. A pall of
- helpless grief and fear hung over every decent white man who witnessed the
- High Court of Justice of the Anglo-Saxon race suddenly transformed into a
- Negro minstrel farce on which hung their liberty and life.
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0008.jpg" alt="0008 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0008.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- The star witness of the prosecution was Uncle Isaac A. Postle. He took his
- seat before the jury, grinning and nodding at two of his dusky friends
- among them with calm assurance.
- </p>
- <p>
- Isaac was allowed to tell a marvellous rambling story of Ku Klux outrages—stories
- which he had heard from Larkin—about whose truth he could possibly
- know nothing. In vain the lawyers for the defence objected. The court
- overruled every objection and allowed the Apostle free scope to his vivid
- imagination.
- </p>
- <p>
- Reverdy Johnson, the distinguished ex-Attorney General of the United
- States who stood before the judges protesting with dignity, bowed to the
- Bench and sat down in disgust with the quiet remark:
- </p>
- <p>
- “We shall offer no further objection to anything that may be said in this
- Court.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He had scarcely taken his seat when Ackerman moved his chair behind him
- and began to whisper.
- </p>
- <p>
- The District Attorney watched the detective in astonishment, while Hoyle
- and Larkin bent their heads together in excited conference.
- </p>
- <p>
- Susie looked at Stella, smiled and blushed.
- </p>
- <p>
- Isaac finally came to specific charges against John Graham.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now tell the court what you know about John Graham’s connection with the
- murder of Judge Butler,” said Steve, who was conducting his examination.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah, I knows all ’bout it, sah. Mr. John Graham de very man dat
- kill de jedge wid his own han’. I see ’im when he do it. Dey come
- slippin’ up back er de house, an’ creep in froo de winder while de odder
- folks wuz in de ballroom dancin’. Dey wuz eight un ’em—yassah.
- Dey slip up an’ grab de jedge an’ hol’ ’im while Mr. John Graham
- stick a knife right in his heart——yassah. I wuz lookin’ right
- at ’im froo de winder when he done it. When he kill ’im, dey
- all mix up wid de odder Ku Kluxes what wuz dancin’, an’ go way
- ter-gedder.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Take the witness,” said Steve with a wave of his hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “How did you know it was Mr. Graham?” asked General Johnson.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I seed ’im wid my own eyes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “He wore a complete disguise, did he not?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah, but I seed ’im all de same.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You could see through the mask?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I seed ’im—I done tole ye!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Answer my question,” sternly commanded the lawyer. “Could you see his
- face through the mask?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Nasah.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then how did you recognise him?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “He tuck it off ter scratch his head, sah, an’ I see his face. I knowed it
- wuz him all de time fo’ I see his face.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Ackerman whispered to the lawyer.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Did you tell Mr. Ackerman, Uncle Isaac, that, as you started to run away
- from the masqueraders that night, you saw John Graham at your gate—ran
- into him?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Nasah, I nebber say no sech thing!” Isaac shouted, glaring and shaking
- his head at Ackerman.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Didn’t you tell the same gentleman that later in the evening you saw John
- Graham seated on a rustic near the house watching it from the outside?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Nasah! dat I didn’t!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Do you know that if you swear a lie——”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I ain’t swar no lie!” Isaac interrupted with religious fervour. “I’se de
- Lord’s Sanctified One, sah. I ain’t done no sin since I got
- sanctification. Yassah, praise God!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Don’t you know,” repeated the lawyer, “that if you swear to a lie on that
- witness stand you can be sent to the penitentiary for perjury?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I knows dey ain’t gwine sen’ me dar—I knows dat,” Isaac said with a
- grin, and his Negro acquaintances in the jury box laughed.
- </p>
- <p>
- The lawyer changed his line of questions. “You say you saw John Graham
- strike the death-blow?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah, I see ’im wid dese very eyes.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Were you close enough to hear what was said?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah, I wuz right dar by de open winder.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “What did he say?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Des ez he raise de knife he say, ‘I got you now, you d——
- Black Radical ‘Publican!’”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You swear that you heard him say that he killed the Judge because he was
- a Republican?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah! dat’s what de Ku Kluxes kill ’em all fur, sah!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Larkin shuffled uneasily, bent again in conference with Steve who rose
- immediately and asked for an adjournment of two hours.
- </p>
- <p>
- When the Court reassembled and Isaac took his seat in the witness chair,
- Aunt Julie Ann’s huge form suddenly appeared in the doorway with her hand
- resting confidingly on Alfred’s arm. They walked inside the railing of the
- bar and took seats assigned to them behind John Graham’s counsel. Aunt
- Julie Ann handed Ackerman a pair of Isaac’s old shoes. He measured them
- quickly on a diagram which he drew from his pocket.
- </p>
- <p>
- Isaac watched Aunt Julie Ann and Alfred with mouth opened in wonder, rage
- and growing fear.
- </p>
- <p>
- He rose and bowed to the judges.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I gotter ax de cote ter perteck me, gemmens,” he said falteringly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What do you mean?” asked a judge.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dat nigger Alfred dar tryin’ ter steal my wife from me, sah!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Alfred grinned, and patted Aunt Julie Ann’s hand and whispered: “Doan min’
- de low-live rascal, honey!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah, an’ my wife come here tryin’ ter timidate me, sah. She jes fetch
- er par er my ole shoes inter dis cote. She’s a cunjer ‘oman, sah. I try
- ter sanctify her, but she won’t stay sanctified. She got a kink er my hair
- las’ night and wrap it up in a piece er paper and put it under de cote
- house do’ step, an’ she say dat ef I walk over dat into dis house ter-day
- an’ jestify ergin Marse John Graham she fling er spell over me. I ax de
- cote fer perfection, sah. I axes de Sheriff ter take dat bunch er hair
- from under dem steps fo’ I say annuder word!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Silence, sir, and proceed with your testimony,” said the Judge.
- </p>
- <p>
- Aunt Julie Ann fanned her fat face, smiled at Stella and Susie and quietly
- slipped her hand in Alfred’s.
- </p>
- <p>
- Isaac dropped into his chair limp and crestfallen. In a sort of dazed
- trance he kept his eye fixed on Alfred’s face grinning in triumph.
- </p>
- <p>
- John’s lawyer pounced on him in sudden sharp accents.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Is this a pair of your shoes, Isaac?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah,” was the listless answer.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You wore these shoes the night the Judge was killed, didn’t you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’re sure of it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah. Dem’s my ole ones. I got a new pair now.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The lawyer stepped close and in threatening tones asked:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Will you explain to this Court what your shoes were doing making tracks
- in the soft mud of the underground passage from the family vault of the
- Graham house the night of this murder?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Isaac’s jaw dropped, he drew his red bandanna handkerchief and mopped his
- brow.
- </p>
- <p>
- A hum of excitement ran over the court room, and an officer cried:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Silence!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Isaac continued to mop his brow and fumble at his handkerchief while he
- gazed at the lawyer in a helpless stupor.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Answer my question, sir!” the towering figure thundered into his face.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I doan know what yer means, sah,” he faltered.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes you do. There were nine other men with you. Who were they?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I dunno, sah!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Larkin whispered excitedly to Steve, who shook his head and gazed at Isaac
- in amazement.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Were they masked so that you couldn’t see their faces?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Isaac looked appealingly to the judges and whimpered:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I doan know what dey er talkin’ ‘bout, sah.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “You must answer the questions,” said the Judge.
- </p>
- <p>
- The lawyer glared at Isaac whose shifting eyes sought Larkin.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Think it over a minute, Isaac,” the lawyer continued; “in the meantime
- examine that knife.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He drew from its case a long, keen hunting-knife, and handed it to the
- witness who was now trembling from head to foot.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Did you ever see that knife before?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Isaac hesitated and finally answered:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah, I sold it ter Mr. Ackerman.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Where did you get it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Larkin suddenly cleared his throat with a deep guttural sound like the
- growl of an infuriated animal.
- </p>
- <p>
- The lawyer looked at him with annoyance and the officer again shouted:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Silence!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I foun’ it, sah,” he answered evasively.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now, Isaac, you want to be very careful how you answer my next question.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The lawyer took the knife from the Negro’s hand and felt of its point.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You will notice that a tiny piece is broken off the tip of this blade. I
- hold in my hand the little bit of steel which exactly fits there. It was
- found embedded in a bone in Judge Butler’s body. This is the knife that
- struck the death-blow. Did you own that knife the night of the murder?
- Answer me!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Isaac fumbled his handkerchief again and looked about the room helplessly.
- </p>
- <p>
- Larkin rose carelessly and started from the court room. Ackerman, watching
- him keenly, sprang to his side.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Don’t leave, Larkin, we want you as a witness in a moment,” he whispered.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll return immediately,” the Carpetbagger replied, increasing his haste.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Wait!” Ackerman commanded.
- </p>
- <p>
- Larkin quickened his pace and the detective seized his arm.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Carpetbagger threw him off with sudden fury and plunged toward the
- door.
- </p>
- <p>
- With the spring of a tiger, Ackerman leaped on him. A brief fierce fight,
- and he was dragged panting back before the astonished Court, while every
- man in the room sprang to his feet and pressed around the struggling men.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What’s the meaning of this disorder?” thundered the presiding Judge.
- </p>
- <p>
- “With apologies to the Court for the interruption I beg leave to present
- the murderer of Judge Butler—I ask a warrant for his arrest,”
- Ackerman demanded.
- </p>
- <p>
- A wave of horror swept the crowd of Larkin’s friends.
- </p>
- <p>
- “The man is a crazy liar, your Honours,” protested Larkin. “And he has
- proven himself a renegade and a scoundrel in this court room to-day. I
- protest against this outrage.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’ll prove my charge to the Court—every link in the chain of
- evidence is now complete,” was the cool answer.
- </p>
- <p>
- With the court room in an uproar, Larkin was arrested and placed between
- Ackerman and a deputy, and the trial resumed.
- </p>
- <p>
- A brief conference between the District Attorney and Isaac preceded the
- first question asked by John’s counsel after the disturbance.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now, Isaac,” the lawyer began suavely, “the District Attorney has just
- promised to spare your life on condition that you tell us the truth, the
- whole truth, and nothing but the truth—let’s have it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yassah,” the Apostle responded in humble accents. “Mr. Larkin, he tell me
- ter say what I did, sah.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Larkin’s head dropped and his keen eyes furtively sought the door.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Who gave you that knife?”
- </p>
- <p>
- A moment of breathless suspense rippled the crowded court room and every
- head was bent forward.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Mr. Larkin gimme de knife! We’se been powful good friends, sah. I show
- him de under-groun’ way fum de tomb inter de house. I’se de only black man
- dat know it—my daddy help dig it—yassah. Mr. Larkin de fust
- man I ebber tell dat I know ’bout it. He say he want ter beat de Ku
- Kluxes. He say he make’em smoke dat night, an’ he git eight men an’ dress
- up jes lak ‘em, an’ I show him de way ter git in froo de panel in de hall.
- He fool me. I didn’t know he gwine ter kill de jedge, sah, er I wouldn’t
- er let ’em in, nosah. I doan’ believe in killin’ nobody. He tell me
- ter git outen de county an’ I stay till de soldiers come back. Yassah, an’
- dat’s de whole troof!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Ackerman motioned the sergeant, a pair of handcuffs clicked on Larkin’s
- wrists, and the great white head sank on his breast.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella gazed at his pathetic figure with a strange feeling of pity and
- wonder, while her hand sought John Graham’s and pressed it tenderly.
- </p>
- <p>
- The count of murder was dropped, but the charge of conspiracy was pressed
- with merciless ferocity. A procession of hired liars ascended the witness
- stand and in rapid succession perjured themselves by swearing that they
- had recognised the prisoner on various raids made by the Klan in the
- county.
- </p>
- <p>
- The jury was out fifteen minutes.
- </p>
- <p>
- When they returned John Graham, in whose veins flowed the blood of a race
- of world-conquering men, entitled to a trial by a jury of his peers, rose
- with quiet dignity and heard the verdict of his condemnation fall from the
- thick protruding lips of a flat-nosed Negro:
- </p>
- <p>
- “We finds de prisoner guilty!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “So say you all gentlemen?” asked the clerk.
- </p>
- <p>
- And in response each black spindle-shanked juror shambled to his feet and
- answered:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Guilty!”
- </p>
- <p>
- The last name called was the little white Scalawag’s, whose weak voice
- squeaked an echo:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Guilty.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The Judge imposed a fine of one thousand dollars and sentenced John Graham
- to five years imprisonment at hard labour in the United States
- penitentiary at Albany, New York.
- </p>
- <p>
- A low moan from Stella, and her head sank in voiceless anguish.
- </p>
- <p>
- To the brave and the proud there are visions darker than death.
- </p>
- <p>
- John Graham saw this as he was led from the court room back to jail—the
- vision of the hideous leprous shame of a convict’s suit of stripes!
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0033" id="link2HCH0033"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER VIII—THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">E</span>VERY delicacy
- which love could devise and her money buy Stella lavished on John and his
- friends. Each day added to the list of men who returned to jail condemned
- to the infamy of a convict’s pen at Albany.
- </p>
- <p>
- When the deep-muttered curses against Steve Hoyle for the betrayal of his
- men reached John’s ears, he sent through Stella his sternest orders and
- his tenderest entreaties to Dan Wiley to prevent violence. Dan had
- successfully eluded every effort to arrest him. John knew that he was
- hiding in the mountains with the men he had commanded armed to the teeth,
- and he lived in constant dread of the news of Steve’s assassination, even
- under the noses of the United States troops.
- </p>
- <p>
- A single burst of sunlight came to brighten for Stella the gloom of the
- day before John’s departure for Albany. She succeeded in liberating “Jim,”
- the big brother of her little tow-headed friend. Her interest in the boy
- had been noted, and she received the usual mysterious message—that
- money placed at the right spot would prevent any witness from identifying
- Jim. She found the right spot promptly and paid the bribe of two hundred
- and fifty dollars without a question as to the ethics involved. Jim was
- discharged, and when he walked out a free man a little tow-headed boy lay
- sobbing out his joy on her breast.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m goin’ to work for you, if you’ll let me,” he cried through his tears.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, I thought you said you couldn’t do anything that day we met?” she
- laughed.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, I’m awful smart,” he boasted—“I can tote fresh water, carry all
- your notes to your sweetheart—and I’m great diggin’ worms ter go
- fishin’—I know right where to find ’em!”
- </p>
- <p>
- She sent him away with a kiss and a promise to let him come and show her
- what he could do.
- </p>
- <p>
- As she entered the jail with John’s dinner, the jailor, whose friendship
- she had won by the liberal use of money and skilful flattery, whispered to
- her:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Come in here a minute, Miss, I want to show you something.”
- </p>
- <p>
- She followed him into his room and started with horror at the sight of a
- dirty suit of convict’s stripes spread out on a chair.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella’s face blanched.
- </p>
- <p>
- “They are for him?” she gasped.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yessum, an’ if ye’ll excuse me fer sayin’ it, I think it’s a d———
- shame.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “They have no right to put this outrage on him before his people,” she
- cried.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No’m, they haint got no right, but they’re goin’ ter do it to-morrow
- mornin’ just the same. They’re goin’ ter take him all the way ter Albany
- in that suit.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Who’s doing this?” she asked with rising wrath.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Steve Hoyle, m’am. He’s fixin’ to have a big gang er niggers and low
- white trash here in the mornin’ ter hoot and yell and make fun of him all
- the way to the train, an’ I thought I’d tell ye.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Thank you,” she answered warmly, her big brown eyes beginning to flash
- fire.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ye know ef I’d step out, that suit o’ clothes might be foun’ missin’. It
- ain’t mine. I’ll swear to that. I don’t know anybody that owns it, er
- wants it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I understand. Wrap it up, please. I can’t touch it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella shuddered and watched the jailor with wide-staring eyes as he
- picked up the suit, wrapped it in a piece of brown paper and laid it back
- on the chair.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I got to go—there’s somebody knockin’ at the door—course, I
- won’t know what’s become er the d—— thing.”
- </p>
- <p>
- He left her with a grin, and Stella seized the bundle, hurried home and
- burned it. On the way she stopped at a hardware store and made a
- mysterious purchase which she carefully concealed, and there was a
- dangerous light in her eyes as she placed this package beside the
- travelling dress which she had laid out to wear on the train with John.
- </p>
- <p>
- The jailor passed Stella in the hall but looked the other way as he
- hurried forward with two soldiers who had called to see John Graham. They
- were dressed in the regulation blue suits of the army. The jailor,
- trusting implicitly their uniforms, allowed them to go up unaccompanied to
- John’s door.
- </p>
- <p>
- So complete was the disguise that at first the condemned man gazed through
- the bars with indifference at his callers.
- </p>
- <p>
- The taller of the two suddenly thrust his face close and whispered:
- </p>
- <p>
- “God, man, don’t ye know me?”
- </p>
- <p>
- John started.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dan—Billy—what does this mean!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Dan put his finger on his lips.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Everything’s all right. Billy’s been up in the mountains with me at my
- summer resort.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I wrote you, Billy, not to come!” John scowled.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I’m not going to see this infamy puton you——”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s all fixed, Chief,” Dan broke in, drawing a new sledge hammer from
- his pocket, and slipping the handle from his sleeve.
- </p>
- <p>
- With a loud cough to mask the sound he thrust the handle into its place.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You’re both crazy!” John said with anger.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s as easy as failin’ off a log,” Dan urged. “Billy’ll smash the lock,
- I’ll gag and tie the jailor. I’ve got the fastest horse in the county
- waitin’ fer ye at the corner. Git thirty minutes start, an’ there ain’t
- cavalry enough this side er hell to stop ye. When ye get ter my house,
- ye’ll be in God’s country. The boys are there waitin’ fer ye.” Dan handed
- the hammer to Billy.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Put that hammer down!” John commanded sternly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I won’t—you’ve got to go with us.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Do as I tell you, or I’ll call the jailor,” John said with a frown.
- </p>
- <p>
- “For God’s sake, come with us!” Billy pleaded. “Steve Hoyle’s going to
- have a crowd of Negroes here to laugh and jeer at you to-morrow as you
- come out. I tell you I can’t stand it!”
- </p>
- <p>
- John’s face suddenly paled.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You can stand it if I can, Billy! Get out of this, both of you, before
- you’re arrested—quick now. I won’t have it. Come here, Dan!”
- </p>
- <p>
- John called to the mountaineer who had turned away.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Give me your hand.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Dan thrust his hand through the bars and John grasped it.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Are you a friend of mine?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ain’t I a showin’ ye.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Take Billy home and take care of him until I return—will you do
- it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes—but I don’t like this givin’ up a fight when I’ve won it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And one thing more, Dan, old boy, before I let your hand go, you’ve got
- to promise me not to kill Steve Hoyle.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Who said I was goin’ to do it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I say it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “He ain’t fit ter live.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, but somehow God lets a lot of such trash cumber the earth. We’d
- better not try any more interference with his plans.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Dan hesitated, struggling with deep passion, drew a handkerchief and blew
- his nose.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ye’re putty hard on me, Chief, I was goin’ ter call by Steve’s house and
- finish both jobs to-day, but orders is orders. I’ll take ’em from
- you. I won’t take ’em from nobody else. Goodbye, take care er
- yourself.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Billy pressed his brother’s hand, silently turned and left with Dan.
- </p>
- <p>
- When the last echo of their steps had died away
- </p>
- <p>
- John Graham stared through the iron bars for half an hour and saw only the
- vision of a mob of yelling, laughing Negroes and behind them the fat,
- white cowardly face of Steve Hoyle.
- </p>
- <p>
- He sank to the chair with a groan:
- </p>
- <p>
- “O God, if it be possible let this cup pass from me!”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0034" id="link2HCH0034"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER IX—THE DAY OF ATONEMENT
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">W</span>HEN Steve Hoyle
- discovered next morning that the suit of stripes which he had secured at
- enormous expense in bribery and hush money had been lost he was furious.
- The jailor laughed at his idle threats and cursed him roundly when accused
- of making way with the suit.
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve left in a rage to drum up a larger crowd to hoot and yell at the man
- he hated.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella pressed her way through the throng of Negroes into the jail,
- carrying an enormous bouquet of roses in one hand and in the other a
- basket of delicate flowers threaded into long beautiful garlands.
- </p>
- <p>
- John determined to save her from the scene of his humiliation.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You must not go through the streets with me to the train, my dear,” he
- said tenderly. “Go down in a carriage and join me at the station.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I will if they let you ride with me,” she firmly answered.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Impossible. They’ve given special orders that I shall walk.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Then I’ll walk with you,” she said with a smile.
- </p>
- <p>
- John’s face clouded with pain.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Please, dearest, for my sake?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It’s for your sake I’m going with you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “They may say something to hurt you,” he pleaded.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I don’t think they will,” she said as the fire suddenly flashed from her
- brown eyes.
- </p>
- <p>
- “But they will, my love, they will. It’s hard enough for me. They mustn’t
- hurt you—I can hear them out there now—that black mob—waiting
- to hoot and yell—please, don’t go with me!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella left his cell door, stepped to the window and looked out. Steve
- Hoyle was passing along the lines of Negroes ranged on either side of the
- walk, instructing them what to say. He had massed around the door a mob of
- two hundred to follow his lead the moment John appeared.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Watch me,” he said, “and I’ll give you the signal. I want you to let him
- have it square in the face when I raise my hand. I’ll stand on the
- doorstep. I want a laugh first from five hundred black throats—on
- old-fashioned nigger laugh, long, deep and loud! It’ll be a funny sight, I
- promise you that.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “We watch ye,” answered a big buck Negro with a grin.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella heard the click of the lock of John’s cell with a start and turned
- to find the deputy marshal standing with a pair of handcuffs.
- </p>
- <p>
- “We are ready,” he said.
- </p>
- <p>
- John stepped into the corridor, and extended his hands. The deputy snapped
- the steel on his wrists, and Stella drew the garlands of flowers from the
- basket.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You don’t mind the flowers—do you officer? I’m going with you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Certainly not, m’am,” he replied.
- </p>
- <p>
- John saw that protest was useless, but he gazed at the garlands with
- amazement.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What on earth are you going to do, my dear?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Just a little trick of love,” was the laughing answer.
- </p>
- <p>
- She wound the flowers around each handcuff, placed in John’s hand the
- enormous bouquet of roses, and not a trace of steel could be seen.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You can carry them for me,” she said, hurrying on before him.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella passed suddenly through the jail door to the little brick landing
- of the steps on which Steve Hoyle stood to give his signal.
- </p>
- <p>
- Steve started in surprise at her appearance, stammered and flushed, and a
- murmur of uncertainty ran through the crowd.
- </p>
- <p>
- In a moment the traitor had recovered himself, and glancing at Stella with
- a sneer of triumph, he shouted to his henchmen:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Say what you please, boys—don’t mind the ladies!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella turned her eyes, gleaming with a deadly purpose, straight on Steve,
- and a revolver flashed from her hand into his face. He dodged, trembled,
- and crouched against the wall, while she sternly said:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now lift your hand or open your mouth, you contemptible sneak and
- coward!”
- </p>
- <p>
- A cry of terror swept the dark crowd, and scores broke and fled.
- </p>
- <p>
- As John appeared in the doorway, Stella turned to the Negroes and in
- ringing tones cried:
- </p>
- <p>
- “I dare one of you black loafers to offer a single insult to the man whose
- love I hold dearer than my life. I’ll kill you as I would a dog.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Revolver in hand, with stern set face and flaming eyes she opened the way
- through which John Graham passed in silence.
- </p>
- <p>
- At the station a crowd of friends gathered and cheered his departure.
- </p>
- <p>
- Old Nicaroshinski slipped a hundred dollars in his hand and whispered in
- broken voice:
- </p>
- <p>
- “Don’t—don’t you vorry, me poy, ve’ll puild a monumendt to you in de
- public squvare yedt!”
- </p>
- <p>
- Stella was allowed to sit by his side in the car, and as the train started
- John looked at her a moment through dimmed eyes, and slowly said: “The
- glory of this hour has more than paid for all the pain and all the shame a
- thousand lives could hold!”
- </p>
- <p>
- And then in low soft accents broken with sobs she confessed to him the
- story of her love and at the end with trembling lips asked:
- </p>
- <p>
- “But you can’t hate me for it now, can you, my darling?”
- </p>
- <p>
- For an answer he bent and tenderly kissed her hand, while she felt rather
- than heard the low passionate words: “I love you—I love you—I
- love you!”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0035" id="link2HCH0035"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER X—UNDER BRIGHT SKIES—AN EPILOGUE
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>IME slowly healed
- the poisoned wounds left by the fierce struggles of Reconstruction. John
- Graham’s case was never decided by the Supreme Court of the United States.
- Before the day arrived for the test of its appeal to the great tribunal
- which is the last bulwark of American liberties, he was hastily pardoned,
- and every man with him who languished in prison pens for similar political
- offences. The little politicians who had forced through Congress the
- venomous Conspiracy Acts in violation of the Constitution of the Republic
- did not dare to allow the Supreme Court the opportunity to overwhelm them
- with infamy.
- </p>
- <p>
- The years have brought magic changes to the people of Independence. The
- growing city has ploughed a new street through the old Graham house and a
- dozen beautiful homes stand on the site of its wide lawn.
- </p>
- <p>
- Poetic justice demanded that Steve Hoyle should pay the penalty of his
- treachery. But Time plays many a joke on Justice. The Honourable Stephen
- Hoyle is now one of our fattest, most solemn and most dignified judges of
- the Federal Courts.
- </p>
- <p>
- Ackerman’s long talks on imaginary cotton mills had one important result.
- They planted in John Graham’s imagination the seeds of fortune. On his
- return from prison he quit the practice of law and began the manufacture
- of cotton goods. To please his wife he bought Inwood, whose wide acres of
- forest extend to the river. Here the Graham Brothers’ mills are located.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Inwood mansion he restored on its original foundations, rebuilding it
- of native marble behind the stately old Corinthian pillars around one of
- which the ivy is yet allowed to hang in graceful festoons.
- </p>
- <p>
- Ackerman, who is the Superintendent of the mills, lives but a stone’s
- throw from Inwood, and every day Susie’s and Stella’s children play
- together on the great lawn that still lies hidden in the heart of the
- ancient woods.
- </p>
- <h3>
- THE END
- </h3>
- <div style="height: 6em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-<pre>
-
-
-
-
-
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