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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..a8e750a --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #67549 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/67549) diff --git a/old/67549-0.txt b/old/67549-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 047a779..0000000 --- a/old/67549-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8441 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Perfection City, by Adela Orpen - -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 -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Perfection City - -Author: Adela Orpen - -Release Date: March 3, 2022 [eBook #67549] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading - Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from - images generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PERFECTION CITY *** - - - =Appletons’ - Town and Country - Library= - - No. 212 - - PERFECTION CITY - - - - - PERFECTION CITY - - - BY - - MRS. ORPEN - - AUTHOR OF MARGARETA COLBERG, MR. ADOLF, THE CHRONICLES OF THE SID, ETC. - -[Illustration] - - NEW YORK - D. APPLETON AND COMPANY - 1897 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1897, - BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I.— HOME-COMING OF THE BRIDE 1 - II.— UNCLE DAVID 11 - III.— SISTER MARY WINKLE 21 - IV.— MADAME MOROZOFF-SMITH 27 - V.— CORN PLANTING 43 - VI.— NON-RESISTANCE 54 - VII.— WILLETTE 66 - VIII.— MR. PERSEUS 84 - IX.— FIRST LESSONS 101 - X.— PRACTICAL COMMUNISM 111 - XI.— A CHANCE MEETING 125 - XII.— THE PRAIRIE FIRE 141 - XIII.— THE RESCUE 156 - XIV.— COTTERELL “WANTED” 170 - XV.— IN QUEST OF NEWS 185 - XVI.— HORSE-THIEVES 204 - XVII.— A LIFE AT STAKE 219 - XVIII.— LYNCH-LAW 237 - XIX.— OLIVE MISSING 251 - XX.— MADAME’S SYMPATHY 263 - XXI.— THE MESSAGE 277 - XXII.— OLIVE’S SECOND HOME-COMING 293 - XXIII.— CONCLUSION 305 - - - - - PERFECTION CITY. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - HOME-COMING OF THE BRIDE. - - -“This road isn’t called Perfection Road, is it?” she asked jerkily, as -she held tight hold of the edge of the waggon to prevent herself from -being pitched head foremost off the seat. She would have laid her head -against her companion’s shoulder only that it was square and hard, and -she was afraid of getting her temple “stove in,” as the sailors say, by -the terrific bumps caused by the wheels going over a big stone or down -into a deep rut. She was a bride, and he was bringing her to their new -home on the Kansas Prairie. - -“My poor little pet,” he said tenderly, “it is very rough here. We are -going down into Cotton Wood Creek, and these stones were cast up by the -last freshet which pretty well washed the road away.” - -They plunged headlong into the muddy waters of the Creek, and the little -bride would have felt frightened only that “he” was by her side, for the -waggon creaked and groaned with the strain, and the horses snorted -uneasily, feeling their way carefully through the rushing torrent. The -Creek was safely passed, and they slowly toiled up the long hill out of -the bottom-lands, and pulled up when once more on the high prairie. - -“There is our home, dearie,” he said, pointing with his whip to some -scattered houses a couple of miles away. And being a bridegroom he -kissed her. - -“So that is Perfection City, is it?” said she, shading her eyes with her -hand, for the afternoon sun sent level rays into her face. “You know, -Ezra, it is such a funny name, I always feel inclined to laugh when I -say it. And how I shall ever dare to put it at the top of my letters as -a real address when I write to the girls at the College at Smyrna, is -more than I know.” - -“Then don’t write it,” replied Ezra, a trifle sternly. “It will hurt our -feelings very much if you laugh at it. You know it means a great deal to -all of us.” - -“Then I’ll never laugh at it,” said the little bride. - -“Which is our house?” she asked a moment later. - -“The one half way up the slope.” - -“Oh, that is nice. I like looking down across things. I shouldn’t like -to live in a valley and always have to look up, you know.” - -“The large building is the Academy,” said Ezra. “That is where we hold -our meetings and gather together for all the best purposes of our little -community-life.” - -“Is it there that Madame Morozoff-Smith lives?” asked his wife. - -“Her house is the one just opposite.” - -“Oh, that big one! It is quite the largest in the village—the City, I -mean.” - -Ezra did not make any reply to this remark. He had never realised that -Madame’s house was indeed the largest in their Community, and now he -felt vexed that this fact should have been the first his wife noted. - -A small boy with shining black face and shining white teeth, along with -a yellow puppy, welcomed them. - -“This is Napoleon Pompey,” said Ezra, with much decorum presenting the -small darkie who grinned and bobbed his head. “And this is Diana,” -pointing to the puppy that had come up to the bars along with the negro. -Diana jumped upon her new mistress and left two black dust marks on her -dress. Dust is black in London and on the western prairie, nowhere else. - -“Oh, you dirty dog,” said the little bride, who was a very natty body. - -“You’ll have to get used to dirt in all degrees out here, Ollie,” said -her husband as he led her to the door. She looked like a little girl as -she stood beside him, for he was tall and angular and long of leg. A -sloping plank with battens nailed across it led to the door, there were -no steps. As the pair entered, Napoleon Pompey and Diana took the horses -and waggon to the stable and began respectively to unharness and worry -them. - -“What a dear little house! It is just like a toy! And do look at the -saws hanging on the walls beside the covers of the pots! Oh, won’t it be -so nice and free living here! I shall feel like an explorer in a far -country. And how funny to have nail-kegs for seats, and oh, you dear old -darling!” - -Olive jumped up and kissed her big husband. - -“Things are rough now, dearie,” he said with infinite tenderness, -looking at her with loving admiration, “but by and by we shall have -everything very nice.” - -“But I think it is just as nice as it can be now.” - -“This is our room,” said he, opening a door to the right. - -“Why, if you haven’t gone and got a rocking-chair!” exclaimed Olive, -glancing around the small apartment. - -“I made it for you myself in spare time,” answered Ezra, pleased that -she had noticed the chair the first thing: he had often wondered, when -working at that rocking-chair, whether she would be pleased with it. -“You see,” he continued, “we have to work only five days a week for the -Community. All the rest of our time is at our own disposal, and by and -by, when we are flourishing, four days for the Community will suffice.” - -“Do you like working for other people and not being paid?” asked Olive. - -“I do not consider it as working for other people without pay,” replied -her husband, with some quickness. “We each work for the general good, -and if I happen to plant corn that someone else will eat, then some -other member of the Community raises potatoes that I shall eat.” - -“There, there, don’t be cross,” said the little wife, noting the flush -that had risen to his brow as he spoke. “I am sure it is nice, and I -shall like it when I understand it all. At any rate we shall be very -happy whatever happens, and I like my dear little house, and please, I -am very thirsty, can I have a drink?” - -He brought her some water in a tin dipper with a long handle, and she -did not make a face, but drank the water gratefully. She determined in -her own mind, however, to have a glass tumbler the very next day, but -she was new to the prairie, and she did not get the tumbler the next -day, nor the next week, nor for many, many long months. - -“What time are we to have breakfast?” she asked, when taking over the -household from Napoleon Pompey and Diana, who had run the establishment -while her husband had been to fetch her from Ohio. - -“Yo’ kin eat when yo’ like,” said Napoleon Pompey, desiring to be all -that was polite to his new mistress. - -“But I want to know what time you have breakfast?” repeated Olive with -persistence. - -“We uns got ter be hout on der lan’ ploughin’ afore sun-up,” said -Napoleon Pompey concisely. - -“Dear me! Why, that is before six o’clock!” exclaimed Olive. - -“I calkerlate,” said Napoleon Pompey affably. - -Ezra did not want Olive to think she was bound to get up and prepare the -working-man’s breakfast. - -“You are not used to that sort of hard work, dearie. We can do very well -with cold corn-bread.” - -“Of all things the most stoggy and hopelessly uninviting,” interrupted -his wife. “No, Ezra, I won’t have any of the people out here think I am -a little fool that can’t do any useful work. I have my pride as well as -other folks. I shall cook your breakfast to-morrow and every day -afterwards, and I shall cook it well, see if I don’t.” - -“I am sure of that,” said her husband with the confidence of a -bridegroom. - -The house of which the young bride had just taken possession was by no -means an ordinary prairie house. Far from it. It had pretensions to -comfort which the true prairie house should never possess, and it lacked -the few elements of picturesqueness with which the genuine article is -sometimes endowed. The plan on which it was built was of the -simplest—the same that children adopt in building their doll’s -houses—four sides and a sloping roof, all of wood from top to bottom. It -was not a log-house, which has a few broken lines to rest the eye of the -beholder and present possibilities to the artist, it was a frame house, -that is, the straightest, stiffest, squarest, most hopelessly -unpicturesque object that it is possible to imagine, and to make matters -worse it was painted a glaring white from eave to foundation. There was -not a broken line or a broken tint anywhere to refresh the eye, and it -stood on the high prairie, as if hurled into a glaring world by a -Titan’s hand. - -The prairie is fertile, and in the eye of a farmer may possess the -beauty of usefulness, but otherwise it is hideous. The long rolling -billows of grass present no character, while the trees are confined to -the river valleys where they find refuge from prairie fires, and can -therefore lead a sufficiently undisturbed existence to reach quite a -respectable height. A couple of small locust trees, not three feet high, -were all that did duty as shade-giving plants near Olive’s house, which -accordingly faced the world and its storms entirely on its own -individual merits. Judged by prairie standard the house was “tip-top.” -It possessed no less than four rooms, while the regular settler’s cabin -was wont to indulge in only a single comprehensive apartment, which was -kitchen, parlour and bedroom all in one. The two lower rooms were the -kitchen, which was fairly large, and a smaller one off it, reserved for -the private use of the young wife. The kitchen looked like a ship’s -cabin, only that it had more light than usually penetrates into a ship’s -cabin. In fact it was very light, for there were two large windows, one -to the north and one to the south, geometrically opposite each other. -These two windows, so exactly facing each other, were fairly typical of -the house itself, which was the embodiment of mathematical accuracy. The -building was placed exactly east and west, as if it had been a carefully -oriented church. There was a door on the south side, exactly in the -middle, and a window on either side of the door, placed accurately in -the centre of the space left between the side of the door and the end of -the house. Over these two windows were two others exactly one half their -size, giving light to the loft, and exactly in the centre of the -roof-ridge was a black stove-pipe. - -The average prairie man is a genius in the way of doing without things. -He can live in a house of the smallest dimensions, containing the -minimum of utensils. In fact, his idea of a house is that it should be a -miner’s tent solidified into substantiality. The miner in a -newly-prospected gold-field is a person who spends his days in a hole, -and has no belongings but the clothes on his back and the shovel in his -hand. He lives on his expectations. The regular prairie settler, would -arrive in the spring, camp in his waggon, stick grains of corn under the -sod, and think himself lucky if he could raise both the corn and a -loghut, fourteen by twelve feet, before the cold weather set in. Those -who have passed through such a severe school prune down their -requirements. Therefore the house to which Ezra Weston brought his -little bride was rightly considered to be a model of luxury, or in -prairie phraseology to be “powerful full o’ truck.” - -The kitchen certainly was full. The stove, black and business-like, -stood near the partition wall, and on it rested a couple of huge iron -pots with covers. Chairs there were none, as Olive had remarked, but -boxes and nail-kegs did as well and were useful in holding things. There -was a large wooden table, very strongly made, on one side, and a set of -shelves in one corner. The walls and ceiling, which were of wood closely -jointed, added to the ship-like appearance of the room, but the presence -of two large saws and a horse-collar which hung above them made a -considerable deduction from the nautical character of the apartment. - -This model dwelling stood in the midst of a large tract of fenced-in -land. Part of this was already under cultivation and showed a dark -purple surface to the heavens, betokening newly turned up prairie sod -full of the natural plant foods stored there for thousands of ages. -These were now about to be recklessly used up by the ordinary system of -prairie farming, which consisted of taking everything out of the land -and of putting nothing back into it. A sort of road, that is to say a -beaten track with deep channels on either side, led from the house to -the bars, which did duty as gate to the premises. These bars were -precisely what the name implies, bars of wood lying on supports made for -them between posts, and they were simply let down whenever horses or -other animals had to pass in or out, and were climbed over by active -children too lazy to let them down or rather, perhaps, too lazy to put -them up again. - -On one side of the bars stretching out at an angle was an orchard just -planted with trees that probably would be worth having twenty years -hence, and further away was another field consisting simply of fenced-in -prairie grass. The fields, and indeed everything else, were square, and -every fence that did not run north and south, ran east and west. The -whole place seemed under a despotism of compass and measuring chain. -Indeed, the prairie itself was under the same iron rule: and by the -authorities had been plotted out into squares of a mile each way called -“sections,” of which persons could buy of the Government quarter -sections or multiples of a quarter section at a low rate. Fortunately -for humanity this conspiracy to turn the world into a surveyor’s map was -to some extent defeated by the rivers and streams, which ran as Heaven -and the water-sheds decreed, and not as the officials at Washington -desired. This fact, and this alone, has in some measure saved the -prairie from the awful fate of mathematical damnation. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - UNCLE DAVID. - - -Mrs. Weston was tired and sat down in her rocking-chair to rest. Her -day’s work was fairly over. The breakfast had been ready punctually at -half past five, and it was well-cooked, as she had boasted it would -be—corn-bread smoking hot, fried chicken, potatoes, flap-jacks and -molasses—a meal for a king, to say nothing of a working-man and his -negro help. Ezra and Napoleon Pompey had partaken heartily, especially -the latter, for he had been living on underdone hoe-cake and cold pork. -Then they had gone off to the ploughing, while Olive had bustled around -and got forward with her house-work. At eleven o’clock she had run up -the towel against the shady side of the house, a signal easily seen from -the distant field, and signifying that dinner was ready. They had come -home, men and horses thoroughly hungry and ready for food and rest. Ezra -lay on the kitchen floor and talked to her while she washed up the -dishes. And now it was three o’clock, and all the work was done. She -thought she would read a little. She had several books with her that she -had been looking forward to reading. So she took up one of them and -seated herself comfortably in the rocking-chair. The door was open and a -warm air came in from the south along with the gleaming sunshine. Diana -lay across the door-way, but kept one eye open, so as to see when the -black hen came near enough to have a spring at her with any chance of -grabbing a mouthful of tail-feathers. Olive’s eyes rested very little on -the book, but much on the view outside. It looked pleasant enough in the -bright May sunshine. The long brown patch of the garden showed a few -methodical green lines that spoke of vegetables beginning to sprout. The -meadow of blue grass just beyond was likewise by its hue showing the -on-coming of the warm spring weather, and yet again further off, on the -other side of the meadow, lay the vast field which her husband was -ploughing. Once in every half hour she could see him turn at the -head-land, and noted how seldom he seemed to stop and rest. Napoleon -Pompey was riding the off leader, and from that distance they seemed -little insects gently crawling backwards and forwards across the land. -Pleasant it looked too and by no means hard work. Olive determined to go -out to the field one day soon and watch the process from a nearer point -of view; she might indeed herself hold the plough-handles, it looked -easy, she would ask Ezra to let her, she would like to learn to do all -sorts of work so as to be very useful, she would—confused images swept -slowly over her mind, she leaned back her pretty little head and slept -in her chair. - -She awoke with a start. A large square figure stood in the door-way, -blocking out the sunshine, and Diana, with the insane friendliness of a -puppy, was trying to clamber up one of his legs. - -“Well, little gal, I reckon you’re ’most tired out, ain’t you?” said the -big man, coming straight into the room. - -Mrs. Weston rose to her utmost height of five feet two inches, and tried -to be dignified. - -“Do you wish to see my husband?” she inquired stiffly. - -“No, I don’t want to see Ezry. I come to talk to you a spell, and see -you.” - -“You are very kind I’m sure,” returned the little lady icily, but the -stranger did not seem one whit abashed. He took a nail-keg and sat down -on it and looked about him. “Wal, now,” he remarked, nodding his head, -“Ezry is real downright handy. He’s gone and got your house fine and -fixed up, ain’t he now?” - -“It is extremely comfortable, Mr.—ah—I don’t think you mentioned your -name,” said Mrs. Weston, with a snap of her black eyes. She didn’t at -all relish the free and easy way in which this man spoke of her husband. - -“Do tell!” exclaimed the stranger with vast cordiality. “An’ you didn’t -know who I was. Why, I’m Uncle David. I guessed everybody ’ud know me. -There ain’t nobody else so big and awkward looking ’bout here on this -prairie as me. Why, there was a man over to Perfection City yesterday, -he come from beyond Cotton Wood Creek, and he said he calculated I’d be -powerful useful on washing days, ’cause if they tied the clothes-line to -me I’d do instead of a pole, an’ timber is mighty scarce anyhow.” - -Uncle David gave a long loud laugh that set Diana into an ecstasy of -delight, and was of itself so joyous that, after a moment, Olive also -joined in with a merry titter. She had often heard her husband speak of -Uncle David, as being one of the kindest and most simple-hearted of men. -Her frigid manner melted rapidly and completely. - -“Wal, now,” began Uncle David again, after his merriment had subsided, -“how do you like our name?” - -“Your name,” repeated Olive considerably puzzled. - -“No, our name, the name of the Community, Perfection City. Do you like -it?” - -“I don’t think I do,” replied she. - -“Jes’ so,” broke in Uncle David, apparently much pleased with this -answer. “I knew you wouldn’t. Nobody does.” - -“Why did you call it such a name—such a horrid name—and if nobody likes -it, what is the use?” - -“There now, that’s what they all say, until I talk to ’em,” said Uncle -David. “You see I gave the name to the place.” - -“Oh, it was your choice!” said Olive. - -“When we came here, Niece and I, there wasn’t no town nor nothing, it -was just open prairie. Ezry he come along too with us, and the -Carpenters, and Mrs. Ruby, and the Wrights.” - -“You leave out Madame Morozoff-Smith,” interrupted Olive. - -“I thought you knew. Why, Madame, she’s Niece. She ain’t my real niece, -she wasn’t born in my family, but she’s niece by adoption, and I hold -she’s more to me than half the nieces I ever seen. I ain’t cute like -most of the folks here, an’ there wasn’t no use in having me at -Perfection City. I can’t do nothing. I can’t compose papers like Brother -Wright. So I was studyin’ to see some way for me to come with ’em. It -would ha’ broke my heart to be left behind. Madame, she come to me, an’ -says she: ‘You’ll be my uncle. I want an uncle very much, and I’ll love -you dearly.’ An’ so I was. I call it the greatest honour of my life when -Madame made me her uncle, and added my name to hers.” Uncle David -stooped and patted Diana’s head thoughtfully. - -“When did you think of the name?” said Olive with a view to bringing him -back to the point. - -“Yes, jes’ so, that’s ’xactly what I was comin’ to. You see, when Ezry -fust come here with us he wasn’t quite clear in his mind ’bout joinin’ -in with us, leastways not to be one of the Community for his whole -mortal life. It’s a serious step to take, and he was a-doubtin’ in his -mind, leastways till Madame she talked to him for a spell. He wasn’t -sure fust if he’d got a call to community-life. He knowed it was the -best, of course, and the true life: he knowed all that right enough, but -he didn’t feel sure of himself as bein’ fit to found a city. It is a -most responsible thing to be a founder. ’Taint everybody as is fit for -it. Then Madame made it clear how she was a founder, an’ she is the most -wonderful woman ever lived in this world, an’ she showed Ezry how it was -his duty to help in this great work, an’ when he saw that clear he was -dreadful sot on it too. We was a-gettin’ our houses up as spry as ever -we could, and ole Wright he was a-buildin’ th’ Academy, then Ezry says: -‘What’s goin’ to be our name?’ It was jes’ called Weddell’s Gully, -’cause we bought from a man o’ that name. So Ezry said: ‘Let’s call it -something to signify our principles,’ and one person said one name and -one said another, then Wright said ‘Let’s call it Teleiopolis.’” - -“Oh, that sounds very pretty,” exclaimed Olive. “Why didn’t you?” - -“Wal, now, I said that’s very pretty, jes’ the same as you did. What -does it mean, do you know?” - -“No, I don’t know. I suppose it is Greek for something.” - -“’Zactly so. It is Greek for something, and that something is Perfection -City.” - -“It sounds nicer.” - -“Maybe so, but you look here. Are we Greeks?” - -“No, of course not.” - -“Then why talk in Greek?” - -“I don’t know, except it is prettier.” - -“Do you suppose them old Greeks, when they went an’ founded cities, they -called ’em names out o’ some other language they didn’t understand, or -did they called ’em good solid Greek names as any little boy ’ud know -what they meant?” asked Uncle David with rising energy. - -“I believe they called their cities by Greek names, in fact I know they -did,” said Olive, hastily reviewing her stock of history. - -“An’ why?” asked Uncle David. - -“I don’t know.” - -“Because they wasn’t ’shamed o’ their mother tongue like we are. That’s -why,” said Uncle David, clapping his big hand on his knee. - -“Oh indeed,” said Olive. - -“An’ that’s what I said, says I, ‘We are ’Mericans, we are founding a -new city that’s goin’ to be great things one day. We have our -principles. Let’s live up to them. We hain’t shamed o’ nothin’. -Leastways not to my knowledge. We are goin’ to be an example to these -folks roun’ here. We are goin’ to show ’em how to live a better life nor -they ever did before. An’ how in thunder can we do that if we start by -being ’shamed of our own mother tongue? We hain’t Greeks, we don’t talk -in Greek. This hain’t Teleiopolis, this is Perfection City.’ That is -what I said to ’em.” - -“What did they say to that?” asked Olive, much interested in the rugged -honesty of Uncle David. - -“Wal, I don’t know as they said anything much, on’y Ezry, he said he -guessed he’d had his fust lesson, an’ he come and shook hands an’ said -it certainly should be Perfection City, an’ so it was.” - -“I shall think better of the name now,” said Olive. “Only at first I was -afraid of people laughing, people who didn’t understand it, you see.” - -“Oh, people’ll laugh,” said Uncle David. “People does a heap o’ laughing -in this world without makin’ it one mite merrier for anybody. I like -laughing myself. It’s awful good an’ satisfyin’ to have a real square -laugh, but t’aint that sort. Mos’ folks’ laugh hain’t got no more fun in -it than the laugh of a hoot-owl. I’d a heap sight rather have none at -all. You ain’t agoin’ to mind that sort, I hope?” Uncle David spoke with -a shade of anxiety in his manner. - -“Oh no, I’m not thin-skinned,” said Olive with a superior smile. - -“Some folks is made that way. When they have found a tender spot in -anybody they can’t rest no how till they’ve stuck some sort o’ pin into -it.” - -“Tell me, does everything belong to everybody generally out here? It is -so puzzling. This house, for instance, is it ours or yours or -everybody’s?” asked Olive. - -“The land an’ the horses an’ the cattle an’ waggons was mostly bought -with community-money, that is Madame, she gave the money, she’s rich you -know, an’ she’s generous and always givin’ to the Community, her whole -heart is in it. But Ezry worked a heap on this house, he mostly built it -all, an’ it’s his, an’ t’other folks’ houses are theirs. That’s Brother -Wright’s over yonder, an’ that’s our house beside the ’Cademy, most -everybody worked to get it up and fix it comfortable for Madame. Old -Mrs. Ruby, she lives to herself in the log cabin we bought from Weddell, -we had it moved there a purpose over from the Gully, ’cause she liked to -live beside the spring so as to get her water handy. She had a little -mite of money which we used in buyin’ stock.” - -“So you do have some things as private property, just like ordinary -people,” observed Olive. - -“Of course. It would not be any sort o’ use to have everything in -common, ’cause folks’ notions don’t always ’xactly suit. An’ what we -want is to have everybody free, so they can be perfectly happy here. We -don’t want to have no strife, an’ no jealousy, an’ no ill feeling one -towards another. But there can’t be community in all things. What sort -o’ use would it be for you an’ me to have community o’ boots an’ shoes?” -said Uncle David with a great laugh, sticking out his enormous foot -towards where Olive’s dainty little slipper peeped from beneath her -dress. - -“Your shoes, my dear, wouldn’t go on my two fingers, an’ mine ’ud be big -enough to make a tol’eble boat for you. There couldn’t be community in -shoes, so there ain’t none. But with the lan’ it’s different. We all -work that for the benefit of everybody, there ain’t no strugglin’ to be -fust an’ get ahead o’ one another. We are all brothers at Perfection -City.” - -Olive was full of excitement when Ezra came back at sun-down. - -“Just fancy, I’ve had my first visitor,” she said as she stood beside -her husband while he was watering the horses. - -“Who was it? Mrs. Ruby?” - -“No, it was Uncle David,” and she gave a merry little laugh. - -“Well, and how did you like him?” - -“I think he is just charming. He is just like a piece of granite or oak -or something of that sort, not smooth or shiny on the outside, but solid -and sound to the very core. Oh! I shall love Uncle David.” - -“That’s right. He is a good man,” said Ezra. - -“And you know? he has made me understand about Perfection City. I shan’t -want to laugh at it any more, and I don’t care if anybody else does. It -was real brave of you showing your colours plain and sticking to them,” -said Olive with a skip and a clap of her little hands. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - SISTER MARY WINKLE. - - -The very next morning just as she was washing her potatoes for dinner, -another visitor called upon Olive, a visitor of whose sex she was for a -moment or two in doubt. The visitor wore a large sunbonnet, a check -blouse, and a pair of Zouave trowsers fastened in at the ankle. - -“How do you do, Olive Weston?” said this person, in a deep serious -voice. Olive, who had not seen her, started in surprise and dropped her -potato into the basin. - -“I am Mary Winkle. That’s my house over yonder.” - -“Oh, the Wrights’! Yes, to be sure. Come in and sit down,” said Olive -hospitably, although she felt considerable surprise at her visitor’s -appearance. - -“You don’t wear the reformed dress yet, I see,” said Mary Winkle. - -“No, I don’t,” acquiesced Olive. - -“Shall you?” - -“I don’t know. I have not thought about it. I suppose there is no -regulation about what one wears on the prairie. There is no fashion here -I suppose,” said Olive politely. - -“No, only the fashion of common sense.” - -“Do all the ladies dress that way, Miss Winkle?” inquired Olive. - -“Only my daughter and myself.” - -“I beg your pardon, I should have said Mrs. Winkle,” said Olive, in some -confusion. - -“No, you shouldn’t,” replied her visitor. “I am not Mrs. Winkle.” - -“I am afraid I am very stupid. Would you tell me then how I should -address you. I don’t understand.” - -“Address me as Mary Winkle, and my husband as John Wright.” - -Olive stared at her. - -“Are you not Mrs. Wright then?” - -“No, certainly not. I scorn the title. It is a symbol of subjection. I -did not lose my identity when I chose to marry. I am the same Mary -Winkle that I was before, and as such I desire to retain the name that I -always possessed. Why should I take a new name simply because I am -married?” - -“It is usual,” stammered Olive. “I shouldn’t like not to be called Mrs. -Weston. It is so confusing, you see.” - -“Mere custom and prejudice. Why should not your husband take your name, -instead of its always being the wife who is absorbed?” - -“I don’t know, but I never heard of it before.” - -“Ah, that is one of the first changes that must be made when women get -their rights,” observed Mary Winkle. - -“But I don’t want the change one bit. I much prefer the old way.” - -“I dare say. Slaves often feel no want of freedom.” - -“I’m not a slave,” said Olive, flushing angrily. “You cannot be in the -least acquainted with my husband.” - -“Oh, I know your husband very well, an excellent man in many respects, -but narrow in others; however, I referred to general slavery, to custom, -not to any individual slavery in your case.” - -“I don’t think there is any good in destroying customs, unless there is -something better to be got in a new custom.” - -“Ah yes, no doubt it seems so to you; but there is inestimable gain in -the mere protest against tyranny. Why, that’s what we are all here for, -to protest against everything and live a life of freedom.” - -“And freedom may as well begin here and now, and in its name I will wear -long dresses and be called Mrs. Weston, because I prefer the older -customs,” said Olive with some archness. - -“Yes, you may do as you like, but you will get heartily sick of those -skirts, I can tell you.” - -Olive remembering sundry pretty dresses she had in her trunk, was -privately convinced she would not get sick of them. - -“I haven’t seen Madame yet,” she said, “and I feel the greatest -curiosity about her. She must be a remarkable woman by all accounts. -Does she wear the same sort of dress as you do?” - -“No, she doesn’t, and it’s a great pity, for her influence would be very -great with the other women. I suppose you’ll see her to-morrow evening. -You’ll come to the Academy, won’t you?” - -“Yes, certainly, if Ezra is going. I should like to go ever so much and -see all my neighbours, but perhaps he will be too tired. He does work -dreadfully hard, it seems to me.” - -“He ought to do a little brain-work. Wright says nothing rests one like -brain-work. He’s been doing a spell of that lately. He’s been writing an -essay on ‘The Ultimate Perfection of Being.’ He’ll most likely read some -of it to-morrow at the Academy.” - -“I shouldn’t think essays would be much use in planting corn,” said -Olive rather tartly, remembering at what hour her husband had come from -the harrowing. - -“Wright and I, we don’t believe in making a god of work. We have a much -higher ideal of life than that. We don’t want anything sordid in our -lives, Wright and I. We haven’t any sympathy with this restless striving -to get on. One of the great advantages of Perfection City is that we all -have time for the cultivation of our higher natures.” - -“Just now,” said Olive, “my husband seems to have no thought in his mind -but the cultivation of that field over there. He is at work early and -late. No person could possibly work harder for himself or his individual -advantage than he does for the Community.” - -“There’s just a case in point,” remarked Mary Winkle complacently. “I -always thought your husband very narrow in his views. He slaves away at -this corn planting as if that were the chief end and object of his -existence. It is all very well to work at times, but working in order to -store up food for the body is the lowest possible form that human -activity can take.” - -“It is the most indispensable form,” remarked Olive. - -“By no means,” replied Mary Winkle with precision. “That observation -would seem to indicate that you are more narrow even than your husband. -The body is merely the servant of the mind: the mind needs to be fed, -and it is the food for the mind which your husband appears so careless -about providing. Fortunately for Perfection City, Wright has taken -thought on that subject. Wright has a very high standard of what is -necessary for the mind.” - -“It appears to me,” said Olive with a snap of her black eyes and an -ominous red spot on her cheeks, “that if we all lived up to your -standard, it might very well happen that by next winter our minds might -be uncomfortably full and our stomachs correspondingly empty. If Ezra -did not plough and get his land ready for planting as fast as mortal man -can, how is the land to be got ready? It doesn’t plough itself, does it, -even at Perfection City?” - -“I see you will have to get rid of many prejudices,” observed Mary -Winkle. “Of course community-life only comes easy to people who are -adapted to it. Wright and I are adapted. We like it. We shall stay here. -We shall succeed therefore. You and Brother Ezra will have to go through -a season of training first. You both need it. I dare say you may hear -something that you will find useful to you to-morrow from Wright. I will -just mention to him where your particular blindness seems to lie. Wright -is a very profound thinker. He has given great thought to the subject of -the Ultimate Perfection of People. He can explain every step in the -training of a perfect communist, and show clearly just where everybody -has hitherto gone wrong in their attempts to realize their ideal, and -exactly what mistakes they have made. I am glad you have come in time to -hear his paper; it will be of lasting good to you. You will be able to -profit by it, because you are in great need of proper training. I dare -say you need it more even than Ezra. For, after all, he must have -learned something from us in the year he has been with us.” - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - MADAME MOROZOFF-SMITH. - - -The Academy at Perfection City was not a pretentious building in -anything but in name. It was a plain wooden house, almost square, having -a window on three sides and a door on the fourth, facing south. Inside -there were several rough benches, two tables, an iron stove, and a large -easy chair, with a small desk beside it, upon which stood a pair of -candles. There were no curtains and no carpets, absolutely no attempts -at beautifying the place. But the board-floor was clean. - -Olive dressed herself in a flutter of expectation for her first visit to -this abode of wisdom. - -“I expect everybody will be there, because they’ll all want to see you, -little woman,” said her husband, who, tired as he was after his day’s -work, changed his earth-stained clothes for a fresh suit. Olive wore a -white dress with lavender ribbons, and looked as fresh as a daisy as she -tripped along daintily holding up her skirts. She wore the nattiest of -boots over the neatest of feet, altogether a bright and unexpected sight -upon the glum-looking prairie. It was a quarter of a mile to the -Academy, down a road hardly more than a cart-track, and across a dry -gully where there were no stepping stones. - -As Ezra had predicted, everybody had turned out to welcome the new -bride. Uncle David met her at the door. - -“Wal, little girl,” he said, “we’re all a-looking out for you. Here’s -Sister Mary Winkle, you’ve seen her, and this is her husband, Brother -Wright.” - -Olive shook hands with a dark, broad-shouldered man who spoke in snaps -as if he had been a dog. He had glittering white teeth. - -“We’ve been looking to have your husband back,” he said. - -“I’m sure you’re very kind,” murmured Olive conventionally. - -“We needed him for the ploughing,” snapped Wright. - -“Oh indeed!” said Olive less cordially. - -“This is the busy time of the year.” - -“All times a-year is the busy time in my ’pinion and ’sperience,” said -Uncle David smiling comprehensively, “but most everyone spares time one -way or ’nother to get married if they have a mind that way. Come along -an’ see Brother and Sister Dummy. That ain’t their name, but we call ’em -so, they’re deaf and mostly dumb now. They’re real good folks too.” - -A sad-eyed red-haired man shook hands with her, and a sad-eyed woman -kissed her. They put into her hand a slip of paper on which was written -a message of welcome. - -“They can talk a little, but they can’t hear one mite, and they don’t -like to talk, because they can’t tell when they are whispering and when -they are yelling, and it makes strangers jump to hear them sometimes.” - -Olive felt drawn towards this poor silent pair, but did not know how to -express her sympathy. There were others in the room, but before she had -time to speak to them the door opened and Madame Morozoff-Smith entered, -and from that moment she seemed to see no one else. Madame was a -remarkable looking woman. She was tall, large and fair, with keen grey -eyes, full red lips, and a mass of pale gold hair rising over a forehead -that was broad and smooth. A woman of indeterminate age with an air of -youthfulness and command about her. She was dressed in a dark dress and -wore a bright bunch of ribbons in her hair. It looked at first sight -like a rose, only roses don’t grow on the prairie in the month of May. -She came straight to where Olive was standing. She gave one the -impression of floating, for although a large woman, she walked so -lightly as to make no noticeable sound on the wooden floor. Taking -Olive’s two hands in her warm large grasp, she kissed her on the -forehead murmuring “Welcome,” and then stepping back she said in a clear -voice that vibrated through the room: - -“Ah! now I understand that hurried courtship and swift marriage. I see -what it was in Brother Ezra’s case. It was love at first sight. You are -very pretty. I suppose, however, you know that very well. It is a secret -seldom kept from young girls.” - -Olive was so startled by this unexpected address that she blushed to the -roots of her black hair. Ezra stood looking down at his little wife -smiling with pleasure. He was delighted to think that Madame found her -so pretty. He had indeed thought her beautiful from the first moment -when his eyes had rested on her, but then he loved her, and it was but -natural that in his eyes she should be lovely. Madame, however, judged -her unprejudiced, and yet if his delighted heart had room for one -regret, it was that Madame’s praise had been so very public. If she had -only whispered it softly to him in that wonderful voice of hers, which -had often caught up his inmost thoughts and clothed them in words of -eloquence, how much more precious would the tribute have been. He -dismissed the half-formed regret as unworthy, and took himself to task -for not exulting at this moment. The meeting of Madame and Olive was an -event in his life. Olive, his sweet little rose-bud of a wife, on the -one hand, and Madame, his venerated, nay his worshipped, friend, on the -other. The one, the companion of his heart: the other, the guide of his -mind who embodied in herself all that he held highest in the -possibilities of womanhood, his true and noble-hearted friend, his -inspired leader. How blest was the portion of him who stood that night -the husband of the one, the disciple of the other! Ezra’s dark eyes -shone with joy, and his square chin quivered with the smiles that lurked -about his lips. He was not a handsome man, perhaps, but there was -something grand in the large full forehead, strong eyebrows, and deep -dark eyes. His massive frame bespoke strength, which in itself has -always a great attraction for women. - -When Madame had addressed those words to the new sister all the members -of the Community had scanned her narrowly, for the opinion of their -leader had immense weight with the Pioneers. The men looked at Olive -with increased admiration, and the women with envy. Only Uncle David -appeared disappointed and wiped his face many times with his red -pocket-handkerchief saying, “Wal, wal, now,” in a tone of earnest -reproof. - -After this bewildering introduction in which her vanity had been not a -little excited, Olive received a salutary check from the words of -Brother Wright. - -“Before beginning to read my paper,” said he, “I should like to say a -few words to the new sister who has come among us. We expect soon to be -having new members join us so fast that perhaps we shall not be able to -specially mark the entrance of each. But in this case there are peculiar -reasons for exhortation. Sister Olive has not joined under ordinary -circumstances. She did not, like the rest of us, feel a call to the -higher life: she only came out of personal affection for one of the -members of the Community.” - -Olive looked with a shy glance towards her husband, who took her hand in -his for a moment, while Uncle David, who sat at the end of the room near -Madame, said in a loud voice: - -“Quite right, quite right, couldn’t ha’ had a better reason.” - -“Therefore it becomes our duty to impress upon our new sister the -principles which have been active in forming this Community,” said -Brother Wright, without paying any heed to Uncle David’s interruption. -“Perfection City has been founded to teach the world how to live. The -old civilization has been tried and found wanting. It is time for a new -one. Perfection City is the beginning of a new era. We are the Pioneers -of a new world. We shall show the old and worn-out world how to banish -evil from life. We cannot perhaps banish all physical evil, and for a -time at least there may be sickness even among us, but we shall at once -set about freeing ourselves from all the other troubles of life. There -is nobody in Perfection City who will get rich, and nobody will ever be -poor. We are all alike, and we shall none of us envy our neighbours his -belongings, simply because everything belongs to all. The lesson we have -to teach is the grandest the world ever saw, and when men know what it -is, I foresee a future before Perfection City greater than that of any -other city of the world. Rome lasted a good long while, but Rome didn’t -possess the vital spark of life: Rome wasn’t communistic, therefore Rome -fell. Perfection City won’t fall like that, but will go on teaching the -world after we, its founders, are all dead. But our memories will live -for the great things that we taught and through our example have made -possible.” - -Brother Wright stopped for a few seconds, and Uncle David said -admiringly, - -“You have a fine command of words, Brother Wright, and you have a way of -making things sound uncommon grand. It always does me good to hear you -talk of the grand future of our City; but we’ll have to get up some -houses, and bigger ones, ’fore folks ’ull believe us.” - -Uncle David was as simple as a child, or some of his hearers might have -suspected a sarcasm in his words. - -“Rome wasn’t built in a day, as I’ve heard say,” remarked Brother Green, -with a strong English accent, “and I shall be glad if our little village -ever grows to half its power and honour.” - -“Brother Green, I should refuse to have anything to say to the founding -of another city like Rome,” interrupted Brother Wright with -decisiveness. - -“It seems to me,” said Ezra in a shy hesitating manner, “that what we -are here for is to demonstrate, if we can, how a better life can be -lived here than is possible in the older communities, where -circumstances are too strong and too hampering for people to rise above -them. The older civilization has done much, it has raised our race to a -high standard. What we want to do is to carry on that work, and above -all to bring everyone within reach of the best that life has to offer. -The older civilization has left so many stranded ones, who have lost -their strength in the wild struggle; while we hope to bring all along -equally and give to each a share of happiness. As usual, my friends, -when I try to express my ideas I find that someone else has already put -them into incomparably finer language than I can ever command. It has -been so again. I find that our great poet, Walt Whitman, has said better -than I can what I feel. May I quote him to you? - - ‘Have the elder races halted? - Do they droop and end their lesson, wearied over there beyond the seas? - We take up the task eternal, and the burden and the lesson, - Pioneers! O pioneers!’” - -Ezra sat down after reciting his verse, and his wife looked at him with -glowing eyes. He had not said much, but his words had seemed to her so -much fuller of thought and feeling than the easy monotonous flow from -Brother Wright. That individual himself had not received Ezra’s remarks -with quite so much delight. It was Brother Wright’s nature to see fight -and contradiction in all things, even the most pacific. His eyes would -flash and his black beard bristle in argument, almost as if he were a -dog preparing to fight, and if one might be permitted to liken any -Pioneer to one of the canine species, the bull-dog would undoubtedly be -the variety most nearly resembling Brother Wright. - -“I don’t see that we need be beholden to anyone, poet or otherwise,” he -said sharply, “for our opinions or sentiments. We have found them for -ourselves, just as we have founded our City. It is our work, both -opinions and practice.” - -“I think,” said Madame, rising and speaking with a deep clear voice, -which a slight foreign accent seemed to render only the more attractive, -“I think I see better than they do themselves where our two brothers -agree. Brother Ezra, with that diffidence which strong natures often -exhibit, thought he found in the lines of another man his own ideas more -succinctly embodied than they would have been in his own words. Brother -Ezra should not doubt his powers. Speech comes slowly to those who most -deeply think, but he should consider how much we benefit by his words -and how grateful we are to him for them. Brother Wright, it seems to me -that you, perhaps, do not sufficiently appreciate the efforts of others -who have gone before us on this road. We are not the first who have been -discontented with the actual order of things, nor are we the first who -have striven to make life brighter and easier. In all ages there have -been those penetrated with these thoughts, and in different ways men, -and women too, have striven earnestly, devotedly, to realize these -ideas. Some indeed have imagined they had found a solution of all doubts -and difficulties, and have in perfect good faith and self-satisfaction -buried themselves in convents and monasteries and have ‘roll’d the psalm -to wintry skies,’ and have ‘built them fanes of fruitless prayer.’ We -have come to different conclusions by following a different road. We do -not shut ourselves out of the world, rather we endeavour to raise it by -showing a living example of what may be done now, in this age, by human -beings such as we are. But if we are to succeed we must not reject the -experience, nor fail to profit by the example, of others who have gone -before us and felt earnestly on this subject.” - -Madame paused for a moment, and her keen glance rested upon the small -assembly. Each individual seemed to feel that she was looking at him or -at her. Certainly each member was looking intently at her. She seldom -made speeches to them; she only interposed her observations, as on this -occasion, between the speakers; but the last word usually remained with -her. - -“Brother Wright, will you now read us your paper, as the evening is -passing and we are all anxious to hear it. What is the title and -subject?” - -“The Ultimate Perfection of Being is the title,” said Brother Wright, -“and I think that pretty well sums up the subject also.” - -So apparently thought the audience, which resigned itself to a severe -mental excursion into the unknown regions of Brother Wright’s -imaginative metaphysics. Some of them fell out very soon, finding the -road harder to follow than they had foreseen; but Brother Wright kept -sturdily on, unheeding the signs of weakness and disaffection as -betrayed by movings of feet and stifled yawns. - -Olive, not being able to understand what Brother Wright was saying, -employed herself in watching Madame, who sat motionless beside her -table, resting her head upon her supple white hand. At her feet lay what -seemed to be a large brown rug, but was in fact her dog Balthasar, a -blood-hound, who always stayed with her and was as gentle as a lamb, -notwithstanding his name and breed. - -“Brother Green! That’s the second time you’ve snored,” suddenly -exclaimed Brother Wright in the midst of his reading. Everybody was wide -awake in an instant. Madame hid a smile with her hand, but not before -Olive had noticed it. - -“Brother Green is perhaps tired. His work is very hard,” said Madame. - -“Well, the fact is I had to put a new point to the ploughshare this -morning before I went to fetch my load of iron, and I began work before -daybreak. I am very tired.” - -Brother Green was the blacksmith of Perfection City, an industrious -hard-working man who thought life would show him a fairer side on the -prairie than it had ever done in the far-away village in Sussex where he -was born. - -“I think that it might be better to have our gatherings rather shorter -now,” said Madame softly. “The workers in our little hive are all tired. -I wish I could do more of the labour that is needed. I would gladly——” - -Madame was interrupted by a sharp rap on the table, a signal from -Brother Huntley that he wanted to speak. He was the deaf and dumb man. -She instantly rose and bowed to him with singular graciousness. Madame’s -manner towards the deaf brethren was all that was exquisite. Huntley -stood up and began in a voice almost inaudible which rose by sudden -degrees to the intensity of a steam-whistle. - -“I want to know when we’re going to get our corn planted? We’re -behindhand; most other folk’s corn is in already.” - -“As usual, Brother Huntley has something practical to say,” observed -Madame. - -“He didn’t know we were discussing quite another subject, else his -remark would have been rude and irrelevant,” said Wright, vexed at this -cutting into his paper on the ultimate perfection of his and everybody’s -being. - -“I think it would be very useful to see what we can do about the corn,” -said the blacksmith. “If we are late the chances are there’ll be another -drought in July, and our crop won’t be first-class.” - -“Is anyone’s land ready for planting?” inquired Madame. - -“None as I know of, except Brother Dummy’s,” said Uncle David. “He’s -more forward nor anybody: always first in work.” - -“Of course, poor deaf creature! he can’t do anything but dumbly work -like a——” began Brother Wright. - -“My land is ready for planting,” burst in Brother Huntley with a scream. - -“Then it shall be planted to-morrow,” cried Madame. “I’ll go myself.” - -“You!” exclaimed Olive. - -“Certainly, child. Don’t you think I can work as well as any other -woman?” - -She rapidly wrote a few words on a slip of paper and passed it to -Brother Huntley, who read it, nodded with satisfaction, and said: “Five -o’clock in the morning!” in a voice so low that no one knew he was -speaking. - -“I suppose he begins work about six?” said Madame. - -“No, he don’t, he’s mighty spry,” said old Mrs. Ruby, who lived near the -Huntleys. “I hear him a-movin’ off with his plough every morning at five -by the clock. He’s terrible sot on his work.” - -“Then I shall be there ready to go to work at five o’clock in the -morning, and I shall begin by going to bed now, so as to be able to give -a good day’s work. Good-night, friends all.” - -She rose, included them all in a sweeping salute and left the room as -lightly as she had entered. Balthasar rose and slowly followed her. - -When Madame left the room the meeting broke up. No one felt inclined to -linger when she was gone. It was from her they drew their interest in -each other, as well as their belief in themselves and in Perfection -City. She possessed the secret of influencing people without seeming to -do so. The thought that she was going out on the land at five in the -morning to plant corn made everyone ten times more eager to work than -heretofore. - -Wright and his independent spouse, Mary Winkle, were infected by her -example as they went home. - -“Now, Wright, don’t you go and do any more essaying till the crop is in. -I think people oughtn’t to write except in winter time,” said Mary -Winkle with firmness. - -“I never believed in nothing but manual work. Why, if I did, I should be -still slaving away on that farm out in Illinois, instead of joining a -community here where one can follow the bent of his higher nature, to -the advantage of his neighbours as well as of himself,” said Wright. - -“Well, let that be,” said Mary hastily, recognising her own words and -oft-expressed opinions, but not quite knowing what to do with them—a -predicament not unexampled among theoretical philosophers, “but see and -be out on the land to-morrow as early as anyone. Are you ready for the -planting? Because I’ll go out and plant if you are.” - -“No, my drills won’t be ready for the planting till day after -to-morrow.” - -“Then I’ll go and plant on Brother Dummy’s piece along with Madame.” - -“You’d better not. You’re not fit for such work. You’ll get sick and not -be able to cook me any supper when I come home.” - -“No, I shan’t get sick. I ain’t going to let any person beat me at work, -when I set my mind to it, and she in her long skirts too! I’ll show her -the advantage of the reformed dress anyhow.” - -Thus the Wright and Winkle pair on their way home. - -“And will she really plant corn?” asked Olive in some curiosity. - -“Certainly she will. Madame never despised work.” - -“Oh! I don’t despise work, but she seems such a fine lady to go out on -the land and plant corn just like a negro woman.” - -“That is one of the things our life here is intended to show, dearie, -that no one is too grand for any honest work that he or she is -physically capable of performing.” - - - - - CHAPTER V. - CORN PLANTING. - - -Punctual to the minute, there was Madame with her bag of corn on her -left arm, following Brother Huntley and his plough-horses to the field, -in the damp white fog of sunrise. Balthasar in deep disgust was there -too, as in duty bound, but he had not a wag for anybody. How could a -rational dog be in good spirits at that hour of the morning! Madame was -dressed in a short calico frock well up to her ankles. Her fair hair was -loosely wisped at the back of her head, and a large straw hat, tied down -with a green gauze veil, made her look at once comfortable in the fog -and ready for the expected sunshine. There were no corn-planters at -Perfection City: farm-machinery was not then so plentiful on the prairie -as now, and money was if possible scarcer. Corn planting was, therefore, -done by hand. Brother Dummy’s drills of longitude were already ploughed, -and he began on the drills of latitude forthwith. Into the hollows made -by the intersection of these two sets of drills Madame was to drop three -grains of corn, neither more nor less. It is dizzying work. After -walking up and down the drills for hours one becomes oppressed by the -never-ceasing square constantly recurring every two steps. The check -pattern bewilders you, and you begin to wonder how a chess-man would -feel if, endowed with sensibility and the power of motion, he had to -march up and down his chess-board, always keeping to the lines for hours -at a stretch. - -About seven o’clock Mary Winkle came upon the scene and plodded and -planted for four hours. The sun was blazing down upon them pitilessly, -and the parching south wind blew the fine black dust up from the rich -dry soil, until their eyes and ears and noses were full of it. - -The field which they were planting was on the extreme verge of the -community-land, far away from the houses. These were somewhat clustered -towards the centre of the holding, which consisted of two sections or a -little over twelve hundred acres. The workers, therefore, were a long -way from home, considerably over a mile, and since corn planting entails -ceaseless walking through heavy ploughed land, it had been settled that -their dinner should be brought out to them, so as to enable the workers -to rest during the whole dinner hour. Olive and Mrs. Ruby were to supply -the necessary food, and the former, aided by Napoleon Pompey, was to -bring it to the field at eleven o’clock. The little grove of locust -trees just beginning to grow beside the far spring was the trysting -place. Water would thus be handy, and the horses’ feed was already put -there by the provident Brother Huntley. A little before the hour Olive -and her black attendant arrived at the grove, bringing their load of -food, and Olive set down her big tin can with a sigh of relief. Her arms -ached with carrying it, for it was heavy and the way was long. Napoleon -Pompey had carried two cans, each heavier than hers, but the lad seemed -to feel no inconvenience from the load. Olive looked at him with envy -and thought with contempt of her own muscles which appeared so -inefficient. As she unpacked the food, it seemed to her that nothing she -had learnt at Smyrna and could best do, was wanted on the prairie, and -she remembered with some amusement and not a little bitterness Mary -Winkle’s words about food for the mind. At this moment she reflected -that all the learning in the world was not so much needed by that -philosophical lady as the very gross and material food which was being -taken out of the heavy tin cans and laid on the grass. The -working-party, men, women and horses, arrived while Olive was thus -engaged. Mary Winkle instantly sat down and leaned against a tree and -threw off her sunbonnet. Her thin black hair was matted down to her -temples, her cheeks were yellow, and her eyes looked dull. Madame also -took off her hat and veil and shook up the coil of hair on her head with -a sigh of relief. - -“Does your head ache too?” said Mary Winkle wearily. - -“Not in the least,” replied Madame. “A sunbonnet is a bad shelter -against heat. You should wear a good hat, it is far better.” - -“I wonder how you can bear all that hair on your head. Why don’t you cut -it off?” - -“Why, it is an admirable protection against both heat and cold,” said -Madame laughing. “It is my greatest comfort.” She might have added her -greatest beauty. - -The food which Olive brought was most appetising, roast chicken, hot -corn-bread, and pumpkin pies, with plenty of milk and water to drink. -Before eating Madame went to the spring to wash her hands and face, and -Mary Winkle sat limply against the tree trunk with her eyes shut. - -“Eat something, it will revive you,” said Olive, looking with pity upon -her sallow cheeks. - -“I don’t feel hardly able to eat,” she said in a weak voice. “It seems -to me I don’t ever want to open my eyes again.” - -“You are overworking yourself,” said Olive, “you should not attempt this -field work: it is beyond your strength.” - -“What! and let her see me give in?” said Mary Winkle with reviving -spirit. - -Madame came up at this moment looking as fresh as a lily: she glanced -sharply at Sister Mary. “You appear very much exhausted,” she remarked. - -Sister Mary raised her head and opened her eyes, but did not speak. - -“It’s a pity you don’t take wine,” she continued, sitting down and -beginning on her piece of chicken with relish. “A good glass of Burgundy -would set you up in no time.” - -Sister Mary herself sat up at this. - -“I wouldn’t touch wine, no, not if I was dying,” she said resolutely. - -Madame smiled. “I didn’t recommend it because you were dying: wine as -everything else is then useless: but because you look weak. I suggested -a medicine.” - -“As a medicine it is worse than useless, and as a drink I scorn to take -a rank poison.” - -“Poisons are sometimes given as medicine, witness strychnine in small -doses for certain forms of dyspepsia, and I believe satisfactorily,” -said Madame. - -“Wine is worse than strychnine, because more insidious in its action and -more liable to abuse,” said Mary Winkle decisively, as she took the tin -cup of milk and water handed her by Olive, and drank it with eagerness. - -“Well, at all events admit that wine has been of benefit to you on this -occasion,” observed Madame smiling. “I merely mentioned it to you, and -you look already revived and more like yourself. Doesn’t she, Sister -Olive?” - -“It was the milk and water did it,” said Sister Mary Winkle hurriedly, -at which Madame smiled again. - -Brother Dummy and Napoleon Pompey now came up to the group of women. -They had been watering and unharnessing the horses who were at the -present moment munching their corn. The white man, although dirty as a -ploughman would be after half a day’s hard work, sat down promptly -beside Mary Winkle and helped himself to a leg of chicken: the negro boy -stood aside doubtfully, eyeing the group and the food with longing -looks. - -“Come along, N. P.,” said Olive brightly, “sit down there.” She pointed -to a place on the other side of Mary Winkle, where there seemed a good -opening in front of a huge piece of corn-bread. - -“No, if you please,” said Sister Mary, rising to her feet with -resentment. - -“Why, what’s the matter?” asked Olive flushing with surprise. “Napoleon -Pompey won’t bite you.” - -“I have never sat down to eat beside a negro, and I don’t feel inclined -to begin now.” - -“Let the lad sit beside me,” said Madame gently. “I have seen people of -too many shades of colour and no colour to mind a little extra dash of -black. Come here, boy, come and have this piece of bread and meat.” - -Napoleon Pompey grinning with all his white teeth sprang to the place -beside Madame, and buried those same teeth eagerly in his chunk of -bread. Mary Winkle sat down again and leaned against the tree. Olive’s -face took a deeper tinge of red and her eyes snapped. - -“Do you consider yourself made of such fine clay that it won’t bear -contact with a negro?” she asked hotly. “It seems to me a little of what -used to be called Christian charity might come in useful here. I never -aspired to the heights of Perfection City people, but I never refused -the rights of brotherhood to the negro simply because of the curl of his -hair or the colour of his skin.” - -“I am quite willing to give them all their rights and will be glad to -see them educated and all that, but I never sat at dinner with a negro, -and I am not going to begin now,” said Mary Winkle setting her thin pale -lips with the utmost stubbornness. - -“Well, I call it perfectly monstrous,” retorted Olive, “and you setting -yourself up to show the better life and all the rest of it! I should -have thought the first thing to do before teaching the highest -perfection was to practise the simplest justice.” - -“And you, Sister Olive,” said Madame’s cool sweet voice, “will have to -learn to respect the prejudices of other people even when they run -counter to your most cherished theories. I do not myself share the -feeling of repulsion that Sister Mary has in this case, but I respect -it. I would suggest to you to do the same. It is an inconvenient fact, -perhaps, that people do not all think alike, but it is one that must be -resolutely faced nevertheless.” - -Olive was silent under this reproof, but she looked angrily at Mary -Winkle from time to time, and revenged herself by feeding up Napoleon -Pompey and petting him to an alarming extent, much to the delight of -that young darkie who ate until he seemed to ooze out unctuous joy. - -Brother Dummy ate, as he worked, silently, conscientiously, -continuously. Olive was amazed at the amount he seemed able to consume, -while of milk and water he drank half a gallon or thereabouts. - -“How can he do it?” said Olive in astonishment. - -“You forget,” replied Madame, “that he has been following that plough -for six long hours, and the dry wind raised such a dust around him that -he must have swallowed a vast quantity of it in the course of the day. -It takes a good deal to slake the thirst after such a dust visitation as -that.” - -When Brother Dummy had eaten and drunk his fill he lay down on the grass -and went instantly to sleep. The three women looked at him for a moment -or two. - -“He seems to have very little enjoyment in his life,” said Olive -compassionately. - -“But then he has also few sorrows,” said Madame. “The high lights are -wanting, perhaps, but so are the dark shadows. His life is like a grey -landscape. It has a beauty of its own, but not everyone can see it.” - -“To live in eternal silence seems to me the most awful curse,” said -Olive. - -“I can imagine many a worse one,” replied Madame, looking out from among -the few bare trees away across the open prairie. - -“What could be worse?” - -“Well, for example, to know that someone you loved did not love you. To -have to shut up your heart within iron doors, and never open them to let -it out. That would be worse than to be denied the power of speech, which -after all can now be supplemented in many ways by artificial means. -Brother Huntley is not actively unhappy, I should judge. He and his wife -have always appeared to me to be a very united couple.” - -“They cannot quarrel, at all events,” said Olive. - -“No, not, at least, in the ordinary way,” replied Madame. - -When Brother Dummy awoke after his little snooze, he got up, looked at -the sun to see what time of day it was, and then signed to Napoleon -Pompey to rouse up. That young person was lethargic, owing to his -anaconda-like meal, accordingly Brother Dummy roused him with his foot. -The darkie rolled over and said “Yah!” and started for the horses, who -were nodding over their corn-cobs, now nibbled down to the smallest -dimensions. Olive, whose resentment at the slight put upon Napoleon -Pompey by Mary Winkle urged her to identify herself with the negro boy, -walked away with him and Brother Dummy to watch the hitching up. Madame -employed herself in throwing scraps of bread to Balthasar, who would -have much preferred eating the chicken bones, only that was a debauch -not permitted to a dog of his manners. Mary Winkle looked hopelessly -along those weary furrows, up and down which it would be her duty to -march again, dropping her seeds of corn as before. - -“Are you going to work all the afternoon?” she asked of her companion. - -“Yes, I think so. We shall get this field planted and covered in by -sun-down, I should think. And that will be a great piece of work done. -We cannot afford to let the individualists beat us at corn planting, can -we? We must do at least as well as they, and I should hope we might do -better.” - -“I don’t know how you can stand so much heat and hard work,” said Mary, -“and in that dress too. Why, if I were to attempt to work in long skirts -I should be dead in a week.” - -“I don’t mind my dress at all,” said Madame. “It never bothers me. I -don’t think about it.” - -“But don’t you think about it when your back aches?” - -“It never does.” - -“I don’t understand it,” says Mary once more. - -“I suspect that the reason you American women find your dress such a -burden is because you are so weak yourselves,” said Madame. - -“American women accomplish as much or more than any others, I should -say,” observed Mary. - -“Precisely, but not from their muscular strength. They work out of their -nerves, and that is why they never last any length of time.” - -Madame finished her day’s work at six o’clock, and then walked home -humming a German dance tune to herself. Mary Winkle stopped at four -o’clock, and dragged herself home to bed with a fearsome headache, still -puzzling how it was that her perfect dress had not done better for her -in that day’s trial. She did not know that all her scientific dressing -was as nothing compared with the robust vitality, which Madame brought -with her from another land, and which, running in such vigorous beats -through her blood, was inherited from generations of strong healthy -ancestors. Madame’s father was a Russian colonel noted for his size and -strength and also for his wildness. Her mother was a pretty English -girl, who had nothing to bequeath to her daughter but health, personal -beauty, and this piece of advice: “Never stake your happiness on any -man, it always brings disaster to the woman.” Mary Winkle’s mother, on -the other hand, was a nervous invalid at thirty, and her father was a -dyspeptic dietetic reformer, who pinned his salvation on never eating -salt. Small wonder, therefore, that the daughter of the one pair should -be able to plant corn all day long and walk lightly home at evening, -while the offspring of the other pair could do only three quarters of a -day’s work, after which headache and nervous exhaustion. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - NON-RESISTANCE. - - -It was the custom of the Pioneers to send once a week to Union Mills in -order to do their necessary marketing and to get the post, which came -there twice a week from Kansas City by stage-coach. The subject of the -post was one that had been rather hotly debated at Perfection City, -although to the outsider it would seem a very harmless topic, and not -fruitful of division. The fact was, however, that there was only one -member of the Community who showed any eagerness about getting letters -regularly and often, and that member was Madame. She indeed did receive -a most unconscionable number of letters and periodicals, so the other -members thought. She got several American Magazines, such as the -Atlantic Monthly and Harper’s, but she also received English papers, and -French ones, and occasionally German ones as well. The Community -thought, but did not dare to give public expression to the thought, that -Madame should have rested content with the mental sustenance provided by -themselves for home consumption. Brother Wright in particular felt -himself equal to the task of providing everybody with all they needed in -the way of correct views upon even the highest subjects. But Madame, -although she listened with politeness and apparent attention to what he -had to say, found this sustenance too meagre for the wants of her -nature. Moreover she took a deep interest in the affairs of the outside -world, an interest almost offensive to persons who prided themselves -upon having risen above the world and all its concerns. It was really -humiliating to think that the leading spirit of their Community should -occupy her mind with the relations between Prussia and Austria, when -such questions as affected the future of humanity and of Perfection City -were what filled their souls. She even evinced a keen interest in the -career and personality of the Prussian minister, Bismarck, and that, -too, when Brother Wright was willing to give her the light of his -thoughts upon all really important questions. It was painful to the -feeling of the Pioneers, who were all in all to themselves and wished to -be so to others, but they had to put up with it, since Madame was their -leader and, moreover, the only one who had a purse with some money in -it. Ezra was the only member of the Community who sided with Madame in -her taste for reading the new books and the latest periodicals. He and -she had that taste, with many others, in common, and it drew them -together in an especial degree. On his last trip East during the winter, -when he had been so unexpectedly delayed, as they now knew, by meeting -with his fate in the shape of Olive, one of his commissions had been to -bring back a box of books, which were now arranged in neat shelves in -Madame’s private sitting-room. And yet notwithstanding all these books, -a hundred or more, the steady stream of papers, periodicals, and -magazines continued as before, and had to be fetched regularly from -Union Mills. - -The brethren took it in turns to go to the town, which was some ten -miles distant, and they always combined some useful business with the -fetching of the letters. Brother Wright was a frequent messenger, for he -liked going better than Ezra did, while of course Brother Dummy was -precluded by his affliction from going, and Brother Carpenter was -hopelessly unable to drive horses. Some of the women generally contrived -to find an excuse for going to Union Mills, for women like to get away -from the petty cares of house and home, a peculiarity from which the -sisters of Perfection City were by no means exempt. In particular Mrs. -Ruby, invariably called Aunt Ruby, loved to go. She thus got a chance of -seeing new faces and talking with new people. She would not for worlds -have confessed that she was tired of the restricted society of -Perfection City, but she knew so well what each had to say, that it was -refreshing to go out sometimes into the world and meet people whose -ideas could not always be guessed beforehand. - -It so happened that the day after the corn planting it became necessary -to go to Union Mills in order to take a grist of corn to be ground. -Madame suggested that Brother Wright should go, while Brother Dummy took -up his plough-handles and finished the field the former was preparing -for the corn. Mary Winkle, still prostrated by the previous day’s hard -work, urged her spouse to go, “For then,” said she, “if you ain’t here I -needn’t get any dinner. I’ll just send Willette over to Sister Olive’s -for dinner, and I needn’t stir till milking time.” This seemed a happy -arrangement, and her husband set off shortly after breakfast, picking up -Aunt Ruby as he passed her cottage. - -“Be you lonesome living in that house by yourself?” asked Brother Wright -as they jogged along over the prairie, for it had struck him as very -lonely that morning as he drove up. - -“No, no, I ain’t lonely, least not most whiles,” answered Aunt Ruby, an -alert little old woman, not unlike a bird in her quick movements. “In -the summer-time there’s allus the chickens to see to an’ feed an’ ten’, -an’ chickens is powerful spry an’ talkin’ birds. They most allus has -somethin’ to scold an’ chatter ’bout, chickens an’ hens has, an’ cocks. -Then in the winter I hev the clock tickin’ loud o’ evenin’s, an’ that’s -most as good as a pusson in the room, an’ there’s allus the cat, an’ -mostly the kettle singin’ on the stove. Come to think on’t, there’s a -heap o’ company in a house like mine, if you on’y has ears to hear an’ -un’erstan’ what is said by beasts an’ things.” - -Yet notwithstanding this “heap o’ company” Aunt Ruby dearly loved a good -gossip with the saddler’s wife at Union Mills, whenever that luxury was -attainable. On the present occasion Aunt Ruby had a real good time, for -Brother Wright was delayed longer than usual, first in order to get some -harness mended, and afterwards to have a shoe replaced that suddenly -showed signs of coming off one of the horses. Thus it was very near -sun-down before they left Union Mills. Aunt Ruby, owing in large measure -to her gossip, and also partly to an exceptionally strong cup of tea, -was in a highly nervous and excitable frame of mind. - -Had Brother Wright, she asked, heard of that rumour about the Cherokees? -And did he think there was any danger of their leaving their Reservation -and going on the war-path? Brother Wright, who had a poor opinion of -Indians, and a worse one of the way in which the white men had treated -them, thought on the whole that the rumour might be considered false. -This comforted Aunt Ruby, to whom the word “Injun” suggested torture and -death and all sorts of horrors. She remained comforted until she -remembered that other rumour—about the raid of border ruffians from out -of Missouri. Brother Wright thought it highly probable that this rumour -might prove to be true. Missouri men had raided Kansas more than once, -and it was possible they might do so again at any moment. With -conversation such as this they came to the end of the daylight and the -beginning of the trees around Cotton Wood Creek about the same time. - -“I shall be glad when we are safe over this ford and out of the dark -wood beyond,” said Brother Wright, trying to urge his horses along, but -he had a heavy load of timber and coal and some iron bars for -smith-work. - -“Ain’t it near here that those people over beyond Jacksonville got -robbed?” asked Aunt Ruby, nervously peering about in the gloom with her -weak old eyes. At this moment some distant creature made a shrill scream -or howl. - -“Oh! what was that,” exclaimed Aunt Ruby nervously. - -“That was a prairie wolf, I guess,” answered Brother Wright quietly. - -Silence followed, except for the creaking of the waggon, the straining -of the horses at their traces, and an occasional clang made by one of -the bars of iron which was not sufficiently wedged up with hay. - -“If those Missouri border ruffians came to Perfection City, do you -reckon our principles would save us from being robbed?” asked Aunt Ruby. -“Most everybody knows as we are non-resistants.” - -“I don’t think our principles would stand in the way of a Missouri man. -More likely they would take advantage of them. They are mean cusses, and -are used to riding rough-shod over principles and rights. It is a -recognised thing everywhere that women and children are non-resistants, -yet that does not save ’em from being raided and robbed by border -ruffians.” - -“And you think they would rob us, peaceful folks as ha’n’t no arms nor -nothin’?” asked Aunt Ruby anxiously. - -“I guess they would try,” replied Brother Wright. - -“Then I think as we oughter reconsider our principles a mite,” said Aunt -Ruby. “For if we are robbed and killed by folks as can’t un’erstan’ the -higher life, we shan’t be able to teach the world nothin’. An’ what’s -the good o’ principles when you’re dead an’ gone an’ undergroun’?” - -“That is so,” assented Brother Wright. - -“I didn’t never think on’t in this light afore,” said Aunt Ruby. “It -’pears to me as how we should meet together an’ try an’ settle some way -as how we can keep our principles an’ yet live on the prairie.” - -“I guess you’ve pretty nearly said the truth,” said Brother Wright. - -“What we hev to do is to live here an’ show ’em our principles at work, -an’ not die straightway afore we’ve done anything to improve mankind. -That’s my view,” said Aunt Ruby. “What do you think, Brother Wright?” - -Instead of answering Brother Wright pulled up short and looked intently -in front of him. - -“What’s the matter?” exclaimed Aunt Ruby in a high-pitched voice of -alarm. - -“Hush!” replied her companion, “don’t make a noise.” - -Aunt Ruby’s heart began to beat violently. “Do you see anything?” she -asked in a whisper. - -“I see a man over there by the road, sitting on horseback with his right -arm out pointing towards the waggon.” - -“Oh! brother, I wish you had a carnal weapon of defence,” said Aunt Ruby -in a shaking voice. - -“I have,” replied Brother Wright, pulling an uncommonly useful-looking -Colt’s revolver from his breeches pocket. “I always carry one in case of -Injuns.” - -Again they sat silent for a moment, the horses shook their heads, and -one of them stamped a foot. - -“Who goes there?” hailed Brother Wright in a loud defiant voice. “Drop -that right arm of yours or I’ll fire.” - -No answer. - -The figure sat motionless, the right hand still raised in that menacing -attitude. - -“I am a man of my word,” said Brother Wright, rising to his feet and -sighting his revolver steadily on the figure, while to Aunt Ruby he -said, “Hold on tight, the horses will jump.” - -A shot rang out on the still night air. The horses nearly jumped out of -their skins with fright, and would certainly have run away, only the -waggon was very heavy, and they decided to run in different directions. -Hence they only jerked each other almost to the ground and then stood -still amazed and trembling. - -“Better make sure,” said Brother Wright, emptying another barrel at the -figure which appeared to remain motionless in the uncertain foggy light. -This time the horses came to the same conclusion and tried to turn round -abruptly, but the attempt was expertly frustrated by Brother Wright and -a cowhide whip of exceptional stinging power. Having thus reduced the -horses to reason, he again turned his attention to the figure and saw -with amazement that it still sat on horseback in the same spot. - -“Well, I swan!” said Brother Wright, rubbing his eyes. “That beats all! -It can’t be a mortal man, or he would have either dropped or returned -fire. I guess I’ll drive on and do no more shooting this time.” - -He stowed his pistol away in his pocket and drove on. - -“Hadn’t you better keep the weapon handy?” suggested Aunt Ruby. “You -might lay it down in my lap, if you like.” - -“No, thank’ee,” replied Brother Wright. “I don’t generally give that -sort of thing to women to hold for me.” - -He pulled up at a little opening just near the ford, where the faint -light of a crescent moon showed between the bare branches of the trees, -and a sort of water-fog hung along the elder bushes by the banks. - -“This is the spot he was standing,” remarked Wright, “the exact spot. I -guess I’ll just look and see if there is any trail. The ground is soft -about here and should show up pretty clear.” - -He descended from the waggon and carefully examined the side of the -road, but could see nothing. There was a large stump with a broken -branch sticking out which attracted his attention, and he walked around -it a couple of times, surveying it critically in the uncertain light. - -“Well, I swan!” he exclaimed, after the third inspection. “I didn’t -think I could have been mistaken.” - -Then he climbed back into the waggon, and said, “Gee-up!” - -“Did you fin’ any tracks o’ robbers?” asked his companion anxiously. - -“No,” replied Brother Wright, “no tracks of robbers, but I lighted on -the trail of a doggauned fool. Guess we’ll not say much about the attack -made on our waggon, at Little Cotton Wood Creek.” - -“I won’t mention it at all,” remarked Aunt Ruby, “’cause it might -frighten the folks up to Perfection City an’ make ’em uneasy ’bout -coming to Union Mills.” - -Brother Wright only chuckled in reply, possibly because his whole -attention was required at this juncture to get his horses and waggon -safely through the water, for it was certainly very dark in that -bottom-land. Once the creek was crossed and the high prairie reached, it -became easy enough to see by the light of the new moon and the stars, -and the pair reached Perfection City in safety, although very late. - -Brother Wright was very eager to unravel the mystery of that horseman at -the ford on Little Cotton Wood Creek, so he made a private expedition -thither on horseback as soon as he could frame an excuse for a morning’s -absence. He went to the place whence he had first seen the alarming -stranger, half closed his sharp grey eyes, and looked. - -“Well, I swan!” he remarked, as this expression seemed somehow to -relieve his feelings. By daylight there was nothing suspicious to be -seen, but the old stump with the broken branch sticking out from it -straight towards the spectator. Brother Wright surveyed this stump -critically and came to the conclusion that with the help of darkness, a -slight mist, a new moon, and a nervous companion, the old stump might -take on an alarming aspect. He rode up to the stump, got off his horse, -and examined it. - -“I should like to know that I hit him plumb with both bullets anyhow,” -remarked he, with a grin most unbecoming to a Perfection City -non-resistant. He had hit “him” plumb, but so had other people, and the -amazed Brother Wright counted no less than seventeen bullet holes, both -old and new, in the body of that long suffering stump. - -“Well, I be jiggered!” said Brother Wright as he mounted his horse. -“What a sight of blamed fools there must be in the world!” and with this -comforting reflection he rode home, and ever after held his peace about -the episode on the ford of Little Cotton Wood Creek. And so likewise did -Aunt Ruby, that talkative old lady. But sometimes, when she and Brother -Wright looked into each other’s eyes, they grinned a little sheepishly, -showing that the recollection of it had not quite faded from their -minds. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - WILLETTE. - - -Willette, the only child of the Wright and Winkle pair, was a young -person of considerable character, which had undergone little of the -attempted modification which we call education. At the time of Olive’s -arrival at Perfection City this child was about eleven years old, and -was as wild a specimen of a girl as could be easily found even on the -prairie. Her mother had endeavoured to clothe her in garments known as -the “reform-dress,” and had made her a suit of lilac calico, consisting -of short tunic, and full-gathered trousers of the prescribed pattern. -Willette had put on these things and had promptly complained of -“scratchiness” around the neck and arm-holes, owing probably to -deficiency of skill on the part of her mother in the making of the said -garments. Shortly afterwards, being called upon to do some -cattle-hunting, Willette had set out in all the pride of her new clothes -to ride down some young steers who were proving refractory. The steers -took shelter in the bottom-land along Little Cotton Wood Creek, and -skilfully hid themselves in the brushwood there, among the trailing wild -vines and the spiky wilder plums which formed a very good barrier -against pursuing man. Willette plunged bravely into the brush, and after -a fierce struggle returned with one steer and half her dress. The other -half remained in the brush along with the rest of the steers. Repeated -onslaughts reduced her almost to nakedness, but she brought home the -full complement of steers and an abundant assortment of scratches on her -legs. After that Willette had enough of her mother’s system of dress, -and accordingly she evolved one of her own. - -“I ain’t agoin’ to cattle-hunt in no more o’ your cobwebs, Ma,” -explained this young person. “I reckon I’ll go a-ridin’ like a boy next -time.” - -Willette appropriated one of her father’s pants made of the material -known as hickory, which is supposed to resist any tear or strain. The -current legend attached to real out-and-out hickory is as follows. A -farmer arrayed in hickory was one day rooting out old stumps from a -newly-cleared field with a new patent plough. He came to a regular -stunner which jerked the plough clean out of the land. He backed up, -took a good hold of the plough-handles, gave a mighty yell to the -horses, and drove the plough clean through the stump, which split open -in the middle. The plough and the man passed through, but the stump -closed up again and caught his hickory trousers. The horses strained at -the collar, but the man would not let go of the plough, nor would the -stump relinquish its grasp of the hickory trousers. So he rested his -horses a spell, took a big breath, and said “Hallelujah!” whereupon the -horses went forward with a bound and brought plough, man, trousers, and -stump along with them! - -It was a garment of this incomparable material that Willette -appropriated to her use. She cut off the legs until the length suited -her stature, regardless of the fit of the waist, clothed the upper part -of her body in a pink check shirt, put a boy’s cap upon her head, and -announced her intention of henceforth dressing like that. She was a chip -off the old block with a vengeance, and Mary Winkle, after one -affrighted gasp, was obliged to admit that her own principles, as put -into practice by her daughter, were too much for her. Wright laughed -immensely, and said she was a boy now and would do first-rate. - -Willette was totally uneducated, could not write her name and could -scarcely read, but she did not lack for intelligence. She knew the hour -of the day, by looking at the sun, as well as a negro, and she could -distinguish a horse from a cow at four miles distance. She knew every -beast for miles around, and to whom it belonged, and could remember for -a month every cow she had come across on the prairie and which way it -was heading. She understood the moods and intentions of all kinds of -animals almost as if she was one of the species herself, and she never -was at fault on a cattle-trail. - -Olive found immense amusement in talking to Willette, who expressed -herself with the utmost freedom upon all subjects in language which -would have done credit to a nigger. The child, on the other hand, had a -supreme contempt for Olive’s abilities and attainments, which seemed -ludicrously deficient, but felt a kindly patronising sort of regard for -her, and liked to look at her pretty face and touch her smooth round -cheeks. The pair were therefore often together, and Willette undertook -to teach her friend to ride, provided she would get some sensible -clothes and ride in the only way that Willette imagined it possible for -a two-legged human being to bestride a quadruped. Olive therefore made -herself a bewitching riding-habit with Turkish trousers, and rode a -high-peaked Mexican saddle, out of which even a sack of meal could not -tumble if it tried. As soon as Olive began to feel confidence in herself -and her horse, she enjoyed the riding immensely. She claimed the refusal -of a horse on every possible opportunity when one could be spared from -the farm work. Ezra, delighted to see her so pleased with a healthy -exercise, encouraged her to go cattle-hunting with Willette, and enjoyed -the spirited reports which she used to bring home from these -exhilarating expeditions. - -“I do wish I had a pony of my very own which I could take out whenever I -wanted a ride, and which would be always there for me,” said Olive one -day to Ezra after she had been riding by herself on Rebel. Ezra was -hoeing up the newly sprouted sweet-corn, and the horses were not at work -on the land. In his inmost heart he re-echoed the wish, and would at -that moment have given anything to be an individualist and be able to -say: “Darling, I’ll buy you a pony with the first load of corn I sell.” -He looked at his pretty wife’s glowing cheeks and sparkling eyes, and -thought with a groan that he was tied by his principles and prevented by -them and the public opinion of the Community from giving his wife this -enjoyment. It was the first time that his heart had come into conflict -with the perfect theories of Perfection City, and he was amazed and -disturbed to find how very much he was vexed by them. Fortunately Olive -dismissed the idea of a pony of her own as an unattainable bliss, and -contented herself with chance rides on Rebel and Queen Katherine, the -two horses which inhabited Ezra’s stable and were generally used by him -on his side of the community-land. - -Olive’s courage and spirit of independence, fostered by a very -mild-tempered horse, grew apace. She soon felt able to dispense with the -escort and instruction of Willette and go cattle-hunting alone. She -learned quickly enough to know the sixty head of cattle belonging to the -Community, and where to look for them. The cattle, which consisted of -the usual mixture of milch cows, steers, yearlings, and calves, had been -bought at different times and were apportioned to the different families -in rough division, chiefly because each woman liked to have the cows she -was to milk, driven up to her own fence near to her own house to save -trouble. The cattle, consequently, seemed to have become intensely -individualistic in their tendencies, and absolutely refused to graze in -common. Each bell-cow led off her own herd of steers and yearlings where -she thought best on the prairie, and it was seldom that any two of those -“leading ladies” chose to go to the same spot. If they did they -generally quarrelled and fought a bit. Cattle-hunting, therefore, became -a sufficiently diversified occupation in which the unexpected frequently -occurred. - -One day it happened that Olive and Diana, now old enough to run with her -on her expeditions, had been to the head of Little Cotton Wood Creek to -look for a cow that had hidden away her calf there, after the manner of -prairie cows. Olive found the truant and the “little stranger,” along -with half a dozen young cattle, and was driving them slowly homewards, -when she became convinced from Rebel’s demonstrations that something was -annoying him under the flap of his saddle. In fact he was constantly -trying to bite Olive’s leg in a way which agitated her not a little. -Accordingly she resolved to take off the saddle and make an inspection. -She dismounted, undid the girths, and lifted off the heavy Mexican -saddle. Rebel, who had always hitherto regarded this proceeding as -indicating immediate liberty, no sooner felt the saddle removed than he -took a base advantage of Olive, and kicking up his heels bounded away -from her. She set the saddle in the grass and walked pacifically after -Rebel, held out a deceitful hand and called him endearing names. Rebel -listened to her honeyed words with his ears flat on his neck, and as -soon as she came near, again kicked up his heels and bounded off. - -Diana considering all this a joke in which a puppy might lend valuable -assistance, now pranced forward with energetic barks, and the cows and -calves deeming themselves to be driven with fierceness, set up a -lumbering trot across the prairie, the new-made mother every now and -then diving ineffectually after Diana with a plunge and a snort. A -stampede had set in among the animals, and Olive sat down and cried with -vexation and alarm. Her home showed clear and distinct against the -horizon just four miles in a bee-line from where she sat shedding her -ineffectual tears. Now Diana, although a feminine creature and also a -puppy, and therefore endowed with a double dose of original foolishness, -was likewise a dog, and consequently amenable to the highest -inspirations of a noble nature. Having therefore in her character of -puppy worried and distracted the animals to her heart’s content, she -suddenly felt bound to exhibit some of the better sides of her nature, -among which remains forever pre-eminent fidelity to the master. Seeing -that Olive was not in the scrimmage, Diana turned her back resolutely -upon the delights of snapping at calves’ heels, and putting her nose to -the ground raced straight back to Olive weeping in the grass. After an -apologetic wriggle Diana sat down and looked at Olive. Now no -philosopher or other mortal has ever succeeded in being as wise as a -tired puppy can look. Therefore when Olive in spite of her woe caught -sight of Diana’s face and attitude, she burst into a laugh in the midst -of her tears, whereupon the latter sprang merrily up and licked her -face. Thus comforted, Olive arose, and then became aware that she didn’t -know where the saddle was. She had neglected to mark its position in any -way when going on that deceitful embassy to Rebel, but indeed it would -not have been easy to mark the position of the saddle. The grass was in -its greatest summer height, and there was neither bush nor tree anywhere -for miles around. There was not even a hillock or knoll of ground to -give individuality to one spot more than another, all was the relentless -rolling prairie—a vast grassy sea where one billow was exactly like a -hundred others. - -Olive was in dismay. Here was a fresh cause for tribulation, for the -saddle was new and expensive, and moreover it belonged to the Community. -She would not have minded facing Ezra with a tale of any sort of -disaster or loss, for she knew he would kiss her and pet her and say, -“Never mind, darling, don’t grieve, it doesn’t matter two jack-straws.” -But a community-saddle was quite another matter, and Olive shrank from -the ordeal of community-anger at the loss of its saddle, and -community-contempt for her carelessness in unsaddling on the prairie -without putting the reins over her arm. She perceived now that anyone -but a fool would have taken that simple precaution against disaster. -“I’m not fit to live on the prairie,” sobbed Olive to herself. “My -education is no use to me, and I have not got the wits of that boy-girl -Willette. Diana, you idiot, why don’t you help me?” - -This reproach was addressed to the puppy, who was wallowing blissfully -in the grass and thus refreshing herself after her scamper. Olive began -to walk aimlessly up and down in the hope of stumbling on the saddle, -and Diana began to do likewise, but with far more system. Diana’s -researches were speedily crowned with success, and she soon sat down to -an uninterrupted gnaw at the flap of the big Mexican saddle. Becoming at -length aware of the disappearance of Diana, Olive called to her, and the -puppy reared a mischievous face over the grass some twenty yards away. -Going to the spot, Olive perceived the saddle and also the depredations -of Diana’s sharp teeth upon the flap. She whipped the dog with a stirrup -leather most ineffectually and then said: - -“What’s to be done now?” but Diana, feeling that her efforts had been -badly rewarded, made no suggestions. - -Indeed Olive’s plight after finding the saddle was considerably worse -than before. The thing was very heavy. Mexican saddles are built on -wood, large, strong and ponderous, and weigh heavier and heavier in -proportion to the distance one carries them. Olive put it on her -shoulders and began to see stars, she then tried her head and found that -position still worse. She dragged it along by a stirrup-leather and -found she was ruining it. Then she sat down and cried, which was the -most useless effort she had made. What was she to do? If she were to -leave the saddle and walk home she would never be able to find it again. -There was absolutely nothing to mark the spot. By this time the cattle -were distant specks moving solemnly homewards, with Rebel decorously -following in the rear. Olive decided to remain where she was until Rebel -and the cattle, by their arrival without her, should have given the -alarm, which would bring Ezra and the rest of the Community to the -rescue, somewhere about the middle of the night, she supposed. It would -be humiliating, but she thought it would be better than abandoning the -saddle which she could not possibly carry. She sat down to wait with -what patience she could for rescue and humiliation. There was nothing to -expect along that weary stretch of grassy sea, and yet Olive kept -looking and looking away to the north, east, south, and west. By and by -she beheld a horseman coming up from the distant west and holding a -slanting course which would carry him past Perfection City some mile or -so to the north. She resolved to intercept this man and ask his aid, so -she stood up and signalled wildly with her hat. Of course he saw her -instantly, although he was a couple of miles away, and equally of course -he at once turned his horse towards her and set off at a gallop. People -on the prairie ask and give help freely, and Olive had not the slightest -hesitation in calling this unknown horseman up to her aid, although she -had not the remotest idea who he might be. Probably he was a -cattle-hunter like herself, at any rate a man and a horse would be able -to give her and her saddle effectual assistance. The man galloped -steadily on and soon took the ordinary appearance: big hat, red shirt, -riding boots, belt with probably a revolver somewhere in it. He slowed -up a little as he came near and seemed to be very intently looking at -Olive. - -“I am very sorry to have troubled you,” began Olive. - -“Don’t mention it. I shall be delighted if I can be of use,” said the -man, taking off his big hat. - -They both stopped short and looked hard at each other, for their speech -had mutually revealed the fact that they were a lady and a gentleman, a -most uncommon encounter on the Kansas prairie beyond the last bit of -cultivated land. - -“Have you had an accident? Are you hurt?” asked the man, jumping off his -horse and mechanically slinging the bridle-rein over his left arm, as -Olive noted with some self-reproach. She told him what had happened, and -she saw a smile creep round his mouth and light up his blue eyes. - -“That is easily remedied. I feared you must have been thrown,” said he. -“Just mount my horse. He’s quiet. I’ll take you home.” - -“But the saddle,” said Olive looking very anxiously at that burden. - -“Oh! that’s nothing,” said the stranger. “I’ll carry it on my arm.” - -“You must not dream of such a thing. I could not think of allowing it. -You are very kind, I am sure, but if you would take up the saddle in -front of you that is all I want. The saddle is the only difficulty. I -can walk quite well. I live in that house over there on the brow of the -bluff. It is not far, but I could not carry that terrible saddle.” - -“Why, that’s Perfection City, where the Communists live,” said he, -looking at her curiously. - -“Yes, I live there,” replied Olive with a slight blush, noting the look. - -“And are you a communist, if I may presume to ask the question?” queried -the stranger. - -“My husband was one of the founders of the—the—of Perfection City,” said -Olive, valiantly determined to defend the absent. - -“But you are not one of the original members. You are surely a -new-comer. I know most of them, by sight at all events.” - -“I am Mrs. Weston,” replied Olive with dignity. - -The stranger again took off his hat, as if this were an introduction. - -“I have seen your husband then, a magnificent specimen of manhood, to -judge from the only example I had of his physical strength.” - -Olive felt at once mollified. Meanwhile, the stranger had shortened the -stirrup-leathers of his horse, and turning to Olive he said, - -“And now, Mrs. Weston, allow me to give you a hand up to mount you on my -big horse. He is quite gentle and I will hold the bridle.” - -Olive hesitated. “I don’t like to take your horse,” she said. “If you -would be so kind as to leave the saddle——” - -“No, no, you must not deprive me of the pleasure of your company,” -interposed the stranger. “We will manage the saddle all right. Just -spring up. Your riding-habit is admirably adapted for prairie life, and -the prettiest I ever saw. Pardon my bluntness, but I am so little used -to society, I fear I am very rough.” - -“You don’t fear anything of the sort,” replied Olive quickly. “You are -perfectly aware that your manners are infinitely superior to the article -in general use hereabouts.” - -The man laughed pleasantly at this sally. “Well, let me amend my -pleading,” said he, “and say, it is so long since I met a lady in these -wilds, and that is true enough, Heaven knows!” - -Olive mounted the big horse with the dextrous help of his hand and -signed to him to give her the saddle. - -“I couldn’t think of it,” said he, thrusting his arm under the saddle -and hoisting it on to his shoulder. “It would be unspeakably -uncomfortable for you to hold, with the stirrups whacking you at every -step.” - -“Then you shall put it on the horse’s neck in front of me, or I’ll hop -down this instant. It’s bad enough to appropriate your horse without -making you carry my saddle as well.” - -Seeing her so determined, he, with a slight show of reluctance, placed -the saddle on the neck of his horse, who after a shake or two submitted -to the burden, and so they eventually turned homewards. - -“I suppose you are not surprised that we settlers out here take -considerable interest in your experiment in communism,” remarked the man -as they walked along. - -“No doubt anything out of the common excites comment,” said Olive -guardedly, “but I should not have thought you could be classed as a -settler out here. I have seen a good many, and know the type.” - -She felt interested in the man and curious to know who he was, he seemed -so utterly different from all those she had hitherto met. - -“I have lived here, nevertheless, for some years now. I have a farm on -the north side of Big Cotton Wood Creek. My name is Cotterell. Have you -ever heard it?” - -“No, I never heard the name, but then I’ve only been here a very short -time, only two months. I—that is, we came in May,” said Olive blushing -somewhat. - -The stranger smiled a winning smile and looked up at her face as he -answered, - -“I see you have only just come, and come as a bride to Perfection City. -It has a very suitable sound in that connection.” - -He again lifted his hat, and Olive blushed more vividly still. - -“The prairie does not seem a very hopeful place for experiments in -perfection,” continued the stranger. “To my eyes it looks a most -God-forsaken place, but under certain circumstances I should be disposed -to modify that view.” - -“I think any place will do to try and live a good life in, and that is -what is aimed at in our little Community,” said Olive, standing bravely -to her defence. - -He was silent for a time and then spoke again. - -“Any place can be made better by the presence of a good woman, I think.” - -“We want to show how it is possible to banish some of the evil out of -life,” said Olive, marshalling the expressions she had heard at the -Academy with what skill she could. - -“With some it is only necessary to be what God made them in order to -banish evil from their presence,” said he. - -“And we have a very noble woman as leader,” said Olive not quite sure of -his meaning. - -“Ah, indeed! You praise her, that should count for much. There are very -mixed reports about her character on the prairie. Many seem to dislike -and distrust her.” - -“As for that I suppose there are mixed reports about us all,” observed -Olive impartially. - -“Indeed there are. For instance, it is most confusing what people say -concerning the extent to which you carry your communistic theories. Some -assert that there is no limit and that you are logical.” - -“I don’t understand what you mean,” said Olive, knitting her brows. - -“I presume now that the land is held in common?” - -“Yes, certainly, and the farm implements and the horses and cows,” -answered Olive. - -“All those don’t really touch the question. You live in separate houses, -I believe.” - -“Of course we do. I should hate not having my own little house. It would -be like a hotel or a penitentiary for all to live under one roof. I -wouldn’t do it for worlds. We have our home-life just like other people, -but I should like to have a pony of my own, only I suppose my husband -would not think it right to have a horse that was not a -community-horse.” - -“What a confounded shame! I beg your pardon. You see I am rough. I mean, -I think your husband ought to get you a pony, a nice well-trained lady’s -pony, for you to ride, and not a big farm-horse.” - -“I should like one,” observed Olive simply, and then suddenly -remembering that she was speaking to a stranger, she added hastily, “I -mean it would be nice to have a horse always at hand, one not liable to -be wanted for farm work.” - -“I just happen to know of an excellent animal that would suit you down -to the ground. It belongs to Tom Mills, and he wants to sell it. It will -go cheap too. If you would speak to your husband about it, I would bring -it over for you to look at. Mills lives close to my house.” - -“No, pray don’t,” said Olive anxiously. “I am ever so much obliged to -you, but I really ought not to have spoken about it.” - -“Very well,” said he, seeing she was distressed, “we’ll not pursue the -subject further.” But in his own mind he reflected that were he in -Weston’s place, he would have got that pony for his wife, principles or -no principles, and it is highly probable that he would have done so. - -He left Olive and her saddle at her own door, refusing her invitation to -enter, saying that he would avail himself of her permission to come some -other day to see her. And she cordially invited him to do so, for was -not hospitality one of the commonest virtues of the prairie, and surely -Perfection City must not be behindhand in the practice thereof? - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - MR. PERSEUS. - - -When Olive got home, she was at first pleased to see that her husband -had not come in, therefore he had not been made uneasy about her -absence. Napoleon Pompey had caught Rebel and turned him into the -pasture field, and was returning after that job when he met Olive near -the hen-house. Napoleon Pompey grinned at her and remarked with relish: -“Ole hoss, he done throw yer, den run clar ’way home.” - -“No, he didn’t,” retorted Olive, indignant at this slur upon her -equestrian skill, “I just got off to change the saddle, and he ran away -from me.” - -“Land!” said Napoleon Pompey, “an’ didn’t yer chuck yer reins roun’ yer -arm?” - -“No, I forgot to,” confessed Olive. - -“Golly Ned!” said Napoleon Pompey with vast amusement. - -Olive felt annoyed and inquired stiffly where her husband was. - -“Ole man he done gone ter git ole hoe men’d up, den he gwine ter go to -der ’Sumbly, he done eat supper ’ready. Me an’ you’uns got ter eat our’n -now. Ole man done tol’ me.” - -Napoleon Pompey meant no disrespect in speaking of Ezra as “ole man,” -for the lad knew of only two titles to bestow on white men, one was -“Mas’r” the other was “ole man.” Ezra had requested him not to use the -expression Mas’r, which grated on his ears, and contained suggestions of -servitude at variance with the ideas that prevailed at Perfection City. -Napoleon Pompey was therefore obliged to fall back upon his one other -title. Olive had been greatly shocked when she first heard her husband -called “ole man,” but she was now used to the expression. - -She was very disappointed not to see Ezra at once, for she was full of -her adventure, but she knew from experience she must possess her soul in -patience, for the “’Sumbly,” as Napoleon Pompey called it, was sure to -take a good while, and Ezra always stayed conscientiously to the last. -The institution was none other than the bi-weekly Assembly, which met at -the Academy, and at which all the business of the Community was settled -and the routine work of the farm arranged for. All the members were free -to attend and speak their minds, but in practice it had resolved itself -into a Junta of Madame, Ezra, Wright, Green, and Uncle David, of whom -the two latter were sleeping members. The women of Perfection City did -not care to attend the Assembly very often. Women are not good debaters, -and they dislike arguments carried on under strict rule. They prefer to -go their own way, do what seems best at the moment, and reserve an -unlimited right of grumbling and jealousy. Madame, who was an exception -to the general rule, usually presided at the Assembly and ruled it, as -she did most things, without seeming to do so. Ezra and Brother Wright -understood the farm work and generally mapped out the daily labour -pretty well. Brother Dummy required only to be told what to do and went -on contentedly doing it, without comment or commotion. Nobody, of -course, was ordered to work, but it was suggested that if Brother Wright -would do so and so, Brother Ezra would be able to do this, that, or the -other, while Brother Carpenter would be free to perform such another -task, and Brother Dummy would probably prefer to work at whatever -happened to be wanted at the moment. Madame seldom interfered, and then -only when necessary to smooth over a rough edge. She usually found the -men’s arrangements excellent and for the general weal. Brother Green, -who was a first-rate smith, was the only member of the Community who, at -this time, received any money, for he worked in his spare time for -outsiders. With great pride he used to bring the money he earned to the -’Sumbly and give it into Madame’s charge to be expended as seemed best. -She kept the accounts and used to furnish all the rest of the necessary -cash. Sometimes the brethren expressed compunction at calling so often -on her resources, but Madame always made the most graceful speeches in -reply to their objections. Of course an undertaking such as this -required capital to start it. It would be foolish to starve the whole -project for want of a little expenditure now. By and by they would be -self-supporting, but in order to reach that stage quickly they must not -be stingy now. So she gave her dollars by the hundred when needed, and -the brethren were eternally grateful and privately wondered if there was -any limit to her wealth and generosity. At the Assembly it would be -debated whether the next load of timber that was bought should go to -building a hen-house for Brother Carpenter or to putting up a -cattle-shed for Brother Ezra, and it speaks well for the honest -conviction of the Pioneers that it was usually Brother Ezra who argued -in favour of the hen-house, while Brother Carpenter expressed an anxious -desire for the cattle-shed. The difficulty would perhaps be settled by -Madame desiring to know how much timber was required for both buildings -and deciding to buy that amount at the earliest opportunity. - -At this particular Assembly to which we refer, Ezra was several times on -the point of saying that he wished to get a pony for his wife, but his -heart failed him. He knew he did want the pony very much, but he also -knew that it was not really wanted for the Community. So he could not -bring himself to give utterance to the individualistic wish, and after -arranging the necessary business of the Community, he came home with his -wish unstated. - -Olive was waiting for him with the greatest impatience. She went, -indeed, as far as the bars to meet him, but the road looked so lonesome -and the sky so black with cold trembling specks of stars, that she ran -back again in a flutter of panic to the house and shut herself in with -the candles for company. At last he came back, and Olive poured forth -the pent-up torrent of her news. Ezra was much amused at her description -of the disaster and interested in her account of the rescuer. - -“And I am so vexed,” said Olive, “I can’t for the life of me remember -what he said his name was. I know I never heard it before, but he lives -here on the prairie. It is so silly!” - -“Call him Perseus,” said Ezra laughing, “he was the gallant who came to -the rescue of distressed damsels.” - -“What a good joke!” said Olive gleefully, “and I was a distressed -damsel, I assure you. I cried with vexation.” - -“I have no doubt that Andromeda shed tears when she was bound to the -rock,” said Ezra, amused. - -“And I was bound to that odious saddle by the bonds of duty,” said -Olive. “What a joke! Mr. Perseus!” - -So they laughed and chatted, and Olive was as bright as possible, and -Ezra thought again with a pang of that pony and almost wished he had -spoken at the Assembly about it. Olive, however, never mentioned what -Mr. Perseus had said about the pony Mills had for sale. The idea seemed -to have passed from her mind. - -It happened that about a week later Olive again found herself in the -neighbourhood of Little Cotton Wood Creek, and by an extraordinary -coincidence Mr. Perseus chanced to meet her. She was very much -surprised, and he seemed to be no less so. However, the meeting was -mutually pleasant, and they soon fell into conversation, as it appeared -he was going her way. - -“I have thought a great deal about what you said to me the other day, -about trying to make life better and all that,” said he with a certain -self-consciousness, as if he was unaccustomed to speaking upon such a -subject. Olive looked at him with bright clear eyes. - -“I am very glad if anything I said could be of use to you, but I am -myself very ignorant. I should like you to come and hear what Brother -Wright says, and Ezra. Brother Wright is considered very eloquent. I -can’t always understand him myself, but that is my own deficiency!” - -“I would much prefer talking with you, Mrs. Weston,” said the stranger -hastily. “I am very restive under men’s teaching, but I am docile enough -when led by a woman’s gentle hand.” - -“Why are you living here?” asked Olive suddenly. “You seem so unsuited -to this life.” - -“I am sick of civilization and all its horrors,” said he. “I wanted to -get away to something fresh and new.” - -“That is almost like what a Pioneer would say,” remarked Olive with a -smile. “They don’t think very highly of what civilization has done so -far.” - -“Materially it has done much, morally it has done badly for a good -number of human beings,” he remarked. - -“I think you sound like a very hopeful convert to the principles of -communism. Why don’t you come to Perfection City?” asked Olive. - -“Would you be glad to see me there, Mrs. Weston?” - -“Certainly, Mr. Perseus, and I should be so pleased to make you and my -husband known to each other.” - -He looked at her curiously for some moments and then said, “Why do you -call me Mr. Perseus?” - -Olive gave him one horrified glance and then blushed scarlet. - -“Oh, I beg your pardon,” she stammered in great confusion. “I did not -know I said so. I really am most sorry.” - -“But why that name?” he persisted, still looking at her blushing face. - -“I may as well tell you the truth,” she said still much confused. “The -fact is I forgot what you said your name was, and my husband suggested -in a joke that I should call you Perseus, because—because——” - -“I rescued you in distress,” said he as he broke into a deep musical -laugh. “It is a capital name, I am delighted with it.” - -“I am so ashamed of myself,” said Olive, also laughing, “but I was in -the habit of speaking of you as Mr. Perseus, and the name slipped off my -tongue unawares. What is your real name? Pray tell me.” - -“Not for worlds, dear Mrs. Weston. To you I shall remain Mr. Perseus, -and I shall never think of the name without a thrill of pleasure.” - -“But this is most unfair,” said Olive. “You know my name and who I am -and all about me, and yet I am to be kept in the dark as to your -identity.” - -“Forgive my not doing at once what you wish, but really I cannot. This -will be a sweet little innocent romance to me, and before you I shall -appear in my very best light, leaving all the vices and evils of my real -nature behind me for the time. Ah no! don’t deprive me of such a -harmless joy. If you knew what a lonely uncared for life is mine, your -tender heart would be touched.” - -Her heart was touched by the quiver in his deep voice, as he intended it -should be, and Olive did not press her point any further. They rode on -together talking about a hundred subjects, and she found him the most -agreeable of men. She happened to mention a great novel just then coming -out in Harper’s, the scene of which was laid in Florence, and he said -musingly: - -“Ah yes! Florence is a lovely city, nestling among the blue hills.” - -“Have you ever seen it then?” asked Olive much surprised. - -“Yes, long ago, when I was a young fellow.” - -She gazed at him. “You are a most incomprehensible person,” she said, -“living here on this prairie and yet you have seen Florence.” - -“You forget Perseus travels easily with his winged feet, from here to -Florence would be a bagatelle to him.” - -“I begin to think there must be something uncanny about you.” - -“Now don’t go and change me into any other personality. Remember you are -all-powerful, and by your word alone have made me Perseus. Your word is -mighty, and you can cast me down into hell and make me a devil by a -breath,” said he half banteringly. - -“What odd language!” said Olive, looking a little frightened. “How you -must astonish the natives when you talk in that way!” - -“Do you fancy I talk to anyone as I do to you? Don’t you understand that -I am Perseus to you, but to nobody else in the world?” - -Olive laughed, and put her horse to a canter in order to snap the thread -of talk which was becoming too difficult for her. Mr. Perseus remained -in her company while she was driving home the cattle, but they had no -further particular conversation, as the exigencies of driving the herd -occupied their attention most of the time. On parting from her about a -mile from her home, he promised to come some day to see her, and Olive -added, “I do hope Ezra will be in, for I should so like you two to talk -together. I am sure you have much in common.” - -“We have one point in common, at all events,” thought Mr. Perseus as he -rode away back towards the Big Cotton Wood Creek, “but I doubt very much -if that would at all add to the harmony of our relations.” - -Olive was full of her meeting with Mr. Perseus, an account of which she -retailed to Ezra at supper. - -“And just fancy his oddity! He wouldn’t tell me his real name after my -unlucky slip, so he is Mr. Perseus to the end of the chapter, I suppose. -He thought it such a joke.” - -“So he saw the application,” remarked Ezra. “He must be a man of -education.” - -“He is a most superior man, I can see that. He has read everything I -ever did and more too. And do you know, Ezra, I shouldn’t wonder if he -had leanings towards community-life, many things he said pointed that -way. Wouldn’t it be funny if I were to be the one to bring in your first -convert, poor little me that never had any leanings until I saw you.” - -Ezra looked sharply at his wife during this speech, for a sudden and by -no means pleasant suspicion sprang into his mind concerning the -mysterious Mr. Perseus. However, Olive looked so perfectly innocent of -even all knowledge of evil that he felt ashamed of himself. - -“I wouldn’t be too friendly with this man. We don’t know anything about -him, nor who he is, remember,” remarked Ezra. - -“He said he knew you and that you were a fine-looking man, you old dear, -and he is acquainted with most of the members of the Community by sight. -Besides, I thought it was a point of etiquette on the prairie to make no -inquiries into a person’s character, but to take him in his boots just -as he stands, and ask him to dinner. Don’t you remember Charlie Clarke, -and how he came to supper by your invitation and you found him so -pleasant, and he a horse-thief and a murderer all the while, only we -didn’t know it.” - -This was all very true, but Charlie Clarke had evinced no “leanings” to -community-life, and above all Olive had been profoundly uninterested in -him and was delighted when he left. Ezra hated himself for the feeling -in his heart, but he had his suspicions of Mr. Perseus, and he knew his -wife was distractingly pretty. So he advised her to keep aloof from Mr. -Perseus as much as practicable. Several times afterwards he made excuses -to go riding with her, which Olive enjoyed immensely, but then something -was said to her about his shirking his share of the work, and she was -furiously angry. She wanted her husband to be first, and since the only -theatre for the exhibition of his abilities was the somewhat restricted -one of Perfection City, she wanted him to be always near the front. - -“Shirking indeed!” she said tossing her pretty head. “I’ll have Mary -Winkle know my husband never shirked in his life.” - -In a blaze of wrath she met Ezra and ordered him to go to work and never -mind riding with her till the harvest was over. She wouldn’t ride any -more, she would work until she was black in the face. Shirking indeed! -She’d let Mary Winkle see! And so on and so forth, till her burst of -anger had spent itself. - -Olive was not slow to perceive that her husband had some sort of dislike -to the idea of her seeing Mr. Perseus. She could not exactly explain to -herself why this should be, and she was heartily sorry for it. She had -fancied that in time Mr. Perseus might possibly come to be a member of -the Community. She would indeed have been frankly glad to have him -become a brother, for, as far as she could judge, he seemed a man of -brilliant parts, and certainly his manners were most charming. To tell -the truth, she found the members as a whole very uninteresting. Mary -Winkle she positively disliked, and yet she was the one nearest to her -own age. She sometimes wondered how Ezra could be satisfied with the -companionship of those same people, who seemed to her to be walking in -such a narrow circle, and always to be saying the same things in pretty -nearly the same words. Now, Mr. Perseus said such original things and in -such a charming voice. Altogether it was a pity that Ezra should have -taken a prejudice into his head against this stranger. Olive wondered -whether, if they met, the mutual recognition of their abilities would -dissipate her husband’s suspicions. Such being her notions, it was most -unlucky that the first time Mr. Perseus came to see them Ezra should -have been gone to Union Mills. He went so very seldom that it was a most -unfortunate coincidence, as she explained to Mr. Perseus, who did not in -return explain that having himself seen Ezra at Union Mills he had -straightway ridden off to visit her, and ridden so hard too that his -horse was in a white lather when he arrived at Perfection City by a -somewhat circuitous route. Napoleon Pompey was gone, so Olive showed him -where to put his horse in the dark stable so that the flies would not -torment the animal. She remarked on the horse’s state and asked Mr. -Perseus had he been running down cattle, and he muttered something about -young horses showing every bit of work in hot weather. - -He was profoundly interested in Olive’s little home. She showed him with -pride the garden she had made, where already the balsams were just -coming into blossom; she then took him to see the prairie chickens she -was trying to rear, little black and yellow downy things, with fierce -wild eyes utterly untamed and only looking out for a favourable -opportunity to make a dash for freedom. - -“Do you think I can ever tame them?” asked Olive, as she noted the -hostile manner in which they scuttled away from her food-giving hand. - -“If anyone could tame them you could, the ungrateful little brutes!” -remarked Mr. Perseus. - -“I don’t see that it is ungrateful of them to resent being taken from -their proper home and natural mother to be put under a fat stupid hen,” -said Olive. - -“No, but it is rank ingratitude not to be tame to you,” said he. - -“I don’t think you are truthful,” said Olive bluntly. - -“Why?” asked Mr. Perseus. - -“Because you are always saying things like that,” she answered, somewhat -resentfully. - -“Well, I do call that hard,” complained Mr. Perseus, “to charge a fellow -with being untruthful when he was shaking in his shoes from terror at -having perhaps let out too much of the truth.” - -Olive looked down at his big boots, knitting her brows, and then led the -way into the house. - -“I’ll get you some dinner. I am sure you are hungry,” she said -hospitably, it being about two o’clock in the afternoon. - -“I am hungry, starving, mind, body, and soul,” said her visitor in -reply. - -“I’ll get a chicken-pie for you, that will go some way,” answered Olive -with a laugh. - -“And if you will talk with me, that will go far to complete the work of -charity,” said he. - -Olive brought him the food, and he set to work upon it, being evidently, -as he said, very hungry. - -“Do you know I am beginning to look upon Perfection City as a sort of -earthly paradise,” said Mr. Perseus. - -“Indeed.” - -“Yes, a paradise from which I am shut out. Have you any young men here, -Mrs. Weston, unmarried men, or are they against your rules?” - -“No. Unmarried men are not against our rules,” said Olive archly. “We -had one here lately, but we haven’t now.” - -“Why, what did you do with him?” asked Mr. Perseus, in some surprise. - -“I married him,” said Olive dimpling and blushing. - -“Lucky beggar!” remarked her visitor, turning again to his dinner. - -Mr. Perseus stayed some time, but refused Olive’s invitation to wait to -see her husband, saying as an excuse that he had a long way to ride -home. Olive wanted to know where he lived, but he laughingly put her -off. He would not tell her, lest she should discover his real name, and -then much of the romance of his life would be destroyed. - -“You don’t know what this is to me, and how when I am leading my lonely -life, I recall every word and look and again go through these meetings, -Mrs. Weston. I suppose it seems silly to you, but remember, human -companionship is man’s most precious inheritance, and those who have but -little of it prize what they have at perhaps an extravagant figure. Did -you ever hear of Silvio Pellico?” he asked abruptly. - -“No,” replied Olive. - -“Well, he was a prisoner entirely shut off from human companionship, and -he at last made friends with a spider, and at length the spider was -crushed by the turnkey’s foot, and Silvio wept tears of anguish. I am -like a prisoner out here on this desolate prairie.” - -“And am I like the horrible spider, then?” said Olive brightly. - -“Mrs. Weston!” he exclaimed reproachfully. “I have opened my heart to -you because I felt that you could feel with me, although the world might -count us as strangers, but I thought you would understand what I meant -even when I blundered through the expression of my thoughts. This is the -first time you have misunderstood me. But I believe it was only -pretended misunderstanding and that you do know what I meant.” - -He said good-bye, and left Olive with a feeling of sadness and -oppression on her mind. He had not been as bright as before, and she -wondered who he was and why he was so anxious not to see anyone but her. -She mentioned his visit to Ezra, but somehow she had less to tell about -him than on former occasions. There seemed nothing to say. Ezra, too, -did not appear as much amused as formerly at the joke of Mr. Perseus. No -doubt it was getting stale by this time. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - FIRST LESSONS. - - -Summer came on apace. The field had been duly run over in both -directions with the shovel-plough, so as to leave between the -cross-ploughing little “hills” of earth, out of which sprang the -corn-clumps. The broad green ribbons of leaves fluttered in the wind, -making a soft murmur as of a forest. Olive took great delight in her -little flower-garden at the east end of the house, and worked and weeded -at it both early and late. Napoleon Pompey, typical negro boy, which -being interpreted means laziest of mortals, forgot his laziness to work -for “Mis’ Ollie” as he called her. Together they had planted their -balsams, trained their morning-glory, and rooted out brown beetles with -zeal, to be amply repaid in July by a glorious profusion of blossoms. - -“This is my very ownest own garden,” said Olive, exhibiting her balsams -with pride to Ezra. “Mind, this is not community-land, it’s mine.” - -“Does it make you enjoy the flowers more to think that nobody else has -them?” asked Ezra, with a tinge of sadness in his voice. “Would it make -you any the happier to keep the sunshine all to yourself, do you think?” - -“No, certainly not, that’s quite different. But I’ve planted these -flowers and grown them. I shall give them to whomsoever I like. You for -instance.” She smiled coaxingly at him. - -“You pretty child,” he said, disarmed. - -“Why, I brought some over to Mrs. Carpenter to-day. I went to help her -with her washing. And, do you know!” said Olive, “I was so amused.” - -“At what?” - -“Mr. Carpenter was educating his children.” - -“He’s always doing that,” said Ezra. - -“Yes, but to-day there was a special lesson. He was at Union Mills -yesterday, and he got a present for both of them, I mean two presents, -one for Johnny and one for Nelly. You know he is always saying boys and -girls would have the same tastes if they were brought up in the same -way.” - -“He’ll find out one day, maybe, that boys will be boys, no matter how -you bring them up.” - -“He has found it out already. Wait till you hear. By way of correcting -any early bias, he gave a hammer and nails to Nelly and a doll to -Johnny.” - -“You don’t say so! What did the children do?” - -“Well, they went off without a word, each carrying its toy, and Mr. -Carpenter told me his ideas about education, and how well they worked. -Suddenly we heard shrieks from behind the wood-pile where the children -were playing. We ran out to see what was the matter. Nelly had got a -handkerchief tied over the head of her hammer, and she was cuddling it -to sleep in her arms. Johnny had got some of the nails and was trying to -drive them into a piece of wood with the head of the doll for hammer. -Nelly was screaming because he was killing poor Dolly.” - -Ezra laughed, and Olive joined in at the recollection of the scene. “You -cannot think how disappointed Mr. Carpenter looked. His wife said he’d -got something to do if he was expecting to cure little girls of dolls in -a hurry. We changed the presents and left him to reconcile it with his -theories as best he could; both children were quite happy and contented -afterwards.” - -“Poor Carpenter! He’ll have to learn by bitter experience that he cannot -change human nature all at once,” said Ezra, sympathetically. “I fear -children are still in the savage stage of development, they are not -communists.” - -“Nobody is communist about things they care very much about,” said -Olive, in desperate courage. - -“Why, Ollie! What a thing to say! I am a thorough-going communist I -hope. I’d give the coat off my back without a pang.” - -“Of course you would, because it is a horrid old thing any way, and men -look frights in coats always. Men don’t care about clothes, only just to -cover themselves and keep themselves warm. One rag would do as well as -another.” - -“You are an incorrigible little individualist and a greedy one as well, -I do declare,” said Ezra, half laughing at her vehemence. - -“No, it’s not that, only I see what is what,” replied Olive oracularly. - -“And what might that be?” - -“The Pioneers are only communistic for rubbish and rags, and not for -dolls and hammers. That’s what they are,” said Olive, with her face -aflame. - -“Rubbish and rags! What an absurd thing to say. Who ever heard such -nonsense?” said Ezra, loftily ignoring his wife’s argument in a way that -wise men often affect. - -“’Tisn’t nonsense,” said Olive hotly. “It is just what people say of -Perfection City.” - -“What people say it?” asked Ezra. - -“Well, Mr. Perseus for one,” said Olive, repenting of her daring in -getting into the subject at all. - -“Mr. Perseus,” repeated Ezra with a sudden frown, “so you talk over our -principles with him. When did you do so last?” - -“I don’t know exactly when. The other day. He often passes by here on -his way cattle-hunting. Sometimes he looks in for a moment, but -sometimes he can’t stay long, only to water his horse. Of course I talk -over the principles that have made you found a City here. Don’t you -suppose people know about them and talk them over eagerly? They are -different enough from the generality of people’s ideas, and Mr. Perseus -said they considered you only went a little way into communism, and had -a little bit of this and a little bit of that in common, and weren’t at -all logical. People sneer at Perfection City, I can assure you.” - -“And you, doubtless, enjoyed his sneers,” retorted Ezra injudiciously. - -“No, I didn’t, only I saw what other people say of us. Mr. Perseus, -even, once said he’d like to come and be a communist himself, if we were -only consistent throughout, and lived up to our principles.” - -“You may tell your friend Perseus that he would not be a welcome -recruit,” said Ezra, in considerable agitation. “I may as well tell you -now what I have suspected for some time. I know pretty well who your -mysterious Mr. Perseus is. He is a man of the name of Cotterell. I know -him very well by sight and better still by reputation. To convince you, -I will just mention a point or two about his appearance. He is about -five feet ten in height, very fair in complexion, with a yellow -moustache, and bright blue eyes, and whenever he takes his hat off you -see the blue veins very markedly on his temples. He is, I suppose, what -a woman would call a very handsome man, and he usually rides a black -horse with a blaze on his face and white hind feet.” - -“Yes, that’s the man,” said Olive who remembered the horse well, and who -moreover recognized the perfect accuracy of her husband’s description. - -“Very well. Now I will tell you something about his character and -history. He is an Englishman and perhaps has been badly brought up. At -all events he hasn’t the morals we approve of. I know his libertine -London ways. He probably didn’t tell you about it, but I remember very -well the poor girl who shot herself the first summer we came here, -because Cotterell had abandoned her. If the neighbours had been quite -sure of all the facts of the case, there would in all probability have -been a shooting party at Cotterell’s house, so I was told. But they were -not quite sure so they gave him the benefit of the doubt. Accordingly he -still has his handsome face to go on with and maybe wreck more homes. -That is the career of Mr. Cotterell, alias Mr. Perseus,” said Ezra with -considerable heat. - -“It was you who gave him the name of Perseus,” replied Olive also much -agitated. “He did not appear under a false name of his own accord. And -now that you tell me his real name I remember that was the one he gave -the first time I saw him, and he asked me if I had ever heard it -before.” - -“I won’t say anything on that point, it may have been a joke on his -part, but it must stop now. Understand me, Olive. I don’t wish to seem -harsh, but you must not meet and talk with this man again. If you chance -on him, pass by and say you can have no further communication with him. -If he urges an objection, say I have forbidden you to see him, as I do -forbid you, here and now. He will take that for an answer, scoundrel as -he is, for among people of his stamp personal vanity does duty for -better feelings. He won’t come again to a house where the lady has once -shown him the door. You don’t in the least understand what his motives -are in this new-fangled interest of his in Perfection City, but I -understand them very clearly, and my wish is that you never see him -again. Harm is sure to come of it if you do.” - -Olive was very much alarmed at her husband’s stern manner and peremptory -order, but she was also indignant. Mr. Perseus or Cotterell, as she must -now call him, had shown great respect and deference to her and had -evinced a desire to be guided by her to higher aspirations. She was not -sure of the meaning of some of his remarks, or rather she wished she -could find some other reasonable explanation for them than the one most -people would undoubtedly attach to them. Still she resented her -husband’s masterful manner. - -“I will of course obey your orders, Ezra,” she said with a tart emphasis -on the word which made him wince, “because I hold old-fashioned ideas of -what wifely duty is, quite at variance with the high standard of -individual liberty as maintained and explained, I believe, by the -brethren of Perfection City. You may rest quite satisfied, I will obey -you.” - -Having thus stabbed her husband in his most vulnerable point and -dexterously driven the poignard up to the hilt in the wound, Olive -walked away, leaving Ezra to feel himself a selfish brute. - -Ezra spent a wretched half day of self-reproach, and then crept back -repentant, begging to be forgiven for being a tyrant to his poor little -pet. And his little pet who had paid for her pride with abundant tears, -allowed him to kiss her and fondle her and call her sweet silly names, -while she declared she never cared to see or speak to that wretched Mr. -Cotterell again, and no wonder he was ashamed of his own name, etc., -etc., all in the most foolish and approved manner possible to the newly -married. - -All the same, after a time Olive began to feel sorry for Mr. Cotterell, -and to pity him for the very errors of his past life, about which she -now saw that he was penitent without wishing to explain to her why. Also -she had very much enjoyed meeting him; he was so fresh, cultivated, and -original, in his conversation. It was really very dull sometimes with no -one to talk to, and the long hot day shimmering by, making her feel as -if she were a potato being slowly baked in a hotair oven. There was no -excitement in the house-work and—and it was very dreary sometimes. Men -delight in reverting to primitive savagery. The most highly civilized -man “reverts” in a way which is surprising both for completeness and for -rapidity, but women hate the process. Savage woman was a slave, and the -more completely a woman becomes subject to primitive conditions the more -closely she resembles a slave, and is in virtual bondage either to some -human being or to hampering circumstances. - -Of appropriate companions of her own sex Olive had absolutely none. Mary -Winkle was a rigid reformer, a person all angles, of the sort that never -becomes a companion to anyone, for she was always on the war-path, and, -besides, between her and Olive there was an unexpressed, but no less -real, antipathy. Her daughter, Willette, that creature half boy, half -girl, and wholly wild, was always on horseback careering after stray -cattle, and though by her ignorance and eccentricity she sometimes -amused Olive, she had really no ideas beyond those very concrete ones -impressed upon her from without by her open-air life on the prairie. -Mrs. Carpenter was a good soul, but a mere stout housewife, with no -ideas and only one hope, namely, “that Carpenter would give up his -high-fallutin’ notions, an’ go back to York State, an’ settle down -comfortable again, an’ be a preacher in a Baptist church.” Mrs. Ruby was -old in body, but the youngest of them all in mind, except Uncle David, -who was her senior by four years. Mrs. Ruby believed in Perfection City, -though she reserved the right of private judgment on certain of the -tenets of its founders, and in particular, she had lately felt -misgivings as to the worldly wisdom of their principle of -non-resistance. She knew, however, that the Pioneers were going to show -the world the new and better way—the way which led into no competition -for supremacy, but into peaceful paths of universal progress. Property -and its attendant imps, greed, strife, jealousy, envy, hatred, and -malice, were all banished from Perfection City, and in their place peace -and good-will and perfect trust in each other were to reign forever. It -was a high ideal, but not a new one. It was eighteen centuries old, -though it had never yet been realised. Mrs. Ruby and Uncle David felt -sure they had reached the ideal, and all through Madame Morozoff-Smith, -the most whole-souled, unselfish, glorious woman of her century. It was -a pity she had not a larger theatre in which to present before mankind -the new principles of social life it was their privilege to put into -practice. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - PRACTICAL COMMUNISM. - - -A day or two after Ezra had laid his commands upon his wife, as we saw -in the last chapter, he came home in the evening to find her in floods -of tears. Her eyelids were all red with weeping, and she broke out -afresh on seeing him. - -“What’s the matter?” asked Ezra, in much concern. “What has happened?” - -“My poor flowers, my pretty balsams!” sobbed Olive. - -“Has the calf got into your garden and spoiled your flowers, my poor -child?” he said tenderly. - -“No, it wasn’t the calf, but they are all gone. Mary Winkle took them -all.” - -“Oh!” said Ezra with a slight shock of surprise. - -“Yes, she has cleared the whole garden. She came to-day while I was out -at Mrs. Huntley’s.” - -“How do you know it is she who has taken them?” - -“Napoleon Pompey told me he saw her pick them.” - -“Depend upon it, he is lying,” said Ezra with emphasis. “Negroes are as -mischievous as monkeys, and——” - -“No, he didn’t do anything to the flowers,” interrupted Olive. “He was -as pleased with them almost as I was myself, and worked ever so hard to -help keep down the weeds. Besides, I went to Mary Winkle and saw them.” - -“Oh!” said Ezra helplessly. He wished it had been the calf or Napoleon -Pompey or anybody or anything rather than Mary Winkle. He braced himself -for what was coming. - -“She told me she did it with a purpose. She said I was getting more -individualistic in my leanings every day, and that time was not curing -me at all, that I was selfishly proud of my flowers. It isn’t one bit -true,” sobbed Olive, with quivering chin. “I gave heaps of them away. I -gathered a bunch for Mrs. Huntley just as I was going this morning.” - -Ezra groaned. “I know you did, dear,” he said. - -“She said I gloated over them and rejoiced because nobody else had any. -I didn’t. I only loved them because I had tended them and reared them, -and I knew them and watched for their buds. She said they didn’t belong -to me, but to the Community, and that she took them on behalf of the -general weal. Those are all grand words for nasty mean jealousy and -covetousness,” said Olive passionately. “I hate Mary Winkle and I hate -the Community.” - -“Oh, Olive, Olive!” cried Ezra with a gesture of entreaty. “Don’t say -that, dear. It strikes me to the heart. Think of me, dear.” - -“My pretty flowers!” she said with a drooping of her mouth that -betokened fresh tears. - -“I am so sorry, oh, more sorry than I can say,” said Ezra. “Mary Winkle -has done wrong, and has administered a lesson in a cruel, brutal way.” - -“She has no business to give me lessons at all, and I won’t take them -from her,” cried Olive passionately. “I hate being the one to be always -taught. They think themselves so superior and are always stooping to -raise me. Let them raise themselves first. I can see where Mary Winkle -needs teaching and correction as plainly as anybody. She is only -communistic in regard to things she doesn’t really care about.” - -“No, no Ollie, darling. It is really a deep conviction with us all, -although in this case most unkindly illustrated,” said Ezra gently. - -“I know you think so in all honesty, but it isn’t so in reality. Nobody -is nor can be communistic about what they love, if it is real love. If -they are communistic about a thing it is because they don’t really -care.” - -Ezra knew by the pang of jealousy in his own heart that this was an -insurmountable truth his little wife was hurling forth in her anger. - -“Mary Winkle isn’t communistic. I’m not clever and able to say wise -things and use long words that amaze people like Brother Wright, but for -all that I can see some things clearly enough. Mary Winkle isn’t any -more communistic than I am, only we love different things.” - -“I think you mistake,” said Ezra. - -“No, I don’t mistake one bit. Let Mary Winkle, if she is communistic in -all the moods and tenses, lump her child with the two little Carpenters -and draw lots to take one of the three for her own. Would that satisfy -her heart, although the precious principles would be right enough? Of -course not, because her heart would step in and claim its own by the -divine right of love. I should be thoroughly communistic on the score of -these children. I shouldn’t mind to draw lots as to whether Willette or -Nelly or Johnny Carpenter was going to come to live with me. One would -do as well as another, and I could be thoroughly communistic, because I -don’t love any of them very deeply. My little flowers I did love. It -wasn’t that I had worked for them and grudged the fruit of my labour. I -would work in a turnip field and let anyone who liked have the turnips, -nasty, watery, pulpy things, but I loved those flowers and tended them -and they were mine. I don’t care about the philosophy of the question. -You will perhaps some day see what I mean, Ezra, and understand me. I -know you don’t now. You think me a silly child.” - -In his own heart he thought he understood more clearly than he liked to -confess, that Olive was speaking more than philosophy, she was -announcing stubborn facts. However, he strove his utmost to soothe her -feelings, for he could see that if an attitude of strife and hostility -were once set up between her and Mary Winkle, it would not only affect -his wife’s happiness but might have very serious results upon the future -of Perfection City. There were only a very few of them, and if the -experiment was to succeed it could only do so through unity, while -strife and internal dissensions would certainly destroy it without -giving it a chance. This point was fruitful of deep meditation, and -occasioned heart-searchings to Ezra. It indeed augured ill for the -future, not only of Perfection City, but of all those other cities of -their imagination which should spring from this mother plant, if the -personal feelings of a couple of good women were potent enough to wreck -the scheme. Surely, in the dozen or so choice spirits who now formed the -entire population of that City, there could be none of those latent -forces making for destruction which would have to be reckoned with in -the future and larger experiments in communism they were leading up to. -If it was so difficult to soothe ruffled feelings in Perfection City -now, and to compose a quarrel about some wretched little balsams, what -would happen when, in a larger Perfection City, deeper cause of dispute -arose between numbers of persons? Ezra’s mind recoiled aghast at the -answer which rose up in his mind in reply to that question. There would -have to be some strong, some overwhelming central power, a despot in -short. Was this then the goal which they were to reach after toiling -along a hard and stony road of personal effort? A despotism or a -monasticism, in either case tyranny and subjection. Surely, oh surely, -there must be some other solution which his mind, disturbed by the sight -of his little wife’s distress, had unaccountably failed to formulate. He -would go to Madame and would seek guidance from her illumined mind. - -Olive, spent by her emotions, had gone to sleep quite early, so Ezra -sallied forth to seek counsel where he was used to find it. Madame would -be sure to be still up—though it was late by prairie hours, after nine -o’clock—as he knew by experience, for in his bachelor days he had often -spent long evenings in discussion and talk with her. Since his marriage, -however, he had never gone alone in the evening to talk with Madame. -Happy in his own love, he had felt no need of other companionship, and -now as he walked along to her house, he began to wonder if she had -noticed the sudden cessation of the evening talks, and also to wonder if -she had missed them. It was thoughtless never to have gone near her -during all these weeks. It was selfish, seeing how kind, how always -sympathetic she had been to him for so many months, during the time when -he felt lonely and full of undefined longings, before his heart had -found complete rest in Olive’s love and above all in his love for her. -Ezra thinking of these things was smitten with remorse, and made a -resolution to go and see Madame of an evening sometimes and to bring -Olive with him. Meantime he walked along and in a few moments knocked at -the familiar door. Madame opened it herself, with Balthasar in close -attendance. The latter, on satisfying himself that it was a person of -friendly intentions who claimed admittance, walked back to the spot -where he had been lying, and resumed the thread of his interrupted -slumbers. - -“Brother Ezra, this is indeed a most unexpected visit. I hope it is not -because there is anything wrong in your little home,” said Madame -gravely. - -Ezra felt much embarrassed. He could hardly say there was nothing the -matter, and still less could he apologise for having forgotten during -all these happy weeks to come to see her. He did the best thing under -the circumstances. He ignored Madame’s remark and question, and plunged -boldly into the business which had brought him. - -She listened gravely without making any observation, but occasionally -the faintest shadow of a smile fluttered around her lips. Ezra watched -her face somewhat anxiously. In the old days, he had been used to read -her face when they talked together, and to catch the meaning of her -words from the mobile and everchanging expression of her clear blue -eyes. But to-day, somehow, as he looked, he felt he had lost the power -to read. The face was now a mask which seemed to conceal the real woman -underneath, and yet it was the same fair smooth brow, the same sharply -defined eyebrows, and, beneath, the same eyes. No, the eyes were not the -same. They no longer looked clear and full at Ezra, but were often -averted in a strange and uncertain manner, as if seeking to hide or to -flee. At least such was the curious impression they produced upon him, -as he sat looking at her and telling of the mighty wave of wrath that -had surged up about that handful of balsam blossoms. - -“It is a most singular cause of division, and one I could almost laugh -at, except for the very real passions of anger and of hatred it has -aroused,” he said in conclusion. - -“One often sees terrible bursts of anger and fury in immature minds,” -observed Madame in the preamble of her answer. “Young children and -people of weak intellect frequently exhibit the most pitiable extremes -of fury over trifling causes.” - -Ezra was not quite certain to what she referred. If to Olive, then she -was mistaken in considering her a child. He recalled very vividly what -she had said about communism in what one loves, and he was not at all -prepared to admit that her arguments were those of a person of weak -intellect. - -“I don’t think this is a case for ‘criticism-cure’ in the Assembly, do -you?” she said. - -“No, certainly not,” replied Ezra, who was keenly alive to the -possibility of his wife’s blazing up into uncompromising criticism -herself, if they attempted to apply the famous “cure” upon her. - -“Criticism-cure” existed rather in theory than in practice in Perfection -City, but it was held that if a brother or a sister should be guilty of -any offence against the common weal, it would be an edifying experience -to summon him or her to the Assembly, and let all the members tell him -or her exactly what each one thought of the conduct in question. In -theory this was supposed to work admirably, and to be a weapon capable -of reducing to reason the most refractory member of the Community, but -when Ezra remembered it and imagined for a moment its possible effects -on Olive, he foresaw a whole train of deplorable results. Suppose she -defended herself, she could say sharp rankling things with a surprising -amount of unanswerable truth in them, or suppose she didn’t defend -herself, but took the scolding silently. Her eyes would get bigger and -bigger with tears which would roll over her cheeks, and her sweet little -chin would quiver, and she would look imploringly at him. He couldn’t -stand that, he knew, but would rush up and take her in his arms, and -carry her off out from the midst of the carping, criticising brethren, -and he would call her sweet pet and darling, and say she was right and -they were horrid brutes to scold her, and he would be very angry and -would be quite capable of knocking Brother Wright down, if he, as was -likely, had been savage with the little pet. No, criticism-cure should -not be applied to Olive. And Ezra, arguing thence into wider fields, -began to feel some doubts as to the value of that remarkable weapon as a -means of eradicating the naturally evil tendencies of the human heart. -Theories which had seemed sound and complete in the abstract had a -curious habit of ringing false when he imagined himself as applying them -to Olive. It was very curious, but they did not seem to fit her, or was -it possible that the theories themselves were wrong? No, he dismissed -that thought as entailing too much mental demolition and carting away of -rubbish. Of one thing only was he sure, the “criticism-cure” was not to -be tried on his little wife. - -“I think it is a case for petting rather than for punishing,” remarked -Madame, after an interval during which they had both been severally -following out the ramifications of their own reflections. - -Ezra jumped at this idea. He was of that opinion too, as he impartially -observed. Indeed he was always of opinion that Olive required petting. - -“Yes, I think I understand the case,” continued Madame. “The flowers -were a toy, doubly prized now they are gone. What is wanted is to -provide a new and more attractive toy, so that the baby-mind will -lightly forget the old grief.” - -Ezra did not quite like this way of referring to Olive, but he had -called in Madame’s aid, and he had no choice but to listen to the -physician’s diagnosis and prescription regarding the case in question. -Madame meanwhile looked at him half pityingly, having apparently -overcome her eyes’ desire to avoid his glance. - -“Poor Ezra!” she said softly. “You are mated to a child, petulant, -wilful, hard to manage, and very bewitching. You will find that you -cannot in this case work by the light of pure reason. You must bring -yourself down to her level and try to see with her eyes, to take delight -in the petty trifles that interest her. ’Tis weary work! The task of -Sisyphus was none the less severe because it produced no tangible good.” - -She was silent, and Ezra began to repent that he had sought counsel from -so exalted a source, since it was delivered to him with such a liberal -seasoning of the bitter salt of implied reproof. - -“I think that I can apply a remedy in this instance,” resumed Madame. “I -know a woman’s mind as well as most people, and I know too the vain -weaknesses of a silly girl—perhaps the knowledge comes from a memory, or -perhaps from a shattered hope, who knows? At all events, dear friend and -brother, it will serve you now.” - -She left him to go into the small inner apartment which was her bedroom, -and came out again in a few moments carrying a small gold bracelet of -curious workmanship, an Oriental trinket. - -“Here is a little trifle I happen to have by me. Do you think this toy -would dry the little one’s tears?” - -She handed the bracelet to Ezra, who, though ignorant enough on such -matters, did not fail to recognise the flash of diamonds in the jewel. - -“This is a very valuable piece of jewellery,” he said. “You must not -give it away.” - -“I don’t value such things except for the power of making someone -happy,” replied Madame. “Take it, dear friend, and think that I speak -truly when I say I would gladly give all I possess to ease your mind of -trouble and make your path in life a pleasant one. And the child-wife -may like it. Now, go to her. Good-night! You look tired and harassed.” - -She gently put her hand upon his forehead as if to smooth out wrinkles, -and left the room. - -As Ezra walked home with the diamond bracelet in his pocket, he seemed -to feel her cool soft touch still, and the thought came into his mind -that Olive never petted him. No, it was he who always petted her. Well, -she was very sweet and pretty, and he hoped the bracelet would comfort -her. - -There was no doubt about that. Olive danced for joy when she saw the -trinket. She put it on her smooth little wrist and flashed it about in -the sunshine. Her eyes rivalled the diamonds for brightness. - -“Do you like it, Ollie?” - -“Like it! Why, it’s too lovely for anything, and Madame is just a -darling, and she is kind. Just fancy giving me a diamond bracelet! A -thing I never dreamt of ever owning. And how shall I ever thank her?” - -Olive was skipping with joy. Suddenly she stopped short. - -“Ezra, is this mine, or is it a community-bracelet?” - -“It is yours, child.” - -“Mary Winkle can’t come and take it away for the good of my soul, can -she?” - -“No, certainly not. We are allowed to hold private property in such -personal trifles, as you know quite well. Besides, Sister Mary would not -wish to take from you what you particularly prized.” - -“Oh, of that I am not at all so sure. If your principles allowed it, I -would not give much for Sister Mary’s self-restraint in the matter. She -might want the bracelet for herself or for Willette, for what I know. I -shall tell her the bracelet is mine even by community-law.” - -Olive began to skip again. - -“You are an intractable little mortal, for all you look so soft and -yielding,” said Ezra. He could not help smiling at her pretty kittenish -ways, but he was filled with a sort of amazement to perceive how -impossible it was to change the trend of her mind. Had she been an -angular woman, all bones, like Mary Winkle, it would not have seemed so -strange. Olive brought her frollicking to a conclusion and looked wisely -at her husband, shaking her pretty little head at him. - -“No, no, Ezra. It is not that, but you are trying to stuff me into a -wrong-shaped mould, and I don’t fit. As if any mortal woman ever could -care for a community-bracelet!” - -She danced away to put her treasure in some safe place, and Ezra went -off to his work, wondering in his own mind if there was something -radically antagonistic to communism in the female nature. If there was -any such fundamental incompatibility of temperament, then farewell to -all ideas of a successful issue to their experiment. Absolute equality -between men and women in position, power, and influence was the key-note -of their theories, but what would become of these theories if it should -appear that the female mind refused to accept the first and greatest -postulate upon which they were all founded? - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - A CHANCE MEETING. - - -The spring whence the Westons drew their water was about a quarter of a -mile from the house across an angle of the corn field. A little -foot-path winding in and out among the hills of corn led to it. As the -corn grew, this path changed in character and became at length a track -through a miniature forest. The corn grew to about eight feet in height, -and of course the first to be covered was little Olive, with her brief -five feet two inches, but by the end of July it had covered them all. -Then it became Olive’s greatest delight to go down through that forest -where the corn shook in the breeze. The satin-smooth stalks coming up -like bamboos, and the broad fibrous ribbons of leaves, were a constant -pleasure. But greatest joy of all was to watch the coming of the silk. -When the young ears of grain were forming they threw off great skeins of -exquisite silken threads, changing through every tint from palest green -to rich dark crimson. These bunches of silk were like soft plumes -falling from the crest of the husk that held the ears, and were most -tempting to twist through idle fingers. A forest of tall-growing prairie -corn is just the place for fairies, only alas! the wee folk had departed -this life long before ever Olive went to live at Perfection City. So -charmed was she with this dwarf forest, which afforded the only shade to -be enjoyed on that glaring prairie, that during the summer she always -went to the spring for an extra pail of fresh water every afternoon -before supper-time, as this errand gave her an excuse for loitering -among the corn stalks and amusing herself with her own playful fancies. - -Diana of course accompanied her young mistress upon these walks to the -spring, for the puppy was attached to her by bonds of firmest canine -affection, while Olive, on her side, was never tired of laughing at -Diana’s ridiculous freaks, although they sometimes caused her -considerable trouble. - -Take an example. - -A day so hot and scorching that words fail to convey any idea of it, and -Olive in a great fuss, for she was behindhand with her work. At four -o’clock, the very most blistering hour of the whole twenty-four, she set -off hastily for the spring to fetch the fresh water, and with her Diana, -her tongue lolling out half a hand’s breath. Knowing the object of the -expedition, the puppy took the path through the corn, and Olive -sweltered after her. It seemed as if the shelter of the corn was -powerless against the slanting shafts of sunlight that danced and -chequered between the broad hanging leaves, while the very air seemed -endowed with such a load of heat as to press down with more than the -allotted weight upon Olive’s head. She climbed over the fence and walked -across the grass to where the spring started from under a tiny -overhanging ledge of limestone rock. It was an excellent spring with the -best of water, and would have been made into the holiest of wells by a -spreading tree or a shady thorn-bush near it. There was, however, -nothing of this sort, but only a clear pool of water some two feet -across and about a foot deep, just enough, in fact, to enable one to get -a good dip with the bucket. As Olive, hot and tired, hurried to this -little pool of water, she beheld the accomplished Diana sitting in the -middle of it, cooling herself and slobbering water up and down over her -nose in supreme bliss. Poor Olive! She did not know whether to laugh or -to cry, but eventually decided upon the first-named course. Then she sat -down beside Diana and paddled her feet in the water, after which -refreshment she returned home with her water-pail empty. The spring had -an undisturbed night in which to renew its freshness, and in the future -Olive kept her eye on Diana when they went together for water. The dog -always wanted to go first, but Olive kept her severely to heel until the -water was obtained, after which Diana was free to indulge in what -diversions she pleased. - -One day as Olive emerged from the pathway through the corn, her heart -gave a great bound of alarm as she saw a man standing beside the spring, -holding his horse’s bridle. He was a tall man in a red shirt and -large-brimmed hat. He carried a revolver at his belt, but it was not -that which frightened Olive, she was well accustomed to seeing armed -men. On catching sight of her the stranger took off his hat with a -sweeping bow, and coming forward greeted her with the greatest -eagerness. - -“This is indeed a delightful meeting, Mrs. Weston. Quite idyllic, if I -may say so. And are you coming to fetch water? It is a subject for a -poem, only I am not a poet. I can feel all the beauty of it, but must be -dumb. You’ll let me carry back your pail for you, won’t you? It is too -heavy for those wee hands.” - -“Thank you, Mr. Cotterell. I can quite easily carry my pail. I do it -every day,” said Olive speaking with much embarrassment. - -“Mr. Cotterell!” he repeated with infinite sadness in manner, and with a -look of much meaning in his bold blue eyes. “You call me Mr. Cotterell, -then I am no longer Mr. Perseus, and my sweet romance is shattered -forever!” - -“I know now that you are Mr. Cotterell,” said Olive, in keen distress. - -“And knowing that, you are disillusioned and have lost faith in me, and -you will not even let me carry your pail of water for you,” said he, -sadly, in a way which cut Olive to the heart, “yet I am the same man I -was. To you at least I have never changed.” - -“I know you are very kind,” said Olive, “but if you please I’d rather -you didn’t carry the pail for me.” - -She was dreadfully sorry to say anything to hurt his feelings, but she -remembered her promise, and she must make him understand here and now -that their acquaintance was to cease. She wanted to do it as kindly as -she could, but she must do it at once. - -Cotterell was not slow to read her thoughts, indeed her distress was too -real and undisguised for him to fail to understand. - -“Is this an order of dismissal, Mrs. Weston? Am I not to come to see you -any more?” he asked abruptly, with a look of pain in his face. - -Olive glancing up saw the pain and felt sorrier than ever, but she went -bravely forward. - -“I am deeply pained, Mr. Cotterell, but I must ask you not to come to -see me; my husband does not want you to,” she said, unable in her -distress to find any words which would convey her meaning unmistakably, -and yet not sound too unkind. - -“Your husband has forbidden you to see me?” said Cotterell, biting his -yellow moustache savagely. - -“Yes,” said Olive simply. - -“Your husband’s sentiments would do credit to a dog in the manger, Mrs. -Weston, but are not what one exactly looks for from a professing -communist, who poses as a shining light for his poor fellow-creatures -still groping in the darkness of their ignorance.” - -“He says you are a bad man, Mr. Cotterell,” said Olive with a view to -defending her husband and perhaps finding out the facts of the case -about her mysterious friend, in whose personality she felt a great -interest. - -“I don’t pretend to be a good man, Heaven knows! but I’m a poor lonely -devil living quite by myself, and your husband, with all that the world -can give in the way of happiness, grudges me the brief pleasure of -talking for half an hour with a good woman. That’s not the way to make -me a better man, Mrs. Weston, and God knows I need all the help I can -get.” - -“I’m so sorry,” faltered Olive in ready sympathy, and the tears welled -up into her tender black eyes. - -“You sweet pitying angel,” said Mr. Cotterell, coming nearer and -speaking very gently. “Your influence would save me if anything could.” - -“Oh, you mustn’t talk like that,” said Olive, with a catch in her voice. -“And you will be a good man, won’t you?” - -He bent his handsome face low, and taking her hand implanted a kiss upon -it with a grace that might have charmed a duchess. - -“A woman can make or mar a man’s life,” said he. “Happy are they who -draw the prizes. Goodbye!” - -He sprang upon his horse and galloped away. Olive stood watching him, -her eyes swimming in tears, she scarcely knew why, only he seemed so sad -and so handsome. Ezra was unkind to say she must never see him any more -and try to make his life less sad and wicked, and she was so sorry to -think that she would never have any more talks with him. - -At this moment a low growl from Diana made Olive turn round to encounter -the clear cool gaze of Madame Morozoff-Smith. - -“I followed you down here,” she said. “Napoleon Pompey told me that you -were most likely gone to the spring.” - -“Have you been here long?” asked Olive, blushing in her surprise and -confusion. “I only came for a pail of fresh water.” - -“No, I just saw Mr. Cotterell say good-bye and ride off,” observed -Madame gently. “Do you see him often? He hasn’t a good reputation.” - -“I don’t believe he is as bad as people say, I am very sorry for him -living alone.” - -“He need not have been alone only that he chose it, indeed it ought to -have been quite otherwise, if report goes true.” - -“We ought to be the last persons on earth to credit reports,” said Olive -hotly. “I am sure there is a nice crop of them about us and our life -here at Perfection City, if it comes to that.” - -“True, I daresay there are,” said Madame. “One should be charitable.” - -Olive was evidently ill at ease, and Madame drawing from a totally -different experience of life her own conclusions, became convinced that -Ezra’s wife was carrying on a secret acquaintanceship with a man of whom -he thought very ill. - -Madame’s position as leader at Perfection City gave her many rights and -imposed certain duties. She considered that of private admonition as one -of them. She did not speak for some moments, and the two walked along in -silence. Madame was debating in her own mind whether she should speak to -Olive and endeavour to turn her from the dangerous path towards which -she seemed to be directing her steps; or whether she should keep silence -and let her destiny be accomplished. She reflected that if she spoke to -Olive, that rather high-spirited young woman would probably resent her -interference, and might possibly complain to Ezra, with the result of -estranging him from herself. On the other hand, if she left the silly -wife to go her foolish way, she would break her husband’s heart. -Madame’s well-shaped lips curled with a smile of contempt for herself as -these thoughts passed rapidly through her brain. What a fool she was to -stir in the matter! Let the giddy girl follow her own impulses and -then—No, no! She would be true to her best self, she would put forth a -hand and draw back the blind fool from the precipice that lay before -her. - -She spoke therefore to Olive in that soft quiet voice of hers that -seemed to have more power of arresting the attention and holding it than -the roar of an avalanche. - -“I think you are, perhaps, not acquainted with Mr. Cotterell’s -character,” said she. “I am sure you would not wish to associate with a -bad man.” - -“Why do you think he is a bad man? Do you know him?” - -“No, I don’t know him, but I am sure I am right in saying that he is a -man of loose morals,” said Madame. - -“I don’t believe it,” said Olive. - -“Why not? How can you know?” - -“Because I have talked with him a great deal, and he speaks like a man -with high aspirations, and not at all like the bad man you say he is.” - -“But what can you know of a man’s real character from a chance word or -two as you run across him in an afternoon’s stroll?” observed Madame. - -“I don’t judge from a chance word, I have had long talks with him.” - -“Indeed! and where? Do you meet him here at the spring then, so often?” - -“I never met him at the spring before, but I used to meet him pretty -often, when I was out cattle-hunting and he would generally accompany me -for a bit. Sometimes too, he used to pass our house on his way -cattle-hunting, and then he would look in and water his horse and stop -to talk to me for a time,” said Olive in explanation. - -“Really!” said Madame looking keenly at her companion, “and did Ezra -know of these visits?” - -“Ezra said he wasn’t to come any more, and I told Mr. Cotterell so -to-day.” - -“Oh! and what did he say?” - -“He called Ezra a dog in the manger, and I do think Ezra oughtn’t to be -so harsh about Mr. Cotterell. He would like to be a better man, I know, -if he had any chance, and people were kind to him.” - -“Did he intimate that you could influence him towards the better way?” - -“I don’t see why I can’t try to use my influence in trying to make my -fellow-creatures happier and better. You and Ezra are always talking -about doing good that way. Why do you want to stop me the moment I see a -chance of doing a little good?” - -“Because you would only do harm.” - -“No, I shouldn’t. A woman has great influence over a man. He said so -himself.” - -“Mr. Cotterell said so?” inquired Madame. - -“Yes.” - -“It is a very dangerous thing for a young woman to attempt to influence -men of that sort.” - -“You don’t know what sort he is, nor anything about him. You are only -following reports. And how can you talk about the danger of influencing -men? That is just what you are always doing yourself.” - -“With me it is quite different,” said Madame hastily. - -“That is what everybody says to me whenever I want to do what other -people find it right to do. I hate being treated like a baby.” - -“You are very young and very pretty, child, and that makes it all the -more necessary for your friends to guard you against dangers which you -don’t perceive as clearly as they do.” - -“I hate being young and—well—pretty, if it’s always going to make me be -treated like that,” said Olive angrily. - -“Like what?” - -“Like a naughty child. That’s what Ezra does, and he goes to you to ask -what he should do to me, you know he does.” She was beginning to cry, -just like a naughty child. - -Madame smiled contemptuously as she glanced at her companion. “What -could have possessed that quiet reserved Ezra to marry such a -feather-headed vain little puss?” she thought bitterly. - -Olive dried her eyes angrily, she saw the contempt expressed by Madame’s -curling lips, and her pride was thoroughly aroused. - -“I want to know why things are different as soon as they apply to me?” -she asked with doubtful grammar but unmistakable import. “It isn’t this -once only, but it is always so. Personal liberty is the corner-stone of -Perfection City, that is what you are here for, to enjoy liberty and -protest against things. Mary Winkle won’t take her husband’s name, and -dresses like a fright, and nobody minds. She’s free. But as soon as I -try a little flight of my own, that doesn’t hurt anybody, I’m to be -popped into a cage, and you and Ezra come and shut the door on me. I met -this man by chance and liked talking to him. He is well-mannered and -well educated, and likes the same books as I do, and has travelled and -could tell me heaps and heaps of interesting things. He wasn’t forever -talking in the same little muddling circle, and wasn’t always full of -himself. He tried to interest me. You are an educated woman, Madame, and -you know as well as I do that, except for you and Ezra, there is not an -educated person in Perfection City, nor one who has the same tastes as I -have. Mr. Cotterell used to come and talk to me, and I liked it; then -Ezra gets very angry, says he is a bad man, and forbids my seeing him. -He forbids me, mind you. Not a bit the sort of language you would expect -in Perfection City, but I believe in wifely obedience and I obeyed him. -I told Mr. Cotterell he must not come to see me any more, and he won’t -do so. He always showed the best spirit in everything he said, and I -won’t believe he is so very wicked just on mere report. We once had a -horse-thief and murderer to stay to supper, and we did not inquire into -his character before we asked him to stop and rest and feed his horse. -Mr. Cotterell said my influence might help him to be a better man, and -perhaps it might. At all events, I want to know why I wasn’t to try to -influence him, and I want to know why Perfection City ideas, when they -make for freedom, are not applicable to me, but have to be all turned -upside down when I come into play? Can you, Madame, answer me that?” - -Madame was considerably dumbfoundered by this attack delivered so -unexpectedly and so very straight from the shoulder. She hastily recast -her idea that Olive was a silly little fool, and most unaccountably -found herself anxiously seeking about for means of defence. - -“The fact of the matter is, you are too pretty to do these things,” she -replied, helplessly telling the truth in her extremity. - -“Can Perfection City then only succeed if all the women are ugly?” asked -Olive scornfully. “You had better not proclaim that fact, or you’ll have -all the women running away.” - -Madame was in the habit of being worshipped by men, and was not at all -prepared to have her remarks ridiculed by a slip of a girl. She did not -like it, and therefore replied with some asperity, - -“You are really too silly, Sister Olive. You must surely perceive that -there is great danger in your associating with Mr. Cotterell on so -familiar a footing, that, in short, he may fall in love with you, and I -presume you can understand the danger of that.” - -“Precisely, a fresh set of laws must, as usual, be applied to me, and -not those which govern the rest of you,” said Olive calmly. - -“I don’t understand to what you refer,” said Madame looking at her -doubtfully. - -“Mr. Cotterell knew from the outset that I was a married woman. I don’t -see the alarmingness of the danger that he might fall in love with me, -simply because we talked together. The idea has only struck you in -reference to me; it does not seem to have done so with regard to the -similar circumstances of you and Ezra.” - -Madame turned white with anger. “How dare you insult me by such an -insinuation?” she exclaimed. - -“I didn’t dare until after you had first given utterance to the -insinuation against me,” replied Olive, with provoking calmness. - -Madame turned as if she could have struck her, but she controlled -herself with a desperate effort. - -“It seems to me, Sister Olive, that your remarks are very ill-judged,” -she said in a voice that shook in spite of her. “I have no wish to bandy -words with you. I spoke merely out of a desire to do my duty, and to -save you, if possible, from a danger which I imagined I foresaw more -clearly than you did. I see that your words were prompted by quite -another wish than to seek advice or counsel in a difficult moment.” - -“I sought for neither advice or counsel,” returned Olive. “I simply -wanted to discover, if possible, how to fit the theories of Perfection -City, which I know pretty well by heart now, into the practice as -applied to me.” - -Madame looked at her with eyes of anger and even of hate, and Olive, -conscious of having been almost more successful than she had imagined -possible in argument with so distinguished a mind, returned the look -with one suggestive of triumph. Alas for the perfect harmony of -Perfection City! - -“I am surprised, I will not say pained, because you would care little -for that, but I am surprised, I repeat, at such words in the mouth of -Ezra Weston’s wife. He must have been strangely mistaken in your -character, or you cannot have revealed your true self to him, for I -cannot imagine him binding himself for life to a mate who scorns and -flouts in this manner what he holds so dear. You are mocking the -principles to which he has devoted his life. You are too foolish to see -what you are doing, but one day you will be punished, and then perhaps -you will repent—when it will be too late.” - -Madame turned and walked rapidly away, leaving Olive feeling very angry -and very much frightened as well. - -That evening Napoleon Pompey carried a note and a small parcel to -Madame, who guessed pretty well what it was. The note was brief, it -contained but these words: - -“I thought you sent the bracelet as a present, therefore I accepted it -and was grateful: now I know you sent it as a reproof, therefore I -return it.” - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - THE PRAIRIE FIRE. - - -The summer had been a particularly dry one, and since the beginning of -July not a drop of rain had fallen. The water-melons revelled in the -heat, and Olive revelled in the water-melons: for by a blessed -compensation of Nature the hotter and drier the land, the cooler and -juicier the water-melons seem to be. The water-melon of the western -prairie is as different from the pallid green-fleshed vegetable which -masquerades under its name in this country, as the full moon of the -heavens is superior to the lime-light article manufactured for use on -the stage. The real prairie water-melon is an enormous affair, being -about as large as the roll of rugs without which fussy gentlemen -consider it impossible to travel. The skin is of the darkest green and -as hard as a board, a most unripe-looking object at all times. Indeed -the only way one can find out the condition of a water-melon’s insides -is by surgical operation. You simply cut out a plug about an inch square -from the top side of the melon, and look to see if the flesh has turned -crimson at the centre. If it is still white or pale pink you know the -psychological moment, when the truly wise will eat the melon, has not -yet arrived. Accordingly you put back the plug, and leave the sun to -work a little longer on it, at a temperature of a hundred and twenty or -so. Since it never rains at the melon season of the year, the plug does -not do any harm if left on the top side, but the beginner sometimes -leaves it on the lower side, with the result that all the water runs -away. It is a curious fact, but the water of a melon, even of one picked -in the middle of a scorching hot day, never seems tepid. It is always -cool and refreshing, even at times when ordinary water tastes -unutterably mawkish owing to the excessive heat. The crimson spongy -flesh, specked with purple-black seeds, is eaten in moderation or in -immoderation according to the taste of the individual, but the water is -always greedily drunk up by everybody. The scorching winds of the plains -seem to dry one’s very marrow, and nothing can exceed the thirst of a -man who is obliged to be out all day in such weather and to work hard at -the same time. Animals, too, suffer from extreme thirst, and after a -morning’s ploughing when the farm horses are brought up to water, they -drink and drink and drink, swelling visibly under one’s eye, as if they -were india-rubber horses under the action of some new patent inflator. -They are never stinted in their drink and swallow bucketsful before -attacking their corn. - -But to return to our water-melons. - -Napoleon Pompey used to bring up a wheelbarrow full from the melon patch -each morning for the day’s consumption. He, like a true negro, was -inordinately fond of melons, or “millions” as he called them, and would -have sucked them all day long if left to his own devices. Whenever he -had to go anywhere in the waggon, as occasionally happened, he would lay -in a store of “millions,” and lay himself beside them, and suck them, -just as if he were a black caterpillar of unlimited capacity. The horses -meantime, far too oppressed with the heat to require much attention, -would plod along with their eyes shut, trying to keep out the glaring -light. There was nothing to stumble over or fall into, so the driving -became of the most elementary pattern, requiring only an occasional -rattle of the reins and a comment or two, such as: “Yo’, Reb, g’ ’long -will yer, g’ out o’ dat.” - -Olive during this period found the heat stifling, and used to sit out of -doors on the shady side of the house, until the terrible wind blew up -from the Plains, when she would flee as before the breath of a volcano, -and shutting herself tight up in her room with closed doors and windows, -would gasp through the visitation as best she might. She was no worse -off than anyone else, and the nights were always cool and refreshing. -That was an unspeakable blessing. All this heat dried up the thick -prairie grass until it was like a vast plain of dry hay standing erect. - -The corn crop at Perfection City had turned out exceptionally good. -There was ample for all the needs of the Community and a good surplus -which was to be sold at Mapleton in order to enable them to buy some -farm-machinery that was greatly needed. Consequently the whole Community -worked hard at getting in the corn so as to be early in the market. The -heavy ears of corn with their twenty rows of golden yellow grains were -stripped off the tall stalks by hand: a most limb-lacerating job, for -the “shucks,” or coverings to the ear, are masses of fibrous leaves with -sawlike edges. These edges have the power of cutting an exposed finger -in a most painful manner, and they are by no means loath to use the -power. - -All this hurry and concentration of the workers upon the cornfield was -possible only if every other sort of work was neglected for the moment. -It seemed the wisest plan to hasten off with their harvest in spite of -the risk, and, unused as they were to prairie life, yet even they -realized that there was some risk in thus leaving their farms -unprotected. Ezra was perfectly aware of it, but like so many people he -shut his eyes and hoped for good luck. He spoke to Olive on the subject. - -“If anyone so much as drops a lighted match on the prairie we shall be -lost,” he said. - -“Why, what do you mean?” asked his wife in surprise. She was still so -new to the prairie that she did not understand to what he referred. They -happened to be on that outside landing of the stairs which looked out -over the wide boundless western prairie. This stairway from its position -made an exceptionally good place from which to take a survey of the -whole prospect. - -“That grass is like tinder, and if anybody leaves a coal of fire burning -at his camping-place or drops his pipe, the thing will catch in a -second, and if there is a strong west wind we shall see about as bad a -prairie fire as we care to.” - -“Oh, but that’s dreadful! What shall we do?” said Olive, much alarmed. - -“As soon as our corn is sold at Mapleton, we shall plough all round -Perfection City and back-fire, if we can only get a calm day. We must -not back-fire in a high wind, because that would probably start a -prairie fire and just cause the very mischief we want to guard against. -It would take fifty people to keep a line of fire under control for a -mile’s length with grass like that and a strong wind.” So spoke Ezra, -critically scanning the horizon for any sign of smoke which might -betoken danger. He was very uneasy, and the fierce west wind, which -seemed never weary of blowing, made him all the more anxious, as it -might prevent them guarding themselves by running the usual belt of -burnt prairie all around Perfection City. - -It was not a light job to get a safety belt of about four miles long, -for that was the circumference of the portion of their land fenced in, -and it was an impossible one in the face of a high wind with their small -force—unless indeed they did as selfish individualists did, namely let -the fire go and burn out whom it liked and what it liked once they were -themselves safe. The Pioneers refused to be guilty of this act of -treachery to the common weal of the inhabitants of the prairie. It is a -comparatively easy thing to keep one line of fire safe and so protect -your own fields; the real difficulty begins when you want to stop the -fire from spreading in other directions as well. Most of the settlers -back-fired their own land, and left Providence or the Devil to see to -the result as regards their neighbours. The Pioneers had naturally a -higher standard of public duty than this, therefore they did not -back-fire in the high wind. - -The corn being stripped off the stalks, Olive’s fairy forest was sadly -mutilated, for the great ears were all gone and many of the streaming -leaves were torn away; the walk to the spring, therefore, was no longer -so delightful as it had been earlier in the summer. Still she and Diana -used to go there pretty often, especially since Napoleon Pompey was -always kept busy helping in the field. Coming up from the spring one -afternoon just before sun-down, she was amazed to see her husband -galloping madly along the far side of the field on Queen Katherine, the -big brown mare, her harness banging her hot flanks at every stride, -while Napoleon Pompey on Rebel was tearing after him waving his tattered -old straw hat. Olive for a moment or two stared in blank amazement at -them, and then began to run towards the house which appeared to be their -destination also. Ezra and Napoleon Pompey with frantic gestures seemed -to invite her attention to the setting sun, now sinking to rest like a -shimmering copper ball. She looked, but saw nothing except the molten -mass, unless it were a faint blue haze on the horizon, the result, as -she supposed, of the intense heat. - -When Olive reached the house a few moments later, it was to see her -husband going hurriedly down the road to the bars on the other side of -the house. The horses were hitched to the plough and were trotting fast, -while Napoleon Pompey was urging them on with voice and whip. The -plough, unaccustomed to such speed, was jerking from side to side. A -moment’s halt at the bars, while Napoleon Pompey threw down the rails, -and Ezra turning round put both hands to his mouth and shouted “Fire” in -a long re-echoing whoop. He wheeled around then and seizing his -plough-handles set off at a hand-gallop, bounding along with his -ungainly implement. - -Now Olive understood what that blue haze meant. It was a prairie fire -coming down on them from the west along with a fierce wind. Oh dear! oh -dear! What should she do? There must be something women could help at, -in such a moment, if she only knew what. But who to ask? Everybody was -far away, and the dreadful fire began to show up now that the sun was no -longer casting such bright rays. - -“Come ’long, git yer shingle,” shouted a familiar voice behind her. - -“Oh, Willette, is that you? What shall I do? It’s a fire, and I don’t -know what’s wanted.” - -“Nothin’ but a shingle an’ a box o’ matches. Quick now! We’ll hev ter -pike, you bet. Pa and Ma is out firin’ a’ready down yonder, ’side our -house.” - -“I am so glad you’ve come,” said Olive hurrying along with two wooden -shingles under her arm. - -The shingles were merely the thin wooden “slates” with which the houses -were roofed. When thoroughly dried they are admirably adapted for -spreading a fire from house to house in a street, and accordingly they -are now prohibited by law in most towns and cities. On the prairie they -were used in emergencies as paddles to keep the back-firing within -limits. - -“Yes, Ma said she ’lowed you wouldn’t know the fust thing ter do,” -remarked Willette complacently. “An’ Pa said he reckoned school larnin’ -in the East could make folks more like nateral born fools than anything -under the sun.” - -Olive was very little obliged to the Wright and Winkle spouses for their -opinion of her. She remained therefore silent. - -They soon reached the furrows that were being so desperately ploughed by -Ezra and his foam-covered horses. The swift twilight was almost upon -them, but they could see Wright urging his horses along the south side -of the land nearest his house, while away across at the east side of -Perfection City Brother Dummy was thundering along with his waggon -bringing up his plough to the rescue, and that completed all the -horse-power of the Community. Little tongues of flame here and there -along the furrows denoted that the back-firing had begun in several -spots. Meanwhile the sky was reddening up with the reflection of the -on-coming conflagration, and the fierce wind blew ever harder directly -from its long blood-red line. - -“Now you jes’ set afire ’long hyar, front this hyar furrow,” said -Willette, kneeling down with her matches and starting the fire as she -spoke. “Now then, yo’ jes’ see to that, an’ don’t yo’ let that ar fire -hop over behind yer, or it’ll be worse nor nothin’.” - -“What am I to do?” asked Olive trembling with excitement and fear, it -was all so strange and alarming. “I never saw a fire and don’t know -anything about it,” she added. - -“Jes’ paddle it out with yer shingle, ef it gits over. There ain’t no -sight o’ larnin’ wanted for that,” said Willette in scorn. “Mind yer -ends, and look after tongues in the middle. They’ll be powerful handy at -jumpin’ over this hyar furrow, and you mustn’t let the fire git away -from yer, else yo’ll be clear done for. Keep yer eyes behind yer and -min’ the back line,” said Willette walking away. - -“Land o’ liberty! look at that!” - -Willette made one bound behind Olive and commenced furiously beating the -ground with her wooden paddle, while Olive, bewildered, turned round to -see that she had indeed let the fire get behind her even as Willette was -uttering her warning. - -“We ’uns would ha’ been clear burnt out in one grasshopper’s jump on’y I -was there,” said Willette looking critically to see if any little spark -of fire lingered in the tall grass which could by any chance start into -life again. - -“Oh I can never manage it! What shall I do?” - -“Be spry and—Look at that again now!” Willette sprang to a new place and -beat the ground. She was back again in an instant, here there and every -where, with the activity of a monkey, beating down for dear life, -whenever the fire crossed the narrow base-line of the up-turned sod, and -as the wind was high it was frequently doing this. Constant vigilance -was required, especially as Ezra had only had time to run a few furrows -with the plough, instead of a band five or six feet wide. - -“Powerful heavy work in this hyar high wind,” said the child, “and on’y -that ar furrow to start from.” - -Willette was in her element. Not an inch of the line escaped her -lynx-eye, and all the while she kept giving advice to Olive, who stood -in awe of her superior practical knowledge in this emergency. - -“Now this hyar fire’s agoin’ to spread along, an’ yo’ jes’ got ter mind -this end by yerself.” - -She darted twenty yards away and paddled out a flame and came back, her -face begrimed with smoke and dirt, so that she looked not unlike the -nigger whose modes of speech she so much affected. - -“You jes’ take off that ar hat and them big skirts, else you’ll be burnt -to death right hyar,” said Willette surveying Olive with considerable -disapproval. - -Willette’s hickory trousers and shirt were exactly the thing for a -prairie fire in a high wind, as indeed they were for most of the -occupations that fell to her lot. What with the constant bounding -backwards and forwards over the flame, Olive indeed thought that she had -better accept the advice and slip off her wide calico skirt which was -forever in the way and might easily catch fire. She put it along with -her hat just at the top of the slope where Weddell’s Gully began, where -she could easily get them next day, if all went well. - -It was night now and would have been quite dark but for the bright glare -from the fire. All the inhabitants of the Community were out working -desperately. Olive paddled down her fire and kept her line bravely for a -couple of hours, in spite of choking smoke and clouds of dust and many a -burn. Willette was far away, lost in the darkness, following her end of -the fire, and only became visible as she leaped backwards and forwards -over her line of fire like some agile fiend engaged in roasting its -victims. Olive was all alone. She felt very much frightened, for she did -not know what might happen, nor what in any new emergency she would have -to do. She wished somebody would come, for it was a strange experience -to be in the black night and lurid glare all alone minding a fire. The -air was full of the burnt fluff from the big fire, and the roar as it -now had come near was terrifying. True the worst of it was passing to -the south, and their land was now pretty well guarded on all sides. -Suddenly the cheerful black face of Napoleon Pompey appeared in the -light of the flame. - -“Oh, Pompey, I’m so glad you’ve come. Where is everybody?” said Olive, -overjoyed to see a human being once more. - -“Wal, Mis’ Ollie, I on’y jes’ take ole plough to de bars. We’uns rip up -dat furrow golly spry. Done turn de hosses loose.” - -“Why, the poor horses will be burnt!” exclaimed Olive in dismay. - -“Dem hosses, dey dre’ful cute critters. Dey go off slap to de bottom -lan’. You bet hosses knows mos’ as well nor white folks ’bout prairie -fires. I come min’ yo’ fire fo’ yer, Mis’ Ollie. Ole man he done tole -me.” - -“Very well, you can take my shingle then. There is not much more, I -suppose, to be done now, only you must keep both edges between the two -furrows here. They told me not to let it get away and run down into the -Gully. Do you understand?” - -“You bet,” replied Napoleon Pompey who knew far better than Olive could -tell him just what should be done. - -“I am going to get my hat and skirt. I left them near the corner of -Weddell’s Gully. I think I will just run across the old field and get -them: it will be much shorter than going all the way round by the -furrows. It will be light enough to see yet awhile so I can follow the -path through the Gully.” - -Olive looked at the fire that was fast roaring its way towards the -south-east, and deciding it would easily light her on her way she -tripped off and disappeared in the gloom down towards the Gully. - -In a few minutes Napoleon Pompey began to show signs of immense -excitement. - -“Golly Ned! I never seed yonder. Mis’ Ollie whar yo’ be? Come back! Come -back, Mis’ Ollie! Golly! Golly!” - -He ran violently backwards and forwards along his line of fire, which, -however, he dared not leave, exclaiming “Golly!” and “Oh Lordy!” at -every step. In a minute or two he ran into Ezra who was coming along to -fetch Olive home, if she was still there. - -“Lordy! dat yo’, Mas’r Ezra. Yo’ go right ’long down dish hyar Gully. -Mis’ Ollie she down dar.” - -Ezra was dead beat. He could scarcely drag his limbs along. The terrific -exertion of that furious ploughing, coming at the end of a long and hard -day’s work, had almost over-taxed even his iron frame. - -“I thought I would find her here on my way home,” he said languidly. “We -are pretty safe now. Tell her to come back with the others. I’m going -home to get something to eat.” - -“No, sir-ee,” said Napoleon Pompey vehemently. “You’ hain’t gwine ter do -dat. Golly Ned! Yo’ dunno see. Mis’ Ollie she done gone down inter de -Gully, fetch ole hat. Dat fire. Yo’ see dat fire startin’ up yonder, she -never seed dat, I didn’t see it nudder nohow: dat fire’ll crope up an’ -cotch her.” - -“My God! where is she?” cried Ezra, roused to sudden energy as it dawned -upon him what Napoleon Pompey was explaining. - -“Down de Gully dar, she say she gwine down dar.” - -“Amongst those tall weeds and that fire coming on! Oh my God!” - -His fatigue was all gone now. He leaped forward and sprang with -desperate bounds down the straggling path towards Weddell’s Gully, -where, in a deserted field once tilled by that individual, prairie weeds -were growing to the height of six feet and more, they had dry stalks and -fluffy downy heads that would burn like petroleum, if the fire once -touch them. It was down there that Olive had gone, all ignorant of that -tiny red line creeping slowly around the brow of the hill, up against -the wind, and now approaching that very spot with vicious little tongues -of red flame. No wonder Ezra bounded along the pathway, no wonder his -heart beat ready to burst, and no wonder if his voice sounded harsh and -choking as he cried “Olive! Olive! Olive!” again and again until his -brain reeled. He got no answer except the crackle of the fire. He -stumbled along not knowing which way to turn, and twice fell forward as -his foot caught in the tangled grass. He staggered to his feet and -raising his agonised face cried in a harsh whisper, “Oh God! my wife, my -wife!” He tried to shout again, but his dry throat made no articulate -sound. His temples seemed bursting, he dashed forward blindly, not -knowing where to look for Olive in the horrid darkness, soon to be -turned into still more horrid light. His foot struck against an old rail -at the edge of Weddell’s deserted field, he fell heavily, hitting his -head against the projecting end of the rail, rolled over and lay still. -The little flames crept nearer and nearer lapping out their malicious -red tongues as if in anticipation. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - THE RESCUE. - - -Madame had worked hard with the rest in beating back the fire, and now -that she saw that their united efforts had been successful and that -Perfection City was safe, she, in company with Balthasar, was going the -circuit of the defences of their home, just to see that there remained -nothing further for her to do. In the course of time she came to -Napoleon Pompey, who was in charge of the last scrap of back-firing, -intent on maintaining guard and on effecting a complete junction of the -two lines of fire, so as not to leave so much as a handsbreadth of -standing grass whereby the enemy might even at the last minute burst in -upon them. This finishing of the circle was important, and the lad was -in the midst of his work and his distress when Madame loomed out through -the darkness. - -“Oh, Lordy, dey is both burned, dey is! Oh Lordy! Oh Lordy,” cried -Napoleon Pompey the instant he set eyes upon Madame. - -“Who is burned?” asked Madame in bewilderment, well used to the -extravagant modes of speech indulged in by negroes. - -“Mis’ Ollie an’ Mas’r Ezra fo’ shu’.” - -“Are you mad, fool, what do you mean?” said Madame furiously. - -“Mis’ Ollie done gone in der Gully ter fetch ole hat, an’ de fire’s -crope up, an’ it’ll cotch her, oh Lordy! oh Lordy! An’ Mas’r Ezra he -done gone ter fin’ her down dar,” said the boy, beginning to whimper. - -Madame gripped his shoulder with a grasp of iron. - -“Be quiet, and tell me what you mean. Sister Olive has gone home, I -passed her myself with her hat under her arm, and she told me to tell -Ezra she had gone back.” - -“De Lord be praised!” ejaculated Napoleon Pompey. “Den it’s on’y Mas’r -Ezra’ll be burnt. Yah, you lemme go!” - -This exclamation was in answer to the sudden pressure of Madame’s hand, -which was like the clutch of a vice. - -“Where is Ezra? Tell me or I’ll wring your neck,” she said in a voice -the like of which Napoleon Pompey had never heard before in his life. - -“Down dar,” said he terrified, pointing to the Gully. - -“Show me where he started from.” - -Madame still kept her hand upon Napoleon Pompey who hurried to the spot -where Ezra had stood. - -“Dar’s his shingle, what he done drap when he run.” - -“Ha!” said Madame pouncing upon the shingle. “Here, Balthasar, here -sweetheart!” - -The dog came up to her, and she passed her trembling hands over his long -ears and whispered to him half crying, half coaxing. “Here, dear heart, -do this for me or I die.” - -She put the shingle to his nose. He sniffed, raised his long and pointed -head. Then she lay upon the ground coaxing him to put his nose down. He -sniffed again, took a step to the right, to the left, back, then -forward. Madame followed clasping the shingle to her bosom and murmuring -cooing words of love to her dog. He raised his great tan head and gave a -long deep bay that echoed far and wide. - -“Golly! She gwine ter run him down like he nigger slave,” said Napoleon -Pompey with a shiver, as he heard the dog’s voice. - -Balthasar set off and Madame kept close at his heels. It was easy -enough, for the trail was fresh and strong. In three minutes they stood -beside the motionless form of Ezra at the brink of the tall weeds, and -Balthasar whined in anxiety as Madame lifted his head and called upon -him in agonised tones. Just then the sky was lit up with a lurid glare. -The first red tongue had tasted the dry fluffy weeds on Weddell’s -abandoned farm. Madame, startled by the flame, sprang to her feet and -gave one hasty glance around. Ezra lay motionless. She stepped a few -paces into the shorter grass of the ordinary prairie and set it on fire. -The little ring of flame spread on all sides, like the ripple from a -stone cast into still water. Then she paddled out the fire on the side -next Ezra, and the ripple of fire continued to spread rapidly in a sort -of broken circle. The roar of the burning weeds was like the on-coming -of an avalanche. Madame turned to Ezra and seizing him under the -shoulders dragged him backwards within the safety of her oasis of burnt -prairie. He was a big man and a heavy one, but her arm seemed endowed -with more than mortal strength. She dragged him further and further -within the circle, and then seeing that he was out of all danger, she -sat down beside him and took his head in her lap. She opened his collar -and fanned him with her hat. The now brightly burning weeds made it -light as day, and she could see that he looked pale even under the -blackened smoke that smeared his face, but his pulse was beating, he was -only hurt and stunned, not dead. - -Balthasar was terrified. Ringed round by fire and with the ground where -he stood still smoking hot, what dog would not be alarmed? He lifted up -his voice once more in a long howl, and then sniffing at Ezra gave a -sweeping lick with his tongue all over his face. - -“Ah! Ollie! Where are you? Come!” said Ezra, roused by this combined -demonstration. He raised his head in a weak and bewildered way. Madame -placed her hand on his forehead as he sank down again. He put his own -hand up and taking hers said: “Little wife!” - -Madame shivered, and then steadying her voice said, “Olive is quite -safe!” - -Ezra started up. - -“Why, what are you doing here? Where is my wife?” - -“I came to tell you that Olive had gone home, and that she had got her -hat all right. She never was in any danger at all. It was a mistake on -the part of that negro boy.” - -“Madame!” began Ezra. - -“Dear friend,” said she. - -“I feel so strange and bewildered, I don’t seem to know what has -happened.” - -“Lay your head down again,” said Madame, very gently. “You have had a -blow. You will soon be all right.” - -Ezra’s head sank again into her lap. He gave a deep sigh. - -“You came down here into the Gully after Olive who, according to the -negro, had gone in search of her hat. You could not surely have realized -that the fire was coming up against the wind and that it would be death -to be caught among the weeds.” - -“I knew, I knew,” said Ezra. “That was why I came. Olive was here.” - -“But she wasn’t, she never had been here at all,” interrupted Madame. - -“I shouted, but no answer came. I could not find Olive. I remember the -awful agony of it. My head seemed turning to fire and I couldn’t find -Olive. I don’t remember any more.” - -“You fell and knocked yourself senseless,” said Madame. - -“Is Olive safe? Tell me, are you sure Olive is safe?” - -“Didn’t I tell you I passed her on her way home?” said Madame a little -sharply. - -“But this fire!” exclaimed Ezra, starting up. “We must get out of this.” - -“Hush, lie down again,” said Madame, her voice dropping again into its -tone of caressing entreaty. “Your head must be still giddy or you would -perceive that we are surrounded. We can’t get out until the fires meet -and extinguish each other. Rest and be patient.” - -Ezra saw that this was true. They were entirely surrounded by a ring of -retreating fire, the heat from which was oppressive. He sat down again, -but did not lay his head in Madame’s lap. Perhaps it was because he felt -less giddy. - -He asked her how she came there, and Madame very briefly told him, -dwelling not at all upon her share in finding him, but rather upon the -sagacity of Balthasar. Ezra, however, was not to be deceived. - -“You risked your life for me this night, Madame,” he said slowly, when -she had finished speaking. - -“Possibly. I never thought about it. I could not leave you here to die, -to be burnt to death. Had the case been reversed you would have come to -my rescue.” - -“You are the most generous of mortals, the noblest of women,” said Ezra -earnestly. “It was assuredly the brightest day of my life that led me -across your path. You taught me how to live, and to-night your generous -hand has saved me from death.” - -“Hush!” said Madame faintly. - -“I owe my life to you,” repeated Ezra. “What shall I do to repay such a -debt?” - -“Am I a usurer that I should exact my pound of flesh?” answered Madame. - -“Usurer!” exclaimed Ezra. “That is indeed the last word to be applied to -you. Is a usurer one who is always giving? Giving from her wealth freely -and without stint? Is a usurer one who is ever helping and directing -into the paths of righteousness those who are feeble and faltering of -step? Ah, Madame, I never can half tell you all that I owe you! How -narrow and selfish would my life have been but for you! Devoted to petty -cares, absorbed in personal ambitions, rejoicing in sordid gains,—such -would have been my fate, only Providence brought me to you to be taught, -guided, elevated, purified. My life is yours, you have made it, dearest, -wisest, best, of friends.” - -“And Olive?” said Madame quietly. - -“Ah, there too shall be your handiwork seen,” said Ezra. “My little -Olive is very young. Sometimes I think her mind is even younger than her -body, and she is barely twenty, you know, a mere child and easily -moulded.” - -Madame remembering her last encounter with Olive, seemed to recall very -little that was either childlike or plastic in the concluding portion of -their conversation, but she did not say so to Ezra who went on talking. - -“She often, however, puzzles me, she has such sudden freaks and fancies, -as if her heart was a wild creature not fully tamed and ever dashing -against the bars of its environment. I sometimes feel that I have not -the necessary wisdom or tact to guide and counsel her. She seems to need -someone who is wiser and more skilful than I am. Sometimes I fear she -does not quite realise the responsibilities of life. The problems which -have come up before us and which cry aloud for solution, seem to her but -trivial matters that may be trusted to settle themselves. We must -endeavour, dear friend, to arouse Olive’s enthusiasm about Perfection -City. She is capable of the highest and noblest aspirations, but her -heart must be turned into the right direction. She evinces a certain -hesitancy in throwing herself into our work and aims.” - -“Perhaps she is opposed to the whole thing,” suggested Madame. - -“That cannot be,” replied Ezra earnestly. “She must see as we do, when -she comes thoroughly to understand our motives in founding Perfection -City. I look to you, Madame, to open her eyes to the truth.” - -“Ah!” said Madame laconically, and then she added, after a moment’s -pause, “I will ask you to do one thing for me.” - -“Anything you ask I will do if it is in my power,” said Ezra. - -“Do not tell Olive of your fall here, nor of the danger you were in, nor -of my coming to find you.” - -After a moment of puzzled silence Ezra said, “Of course your wishes are -to me law. But may I ask why you make such a request?” - -“Perhaps I am judging wrongly, but I am acting as if Olive had the same -feelings as I should have. If I were in her place, I should hate it.” - -“Why?” asked Ezra in surprise. - -Madame rose up, her pale face illumined by the light of the fire. - -“If I loved a man,” she said, beginning very quietly, but her voice -gathered in intensity as she spoke. “If I loved a man, I could not bear -it. To think that my love had failed him in his sorest need. He was -lying stunned, helpless, within the clutch of deadly peril, and I went -home unwarned, leaving him to his fate, all unconscious of the whole -thing, while another woman—not I, but another woman—went to his rescue, -another woman—not I—found him, saved him, drew him out of danger, while -I walked heedlessly home. I should hate myself, I should hate—ah! I -should hate to the verge of killing that other woman who had saved him. -That is the way I should feel, if I loved.” - -She concluded hastily, her voice dropping to a whisper. Ezra looked up -at her in amazement. - -“Yours is a many-sided nature. I never suspected you could feel like -that. I never thought of you as being—as capable of——” he stopped in -confusion. - -“Ah yes! You never thought of me as being able to love—to love a man and -not an impersonal cause. Ah yes! You never quite looked upon me as a -mere woman.” - -“I have always regarded you as something higher than a mere woman,” said -Ezra. - -“Listen,” she said, sitting down again beside him. “You have yet to know -me—the woman, I mean, and not the pioneer of Perfection City. My father -was a man of passionate nature. He had fine instincts, but these were -not developed. He was a Russian noble. I come of very good blood, as -they say in the old world.” - -“I always knew you were of distinguished birth,” said Ezra. - -“Not at all, quite the contrary,” said Madame, with a laugh that sounded -harsh. “My father was a wild, self-willed Russian noble. He was to have -married a lady of princely house, only that he refused to do one thing -which they made a condition of the marriage.” - -“What was that?” - -“To give up my mother. Do you understand? He could not marry the -princess, and he sacrificed wealth, position, and worldly honour, -because he would not give up the pale-haired English girl whom he loved -passionately, and who was my mother. She died, and my father died too, -not many years afterwards. He did what he could for me by leaving me his -fortune and the permission to bear his name, to which I had no legal -right. From my mother I inherited my brain, but my heart I inherited -from my father. Now let us go.” - -“Must we?” said Ezra, to whom Madame’s sudden confession had been full -of interest. “There is nothing further for us to do. Perfection City is -safe.” - -“But we must return to real life, Brother Ezra. Sitting here, ringed -around with fire, we were alone in a world of our own. For a few moments -we lived for each other, as it were. Our spirits communed, and I opened -my heart to you as never before to mortal being. Now we must go back to -real life again. See the fires are all out, and the world is itself -again—all dark.” - -Ezra rose to his feet and staggered a little, as Madame perceived from -the stumble he made. She seemed preternaturally acute, and to be able to -understand by the help of some new sense, for she put out her hand and -touched his arm, “Lean on me, brother, you are still giddy from your -accident. We will walk very slowly.” - -Ezra, feeling indeed faint enough, gratefully accepted the proffered -help and put his hand within her arm; thus very slowly they started back -towards the house through the inky black night. “Friend, what I said is -to be locked in your breast, a secret,” said Madame. - -“I fully understand that,” replied Ezra, “and I feel it a high honour -that you should have chosen me as the repository of the secret of your -life. It is safe, nay more, it is sacred, with me.” - -It took them a long time in the intense darkness to reach Ezra’s house -where a light was glimmering from the window. When they at length -reached the bars, Madame said, “I will not go in. Oh, I know what you -would say, but I would prefer not. Olive would resent my bringing you -back to her.” - -“You mistake Olive utterly,” said Ezra earnestly. “Believe me, hers is a -simple nature, she would have no such feelings as you think.” - -“Perhaps you are right, and that she is a child in mind and not yet a -woman in heart. Possibly I endow her with feelings she could not even -understand. I judge her by myself, and maybe all the while her little -soul is possessed with nothing but content at the thought that her -pretty hat is all safe. The butterfly must not be blamed if it does not -rise as high as the lark. Farewell.” - -Olive was waiting for him impatiently, anxiously. - -“Oh Ezra, where have you been? And isn’t your face black? You are every -whit as black as Napoleon Pompey. Wasn’t it fun?” - -“Fun? What was fun?” asked Ezra languidly. - -“Why, the fire of course, now that it is all over. It was so exciting. I -was as hungry as a hawk when I came in. I really could not wait, so I -had supper. You must have yours this very minute. Do you know, it is one -o’clock at night, and you have not tasted a morsel of food since twelve -o’clock yesterday? Do you realize that?” - -She bustled around and got his supper ready, chatting brightly all the -while over the incidents of the fire, making fun and merriment out of -them all. Ezra sat stupidly watching her, his head throbbing so heavily -that he could scarcely think. He could eat nothing when the supper was -ready, and Olive felt aggrieved. “I think you might, just to please me. -It would do you good, for you must be hungry, I should think.” - -He swallowed a few morsels and said he would go to bed, that rest was -what he most needed, his head ached badly. He was thankful she made no -inquiries after his adventures during that eventful night. He would have -found it difficult to tell a connected tale with that pain in his head. -He asked Olive if she had gone down into the Gully. - -“No,” she said, “I started to go, but it was darker than I thought, so I -came up again and followed round by the high prairie where there was a -chance of meeting somebody. I came home with Willette.” - -“The fire did get into the old field after all,” said Ezra. - -“And were the weeds burnt?” - -“Yes.” - -“Oh! I wish I had been there to see. Wasn’t it a lovely blaze-up?” - -“Yes, it blazed up,” said Ezra. - -Olive didn’t notice that he seemed ill, he thought with some bitterness. -Madame would have divined it, no matter how hard he had tried to conceal -the fact. After all, it was not her fault that she was made differently. -The butterfly was not to be blamed if it did not soar as high as the -lark. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - COTTERELL “WANTED.” - - -The day after the fire was an idle one at Perfection City. No one felt -able to work, Ezra least of all. He lay upon the floor of the kitchen -with a wet handkerchief on his head, and several times he asked Olive -not to make so much noise. She was as still as a mouse, she thought, but -then his head ached, poor fellow! So she went out and sat in the shade -of the house among her morning-glories, while the hens walked about with -their wings down and their tongues lolling out, trying to cool -themselves. The black burnt prairie seemed to send up shafts of heat to -the copper-coloured sky. - -A man rode up to the bars, and for one moment Olive’s heart stood still. -She feared it might be Mr. Cotterell, whom she had not seen since the -day at the spring, now some weeks past. It was not Mr. Cotterell, -however, but one of the settlers from the other side of Cotton Wood -Creek. He came forward with his bridle-rein over his arm, his horse -following, head down. - -“Wal, how’d you ’uns git ’long with that pesky fire?” he observed, -without any preliminary greeting. He was a Missouri man, and they often -prided themselves on their rudeness. It was their way of showing their -independence. - -“Good morning, Mr. Owen,” said Olive, who knew the man quite well. “We -have escaped all right, thank you. I hope you were not injured?” She was -extra careful in her manner, as the politeness for two had all to be -furnished by herself. - -“Yer hain’t been burnt out I see. You all’s mighty silly anyhow. Why in -thunder didn’t yer back-fire before? ’Tain’t agin’ yer principles, is -it?” Mr. Owen grinned under the impression that he was funny. - -“We didn’t back-fire, because we thought it wrong to start a fire in -such a wind and let it possibly burn up our neighbours,” said Olive -stiffly. - -“Then ’tis agin yer principles to back-fire, by Gosh! The boys was -’lowing as much over to Union Mills.” - -“It is against our principles to injure our neighbours. You don’t object -to that, Mr. Owen, do you?” said Olive. - -“I reckon you’ll git mighty tired o’ them idees ef yer live long on the -prairie,” observed Mr. Owen. - -“Seen ole man Cotterell lately?” he inquired suddenly, half shutting his -green-grey eyes and looking at Olive intently. - -She was somewhat surprised at the question, but knowing from experience -how inquisitive the average settler is, she answered readily enough. - -“No, I haven’t seen him for a long time. Was he burnt out? I didn’t know -the fire had gone so far.” - -“I calkerlate he warn’t tetched by the fire,” said Mr. Owen, very -slowly. He made long pauses between his remarks, during which he -continued unremittingly the steady occupation of his life, namely, -chewing tobacco. Olive began to feel impatient. She did not like to ask -him into the house for fear of disturbing Ezra, so she sat down again in -her chair, and pointing to a log of wood which lay near and seated on -which he could still hold his horse, she asked him to take a seat also. -Mr. Owen sat down with a grunt. - -“Never seed ony pusson so sot on posies as you ’uns be,” he observed -conversationally. - -“Yes, I am very fond of flowers. They make the house more home-like, I -think. The prairie is very bare looking,” replied Olive politely. - -“Yer ole man oughter rared his house t’other side the Gully, an’ further -down yon’er. This hyar ’ull be powerful col’ when we git col’ snaps in -Jan’ary. Yer dunno nothin’ ’bout things in this hyar all-fired ’Fection -City,” said Mr. Owen, looking around him in criticism. - -“Perhaps not,” said Olive, rather nettled, “but we know how to mind our -own business.” - -Mr. Owen did not feel one whit abashed. He was far too near akin to the -pachyderms for Olive’s delicate little shafts to have any effect on him. -Another long silence followed, and Olive began to wonder if Owen was -like that man from Jacksonville, who came to see them once and stayed -four hours, during which time he made only two remarks and they -possessed no particular interest. The man and his stony silence had -driven her nearly wild, until she reflected how much more awful it would -have been had she been obliged to entertain him with conversation. A -recollection of this visitation and a dread born of that recollection -began to invade her mind. Mr. Owen, however, was not going to stay for -four hours, and he was going to make a remark of very particular -interest, a remark that would quickly scatter all Olive’s other ideas. -He delivered it slowly and with the monotonous enunciation which -proclaimed him a Missouri man. - -“The boys is hout huntin’ down ole man Cotterell.” - -“What!” exclaimed Olive turning very white. Then, steadying her voice as -well as she could she said, “Why are they hunting him?” - -“To cotch him,” replied her visitor concisely. - -“But what for?” asked Olive, looking at him with wide eyes of horror. -She knew only too well what hunting down a man portended. - -“Wal, there’s bin a shootin’ over to his house, an’ one o’ thim boys o’ -Mills is shot, shot dead. Cotterell done it. And now he’s gone an’ run -off. The boys they ’lowed Cotterell best be hung this time. Las’ time he -was let off. He won’t be agin, you bet.” - -“How do you know he has shot young Mills? What evidence have you of it?” -asked Olive in terror, yet she could not help pressing the man to tell -her, although each word was like a stab. - -He gave a silent inward laugh as if his thoughts were facetious. -“Evidence an’ enough,” he said. “Jake Mills’ body with a bullet through -his heart. Yer can’t git nothin’ plainer in the way of evidence than -that, I reckon.” - -“But how do you know it was Mr. Cotterell shot him?” asked Olive. - -“Damn my eyes! but yer mus’ be a nateral born fool, Mis’ Weston. Jake -Mills were foun’ on Cotterell’s lan’. Who else could ha’ done it? -Besides, he did, an’ that’s a fac’ anyhow.” - -“I think it is perfectly monstrous,” burst out Olive, trembling with -agitation. “I never heard of a wickeder thing. Here is this man you have -decided to hang, and you don’t even know if he has done the thing you -accuse him of. If that is what you call prairie law and justice I can -only say I never heard of a more sinful and unjust law. Black savages -couldn’t do worse.” - -“Mos’ like the boys will let him hev a trial, ef he’s partic’lar sot -on’t. That won’t si’nify nothin’,” said Mr. Owen, again surveying Olive -through the narrow aperture of his half-closed eyes, and again applying -himself to his habitual occupation with vigour. She looked at him with a -face in which horror and disgust struggled for mastery. - -“If this horrid murder is committed by your neighbours, Mr. Owen, I -shall think that prairie men are a disgrace to civilization,” said -Olive. - -“We prairie folks ain’t partic’lar sot on civilization,” remarked Mr. -Owen with affability. - -“I hope you’ll never catch him,” said Olive, with a sound very like a -sob in her voice. - -“The boys they ’lowed you’uns was mighty good frien’s o’ his’n, an’ he’d -a mos’ likely come this hyar way to make for the Pottawattamie ’fore -we’uns could cotch him. That’s why I come ’long ter look for him hyar,” -observed Mr. Owen, rising and putting his head under his saddle flap in -order to tighten up the girth a couple of holes. - -“Oh, you’ve come here to spy out, have you?” said Olive, in passionate -anger. “Why didn’t you say so at first, and ask the question like a man, -and not come sneaking around? Do you want to hunt all over the house and -see if we’ve got anybody hidden away?” - -“No,” said Owen slowly. “Guess that’ll do. I ain’t agoin’ ter hunt -roun’. We ain’t no great shakes at bein’ fine folks out hyar on the -prairie, but we allers takes the word of a lady, by Gosh. You said you -hain’t seen nothin’ o’ ole man Cotterell, guess that’ll do for the boys. -Mornin’.” - -Mr. Owen rode away, feeling that in the contest of politeness that -morning he had certainly scored off Mrs. Weston with her stuck-up -Eastern ways. - -Olive was in an agony of doubt and terror. That the boys were out -hunting for Cotterell was, she knew, but the preliminary to his death, -if they caught him. The boys seldom or never let off any one they -caught, so she gathered from the stories she had heard of their doings -in time past. What was she to do in this difficult dilemma? Should she -tell Ezra? - -Under ordinary circumstances her first impulse would have been to go -straight to her husband with the story she had heard, but in this -instance she felt that such a course would be impossible. She knew that -Ezra was jealous of Mr. Cotterell, he had betrayed his feelings more -than once, and in her heart she knew that few men can be just towards -the man who arouses their jealousy. Her husband was a very just man, and -could, more than any one she knew, put himself in the place of others -and see what was right and what was wrong. But in this instance it was -not justice Olive wanted, it was justice that she feared. Although she -spoke bravely enough to Owen, a terrible fear lurked in her breast that -the evidence, though ludicrously deficient by the rules of procedure -that obtain in old established communities, was quite sufficient to -convince a prairie jury. Ezra would not sit on a hanging jury, nor would -he be a party to catching Mr. Cotterell, but his sense of justice and -what was due to the principles professed at Perfection City might carry -him no further than this passively inactive point? Would he assist -Cotterell to escape? Guilty or not, that was what Olive wanted, and to -help in such an undertaking, she felt sure, was what her husband might -very well refuse to do. - -Was Cotterell guilty? Olive debated this point anxiously in her mind. -She knew he went armed, but so did many other men. In fact, to be armed -was the rule on the prairie. The doctrine of non-resistance was one of -the least understood tenets of the Pioneers at Perfection City, and was -observed by nobody else on the prairie. Even Brother Wright, as we have -seen—though Olive was quite unaware of this—had granted to himself a -special indulgence in this matter. So the mere fact of Mr. Cotterell’s -always having his revolver in his belt did not really count for -anything, one way or the other. He had always been so gentle and so -chivalrous in his manner to her, she found it difficult to force her -mind to keep hold of the fact that he was a very passionate man. -Everyone said so, and she knew, too, that the Mills’ were a bad lot, -drunken quarrelsome men, who, as Ezra said, combined in their character -all the vices of the prairie and preserved none of its virtues. How easy -it would be for a proud, passionate man like Mr. Cotterell to bring his -revolver into a heated argument with Jake Mills, who might be mad with -drink. But surely such a shooting was not murder according to prairie -law. In her distress Olive found herself falling back upon the probable -laxity of that very prairie justice which a short time before she had so -scornfully characterised to Owen. - -The “boys” who were hunting Cotterell were, as Olive well knew, the most -relentless men on the prairie, regular settlers who had found by -experience that the only way to keep order was to keep it with their own -right hands. They had hung several horse-thieves lately, and had -declared they were going to put a stop to the “shooting round -promiscuous” of the younger blades. They were not unjust men, but they -were hasty, and were moreover already terribly prejudiced against -Cotterell. - -Having decided that it was best not to tell Ezra what she had heard, -Olive was immediately assailed with a hundred doubts. Suppose Mr. -Cotterell came to them in his extremity, should she try to conceal him? -But how utterly impossible to do so without the co-operation of her -husband! The mere attempt to do such a thing might involve her in -difficulties without being of any use to the unhappy man himself. Then -there was Madame. Should she appeal to her for help? Her heart revolted -from such a course. After their last meeting, when they had interchanged -hot words on the subject of this very man, Olive felt it was impossible -to ask Madame’s aid or to tell her anything about it. Then there was no -one, and Olive resolved to keep the secret of what she had heard, hoping -that something might turn up which would justify her action, or at least -make any further action unnecessary. Thus do people often put off on the -shoulders of chance the burden of a decision which taxes too much their -powers of forecasting events. It was a heavy secret to keep to herself, -and her face looked white and scared as she entered the kitchen on -tip-toe to see how Ezra felt. He roused up as she came in. - -“I am better now, little woman,” he said in answer to her inquiries. -“The pain is all gone. I will get up and begin to stir around again.” - -He went out with her and with the keenness which is soon a habit with a -prairie man, he noticed the hoof-marks of Owen’s horse, where it had -stamped rather briskly, owing to the flies. - -“Who has been here? Those are fresh,” he said, pointing to the marks. - -“That man from over beyond Cotton Wood Creek was here a little while -ago, Owen is his name: you know the man,” said Olive, with a beating -heart. - -“Cattle-hunting after the fire, I suppose. Were they burnt out -yesterday?” asked Ezra, with slight show of interest. - -“No, I believe not, he did not say. He sneered at the Pioneers for not -having safe-guarded themselves, heedless of the welfare of the other -settlers, so I suppose he had been betimes with his back-firing, at -least if he lives up to his principles,” remarked Olive. - -“It is too late to go and hunt for our horses,” said Ezra, “and I feel -too tired to start out on foot after them. They may very well be five -miles away by this time. Did you ask Owen if he had seen them?” - -“No, I never thought of doing so.” - -“Don’t forget always to ask everyone if they have seen your horses -whenever they are out on the prairie: it is one of the golden rules of -prairie life,” said Ezra, tapping her chin. - -“But he wouldn’t have known Queen Katharine and Rebel even if he did -happen to meet them,” objected Olive. “How could he know one pair of -strange horses from another?” - -“Bless your sweet eyes, Owen knows every horse and cow belonging to his -neighbours for a radius of ten miles from his house, at the very least. -Telling a neighbour where his cattle are, is the only rule of politeness -known to many of them, and they are punctilious about it,” said Ezra -laughing. - -“I wish I had known that, because I found him deficient in many of the -rules I have been taught,” said Olive. “Possibly he found me as lacking, -according to his estimate.” - -Ezra did not go out to hunt for the horses the next morning as he had -intended. Other work, which seemed more important, turned up for him. -Brother Wright came that same evening to arrange about it. - -“Good evening, friends,” he said. “I trust you are both rested after -yesterday. It was a hard day and a harder night. Brother Ezra, you did -splendidly.” - -“We were much alarmed for the safety of Perfection City: I don’t think -it is ever likely to be in greater danger,” said Ezra. - -“No, I suppose, not from the outside,” said Wright. - -“And we are not likely to be set on fire from the inside, are we?” -observed Ezra with a laugh. - -“Accidents may happen,” said Olive. - -“Even in the best regulated communities,” added Brother Wright. -“However, what I came to talk about was the future, and not the past. -We’ve got two good loads of corn ready, it ought to be sold at once in -Mapleton. We’ll get top price. I stepped into Madame’s as I came along, -and she agreed with me. We must sell at once. Brother Dummy has got his -waggon loaded up ready to start. It is a marvel how much that man does -get through in the way of work. Well, the question is, who will go with -the corn? Brother Dummy must drive his own team, because no other man -could manage that black horse for half an hour. Biting Bill would kick -the waggon into match-wood in two minutes, if any of us attempted to -touch his reins. I wonder whether it is the absolutely silent driving -which cows him? You are out and out the best one for attending to -business of any here. Madame thinks it would be well for you to go, and -so do I.” - -“I am quite ready,” replied Ezra. “But my horses are both out on the -prairie. I turned them loose after the fire to let them run off to the -Creek, as I had no time to put them up and feed them. To-day I did not -feel able to hunt after them.” - -“Well, suppose you take my team, and I will find your horses for you -to-morrow. Will that do?” - -“All right, then I’ll go to Mapleton.” - -“The corn is already shucked, it won’t take half an hour to load up. You -and I will do it while the horses are feeding. You ought to get off by -six, I will feed the horses at five.” - -Each spoke of _his_ horses and _his_ waggons much in the same way as an -artillery officer speaks of his guns. There were three pairs of horses -in the Community, and, in theory at least, everyone was equally free to -use them, but experience showed that that sort of handling did not suit -horses, who do better if left always in the care of the same persons. -Therefore it came about that Brother Dummy always had Biting Bill, since -no one else could manage the brute, and Ezra generally had Queen -Katharine and Rebel, while Brother Wright kept the greys. Now these -animals, although common property, were invariably spoken of by their -drivers as _theirs_, for the use of certain familiar phrases, which to -the outsider might seem to denote the idea of private property, came -naturally to their lips. It is often more difficult to change habits of -speech than laws of property. Reformers who start out to alter the whole -course of modern ideas and to rearrange the world according to a plan of -their own devising, would do well to meditate upon this peculiarity and -see what it points to. Surely so slight a thing as a word might easily -be eradicated from human speech, and yet how difficult it is to do so. -But the point to consider is that the pertinacity, which shows itself in -modes of expression, may very well exist in just as strong a form in -habits of thought and feeling. The Pioneers, like others of that sort, -passed over and disregarded such expressions as “my horse,” “my waggon,” -and “your plough,” not apparently recognizing that the expressions -denoted a habit of thought that might very easily strike at the very -root of their institution. They were communists, as Olive had said, in -bits of this and scraps of that, but the old leaven of individualism was -there still among them, only dormant. The Pioneers never expected that -the leaven would again become an active principle. Like other people, -they were unable to see into the future, and therefore rejoiced in their -escape from the perils of the prairie fire and considered that they had -no further danger to apprehend for this winter at least. The sea was -smooth and the sky was serene, so to speak, and they did not perceive -the sunken rocks that lay in the track of their experimental bark. - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - IN QUEST OF NEWS. - - -Olive was early astir the next morning, in order to see her husband off -and also to provide him with food in ample abundance to last him for the -trip. He carried a plentiful store of dried beef, a portable commodity -much in request on the prairie. The old trappers had showed the settlers -how to make it, and the trappers had acquired the art from the Indians. -Dried beef is precisely what its name indicates. It is raw beef, -somewhat salted, and then dried in the sun until it is like a piece of -solid leather. It has to be cut into thin slices across the grain before -the stoutest teeth can make the slightest impression upon it. It may be -also cooked in a batter of eggs for the dainty, but has only to be -sliced up with a jack-knife to be eaten by the average teamster on the -prairie. Besides the dried meat and plenty of corn-bread, Ezra had milk -in a bottle and one of Olive’s wedding presents to eat, namely, a tin of -peaches. He travelled therefore in extreme luxury. He set off along with -Brother Dummy just as the sun was rising, and the canvas covers of the -waggons showed for a long time as two moving white specks as they slowly -crept across the blackened landscape, finally disappearing behind the -Mounds some twelve miles to the west of Perfection City. - -Olive remained alone at home with Napoleon Pompey and Diana to keep her -company, until Ezra should return in four days’ time. It was only with -great reluctance that he had consented to this. He did not at all like -the idea of her remaining alone in the house. As usual, when it came to -Olive doing what the ordinary prairie settler’s wife did as a matter of -course, Ezra’s love took fright. He urged her to go and stay at Madame’s -house, she would be more than welcome, he declared, in fact it seemed to -him almost necessary that she should go, and he insisted strongly upon -the plan. Olive was as strongly opposed to it. Why couldn’t she stay in -her own house? She would much prefer it, so as to be on hand to feed the -chickens and milk the cows and generally see to things. Besides, she -felt quite sure she would be vastly in Madame’s way. Ezra combated this -position vigorously. Olive could not be in anyone’s way, even if she -tried. Moreover, was not Madame a communist like the rest of them, and -she would be only too pleased to take Olive into her home as she had -already done into her heart. His spouse made no comment, except a mental -one, to this argument, but reiterated her preference for staying at -home. It would only be three days or four at most, and she would be very -busy. Ezra hinted at possible danger if it were known she was alone in -the house. - -“But I won’t be alone: there is Napoleon Pompey for one and Diana for -two. Surely between so stout a pair nothing on earth can happen to me,” -she said, smiling at his anxious face. - -“I don’t feel easy about you,” said Ezra, looking at her with mournful -eyes. “I never left you alone before, and it suddenly seems to me a most -portentous thing.” - -“Why, you dear silly old thing!” exclaimed Olive, “I do believe you’ll -have omens next, and will look into tea-cups to see if it is a -propitious moment for the success of this undertaking. I never knew you -‘take on’ like this before.” - -“I never did so, but it is all because I love you, dear. I quite -understand what it means, to be foolish with love. I used not to know -what it was. I wonder do women ever feel the same as we men do?” - -“Women, my dear, are sent into this world for the express purpose of -making men do what they ought and not be silly,” said Olive severely. -“Now I know you’ll have the feed for the horses all right, but remember -the feed for yourself is in this basket, everything you’ll want, and -there is salt for the boiled eggs.” - -When the hurry of getting the waggons off was over, Olive sat down to -think, and immediately there rose up before her the image of a hunted -man flying for his life. In some ways it was a relief that Ezra was -gone, she would not have to be constantly making an effort to hide the -real anxiety in her mind. Then she thought of Ezra and of his great and -boundless devotion to her, and the words Madame had spoken in her wrath -rose up before her and rebuked her. Were they true? Had she hidden her -real nature from her husband before her marriage? She had never meant to -do so, but in their long pre-nuptial conversations it had not appeared -to her that she and Ezra were so different in their views of life and -its duties as perhaps was now the case. He certainly had told her of the -experiment of Perfection City, and she had accepted him and the -experiment together because they were indissoluble. She of herself would -never have initiated the communistic idea; but then there was nothing -wonderful in that, woman never do initiate anything, they only follow -some man’s lead with more or less enthusiasm and intelligence. - -Were she to have expressed her own private predilection, it certainly -would have been for a little home of her own on the usual lines, which -little home it would have been her pride and her pleasure to make as -beautiful as she could. Olive did not possess a large and speculative -mind, capable of vast dreamy projects, whose limitless possibilities -were in imagination not checked by small practical obstacles. On the -contrary, it was the tendency of her intellect to perceive those -obstacles with startling clearness, and to demonstrate, by a few biting -truisms, the impossibility of turning the dreamy vastnesses to use. She -was neither hard-headed nor dull-headed, but hers was a practical -nature, very much jarred by idle vapourings, and above all she was kept -in the straight path of common sense by her keen appreciation of the -ridiculous. - -This faculty enabled her to perceive how often reformers run off the -track of common sense, and while pinning their faith to one particular -little tenet which they constitute the corner-stone of their philosophy, -lose sight of the whole world beyond. Olive possessed in a high degree -the sense of proportion, which in a true reformer is generally absent. -When Ezra with his cultivated mind and really fine intellect, talked to -her of the reforming of the present type of civilization, and briefly -sketched out what he hoped would be the result of the introduction of -the communistic idea into life, she could not help remarking that he -used very much the same expressions, and seemed animated by very much -the same hopes, as those indulged in by one of the dietetic reformers -she knew in Smyrna, who promised all the glories of the golden age to -mankind if the human race would only give up the baneful practices of -eating meat and of cooking vegetables! - -And every few minutes, across the mirror of her reflections, there came -a shadow of a desperate man spurring on a jaded horse. Olive could not -shake off a sense of impending disaster, but unlike Ezra, who attributed -his melancholy to his great love for Olive and a vague, unreasoning -dread of something happening to her in his absence, she knew quite well -what she feared and why. - -As the morning wore on, Olive began to feel it impossible to remain -quietly at home in the midst of her anxiety. She must go out and hear -what news there was, or at all events she must learn if there was any -news. Resolved not to hold any communication with Madame other than what -was publicly necessary—for between the two there was now maintained a -sort of armed neutrality—she decided to call at the blacksmith’s, as -Brother Green was in the way of most of the gossip, if gossip is a term -that could be rightly applied to the feeble and intermittent stream of -prairie news that trickled through the smithy. Brother Green was a -silent, self-absorbed man who worked steadily and brought much personal -devotion into the project of Perfection City. He was a lonely man, a -widower, and to judge by appearances a disappointed man as well. He was -surprised to see Sister Olive, and very pleased, but could not shake -hands as he was very dirty, and she looked so brightly clean. Having -wiped a wooden bench with his leather apron and again with the sleeve of -his shirt, he invited her to be seated. Brother Green was welding some -iron, and Olive waited until the operation was concluded and the -plough-hook made before she talked to him. Meanwhile she watched with -interest the white glowing fire and the pulpy white-hot iron-bar, -helplessly bending over at the end like a piece of half boiled molasses -candy. - -“I felt so lonesome, I thought I would come out and talk to someone,” -she said, by way of excuse for a first visit. “Diana isn’t a bit of -company when you feel really lonesome. Ezra is gone for four days, did -you know?” - -Diana had cocked one ear at the mention of her name, but had speedily -uncocked it again on becoming satisfied that nothing in the way of -excitement was at hand. - -“Yes, I suppose you do feel lonely,” said Brother Green slowly, as he -seated himself on his anvil and crossed his brawny arms. “I’ve been used -to it for so long, I have almost forgotten how anything else feels.” - -Olive looked kindly at him. “Are you ever homesick, and do you ever wish -you had stayed in England? It must be very different from here.” - -“Very,” said Brother Green gazing with a far-away sort of look through -the large forge door out over the shimmering prairie. He suddenly seemed -to see rolling hills with oak woods tufting their slopes, and a deep -valley, where blue curling smoke ascended in high spirals, and a church -steeple rose from among elms, and jackdaws croaked around the steeple. -He put his head a little on one side, almost as if he would catch more -distinctly the hoarse croak of the jackdaws, or maybe the first sound of -the bell which hung in the steeple and used to ring on Sundays. - -“Yes,” he said, as this picture faded away and the prairie returned in -its place, “there can’t be much greater differences in the world than -between Perfection City and the little village in Sussex, where I was -born.” - -“Which do you like best, Brother Green?” asked Olive a little -thoughtlessly. - -“I don’t expect ever to be as unhappy again as I was in that pretty -little village,” said Brother Green, and Olive remembered that she had -been told he had lost a young wife in his youth. She felt sorry for him, -and regretted having touched upon an old wound that still could throb -with pain. - -“Have you heard any news lately? Has anybody been to the forge? You are -always the first to hear news,” said she quickly, desiring to change the -subject. - -“A man from down south passed this morning.” - -“Did he?” said Olive anxiously, “what did he say?” - -“He said the fire was just bellowing its way towards Fort Scott, and had -done a good deal of damage one way or another. It was one of the hottest -they ever had and the hardest to stop. It crossed one of the South Fork -Creeks and got into the broken land round Osage.” - -“We had a very narrow escape ourselves,” said Olive, feeling remarkably -little interest in the fire. “Did he say anything else? Who was he?” - -“A stranger, I never saw him before. No, he didn’t say anything else, -except to tell me that he calkerlated Britishers were mos’ly fools and -couldn’t do a day’s work ’gain ’Mericans, no matter what it were, -rail-splitting or tobacco-chawin’.” - -Brother Green gave a deep gentle laugh, like the distant boom of a -waterfall hidden among trees. - -“Don’t you think these prairie folk are most conceited?” asked Olive, in -some scorn. - -“No, not more than other people, Sister,” replied Brother Green somewhat -unexpectedly, “they only say what they think with remarkable frankness.” - -“But that is conceit,” persisted Olive. - -“I am not certain that it is more conceited to say what you think, than -to think your thoughts in silence, and be consumed with a vast contempt -for all the world. We are a conceited people too.” - -“I thought the English prided themselves on not being conceited,” said -Olive. - -“We pride ourselves on showing no feeling of conceit and if possible on -showing no feeling on any other subject either. If an Englishman’s heart -were skinned, I think it would weigh up pretty much the same as an -American’s. The difference lies in the tongue only.” - -“Is that so?” said Olive. - -“Yes, this morning, for instance, that man informed me that he was a -better man than I, and that his country could lick mine. Well, in my -heart I knew he was wrong on both points, and that the precise contrary -was the fact. As far as essentials go, I think we were pretty equal in -the contest of conceit.” - -“But you didn’t tell him what you thought,” remarked Olive. - -“No, that was the difference of tongue, not of heart,” replied Brother -Green. - -“I didn’t know you were so severe in your criticisms and judgments. I -wonder much what you really think of Perfection City,” said Olive, -looking at him curiously. She had never particularly noticed him -hitherto, and had not realized that he could have a store of knowledge -of many things which lay far outside her experience. - -“I think Perfection City will do good,” said Brother Green with -conviction. - -“Do you, and why?” asked Olive. - -“Any honest human effort to benefit the world and raise mankind does -good,” said Brother Green. - -“But people have done such different things and all from a desire to do -what seemed to them good,” objected Olive with feminine vagueness. - -“I consider they have done good if their purpose was single-hearted,” -maintained Brother Green. - -“They didn’t succeed in doing what they aimed at very often, at all -events,” observed Olive, “something quite different came out of their -endeavours from what they had expected.” - -“Nevertheless, if they honestly tried, then that very trying was of -itself good.” - -“Do you think Perfection City will do the good the Pioneers expect, or -will something quite different come out of it too?” - -“I think Perfection City will be the means of teaching a valuable -lesson,” said Brother Green cordially. - -“Do you think it is any use to try to change the world and its ideas?” - -“If anyone has a truth let him preach it fearlessly. Who can foretell -the moment when the world will listen and when it is ready to profit by -your example.” - -Olive longed to ask him what he thought of Madame, but dared not do so. -She felt a little afraid before this simple-minded man, with his -fervent, childlike faith and his sad and lonely life. Belief in -Perfection City might be his only comfort now, shut off as he was from -the joys of home and family, she would do nothing to lessen his belief -and make him more lonely still. For what is more lonely than the heart -out of which a faith has departed never to return? So she bade him -good-bye, and then seeing Aunt Ruby’s chimney giving off the cheerful -smoke of habitation, she turned her steps thither. Olive walked slowly -along, for it was very hot indeed with a dry suffocating heat that made -exertion somewhat irksome, and Diana, the discreet, followed dutifully -behind her. - -Aunt Ruby, as has been already hinted, had surrounded herself with a -large family of chickens of all ages, to whose wants it was her great -duty to attend. She had a rare hand for chickens, and could pick up the -most spasmodic specimen and turn it upside down and examine it for the -gapes without hurting it in the least. Her driving of the hens to roost -was an exhibition of the talent of generalship worthy of a wider field. -No screamings nor scurryings, no rushings madly hither and thither, took -place, and above all no sticks were used in the ceremony: Aunt Ruby -merely took her skirts gently at the side in each hand, and said “Shoo! -Shoo!” in a soothing voice, while at the same time she slightly -oscillated the folds of her skirt. The hens appeared hypnotized by the -action, and no matter how eagerly they might be pursuing the afternoon -fly, they would at once settle down into a conversational chuck-a-chu -and begin forthwith to meander towards the hen-roost. - -Aunt Ruby’s numerous hens and chickens were all in the yard and around -the wood-pile, seeking in an aimless over-fed fashion after chance -insects, when suddenly, without a moment’s warning, the devil was upon -them according to the gallinaceous imagination. The devil was possessed -of four paws, a most terrifying bark, and a mouth that seemed to the -affrighted birds to be on the point of devouring each one especially and -individually. The dog flew hither and thither, and so did the chickens, -and so did the tail-feathers. - -“Diana! Bad dog, down, down!” screamed Olive, rushing to the rescue, -while Aunt Ruby with shrill cry and a broom-stick appeared in the -door-way. Never before or since did a more tempestuous guest appear at -Aunt Ruby’s house. Full a quarter of an hour of gentle “shoo-shooings” -to the hens, interspersed with smart whippings to Diana, elapsed before -quiet was restored, and the ladies could even begin their visit -together. Even then there was a sort of nervous tension on Aunt Ruby’s -part, which prevented her thorough enjoyment of the opportunity for a -gossip. Her attention was distracted by Diana, who lay with lamb-like -docility at Olive’s feet and slept the sleep of the just. - -“I wouldn’t keep a dawg roun’ nohow,” said Aunt Ruby eyeing the -delinquent sternly. “I’d mos’ as lief hev a rattlesnake. I shouldn’t -never sleep easy in my bed won’erin’ an’ won’erin’ what the pesky -crittur ’ud do nex’.” - -“I know that Diana is very naughty now, but she is only a puppy, and -she’ll get sense by and bye, and it is so nice to have something that is -your own and loves you, and doesn’t care for any body else, you know,” -observed Olive somewhat rashly. - -“Wal, I reckon you’ll hev a sight o’ trouble ’long o’ that dawg ’fore -you learn it the rights o’ people, let alone teachin’ it community -idees,” said Aunt Ruby. - -“No, you can’t teach a dog communistic notions, thank goodness,” -observed Olive, patting the sinful Diana. - -“Reckon you ain’t partic’ler sot on the idees of Perfection City,” said -the old lady, looking at her visitor with bright twinkling eyes. “I -allow there be a p’int or two we’ll hev to consider over agin at -’Sembly. We are gettin’ on too fas’ fur this here prairie folk, they -hain’t got the sense to un’erstan’ all o’ our highest principles. Guess -while there’s Injuns roun’ we hed better jes’ hol’ back a mite ’bout -non-resistance.” - -“Oh,” said Olive, who had never given any attention to this point, being -as indifferent as the wives of strong men usually are. “I never heard a -word about Indians. Are there any about?” - -“Not as I hearn on special. But there’s Injuns and worse nor Injuns in -the world, an’ I reckon we’d better take that p’int up at ’Sembly and -see if we can’t do su’thin’ to make things a bit straight,” said Aunt -Ruby in language that was vaguely enough expressed to serve in the -highest walks of diplomacy. - -“Oh, I dare say,” replied Olive carelessly, “some very excellent reason -could be devised to excuse a departure from any one of the Perfection -City principles, which seem more difficult to manage in practice than on -paper. They are all pretty new, and of course can’t be expected to be as -useful in all the difficult circumstances of life as principles which -have stood the test of time.” - -“Dear me, suz!” exclaimed Aunt Ruby admiringly. “How gran’ you kin talk! -Deal sight finer nor Brother Wright. Why don’t you hold forth in -’Sembly? I’d liefer hear you nor any on ’em. I’m jes’ ’bout tired o’ -listenin’ to Brother Wright. Lard! how he do love to hear his own voice! -Hens is jes’ like that too, they’ll talk an’ talk till you’re mos’ -crazy, an’ they hain’t nothin’ to say, on’y jes’ to cackle an’ hear -themselves talk.” - -Olive agreed with Aunt Ruby, but hardly dared to express her opinion in -all its force. Therefore she turned the conversation by inquiring had -she ever heard anything about lynch-law and about its being put into -practice in their neighbourhood? - -“Course I hev, an’ hearn o’ hangin’ too.” - -“Do Perfection City principles uphold hanging?” asked Olive. - -“Guess not,” was the reply. - -“No matter if it was for murder?” - -“Wal, I don’t see as we could ever be called upon to settle that p’int, -’cause no ’Fectionist could ever be a murderer no how,” said Aunt Ruby. - -“But suppose an outsider who had shot a man, even if it was not a real -bad murder, came to us for protection, would they help him, do you -think?” asked Olive. - -“Wal, I never hearn that debated at the ’Sembly, but I reckon Perfection -City don’t lay out to hide folks as has killed a feller critter. It -don’t ’pear to me as how we was called upon to min’ anyone ’cept our own -selves, an’ we hed best keep clear ’way o’ them sort o’ folks. That’s -pretty nigh my ’pinion, an’ I guess it’s mos’ folks too as hes a mite o’ -common sense.” - -Olive was fain to confess to herself that in all probability Aunt Ruby -did fairly express the collective opinion of Perfection City. They had -only enough righteousness for themselves, and, like a ship already short -of provisions, could not help another vessel, even though it might be -flying the Union Jack upside down and showing all the other flags of -acute distress recognized in the naval code of signals. Had Aunt Ruby -heard of anything concerning a horse-thief who was supposed to be -somewhere around, inquired Olive with a view to eliciting information, -but she only elicited feminine alarms in overwhelming abundance. - -“Do tell! Land o’ liberty! Was there horse-thieves ’bout? What a pity -Brother Ezry an’ Brother Dummy was both gone jes’ now: they might meet -in ’Sembly right away an’ discuss the p’int o’ non-resistance an’ buy -revolvers next time anyone went to Union Mills. Horse-thieves was mos’ -as bad as Injuns, an’ if it was lawful an’ right to defen’ yourself -’gainst Injuns as was ign’rant savages as never hed Christian teachin’, -it couldn’t be wrong to look a’ter your hosses as was bought an’ paid -for by ’Fection City money.” - -Aunt Ruby was so convinced and loquacious upon this subject and upon the -aspect of the case as presented to her mind by her terrors, that Olive -heartily regretted her question, and began to try and do away with the -effects of it as far as possible. It was only a vague report she -averred, and Olive herself had not the slightest idea that there were -horse-thieves about. Upon the strength of this assurance Aunt Ruby, -somewhat comforted, allowed her attention to be engaged by other topics -of conversation. She was much distressed that she could not persuade her -visitor to stay all the rest of the day and have a real good -soul-satisfying talk, but Olive declared she must go home and see to her -own chickens, an argument that appealed very strongly to Aunt Ruby’s -maternal instincts. - -A difficulty arose as to how Diana was to be decently conducted out -through the yard. - -“I’d mos’ as soon hev to conten’ with a roarin’ lion as that pup,” -remarked Aunt Ruby as the difficulty presented itself to her mind in an -acute form. - -“If I could get her past without seeing the hens and chickens she would -be all right,” said Olive, who of course had no whip, regarding -meditatively the dog, who of course had no collar. - -“Wal, that ’ud do, I guess, sort o’ take her out o’ the way o’ -temptation,” said Aunt Ruby, surveying Diana with an anxious eye. “I kin -give you an ole caliker skirt o’ mine, an’ you kin tie up her head in -that reg’lar tight, so as she wouldn’t see ne’er a hen this side o’ -Christmas, ’less you took it off.” - -This seemed a hopeful arrangement; so the “caliker skirt” was brought, -and the misguided Diana, under the impression that a brand new game was -on foot, allowed her head to be hidden in the folds of the skirt. Olive -then led her to the door, but Diana objected, not seeing where the joke -came in for her; and as soon as she found that she was ignominiously -tied into the dreadful skirt, her rage was boundless. In an instant she -wrenched herself free from Olive’s guiding hand. She then commenced a -wild career around the yard backwards, swaying this way and that in the -most ghastly and unlooked-for manner. - -The hens and chickens no sooner beheld this portent than with one -universal squawk of horror they betook themselves to places of safety -under the corn-crib and into the cracks of the wood-pile, whence they -could not again be coaxed for many hours. Diana meanwhile continued her -fearsome course and ere long came into violent contact with the -chicken-tub, a large receptacle with loose wooden cover where various -sorts of food suitable for fowls were collected together, first thinned -with water and then thickened into a glutinous mass by intermixture of -corn-meal. Into this tub Diana sat with extreme violence and then rolled -over. Olive caught her as she was emerging from the chicken-tub and by -uncovering her eyes restored her to reason. Aunt Ruby, speechless with -indignation, and Olive, equally speechless with laughter, then set to -work with two big spoons to scrape the chicken food from the ground and -from the hind quarters of the dog. Diana, now at peace with all the -world, wagged her tail benevolently during this process, and soon -specked Olive over with corn-meal, potatoes, scraps of peelings, and -bits of greens, until she looked as if she had been out in a snow-storm -as severe in character as it was diversified in composition. When this -job was over Aunt Ruby arose and straightened her old back with a groan. - -“Wal, I guess I would a deal sight sooner hev a rattlesnake to look -a’ter than a dawg,” she observed. - -Olive, apologetic, departed along with the unrepentant Diana, and -together they returned homewards. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - HORSE-THIEVES. - - -Olive spent a few quiet hours at home along with Diana, and then took -supper in company with Napoleon Pompey, whose manners at table were now -all that could be desired. Indeed, the negro in this connection easily -takes a higher polish than might be expected: he prides himself on being -punctilious in all the forms and phrases of the best white society he -has ever come in contact with, and being highly imitative, is quickly -trained. Given a white boy and a black boy of similar ages and depths of -ignorance, the black one will more quickly tame into a seemingly quiet -human being, while very frequently the same vanity which prompts a negro -to be over-zealous in the use of “please” and “thank you” will cause the -white boy to act roughly and assert his independence by extravagances of -rude behaviour. Napoleon Pompey was magnificently polite to “Mis’ -Ollie,” whom he adored, and for whom he was ready even to work: that is -to make the greatest sacrifice possible to a negro lad of twelve. He -never forgot to carry in wood for her or to pick up chips in generous -quantity for the lighting of the afternoon fire, and he collected -abundance of corn-cobs and had them duly dried in the sun ready at her -hand in case she was in sudden want of a hot fire. When working for -Ezra, Napoleon Pompey reverted to his natural black standard of -diligence and shirked as much as he possibly could, lying down in -fence-corners to sleep like a shiny black lizard when he should have -been stripping corn, but he never shirked “Mis’ Ollie’s” work. She -didn’t scold the lad, but ruled him by her gentleness and her beauty, -and he fell into meekest subjection to her. - -Olive always tried to talk with Napoleon Pompey at meals, even when Ezra -was there, being anxious to make him feel at his ease and happy in their -presence; and to-day being alone with him she thought she might get some -information out of him on the subject which was weighing so heavily upon -her mind. - -“Napoleon Pompey, did you ever hear of their hunting down men on the -prairie here?” - -“Yo’ bet, Mis’ Ollie, I seed darkie what went to de hangin’ ole man -Howard. He done seed him hoisted over de tree slap up. He told me——” - -“Hush!” said Olive sternly. - -The young savage was abashed, he had meant no harm, but thought some -pleasing details “o’ de hangin’,” which he himself had relished -mightily, would prove equally acceptable to Olive’s taste. She was -disgusted to think that with all her teaching of the forms and symbols -of politeness and gentle manners, which the young scamp had received -with such docility, she had not really touched his heart at all: he was -just a black savage, still rejoicing in vivid details of horrors and -cruelty. - -“Don’t tell me,” she said sternly, “that it is possible you could like -to see a human being, a fellow creature, made in God’s image, no matter -how guilty he might be, put to death. It may be necessary, Napoleon -Pompey, sometimes to hang men who have done wicked things, so as to -prevent others from doing the same, but it is an awful thing, a sad and -terrible sight. You would never wish to see it, Napoleon Pompey,” said -Olive solemnly. - -“It ’ud be bully ter see ’um kickin’ in de air wid rope roun’ his neck,” -said Napoleon Pompey simply. - -Olive turned white with disgust and left the kitchen, retiring with -Diana to her own little private room. Napoleon Pompey, conscious of no -shortcomings, cleared away the supper things very handily, washed the -few dishes, set the candles upon the white deal table, and whistling in -the innocence of his youthful heart went out to “walk roun’” and see -that all was right, and the hen-house fastened up securely against -possible visits from pole-cats, before he retired to his loft upstairs -shortly after sun-down. Like the chickens, Napoleon Pompey went early to -roost. - -Conscious from the all-pervading stillness that the lad was gone to bed, -Ollie returned to the kitchen, and her heart smote her as she saw two -tallow candles in their tin candle-sticks placed on the table in -convenient position for her to read, if such should be her wish. Poor -Napoleon Pompey! Olive thought compassionately of what an affectionate -boy he was, and of how it was not his fault if he still had savage -tastes. Indeed, it was rather the fault of everybody else. His not very -remote ancestors were unreclaimed African savages, and the career of -those more immediate forefathers, whose lot had been cast in slavery -down South, had not had an elevating tendency. It was wonderful, not -that he still had savage tastes, but that he had got rid of so many of -them. She was sorry that she had not been better able to control her -feelings, and determined forthwith to institute a careful system of -training with a view to leading him to the higher life by the shortest -possible road. Having settled in her own mind a few of the more -important lines upon which this training was to be conducted, Olive -turned at last to her reading. But she could not keep her mind on her -book, it kept wandering off in all sorts of directions, and at last took -that of being frightened at the loneliness and stillness of the house. -When so firmly combating the notion of being afraid to stay in the house -during Ezra’s absence, Olive had not realized how appalling the -stillness would be. In the daytime there were multitudes of unregarded -sounds, which went to make up the sum total of the idea of life and -fellowship, but at night these had completely ceased, and she seemed to -hear the stillness with awful intensity. - -Then, too there were no shutters to the windows, which were, of course, -open to let in the cool night air, and the thought suddenly came into -Olive’s mind of how exposed she really was, sitting there in the light -of her candles, plainly to be seen, but unable to see out. A thought -such as this needs but little time to grow into a veritable feeling of -panic. She glanced at the black gaping windows and stared out into the -measureless blackness beyond. At one moment she raised her hand to -extinguish the candles and so to hide herself in the dark along with her -fears, but she knew that would only make matters worse. She would see in -her terrified imagination a hundred glaring eyes peering in through the -window. She got up and walked about the room, trying by a little -movement to throw off the oppressive sense of terror. Diana suddenly -seemed to be interested in something, and raised her head and sniffed -inquiringly, and her mistress, nervously awake to every sight or sound, -looked anxiously around her and stopped in her uneasy walk. Diana arose -and went to the door, and being a puppy wagged her tail effusively, then -suddenly remembering that she ought to be a dog, barked with vehemence. -Olive was ready to scream with nervous terror as she heard a step upon -the slanting board which led up to the door and a second later a knock -against the resounding wood. She stood spell-bound, unable to speak or -move. Diana ceased barking, and looked with eager delight for the -opening of the door. - -“It is I, friends, let me come in,” said a deep voice which thrilled -Olive to the heart. - -The door opened and Mr. Cotterell entered. - -“Mr. Cotterell! What are you here for?” gasped Olive, as he came in and -stood in the light, gaunt-eyed and hollow-cheeked. - -“I am flying for my life, Mrs. Weston. The men are out hunting me down. -I have come to ask your help. Where is your husband?” - -“He is gone away to Mapleton.” - -“Ah!” said Cotterell, with a sigh that had some relief in the sound. -“Then you will help me, won’t you?” - -“What have you done?” asked Olive, gazing at him in terror. He was -wild-looking and so different from the charming gentleman she had known -before. - -“I’ve shot Jake Mills,” he replied, without any attempt at -dissimulation. - -“Do you mean that you’ve murdered him?” gasped Olive, starting back from -him. - -“Good God! Mrs. Weston, no. I’ve not murdered him, although he is dead -by my hand. There’s been a quarrel between us about some land he rented -from me. He was a very low-bred fellow and violent, and I despised him, -and—well, I said some harsh things to him about cheating the last time -we met. He swore that he would pay me out. He came to my cabin the other -day. I don’t know how long ago, it seems a life-time. He was mad with -drink and fury. I told him he was a hound. He whipped out his revolver -and fired at me, but he was too tipsy to aim straight, his shots went -wide of the mark. Well, I got my shot in, I was not drunk. That is how -it was, Mrs. Weston. Upon my honour as a man, that is the exact truth, -you would not call it murder, would you?” - -“No, it was in self-defence. But why didn’t you go and tell the -neighbours at once? They understand that sort of thing on the prairie.” - -“Ah, there’s just my hard luck. There was a brute of a negro who saw it -all, a fellow I thrashed once for stealing and lying, and he said with -such a meaning look, niggers were free men now, they could give evidence -against white men now,” said Cotterell in a voice of despair. - -“Could not you silence him?” said Olive, “or make him tell the truth?” - -“Yes, I could have silenced him easily enough, and I had my finger on -the trigger to do it. But I sickened at the thought. I couldn’t shoot -him, although it was my life against his in all probability. I fled and -he gave the alarm. I have no chance with these men around here to try -me, and that negro to give his lying version of the fight. If it was a -jury of men like your husband, it would be different, but these ignorant -settlers are desperately prejudiced against me already as a foreigner, -and because of several things in the past.” - -Olive thought of what her husband had said, and knew only too well that -there was indeed much prejudice against the unhappy fugitive. - -“What am I to do? You cannot stay here, Mr. Cotterell. They have already -been looking for you. Mr. Owen was here yesterday afternoon.” - -“Did he tell you what I had done? Did he seem to consider it murder?” - -“Yes, he did,” said Olive in a whisper, not daring to remember what he -had said should he Cotterell’s punishment. - -“But you don’t look upon it in that light?” said he, wistfully. - -“No, certainly not. It was a terrible misfortune that might happen to -anybody, given the preliminary quarrel.” - -“Thank you,” said Cotterell brokenly. “When a poor devil is being hunted -down it is a comfort for him to find someone who can still believe in -him, and I knew in my heart I could come to you for help when all else -had abandoned me. I am starving, Mrs. Weston. I have eaten nothing for -two days. Can you give me some food?” - -“Poor fellow!” cried Olive, more struck perhaps by his bodily needs than -by those of the mind. “Sit down here, I’ll get you something in a jiffy. -There is a good chicken-pie in the cellar.” - -She took a lantern and hurried off to the cellar which was under the -house, but to which entrance was effected by an outside door. She -brought him food and drink and sat by him as he ate ravenously, -wolfishly. - -“I must sleep or I shall never be able to hold out for the flight -to-morrow. Let me lie here, will you, and wake me at mid-night. Will you -do that for me? I must sleep. I have been hiding in the bottom-land of -Cotton Wood Creek in the brushwood ever since I left home. I didn’t dare -to ride across the prairie with everybody out on account of the fire. I -should have been seen by someone, even if I could have got clear of the -fire. The hunt must be over now on this side of the county, and I may -dare snatch a little sleep.” - -He flung himself down on the floor, and almost before Olive could fetch -a pillow for his head he was in a deep sleep. She sat watching him and -wondering what his life was. Somewhere away in England, perhaps, there -was a blue-eyed girl waiting for him to come home, a girl whose blue -eyes were getting dim with the tears she shed in that long, long -waiting. He was a very handsome man, with his yellow moustache and -clear-cut features. His hat was off, leaving a sort of high-water mark -plainly visible on his forehead, where the sun-burn ended and the smooth -white skin showed upon his temples. The veins were marked in blue like a -baby’s, she remembered how Ezra had commented on these blue veins. She -wondered who he was and why he came there to live, and all the while she -watched the slow rise and fall of his chest as he breathed in his sleep -with his right hand nervelessly holding his revolver. How he would start -up and grip that weapon, and how his blue eyes would flash, if his -pursuers should come upon him! He was a man that had a reputation for -bravery even on the prairie, where few men were cowards. She thought of -Prince Charlie and his wanderings, and all the stories she had read as a -girl about that charming prince. Here was a fugitive seeking her aid, -and she—well, she would act the part of Flora Macdonald. By the time it -was mid-night, Olive had worked herself into a most romantic frame of -mind and was determined to help Mr. Cotterell at every hazard. She was -not a person to do a thing by halves. She made a parcel of food for him -out of the remains of the chicken-pie, and then, it being just -mid-night, she awoke him. - -“Ah, Mrs. Weston, how can I ever show my gratitude to you? You are in -veriest truth my guardian angel. I shall carry your image in my heart -till I die,” said Cotterell in his soft persuasive voice. “I should like -to think that you had some memory of me.” - -“I shall not forget you, and shall pray that you may escape all -dangers,” said Olive gently. - -“I have absolutely nothing that I can call my own. Would you accept this -ring of mine as a token of my gratitude, and sometimes wear it in memory -of me? When you look at it, think that somewhere in this weary world -there is one heart that will be grateful to you until it ceases to -beat.” - -He pulled a ring from his finger and put it into her hand. At the same -time he stooped his tall form and softly kissed her forehead, saying: -“God bless you!” - -Olive’s eyes were full of tears. “You must be going or it will be too -late,” she said with a sob. - -“Yes, I must not tarry.” He looked to his revolver, jerked his -cartridge-case round into a more convenient position for rapidly opening -it, and took up his hat. - -“Where is your horse?” - -“I hitched him to the bars.” - -“Then I will take the lantern and light you on your way. The night is -very dark. Once on horseback you can ride by the light of the stars,” -said Olive. - -“Yes, I’ll shape my course for the Missouri border, if I can run the -gauntlet of the people here. Once I reach a town and civilization I -shall be all right.” - -They went to the bars, Olive holding her little lantern which threw a -feeble ray along the pathway. - -“Great God!” cried Cotterell. - -“Oh, what is it? Are they coming after you?” said Olive in alarm, -dropping her lantern which instantly went out. - -“My horse is gone!” said Cotterell, whose eyes were now becoming -accustomed to the darkness. “I left him hitched here. He was a wild -young colt, not half broken. See, this is the lariat-rope wrenched in -two. I was a fool to trust to that rope, and a double-dyed fool to leave -him here in the dark. But I was too hungry and too sleepy to think -clearly of what I was doing. That sleep will cost me my life. I shall -have plenty of time to sleep, aye forever, if daylight catches me here. -Mrs. Weston will you add one more benefit to the many that have gone -before? Will you give me a horse?” - -“Oh, so gladly if I had one,” said Olive, beginning to cry with grief -and helplessness. - -“Haven’t you any horses?” asked Cotterell with a gasp. - -“No. Ezra and Brother Huntley have taken two teams to Mapleton.” - -“Are there no more about the place?” - -“Only our two that were out on the prairie. Brother Wright was to hunt -for them.” - -“Did he find them?” - -“I don’t know. Perhaps he did.” - -“Then you must give me one of them. They are yours.” - -“They are not mine. Oh, I have not anything in this dreadful Community. -It is horrible,” wailed Olive. - -“Don’t, pray don’t,” said Cotterell feeling for her hand in the darkness -and crushing it in a passionate grasp. “Come with me and help me get -one.” - -“What! steal one of our horses?” - -“Yes, God help me! if that must be the word. If I live, the Community -shall have the horse’s price ten times over. If I am hanged, put it down -for the Recording Angel’s tears. Come.” - -“The horses are not here. They are at Brother Wright’s if anywhere.” - -“Can you find the way in the dark? Then come all the same.” - -He held her hand. Was it for fear lest she should turn back, or was it -for some other reason? They walked in silence towards the Wrights’ -house, two dark shadows stealing through the blackness. - -“Mr. Cotterell,” whispered Olive with chattering teeth. “If anyone -should come out of the house on account of the noise, don’t fire. We are -all non-resistants, you know, here, and he won’t have a pistol.” Olive -had no knowledge of the plenary indulgence which Brother Wright had seen -fit to bestow upon himself in this matter. - -“Dear heart! don’t fear,” said Cotterell tenderly. “I am a desperate man -flying for his life, it is true, but I am not a dastard. No human being -at Perfection City shall ever be hurt by my hand. They are all sacred to -me for your sweet sake. Ah yes, how truly it is Perfection City, none -but I really know.” - -They walked on again in silence. - -“Is there a dog?” - -“Yes, but he knows me well. We are coming to the back of the stable -now.” - -“Then go and speak to the dog through the chinks of the logs, else he -will bark at me.” - -Olive crept up quietly, and putting her lips to a crevice in the rough -log-stable said softly, “Pluto, good dog!” Pluto answered with a whine -of satisfaction, and a soft, purring trumpet from Queen Katharine -announced that she too was within, and that she recognised her -mistress’s voice. - -“The horses are here,” whispered Olive. “I will go round and bring out -Queen Katharine; there is only a wooden bolt on the outside to fasten -the door. You had better not go near them for fear of exciting them, -which might make the dog bark.” - -“It is dangerous for you in the dark. I fear the horses may hurt you,” -said Cotterell, slow in bringing himself to give up the little hand he -had held all during that strange night walk. - -“I am not afraid of the horses: they know me and I know them,” said -Olive. - -Cotterell heard her talking softly to Queen Katharine as she quietly -undid her halter and brought her out of the stable. Not a creature -seemed awake in the house, and not a word was spoken by the two as they -stole past down to the bars. Once out of earshot, Cotterell sprang upon -Queen Katharine and stooping down lifted Olive up before him. She never -could quite remember the wild things he said as he rode back to their -house, holding her in his arms on the horse. She was dizzy, frightened, -and confused, so perhaps he did not say all those wild words, and -perhaps she dreamed them. He got Ezra’s saddle and put it on Queen -Katharine, Olive did not forget to give him the parcel of food and a -flask of milk and water, and then he said good-bye. Such a strange -good-bye. He knelt before her, clasped her two hands in his own, and -said: “Now I know why men have worshipped the image of pure womanhood. -It made them better. I shall be made a better man by my worship.” And -then he was gone without another word, and Olive crept into the house -just as the first grey streaks of dawn appeared. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII. - A LIFE AT STAKE. - - -When Brother Wright early next morning discovered the loss of the brown -mare, he was thrown into a state of the most unphilosophic rage. He had -not a moment’s doubt as to what had happened, nor a moment’s hesitation -as to the course he should pursue. He hurried back to the house and -without any effort at concealment got out his revolver and stuck it into -his belt. - -“Wright,” said Mary, his wife, “whatever have you got there?” She was -filled with amazement. - -“A pistol,” replied he with firmness. - -“What are you going to do with it?” - -“Shoot a damned horse-thief, who has been and broken into the stable and -stolen Queen Katharine.” - -He jammed down his hat on his head and made for the door, while Mary -Winkle gave a scream that would have done credit to the finest lady in -the land. - -“You shan’t do any such thing! You will be killed! What do you know -about pistols? You will be shot by those murderous horse-thieves, and -what will become of me—and Willette?” Mary Winkle urged the very -arguments that have before now been known to make brave men falter and -turn back from running risks. - -“I—I shan’t do anything rash,” said Wright sheepishly. “I’ll just go -round and rouse the neighbours and see if we can’t catch him, he can’t -have got very far as yet. What beats me is why Pluto didn’t bark. The -dog’s a fool, I’ll drown him.” - -“Oh, I am thankful he didn’t bark, for you might have been dead by now -if he had. You shan’t drown him, for he has saved your life. -Horse-thieves are desperate men and wouldn’t respect our principles of -non-resistance,” said Mary Winkle. - -“Ahem,” said her husband, tucking the revolver out of sight until -required. - -“What we’ve got to do is to go to Madame and summon an Assembly of -Urgency and talk this matter over, and see what the Community is to do. -Wright, you can’t go and rouse the neighbours till you’ve got the -sanction of the Assembly. You know that is the rule in all important -matters, and this is about the most important matter that has ever come -up for discussion.” - -“Damn discussion!” said Wright angrily. “While we’re discussing that -thief will get away. Sharp is the word for catching horse-thieves.” - -“But sharp is not the word for determining the action of Perfection City -in an important juncture like the present. Wright, I am surprised at -you, and also at your language,” said his wife severely. - -“Oh these infernal horse-thieves would provoke a saint,—not that I am -one,” said Wright, still in a rage most unbecoming to a professed -non-resistant, and Mary Winkle looked a whole essay full of rebuke at -him. She carried the day, however, and together they carried their -complaint to Madame. - -They found Madame sitting at breakfast along with Uncle David, and being -waited upon by a negro-servant, Lucinda, the mother of Napoleon Pompey. -The heat of a cooking-stove made Madame ill, therefore she required a -servant, and she had what she required, principles of equality to the -contrary notwithstanding. - -“Dear, dear!” exclaimed Uncle David in much excitement and perturbation. -“Wal, to think now o’ what big raskills there is in the worl’, an’ we -a-settin’ ’em such a good ’xample here o’ honesty an’ uprightness.” - -“We must summon the Assembly,” said Mary Winkle firmly. “It is a great -pity Brothers Ezra and Dummy are both away, but there are quite enough -left to deliberate.” - -“If you think that is the best plan, we had better do it at once, there -should be no time wasted,” said Madame, looking interrogatively at -Brother Wright’s frowning face. - -“If you ask me——” he began when his wife interrupted him. - -“We don’t ask you, Wright, at least not until the Assembly of Urgency is -convened. Your vote doesn’t count for more than mine, and I demand an -Assembly.” - -Wright shrugged his shoulders, and Madame smiled a little sarcastically. -“We will summon it,” she said. - -“An’ I’ll jes’ step roun’ an’ fetch Sister Olive,” said Uncle David, -putting on his hat as he spoke, “an’ you can bring together the rest of -the brethren.” - -They came quickly enough when they heard of the loss of the brown mare, -only Olive was absent. She was ill in bed with a headache and spoke to -Uncle David out of a darkened room. - -Brother Wright detailed the loss of the horse, while the Assembly -listened in deepest attention. - -“What we have to consider is the best means of recovering the horse if -possible,” said Madame. “Does anyone know what is usually done under -similar circumstances?” - -“The neighbours join together and run down the thief as quickly as -possible,” said Brother Wright, with sharp emphasis. - -“And having run him down, hang him,” added Mary Winkle. - -“That course is impossible for us,” observed Madame. - -“That is a point I should like to debate,” said Brother Wright. “If we -are to live here we must have horses, and we can’t keep horses if it is -known to be against our principles to shoot a horse-thief. That is all -I’ve got to say.” - -“An’ I want to notice the p’int o’ Injuns,” said Aunt Ruby. “Ef there’s -Injuns as will do any wickedness un’er the sun, I want to know are we to -sit still an’ be roasted on our own fires by wile savages like that, or -will the men-folks defen’ us as other men do? An’ I likewise would wish -to p’int out to the ’Sembly as border ruffians is mos’ly as bad as -Injuns, an’ it stan’s to reason as horse-thieves is ’bout the same.” - -“It seems to me,” said Brother Green, speaking with great deliberation, -“that our principles were formed and adopted because we thought them -right. I don’t see in what we should differ from anybody else if we took -to the usual prairie arms the moment we felt the shoe pinch! If -non-resistance is right, it should be practised against horse-thieves; -if it is wrong, then we should be prepared to shoot the thieves of other -men’s horses. There is no middle course. The throwing away of our -settled convictions just because our horse has been stolen is not -consistent.” - -“I’ll vote for non-resistance and the maintenance of our principles,” -said Mary Winkle severely, “and I further think that what is decided by -the majority in this meeting should bind all the members.” - -She fixed her eye upon Wright with meaning. - -“It is a most difficult juncture,” remarked Madame. “I wish much we had -the help of Brother Ezra’s wisdom to guide us.” - -“Yes,” said Uncle David cordially, “an’ sister Olive too.” - -“I do not see how Sister Olive can have any experience that would enable -her to give good advice on this subject,” said Madame acidly. - -“Oh, Sister Olive has consider’ble ’cuteness,” remarked Uncle David. -“Now you’d be ’stonished to hear the wise things she says, an’ she as -purty as a kitten or a rose all the while.” - -“Then I guess we’ll just do nothing at all? Is that the decision of this -Assembly?” asked Brother Wright abruptly. - -“There is great force in passive resistance,” said Brother Carpenter, a -boneless individual who counted for little either for work in the -fields, or for advice in the councils, of Perfection City. “Where -passive resistance has been applied by large numbers and for a long time -it has effected great changes,” he observed conversationally. - -“I think principles are principles,” said Brother Green, “and may not be -lightly set aside.” - -“Well, I guess I’ll go home then, since nothing is going to be done,” -said Brother Wright angrily, “and I’ll try and keep hold of the last -horse, else that thief will come and take him too, when he finds what -fools he’s got to deal with.” - -The Assembly broke up, having decided nothing at all, and having only -succeeded in embittering the feelings of several persons, and in -widening the chasm of differences which had revealed itself in the -course of the debate, a result that has often followed the meeting of -larger and more notorious Assemblies. - -Although Brother Wright could not now violate one of the fundamental -doctrines of Perfection City, it was open to him to use a little worldly -wisdom in the way of setting others upon the track of the thief. -Accordingly, without saying a single word to Mary Winkle or anyone else, -he mounted Rebel and proceeded to rouse the neighbours who were not at -all bound by non-resistant theories. Nothing gets up a prairie man’s -anger quicker than the knowledge that a horse-thief has begun active -operations in his vicinity. Horses are absolutely necessary to his daily -life, and to be suddenly deprived of his horses is one of the greatest -calamities that can overtake a settler. They can take a merciful view of -homicide at times, but never of horse-stealing. Brother Wright relied on -this known propensity, and by visiting the most hardy of his neighbours -had before night started as relentless a set of hunters after Queen -Katharine as ever put leg over horse or drew pistol from belt. - -Olive meanwhile remained at home all unconscious of what had taken place -at the Assembly, and of the pursuit organized afterwards as the effect -of Brother Wright’s embassies. She had decided in her own mind that the -best course for her to adopt was to keep absolute silence until Ezra -should come home. To him she would explain everything, and she felt -convinced that he was just enough, albeit no friend of Cotterell’s, to -be ready to sacrifice a horse in order to facilitate his escape. She did -not feel at all so sure about some of the other members of the -Community. At all events Cotterell’s best chance of safety lay in her -keeping firmly to her resolution of silence about him. The best way for -her to keep silent without exciting suspicion was not to talk with -anyone, and feeling pretty well convinced that somebody would come to -talk over the great calamity with her, she resolved to be out of the -way. In any case she was very miserable and very anxious, and could not -stay at home, so she wandered off for a walk. She went to the spring, -then she went to Weddell’s Gully and looked at the black burnt waste. -She tried to think about the interest and excitement of the fire, but -could think of nothing but Cotterell riding for his life and of the men -who were riding after him. Olive knew nothing of the second set of men -sent after the horse-thief; her mind was still anxiously dwelling on the -probability of his being captured by those who had “wanted” him for the -murder of Jake Mills. The fact was, however, that this first -hunting-party had given over their quest, for a man must be caught by -the second day on the prairie if he is to be caught at all. This, -however, Olive did not know, and she kept wondering and picturing all -sorts of terrible possibilities. Had the men found the trail? Would -Queen Katharine hold out till he got to the border? True she had been -resting for a whole day, but then a man’s life depended on her -endurance, and Olive remembered with a cold dread that Queen Katharine -was only a farm-horse and not trained to such desperate efforts as this. -Then she remembered the others, those dreadful hunters, were also -mounted on farm horses, and this thought gave her some small comfort. -She came home again after a most wretched day spent in aimless rambling -over the hopeless black prairie and crept up to the outside platform to -scan once more that dreary waste towards the endless western horizon. -Far away towards the north-west she saw a band of horsemen huddled -together and moving rapidly in an easterly direction. Olive’s heart -stood still with terror. Oh! who were they? And why were they riding -rapidly? Men rode in bands to funerals, but then they went slowly: they -rode fast only when out on a man-hunt. She did not call up Napoleon -Pompey, although he could see like a hawk; she dreaded to hear what his -explanation would be. She watched with straining eyes until the men had -disappeared within the belt of timber that marked the course of the -Creek, then she came downstairs with her miserable discovery hidden in -her heart. - -The next day dragged slowly by, Olive feeling more and more wretched and -anxious each moment, and longing for Ezra’s return. Napoleon Pompey did -nothing but speculate about the horse-thief and the probabilities of his -capture. He regaled Olive with accounts of the numbers of men out on the -hunt, the desperate character of their courage, and the murderous -accuracy of their aim with revolvers. Sick at heart she had to listen to -him and try and collect her terrified senses in order to make occasional -comments and replies. Again she hid herself away from her neighbours and -spent most of the day in a corn-stack, not two hundred yards from the -house, whence she could see plainly without being seen. Uncle David came -and stayed so long waiting for her, that she nearly smothered in the -corn-stack before he went away, and she was able to come out and catch a -breath of fresh air. Then Aunt Ruby came and peered all about -everywhere, even down into the cellar, and stayed a good while there -examining Olive’s milkpans, until Olive bethought herself of the device -of sending off Diana to hasten Aunt Ruby’s exit from the cellar. This -device succeeded: Aunt Ruby was so dismayed at seeing that redoubtable -puppy lolloping up to her that she incontinently fled, and Olive emerged -once more from the suffocation of the corn-stack. - -Mary Winkle came twice, fortunately without Willette, for that astute -young person would instantly have discovered Olive, owing to the -pertinacious company of Diana. A dog does not hang around a corn-stack -the live-long day unless there is something interesting inside it -claiming attention. Olive began to feel like a hunted criminal herself. - -Napoleon Pompey had been sent away in the morning to look for some young -cattle that had not been seen since the fire, and having to go on foot -he did not come back till the afternoon. He burst in upon her with these -appalling words: - -“Dey’s done cotch him!” - -“Who told you?” asked Olive, not pretending any miscomprehension of what -was only too plain to her mind. - -“Ole nigger seed ’em. Dey bringin’ him back. Ole man Cotterell he de -hoss-thief, him ridin’ Queen Katharine when dey cotch him. Nigger tole -me he seed ’em yonder.” - -“Have they shot him?” asked Olive with white lips. - -“No, dey’s gwine ter jury-try him, den dey hang him ’cause he done stole -hoss and he kill ole Mill’s Jake.” Napoleon Pompey licked his lips and -grinned. Olive turned from him in horror. - -“Where have they taken him to?” - -“Dunno. Nigger he ’lowed dey gwine ter Jacksonville.” - -Olive made up her mind and took her resolution. She questioned Napoleon -Pompey very carefully, found exactly what negro it was from whom he had -obtained his information concerning the capture of Cotterell. He worked -with the Halls who lived over the other side of Cotton Wood Creek, and -she made minute inquiries as to how to reach their house. Then she told -the boy to give Rebel a double feed of corn and to bring in the new -lariat-rope and mallet and pin. Rebel had been removed back to his own -stable by Brother Wright’s desire, as he had no belief now in Pluto as a -watch-dog. Napoleon Pompey was open-mouthed with wonder at Olive’s -directions about the horse, and asked “whar she gwine?” She told him to -do as she bid him and to say nothing to anybody about it, whereat he was -still more open-mouthed. Olive got a large shawl and rolled it up into a -tight bundle, and then dressed herself in a strong serviceable stuff -dress and went to supper with Napoleon Pompey, to whom she never spoke a -single word. When supper was over she sent him down to his mother to ask -her to bake a pumpkin-pie for her. Napoleon Pompey said he would go -“fust thing in de mornin’,” and she told him sternly to go at once and -do as he was bid. When Napoleon Pompey came back Olive was gone, and so -was Rebel, with lariat-rope picket-pin and mallet, and so was her -tightly rolled shawl. - -Perfection City had further cause for amazement and hurried meeting in -Assembly. - -Olive, meanwhile, was riding fast towards Cotton Wood Creek which she -reached and crossed by the last shreds of daylight. She stumbled up out -of the bottom-lands on to the high prairie, then perceiving by the sound -of Rebel’s hoofs that at last she had struck grass again, for the fire -had not crossed the Creek, she determined to camp. It was a black night, -but she knew how to drive her picket and unsaddle her horse blindfold. -Taking her saddle and shawl out of the circle of Rebel’s night-range, -she wrapped herself up to wait until daylight should permit her again to -go forward. She was not in the least frightened, although the prairie -wolves were yelping in the distance. The nervous terrors that had beset -her when sitting in her own comfortable little kitchen with her dog at -her feet, and a stout lad in the room overhead, were quite gone. Yet -there was enough to frighten a more valiant person than our poor little -Olive, with her half-defined thoughts and her generous impulses. - -What was it she proposed to herself in this expedition? First of all to -overtake Cotterell and his captors, and then to do what the wit of woman -could devise to save him from their fury. In her ignorance of prairie -feelings and ideas she attached no importance to the fact that he would -have been captured riding the well-known brown mare belonging to -Perfection City. He would of course explain that she had lent him the -animal, and that question would at once drop out of the debate. Then the -terrible one of the shooting of Jake Mills would have to be settled. -That was what she feared for Cotterell, and that was where her testimony -and pleading might avail. She knew from his own lips how the fatal -affray had occurred, and she would be able in some measure, perhaps, to -counteract the evidence of that wicked lying negro who out of revenge -was going to swear away Cotterell’s life. Olive hated to do it, but she -knew she could say things to any western jury that would make it -difficult for them to admit negro evidence. For once in a way the mighty -race-prejudice could be relied upon to work for justice, and poor Olive, -fanatical friend of the negro, had to confess she was glad to have so -strong a lever to her hand in this dreadful emergency. - -Meanwhile the never-ending night wore on. How long, how unutterably long -are the hours of darkness to them who wait sleeplessly for the dawn! The -twinkling stars passed over her head, and Olive tried to fix her eyes -steadily on one or two of them in order to convince herself that they -really did move after all. Thus staring at the stars, her eyes became -weary, and the lids dropped slowly over them, and she fell into a -troubled sleep, haunted with fearsome visions. - -She must have slept some little time, for when she awoke the stars had -certainly changed places and were moreover becoming pale in the first -grey streaks of morning. Olive awoke shivering with cold and drenched -with the heavy prairie dew. Her teeth chattered, so she could hear them -like a piece of broken machinery moving inside her head, while her -fingers were almost numb. As soon as she could make out Rebel in the -approaching dawn, she saddled him, and, woman-like, did not forget the -lariat-rope, picket-pin and mallet, even in the midst of her terrible -anxiety. She thought of Cotterell in the hands of his foes, and the -recollection came back to her, like a blow that almost stunned her, that -this would be the last time he would ever see the sun rise unless she -hurried to his rescue. The thought spurred her to renewed activity, the -horror of it drove the chilled blood with a rush to her heart. She -caught her breath, and then felt hot. She did not shiver any more, and -her chattering teeth were set in a desperate resolve. She clambered up -on the horse’s back and set off at a gallop towards that house where she -would get positive news which would help her to find the lynching-party -quickly. Ah! merciful God! The lynching-party! She urged Rebel into a -harder gallop, for the sun was just beginning to appear over the -horizon, and she could see where she was going. She reached the cabin -where the Halls lived in due course. They didn’t know her, but they -invited her to breakfast with prairie courtesy. She saw the negro man -who had told the news to Napoleon Pompey. - -“Yes, he seed ’em totin’ ole man Cotterell back.” There was never any -doubt in Olive’s mind as to the fact that they had caught him, what she -wanted to know was the destination of the party. “He ’lowed dey was -gwine ter Jacksonville, ’cause down yonder was whar dey hang de las’ -man; den dey jury-try him, an’ Jacksonville mighty handy anyhow, dar -heaps o’ trees dar.” - -Olive could not repress a shudder of horror which the negro saw, and so -did the Halls. She would not stop a moment to eat a bit of breakfast, -notwithstanding their urgent entreaties, but got directions as to the -shortest road to Jacksonville and hastened away on her errand of mercy. - -Mrs. Hall looking after her rapidly vanishing figure, and remembering -the look of misery on her face, “reckoned ’twas one o’ them po’ silly -gals as is cotched by a yaller ’stache. She was powerful sorry for her -anyhow, she ’peared mos’ broke down an’ sick. She ’lowed if the boys hed -hung ole man Cotterell when Glover’s gal shot herself ’cause he wouldn’t -marry her, ’twould hev been a sight better anyhow.” Her husband was of -opinion that “gals was fules gapin’ a’ter strangers an’ furrin fellers, -not bein’ content along o’ their nat’ral men-folks as b’longed to ’em, -app’inted by the hand o’ Providence.” - -Olive rode through the hot September day feeling very faint and tired, -but never for a moment faltering in her determination; and well on in -the afternoon she came to Jacksonville, a place with two houses standing -and the stakes for three more stuck into the ground to signify -possession. There was only one woman in the place along with a flock of -children. No sign of men anywhere. The woman did not know much about the -movements of the “boys.” “They hadn’t passed that way at all, but she -hearn tell they had been out catching a horse-thief and murderer, and -they had caught him too, a Britisher, she was told, and it was a shame -those foreigners should be allowed to come to America to steal honest -folks horses, and true born Americans too, as always worked for every -cent before they spent it. They had taken him to Union Mills to try him -and she hoped—well she didn’t want to say anything unbecoming to a -professing Christian, but wouldn’t Olive come in and eat a bit and rest -before going further, she didn’t look fit for such hard riding.” Olive, -feeling sick with disappointment, accepted a morsel of food, and asking -her way to Union Mills started off. She had come thirty-eight miles -already, and if she had only known where to go she would have been there -hours ago. It was nearly twenty miles to Union Mills, she could not hope -to reach it that night, but she started nevertheless although the sun -was getting low in the west. The horrid thought kept pressing against -her heart: was she already too late? But no, she would force it out of -her mind, and come what might she would never stop until she had done -her utmost to save him. She therefore pressed forward, but Rebel showed -signs of giving out. He lay down with her suddenly and tried to roll. -This would never do. All depended on her horse, if he failed her then -Cotterell’s last chance of life was gone. She rode slowly, now following -a prairie track and now riding along side it, because Rebel stumbled in -the ruts. It got dark, she did not know where she was, but followed the -track for some time mechanically. A light suddenly showed up on her -left. Rebel pricked up his ears and turned towards it. After some -difficulty she reached the door. Could they harbour her for the night? -She was caught out and could go no further. - -“Land o’ Goshen! ’course they could, an’ whar in sin was she gwine that -time o’ night ’thout nobody, not even a dawg?” Olive said it was a case -of life and death and she must do it. They were deeply sorry, they fed -her with corn-bread and bacon, they fed her horse, and were kindness -itself. The cabin had only one room with a bed in one corner for the man -and his wife. Olive was desperately tired. The wife said “she’d be -doggauned sick ’less she went to bed.” So Olive lay down on the bed, and -the settler’s wife lay down beside her, and the man slept on the floor -with his head on a pile of corn-shucks. Long before daylight he went out -and fed her horse. The wife cooked a good breakfast and pressed Olive -again and again “to scrouge down suthin’ more,” and sent her off with -many good wishes as to her finding her husband better, who, she was -sure, ’ud be tickled to death at seeing her. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - LYNCH-LAW. - - -Union Mills was full of people, mostly men, and Phillipps’ Store, which -was the only shop in the place, as well as being the Post-Office, was -crowded to suffocation. Those who couldn’t get inside stood around the -door talking loudly as they chewed their tobacco. Inside the talking and -tobacco-chewing were carried on likewise. A ring of men were sitting on -barrels and nail-kegs and coils of rope and extemporized chairs of all -kinds. Of these, twelve arranged together at one side formed the jury, -and the rest were witnesses and spectators. In their midst stood -Cotterell. He was not bound or specially guarded in any way, but he was -unarmed, while pistols hung at the belts of all the other men there. -Cotterell held his head erect, his eyes looked clear, and his lips were -firm. A careful observer might have noticed that his nostrils sometimes -twitched, but his hands were perfectly steady. Yet he was on trial for -his life, without appeal and without a friend in “the court.” Several of -the men had asked him questions which he had answered, shortly and -sharply perhaps, but with a perfectly steady voice. - -“I dunno what we’re gwine on talkin’ for,” said a jury man with a twang -that bespoke Arkansas. “Hain’t it clar this hyar feller, what was wanted -for the shootin’ o’ Ole Mills’ boy, he’s the same cuss as stole the mare -from them damned fools up to ’Fection City? He’s got ter be hanged, -anyhow. I want ter go home. I hain’t a-gwine to stick hyar all day, by -Gosh!” - -“I did not steal the mare,” said Cotterell, his nostrils dilating. - -“You hear that,” said the foreman, who sat on a sugar-barrel. - -“You was ridin’ her when we come up t’yer,” said one who had been out on -the hunt. - -“I was.” - -“How’d yer git her then ’cept by stealin’?” - -“She was lent to me by one of the members of the Community,” said -Cotterell. - -“They’s damn fools, I know, but I reckon they hain’t such all-fired damn -fools as ter give their best hoss ter you,” said the man from Arkansas. - -Cotterell’s lips curled with contempt, but he did not speak. - -“Look hyar, fellow jury-men,” said one of them who prided himself on the -accuracy of his language on all occasions. “I’d axe leave ter make a few -remarks. We were informed by the gentlemen what caught the prisoner that -they were notified o’ the stealing by one o’ them Perfection City -fellers. If the horse was lent how is it the owner didn’t know about the -lending?” - -“Yes,” said one of the gentlemen referred to, “ole man Wright, he come -and tol’ me ’bout the stealin’ o’ the hoss, an’ he ’lowed, on’y it was -agin his principles, he’d like ter hev been out with the boys. It don’t -’pear ter my min’ as there was much len’ing ’bout it.” - -“This trial, gen’lemen, is all fair and square an’ ’cordin’ to law. -We’ll settle this p’int ’fore we go further,” said the foreman. “You say -the horse was lent to you?” - -“I do say so emphatically,” replied the prisoner. - -“Wal, we’ve got one o’ them ’Fection City fellers to say the hoss was -stolen, he’ll swear to that, an’ I reckon by their idees he was -part-owner of it anyhow. Now, that’s the witness agin yer. Who have you -got to swear yer was lent the horse fair and square?” - -“I have had no chance of getting any witness, as you very well know,” -replied Cotterell. - -“Wal, I reckon yo’ hev bin kep’ purty toler’ble close. Anyhow, it shan’t -be said as we hain’t gi’en yer a good chance. Now, which might be yer -witness to the len’ing? There hain’t such a damn sight o’ folks up to -’Fection City as ’ud make yer forget so ready as all that.” - -Cotterell hesitated. - -“Hain’t yo’ got no tongue? Who lent yer the hoss, I say?” repeated the -foreman. - -“Mrs. Weston,” said Cotterell at last. - -“That’s a lie, anyhow,” burst out one of the bystanders. - -“It is not a lie, it is the truth,” said Cotterell hotly. - -“Wal, now, see hyar. I was over to ole man Weston’s, an’ I seed Mis’ -Weston myself, an’ she tole me she hadn’t sot eyes on yer. Now then?” - -It was Owen who spoke, he had been out, as we know, on the first -hunting-party and was now present as a spectator. He would have been on -the jury, only it was considered more delicate for him to stand aside, -considering that he had been out to catch Cotterell, and prairie men are -punctilious in the observance of all those forms of etiquette with which -they are familiar. Although not on the jury, Owen was quite free to -intervene in the trial, he was one of the foremost settlers on the -prairie. Cotterell looked hard at him as he spoke. - -“Did she tell you that herself?” he asked, drawing his eyebrows tightly -together. - -“Yes, she tole me herself,” replied Owen. - -“Then I have nothing further to say,” said Cotterell, setting his teeth -grimly under his moustache. He realised very clearly what he was doing, -he was throwing away his last chance of life; but his resolution never -wavered for a moment. The thought flashed through his mind that most -people would think him a fool to act as he did, risk the certainty of -death for the sake of a fantastic loyalty to a woman who could never be -to him anything but the distant friend another man’s wife should be. -Then came the recollection that no one, not even she for whom he was -sacrificing his life, would ever know what he had done. There was -something fantastic surely in all this. Their whole acquaintance had -been fantastic in a sense: Mr. Perseus was a fancy, but how dangerously -sweet it had been while it lasted. And now it was over, he would never -hear the sound of her voice again nor feel the touch of her little hand. -Poor child! He could well imagine, with that jealous husband of hers, -how she might have been driven to save herself from his anger by -declaring she had never seen him. Jealousy was a monster surely, if -there ever was a monster on this earth. Cotterell almost smiled to -himself as he thought how once again he would act the part of Perseus to -the unhappy one and save her by his silence from the monster’s fangs. -Thoughts such as these swept through his mind as he stood facing the -jury, while they were somewhat nonplussed as to their future proceedings -owing to his determination not to say anything further. It appeared -almost indecent to hang a man who would not argue out the points with -them: they had never met such a one before. - -“There’s a gal hyar a-wantin’ ter come in,” said one of the men who was -standing just outside the door. - -“Keep her hout,” said one of the jury. “We hain’t agoin’ ter hev any -women a screech-owlin’ hyar. It’s one o’ his gals as he’s lef’ to die -maybe of a broken heart ’thout the satisfaction o’ bein’ a widder.” - -“Let me pass, please,” said an imperious little voice that thrilled -Cotterell to the heart. “I am one of the witnesses in this trial. I have -important evidence to give.” - -The men fell back and left the passage free. Western men, even armed -ones, can’t do anything against a woman. - -Olive came into the crowded room, Olive dirty, dishevelled, -travel-stained, her face begrimed with prairie dust, her hair unkempt, -her dress crumpled and with many a rent in it. Cotterell hardly knew -her. - -“Who mought yer be, miss?” inquired one of the jury. - -“I am Mrs. Weston.” - -“Whar’s yer husband? Yer hadn’t oughter be hyar a follerin’ this feller -roun’ the prairie. Tain’t——” - -“Shut yer mouth or I’ll send a bullet down yer gullet,” roared the -foreman, putting his hand to his revolver. “Take a cheer,” he added, -gallantly offering Olive the sugar-barrel upon which he had been sitting -in his official capacity. - -“No, thank you,” said Olive. “I will stand.” She took her place beside -Cotterell, but without looking at him or addressing a single word to -him. - -“What are you trying this man for?” she asked, facing the jury -dauntlessly. - -“Wal, mos’ly fur stealin’ yer hoss,” said one of them. - -“He didn’t steal it. I myself lent him the horse. It belongs to us,” was -the reply. - -“By Gosh!” exclaimed Owen, “you tole me yerself yer hadn’t sot n’ary an -eye on him.” - -“So I hadn’t when you were there, he did not come until the next day.” - -The jury whistled collectively and incredulously. - -“Silence!” said the foreman. - -“I can now explain,” said Cotterell. “I didn’t go to Mrs. Weston’s house -until two days after—after Mills’ death——” - -“A’ter yer killed him,” corrected Owen. - -“And you were there the next day,” concluded Cotterell, not taking any -notice of the interruption. - -“Yes, that is it. Mr. Cotterell came the next evening but one after the -prairie fire, and I gave him the mare to go away on, because his colt -broke loose from the bars in the dark.” Olive spoke quite quietly, with -no trace of excitement beyond a knitting of her pretty eyebrows. - -“Wal, I reckon we hain’t got nuthin’ more to do then,” said one of the -jury-men, getting up from his nail-keg and strapping up his holster. - -“There’s the murder too,” objected one, “not as I put it fust noways, -on’y we might go inter it now, seein’ there hain’t nuthin’ ter be got -outer the hoss-stealin’ business.” - -“Yer hain’t got evidence for the murder case too, has yer?” sneered the -man who had been so peremptorily silenced by the foreman on his first -objection to Olive’s presence. - -“Only this. You are not non-resistants, are you?” - -“We hain’t such blasted fools,” observed the Arkansas man genially. - -“Well, then, when this poor Jake Mills in his drunken fury came up and -fired at Mr. Cotterell, was he or was he not to fire in self-defence, -according to your ideas and practice?” - -“Of course he was,” said the jury in unison. - -“Then that is what he did. Jake Mills fired first.” - -“Two shots,” said Cotterell in a low voice, but every man in the room -heard him distinctly. - -“That coloured man we saw yesterday swore that Cotterell lay in wait for -Mills, and fired from under cover as he came up to the house,” said a -man from Illinois who had not spoken hitherto. - -“Wal now,” said the Arkansas man, “I didn’t say nuthin’ ’bout that -yesterday. Long as it was hoss-stealin’ we knowed whar we was an’ what -we hed ter do, ’cause we hed the hoss. But this hyar shootin’ business -hain’t noways the same. Any gen’leman hyar might hev a difference with -any other gen’leman, an’ ’s long as it were done fair, I don’t see as -how anyone hes any business to say they shouldn’t settle it with pistols -or bowie-knives accordin’ to taste. We are all for freedom in this -country I reckon, an’ that’s how it hes been done in Arkansas often an’ -satisfact’ry.” - -“This ain’t Arkansas, an’ we are determined to put a stop to this -shootin’ round every day,” said the Illinois man firmly. “It ain’t -respectable and it stops quiet settlers from coming here to take farms. -We are going to stop it.” - -“Then you should have stopped Jake Mills when he went to Mr. Cotterell’s -and fired at him first,” said Olive quickly. - -“There’s somethin’ in that,” said the foreman, whose native gallantry -led him to side with a pretty woman. “In a trial we hev to consider all -the p’ints o’ the case. I consider that as for the horse-stealin’, that -hes mostly broke down under evidence. We must now go into the other -charge, which is shootin’ Jake Mills, an’ a damned scoundrel he was -too.” - -The jury laughed pleasantly at this sally from the bench, or to speak -more accurately from the sugar-barrel. Even Cotterell seemed a trifle -amused, only Olive did not unknit her eyebrows, nor did the hard lines -around her mouth in the least relax. - -“We are in consider’ble difficulty ’bout this here shootin’ case,” -continued the foreman when the mirth had subsided, “and if I had knowed -as that was all we was up for tryin’, I don’t reckon we ’ud all on us -ha’ been here as is now collected together to maintain the rights an’ -freedom o’ our country.” - -The jury murmured applause, upon recognising well-known Fourth of July -phrases, which have perennial power to stir the American breast. - -“Why ain’t we agoin’ on with this blamed trial?” asked an impatient jury -man. “We hev purty nigh lost a whole day’s work a’ready an’ hain’t -finished nothin’ yit. When we strung up ole Howard for hoss-stealin’ we -hed the job done clar up afore noon, an’ we could go home to dinner -comfor’ble.” - -Olive gave a faint inarticulate cry and put her hands up to her ears, or -was it perchance to her neck? Cotterell turned anxiously towards her as -if she was going to faint, and he would catch her before she fell. She -steadied herself in an instant and again faced the jury like a tiny -lioness, small in body but with unconquerable courage. - -“Well, gen’lemen, I’m agreeable to proceed with the evidence,” said the -foreman graciously. - -“I was told we had evidence o’ deliberate murder,” said the Illinois -juror. - -“We most on us hearn what the nigger said,” remarked another carelessly, -“some on us fooled roun’ with that yesterday an’ lost a fair half day’s -work.” - -“Wal, gen’lemen, you could ha’ had the nigger again here to-day, on’y it -was not considered necessary, as we was mostly of opinion to fin’ a true -bill on the horse-stealin’ count. We can send for the nigger. He’s mos’ -likely sneakin’ roun’ here. Them niggers is jes’ like buzzards, they can -scent out where there’s a hangin’,—ahem, gen’lemen, we’ll proceed,” said -the foreman, suddenly recollecting himself and Olive’s presence barely -in time. - -“I vote for sending for the coloured man,” said the Illinois juror -firmly. “We’ll confront him with the prisoner.” - -“Nigger be damned!” roared the Arkansas man jumping violently off his -nail-keg. “Yo’ reckon I’m agoin’ ter sit hyar an’ see a white man hanged -on nigger evidence. No, sir. I won’t stan’ such a insult to my race as -that. There be some things a man o’ honour won’t stan’ an’ that’s one o’ -them. Thar hain’t no man spryer to light out an’ catch a hoss-thief nor -I be, an’ I’ll do my dooty in the hangin’ too, an’ hol’ the rope as -tight as ony o’ yo’all. But I’ll bust up afore I’ll take nigger evidence -’gin a white man. I reckon there hain’t none o’ yo’ gen’lemen as is -pertikler sot on that nigger, be yer?” - -Olive’s heart gave a bound of joy as the Arkansas juror poured forth his -torrent of protest. Alas, poor Olive and her high-flown love of the -black race! She was bound to confess that her best hope for effecting -the end she was struggling for, lay in the blind race-prejudice of this -ignorant Southerner. - -“I guess we ought to take all the evidence, white or black, that bears -on the case,” observed he of Illinois. - -“If that thar nigger comes inter this hyar room to conten’ with this -hyar jury an’ give his evidence, I’ll shoot him, ’fore he gits over that -door-sill, so I will, by God, an’ no man as knows me ever said I went -back o’ my word in shootin’.” - -The Arkansas juror faced them with his black eyes ablaze and his dark -visage twitching with suppressed fury. He was quivering under the sting -of what was to him an intolerable insult, and there was nothing he would -not do to wipe out that insult. - -Olive looked at Cotterell for the first time, and as their eyes met he -was horrified to see the white, drawn expression on her face. He -attributed it to the very natural womanly fear that she might be -involved in a promiscuous shooting affray in that crowded room. - -“Don’t be alarmed, they will not bring the negro in here,” he said -soothingly. - -“I am not afraid for myself,” she answered, simply and truthfully. - -“Wal, gen’lemen,” said the foreman pleasantly. “I reckon we hev finished -for this spell anyhow. I consider the prisoner hes hed as fair a trial -as ony man could wish, and I hev on’y ter thank yer all for yer help -upon this occasion in maintain’ the laws and freedom of our beloved -country, as belongs to the duty of free-born citizens.” - -“Hurrah!” said the jury, with another relapse into Fourth of Julyism. - -“We’ve purty nigh lost two whole days’ work ’long o’ this hyar foolin’,” -observed the Arkansas man angrily. “Them coons up to ’Fection City is -nat’ral born fools anyhow. Fust they blaze roun’ an’ set us on ter run -down a hoss-thief fur ’em. Soon as we’ve done cotch him, they sen’ roun’ -a woman to say the hoss was lent. If the blamed critters come to me -again, reckon I’ll stick to my plough-handles. I’ll not light out for -them, you bet.” And he immediately walked out of the store followed by -the entire jury and the foreman. - -When the Court broke up, Olive and Cotterell were left alone in the -store along with Phillipps, the storekeeper. The latter handed Cotterell -his revolver, which the jury had considerately left for him. - -“I suppose I’m a free man,” said Cotterell, with more sign of emotion in -his manner than he had yet shown. - -“Thanks to Mrs. Weston you are free,” said Phillipps. - -He turned to Olive, who seemed in a daze, and said, “Shall we go now?” - -“Yes,” she answered, and they left the store together. - -The crowd in the road before the door was already fast dispersing. The -exciting climax for which they had waited was not to come off, so there -remained no further inducement to stay. Some straggled into the smithy, -some went towards the mills, but most of the men were getting their -horses, putting on saddles, and settling halters and reins. The Arkansas -man had a waggon and was hitching his horses to it, as Olive, riding on -Rebel, and Cotterell on Queen Katharine, passed by. - -“Be yo’ gwine with him?” asked the Arkansas man, pointing to Olive. - -“Yes,” said Olive shortly. - -“Wish we’d hanged the damned cuss ’fore she come in,” said the Arkansas -man regretfully to his companion, who had also been present at the -trial. “She’s gwine ter ’lope with him, an’ ole man Weston he on’y jes’ -married her las’ spring.” - -“Reckon she don’t like ’Fection City idees. Gals mos’ allers likes a -fightin’ man best, an’ this hyar one is reg’lar downright handsome too.” - -“If we’d on’y hed a-hanged him she couldn’t hev run off with the coon,” -repeated the Arkansas man with conviction, shaking his head sorrowfully -as he watched the two disappearing among the trees on the South Fork. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX. - OLIVE MISSING. - - -There was dire dismay at Perfection City when the flight of Olive became -known. Napoleon Pompey informed Madame of it the same evening, but, for -reasons best known to herself, she did not announce the fact until the -next morning, when the brethren and sisters flocked to her house to talk -over this surprising event in all its bearings. The members accounted -for it in different ways and explained it according to their -preconceived notions. Madame at once said that she had evidently left -her husband whom she had never really loved at all. - -“I think we must all have noticed how utterly unsuited she was to him -and how uncongenial. She was no fit companion for a man of Ezra’s mind,” -said Madame. - -“Wal, now,” observed Uncle David, “I think such a purty little gal with -sweet little kitten-ways was a most congenial companion.” - -“Uncle, you don’t understand men. Men with minds and high aspirations -want a companion capable of sharing their ideas and aims, they don’t -want a kitten or a plaything.” - -“My ’pinion is most men is satisfied with kittens, if they’re as soft -an’ coaxin’ in their ways as little Ollie is,” replied Uncle David. - -“I guess she couldn’t stand the bondage of marriage,” said Mary Winkle. -“When she first came she was all for being absorbed in her husband, she -would be Mrs. Weston forsooth, she wanted to sink her individuality. She -has naturally found out her mistake. I respect her and sympathize with -her in her efforts to shake off the trammels of custom and make a dash -for freedom. I dare say we shall soon have her coming back again, having -resumed her own name, and perhaps ready to lecture on the absurdity of -women giving up their names on marriage, as if they ceased to exist. -Marriage under these circumstances becomes a sort of death to a woman. -It is extinction.” - -“’Tain’t no such thing, Sister Mary,” said Uncle David. “It is an -honourable distinction our forefathers have used, findin’ the same handy -and convenient. I don’t believe little Ollie has gone a-lecterin’, she -ain’t that sort o’ gal. I guess she’s jes’ tired an’ lonesome feelin’, -an’ thought she’d ride out an’ meet Ezry comin’ home.” - -“She hasn’t done that, Uncle, for I’ve seen a man from over Jacksonville -way, and he told me she had been seen the other side of Big Cotton Wood -Creek, and that she was asking for news of Cotterell,” said Brother -Wright. - -“Then she has gone to him,” said Madame with decision. - -“She hain’t neither,” contradicted Uncle David, “you hain’t got no -business to tell wicked stories like that.” - -“She has been carrying on a secret acquaintance with him all the summer. -I know that, for I surprised them together at the spring some weeks -ago.” - -“She didn’t do nothin’ that was dishonest an’ secret,” said Uncle David -anxiously. “I ain’t agoin’ ter believe anything ’gin little Ollie. She’s -a good little gal.” - -He wiped his forehead nervously with his large bony hand, and then took -out his red handkerchief and passed it several times across his face. - -“The power of love is strong,” said Madame, looking at him with -compassion. - -“Yes, yes,” he replied quickly, “jes’ what I say, an’ she did love her -husban’, an’ hain’t done nothin’ wrong.” - -“She didn’t love him,” burst out Madame with excitement. “It often -filled me with anger to see how she took all his love and made no -return. Everyone saw it.” - -“I guess the rest of us didn’t pay so much attention to them and their -affairs. We had our own,” said Mary Winkle, at which Madame winced. - -“You don’t know what her feelin’s was. She loved Ezry, else she wouldn’t -ha’ married him an’ followed him way out here on this lonesome prairie. -I ain’t never goin’ to believe wrong o’ little Ollie.” Uncle David’s big -chest heaved with a sob that would burst out. - -Madame placed her hand gently upon his. “The falling of one’s idol has -always been a grievous sorrow, and has bruised many a loving heart.” - -“She wasn’t fit to live here on the prairie,” said Aunt Ruby, wiping her -spectacles with her big checked handkerchief. “She was too young an’ -purty an’ frolicksome to be here anyhow. Ezry hed ought ter hev kep’ her -in the East, where she was raised, an’ where she could go to parties, -an’ put on purty clo’s, an’ dance, an’ so forth. It’s nat’ral for them -young gals to dance an’ love fin’ry, jes’ as it’s nat’ral for lambs to -skip an’ play in the sunshine. They is born so, an’ I guess the Lord put -the right idees into their min’s at the beginnin’. I don’ wan’ ter skip, -an’ Sister Mary she don’t wan’ ter neither, we hev got ole an’ stiff by -now; but that chile she did wan’ ter, on’y mos’ likely she didn’t know -it. Sweet purty little thing, too, she was, it done my eyes good ter -look at her. She wasn’t fit for ’Fection City, we hain’t got nothin’ for -young folks as don’t care mos’ly to argy ’bout principles, they loves -ter be gay. Why, it wasn’t further back nor day ’fore yesterday she come -ter my house ’long with that pup o’ hern. My stars, didn’t she laugh -when it took ter scootin’ roun’ ’mong my hens! It done me a heap o’ good -ter hear her, it was like a silver bell, an’ she hedn’t nothin’ for to -amuse her. I think it was downright sinful o’ Brother Ezry to take such -a sweet purty little thing ’way from her proper home.” - -Aunt Ruby ended her long speech with the twin-sob to the one that had -escaped from Uncle David. - -“Sister, you’re a downright good woman,” said he gratefully. The two old -people nodded at each other in complete harmony of affection and -affliction. - -A long day passed over Perfection City, a day without any positive news -or confirmation of previous rumours. The brethren were full of their -various theories in regard to Olive’s disappearance, which they found -necessary to discuss and re-discuss over and over again. All work was at -a stand-still, for the members congregated at Madame’s house both early -and late, as they considered she would be the first to get any news from -the outside world. Without a horse they were practically cut off from -all communication with the outside, and were entirely dependent on the -thoughtfulness of such neighbours as might come to bring them news. It -was in the afternoon of the day of the abortive trial at Union Mills -that the first authentic tidings reached them. They were talking the -matter over together for the fiftieth time when Brother Green was seen -coming very hurriedly from his forge along with a stranger, who waited -outside the door with an amount of diffidence unusual on the prairie. -Brother Green’s grimy face wore a look of alarm. - -“We’ve got news of them both,” he exclaimed, bursting into the room -regardless of ceremony, he who was generally the most heedful of the -little forms of politeness. “She has gone after him, and they’ve gone -away, and he stole her and said we lent her to him,” said Brother Green -distractedly. - -“Brother, I don’t understand,” said Madame. “Who lent what? And where -has she gone?” - -“I mean Sister Olive—oh! I’m so sorry—poor Brother Ezra!—Sister Olive -has gone off with Cotterell, and it was he who stole Queen Katharine, -only it was proved at the trial that she lent her to him.” - -Brother Green was too distressed to be a good witness. - -“Who told you?” asked Madame. - -“Whoever did told a lie,” said Uncle David. - -“He’s outside. He was at the trial and has come to tell us about it.” - -“Then bring him in,” said Madame. - -The stranger entered, looking somewhat abashed. He was truly sorry to be -the bearer of such bad tidings. - -“Young man, before you begin this wicked tale, I charge you think of God -and tell the truth.” Uncle David stood before him like an avenging -spirit. - -“Sir, excuse him,” said Madame in her sweet voice. “The old man is -painfully distracted by grief, he does not know what he is saying. You -have come to bring us definite news, have you not?” - -“I’m thund’rin’ sorry, so I am, an’ if we’d ha’ knowed how it would ha’ -ended, the boys ’ud ha’ made sure by bangin’ him fust an’ havin’ the -trial a’terwards.” - -“Are you speaking about Mr. Cotterell? We have not had any news for -days, so perhaps you will explain it all clearly,” said Madame. - -“Yes, wal, when ole man Wright come an’ tole as how yer hoss was stole, -the boys they ’lowed as you was all such damn—such all-fired pertikler -folks as didn’t do yer own shootin’, they ’lowed they oughter kinder be -neighbourly an’ do it for yer. So we sot out to run down the cuss. We -got word from a teamster from beyond the Creek, he seed a man on a mare -jes’ like yourn agoin’ toward the border. So we picked up the trail -right away. He warn’t worth a red cent to hide a trail. He jes’ follered -straight ahead ’long the road, axin’ his way an’ follerin’ plumb on the -d’rections. Any fool could ha’ run down such a coon as him. He war -ridin’ yer brown mare when they come up, an’ he didn’t show fight, jes’ -said he’d stan’ trial, an’ he ’lowed it ’ud be fair. The boys -calkerlated it wouldn’t be a fair trial ’less they toted him roun’ to -Union Mills, which are his own post-office, an’ if that ain’t treatin’ a -man fair nothin’ is. An’ they got a new set o’ men to stan’ jury as what -cotch him, ’cause mos’ on ’em was that mad for leavin’ the corn-shuckin’ -to run down such a nat’ral born fool, they’d ha’ mos’ likely strung him -slap up. It war all done fair, we kep’ him down to Phillipps’ store over -night, an’ I tuk a spell o’ stan’in’ guard. We didn’t sen’ for none o’ -yo’uns, ’cause we knowed yer be all sot agin hangin’, an’ yer can’t have -a man on a jury who’s sot agin hangin’ when that’s all yer want ter git -done, can yer? So we was a-tryin’ of him fair, with ole man Strong for -foreman ’cause he knowed all the forms, as he was out to the hangin’ of -Howard an’ that thief over to Jacksonville an’ mos’ on ’em. He was -pertikler to do it all straight ’cordin’ to law, an’ we was gittin’ -’long slick, when Mis’ Weston come an’ bust it all up. She said she lent -him the hoss, an’ it war hern.” - -The narrator stopped to observe the effect of this announcement. He felt -repaid. - -“I don’t believe it,” sobbed Uncle David. - -“I hearn her say it,” said the man. His complete enjoyment of the effect -was marred by the tears of that poor old man. - -“We had to let him off, o’ course, for the stealin’, an’ we couldn’t -hang him for the shootin’ o’ Jake Mills, ’cause some o’ the boys said -they’d never hang on nigger evidence, an’ we hadn’t none other. Anyhow, -that nigger he drowned hisself in lies right away, an’ we didn’t lay -much on what he done tole us, you bet. But we was powerful sorry -a’terwards when we seen what we’d done. She’s gone off with him plumb.” - -“No, no, not that,” said Uncle David, “tain’t so, you didn’t -un’erstan’.” - -“We axed her war she a-gwine with him, an’ she said, ‘yes,’ I hearn her -say so.” - -“She was on’y goin’ home,” said Uncle David tremulously. - -“She had not come home half an hour ago,” observed Madame. - -“They rode ’long to the South Fork, an’ that don’t lie on her road home -from Union Mills, do it? I stayed behin’ at the Store, the boys was -talkin’ if they hadn’t bes’ go right a’ter him an’ shoot him anyhow, but -we ’lowed he’d ha’ showed fight then, an’ maybe she’d ha’ been killed in -the shootin’. Yer can’t never say who’ll be hit when everybody’s firin’ -like blazes. I didn’t quit the Mills for a spell, an’ mos’ the boys was -’ready gone home, an’ they allowed I oughter tell yer we done our best -for yer.” - -They thanked him, and he went his way. - -“Somebody has got to tell Brother Ezra, he will be coming home -to-night,” said the blacksmith, wiping his sleeve across his forehead. -“Poor Ezra! What a home-coming!” - -Brother Green remained silent for a long time, then he spoke again in a -soft low voice, almost as if he was communing with himself. - -“When I laid my young wife in her grave with her babe on her breast, -fifteen years ago last Midsummer, I thought I had known the greatest -sorrow possible to the human heart. But my loss was not so great as -Brother Ezra’s, his cup is filled to the brim, and oh, how bitter! How -great a power of suffering lies in the human heart!” - -“It is through suffering that the heart is purified,” said Madame to him -in reply. - -“Aye, so they say: but some sorts of sorrow may very well embitter. -People talk of the purifying by sorrow. It seems to me that happiness -can purify too. We are all sure to get our share of the sorrow in this -world, it is the happiness that so seldom comes to a man. Brother Ezra -was happy, is happy, poor man, since he does not yet know of the wreck -of his home. It was a delight to see him so happy. And she, poor young -thing, my heart aches for her! She was in my forge the other day, said -she was lonesome and came to talk. Poor child! We are all to blame. Why -did we leave her alone? Why didn’t I think of going to see her, instead -of merely remembering how bright she was in the forge. We should have -looked after her. Madame, why didn’t you do so? You are the chief.” -Brother Green’s voice had a stern ring in it, that immensely surprised -Madame in her self-contained calm. - -“I!” she exclaimed hastily. “I had absolutely no control over her, and -no influence. She was one of the most determined young women I ever -knew, and the least liable to yield to the judgment of others.” - -“No, I don’t think that was her character,” said Brother Green. - -“You are taken by the pretty face, like Brother Ezra, and are utterly -ignorant of the mind within. Men are always like that in regard to a -pretty woman,” said Madame scornfully. - -“Beauty is a great power, no doubt,” admitted Brother Green, “but people -may err just as widely by judging everything from the prejudiced point -of view as by yielding too far to favourable impressions.” - -“Brother Green,” said Uncle David earnestly, “I’m right glad you’re like -me, you won’t believe nothin’ ’gainst little Ollie, will you, no more -than I will?” - -“I will hope for the best and that there may be some reasonable -explanation of her disappearance,” said Brother Green, looking -compassionately at the piteous old face that scanned his so eagerly for -some scrap of comfort. - -“I don’t see what explanation there can be but the one we have already -received,” said Madame icily. - -“Who will break this sorrowful news to Ezra?” asked Brother Green. “Will -you do it, Uncle David? You would do it tenderly, as you have faith in -her still.” - -“No, no, I couldn’t bear to see the look o’ death in his eyes, an’ it -’ud come no matter how I told it, when I came to sayin’ little Ollie was -gone an’ we didn’t know where.” - -“I think perhaps I had best take this painful duty upon myself,” -suggested Madame. - -“Well, after all, maybe you are the best person. But remember to deal -tenderly with him in his sorrow. You will know what to say to instil -some hope into his heart,” said Brother Green sadly. - -“An’ don’t you tell him she’s gone off with that man Cotterell, for she -hain’t done no such thing,” said Uncle David anxiously. “You jes’ say we -don’t know why she went away, an’ kinder hint as you’re expectin’ she’ll -he home to-morrow or nex’ day. Do you understand?” - -Madame told no one what she would say to Ezra, and made no promises as -to how she would say it. - - - - - CHAPTER XX. - MADAME’S SYMPATHY. - - -When Madame saw the white covers of the returning waggons creeping -across the prairie she set out to meet Ezra in order to deliver her -message to him. Her manner was as quiet and collected as ever, her white -smooth brow was perfectly unruffled, and her blue eyes were as gentle in -expression as her friends had ever known them to be. Was her heart in -reality as calm as her outward appearance would have led the casual -observer to conclude? No one ever knew what was passing in Madame’s -mind. Still she must have known that she was about to stab to the heart -a man upon whose friendship she had seemed to set great value. Having -reached the slope over Weddell’s Gully, whence she could see that -blackened field where she had saved Ezra on the night of the fire, she -sat down and waited until his waggon came up. - -“Ah, Madame!” said he cheerily, as he pulled up. “How glad I am to get -home again! It has seemed such a long four days to me.” - -“And to us also,” answered Madame. - -“All well, I hope,” said Ezra reaching down his hand in order to help -her up to the seat beside himself. - -“We have had misfortunes at Perfection City. The brown mare has been -stolen.” - -“What! Queen Katharine gone, and our most valuable animal too! That is -indeed a loss!” - -“Just wait a few minutes,” said she, putting her hand on his to stop him -from giving the signal to the horses to start on again. “I have some -things to talk about, Ezra. Do you remember that night, not long ago in -reality, though it seems an age, when I found you lying here on the edge -of the fire?” - -“Is it likely I could ever forget that or who it was came to my rescue?” -said Ezra warmly. - -“I was thinking as you drove up that perhaps it would have been a kinder -act to have left you to die in your unconsciousness.” - -“What’s the matter?” said Ezra, greatly startled by her words. - -“I have bad news,” said Madame. - -“Is it Olive?” asked Ezra, hoarsely. - -“Yes, it is Olive.” - -“Is she ill?” - -“Worse than that.” - -“My God, is my wife dead?” cried Ezra in a stifled whisper. - -“Worse than that.” - -“There can’t be worse,” said Ezra. - -“Yes, there can. She has left you and gone off with Cotterell.” - -Ezra threw up his arms and fell backwards. Madame thought for a moment -or two that he was dying, for an awful blue-purple look passed over his -face as if his heart had stopped beating. He recovered himself and sat -up, turned ghastly white, and moved his lips. He was trying to speak, -but no sound came. At length he gasped, - -“Olive, Olive, where is she?” - -“We don’t know. Cotterell took the brown mare, the men turned out and -caught him. Olive disappeared, no one knew where, night before last, -taking our last horse. There was a sort of lynch-law trial at Union -Mills, she appeared in the middle of the proceedings and said she gave -him the horse, and then they went off together and have not since been -heard of.” - -“Olive, Olive, Olive!” Ezra kept moaning as Madame drove him back to his -deserted home. He seemed dazed and stupefied. - -Surely terrible news was never more crudely broken to a sufferer than -was his bereavement to Ezra Weston, and by that tender and sympathetic -friend, Madame Morozoff-Smith. Had Uncle David or Brother Green heard -her, they would have been shocked beyond measure at having entrusted the -painful embassy to such hands. Not one word of hope or comfort or of -doubt even, nothing but the bald hideous story in its worst complexion -thrown at him. - -Olive was gone from him—gone with Cotterell! - -Yet after having thus dealt him a death-blow, Madame seemed full of pity -and little acts of personal attention. She helped him out of the waggon, -brought him into the house, took his hands and washed them, cooled his -forehead with a wet towel, offered him food, and in short treated him -much as if he had been a suffering child whom she was tending. At last -he seemed to recover himself somewhat as she was passing her soft hand -across his brow. - -“You are very good to me,” he said brokenly, “and if I seem to accept -your kindness unheedingly, forgive me. I am not myself to-night. I don’t -know what I am doing. Oh, it can’t be!” he suddenly burst out. “She is -not gone. I shall see her again. She will come back. How do you know she -has gone with him? I don’t believe it.” - -“Poor Ezra, love dies hard, I know. Some of the men asked if she was -going with him, and she answered distinctly, ‘Yes.’ Then they were -sorry, they said, they had not hung him before she came up with them.” - -“No, I won’t believe it. Something has happened to her. Why should she -go off with him?” said Ezra distractedly. - -“Did you not know that he was repeatedly here to see her, whenever you -were out of the way?” said Madame, who did not think she was -exaggerating in any way. - -“She told me all that,” answered Ezra nervously, “but she was only -amused by his talk.” - -“No, your love is blind. Dear Ezra, I wish I could soften the blow. -There is no doubt about it. I saw them once together at the spring, he -kissed her at parting. It was a man and the woman he loved. I cannot be -mistaken. Remember he was very handsome and winning in his manners, and -she was young and pretty.” - -“Ah, my sweet little Ollie! My little rose-bud,” cried Ezra, starting to -his feet. “I’ll go to her, she shall not wander away out of my reach -without one effort to save her from herself. She was only a child. Why -didn’t you look after her?” he asked, suddenly facing Madame with an -angry glance. - -“Did you give her into my charge either by word or hint?” returned she, -somewhat taken aback. - -“It was not your fault. Forgive me. I am too distracted to know what I -say. I remember she refused to go to you. She said she would rather stay -at home. I tried to urge her, but she would not consent to it,” said -Ezra in a low voice. - -“Ah,” remarked Madame, “very possibly she expected him to come to her -during your absence.” - -“No, no, you shall not say that!” said Ezra in agony. “I cannot bear it. -She had no such thought. She was as innocent as the flowers, as she -looked at me with her sweet eyes. She had no such thought, I know.” - -“It is ever thus,” said Madame, coming closer to him and speaking with -an unwonted tremor in her voice. “Love seems always at cross purposes. -You give all your love to Olive, who gives all hers to Cotterell. -Another gives all her love to you. We are equally unhappy.” - -Ezra gazed at her in silent amazement as if he were doubting that he had -understood her. - -“Yes,” she went on more calmly in her deep sweet voice. “I am more in -need of pity than you. Your love has left you, and you grieve, but men -will give you sympathy. When I lost my love I had to smile and pretend -delight. I had to look on his joy and hers. You are not called upon to -congratulate Cotterell on his happiness.” - -“Great God, is that you, Madame? Or is it that I am going mad, and is -this some mocking fiend?” gasped Ezra, starting up. - -“Not a mocking fiend, Ezra, but I myself who for once in this world am -enjoying the rare privilege of telling the truth. Ezra Weston, you are -not the most unhappy person in Perfection City. I have long enjoyed that -melancholy pre-eminence. Now in a common misfortune let us comfort one -another.” - -Ezra sat down again and dropped his head in his hands. Occasionally he -looked at her as she moved about the room putting everything in order. -It almost seemed as if he was trying to understand who she was and that -he could hardly do so, his mind was in such a turmoil of grief and -misery. She laid out two more candles beside those already alight in the -candle-sticks. - -“You will sit up all night,” she said at last. “These candles will last -half the time, then light the other two. It is hard sitting in the dark -alone with one’s breaking thoughts. Light the candles and keep them -burning. That is what I did on the night you left to go to Smyrna to be -married, and on the night when you brought her home here to Perfection -City.” - -She closed the door and left him alone with those two thoughts. Was it -her marvellous reading of the human heart which prompted this -extraordinary woman to declare her love to Ezra in those bold -uncompromising words on this night of all others in his life? She knew -that he would sit there in his deserted home, brooding over his lost -wife, she knew also that every now and then the scorching recollection -of what she had said would break in upon the brooding thoughts and -scatter them. This then was the means, the almost unheard-of means, she -had taken in order to soften the blow that had fallen upon him. He would -not be able to think of himself as the most unhappy individual in -Perfection City, because she had claimed that distinction in words which -he never could forget. It was just as she had foreseen. It repeatedly -happened during the course of that long and dreadful night that Ezra -forgot why he was sitting alone in the kitchen, so lost was he in -amazement at the recollection of the words which Madame had spoken. As -the hours wore on it seemed to him that they became more and more -impossible, until he began to think of them as the work of a brain -unhinged by sorrow. Was it all a hideous dream, and would he awake by -and bye? The first pair of candles burned out, and he lighted the second -pair, recalling as he did so what she had said she did when he brought -Olive home. Ah, Olive, Olive! His heart kept calling out in its misery. - -He went into their little private room off the kitchen, in a sort of -infatuation to see if she might be there. No. All was silent, still, -deserted. He examined the tiny room minutely, saw the half-withered -flowers on the table, took them up, and would have kissed them in his -misery, only his eye lighted on a strange object he had never seen -before. It was a man’s heavy seal-ring. He picked it up and examined it -by the light of the candle: a plain gold ring set with a well-cut onyx -intaglio of a griffin’s head. As he turned it about the light showed -something-engraved in the inside of the ring. He held the candle nearer -and read “J. G. C.” - -He dropped the ring as if it had been an adder, and fled out of the -room. As if pursued by furies, he rushed from the house and wandered -about out of doors. Diana, who since Olive’s departure had been in a -most miserable frame of mind, followed him about dejectedly, with her -tail between her legs. Ezra, turning, saw the dog and for one moment -felt a savage desire to kill it, for Olive had loved the dog and Olive -had broken his heart. This phase passed, and in a passion of grief and -despair he stooped and kissed the animal, for Olive had often patted -Diana’s head, and fondled her long ears. The dog whined in sympathy and -turned suggestively back to the house. Ezra followed mechanically. He -would not go into the room where that ring lay, but remained in the -kitchen. Exhausted nature could stand no more, and towards morning he -fell into a troubled sleep, with his head resting upon his arms crossed -on the table. Then in his dreams Olive came back to him in that vivid -yet unsatisfying way in which our dearest do sometimes return to us, -seemingly but to mock our grief. Olive was there, standing before him, -but she looked at him not with her eyes, but with Madame’s. There was -something terrible in seeing her own expression gone and in its place -the look of another, and yet it was Olive, and she called on him to -follow her. He hurried after her with the lead-clogged feet that always -walk in dreams, and strained to reach her. When he did so, he found -Madame. Olive and Madame flitted before his fevered fancy, always -shifting and changing one into another, until he panted with the horror -of it. - -He awoke with a start as the door opened. His half-aroused eyes saw a -vaguely defined figure in the door-way, blocking out the light of the -morning. - -“Olive,” he said, putting out his hand blindly. - -“I have come to cook your breakfast,” said Madame’s soft smooth voice. - -“Don’t. I can’t eat it,” said Ezra, falling back into despair. - -“Life must go on, even when all joy is banished from it,” she said. “We -have each one of us to learn that lesson, friend Ezra.” - -She began deftly enough to light the fire and make the necessary -preparations for breakfast. Madame knew how to do the ordinary -house-work that falls to woman’s lot, only she did not choose to do it -in her own home. Therefore she employed Lucinda for this purpose, until -other and stronger motives arose which prompted her to undertake the -work herself. The habit of every day life is strong, and when Ezra saw -Madame getting breakfast ready, as a matter of course he arose and got -himself ready, by changing his clothes and generally performing the -necessary preliminaries to the morning meal. He was less wild and -hollow-eyed after this ceremony, but the extraordinary drawn and aged -look on his face seemed only the more marked. - -Madame cooked an omelette with scraps of savoury dried beef in it, and -after the first mouthful Ezra was obliged to admit that he relished the -food. He could not go on living on his grief, as Madame said. She sat -with him and took her breakfast also. Napoleon Pompey, who would have -been in the way, was relegated to the society of his mother, who divided -her emotions between maternal anger at boyish shortcomings and maternal -love for the short-comer, both of which were expressed with the exalted -vehemence customary to the negro nature. - -“I shall come each day and cook your food for you. I have often longed -to be able to do something for you, Ezra. Do not forbid my coming. I -have had so little joy in my life,” said Madame, with a strange humility -of manner totally at variance with her usual character, which was almost -domineering, one might say. Ezra looked at her in a troubled sort of -way. It soothed him to have her there, and he was glad that somebody, -that anybody, could take an interest in him. Still there came across his -mind flashes of doubt as to what this interest meant. He could not -forget those words that Madame had used on the evening before. No man -who had ever heard such words from a woman’s lips, if ever man did hear -them under similar circumstances, would ever again be able to drive them -from his memory, but in his bruised and suffering state Ezra was content -to drift on and let things rest. So Madame came daily to his house and -cooked his food and saw that he ate something at each meal. - -Uncle David and the brethren came to see him, but that gave him no -comfort. He shrank from their sympathy, expressed with kindness, but -each word was like a drop of molten lead upon a raw wound. Willette was -perhaps the only one who gave him real consolation in this awful time. - -“I say,” remarked the child, in a clear voice and without a trace of -embarrassment, “Sister Ollie’s gone an’ lost herself down there in the -bush, I reckon. She was ’bout the greenest hand at keepin’ to the Pole -Star ever I see. You could throw her out o’ her direction quicker nor -nothin’. I guess she headed plumb for the Missouri border when she come -’long with Cotterell to show him out o’ Union Mills. Guess she’ll ride -’bout down to Saint Jo ’fore she knows she’s headin’ wrong. I wouldn’t -’spect her back ’fore a fortnight.” Willette laughed pleasantly, and -poor Ezra derived some comfort from the preposterous convictions of the -child and her unshakable belief in Olive. - -He went to Union Mills to make some inquiries about his lost wife, and -met there the same story that Madame had already told, but the story was -so brutally hurled at him he could not bear it, and came home bruised -and stricken, his heart bleeding tears of agony. Instinctively he went -to Madame for comfort. - -“Ezra, perhaps this terrible trial was needed to purify us all, to make -us all more perfect communists. I can discern a valuable lesson that may -be of profit to the brethren. I begin to think that after all marriage -is selfish: perfect love alone is unselfish. You would not have kept -Olive beside you by force, if her heart had gone from you, would you?” - -“I thought our marriage was for life.” - -“Yes, but she made a mistake as to her feelings; she found she loved -someone else better. It was wise of her, after all, to break the bond. -It would only have galled you both.” - -“I should have been content if she had only let me love her,” said Ezra. - -“Ah yes, I know that feeling but too well,” said Madame, bringing his -mind with a shock to the thought that she never long allowed to sleep. - -“It is a terrible world,” said Ezra beginning to realize what a spell -she was weaving around him. - -“It rests with ourselves to make it easier in the only way,” replied -Madame. - -Uncle David took up a firm position of his own and refused to listen to -anybody or anything. - -“I hain’t agoin’ to b’lieve nothin’ ’gin little Ollie,” he announced. “I -don’t care ’bout proofs an’ things. Land! If I b’lieved in proofs there -hain’t no sort o’ foolishness I shouldn’t be up to. I b’lieve in -pussons.” - -That was his position, and he stuck to it with unswerving fidelity. He -was happy in his blind faith, and no one tried to shake it. The old man -then began a strange sort of hunt after Olive. He would sit all day long -at the forge, where, of course, strangers were most likely to pass, and -to each he would put questions about the “little gal” he was so -pathetically seeking. He spoke little, he who used to be so chatty, but -sat hour after hour in silent patient expectation of the return of his -loved one. The brethren began to think he must be losing his wits from -sorrow, poor old man! - - - - - CHAPTER XXI. - THE MESSAGE. - - -A long weary fortnight had passed since the day when Ezra came home to -find his wife gone. Life went on at Perfection City much the same as -before, although to him it seemed as if the Universe was out of gear. He -took no part or interest in the daily affairs of the Community, never -coming to the Assembly or consulting with the brethren upon any matters. -He withdrew himself from the companionship of his fellows, and only that -Madame continued to come to his house every day in order to cook his -dinner and sit with him while he ate it, he would have been absolutely -alone. Ezra acquiesced in her devotion, and dared not ask himself how -the debt was to be repaid that she was piling up against him. The -Pioneers, who during the past fortnight had revelled in a perfect -carnival of gossip, felt themselves at liberty to express an opinion -upon this new development of the drama that was being acted in their -midst. Sister Carpenter said to Sister Winkle that she thought there -ought to be a period of mourning allowed, however brief, between first -and second marriage, and that Brother Ezra hadn’t ought to go a-courting -so soon. She did not know that it was Madame who did the courting in -that strange, forward, imperial way that we must suppose the Empress -Katharine affected. Uncle David, whom love for Olive had rendered -extremely keen-sighted as to what was going on, evinced very great -displeasure. Madame had no right to try and make Ezra’s home happy, and -he told her so in language of unmistakable import. She was angry to a -degree that terrified him, and he shrank back alarmed beyond measure at -the wrath which he had provoked. - -“Yes, I know, you want Ezra’s life to be wrecked by that vain, selfish -little hussy who never cared for him, and who went off with the first -gallant that beckoned to her. Ezra’s life shall not be wrecked, mine -shall be expended in drawing it into a haven of rest. Olive is not -worthy of tying the latchet of his shoe. I hope she will be cast off by -her lover, and left to sink amid the mud and mire of such as she. I hate -her!” - -Uncle David was frightened and crept away to Brother Green, where he sat -hour after hour mournfully watching the fire. It was on one of these -days when he was in the forge that a young negro on a raw-boned Indian -pony rode up to Madame, who was on the point of starting for her daily -expedition to Ezra’s, and inquired “whar ole man Weston lived,” as he -had a message for him. Instead of answering directly, Madame endeavoured -to find out what the boy wanted of Ezra. The little darkie thereupon -produced a scrap of crumpled paper from the recesses of his ragged shirt -and informed Madame he wanted to give him “dat ar’.” Madame took the -paper, opened it, and gave a gasp. Then in a moment she recovered -herself with an effort, and assured the negro it was all right, and that -she would see to it. She made most particular inquiries as to where he -lived, and then sent him off, happy with a piece of corn-bread and a -dollar for himself. - -Having thus got rid of the negro lad, Madame proceeded on her way to -Ezra’s house in order to perform her daily task there. She seemed -strangely excited, and her blue eyes glittered like sapphires. Her whole -bearing was that of a person labouring under intense excitement, all -traces of which she was endeavouring to conceal. Her very voice had a -new ring in it as she talked with Ezra, and her breath came quick and -fast. Had his senses been less dulled by suffering, he could not have -failed to notice the change in her, notwithstanding her efforts at -concealment. He was sitting, looking with unseeing eyes across the -vacant cornfield, when suddenly she spoke. - -“Ezra, let us go away from this place. Let us leave all the -recollections of Perfection City behind us, and begin life afresh.” - -He turned his eyes upon her with a slow questioning look, showing how -far away had been his thoughts at the moment. - -“How can we leave this place? There is too much money and too much -labour sunk in it for us all to leave and go to some other spot.” - -“Not all, dear friend, only you and I,” said Madame, in her caressing -voice. - -Ezra started. “That is even more impossible,” he said, in great -agitation. - -“Why impossible? I have money. It will more than suffice for all our -needs, nay, it will give us all the luxuries we can sigh for.” - -“It is not that, but you forget——” - -“No, Ezra, I don’t forget, but I want you to forget. I want you to draw -a wet sponge over the recollection of the past and begin anew. It is not -too late.” - -“You don’t know what you are saying, Madame. You cannot mean it.” - -“I do mean it, and I know what it means. You have no tie——” - -Ezra shivered. - -“Neither have I. We are both free to make our lives what we list.” - -“You mistake, we are both tied by all our past lives, and with bonds -that may not be lightly broken. We are tied by our own feelings as well -as by the good opinion of the world at large.” - -Madame snapped her fingers with scorn. - -“That for the world at large and its opinions. Do you remember what I -told you about my father and my birth? Thank God, I have no name to -lose.” - -“I cannot do less than tell you the truth,” said Ezra in great distress. -“Wherever I went my heart would remain here, where I have known true -happiness, and it will always be looking for my lost one to come back to -me.” - -“She won’t come back till Cotterell is tired of her,” said Madame -brutally. “Will you be grateful for his cast-off mistress?” - -“Stop,” said Ezra, putting his hand quickly before her lips, “you must -not speak so of her to me.” - -“Fool that I am!” muttered Madame under her breath. She turned from him -with a gesture of anger. - -“Oh, forgive me,” exclaimed Ezra, seeing and feeling what the expression -meant. “Never was man so miserable, never was one so unhappily placed. I -owe you more than words can say, I owe you my best thoughts, I owe you -my very life itself. I would willingly give you my life——” - -“Then why not give it and come with me?” burst out Madame. “Leave all -this misery behind you, I will make your path as smooth as heart could -wish. Come.” - -“My heart can never follow any other path, it will dwell amid the ruins -of its former happiness. Do not speak again of this. Let us remain -friends as before.” - -“It can never be again as it was before,” said Madame with heaving -bosom. - -“Why not?” asked Ezra. “I have not much else left in life.” - -“Why not,” repeated Madame in scorn. “You ask me why not! Would you care -for Olive’s friendship when all her love was given to Cotterell?” - -“Stop,” cried Ezra, and this time there was a ring of anger in his -voice. “Even you may presume too far. Do not again speak that name to -me.” - -There is something untamed and untameable in the Russian nature which -now and then comes to the surface and drives an excited Muscovite into -acts seemingly at variance with the highly cultivated standard to which -he aspires. The phenomenon may by the learned be attributed to a sudden -reversion to the ancestral Asiatic savage. Madame was at this moment -rapidly going back to the state of furious anger, when all sense of -dignity would be lost. She was reverting to the Asiatic. And under the -influence of her passion her physical appearance changed, her eyes -became narrow slanting openings emitting sparks of steel-blue flame, her -full red lips were drawn tightly over her teeth. She hissed out her -words. - -“Does her image still come between us?” - -“It does come between us,” said Ezra looking almost as white as she did. -“Her image will always come between me and every other woman on the -whole earth, blotting out every other image and making me only hers. Oh, -Olive! Oh, my wife!” - -He gave a great sob of agony. - -“Besotted fool!” burst from Madame’s colourless lips, “do you hold this -language to me? You scorn me and my love! Then on your own head be the -consequences. Ah, now nothing shall stop me. An angel from heaven, no, -nor God Himself shall stand between me and my revenge. Ezra Weston, -farewell!” - -She left the room, shutting the door upon him and his misery. Unhappy -man! His world seemed crumbling beneath his feet. He had lost his wife, -and now his friend, the one whom he most revered, had cast him out from -her regard. What could he do? His heart answered, nothing but dumbly -suffer in the deserted home where he was left alone. What a black and -barren waste was his life! And how fair and smiling it had looked a few -short weeks ago! It was as if a devastating fire had passed over him -leaving his heart like the desolated prairie, black and hopeless. - -Madame went away alone for one day, no one knew whither, and came back -with a look on her face that struck terror into all who saw her. Her -smooth white face looked cruel and pitiless, and the gleam from her eyes -reminded one of cold steel. Her soft hands sometimes closed on their own -pink palms with a spasmodic clutch, as if she had the throat of an enemy -between their cruel grasp and was crushing the life out of him. A cold -dreadful face, a cruel sickening look that made Napoleon Pompey and -Uncle David shiver within their souls, and caused the brethren to draw -away affrighted from their once beloved leader. Perfection City was the -abode of wretchedness. The Academy never opened its doors to the -assembled Pioneers, who were afraid to come near Madame’s house. Each -lived by himself, looking askance at his neighbour, for over all had -fallen a spirit of suspicion. Only Brother Huntley, the deaf brother, -and his mute wife were happy, working on contentedly, shielded by their -misfortune from the full knowledge of the disasters that had come upon -the Community. - -The days dragged miserably by, seemingly endowed with a miraculous -length of hours, for the sufferings of a life-time were compressed into -that hideous fortnight. The glaring sun blazing down upon the blackened -prairie seemed to Ezra to have become no unfitting symbol of hell. The -light was hateful, darkness, eternal darkness would have been a relief -to his brain. Could it be possible that he was going to live his life -out in a realized purgatory? He was young, only twenty-five, and if his -life was to stretch even to the average span of human existence, what an -eternity of suffering lay before him! A brokenhearted man amid the ruins -of his broken life. - -It was on one of these days of utter black despair, like the days that -had gone before and the days that were still to come, that the same -ragged negro boy on the straggly Indian pony, who once before had made -his appearance at Perfection City, was seen skulking around the old land -near Weddell’s Gully. He seemed to want to see without being seen. By -and bye Napoleon Pompey chanced that way and of course pounced upon him -with the universal query of “whar he gwine?” The boy after some -hesitation made it clear that he had come on a secret mission. He wanted -to find Uncle David without being seen by anyone else, especially not by -the white-faced lady, Madame, of whom he stood in shivering dread. -Napoleon Pompey, sympathising with the dread, volunteered to take a -letter to Uncle David without fear of detection. Thereupon the darkie -delivered over to him a scrap of newspaper upon which was written a -scrawl with the burnt end of a stick, and having done so galloped off on -his straggly pony with a whoop of delight, as one who had escaped -dreadful peril. Napoleon Pompey, finding it difficult to deliver his -embassy to Uncle David undetected, gave the curious missive to Ezra with -intimations that it was to be put into Uncle David’s hands right away. - -Ezra took the scrap of paper, saying there must be some letter inside, -and mechanically unfolded it, when the hoarse scream that he uttered -almost made Napoleon Pompey jump through the window. - -“Where did you get this?” he panted. - -“Darkie gin it ter me jes’ while back.” - -“Who gave it? What was his name? Where did he live? Who sent him here?” -asked Ezra in a breath. - -“Darkie he didn’t go for to say nuffin, on’y jes’ gin dat ar, an’ tole -me ter pike to ole Uncle David wid it.” - -Ezra darted out of the house and ran like a mad-man to Madame’s and -burst into the room where she and Uncle David were just sitting down to -supper. He held out the scrap of paper to the old man and gasped: - -“Olive is somewhere!” - -“I presume that was already known, and that it can hardly be considered -news,” said Madame’s cool cutting voice, which brought Ezra somewhat to -his senses. - -“She is somewhere near. She sent a negro boy with this. Read it.” He -shoved it under Uncle David’s nose. - -“I can’t see to read it, read it aloud, let me hear all she says in her -letter,” said the old man with trembling eagerness. - -“It isn’t a letter. It says, ’Uncle come to Olive,’ only those four -words, nothing else, and just look, scratched with a bit of burnt stick -on a piece of newspaper! Oh, think of it! Where can she be? Why didn’t -she write before if she was in trouble? What has happened?” - -“Perhaps it is a hoax,” said Madame between her drawn white lips. - -“There hain’t in this world a bein’ so lost to all feelin’ as would make -a joke o’ our sorrow,” said Uncle David. “No, Ezra, that’s writ by our -little gal. We must go to her. Come ’long, brother.” He put on his hat -and started cheerfully for the door. - -“Where are you going?” asked Madame, in a muffled voice. - -“I’m agoin’ to little Ollie.” - -“Where is she, do you know?” - -“Ezry, don’t you know where we’ve got to go to?” - -“I know nothing, except that this scrap of paper has been brought by a -negro boy.” - -Ezra kissed the paper, and Madame’s lips curled in contempt. - -“Is it not rather a wild-goose chase to start you know not whither, and -at this time of the evening too?” - -“We can’t wait here after little Ollie’s told us to come,” said Uncle -David simply. - -“Cannot you suggest some plan?” asked Ezra, turning to Madame by force -of habit. - -“Not I,” she replied contemptuously. “Shall you go east, west, north, or -south? The world lies all before you.” - -“Ain’t you glad little Ollie’s found?” asked Uncle David, looking -wistfully at her. - -Madame laughed harshly. They went out of the room together feeling her -presence insupportable. Just round the corner they came upon Napoleon -Pompey who was peeping around to see if he could pick up any scraps of -news. He had divined there was news from Olive, and with the -inquisitiveness of his race had followed Ezra when he had rushed so -wildly out of the house. - -“D’yer know whar ter go?” he inquired. - -“No,” said Ezra. “Can you tell us anything of that negro boy? Do you -know where he lives?” - -“Ask her,” said Napoleon Pompey, jerking his thumb over his shoulder in -the direction of the door from which they had just emerged. - -“Ask who?” - -“Madame,” said Napoleon Pompey. - -“Does she know?” asked Ezra, amazed. - -“I seed dat ar pony hyar afore,” replied Napoleon Pompey. - -“Great Heavens!” said Ezra as drops of sweat burst out on his forehead. -He hurried back to the house with Uncle David. Neither of them spoke a -word. - -“Madame,” said Ezra, as they once more stood in the room, “I have come -to ask you a question. Do you know where my wife is?” - -She looked him unflinchingly in the face and answered: - -“Yes.” - -“May the Lord forgive you!” said Uncle David, in a voice hardly above a -whisper, and for some seconds there was a complete silence in the room, -broken only by the sound of Ezra’s heavy breathing. - -“Where is she?” he demanded sternly. - -“Go and find her,” was the mocking answer. - -Ezra sprang furiously forward, and almost yelled out, - -“Tell me at once or——” - -“Ay yes,” she said with a steady look, “you will drag the secret out, -will you?” - -She tore open her dress and exposed her snow-white throat. - -“See, there it is handy. Take a knife and cut my throat. See if I shall -flinch. The last gurgle of my blood bubbling up through the wound, shall -bear a sound of mocking laughter. Strike!” - -Ezra turned from her in horror. “She must be mad,” he said to Uncle -David. - -“Not mad now, I have been mad all these months, all these years. Mad to -love you, mad in loving such a one as you. Now I am sane. Ah, how I hate -you!” - -“This is horrible,” said Ezra, putting his hand before his eyes. - -“Horrible, is it? It is the waking from love’s young dream. Ha, ha!” - -“Madame, dear child, think of all you have been to us,” said Uncle -David, reaching his hands out to her imploringly. “You have led us, -think of all that.” - -“I do think of all that. I think of how I found this boy,” she said, -pointing in scorn to Ezra, “ignorant, unformed, with wild crude -longings. I think of how I infused light and life into the darkness of -his mind. How I rose, aye, above myself, in order to lead him up and on. -I think of all his half-formed longings put into working form and -endowed with vital power that he might see his thoughts taking shape. I -made him. He was mine. Then he left me for a few brief weeks. He saw a -pretty doll’s face with an empty head, and straightway he loves with -never a thought of me. You ask me to think. I do think of how even this -I bore, and so great was my love that for his sake I welcomed the doll -that had stolen my place, and smiled on her. Even this I did and -remained his friend. She, the doll, attracted by a handsome face, her -love aroused by the stolen kisses of a yellow moustache, left him. Then -I was free to love him once more. I laid my heart at his feet. He -spurned me. All my love was as nothing against the memory of the doll -who had deserted him. She may die and rot before word of mine shall -restore her to him.” - -Neither Ezra nor Uncle David had attempted to speak while Madame was -pouring forth the torrent of her bitter words. Ezra felt too overwhelmed -to say anything, for a moment, in the downfall of so many illusions and -high hopes, he forgot even Olive. Uncle David was the first to recover -himself. - -“Dear child,” he said, for the first time in his life addressing her as -one beneath him. “These are wild words you’ve been sayin’. I can’t find -it in my heart to believe they’re true. You are disappointed, an’ you -think wrong can be made right by turnin’ things upside down. Tain’t so. -You’ll have to learn that right an’ wrong can’t change places, nohow you -fix it. You have still your duty here in the City you’ve founded an’ the -principles you’ve set up.” - -Madame looked at him with glittering eyes. - -“Will you hear the truth about Perfection City too? Then listen. It is -not an experiment in new principles, it is an example of the oldest the -world has seen—of the folly of a fond woman. I founded Perfection City -so that he might love the founder. I staked my all on a throw of love’s -dice, and lost. Women have done it before and will do it again. Some -fools degrade their body to win a man, I degraded my mind. The -foundation-stone of Perfection City was my heart, see what will happen -when it is crushed! Ah, why can we not profit by the experience of our -elders! My mother warned me, having tried it, never to stake my -happiness on the love of man. I followed her advice for five-and-thirty -happy years. Then I saw _him_, and the curse fell.” - -She threw up her arms over her head and backed towards the door of her -own apartment. - -“The curse, the curse!” she exclaimed, as she passed through out of -their sight. - -Ezra had a confused feeling that he had just seen someone drowning who -had reached appealing hands towards heaven as she went under. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII. - OLIVE’S SECOND HOME-COMING. - - -And where was Olive all this time? She and Cotterell rode out of Union -Mills together, as we have seen, and as was seen by nearly all the men -who had assembled there that morning in the expectation of seeing him -hanged. They rode silently among “the boys” getting their horses ready, -they silently passed among the trees to the south and crossed the ford -of the Creek. Then Cotterell spoke, pouring forth his words of thanks -and gratitude to her. He was not ashamed to show that he was deeply -moved, now that none but Olive could see his emotion. She, on the other -hand, seemed almost in an unconscious state so little heed did she give -to his eager words. - -“Speak to me, tell me what you wish,” he pleaded very gently, noticing -her abstraction. - -“I want you to go away,” she said slowly. “You are safe from their anger -for this time, but do not stay here and court danger. This is no place -for a man like you to live. Go while there is yet time. There is now a -blood-feud between you and the Mills. They will mark you for vengeance, -and they are wild bad men.” - -“And you?” said Cotterell, looking anxiously at her. “I want to see you -safely at home. You are ill, I fear.” - -“I am all right,” answered Olive wearily. “You must go to the South Fork -at once. Take the Kansas City stage this very night and go. There is no -time to be lost.” - -“I cannot, and will not,” answered Cotterell. “I must take you home -first. You look frightfully tired and ill.” - -“No, it would be the crudest thing you could do to bring me home. I want -to go back to Ezra, I am so tired,” said Olive plaintively. - -“Must I let you go all by yourself over this lonely prairie? I cannot -bear the thought of it.” - -“I have been two days and one night all by myself out on this lonely -prairie in order to save you. Please do what I ask. Tie Queen -Katharine’s rein to Rebel’s bit, they will then go quietly together.” - -“Tell me,” said Cotterell breathlessly, “why have you been out all this -time on the prairie alone?” - -“I was following the men who had captured you in order to save you if I -could.” - -“Great Heavens!” he burst out, with his blue eyes aflame. “And you did -this heroic act because you——” - -“I did it because you are an innocent man, and I wanted you to go back -to your country to live a better life and be a better man than you ever -had been before.” - -The light died out of his eyes. He looked down, his hands trembled as -they had never trembled when on his trial. - -“Your sacrifice shall not have been in vain,” he said in a low voice. - -“Then good-bye, and all good blessings attend you.” - -She shook hands with him and left him standing at the parting of the -ways. When she was quite out of sight over the ridge on her way towards -Cotton Wood Creek, he, with blinding tears streaming down his sun-burnt -face, turned and walked to the South Fork, caught the Kansas City -stage-coach and departed out of Olive’s life. - -She hardly knew what she was doing she felt so ill. It seemed a relief -not to have to talk any more, for she found it difficult to keep hold of -her thoughts, they seemed constantly to be slipping away from her. The -sun was burning hot, and she had a long way to go, for she had come out -of Union Mills by the south side instead of the north. Therefore she -must make a great sweep round to the right in order to reach her home, -and she must remember that the Creek was only to be safely forded at -certain places. She rode on and on, feeling the sun hotter and hotter -and her head heavier and heavier. At last she was so dizzy she could no -longer see where she was going. Whatever happened she must lie down for -a few minutes. Somehow she got off her horse and lay down at the side of -the track she had been following, but whether in sleep or in -unconsciousness she never knew. - -By and by she came to herself again. The horses were both gone! She had -forgotten to picket them. She did not remember where she was, but -mechanically stumbled along the road and at length was overtaken by a -negro woman driving an ox-waggon. She begged of the woman to let her get -into the waggon and take her home for she felt ill, and the negress, -struck with pity, declared she would, “fo’ de po’ chile was mos’ sick to -deaf anyhow.” Olive got into the waggon and knew no more for hours—or -was it days, or was it weeks? Two nights out in the poisonous prairie -dew had done their work: she was down with chills and fever, a raving -panting lunatic, or else a stupid heavy sleeping log, taking no heed of -day or night or the hours as they flew, only craving water to drink, -ever more water to drink. By and by she began to have intervals when she -knew that she was in a strange place with strange black faces around -her. Then at last her senses returned, and she sent an imploring message -to Ezra to come to her. In reply had come Madame, stern, fierce-eyed, to -see her and crush her with the awful news that Ezra was dead. Olive fell -back into unconsciousness under the blow, she did not know for how long. -But after weary suffering she awoke again, still in that same strange -place, still with those black faces around her, kind and pitying, but -faces she did not know. - -Trying feebly to gather up again the threads of her life, she wished to -send word to the friends at Perfection City that she was still alive. -The negroes, who were the only inhabitants of the wretched house where -she was, seemed not to heed her wishes. They refused to take any -messages, but would not say why. Olive grew stronger, for her young -vitality exerted itself. She demanded to know why they would not do as -she wished, but they fled from her questions and left her to her -suspicions. She tormented them with questions, and at last they said the -white-faced lady had forbidden them ever to come near her house again, -and they were afraid: she was a very terrible looking lady when she was -angry. Then Olive used her powers of persuasion upon the negro lad and -eventually got him to take her message in spite of what his mother said. -That was the scrap of paper that had come into Ezra’s hands. - -The Pioneers scattered in systematic search for Olive, spreading out in -all directions in a way that could not fail to be speedily successful. -Brother Green found her on the second day, while Ezra found the two -horses which a thrifty settler had impounded in his own fields and was -unobtrusively working until they should be called for by their owner. - -Brother Green was overjoyed at finding Olive and was not so overwhelmed -at hearing of her long illness as, under different circumstances, he -might have been. In fact he was almost pleased, for that fact, taken -together with the negro woman’s graphic account of finding her alone and -ill on the prairie on the day “o’ de hoss-thief tryin’,” made it clear -to him that she had never been with Cotterell since she was at the -abortive trial. She was very weak and languid and took little heed of -him or his remarks. - -“Ezra will be out of his mind with joy,” he said, by way of rousing her -to some interest, as he was settling her as comfortably as he could in -the ox-waggon, preparatory to setting out on their return. - -“Ezra is dead,” said Olive wearily. - -Brother Green stared hard at her. “What crazy fancy is this? Ezra is -alive and riding over towards Jacksonville at this moment hunting for -you.” - -“She told me he was dead,” said Olive, beginning to cry from the -revulsion of feeling combined with physical suffering. - -“How dared the woman tell such a lie!” exclaimed Brother Green angrily, -and then after a moment he added more mildly, “Perhaps it was a mere -mistake, she seems to have been kind to you, but negroes are not a -truth-telling race.” - -“It was not the negro woman, it was Madame,” said Olive in a hushed and -awe-struck voice. - -“Nonsense, you are raving, Sister Olive,” said he sharply. - -“She came to me and told me during my illness.” - -“When?” - -“I can’t tell. I don’t remember when things happened. I was so ill.” - -“Then depend upon it, you have fancied this. Fever fancies seem very -real at times.” - -He experienced a certain relief in speaking thus confidently on the -subject to her. - -“The negro woman knows. Ask her who came here and forbade them to bring -any more messages from me to Perfection City.” - -It was singular, considering the way he had spoken, that Brother Green -did not take this simple means of assuring himself that Olive’s idea was -the effect of the disordered workings of a fevered brain. But he said -never a word to the negro woman on the subject, but drove slowly and -thoughtfully back to Perfection City, with Olive in the ox-waggon, lying -on a heap of corn-shucks covered with the ragged patch-quilt the woman -had lent her. It was a long and a weary journey thus creeping back home -over the blackened prairie. Olive sometimes wondered if she would get -there alive, and she moaned in her misery. For the rest, Brother Green -spoke but little. Since assuring Olive of the falseness of her idea that -Madame had been to see her, he appeared to have lost the cheerfulness he -had shown upon finding her. Brother Green was thinking of the future of -Perfection City, and it looked black enough to him. It was no secret -that Madame had refused to reveal Olive’s whereabouts to her husband, -and in the light of that circumstance he could foresee nothing but -strife, ill-will and enmity in Perfection City. How were Olive and -Madame to meet, and above all how were they to live in harmony for the -future? These were the thoughts that occupied his mind and kept him -silent during that long slow drive. - -Olive, too, was trying to look into the future, and she shivered with -dread as she did so. Madame’s pitiless eyes were before her still, but -Ezra would be there, he would shield her and comfort her, and she could -rest her head peacefully on his honest breast. Dear Ezra! Why had he not -come to her when she had sent for him? She hoped he would be there to -greet her and to save her from that terrible woman, whose colourless -face in its icy cruelty still haunted her, filling her with a great -dread. She need not have been so afraid, for when she reached Perfection -City Madame was gone. - -The Pioneers had indeed a life of much inward excitement during these -days. The return of Olive and the departure of Madame were events almost -equally calculated to disturb their equanimity as a Community. - -Ezra being still away looking for his wife in the wrong direction, there -was no one to receive her when she got home. Therefore Brother Green -took her to Sister Mary Winkle’s at once on their arrival. Olive was -weak, ill, and peevish, she cried with disappointment at not seeing -Ezra. Sister Mary Winkle administered a stimulant in the way of advice. - -“I wouldn’t take on so like a baby, Olive Weston, if I were you. Ezra’ll -come home probably to-day or to-morrow, and one day more or less ain’t -much in a life-time.” - -Olive dried her eyes with energy. - -“Everybody said you had gone off with that man Cotterell, and so we all -thought too,” observed Sister Winkle conversationally. - -“How dare you suggest such a thing to me?” exclaimed Olive, with an -amount of angry energy surprising in one so weak. - -“Well, we had it from the people who saw you go away with him, and who -heard you say you were going. I don’t see how we could possibly have -thought other than we did.” - -“You must be a wicked woman to think such a thing,” said Olive. Her chin -began to quiver piteously. - -“I am not going to condemn you,” replied Sister Winkle, in a philosophic -vein. “If you found you preferred him to Ezra I don’t think you would -have been wrong in showing your preference in an unmistakable manner. -Marriage is a partnership which either side should be free to dissolve. -Mistakes are sometimes made in it as in other affairs. Our marriage is -not a mistake, because Wright and I don’t make mistakes, but other -people are different, and I don’t see why they should be punished for an -honest mistake. Marriage should be free. Perfection City was founded on -freedom. We thought that you had used your right of choice, and since -you liked Cotterell best had gone with him. We thought that Madame would -soon marry Ezra, since he was now free, and she had always wanted to.” - -Olive sprang from her chair and steadied herself with her trembling -hands by clutching the back of it. - -“Mary Winkle, I hate you,” she said, in a voice choking with emotion. -“Perfection City is a sinful, wicked place. I wish I had never seen it. -If I live, and Ezra loves me, I hope he will take me away so I may never -hear its name again.” - -She stamped bravely out of the house under the influence of her anger, -but her strength did not carry her far, and she sank down upon the -wood-pile weeping bitterly, unable to walk another step. Sister Mary, -somewhat disgusted at the way in which her philosophy had been received, -resolved to let her cool off a little before going out to offer Olive an -arm to conduct her back into the house. Thus it came about that Olive -was still sitting weeping on the wood-pile when Uncle David came -hurrying up, having just heard of her arrival, and close behind him came -Ezra running like a mad-man. When Olive saw him she started towards her -husband with outstretched arms, but her weakness overcame her, and she -would have fallen to the ground only that he was just in time to catch -her in his arms, where she fell laughing and crying in the most -incoherent manner imaginable. - -“Oh, Ezra, you didn’t believe that wicked story? And you do love me, -don’t you? And you won’t marry her, and you aren’t dead, are you? Tell -Mary Winkle you hate her too. And why didn’t you come to me when I sent -for you?” - -Ezra could only kiss her, and pet her, and soothe her in every way while -Olive kept saying hysterically, “You won’t, will you?” and “You will, -won’t you?” All of which Ezra promised faithfully to perform. She -absolutely refused to re-enter Sister Mary Winkle’s house, whereupon the -latter, somewhat conscience-stricken, offered to send in food for their -supper at their own house, provided Olive was not told who had sent it. -The secret was kept, and Olive partook heartily of what otherwise would -undoubtedly have choked her. - -Uncle David hovered over her with anxious love and remorse. “Bless her -heart, o’ course he didn’t b’lieve nothin’ ’bout her goin’ off. Yer bet -he didn’t, he knowed it was all right, on’y she was so long a-com-in’ -home he sorter kinder got oneasy, an’ that’s why they went out to fin’ -her, an’ dear, dear, had she been an’ gone an’ got that plaguey ague, -an’ he not there to see a’ter her, an’ there wasn’t nothin’ like Ayre’s -Ague Cure for that, an’ he would go right ’long home this minute an’ get -her some right away.” - -Ezra wanted to hear her story, and she told him everything from the -beginning to the end. When she came to the end and told him of Madame’s -visit, he shivered and said it must have been delirium, he bade her -think no more of it and never speak of it again. His mind started back -from the thoughts such a story raised up before him. He was afraid, and -looked away from the abyss, terrified at what lay but half hidden there. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - CONCLUSION. - - -Madame left Perfection City alone and unattended. No one knew that she -was going, and no one knew whither she went. Her spirit, however, still -hovered over the city of her founding and made itself most potently -felt. She sold all her rights in the place, and since these included the -land, horses, and implements, as well as most of the houses, the -Pioneers awoke in early winter to find themselves homeless and -houseless, cast upon the bleak world again. In a tempest of indignation, -Sister Mary Winkle and her husband departed out of the place, and after -them the Carpenters. The going of the Wrights was highly characteristic. -They had managed to save a waggon and a pair of horses out of the -general wreck, along with a few of the most primitive household -necessaries. These, with his wife and daughter, Brother Wright packed -into his waggon and started for Union Mills. At the store there he -bought a rifle, a bowie-knife, and a plentiful supply of ammunition. He -came out of the store looking like a buccaneer ready equipped for -Central America. Mary Winkle raised her hands in speechless horror. - -“I say, pa, be yer goin’ to be a jay-hawker?” asked Willette, grinning -with delight. - -Wright got into the waggon in grim silence. - -“What _are_ you going to be?” asked Sister Mary recovering her speech at -last. - -“I’m going to be a man, Mrs. Wright, and not a blamed fool any longer. -Guess I’ll pre-empt some land near the Cherokee Reservation, and stick -to it and get the fruits of my toil, anyhow.” - -“Your principles——” stammered his wife. - -“Damn principles, Mrs. Wright. I’ve had about enough of them. Common -sense is what I want, and so do you. I guess a spell of that will come -handy now.” - -Thus they journeyed out of sight, but a legend came floating back from -near the Cherokee lands that at a difficult ford Wright was attacked by -a couple of robbers, whereupon he took up that new rifle of his and -fired so uncommonly straight that one man fell into the river, and the -other ran away. - -Brother Green remained at his forge, for blacksmiths were much in -request on the prairie, and such a one as he was hard to find. The new -owner of Perfection City offered him good inducements to stay, so he -stayed. He is still there shoeing horses and mending ploughs. The name -has been changed to Mountainburg, in order to emphasise the existence of -the rising ground over Weddell’s Gully. Brother Green is almost the -oldest inhabitant now, and sometimes he thinks of that far-off English -village where he was born, and it looks brighter and more beautiful to -him as the years roll him away from it. He thinks too of the grass-grown -grave in the church-yard where the jackdaws caw overhead, and it seems -to him that when his last day’s work shall be done he would rest more -peacefully beside that mound than in any other spot beneath the broad -canopy of heaven. - -Brother Dummy decided not to leave when the rest of the Pioneers -scattered. He preferred to stay where he was and rent a bit of land from -the new owner. By and by he was enabled to buy his bit outright. For -there came a letter addressed to “The Pioneers of Perfection City” and -containing a draft for five hundred dollars “for the hire of one horse” -from an ever grateful friend. And Brother Dummy was given this money by -the united wish of Olive, Ezra, Brother Green, and Uncle David, the last -of the Pioneers, because, as they said, he was the only one who didn’t -know why it had been sent, and he was the only one who had not suffered -through that episode that had so nearly wrecked their lives. - -On a cold winter’s day, when the snow lay in patches on the black -prairie, Olive and her husband and Uncle David set out from Perfection -City. She was pale and thin, and looked very ill as she stood leaning -against the door-way of her dismantled home. - -“I wish I could feel sorry at leaving the prairie, but I can’t. I never -want to see Perfection City again, but I’m sorry for my little home, and -I would like to see my garden blossom again.” So spoke Olive to Uncle -David, standing beside her with shawls on his arm. - -“Wal, now,” replied he sadly, “we came here full o’ the notion o’ -teachin’ folks things, but it ’pears like as if it wasn’t so much other -folks out here as needed teachin’ as jes’ our own selves. We hev hed a -hard lesson to learn, Ollie, my little gal, but I reckon we’ve pretty -well learned it by now. It mos’ likely comes to the same thing, on’y -it’s a sight more comfortin’ to human pride to set up as a teacher than -to sit down as a learner. We was as certain as anything we had a bran’ -new truth to teach to the world, an’ we was goin’ to show ’em how they’d -been doin’ wrong in everything ’fore we come to set ’em right. We was -jes’ bustin’ with pride and vanity, that’s what we was. We had foun’ a -new road to Kingdom Come, we had. ’Twasn’t no road at all, on’y a coon -track leadin’ into a swamp. Guess we’ll foller the road other folks has -trod before, an’ if we can fill up a slough or help anyone over the -rough bits as is scattered plentiful all the way, that’ll do for us. -Ain’t that your ’pinion, Ezry?” - -“Yes, Uncle, we made a mistake. We thought the great thing to do was to -reform the ways of the world. We forgot that the human heart needed -reforming first of all,” said Ezra, looking sadly at his poor -wan-cheeked little wife. - -“And if the heart is right it doesn’t matter about the rest, does it, -dear?” said Olive, looking timidly at him. - -He was sad and down-hearted and the eager enthusiasm was gone out of his -manner. Ezra was much older-looking than he should have been, if life be -reckoned by solar time alone. He had been aged by a lapse of mental time -and suffering of which the almanac can take no heed. His wife saw and -understood how he was, at this moment, realizing the downfall of his -young hopes and beliefs, that was why he gazed so sadly across the -desolate fields. - -“We take nothing away with us except sad experience,” he said as he -lifted her into the waggon and drove off. - -“And our love, dear, which nothing can ever destroy,” she whispered, -pressing his hand. - -He stooped and kissed her. There were tears in his eyes. But they made a -mistake. They took something else with them. Something that came tearing -over the prairie with tongue out and tail stiff-stretched and nose to -the ground—Diana, who had been turned over to Napoleon Pompey to have -and to hold, but he could not hold her when she saw the waggon going -off, therefore he could not have her. She caught them up when they were -two miles off, and Olive let the dog clamber all over her, regardless of -wet paws, and lick her face, so delighted were they to meet again. - - - THE END. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES - - - 1. Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in - spelling. - 2. Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed. - 3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. - 4. Enclosed bold font in =equals=. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PERFECTION CITY *** - -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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font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Perfection City, by Adela Orpen</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Perfection City</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Adela Orpen</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: March 3, 2022 [eBook #67549]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PERFECTION CITY ***</div> - -<div class='tnotes covernote'> - -<p class='c000'><strong>Transcriber’s Note:</strong></p> - -<p class='c000'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'><strong>Appletons’</strong></div> - <div class='line'><strong>Town and Country</strong></div> - <div class='line in4'><strong>Library</strong></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'>No. 212</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-l'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>PERFECTION CITY</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='titlepage'> - -<div> - <h1 class='c001'>PERFECTION CITY</h1> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>BY</div> - <div class='c003'><span class='xlarge'>MRS. ORPEN</span></div> - <div class='c003'>AUTHOR OF MARGARETA COLBERG, MR. ADOLF, THE CHRONICLES OF THE SID, ETC.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/title.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='large'>NEW YORK</span></div> - <div><span class='large'>D. APPLETON AND COMPANY</span></div> - <div><span class='large'>1897</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div><span class='sc'>Copyright, 1897,</span></div> - <div><span class='sc'>By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_v'>v</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CONTENTS.</h2> -</div> - -<table class='table0'> - <tr> - <th class='c006'><span class='small'>CHAPTER</span></th> - <th class='c007'> </th> - <th class='c008'><span class='small'>PAGE</span></th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>I.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Home-coming of the bride</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_1'>1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>II.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Uncle David</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_11'>11</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>III.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Sister Mary Winkle</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_21'>21</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>IV.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Madame Morozoff-Smith</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_27'>27</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>V.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Corn planting</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_43'>43</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>VI.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Non-resistance</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_54'>54</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>VII.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Willette</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_66'>66</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>VIII.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Mr. Perseus</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_84'>84</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>IX.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>First lessons</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_101'>101</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>X.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Practical communism</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_111'>111</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XI.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>A chance meeting</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_125'>125</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XII.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The prairie fire</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_141'>141</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XIII.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The rescue</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_156'>156</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XIV.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Cotterell “wanted”</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_170'>170</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XV.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>In quest of news</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_185'>185</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XVI.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Horse-thieves</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_204'>204</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XVII.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>A life at stake</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_219'>219</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XVIII.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Lynch-law</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_237'>237</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XIX.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Olive missing</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_251'>251</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XX.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Madame’s sympathy</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_263'>263</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXI.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The message</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_277'>277</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXII.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Olive’s second home-coming</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_293'>293</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXIII.—</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Conclusion</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_305'>305</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='chapter ph1'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>PERFECTION CITY.</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_1'>1</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER I.<br /> <span class='large'>HOME-COMING OF THE BRIDE.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>“This road isn’t called Perfection Road, is it?” -she asked jerkily, as she held tight hold of the edge -of the waggon to prevent herself from being pitched -head foremost off the seat. She would have laid her -head against her companion’s shoulder only that it -was square and hard, and she was afraid of getting -her temple “stove in,” as the sailors say, by the terrific -bumps caused by the wheels going over a big -stone or down into a deep rut. She was a bride, and -he was bringing her to their new home on the Kansas -Prairie.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“My poor little pet,” he said tenderly, “it is very -rough here. We are going down into Cotton Wood -Creek, and these stones were cast up by the last freshet -which pretty well washed the road away.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>They plunged headlong into the muddy waters -of the Creek, and the little bride would have felt -frightened only that “he” was by her side, for the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_2'>2</span>waggon creaked and groaned with the strain, and the -horses snorted uneasily, feeling their way carefully -through the rushing torrent. The Creek was safely -passed, and they slowly toiled up the long hill out of -the bottom-lands, and pulled up when once more on -the high prairie.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“There is our home, dearie,” he said, pointing -with his whip to some scattered houses a couple of -miles away. And being a bridegroom he kissed her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“So that is Perfection City, is it?” said she, shading -her eyes with her hand, for the afternoon sun sent -level rays into her face. “You know, Ezra, it is such -a funny name, I always feel inclined to laugh when -I say it. And how I shall ever dare to put it at the -top of my letters as a real address when I write to -the girls at the College at Smyrna, is more than I -know.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then don’t write it,” replied Ezra, a trifle sternly. -“It will hurt our feelings very much if you laugh -at it. You know it means a great deal to all of us.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then I’ll never laugh at it,” said the little -bride.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Which is our house?” she asked a moment later.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The one half way up the slope.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, that is nice. I like looking down across -things. I shouldn’t like to live in a valley and always -have to look up, you know.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The large building is the Academy,” said Ezra. -“That is where we hold our meetings and gather together -<span class='pageno' id='Page_3'>3</span>for all the best purposes of our little community-life.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Is it there that Madame Morozoff-Smith lives?” -asked his wife.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Her house is the one just opposite.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, that big one! It is quite the largest in the -village—the City, I mean.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra did not make any reply to this remark. He -had never realised that Madame’s house was indeed -the largest in their Community, and now he felt vexed -that this fact should have been the first his wife noted.</p> - -<p class='c010'>A small boy with shining black face and shining -white teeth, along with a yellow puppy, welcomed -them.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“This is Napoleon Pompey,” said Ezra, with much -decorum presenting the small darkie who grinned and -bobbed his head. “And this is Diana,” pointing to -the puppy that had come up to the bars along with -the negro. Diana jumped upon her new mistress and -left two black dust marks on her dress. Dust is -black in London and on the western prairie, nowhere -else.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, you dirty dog,” said the little bride, who was -a very natty body.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You’ll have to get used to dirt in all degrees -out here, Ollie,” said her husband as he led her to -the door. She looked like a little girl as she stood -beside him, for he was tall and angular and long of -leg. A sloping plank with battens nailed across it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_4'>4</span>led to the door, there were no steps. As the pair entered, -Napoleon Pompey and Diana took the horses -and waggon to the stable and began respectively to unharness -and worry them.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What a dear little house! It is just like a toy! -And do look at the saws hanging on the walls beside -the covers of the pots! Oh, won’t it be so nice and -free living here! I shall feel like an explorer in a -far country. And how funny to have nail-kegs for -seats, and oh, you dear old darling!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive jumped up and kissed her big husband.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Things are rough now, dearie,” he said with -infinite tenderness, looking at her with loving admiration, -“but by and by we shall have everything very -nice.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But I think it is just as nice as it can be -now.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“This is our room,” said he, opening a door to -the right.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why, if you haven’t gone and got a rocking-chair!” -exclaimed Olive, glancing around the small -apartment.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I made it for you myself in spare time,” answered -Ezra, pleased that she had noticed the chair the first -thing: he had often wondered, when working at that -rocking-chair, whether she would be pleased with it. -“You see,” he continued, “we have to work only -five days a week for the Community. All the rest -of our time is at our own disposal, and by and by, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span>when we are flourishing, four days for the Community -will suffice.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do you like working for other people and not -being paid?” asked Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I do not consider it as working for other people -without pay,” replied her husband, with some quickness. -“We each work for the general good, and if I -happen to plant corn that someone else will eat, then -some other member of the Community raises potatoes -that I shall eat.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“There, there, don’t be cross,” said the little wife, -noting the flush that had risen to his brow as he spoke. -“I am sure it is nice, and I shall like it when I -understand it all. At any rate we shall be very -happy whatever happens, and I like my dear little -house, and please, I am very thirsty, can I have a -drink?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He brought her some water in a tin dipper with -a long handle, and she did not make a face, but drank -the water gratefully. She determined in her own mind, -however, to have a glass tumbler the very next day, but -she was new to the prairie, and she did not get the -tumbler the next day, nor the next week, nor for -many, many long months.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What time are we to have breakfast?” she asked, -when taking over the household from Napoleon Pompey -and Diana, who had run the establishment while -her husband had been to fetch her from Ohio.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yo’ kin eat when yo’ like,” said Napoleon Pompey, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span>desiring to be all that was polite to his new mistress.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But I want to know what time you have breakfast?” -repeated Olive with persistence.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We uns got ter be hout on der lan’ ploughin’ -afore sun-up,” said Napoleon Pompey concisely.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Dear me! Why, that is before six o’clock!” exclaimed -Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I calkerlate,” said Napoleon Pompey affably.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra did not want Olive to think she was bound -to get up and prepare the working-man’s breakfast.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You are not used to that sort of hard work, -dearie. We can do very well with cold corn-bread.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Of all things the most stoggy and hopelessly uninviting,” -interrupted his wife. “No, Ezra, I won’t -have any of the people out here think I am a little -fool that can’t do any useful work. I have my pride -as well as other folks. I shall cook your breakfast -to-morrow and every day afterwards, and I shall cook -it well, see if I don’t.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am sure of that,” said her husband with the -confidence of a bridegroom.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The house of which the young bride had just taken -possession was by no means an ordinary prairie house. -Far from it. It had pretensions to comfort which the -true prairie house should never possess, and it lacked -the few elements of picturesqueness with which the -genuine article is sometimes endowed. The plan on -which it was built was of the simplest—the same that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>children adopt in building their doll’s houses—four -sides and a sloping roof, all of wood from top to bottom. -It was not a log-house, which has a few broken -lines to rest the eye of the beholder and present possibilities -to the artist, it was a frame house, that is, -the straightest, stiffest, squarest, most hopelessly unpicturesque -object that it is possible to imagine, and to -make matters worse it was painted a glaring white -from eave to foundation. There was not a broken line -or a broken tint anywhere to refresh the eye, and -it stood on the high prairie, as if hurled into a glaring -world by a Titan’s hand.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The prairie is fertile, and in the eye of a farmer -may possess the beauty of usefulness, but otherwise it -is hideous. The long rolling billows of grass present -no character, while the trees are confined to the river -valleys where they find refuge from prairie fires, and -can therefore lead a sufficiently undisturbed existence -to reach quite a respectable height. A couple of -small locust trees, not three feet high, were all that -did duty as shade-giving plants near Olive’s house, -which accordingly faced the world and its storms entirely -on its own individual merits. Judged by prairie -standard the house was “tip-top.” It possessed no -less than four rooms, while the regular settler’s cabin -was wont to indulge in only a single comprehensive -apartment, which was kitchen, parlour and bedroom -all in one. The two lower rooms were the kitchen, -which was fairly large, and a smaller one off it, reserved -<span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>for the private use of the young wife. The -kitchen looked like a ship’s cabin, only that it had -more light than usually penetrates into a ship’s cabin. -In fact it was very light, for there were two large windows, -one to the north and one to the south, geometrically -opposite each other. These two windows, -so exactly facing each other, were fairly typical of the -house itself, which was the embodiment of mathematical -accuracy. The building was placed exactly east -and west, as if it had been a carefully oriented church. -There was a door on the south side, exactly in the -middle, and a window on either side of the door, placed -accurately in the centre of the space left between the -side of the door and the end of the house. Over these -two windows were two others exactly one half their -size, giving light to the loft, and exactly in the centre -of the roof-ridge was a black stove-pipe.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The average prairie man is a genius in the way -of doing without things. He can live in a house of -the smallest dimensions, containing the minimum of -utensils. In fact, his idea of a house is that it should -be a miner’s tent solidified into substantiality. The -miner in a newly-prospected gold-field is a person who -spends his days in a hole, and has no belongings but -the clothes on his back and the shovel in his hand. -He lives on his expectations. The regular prairie settler, -would arrive in the spring, camp in his waggon, -stick grains of corn under the sod, and think himself -lucky if he could raise both the corn and a loghut, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>fourteen by twelve feet, before the cold weather -set in. Those who have passed through such a severe -school prune down their requirements. Therefore the -house to which Ezra Weston brought his little bride -was rightly considered to be a model of luxury, or in -prairie phraseology to be “powerful full o’ truck.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The kitchen certainly was full. The stove, black -and business-like, stood near the partition wall, and -on it rested a couple of huge iron pots with covers. -Chairs there were none, as Olive had remarked, but -boxes and nail-kegs did as well and were useful in -holding things. There was a large wooden table, -very strongly made, on one side, and a set of shelves -in one corner. The walls and ceiling, which were of -wood closely jointed, added to the ship-like appearance -of the room, but the presence of two large saws -and a horse-collar which hung above them made a considerable -deduction from the nautical character of the -apartment.</p> - -<p class='c010'>This model dwelling stood in the midst of a large -tract of fenced-in land. Part of this was already -under cultivation and showed a dark purple surface -to the heavens, betokening newly turned up prairie -sod full of the natural plant foods stored there for -thousands of ages. These were now about to be recklessly -used up by the ordinary system of prairie farming, -which consisted of taking everything out of the -land and of putting nothing back into it. A sort of -road, that is to say a beaten track with deep channels -<span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>on either side, led from the house to the bars, which -did duty as gate to the premises. These bars were precisely -what the name implies, bars of wood lying on -supports made for them between posts, and they were -simply let down whenever horses or other animals -had to pass in or out, and were climbed over by active -children too lazy to let them down or rather, perhaps, -too lazy to put them up again.</p> - -<p class='c010'>On one side of the bars stretching out at an angle -was an orchard just planted with trees that probably -would be worth having twenty years hence, and further -away was another field consisting simply of fenced-in -prairie grass. The fields, and indeed everything else, -were square, and every fence that did not run north -and south, ran east and west. The whole place seemed -under a despotism of compass and measuring chain. -Indeed, the prairie itself was under the same iron rule: -and by the authorities had been plotted out into squares -of a mile each way called “sections,” of which persons -could buy of the Government quarter sections or -multiples of a quarter section at a low rate. Fortunately -for humanity this conspiracy to turn the world -into a surveyor’s map was to some extent defeated by -the rivers and streams, which ran as Heaven and the -water-sheds decreed, and not as the officials at Washington -desired. This fact, and this alone, has in some -measure saved the prairie from the awful fate of mathematical -damnation.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER II.<br /> <span class='large'>UNCLE DAVID.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Mrs. Weston was tired and sat down in her rocking-chair -to rest. Her day’s work was fairly over. -The breakfast had been ready punctually at half past -five, and it was well-cooked, as she had boasted it -would be—corn-bread smoking hot, fried chicken, potatoes, -flap-jacks and molasses—a meal for a king, -to say nothing of a working-man and his negro help. -Ezra and Napoleon Pompey had partaken heartily, -especially the latter, for he had been living on underdone -hoe-cake and cold pork. Then they had gone -off to the ploughing, while Olive had bustled around -and got forward with her house-work. At eleven -o’clock she had run up the towel against the shady -side of the house, a signal easily seen from the distant -field, and signifying that dinner was ready. They -had come home, men and horses thoroughly hungry -and ready for food and rest. Ezra lay on the kitchen -floor and talked to her while she washed up the dishes. -And now it was three o’clock, and all the work was -done. She thought she would read a little. She had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>several books with her that she had been looking forward -to reading. So she took up one of them and -seated herself comfortably in the rocking-chair. The -door was open and a warm air came in from the south -along with the gleaming sunshine. Diana lay across -the door-way, but kept one eye open, so as to see -when the black hen came near enough to have a spring -at her with any chance of grabbing a mouthful of tail-feathers. -Olive’s eyes rested very little on the book, -but much on the view outside. It looked pleasant -enough in the bright May sunshine. The long brown -patch of the garden showed a few methodical green -lines that spoke of vegetables beginning to sprout. -The meadow of blue grass just beyond was likewise -by its hue showing the on-coming of the warm spring -weather, and yet again further off, on the other side -of the meadow, lay the vast field which her husband -was ploughing. Once in every half hour she could -see him turn at the head-land, and noted how seldom -he seemed to stop and rest. Napoleon Pompey was -riding the off leader, and from that distance they -seemed little insects gently crawling backwards and -forwards across the land. Pleasant it looked too and -by no means hard work. Olive determined to go out -to the field one day soon and watch the process from a -nearer point of view; she might indeed herself hold -the plough-handles, it looked easy, she would ask Ezra -to let her, she would like to learn to do all sorts of -work so as to be very useful, she would—confused images -<span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>swept slowly over her mind, she leaned back her -pretty little head and slept in her chair.</p> - -<p class='c010'>She awoke with a start. A large square figure -stood in the door-way, blocking out the sunshine, and -Diana, with the insane friendliness of a puppy, was -trying to clamber up one of his legs.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, little gal, I reckon you’re ’most tired out, -ain’t you?” said the big man, coming straight into -the room.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Mrs. Weston rose to her utmost height of five feet -two inches, and tried to be dignified.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do you wish to see my husband?” she inquired -stiffly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, I don’t want to see Ezry. I come to talk to -you a spell, and see you.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You are very kind I’m sure,” returned the little -lady icily, but the stranger did not seem one whit -abashed. He took a nail-keg and sat down on it and -looked about him. “Wal, now,” he remarked, nodding -his head, “Ezry is real downright handy. He’s -gone and got your house fine and fixed up, ain’t he -now?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is extremely comfortable, Mr.—ah—I don’t -think you mentioned your name,” said Mrs. Weston, -with a snap of her black eyes. She didn’t at all relish -the free and easy way in which this man spoke of her -husband.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do tell!” exclaimed the stranger with vast cordiality. -“An’ you didn’t know who I was. Why, I’m -<span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>Uncle David. I guessed everybody ’ud know me. -There ain’t nobody else so big and awkward looking -’bout here on this prairie as me. Why, there was -a man over to Perfection City yesterday, he come from -beyond Cotton Wood Creek, and he said he calculated -I’d be powerful useful on washing days, ’cause if they -tied the clothes-line to me I’d do instead of a pole, -an’ timber is mighty scarce anyhow.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Uncle David gave a long loud laugh that set Diana -into an ecstasy of delight, and was of itself so joyous -that, after a moment, Olive also joined in with a merry -titter. She had often heard her husband speak of -Uncle David, as being one of the kindest and most -simple-hearted of men. Her frigid manner melted rapidly -and completely.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wal, now,” began Uncle David again, after his -merriment had subsided, “how do you like our -name?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Your name,” repeated Olive considerably puzzled.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, our name, the name of the Community, Perfection -City. Do you like it?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t think I do,” replied she.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Jes’ so,” broke in Uncle David, apparently much -pleased with this answer. “I knew you wouldn’t. Nobody -does.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why did you call it such a name—such a horrid -name—and if nobody likes it, what is the use?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“There now, that’s what they all say, until I talk -<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>to ’em,” said Uncle David. “You see I gave the name -to the place.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, it was your choice!” said Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“When we came here, Niece and I, there wasn’t -no town nor nothing, it was just open prairie. Ezry -he come along too with us, and the Carpenters, and -Mrs. Ruby, and the Wrights.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You leave out Madame Morozoff-Smith,” interrupted -Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I thought you knew. Why, Madame, she’s Niece. -She ain’t my real niece, she wasn’t born in my family, -but she’s niece by adoption, and I hold she’s more to -me than half the nieces I ever seen. I ain’t cute like -most of the folks here, an’ there wasn’t no use in having -me at Perfection City. I can’t do nothing. I -can’t compose papers like Brother Wright. So I was -studyin’ to see some way for me to come with ’em. -It would ha’ broke my heart to be left behind. Madame, -she come to me, an’ says she: ‘You’ll be my -uncle. I want an uncle very much, and I’ll love you -dearly.’ An’ so I was. I call it the greatest honour -of my life when Madame made me her uncle, and added -my name to hers.” Uncle David stooped and patted -Diana’s head thoughtfully.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“When did you think of the name?” said Olive -with a view to bringing him back to the point.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, jes’ so, that’s ’xactly what I was comin’ to. -You see, when Ezry fust come here with us he wasn’t -quite clear in his mind ’bout joinin’ in with us, leastways -<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>not to be one of the Community for his whole -mortal life. It’s a serious step to take, and he was -a-doubtin’ in his mind, leastways till Madame she -talked to him for a spell. He wasn’t sure fust if he’d -got a call to community-life. He knowed it was the -best, of course, and the true life: he knowed all that -right enough, but he didn’t feel sure of himself as bein’ -fit to found a city. It is a most responsible thing to -be a founder. ’Taint everybody as is fit for it. Then -Madame made it clear how she was a founder, an’ she -is the most wonderful woman ever lived in this world, -an’ she showed Ezry how it was his duty to help in -this great work, an’ when he saw that clear he was -dreadful sot on it too. We was a-gettin’ our houses -up as spry as ever we could, and ole Wright he was -a-buildin’ th’ Academy, then Ezry says: ‘What’s goin’ -to be our name?’ It was jes’ called Weddell’s Gully, -’cause we bought from a man o’ that name. So Ezry -said: ‘Let’s call it something to signify our principles,’ -and one person said one name and one said another, -then Wright said ‘Let’s call it Teleiopolis.’”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, that sounds very pretty,” exclaimed Olive. -“Why didn’t you?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wal, now, I said that’s very pretty, jes’ the same -as you did. What does it mean, do you know?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, I don’t know. I suppose it is Greek for -something.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“’Zactly so. It is Greek for something, and that -something is Perfection City.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>“It sounds nicer.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Maybe so, but you look here. Are we Greeks?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, of course not.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then why talk in Greek?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t know, except it is prettier.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do you suppose them old Greeks, when they went -an’ founded cities, they called ’em names out o’ some -other language they didn’t understand, or did they -called ’em good solid Greek names as any little boy -’ud know what they meant?” asked Uncle David with -rising energy.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I believe they called their cities by Greek names, -in fact I know they did,” said Olive, hastily reviewing -her stock of history.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“An’ why?” asked Uncle David.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t know.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Because they wasn’t ’shamed o’ their mother -tongue like we are. That’s why,” said Uncle David, -clapping his big hand on his knee.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh indeed,” said Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“An’ that’s what I said, says I, ‘We are ’Mericans, -we are founding a new city that’s goin’ to be great -things one day. We have our principles. Let’s live -up to them. We hain’t shamed o’ nothin’. Leastways -not to my knowledge. We are goin’ to be an example -to these folks roun’ here. We are goin’ to show -’em how to live a better life nor they ever did before. -An’ how in thunder can we do that if we start by -being ’shamed of our own mother tongue? We hain’t -<span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>Greeks, we don’t talk in Greek. This hain’t Teleiopolis, -this is Perfection City.’ That is what I said to -’em.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What did they say to that?” asked Olive, -much interested in the rugged honesty of Uncle -David.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wal, I don’t know as they said anything much, -on’y Ezry, he said he guessed he’d had his fust lesson, -an’ he come and shook hands an’ said it certainly -should be Perfection City, an’ so it was.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I shall think better of the name now,” said Olive. -“Only at first I was afraid of people laughing, people -who didn’t understand it, you see.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, people’ll laugh,” said Uncle David. “People -does a heap o’ laughing in this world without makin’ -it one mite merrier for anybody. I like laughing -myself. It’s awful good an’ satisfyin’ to have a real -square laugh, but t’aint that sort. Mos’ folks’ laugh -hain’t got no more fun in it than the laugh of a hoot-owl. -I’d a heap sight rather have none at all. You -ain’t agoin’ to mind that sort, I hope?” Uncle David -spoke with a shade of anxiety in his manner.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh no, I’m not thin-skinned,” said Olive with -a superior smile.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Some folks is made that way. When they have -found a tender spot in anybody they can’t rest no -how till they’ve stuck some sort o’ pin into it.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Tell me, does everything belong to everybody -generally out here? It is so puzzling. This house, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>for instance, is it ours or yours or everybody’s?” -asked Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The land an’ the horses an’ the cattle an’ waggons -was mostly bought with community-money, that is -Madame, she gave the money, she’s rich you know, -an’ she’s generous and always givin’ to the Community, -her whole heart is in it. But Ezry worked a heap on -this house, he mostly built it all, an’ it’s his, an’ t’other -folks’ houses are theirs. That’s Brother Wright’s over -yonder, an’ that’s our house beside the ’Cademy, most -everybody worked to get it up and fix it comfortable for -Madame. Old Mrs. Ruby, she lives to herself in the -log cabin we bought from Weddell, we had it moved -there a purpose over from the Gully, ’cause she liked -to live beside the spring so as to get her water handy. -She had a little mite of money which we used in buyin’ -stock.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“So you do have some things as private property, -just like ordinary people,” observed Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Of course. It would not be any sort o’ use to -have everything in common, ’cause folks’ notions -don’t always ’xactly suit. An’ what we want is to -have everybody free, so they can be perfectly happy -here. We don’t want to have no strife, an’ no jealousy, -an’ no ill feeling one towards another. But there -can’t be community in all things. What sort o’ -use would it be for you an’ me to have community -o’ boots an’ shoes?” said Uncle David with a great -laugh, sticking out his enormous foot towards where -<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>Olive’s dainty little slipper peeped from beneath her -dress.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Your shoes, my dear, wouldn’t go on my two -fingers, an’ mine ’ud be big enough to make a tol’eble -boat for you. There couldn’t be community in shoes, -so there ain’t none. But with the lan’ it’s different. -We all work that for the benefit of everybody, there -ain’t no strugglin’ to be fust an’ get ahead o’ one another. -We are all brothers at Perfection City.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive was full of excitement when Ezra came back -at sun-down.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Just fancy, I’ve had my first visitor,” she said -as she stood beside her husband while he was watering -the horses.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Who was it? Mrs. Ruby?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, it was Uncle David,” and she gave a merry -little laugh.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, and how did you like him?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I think he is just charming. He is just like a -piece of granite or oak or something of that sort, not -smooth or shiny on the outside, but solid and sound -to the very core. Oh! I shall love Uncle David.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That’s right. He is a good man,” said Ezra.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And you know? he has made me understand -about Perfection City. I shan’t want to laugh at it -any more, and I don’t care if anybody else does. It -was real brave of you showing your colours plain and -sticking to them,” said Olive with a skip and a clap -of her little hands.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER III.<br /> <span class='large'>SISTER MARY WINKLE.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The very next morning just as she was washing -her potatoes for dinner, another visitor called upon -Olive, a visitor of whose sex she was for a moment -or two in doubt. The visitor wore a large sunbonnet, -a check blouse, and a pair of Zouave trowsers fastened -in at the ankle.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“How do you do, Olive Weston?” said this person, -in a deep serious voice. Olive, who had not seen -her, started in surprise and dropped her potato into -the basin.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am Mary Winkle. That’s my house over yonder.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, the Wrights’! Yes, to be sure. Come in and -sit down,” said Olive hospitably, although she felt -considerable surprise at her visitor’s appearance.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You don’t wear the reformed dress yet, I see,” -said Mary Winkle.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, I don’t,” acquiesced Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Shall you?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t know. I have not thought about it. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>I suppose there is no regulation about what one wears -on the prairie. There is no fashion here I suppose,” -said Olive politely.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, only the fashion of common sense.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do all the ladies dress that way, Miss Winkle?” -inquired Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Only my daughter and myself.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I beg your pardon, I should have said Mrs. Winkle,” -said Olive, in some confusion.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, you shouldn’t,” replied her visitor. “I am -not Mrs. Winkle.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am afraid I am very stupid. Would you tell me -then how I should address you. I don’t understand.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Address me as Mary Winkle, and my husband -as John Wright.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive stared at her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Are you not Mrs. Wright then?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, certainly not. I scorn the title. It is a -symbol of subjection. I did not lose my identity when -I chose to marry. I am the same Mary Winkle that -I was before, and as such I desire to retain the name -that I always possessed. Why should I take a new -name simply because I am married?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is usual,” stammered Olive. “I shouldn’t like -not to be called Mrs. Weston. It is so confusing, you -see.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Mere custom and prejudice. Why should not -your husband take your name, instead of its always -being the wife who is absorbed?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>“I don’t know, but I never heard of it before.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ah, that is one of the first changes that must -be made when women get their rights,” observed Mary -Winkle.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But I don’t want the change one bit. I much -prefer the old way.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I dare say. Slaves often feel no want of freedom.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I’m not a slave,” said Olive, flushing angrily. -“You cannot be in the least acquainted with my husband.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, I know your husband very well, an excellent -man in many respects, but narrow in others; -however, I referred to general slavery, to custom, not -to any individual slavery in your case.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t think there is any good in destroying -customs, unless there is something better to be got -in a new custom.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ah yes, no doubt it seems so to you; but there -is inestimable gain in the mere protest against tyranny. -Why, that’s what we are all here for, to protest -against everything and live a life of freedom.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And freedom may as well begin here and now, -and in its name I will wear long dresses and be called -Mrs. Weston, because I prefer the older customs,” -said Olive with some archness.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, you may do as you like, but you will get -heartily sick of those skirts, I can tell you.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive remembering sundry pretty dresses she had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>in her trunk, was privately convinced she would not -get sick of them.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I haven’t seen Madame yet,” she said, “and I -feel the greatest curiosity about her. She must be -a remarkable woman by all accounts. Does she wear -the same sort of dress as you do?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, she doesn’t, and it’s a great pity, for her -influence would be very great with the other women. -I suppose you’ll see her to-morrow evening. You’ll -come to the Academy, won’t you?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, certainly, if Ezra is going. I should like to -go ever so much and see all my neighbours, but perhaps -he will be too tired. He does work dreadfully -hard, it seems to me.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He ought to do a little brain-work. Wright -says nothing rests one like brain-work. He’s been -doing a spell of that lately. He’s been writing an -essay on ‘The Ultimate Perfection of Being.’ He’ll -most likely read some of it to-morrow at the Academy.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I shouldn’t think essays would be much use in -planting corn,” said Olive rather tartly, remembering -at what hour her husband had come from the harrowing.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wright and I, we don’t believe in making a god -of work. We have a much higher ideal of life than -that. We don’t want anything sordid in our lives, -Wright and I. We haven’t any sympathy with this -restless striving to get on. One of the great advantages -<span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>of Perfection City is that we all have time for -the cultivation of our higher natures.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Just now,” said Olive, “my husband seems to -have no thought in his mind but the cultivation of -that field over there. He is at work early and late. -No person could possibly work harder for himself -or his individual advantage than he does for the Community.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“There’s just a case in point,” remarked Mary -Winkle complacently. “I always thought your husband -very narrow in his views. He slaves away at -this corn planting as if that were the chief end and -object of his existence. It is all very well to work -at times, but working in order to store up food for -the body is the lowest possible form that human activity -can take.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is the most indispensable form,” remarked -Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“By no means,” replied Mary Winkle with precision. -“That observation would seem to indicate that -you are more narrow even than your husband. The -body is merely the servant of the mind: the mind -needs to be fed, and it is the food for the mind which -your husband appears so careless about providing. -Fortunately for Perfection City, Wright has taken -thought on that subject. Wright has a very high -standard of what is necessary for the mind.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It appears to me,” said Olive with a snap of her -black eyes and an ominous red spot on her cheeks, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>“that if we all lived up to your standard, it might -very well happen that by next winter our minds might -be uncomfortably full and our stomachs correspondingly -empty. If Ezra did not plough and get his land -ready for planting as fast as mortal man can, how -is the land to be got ready? It doesn’t plough itself, -does it, even at Perfection City?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I see you will have to get rid of many prejudices,” -observed Mary Winkle. “Of course community-life -only comes easy to people who are adapted to it. -Wright and I are adapted. We like it. We shall stay -here. We shall succeed therefore. You and Brother -Ezra will have to go through a season of training -first. You both need it. I dare say you may hear -something that you will find useful to you to-morrow -from Wright. I will just mention to him where -your particular blindness seems to lie. Wright is a -very profound thinker. He has given great thought -to the subject of the Ultimate Perfection of People. -He can explain every step in the training of a perfect -communist, and show clearly just where everybody -has hitherto gone wrong in their attempts to realize -their ideal, and exactly what mistakes they have made. -I am glad you have come in time to hear his paper; -it will be of lasting good to you. You will be able -to profit by it, because you are in great need of proper -training. I dare say you need it more even than Ezra. -For, after all, he must have learned something from -us in the year he has been with us.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER IV.<br /> <span class='large'>MADAME MOROZOFF-SMITH.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The Academy at Perfection City was not a pretentious -building in anything but in name. It was -a plain wooden house, almost square, having a window -on three sides and a door on the fourth, facing south. -Inside there were several rough benches, two tables, -an iron stove, and a large easy chair, with a small desk -beside it, upon which stood a pair of candles. There -were no curtains and no carpets, absolutely no attempts -at beautifying the place. But the board-floor -was clean.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive dressed herself in a flutter of expectation -for her first visit to this abode of wisdom.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I expect everybody will be there, because they’ll -all want to see you, little woman,” said her husband, -who, tired as he was after his day’s work, changed -his earth-stained clothes for a fresh suit. Olive wore -a white dress with lavender ribbons, and looked as -fresh as a daisy as she tripped along daintily holding -up her skirts. She wore the nattiest of boots over -the neatest of feet, altogether a bright and unexpected -<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>sight upon the glum-looking prairie. It was a quarter -of a mile to the Academy, down a road hardly -more than a cart-track, and across a dry gully where -there were no stepping stones.</p> - -<p class='c010'>As Ezra had predicted, everybody had turned out -to welcome the new bride. Uncle David met her at -the door.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wal, little girl,” he said, “we’re all a-looking out -for you. Here’s Sister Mary Winkle, you’ve seen -her, and this is her husband, Brother Wright.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive shook hands with a dark, broad-shouldered -man who spoke in snaps as if he had been a dog. He -had glittering white teeth.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We’ve been looking to have your husband back,” -he said.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I’m sure you’re very kind,” murmured Olive -conventionally.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We needed him for the ploughing,” snapped -Wright.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh indeed!” said Olive less cordially.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“This is the busy time of the year.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“All times a-year is the busy time in my ’pinion -and ’sperience,” said Uncle David smiling comprehensively, -“but most everyone spares time one way -or ’nother to get married if they have a mind that -way. Come along an’ see Brother and Sister Dummy. -That ain’t their name, but we call ’em so, they’re -deaf and mostly dumb now. They’re real good folks -too.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>A sad-eyed red-haired man shook hands with her, -and a sad-eyed woman kissed her. They put into -her hand a slip of paper on which was written a message -of welcome.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“They can talk a little, but they can’t hear one -mite, and they don’t like to talk, because they can’t -tell when they are whispering and when they are -yelling, and it makes strangers jump to hear them -sometimes.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive felt drawn towards this poor silent pair, but -did not know how to express her sympathy. There -were others in the room, but before she had time to -speak to them the door opened and Madame Morozoff-Smith -entered, and from that moment she seemed to -see no one else. Madame was a remarkable looking -woman. She was tall, large and fair, with keen grey -eyes, full red lips, and a mass of pale gold hair rising -over a forehead that was broad and smooth. A woman -of indeterminate age with an air of youthfulness and -command about her. She was dressed in a dark dress -and wore a bright bunch of ribbons in her hair. It -looked at first sight like a rose, only roses don’t grow -on the prairie in the month of May. She came straight -to where Olive was standing. She gave one the impression -of floating, for although a large woman, she -walked so lightly as to make no noticeable sound on -the wooden floor. Taking Olive’s two hands in her -warm large grasp, she kissed her on the forehead -murmuring “Welcome,” and then stepping back -<span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>she said in a clear voice that vibrated through the -room:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ah! now I understand that hurried courtship -and swift marriage. I see what it was in Brother -Ezra’s case. It was love at first sight. You are very -pretty. I suppose, however, you know that very well. -It is a secret seldom kept from young girls.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive was so startled by this unexpected address -that she blushed to the roots of her black hair. Ezra -stood looking down at his little wife smiling with -pleasure. He was delighted to think that Madame -found her so pretty. He had indeed thought her beautiful -from the first moment when his eyes had rested -on her, but then he loved her, and it was but natural -that in his eyes she should be lovely. Madame, however, -judged her unprejudiced, and yet if his delighted -heart had room for one regret, it was that Madame’s -praise had been so very public. If she had only whispered -it softly to him in that wonderful voice of hers, -which had often caught up his inmost thoughts and -clothed them in words of eloquence, how much more -precious would the tribute have been. He dismissed -the half-formed regret as unworthy, and took himself -to task for not exulting at this moment. The meeting -of Madame and Olive was an event in his life. Olive, -his sweet little rose-bud of a wife, on the one hand, -and Madame, his venerated, nay his worshipped, friend, -on the other. The one, the companion of his heart: -the other, the guide of his mind who embodied in herself -<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>all that he held highest in the possibilities of -womanhood, his true and noble-hearted friend, his -inspired leader. How blest was the portion of him -who stood that night the husband of the one, the disciple -of the other! Ezra’s dark eyes shone with joy, -and his square chin quivered with the smiles that -lurked about his lips. He was not a handsome man, -perhaps, but there was something grand in the large -full forehead, strong eyebrows, and deep dark eyes. -His massive frame bespoke strength, which in itself -has always a great attraction for women.</p> - -<p class='c010'>When Madame had addressed those words to the -new sister all the members of the Community had -scanned her narrowly, for the opinion of their leader -had immense weight with the Pioneers. The men -looked at Olive with increased admiration, and the -women with envy. Only Uncle David appeared disappointed -and wiped his face many times with his red -pocket-handkerchief saying, “Wal, wal, now,” in a -tone of earnest reproof.</p> - -<p class='c010'>After this bewildering introduction in which her -vanity had been not a little excited, Olive received -a salutary check from the words of Brother Wright.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Before beginning to read my paper,” said he, -“I should like to say a few words to the new sister -who has come among us. We expect soon to be having -new members join us so fast that perhaps we -shall not be able to specially mark the entrance of -each. But in this case there are peculiar reasons for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span>exhortation. Sister Olive has not joined under ordinary -circumstances. She did not, like the rest of us, -feel a call to the higher life: she only came out of -personal affection for one of the members of the Community.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive looked with a shy glance towards her husband, -who took her hand in his for a moment, while -Uncle David, who sat at the end of the room near -Madame, said in a loud voice:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Quite right, quite right, couldn’t ha’ had a better -reason.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Therefore it becomes our duty to impress upon -our new sister the principles which have been active -in forming this Community,” said Brother Wright, -without paying any heed to Uncle David’s interruption. -“Perfection City has been founded to teach -the world how to live. The old civilization has been -tried and found wanting. It is time for a new one. -Perfection City is the beginning of a new era. We -are the Pioneers of a new world. We shall show -the old and worn-out world how to banish evil from -life. We cannot perhaps banish all physical evil, and -for a time at least there may be sickness even among -us, but we shall at once set about freeing ourselves -from all the other troubles of life. There is nobody -in Perfection City who will get rich, and nobody will -ever be poor. We are all alike, and we shall none of -us envy our neighbours his belongings, simply because -everything belongs to all. The lesson we have to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>teach is the grandest the world ever saw, and when -men know what it is, I foresee a future before Perfection -City greater than that of any other city of the -world. Rome lasted a good long while, but Rome -didn’t possess the vital spark of life: Rome wasn’t -communistic, therefore Rome fell. Perfection City -won’t fall like that, but will go on teaching the world -after we, its founders, are all dead. But our memories -will live for the great things that we taught and -through our example have made possible.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Brother Wright stopped for a few seconds, and -Uncle David said admiringly,</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You have a fine command of words, Brother -Wright, and you have a way of making things sound -uncommon grand. It always does me good to hear -you talk of the grand future of our City; but we’ll -have to get up some houses, and bigger ones, ’fore -folks ’ull believe us.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Uncle David was as simple as a child, or some -of his hearers might have suspected a sarcasm in his -words.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Rome wasn’t built in a day, as I’ve heard say,” -remarked Brother Green, with a strong English accent, -“and I shall be glad if our little village ever -grows to half its power and honour.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Brother Green, I should refuse to have anything -to say to the founding of another city like Rome,” -interrupted Brother Wright with decisiveness.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It seems to me,” said Ezra in a shy hesitating -<span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>manner, “that what we are here for is to demonstrate, -if we can, how a better life can be lived here than -is possible in the older communities, where circumstances -are too strong and too hampering for people -to rise above them. The older civilization has done -much, it has raised our race to a high standard. What -we want to do is to carry on that work, and above -all to bring everyone within reach of the best that life -has to offer. The older civilization has left so many -stranded ones, who have lost their strength in the wild -struggle; while we hope to bring all along equally -and give to each a share of happiness. As usual, my -friends, when I try to express my ideas I find that -someone else has already put them into incomparably -finer language than I can ever command. It has been -so again. I find that our great poet, Walt Whitman, -has said better than I can what I feel. May I quote -him to you?</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c011'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in16'>‘Have the elder races halted?</div> - <div class='line'>Do they droop and end their lesson, wearied over there beyond the seas?</div> - <div class='line'>We take up the task eternal, and the burden and the lesson,</div> - <div class='line in16'>Pioneers! O pioneers!’”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra sat down after reciting his verse, and his wife -looked at him with glowing eyes. He had not said -much, but his words had seemed to her so much fuller -of thought and feeling than the easy monotonous flow -from Brother Wright. That individual himself had -not received Ezra’s remarks with quite so much delight. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>It was Brother Wright’s nature to see fight and -contradiction in all things, even the most pacific. His -eyes would flash and his black beard bristle in argument, -almost as if he were a dog preparing to fight, -and if one might be permitted to liken any Pioneer -to one of the canine species, the bull-dog would undoubtedly -be the variety most nearly resembling Brother -Wright.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t see that we need be beholden to anyone, -poet or otherwise,” he said sharply, “for our opinions -or sentiments. We have found them for ourselves, -just as we have founded our City. It is our work, -both opinions and practice.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I think,” said Madame, rising and speaking with -a deep clear voice, which a slight foreign accent -seemed to render only the more attractive, “I think -I see better than they do themselves where our two -brothers agree. Brother Ezra, with that diffidence -which strong natures often exhibit, thought he found -in the lines of another man his own ideas more succinctly -embodied than they would have been in his -own words. Brother Ezra should not doubt his powers. -Speech comes slowly to those who most deeply -think, but he should consider how much we benefit -by his words and how grateful we are to him for them. -Brother Wright, it seems to me that you, perhaps, -do not sufficiently appreciate the efforts of others who -have gone before us on this road. We are not the first -who have been discontented with the actual order of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>things, nor are we the first who have striven to make -life brighter and easier. In all ages there have been -those penetrated with these thoughts, and in different -ways men, and women too, have striven earnestly, -devotedly, to realize these ideas. Some indeed have -imagined they had found a solution of all doubts and -difficulties, and have in perfect good faith and self-satisfaction -buried themselves in convents and monasteries -and have ‘roll’d the psalm to wintry skies,’ and -have ‘built them fanes of fruitless prayer.’ We have -come to different conclusions by following a different -road. We do not shut ourselves out of the world, -rather we endeavour to raise it by showing a living -example of what may be done now, in this age, by -human beings such as we are. But if we are to succeed -we must not reject the experience, nor fail to -profit by the example, of others who have gone before -us and felt earnestly on this subject.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame paused for a moment, and her keen glance -rested upon the small assembly. Each individual -seemed to feel that she was looking at him or at -her. Certainly each member was looking intently at -her. She seldom made speeches to them; she only -interposed her observations, as on this occasion, between -the speakers; but the last word usually remained -with her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Brother Wright, will you now read us your paper, -as the evening is passing and we are all anxious to -hear it. What is the title and subject?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>“The Ultimate Perfection of Being is the title,” -said Brother Wright, “and I think that pretty well -sums up the subject also.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>So apparently thought the audience, which -resigned itself to a severe mental excursion into -the unknown regions of Brother Wright’s imaginative -metaphysics. Some of them fell out very -soon, finding the road harder to follow than they -had foreseen; but Brother Wright kept sturdily -on, unheeding the signs of weakness and disaffection -as betrayed by movings of feet and stifled -yawns.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive, not being able to understand what Brother -Wright was saying, employed herself in watching -Madame, who sat motionless beside her table, resting -her head upon her supple white hand. At her feet -lay what seemed to be a large brown rug, but was in -fact her dog Balthasar, a blood-hound, who always -stayed with her and was as gentle as a lamb, notwithstanding -his name and breed.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Brother Green! That’s the second time you’ve -snored,” suddenly exclaimed Brother Wright in the -midst of his reading. Everybody was wide awake in -an instant. Madame hid a smile with her hand, but -not before Olive had noticed it.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Brother Green is perhaps tired. His work is very -hard,” said Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, the fact is I had to put a new point to -the ploughshare this morning before I went to fetch -<span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span>my load of iron, and I began work before daybreak. -I am very tired.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Brother Green was the blacksmith of Perfection -City, an industrious hard-working man who thought -life would show him a fairer side on the prairie than -it had ever done in the far-away village in Sussex -where he was born.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I think that it might be better to have our gatherings -rather shorter now,” said Madame softly. “The -workers in our little hive are all tired. I wish I -could do more of the labour that is needed. I would -gladly——”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame was interrupted by a sharp rap on the -table, a signal from Brother Huntley that he wanted -to speak. He was the deaf and dumb man. She instantly -rose and bowed to him with singular graciousness. -Madame’s manner towards the deaf brethren -was all that was exquisite. Huntley stood up -and began in a voice almost inaudible which rose -by sudden degrees to the intensity of a steam-whistle.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I want to know when we’re going to get our -corn planted? We’re behindhand; most other folk’s -corn is in already.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“As usual, Brother Huntley has something practical -to say,” observed Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He didn’t know we were discussing quite another -subject, else his remark would have been rude -and irrelevant,” said Wright, vexed at this cutting -<span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>into his paper on the ultimate perfection of his and -everybody’s being.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I think it would be very useful to see what we -can do about the corn,” said the blacksmith. “If we -are late the chances are there’ll be another drought in -July, and our crop won’t be first-class.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Is anyone’s land ready for planting?” inquired -Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“None as I know of, except Brother Dummy’s,” -said Uncle David. “He’s more forward nor anybody: -always first in work.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Of course, poor deaf creature! he can’t do anything -but dumbly work like a——” began Brother -Wright.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“My land is ready for planting,” burst in Brother -Huntley with a scream.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then it shall be planted to-morrow,” cried Madame. -“I’ll go myself.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You!” exclaimed Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Certainly, child. Don’t you think I can work as -well as any other woman?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She rapidly wrote a few words on a slip of paper -and passed it to Brother Huntley, who read it, nodded -with satisfaction, and said: “Five o’clock in the morning!” -in a voice so low that no one knew he was -speaking.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I suppose he begins work about six?” said Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, he don’t, he’s mighty spry,” said old Mrs. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>Ruby, who lived near the Huntleys. “I hear him -a-movin’ off with his plough every morning at five -by the clock. He’s terrible sot on his work.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then I shall be there ready to go to work at five -o’clock in the morning, and I shall begin by going -to bed now, so as to be able to give a good day’s -work. Good-night, friends all.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She rose, included them all in a sweeping salute -and left the room as lightly as she had entered. Balthasar -rose and slowly followed her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>When Madame left the room the meeting broke -up. No one felt inclined to linger when she was gone. -It was from her they drew their interest in each other, -as well as their belief in themselves and in Perfection -City. She possessed the secret of influencing people -without seeming to do so. The thought that she was -going out on the land at five in the morning to plant -corn made everyone ten times more eager to work -than heretofore.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Wright and his independent spouse, Mary Winkle, -were infected by her example as they went -home.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Now, Wright, don’t you go and do any more -essaying till the crop is in. I think people oughtn’t -to write except in winter time,” said Mary Winkle -with firmness.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I never believed in nothing but manual work. -Why, if I did, I should be still slaving away on that -farm out in Illinois, instead of joining a community -<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>here where one can follow the bent of his higher nature, -to the advantage of his neighbours as well as of -himself,” said Wright.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, let that be,” said Mary hastily, recognising -her own words and oft-expressed opinions, but not -quite knowing what to do with them—a predicament -not unexampled among theoretical philosophers, -“but see and be out on the land to-morrow as early -as anyone. Are you ready for the planting? Because -I’ll go out and plant if you are.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, my drills won’t be ready for the planting -till day after to-morrow.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then I’ll go and plant on Brother Dummy’s -piece along with Madame.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You’d better not. You’re not fit for such work. -You’ll get sick and not be able to cook me any supper -when I come home.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, I shan’t get sick. I ain’t going to let -any person beat me at work, when I set my mind -to it, and she in her long skirts too! I’ll show -her the advantage of the reformed dress anyhow.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Thus the Wright and Winkle pair on their way -home.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And will she really plant corn?” asked Olive in -some curiosity.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Certainly she will. Madame never despised -work.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh! I don’t despise work, but she seems such -<span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>a fine lady to go out on the land and plant corn just -like a negro woman.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That is one of the things our life here is intended -to show, dearie, that no one is too grand for any honest -work that he or she is physically capable of performing.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER V.<br /> <span class='large'>CORN PLANTING.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Punctual to the minute, there was Madame with -her bag of corn on her left arm, following Brother -Huntley and his plough-horses to the field, in the -damp white fog of sunrise. Balthasar in deep disgust -was there too, as in duty bound, but he had not a -wag for anybody. How could a rational dog be in -good spirits at that hour of the morning! Madame -was dressed in a short calico frock well up to her -ankles. Her fair hair was loosely wisped at the back -of her head, and a large straw hat, tied down with -a green gauze veil, made her look at once comfortable -in the fog and ready for the expected sunshine. There -were no corn-planters at Perfection City: farm-machinery -was not then so plentiful on the prairie as -now, and money was if possible scarcer. Corn planting -was, therefore, done by hand. Brother Dummy’s -drills of longitude were already ploughed, and he -began on the drills of latitude forthwith. Into the -hollows made by the intersection of these two sets -of drills Madame was to drop three grains of corn, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>neither more nor less. It is dizzying work. After -walking up and down the drills for hours one becomes -oppressed by the never-ceasing square constantly recurring -every two steps. The check pattern bewilders -you, and you begin to wonder how a chess-man would -feel if, endowed with sensibility and the power of -motion, he had to march up and down his chess-board, -always keeping to the lines for hours at a stretch.</p> - -<p class='c010'>About seven o’clock Mary Winkle came upon the -scene and plodded and planted for four hours. The -sun was blazing down upon them pitilessly, and the -parching south wind blew the fine black dust up from -the rich dry soil, until their eyes and ears and noses -were full of it.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The field which they were planting was on the -extreme verge of the community-land, far away from -the houses. These were somewhat clustered towards -the centre of the holding, which consisted of two sections -or a little over twelve hundred acres. The -workers, therefore, were a long way from home, considerably -over a mile, and since corn planting entails -ceaseless walking through heavy ploughed land, it had -been settled that their dinner should be brought out -to them, so as to enable the workers to rest during -the whole dinner hour. Olive and Mrs. Ruby were -to supply the necessary food, and the former, aided -by Napoleon Pompey, was to bring it to the field at -eleven o’clock. The little grove of locust trees just -beginning to grow beside the far spring was the trysting -<span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>place. Water would thus be handy, and the horses’ -feed was already put there by the provident Brother -Huntley. A little before the hour Olive and her black -attendant arrived at the grove, bringing their load of -food, and Olive set down her big tin can with a sigh -of relief. Her arms ached with carrying it, for it was -heavy and the way was long. Napoleon Pompey had -carried two cans, each heavier than hers, but the lad -seemed to feel no inconvenience from the load. Olive -looked at him with envy and thought with contempt -of her own muscles which appeared so inefficient. As -she unpacked the food, it seemed to her that nothing -she had learnt at Smyrna and could best do, was -wanted on the prairie, and she remembered with some -amusement and not a little bitterness Mary Winkle’s -words about food for the mind. At this moment she -reflected that all the learning in the world was not so -much needed by that philosophical lady as the very -gross and material food which was being taken out -of the heavy tin cans and laid on the grass. The -working-party, men, women and horses, arrived while -Olive was thus engaged. Mary Winkle instantly sat -down and leaned against a tree and threw off her sunbonnet. -Her thin black hair was matted down to her -temples, her cheeks were yellow, and her eyes looked -dull. Madame also took off her hat and veil and shook -up the coil of hair on her head with a sigh of relief.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Does your head ache too?” said Mary Winkle -wearily.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>“Not in the least,” replied Madame. “A sunbonnet -is a bad shelter against heat. You should -wear a good hat, it is far better.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I wonder how you can bear all that hair on your -head. Why don’t you cut it off?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why, it is an admirable protection against both -heat and cold,” said Madame laughing. “It is my -greatest comfort.” She might have added her greatest -beauty.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The food which Olive brought was most appetising, -roast chicken, hot corn-bread, and pumpkin pies, -with plenty of milk and water to drink. Before eating -Madame went to the spring to wash her hands and -face, and Mary Winkle sat limply against the tree -trunk with her eyes shut.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Eat something, it will revive you,” said Olive, -looking with pity upon her sallow cheeks.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t feel hardly able to eat,” she said in a -weak voice. “It seems to me I don’t ever want to -open my eyes again.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You are overworking yourself,” said Olive, “you -should not attempt this field work: it is beyond your -strength.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What! and let her see me give in?” said Mary -Winkle with reviving spirit.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame came up at this moment looking as -fresh as a lily: she glanced sharply at Sister Mary. -“You appear very much exhausted,” she remarked.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>Sister Mary raised her head and opened her eyes, -but did not speak.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It’s a pity you don’t take wine,” she continued, -sitting down and beginning on her piece of chicken -with relish. “A good glass of Burgundy would set -you up in no time.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Sister Mary herself sat up at this.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I wouldn’t touch wine, no, not if I was dying,” -she said resolutely.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame smiled. “I didn’t recommend it because -you were dying: wine as everything else is then useless: -but because you look weak. I suggested a medicine.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“As a medicine it is worse than useless, and as a -drink I scorn to take a rank poison.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Poisons are sometimes given as medicine, witness -strychnine in small doses for certain forms of dyspepsia, -and I believe satisfactorily,” said Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wine is worse than strychnine, because more -insidious in its action and more liable to abuse,” said -Mary Winkle decisively, as she took the tin cup of -milk and water handed her by Olive, and drank it -with eagerness.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, at all events admit that wine has been -of benefit to you on this occasion,” observed Madame -smiling. “I merely mentioned it to you, and you -look already revived and more like yourself. Doesn’t -she, Sister Olive?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It was the milk and water did it,” said Sister -<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>Mary Winkle hurriedly, at which Madame smiled -again.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Brother Dummy and Napoleon Pompey now came -up to the group of women. They had been watering -and unharnessing the horses who were at the present -moment munching their corn. The white man, although -dirty as a ploughman would be after half a -day’s hard work, sat down promptly beside Mary Winkle -and helped himself to a leg of chicken: the negro -boy stood aside doubtfully, eyeing the group and the -food with longing looks.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Come along, N. P.,” said Olive brightly, “sit -down there.” She pointed to a place on the other -side of Mary Winkle, where there seemed a good opening -in front of a huge piece of corn-bread.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, if you please,” said Sister Mary, rising to -her feet with resentment.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why, what’s the matter?” asked Olive flushing -with surprise. “Napoleon Pompey won’t bite you.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I have never sat down to eat beside a negro, and -I don’t feel inclined to begin now.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Let the lad sit beside me,” said Madame gently. -“I have seen people of too many shades of colour -and no colour to mind a little extra dash of black. -Come here, boy, come and have this piece of bread -and meat.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Napoleon Pompey grinning with all his white teeth -sprang to the place beside Madame, and buried those -same teeth eagerly in his chunk of bread. Mary Winkle -<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>sat down again and leaned against the tree. Olive’s -face took a deeper tinge of red and her eyes snapped.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do you consider yourself made of such fine clay -that it won’t bear contact with a negro?” she asked -hotly. “It seems to me a little of what used to be -called Christian charity might come in useful here. I -never aspired to the heights of Perfection City people, -but I never refused the rights of brotherhood to the -negro simply because of the curl of his hair or the -colour of his skin.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am quite willing to give them all their rights -and will be glad to see them educated and all that, -but I never sat at dinner with a negro, and I am not -going to begin now,” said Mary Winkle setting her -thin pale lips with the utmost stubbornness.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, I call it perfectly monstrous,” retorted -Olive, “and you setting yourself up to show the better -life and all the rest of it! I should have thought the -first thing to do before teaching the highest perfection -was to practise the simplest justice.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And you, Sister Olive,” said Madame’s cool sweet -voice, “will have to learn to respect the prejudices -of other people even when they run counter to your -most cherished theories. I do not myself share the -feeling of repulsion that Sister Mary has in this case, -but I respect it. I would suggest to you to do the -same. It is an inconvenient fact, perhaps, that people -do not all think alike, but it is one that must be resolutely -faced nevertheless.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>Olive was silent under this reproof, but she looked -angrily at Mary Winkle from time to time, and revenged -herself by feeding up Napoleon Pompey and -petting him to an alarming extent, much to the delight -of that young darkie who ate until he seemed -to ooze out unctuous joy.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Brother Dummy ate, as he worked, silently, conscientiously, -continuously. Olive was amazed at the -amount he seemed able to consume, while of milk and -water he drank half a gallon or thereabouts.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“How can he do it?” said Olive in astonishment.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You forget,” replied Madame, “that he has been -following that plough for six long hours, and the -dry wind raised such a dust around him that he must -have swallowed a vast quantity of it in the course of -the day. It takes a good deal to slake the thirst after -such a dust visitation as that.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>When Brother Dummy had eaten and drunk his -fill he lay down on the grass and went instantly to -sleep. The three women looked at him for a moment -or two.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He seems to have very little enjoyment in his -life,” said Olive compassionately.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But then he has also few sorrows,” said Madame. -“The high lights are wanting, perhaps, but so are the -dark shadows. His life is like a grey landscape. It -has a beauty of its own, but not everyone can see it.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“To live in eternal silence seems to me the most -awful curse,” said Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>“I can imagine many a worse one,” replied Madame, -looking out from among the few bare trees -away across the open prairie.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What could be worse?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, for example, to know that someone you -loved did not love you. To have to shut up your heart -within iron doors, and never open them to let it out. -That would be worse than to be denied the power of -speech, which after all can now be supplemented in -many ways by artificial means. Brother Huntley is -not actively unhappy, I should judge. He and his -wife have always appeared to me to be a very united -couple.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“They cannot quarrel, at all events,” said Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, not, at least, in the ordinary way,” replied -Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>When Brother Dummy awoke after his little -snooze, he got up, looked at the sun to see what time -of day it was, and then signed to Napoleon Pompey -to rouse up. That young person was lethargic, owing -to his anaconda-like meal, accordingly Brother Dummy -roused him with his foot. The darkie rolled over -and said “Yah!” and started for the horses, who were -nodding over their corn-cobs, now nibbled down to -the smallest dimensions. Olive, whose resentment at -the slight put upon Napoleon Pompey by Mary Winkle -urged her to identify herself with the negro boy, -walked away with him and Brother Dummy to watch -the hitching up. Madame employed herself in throwing -<span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>scraps of bread to Balthasar, who would have much -preferred eating the chicken bones, only that was a -debauch not permitted to a dog of his manners. Mary -Winkle looked hopelessly along those weary furrows, -up and down which it would be her duty to march -again, dropping her seeds of corn as before.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Are you going to work all the afternoon?” she -asked of her companion.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, I think so. We shall get this field planted -and covered in by sun-down, I should think. And -that will be a great piece of work done. We cannot -afford to let the individualists beat us at corn planting, -can we? We must do at least as well as they, and I -should hope we might do better.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t know how you can stand so much heat -and hard work,” said Mary, “and in that dress too. -Why, if I were to attempt to work in long skirts I -should be dead in a week.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t mind my dress at all,” said Madame. -“It never bothers me. I don’t think about it.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But don’t you think about it when your back -aches?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It never does.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t understand it,” says Mary once more.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I suspect that the reason you American women -find your dress such a burden is because you are so -weak yourselves,” said Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“American women accomplish as much or more -than any others, I should say,” observed Mary.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>“Precisely, but not from their muscular strength. -They work out of their nerves, and that is why they -never last any length of time.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame finished her day’s work at six o’clock, and -then walked home humming a German dance tune to -herself. Mary Winkle stopped at four o’clock, and -dragged herself home to bed with a fearsome headache, -still puzzling how it was that her perfect dress had -not done better for her in that day’s trial. She did -not know that all her scientific dressing was as nothing -compared with the robust vitality, which Madame -brought with her from another land, and which, running -in such vigorous beats through her blood, was -inherited from generations of strong healthy ancestors. -Madame’s father was a Russian colonel noted -for his size and strength and also for his wildness. -Her mother was a pretty English girl, who had nothing -to bequeath to her daughter but health, personal -beauty, and this piece of advice: “Never stake your -happiness on any man, it always brings disaster to -the woman.” Mary Winkle’s mother, on the other -hand, was a nervous invalid at thirty, and her father -was a dyspeptic dietetic reformer, who pinned his salvation -on never eating salt. Small wonder, therefore, -that the daughter of the one pair should be able to -plant corn all day long and walk lightly home at evening, -while the offspring of the other pair could do -only three quarters of a day’s work, after which headache -and nervous exhaustion.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER VI.<br /> <span class='large'>NON-RESISTANCE.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>It was the custom of the Pioneers to send once a -week to Union Mills in order to do their necessary -marketing and to get the post, which came there twice -a week from Kansas City by stage-coach. The subject -of the post was one that had been rather hotly -debated at Perfection City, although to the outsider -it would seem a very harmless topic, and not fruitful -of division. The fact was, however, that there was -only one member of the Community who showed any -eagerness about getting letters regularly and often, -and that member was Madame. She indeed did receive -a most unconscionable number of letters and periodicals, -so the other members thought. She got several -American Magazines, such as the Atlantic Monthly -and Harper’s, but she also received English papers, -and French ones, and occasionally German ones as -well. The Community thought, but did not dare to -give public expression to the thought, that Madame -should have rested content with the mental sustenance -provided by themselves for home consumption. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>Brother Wright in particular felt himself equal to the -task of providing everybody with all they needed in -the way of correct views upon even the highest subjects. -But Madame, although she listened with politeness -and apparent attention to what he had to say, -found this sustenance too meagre for the wants of her -nature. Moreover she took a deep interest in the affairs -of the outside world, an interest almost offensive -to persons who prided themselves upon having risen -above the world and all its concerns. It was really -humiliating to think that the leading spirit of their -Community should occupy her mind with the relations -between Prussia and Austria, when such questions as -affected the future of humanity and of Perfection City -were what filled their souls. She even evinced a keen -interest in the career and personality of the Prussian -minister, Bismarck, and that, too, when Brother -Wright was willing to give her the light of his -thoughts upon all really important questions. It was -painful to the feeling of the Pioneers, who were all -in all to themselves and wished to be so to others, but -they had to put up with it, since Madame was their -leader and, moreover, the only one who had a purse -with some money in it. Ezra was the only member of -the Community who sided with Madame in her taste -for reading the new books and the latest periodicals. -He and she had that taste, with many others, in common, -and it drew them together in an especial degree. -On his last trip East during the winter, when he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>had been so unexpectedly delayed, as they now knew, -by meeting with his fate in the shape of Olive, one of -his commissions had been to bring back a box of books, -which were now arranged in neat shelves in Madame’s -private sitting-room. And yet notwithstanding all -these books, a hundred or more, the steady stream of -papers, periodicals, and magazines continued as before, -and had to be fetched regularly from Union -Mills.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The brethren took it in turns to go to the town, -which was some ten miles distant, and they always combined -some useful business with the fetching of the -letters. Brother Wright was a frequent messenger, -for he liked going better than Ezra did, while of course -Brother Dummy was precluded by his affliction from -going, and Brother Carpenter was hopelessly unable -to drive horses. Some of the women generally contrived -to find an excuse for going to Union Mills, for -women like to get away from the petty cares of house -and home, a peculiarity from which the sisters of -Perfection City were by no means exempt. In particular -Mrs. Ruby, invariably called Aunt Ruby, loved -to go. She thus got a chance of seeing new faces and -talking with new people. She would not for worlds -have confessed that she was tired of the restricted -society of Perfection City, but she knew so well what -each had to say, that it was refreshing to go out sometimes -into the world and meet people whose ideas -could not always be guessed beforehand.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>It so happened that the day after the corn planting -it became necessary to go to Union Mills in order to -take a grist of corn to be ground. Madame suggested -that Brother Wright should go, while Brother Dummy -took up his plough-handles and finished the field -the former was preparing for the corn. Mary Winkle, -still prostrated by the previous day’s hard work, urged -her spouse to go, “For then,” said she, “if you ain’t -here I needn’t get any dinner. I’ll just send Willette -over to Sister Olive’s for dinner, and I needn’t stir -till milking time.” This seemed a happy arrangement, -and her husband set off shortly after breakfast, -picking up Aunt Ruby as he passed her cottage.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Be you lonesome living in that house by yourself?” -asked Brother Wright as they jogged along -over the prairie, for it had struck him as very lonely -that morning as he drove up.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, no, I ain’t lonely, least not most whiles,” -answered Aunt Ruby, an alert little old woman, not -unlike a bird in her quick movements. “In the -summer-time there’s allus the chickens to see to an’ -feed an’ ten’, an’ chickens is powerful spry an’ talkin’ -birds. They most allus has somethin’ to scold an’ -chatter ’bout, chickens an’ hens has, an’ cocks. Then -in the winter I hev the clock tickin’ loud o’ evenin’s, -an’ that’s most as good as a pusson in the room, an’ -there’s allus the cat, an’ mostly the kettle singin’ on -the stove. Come to think on’t, there’s a heap o’ company -<span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>in a house like mine, if you on’y has ears to hear -an’ un’erstan’ what is said by beasts an’ things.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Yet notwithstanding this “heap o’ company” Aunt -Ruby dearly loved a good gossip with the saddler’s -wife at Union Mills, whenever that luxury was attainable. -On the present occasion Aunt Ruby had a real -good time, for Brother Wright was delayed longer -than usual, first in order to get some harness mended, -and afterwards to have a shoe replaced that suddenly -showed signs of coming off one of the horses. Thus -it was very near sun-down before they left Union -Mills. Aunt Ruby, owing in large measure to her -gossip, and also partly to an exceptionally strong cup -of tea, was in a highly nervous and excitable frame -of mind.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Had Brother Wright, she asked, heard of that -rumour about the Cherokees? And did he think there -was any danger of their leaving their Reservation and -going on the war-path? Brother Wright, who had a -poor opinion of Indians, and a worse one of the way -in which the white men had treated them, thought on -the whole that the rumour might be considered false. -This comforted Aunt Ruby, to whom the word “Injun” -suggested torture and death and all sorts of -horrors. She remained comforted until she remembered -that other rumour—about the raid of border -ruffians from out of Missouri. Brother Wright thought -it highly probable that this rumour might prove to be -true. Missouri men had raided Kansas more than once, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>and it was possible they might do so again at any moment. -With conversation such as this they came to -the end of the daylight and the beginning of the trees -around Cotton Wood Creek about the same time.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I shall be glad when we are safe over this ford -and out of the dark wood beyond,” said Brother -Wright, trying to urge his horses along, but he had -a heavy load of timber and coal and some iron bars -for smith-work.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ain’t it near here that those people over beyond -Jacksonville got robbed?” asked Aunt Ruby, nervously -peering about in the gloom with her weak old -eyes. At this moment some distant creature made a -shrill scream or howl.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh! what was that,” exclaimed Aunt Ruby nervously.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That was a prairie wolf, I guess,” answered -Brother Wright quietly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Silence followed, except for the creaking of the -waggon, the straining of the horses at their traces, -and an occasional clang made by one of the bars of -iron which was not sufficiently wedged up with hay.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“If those Missouri border ruffians came to Perfection -City, do you reckon our principles would save -us from being robbed?” asked Aunt Ruby. “Most -everybody knows as we are non-resistants.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t think our principles would stand in the -way of a Missouri man. More likely they would take -advantage of them. They are mean cusses, and are -<span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>used to riding rough-shod over principles and rights. -It is a recognised thing everywhere that women and -children are non-resistants, yet that does not save ’em -from being raided and robbed by border ruffians.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And you think they would rob us, peaceful folks -as ha’n’t no arms nor nothin’?” asked Aunt Ruby -anxiously.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I guess they would try,” replied Brother Wright.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then I think as we oughter reconsider our principles -a mite,” said Aunt Ruby. “For if we are robbed -and killed by folks as can’t un’erstan’ the higher life, -we shan’t be able to teach the world nothin’. An’ -what’s the good o’ principles when you’re dead an’ -gone an’ undergroun’?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That is so,” assented Brother Wright.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I didn’t never think on’t in this light afore,” said -Aunt Ruby. “It ’pears to me as how we should -meet together an’ try an’ settle some way as how -we can keep our principles an’ yet live on the -prairie.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I guess you’ve pretty nearly said the truth,” said -Brother Wright.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What we hev to do is to live here an’ show ’em -our principles at work, an’ not die straightway afore -we’ve done anything to improve mankind. That’s -my view,” said Aunt Ruby. “What do you think, -Brother Wright?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Instead of answering Brother Wright pulled up -short and looked intently in front of him.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>“What’s the matter?” exclaimed Aunt Ruby in -a high-pitched voice of alarm.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Hush!” replied her companion, “don’t make a -noise.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Aunt Ruby’s heart began to beat violently. “Do -you see anything?” she asked in a whisper.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I see a man over there by the road, sitting on -horseback with his right arm out pointing towards the -waggon.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh! brother, I wish you had a carnal weapon -of defence,” said Aunt Ruby in a shaking voice.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I have,” replied Brother Wright, pulling an uncommonly -useful-looking Colt’s revolver from his -breeches pocket. “I always carry one in case of -Injuns.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Again they sat silent for a moment, the horses -shook their heads, and one of them stamped a foot.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Who goes there?” hailed Brother Wright in a -loud defiant voice. “Drop that right arm of yours -or I’ll fire.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>No answer.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The figure sat motionless, the right hand still -raised in that menacing attitude.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am a man of my word,” said Brother Wright, -rising to his feet and sighting his revolver steadily -on the figure, while to Aunt Ruby he said, “Hold on -tight, the horses will jump.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>A shot rang out on the still night air. The horses -nearly jumped out of their skins with fright, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span>would certainly have run away, only the waggon was -very heavy, and they decided to run in different directions. -Hence they only jerked each other almost -to the ground and then stood still amazed and trembling.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Better make sure,” said Brother Wright, emptying -another barrel at the figure which appeared to remain -motionless in the uncertain foggy light. This -time the horses came to the same conclusion and tried -to turn round abruptly, but the attempt was expertly -frustrated by Brother Wright and a cowhide whip of -exceptional stinging power. Having thus reduced the -horses to reason, he again turned his attention to the -figure and saw with amazement that it still sat on -horseback in the same spot.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, I swan!” said Brother Wright, rubbing -his eyes. “That beats all! It can’t be a mortal -man, or he would have either dropped or returned -fire. I guess I’ll drive on and do no more shooting -this time.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He stowed his pistol away in his pocket and -drove on.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Hadn’t you better keep the weapon handy?” -suggested Aunt Ruby. “You might lay it down in -my lap, if you like.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, thank’ee,” replied Brother Wright. “I don’t -generally give that sort of thing to women to hold -for me.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He pulled up at a little opening just near the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span>ford, where the faint light of a crescent moon showed -between the bare branches of the trees, and a sort -of water-fog hung along the elder bushes by the banks.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“This is the spot he was standing,” remarked -Wright, “the exact spot. I guess I’ll just look and -see if there is any trail. The ground is soft about -here and should show up pretty clear.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He descended from the waggon and carefully examined -the side of the road, but could see nothing. -There was a large stump with a broken branch sticking -out which attracted his attention, and he walked -around it a couple of times, surveying it critically in -the uncertain light.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, I swan!” he exclaimed, after the third -inspection. “I didn’t think I could have been mistaken.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Then he climbed back into the waggon, and said, -“Gee-up!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Did you fin’ any tracks o’ robbers?” asked his -companion anxiously.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No,” replied Brother Wright, “no tracks of robbers, -but I lighted on the trail of a doggauned fool. -Guess we’ll not say much about the attack made on -our waggon, at Little Cotton Wood Creek.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I won’t mention it at all,” remarked Aunt Ruby, -“’cause it might frighten the folks up to Perfection -City an’ make ’em uneasy ’bout coming to Union -Mills.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Brother Wright only chuckled in reply, possibly -<span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>because his whole attention was required at this juncture -to get his horses and waggon safely through the -water, for it was certainly very dark in that bottom-land. -Once the creek was crossed and the high prairie -reached, it became easy enough to see by the light -of the new moon and the stars, and the pair reached -Perfection City in safety, although very late.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Brother Wright was very eager to unravel the -mystery of that horseman at the ford on Little Cotton -Wood Creek, so he made a private expedition thither -on horseback as soon as he could frame an excuse for -a morning’s absence. He went to the place whence -he had first seen the alarming stranger, half closed -his sharp grey eyes, and looked.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, I swan!” he remarked, as this expression -seemed somehow to relieve his feelings. By daylight -there was nothing suspicious to be seen, but the old -stump with the broken branch sticking out from it -straight towards the spectator. Brother Wright surveyed -this stump critically and came to the conclusion -that with the help of darkness, a slight mist, a -new moon, and a nervous companion, the old stump -might take on an alarming aspect. He rode up to the -stump, got off his horse, and examined it.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I should like to know that I hit him plumb with -both bullets anyhow,” remarked he, with a grin most -unbecoming to a Perfection City non-resistant. He -had hit “him” plumb, but so had other people, and -the amazed Brother Wright counted no less than seventeen -<span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span>bullet holes, both old and new, in the body of -that long suffering stump.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, I be jiggered!” said Brother Wright as he -mounted his horse. “What a sight of blamed fools -there must be in the world!” and with this comforting -reflection he rode home, and ever after held his -peace about the episode on the ford of Little Cotton -Wood Creek. And so likewise did Aunt Ruby, that -talkative old lady. But sometimes, when she and -Brother Wright looked into each other’s eyes, they -grinned a little sheepishly, showing that the recollection -of it had not quite faded from their minds.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER VII.<br /> <span class='large'>WILLETTE.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Willette, the only child of the Wright and Winkle -pair, was a young person of considerable character, -which had undergone little of the attempted modification -which we call education. At the time of -Olive’s arrival at Perfection City this child was about -eleven years old, and was as wild a specimen of a -girl as could be easily found even on the prairie. Her -mother had endeavoured to clothe her in garments -known as the “reform-dress,” and had made her a -suit of lilac calico, consisting of short tunic, and full-gathered -trousers of the prescribed pattern. Willette -had put on these things and had promptly complained -of “scratchiness” around the neck and arm-holes, -owing probably to deficiency of skill on the part of -her mother in the making of the said garments. Shortly -afterwards, being called upon to do some cattle-hunting, -Willette had set out in all the pride of her -new clothes to ride down some young steers who were -proving refractory. The steers took shelter in the -bottom-land along Little Cotton Wood Creek, and skilfully -<span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span>hid themselves in the brushwood there, among -the trailing wild vines and the spiky wilder plums -which formed a very good barrier against pursuing -man. Willette plunged bravely into the brush, and -after a fierce struggle returned with one steer and -half her dress. The other half remained in the brush -along with the rest of the steers. Repeated onslaughts -reduced her almost to nakedness, but she brought home -the full complement of steers and an abundant assortment -of scratches on her legs. After that Willette -had enough of her mother’s system of dress, and accordingly -she evolved one of her own.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I ain’t agoin’ to cattle-hunt in no more o’ your -cobwebs, Ma,” explained this young person. “I -reckon I’ll go a-ridin’ like a boy next time.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Willette appropriated one of her father’s pants -made of the material known as hickory, which is supposed -to resist any tear or strain. The current legend -attached to real out-and-out hickory is as follows. A -farmer arrayed in hickory was one day rooting out -old stumps from a newly-cleared field with a new -patent plough. He came to a regular stunner which -jerked the plough clean out of the land. He backed -up, took a good hold of the plough-handles, gave a -mighty yell to the horses, and drove the plough clean -through the stump, which split open in the middle. -The plough and the man passed through, but the -stump closed up again and caught his hickory trousers. -The horses strained at the collar, but the man -<span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span>would not let go of the plough, nor would the stump -relinquish its grasp of the hickory trousers. So he -rested his horses a spell, took a big breath, and said -“Hallelujah!” whereupon the horses went forward -with a bound and brought plough, man, trousers, and -stump along with them!</p> - -<p class='c010'>It was a garment of this incomparable material that -Willette appropriated to her use. She cut off the legs -until the length suited her stature, regardless of the -fit of the waist, clothed the upper part of her body -in a pink check shirt, put a boy’s cap upon her head, -and announced her intention of henceforth dressing -like that. She was a chip off the old block with a vengeance, -and Mary Winkle, after one affrighted gasp, -was obliged to admit that her own principles, as put -into practice by her daughter, were too much for her. -Wright laughed immensely, and said she was a boy -now and would do first-rate.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Willette was totally uneducated, could not write -her name and could scarcely read, but she did not -lack for intelligence. She knew the hour of the day, -by looking at the sun, as well as a negro, and -she could distinguish a horse from a cow at four -miles distance. She knew every beast for miles -around, and to whom it belonged, and could remember -for a month every cow she had come across -on the prairie and which way it was heading. She -understood the moods and intentions of all kinds -of animals almost as if she was one of the species -<span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span>herself, and she never was at fault on a cattle-trail.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive found immense amusement in talking to -Willette, who expressed herself with the utmost freedom -upon all subjects in language which would have -done credit to a nigger. The child, on the other hand, -had a supreme contempt for Olive’s abilities and attainments, -which seemed ludicrously deficient, but -felt a kindly patronising sort of regard for her, and -liked to look at her pretty face and touch her smooth -round cheeks. The pair were therefore often together, -and Willette undertook to teach her friend to ride, -provided she would get some sensible clothes and ride -in the only way that Willette imagined it possible -for a two-legged human being to bestride a quadruped. -Olive therefore made herself a bewitching riding-habit -with Turkish trousers, and rode a high-peaked -Mexican saddle, out of which even a sack of meal -could not tumble if it tried. As soon as Olive began -to feel confidence in herself and her horse, she enjoyed -the riding immensely. She claimed the refusal of a -horse on every possible opportunity when one could -be spared from the farm work. Ezra, delighted to see -her so pleased with a healthy exercise, encouraged -her to go cattle-hunting with Willette, and enjoyed -the spirited reports which she used to bring home from -these exhilarating expeditions.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I do wish I had a pony of my very own which -I could take out whenever I wanted a ride, and which -<span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span>would be always there for me,” said Olive one day -to Ezra after she had been riding by herself on Rebel. -Ezra was hoeing up the newly sprouted sweet-corn, and -the horses were not at work on the land. In his inmost -heart he re-echoed the wish, and would at that -moment have given anything to be an individualist -and be able to say: “Darling, I’ll buy you a pony with -the first load of corn I sell.” He looked at his pretty -wife’s glowing cheeks and sparkling eyes, and thought -with a groan that he was tied by his principles and -prevented by them and the public opinion of the Community -from giving his wife this enjoyment. It was -the first time that his heart had come into conflict -with the perfect theories of Perfection City, and he -was amazed and disturbed to find how very much he -was vexed by them. Fortunately Olive dismissed the -idea of a pony of her own as an unattainable bliss, -and contented herself with chance rides on Rebel -and Queen Katherine, the two horses which inhabited -Ezra’s stable and were generally used by him on his -side of the community-land.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive’s courage and spirit of independence, fostered -by a very mild-tempered horse, grew apace. She soon -felt able to dispense with the escort and instruction -of Willette and go cattle-hunting alone. She learned -quickly enough to know the sixty head of cattle belonging -to the Community, and where to look for -them. The cattle, which consisted of the usual mixture -of milch cows, steers, yearlings, and calves, had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span>been bought at different times and were apportioned -to the different families in rough division, chiefly because -each woman liked to have the cows she was to -milk, driven up to her own fence near to her own -house to save trouble. The cattle, consequently, -seemed to have become intensely individualistic in -their tendencies, and absolutely refused to graze in -common. Each bell-cow led off her own herd of steers -and yearlings where she thought best on the prairie, -and it was seldom that any two of those “leading -ladies” chose to go to the same spot. If they did -they generally quarrelled and fought a bit. Cattle-hunting, -therefore, became a sufficiently diversified occupation -in which the unexpected frequently occurred.</p> - -<p class='c010'>One day it happened that Olive and Diana, now -old enough to run with her on her expeditions, had -been to the head of Little Cotton Wood Creek to look -for a cow that had hidden away her calf there, after -the manner of prairie cows. Olive found the truant -and the “little stranger,” along with half a dozen -young cattle, and was driving them slowly homewards, -when she became convinced from Rebel’s demonstrations -that something was annoying him under the flap -of his saddle. In fact he was constantly trying to bite -Olive’s leg in a way which agitated her not a little. Accordingly -she resolved to take off the saddle and make -an inspection. She dismounted, undid the girths, and -lifted off the heavy Mexican saddle. Rebel, who had -always hitherto regarded this proceeding as indicating -<span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span>immediate liberty, no sooner felt the saddle removed -than he took a base advantage of Olive, and -kicking up his heels bounded away from her. She -set the saddle in the grass and walked pacifically after -Rebel, held out a deceitful hand and called him endearing -names. Rebel listened to her honeyed words with -his ears flat on his neck, and as soon as she came near, -again kicked up his heels and bounded off.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Diana considering all this a joke in which a puppy -might lend valuable assistance, now pranced forward -with energetic barks, and the cows and calves deeming -themselves to be driven with fierceness, set up a -lumbering trot across the prairie, the new-made mother -every now and then diving ineffectually after Diana -with a plunge and a snort. A stampede had set in -among the animals, and Olive sat down and cried -with vexation and alarm. Her home showed clear -and distinct against the horizon just four miles in a -bee-line from where she sat shedding her ineffectual -tears. Now Diana, although a feminine creature and -also a puppy, and therefore endowed with a double -dose of original foolishness, was likewise a dog, and -consequently amenable to the highest inspirations of -a noble nature. Having therefore in her character of -puppy worried and distracted the animals to her -heart’s content, she suddenly felt bound to exhibit -some of the better sides of her nature, among which -remains forever pre-eminent fidelity to the master. -Seeing that Olive was not in the scrimmage, Diana -<span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span>turned her back resolutely upon the delights of snapping -at calves’ heels, and putting her nose to the -ground raced straight back to Olive weeping in the -grass. After an apologetic wriggle Diana sat down -and looked at Olive. Now no philosopher or other -mortal has ever succeeded in being as wise as a tired -puppy can look. Therefore when Olive in spite of -her woe caught sight of Diana’s face and attitude, she -burst into a laugh in the midst of her tears, whereupon -the latter sprang merrily up and licked her face. Thus -comforted, Olive arose, and then became aware that -she didn’t know where the saddle was. She had neglected -to mark its position in any way when going -on that deceitful embassy to Rebel, but indeed it would -not have been easy to mark the position of the saddle. -The grass was in its greatest summer height, and there -was neither bush nor tree anywhere for miles around. -There was not even a hillock or knoll of ground to -give individuality to one spot more than another, all -was the relentless rolling prairie—a vast grassy sea -where one billow was exactly like a hundred others.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive was in dismay. Here was a fresh cause for -tribulation, for the saddle was new and expensive, -and moreover it belonged to the Community. She -would not have minded facing Ezra with a tale of any -sort of disaster or loss, for she knew he would kiss -her and pet her and say, “Never mind, darling, don’t -grieve, it doesn’t matter two jack-straws.” But a community-saddle -was quite another matter, and Olive -<span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span>shrank from the ordeal of community-anger at the -loss of its saddle, and community-contempt for her -carelessness in unsaddling on the prairie without putting -the reins over her arm. She perceived now that -anyone but a fool would have taken that simple precaution -against disaster. “I’m not fit to live on the -prairie,” sobbed Olive to herself. “My education is -no use to me, and I have not got the wits of that boy-girl -Willette. Diana, you idiot, why don’t you help -me?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>This reproach was addressed to the puppy, who -was wallowing blissfully in the grass and thus refreshing -herself after her scamper. Olive began to walk -aimlessly up and down in the hope of stumbling on -the saddle, and Diana began to do likewise, but with -far more system. Diana’s researches were speedily -crowned with success, and she soon sat down to an uninterrupted -gnaw at the flap of the big Mexican saddle. -Becoming at length aware of the disappearance of -Diana, Olive called to her, and the puppy reared a -mischievous face over the grass some twenty yards -away. Going to the spot, Olive perceived the saddle -and also the depredations of Diana’s sharp teeth upon -the flap. She whipped the dog with a stirrup leather -most ineffectually and then said:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What’s to be done now?” but Diana, feeling that -her efforts had been badly rewarded, made no suggestions.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Indeed Olive’s plight after finding the saddle was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>considerably worse than before. The thing was very -heavy. Mexican saddles are built on wood, large, -strong and ponderous, and weigh heavier and heavier -in proportion to the distance one carries them. Olive -put it on her shoulders and began to see stars, she -then tried her head and found that position still worse. -She dragged it along by a stirrup-leather and found -she was ruining it. Then she sat down and cried, -which was the most useless effort she had made. What -was she to do? If she were to leave the saddle and -walk home she would never be able to find it again. -There was absolutely nothing to mark the spot. By -this time the cattle were distant specks moving solemnly -homewards, with Rebel decorously following in -the rear. Olive decided to remain where she was until -Rebel and the cattle, by their arrival without her, -should have given the alarm, which would bring Ezra -and the rest of the Community to the rescue, somewhere -about the middle of the night, she supposed. -It would be humiliating, but she thought it would be -better than abandoning the saddle which she could not -possibly carry. She sat down to wait with what patience -she could for rescue and humiliation. There -was nothing to expect along that weary stretch of -grassy sea, and yet Olive kept looking and looking -away to the north, east, south, and west. By and by -she beheld a horseman coming up from the distant -west and holding a slanting course which would carry -him past Perfection City some mile or so to the north. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>She resolved to intercept this man and ask his aid, so -she stood up and signalled wildly with her hat. Of -course he saw her instantly, although he was a couple -of miles away, and equally of course he at once turned -his horse towards her and set off at a gallop. People -on the prairie ask and give help freely, and Olive -had not the slightest hesitation in calling this unknown -horseman up to her aid, although she had not -the remotest idea who he might be. Probably he was -a cattle-hunter like herself, at any rate a man and a -horse would be able to give her and her saddle effectual -assistance. The man galloped steadily on and soon -took the ordinary appearance: big hat, red shirt, riding -boots, belt with probably a revolver somewhere in it. -He slowed up a little as he came near and seemed to -be very intently looking at Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am very sorry to have troubled you,” began -Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Don’t mention it. I shall be delighted if I can -be of use,” said the man, taking off his big hat.</p> - -<p class='c010'>They both stopped short and looked hard at each -other, for their speech had mutually revealed the fact -that they were a lady and a gentleman, a most uncommon -encounter on the Kansas prairie beyond the -last bit of cultivated land.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Have you had an accident? Are you hurt?” -asked the man, jumping off his horse and mechanically -slinging the bridle-rein over his left arm, as Olive -noted with some self-reproach. She told him what -<span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span>had happened, and she saw a smile creep round his -mouth and light up his blue eyes.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That is easily remedied. I feared you must have -been thrown,” said he. “Just mount my horse. He’s -quiet. I’ll take you home.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But the saddle,” said Olive looking very anxiously -at that burden.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh! that’s nothing,” said the stranger. “I’ll -carry it on my arm.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You must not dream of such a thing. I could -not think of allowing it. You are very kind, I am -sure, but if you would take up the saddle in front -of you that is all I want. The saddle is the only difficulty. -I can walk quite well. I live in that house -over there on the brow of the bluff. It is not far, but -I could not carry that terrible saddle.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why, that’s Perfection City, where the Communists -live,” said he, looking at her curiously.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, I live there,” replied Olive with a slight -blush, noting the look.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And are you a communist, if I may presume to -ask the question?” queried the stranger.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“My husband was one of the founders of the—the—of -Perfection City,” said Olive, valiantly determined -to defend the absent.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But you are not one of the original members. -You are surely a new-comer. I know most of them, -by sight at all events.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am Mrs. Weston,” replied Olive with dignity.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span>The stranger again took off his hat, as if this were -an introduction.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I have seen your husband then, a magnificent -specimen of manhood, to judge from the only example -I had of his physical strength.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive felt at once mollified. Meanwhile, the -stranger had shortened the stirrup-leathers of his -horse, and turning to Olive he said,</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And now, Mrs. Weston, allow me to give you -a hand up to mount you on my big horse. He is quite -gentle and I will hold the bridle.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive hesitated. “I don’t like to take your horse,” -she said. “If you would be so kind as to leave the -saddle——”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, no, you must not deprive me of the pleasure -of your company,” interposed the stranger. “We -will manage the saddle all right. Just spring up. -Your riding-habit is admirably adapted for prairie -life, and the prettiest I ever saw. Pardon my bluntness, -but I am so little used to society, I fear I am -very rough.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You don’t fear anything of the sort,” replied -Olive quickly. “You are perfectly aware that your -manners are infinitely superior to the article in general -use hereabouts.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The man laughed pleasantly at this sally. “Well, -let me amend my pleading,” said he, “and say, it -is so long since I met a lady in these wilds, and that -is true enough, Heaven knows!”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span>Olive mounted the big horse with the dextrous -help of his hand and signed to him to give her the -saddle.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I couldn’t think of it,” said he, thrusting his arm -under the saddle and hoisting it on to his shoulder. -“It would be unspeakably uncomfortable for you -to hold, with the stirrups whacking you at every -step.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then you shall put it on the horse’s neck in -front of me, or I’ll hop down this instant. It’s bad -enough to appropriate your horse without making you -carry my saddle as well.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Seeing her so determined, he, with a slight show -of reluctance, placed the saddle on the neck of his -horse, who after a shake or two submitted to the burden, -and so they eventually turned homewards.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I suppose you are not surprised that we settlers -out here take considerable interest in your experiment -in communism,” remarked the man as they -walked along.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No doubt anything out of the common excites -comment,” said Olive guardedly, “but I should not -have thought you could be classed as a settler out -here. I have seen a good many, and know the type.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She felt interested in the man and curious to know -who he was, he seemed so utterly different from all -those she had hitherto met.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I have lived here, nevertheless, for some years -now. I have a farm on the north side of Big Cotton -<span class='pageno' id='Page_80'>80</span>Wood Creek. My name is Cotterell. Have you ever -heard it?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, I never heard the name, but then I’ve only -been here a very short time, only two months. I—that -is, we came in May,” said Olive blushing somewhat.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The stranger smiled a winning smile and looked -up at her face as he answered,</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I see you have only just come, and come as a -bride to Perfection City. It has a very suitable sound -in that connection.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He again lifted his hat, and Olive blushed more -vividly still.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The prairie does not seem a very hopeful place -for experiments in perfection,” continued the stranger. -“To my eyes it looks a most God-forsaken place, but -under certain circumstances I should be disposed to -modify that view.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I think any place will do to try and live a good -life in, and that is what is aimed at in our little Community,” -said Olive, standing bravely to her defence.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He was silent for a time and then spoke again.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Any place can be made better by the presence -of a good woman, I think.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We want to show how it is possible to banish -some of the evil out of life,” said Olive, marshalling -the expressions she had heard at the Academy with -what skill she could.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“With some it is only necessary to be what God -<span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span>made them in order to banish evil from their presence,” -said he.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And we have a very noble woman as leader,” -said Olive not quite sure of his meaning.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ah, indeed! You praise her, that should count -for much. There are very mixed reports about her -character on the prairie. Many seem to dislike and -distrust her.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“As for that I suppose there are mixed reports -about us all,” observed Olive impartially.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Indeed there are. For instance, it is most -confusing what people say concerning the extent -to which you carry your communistic theories. -Some assert that there is no limit and that you are -logical.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t understand what you mean,” said Olive, -knitting her brows.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I presume now that the land is held in common?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, certainly, and the farm implements and the -horses and cows,” answered Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“All those don’t really touch the question. You -live in separate houses, I believe.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Of course we do. I should hate not having my -own little house. It would be like a hotel or a penitentiary -for all to live under one roof. I wouldn’t do -it for worlds. We have our home-life just like other -people, but I should like to have a pony of my -own, only I suppose my husband would not think -<span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span>it right to have a horse that was not a community-horse.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What a confounded shame! I beg your pardon. -You see I am rough. I mean, I think your -husband ought to get you a pony, a nice well-trained -lady’s pony, for you to ride, and not a big farm-horse.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I should like one,” observed Olive simply, and -then suddenly remembering that she was speaking to -a stranger, she added hastily, “I mean it would be -nice to have a horse always at hand, one not liable to -be wanted for farm work.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I just happen to know of an excellent animal -that would suit you down to the ground. It belongs -to Tom Mills, and he wants to sell it. It will go cheap -too. If you would speak to your husband about it, -I would bring it over for you to look at. Mills lives -close to my house.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, pray don’t,” said Olive anxiously. “I am -ever so much obliged to you, but I really ought not -to have spoken about it.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Very well,” said he, seeing she was distressed, -“we’ll not pursue the subject further.” But in his -own mind he reflected that were he in Weston’s place, -he would have got that pony for his wife, principles -or no principles, and it is highly probable that he -would have done so.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He left Olive and her saddle at her own door, -refusing her invitation to enter, saying that he would -<span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span>avail himself of her permission to come some -other day to see her. And she cordially invited him -to do so, for was not hospitality one of the commonest -virtues of the prairie, and surely Perfection -City must not be behindhand in the practice -thereof?</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER VIII.<br /> <span class='large'>MR. PERSEUS.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>When Olive got home, she was at first pleased to -see that her husband had not come in, therefore he -had not been made uneasy about her absence. Napoleon -Pompey had caught Rebel and turned him into -the pasture field, and was returning after that job when -he met Olive near the hen-house. Napoleon Pompey -grinned at her and remarked with relish: “Ole hoss, -he done throw yer, den run clar ’way home.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, he didn’t,” retorted Olive, indignant at this -slur upon her equestrian skill, “I just got off to -change the saddle, and he ran away from me.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Land!” said Napoleon Pompey, “an’ didn’t yer -chuck yer reins roun’ yer arm?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, I forgot to,” confessed Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Golly Ned!” said Napoleon Pompey with vast -amusement.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive felt annoyed and inquired stiffly where her -husband was.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ole man he done gone ter git ole hoe men’d -up, den he gwine ter go to der ’Sumbly, he done eat -<span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span>supper ’ready. Me an’ you’uns got ter eat our’n now. -Ole man done tol’ me.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Napoleon Pompey meant no disrespect in speaking -of Ezra as “ole man,” for the lad knew of only two -titles to bestow on white men, one was “Mas’r” the -other was “ole man.” Ezra had requested him not to -use the expression Mas’r, which grated on his ears, -and contained suggestions of servitude at variance with -the ideas that prevailed at Perfection City. Napoleon -Pompey was therefore obliged to fall back upon his -one other title. Olive had been greatly shocked when -she first heard her husband called “ole man,” but she -was now used to the expression.</p> - -<p class='c010'>She was very disappointed not to see Ezra at once, -for she was full of her adventure, but she knew from -experience she must possess her soul in patience, for -the “’Sumbly,” as Napoleon Pompey called it, was -sure to take a good while, and Ezra always stayed -conscientiously to the last. The institution was none -other than the bi-weekly Assembly, which met at the -Academy, and at which all the business of the Community -was settled and the routine work of the farm -arranged for. All the members were free to attend -and speak their minds, but in practice it had resolved -itself into a Junta of Madame, Ezra, Wright, Green, and -Uncle David, of whom the two latter were sleeping -members. The women of Perfection City did not care -to attend the Assembly very often. Women are not -good debaters, and they dislike arguments carried on -<span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span>under strict rule. They prefer to go their own way, -do what seems best at the moment, and reserve an unlimited -right of grumbling and jealousy. Madame, who -was an exception to the general rule, usually presided -at the Assembly and ruled it, as she did most things, -without seeming to do so. Ezra and Brother Wright -understood the farm work and generally mapped out -the daily labour pretty well. Brother Dummy required -only to be told what to do and went on contentedly -doing it, without comment or commotion. -Nobody, of course, was ordered to work, but it was -suggested that if Brother Wright would do so and -so, Brother Ezra would be able to do this, that, or -the other, while Brother Carpenter would be free to -perform such another task, and Brother Dummy would -probably prefer to work at whatever happened to be -wanted at the moment. Madame seldom interfered, -and then only when necessary to smooth over a rough -edge. She usually found the men’s arrangements -excellent and for the general weal. Brother Green, -who was a first-rate smith, was the only member of -the Community who, at this time, received any money, -for he worked in his spare time for outsiders. With -great pride he used to bring the money he earned to -the ’Sumbly and give it into Madame’s charge to be -expended as seemed best. She kept the accounts and -used to furnish all the rest of the necessary cash. -Sometimes the brethren expressed compunction at calling -so often on her resources, but Madame always -<span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span>made the most graceful speeches in reply to their objections. -Of course an undertaking such as this required -capital to start it. It would be foolish to starve -the whole project for want of a little expenditure -now. By and by they would be self-supporting, but in -order to reach that stage quickly they must not be -stingy now. So she gave her dollars by the hundred -when needed, and the brethren were eternally grateful -and privately wondered if there was any limit to -her wealth and generosity. At the Assembly it would -be debated whether the next load of timber that was -bought should go to building a hen-house for Brother -Carpenter or to putting up a cattle-shed for Brother -Ezra, and it speaks well for the honest conviction of -the Pioneers that it was usually Brother Ezra who -argued in favour of the hen-house, while Brother Carpenter -expressed an anxious desire for the cattle-shed. -The difficulty would perhaps be settled by Madame -desiring to know how much timber was required -for both buildings and deciding to buy that amount -at the earliest opportunity.</p> - -<p class='c010'>At this particular Assembly to which we refer, -Ezra was several times on the point of saying that -he wished to get a pony for his wife, but his -heart failed him. He knew he did want the pony -very much, but he also knew that it was not -really wanted for the Community. So he could not -bring himself to give utterance to the individualistic -wish, and after arranging the necessary business of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span>the Community, he came home with his wish unstated.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive was waiting for him with the greatest impatience. -She went, indeed, as far as the bars to meet -him, but the road looked so lonesome and the sky so -black with cold trembling specks of stars, that she -ran back again in a flutter of panic to the house and -shut herself in with the candles for company. At last -he came back, and Olive poured forth the pent-up -torrent of her news. Ezra was much amused at her -description of the disaster and interested in her account -of the rescuer.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And I am so vexed,” said Olive, “I can’t for the -life of me remember what he said his name was. I -know I never heard it before, but he lives here on the -prairie. It is so silly!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Call him Perseus,” said Ezra laughing, “he was -the gallant who came to the rescue of distressed damsels.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What a good joke!” said Olive gleefully, “and -I was a distressed damsel, I assure you. I cried with -vexation.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I have no doubt that Andromeda shed tears when -she was bound to the rock,” said Ezra, amused.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And I was bound to that odious saddle by the -bonds of duty,” said Olive. “What a joke! Mr. Perseus!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>So they laughed and chatted, and Olive was as -bright as possible, and Ezra thought again with a pang -<span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span>of that pony and almost wished he had spoken at the -Assembly about it. Olive, however, never mentioned -what Mr. Perseus had said about the pony Mills had -for sale. The idea seemed to have passed from her -mind.</p> - -<p class='c010'>It happened that about a week later Olive again -found herself in the neighbourhood of Little Cotton -Wood Creek, and by an extraordinary coincidence Mr. -Perseus chanced to meet her. She was very much -surprised, and he seemed to be no less so. However, -the meeting was mutually pleasant, and they soon fell -into conversation, as it appeared he was going her -way.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I have thought a great deal about what you said -to me the other day, about trying to make life better -and all that,” said he with a certain self-consciousness, -as if he was unaccustomed to speaking upon such -a subject. Olive looked at him with bright clear -eyes.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am very glad if anything I said could be of -use to you, but I am myself very ignorant. I should -like you to come and hear what Brother Wright says, -and Ezra. Brother Wright is considered very eloquent. -I can’t always understand him myself, but -that is my own deficiency!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I would much prefer talking with you, Mrs. -Weston,” said the stranger hastily. “I am very restive -under men’s teaching, but I am docile enough -when led by a woman’s gentle hand.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span>“Why are you living here?” asked Olive suddenly. -“You seem so unsuited to this life.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am sick of civilization and all its horrors,” said -he. “I wanted to get away to something fresh and -new.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That is almost like what a Pioneer would say,” -remarked Olive with a smile. “They don’t think -very highly of what civilization has done so far.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Materially it has done much, morally it has done -badly for a good number of human beings,” he remarked.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I think you sound like a very hopeful convert -to the principles of communism. Why don’t you come -to Perfection City?” asked Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Would you be glad to see me there, Mrs. Weston?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Certainly, Mr. Perseus, and I should be so pleased -to make you and my husband known to each other.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He looked at her curiously for some moments and -then said, “Why do you call me Mr. Perseus?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive gave him one horrified glance and then -blushed scarlet.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, I beg your pardon,” she stammered in great -confusion. “I did not know I said so. I really am -most sorry.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But why that name?” he persisted, still looking -at her blushing face.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I may as well tell you the truth,” she said still -much confused. “The fact is I forgot what you said -<span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>your name was, and my husband suggested in a joke -that I should call you Perseus, because—because——”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I rescued you in distress,” said he as he broke -into a deep musical laugh. “It is a capital name, I -am delighted with it.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am so ashamed of myself,” said Olive, also -laughing, “but I was in the habit of speaking of -you as Mr. Perseus, and the name slipped off my -tongue unawares. What is your real name? Pray -tell me.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Not for worlds, dear Mrs. Weston. To you I -shall remain Mr. Perseus, and I shall never think -of the name without a thrill of pleasure.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But this is most unfair,” said Olive. “You know -my name and who I am and all about me, and yet -I am to be kept in the dark as to your identity.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Forgive my not doing at once what you wish, -but really I cannot. This will be a sweet little innocent -romance to me, and before you I shall appear in -my very best light, leaving all the vices and evils of -my real nature behind me for the time. Ah no! don’t -deprive me of such a harmless joy. If you knew what -a lonely uncared for life is mine, your tender heart -would be touched.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Her heart was touched by the quiver in his deep -voice, as he intended it should be, and Olive did not -press her point any further. They rode on together -talking about a hundred subjects, and she found him -the most agreeable of men. She happened to mention -<span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span>a great novel just then coming out in Harper’s, -the scene of which was laid in Florence, and he said -musingly:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ah yes! Florence is a lovely city, nestling among -the blue hills.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Have you ever seen it then?” asked Olive much -surprised.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, long ago, when I was a young fellow.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She gazed at him. “You are a most incomprehensible -person,” she said, “living here on this prairie -and yet you have seen Florence.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You forget Perseus travels easily with his winged -feet, from here to Florence would be a bagatelle to -him.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I begin to think there must be something uncanny -about you.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Now don’t go and change me into any other personality. -Remember you are all-powerful, and by your -word alone have made me Perseus. Your word is -mighty, and you can cast me down into hell and make -me a devil by a breath,” said he half banteringly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What odd language!” said Olive, looking a little -frightened. “How you must astonish the natives -when you talk in that way!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do you fancy I talk to anyone as I do to you? -Don’t you understand that I am Perseus to you, but -to nobody else in the world?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive laughed, and put her horse to a canter in -order to snap the thread of talk which was becoming -<span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span>too difficult for her. Mr. Perseus remained in her -company while she was driving home the cattle, but -they had no further particular conversation, as the exigencies -of driving the herd occupied their attention -most of the time. On parting from her about a mile -from her home, he promised to come some day to see -her, and Olive added, “I do hope Ezra will be in, for -I should so like you two to talk together. I am sure -you have much in common.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We have one point in common, at all events,” -thought Mr. Perseus as he rode away back towards -the Big Cotton Wood Creek, “but I doubt very much -if that would at all add to the harmony of our relations.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive was full of her meeting with Mr. Perseus, -an account of which she retailed to Ezra at supper.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And just fancy his oddity! He wouldn’t tell me -his real name after my unlucky slip, so he is Mr. Perseus -to the end of the chapter, I suppose. He thought -it such a joke.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“So he saw the application,” remarked Ezra. -“He must be a man of education.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He is a most superior man, I can see that. He -has read everything I ever did and more too. And -do you know, Ezra, I shouldn’t wonder if he had leanings -towards community-life, many things he said -pointed that way. Wouldn’t it be funny if I were -to be the one to bring in your first convert, poor little -me that never had any leanings until I saw you.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span>Ezra looked sharply at his wife during this speech, -for a sudden and by no means pleasant suspicion -sprang into his mind concerning the mysterious Mr. -Perseus. However, Olive looked so perfectly innocent -of even all knowledge of evil that he felt ashamed of -himself.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I wouldn’t be too friendly with this man. We -don’t know anything about him, nor who he is, remember,” -remarked Ezra.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He said he knew you and that you were a fine-looking -man, you old dear, and he is acquainted with -most of the members of the Community by sight. -Besides, I thought it was a point of etiquette on the -prairie to make no inquiries into a person’s character, -but to take him in his boots just as he stands, and ask -him to dinner. Don’t you remember Charlie Clarke, -and how he came to supper by your invitation and -you found him so pleasant, and he a horse-thief and a -murderer all the while, only we didn’t know it.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>This was all very true, but Charlie Clarke had -evinced no “leanings” to community-life, and above -all Olive had been profoundly uninterested in him and -was delighted when he left. Ezra hated himself for -the feeling in his heart, but he had his suspicions of -Mr. Perseus, and he knew his wife was distractingly -pretty. So he advised her to keep aloof from Mr. -Perseus as much as practicable. Several times afterwards -he made excuses to go riding with her, which -Olive enjoyed immensely, but then something was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>said to her about his shirking his share of the work, -and she was furiously angry. She wanted her husband -to be first, and since the only theatre for the exhibition -of his abilities was the somewhat restricted one -of Perfection City, she wanted him to be always near -the front.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Shirking indeed!” she said tossing her pretty -head. “I’ll have Mary Winkle know my husband -never shirked in his life.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>In a blaze of wrath she met Ezra and ordered him -to go to work and never mind riding with her till -the harvest was over. She wouldn’t ride any more, -she would work until she was black in the face. Shirking -indeed! She’d let Mary Winkle see! And so on -and so forth, till her burst of anger had spent itself.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive was not slow to perceive that her husband -had some sort of dislike to the idea of her seeing Mr. -Perseus. She could not exactly explain to herself -why this should be, and she was heartily sorry for it. -She had fancied that in time Mr. Perseus might possibly -come to be a member of the Community. She would -indeed have been frankly glad to have him become a -brother, for, as far as she could judge, he seemed a -man of brilliant parts, and certainly his manners were -most charming. To tell the truth, she found the -members as a whole very uninteresting. Mary Winkle -she positively disliked, and yet she was the one nearest -to her own age. She sometimes wondered how -Ezra could be satisfied with the companionship of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span>those same people, who seemed to her to be walking -in such a narrow circle, and always to be saying the -same things in pretty nearly the same words. Now, -Mr. Perseus said such original things and in such a -charming voice. Altogether it was a pity that Ezra -should have taken a prejudice into his head against -this stranger. Olive wondered whether, if they met, -the mutual recognition of their abilities would dissipate -her husband’s suspicions. Such being her notions, -it was most unlucky that the first time Mr. -Perseus came to see them Ezra should have been gone -to Union Mills. He went so very seldom that it was -a most unfortunate coincidence, as she explained to -Mr. Perseus, who did not in return explain that having -himself seen Ezra at Union Mills he had straightway -ridden off to visit her, and ridden so hard too that -his horse was in a white lather when he arrived at -Perfection City by a somewhat circuitous route. Napoleon -Pompey was gone, so Olive showed him where -to put his horse in the dark stable so that the flies -would not torment the animal. She remarked on the -horse’s state and asked Mr. Perseus had he been running -down cattle, and he muttered something about -young horses showing every bit of work in hot weather.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He was profoundly interested in Olive’s little home. -She showed him with pride the garden she had made, -where already the balsams were just coming into blossom; -she then took him to see the prairie chickens -she was trying to rear, little black and yellow downy -<span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span>things, with fierce wild eyes utterly untamed and -only looking out for a favourable opportunity to make -a dash for freedom.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do you think I can ever tame them?” asked -Olive, as she noted the hostile manner in which they -scuttled away from her food-giving hand.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“If anyone could tame them you could, the ungrateful -little brutes!” remarked Mr. Perseus.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t see that it is ungrateful of them to resent -being taken from their proper home and natural mother -to be put under a fat stupid hen,” said Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, but it is rank ingratitude not to be tame to -you,” said he.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t think you are truthful,” said Olive -bluntly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why?” asked Mr. Perseus.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Because you are always saying things like that,” -she answered, somewhat resentfully.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, I do call that hard,” complained Mr. Perseus, -“to charge a fellow with being untruthful when -he was shaking in his shoes from terror at having perhaps -let out too much of the truth.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive looked down at his big boots, knitting her -brows, and then led the way into the house.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I’ll get you some dinner. I am sure you are -hungry,” she said hospitably, it being about two o’clock -in the afternoon.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am hungry, starving, mind, body, and soul,” -said her visitor in reply.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>“I’ll get a chicken-pie for you, that will go some -way,” answered Olive with a laugh.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And if you will talk with me, that will go far -to complete the work of charity,” said he.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive brought him the food, and he set to work -upon it, being evidently, as he said, very hungry.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do you know I am beginning to look upon Perfection -City as a sort of earthly paradise,” said Mr. -Perseus.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Indeed.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, a paradise from which I am shut out. Have -you any young men here, Mrs. Weston, unmarried -men, or are they against your rules?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No. Unmarried men are not against our rules,” -said Olive archly. “We had one here lately, but we -haven’t now.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why, what did you do with him?” asked Mr. -Perseus, in some surprise.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I married him,” said Olive dimpling and blushing.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Lucky beggar!” remarked her visitor, turning -again to his dinner.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Mr. Perseus stayed some time, but refused Olive’s -invitation to wait to see her husband, saying as an -excuse that he had a long way to ride home. Olive -wanted to know where he lived, but he laughingly -put her off. He would not tell her, lest she should -discover his real name, and then much of the romance -of his life would be destroyed.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span>“You don’t know what this is to me, and how -when I am leading my lonely life, I recall every word -and look and again go through these meetings, Mrs. -Weston. I suppose it seems silly to you, but remember, -human companionship is man’s most precious -inheritance, and those who have but little of it prize -what they have at perhaps an extravagant figure. Did -you ever hear of Silvio Pellico?” he asked abruptly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No,” replied Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, he was a prisoner entirely shut off from -human companionship, and he at last made friends -with a spider, and at length the spider was crushed -by the turnkey’s foot, and Silvio wept tears of anguish. -I am like a prisoner out here on this desolate -prairie.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And am I like the horrible spider, then?” said -Olive brightly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Mrs. Weston!” he exclaimed reproachfully. “I -have opened my heart to you because I felt that you -could feel with me, although the world might count -us as strangers, but I thought you would understand -what I meant even when I blundered through the expression -of my thoughts. This is the first time you -have misunderstood me. But I believe it was only -pretended misunderstanding and that you do know -what I meant.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He said good-bye, and left Olive with a feeling of -sadness and oppression on her mind. He had not been -as bright as before, and she wondered who he was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span>and why he was so anxious not to see anyone but her. -She mentioned his visit to Ezra, but somehow she -had less to tell about him than on former occasions. -There seemed nothing to say. Ezra, too, did not appear -as much amused as formerly at the joke of Mr. -Perseus. No doubt it was getting stale by this time.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER IX.<br /> <span class='large'>FIRST LESSONS.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Summer came on apace. The field had been duly -run over in both directions with the shovel-plough, -so as to leave between the cross-ploughing little “hills” -of earth, out of which sprang the corn-clumps. The -broad green ribbons of leaves fluttered in the wind, -making a soft murmur as of a forest. Olive took great -delight in her little flower-garden at the east end of -the house, and worked and weeded at it both early and -late. Napoleon Pompey, typical negro boy, which -being interpreted means laziest of mortals, forgot his -laziness to work for “Mis’ Ollie” as he called her. -Together they had planted their balsams, trained their -morning-glory, and rooted out brown beetles with zeal, -to be amply repaid in July by a glorious profusion of -blossoms.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“This is my very ownest own garden,” said Olive, -exhibiting her balsams with pride to Ezra. “Mind, -this is not community-land, it’s mine.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Does it make you enjoy the flowers more to think -that nobody else has them?” asked Ezra, with a tinge -<span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>of sadness in his voice. “Would it make you any the -happier to keep the sunshine all to yourself, do you -think?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, certainly not, that’s quite different. But I’ve -planted these flowers and grown them. I shall give -them to whomsoever I like. You for instance.” She -smiled coaxingly at him.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You pretty child,” he said, disarmed.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why, I brought some over to Mrs. Carpenter -to-day. I went to help her with her washing. And, -do you know!” said Olive, “I was so amused.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“At what?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Mr. Carpenter was educating his children.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He’s always doing that,” said Ezra.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, but to-day there was a special lesson. He -was at Union Mills yesterday, and he got a present -for both of them, I mean two presents, one for Johnny -and one for Nelly. You know he is always saying -boys and girls would have the same tastes if they were -brought up in the same way.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He’ll find out one day, maybe, that boys will be -boys, no matter how you bring them up.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He has found it out already. Wait till you hear. -By way of correcting any early bias, he gave a hammer -and nails to Nelly and a doll to Johnny.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You don’t say so! What did the children do?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, they went off without a word, each carrying -its toy, and Mr. Carpenter told me his ideas about -education, and how well they worked. Suddenly we -<span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span>heard shrieks from behind the wood-pile where the -children were playing. We ran out to see what was -the matter. Nelly had got a handkerchief tied over -the head of her hammer, and she was cuddling it to -sleep in her arms. Johnny had got some of the nails -and was trying to drive them into a piece of wood with -the head of the doll for hammer. Nelly was screaming -because he was killing poor Dolly.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra laughed, and Olive joined in at the recollection -of the scene. “You cannot think how disappointed -Mr. Carpenter looked. His wife said he’d -got something to do if he was expecting to cure little -girls of dolls in a hurry. We changed the presents and -left him to reconcile it with his theories as best he -could; both children were quite happy and contented -afterwards.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Poor Carpenter! He’ll have to learn by bitter -experience that he cannot change human nature all -at once,” said Ezra, sympathetically. “I fear children -are still in the savage stage of development, they are -not communists.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Nobody is communist about things they care very -much about,” said Olive, in desperate courage.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why, Ollie! What a thing to say! I am a thorough-going -communist I hope. I’d give the coat off -my back without a pang.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Of course you would, because it is a horrid old -thing any way, and men look frights in coats always. -Men don’t care about clothes, only just to cover themselves -<span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span>and keep themselves warm. One rag would do -as well as another.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You are an incorrigible little individualist and -a greedy one as well, I do declare,” said Ezra, half -laughing at her vehemence.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, it’s not that, only I see what is what,” replied -Olive oracularly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And what might that be?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The Pioneers are only communistic for rubbish -and rags, and not for dolls and hammers. That’s what -they are,” said Olive, with her face aflame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Rubbish and rags! What an absurd thing to -say. Who ever heard such nonsense?” said Ezra, -loftily ignoring his wife’s argument in a way that wise -men often affect.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“’Tisn’t nonsense,” said Olive hotly. “It is just -what people say of Perfection City.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What people say it?” asked Ezra.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, Mr. Perseus for one,” said Olive, repenting -of her daring in getting into the subject at all.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Mr. Perseus,” repeated Ezra with a sudden frown, -“so you talk over our principles with him. When did -you do so last?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t know exactly when. The other day. He -often passes by here on his way cattle-hunting. Sometimes -he looks in for a moment, but sometimes he can’t -stay long, only to water his horse. Of course I talk -over the principles that have made you found a City -here. Don’t you suppose people know about them -<span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span>and talk them over eagerly? They are different enough -from the generality of people’s ideas, and Mr. Perseus -said they considered you only went a little way into -communism, and had a little bit of this and a little -bit of that in common, and weren’t at all logical. -People sneer at Perfection City, I can assure you.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And you, doubtless, enjoyed his sneers,” retorted -Ezra injudiciously.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, I didn’t, only I saw what other people say -of us. Mr. Perseus, even, once said he’d like to -come and be a communist himself, if we were only -consistent throughout, and lived up to our principles.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You may tell your friend Perseus that he would -not be a welcome recruit,” said Ezra, in considerable -agitation. “I may as well tell you now what I have -suspected for some time. I know pretty well who -your mysterious Mr. Perseus is. He is a man of the -name of Cotterell. I know him very well by sight -and better still by reputation. To convince you, I will -just mention a point or two about his appearance. He -is about five feet ten in height, very fair in complexion, -with a yellow moustache, and bright blue eyes, and -whenever he takes his hat off you see the blue veins -very markedly on his temples. He is, I suppose, what -a woman would call a very handsome man, and he -usually rides a black horse with a blaze on his face -and white hind feet.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, that’s the man,” said Olive who remembered -<span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span>the horse well, and who moreover recognized the perfect -accuracy of her husband’s description.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Very well. Now I will tell you something about -his character and history. He is an Englishman and -perhaps has been badly brought up. At all events he -hasn’t the morals we approve of. I know his libertine -London ways. He probably didn’t tell you about it, -but I remember very well the poor girl who shot -herself the first summer we came here, because Cotterell -had abandoned her. If the neighbours had been -quite sure of all the facts of the case, there would in -all probability have been a shooting party at Cotterell’s -house, so I was told. But they were not quite sure -so they gave him the benefit of the doubt. Accordingly -he still has his handsome face to go on with and -maybe wreck more homes. That is the career of Mr. -Cotterell, alias Mr. Perseus,” said Ezra with considerable -heat.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It was you who gave him the name of Perseus,” -replied Olive also much agitated. “He did not appear -under a false name of his own accord. And now that -you tell me his real name I remember that was the -one he gave the first time I saw him, and he asked -me if I had ever heard it before.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I won’t say anything on that point, it may have -been a joke on his part, but it must stop now. Understand -me, Olive. I don’t wish to seem harsh, but -you must not meet and talk with this man again. -If you chance on him, pass by and say you can have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span>no further communication with him. If he urges an -objection, say I have forbidden you to see him, as -I do forbid you, here and now. He will take that -for an answer, scoundrel as he is, for among people of -his stamp personal vanity does duty for better feelings. -He won’t come again to a house where the lady -has once shown him the door. You don’t in the least -understand what his motives are in this new-fangled -interest of his in Perfection City, but I understand -them very clearly, and my wish is that you never see -him again. Harm is sure to come of it if you do.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive was very much alarmed at her husband’s -stern manner and peremptory order, but she was also -indignant. Mr. Perseus or Cotterell, as she must now -call him, had shown great respect and deference to -her and had evinced a desire to be guided by her to -higher aspirations. She was not sure of the meaning -of some of his remarks, or rather she wished she could -find some other reasonable explanation for them than -the one most people would undoubtedly attach to them. -Still she resented her husband’s masterful manner.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I will of course obey your orders, Ezra,” she -said with a tart emphasis on the word which made -him wince, “because I hold old-fashioned ideas of -what wifely duty is, quite at variance with the high -standard of individual liberty as maintained and explained, -I believe, by the brethren of Perfection City. -You may rest quite satisfied, I will obey you.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Having thus stabbed her husband in his most vulnerable -<span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span>point and dexterously driven the poignard up -to the hilt in the wound, Olive walked away, leaving -Ezra to feel himself a selfish brute.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra spent a wretched half day of self-reproach, -and then crept back repentant, begging to be forgiven -for being a tyrant to his poor little pet. And -his little pet who had paid for her pride with abundant -tears, allowed him to kiss her and fondle her and call -her sweet silly names, while she declared she never -cared to see or speak to that wretched Mr. Cotterell -again, and no wonder he was ashamed of his own -name, etc., etc., all in the most foolish and approved -manner possible to the newly married.</p> - -<p class='c010'>All the same, after a time Olive began to feel sorry -for Mr. Cotterell, and to pity him for the very errors -of his past life, about which she now saw that he was -penitent without wishing to explain to her why. Also -she had very much enjoyed meeting him; he was so -fresh, cultivated, and original, in his conversation. It -was really very dull sometimes with no one to talk to, -and the long hot day shimmering by, making her feel -as if she were a potato being slowly baked in a hotair -oven. There was no excitement in the house-work -and—and it was very dreary sometimes. Men delight -in reverting to primitive savagery. The most highly -civilized man “reverts” in a way which is surprising -both for completeness and for rapidity, but women -hate the process. Savage woman was a slave, and the -more completely a woman becomes subject to primitive -<span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>conditions the more closely she resembles a slave, and -is in virtual bondage either to some human being or -to hampering circumstances.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Of appropriate companions of her own sex Olive -had absolutely none. Mary Winkle was a rigid reformer, -a person all angles, of the sort that never becomes -a companion to anyone, for she was always on -the war-path, and, besides, between her and Olive there -was an unexpressed, but no less real, antipathy. Her -daughter, Willette, that creature half boy, half girl, -and wholly wild, was always on horseback careering -after stray cattle, and though by her ignorance and -eccentricity she sometimes amused Olive, she had really -no ideas beyond those very concrete ones impressed -upon her from without by her open-air life on the -prairie. Mrs. Carpenter was a good soul, but a mere -stout housewife, with no ideas and only one hope, -namely, “that Carpenter would give up his high-fallutin’ -notions, an’ go back to York State, an’ settle -down comfortable again, an’ be a preacher in a Baptist -church.” Mrs. Ruby was old in body, but the youngest -of them all in mind, except Uncle David, who was -her senior by four years. Mrs. Ruby believed in Perfection -City, though she reserved the right of private -judgment on certain of the tenets of its founders, and -in particular, she had lately felt misgivings as to the -worldly wisdom of their principle of non-resistance. -She knew, however, that the Pioneers were going to -show the world the new and better way—the way -<span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>which led into no competition for supremacy, but into -peaceful paths of universal progress. Property and -its attendant imps, greed, strife, jealousy, envy, hatred, -and malice, were all banished from Perfection City, -and in their place peace and good-will and perfect trust -in each other were to reign forever. It was a high -ideal, but not a new one. It was eighteen centuries -old, though it had never yet been realised. Mrs. Ruby -and Uncle David felt sure they had reached the ideal, -and all through Madame Morozoff-Smith, the most -whole-souled, unselfish, glorious woman of her century. -It was a pity she had not a larger theatre in -which to present before mankind the new principles of -social life it was their privilege to put into practice.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER X.<br /> <span class='large'>PRACTICAL COMMUNISM.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>A day or two after Ezra had laid his commands -upon his wife, as we saw in the last chapter, he came -home in the evening to find her in floods of tears. -Her eyelids were all red with weeping, and she broke -out afresh on seeing him.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What’s the matter?” asked Ezra, in much concern. -“What has happened?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“My poor flowers, my pretty balsams!” sobbed -Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Has the calf got into your garden and spoiled -your flowers, my poor child?” he said tenderly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, it wasn’t the calf, but they are all gone. -Mary Winkle took them all.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh!” said Ezra with a slight shock of surprise.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, she has cleared the whole garden. She -came to-day while I was out at Mrs. Huntley’s.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“How do you know it is she who has taken them?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Napoleon Pompey told me he saw her pick -them.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Depend upon it, he is lying,” said Ezra with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_112'>112</span>emphasis. “Negroes are as mischievous as monkeys, -and——”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, he didn’t do anything to the flowers,” interrupted -Olive. “He was as pleased with them almost -as I was myself, and worked ever so hard to help -keep down the weeds. Besides, I went to Mary Winkle -and saw them.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh!” said Ezra helplessly. He wished it had -been the calf or Napoleon Pompey or anybody or anything -rather than Mary Winkle. He braced himself -for what was coming.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She told me she did it with a purpose. She -said I was getting more individualistic in my leanings -every day, and that time was not curing me at all, -that I was selfishly proud of my flowers. It isn’t one -bit true,” sobbed Olive, with quivering chin. “I gave -heaps of them away. I gathered a bunch for Mrs. -Huntley just as I was going this morning.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra groaned. “I know you did, dear,” he said.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She said I gloated over them and rejoiced because -nobody else had any. I didn’t. I only loved -them because I had tended them and reared them, and -I knew them and watched for their buds. She said -they didn’t belong to me, but to the Community, and -that she took them on behalf of the general weal. -Those are all grand words for nasty mean jealousy and -covetousness,” said Olive passionately. “I hate Mary -Winkle and I hate the Community.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, Olive, Olive!” cried Ezra with a gesture of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span>entreaty. “Don’t say that, dear. It strikes me to -the heart. Think of me, dear.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“My pretty flowers!” she said with a drooping -of her mouth that betokened fresh tears.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am so sorry, oh, more sorry than I can say,” -said Ezra. “Mary Winkle has done wrong, and has -administered a lesson in a cruel, brutal way.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She has no business to give me lessons at all, -and I won’t take them from her,” cried Olive passionately. -“I hate being the one to be always taught. -They think themselves so superior and are always -stooping to raise me. Let them raise themselves first. -I can see where Mary Winkle needs teaching and correction -as plainly as anybody. She is only communistic -in regard to things she doesn’t really care about.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, no Ollie, darling. It is really a deep conviction -with us all, although in this case most unkindly -illustrated,” said Ezra gently.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I know you think so in all honesty, but it isn’t -so in reality. Nobody is nor can be communistic about -what they love, if it is real love. If they are communistic -about a thing it is because they don’t really -care.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra knew by the pang of jealousy in his own -heart that this was an insurmountable truth his little -wife was hurling forth in her anger.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Mary Winkle isn’t communistic. I’m not clever -and able to say wise things and use long words that -amaze people like Brother Wright, but for all that I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span>can see some things clearly enough. Mary Winkle -isn’t any more communistic than I am, only we love -different things.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I think you mistake,” said Ezra.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, I don’t mistake one bit. Let Mary Winkle, -if she is communistic in all the moods and tenses, -lump her child with the two little Carpenters and draw -lots to take one of the three for her own. Would that -satisfy her heart, although the precious principles -would be right enough? Of course not, because her -heart would step in and claim its own by the divine -right of love. I should be thoroughly communistic -on the score of these children. I shouldn’t mind to -draw lots as to whether Willette or Nelly or Johnny -Carpenter was going to come to live with me. One -would do as well as another, and I could be thoroughly -communistic, because I don’t love any of them -very deeply. My little flowers I did love. It wasn’t -that I had worked for them and grudged the fruit of -my labour. I would work in a turnip field and let -anyone who liked have the turnips, nasty, watery, -pulpy things, but I loved those flowers and tended them -and they were mine. I don’t care about the philosophy -of the question. You will perhaps some day see -what I mean, Ezra, and understand me. I know you -don’t now. You think me a silly child.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>In his own heart he thought he understood more -clearly than he liked to confess, that Olive was speaking -more than philosophy, she was announcing stubborn -<span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>facts. However, he strove his utmost to soothe -her feelings, for he could see that if an attitude of -strife and hostility were once set up between her and -Mary Winkle, it would not only affect his wife’s happiness -but might have very serious results upon the -future of Perfection City. There were only a very -few of them, and if the experiment was to succeed it -could only do so through unity, while strife and internal -dissensions would certainly destroy it without -giving it a chance. This point was fruitful of deep -meditation, and occasioned heart-searchings to Ezra. -It indeed augured ill for the future, not only of Perfection -City, but of all those other cities of their imagination -which should spring from this mother plant, -if the personal feelings of a couple of good women -were potent enough to wreck the scheme. Surely, in -the dozen or so choice spirits who now formed the -entire population of that City, there could be none -of those latent forces making for destruction which -would have to be reckoned with in the future and -larger experiments in communism they were leading -up to. If it was so difficult to soothe ruffled feelings -in Perfection City now, and to compose a quarrel about -some wretched little balsams, what would happen -when, in a larger Perfection City, deeper cause of dispute -arose between numbers of persons? Ezra’s mind -recoiled aghast at the answer which rose up in his -mind in reply to that question. There would have -to be some strong, some overwhelming central power, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span>a despot in short. Was this then the goal which they -were to reach after toiling along a hard and stony -road of personal effort? A despotism or a monasticism, -in either case tyranny and subjection. Surely, oh -surely, there must be some other solution which his -mind, disturbed by the sight of his little wife’s distress, -had unaccountably failed to formulate. He -would go to Madame and would seek guidance from -her illumined mind.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive, spent by her emotions, had gone to sleep -quite early, so Ezra sallied forth to seek counsel where -he was used to find it. Madame would be sure to be -still up—though it was late by prairie hours, after -nine o’clock—as he knew by experience, for in his -bachelor days he had often spent long evenings in discussion -and talk with her. Since his marriage, however, -he had never gone alone in the evening to talk -with Madame. Happy in his own love, he had felt -no need of other companionship, and now as he walked -along to her house, he began to wonder if she had -noticed the sudden cessation of the evening talks, and -also to wonder if she had missed them. It was thoughtless -never to have gone near her during all these -weeks. It was selfish, seeing how kind, how always -sympathetic she had been to him for so many months, -during the time when he felt lonely and full of undefined -longings, before his heart had found complete -rest in Olive’s love and above all in his love for her. -Ezra thinking of these things was smitten with remorse, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span>and made a resolution to go and see Madame -of an evening sometimes and to bring Olive with him. -Meantime he walked along and in a few moments -knocked at the familiar door. Madame opened it herself, -with Balthasar in close attendance. The latter, -on satisfying himself that it was a person of friendly -intentions who claimed admittance, walked back to -the spot where he had been lying, and resumed the -thread of his interrupted slumbers.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Brother Ezra, this is indeed a most unexpected -visit. I hope it is not because there is anything wrong -in your little home,” said Madame gravely.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra felt much embarrassed. He could hardly say -there was nothing the matter, and still less could he -apologise for having forgotten during all these happy -weeks to come to see her. He did the best thing -under the circumstances. He ignored Madame’s remark -and question, and plunged boldly into the business -which had brought him.</p> - -<p class='c010'>She listened gravely without making any observation, -but occasionally the faintest shadow of a smile -fluttered around her lips. Ezra watched her face somewhat -anxiously. In the old days, he had been used to -read her face when they talked together, and to catch -the meaning of her words from the mobile and everchanging -expression of her clear blue eyes. But to-day, -somehow, as he looked, he felt he had lost the -power to read. The face was now a mask which seemed -to conceal the real woman underneath, and yet it was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span>the same fair smooth brow, the same sharply defined -eyebrows, and, beneath, the same eyes. No, the eyes -were not the same. They no longer looked clear and -full at Ezra, but were often averted in a strange and -uncertain manner, as if seeking to hide or to flee. At -least such was the curious impression they produced -upon him, as he sat looking at her and telling of the -mighty wave of wrath that had surged up about that -handful of balsam blossoms.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is a most singular cause of division, and one -I could almost laugh at, except for the very real passions -of anger and of hatred it has aroused,” he said -in conclusion.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“One often sees terrible bursts of anger and -fury in immature minds,” observed Madame in -the preamble of her answer. “Young children -and people of weak intellect frequently exhibit -the most pitiable extremes of fury over trifling -causes.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra was not quite certain to what she referred. -If to Olive, then she was mistaken in considering her -a child. He recalled very vividly what she had said -about communism in what one loves, and he was not -at all prepared to admit that her arguments were those -of a person of weak intellect.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t think this is a case for ‘criticism-cure’ -in the Assembly, do you?” she said.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, certainly not,” replied Ezra, who was keenly -alive to the possibility of his wife’s blazing up into uncompromising -<span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span>criticism herself, if they attempted to -apply the famous “cure” upon her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Criticism-cure” existed rather in theory than in -practice in Perfection City, but it was held that if a -brother or a sister should be guilty of any offence -against the common weal, it would be an edifying -experience to summon him or her to the Assembly, -and let all the members tell him or her exactly what -each one thought of the conduct in question. In -theory this was supposed to work admirably, and to -be a weapon capable of reducing to reason the most -refractory member of the Community, but when Ezra -remembered it and imagined for a moment its possible -effects on Olive, he foresaw a whole train of deplorable -results. Suppose she defended herself, she could -say sharp rankling things with a surprising amount -of unanswerable truth in them, or suppose she didn’t -defend herself, but took the scolding silently. Her -eyes would get bigger and bigger with tears which -would roll over her cheeks, and her sweet little chin -would quiver, and she would look imploringly at him. -He couldn’t stand that, he knew, but would rush up -and take her in his arms, and carry her off out from -the midst of the carping, criticising brethren, and he -would call her sweet pet and darling, and say she was -right and they were horrid brutes to scold her, and -he would be very angry and would be quite capable -of knocking Brother Wright down, if he, as was likely, -had been savage with the little pet. No, criticism-cure -<span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span>should not be applied to Olive. And Ezra, arguing -thence into wider fields, began to feel some doubts as -to the value of that remarkable weapon as a means -of eradicating the naturally evil tendencies of the human -heart. Theories which had seemed sound and -complete in the abstract had a curious habit of ringing -false when he imagined himself as applying them -to Olive. It was very curious, but they did not seem -to fit her, or was it possible that the theories themselves -were wrong? No, he dismissed that thought as -entailing too much mental demolition and carting away -of rubbish. Of one thing only was he sure, the “criticism-cure” -was not to be tried on his little wife.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I think it is a case for petting rather than for -punishing,” remarked Madame, after an interval during -which they had both been severally following out -the ramifications of their own reflections.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra jumped at this idea. He was of that opinion -too, as he impartially observed. Indeed he was always -of opinion that Olive required petting.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, I think I understand the case,” continued -Madame. “The flowers were a toy, doubly prized now -they are gone. What is wanted is to provide a new -and more attractive toy, so that the baby-mind will -lightly forget the old grief.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra did not quite like this way of referring to -Olive, but he had called in Madame’s aid, and he had -no choice but to listen to the physician’s diagnosis -and prescription regarding the case in question. Madame -<span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span>meanwhile looked at him half pityingly, having -apparently overcome her eyes’ desire to avoid his -glance.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Poor Ezra!” she said softly. “You are mated -to a child, petulant, wilful, hard to manage, and very -bewitching. You will find that you cannot in this -case work by the light of pure reason. You must -bring yourself down to her level and try to see with -her eyes, to take delight in the petty trifles that interest -her. ’Tis weary work! The task of Sisyphus was none -the less severe because it produced no tangible good.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She was silent, and Ezra began to repent that he -had sought counsel from so exalted a source, since it -was delivered to him with such a liberal seasoning of -the bitter salt of implied reproof.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I think that I can apply a remedy in this instance,” -resumed Madame. “I know a woman’s mind -as well as most people, and I know too the vain weaknesses -of a silly girl—perhaps the knowledge comes -from a memory, or perhaps from a shattered hope, -who knows? At all events, dear friend and brother, -it will serve you now.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She left him to go into the small inner apartment -which was her bedroom, and came out again in a few -moments carrying a small gold bracelet of curious -workmanship, an Oriental trinket.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Here is a little trifle I happen to have by me. -Do you think this toy would dry the little one’s -tears?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>She handed the bracelet to Ezra, who, though ignorant -enough on such matters, did not fail to recognise -the flash of diamonds in the jewel.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“This is a very valuable piece of jewellery,” he -said. “You must not give it away.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t value such things except for the power -of making someone happy,” replied Madame. “Take -it, dear friend, and think that I speak truly when I -say I would gladly give all I possess to ease your mind -of trouble and make your path in life a pleasant one. -And the child-wife may like it. Now, go to her. Good-night! -You look tired and harassed.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She gently put her hand upon his forehead as if -to smooth out wrinkles, and left the room.</p> - -<p class='c010'>As Ezra walked home with the diamond bracelet -in his pocket, he seemed to feel her cool soft touch -still, and the thought came into his mind that Olive -never petted him. No, it was he who always petted -her. Well, she was very sweet and pretty, and he -hoped the bracelet would comfort her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>There was no doubt about that. Olive danced -for joy when she saw the trinket. She put it on her -smooth little wrist and flashed it about in the sunshine. -Her eyes rivalled the diamonds for brightness.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do you like it, Ollie?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Like it! Why, it’s too lovely for anything, and -Madame is just a darling, and she is kind. Just fancy -giving me a diamond bracelet! A thing I never dreamt -<span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span>of ever owning. And how shall I ever thank -her?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive was skipping with joy. Suddenly she stopped -short.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ezra, is this mine, or is it a community-bracelet?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is yours, child.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Mary Winkle can’t come and take it away for the -good of my soul, can she?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, certainly not. We are allowed to hold -private property in such personal trifles, as you -know quite well. Besides, Sister Mary would -not wish to take from you what you particularly -prized.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, of that I am not at all so sure. If your -principles allowed it, I would not give much for Sister -Mary’s self-restraint in the matter. She might want -the bracelet for herself or for Willette, for what I -know. I shall tell her the bracelet is mine even by -community-law.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive began to skip again.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You are an intractable little mortal, for all you -look so soft and yielding,” said Ezra. He could not -help smiling at her pretty kittenish ways, but he was -filled with a sort of amazement to perceive how impossible -it was to change the trend of her mind. Had -she been an angular woman, all bones, like Mary Winkle, -it would not have seemed so strange. Olive -brought her frollicking to a conclusion and looked -<span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>wisely at her husband, shaking her pretty little head -at him.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, no, Ezra. It is not that, but you are trying -to stuff me into a wrong-shaped mould, and I don’t -fit. As if any mortal woman ever could care for a -community-bracelet!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She danced away to put her treasure in some safe -place, and Ezra went off to his work, wondering in -his own mind if there was something radically antagonistic -to communism in the female nature. If there -was any such fundamental incompatibility of temperament, -then farewell to all ideas of a successful issue -to their experiment. Absolute equality between men -and women in position, power, and influence was the -key-note of their theories, but what would become of -these theories if it should appear that the female mind -refused to accept the first and greatest postulate upon -which they were all founded?</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XI.<br /> <span class='large'>A CHANCE MEETING.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The spring whence the Westons drew their water -was about a quarter of a mile from the house across -an angle of the corn field. A little foot-path winding -in and out among the hills of corn led to it. As -the corn grew, this path changed in character and became -at length a track through a miniature forest. -The corn grew to about eight feet in height, and of -course the first to be covered was little Olive, with her -brief five feet two inches, but by the end of July it -had covered them all. Then it became Olive’s greatest -delight to go down through that forest where the -corn shook in the breeze. The satin-smooth stalks -coming up like bamboos, and the broad fibrous ribbons -of leaves, were a constant pleasure. But greatest -joy of all was to watch the coming of the silk. -When the young ears of grain were forming they -threw off great skeins of exquisite silken threads, -changing through every tint from palest green to rich -dark crimson. These bunches of silk were like soft -plumes falling from the crest of the husk that held -<span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span>the ears, and were most tempting to twist through -idle fingers. A forest of tall-growing prairie corn -is just the place for fairies, only alas! the wee folk -had departed this life long before ever Olive went -to live at Perfection City. So charmed was she with -this dwarf forest, which afforded the only shade to be -enjoyed on that glaring prairie, that during the summer -she always went to the spring for an extra pail -of fresh water every afternoon before supper-time, -as this errand gave her an excuse for loitering among -the corn stalks and amusing herself with her own -playful fancies.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Diana of course accompanied her young mistress -upon these walks to the spring, for the puppy was -attached to her by bonds of firmest canine affection, -while Olive, on her side, was never tired of laughing -at Diana’s ridiculous freaks, although they sometimes -caused her considerable trouble.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Take an example.</p> - -<p class='c010'>A day so hot and scorching that words fail to convey -any idea of it, and Olive in a great fuss, for she -was behindhand with her work. At four o’clock, the -very most blistering hour of the whole twenty-four, -she set off hastily for the spring to fetch the fresh -water, and with her Diana, her tongue lolling out -half a hand’s breath. Knowing the object of the expedition, -the puppy took the path through the corn, -and Olive sweltered after her. It seemed as if the -shelter of the corn was powerless against the slanting -<span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span>shafts of sunlight that danced and chequered between -the broad hanging leaves, while the very air seemed -endowed with such a load of heat as to press down -with more than the allotted weight upon Olive’s head. -She climbed over the fence and walked across the -grass to where the spring started from under a tiny -overhanging ledge of limestone rock. It was an excellent -spring with the best of water, and would have -been made into the holiest of wells by a spreading -tree or a shady thorn-bush near it. There was, however, -nothing of this sort, but only a clear pool of -water some two feet across and about a foot deep, -just enough, in fact, to enable one to get a good dip -with the bucket. As Olive, hot and tired, hurried to -this little pool of water, she beheld the accomplished -Diana sitting in the middle of it, cooling herself and -slobbering water up and down over her nose in supreme -bliss. Poor Olive! She did not know whether -to laugh or to cry, but eventually decided upon the -first-named course. Then she sat down beside Diana -and paddled her feet in the water, after which refreshment -she returned home with her water-pail empty. -The spring had an undisturbed night in which to -renew its freshness, and in the future Olive kept her -eye on Diana when they went together for water. -The dog always wanted to go first, but Olive kept her -severely to heel until the water was obtained, after -which Diana was free to indulge in what diversions -she pleased.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span>One day as Olive emerged from the pathway -through the corn, her heart gave a great bound of -alarm as she saw a man standing beside the spring, -holding his horse’s bridle. He was a tall man in a -red shirt and large-brimmed hat. He carried a revolver -at his belt, but it was not that which frightened -Olive, she was well accustomed to seeing armed men. -On catching sight of her the stranger took off his hat -with a sweeping bow, and coming forward greeted her -with the greatest eagerness.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“This is indeed a delightful meeting, Mrs. Weston. -Quite idyllic, if I may say so. And are you coming -to fetch water? It is a subject for a poem, only I -am not a poet. I can feel all the beauty of it, but -must be dumb. You’ll let me carry back your pail -for you, won’t you? It is too heavy for those wee -hands.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Thank you, Mr. Cotterell. I can quite easily -carry my pail. I do it every day,” said Olive speaking -with much embarrassment.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Mr. Cotterell!” he repeated with infinite sadness -in manner, and with a look of much meaning in his -bold blue eyes. “You call me Mr. Cotterell, then I -am no longer Mr. Perseus, and my sweet romance is -shattered forever!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I know now that you are Mr. Cotterell,” said -Olive, in keen distress.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And knowing that, you are disillusioned and have -lost faith in me, and you will not even let me carry -<span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span>your pail of water for you,” said he, sadly, in a way -which cut Olive to the heart, “yet I am the same man -I was. To you at least I have never changed.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I know you are very kind,” said Olive, “but if -you please I’d rather you didn’t carry the pail for -me.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She was dreadfully sorry to say anything to hurt -his feelings, but she remembered her promise, and -she must make him understand here and now that -their acquaintance was to cease. She wanted to do -it as kindly as she could, but she must do it at once.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Cotterell was not slow to read her thoughts, indeed -her distress was too real and undisguised for him -to fail to understand.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Is this an order of dismissal, Mrs. Weston? Am -I not to come to see you any more?” he asked abruptly, -with a look of pain in his face.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive glancing up saw the pain and felt sorrier -than ever, but she went bravely forward.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am deeply pained, Mr. Cotterell, but I must -ask you not to come to see me; my husband does not -want you to,” she said, unable in her distress to find -any words which would convey her meaning unmistakably, -and yet not sound too unkind.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Your husband has forbidden you to see me?” -said Cotterell, biting his yellow moustache savagely.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes,” said Olive simply.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Your husband’s sentiments would do credit to -a dog in the manger, Mrs. Weston, but are not what -<span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>one exactly looks for from a professing communist, -who poses as a shining light for his poor fellow-creatures -still groping in the darkness of their ignorance.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He says you are a bad man, Mr. Cotterell,” -said Olive with a view to defending her husband and -perhaps finding out the facts of the case about her -mysterious friend, in whose personality she felt a great -interest.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t pretend to be a good man, Heaven knows! -but I’m a poor lonely devil living quite by myself, and -your husband, with all that the world can give in -the way of happiness, grudges me the brief pleasure -of talking for half an hour with a good woman. That’s -not the way to make me a better man, Mrs. Weston, -and God knows I need all the help I can get.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I’m so sorry,” faltered Olive in ready sympathy, -and the tears welled up into her tender black eyes.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You sweet pitying angel,” said Mr. Cotterell, -coming nearer and speaking very gently. “Your influence -would save me if anything could.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, you mustn’t talk like that,” said Olive, with -a catch in her voice. “And you will be a good man, -won’t you?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He bent his handsome face low, and taking her -hand implanted a kiss upon it with a grace that might -have charmed a duchess.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“A woman can make or mar a man’s life,” said -he. “Happy are they who draw the prizes. Goodbye!”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span>He sprang upon his horse and galloped away. -Olive stood watching him, her eyes swimming in tears, -she scarcely knew why, only he seemed so sad and -so handsome. Ezra was unkind to say she must -never see him any more and try to make his life -less sad and wicked, and she was so sorry to -think that she would never have any more talks -with him.</p> - -<p class='c010'>At this moment a low growl from Diana made -Olive turn round to encounter the clear cool gaze of -Madame Morozoff-Smith.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I followed you down here,” she said. “Napoleon -Pompey told me that you were most likely gone to -the spring.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Have you been here long?” asked Olive, blushing -in her surprise and confusion. “I only came for -a pail of fresh water.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, I just saw Mr. Cotterell say good-bye and -ride off,” observed Madame gently. “Do you see him -often? He hasn’t a good reputation.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t believe he is as bad as people say, I am -very sorry for him living alone.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He need not have been alone only that he chose -it, indeed it ought to have been quite otherwise, if -report goes true.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We ought to be the last persons on earth to -credit reports,” said Olive hotly. “I am sure there -is a nice crop of them about us and our life here at -Perfection City, if it comes to that.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span>“True, I daresay there are,” said Madame. “One -should be charitable.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive was evidently ill at ease, and Madame drawing -from a totally different experience of life her own -conclusions, became convinced that Ezra’s wife was -carrying on a secret acquaintanceship with a man of -whom he thought very ill.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame’s position as leader at Perfection City -gave her many rights and imposed certain duties. She -considered that of private admonition as one of them. -She did not speak for some moments, and the two -walked along in silence. Madame was debating in her -own mind whether she should speak to Olive and endeavour -to turn her from the dangerous path towards -which she seemed to be directing her steps; or whether -she should keep silence and let her destiny be accomplished. -She reflected that if she spoke to Olive, -that rather high-spirited young woman would probably -resent her interference, and might possibly complain -to Ezra, with the result of estranging him from -herself. On the other hand, if she left the silly wife -to go her foolish way, she would break her husband’s -heart. Madame’s well-shaped lips curled with a smile -of contempt for herself as these thoughts passed rapidly -through her brain. What a fool she was to stir -in the matter! Let the giddy girl follow her own impulses -and then—No, no! She would be true to her -best self, she would put forth a hand and draw back -the blind fool from the precipice that lay before her.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span>She spoke therefore to Olive in that soft quiet -voice of hers that seemed to have more power of arresting -the attention and holding it than the roar of -an avalanche.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I think you are, perhaps, not acquainted with -Mr. Cotterell’s character,” said she. “I am sure you -would not wish to associate with a bad man.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why do you think he is a bad man? Do you -know him?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, I don’t know him, but I am sure I am right -in saying that he is a man of loose morals,” said Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t believe it,” said Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why not? How can you know?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Because I have talked with him a great deal, -and he speaks like a man with high aspirations, and -not at all like the bad man you say he is.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But what can you know of a man’s real character -from a chance word or two as you run across -him in an afternoon’s stroll?” observed Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t judge from a chance word, I have had -long talks with him.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Indeed! and where? Do you meet him here at -the spring then, so often?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I never met him at the spring before, but I used -to meet him pretty often, when I was out cattle-hunting -and he would generally accompany me for a bit. -Sometimes too, he used to pass our house on his way -cattle-hunting, and then he would look in and water -<span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span>his horse and stop to talk to me for a time,” said Olive -in explanation.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Really!” said Madame looking keenly at her -companion, “and did Ezra know of these visits?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ezra said he wasn’t to come any more, and I -told Mr. Cotterell so to-day.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh! and what did he say?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He called Ezra a dog in the manger, and I do -think Ezra oughtn’t to be so harsh about Mr. Cotterell. -He would like to be a better man, I know, if he -had any chance, and people were kind to him.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Did he intimate that you could influence him -towards the better way?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t see why I can’t try to use my influence -in trying to make my fellow-creatures happier and -better. You and Ezra are always talking about -doing good that way. Why do you want to stop -me the moment I see a chance of doing a little -good?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Because you would only do harm.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, I shouldn’t. A woman has great influence -over a man. He said so himself.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Mr. Cotterell said so?” inquired Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is a very dangerous thing for a young woman -to attempt to influence men of that sort.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You don’t know what sort he is, nor anything -about him. You are only following reports. And -how can you talk about the danger of influencing -<span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span>men? That is just what you are always doing yourself.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“With me it is quite different,” said Madame -hastily.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That is what everybody says to me whenever -I want to do what other people find it right to do. I -hate being treated like a baby.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You are very young and very pretty, child, and -that makes it all the more necessary for your friends -to guard you against dangers which you don’t perceive -as clearly as they do.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I hate being young and—well—pretty, if it’s always -going to make me be treated like that,” said -Olive angrily.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Like what?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Like a naughty child. That’s what Ezra does, -and he goes to you to ask what he should do to me, -you know he does.” She was beginning to cry, just -like a naughty child.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame smiled contemptuously as she glanced at -her companion. “What could have possessed that -quiet reserved Ezra to marry such a feather-headed -vain little puss?” she thought bitterly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive dried her eyes angrily, she saw the contempt -expressed by Madame’s curling lips, and her pride -was thoroughly aroused.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I want to know why things are different as soon -as they apply to me?” she asked with doubtful grammar -but unmistakable import. “It isn’t this once -<span class='pageno' id='Page_136'>136</span>only, but it is always so. Personal liberty is the corner-stone -of Perfection City, that is what you are -here for, to enjoy liberty and protest against things. -Mary Winkle won’t take her husband’s name, and -dresses like a fright, and nobody minds. She’s free. -But as soon as I try a little flight of my own, that -doesn’t hurt anybody, I’m to be popped into a cage, -and you and Ezra come and shut the door on me. -I met this man by chance and liked talking to him. -He is well-mannered and well educated, and likes the -same books as I do, and has travelled and could tell -me heaps and heaps of interesting things. He wasn’t -forever talking in the same little muddling circle, and -wasn’t always full of himself. He tried to interest -me. You are an educated woman, Madame, and you -know as well as I do that, except for you and Ezra, -there is not an educated person in Perfection City, -nor one who has the same tastes as I have. Mr. Cotterell -used to come and talk to me, and I liked it; -then Ezra gets very angry, says he is a bad man, and -forbids my seeing him. He forbids me, mind you. -Not a bit the sort of language you would expect in -Perfection City, but I believe in wifely obedience and -I obeyed him. I told Mr. Cotterell he must not come -to see me any more, and he won’t do so. He always -showed the best spirit in everything he said, and I -won’t believe he is so very wicked just on mere report. -We once had a horse-thief and murderer to stay -to supper, and we did not inquire into his character -<span class='pageno' id='Page_137'>137</span>before we asked him to stop and rest and feed his -horse. Mr. Cotterell said my influence might help -him to be a better man, and perhaps it might. At -all events, I want to know why I wasn’t to try to influence -him, and I want to know why Perfection City -ideas, when they make for freedom, are not applicable -to me, but have to be all turned upside down when -I come into play? Can you, Madame, answer me -that?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame was considerably dumbfoundered by this -attack delivered so unexpectedly and so very straight -from the shoulder. She hastily recast her idea that -Olive was a silly little fool, and most unaccountably -found herself anxiously seeking about for means of defence.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The fact of the matter is, you are too pretty to -do these things,” she replied, helplessly telling the -truth in her extremity.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Can Perfection City then only succeed if all the -women are ugly?” asked Olive scornfully. “You had -better not proclaim that fact, or you’ll have all the -women running away.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame was in the habit of being worshipped by -men, and was not at all prepared to have her remarks -ridiculed by a slip of a girl. She did not like it, and -therefore replied with some asperity,</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You are really too silly, Sister Olive. You must -surely perceive that there is great danger in your -associating with Mr. Cotterell on so familiar a footing, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_138'>138</span>that, in short, he may fall in love with you, and I -presume you can understand the danger of that.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Precisely, a fresh set of laws must, as usual, be -applied to me, and not those which govern the rest -of you,” said Olive calmly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t understand to what you refer,” said Madame -looking at her doubtfully.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Mr. Cotterell knew from the outset that I was -a married woman. I don’t see the alarmingness of -the danger that he might fall in love with me, simply -because we talked together. The idea has only struck -you in reference to me; it does not seem to have done -so with regard to the similar circumstances of you and -Ezra.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame turned white with anger. “How dare -you insult me by such an insinuation?” she exclaimed.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I didn’t dare until after you had first given utterance -to the insinuation against me,” replied Olive, -with provoking calmness.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame turned as if she could have struck her, -but she controlled herself with a desperate effort.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It seems to me, Sister Olive, that your remarks -are very ill-judged,” she said in a voice that shook -in spite of her. “I have no wish to bandy words -with you. I spoke merely out of a desire to do my -duty, and to save you, if possible, from a danger -which I imagined I foresaw more clearly than you -did. I see that your words were prompted by quite -<span class='pageno' id='Page_139'>139</span>another wish than to seek advice or counsel in a difficult -moment.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I sought for neither advice or counsel,” returned -Olive. “I simply wanted to discover, if possible, how -to fit the theories of Perfection City, which I know -pretty well by heart now, into the practice as applied -to me.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame looked at her with eyes of anger and even -of hate, and Olive, conscious of having been almost -more successful than she had imagined possible in -argument with so distinguished a mind, returned the -look with one suggestive of triumph. Alas for the -perfect harmony of Perfection City!</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am surprised, I will not say pained, because -you would care little for that, but I am surprised, I -repeat, at such words in the mouth of Ezra Weston’s -wife. He must have been strangely mistaken in your -character, or you cannot have revealed your true self -to him, for I cannot imagine him binding himself for -life to a mate who scorns and flouts in this manner -what he holds so dear. You are mocking the principles -to which he has devoted his life. You are too -foolish to see what you are doing, but one day you -will be punished, and then perhaps you will repent—when -it will be too late.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame turned and walked rapidly away, leaving -Olive feeling very angry and very much frightened -as well.</p> - -<p class='c010'>That evening Napoleon Pompey carried a note -<span class='pageno' id='Page_140'>140</span>and a small parcel to Madame, who guessed pretty well -what it was. The note was brief, it contained but -these words:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I thought you sent the bracelet as a present, -therefore I accepted it and was grateful: now I know -you sent it as a reproof, therefore I return it.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_141'>141</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XII.<br /> <span class='large'>THE PRAIRIE FIRE.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The summer had been a particularly dry one, and -since the beginning of July not a drop of rain had -fallen. The water-melons revelled in the heat, and -Olive revelled in the water-melons: for by a blessed -compensation of Nature the hotter and drier the land, -the cooler and juicier the water-melons seem to be. -The water-melon of the western prairie is as different -from the pallid green-fleshed vegetable which masquerades -under its name in this country, as the full moon -of the heavens is superior to the lime-light article -manufactured for use on the stage. The real prairie -water-melon is an enormous affair, being about as large -as the roll of rugs without which fussy gentlemen -consider it impossible to travel. The skin is of the -darkest green and as hard as a board, a most unripe-looking -object at all times. Indeed the only way one -can find out the condition of a water-melon’s insides -is by surgical operation. You simply cut out a plug -about an inch square from the top side of the melon, -and look to see if the flesh has turned crimson at the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_142'>142</span>centre. If it is still white or pale pink you know the -psychological moment, when the truly wise will eat -the melon, has not yet arrived. Accordingly you put -back the plug, and leave the sun to work a little longer -on it, at a temperature of a hundred and twenty or -so. Since it never rains at the melon season of the -year, the plug does not do any harm if left on the top -side, but the beginner sometimes leaves it on the -lower side, with the result that all the water runs away. -It is a curious fact, but the water of a melon, even -of one picked in the middle of a scorching hot day, -never seems tepid. It is always cool and refreshing, -even at times when ordinary water tastes unutterably -mawkish owing to the excessive heat. The crimson -spongy flesh, specked with purple-black seeds, is eaten -in moderation or in immoderation according to the -taste of the individual, but the water is always greedily -drunk up by everybody. The scorching winds of the -plains seem to dry one’s very marrow, and nothing can -exceed the thirst of a man who is obliged to be out all -day in such weather and to work hard at the same time. -Animals, too, suffer from extreme thirst, and after a -morning’s ploughing when the farm horses are brought -up to water, they drink and drink and drink, swelling -visibly under one’s eye, as if they were india-rubber -horses under the action of some new patent inflator. -They are never stinted in their drink and swallow -bucketsful before attacking their corn.</p> - -<p class='c010'>But to return to our water-melons.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_143'>143</span>Napoleon Pompey used to bring up a wheelbarrow -full from the melon patch each morning for -the day’s consumption. He, like a true negro, was -inordinately fond of melons, or “millions” as he -called them, and would have sucked them all day long -if left to his own devices. Whenever he had to go -anywhere in the waggon, as occasionally happened, -he would lay in a store of “millions,” and lay himself -beside them, and suck them, just as if he were a black -caterpillar of unlimited capacity. The horses meantime, -far too oppressed with the heat to require much -attention, would plod along with their eyes shut, trying -to keep out the glaring light. There was nothing -to stumble over or fall into, so the driving became -of the most elementary pattern, requiring only an -occasional rattle of the reins and a comment or two, -such as: “Yo’, Reb, g’ ’long will yer, g’ out o’ dat.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive during this period found the heat stifling, -and used to sit out of doors on the shady side of the -house, until the terrible wind blew up from the Plains, -when she would flee as before the breath of a volcano, -and shutting herself tight up in her room with closed -doors and windows, would gasp through the visitation -as best she might. She was no worse off than anyone -else, and the nights were always cool and refreshing. -That was an unspeakable blessing. All this heat dried -up the thick prairie grass until it was like a vast plain -of dry hay standing erect.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The corn crop at Perfection City had turned out -<span class='pageno' id='Page_144'>144</span>exceptionally good. There was ample for all the needs -of the Community and a good surplus which was to -be sold at Mapleton in order to enable them to buy -some farm-machinery that was greatly needed. Consequently -the whole Community worked hard at getting -in the corn so as to be early in the market. The -heavy ears of corn with their twenty rows of golden -yellow grains were stripped off the tall stalks by hand: -a most limb-lacerating job, for the “shucks,” or coverings -to the ear, are masses of fibrous leaves with sawlike -edges. These edges have the power of cutting an -exposed finger in a most painful manner, and they are -by no means loath to use the power.</p> - -<p class='c010'>All this hurry and concentration of the workers -upon the cornfield was possible only if every other -sort of work was neglected for the moment. It seemed -the wisest plan to hasten off with their harvest in spite -of the risk, and, unused as they were to prairie life, -yet even they realized that there was some risk in thus -leaving their farms unprotected. Ezra was perfectly -aware of it, but like so many people he shut his eyes -and hoped for good luck. He spoke to Olive on the -subject.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“If anyone so much as drops a lighted match on -the prairie we shall be lost,” he said.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why, what do you mean?” asked his wife in -surprise. She was still so new to the prairie that she -did not understand to what he referred. They happened -to be on that outside landing of the stairs which -<span class='pageno' id='Page_145'>145</span>looked out over the wide boundless western prairie. -This stairway from its position made an exceptionally -good place from which to take a survey of the whole -prospect.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That grass is like tinder, and if anybody leaves -a coal of fire burning at his camping-place or drops -his pipe, the thing will catch in a second, and if there -is a strong west wind we shall see about as bad a prairie -fire as we care to.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, but that’s dreadful! What shall we do?” -said Olive, much alarmed.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“As soon as our corn is sold at Mapleton, we shall -plough all round Perfection City and back-fire, if we -can only get a calm day. We must not back-fire in -a high wind, because that would probably start a prairie -fire and just cause the very mischief we want to -guard against. It would take fifty people to keep a -line of fire under control for a mile’s length with grass -like that and a strong wind.” So spoke Ezra, critically -scanning the horizon for any sign of smoke which -might betoken danger. He was very uneasy, and the -fierce west wind, which seemed never weary of blowing, -made him all the more anxious, as it might prevent -them guarding themselves by running the usual -belt of burnt prairie all around Perfection City.</p> - -<p class='c010'>It was not a light job to get a safety belt of about -four miles long, for that was the circumference of the -portion of their land fenced in, and it was an impossible -one in the face of a high wind with their small -<span class='pageno' id='Page_146'>146</span>force—unless indeed they did as selfish individualists -did, namely let the fire go and burn out whom it liked -and what it liked once they were themselves safe. -The Pioneers refused to be guilty of this act of treachery -to the common weal of the inhabitants of the prairie. -It is a comparatively easy thing to keep one line -of fire safe and so protect your own fields; the real -difficulty begins when you want to stop the fire from -spreading in other directions as well. Most of the -settlers back-fired their own land, and left Providence -or the Devil to see to the result as regards their neighbours. -The Pioneers had naturally a higher standard -of public duty than this, therefore they did not back-fire -in the high wind.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The corn being stripped off the stalks, Olive’s -fairy forest was sadly mutilated, for the great ears -were all gone and many of the streaming leaves were -torn away; the walk to the spring, therefore, was no -longer so delightful as it had been earlier in the summer. -Still she and Diana used to go there pretty -often, especially since Napoleon Pompey was always -kept busy helping in the field. Coming up from the -spring one afternoon just before sun-down, she was -amazed to see her husband galloping madly along the -far side of the field on Queen Katherine, the big brown -mare, her harness banging her hot flanks at every -stride, while Napoleon Pompey on Rebel was tearing -after him waving his tattered old straw hat. Olive -for a moment or two stared in blank amazement at -<span class='pageno' id='Page_147'>147</span>them, and then began to run towards the house which -appeared to be their destination also. Ezra and Napoleon -Pompey with frantic gestures seemed to invite -her attention to the setting sun, now sinking to rest -like a shimmering copper ball. She looked, but saw -nothing except the molten mass, unless it were a faint -blue haze on the horizon, the result, as she supposed, -of the intense heat.</p> - -<p class='c010'>When Olive reached the house a few moments -later, it was to see her husband going hurriedly down -the road to the bars on the other side of the house. -The horses were hitched to the plough and were trotting -fast, while Napoleon Pompey was urging them on -with voice and whip. The plough, unaccustomed to -such speed, was jerking from side to side. A moment’s -halt at the bars, while Napoleon Pompey threw down -the rails, and Ezra turning round put both hands to -his mouth and shouted “Fire” in a long re-echoing -whoop. He wheeled around then and seizing his -plough-handles set off at a hand-gallop, bounding -along with his ungainly implement.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Now Olive understood what that blue haze meant. -It was a prairie fire coming down on them from the -west along with a fierce wind. Oh dear! oh dear! -What should she do? There must be something women -could help at, in such a moment, if she only knew -what. But who to ask? Everybody was far away, -and the dreadful fire began to show up now that the -sun was no longer casting such bright rays.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_148'>148</span>“Come ’long, git yer shingle,” shouted a familiar -voice behind her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, Willette, is that you? What shall I do? It’s -a fire, and I don’t know what’s wanted.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Nothin’ but a shingle an’ a box o’ matches. -Quick now! We’ll hev ter pike, you bet. Pa and Ma -is out firin’ a’ready down yonder, ’side our house.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am so glad you’ve come,” said Olive hurrying -along with two wooden shingles under her arm.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The shingles were merely the thin wooden “slates” -with which the houses were roofed. When thoroughly -dried they are admirably adapted for spreading a fire -from house to house in a street, and accordingly they -are now prohibited by law in most towns and cities. -On the prairie they were used in emergencies as paddles -to keep the back-firing within limits.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, Ma said she ’lowed you wouldn’t know the -fust thing ter do,” remarked Willette complacently. -“An’ Pa said he reckoned school larnin’ in the East -could make folks more like nateral born fools than -anything under the sun.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive was very little obliged to the Wright and -Winkle spouses for their opinion of her. She remained -therefore silent.</p> - -<p class='c010'>They soon reached the furrows that were being -so desperately ploughed by Ezra and his foam-covered -horses. The swift twilight was almost upon them, -but they could see Wright urging his horses along -the south side of the land nearest his house, while -<span class='pageno' id='Page_149'>149</span>away across at the east side of Perfection City Brother -Dummy was thundering along with his waggon bringing -up his plough to the rescue, and that completed -all the horse-power of the Community. Little tongues -of flame here and there along the furrows denoted that -the back-firing had begun in several spots. Meanwhile -the sky was reddening up with the reflection -of the on-coming conflagration, and the fierce wind -blew ever harder directly from its long blood-red line.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Now you jes’ set afire ’long hyar, front this hyar -furrow,” said Willette, kneeling down with her matches -and starting the fire as she spoke. “Now then, yo’ -jes’ see to that, an’ don’t yo’ let that ar fire hop over -behind yer, or it’ll be worse nor nothin’.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What am I to do?” asked Olive trembling with -excitement and fear, it was all so strange and alarming. -“I never saw a fire and don’t know anything -about it,” she added.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Jes’ paddle it out with yer shingle, ef it gits over. -There ain’t no sight o’ larnin’ wanted for that,” said -Willette in scorn. “Mind yer ends, and look after -tongues in the middle. They’ll be powerful handy -at jumpin’ over this hyar furrow, and you mustn’t let -the fire git away from yer, else yo’ll be clear done for. -Keep yer eyes behind yer and min’ the back line,” said -Willette walking away.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Land o’ liberty! look at that!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Willette made one bound behind Olive and commenced -furiously beating the ground with her wooden -<span class='pageno' id='Page_150'>150</span>paddle, while Olive, bewildered, turned round to see -that she had indeed let the fire get behind her even -as Willette was uttering her warning.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We ’uns would ha’ been clear burnt out in one -grasshopper’s jump on’y I was there,” said Willette -looking critically to see if any little spark of fire lingered -in the tall grass which could by any chance start -into life again.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh I can never manage it! What shall I do?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Be spry and—Look at that again now!” Willette -sprang to a new place and beat the ground. She was -back again in an instant, here there and every where, -with the activity of a monkey, beating down for dear -life, whenever the fire crossed the narrow base-line -of the up-turned sod, and as the wind was high it was -frequently doing this. Constant vigilance was required, -especially as Ezra had only had time to run -a few furrows with the plough, instead of a band five -or six feet wide.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Powerful heavy work in this hyar high wind,” -said the child, “and on’y that ar furrow to start from.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Willette was in her element. Not an inch of the -line escaped her lynx-eye, and all the while she kept -giving advice to Olive, who stood in awe of her superior -practical knowledge in this emergency.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Now this hyar fire’s agoin’ to spread along, an’ -yo’ jes’ got ter mind this end by yerself.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She darted twenty yards away and paddled out a -flame and came back, her face begrimed with smoke -<span class='pageno' id='Page_151'>151</span>and dirt, so that she looked not unlike the nigger -whose modes of speech she so much affected.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You jes’ take off that ar hat and them big skirts, -else you’ll be burnt to death right hyar,” said Willette -surveying Olive with considerable disapproval.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Willette’s hickory trousers and shirt were exactly -the thing for a prairie fire in a high wind, as indeed -they were for most of the occupations that fell to her -lot. What with the constant bounding backwards and -forwards over the flame, Olive indeed thought that -she had better accept the advice and slip off her wide -calico skirt which was forever in the way and might -easily catch fire. She put it along with her hat just -at the top of the slope where Weddell’s Gully began, -where she could easily get them next day, if all went -well.</p> - -<p class='c010'>It was night now and would have been quite dark -but for the bright glare from the fire. All the inhabitants -of the Community were out working desperately. -Olive paddled down her fire and kept her line -bravely for a couple of hours, in spite of choking -smoke and clouds of dust and many a burn. Willette -was far away, lost in the darkness, following her end -of the fire, and only became visible as she leaped backwards -and forwards over her line of fire like some agile -fiend engaged in roasting its victims. Olive was all -alone. She felt very much frightened, for she did -not know what might happen, nor what in any new -emergency she would have to do. She wished somebody -<span class='pageno' id='Page_152'>152</span>would come, for it was a strange experience to be -in the black night and lurid glare all alone minding a -fire. The air was full of the burnt fluff from the big -fire, and the roar as it now had come near was terrifying. -True the worst of it was passing to the south, and -their land was now pretty well guarded on all sides. -Suddenly the cheerful black face of Napoleon Pompey -appeared in the light of the flame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, Pompey, I’m so glad you’ve come. Where -is everybody?” said Olive, overjoyed to see a human -being once more.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wal, Mis’ Ollie, I on’y jes’ take ole plough to -de bars. We’uns rip up dat furrow golly spry. Done -turn de hosses loose.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why, the poor horses will be burnt!” exclaimed -Olive in dismay.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Dem hosses, dey dre’ful cute critters. Dey go -off slap to de bottom lan’. You bet hosses knows -mos’ as well nor white folks ’bout prairie fires. I -come min’ yo’ fire fo’ yer, Mis’ Ollie. Ole man he -done tole me.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Very well, you can take my shingle then. There -is not much more, I suppose, to be done now, only -you must keep both edges between the two furrows -here. They told me not to let it get away and run -down into the Gully. Do you understand?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You bet,” replied Napoleon Pompey who knew -far better than Olive could tell him just what should -be done.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_153'>153</span>“I am going to get my hat and skirt. I left them -near the corner of Weddell’s Gully. I think I will -just run across the old field and get them: it will be -much shorter than going all the way round by the -furrows. It will be light enough to see yet awhile so -I can follow the path through the Gully.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive looked at the fire that was fast roaring its -way towards the south-east, and deciding it would -easily light her on her way she tripped off and disappeared -in the gloom down towards the Gully.</p> - -<p class='c010'>In a few minutes Napoleon Pompey began to show -signs of immense excitement.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Golly Ned! I never seed yonder. Mis’ Ollie -whar yo’ be? Come back! Come back, Mis’ Ollie! -Golly! Golly!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He ran violently backwards and forwards along -his line of fire, which, however, he dared not leave, -exclaiming “Golly!” and “Oh Lordy!” at every -step. In a minute or two he ran into Ezra who was -coming along to fetch Olive home, if she was still -there.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Lordy! dat yo’, Mas’r Ezra. Yo’ go right ’long -down dish hyar Gully. Mis’ Ollie she down dar.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra was dead beat. He could scarcely drag his -limbs along. The terrific exertion of that furious -ploughing, coming at the end of a long and hard day’s -work, had almost over-taxed even his iron frame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I thought I would find her here on my way -home,” he said languidly. “We are pretty safe now. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_154'>154</span>Tell her to come back with the others. I’m going -home to get something to eat.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, sir-ee,” said Napoleon Pompey vehemently. -“You’ hain’t gwine ter do dat. Golly Ned! Yo’ -dunno see. Mis’ Ollie she done gone down inter de -Gully, fetch ole hat. Dat fire. Yo’ see dat fire startin’ -up yonder, she never seed dat, I didn’t see it nudder -nohow: dat fire’ll crope up an’ cotch her.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“My God! where is she?” cried Ezra, roused to -sudden energy as it dawned upon him what Napoleon -Pompey was explaining.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Down de Gully dar, she say she gwine down -dar.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Amongst those tall weeds and that fire coming -on! Oh my God!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>His fatigue was all gone now. He leaped forward -and sprang with desperate bounds down the straggling -path towards Weddell’s Gully, where, in a deserted -field once tilled by that individual, prairie weeds -were growing to the height of six feet and more, they -had dry stalks and fluffy downy heads that would -burn like petroleum, if the fire once touch them. It -was down there that Olive had gone, all ignorant of -that tiny red line creeping slowly around the brow of -the hill, up against the wind, and now approaching -that very spot with vicious little tongues of red flame. -No wonder Ezra bounded along the pathway, no wonder -his heart beat ready to burst, and no wonder if -his voice sounded harsh and choking as he cried -<span class='pageno' id='Page_155'>155</span>“Olive! Olive! Olive!” again and again until his -brain reeled. He got no answer except the crackle of -the fire. He stumbled along not knowing which way -to turn, and twice fell forward as his foot caught in -the tangled grass. He staggered to his feet and raising -his agonised face cried in a harsh whisper, “Oh -God! my wife, my wife!” He tried to shout again, -but his dry throat made no articulate sound. His -temples seemed bursting, he dashed forward blindly, -not knowing where to look for Olive in the horrid -darkness, soon to be turned into still more horrid -light. His foot struck against an old rail at the edge -of Weddell’s deserted field, he fell heavily, hitting his -head against the projecting end of the rail, rolled over -and lay still. The little flames crept nearer and nearer -lapping out their malicious red tongues as if in anticipation.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_156'>156</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XIII.<br /> <span class='large'>THE RESCUE.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Madame had worked hard with the rest in beating -back the fire, and now that she saw that their united -efforts had been successful and that Perfection City -was safe, she, in company with Balthasar, was going -the circuit of the defences of their home, just to see -that there remained nothing further for her to do. -In the course of time she came to Napoleon Pompey, -who was in charge of the last scrap of back-firing, intent -on maintaining guard and on effecting a complete -junction of the two lines of fire, so as not to -leave so much as a handsbreadth of standing grass -whereby the enemy might even at the last minute -burst in upon them. This finishing of the circle was -important, and the lad was in the midst of his work -and his distress when Madame loomed out through the -darkness.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, Lordy, dey is both burned, dey is! Oh -Lordy! Oh Lordy,” cried Napoleon Pompey the instant -he set eyes upon Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Who is burned?” asked Madame in bewilderment, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_157'>157</span>well used to the extravagant modes of speech -indulged in by negroes.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Mis’ Ollie an’ Mas’r Ezra fo’ shu’.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Are you mad, fool, what do you mean?” said -Madame furiously.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Mis’ Ollie done gone in der Gully ter fetch ole -hat, an’ de fire’s crope up, an’ it’ll cotch her, oh Lordy! -oh Lordy! An’ Mas’r Ezra he done gone ter fin’ her -down dar,” said the boy, beginning to whimper.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame gripped his shoulder with a grasp of iron.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Be quiet, and tell me what you mean. Sister -Olive has gone home, I passed her myself with her -hat under her arm, and she told me to tell Ezra she -had gone back.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“De Lord be praised!” ejaculated Napoleon Pompey. -“Den it’s on’y Mas’r Ezra’ll be burnt. Yah, you -lemme go!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>This exclamation was in answer to the sudden -pressure of Madame’s hand, which was like the clutch -of a vice.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Where is Ezra? Tell me or I’ll wring your neck,” -she said in a voice the like of which Napoleon Pompey -had never heard before in his life.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Down dar,” said he terrified, pointing to the -Gully.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Show me where he started from.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame still kept her hand upon Napoleon -Pompey who hurried to the spot where Ezra had -stood.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_158'>158</span>“Dar’s his shingle, what he done drap when he -run.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ha!” said Madame pouncing upon the shingle. -“Here, Balthasar, here sweetheart!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The dog came up to her, and she passed her trembling -hands over his long ears and whispered to him -half crying, half coaxing. “Here, dear heart, do this -for me or I die.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She put the shingle to his nose. He sniffed, raised -his long and pointed head. Then she lay upon the -ground coaxing him to put his nose down. He sniffed -again, took a step to the right, to the left, back, then -forward. Madame followed clasping the shingle to -her bosom and murmuring cooing words of love to her -dog. He raised his great tan head and gave a long -deep bay that echoed far and wide.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Golly! She gwine ter run him down like he -nigger slave,” said Napoleon Pompey with a shiver, -as he heard the dog’s voice.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Balthasar set off and Madame kept close at his -heels. It was easy enough, for the trail was fresh and -strong. In three minutes they stood beside the motionless -form of Ezra at the brink of the tall weeds, -and Balthasar whined in anxiety as Madame lifted his -head and called upon him in agonised tones. Just -then the sky was lit up with a lurid glare. The first -red tongue had tasted the dry fluffy weeds on Weddell’s -abandoned farm. Madame, startled by the flame, -sprang to her feet and gave one hasty glance around. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_159'>159</span>Ezra lay motionless. She stepped a few paces into -the shorter grass of the ordinary prairie and set it on -fire. The little ring of flame spread on all sides, like -the ripple from a stone cast into still water. Then -she paddled out the fire on the side next Ezra, and the -ripple of fire continued to spread rapidly in a sort of -broken circle. The roar of the burning weeds was -like the on-coming of an avalanche. Madame turned -to Ezra and seizing him under the shoulders dragged -him backwards within the safety of her oasis of burnt -prairie. He was a big man and a heavy one, but her -arm seemed endowed with more than mortal strength. -She dragged him further and further within the circle, -and then seeing that he was out of all danger, she sat -down beside him and took his head in her lap. She -opened his collar and fanned him with her hat. The -now brightly burning weeds made it light as day, and -she could see that he looked pale even under the -blackened smoke that smeared his face, but his pulse -was beating, he was only hurt and stunned, not dead.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Balthasar was terrified. Ringed round by fire and -with the ground where he stood still smoking hot, -what dog would not be alarmed? He lifted up his -voice once more in a long howl, and then sniffing at -Ezra gave a sweeping lick with his tongue all over his -face.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ah! Ollie! Where are you? Come!” said Ezra, -roused by this combined demonstration. He raised -his head in a weak and bewildered way. Madame -<span class='pageno' id='Page_160'>160</span>placed her hand on his forehead as he sank down again. -He put his own hand up and taking hers said: “Little -wife!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame shivered, and then steadying her voice -said, “Olive is quite safe!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra started up.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why, what are you doing here? Where is my -wife?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I came to tell you that Olive had gone home, -and that she had got her hat all right. She never -was in any danger at all. It was a mistake on the -part of that negro boy.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Madame!” began Ezra.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Dear friend,” said she.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I feel so strange and bewildered, I don’t seem -to know what has happened.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Lay your head down again,” said Madame, very -gently. “You have had a blow. You will soon be -all right.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra’s head sank again into her lap. He gave a -deep sigh.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You came down here into the Gully after Olive -who, according to the negro, had gone in search -of her hat. You could not surely have realized -that the fire was coming up against the wind and -that it would be death to be caught among the -weeds.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I knew, I knew,” said Ezra. “That was why I -came. Olive was here.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_161'>161</span>“But she wasn’t, she never had been here at all,” -interrupted Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I shouted, but no answer came. I could not -find Olive. I remember the awful agony of it. My -head seemed turning to fire and I couldn’t find Olive. -I don’t remember any more.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You fell and knocked yourself senseless,” said -Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Is Olive safe? Tell me, are you sure Olive is -safe?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Didn’t I tell you I passed her on her way home?” -said Madame a little sharply.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But this fire!” exclaimed Ezra, starting up. -“We must get out of this.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Hush, lie down again,” said Madame, her voice -dropping again into its tone of caressing entreaty. -“Your head must be still giddy or you would perceive -that we are surrounded. We can’t get out until -the fires meet and extinguish each other. Rest and be -patient.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra saw that this was true. They were entirely -surrounded by a ring of retreating fire, the heat from -which was oppressive. He sat down again, but did -not lay his head in Madame’s lap. Perhaps it was because -he felt less giddy.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He asked her how she came there, and Madame -very briefly told him, dwelling not at all upon her -share in finding him, but rather upon the sagacity of -Balthasar. Ezra, however, was not to be deceived.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_162'>162</span>“You risked your life for me this night, Madame,” -he said slowly, when she had finished speaking.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Possibly. I never thought about it. I could -not leave you here to die, to be burnt to death. Had -the case been reversed you would have come to my -rescue.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You are the most generous of mortals, the noblest -of women,” said Ezra earnestly. “It was assuredly -the brightest day of my life that led me across -your path. You taught me how to live, and to-night -your generous hand has saved me from death.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Hush!” said Madame faintly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I owe my life to you,” repeated Ezra. “What -shall I do to repay such a debt?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Am I a usurer that I should exact my pound of -flesh?” answered Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Usurer!” exclaimed Ezra. “That is indeed the -last word to be applied to you. Is a usurer one who -is always giving? Giving from her wealth freely and -without stint? Is a usurer one who is ever helping -and directing into the paths of righteousness those -who are feeble and faltering of step? Ah, Madame, -I never can half tell you all that I owe you! How -narrow and selfish would my life have been but for -you! Devoted to petty cares, absorbed in personal -ambitions, rejoicing in sordid gains,—such would have -been my fate, only Providence brought me to you to -be taught, guided, elevated, purified. My life is yours, -you have made it, dearest, wisest, best, of friends.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_163'>163</span>“And Olive?” said Madame quietly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ah, there too shall be your handiwork seen,” -said Ezra. “My little Olive is very young. Sometimes -I think her mind is even younger than her body, -and she is barely twenty, you know, a mere child and -easily moulded.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame remembering her last encounter with -Olive, seemed to recall very little that was either -childlike or plastic in the concluding portion of their -conversation, but she did not say so to Ezra who went -on talking.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She often, however, puzzles me, she has such -sudden freaks and fancies, as if her heart was a wild -creature not fully tamed and ever dashing against -the bars of its environment. I sometimes feel that -I have not the necessary wisdom or tact to guide and -counsel her. She seems to need someone who is wiser -and more skilful than I am. Sometimes I fear she -does not quite realise the responsibilities of life. The -problems which have come up before us and which -cry aloud for solution, seem to her but trivial matters -that may be trusted to settle themselves. We must -endeavour, dear friend, to arouse Olive’s enthusiasm -about Perfection City. She is capable of the highest -and noblest aspirations, but her heart must be turned -into the right direction. She evinces a certain hesitancy -in throwing herself into our work and aims.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Perhaps she is opposed to the whole thing,” suggested -Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_164'>164</span>“That cannot be,” replied Ezra earnestly. “She -must see as we do, when she comes thoroughly to -understand our motives in founding Perfection City. -I look to you, Madame, to open her eyes to the truth.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ah!” said Madame laconically, and then she -added, after a moment’s pause, “I will ask you to -do one thing for me.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Anything you ask I will do if it is in my power,” -said Ezra.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do not tell Olive of your fall here, nor of the -danger you were in, nor of my coming to find you.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>After a moment of puzzled silence Ezra said, “Of -course your wishes are to me law. But may I ask -why you make such a request?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Perhaps I am judging wrongly, but I am acting -as if Olive had the same feelings as I should have. -If I were in her place, I should hate it.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why?” asked Ezra in surprise.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame rose up, her pale face illumined by the -light of the fire.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“If I loved a man,” she said, beginning very -quietly, but her voice gathered in intensity as she -spoke. “If I loved a man, I could not bear it. To -think that my love had failed him in his sorest need. -He was lying stunned, helpless, within the clutch of -deadly peril, and I went home unwarned, leaving -him to his fate, all unconscious of the whole thing, -while another woman—not I, but another woman—went -to his rescue, another woman—not I—found -<span class='pageno' id='Page_165'>165</span>him, saved him, drew him out of danger, while I -walked heedlessly home. I should hate myself, I -should hate—ah! I should hate to the verge of killing -that other woman who had saved him. That is the -way I should feel, if I loved.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She concluded hastily, her voice dropping to a -whisper. Ezra looked up at her in amazement.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yours is a many-sided nature. I never suspected -you could feel like that. I never thought of you as -being—as capable of——” he stopped in confusion.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ah yes! You never thought of me as being able -to love—to love a man and not an impersonal cause. -Ah yes! You never quite looked upon me as a mere -woman.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I have always regarded you as something higher -than a mere woman,” said Ezra.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Listen,” she said, sitting down again beside him. -“You have yet to know me—the woman, I mean, -and not the pioneer of Perfection City. My father -was a man of passionate nature. He had fine instincts, -but these were not developed. He was a Russian -noble. I come of very good blood, as they say in the -old world.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I always knew you were of distinguished birth,” -said Ezra.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Not at all, quite the contrary,” said Madame, -with a laugh that sounded harsh. “My father was -a wild, self-willed Russian noble. He was to have -married a lady of princely house, only that he refused -<span class='pageno' id='Page_166'>166</span>to do one thing which they made a condition of -the marriage.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What was that?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“To give up my mother. Do you understand? -He could not marry the princess, and he sacrificed -wealth, position, and worldly honour, because he -would not give up the pale-haired English girl whom -he loved passionately, and who was my mother. She -died, and my father died too, not many years afterwards. -He did what he could for me by leaving me -his fortune and the permission to bear his name, to -which I had no legal right. From my mother I inherited -my brain, but my heart I inherited from my -father. Now let us go.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Must we?” said Ezra, to whom Madame’s sudden -confession had been full of interest. “There is nothing -further for us to do. Perfection City is safe.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But we must return to real life, Brother Ezra. -Sitting here, ringed around with fire, we were alone -in a world of our own. For a few moments we lived -for each other, as it were. Our spirits communed, and -I opened my heart to you as never before to mortal -being. Now we must go back to real life again. See -the fires are all out, and the world is itself again—all -dark.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra rose to his feet and staggered a little, as Madame -perceived from the stumble he made. She seemed -preternaturally acute, and to be able to understand by -the help of some new sense, for she put out her hand -<span class='pageno' id='Page_167'>167</span>and touched his arm, “Lean on me, brother, you are -still giddy from your accident. We will walk very -slowly.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra, feeling indeed faint enough, gratefully accepted -the proffered help and put his hand within her -arm; thus very slowly they started back towards the -house through the inky black night. “Friend, what -I said is to be locked in your breast, a secret,” said -Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I fully understand that,” replied Ezra, “and I -feel it a high honour that you should have chosen me -as the repository of the secret of your life. It is safe, -nay more, it is sacred, with me.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>It took them a long time in the intense darkness -to reach Ezra’s house where a light was glimmering -from the window. When they at length reached -the bars, Madame said, “I will not go in. Oh, I -know what you would say, but I would prefer -not. Olive would resent my bringing you back to -her.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You mistake Olive utterly,” said Ezra earnestly. -“Believe me, hers is a simple nature, she would have -no such feelings as you think.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Perhaps you are right, and that she is a child -in mind and not yet a woman in heart. Possibly I -endow her with feelings she could not even understand. -I judge her by myself, and maybe all the while -her little soul is possessed with nothing but content -at the thought that her pretty hat is all safe. The -<span class='pageno' id='Page_168'>168</span>butterfly must not be blamed if it does not rise as -high as the lark. Farewell.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive was waiting for him impatiently, anxiously.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh Ezra, where have you been? And isn’t your -face black? You are every whit as black as Napoleon -Pompey. Wasn’t it fun?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Fun? What was fun?” asked Ezra languidly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why, the fire of course, now that it is all over. -It was so exciting. I was as hungry as a hawk when -I came in. I really could not wait, so I had supper. -You must have yours this very minute. Do you know, -it is one o’clock at night, and you have not tasted a -morsel of food since twelve o’clock yesterday? Do -you realize that?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She bustled around and got his supper ready, chatting -brightly all the while over the incidents of the -fire, making fun and merriment out of them all. Ezra -sat stupidly watching her, his head throbbing so heavily -that he could scarcely think. He could eat nothing -when the supper was ready, and Olive felt aggrieved. -“I think you might, just to please me. It would do -you good, for you must be hungry, I should think.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He swallowed a few morsels and said he would go -to bed, that rest was what he most needed, his head -ached badly. He was thankful she made no inquiries -after his adventures during that eventful night. He -would have found it difficult to tell a connected tale -with that pain in his head. He asked Olive if she -had gone down into the Gully.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_169'>169</span>“No,” she said, “I started to go, but it was darker -than I thought, so I came up again and followed round -by the high prairie where there was a chance of meeting -somebody. I came home with Willette.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The fire did get into the old field after all,” said -Ezra.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And were the weeds burnt?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh! I wish I had been there to see. Wasn’t it -a lovely blaze-up?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, it blazed up,” said Ezra.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive didn’t notice that he seemed ill, he thought -with some bitterness. Madame would have divined -it, no matter how hard he had tried to conceal the -fact. After all, it was not her fault that she was made -differently. The butterfly was not to be blamed if -it did not soar as high as the lark.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_170'>170</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XIV.<br /> <span class='large'>COTTERELL “WANTED.”</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The day after the fire was an idle one at Perfection -City. No one felt able to work, Ezra least of -all. He lay upon the floor of the kitchen with a wet -handkerchief on his head, and several times he asked -Olive not to make so much noise. She was as still as -a mouse, she thought, but then his head ached, poor -fellow! So she went out and sat in the shade of the -house among her morning-glories, while the hens -walked about with their wings down and their tongues -lolling out, trying to cool themselves. The black burnt -prairie seemed to send up shafts of heat to the -copper-coloured sky.</p> - -<p class='c010'>A man rode up to the bars, and for one moment -Olive’s heart stood still. She feared it might be Mr. -Cotterell, whom she had not seen since the day at -the spring, now some weeks past. It was not Mr. -Cotterell, however, but one of the settlers from the -other side of Cotton Wood Creek. He came forward -with his bridle-rein over his arm, his horse following, -head down.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_171'>171</span>“Wal, how’d you ’uns git ’long with that pesky -fire?” he observed, without any preliminary greeting. -He was a Missouri man, and they often prided themselves -on their rudeness. It was their way of showing -their independence.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Good morning, Mr. Owen,” said Olive, who knew -the man quite well. “We have escaped all right, -thank you. I hope you were not injured?” She was -extra careful in her manner, as the politeness for two -had all to be furnished by herself.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yer hain’t been burnt out I see. You all’s mighty -silly anyhow. Why in thunder didn’t yer back-fire -before? ’Tain’t agin’ yer principles, is it?” Mr. -Owen grinned under the impression that he was -funny.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We didn’t back-fire, because we thought it wrong -to start a fire in such a wind and let it possibly burn -up our neighbours,” said Olive stiffly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then ’tis agin yer principles to back-fire, by -Gosh! The boys was ’lowing as much over to Union -Mills.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is against our principles to injure our neighbours. -You don’t object to that, Mr. Owen, do you?” -said Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I reckon you’ll git mighty tired o’ them idees ef -yer live long on the prairie,” observed Mr. Owen.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Seen ole man Cotterell lately?” he inquired suddenly, -half shutting his green-grey eyes and looking -at Olive intently.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_172'>172</span>She was somewhat surprised at the question, but -knowing from experience how inquisitive the average -settler is, she answered readily enough.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, I haven’t seen him for a long time. Was he -burnt out? I didn’t know the fire had gone so far.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I calkerlate he warn’t tetched by the fire,” said -Mr. Owen, very slowly. He made long pauses between -his remarks, during which he continued unremittingly -the steady occupation of his life, namely, -chewing tobacco. Olive began to feel impatient. She -did not like to ask him into the house for fear of -disturbing Ezra, so she sat down again in her chair, -and pointing to a log of wood which lay near and -seated on which he could still hold his horse, she -asked him to take a seat also. Mr. Owen sat down -with a grunt.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Never seed ony pusson so sot on posies as you -’uns be,” he observed conversationally.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, I am very fond of flowers. They make -the house more home-like, I think. The prairie is -very bare looking,” replied Olive politely.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yer ole man oughter rared his house t’other side -the Gully, an’ further down yon’er. This hyar ’ull -be powerful col’ when we git col’ snaps in Jan’ary. -Yer dunno nothin’ ’bout things in this hyar all-fired -’Fection City,” said Mr. Owen, looking around him -in criticism.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Perhaps not,” said Olive, rather nettled, “but -we know how to mind our own business.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_173'>173</span>Mr. Owen did not feel one whit abashed. He was -far too near akin to the pachyderms for Olive’s delicate -little shafts to have any effect on him. Another -long silence followed, and Olive began to wonder if -Owen was like that man from Jacksonville, who came -to see them once and stayed four hours, during which -time he made only two remarks and they possessed -no particular interest. The man and his stony silence -had driven her nearly wild, until she reflected how -much more awful it would have been had she been -obliged to entertain him with conversation. A recollection -of this visitation and a dread born of that -recollection began to invade her mind. Mr. Owen, -however, was not going to stay for four hours, and he -was going to make a remark of very particular interest, -a remark that would quickly scatter all Olive’s other -ideas. He delivered it slowly and with the monotonous -enunciation which proclaimed him a Missouri man.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The boys is hout huntin’ down ole man Cotterell.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What!” exclaimed Olive turning very white. -Then, steadying her voice as well as she could she -said, “Why are they hunting him?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“To cotch him,” replied her visitor concisely.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But what for?” asked Olive, looking at him with -wide eyes of horror. She knew only too well what -hunting down a man portended.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wal, there’s bin a shootin’ over to his house, -an’ one o’ thim boys o’ Mills is shot, shot dead. Cotterell -<span class='pageno' id='Page_174'>174</span>done it. And now he’s gone an’ run off. The -boys they ’lowed Cotterell best be hung this time. -Las’ time he was let off. He won’t be agin, you -bet.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“How do you know he has shot young Mills? -What evidence have you of it?” asked Olive in terror, -yet she could not help pressing the man to tell her, -although each word was like a stab.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He gave a silent inward laugh as if his thoughts -were facetious. “Evidence an’ enough,” he said. -“Jake Mills’ body with a bullet through his heart. -Yer can’t git nothin’ plainer in the way of evidence -than that, I reckon.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But how do you know it was Mr. Cotterell shot -him?” asked Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Damn my eyes! but yer mus’ be a nateral born -fool, Mis’ Weston. Jake Mills were foun’ on Cotterell’s -lan’. Who else could ha’ done it? Besides, he -did, an’ that’s a fac’ anyhow.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I think it is perfectly monstrous,” burst out -Olive, trembling with agitation. “I never heard of -a wickeder thing. Here is this man you have decided -to hang, and you don’t even know if he has done -the thing you accuse him of. If that is what you call -prairie law and justice I can only say I never heard -of a more sinful and unjust law. Black savages -couldn’t do worse.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Mos’ like the boys will let him hev a trial, ef -he’s partic’lar sot on’t. That won’t si’nify nothin’,” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_175'>175</span>said Mr. Owen, again surveying Olive through the -narrow aperture of his half-closed eyes, and again applying -himself to his habitual occupation with vigour. -She looked at him with a face in which horror and -disgust struggled for mastery.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“If this horrid murder is committed by your -neighbours, Mr. Owen, I shall think that prairie men -are a disgrace to civilization,” said Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We prairie folks ain’t partic’lar sot on civilization,” -remarked Mr. Owen with affability.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I hope you’ll never catch him,” said Olive, with -a sound very like a sob in her voice.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The boys they ’lowed you’uns was mighty good -frien’s o’ his’n, an’ he’d a mos’ likely come this hyar -way to make for the Pottawattamie ’fore we’uns could -cotch him. That’s why I come ’long ter look for him -hyar,” observed Mr. Owen, rising and putting his -head under his saddle flap in order to tighten up the -girth a couple of holes.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, you’ve come here to spy out, have you?” -said Olive, in passionate anger. “Why didn’t you -say so at first, and ask the question like a man, and -not come sneaking around? Do you want to hunt all -over the house and see if we’ve got anybody hidden -away?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No,” said Owen slowly. “Guess that’ll do. I -ain’t agoin’ ter hunt roun’. We ain’t no great shakes -at bein’ fine folks out hyar on the prairie, but we -allers takes the word of a lady, by Gosh. You said -<span class='pageno' id='Page_176'>176</span>you hain’t seen nothin’ o’ ole man Cotterell, guess -that’ll do for the boys. Mornin’.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Mr. Owen rode away, feeling that in the contest -of politeness that morning he had certainly scored off -Mrs. Weston with her stuck-up Eastern ways.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive was in an agony of doubt and terror. That -the boys were out hunting for Cotterell was, she knew, -but the preliminary to his death, if they caught him. -The boys seldom or never let off any one they caught, -so she gathered from the stories she had heard of their -doings in time past. What was she to do in this difficult -dilemma? Should she tell Ezra?</p> - -<p class='c010'>Under ordinary circumstances her first impulse -would have been to go straight to her husband with -the story she had heard, but in this instance she felt -that such a course would be impossible. She knew -that Ezra was jealous of Mr. Cotterell, he had betrayed -his feelings more than once, and in her heart -she knew that few men can be just towards the man -who arouses their jealousy. Her husband was a very -just man, and could, more than any one she knew, -put himself in the place of others and see what was -right and what was wrong. But in this instance it -was not justice Olive wanted, it was justice that she -feared. Although she spoke bravely enough to Owen, -a terrible fear lurked in her breast that the evidence, -though ludicrously deficient by the rules of procedure -that obtain in old established communities, was quite -sufficient to convince a prairie jury. Ezra would not -<span class='pageno' id='Page_177'>177</span>sit on a hanging jury, nor would he be a party to -catching Mr. Cotterell, but his sense of justice and -what was due to the principles professed at Perfection -City might carry him no further than this passively -inactive point? Would he assist Cotterell to escape? -Guilty or not, that was what Olive wanted, and to -help in such an undertaking, she felt sure, was what -her husband might very well refuse to do.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Was Cotterell guilty? Olive debated this point -anxiously in her mind. She knew he went armed, -but so did many other men. In fact, to be armed -was the rule on the prairie. The doctrine of non-resistance -was one of the least understood tenets of the -Pioneers at Perfection City, and was observed by nobody -else on the prairie. Even Brother Wright, as -we have seen—though Olive was quite unaware of -this—had granted to himself a special indulgence in -this matter. So the mere fact of Mr. Cotterell’s always -having his revolver in his belt did not really count -for anything, one way or the other. He had always -been so gentle and so chivalrous in his manner to her, -she found it difficult to force her mind to keep hold -of the fact that he was a very passionate man. Everyone -said so, and she knew, too, that the Mills’ were -a bad lot, drunken quarrelsome men, who, as Ezra -said, combined in their character all the vices of the -prairie and preserved none of its virtues. How easy -it would be for a proud, passionate man like Mr. -Cotterell to bring his revolver into a heated argument -<span class='pageno' id='Page_178'>178</span>with Jake Mills, who might be mad with drink. But -surely such a shooting was not murder according to -prairie law. In her distress Olive found herself falling -back upon the probable laxity of that very prairie -justice which a short time before she had so scornfully -characterised to Owen.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The “boys” who were hunting Cotterell were, -as Olive well knew, the most relentless men on the -prairie, regular settlers who had found by experience -that the only way to keep order was to keep it with -their own right hands. They had hung several horse-thieves -lately, and had declared they were going to -put a stop to the “shooting round promiscuous” of -the younger blades. They were not unjust men, but -they were hasty, and were moreover already terribly -prejudiced against Cotterell.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Having decided that it was best not to tell Ezra -what she had heard, Olive was immediately assailed -with a hundred doubts. Suppose Mr. Cotterell came -to them in his extremity, should she try to conceal -him? But how utterly impossible to do so without -the co-operation of her husband! The mere attempt -to do such a thing might involve her in difficulties -without being of any use to the unhappy man himself. -Then there was Madame. Should she appeal -to her for help? Her heart revolted from such a -course. After their last meeting, when they had interchanged -hot words on the subject of this very man, -Olive felt it was impossible to ask Madame’s aid or to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_179'>179</span>tell her anything about it. Then there was no one, -and Olive resolved to keep the secret of what she -had heard, hoping that something might turn up -which would justify her action, or at least make any -further action unnecessary. Thus do people often put -off on the shoulders of chance the burden of a decision -which taxes too much their powers of forecasting -events. It was a heavy secret to keep to herself, and -her face looked white and scared as she entered the -kitchen on tip-toe to see how Ezra felt. He roused -up as she came in.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am better now, little woman,” he said in answer -to her inquiries. “The pain is all gone. I will -get up and begin to stir around again.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He went out with her and with the keenness which -is soon a habit with a prairie man, he noticed the -hoof-marks of Owen’s horse, where it had stamped -rather briskly, owing to the flies.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Who has been here? Those are fresh,” he said, -pointing to the marks.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That man from over beyond Cotton Wood Creek -was here a little while ago, Owen is his name: you -know the man,” said Olive, with a beating heart.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Cattle-hunting after the fire, I suppose. Were -they burnt out yesterday?” asked Ezra, with slight -show of interest.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, I believe not, he did not say. He sneered -at the Pioneers for not having safe-guarded themselves, -heedless of the welfare of the other settlers, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_180'>180</span>so I suppose he had been betimes with his back-firing, -at least if he lives up to his principles,” remarked -Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is too late to go and hunt for our horses,” -said Ezra, “and I feel too tired to start out on foot -after them. They may very well be five miles away -by this time. Did you ask Owen if he had seen -them?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, I never thought of doing so.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Don’t forget always to ask everyone if they have -seen your horses whenever they are out on the prairie: -it is one of the golden rules of prairie life,” said Ezra, -tapping her chin.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But he wouldn’t have known Queen Katharine -and Rebel even if he did happen to meet them,” objected -Olive. “How could he know one pair of strange -horses from another?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Bless your sweet eyes, Owen knows every horse -and cow belonging to his neighbours for a radius of -ten miles from his house, at the very least. Telling -a neighbour where his cattle are, is the only rule of -politeness known to many of them, and they are punctilious -about it,” said Ezra laughing.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I wish I had known that, because I found him -deficient in many of the rules I have been taught,” -said Olive. “Possibly he found me as lacking, according -to his estimate.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra did not go out to hunt for the horses -the next morning as he had intended. Other work, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_181'>181</span>which seemed more important, turned up for him. -Brother Wright came that same evening to arrange -about it.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Good evening, friends,” he said. “I trust you -are both rested after yesterday. It was a hard day -and a harder night. Brother Ezra, you did splendidly.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We were much alarmed for the safety of Perfection -City: I don’t think it is ever likely to be in -greater danger,” said Ezra.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, I suppose, not from the outside,” said -Wright.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And we are not likely to be set on fire -from the inside, are we?” observed Ezra with a -laugh.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Accidents may happen,” said Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Even in the best regulated communities,” added -Brother Wright. “However, what I came to talk -about was the future, and not the past. We’ve got -two good loads of corn ready, it ought to be sold at -once in Mapleton. We’ll get top price. I stepped -into Madame’s as I came along, and she agreed with -me. We must sell at once. Brother Dummy has got -his waggon loaded up ready to start. It is a marvel -how much that man does get through in the way of -work. Well, the question is, who will go with the -corn? Brother Dummy must drive his own team, -because no other man could manage that black horse -for half an hour. Biting Bill would kick the waggon -<span class='pageno' id='Page_182'>182</span>into match-wood in two minutes, if any of us attempted -to touch his reins. I wonder whether it is -the absolutely silent driving which cows him? You -are out and out the best one for attending to business -of any here. Madame thinks it would be well for you -to go, and so do I.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am quite ready,” replied Ezra. “But my horses -are both out on the prairie. I turned them loose after -the fire to let them run off to the Creek, as I had no -time to put them up and feed them. To-day I did not -feel able to hunt after them.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, suppose you take my team, and I will -find your horses for you to-morrow. Will that -do?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“All right, then I’ll go to Mapleton.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The corn is already shucked, it won’t take half -an hour to load up. You and I will do it while the -horses are feeding. You ought to get off by six, I -will feed the horses at five.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Each spoke of <i>his</i> horses and <i>his</i> waggons much -in the same way as an artillery officer speaks of his -guns. There were three pairs of horses in the Community, -and, in theory at least, everyone was equally -free to use them, but experience showed that that sort -of handling did not suit horses, who do better if left -always in the care of the same persons. Therefore -it came about that Brother Dummy always had Biting -Bill, since no one else could manage the brute, and -Ezra generally had Queen Katharine and Rebel, while -<span class='pageno' id='Page_183'>183</span>Brother Wright kept the greys. Now these animals, -although common property, were invariably spoken of -by their drivers as <i>theirs</i>, for the use of certain familiar -phrases, which to the outsider might seem to denote -the idea of private property, came naturally to -their lips. It is often more difficult to change habits -of speech than laws of property. Reformers who -start out to alter the whole course of modern ideas and -to rearrange the world according to a plan of their -own devising, would do well to meditate upon this -peculiarity and see what it points to. Surely so slight -a thing as a word might easily be eradicated from -human speech, and yet how difficult it is to do so. -But the point to consider is that the pertinacity, which -shows itself in modes of expression, may very well -exist in just as strong a form in habits of thought -and feeling. The Pioneers, like others of that sort, -passed over and disregarded such expressions as “my -horse,” “my waggon,” and “your plough,” not apparently -recognizing that the expressions denoted a habit -of thought that might very easily strike at the very -root of their institution. They were communists, as -Olive had said, in bits of this and scraps of that, but -the old leaven of individualism was there still among -them, only dormant. The Pioneers never expected -that the leaven would again become an active principle. -Like other people, they were unable to see into the -future, and therefore rejoiced in their escape from -the perils of the prairie fire and considered that they -<span class='pageno' id='Page_184'>184</span>had no further danger to apprehend for this winter -at least. The sea was smooth and the sky was serene, -so to speak, and they did not perceive the sunken -rocks that lay in the track of their experimental -bark.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_185'>185</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XV.<br /> <span class='large'>IN QUEST OF NEWS.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Olive was early astir the next morning, in order -to see her husband off and also to provide him with -food in ample abundance to last him for the trip. He -carried a plentiful store of dried beef, a portable commodity -much in request on the prairie. The old trappers -had showed the settlers how to make it, and the -trappers had acquired the art from the Indians. Dried -beef is precisely what its name indicates. It is raw -beef, somewhat salted, and then dried in the sun until -it is like a piece of solid leather. It has to be cut into -thin slices across the grain before the stoutest teeth -can make the slightest impression upon it. It may -be also cooked in a batter of eggs for the dainty, but -has only to be sliced up with a jack-knife to be eaten -by the average teamster on the prairie. Besides the -dried meat and plenty of corn-bread, Ezra had milk -in a bottle and one of Olive’s wedding presents to eat, -namely, a tin of peaches. He travelled therefore in -extreme luxury. He set off along with Brother Dummy -just as the sun was rising, and the canvas covers -<span class='pageno' id='Page_186'>186</span>of the waggons showed for a long time as two moving -white specks as they slowly crept across the blackened -landscape, finally disappearing behind the Mounds -some twelve miles to the west of Perfection City.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive remained alone at home with Napoleon Pompey -and Diana to keep her company, until Ezra should -return in four days’ time. It was only with great reluctance -that he had consented to this. He did not at -all like the idea of her remaining alone in the house. -As usual, when it came to Olive doing what the ordinary -prairie settler’s wife did as a matter of course, -Ezra’s love took fright. He urged her to go and stay -at Madame’s house, she would be more than welcome, -he declared, in fact it seemed to him almost necessary -that she should go, and he insisted strongly upon the -plan. Olive was as strongly opposed to it. Why -couldn’t she stay in her own house? She would much -prefer it, so as to be on hand to feed the chickens and -milk the cows and generally see to things. Besides, -she felt quite sure she would be vastly in Madame’s -way. Ezra combated this position vigorously. Olive -could not be in anyone’s way, even if she tried. Moreover, -was not Madame a communist like the rest of -them, and she would be only too pleased to take Olive -into her home as she had already done into her heart. -His spouse made no comment, except a mental one, to -this argument, but reiterated her preference for staying -at home. It would only be three days or four at -most, and she would be very busy. Ezra hinted at -<span class='pageno' id='Page_187'>187</span>possible danger if it were known she was alone in the -house.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But I won’t be alone: there is Napoleon Pompey -for one and Diana for two. Surely between so stout -a pair nothing on earth can happen to me,” she said, -smiling at his anxious face.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t feel easy about you,” said Ezra, looking at -her with mournful eyes. “I never left you alone -before, and it suddenly seems to me a most portentous -thing.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why, you dear silly old thing!” exclaimed Olive, -“I do believe you’ll have omens next, and will look -into tea-cups to see if it is a propitious moment for -the success of this undertaking. I never knew you -‘take on’ like this before.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I never did so, but it is all because I love you, -dear. I quite understand what it means, to be foolish -with love. I used not to know what it was. I wonder -do women ever feel the same as we men do?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Women, my dear, are sent into this world for -the express purpose of making men do what they ought -and not be silly,” said Olive severely. “Now I know -you’ll have the feed for the horses all right, but remember -the feed for yourself is in this basket, everything -you’ll want, and there is salt for the boiled -eggs.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>When the hurry of getting the waggons off was -over, Olive sat down to think, and immediately there -rose up before her the image of a hunted man flying -<span class='pageno' id='Page_188'>188</span>for his life. In some ways it was a relief that Ezra -was gone, she would not have to be constantly making -an effort to hide the real anxiety in her mind. Then -she thought of Ezra and of his great and boundless -devotion to her, and the words Madame had spoken in -her wrath rose up before her and rebuked her. Were -they true? Had she hidden her real nature from her -husband before her marriage? She had never meant -to do so, but in their long pre-nuptial conversations -it had not appeared to her that she and Ezra were so -different in their views of life and its duties as perhaps -was now the case. He certainly had told her of the -experiment of Perfection City, and she had accepted -him and the experiment together because they were -indissoluble. She of herself would never have initiated -the communistic idea; but then there was nothing -wonderful in that, woman never do initiate anything, -they only follow some man’s lead with more or less -enthusiasm and intelligence.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Were she to have expressed her own private predilection, -it certainly would have been for a little -home of her own on the usual lines, which little home -it would have been her pride and her pleasure to make -as beautiful as she could. Olive did not possess a large -and speculative mind, capable of vast dreamy projects, -whose limitless possibilities were in imagination not -checked by small practical obstacles. On the contrary, -it was the tendency of her intellect to perceive -those obstacles with startling clearness, and to demonstrate, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_189'>189</span>by a few biting truisms, the impossibility of -turning the dreamy vastnesses to use. She was neither -hard-headed nor dull-headed, but hers was a practical -nature, very much jarred by idle vapourings, and -above all she was kept in the straight path of common -sense by her keen appreciation of the ridiculous.</p> - -<p class='c010'>This faculty enabled her to perceive how often reformers -run off the track of common sense, and while -pinning their faith to one particular little tenet which -they constitute the corner-stone of their philosophy, -lose sight of the whole world beyond. Olive possessed -in a high degree the sense of proportion, which in a -true reformer is generally absent. When Ezra with -his cultivated mind and really fine intellect, talked -to her of the reforming of the present type of civilization, -and briefly sketched out what he hoped would -be the result of the introduction of the communistic -idea into life, she could not help remarking that he -used very much the same expressions, and seemed animated -by very much the same hopes, as those indulged -in by one of the dietetic reformers she knew in Smyrna, -who promised all the glories of the golden age to mankind -if the human race would only give up the baneful -practices of eating meat and of cooking vegetables!</p> - -<p class='c010'>And every few minutes, across the mirror of her -reflections, there came a shadow of a desperate man -spurring on a jaded horse. Olive could not shake off -a sense of impending disaster, but unlike Ezra, who -attributed his melancholy to his great love for Olive -<span class='pageno' id='Page_190'>190</span>and a vague, unreasoning dread of something happening -to her in his absence, she knew quite well what -she feared and why.</p> - -<p class='c010'>As the morning wore on, Olive began to feel it -impossible to remain quietly at home in the midst -of her anxiety. She must go out and hear what news -there was, or at all events she must learn if there was -any news. Resolved not to hold any communication -with Madame other than what was publicly necessary—for -between the two there was now maintained a -sort of armed neutrality—she decided to call at the -blacksmith’s, as Brother Green was in the way of most -of the gossip, if gossip is a term that could be rightly -applied to the feeble and intermittent stream of prairie -news that trickled through the smithy. Brother -Green was a silent, self-absorbed man who worked -steadily and brought much personal devotion into the -project of Perfection City. He was a lonely man, -a widower, and to judge by appearances a disappointed -man as well. He was surprised to see Sister Olive, -and very pleased, but could not shake hands as he was -very dirty, and she looked so brightly clean. Having -wiped a wooden bench with his leather apron and -again with the sleeve of his shirt, he invited her to -be seated. Brother Green was welding some iron, and -Olive waited until the operation was concluded and -the plough-hook made before she talked to him. Meanwhile -she watched with interest the white glowing -fire and the pulpy white-hot iron-bar, helplessly bending -<span class='pageno' id='Page_191'>191</span>over at the end like a piece of half boiled molasses -candy.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I felt so lonesome, I thought I would come out -and talk to someone,” she said, by way of excuse for -a first visit. “Diana isn’t a bit of company when you -feel really lonesome. Ezra is gone for four days, did -you know?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Diana had cocked one ear at the mention of her -name, but had speedily uncocked it again on becoming -satisfied that nothing in the way of excitement -was at hand.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, I suppose you do feel lonely,” said Brother -Green slowly, as he seated himself on his anvil and -crossed his brawny arms. “I’ve been used to it for so -long, I have almost forgotten how anything else feels.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive looked kindly at him. “Are you ever homesick, -and do you ever wish you had stayed in England? -It must be very different from here.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Very,” said Brother Green gazing with a far-away -sort of look through the large forge door out -over the shimmering prairie. He suddenly seemed to -see rolling hills with oak woods tufting their slopes, -and a deep valley, where blue curling smoke ascended -in high spirals, and a church steeple rose from among -elms, and jackdaws croaked around the steeple. He -put his head a little on one side, almost as if he would -catch more distinctly the hoarse croak of the jackdaws, -or maybe the first sound of the bell which hung in -the steeple and used to ring on Sundays.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_192'>192</span>“Yes,” he said, as this picture faded away and -the prairie returned in its place, “there can’t be much -greater differences in the world than between Perfection -City and the little village in Sussex, where I was -born.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Which do you like best, Brother Green?” asked -Olive a little thoughtlessly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t expect ever to be as unhappy again as I -was in that pretty little village,” said Brother Green, -and Olive remembered that she had been told he had -lost a young wife in his youth. She felt sorry for -him, and regretted having touched upon an old wound -that still could throb with pain.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Have you heard any news lately? Has anybody -been to the forge? You are always the first to hear -news,” said she quickly, desiring to change the subject.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“A man from down south passed this morning.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Did he?” said Olive anxiously, “what did he -say?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He said the fire was just bellowing its way towards -Fort Scott, and had done a good deal of damage -one way or another. It was one of the hottest -they ever had and the hardest to stop. It crossed -one of the South Fork Creeks and got into the broken -land round Osage.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We had a very narrow escape ourselves,” said -Olive, feeling remarkably little interest in the fire. -“Did he say anything else? Who was he?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_193'>193</span>“A stranger, I never saw him before. No, he -didn’t say anything else, except to tell me that he -calkerlated Britishers were mos’ly fools and couldn’t -do a day’s work ’gain ’Mericans, no matter what it -were, rail-splitting or tobacco-chawin’.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Brother Green gave a deep gentle laugh, like the -distant boom of a waterfall hidden among trees.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Don’t you think these prairie folk are most conceited?” -asked Olive, in some scorn.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, not more than other people, Sister,” replied -Brother Green somewhat unexpectedly, “they only -say what they think with remarkable frankness.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But that is conceit,” persisted Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am not certain that it is more conceited to say -what you think, than to think your thoughts in silence, -and be consumed with a vast contempt for all -the world. We are a conceited people too.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I thought the English prided themselves on not -being conceited,” said Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We pride ourselves on showing no feeling of -conceit and if possible on showing no feeling on any -other subject either. If an Englishman’s heart were -skinned, I think it would weigh up pretty much the -same as an American’s. The difference lies in the -tongue only.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Is that so?” said Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, this morning, for instance, that man informed -me that he was a better man than I, and that -his country could lick mine. Well, in my heart I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_194'>194</span>knew he was wrong on both points, and that the precise -contrary was the fact. As far as essentials go, I -think we were pretty equal in the contest of conceit.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But you didn’t tell him what you thought,” remarked -Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, that was the difference of tongue, not of -heart,” replied Brother Green.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I didn’t know you were so severe in your criticisms -and judgments. I wonder much what you really -think of Perfection City,” said Olive, looking at him -curiously. She had never particularly noticed him -hitherto, and had not realized that he could have a -store of knowledge of many things which lay far outside -her experience.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I think Perfection City will do good,” said -Brother Green with conviction.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do you, and why?” asked Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Any honest human effort to benefit the world -and raise mankind does good,” said Brother Green.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But people have done such different things and -all from a desire to do what seemed to them good,” -objected Olive with feminine vagueness.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I consider they have done good if their purpose -was single-hearted,” maintained Brother Green.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“They didn’t succeed in doing what they aimed -at very often, at all events,” observed Olive, “something -quite different came out of their endeavours -from what they had expected.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_195'>195</span>“Nevertheless, if they honestly tried, then that -very trying was of itself good.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do you think Perfection City will do the good -the Pioneers expect, or will something quite different -come out of it too?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I think Perfection City will be the means of -teaching a valuable lesson,” said Brother Green cordially.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do you think it is any use to try to change the -world and its ideas?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“If anyone has a truth let him preach it fearlessly. -Who can foretell the moment when the world will -listen and when it is ready to profit by your example.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive longed to ask him what he thought of Madame, -but dared not do so. She felt a little afraid -before this simple-minded man, with his fervent, childlike -faith and his sad and lonely life. Belief in Perfection -City might be his only comfort now, shut off -as he was from the joys of home and family, she would -do nothing to lessen his belief and make him more -lonely still. For what is more lonely than the heart -out of which a faith has departed never to return? -So she bade him good-bye, and then seeing Aunt -Ruby’s chimney giving off the cheerful smoke of habitation, -she turned her steps thither. Olive walked -slowly along, for it was very hot indeed with a dry -suffocating heat that made exertion somewhat irksome, -and Diana, the discreet, followed dutifully behind -her.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_196'>196</span>Aunt Ruby, as has been already hinted, had surrounded -herself with a large family of chickens of -all ages, to whose wants it was her great duty to attend. -She had a rare hand for chickens, and could -pick up the most spasmodic specimen and turn it upside -down and examine it for the gapes without hurting -it in the least. Her driving of the hens to roost -was an exhibition of the talent of generalship worthy -of a wider field. No screamings nor scurryings, no -rushings madly hither and thither, took place, and -above all no sticks were used in the ceremony: Aunt -Ruby merely took her skirts gently at the side in each -hand, and said “Shoo! Shoo!” in a soothing voice, -while at the same time she slightly oscillated the folds -of her skirt. The hens appeared hypnotized by the -action, and no matter how eagerly they might be pursuing -the afternoon fly, they would at once settle -down into a conversational chuck-a-chu and begin -forthwith to meander towards the hen-roost.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Aunt Ruby’s numerous hens and chickens were all -in the yard and around the wood-pile, seeking in an -aimless over-fed fashion after chance insects, when -suddenly, without a moment’s warning, the devil was -upon them according to the gallinaceous imagination. -The devil was possessed of four paws, a most terrifying -bark, and a mouth that seemed to the affrighted birds -to be on the point of devouring each one especially -and individually. The dog flew hither and thither, and -so did the chickens, and so did the tail-feathers.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_197'>197</span>“Diana! Bad dog, down, down!” screamed Olive, -rushing to the rescue, while Aunt Ruby with shrill -cry and a broom-stick appeared in the door-way. -Never before or since did a more tempestuous guest -appear at Aunt Ruby’s house. Full a quarter of an -hour of gentle “shoo-shooings” to the hens, interspersed -with smart whippings to Diana, elapsed before -quiet was restored, and the ladies could even begin -their visit together. Even then there was a sort of -nervous tension on Aunt Ruby’s part, which prevented -her thorough enjoyment of the opportunity for -a gossip. Her attention was distracted by Diana, who -lay with lamb-like docility at Olive’s feet and slept -the sleep of the just.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I wouldn’t keep a dawg roun’ nohow,” said Aunt -Ruby eyeing the delinquent sternly. “I’d mos’ as lief -hev a rattlesnake. I shouldn’t never sleep easy in -my bed won’erin’ an’ won’erin’ what the pesky crittur -’ud do nex’.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I know that Diana is very naughty now, but she -is only a puppy, and she’ll get sense by and bye, and -it is so nice to have something that is your own and -loves you, and doesn’t care for any body else, you -know,” observed Olive somewhat rashly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wal, I reckon you’ll hev a sight o’ trouble ’long -o’ that dawg ’fore you learn it the rights o’ people, -let alone teachin’ it community idees,” said Aunt -Ruby.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, you can’t teach a dog communistic notions, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_198'>198</span>thank goodness,” observed Olive, patting the sinful -Diana.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Reckon you ain’t partic’ler sot on the idees of -Perfection City,” said the old lady, looking at her -visitor with bright twinkling eyes. “I allow there -be a p’int or two we’ll hev to consider over agin at -’Sembly. We are gettin’ on too fas’ fur this here -prairie folk, they hain’t got the sense to un’erstan’ -all o’ our highest principles. Guess while there’s Injuns -roun’ we hed better jes’ hol’ back a mite ’bout -non-resistance.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh,” said Olive, who had never given any attention -to this point, being as indifferent as the wives of -strong men usually are. “I never heard a word about -Indians. Are there any about?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Not as I hearn on special. But there’s Injuns -and worse nor Injuns in the world, an’ I reckon we’d -better take that p’int up at ’Sembly and see if we -can’t do su’thin’ to make things a bit straight,” said -Aunt Ruby in language that was vaguely enough expressed -to serve in the highest walks of diplomacy.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, I dare say,” replied Olive carelessly, “some -very excellent reason could be devised to excuse a -departure from any one of the Perfection City principles, -which seem more difficult to manage in practice -than on paper. They are all pretty new, and of -course can’t be expected to be as useful in all the -difficult circumstances of life as principles which have -stood the test of time.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_199'>199</span>“Dear me, suz!” exclaimed Aunt Ruby admiringly. -“How gran’ you kin talk! Deal sight finer nor Brother -Wright. Why don’t you hold forth in ’Sembly? -I’d liefer hear you nor any on ’em. I’m jes’ ’bout tired -o’ listenin’ to Brother Wright. Lard! how he do love -to hear his own voice! Hens is jes’ like that too, they’ll -talk an’ talk till you’re mos’ crazy, an’ they hain’t -nothin’ to say, on’y jes’ to cackle an’ hear themselves -talk.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive agreed with Aunt Ruby, but hardly dared to -express her opinion in all its force. Therefore she -turned the conversation by inquiring had she ever -heard anything about lynch-law and about its being -put into practice in their neighbourhood?</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Course I hev, an’ hearn o’ hangin’ too.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do Perfection City principles uphold hanging?” -asked Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Guess not,” was the reply.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No matter if it was for murder?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wal, I don’t see as we could ever be called upon -to settle that p’int, ’cause no ’Fectionist could ever be -a murderer no how,” said Aunt Ruby.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But suppose an outsider who had shot a man, even -if it was not a real bad murder, came to us for protection, -would they help him, do you think?” asked -Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wal, I never hearn that debated at the ’Sembly, -but I reckon Perfection City don’t lay out to hide -folks as has killed a feller critter. It don’t ’pear to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_200'>200</span>me as how we was called upon to min’ anyone ’cept -our own selves, an’ we hed best keep clear ’way o’ -them sort o’ folks. That’s pretty nigh my ’pinion, -an’ I guess it’s mos’ folks too as hes a mite o’ common -sense.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive was fain to confess to herself that in all -probability Aunt Ruby did fairly express the collective -opinion of Perfection City. They had only enough -righteousness for themselves, and, like a ship already -short of provisions, could not help another vessel, even -though it might be flying the Union Jack upside down -and showing all the other flags of acute distress recognized -in the naval code of signals. Had Aunt Ruby -heard of anything concerning a horse-thief who was -supposed to be somewhere around, inquired Olive with -a view to eliciting information, but she only elicited -feminine alarms in overwhelming abundance.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do tell! Land o’ liberty! Was there horse-thieves -’bout? What a pity Brother Ezry an’ Brother Dummy -was both gone jes’ now: they might meet in ’Sembly -right away an’ discuss the p’int o’ non-resistance an’ -buy revolvers next time anyone went to Union Mills. -Horse-thieves was mos’ as bad as Injuns, an’ if it was -lawful an’ right to defen’ yourself ’gainst Injuns as -was ign’rant savages as never hed Christian teachin’, -it couldn’t be wrong to look a’ter your hosses as was -bought an’ paid for by ’Fection City money.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Aunt Ruby was so convinced and loquacious upon -this subject and upon the aspect of the case as presented -<span class='pageno' id='Page_201'>201</span>to her mind by her terrors, that Olive heartily regretted -her question, and began to try and do away with the -effects of it as far as possible. It was only a vague -report she averred, and Olive herself had not the -slightest idea that there were horse-thieves about. -Upon the strength of this assurance Aunt Ruby, somewhat -comforted, allowed her attention to be engaged -by other topics of conversation. She was much distressed -that she could not persuade her visitor to stay -all the rest of the day and have a real good soul-satisfying -talk, but Olive declared she must go home and -see to her own chickens, an argument that appealed -very strongly to Aunt Ruby’s maternal instincts.</p> - -<p class='c010'>A difficulty arose as to how Diana was to be decently -conducted out through the yard.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I’d mos’ as soon hev to conten’ with a roarin’ -lion as that pup,” remarked Aunt Ruby as the difficulty -presented itself to her mind in an acute form.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“If I could get her past without seeing the hens -and chickens she would be all right,” said Olive, who -of course had no whip, regarding meditatively the -dog, who of course had no collar.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wal, that ’ud do, I guess, sort o’ take her out -o’ the way o’ temptation,” said Aunt Ruby, surveying -Diana with an anxious eye. “I kin give you an ole -caliker skirt o’ mine, an’ you kin tie up her head in -that reg’lar tight, so as she wouldn’t see ne’er a hen -this side o’ Christmas, ’less you took it off.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>This seemed a hopeful arrangement; so the “caliker -<span class='pageno' id='Page_202'>202</span>skirt” was brought, and the misguided Diana, -under the impression that a brand new game was on -foot, allowed her head to be hidden in the folds of the -skirt. Olive then led her to the door, but Diana objected, -not seeing where the joke came in for her; -and as soon as she found that she was ignominiously -tied into the dreadful skirt, her rage was boundless. -In an instant she wrenched herself free from Olive’s -guiding hand. She then commenced a wild career -around the yard backwards, swaying this way and that -in the most ghastly and unlooked-for manner.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The hens and chickens no sooner beheld this portent -than with one universal squawk of horror they -betook themselves to places of safety under the corn-crib -and into the cracks of the wood-pile, whence they -could not again be coaxed for many hours. Diana -meanwhile continued her fearsome course and ere -long came into violent contact with the chicken-tub, -a large receptacle with loose wooden cover where various -sorts of food suitable for fowls were collected together, -first thinned with water and then thickened -into a glutinous mass by intermixture of corn-meal. -Into this tub Diana sat with extreme violence and then -rolled over. Olive caught her as she was emerging -from the chicken-tub and by uncovering her eyes restored -her to reason. Aunt Ruby, speechless with indignation, -and Olive, equally speechless with laughter, -then set to work with two big spoons to scrape the -chicken food from the ground and from the hind -<span class='pageno' id='Page_203'>203</span>quarters of the dog. Diana, now at peace with all the -world, wagged her tail benevolently during this process, -and soon specked Olive over with corn-meal, potatoes, -scraps of peelings, and bits of greens, until she -looked as if she had been out in a snow-storm as severe -in character as it was diversified in composition. When -this job was over Aunt Ruby arose and straightened -her old back with a groan.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wal, I guess I would a deal sight sooner hev a -rattlesnake to look a’ter than a dawg,” she observed.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive, apologetic, departed along with the unrepentant -Diana, and together they returned homewards.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_204'>204</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XVI.<br /> <span class='large'>HORSE-THIEVES.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Olive spent a few quiet hours at home along with -Diana, and then took supper in company with Napoleon -Pompey, whose manners at table were now -all that could be desired. Indeed, the negro in this -connection easily takes a higher polish than might -be expected: he prides himself on being punctilious -in all the forms and phrases of the best white society -he has ever come in contact with, and being highly -imitative, is quickly trained. Given a white boy and -a black boy of similar ages and depths of ignorance, -the black one will more quickly tame into a seemingly -quiet human being, while very frequently the same -vanity which prompts a negro to be over-zealous in the -use of “please” and “thank you” will cause the -white boy to act roughly and assert his independence -by extravagances of rude behaviour. Napoleon Pompey -was magnificently polite to “Mis’ Ollie,” whom he -adored, and for whom he was ready even to work: that -is to make the greatest sacrifice possible to a negro lad -of twelve. He never forgot to carry in wood for her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_205'>205</span>or to pick up chips in generous quantity for the -lighting of the afternoon fire, and he collected abundance -of corn-cobs and had them duly dried in the sun -ready at her hand in case she was in sudden want of -a hot fire. When working for Ezra, Napoleon Pompey -reverted to his natural black standard of diligence -and shirked as much as he possibly could, lying down -in fence-corners to sleep like a shiny black lizard when -he should have been stripping corn, but he never -shirked “Mis’ Ollie’s” work. She didn’t scold the -lad, but ruled him by her gentleness and her beauty, -and he fell into meekest subjection to her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive always tried to talk with Napoleon Pompey -at meals, even when Ezra was there, being anxious -to make him feel at his ease and happy in their presence; -and to-day being alone with him she thought -she might get some information out of him on the -subject which was weighing so heavily upon her mind.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Napoleon Pompey, did you ever hear of their -hunting down men on the prairie here?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yo’ bet, Mis’ Ollie, I seed darkie what went to -de hangin’ ole man Howard. He done seed him -hoisted over de tree slap up. He told me——”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Hush!” said Olive sternly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The young savage was abashed, he had meant no -harm, but thought some pleasing details “o’ de hangin’,” -which he himself had relished mightily, would -prove equally acceptable to Olive’s taste. She was -disgusted to think that with all her teaching of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_206'>206</span>forms and symbols of politeness and gentle manners, -which the young scamp had received with such docility, -she had not really touched his heart at all: he was -just a black savage, still rejoicing in vivid details of -horrors and cruelty.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Don’t tell me,” she said sternly, “that it is possible -you could like to see a human being, a fellow -creature, made in God’s image, no matter how guilty -he might be, put to death. It may be necessary, -Napoleon Pompey, sometimes to hang men who have -done wicked things, so as to prevent others from doing -the same, but it is an awful thing, a sad and terrible -sight. You would never wish to see it, Napoleon Pompey,” -said Olive solemnly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It ’ud be bully ter see ’um kickin’ in de air -wid rope roun’ his neck,” said Napoleon Pompey -simply.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive turned white with disgust and left the -kitchen, retiring with Diana to her own little private -room. Napoleon Pompey, conscious of no shortcomings, -cleared away the supper things very handily, -washed the few dishes, set the candles upon the white -deal table, and whistling in the innocence of his -youthful heart went out to “walk roun’” and see -that all was right, and the hen-house fastened up securely -against possible visits from pole-cats, before -he retired to his loft upstairs shortly after sun-down. -Like the chickens, Napoleon Pompey went early to -roost.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_207'>207</span>Conscious from the all-pervading stillness that the -lad was gone to bed, Ollie returned to the kitchen, -and her heart smote her as she saw two tallow candles -in their tin candle-sticks placed on the table in convenient -position for her to read, if such should be her -wish. Poor Napoleon Pompey! Olive thought compassionately -of what an affectionate boy he was, and -of how it was not his fault if he still had savage -tastes. Indeed, it was rather the fault of everybody -else. His not very remote ancestors were unreclaimed -African savages, and the career of those more immediate -forefathers, whose lot had been cast in slavery -down South, had not had an elevating tendency. It -was wonderful, not that he still had savage tastes, but -that he had got rid of so many of them. She was -sorry that she had not been better able to control her -feelings, and determined forthwith to institute a careful -system of training with a view to leading him to -the higher life by the shortest possible road. Having -settled in her own mind a few of the more important -lines upon which this training was to be conducted, -Olive turned at last to her reading. But she could -not keep her mind on her book, it kept wandering -off in all sorts of directions, and at last took that -of being frightened at the loneliness and stillness of -the house. When so firmly combating the notion -of being afraid to stay in the house during Ezra’s -absence, Olive had not realized how appalling the -stillness would be. In the daytime there were multitudes -<span class='pageno' id='Page_208'>208</span>of unregarded sounds, which went to make up -the sum total of the idea of life and fellowship, but -at night these had completely ceased, and she seemed -to hear the stillness with awful intensity.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Then, too there were no shutters to the windows, -which were, of course, open to let in the cool night -air, and the thought suddenly came into Olive’s mind -of how exposed she really was, sitting there in the -light of her candles, plainly to be seen, but unable -to see out. A thought such as this needs but little -time to grow into a veritable feeling of panic. She -glanced at the black gaping windows and stared out -into the measureless blackness beyond. At one moment -she raised her hand to extinguish the candles -and so to hide herself in the dark along with her fears, -but she knew that would only make matters worse. -She would see in her terrified imagination a hundred -glaring eyes peering in through the window. She -got up and walked about the room, trying by a little -movement to throw off the oppressive sense of terror. -Diana suddenly seemed to be interested in something, -and raised her head and sniffed inquiringly, and her -mistress, nervously awake to every sight or sound, -looked anxiously around her and stopped in her uneasy -walk. Diana arose and went to the door, and -being a puppy wagged her tail effusively, then suddenly -remembering that she ought to be a dog, barked -with vehemence. Olive was ready to scream with -nervous terror as she heard a step upon the slanting -<span class='pageno' id='Page_209'>209</span>board which led up to the door and a second later -a knock against the resounding wood. She stood -spell-bound, unable to speak or move. Diana ceased -barking, and looked with eager delight for the opening -of the door.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is I, friends, let me come in,” said a deep -voice which thrilled Olive to the heart.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The door opened and Mr. Cotterell entered.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Mr. Cotterell! What are you here for?” gasped -Olive, as he came in and stood in the light, gaunt-eyed -and hollow-cheeked.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am flying for my life, Mrs. Weston. The men -are out hunting me down. I have come to ask your -help. Where is your husband?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He is gone away to Mapleton.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ah!” said Cotterell, with a sigh that had some -relief in the sound. “Then you will help me, won’t -you?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What have you done?” asked Olive, gazing at -him in terror. He was wild-looking and so different -from the charming gentleman she had known before.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I’ve shot Jake Mills,” he replied, without any -attempt at dissimulation.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do you mean that you’ve murdered him?” -gasped Olive, starting back from him.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Good God! Mrs. Weston, no. I’ve not murdered -him, although he is dead by my hand. There’s -been a quarrel between us about some land he rented -<span class='pageno' id='Page_210'>210</span>from me. He was a very low-bred fellow and violent, -and I despised him, and—well, I said some harsh -things to him about cheating the last time we met. -He swore that he would pay me out. He came to -my cabin the other day. I don’t know how long -ago, it seems a life-time. He was mad with drink -and fury. I told him he was a hound. He whipped -out his revolver and fired at me, but he was too tipsy -to aim straight, his shots went wide of the mark. Well, -I got my shot in, I was not drunk. That is how it was, -Mrs. Weston. Upon my honour as a man, that is the -exact truth, you would not call it murder, would -you?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, it was in self-defence. But why didn’t you -go and tell the neighbours at once? They understand -that sort of thing on the prairie.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ah, there’s just my hard luck. There was a -brute of a negro who saw it all, a fellow I thrashed -once for stealing and lying, and he said with such -a meaning look, niggers were free men now, they -could give evidence against white men now,” said -Cotterell in a voice of despair.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Could not you silence him?” said Olive, “or -make him tell the truth?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, I could have silenced him easily enough, -and I had my finger on the trigger to do it. But -I sickened at the thought. I couldn’t shoot him, -although it was my life against his in all probability. -I fled and he gave the alarm. I have no chance with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_211'>211</span>these men around here to try me, and that negro -to give his lying version of the fight. If it was a jury -of men like your husband, it would be different, but -these ignorant settlers are desperately prejudiced -against me already as a foreigner, and because of several -things in the past.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive thought of what her husband had said, and -knew only too well that there was indeed much prejudice -against the unhappy fugitive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What am I to do? You cannot stay here, Mr. -Cotterell. They have already been looking for you. -Mr. Owen was here yesterday afternoon.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Did he tell you what I had done? Did he seem -to consider it murder?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, he did,” said Olive in a whisper, not daring -to remember what he had said should he Cotterell’s -punishment.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But you don’t look upon it in that light?” said -he, wistfully.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, certainly not. It was a terrible misfortune -that might happen to anybody, given the preliminary -quarrel.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Thank you,” said Cotterell brokenly. “When -a poor devil is being hunted down it is a comfort -for him to find someone who can still believe in -him, and I knew in my heart I could come to you -for help when all else had abandoned me. I am -starving, Mrs. Weston. I have eaten nothing for two -days. Can you give me some food?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_212'>212</span>“Poor fellow!” cried Olive, more struck perhaps -by his bodily needs than by those of the mind. “Sit -down here, I’ll get you something in a jiffy. There -is a good chicken-pie in the cellar.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She took a lantern and hurried off to the cellar -which was under the house, but to which entrance -was effected by an outside door. She brought him -food and drink and sat by him as he ate ravenously, -wolfishly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I must sleep or I shall never be able to hold -out for the flight to-morrow. Let me lie here, will -you, and wake me at mid-night. Will you do that -for me? I must sleep. I have been hiding in the -bottom-land of Cotton Wood Creek in the brushwood -ever since I left home. I didn’t dare to ride -across the prairie with everybody out on account of -the fire. I should have been seen by someone, even -if I could have got clear of the fire. The hunt must -be over now on this side of the county, and I may -dare snatch a little sleep.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He flung himself down on the floor, and almost -before Olive could fetch a pillow for his head he -was in a deep sleep. She sat watching him and wondering -what his life was. Somewhere away in England, -perhaps, there was a blue-eyed girl waiting for -him to come home, a girl whose blue eyes were getting -dim with the tears she shed in that long, long -waiting. He was a very handsome man, with his yellow -moustache and clear-cut features. His hat was off, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_213'>213</span>leaving a sort of high-water mark plainly visible on -his forehead, where the sun-burn ended and the -smooth white skin showed upon his temples. The -veins were marked in blue like a baby’s, she remembered -how Ezra had commented on these blue veins. -She wondered who he was and why he came there to -live, and all the while she watched the slow rise and -fall of his chest as he breathed in his sleep with his -right hand nervelessly holding his revolver. How he -would start up and grip that weapon, and how his -blue eyes would flash, if his pursuers should come -upon him! He was a man that had a reputation for -bravery even on the prairie, where few men were -cowards. She thought of Prince Charlie and his -wanderings, and all the stories she had read as a girl -about that charming prince. Here was a fugitive -seeking her aid, and she—well, she would act the -part of Flora Macdonald. By the time it was mid-night, -Olive had worked herself into a most romantic -frame of mind and was determined to help Mr. -Cotterell at every hazard. She was not a person -to do a thing by halves. She made a parcel of -food for him out of the remains of the chicken-pie, -and then, it being just mid-night, she awoke -him.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ah, Mrs. Weston, how can I ever show my gratitude -to you? You are in veriest truth my guardian -angel. I shall carry your image in my heart till I -die,” said Cotterell in his soft persuasive voice. “I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_214'>214</span>should like to think that you had some memory of -me.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I shall not forget you, and shall pray that you -may escape all dangers,” said Olive gently.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I have absolutely nothing that I can call my -own. Would you accept this ring of mine as a token -of my gratitude, and sometimes wear it in memory -of me? When you look at it, think that somewhere -in this weary world there is one heart that will be -grateful to you until it ceases to beat.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He pulled a ring from his finger and put it into her -hand. At the same time he stooped his tall form and -softly kissed her forehead, saying: “God bless you!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive’s eyes were full of tears. “You must be -going or it will be too late,” she said with a sob.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, I must not tarry.” He looked to his revolver, -jerked his cartridge-case round into a more -convenient position for rapidly opening it, and took -up his hat.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Where is your horse?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I hitched him to the bars.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then I will take the lantern and light you on -your way. The night is very dark. Once on horseback -you can ride by the light of the stars,” said -Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, I’ll shape my course for the Missouri border, -if I can run the gauntlet of the people here. Once -I reach a town and civilization I shall be all right.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>They went to the bars, Olive holding her little -<span class='pageno' id='Page_215'>215</span>lantern which threw a feeble ray along the pathway.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Great God!” cried Cotterell.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, what is it? Are they coming after you?” -said Olive in alarm, dropping her lantern which instantly -went out.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“My horse is gone!” said Cotterell, whose eyes -were now becoming accustomed to the darkness. “I -left him hitched here. He was a wild young colt, -not half broken. See, this is the lariat-rope wrenched -in two. I was a fool to trust to that rope, and a double-dyed -fool to leave him here in the dark. But I was -too hungry and too sleepy to think clearly of what -I was doing. That sleep will cost me my life. I -shall have plenty of time to sleep, aye forever, if daylight -catches me here. Mrs. Weston will you add one -more benefit to the many that have gone before? -Will you give me a horse?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, so gladly if I had one,” said Olive, beginning -to cry with grief and helplessness.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Haven’t you any horses?” asked Cotterell with -a gasp.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No. Ezra and Brother Huntley have taken two -teams to Mapleton.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Are there no more about the place?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Only our two that were out on the prairie. -Brother Wright was to hunt for them.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Did he find them?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t know. Perhaps he did.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_216'>216</span>“Then you must give me one of them. They -are yours.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“They are not mine. Oh, I have not anything -in this dreadful Community. It is horrible,” wailed -Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Don’t, pray don’t,” said Cotterell feeling for her -hand in the darkness and crushing it in a passionate -grasp. “Come with me and help me get one.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What! steal one of our horses?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, God help me! if that must be the word. -If I live, the Community shall have the horse’s price -ten times over. If I am hanged, put it down for -the Recording Angel’s tears. Come.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The horses are not here. They are at Brother -Wright’s if anywhere.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Can you find the way in the dark? Then come -all the same.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He held her hand. Was it for fear lest she should -turn back, or was it for some other reason? They -walked in silence towards the Wrights’ house, two -dark shadows stealing through the blackness.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Mr. Cotterell,” whispered Olive with chattering -teeth. “If anyone should come out of the house -on account of the noise, don’t fire. We are all non-resistants, -you know, here, and he won’t have a pistol.” -Olive had no knowledge of the plenary indulgence -which Brother Wright had seen fit to bestow upon -himself in this matter.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Dear heart! don’t fear,” said Cotterell tenderly. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_217'>217</span>“I am a desperate man flying for his life, it is true, -but I am not a dastard. No human being at Perfection -City shall ever be hurt by my hand. They -are all sacred to me for your sweet sake. Ah yes, how -truly it is Perfection City, none but I really know.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>They walked on again in silence.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Is there a dog?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, but he knows me well. We are coming to -the back of the stable now.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then go and speak to the dog through the -chinks of the logs, else he will bark at me.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive crept up quietly, and putting her lips to a -crevice in the rough log-stable said softly, “Pluto, -good dog!” Pluto answered with a whine of satisfaction, -and a soft, purring trumpet from Queen -Katharine announced that she too was within, and -that she recognised her mistress’s voice.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The horses are here,” whispered Olive. “I will -go round and bring out Queen Katharine; there is -only a wooden bolt on the outside to fasten the door. -You had better not go near them for fear of exciting -them, which might make the dog bark.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is dangerous for you in the dark. I fear the -horses may hurt you,” said Cotterell, slow in bringing -himself to give up the little hand he had held all -during that strange night walk.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am not afraid of the horses: they know me -and I know them,” said Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Cotterell heard her talking softly to Queen Katharine -<span class='pageno' id='Page_218'>218</span>as she quietly undid her halter and brought her -out of the stable. Not a creature seemed awake in -the house, and not a word was spoken by the two as -they stole past down to the bars. Once out of earshot, -Cotterell sprang upon Queen Katharine and -stooping down lifted Olive up before him. She never -could quite remember the wild things he said as he -rode back to their house, holding her in his arms on -the horse. She was dizzy, frightened, and confused, -so perhaps he did not say all those wild words, and -perhaps she dreamed them. He got Ezra’s saddle -and put it on Queen Katharine, Olive did not forget -to give him the parcel of food and a flask of milk and -water, and then he said good-bye. Such a strange -good-bye. He knelt before her, clasped her two -hands in his own, and said: “Now I know why men -have worshipped the image of pure womanhood. It -made them better. I shall be made a better man by -my worship.” And then he was gone without another -word, and Olive crept into the house just as the first -grey streaks of dawn appeared.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_219'>219</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XVII.<br /> <span class='large'>A LIFE AT STAKE.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>When Brother Wright early next morning discovered -the loss of the brown mare, he was thrown into -a state of the most unphilosophic rage. He had not -a moment’s doubt as to what had happened, nor a -moment’s hesitation as to the course he should pursue. -He hurried back to the house and without any -effort at concealment got out his revolver and stuck -it into his belt.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wright,” said Mary, his wife, “whatever have -you got there?” She was filled with amazement.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“A pistol,” replied he with firmness.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What are you going to do with it?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Shoot a damned horse-thief, who has been and -broken into the stable and stolen Queen Katharine.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He jammed down his hat on his head and made -for the door, while Mary Winkle gave a scream that -would have done credit to the finest lady in the land.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You shan’t do any such thing! You will be -killed! What do you know about pistols? You will -be shot by those murderous horse-thieves, and what -<span class='pageno' id='Page_220'>220</span>will become of me—and Willette?” Mary Winkle -urged the very arguments that have before now been -known to make brave men falter and turn back from -running risks.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I—I shan’t do anything rash,” said Wright sheepishly. -“I’ll just go round and rouse the neighbours -and see if we can’t catch him, he can’t have got very -far as yet. What beats me is why Pluto didn’t bark. -The dog’s a fool, I’ll drown him.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, I am thankful he didn’t bark, for you might -have been dead by now if he had. You shan’t drown -him, for he has saved your life. Horse-thieves are -desperate men and wouldn’t respect our principles of -non-resistance,” said Mary Winkle.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ahem,” said her husband, tucking the revolver -out of sight until required.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What we’ve got to do is to go to Madame and -summon an Assembly of Urgency and talk this matter -over, and see what the Community is to do. Wright, -you can’t go and rouse the neighbours till you’ve got -the sanction of the Assembly. You know that is the -rule in all important matters, and this is about the -most important matter that has ever come up for discussion.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Damn discussion!” said Wright angrily. “While -we’re discussing that thief will get away. Sharp is -the word for catching horse-thieves.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But sharp is not the word for determining the -action of Perfection City in an important juncture -<span class='pageno' id='Page_221'>221</span>like the present. Wright, I am surprised at -you, and also at your language,” said his wife severely.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh these infernal horse-thieves would provoke a -saint,—not that I am one,” said Wright, still in a rage -most unbecoming to a professed non-resistant, and -Mary Winkle looked a whole essay full of rebuke at -him. She carried the day, however, and together -they carried their complaint to Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>They found Madame sitting at breakfast along -with Uncle David, and being waited upon by a negro-servant, -Lucinda, the mother of Napoleon Pompey. -The heat of a cooking-stove made Madame ill, therefore -she required a servant, and she had what she -required, principles of equality to the contrary notwithstanding.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Dear, dear!” exclaimed Uncle David in much -excitement and perturbation. “Wal, to think now -o’ what big raskills there is in the worl’, an’ we a-settin’ -’em such a good ’xample here o’ honesty an’ uprightness.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We must summon the Assembly,” said Mary -Winkle firmly. “It is a great pity Brothers Ezra and -Dummy are both away, but there are quite enough -left to deliberate.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“If you think that is the best plan, we had better -do it at once, there should be no time wasted,” -said Madame, looking interrogatively at Brother -Wright’s frowning face.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_222'>222</span>“If you ask me——” he began when his wife interrupted -him.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We don’t ask you, Wright, at least not until -the Assembly of Urgency is convened. Your vote -doesn’t count for more than mine, and I demand an -Assembly.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Wright shrugged his shoulders, and Madame -smiled a little sarcastically. “We will summon it,” -she said.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“An’ I’ll jes’ step roun’ an’ fetch Sister Olive,” -said Uncle David, putting on his hat as he spoke, “an’ -you can bring together the rest of the brethren.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>They came quickly enough when they heard of -the loss of the brown mare, only Olive was absent. -She was ill in bed with a headache and spoke to -Uncle David out of a darkened room.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Brother Wright detailed the loss of the horse, -while the Assembly listened in deepest attention.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What we have to consider is the best means of -recovering the horse if possible,” said Madame. “Does -anyone know what is usually done under similar circumstances?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The neighbours join together and run down the -thief as quickly as possible,” said Brother Wright, -with sharp emphasis.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And having run him down, hang him,” added -Mary Winkle.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That course is impossible for us,” observed -Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_223'>223</span>“That is a point I should like to debate,” said -Brother Wright. “If we are to live here we must -have horses, and we can’t keep horses if it is known -to be against our principles to shoot a horse-thief. -That is all I’ve got to say.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“An’ I want to notice the p’int o’ Injuns,” said -Aunt Ruby. “Ef there’s Injuns as will do any -wickedness un’er the sun, I want to know are we to -sit still an’ be roasted on our own fires by wile savages -like that, or will the men-folks defen’ us as other men -do? An’ I likewise would wish to p’int out to the -’Sembly as border ruffians is mos’ly as bad as Injuns, -an’ it stan’s to reason as horse-thieves is ’bout the -same.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It seems to me,” said Brother Green, speaking -with great deliberation, “that our principles were -formed and adopted because we thought them right. -I don’t see in what we should differ from anybody -else if we took to the usual prairie arms the moment -we felt the shoe pinch! If non-resistance is right, -it should be practised against horse-thieves; if it is -wrong, then we should be prepared to shoot the -thieves of other men’s horses. There is no middle -course. The throwing away of our settled convictions -just because our horse has been stolen is not -consistent.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I’ll vote for non-resistance and the maintenance -of our principles,” said Mary Winkle severely, -“and I further think that what is decided by the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_224'>224</span>majority in this meeting should bind all the members.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She fixed her eye upon Wright with meaning.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is a most difficult juncture,” remarked Madame. -“I wish much we had the help of Brother -Ezra’s wisdom to guide us.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes,” said Uncle David cordially, “an’ sister -Olive too.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I do not see how Sister Olive can have any experience -that would enable her to give good advice -on this subject,” said Madame acidly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, Sister Olive has consider’ble ’cuteness,” remarked -Uncle David. “Now you’d be ’stonished to -hear the wise things she says, an’ she as purty as a -kitten or a rose all the while.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then I guess we’ll just do nothing at all? Is -that the decision of this Assembly?” asked Brother -Wright abruptly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“There is great force in passive resistance,” said -Brother Carpenter, a boneless individual who counted -for little either for work in the fields, or for advice -in the councils, of Perfection City. “Where passive -resistance has been applied by large numbers and for -a long time it has effected great changes,” he observed -conversationally.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I think principles are principles,” said Brother -Green, “and may not be lightly set aside.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, I guess I’ll go home then, since nothing -is going to be done,” said Brother Wright angrily, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_225'>225</span>“and I’ll try and keep hold of the last horse, else -that thief will come and take him too, when he finds -what fools he’s got to deal with.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Assembly broke up, having decided nothing -at all, and having only succeeded in embittering the -feelings of several persons, and in widening the chasm -of differences which had revealed itself in the course -of the debate, a result that has often followed the -meeting of larger and more notorious Assemblies.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Although Brother Wright could not now violate -one of the fundamental doctrines of Perfection City, -it was open to him to use a little worldly wisdom -in the way of setting others upon the track of the -thief. Accordingly, without saying a single word -to Mary Winkle or anyone else, he mounted Rebel -and proceeded to rouse the neighbours who were not -at all bound by non-resistant theories. Nothing gets -up a prairie man’s anger quicker than the knowledge -that a horse-thief has begun active operations in his -vicinity. Horses are absolutely necessary to his daily -life, and to be suddenly deprived of his horses is one -of the greatest calamities that can overtake a settler. -They can take a merciful view of homicide at times, -but never of horse-stealing. Brother Wright relied -on this known propensity, and by visiting the most -hardy of his neighbours had before night started as -relentless a set of hunters after Queen Katharine as -ever put leg over horse or drew pistol from belt.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive meanwhile remained at home all unconscious -<span class='pageno' id='Page_226'>226</span>of what had taken place at the Assembly, and of the -pursuit organized afterwards as the effect of Brother -Wright’s embassies. She had decided in her own mind -that the best course for her to adopt was to keep absolute -silence until Ezra should come home. To him -she would explain everything, and she felt convinced -that he was just enough, albeit no friend of Cotterell’s, -to be ready to sacrifice a horse in order to -facilitate his escape. She did not feel at all so sure -about some of the other members of the Community. -At all events Cotterell’s best chance of safety lay in -her keeping firmly to her resolution of silence about -him. The best way for her to keep silent without exciting -suspicion was not to talk with anyone, and feeling -pretty well convinced that somebody would come -to talk over the great calamity with her, she resolved -to be out of the way. In any case she was very miserable -and very anxious, and could not stay at home, -so she wandered off for a walk. She went to the -spring, then she went to Weddell’s Gully and looked -at the black burnt waste. She tried to think about -the interest and excitement of the fire, but could think -of nothing but Cotterell riding for his life and of -the men who were riding after him. Olive knew -nothing of the second set of men sent after the horse-thief; -her mind was still anxiously dwelling on the -probability of his being captured by those who had -“wanted” him for the murder of Jake Mills. The fact -was, however, that this first hunting-party had given -<span class='pageno' id='Page_227'>227</span>over their quest, for a man must be caught by the -second day on the prairie if he is to be caught at all. -This, however, Olive did not know, and she kept wondering -and picturing all sorts of terrible possibilities. -Had the men found the trail? Would Queen Katharine -hold out till he got to the border? True she -had been resting for a whole day, but then a man’s -life depended on her endurance, and Olive remembered -with a cold dread that Queen Katharine was -only a farm-horse and not trained to such desperate -efforts as this. Then she remembered the others, those -dreadful hunters, were also mounted on farm horses, -and this thought gave her some small comfort. She -came home again after a most wretched day spent -in aimless rambling over the hopeless black prairie -and crept up to the outside platform to scan once -more that dreary waste towards the endless western -horizon. Far away towards the north-west she saw -a band of horsemen huddled together and moving -rapidly in an easterly direction. Olive’s heart stood -still with terror. Oh! who were they? And why -were they riding rapidly? Men rode in bands to -funerals, but then they went slowly: they rode fast -only when out on a man-hunt. She did not call up -Napoleon Pompey, although he could see like a hawk; -she dreaded to hear what his explanation would be. -She watched with straining eyes until the men had -disappeared within the belt of timber that marked -the course of the Creek, then she came downstairs -<span class='pageno' id='Page_228'>228</span>with her miserable discovery hidden in her -heart.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The next day dragged slowly by, Olive feeling -more and more wretched and anxious each moment, -and longing for Ezra’s return. Napoleon Pompey -did nothing but speculate about the horse-thief and -the probabilities of his capture. He regaled Olive -with accounts of the numbers of men out on the hunt, -the desperate character of their courage, and the murderous -accuracy of their aim with revolvers. Sick at -heart she had to listen to him and try and collect her -terrified senses in order to make occasional comments -and replies. Again she hid herself away from her -neighbours and spent most of the day in a corn-stack, -not two hundred yards from the house, whence she -could see plainly without being seen. Uncle David -came and stayed so long waiting for her, that she -nearly smothered in the corn-stack before he went -away, and she was able to come out and catch a breath -of fresh air. Then Aunt Ruby came and peered all -about everywhere, even down into the cellar, and -stayed a good while there examining Olive’s milkpans, -until Olive bethought herself of the device of -sending off Diana to hasten Aunt Ruby’s exit from -the cellar. This device succeeded: Aunt Ruby was -so dismayed at seeing that redoubtable puppy lolloping -up to her that she incontinently fled, and Olive -emerged once more from the suffocation of the corn-stack.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_229'>229</span>Mary Winkle came twice, fortunately without -Willette, for that astute young person would instantly -have discovered Olive, owing to the pertinacious company -of Diana. A dog does not hang around a corn-stack -the live-long day unless there is something interesting -inside it claiming attention. Olive began -to feel like a hunted criminal herself.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Napoleon Pompey had been sent away in the morning -to look for some young cattle that had not been -seen since the fire, and having to go on foot he did not -come back till the afternoon. He burst in upon her -with these appalling words:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Dey’s done cotch him!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Who told you?” asked Olive, not pretending -any miscomprehension of what was only too plain to -her mind.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ole nigger seed ’em. Dey bringin’ him back. -Ole man Cotterell he de hoss-thief, him ridin’ Queen -Katharine when dey cotch him. Nigger tole me he -seed ’em yonder.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Have they shot him?” asked Olive with white -lips.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, dey’s gwine ter jury-try him, den dey hang -him ’cause he done stole hoss and he kill ole Mill’s -Jake.” Napoleon Pompey licked his lips and grinned. -Olive turned from him in horror.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Where have they taken him to?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Dunno. Nigger he ’lowed dey gwine ter Jacksonville.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_230'>230</span>Olive made up her mind and took her resolution. -She questioned Napoleon Pompey very carefully, -found exactly what negro it was from whom he had -obtained his information concerning the capture of -Cotterell. He worked with the Halls who lived over -the other side of Cotton Wood Creek, and she made -minute inquiries as to how to reach their house. Then -she told the boy to give Rebel a double feed of corn -and to bring in the new lariat-rope and mallet and -pin. Rebel had been removed back to his own stable -by Brother Wright’s desire, as he had no belief now -in Pluto as a watch-dog. Napoleon Pompey was open-mouthed -with wonder at Olive’s directions about the -horse, and asked “whar she gwine?” She told him -to do as she bid him and to say nothing to anybody -about it, whereat he was still more open-mouthed. -Olive got a large shawl and rolled it up into a tight -bundle, and then dressed herself in a strong serviceable -stuff dress and went to supper with Napoleon Pompey, -to whom she never spoke a single word. When supper -was over she sent him down to his mother to ask -her to bake a pumpkin-pie for her. Napoleon Pompey -said he would go “fust thing in de mornin’,” and -she told him sternly to go at once and do as he was -bid. When Napoleon Pompey came back Olive was -gone, and so was Rebel, with lariat-rope picket-pin -and mallet, and so was her tightly rolled shawl.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Perfection City had further cause for amazement -and hurried meeting in Assembly.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_231'>231</span>Olive, meanwhile, was riding fast towards Cotton -Wood Creek which she reached and crossed by the -last shreds of daylight. She stumbled up out of the -bottom-lands on to the high prairie, then perceiving by -the sound of Rebel’s hoofs that at last she had struck -grass again, for the fire had not crossed the Creek, -she determined to camp. It was a black night, but -she knew how to drive her picket and unsaddle her -horse blindfold. Taking her saddle and shawl out of -the circle of Rebel’s night-range, she wrapped herself -up to wait until daylight should permit her again to -go forward. She was not in the least frightened, although -the prairie wolves were yelping in the distance. -The nervous terrors that had beset her when sitting -in her own comfortable little kitchen with her dog -at her feet, and a stout lad in the room overhead, -were quite gone. Yet there was enough to frighten -a more valiant person than our poor little Olive, -with her half-defined thoughts and her generous impulses.</p> - -<p class='c010'>What was it she proposed to herself in this expedition? -First of all to overtake Cotterell and his -captors, and then to do what the wit of woman could -devise to save him from their fury. In her ignorance -of prairie feelings and ideas she attached no importance -to the fact that he would have been captured -riding the well-known brown mare belonging to Perfection -City. He would of course explain that she had -lent him the animal, and that question would at once -<span class='pageno' id='Page_232'>232</span>drop out of the debate. Then the terrible one of the -shooting of Jake Mills would have to be settled. That -was what she feared for Cotterell, and that was where -her testimony and pleading might avail. She knew -from his own lips how the fatal affray had occurred, -and she would be able in some measure, perhaps, to -counteract the evidence of that wicked lying negro -who out of revenge was going to swear away Cotterell’s -life. Olive hated to do it, but she knew she could -say things to any western jury that would make it -difficult for them to admit negro evidence. For once -in a way the mighty race-prejudice could be relied -upon to work for justice, and poor Olive, fanatical -friend of the negro, had to confess she was glad to -have so strong a lever to her hand in this dreadful -emergency.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Meanwhile the never-ending night wore on. How -long, how unutterably long are the hours of darkness -to them who wait sleeplessly for the dawn! The -twinkling stars passed over her head, and Olive tried -to fix her eyes steadily on one or two of them in order -to convince herself that they really did move after all. -Thus staring at the stars, her eyes became weary, and -the lids dropped slowly over them, and she fell into a -troubled sleep, haunted with fearsome visions.</p> - -<p class='c010'>She must have slept some little time, for when she -awoke the stars had certainly changed places and -were moreover becoming pale in the first grey streaks -of morning. Olive awoke shivering with cold and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_233'>233</span>drenched with the heavy prairie dew. Her teeth chattered, -so she could hear them like a piece of broken -machinery moving inside her head, while her fingers -were almost numb. As soon as she could make out -Rebel in the approaching dawn, she saddled him, and, -woman-like, did not forget the lariat-rope, picket-pin -and mallet, even in the midst of her terrible anxiety. -She thought of Cotterell in the hands of his foes, and -the recollection came back to her, like a blow that -almost stunned her, that this would be the last time -he would ever see the sun rise unless she hurried to -his rescue. The thought spurred her to renewed activity, -the horror of it drove the chilled blood with a -rush to her heart. She caught her breath, and then -felt hot. She did not shiver any more, and her chattering -teeth were set in a desperate resolve. She -clambered up on the horse’s back and set off at a gallop -towards that house where she would get positive -news which would help her to find the lynching-party -quickly. Ah! merciful God! The lynching-party! -She urged Rebel into a harder gallop, for the sun was -just beginning to appear over the horizon, and she -could see where she was going. She reached the -cabin where the Halls lived in due course. They didn’t -know her, but they invited her to breakfast with prairie -courtesy. She saw the negro man who had told -the news to Napoleon Pompey.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, he seed ’em totin’ ole man Cotterell back.” -There was never any doubt in Olive’s mind as to the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_234'>234</span>fact that they had caught him, what she wanted to -know was the destination of the party. “He ’lowed -dey was gwine ter Jacksonville, ’cause down yonder -was whar dey hang de las’ man; den dey jury-try -him, an’ Jacksonville mighty handy anyhow, dar heaps -o’ trees dar.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive could not repress a shudder of horror which -the negro saw, and so did the Halls. She would not -stop a moment to eat a bit of breakfast, notwithstanding -their urgent entreaties, but got directions as to -the shortest road to Jacksonville and hastened away -on her errand of mercy.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Mrs. Hall looking after her rapidly vanishing figure, -and remembering the look of misery on her face, -“reckoned ’twas one o’ them po’ silly gals as is cotched -by a yaller ’stache. She was powerful sorry for her -anyhow, she ’peared mos’ broke down an’ sick. She -’lowed if the boys hed hung ole man Cotterell when -Glover’s gal shot herself ’cause he wouldn’t marry her, -’twould hev been a sight better anyhow.” Her husband -was of opinion that “gals was fules gapin’ a’ter -strangers an’ furrin fellers, not bein’ content along o’ -their nat’ral men-folks as b’longed to ’em, app’inted -by the hand o’ Providence.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive rode through the hot September day feeling -very faint and tired, but never for a moment faltering -in her determination; and well on in the afternoon -she came to Jacksonville, a place with two houses -standing and the stakes for three more stuck into the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_235'>235</span>ground to signify possession. There was only one -woman in the place along with a flock of children. -No sign of men anywhere. The woman did not know -much about the movements of the “boys.” “They -hadn’t passed that way at all, but she hearn tell they -had been out catching a horse-thief and murderer, and -they had caught him too, a Britisher, she was told, -and it was a shame those foreigners should be allowed -to come to America to steal honest folks horses, and -true born Americans too, as always worked for every -cent before they spent it. They had taken him to -Union Mills to try him and she hoped—well she didn’t -want to say anything unbecoming to a professing -Christian, but wouldn’t Olive come in and eat a bit -and rest before going further, she didn’t look fit for -such hard riding.” Olive, feeling sick with disappointment, -accepted a morsel of food, and asking her -way to Union Mills started off. She had come thirty-eight -miles already, and if she had only known where -to go she would have been there hours ago. It was -nearly twenty miles to Union Mills, she could not -hope to reach it that night, but she started nevertheless -although the sun was getting low in the west. -The horrid thought kept pressing against her heart: -was she already too late? But no, she would force -it out of her mind, and come what might she would -never stop until she had done her utmost to save him. -She therefore pressed forward, but Rebel showed signs -of giving out. He lay down with her suddenly and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_236'>236</span>tried to roll. This would never do. All depended on -her horse, if he failed her then Cotterell’s last chance -of life was gone. She rode slowly, now following a -prairie track and now riding along side it, because -Rebel stumbled in the ruts. It got dark, she did not -know where she was, but followed the track for some -time mechanically. A light suddenly showed up on -her left. Rebel pricked up his ears and turned towards -it. After some difficulty she reached the door. Could -they harbour her for the night? She was caught out -and could go no further.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Land o’ Goshen! ’course they could, an’ whar -in sin was she gwine that time o’ night ’thout nobody, -not even a dawg?” Olive said it was a case of life -and death and she must do it. They were deeply -sorry, they fed her with corn-bread and bacon, they -fed her horse, and were kindness itself. The cabin -had only one room with a bed in one corner for the -man and his wife. Olive was desperately tired. The -wife said “she’d be doggauned sick ’less she went to -bed.” So Olive lay down on the bed, and the settler’s -wife lay down beside her, and the man slept on the -floor with his head on a pile of corn-shucks. Long -before daylight he went out and fed her horse. The -wife cooked a good breakfast and pressed Olive again -and again “to scrouge down suthin’ more,” and sent -her off with many good wishes as to her finding her -husband better, who, she was sure, ’ud be tickled to -death at seeing her.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_237'>237</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XVIII.<br /> <span class='large'>LYNCH-LAW.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Union Mills was full of people, mostly men, and -Phillipps’ Store, which was the only shop in the place, -as well as being the Post-Office, was crowded to suffocation. -Those who couldn’t get inside stood around -the door talking loudly as they chewed their tobacco. -Inside the talking and tobacco-chewing were carried -on likewise. A ring of men were sitting on barrels -and nail-kegs and coils of rope and extemporized chairs -of all kinds. Of these, twelve arranged together at -one side formed the jury, and the rest were witnesses -and spectators. In their midst stood Cotterell. He -was not bound or specially guarded in any way, but -he was unarmed, while pistols hung at the belts of all -the other men there. Cotterell held his head erect, -his eyes looked clear, and his lips were firm. A careful -observer might have noticed that his nostrils sometimes -twitched, but his hands were perfectly steady. -Yet he was on trial for his life, without appeal and -without a friend in “the court.” Several of the men -had asked him questions which he had answered, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_238'>238</span>shortly and sharply perhaps, but with a perfectly steady -voice.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I dunno what we’re gwine on talkin’ for,” said -a jury man with a twang that bespoke Arkansas. -“Hain’t it clar this hyar feller, what was wanted for -the shootin’ o’ Ole Mills’ boy, he’s the same cuss as -stole the mare from them damned fools up to ’Fection -City? He’s got ter be hanged, anyhow. I want ter -go home. I hain’t a-gwine to stick hyar all day, by -Gosh!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I did not steal the mare,” said Cotterell, his nostrils -dilating.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You hear that,” said the foreman, who sat on a -sugar-barrel.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You was ridin’ her when we come up t’yer,” -said one who had been out on the hunt.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I was.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“How’d yer git her then ’cept by stealin’?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She was lent to me by one of the members of -the Community,” said Cotterell.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“They’s damn fools, I know, but I reckon they -hain’t such all-fired damn fools as ter give their best -hoss ter you,” said the man from Arkansas.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Cotterell’s lips curled with contempt, but he did -not speak.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Look hyar, fellow jury-men,” said one of them -who prided himself on the accuracy of his language -on all occasions. “I’d axe leave ter make a few remarks. -We were informed by the gentlemen what -<span class='pageno' id='Page_239'>239</span>caught the prisoner that they were notified o’ the -stealing by one o’ them Perfection City fellers. If -the horse was lent how is it the owner didn’t know -about the lending?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes,” said one of the gentlemen referred to, -“ole man Wright, he come and tol’ me ’bout the stealin’ -o’ the hoss, an’ he ’lowed, on’y it was agin his principles, -he’d like ter hev been out with the boys. It -don’t ’pear ter my min’ as there was much len’ing -’bout it.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“This trial, gen’lemen, is all fair and square an’ -’cordin’ to law. We’ll settle this p’int ’fore we go -further,” said the foreman. “You say the horse was -lent to you?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I do say so emphatically,” replied the prisoner.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wal, we’ve got one o’ them ’Fection City fellers -to say the hoss was stolen, he’ll swear to that, an’ I -reckon by their idees he was part-owner of it anyhow. -Now, that’s the witness agin yer. Who have you got -to swear yer was lent the horse fair and square?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I have had no chance of getting any witness, as -you very well know,” replied Cotterell.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wal, I reckon yo’ hev bin kep’ purty toler’ble -close. Anyhow, it shan’t be said as we hain’t gi’en yer -a good chance. Now, which might be yer witness to -the len’ing? There hain’t such a damn sight o’ folks -up to ’Fection City as ’ud make yer forget so ready -as all that.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Cotterell hesitated.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_240'>240</span>“Hain’t yo’ got no tongue? Who lent yer the -hoss, I say?” repeated the foreman.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Mrs. Weston,” said Cotterell at last.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That’s a lie, anyhow,” burst out one of the bystanders.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is not a lie, it is the truth,” said Cotterell -hotly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wal, now, see hyar. I was over to ole man Weston’s, -an’ I seed Mis’ Weston myself, an’ she tole me -she hadn’t sot eyes on yer. Now then?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>It was Owen who spoke, he had been out, as we -know, on the first hunting-party and was now present -as a spectator. He would have been on the jury, only -it was considered more delicate for him to stand aside, -considering that he had been out to catch Cotterell, -and prairie men are punctilious in the observance of -all those forms of etiquette with which they are familiar. -Although not on the jury, Owen was quite free -to intervene in the trial, he was one of the foremost -settlers on the prairie. Cotterell looked hard at him -as he spoke.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Did she tell you that herself?” he asked, drawing -his eyebrows tightly together.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, she tole me herself,” replied Owen.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then I have nothing further to say,” said Cotterell, -setting his teeth grimly under his moustache. -He realised very clearly what he was doing, he was -throwing away his last chance of life; but his resolution -never wavered for a moment. The thought -<span class='pageno' id='Page_241'>241</span>flashed through his mind that most people would -think him a fool to act as he did, risk the certainty -of death for the sake of a fantastic loyalty to a woman -who could never be to him anything but the distant -friend another man’s wife should be. Then came the -recollection that no one, not even she for whom he -was sacrificing his life, would ever know what he had -done. There was something fantastic surely in all -this. Their whole acquaintance had been fantastic -in a sense: Mr. Perseus was a fancy, but how dangerously -sweet it had been while it lasted. And now it -was over, he would never hear the sound of her voice -again nor feel the touch of her little hand. Poor -child! He could well imagine, with that jealous husband -of hers, how she might have been driven to save -herself from his anger by declaring she had never seen -him. Jealousy was a monster surely, if there ever -was a monster on this earth. Cotterell almost smiled -to himself as he thought how once again he would -act the part of Perseus to the unhappy one and save -her by his silence from the monster’s fangs. Thoughts -such as these swept through his mind as he stood facing -the jury, while they were somewhat nonplussed -as to their future proceedings owing to his determination -not to say anything further. It appeared almost -indecent to hang a man who would not argue out the -points with them: they had never met such a one -before.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“There’s a gal hyar a-wantin’ ter come in,” said -<span class='pageno' id='Page_242'>242</span>one of the men who was standing just outside the -door.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Keep her hout,” said one of the jury. “We -hain’t agoin’ ter hev any women a screech-owlin’ hyar. -It’s one o’ his gals as he’s lef’ to die maybe of a broken -heart ’thout the satisfaction o’ bein’ a widder.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Let me pass, please,” said an imperious little -voice that thrilled Cotterell to the heart. “I am one -of the witnesses in this trial. I have important evidence -to give.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The men fell back and left the passage free. Western -men, even armed ones, can’t do anything against -a woman.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive came into the crowded room, Olive dirty, -dishevelled, travel-stained, her face begrimed with -prairie dust, her hair unkempt, her dress crumpled -and with many a rent in it. Cotterell hardly knew -her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Who mought yer be, miss?” inquired one of the -jury.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am Mrs. Weston.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Whar’s yer husband? Yer hadn’t oughter be hyar -a follerin’ this feller roun’ the prairie. Tain’t——”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Shut yer mouth or I’ll send a bullet down yer -gullet,” roared the foreman, putting his hand to his -revolver. “Take a cheer,” he added, gallantly offering -Olive the sugar-barrel upon which he had been sitting -in his official capacity.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, thank you,” said Olive. “I will stand.” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_243'>243</span>She took her place beside Cotterell, but without looking -at him or addressing a single word to him.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What are you trying this man for?” she asked, -facing the jury dauntlessly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wal, mos’ly fur stealin’ yer hoss,” said one of -them.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He didn’t steal it. I myself lent him the horse. -It belongs to us,” was the reply.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“By Gosh!” exclaimed Owen, “you tole me yerself -yer hadn’t sot n’ary an eye on him.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“So I hadn’t when you were there, he did not -come until the next day.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The jury whistled collectively and incredulously.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Silence!” said the foreman.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I can now explain,” said Cotterell. “I didn’t go -to Mrs. Weston’s house until two days after—after -Mills’ death——”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“A’ter yer killed him,” corrected Owen.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And you were there the next day,” concluded -Cotterell, not taking any notice of the interruption.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, that is it. Mr. Cotterell came the next evening -but one after the prairie fire, and I gave him the -mare to go away on, because his colt broke loose from -the bars in the dark.” Olive spoke quite quietly, with -no trace of excitement beyond a knitting of her pretty -eyebrows.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wal, I reckon we hain’t got nuthin’ more to do -then,” said one of the jury-men, getting up from his -nail-keg and strapping up his holster.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_244'>244</span>“There’s the murder too,” objected one, “not as -I put it fust noways, on’y we might go inter it now, -seein’ there hain’t nuthin’ ter be got outer the hoss-stealin’ -business.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yer hain’t got evidence for the murder case too, -has yer?” sneered the man who had been so peremptorily -silenced by the foreman on his first objection -to Olive’s presence.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Only this. You are not non-resistants, are you?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We hain’t such blasted fools,” observed the Arkansas -man genially.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, then, when this poor Jake Mills in his -drunken fury came up and fired at Mr. Cotterell, was -he or was he not to fire in self-defence, according to -your ideas and practice?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Of course he was,” said the jury in unison.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then that is what he did. Jake Mills fired -first.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Two shots,” said Cotterell in a low voice, but -every man in the room heard him distinctly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That coloured man we saw yesterday swore that -Cotterell lay in wait for Mills, and fired from under -cover as he came up to the house,” said a man from -Illinois who had not spoken hitherto.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wal now,” said the Arkansas man, “I didn’t -say nuthin’ ’bout that yesterday. Long as it was hoss-stealin’ -we knowed whar we was an’ what we hed -ter do, ’cause we hed the hoss. But this hyar shootin’ -business hain’t noways the same. Any gen’leman hyar -<span class='pageno' id='Page_245'>245</span>might hev a difference with any other gen’leman, an’ -’s long as it were done fair, I don’t see as how anyone -hes any business to say they shouldn’t settle it -with pistols or bowie-knives accordin’ to taste. We -are all for freedom in this country I reckon, an’ that’s -how it hes been done in Arkansas often an’ satisfact’ry.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“This ain’t Arkansas, an’ we are determined to -put a stop to this shootin’ round every day,” said the -Illinois man firmly. “It ain’t respectable and it stops -quiet settlers from coming here to take farms. We -are going to stop it.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then you should have stopped Jake Mills when -he went to Mr. Cotterell’s and fired at him first,” said -Olive quickly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“There’s somethin’ in that,” said the foreman, -whose native gallantry led him to side with a pretty -woman. “In a trial we hev to consider all the p’ints -o’ the case. I consider that as for the horse-stealin’, -that hes mostly broke down under evidence. We must -now go into the other charge, which is shootin’ Jake -Mills, an’ a damned scoundrel he was too.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The jury laughed pleasantly at this sally from -the bench, or to speak more accurately from the sugar-barrel. -Even Cotterell seemed a trifle amused, only -Olive did not unknit her eyebrows, nor did the hard -lines around her mouth in the least relax.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We are in consider’ble difficulty ’bout this here -shootin’ case,” continued the foreman when the mirth -<span class='pageno' id='Page_246'>246</span>had subsided, “and if I had knowed as that was all -we was up for tryin’, I don’t reckon we ’ud all on us -ha’ been here as is now collected together to maintain -the rights an’ freedom o’ our country.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The jury murmured applause, upon recognising -well-known Fourth of July phrases, which have perennial -power to stir the American breast.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why ain’t we agoin’ on with this blamed trial?” -asked an impatient jury man. “We hev purty nigh -lost a whole day’s work a’ready an’ hain’t finished -nothin’ yit. When we strung up ole Howard for hoss-stealin’ -we hed the job done clar up afore noon, an’ -we could go home to dinner comfor’ble.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive gave a faint inarticulate cry and put her -hands up to her ears, or was it perchance to her neck? -Cotterell turned anxiously towards her as if she was -going to faint, and he would catch her before she fell. -She steadied herself in an instant and again faced the -jury like a tiny lioness, small in body but with unconquerable -courage.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, gen’lemen, I’m agreeable to proceed with -the evidence,” said the foreman graciously.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I was told we had evidence o’ deliberate murder,” -said the Illinois juror.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We most on us hearn what the nigger said,” remarked -another carelessly, “some on us fooled roun’ -with that yesterday an’ lost a fair half day’s work.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wal, gen’lemen, you could ha’ had the nigger -again here to-day, on’y it was not considered necessary, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_247'>247</span>as we was mostly of opinion to fin’ a true bill -on the horse-stealin’ count. We can send for the nigger. -He’s mos’ likely sneakin’ roun’ here. Them niggers -is jes’ like buzzards, they can scent out where -there’s a hangin’,—ahem, gen’lemen, we’ll proceed,” -said the foreman, suddenly recollecting himself and -Olive’s presence barely in time.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I vote for sending for the coloured man,” said -the Illinois juror firmly. “We’ll confront him with -the prisoner.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Nigger be damned!” roared the Arkansas man -jumping violently off his nail-keg. “Yo’ reckon I’m -agoin’ ter sit hyar an’ see a white man hanged on -nigger evidence. No, sir. I won’t stan’ such a insult -to my race as that. There be some things a -man o’ honour won’t stan’ an’ that’s one o’ them. Thar -hain’t no man spryer to light out an’ catch a hoss-thief -nor I be, an’ I’ll do my dooty in the hangin’ too, -an’ hol’ the rope as tight as ony o’ yo’all. But I’ll -bust up afore I’ll take nigger evidence ’gin a white -man. I reckon there hain’t none o’ yo’ gen’lemen as -is pertikler sot on that nigger, be yer?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive’s heart gave a bound of joy as the Arkansas -juror poured forth his torrent of protest. Alas, -poor Olive and her high-flown love of the black race! -She was bound to confess that her best hope for effecting -the end she was struggling for, lay in the blind -race-prejudice of this ignorant Southerner.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I guess we ought to take all the evidence, white -<span class='pageno' id='Page_248'>248</span>or black, that bears on the case,” observed he of Illinois.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“If that thar nigger comes inter this hyar room -to conten’ with this hyar jury an’ give his evidence, -I’ll shoot him, ’fore he gits over that door-sill, so I -will, by God, an’ no man as knows me ever said I went -back o’ my word in shootin’.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Arkansas juror faced them with his black -eyes ablaze and his dark visage twitching with suppressed -fury. He was quivering under the sting of -what was to him an intolerable insult, and there -was nothing he would not do to wipe out that insult.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive looked at Cotterell for the first time, and -as their eyes met he was horrified to see the white, -drawn expression on her face. He attributed it to the -very natural womanly fear that she might be involved -in a promiscuous shooting affray in that crowded room.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Don’t be alarmed, they will not bring the negro -in here,” he said soothingly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am not afraid for myself,” she answered, simply -and truthfully.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wal, gen’lemen,” said the foreman pleasantly. -“I reckon we hev finished for this spell anyhow. I -consider the prisoner hes hed as fair a trial as ony man -could wish, and I hev on’y ter thank yer all for yer -help upon this occasion in maintain’ the laws and freedom -of our beloved country, as belongs to the duty of -free-born citizens.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_249'>249</span>“Hurrah!” said the jury, with another relapse -into Fourth of Julyism.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We’ve purty nigh lost two whole days’ work ’long -o’ this hyar foolin’,” observed the Arkansas man angrily. -“Them coons up to ’Fection City is nat’ral born -fools anyhow. Fust they blaze roun’ an’ set us on ter -run down a hoss-thief fur ’em. Soon as we’ve done -cotch him, they sen’ roun’ a woman to say the hoss -was lent. If the blamed critters come to me again, -reckon I’ll stick to my plough-handles. I’ll not light -out for them, you bet.” And he immediately walked -out of the store followed by the entire jury and the -foreman.</p> - -<p class='c010'>When the Court broke up, Olive and Cotterell were -left alone in the store along with Phillipps, the storekeeper. -The latter handed Cotterell his revolver, -which the jury had considerately left for him.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I suppose I’m a free man,” said Cotterell, with -more sign of emotion in his manner than he had yet -shown.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Thanks to Mrs. Weston you are free,” said Phillipps.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He turned to Olive, who seemed in a daze, and -said, “Shall we go now?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes,” she answered, and they left the store together.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The crowd in the road before the door was already -fast dispersing. The exciting climax for which they -had waited was not to come off, so there remained -<span class='pageno' id='Page_250'>250</span>no further inducement to stay. Some straggled into -the smithy, some went towards the mills, but most of -the men were getting their horses, putting on saddles, -and settling halters and reins. The Arkansas man -had a waggon and was hitching his horses to it, as -Olive, riding on Rebel, and Cotterell on Queen Katharine, -passed by.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Be yo’ gwine with him?” asked the Arkansas -man, pointing to Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes,” said Olive shortly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wish we’d hanged the damned cuss ’fore she -come in,” said the Arkansas man regretfully to his -companion, who had also been present at the trial. -“She’s gwine ter ’lope with him, an’ ole man Weston -he on’y jes’ married her las’ spring.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Reckon she don’t like ’Fection City idees. Gals -mos’ allers likes a fightin’ man best, an’ this hyar one -is reg’lar downright handsome too.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“If we’d on’y hed a-hanged him she couldn’t hev -run off with the coon,” repeated the Arkansas man -with conviction, shaking his head sorrowfully as he -watched the two disappearing among the trees on the -South Fork.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_251'>251</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XIX.<br /> <span class='large'>OLIVE MISSING.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>There was dire dismay at Perfection City when -the flight of Olive became known. Napoleon Pompey -informed Madame of it the same evening, but, for -reasons best known to herself, she did not announce -the fact until the next morning, when the brethren -and sisters flocked to her house to talk over this surprising -event in all its bearings. The members accounted -for it in different ways and explained it according -to their preconceived notions. Madame at -once said that she had evidently left her husband -whom she had never really loved at all.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I think we must all have noticed how utterly -unsuited she was to him and how uncongenial. She -was no fit companion for a man of Ezra’s mind,” said -Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wal, now,” observed Uncle David, “I think such -a purty little gal with sweet little kitten-ways was -a most congenial companion.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Uncle, you don’t understand men. Men with -minds and high aspirations want a companion capable -<span class='pageno' id='Page_252'>252</span>of sharing their ideas and aims, they don’t want a -kitten or a plaything.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“My ’pinion is most men is satisfied with kittens, -if they’re as soft an’ coaxin’ in their ways as little -Ollie is,” replied Uncle David.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I guess she couldn’t stand the bondage of marriage,” -said Mary Winkle. “When she first came -she was all for being absorbed in her husband, she -would be Mrs. Weston forsooth, she wanted to sink -her individuality. She has naturally found out her -mistake. I respect her and sympathize with her in -her efforts to shake off the trammels of custom and -make a dash for freedom. I dare say we shall soon -have her coming back again, having resumed her own -name, and perhaps ready to lecture on the absurdity -of women giving up their names on marriage, as if -they ceased to exist. Marriage under these circumstances -becomes a sort of death to a woman. It is extinction.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“’Tain’t no such thing, Sister Mary,” said Uncle -David. “It is an honourable distinction our forefathers -have used, findin’ the same handy and convenient. -I don’t believe little Ollie has gone a-lecterin’, -she ain’t that sort o’ gal. I guess she’s jes’ tired -an’ lonesome feelin’, an’ thought she’d ride out an’ -meet Ezry comin’ home.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She hasn’t done that, Uncle, for I’ve seen a man -from over Jacksonville way, and he told me she had -been seen the other side of Big Cotton Wood Creek, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_253'>253</span>and that she was asking for news of Cotterell,” said -Brother Wright.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then she has gone to him,” said Madame with -decision.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She hain’t neither,” contradicted Uncle David, -“you hain’t got no business to tell wicked stories like -that.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She has been carrying on a secret acquaintance -with him all the summer. I know that, for I surprised -them together at the spring some weeks ago.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She didn’t do nothin’ that was dishonest an’ secret,” -said Uncle David anxiously. “I ain’t agoin’ -ter believe anything ’gin little Ollie. She’s a good -little gal.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He wiped his forehead nervously with his large -bony hand, and then took out his red handkerchief -and passed it several times across his face.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The power of love is strong,” said Madame, looking -at him with compassion.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, yes,” he replied quickly, “jes’ what I say, -an’ she did love her husban’, an’ hain’t done nothin’ -wrong.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She didn’t love him,” burst out Madame with -excitement. “It often filled me with anger to see -how she took all his love and made no return. Everyone -saw it.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I guess the rest of us didn’t pay so much attention -to them and their affairs. We had our own,” said -Mary Winkle, at which Madame winced.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_254'>254</span>“You don’t know what her feelin’s was. She loved -Ezry, else she wouldn’t ha’ married him an’ followed -him way out here on this lonesome prairie. I ain’t -never goin’ to believe wrong o’ little Ollie.” Uncle -David’s big chest heaved with a sob that would burst -out.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame placed her hand gently upon his. “The -falling of one’s idol has always been a grievous sorrow, -and has bruised many a loving heart.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She wasn’t fit to live here on the prairie,” said -Aunt Ruby, wiping her spectacles with her big checked -handkerchief. “She was too young an’ purty an’ frolicksome -to be here anyhow. Ezry hed ought ter hev -kep’ her in the East, where she was raised, an’ where -she could go to parties, an’ put on purty clo’s, an’ -dance, an’ so forth. It’s nat’ral for them young gals -to dance an’ love fin’ry, jes’ as it’s nat’ral for lambs to -skip an’ play in the sunshine. They is born so, an’ -I guess the Lord put the right idees into their min’s -at the beginnin’. I don’ wan’ ter skip, an’ Sister Mary -she don’t wan’ ter neither, we hev got ole an’ stiff -by now; but that chile she did wan’ ter, on’y mos’ -likely she didn’t know it. Sweet purty little thing, too, -she was, it done my eyes good ter look at her. She -wasn’t fit for ’Fection City, we hain’t got nothin’ for -young folks as don’t care mos’ly to argy ’bout principles, -they loves ter be gay. Why, it wasn’t further -back nor day ’fore yesterday she come ter my house -’long with that pup o’ hern. My stars, didn’t she -<span class='pageno' id='Page_255'>255</span>laugh when it took ter scootin’ roun’ ’mong my hens! -It done me a heap o’ good ter hear her, it was like -a silver bell, an’ she hedn’t nothin’ for to amuse her. -I think it was downright sinful o’ Brother Ezry to -take such a sweet purty little thing ’way from her -proper home.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Aunt Ruby ended her long speech with the twin-sob -to the one that had escaped from Uncle David.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Sister, you’re a downright good woman,” said -he gratefully. The two old people nodded at each -other in complete harmony of affection and affliction.</p> - -<p class='c010'>A long day passed over Perfection City, a day -without any positive news or confirmation of previous -rumours. The brethren were full of their various -theories in regard to Olive’s disappearance, which they -found necessary to discuss and re-discuss over and -over again. All work was at a stand-still, for the members -congregated at Madame’s house both early and -late, as they considered she would be the first to get -any news from the outside world. Without a horse -they were practically cut off from all communication -with the outside, and were entirely dependent on the -thoughtfulness of such neighbours as might come to -bring them news. It was in the afternoon of the day -of the abortive trial at Union Mills that the first authentic -tidings reached them. They were talking the -matter over together for the fiftieth time when Brother -Green was seen coming very hurriedly from his forge -along with a stranger, who waited outside the door -<span class='pageno' id='Page_256'>256</span>with an amount of diffidence unusual on the prairie. -Brother Green’s grimy face wore a look of alarm.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We’ve got news of them both,” he exclaimed, -bursting into the room regardless of ceremony, he who -was generally the most heedful of the little forms of -politeness. “She has gone after him, and they’ve gone -away, and he stole her and said we lent her to him,” -said Brother Green distractedly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Brother, I don’t understand,” said Madame. -“Who lent what? And where has she gone?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I mean Sister Olive—oh! I’m so sorry—poor -Brother Ezra!—Sister Olive has gone off with Cotterell, -and it was he who stole Queen Katharine, only -it was proved at the trial that she lent her to him.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Brother Green was too distressed to be a good witness.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Who told you?” asked Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Whoever did told a lie,” said Uncle David.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He’s outside. He was at the trial and has come -to tell us about it.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then bring him in,” said Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The stranger entered, looking somewhat abashed. -He was truly sorry to be the bearer of such bad tidings.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Young man, before you begin this wicked tale, -I charge you think of God and tell the truth.” Uncle -David stood before him like an avenging spirit.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Sir, excuse him,” said Madame in her sweet -voice. “The old man is painfully distracted by grief, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_257'>257</span>he does not know what he is saying. You have come -to bring us definite news, have you not?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I’m thund’rin’ sorry, so I am, an’ if we’d ha’ -knowed how it would ha’ ended, the boys ’ud ha’ -made sure by bangin’ him fust an’ havin’ the trial -a’terwards.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Are you speaking about Mr. Cotterell? We have -not had any news for days, so perhaps you will explain -it all clearly,” said Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, wal, when ole man Wright come an’ tole -as how yer hoss was stole, the boys they ’lowed as -you was all such damn—such all-fired pertikler folks -as didn’t do yer own shootin’, they ’lowed they oughter -kinder be neighbourly an’ do it for yer. So we sot -out to run down the cuss. We got word from a teamster -from beyond the Creek, he seed a man on a mare -jes’ like yourn agoin’ toward the border. So we -picked up the trail right away. He warn’t worth a -red cent to hide a trail. He jes’ follered straight -ahead ’long the road, axin’ his way an’ follerin’ plumb -on the d’rections. Any fool could ha’ run down such -a coon as him. He war ridin’ yer brown mare when -they come up, an’ he didn’t show fight, jes’ said he’d -stan’ trial, an’ he ’lowed it ’ud be fair. The boys calkerlated -it wouldn’t be a fair trial ’less they toted him -roun’ to Union Mills, which are his own post-office, -an’ if that ain’t treatin’ a man fair nothin’ is. An’ -they got a new set o’ men to stan’ jury as what cotch -him, ’cause mos’ on ’em was that mad for leavin’ the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_258'>258</span>corn-shuckin’ to run down such a nat’ral born fool, -they’d ha’ mos’ likely strung him slap up. It war all -done fair, we kep’ him down to Phillipps’ store over -night, an’ I tuk a spell o’ stan’in’ guard. We didn’t -sen’ for none o’ yo’uns, ’cause we knowed yer be all -sot agin hangin’, an’ yer can’t have a man on a jury -who’s sot agin hangin’ when that’s all yer want ter -git done, can yer? So we was a-tryin’ of him fair, with -ole man Strong for foreman ’cause he knowed all the -forms, as he was out to the hangin’ of Howard an’ -that thief over to Jacksonville an’ mos’ on ’em. He -was pertikler to do it all straight ’cordin’ to law, an’ -we was gittin’ ’long slick, when Mis’ Weston come an’ -bust it all up. She said she lent him the hoss, an’ it -war hern.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The narrator stopped to observe the effect of this -announcement. He felt repaid.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t believe it,” sobbed Uncle David.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I hearn her say it,” said the man. His complete -enjoyment of the effect was marred by the tears -of that poor old man.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We had to let him off, o’ course, for the stealin’, -an’ we couldn’t hang him for the shootin’ o’ Jake -Mills, ’cause some o’ the boys said they’d never hang -on nigger evidence, an’ we hadn’t none other. Anyhow, -that nigger he drowned hisself in lies right away, -an’ we didn’t lay much on what he done tole us, you -bet. But we was powerful sorry a’terwards when we -seen what we’d done. She’s gone off with him plumb.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_259'>259</span>“No, no, not that,” said Uncle David, “tain’t so, -you didn’t un’erstan’.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We axed her war she a-gwine with him, an’ she -said, ‘yes,’ I hearn her say so.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She was on’y goin’ home,” said Uncle David -tremulously.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She had not come home half an hour ago,” observed -Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“They rode ’long to the South Fork, an’ that don’t -lie on her road home from Union Mills, do it? I -stayed behin’ at the Store, the boys was talkin’ if they -hadn’t bes’ go right a’ter him an’ shoot him anyhow, -but we ’lowed he’d ha’ showed fight then, an’ maybe -she’d ha’ been killed in the shootin’. Yer can’t never -say who’ll be hit when everybody’s firin’ like blazes. -I didn’t quit the Mills for a spell, an’ mos’ the boys -was ’ready gone home, an’ they allowed I oughter tell -yer we done our best for yer.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>They thanked him, and he went his way.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Somebody has got to tell Brother Ezra, he will -be coming home to-night,” said the blacksmith, wiping -his sleeve across his forehead. “Poor Ezra! What -a home-coming!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Brother Green remained silent for a long time, -then he spoke again in a soft low voice, almost as if -he was communing with himself.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“When I laid my young wife in her grave with -her babe on her breast, fifteen years ago last Midsummer, -I thought I had known the greatest sorrow -<span class='pageno' id='Page_260'>260</span>possible to the human heart. But my loss was not -so great as Brother Ezra’s, his cup is filled to the brim, -and oh, how bitter! How great a power of suffering -lies in the human heart!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is through suffering that the heart is purified,” -said Madame to him in reply.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Aye, so they say: but some sorts of sorrow may -very well embitter. People talk of the purifying by -sorrow. It seems to me that happiness can purify -too. We are all sure to get our share of the sorrow -in this world, it is the happiness that so seldom comes -to a man. Brother Ezra was happy, is happy, poor -man, since he does not yet know of the wreck of his -home. It was a delight to see him so happy. And she, -poor young thing, my heart aches for her! She was -in my forge the other day, said she was lonesome and -came to talk. Poor child! We are all to blame. Why -did we leave her alone? Why didn’t I think of going -to see her, instead of merely remembering how bright -she was in the forge. We should have looked after -her. Madame, why didn’t you do so? You are the -chief.” Brother Green’s voice had a stern ring in it, -that immensely surprised Madame in her self-contained -calm.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I!” she exclaimed hastily. “I had absolutely -no control over her, and no influence. She was one -of the most determined young women I ever -knew, and the least liable to yield to the judgment of -others.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_261'>261</span>“No, I don’t think that was her character,” said -Brother Green.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You are taken by the pretty face, like Brother -Ezra, and are utterly ignorant of the mind within. -Men are always like that in regard to a pretty woman,” -said Madame scornfully.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Beauty is a great power, no doubt,” admitted -Brother Green, “but people may err just as widely -by judging everything from the prejudiced point of -view as by yielding too far to favourable impressions.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Brother Green,” said Uncle David earnestly, -“I’m right glad you’re like me, you won’t believe -nothin’ ’gainst little Ollie, will you, no more than -I will?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I will hope for the best and that there may be -some reasonable explanation of her disappearance,” -said Brother Green, looking compassionately at the -piteous old face that scanned his so eagerly for some -scrap of comfort.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t see what explanation there can be but -the one we have already received,” said Madame -icily.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Who will break this sorrowful news to Ezra?” -asked Brother Green. “Will you do it, Uncle David? -You would do it tenderly, as you have faith in her -still.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, no, I couldn’t bear to see the look o’ death -in his eyes, an’ it ’ud come no matter how I told it, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_262'>262</span>when I came to sayin’ little Ollie was gone an’ we -didn’t know where.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I think perhaps I had best take this painful duty -upon myself,” suggested Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, after all, maybe you are the best person. -But remember to deal tenderly with him in his sorrow. -You will know what to say to instil some hope -into his heart,” said Brother Green sadly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“An’ don’t you tell him she’s gone off with that -man Cotterell, for she hain’t done no such thing,” -said Uncle David anxiously. “You jes’ say we don’t -know why she went away, an’ kinder hint as you’re -expectin’ she’ll he home to-morrow or nex’ day. Do -you understand?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame told no one what she would say to Ezra, -and made no promises as to how she would say it.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_263'>263</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XX.<br /> <span class='large'>MADAME’S SYMPATHY.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>When Madame saw the white covers of the returning -waggons creeping across the prairie she set -out to meet Ezra in order to deliver her message to -him. Her manner was as quiet and collected as ever, -her white smooth brow was perfectly unruffled, and -her blue eyes were as gentle in expression as her -friends had ever known them to be. Was her heart -in reality as calm as her outward appearance would -have led the casual observer to conclude? No one -ever knew what was passing in Madame’s mind. Still -she must have known that she was about to stab to -the heart a man upon whose friendship she had seemed -to set great value. Having reached the slope over -Weddell’s Gully, whence she could see that blackened -field where she had saved Ezra on the night of the fire, -she sat down and waited until his waggon came up.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ah, Madame!” said he cheerily, as he pulled up. -“How glad I am to get home again! It has seemed -such a long four days to me.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And to us also,” answered Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_264'>264</span>“All well, I hope,” said Ezra reaching down his -hand in order to help her up to the seat beside himself.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We have had misfortunes at Perfection City. -The brown mare has been stolen.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What! Queen Katharine gone, and our most -valuable animal too! That is indeed a loss!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Just wait a few minutes,” said she, putting her -hand on his to stop him from giving the signal to -the horses to start on again. “I have some things -to talk about, Ezra. Do you remember that night, -not long ago in reality, though it seems an age, when -I found you lying here on the edge of the fire?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Is it likely I could ever forget that or who it -was came to my rescue?” said Ezra warmly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I was thinking as you drove up that perhaps it -would have been a kinder act to have left you to die -in your unconsciousness.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What’s the matter?” said Ezra, greatly startled -by her words.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I have bad news,” said Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Is it Olive?” asked Ezra, hoarsely.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, it is Olive.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Is she ill?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Worse than that.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“My God, is my wife dead?” cried Ezra in a -stifled whisper.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Worse than that.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“There can’t be worse,” said Ezra.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_265'>265</span>“Yes, there can. She has left you and gone off -with Cotterell.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra threw up his arms and fell backwards. Madame -thought for a moment or two that he was dying, -for an awful blue-purple look passed over his face -as if his heart had stopped beating. He recovered -himself and sat up, turned ghastly white, and moved -his lips. He was trying to speak, but no sound came. -At length he gasped,</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Olive, Olive, where is she?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We don’t know. Cotterell took the brown mare, -the men turned out and caught him. Olive disappeared, -no one knew where, night before last, taking -our last horse. There was a sort of lynch-law trial -at Union Mills, she appeared in the middle of the proceedings -and said she gave him the horse, and then -they went off together and have not since been heard -of.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Olive, Olive, Olive!” Ezra kept moaning as -Madame drove him back to his deserted home. He -seemed dazed and stupefied.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Surely terrible news was never more crudely broken -to a sufferer than was his bereavement to Ezra Weston, -and by that tender and sympathetic friend, Madame -Morozoff-Smith. Had Uncle David or Brother Green -heard her, they would have been shocked beyond -measure at having entrusted the painful embassy -to such hands. Not one word of hope or -comfort or of doubt even, nothing but the bald -<span class='pageno' id='Page_266'>266</span>hideous story in its worst complexion thrown at -him.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive was gone from him—gone with Cotterell!</p> - -<p class='c010'>Yet after having thus dealt him a death-blow, -Madame seemed full of pity and little acts of personal -attention. She helped him out of the waggon, brought -him into the house, took his hands and washed them, -cooled his forehead with a wet towel, offered him food, -and in short treated him much as if he had been a -suffering child whom she was tending. At last he -seemed to recover himself somewhat as she was passing -her soft hand across his brow.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You are very good to me,” he said brokenly, -“and if I seem to accept your kindness unheedingly, -forgive me. I am not myself to-night. I don’t know -what I am doing. Oh, it can’t be!” he suddenly -burst out. “She is not gone. I shall see her again. -She will come back. How do you know she has gone -with him? I don’t believe it.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Poor Ezra, love dies hard, I know. Some of -the men asked if she was going with him, and she -answered distinctly, ‘Yes.’ Then they were sorry, -they said, they had not hung him before she came -up with them.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, I won’t believe it. Something has happened -to her. Why should she go off with him?” said Ezra -distractedly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Did you not know that he was repeatedly here -to see her, whenever you were out of the way?” said -<span class='pageno' id='Page_267'>267</span>Madame, who did not think she was exaggerating in -any way.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She told me all that,” answered Ezra nervously, -“but she was only amused by his talk.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, your love is blind. Dear Ezra, I wish I -could soften the blow. There is no doubt about it. -I saw them once together at the spring, he kissed her -at parting. It was a man and the woman he loved. -I cannot be mistaken. Remember he was very handsome -and winning in his manners, and she was young -and pretty.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ah, my sweet little Ollie! My little rose-bud,” -cried Ezra, starting to his feet. “I’ll go to her, she -shall not wander away out of my reach without one -effort to save her from herself. She was only a child. -Why didn’t you look after her?” he asked, suddenly -facing Madame with an angry glance.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Did you give her into my charge either by word -or hint?” returned she, somewhat taken aback.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It was not your fault. Forgive me. I am too -distracted to know what I say. I remember she refused -to go to you. She said she would rather stay -at home. I tried to urge her, but she would not consent -to it,” said Ezra in a low voice.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ah,” remarked Madame, “very possibly she expected -him to come to her during your absence.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, no, you shall not say that!” said Ezra in -agony. “I cannot bear it. She had no such thought. -She was as innocent as the flowers, as she looked at me -<span class='pageno' id='Page_268'>268</span>with her sweet eyes. She had no such thought, I -know.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is ever thus,” said Madame, coming closer to -him and speaking with an unwonted tremor in her -voice. “Love seems always at cross purposes. You -give all your love to Olive, who gives all hers to Cotterell. -Another gives all her love to you. We are -equally unhappy.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra gazed at her in silent amazement as if he -were doubting that he had understood her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes,” she went on more calmly in her deep sweet -voice. “I am more in need of pity than you. Your -love has left you, and you grieve, but men will give -you sympathy. When I lost my love I had to smile -and pretend delight. I had to look on his joy and -hers. You are not called upon to congratulate Cotterell -on his happiness.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Great God, is that you, Madame? Or is it that -I am going mad, and is this some mocking fiend?” -gasped Ezra, starting up.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Not a mocking fiend, Ezra, but I myself who -for once in this world am enjoying the rare privilege -of telling the truth. Ezra Weston, you are not the -most unhappy person in Perfection City. I have long -enjoyed that melancholy pre-eminence. Now in a -common misfortune let us comfort one another.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra sat down again and dropped his head in his -hands. Occasionally he looked at her as she moved -about the room putting everything in order. It almost -<span class='pageno' id='Page_269'>269</span>seemed as if he was trying to understand who -she was and that he could hardly do so, his mind was -in such a turmoil of grief and misery. She laid out -two more candles beside those already alight in the -candle-sticks.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You will sit up all night,” she said at last. -“These candles will last half the time, then light the -other two. It is hard sitting in the dark alone with -one’s breaking thoughts. Light the candles and keep -them burning. That is what I did on the night you -left to go to Smyrna to be married, and on the night -when you brought her home here to Perfection City.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She closed the door and left him alone with those -two thoughts. Was it her marvellous reading of the -human heart which prompted this extraordinary -woman to declare her love to Ezra in those bold uncompromising -words on this night of all others in -his life? She knew that he would sit there in his -deserted home, brooding over his lost wife, she knew -also that every now and then the scorching recollection -of what she had said would break in upon the -brooding thoughts and scatter them. This then was -the means, the almost unheard-of means, she had -taken in order to soften the blow that had fallen upon -him. He would not be able to think of himself as the -most unhappy individual in Perfection City, because -she had claimed that distinction in words which he -never could forget. It was just as she had foreseen. -It repeatedly happened during the course of that long -<span class='pageno' id='Page_270'>270</span>and dreadful night that Ezra forgot why he was sitting -alone in the kitchen, so lost was he in amazement at -the recollection of the words which Madame had -spoken. As the hours wore on it seemed to him that -they became more and more impossible, until he began -to think of them as the work of a brain unhinged by -sorrow. Was it all a hideous dream, and would he -awake by and bye? The first pair of candles burned -out, and he lighted the second pair, recalling as he -did so what she had said she did when he brought -Olive home. Ah, Olive, Olive! His heart kept calling -out in its misery.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He went into their little private room off the -kitchen, in a sort of infatuation to see if she might -be there. No. All was silent, still, deserted. He examined -the tiny room minutely, saw the half-withered -flowers on the table, took them up, and would have -kissed them in his misery, only his eye lighted on a -strange object he had never seen before. It was a -man’s heavy seal-ring. He picked it up and examined -it by the light of the candle: a plain gold ring -set with a well-cut onyx intaglio of a griffin’s head. -As he turned it about the light showed something-engraved -in the inside of the ring. He held the candle -nearer and read “J. G. C.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He dropped the ring as if it had been an adder, -and fled out of the room. As if pursued by furies, -he rushed from the house and wandered about out -of doors. Diana, who since Olive’s departure had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_271'>271</span>been in a most miserable frame of mind, followed -him about dejectedly, with her tail between her legs. -Ezra, turning, saw the dog and for one moment felt -a savage desire to kill it, for Olive had loved the dog -and Olive had broken his heart. This phase passed, -and in a passion of grief and despair he stooped and -kissed the animal, for Olive had often patted Diana’s -head, and fondled her long ears. The dog whined -in sympathy and turned suggestively back to the house. -Ezra followed mechanically. He would not go into -the room where that ring lay, but remained in the -kitchen. Exhausted nature could stand no more, and -towards morning he fell into a troubled sleep, with -his head resting upon his arms crossed on the table. -Then in his dreams Olive came back to him in that -vivid yet unsatisfying way in which our dearest do -sometimes return to us, seemingly but to mock our -grief. Olive was there, standing before him, but she -looked at him not with her eyes, but with Madame’s. -There was something terrible in seeing her own expression -gone and in its place the look of another, -and yet it was Olive, and she called on him to follow -her. He hurried after her with the lead-clogged -feet that always walk in dreams, and strained to reach -her. When he did so, he found Madame. Olive and -Madame flitted before his fevered fancy, always shifting -and changing one into another, until he panted -with the horror of it.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He awoke with a start as the door opened. His -<span class='pageno' id='Page_272'>272</span>half-aroused eyes saw a vaguely defined figure in the -door-way, blocking out the light of the morning.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Olive,” he said, putting out his hand blindly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I have come to cook your breakfast,” said -Madame’s soft smooth voice.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Don’t. I can’t eat it,” said Ezra, falling back -into despair.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Life must go on, even when all joy is banished -from it,” she said. “We have each one of us to learn -that lesson, friend Ezra.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She began deftly enough to light the fire and make -the necessary preparations for breakfast. Madame -knew how to do the ordinary house-work that falls -to woman’s lot, only she did not choose to do it in -her own home. Therefore she employed Lucinda for -this purpose, until other and stronger motives arose -which prompted her to undertake the work herself. -The habit of every day life is strong, and when Ezra -saw Madame getting breakfast ready, as a matter of -course he arose and got himself ready, by changing -his clothes and generally performing the necessary -preliminaries to the morning meal. He was less wild -and hollow-eyed after this ceremony, but the extraordinary -drawn and aged look on his face seemed only -the more marked.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame cooked an omelette with scraps of savoury -dried beef in it, and after the first mouthful Ezra -was obliged to admit that he relished the food. He -could not go on living on his grief, as Madame said. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_273'>273</span>She sat with him and took her breakfast also. Napoleon -Pompey, who would have been in the way, -was relegated to the society of his mother, who divided -her emotions between maternal anger at boyish shortcomings -and maternal love for the short-comer, both -of which were expressed with the exalted vehemence -customary to the negro nature.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I shall come each day and cook your food for -you. I have often longed to be able to do something -for you, Ezra. Do not forbid my coming. I have -had so little joy in my life,” said Madame, with a -strange humility of manner totally at variance with -her usual character, which was almost domineering, -one might say. Ezra looked at her in a troubled -sort of way. It soothed him to have her there, and -he was glad that somebody, that anybody, could take -an interest in him. Still there came across his mind -flashes of doubt as to what this interest meant. He -could not forget those words that Madame had used -on the evening before. No man who had ever heard -such words from a woman’s lips, if ever man did -hear them under similar circumstances, would ever -again be able to drive them from his memory, but -in his bruised and suffering state Ezra was content -to drift on and let things rest. So Madame came -daily to his house and cooked his food and saw that -he ate something at each meal.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Uncle David and the brethren came to see him, -but that gave him no comfort. He shrank from their -<span class='pageno' id='Page_274'>274</span>sympathy, expressed with kindness, but each word was -like a drop of molten lead upon a raw wound. Willette -was perhaps the only one who gave him real consolation -in this awful time.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I say,” remarked the child, in a clear voice and -without a trace of embarrassment, “Sister Ollie’s gone -an’ lost herself down there in the bush, I reckon. She -was ’bout the greenest hand at keepin’ to the Pole -Star ever I see. You could throw her out o’ her direction -quicker nor nothin’. I guess she headed plumb -for the Missouri border when she come ’long with -Cotterell to show him out o’ Union Mills. Guess she’ll -ride ’bout down to Saint Jo ’fore she knows she’s -headin’ wrong. I wouldn’t ’spect her back ’fore a -fortnight.” Willette laughed pleasantly, and poor -Ezra derived some comfort from the preposterous convictions -of the child and her unshakable belief in -Olive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He went to Union Mills to make some inquiries -about his lost wife, and met there the same story -that Madame had already told, but the story was -so brutally hurled at him he could not bear it, and -came home bruised and stricken, his heart bleeding -tears of agony. Instinctively he went to Madame -for comfort.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ezra, perhaps this terrible trial was needed to -purify us all, to make us all more perfect communists. -I can discern a valuable lesson that may be -of profit to the brethren. I begin to think that after -<span class='pageno' id='Page_275'>275</span>all marriage is selfish: perfect love alone is unselfish. -You would not have kept Olive beside you by force, -if her heart had gone from you, would you?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I thought our marriage was for life.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, but she made a mistake as to her feelings; -she found she loved someone else better. It was wise -of her, after all, to break the bond. It would only -have galled you both.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I should have been content if she had only let -me love her,” said Ezra.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ah yes, I know that feeling but too well,” said -Madame, bringing his mind with a shock to the -thought that she never long allowed to sleep.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is a terrible world,” said Ezra beginning to -realize what a spell she was weaving around him.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It rests with ourselves to make it easier in the -only way,” replied Madame.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Uncle David took up a firm position of his own -and refused to listen to anybody or anything.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I hain’t agoin’ to b’lieve nothin’ ’gin little -Ollie,” he announced. “I don’t care ’bout proofs an’ -things. Land! If I b’lieved in proofs there hain’t no -sort o’ foolishness I shouldn’t be up to. I b’lieve in -pussons.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>That was his position, and he stuck to it with unswerving -fidelity. He was happy in his blind faith, -and no one tried to shake it. The old man then began -a strange sort of hunt after Olive. He would sit all -day long at the forge, where, of course, strangers were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_276'>276</span>most likely to pass, and to each he would put questions -about the “little gal” he was so pathetically -seeking. He spoke little, he who used to be so chatty, -but sat hour after hour in silent patient expectation -of the return of his loved one. The brethren began -to think he must be losing his wits from sorrow, poor -old man!</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_277'>277</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXI.<br /> <span class='large'>THE MESSAGE.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>A long weary fortnight had passed since the day -when Ezra came home to find his wife gone. Life -went on at Perfection City much the same as before, -although to him it seemed as if the Universe was -out of gear. He took no part or interest in the daily -affairs of the Community, never coming to the Assembly -or consulting with the brethren upon any matters. -He withdrew himself from the companionship -of his fellows, and only that Madame continued to -come to his house every day in order to cook his dinner -and sit with him while he ate it, he would have been -absolutely alone. Ezra acquiesced in her devotion, -and dared not ask himself how the debt was to be repaid -that she was piling up against him. The Pioneers, -who during the past fortnight had revelled in a perfect -carnival of gossip, felt themselves at liberty to -express an opinion upon this new development of the -drama that was being acted in their midst. Sister -Carpenter said to Sister Winkle that she thought there -ought to be a period of mourning allowed, however -<span class='pageno' id='Page_278'>278</span>brief, between first and second marriage, and that -Brother Ezra hadn’t ought to go a-courting so soon. -She did not know that it was Madame who did the -courting in that strange, forward, imperial way that -we must suppose the Empress Katharine affected. -Uncle David, whom love for Olive had rendered extremely -keen-sighted as to what was going on, evinced -very great displeasure. Madame had no right to try -and make Ezra’s home happy, and he told her so in -language of unmistakable import. She was angry -to a degree that terrified him, and he shrank back -alarmed beyond measure at the wrath which he had -provoked.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, I know, you want Ezra’s life to be wrecked -by that vain, selfish little hussy who never cared for -him, and who went off with the first gallant that -beckoned to her. Ezra’s life shall not be wrecked, -mine shall be expended in drawing it into a haven -of rest. Olive is not worthy of tying the latchet of -his shoe. I hope she will be cast off by her lover, and -left to sink amid the mud and mire of such as she. -I hate her!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Uncle David was frightened and crept away to -Brother Green, where he sat hour after hour mournfully -watching the fire. It was on one of these days -when he was in the forge that a young negro on a -raw-boned Indian pony rode up to Madame, who was -on the point of starting for her daily expedition to -Ezra’s, and inquired “whar ole man Weston lived,” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_279'>279</span>as he had a message for him. Instead of answering -directly, Madame endeavoured to find out what the -boy wanted of Ezra. The little darkie thereupon produced -a scrap of crumpled paper from the recesses -of his ragged shirt and informed Madame he wanted -to give him “dat ar’.” Madame took the paper, opened -it, and gave a gasp. Then in a moment she recovered -herself with an effort, and assured the negro it was all -right, and that she would see to it. She made most -particular inquiries as to where he lived, and then -sent him off, happy with a piece of corn-bread and a -dollar for himself.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Having thus got rid of the negro lad, Madame -proceeded on her way to Ezra’s house in order to -perform her daily task there. She seemed strangely -excited, and her blue eyes glittered like sapphires. -Her whole bearing was that of a person labouring -under intense excitement, all traces of which she was -endeavouring to conceal. Her very voice had a new -ring in it as she talked with Ezra, and her breath came -quick and fast. Had his senses been less dulled by -suffering, he could not have failed to notice the change -in her, notwithstanding her efforts at concealment. -He was sitting, looking with unseeing eyes across the -vacant cornfield, when suddenly she spoke.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ezra, let us go away from this place. Let us -leave all the recollections of Perfection City behind -us, and begin life afresh.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He turned his eyes upon her with a slow questioning -<span class='pageno' id='Page_280'>280</span>look, showing how far away had been his -thoughts at the moment.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“How can we leave this place? There is too -much money and too much labour sunk in it for us -all to leave and go to some other spot.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Not all, dear friend, only you and I,” said Madame, -in her caressing voice.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra started. “That is even more impossible,” he -said, in great agitation.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why impossible? I have money. It will more -than suffice for all our needs, nay, it will give us -all the luxuries we can sigh for.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is not that, but you forget——”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, Ezra, I don’t forget, but I want you to forget. -I want you to draw a wet sponge over the recollection -of the past and begin anew. It is not too late.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You don’t know what you are saying, Madame. -You cannot mean it.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I do mean it, and I know what it means. You -have no tie——”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra shivered.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Neither have I. We are both free to make our -lives what we list.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You mistake, we are both tied by all our past -lives, and with bonds that may not be lightly broken. -We are tied by our own feelings as well as by the -good opinion of the world at large.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame snapped her fingers with scorn.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That for the world at large and its opinions. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_281'>281</span>Do you remember what I told you about my father -and my birth? Thank God, I have no name to -lose.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I cannot do less than tell you the truth,” said -Ezra in great distress. “Wherever I went my heart -would remain here, where I have known true happiness, -and it will always be looking for my lost one to -come back to me.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She won’t come back till Cotterell is tired of her,” -said Madame brutally. “Will you be grateful for -his cast-off mistress?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Stop,” said Ezra, putting his hand quickly before -her lips, “you must not speak so of her to me.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Fool that I am!” muttered Madame under her -breath. She turned from him with a gesture of anger.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, forgive me,” exclaimed Ezra, seeing and feeling -what the expression meant. “Never was man so -miserable, never was one so unhappily placed. I owe -you more than words can say, I owe you my best -thoughts, I owe you my very life itself. I would willingly -give you my life——”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then why not give it and come with me?” -burst out Madame. “Leave all this misery behind -you, I will make your path as smooth as heart could -wish. Come.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“My heart can never follow any other path, it -will dwell amid the ruins of its former happiness. -Do not speak again of this. Let us remain friends -as before.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_282'>282</span>“It can never be again as it was before,” said -Madame with heaving bosom.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why not?” asked Ezra. “I have not much else -left in life.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why not,” repeated Madame in scorn. “You -ask me why not! Would you care for Olive’s friendship -when all her love was given to Cotterell?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Stop,” cried Ezra, and this time there was a -ring of anger in his voice. “Even you may presume -too far. Do not again speak that name to -me.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>There is something untamed and untameable in -the Russian nature which now and then comes to the -surface and drives an excited Muscovite into acts seemingly -at variance with the highly cultivated standard -to which he aspires. The phenomenon may by the -learned be attributed to a sudden reversion to the -ancestral Asiatic savage. Madame was at this moment -rapidly going back to the state of furious anger, when -all sense of dignity would be lost. She was reverting -to the Asiatic. And under the influence of her passion -her physical appearance changed, her eyes became -narrow slanting openings emitting sparks of -steel-blue flame, her full red lips were drawn tightly -over her teeth. She hissed out her words.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Does her image still come between us?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It does come between us,” said Ezra looking almost -as white as she did. “Her image will always -come between me and every other woman on the whole -<span class='pageno' id='Page_283'>283</span>earth, blotting out every other image and making -me only hers. Oh, Olive! Oh, my wife!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He gave a great sob of agony.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Besotted fool!” burst from Madame’s colourless -lips, “do you hold this language to me? You scorn -me and my love! Then on your own head be the consequences. -Ah, now nothing shall stop me. An angel -from heaven, no, nor God Himself shall stand between -me and my revenge. Ezra Weston, farewell!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She left the room, shutting the door upon him -and his misery. Unhappy man! His world seemed -crumbling beneath his feet. He had lost his wife, -and now his friend, the one whom he most revered, -had cast him out from her regard. What could he -do? His heart answered, nothing but dumbly suffer -in the deserted home where he was left alone. What -a black and barren waste was his life! And how fair -and smiling it had looked a few short weeks ago! -It was as if a devastating fire had passed over him -leaving his heart like the desolated prairie, black and -hopeless.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame went away alone for one day, no one -knew whither, and came back with a look on her -face that struck terror into all who saw her. Her -smooth white face looked cruel and pitiless, and the -gleam from her eyes reminded one of cold steel. Her -soft hands sometimes closed on their own pink palms -with a spasmodic clutch, as if she had the throat of -an enemy between their cruel grasp and was crushing -<span class='pageno' id='Page_284'>284</span>the life out of him. A cold dreadful face, a cruel -sickening look that made Napoleon Pompey and Uncle -David shiver within their souls, and caused the brethren -to draw away affrighted from their once beloved -leader. Perfection City was the abode of wretchedness. -The Academy never opened its doors to the -assembled Pioneers, who were afraid to come near -Madame’s house. Each lived by himself, looking -askance at his neighbour, for over all had fallen a -spirit of suspicion. Only Brother Huntley, the deaf -brother, and his mute wife were happy, working on -contentedly, shielded by their misfortune from the -full knowledge of the disasters that had come upon -the Community.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The days dragged miserably by, seemingly endowed -with a miraculous length of hours, for the sufferings -of a life-time were compressed into that hideous -fortnight. The glaring sun blazing down upon the -blackened prairie seemed to Ezra to have become no -unfitting symbol of hell. The light was hateful, darkness, -eternal darkness would have been a relief to his -brain. Could it be possible that he was going to -live his life out in a realized purgatory? He was -young, only twenty-five, and if his life was to stretch -even to the average span of human existence, what -an eternity of suffering lay before him! A brokenhearted -man amid the ruins of his broken life.</p> - -<p class='c010'>It was on one of these days of utter black despair, -like the days that had gone before and the days that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_285'>285</span>were still to come, that the same ragged negro boy on -the straggly Indian pony, who once before had made -his appearance at Perfection City, was seen skulking -around the old land near Weddell’s Gully. He seemed -to want to see without being seen. By and bye Napoleon -Pompey chanced that way and of course -pounced upon him with the universal query of “whar -he gwine?” The boy after some hesitation made it -clear that he had come on a secret mission. He wanted -to find Uncle David without being seen by anyone else, -especially not by the white-faced lady, Madame, of -whom he stood in shivering dread. Napoleon Pompey, -sympathising with the dread, volunteered to take a -letter to Uncle David without fear of detection. Thereupon -the darkie delivered over to him a scrap of newspaper -upon which was written a scrawl with the burnt -end of a stick, and having done so galloped off on -his straggly pony with a whoop of delight, as one -who had escaped dreadful peril. Napoleon Pompey, -finding it difficult to deliver his embassy to Uncle -David undetected, gave the curious missive to Ezra -with intimations that it was to be put into Uncle -David’s hands right away.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra took the scrap of paper, saying there must -be some letter inside, and mechanically unfolded it, -when the hoarse scream that he uttered almost made -Napoleon Pompey jump through the window.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Where did you get this?” he panted.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Darkie gin it ter me jes’ while back.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_286'>286</span>“Who gave it? What was his name? Where -did he live? Who sent him here?” asked Ezra in a -breath.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Darkie he didn’t go for to say nuffin, on’y jes’ -gin dat ar, an’ tole me ter pike to ole Uncle David -wid it.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra darted out of the house and ran like a mad-man -to Madame’s and burst into the room where she -and Uncle David were just sitting down to supper. -He held out the scrap of paper to the old man and -gasped:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Olive is somewhere!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I presume that was already known, and that it can -hardly be considered news,” said Madame’s cool cutting -voice, which brought Ezra somewhat to his senses.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She is somewhere near. She sent a negro boy -with this. Read it.” He shoved it under Uncle -David’s nose.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I can’t see to read it, read it aloud, let me hear -all she says in her letter,” said the old man with trembling -eagerness.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It isn’t a letter. It says, ’Uncle come to Olive,’ -only those four words, nothing else, and just look, -scratched with a bit of burnt stick on a piece of newspaper! -Oh, think of it! Where can she be? Why -didn’t she write before if she was in trouble? What -has happened?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Perhaps it is a hoax,” said Madame between her -drawn white lips.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_287'>287</span>“There hain’t in this world a bein’ so lost to all -feelin’ as would make a joke o’ our sorrow,” said -Uncle David. “No, Ezra, that’s writ by our little -gal. We must go to her. Come ’long, brother.” He -put on his hat and started cheerfully for the door.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Where are you going?” asked Madame, in a -muffled voice.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I’m agoin’ to little Ollie.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Where is she, do you know?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ezry, don’t you know where we’ve got to go -to?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I know nothing, except that this scrap of paper -has been brought by a negro boy.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra kissed the paper, and Madame’s lips curled -in contempt.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Is it not rather a wild-goose chase to start you -know not whither, and at this time of the evening -too?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We can’t wait here after little Ollie’s told us to -come,” said Uncle David simply.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Cannot you suggest some plan?” asked Ezra, -turning to Madame by force of habit.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Not I,” she replied contemptuously. “Shall you -go east, west, north, or south? The world lies all before -you.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ain’t you glad little Ollie’s found?” asked Uncle -David, looking wistfully at her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame laughed harshly. They went out of the -room together feeling her presence insupportable. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_288'>288</span>Just round the corner they came upon Napoleon Pompey -who was peeping around to see if he could pick -up any scraps of news. He had divined there was -news from Olive, and with the inquisitiveness of his -race had followed Ezra when he had rushed so wildly -out of the house.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“D’yer know whar ter go?” he inquired.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No,” said Ezra. “Can you tell us anything of -that negro boy? Do you know where he lives?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ask her,” said Napoleon Pompey, jerking his -thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the door -from which they had just emerged.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ask who?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Madame,” said Napoleon Pompey.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Does she know?” asked Ezra, amazed.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I seed dat ar pony hyar afore,” replied Napoleon -Pompey.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Great Heavens!” said Ezra as drops of sweat -burst out on his forehead. He hurried back to the -house with Uncle David. Neither of them spoke a -word.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Madame,” said Ezra, as they once more stood -in the room, “I have come to ask you a question. -Do you know where my wife is?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She looked him unflinchingly in the face and answered:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“May the Lord forgive you!” said Uncle David, -in a voice hardly above a whisper, and for some seconds -<span class='pageno' id='Page_289'>289</span>there was a complete silence in the room, broken -only by the sound of Ezra’s heavy breathing.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Where is she?” he demanded sternly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Go and find her,” was the mocking answer.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra sprang furiously forward, and almost yelled -out,</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Tell me at once or——”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ay yes,” she said with a steady look, “you will -drag the secret out, will you?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She tore open her dress and exposed her snow-white -throat.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“See, there it is handy. Take a knife and cut -my throat. See if I shall flinch. The last gurgle of -my blood bubbling up through the wound, shall bear -a sound of mocking laughter. Strike!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra turned from her in horror. “She must be -mad,” he said to Uncle David.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Not mad now, I have been mad all these months, -all these years. Mad to love you, mad in loving such -a one as you. Now I am sane. Ah, how I hate -you!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“This is horrible,” said Ezra, putting his hand before -his eyes.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Horrible, is it? It is the waking from love’s -young dream. Ha, ha!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Madame, dear child, think of all you have been -to us,” said Uncle David, reaching his hands out to -her imploringly. “You have led us, think of all -that.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_290'>290</span>“I do think of all that. I think of how I found -this boy,” she said, pointing in scorn to Ezra, “ignorant, -unformed, with wild crude longings. I think -of how I infused light and life into the darkness of -his mind. How I rose, aye, above myself, in order to -lead him up and on. I think of all his half-formed -longings put into working form and endowed with -vital power that he might see his thoughts taking -shape. I made him. He was mine. Then he left me -for a few brief weeks. He saw a pretty doll’s face -with an empty head, and straightway he loves with -never a thought of me. You ask me to think. I do -think of how even this I bore, and so great was my -love that for his sake I welcomed the doll that had -stolen my place, and smiled on her. Even this I did -and remained his friend. She, the doll, attracted by -a handsome face, her love aroused by the stolen kisses -of a yellow moustache, left him. Then I was free to -love him once more. I laid my heart at his feet. He -spurned me. All my love was as nothing against the -memory of the doll who had deserted him. She may -die and rot before word of mine shall restore her to -him.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Neither Ezra nor Uncle David had attempted to -speak while Madame was pouring forth the torrent -of her bitter words. Ezra felt too overwhelmed to -say anything, for a moment, in the downfall of so -many illusions and high hopes, he forgot even Olive. -Uncle David was the first to recover himself.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_291'>291</span>“Dear child,” he said, for the first time in his life -addressing her as one beneath him. “These are wild -words you’ve been sayin’. I can’t find it in my heart -to believe they’re true. You are disappointed, -an’ you think wrong can be made right by turnin’ -things upside down. Tain’t so. You’ll have to -learn that right an’ wrong can’t change places, nohow -you fix it. You have still your duty here in -the City you’ve founded an’ the principles you’ve set -up.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Madame looked at him with glittering eyes.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Will you hear the truth about Perfection City -too? Then listen. It is not an experiment in new -principles, it is an example of the oldest the world -has seen—of the folly of a fond woman. I founded -Perfection City so that he might love the founder. -I staked my all on a throw of love’s dice, and lost. -Women have done it before and will do it again. -Some fools degrade their body to win a man, I -degraded my mind. The foundation-stone of Perfection -City was my heart, see what will happen -when it is crushed! Ah, why can we not profit by -the experience of our elders! My mother warned -me, having tried it, never to stake my happiness on -the love of man. I followed her advice for five-and-thirty -happy years. Then I saw <i>him</i>, and the curse -fell.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She threw up her arms over her head and backed -towards the door of her own apartment.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_292'>292</span>“The curse, the curse!” she exclaimed, as she -passed through out of their sight.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra had a confused feeling that he had just seen -someone drowning who had reached appealing hands -towards heaven as she went under.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_293'>293</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXII.<br /> <span class='large'>OLIVE’S SECOND HOME-COMING.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>And where was Olive all this time? She and Cotterell -rode out of Union Mills together, as we have -seen, and as was seen by nearly all the men who had assembled -there that morning in the expectation of seeing -him hanged. They rode silently among “the -boys” getting their horses ready, they silently passed -among the trees to the south and crossed the ford of -the Creek. Then Cotterell spoke, pouring forth his -words of thanks and gratitude to her. He was not -ashamed to show that he was deeply moved, now that -none but Olive could see his emotion. She, on the -other hand, seemed almost in an unconscious state so -little heed did she give to his eager words.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Speak to me, tell me what you wish,” he pleaded -very gently, noticing her abstraction.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I want you to go away,” she said slowly. “You -are safe from their anger for this time, but do not -stay here and court danger. This is no place for a -man like you to live. Go while there is yet time. -There is now a blood-feud between you and the Mills. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_294'>294</span>They will mark you for vengeance, and they are wild -bad men.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And you?” said Cotterell, looking anxiously at -her. “I want to see you safely at home. You are -ill, I fear.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am all right,” answered Olive wearily. “You -must go to the South Fork at once. Take the Kansas -City stage this very night and go. There is no time -to be lost.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I cannot, and will not,” answered Cotterell. “I -must take you home first. You look frightfully tired -and ill.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, it would be the crudest thing you could -do to bring me home. I want to go back to Ezra, -I am so tired,” said Olive plaintively.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Must I let you go all by yourself over this lonely -prairie? I cannot bear the thought of it.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I have been two days and one night all by myself -out on this lonely prairie in order to save you. -Please do what I ask. Tie Queen Katharine’s rein to -Rebel’s bit, they will then go quietly together.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Tell me,” said Cotterell breathlessly, “why have -you been out all this time on the prairie alone?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I was following the men who had captured you -in order to save you if I could.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Great Heavens!” he burst out, with his blue -eyes aflame. “And you did this heroic act because -you——”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I did it because you are an innocent man, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_295'>295</span>I wanted you to go back to your country to live a -better life and be a better man than you ever had -been before.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The light died out of his eyes. He looked down, -his hands trembled as they had never trembled when -on his trial.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Your sacrifice shall not have been in vain,” he -said in a low voice.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then good-bye, and all good blessings attend -you.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She shook hands with him and left him standing -at the parting of the ways. When she was quite out -of sight over the ridge on her way towards Cotton -Wood Creek, he, with blinding tears streaming down -his sun-burnt face, turned and walked to the South -Fork, caught the Kansas City stage-coach and departed -out of Olive’s life.</p> - -<p class='c010'>She hardly knew what she was doing she felt so -ill. It seemed a relief not to have to talk any more, -for she found it difficult to keep hold of her thoughts, -they seemed constantly to be slipping away from her. -The sun was burning hot, and she had a long way to -go, for she had come out of Union Mills by the south -side instead of the north. Therefore she must make -a great sweep round to the right in order to reach her -home, and she must remember that the Creek was only -to be safely forded at certain places. She rode on -and on, feeling the sun hotter and hotter and her head -heavier and heavier. At last she was so dizzy she -<span class='pageno' id='Page_296'>296</span>could no longer see where she was going. Whatever -happened she must lie down for a few minutes. Somehow -she got off her horse and lay down at the side of -the track she had been following, but whether in -sleep or in unconsciousness she never knew.</p> - -<p class='c010'>By and by she came to herself again. The horses -were both gone! She had forgotten to picket them. -She did not remember where she was, but mechanically -stumbled along the road and at length was overtaken -by a negro woman driving an ox-waggon. She begged -of the woman to let her get into the waggon and take -her home for she felt ill, and the negress, struck with -pity, declared she would, “fo’ de po’ chile was mos’ -sick to deaf anyhow.” Olive got into the waggon -and knew no more for hours—or was it days, or was it -weeks? Two nights out in the poisonous prairie dew -had done their work: she was down with chills and -fever, a raving panting lunatic, or else a stupid heavy -sleeping log, taking no heed of day or night or the -hours as they flew, only craving water to drink, ever -more water to drink. By and by she began to have -intervals when she knew that she was in a strange -place with strange black faces around her. Then at -last her senses returned, and she sent an imploring -message to Ezra to come to her. In reply had come -Madame, stern, fierce-eyed, to see her and crush her -with the awful news that Ezra was dead. Olive fell -back into unconsciousness under the blow, she did not -know for how long. But after weary suffering she -<span class='pageno' id='Page_297'>297</span>awoke again, still in that same strange place, still with -those black faces around her, kind and pitying, but -faces she did not know.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Trying feebly to gather up again the threads of -her life, she wished to send word to the friends at -Perfection City that she was still alive. The negroes, -who were the only inhabitants of the wretched house -where she was, seemed not to heed her wishes. They -refused to take any messages, but would not say why. -Olive grew stronger, for her young vitality exerted -itself. She demanded to know why they would not -do as she wished, but they fled from her questions -and left her to her suspicions. She tormented them -with questions, and at last they said the white-faced -lady had forbidden them ever to come near her house -again, and they were afraid: she was a very terrible -looking lady when she was angry. Then Olive used -her powers of persuasion upon the negro lad and -eventually got him to take her message in spite of -what his mother said. That was the scrap of paper -that had come into Ezra’s hands.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Pioneers scattered in systematic search for -Olive, spreading out in all directions in a way that -could not fail to be speedily successful. Brother -Green found her on the second day, while Ezra found -the two horses which a thrifty settler had impounded -in his own fields and was unobtrusively working until -they should be called for by their owner.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Brother Green was overjoyed at finding Olive -<span class='pageno' id='Page_298'>298</span>and was not so overwhelmed at hearing of her long -illness as, under different circumstances, he might have -been. In fact he was almost pleased, for that fact, -taken together with the negro woman’s graphic account -of finding her alone and ill on the prairie on -the day “o’ de hoss-thief tryin’,” made it clear to him -that she had never been with Cotterell since she was -at the abortive trial. She was very weak and languid -and took little heed of him or his remarks.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ezra will be out of his mind with joy,” he said, -by way of rousing her to some interest, as he was -settling her as comfortably as he could in the ox-waggon, -preparatory to setting out on their return.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ezra is dead,” said Olive wearily.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Brother Green stared hard at her. “What crazy -fancy is this? Ezra is alive and riding over towards -Jacksonville at this moment hunting for you.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She told me he was dead,” said Olive, beginning -to cry from the revulsion of feeling combined with -physical suffering.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“How dared the woman tell such a lie!” exclaimed -Brother Green angrily, and then after a moment -he added more mildly, “Perhaps it was a mere -mistake, she seems to have been kind to you, but -negroes are not a truth-telling race.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It was not the negro woman, it was Madame,” -said Olive in a hushed and awe-struck voice.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Nonsense, you are raving, Sister Olive,” said -he sharply.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_299'>299</span>“She came to me and told me during my illness.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“When?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I can’t tell. I don’t remember when things happened. -I was so ill.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then depend upon it, you have fancied this. -Fever fancies seem very real at times.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He experienced a certain relief in speaking thus -confidently on the subject to her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The negro woman knows. Ask her who came -here and forbade them to bring any more messages -from me to Perfection City.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>It was singular, considering the way he had spoken, -that Brother Green did not take this simple means of -assuring himself that Olive’s idea was the effect of -the disordered workings of a fevered brain. But he -said never a word to the negro woman on the subject, -but drove slowly and thoughtfully back to Perfection -City, with Olive in the ox-waggon, lying on a heap of -corn-shucks covered with the ragged patch-quilt the -woman had lent her. It was a long and a weary journey -thus creeping back home over the blackened prairie. -Olive sometimes wondered if she would get there -alive, and she moaned in her misery. For the rest, -Brother Green spoke but little. Since assuring Olive -of the falseness of her idea that Madame had been to -see her, he appeared to have lost the cheerfulness he -had shown upon finding her. Brother Green was -thinking of the future of Perfection City, and it looked -black enough to him. It was no secret that Madame -<span class='pageno' id='Page_300'>300</span>had refused to reveal Olive’s whereabouts to her husband, -and in the light of that circumstance he could -foresee nothing but strife, ill-will and enmity in Perfection -City. How were Olive and Madame to meet, -and above all how were they to live in harmony for -the future? These were the thoughts that occupied -his mind and kept him silent during that long slow -drive.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive, too, was trying to look into the future, and -she shivered with dread as she did so. Madame’s pitiless -eyes were before her still, but Ezra would be -there, he would shield her and comfort her, and she -could rest her head peacefully on his honest breast. -Dear Ezra! Why had he not come to her when she -had sent for him? She hoped he would be there to -greet her and to save her from that terrible woman, -whose colourless face in its icy cruelty still haunted -her, filling her with a great dread. She need not -have been so afraid, for when she reached Perfection -City Madame was gone.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Pioneers had indeed a life of much inward -excitement during these days. The return of Olive -and the departure of Madame were events almost -equally calculated to disturb their equanimity as a -Community.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra being still away looking for his wife in the -wrong direction, there was no one to receive her when -she got home. Therefore Brother Green took her to -Sister Mary Winkle’s at once on their arrival. Olive -<span class='pageno' id='Page_301'>301</span>was weak, ill, and peevish, she cried with disappointment -at not seeing Ezra. Sister Mary Winkle administered -a stimulant in the way of advice.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I wouldn’t take on so like a baby, Olive Weston, -if I were you. Ezra’ll come home probably to-day -or to-morrow, and one day more or less ain’t much -in a life-time.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive dried her eyes with energy.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Everybody said you had gone off with that man -Cotterell, and so we all thought too,” observed Sister -Winkle conversationally.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“How dare you suggest such a thing to me?” -exclaimed Olive, with an amount of angry energy surprising -in one so weak.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, we had it from the people who saw you -go away with him, and who heard you say you were -going. I don’t see how we could possibly have thought -other than we did.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You must be a wicked woman to think such -a thing,” said Olive. Her chin began to quiver piteously.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am not going to condemn you,” replied Sister -Winkle, in a philosophic vein. “If you found you -preferred him to Ezra I don’t think you would have -been wrong in showing your preference in an unmistakable -manner. Marriage is a partnership which -either side should be free to dissolve. Mistakes are -sometimes made in it as in other affairs. Our marriage -is not a mistake, because Wright and I don’t -<span class='pageno' id='Page_302'>302</span>make mistakes, but other people are different, and I -don’t see why they should be punished for an honest -mistake. Marriage should be free. Perfection City -was founded on freedom. We thought that you had -used your right of choice, and since you liked Cotterell -best had gone with him. We thought that Madame -would soon marry Ezra, since he was now free, -and she had always wanted to.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Olive sprang from her chair and steadied herself -with her trembling hands by clutching the back of it.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Mary Winkle, I hate you,” she said, in a voice -choking with emotion. “Perfection City is a sinful, -wicked place. I wish I had never seen it. If I live, -and Ezra loves me, I hope he will take me away so I -may never hear its name again.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She stamped bravely out of the house under the -influence of her anger, but her strength did not carry -her far, and she sank down upon the wood-pile weeping -bitterly, unable to walk another step. Sister Mary, -somewhat disgusted at the way in which her philosophy -had been received, resolved to let her cool off a -little before going out to offer Olive an arm to conduct -her back into the house. Thus it came about -that Olive was still sitting weeping on the wood-pile -when Uncle David came hurrying up, having just -heard of her arrival, and close behind him came Ezra -running like a mad-man. When Olive saw him she -started towards her husband with outstretched arms, -but her weakness overcame her, and she would have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_303'>303</span>fallen to the ground only that he was just in time to -catch her in his arms, where she fell laughing and crying -in the most incoherent manner imaginable.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, Ezra, you didn’t believe that wicked story? -And you do love me, don’t you? And you won’t -marry her, and you aren’t dead, are you? Tell Mary -Winkle you hate her too. And why didn’t you come -to me when I sent for you?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Ezra could only kiss her, and pet her, and soothe -her in every way while Olive kept saying hysterically, -“You won’t, will you?” and “You will, won’t you?” -All of which Ezra promised faithfully to perform. -She absolutely refused to re-enter Sister Mary Winkle’s -house, whereupon the latter, somewhat conscience-stricken, -offered to send in food for their supper -at their own house, provided Olive was not told -who had sent it. The secret was kept, and Olive partook -heartily of what otherwise would undoubtedly -have choked her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Uncle David hovered over her with anxious love -and remorse. “Bless her heart, o’ course he didn’t -b’lieve nothin’ ’bout her goin’ off. Yer bet he didn’t, -he knowed it was all right, on’y she was so long a-com-in’ -home he sorter kinder got oneasy, an’ that’s why -they went out to fin’ her, an’ dear, dear, had she been -an’ gone an’ got that plaguey ague, an’ he not there -to see a’ter her, an’ there wasn’t nothin’ like Ayre’s -Ague Cure for that, an’ he would go right ’long home -this minute an’ get her some right away.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_304'>304</span>Ezra wanted to hear her story, and she told him -everything from the beginning to the end. When -she came to the end and told him of Madame’s visit, -he shivered and said it must have been delirium, he -bade her think no more of it and never speak of it -again. His mind started back from the thoughts such -a story raised up before him. He was afraid, and -looked away from the abyss, terrified at what lay but -half hidden there.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_305'>305</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXIII.<br /> <span class='large'>CONCLUSION.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Madame left Perfection City alone and unattended. -No one knew that she was going, and no one -knew whither she went. Her spirit, however, still hovered -over the city of her founding and made itself -most potently felt. She sold all her rights in the -place, and since these included the land, horses, and -implements, as well as most of the houses, the Pioneers -awoke in early winter to find themselves homeless -and houseless, cast upon the bleak world again. In a -tempest of indignation, Sister Mary Winkle and her -husband departed out of the place, and after them -the Carpenters. The going of the Wrights was highly -characteristic. They had managed to save a waggon -and a pair of horses out of the general wreck, along -with a few of the most primitive household necessaries. -These, with his wife and daughter, Brother Wright -packed into his waggon and started for Union Mills. -At the store there he bought a rifle, a bowie-knife, and -a plentiful supply of ammunition. He came out of -the store looking like a buccaneer ready equipped for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_306'>306</span>Central America. Mary Winkle raised her hands in -speechless horror.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I say, pa, be yer goin’ to be a jay-hawker?” -asked Willette, grinning with delight.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Wright got into the waggon in grim silence.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What <i>are</i> you going to be?” asked Sister Mary -recovering her speech at last.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I’m going to be a man, Mrs. Wright, and not a -blamed fool any longer. Guess I’ll pre-empt some -land near the Cherokee Reservation, and stick to it -and get the fruits of my toil, anyhow.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Your principles——” stammered his wife.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Damn principles, Mrs. Wright. I’ve had about -enough of them. Common sense is what I want, and -so do you. I guess a spell of that will come handy -now.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Thus they journeyed out of sight, but a legend -came floating back from near the Cherokee lands that -at a difficult ford Wright was attacked by a couple of -robbers, whereupon he took up that new rifle of his -and fired so uncommonly straight that one man fell -into the river, and the other ran away.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Brother Green remained at his forge, for blacksmiths -were much in request on the prairie, and such -a one as he was hard to find. The new owner of Perfection -City offered him good inducements to stay, -so he stayed. He is still there shoeing horses and -mending ploughs. The name has been changed to -Mountainburg, in order to emphasise the existence of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_307'>307</span>the rising ground over Weddell’s Gully. Brother -Green is almost the oldest inhabitant now, and sometimes -he thinks of that far-off English village where -he was born, and it looks brighter and more beautiful -to him as the years roll him away from it. He thinks -too of the grass-grown grave in the church-yard -where the jackdaws caw overhead, and it seems to -him that when his last day’s work shall be done he -would rest more peacefully beside that mound than -in any other spot beneath the broad canopy of -heaven.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Brother Dummy decided not to leave when the -rest of the Pioneers scattered. He preferred to stay -where he was and rent a bit of land from the new -owner. By and by he was enabled to buy his bit outright. -For there came a letter addressed to “The -Pioneers of Perfection City” and containing a draft -for five hundred dollars “for the hire of one horse” -from an ever grateful friend. And Brother Dummy -was given this money by the united wish of Olive, -Ezra, Brother Green, and Uncle David, the last -of the Pioneers, because, as they said, he was the -only one who didn’t know why it had been sent, -and he was the only one who had not suffered -through that episode that had so nearly wrecked their -lives.</p> - -<p class='c010'>On a cold winter’s day, when the snow lay in -patches on the black prairie, Olive and her husband -and Uncle David set out from Perfection City. She -<span class='pageno' id='Page_308'>308</span>was pale and thin, and looked very ill as she stood -leaning against the door-way of her dismantled home.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I wish I could feel sorry at leaving the prairie, -but I can’t. I never want to see Perfection City again, -but I’m sorry for my little home, and I would like to -see my garden blossom again.” So spoke Olive to -Uncle David, standing beside her with shawls on his -arm.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wal, now,” replied he sadly, “we came here full -o’ the notion o’ teachin’ folks things, but it ’pears -like as if it wasn’t so much other folks out here as -needed teachin’ as jes’ our own selves. We hev hed -a hard lesson to learn, Ollie, my little gal, but I reckon -we’ve pretty well learned it by now. It mos’ likely -comes to the same thing, on’y it’s a sight more comfortin’ -to human pride to set up as a teacher than to -sit down as a learner. We was as certain as anything -we had a bran’ new truth to teach to the world, an’ -we was goin’ to show ’em how they’d been doin’ wrong -in everything ’fore we come to set ’em right. We was -jes’ bustin’ with pride and vanity, that’s what we was. -We had foun’ a new road to Kingdom Come, we had. -’Twasn’t no road at all, on’y a coon track leadin’ into -a swamp. Guess we’ll foller the road other folks has -trod before, an’ if we can fill up a slough or help anyone -over the rough bits as is scattered plentiful all -the way, that’ll do for us. Ain’t that your ’pinion, -Ezry?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, Uncle, we made a mistake. We thought -<span class='pageno' id='Page_309'>309</span>the great thing to do was to reform the ways of the -world. We forgot that the human heart needed reforming -first of all,” said Ezra, looking sadly at his -poor wan-cheeked little wife.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And if the heart is right it doesn’t matter about -the rest, does it, dear?” said Olive, looking timidly -at him.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He was sad and down-hearted and the eager enthusiasm -was gone out of his manner. Ezra was much -older-looking than he should have been, if life be -reckoned by solar time alone. He had been aged -by a lapse of mental time and suffering of which -the almanac can take no heed. His wife saw and -understood how he was, at this moment, realizing -the downfall of his young hopes and beliefs, that -was why he gazed so sadly across the desolate -fields.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We take nothing away with us except sad experience,” -he said as he lifted her into the waggon -and drove off.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And our love, dear, which nothing can ever destroy,” -she whispered, pressing his hand.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He stooped and kissed her. There were tears in -his eyes. But they made a mistake. They took something -else with them. Something that came tearing -over the prairie with tongue out and tail stiff-stretched -and nose to the ground—Diana, who had been turned -over to Napoleon Pompey to have and to hold, but he -could not hold her when she saw the waggon going -<span class='pageno' id='Page_310'>310</span>off, therefore he could not have her. She caught -them up when they were two miles off, and Olive let -the dog clamber all over her, regardless of wet paws, -and lick her face, so delighted were they to meet -again.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>THE END.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='tnotes x-ebookmaker'> - -<div class='chapter ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - - <ol class='ol_1 c002'> - <li>Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in spelling. - - </li> - <li>Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed. - </li> - </ol> - -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PERFECTION CITY ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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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